Category: Climate Change

Climate Change

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Climate Change Media

Nature 2010 : More Hard-Hitting

Two articles in the first issue of Nature Geoscience in 2010 should help you sit up and take notice that Climate Science has advanced far beyond public acceptance; and that perhaps it is time for the Media to sharpen up their reporting.

The first is one I have already reported on today :-

https://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v3/n1/full/ngeo706.html

“Nature Geoscience 3, 60–64 (1 January 2010) : doi:10.1038/ngeo706 : Earth system sensitivity inferred from Pliocene modelling and data : Daniel J. Lunt , Alan M. Haywood , Gavin A. Schmidt , Ulrich Salzmann , Paul J. Valdes & Harry J. Dowsett : Abstract : Quantifying the equilibrium response of global temperatures to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is one of the cornerstones of climate research. Components of the Earth’s climate system that vary over long timescales, such as ice sheets and vegetation, could have an important effect on this temperature sensitivity, but have often been neglected. Here we use a coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model to simulate the climate of the mid-Pliocene warm period (about three million years ago), and analyse the forcings and feedbacks that contributed to the relatively warm temperatures. Furthermore, we compare our simulation with proxy records of mid-Pliocene sea surface temperature. Taking these lines of evidence together, we estimate that the response of the Earth system to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is 30 – 50 % greater than the response based on those fast-adjusting components of the climate system that are used traditionally to estimate climate sensitivity. We conclude that targets for the long-term stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations aimed at preventing a dangerous human interference with the climate system should take into account this higher sensitivity of the Earth system.”

The second is an analysis of how little extra atmospheric Carbon Dioxide we need to make a significant change to the planetary climate :-

https://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v3/n1/full/ngeo736.html

“Nature Geoscience 3, 6–7 (1 January 2010) : doi:10.1038/ngeo736 : Palaeoclimate: Global warmth with little extra CO2 : Birgit Schneider & Ralph Schneider : Abstract : In the Early Pliocene, three to five million years ago, global temperatures were about 3 – 4 degrees C warmer than today in the low latitudes, and up to 10 degrees C warmer nearer the poles. Climate simulations and reconstructions of this relatively recent period (geologically speaking) may help constrain realistic magnitudes of future warming.”

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Climate Change

Climate Sensitivity : How Vegetation Matters

We all know by now about the melting ice and the droughts and the changes in rainfall.

But how do all of these things affect plant life ? And how do those changes feed back into further Climate Change ?

Part of the answer has come from Leeds and Bristol Universities in the last month :-

https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/210/earths_increased_sensitivity_to_carbon_dioxide

Continue reading “Climate Sensitivity : How Vegetation Matters”
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Climate Change Meltdown

Arctic Meltdown : Sooner Than We Think

The Pliocene, the era in Earth History formerly known as the Pleiocene, is being treated as a potential “analogue” for our Globally Warmed world.

Several strands of Climate Change Science research have been undertaken in recent months, and they are all coming up with dismal results.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is the latest to unleash data on us :-

https://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2372&from=rss_home

“Arctic Could Face Warmer and Ice-Free Conditions : There is increased evidence that the Arctic could face seasonally ice-free conditions and much warmer temperatures in the future. Scientists documented evidence that the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas were too warm to support summer sea ice during the mid-Pliocene warm period (3.3 to 3 million years ago). This period is characterized by warm temperatures similar to those projected for the end of this century, and is used as an analog to understand future conditions…“In looking back 3 million years, we see a very different pattern of heat distribution than today with much warmer waters in the high latitudes,” said USGS scientist Marci Robinson. “The lack of summer sea ice during the mid-Pliocene suggests that the record-setting melting of Arctic sea ice over the past few years could be an early warning of more significant changes to come.”…”

Feeling strangely perturbed ? That would be your internal paradigms spinning.

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Climate Change

Climate Sensitivity : Higher Than We Thought

Considering the serious risk that Global Warming poses, I trust that Professor Mark Pagani will forgive my cut and paste from his recent research paper :-

https://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v3/n1/abs/ngeo724.html

“High Earth-system climate sensitivity determined from Pliocene carbon dioxide concentrations”
Mark Pagani et al. 2009

“Data and modelling for the middle Pliocene (approximately 3 – 3.3 [Million years ago] Myr) indicate that the global mean temperature was 2.4 – 2.9 degrees C warmer than preindustrial conditions, and approximately 4 degrees C warmer during the early Pliocene (approximately 4 – 4.2 Myr). If changes in carbon dioxide and associated feedbacks were the primary agents forcing climate over these timescales, and estimates of global temperatures are correct, then our results imply a very high Earth-system climate sensitivity for the middle (3.3 Myr) to early (4.2 Myr) Pliocene ranging between 7.1 plus or minus 1.0 degrees C and 8.7 plus or minus 1.3 degrees C per CO2 doubling, and 9.6 plus or minus 1.4 degrees C per CO2 doubling, respectively. If only the minimum estimates are considered, Earth-system sensitivity is still substantially higher than the range of probable ‘fast-feedback’ climate sensitivity often discussed, and implies that the impact of global warming acts to promote other feedbacks that substantially magnify warming over longer timescales.”

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Climate Change The Data

James Hansen : More Right Than Wrong

You know, back in 1988, James Hansen had some fairly basic FORTRAN computing code and an embarrassingly uncomplex model of the World Ocean, and yet he still came up with shockingly accurate projections of Global Warming.

The data is in. The models were right (more or less).

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Climate Change Political Nightmare Social Change

Climate Heroes #1 : Colin Challen MP

Colin Challen MP, an elected Member of the United Kingdom Parliament, has written a very helpful critique of Climate Change politics : “Too Little, Too Late : The Politics of Climate Change” :-

https://www.celsias.com/article/colin-challens-too-little-too-late-politics-climat/

The Daily Telegraph, and others, tried to string him up over the MPs’ expenses scandal :-

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5390053/MPs-expenses-Colin-Challen-sold-flat-to-senior-researcher-then-rented-it-back-nightly.html

https://www.garforthtoday.co.uk/5311/Rothwell-MP-is-asked-to.5735414.jp

Is this perhaps connected to the fact that he is such a strong campaigning force on Climate Change ? Or that he called for a ban on domestic flights ? Time alone will tell :-

https://news.cheapflights.co.uk/2009/12/labour-mp-wants-total-ban-on-domestic-flights/

You can join his newsletter group to receive his “Carbon2Share” publication :-

https://www.colinchallen.org.uk/record.jsp?type=page&ID=6&contact=contact

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Climate Change Geogingerneering Media

The History of Climate Denial Funding

Follow the money : take a peek behind the Climate Change Denier-Sceptic propaganda theatre stage curtain and you will find large Fossil Fuel interests offering financial resources to unseat the Climate Change Science.

Ross Gelbspan calls this a “manufactured campaign”, and lays some of the obligations for rooting it out on those who work in the Media.

“We may already be witnessing…runaway Climate Change” is his conclusion on the consequences of 20 years of delay in setting effective policy.

Virtually no group in society escapes Gelbspan’s probing gaze. He invites comments :-

https://climateprogress.org/2009/12/27/watch-ross-gelbspans-video-on-climate-change-and-the-fossil-fuel-industry-fossil-fuel-funded-disinformation-campaign-launched/

Categories
Climate Change Social Change

The Greater Gospel

I was at a most unusual Christian meeting a few short weeks ago on 5th December 2009. Convening the meeting were the leaders of several of the main Christian denominations, a sight you would rarely expect. And strangely, most of the congregated faithful were wearing something blue, and not just blue clothing – people had on blue face and body paint, blue wigs, blue tinsel and draped themselves in blue flags, bedsheets and banners :-

https://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/climate-service-2009-pr.htm

Continue reading “The Greater Gospel”
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Climate Change

Mini Hockey Sticks (3)

Yet another vindication for Michael Mann’s work on the legendary “Hockey Stick” comes from an analysis of global warming by decade from the World Meteorological Organisation.

Alongside this, some of the research from sea floor sediment drilling has now been published, and it should make you sit up and pay attention.

Continue reading “Mini Hockey Sticks (3)”
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Climate Change

Wood for Trees : Truth for Emails

It’s no joke that the United Nations in Copenhagen for the Climate talks, the world’s most important meeting for years, gets undermined by criminal activity and a mass propaganda exercise. I’m talking about “Climategate” of course : hacking in to an institution’s computer to steal e-mails and then stringing out an entirely falsifiable narrative on the basis of some frustrated and chance remarks in over ten years of private exchanges is criminal and would be considered malpractice and illegal in any court considering malicious intent and inappropriate appropriation.

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Climate Change Energy Revival Pet Peeves

Time to Care

It’s time that we all cared about what is happening to Life on Earth. Nobody in an alien spacecraft is going to come crashing through the clouds to save us with miraculous Energy technologies, or brand new Chemistry that beats the Laws of Physics to capture Carbon Dioxide right out of the air in the amounts we are emitting it.

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Climate Change Extreme Weather

Burn & Splash : Christmas in Australia

While the Northern Hemisphere is crisp and deep and even for a few hours, Australia is frying and floating :-

https://itn.co.uk/a5a07a2ef00bbaff25fe86ec3377248e.html

And back Up North, despite the recent cold snap, the Central England Temperature average for the year 2009 to 22nd December was 0.73 degrees C above the long-term mean :-

https://hadobs.metoffice.com/hadcet/cet_info_mean.html

Underneath all the cold and ice, the wall-to-wall “two inches of snow and Britain stops working” news, there’s another, lurking reality : on the whole, it’s warming up.

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Climate Change

Happy Christspring

Silent night; balmy night.

If you listen carefully in the warm dark, with your ear tilted down towards the well-drained raised vegetable patch, you can hear the November crop seeds cracking, and the creaking of the fat seed leaves as they start to unfurl and lift their points skywards, pushing out of the mud.

The December blossom has covered the fruit trees, just in time for Christspring, and on Boxing Day, we will take the sleepy hybrid honey bees from their hives to fertilise the rose and cream tree flowers so that we can be guaranteed of apples, pears and plums in June.

The constant, gentle rain has kept the ground heavy with water for almost two months, and at sunset the russet and gold rays reflect in countless seasonal ponds.

It is a wonder to watch flocks of small birds eating the clouds of insects that rise from the sodden fields. We will need to net and eat many of the fattened little fowl in February or March to make sure we we will have some fruit left to gather.

The fierce, destructive storms of August and October are long past, and it is now possible to tend ground with good drainage in anticipation of a magnificent Harvest in May before the yearly heatwaves send us all to the underground shelters.

Birdsong wakes us in this beautiful, calm world, where all motorised transport has all fallen silent, sunk under the urban lakes, along with the roads that carried them.

We used to live in architectural homes of brick and stone, far further South, but that time is gone, and now we live in homes we built with our own hands from waste wood, boulders and clay and straw.

We have had to adapt, learn to live with new waves of strangers escaping the unbearable Southern heat.

We have had to grow new forests as well as new social order.

We have had to lose so much, but we live in a still beautiful Earth, and each day gives more peace as we learn how the new Climate works.

I wish you all a Happy and Hopeful Christspring, season of new life and rich promise.

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Climate Change

Climate Radio : Essential Listening

The normally cool and collected Phil England gets really steamy under the collar in his “Copenhagen Daily #11” out there on Climate Radio.

It is imperative essential listening :-

https://climateradio.org/

Categories
Big Picture Carbon Commodities Climate Change

Shocking News : I Agree With James Delingpole

Well, I agree with parts of a couple of paragraphs. Got you looking, though, didn’t it ?

https://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100020288/climategate-we-won-the-battle-but-at-copenhagen-we-just-lost-the-war/

Delingpole writes : “Copenhagen never really had anything to do with “Climate Change”. Rather it was a trough-fest at which all the world’s greediest pigs gathered to gobble up as much of your money and my money as they possibly could, under the righteous-sounding pretence that they were saving the planet.”

I think that he’s partially on the right track : for many, many people, Climate Change is something they can make money from. Creating a commodity from a previously unvalued polluting gas, creating positive value from a negative waste product, is only going to lead to the massive-est market on Earth. And we all know who’s going to gain from that Carbon Trade, don’t we ? Not you and me, that’s for sure.

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Big Picture Climate Change

George Monbiot : Saying Goodbye

George Monbiot starts to bid a fond, outraged farewell to various parts of the Biosphere and Humanity in his despairing and critical review of the Copenhagen Climate Change conference :-

https://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/18/copenhagen-negotiators-bicker-filibuster-biosphere

“Copenhagen negotiators bicker and filibuster while the biosphere burns : George Monbiot despairs at the chaotic, disastrous denouement of a chaotic and disastrous climate summit : Friday 18 December 2009 : …We have now lost 17 precious years, possibly the only years in which climate breakdown could have been prevented. This has not happened by accident: it is the result of a systematic campaign of sabotage by certain states, driven and promoted by the energy industries. This idiocy has been aided and abetted by the nations characterised, until now, as the good guys: those that have made firm commitments, only to invalidate them with loopholes, false accounting and outsourcing. In all cases immediate self-interest has trumped the long-term welfare of humankind. Corporate profits and political expediency have proved more urgent considerations than either the natural world or human civilisation. Our political systems are incapable of discharging the main function of government: to protect us from each other. Goodbye Africa, goodbye south Asia; goodbye glaciers and sea ice, coral reefs and rainforest. It was nice knowing you. Not that we really cared. The governments which moved so swiftly to save the banks have bickered and filibustered while the biosphere burns.”

Continue reading “George Monbiot : Saying Goodbye”
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Carbon Commodities Climate Change Eating & Drinking Emissions Impossible Energy Revival Pet Peeves

Copenhagen : “Meaningful Agreement”

As the world leaders start to slip away back to the airport, some commentators are hailing a “meaningful agreement” has been reached at the Copenhagen United Nations Climate Change talks. Others say that no deal of any significant kind has been struck.

Reaction from the Developing countries is general dismay. The Non-Governmental Organisations, “civil society”, feel they have been blocked from taking part. It’s been a complete shambles.

The time has come to start spelling out the future in graphic, technical detail – not just about the damages that Climate Change will bring – but about the only real solutions.

Real solutions do not include Carbon Trading, nor Carbon Taxation. They don’t include technofixes and technofudges like Carbon Capture and Storage and New Nuclear Power. They certainly don’t include partial commitment on Avoided Deforestation.

We have to say it and say it again : whether the leaders and corporations agree or not, the future is Carbon Emissions Reductions. The Consumer Economy is being eroded by the minute. Peak Oil, Coal, Natural Gas and Uranium are just around the corner.

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Bait & Switch Big Picture Climate Change Media Meltdown Public Relations Renewable Resource The Data

Gore Was Mostly Right

Al Gore speak at the December 2009 Climate Talks in Copenhagen this week, and you would not believe how he got mauled by the Media and the Denier-Sceptics. Watch and listen to the links below and consider if you can detect the part that stuck in the throat of those who resist putting a halt to Global Warming.

Continue reading “Gore Was Mostly Right”
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Burning Money Climate Change

Make Copenhagen Treaty “Meaty”

Phone your leader :

Sign the Greenpeace Petition :

Sign the Avaaz Petition :

There’s one thing we know : the Earth does not compromise. Politicians might think that they can compromise with the Science; and worse still, the Climate Change Deniers might think that they can compromise the public mind, but in the end the Data will have the final say.

One day, the fringe, radical opinion will be called upon by those at the centre of the debate. Not a debate about whether the climate is changing or not, but the negotiations about who will do what.

Some currently argue that the West was won (and the North) by the immoral earnings from the deep South (and the far East) : the industrialised countries have accrued their wealth on the basis of historical and continuing exploitation of the systems of trade and finance, to garner to their store all the material resource riches of the whole world.

This historical inequality, this chute of nature, taking food, minerals, fuels sliding Northwards and Westwards : for this the rich should pay : Carbon rights should not be “grandfathered” : the rich should not assume they have the free right to continue polluting as they have in the past. The rich should pay up on their historical debt.

Continue reading “Make Copenhagen Treaty “Meaty””
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Bad Science Carbon Commodities Climate Change Emissions Impossible Media Non-Science Public Relations

Answer the Question, Professor Plimer

George Monbiot goes head to head with Professor Ian Plimer, but fails to get a straight answer out of the Australian mining geologist.

Continue reading “Answer the Question, Professor Plimer”
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Climate Change Protest & Survive

Wheel Progress

Watch out for some bike action at Copenhagen on Wednesday 16th December 2009 :-

https://www.climate-justice-action.org/mobilization/reclaim-power-pushing-for-climate-justice/

https://www.climate-justice-action.org/

https://www.climate-justice-action.org/news/2009/11/05/fun-between-%20your-legs-bike-bloc-will-storm-cop15/

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Bad Science Climate Change Media Non-Science

Zombie Denial : Undead Arguments Rise Again

What is it with Global Warming denial arguments ? Just when you think they’ve finally bitten the dust, up they pop again to stagger and stomp menacingly towards you in rather unconvincing make up, spattered in stage paint blood.

Today it’s the zombie return of the “urban heat island” bogeyman, courtesy of that top science boffin, James Delingpole :-

https://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100019956/climategate-the-lawyers-move-in-those-scientists-are-toast/

“…you need first to be aware of one of the most contentious points about Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) – the reliability of weather station records and the Urban Heat Island effect (UHI)… Put very simply, there is great concern among sceptics that the data records used to support the IPCC’s claims about “unprecedented” and catastrophic late 20th century global warming are untrustworthy… these records rely on a dwindling number of weather surface stations whose readings have been skewed either by relocation or by the warming effects of the cities which have grown around them over the years…”

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Burning Money Carbon Capture Carbon Commodities Climate Change Pet Peeves

What Is “Clean Development” ?

The idea behind “clean development” is simple : promoting the clean development of developing countries so that they don’t make the same dirty development mistakes that the developed countries did when they were developing.

So, let the developing countries develop, but avoid the dirty part. Instead of burning Coal to make electricity, let them burn Natural Gas, or BioMethane (poo power); or let them make wind turbines, and hydropower dams and efficient biomass stoves.

There was to be a fund to finance Clean Development Mechanism projects, and it was supposed to be aimed at developing countries.

However, the negotiations around the CDM have taken more than one twist. Today, discussions were held about whether to permit Carbon Capture and Storage technologies to be included as “clean development”.

Continue reading “What Is “Clean Development” ?”
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Bad Science Bait & Switch Climate Change Media Non-Science Political Nightmare Public Relations Social Change Unutterably Useless Utter Futility

The Daily Hoaxpress ?

The Daily Express newspaper (ably echoed by its cousin The Daily Telegraph) issued an outright Global Warming denial on its front page today :-

https://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/146139/100-reasons-why-global-warming-is-natural

“100 REASONS WHY GLOBAL WARMING IS NATURAL : ‘No proof that human activity is to blame’ : Tuesday December 15,2009 : By Martyn Brown : CAMPAIGNERS yesterday attempted to pour scorn on “tenuous” global warming theories by issuing a dossier detailing 100 reasons why climate change is natural and not man-made. The list includes the controversial claim that there is “no scientific proof” that rising levels of greenhouse gases are caused by human activity…”

Intrigued, I actually went to the trouble of purchasing the print edition of the newspaper, so I could gen up. On page 5, the headline “‘There’s little we can do about global warming'”. Oh, so tens of thousands of people in Copenhagen, Denmark, negotiating about the need to reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions, are all wasting their time ? I think not.

Continue reading “The Daily Hoaxpress ?”
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Bait & Switch Big Picture Climate Change Emissions Impossible Media Political Nightmare Public Relations Social Change

Copenhagen Punk’d

It appears that the Yes Men have staged a huge coup at the Copenhagen Climate Change talks. First they issued a Press Release saying that Canada was going to offer 40% Carbon Emissions reductions. And then they held a Press Conference with a delegate from Uganda to herald the news – see the video here :-

https://en.cop-15.org/news/view+news_newsid=12888.html
“Canada: We Accept Concept of Climate Debt : Canada gives details of new “Climate Debt Mechanism,” announces details of pilot program in Africa. Ugandan delegation lauds proposal.
Peter Jensen 14/12/2009 13:20″

Continue reading “Copenhagen Punk’d”