Comments on: Overselling Disasters and Climate Change by Munich Re

By: Klimawandel Profiteure – Die Münchner Rückversicherung - Science Skeptical Blog

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:51:30 +0000

[...] kaum Schäden enthielt, die direkt mit dem Klimawandel in Verbindung gebracht werden können (auch hier). Eine kürzlich zusammen mit dem Worldwatch Institut veröffentlichte Studie der Münchner Rück [...]

By: Readers Edition » Klimawandel Profiteure - Die Münchner Rückversicherung

Readers Edition » Klimawandel Profiteure - Die Münchner Rückversicherung — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:20:38 +0000

[...] enthielt, die direkt mit dem Klimawandel in Verbindung gebracht werden können (auch hier). Eine kürzlich zusammen mit dem Worldwatch Institut veröffentlichte Studie der [...]

By: Gore Pulls Slide Linking Rise in Natural Disasters to Global Warming

Gore Pulls Slide Linking Rise in Natural Disasters to Global Warming — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:15:06 +0000

[...] *****Update: Pielke provided more insight concerning the conflict of interest insurers have in this debate here. [...]

By: EDaniel

EDaniel — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:31:34 +0000

Professor Pielke, will we get a review of the info Al Gore used in the hearing today?

My zeroth-order impression is that some of it fits this thread.

Thanks

By: iceagebad

iceagebad — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:50:45 +0000

Kudos to Dr. Pielke. I’m the high school kid from public housing back in the late ’70s who worked a couple summers on dissertations by Pielke and McCumber at University of Virginia. I’m also the only local person in 2006 to defend Patrick Michaels when he came under attack by local politicians who tried to have the climatologist fired for being a global warming skeptic. We’ve only had ice ages for the past 3 million years. But normally, for the past billion years, the planet has been 20 deg warmer, hence all the oil and natural gas in the arctic regions. Mankind arose in Africa where it’s hot. Most of the warming would be at the poles and beneficial. Here’s the story to purge academic dissent, excerpts and links. The emotional attacks and logical fallacies weaken the case for global warming. You never know who’s gonna come to your defense.

Va Climatologist Michaels resigns year after ouster attempt”, Sep. 26, 2007

By: Gorisms of late « Reformation Faith Today

Gorisms of late « Reformation Faith Today — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:06:20 +0000

[...] Lie with Statistics’ in his contemptible attempt to say disasters now are worse than they were. Roger Pielke Jr and Indur Goklany have both debunked that notion [...]

By: Liveblog of Al Gore Climate Hearing | OpenMarket.org

Liveblog of Al Gore Climate Hearing | OpenMarket.org — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:03:01 +0000

[...] with Statistics’ in his contemptible attempt to say disasters now are worse than they were. Roger Pielke Jr and Indur Goklany have both debunked that notion [...]

By: stubl

stubl — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:07:59 +0000

Hi,
The BBC put out a remarkably uncritical news item [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7803624.stm] following the Munich Re presser. We’ve blogged on that at http://www.climate-resistance.org/2009/01/prosperous-new-fear.html

By: hvonstorch

hvonstorch — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:06:51 +0000

Hi,
it seems that Munich Re is pursuing the strategy of emphasizing increasing hazards since the early 1990s. In particular the former head of the geohazards group, Dr. Gerhard Berz was very active (and good) at that. He is really concerned about the perspectives of climate change; originaly he sold the scaring stuff about extratropical storms, e.g.

Berz, G., 1993: Global Warming and the insurance industry. Interdisciplinary Science Review 18 (2), 120-125

Berz, G. and K. Conrad, 1994: Stormy weather: The mounting windstorm risk and consequences for the insurance industry. Ecodecision 12, 65-68

Obviously after the WASA study (WASA, 1998: Changing waves and storms in the Northeast Atlantic? – Bull. Amer. Met. Soc. 79, 741-760), this made little sense to continue; but, in Novemb4re 2008, I heard Dr. Berz repeating the old claims in front of a European insurance workshop, this time with a reference that it may be related to change in patters which passed through the WASA analysis strategy.

When these claims were first made, one could hear among activists that now even INDUSTRY would have accepted the reality of man-made gobal warming, and that this would certainly represent something like a final proof. (There are good other proofs, based on formal detection and attribution studies.)

While my knowldege is more of anecdoctal kind, I certainly would be worth to have a scholarly analysis of the activity of Munich RE and their – probably: massive economic interests behind their communication policy. If there would be somebody from communication studies, to do a master thesis or a PhD, that would be helpful.

Hans von Storch

By: B.L.O.G. - Bissige Liberale ohne Gnade » Wir vergolden Risiken

B.L.O.G. - Bissige Liberale ohne Gnade » Wir vergolden Risiken — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:47:25 +0000

[...] Aktivitäten, mehr betriebswirtschaftliches Engagement als wissenchaftliche Redlichkeit steckt, erläutert Roger Pielke Jr. auf seinem Weblog Prometheus. Wenn Unternehmen nach dem Staat rufen, ist wirklich [...]