This weekend's Fairfax Good Weekend supplement has an excellent article on Ian Plimer (I cannot find an online copy of the article). The journalist, John van Tiggelen tells of spending time with Plimer at Chillagoe (in Qld) and how he is "terrific company off-topic" and "is popular among his students". I'd agree with that - Plimer was my first geology lecturer at the University of Newcastle in 1985, where he was able to make the study of rocks come alive.

Quite telling, though, is the final part of the story, where "Plimer's anti-creationist brother-in-arms" Professor Mike Archer gives the following quote:

"Ian's a danger today, because he's the excuse that too many who need to act are citing for not doing so. My worry about Ian's activities is that he seems to be applying what he and I loathed about the creationists we debated. Sorry to be so blunt, but I think that somewhere along the way, Ian has lost his membership card for science".

With friends like that, you can understand why when asked about his lack of support from academic colleagues, Plimer says:

"They can all get f...ed".

Find the article, it is a good read.