One third of mammals classified as extinct by conservationists are actually still around.  Link

That’s of course not to say they aren’t still threatened by habitat loss.

The outgoing director of the BBC freely admits to the massive leftward slant of the channel. Freely admits it.

Are we all biased?  Sure.  Do I lean right?  No doubt to someone leaning so far left, I would appear to from my rants as I would be to the right of them.  While I am in the right, I consider myself moderate.  Save the planet and stop whining about CO2 is pretty much the message of this blog.

I’ve read studies that suggest well over 90% of “reporters” are left leaning liberals, I’ll leave it to the reader to research what should be an absurd claim but is in actuality a sad reality. The reader is invited to look at where “reporters” contribute campaign finance monies, for whom “reporters” tend to cast their votes, etc. 

What’s the deal?  Are leftists more inclined to publicly shout their message?  Are righties more inclined to have their noses to the grindstone building their businesses?  Who knows.  Some liberal arts student has no doubt done a study on it for credit in a worthless class somewhere…(poke)

Over 90%, that’s quite an echo chamber.  Ever looked into a mirror that is facing the mirror you’ve looked into?  What do you see?  Nothing outside the mirror that’s for sure.

What are the effects of that concentrated massive left leaning effort on the general public?  Let’s take a look at just one example.

Here is an article from CNN (leans way left) titled “Massive iceberg on the move in Northern Hemisphere”.  This is a follow-up article to the calving of the Petermann ice sheet that we’ve discussed before and is clearly meant to imply a sense of urgency is necessary to prevent the melting of the pristine habitats of the great white north.

The message is so consistent across the left leaning main stream media that the commenters on the article clearly cannot grasp basic scientific concepts.

Here is the article in its entirety posted without permission from CNN, but as I’m about to create a derivitive work from it, I believe this post is fair use:

The largest chunk of ice in the Northern Hemisphere is on the move – at a four-hundredths-of-a-kilometer an hour clip.

Satellite imagery from the European Space Agency shows that a massive iceberg that calved from Greenland’s Petermann Glacier on August 4 has cruised into the Nares Strait, putting 28 kilometers between it and its source.

The 245-square-kilometer iceberg – that’s about four times the size of Manhattan – faces a fractured future. The satellite imagery shows it has hit a small island, which is slowing its journey but also threatening to break it up.

The berg is being tracked by the European Space Agency’s Envisat satellite, using both radar and photographs.

That’s it.  No mention of the much larger iceberg that calved in the late 1960′s, no mention that calving is common, just hand picked facts in a follow-up post without enough information to do anything other than elicit an emotional reaction.

The reader is asked to consider the first page or so of comments.  There the reader should be saddened to find the common understanding of the adult population:

• seemingly no distinction between the Southern Hemisphere and the Northern and no ability to grasp when others have sarcastically mentioned the other
• no real clue where polar bears or penguins live
• a strong belief in the doom facing society from plant food

BTW, I am not the “Scott” who comments on the site.  Some commenters seem to think they are cheering for one side or the other at a sporting contest, some simply are there to troll or jest, and there really are only one or two that can offer a rational argument one way or the other.

And that is the result of years of the echo chamber: most just follow along, few are able to rationalize or think and construct an argument for either side.

Wonder which way the vast majority of the commenters on that article vote?  The echo chamber is getting the votes without a doubt.

Polished mirrors can only be so reflective, they cannot reflect 100% of the light.  Each time the image bounces from one mirror facing another mirror, energy is lost.  In physics class so many years ago, I believe we were taught 4% of energy is typically lost in a reflection.

Following is a concrete example of this effect in the leftists echo chamber.

Here is an article titled “Stick to beans and hard cheese if you want a baby girl say scientists”.

Ah, invoking the mythical term “scientists”.  Not “geneticists” but “scientists”, as we all know each individual who becomes a “scientist” is adept at every scientific discipline much like Dexter of Dexter’s Laboratory fame, no need to actually qualify what sort of scientist we’re talking about, no need to mention the huge variety of scientific disciplines, we lean left and there only needs to be one “science”, it’s easier for the liberal arts majors that way.

From the article we have:

The findings come after a five-year study involving 172 Western European women aged from 23 to 42 who had all previously given birth to boys but wanted girls.

When they were trying for a child again they were told to cut out salt and eat at least a pound of dairy products a day.

Almost 80 per cent of the women who stuck to the diet ended up giving birth to girls.

What would the common person with no scientific or statistical understanding take from this?  It seems convincing.  The reader is once again invited to read the comments from the enlightened public on that page.

The above is a summary of this article which states quite clearly that of the 172 that began the study only 21 stuck it out to the end, and of those 21, 16 gave birth to daughters.  No mention of ultra-sound, and whether those might have found they were having sons dropped out of the study.  No mention of any tests conducted on the women to ascertain whether they stuck to the recommended diet.

So, we have one study of 21 women, 16 of which happened to give birth to girls.  One study, one data point, this cannot be extrapolated into the 80% chance from 172 women given in the echo chamber article discussed first.  And that certainly cannot be used to suggest that diet has any measurable control over the sex of a child.  It was just one study, it is within the realm of possibility that one observation would yield 80% girls.  Multiple studies would have to be conducted and their results averaged before any conclusion could be drawn.

Basic statistics there.  I might toss a coin heads 8 times in 10 tries, but what is the possibility of the next toss being heads?  50%  The more tries of 10 I average, however, and the more the likelihood that the average closes in on 50%.

No mention in either article how the woman’s diet effects whether an X sperm or a Y sperm fertilizes the egg, but there are very humorous discussions in each of the comments sections regarding basic biology and the belief that the results seen by one individual should no doubt be seen by all.

It’s magic people, really.  Just accept it, it all is related to the spin of falling leaves outside the bedroom window.  Clockwise spin = boy, counter clockwise = girl.  All very well known since medieval times.

It’s obvious that the vast majority of the public doesn’t understand basic science, basic math, or basic statistics, just look at the number of tweets and diggs the first article mentioned has.  So many people forwarded the condensed version of a flawed study to their friends as (supposedly) “proof” of how to conceive a girl.

This is a direct result of the vast majority of our reporters and editors being liberal arts grads, and this leads to the dumbing down of the world.

Let’s say there is a fact, we’ll rate this fact with a numerical value of 1 because it’s a fact, it is unarguably true.

Let’s say a liberal arts major comes along and wants to bounce this fact into the echo chamber but the liberal arts major doesn’t quite get it, s/he only understands the fact to 96%.

What does s/he report?  1 x .96 = 96% of the fact.

What does the next s/he report? .96 x .96 = 92% of the fact.

Next?  .92 x .96 = 88% of the fact.

Repeat for the duration the “fact” stays in the echo chamber and it gets diluted past any reasonable expectation of its original meaning pretty fast.  And our “reporters” today simply aren’t equipped to recognize this issue.

Awesome!

Canada.com is reporting on a US study that determined people are hesitant to believe good news from scientists.

The public tends not to trust scientists, says research from California – but there’s a twist. People are mainly reluctant to believe good news, it turns out – such as the message that a flu vaccine is safe. But the public is more likely to trust the researchers who frighten with bad news.

Okay, to preface the rest of this post, we have (1) people are mainly reluctant to believe good news, and (2) the public is more likely to trust the researchers who frighten with bad news.  An example of the recent bird flu vaccine is thrown in for good measure.

Later in the article, the author either of the study or the article (unclear to me) states:

Last winter, Ottawa’s public health leaders met an unexpected hurdle: many people refused to trust the H1N1 vaccine’s safety despite reassurances from the medical establishment.

This seems like an argument built to justify a pre-existing conclusion.  The WHO was trying as hard as possible to scare the crap out of everyone on the planet stating in no uncertain terms that the millions killed by the virus in 1918 were going to be a drop in the bucket compared to what we faced from the swine flu.

So, by their own argument, more people should have taken the shot rather than not, as doom and gloom outweighs happy thoughts.

Actual results?

We had one of the highest rates of vaccination in the entire province but we certainly didn’t vaccinate anywhere near everybody. We got 50 per cent

Hmmm.  Half.

I have another interpretation of the results of the study.  Here is a description of the study:

Overall, the study, published in a research journal called Public Understanding of Science, concludes that “scientists’ efforts to influence public opinion have a limited effect.” 

The work is based on a public opinion survey of 1,475 Californians to assess whether people trust safety studies on offshore oil drilling. It predates this summer’s massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, but offshore oil drilling has been a hot political issue in California for years.

My interpretation is this:

People mistrust scientists because they will take one survey of a small group of people from one small geographic region concerning one topic at a given time, and then extrapolate that into a behavior pattern for all peoples at all times regarding all topics.

The reason I didn’t get a flu shot?  I simply wasn’t concerned.  We’ve discussed previously WHO’s next big gig.

18 months ago, Prince Charles declared that we have 100 months to save the world, mirroring a speech he gave approximately 228 months prior to that in which he declared that caring for the world’s long term welfare must not become a “luxury”.

As the commoners don’t seem to be listening to what is good for them, Charles has decided to take a luxurious train ride around the UK to spread his message.

Not becoming a luxury on his luxurious train, equipped with “a bespoke study”, a “grand dining room”, and a “bedroom suite”, Charles will share his 8 “carriage” train with just 13 other people for the 4 day jaunt.

Yes, Charles, we’re getting the message quite clearly.

In the above linked article, discussion is given to Charles’ respect around the world given his green credentials, and that he is viewed by some as an “asset”.

I believe that is too generous of a description by one syllable.

The above pic was tweeted to Earth by astronaut Douglas Wheelock.  It’s interesting to see the channels that ocean currents have carved through the Great Barrier Reef like a river carving channels through earth.

More Earth pics can be found here (CAUTION: NSFW pics in sidebar).

Another plausible explanation: A reader has commented that the most likely explanation for the tributary like nature of the channels is that they are in fact tributaries of a river that existed in this area during the last ice age when the sea levels were much lower.  That seems reasonable.  Thanks, David for the insight.

The IPCC is beginning to look like a bad parody of a good Monty Python skit.

There is a Monty Python skit where John Cleese’s character continually must apologize for his errors.  I believe I have the correct number of “sorry”s in the title, and Cleese pretty much repeats this throughout the whole skit.

The IPCC has made a lot of errors which have been documented all over the blogosphere.

Today, El Reg reports on another one.

The ice has not been melting at the advertised rate, the melt actually has been one-third to one-half the given rate depending on location.

And these new estimates are based on gravity measurements from the GRACE satellite array, two satellites 220 kilometers apart in space that measure distance from each other as accurately as possible.  The suggestion has been made that GRACE can measure to an accuracy of 10 microns.  An astonishing (and unbelievable to me) precision.

How many near Earth objects have passed between the Earth and the Moon just this last year?  How many more are out there?

These objects would obviously skew the gravitational readings of GRACE, but if they are unknown, how could they possibly be accounted for?  I am not convinced that once we detect a near Earth object that its gravitational effect on the GRACE array would be properly calculated and incorporated into the measurements given NASAs non-desire to correct NOAA data proven erroneous.

Further, I seriously doubt the effect of all the other masses in the solar system are incorporated into the GRACE estimation model, and if NASA wants to claim an accuracy of 0.00001 meters over a distance of 220,000 meters, a difference in magnitude of 22 billion, then I think they should be.

If NASA has incorporated all known and unknown masses in the solar system into their model, then, “I apologize unreservedly!”

The Massachusettes Institute of Technology has created photovoltaic cells which can repair themselves much as plants repair proteins damaged by the Sun’s UV rays.

This leads to the possibility of highly efficient solar collectors, as the current cells degrade considerably over the lifetime of the product.

The Food and Drug Administration is poised to approve the first genetically modified animal for human consumption, a highly anticipated decision that is stirring controversy and could mark a turning point in the way American food is produced.

The Washington Post is covering this interesting issue here.

This seems like a pretty neat concept.  Normal salmon don’t grow during the winter, so replace the gene that governs that from a fish that does grow in the winter, and normal salmon grow relatively slowly, so replace that gene with one from a fish that grows faster.

End result: product comes to market in 18 months rather than 36.

But what if these Franken-fish make it out into the wild breeding stocks?  Well, it seems to the author that this would make it more likely that salmon would survive as they would outgrow the predators that prey on them during their vulnerable juvenile stages, and this would seem to likely require much more prey items than the natural salmon population requires today.  The first seems a benefit, the second a detriment.

Foxnews reports that a school in Los Angeles built on toxic ground is to be named for Gore.

No mention in the article if it is a tribute to His Greenness, or if it is a back handed slap given his building the foundation of his green beliefs on flawed (toxic) science.

Funny to me.

An environmental wacko took several hostages at the Discovery Channel studios today which ultimately resulted in police fatally shooting him.

The fanaticism this Cult of the Carbon Cow drives is impressive.  Following is the kook’s online missive:

The Discovery Channel MUST broadcast to the world their commitment to save the planet and to do the following IMMEDIATELY:

1. The Discovery Channel and it’s affiliate channels MUST have daily television programs at prime time slots based on Daniel Quinn’s “My Ishmael” pages 207-212 where solutions to save the planet would be done in the same way as the Industrial Revolution was done, by people building on each other’s inventive ideas. Focus must be given on how people can live WITHOUT giving birth to more filthy human children since those new additions continue pollution and are pollution. A game show format contest would be in order. Perhaps also forums of leading scientists who understand and agree with the Malthus-Darwin science and the problem of human overpopulation. Do both. Do all until something WORKS and the natural world starts improving and human civilization building STOPS and is reversed! MAKE IT INTERESTING SO PEOPLE WATCH AND APPLY SOLUTIONS!!!!

2. All programs on Discovery Health-TLC must stop encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants and the false heroics behind those actions. In those programs’ places, programs encouraging human sterilization and infertility must be pushed. All former pro-birth programs must now push in the direction of stopping human birth, not encouraging it.

3. All programs promoting War and the technology behind those must cease. There is no sense in advertising weapons of mass-destruction anymore. Instead, talk about ways to disassemble civilization and concentrate the message in finding SOLUTIONS to solving global military mechanized conflict. Again, solutions solutions instead of just repeating the same old wars with newer weapons. Also, keep out the fraudulent peace movements. They are liars and fakes and had no real intention of ending the wars. ALL OF THEM ARE FAKE! On one hand, they claim they want the wars to end, on the other, they are demanding the human population increase. World War II had 2 Billion humans and after that war, the people decided that tripling the population would assure peace. WTF??? STUPIDITY! MORE HUMANS EQUALS MORE WAR!

4. Civilization must be exposed for the filth it is. That, and all its disgusting religious-cultural roots and greed. Broadcast this message until the pollution in the planet is reversed and the human population goes down! This is your obligation. If you think it isn’t, then get hell off the planet! Breathe Oil! It is the moral obligation of everyone living otherwise what good are they??

5. Immigration: Programs must be developed to find solutions to stopping ALL immigration pollution and the anchor baby filth that follows that. Find solutions to stopping it. Call for people in the world to develop solutions to stop it completely and permanently. Find solutions FOR these countries so they stop sending their breeding populations to the US and the world to seek jobs and therefore breed more unwanted pollution babies. FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THEM TO STOP THEIR HUMAN GROWTH AND THE EXPORTATION OF THAT DISGUSTING FILTH! (The first world is feeding the population growth of the Third World and those human families are going to where the food is! They must stop procreating new humans looking for nonexistant jobs!)

6. Find solutions for Global Warming, Automotive pollution, International Trade, factory pollution, and the whole blasted human economy. Find ways so that people don’t build more housing pollution which destroys the environment to make way for more human filth! Find solutions so that people stop breeding as well as stopping using Oil in order to REVERSE Global warming and the destruction of the planet!

7. Develop shows that mention the Malthusian sciences about how food production leads to the overpopulation of the Human race. Talk about Evolution. Talk about Malthus and Darwin until it sinks into the stupid people’s brains until they get it!!

8. Saving the Planet means saving what’s left of the non-human Wildlife by decreasing the Human population. That means stopping the human race from breeding any more disgusting human babies! You’re the media, you can reach enough people. It’s your resposibility because you reach so many minds!!!

9. Develop shows that will correct and dismantle the dangerous US world economy. Find solutions for their disasterous Ponzi-Casino economy before they take the world to another nuclear war.

10. Stop all shows glorifying human birthing on all your channels and on TLC. Stop Future Weapons shows or replace the dialogue condemning the people behind these developments so that the shows become exposes rather than advertisements of Arms sales and development!

11. You’re also going to find solutions for unemployment and housing. All these unemployed people makes me think the US is headed toward more war.

Humans are the most destructive, filthy, pollutive creatures around and are wrecking what’s left of the planet with their false morals and breeding culture.

For every human born, ACRES of wildlife forests must be turned into farmland in order to feed that new addition over the course of 60 to 100 YEARS of that new human’s lifespan! THIS IS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE FOREST CREATURES!!!! All human procreation and farming must cease!

It is the responsiblity of everyone to preserve the planet they live on by not breeding any more children who will continue their filthy practices. Children represent FUTURE catastrophic pollution whereas their parents are current pollution. NO MORE BABIES! Population growth is a real crisis. Even one child born in the US will use 30 to a thousand times more resources than a Third World child. It’s like a couple are having 30 babies even though it’s just one! If the US goes in this direction maybe other countries will too!

Also, war must be halted. Not because it’s morally wrong, but because of the catastrophic environmental damage modern weapons cause to other creatures. FIND SOLUTIONS JUST LIKE THE BOOK SAYS! Humans are supposed to be inventive. INVENT, DAMN YOU!!

The world needs TV shows that DEVELOP solutions to the problems that humans are causing, not stupify the people into destroying the world. Not encouraging them to breed more environmentally harmful humans.

Saving the environment and the remaning species diversity of the planet is now your mindset. Nothing is more important than saving them. The Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels.

The humans? The planet does not need humans.

You MUST KNOW the human population is behind all the pollution and problems in the world, and YET you encourage the exact opposite instead of discouraging human growth and procreation. Surely you MUST ALREADY KNOW this!

I want Discovery Communications to broadcast on their channels to the world their new program lineup and I want proof they are doing so. I want the new shows started by asking the public for inventive solution ideas to save the planet and the remaining wildlife on it.

These are the demands and sayings of Lee.

Like all good prophetic rants, there are some correct ideas wrapped within inane, semi-coherent babble.

Yes overpopulation is an issue, yes pollution is an issue, yes deforestation is an issue, yes depopulating the animal kingdom is an issue.  Those issues must be addressed satisfactorily, but halting all human reproduction is not the answer.  Arming oneself with a gun and homemade bombs and taking hostages at a TV studio is also not the answer.

We are part of nature, we are not parasites, we are the stewards of this good Earth whether we have the wisdom to be so or not.  To a rabid Cultist such as the former Mr Lee, it isn’t sufficient to be green, one must be soylent green, and I personally do not accept that.

The religious parallels here are indicative of the mindset so many people have, and representative of the natural human condition of succumbing to a belief system:

• simply being born is a sin against Mother Gaia
• everyone else must hear the message and accept the tenants of the message
• sacrificing non-believers is perfectly acceptable
• sacrificing oneself is the ultimate act of commitment