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Comments 51 to 100 out of 114:

51. Rob Honeycutt at 03:13 AM on 12 September, 2012
    "There is no consensus on Catastrophic Anthropogenic Light Bulbs."
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52. vrooomie at 03:42 AM on 12 September, 2012
    Sph@45, that would be the MCFLM (TM). Medieval Compact Fluorescent Light Minimum...:) Variation on a theme: "When *I* was kid, we had NO light bulbs! We lived in the dark! You best get used to it, kid!"
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53. John Hartz at 03:43 AM on 12 September, 2012
    Keep them doggies moving... "Yes indeeedy, all of our lightbulbs were financed by the Koch brothers."
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54. vrooomie at 03:45 AM on 12 September, 2012
    "You know how those light bulb scientists are just on the light bulb research 'gravy train."
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55. John Hartz at 03:47 AM on 12 September, 2012
    Variation on the Koch brothers them.. "Don't worry, the Koch brothers are buying new bulbs for us."
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56. John Hartz at 03:55 AM on 12 September, 2012
    Another Koch brothers... "Remember, we only buy lightbulbs that have the Koch brothers Seal of Approval.
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57. John Hartz at 03:57 AM on 12 September, 2012
    Perhaps a new theme.. Don't worry, Fox News will tell everyone that we're sitting here in the dark."
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58. John Mason at 04:10 AM on 12 September, 2012
    "There is no darkness, the darkness is nothing to do with lack of lightbulbs and the lack of lightbulbs is due to volcanoes and in any case as the sun gets more active in the 60-year cycle there will be no need for them anyway and there's no point in changing lightbulbs because not everyone in China or India is changing lightbulbs and these Watermelons would have us living in a cave with no light and... oh *** I can't see my keyboard any more..."
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59. John Hartz at 04:11 AM on 12 September, 2012
    Another batch: "You simply cannot proove beyond all reasonable doubt that electricity causes the lightbulb to emit light!" "What you call electricity spikes, we call natural variability." "Increasing the flow of electricty does not make the lightbulbs burn brighter."
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60. John Hartz at 04:15 AM on 12 September, 2012
    @John Mason #60: Due to its size, your balloon will require its own toon. We can dub it, "The Never Ending Story."
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61. John Mason at 04:19 AM on 12 September, 2012
    @ John Hartz #62 - You know how I have to deal with all those Gish-Gallops. I can do 'em too - that was the short version!
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62. Bob Lacatena at 04:31 AM on 12 September, 2012
    Okay, I waited far too long for this. I can't believe no one else did it... But... *drum roll, please* "How many climate skeptics does it take to change a light bulb?" "None. They don't have enough Watts to power it even if it's changed." Get it? Watts? Anthony Watts? Oh, never mind.
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63. vrooomie at 05:22 AM on 12 September, 2012
    Sph@64.... Sphaerica's Just Dessserts.... {;-D
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64. gws at 07:10 AM on 12 September, 2012
    wait, wait until the bishop comes over the hill ... he will say "let there be light" or something ... never mind
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65. John Hartz at 08:58 AM on 12 September, 2012
    Back in the saddle... "More than 35,000 people with high school and/or college degrees have signed a petition rejecting the theory that electricity causes a lightbulb to glow."
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66. John Hartz at 09:06 AM on 12 September, 2012
    If you need to take break from writing toon balloons, please answer the two questions that I posed in the "What say you" section of the OP. The two questions: How do you react when somebody labels you or a prominent climate scientist such as James Hansen an "alarmist"? Paul Revere is perhaps the most famous alarmist in the history of America. Is there a comparable figure in your country's history?
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67. Bernard J. at 09:16 AM on 12 September, 2012
    This is all a storm in a teacup. How can something that we can't see (carbon dioxide) cause something that we can't see (the dark)? It's a fraud, a conspiracy. In fact, if one looks carefully at my graph of the data one will see that there is no relationship between the two.
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68. skywatcher at 09:23 AM on 12 September, 2012
    JH #68, I would probably respond to your first poser by noting that most climate scientists, and summaries of climate science in general like the IPCC are very conservative (rather obviously pointing to SkS argument #34), making reference to the loss of Arctic ice and rises in sea level that are well above the IPCC projections. Depending on the circumstance and readers, I might point to Freudenberg and Muselli. If it were about Hansen specifically, I'd note that Hansen's views do tend towards the more pessimistic, but also that he's been correct on a lot of things, which is not a comforting thought. I'm sure there are good figures from British history to fit the term "alarmist"; my terminally softened brain can't think of any just now.
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69. Bernard J. at 09:24 AM on 12 September, 2012
    And anyone who complains that my graph of the data is scaled in degrees kelvin should remember that space, which is dark, is also cold so of course my graph will span 0-300 K.
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70. Zibethicus at 09:24 AM on 12 September, 2012
    I have come into possession of a (stolen) email from one of the so-called 'electrical engineers' from the company responsible for the power supply. In it, the engineer talks about 'buying more light'. This proves beyond a shadow (ahem!) of a doubt that there is plenty of light available to the company, and the rumours of a so-called 'dead light bulb' are actually an insidious plot to impose Socialist power restrictions in pursuit of a fraudulent, sacrilegious austerity drive against The Free Market and with the long-term goal of a one-world government blah blah blah... (snip seven paragraphs) For your convenience in understanding and properly interpreting this crucial information, I have omitted the other thirty thousand emails as irrelevant distractions, as well as the rest of the sentence in the email, which continues 'milk for the tea room tomorrow'. An obvious attempt at obfuscation, not to mention further sinister evidence of CONSPIRACY and attempts to disguise incriminating evidence. Most of the other, equally incriminating emails will be released in due course, following the imminent publication of my paradigm-shattering paper on this subject in the PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL /Entropy and Entertainment/. The paper will be modestly entitled 'The Final Final Nail In The Coffin Of The Communist-Inspired So-Called 'Dark Room Theory'. I ask no reward for my services for sanity beyond a Nobel like the one which was given to Monckton. Genius must, after all, have its due. PS: Einstein was wrong, and Al Gore is still fatty fat fat!
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71. ajki at 09:40 AM on 12 September, 2012
    "Changing bulbs is useless - the darkness isn't sensitive, anyway"
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72. vrooomie at 09:50 AM on 12 September, 2012
    Poor John Cook...he must reading this thread, holding his head in his hands, and thinking, "What have I *done?* {=:D
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73. bill4344 at 10:02 AM on 12 September, 2012
    Sphaerica @ 64 - yes, their output is measured in µWatts...
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74. Bob Loblaw at 10:13 AM on 12 September, 2012
    John Hartz@68 Oh, yeah, there was more to the post than the cartoon, wasn't there? Re: James Hansen. Alarmist? No, not with any negative connotation. Realist, is more like it. The alarmists are the ones that have been saying for years that we'll destroy the economy and send everyone back to the horse and buggy days if we try to reduce fossil fuel use. (We may send everyone back to the horse and buggy days, but it will be because we failed to deal with global warming and society collapsed because of it. Now that's getting alarmist.) Re: similar figures to Paul Revere in my country? Well, in Canada, many years ago, a national radio program had a contest to see who could come up with a phrase "As American as apple pie" for Canada: i.e., "As Canadian as ...." The winner was... "As Canadian as possible under the circumstances." We're not renowned for sticking our necks out, but the Paul Revere reference made me think that the most famous alarmist in Canada's history was probably Laura Secord. There was a time when every kid in school heard the story of her warning the troops in the War of 1812, but her fame is probably more related to the use of her name to sell chocolates. ...but returning to the important task of filling balloons: "I know that 97 electricians have said you need to change that light bulb, but I've got an expert plumber and a petition signed by 30,000 landscape designers that says it doesn't."
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75. John Hartz at 10:26 AM on 12 September, 2012
    @Skywatcher #70: Thanks for responding to the questions. Re a prominent British alarmist, Winston Churchill would be my first choice,
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76. KR at 10:30 AM on 12 September, 2012
    The mass of a bulb is tiny compared to the contents of the room - how could such a trace item have any effect on the light?
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77. Albatross at 13:17 PM on 12 September, 2012
    This is very entertaining, and there are some great one liners here. Please share this as widely as possible and let others share (and join in on) the fun. There is a YouTube video too.
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78. Ari Jokimäki at 15:16 PM on 12 September, 2012
    Well, I see that trace amount angle already got used, but I'll post my version of it anyway: "I didn't even notice bulb breaking because light from a bulb is just a trace amount compared to sunlight."
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79. Bernard J. at 19:37 PM on 12 September, 2012
    I can't believe that we've missed the David Duff defense: "But I like the dark: the darker the better. These light summers are so miserable".
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80. Riccardo at 19:49 PM on 12 September, 2012
    We don't even need light bulbs, just adapt. We have plenty of light at the poles ... seasonally ... just move north and south.
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81. Kevin C at 00:11 AM on 13 September, 2012
    When someone labels James Hansen, or me, or anyone else as an alarmist, they are playing a rhetorical trick - that by naming a position or argument you discredit it. We do the same when we label deniers. At the same time we need to refer to views and/or groups without spelling out their views in detail every time, so labels are inevitable. Some are implicitly derogatory (denier, alarmist), some are flattering (skeptic, realist). Sometimes groups adopt derogatory labels (quaker), although this may be associated with an unhealthy persecution mentality. We all use words in the way which we guess will be most effective in communicating to our desired audience. How effective we are depends on how well we gauge the audience. There can also be negative consequences when we don't take into account the response of incidental audiences. Or in other words, I can't get very excited about it.
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82. John Hartz at 00:46 AM on 13 September, 2012
    Another day, another dollar... "In the 1970's they told us we were heading into a Lightness Age" "The darkness is only a temporary aberation." "It's been getting lighter since 1998." "I told you not to repsond to Lewandowsky's survey!" "John Cook and his SkS posse rode into town and shot out all of our lightbulbs." "Why can't we relocate to Planet B?" "The lights didn't go out in the SkS room."
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83. Robert Murphy at 00:58 AM on 13 September, 2012
    "I see 5 light bulbs, Mr. O'Brien"
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84. John Hartz at 01:03 AM on 13 September, 2012
    Seriously... "We gotta lighten up!" This one applies to both denialists and warmists when we are sparring with each other.
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85. John Hartz at 01:17 AM on 13 September, 2012
    Another theme perhaps... "The lights never go out in the SkS room because.." "...George Soros pays the utility bills." "...John Cook is filthy rich." "...Dana is really Data." "...SkS authors only work in the light." "...the designs of the lightbulbs they use are always peer-reviewd and published in mainstream scientific journals." "...lightness always trumps darkness." "...The Force is with them." "...they refuse to use lightbulbs with Watts stamped on them."
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86. Robert Murphy at 01:20 AM on 13 September, 2012
    "Once you start down the light path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will"
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87. John Hartz at 01:38 AM on 13 September, 2012
    Suggestion... Because many of the toon balloon suggestions on this comment thread do not directly answer the question posed in the title of Ari's Toon of the Week, I recommend that we use the following title in our follow-up series: "Overheard in the Darkroom of the Climate Deniers" This new title gives us a much larger tent to play in. What say you?
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88. John Hartz at 01:41 AM on 13 September, 2012
    This morining's output was fueled by one cup of coffee and two cinnamon/raisin buns. I also slept in and was bright eyed and bushy-tailed when I finally awoke. Keep those ideas coming!
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89. vrooomie at 01:45 AM on 13 September, 2012
    John, here's what *I* say, and I cannot believe I didn't get it, or otyh4rs didn't either! "How many climate skeptics does it take to change a light bulb? Just one, to hold the bulb, and 30,000 to spin the data ladder."
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90. John Hartz at 01:48 AM on 13 September, 2012
    For your eyes only! A senior SkS author who is not authorized to speak on the record has informed me that this comment thread will be highlighted in the next edition of the Weekly Digest.
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91. John Hartz at 01:50 AM on 13 September, 2012
    @vroomie #89: Pricless! You may move to the head of the class.
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92. Bob Loblaw at 02:11 AM on 13 September, 2012
    John Hartz @ 87: many of the toon balloon suggestions on this comment thread do not directly answer the question posed That's exactly the point: we deny that there is a problem... Why try to answer a question that doesn't need answering?
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93. ajki at 03:33 AM on 13 September, 2012
    "What about Venus and Mars? Show bulb changing there first."
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94. M Tucker at 04:17 AM on 13 September, 2012
    Responding to John Hartz @66 I will take up both the “alarmist” moniker as well as the “warmist” moniker you also mentioned. How do I feel if so labeled? Just fine! I accept the labels. I am very alarmed and it is definitely getting warmer faster than ever before in earth’s history. I then refer to Michael Mann’s work and to Dr Lee R Kump. Dr Kump is a self described expert on planetary fevers. He has been working on reconstructing the events of the PETM event and is happy to point out that our current situation is moving much faster than nature was able to accomplish about 55 million years ago. As for “alarmists” in history…Absolutely, Winston Churchill immediately comes to mind. For both WWII and for how the Soviet Union would react once the war was over. I then think of Leo Szilard and the letter he wrote to Roosevelt, economist Alexander Sachs for being persistent in bringing the letter to Roosevelt, and I give President Roosevelt great credit for paying attention to the science. I also give Roosevelt and General Marshall great credit for getting the military in shape prior to Dec 7. Many forget the unprecedented peace time draft bill Roosevelt got thorough Congress in 1940 in spite of the anti-war, isolationist Republicans. Then I think of Rachel Carson (American) and Helen Caldicott (Australian). Being an American you might think I would immediately jump on old Paul the hard riding “alarmist,” he did raise the alarm along with a few others, but, after all, the Brits were already here. I would like to give “alarmist” credit to Sam Adams who raised the alarm about the sorry state the militia was in so they were ready to go when Paul made his ride.
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95. John Hartz at 05:17 AM on 13 September, 2012
    @ M Tucker #94: Your response to the two questions posed in the OP is very much appreciated. Would you be interested in transforming it into a blog post artcle for publication on this website? I and other members of the SkS author team would be more than willing to assist you polish an initial draft.
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96. CBDunkerson at 06:21 AM on 13 September, 2012
    "Light bulbs violate the second law of thermodynamics." "Darkness is colorless, odorless, and naturally occurring." "Research shows that it got dark before humans developed light bulbs." "Studies show that occasional darkness is healthy. Therefor perpetual darkness must be even better." "Changing the light bulb would destroy the economy." "If God wanted us to have light bulbs He would have made the stars big enough to fit in a lamp." "The luminosity hockey stick, showing rapidly increased light when the bulb is turned on, has obviously been faked." "I don't believe in light bulbs." "The government took all our light bulbs away."
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97. John Hartz at 06:39 AM on 13 September, 2012
    @CBDunkerson #96: Bravo!
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98. John Hartz at 06:47 AM on 13 September, 2012
    Some afternoon delights... "Those light bulbs were made on an island in an urban area!" "From now on, we only buy lightbulbs made in pristine remote locations that have not changed in 200 years!" "The urban heat island effect casuses many to erroneously believe it is pitch black in here." "Light bulbs emit more heat than light. That's why it's getting so cold in here."
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99. KR at 06:59 AM on 13 September, 2012
    "We don't need more light - you are being confused by the Urban Dark Areas..."
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100. M Tucker at 07:00 AM on 13 September, 2012
     John Hartz @95 I am flattered. I am not opposed to working up a post but I do all my writing here at work, in the free moments, some moments are more free than others. Of course I can do some work at home but no internet connection there. Feel free to contact me at my email address, which I’m sure you have on file, and I am happy to work with anyone to create a blog post on this topic.
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