{"id":354115,"date":"2024-12-12T17:40:36","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T16:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=354115"},"modified":"2024-12-12T17:40:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T16:40:39","slug":"comment-on-cobb-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=354115","title":{"rendered":"Comment on Cobb, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"407\" data-attachment-id=\"354117\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=354117\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?fit=2560%2C1443&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1443\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?fit=723%2C407&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?resize=723%2C407&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-354117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?resize=1024%2C577&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?resize=768%2C433&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?resize=1536%2C866&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?resize=2048%2C1154&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?resize=1200%2C676&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?w=1446&amp;ssl=1 1446w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?w=2169&amp;ssl=1 2169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From <a href=\"https:\/\/wattsupwiththat.com\/2024\/12\/11\/comment-on-cobb-2024\/\">Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By Andy May<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The featured image for this post is from&nbsp;Angela Wheeler<\/em>&nbsp;<em>at<\/em>&nbsp;<em>the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/co2coalition.org\/\">CO2 Coalition<\/a>, used with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This post is a comment on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/ajes.12606\">Cobb, 2024<\/a>, the paper is entitled \u201cThe politics of climate denialism and the secondary denialism of economics.\u201d The paper defines climate denialism, discusses the reasons it exists, and the effect of widespread \u201cdenialism\u201d on society. The paper was written in response to a paper I wrote with my colleague Marcel Crok, entitled \u201cCarbon dioxide and a warming climate are not problems,\u201d the abstract for our paper is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/ajes.12579\">here<\/a>&nbsp;and the full text can be downloaded&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Carbon-Dioxide-and-a-Warming-Climate-are-not-problems_Final_Submission_no_logo.pdf\">here<\/a>. I am responding to Cobb\u2019s paper primarily to correct some misinformation in it regarding our paper and Exxon\u2019s climate research efforts. Unfortunately, the paper is paywalled and quite different from the abstract. I asked Cobb several times for a copy, via email and through&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/386442534_The_politics_of_climate_denialism_and_the_secondary_denialism_of_economics\">ResearchGate<\/a>, but he never responded to my requests, so I bought a pdf from Wiley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The paper does not address climate science and explicitly assumes that humans cause climate change and that the changes are dangerous. The paper provides no evidence that humans cause climate changes, nor does it cite any such evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cobb defines two forms of climate denialism. His \u201cprimary denialism\u201d is the belief that climate change is not caused by humans. He states this as \u201cthe belief that climate change is not real or not caused by human activity,\u201d but this must be an error, since everyone knows climate changes. It is just the amount caused by humans that is debated. Then Cobb defines \u201csecondary denialism\u201d as one who admits humans are largely responsible for current climate change but doesn\u2019t believe it is dangerous. In other words, people who believe we can adapt to human-caused changes. With my slight re-wording of his definition of primary denialism, these are good definitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Part 1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cobb\u2019s paper is divided into four parts, Part 1 is a discussion of the origins of climate denialism where Cobb blames it all on Exxon, following the whole Naomi Oreskes, Geoffrey Supran, Peter Frumhoff nonsense, as discussed&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2021\/06\/02\/scientific-american-steps-in-it\/\">here<\/a>. However, this conspiracy theory is largely based on a very flawed \u201ccontent analysis\u201d of Exxon documents that was torn apart in court by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/facultyprofile.csuohio.edu\/csufacultyprofile\/detail.cfm?FacultyID=K_NEUENDORF\">Kimberly A. Neuendorf<\/a>&nbsp;the inventor of content analysis. To quote her court filing (S&amp;O is an abbreviation of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/iopscience.iop.org\/article\/10.1088\/1748-9326\/aa815f&amp;xid=25657,15700023,15700124,15700149,15700168,15700186,15700201\">Supran and Oreskes<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cS&amp;O\u2019s content analysis does not support the study\u2019s conclusions because of a variety of fundamental errors in their analysis. S&amp;O\u2019s content analysis lacks reliability, validity, objectivity, generalizability, and replicability. These basic standards of scientific inquiry are vital for a proper content analysis, but they are not satisfied by the S&amp;O study.\u201d (ExxonMobil, 2018a, Attachment A)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thus, Oreskes and Supran were totally humiliated and shown to be frauds in court. Their papers on \u201cExxon Knew\u201d were blown out of the water. More on Cobb\u2019s Exxon conspiracy theory later in this post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Part 2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Part 2 of the paper is critical of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/ajes.12579\">May &amp; Crok, 2024<\/a>. May &amp; Crok state that the world should not end the use of fossil fuels until a danger from them is identified, which Cobb interprets as \u201cstart[ing] from a conclusion and working backward.\u201d Seems more like common sense to me. That man-made climate change is dangerous is pure speculation, as May &amp; Crok make clear. Eliminating fossil fuels is extremely dangerous as well established by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ca.finance.yahoo.com\/news\/bjorn-lomborg-science-doesn-t-100005204.html\">Bjorn Lomborg<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Moral-Case-Fossil-Fuels-ebook\/dp\/B00INIQVJA\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZO1Y8QTEMSWY&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.04ERyGbN7jqiO6Rr4tG3IIFP3p7ujj6s2OlNRTigzVDGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.W7Z-B_Lt70LNcjAL6zuwLFe4L8wFgt4ks1za4g9v9P4&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=alex+epstein+the+moral+case+for+fossil+fuels&amp;qid=1733766654&amp;sprefix=Alex+Epstein%2Caps%2C126&amp;sr=8-1\">Alex Epstein<\/a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nobelprize.org\/prizes\/economic-sciences\/2018\/nordhaus\/lecture\/\">William Nordhaus<\/a>.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/oAOih\">Neil Record<\/a>&nbsp;has estimated that if we stopped using fossil fuels tomorrow six billion people would die. Vaclav Smil details how critical fossil fuels are to our wellbeing in his book&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/How-World-Really-Works-Science-ebook\/dp\/B09CDB69WT\/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1339206772248584&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KYNjNcTYMuf0BHWYilPBPuvteX3b5L4btjTOJuesy110SbGiMZ0_02H5u_9x0fVeh8wHPu23a4cKgHZtBQbNd3hEnEGXxjc_xYzwtZ0xMMYEfE18g-oCMeJLk5xNB-gdOkJzeeUlTbk4i5bGNOePysMdVRFdRZdMFaVU5if_6q4zLr9la7sxGyc8JUjyhjVCF1YGgdkd9Gvmkm8bAJDg4gH4aGDgHshCt8SM7DIay7k.ZjDBbI0uaZOeH78DPgzqhPbh2zVfXvDeu5kSoHWyF4Q&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;hvadid=83700747504961&amp;hvbmt=be&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvlocphy=73829&amp;hvnetw=o&amp;hvqmt=e&amp;hvtargid=kwd-83701416067880%3Aloc-190&amp;hydadcr=3444_13776047&amp;keywords=how+the+world+really+works+vaclav+smil&amp;msclkid=f4cdc025a34f1cb37975a7728e838448&amp;qid=1733766606&amp;sr=8-1\"><em>How the World Really Works<\/em><\/a>. Thus, Cobb is comparing a possible future danger to a sure danger that we would face by eliminating fossil fuels. To make matters worse, he does not address the key question:&nbsp;<em>Is there any danger in man-made global warming?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cobb\u2019s second point is that how the extra heat collected in the atmosphere due to additional greenhouse gases is redistributed around the Earth by convection is not important. Further, if climate models cannot recreate this distribution properly it doesn\u2019t matter. It does matter, so does the fact that if the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2022\/03\/13\/comparing-ar5-to-ar6\/\">greenhouse gas effect is excluded from a model<\/a>, the model results move closer to observations in both the AR5 and the AR6 models in the tropical middle troposphere. Finally, as the world warms, it causes changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation that moves heat from areas where the greenhouse effect is strong (like in the tropics) to where it is weak (like at the poles), facilitating cooling (see&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2022\/09\/22\/the-winter-gatekeeper-hypothesis-vii-a-summary-and-some-questions\/\">here<\/a>). A warming planet also changes cloud cover in ways that facilitate cooling (see&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2023\/04\/25\/the-mysterious-ar6-ecs-part-2-the-impact-of-clouds\/\">here<\/a>). Unfortunately, the \u201cconsensus\u201d ignores these observations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cobb\u2019s third point is pure projection, he is basing his argument on ideology and opinion with no scientific input and projecting that flaw on May &amp; Crok. His only source is an unpublished article that he claims will be published in the future (Pulles, 2024). This is despite the fact that all of May &amp; Crok\u2019s arguments are solidly referenced with high-quality peer-reviewed sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Part 3<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Part 3, which is on populist politics, one sentence in the paper is interesting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;\u201c\u2026 ideological differences in the environment are marked by conflicts over facts, not values.\u201d Cobb, 2024<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here Cobb confuses \u201cfacts\u201d with \u201cthe interpretation of facts,\u201d but I see his point. The fundamental argument over whether most of climate change is man-made and dangerous is not a value issue, it is in the interpretation of existing and past climate observations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think that May &amp; Crok (see&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2024\/05\/30\/carbon-dioxide-and-a-warming-climate-are-not-problems\/\">here<\/a>&nbsp;for links to the submitted paper or download it from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/381013579_Carbon_dioxide_and_a_warming_climate_are_not_problems\">ResearchGate<\/a>) established that climate change (aka global warming, whether man-made or not) has had no global detrimental effect to date. See AR6 WGI, Table 12.12, page 1856 or figure 5&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2024\/09\/27\/suppression-of-science-and-inconvenient-truths\/\">here<\/a>&nbsp;for the evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fact the net effect today of climate change may be positive&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.journals.uchicago.edu\/doi\/abs\/10.1093\/reep\/rex027?journalCode=reep\">(Tol, 2018)<\/a>. Richard Tol shows that climate change will likely have a limited impact on the economy and human welfare in the 21<sup>st<\/sup>&nbsp;century, also see&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0040162520304157\">(Lomborg, 2020)<\/a>. Tol notes that it is likely that the initial impacts of climate change will be positive. Beyond 2100, who knows? Could someone predict the world of 2000 in 1924? We need to plan over reasonable time frames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cobb does not discuss the differing opinions and evidence regarding the current impact of climate change, he simply assumes that man-made climate change is dangerous and anyone who disagrees with his opinion is a \u201cdenier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cobb also assumes that climate change might have a high existential risk for all of humanity but does not identify it. Such a risk from global warming is clearly impossible since the temperature over the oceans (70% of the surface) is limited by physics to 30 degrees&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1029\/1999GL900197\">(Sud et al, 1999)<\/a>. More details on the possible dangers of heat are discussed&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2023\/10\/12\/can-extreme-heat-make-parts-of-the-earth-too-hot-for-humans\/\">here<\/a>. Global cooling, which is likely to happen sometime in the next 2,000 to 3,000 years, is another issue and may be a significant problem, but fortunately it is far in the future when humanity will be better prepared (Vin\u00f3s, 2022, Ch. 14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Part 4<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The paper faces us with a choice; unsupported conjecture that man-made climate change will increase human mortality or the certainty that eliminating fossil fuels will increase human mortality and suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cobb offers an extended discussion of error. One could conclude that climate change is dangerous when it isn\u2019t, or not a problem when it is. Both errors are possible in climate science. But since it is clear that the costs of eliminating fossil fuels are huge and catastrophic and the costs of ignoring global warming and adapting to climate changes in the future are small it seems the question about error is moot at this time (Crok &amp; May, 2023), (Nordhaus, 2018), (Record, 2023), and (Smil, 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As touched on above, if climate change ever becomes a problem, it will be far in future. Our best estimate is it will be very manageable, and possibly beneficial, until 2100 (Tol, 2018). Thus, computing the net present value of effects and causes is critical in any policy decision. Like the IPCC, Cobb seems to believe that discounting future effects and costs is misleading, and he does not believe Nordhaus\u2019s Nobel Prize winning assessment of climate change (Nordhaus, 2018). More on Nordhaus\u2019s Nobel prize lecture can be seen&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2022\/08\/30\/are-fossil-fuel-co2-emissions-good-or-bad\/\">here<\/a>&nbsp;in the discussion around figure 8. Cobb can have that opinion, but I disagree, and obviously so does the Nobel Prize Committee. Cobb implies that Nordhaus\u2019s analysis ignores the impact on human lives, but climate change mortality is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0040162520304157\">dropping rapidly<\/a>&nbsp;due to better infrastructure suggesting that humans are currently adapting to climate change quite well&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0040162520304157\">(Lomborg, 2020)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cobb assumes that \u201cprimary denialism\u201d was somehow invented by Exxon, which is silly. Skepticism that CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;controls climate existed long before Exxon did their research into the topic in the late 70s and early 80s. Knut \u00c5ngstr\u00f6m (\u00c5ngstr\u00f6m, 1900) showed that the CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;absorption spectrum is largely&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2021\/09\/20\/the-greenhouse-effect-a-summary-of-wijngaarden-and-happer\/\">saturated<\/a>&nbsp;in the atmosphere today and more CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;will make very little difference, the largest impact of CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;is seen in the first 50 PPM of CO<sub>2<\/sub>, after that the impact of more CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;falls dramatically. Type \u201c50\u201d in the CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;box in the University of Chicago&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/climatemodels.uchicago.edu\/modtran\/\">MODTRAN calculator<\/a>&nbsp;to see the difference. The whole \u201cExxon Knew\u201d BS was disproven years ago as discussed&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2020\/03\/23\/key-documents-in-the-exxon-mobil-lawsuit-by-state-attorneys-general\/\">here<\/a>. In the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2016\/04\/18\/did-exxonmobil-lie-about-the-dangers-of-climate-change-or-are-they-being-intimidated\/\">Exxon Climate Papers<\/a>&nbsp;post, I write:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf [Exxon] withheld or suppressed climate research from the public or shareholders, it is not apparent in these documents. Further, if they found any definitive evidence of an impending man-made climate catastrophe, I didn\u2019t see it. The climate researchers at ExxonMobil participated in the second, third, fourth and fifth IPCC assessment reports making major contributions in mapping the carbon cycle and in climate modeling. They calculated the potential impact of man-made CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;in several publications.\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2016\/04\/18\/did-exxonmobil-lie-about-the-dangers-of-climate-change-or-are-they-being-intimidated\/\">Link.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This tired, old, and discredited story about Exxon lying or misleading people about climate change keeps popping up, but it is entirely without merit, as proven in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/naturalgasnow.org\/rockefellers-la-jolla-junta-useful-idiot-cities-suffer-defeat-court\/\">court<\/a>&nbsp;and in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2020\/03\/23\/key-documents-in-the-exxon-mobil-lawsuit-by-state-attorneys-general\/\">numerous publications<\/a>. Cobb also blames Exxon for the fact that bipartisan support for eliminating fossil fuels \u201ccrumbled in the 1990s.\u201d Exxon had nothing to do with that, the key issue then was when&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/ar2\/wg1\/\">SAR<\/a><\/em>&nbsp;(the 1996 second IPCC assessment report) came out, the politicians in the IPCC forced the scientists to change their obvious conclusion that they could not tell if humans were affecting the climate to a human effect could be discerned. This unethical intrusion on the science caused the 17<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Frederick Seitz, to write a blistering editorial in the&nbsp;<em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>&nbsp;entitled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/SB834512411338954000?msockid=3745d4030e2864662adac7fe0f8365aa\">A Major Deception On Global Warming<\/a>.\u201d For a complete account of this shameful episode in IPCC history see pages 230-235 in my book&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/POLITICS-CLIMATE-CHANGE-ANDY-MAY-ebook\/dp\/B08LJSBVBC\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PS6KP2DJK9NL&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.TmLj75hL3xwPD8ZsDEWAkGNHOQYPjsksEmIbCiGEtsNZRwJJ2UHwETia8vsbyWy9H4-XNSDvkttpkNbZo8HRirkICWA2oCxOAuWAqu-CidDLWLxw8the_NGaTtT_MqVVlcOQg8cRthXedr-siLZVUdEDX3-91VyY88ScLIz4_Jn5g_cJhA29htxDFPCssvoLaTxksvpuZlN7bGD2V9jNgRZ4XHkVVcj2cJpPAPGBadY.QR2_g30_Bqiv2qUWAHgDRzf52wCFgHbhB1utzzpdz00&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=Politics+%26+Climate+Change%3A+A+History&amp;qid=1733777434&amp;sprefix=politics+%26+climate+change+a+history%2Caps%2C103&amp;sr=8-1\"><em>Politics &amp; Climate Change: A History<\/em><\/a>. For additional discussion see&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2023\/09\/15\/wall-street-journal-article-on-exxons-beliefs\/\">here<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2021\/06\/02\/scientific-american-steps-in-it\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cobb makes a good point here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe increasing prevalence of conspiracy theories about a wide range of issues has caused the public to be confused about whom to trust. Previously accepted sources of authority are losing credibility, and there is a genuine danger that this could make any type of collective decision-making difficult or impossible.\u201d (Cobb, 2024)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a classic case of projection, Cobb believes this applies to \u201cdeniers,\u201d but in reality, it applies to the so-called \u201cclimate consensus,\u201d an authority that fewer and fewer people trust today. Even after Naomi Oreskes &amp; Geoffrey Supran were humiliated in court, we still hear the \u201cExxon Knew\u201d nonsense. I suppose conspiracy theories will always be with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I disagree with Cobb\u2019s conclusion; I think increasing skepticism of authority by the public is a very good thing. An informed and skeptical public is essential for any republic to survive. If the skepticism prevents uninformed and unproven collective decisions, so much the better. Much more on the Union of Concerned Scientists scam and their \u201cconspiracy theory\u201d about Exxon can be seen in my book (May, 2020c, pp. 128-147).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I generally dislike papers like this that assume man-made climate change is dangerous, then criticize those that disagree. I find it interesting that although the IPCC reports, especially AR5 and AR6, are quite biased and ignore evidence that goes against their narrative that humans cause climate change (Crok &amp; May, 2023) and (InterAcademy Council, 2010), Cobb seems to think that they are not biased enough and are too neutral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blaming Exxon for public doubts about the dangers of man-made climate change is disingenuous. The doubts arise because even after 30 years and six major iterations of the CMIP climate models and six major report cycles, the IPCC still has not made a convincing case that man-made climate change is significant or dangerous. In fact, the models moved farther from observations in AR6 than they were in AR5 as admitted in AR6\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2022\/03\/13\/comparing-ar5-to-ar6\/\">(IPCC, 2021, p. 927)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Solving the academic credibility problem that has arisen recently will be hard. Once integrity is lost, it is hard to regain. Scientists must set aside their political agendas and biases and learn to report on their work in clear well-worded prose that can be read by anyone with the interest and necessary skills. Cobb and I agree that mainstream media reporting on science is awful, we want more people getting their science news from primary sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wiley has over 27 million research papers in their database, how many of these are worth the paper? I would encourage all academics and scientists to resolve to write better and more objectively. Fewer, but better and more readable papers. Write for the public, not each other. A true scientist doing meaningful work can explain it to a bright high school student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Download the bibliography&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Bibliography-for-my-comment-on-Cobb-2024.pdf\"><em>here<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other criticisms of May &amp; Crok, 2024 are discussed in the links below:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2024\/08\/14\/phoma-destructivas-2nd-comment-on-pubpeer\/\">Phoma destructiva\u2019s 2<sup>nd<\/sup>&nbsp;Comment on Pubpeer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2024\/08\/12\/pubpeer-comment-on-our-recent-paper-by-the-anonymous-phoma-destructive\/\">Pubpeer Comment on our recent paper by the anonymous \u201cPhoma destructive\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2024\/06\/04\/tinus-pulles-critique-of-may-and-crok-2004\/\">Tinus Pulles Critique of May and Crok, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/andymaypetrophysicist.com\/2024\/06\/01\/bonus-gets-it-wrong-about-may-and-crok-2024\/\">\u201cBonus\u201d Gets it wrong about May and Crok, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This post is a comment on\u00a0Cobb, 2024, the paper is entitled \u201cThe politics of climate denialism and the secondary denialism of economics.\u201d The paper defines climate denialism, discusses the reasons it exists, and the effect of widespread \u201cdenialism\u201d on society. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":354117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691829997,691818056,691818228,691818087],"class_list":{"0":"post-354115","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-carbon-dioxide-co","9":"tag-climate-change","10":"tag-fossil-fuels","11":"tag-global-warming","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0trees-add-logo-we-love-co2-1-scaled-1.webp?fit=2560%2C1443&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1u7x","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":396125,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=396125","url_meta":{"origin":354115,"position":0},"title":"\u2018Orwellian\u2019 firing at the American Journal of Economics and Sociology for publishing a climate skeptic paper","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"19\/08\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, it is official,\u00a0Marty Rowland PhD\u00a0has been fired from his position as Special Issue Editor at the\u00a0American Journal of Economics and Sociology\u00a0(AJES). The reason he was given for being fired was his publication of our paper,\u00a0Carbon Dioxide and a Warming Climate are not problems. The paper has been cited 23\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"American Journal of Economics and Sociology\u00a0(AJES)\"","block_context":{"text":"American Journal of Economics and Sociology\u00a0(AJES)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=american-journal-of-economics-and-sociology-ajes"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQNJcQK1-p1qP8O8PyZbG51Pxd_SxJ-dGH_sy1dMM5cT11swdOoupTvKkvFkDlO_xOMcqEfTbLUpR8eE7tzU1twBYnhy4hshw_ROpL-tptdDzrvWAH_xQzMZS0L7q5H1vR5eygYDzic21WiTb2MLolHL0Lg7Mg-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQNJcQK1-p1qP8O8PyZbG51Pxd_SxJ-dGH_sy1dMM5cT11swdOoupTvKkvFkDlO_xOMcqEfTbLUpR8eE7tzU1twBYnhy4hshw_ROpL-tptdDzrvWAH_xQzMZS0L7q5H1vR5eygYDzic21WiTb2MLolHL0Lg7Mg-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQNJcQK1-p1qP8O8PyZbG51Pxd_SxJ-dGH_sy1dMM5cT11swdOoupTvKkvFkDlO_xOMcqEfTbLUpR8eE7tzU1twBYnhy4hshw_ROpL-tptdDzrvWAH_xQzMZS0L7q5H1vR5eygYDzic21WiTb2MLolHL0Lg7Mg-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQNJcQK1-p1qP8O8PyZbG51Pxd_SxJ-dGH_sy1dMM5cT11swdOoupTvKkvFkDlO_xOMcqEfTbLUpR8eE7tzU1twBYnhy4hshw_ROpL-tptdDzrvWAH_xQzMZS0L7q5H1vR5eygYDzic21WiTb2MLolHL0Lg7Mg-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQNJcQK1-p1qP8O8PyZbG51Pxd_SxJ-dGH_sy1dMM5cT11swdOoupTvKkvFkDlO_xOMcqEfTbLUpR8eE7tzU1twBYnhy4hshw_ROpL-tptdDzrvWAH_xQzMZS0L7q5H1vR5eygYDzic21WiTb2MLolHL0Lg7Mg-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":360126,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=360126","url_meta":{"origin":354115,"position":1},"title":"The errors and misstatements in \u201cClimate Denialism\u201d","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/01\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"There are 20 clearly false statements and three additional problematic statements in Tinus Pulles\u2019 \u201cClimate Denialism.\u201d Most of them stem from disagreements on how to interpret existing data. However, some are due to his lack of understanding of what we wrote or, intentional distortion of what we wrote.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0we-also-have-to-pay-attention-to-the-problem-of-continued-fossil-fuel-development-photo-jeremy-durkin-rex-shutterstock.webp?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0we-also-have-to-pay-attention-to-the-problem-of-continued-fossil-fuel-development-photo-jeremy-durkin-rex-shutterstock.webp?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0we-also-have-to-pay-attention-to-the-problem-of-continued-fossil-fuel-development-photo-jeremy-durkin-rex-shutterstock.webp?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0we-also-have-to-pay-attention-to-the-problem-of-continued-fossil-fuel-development-photo-jeremy-durkin-rex-shutterstock.webp?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0we-also-have-to-pay-attention-to-the-problem-of-continued-fossil-fuel-development-photo-jeremy-durkin-rex-shutterstock.webp?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":359775,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=359775","url_meta":{"origin":354115,"position":2},"title":"The AJES Response to May &amp; Crok","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/12\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is mostly a list of errors and misinformation in the\u00a0AJES\u00a0(The American Journal of Economics and Sociology) board\u2019s\u00a0response\u00a0by Ted Gwartney and Alexandra Lough to\u00a0May & Crok. But first I applaud the board\u2019s decision to formally publish the paper they invited May & Crok to write for their special climate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"AJES\u00a0(The American Journal of Economics and Sociology)\"","block_context":{"text":"AJES\u00a0(The American Journal of Economics and Sociology)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=ajes-the-american-journal-of-economics-and-sociology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0Screenshot-2024-12-30-164404.png?fit=1200%2C652&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0Screenshot-2024-12-30-164404.png?fit=1200%2C652&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0Screenshot-2024-12-30-164404.png?fit=1200%2C652&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0Screenshot-2024-12-30-164404.png?fit=1200%2C652&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0Screenshot-2024-12-30-164404.png?fit=1200%2C652&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":350051,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=350051","url_meta":{"origin":354115,"position":3},"title":"Claim: Weather Disasters are Fuelling Climate Denial","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/11\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A group of psychologists have claimed fear drives deniers to reject the truth. But they ignore evidence academic groupthink hysteria is the real \u201cclimate crisis\u201d.","rel":"","context":"In \"climate alarmism\"","block_context":{"text":"climate alarmism","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-alarmism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0-Hurricane.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0-Hurricane.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0-Hurricane.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0-Hurricane.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0-Hurricane.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":316308,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=316308","url_meta":{"origin":354115,"position":4},"title":"Claim: Questioning Attribution Studies is the \u201cGateway Drug\u201d to Climate Denial","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/04\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Christopher Warren implies advocacy of nuclear energy is an expression of industrial capitalist supporter ignorance, but real ignorance is denying that nuclear energy is a serious option. Nuclear works in france, which still generates around 70% of their electricity from affordable zero carbon nuclear. Are the French much smarter than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"burning fossil fuels\"","block_context":{"text":"burning fossil fuels","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=burning-fossil-fuels"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/5a5436f0f53a43c494bb1c21e57170fb.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/5a5436f0f53a43c494bb1c21e57170fb.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/5a5436f0f53a43c494bb1c21e57170fb.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/5a5436f0f53a43c494bb1c21e57170fb.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/5a5436f0f53a43c494bb1c21e57170fb.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":381748,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=381748","url_meta":{"origin":354115,"position":5},"title":"The Guardian\u2019s Climate Cult: Fiona Harvey\u2019s Latest Sermon on COP30","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Once again, Fiona Harvey, the\u00a0Guardian\u2019s Environment Editor-cum-resident climate evangelist, has taken to the pages of her paper to deliver a\u00a0sermon\u00a0on the supposed settled science of climate change. In her latest missive, she trumpets the pronouncements of Andr\u00e9 Corr\u00eaa do Lago, Brazil\u2019s diplomat who will preside over the United Nations climate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Carbon dioxide\"","block_context":{"text":"Carbon dioxide","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-24.-Mai-2025-20_11_24.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-24.-Mai-2025-20_11_24.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-24.-Mai-2025-20_11_24.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-24.-Mai-2025-20_11_24.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354115"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354119,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354115\/revisions\/354119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/354117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}