Category Archives: Sceptics
Tackling stubborn climate myths & misinformation
Despite the mountains of scientific evidence, as well as what we can see with our own eyes, myths and misinformation about climate change are remarkably stubborn, so I take whatever opportunities on offer to debunk these in as many media … Continue reading
How financial sector fails to grasp climate risks
It has been described as a classic case of saying the quiet bit out loud, but jaws dropped when a senior banker (and former FT financial journalist) let his guard down and shared with his audience everything we’ve feared about … Continue reading
Latest chapter in one man’s journey into climate obscurity
This piece ran in Village magazine in mid-October, tracking the latest moves by Ireland’s climate denier-in-chief in his continuing mission to spread doubt on the science of climate change and the help stymie effective climate action. OVER FOUR decades ago, … Continue reading
Taking the fight to the climate inactivists
One of the most enjoyable books on my 2021 reading list to date has been climatologist, Prof Michael Mann’s latest volume, ‘The New Climate War – The Fight To Take Back Our Planet’. I’ve long been a fan of his … Continue reading
When scientific facts and corporate fiction collide
The article below ran in the Business Post in late January. Just days after the inauguration of a new US president, it seemed like an opportune time to explain to a wider audience how the blitz of malignant lies aimed at … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Media, Psychology, Sceptics
Tagged Business Post, climate denial, Climategate, Exxon Mobil, Michael Mann
1 Comment
Biden throws floundering global climate action a lifeline
The article below appeared earlier this month in the Business Post. One crucial first step in tackling the climate crisis is for politicians to say ‘no’ to dirty money from the powerful fossil fuel lobby (who notoriously have spent freely … Continue reading
Stirring up tensions between farmers and environmentalists
This piece appears in the current edition of Village magazine. As a rule, I steer clear of articles focusing on individuals, preferring when possible to stick to the issues rather than personalities. Given the central role of RTÉ presenter Damien … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sceptics
Tagged Countrywide, Damien O'Reilly, IFA, IFJ, RTE
3 Comments
RTÉ finally spins spotlight onto concerted climate action
Over the last decade and more, I’ve been in an uncomfortable position regarding RTÉ. On the one hand, I’ve long been a stout defender of public service broadcasting as a vital bulwark against total domination of our media landscape by … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Sceptics
Tagged Climate Week, DCU, Irish Times, JOCCA, RTE
1 Comment
How flawed logic puts the world in danger
Below, my review of ‘The Irrational Ape’ by David Robert Grimes, which was published in the Irish Times on September 22nd last. In an era of fake news, with crackpot theories and conspiratorial nonsense ricocheting around social media at dizzying … Continue reading
Posted in Irish Focus, Media, Psychology, Sceptics
Tagged David Robert Grimes, Homeopathy, Quacks
1 Comment
2029 – A letter from the future
We live in consequential times. “What we do over the next 10 years will determine the future of humanity for the next 10,000 years”, is how former UK chief scientific advisor Prof David King put it recently. There is no … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Psychology, Sceptics, Sustainability
Tagged Arctic, heatwave, IPCC, Long Emergency, permafrost, Village Magazine
5 Comments
Thirty years closer to the End of Nature
Below, my review of ‘Falter’, the new book by veteran environmental writer, Bill McKibben, as it appeared in the Irish Times in May. UNLESS you’re an economics graduate or a billionaire, chances are you may have never heard of Ayn … Continue reading
Duck, dither, dodge, delay: the new, improved climate denial
Below, my report as it ran on DeSmog UK on the latest climate denier get-together, involving our old friends at the ICSF, in what is their 10th sort-of-public meeting. For an organisation with no known membership list and no apparent … Continue reading
Incoherent, inconsistent – and not really funny at all
Below, my article as it appeared on DeSmog UK earlier this month. This is my 13th piece to appear on DeSmog since May 2017, when I reported on the inaugural ICSF meeting in Dublin, featuring big-name US denier, Richard Lindzen. … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Sceptics
Tagged DeSmog UK, Gavin Schmidt, GWPF, ICSF, Peter Thorne, Ray Bates
1 Comment
A very British coup: rise and fall of the climate contrarians
In recent months, I’ve been involved as one of a number of authors in an international project for a forthcoming academic publication looking at the state of environmental journalism around the world (my brief covered the UK and Ireland). One of … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Media, Sceptics
Tagged GWPF, Irish Times, Nigel Lawson, Richard Black
1 Comment
Organised denial targets Dáil climate committee
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action (JOCCA) has been in session over the last couple of weeks. It is tasked with reviewing the recommendations of last November’s Citizens’ Assembly section entitled: ‘Making Ireland a leader in tackling climate change’ … Continue reading
