John Coleman, the founder of The Weather Channel, became a controversial figure in his later years, not for his contributions to meteorology but for his vocal opposition to the mainstream narrative on climate change. Coleman’s stance against what he termed the “hoax” of man-made global warming led to a significant rift between him and mainstream climate scientists and the network he helped establish.
A Career in Weather
Coleman’s career in meteorology spanned over six decades, beginning in the 1950s. He founded The Weather Channel in 1981, where he briefly served as its CEO and president. His career was marked by innovation, including the introduction of the first chroma key weather map. However, his views on climate change, which he called “the greatest scam in history,” diverged sharply from the scientific consensus, leading to his estrangement from the very field he helped popularize.
The Climate Change Debate
Coleman’s skepticism towards climate change was based on his interpretation of weather patterns and his belief in natural climate variability. He often cited The Oregon Petition, which was a petition signed by thousands of scientists, which contradicted the mainstream view that carbon dioxide significantly contributes to global warming. The petition reads:
We urge the United States government to reject the global warming agreement that was written in Kyoto, Japan in December, 1997, and any other similar proposals. The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind.
There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth.
Of course, the “scientific community” countered that despite this petition, most climate scientists worldwide still support the theory that human activities are causing global warming and that carbon dioxide is harmful, even though we know that CO2 increases crop yields.
Ostracism and Media Coverage
After Coleman’s departure, the Weather Channel explicitly endorsed the consensus view on climate change, distancing itself from Coleman’s views. This was evident in a statement released by the network in 2014, which stated that climate change is real and humans contribute to it, directly contradicting Coleman’s public statements. This public disavowal by his own creation was a poignant moment in the climate debate, illustrating the divide between Coleman’s personal beliefs and the institutional stance.
Media outlets like Fox News and CNN occasionally invited Coleman to discuss his views, which often led to heated debates, like the one he had with Brian Stelter.
Remember when the founder of the weather channel spoke the truth about “global warming” on CNN.
What many people don’t understand is if you don’t go along with the climate agenda, you receive no funding & will be ridiculed & disparaged. The corruption runs deep. This is an epic… pic.twitter.com/rv7H1ayNOw— Ryan Gerritsen🇨🇦🇳🇱 (@ryangerritsen) November 19, 2023
Coleman received a slightly better welcome when he appeared on Fox News.
Weather Channel CEO and Founder John Coleman, dropping 𝘼𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙖𝙭 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝘽𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙨 on Fox News pic.twitter.com/Nubpcio9JO
— 🇺🇸🇺🇸~777DEAN777~🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@77HERCULES77) August 7, 2022
Coleman’s arguments on these TV programs resonated with a segment of the public skeptical of climate change narratives.
Man-Made Consensus
Coleman argued that the Democrat party made “climate change” a central part of its platform. The Biden-Harris Green New Deal is estimated to cost the American taxpayer between $50 and $90 trillion in government spending, all justified by the supposed existential threat of “global warming.” As Coleman stated, politicians can use taxpayer funds to buy off the vast majority of climate scientists to create the desired consensus for their massive boondoggle. The businesses that follow the agenda are rewarded handsomely by all this climate cash.
However, it’s not just the Democrat Party that is pushing “climate change” as the greatest threat to the world – it’s the whole federal government, international organizations like the United Nations, foreign governments, NGOs, most mainstream media outlets, academic institutions, and even most agricultural news outlets! They have manufactured this consensus and attempt to shame, deplatform, and discredit anyone who goes against their narrative.
Backed By Actual Science
Coleman’s critics quickly pointed out that he’s “going against the science” by challenging the consensus, but he had facts to support his position.
Here is a longer presentation by John Coleman, laying out his case against climate change. Unfortunately, the video quality is not very good.
Challenging Consensus Is True Science
Consensus should play no part in real science, which is the process through which theories are developed, and facts about our whole are ascertained. Just because everyone holds an untrue position does not make it correct! As author (and ‘climate change denier’) Michael Crichton once said, “There is no such thing as consensus science. If it’s consensus, it isn’t science. If it’s science, it isn’t consensus.” He also said, “Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right.”
Was John Coleman that one investigator who was right when so many of his former colleagues were wrong?
A Legacy of Dissent
Coleman’s later years were marked by his withdrawal from the American Meteorological Society, an organization he once held in high regard, citing what he believed was its political rather than scientific agenda. His death in 2018 at the age of 83 did not end the debate but rather encapsulated a broader narrative of how personal beliefs can clash with established science, leading to public ostracism.
A Similar Story
David Bellamy was a well-respected botanist, ecologist, and environmentalist from London. He was featured on many British TV programs in his lifetime, and his love of nature inspired many viewers. He had once promoted the idea of greenhouse gases from human activity causing climate change, but he later revised his views and called the idea “poppycock,” as the climate changes according to natural cycles. Bellamy signed the Manhattan Declaration in 2008, which called for the immediate halt to any tax-funded attempts to counteract climate change. By going against the grain, Bellamy was “canceled” by the BBC, and his career was over.
We grew up watching David Bellamy on our televisions teaching us about all things in nature.
Then he openly came out and said that climate change was a hoax, and then boom, he was cancelled from all of his tv shows and newspapers that he wrote for.
This man lost everything… pic.twitter.com/wFYXxHpqCQ
— Betty 🕊️ (@CaliforniaFrizz) May 16, 2024
Just because you love the environment and do not like seeing it polluted, like Bellamy, it does not mean you have to go along with the heavily funded “climate change” narrative.
Continuing to Challenge the Conspiracy of Consensus
People on social media are still celebrating people like John Coleman and David Bellamy as heroic truth-tellers, standing up against the well-funded climate change agenda. These men could have lived the good life in their later years and never spoken up about these issues, or even taken big paychecks to go out and speak about the dangers of climate change, but they saw where this was all heading and spoke according to their conscience.
Every day, people continue to challenge the “consensus” being rammed down our throats at every turn. Such people caused an activist weatherman to quit his job after getting “bullied” for constantly harassing people on-air about how they’re causing climate change.
Weatherman in … IOWA … abruptly quits after suffering from PTSD because Iowans didn't like his constant on-air nagging about climate change.
Read a room for us one time, Chris! https://t.co/ob0YoolVoN
— OutKick (@Outkick) June 22, 2023
There may be a well-funded consensus in the scientific community, but that consensus does not exist amongst the people out in the fields growing the food we eat every day.
Final Words About John Coleman
John Coleman deserves recognition for his courageous stance against the prevailing narrative on climate change. Despite the well-funded consensus within the scientific community, Coleman boldly spoke out, labeling climate change as a hoax and challenging the notion of significant man-made global warming. His willingness to defy mainstream scientific opinion, even at the cost of personal and professional repercussions, underscores a rare commitment to what he saw as the truth over conformity. Coleman’s outspokenness highlighted an alternative perspective and sparked important discussions on the science of climate change, encouraging a broader discourse on environmental policies and the influence of scientific consensus. His legacy, therefore, isn’t just in founding a weather network but in questioning established narratives, advocating for skepticism, and promoting the idea that scientific inquiry should always remain open to debate.