New paper from Christy suggests atmosphere hit max CO2 forcing in 1998, feedback missing

17 09 2008

This is an interesting paper from our good friend Dr. John Christy of UAH and D. H. Douglas. In it, a bold claim is made about the likelihood that the atmosphere no longer shows the characteristic of CO2 radiative forcing, and that the effect apparently peaked around 1998. Here is figure 1 from the paper:


From the paper: “The global values of ΔT in Figure 1 show for the period Jan 1979 to Jan 2008 that the anomalies reached a maximum in 1998 which has not been exceeded by later values.”

Here is how the abstract reads: Read the rest of this entry »





A Canadian’s View: “the global warming brigade lost much of its sizzle in the past year”

17 09 2008

As evidence to the contrary started rolling in and one prominent scientist after another abandoned ship, the global warming brigade lost much of its sizzle in the past year.

With temperatures going down rather than up, the devoted even had to retire the term “global warming” altogether.

But the wheels really started coming off the newly branded climate change bandwagon when Hollywood and a host of high-profile celebrities began admonishing we puny mortals about changing our ways for the sake of the planet.

There’s something irritating about being lectured on the finer points of energy conservation by jet-flying, limousine-riding, estate-living elites with their Olympic-sized swimming pools, vacation homes and garages full of European sports cars.

And this past week brought about a pitiable scene that will only further alienate the alarmists from the rest of us.

The four least memorable, demonstrably inept prime ministers of the last half-century gathered for a sad call to action to combat climate change. John Turner, Joe Clark, Kim Campbell and Paul Martin (remember him; the guy who was going to win 250 seats and govern for four terms?) are part of a coalition critical of the Harper government’s environmental record.

Their many years of public service are not to be discounted. But when it came to leadership, this is truly the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. Combined, the four of them barely lasted a full term as PM.

Their gaffes, miscalculations and historical performances of under-achievement are at once mind numbing and laughable. Each proved to be a walking disaster at the helm who was way, way in over their head. Read the rest of this entry »





Spencer on AGW: “If you’re paid to find something, you’re going to find it,”

17 09 2008

From the Raleigh News and Observer – Scientist: Warming is natural
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1221488.html

Published: Sep 17, 2008 12:30 AM Modified: Sep 17, 2008 02:03 AM 

RALEIGH – Scientist Roy Spencer thinks global warming is a natural occurrence and not man-made.Over the past year, Spencer and his theory have gained more attention on the Rush Limbaugh radio show, where Spencer is the “official climatologist.”On Tuesday, Spencer spoke about his book, “Climate Confusion,” to members of the John Locke Foundation, a Raleigh think tank that advocates for smaller government. “Scientists need money, and they need to have pet theories,” said Spencer, a research scientist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. “And who wouldn’t want to save the Earth?”

Spencer said scientists are paid to find that global warming is caused by humans. “If you’re paid to find something, you’re going to find it,” he told about 80 people in a Holiday Inn ballroom. Spencer agrees that humans are creating more carbon dioxide, but he doesn’t agree it’s causing climate change.”This is a philosophical idea that CO2 is bad,” Spencer said.Instead, Spencer said, the Earth naturally heats up over a period of time and then cools. He showed histories of the Earth’s temperature fluctuating over hundreds of years and said the planet hasn’t warmed in seven years. Read the rest of this entry »





Updated – Calling All Climate Sleuths

17 09 2008

Posted by Dee Norris

Can you figure out what happened at Mohonk Lake, NY?

Get out your slip-sticks and put on your thinking caps, gentle readers. We need to solve the mystery of the temperature record at at Mohonk Lake NY.

On Monday, the New York Times had this to say about the temperature record at Mohonk Lake:

The record shows that on this ridge in the Shawangunk Mountains, about 20 miles south of the better-known Catskills, the average annual temperature has risen 2.7 degrees in 112 years. Of the top 10 warmest years in that time, 7 have come since 1990.

Now I just happen to live in the Catskills (the Shangra-La of New York State, IMBO) and a 2.7 degree (I am assuming F, not C) increase sounded pretty high for the ‘Gunks’ so I turned to this handy tool at www.CO2Science.org for a quick look-see at the USHCN data for the Mohonk Lake (41.77.N, 74.16W; 379m) site.  Here is what I found:
Read the rest of this entry »