Summary of #25 - Michelle Stirling on going viral pushing back against fake science and fake consensus

00:00:00 - 00:45:00

Michelle Stirling, the communications manager for Friends of Science Society, discusses the organization's efforts to push back against the narrative of a 97% consensus on climate change through a report titled "97% Consensus: No Global Warming Math Myths and Social Proofs." They faced backlash when advertising the report in newspapers and social media, which encouraged them to put up billboards and sparked opposition from climate activists. Stirling also discusses her involvement in the Clintel World Climate Declaration and the harm caused by constantly promoting climate catastrophe to children and young people. She believes that people must stand for respect for diverse views and not accept labels like "denier", while promoting diversity and paying attention to scientific evidence rather than trading in carbon credits.

• 00:00:00 In this section, Michelle Stirling introduces herself and discusses her role as the communications manager for Friends of Science Society. She explains how she started working with the organization and how they aimed to bring qualified speakers to town to spread their message that the founders of Friends of Science did not agree with the Kyoto Protocol. Stirling notes that they started getting press coverage after she began sending out press releases and getting things picked up, which led to Donna Laframboise speaking and presenting a report on the IPCC's work and their review process.
• 00:05:00 In this section, Michelle Stirling, a member of the team, discusses the power of social proof and herd mentality in driving people's beliefs. To counteract the narrative of a 97% consensus on climate change, the team launched a report called "97% Consensus: No Global Warming Math Myths and Social Proofs." When they ran ads in newspapers and social media, the response was vehement, with one media group even returning their money for the print ads. The team later managed to scrape together enough money for billboards, which also sparked a response, particularly in Montreal where climate activists opposed them. Despite being a grassroots organization operating on a small budget, they fought back on attacks from the Canadian Revenue Agency and stood their ground.
• 00:10:00 In this section, Michelle Stirling discusses the backlash they received when they put up billboards about climate change in Canada, which attracted negative attention from the media. However, this ended up being helpful in opening up the conversation about climate change and encouraging people to think critically about the issue. Stirling notes that the organization has good connections within the climate science community, and many scientists and scholars have spoken at their events. Additionally, she talks about Clintel, an international group of scientists and scholars based in Holland, and their video which gained 750,000 views.
• 00:15:00 In this section, Michelle Stirling discusses how her involvement in the Clintel World Climate Declaration began at a conference in Portugal where over 100 scientists presented, and she met a number of people who would become involved in Clintel. The organization went on to acquire over 1400 signatories for the declaration that there is no climate emergency. Stirling later helped to publicize the declaration through her YouTube channel and was surprised when it gained over 700,000 views. Despite Facebook's shadow banning, the publicity helped Clintel gain more followers and supporters who were interested in hearing a different perspective on climate change.
• 00:20:00 In this section, Michelle Stirling discusses the outreach efforts of her organization and the challenges they face in getting their message across on social media. Despite their small team and lack of analytics resources, their videos have still managed to gain hundreds of thousands of views through public interest. She also mentions their popular video response to Greta Thunberg's climate strike, in which they aimed to provide historical context to the current state of the world and avoid attacking the youth for their beliefs. However, she also shares concerns that climate policies will lead to more people experiencing heat and eat poverty, as thousands of elderly individuals are already dying prematurely in the UK due to these policies.
• 00:25:00 In this section, Michelle Stirling discusses how the rising energy prices and fertilizer crisis could lead to a global food shortage, causing millions of people to starve to death, with developing nations being hit the hardest. She also talks about the conflicting views in Canadian society and academia, with some strongly believing in climate catastrophe thinking, while others in the resource sector, like mining, energy, agriculture, and forestry, taking a more practical and realistic approach. Stirling mentions the role of environmental groups funded by big philanthropies and their promotion of climate catastrophe and EVs, leading to a strong activist community in Canada; however, she also highlights the dependence on traditional energy sources and the inability of renewables to sustain the grid without them.
• 00:30:00 In this section, Michelle Stirling discusses the influence of an agenda-driven climate network in Canada, which has been affecting climate and energy policies for years. She mentions the Alberta inquiry, which was a forensic audit of money that went from offshore and foreign countries to environmental groups attacking Alberta and the oil sands. Millions of dollars have flowed into the country, including foreign money and environmental NGO influence. Stirling argues that the cap and trade system and carbon trading is something that big philanthropies have been wanting for the past 15 years, and they have been employing consultants like McKinsey to come up with strategies to make it happen.
• 00:35:00 In this section, Michelle Stirling discusses how the management firm, Designed to Win, has infiltrated every aspect of government and corporate society to push for the ESG agenda and climate change. She explains that CEOs may not question this agenda to avoid getting fired, and people who voice diverse views on climate change are called deniers. Stirling suggests that people must stand for respect for diverse views, be vocal about the lack of empirical evidence supporting the consensus, and not accept labels like "denier." She believes that myth-busting and promoting diversity are among the most significant things that people can do to push back against this agenda.
• 00:40:00 In this section, Michelle Stirling discusses the survey results that revealed how many respondents believed that the sun and other natural factors, rather than humans, were the main drivers of climate change. She also mentions the author of the consensus study stating that after reviewing comments from both sides, they became more neutral on the subject. Stirling points to Professor Fritz Varenholt's book, "The Neglected Sun," which details the solar influences on climate that are often ignored by the mainstream press and the IPCC. She also discusses Varenholt's career and expertise as a former chemical engineer and high-level manager of an energy company in Germany. Overall, Stirling argues that the neglected sun blows the climate catastrophe narrative out of the water, and the public should pay attention to scientific evidence rather than trading in carbon credits.
• 00:45:00 In this section, Michelle Stirling discusses the harm caused by constantly telling children and young people that the world is going to end due to climate change. She believes it is criminal to make them feel that they have no hope and that there is no reason to go on. This mentality leads to mass depression among children and young people. Stirling also mentions that her non-profit organization, Friends of Science, is asking for small donations and membership sign-ups to help inform the public about the rational dissenting views on climate change that aren't often discussed in mainstream media.