Meet Piers Corbyn, latest crackpot darling of the right-wing AGW crowd

[Hugabear]

Piers Corbyn has been getting some play with the anti-global warming crowd because of his predictions of an upcoming "ice age", and his complete disdain for climate change. Supposedly he's been somewhat accurate with his local short-range weather forecasts (something like 73%), so because of this, the crackpots have latched on to him as their "expert". The problem with this is that Corbyn is not a climatologist or even a meteorologist. He's an astrophysicist. He makes his predictions by studying solar and lunar cycles. That might be adequate for helping to predict weather patterns a few months out, but hardly adequate at all for long-range predictions, predicting climate years or decades out.

The problem is that right-wing politicians latch on to pseudo-scientists like this, and use their "science" as rationale for not taking action to help corral climate change.

[haele]

1. Love the finger in a light socket hair...

Looks like it explains a lot of his theories....

"My research proves that...Bzzzt...under the current astronomical cycles....bzzzttt...and eels will be able to survive the coming weather by climbing trees...bzzzzttt..."

Haele

[Mojambo]

2. That's strange. He doesn't LOOK like a crackpot... n/t

[PBS Poll-435]

6. Agreed

:rofl:

[demandTheGoodLife.co]

15. +10 internets

[Stevenmarc]

3. He's perfectly believable because he has science'y hair

It's like they went to central casting for this guy

[MattBaggins]

7. Holy Shit... My dad's an astrophysicist.

[Hugabear]

11. seriously...an astrophysicist weighing in on Earth's climate?

That would be like asking a dentist to perform open-heart surgery.

I'm sure he might be the guy you want to ask about the weather on Mars, where man's effects are non-existent. But Earth, not so much.

[qnr]

12. Of course, he can weigh in as much as he wants (just like I do), but

people shouldn't use him as an authority on the matter.

[LonePirate]

4. So he is predicting an ice age but he doubts climate change is occurring?

Oh what it must be to live in that head of his.

[qnr]

9. That was my very first thought. n/t

[wtmusic]

5. Scam artist

"Weather Action is the business through which Corbyn sells his predictions. He has in the past bet on these predictions. His betting attracted much interest in 1990, when his predictions of bad weather were met by a year of the "worst extremes".<3>

Weather Action was formerly listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) as 'Weather Action Holdings plc' in 1997,<4> and was transferred back to private ownership in 1999, primarily because of increasing losses sustained and the impact of costs related to public status (around £70,000 annually) compared to annual revenues of £250,000.<5> Corbyn acquired back the weather prediction business; the listed shell was taken over by investors and changed its name to 'InternetAction.com', with the intent of researching potential net-based takeover targets.<6>

Corbyn has a wide range of weather sensitive customers, including gas and electricity companies, farmers and retailers.<5>

Weather Action claims to have independent research, conducted by insurers, showing that for a particular day, up to nine months in advance, Weather Action's forecasts have achieved an accuracy rate of 55 per cent, rising to 80 per cent for 24 hours either side."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Corbyn

[Capn Sunshine]

8. Didn't he take over for Larry King?

I wondered what he looked like.

[stevedeshazer]

10. "He makes his predictions by studying solar and lunar cycles."

That's what the Old Farmer's Almanac does.

The Woody Allen hair is kind of cool. No pun intended.

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[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Darling of DU too - an OP praising him got about 12 net recs last week

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x52239

[xchrom]

14. yes -- that was quite amazing. nt

[Fla_Democrat]

16. /swish

:smoke: