WUWT reader “thin air” submits this spoof for weekend fun.
June 20, 2014. Princeton, New Jersey. Recently climate scientists here at the “Center for the Study of Earth and Moon” have discovered a dramatic warming effect on the Earth’s climate, which is likely to be caused by the orbit of the moon around the earth. It is estimated that up to 18% of the warming of the earth’s atmosphere and oceans observed in recent years, could be caused by moon and its power for reflecting heat-causing photons upon the earth and creating the tides.
Photons are the tiny “wavelets”, or particles, that carry energy and compose the light we see. Photons are also reflected by pollutants such as water vapor which cause clouds, and other greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide.
“Scientists has long suspected that photons are root cause of the warming of the earth, and now we have shown through advanced computer models that the moon also plays a key role in the physical processes that warm the earth” said Dr. Albert Stein,Ph.D. and the lead scientist on this important NASA-funded research.
Kepler Issac, a graduate student at Princeton University and senior research assistant on the project explained: “Think of the moon as a giant particle of carbon floating in the sky. Light hits it and bounces back at us, even at night. Ever since the beginning of time, humans have looked up and seen the moon shining brightly and thought it was just an innocent or romantic object. Well, it turns out that it is much more insidious. It could someday make the earth warm-up even faster unless, urgent measures are taken.”
The scientist’s surprising claims were greeted with skepticism at first among the leading climate scientists, until the well known climatologist Gevun Schmud of NASA put their results in context: “Their paper on covers the warming trends on the earth over only the last 17 years. Since there has been at most 0.01 degree of warming in that time frame (plus or minus 0.5 degrees of uncertainty), I suppose the moon could easily reflect enough light to cause 18% of that warming. And while the moon is not made of cheese or carbon, it surely has some carbon in it, and that could be a problem in the future.”
The researchers are now proposing the second phase of their advance research program. ” We will look at the feasibility of putting large mirrors in orbit around the moon, to block light coming from the moon to the earth. These will reflect the light bouncing off the moon into outer space where it will do no harm” explained Dr. Stein. “If that does not appear to be economically viable, we will consider methods for moving the moon into a different orbit, perhaps around Mars, where it is much colder and the extra heat will be welcome.”
In favor of the second option, the researchers pointed out that since the moon also causes the tides, both the oceans and our climate on earth will be much more stable without the moon. “With the tides moving the oceans up and down twice a day, this puts a huge amount of heat into the oceans, erodes our coastlines, and disturbs fish that are trying to sleep.”
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Lunatics!
Nice spoof.
Worse, the moon is slowing the rotation of the Earth. When it stops, we’ll have one side of the planet baked by the Sun, while the other side freezes!
It’s the MOON, stupid!
We have to thank Bryant’s Maritime Consulting for the following spoof today? :-
“Summer Solstice – 21 June 2014
The Summer Solstice, marking the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere and the first day of winter in the southern hemisphere, occured at 1051 UTC on Saturday, 21 June 2014. This represents the sun’s furthest progression northward for the year. As global warming continues, it is expected that the sun will progress farther and farther north each year, until it is finally located directly over the North Pole, with the Alaskan North Slope becoming the new Riviera. “
If you remove the moon, the Earth may change into a Venus scenario.
How?
The moon stabilizes the precession and obliquity cycle of the Earth rotation. Without it both cycles may change so that they are roughly the same. That allows for resonance causing extreme tilts of the spin axis, called the “chaotic zone”. (Lasker 2003 )
It’s hypothezed that this caused Venus to stop spinning (Coreia et al 2003). However you can transfer the angular momentum via gravity but what happens to the excess rotational energy. Could it be that this made Venus so hot from the inside? Friction between the shells of the planet (mantle/ core) during the braking process?
http://thebookofbeginnings.com/sources/3/ChaosintheSolarSystem.pdf
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103503000423
This made me curious. Has any study been made as to what effect tidal forces have on the earth’s internal temperature. I would think that even the tiny bit of movement the moon generates in the crust would cause a certain amount of heat, which might contribute a portion of the natural heat budget of the earth. If that is the right term to use.
LOL. It doesn’t sound like much, but once the feedbacks kick in…
Anthony,
Glad you labeled this as a spoof, since many of the numerous, peer reviewed, research papers.
don’t make any more sense.
In my internet ramblings, I just found this report from the Office of the president that indicates we spend $20.4 Billion dollars every year (2014 budget) on climate change with every department and agency involved in squandering our borrowed dollars on foolish activities.
Outside of propaganda, I wonder what we get for all that expenditure?.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/legislative_reports/fcce-report-to-congress.pdf
The moon is particulate matter and would definitely be hazardous if inhaled.
The distanse between the moon and the earth is constantly increasing, so what’s the problem? Any mentioned effect will decrease obviously …
Obviously, they need more funding to further explore this exciting, new theory! I’d say the science is settled! Anyone who disagrees or even asks a particularly hard question is anti-science.
Oh, noes. water is a pollutant.
(Yes, I know the article is posted under satire)
This sounds like the “missing chapter” from Isaac Asimov’s remarkable series of essays, “The Tragedy of the Moon.” Highly recommended. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/555377.The_Tragedy_of_the_Moon
SasjaL says:
June 21, 2014 at 6:55 am
The distanse between the moon and the earth is constantly increasing, so what’s the problem? Any mentioned effect will decrease obviously …
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Not obvious at all. As the moon gets further from earth it gets closer to the sun so more of the photon will be available to be reflected to us. Warming may get worse the farther the moon is from us. 🙂
Nice job!
“If that does not appear to be economically viable, we will consider methods for moving the moon into a different orbit, perhaps around Mars, where it is much colder and the extra heat will be welcome.”
How very humble!
You should work a bit in like – if the budget lunatics from the GOP who don’t do their job of raising the debt ceiling regularly don’t stop us – in which case we’re all doomed.
(That’s were the CO2AGW rubber meets the road)
Kepler Issac !
Better hope this spoof is not submitted as one of those Common Core reading assignments where you must look to the body of the text, and only there, to answer all questions. It has the effect of legitimizing whatever nonsense or propaganda someone chooses to submit to students.
http://permaculturenews.org/2014/01/23/deep-green-alternative-debating-strategies-transition/ is an example of why. It is long, but fascinating and fits with the Deliberative Democracy global governance phenomenon I was actually tracking. Note at the end that to get any of these desired transitions it is mindsets of individuals–values, attitudes, and beliefs-that must be first altered. Then the hoped-for transition is possible. If Education is the necessary tool, propaganda is inevitable. Digital learning and the push from textbooks will make nonsense comparable to this spoof virtually impossible for a parent or School, Board to know about.
I wouldn’t laugh too hard. I’m sure some knot head already submitted this as a grant proposal and is now spending our money. Yes it was funny but stop giving climate nut bags ideas. Lol.
Furthermore, peer-reviewed studies have shown that gazing at the moon is implicated in up to 97% of unintended pregnancies. Definitely move it to Mars – they need the population increase.
It’s the eclipses. Not enough eclipses. Forget the cowbell, more eclipses.
Mars already has two moons, and now they want to give it the only one we have? This redistribution of wealth thing has gotten out of hand.
Everyone is focusing on secondary causes: the Sun emitting and the Moon reflecting photons, greenhouse gases trapping photons, sea-air heat transfer by photons… Let’s cut to the chase:
Ban photons. Write your Representative and Senators today asking that they introduce legislation outlawing these catastrophe-inducing pollutants.*
[/sarc]
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* Sadly, there’s roughly a 20% chance Sen. Ayotte would do it if you could tie it to crime as well, a 75% chance Sen. Shaheen would sign on, and a 99.9999% chance that Rep. Kuster would submit the bill and pester the heck out of every Dem in DC to co-sponsor.
Catcracking says:
June 21, 2014 at 6:51 am
… we spend $20.4 Billion dollars every year (2014 budget) on climate change …
Outside of propaganda, I wonder what we get for all that expenditure?
Nothing, zip, zero, zilch, nada, naught …
You should check those results with Dr. Leo Gali of the Osservatorio lunare in Pisa, the first to closely observe such phenomena.
just wait until the missing heat surfaces on the moon!!!
It’s a spoof? I thought it was the latest theory from JoNova.
Surprisingly, there is some research that suggests that lunar influence affects climate.
Cerveny, R.S. and Shaffer, J.A. 2001. The moon and El Niño. Geophysical Research Letters 28: 25-28.
Wunsch, C. 2000. Moon, tides and climate. Nature 405: 743-744.
Egbert, G.D. and Ray, R.D. 2000. Significant dissipation of tidal energy in the deep ocean inferred from satellite altimeter data. Nature 405: 775-778.
The first paper suggests a link between the moon and ENSO. (ht CO2 Science)
A statistically significant correlation was found between maximum lunar declination (MLD) and both equatorial Pacific sea surface temperatures and South Pacific atmospheric pressure (the Southern Oscillation Index) over the period 1854 to 1999. High MLDs were associated with La Niña conditions, while low MLDs were associated with El Niño conditions. Under high MLD, circulation in the Pacific gyre is enhanced by tidal forces, inducing cold-water advection into the equatorial region that is characteristic of La Niña conditions. Under low MLD, on the other hand, tidal forcing is weakened, cold water advection is reduced, and warmer sea surface conditions characteristic of El Niño prevail.
Projecting the relationships they developed into the future, the authors find that MLD is currently increasing and will continue to do so over the next several years, indicating “”a greater potential for the occurrence of colder SSTs in the equatorial Pacific, or non-El Niño (either La Niña or neutral) conditions.”” ”
The following paper finds a link between the lunar nodal cycle, and South African precipitation
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi?DOI=10.1002%2F2013JD021138
Ban the moon.
A great parody article which gets right into the devious thought processes and pseudo-scientific fluff that now dominates climate science.
If only 400 ppm of CO2 in air can warm the planet then maybe the effect is homeopathic? The fraction of CO2 in the atmosphere is maybe similar to the fraction of the sky covered by the moon.
Very funny, but satire aside, I think that the ability of the moon to *block* a non-trivial percentage of the light while within a few degrees of new moon might be measureable. Though I’ve never done a first order calculation to estimate the impact and how blocking light primarily across low latitudes versus high latitudes (depending on where the orbital cycle is) changes the magnitude. Might be an interesting exercise.
“…and disturbs fish that are trying to sleep.” Love it!
Come on – admit it: It is all made up, isn’t it??
I hope this “press release” was sent to the Guardian, NY Times Wa Po and others. The fools at one of these outlets, I’m sure, would publish without fact checking.
It doesn’t sound any different than 99% of pro-AGW climate science papers.
Paint the Moon black to reduce the reflection of visible light towards Earth. The will reduce Global Warming by up to 18 % and, as a welcome side effect, reduce noise pollution from dogs, wolves, and loony alarmists howling at the full Moon. :^)
Ira
Merrick says:
June 21, 2014 at 1:23 pm
Possibly measurable, but no effect whatsoever unless there is an actual eclipse going on. The only light such a moon could block is light from the corona and and stars that are in the same direction, and those just don’t provide enough light to be at all useful. We can’t even see the new moon, unaided, until it’s over 15 hours past new and then only because we see sunlight reflecting off a very slender crescent, not because the sky is darker by where the moon is.
Heh – I hadn’t heard this before – someone has captured an image of the moon at the instant of the new moon. It took shielding and infrared imaging, but it’s a record that cannot be broken. You could redefine the task – the moon was 4.4 degrees from the sun, it must be possible to see it closer to the sun.
See http://earthsky.org/space/young-moon-visibility for more.
Because the moon is made of cheese [obama 2014] research shows that if we put a layer of crackers [jatz] on our roofs they will deflect all the heat back into space.This is true scince.
Makes as much sense as any other Climate Theory I have heard, and it is backed up by computer modelling which, as we all know. is never wrong.
Worc1 says:
June 21, 2014 at 2:52 pm
I hope this “press release” was sent to the Guardian, NY Times Wa Po and others. The fools at one of these outlets, I’m sure, would publish without fact checking.
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exactly what I was thinking
countdown to guardian running it?
tick tick tick…:-)
Any concept of what it’s like to be ‘Moon’d’, Claimsguy ?.
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Well, at least the climate won’t be changing anymore.
And one side should always be safe from werewolves!
Does that mean I have to get a ‘moonhat’ (tin-foil lined?) as well as a sunhat?
The moon really is a harsh mistress …
“Kepler Isaac” – actually that does Kepler and Newton some injustice. When picking names they should have thought along the lines of Ptolemy Something or other …