Heartland Institute billboard equates climate-change scientists with mass murderers

[KingOrfeo]

From Discover:

The Heartland Institute sinks to a new low

The Heartland Institute, a far-right climate change denying "thinktank" has put up a series of billboards so disgusting, so vile, that I find it difficult to find words to tell you just how disgusting and vile they are.

So instead, I’ll show you one:

[pic of billboard with photo of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski; caption, "I still believe in global warming. Do you?"]

When I first heard of this earlier today, I thought it was a joke. No one would seriously do this, right? Creating an actual billboard like this would be taking Poe’s Law and aiming right between your own eyes!

But it’s real. Heartland actually put these up, and according to their press release, they’re proud of it. And other people Heartland has on the billboards? Charles Manson, Fidel Castro, and they’re considering putting up some with Osama bin Laden.

Yes, seriously.

I could go on and on about just how incredibly offensive this is, but you can read about it here, here, here, and here. [UPDATE: And here, here, and here.]

[UPDATE: Apparently, Heartland has decided to pull down the billboard ad... of course, they're claiming it "got attention" but somehow neglect to mention this attention was overwhelmingly negative and disgusted. But you can expect Heartland to continue their skeevy campaign against reality; I'll note that they not only do not apologize for the ad, but state outright they won't apologize for it. Lovely. Science writer and humanitarian Shawn Otto has posted a list of names and links of companies that support Heartland, just so's you know.]

Still, there’s one thing I do want to highlight. The press release is a non-stop firehose of misinformation and spin, but among the venom-dripping things they say, one bit of crazy stands out:

The people who still believe in man-made global warming are mostly on the radical fringe of society. This is why the most prominent advocates of global warming aren’t scientists. They are murderers, tyrants, and madmen.

Actually, "a solid majority" of Americans think global warming is real. They’re the radical fringe? As usual, the global warming deniers accuse others of doing what the deniers themselves are guilty of.

And the prominent advocates of global warming aren’t scientists? Like Michael Mann and James Hansen? Oh wait, those two are actual climate scientists. You know, the kind of people who are experts in climate science. The kind who don’t tend to sign climate change denial screeds.

Also, the "murderers, tyrants, and madmen" line? Nice, Heartland, nice. Rhetoric like that really makes you look sober, sane, and willing to discuss things rationally.

Always remember, this is the reality Heartland is trying to deny:

The Earth is warming up. The rate of warming has increased in the past century or so. This corresponds to the time of the Industrial Revolution, when we started dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases warm the planet (hence the name) — if they didn’t we’d have an average temperature below the freezing point of water. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which is dumped into the atmosphere by humans to the tune of 30 billion tons per year, 100 times the amount from volcanoes. And finally, approximately 97% of climatologists who actually study climate agree that global warming is real, and caused by humans.

Those are the facts. It’s hard to believe anyone takes Heartland seriously at this point. And while they’re fiddling, the world burns.

 

[Ldy_Sea]

The fact is the mean temperature of the earth is increasing. However there have been at least 5 major Ice ages as long as 2 billion years ago. This shows the Earth goes through periodic warming and cooling cycles. What is unclear is what if any effect man is having on the climate change. That is open for debate.

 

[badbabysitter]

The fact is the mean temperature of the earth is increasing. However there have been at least 5 major Ice ages as long as 2 billion years ago. This shows the Earth goes through periodic warming and cooling cycles. What is unclear is what if any effect man is having on the climate change. That is open for debate.

which has nothing to do with why the group is trying to lump in Charles Manson and the Unabomber

that's like saying Republicans support serial killers because Ted Bundy was a card carrying member

 

[KingOrfeo]

The fact is the mean temperature of the earth is increasing. However there have been at least 5 major Ice ages as long as 2 billion years ago. This shows the Earth goes through periodic warming and cooling cycles. What is unclear is what if any effect man is having on the climate change. That is open for debate.

No, SeaUrchin, that is where the debate among climate scientists began, several years ago; it's pretty much over, now.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Climate change stands alongside the use of nuclear weapons as one of the greatest threats posed to the future of the world,
the Cambridge cosmologist Stephen Hawking has said.

http://www.independent.co.uk/enviro...trophic-dangers-of-climate-change-432585.html

 

[Ldy_Sea]

No, SeaUrchin, that is where the debate among climate scientists began, several years ago; it's pretty much over, now.

Show me a source. The head of the science department gave at a local University gave a lecture on global warming during the campus tour for prospective students. He stated that exactly what I posted above.

If there is something out there that shows proof that man is causing global warming, please show me. Scientists agreeing that people are the cause without any supporting data is not proof.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Scientists agreeing that people are the cause without any supporting data is not . . .

. . . what I linked.

 

[Ldy_Sea]

. . . what I linked.

Sorry must not have moused over it. But a few problems with your source
1. It's Wikipedia which anyone can edit info in so not reliable
2. 90% certain means that it is not proven
3. Scientific consenus means scientists agree but do not have indisputable proof.

If you go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_age

It states

There have been at least five major ice ages in the Earth's past. Outside these ages, the Earth seems to have been ice-free even in high latitudes.

Rocks from the earliest well established ice age, called the Huronian, formed around 2.4 to 2.1 Ga (billion years) ago during the early Proterozoic Eon.

So if the Earth has had 5 major Ice Ages it at some point had to warm up which means that the Earth goes through Eon long heating/cooling cycles. Humans may be causing the speed of the climate changes to increase slightly. but I seriously doubt we are the sole cause.

 

[CandiCame]

Sorry must not have moused over it. But a few problems with your source
1. It's Wikipedia which anyone can edit info in so not reliable
2. 90% certain means that it is not proven
3. Scientific consenus means scientists agree but do not have indisputable proof.

If you go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_age

It states

There have been at least five major ice ages in the Earth's past. Outside these ages, the Earth seems to have been ice-free even in high latitudes.

Rocks from the earliest well established ice age, called the Huronian, formed around 2.4 to 2.1 Ga (billion years) ago during the early Proterozoic Eon.

So if the Earth has had 5 major Ice Ages it at some point had to warm up which means that the Earth goes through Eon long heating/cooling cycles. Humans may be causing the speed of the climate changes to increase slightly. but I seriously doubt we are the sole cause.

You... don't understand what climate change is, do you?

 

[Ldy_Sea]

I understand what climate change is. Do you understand what Consenus theory is. The Earth is warming up. A whopping .17 degrees C in 30 years. Notice the decimal point. that is less than 1/5 of one degree C in 30 years.

I don't dispute that fact. I dispute that it is entirely humans fault. There is no Evidence to show that it is because of humans. That is a consenus theory in the scientific community. Consenus Theory means most scientists consent to the idea, and it's a theory because it has not been proven.

 

[Sean Renaud]

I understand what climate change is. Do you understand what Consenus theory is. The Earth is warming up. A whopping .17 degrees C in 30 years. Notice the decimal point. that is less than 1/5 of one degree C in 30 years.

I don't dispute that fact. I dispute that it is entirely humans fault. There is no Evidence to show that it is because of humans. That is a consenus theory in the scientific community. Consenus Theory means most scientists consent to the idea, and it's a theory because it has not been proven.

So what you mean is you don't understand how science works. Theory doesn't mean unproven. It means nobody has proven it wrong yet. At some point scientists grew humble enough that we stopped writing laws and started writing theories. Gravity is a theory but sadly for the rest of us your ignorant ass doesn't float off into the sun. Relativity is a theory but nuclear bombs and power work just fine.

NASA think it's warming roughly .36 per decade. Notice the decimal point? That's a full degree every ten years.

Nobody claims that it's entirely mankind's fault. That's just a bullshit point that people throw up but nobody makes that claim. There is evidence to show that it's humans however which is why there is a consensus amongst scientists. If you've got a better answer for why the temprature stats rising at the same time the industrial revolution got started please point to them.

Don't bother responding, I have you on iggy. I just peeked cus it's midnight and I was wondering what faggot Riddler had gotten himself into and I can only hope that you torture him for hours on end with the kind of pain that only debating someone who isn't trolling but is genuinely ignorant can bring. So than you for that.

PS: Seriously James. If you think I've been hounding you lately keep that AV of the Riddler raping a henchmen. I'll hound you to the ends of the earth. I'll discover your secret lair and beat you. I'll beat you with one fish, two fish, red fish, dead fish. I'll make fucking who-pudding of your skull as in when the cops show up they'll never who who this was. You don't want that.

 

[Peregrinator]

Don't bother responding, I have you on iggy. I just peeked cus it's midnight and I was wondering what faggot Riddler had gotten himself into and I can only hope that you torture him for hours on end with the kind of pain that only debating someone who isn't trolling but is genuinely ignorant can bring. So than you for that.

PS: Seriously James. If you think I've been hounding you lately keep that AV of the Riddler raping a henchmen. I'll hound you to the ends of the earth. I'll discover your secret lair and beat you. I'll beat you with one fish, two fish, red fish, dead fish. I'll make fucking who-pudding of your skull as in when the cops show up they'll never who who this was. You don't want that.

What the..?

 

[mercury14]

I don't dispute that fact. I dispute that it is entirely humans fault. There is no Evidence to show that it is because of humans. That is a consenus theory in the scientific community. Consenus Theory means most scientists consent to the idea, and it's a theory because it has not been proven.

Evolution is also a theory that has not been proven. I take it you reject it as well then. What about the theory of plate tectonics? Are you still unconvinced that the surface of the earth changes?

Some things will always be theories because there is no way to prove them. We can't re-create continental drift in a laboratory, nor can we re-create evolution in a petri dish on any real scale. That doesn't mean theories are inaccurate or meaningless, just that there are variables in play as well as things that are very difficult to measure.

 

[TexasWife25]

PS: Seriously James. If you think I've been hounding you lately keep that AV of the Riddler raping a henchmen. I'll hound you to the ends of the earth. I'll discover your secret lair and beat you. I'll beat you with one fish, two fish, red fish, dead fish. I'll make fucking who-pudding of your skull as in when the cops show up they'll never who who this was. You don't want that.

Drunk post?

...


inside joke?

 

[Saint Peter]

Climate change caused by dumping mountains of shit into the air?

Get real!

 

[miles]

No, SeaUrchin, that is where the debate among climate scientists began, several years ago; it's pretty much over, now.

You just can't keep your foot out of your mouth, can you?

This is first line of the Wiki article you posted:

This article is about scientific opinion on climate change.

MMGW is scientific theory, not facts. The debate isn't over until it's been proven. Unless of course you want to also declare scientific method dead, too.

 

[Sean]

You just can't keep your foot out of your mouth, can you?

This is first line of the Wiki article you posted:

This article is about scientific opinion on climate change.

MMGW is scientific theory, not facts. The debate isn't over until it's been proven. Unless of course you want to also declare scientific method dead, too.

So there's still a debate about gravity?

 

[CandiCame]

So what you mean is you don't understand how science works. Theory doesn't mean unproven. It means nobody has proven it wrong yet. At some point scientists grew humble enough that we stopped writing laws and started writing theories. Gravity is a theory but sadly for the rest of us your ignorant ass doesn't float off into the sun. Relativity is a theory but nuclear bombs and power work just fine.

NASA think it's warming roughly .36 per decade. Notice the decimal point? That's a full degree every ten years.

Nobody claims that it's entirely mankind's fault. That's just a bullshit point that people throw up but nobody makes that claim. There is evidence to show that it's humans however which is why there is a consensus amongst scientists. If you've got a better answer for why the temprature stats rising at the same time the industrial revolution got started please point to them.

Don't bother responding, I have you on iggy. I just peeked cus it's midnight and I was wondering what faggot Riddler had gotten himself into and I can only hope that you torture him for hours on end with the kind of pain that only debating someone who isn't trolling but is genuinely ignorant can bring. So than you for that.

PS: Seriously James. If you think I've been hounding you lately keep that AV of the Riddler raping a henchmen. I'll hound you to the ends of the earth. I'll discover your secret lair and beat you. I'll beat you with one fish, two fish, red fish, dead fish. I'll make fucking who-pudding of your skull as in when the cops show up they'll never who who this was. You don't want that.

Don't tell me what I want.

And it's not a henchman. That's literally me going to fuck myself. As per the instructions I received multiple times on this very board.

And for the naysayers, here's my issue: Even if you want to retardedly keep pumping carcinogens into the air because you think the Earth warming is a natural occurrence, because you're an idiot, that still doesn't make it ok. That still fucks us over. A tenth of a degree is enough to dramatically change the ecosystem- have you never grown anything? That's enough not to kill off the bugs in the winter and destroy your fucking crops. A single degree is enough to warp the growing season. Not to mention the hell it wreaks on the humidity and other shit for people who actually grow food. I'm sure that there are other issues, but this is the shit I was taught before I ever knew about global warming- little shit. The temp changes, the air current change, the air currents change, the weather changes, the weather changes, and THE FUCKING POWER GOES OUT FOR A WEEK.

Seriously. People like you are the reason that people like me have to suffer through tornadoes and shit. Because you can't connect the dots. I feel like Hank Hill.

"Dale, we live in Texas. It's already 110 in the summer, and if it gets one degree hotter, I'm gonna kick your ass!"

What the..?

Inside joke.

Drunk post?

...


inside joke?

Inside joke. I used to be James, remember?

 

[Peregrinator]

You just can't keep your foot out of your mouth, can you?

This is first line of the Wiki article you posted:

This article is about scientific opinion on climate change.

MMGW is scientific theory, not facts. The debate isn't over until it's been proven. Unless of course you want to also declare scientific method dead, too.

Holy shit what an idiot.

 

[JohnnySavage]

...

NASA think it's warming roughly .36 per decade. Notice the decimal point? That's a full degree every ten years.

....

I don't have a dog in this fight, but you may want to check your math. According to my calculations, if it's warming roughly .36 per decade, in 10 years it would have rose .36.

I was never good at the calculus though.

 

[Frizzle_Fry]

So there's still a debate about gravity?

Don't forget the atomic theory, we just aren't sure if thing's are really made up of atoms yet despite numerous demonstrations that they are. It's just a theory....

 

[Liar]

Why did you fuckers take the bait in the second post? This was not about the yes or no of climate change. Let's get back to the topic of the hysteric desperation of a conservative think tank with Godwin tourettes.

 

[CandiCame]

Why did you fuckers take the bait in the second post? This was not about the yes or no of climate change. Let's get back to the topic of the hysteric desperation of a conservative think tank with Godwin tourettes.

To answer your question, sir, I'm going to have to go with boobies.

 

[mercury14]

You just can't keep your foot out of your mouth, can you?

This is first line of the Wiki article you posted:

This article is about scientific opinion on climate change.

MMGW is scientific theory, not facts. The debate isn't over until it's been proven. Unless of course you want to also declare scientific method dead, too.

You may want to check how science works and re-post.

 

[Liar]

To answer your question, sir, I'm going to have to go with boobies.

I weep for the species.