Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Timothy Ball (2nd nomination)

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. (non-admin closure) DavidLeighEllis (talk) 01:34, 19 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Timothy Ball[edit]

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Wasn't notable last times Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Tim Ball,Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Timothy Ball nothings changed. IRWolfie- (talk) 00:00, 12 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Keep: Michael E. Mann called him "perhaps the most prominent climate change denier in Canada". To say he's not notable doesn't have any effect except to make wikipedia look stupid. SamuelTheGhost (talk) 00:50, 12 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Keep Not as an academic since he retired 18 years ago, but as a notable activist and public figure opposing the scientific consensus on climate change. I have no idea what the previously deleted version of the article looked like, but this one shows notability, though that doesn't mean I agree with the guy. Lots of people think that Wikipedia looks "stupid". They are wrong. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 03:41, 12 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Keep: Ball is a notable climate skeptic.

Reference for SamuelTheGhost's quote above: Michael E. Mann, The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines (New York: Columbia University Press, 2012), 95. Mann, of course, is the eminent Penn State climatologist.
"Ball-the-climate-expert seemed to be everywhere--on the radio, in the newspapers, on the lecture circuit, even testifying before a committee in the Canadian parliament." Jim Hoggan, Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming (Vancouver, BC: Greystone Books, 2009), 49. See also pp. 51-54, 57, 97, 108, 134, 142-44, 165. Of course Hoggan was being facetious when he called Ball a climate expert, but he was serious about his ubiquity.
"Prof. Ball surveys the crowd and runs a hand over his suntanned dome. He does not appear the least bit fatigued, which is remarkable considering that the 67-year-old former University of Winnipeg professor has spent much of the last couple of months crisscrossing the country, addressing community forums, business groups, newspaper editorial boards and politicians about climate change. He has been nearly as dogged as Al Gore, whose own globe-hopping slide show is the subject of the documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth." Charles Montgomery, "Mr. Cool and Friends," Globe and Mail, 12 August 2006. Cited by Hoggan, Iris Borowy, and and a host of bloggers, including Richard Littlemore.
He appeared on Glenn Beck's show in 2007. He was also in the film, The Great Global Warming Swindle. He's been mentioned in the National Geographic News, the NYT.
Look at the 59 references in the article itself. Yopienso (talk) 04:36, 12 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Comment. I offer no opinion on whether the article should be deleted or not, but as one of the three admins who approved the return of this article to mainspace, I feel I should rebut the "nothings [sic] changed" part of the nomination statement. The article is several times larger than the version that was deleted two-and-a-half years ago, and it contains several references and significant material that were not present in that version. To say that nothing has changed is frankly absurd. Discussion of the notability of the subject should be welcomed, but should not be conducted on the false premise that this article is a carbon copy of the version that was the subject of the last AfD. Thanks, HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 13:22, 12 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The same sources as are in the article as were discussed at the previous AfDs. What has changed in terms of notability of Ball. Why has he suddenly become notable when he previously wasn't. IRWolfie- (talk) 10:44, 13 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Several things have changed quite dramatically, IRWolfie-. The current version of the article includes significant coverage in reliable sources apparently not present in earlier versions of the article. The current debate properly focuses on his notability as a public policy activist rather than as an academic. And at least partially as as a result, consensus has changed quite decisively. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 07:11, 15 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I don't believe Hoggan's book was in the other ones, nor National Geographic News, nor some of the NYT and HuffPost refs. Yopienso (talk) 16:34, 13 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Keep my Google search showed plenty of evidence of notability. Also, there is already a fair amount of evidence seen above. Northern Antarctica (talk) Previously known as AutomaticStrikeout 15:48, 12 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Canada-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 19:54, 12 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Environment-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 19:54, 12 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Academics and educators-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 19:54, 12 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Authors-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 19:54, 12 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Keep: This article is well written, well documented, and the subject is notable. JD Lambert^(T|C) 03:23, 13 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Snow Keep - The subject clearly passes WP:BASIC. In addition to sources provided above by User:Yopienso, there's also:

Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming. pp. 49-54
The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines. p. 95.
Climate Change and Philosophy: Transformational Possibilities. p. 150.
The Globe and Mail
The New York Times
The Telegraph
Nature Magazine (newsblog)
Houston Chronicle
Courthouse News Service
The Calgary Herald

– Northamerica1000^(talk) 03:55, 15 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.