My own vision is as follows:
- To produce a leaflet or other material outlining the evidence against exaggerated CO2 warming and to send a copy to each and every MSP.
- To produce an information pack suitable for presentation at meetings with politicians and to push to meet with all key politicians. The actual meeting will not be so important as the existence of the pressure group.
- To try to make the existence of the group known via newspaper letters, etc.
- To put together a website as a purpose designed information resource aimed at politicians & the public outlining the evidence: not just anti GW but also pro-GW.
- Possibly to organise public meetings.
- Possibly to support people to give presentations.
- To raise funds for the above. E.g. a leaflet drop to each politician could cost £200-£300 in printing, postage and telephone calls to follow it up. More if it is anything other than a fancy leaflet.
As little as six “activists” and perhaps a couple dozen people willing to put their hands in their pocket could achieve this.
Addendum
How could I forget the obvious: an association would create a group of people willing to let other people contact them directly. A group of people who would be willing to e.g. check someone’s letter before they sent it off to the paper … to give it the best chance of getting in. Or who would have some ideas how to get past the “gatekeepers” that stop politicians listening to the normal people like you and me, or how to create campaigns to inspire the people of Scotland.
… and if nothing else … think of it this way. The very fact we are talking about creating an organisation is worrying those who should be most worried!
Please don’t under estimate what a well administered Facebook and Twitter account can do to influence opinion. The correct exposure and purpose can attract 000’s of followers for you to influence.
Specific and highly focussed messages highlighting scientific information, political updates, call to actions like rallies, news polls to vote on or politicians to email.
Best of luck
Paul Evans
I am keen on challenging alarmists to a public debate and broadcasting it on YouTube. I think we would have to ask a lot of them before finding some but naming and shaming would be part of the fun.
Regular press releases to the Scottish press would be useful. As would regular letters whenever they, or the BBC, publish rubbish (though this looks like a more than full time job). Such letters should also point out that the organisations making outrageous claims are all heavily funded by politicians, with our money, to do so.
Paul, Futureboy, that’s why an association would be so good – I didn’t even think of facebook and twitter, but I would be more than willing to help out someone who has a feel for how to make them work.
And yes a debate on YouTube would be great. I tried a video once, but I soon realised I need quite a sophisticated editing program to make something worth watching – and I could never work out which one I needed. It’s bound to be a lot of work but the more people who can contribute the easier it should be.
Teachers, parents and pupils are the other group that desperately need some straightforward challenges to the alarmists. As an aside, a local library has a wonderful wall hanging of Scottish landscape, the pale purples and sage greens, and yup! – there the wind turbines stand on the horizon. Not a hydro dam in sight. Somehow it got to me. A Scottish Association like this would provide a much needed balance in what is often taken as fact. Your addendum is perfect and I agree strongly with what you say. A very small group is best. At least I found this was when faced with a public enquiry
I’ve no idea how you approach schools. I imagine you have to go in and talk to education departments and then get their permission.
But the libraries are an interesting avenue. Many have noticeboards and would find it hard to refuse a local sceptic group.
You can get a lot of leaflets fairly cheaply, so I would suggest that as well as contacting MSPs, you distribute some of them to the population. One way to do that is to set up a stall somewhere, and actually hand them out to passers by, another is to leaflet a series of streets.
While this may sound rather low key, it does draw attention to your views, and conversations with people in the street can open up all sorts of avenues.
I base this on my experience many years ago, supporting CND. We actually managed to arrange a public meeting attended by some of the candidates for the next election.
The global warming scam is perfect to present to the public because it has remained so hidden from most people, that there are absolutely loads of facts that will be genuinely new to people.
The Australian Galileo Movement has just produced their first anti-carbon tax and skeptical science flyers and after a request to members to help distribute received responses from hundreds of people willing to distribute them door-to-door. I will email you a copy and links to their new video they have produced which they hope to have aired on TV soon. Since then their website and Facebook sites have increased visitors and people wanting to engage in the debate.
This is probably utterly obvious, but don’t forget to create a good website. A leaflet that contains a prominent link to a website full of information, will be very interesting.
I’d suggest you don’t just use this blog as a website – otherwise warmists will just flood it with pro AGW posts to try to wreck your movement.
A good website is a must!
David, I agree with leaflets, but they need to be very focussed. We could e.g. try to leaflet a party conference: a couple of people could get the message across in a day.
That’s fantastic, but a lot of work. A few years ago I tried leaf letting 4000 houses, it’s a really good way to get fit!
I am of the belief that winning the climate change wars will be done through political means and not scientific ones. The alarmists have done an outstanding jobs of manipulating the science through the pal-review system, gatekeeping the journals and corrupting the integrity of scientists. I do believe that directly challenging politicians as you have discussed is important, but convincing the general public directly and therefore pressuring politicians in elections is the only way to force change.
Paul, wasn’t it Galileo who said: “give me a place to stand and lever big enough and I will move the earth”. Science is that fulcrum, the bedrock our case. The lever is the politic. Neither the lever nor the fulcrum can work in isolation. But put together as Galileo said: they can move the earth.
You’ve also got to commit to pulling that lever for the long haul. It is also possible to pull an ocean liner a few feet along a pier but for the first 5 minutes you won’r see any movement, then momentum comes on your side.
Yes, but I think you need to consider creating a mass campaign if possible. I think most politicians don’t think in scientific or engineering terms at all – they just think about politics.
The CND campaign in the 1980’s didn’t abolish nuclear weapons, but I think the peace movement may have helped stop the suicidal march towards a nuclear war – obviously we will never know, but I think we made a difference (BTW, my own involvement was in a fairly minor CND group). I don’t think CND would have got anywhere lobbying politicians – they seem to be more interested in their own games.
If ordinary people don’t care, politicians aren’t interested either!