The idea that there is a massive lack of integrity in the science community, coming from the sources that are accusing them of that, politicians and right-wing blogs, is just ludicrous. They are projecting their own conspiratorial behavior and their own lack of scientific integrity onto the science community -Rick Piltz Director of CSW
Planes vs. volcanoes
Volcanoes just aren’t that large a source of CO2. Via Information is beautiful. UPDATE: The other question that keeps popping up about the Eyjafjallajokul eruption, is its potential cooling effect on the climate. So can we expect cooling? Not likely, according to Rutgers University environmental sciences professor Alan Robock, an expert on how volcanoes alter... Continue Reading →
Sea-level rise predictions since the IPCC
It is well known that the IPCC projections for sea-level rise are low. There are many reasons for this, but perhaps the main reason is the fact that the IPCC basically ignore sea-level rise contributions from the melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets: The IPCC range assumes a near-zero net contribution of the Greenland and... Continue Reading →
The tradition of inaction continues
The Canadian Conservatives, much like the Liberals before them, have a long tradition of inaction on the climate change front. And that inaction shows no sign of stopping: Environment Minister Jim Prentice is signalling further delays in imposing greenhouse gas emission standards on the oil sector and other industries, saying Ottawa does not want to... Continue Reading →
The Crocks of Monckton
Peter Sinclair has done a great job debunking Lord Monckton’s many false claims, in his great Climate Crock of the Week series. Part 1 And Part 2 More from that debate from Tim Lambert: Not to mention he thinks people who accept mainstream science are Nazis: After calling a group of young people from Sustain... Continue Reading →
Climategate: the scandal that wasn’t, Part 2
Once again, we see how empty the claims regarding the CRU emails truly are: There was no scientific malpractice at the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, which was at the centre of the "Climategate" affair. This is according to an independent panel chaired by Lord Oxburgh, which was convened to examine the research... Continue Reading →
Denier double standards
One of the main reasons why I refuse to call deniers, skeptics, is because they constantly and consistently demonstrate double standards. The recent bluster by deniers about a couple minor errors (some of which weren’t even errors at all) in the IPCC, yet silence in regards to the many areas where the IPCC was too... Continue Reading →
Openness and transparency not needed for deniers
In another case of “it’s OK, if you are a denier” It turns out that the much trumpeted NIPCC report written by Fred “Tobacco” Singer and a few other deniers fails in regards to basic openness and transparency (to say nothing of the ‘science’). This is especially true when compared with IPCC and other scientific... Continue Reading →
Comments, peer-review and censorship
Remember the study (McLean et al. 2009) that claimed that the recent warming trend was due mostly to el niño? Remember how deniers claimed it it was proof that global warming was bunk? And remember how it was shown that the paper could not say anything about the trend because their methods removed any influence... Continue Reading →
Why the deniers appeal to the media and the public
How did [the deniers] do it? Well, one crucial element of their success is their use of FoI laws. By taking the journalists’ most prized weapon, and wielding it against climate scientists, they achieved a whole bunch of successes all at once. They got journalists on their side, because journalists have difficulty believing that FoI... Continue Reading →
Krugman on global warming policy
Paul Krugman has written a great article on the policy options available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is well worth a read as it provides a great overview of the emerging economic consensus, and demonstrates why cutting greenhouse gasses wont destroy the economy as some have claimed. Like the debate over climate change itself,... Continue Reading →
Replication vs repetition, or why audits are not science
In my post on the UK government inquiry that cleared Phil Jones, I noted that the report made a point of mentioning that: Even if the data that CRU used were not publicly available—which they mostly are—or the methods not published—which they have been—its published results would still be credible: the results from CRU agree... Continue Reading →
Climategate: the scandal that wasn’t
Despite denier’s hyperbolic claims that the CRU email leak was the “final nail in the coffin of global warming science”, ”the abject corruption of climate science” and “a scandal that is one of the greatest in modern science” and in what should come as no surprise to anyone who has scraped beyond the surface of... Continue Reading →
The loveliest fleet of islands
Pictures from my recent trip to Hawaii: Here are the rest of the pics:
Canada’s Bush style climate policy
Remember back during the Bush years when climate scientists were being muzzled? Well it is still happening. Not in the US, but rather here in Canada by the Harper Conservatives: Since 2007 Environment Canada, has required senior federal scientists to seek permission from the government prior to giving interviews, often requiring them to get approval... Continue Reading →
Quote of the day, with comic!
The path of reality is razor-thin: there’s only one way to be right, but an infinite number of ways to be wrong. The thing is, that narrow path is like a single, unbroken strand, but each path of unreality leads to every other. -Phil Plait
US Public still favours limiting CO2 emissions
The US Public still favours limiting CO2 emissions even if it means higher energy prices, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center: In fact despite all the denialist noise of late, more people now support limiting CO2, and less people are opposed to it, than in October 2009 before the denialist noise machine... Continue Reading →
The case for global warming is stronger than ever
Despite what many deniers, aided by an irresponsible media who have no ability to distinguish a legitimate expert from a crank, want you to believe, the case for global warming has never been stronger. A recent study by the Met Office makes it clear that the evidence supporting global warming is getting better all the... Continue Reading →
Amazonian contradictions
Looks like the Amazon(non)gate wont die. And in keeping it alive the deniers are again showing their self-contradictions. So what happened? It started in 2007, when a study (Saleska et al. 2007, Science) showed that the Amazon actually greened during the drought of 2005. This was an odd responses; no one expected a rainforest to... Continue Reading →
1995gate and sea-levelgate crock
From Peter Sinclair: I wrote about 1995gate here, and sea-levelgate here.
Open Letter from US Scientists on the IPCC
Over 250 scientist have signed an open letter (and signatures are till being collected) re–affirming the conclusions of the IPCC fourth assessment report. They re-affirm that our greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for the warming trend. They reaffirm that the CRU emails do not disprove global warming, and that the few minor error’s in the... Continue Reading →
We’re not going to take it anymore!
We’re not going to take it. NO! We ain’ gonna take it! We’re not going to take it anymore! With apologies to Twisted Sister. But this is the impression one gets from the latest leak of emails. Scientists are mad. They are mad that the reporting of climate change has gone from bad to abysmal,... Continue Reading →
Bad news from the not-cold-enough arctic [UPDATED]
Very bad news actually: A section of the Arctic Ocean seafloor that holds vast stores of frozen methane is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas, according to the findings of an international research team led by University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov. The research results,... Continue Reading →
Quote of the day
The climate science conspiracy being proposed would require very smart and very sinister people, if for no other reason than the necessity of getting all the national science academies on board. But smart and sinister people have better ways of making money than getting Ph.D.s and postdocs and ultimately striving for tenure at the meteorology... Continue Reading →
Climate change: The big picture
This video presents a good summary of the multiple lines of evidence that underpin the conclusion of the IPCC and other reports that our greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for the recent warming trend. Anyone who claims there is no empirical evidence for man-made global warming, has their head firmly in the sand.
Quote of the day
Debates are extremely useful for discussing matters that require human judgement. But pointless for establishing what is true of the physical world… If anyone wants to debate the existence or seriousness of anthropogenic climate change, I’d give the same response as I would if they wanted to debate the existence or strength of gravity. –Steve... Continue Reading →
Study that underestimates sea level rise pulled, deniers cheer… huh?
Want proof that deniers are not making scientific (or even coherent) arguments? Well take a look at their reaction to a study by Mark Siddall et al. that was recently retracted. Actually we need to go back a bit further to when this particular study was first published. At the time deniers were ecstatic, because... Continue Reading →
Quote of the day
Unfortunately, conspiracy theories are easy to disseminate. Many are willing to accept these theories at face value. The distribution of facts on complex scientific issues is a slower, more difficult process. -Ben Santer Read his whole essay, it is well worth it.
The Lomborg Deception
Not surprising for those who have paid attention to Lomborg over the years. His favourite trick is to claim he agrees with the IPCC then consistently lie about what the IPCC said. A big reason Lomborg was taken seriously is that both of his books, The Skeptical Environmentalist (in 2001) and Cool It(in 2007), have... Continue Reading →
Accountability
Scientific research labs and institutions are held accountable for what they publish and the media will actually criticize them for any mistakes. They simply couldn't get away producing and publishing anything near as low quality as the SPPI analysis of the CRU emails. Even the investigative team that is reviewing the CRU emails is under... Continue Reading →
1995gate and statistical significance
Did global warming stop in 1995? Of course not, but that is not what one gets from reading articles in the more irresponsible media outlets who report that: Climategate U-turn as scientist at centre of row admits: There has been no global warming since 1995 [Phil Jone] said that for the past 15 years there... Continue Reading →
Lies, damn lies, and fake quotes
The smoking gun of evidence that climate scientists are exaggerating their claims has been shown to be a complete fabrication: "Unless we announce disasters, no one will listen," Sir John was supposed to have said in 1994. The quotation has since become the iconic smoking gun of the climate sceptic community. The words are the... Continue Reading →