Clipmarks | n2sooners's 'climate change' clips

NASA: 70% of climate change due to Pacific oscillations, not CO2

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:47:55 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners
clipper's remarks:

What this means is no matter how much you change your CO2 footprint, how much you try to be CO2 green, no matter how much liberal governments tax you - you cannot save the planet from its natural cycles.

Say they reduced the CO2 25%. Say the CO2 is the driver for the remaining 30% of Global Warming (which it cannot be, but let’s just be only half as ridiculous as the IPCC), then all that effort would only impact 7.5% of the forces driving the global climate. The other 92.5% would roll on, impervious to the effort. And since CO2 is not 100% of the remaining 30% of the equation (more like 10%), a more realistic expectation is that all the suffering that would go into dropping CO2 levels by 25% would result in a less than 1% change in the forces driving our climate.

Clip Source: strata-sphere.com

It has been scientifically demonstrated that 70% of the Global Warming in the last century (and cooling in the last decade) is due to the Pacific Ocean Oscillations, not CO2:

One necessary result of low climate sensitivity is that the radiative forcing from greenhouse gas emissions in the last century is not nearly enough to explain the upward trend of 0.7 deg. C in the last 100 years.

On this issue, it can be shown with a simple climate model that small cloud fluctuations assumed to occur with two modes of natural climate variability — the El Nino/La Nina phenomenon (Southern Oscillation), and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation — can explain 70% of the warming trend since 1900, as well as the nature of that trend: warming until the 1940s, no warming until the 1970s, and resumed warming since then.

The gentlemen making this claim is the lead investigator one of NASA’s flagship Earth Observing Observatories

Tags: climate change, global warming, science, religion, politics

Ice shelf collapse natural

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:41:27 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.theregister.co.uk

The high-profile collapse of some Antarctica's ice shelves is likely the result of natural current fluctuations, not global warming, says a leading British expert on polar climates.

This surprising finding is supported by analysis of data from the European Space Agency's ERS-1 satellite, according to Duncan Wingham, Professor of Climate Physics at University College London. The data, measuring changes in ice thickness across the Antarctic ice sheet using the polar orbiting satellite, show areas of growth from snowfall are as common as areas of decline.

A lot of attention and research has focused on this relatively accessible area of the Antarctic Peninsula, but satellites are giving us a picture of the continent as a whole

This broader picture shows evidence of growth and decay from place to place, a picture more in line with natural variations in snowfall and ocean circulation.

At the US station at the South Pole, temperatures have in fact fallen by a degree since 1957

Tags: global warming, climate change, science, religion, politics, antarctica, ice

Environmentalist vs Environmentalist

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:43:56 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — In an environmental dispute seemingly scripted for eco-friendly California, a man asked prosecutors to file charges against his neighbors because their towering redwoods blocked sunlight to his backyard solar panels.

Experts say such clashes could become more common as California promotes renewable energy and solar systems become more popular.

After more than six years of legal wrangling, a judge recently ordered Richard Treanor and his wife, Carolyn Bissett, to cut down two of their eight redwoods, citing an obscure state law that protects a homeowner's right to sunlight.

The Solar Shade Control Act means that homeowners can "suddenly become a criminal the day a tree grows big enough to shade a solar panel," Treanor said.

"I think it's unfair that a neighbor can take away this source of energy from another neighbor," he said.

Both sides say they want to do what's best for the environment.

Tags: global warming, climate change, solar power, trees, science, politics, religion

Global warming = fewer hurricanes?

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:16:41 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners
clipper's remarks: Now no matter what happens during hurricane season it can be blamed on global warming...

Clip Source: www.miamiherald.com

a new report concludes that global warming actually is diminishing the number of hurricanes that strike Florida and the rest of the United States -- and the phenomenon is likely to continue.

The study, produced by two respected South Florida researchers, found that the planet's oceans have been warming for more than a century. No surprise there, but this may be:

Those warmer oceans are producing stronger crosswinds that tend to suppress the development and growth of hurricanes, according to the scientists.

''We found a gentle decrease in the trend of U.S. landfalling hurricanes as global oceans warmed up,'' said Chunzai Wang

Many other studies have used computerized statistical models to predict the future consequences of global warming, but Wang and Lee conducted a rigorous ''observational'' examination of records reaching back to 1854.

Tags: global warming, climate change, religion, science, politics, hurricanes

Eco-warriors are worst polluters

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:20:01 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

A survey of travel habits has revealed that the most environmentally conscious people are also the biggest polluters.

"Green" consumers have some of the biggest carbon footprints because they are still hooked on flying abroad or driving their cars while their adherence to the green cause is mostly limited to small gestures.

Identified as "eco-adopters", they are most likely to be members of an environmental organisation, buy green products such as detergents, recycle and have a keen interest in green issues.

But the survey of 25,000 people

found that eco-adopters are seven per cent more likely than the general population to take flights, and four per cent more likely to own a car. The survey found similar trends in France and the United States.

Geoff Wicken, the author of the report, pointed to David Cameron, the Conservative leader, as a classic eco-adopter because despite styling himself as a green warrior he also takes flights in private helicopters and planes.

Tags: global warming, climate change, religion, science, politics, hypocrisy

Prediction: More alarmism in 2008

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:20:49 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners
clipper's remarks: “In the last few months,” Mr. Gore said, “it has been harder and harder to misinterpret the signs that our world is spinning out of kilter.” But he was being too modest. Thanks to availability entrepreneurs like him, misinterpreting the weather is getting easier and easier.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Today’s interpreters of the weather are what social scientists call availability entrepreneurs: the activists, journalists and publicity-savvy scientists who selectively monitor the globe looking for newsworthy evidence of a new form of sinfulness, burning fossil fuels.

British meteorologists made headlines predicting

2007 the hottest year on record

it was actually lower than any year since 2001

BBC confidently proclaimed, “2007 Data Confirms Warming Trend.”

the Arctic sea ice last year hit the lowest level ever recorded by satellites, it was big news

the Antarctic sea ice last year reached the highest level ever recorded by satellites, it was pretty much ignored

Hurricane Katrina

was supposed to be a harbinger of the stormier world

the next two hurricane seasons were fairly calm

availability entrepreneurs changed the subject

Droughts in California and Australia became the new harbingers of climate change

never mind that a warmer planet is projected to have more, not less, precipitation over all

Tags: global warming, climate change, science, religion, politics, gore, media, msm, bias

400 scientists dispute man made global warming

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:10:13 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: epw.senate.gov

Over 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen countries recently voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called "consensus" on man-made global warming.

This blockbuster Senate report lists the scientists by name, country of residence, and academic/institutional affiliation. It also features their own words, biographies, and weblinks to their peer reviewed studies and original source materials as gathered from public statements, various news outlets, and websites in 2007. This new "consensus busters" report is poised to redefine the debate.

Many of the scientists featured in this report consistently stated that numerous colleagues shared their views, but they will not speak out publicly for fear of retribution.

"Many of my colleagues with whom I spoke share these views and report on their inability to publish their skepticism in the scientific or public media," Paldor wrote.

Background: Only 52 Scientists Participated in UN IPCC Summary

Tags: global warming, climate change, politics, science, religion

US banning incandescent bulbs

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:00:18 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.businessandmedia.org

The U.S. Congress looks poised to follow Australia and other allies in effectively banning traditional light bulbs. In a front-page story December 17, USA Today reporter Paul Davidson praised the provision of the energy bill that phases out “inefficient” bulbs in favor of more expensive high-tech bulbs.

Davidson declared that the “new generation of energy-efficient lights … will cost consumers more but return their investment in a few months.” The compact fluorescent bulbs, which cost about four times as much as a incandescent bulb, can pay for themselves in saved energy costs as long as they don’t burn out or break prematurely.

But while Davidson mentioned one drawback of CFLs – that their “yellowish tints” are annoying to some eyes – he failed to mention the major flaw of the new technology: mercury.

Even if the bulb doesn’t break, CFL users are supposed to dispose of used bulbs through state-run household hazardous waste programs,

Tags: global warming, climate change, energy, mercury, hazardous waste, science, religion, politics

Friedman's carbon footprint

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:13:20 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.powerlineblog.com

Friedman's former neighbor writes:

I took note of your piece on the Bali conference keyed off of reporting by our friend Tom Friedman, who has evolved from a Middle East expert to environmentalist extraordinaire.

I lived within shouting distance of Friedman. Take a look at the carbon footprint this guy leaves. He lives on about seven acres -- it was once the home site of a prominent Washington attorney...The house sits on a hill with a great view and a western exposure. Friedman bought the house from the late lawyer's family about five years ago, tore down the huge older house and constructed an [over 11,000] square foot residence, with 7.5 bathrooms, on the hilltop. It is beautifully landscaped, as you can tell from the aerial/satellite photographs, and the foliage likely requires a lot of water. The property is listed on the tax rolls for [well over $9,000,000]. It makes me feel better that those who preach environmentalism practice such a modest intrusion on the environment itself.

Tags: global warming, climate change, religion, politics, friedman, hypocrisy

Taxation without representation

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:53:16 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.ibdeditorials.com

a panel at the IPCC conference titled "A Global CO2 Tax" took a step that will have a more lasting impact than an empty agreement. It urged the U.N. to adopt taxes on carbon dioxide emissions that would be "legally binding to all nations."

the tax, if levied, would put an especially high burden on the U.S.

The driving force of the environmental movement is not a cleaner planet

but a leftist, egalitarian urge to redistribute wealth.

"A climate change response must have at its heart a redistribution of wealth and resources," Emma Brindal

redistribution would be handled by the Multilateral Adaptation Fund

there would be few if any limits on the U.N.'s ability to move riches from countries that have created and earned them to those that have done neither.

Still think this is all about halting climate change? We would go as far as to say that anyone who does is either naive or a dupe. Both the rhetoric and the behavior of the eco-activists back us up.

Tags: global warming, climate change, taxes, un, politics, religion, science, wealth, socialism

Rationing every breath you take

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:41:41 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.lttonline.co.uk

Transport policy-makers should start preparing now for a dramatic reduction in motorised travel that will be brought about by carbon rationing, one of the country's leading environmental thinkers told LTT this week.

"Just start reading the runes because what's going to happen is the demand for road, rail and air travel is going to start falling away just as soon as we have rationing," says Mayer Hillman in an interview with the magazine.

Hillman, senior fellow emeritus at the Policy Studies Institute, says carbon rationing is the only way to ensure that the world avoids the worst effects of climate change. And he says that the problems caused by burning fossil fuels are so serious that governments might have to implement rationing against the will of the people.

"When the chips are down I think democracy is a less important goal than is the protection of the planet from the death of life, the end of life on it," he says. "This has got to be imposed on people whether they like it or not."

Tags: global warming, climate change, co2, rationing, politics, religion, science, socialism

Arctic ice reforming at record pace

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:56:37 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.thedailygreen.com

The record melting of Arctic sea ice observed this summer and fall led to record-low levels of ice in both September and October, but a record-setting pace of re-freezing in November, according to the NASA Earth Observatory. Some 58,000 square miles of ice formed per day for 10 days in late October and early November, a new record.

The dramatic increase in ice is evident, when compared to the record-low amount observed Sept. 16 (below, right). In both images, 100% sea ice is shown in white, and the yellow line encompasses the area ion which there was at least 15% ice cover in at least half of the 25-year record for the given month.

The record melting of Arctic sea ice this summer was widely viewed as a harbinger of global warming, though unusual wind patterns played a role and many factors affecting fluctuations in Arctic ice are poorly understood by scientists.

Tags: global warming, climate change, arctic, ice, science, religion, politics, nasa

Goal of global warming hype

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:57:25 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: epw.senate.gov

A global tax on carbon dioxide emissions was urged to help save the Earth from catastrophic man-made global warming at the United Nations climate conference

“Finally someone will pay for these [climate related] costs,” Othmar Schwank, a global tax advocate

Schwank said at least “$10-$40 billion dollars per year” could be generated by the tax, and wealthy nations like the U.S. would bear the biggest burden based on the “polluters pay principle.”

The U.S. and other wealthy nations need to “contribute significantly more to this global fund,” Schwank explained. He also added, “It is very essential to tax coal.”

The report stated there was an “urgent need” for a global tax

“A climate change response must have at its heart a redistribution of wealth and resources,” said Emma Brindal, a climate justice campaigner coordinator for Friends of the Earth.

MIT climate scientist Dr. Richard Lindzen warned

"Controlling carbon is a bureaucrat's dream. If you control carbon, you control life,"

Tags: global warming, climate change, religion, politics, tax, taxes, money, fraud

Magma melting Greenland ice

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:14:43 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

In recent years, Greenland’s ice has been melting more and flowing faster into the sea—a record amount of ice melted from the frozen mass this summer, according to recently released data—and Earth’s rising temperatures are suspected to be the main culprit.

But clues to a new natural contribution to the melt arose when scientists discovered a thin spot in the Earth’s crust under the northeast corner of the Greenland Ice Sheet where heat from Earth’s insides could seep through, scientists will report here this week at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

“The behavior of the great ice sheets is an important barometer of global climate change,” said lead scientist Ralph von Frese of Ohio State University. “However, to effectively separate and quantify human impacts on climate change, we must understand the natural impacts too.”

Tags: global warming, climate change, greenland, ice, melt, science, religion, politics

Climate models vs reality

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 03:40:44 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners
clipper's remarks:

Lead author David Douglass elaborates:

The observed pattern of warming, comparing surface and atmospheric temperature trends, does not show the characteristic fingerprint associated with greenhouse warming. The inescapable conclusion is that the human contribution is not significant and that observed increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases make only a negligible contribution to climate warming.

Clip Source: www.powerlineblog.com

four climate scientists have dealt another blow to the anthropogenic global warming theory in the December issue of the International Journal of Climatology.

The abstract of the article states tersely

We examine tropospheric temperature trends of 67 runs from 22 Climate of the 20th Century model simulations and try to reconcile them with the best available updated observations (in the tropics during the satellite era). Model results and observed temperature trends are in disagreement in most of the tropical troposphere, being separated by more than twice the uncertainty of the model mean. In layers near 5 km, the modelled trend is 100 to 300% higher than observed, and, above 8 km, modelled and observed trends have opposite signs. These conclusions contrast strongly with those of recent publications based on essentially the same data.

Tags: global warming, climate change, science, religion, politics