TLW's Climate Blog List

"Other blogs are mentioned frequently by climate sceptics on the Reader Background thread: 85 of the 154 sceptics refer to other blogs, in most cases naming specific blogs but in a few cases as a general remark. Unfortunately, it is difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between those for whom reading sceptical blogs was a major factor informing their scepticism, those whose doubts about climate change were strengthened by sceptical blogs, and those who turned to the sceptical blogs after forming their own sceptical opinions. The number of citations of the different blogs is shown in figure 1. The most frequently cited blog is Climate Audit, mentioned 57 times, indicating its premier status among blogs questioning climate science. Among other sceptical blogs, the AirVent blog hosting the thread is mentioned 35 times and the Watts Up WithThat? blog 34 times. John Daly, of interest since he was probably the first climate sceptic to set up a website, is referred to four times. Blogs that can be regarded as in the 'lukewarmer' camp include The Blackboard, with 18 citations, and the blogs run by Roger Pielke Sr. and Jr. (combined into one grouping here, since this was done by some commenters) with 11. The second most cited blog, with 42 references, is RealClimate, a long-running blog promoting climate science run by a team of climate scientists. Comments from sceptics are critical of this blog, and many imply that reading it may have been a factor leading to scepticism. Some of these comments say that they were concerned by RealClimate's arrogant or dismissive tone, or hostility towards those who disagreed with them. Others report that questions raised were not answered, or in some cases censored. Another blog promoting climate science, 'Open Mind', is mentioned seven times, with similar critical comments. Several individuals report that when they started looking into the climate change question, they started reading these blogs but were put off by their style and turned instead to the sceptical blogs. Other factors. Many other factors leading to scepticism are mentioned in the Reader Background thread, occurring less frequently than those listed above. Nine individuals say that they read parts of the reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and this led to scepticism (in some cases, this was the apparent endorsement of the 'hockeystick' by the IPCC). The issue of some climate scientists being reluctant torelease raw data or details of their methodology is raised by six commenters. Another general area of influence is the media, books and films. Three sceptics mention the influence of Sunday Telegraph reporter Christopher Booker, but newspapers do not appear to be a major factor. There are a few suggestions that exaggerated newspaper reports on global warming may have acted as a spark to ignite sceptical views, and a similarly small number of comments showing that news reports alerted readers to sceptical viewpoints. Books are mentioned eight times but no book appears more than once. The film 'An Inconvenient Truth' is referred to by eight commenters. Two of these appear to have found the film convincing, but the other six indicate that the film instigated or enhanced their scepticism by makingexaggerated claims about the science of climate change. The sceptical film 'The Great Global Warming Swindle' is mentioned three times as a factor leading to climate scepticism. A recent paper on the influence of films has found that sceptical films tend to have a greater influence on viewers' opinions than films aimed at increasing climate concern (Greitemeyer,2013)."

TLW's Climate Blog List

By T.L. Winslow (TLW), the Historyscoper™

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Last Update: Sept. 9, 2025.

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