Ian Plimer
Encyclopedia
Ian Rutherford Plimer is an Australian geologist
, academic, professor of mining geology at the University of Adelaide, and a director of four mining companies. He is a critic of creationism
and more recently the scientific consensus
that human activities have a significant influence on global warming
.
Plimer is the author of around 60 academic papers and six books, including his book on the global warming debate, Heaven and Earth — Global Warming: The Missing Science
(2009).
. He was educated at Gordon Public School and Normanhurst Boys' High School. He earned a BSc
at the University of New South Wales
, and a PhD
at Macquarie University
.
Plimer then went to work at the Broken Hill mines, ultimately as chief research geologist at North Broken Hill. He has maintained an interest in the Broken Hill mining district throughout his career.
Plimer then moved to academia, first at the University of New England
, New South Wales
, next at the University of Newcastle, Australia
, and then at the University of Melbourne
. He is currently Professor of Mining Geology at the University of Adelaide
.
In 2008 and 2009, according to a columnist in The Age
, Plimer earned over A$400,000 from these interests, and he has mining shares and options worth hundreds of thousands of Australian dollars. Plimer rejects claims of a conflict between his commercial mining interests and his view that man-made climate change is a myth. Plimer has said that the proposed Australian carbon-trading scheme could decimate the Australian mining industry, and probably destroy it totally, as well as creating massive unemployment.
, a free market
think tank
. In 2007, Plimer was listed as an allied expert by the Natural Resources Stewardship Project
, a Canadian advocacy group that opposes the Kyoto Protocol
.
In November 2009, Plimer was named as a member of the academic advisory council for Nigel Lawson
's global warming skeptic group, the Global Warming Policy Foundation
.
Plimer was listed as a member of Gina Rinehart
's mining lobby group, Australians for Northern Development & Economic Vision (ANDEV).
Plimer is a life member of the Australian Skeptics
.
of being irrational, and says that the vast bulk of the scientific community, including most major scientific academies, is prejudiced by the prospect of research funding. He has characterised the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
so: "The IPCC process is related to environmental activism, politics and opportunism" and "the IPCC process is unrelated to science". He is critical of greenhouse gas
politics and argues that extreme environmental changes are inevitable. Scientists in the field say that his writings misrepresent climate data and display numerous other errors.
es emit huge amounts of CO2 and that the influence of the gases from these volcanoes on the Earth's climate is drastically underrepresented in climate model
s. The United States Geological Survey
has calculated that human emissions of CO2 are about 130 times larger than volcanic emissions, including submarine emissions. The United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) stated that Plimer's claim "has no factual basis." This was confirmed in a 2011 survey published in the Eos
journal of the American Geophysical Union
, which found that anthropogenic emissions of CO2 are 135 times larger than those from all volcanoes on Earth.
, a book in which he says that climate model
s focus too strongly on the effects of carbon dioxide
, and do not give the weight he thinks is appropriate to other factors such as solar variation
. Scientists from many disciplines have reviewed the book, and have accused Plimer of misrepresenting sources, misusing data, and engaging in conspiracy theories. They describe the book as unscientific, and containing numerous errors from which Plimer draws false conclusions.
and attended by 60 people. According to The Australian
newspaper, Plimer was a star attraction of the two-day event. In closing his speech, Plimer stated that “They’ve got us outnumbered, but we’ve got them outgunned, and that’s with the truth.”
s and volcanic activity at the mid-ocean ridge
s and that the melting of polar ice has nothing to do with man-made carbon dioxide. Plimer told Radio Australia
that Pacific island nations are seeing changes in relative sea level not because of global warming but quite commonly due to other factors, such as "vibration consolidating the coral island sands", extraction of water, and extraction of sand for road and air strip making.
, Tony Abbott
, in dismissing the IPCC and its findings:
By 2011, Abbott had modified his position and stated that climate change is real and humanity makes a contribution to it.
In early 2010, Plimer and Christopher Monckton
toured Australia giving lectures on climate change, and Plimer's views came to be associated with Monckton's claim that the international left created the threat of catastrophic global warming. On this association, left-wing columnist Phillip Adams
commented: "Praise the lord for Lord Monckton! For Ian Plimer! For [conservative columnist] Andrew Bolt! Not only does this evil axis of scientists tell lies [about the Greenhouse Effect] but they've also doctored the weather to frighten people with huge droughts, cyclones and tsunamis to prove what they now call "global warming"."
and is famous for a 1988 debate with creationist Duane Gish
in which he asked his opponent to hold live electrical cables to prove that electromagnetism
was 'only a theory'. Gish accused him of being theatrical, abusive and slanderous.
In 1990 Plimer's anti-creationist arguments were criticised in Creation/Evolution journal,Updated at TalkOrigins in an article titled "How Not to Argue with Creationists" by skeptic
and anti-creationist Jim Lippard
for (among other things) including false claims and errors, for "behaving poorly" in the 1988 Gish debate, for misrepresenting the views of Michael Denton
, author of Evolution: A Theory in Crisis
in that debate, for making unsupported (and false) claims about alleged financial fraud involving the Australian Creation Science Foundation (CSF), which led to an apology for Plimer's remarks by the magazine Media Information Australia, for falsely claiming on Australian national radio that the CSF had not submitted financial reports for 1986, 1987, or 1988, a claim which led to an apology by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
, and for writing a letter to a creationist following the debate with Gish in which Plimer offered unsupported sexual innuendo about Gish.
or CMI), arguing that claims of a Biblical global flood are untenable. In the book he also criticised aspects of traditional Christian
belief and literal interpretations of the Bible
, with chapters titled "Scientific Fraud: The Great Flood of Absurdities" and "Disinformation Doublespeak". The ministry published a rebuttal criticising the arguments made in the book.
against Ark searcher Allen Roberts, arising from Plimer's attacks on Roberts' claims concerning the location of Noah's Ark. Before the trial, Plimer was forcibly ejected by police from public meetings at which Roberts spoke. The court ruled that Roberts had indeed made false and misleading claims on two of 16 instances cited by Plimer, Plimer had failed to show the other 14, and the two were minor enough to not require remedy, so Plimer lost the case, and was ordered to pay his own and Roberts' legal costs estimated at over 500,000 Australian dollars.
Source:
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
, academic, professor of mining geology at the University of Adelaide, and a director of four mining companies. He is a critic of creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
and more recently the scientific consensus
Scientific consensus
Scientific consensus is the collective judgment, position, and opinion of the community of scientists in a particular field of study. Consensus implies general agreement, though not necessarily unanimity. Scientific consensus is not by itself a scientific argument, and it is not part of the...
that human activities have a significant influence on global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
.
Plimer is the author of around 60 academic papers and six books, including his book on the global warming debate, Heaven and Earth — Global Warming: The Missing Science
Heaven and Earth (book)
Heaven and Earth: Global Warming – The Missing Science is a popular science book published in 2009 and written by Australian geologist, professor of mining geology at Adelaide University, and mining company director Ian Plimer...
(2009).
Early life and career
Plimer grew up in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He was educated at Gordon Public School and Normanhurst Boys' High School. He earned a BSc
BSC
BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...
at the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, and a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at Macquarie University
Macquarie University
Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
.
Plimer then went to work at the Broken Hill mines, ultimately as chief research geologist at North Broken Hill. He has maintained an interest in the Broken Hill mining district throughout his career.
Plimer then moved to academia, first at the University of New England
University of New England (Australia)
The University of New England is an Australian public university with approximately 18,000 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern New South Wales....
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, next at the University of Newcastle, Australia
University of Newcastle, Australia
The University of Newcastle is an Australian public university that was established in 1965. The University's main and largest campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle in New South Wales...
, and then at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
. He is currently Professor of Mining Geology at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
.
Business career
He is a director of three Australian mining companies: Ivanhoe, CBH Resources and Kefi Minerals. In 2010, he was appointed chairperson of the board for TNT Mines Limited. He is also listed as a director of Australia-based coal gas company Ormil Energy.In 2008 and 2009, according to a columnist in The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, Plimer earned over A$400,000 from these interests, and he has mining shares and options worth hundreds of thousands of Australian dollars. Plimer rejects claims of a conflict between his commercial mining interests and his view that man-made climate change is a myth. Plimer has said that the proposed Australian carbon-trading scheme could decimate the Australian mining industry, and probably destroy it totally, as well as creating massive unemployment.
Affiliations
Plimer is an associate of the Institute of Public AffairsInstitute of Public Affairs
The Institute of Public Affairs is a public policy think tank based in Melbourne, Australia. It advocates free market economic policies such as privatisation and deregulation of state-owned enterprises, trade liberalisation and deregulated workplaces, climate change skepticism , and the...
, a free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
. In 2007, Plimer was listed as an allied expert by the Natural Resources Stewardship Project
Natural Resources Stewardship Project
The Natural Resources Stewardship Project is a Canadian non-profit organization that presents itself as undertaking "a proactive grassroots campaign to counter the Kyoto Protocol and other greenhouse gas reduction schemes while promoting sensible climate change policy." The group was founded in...
, a Canadian advocacy group that opposes the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
.
In November 2009, Plimer was named as a member of the academic advisory council for Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, PC , is a British Conservative politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974–92, and served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the government of Margaret Thatcher from June 1983 to October 1989...
's global warming skeptic group, the Global Warming Policy Foundation
Global Warming Policy Foundation
The Global Warming Policy Foundation is a registered, educational charity and think tank in the United Kingdom, whose stated aims are to challenge "extremely damaging and harmful policies" envisaged by governments to mitigate anthropogenic global warming.-History:Established in November 2009,...
.
Plimer was listed as a member of Gina Rinehart
Gina Rinehart
Georgina "Gina" Hope Rinehart is a mining heiress. She is the heiress of Hancock Prospecting and the daughter of the late mining magnate Lang Hancock and Hope Margaret Nicholas...
's mining lobby group, Australians for Northern Development & Economic Vision (ANDEV).
Plimer is a life member of the Australian Skeptics
Australian Skeptics
The Australian Skeptics is a non-profit organisation based in Australia which investigates paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using scientific methodologies.-History:...
.
Climate change scepticism
Plimer accuses the environmental movementEnvironmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
of being irrational, and says that the vast bulk of the scientific community, including most major scientific academies, is prejudiced by the prospect of research funding. He has characterised the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
so: "The IPCC process is related to environmental activism, politics and opportunism" and "the IPCC process is unrelated to science". He is critical of greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
politics and argues that extreme environmental changes are inevitable. Scientists in the field say that his writings misrepresent climate data and display numerous other errors.
Volcanoes and CO2
Plimer has long argued that volcanic eruptions release more carbon dioxide (CO2) than human activity; in particular that submarine volcanoSubmarine volcano
Submarine volcanoes are underwater fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. They are estimated to account for 75% of annual magma output. The vast majority are located near areas of tectonic plate movement, known as ocean ridges...
es emit huge amounts of CO2 and that the influence of the gases from these volcanoes on the Earth's climate is drastically underrepresented in climate model
Climate model
Climate models use quantitative methods to simulate the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and ice. They are used for a variety of purposes from study of the dynamics of the climate system to projections of future climate...
s. The United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
has calculated that human emissions of CO2 are about 130 times larger than volcanic emissions, including submarine emissions. The United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) stated that Plimer's claim "has no factual basis." This was confirmed in a 2011 survey published in the Eos
Eos (journal)
Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, a publication of the American Geophysical Union, is a weekly newspaper of geophysics that carries refereed articles on current research and on the relationship of geophysics to social and political questions, news, book reviews, AGU journal and meeting...
journal of the American Geophysical Union
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
, which found that anthropogenic emissions of CO2 are 135 times larger than those from all volcanoes on Earth.
Heaven and Earth (book)
In 2009, Plimer released Heaven and EarthHeaven and Earth (book)
Heaven and Earth: Global Warming – The Missing Science is a popular science book published in 2009 and written by Australian geologist, professor of mining geology at Adelaide University, and mining company director Ian Plimer...
, a book in which he says that climate model
Climate model
Climate models use quantitative methods to simulate the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and ice. They are used for a variety of purposes from study of the dynamics of the climate system to projections of future climate...
s focus too strongly on the effects of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere
The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere is approximately 392 ppm by volume and rose by 2.0 ppm/yr during 2000–2009. 40 years earlier, the rise was only 0.9 ppm/yr, showing not only increasing concentrations, but also a rapid acceleration of concentrations...
, and do not give the weight he thinks is appropriate to other factors such as solar variation
Solar variation
Solar variation is the change in the amount of radiation emitted by the Sun and in its spectral distribution over years to millennia. These variations have periodic components, the main one being the approximately 11-year solar cycle . The changes also have aperiodic fluctuations...
. Scientists from many disciplines have reviewed the book, and have accused Plimer of misrepresenting sources, misusing data, and engaging in conspiracy theories. They describe the book as unscientific, and containing numerous errors from which Plimer draws false conclusions.
Copenhagen Climate Challenge
During the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15), Plimer spoke at a rival conference in Copenhagen for sceptics, called the Copenhagen Climate Challenge, which was organised by the Committee for a Constructive TomorrowCommittee for a Constructive Tomorrow
The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow is a conservative Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization whose stated mission is to promote free market solutions to environmental problems...
and attended by 60 people. According to The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
newspaper, Plimer was a star attraction of the two-day event. In closing his speech, Plimer stated that “They’ve got us outnumbered, but we’ve got them outgunned, and that’s with the truth.”
El Niño, earthquakes and sea levels
Plimer has stated that El Niño is caused by earthquakeEarthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s and volcanic activity at the mid-ocean ridge
Mid-ocean ridge
A mid-ocean ridge is a general term for an underwater mountain system that consists of various mountain ranges , typically having a valley known as a rift running along its spine, formed by plate tectonics. This type of oceanic ridge is characteristic of what is known as an oceanic spreading...
s and that the melting of polar ice has nothing to do with man-made carbon dioxide. Plimer told Radio Australia
Radio Australia
Radio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , Australia's public broadcaster.- History :...
that Pacific island nations are seeing changes in relative sea level not because of global warming but quite commonly due to other factors, such as "vibration consolidating the coral island sands", extraction of water, and extraction of sand for road and air strip making.
Political influence
In 2009, Plimer was cited by the leader of the Liberal Party of AustraliaLiberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
, Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
, in dismissing the IPCC and its findings:
By 2011, Abbott had modified his position and stated that climate change is real and humanity makes a contribution to it.
In early 2010, Plimer and Christopher Monckton
Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley
Christopher Walter Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley is a British politician, public speaker, former newspaper editor and hereditary peer. Formerly a member of the Conservative Party, Monckton has been the Head of the Policy Unit for the UK Independence Party since November 2010. He was...
toured Australia giving lectures on climate change, and Plimer's views came to be associated with Monckton's claim that the international left created the threat of catastrophic global warming. On this association, left-wing columnist Phillip Adams
Phillip Adams
Phillip Andrew Hedley Adams, AO is an Australian broadcaster, film producer, writer, social commentator, satirist and left-wing pundit. He currently hosts a radio program, Late Night Live, four nights a week on the ABC, and he also writes a weekly column for the News Limited-owned newspaper, The...
commented: "Praise the lord for Lord Monckton! For Ian Plimer! For [conservative columnist] Andrew Bolt! Not only does this evil axis of scientists tell lies [about the Greenhouse Effect] but they've also doctored the weather to frighten people with huge droughts, cyclones and tsunamis to prove what they now call "global warming"."
Critic of creationism
Plimer is an outspoken critic of creationismCreationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
and is famous for a 1988 debate with creationist Duane Gish
Duane Gish
Duane Tolbert Gish is an American biochemist and a prominent member of the creationist movement. Gish is a former vice-president of the Institute for Creation Research and the author of numerous publications on the subject of creation science. Gish has been called "creationism's T.H...
in which he asked his opponent to hold live electrical cables to prove that electromagnetism
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
was 'only a theory'. Gish accused him of being theatrical, abusive and slanderous.
In 1990 Plimer's anti-creationist arguments were criticised in Creation/Evolution journal,Updated at TalkOrigins in an article titled "How Not to Argue with Creationists" by skeptic
Scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...
and anti-creationist Jim Lippard
Jim Lippard
James Joseph Lippard is an American skeptic and activist freethinker who has written and spoken widely.Lippard works for Global Crossing as its head of information security....
for (among other things) including false claims and errors, for "behaving poorly" in the 1988 Gish debate, for misrepresenting the views of Michael Denton
Michael Denton
Michael John Denton is a British-Australian author and biochemist. In 1973, Denton received his PhD in Biochemistry from King's College London.-Biography:...
, author of Evolution: A Theory in Crisis
Evolution: A Theory in Crisis
Evolution: A Theory in Crisis is a 1985 book by Michael Denton in which he claims that the scientific theory of evolution by natural selection is a "theory in crisis"...
in that debate, for making unsupported (and false) claims about alleged financial fraud involving the Australian Creation Science Foundation (CSF), which led to an apology for Plimer's remarks by the magazine Media Information Australia, for falsely claiming on Australian national radio that the CSF had not submitted financial reports for 1986, 1987, or 1988, a claim which led to an apology by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, and for writing a letter to a creationist following the debate with Gish in which Plimer offered unsupported sexual innuendo about Gish.
Book: Telling Lies for God
In his book Telling Lies for God: Reason vs Creationism (1994), Plimer attacked creationists in Australia, in specific the Queensland-based Creation Science Foundation (now called Creation Ministries InternationalCreation Ministries International
Creation Ministries International is a non-profit young Earth creationist organisation of autonomous Christian apologetics ministries that promote a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis...
or CMI), arguing that claims of a Biblical global flood are untenable. In the book he also criticised aspects of traditional Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
belief and literal interpretations of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, with chapters titled "Scientific Fraud: The Great Flood of Absurdities" and "Disinformation Doublespeak". The ministry published a rebuttal criticising the arguments made in the book.
Court case
In the late 1990s, Plimer went to court alleging misleading and deceptive advertising under the Trade Practices Act 1974Trade Practices Act 1974
The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 is an act of the Parliament of Australia. On 1 January 2011 the Trade Practices Act 1974 was renamed the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. The act provides for protection of consumers and prevents some restrictive trade practices of companies. It is the key...
against Ark searcher Allen Roberts, arising from Plimer's attacks on Roberts' claims concerning the location of Noah's Ark. Before the trial, Plimer was forcibly ejected by police from public meetings at which Roberts spoke. The court ruled that Roberts had indeed made false and misleading claims on two of 16 instances cited by Plimer, Plimer had failed to show the other 14, and the two were minor enough to not require remedy, so Plimer lost the case, and was ordered to pay his own and Roberts' legal costs estimated at over 500,000 Australian dollars.
Awards, fellowships, prizes, notable achievements
- Member, Advisory Council for the New South Wales Minister for Primary IndustriesNew South Wales Department of Primary IndustriesThe New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, a division of the New South Wales Government, is responsibile for the administration and development for agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, state forests, biosecurity, and crown lands in New South Wales...
- Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
- Eureka Prize (2002), for A Short History of Planet Earth
- Eureka Prize (1995), for promotion of science
- The Michael Daley Prize for the Promotion of Science (now a Eureka Prize), (1994), for communication of science
- Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
- Fellow of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists
- Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society, London
- Clarke MedalClarke MedalThe Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished work in the Natural sciences.Named in honour of the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, one of the founders of the Society...
, 2004 - Centenary MedalCentenary MedalThe Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...
, 2003 - Rio TintoRio Tinto GroupThe Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
Award for Mining Excellence, 2005 - Sir Willis Connelly Medal, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 2006
- Leopold von Buch Plakette of the German Geological Society, 1994
- 'Plimerite' a new phosphate mineral from the Broken Hill Ore DepositBroken Hill Ore DepositThe Broken Hill Ore Deposit is located underneath Broken Hill in western New South Wales, Australia, and is the namesake for the town. It is arguably the world's richest and largest zinc-lead ore deposit.- Discovery :...
in New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
was named for Plimer in 2009 in recognition of his work at that mine and contributions to ore geologyEconomic geologyEconomic geology is concerned with earth materials that can be used for economic and/or industrial purposes. These materials include precious and base metals, nonmetallic minerals, construction-grade stone, petroleum minerals, coal, and water. The term commonly refers to metallic mineral deposits...
.
Source:
External links
- Ian Plimer, Professor at School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of AdelaideUniversity of AdelaideThe University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
. Includes a bibliography and awards list. - Plimer's profile at Expert Guide , a directory of academic and professional specialists
- Plimer debates Monbiot ABC Lateline
- Video Interview with Brian Carlton - May 2009
- "More Heat than Light", article about Plimer in The AustralianThe AustralianThe Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
, 18 April 2009 - "No Science in Plimer's Primer", article about Plimer in The AustralianThe AustralianThe Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
, 09 May 2009