Meteorologist Breaks Down In Tears After Climate Change Report, Say He Will Never Fly Again

[Danke]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/meteorologist-says-never-fly-again-214111379.html

WSJ

Most New Yorkers may know Eric Holthaus thanks to his incredible coverage as the Wall Street Journal's meteorologist during Hurricane Sandy. Holthaus now writes for Quartz and works on an app called Weathermob.

This week Holthaus made a big decision, one that immediately prompted a huge amount of debate on Twitter. The decision reflected his deep knowledge of extreme weather patterns and how global warming is changing them, he explained.

Holthaus is giving up flying, forever.

To a lot of people, that sounds crazy. How can someone live the rest of their life without getting on a plane?

Holthaus explained his decision in a series of tweets yesterday. It's hard not to find it compelling.

Personal tweets forthcoming: I'm at SFO right now, flying back to Wisconsin. Just got off the phone with me wife.
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013

I just broke down in tears in boarding area at SFO while on phone with my wife. I've never cried because of a science report before. #IPCC
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013 :(

I realized, just now: This has to be the last flight I ever take. I'm committing right now to stop flying. It's not worth the climate.
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013

We all have to do everything we can, every day to reverse CO2 emissions. There is no other way that makes sense.
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013

All of our energy...each one of us...should be devoted to this issue. Nothing else matters. It's a zero sum game.
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013

Why am I committing to not flying any more? Its the same reason I'm vegetarian: it's my biggest carbon footprint. #lastflight #climatechange
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013

Holthaus went on to explain his decision in a series of responses to tweets from his followers:

A global price on carbon. RT @samuelfine: @EricHolthaus Let's start from the top down: what single change would have the greatest impact?
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013

If no one buys tickets, they won't fly. need cleaner fuels. RT @sjparis the problem is, planes will still fly whether you’re on them or not.
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013

I'm ok with not traveling abroad anymore. Skype works internationally. RT @mariaramirezNY: And what about traveling abroad? Boat?
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013

I'm thinking of vasectomy. RT @PaulEMetz: You're courageous. Last week an artist had herself sterilized for similar reason. @looovetinkebell
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013

Holthaus says that his decision to stop flying was prompted by news of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that found 95% confidence human-emitted greenhouse gases are responsible for most of the Earth's warming since 1951. It's certainly a disturbing report.

"Without jumping up and down on the desks of their computer terminals, this forum of scientists has done about as much as they can do," Holthaus wrote for Quartz. "With this report, they have proven humankind’s impact on the climate, and confidently projected dire consequences should world governments fail to act immediately."

Finally, Holthaus also gave an interview to Eric Berger of the Houston Chronicle about his decision, which you can read here. As Holthaus tells Berger, his experience as a meteorologist during events like Hurricane Sandy convinced him of the dangers of climate change.

"I’m considered an expert in my field," he says. "I have to do something big, right now."

[ClydeCoulter]

Good, if that what he really believes then him living by it as an example of his belief is a good thing, so long as he doesn't move to force everyone else to live as he does.

[CaseyJones]

woohoo for stupid people removing themselves from the gene pool!

[Kotin]

wow.. seeing that shit in action on some sap is really interesting.. but also pathetic.

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Crybaby.

[Antischism]

Good for him, he's sticking by his convictions through actions.

[youngbuck]

I'll go ahead and make up for him. I'll eat some extra meat and animal products, take a couple extra leisure drives (within reason, high gas prices cramp my style), get a few extra dirtbike rides in, and make sure to regularly have some nice bonfires all thru winter.

[tod evans]

Don't forget to increase your weekly bean rations too...

[Brian4Liberty]

Someone who cries in an airport about global warming is not the type of person who should be looked to for science advice or solutions.

[limequat]

Well, maybe he won't reproduce now -you know- to reduce his carbon footprint.

[Anti Federalist]

Good.

Hope his empty seat is next to mine.

I'm sure this will get all sorts of news coverage.

All the people that quit flying because of TSA bullshit and police state searches?

Meh, not so much.

Man will be obsolete in 100 years.

[Anti Federalist]

I'm thinking of vasectomy. RT @PaulEMetz: You're courageous. Last week an artist had herself sterilized for similar reason. @looovetinkebell
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013

Holthaus says that his decision to stop flying was prompted by news of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that found 95% confidence human-emitted greenhouse gases are responsible for most of the Earth's warming since 1951. It's certainly a disturbing report.

"Without jumping up and down on the desks of their computer terminals, this forum of scientists has done about as much as they can do," Holthaus wrote for Quartz. "With this report, they have proven humankind’s impact on the climate, and confidently projected dire consequences should world governments fail to act immediately."

The Death Cult.

Mankind will commit global self genocide within a few more generations.

All it takes is one asshole like this working in a Level 4 bio lab.

12 Monkeys, for real.

[TruckinMike]

Good, if that what he really believes then him living by it as an example of his belief is a good thing, so long as he doesn't move to force everyone else to live as he does.

I don't know... I'll bet he includes you in the "We":


We all have to do everything we can, every day to reverse CO2 emissions. There is no other way that makes sense.

LoL :)

[Occam's Banana]

Don't forget to increase your weekly bean rations too...

Dammit! I was gonna do a fart joke, but you beat me to it.

Fart jokes strike just the right intellectual tone - fight flatulence with flatulence.

[mad cow]

Finally, Holthaus also gave an interview to Eric Berger of the Houston Chronicle about his decision, which you can read here. As Holthaus tells Berger, his experience as a meteorologist during events like Hurricane Sandy convinced him of the dangers of climate change.


I'm just happy that he is one of the few brave Weathermen who actually survived Sandy.

[Anti Federalist]

"With this report, they have proven humankind’s impact on the climate, and confidently projected dire consequences should world governments fail to act immediately."

The NWO will be driven by this.

[Origanalist]

Dammit! I was gonna do a fart joke, but you beat me to it.

Fart jokes strike just the right intellectual tone - fight flatulence with flatulence.

Or fire...

http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/thumbs/picture/1918624/81572011.jpg

[Anti Federalist]

I'm just happy that he is one of the few brave Weathermen who actually survived Sandy.

Are they Officials or Authorities?

Bless those brave men and women.

[FindLiberty]

Let's see, how to save the planet, ...fly again or just crawl into the incinerator?
That is the question and this clip shows both options:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ccvv9NhloI

Follow up question: Did that space suit really come with an extra pair of pants at no extra charge?

[ronpaulfollower999]

He should unplug his computer, never use plastic, never buy anything from a grocery store, etc.

These people are so brainwashed.

[ronpaulfollower999]

I'm just happy that he is one of the few brave Weathermen who actually survived Sandy.

These morons act like history started 30 years ago. Hurricanes have always hit the Northeast.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_England_hurricanes

[presence]

and make sure to regularly have some nice bonfires all thru winter.

bonfire = carbon neutral


pour some gas on it?

[goRPaul]

He could reduce his carbon footprint to zero by killing himself. Maybe that's why government is on board with global warming. They can't resist moral justification for mass murder.

[ronpaulfollower999]

Experts in 2007 said the Arctic will be ice free by 2013 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7139797.stm).

In reality, the summer min was at its highest since 2006:

http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/plots/icecover/icecover_current.png

And Antarctic sea ice extent reached its highest extent ever recorded:

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/files/2013/09/Figure5-350x315.png

AGW alarmist claimed that Antarctic sea ice had been expanding because of stronger winds caused by global warming, but reality shows the contrary:


Antarctic weather patterns in August were unusual. Contrary to a 50-year trend towards stronger westerly wind flow—a pattern associated with both ozone loss and increased heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere—August 2013 saw a period of very low westerly wind speed across the continent.

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2013/09/4292/

[Sola_Fide]

The religions of statism and naturalism are powerful.

[Danke]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw5Lda06iK0

[limequat]

bonfire = carbon neutral


pour some gas on it?

EVERYTHING is carbon neutral. So says Mr. Newton.
Unless the lizard people are shipping it in from mars, which I suppose is a distinct possibility giving the lunatic ravings of Mr. Hothouse.

[brandon]

EVERYTHING is carbon neutral. So says Mr. Newton.
Unless the lizard people are shipping it in from mars, which I suppose is a distinct possibility giving the lunatic ravings of Mr. Hothouse.

Well we're not creating any new carbon but the theory says we are taking it from the ground and putting it in the atmosphere, faster than ground can suck it back up, which is bad and stuff. There is no complete model of the carbon cycle but that doesn't matter right?

[Henry Rogue]

Five bucks says, that fool will break his promise and fly again.

[presence]

EVERYTHING is carbon neutral. So says Mr. Newton.
Unless the lizard people are shipping it in from mars, which I suppose is a distinct possibility giving the lunatic ravings of Mr. Hothouse.

Shipping carbon from Mars changes things but shipping it from 10,000 feet below the surface doesn't?

[Danke]

Shipping carbon from Mars changes things but shipping it from 10,000 feet below the surface doesn't?

Probably not to mother natural.

[devil21]

Oh please. What a load of propaganda bs. He'll be on a plane next time he needs to go anywhere. Just another lefty looking for a payday for pushing the AGW nonsense.

The weather is changing but it has nothing to do with CO2 or jet flights.

[bunklocoempire]

Shhhh... Nobody mention that he doesn't get out alive -he'll freak. :)

[osan]

Wow - seriously? Are those real messages he put out to the world?

That poor sap needs to get himself to a psychiatrist's office pronto... right after he gets that vasectomy.

[Lindsey]

All the people that quit flying because of TSA bullshit and police state searches?


This is why I avoid flying.

[Occam's Banana]

On the one hand, I'm tempted to take a flight somewhere just to spite this self-important twit.

On the other hand, that would be giving too much "credit" to braying jackasses like him ...

[angelatc]

I'm thinking of vasectomy. RT @PaulEMetz: You're courageous. Last week an artist had herself sterilized for similar reason. @looovetinkebell
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) September 27, 2013


Too bad Chip-In isn't around any more.

[jkob]

Maybe he should get it over with and become plant food for the Earth he loves so much

[Lucille]

What is he freaking out about? The IPCC (http://ideas.time.com/2013/09/30/climate-activists-need-to-dial-back-on-the-panic/) admitted that they overestimated warming by 75% to 150% because their computer models were wrong, and there has been little to no increase in temps for 15-20 years.

Obligatory


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElJFYwRtrH4

[PaulConventionWV]

woohoo for stupid people removing themselves from the gene pool!

How does this do that again?

[PaulConventionWV]

Good, if that what he really believes then him living by it as an example of his belief is a good thing, so long as he doesn't move to force everyone else to live as he does.

Except that's exactly what he's doing. He's calling on "world governments" to "act immediately."

[PaulConventionWV]

Good.

Hope his empty seat is next to mine.

I'm sure this will get all sorts of news coverage.

All the people that quit flying because of TSA bullshit and police state searches?

Meh, not so much.

Man will be obsolete in 100 years.

...or at least, that man will be, and the whole idea of climate change will be a thing of the past because waiting a hundred years for some "imminent disaster" to present itself doesn't really lend credibility to all the hype.

[Lucille]

A parody of scientody
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-parody-of-scientody.html


"Hilarious incoherence (http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/29/top-mit-scientist-un-climate-report-is-hilariously-flawed/)" in the latest IPCC report summary:


A top climate scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology lambasted a new report by the UN’s climate bureaucracy that blamed mankind as the main cause of global warming and whitewashed the fact that there has been a hiatus in warming for the last 15 years.

“I think that the latest IPCC report has truly sunk to level of hilarious incoherence,” Dr. Richard Lindzen told Climate Depot, a global warming skeptic news site. “They are proclaiming increased confidence in their models as the discrepancies between their models and observations increase.”

Real scientists don't think much of the scientistry that is an obvious parody of scientody. Nor does Nigel Lawson, Chairman of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, as he declares it to be "mumbo-jumbo" (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/10340408/Climate-change-this-is-not-science-its-mumbo-jumbo.html):



The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which published on Friday the first instalment of its latest report, is a deeply discredited organisation. Presenting itself as the voice of science on this important issue, it is a politically motivated pressure group that brings the good name of science into disrepute.

Its previous report, in 2007, was so grotesquely flawed that the leading scientific body in the United States, the InterAcademy Council, decided that an investigation was warranted. The IAC duly reported in 2010, and concluded that there were “significant shortcomings in each major step of [the] IPCC’s assessment process”, and that “significant improvements” were needed. It also chastised the IPCC for claiming to have “high confidence in some statements for which there is little evidence”.

Since then, little seems to have changed, and the latest report is flawed like its predecessor.

[GregSarnowski]

So what is he going to drive everywhere instead?

I'm not expert but ISTM that a plane filled with hundreds of people flying cross-country has to emit A LOT less Co2 than the same people each getting in their individual cars and driving thousands of miles.

[ronpaulfollower999]

So what is he going to drive everywhere instead?

I'm not expert but ISTM that a plane filled with hundreds of people flying cross-country has to emit A LOT less Co2 than the same people each getting in their individual cars and driving thousands of miles.

According to this (http://www.sightline.org/research/graphics/climate-co2bymode/), cars emit more CO2 than airplanes. His best bet is to walk or take a train.