Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, using supercomputers and advanced climate models have hypothesised that human actions started causing global warming between 5,000 and 8,000 years ago.
….
a climatologist from the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Climatic research also think that the build up of greenhouse gases over thousands of years has prevented the start of a new glacial age.

Phew … just think what this winter would be like if we hadn’t started AGW thousands of years ago!

The inconclusiveness of the Poznan talks last weekend signals once again that our leaders are prepared to drink in the last chance saloon – with last orders being called (Global climate change decisions on hold for Obama, 15 December). There is just a year left for our political leaders to put a post-2012 deal in place at Copenhagen next year, if there is to be any hope of preventing global warming from reaching really dangerous levels. But slow progress seems to signal a deal that will fall short of expectations.

Sounds like we only have about a year left, and then its all over…

As to the OBSCON; I have my own personal Ice Manager who is a Nobel laureate Danish Glaciologist Chap, who resides in Greenland; and he says that something went ape with one of the ice algorithms, so I’m not sure that right now anybody but Svend really knows what’s going on; and HE knows his ice, and right now he has plenty of it. He takes care of both sides of the pizza for me, so I can keep tabs on the Antarctic ice through him as well; one of the handy consequences of polar satellites is that the train visits both places every hour on the hour and a half or so, and he can get his pictures as it passes by him.

Not only has the internet bypassed the newspaper and TV out of touch so-called news media; but it also has shortcircuited the “peer reviewed” science literature and communications bottleneck, so when a biassed ; excuse me, peer reviewed, journal won’t publish somebody’s new results that don’t toe the party line; it doesn’t matter a bit because we are all talking to each other now, without those dead tree scrolls.

Well just look at this nifty tent of Anthony’s here; how much of the world do we have all wired for sound just right here.

Just yesterday, I yacked with about 12 different big name people in the climatology community; not even counting Professor Singer; including some folks who put up wallpaper here as well; and of course Svend the ice man. He works for the Danish Gummint herding all those Greenland glaciers to make sure they don’t get lost on their way to the sea.

So is Varmland supposed to be warm, or farm; or maybe both. I keep tripping over my toes trying to keep all you Vikings straight in my head; I keep getting Svend mixed up with the Norwegians; although I pretty much have the geography figured out.

Svend sent me some spectacular pictures of the Wilkins ice shelf break-up a few months back; including overwhelming evidence that they break up all the time, and a piece just as big right next door on wilkins, broke up about 50 years ago, and is regrown bust not as thick as the rest so it stands out like a sore thumb.

“” E.M.Smith (17:39:16) :

George E. Smith (15:02:00) :
You may be on to something. I happen to be a person of mixed idiom, having grown up on about half Hollywood, and half J Arthur Rank, so getting it all mixed up.

Mum is from England… that “E” wouldn’t happen to be Edward, would it? No… to much similarity is a bad thing… “”
…
It has it’s advantages; namely complete anonymity, since there is one on every street corner; and besides; I am already registered at every motel on earth; although sometimes for only an hour.

OTOH, with a rare name like Werme – there are about 60 of us in the States, fewer than that in Sweden (Varmland), by the time the Internet became someplace where there were reasons to be anonymous, it was too late for me, so I never bothered.

Guilty as charged; BUT the origin has nothing to do with British Royalty; well possibly indirectly.

Damn. I feel like I’m talking to a cousin… Yes, I’m an Edward too…

When I was born in the Shaky Isles,

I assume that means Australia… If you see any Sumner folk down there they are likely my relatives. Smiths and Sumners… The Sumners in this case were seamen and a great uncle went down under; (Granddad only visited when his ship docked).

mother’s Great Aunt from the rich side of the family paid the bill in return for naming rights.

The rich side of my family were the Smiths on my mothers side (mums mum) where the Edward comes from my dads side (poor Amish / Irish mix) go figure. Why, don’t ask why… but I have Smith on both sides, isolated by 300 years and an ocean from each other.

It has it’s advantages; namely complete anonymity, since there is one on every street corner; and besides; I am already registered at every motel on earth; although sometimes for only an hour.

I’m fond of telling folks my name is functionally Anonymous Anonymous There is one person of my name per 2000 population in California, based on the number at each company where I’ve worked. Makes it hard to have an ego problem ;-)

Obligatory on topic sentence: So, is it possible that we will get a record arctic ice extent this year? I’ve looked at the pictures and since we are not quite into winter yet, it looks possible to me!

Dr Watkins pointed out the preliminary global figure means 2008 was “warmer than all but two years in the previous century, so we are still seeing considerable warming here post-2000.”

Not bad going given the lack of sunspot activity. (Emphasis added.)

The warming was in the pipeline :-)

Jim Jones and his fanatical followers.

Jonestown.

George E. Smith (15:02:00) :
You may be on to something. I happen to be a person of mixed idiom, having grown up on about half Hollywood, and half J Arthur Rank, so getting it all mixed up.

Mum is from England… that “E” wouldn’t happen to be Edward, would it? No… to much similarity is a bad thing… “”

Guilty as charged; BUT the origin has nothing to do with British Royalty; well possibly indirectly.

When I was born in the Shaky Isles, we were too poor to afford the hospital bill; so my mother’s Great Aunt from the rich side of the family paid the bill in return for naming rights. She instantly chose those two names of recent Royalty; but she was hooking me to one of HER ancestors, about three generations back from her; who was one of the elder statesmen of the British immigrant family who at one time ruled the shoe industry of the colony.

It has it’s advantages; namely complete anonymity, since there is one on every street corner; and besides; I am already registered at every motel on earth; although sometimes for only an hour.

The year 2008 is set to be the 10th warmest on record for the globe, with a temperature 0.31°C above average.

And Australia is on track for its 15th warmest year on record, with a temperature 0.37°C above average, according to the World Meteorological Organisation.

Senior Climatologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, Andrew Watkins, said 2008 was a La Nina year, in which the Pacific Ocean cools and temperatures tend to be lower across Australia.

“In spite of that La Nina event we still came out with the 15th warmest on record year for Australia,” he said.

Dr Watkins pointed out the preliminary global figure means 2008 was “warmer than all but two years in the previous century, so we are still seeing considerable warming here post-2000.”

Not bad going given the lack of sunspot activity.

Let me be the first to say that I think ‘tipping pints’ is very important. I try to do it at least once a week, usually a Friday night or Saturday… Any attempt to prevent me from reaching a tipping pint moment is going to be met with “fighting words”!

Or maybe I misunderstood… Yes, on second thought “TALK” of tipping pints is very stupid. You can’t talk and tip at the same time! Silly me. Pardon my prior outburst…