"Flat Earthers" absent from G8 climate change talks

onOct 5, 2006 @ 08:45 PDT

Environment and energy Ministers from the world’s most polluting countries, including China, India, Brazil and the G9 members, met in Mexico this week to discuss the urgent need to tackle climate change and green house gas emissions.

Several news reports out of the conference have pointed out the fact that there has been absolutley no argument over the scientific underpinnings showing that climate change is happening and that humans are to blame.

To quote:

“Several said they have never known such a positive atmosphere. Nobody doubted the reality of climate science anymore.”
– BBC News, Roger Harrabin

“The people in denial now are the equivalent of the Flat Earth Society,” British Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks told Reuters in an interview.
– Reuters, Catherine Bermer

This great news is of course at great odds with the ongoing saga of Senator James Inhofe, Chair of the senate committee responsible for climate change. Our fellow bloggers at Grist Magazine have a great wrap up of Inhofe’s Quixotic quest. So while to world acts, the “flat earthers” like Inhofe continue to sow doubt.

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.