Heartland climate denial conference promises a lot of political science

Las Vegas is famous for its entertaining shows in an imaginary setting, so it was surely only a matter of time before the Heartland Institute brought its climate science denial lecture to the Strip at a property no less iconic as the Caesars Palace.

From Friday, this is where you’ll find this year’s gathering of the libertarian think tank that positively raises the temperature 14^e International conference on climate change with the even more intriguing theme: “The big reset: climate realism versus. Climate socialism.

Heartland rejects the widely accepted scientific consensus on climate change and has assembled its own roster of more than 50 expert speakers from academia and pseudoscientists to repeat the argument that taking climate change too seriously is a slippery slope that will lead to the end of capitalism and a world government under the banner of the United Nations.

Don’t take my word for it. Extract from a conference webpage: “The global climate agenda, as promoted by the United Nations, is to reorganize the entire world economy, usher in socialism and forever transform society into a society in which individual freedom and economic freedom are crushed. “

According to the Huffington Post, the Heartland conference was first called the “International Non-Governmental Panel on Climate Change” as a half-smart piece on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. UN climate. You know, the one with all the top scientists and researchers representing over 100 countries, as opposed to Heartland’s “modest gathering of fringe scientists and political cranks.”

On the contrary, Heartland responds; they are simply proposing experts “who examine the data and fail to see human activity causing an ‘existential’ climate crisis. “

If so, then many highly credible scientists from dozens of countries are involved in the grand anti-American plot to ruin oil company profits while simultaneously forcing a ruby-filled world to breathe cleaner air. But who are we to interrupt Heartland’s fun of misinformation?

Among the scheduled sessions that caught my attention: “Climate Models vs. Reality ”presented by Patrick Michaels of the CO2 Coalition and former director of the Center for the Study of Science at the Koch-funded Cato Institute. According to one of the many critics: “His contributions as an ‘expert’ to the multi-pronged strategy to block action on climate change have been subsidized for decades by the industries that have the most to lose. ‘such an action. “

Scratch the surface and you will find many “experts” like Michaels.

One of my favorites is the Canadian Patrick Moore, who introduces himself as a co-founder of the environmental organization Greenpeace. That alone gives another real street credit at a climate science denier conference, and many news outlets have swallowed the bait.

Except, well, the real Greenpeace doesn’t count him as a co-founder, just a guy who played an “important role” in the early years of the organization, according to his website. Then the spoiler: “Patrick Moore has been a paid spokesperson for various polluting industries for over 30 years, including the timber, mining, chemical and aquaculture industries. Most of these industries only hired Moore after being the subject of a Greenpeace campaign to improve their environmental performance. Mr. Moore has now been working for polluters for much longer than he has ever worked for Greenpeace.

If you’ve been following Nevada’s long battle with the proposed nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain, Moore’s name may sound familiar. He worked for the Institute of Nuclear Energy’s Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, as part of the nuclear industry’s multi-million dollar marketing efforts to put a happy face on its lobbying efforts.

Another scientific expert who is sure to cause a stir is Lord Christopher Monckton, former adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He is widely touted as an expert on global warming, particularly by the Climate Change-denying Science and Public Policy Institute, which previously reported in a profile that Monckton enjoyed “Nobel Peace Prize laureate status.” He went on to claim that the benchmark was not meant to be taken seriously, which is exactly what climatologists think of his take on global warming.

These days, Heartland’s climate science skeptics also have their own version of Greta Thunberg, the remarkable young Swedish activist who has been acclaimed around the world for speaking the truth to power and speaking it like it’s about global warming. Her name is Naomi Seibt and at the conference she is promoted to “Communicator of Global Climate Realism”. She also works for the Heartland Institute.

The young woman dubbed “the anti-Greta” by the environmental community and anyone with a sense of humor, Seibt is a climate change denier who also dabbles in the promotions of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Of course, Thunberg’s voice rose organically and Seibt’s imitation is classic AstroTurf. But look at the entertainment value it brings to Heartland’s favorite branch of science – political science.

But what do you expect from a think tank that accepts millions of Philip Morris and “thinks” the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke are overestimated?

I can only imagine what Heritage and his friends will think of the new research analysis published in the journal Nature Climate Change which shows that at least 85% of the world’s population has already suffered the full brunt of weather events made worse by the weather. human-accelerated climate change. I guess not much time will be spent on the subject this week.

The list of industry representatives with doctorates due to appear at the conference is long, and it’s no surprise that some of them have shared their wise advice with the Trump administration. All of them bring their own take on the problem which inevitably leads to the same conclusion: severe climate change is more or less a hoax and global warming has nothing to worry about, lest we wake up one morning and find each other again. socialists.

This week Deniers are playing Vegas, where the atmosphere is still heating up, but at least it’s dry heat.

John L. Smith is a longtime author and columnist. He was born in Henderson, and his family’s roots in Nevada date back to 1881. His stories have appeared in Time, Readers Digest, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Ruralite, and Desert Companion, among others. It also offers weekly commentary on the Nevada public radio station KNPR. His latest book, a biography of iconic Nevada political and civil rights leader Joe Neal, “Westside Slugger: Joe Neal’s Lifelong Fight for Social Justice” is published by University of Nevada Press and is available on Amazon.com. He is also the author of a new book, “Saints, Sinners, and Sovereign Citizens: The Endless War Over the West’s Public Lands”. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.