The BBC – in its venomous hatred of fossil fuels – was very quick this week to link attempts to extract shale gas with earthquakes and to emphasise the danger that such efforts would alarmingly cause tap water to ignite because aquifers could become impregnated with methane. Dramatic pictures of these flaming taps (from a US propaganda film, it now transpires, although this was not made clear in the bulletins) dominated news reports, and were obviously included to heighten the alarmist nature of the story. The intent by the BBC was to plant firmly in people’s minds that shale gas was a nasty new excrescence.
Now we learn that the film showing the said flaming taps was deliberately misleading. The director – a greenie activist – knew that the phenomena had existed and had been a puzzle for decades, since long before fracking extraction existed. He chose not to include this fact in his propaganda exercise because he decided it was “not relevant”. How very convenient.
So, too, did the BBC. In its haste to terrify people about fossil fuels, it did not properly check its facts or its sources – par for the course in its greenie crusade.
Update: In the same way, Richard Black this week trumpeted new “research” about clownfish which purported to show that they were at risk from ocean “acidification”. Anthony Watts posted this item overnight which takes apart the claim and shows that the experiment was totally flawed. Chances of a retraction/explanation? Zero.
Robin, it is apparent to me that the socialists are determined to destroy everything that provides basic needs to our fellow citizens at low/ affordable costs. In my opinion, this is because they have nothing better with which to occupy their time. As the old saying goes: the devil makes work for idle hands.
Caught Toksvig and Hardy on the News Quiz creasing themselves with laughter at shale gas drilling apparentlycausing earthquakes in Blackpool, much on the lines of the trendy anti-frakking Josh Fox greenie-scare film Gaslands burning taps phony story (methane in water long known about)
Seems the Ecofacist charities are briefing against shale gas drilling and the BBC joins in with gusto. We must be denied cheap and abundant sources of new energy, because the only answer to a renewable sustainable future is de-industrialisation and the global redistribution of wealth. Greenpeace says so.
Seems comedy is exempt from the normal standards of both science and journalism. If it makes people laugh, it must be right.
Toksvig and Hardy, the well-known scientists, right up there with Watson and Crick.
I just noticed this from Watts up with That, not sure f it has been posted before. It is about the “Nemo” fish which Robin blogged on another thread.
‘“we put the fish in a significantly different water environment, and they reacted differently”. Anyone who has ever owned a freshwater or saltwater aquarium can tell you about what happens when you transfer fish from the water environment they are used to, to one they aren’t. pH shock and Osmotic shock often often result from the abrupt change. The key is abrupt change, whether embryo or adult, the fish are wired for a specific ocean environment, change that environment abruptly and the fish change too. What they’ve done here is take 40 years of gradual change and compress it to the here and now.’
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/06/04/co2-deafens-nemo-or-how-many-ichthyologists-can-you-fit-in-that-car/#more-41018
Funding goes to the “right on science” no matter how flawed it is.
What is it with the BBC and environmentals? These fracking myths have long been debunked. Not only that, but even the top geologist for the State of New York says we should do it. I thought the BBC was always telling us to listen to the scientists and not activists with a vested interest in a specific outcome?
There’ll be a watermelon behind this, as usual.
NB, Robin: This must be one of those color/colour deals, because it reads to me like you’re using a swear word from Battlestar Galactica.
And talking of fossil fools!
Noted that the BBC gave Annie Nightingale an hour last night-50th anniversary of her first joint I think!
Do get tired of these old jocks remiscing about “the 60s ,man” and then “punk -we mean it maan-and that was the 70s”…nothing since though!
It`s as if we have to see obituaries to any principles they might once have had-if they can remember them!
Poor old John Peel will be turning on …well his turntable I suppose!
Phelim McAleer shot down the maker of the documentary about the supposed effects of fracking for gas, a couple of simple questions had Fox the greenshirt collapsing into a green jelly.
The BBC will not be asking Phelim on air anytime soon. Go to WUWT for the video where McAleer destroys th greenshirt Fox, it is so funny to see a greenshirt being destroyed on camera, watch his face at the very end, its a picture of despair and confusion.
Watched Fox out himself as a propagandist enemy of truth….did you note that the You Tube video has been rapidly pulled.
The drilling in the area concerned made one mistake. They should have measured the natural baseline biogenic methane in th aquifer ….this is now rioutinely done to establish a baseline to shut out the peddlers of pseudoscience.
From a text book, a definition of Methane (my highlights):
A colorless, odorless, inflammable gas, known commonly as marsh gas or fire damp. Methane (CH4) is the simplest hydrocarbon and the first member of the alkane series. It is the main constituent of natural gas, is released by METHANOGENIC MICROBES and volcanic vents, and from decaying matter and in coal mines. With air it makes an explosive mixture. Methane is used as a fuel and in the manufacture of other chemicals.
Elsewhere methane is produced from slurry and bio-mass to produce bio-gas….the greenies seem to like that but it stinks if you get down-wind.
The BBC is hopelessly mired in green alarmism..as Robin points out, Black is a culprit and will produce reports from paper mill science journals with regularity. A study of the ‘referees’ of the clown-fish journal ‘Our top ten referees’ suggest the authors ‘peer review’ each other in a buggins turn mode. Furthermore the journal likes ‘novelty’. The BBC gives it worldwide exposure and bangs home the message with colourful images and simplistic text to reinforce the nonsense.
All I saw , and it made my f*cking day+a half 😀 All I saw was a greenshirt squashed like a bug and made to like a complete and utter twat 1st class with honours.
I have played the last few seconds of the video over and over and nearly pissed my knickers laughing, tears in my eyes 😀 . Today I saw a greenshirt cultist near to tears.
A good day my friends, a bleedin good day 😀
Connoisseurs of the goings on at White City may appreciate the latest up date to the marvelously subversive Stickers on the Central Line, in which “White City” has metamorphosized into – you guessed it –
http://stickersonthecentralline.tumblr.com/post/6074948071/as-the-issues-surrounding-sustainability-rise-and
An alternative to BBC-greenie, Guardianista scare-lobbying against drilling for shale gas (near Blackpool and beyond):
“Energy and Climate Change Committee – Fifth Report
Shale Gas ”
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmenergy/795/79502.htm
Have I got News for You which aired on Friday 3rd on BBC1 was chaired by guest host Sharon Horgan. Regular panellists Paul Merton and Ian Hislop were joined by Richard Madeley – of Richard and Judy fame – and Joe Wilkinson a comedian. I used to be a fan of the BBC, but discovered what claptrap they put out after my ‘Road to Damascus’ realisation a few years ago of the baselessness of AGW, Climate Change, Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truths etc. But was shocked to realise how the BBC kept their AGW line running in just about everything. So switched off. Have I Got News for You is one of the few programmes I’ll watch (just!!)
Shale gas got a hammering also using the Blackpool Earthquake:
15:00 Picture of Blackpool Tower & Roller Coaster
15:09 Gas coming out of Bathroom taps and igniting
15:13 Picture of Drilling
Paul Merton: This is Part of the drilling that’s going on, there’s been an earthquake
15:15 Clip of serious simulated earthquake with bedroom furniture falling over shelvese emptying and so on
Paul Merton That’s probably a simulation
15:20 Clip of simulation of drilling
Paula Merton: There’s been an earthquake in Blackpool due to this fact that they’ve been drilling – it’s called fracking – that’s part of the fracking drill (laughter) – see it your fracking self (laughter)
Sharon Horgan: Absolutely 100% right. Blackpool has experienced 2 earthquakes which are being blamed on the fracking drilling. Do you know what happened when the earthquake hit Blackpool?
Paul Merton: Yes, it caused £20 worth of damage (lots of laughter and rest of comment drowned out)
Joe Wilkinson: Did the alarm go off on those 2p shove machines?
Sharon Horgan: The 1.5 magnitude earthquake struck around 1.00am
Richard Madeley (?) in background in disbelief: 1.5?
Sharon Horgan (very affirmative): It’s an earthquake! According to the Telegraph- several residents experienced the tremors.
My comment : This propaganda attempt fell a bit flat. Diction was often unclear.
Thanks to Bishop Hill, I quote:
Earthquakes induced by human activity have been documented in a few locations in the United States, Japan, and Canada. The cause was injection of fluids into deep wells for waste disposal and secondary recovery of oil, and the filling of large reservoirs for water supplies. Most of these earthquakes were minor. Deep mining can cause small to moderate quakes and nuclear testing has caused small earthquakes in the immediate area surrounding the test site, but other human activities have not been shown to trigger subsequent earthquakes. Earthquakes are part of a global tectonic process that generally occurs well beyond the influence or control of humans. The focus (point of origin) of an earthquake is typically tens to hundreds of miles underground, and the scale and force necessary to produce earthquakes are well beyond our daily lives.
More earthquake facts and fantasies at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/megaqk_facts_fantasy.php
BBC and other media take note of the facts!
Earlier the Beeb also took the opportunity to try and ridicule Sarah Palin:
In a rather laboured piece about Cheryl Cole getting axed from the X-Factor:
11:25 Sharon Horgan: It seems a bit unfair to pick on Cheryl just because they can’t understand her, but the Americans love that:
Sarah Palin Clip: Are we at war? I haven’t heard the president say that we are at war. And that’s why I too [don’t know] do we use the term intervention, do we use war, do we use squirmish?”
(Laughter, laboured piece on Cheryl Cole continues)
Comment: I suspect even Sarah Palin suffers from nerves, when interviewed on TV. Sharon Horgan would certainly have trouble being understood by the Americans. I struggled at times.
The interview was from 30th March so a bit old to be dragged out for a supposed ‘news’ programme.
This episode of “Have I got News for You” is available until next Friday at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b011plfb/Have_I_Got_News_for_You_Series_41_Episode_8/
For UK based computers only. If you are abroad and want to watch or download you will have go via a UK based VPN.
Or YouTube.
Ian Hislop is as Warmist as the rest of them.
Nick,
You can be sure we haven’t seen the last of the Sarah Palin clip !
David,
I used to subscribe to Hislop’s Private Eye. It has it’s moments, but is is as warmist as the most of the UK media.
Thanks for the youtube info. Didn’t realise the BBC would allow its programmes on there
Heard one of a bunch of leftie academics tonight on the rolling BBC News stating why Michael Fallon and the other Tories are heading for the buffers withall this “cutstuff”.
She was far from happy I can tell you-and after minutes of prolix waffle(she did`t really know what was wrong-but it boiled down to that Bristol care case and not enough investments in the likes of her I`d imagine), she made her true feelings known.
Our learned Professor summed up with the line-“you`re only scaremongering about the deficit for the excuse to cut savagely just as you always wanted to do”
That was the last word on the topic…objective,thoughtful just like an academic and a Professor ought to be? In BBC land though,she was passionate and suitably emoting Balls owl pellets from his last wise counsel to the nation that needs him…it really does you ingrates!
Certainly now, any “academic” or “expert” will be getting a checking as the BBC wheel them in for our consideration. At least Madame Mao didn`t wave her stumps round the TV studios for money on Sunday evenings like this copper bottomed left winged loon did.
I`ll not waste-sorry “invest” any more time on suchlike again.