Pass the water please
From the “You’ve got to be freakin kidding me department” comes this proof positive that EVERYTHING is caused by global warming. Yessirree folks, my cat coughed up a hairball last night, must be global warming causing him to lick off too much fur.
From the Thaindian News and here it is on Science Daily so no, I’m not making this up.
Washington, May 15 (ANI): Global warming may lead to an increase in kidney stones disease, says a new study.
Dehydration has been linked to stone disease, mainly in warmer climates, and global warming will worsen this effect, according to the researchers.
As a result, the prevalence of stone disease may increase, along with the costs of treating the condition.
Using published data to determine the temperature-dependence of stone disease, researchers applied predictions of temperature increase to determine the impact of global warming on the incidence and cost of stone disease in the United States.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates a 1-20 C increase in temperature by 2050 for much of the United States. These findings place a greater significance on the harmful effects of global warming, an ongoing economic and political issue.
The southern United States is considered the stone belt because these states have higher incidences of kidney stones. Rising global temperatures could expand this region; the fraction of the U.S. population living in high-risk stone zones is predicted to grow from 40 percent in 2000 to 50 percent by 2050.
This could lead to an increase of one to two million lifetime cases of stone disease. The impact of climate-related changes in stone disease will be non-uniformly distributed and likely concentrated in the southern half of the country (linear model) or upper Midwest (non-linear model).
The cost associated with treating stone disease could climb as high as one 1 billion dollars annually by 2050, representing a 10-20 percent increase over present-day estimates.
The study was presented at the 103rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association. (ANI)
And those fools in San Franscisco city government just banned bottled water – ouch, that hurts.
Global Warming, is there anything it can’t do?
Apparently it cannot reduce cold weather deaths!
Sheesh. Sounds like it should have been promulgated by beer manufacturers. “Drink more beer or you’ll get kidney stones!” Oddly enough, there are those of us in the south who manage to live our entire lives without kidney stones.
Yes there is one thing global warming can’t do, make ignorant people smarter.
Ignorance, the most expensive commodity made by mankind.
Researching global warming? Careful…you may be contributing to global warming:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507155305.htm
30 years from now, a new generation will be browsing the internet archives & wondering what the heck some of us were thinking…
It will make you pee fire! FIRE FIRE! melt those glaciers with fire pee!
I cannot even begin to describe how angry this makes me with this.
Wow, Bob Dylan was right, “everybody must get stoned”.
Everybody Must Get Stoned.
Bob Dylan was a Prophet.
Maybe the headline should read “The prevalence of people appearing to be stoned may increase as the AGW hysteria takes over”
Well, if AGW could redo my roof and pay for it ,too, then I’d be whole hog for it. LOL
Bumper sticker for your electric runabout:
“Chilling Bears and Preventing Stones”
You sure you didn’t make this up ?
If you study all the recent fearmongering articles hitting the media in the past month or so, you have to come away with the thought the Pogies are flooding the media with these absurd stories to take everyone’s mind off the fact it’s cold out there!
All their claims continue tumbling like so much tumbleweed, they’ve gone into panic city. Unfortunately, it seems our booze soaked “leaders” don’t have a clue about reality and they simply “go along to get along.”
Jack Koenig, Editor
The Mysterious Climate Project
http://www.climateclinic.com
http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/warmlist.htm
jeez said: “http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/warmlist.htm”
Now that’s funny… and amazing! I just sent the URL out on my comedy list (~2,500 folks).
Jack Koenig, Editor
The Mysterious Climate Project
http://www.climateclinic.com
I like the part where the article claims that the study used IPCC estimates of temperature increase from 1-20 C. Could someone please point out where the IPCC ever endorsed anything as high as a 20 degree rise in temperatures by 2050. I don’t doubt that some of the zealots would love to get that thrown in, but they do have to be at least in the realm of possibility with their predictions. Don’t they?
jeez: Too funny!
(I was holding out okay until I got to “Blackbirds Stop Singing”.)
The extinction list was prime.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates a 1-20 C increase in temperature by 2050 for much of the United States.
Say, WHAT? I think someone lost a decimal point along the way.
Global Warming, is there anything it can’t do?
Apparently not.
GW has replaced the Wom Pom.
“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates a 1-20 C increase in temperature by 2050 for much of the United States.”
Did someone forget a decimal point?
They might be right about that, though. In the last few days, Aloha has had a temperature (daily high) increase of over 20 C!
I think I feel a twinge in my back…
Another thing caused by global warming is media apathy. Steadily I have been ignoring more and more everything the media reports.
Tut tut Anthony,
you have (had?) a good informative blog here with some sterling work on temperature sensors. Now it is descending into a farce with cheap shots at Al Gore and this sort of reporting about cats furballs being caued by global warming! When next months temperatures show a sharp rise even though all the cyclical trends (sunspots, PDO and La Nina) should cause global cooling then we will see the models that are effective and which are fuelled by hot air from anti AGW conspiracy theorists. By the way Elvis IS dead and not caused by global warming.
REPLY: “By the way Elvis IS dead and not caused by global warming.” Nice to see you join in with the sort of commentary you label as farcical. 😉
I’m just busy this last two weeks so I’ve made some light humor for reading. Regularly scheduled programming will return next week.
I think this blog should be re named ‘I don’t believe it!’.
I saw it expressed, maybe in one of Lomborg’s works, that the entire effect of predicted warming was like moving south (for NH folks) for 200 miles. Is there a kidney stone distribution that shows more in the south US than the north? Didn’t think so. And don’t most USians in fact spend the majority of their lives in a thermostatically controlled temperature? And humidity? And don’t nearly all of them know to have a drink when you get thirsty?
“indicates a 1-20 C increase in temperature by 2050 for much of the United States”
Wow!!!! The level of precision is amazing!!! How can they be so accurate yet guarantee that their prediction comes true?!? Tax payer money well spent.
I will now use the same prediction methods to determine the outcome of the US presidential election using my complex computer model:
The next president of the United States of America will be (alphabetically) somewhere between Clinton – Obama.
I have just read that obesity is CAUSING global warming (rather than the other way around) so that is a refreshing change:
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080515/tsc-uk-food-climate-obesity-011ccfa.html
50,000 Chinese dead in the earthquake, and Gore STILL hasn’t blamed Global Warming? What is wrong with the guy? Is he getting lazy? Is he too busy counting his money to think up stupid press statements? Or maybe he is just relaxing in the polar bear-lined interior of his super-polluting private jet as he flies around the world telling us to conserve oil and polar bears.
There is a serious point to this, though; the ubiquitous rise of scatterbrained journalism that will link anything to GW, no matter how bizarre or contradictory. Watch out for the telltale phrasing – “Global warming may lead to…”, “Warming might cause…”, “Climate change might create…”, “Scientists believe…”, “Most experts agree…” And notice that most of these bad things caused by warming – tooth decay, cat mite epidemics, koalas falling out of trees, Planet Earth spinning out of control – are not actually happening at the moment but in the scary near future. Next year, next decade, coming real soon… Just wait and see… You’ll be sorry… 🙂
“then we will see the models that are effective and which are fuelled by hot air from anti AGW conspiracy theorists”
I’m so glad for GW, dehydration has again saved me the humiliation of wetting myself.
cbone (19:14:42) :
“I like the part where the article claims that the study used IPCC estimates of temperature increase from 1-20 C.”
I liked that too, but I figured the ‘0’ was a degree symbol that didn’t survive a cut&paste.
Mike K (01:04:48) :
“When next months temperatures show a sharp rise”
I assume you mean temperature anomaly. If so, do you have evidence to share? If not, that happens every June in the northern hemisphere.
– Ric
Just testing: cut&paste degree symbol: “°”
HMTL text version: “° “
Or as we rural rubes like to call it, “summer”.
One of the “main stays” of the Pogies and their sycophants in the Lamestream Media is their abundant use of words and phrases such as “may cause,” “possible,” “possibly,” “if this occurs,” and other such manipulative nonsense words. You can bet a “dollar to a donut” they’ll use these backdoors as an “out” when their lying, deceitful world continues to collapse.
Jack Koenig, Editor
The Mysterious Climate Project
http://www.climateclinic.com
When next months temperatures show a sharp rise even though all the cyclical trends (sunspots, PDO and La Nina) should cause global cooling then we will see the models that are effective and which are fuelled by hot air from anti AGW conspiracy theorists.
Sure, Mike. Just keep telling yourself that. If you believe in your AGW religion hard enough, it will become the truth (at least in Pogie La-la land). For heaven’s sake, don’t look at any actual science.
Time to shed those extra pounds!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1973230/Fat-people-blamed-for-global-warming.html
Then again, with global cooling approaching, you might want to put a few more on.
“I assume you mean temperature anomaly. If so, do you have evidence to share? If not, that happens every June in the northern hemisphere.”
Yes I do mean mean temperature anomoly and the evidence, well lets wait and see! I see you have your excuses lined up…just in case!
“If you believe in your AGW religion hard enough,”
Not religion just science…or am I now a heretic in your eyes for not following your religion?
But wait, there’s more, much more. John Brignell’s numberwatch.co.uk website has an ongoing list (with active links!) of projected crises and catastrophes linked to global warming. Keep in mind that most of these are linked back to published articles based on scientific studies that were funded by taxpayer dollars. They aren’t lifted from the National Enquirer or other rags of that ilk.
*sigh*
Acne, agricultural land increase, Afghan poppies destroyed, Africa devastated, African aid threatened, Africa in conflict, aggressive weeds, air pressure changes, Alaska reshaped, allergies increase, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end, amphibians breeding earlier (or not), anaphylactic reactions to bee stings, ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, Antarctic grass flourishes, Antarctic ice grows, Antarctic ice shrinks, Antarctic sea life at risk, anxiety treatment, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic ice free, Arctic lakes disappear, Arctic tundra to burn, Atlantic less salty, Atlantic more salty, atmospheric circulation modified, attack of the killer jellyfish, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased, Baghdad snow, Bahrain under water, bananas grow, beer shortage, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, better beer, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billion homeless, billions face risk, billions of deaths, bird distributions change, bird visitors drop, birds confused, birds return early, birds driven north, bittern boom ends, blackbirds stop singing, blizzards, blue mussels return, bluetongue, brains shrink, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain Siberian, British gardens change, brothels struggle, brown Ireland, bubonic plague, budget increases, Buddhist temple threatened, building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, business opportunities, business risks, butterflies move north, camel deaths, cancer deaths in England, cannibalism, cataracts, caterpillar biomass shift, cave paintings threatened, childhood insomnia, Cholera, circumcision in decline, cirrus disappearance, civil unrest, cloud increase, cloud stripping, cockroach migration, coffee threatened, cold climate creatures survive, cold spells (Australia), cold wave (India), computer models, conferences, conflict, conflict with Russia, consumers foot the bill, coral bleaching, coral reefs dying, coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink , cost of trillions, cougar attacks, cradle of civilisation threatened, crime increase, crocodile sex, crops devastated, crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems, curriculum change, cyclones (Australia), danger to kid’s health, Darfur, Dartford Warbler plague, death rate increase (US), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, depression, desert advance, desert retreat, destruction of the environment, disappearance of coastal cities, diseases move north, Dolomites collapse, drought, ducks and geese decline, dust bowl in the corn belt, early marriages, early spring, earlier pollen season, Earth biodiversity crisis, Earth dying, Earth even hotter, Earth light dimming, Earth lopsided, Earth melting, Earth morbid fever, Earth on fast track, Earth past point of no return, Earth slowing down, Earth spins faster, Earth to explode, earth upside down, Earth wobbling, earthquakes, El Niño intensification, end of the world as we know it, erosion, emerging infections, encephalitis, English villages lost, equality threatened, Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, eutrophication, evolution accelerating, expansion of university climate groups, extinctions (human, civilisation, logic, Inuit, smallest butterfly, cod, ladybirds, pikas, polar bears, gorillas, walrus, whales, frogs, toads, plants, salmon, trout, wild flowers, woodlice, penguins, a million species, half of all animal and plant species, mountain species, not polar bears, barrier reef, leaches, tropical insects) experts muzzled, extreme changes to California, fading fall foliage, fainting, famine, farmers go under, farm output boost, fashion disaster, fever,figurehead sacked, fir cone bonanza, fish catches drop, fish downsize, fish catches rise, fish deaf, fish get lost, fish stocks at risk, fish stocks decline, five million illnesses, flesh eating disease, flood patterns change, floods, floods of beaches and cities, flood of migrants, flood preparation for crisis, Florida economic decline, flowers in peril, food poisoning, food prices rise, food prices soar, food security threat (SA), footpath erosion, forest decline, forest expansion, frog with extra heads, frostbite, frost damage increased, frosts, fungi fruitful, fungi invasion, games change, Garden of Eden wilts, genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed, giant oysters invade, giant pythons invade, giant squid migrate, gingerbread houses collapse, glacial earthquakes, glacial retreat, glacial growth, glacier wrapped, global cooling, global dimming, glowing clouds, god melts, golf Masters wrecked, Gore omnipresence, grandstanding, grasslands wetter, Great Barrier Reef 95% dead, Great Lakes drop, great tits cope, greening of the North, Grey whales lose weight, Gulf Stream failure, habitat loss, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harmful algae, harvest increase, harvest shrinkage, hay fever epidemic, health affected, health of children harmed, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (Australia), heat waves, hibernation affected, hibernation ends too soon, hibernation ends too late, HIV epidemic, homeless 50 million, hornets, high court debates, human development faces unprecedented reversal, human fertility reduced, human health improvement, human health risk, human race oblivion, hurricanes, hurricane reduction, hydropower problems, hyperthermia deaths, ice sheet growth, ice sheet shrinkage, ice shelf collapse, illness and death, inclement weather, India drowning, infrastructure failure (Canada), industry threatened, infectious diseases, inflation in China, insect explosion, insurance premium rises, Inuit displacement, Inuit poisoned, Inuit suing, invasion of cats, invasion of herons, invasion of jellyfish, invasion of midges, island disappears, islands sinking, itchier poison ivy, jellyfish explosion, jets fall from sky, jet stream drifts north, Kew Gardens taxed, kidney stones, killer cornflakes, killing us, kitten boom, koalas under threat, krill decline, lake and stream productivity decline, lake empties, lake shrinking and growing, landslides, landslides of ice at 140 mph, lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers’ income increased (surprise surprise!), lives saved, Loch Ness monster dead, lush growth in rain forests, Malaria, mammoth dung melt, Maple production advanced, Maple syrup shortage, marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, Meaching (end of the world), Mediterranean rises, megacryometeors, Melanoma, methane emissions from plants, methane burps, methane runaway, melting permafrost, Middle Kingdom convulses, migration, migration difficult (birds), migratory birds huge losses, microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly, minorities hit, monkeys on the move, Mont Blanc grows, monuments imperiled, moose dying, more bad air days, more research needed, mortality increased, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountains break up, mountains melting, mountains taller, mortality lower, Myanmar cyclone, narwhals at risk, National security implications, natural disasters quadruple, new islands, next ice age, NFL threatened, Nile delta damaged, noctilucent clouds, no effect in India, Northwest Passage opened, nuclear plants bloom, oaks dying, oaks move north, ocean acidification, ocean deserts expand, ocean waves speed up, opera house to be destroyed, outdoor hockey threatened, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise, Pacific dead zone, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks, pests increase, phenology shifts, plankton blooms, plankton destabilised, plankton loss, plant viruses, plants march north, polar bears aggressive, polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears drowning, polar bears starve, polar tours scrapped, popcorn rise, porpoise astray, profits collapse, psychiatric illness, puffin decline, railroad tracks deformed, rainfall increase, rape wave, refugees, release of ancient frozen viruses, resorts disappear, rice threatened, rice yields crash, rift on Capitol Hill, rioting and nuclear war, river flow impacted, rivers raised, roads wear out, robins rampant, rocky peaks crack apart, roof of the world a desert, rooftop bars, Ross river disease,
ruins ruined, salinity reduction, salinity increase, Salmonella, satellites accelerate, school closures, sea level rise, sea level rise faster, seals mating more, sewer bills rise, severe thunderstorms, sex change, sexual promiscuity, shark attacks, sharks booming, sharks moving north, sheep shrink, shop closures, short-nosed dogs endangered, shrinking ponds, shrinking shrine, ski resorts threatened, skin cancer, slow death, smaller brains, smog, snowfall increase, snowfall heavy, snowfall reduction, soaring food prices, societal collapse, songbirds change eating habits, sour grapes, space problem, spectacular orchids, spiders invade Scotland, squid aggressive giants, squid population explosion, squirrels reproduce earlier, storms wetter, stormwater drains stressed, street crime to increase, subsidence, suicide, swordfish in the Baltic, Tabasco tragedy, taxes, tectonic plate movement, teenage drinking, terrorism, threat to peace, ticks move northward (Sweden), tides rise, tornado outbreak, tourism increase, trade barriers, trade winds weakened, traffic jams, transportation threatened, tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed,, trees could return to Antarctic, trees in trouble, trees less colourful, trees more colourful, trees lush, tropics expansion, tropopause raised, truffle shortage, turtles crash, turtles lay earlier, UK coastal impact, UK Katrina, Vampire moths, Venice flooded, volcanic eruptions, walrus pups orphaned, walrus stampede, war, wars over water, wars sparked, wars threaten billions, water bills double, water supply unreliability, water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress, weather out of its mind, weather patterns awry, weeds, Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever, whales move north, wheat yields crushed in Australia, wildfires, wind shift, wind reduced, wine – harm to Australian industry, wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (US), wine – more English, wine -German boon, wine – no more French , wine passé (Napa), wine stronger, winters in Britain colder, winter in Britain dead, witchcraft executions, wolves eat more moose, wolves eat less, workers laid off, World at war, World bankruptcy, World in crisis, World in flames, Yellow fever.
The whole AGW premise is founded on the ‘illusion of control’ fallacy. What happens when the predicted results don’t occur is that the claims in it’s favour get ever more strident and ridiculous.
I think we are getting close to the ‘tipping point’ where the whole AGW premise suffers a catastrophic collapse under the weight of credible evidence to the contrary. My advice; if you have shares in companies which sell ‘Carbon credits’, now is the time to sell up.
I wager somebody found a pot of money and are trying to get their hands on it for ongoing research and that pisses me off. In a few years they will be looking through clumps of yellow snow for their stones.
Not religion just science… Wrong, Mike. You Believe AGW is true, despite all scientific evidence to the contrary. To be a heretic, you would actually have to start reading some actual science. You could start here (if you dare):
Editorial: The Great Global Warming Hoax?
There’s no shortage of this sort:
Scholars Predict 50 Million Environmental Refugees by 2010
http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/a/envirorefugees.htm
Beer drinkers beware!!
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4610087
“every time you turn on your kettle in Birmingham, you’re helping to flood Bangladesh.”
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2000/01/27/mortal-injustice/
http://www.worldclimatereport.com/index.php/2008/03/31/warming-island-another-global-warming-myth-exposed/
The “warming island” website has been down for about three weeks. I wonder why 🙂 Cruises still may be available to tour the new discovery……..
If I get kidney stones from Global Warming, who do I sue? The Sun? The Earth? The oil producing nations?
God bless the IPCC for encouraging this nonsense. They are their own worst enemy.
You can’t blame the poor researchers though. I mean, this paper is probably worth an article in “The Quartely Renal Calculi Journal”, but if he ties it to the great Global Warming threat, he gets MSM articles, TV appearances, more funding and, possibly, tenure.
This is why so many scientists, (who don’t work in climatology), ‘believe’ in global warming. It gived them a handy hook to get majot publicity for their obscure research papers.
It’s also why John Bignall’s list is so long.
I think it was the great Instapundit himself who pointed out that when you give people free ice cream, someone like Mike K will always complain that there’s not enough of it and it’s the wrong flavor.
You do great work on this blog Anthony and I’d like to thank you for all the informative articles you provide, and the humor that you bring adds to my enjoyment.
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About ten years ago, a commentator read from a ‘government study’ that cost many billions of dollars and took many years. The conclusion:
“You are going to die.”
When you do, they have to blame it on something, nobody just dies. So GW came along at a good time as the other excuses were sounding a bit lame. No matter what happens, it is always somebody’s (or something’s) fault. Especially if you can sue them.
I want to know how we can sue the AGW types.
2 new bits of news.
1) Looks like more earthquake survivors are going to die in China from flood water. Just waiting for Gore to appear and claim the flood water is due to Global Warming, and he can add the earthquake victims to the death toll when no one is looking.
2) Looks like 31 000 scientists have signed a petition rejecting Global Warming. I only have a couple of science degrees so my maths might be a little shaky, but doesn’t 31000 trump the IPCC’s 2500? Global Warming is a numbers game isn’t it? Whomever has the most supporters wins? “Might is Right”?
http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/ADVISORY:+Dr.+Arthur+Robinson+(OISM)+to+Release+Names+of+over+30,000+Scientists+Rejecting+Global+Warming+Hypothesis/3654512.html
I noticed a june bug today and it’ s only May 17th and the outside cat is shedding. It must be NH global warming!!!!!!!!!
paminator:
Couldn’t find a comprehensive list, eh? 🙂
Stef wrote: “Looks like 31 000 scientists have signed a petition rejecting Global Warming… doesn’t 31000 trump the IPCC’s 2500?”
Actually Stef, it should read “the IPCC’s alleged 2500.”
Remember Goffy Gore’s “2600 scientists signing a petition supporting the AGW illusion? According to an analysis performed by CSE, there were less than 100 scientists in that pack who had anything to do with climatology. The others ran the gamut from several lawyers, landscapers, firemen, cops, and yes, even a gynecologist (I won’t touch that one).
Jack Koenig, Editor
The Mysterious Climate Project
http://www.climateclinic.com
One day, I swear, this kind of silliness will be held up as an example…
19000 scientists signed a petition to the US government stating;
“We urge the United States government to reject the global warming agreement that was written in Kyoto, Japan in December, 1997, and any other similar proposals. The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind.
There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gasses is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth.” http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p1845.htm
On the other hand there may be far fewer than 2500 scientists who actually do support the AGW theory. http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/968
Maybe we should demand that our congress critters produce a signed list of scientists who support the AGW theory, before they start producing any more legislation.
Mike K (01:04:48) : Tut tut Anthony … you have (had?) a good informative blog here … Now it is descending into a farce with cheap shots…
Comic ridicule has a powerful effect, Mike; and where – as in the case of AGW – cold hard fact fails to penetrate a stubborn refusal to listen, the prick of a sharp retort is often required to deflate the balloon of pompous huffing.
I see these side-trips Anthony takes as performing a necessary part of a re-education toward re-establishing science in its rightful place.
It is very difficult to pontificate in an atmosphere of uncontrollable laughter when you are the butt of the joke.
I’s all butts to you americans..lard butts, butt of jokesetc. !! Seriously though I am one of the majority that see that man’s actions are having a catastrophic effect on our once beautiful planet earth. Polution, deforestation and the massive extinction event we are witnessing are a fact. I would never argue that it is certain that there is proof of AGW, good science does not work like that, but I would say that there is convincing evidence from many fields of science that AGW is happening, and that the potential effects of AGW could be, well, not nice. I keep an open mind, which is why I read Anthony’s blog, he is doing great work on land surface temperature stations and any work that contributes to the debate is more than welcome. The study of AGW covers so many fields that it is inevitable bad science gets in and the media, in its usual way, exagerates, takes quotes out of context and doesn’t let fact get in the way of a good story.
I agree humour is a good way of getting a message across (Mel Brooks does this to perfection) but there is always a fine line and it is easy to discredit good work with a bad attempt. I know that even when May’s global mean temperature shows a rise, even though all the other natural cycles suggest a fall there will be comments that the figures are wrong/fixed etc. This IS bad science and has a religous quality.
I will continue to read this blog, enjoy it, and am glad to contribute to the debate, but lets all keep an open mind!
I’m quite sure that, in a few months, if that crazy press state that: “Global Cooling is cause by Global Warming”, they will swallow it !
K.
Kosmos wrote: “I’m quite sure that, in a few months, if that crazy press state that: “Global Cooling is cause by Global Warming”, they will swallow it !”
I believe they’ve already said that, Kosmos! And Mike K is ample proof that a small minority has fallen for it, if for no other reason that to continue their merry journey into fantasy land.
Jack Koenig, Editor
The Mysterious Climate Project
http://www.climateclinic.com
‘ know that even when May’s global mean temperature shows a rise, ‘
Guess what, mike k? Here in Southern Ontario, we are 15 degrees below average- and have been for all of the month of May so far.
Mike K, we do have open minds, but not so much that our brains fall out. It sounds like yours is made up.
Which mass extinction event are you referring to? Can you name any animals which have gone extinct in the last 20 years?
“Beer drinkers beware!!”
Climate Change, if anything, is beneficial to the growing of barley -especially the high 2 row quality barley grown in Great Britain, Benelux, Bavaria, and Moravia. The biggest threat to the barley crop is the ethanol industry. Even in Europe farmers are jumping on the corn band wagon.
The drought in Austrailia has nothing to do with AGW.
I’d like a list, please, of examples of “the massive extinction event we are witnessing”.
Please be specific. No “estimates” allowed.
Identify actual cases of species extinction within the last 30 years.
I think the earth is warming on average, 10,000 or so years ago the ice shelf came down to near Tennessee in the United states and it hasn’t returned that far at this time so it is warmer than it was then, Is CO2 driving the warming I doubt it. If the CO2 we are speaking of is the same used in carbonated cold drinks then I suspect that the oceans are much like the drinks they retain the CO2 to some extent when they are cold but release it when they are warm. To me that would indicate that as the oceans warm they not only absorb less CO2 but probably release CO2 that the warmer water will not retain. By the same token I suspect that when the oceans cool enough that we might possibly see a reduction of atmospheric CO2 due to the cooler waters of the oceans being able to absorb more of the gas. Is it possible that this would lag the heating or cooling of the oceans by some time. Just as if you open a carbonated drink that is in a calm state as it warms it will become “flat” as the CO2 is released.
Just some thoughts of a poor ole uneducated country boy
Bill Derryberry
Mike K (04:21:44) :
“Seriously though I am one of the majority that see that man’s actions are having a catastrophic effect on our once beautiful planet earth. Polution, deforestation and the massive extinction event we are witnessing are a fact.”
Pollution is a fact – if there were no global warming it would still be a fact. Here in New Hampshire we are seeing a big increase in the number of people heating with wood. Wood stoves are really dirty compared to any central utility. The local high school built a wood burning plant that produces as much smoke as a single wood stove. If global cooling has indeed taken hold, we will be burning more wood, oil, and natural gas. While pollution (especially soot on arctic snow) may have important ties to climate change, it’s a much bigger issue than “fits” here.
Deforestation – The Year without a Summer in 1816 was one of several events that triggered a westward migration away from New England. One problem was a severe energy crisis – pretty much all the forests had been cut. Even with the increase in wood burning here, deforestation is not a big issue. Elsewhere, I’m amazed at the increased conversion of tropical forest to producing biofuels – sugar cane in Brazil for ethanol, palms in Madagascar and Indonesia for biodiesel. There’s some interesting biotech work that I hope will end this nonsense. The increased demand for fuel is more due to the improving global economy and increased population. If global cooling has indeed taken hold, that will not reduce the demand for fuel. Ending Ethanol requirements and tax breaks could collapse the ethanol market, but that’s more a pollution issue than climate change issue.
Massive extinction – I don’t know enough about this subject to say much about it, but if global cooling has indeed taken hold, that will not reverse the loss of habitat issues that are probably more important than climate change. Also, I’m not a good person to get involved with this. While it turns out that the Endangered Species Act does not cover bacteria and viruses, I’d probably defend protecting our stocks of Smallpox and Polio viruses. They may have as much “right to exist” as do man-eating carnivores like Polar Bears.
Overpopulation – why did you leave this off the list? Personally, I think we should do more to move off the planet, I’m rather fond of O’Neill colonies. However, do not let your guard down about Avian flu or some other influenza that has not yet evolved. That could reduce the Earth’s population by 10% in just a few weeks. However, it has little to do with climate change, though if global cooling has indeed taken hold, that could foster the spread of novel viruses.
It’s not that we don’t appreciate your concerns, its just that we tend to talk about issues more closely tied to climate here. If Anthony broadened the discussion topics here, I’d go find a different place to hang out. Just because something bad (or good!) is happening to the Earth doesn’t mean that a warming, cooling, or neutral climate is at fault.
Also, we are at a cusp in our understanding of climate forcings. The field is just as interesting now as when geologists were uncovering evidence and the reasons for plate tectonics. Once the science really does show signs of becoming settled then I’ll move on to newer, more interesting topics. Until then, blogs like this one play an important role.
Mike K: “…and the massive extinction event we are witnessing are a fact.”
I must be asleep at the wheel, could you inform me of this massive extinction event I have missed.
Not religion just science…or am I now a heretic in your eyes for not following your religion?
On the day that all the data, algorithms, codes, and operating manuals are publicly disclosed for independent review, then one may call it science. Be it correct, incorrect, accurate, flawed, whatever.
But not until that happy day.
Until then it remains mere alchemy.
Mike K says “and the massive extinction event we are witnessing are a fact.”
Mike K, Would care to provide me massive list of recently extinct species?
NOAA’s latest model:
Climate change ‘to make Atlantic hurricanes rarer’
http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080516/full/news.2008.837.html
It isn’t quite “Warming will lead to cooling”, but that can’t be far behind.
Bill P, thanks for the article. It looks like after 2 years of defiance of AGW models the excuses and backtracking start.
Thanks to all of you for pointing out that rather than being deforested, America has more forested land area now than in 1900.
A snapshot of current conditions is as follows:
Being able to allow various species of animals to repopulate (because we don’t need them or their intended prey for food) and allowing land to return to timber because we don’t need the wood for our fireplaces or the fields to eke out a marginal existence is a luxury that only existed very recently in our history.
There are 785 known extinct species.
http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/search.php?freetext=&modifier=phrase&criteria=wholedb&taxa_species=1&redlistCategory%5B0%5D=EX&country%5B0%5D=all&cty_default=1&aquatic%5B0%5D=all&aqu_default=1®ions%5B0%5D=all®_default=1&habitats%5B0%5D=all&threats%5B0%5D=all&redlistAssessyear%5B0%5D=all&growths%5B0%5D=all&extendedResults=0&terrestrial=0&marine=0&freshwater=0&sortorder%5B0%5D=spcscientificname&sortorder%5B1%5D=genname&sortorder%5B2%5D=spcname&sortorder%5B3%5D=spcauthor&sortorder%5B4%5D=spcinfrarank&sortorder%5B5%5D=spcinfraepithet&sortorder%5B6%5D=spcinfrarankauthor&sortorder%5B7%5D=spcstockname&sortorder%5B8%5D=comname_comp&sortorder%5B9%5D=rlcabb&sortorder%5B10%5D=rlscriteria&sortorder%5B11%5D=poptrend_code&sortorder%5B12%5D=rlcatcrit2001&sortorder%5B13%5D=rlscaveat&sortorder%5B14%5D=rlspetition&sortorder%5B15%5D=spcrecid&sortorder%5B16%5D=kingname&newsort=&debug=0&kingname=&phyname=&claname=&ordname=&famname=&genname=&spcname=&taxa_subspc=0&taxa_stock=0&cty_intro=0&cty_vagrant=0&cty_uncert=0&aqu_intro=0&aqu_vagrant=0&aqu_uncert=0®_intro=0®_vagrant=0®_uncert=0&spc_petition=0&spc_caveat=0&offset=0
There is no acceleration in recent decades.
Many of these went extinct decades or hundreds of years ago, not having anything to do with pogification or even industrialization. Hey Anthony, that’s another site for your reference list.
There are 785 known extinct species.
http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/search.php?freetext=&modifier=phrase&criteria=wholedb&taxa_species=1&redlistCategory%5B0%5D=EX&country%5B0%5D=all&cty_default=1&aquatic%5B0%5D=all&aqu_default=1®ions%5B0%5D=all®_default=1&habitats%5B0%5D=all&threats%5B0%5D=all&redlistAssessyear%5B0%5D=all&growths%5B0%5D=all&extendedResults=0&terrestrial=0&marine=0&freshwater=0&sortorder%5B0%5D=spcscientificname&sortorder%5B1%5D=genname&sortorder%5B2%5D=spcname&sortorder%5B3%5D=spcauthor&sortorder%5B4%5D=spcinfrarank&sortorder%5B5%5D=spcinfraepithet&sortorder%5B6%5D=spcinfrarankauthor&sortorder%5B7%5D=spcstockname&sortorder%5B8%5D=comname_comp&sortorder%5B9%5D=rlcabb&sortorder%5B10%5D=rlscriteria&sortorder%5B11%5D=poptrend_code&sortorder%5B12%5D=rlcatcrit2001&sortorder%5B13%5D=rlscaveat&sortorder%5B14%5D=rlspetition&sortorder%5B15%5D=spcrecid&sortorder%5B16%5D=kingname&newsort=&debug=0&kingname=&phyname=&claname=&ordname=&famname=&genname=&spcname=&taxa_subspc=0&taxa_stock=0&cty_intro=0&cty_vagrant=0&cty_uncert=0&aqu_intro=0&aqu_vagrant=0&aqu_uncert=0®_intro=0®_vagrant=0®_uncert=0&spc_petition=0&spc_caveat=0&offset=0
There is no acceleration in recent decades.
Many of these went extinct decades or hundreds of years ago, not having anything to do with pogification or even industrialization. Hey Anthony, that’s another site for your reference list.
Looks like perhaps five species identified in the last ten years.
Madeiran Large White, Pieris brassicae wollastoni, 29-30 October 2007
Western Black Rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis longipes, 8 June 2006
Po’o-uli, Melamprosops phaeosoma, 28 November 2004
Miss Waldron’s Red Colobus Monkey, Procolobus badius waldronae, 2000-2001
http://extinctanimals.petermaas.nl/
Pyrenean Ibex, Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica, 6 January 2000
My kidney stone decided to “abort” itself in January, our coldest month here! I wonder if Al Gore has an explanation for this? I think this falls right in with the Hurricane projections the past 2 seasons – they are revising them downward. I believe it’s a right-wing conspiracy.
Any historian worth his carbon knows that a return to the “Good Old Days” before the internal combustion engine would be a complete and utter environmental disaster.
Europe used to be one big forest. But not for many centuries . . .
There are many more than 785 recently extinct species. The (known) birds and mammals alone are about that number. However it isn’t possible to say that there has been no acceleration in recent decades. It is very rarely possible to provide an exact date for an extinction (except when the last individual was in captivity). Normally a species isn’t classed as extinct until it has not been seen for a long time (usually decades) and thorough searches of the remainig habitat have failed to turn any up. Consequently most recent extinctions are still “in the pipeline”. Even so I can add a couple of species to that ten-year list, the Nukupu’u and the Yangtse River Dolphin have both gone extinct in the last decade.
That said, there is not the slightest evidence that climate change has caused any of the recent extinctions. They are mostly due to habitat destruction (usually deforestation) and introduction of alien predators or parasites. Indeed the biofuel hysteria will probably cause many more extinctions than any possible climate change.
Critters go extinct in undeveloped countries. Demographers have no trouble understanding this: they are well aware that every developed country protects its environment and no undeveloped country has ever sufficiently protected its environment. It’s human nature. Only when we and our families are well fed and provided for does the environment EVER become a real concern to us.
When the third and fourth world develops (it is to be hoped without wiping out too many species) they will clean up their acts. We can and should help them in their development.
Then and ONLY then will extinctions cease. If we hold down the third and fourth world with burdensome regulations and lack of assistance, we will not only create a human tragedy but, in the long run, more environmental damage, not less.
Population is not the problem. We house a hundred where ten were housed before–and with far more elbow-room per individual. I live in a railroad flat slum designed for 16 people (c. 5 per room). Today it is illegal to occupy it with more than 5. A few blocks away, there is a mammoth high-rise that houses in comfort, thousands where a hundred were jam-packed together.
Besides, birthrates have plummeted since 1990.
And the club of Rome was dead wrong: resources are virtually unlimited (don’t get me started).
Killing (or half-strangling) the golden goose isn’t going to save the environment. It is a false choice. Only by petting and cosseting that goose will we get anywhere in longterm protection of endangered species.
tty, I agree with your estimation of uncertainty and was leaving short answers. It is the computer modeled projections of extinctions of unknown species with which I have issues.
tty: Dead right about biofuels causing extinctions.
It’s simple- if you can link it to global warming/climate change you can get a grant.
[…] it`s official; absolutely everything is caused by global […]
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One of the big worries, and a pointed ‘example’ of Global Warming was the melting of the 1000 year old glacier in Glacier National Park. Which then would follow that 1100 years ago, there was no Glacier in Glacier National park? At that time Norsemen had settled Greenland were cultivating the land and shipping food back to Europe, on land which is.. currently covered by Glaciers. So it follows, as a matter of science, that one might assume, and by temperture records from Ice Cores, show, that the Earth was warmer 1100 years ago then it was today. Then shit got cold in a big damn hurry. Was it CO2? Of course not. It was the sun. Its always been the sun, its the sun now.
All those who say based on science we should be experiencing colder weather this year. Guess what? We are!!!!
All those worried about the Polar Bears, don’t you worry. They didn’t go extinct last time it was this warm, you know 1100 years ago. And it is very possible the Northern Polar cap did a pretty good job of melting away those years as well. Bears are Omnivores, they’ll find food. Warm weather is good for the fish and the fish are eaten by seals and more seals means.. more chances for Bears to eat. Plus Polar Bear total population appears to be up, substantially. This sort of flies in the face of all of that worry. I’d worry more about hunters killing every large life form on Africa if I was you.
Global Warming is complete nonsense, not the fact that temperatures have moved around a bit, no, the fact that someone thinks its Mankind that’s done it. That’s the most unscientific conclusion I’ve ever seen. And no one can say I’m an oil company shill. I’d just as soon shoot those assholes on sight for the nonsense they’ve pulled in the last few years regarding the price and availability of their fine ‘products’.
A simple phrase to repeat to those who have caught the Global Warming Cult . “Its the sun you dummy.”
Its caused the ice ages and its caused the tropical ages. For those who care to look up this sort of thing look up ‘variable stars’. All of them are variable, some more then others, ours, not very much, but how much is really needed to change our temperature radically… not much.
And now the Chicago Tribune is passing this stupidity along! Here’s the link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-kidney-stone-global-warming-web-jul15,0,2820429.story
[…] http://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com/2008/05/16/global-warming-may-increase-prevalence-of-kidney-sto… […]