Recently astronomers in Australia captured the world's imagination with the discovery of a planet that appears to be made of diamond. Luckily for De Beers and the diamond cartel, it's rather a long way away. And so far, nobody's managed to polish it.
In the attached article one of those astronomers reflects on his happy experience, and how different it would have been if he were working (using precisely the same methods) in the rather more consequential field of climate science.
For the last 15 years, Big Oil and King Coal have been working overtime to stifle and obscure the implacable truth about climate change. They have endless resources of money, and plenty of people in politics and the mass media (even three or four scientists) willing to take it, provided they tow the carbon lobby line. They have cash and influence, but the one thing that's against them is this: reality.
Next month there's a rare opportunity to get the full, clear unvarnished truth about what we face, and when. The good news: climate change can be slowed, and eventually halted. It is not too late. The bad news: time is running out. Fast.
Wherever you are, whatever your age: watch the video, spread the word, donate your Facebook and Twitter accounts for the event, and get involved. Because, unfortunately for all of us, this matters.
It's about time this thorny issue was properly and openly debated, just as it is here. The egg-heads in their ivory towers have had us in their thrall for too long...
Now watch the real thing... Can you spot the difference?
The contest was won by Miss California, a self-confessed 'science geek'. So there is hope.
If you thought the video I posted earlier this month exaggerated the failings of the mainstream media to get science stories even remotely right, just take a look at the latest nonsense running in print and (especially) on-line about the coming 'mini ice age'.
Below, this media fabrication is admirably dissected by an ex-New Scientist editor known as 'Potholer'. When it comes to stories about climate, I'm afraid, the kind of pig-headed idiocy he examines here is absolutely par for the course.
Did you know that if you leave a tooth in a glass of Coca-Cola overnight it doesn't dissolve? No, neither did I. This excellent video, the first in a series, demonstrates how silly 'scientific' claims are now swiftly disseminated via the Internet - and how to spot them without the need for a PhD...
