The Crude Life’s resident poet and professional content curator Stephen Heins joined Jason Spiess to discuss several recent ESG news items, including the return of Michael Mann on MSNBC.
Michael Mann is considered by many a climatologist and geophysicist, who has become well known for his research on climate change, particularly on the “hockey stick chart” which showed a dramatic rise in global temperature in the 20th century.
Mann’s research has been highly influential in the 1990’s and 2000’s, and his work has been cited thousands of times in the scientific literature.
Mann’s research began in 1998, when he and his colleagues published a paper in Nature which presented the first version of the “hockey stick chart”. This chart showed a long-term cooling trend in the global temperature from the year 1000 to 1900, followed by a sharp upward spike in the 20th century.
This chart was quickly embraced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and became an iconic symbol of the scientific consensus on climate change. Unfortunately, Mann’s science and method was flawed, inexact and outright erroneous.
The hockey stick chart was quickly subjected to intense scrutiny and criticism, particularly from climate skeptics. In 2003, Stephen McIntyre and Ross McKitrick published a paper which attempted to refute Mann’s findings, claiming that his methods were flawed and his conclusions inaccurate. The paper was heavily criticized by Mann and his colleagues and the scientific community at large, but it sparked a contentious debate about the validity of Mann’s research.
In 2005, the National Academy of Sciences released a report which largely vindicated Mann and his colleagues, stating that their research was “likely to be correct”.
The report also criticized McIntyre and McKitrick for their “unfair” and “inaccurate” criticisms of Mann’s work.
However, the controversy over the hockey stick chart and Mann’s methods has continued, with some critics arguing that the hockey stick chart is still inaccurate and that Mann’s methods are still flawed.
In recent years, Mann has continued to be a vocal advocate for climate change action and the need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. He has been heavily involved in public outreach, giving lectures and interviews, and has even written a book on the subject. He has also continued to publish research on climate change, and he has been awarded numerous prizes and honors for his work.
Mann’s research and advocacy has been under increased scrutiny by scientists ever since the acceptance of this theory by the IPCC.
Specifically, Mann’s hockey stick chart has been the subject of much debate and criticism, with most experts citing the fact his methods are flawed and his conclusions inaccurate. Despite this, Mann’s work remains a large part of the climate change contributions happening to the public’s scientific understanding of climate change, and his advocacy is raising awareness for the need of urgent action.
Both Heins and Spiess disagree with Mann’s theory and discuss a 30-year scientific body of work as their evidence.
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Award winning interviewer and broadcast journalist Jason Spiess and Content Correspondents engage with the industry’s best thinkers, writers, politicians, business leaders, scientists, entertainers, community leaders, cafe owners and other newsmakers in one-on-one interviews and round table discussions.
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Sponsors, Music and Other Show Notes
Studio Sponsor: The Industrial Forest
The Industrial Forest is a network of environmentally minded and socially conscious businesses that are using industrial innovations to build a network of sustainable forests across the United States.
Weekly Sponsor: Stephen Heins, The Practical Environmentalist
Historically, Heins has been a writer on subjects ranging from broadband and the US electricity grid, to environmental, energy and regulatory topics.
Heins is also a vocal advocate of the Internet of Everything, free trade, and global issues affecting the third of our planet that still lives in abject poverty.
Heins is troubled by the Carbon Tax, Cap & Trade, Carbon Offsets and Carbon Credits, because he questions their efficacy in solving the climate problem, are too gamable by rent seekers, and are fraught with unreliable accounting.
Heins worries that climate and other environmental reporting in the US and Europe has become too politicized, ignores the essential role carbon-based energy continues to play in the lives of billions, demonizes the promise and practicality of Nuclear Energy and cheerleads for renewable energy sources that cannot solve the real world problems of scarcity and poverty.
Weekly Sponsor: Great American Mining Co
Great American Mining monetizes wasted, stranded and undervalued gas throughout the oil and gas industry by using it as a power generation source for bitcoin mining. We bring the market and our expertise to the molecule. Our solutions make producers more efficient and profitable while helping to reduce flaring and venting throughout the oil and gas value chain.
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