So it's been quite a while, and I have no idea how many people will see this post, but I wanted to make a note to show I'm not dead and announce a small project I've been working on. The project idea came from realizing how much history the climate blogosphere has which is largely being forgotten.
I've never viewed myself as a primary actor or researcher in the climate blogosphere, but as a person who's followed it for a long time, I have seen and learned a lot of things I suspect most people have never learned or heard about. I think it's a shame so much information could get forgotten or lost so I've started a project to combat that a bit.
I'm not looking to do anything fancy. My plan is just to create a series of lectures, and possibly accompanying notes, that summarize/document things I feel are important in a digestible format. I'm not looking to immortalize every factoid I've ever learned, but I will be trying to condense some of my many years of reading into a form that's presentable to anyone who might be interested as time goes on.
The first topic I'll be covering is Michael Mann's (in)famous hockey stick. I've worked on a first draft of a script for this lecture, and I've done a first pass at recording it with the tentative title, "Anatomy of a Scam - The Hockey Stick":
As a first pass at a first draft it's obviously very rough, with the most notable problem being the entire ntroduction is missing. The reason I skipped the introduction is the Hockey Stick was incredibly important when it was first published, and I don't know how to convey its influence well. I want to explain how it truly was the figurehead of the global warming movement, but I haven't figure out how to yet (suggestions are selcome).
Without the introduction, this recording doesn't cover the scope/purpose of the video or a basic explanation of what the Hockey Stick is, but I think it is still worth putting online. My hope is I explain some issues most people nowadays aren't aware of clearly and accurately enough to provide an easy "starting point."
To be clear, this is not my normal sort of thing. I can't claim to be any good at making videos or public speaking, but it doesn't seem anyone else is going cover these issues, and I think it's important someone try to. Once I get the script for this one finished I plan to try making visuals for the video and put a finished version online. From there, I'll work on videos for some more issues. I've already begun outlining scripts for several issues:
Stephan Lewandowsky's Fabricated Results
Skeptical Science's Fake "Consensus"
Michael Mann's 2008 Hockey Stick
i may also toy with trying shorter presentations that cover individual aspects of these broader topics. I'm not sure yet. I honestly don't know what demand there will be or how good a job I can do. All I know is, I think it's something worth trying.
And if anyone has feedback on how I can do a better job, I'd love to hear it!