Coleman, John

==

ironically, weather channel has climate expert heidi cullen,  made contoversy when she blogged 2006 that met soc shd disbar skeptics goodman btsb 63

capt 1/17morano<a href="http://canadafreepress.com/article/weather-channel-founder-gores-an-inconvenient-sequel-will-be-another-scient">http://canadafreepress.com/article/weather-channel-founder-gores-an-inconvenient-sequel-will-be-another-scient</a><div px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="slideOutUp animated" style="box-sizing: border-box; animation-name: slideOutUp; height: 0px;"><div id="NmWg3225" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both;">Weather Channel Founder John Coleman, a meteorologist for over six decades, is issuing a full frontal attack on Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel” – a sequel to his original “An Inconvenient Truth” being debuted today at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, the day before President-Elect Donald Trump will be sworn in.“Gore’s Hollywood friends are giving his blatantly unscientific scare predictions a new platform,” Coleman told Climate Depot in an exclusive interview.Coleman continued: “For years others and I begged Hollywood to give a scientifically accurate counteract on Gore’s sci-fi film a chance. We were ready and willing to make a fun but scientifically factual rebuttal to Mr. Gore. We were totally ignored. Thank goodness CFACT was able, at last, to produce a very well done answer with an internationally released theatrical film called “Climate Hustle,” written and hosted by Marc Morano

===...?After being ignored by the mainstream media, the co-founder of The

Weather Channel was given a platform on Fox News to spout climate

denial. But the discredited former meteorologist has no formal education

in climate science, and he did little in his Fox appearance but repeat

falsehoods.

The October 28 edition of Fox News' The Kelly File featured

John Coleman, co-founder of The Weather Channel, allowing him to promote

his belief that "man-made global climate change is a myth." During the

segment, Coleman falsely claimed that the <a href="http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/">scientific consensus</a> that human activities drive climate change is based on "bad, bad science" and repeated the falsehoods that an <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/05/10/misleading-fox-chart-shows-only-2-years-to-hide/199255">increase</a> in Arctic ice disproves global warming and that <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/04/04/8-tips-from-scientists-on-covering-polar-bears/193443">polar bears</a> are doing <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/10/17/weather-channel-founder-polar-bears-have-increa/196474">just fine</a>. He also blamed Al Gore for making it difficult for a climate skeptic to "get on TV":

Host Megyn Kelly joked that The Weather Channel is now going to "be

pushed out of existence since [Coleman has] taken this position." But

Coleman's connections to The Weather Channel were severed decades ago;

he helped created the 24-hour weather channel in the 1980s and served as

CEO of the company until he was <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/john-coleman">forced out</a> one year after it went to air.

Moreover, Coleman's experience in weather forecasting does not make him an expert in climate science -- there is an <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/11/27/no-daily-caller-a-meteorologist-survey-does-not/197080">immense difference</a> between a scientist and a weather forecaster. For starters, they <a href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2010/04/there_may_be_a_good.shtml">use different models</a> an<a href="http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/hot_air.php?page=all">d ask different questions</a>: climate scientists observe and predict <a href="http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120507/television-meteorologists-climate-change-skeptics-weather-global-warming-john-coleman-james-span-joseph-daleo">long-term trends</a> over entire ecosystems, while meteorologists <a href="http://www.gpb.org/blogs/talking-up-a-storm/2012/02/15/students-ask-how-do-meteorologists-predict-the-weather">focus</a> on weekly, daily, and hourly changes in the weather. MIT climate scientist Kerry Emanuel previously <a href="http://mediamatters.org/research/2011/08/17/why-is-fox-going-to-joe-bastardi-for-climate-ch/183022#forecasting">compared </a>asking

a meteorologist's opinion on the state of climate science to "asking a

country doctor to comment on the latest developments in biomedical

research." Disregarding the fact that Coleman never received a formal

education in meteorology -- his degree was in <a href="http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/hot_air.php?page=all">journalism</a> --

his experience predicting the weather does not make him a credible

source to debunk the vast majority of scientific literature on climate

change.

Coleman also claimed that "9,000 Ph.D.'s and 31 [thousand]

scientists" agree with his position on climate change, referring to the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-grandia/the-30000-global-warming_b_243092.html">widely </a><a href="http://www.skepticalscience.com/OISM-Petition-Project.htm">discredited</a> Oregon Petition Project. Its signatories are mostly engineers with master's degrees, and it <a href="http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19980501&slug=2748308">once included</a> the names of fictitious characters and a member of the Spice Girls.

Coleman thanked Fox News for giving him a platform (in contrast to "the media" he berated), and in fact, Fox News has <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/29/weather-channel-founder-blasts-gore-global-warming-campaign/">frequently</a> <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/03/14/weather-channel-founder-sue-al-gore-for-fraud/">turned </a>to Coleman to deny the scientific consensus on global warming.

For years, Coleman has been <a href="http://heartland.org/john-coleman">connected to</a> the <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/11/28/meet-the-climate-denial-machine/191545#heartland">Heartland Institute</a>, which has been funded by fossil-fuel interests, and its promotion of climate change denial. Coleman was <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/07/07/climate-denial-goes-vegas/199974#coleman">featured </a>at a Heartland Institute climate conference in July of this year. Previously, he <a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/10/17/weather-channel-founder-polar-bears-have-increa/196474">hosted </a>four

paid associates of Heartland to deny climate change on the San Diego

station where he worked as weathercaster for 20 years (he has since <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/US/global-warming-skeptic-john-coleman/2014/04/13/id/565319/">retired</a>). As Coleman told Kelly, the Heartland Institute has been <a href="http://heartland.org/press-releases/2014/10/20/weather-channel-founder-challenges-ucla-offer-balanced-climate-change-deba">promoting</a>

his letter urging UCLA's Hammer Museum to "provide balance" to a debate

it recently hosted on climate change. In the letter, Coleman wrote, "It

is important to have those who attend know that there is no climate

crisis."

On the same day the Kelly and Fox News chose to feature Coleman, the

United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/26/us-climatechange-report-idUSKBN0IF0C720141026">convened</a>

to finalize a report saying that climate change driven by human

activities will cause "severe, pervasive, and irreversible impacts" if

left unchecked, which Bloomberg News noted is "<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-22/climate-envoys-seek-stronger-warning-in-key-un-report.html">stronger language</a>" than the panel has previously used. At the time of this posting, Fox News has not covered these IPCC meetings.*

*Based on a search of internal video archives for "climate."

UPDATE (10/30/14): On October 29, The Weather Channel published an official "<a href="http://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/global-warming-weather-channel-position-statement-20141029?hootPostID=229120d79777fd4b8ae874f7ea6fd729">position statement</a>"

on global warming to their website, agreeing with the scientific

consensus that carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels are

responsible for "the majority of the warming over the past century":

<div>

The climate of the earth is indeed warming, with an increase of

approximately 1 - 1 1/2 degrees Fahrenheit in the past century, more

than half of that occurring since the 1970s.

</div>

<div>

[...]

</div>

<div>

[I]t is known that burning of fossil fuels injects additional carbon

dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This

in turn increases the naturally occurring "greenhouse effect," a process

in which our atmosphere keeps the earth's surface much warmer than it

would otherwise be.

</div>

<div>

More than a century's worth of detailed climate observations shows a

sharp increase in both carbon dioxide and temperature. These

observations, together with computer model simulations and historical

climate reconstructions from ice cores, ocean sediments and tree rings

all provide strong evidence that the majority of the warming over the

past century is a result of human activities. This is also the

conclusion drawn, nearly unanimously, by climate scientists.

</div>

</blockquote>==
<a href="http://www.alternet.org/print/media/weather-channel-co-founder-prefers-conspiracy-theories-over-climate-science">http://www.alternet.org/print/media/weather-channel-co-founder-prefers-conspiracy-theories-over-climate-science</a><div class="byline media-culture">

<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/">The Guardian</a> [1] / By <a href="http://www.alternet.org/authors/dana-nuccitelli">Dana Nuccitelli</a> [2]

</div>

</div>

<h1 class="node-title">The Weather Channel's Co-Founder Prefers Conspiracy Theories Over Climate Science</h1>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

<div class="story-date">November 5, 2014

|   </div>

The Weather Channel co-founder John Coleman was recently <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/10/28/weather-channel-co-founders-climate-denial-find/201344" name="in body link" id="in body link">interviewed by Megyn Kelly on Fox News</a> [3], calling human-caused global warming “a myth.” The interview was then amplified through the media echo chamber, including <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/28/weather-channel-founder-global-warming-myth_n_6060734.html" name="in body link" id="in body link">an article at left-leaning Huffington Post</a> [4], and Coleman was subsequently interviewed <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/former-weather-channel-ceo-goes-off-on-cnn-hello-everybody-theres-no-global-warming/" name="in body link" id="in body link">on CNN’s Reliable Sources</a> [5].Coleman has publicly denied the scientific reality of human-caused global warming for years, <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/03/14/weather-channel-founder-sue-al-gore-for-fraud/" name="in body link" id="in body link">telling Fox News in 2008</a> [6] that

he wanted to sue Al Gore, for example. There’s no new content in these

latest interviews; just the usual long-debunked climate myths and

conspiracy theories. Coleman is apparently considered a credible climate

interviewee because he was instrumental in creating The Weather Channel

32 years ago, but he’s woefully misinformed when it comes to climate

science.Coleman Denies Basic Climate ScienceIn his Fox News interview, Coleman said,<blockquote>The

Antarctic ice cap is at an all-time record high in both coverage and

thickness, and the Arctic ice cap at the North Pole is at the highest it

has been in several years. It’s in its so-called normal range since we

got satellite observations that can measure it. So not only is the ice

not melting, more polar bears are alive and happy today than in 100

years.</blockquote>Each of these points is either wrong or misleading.Although more Arctic sea ice survived this year than in the record-shattering melt of 2012, in 2014 the ice was nevertheless <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2014/oct/20/2014-arctic-sea-ice-extent-6th-lowest-in-millennia" name="in body link" id="in body link">at its 6th-lowest level in thousands of years</a> [7]. About 70% of the sea ice in the Arctic has disappeared over the past three decades, <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.skepticalscience.com/Arctic-sea-ice-melt-natural-or-man-made-intermediate.htm" name="in body link" id="in body link">mainly due to human-caused global warming</a> [8]. This rapid decline is well outside “the normal range” of Arctic sea ice extent and volume. <figure data-media-id="fef28d41832fc3e708ff67d0cf7eba8555da9160" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><img alt="Reconstructed Arctic sea ice extent over the past 1,450 years, from Kinnard et al. (2011)." itemprop="contentURL" src="http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/11/2/1414957909415/05b16705-108b-4813-8054-84dc979f1be8-620x465.jpeg" style="height: 458px; width: 555px; float: left;" /><figcaption itemprop="description"> Reconstructed Arctic sea ice extent over the past 1,450 years, from Kinnard et al. (2011).</figcaption></figure><a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2014/jul/07/antarctic-sea-ice-latest-global-warming-distraction" name="in body link" id="in body link">The Arctic has lost 10 times more sea ice than the Antarctic has gained</a> [9], and resent research suggests the <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/12/western-antarctic-ice-sheet-collapse-has-already-begun-scientists-warn" name="in body link" id="in body link">collapse of the land-based Antarctic ice sheet may already be inevitable</a> [10].Of the 12 polar bear populations for which we have sufficient observational data,<a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.skepticalscience.com/polar-bears-global-warming.htm" name="in body link" id="in body link">8 are declining and just 1 is increasing</a> [11].

There’s a myth that polar bear populations are thriving because they’ve

grown since the 1970s. That growth has nothing to do with the climate –

it was due to the introduction of the International Agreement on the

Conservation of Polar Bears in 1973, which restricted and in some

circumstances banned the hunting of polar bears, which had caused their

populations to dwindle. Global warming – specifically the rapid decline

in the Arctic sea ice they need to hunt – has caused polar bear

populations to decline in recent years.<blockquote>Well there are

9,000 Ph.D.’s and 31 [thousand] scientists who have signed a petition

that says that [carbon dioxide] is not a significant greenhouse gas</blockquote>On both Fox and CNN Coleman referred to <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.skepticalscience.com/OISM-Petition-Project-intermediate.htm" name="in body link" id="in body link">the discredited Oregon Petition</a> [12], which can be signed by anyone with just about any college science degree, and which has included “signatures” from <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Petition#Credentials_and_authenticity" name="in body link" id="in body link">fictional characters and Spice Girls</a> [13]. In reality,<a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-scientific-consensus-intermediate.htm" name="in body link" id="in body link">97% of climate science experts</a> [14] and <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024024" name="in body link" id="in body link">their peer-reviewed research</a> [15] agree that human carbon dioxide emissions are driving global warming.On CNN (which to its credit, established before the interview that there is <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024024/article" name="in body link" id="in body link">a 97% expert consensus</a> [16] on

human-caused global warming and there aren’t two equal sides in this

‘debate’), Coleman went even further in denying basic science, saying,<blockquote>Climate

change is not happening. There is no significant man-made global

warming now, there hasn’t been any in the past, and there’s no reason to

expect any in the future. There’s a whole lot of baloney ... there is

no global warming.</blockquote>That’s just a <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://skepticalscience.com/nuccitelli-et-al-2012.html" name="in body link" id="in body link">denial of reality</a> [17].Coleman is Not Credible on ClimateSeveral

times during the Fox interview, Megyn Kelly commented that The Weather

Channel will “be pushed out of existence since [Coleman has] taken this

position.” In reality, <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.webcitation.org/65qp1m68x" name="in body link" id="in body link">Coleman was forced out of The Weather Channel</a> [18] in

1983, just a year after he helped found it. Coleman has had no

affiliation with The Weather Channel for over 30 years. The Weather

Channel has <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/global-warming-weather-channel-position-statement-20141029" name="in body link" id="in body link">an official statement on climate change</a> [19], which it updated a few days after the Coleman interview. It states,<blockquote>More

than a century’s worth of detailed climate observations shows a sharp

increase in both carbon dioxide and temperature. These observations,

together with computer model simulations and historical climate

reconstructions from ice cores, ocean sediments and tree rings all

provide strong evidence that the majority of the warming over the past

century is a result of human activities. This is also the conclusion

drawn, nearly unanimously, by climate scientists.</blockquote>On CNN, The Weather Channel CEO David Kenny said,<blockquote>I’m

concerned whenever the discussion of climate change veers from the

science. The science is really clear, and I don’t like our brand being

associated with something that’s not scientifically based. I think we

can all be proud of our résumés, but I would prefer people use the

credentials they have today, not the credentials of three decades ago.</blockquote>On CNN, Coleman claimed to be a scientist. He’s been a TV weatherman for over 60 years, but <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Coleman_%28news_weathercaster%29" name="in body link" id="in body link">his degree is in journalism</a> [20]. In recent years he forecasted the weather in San Diego, where it generally ranges from sunny and warm to sunnier and warmer.The Weather Channel, on the other hand, employs meteorologists with climate science training. For example, <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.climatecentral.org/about/people-bio/heidi_cullen" name="in body link" id="in body link">Heidi Cullen</a> [21] was

The Weather Channel’s first on-air climate expert. Cullen received a

Ph.D. in climatology and ocean-atmosphere dynamics at the Lamont-Doherty

Earth Observatory of Columbia University and has worked as a research

scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Columbia

University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society.

On the subject of climate change, <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/8_11392.html" name="in body link" id="in body link">Cullen has said</a> [22],<blockquote>There

is convincing evidence that since the industrial revolution, human

activities, resulting in increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases

and other trace constituents in the atmosphere, have become a major

agent of climate change ... If a meteorologist has an <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.ametsoc.org/amscert/" name="in body link" id="in body link">AMS Seal of Approval</a> [23],

which is used to confer legitimacy to TV meteorologists, then

meteorologists have a responsibility to truly educate themselves on the

science of global warming.</blockquote>Those comments certainly apply to John Coleman.Coleman’s Conspiracy TheoriesColeman has previously <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.kusi.com/story/13167480/the-amazing-story-behind-the-global-warming-scam" name="in body link" id="in body link">gone as far as to suggest</a> [24] that climate science is part of a conspiracy to create a one-world government. On CNN, he claimed,<blockquote>The

government puts out about $2.5m directly for climate research every

year. It only gives that money to scientists who will produce scientific

results that support the global warming hypothesis of the Democratic

Party, or the position. So, they don’t have any choice. If you’re gonna

get the money, you’ve gotta support their position. Therefore, 97% of

the scientific reports publish support global warming.</blockquote>This

is conspiratorial nonsense. Grants are awarded before research is

performed and before its conclusions are known. The 3% of contrarian

climate scientists like Roy Spencer and Richard Lindzen have received

millions of dollars in government research grants.CNN host Brian

Stelter even went as far as to specifically ask Coleman, “Is The Weather

Channel part of the conspiracy?”. Coleman responded,<blockquote>Well, The Weather Channel has bought into it. As I say, they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid.</blockquote>It’s

ironic that on CNN’s Reliable Sources, Coleman revealed that on climate

change, he’s a completely unreliable source with no expertise or

credibility on the subject, preferring conspiracy theories to science.

</div>
<div class="tags">

See more stories tagged with: <div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">

<a href="http://www.alternet.org/tags/weather-channel">The Weather Channel</a> [27], </div> <div class="field-item even">

<a href="http://www.alternet.org/tags/climate-change">climate change</a> [28], </div> <div class="field-item odd">

<a href="http://www.alternet.org/tags/weather-channel-0">weather channel</a> [29], </div> <div class="field-item even">

<a href="http://www.alternet.org/tags/climate-science">climate science</a> [30], </div> <div class="field-item odd">

<a href="http://www.alternet.org/tags/conspiracy-theories">conspiracy theories</a> [31] </div> </div>

</div> </div>

</div>

</div>

<div class="print-source_url">Source URL: <a href="http://www.alternet.org/media/weather-channel-co-founder-prefers-conspiracy-theories-over-climate-science">http://www.alternet.org/media/weather-channel-co-founder-prefers-conspiracy-theories-over-climate-science</a></div>

Links:
[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/

[2] http://www.alternet.org/authors/dana-nuccitelli

[3] http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/10/28/weather-channel-co-founders-climate-denial-find/201344

[4] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/28/weather-channel-founder-global-warming-myth_n_6060734.html

[5] http://www.mediaite.com/tv/former-weather-channel-ceo-goes-off-on-cnn-hello-everybody-theres-no-global-warming/

[6] http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/03/14/weather-channel-founder-sue-al-gore-for-fraud/

[7]

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2014/oct/20/2014-arctic-sea-ice-extent-6th-lowest-in-millennia

[8] http://www.skepticalscience.com/Arctic-sea-ice-melt-natural-or-man-made-intermediate.htm

[9]

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2014/jul/07/antarctic-sea-ice-latest-global-warming-distraction

[10] http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/12/western-antarctic-ice-sheet-collapse-has-already-begun-scientists-warn

[11] http://www.skepticalscience.com/polar-bears-global-warming.htm

[12] http://www.skepticalscience.com/OISM-Petition-Project-intermediate.htm

[13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Petition#Credentials_and_authenticity

[14] http://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-scientific-consensus-intermediate.htm

[15] http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024024

[16] http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024024/article

[17] http://skepticalscience.com/nuccitelli-et-al-2012.html

[18] http://www.webcitation.org/65qp1m68x

[19] http://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/global-warming-weather-channel-position-statement-20141029

[20] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Coleman_(news_weathercaster)

[21] http://www.climatecentral.org/about/people-bio/heidi_cullen

[22] http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/8_11392.html

[23] http://www.ametsoc.org/amscert/

[24] http://www.kusi.com/story/13167480/the-amazing-story-behind-the-global-warming-scam

[25] mailto:corrections@alternet.org?Subject=Typo on The Weather

Channel's Co-Founder Prefers Conspiracy Theories Over Climate

Science

[26] http://www.alternet.org/tags/fox-news

[27] http://www.alternet.org/tags/weather-channel

[28] http://www.alternet.org/tags/climate-change

[29] http://www.alternet.org/tags/weather-channel-0

[30] http://www.alternet.org/tags/climate-science

[31] http://www.alternet.org/tags/conspiracy-theories

[32] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B

===

dissed by WC <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/29/weather-channel-global-warming_n_6072054.html?ir=Green">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/29/weather-channel-global-warming_n_6072054.html?ir=Green</a>

<a href="http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/hot_air.php?page=all">http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/hot_air.php?page=all</a>

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John Coleman founded <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=The_Weather_Channel&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="The Weather Channel (page does not exist)">The Weather Channel</a> in 1982. He is currently the weatherman at station <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=KUSI-TV&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="KUSI-TV (page does not exist)">KUSI-TV</a> in San Diego, California. He spoke as a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Global_warming_skeptic" title="Global warming skeptic" class="mw-redirect">global warming skeptic</a> at the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=2008_International_Conference_on_Climate_Change" title="2008 International Conference on Climate Change" class="mw-redirect">2008 International Conference on Climate Change</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=International_Conference_on_Climate_Change_%282009%29" title="International Conference on Climate Change (2009)" class="mw-redirect">International Conference on Climate Change (2009)</a>. Both events were organized by the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heartland_Institute" title="Heartland Institute">Heartland Institute</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Think_tank" title="Think tank" class="mw-redirect">think tank</a>. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a>

John Coleman may describe himself as a scientist or even a meteorologist but he is neither. His degree is in media studies <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a>

<h2>Contents</h2>

</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#On_climate_change">1 On climate change</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#Articles_and_resources">2 Articles and resources</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#Related_SourceWatch_articles">2.1 Related SourceWatch articles</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#References">2.2 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#External_resources">2.3 External resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#External_articles">2.4 External articles</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

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<h2>On climate change</h2>

Coleman has called <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Global_warming" title="Global warming">global warming</a> "the greatest scam in history," in an article written for KUSI-TV. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a> He also accused The Weather Channel of "global warming alarmism," shortly after publicly breaking with them. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_note-Critics-3" title="">[4]</a>

In his 2008 Heartland conference speech, Coleman argued for "exposing what he called 'the fraud of global warming.' He advocated suing those who sell carbon credits, which would force global warming alarmists to give a more honest account of the policies they propose." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a> According to a critical account of his talk, "Coleman spewed the same tired diatribe, accusing <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Al_Gore" title="Al Gore" class="mw-redirect">Al Gore</a> and carbon credit sellers of perpetrating mass 'financial fraud' and of burying a 'legitimate' debate." Coleman urged other skeptics to help him launch a lawsuit in order to expose "shady practices," saying "if the lawyers will take the case -- sue the people who sell carbon credits. That includes Al Gore. That lawsuit would get so much publicity, so much media attention. And as the experts went to the witness stand and testified, I feel like that could become the vehicle to finally put some light on the fraud of global warming." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_note-Critics-3" title="">[4]</a>

Coleman's critics counter that his allegations have little, if any, scientific basis. Coleman "claimed that average global temperatures had risen by 'maybe a tenth of a degree' over the last century; strange then that the IPCC (<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change" title="Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>) reported in 2007 that temperatures actually increased by an average of 0.74°C over the same period." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_note-Critics-3" title="">[4]</a>

Coleman claims that he has 30,000 backers in the form of those who signed the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Oregon_Institute_of_Science_and_Medicine" title="Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine">Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine</a> petition on global warming, but the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=National_Academy_of_Sciences" title="National Academy of Sciences">National Academy of Sciences</a> called that petition "misleading" and "not based on a review of the science of global climate change, nor were its signers experts in the field of climate science." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_note-Critics-3" title="">[4]</a>

Coleman claims the dubious distinction of writing the first error in the book Climatism! by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Steve_Goreham&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Steve Goreham (page does not exist)">Steve Goreham</a>.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_note-5" title="">[6]</a> On the front cover it notes foreword by John Coleman Meteorologist, although , as noted above John Coleman is not a meteorologist.

<h2>Articles and resources</h2>

<h3>Related SourceWatch articles</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Global_warming_skeptics" title="Global warming skeptics">Global warming skeptics</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heartland_Institute" title="Heartland Institute">Heartland Institute</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=International_Conference_on_Climate_Change_%282009%29" title="International Conference on Climate Change (2009)" class="mw-redirect">International Conference on Climate Change (2009)</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:Project:Creating_Articles_on_Sponsors_and_Speakers_at_The_2008_International_Conference_on_Climate_Change" title="SourceWatch:Project:Creating Articles on Sponsors and Speakers at The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change">SourceWatch:Project:Creating Articles on Sponsors and Speakers at The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change</a></li>

</ul>

<h3>References</h3>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> "<a href="http://www.heartland.org/events/NewYork09/speakers.html" class="external text" title="http://www.heartland.org/events/NewYork09/speakers.html" rel="nofollow">Speakers</a>," Heartland Institute website, accessed January 2009.</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_ref-2" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/john-coleman" class="external text" title="http://www.desmogblog.com/john-coleman" rel="nofollow">"John Coleman"</a>, Desmogblog.com accessed February 2009.</li>

<li id="cite_note-Critics-3">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_ref-Critics_3-0" title="">4.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_ref-Critics_3-1" title="">4.1</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_ref-Critics_3-2" title="">4.2</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_ref-Critics_3-3" title="">4.3</a> <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/john-coleman-still-waiting-lawsuit" class="external text" title="http://www.desmogblog.com/john-coleman-still-waiting-lawsuit" rel="nofollow">"John Coleman: Still Waiting for that Lawsuit"</a>, Desmogblog.com, accessed February 2009.</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Coleman#cite_ref-4" title="">↑</a> Jeff Poor, <a href="http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080303175301.aspx," class="external text" title="http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080303175301.aspx," rel="nofollow">"Weather Channel Founder Blasts Network; Claims It Is 'Telling Us What to Think'"</a>, Business and Media News Online, March 2008.</li>

</ol>

<h3>External resources</h3>

<h3>External articles</h3>

<ul>

<li>Gary Robbins, "<a href="http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/03/14/free-tix-to-hate-al-gore-debate-at-uci/21475/" class="external text" title="http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/03/14/free-tix-to-hate-al-gore-debate-at-uci/21475/" rel="nofollow">Free tix to 'Hate Al Gore' debate at UCI</a>" (University of California - Irvine), Orange County Register (California), March 14, 2009.</li>

</ul>

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Sunday, November 11, 2007

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Weather Channel Founder: Global Warming ‘Greatest Scam in History’

Update by Joe D’Aleo, Icecap

Thursday, November 15, John Coleman, the founder of the cable TV Weather Channel and currently TV meteorologist in San Diego at KUSI began a series of short briefs trying to explain in simplified terms for the layman why he does not believe in global greenhouse warming on his KUSI climate <a href="http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/11338421.html" title="blog">blog.</a>

Below was his original statement that got much national attention. KUSI and Icecap received hundreds of emails, better than 90% favorable, thanking John for his courage in speaking out on this issue and thanking KUSI and Icecap for covering the news the networks won’t cover. There were of course some negative responses mostly ad hominem attacks questioning motivation as is typical in this issue. Some requested John follow up with some concrete facts in understandable terms and he will begin to do that. The first brief on that link will address the ‘hockey stick”.

By John Coleman

It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an illusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the “research” to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus. Read the rest of the original blog <a href="http://icecap.us/images/uploads/JC_comments.doc" title="here">here</a>.

----

<h2>John Coleman</h2>

<h3>Background

</h3>

Coleman is <a href="http://www.kusi.com/about/bios/weather/1838191.html">currently employed</a> as the television weatherman for station KUSI in San Diego.

According to his bio, Coleman has "been a TV weatherman since he was a freshman in college in 1953."

<h3>Coleman claims a massive left-wing global warming conspiracy</h3>

<a href="http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/13681217.html">A link on the KUSI television site</a> refers to a series of articles penned by Coleman claiming that global warming "is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming... it is a SCAM."

Coleman's rationale for this appears to be that:

Some misguided scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long-term scientific data back in the late 1990's to create an illusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmentalextremism [sic] type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the 'research' to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims.

Coleman goes on to explain a vast conspiracy:

Environmental extremist, notable politicians among them then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild 'scientific' scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda.

While working with KUSI television, Coleman constructed a <a href="http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/81559212.html">special report</a> titled Global Warming: the Other Side. The segment describes <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/climategate-dead-or-long-live-climategate">Climategate</a> as a "major climate scandal." Reports have since <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/04/15/climategate-inquiry-no-scientific-misconduct-from-squeaky-clean-researchers/">exonerated</a> the scientists of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, finding "no evidence of any deliberate scientific malpractice."

The Other Side was supported by the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Science_and_Public_Policy_Institute">SPPI (Science and Public Policy Institute)</a>. The SPPI is a global warming skeptics group founded by climate-change denier <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Robert_Ferguson_%28Science_and_Public_Policy_Institute%29">Robert Ferguson</a>. SPPI's <a href="http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/personnel.html">staff</a> includes prominent deniers like <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/christopher-monckton">Christopher Monckton</a>, listed as SPPI's "Chief Policy Advisor," and <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/willie-soon">Willie Soon</a> who is listed as their "Chief Science Advisor. The SPPI chooses not to disclose its funding sources.

Coleman has also aired his global warming views on CNN, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fox_News">Fox News</a> Channel, Showtime and Pen & Teller: B.S.  In a recent interview on Fox News' "Red Eye," he laments that Fox is the "only cable network that will put us on the air."

<h3>Coleman and the Weather Channel</h3>

According to his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Coleman_%28meteorologist%29">bio</a>, Coleman was the founder of the Weather Channel, until he was "forced out" a year after the Weather Channel went to air.

<a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_2002_July-August/ai_90114023">A July 2002 article</a> claims that "the relationship between Coleman and Landmark [Coleman's business partner] soured quickly in the face of larger-than-projected losses and, in Batten's view, declining staff morale. The two parted ways just over a year later, but not before airing their dirty laundry in court, Coleman departing the venture entirely."

<h3>Coleman Threatens to Sue Al Gore</h3>

Coleman recently <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/john-coleman-still-waiting-lawsuit">appeared</a> on the Fox News "Red Eye" where he vowed to sue Al Gore for fraud. Coleman starts by announcing he has found 30,000 "scientists" in doubt of the consensus on global warming. Coleman's list appears to have originated from the <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/oregon-petition">Oregon Petition</a> which was <a href="http://greenfyre.wordpress.com/denier-vs-skeptic/denier-myths-debunked/the-oregon-petition/">debunked</a> by numerous groups including, ironically, <a href="http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/08-11-12/">The Skeptics Society</a>. Over a year has passed since Coleman's threat and no lawsuit has yet emerged.

Coleman's accusations echo his speech at the Heartland Institute's <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/heartland-conference-celebrates-science-for-sale">2008 International Conference on Climate change</a>, where he accuses Al Gore of "financial fraud" and of obfuscating "legitimate debate."

The Conference was created to "generate international media attention" rather than gain insight into the issue of climate change. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heartland_Institute">The Heartland Institute</a>, organizer and funder of the conference, has <a href="http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=41">received</a> over $600,000 from ExxonMobil and over $240,000 from the tobacco industry.

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Coleman, John

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