What I found is what I had suspected: Schnitt merely puts links up to stories by people who are in the pocket of Big Oil or affiliated with the Republican Party. Lets talk about a few of his links so you get the idea of what Schnitt is using for "...one of the largest collections of articles and opinion pieces on the Internet, many written by respected scientists, climatologists, meteorologists and professors who dispute the apocalyptic "man-made" explanation of global warming. " One problem with this statement (there are many problems with the overall page) is that a meterology or geography degree does not qualify you as a Climatologist. There are Climatology degrees and Schnitts people quoted in the main do not have them. Schnitt implies it doesnt matter, following that simplistic line of reasoning I guess a a Chemist can do Biology, a Astronmer can do Nuclear Physics and an Antropologist is a geologist. Sigh...the world of infotainment...
One of Schnitt's primary touted experts is S. Fred Singer. (see his post # 214 for one example). Singer is actually connected to the American Petroleum Institute, and fact checker Mother Jones site details(great list here at http://www.motherjones.com/news/featurex/2005/05/exxon_chart.html) "S. FRED SINGER: A godfather of global warming denial, author of The Scientific Case Against the Global Climate Treaty and Hot Talk, Cold Science: Global Warming’s Unfinished Debate. Key quote: “There is no convincing evidence that the global climate is actually warming.” Connections to ExxonMobil-funded groups: at least seven."
Another big source for Schnitt is Iain Murray (#10, 146, 223). Here's what SourceWatch had to say about this guy: "Iain Murray is a frequent commentator on global warming and "sound science" who has repeatedly peddled various forms of discredited junk science, sometimes even after being informed that what he said was false. Competitive Enterprise Institute, Senior Fellow in International Policy (The CIE is a think tank funded by ideological conservatives, oil, and other corporations)...Tim Lambert has shown Iain Murray has continued to make incorrect statements, even after being informed that they are incorrect:
More Risky Business: Murray claims that epidemiologists believe risk factors less than two should be ignored. An epidemiologist writes in and corrects him. Afterwards, Murray repeats his claim in another forum. Iain Murray, at it again: Murray speculates about a cause of global warming that is easy to test. When tested, the cause proves not to be a factor. "
One common trend in Scnitt's scientists is their lack of expertise in climatology, instead they are expert in a completely unrelated field. he quotes Geoffrey P. Hunt who is an anthropologist and writes for the conservative rag American Thinker. Check his anti-Democratic party viewpoint at http://www.americanthinker.com/geoffrey_p_hunt/ by looking at his article. Unbiased? Sure Schnitt...
Let's look at the expertise of his other "experts" (wish I had room to do them all) : "Timothy Francis Ball, Ph.D., is a retired university professor and global warming skeptic. He heads the Natural Resources Stewardship Project and formerly headed the activist organization Friends of Science, which was funded by energy industries.[1] His expertise is in geography....and his impartiality was debunked here, http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/175673 referring to the work done by "The non-profit, pro-action Vancouver-based website DeSmogBlog has been analyzing the list of signatories. The site, which is devoted to combatting what it calls "a well-funded and highly organized public relations campaign" that's "poisoning" the climate change debate, was established in December 2005 by Jim Hoggan, president of the public relations firm James Hoggan & Associates and a board member of the David Suzuki Foundation."two groups supported by Big Oil.
So who else? Let's check with factcheck site ExxonSecrets.Org, to see others and their groups, quoted by Schnitt as unbiased experts. There's Marlo Lewis (# 19, 139, 141, 142, 143...notice the sequence? Think Schnitt was emailed as a package these or just discovered the CEI (Competitive Enterprise Institute)website and group, funded by ExxonMobil, see list below), Peter Worthington, (# 58) a Canadian jounalist for the Toronto Sun, "Worthington stepped down as editor of the Sun in order to enter politics in the 1982. He sought the nomination of the Progressive Conservative Party for a by-election in Toronto's Broadview—Greenwood riding, but was defeated in a hotly contested race (by a liberal Democrat)." Climate expert, indeed.
Schnitt though saves special reverance for Dr William Gray, formerly of the Weather Channel, a trained meteorologist, with only a degree in (again) geography. Schnitt has multiple links, audeo files and even video of Gray. Gray has some credence because of his years on The Weather Channel, i.e.. people know and recognize him, something Schnitt 'needs' for his side to counter the public recognition of Gore.
Gray is noted for hus hurricane prediction numbers each year (the predictions themselves have been the subjetc of criticism by peers as either junk science or as an example of carnival-sideshow pseudo-science/infotainment. Gray is also know as believing that Climate Change is being used to usher in a form of "world government", (see Achenbach, Joel The Tempest. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.)
So, just how widespread is the funding of the anti-global warming groups? How involved in this debate is Big Oil? Check this list and you'll see DOZENS more spokespeople that Schnitt quotes as 'unbiased'. The fact is that Schnitt himself has done no research on thius subjectbefores he puts this up on the web as "proof". It's clear by this very limited debunking of his experts that he merely puts links up for his ideological position. Otherwise why would he continue to maintain and publicize a page that FactCheck, MotherJones, SourceWatch and other legimate monitors say are paid by Big Oil, or are strongly affiliated with the Republican Party? Why indeed?
The answer, IMHO, is that the raising of the alarm on Global Climate Change is strongly affiliated with Al Gore, a Democrat, a liberal and a possible candidate for President. Gore is Schnitt's real target, this is supposed to be about a global issue right? And yet Schnitt devotes page space to multiple articles about Gore' personal home...an individual house. He also attacks his use of airplanes when he flies around the world. Think about that...how would YOU get to Europe, South America, Asia or Australia from Tennessee? Swim, walk? Complaining about flying when your destination is thousands of miles away is asinine. Is Schnitt against ...er, travel???
He does this solely to diminish Gore's personal reputation and tries to portray him as a hypocrite. See posts: 9, 10, 17,20,21, 22,23,24,25,28,29. (ad nauseum) Of just the first 30 posts 11 attack Gore personally, in the title of the post. (Several others attack him in the body of the post). Overall a huge portion of this supposed list of other experts who are talking about serious rational alternatives about current climate chnage theory...merely are personally attacking Gore.
For your convenience, here is a list of the organizations funded by Big Oil. Take what they (or their their spokepeople) say with that knowledge in mind. And when you see them quoted on a web page by a Tampa talk radio show host, give it exactly the amount of scientific credence that page deserves.
None.
ORGANIZATIONS IN EXXON SECRETS DATABASE
Follow the links to see a factsheet containing information about funding from Exxon-Mobil and see their spokespeople.
60/Sixty Plus AssociationAccuracy in AcademiaAccuracy in MediaActon Institute for the Study of Religion and LibertyAfrica Fighting MalariaAir Quality Standards CoalitionALEC - American Legislative Exchange CouncilAlexis de Tocqueville InstitutionAlliance for Climate StrategiesAmerican Coal FoundationAmerican Conservative Union FoundationAmerican Council for Capital Formation Center for Policy ResearchAmerican Council on Science and HealthAmerican Enterprise Institute for Public Policy ResearchAmerican Enterprise Institute-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory StudiesAmerican Friends of the Institute for Economic AffairsAmerican Petroleum InstituteAmerican Policy CenterAmerican Recreation CoalitionAmerican Spectator FoundationAmericans for Tax ReformAnnapolis Center for Science-Based Public PolicyArizona State University Office of CimatologyAspen InstituteAssociation of Concerned TaxpayersAtlantic Legal FoundationAtlas Economic Research FoundationBlue Ribbon CoalitionCapital Legal FoundationCapital Research Center and GreenwatchCato InstituteCenter for American and International LawCenter for Environmental Education ResearchCenter for Security PolicyCenter for Strategic and International StudiesCenter for the Defense of Free EnterpriseCenter for the New WestCenter for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global ChangeCentre for the New EuropeCFACT - Committee for a Constructive TomorrowChemical Education FoundationCitizens for A Sound Economy and CSE Educational FoundationCitizens for the Environment and CFE Action FundClean Water Industry CoalitionClimate Research JournalCommunications InstituteCompetitive Enterprise InstituteCongress of Racial EqualityConsumer AlertCooler Heads CoalitionCouncil for Solid Waste SolutionsDCI GroupDefenders of Property RightsEarthwatch InstituteECO or Environmental Conservation OrganizationEuropean Enterprise InstituteExxonMobil CorporationFederalist Society for Law and Public Policy StudiesFraser InstituteFREE - Foundation for Research on Economics and the EnvironmentFree Enterprise Action InstituteFree Enterprise Education InstituteFrontiers of Freedom Institute and FoundationGeorge C. Marshall InstituteGeorge Mason University, Law and Economics CenterGlobal Climate CoalitionGreat Plains Legal FoundationGreening Earth SocietyHarvard Center for Risk AnalysisHeartland InstituteHeritage FoundationHoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford UniversityHudson InstituteIllinois Policy InstituteIndependent Commission on Environmental EducationIndependent InstituteInstitute for Biospheric ResearchInstitute for Energy ResearchInstitute for Regulatory ScienceInstitute for Senior StudiesInstitute for the Study of Earth and ManInstitute of Humane Studies, George Mason UniversityInterfaith Stewardship AllianceInternational Climate Science CoalitionInternational Council for Capital FormationInternational Policy Network - North AmericaInternational Republican InstituteJames Madison InstituteJunkscience.comLandmark Legal FoundationLexington InstituteLindenwood UniversityMackinac CenterManhattan Institute for Policy ResearchMedia InstituteMedia Research CenterMercatus Center, George Mason UniversityMountain States Legal FoundationNational Association of NeighborhoodsNational Black Chamber of CommerceNational Center for Policy AnalysisNational Center for Public Policy ResearchNational Council for Environmental BalanceNational Environmental Policy InstituteNational Legal Center for the Public InterestNational Mining AssociationNational Policy ForumNational Wetlands CoalitionNational Wilderness InstituteNew England Legal FoundationNew Zealand Climate Science Coalition Pacific Legal FoundationPacific Research Institute for Public PolicyPeabody EnergyPERC - Property and Environment Research Center, formerly Political Economy Research CenterPublic Interest WatchReason FoundationReason Public Policy InstituteScience and Environmental Policy ProjectSeniors CoalitionShook, Hardy and Bacon LLPSmall Business Survival CommitteeSoutheastern Legal FoundationStanford University GCEPStatistical Assessment Service (STATS)Tech Central Science Foundation or Tech Central StationTexas Public Policy FoundationThe Advancement of Sound Science Center, Inc.The Advancement of Sound Science CoalitionThe Justice Foundation (formerly Texas Justice Foundation)The Locke InstituteUnited for JobsUniversity of Oklahoma Foundation, Inc.US Russia Business CouncilVirginia Institute for Public PolicyWashington Legal FoundationWeidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public PolicyWestern FuelsWorld Affairs Councils of AmericaWorld Climate Report
