DeSmogBlog
Encyclopedia
The DeSmogBlog, founded in January 2006, is a non-profit internet project and blog
that focuses on topics related to global warming
. The site describes itself as "the world's number one source for accurate, fact based information regarding Global Warming misinformation campaigns." DeSmogBlog opposes what it describes as "a well-funded and highly organized public relations campaign" that it says is "poisoning" the climate change debate
.
Since its inception, the site has received several mentions in the media regarding its involvement in global warming issues. The site was co-founded by Jim Hoggan, president of a public relations firm based in Vancouver, Canada. The website was recognized in December 2007 with an award by a trade organization for its standards and content.
firm Hoggan and Associates. In a February 2007 interview with the Vancouver Sun, Hoggan conveys his anger at industry interests who he believes mislead the public about the scientific understanding of global warming. He referred to this alleged misrepresentation of the facts as, "public relations at its sleaziest". Hoggan used his expertise in public relations to start a project that would "clear the PR pollution that clouds the science of climate change" and expose organizations and individuals which he considered to be unethical. DeSmogBlog reports on the credibility of experts who appear to misrepresent the science of global warming in the media by investigating their scientific background, funding sources, and industry interests. The site originally targeted a Canadian audience but is now involved in global climate change coverage.
Contributors to the site assist in researching organizations that the site's staff believe are phony, grassroots
organizations, or astroturf
groups sponsored directly or indirectly by industries seeking to thwart climate change-related legislation. Organizations alleged by the blog to be astroturfs include Friends of Science
, Natural Resources Stewardship Project
, Global Climate Coalition
, and International Climate Science Coalition
. Individuals that the site has identified as pushing an anti-climate change point of view are listed in the site's "Denial Database", with accompanying information about their industry affiliations and professional biographies. In a Financial Post
column, Canadian environmentalist Lawrence Solomon
stated that the organization was, in Solomon's words, "specifically created for the purpose of discrediting skeptics."
In a report in the Globe and Mail, Hoggan stated that the most frequent visitors to the site came from Calgary
, Ottawa
, and Washington D.C..
DeSmogBlog has criticized Financial Post
editor and columnist Terence Corcoran
, claiming he impedes progress on climate change and environmental protection legislation in Canada. In turn, Corcoran has criticized Hoggan and his website, accusing both of serving the interests of large corporations hoping to make money on emissions trading
.
The blog has been referenced in The Guardian
by George Monbiot
, who most recently cited a study by the website showing that in 2008 "the number of internet pages proposing that man-made global warming is a hoax or a lie more than doubled". In another column, Monbiot noted that DeSmogBlog posted a video critical of Anthony Watts's blog Watts Up With That
that Watts had deleted from YouTube
for copyright reasons. Monbiot has also mentioned DeSmogBlog's efforts to expose efforts by oil, coal, and electricity companies to manipulate media views on climate change.
-based public relations firm James Hoggan & Associates, chair of the David Suzuki Foundation
, a trustee of the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education
, and an executive member of the Urban Development Institute. He is the author of the 2009 book Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming (ISBN 978-1553654858), which criticizes global warming skepticism. The sources do not identify the site's other co-founder.
The website names John Lefebvre
as a benefactor. Frequent contributors to the blog include Ross Gelbspan
and Richard Littlemore. Littlemore is a science writer who formerly worked for the Vancouver Sun. The site's project manager is Kevin Grandia, a former aid to Raymond Chan
.
chapters of the Canadian Public Relations Society, the Vancouver, Victoria (CPRS-vi) and Northern Lights in Prince George
, with an award for demonstrating "The highest ethical and professional standards while performing outstanding work". In a CPRS press release which accompanied the award, Hoggan stated that the site had been viewed by 520,000 people over its history, had been cited as a source by 24 media outlets, and mentioned in more than 4,500 other blogs. According to the press release, the blog was selected for the award by a panel of journalists and public relations professionals in Victoria
, Vancouver, and Prince George
.
DeSmogBlog was also listed by Time Magazine as one of the "best blogs of 2011" in June, 2011.
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
that focuses on topics related to global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. The site describes itself as "the world's number one source for accurate, fact based information regarding Global Warming misinformation campaigns." DeSmogBlog opposes what it describes as "a well-funded and highly organized public relations campaign" that it says is "poisoning" the climate change debate
Global warming controversy
Global warming controversy refers to a variety of disputes, significantly more pronounced in the popular media than in the scientific literature, regarding the nature, causes, and consequences of global warming...
.
Since its inception, the site has received several mentions in the media regarding its involvement in global warming issues. The site was co-founded by Jim Hoggan, president of a public relations firm based in Vancouver, Canada. The website was recognized in December 2007 with an award by a trade organization for its standards and content.
Mission and audience
The blog was co-founded in January 2006 by James Hoggan, president of the public relationsPublic relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
firm Hoggan and Associates. In a February 2007 interview with the Vancouver Sun, Hoggan conveys his anger at industry interests who he believes mislead the public about the scientific understanding of global warming. He referred to this alleged misrepresentation of the facts as, "public relations at its sleaziest". Hoggan used his expertise in public relations to start a project that would "clear the PR pollution that clouds the science of climate change" and expose organizations and individuals which he considered to be unethical. DeSmogBlog reports on the credibility of experts who appear to misrepresent the science of global warming in the media by investigating their scientific background, funding sources, and industry interests. The site originally targeted a Canadian audience but is now involved in global climate change coverage.
Contributors to the site assist in researching organizations that the site's staff believe are phony, grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
organizations, or astroturf
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is a form of advocacy in support of a political, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some...
groups sponsored directly or indirectly by industries seeking to thwart climate change-related legislation. Organizations alleged by the blog to be astroturfs include Friends of Science
Friends of Science
Friends of Science is a Canadian non-profit advocacy organization of physicists, geologists and atmospheric scientists founded in 2002 and based in Calgary, Alberta...
, Natural Resources Stewardship Project
Natural Resources Stewardship Project
The Natural Resources Stewardship Project is a Canadian non-profit organization that presents itself as undertaking "a proactive grassroots campaign to counter the Kyoto Protocol and other greenhouse gas reduction schemes while promoting sensible climate change policy." The group was founded in...
, Global Climate Coalition
Global Climate Coalition
The Global Climate Coalition was a group of mainly United States businesses opposing immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The group formed in response to several reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . A major scientific report on the severity of global warming...
, and International Climate Science Coalition
International Climate Science Coalition
The International Climate Science Coalition is an organization which espouses global warming skepticism. According to its web site, it is "an international association of scientists, economists and energy and policy experts working to promote better public understanding of climate change science...
. Individuals that the site has identified as pushing an anti-climate change point of view are listed in the site's "Denial Database", with accompanying information about their industry affiliations and professional biographies. In a Financial Post
Financial Post
The Financial Post was an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the publication was folded into the new National Post, although the name Financial Post has been retained as the banner for that paper's business section and also lives on in the Post’s...
column, Canadian environmentalist Lawrence Solomon
Lawrence Solomon
Lawrence Solomon is a Canadian writer on the environment and the founder and executive director of Energy Probe, a Canadian non-governmental environmental organization...
stated that the organization was, in Solomon's words, "specifically created for the purpose of discrediting skeptics."
In a report in the Globe and Mail, Hoggan stated that the most frequent visitors to the site came from Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, and Washington D.C..
Notable issues or media mentions
In one instance, the site responded to a 2006 open letter opposing the Canadian Government's climate-change plans, claimed to be signed by "accredited experts in climate and related scientific disciplines", by analyzing the list of the signatories. The site concluded that those checked had few peer-reviewed publications on the topic and/or had fossil fuel industry connections.DeSmogBlog has criticized Financial Post
Financial Post
The Financial Post was an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the publication was folded into the new National Post, although the name Financial Post has been retained as the banner for that paper's business section and also lives on in the Post’s...
editor and columnist Terence Corcoran
Terence Corcoran
Terence "Terry" Dollard Corcoran is editor and columnist for the Financial Post section of the Toronto-based National Post.-Biography and works:...
, claiming he impedes progress on climate change and environmental protection legislation in Canada. In turn, Corcoran has criticized Hoggan and his website, accusing both of serving the interests of large corporations hoping to make money on emissions trading
Emissions trading
Emissions trading is a market-based approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants....
.
The blog has been referenced in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
by George Monbiot
George Monbiot
George Joshua Richard Monbiot is an English writer, known for his environmental and political activism. He lives in Machynlleth, Wales, writes a weekly column for The Guardian, and is the author of a number of books, including Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain and Bring on the...
, who most recently cited a study by the website showing that in 2008 "the number of internet pages proposing that man-made global warming is a hoax or a lie more than doubled". In another column, Monbiot noted that DeSmogBlog posted a video critical of Anthony Watts's blog Watts Up With That
Watts Up With That
Watts Up With That? is a popular science blog, created in 2006 by California meteorologist Anthony Watts, that reports on anthropogenic global warming-related issues from a skeptical standpoint. The tagline of the blog is "News and commentary on puzzling things in life, nature, science, weather,...
that Watts had deleted from YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
for copyright reasons. Monbiot has also mentioned DeSmogBlog's efforts to expose efforts by oil, coal, and electricity companies to manipulate media views on climate change.
Founder and staff
The site's co-founder, James Hoggan, is President of the VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
-based public relations firm James Hoggan & Associates, chair of the David Suzuki Foundation
David Suzuki Foundation
The David Suzuki Foundation is an environmental organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada It is a non-profit organization that is incorporated in both Canada and the United States, and is funded by over 40,000 donors...
, a trustee of the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education
Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education
The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education is an international charitable organization and education center located in Vancouver, Canada. Established in 2005, the center describes its mission as "educating the heart and fostering compassion through creative learning, facilitating and applying...
, and an executive member of the Urban Development Institute. He is the author of the 2009 book Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming (ISBN 978-1553654858), which criticizes global warming skepticism. The sources do not identify the site's other co-founder.
The website names John Lefebvre
John Lefebvre
John Lefebvre , is a Canadian musician, composer, entrepreneur, retired lawyer and philanthropist currently active as a songwriter, touring performer, and recording artist—as well as an activist and advocate who has made extensive contributions to the dialogue surrounding climate change issues.In...
as a benefactor. Frequent contributors to the blog include Ross Gelbspan
Ross Gelbspan
Ross Gelbspan is an American writer and activist. He has written two books relating to global warming-- The Heat Is On and Boiling Point . The Heat Is On received national attention when President Bill Clinton told the press he was reading it. Boiling Point was the subject of the lead review in...
and Richard Littlemore. Littlemore is a science writer who formerly worked for the Vancouver Sun. The site's project manager is Kevin Grandia, a former aid to Raymond Chan
Raymond Chan
Raymond Chan, PC , is the first Chinese Canadian to be appointed to the Cabinet of Canada. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Chan was elected to Parliament in the 1993 federal election, defeating then Defence Minister Tom Siddon in the riding of Richmond, British Columbia...
.
Awards
The site was recognized in December 2007 by three British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
chapters of the Canadian Public Relations Society, the Vancouver, Victoria (CPRS-vi) and Northern Lights in Prince George
Prince George, British Columbia
Prince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...
, with an award for demonstrating "The highest ethical and professional standards while performing outstanding work". In a CPRS press release which accompanied the award, Hoggan stated that the site had been viewed by 520,000 people over its history, had been cited as a source by 24 media outlets, and mentioned in more than 4,500 other blogs. According to the press release, the blog was selected for the award by a panel of journalists and public relations professionals in Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, Vancouver, and Prince George
Prince George, British Columbia
Prince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...
.
DeSmogBlog was also listed by Time Magazine as one of the "best blogs of 2011" in June, 2011.
See also
- Climate change denialClimate change denialClimate change denial is a term used to describe organized attempts to downplay, deny or dismiss the scientific consensus on the extent of global warming, its significance, and its connection to human behavior, especially for commercial or ideological reasons...
- Global warming controversyGlobal warming controversyGlobal warming controversy refers to a variety of disputes, significantly more pronounced in the popular media than in the scientific literature, regarding the nature, causes, and consequences of global warming...
- RealClimateRealClimateRealClimate is a commentary site on climatology. The site's contributors are a group of climate scientists whose goal is to provide a quick response to developing stories and providing the context sometimes missing in mainstream commentary. The discussion is intended to be restricted to scientific...
- Watts Up With ThatWatts Up With ThatWatts Up With That? is a popular science blog, created in 2006 by California meteorologist Anthony Watts, that reports on anthropogenic global warming-related issues from a skeptical standpoint. The tagline of the blog is "News and commentary on puzzling things in life, nature, science, weather,...