Last night in the SOTU address, Obama made this pronouncement about climate change:
But the debate is settled. Climate change is a fact.
To that, I say this:
There’s never been any assertion that climate didn’t change, the idea that somehow this is something new to the 21st century is absurd. For example, this graph illustrates just that fact:
Click image for a full sized print (3000 pixels wide, suitable for printing) or choose the PDF below. Note the blip in the top line at the far right, that’s our climate change today. Source: Andy May
Younger_Dryas_to_Present_Time_Line (PDF)
And, as science itself has demonstrated through history, it is never settled, it is always searching for new information, retesting, and sometimes discarding old ideas based on new knowledge.
Saying “the science is settled” is as ridiculous as this famous quote attributed to Lord Kelvin who reportedly said in 1900*
“There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement”.
* This quote is reputed to be Kelvin’s remark made in an address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1900). Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson,_1st_Baron_Kelvin#Pronouncements_later_proven_to_be_false
Equally preposterous (now) is this statement from Kelvin:
In 1898, Kelvin predicted that only 400 years of oxygen supply remained on the planet, due to the rate of burning combustibles.[62][63] In his calculation, Kelvin assumed that photosynthesis was the only source of free oxygen; he did not know all of the components of the oxygen cycle. He could not even have known all of the sources of photosynthesis: for example the cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus—which accounts for more than half of marine photosynthesis—was not discovered until 1986.
Kelvin’s pronouncement, which he believed to be true at the time based on the facts he had at hand, were later disproved by new science and obviously discarded. But, imagine if there were a panic movement then to conserve oxygen, with “oxygen taxes” applied, massive government funded research implemented, and reams of NGO’s feeding on the frenzy demanding a host of new laws and changes in human behavior to avert the crisis.
They’d look pretty stupid to us in the context of science knowledge today, wouldn’t they?
This President also called math “complext.” The emperor wears no clothes.
I found some interesting stuff and so far it checks out when I went digging into the Clean Air Act.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-29/obama-has-total-legal-cover-for-climate-action-dot-does-he-have-the-nerve#r=hpt-fs
…
“The Clean Air Act is the single most powerful environmental law on earth,” says Mark Hertsgaard, an independent journalist and author who has covered climate change for more than 20 years. “It not only enables the president to act; it actually obliges him to act. The key verb is ‘shall.’ Not can. Shall. The president shall pass laws to protect the public health.” Moreover, Hertsgaard notes, “the language of the law says the president is not supposed to even look at economic repercussions. It instructs only to look at public health. [Obama] actually has all the tools he needs.”
…
Ed Mertin,
You can argue that the President shall ‘pass laws’. But he is not a King.
Bills are passed by Congress, then signed into law by the President. If they pass muster with the courts, they become the law of the land.
Just because some conniving eco-aide inserted language like that, it does not mean that the President can act unilaterally, much as he would like to — even a President who fancies himself a proto-King.
@dbstealey – “If they pass muster with the courts, they become the law of the land.”
Actually it is “they become the law of the land, until (and if) they fail muster with the courts” since they become law until challenged and over turned.
sagi says: January 29, 2014 at 10:02 am
An excellent graphic presentation.
One suggestion: The Vostok chart insert, which was published originally with a reversed “years ago” time axis, should be flipped to match the rest of the graphics.
Done. Ditto the excellent part.
http://www.rockyhigh66.org/stuff/younger_dryas_to_present_time_line1.png
Left uncorrected the typo “Israeli occupied Palestine,” which obviously referred to occupied Jordan.
Rud Istvan says: January 29, 2014 at 9:55 am
It is very difficult for POTUS right now. He is bright and knows he is right.
I’d like to see the error bars on that one.
Roy Spencer says:
January 29, 2014 at 11:19 am
Roy, if by “nuances” you mean lies, half-truths, and straw men, the Usurper is still the master of that particular brand of rhetoric. Those are the only “nuances” this POTUS can be good at. Otherwise, he remains the simpleton that he is.
Obama is going down in history as a DDFN – Dumb and Dangerous Focker like Nero. Hard to tell which of his views are more obtuse, Climate or Constitution.
Pethefin says:
January 29, 2014 at 11:30 am
“I think you are missing a subtle change in language they are now using. Notice that Obama did not use the word science in connection with climate or debate being settled, instead he talks of a debate. Is this a first sign of change in their argumentation? Have they finally realized the anti-scientific nature of consensus science?”
The writer is a 33 year old guy I think. He would have checked for possible attacks against the formulations and tried to squirrel his way out of it. Just tactical writing. No meaning anyway. Prez will do whatever he can as always. I mean, he didn’t say, we had a record Opium harvest in Afgh last year or did he. Meaningless.
There’s some reason for thinking he said something like that, in another context. (Of how to divide up the 1 megabyte memory space of the IBM PC into reserved and user-accessible parts, in the context of good enough for ten years.)
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/09/08/640k-enough/
The quote investigator site should be bookmarked. It makes for fascinating reading. There’s also a book of interest, They Never Said It, at:
http://www.amazon.com/They-Never-Said-Misleading-Attributions-ebook/dp/B00524WMKA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391090180&sr=1-1&keywords=They+Never+Said+It
The graph seems to be wrong. The Mediaeval Warm Period was globally warmer than the present yet the top graphs don’t reflect this. The top one is hockeystick like.
Well do nothing Congress sure hasn’t helped small business, because Obamas’ bills to tear down regulations have gone nowhere there.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-29/was-there-enough-for-small-business-in-obamas-state-of-the-union#r=hpt-ls
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-02-12/what-happened-to-obamas-big-plans-for-small-business
And the Clean Air Act kinda explains why his predecessor was telling DB Stealey what he wanted to hear to get his vote, then going and implemented all kinds of green bs.
Lies kill.
Truth is life.
Obama lies.
With intent to defraud.
Guilty.
Very, Very much a danger to all and self destructive.
Gunga Din says:
January 29, 2014 at 1:52 pm
Surely these pillars merely refer to the strength of the foundations of the earth, rather than having a cosmological (literal) meaning.
Just another lie with evil intent.
No big deal.
He might set off a world wide depression.
Wars may be declared as a result of these lies.
I mean after all it is just a debate about a graph done by a fake coumpter code that used fake tree ring data, no big deal.
Move along, watch the Super Bowl.
U.S. GDP Advances 3.2% in 4th Quarter – WSJ.com
http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304428004579352472437635350?mg=reno64-wsj
“When we take into account the near three-week federal government shutdown at the start of the quarter, the…growth is pretty impressive,” said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. “The broader picture is that, as the massive fiscal drag diminishes, economic growth is accelerating.”
-Thursday’s report showed that the economy remained resilient despite political budget battles and a 16-day partial federal government shutdown in October.-
Translation: we lucked out, Ted Cruz is renouncing his Canadian citizenship but will keep his Cuban citizenship just in case the US ever deports him, he’ll have a place to go.
– Higher exports offset imports, likely due to a booming domestic energy sector. Exports grew 11.4%, after rising 3.9% in the third quarter. Imports were weaker than the prior three months.-
Translation: claims that the US dollar is doomed are not panning out.
Michael D says:
Many people I speak to interpret the phrase “Climate change is a fact.” to mean “We must all work together to protect the planet.” The word “fact” is no longer associated with “objective reality” but rather with subjective concepts such as “policy.”
‘Policy’ is part of the hierarchy: Policy, Objective, Strategy, Tactics. The policy of the US and the UN – “carbon” mitigation – is wrongheaded, because CO2 is not harmful at either current or projected concentrations. In fact, CO2 is beneficial. The planet is currently starved of CO2, therefore more is better.
Ed Mertin,
Obama’s ‘help’ for small business was buried in a large and objectionable series of proposals. Obama’s message was: ‘Take it or leave it.’ It is entirely Obama’s fault that the economy is struggling. But as usual, he blames everyone except the person who is actually at fault: himself.
Next, the economy is ‘resilient’ despite Obama — not because of him. This President has never held a real job in his life; he has never run a business, or had to meet a payroll. Everything he has was shoveled into his pockets in return for future favors. He is delivering those favors to his cronies in big business and finance. Is there any doubt about that?
Your final “Translation” is a complete non-sequitur following the energy numbers you quoted. The dollar is strong for one reason: just about every other currency is in worse shape. It is the old story of “I don’t have to run from the bear very fast, I only have to run faster than you.”
You cannot increase the nation’s money supply more than $85 BILLION per MONTH, year after year after year, without the chickens coming home to roost. And they are: the real unemployment rate is around one-quarter of the working age population, not the bogus 7% claimed by the Administration.
Shadow Stats puts the U.S. unemployment rate at 24%, based on the same metrics used by the Bush Administration to calculate the unemployment rate. This Administration simply moved the goal posts, and voila! unemployment magically drops to under 8%. But everyone knows unemployment is far above that bogus number.
Since you’re so obviously in the tank for the wrecker of our economy, I thought I’d set the record straight.
@dbstealey – it also helps when 439,000 jobs are “magically” added to the labor force. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/seasonal-and-birth-death-adjustments-add-429000-statistical-jobs
The source of these jobs has never been found.
philjourdan said @ur momisugly January 30, 2014 at 4:50 am
My 63 year old brain no longer functions as rapidly as it once did. Accesses that were once instantaneous can now take 3 to 5 minutes! When I told my GP, she said: “Welcome to the real world!” There are even some things I know are in there, but are no longer accessible. I find that irritating.
Here is another great quote and 5 scientific blunders.
Temperature standstill, climate models anyone?
I too believe that the science is settled. Here are the Great storms of the Little Ice Age, worse than today.
Dr. Patrick Michaels – [Twitter]
The Gore Effect lives! As soon as he mentioned “climate change” it started snowing on Capitol Hill. #catoSOTU ##SOTU
https://twitter.com/CatoMichaels/status/428363810148069376
@ur momisugly Jimbo
While it’s true that Hoyle “just kept trying to invent ways to keep the steady state model” it’s equally true that the same thing has occurred with Big Bang Theory. While academe maintains a consensus, there’s plenty of astronomers who differ:
http://metaresearch.org/cosmology/top10BBproblems.asp
philjourdan says:
“Actually it is “they become the law of the land, until (and if) they fail muster with the courts” since they become law until challenged and over turned.”
Picky, picky! ☺
You’re right, of course. I should have been more careful in how I said it. But since just about every law is challenged at some time, my point is the same: the President is not the one making the laws.
@dbstealey
You are correct on both counts. I was just clarifying for the international audience that finds American government hard enough to grok already.
@ur momisugly dbstealey and philjourdan
Immediately prior to my retirement, I was involved in the implementation of a new law. I was surprised, though I suppose I shouldn’t have been, at how badly written and conceived it was. It even contained a triple negative! It was interesting decomposing it with symbolic logic for my boss who really needed to know what it meant in reality rather than what the original intent was by those drafting the law. I’m afraid public servants don’t think the same way Pompous Gits do…
@The Pompous Git – As I am married to a lady in the legal profession, I am often privy to the inner workings of lawyers (Barristers over there). And while their minds are very logical, their writings are not even close! Yet they do have others to proof their writings to ensure that a misplaced comma does not cost them a court case.
legislators do not have that motive for accuracy. I shudder to think that laws are framed so that everyone is guilty, and it then becomes a matter of selective prosecution. It is that way here.
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Actually, there’s nothing in the Constitution that says the Supreme Court has to wait until a law is challenged to make a ruling as to it’s Constitutionality. To wait was the precedent set by the first Supreme Court Justice…but it wasn’t a ruling.
(If I have that fact wrong, I’m willing to be corrected.)
Gunga Din,
That’s why I specifically wrote “the courts”, and not the ‘Supreme Court’.
Anyway, it seems the central point is being ignored: the President is not the one who makes laws. That is the job of Congress [meaning both House and Senate].
The President cannot have that power delegated to him either, without amending the Constitution. The President’s job is to sign bills into law, or veto them if he wishes.