The Week That Was: 2015-12-19 (December 19, 2015) Brought to You by SEPP (www.SEPP.org) The Science and Environmental Policy Project
THIS WEEK: By Ken Haapala, President, Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP)
COP-21: The Conference of Parties (COP-21) of the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is over. With great fanfare, an agreement was signed. The parties agreed to agree to try to limit carbon dioxide emissions. The agreement will have no identifiable effect on global climate change, because the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has failed to establish the influence that human carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) have on climate. This “scientific body” has failed to distinguish between natural variation of climate, which has been ongoing for hundreds of millions of years, and the human influence, if any, of CO2 on this natural variation. Multiple studies that have the same flaw are just more of the same.
Further, no global climate model has been validated and there has been no effort, announced to the public, to validate one, in spite of billions of dollars spent by governments. This failure indicates there is a major problem in the publicly announced IPCC science, most likely because the influence of CO2 on climate is small, rendering these costly efforts to regulate CO2 insignificant. As Richard Lindzen said of the effect of CO2 on climate: “[It is] trivially true and numerically insignificant.”
A diverse array of views on the agreement is found below. In the major additions, it is an agreement, not a treaty, in the sense that it has no binding effect on the United States. A treaty would require approval of two-thirds of the Senate present. One purpose of this requirement in the US Constitution is to provide a check on presidential powers. Unlike in many other countries, a treaty in the US has the force of law. The Obama Administration realized it would not obtain approval of two-thirds of the Senate, thus delegates representing the Administration made last minute changes to the Agreement making it nonbinding and thereby avoiding Constitutionally required approval.
Among the key provisions in the final agreement are: there are no binding monetary commitments, there are no binding commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and the next big accounting of progress will be in 2023, with ongoing meetings in between. In short, it is an agreement to perpetuate the appearance of doing something, while spending public funds. The big surprise is that any Party can withdraw after three years, effective 1 year later. See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy – NIPCC, Defending Paris! Analyzing Paris! Questioning Paris! Forget Paris, On to Morocco! Funding Issues and http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Treaties.htm
###################################################
Quote of the Week: “Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.” Dwight D. Eisenhower, Farewell Address, 1961
###################################################
Number of the Week: 7
###################################################
What Happened? As can be seen in the links below, many environmental groups are disgusted with the agreement, as is James Hansen, who often pretends to speak for all scientists, or, at least, climate scientists, but does not. The Greens thought they had a binding agreement, but if the agreement is binding it is not in key parts such as timetables, emission limits, and required payment of moneys.
The clearest explanation of what happened, that TWTW reviewed, came from Suzanne Goldenberg, a journalist at the UK Guardian. She is well-known in many Washington circles and certainly is not a global warming skeptic. She writes:
“Under US insistence, the 31-page agreement was explicitly crafted to exclude emissions reductions targets and finance from the legally binding parts of the deal. Other areas of the deal, including five-year review cycles, do carry legal force. That would free Obama from having to submit the deal to Congress.”
“The other exclusion zone was any clause in the agreement that would expose the US to liability and compensation claims for causing climate change.”
When the Senate approved the UNFCCC treaty that was submitted by President H.W. Bush (Bush 41), it attached specific conditions regarding targets and climate funding. US liability for compensating claims are a general exclusion. The Obama Administration was clever in avoiding Senate review of the agreement – perhaps too clever.
The Administration leaves office in January 2017. A future administration may declare that the agreement does not obligate the United States or the US government, but is only between Obama Administration and the other parties. To support the argument, a future administration can rightfully claim the Obama Administration specifically excluded the US from key points of the earlier agreement. Also, future administration may withdraw completely. Thus, Mr. Obama’s legacy may be temporary. See links under Defending Paris and The Political Games Continue.
******************
Green Climate Fund: Even for green groups there was a nasty surprise at COP-21. The entire COP process is not about science, it is about power and money. The ability of India and China to demand payments to the Green Climate Fund for past climate change is an example of the absurd lengths the Administration, and other Western governments, are taking to try to appease these countries. The adverse effects of past climate change since the industrial revolution (about 1750) is a myth created by the IPCC and Green Groups. Apologizing for this mythical claim demonstrates the weakness of the Administration. Eighteenth century Europe was marked by starvation and famine. In the 19th century, many immigrants came to the US from Europe, forced to leave their homelands due to agricultural harvest failures. If CO2 caused the warming since 1750 to today, then funds should be paid to the producers of CO2, rather than forcing current citizens to pay for warmer, more benign climate. See links under Defending Paris! and Funding Issues.
******************
COP – 22 and Theater: The entire COP process has taken on the attributes of theater. One could call it the highly stylized Kabuki Theater, which is thought to have originated in Kyoto, Japan, the site of the prior “Climate Agreement.” Or one could call it a shallow version of Shakespeare’s King Lear, a mad man raging against storms. To make the theater analogy more complete, the next COP meeting # 22 is scheduled take place in Morocco in November 2016. Morocco was the setting of the very popular 1942 American film, Casablanca. Near the end the former lovers, now parting, played by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, wistfully say they will always have Paris. The film is reported to have cost $950,000. The next COP meeting will cost the public far more. See links under Forget Paris, On to Morocco!
******************
George Washington: In his written, farewell address to the nation, after two terms as President, George Washington wrote several paragraphs cautioning the nation to avoid foreign entanglements. With the continuing COP UNFCCC process, we are witnessing that the advice remains sound. See link: http://www.csamerican.com/doc.asp?doc=washfarewell#pt4
******************
Models v. Observations: Last week’s TWTW linked to devastating testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness by John Christy demonstrating, generally, the global climate models greatly overestimate atmospheric warming since 1979, when satellites were first used to gather data that can be used to calculate temperatures. The temperatures are calculated by three independent groups. These temperatures are independently confirmed by four different sets of measurements by weather balloon.
This week, Patrick Michaels and Paul “Chip” Knappenberger published a working paper reinforcing Christy’s findings. The new paper includes an update of one presented by the authors at last year’s meeting of the American Geophysical Union. The authors show a strong divergence between trends in the global climate models and observed global surface temperatures (ending 2014). In general, the divergence is outside of any realistic statistical boundaries.
In addition, Michaels and Knappenberger cite 14 studies, published in peer-reviewed scientific literature since 2011, that provide strong evidence that the temperature sensitivity of the earth to a doubling of CO2 is at the low end, at best, to that estimated by the IPCC in its latest, Fifth Assessment Report (AR-5, 2013). See links under Models v. Observations
******************
Siting Issues of Surface Temperature Stations: The US weather station system measuring temperatures is one of the best in the world. However, in recent years there have been a number of adjustments to the historic data, that, in general, lower temperature measurements of the older data; thus, give impressions of warming trends where there might not be one. Updating earlier work, Anthony Watts and his team, analyzed the 1218 stations of the US Historic Climatology Network in the continental US (48 states). They determined 410 stations were not sufficiently disturbed to require adjustments over a thirty-year dataset. They determined that the 30-year temperature mean of well sited stations shows a significantly warming than the official temperature trend reported by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NOAA/NCDC).
These and other significant findings were reported in a paper at this year’s meeting of the American Geophysical Union. The justification for an annual COP theater is disappearing and NOAA’s claims of the hottest year ever are highly suspect. See links under Measurement Issues.
******************
Funding Green Groups: According to an article by Patrick Michaels, at least some Green groups involved in promoting the COP theater are well-funded. The 2014 budget for the Environmental Defense Fund is $120,500,000; Natural Resources Defense Council, $106,000,000; and the Sierra Club, $100,000,000. These numbers were not independently checked by TWTW, but are in line with numbers previously checked against IRS Form 990s. To which groups people give their money is their business, but, contrary to public myth, environmentalism is big business.
These green groups are spreading the fear of global warming/climate change. Also, they spread fear of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas. Plus, in general, they oppose use of fossil fuels and other forms of generating reliable electricity. In the general media, the claims of Big Green and the assertions based on science are not carefully delineated, as they should be.
[Note: In 2014, SEPP received no donations in excess of $5,000, which would trigger reporting requirements by the IRS. The same applies thus far this year, and the revenues and expenses are reviewed by an independent accountant.] See links under The Political Games Continue.
******************
Undue Influence? An editorial in the December 18 Wall Street Journal covers what may be undue influence by Big Green on policies being made by the Obama Administration, particularly the EPA. Thanks to the determination of Chris Horner of the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, once secret emails are showing a close working relationship between senior members of the EPA and members of Big Green such as Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Sierra Club. Prior emails showed a fictitious employee of the EPA, Richard Windsor, who won citations for his work. The non-existent Windsor turned out to be the prior EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson (a recipient of SEPP’s April Fool’s Award).
The current batch of emails show Big Green targeting of coal-fired power plants and how the EPA can evade provisions in the Clean Air Act. The extent to which members of Big Green or EPA officials broke laws is not clear. No doubt, additional emails will be uncovered. The close working relationships started before EPA’s questionable “Endangerment Finding” in 2009 that carbon dioxide emissions endanger public health. Without this finding, the administration’s power plan to eliminate many sources of reliable electricity would be endangered. See Article # 1.
******************
Number of the Week: 7. Seven independent estimates of atmospheric temperatures were used by John Christy for his graph and testimony. The three satellite data sets are from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAHv6), Remote Sensing Systems (RSSv3.3), and NOAA (STAR). The four sets of balloon data include one from the UK Hadley Center (HatAT2).
Interestingly, the big press releases by NOAA claiming “the hottest (month) (year) fail to mention the atmospheric measurements including those from NOAA. The surface data that goes into these press releases is very spotty by comparison.
###################################################
ARTICLES: The Articles section is now at the bottom of TWTW.
###################################################
Dear Subscriber to The Week That Was,
As you know, support for the Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP) comes entirely from private donations; we do not solicit support from industry or government.
Therefore, we can honestly claim that we are not beholden to anyone and that our writings are clear from any outside influence.
We are also proud of the fact that SEPP is frugal: no fancy offices, no employees, no salaries paid to anyone; in fact, we donate book royalties and lecture fees to SEPP.
The past few years have been very productive:
In collaboration with like-minded groups, we produced hard-hitting comments for the record and provided scientific testimony on proposed Federal climate and energy policy. We expect this material to surface in future litigation over excessive regulation. In 2016, we plan to be very active in upcoming litigation over Federal regulations that are not supported by empirical science.
SEPP has also spawned VA-SEEE (Scientists & Engineers for Energy & Environment), with 7 active chapters throughout Virginia, writing to local papers, testifying in Richmond, etc.
On a global level, we established NIPCC in 2007 (Non-governmental International Panel on Climate Change) to respond to the false claims of the UN-IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), and its followers — that use of fossil fuels, and CO2 emissions, will lead to climate disasters.
All four of the voluminous NIPCC reports and their Summaries are available at www.NIPCCreport.org.
The newly released 2015 report “Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming” directly addresses the sources of disagreement among climate scientists, and that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a political body that does not perform rigorous hypothesis testing needed to advance scientific knowledge.
In 2013, the Chinese Academy of Sciences translated and published a book based on two NIPCC reports and organized a Workshop in Beijing.
The Heartland Institute, our publisher, has organized ten well-attended ICCC events (International Conference on Climate Change), featuring many of the 50+ NIPCC authors.
A few weeks ago. Dr Fred Singer, our founder and president celebrated his 91st birthday. After 25 years at the helm, in January he retired as SEPP president, but continues as Chairman of the Board for as long as possible.
******************************************
At this time, we ask you to make a generous, tax-deductible donation to SEPP, an IRS recognized 501(c)3 organization.
Please address your check to: (Please note the change in address)
SEPP
P.O. Box 1126
Springfield, VA 22151
Alternatively, you may donate through PayPal. See Donate at www.sepp.org.
Thank you — whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, or other holy days during this time, we wish you and your family happiness in this blessed season and a joyful new year.
Kenneth Haapala, President
Science and Environmental Policy Project
###################################################
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Commentary: Is the Sun Rising?
November 2015 Solar Report: Sunspot Activity Remains The Weakest Since Dalton Minimum Of Early 1800s
By Frank Bosse and Fritz Vahrenholt, Translated/edited by P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Dec 16, 2015
[SEPP Comment: Ed Caryl adds: The cycle length has increased by about 30%. Cycle length has been touted as an indicator of cold periods.]
Challenging the Orthodoxy — NIPCC
The irrational legacy of COP21
By Craig D. Idso, Washington Examiner, Dec 14, 2015
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/the-irrational-legacy-of-cop21/article/2578220
Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming
The NIPCC Report on the Scientific Consensus
By Craig D. Idso, Robert M. Carter, and S. Fred Singer, NIPCC, Nov 23, 2015
http://climatechangereconsidered.org/
Download with no charge
https://www.heartland.org/policy-documents/why-scientists-disagree-about-global-warming
Climate Change Reconsidered II: Physical Science
Idso, Carter, and Singer, Lead Authors/Editors, 2013
https://www.heartland.org/media-library/pdfs/CCR-II/CCR-II-Full.pdf
Summary: http://www.nipccreport.org/reports/ccr2a/pdf/Summary-for-Policymakers.pdf
Climate Change Reconsidered II: Biological Impacts
Idso, Idso, Carter, and Singer, Lead Authors/Editors, 2014
http://www.nipccreport.org/reports/ccr2b/pdf/Full-Report.pdf
Summary: https://www.heartland.org/media-library/pdfs/CCR-IIb/Summary-for-Policymakers.pdf
Challenging the Orthodoxy
The IPCC doesn’t believe its own models. The 1.5C ambitious target = 400ppm. We’re already there!
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Dec 15, 2015
Climate science misrepresented
By Jim Whiting, American Thinker, Dec 18, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/12/climate_science_misrepresented.html
Energy, Carbon Dioxide, and The Pause
Guest essay by Ken Stewart, WUWT, Dec 16, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/12/16/energy-carbon-dioxide-and-the-pause/
Lessons Learned from My Failed Greenland Prediction and NOAA’s Shifting Goalposts
Guest Thread by Jim Steele, WUWT, Dec 16, 2015
Defending the Orthodoxy
Why Climate Skeptics Are Wrong
Or why climate skeptics are wrong
By Michael Schermer, Scientific American, Dec 1, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-climate-skeptics-are-wrong/
[SEPP Comment: The failure to offer an alternative hypothesis is proof the skeptics of the popular hypothesis are wrong? How about natural climate change is the null hypothesis? Since when is it the duty of a critic of a hypothesis to offer another?]
Bob Ward Wants To Phase Out Gas Central Heating & Cookers
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Dec 18, 2015
“Around 23m British homes use gas, but the Government wants to see far less reliance on it.
“Bob Ward, policy director at the Grantham Research Institute of Climate Change, said that to meet Britain’s commitment to the climate change deal, the days of using gas are numbered.”
Questioning the Orthodoxy
A closer look at scenario RCP8.5
By Larrry Kummer, Climate Etc, Dec 13, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/12/13/a-closer-look-at-scenario-rcp8-5/#more-20642
“Gerland makes a purely probabilistic forecast, without considering if Africa can support the same population density as China does today. Their high end forecast, used in RCP8.5, is that Nigeria’s population will grow from 175 million today to 1.5 billion in 2100.”
[SEPP Comment: Examples of IPCC’s speculations.]
Kerry: Americans won’t vote for a president not willing to act on climate
By Thomas Lifson, American Thinker, Dec 14, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Modern Day Versions of King Canute Find It Difficult To Replace God
By Tim Ball, WUWT, Dec 11, 2015
We forgot the geography!
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Dec 18, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/12/18/we-forgot-the-geography.html
“If the growth [in Antarctic sea ice] is “due to its geography” you have to wonder why the climate models predicted a decrease. Perhaps climate modellers forgot to put the geography in?”
Defending Paris!
How US negotiators ensured landmark Paris climate deal was Republican-proof
White House officials at COP 21 helped craft a deal congressional Republicans would not be able to stop – and the effort required major political capital
By Suzanne Goldenberg, Guardian, US, Dec 13, 2015
“Under US insistence, the 31-page agreement was explicitly crafted to exclude emissions reductions targets and finance from the legally binding parts of the deal. Other areas of the deal, including five-year review cycles, do carry legal force. That would free Obama from having to submit the deal to Congress.”
“The other exclusion zone was any clause in the agreement that would expose the US to liability and compensation claims for causing climate change.”
The road from Paris: International climate policy after the Paris agreement of 2015
By Richard Tol, VOX, Dec 17, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.voxeu.org/article/road-cop21
The Paris agreement marks an unprecedented political recognition of the risks of climate change
The nations gathered made a historic step down a very long road
Editorial, The Economist, Dec 12, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
A seismic shift
After 25 years of divisive debate, the governments of the world unite in Paris to fight global warming. But the hard work must start now.
Editorial, Nature, Dec 15, 2015 [H/t Howard Hayden]
A Fair, Efficient, and Feasible Climate Agreement
Jeffrey Frankel, a professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, previously served as a member of President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers. Project Syndicate, Dec 17, 2015
The agreement is: 1) comprehensive; 2) provides for re-assessment and revisions of targets; 3) takes steps towards transparency in monitoring each country’s progress, and 4) provides for international linkages.
“Rich countries can’t deny that their past emissions have inflicted harm on the world.”
Commentary: Climate talks deliver breakthrough as historic deal adopted
By Ma Mengli, Xinhua, China, Dec 12, 2015 [H/t GWPF] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-12/13/c_134910660.htm
Paris climate talks: Differentiation of developed and developing stays, India happy
The agreement from Paris does not have a single mention of ‘historical responsibility’ or to Annex-I and non-Annex countries, though it does emphasise the principle of CBDR at several places.
By Amitabh Sinha, The Indian Express, Dec 14, 2015
Analyzing Paris!
Doug Proctor: What #COP21 agreement means
By Doug Proctor, Tallbloke’s Talkshop, Dec 12, 2015
https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2015/12/12/doug-proctor-what-cop21-agreement-means/
Questioning Paris!
Stunning scientific illiteracy behind the Paris 2 °C target
By Luboš Motl, The Reference Frame, Dec 12, 2015
http://motls.blogspot.com/2015/12/stunning-scientific-illiteracy-behind.html#more
Link to “Final Draft”, Adoption of the Paris Agreement
By Staff Writers, CO1-21, UNFCCC, Dec 12, 2015
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09.pdf
[SEPP Comment: Lengthy post discussing how 2 °C came about and with selected quotes from others.]
Paris Climate of Conformity
It pays to be skeptical of politicians who claim to be saving the planet.
Editorial, WSJ, Via The Hockey Schtick, Dec 13, 2015
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/
Paris: impacts?
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Dec 13, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/12/13/paris-impacts/#more-20646
Experts Blast “Voluntary” Paris Treaty: “Extraordinarily Costly…Will Do Nothing”…”Meaningless Gesture
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Dec 15, 2015
George Will: Climate Fine-Tuners Reach Another False ‘Turning Point’
By George Will IBD, Dec 16, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
James Hansen, father of climate change awareness, calls Paris talks ‘a fraud’
The former NASA scientist criticizes the talks, intended to reach a new global deal on cutting carbon emissions beyond 2020, as ‘no action, just promises’
By Oliver Milman, Guardian, Dec 12, 2015
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/12/james-hansen-climate-change-paris-talks-fraud
Kellogg-Briand Climate Pact Signed in Paris!
By Steven Hayward, Power Line, Dec 12, 2015
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/12/kellogg-briand-climate-pact-signed-in-paris.php
[SEPP Comment: The Kellogg-Briand Pact or General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy was agreed to by Germany, France, and the United States on August 27, 1928, and signed by many other nations shortly thereafter. It did not succeed in preventing World War II.]
Paris Hype: Remember Kyoto (“this agreement will be good for Enron stock!!”)
By Robert Bradley Jr. Master Resource, Dec 15, 2015
https://www.masterresource.org/kyoto-protocol/enron-and-kyoto/
A Climate Agreement Powered by Hypocrisy
By Bjørn Lomborg, a visiting professor at the Copenhagen Business School, is Director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, Project Syndicate, Dec 17, 2015
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/paris-climate-agreement-hypocrisy-by-bj-rn-lomborg
End of year consensus
By Martin Livermore, The Scientific Alliance, Dec 18, 2015
http://scientific-alliance.org/node/972
Leaders Fight Phony Climate Enemy — Solving Real Problems Too Hard
Editorial, IBD, Dec 14, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
A new space race: satellites could test the world’s climate vows
By Barbara Lewis, Richard Valdmanis and David Stanway, Reuters, Dec 10, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-summit-space-idUSKBN0TT33A20151210
[SEPP Comment: Such measurements would be acceptable, while satellite temperature measurements are ignored?]
#AGU15 Paris Climate Accord, An Important Step Forward, But are We Solving the Right Problem?
By Peter Landon Ward, PhD, WUWT, Dec 15, 2015
The Non-Binding Paris Deal And Its Implications,
By Benny Peiser, Daily Telegraph, Via GWPF, Dec 14, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/benny-peiser-the-non-binding-paris-deal-and-its-implications/
Climate make-believe in Paris
By Rich Lowry, Jewish World Review, Dec 15, 2015
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1215/lowry121515.php3
GWPF Welcomes Non-Binding And Toothless UN Climate Deal *
By Benny Peiser, GWPF, Dec 12, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/gwpf-welcomes-non-binding-and-toothless-un-climate-deal-2/
In Paris, Climate Change Alarmists Con Everyone, Including Themselves
By Robert Tracinski, The Federalist, Dec 14, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://thefederalist.com/2015/12/14/paris-climate-change-alarmists-con-themselves/
Media Effusively Praises Global Warming Deal That Does Nothing
Editorial, IBD, Dec 14, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Obama’s phantom climate change agreement
Editorial, Washington Examiner, Dec 15, 2015
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obamas-phantom-climate-change-agreement/article/2578349
Forget Paris, On to Morocco!
UNFCCC COP 22
Marrakesh, Marrakech, Morocco, 7 to 18 November 2016
http://climate-l.iisd.org/events/unfccc-cop-22/
The IPCC’s Post-Paris Political Rallying Cry
IPCC official Chris Field claims the latest IPCC report set the stage for a Paris climate deal. An e-mail he sent to colleagues three days ago is pure politics.
By Donna Laframboise, NFC, Dec 15, 2015
http://nofrakkingconsensus.com/2015/12/15/the-ipccs-post-paris-political-rallying-cry/
[SEPP Comment: “Chris Field is the founding director of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology and Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University. Field’s research emphasizes field and laboratory studies of impacts of climate change, from the molecular to the global scale.” (Boldface added) http://dge.stanford.edu/people/cfield. Also an author of the Summary for Policymakers of AR-5, 2014]
Grand promises of Paris climate deal undermined by squalid retrenchments
Until governments undertake to keep fossil fuels in the ground, they will continue to undermine agreement they have just made
By George Monbiot, Guardian, UK, Dec 12, 2015
By comparison to what it could have been, it’s a miracle. By comparison to what it should have been, it’s a disaster.
Paris climate change deal too weak to help poor, critics warn
COP21 agreement excludes poor and fails to put humanity’s interests above short-term goals, say environmentalists and financial experts
By Fiona Harvey, The Guardian, UK, Dec 14, 2015 [H/t WUWT]
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/14/paris-climate-change-deal-cop21-oxfam-actionaid
Q&A: What’s Next After COP21?
By Miklos Gaspar, IAEA Office of Public information and Communication, IAEA, Dec 18, 2015
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/qa-what%E2%80%99s-next-after-cop21
The Administration’s Power Plan
Administration unveils ‘historic’ efficiency rules for air conditioners
By Devin Henry, The Hill, Dec 17, 2015
[SEPP Comment: No consideration of costs to purchasers.]
The Administration’s Power Plan – Independent Analysis
The cost of cleaner power
By Janet Nguyen, Marketplace, Dec 14, 2015
http://www.marketplace.org/2015/12/09/world/cpp-draft
[SEPP Comment: Great propaganda photo of condensing steam.]
The Administration’s Power Plan – Push-Back
Adverse Effects of EPA’s Clean Power Plan
By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Dec 18, 0215
https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2015/12/18/adverse-effects-of-epas-clean-power-plan-2/
Social Benefits of Carbon
Demonizing the Gas of Life
By Joseph D’Aleo, ICECAP, Dec 16, 2015
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/political-climate/demonizing_the_gas_of_life/
Problems in the Orthodoxy
Greenland May Seek UN Climate Deal Opt-Out Amid Emissions Goal
By Peter Levring, Bloomberg, Dec 14, 2015
The ink hasn’t yet dried on the UN climate accord and one of the territories most at risk from global warming is already demanding an opt-out.
[SEPP Comment: Contrary to the opinion of the journalist, the government of extremely cold Greenland does not think it is at risk from global warming.]
Why China, India and Russia want to be bought off for the Paris Climate PR Spectacle
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Dec 12, 2015
Seeking a Common Ground
Scientists & identity-protective cognition
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Dec 12, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/12/12/scientists-identity-protective-cognition/#more-20638
“I regard this as an extremely important line of research. Laboratory experiments assessing this are invaluable here. It would be WONDERFUL to see some experiments assessing all this from a spectrum of climate scientists. Too much of the social psychology surrounding climate change is the pernicious twaddle coming from Lewandowsky et al.”
The new climate ‘deniers’
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Dec 16, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/12/16/the-new-climate-deniers/
Models v. Observations
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness
Testimony of John R. Christy, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Dec 8, 2015
Climate models versus climate reality
By Pat Michaels and Chip Knappenberger, Climate Etc. Dec 17, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/12/17/climate-models-versus-climate-reality/
Climate Models and Climate Reality: A Closer Look at a Lukewarming World
By Patrick J. Michaels and Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger, Cato, Dec 15, 2015
Link to full paper: Same title, authors, and date
http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/working-paper-35_2.pdf
Study: Current climate models misrepresent El Niño
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Dec 15, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/12/15/study-current-climate-models-misrepresent-el-nino/
Link to paper: Links between tropical Pacific seasonal, interannual and orbital variability during the Holocene
By Emile-Geay, et al. Nature Geoscience, Dec 14, 2015
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo2608.html
Model Issues
The extraordinary climate effect of land-use change
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Dec 15, 2015
Link to paper: Implications for climate sensitivity from the response to individual forcings
By Marvel, Schmidt, Miller, & Nazarenko, Nature Climate Change, Dec 14, 2015
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2888.html
Montford: “My point here is not that this will make a difference to their results – the effect of land-use change in their simulations is small anyway. But it does highlight the constant problem with computer simulations, namely that you can kid yourself that they are a reflection of reality, when in fact they are entirely unphysical.”
Measurement Issues
Press Release – Watts at #AGU15 The quality of temperature station siting matters for temperature trends
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Dec 17, 2015
Watts et al.: Temperature station siting matters
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Dec 17, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/12/17/watts-et-al-temperature-station-siting-matters/#more-20689
Link to presentation: Comparison of Temperature Trends Using an Unperturbed Subset of The U.S. Historical Climatology Network
By Anthony Watts, Evan Jones, John Nielsen Gammon, and John Christy
https://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/agu-poster-watts-website-release.pdf
Anthony Watts at AGU2015 shows that hot air rises off concrete (it does affect thermometers)
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Dec 18, 2015
Less knowledge about global species diversity than assumed
By Staff Writers, Leipzig, Germany (SPX), Dec 17, 2015
Link to paper: Multitrophic diversity in a biodiverse forest is highly nonlinear across spatial scales
By Schuldt, et al. Nature Communications, Dec 10, 2015
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151210/ncomms10169/full/ncomms10169.html
Changing Weather
Dead Blob
Cliff Mass, Weather Blog, Dec 17, 2015
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2015/12/dead-blob.html
Mountains of Snow
By Cliff Mass, Weather blog, Dec 15, 2015
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2015/12/mountains-of-snow.html
[SEPP Comment: Blob gone! See link immediately above.]
NOAA debunks the hysteria about this El Niño. Why don’t we listen?
By Larry Kummer, from the Fabius Maximus website, WUWT, Dec 17, 2015
How NASA Sees El Nino Effects From Space
By Staff Writers, Pasadena CA (JPL), Dec 16, 2015
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/How_NASA_Sees_El_Nino_Effects_From_Space_999.html
Link to web site: Latest El Niño/La Niña Watch Data [Sea Surface Height Anomaly]
By Staff Writers, JPL, Dec 6, 2015
https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/science/elninopdo/latestdata/
Is Winter Rainfall Becoming More Extreme?
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Dec 15, 2015
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/12/15/is-winter-rainfall-becoming-more-extreme/
Changing Climate
New research shows Earth’s tilt influences climate change
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Dec 15, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/12/15/new-research-shows-earths-tilt-influences-climate-change/
NOAA Website on Climate: Earth’s Hottest Period Occurred Before Man Existed
By Penny Starr, CNS News, Dec 15, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Changing Seas
Detailed picture of the chemical structure of oceans 520M years ago emerges
By Staff Writers, Beijing, China (SPX), Dec 17, 2015
A theoretical prediction of chemical zonation in early oceans (>520 Ma)
By Chao Li , Meng Cheng, Thomas J. Algeo, and ShuCheng Xie, Science China Earth Sciences, Sep 11, 2015
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11430-015-5190-7
[SEPP Comment: The chemistry was different, with oxygen rare and sulfur plentiful.]
Length of day increase and sea level rise linked
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Dec 14, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/12/14/length-of-day-increase-and-sea-level-rise-linked/
With 12 climate change-related centres and institutes and 24 climate change-related Canada Research Chairs, the University of Alberta is committed to researching the causes and effects of climate change. Researchers study past climate changes to better predict future changes.
[SEPP Comment: How many of these centers have studied the weather records compiled by the Hudson Bay Company?]
Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice
Climate Change Triggered Another Year of Extremes in the Arctic
By Staff Writers, Takepart.com, Dec 13, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/climate-change-triggered-another-extremes-arctic-201511270.html
Link to Arctic Report Card: Update for 2015
By Jeffries, Richter-Menge, and Overland, NOAA, Dec 7, 2015
http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/exec_summary.html
Climate researchers employ tool from 1800s: Whaling logs
By Mark Pratt, AP, Dec 16, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/climate-researchers-employ-tool-1800s-054830605.html
[SEPP Comment: Also interesting are the log books of ships in the Antarctic; some were able to sail closer to the continent than ships can sail now.]
Barents Sea polar bears adapt to changing sea ice conditions
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Dec 16, 2015
Changing Earth
Iceland volcano’s eruption shows how sulfur particles influence clouds
By Staff Writers, Seattle WA (SPX), Dec 12, 2015
Acidic Waters
Life adapts — fish evolved from salt to fresh water in just fifty years
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Dec 16, 2015
http://joannenova.com.au/2015/12/life-adapts-fish-evolved-from-salt-to-fresh-water-in-fifty-years/
Link to paper: Evolution of stickleback in 50 years on earthquake-uplifted islands
By Lescak, et al. PNAS, Dec 14, 2015
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/12/10/1512020112
[SEPP Comment: In general, rain is acidic, while sea water is basic.]
Lowering Standards
Concerns about National Academy of Sciences and Scientific Dissent
By Peter Wood, National Association of Scholars, Dec 15, 2015
https://www.nas.org/articles/nas_letter
Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?
The White House Misleads on Climate
By John Hinderaker, Power Line, Dec 13, 2015
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/12/the-white-house-misleads-on-climate.php
[SEPP Comment: The skills of “chartmanship.”]
Blankets cover Swiss glacier in vain effort to halt icemelt
By Nina Larson, Rhone Glacier, Switzerland (AFP), Dec 12, 2015
[SEPP Comment: They are actually preventing the melting of ice carvings. A few centuries ago, villagers were praying the advancing glaciers would not crush their village.]
Arctic Temperatures Rising at Breakneck Speed
By Tia Ghose, Live Science, Dec 16, 2015
http://www.livescience.com/53111-arctic-warming-fast-in-2015.html
“And more than half of the Greenland ice sheet melted in 2015.”
“’Warming is happening more than twice as fast in the Arctic than anywhere else in the world,’” said Rick Spinrad, the chief scientific officer a the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),”
[SEPP Comment: The ice sheet that melted is still there and since the warming is not global, what is the cause?]
An Ocean of Plastic
Guest Essay by Kip Hansen, WUWT, Dec 17, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/12/17/an-ocean-of-plastic/
Drought Could Kill Off Many of the World’s Trees
By Tia Ghose, Live Science, Dec 15, 2015,
http://news.yahoo.com/drought-could-kill-off-many-worlds-trees-144139591.html
[SEPP Comment: The Sahara is not known for its forests!]
Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.
Library manoeuvres
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Dec 14, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/12/14/library-manoeuvres.html
[SEPP Comment: The models predict floods or drought, or both at the same time?]
NOAA: Arctic air warmest in 115 years
By Brooks Hays, San Francisco (UPI), Dec 15, 2015
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NOAA_Arctic_air_warmest_in_115_years_999.html
[SEPP Comment: How did they measure Arctic Air Temperatures 115 years ago?]
Communicating Better to the Public – Use Propaganda on Children
Australian Academy of Science trains school children to be lobbyists and teachers don’t mind
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Dec 14, 2015
Questioning European Green
A fracking corrective
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Dec 15, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/12/15/a-fracking-corrective.html
Link to findings: Face-to-Face with Fracking
By Kevin Hollinrake, MP, Thirsk & Malton Constituency, No Date
http://www.kevinhollinrake.org.uk/sites/www.kevinhollinrake.org.uk/files/pa_sept_15_ii_1.pdf
[SEPP Comment: An MP who investigates the issue personally!]
Britain follows Paris deal with cuts to green subsidies
By Nina Chestney, Reuters, Dec 17, 2015
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-solar-idUKKBN0U00OY20151217
Britain approves national park fracking plans
By Staff Writers, London (AFP), Dec 16, 2015
http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/Britain_approves_national_park_fracking_plans_999.html
Green Madness: £11 Billion Smart Meter Programme In Chaos
By Robin Pagnamenta, The Times, Via GWPF, Dec 15, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/more-green-madness-11-billion-smart-meter-programme-in-chaos/
Questioning Green Elsewhere
Mounting Resistance: Vermont Democrat Announces “Wind Turbines Do Not Belong In Vermont, Period:”
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Dec 13, 2015
Funding Issues
Here’s How Congress Is Quietly Giving The UN Money For Its Global Warming Agenda
By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Dec 16, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
The Paris Climate Deal: Is That All You Get For Your Money?
By Patrick Michaels, Daily Caller, Dec 15, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/15/the-paris-climate-deal-is-that-all-you-get-for-your-money/
“Shaming” is all the Environmental Defense Fund (2014 budget: $120,500,000), Natural Resources Defense Council ($106,000,000), and the Sierra Club ($100,000,000) got for their contributors. They devoted considerable portions of those budgets to Paris, and spent tremendous resources in praise of the president’s plans.
White House: Spending Deal Allows Obama to Shift Money to Green Climate Fund
By Barbara Hollingsworth, CNS News, Dec 18, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
The Political Games Continue
Mystery Over Last Minute Change To Paris Agreement
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Dec 13, 2015
Republican Congressional Leadership Proposing Sell Out on Climate Tax Extenders and 2016 Funding
By Alan Carlin, Carlin Economics and Science, Dec 18, 2015
http://www.carlineconomics.com/archives/2350
NOAA Officials FINALLY Surrender Staff Emails To Lawmakers
By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Dec 16, 2015
http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/16/noaa-officials-finally-surrender-staff-emails-to-lawmakers/
EPA and other Regulators on the March
Environmental Protection Agency–Application of Publicity or Propaganda and Anti-Lobbying Provisions
By Staff Writers, GAO, Dec 14, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.gao.gov/products/B-326944
Link to IG decision:
http://www.gao.gov/products/B-326944#mt=e-report
GAO: EPA Used Covert Propaganda to Promote WOTUS Rulemaking [Waters Of The U.S.]
By Aaron Larson, Power Mag, Dec 15, 2015
GAO: EPA broke law promoting water rule on social media
By Kyle Feldscher, Washington Examiner, Dec 14, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
EPA Once Again Caught Breaking Laws To Push Green Agenda
Editorial, IBD, Dec 15, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Washington’s Control of Energy
Shale Drillers Are Now Free to Export U.S. Oil Into Global Glut
By Joe Carroll, Bloomberg, Dec 16, 2015
Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?
#AGU15 Likely to be the new irrational fear from fracking: “frackteria”
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Dec 16, 2015
Return of King Coal?
After Paris: China’s New Coal Boom In Asia
By Michael Forsythe, NYT, Via GWPF, Dec 13, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/after-paris-chinas-new-coal-boom-in-asia/
[SEPP Comment: And in South America, Africa, and Romania.]
Japan, South Korea stick to coal despite global climate deal
By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Meeyoung Cho and Aaron Sheldrick, Reuters, Dec 15, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/japan-south-korea-stick-coal-despite-global-climate-031331032.html
Despite UN Paris Deal, India Will Double Coal Production By 2020
By Andrew Follett, Daily Caller, Dec 14, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/14/despite-un-paris-deal-india-will-double-coal-production-by-2020/
Coal or Climate? Vancouver Approves Giant Coal Export Facility on Eve of New Climate Deal
By James Wilt, Desmog Canada, Dec 15, 2015
Oil Spills, Gas Leaks & Consequences
A natural gas leak with seemingly no end
By Ingrid Lobet, Marketplace, Dec 14, 2015
http://www.marketplace.org/2015/12/14/world/gas-leak-0
Nuclear Energy and Fears
German Continuous Nuclear Fusion Reactor Milestone
Guest essay by Eric Worrall, WUWT, Dec 17, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/12/17/german-continuous-nuclear-fusion-reactor-milestone/
The Anti-Science, Anti-Nuclear Left
By Robert Bryce, National Review, Dec 11, 2015
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/428358/global-warming-nuclear-power
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Solar and Wind
AWED Energy & Environmental Newsletter: December 14, 2015
By John Droz, Jr. Master Resource, Dec 14, 2015
Wind Power
By Chris Martin, Bloomberg, Dec 14, 2015
http://www.bloombergview.com/quicktake/wind-power
“Wind energy can be so cheap that producers in Texas, Germany and elsewhere sometimes pay grid operators to take it away. Since the wind is free and subsidies are delivered by the kilowatt, it can pay to generate electricity even when it’s not needed.”
[SEPP Comment: If true, why continue subsidies and mandates?]
Carbon Schemes
The Dirty Secret of the Paris Climate Deal
By Simon Lewis, Financial Post, Dec 17, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/dirty-secret-paris-climate-deal-120042875.html
[SEPP Comment: Lengthy post questioning carbon sequestration.]
Other Scientific News
Launch Delayed; NOAA Faces Key Decisions on Timing of Future Satellites
By Staff Writers, GAO, Dec 10, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-143T
Link to Report: Environmental Satellites: Launch Delayed; NOAA Faces Key Decisions on Timing of Future Satellites
By David Powner, Director, Information Technology Management Issues, GAO, Dec 10, 2015
http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/674090.pdf
Peer-Review Fraud — Hacking the Scientific Publication Process
By Charlotte J. Haug, M.D., Ph.D., New England Journal of Medicine, Dec 17, 2015
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1512330?query=TOC
Heat radiates 10,000 times faster at the nanoscale
By Staff Writers, Ann Arbor MI (SPX), Dec 14, 2015
http://www.nanodaily.com/reports/Heat_radiates_10000_times_faster_at_the_nanoscale_999.html
“’Faster’ here refers to the speed at which the temperature of one sample changes the temperature of the other – and not the speed at which the heat itself travels. Heat is a form of electromagnetic radiation, so it moves at the speed of light. What’s different at the nanoscale is the efficiency of the process.”
Green Tea an ‘Endocrine Disruptor’? If so, Everything Is
By Gil Ross, ACSH, Dec 9, 2015
http://acsh.org/2015/12/green-tea-said-to-be-an-endocrine-disruptor-next-mothers-milk/
New NASA Satellite Maps Show Human Fingerprint on Global Air Quality
By Staff Writers, Greenbelt MD (SPX), Dec 15, 2015
Link to Press Release and maps of Nitrogen Dioxide: NASA Images Show Human Fingerprint on Global Air Quality – Release Materials
By Trent Schindler, et al. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center,
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12094
[SEPP Comment: Note that the “human fingerprint” of Nitrogen Dioxide, is not the same as the human fingerprint of warming from Carbon Dioxide, which has not been empirically found. NASA fails to make this distinction.]
Other News that May Be of Interest
Robots to Replace Human Workers
By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Dec 15, 2015
https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2015/12/15/robots-to-replace-human-workers/
Early childhood exposure to farm animals boosts immunological responses
By Staff Writers, Joensuu, Finland (SPX), Dec 17, 2015
Link to dissertation: The allergy and asthma protective effects of farm environment and pet animals – The role of immunomodulation
By Heidi Kääriö, Publications of the University of Eastern Finland, Dissertations in Forestry and Natural Sciences No 205, Dec 11, 2015
http://epublications.uef.fi/pub/urn_isbn_978-952-61-1993-9/urn_isbn_978-952-61-1993-9.pdf
###################################################
BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:
2015’s Not Top Ten: The Biggest Junk Science
By Staff Writers, Real Clear Science, Dec 12, 201 http://www.realclearscience.com/lists/junk_science_of_2015/
Are these futuristic high-altitude balloons the brave new world of solar energy?
By Adam Epstein, Quartz, Dec 16, 2015
Underwater Balloons – a new idea in Energy Storage?
Guest essay by Eric Worrall, WUWT, Dec 12, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/12/12/underwater-balloons-a-new-idea-in-energy-storage/
Doomsday – 2000
By Staff Writers, Climate Change Predictions.org, Dec 18, 2015
http://climatechangepredictions.org/uncategorized/5607
“A senior environmental official at the United Nations, Noel Brown, says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the earth by rising sea levels if global warming is not reversed by the year 2000. Coastal flooding and crop failures would create an exodus of “eco-refugees,” threatening political chaos, said Brown, director of the New York office of the U.N. Environment Program.
“He said governments have a 10-year window of opportunity to solve the greenhouse effect before it goes beyond human ability.”
San Jose Mercury News (CA) – June 30, 1989
###################################################
ARTICLES:
Please note that articles not linked easily or summarized here are reproduced in the Articles Section of the full TWTW that can be found on the web site under the date of the TWTW.
1. The EPA’s Secret Staff
Emails show the agency took dictation from green lobbies in possible violation of the law
Editorial, WSJ, Dec 18, 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-epas-secret-staff-1450483019
SUMMARY: In the text above under Undue Influence?
*******************
2. How Much Will the Paris Climate Deal Cost the U.S.?
By William Mauldin, WSJ, Dec 14, 2015
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/12/14/how-much-will-the-paris-climate-deal-cost-the-u-s/
SUMMARY: According to the author The U.S. UNFCC “…pledge is built around President Barack Obama’s “clean power plan,” which focuses on steep reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector—mainly coal. The U.S. government estimates the impact of the power rule—issued by the Environmental Protection Agency—at between $28 billion and $39 billion in 2030, or 0.1% to 0.2% of projected GDP.”
A projection by the World Resources Institute resulted in the $170 billion hit to GDP in 2030, not considering the potential gains from better public health or an improved climate. And by 2040, the impact on GDP would decrease significantly.
[SEPP Comment: The health benefits of the power plan and the reduction in CO2 emissions are as questionable as the global climate projections. Further, most projections do not consider the costs of unreliable electricity. Germany is now experiencing such costs.]
###################################################
..There seems to be an error below ???
” They determined that the 30-year temperature mean of well sited stations shows a significantly warming than the official temperature trend reported by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NOAA/NCDC). “
Any one ever notice the MODS always ignore me ?? LOL
[Yes, the mods are ignoring you. But they read everybody, every time. Do you “want them” to always watch you ? .mod]
Now I don’t feel so bad. 🙂
Don’t talk to me…I’m ignoring you now…na na na…….LOL
That was to you..MODS… 😉
[Neaner, neaner. 8<) Ask not for whom the mods troll, lest they toil for you. .mod]
Hey, if you want to ” TOIL ” for me , I still have a couple driveways that need plowing !!! LOL…nanu nanu !!!
“Siting Issues of Surface Temperature Stations:” is missing a keyword in the sentence…
“They determined that the 30-year temperature mean of well sited stations shows a significantly [ ? ]warming than the official temperature trend reported by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NOAA/NCDC).
[The mods note that there are several ways of editing that phrase, and we will let Anthony chose which he wants to use. .mod]
Probably ” lower warming ” ??
Curse you Marcus
Milliseconds matter !!! LOL
Here you can clearly see that the daily weather and therefore eventually climate and any called climate change is nothing to do with the global CO2 concentration, but the meandering of the Arctic’s polar jet stream.
http://www.meteo-paris.com/site/images/record_douceur_scandinavie_decembre_2015_01.png
vukcevic- “meandering of the Arctic’s polar jet stream”
I have been watching that jet stream and meander is may be a bit lighter than I see. At times, it seems to loose it’s organization. And IMO the solar winds are becoming less prominent, pressure diurnal is reducing to below the noise level, and weather in general is taking on a calm state.
The “moderate solar storm” as reported is showing up as the high noise on the barometric pressure. To me this links the solar winds with the diurnal.
Is there anyone else out there that is recording this mess. If so I am sure that you are having a hard time plotting the activity. I’ll give it another day to see if the change of solar output affects anything else. It is all getting really interesting.
geomagnetic activity has produced number of major and one severe storm during the last 24 hours.
http://www.geomag.bgs.ac.uk/images/aphisto.png
possible cause of any disturbances to electric/electronic and satellite systems and communications
No climate model has been validated and there is no effort to validate one. What a damning sentence. I think one of the reasons is that some of the insiders know that their models are built on top of a pile of garbage. There is no way to fix one of them. It will take starting from scratch with a correct understanding of the physics of the planet’s climate. I say there is no chance of that until the CO2 Delusion fades into the memory hole. One place to start might well be the US Standard Atmosphere Model. http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2014/12/why-us-standard-atmosphere-model.html
“[It is] trivially true and numerically insignificant.” ~ Richard Lindzen. I think Lindzen was being too generous to our foes even with that statement. The presence of CO2 does have an effect and it is trivially small in the lower atmosphere as he says; but CO2 does help cool the planet in the upper atmosphere. The overall effect of CO2 on net looks to be cooling rather than warming. I doubt we can observe and measure the CO2 effects which means that Lindzen’s claim about CO2’s effect being trivial and numerically insignificant is probably a great way to communicate the idea to the population.
Every time we ignore the alarmists using “greenhouse effect” rather than “atmospheric effect” we lose a little ground. Every time we let the alarmists claim or imply that CO2 warms the surface without pointing to some observations and measurement we lose ground. (and Popper rolls over in his grave)
The alarmists are not doing science, but rather propaganda. (consider the e-mails of climate-gate)
The thing that warms our planet is the sun. The local star is the #1 force for ‘warming’ of all things. And the sun is not a regular producer of energy, it is a rather older star now and stars don’t last forever.
No one can explain the business about how we not only have increasingly cold Ice Ages that are much, much longer than Interglacials, the onset and ending of these Ice Ages are sudden, huge and overwhelming and could only be explained by our star pumping more energy in the system or giving less heat suddenly.
What is really scary is how all previous Ice Ages begin: SUDDENLY. Like falling off a cliff. It is nice and warm and then boom: absolutely cold. It actually begins to warm up nearly immediately after the collapse in temperatures but remains well below the level of each Interglacial.
Most ‘scientists’ who bellow about ‘global warming’…er…’climate change’ never mention all these Ice Ages and how they begin. Not a peep. And this is the real, fearful climate change we must worry about, that is, the sudden collapse in temperatures which is, by the way, slightly overdue now.
“SUDDENLY. Like falling off a cliff.”
Last night, 03:20 gmt, my night time solar panel went negative. Since it is recording moon light, there was no reason for it to do that. Apparently both the day and night sensor are now reading approximately what they did before, don’t think they were damaged. I will be paying more attention today to see what has changed.
LeeO
The wonderfully absurd extreme left – human extinction project.
And no this is not a spoof.
“We just stop breeding…and then earth’s biosystem has a chance to recover”.
Is that Ken in the polar bear suit ?
http://vvattsupwiththat.blogspot.com/2015/12/its-christas-time-in-city.html