OSTP rules Holdren’s video released by the White House was “personal opinion” and therefore not subject to Data Quality Act.
Back in January, in the midst of one incredibly cold winter, John Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, posted a short video on the agency’s website entitled The Polar Vortex Explained in 2 Minutes. In that video, Holdren claimed that a “growing body of evidence suggests that the kind of extreme cold being experienced by much of the United States as we speak is a pattern that we can expect to see with increasing frequency as global warming continues.” In short, global warming was responsible for colder winters.
This, of course, would be yet another step towards galactic nonverifiability—If global warming is responsible for everything, it can be never be tested empirically.
But as a number of climate scientists soon pointed out, Holdren’s claim of a growing body of evidence on this issue was simply false. In fact, from September 2013 on, three peer-reviewed studies appeared debunking the notion that polar warming had led to an increase in what are known as winter blocking episodes—situations where extremely low temperatures become locked in for exceptionally long periods of time. That was why, in April, we filed a formal request for correction with OSTP under what’s known as the federal Data Quality Act.
After we filed our petition , by the way, yet a fourth study appeared disputing the global warming/polar vortex connection.
Yesterday, shortly before OSTP’s 90-day deadline for responding to correction requests, we received the agency’s denial (see below). OSTP claims that Holdren was simply expressing his “personal opinion” rather than any “comprehensive review of the scientific literature”.
On its face, this response is shovel-ready nonsense. Holdren, and others at OSTP who parroted his claim, at no point suggested that they were speaking personally rather than as agency employees. To the contrary, they employed both the agency’s resources and stature to disseminate the polar vortex claim.
More importantly, the specific contention—of a “growing body of evidence”—can be tested by any kindergartner. Four recent studies on this issue all contradict the global warming/polar vortex connection, more than countering the older studies that support Holdren—that at least balances, and more likely outweighs, whatever Holdren was relying on. And the notion that the body of evidence supporting him is growing is nonsense.
If Holdren were selling pizza, the FTC would’ve been all over him long ago.
See the response: 229015759-OSTP-IQA-Response (PDF)
Now watch his video:
On the plus side, Holdren’s “personal opinion video” issued by the White House only has 230,662 views as of this writing. From an outreach perspective, it’s a big flop for the White House.
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Next Holdren will be saying that climate change just caused the 3, count them, (3) X class flares in the last 24 hours.
Leif WUWT? Is that unprecedented?
From SWPC – http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/index.html
2014-06-11 10:56 UTC Region 2087 picks back up
After producing a pair of R3 (Strong) Radio Blackouts in quick succession yesterday morning (10/1142 and 10/1252 UTC), active Region 2087 produced yet another R3 event today at 11/0906 UTC. Impacts from this activity were short lived and affected HF communications for the daylit side of Earth at the time of the flare. Continuing chances for more events R3 or greater events exists. Unlike yesterday, a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is not believed to be associated with this latest impulsive event. A CME assoicated with the activity yesterday morning has been observed moving at a flank from Earth and a glancing blow to Earth from this event is expected on June 13. An outside chance of at most G1 (Minor) Geomagnetic storms remains in the forecast.
Kevin Trudeau gave us his personal opinion. Look where he is.
TomJ:
Obama reads newspapers
Dang, that should have a ? after it.
To be serious, Holdren speaks of the decrease in the temperature differential between the upper and mid latitudes being caused by anthropogenic global warming. What he and many other opinionated folks from both the CO2 and solar crowd always fail to reject is the null hypothesis: There are natural processes on Earth that also produce an extremely loopy [polar] vortex. If one were to look at each of these extreme cold events, those natural processes were indeed in place. Since both the natural intrinsic trigger and increased CO2 were in place at the time of this extreme weather event, you cannot reject the null hypothesis. Period. End of the debate. And this guy is a scientist? You are kidding me. He makes a type 1 error in front of God and everybody.
oops: polar vortex, not volar vortex. I made a spelling error in from of God and everybody. Dang.
There is a growing body of evidence this Administration does not select people based on competency and technical proficiency.
Holdren has turned that office into the equivalent of a side parlor of freakish delights at the circus.
He is right, because he does not mix up climate and weather. Despite the unusual cold weather we´ve had the last 17 years, the climate still continued to heat up. You´ll sizzle, once this cold whether spell stops.
OSTP director’s personal opinion; Take One.
Hi!
I’m a, ah, um (who has my cue cards!?)
Oh, there, I see now.
I’m a, John, ahh, Holding, no, Holdren.
I’m the current director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. (Did I get that right? OK, we’ll fix it the next take.)
Now I represent the Office of Science and Technology Policy, but I’m going to tell you my personal infallible opinions. My opinions are science based and I do not lie to you. (you ignorant idiots.) So you will all love our ever loving tyrant in office and we’re going to degrade your education plus tax you into serfdom.
What we have going on is the magic of the Polar Vortex; (like that? I got the Polar name idea from that Tom Hanks Santa belief movie)…
/sarc (necessary when doing Holdren imitations)
We may get round two of this. The DMI High Arctic mean is running behind again this year. This week is when the mean High Arctic temps typically rise above freezing, but this year, as in last, the mean temp is so far below freezing that the start of the serious summer melt will be delayed. If a colder than typical summer in the High Arctic leads to a polar vortex kind of cold winter in the east, then we may have a repeat of last year. In the entire DMI data set (going back to 1958), this year and last have been the lowest for this calendar date and have led (will lead) to the latest starts of the above-freezing Arctic summer in the data set.
From romue on June 11, 2014 at 8:08 am:
Ah yes, global warming has been stopped statistically for nearly eighteen years, we are seeing a possible cooling trend taking hold, yet the government says the climate is still warming, the global warming goes on.
This is like how the government will say my savings have generated profit they want to tax, but due to skyrocketing costs from their policies they claim are really the markets’ fault, my savings will buy much less so my net effective wealth has dropped considerably. I was made poorer and now the government will take some of my new riches.
How can we trust government to do climate math when they can’t hack simple economic math?
Resourceguy said on June 11, 2014 at 8:07 am:
Freakish delights? You make it sound like he could be recording pr0n videos for a small select audience.
Oh wait, he did. Climate pr0n.
Holdren is anti-science.
The pattern of colder annual weather in United States has been happening for 16 years.The trend of Winter temperatures in United States has already been declining since 1998 or 17 years at -1.79F/decade
This pattern has very little to do with global warming as the global temperatures have paused now for 17 years . Polar vortex dips south are periodic isolated events and not due to global warming
Annual Contiguous l US temperatures have been declining at (-0.36 F/DECADE) since 1998. This is happening in 7 of the 9 climate regions in United States. Only the Northeast and the West both of which receive the moderating effect of the oceans had slight warming trend of 0.2 and0.3 F/decade respectively
8 months of the year are declining, 1 month is flat, and 3 months are rising
WINTER AND FALL have DECLINING TEMPERATURES
SPRING AND SUMMER have RISING TEMPERATURES [Spring is almost declining with 2 months out of three declining and even MARCH has been declining the last few years. March temperature has dropped a full 10 degrees F since 2012
What Holdren needs to come to grip with is why the Administration is predicting rising temperatures and heat waves but the observable temperatures are dropping . Their false science is now for everyone to see.
Pamela Gray said on June 11, 2014 at 8:00 am:
Be glad you didn’t go full Freudian and type “vulvar vortex”.
2 thoughts:
a. I’m from the government and I’m here to help.
b. They wonder why we don’t trust them.
—————————————————–
Pamela seems to be hitting the hard cider again –“in from of God”
[… and you have never mis-typed a letter? .mod]
From John F. Hultquist on June 11, 2014 at 8:58 am:
I’d sooner bet on age-related vanity, doesn’t want to admit she now needs reading glasses to see the computer screen, or that she already needs stronger ones.
[This web site is no longer responsible for the sudden death by venison-eating redheads of any short-lived members of the former kadaka species. .mod]
Pamela Gray
June 11, 2014 at 8:00 am
‘oops: polar vortex, not volar vortex. I made a spelling error in from of God and everybody. Dang.’
Hate to say it Ms. Gray but you just made another one. I’m an atheist but I’m not going to argue about a Creator’s existence except to say that if there is one it’s unlikely to be offended by any spelling errors such a delightful person may make in “from” of him. Although the Creator will probably sentence spellcheck to eternal damnation.
[The mods point out that a large omnipotent being would not have a “from” or “to” side for a red-hair lass to stand “in from of” 8<) .mod]
It is not who is wrong or who is right it is who has the most power. History is always written by the winner and the loser therefore is always the bad guy.
[The mods point out that a large omnipotent being would not have a “from” or “to” side for a red-hair lass to stand “in from of” 8<) .mod]
The secrets of the world reside within this website.
From Tom J on June 11, 2014 at 9:21 am:
Amazing how they like work that into where they don’t have to mention it. The barely-concealed self-righteous pomposity is mutely astounding.
kadaka (KD Knoebel)
June 11, 2014 at 10:23 am
I used to be a smoker too!
Kevin Trudeau was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for making false claims about his diet books. (http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/17/justice/illinois-pitch-man/)
How are any of these charlatans like Holdren immune to prosecution?
Pamela Gray
Where do you see mixing of the troposphere and the stratosphere?
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/strat-trop/gif_files/time_pres_TEMP_MEAN_ALL_NH_2014.gif
Polar vortex starts at a height above 200 hPa.