Proof - in the unlikely event that proof were needed - of the Ultimate Evil that is the Kochs (Koch-Up / Cock-Up. Geddit? Oh of course you do, don't be so po-faced) is contained in this screen-grab of a Tweet (archive). The offending text - I presume, JB is too outraged to say explicitly what offends him - is the bit about interglacials lasting 10 kyr and so the current one must be due to end. This isn't true, of course; but the error is a commonplace one. Tagging it to the Koch's is just paranoia and stupidity. It comes into the "global cooling" wars of course; so much that wiki even has some text explaining it: It is common to see it asserted that the length of the current interglacial temperature peak is similar to the length of the preceding interglacial peak (Sangamon/Eem), and from this conclude that we might be nearing the end of this warm period. This conclusion is mistaken. Firstly, because the lengths of previous interglacials were not particularly regular;[10] see figure. Petit et al. note that "interglacials 5.5 and 9.3 are different from the Holocene, but similar to each other in duration, shape and amplitude. During each of these two events, there is a warm period of 4 kyr followed by a relatively rapid cooling". Secondly, future orbital variations will not closely resemble those of the past. [11]I'm guessing this is where ATTP's latest comes from; it is too much of a coincidence otherwise.
Refs
* Contrary views at WUWT by RS.
* The climate change misinformation at a top museum is not a conservative conspiracy - the Verge; h/t anon in the comments.
17 comments:
JB: I think you're a troll. But, you might not be. You might be genuine. In which case, I think you can be expected to do some homework. Like, for example, to source your claim. In the meantime, your comment is at http://stoat-spam.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/where-are-corpses.html.
I’m not sure if you’re stretching for the pun in the title or if you’re mispronouncing “Koch” in this context. Koch, as in the Koch Brothers, is pronounced “Coke”, as in Coca-Cola. The name “Koch” can be pronounced different ways (i.e. KOTCH, as in Ed Koch), so people commonly mispronounce it.
I don't know how to pronounce it but always say it as https://i.pinimg.com/originals/63/37/1c/63371c0d9698aa1bed15becccff87472.jpg
The American Museum of Natural History?
Having done time there as Visiting Scholar, I can attest that the exhibit caption buck stops at the Director's door.
His name isn't Donald Koch ; it's William deGrasse Tyson.
Why would Neil (who is William?) deGrasse Tyson have anything to do with the dinosaur wing of the American Museum of Natural History? He's director of the Hayden Planetarium, not the whole museum. His field is astronomy, not paleontology. The Hayden Planetarium is only a part of the American Museum of Natural History.
Robert Murphy
The subject is astronomical forcing of palaeoclimate , so Tyson catches the flak.
I also mostly meant David Koch, as Bill takes a dim view of his brothers' climate politics.
ATTP's is in response to an article by Matt Ridley. His article is something of an evergreen, so maybe it is related to the above.
There was a scandal of sorts at Florida State University some years back over the Koch Foundation donations to the economics department carrying stipulations about giving the Foundation a say in curriculum, hiring, and even chairmanship. So it's not like they are above this sort of thing (and why not, nothing wrong with wanting to get something for your money.)
http://www.fsunews.com/story/news/2016/06/29/koch-foundation-provides-over-800000-fsu/86514830/
Stille, while the sign is somewhat poorly written, it strains credulity that the AMNH would allow its content (especially on this topic) to be skewed for one gratification of one particular donor.
Re NdeGT: while I doubt he touches individual signs much (and this one sounds old anyway) there's stuff like https://thonyc.wordpress.com/2014/12/27/just-saying/ if you're interested.
Russell, that's pretty thin gruel. NdeGT has nothing to do with this display. The Koch brothers would have had nothing to do with it either, of course, but there's no reason to bring in Neil in this. He's not the director of the whole museum, just the Hayden Planetarium. As a visiting scholar at the museum, surely you knew that?
BTW, did anybody bother to Google this beyond the original post? It appears that the whole narrative is wrong anyway. The plaque is in the Hall of Advanced Mammals in the Lila Acheson Wallace Wing of Mammals and Their Extinct Relatives, not the dinosaur wing. It was also put up 25 years ago, long before the Koch brothers had anything to do with the museum. This is a great example of the kind of false crap that can circulate on the Internet when people don't do their homework (as I didn't in my fist post above). https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/8/16862674/american-museum-natural-history-climate-change-sing-misinformation-david-koch-dinosaur-wing
Robert Murphy
Thanks for that Verge link, which seems plausible. Note that "the whole narrative is wrong anyway" was the point of my post; your comments I think are addressed to JB and the other Twitterati.
Absolutely, Dr. Connolley. The political Right sees Soros behind everything bad, while the Left sees a Koch brother twirling his mustache. The truth is usually a lot less exciting.
Robert Murphy
Robert, my last conversation with Tyson at the Museum concerned getting the Olmec jade Kunz Axe out of its case for photography -- a Director's remit is broad.
No doubt the brothers Koch have grown tired of "I don't know how to pronounce it but always say it" to rhyme with lock.
Not sharing our host's accent, my expectation was that their name would rhyme with loch, though possibly he'd pronounce loch as lock.
Having found a while ago that the American pronounce it "coke", this struck me as a rafter amusing pun, though not so naughty as the "lock" version – the brothers are noted for coal interests, and of course coke is made from coal. Perhaps a less common term these days, but some of us can recall coke being used as a substitute for coal in domestic heating to meet smokeless zone requirements. The early days of environmentalism!
Russell, I take it from your response you actually have no evidence that Tyson had anything to do with this plaque and you just brought his name up because.. something. He's not the director of the Museum, he's the director of the Hayden Planetarium. Why would he have anything to do with the Hall of Advanced Mammals?
Robert Murphy
Because museum politics. His predecessor also had to deal with a random menue of chores.
> “so Tyson catches the flak.”
Firstly, Tyson never worked as the director in charge of the Hall of Advanced Mammals. Even given their “broad remit”, it is highly unlikely the director of the Hayden Planetarium has any say in the content of the Hall of Advanced Mammals, considering they are two completely different parts of the museum. It is more likely that the Paleontology Curators-in-Charge would be responsible for the content in that Hall. Also, if we accept your point that “the subject is astronomical forcing of palaeoclimate”, then it would more likely be the Earth and Planetary Sciences Curator-in-Charge (not Tyson) who would assist in providing input for the curator of that wing (again, not Tyson).
Secondly, Tyson did not work at the American Museum of Natural History when the plaque was put up 25 years ago (he started as the director in 1996 and was a staff scientist in starting in 1994). So it’s especially unlikely that some person that was not involved with the museum at the time had any say in the content of the Hall of Advanced Mammals. Even more so given that Earth sciences and palaeoclimatology are not his areas of expertise.
You tried to use this as an opportunity to take a shot at Tyson, just as Busch tried to use this to take a shot at Koch. And just like Busch, you are trying to blame someone that wasn’t involved in the museum at the time and was never in charge of the content of that wing.
I call bull Seitz. (Get it WC? Mispronouncing last names to make the pun work!)
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