The question is,
how could Ezra Levant, a smart man, have allowed this to happen? Was it witting
or unwitting?
As background, here
is the relevant timeline. For more background, read the
Wikipedia
article or do a Google search on Lord Monckton.
2009, October:
Christopher Monckton gave a talk sceptical of global warming to the Minnesota
Free Market Institute. The talk purported to provide scientific evidence
showing that global warming was not taking place or, if it was, its impact was
minimal and could be best ignored.
2010, May:
John P. Abraham,
an associate professor of thermal and fluid Sciences at the University of St.
Thomas School of Engineering, Minnesota, published an
on-line rebuttal of
Monckton's statements in the form of an 73 minute video. Abraham's rebuttal
was based on his having investigated the origins of many of the claims made by
Monckton by contacting the authors of those papers Monckton had cited and
concluding that "he had misrepresented the science". Abraham also
noted numerous slides that presented "evidence" without attribution
or citation as to the source of the data and which were, therefore, impossible
to verify or peer review.
2012, December: Sun
News Network published the video which is the subject of this blog entry.
I have watched both
videos. I am greatly impressed by Lord Monckton's eloquence. I am more greatly
impressed by Professor Abraham's scientific professionalism, his adherence to a
peer review methodology, checking the sources of data and the originators' interpretations
of those data, and the complete and utter absence of any ad hominem arguments.
So, back to my
original questions - and a few more besides.
Have Ezra Levant and
the Sun News Network editors watched the video of Professor Abraham's rebuttal
of Lord Monckton's statements? If so, are they aware of any peer reviewed
rebuttal of the rebuttal? I was not able to find one. If one exists, I am
surprised that neither they nor Lord Monckton have made any reference to it.
If they have not
watched Prof. Abraham's video then I would venture that they have not done
their journalistic due diligence and that Lord Monckton has, indeed, taken them
for a fool's ride as he has done so successfully with so many who are
desperately hoping that global warming is a myth. They may as well cling to believing that evolution is a trick of the devil or that the earth is flat.
If they have,
indeed, watched the Abraham video and they still prefer to glorify Monckton and
tout his unverified and unverifiable assertions then I am left wordless. The
little boy is wrong. The king is not in the altogether as
Danny Kaye sang. He looks mighty fine in
his
magic suit of clothes.
If you, dear Reader,
are not sure what to believe, you could do worse than have a look at
Prof Abraham's video.
You could do nothing.
We arrived early enough for the Mayor's pancake breakfast, and stayed late enough to participate in Chilifest and enjoy some lunch. There was so much for Jonty to do, sleigh ride, tobogganing, hockey, petting a pony. His favorite: climbing into the horse transport car to see the big pile of poo. We had to go back 6 times... :-) 
