29 September 2014 06:28 in Uncategorized by Dan Satterfield
I’ve written frequently here about conspiracy theories, and it’s something that has long fascinated me (and many meteorologists as well, thanks to the chemtrail folks). I spotted a great piece on the subject today by Katy Waldman in Slate. I must say, that having conversed with these folks in person, and via email for 3 decades, it made a lot of sense to me. So, if you have relative or …
Tags: Chemtrails, conspiracy, conspiracy theories, featured
25 June 2014 05:47 in Uncategorized by Dan Satterfield
We came back from lunch for our final session to find that every seat in the room had a DVD, and the same glossy brochure claiming that the government is giving you all kinds of disease from their secret spraying program. For those that may not have heard yet, these people believe that those white lines you see in the sky behind high-flying jet aircraft are actually mind/weather control chemicals. …
Tags: AMS, Chemtrails, compiracy theories, featured, meteorology, science education
19 May 2014 05:09 in Uncategorized by Dan Satterfield
Toledo, Ohio Meteorologist Ross Ellet got a real shock while talking to students at Star Academy Charter School last week. He’d been asked to talk to the students about weather and science, but he got a question that left him totally stunned. One of the students asked him “what kind of job will you get when HAARP is controlling the weather, and you’re no longer needed?”. Now, Ross knew what …
Tags: Chemtrails, featured, HAARP, science education
22 November 2013 07:01 in Uncategorized by Dan Satterfield
Everyone old enough to remember this day 50 years ago has a story, and here’s mine. I was a young child, and my memories of that day are a bit jumbled, but some events that day I remember like it was yesterday. The sky in Oklahoma was a bright but deep blue, and not a cloud was in the sky, just like Dallas 200 miles away to the south. My Dad …
Tags: conspiracy theories, History, JFK Assassination
13 August 2013 06:03 in Uncategorized by Dan Satterfield
You almost certainly know that it’s a waste of time to argue with wing-nuts. If not, you’ll soon learn, but there is actually solid scientific evidence that not only does it not do any good, it actually makes the conspiracy lover even more certain of their belief. It’s called the “back-fire” effect. I am reading an excellent book You Are Now Less Dumb by David McRaney. He goes deeply into …
Tags: Chemtrails, Climate Change, conspiracy theories, featured, HAARP, science education
27 March 2013 04:53 in Uncategorized by Dan Satterfield
Do those who think climate science is a giant hoax or a conspiracy, also tend to have other conspiratorial type beliefs? A paper written back in 2010 attempted to answer that question: (Lewandowsky, S., Oberauer, K., and Gignac, G. E. in press). NASA faked the moon landing–therefore (climate) science is a hoax: an anatomy of the motivated rejection of science. Psychol. Sci. doi:10.1177/0956797612457686). The paper did indeed discover such a connection …
Tags: Climate Change, conspiracy theories, featured, psychology
8 September 2011 20:49 in Climate Change, Opinion by Dan Satterfield
Ed Maibach and Anthony Leiserowitz at GMU, and the Yale Center for Climate Change Communication have released a fascinating study of the opinions of different political party members on climate change. This is all the more fascinating because it defines the Tea Party as a separate group and asks some interesting questions about climate science. Take a look at the highlights from the survey below and see if you notice …
2 August 2009 22:43 in Atmospheric Science, Climate Change, Education, Science by Dan Satterfield
Many would argue that the science community began to fight back three or four years ago, but I think this Summer and perhaps August in general is when it finally reached critical mass. I’m not just referring to attacks on certain scientists like James Hanson, or even the attempts by government officials to impede scientific research, and the dissemination of the results to the wider public, it goes much deeper …
13 June 2009 21:28 in Uncategorized by Dan Satterfield
There is a small group of people, whose war on science mantra, is that the truth cannot get published in the peer reviewed journals. It’s one of these conspiracy theories, like the ones that say we did not land on the moon, or Roswell UFO’s. It’s ridiculous of course, because the quickest way to get famous in the science world is to write a paper that blows an accepted theory …
9 May 2009 17:21 in Uncategorized by Dan Satterfield
A professor of “Mining Geology” has written a book on Climate change. You get these books from time to time. They are actually quite lucrative. Conspiracy theorists like to be told they are not crazy, and will pay gladly for the privilege. In his book, Ian Plimer makes some rather interesting claims about the sun being a meteorite of some kind. Unfortunately for him, the Australian newspaper got a well …