Professor Bob Carter
One of the best things about being a skeptic are the people I’ve got to know, and Bob Carter was one of the best of them, sadly taken far too soon. He was outstanding, a true gem, a good soul, and an implacably rational thinker. A softly spoken man of conscience and good humour.
So it is dreadful news that he suffered a heart attack last week in Townsville. For the last few days I have been hoping that he would return to us, but alas, tonight he passed away peacefully, surrounded by family.
We shall miss you Bob.
Professor Bob Carter (74) has been a key figure in the Global Warming debate, doing exactly what good professors ought to do — challenging paradigms, speaking internationally, writing books, newspaper articles, and being invited to give special briefings with Ministers in Parliament. He started work at James Cook University in 1981, served as Head of the Geology Department until 1998, and sometime after that he retired. Since then he’d been an honorary Adjunct Professor.
He was a man who followed the scientific path, no matter where it took him, and even if it cost him, career-wise, every last bell and whistle that the industry of science bestowed, right down to his very email address. After decades of excellent work, he continued on as an emeritus professor, speaking out in a calm and good natured way against poor reasoning and bad science. But the high road is the hard road and the university management tired of dealing with the awkward questions and the flack that comes with speaking truths that upset the gravy train. First James Cook University (JCU) took away his office, then they took his title. In protest at that, another professor hired Bob immediately for an hour a week so Bob could continue supervising students and keep his library access. But that was blocked as well, even the library pass and his email account were taken away, though they cost the University almost nothing.
It says a lot about the man that, despite the obstacles, he didn’t seem bitter and rarely complained. He dealt with it all with calm equanimity. Somehow he didn’t carry the bad treatment as excess baggage.
Bob Carter and John Spooner “Taxing Air”, a unique book mixing science and cartooning.
Probably the saddest aspect of the whole petty saga of the Blackballing of Bob Carter was that JCU felt it was fine to explain that Bob’s mistake was that he had come to an inconvenient conclusion on climate change. It wasn’t that he got the facts wrong, instead his “views on climate change did not fit well within the School’s own teaching and research activities.” So much for academic freedom. Apparently it took up too much time to defend Carter against outside complaints about his public writings and lectures on climate change.
Such is the state of intellectual rigor in Australian universities. As I said at the time:
… every person in the chain of command tacitly, or in at least one case, actively endorsed the blackballing. Each one failed to stand for free speech and rigorous debate.
The only one in that chain at JCU who would always put science before politics was Professor Robert Carter. He was a rare and remarkable man, and I will keenly miss his wisdom and philosophical good nature.
Here’s a fitting reminder of his influence: Thanks to John Spooner.
Bob Carter wins the cartoon war
My sympathies and condolences to Anne Carter and the rest of his family. I know there are many who will miss him. At least he finished with a great year, he and Anne “successful gadding about”: Sydney, Washington, San Francisco, Chicago, Sicily, Rome, Dresden, Budapest and of course, Paris.
The sad short notification from Anne tonight:
“We are very sad to inform you that Bob passed away peacefully this evening in the company of his family. Heartland has put together a great bio on Bob’s career.
One thing is for sure, Bob made the most of every minute he had and was a fighter to the very end.
He would want to thank you for your support and to say how much he enjoyed working with each and every one of you.
Funeral arrangements are being made and will be advised when finalised but most likely on Monday next week in Townsville.” — Anne Carter
UPDATE: Funeral Arrangements have been made through Morleys Funerals at the lakes next Monday at 1pm in Townsville.
All my posts on Bob Carter. This won’t be the last. The world would be a much better place if it were a world with more Bob Carters.
And the tributes flow:
From Fred Singer:
I feel so privileged to have known and worked with Bob (since our 2006 voyage in the Baltic)
and to have shared the panel talks last month in Paris.
“He died with his boots on.”
From Joe Bast at Heartland:
This is almost unspeakably sad. Bob was the very embodiment of the “happy warrior” in the global warming debate. He was a scholar’s scholar, with impeccable credentials (including a Ph.D. from Cambridge), careful attention to detail, and a deep understanding of and commitment to the scientific method. He endured the slings and arrows of the anti-science Left with seeming ease and good humor and often warned against resorting to similar tactics to answer them.
Bob never failed to answer the call to defend climate science, getting on planes to make the long flight from Australia to the U.S., to Paris, and to other lands without complaints or excuses. He was a wonderful public speaker and a charming traveling mate. He was not an easy man to edit, though – he kept wanting to put unnecessary commas, “that’s,” and boldfacing back into his manuscripts — but the great ones never are.
Bob helped immeasurably with three volumes in the Climate Change Reconsidered series, a series of hefty compilations of scientific research he coauthored and coedited with Craig D. Idso and S. Fred Singer. Just a few weeks ago, he flew to Paris to speak at Heartland’s “Day of Examining the Data” and contributed to the completion and review of another book, Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming: The NIPCC report on scientific consensus.
From Christopher Monckton:
We will remember him. He was our clearest voice of truth.
From James Delingpole:
We all loved Bob; we’re all going to miss him. He smiled as he fought and as Fred says he died with his boots on. What those of you who missed hanging with him in Paris last December should know is that he was on splendid form – hail, happy, looking like he was going to go on forever. Good old Bob with his dark Satanic beard and his impish smile. What a hero! What a friend! Just the kind of guy you want in the foxhole next to you!
From Craig Idso:
I had the privilege of knowing and working with Bob for the better part of the past decade. Along with Fred Singer, I served with Bob as a Lead Author on several volumes of work produced by the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change. Putting together those volumes was always a Herculean task and Bob was an integral part of their success. He was a master of scientific knowledge and had an incredible talent of sharing that knowledge with others.
Bob had a long and storied career. A wonderful biography of his accomplishments can be found here. But for those who knew him best, it was not his career that kept his heart, but his dear, sweet companion Anne, who was always at his side and accompanied him to nearly every work-related conference and meeting he attended.
I will miss Bob and the friendship we shared. To Anne and their family, may God bless and be with you during this difficult hour of your lives. You have our heartfelt condolences and are in our prayers.
From Tom Harris International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC):
Professor Carter was a very fine man — compassionate, intelligent and still hard working long after most people have retired. He will be sorely missed by many people.
Bob was a great supporter of me and ICSC in general, helping providing the solid, rational science foundation to our work to bring climate realism to the general public.
I feel privileged to have known Bob in the last few years of his life. I also feel privileged to have spent some time with him in Paris, DC, Chicago, NY and here in Ottawa when he was on a speaking tour of Canada.
Donna Laframboise:
The first climate skeptic gathering this journalist attended was a 1-day event in 2009. There were numerous speakers, but Bob Carter’s calm, sensible, persuasive presentation was the one I most talked and thought about afterward. (In 2012, I recalled that event here).
Having shared a stage with Bob twice in the past six months, I can say with perfect sincerity that he was kind, charming, and a gentleman.
Steve McIntyre:
In 2003, when I was unknown to anyone other than my friends and family, I had been posting comments on climate reconstructions at a chatline. Bob emailed me out of the blue with encouragement, saying that I was looking at the data differently than anyone else and that I should definitely follow it through. Without his specific encouragement, it is not for sure that I ever would have bothered trying to write up what became McIntyre and McKitrick (2003) or anything else.
He was always full of good cheer, despite continuing provocations, and unfailingly encouraging.
Viv Forbes
Bob Carter was a shining light to those of us in Australia who benefitted from his leadership in the Earth Sciences. A great geologist, a sound scientist, a good friend, a superb speaker and illustrator, the sort of pedantic editor I appreciate, and good company. His leadership and advice in the great climate debate will be sadly missed, especially here in the Sunshine State.
Marc Morano:
Climate Depot: “Bob was a man of great courage, intellect and wit. I am deeply saddened by his passing. He easily seemed a decade younger than his 74 years with his youthful looks and energy level. the world of science has lost a true champion.”
David Rothbard At CFACT:
Science lost a champion and we lost a friend. In 2010, then Czech President Vaclav Klaus wrote a fitting tribute to Bob titled, “Thank heavens for Bob Carter.” We do thank God for Bob. We will miss him terribly.
Anthony Watts:
To say that he was a man of good cheer and resilience would be an understatement. He not only bore the slings and arrows thrown his way by some of the ugliest people in the climate debate, he reciprocated with professionalism and honor, refusing to let them drag him into the quagmire of climate ugliness we have seen from so many climate activists. His duty, first and foremost was to truth.
[There are many more tributes to Bob at WUWT.]
Don Aitken (Former Chair of the Australian Research Council):
Bob was a lovely man. He was appointed to the Australian Research Grants Committee in 1987 when I was its Chairman, and stayed on in the Australian Research Council’s Earth Sciences group when the ARGC became the ARC. He was a feisty fighter for his discipline. As was common, he got to the position of assessing requests for money by having been a highly successful seeker of research funds himself. When I became interested in global warming ten years ago, Ian Castles, a great and former Australian Statistician, suggested that I should read his take on the issue, and Bob and I became in close contact again. Over the last ten years he has been one of the world’s best sceptics in this awful field of ‘climate change’. He writes well, bases himself on what is known, is alert to error and does not exaggerate. His passing is a great sadness to me, and will be to thousands of people he never met.’
Mark Steyn, “A Principled Man in a Corrupted Field”
He was no caricature of a wild-eyed denier, but in any almost any discussion invariably the most sane and sensible man on the panel. … A great scientist and a courageous and honorable man, he was full of joy and steel-spined, exactly the chap, as James Delingpole said, “you want in the foxhole standing next to you”.
John Spooner, Award winning cartoonist, co-author with Bob Carter
A John Spooner cartoon (click to enlarge)
Bob Carter was a great man. His greatness was located in something that we all recognized; his intelligent courage , perceptive kindness and an exuberant love of life.
Here was a man who showed everyone how to stand up to bullying and cowardly malice with elegant dignity.
I think he understood human weakness without cynicism but he was baffled by the evasiveness of his opponents in the climate debate.How could they not see the truth, and why wouldn’t they face him openly? He felt that tribal allegiance or group think anxiety were at the heart of what passes for thought in our society.
Ingrida and I are grateful to have called Bob and Anne our friends. A conversation with Bob could range from politics to science and fine art. He always had sympathetic care for family life. In fact he seemed to have a loving embrace for us all. He will be missed dreadfully by all who knew him. Our sincere commiserations to Anne and family, from John and Ingrida Spooner.
Professor of Physics, Peter Ridd, Marine Geophysics Laboratory
This is distressing news. Bob was truly one of the major influences in my life since he set up the Marine Geophysical Lab at JCU in the 80’s. I learnt so much about the perspective that only a geologist can bring – and a brilliant one at that.
I can assure you that in addition to old post docs like me, there is a tribe of ex students who are very saddened by this news but grateful that they came under Bob’s spell for some of their formative years.
He will be missed.
Willie Soon, Astrophysicist
Bill Gray
Bob Carter – what a great professional and personal loss for so many of us AGW critics with the news of the death of Bob Carter. Bob gave so much of himself in recent years to holding the line against the false arguments and propaganda that has been so extensively advanced by global warming advocates. We should all admire Bob’s courage and his insightful climate understanding which he so skillfully brought to bear to up-hold the integrity of science. He leaves behind a most admirable legacy which will continue to inspire me and I’m sure many others to keep up our efforts to bring truth to the warming question….
Steve Hyland (former student of Bob Carter)
Oh no. This is unexpected and very sad news about Bob Carter.
It was a privilege to be one of Bob’s undergraduate students in the mid 1980’s at James Cook University. I will always remember how he reinforced the importance of scientific method, which I probably didn’t fully appreciate at the time. I certainly do now in these ‘post modern’ times in science.
Bob was a scientist to the core and it goes without saying a true gentleman. I regret that he will not to see an end to the unscientific “global warming” madness that has gripped the world. This is a huge loss. I am resolved to continue the good fight in his memory.
May he rest in peace, and may there be some tributes to him that will be read by those who haven’t had the opportunity to know of his work, which will inspire them to dig further. Condolences to his family, and shame to JCU
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Bob’s videos on what models are and how they should be used was my introduction into the real science of climate models. He shall be missed.
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May Bob rest in peace knowing he was a true scientist and a wise person who did everything he could to promote good science in good spirit.
He will be missed by many, many people – too numerous to name, who like me enjoyed his mind and his company.
When the full history of the science of climate change is written, Bob will be remembered as one of the greats, always battling against the odds in favour of the quest for truth through science and I trust many a future science prize will be awarded in his honour.
Condolences to Anne Carter and all of his family.
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My condolences to his family. A very accomplished man taken from us far too early.
I will miss his contributions to the GW debate delivered in his inimitable calm and knowledgeable way.
RIP
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Bob Carter joined the battle, the scientific debate with honesty integrity & reason – a real modern day Hector.
His legacy will persist.
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[…] Jo Nova has a far better tribute than I could ever write: http://joannenova.com.au/2016/01/bob-carter-a-great-man-gone-far-too-soon/ […]
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When I was researching the climate saga it was Bob Carter who was most gracious and patient answering my emailed questions… from a ship in the middle of the Pacific.
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Oh my, this is the first I’ve heard. Very sorry to hear this. Bob was the first scientist I contacted out of the blue when I decided it was time to become an active skeptic. He gave a talk about defending the scientific method that resonated with me and became a major part of my first web climate web page.
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That is so sad. I have only known him by the medium of youtube, but he came over as a gentleman of integrity, with a warmth and humour that is so rarely seen in his adversaries. A champion for truth has been lost.
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It is disgusting what JCU has done but we will all remember Bob speaking up for sound science.
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I’ve said it here before, but I had the immense pleasure of being taught by Bob Carter at the University of Adelaide, as part of my Honours year course-work – disturbingly close to 20 years ago now.
It was only a short-course, but his friendly and cheerful character, his patience, and captivating public speaking style, not to mention his obvious passion and deep knowledge, was such that I still vividly remember the subject matter.
Vale Bob
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Bugger.
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Yep. Knowing Bob…I don’t believe he would want people to mourn for him. Not his style.
I’m going to celebrate his life and achievements. It is the duty of those that he inspired to continue the fight. I certainly will…with renewed gusto.
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Very sad and shocking news. So sad that Bob didn’t live long enough to correct the gross injustices done to him by James Cook University.
I found Bob to be an excellent communicator of simple facts around the so called climate change scare. Similar to Jo, a bridge between science and non scientists to help us understand in simple terms. Without people like Bob and Jo the scientific wool could be pulled over our eyes unchallenged. The linked Youtube video of Bob from 2011 is a big highlight to me.
May Bob’s legacy live on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpfMM3bVbhQ
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That video was one of my early memories, too. At about 8:25 Bob is showing the last half a million years’ temperature data and he asks who will bet on it going up given the shape of the curve.
It certainly made me think.
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Very sad to hear this (I just read RR’s comment on Bishop Hill). I too only knew Bob from his excellent videos and presentations on YouTube. A great loss for the scientific community, in Australia and the wider world.
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This really sucks.
I shall raise a glass of red wine (Bob’s favorite) this evening (Jan 19) to a wonderfully rational, sensible scientist and dear friend.
All who care to do the same, around the world (whatever your time zone), are welcome to join me in saying goodbye to Bob. He will be sorely missed.
Susan Crockford, on the Canadian west coast.
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Sad news. Condolences and all my best to his family.
A curse upon all those people that caused him any stress. Stress as we know is not healthy. Even if Bob didn’t complain, it would be unlikely that stress was absent.
R.I.P. Bob Carter
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Bob Carter was one of the first people I watched offering a counter view to the ‘settled science’ of global warming, what struck me was his almost gentle manner when debating while devastating his opponent with well informed facts and intellect, I hope now with his passing people can look back and appreciate his ideas, insights, and mostly rare courage under fire that was inspiring to watch.
Hero’s come in many forms but a common trait amongst them is humility, what Bob Carter forgot in one day his antagonists could never learn in a lifetime, they knew this and could only respond with spite as shallow people know no better but still he persisted for the love of his profession and our benefit.
You made me try to learn then laugh and now cry, thank you Bob.
Yours sincerely Scott Mitchell.
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Professor Bob Carter, 09 Apr 2006
Fought an enduring and great fight. Requiescat in pace.
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Thank you so much, Manfred, for the link to that superb article by Bob. If nothing else were to survive of his output, this one, for me, encapsulates everything that Bob was and stood for.
I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but he was certainly instrumental in enlightening me on climate matters, as he did for so many others.
Vale, Bob!
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Shocking and deeply saddening news.
When I first became interested in Global Warming, Bob stood out as a genuinely pleasant person who wanted to explain the facts as he saw them. What a contrast to the “true believers” who merely wanted to belittle and browbeat any and all dissenting voices.
He will be sorely missed by we sceptics.
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You say sorely missed by we sceptics, i say truly missed by us realists, he was a great man who new the truth.
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I have only known him from the material on the internet – his writings his lectures his comments -the latest from Paris that I watched only yesterday on my screen. But you get to know people even from this source and he was one that I instinctively trusted and liked. And so, from far off Dunedin, I share the grief of loosing a trusted and respected ‘friend’ from the ‘net’. God speed Bob.
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Dr. Carter always answered my emails. I’m sorry I never got to meet him. He seemed very kind-hearted. RIP.
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Sad news.Quite shocked.Heartfelt condolences to his family.
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I have no qualms about cross-posting my comment from WUWT:
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The first video I watched on the climate change topic featured Bob Carter giving a lecture. In reference to changing temperatures he said, with a mischievous sense of humour “it depends …” meaning the time scale one uses. I’ve never forgotten that! Everything he said made sense to the lay person.
If my life depended on the climate change debate, I would want Bob Carter to be batting for me.
Rest in peace, Bob.
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“If my life depended on the climate change debate, I would want Bob Carter to be batting for me”
Very well put Ian
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[…] was very saddened to learn of the sudden death of Bob Carter ( here here). He was one of the few people in this field that I regarded as a friend. He was only a few […]
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Er … I hope you’re not an academic Climate Audit. The expression is “hear, hear” meaning listen up – I’m in agreement with what has been said. It is not “here here” as in: come here, Rover …
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Jo, I have already written this for Anthony Watts. I agree with everything you have said above.
‘Bob was a lovely man. He was appointed to the Australian Research Grants Committee in 1987 when I was its Chairman, and stayed on in the Australian Research Council’s Earth Sciences group when the ARGC became the ARC. He was a feisty fighter for his discipline. As was common, he got to the position of assessing requests for money by having been a highly successful seeker of research funds himself. When I became interested in global warming ten years ago, Ian Castles, a great and former Australian Statistician, suggested that I should read his take on the issue, and Bob and I became in close contact again. Over the last ten years he has been one of the world’s best sceptics in this awful field of ‘climate change’. He writes well, bases himself on what is known, is alert to error and does not exaggerate. His passing is a great sadness to me, and will be to thousands of people he never met.’
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Bob was a great geologist – and I deeply miss every one of those who have gone
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Yes, Bob was a great stratigrapher and sedimentologist. My condolences to his family.
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A great loss – but a great legacy. I met him a few times and he was always both lucid and generous. He was probably at Otago when I was a student there, but I only met him this century. Appropriate that you should mention Ian Castles, Don. They were similar – principled, polite and persistent. They would politely but insistently speak truth to power. My favourite vignette with Ian was when he received an admission from a World Bank interlocutor (in an e-mail he shared with me) that Ian was correct to say that the Bank was misusing statistics (Market Exchange Rates rather than Purchasing Power Parity) in their World Development Report, but the President liked the results it produced (suggesting greater inequality). Ian’s point was that we could not tell which policies had been successful if we did not know what the results were. Bob, I think, was cut from the same cloth.
Condolences to his family – but a life to celebrate.
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Agree, Don
I heard him speak and had a few words which showed his sincerity. I also sent a few emails and he responded very quickly with honesty and explanation of his work & knowledge. Sad to learn that he has passed away but at least in peace.
Others to have passed and left a mark were John Daly (http://www.john-daly.com/), Ernst-Georg Beck (http://www.biomind.de/realCO2/realCO2-1.htm ) and Dr Noor Van Andel but nothing like Bob Carter who will be long remembered. Here is his web page http://members.iinet.net.au/~glrmc/new_page_1.htm
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Shocked and dumbfounded.
Bob was a gentleman that will be impossible to replace.
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Truly sad news.
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Bob Carter was a great man, and a shining example to scientists. Everything he said made sense and it was one of his lectures which first alerted me to the CAGW Scam and ‘settled’ science distortion. Bob will be remembered as one of the greats in the struggle for the truth and he deserves to have an award for excellence in science with his name on it.
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As a fellow geo I have nothing but praise for Bob Carter. Unfortunately he was taken too soon but be rest assured Bob this “AGW Nonsense” will be exposed as a sham in the near future and we all owe you great gratitude for your immense effort towards this cause. As a soft rock geo, like myself, you must have been horrified to the extent that the “AGW Scam” has corrupted science, politicians & the MSM.
RIP Dr Robert M. Carter.
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Bob was a hero to me and an inspiration for humanity.
“… you do have to admire the job that the Greens have done: since 1990 they’ve slowly and systematically stitched up the education system (schools down to kindergarten level and up to university), business, government bureaucracies (via the IPCC) and politicians alike, and the press were always there with them knitting furiously from the start, egged on by a multitude of self-interested scientists in funding feeding frenzy.”
Bob Carter 2009
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Vale, Bob Carter a truly great climate scientific mind. Bobs last book front cover featured Vincent Van Gogh painting ‘The Sower’ late November 1888. The man also had good taste in Art.
Will be sadly missed, but not forgotten
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Notable – and contemptible – by their absent condolences:
JCU
Oreskes
Lewandowsky
Cook
Mann
Hansen
Flannery
(add rogues here…OBs all – Aussie short form)
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I have looked through the Australian website for a report, and found nothing. Perhaps I missed it, but if confirmed it is another notable, and contemptible, failure. Similarly with the Herald-Sun.
My condolences go to his family and close associates. He was a true scientist with a solid commitment to the scientific method, and as Jo has well said: a happy warrior. He will indeed, be sorely missed.
Jo: if any of the baser trolls dare to post a “good riddance” message, put up one or two of them – just to show to all what mean-spirited and contemptible turds they really are.
Have Tim Ball and Bill Kininmonth given tributes so far?
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Correction: Joe Bast called him, “a happy warrior”, not Joanne. But we know Joanne agrees with this designation.
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English
Glickson
Karoly
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It speaks more of them than of Mr Carter.
Personally, I would not want this tribute sullied by the comments of any of them.
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This is a major loss.
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A true scientist who will be sadly missed.
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I am terribly saddened by Bob’s untimely death. I met him only once in 2010 in Emerald where he was speaking with Anthony Watts. He put things into perspective nicely when asked whether he agreed that 30 years was a suitable timescale for seeing any climate change. He replied “More like 30 thousand years.”
He will be sorely missed, but he was an inspiration to many, and his example will live on.
Ken Stewart
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RIP Prof. Bob Carter.
I did get to stand next to him at the 2012 carbon tax rally in Brisbane.
The man radiated a presence of calmness and class as he chatted with anyone who approached him.
Deepest condolences to family & friends.
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sincere condolences to Professor Carter’s family and friends.
one way or another, his message will continue to inform people everywhere of the scientific hoax that is CAGW:
15 Jan: BusinessDay South Africa: Tom Harris: Much of the world abandons rational thought about climate change
(Harris is executive director of the Ottawa-based International Climate Science Coalition)
Reality for the UN and most politicians is now more determined by what imaginative climate activists say than what science and observational evidence actually show. December’s UN climate conference in Paris is a case in point.
Sounding like an episode out of Barrie’s fairy tale, politicians pledged to prevent “global temperature” from rising more than 2C. That we are as yet unable to meaningfully forecast climate decades in advance, let alone control it, didn’t matter. Humankind has a global thermostat, they imagine.
Delegates believed that scientists have Peter Pan-like powers to sense climate danger decades in advance. They dream that today’s global climate models, simulations that utterly failed to forecast the current 18-year “pause” in warming provide legislators with the “unequivocal” knowledge they need to enact trillion-dollar energy policies.
To back up their extraordinary claims, we are told that there is an overwhelming consensus of scientists who agree with the UN’s position. Thousands of well-qualified sceptics are imagined out of existence…
On December 7, the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) released the report “Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming.” Authored by climatologist Dr Craig Idso of the Centre for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change in Arizona; geologist ***Dr Robert Carter, former head of the department of earth sciences at James Cook University in Australia; and physicist Dr S Fred Singer, emeritus professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia, the new report refutes the claims of climate alarmists. For example, the NIPCC states:
• “There is no survey or study showing consensus on the most important scientific issues in the climate change debate.”
• “Neither the rate nor the magnitude of the reported late twentieth century surface warming lay outside normal natural variability.”…ETC
http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/2016/01/15/much-of-the-world-abandons-rational-thought-about-climate-change
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http://catallaxyfiles.com/2016/01/20/on-the-sad-passing-of-bob-carter-a-great-scientist-and-friend/
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http://climateaudit.org/2016/01/19/bob-carter/
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Many years ago Bob helped me (via email) to respond to a rather silly local newspaper article about the terrible CAGW awaiting us in a few short years.
Since then I have read his columns, books etc and watched many of his youtube videos.
His passing is a shock and it will take an extraordinary person(s) to try and fill his shoes. Bob Carter RIP.
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I challenge Fairfax/ABC/News Ltd to publish Jo Nova’s tribute to Professor Carter.
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So do I Pat.
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Fairfax and News Ltd belatedly have covered Professor Carter’s passing.
Now where is the fair and balanced taxpayer-funded ABC report?
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Really saddened by this news. An objective and honest scientist. My condolences to those who were close to him, family and friends.
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A gentleman scholar, so few in climate science, and he will be sadly missed. Condolences to his family.
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Dear World – dear Anne,
This is a very great loss. A remarkable Man in science and spirit is gone. This is very very sad.
We will all miss him so very much. For Science it is a big loss. Things will not be as before.
But we have all his excellent writings and interviews and papers, and all our fine personal memories.
with love and respect from “Niklas” (Nils-Axel Mörner)
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A very sad day Jo and my sincere condolences to his family. Bob was a man of great integrity and calm in a sea of madness.
I have several of his books, all written in his clear, non emotive style. His presentations were an excellent blend of wisdom and humour.
He will be very sadly missed.
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Oh what a shock. How terrible. He was such a quietly and confidently reasoned voice and a gentleman. Only the good die young. My profoundest condolences.
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A sad day indeed.
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We will miss you Bob. Rest in peace.
My condolence to his family and friends.
We need all the dedicated men and women we can get and your loss is a sore one indeed.
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All too few are as dedicated to demonstrable facts, the evidence, as Professor Carter. His family will determine suitable memorial words but I think he would be proud to be remembered by these words from Jo.
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My condolences to Anne Carter and all of his family. A truly a great man. A family man. A fighter to the end.
Rest in Peace Bob and God bless your soul for sharing your scientific knowledge with us. May your spirit continue to live on in the fight against climate alarmism.
Thank you.
Vincent Davis (UK)
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A wonderfully open and accessible person. I phoned him from time to time to seek information. These calls were usually without prior arrangement. He was always ready to give me time. The same with emails. He always responded, never ignoring them. He always provided the information for which I asked. Sadly missed.
Condolences to Anne and the family.
I’m sure that when the great question gets asked by future generations, ‘What did you do in the great CAGW debate Granddad?’ he will be seen as one of true scientists.
170
I have no red wine to hand, so am having a dram for Bob. As I am sure a few others will be in Scotland and around the world this evening. Rest in Peace, and safe in the knowledge that this scam will only last another 10 or 20 years at the most, not even a nanosecond in geological time.
200
Aye, yer richt enough, Jimmy – I always have a wee one masel’, but I’ll have an extra one, just for Bob, the nicht!
140
The restaurant in which I am seated has no new Zealand wines. The nearest I can find is a Pinot Noir from Tamar Valley Tasmania. Devil’s Corner it is.
Here’s to Bob and, in the spirit of seabed core drillers everywhere, … bottoms up!
90
I met Bob and heard him speak in Batemans Bay. A wonderful speaker and his book his still my go to text. May he rest in peace.
160
Although I knew who Bob was and what he stood for, it was not until I attended an IPA seminar in Sydney last year that I saw him in the flesh and heard him speak. He was all that I expected; informative, humorous, professional, but most of all, a true scientist.
I seldom feel a personal sense of loss at the death of someone that I never knew personally, but I do feel this today with Bob’s passing. We have lost a warrior in our fight against the perfidy of the global warming scam and it is up to us to continue the fight.
One thing we can do is help Jo and David to do this, so shake the tip jar, fellow bloggers, you know you want to!
__________
Thank you Peter! – Jo
230
You know of all the people I’ve encountered in this whole debate Bob Carter and Will Kinimonth would have to be the most forthcoming. Even though I’m a relative nobody, an Electrical Engineer with a mild interest in the topic, Professor Carter answered my then probably rather naive emails diligently. Bob set me on the path to skepticism, it was one of his talks (In Germany I think) where he simply said if we were following the precautionary principle then we’d be prepared for both warming (which has almost no downside) AND COOLING and we would not be taxing the one commodity which makes it possible for mankind to survive extreme weather – ENERGY. This made so much sense it changed me!
Thanks Bob you are/were a gem and I’ll truly miss you.
200
It is a sad commentary on JCU that they have lost their world famous professor and through their actions he has no direct connection with the university despite so many years of service. In times to come when Bob Carter is remembered and his fight for science and truth recognized and now part of history, they will be unknown and forever having to explain and justify their part in the clear injustice. Vale Professor Bob Carter.
200
I had correspondence with him some years ago and we exchanged ideas. His last comment to me was along the lines that all we can do in the face of what we agreed as the biggest scam in history is to keep pressing on and focus on the observational evidence.
He was a scholar and a gentleman. My condolences to his family. May he rest in peace.
140
You reminded me – I forwarded a piece to him which I thought might be of interest some years ago. He personally replied, which was quite unexpected. He always struck me as the quintessential gentleman. Sad news indeed.
100
Very sad….
90
Bob Carter was passionate, persuasive but also good humored in his writing and the presentations. He will be missed.
140
I had Bob come and give a couple of talks at Newcastle some time ago. He was larger than life and was one of those people who transferred his confidence and personality to those around him. He was easy to talk to and had the common touch which very few scientists have. A great scientist, a good man and a good bloke.
180
Bob Carter did an enormous amount to help save us all from stupidity. He was one offour non-climate scientists who convinced Senator Steve Fielding (the only engineer in Parliament) that the climate scientists’ projections of catastrophic human caused global warming were not based on sound objective, analysis of the relevant evidence and were highly suspect (David Evans was one of the four!). This was the beginnings of the undoing of Kevin Rudd, Penny Wong and the advocates for the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and then the Gillard Carbon Tax.
Thank you Bob Carter for helping to bring some rational objective analysis to the debate. Thank you for the long view you brought to the debate that only geologists can bring. Thank you for so much!
260
Sad, and a great loss. He had a way of explaining things well.
100
I am upset and appalled at the treatment he suffered at the hands of JCU. It was one of his video presentations that really got me thinking.
Thank you Professor Bob Carter and may you rest in peace.
Annie.
200
During the long cold nights of winter, with all the snow still here despite the global warming, I like watch Bob Carter’s presentations on youtube sometimes. He has a style which I like. I hoped perhaps one day I would get to meet this gentleman. Sadly this will never happen now.
Rest in peace Bob.
120
A truely sad day! I listened to Bob on talk back radio, never got see him in the flesh but feel a deep loss. Bob was the quintessential scientist. He made you think, the same way Sumner-Miller made you think. To enquire, to test and not just believe it because he said so.
90
My tribute to the great man is here. My heart goes out to his family, friends and colleagues. His enemies will not forgive him, we will never forget him.
90
I’ve just finished reading ‘Taxing Air” and I’m greatly saddened to hear this news. He contributed much to my understanding.
90
This is indeed sad news. I knew Bob from his first days at JCU, and over the decades grew more and more to appreciate his efforts for science. It was he that introduced me to the chicanery of the climate change warriors and turned me from being disinterested to being a staunch skeptic. All the other kind things spoken by the others here are true, and we the scientific community are worse off for his loss. As for JCU and the other Australian universities afraid to face the awkwardness of being contrarian, and for the petty persecution of those who dare to speak out, shame.
120
Thanks, Jo Nova. Bob Carter left a tremendous legacy of scientific integrity and curiosity.
We will continue on the path he showed us.
140
I bought his book “Taxing Air”, partly for myself but mostly for my children. I would leave it around the house and refer to it in conversation.
There are too few of us with the right connections and qualifications to be noticed by policy makers.
Bob was one of them, he certainly will be missed.
Condolences to his family.
Keith.
130
Adieu, Bob. You will be sorely missed.
I remember Bob well from a seminar we attended when Anthony Watts came to Australia a while back.
It is great to read so many deserving tributes from his many friends here who will carry on the good fight.
110
Rest in peace, Bob.
A great man.
100
The skeptics being few and scattered wide,
May use the web’s best council as their guide,
Bob Carter from afar could fill that role,
A distant stranger,yet a kindred soul.
310
Very sad news and a great loss
80
We’ll always have Paris to remember !
[Link removed. Unbelievably poor taste and from a Harvard e-mail address no less.] ED
411
This is one of the few times I would have preferred not to be proven right. You truly are a despicable person.
80
Russell,
words fail me, or at least those that would get through moderation.
60
The fight has led us to know excellent truth-seekers and promoters, Bob being one of the best. I am richer for knowing him, and heartbroken at his passing.
Thankful for modern technology and the fact that his brilliant clarity in presenting will live on!
Big hugs to all of you. Miss our close-knit Aussie group.
160
Very sad and as has been said ‘he’ll be missed.’ Bob was kind enough to contact me personally when some years ago now I had an open letter published in Quadrant and I’ve kept an eye out on his activities since then particularly.
I’ll miss him – we all will … but keep in mind all that he did and be grateful for that … we all have so little time and not all of us use it as fruitfully as Bob did!
120
Dr. Robert Carter; Bob was a great teacher as he able to take complex scientific data, and present them in such way, that they became obvious, and understandable to the man in the street. He spoke in ordinary language that anyone could follow, and he made the complex simple. Skeptics have lost an amazing asset. I have never had the pleasure to meet him in person, but have watched his videos many times, and the honesty, and passion he had for science was there for all to see. He never fought ignorance with aggression, but with friendly humour, and carefully explained data. He will be missed by hundreds of thousands of people like me; people that he never even knew. This is his greatest legacy, that he has had such a great effect on so many people right across the world, for his championship of scientific truth, and reason. Rest in peace Bob, I will miss you.
150
Bob was an outstanding intellect, and courageous scientist. For me and many others, Bob was an excellent friend. A profoundly good man that that could always be counted on to be there when his friends were in trouble. The integrity, sound logic, ability to communicate, and sheer compassion for people will be sorely misssed. What the world desperately needs today is a whole lot more Bob Carters.
160
At 74???
God Bless and Welcome this honest, articulate, true sceptical scientist, who perseveringly and fearlessly presented the truth of the case against the totalitarians who are relentless in their lying endeavours to strip freedom from the West
We should demand a private autopsy!!!
100
May his place be taken by 10 more of equal calibre.
90
They will be hard to find; we can but try to follow his example.
40
I’m saddened by this news and I’m not sure what else to say that all the other fine tributes haven’t said.
It is unfortunate he will not see vindication by broader society in the final victory of the skeptics, but we already know he defended the only defensible position.
His humour was delightful and his impeccable unflappable manner were inspirational.
It seems one of those cosmic ironies in life that the people who do so much for so many will too often burn out too soon.
Thanks Bob.
120
Bob Carter = SCIENCE HERO = INTEGRITY
When he came on the radio ..the mist cleared and you could sense the integrity.
..Pity some stations preferred to air other people with PR style low integrity.
..We welcome the young to take his place…. There should be a integrity in science award in Bob’s name.
110
A Principled Man in a Corrupted Field
Robert M Carter, 1942-2016
by Mark Steyn
Ave atque vale
January 19, 2016
LINKS: More from Jo Nova and Anthony Watts.
http://www.steynonline.com/7430/a-principled-man-in-a-corrupted-field
111
Great Obituary from Mark Steyn.
By the way Mark Steyn is visiting Australia in February and some of his venues are already booked out.
http://rsvp.ipa.org.au/marksteyn/events/
60
19 Jan: Lubos Motl: Bob Carter, RIP
When I returned from a walk in a snowy, chilly Pilsen (the temperature will drop to minus 14 °C at night, overcompensating the 11 °C Christmas), I saw a message from Willie Soon which didn’t immediately seem important.
However, it contained a forwarded message from Anne Carter telling us that Bob Carter has peacefully passed away today, at age of 74, surrounded by his family. See heartland.org and Wikipedia. So sad…
His name appears in 24 TRF blog posts. He gave various talks, was harassed by certain powerful people in Australia. His and John Spooner’s book, Taxing Air, became one of a relatively small number of books about the climate that I have read in detail. (He also wrote “Climate: the Counter Consensus” in 2010.) And I think it’s a wonderful book that covers all the important dimensions of the climate issue in a very balanced, wise, and accurate way.
Similar comments apply to his talks…
Bob, you will be missed.
See Jo Nova’s text on Bob’s premature departure.
http://motls.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/bob-carter-rip.html#more
100
Such a shock, it brought tears to my eyes. I only knew him from afar. I saw him at a skeptic gathering with Jennifer Mahorasy in front of the University of Queensland. I heard him on stage with Lord Monckton in Brisbane and with Anthony Watts at the Gold Coast, Queensland. I have read some of his light writings for people like me who happens to be an angry skeptic sick of the lies being fed her. He was one the guards at the ready to try to bring sense back to the world. And now he has gone. Thank you, Dr Bob, and thank you to your family for lending you out.
140
Nicely said, Faye. I was also at the event he did with Monckton in Brisbane – that was the first time I heard him speak. I later went to a couple of IPA events where he was the speaker. He was always a top notch presenter – simple points, well illustrated and cohesive narrative. He’s one of the great communicators in this field and will leave a huge void. My sympathies to Bob’s family. We share your grief.
110
[…] will be sadly missed, for a replacement must be highly improbable. Jo Nova has posted a wonderful tribute. Posted in: General Tagged: Bob Carter, […]
30
This is indeed a sad loss.
If I might make an observation here, when a senior politician from any Party passes away, there are tributes from both sides of the political fence. While alive, that politician was on one side, and the other side opposed everything he may have said or done, and yet when he dies, their praise for the ….. man he was is always forthcoming.
It would seem that in this case here, those who were on the opposite side to Professor Carter either do not know of his passing, (which I doubt) or are just not observing the niceties here.
Not a word form any of them, not even from those who were once on the same team as he was, those at JCU.
Their silence says more about them than it does about Professor Carter, who was always a gentleman.
Tony.
261
“Not a word from any of them … ” Yep. “A prophet is not without honour except in his own country.” You can’t buy Bob’s books at the JCU bookshop. (I knew that but went and asked anyway.) There has been nothing in the Townsville Bulletin, so as a local, and a former JCU staffer, I decided not to let his pass, and contacted the editorial section, pointing out that Bob Carter is world-famous, gave them the links to this page and WUWT, with now hundreds of tributes from all over, and names that even the disinterested might recognise.
A reporter rang me back, and there will be something in the TB in a few days.
291
Good work Martin.
110
What sort of person can red-thumb a tribute to such an honourable scientist?
Examine your heart, whoever you are, for you will surely find that it is very black.
101
Yeah, you’d think a “worthy adversary” or two here and there. The silence speaks volumes.
10
Found the obituary at JCU:
https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2016/january/death-of-prof-bob-carter
Notice how they carefully avoid indicating which way he sided in the climate science debate?
10
Really enjoyed his publications and presentations. Will take more than one to replace him.
90
Rest In Peace Bob Carter.
You will be missed.
90
This is so terribly sad to hear. RIP, Bob. He will be truly missed.
70
A giant amongst men!
Give ’em hell up at the pearly gates Bob!
Such sad news.
RIP
80
Particularly Maurice but I don’t think Maurice will be there somehow.
50
Sad day, he will be missed.
80
I am more saddened and shocked than I can say. I attended several of Bob’s lectures and had the great privilege of speaking to him on a couple of occasions. He was one of the pillars of the “global warming” aspects of my life someone who was always there never too busy to answer an email. The news is like a thunderbolt from the blue.
100
AGW Believers have never had, and will never have, anyone half his calibre.
133
I doubt they will have many up to my calibre, and I am certainly a long way behind the inestimable Professor Carter (or Ms Nova, and the many who contribute to this site, too).
60
My sincere condolences to Anne. We have lost a friend and a brilliant climate scientist and geologist.
He was always a perfect gentleman, despite the cruel attacks from climate politicians and activists purporting to act in the name of science.
We are all the poorer for his passing.
Long may his works and influence last.
100
What a legacy. Robert M Carter, rest in peace, Addendum, touch base with Inigo Jones on entry through heavens gate.
90
I met Dr Bob Carter once at a conference of the Australian Environmental Foundation, Sydney 2012
http://aefweb.info/data/Conference%20programme%202012.pdf
I went there because Jo had notified us about it on one of her blog posts. It seemed like a good idea so I flew to Sydney for the day, attended the Saturday session and the harbour cruise and flew back to Melbourne, all in one day.
How lucky I was! I spent about 20 minutes with Bob Carter during the harbour cruise. He was a very nice man and we got on very well, despite my provocative comments about the Green House Theory.
I also met other influential skeptics including Dr David Evans and Ms JoNova!
We have plenty of reasons to remember Dr Bob Carter and follow his example.
RIP
80
“Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.” Albert Einstein
Requiem: “The Lark Ascending” by Vaughan Williams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLhpkvQLDt0
Inspired by George Meredith’s poem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCFVl4KYd4Q
130
Beautiful piece Alice! I had it playing while reading the tributes here. Nice touch.
50
As a fanatical climate change realist since around 2004 when I was first introduced to the “religion” after reading Nigel Lawson’s “an Appeal to Reason”, it was not until some years later that I discovered Bob’s YouTube presentations then downloaded several Powerpoint presentations that so totally captured the lunacy of obsessing over the planet’s climate for the last 100 years or so. Having done 2 years of Geology for a BSc, I was so aware of the significance of Paleo-climatology versus the hysteria of “Post Modern” climatology.
I had the great pleasure of finally meeting & shaking hands with Bob at the Melbourne release of “Taxing Air” & he was kind enough to find 15 minutes or so to chat with me about my favourite meme – “This Has Happened Before! – Remember the Great Hole in the Ozone Layer Scam?”.
I will treasure this experience, the signed copy of the book & briefly meeting his charming wife who was distributing pre-purchased copies.
My sincerest condolences to her & his family.
100
It is very sad news, he will be missed.
150
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30
I only know him from the wonderful work that I’ve watched online. Still, I’m stunned. He was one of the best. What a loss.
80
Has James Cook University had anything to say about the Professor who served them for decades?
100
I am so sad to hear this news. Bob had more to contribute, in spite of the hurdles placed before him by those with less courage or integrity.
60
Any age would have been too young.
Ruairi: that’s a beautiful eulogy / elegy. The last line made a lump in my throat.
90
I never met Dr Bob Carter but I read a lot of his work. He was a leader and a man sure of his climate position. The fight against the climate alarmist nonsense must go on. We must double our efforts to expose the lies, the deceit, the fraud. It is what Dr Carter would want us to do.
80
Very sorry to hear this sad news. My deepest condolences to Anne and all of Bob’s family and friends. I feel I met Bob only recently, when he spoke at the Paris Climate Challenge I helped organise. His talk was on ‘Widening the Perspective’. He was a man of clarity and depth of understanding, with an incredibly broad knowledge of his subject and other specialisms.
As Jo says, we need more Bob Carters in this world.
Rest in Peace Bob, we won’t forget you.
140
My training as an Intelligence Operator in the Army gave me an intuitive insight that the the AGW was complete BS. This was around 2002. [Most of my former colleagues think it is complete BS as well]Knowing it was complete BS but still requiring the information on why it was BS was still necessary. Jennifer Marohasy was the blog. I read about Bob Carter so I rang him up and we discussed the matter. Bob was very approachable and informative, he thanked me for the call. I then found Jo’s blog and have been a regular viewer ever since. Sad to hear Bob has passed on.
120
What a loss, to his family, humanity, science and the global warming argument.
It is incumbent on the rest of us to ensure that the rest of us finally win the argument, led by those other stalwarts, many of advancing years also – not just scientifically but politically. With him among us it would have been easier, but we now need to be that bit more determined and smarter.
80
Bob Carter was painfully aware of the fact that the scientific integrity was being badly undermined by the false claims and predictions of the global warming alarmists. Despite this, he never lost faith in the belief that the public would eventually start questioning these claims and predictions if they were presented with a factual and holistic presentation of the climate data.
Bob was one of the first public speakers to lay out a broader contextual frame-work that allowed him to effectively collect together the many of the skeptical arguments that countered the alarmist’s pessimistic narrative. Blessed with calm and reassuring voice, it didn’t take Bob very long to convince an audience there was viable case in favor of questioning the illogical ramblings of the warming juggernaut.
He will be sorely missed!
160
It was a privilege to have known Bob Carter. We not only admired him for his personal courage, formidable intelligence and professionalism but also his keen observation and sense of humor. Bob loved a good joke. He was a good friend to many and will be sorely missed.
Condolences to Anne, Jeremy, Susan and other family members.
90
[…] http://joannenova.com.au/2016/01/bob-carter-a-great-man-gone-far-too-soon […]
20
This is a terrible shock. He was one of the leading faces of climate change scepticism. He was very clear and authoritative; accurate in detail and calm and persuasive. A brilliant communicator. He came to the UK to be the expert witness in the case to keep Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, out of schools. It was his persuasive testimony that convinced the judge that the film contained so much exaggeration and untruth that, though he did not ban it, he ruled that it could not be shown without the errors being pointed out. What a huge loss this is.
110
It was a short interview with Bob on 2hd Newcastle that inspired me to do my own research into global warming. My first foray into the subject led me to some of his youtube videos, which in turn led to Daviid’s site “Science Speak” then by following the links I found Jo’s and Anthony’s pages and many more.
Until this mess is finally settled I remain eternally thankful to Bob for giving the interview and to Luke Grant for hosting him.
My deepest sympathy to his family, even in death he remains a giant among men.
110
Oh my, what a sad, sad information to learn about. In 2009 I had the great pleasure of learning to know Bob Carter – in Stockholm at a ‘type’ of hearing – a bit. At a following book release party (“Chill Out”)we had a lengthy talk on the topic ‘climate’. I was truly amazed to, thankfully, learn about his fantastic patience w me as well as his great humour and I’m glad, that we since kept in contact. He even sent me a signed copy of his “The Counter Consensus”, which of course is a true gem in my bookshelves.
Bob was a truly bona fide scientist – a rather rare ‘species’ nowadays – and I think that he would agree in the definition of the, since Mr Bohlins active days, ‘new’ geological era of Idiocene.
My condolences to his dearests.
Rest In Peace, Bob !
Sincerely,
Thomas Jakobsson, Sweden.
120
A great loss to humanity. His work has no doubt already inspired a great many people, and I expect it will continue to reach many more in the decades to come. What a fine mix of Ozzy cheerfulness, scholarly erudition, fighting spirit, and compassion for his fellow man. It was in some ways a great shame that his final years were spent in tackling the awful waste of spirit and of time and resources that the CO2 scaremongering has brought about, but it has been a major feature of our age and he rose to the occasion to help counter it. We owe him heartfelt thanks.
110
Ah, “our” mate Bob. I read all the tributes here, so many has he impacted on in such a positive way. There is nothing I can write that has not been written as to how highly regarded Bob is and was.
The thought now that comes back to mind, is that together, we all need to keep his work alive – keep pushing forward when the opportunity arises to quote the hard working Bob Carter, and to stay the course of scientifically based evidence.
Collectively “our” tribute to Bob and the sacrifices his family made and have endured, can be to push forward – Bob would love that, I am sure, to continue on the path way of science well founded.
As for his wicked sense of humour, his genuine mate ship and unwavering loyalty to those he called friend, how fortunate “we” have all been.
For me, I’ll just miss picking up the phone and saying “G’Day Mate” …so now, its “I’ll be seeing you after mate, rest well.”
Jo, to you, no doubt like many an extremely difficult post, but one you need to know, you have accomplished with the accolades he deserves. Thank you.
I just see an overwhelming sadness that so many are expressing, he is missed already.
110
Professor Bob Carter used facts and detail to support his views on Climate change .Its unbelievable how JCU treated him ,Its obvious that they failed to support him to keep the money rolling in at all costs .The students are not allowed to reason ,with the desire to create morons .Thank you Jo for your sensitive caring article .My sincere condolence to his wife and family ,and the world will miss his logical outlook .May he RIP
100
Sad news indeed. His book ‘Climate – the Counter Consensus’ was the first one I read after the carefully crafted propaganda in Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’.
Professor Carter’s book was a breath of fresh air with reasoned, researched, and referenced science contained within its pages.
My condolences to his family – they can be proud of his fight for proper science. He will be sorely missed.
90
A man of science RIP
100
Very sad news, my condolences to his wife, family and friends down under. This is a big loss for the skeptical community…
90
I just read the news (here and on WUWT) and uttered something unprintable aloud. It’s been oft repeated here, but Prof Carter has been something of an inspiration and encouragement, and his patience in the face of the keepers of the cause a shining example; even if from a distance.
I’m dumbfounded to learn of his passing and sorry for the extraordinary loss his family must be feeling all too keenly.
I first saw Bob Carter on an ABC Q&A session shown after a surprising opportunity to watch ‘The Great Global Warming Swindle’ as inflight entertainment on a QANTAS flight. How he remained calm with Tony Jones kicking off with the question about ‘the obvious flaws in the movie’ and Karoly squawking repetatively like a demented galah when the studio audience were reminded by Prof Carter that the satellite temperature record is more reliable than tortured surface data and showed negligable warming, even back then in 2007.
Sense and reason has lost a champion and humanity has lost a gentleman.
90
[…] the money. As a result, Bob’s university decided to punish him for his heresy with a series of petty slights: First James Cook University (JCU) took away his office, then they took his title. In protest at […]
00
I had hoped he would also be able to fight through this but apparently not. A very, very sad day. My heartiest condolences to Anne and the family. One cannot express the value he had as mentor and colleague. I was lucky enough to work with Bob on several projects over many years and his wealth of knowledge about marine and sedimentary geology was just mind-blowing. I have many great memories and am just thankful for that. On field work in NZ, we would drive to and from the field and would do side-trips to cover important geological outcrops. At almost every corner he would tell us about local research projects and explain the geological evolution of the landscape so vividly – I have never come across another geologist like him. We also had lengthy conversations about the man-made global warming. I will miss his support and encouragement and his skeptical attitude – even towards our own research. We would double and triple test our ideas and datasets to make sure that the interpretation is sound. That was Bob. I always hoped he would be able to see the outcome of his work from the last two decades. Unfortunately – someone had other plans. RIP.
We will miss him very much. Time to put the Aussie flag at half-mast.
60
Yes, indeed. So shocked and saddened to read of his passing this morning. AND shocked to learn that someone with his youthful energy and appearance was, in fact, in his mid-70s … which I still think is way too young, not-to-mention such a great loss of such a remarkable, courageous and irreplaceable man. Condolences to all those who loved him.
They will be saying much the same about you, Jo, when, a long, long time from now, your time comes.
50
A sad loss.
His inspiration lives on in the hearts and minds of so many.
The finest exemplar and worthy mentor who has my deepest respect.
My condolences to his family and loved ones.
20
Bob Carter was a gentleman and a scholar. With his wife Anne and his family, together they were one of New Zealand’s and Australia’s (Townsville’s) great treasures. A scientist to his very core and a scholar, who shone his light on his students and those with whom he worked, Bob was no ordinary Professor. A world renowned geologist who worked on many of the big issues in geological measurement and analysis, as well as the small local problems, he gave of himself in every way possible.
Bob arrived at James Cook in 1981 when, as then Dean of Science, I had the privilege of welcoming him to our Science Faculty. Inheriting a well established and vibrant Geology Department, Bob very rapidly made further significant developments which enhanced his department, the image of Geology in Australia and James Cook University. Continuing with enthusiasm throughout his career, Bob moved into a new forum in retirement in which his goal was to restore integrity to science in general, where imposters had torn down its very fabric through promotion of the popular fallacy regarding the influence of carbon dioxide in causing increased Global Warming. The ideals of Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, Schrodinger and thousands of others, were in shreds because of greed, stimulated by the prizes of research funding to be awarded to those whose science was weak and whose integrity was weaker, all in the name of a political fantasy, but upon which fed an incresingly hungry industry – “Climate Change”.
Bob Carter stood out and will continue to stand out for many decades, as one whose retirement was given over to hard work in speaking the truth and encouraging thousands of others to do so.
For his unswerving courage in the face of denigration by those whose understanding of science is wanting, for his good humour, for his encouragement to others, his clear and accurate presentations of the facts, we owe him a debt of gratitude May he rest in peace and may his family be comforted by the knowledge that their husband and father has touched so many in a world wide community of genuine friends. May God Bless them and keep them. John Nicol
40
An inspiration to many.
Condolences to Bobs family and friends.
40
only [SNIP!]
Sick people out there
[Who approved this?] ED
25
I was very sad to hear of the sudden passing of Bob Carter. He taught me undergraduate marine geology at JCU in the early 1990s while I was on a navy scholarship in Townsville, and we wrote our first scientific paper together in 1994 with Piers Larcombe.
Over the years, I’d occasionally drop by his office at JCU to talk about marine science, and his encouragement gave me the impetus to leave the navy for a career in marine geology. On one visit, after he had retired as Head of the School of Geology, we were discussing the growing climate change debate and burgeoning associated industries, and he left me with memorable quote, “I smell a rat”.
He was a great speaker, clear and calm, and I admired his efforts to publicly debate climate change on national TV – a very brave man. The world has lost a great scientist and communicator. Rob Beaman
80
So sad. He took the trouble to reply to simplistic questions by laymen like myself without any sense of frustration but with a clear enthusiasm for people to understand the truth about the global warming scare. Always a pleasure to listen to him, he had a conviction based on evidence.
50
This was very sad for me to hear. It was sad enough with one of my favourite singer song writers going on the same day, but. When I first met Professor Carter in Stockholm 2007(?) we – me being a New Zealander – talked at length about the geology of Southland and Otago, where he studied (or worked?). He did field work on the farm I grew up on near where the only Glossopteris fossils have been found on Zealandia, in Western Southland. He sure knew about that, with passion only of a geologist.
Later I would call Bob to share my discoveries about the atmosphere that I found to have been overlooked. I have found ‘we’ have confused the GHG’s for the thermoelectric gases, are have not used Raman Spectroscopy to identify N2 and O2 as also being GHGs. He really tried to help me, and put me onto others that may be able to help. I have since published/posted my findings as an independent, and yesterday, the same day of Bob passing, I received an email (only my second feedback) from a Dr. Neale R. Neelameggham at IND LLC’, a scientist apparently referred to as a ‘technical visionary’ – when I look him up. He complimented me on my work: “very nice paper and then saw your youtube video on Tyndall’s experiment.” He used the words ‘the thermoelectric gases’ (AKA the GHGs) possibly for the first time in a scientific context as he is doing research on the atmosphere. Earlier, my first feedback was from geophysicist Dr. Richard Zinno who commented ”This is very important work, done well, with broad implications.”
If my work comes to anything, I will always have Bob in my memory.
My youtube clip with link to my paper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0IHKKkOwdU
40
For many years I’ve been impressed with the clarity of Bob Carter’s excellent contributions to real scientific examination of climate and climate change. I distinctly remember one of his presentations for the clarity it brought to the issue for anyone, regardless of their background in science. An enormous loss for his family and friends and to everyone interested in an honest view of the politically-charged climate change issue. I’ll always remember Carter as a man devoted to the scientific method and the integrity of science. The world of science will miss his clarity and contributions.
50
“Professor Bob Carter (74) has been a key figure in the Global Warming debate,”
Sorry, but Bob Carter was utterly irrelevant to climate science, except in the way a mosquito bothers a mammal.
[Hmmm. Like malaria, dengue, filariasis, West Nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, Saint Louis encephalitis, Western equine encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, La Crosse encephalitis and Zika fever?]ED
Carter contributed no original research, claimed no discovery, and published nothing of substance. He was just a denier who didn’t understand the science and couldn’t accept what he did understand. To him, his preconceived notions were always more important than the science. [Does one need to do original research or make a discovery to refute and/or disprove an others claims?]ED
My guess is that after a career of dry, dusty geology he loved getting attention for his inanities on climate change.
Like anyone’s death, his is a tragedy. But it certainly is not a loss for science — especially the kind of “science” practiced here.
[ You are certainly better mannered than William Connolley and Russell Seitz.] ED
—–
Appell, it’s a basic blog requirements that you use accurate English. The definition of a “denier” in a science debate is someone who denies an observation. You’ll need to list the observation that Bob Carter denied, or perhaps you’d rather just apologize for baseless namecalling in a petty, illspirited comment that lacked any substantiation, fact or grace? – Jo
14
Hi Dave Are you the guy that took my name on Watts Up With That and abused Anthony Watts.
Consequently when I complained to AW that I was not the abuser he traced you and cut you off permanently.
Are you the same bloke ?
Just inter alia Bob Carter influenced me.
He pointed out that the globe was warming since the LIA and that the warming was already present in the modern world.
The null hypothesis was that the warming is natural.
The CO2 hypothesis of AGW has to demonstrate that the warming is somehow different to that which is present anyway.
Its actually very simple.
If there is no difference between the natural warming and what occurs after adding CO2 then the AGW hypotheses is invalidated.
So there you go.
To a scientist like me, that made sense.
Judging by this site and others, I am not alone.
May I remind you of the importance of any man,we are partly justified by our wisdom, grace and integrity.
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
John Donne
I was privileged to attend a requiem yesterday hence this late post.
From the service
‘Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon him.’
70
You David have contributed nothing to society. I have seen your postings on blogs your perspectives on climate science are pure propaganda.
I feel sad for those of lesser intelligence that you may have brainwashed with your global warming crap. I am old much as the good professor was
when he died. I have studied history, science, engineering all my life and for anyone to believe this global warming crap, they would have to be
brainwashed, stupid or have an agenda into easy money. The other alternative is left wing crazy destroy the system, what is your preference.
That you try to degrade the reputation of an honest scientist shows all and sundry what an idiot you are. Pull your head in fool.
[I should have snipped a word or two but when I agree with them……] ED
70
So David the Appalling lives down to his nickname by abusing a real scientist while his family, friends, students, colleagues and all those he has touched with his words morn his recent death.
David reveals in his words the moral bankruptcy and pettiness of those who support ‘The Cause’.
……………..
May Dr Carter’s name resume the place of greatness it deserves while those like David are left in the obscurity they deserve.
My condolences to his family and friends
30
As far as I can tell, David Appell lives in Oregon.
As I live in Australia I have never seen Mr Appell, let alone met him.
Good.
20
The passing of an honest scientist, sad loss for the
open society. Condolences to Professor Carter’s family.
10
We have lost a warrior, a forest giant has fallen but the the brilliant thing is because of people like him we have greater reserves now than we’ve ever had. From what I’ve read about him I’d loved to have met him.
10
I was very saddened at Bob’s untimely death last week. Although I never met him, I admired his courage and scientific expertise and vast knowledge of Earth processes over a long lifetime of scientific endeavour. I enjoyed reading his books and viewing his various papers and presentations. which should be mandatory educational material in all schools.
It is quite saddening how James Cook University do not have the strength to uphold the tenets of true scientific investigation, but have porned themselves into modern “consensus” and “politically expedite” views on climate change issues to the point they have distanced themselves from Bob’s great depth of knowledge on these matters. Science does not progress by “Consensus”, but by rigorous testing of models and proposals.
Let us hope many inquisitive younger Geoscientists will read Bob’s various writings and power points, etc. and do so with an open mind.
Ashley Cody
MSc Geology
20
I met professor Carter in Kalgoorlie when he was on a speaking tour, being flown on a little private plane. A true hero for the Truth. So sad he is gone. He was humble, said “just call me Bob” when I called him “Professor Carter”.
I sincerely hope that his family knows what a great man he was, and how much he influenced and educated people like me. A great man. To his core he was a professor in the truest sense of the word. My sincerest thanks to his family, a devastating loss.
20
[…] Bjorn Lomborg’s proposed Australian research centre and, as science educator Jo Nova outlines in her tribute, Bob Carter was the victim of disgraceful treatment vengefully visited upon him by his former […]
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[…] John Nicol, a former Dean of Science at Bob’s longtime employer, James Cook University, says Bob was: A scientist to his very core and a scholar, who shone his light on his students and those […]
10
[…] to Professor Bob Carter, retired Professor of Geology and leading climate sceptic. This includes Jo Nova, James Delingpole, Steve McIntyre, Ian Pilmer at the GWPF, Joe Bast of The Heartland Institute and […]
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Just heard the news today. RIP Bob Carter, and long live your spirit.
00
[…] http://joannenova.com.au/2016/01/bob-carter-a-great-man-gone-far-too-soon/ […]
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[…] fordi den utgjør et verdig minne etter professor Robert Carter som døde i forrige uke. Se omtale her og […]
00
Science advances one funeral at a time.
[Your name now added to the likes of William Connolly and Russell Seitz. Good on you asshole, may the devil dance merrily on your grave.
Sorry Joanne, I have no restraint left for this type] ED
03
We, on http://www.WeatherAction.com posted and tweeted recently about this very great loss. I was honoured to met Bob in Scandinavia at a conference over ten years ago attended by producers of #TheGreatGlobalWarmingSwindle and last saw him in Paris on Dec 3rd. The tweets also refer to TerryWogan.
Tweet:-
#TerryWogan was #ClimateChange Sceptic.#PiersCorbyn http://www.WeatherAction.com <=rememshim+Prof #BobCarter #JCU #CO2 RT pic.twitter.com/StnKINOw6P
see the tweets via @Piers_Corbyn or #JCU LOL!
My profoundest sympathies to all the familiy
Piers Corbyn
40
Wogan was very perceptive and had a wry take on most thinks, but a skeptic to boot. I never knew that. Thoroughly nice guys both Bob & Terry who could help us keep things in perspective.
20
I often communicated with Bob in the “Climate Sceptic” forum about 10 years ago.
Bob Carter is one of very few scientists in the field of climate science who is worthy of
the greatest respect for knowledge and professionalism in my opinion.
It is very sad that he is gone and both his death and the treatment of him after his retirement
are chocking to me. Bob has set an example was Science should mean and include for being the
best toll for developing our societies and nations in the future.
Hans Jelbring
00
Sadly, as qualified “skeptics” (= realists) pass away, AGW believers may gain ground merely by living longer – protecting their funds and positions. All the more reason for the rest of us to honour Bob by intensifying our fight for enlightment!
10
An amazing man who will be missed. I met Bob a few times and he inspired me and help shape my thoughts om global warming, I am sad and sorry to see him go. Terry Vincent
00
Can’t help wondering if we might possibly arrange a petition to have the wonderfully honest and brave and freedom of academic speech upholding James Cook University posthumously return Bob’s library card. I think it would have made him laugh.
10