Climate Change Hockeystick YouTube Satire Provokes Lawsuit Threat

Penn State climatologist Michael Mann is apparently not amused by a YouTube parody video in which he and his notorious hockeystick graph showing a steep rise in recent global temperatures is featured. According to a press release from the creators of the original video, Minnesotans 4 Global Warming:

Penn State University's Michael Mann, one of the central figures in the Climategate scandal, has threatened legal action against Minnesotans for Global Warming (M4GW) over the group's popular satirical YouTube video "Hide the Decline." The No Cap-and-Trade Coalition, a group that includes M4GW, responded today at an event at the National Press Club, releasing Mann's threatening letter and an updated version of the "Hide the Decline" video.

"We understand why Michael Mann is eager to silence public discussion of the hockey stick scandal," said Jeff Davis of No Cap-and-Trade, "but truth is an absolute defense."

The original "Hide the Decline" video, which had more than 500,000 viewers, was removed today from YouTube by M4GW's Elmer Beauregard. It received national attention when Rush Limbaugh played it on his radio show and was later featured on CBS Evening News in the wake of the Climategate email scandal. "Hide the Decline" parodied Mann, the Penn State professor who is largely responsible for the creation of the now debunked "hockey stick" graph, which purported to show a dramatic spike in average global temperature during the 20th century after 900 years of relatively constant temperature.

The video spotlighted a phrase from one of the central "Climategate" e-mails in which the University of East Anglia's Phil Jones explains how he used Mann's "Nature trick" to "hide the decline" of key temperature data. The hockey stick graph relied on "hiding this decline."

With regard to the scientific validity of Mann's hockeystick temperature graph, the Financial Times reported in early April:

A key piece of evidence in climate change science was slammed as "exaggerated" on Wednesday by the UK's leading statistician, in a vindication of claims that global warming sceptics have been making for years.

Professor David Hand, president of the Royal Statistical Society, said that a graph shaped like an ice hockey stick that has been used to represent the recent rise in global temperatures had been compiled using "inappropriate" methods.

"It used a particular statistical technique that exaggerated the effect [of recent warming]," he said.

In response to the threatened lawsuit, Minnesotans 4 Global Warming, took down its video. But don't worry, another group skeptical of catastrophic man-made global warming, the No Cap and Trade Coalition, has put up another jazzy version for viewers to enjoy.

Hat tip Bob Poole.

Comments

[P Brooks]

Jeff Davis of No Cap-and-Trade

Racist.

[Attorney]

Not to mention his little pal Beauregard.

[Bob Dylan]

"Where's the global warming? It's freezing here."

[Attorney]

What the heck is that blue singing thing with the cow horns? It's freakin me out.

[thew83]

Probly supposed to be Babe the Blue Ox. Haven't seen the video yet so couldn't say for sure.

[ClubMedSux]

What a dick. Just for that I'm never watching Manhunter again.

[dbcooper]

Excellent. 🙂

[Mike M.]

Michael "Piltdown" Mann is a rather obvious full public figure, and subject to all of the scorn and ridicule he so richly deserves.

No nuisance lawsuit of his would stand a chance, and his so-called "threat" is a joke. M4GW should publicly tell him to go fuck himself.

[Francis]

Now the AGW players look more and more like Uri Geller vis-a-vis Randi: they are suing their detractors and now even those who simply mock them.

Is there an example of a "denier" who tried to sue a warmist? Was he succesful?

[Wylie]

Deniers are all wingnuts, how would they know how to sue anybody? Not-going on a racist, murdering rampage takes all their concentration.

On a practical note, how exactly does suing someone for mockery work, legally? I can somewhat understand "libel/slander", you should be able to sue if your neighbor starts running adverts about how you eat babies. But what if you actually ate babies? How is it actionable to call a Spade a Spade? (racist!)

[John]

Its not. Mann is just an asshole. Satire and humor are protected under the 1st Amendment as long as it doesn't libel or slander someone. Also, Mann probably qualifies as a public figure. Jerry Fallwall couldn't collect against Playboy (or was it Hustler?) for publishing a drawing of him in a corset and stockings, Mann couldn't collect here.

[Wylie]

So we're not that far gone, sweet. It always warms my cockles slightly whenever things actually make sense 😉

[BeavisAndButthead]

I think he was also being portrayed as banging his mother in the same drawing. Intentionally over-the-line offensive. And Flint rightly won again. Free speech works fine if you are defending it from the left.

[Wylie]

"but truth is an absolute defense."

How quaint.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Frankly, I'm more upset about Ron's poor alt-text than the article of climate researcher arrogance (isn't that to be expected?)

[ClubMedSux]

He wanted to make sure he didn't get sued too.

[Kolohe]

received national attention when Rush Limbaugh played it on his radio show

How do you play a youtube clip on the radio?

[gaijin]

RCA cables

[Wylie]

You might need a niftly lil stereo-minijack-to-RCA adapter though. And a transmitter+antenna, or are we just talking about playing clips out to your stereo equipment lol

[Jason]

You could use a mini TOSLINK to TOSLINK cable if your computer and your radio have optical connections...

[Ron L]

"Professor David Hand, president of the Royal Statistical Society, said that a graph shaped like an ice hockey stick that has been used to represent the recent rise in global temperatures had been compiled using "inappropriate" methods.
"It used a particular statistical technique that exaggerated the effect [of recent warming]," he said."

IOWs, Mann lied.
So why is this man still being published?

[John]

"So why is this man still being published?"

Because the narrative is right. He just got the facts wrong.

[Wylie]

We don't need no steenking facts, we've got shiny Batches.

[Francis]

I don't know, John, if you meant to be literally true with that last comment, but in fact you are: Wegman, in his report on Mann's hockey stick, said: "I [Wegman] am baffled by the claim [from Mann's or his supporters] that the incorrect method doesn't matter because the answer is correct anyway."

http://climateaudit.org/2007/1.....r-newbies/

[Ron L]

Interesting site, especially where Wegman points out that it's not really kosher to change calc methods to achieve the results you're looking for.
Again, why is this man still being published?

[economist]

What do pissed off muslims, AGW pushers, and scientologists have in common?

[Wylie]

Sandy Vaginas?

[Tara Davis]

What a funny coincidence! I once danced under the name San...

Eh, forget it. Too easy.

[bendover]

Al Gore just bought another new house for over 8 million dollars.

I know it's been said a thousand times on this site...but I'll believe that global warming is a problem when those that advocate its seriousness start acting like its a problem.

[Francis]

On a lighter note, see below other ugly scuffles between scientists. If you think scientists are dispasionate believers in the truth, think again: they turn out to be human, too.

What must be known also is that passion and selfishness happen to be powerful motivators for discovery and scientific progress.

http://www.cracked.com/article.....feuds.html

[GovSkeptic]

Mann's original hockey stick was rebuked, but the updated version is pretty similar. The only thing different now is larger error bars for past temperature recreations. Furthermore, Mann isn't the only scientist to have come up with such a graph. Anyway, the whole issue goes really deep into statistical methods that cannot be effectively discussed in public discourse because they don't fit into 30 second soundbytes.

This lawsuit is ridiculous for free speech reasons.

As a final note, I don't think political persuasion is relevant in the global warming issue. You either think the science is right or you don't. You're allowed to be a libertarian that buys the science but is still skeptical of government efforts to affect change.

[Tara Davis]

"You're allowed to be a libertarian that buys the science but is still skeptical of government efforts to affect change."

Really? As a libertarian I'm far more used to people telling me I must choose between two equally unappealing options, and adhere to the one I pick with religious ferocity, or else I'm clearly just a tool of the other side.

Being allowed to have a nuanced view that's more loyal to the facts than to tribal membership must be some radical new development.

[major]

He isnt going to sue, the worst thing that can happen to these lying carpetbaggers is to have the Global Warming "data" subject to public scrutiny as happened in England with Al Gores propaganda Film.

Its time to bust this thing wide open before time fades the memory of climategate.

Notice how quiet Al Gorsky has been throughout the bad winter. Rather than expose themselves to open criticism, they stay very quiet until the winter passes and the memory fades and then they start right in again as though nothing had occurred.

They are treacherous vile low lifes. The worst there is.