Chicago – coolest July 8th in 118 years

9 07 2009

Another entry from the weather is not climate department, this time courtesy of Tom Skilling, WGN-TV meteorologist.

http://www.cs.nyu.edu/overton/genearoundtheworld/chicago.jpg

Chicago has its coolest July 8 in 118 years

By Tom Skilling
July 9, 2009

For the 12th time this meteorological summer (since June 1), daytime highs failed to reach 70 degrees Wednesday. Only one other year in the past half century has hosted so many sub-70-degree days up to this point in a summer season — 1969, when 14 such days occurred. Read the rest of this entry »





Hansen unhinged on G-8 failure – “Waxman-Markey bill, a monstrous absurdity”

9 07 2009

From the Huffington Post, Dr. Hansen is more than a little upset over the failure of G-8 to produce any meaningful CO2 cuts. Once again he tries to take the “representing himself as a private citizen” tact while at the same time citing his NASA credentials.

I call BS on that. His opinion would not be sought if he were not a NASA climate scientist. He cannot separate himself from NASA and climate science and the policy springing from it any more that President Obama could write an essay now as a private citizen.  Further, Jim, you started it in 1988 with your address before congress. Don’t insult our intelligence by saying you have been acting as a private citizen either then or now.

That being said, we do agree on one thing: “the Waxman-Markey bill, a monstrous absurdity” – Anthony Watts

Dr. James Hansen

Dr. James Hansen

Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Posted: July 9, 2009 10:33 AM

G-8 Failure Reflects U.S. Failure on Climate Change

Jim Hansen is director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, but he writes on this policy-related topic as a private citizen.

It didn’t take long for the counterfeit climate bill known as Waxman-Markey to push back against President Obama’s agenda. As the president was arriving in Italy for his first Group of Eight summit, the New York Times was reporting that efforts to close ranks on global warming between the G-8 and the emerging economies had already tanked:

The world’s major industrial nations and emerging powers failed to agree Wednesday on significant cuts in heat-trapping gases by 2050, unraveling an effort to build a global consensus to fight climate change, according to people following the talks.

Of course, emission targets in 2050 have limited practical meaning — present leaders will be dead or doddering by then — so these differences may be patched up. The important point is that other nations are unlikely to make real concessions on emissions if the United States is not addressing the climate matter seriously. Read the rest of this entry »





NOAA announces the arrival of El Niño

9 07 2009

clickable global map of SST anomalies

Contact: Christopher Vaccaro               FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

202-536-8911 (cellular)                                   July 9, 2009

El Niño Arrives; Expected to Persist through Winter 2009-10

NOAA scientists today announced the arrival of El Niño, a climate phenomenon with a significant influence on global weather, ocean conditions and marine fisheries. El Niño, the periodic warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters, occurs on average every two to five years and typically lasts about 12 months.

NOAA expects this El Niño to continue developing during the next several months, with further strengthening possible. The event is expected to last through winter 2009-10. Read the rest of this entry »





NSF “blurring the lines between journalism and PR”

9 07 2009

NSF

The Observatory — July 01, 2009 10:23 AM

NSF “Underwriting” Coverage…

And other controversies from the World Conference of Science Journalists

By Curtis Brainard

LONDON — The sixth World Conference of Science Journalists got off to an enjoyably controversial start here on Tuesday afternoon.

The event takes place against the backdrop of concurrent editorials in the world’s leading scientific journals, Science and Nature (the former by CJR contributing editor Cristine Russell), exploring the ongoing “crisis” and potential “swan song” of science journalism. To be sure, these dire perspectives are no mere exaggerations. Read the rest of this entry »