One of the first instantly recognizable faces I ran across at the recent Heartland Institute Denia Palooza conference in Chicago was Marc Morano, widely known as one of the most visible personalities on the climate denial circuit.
He was gracious enough to accept my offer to be interviewed, and I quizzed him on his practice of posting climate scientist’s emails on his blog.
The question is all the more relevant this week, as the University of East Anglia recently released some of the threatening emails received by scientist Phil Jones in recent years.
According to Morano, his blog reaches for “that middle ground where we can all get along.” Somewhere, Rodney King is spinning.
I contrasted Morano’s rationale with comments from Katharine Hayhoe, who I also interviewed recently at a conference in Ann Arbor, MI.
This interview is the second of two parts. Part one is here.
Complete Hayhoe Interview below.
If his blog is reaching for a middle ground, I hope he’s got some really long arms, because he’s got a long way to reach from where he’s standing.
Just like the RadicalRightWingNuts, Marano, the deniers and the cooligans will always insist the middle ground is where they’re already standing.
Anybody hear Democracy Now today?The last tiny bit was an interview w the head of GreenPeace said Rio was set up for failure and in 4 decages the Ocean would basically be void of life…How do we get liberal media to act like Fox and report info to counter them?Amy misses the big story that Morano and Fox give so much attention to..
At least someone got leid at that conference……(ba domp bomp!!)
Hi Peter,
You did a good job of getting him to explain who deserves to have their email put up. It strays from the middle ground talk. In one sense he is so innocent and a great guy and the next he’ll knife you in the back.
Morano is a pathetic apologist. If he had any moral fiber he would stand up for Katherine Hayhoe. Huge numbers of people of every kind stood up when Rush Limbaugh defamed and insulted Sandra Fluke. Instead Morano has to make lame excuses when climate scientists are threatened. His comment about public figures is dubious at best. So what happens, then? You publish a paper and that is automatically grounds for harassment? I think not. People doing this kind of cyber bullying and stalking should get the same legal treatment as if they were doing other more traditional forms of stalking and harassment. Those that incite others to violence and aid and abet it should be brought to justice and found liable for their actions. These cowards hide behind their anonymity while threading others precisely because they know what they are doing is wrong. Public figures also have the right not to be harassed. Morano is just trying to move the bar towards moral mediocrity.
Good interview. Morano was charmingly open enough to make it obvious that he cheerfully views the “debate” as a game with few rules. His goal is to convince as many people as possible to choose believing over the harder job of comprehending.
Very enlightening, Peter, thank you. Morano repeatedly says he should be thanked for promoting debate but, he is an unashamed advocate of the marketplace of ideas. Unfortunately, this is only supported by the scientifically-illiterate who do not or cannot acknowledge the irrelevance of their own unqualified opinions (i.e. the Dunning-Kruger effect).