Climate rap, yo!

May 12, 2011

Climate scientists take on the denier crowd with a Beastie Boys-style rap. Really.

DailyClimate.org staff report

The media landscape is dotted by climate believers and deniers, but why are those who do much of the speaking about climate science so rarely climate scientists?

That's the question raised by a handful of Australian scientists who, teamed with producers from the Australia Broadcasting Corp. show Hungry Beast, recently offered their riposte: A Beastie Boys-style video attacking those who deny the science showing human activity is altering the climate.

The two-minute video runs through a fair share of cliches - icebergs, big-hatted oil tycoons, scientists in white lab coats and cheap shades. 

But it is blunt in its critique of the United Nations' climate talks (indeed, language on the video is not exactly work- or kid-safe). And several of the scientists are identified by name and affiliation.

Not surprisingly, most of the scientists identified are early in their careers - graduate students and post-doctoral researchers. But a few senior folk struck the pose: Roger Jones from the Center for Strategic Economic Studies and Leanne Armand of Macquarie University, to name two.

The YouTube clip is showing the some sign of a viral lift-off - at least for videos that don't include cats, kissing kids or miraculous lacrosse shots. Posted to the Web on Monday, it had 45,000 views by Thursday afternoon and 63,000 by Friday morning.

Not too shabby for a bunch of scientists that rap. Still, those Australians have a ways to go before they can match the pull of mass-market entertainers like, say, the Blue Man Group. Their 2006 global warming video, "Earth to America," to date has been seen by almost 4 million.

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