“relatively unknown Maryland scientist” wants to patent the swamp cooler to combat global warming

20 12 2008

This just in, (h/t to Sonicfrog) the swamp cooler is being re-invented as a global warming solution. No mention of what the increased global humidity will do for the planet’s radiative balance. No mention of what the increased humidity would do for night-time low temperatures.

http://www.filterxchange.com.au/images/Evaporative%20Cooler_Comm.gif

From Slashdot:

SUNSTOP writes to tell us that a relatively unknown Maryland scientist has proposed a public patent that he claims could combat global warming. The proposed plan would require massive amounts of water to be sprayed into the air in an effort to bolster the earth’s existing air conditioning system.

Ron Ace, a 69-year-old, has been researching the earth’s climate for years and has found what he calls the most “practical, nontoxic, affordable, rapidly achievable” and beneficial way to curb global warming and a resulting catastrophic ocean rise.

Ace proposes to spray gigatons of sea-water into the air and in effect, build a “a colossal refrigeration system with a 100,000-fold performance multiplier.” He contends a number of positive effects would be in action at the same time to help stave off warming.

“The Earth has a giant air-conditioning problem,” he said. “I’m proposing to put a thermostat on the planet.” Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : climate_change, ridiculae

More Hot Propaganda – this time from Greenpeace

20 12 2008

First let me say I apologize to my readers. I’m going to editorialize a bit.

Apparently nothing is off limits anymore. Now we can all honestly say that Greenpeace has abandoned any pretense of using science. It’s all about the message they believe. The message here appears to be a double fallacy packed into a slick CGI animation designed specifically to target children during the holiday season.

Greenpeace now has hit rock bottom on the credibility scale in my opinion. The next time Greenpeace cites science in a press release or blog entry, be sure to link this video in comments.

And if you see this video being aired on your local or national TV channel and find it troubling as I do, may I remind you that you can exercise your rights with a complaint to the FCC. Better yet, write to Greenpeace also and tell them what you think about this.

I await now the corruption of “Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”.


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Categories : climate_change, ridiculae

Polar Albedo Feedback

20 12 2008

by Steven Goddard

Today is a day of note in Antarctic.  The sun has reached it’s highest point in the sky, and never sets.  The amount of incoming solar radiation is at it’s peak for the year, and the radiation balance is strongly affected by the reflectivity (albedo) of the surface.  Open ocean absorbs much of the the sunlight, whereas ice reflects it back out into space.

One of the most popular global warming feedbacks is considered to be changes in the extent of polar ice.  The story goes that as the ice melts, more heat gets absorbed in the ocean, leading to higher temperatures.  Today we test that theory.

According to NSIDC, Antarctic ice extent is nearly 20% above normal, as seen in the graph and map below.


Comments : 157 Comments »

Categories : sea ice

Follow up to Questions on Deaths from Extreme Cold and Extreme Heat

20 12 2008

The post The Deadliest U.S. Natural Hazard: Extreme Cold has generated a number of questions. Mr.. Goklany has graciously supplied a followup which I have posted below. – Anthony

by Indur  Goklany

A few readers have raised a number of questions including what deaths are covered under the categories of “extreme cold” and “extreme heat” in my blog. The estimates I provided are only supposed to include deaths that are directly due to exposure to extreme cold or heat, that is, hypothermia and hyperthermia.  They do not include deaths that may be associated with cold or hot weather but are attributed to other primary causes, e.g., the flu, heart attacks (e.g., coronary thrombosis), strokes (e.g., cerebral thrombosis), accidents caused by ice, etc. Professor William Keatinge has a very readable piece here (see pp.47-52) that briefly discusses the different mechanisms by which heat or cold may kill directly and indirectly.

Had I had accounted for the deaths associated with hot and cold weather, the numbers would have been have been much higher (particularly for cold weather).  The UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) probably has the most easily accessible and up to date information on excess winter mortality. The following figure from the UKONS shows that there were 25,300 excess winter deaths in England and Wales from December 2007 to March 2008.

uk-excess-winter-deaths Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 21 Comments »

Categories : climate_change, weather