The Week That Was: 2014-11-15 (November 15, 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)
China-US Agreement? On November 4, President Obama and his supporters incurred a major defeat in the non-presidential election. The opposing party, the Republicans, expanded control of the US House of Representatives, took control of the US Senate, and expanded control over the legislative bodies in a number of states.
As if to save face, President Obama traveled to China to announce an agreement to reduce China-US emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), a signature issue of the President’s current term. In evaluating this agreement, TWTW was unable to find a joint, signed agreement and had to rely on press releases from the White House. The following are among the salient points in the White House press release with a deadline of Beijing, China, 12 November 2014.
3. Today, the Presidents of the United States and China announced their respective post-2020 actions on climate change, recognizing that these actions are part of the longer range effort to transition to low-carbon economies, mindful of the global temperature goal of 2℃. The United States intends to achieve an economy-wide target of reducing its emissions by 26%-28% below its 2005 level in 2025 and to make best efforts to reduce its emissions by 28%. China intends to achieve the peaking of CO2 emissions around 2030 and to make best efforts to peak early and intends to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 20% by 2030. Both sides intend to continue to work to increase ambition over time.
4. The United States and China hope that by announcing these targets now, they can inject momentum into the global climate negotiations and inspire other countries to join in coming forward with ambitious actions as soon as possible, preferably by the first quarter of 2015. The two Presidents resolved to work closely together over the next year to address major impediments to reaching a successful global climate agreement in Paris.
5. The global scientific community has made clear that human activity is already changing the world’s climate system. Accelerating climate change has caused serious impacts. Higher temperatures and extreme weather events are damaging food production, rising sea levels and more damaging storms are putting our coastal cities increasingly at risk and the impacts of climate change are already harming economies around the world, including those of the United States and China. These developments urgently require enhanced actions to tackle the challenge. [SEPP strongly disagrees with this paragraph and calls for compelling physical evidence supporting this view.]
This announcement is strikingly one-sided.
President Obama will leave office on January 20, 2017, after the 2016 election, long before the post-2020 time frame of the announcement. President Obama is attempting to encumber his successor with an impractical concept that will hobble the US economy.
In effect, this announcement gives President Obama the pretense of being a world leader in his campaign against carbon dioxide emissions and the coal industry. Probably, he will take advantage of the announcement during the November 15-16 meeting of the G20, the “premier forum for international economic corporation and decision-making.”
The announcement obligates China to nothing prior to 2030. Several analysts estimate that by 2030 China’s drive for industrialization will be largely over and its population will plateau. There is no logical reason for the President of China to not agree to such an announcement that will save face for President Obama. China can use the announcement to its advantage, claiming it has agreed to reduce CO2 in the future, and its potential competitors should agree to do the same. All this concurred to by the U.S. For a diverse array of comments please see Article #1 and links under China – US Agreement?
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Green Reaction to the Announcement: After taking a major blow in the US election, the environmental industry was very favorable to the China-US announcement. Many see it as a way to create an international agreement at UN Conference of Parties (and Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol) in Paris from November 30 to December 11, 2015. No doubt, President Obama and the administration will work diligently in attempts to assure that the meeting will be a success.
To do so, requires another year of maintaining the fiction that the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) understands the causes of climate change, particularly the natural causes, and that the models it uses capture the natural causes. See Article # 2 and links under China – US Agreement? [In Article # 2, the recital of US renewable energy projects is particularly noteworthy, how many would exist without government subsidies and mandates?]
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Cold Water on the Announcement: President Obama does not have the advantage of the President of China, the United States is not an authoritarian government, though China seems be becoming less of one. The president’s press releases do not have the force of law. No doubt, he continues to expect that his powers under executive orders will remain unrestrained. As a result of the election, he cannot expect the Senate to rubber stamp his announcements, nor can he expect the Senate will continue to ignore bills passed by the House, without considering them, as was the case under the leadership of Senator Harry Reid. The entire playing field has changed.
Already Senator Inhofe, who was severely attacked by the greens, has declared that the US funding for the special UN climate fund is an issue in the past for the US. Other funding issues, both national and international will follow. See links under China – US Agreement?, Funding Issues, The Political Games Continue.
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Ivory Tower Contempt? In general, TWTW has ignored issues regarding President Obama’s first signature issue – what is known as Obamacare, or affordable health care. Over the past several months videos were taken of lectures by a major architect of the Obamacare program, MIT Economics Professor Jonathan Gruber. In these videos, Gruber demonstrates a callous disregard for the foundations of American government, the public, and the concept of integrity in public service – issues that apply well beyond affordable health care.
To make matters worse, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who helped force through Obamacare with limited discussion, pretended that Mr. Gruber was of no importance in implementing Obamacare. Quickly, examples of Ms. Pelosi touting Mr. Gruber’s analysis appeared, from Ms. Pelosi’s web site.
The attitude expressed by Jonathan Gruber, an expert on health care, does not bode well for experts on other subjects. The traditional media has not picked up on the topic. But, the traditional media is becoming less important in forming public views. In a Congress that has many people who are skeptical about the certainty that human emissions of CO2 are the primary cause of global warming/climate change, those advocating the Administration’s view may expect some tough questioning. See links under Problems in the Administration.
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Challenging the Orthodoxy: Political writer Paul Driessen and climate scientist David Legates argue that the US, or any other country, cannot develop models making accurate climate forecasts until those funding these models abandon the fixation that CO2 is the control knob of the earth’s temperatures. This view of CO2 dominance has been advanced by members of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), including its current director, Gavin Schmidt.
Separately, long-time NASA researcher Roy Spencer argues that what controls climate for North America during human lifetimes are the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) – two natural climate cycles. Though these researches have spoken out before against the dogma that dominates climate research, such challenges are refreshing. As Carl Sagan wrote: Arguments from authority carry little weight. This view is re-enforced by many others, including in the writings of Bertrand Russell, who emphasized it is not the authority or expert that counts, but how and why the authority substantiates his views. See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy and Seeking a Common Ground.
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Arctic Methane: Over the years, SEPP has read many warnings that a warming of the Arctic will release vast quantities of methane that will create a massive greenhouse effect. The issue was contested in the reports of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) Climate Change Reconsidered II. An airborne research study by NASA finds no signs of rising Arctic methane in Alaska, which has warmed appreciably in the past few decades. See links under Questioning the Orthodoxy.
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Natural Disasters: NIPCC lead author Madhav Khandekar has produced a study of flooding in India using 200 years of data compiled by the British. Contrary to reports, there was nothing new about recent floods in Kashmir. The report highlights the need for better climate models to predict natural variability and lessen the impact of naturally occurring events, particularly on a regional basis.
Roger Pielke, Jr. who temporarily stopped his blog, wrote a book: Disasters & Climate Change. The book is reviewed by Doug Hoffman. It finds no significant increase in extreme weather events, contrary to claims by the Administration. One of the main points the book brings out is that the media repeatedly asks if climate change is a causal factor in an event. Basically, the question as stated is unanswerable. See links under Changing Weather.
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Number of the Week: $18.862 Billion. According to an August 2013 White House report, the 2013 Current Budget Authority for Clean Energy Technologies, Energy Provisions That May Reduce Greenhouse Gases, and Energy Payments in Lieu of Tax Provisions totaled $18.862 Billion – over 20 years, after a temporary subsidy would make solar and wind competitive.
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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. Green Leap Forward
Obama trades higher U.S. energy costs now for distant Chinese promises.
Editorial, WSJ, Nov 12, 2014
http://online.wsj.com/articles/green-leap-forward-1415838404?mod=hp_opinion
2. A Game-Changing Climate Agreement
The U.S. and China are sending one of the most powerful market signals the world has ever seen.
By Fred Krupp, WSJ, Nov 12, 2014
Mr. Krupp is the president of the Environmental Defense Fund.
3. North Dakota to Require Producers to Treat Crude Before Shipping
Move Comes Amid Growing Safety Concerns About Oil-Laden Trains
By Chester Dawson and Russell Gold, WSJ, Nov 13, 2014
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NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Climategate Continued
Gergis2K and the Oroko “Disturbance-Corrected” Blade
By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Nov 11, 2014
http://climateaudit.org/2014/11/11/gergis2k-and-the-oroko-disturbance-corrected-blade/
PAGES2K and Nature’s Policy against Self-Plagiarism
By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Nov 14, 2014
http://climateaudit.org/2014/11/14/pages2k-and-natures-policy-against-self-plagiarism/#more-20249
Suppressing Scientific Inquiry
First They Came For Climate Sceptics: EU Chief Scientist Forced Out By Green Lobby
By Ben Webster, The Times, Via GWPF, Nov 14, 2014
[SEPP Comment: The chief scientific adviser to the European Commission has been ousted after a lobbying campaign led by Greenpeace, which objected to her support for genetically modified crops.]
Genetic modification and Europe
By Martin Livermore, Scientific Alliance, Nov 14, 2014
http://scientific-alliance.org/scientific-alliance-newsletter/genetic-modification-and-europe
[SEPP Comment: Further thoughts on the role of the EU Chief Scientific Adviser.]
Challenging the Orthodoxy
Man-made Global Warming (AGW) is Real: Men Really Created It
By Tim Ball, WUWT, Nov 9, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/11/09/man-made-global-warming-agw-is-real-men-really-created-it/
IPCC’s Latest Report: The End Is Nigh Unless Mankind Repents of Its Fuelish Ways
By Marlo Lewis, CNS News, Nov 10, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Accurate Climate Forecasts: End the CO2 Fixation (Part I)
By Paul Driessen and David Legates, Master Resource, Nov 12, 2014
https://www.masterresource.org/climate-change/accurate-climate-forecasts-end-co2-fixation-part/
Accurate Climate Forecasts: End the CO2 Fixation (Part II)
By Paul Driessen and David Legates, Master Resource, Nov 13, 2014
https://www.masterresource.org/climate-change/accurate-climate-forecasts-end-co2-fixation-part-ii/
A Busted El Nino and the New Weather Norm
By Roy Spencer, His Blog, Nov 12, 2014
http://www.drroyspencer.com/2014/11/a-busted-el-nino-and-the-new-weather-norm/
The trouble with including natural climate cycles in the national discussion of global warming is both political and scientific: (1) it doesn’t fit the global warming narrative driven by policy goals, and (2) we don’t understand what causes natural climate cycles, and so they cannot be included in computer climate models.
Fossil fuels: The moral choice
By Alex Epstein, Fox News, Nov 14, 2014
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/11/14/fossil-fuels-moral-choice/
The One Statistic Climate Catastrophists Don’t Want You to Know
By Patrick Michaels, CATO, Nov 13, 2014
http://www.cato.org/blog/one-statistic-climate-catastrophists-dont-want-you-know
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
Defending the Orthodoxy
NASA official says in NY Times if you question climate models then you must also question Newtonian mechanics
By Staff Writer, The Hockey Schtick, Nov 12, 2014
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2014/11/nasa-official-says-in-ny-times-if-you.html
[SEPP Comment: False line of reasoning. The models have not been validated.]
The Bonfire of the Subsidies
By Kevin Watkins, Project Syndicate, Nov 11, 2014
[SEPP Comment: Promoting the contrived goal of limiting global warming to less than 2ºC above the planet’s pre-industrial level – as if we know what it was.]
China – US Agreement?
U.S.-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change
By Staff Writers, Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, Nov 11, 2014
Bejing, China, 12 Nov 2014
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/11/us-china-joint-announcement-climate-change
FACT SHEET: U.S.-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change and Clean Energy Cooperation
President Obama Announces Ambitious 2025 Target to Cut U.S. Climate Pollution by 26-28 Percent from 2005 Levels
By Staff Writers, Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, Nov 11, 2014
No Agreement in Beijing — Just a Surrender
By William R. Hawkins, American Thinker, Nov 14, 2014
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/11/no_agreement_in_beijing__just_a_surrender.html
Sen. Inhofe: ‘A non-binding charade’
China will face zero consequences if it does not live up to its word.
James Inhofe, USA Today, Nov 12, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Nothing New, as China “Intends” to Cap Emissions
By Patrick Michaels, CATO, Nov 12, 2014
http://www.cato.org/blog/nothing-new-china-intends-cap-emissions
While China has good “intentions” we get real “unemployment”. Such a deal!
Obama, Xi Agree on Meaningless Climate Deal
By Myron Ebell, Global Warming.org, Nov 12, 2014
http://www.globalwarming.org/2014/11/12/obama-xi-agree-on-meaningless-climate-deal/
The audacity of climate cynicism
Editorial, Washington Examiner, Nov 13, 2014
The China Heist
Massive “climate aid” to developing nations will not aid the climate, but it will harm our economy.
By Rupert Darwall, National Review, Nov 14, 2014
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/392688/china-heist-rupert-darwall
The Real Story on China Climate Change Deal: We Make Changes Now, They Wait Until 2030
By Nicolas Loris. Daily Signal, Nov 12, 2014
Obama’s Climate Deal With China An Empty Gesture
Editorial IBD, Nov 12, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Obama P*wned
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Nov 13, 2014
http://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2014/11/13/obama-pwned/
[SEPP Comment: Not much of a reduction in fossil fuel use in China.]
Dealing with denial
America’s concessions are more real than China’s
Editorial, The Economist, Nov 15, 2014
Observations on the US-China climate announcement
By Benjamin Zycher, The Hill, Nov 14, 2014
China, U.S. agree to limit greenhouse gases
By David Nakamura and Steven Mufson, Washington Post, Nov 12, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
China, U.S. make joint climate change commitments
By Zack Colman, Washington Examiner, Nov 11, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/china-u.s.-make-joint-climate-change-commitments/article/2556053
China climate negotiator defends flexible carbon target
By Staff Writer, AFP, Nov 14, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
Climate Deal with China: U.S. Makes Cuts, PRC Can Increase Emissions for 16 Years
“The president has gotten very little and he’s given away much in the agreement.”
By Bridget Johnson, PJ Media, Nov 12, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Emissions Reduction by the Numbers
By Jeffrey Frankel, Project Syndicate, Nov 14, 2014
[SEPP Comment: Rating countries by the extent to which they promised to cut CO2 emissions.]
Election over, so US, China agree to make unenforceable long term commitment with no consequences
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Nov 12, 2014
Hallelujah! Climate Salvation in our Time!
By Steven Hayward, Power Line, Nov 13, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/11/hallelujah-climate-salvation-in-our-time.php
In Climate Deal With China, Obama May Set 2016 Theme
By Coral DaVenport, NYT, Nov 12, 2014 [H/t William Readdy]
Twenty-one percent of Americans think producing electricity from coal is a good idea, while 91 percent of Americans think making electricity from sunlight is a good idea.
[SEPP Comment: Would the New York Times run a survey that asked is producing electricity from unreliable sunlight a better idea than producing it from reliable coal? Would you ride the subway when there was no electricity?]]
In China: Obama Announces ‘Ambitious Goal’ to Fight Global Warming
By Patrick Goodenough, CNS News, Nov 12, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Obama Outmaneuvers Republicans on Climate Change
By Christopher Flavelle, Bloomberg, Nov 12, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-11-12/obama-outmaneuvers-republicans-on-climate-change
Climate change self-delusion
Only the U.S. will fulfill its pact with China to reduce emissions
By Stephen Moore, Washington Times, Nov 14, 2014
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/14/stephen-moore-climate-change-self-delusion/print/
US Election
Energy Was A Big Winner In Last Week’s GOP Wave
By Merrill Matthews, IBD, Nov 11, 2014
Questioning the Orthodoxy
Alaska shows no signs of rising Arctic methane, NASA study shows
By Staff Writers, Science Daily, Nov 13, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141113134856.htm
Link to paper: Methane emissions from Alaska in 2012 from CARVE airborne observations
By Rachel Chang, et al, PNAS, Nov 10, 2014
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/11/06/1412953111
IPCC’s 95% Synthesis er Synthetic Science
By Geoff Brown, AU-CSP, Nov 10, 2014
http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/ipccs-95-synthesis-er-synthetic-science.html
A more optimistic view of Churchill polar bears and Hudson Bay freeze-up
By Susan Crokford, Polar Bear Science, Nov 11, 2014
Senator wrong on climate, free speech
By Herbert Stevens, Providence Journal, Rhode Island, Nov 10, 2014
Polar bear listed as a migratory species by [the Convention of the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)] to restrict oil exploration & extraction.
[UNEP provides taxpayer funded services to organizations such as CMS.]
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Nov 9, 2014
Social Benefits of Carbon
IU biologists collaborate to refine climate change modeling tools
By Staff Writers, Bloomington IN (SPX), Nov 12, 2014
[SEPP Comment: The increased root activity demonstrates the social benefits of enhanced atmospheric carbon dioxide in promoting plant growth.]
Problems in the Administration
Grubinations, White House Edition
By Scott Johnson, Power Line, Nov 15, 2014
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/11/grubinations-white-house-edition.php
GruberGate
By Scott Johnson, Power Line, July 31, 2014
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/07/grubergate.php
Gruber Strikes Again
By Paul Mirengoff, Power Line, Nov 10, 2014
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/11/gruber-strikes-again.php
Third Gruber Video About Obamacare Fooling American Voters
By Jeff Dunetz, The Lid, Nov 12, 2014
http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2014/11/breaking-third-gruber-video-about.html
Gruber #4
By John Hinderaker, Power Line, Nov 14, 2014
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/11/gruber-4.php
Gruber? Gruber? Who’s Gruber
By John Hinderaker, Power Line, Nov 13, 2014
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/11/gruber-gruber-whos-gruber.php
[SEPP Comment: For an answer, Rep. Nancy Pelosi should check her web site.]
Seeking a Common Ground
Sagan’s baloney detection rules
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Nov 9, 2014
http://judithcurry.com/2014/11/09/sagans-baloney-detection-rules/#more-16146
The constancy of change and the new catastrophism: a personal reflection on crisis-driven science
By Nick Eyles and Andrew Maill, Speaking of Geoscience, Oct 10, 2014 [H/t Energy and Environmental Newsletter]
Models v. Observations
New climate consensus: GCMs are lousy
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Nov 10, 2014
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/11/10/new-climate-consensus-gcms-are-lousy.html
An Empirical Review of Recent Trends in the Greenhouse Effect
By Robin Pittwood, Kiwi Thinker, WUWT, Nov 8, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/11/08/an-empirical-review-of-recent-trends-in-the-greenhouse-effect/
Model Issues
On the Elusive Absolute Global Mean Surface Temperature – A Model-Data Comparison
By Bob Tisdale, WUWT, Nov 10, 2014
Claim: “golden age of climate science, models” is upon us
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 13, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/11/13/claim-golden-age-of-climate-science-models-is-upon-us/
Supercomputers Enable HiRes Climate Models
By Staff Writers, Berkeley CA (SPX), Nov 13, 2014
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
Seven Years Ago, An IPCC Lead Author Exposed Critical Weaknesses of the IPCC Foretelling Tools
By Bob Tisdale, WUWT, Nov 13, 2014
Measurement Issues
“Hottest Year” Update
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Nov 15, 2014
http://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2014/11/15/hottest-year-update/
[SEPP Comment: NASA-GISS is wrong again.]
How variable are ocean temperatures?
By Staff Writers, Phys.org, Nov 10, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://phys.org/news/2014-11-variable-ocean-temperatures.html
Link to paper: Ocean surface temperature variability: Large model–data differences at decadal and longer periods
By Thomas Laepple and Peter Huybers, PNAS, Nov 10, 2014
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/11/05/1412077111
Changing Weather
New Paper: Kashmir Floods Nothing New, Not Due To Climate Change
By Staff Writers, GWPF, Nov 12, 2014
http://www.thegwpf.com/new-paper-kashmir-floods-nothing-new-not-due-to-climate-change/
Floods and Droughts in the Indian Monsoon: Natural variability trumps human impact
By Madhav Khandekar, GWPF, 2014
http://www.thegwpf.org/content/uploads/2014/11/Monsoon-Floods.pdf
Review: Disasters & Climate Change by Roger Pielke, Jr.
By Doug Hoffman, The Resilient Earth, Nov 6, 2014
http://theresilientearth.com/?q=content/review-disasters-climate-change-roger-pielke-jr
Study Shows Tropical Storm Intensity Has Not Increased
Poleward migration of storms means that tropical cyclone intensity has not increased, as expected, with global warming, according to new research
By Leon Clifford, Reporting Climate Science, Nov 11, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
Link to paper: Validating Atmospheric Reanalysis Data Using Tropical Cyclones as Thermometers
By James P. Kossin, AMS, Sep 9, 2014)
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00180.1
35 Degrees Below Zero And Colder Spreads, Grips 2 Million Square Kilometers Swath Of Central Siberia
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Nov 10, 2014
Chill of an Early Winter
By John Hinderaker, Power Line, Nov 9, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/11/chill-of-an-early-winter.php
[SEPP Comment: Hinderaker asks the question why is global warming such a partisan issue? “I think because there is hardly any evidence to support the alarmists’ case, so the whole thing is a matter of faith and politics, not science.”]
Harsh Winter Outlook Made a Bit More Dire by Siberia Snow
By Brian Sullivan, Bloomberg, Nov 6, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
[SEPP Comment: It’s not the polar vortex this time as claimed by the Administration last year?]
Changing Seas
Claim: Warmest oceans ever recorded
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 14, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/11/14/claim-warmest-oceans-ever-recorded/
[SEPP Comment: The author does not state when systematic measuring started.]
The oceans’ sensitive skin
By Staff Writers, Kiel, Germany (SPX), Nov 12, 2014
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/The_oceans_sensitive_skin_999.html
Link to paper: Effects of ocean acidification on the biogenic composition of the sea-surface microlayer: Results from a mesocosm study
By Gaigani, et al. Journal of Geophysical Research,
Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice
Berkeley Lab scientists identify new driver behind Arctic warming
By Staff Writers, Phys.org, Nov 03, 2014 [H/t Catherine French]
http://phys.org/news/2014-11-berkeley-lab-scientists-driver-arctic.html
Link to paper: Far-infrared surface emissivity and climate
By Feldman, et al, PNAS, Nov 3, 2014
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/10/29/1413640111
‘Dark Ice’ Speeds Up Melting in Greenland (Photos)
By Kelly Dickerson, Live Science, Nov 9, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer
http://www.livescience.com/48538-greenland-dark-ice-sheets-photo.html
[SEPP Comment: Nothing new here.]
Robots in the Antarctic study ‘rapidly melting ice’
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 12, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/11/12/robots-in-the-antarctic-study-rapidly-melting-ice/
[SEPP Comment: “Rapidly” may be in geological time, rather than in human time.]
Agriculture Issues & Fear of Famine
Drought-defying tomato harvest breaks California record
By Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee, Nov 12, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article3792494.html
[SEPP Comment: Farmers adjust to drought conditions, high prices, with some help from nature.]
Un-Science or Non-Science?
Bolt from the blue: warming climate may fuel more lightning
By Will Dunham, Reuters, Nov 13, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/bolt-blue-warming-climate-may-fuel-more-lightning-195851689.html
[SEPP Comment: Climate models cannot forecast 21st century temperatures, but can forecast lightning bolts?]
Lightnings may increase by 12% per 1 °C of warming
By Luboš Motl, Reference Frame, Nov 15, 2104
http://motls.blogspot.com/2014/11/lightnings-may-increase-by-12-per-1-c.html#more
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
Claim: New Global Maps Detail Human-Caused Ocean Acidification
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 10, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/11/10/claim-new-global-maps-detail-human-caused-ocean-acidification/
Study: Global warming worsening watery dead zones
By Seth Borenstein, AP, Nov 10, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/study-global-warming-worsening-watery-dead-zones-150602291.html
[SEPP Comment: The models do not work for prediction, but let’s pretend they do.]
Sustainability, astrobiology illuminate future of life in universe, civilization on Earth
By Staff Writers, Rochester NY (SPX), Nov 10, 2014
Lowering Standards
More Deceptive Images From The BBC
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Nov 15, 2014
http://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2014/11/15/more-deceptive-images-from-the-bbc/
As for the grossly deceptive impression that black smoke is being given off, this is in clear breach of the BBC Guidelines, which state: “Care should be taken not to use images to mislead the audience.”
Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?
Corals in Hot Water?
Racing time to predict the fate of corals in a warming ocean
By Evan Lubofsky, Oceanus, Nov 13, 2014
http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/corals-in-hot-water
[SEPP Comment: Extensive evidence shows corals adjust by changing the organisms that help them in a symbiotic relationship.]
Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.
“Meltdown: Terror at the Top of the World” — new book exploits polar bear attack to sell fear of sea ice decline
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Nov 13, 2014
A Dose of Climate Reality for Maine
By Sierra Rayne, American Thinker, Nov 11, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/11/a_dose_of_climate_reality_for_maine.html
As the climate warms, it could actually be generating more cold outbreaks in the USA. Here’s how
By Anthony Sharwood, News, AU, Nov 10, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
[SEPP Comment: The Rossby waves, which create the so-called polar vortex, were identified in the 1930s. Both Tim Ball and WeatherBell has a superior explanations for Siberian cold entering in the mid-west and the east.]
EU sees light at the end of the climate tunnel
By Daniel J. Graeber, Brussels (UPI), Nov 11, 2014
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/EU_sees_light_at_the_end_of_the_climate_tunnel_999.html
Farmers and scientists divided over climate change
By Staff Writers, West Lafayette IN (SPX), Nov 12, 2014
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Farmers_and_scientists_divided_over_climate_change_999.html
Link to paper: Agricultural stakeholder views on climate change: Implications for conducting research and outreach
By Prokopy, et al. American Meteorological Society, 2014
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/BAMS-D-13-00172.1
[SEPP Comment: Survey games: grouping corn producers with agricultural advisors, climatologists, government funded scientists as “stakeholders.” There is a major difference in commitment.]
G20 Spends $88 Billion a Year on Fossil-Fuel Exploration
By Alex Morales, Bloomberg, Nov 10, 2014
[SEPP Comment: The author fails to recognize the difference between a state-owned industry and a privately-owned industry.]
Greens Should Stop Claiming More Warming Means More War
By John Horgan, Scientific American, Nov 6, 2014 [H/t Climate Depot]
Problems with the Iowa Climate Statement
By Sierra Rayne, American Thinker, Nov 12, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/11/problems_with_the_iowa_climate_statement.html
Questioning European Green
New Commission floats first ‘kill list’ of green EU laws
By Staff Writers, EurActiv, Nov 14, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
Non-Green Jobs
Report: Energy jobs have led economic recovery
By Joshua Cain, Fuel Fix, Nov 13, 2014
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2014/11/13/report-energy-jobs-have-led-economic-recovery/
Funding Issues
Obama to pledge $3B to UN fund aiding poor nations’ climate fight
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Nov 14, 2014
Inhofe: Obama’s climate fund pledge not realistic priority
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Nov 14, 2014
Obama’s Climate Fund Pledge: “Absolutely No Chance Whatsoever”
By Lisa Friedman, E&E News, Via GWPF, Nov 14, 2014
http://www.thegwpf.com/obamas-climate-fund-pledge-absolutely-no-chance-whatsoever/
“Absolutely no chance whatsoever” is how incoming Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) described the chances of Obama’s climate fund pledge approval.
Climate change – follow the money
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Nov 10, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/11/10/climate-change-follow-the-money/
Climate change: India to keep up pressure on first world
By Aesha Datta and Richa Mishra, Business Line, Hindu, Nov 10, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
The Political Games Continue
Congress Must Rein In Runaway EPA
By Larry Bell, Newsmax, Nov 10, 2014
http://www.newsmax.com/LarryBell/EPA-IPAA-REINS-Act/2014/11/10/id/606355/
[SEPP Comment: How does government get rid of an entrenched bureaucracy? Send it to the North Slope of Alaska?]
Keep The Shale Boom Rollin’ With A Congressional KEEP Energy Act
By Mark Mills, Forbes, Nov 10, 2014
Litigation Issues
Greens sue to protect walruses from Arctic oil drilling
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Nov 10, 2014
How Climate Alarmists Continue to Hijack Successful Walrus Conservation
By Jim Steele, WUWT, Nov 13, 2014
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
No proof walrus are “struggling from the loss of sea ice” as new Earthjustice lawsuit claims
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Nov 10, 2014
Cap-and-Trade and Carbon Taxes
Carbon Tax Advocates Discuss Post-Election Prospects; Ignore Lesson of Plato’s Republic
By Marlo Lewis, Global Warming.org, Nov 12, 2014
Subsidies and Mandates Forever
AWEA’s Case against the PTC Extension
By Robert Bradley, Master Resource, Nov 14, 2014
https://www.masterresource.org/production-tax-credit-ptc/awea-vs-ptc/
Americans for Prosperity: Keep the PTC Expired (Obama supply-side energy strategy on the ropes)
By Robert Bradley Jr, Master Resource, Nov 11, 2014
https://www.masterresource.org/production-tax-credit-ptc/33002/
EPA and other Regulators on the March
Business groups brace for deluge of regs
By Tim Devaney, The Hill, Nov 11, 2014
http://thehill.com/regulation/223769-biz-groups-brace-for-deluge-of-regulation
The coming climate onslaught
President Obama readies a sweeping list of executive actions.
By Andrew Restuccia and Erica Martinson, Politico, Nov 11, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/climate-rules-obama-112792.html
House Republican wants watchdog probe of lost EPA text messages
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Nov 10, 2014
[SEPP Comment: EPA will not let the public read messages intended to be held in the public trust.]
Energy stat shop working on climate rule study
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Nov 7, 2014
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/223357-energy-stat-shop-working-on-climate-rule-study
Feds move to protect ocean-dwelling coral
By Tim Devaney, The Hill, Nov 12, 2014
http://thehill.com/regulation/223876-feds-move-to-protect-ocean-dwelling-coral
Bird species threatened by extinction, FWS says
By Tim Devaney, The Hill, Nov 12, 2014
http://thehill.com/regulation/223888-gunnison-sage-grouse-threatened-by-extinction-fws-says
Energy Issues – Non-US
Energy is Europe’s ‘big disadvantage’: Deutsche co-CEO
By Katy Barnato, CNBC, Nov 10, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102169375#.
Britain’s energy policy is a national disgrace, but Germany’s is even worse
Germans now pay more in green surcharges alone for their power than Americans pay for the whole package
By Jeremy Warner, Telegraph, UK, Nov 7, 2014
German Vice Chancellor Puts Brakes On “Ruinous” Rush To Green Energies: “Others Think We’ve Lost Our Marbles”
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Nov 11, 2014
BILLIONS of pounds raised from shale gas in the North will go to a sovereign wealth fund to benefit the region, it was announced last night.
By Marco Giannangeli, Express, UK, Nov 9, 2014
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/533125/Billions-pounds-shale-gas-benefit-North
IEA: 40% of World’s Power Fleet Will Need to Be Replaced by 2040
By Sonal Patel, Power, Nov 12, 2014
OPEC says energy demand to soar 60% by 2040
By Staff Writers, Vienna (AFP), Nov 07, 2014
Energy Issues — US
No Energy Policy Has Been A Blessing For Shale Boom
By Mark Perry, IBD, Nov 11, 2014
The Driving Force Behind the US Oil Boom
By. James Stafford of Oilprice.com, Washington DC (SPX), Nov 07, 2014
http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/The_Driving_Force_Behind_the_US_Oil_Boom_999.html
[SEPP Comment: There is no question that US oil-service companies are important in developing and spreading technology. To call them The driving force may be too much.]
Oncor Wants to Spend $5.2 Billion on Energy Storage
By Thomas Overton, Power, Nov 11, 2014
[SEPP Comment: The plans of the Texas utility depend on a projected decrease in the cost of energy storage.]
Stop That Fracking Pipeline!
By Dennis T. Avery, American Thinker, Nov 10, 2014
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/11/stop_that_fracking_pipeline.html
[SEPP Comment: An amusing view.]
Washington’s Control of Energy
House votes to build Keystone
By Cristina Marcos, The Hill, Nov 14, 2014
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/224189-house-votes-to-build-keystone
An Obama veto of Keystone XL could be pretty unpopular
By Aaron Blake, Washington Post, Nov 13, 2014
Keystone Stalls As Russia And China Ink Pipeline Deal
Editorial, IBD, Nov 10, 2014
Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?
Hydraulic Fracturing Saved Consumers Up to $248 Billion Last Year
By Staff Writers, Institute for Energy Research, Nov 6, 2014
EIA: ‘Modest’ benefits from LNG exports
By Daniel J. Graeber, Washington (UPI), Nov 12, 2014
http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/EIA_Modest_benefits_from_LNG_exports_999.html
Most fracking chemicals as toxic as common household substances
By Staff Writers, Boulder CO (SPX), Nov 13, 2014
[SEPP Comment: A more accurate headline would have read: “Most fracking chemicals are no more toxic than common household substances.”]
Return of King Coal?
India set to defy warnings on coal’s climate impact
While even China, the world’s leading coal producer, begins to recognize the fuel’s serious polluting effects, India has announced it aims to double production to meet soaring energy demand.
By Alex Kirby, Climate News Network, Nov 7, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/india-set-to-defy-warnings-on-coals-climate-impact/
Robert Bryce: Coal trumps IPCC, again
By Robert Bryce, Twin Cities.com, Nov 13, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.twincities.com/columnists/ci_26932379/robert-bryce-coal-trumps-ipcc-again
Nuclear Energy and Fears
Dr. Jerry Cuttler’s presentation on the widespread myths about nuclear energy and exaggerated radiation dangers
By Jerry Cuttler, ACSH, Nov 13, 2014
Japan local government approves first reactor restart
By Staff Writers, Tokyo (AFP), Nov 07, 2014
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Solar and Wind
Google-Owned Solar Company Requests $540 Million Bailout To Help Pay $1.6 Billion Loan
By Chuck Ross, Daily Caller, Nov 9, 2014 [H/t Joe Bast]
Ivanpah Solar Plant Owners Don’t Deserve Bailout
Editorial, IBD, Nov 11, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Energy — Other
Another Clean Energy Failure
By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Nov 14, 2014
https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/another-clean-energy-failure/
IGCC power plants are not a viable clean energy alternative. Wind and solar may also not be viable alternatives, except as niche supplies, similar to geothermal.
Geothermal Revisited
By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Nov 11, 2014
https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2014/11/11/geothermal-revisited/
[SEPP Comment: Those who take photos of power plants emitting steam, then implying it is pollution would have a field day at geothermal plants in Iceland.]
California Dreaming
California spends $33 million to coddle 800 cormorants
By Arnold Cusmariu, American Thinker, Nov 12, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Other Scientific News
American Leadership in Space — Now or Never
By Robert Charles, American Thinker, Nov 12, 0214
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/11/american_leadership_in_space__now_or_never.html
Despite landing fumble, comet probe working well
By Staff Writers, Paris (AFP), Nov 13, 2014
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Despite_landing_fumble_comet_probe_working_well_999.html
NASA Rocket Experiment Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought
By Staff Writers, Washington DC (SPX), Nov 10, 2014
Scientific collaborative publishes landmark study on the evolution of insects
By Staff Writers, San Francisco CA (SPX), Nov 12, 2014
“Microbiome” of Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs shifts during infectious disease outbreaks
Interaction between microbiome and infectious pathogens may drive disease
By Cheryl Dybas, NSF, Nov 12, 2014
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=133263&WT.mc_id=USNSF_1
[SEPP Comment: Global warming is not the cause?]
Orbital blames rocket engine failure for launchpad blast
By Staff Writers, Washington (AFP), Nov 05, 2014
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Orbital_blames_rocket_engine_failure_for_launchpad_blast_999.html
Other News that May Be of Interest
The Population Challenge
By Bjørn Lomborg, Project Syndicate, Nov 14, 2014
[SEPP Comment: A different look at the world population issue.]
The EU dispenses with its CSA [Chief Science Adviser]
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Nov 13, 2014
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/11/13/the-eu-dispenses-with-its-csa.html
Desal: no water provided but Victorian families pay $450pa for bikies and drunks
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Nov 12, 2014
Missing links
By John Brignell, Number Watch, Nov 11, 2014
http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/2014%20November.htm
[SEPP Comment: Humbling praise.]
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BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:
A conversation inside the White House
By Cliff Mass, Weather Blog, Nov 10, 2014
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-conversation-inside-white-house.html
[SEPP Comment: Amusing: A growing weather prediction gap between competing countries!]
Climate Change Made Simple
By Stephen Green, PJ Media, Nov 12, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2014/11/12/climate-change-made-simple/?singlepage=true
“Earlier I said that expecting stasis on a planet where the continents are in motion would be insanity — and yet stasis is precisely what climate alarmists are trying to sell you, built on a foundation of ignorance.”
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Germany Plans To Withdraw From Binding 2020 Climate Targets
I apologize in advance if this post is a bit off topic, although these weekly roundup posts are a little bit of everything,and it seems more justified here than anywhere. Since there are a bunch of readers here who take science seriously, I wanted to let you know that I strongly recommend you see “Interstellar”. I cannot think of any movie I’ve seen which has worked so hard to get the basic science right; 2001 is the only movie I can think of that is comparable, and Interstellar is a better movie than 2001 in many, many ways.
Don’t be put off by the catastrophe that causes the search for a new place to colonize – the movie doesn’t spend a lot of time explaining it, and that is really just the McGuffin that provides the motivation for the characters actions for the rest of the film. (see Hitchcock’s use of the term; every suspenseful drama requires a McGuffin) What really impressed me was how the film jumped right into Relativity and made it a key part of the movie, in spite of the fact that Relativity is hard to comprehend and hard to explain. (Pretty much all sci-fi just ignores the entire subject of Relativity, since it’s just too hard and its rules have some very harsh consequences) I found it be be brilliant on almost every level; in fact it astounds me that modern Hollywood could ever have made anything as intellectually challenging as this! In my opinion, this one is well worth your time this holiday season.
Under Arctic Methane — my bold below
“An airborne research study by NASA finds no signs of rising Arctic methane in Alaska, which has warmed appreciably in the past few decades.”
Not exactly. There was a temperature rise after the, so called, phase shift of the Pacific Ocean following 1976. The link below says “since 1977 little additional warming has occurred in Alaska with the exception of Barrow and a few other locations.”
http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/ClimTrends/Change/TempChange.html
Other statements I’ve read are more blunt – Alaska is cooling.
“ During the first decade of the 21st century most of Alaska experienced a cooling shift …”
From the first line of the abstract, here:
http://benthamopen.com/toascj/articles/V006/111TOASCJ.pdf
[toascj = The Open Atmospheric Science Journal]
FYI
http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/g20-brisbane-tony-abbott-clashes-with-barack-obama-over-climate-change/story-fnii5v6w-1227125019686
“G20 Brisbane: Tony Abbott clashes with Barack Obama over climate change
TONY Abbott [Prime Minister of Australia] has rebuffed Barack Obama’s demand for increased action on climate change and openly clashed with the US President in a fiery end to Brisbane’s G20 leaders’ summit.
The Prime Minister muscled up to Mr Obama behind closed doors yesterday, declaring there could be no effective action on climate change without a strong economy and strongly endorsing fossil fuels.
He did not address calls to pay into a global Green Climate Fund backed by the US.
He also refused to commit to new emissions reduction targets in the first quarter of next year, despite being urged to do so in the final G20 communique agreed by all leaders.
Mr Abbott’s defiance in the face of Mr Obama’s warnings about the threat from global warming came as he wrapped up a “weekend of achievement” at the G20 summit.
[…]”
So a couple of communists signed a worthless agreement. It will [hold] about as much weight as a U.N. resolution. Who cares?
But how typical of a leftist. Goes to a country that stomps all over its own people but our idiot-in-chief has CO2 at the top of the priority list. Perfect.
https://twitter.com/GalileoMovement/status/534165450716741634/photo/1
So Obama signed a non-binding agreement for a successor to take action four years after he leaves office.
Non-binding agreements. It is to laugh.
Dude wasn’t tricked by the Chinese as many commentators state, the Chinese and Dude both agreed to nothing for nothing.
For at least once, our POTUS knows exactly what he was doing.
Can someone clarify when this $3 billion will be contributed?
According to http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/11/14/obama-to-pledge-3-billion-for-new-un-climate-change-fund
” Obama will include funding for part of the $3 billion in his next budget request, and will spread the funding out over a number of years, according to an administration official who spoke anonymously because budget figures haven’t been decided.” That sounds like the intent is to spend some of the money in the next few years while Obama is still in office.
Although in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t seem like much, as Everett Dirksen is reputed to have said “A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you’re talking real money.”
GWPF have some pretty amazing news from Germany. It seems that the powers that be in Berlin have finally recognised that their energy policies are a busted flush. If the story in Der Spiegel is correct then the country is going to cancel its decarbonisation targets forthwith.
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/
From the GWPF. http://www.thegwpf.com/germany-announces-withdrawal-from-binding-2020-climate-targets/
“5. The global scientific community has made clear that human activity is already changing the world’s climate system. Accelerating climate change has caused serious impacts. Higher temperatures and extreme weather events are damaging food production, rising sea levels and more damaging storms are putting our coastal cities increasingly at risk and the impacts of climate change are already harming economies around the world, including those of the United States and China. These developments urgently require enhanced actions to tackle the challenge. [SEPP strongly disagrees with this paragraph and calls for compelling physical evidence supporting this view.]”
O-M-G… I GUESS!!! All those claims and not a shred of proof! Not that any of it can be proven anyway without fabrication of data or confusing correlation with causation. The entire paragraph is KISASS based. Simple and sufficiently scary.
… Wait, one statement is true in a sort of dyslexic manor; “…the impacts of climate change are already harming economies around the world, including those of the United States and China.” This would have been accurate if he had said, the impacts of climate change legislation and climate mitigation are already harming economies around the world.
US lightning fatalities has been steadily decreasing.
http://i.imgur.com/AetMlvD.png
So has the number of forest fires.
http://i.imgur.com/J7cxgOV.png
So, if the planet has been warming for 60+ years, and lightning strikes are supposed to increase due to warming, why are these metrics moving in the wrong direction?