The 2013 Environmental Hall of Fame Winners:
Bill McKibben (44%): He is the founder of 350.org , an international grassroots organization whose goal is to cut CO2 levels to 350 ppm in order to minimize the damage from global warming. His weekly newsletter keeps followers updated on the latest research and issues in climate science. Award: many new members, so please check out his newsletter.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (Tie, 25%): He a strong advocate in the Senate for legislation to reduce our carbon emissions, often countering Senator Inhofe’s anti climate rhetoric. Award: more support from fellow Senators for action on climate change, so please vote for those who will help him.
The Candu Engineers (Tie, 25%): They designed the Candu nuclear reactor to run on thorium. The reactors are very fuel efficient and have been adapted to use thorium in existing reactors that already have regulatory approval. http://www.the-weinberg-foundation.org/2… Award: regulatory approval of new designs for thorium reactors.
Kevin Cowtan and Robert G. Way (7%): They found the ‘missing heat’ in the climate system. Their research published in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society shows that the Arctic is warming at about eight times the pace of the rest of the planet. Award: the acclaim of having a link to their paper attached to every article which says: “Global warming has stopped”.
The Hall of Shame Selection:
The Koch Bothers (67%): They are pushing Keystone XL pipeline as they own almost 2 million acres of Alberta tar sands land. The Kochs, one of the largest funders of AGW denier groups, have been using their extensive wealth to lobby politicians to let the KXL pipeline go through. Award: A boycott of their products: less money, less lobbying.
The Executive Producers and Hosts of the five Sunday Morning talk shows (16%): They have done a terrible job of covering climate change. Their coverage of the topic dropped from an inadequate 61 minutes in 2009 to a four-year low of 8 minutes in 2012. They are:
- NBC – Meet The Press – Rob Yarin, Executive Producer, David Gregory, Host
- CBS – Face The Nation – Mary Hager, Executive Producer, Bob Schieffer, Host
- ABC – This Week- Jonathon Greenberger, Producer, George Stephanopolus, Host
- FOX – News Sunday – Jay Wallace, Executive Producer, Chris Wallace, Host
- CNN – State of the Union – Rick DiBella, Producer, Candy Crowley, Host
Award for each : a copy of the booklet recently published jointly by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the British Royal Society “Climate Change – Evidence and Causes.”
James Delingpole (8%): He is not a scientist, yet he wrote columns for the Telegraph denying climate change and personally attacking climate scientists, comparing them to Nuremberg criminals and suggesting they be tortured. Award: A job on Fox news.
The George C. Marshall Institute(8%): They espouse “Science for a Better Public Policy” but they specialize in churning out misinformation about Climate Change. They developed the strategy of “Doubt Is Our Product”, i.e. creating doubt about the scientific evidence and the scientific consensus to keep effective action from being taken. Award: required reading of Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes, who exposed their strategy.
It is important that we keep in mind those who are heroes and villains to the environment. I wish to thank those who provided the nominations, the prize suggestions, the insightful and often humorous comments, and the votes to determine the winners. As this year goes by, please take note of those you wish to nominate for the 2014 awards.
(C) 2014 J.C. Moore
