The censoring of a program which had run on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) illustrates what lengths the proponents of the anthropogenic (man-made) global warming theory will go to advance their viewpoint.
Quentin Letts (shown) recently wrote an article for the U.K.’s Daily Mail about the incident, in which he explained that his “What’s The Point Of … ?” series on BBC was a “chatty, personal look” at certain British institutions such as the Tate Gallery or the National Trust, giving their pros and cons.
Though the half-hour show is intended to be “absurdly comical” at times, his program entitled “What’s The Point of the MET Office?” — in which Letts examined the history of weather-forecasting in Britain — was considered no laughing matter by the devotees of the widely debunked theory of man-made global climate change.
In the course of the program, Letts spoke with a man from the Taxpayers’ Alliance. who grumbled about the Met Office being government-owned, as well as two members of Parliament (MPs) who opposed the Met Office’s lobbying efforts on climate change. Letts also mentioned a climate change forecast which had been proved wrong. And in addition, he spoke with proponents of the climate change theory as well.
After the program aired, Letts went off on vacation, giving it little more thought until some of his BBC colleagues told him that he had roused the anger of the “Green Lobby.” Letts was apparently accused of having shown “disrespect to climate change.” Top executives at the BBC then called a meeting to discuss what action to take.
The BBC launched an official inquiry into the offending program, which resulted in Letts being charged with having committed a “serious” breach of BBC rules on impartiality. BBC executives claimed they had previously told Letts that he was never to discuss climate change on his program (though Letts contends that was not the case).
He declared,
I was vaporised by the BBC’s Green Gestapo after daring to mock the Met Office and global warming.
Earlier this year, I made a jaunty little Radio 4 programme called What’s The Point Of The Met Office?
Last week, after a bizarre and focused lobbying campaign from environmental activists, the programme was removed from the BBC’s iPlayer playback facility.
“Why should climate change be given such special protection?” he wondered. “The weird thing is, I don’t consider myself a climate change skeptic. Like, I suspect, the majority of the population, I don’t know what to think about global warming …. do I think Man is to blame for the changing climate? I don’t know.”
Letts argued that he had interviewed on the program both climate change supporters and skeptics; however, it was the presence of the skeptics that blackballed the program.
This episode illustrates why many meteorologists and journalists are afraid to challenge global warming dogma. Climate skeptics can be ridiculed, denied promotion, and even outright fired.
Similar treatment can be expected in other fields such as history, when a scholar’s work runs counter to prevailing liberal interpretations. It is further proof that truth is not determined by a vote.
Photo: Quentin Letts
Steve Byas is a professor of history at Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College in Moore, Oklahoma. His book, History’s Greatest Libels, challenges some of the great lies of history.
