Tag: Global Warming

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Climate Change Contraction & Convergence Social Change

We’re Not Done Yet

Copenhagen was a complete and utter shambles. No doubt about it. Various commentators and participants have been fishing around since it dribbled away to its weak conclusion, looking for someone or some organisation to blame.

The British blamed the Chinese, the Africans blamed the North Americans, the socialists blamed the elitist imperialists, and the NGOs blamed the international companies who had a corporate interest in swaying the whole deal their way, protecting business interests.

One story, much repeated by Climate Change Denier sources, blames the United Nations in effect, or at least the whole of Denmark, for allowing 30,000 Non-Governmental-Organisation (NGO) people to be registered, when the Copenhagen Bella Conference Center could only accommodate 15,000 people.

Continue reading “We’re Not Done Yet”
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Big Picture Climate Change Divide & Rule Political Nightmare

Pershing Missile Strikes United Nations

The United States of America have launched their secret bearded missile at the United Nations – Jonathan Pershing – in a direct strike on the international Climate Change negotiations.

https://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/14/climate-talks-un-sidelined

“America sees a diminished role for the United Nations in trying to stop global warming after the “chaotic” Copenhagen climate change summit, an Obama administration official said today. Jonathan Pershing, who helped lead talks at Copenhagen, instead sketched out a future path for negotiations dominated by the world’s largest polluters such as China, the US, India, Brazil and South Africa, who signed up to a deal in the final hours of the summit. That would represent a realignment of the way the international community has dealt with climate change over the last two decades…Pershing said… “But it is also impossible to imagine a negotiation of enormous complexity where you have a table of 192 countries involved in all the detail.”…The lack of confidence in the UN extends to the $30bn (£18.5bn) global fund, which will be mobilised over the next three years to help poor countries adapt to climate change. “The UN didn’t manage the conference that well,” Pershing said. “I am not sure that any of us are particularly confident that the UN managing the near-term financing is the right way to go.”…”

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Climate Change Media Wind of Fortune

Dominic Lawson : Sussex Farmhouse

Once again, Dominic Lawson fails to realise that many of his readers will simply not connect with him :-

https://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/dominic_lawson/article6982310.ece

Only a very marginally low proportion of the British population can identify with, or only hope to aspire to, his perilous predicament.

Stuck down a snowy country lane and running out of heating oil ? Look, mate, you can afford to live in a “Sussex farmhouse”. Isn’t it about time you took your finger out and wrote a fat cheque to get connected to the gas mains ?

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Climate Change Media

Mojib Latif : Old, Non-News

https://mediamatters.org/research/200909240021

The Climate Change Denialists have been trying to resurrect a non-story from Autumn of 2009 – claiming that Professor Mojib Latif is predicting Global Cooling.

He is not, OK ?

Mojib Latif is merely saying that there is some variability, but that the long-term trend is warming. Warming. That’s right. Warming.

Here’s just a selection of the Media and Web Log reaction to this “viral” lie from the denier bloc :-

Continue reading “Mojib Latif : Old, Non-News”

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Climate Change Media

Richard Betts : Communicating Science

Yes, we’ve all been there. Just idly chatting to someone in the pub, office or outside the school gates, and they say “I don’t rate that Global Warming thing. Look how cold it is today.” Or like a family friend said, on his own, un-tutored authority a couple of months ago, “I don’t think it’s warming up as much as they say it is”.

Don’t fret, Climate Changers, it happens to us all.

The main source of this dissonance between Truth and Deniership is the mainstream media, I’m sorry to say. They really haven’t improved things, when, with just a little more care and attention, they could have done so much to help comprehension of the scale and might of the risks of dangerous Climate Change.

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Climate Change Media

Rod Liddle : Gutter Press

There’s something that’s been threatening to keep me awake at night, and it’s not drinking too much coffee. I don’t drink coffee, normally, by the by. No, it’s this : why does Rod Liddle’s photograph on the The Spectator website look remarkably unlike the way he looks in realtime, that is, today ? Here’s what I mean :-


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Climate Change Media

Daily Telegraph Makes Mistake

The Daily Telegraph newspaper, the grand uncle of the broadsheets, allows through a little slip-up. I am sure it will get corrected tomorrow, so I’ve kept a copy, just in case anyone challenges what I can see on the page right now :-

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/6952220/Why-were-in-the-grip-of-medieval-mania.html

“…In the climate change debate, both sceptics and proponents have spent a lot of time debating the significance for our own times of two parts of the period. The first is what has been termed the Medieval Warm Period, from between 800 to 1300, the second the Little Ice Age that followed it. Those in the Christopher Booker and George Monbiot camp, one which blames humans for climate change, have spent a lot of heated discussion dwelling on these facts, and the debate has found its way into creative works in surprising ways…”

Last time I looked, Christopher Booker was being awarded a special prize for Global Warming “scepticism” (denial) :-

https://www.monbiot.com/archives/2009/02/06/the-christopher-booker-prize-for-climate-change-bullshit/

Poor Philip Hensher, who wrote the article. How could he get so confused ?

Or have I missed something ? Has Christopher Booker repented of all his seemingly misguided hackery, read some Climate Change science, recanted of his mission to promote what appears to be sensationalist nonsense, and become an acolyte of the Church of Global Warming ?

Somebody should find out, I think.

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Climate Change Extreme Weather The Data

Extreme Weather : Global Warming style

“You still get cold days…People say ‘what’s happened to Global Warming ?’…that’s just the weather”, says Gerald Meehl.

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Bad Science Climate Change Media Non-Science

Daily Express : Unreliable Sources

Another pretty poor headline from the Daily Express (and we all know that outrageous headlines sell newspapers), but the majority of the article is OK, until the almost inevitable signs of “balance” by quoting Piers Corbyn and Christopher Booker :-

“…Long-term forecaster and trends analyst Piers Corbyn, of WeatherAction, said: “Global warming is a failed science built on falsified data. It is a sham to say that man has caused it.”…”

Most serendipitously, the Global Warming Science that the genuine research community have been slaving away at for the last, ooo, 25 years, has not been undermined by one freakily cold Northern Hemisphere Winter, or they’d all be out of jobs pretty sharpish.

“…Christopher Booker, author of The Real Global Warming Disaster, said: “It is amazing how this scaremongering from climate change lobbyists keeps arising even though they are constantly being proved wrong. Last year there was snow in Saudia Arabia and still they persist in saying the temperature is going up.”…”

As time goes by, and more evidence is collated and analysed and more theoretical branches are investigated, the more Climate Change Science is shown to be accurate, both in projection and qualitative prediction.

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Bad Science Big Picture Climate Change Media Non-Science The Data

The Spectator’s Rod Liddle Fabricates

https://www.spectator.co.uk/rodliddle/5688478/questioning-the-climate-change-establishment.thtml

“Questioning the Climate Change Establishment : ROD LIDDLE : THURSDAY, 7TH JANUARY 2010 : So, this is now the coldest winter for thirty years and the snow is likely to hang around for two weeks, maybe three. How does this square with last year’s prediction from eminent scientists – the Met, the UAE change-the-numbers-monkeys, Marcus Brigstocke etc – that 2010 was going to be the hottest year on record? It could still be, of course – but it will have to go it some. Let’s keep an eye on the figures – so far, coldest for thirty years, remember. December was cold too, if you remember – yet apparently not included in the figures for 2009 which, if you recall, were jubilantly announced as being the fifth hottest since records began in the middle of November – ie when there was still 11 per cent of the year to go, the coldest bit…”

You’re entirely mistaken, Rodney.

All the data from 2009 for the Central England Temperarture, for example, was used in the calculation of the yearly mean. And all the data is available on the Hadley Centre website, and pictures too :-

https://hadobs.metoffice.com/hadcet/cet_info_mean2009.html

https://hadobs.metoffice.com/hadcet/data/download.html

It’s true that NASA GISS and NOAA are a bit slow in publishing their data and charts, but in a short week or so, they’ll be posted.

Please check your facts before splurging. And that means all of you, respectable authentic journalists, opinion-formers and shock jocks alike.

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Bad Science Bait & Switch Climate Change Media Non-Science Public Relations Social Change

The BBC Reviews Its Trust

The BBC Trust are to review the BBC’s treatment of Science in the BBC Media. I can’t say for sure whether that’s going to result in anything helpful or not, since it’s going to be effectively an “internal inquiry”. Their quest for objectivity may end up in compromise and playing to the heckling balconies :-

https://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/06/bbc-trust-science-impartiality-review

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6941616/BBC-to-launch-review-into-allegations-of-bias-in-its-science-coverage.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1241209/BBC-probes-bias-science-coverage.html

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Bad Science Climate Change Non-Science

Sceptics Have Infected The Guardian

It looks like The Guardian newspaper has been infected with Global Warming scepticism.

I thought the paper was supposed to have some decent editorial process on Science ! But, sadly, clearly, not.

Here are the main problems with the article :-

https://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/jan/07/religion-climate-change

1. The author does not understand the processes that govern the accumulation of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere.

2. The author appears to have no knowledge of how the Earth system as a whole regulated Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere in the distant past within certain limits of extent.

3. The author does not recognise that the current level of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere is much higher than in the distant past. Neither does he offer any explanation for why the level should have strayed outside the long-term boundaries.

4. The author accepts that periods of Earth History with more Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere were warmer than periods with less Carbon Dioxide, but fails to offer a possible mechanism that could draw down Carbon Dioxide from the Atmosphere now to the regulated boundaries of the distant past.

5. The author does not appear to appreciate that the Younger Dryas cooling event was almost certainly entirely unrelated to Carbon Dioxide levels in the Atmosphere.

6. The author does not appear to appreciate that the Younger Dryas cooling event was not global in scope. Or rather, although there are records of effects almost universally, the effects were not the same everywhere.

7. The author does not recount the extreme warming that ended the Younger Dryas event.

Which is what you would expect, since the main cause of the Younger Dryas event was not the level of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere; and naturally, the levels of Carbon Dioxide still in the Atmosphere caused the temperatures to return to where they were prior to the Younger Dryas cooling event.

The author of the article appears to be a software engineer with an education in biological sciences. I doubt he has ever taken a course in Global Warming Science. I suggest he should. It’s all online if he wants it. Here are David Archer’s lecture videos from the University of Chicago :-

https://geoflop.uchicago.edu/forecast/docs/lectures.html

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Climate Change Extreme Weather Meltdown Methane Madness

Arctic Meltdown : Methane Eruptions

Video Credit : The Guardian

[ PLEASE NOTE : The animation is dated 6th April 2009, so the text in the sub-titles means the year 2008 when it says “last year”. ]

European Winter 2009-2010 is turning out to be a bit parky – best not to go outside unless you can help it (or you’re under the age of 10 and love snowball fights).

However, wintry as it may be in Europe, the Arctic region is experiencing slush-inducing temperatures, and once-frozen sub-sea permafrost is starting to warm up, rot and give off methane. Lots of it :-

https://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/01/more-methane-discovered-bubbling-up-arctic-sea-floor.php

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Climate Change

Threats From American Zealots

The great thing (not) about trying to get a higher profile for Climate Change is receiving threats, intimidation, criticism and personal abuse by e-mail and in the Comments on this web log. It really gives me joy and confidence (yeah, right) in the humanity of man.

Today I received an interesting little communication that appears to be threatening legal action for having exchanged in e-mail correspondence with Roger Harrabin, a reporter at the BBC.

It suggests that I should recant and repent for having tried to promote Climate Change Science.

It instructs me that Climate Change Science is fraudulent. Oops ! I hadn’t realised ! And there was I relying on the last 120 years of Global Warming Theory and empirical evidence, thinking I was on very firm ground !

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Climate Change Marvellous Wonderful Political Nightmare Public Relations

Gordon Brown Saves The World (2)

Besides announcing lots of money for Renewable Energy :-

https://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/03/gordon-brown-wind-energy-programme

Gordon Brown is confident that he can steer the international Climate negotiations to a successful, sign-up-to-able deal :-

https://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6021AT20100103

“Brown says climate change agreement possible : Sun Jan 3, 2010 : Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Sunday he believed a global agreement to combat climate change might still be possible despite the limited results of last month’s Copenhagen meeting. “I’ve got an idea about how we can actually move this forward over the next few months and I’ll be working on this,” Brown told the BBC, when asked what came next after the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen. “I think it’s not impossible that the groundwork that was done at Copenhagen could lead to what you might call a global agreement that everybody is happy to stand by,” Brown said. “I’ll be working on that in the next few months and I can see a way forward because what prevented an agreement was suspicion and fear and forms of protectionism that I think we’ve got to get over,” he said, without giving details of his plan…”

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Big Picture Climate Change Extreme Weather

Climate Change : Insurance Warning

The giant German Reinsurance company Munich Re has reported that although 2009 was a relatively quiet year for natural disaster losses, there have been increased risks from extreme weather events related to Global Warming :-

https://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/98a3ac0a-f4e2-11de-9cba-00144feab49a.html

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Climate Change Media Public Relations

Central England Temperature 0.63 Degrees C Above Norm

The final calculations have been done by the Meteorological Office for the average Central England Temperature in 2009 and shown in a graph online :-

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

Continue reading “Central England Temperature 0.63 Degrees C Above Norm”
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Bait & Switch Climate Change Public Relations Social Change

Dude, Where’s My Climate ?

Some of you are probably thinking, “what a crummy out-of-date cliched non-joke of a title !”, but I’m hoping for some web hits on the basis that corny can be cute, sometimes.

But what on Earth do I mean ? Well, just where is Climate Change in the Media ? It is the Number One story of all human time, so why does it still only occupy so few column inches and Tweets and Press Releases and web logs and TV programmes and printed communications, and why do the Westerner populations still think that money is still more important than an inhabitable Biosphere ?

Don’t know, but it’s bound to have to do with cultural inertia, how very slowly the Press, TV and social communications guys and gals are waking up to the overarching problems of Global Climate Change.

Continue reading “Dude, Where’s My Climate ?”
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Bait & Switch Climate Change Public Relations

John Humphrys : An End To Fence-Sitting

On 31st December 2009, John Humphrys, well-loved BBC radio interviewer and presenter, amongst other things, wrote an opinion piece for the Daily Mail newspaper.

He weaves a careful argument about why he and others should stop fence-sitting on the issue of Climate Change, but he is still in need of an educational experience to help him understand where the power and drive of Climate Change Denial comes from :-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1239546/JOHN-HUMPHRYS-Noughties-No-Nasties–good-riddance-them.html

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Climate Change

Carbon Dioxide : Global Overheating

As time goes by, the Science of Geology becomes more and more convinced that Carbon Dioxide is the major driver in Global Overheating.

It’s not the only cause of Global Warming, but it’s the factor that explains the high swings in warming and cooling, above and beyond any other explanation or cause.

Research is continually being published that confirms the role of Carbon Dioxide in the warming and cooling of the Earth throughout its history.

Continue reading “Carbon Dioxide : Global Overheating”
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Climate Change Social Change

How Dare You Be Optimistic !

How dare you be pessimistic ?

Categories
Climate Change Social Change

Ein Glückliches Neues Jahr

Image Credit : Tim Lambert, Deltoid Science Blog

Happy New Year 2010 !

It’s only a number, I know, but Happy New Year 2010, anyway !

It’s only a number, and there are some other numbers that are way more important :-

2 degrees Celsius/Centigrade :-
https://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/climatechange/cache/offonce/pages/gateway/the-science/pid/4101;jsessionid=63B576452D2AEF70A560B602E6A48ED7

350 parts per million by volume atmospheric Carbon Dioxide :-
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUS219942697420091230

1 trillion tonnes of Carbon Emissions left in our global Carbon Budget :-
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17051-humanitys-carbon-budget-set-at-one-trillion-tonnes.html

The arrival of 2010 means we have one more happy, glorious and fortunate new year in which to get something done, seriously done, about capping Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

We’re cutting it fine. A few more New Years like this without significant and legally binding commitments to change and we willed have failed to protect our future from serious, permanent damage.

So, man the lifeboats ! It’s another year of collective cooperation, education, informal and formal discussions, technological advance, political wrangling, community cohesion and individual effort ahead !

Categories
Big Picture Climate Change

What Did You Do In Copenhagen ?

What did you do in Copenhagen ? I mean, did you actually achieve anything ? Did you convince anyone of anything ? Did you put forward a proposal that was accepted ? Did you help build the case for strong action on Climate Change ?

What was Copenhagen all for, exactly ?

Categories
Climate Change

Dr Rajendra Pachauri versus The Sunday Telegraph

There may or may not be legal action. What’s sure is that there will be some kind of reaction.

Categories
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.”