James Lovelock: I was 'alarmist' about climate change

[RadiationTherapy]

“The problem is we don’t know what the climate is doing. We thought we knew 20 years ago. That led to some alarmist books – mine included – because it looked clear-cut, but it hasn’t happened,” Lovelock said.

“The climate is doing its usual tricks. There’s nothing much really happening yet. We were supposed to be halfway toward a frying world now,” he said.

“The world has not warmed up very much since the millennium. Twelve years is a reasonable time… it (the temperature) has stayed almost constant, whereas it should have been rising -- carbon dioxide is rising, no question about that,” he added.

He pointed to Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and Tim Flannery’s “The Weather Makers” as other examples of “alarmist” forecasts of the future.


http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/23/11144098-gaia-scientist-james-lovelock-i-was-alarmist-about-climate-change?lite

[Politicalboi]

1. So sit back and do nothing

See it all works out in the end. We only had over 40 years to do something about where we're at now. Why start now. Until we are flooded throughout the US why should we worry.

[Bake]

16. I"m looking forward to owning beachfront property

in KENTUCKY.



Bake

[Hugabear]

2. Except the overwhelming evidence points out that climate change IS happening

And we ARE seeing its effects, firsthand.

One crackpot does not negate the sheer overwhelming number of scientists who agree that climate change is real.

[Johonny]

3. Not only that but our best climate models

aren't doing that bad a job. Heck our model's from 20 years ago are doing all right. The only reason to think the world was going to be fried is if you totally disbelieved the most likely senario's. The name dropping of people who clearly aren't alarmist like Al Gore who's book relies on most likely senario's is just that, name dropping.

[spanone]

4. was he wrong then, or is he wrong now?

[CJCRANE]

5. He should be claiming the credit

for being one of the first to warn us about climate change.

I don't understand why he's back-pedaling now.

[RadiationTherapy]

7. Thank you for noting the significance of the author and contextualizing the extent

of his backpedaling. From a PR point of view, this will have ramifications. And, of course, I personally find that every PR setback is an environmental one over time as well.

[Snake Alchemist]

6. I was wrong then so trust me now? nt

[Speck Tater]

8. More evidence that the human race is doomed to extinction. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. So we have imagined the real changes in the weather

or the degree uptick in world temps?

I gotta ask, what is going on here? You do not have this kind of back pedaling just because.

[bananas]

13. See my post #12 nt

[Ezlivin]

10. Boy crying wolf sells books, then recants story to sell more books

N/T

[edhopper]

11. WTF?

Where does he think the data is not saying it it getting hotter?

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[bananas]

12. James Lovelock turns everyone into a climate optimist

I've said a number of times that Joe Romm has the most reality-based analysis,
here's some posts he's made about Lovelock:

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2007/10/26/202024/james-lovelock-gaia-global-warming/

James Lovelock turns everyone into a climate optimist

By Joe Romm on Oct 26, 2007 at 8:40 am

No, the profile of famed scientist James Lovelock in Rolling Stone will not give you renewed hope about humanity’s fate in the face of global warming. It will make you — or Al Gore or James Hansen or even me — look optimistic by comparison:

<snip>

Anyway, I don’t agree with Lovelock’s projected impacts this century (it won’t be THAT severe that fast and humans are more resilient than he believes) nor do I agree it is too late to avoid the worst, but it is definitely much later than people think. I don’t think the engines are about to fail, but the ship’s out-dated coal-fired boilers may be about to blow if they don’t get replaced by the next President with something much, much cleaner….

edit to add some more from climate progress:

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2009/06/29/204305/lovelock-still-makes-me-look-like-paula-abdul-warns-climate-war-could-kill-nearly-all-of-us-leaving-survivors-in-the-stone-age/

Lovelock still makes me look like Paula Abdul, warns climate war could kill nearly all of us, leaving survivors in the Stone Age

By Joe Romm on Jun 29, 2009

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2008/03/22/202464/lovelock-malthus-was-right-and-climate-progress-is-way-way-too-optimistic/

Lovelock: Malthus was right, and Climate Progress is way, way too optimistic

By Joe Romm on Mar 22, 2008

[Phoonzang]

14. Well if he's talking about quotes like this:

“before this century is over billions of us will die and the few breeding pairs of people that survive will be in the Arctic where the climate remains tolerable.”-- I'm sure he's right. That's extreme and improbable, to say the least. But this will be used by the deniers unfortunately.

[Raine]

15. Whatever

Time will tell the tale, we'll all find out in a few short years. I'm sure it's too late already so whatever happens happens. Mother nature bats last, denying something doesn't change the reality of it.

[n2doc]

17. I wonder how much money he's been paid by Exxon?

And other of their ilk. I expect to see more of this as the change deniers get more desperate. "Nothing to see, it's all normal, forget the crops dying and the cities flooding, happens all the time...."

[sibelian]

18. Ah, yes. The guy who thought he'd invented homeostasis.

Welllll... hm....

[joeybee12]

19. Just another attempt to grab headlines...what a attention you-know-what...nt

[RadiationTherapy]

20. My concern is that this is going to be a severe PR hit for climate activism.

For many people, it will slow or reverse realizations about the relationship between industrialized humankind and climate effects.

[bananas]

21. Joe Romm has responded to this.

Now that he has dialed back his doomism — alarmism is a wholly inadequate word for Lovelock’s (former) brand of unjustified hopelessness — the media and the deniers are just so excited. That’s especially true since Lovelock has now overshot in the other direction of climate science confusion and just keeps peddling nonsense.

He was wrong about his doomism before, he is wrong about Gore now, and he is apparently uninformed about basic climate observations (see “Breaking News: The Earth Is Still Warming. A Lot“).

Memo to Lovelock: Gore never asserted billions would die or anything close to what you’ve been saying.

Much more at:

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/04/23/469749/james-lovelock-finally-walks-back-his-absurd-doomism-but-he-still-doesnt-follow-climate-science/

James Lovelock Finally Walks Back His Absurd Doomism, But He Still Doesn’t Follow Climate Science

By Joe Romm on Apr 23, 2012 at 7:10 pm

<snip>

[edhopper]

22. Anybody who saw the last episode of Frozen Planet

would know how serious things are. The changes at the poles in the last 30 years has been dramatic.