Peter Sinclair (climate change activist)

Peter Sinclair
Born Midland, Michigan
Alma mater University of Michigan
Occupation Videographer

Peter Sinclair (born 1953)[1] is a YouTube blogger from Midland, Michigan who was formerly a cartoonist, the author of Alex's Restaurant, which was picked up by King Features Syndicate in 1990, after which it appeared in about 50 newspapers. In a poll conducted by the Detroit Free Press, this cartoon ranked as the most disliked eight weeks after it debuted. Alex's Restaurant has, however, received praise from Jim Borgman, who wrote, "There are so many strips around with no heart…..Alex’s feels real and has a ring to it – the drawing is terrific!"[2] The son of Mary P. Sinclair, he is perhaps best known for producing the "Climate Denial Crock of the Week" series on his YouTube channel, Greenman3610. Sinclair registered this account in 2006 and uploaded his first video in 2009. These videos have received praise from climate scientists such as Gavin Schmidt, Michael E. Mann, (whom Sinclair has interviewed)[3] and the late Stephen Schneider. In 2012, he launched another YouTube series, entitled "This is not Cool", for the Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media. He lives in Midland with his wife, Sandy, a teacher, and has stated that his concern about global warming results from concerns about his children. He graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Fine Arts,[4] and went to Greenland with the other members of the Dark Snow Project team as their videographer.[5] He was awarded the Herbert L. Munzel award in 2013 for environmental activism from the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center.[6] Sinclair has given a number of public speeches on climate change, such as one on January 23, 2013 at Michigan State University entitled "The Ultimate Injustice."[7] He gave another talk at the Ross School of Business on September 11, 2013, co-sponsored by the Erb Institute. The talk was entitled "Communicating Climate Science in the Disinformation Era."[8]

Interviews

For his videos, Sinclair regularly interviews climate scientists. He has also interviewed Marc Morano at the 2012 International Conference on Climate Change. Later that year, his video "Welcome to the Rest of Our Lives" was featured in Mother Jones.[9] In January 2014, he posted an interview with Jeff Masters of Weather Underground addressing arguments about cold temperatures disproving global warming,[10] which was covered by the National Journal.[11]

Anthony Watts

On July 13, 2009, Sinclair uploaded a video about Anthony Watts. This video was promoted on the Huffington Post by Kevin Grandia.[12] 13 days later, Watts DMCA'd the video, claiming that it had depicted his copyrighted Heartland Institute-published book "Is the US Surface Temperature Record Reliable?" without the required approval.[13] Sinclair responded by filing a counternotice, which stated that "under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled." The video was later restored to YouTube.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Guyette, Curt (September–October 1999). "Cartoon Commentarian". Utne Reader. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Greenman3610 (2 July 2012). "Help Send Peter Sinclair to the Mt. Baker Glacier". Skeptical Science. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Michael Mann: The Hockey Stick and Climate Wars (YouTube video). 7 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Miserandino, Dominick (1 September 1999). "Peter Sinclair Interview". Thecelebritycafe.com. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  5. ↑ Roush, Matt (14 May 2013). "Michigan Videographer, Climate Activist To Document Greenland Ice Study". CBS Detroit. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Peter Sinclair named winner of Herbert L. Munzel Award for Environmental Activism". Ecology Center. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Details – Communicating Climate Science in the Disinformation Era". Erb Institute. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  9. ↑ Sheppard, Kate (10 July 2012). "You Look Out the Window and You See Climate Change in Action". Mother Jones. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  10. ↑ If There's Global Warming ... Why Is It So Cold?. 28 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Flores, Reena (30 January 2014). "The One Video to Shut Down All of the Climate-Change Deniers". National Journal. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Grandia, Kevin (25 July 2009). "Debunking Another Climate Change Crock: What's Up with Anthony Watts? [video]". Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  13. ↑ Watts, Anthony (30 July 2009). "On Climate, Comedy, Copyrights, and Cinematography". Watts Up With That?. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  14. ↑ Watts Up With Watts? (YouTube video). 13 July 2009.

External links