Oh GOD. Indie Sage is now launching a climate change group

[user1477391263]

Climate change is a very important issue, and we need to be getting everyone (across the political spectrum) involved in a way which is inclusive and non-judgmental. Big tent, please.

Which is why we do NOT need this hysterical, heavily partisan and judgmental bunch of twats involved. Please, please, Indie SAGE, will you PLEASE just stay away from climate change stuff? I can think of nothing more likely to turn environmental stuff into a partisan-political football and provoke a LOT of cynicism and resistance among a huge % of the population.

www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jun/20/head-of-independent-sage-to-launch-international-climate-change-group?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1624166012

I'm looking forward to hearing what they've got to say.

They've been spot on about Covid throughout the pandemic.

I suggest you stick to Sesame Street OP - it would seem the Climate Change discussion on there is more at your intellectual level.

They could form a band for all I care.

I was pleased to see this.

excellent, thanks for flagging it up

Wouldn't take anything they say seriously.

@NannyAndJohn

I'm looking forward to hearing what they've got to say.

They've been spot on about Covid throughout the pandemic.

Yes agree.

From the article "I’ve been amazed by the response to Independent Sage,” King said. “All 12 members have become media personalities. I hope we get the same level of interest for the climate group.”

It's a massive power, ego and money trip. He's being honest but people will still be fine with them flying around the world to spread their message.

They will be fine with toll roads and increased car tax too, they're rich enough.

Speaking up for something you believe in is not an ego trip.

It is something people who have no aspirations often throw about, as though everyone should just sit in their house and spend their lives doing nothing.

Some people want to help change the world for the better. To do that, they have to speak up.

I'm sick of the small-minded mentality that attributes negative motives to everyone.

Oh good. They can start with politicians who flew in from all over the world with all their entourages to discuss... climate change. They are contributing more to climate change than my 2 weeks in Tenerife once a year

@BonnieDundee If they spoke up against this hypocrisy that would be great. I noticed that some of the people from Independent Sage seemed to take UK holidays etc., hopefully they were all following the advice they themselves gave.

I would like to see less hypocrisy all round. I have made changes because of climate change (wanted to be able to tell my kids I did my bit irrespective of what other people did) - I am tired of being told to do things by people who do not lead by example.

this hysterical, heavily partisan and judgmental bunch of twats

I think you mean this group of intelligent, well-informed and (relatively) unbiased professionals. The hysterical twats are elsewhere, sometimes starting threads like this.

@borntobequiet

this hysterical, heavily partisan and judgmental bunch of twats

I think you mean this group of intelligent, well-informed and (relatively) unbiased professionals. The hysterical twats are elsewhere, sometimes starting threads like this.

They have done some weird and bonkers things, though, which will absolutely not help them advance a really important cause like climate change.

And I don’t mean things like disagreeing with the government. I mean much of their media/social media presence, including celebrating their own organisation’s birthday by doing a video with a fake Patrick Vallance voiceover criticising the government (fair enough to criticise the government but I mean come on), predicting with confidence the exact day the UK would hit herd immunity, setting out ‘advice’ to the which included ‘and then keep only enough measures to keep R below 1’ (simple!), declaring that any reopening of schools at any point ever during the pandemic has been ‘too soon’, and many of their prominent members saying either mad or weird things or deeply unpleasant on social media, etc etc etc…

They’ve also done some very good stuff. A lot of their briefing docs seem very sensible, detailed and accessible to me. So I don’t think they’re all awful people who get everything wrong or anything, but I do think they’re not going to do much to help a cause like climate change.

Fantastic news. About time.

Fine with this. Something to do

Well, as long as everyone remembers that they have even less democratic authority than Sage (Sage are at least appointed in a process which involves the (sort of elected) government) and therefore we can ignore them completely if we want to.

People who are desperate for a sort of scientific dictatorship are very, very odd.

Good, maybe they can start with limiting the amount of children people have to one

@110APiccadilly

Well, as long as everyone remembers that they have even less democratic authority than Sage (Sage are at least appointed in a process which involves the (sort of elected) government) and therefore we can ignore them completely if we want to.

People who are desperate for a sort of scientific dictatorship are very, very odd.

People who don't understand the value of scientific voices are very odd.

Very pleased to hear this. Thanks for heads up OP.

Never seen them say anything strange, @GoldenOmber. Just defending themselves from the twats calling them "doom mongers", "Nazis", etc.

@NannyAndJohn

Never seen them say anything strange, *@GoldenOmber*. Just defending themselves from the twats calling them "doom mongers", "Nazis", etc.

I’ve seen several of them say plenty of strange things. But I see your angle here is “these are the good people, and I must defend them against the bad people!” so probably we’re not going to get very far discussing it, are we?

Still, I would hope we can agree that climate change needs urgent, important cross-party work and really good public messaging that doesn’t put us all in Good Guys vs Bad Guys camps. And I doubt that letting Carole Cadwalladr, most recently of “PHE are using Eurovision to cover up the truth!” fame, to do your press is going to accomplish that.

I would also be seriously worried about having some of that crowd joining in a discussion about the effects of climate change when one of those effects is going to be more climate refugees and disproportionate impact in the global south. When you can see the disaster unfolding in India and respond not with “how do we help them?” but rather with “this is why we need stronger border closures!” and “the only thing that brings this virus to our shore is human bodies”, that’s not the sort of approach I want to be part of.

@LightasaBreeze

Good, maybe they can start with limiting the amount of children people have to one

How, precisely, are you going to do this? Send people to jail for having 2 kids? Strap women down and carry out abortions (this is what China did)? Just kill any newborns that aren't the first child?

You can, of course, disincentivise having more than one child. But there is no way of limiting it absolutely without utter inhumanity and cruelty.

The more open minded among you might find this interesting.

Brilliant. This is a project I could get on board with. We need as many voices shouting about this as we can get.

I think an expert body set up to tackle climate change is a good idea, but surely they should be experts in fields relating to climate change? (I appreciate that this would be a very diverse range of expertise, including effects, mitigations, solutions etc).

I thought independant SAGE were epidemiologists etc? Why is their insight into climate change so much more valuable than that of more qualified scientists? Is it just because they now have a certain level of fame?
Is it because they are publicly recognised "Top Scientists" and people believe that being a "Top Scientist" in one discipline makes you the go-to expert for everything science related? (That's the way it works in films and TV shows, right?)