The Week That Was: 2015-01-17 (January 17, 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)
NOAA – NASA Temperature Announcement: Perhaps few public statements exemplify the willingness of certain government agencies to mislead the public as clearly as this week’s joint announcement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The press release reads as if the announcement was considered more an opportunity for self-promotion than a scientific statement.
“NASA is at the forefront of the scientific investigation of the dynamics of the Earth’s climate on a global scale,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The observed long-term warming trend and the ranking of 2014 as the warmest year on record reinforces the importance for NASA to study Earth as a complete system, and particularly to understand the role and impacts of human activity.”
“NOAA provides decision makers with timely and trusted science-based information about our changing world,” said Richard Spinrad, NOAA chief scientist. “As we monitor changes in our climate, demand for the environmental intelligence NOAA provides is only growing. It’s critical that we continue to work with our partners, like NASA, to observe these changes and to provide the information communities need to build resiliency.”
“NASA monitors Earth’s vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites, as well as airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth’s interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing. The agency shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.”
The press release touts a fleet of satellites yet ignores the measurements from these satellites, the most comprehensive set of global temperature ever compiled, which do not support the claim that 2014 was the warmest year on record. As discussed in the January 10 TWTW, the reporting agencies for satellite temperatures, independently supported by data from radiosondes on weather balloons, are the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and Remote Sensing Systems (RSS). UAH reported that 2014 was the third warmest since 1979, barely exceeding several other years such as 2002, 2005, and 2013. RSS, reported that 2014 only the sixth warmest.
It is unfortunate that these government agencies both claim to be scientific, with one responsible for the US civilian space program (NASA), and the other claims its mission is “to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts” (NOAA), ignore the finest scientific temperature data available. Clearly, these agencies subordinate scientific discovery to other purposes.
Writing for the Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF), David Whitehouse, among others, pointed out that the NASA-GISS (Goddard Institute of Space Studies) database of surface data showed that the margin of warming for 2014 was about 0.02 deg C above the data for 2010. He asserts that the margin of error of the measurements is about +/- 0.1 deg C. Thus, the “bump” in temperatures is within the margin of error of the reported data and “[t]alk of a record is therefore scientifically and statistically meaningless.” TWTW would argue that, given poor geographic coverage of the surface-air observations, the movement of observation points on the surface, and the frequent manipulation of the data by the reporting entities, not clearly publically disclosed, the margin of error is likely to be well above +/- 0.1 deg C and it is actually unknown. Further, when comparing satellite observations, which comprise volumes of air contrasting with points on the surface, the surface data is inferior.
Whitehouse also points out that the Berkeley Earth (BEST) analysis team reported its findings, which are similar but its press release is starkly different. “The global surface temperature average (land and sea) for 2014 was nominally the warmest since the global instrumental record began in 1850; however, within the margin of error, it is tied with 2005 and 2010 and so we can’t be certain it set a new record.”
Judith Curry observes that the New York Times promoted the claim that 2014 was the hottest year ever and quoted Gavin Schmidt, the head of NASA-GISS, who claimed the next time a strong El Niño occurs, “it is likely to blow away all temperature records”. Curry discusses the issue of the issue of the El Niño, which is occurring but not as strong or as typical as some expected.
Schmidt’s mention of an El Niño raises a critical issue. If it takes a natural event such as an El Niño to push temperatures higher, then there is something very wrong with the science in which the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) proclaimed 95% certainty that humans are the primary cause of global warming and with the models based on this science.
Curry brings up that Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was just named to be the chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness. “The folks at Slate are not happy: Yup, a Climate Change Denier Will Oversee NASA. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? They are particularly up in arms over this statement from Ted Cruz: ‘The last 15 years, there has been no recorded warming. Contrary to all the theories that—that they are expounding, there should have been warming over the last 15 years. It hasn’t happened.’” As Curry points out, there is nothing irrational or incorrect about Senator Cruz’s statement. No wonder he is opposed by global warming promoters. See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy, Questioning the Orthodoxy, and Measurement Issues.
###################################################
Quote of the Week: ‘The last 15 years, there has been no recorded warming. Contrary to all the theories that—that they are expounding, there should have been warming over the last 15 years. It hasn’t happened.” Senator Ted Cruz, just named chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness. [H/t Climate Etc.]
###################################################
Number of the Week: 0.02ºC
###################################################
Legislative Opportunities: With the new Congress, SEPP was asked in what five major areas can there be some legislative improvement. One area is data quality as illustrated by the above press release by NOAA – NASA. Even in press releases, agencies claiming to be scientific must use the finest data available. Important data should not be hidden or ignored. Someone with NOAA or NASA may argue that satellite data do not go as far back 1880. The rebuttal is what type of surface coverage was there in 1880 in Greenland, Antarctica, Asia, Africa, etc? From a global perspective, the claim that the surface record goes back to 1880 is meaningless.
A second area is the use of models that have not been validated in establishing policy, particularly long-rang projections from such models. As we are witnessing, global climate models are failing in the short-term. There is no logical reason to assume that their long-range projections will fare any better. Establishing energy policy, land use policy, etc. on such models can create unneeded, major hardships. Such energy policies include those under Germany’s Energiewende, the UK’s Climate Change Act of 2008, and the US Administration’s Clean Power Plan.
A third area for legislative correction is the tailoring of global models for regional analysis, without independent validation. Further, when models are inconsistent with data, data should take preference. For example, the budget of the US Global Change Research program is about $2.5 billion and has remained at that level since 2010 (adjusted for inflation). The USGCRA states its mission as: “Thirteen Agencies, One Vision: Empower the Nation with Global Change Science.”
On May 6, 2014 USGCRP released its National Climate Assessment. The report contains 8 regional reports and one for the 48 [contiguous states]. The regional report for the Southeast U.S. projects a major general warming of about 10 F for the region even though “The lack of mid-20th century warming in the Southeast is not simulated by the models. However, 21st century simulations of temperature indicate that future warming will be much larger than the observed values for the 20th century.” There is no logically reason for this assertion ant the inconsistency between data and models.
A fourth area for legislative improvement is the social benefits of carbon dioxide. Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is a great benefit to agriculture, the environment, and humanity. We have thousands of empirical studies showing these benefits. Fear of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is not substantiated, yet the benefits are being ignored.
And a fifth area are false fossil fuel limitations and electricity issues. Neither the US nor the world will run out of fossil fuels in the foreseeable future. The US has hundreds of years of coal, and at least decades of oil and natural gas. We do not know how much. As being demonstrated in China, with metallurgy improvements, ultra-supercritical coal-fired plants are a reality. These plants are more efficient and cleaner than coal-fired plants in the past. The only remaining issue is disposal of the coal ash, which is solvable. Yet, Washington opposing coal-fired power plants and fossil fuels.
Civilization requires affordable, reliable electricity. Who would check into a modern hospital for a major operation if the electricity frequently failed without warning? Until an affordable, reliable electricity-storage system is available on a commercial scale, solar and wind generation are second-class. The storage issue has been recognized for about 100 years. Subsidies and mandates for deployment of unreliable electricity should stop until the storage issue is solved.
Links supporting above statements from US government include: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/FY%202015%20Climate.pdf,
http://www.globalchange.gov/ncadac, and
**************
A Different Climate Model? Statistician William Matt Briggs introduces us to a different, simple, climate model designed by Christopher Monckton, Willie Soon, David Legates and Briggs. According to the press release by Briggs, the model was explained in a paper accepted by Science Bulletin (formerly Chinese Science Bulletin), the Orient’s equivalent of Science or Nature. The press release states the simple model was designed to answer the question why the general circulation models used by the IPCC overestimate warming since 1990. Based on the information given, the new model tracks much better than the highly complex general circulation models favored by the IPCC and the organizations that follow it. The main difference between the simple model and the IPCC models is that in the new model, it is assumed that natural processes will reduce the impact of warming caused by increased carbon dioxide (negative feedback), while the IPCC models, in general, assume natural processes will enhance the impact of warming caused by increased carbon dioxide (positive feedback such as water vopor).
No doubt, some in the orthodox Climate Establishment will dismiss or ignore the new model. But the climate research being conducted by Chinese scientists is important and, in some cases, supersedes the empirical research by the climate establishment and the IPCC. Other errors by the climate establishment are coming to the fore, such as the inability to physically find the so called “hot spot”, a region of pronounced warming centered over the tropics at about 33,000 feet (10km). The “hot spot” is part of EPA’s claim that humans are the cause of late 20th century warming and its justification for regulating carbon dioxide emissions.
According to the press release, Monckton states: “Our irreducibly simple climate model does not replace more complex models, but it does expose major errors and exaggerations in those models, such as the over-emphasis on positive or amplifying temperature feedbacks. ..”
Although significant additional work and testing remains, the approach by Monckton, et al. of a negative feedback is consistent with prior findings by Spencer and Braswell, and Lindzen and Chou. Given that both Spencer and Lindzen have reported great difficulty in having their work published, the Science Bulletin may become a welcome addition to science journals. See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy.
**************
Oil Prices, How Low? The recent drop in oil prices has created massive speculation on how low can the prices go? Much of this speculation involves petro-states, the governments of nations that derive a large portion of their budgets from state-owned oil companies. Several conclusions can be drawn from this controversy. One, the shale-gale is real. Deep underground hydraulic fracturing of dense shale to produce oil works, even though the initial oil production tapers off very quickly. Two, the frequently proclaimed monopoly of big oil is a myth. Much of major production is controlled by governments. The shale-gale in the US is dominated by small and mid-sized producers that took advantage by leasing drilling rights in shale formations very early. Three, contrary to prior predictions, oil production will be a major source of energy for years to come (unless the anti-fossil fuel groups seize control of most of the world’s productive areas).
Writing in Project Syndicate, Anatole Kaletsky offers a different approach than most commentators, many of whom focus on the revenue needs of the governments of the petro-states. Kaletsky suggests that the floor price for oil is determined by the lowest-cost major oil producer, Saudi Arabia, and that the ceiling is determined by marginal costs of the North American shale producers.
If so, then recent news about major US shale oil producers should give pause to those speculating on a major price increase. According to the Wall Street Journal, companies such as EOG Resources Inc. “are drilling better wells faster. EOG said recently it takes 4.3 days to drill its average well in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, down from 14.2 days in 2012. What’s more, as it drills more of them, it has figured out how to locate wells to get the highest oil output… Combining lowering costs and increasing output means that EOG says it can drill wells at $40 per barrel in North Dakota, South Texas and West Texas, while still earning a 10% return.”
One can add that the traditional drilling risks of hitting a dry hole have virtually disappeared. See Article # 2, links under Energy Issues – Non-US, Energy Issues – US and Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?
**************
Additions and Corrections: Following last week’s altered quote of the week: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool Nature!”, Professor of Mathematics Christopher Essex quipped: “Ah, but you can fool the magazine by that name.”
**************
Number of the Week: 0.02ºC. As reported by David Whitehouse of GWPF, and others, the bump in global temperature, that created a great triumphal announcement among global warming promoters, was all of 0.02ºC, well within the range of error. See comments under NOAA-NASA Temperature Announcement.
###################################################
ARTICLES:
Let’s Rethink New Methane Policy
A new set of regulations on the oil and natural-gas industries, targeting emissions of methane are based on shoddy climate science.
Letters, S. Fred Singer, WSJ, Jan 15, 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/lets-rethink-new-methane-policy-letters-to-the-editor-1421363688
Regarding your editorial “Meth Heads in the White House” (Jan. 5): The White House has announced plans to impose a new set of regulations on the oil and natural-gas industries, targeting emissions of methane. The basis is shoddy climate science, as propagated in various U.N.-IPCC reports. These claim that the global-warming potential of a methane molecule is about 50 times that of CO2, and that climate forcing from growth of atmospheric methane is about 20% of carbon dioxide’s. Their estimates are too high by as much as a factor of 100. They made two basic scientific errors, as can be readily shown. They ignored the fact that the infrared absorption bands of atmospheric water vapor cover those of methane (as pointed out by my physicist colleague Dr. Tom Sheahen); one cannot absorb the same radiation twice. Further, the methane bands are located far from the peak of the surface heat emission spectrum, where there is little energy available to be absorbed. I don’t know how IPCC got its numbers—but they are wrong.
As your editorial states: “The real reason methane has become an obsession of the green lobby is that it sometimes leaks when extracting or transporting oil and especially natural gas. Thus methane [control] can be a pretext for interfering with and raising the costs of drilling.”
Fred Singer, Ph.D.,
Chairman, Science & Environmental Policy Project
Arlington, Va.
Mr. Singer published early estimates of anthropogenic production of methane and its contribution to stratospheric water vapor (Nature, 1971), since confirmed by data.
Abolish the Gas Tax
A better way to fund roads and bridges than more pain at the pump.
Editorial, WSJ, Jan 14, 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/abolish-the-gas-tax-1421281241?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_opinion
SUMMARY: “Drivers now see about a quarter of their gas taxes diverted to subsidize mass transit in merely six metro areas and sundry other programs for street cars, ferries, sidewalks, bike lanes, hiking trails, urban planning and even landscaping nationwide. Trolley riders, et al., contribute nothing to the” Highway Trust Fund.
Back to the Future? Oil Replays 1980s Bust
Rise of Shale Extraction Speeds Output and Changes Equation for Producers
By Russell Gold, WSJ, Jan 13, 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/back-to-the-future-oil-replays-1980s-bust-1421196361
SUMMARY: “The key driver here is improved efficiency,” Mr. Nysveen says.
Companies like EOG Resources Inc. are drilling better wells faster. EOG said recently it takes 4.3 days to drill its average well in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, down from 14.2 days in 2012. What’s more, as it drills more of them, it has figured out how to locate wells to get the highest oil output.
Combining lowering costs and increasing output, EOG says it can drill wells at $40 per barrel in North Dakota, South Texas and West Texas, while still earning a 10% return. We “pride ourselves on being a very efficient operator,” Billy Helms, EOG’s head of exploration, said at a recent industry conference.”
As Oil Slips Below $50, Canada Digs In for Long Haul
Oil-Sands Operators, Seeing Long-Term Value, Aren’t Likely to Shut Off the Tap Any Time Soon
By Chester Dawson, WSJ, Jan 12, 2015
SUMMARY: With already committed high up-front capital costs, as compared with operating costs, oil-sand producers are less sensitive to short-term market changes than many oil producers.
###################################################
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Commentary: Is the Sun Rising?
The Sun and solar physicists go quiet
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Jan 14, 2015
http://joannenova.com.au/2015/01/the-sun-and-solar-physicists-go-quiet/
More sun means fewer children, grandchildren
By Pernille Feilberg Langeland, Gemini, Jan 9, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://gemini.no/en/2015/01/more-sun-means-fewer-children-grandchildren/
Challenging the Orthodoxy
2014: Global Temperature Stalls Another Year
By David Whitehouse, GWPF, Jan 16, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/2014-global-temperature-stalls-another-year/
‘Warmest year’, ‘pause’, and all that
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Jan 16, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/01/16/warmest-year-pause-and-all-that/#more-17601
NEW PAPER: Why Models Run Hot: Results From An Irreducibly Simple Climate Model
By William Briggs, His Blog, Jan 14, 2015
http://wmbriggs.com/blog/?p=15237
Link to paper: Why models run hot: results from an irreducibly simple climate model
By Monckton, Soon, Legates, and Briggs, Science Bulletin, [No Date}
http://www.scibull.com:8080/EN/abstract/abstract509579.shtml
University Of Augsburg 44-Year Veteran Meteorologist Calls Climate Protection “Ridiculous”…”A Deception”!
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Jan 12, 2015
Faux polar bear figures
By Susan Crockford, Financial Post, Jan 15, 2015
http://business.financialpost.com/2015/01/15/faux-polar-bear-figures/
German Scientist Slams, Mocks PIK’s Use Of Tacky Madison Avenue-Style Marketing To Sell (Junk) Climate Science
Learning from the PIK means learning how to win: Clever Climate Marketing 2.0
By Dr. Sebastian Lüning, Translaed by P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Jan 16, 2015
Sans science, sans maths, sans everything
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Jan 12, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/1/12/sans-science-sans-maths-sans-everything.html
‘Threatened’ status for Arctic ringed seals under ESA makes no sense
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Jan 14, 2015
Defending the Orthodoxy
Bernie Sanders: Passing Keystone XL Means A ‘Significantly Less Habitable’ Planet
By Amber Ferguson, Huffington Post, Jan 14, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
Kerry: Climate science ‘screaming at us’
By Jesse Byrnes, The Hill, Jan 16, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/229812-kerry-climate-science-screaming-at-us
Link to Report: Global Analysis – Annual 2014
By Staff Writers, NOAA, Published Dec 2014, Retrieved, Jan 17, 2015
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2014/13
Questioning the Orthodoxy
2014, NOAA NASA produce weakest science on hottest fantasy in modern record
The Art of Lying by Omission
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Jan 15, 2015
You Ought to Have a Look: Record Global Temperatures
By Patrick Michaels and Paul “Chip” Knappenberger, CATO, Jan 16, 2015
http://www.cato.org/blog/you-ought-have-look-record-global-temperatures
GISS Hottest Year Claims Not Supported By The Data
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Jan 16, 2015
2014 – Annus Horribilus For Climate Alarmists
By Doug Hoffman, The Resilient Earth, Jan 9, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://theresilientearth.com/?q=content/2014-annus-horribilus-climate-alarmists
If summer ice was critical for S. Beaufort polar bears, 2012 would have decimated them
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Jan 12, 2015
Lawrence Solomon: Fantasies about global warming and other delusions will fare poorly in 2015
By Lawrence Solomon, Financial Post, Jan 9, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
Those Green Australians! Our emissions per person fell 28% since 1990
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Jan 13, 2015
Problems in the Orthodoxy
Preparing for the Unknown Unknowns
By Lucy Marcus, Project Syndicate, Jan 15, 2015
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/wef-global-risks-by-lucy-p–marcus-2015-01
Link to Report: Global Risks 2015
By Staff Writers, World Economic Forum, No Date
http://reports.weforum.org/global-risks-2015/part-1-global-risks-2015/introduction/
[SEPP Comment: The major environmental risks from 18 months to 10 years are extreme weather events and failure of climate change adaption.]
Climate change skeptic takes reins of Brazil’s science ministry
By Lizzie Wade, Science Mag, Jan 9, 2015 [H/t Toshio Fujita]
Kerry, Obama Pressuring India on Climate Change
By Patrick Michaels, CATO, Jan 12, 2015
http://www.cato.org/blog/kerry-obama-pressuring-india-climate-change
Seeking a Common Ground
Evidence and objectivity
By Martin Livermore, The Scientific Alliance, Jan 16, 2015
http://scientific-alliance.org/node/902
What would Charles Keeling think? Science in spite of politics
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Jan 13, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/01/13/what-would-charles-keeling-think-science-in-spite-of-politics/
Carbon conversation
By Peter Gill, Bishop Hill, Jan 15, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/1/15/carbon-conversation.html
[SEPP Comment: Exploring the life-time of the CO2 molecule in the atmosphere, depending on source.]
Review of Recent Scientific Articles by CO2 Science
Corals Seeking Shelter from the Storm of Acidification & Bleaching
By Yates, K.K., Rogers, C.S., Herlan, J.J., Brooks, G.R., Smiley, N.A. and Larson, R.A. 2014. Diverse coral communities in mangrove habitats suggest a novel refuge from climate change. Biogeosciences 11: 4321-4337.
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/jan/a13.php
Biases Driving Biases in CMIP5 Models of Earth’s Major Monsoons
By Sandeep, S. and Ajayamohan, R.S. 2014. Origin of cold bias over the Arabian Sea in climate models. Scientific Reports4: 10.1038/srep06403.
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/jan/a12.php
Roman and Medieval Warm Periods vs. the Current Warm Period
By Yan, H., Sun, L., Shao, D., Wang, Y. and Wei, G. 2014. Higher sea surface temperature in the northern South China Sea during the natural warm periods of late Holocene than recent decades. Chinese Science Bulletin 59: 4115-4122
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/jan/a9.php
CMIP5 Models Misinterpreting the North Atlantic Oscillation
By Davini, P. and Cagnazzo, C. 2014. On the misinterpretation of the North Atlantic Oscillation in CMIP5 models. Climate Dynamics 43: 1497-1511
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/jan/a8.php
Models v. Observations
Warmest Year on Record Is Still Bad News for Climate Models
By Patrick Michaels, CATO, Jan 16, 2015
http://www.cato.org/blog/warmest-year-record-still-bad-news-climate-models
Alarmists Bizarrely Claim “Just what AGW predicts” about the Record High Global Sea Surface Temperatures in 2014
By Bob Tisdale, WUWT, Jan 11, 2015
Measurement Issues
UHI? What UHI Say GISS
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Jan 15, 2015
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/uhi-what-uhi-say-giss/#more-12523
The Average Temperature of 2014 Results from Berkely Earth
By Staff Writers, Berkeley Earth, January 14, 2015
http://static.berkeleyearth.org/memos/Global-Warming-2014-Berkeley-Earth-Newsletter.pdf
Weather Instrumentation Debacle? Analysis Shows 0.9°C Of Germany’s Warming May Be Due To Transition To Electronic Measurement
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Jan 13, 2015
Another bias in temperature measurements discovered
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jan 12, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/01/12/another-bias-in-temperature-measurements-discovered/
Mountain system inflates temp increases at higher elevations
By Staff Writers, Missoula MT (SPX), Jan 13, 2015
Germany’s Warming Happens To Coincide With Late 20th Century Implementation Of Digital Measurement
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Jan 14, 2015
NASA Mountaintop Sensor Finds High Methane over LA
By Staff Writers, Pasadena CA (JPL), Jan 14, 2015
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_Mountaintop_Sensor_Finds_High_Methane_over_LA_999.html
Changing Weather
Global Tropical Cyclone Landfalls, 1970-2014
By Roger Pielke Jr. The Climate Fix, Jan 12, 2015
https://theclimatefix.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/global-tropical-cyclone-landfalls-1970-2014/
The US and Florida Intense Hurricane Drought, Continued
By Roger Pielke Jr. The Climate Fix, Jan 5, 2015
Cold kills: Summer no sweat for Aussies but winter freeze fatal
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jan 13, 2015
Forgotten extreme heat, El Nino of 1878 — when miners would “knock off” at 44.4C!
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Jan 16, 2015
California Rainfall Nearly Back To Normal In 2014
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Jan 12, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
Changing Seas
Claim: Acceleration in sea level rise ‘worse than we thought’
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jan 14, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/01/14/claim-acceleration-in-sea-level-rise-worse-than-we-thought/
Sea level rise was less than thought (skeptics were right)
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Jan 15, 2015
http://joannenova.com.au/2015/01/sea-level-rise-was-less-than-thought-skeptics-were-right/
Sea Level Goes The Way The Wind Blows…Wind, Pressure Play Major Roles
By Ed Caryl, No Tricks Zone, Jan 11, 2015
Global sea levels rising faster than previously thought, study shows
By Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, Jan 14, 2015
Link to paper: Probabilistic reanalysis of twentieth-century sea-level rise
By Hay, Morrow, Kopp & Mitrovica, Nature, Jan 14, 2015
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature14093.html
Ocean ‘calamities’ oversold, say researchers
Team calls for more scepticism in marine research.
By Daniel Cressey, Nature, Jan 14, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.nature.com/news/ocean-calamities-oversold-say-researchers-1.16714?WT.mc_id=TWT_NatureNews
Pakistan’s coastal villagers retreat as seas gobble land
By Rina Saeed Khan, Reuters, Jan 9, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/pakistans-coastal-villagers-retreat-seas-gobble-land-104942959.html
Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice
Al Gore, wrong again – Polar ice continues to thrive
By Rolf Westgard, WUWT, Jan 13, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/01/13/al-gore-wrong-again-polar-ice-continues-to-thrive/
WRONG AGAIN: Greenland’s Ice Sheet Defies Critics With 4-Year High
By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Jan 13, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://dailycaller.com/2015/01/13/wrong-again-greenlands-ice-sheet-defies-critics-with-4-year-high/
Fossils reveal past, and possible future, of polar ice
By Staff Writers, Gainesville FL (SPX), Jan 11, 2015
[SEPP Comment: Fails to justify why temperatures will rise rapidly in the next few years.]
Greenland melting due equally to global warming, natural variations
By Hanna Hickey, UW Today, May 7, 2015
Changing Earth
Small volcanic eruptions partly explain ‘warming hiatus’
By Staff Writers, DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Jan 9, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-01/dlnl-sve010915.php
Link to paper: Total volcanic stratospheric aerosol optical depths and implications for global climate change
By Ridley, Solomon, et al, Nov 28, 2015
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014GL061541/abstract?campaign=wlytk-41855.5282060185
Volcanoes Once Again, Again
By Willis Eschenbach, WUWT, Jan 9, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/01/09/volcanoes-once-again-again/
[SEPP Comment: Miniscule findings?]
Volcanoes may have cooled the Earth by 0.05°C to 0.12°C since 2000
Scientists had overlooked the role of aerosols from small eruptions
The aerosols accumulate between the stratosphere and troposphere
This layer of the atmosphere is difficult to study as clouds obscure it
Eruptions through 1990s and 2000s have contributed to warming ‘pause’
Global temperatures plateaued since 1998 after rapid warming in 1990s
The findings mean models predicting climate change need to be revised
By Richard Gray, Daily Mail, UK, Jan 12, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
Dinosaurs wiped out rapidly in Europe 66 million years ago
By Staff Writers, Bucharest, Romania (SPX), Jan 15, 2015
How Greenland Got Its Glaciers
By Laura Geggel, Live Science, Jan 13, 2015
http://news.yahoo.com/greenland-got-glaciers-221128017.html
Scientists say a meteorite could be responsible for Antarctic crater
By Brooks Hays, Princess Elizabeth, Belgium (UPI), Jan 13, 2015
Agriculture Issues & Fear of Famine
Research finds salt tolerance gene in soybean
By Staff Writers, Adelaide, Australia (SPX), Jan 13, 2015
http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Research_finds_salt_tolerance_gene_in_soybean_999.html
[SEPP Comment: Will the greens fight it?]
Un-Science or Non-Science?
Claim: Social cost of climate change too low, Stanford scientists say
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jan 13, 2015
Their alternative formulation incorporated recent empirical findings suggesting that climate change could substantially slow economic growth rates, particularly in poor countries.
[SEPP Comment: The “findings” are more modeled than empirical.]
Long-term economic shocks imply taking strong, early action on climate change, study shows
By Mat Hope, The Carbon Brief, Jan 12, 2015
Link to paper: Temperature impacts on economic growth warrant stringent mitigation policy
By Moore and Diaz, Nature Climate Change, Jan 12, 2015
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2481.html
Optimal climate policy in this model stabilizes global temperature change below 2 °C
The Dangerous Underestimation of Climate Change’s Cost
By Nicholas St. Fleur, the Atlantic, Jan 14, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/calculating-dollar-value-climate-change-175804558.html
[SEPP Comment: Typical propaganda photo of cooling towers and chimneys emitting steam.]
The rate of sea-level rise is ‘far worse than previously thought,’ study says
By Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, Jan 15, 2015
Link to paper, Probabilistic reanalysis of twentieth-century sea-level rise
By Hay, Morrow, Kopp & Mitrovica, Nature,
Lowering Standards
NOAA and NASA to declare 2014 the hottest year on record
By Staff Writers, ICECAP, Jan 15, 2015
The loss of climate significance
By Sierra Rayne, American Thinker, Jan 9, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/01/the_loss_of_climate_significance.html
Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?
Rivers Are Draining Greenland Quickly: NASA-UCLA
By Staff Writers, Los Angeles CA (SPX), Jan 14, 2015
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Rivers_Are_Draining_Greenland_Quickly_NASA_UCLA_999.html
Link to paper: Efficient meltwater drainage through supraglacial streams and rivers on the southwest Greenland ice sheet
By Smith et al, PNAS, Jan 12, 2015
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/01/07/1413024112.full.pdf+html
[SEPP Comment: They have probably been doing so for thousands of years. The study is focused on southwestern Greenland during the heavy 2012 melt season.]
Climate Change Is Forcing Polar Bears North—Here’s Why That’s Bad News
By Katharine Gammon, Takepart.com, Jan 9, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/climate-change-forcing-polar-bears-north-why-bad-211218459.html
[SEPP Comment: One to three generations of bears – how many years?]
Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.
ABC got it wrong, BOM not concerned with Australian public being misinformed
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Jan 14, 2015
Climate change, extinctions signal Earth in danger zone: study
By Alister Doyle, Reuters, Jan 15, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/climate-change-extinctions-signal-earth-danger-zone-study-190551775.html
Communicating Better to the Public – Go Personal.
A cancer in our midst
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Jan 11, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/1/11/a-cancer-in-our-midst.html
Communicating Better to the Public – Use Propaganda on Children
Climate-Change Education Advocates Denounce ‘The False Science From West Virginia’
By Rebecca Klein, Huffington Post, Jan 16, 2015
[SEPP Comment: The cited study is the one by John Cook published in Environmental Research Letters and has the phony 97% of scientists.]
West Virginia decides to teach global warming propaganda to kids
By Pedro Gonzales, American Thinker, Jan 15, 2015
[SEPP Comment: Humans influence local and regional climate, the key issue should be clearly stated: are human emissions of C02 causing unprecedented and dangerous global warming? The physical evidence fails.]
Expanding the Orthodoxy
Bringing Ocean Acidification to the Climate Change Agenda
By Michael Madsen, IAEA, Jan 13, 2015
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/bringing-ocean-acidification-climate-change-agenda
[SEPP Comment: Doubtful if the International Atomic Energy Agency can supply comprehensive data to support the claims. “There has been a 26 per cent increase of ocean acidification since pre-industrial levels, and the current rate of ocean acidification is over ten times faster than any other period in the last 55 million years.” Given the logarithmic scale, 26% is misleading.]
Ex-Im Bank Staffs Up With Politically Connected Green Energy Execs
Meet the renewable industry bigwigs and leading environmentalists who will push green energy at Ex-Im
By Lachlan Markay, Washington Free Beacon, Jan 13, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://freebeacon.com/issues/ex-im-bank-staffs-up-with-politically-connected-green-energy-execs/
Pope on climate change: Man has ‘slapped nature in the face’
By Nicole Winfield, AP, Jan 15, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/pope-climate-change-man-slapped-nature-face-121451945.html
Green Jobs
Solar industry adds 31,000 jobs [US]
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Jan 15, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/229657-solar-industry-adds-31000-jobs
Non-Green Jobs
Baker Hughes: U.S. oil and gas work steady
By Daniel J. Graeber, Houston (UPI), Jan 9, 2015
http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/Baker_Hughes_US_oil_and_gas_work_steady_999.html
Funding Issues
Academic freedom for me, but not for thee
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Jan 16, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/1/16/academic-freedom-for-me-but-not-for-thee.html
[SEPP Comment: It may be that the professor in question has been labeled a “stealth lobbyist” for the Koch brothers. Is their money, not demonstrated, an evil influence on academic ideas, and government money is not?]
Frivolous Professors Teach Students Foolish Lessons
By Kerry Jackson, IBD, Jan 14, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
The Political Games Continue
Ted Cruz Overseeing NASA? It Hasn’t Looked This Bad Since 2013, Except For 1993, 1973 And 1959
By Hank Cambell, Science 2.0, Jan 15, 2015 [H/t Climate Etc.]
Republicans Should Offer Their Own Climate Change Amendment to Keystone XL Measure
By Patrick Michaels, CATO, Jan 13, 2015
Senate to vote on whether climate change is happening
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Jan 13, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Top MIT Climate Scientist: ‘Senate’s Climate Change Vote Is Ludicrous’
By Wochit 1:00 mins, Video, Jan 15, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/video/top-mit-climate-scientist-senate-155650699.html
Litigation Issues
Supreme Court Will Hear EPA Case This Term
By Staff Writers, NCPA, Jan 13, 2015
EPA and other Regulators on the March
White House announces new methane emission controls
By Staff Writers, Washington (AFP), Jan 14, 2015
http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/White_House_announces_new_methane_emission_controls_999.html
Americans Understand The Obama EPA Is A Jobs Killer
Editorial, IBD, Jan 12, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
War On Shale: EPA Targets Fracking Boom With New Regs
Editorial, IBD, Jan 14, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
EPA unveils first methane regulations
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Jan 14, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/229567-epa-unveils-first-methane-regulations
Proposed EPA Methane Emissions Regulations Are a Waste of Time and Energy
By Paul “Chip” Knappenberger and Patrick Michaels, CATO, Jan 16, 2015
http://www.cato.org/blog/proposed-epa-methane-emissions-regulations-are-waste-time-energy
U.S. Will Seek to Cut Upstream Methane Emissions Up to 45% by 2025
By Thomas Overton, Power, Jan 14, 2015
EPA head defends methane rule from greens’ criticism
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Jan 16, 2015
EPA wants to overhaul oil spill dispersant rules
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Jan 13, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/229374-epa-wants-to-overhaul-oil-spill-dispersant-rules
Energy Issues – Non-US
A New Ceiling for Oil Prices
By Anatole Kaletsky, Project Syndicate, Jan 14, 2015
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/oil-prices-ceiling-and-floor-by-anatole-kaletsky-2015-01
[SEPP Comment: In this analysis the marginal costs of US shale producers (about $50 per barrel will become the new ceiling.]
Eyeing election, UK’s Labour seeks to force energy firms to cut prices
By Andrew Osborn, Reuters, Jan 11, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/01/11/britain-politics-energy-idUKL6N0UQ0B320150111
[SEPP Comment: A different approach than those in the US demanding increased taxes.]
Russia Is Losing Control Over The European Gas Market
By Elena Holodny, Business Insider, UK, Jan 15, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://uk.businessinsider.com/russia-losing-european-gas-2015-1?r=US
The Russian Threat Runs Out of Fuel
By Daniel Gros, Project Syndicate, Jan 14, 2015
Big Six Energy Groups To Defy Price Cut Call
By Staff Writer, Sky News, Jan 10, 2015
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/big-six-energy-groups-defy-183734740.html
[SEPP Comment: Political demands to reduce consumer prices.]
The implications of $50-a-barrel oil for the world’s energy mix
By Mat Hope, The Carbon Brief, Jan 12, 2015
[SEPP Comment: In the US, natural gas, not oil, is competitive with wind and solar.]
Cheaper oil complicates war on climate change
By Nyshka Chandran, CNBC, Jan 11, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102323772#.
[SEPP Comment: Propaganda photo of dry cracked earth on the banks of Shasta Lake in California, an area that has received extensive rainfall recently.]
Expert views: How low oil prices affect the UK’s climate and energy policy
By Mat Hope, The Carbon Brief, Jan 13, 2015
Iran out billions of dollars in oil revenue
By Daniel J. Graeber, Tehran (UPI), Jan 12, 2015
http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/Iran_out_billions_of_dollars_in_oil_revenue_999.html
[SEPP Comment: Does not consider the money the government is saving by not having to subsidize fuel to its population as deeply.]
Iran says Saudi will suffer more from oil price slide
By Arthur MacMillan, Tehran (AFP), Jan 13, 2015
http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/Iran_says_Saudi_will_suffer_more_from_oil_price_slide_999.html
“Saudi Arabia’s budget reliance on oil sales is 80 percent and 90 percent of its annual exports are related to oil. Kuwait’s budget is 95 percent reliant on oil.” – according to Iran’s president Rouhani.
Energy Issues — US
Obama targets oil and gas industry, demands massive reduction in methane emissions
By Benn Wolfgang, The Washington Times, Jan 14, 2015
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/14/obama-hits-oil-and-gas-industry-demands-massive-re/
Black gold starts to tarnish energy firms
By Zac Coleman, Washington Examiner, Jan 12, 2015
Bipartisan Energy Policy: Consumers, Taxpayers Beware
By Peter Grossman, Master Resource, Jan 13, 2015
The Real Cause Of Low Oil Prices
By James Stafford of Oilprice.com, Washington DC (SPX), Jan 13, 2015
http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/The_Real_Cause_Of_Low_Oil_Prices_999.html
Washington’s Control of Energy
On Keystone, Obama has no excuses left
Editorial, Washington Examiner, Jan 12, 2015
White House Issues Formal Position on House Keystone XL Bill
By Kate Sheppard, Huffington Post, Jan 7, 2015
Canada disses Obama, postpones meeting with U.S. over Keystone pipeline: report
By Ben Wolfgang, Washington Times, Jan 15, 2015
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/15/canada-postpones-meeting-us-over-keystone-report/
More than Six Years Later, Keystone XL Is Still a Good Idea
By Nicolas Loris, Heritage Foundation, Jan 8, 2015
Keystone matters more now than ever
By Arthur Herman, Washington Examiner, Jan 15, 2015
Vetoing Bipartisan Energy, Job and Economic Growth
By Paul Driessen, Townhall, Jan 10, 2015
The shallow opposition to Keystone
By Benjamin Zycher, The Hill, Jan 15, 2015
How should we calculate the CO2 impact of the Keystone pipeline proposal?
By Peter Erickson and Michael Lazarus, The Conversation, Jan 14, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
[SEPP Comment: Quite reasonable except the analysis fails to calculate the displacement of oil from oil sands from Venezuela at Texas refineries with oil from oil sands from Canada.]
http://www.southportland.org/files/3713/9387/3165/Heavy_Oil_and_Tar_Sands.pdf
Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?
Oil Price ‘To Fall To $20’ As Gulf States Battle Shale Drillers In
By Tim Webb, The Times, Via GWPF, Jan 14, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/oil-price-to-fall-to-20-as-gulf-states-battle-shale-drillers-in-us/
Shale economic challenged
US shale economics challenged as crude, natural gas prices collapse
By Arjun Sreekumar, Platts, Jan 13, 2015
U.S. Shale Oil: What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Stronger
By Richard Zeits, Seeking Alpha, Via GWPF, Jan 13, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/us-shale-revolution-smaller-leaner-stronger/
Oil markets are bleeding red
By Daniel J. Graeber, New York (UPI), Jan 12, 2015
http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/Oil_markets_are_bleeding_red_999.html
Oil Has To Plunge Even Further Before The Shale Industry Gets Seriously Damaged
By Mike Bird, Business Insider, UK, Jan 12, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
Fracking, Not Obamacare, Has Helped the Middle Class
By James Sherk, Daily Signal, Jan 10, 2015
[SEPP Comment: Not directly comparative.]
The Stunningly Beautiful Price of Gasoline
By Jeffrey Tucker, Master Resource, Jan 15, 2015
https://www.masterresource.org/gasoline-prices/stunningly-beautiful-price-gasoline/
Nuclear Energy and Fears
Fukushima Radiation Mapping In The Pacific Could Bolster Climate Science
By Jes Burns, OPB, Jan 9, 2015 [H/t Toshio Fujita]
http://www.opb.org/news/article/fukushima-radiation-mapping-in-the-pacific-could-b/
[SEPP Comment: More to the point, help understand ocean currents.]
French energy minister calls for new generation of nuclear reactors
By Marie Heuclin, Phys.org. Jan 13, 2015 [H/t Toshio Fujita]
http://phys.org/news/2015-01-french-energy-minister-nuclear-reactors.html
Martingale reveals its ThorCon liquid-fuel reactor design
By Staff Writers, WNN, Jan 7, 2015
Terrestrial Energy moves forward on molten salt reactor
By Staff Writers, WNN, Jan 8, 2015
U.S. Faces Wave of Premature Nuclear Retirements
By Thomas Overton, Power, Jan 14, 2015
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Solar and Wind
Cape Wind Is Dead! (U.S. offshore wind stuck at zero)
By Lisa Linowes, Wind Action [opposed to wind power] Jan 13, 2015
http://www.windaction.org/posts/41953-cape-wind-is-dead-u-s-offshore-wind-stuck-at-zero#.VLf6GSvF98E
Renewable Energy Danger: Wealth Transfer From Poor To Rich
By Kathleen Hartnett-White, IBD, Jan 16, 2015
India gets $4 billion solar energy promise
By Daniel J. Graeber, Ahmedabad, India (UPI), Jan 12, 2015
http://www.solardaily.com/reports/India_gets_4_billion_solar_energy_promise_999.html
[SEPP Comment: A memorandum of understanding is hardly a promise. The presence of the US Secretary of State does not give it greater weight.]
Solar Subsidies Scam Taxpayers and Homeowners
By Steven More and Joel Griffith, IBD, Jan 13, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
U.S. Can Reach 50% Renewable Generation by 2030, Says IRENA
By Thomas Overton, Power, Jan 12, 2015
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Energy — Other
Cambodia PM defends China-funded mega-dams
By Staff Writers, Phnom Penh (AFP), Jan 15, 2015
Carbon Schemes
1 million tons of pressurised CO2 stored beneath Decatur, Illinois
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Jan 14, 2015
[SEPP Comment: An expensive, political dead-end – like Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository?]
California Dreaming
California Droughts & Smelt Fish
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Jan 13, 2015
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/california-droughts-smelt-fish/#more-12472
Health, Energy, and Climate
Henry Miller in the Wall St. Journal: EPA/USDA strangled biopharming in its cradle
By Staff Writers, ACSH, Jan 14, 2015
http://acsh.org/2015/01/henry-miller-wall-st-journal-epausda-strangled-biopharming-cradle/
Public health’s cigarette sellout: Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em
By Gilbert Ross, M.D., ACSH, The Hill, Jan 12, 2015
Environmental Industry
Climate Alarmists turn back the Clock
Green Energy Powered our Past, but cannot Provide for our Future.
By Viv Forbes, Australian Climate Sceptics, Jan 16, 2015
http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/climate-alarmists-turn-back-clock.html
[SEPP Comment: Question the statement: “All gases in the atmosphere have an effect on global climate, usually a moderating one, reducing the intense heat of the midday sun and reducing the rate of cooling at night. But only in theoretical climate models does carbon dioxide drive global warming – real evidence contradicts them.” Nitrogen?]
India cracks down on Greenpeace, other environmental groups
By Shashank Bengali, LA Times, Jan 13, 2015 [H/t Bishop Hill]
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-india-crackdown-greenpeace-20150113-story.html
[SEPP Comment: It appears that India’s claim of a threat to national security is as questionable as the Pentagon’s claim that its green energy program is needed for US national security.]
Other Scientific News
Alaskan sounding rocket studies role of solar wind on Earth’s atmosphere
By Staff Writers, Washington DC (SPX), Jan 14, 2015
Cool high speed video: Rainfall can release aerosols, study finds
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jan 14, 2015
NASA Satellite Set to Get the Dirt on Soil Moisture
By Staff Writers, Washington DC (SPX), Jan 13, 2015
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_Satellite_Set_to_Get_the_Dirt_on_Soil_Moisture_999.html
Other News that May Be of Interest
The Digital Road From Poverty
By Bjørn Lomborg, Project Syndicated, Jan 14, 2015
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/broadband-access-lower-poverty-by-bj-rn-lomborg-2015-01
################################################
BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:
Climate Risk Map – Mainly Countries Hostile to the USA
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Jan 14, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/01/14/climate-risk-map-mainly-countries-hostile-to-the-usa/
[SEPP Comment: The risks of climate change to Mongolia are greater than to Greenland, or the Netherlands?]
###################################################
“Number of the week: 0.02C”
That number has already doubled to 0.04C as the amount by which the global warming alarmists are saying mean global surface temperature has surpassed the previous maximum by.
Depends on which surface data set you wish to use.
BEST – 0.01°C
GISS – 0.02°C
JMA – 0.03°C
NOAA – 0.04°C
All with a level of uncertainty (margin of error) between ±0.05°C – ±0.09°C.
BTW, as far as a commentator over at Greg Laden’s Blog informed me tonight, it’s no longer Global Warming (GW), Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW), Climate Change (CC), Anthropogenic Climate Change (ACC), Climate Disruption (CD) or what ever else they use, it is now called……..WARNING! Do not take a mouthful of coffee, tea, bourbon, scotch, red or white wine before reading any further.…….
……..it is now called………HIRGO – Human-Induced Rapid Global Overheating.
This comes direct from Greg Laden’s Blog…….so it must be true.
Sorry, I should have included the link to make it easier;
http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2015/01/17/new-york-times-puts-agw-above-the-fold-but/#comment-618385
The comment (in part);
I would like to point out that Ted Cruz was born here, where I am, in Calgary. It’s not easy to be duped by the whole “warming” story when you know what -40 feels like.
it appears that there GRUBER types throughout government, including NASA and NOAA.
Typo: change to “publicly” in:
“not clearly publically disclosed”
POTUS in his SOTU address is expected to claim the Keystone XL pipeline isn’t needed because of the current glut of oil and the current low prices. Don’t fall for this. Do you really expect the prices to stay low permanently? Why not build it before we have another spike in oil prices? If we had begun drilling in ANWAR all those years ago, that oil would be flowing now. We would have the jobs as well.
And if oil is cheap and plentiful, tell me why we need to throw so much money down the green energy rat hole?
Typo: “one for the 48
statescontiguous states”Typos: “There is no logically reason for this assertion ant the”
“You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool Nature!”
Not according to the marketers for Chiffon margarine.
http://enbridge.com/~/media/www/Site%20Images/Projects/Construction/Line%2061_Wisconsin_Phases%201%20%202-06%2021.jpg
“Quick, Marthy, grab the surfboards! We have a wave of bitumen & dilbit sloshing down the street, up the neighbors driveways and around the corner of their house. Oh, I’d tole ye weez gonna hav fun, we can ride this sucker all the way to Awkinsaw River!”
They’re putting dragster horsepower to up the BPD to 1.2 million, triple the normal capacity of this pipeline. What could possibly go wrong? Careful what these greedy corporations f*n tell ya.
http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/c8/b2/c8b2ed2008d10991b34fa67be892f654.jpg?itok=vk6EQlr0l
They could put refineries up there, bring prosperity to their people and not have to be so hazardous to all our health…
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=5499677&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=1&File=57
…The decline of the Canadian refining sector also represents a significant erosion of high-paying, long term jobs. The direct refinery labour force peaked at 27,400 workers in 1989, falling by nearly 10,000 workers to just 17,500 jobs by 2009. Testimony from the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers’ Union shows that “for every 400,000 barrels of raw bitumen exported out of the country for upgrading and refining, 18,000 jobs in Canada will be lost.” Currently, seven Albert-based upgraders process just 53 per cent of oil sands bitumen prior to export. This represents a significant lost opportunity for long term, value added jobs.
The proposed construction of high volume export pipelines such as Keystone XL and Enbridge Northern Gateway would greatly increase the export of raw bitumen. New Democrats are concerned the Conservative Government’s unreserved support of these pipelines ignores their significant negative impacts on potential long-term employment in Canada and on the value extracted from our natural resource endowment.
Recognizing that oil and gas will continue to play a prominent role in our energy mix in the medium term, a responsible energy strategy would discourage bulk exports of our unprocessed resources and encourage value-added, responsible upgrading, refining and petrochemical manufacturing here in Canada to maximize the economic benefits and jobs for Canadians…
You don’t even have to build permanent refineries anymore, they have portable ones that can go into the deep wilderness.
http://www.ventech-eng.com/
Ken, Here’s other reasons this pipeline idea is insane. Yellowstone River spill.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/01/05/yankton-sioux-lead-fight-against-transcanada-and-keystone-xl-south-dakota-158562
http://www.notesfromaztlan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/335HomelandSecurityGeronimo_sBandFly_1886_.jpg
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/01/19/pipeline-rupture-spills-55000-gallons-oil-yellowstone-river-158764
For new laws: Felony to apply for a grant until all previous data and code has been archived in a public place.
Bigger felony to do anything but reject and report for arrest any application for any grant without all previous data and code archived in a public place.
This is objective and any jury can determine the facts.
We also need a requirement to report non-supporting evidence, but his is much harder to make simple and unambiguous. A start might be to require publication of any cancelled drug trials.
The margin of error of NASA’s margin of error is about 0.5 to 1.0 °C, all on the up-side — because that’s where all of the deliberate adjustment error occurs. Shameless.