Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Heartland Institute's training manual exposed

I've forced myself back to 'Steele's Climate Horror Series' via a January 27, 2015 podcast interview by Heartland Institute's Sterling Burnett with LandscapesandCycles' Mr. Jim Steele.  Spending the day transcribing the whole thing, the old fashioned way, got me feeling quite down and hopeless.  Another sad exercise of dropping into the rabbit hole where logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead.

I've been doing this for a while and I tell you dissecting the anatomy of the "climate science skeptics" disingenuous logic and ruthless rhetorical tricks gets increasingly depressing.  I mean, where does one go when staring into the reality that these Republican/libertarians really don't give a damned about learning, or this planet, or the future, only their own short term interests and rage at 'others' seems to matter to them.

They have absolute faith in their own convictions and an absolute refusal to listen to, let alone learn anything, from anyone, except their own one-sided kindergarten science in a vacuum.

It's appalling and tragic and our children will pay dearly for the public's apathy while We The People sheepishly accept an obvious con job.

Oh about that Heartland training manual, here's the Cliff Notes version:

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Heartland Institution's advanced class:

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Here's a segue looking at how this works in 'real' life:

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And now for an example of what a real scientist sounds like.

This is the third in a very interesting series of talks on climate science given at Simon Fraser University last year featuring Dr. Scott Wing, Curator of Fossil Plants, discussing what an ancient climate change can tell us about what we are doing to our planet today.  



Published on Mar 5, 2014
January 30, 2014 - Deep Time, Global Change and YOU lecture series:
Global Warming 56 Million Years Ago & What it Means for Us.
Presented by Dr. Scott Wing, Smithsonian Institute

Human greenhouse gas emissions will alter conditions on earth for thousands of years. The past event that best mirrors current warming occurred 56 million years ago & is called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, or PETM. 

Dr. Wing will explain what we know about the causes of PETM, and what we have learned about its effects on ecosystems. The lessons of deep time have great relevance as we rapidly mold our planet in the ongoing geological epoch, the Anthropocene.

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Yes, Heartland Institute, Jim Steele, Anthony Watts, global warming is for real.  The changes are here.  They will keep getting more intense.  Wake up!  The longer we ignore it the more it's going to hurt us all.

The latest figures on the California drought are expected to be released on Wednesday. The state's snowpack, a major source of water for the rest of the year, is at the lowest level on record.
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California Governor Issues 1st-Ever Statewide Mandatory Water Restrictions
APRIL 01, 2015 | NPR 


Gov. Jerry Brown instituted California's first-ever statewide mandatory water reductions on Wednesday, as the state endures its fourth year of drought.
"This historic drought demands unprecedented action," Brown said, mandating several new conservation measures:
  • A reduction in water use by 25 percent for California cities and towns.
  • New pricing structures by local water agencies to encourage conservation.
  • Replacement of 50 million square feet of lawns throughout California with "drought tolerant landscaping."
  • Rebates for water-efficient appliances.
  • New reporting guidelines for agricultural water users.


The order will also require cemeteries, golf courses and other "large landscapes" to reduce water consumption; place new irrigation standards on new homes and developments; and incentivize new technologies to make the state more water-efficient.
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The region is usually a major source of water for the state but now has a snowpack that is at the lowest level on record, as member station KPCC reports.
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Last year, Brown declared a drought state of emergency, and just a few days ago, he signed a $1.1 billion emergency drought relief bill.

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