Climatology Professor Takes on David Suzuki

Timothy Ball Challenges the Foundation

A religious fervor for protecting nature has transformed Canada's leading environmentalist into a bully intolerant of scientists who don't see things his way. Over the years I've heard and read statements by David Suzuki that are too often misleading or incorrect, especially about climate. He, and many like him, claim natural events are unnatural, but nature and climate frequently change dramatically and in very short time periods. Dr. Tim Ball is Chairman of the Natural Resources Stewardship Project (www.nrsp.com) and a former professor of climatology at the University of Winnipeg.

As Richard Lindzen said about the hypothesis that human addition of CO2 would cause significant global warming; the consensus was reached before the research had even begun.

The latest position is that 'the science is settled'. In February Suzuki stormed out of an AM640 Toronto radio interview when interviewer, John Oakley, made the accurate observation that global warming science is not a "totally settled issue."

His promotion of certainty in a field scientists understand to be immature, is counterproductive to climate research. If the science is settled then why is there literally a deluge of scientific papers coming out on the topic? If the science is settled, then this all must be an enormous waste of money. Suzuki raised the spin to a professional level when he teamed up with James Hoggan of Hoggan and Associates, one of Canada's largest public relations firms. According to Hoggan's Web site, "Hoggan has provided strategic communications services to the DSF [David Suzuki Foundation] for more than 15 years, providing communications advice on salmon farming, climate change, forest preservation and international conservation projects.

Hoggan continues to provide ongoing support to the DSF Nature Challenge and its Capital Contribution campaign. Hoggan also recently prepared a report for the DSF Board based on extensive national research on how to guide the evolution of the DSF's communications strategy to help become more effective in building broad-based support among decision makers, opinion leaders and other influential Canadians-."

Hoggan and Associates list the David Suzuki Foundation as one of their "Research Sponsors" and Hoggan himself has served on the Board of the DSF for the past 11 years, now even replacing Suzuki as Chair of the Foundation.

According to the DSF 2006 annual report, Hoggan and Associates is a large financial donor to the Suzuki Foundation and Hoggan has personally arranged "a future gift" to the society. That Hoggan's project is funded by an Alberta-based lawyer who has just pleaded guilty to multi-million dollar money laundering charges seems to bother no one.

For example, he wrote an article on his website asserting and has often told audiences, "It's been estimated that as many as three species go extinct every hour." This would mean that he is claiming that 72 species a day, 504 a week and 26,208 a year are disappearing.

When Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore and I ask him to name these disappearing species, Suzuki is unable. He apparently chooses to ignore the new species being found all the time or that it is estimated we have only found and named about 35% of the world's plant and animal species.

As National Geographic explains, "To date, taxonomists have identified less than two million distinct species, mostly mammals and birds. But it's estimated that the number of undiscovered species-primarily fish, fungi, insects, and microbes-ranges from ten million to more than one hundred million. Even at the low estimate, it's an enormous number."

At the 1999 International Forum on Globalization in Seattle Suzuki told the audience, "In the 1980s I deliberately left research. I felt that there was a need for a group of people who could give credible, knowledgeable critiques of what the implications of this new area might be."

He then generalized about his fellow geneticists "I knew from personal experience what most geneticists either don't acknowledge or don't even know about. And that is the dark side of this very young science." If Suzuki was concerned that modern genetics could go astray he could have had far more impact by remaining within the genetic community.