News & Analysis
Shock: NYTimes Shuts Environmental Desk – Global Warming Meme Going Extinct?
It's Death of Little Nell time again in the field of climate "science." The New York Times – aka Pravda – has announced the closure of its Environment Desk. Rumours that the entire environment team, headed by Andy Revkin, have volunteered to be recycled into compost and spread on the lawn of the new billion dollar home Al Gore bought with the proceeds of his sale of Current TV to Middle Eastern oil interests are as yet unconfirmed. – UK Telegraph
Dominant Social Theme: A tragedy of unparalleled proportions has befallen the environment. It is getting harder and harder to save the world ...
Free-Market Analysis: The irascible and brilliant James Delingpole has just posted an article over at the UK Telegraph announcing the closure of the New York Times's environmental desk. Big news, indeed ...
It is an article that lampoons its subject even while declaring victory. Delingpole, in fact, deserves this moment. A novelist and a determined opponent of the power elite's global warming propaganda, he has been at the forefront of mainstream debunkery of "warmist" nonsense.
Lately, with the advent of what we call the Internet Reformation, the predigested sophism of outlets such as the New York Times has become less and less appetizing. As fewer turn to the Times for news and information, the publication has languished, and so have its fiefdoms like the Boston Globe.
The continual struggle for money has taken its toll on the Times's resources. And now it has apparently resulted in the shutdown of a desk supporting one of the power elite's key dominant social themes. Here's how Delingpole puts it:
It's very, very sad and that all over the Arctic baby polar bears are weeping bitter tears of regret. A spokesman for the New York Times, quoted in the Guardian, has reaffirmed the paper's commitment to environmental issues.
"We devote a lot of resources to it, now more than ever. We have not lost any desire for environmental coverage. This is purely a structural matter."
Absolutely. It's what newspapers always do when they're committed to a particular field: close down the entire department responsible for covering it.
But it's still not going to stop some mean-minded cynics sniping and casting aspersions, I'll bet. Why, some of them will be pointing out the eerie coincidence with the Met Office recent tacit admission that "global warming" isn't anywhere near what that their dodgy models predicted it would be.
And also with NASA's recent admission that solar variation has a much more significant on terrestrial climate than it has hitherto been prepared to acknowledge. If you didn't know better, you'd almost get the impression that AGW theory has been so crushingly falsified that hard-headed newspaper executives, even ones at papers as painfully right-on as the New York Times, just aren't prepared to fund its promulgation any more.
What this means for similarly overstaffed environment desks at other left-wing newspapers one can scarcely begin to imagine. Might it be that we never again read a piece by Leo Hickman entitled "How Do You Tell Your Five Year Old Son That His World Is About To Explode In A Blazing Fireball Because Of Man's Selfishness And Greed And Refusal To Change His Lifestyle?"
Ah, we could continue to quote, but you'll have to take a digital trek over to the Telegraph to read the rest. From our perspective, the news itself trumps even the cleverest of articles (and Delingpole is quite clever).
We don't want to read too much into this closing, of course. The New York Times is a newspaper and shutting down whole news desks may or may not be a reflection of larger elite priorities.
In fact, we can't see the top elites giving up on the global warming meme, as it is necessary to so many other promotions. It will generally be a good deal harder to take over the world if one cannot insist that people be subject to invasive inspections and rationing in order to combat a global warming-induced universal drought.
But speaking from a purely speculative standpoint, we've noticed that far more resources seem to be put into the so-called war on terror these days. The French, for instance, have just started a whole new war in Mali.
Is it possible that the elites have made a tactical decision to de-emphasize global warming while raising up the profile of the "war on terror"?
Whether or not this is the case, the ongoing demise of the global warming (climate change) meme is significant, from our perspective. As foremost promoters of the Internet Reformation – the idea that 'Net-based technology is playing havoc with elite plans for global domination – this announcement by the Times further confirms our argument that the elites are not a monolithic entity pre-ordained to triumph.
Conclusion: The elites are a collection of (inbred) enormously wealthy human beings. They are not gods. They, too, stumble and fail. The spread of this new Reformation is making their lives a good deal more difficult, in our humble view. The ramifications, as we often point out, are immense.
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Posted by seer on 01/16/13 07:20 PM
rationing in order to combat a global warming-induced universal drought." Seems the elite would not ever want to resort to rationing as they gain most from this debt based economy and ever increasing debt. Increased energy costs SLOW consumption and deflation may cause the system to implode on itself. The war on Terrorism is however much more plausible as it gives credence to the military hegemony practiced for many many centuries. Hopefully this will change in the near future.
Reply from The Daily Bell
Yes here we go with the mathematically perfect economy again. Debt is not the main problem; central banking is.
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Posted by Abu Aardvark on 01/15/13 08:22 AM
@ Col
I guess anyone who keeps a wary eye on the global warming scam is aware of the solar activity / earth climate link. And yet NASA decided to publicize some info about it NOW, which is significant in itself, in my humble view.
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Posted by Col on 01/15/13 08:12 AM
Abu Aardvark, old news the mini-Maunder was predicted at least 3 years ago, may I suggest you book mark this excellent website maintained by a self funded amateur
Click to view link
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Posted by Abu Aardvark on 01/15/13 07:12 AM
NASA: "Indeed, the sun could be on the threshold of a mini-Maunder event right now"
Click to view link
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Posted by Bluebird on 01/15/13 12:32 AM
Great stuff, Daily Bell. I would like to think we can bury the dead horse called global warming now. But it just is not needed anymore. It is known by most to be a lie and it serves no purpose to keep spending money to alarm us all when they are just going ahead with what they started this foolishness for to start with. They will just keep moving forward as though we are all in agreement without having to argue the point. Such is the way of dictators. The town criers will be moved to some other equally stupid agenda.
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Posted by taxesbyanyothername on 01/14/13 11:33 PM
Wonder what Slim thinks about it.
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Posted by Jed Smith on 01/14/13 09:06 PM
This report started with a very questionable and unsubstantiated statement right in the first paragraph - to equate the NYT with Pravda is outrageously unfair to Pravda.
Websearch the recent warning in Pravda from a White Russian who warned Americans about giving up their citizen right to bear arms.
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Posted by nailheadtom on 01/14/13 08:23 PM
There's only one section of the NYT that isn't a parody of a newspaper and that's the wedding announcements, an entertaining journal of the conjugal alliances of the demi-elite, their roots and their current positions. What the future holds for these well-educated and financially secure couples remains to be seen.
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Posted by dave jr on 01/14/13 07:56 PM
@ nithsdale
hoo boy, if that is true then it is closer than I thought. Inside a decade?
Like I stated in the crack analysis thread, the gate is swinging shut. And the feed chutes too.
Reply from The Daily Bell
We would respond to Nithsdale, too, but we have no idea what he meant.
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Posted by fabien on 01/14/13 07:31 PM
These jornos should be happy. No job, no money, less consumption, less warming. Now, I'll go on a ride in my Mustang.
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Posted by nithsdale on 01/14/13 07:08 PM
Al Gore's sale of Current TV has started an avalanche in dispossessing groups dedicated to Climate Change.
Before you all claim VICTORY in this odd war, contemplate what the Climate Change Boys and Girls are turning to instead. Islam! Not covertly, of course, but monetarily. OPEC's white shrouded sheiks are in the spotlight as Westerners seek to cash in their remaining chips in this last battle for the planet. If Climate Change cannot be allowed to bring hope as well as transformation to the World, well a new religion will do it instead.
The reasoning on the left is open to see. Everything should be done to stop the opponents of islam, the terrible demands that the West investigate what it is getting into when it submits to this new world philosophy. If you belong to another religion, watch while you are demonized and if you have no religion, hide from sight because you are the worst of the non-believers.
Herein is the connection. If people will not believe, they are to be made to do so. Governments have not been able to make that stick but for a thousand years, Islam has, and it has increased its hold on the globe, even in these fractious times. Education has not made a dent in Islam's armor so lets try this new "uniting" force.
The USA is the laboratory for this new putsch. the Times is signalling its new directions. It appears that the Sephardims have decided to go back to their brethren after a thousand years of separation. The world's finances are about to be re-engineered to get the job done. Allah has so ordained with the gift of oil and the energized earth it has produced!
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Posted by Friend_of_John_Galt on 01/14/13 05:01 PM
I wonder if the TWO shower heads in my shower were killing TWO baby polar bears each time it was used?
The ultimate irony is that the Obama administration continues moving forward on "carbon reducing" policies that will damage the economy so that it would be even less able to support his wild spending.
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Posted by MoeCLarry on 01/14/13 04:41 PM
Man needs religion it seems.
The latest generation is being led to the slaughter by the new religion and God, "Gaia".
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Posted by scousekraut on 01/14/13 02:00 PM
Global Warming has been rebranded as Climate Change. "You dont believe in climate Change? What are you some kind of conspiracy theorist?"
The war on terror is of course also a whopper.
Reply from The Daily Bell
The argument seems to have remained the same however, and thus the re-branding never addressed the real problem, which was a growing lack of credibility. Now perhaps, this weary meme will be retired and entirely overhauled. Who knows, maybe we will begin to hear about global cooling again. ...
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Posted by dave jr on 01/14/13 01:35 PM
I don't know how many young captured minds I have engaged in the argument over AGW. This news lends some credibility, but no time to gloat, on to the next official big lie. I agree DB, the war on terror is a whopper.
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Posted by Adam on 01/14/13 01:03 PM
JoNova: Skeptic win: UK Met Office quietly drops prediction by 20%, hopes no one notices
'The UK Met Office are completely impartial about global warming, and delighted that things are not going to warm as fast as they thought. So to draw attention to the good news they waited to release it on the … quietest possible news-day of the year. Oh. But remembering that they are public servants, they had to settle for the second quietest, and release it on the day before Christmas instead.'
Click to view link
