Mark Steyn
Credentials
Mark Steyn attended the King Edward’s School in Birmingham, U.K., leaving in 1978, at the age of 18. Steyn does not appear to have a college education or any background in climate science.
Background
Mark Steyn is the author and columnist of SteynOnline.com, where he writes “Steynposts”—commentary on current events—Monday through Friday, columns on politics and war, arts and culture, and on free-speech issues in the “Defend Free Speech! section” of his website. [3] Steyn regularly appears on The Rush Limbaugh Program and The Sean Hannity Show, in addition to a weekly appearance on The Hugh Hewitt Radio Show. [4]
Mark Steyn “is an international bestselling author … and a leading Canadian human rights activist.” [4] Steyn’s writing “has been published in almost every major newspaper around the English-speaking world, including Britain's Daily Telegraph, Canada's National Post, The Australian, The Irish Times, The Jerusalem Post, The Wall Street Journal, and many more.” [4]
Stance on Climate Change
“For the last century, we’ve had ever-so-slight warming trends and ever-so-slight cooling trends every 30 years or so, and I don’t think either are anything worth collapsing the global economy over.” [5]
“Now I don't consider myself a big credentialed expert or anything. I simply looked at a graph Michael E Mann hadn't been anywhere near and drew the obvious conclusion. Gave it two minutes' thought, if that. The reason it's taking climate science so much longer to draw that obvious conclusion is because ideology and the ideological enforcers like Mann got in the way.” [6]
Key Quotes
“Michael Mann was the man behind the fraudulent climate-change “hockey-stick” graph, the very ringmaster of the tree-ring circus.” [7]
“Antarctic ice is now at a 35-year high. But scientists are “baffled” by the planet’s stubborn refusal to submit to their climate models … Global warming will kill us. Global cooling will kill us. And if it’s 54 and partly cloudy, you should probably flee for your life right now. Maybe scientists might usefully consider moving to being less hung up on “consensus” – a most unscientific and, in this context, profoundly corrupting concept.” [8]
“I want to get to court as soon as possible, and put Michael E Mann, PhD (Doctor of Phraudology) on the stand under oath. I haven't wasted two years on this guy to be denied my moment in court. That's one reason I've countersued Mann. He thinks the DC Superior Court is competent to litigate his fraudulent 'hockey stick'. Fine, let's get it to a jury - before the sclerotic DC'justice' system's procedural delays go on as long as the global-warming 'pause'.” [12]
“There are all kinds of distinguished experts, including nobel prize winners all over the world who think that climate alarmism is a complete crock.” [16]
Key Deeds
April, 2015
Mark Steyn spoke about Climate Change: The Facts on the inaugural “Lawton Online” podcast for TheRebel.Media (see below, starting at time 43:15). According to Steyn, “We have now been 18 years without global warming.” He says is is proud to be among some of “the world's most eminent scientists” as well as “the fellows who are there for a cheap knockabout like me” who appear in the book.
Steyn describes Donna Laframboise as a “old colleague of mine from the National Post days.” Steyn also makes an unoffical challenge to David Suzuki to debate him on live television, saying that while he is not a climate change expert, he is “far more of an expert than [Suzuki] is.” [16]
December, 2014
Mark Steyn is a contributor to the book Climate Change: The Facts published by the Institute of Public Affairs and featuring “22 essays on the science, politics and economics of the climate change debate.” The Institute of Public Affairs, while not revealing most of its funders, is known to have received funding from mining magnate Gina Rinehart and at least one major tobacco company. [18]
The book includes essays and articles from a range of climate change skeptics, with contributors including the following:
- Alan Moran
- Andrew Bolt
- Anthony Watts
- Bernard Lewin
- Christopher Essex
- Donna Laframboise
- Garth W. Paltridge
- Ian Plimer
- J. Scott Armstrong
- James Delingpole
- Jennifer Marohasy
- Joanne Nova
- John Abbot
- Kesten Green
- Mark Steyn
- Nigel Lawson
- Patrick J. Michaels
- Richard S. Lindzen
- Robert M. Carter
- Ross McKitrick
- Rupert Darwall
- Stewart Franks
- Willie Soon
Editor Alan Moran summarized Steyn's contribution as follows:
Mark Steyn’s essay ‘Ship of Fools’ demonstrates how environmental activist, Professor Chris Turney inadvertently parodied Douglas Mawson’s Antarctic expedition. Turney had expected to see a path to the Pole cleared for his ship by global warming. After all, Al Gore had predicted an ice free Arctic by now. Instead, Turney’s Guardian backed expedition had to be rescued from expanding ice. A genuine scientist, as Turney claims to be, should have realised that Antarctic ice is expanding not increasing. [17]
As reported by DeSmogBlog, just as Steyn did in his article in The Spectator, Moran failed to point out that Turney’s expedition did know about recent sea ice trends in Antarctica because they explicitly identified this as something to study before they set off. [19], [20]
November 25, 2014
Mark Steyn was called to the D.C. Court of Appeals over the defamation suit originally filed by Michael Mann in 2012 in response to Steyn's July 2012 piece in the National Review titled “Football and Hockey.” The case has gone back and forth since 2012, with Steyn suggesting that Mann has extended the proceedings to make it more costly for the participants. Steyn had said he would represent himself, however later chose representation from Yale-Educated Dan Kornstein. [13], [14]
In his amicus brief (PDF), Steyn states that “The audacity of the falsehoods in Mann’s court pleadings is breathtaking” and claims that Mann has “manipulated” the anti-SLAPP process in order to slow proceedings for the purpose of “protracted and inevitably expensive litigation.” [15]
The blog Popehat reported in detail on the legal proceedings, going back to the start of the suit in 2012.
July 15, 2012
Mark Steyn publishes a piece in the National Review Online titled, “Football and Hockey.” [7] The piece resulted in Dr. Michael Mann, of Penn State University, suing Mark Steyn, National Review Online, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), and CEI analyst Randy Simberg for “defamatory articles accusing him [Mann] of academic fraud and comparing him to a convicted child molester, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky,” on July 23, 2012. [9] , [10] Steyn’s article “claimed Mann had ‘molested and tortured data,’ and described Mann’s famous ‘hockey stick’ graph as ‘fraudulent’.” [9]
Affiliations
- SteynOnline.com [1]
Publications
According to a search of Google Scholar, Mark Steyn has not published any research in peer-reviewed journals. The search does list that he has published numerous books including America alone: The end of the world as we know it, After America: Get Ready for Armageddon, and Broadway Babies Say Goodnight: Musicals Then and Now. [11]
Resources
“Mark Steyn,” Wikipedia.
“Top American Conservative Mark Steyn Didn't Go to College,” Edbasic, July 9, 2012. Archived September 2, 2014.
“FAQs,” SteynOnline.com. Archived September 2, 2014.
“Mark's bio,” SteynOnline.com. Archived September 2, 2014.
Mark Steyn. “Climate Change You Can Believe In,” National Review Online, July 25, 2009. Archived September 3, 2014.
Mark Steyn. “Settled Science Catches Up with Steyn,” SteynOnline.com, August 27, 2014.
Mark Steyn. ”Football and Hockey,” National Review Online, July 15, 2012. Archived September 3, 2014.
Mark Steyn. ”Ice Everywhere, But No Hockey Sticks,” National Review Online, December 2, 2013. Archived September 3, 2014.
“Could A Climate Scientist's Defamation Suit Shut Down The Nation's Leading Conservative Magazine?,” Climate Progress, February 3, 2014. Archived September 3, 2014.
Mark Steyn. ”Mann-made climate change turns up the heat on Steyn,” SteynOnline.com, July 23, 2012.
“Mark Steyn,” Google Scholar.
Mark Steyn. “I'm Gonna Quash That Mann Right Out Of My Hair,” SteynOnline.Com. June 7, 2014.
Betsy Rothstein.”Mark Steyn To D.C. Court For Defamation Hearing (You Won’t Want To Miss This),” The Daily Caller, November 24, 2014.
Jonathan H. Adler. “Mann v. Steyn — Steyn goes his own way,” The Washington Post, June 9, 2014.
“BRIEFOFAMICUSCURIAEMARKSTEYNINSUPPORTOFNEITHERPARTY,” Retrieved from Steynonline.com. Archived May 27, 2015 with WebCite.
“Lawton Online: Special guest Mark Steyn & more,” Rebel Media, April 16, 2015. [YouTube Video].
Alan Moran. “Climate Change: the facts 2014,” Catallaxy Files (blog), December 16, 2014.
“Institute of Public Affairs,” SourceWatch. Accessed May 27, 2015.
Graham Readfearn. “Australian Tax Breaks Help Fund Climate Science Denier Mark Steyn's Libel Defense in the US,” DeSmogBlog, May 14, 2015.
Graham Readfearn. “What's going on with global warming and Antarctica's growing sea ice?” The Guardian, March 11, 2014.