Alan Jones, climate scientist

By October 11, 2017Australian Politics, Science

Enough has been written about Tony Abbott’s bizarre speech at the Global Warming Policy Foundation1, such that it needs little comment here. Its stupidity, inaccuracies and downright lies have been covered in great detail elsewhere2. However, Alan Jones, the ignorant microphone bully from Sydney radio station 2GB tweeted the following:

“Tony Abbott is 1000 per cent right when it comes to climate change. Stick to your guns. You’re the hope of the side. The Left are on the run”

Apart from the statistical exaggeration, to call Abbott ‘right’ about climate change simply indicates Jones’ exceptional ignorance if he really believes what Abbott said about climate change. Abbott lied about the temperature rise in Australia. He lied about sea level rise. He lied about solar activity. He deluded himself that global warming could be beneficial, ignoring the dramatic increase in extreme heat events. He then lied about a non-existent increase in carbon dioxide emissions in China2.

Tony Abbott will no doubt continue to stick to his guns, because his main aim is to destabilise Malcolm Turnbull so as to eventually lead to the latter’s demise. Abbott’s narcissism will not let him do otherwise. He cannot forgive Turnbull for consenting to his overthrow.

For Alan Jones to state that Abbott is the hope of the side, either indicates that Alan Jones is secretly barracking for Labor, or he is deluded about the abilities of Abbott. Jones must surely remember what the Abbott Prime Ministership was like; how bizarre and inarticulate Abbott was; how idiotic many of his decisions were; and how he nearly lost a vote to an empty chair3. To follow this with an assertion that ‘the Left’ are on the run, tends to indicate that Jones is actually deluded. It is the Left who is egging Abbott on. His behaviour is so childish, and his statements so transparently aimed solely to get up Turnbull’s nose, that it is the best thing to happen to opposition parties (all of them) since Abbott was Prime Minister. You only have to look at the most recent opinion polls to see the Abbott imprimatur.

It is not surprising that Jones does not have the faintest concept of how science operates, after all he was not a science teacher during his teaching career. This makes him easily gulled by deniers of climate science. This was demonstrated to me when I heard one of his producers interviewed on Radio National some years ago. When quizzed about where Jones’ antipathy towards climate science originated, the producer said something along the lines of ‘Alan has done his research’. I laughed so hard, I nearly spilled my coffee. To Jones, research is presumably simply hunting around the internet, or reading the latest conservative manifesto from an assortment of climate change deniers, and believing what he is told. To a scientist, research is actually gathering data, working out what it means, and what predictions that makes. This research is then published after peer review in reputable journals. Jones is not equipped to distinguish real science from drivel. He only thinks he is.

Sources

  1. http://tonyabbott.com.au/2017/10/transcript-hon-tony-abbott-mp-address-global-warming-policy-foundation-westminster-london/
  2. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/five-charts-that-show-tony-abbott-is-the-one-who-has-lost-sight-of-the-science-20171009-gyxk8s.html
  3. http://www.blotreport.com/australian-politics/the-end-of-the-liberal-right-wing-nut-jobs/

 

2 Comments

  • David Bloom says:

    Lots of opinions…we do know that the earth is being irreparably damaged by human activity
    There has to be some pragmatism to allow a reliable base electrical load supply for our Western life style.
    The government is desperately trying to deal with the problem using at times inane solutions including offering movie tickets for turning off our air conditioners!
    it is confusing for the general public when there is high profile ‘brawling’ about mid to long term solutions
    One thing is for sure…our power consumption keeps going up because we are unwilling to stop consuming

    • admin says:

      David,

      Yep, but we have to go to renewables or we are sunk. I get sick and tired of all these self appointed scientific experts telling my climate scientist friends that they are either too stupid to know what is going on, or they are involved in some massive conspiracy. Neither assertion is correct. These people are highly trained and very aware of what is happening to the planet, and anybody who knows how science operates knows that a large conspiracy is impossible, because of the self correcting nature of science. It is the same logic that creationists use to attempt to tell people that evolution is an atheist conspiracy. Darwin is famous because he worked out how evolution happens (natural selection). If any scientist discovered that he was wrong and showed that an alternative mechanism operated, he would be immensely famous and probably offered bucketloads of money to teach at one of the top universities. Many have tried to show that Darwin was wrong, and all have failed. In that system a conspiracy is impossible.

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