The Week That Was: 2014-09-06 (September 6, 2014) Brought to You by SEPP (www.SEPP.org) The Science and Environmental Policy Project
THIS WEEK: By Ken Haapala, Executive Vice President, Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP)
SEPP Handout: SEPP has modified its double-sided, one-page handout on Climate Fears and Finance to include a brief comparison between Federal government expenditures on alternative energy and NIH expenditures on health.
The Lobby
In August 2013, the White House reported in FY 2013, US expenditures on Clean Energy Technologies were $5.783 billion, Energy Tax Provisions That May Reduce Greenhouse Gases were $4.999 billion, and Energy Payments in Lieu of Tax Provisions were $8.080 for a total $18.862 billion. Such expenditures created a sustained green lobby for climate change.
For FY 2013, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported its expenditures on cancer research were $5.274 billion and expenditures on all categories of clinical research were $10.604 billion. Government expenditures on alternative energy sources and research were 78% greater than NIH expenditures on all categories of clinical research on known threats to human health. The fear of climate change has distorted spending priorities in the Federal government. See: http://www.sepp.org/key_issues/ClimateFearsandFinance9-3.pdf
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Photosynthesis: On September 4, the Minority Staff of the US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released a remarkable document for Washington on global warming/climate change. Critical Thinking on Climate Change: Empirical Evidence to Consider Before Taking Regulatory Action and Implementing Economic Policies contains a section discussing photosynthesis and the benefits of enhanced atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2
Photosynthesis is the process whereby plants using light energy from the sun convert carbon dioxide and water to glucose sugar and oxygen gas through a series of reactions. The general equation for photosynthesis is:
carbon dioxide + water =[+ sic] light energy => glucose + oxygen
6CO2 + 6H2O = [+ sic] light energy=> C6H12O6 + 6O2
Humans exhale CO2 at a rate of approximately 40,000 parts per million (ppm). Humans inhale CO2 at the rate it currently exists in the atmosphere, which is just below 400 ppm. Accordingly, humans exhale CO2 at a much higher rate than they inhale. Not a single former [EPA] Administrator [who testified before the committee] could answer a question on these rates.
As all four EPA Administrators made clear, EPA’s decision to regulate CO2 is the first time the agency has ever regulated a gas that is necessary to and makes life on earth possible. As well, it is also the only gas the federal government has ever tried to regulate that humans exhale at a greater rate than they inhale. Given both these facts, the claim that CO2 is a “pollutant” deserves further scrutiny.
Finally, all four former EPA Administrators were unable to name even a single product that could be made out of wind and sunlight. Everything in modern society, from computers, laptops, solar panels, iPads and flat screen televisions, to advanced medical equipment and all our nation’s critical infrastructure is built out of fossil resources and their derivative products.
Perhaps the above equation will remind the members of the Department of Agriculture who have forgotten the concept of photosynthesis and are busily calculating the bureaucratically contrived Social Cost of Carbon. The process creates the food and the oxygen animals need to live.
Other updates in the report include:
· Wildfires and forestry management have garnered additional public attention of late, and so was split into its own section with additional information.
· A new section has been added on the impacts European countries have seen as a result of their climate regulations.
· A new section has been added on Polar Bear populations and claims of mass extinctions.
· Nearly all sections have been updated with new information.
· An addendum was added to provide examples of how the Obama Administration’s National Climate Assessment report ignores critical scientific evidence when submitted by top researchers and scientists
The report presents numerous critical questions on topics such as climate models, benefits of CO2, sea level rise, extreme weather events, polar bears and the purpose of climate regulations. The report contains a chapter titled ‘The Science is Settled: The Government Can’t Control Climate.”
There is now a different mode of thinking by some in Washington that directly contrasts that popular mindset that carbon dioxide is the control knob of earth’s temperatures and is causing unprecedented and dangerous global warming. See link under Challenging the Orthodoxy.
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Quote of the Week: The great principles of right and wrong are legible to every reader; to pursue them requires not the aid of many counselors. The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail. Thomas Jefferson, A Summary View of the Rights of British America, 1775
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Number of the Week: $540 per barrel of oil
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Sea Ice and Polar Vortex: Nature Communications published a study linking recent severe cold winters with a weakened polar vortex caused by loss of Arctic sea-ice. The paper has eleven data points in the satellite record between 1979 and 2012. At best it can be called a hasty generalization. Coincidently, this week the National Snow and Ice Data Center announced that it has recovered earlier photos from the Nimbus satellites that show large gaps in the winter Arctic sea ice during the 1960s, a period considered colder than today. The photos weaken the claim of a link between Arctic sea ice and recent severe winters.
However, there is a more important point. That is, the general ignorance of climate history demonstrated by the Climate Establishment. In his book, Climate, History and the Modern World, H.H. Lamb asserts that the deadliest winter storms ever to hit northern Europe during its recorded history occurred during the Little Ice Age.
The Climate Establishment has tried to dismiss the Little Ice Age as a European phenomenon. However, one of Lamb’s students, Tim Ball, uncovered the enormously rich climate and weather records of the Hudson Bay Company. The records cover the Hudson area as far south as the Dakotas and west to southwestern Alberta. The area includes plains, forests and tundra. In Climatology chapter of the Eighteenth-Century Naturalists of Hudson Bay, which Ball co-authored, Ball presents evidence dating to the early 1700s that the climate of area varied and the Little Ice Age was marked by periods of extremely cold winters. The recorded evidence is largely ignored by the Climate Establishment, including Environment Canada, a government agency.
These records show that the Little Ice Age was, at least, a Northern Hemisphere phenomenon, not strictly a European one. Other records show that Arctic sea ice advanced during the Little Ice age, probably cutting the Nordic settlers of Greenland off from the sea, which led to their demise. Much of Iceland was surrounded by ice, and it was dire period for the people.
This history tends to contradict the link between melting Arctic sea ice and extremely cold winters. Also, it calls into question the policies of journals that publish studies that demonstrate a lack of knowledge of the history of climate change. See links under Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice.
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Is the Party Over? The UN Climate Summit in New York City on September 23 appears be a dud. The leaders of both China and India have sent their regrets. The countries are the number 1 and number 3 world emitters CO2, accounting to about one-third of global emissions. One can speculate that perhaps the leaders realize that CO2 is vital plant food. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been very blunt in his criticism of the science produced by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Whether they intend to or not, not participating in the Summit and subsequent agreements to restrict CO2 and energy use could be a tremendous relief for most of the people in the world. See links under Problems in the Orthodoxy.
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Water Shortages: Modern hydraulic fracturing of shale for oil and natural gas uses large volumes of water for each well. A new report claims that extracting oil and gas in arid areas can be severely limited by water shortages. However, hydraulic fracturing is booming in arid and semi-arid areas of the West, such as west Texas and New Mexico. There are major issues the report fails to emphasize. One is recycling, which is being performed. The second is the tremendous water resources, previously unknown, the processes are unveiling. Indeed, too much water is a burden in some areas. See: Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?
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Trivial Pursuit: John Brignell has another post on the foolishness of the EU (and the US Department of Energy) spending great amounts of money trying to improve the electric efficiency of electric appliance. (As discussed in the August 30 TWTW, the Department of Energy got $16.8 billion in the so-called “stimulus bill.”). Specifically, Brignell addresses hair dryers and the physical properties of water.
Electrical appliances were often called labor saving devises. Sacrificing the labor saving features of the appliance for energy efficiency, reduces the effectiveness of the appliance. The DOE and EPA ignore this trade-off in claiming financial saving for the consumer for appliances that cost more. See link under Challenging the Orthodoxy.
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More Trivial Pursuit: Anthony Watts discusses an article comparing the carbon footprint of game downloaded via disks purchased in stores as compared with downloaded via the internet.
He brings up a past post on the carbon footprint of the new NCAR supercomputing center in Wyoming, which produces most of its electricity from coal. It would be amusing to see a calculation of the carbon footprints of the world’s climate models. Could we fight climate change by shutting down the climate models? See links under Below the Bottom Line
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Additions and Corrections: SEPP Board Member Tom Sheahen, a MIT physicist who retired from the National Renewable Energy Laboratories, pointed out that the concept of on the Energy Return On Invested (EROI) discussed in the August 30 TWTW is an important issue. Unlike the concept called Levelized Cost of Electricity used by the Energy Information Agency (EIA), EROI takes into account costs of energy storage for an unreliable form of electricity generation, particularly for modern society. Until less expensive, and less energy intensive, forms of storage can replace pumped storage, PV Solar and Wind are not practical for a modern society. To its credit, EIA does separate dispatchable (reliable) technologies from non-dispatchable technologies. See: http://theenergycollective.com/barrybrook/471651/catch-22-energy-storage and http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/electricity_generation.cfm
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Number of the Week: $540 a barrel. In his discussion of the problems with the Climate Summit and Europe’s energy example Andrew McKillop calculates that ordinary electricity users in Germany are “paying around 25 euro cents a kiloWatthour – in oil terms the equivalent of about $540 a barrel.”
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ARTICLES:
For the numbered articles below, please see this week’s TWTW at: www.sepp.org. The articles are at the end of the pdf.
1. The Climate Change Agenda Needs to Adapt to Reality
Limiting carbon emissions won’t work. Better to begin adjusting to a warmer world.
By Edward Lazear, WSJ, Sep 2, 2014
2. Whatever Happened to Global Warming?
Now come climate scientists’ implausible explanations for why the ‘hiatus’ has passed the 15-year mark.
By Matt Ridley, WSJ, Sep 4, 2014
http://online.wsj.com/articles/matt-ridley-whatever-happened-to-global-warming-1409872855
Link to Article by Bob Carter: There IS a problem with global warming… it stopped in 1998
By Bob Carter, Telegraph, UK, Apr 9, 2006
3. Coal Renaissance Risks Tarnishing the EU’s Green-Energy Credentials
By Vanessa Mock, WSJ, Sep 3, 2014
4. BP’s Decision to Drill 100 More Feet Set Disaster in Motion, Judge Rules
Move Was ‘Dangerous’ and ‘Motivated by Profit,’ Ruling Finds
By Russell Gold, WSJ, Sep 4, 2014
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NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Commentary: Is the Sun Rising?
Rewriting Sunspot History
By Christopher Monckton, SPPI, Sep 3, 2014
http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/originals/rewriting_sunspot_history.html
[SEPP Comment: Uncertainty of what the sun may do, creates great uncertainty in IPCC science, even though the politicians will not admit it.]
Climategate Continued
Who Wrote EPA’s “Myths vs Facts”?
By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Aug 31, 2014
http://climateaudit.org/2014/08/31/who-wrote-epas-myths-vs-facts/#more-19621
Challenging the Orthodoxy
Critical Thinking on Climate Change: Empirical Evidence to Consider Before Taking Regulatory Action and Implementing Economic Policies
By Minority Staff, US Senate Environment and public Works Committee, Sep 4, 2014 [H/t Climate Etc.]
Analysis of the Second Order Draft of the Working I Contribution to IPCC 5AR
By John McLean, SPPI, Sep 3, 2014
This new review is unlike the previous analysis because it focuses not only on a statistical analysis but also various review comments, many of which were simply noticed in passing.
[SEPP Comment: The statement by Don Easterbrook in the forward is unusually pithy on the deficiencies in the report.]
Climate science in ‘Jeopardy’
Everyone loses when researchers play games with the evidence
By Anthony Sadar and JoAnn Truchan, Washington Times, Sep 4, 2014
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/4/sadar-truchan-climate-science-in-jeopardy/
Temperature
By Vincent Gray, NZClimate Truth Newsletter No 335, Sep 2, 2014
http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/temperature.html
“The Politics of Polar Bears” lengthy excerpt airs across Canada – cue the outrage
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Sep 3, 2014
Trivial pursuit: Brussels rules
By John Brignell, Number Watch, Sep 1, 2014
http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/2014_september.htm
Who Is More Irrational – Consumers or Regulators?
By Bjorn Lomborg, Forbes, Sep 1, 2014
http://www.forbes.com/sites/bjornlomborg/2014/09/01/who-is-more-irrational-consumers-or-regulators/
Defending the Orthodoxy
A climate for change: The U.S. can help drive a new round of global carbon cuts
Editorial, Washington Post, Aug 28, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
[SEPP Comment: A five part series that asserts carbon dioxide is a fundamental pollutant and emissions must be stopped to clean the air in China. As seen by the 72% decline in the US in major pollutants, the real pollutants in the air can be removed without the need of restricting life-giving carbon dioxide.]
EDITORIAL: Pressing the climate hoax
The Obama administration signs up for a war on carbon dioxide
Editorial, The Washington Times, Sep 1, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/1/editorial-pressing-the-climate-hoax/
But what about the oceans? Research shows declining levels of acidity in Sierra Nevada lakes
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 4, 2014
[SEPP Comment: No question that the 72% reduction the 6 major pollutants in the air since 1970 has benefited human health and the environment. But that does justify regulation of carbon dioxid?.]
Why we’re so blase about global warming
By Jack Shafer, Reuters, Aug 29, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://blogs.reuters.com/jackshafer/2014/08/29/why-were-so-blase-about-global-warming/
[SEPP Comment: An age-perception issue?]
Why Obama is Bypassing Congress on Climate
By Danny Shaw, Map Light, Aug 27, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://maplight.org/content/73520
Questioning the Orthodoxy
Global Warming Policy Foundation Launches Campaigning Arm
By Staff Writers, GWPF, Sep 1, 2014
http://www.thegwpf.org/global-warming-policy-foundation-launches-campaigning-arm/
Which principle: precaution or progress?
By Ivo Vegter, Daily Maverick, Sep 1, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
“The precautionary principle implicitly prohibits progress, by placing impossible burdens of proof upon industry and innovation. It can cause as much harm as it ostensibly prevents, so it precludes its own application. It is vague and arbitrary, which gives bureaucrats and their professional advisors the power to subvert the rulemaking process for their own benefit.”
A current pause in global warming: McKitrick
By Lorne Gunter, Toronto Sun, Sep 3, 2014
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/09/03/a-current-pause-in-global-warming-mckitrick
[SEPP Comment: More on the analysis by McKitrick.]
The High Cost of Climate-Change Politics
By Anthony Sadar, American Thinker, Aug 30, 2014
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/08/_the_high_cost_of_climatechange_politics.html
Coming Soon to Climate Change: The ‘Rewind” Button?
By Steven Hayward, Power Line, Aug 30, 2014
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/08/coming-soon-to-climate-change-the-rewind-button.php
Errors and frauds of global warming science
By Gary Novak, Pravda, Sep 1, 2014 [H/t ACS]
http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/01-09-2014/128413-global_warming_science-0/
[SEPP Comment: Contrary to the assertions of the author, modeling can be very valuable in science, but the components of the model must be constantly tested against empirical evidence.]
Joseph Perkins: Global-warming science a long con
By Joseph Perkins, Orange County Register, Aug 28, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/warming-633132-global-years.html
Let’s Tax the Climate Alarm Industry
By Larry Bell, Newsmax, Sep 2, 2014
http://www.newsmax.com/LarryBell/Climate-Change/2014/09/02/id/592051/
IPPR does climate and energy
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Sep 1, 2014
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/9/1/ippr-does-climate-and-energy.html
Myth of arctic meltdown: Stunning satellite images show summer ice cap is thicker and covers 1.7million square kilometres MORE than 2 years ago…despite Al Gore’s prediction it would be ICE-FREE by now
By David Rose, Mail, UK, Sep 1, 2014 [H/t William Readdy]
Social Benefits of Carbon
About Face: Why the world needs more CO2: The failed science of global warming!
Book Review by Geoff Brown, Australia Climate Sceptics, Sat 6, 2014
http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/about-face-why-world-needs-more-co2.html
Problems in the Orthodoxy
Ban-Ki Moon’s Climate Summit Dead In The Water
By Andrew McKillop, The Market Oracle, Sep 4, 2014 [H/t Climate Etc.]
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article47182.html
As new climate change summit looms, UN environment efforts still a mess, study says
By George Russell, Fox News, Sep 2, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
[SEPP Comment: The UN programs are in disarray? Shocking!]
China and Indian Leaders Skipping UN Climate Summit
By Sangwon Yoon and Mark Drajem, Bloomberg, Sep 4, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
Climate talks: Five things to know
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Aug 31, 2014
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/216285-climate-talks-five-things-to-know
[SEPP Comment: It is increasingly apparent that, contrary to this reporter’s assessment, some world leaders are not interested in international regulations of CO2.]
Poverty, Not Climate Change, Bigger Concern for China and India
By David Kreutzer, Daily Signal, Sep 5, 2014
http://dailysignal.com/2014/09/05/poverty-climate-change-bigger-concern-china-india/
Teachers Day speech: PM Modi says no climate change
By Staff Writers, India Today, Sep 5, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/teachers-day-speech-pm-modi-says-no-climate-change/1/381198.html
The 8% Consensus: Only 11 of 144 Countries Have Backed The Kyoto Protocol’s Extension
By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Sep 4, 2014
Two Months and Risky Business is Already an Afterthought
By Paul Chesser, NL&PC, Sep 2, 2014
http://nlpc.org/stories/2014/09/02/two-months-and-risky-business-already-afterthought
Seeking a Common Ground
A look at the cutting edge of the climate sciences, & the lessons we can learn.
By Editor, Fabius Maximus, Sep 4, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://fabiusmaximus.com/2014/09/04/pause-climate-science-debate-change-71458/
[SEPP Comment: Disagree strongly with the summary, it is precisely the lack of science on the other side that drives SEPP.]
Gavin Schmidt’s analogy ceasefire
…I agree with him…
By Luboš Motl, Reference Frame, Sep 2, 2014
http://motls.blogspot.com/2014/09/gavin-schmidts-analogy-ceasefire.html#more
[SEPP Comment: In science argument by analogy is not particularly fruitful.]
Half-truths, Lies & Climate Change
By Doug Hoffman, The Resilient Earth, Sep 1, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://theresilientearth.com/?q=content/half-truths-lies-climate-change
[SEPP Comment: Exposing myths from a number of sources.]
How long is the pause?
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Sep 1, 2014
http://judithcurry.com/2014/09/01/how-long-is-the-pause/#more-16779
[SEPP Comment: The important point is not the length of the no trending, but the epic failure of the climate models, which the IPCC used to predict, with great certainty, dangerous human-caused future warming.]
Science for development: getting real?
By Tracey Elliott, The Royal Society, Aug 13, 2014 [H/t Climate Etc.]
Stepping away from the ‘Climate War’
The Debate is finally over on “Global Warming” – Because Nobody will Debate
By Caleb Rossiter, WUWT, Sep 3, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/03/stepping-away-from-the-climate-war/
Link to full essay: My LAST Piece on “Climate Change,” I Promise
By Caleb Rossiter, His Blog, No date
http://www.calebrossiter.com/Last%20Climate.html
Both sides have their central websites that constantly compile articles and arguments for the media and public: the catastrophists’ realclimate.org and Union of Concerned Scientists versus the skeptics’ staid Science and Environmental Policy [Project] “The Week that Was” at sepp.org and the wild and wooly climatedepot.org.
[SEPP Comment: Disagree with Rossiter’s assessment of the UAH data. How it is handled is transparent and subject to intense review.]
Slingo at the IoP
By Colonel Shotover, Bishop Hill, Sep 4, 2014
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/9/4/slingo-at-the-iop.html
[SEPP Comment: In her presentation at the Institute of Physics, the enthusiasm Met Office chief scientist Julia Slingo showed for the efforts in modeling weather impressed a global warming skeptic.]
Trenberth’s science communication interview
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Sep 3, 2014
http://judithcurry.com/2014/09/03/trenberths-science-communication-interview/#more-16802
[SEPP Comment: Based on personal experience when asking a pointed scientific question following a Trenberth lecture, Curry is too kind. His followers attempted to attack the person posing the very germane question. Fortunately, other members in the audience followed-up, and forced a significant back-track on Trenberth’s assertions.]
What exactly is going on in their heads?
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Sep 5, 2014
http://judithcurry.com/2014/09/05/what-exactly-is-going-on-in-their-heads/
Measurement Issues
Pitman says BOM don’t “fiddle” with data — it’s magical science by Elite Centres of Excellence
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Sep 2, 2014
BOM homogenisation in Deniliquin creates discontinuities and changes trends
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Sep 5, 2014
[SEPP Comment: Another example of the Bureau of Meteorology turning a cooling into a warming.]
Data Games
By Joe D’Aleo, Hudson Litchfield News, Sep 5, 2014
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/joes-blog/data_games/
[SEPP Comment: More reasons why SEPP considers the surface record inferior to satellite record.]
Temperature Adjustments In Greenland
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Sep 1, 2014
So I ask, who can we trust to give us the true record in Greenland, the experts at DMI, or [NASA] GISS?
Past temperature in Greenland adjusted to fit new theory
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 4, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/04/past-temperature-in-greenland-adjusted-to-fit-new-theory/
Link to press release: Past temperature in Greenland adjusted
By Gertie Skaarup, Niels Bohr Institute, Sep 4, 2014
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/uoc–pti090414.php
The oxygen temperature curve said that the climate in central Greenland was colder around 12,000 years ago than around 15,000 years ago, despite the fact that two key climate drivers – carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and solar radiation – would suggest the opposite. With our new, more direct reconstruction, we have been able to show that the climate in central Greenland was actually warmer around 12,000 years ago compared to 15,000 years ago. So the temperatures actually follow the solar radiation and the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
[SEPP Comment: Adjusting temperature estimates to fit the hypothesis: CO2 is a key driver of temperatures.]
Changing Weather
Brutal Winter? Almanac Could Be Wrong, Scientists Say
By Elizabeth Palermo, Live Science, Aug 29, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.msn.com/science-technology/brutal-winter-almanac-could-be-wrong-scientists-say
[SEPP Comment: WeatherBELL Analytics is predicting a cold, snowy winter in the Midwest, East, and the Southeast.]
Storm activity at historic lows: ‘First time for almost 70 years September globe is storm free’
By Staff Writer, ICECAP, Sep 1, 2014
[SEPP Comment: An isolated event? But so was Sanday.]
Recent paper finds extreme weather & flooding became less frequent/extreme in Southwest England
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 2, 2014
Former National Hurricane Center Director Tells Florida Governor Fighting Global Warming Won’t Protect Florida from Extreme Weather
Press Release by Staff Writers, Cornwall Alliance, Aug 14, 2014 [H/t ICECAP]
Changing Seas
3 Questions with Carl Wunsch on the Ocean’s changing temperature
By Genevieve Wanuch, Oceans at MIT, Aug 27, 2014 [H/t Climate Etc.]
http://oceans.mit.edu/featured-stories/3-questions-carl-wunsch-oceans-changing-temperature
[SEPP Comment: Problems with the assumption in the article: “Because the ocean has an enormous ability to absorb heat from the atmosphere, it’s only logical that the ocean has warmed, and will continue to warm, as increasing amounts of greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere.” Twenty years of temperature data, not comprehensive, is not sufficient to indicate CO2 is the cause.]
Claim: Antarctic sea-level rising faster than global rate, but a ‘pause’ and other studies suggest ice melt isn’t the only factor
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 1, 2014
Rapid sea-level rise along the Antarctic margins in response to increased glacial discharge
By Rye, et al. Nature Geoscience, Aug 31, 2014
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo2230.html
[SEPP Comment: Use a questionable model to calculate what may be happening rather than take direct measurements.]
Evidence for long-term memory in sea level
By Dangendorf, et al. Geophysical Research Letters, Aug 5, 2014
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014GL060538/abstract
[SEPP Comment: Cyclical, natural variation may dominate any human influence.]
Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice
1960’s satellite imagery of polar ice discovers “enormous holes” in the sea ice
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 4, 2014
Link to press release: Nimbus data rescue
By Staff Writers, CIRES, Aug 29, 2014
http://cires.colorado.edu/news/press/2014/nimbus.html
2014: The Year Arctic Meltdown Stories Completely Vanished From Our Media!
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Sep 1, 2014
‘The Arctic sea ice spiral of death seems to have reversed’
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Aug 30, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/08/30/the-arctic-sea-ice-spiral-of-death-seems-to-have-reversed/
Agriculture Issues & Fear of Famine
14 Percent of Americans Are Food Insecure: What that Really Means
By Rachel Sheffield, Daily Signal, Sep 4, 2014
[SEPP Comment: Another government agency rigging a survey to promote a policy from which the agency benefits.]
Un-Science or Non-Science?
New paper claims 99.999% certainty global warming over past 25 years is man-made
By Staff Writer, The Hockey Schtick, Sep 3, 2014
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2014/09/new-paper-claims-99999-certainty-global.html
Link to paper: A probabilistic analysis of human influence on recent record global mean temperature changes
By Philip Kokica, Steven Crimpc, & Mark Howdend, Climate Risk Management, No Date
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096314000163
[SEPP Comment: Apparently the statisticians are ignorant of climate history.]
We are 99.99999% sure that broken models produce stupid climate statistics
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Sep 5, 2014
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
Study Links Polar Vortex Chills to Melting Sea Ice
By Seth Borenstein, AP, Sep 2, 2014
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/study-links-polar-vortex-chills-melting-sea-ice
Link to paper: Weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex by Arctic sea-ice loss
By Baek-Min Kim, et al. Nature Communications, Sep 2, 2014
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140902/ncomms5646/full/ncomms5646.html
Sierra Nevada freshwater runoff could drop 26 percent by 2100, tree growth due to improved climate blamed
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 1, 2014
The authors found that greater vegetation density at higher elevations in the Kings basin with the 4.1 degrees Celsius warming projected by climate models for 2100
Are You Ready for a 35-Year Drought?
By Kristine Wong, Takepart.com, Aug 29, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/ready-35-drought-163747377.html
Link to paper: Assessing the risk of persistent drought using climate model simulations and paleoclimate data
By Ault, et al. AMS, Journal of Climate, Sep 1, 2014
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00282.1
Claim: Lowering coal-fired power plant emissions may have saved 1,700 lives in 1 year
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 3, 2014
[SEPP Comment: Has the health-impact model been verified and validated?]
Lowering Standards
Brian Cox’s incompetence
By Luboš Motl, Reference Frame, Sep 4, 2014
http://motls.blogspot.com/2014/09/brian-coxs-incompetence.html
Thankfully, I live in the Czech Republic where we are “allowed” to say that the existing climate models are absolutely worthless for the prediction of the future climate.
Their number of adjustable (and often adjusted with an intentional bias) components is so high and, in fact, so much higher than the number of checks that were used to adjust them that there is also absolutely no theoretical reason to think that their predictions will be correlated with the reality.
[SEPP Comment: Questioning the BBC’s go-to scientist on his understanding of probability, models, and other issues.]
Brian Cox is wrong – it is vital that knowledge is controversial, even about climate change
By Brendan O’Neill, Telegraph, UK, Sep 4, 2014
Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?
Carbon stored in soils more vulnerable to climate change than expected
By Staff Writers, Exeter, UK (SPX), Sep 05, 2014
[SEPP Comment: The headline makes no sense. The article fails to recognize CO2 is plant food.]
Existing power plants will spew 300 billion more tons of carbon dioxide during use
By Staff Writers, Irvine CA (SPX), Sep 03, 2014
[SEPP Comment: The term “spew” carbon dioxide puts this article in the propaganda class.]
Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.
Baseless Alarmism: Global Warming’s Impact on Gulf of Maine Driving Away Lobsters and Fish
By Bob Tisdale, WUWT, Sep 3, 2014
Climate Change Scientists Warn: We’re Almost Too Late
By Rubecca Leber, New Republic, Aug 27, 2014
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119236/un-draft-climate-report-issues-warning-world
Global warming impacts ‘severe, widespread, and irreversible’, UN warns
Urgent action needed to tackle man-made climate change, leaked report warns
By Emily Gosden, Telegraph, UK, Aug 27, 2014
U.N. says low-carbon economy a booming economy
By Daniel J. Graeber, Geneva, Switzerland (UPI), Aug 28, 2014
http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/UN_says_low-carbon_economy_a_booming_economy_999.html
Communicating Better to the Public – Go Personal.
Climate sceptics should be ‘crushed and buried’: Sir Paul Nurse attacks politicians who ‘distort’ facts on global warming
By Ben Spencer, Daily Mail, UK, Sep 4, 2014
Crusher Nurse fails to squeeze
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Sep 4, 2014
http://www.bishop-hill.net/blog/2014/9/4/crusher-nurse-fails-to-squeeze.html
We’re Doomed … Kittens and Puppies Too
By Tony Thomas, Quadrant, Sep 2, 2014
http://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2014/09/doomed-kittens-puppies/
Climate Craziness of the Week: Naomi Oreskes says climate change will kill your pets
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 3, 2014
Communicating Better to the Public – Use Propaganda on Children
UN/WMO Propaganda Stunt: climate fantasy forecasts of hell on Earth from the future
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 2, 2014
Expanding the Orthodoxy
Rich nations have moral duty to help island nations as climate change shifts weather patterns, says World Bank envoy
By Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, Sep 1, 2014 [H/t WUWT]
[SEPP Comment: How did these islands survive 400 feet of sea level rise over 18,000 years?]
Questioning European Green
Europe’s Green Economies: Not Models For U.S.
Editorial, IBD, Sep 3, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Is Merkel’s green zeal turning brown?
By Madeline Chambers, Reuters, Sep 9, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.euronews.com/newswires/2672688-is-merkels-green-zeal-turning-brown/
[SEPP Comment: As in brown coal?]
Who is Donald Tusk and what does he think about climate?
By Simon Evans, The Carbon Brief, Sep 2, 2014
Questioning Green Elsewhere
Giant wind farm could deal the Chesapeake Bay a heavy blow
Maryland’s O’Malley ignores environmental and economic costs
By Bonner Cohen, Washington Times, Sep 2, 2014
Maryland’s Democratic governor, Martin O’Malley, has bestowed his blessings on the project, saying the massive array of whirling wind turbines will provide a safeguard “against rising sea levels caused by climate change.”
Funding Issues
Opinions of Climate Change: Related to Dependency on Government Money?
By Patrick J. Michaels and Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger, CATO, Sep 3, 2014
http://www.cato.org/blog/opinions-climate-change-related-dependency-government-money
The Political Games Continue
GOP launches probe of ‘improper influence’ on EPA climate rule
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Sep 2, 2014
Subsidies and Mandates Forever
Reid promises vote on green tax credits
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Sep 4, 2014
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/216654-reid-plans-vote-for-renewable-energy-tax-credits
Constraint payments
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Sep 2, 2014
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/9/2/constraint-payments.html
EPA and other Regulators on the March
A Proposal for Replacing the EPA
By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Sep 2, 2014
https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/a-proposal-for-replacing-the-epa/
Emails Suggest Enviro Groups Influence The EPA’s Agenda
By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Sep 3, 2014
http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/03/emails-suggest-enviro-groups-influence-the-epas-agenda/
EPA struggles to account for cross-state emissions reductions in power plant rule
By Zack Colman, Washington Examiner, Sep 4, 2014
EPA moves toward regulating jet fumes
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Sep 4, 2014
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/216665-epa-moves-toward-regulating-aircraft-emissions
EPA’s Staff Recommends Lower Ozone Standard, But it Doesn’t Matter, Because EPA Has No Say
By William Yeatman, Global Warming.org, Sep 3, 2014
[SEPP Comment: The EPA has ways to neutralize court decisions.]
Energy Issues – Non-US
What should drive energy policy?
By Martin Livermore, Scientific Alliance, Sep 5, 2014
http://scientific-alliance.org/scientific-alliance-newsletter/what-should-drive-energy-policy
2.8 bn risk ill health from home air pollution: research
By Staff Writers, Paris (AFP), Sept 03, 2014
China’s Sinopec to push on with $10 bln coal-to-gas plan
By Chen Aizhu, Reuters, Sep 4, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/09/04/sinopec-coal-gas-idINL3N0QZ37J20140904
Demand response
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Sep 2, 2014
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/9/2/demand-response.html
The Energy and Climate Change Committee are currently considering demand response, which is an interesting subject for those who quite like the idea of having energy when required rather than when permitted by the political classes.
EDF nuclear plants closed until winter amid blackout fears
French energy giant warns of delay in restarting nuclear reactors that were shut for safety checks
By Emily Gosden, and Andrew Critchlow, Telegraph, UK, Sep 4, 2014
Lawrence Solomon: How global warming policies have led to global insecurity
By Lawrence Solomon, Financial Post, Sep 4, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
[SEPP Comment: Question if the West could have become self-sufficient in fossil fuels, let alone an exporter. However, North America could become largely energy independent if politics have not interfered.]
Ozone pollution in India kills enough crops to feed 94 million in poverty
By Staff Writers, Washington DC (SPX), Sep 05, 2014
The Government Is Controlling Private Property to Save Frog Species Not Seen in 50 Years
By Scott Blakeman, The Daily Signal, Aug 29, 2014
Energy Issues — US
Economic Failure of Climate Change Movement
By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Sep 5, 2014
https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/economic-failure-of-climate-change-movement/
Washington’s Control of Energy
EPA chief to investors: We need more gas pipelines
By Zack Colman, Washington Examiner, Sep 3, 2014
[SEPP Comment: Will the EPA approve them when pipelines cross streams, etc?]
EPA chief pushes economic case of capturing methane
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Sep 2, 2014
Separation of Powers Alert: Obama Seeks Climate ‘Treaty’ without Senate Ratification
By Marlo Lewis, Global Warming.org, Aug 28, 2014
Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?
Report: Water shortages could limit shale development across globe
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Sep 9, 2014
Link to report: Global Shale Gas Development: Water Availability & Business Risks
By Paul Reig, et al. World Resources Institute, No Date
http://www.wri.org/publication/global-shale-gas-development-water-availability-business-risks
Dearth of oil finds threatens long-term supplies, price
By Balazs Korany and Joachim Dagenborg, Reuters, Aug 27, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/27/us-norway-oil-conference-exploration-idUSKBN0GR26L20140827
Explorers are finding so little oil, many are retreating from high-risk frontier areas to safer bets like North American shale …
[SEPP Comment: Companies are making bigger profits with greater certainty with on-land drilling of shale!]
Oil Spills, Gas Leaks & Consequences
Judge rules BP was grossly negligent in oil spill
By Collin Eaton, Fuel Fix, Sep 4, 2014
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2014/09/04/judge-rules-bp-was-grossly-negligent-in-oil-spill/
Changing microbial dynamics in the wake of the Macondo blowout
By Staff Writers, Reston VA (SPX), Sep 04, 2014
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Solar and Wind
Big Wind’s Last Gasp
By Lisa Linowes, Wind Action, Sep 3, 2014
http://www.windaction.org/posts/41140-big-wind-s-last-gasp#.VAcxtvldV-4
Link to report: 2013 Wind Report
By Staff Writers, Department of Energy, No date
http://energy.gov/2013-wind-report
2013 Wind Technologies Market Report
http://energy.gov/eere/wind/downloads/2013-wind-technologies-market-report
[SEPP Comment: DOE is engaged in outright promotion of an inferior form of electricity generation.]
Renewable Energy in perspective: Solar and Wind power
Data for the USA, Germany and the UK since the year 2000.
By Ed Hoskins, WUWT, Aug 30, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/08/30/renewable-energy-in-perspective-solar-and-wind-power/
Wind energy cuts the electricity bill
By Staff Writers, Leioa, Spain (SPX), Sep 05, 2014
http://www.winddaily.com/reports/Wind_energy_cuts_the_electricity_bill_999.html
Link to paper: Is green energy expensive? Empirical evidence from the Spanish electricity market
By Aitor Ciarretaa, Maria Paz Espinosaa, and Cristina Pizarro-Irizara, Energy Policy, Jun 2014
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421514001141
Bryce: Yes, solar is booming, but
By Robert Bryce, Newsday, Sep 2, 2014
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/yes-solar-is-booming-but-robert-bryce-1.9207529
Pricey VA wind turbines around U.S. remain idle
By Mark Sommerauser, SCTimes Sep 2, 2014 [H/t Wind Action]
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Vehicles
Booming electric car sales under fire in Norway
By Staff Writers, Oslo (AFP), Aug 31, 2014
http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Booming_electric_car_sales_under_fire_in_Norway_999.html
Electrified car sales stall as buyers back away from hybrids
By Charles Fleming, LA Times, Sep 4, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-electric-vehicle-sales-20140903-story.html
Tesla chooses Nevada for battery factory: Sources
By Staff Writers, CNBC, Sep 3, 2014
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101937267
[SEPP Comment: With Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at point, how much will this cost the American taxpayer?]
Carbon Schemes
EPA Approves Nation’s First Underground Injection Permits for Carbon Sequestration
By Sonal Patel, Power News, Sep 3, 2014
[SEPP Comment: A technology the EPA and Department of Energy claimed was commercially available.]
Oh Mann!
When Science is Settled – by Government
By Mark Steyn, His Blog, Sep 1, 2014 [H/t Climate Etc.]
http://www.steynonline.com/6547/when-science-is-settled-by-government
Environmental Industry
Congress Probes EPA’s Cozy Ties With Green Group
Editorial, IBD, Sep 3, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Other Scientific News
Federal funding for basic research at universities and colleges essentially unchanged in FY 2012
Five U.S. departments and agencies provided most of the federal funding for basic research
By Staff Writers, NSF Press Release, Sep 4, 2014
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=132580&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click
Viruses take down massive algal blooms, with big implications for climate
By Staff Writers, Rehovet, Israel (SPX), Aug 25, 2014 [H/t Catherine French]
Putin Approves Developing Super-Heavy Rockets With Up to 150-Ton Cargo Capacity
By Staff Writers, Moscow (RIA Novosti), Sep 03, 2014
[SEPP Comment: 300,000 pound capacity. The Saturn V had a Low Earth Orbit payload of 260,000 lbs. (118,000 kg) and a Trans-lunar injection payload of 100,000 lbs. (45,000 kg.)]
Other News that May Be of Interest
The key to drilling [water] wells with staying power in the developing world
By Staff Writers, Federal Way WA (SPX), Sep 03, 2014
Reducing water scarcity possible by 2050
By Staff Writers, Montreal, Canada (SPX), Sep 01, 2014
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Reducing_water_scarcity_possible_by_2050_999.html
[SEPP Comment: Scarcity is a matter of perception, with more efficient use in agriculture, often requiring energy use, scarcity is reduced.]
Leading scientists call for a stop to non-essential use of fluorochemicals
By Staff Writers, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark (SPX) Sep 01, 2014
Giant garbage patches help redefine ocean boundaries
By Staff Writers, Washington DC (SPX), Sep 04, 2014
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Giant_garbage_patches_help_redefine_ocean_boundaries_999.html
Underwater grass comeback bodes well for Chesapeake Bay
By Staff Writers, Cambridge MD (SPX), Sep 03, 2014
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Underwater_grass_comeback_bodes_well_for_Chesapeake_Bay_999.html
[SEPP Comment: Cleaning up sewerage does wonders.]
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BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:
Finally, a way to get energy from Wind Turbines. Burn them, make cement!
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Sep 2, 2014
Global warming is about to turn Sweden’s highest mountain into its second highest
By Michael Silverberg, Quartz, Aug 30, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
Link to paper: recent air and ground temperature increases at Tarfala Research Station
By Ulf Jonsell, Regine Hock & Martial Duguay, Polar research
file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/19807-96714-1-PB.pdf
[SEPP Comment: Study covers air-surface temperatures from 1965 to 2011]
Yes, but what about the ‘carbon emissions’ of PlayStation® climatology computers?
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 2, 2014
Great moments in climate prediction: ‘World will warm faster than predicted in next five years, study warns’
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 1, 2014
[SEPP Comment: A headline from July 27, 2009]
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[trimmed]
Ha ha
😉
Sorry SEPP folks to inform you of this.
I am as anti CAGW as you, if for different reasons. But once a week throwing everything you can find at a wall, where you hope some might or might not stick, does not work for me–or OBama, the Dems, the IPCC… Or any other thinking person.
You cheapen the valid arguments here at WUWT by doing so weekly.
You stoop to their (NCA, OBummer, IPCC) levels of propaganda, which is not a complement.
Please stop, become more reality focused, and more due diligence oriented. That way, Mother Nature herself is on your side. She already has been for 16, 19, or 26 years depending on dataset.
You are using an ill aimed unchoked shotgun. Try a sniper rifle. I can recommend specific models, calibers, and rounds. Lest you discredit yourselves more than you already have. And you also already gave away your ‘hide’ by your blunderbuss thundering inanity evident again here today.
The AGW-Liberal-Environmentalists control the reins of government, the major climate study centers, and the public money spigot that feeds them. The MSM is in their pocket too. It is not a level playing field.
Asymmetric warfare is called for as long as it is grounded in valid argument and science..
should read “asymmetric information warfare” (I don’t advocate violent protest of any kind.)
I disagree. I appreciate the summary of news because it allows me to find articles I may have missed.
Your shrewish little remark reflects far more on you than on SEPProject, or on WUWT.
“Nature Communications published a study linking recent severe cold winters with a weakened polar vortex caused by loss of Arctic sea-ice. The paper has eleven data points in the satellite record between 1979 and 2012.”
We now have anohter data point : 2013. One of the harshest winters in the US for a long time, attributed to the polar vortex, in a year that saw an “unprecedented” 50% increase in arctic ice volume.
“The statement by Don Easterbrook in the forward ” That’s “foreword”, you backward #(&#$R&s.
But so was Sanday. Any relation to Sandy? Duh.
Why are we talking about winter already? Spring just ended three weeks ago…