Weekly Climate and Energy News Roundup #170

The Week That Was: 2015-02-28 (February 28, 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)

Politicized Science: This week members of Congress removed any doubt that Climate Science has become highly politicized, virtually ignoring that scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence, not based on what some scientists claim they think they know. The once respected New York Times (NYT), had an article criticizing Wei-Hock Soon (Willie Soon) for failing to disclose in publications that the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics received some $1.2 million from fossil fuel sources to support the work of Soon, including the utility company, Southern Company. The Center also received some of this money from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, which is now a favorite target of environmental groups. The article stated that the documents were obtained by Greenpeace, an environmental group, but failed to mention that Greenpeace is a leader in the anti-fossil fuel movement.

Soon has been targeted repeatedly by environmental groups and government-funded scientists because he advocates that the sun has a major role in global warming and cooling. For authorities on the subject, the NYT article uses Gavin Schmidt, head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), who advocated that carbon dioxide (CO2) is the control knob of the earth’s temperatures, a position clearly contradicted by an examination of the earth’s climate history. The article also features the views of Naomi Oreskes, whose book Merchants of Doubt, rails against four distinguished scientists, including Dr Robert Jastrow, the founder of NASA-GISS, without producing evidence to substantiate the accusations.

Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), who is the ranking member of the House of Representatives Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, immediately sent letters to the presidents of various universities to investigate the funding of seven prominent researchers. The letter references the article in the New York Times. Further, the letter to the President of the University of Colorado, demanding disclosure of financial information concerning Roger Pielke, Jr., specifically states:

His July 2013 Senate testimony featured the claim, often repeated, that it is “incorrect to associate the increasing costs of disasters with the emission of greenhouse gases.” John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and technology Policy, has highlight[ed, sic]t what he believes were serious misstatements by Prof. Pielke and the scientific consensus on climate change and his (Holdren’s) position on the issue.

To make matters worse, US Senators Markey, Boxer, and Whitehouse sent letters to about 100 fossil fuel companies referencing articles on Willie Soon and demanding disclosures including:

“List of research efforts (including but not limited to grants, fellowships, scholarships, consulting contracts, contracts honoraria, and speaking events) on or related to climate, climate change, global warming …”

If this affair had stopped with the New York Times article, it would have been one more example of biased reporting in the New York Times, as the grey lady becomes increasingly dark – or green? By publishing the Pentagon Papers, which questioned US involvement in the Vietnam War, the NYT upheld its reputation as a force in standing up to the authority of President Nixon. Now, it promotes the authority of the current administration and its efforts to suppress those who think independently.

To its credit, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) severely criticized Representative Grijalva’s effort. Instead of providing leadership, the new President of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) punted. More importantly, in a letter to the recipients of the letter sent by the three Senators, the majority on Senate Environment and Public Works Committee stated that the prior letter “could be viewed as an attempt to silence legitimate intellectual and scientific inquiry.” “The federal government does not have a monopoly on funding high-quality scientific research, and many of the nation’s environmental laws require decisions be based on the best scientific information available—not just federally funded research.” To which TWTW concurs.

Herein lies the major issue. In September 2014, SEPP produced a handout “Climate Fears and Finance” in which SEPP calculated that, based on US government reports, from Fiscal Year (FY) 1993 to FY 2013 total US expenditures on climate change amounted to more than $165 Billion. More than $35 Billion was identified as climate science. The Federal government has not produced a systematic accounting since FY 2013.

For these massive expenditures, we have expensive climate models that grossly overestimate current temperature trends ( of no warming). Virtually nothing has gone to understanding the natural causes of climate change, a glaring omission because climate change has been occurring for hundreds of millions of years – long before humanity existed. As Fred Singer pointed out, each of the five major reports by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have major defects in evidence and/or logic. Americans are getting a very poor return on these massive expenditures.

See links under Suppressing Scientific Inquiry, Suppressing Scientific Inquiry – The Witch Hunt Claims, Suppressing Scientific Inquiry – The Witch Hunt History, Suppressing Scientific Inquiry – The Witch Hunt Blowback.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/08/climate_science_does_not_support_ipcc_conclusions.html and http://www.sepp.org/key_issues/ClimateFearsandFinance9-7.pdf

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Munich Re: The investigation of Roger Pielke, Jr. brings up the incorrect scientific pretentions of this Administration. There is no evidence of increasing losses occurring from more intense weather events, as correctly reported by Pielke. The largest and second-largest reinsurance companies in the world, Munich Re and Swiss Re, reported that 2014 was benign for losses from natural disasters and overall losses are declining. The largest single owner of Munich Re stock is Berkshire Hathaway, which is controlled by Warren Buffett. Buffett is thought to be a supporter of this Administration.

Is the next move for John Holdren to call Warren Buffet, demanding that he inflate the losses of Munich Re to conform with Holdren’s climate beliefs? See TWTW Feb 7, 2015 & Dec 20, 2014

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Evidence-Free: TWTW received several comments on the use of the term “evidence-free” assertions. Some commentators thought it a bit too strong and suggested terms such as evidence-lacking assertions. The term evidence-free may have a bit of a marketing ring, such as carbon-free sugar, which was used by a sugar manufacturer, as pointed out by Christopher Essex.

A formula for simple sugar (glucose) is C6H12O6 or 6 parts carbon, 12 parts hydrogen and 6 parts oxygen, making carbon-free sugar an oxymoron. Example, “I can resist anything, except temptation.” – Oscar Wilde

Since the authors claim to be authorities in science, one is tempted to call Merchants of Doubt an example of “evidence-free science.”

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Quote of the Week: In summary, the idea is to try to give all of the information to help others to judge the value of your contribution; not just the information that leads to judgment in one particular direction or another. Richard Feynman “Cargo Cult Science”

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Number of the Week: 7

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Mathematical Problems in Models: The Financial Post carried an article by mathematician Christopher Essex defending Willie Soon. In it, Essex brings up some of the mathematical issues to climate models that he discussed in a video for the Global Warming Policy Foundation.

Choice quotes include: “Next December policymakers will try again to save the world from what they don’t understand by proposing policy on something else, which won’t work anyway.

“There’s the closure problem of turbulence in fluids: Not only can’t we determine the flow in a pipe from first principles, we can’t even get the lowest order statistic, after 150 years of trying.”

See link under Suppressing Scientific Inquiry – The Witch Hunt Blowback

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Greenhouse Effect: SEPP does not doubt the existence of heat absorbing gases such as water vapor and carbon dioxide. The issue is: to what extent will carbon dioxide emissions cause an increase in temperatures? It appears to be far less than claimed by the IPCC and its models.

When sent the abstract of a study on direct observations of increase of the greenhouse effect, from 2000 to 2010, we listed 4 questions.

1) Does it include all the measuring stations?

2) Is the complete data set included?

3) The areas are semi-arid, what is the effect in humid (high water vapor) areas

4) Extrapolation of the results to global results must be done rigorously

The cut-off date of 2010 and the claimed consistency with models triggered skepticism. According to a post by blogger Stephen Goddard the start and end points of the time series are carefully selected to give the maximum impact of the data. The actual data collection started earlier and ended later than that reported in the abstract.

This type of “cherry-picking” could be the Ben Santer syndrome, who used the technique to falsely claim a tropical tropospheric hot spot, which the EPA gave as one of the scientific justification for its finding that carbon dioxide emissions endanger human health.

We will wait for other comments on this paper. See links under Defending the Orthodoxy and Challenging the Orthodoxy.

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Half-Experiment: CO2 Science reports on what is called the FACE experiments that were used to question the benefits of added carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, specifically the FACE experiments suggested that the benefits are much reduced as compared to experiments by others, including CO2 Science.

 

“One huge procedural failure of many FACE studies to replicate reality – including all of those conducted by Long and his associates on soybeans and maize – has been the decision of the studies’ principal investigators to not enrich the air with CO2 at night, due in part to the large cost of doing so, plus the assumption that nighttime CO2 enrichment would have a negligible impact on plant growth and development.”

See link under Social Benefits of Carbon.

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Resignation: The long-standing head of the IPCC, Rajendra K. Pachauri, has resigned under a cloud of sexual harassment allegations. His resignation letter speaks volumes on the failure of the IPCC to understand the natural variations in climate:

“For me the protection of Planet Earth, the survival of all species and sustainability of our ecosystems is more than a mission. It is my religion and my dharma.”

Some could hope that the successor will focus on gathering evidence on natural causes of climate change in addition to human causes, but that is doubtful. See links under Problems in the Orthodoxy.

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Simple Models: Roy Spencer has a post discussing his simple one-dimensional model that he and Braswell presented in 2014, which attempts to capture the role the El Nino – Southern Oscillation [ENSO] in causing climate variation. His post contained sa useful graph of the divergence between the average of 90 CMIP5 climate models and the HadCRUT4 observations since about 1998. Prior to that divergence, the CMIP5 Climate performed well when compared with observations of surface temperatures. It is this divergence that is the major scientific issue, regardless what many angry politicians may believe. Spencer states:

 

The central issue we addressed in Spencer & Braswell (2014) — which cannot be brushed aside by claiming there are imperfections of our model — is this:

 

1) Satellite radiative budget observations show the Earth’s radiative balance changes with ENSO, with the radiative changes occurring before the actual temperature changes occur (implying causation). In particular, El Nino warmth (and La Nina coolness) is partly (about 1/3) radiatively-caused. We termed this “internal radiative forcing” of the climate system, probably due to a change in global average cloudiness associated with changes in atmospheric circulation.

 

2) Since there are periods when El Nino is stronger than La Nina (e.g. 1970s-1990s), this then causes periods of natural warming.

 

3) Models that ignore natural sources of warming must be tuned to be too sensitive, in order to explain the observed 1970s-1990s warming with increasing CO2 alone (or nearly alone). They then produce too much warming in future decades.

The anger of the politicians should be directed toward the government-funded scientists who misled them as to the certainty and the competence of their work, rather than towards researchers who have the courage to point out major errors the work of the climate establishment. As Spencer states: “The models produce results consistent with whatever assumptions are programmed into them. We should always question our assumptions, which are usually wrong, and continually strive to make them less wrong.” .See links under Models v. Observations.

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Number of the Week: 7. The number of scientists under investigation by Representative Raúl Grijalva and his group, at least for now.

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ARTICLES:

Please note that articles that are not linked or summarized here are reproduced in the Articles Section of the full TWTW that can be found on the web site under the date of the TWTW.

1. President Veto

The Keystone veto is not a governing strategy but an act of isolation.

Editorial, WSJ, Feb 24, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/articles/president-veto-1424821879

[SUMMARY: President Obama sending the Keystone XL pipeline bill back to Congress without signing it is called by White House aides a new phase of his Presidency: The editorial states they may be right. “He’ll finish out his tenure as a Howard Hughes-like penthouse recluse who is ever more withdrawn from the political and economic center.” The administration has had about 2,300 days to consider Keystone. If this pattern of vetoing bills continues, “Mr. Obama will leave office increasingly isolated, obstructionist and partisan.”]

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2. Citi Turns Green

In a Dodd-Frank world, the bank commits billions to clean tech.

Editorial, WJS, Feb 23, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/articles/citi-turns-green-1424736112

[SUMMARY: Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat announced last week that Citi is going deep in green technology. Citi “will lend, invest and facilitate $100 billion over 10 years for projects ranging from energy, to clean tech, to water, to green infrastructure. Simply put, it is a $100 billion investment in sustainable growth.” That all this reflects the No. 1 domestic priority of the Obama Administration is no doubt a coincidence.

Banks have entered a new age: “It may or may not be the age of environmental economic opportunity. It is unquestionably the age of Dodd-Frank and its creature, the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Banks understand that their first client today is in Washington.”

“But green projects not subsidized by taxpayers have been at a price disadvantage for years, and their competitiveness isn’t likely to improve as the price of oil and natural gas declines.

“Shaping a lending policy around a green agenda while the politics and science of climate change remain controversial and the technology of fossil-fuel extraction is advancing rapidly seems like a recipe for raising risk.”

The green programs seem to be consistent with one of the unspoken goals of Dodd-Frank – to give the government more influence over credit allocation, which is what occurred in the build-up to the housing mortgage crisis.]

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3. Obama’s Oil-by-Rail Boom

Activists get their jollies blocking pipeline construction, but the crude still flows through your neighborhood.

By Holman Jenkins, WSJ, Feb 24, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/articles/holman-jenkins-obamas-oil-by-rail-boom-1424821559?mod=trending_now_1

[SUMMARY: The International Energy Agency forecasts that North America will spend $2.5 trillion on oil infrastructure in the next 20 years, of which Keystone is only 0.3%. “Railroads have steadily gained experience to handle their explosive windfall without major disaster. But, as we are reminded every few weeks, trains will still derail, oil will spill, and messes will have to be cleaned up.”

“Polls show the public supports the pipeline; labor wants the jobs. But for Mr. Obama, the balancing factor is clearly the criticism he would receive from the Sierra Club, the hostile tweets that might be directed at him from millennials, and the money that a handful of green billionaires might redirect to the Clinton Foundation rather than Mr. Obama’s own post-presidential occupations.

“What seems absent from his calculations are any practical considerations outside the political bubble, such as the millions of barrels of flammable liquid that will be rumbling through America’s residential neighborhoods aboard mile-long oil trains.”]

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NEWS YOU CAN USE:

Commentary: Is the Sun Rising?

Over 200 peer-reviewed papers demonstrating solar control of climate published since 2010

By Staff Writer, The Hockey Schtick, Feb 22, 2015

http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2015/02/over-200-peer-reviewed-papers.html

Sun has more impact on the climate in cool periods

From Aarhus University, Science Daily, Feb 27, 2015 [H/t Climate Etc.]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150227112745.htm

Link to paper: Solar forcing of Holocene summer sea-surface temperatures in the northern North Atlantic

By Jiang, et al, Geology, Feb 2, 2015

http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/early/2015/02/02/G36377.1.abstract

Suppressing Scientific Inquiry

Markey, Boxer, Whitehouse Query Fossil Fuel Companies, Climate Denial Organizations on Science Funding

From Senator Ed Markey, US Senate, Feb 25, 2015

http://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/markey-boxer-whitehouse-query-fossil-fuel-companies-climate-denial-organizations-on-science-funding

Senate EPW Republicans Take a Stand for Academic Freedom

Press Release, By Committee Members, Feb 27, 2015

http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Majority.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=fae52e87-eaa5-d1f3-1fa1-728a05afb6b2&Region_id=&Issue_id

I am Under “Investigation”

By Roger Pielke, Jr, The Climate Fix, Feb 25, 2015

https://theclimatefix.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/i-am-under-investigation/

Link to Letter to the President of the University of Colorado from Representative Raúl Grijalva

http://democrats.naturalresources.house.gov/sites/democrats.naturalresources.house.gov/files/Roger%20Pielke%2C%20Colorado.pdf

Suppressing Scientific Inquiry – The Witch Hunt Claims

Deeper Ties to Corporate Cash for Doubtful Climate Researcher

By Justin Gillis and John Schwartz, NYT, Feb 21, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/ties-to-corporate-cash-for-climate-change-researcher-Wei-Hock-Soon.html?_r=0

“’The whole doubt-mongering strategy relies on creating the impression of scientific debate[d],’ said Naomi Oreskes.”

[SEPP Comment: The Oreskes of the world have avoided any debate, because they cannot produce physical evidence.]

 

Guess Who’s Been Secretly Funding a Famous Climate Change–Denying Scientist?

Officials wanting to stymie global-warming legislation often cite the work of Wei-Hock Soon, who has received more than $1 million from the fossil fuel industry.

By Kristina Bravo, Takepart, Feb 21, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/02/21/fossil-fuel-climate-change-scientist

Sen. Markey to investigate industry funding of climate studies

By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Feb 23, 2015

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/233498-sen-markey-to-investigate-industry-funding-of-climate-studies

Protecting Academic Freedom and Holding Ourselves Accountable

By Margaret Leinen, From the Prow, AGU, Feb 27, 2015 [H/t Climate Depot]

http://fromtheprow.agu.org/blog/protecting-academic-freedom-holding-accountable/

[SEPP Comment: The “beacon of leadership for the Earth and space sciences” is weak.]

Suppressing Scientific Inquiry – The Witch Hunt History

The ‘Skeptical Seven’ Witch Hunt is Just the Beginning

By Roy Spencer, Global Warming, Feb 26, 2015

http://www.drroyspencer.com/2015/02/the-skeptical-seven-witch-hunt-is-just-the-beginning/

1) Are you OK with the fact that U.S. energy policy has been informed by an international scientific organization (the IPCC) whose outgoing chairman this week admitted that global warming is his “religion“? Or that others in the IPCC have admitted their goal is global income redistribution? Is this the “unbiased” source of scientific information you want your government to rely on for energy policy?

2) Are you OK with the fact that U.S. government funding for research into natural sources of climate change has been almost non-existent?

Conflicts of interest in climate science

By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Feb 25, 2015

http://judithcurry.com/2015/02/25/conflicts-of-interest-in-climate-science/

Dem wants disclosure of funding behind climate testimony

By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Feb 24, 2015

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/233594-house-dem-presses-universities-to-disclose-industry-funding-of

House Dems: Did Big Oil seek to sway scientists in climate debate?

By Joby Warrick, Washington Post, Feb 24, 2015

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/24/house-dems-did-big-oil-seek-to-sway-scientists-in-climate-debate/

Report links climate skeptic researcher to industry money

By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Feb 23, 2015

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/233458-climate-skeptic-researcher-linked-to-industry-money

Suppressing Scientific Inquiry – The Witch Hunt Blowback

Save Willie: The global warming movement is anti-science, oblivious to how little we know about climate

By Christopher Essex, Financial Post, Feb 25, 2015 [H/t Climate Etc.]

http://business.financialpost.com/2015/02/25/save-willie-the-global-warming-movement-is-anti-science-oblivious-to-how-little-we-know-about-climate/

“Small minds do not understand the importance of unorthodox thinking to science”

No Title – [Selective Outrage on Conflict of Interest Disclosure]

By Roger Pielke, Jr, Climate Fix, Feb 27, 2015 [H/t Climate Etc.]

https://theclimatefix.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/i-am-under-investigation/comment-page-3/#comment-256

Are You Now or Have Your Ever Been a Climate Skeptic

By Steven Hayward, Power Line, Feb 25, 2015

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/02/are-you-now-or-have-you-ever-been-a-climate-skeptic.php

[SEPP Comment: Hayward is one of the seven skeptics.]

Government Witch Hunt Of Scientists Begins: DOJ To Join In? Update! Inhofe Fights Back

By William Briggs, His Blog, Feb 27, 2015

http://wmbriggs.com/post/15433/

New York Times Targeting of Climate Alarm Skeptic Misfires

By Larry Bell, Newsmax, Feb 26, 2015

http://www.newsmax.com/LarryBell/FOIA-New-York-Times-CFA-NSF/2015/02/26/id/627005/

Punch Back Twice as Hard

By Steven Hayward, Power Line, Feb 26, 2015

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/02/punch-back-twice-as-hard-2.php

Sauce for the goose

By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Feb 27, 2015

http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/2/27/sauce-for-the-goose.html

More Blowback

By Steven Hayward, Power Line, Feb 27, 2015

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/02/more-blowback.php

Anatomy of a climate witch-hunt letter from U.S. Representative Raúl M. Grijalva

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Feb 26, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/26/anatomy-of-a-climate-witch-hunt-letter-from-u-s-representative-raul-m-grijalva/

A Shameful Climate Witch Hunt

By Rich Lowry, Politico, Feb 25, 2015

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/opinion-rich-lowry-climate-change-115518.html#.VPB8XvnF98F

Greenpeace enlists Justin Gillis & John Schwartz of the NY Times in Journalistic Terrorist Attack on Willie Soon – Miss Target, Hit Smithsonian Instead

By Kip Hansen, WUWT, Feb 23, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/23/greenpeace-enlists-justin-gillis-john-schwartz-of-the-ny-times-in-journalistic-terrorist-attack-on-willie-soon-miss-target-hit-smithsonian-instead/

Blowback Against Democrats’ McCarthyite Investigation Continues

By John Hinderaker, Power Line, Feb 27, 2015

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/02/blowback-against-democrats-mccarthyite-investigation-continues.php

Climate scientist being investigated by Congress for not believing in global warming enough

By Rick Moran, American Thinker, Feb 26, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/02/climate_scientist_being_investigated_by_congress_for_not_believing_in_global_warming_emenoughem.html

Faux outrage over Willie Soon’s disclosure? Joe Romm failed to disclose his political financial ties in a scientific paper

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Feb 27, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/27/faux-outrage-over-willie-soons-disclosure-joe-romm-failed-to-disclose-his-political-financial-ties-in-a-scientific-paper/

Global Warming Believers Launch Attack Campaign Against Renowned Scientist

Editorial, Daily Caller, Feb 22, 2015

http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/22/global-warming-believers-launch-attack-campaign-against-renown-scientist/

NYT Smears Scientist Willie Soon for Telling the Truth About ‘Global Warming’

By James Delingpole, Breibart, Feb 21, 2015

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/02/21/nyt-smears-scientist-willie-soon-for-telling-the-truth-about-global-warming/

Sick Side-Show: Justin Gillis And New York Times’ Attempt To Blow Up Distinguished Professor’s Reputation.

By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Feb 22, 2015

http://notrickszone.com/2015/02/22/sick-side-show-justin-gillis-and-new-york-times-attempt-to-cage-burn-distinguished-professors-reputation/#sthash.QHcjO6bO.dpbs

Challenging the Orthodoxy

Lamb wrap-up: Richard Scorer

By Bernie Lewin, Enthusiasm, Schepticism, and Science, Feb 27, 2015

https://enthusiasmscepticismscience.wordpress.com/

The Original Climate Sceptics

By Bernie Lewin, Quadrant, Feb 22, 2015

http://quadrant.org.au/opinion/doomed-planet/2015/02/original-climate-sceptics/

[SEPP Comment: Lewin discusses sceptics in addition to HH Lamb. He bring up EPA funding of James Hansen of the NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies (NASA-GISS).

Junk Science Award For The Evening

By Steven Goddard, Real Science, Feb 26, 2015

https://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/junk-science-award-for-the-evening/

Re-writing The Climate History of Iceland

By Euan Mearns, His Blog, Feb 26, 2015 [H/t Climate Etc.]

http://euanmearns.com/re-writing-the-climate-history-of-iceland/

GWPF Calls On Governments To Overhaul ‘Missionary’

Editorial, GWPF, Feb 25, 2015

http://www.thegwpf.com/gwpf-calls-on-governments-to-overhaul-missionary-ipcc/

Link to Pachauri’s resignation letter: http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/ar5/150224_Patchy_letter.pdf

20 Reasons To Be Cheerful On International Polar Bear Day 2015 –

By Staff Writers, GWPF, Feb 27, 2015

http://www.thegwpf.com/20-reasons-to-be-cheerful-on-international-polar-bear-day-2015/

Link to paper: Twenty Good Reason Not to Worry About Polar Bears

By Susan Crockford, GWPF, 2015

http://www.thegwpf.org/content/uploads/2015/02/Crockford-2015.pdf

[SEPP Comment: In time for International Polar Bear Day]

Defending the Orthodoxy

Observational determination of surface radiative forcing by CO2 from 2000 to 2010

By Feldman, et al. Nature, Feb 25, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature14240.html

Potential first direct observation of CO2 effect at the Earth’s surface

By Staff Writers, Berkeley CA (SPX), Feb 26, 2015

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/First_direct_observation_of_carbon_dioxides_increasing_greenhouse_effect_at_the_Earths_surface_999.html

Surface Forcing Time Series (VIDEO)

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/87276.php

Almost 30 years after Hansen’s 1988 “alarm” on global warming, a claim of confirmation on CO2 forcing

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Feb 25, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/25/almost-30-years-after-hansens-1988-alarm-on-global-warming-a-claim-of-confirmation-on-co2-forcing/

Global warming research: strong storms to become stronger, weak storms to become weaker

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Feb 27, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/27/global-warming-research-strong-storms-to-become-stronger-weak-storms-to-become-weaker/

Questioning the Orthodoxy

Editorial: Climate Alarmism Rests On Faith

Editorial, The Australian, Feb 27, 2015 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/editorials/climate-alarmism-rests-on-faith/story-e6frg71x-1227240600787

Climate Alarmists Grasping at Icicles

By H. Sterling Burnett, CNS News, Feb 25, 2015

http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/h-sterling-burnett/climate-alarmists-grasping-icicles

International Polar Bear Day & Polar bears in the news this week

By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Feb 27, 2015

http://polarbearscience.com/2015/02/27/international-polar-bear-day-polar-bears-in-the-news-this-week/

“Not only did the record-breaking sea ice low of 2012 have virtually no effect on the bears but in 2014, only two subpopulations were classified as “declining” or “likely declining” – down from seven in 2010 and four in 2013.”

Social Benefits of Carbon

FACE Experiments (Experimental Artifacts) – Summary

By Staff Writers, CO2 Science, Feb 23, 2015

http://www.co2science.org/subject/f/summaries/faceartifacts.php

Problems in the Orthodoxy

R.K. Pachauri steps down as IPCC chair

By Meena Menon, The Hindu, Feb 25, 2015

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rk-pachauri-steps-down-as-ipcc-chair/article6929267.ece

Link to resignation letter: http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/archive/02321/R_K__Pachauri_s_re_2321258a.pdf

Revkin’s Source

By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Feb 26, 2015

http://climateaudit.org/2015/02/26/revkins-source/#more-20687

[SEPP Comment: Pachauri called to step down for the good of science by the man who falsely claimed that the Himalaya glaciers will disappear by 2035.]

Pachauri Out at IPCC

By Steven Hayward, Power Line, Feb 24, 2015

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/02/pachauri-out-at-ipcc.php

Pachauri’s Departure from IPCC an Opportunity to Overhaul Principles and Honor Social Benefit of Innovations by Annex I Countries says Friends of Science

By Michelle Stirling, PR Web, Feb 26, 2015 [H/t Anne Debeil]

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/02/prweb12542855.htm

Ismail El Gizouli, new IPCC boss

By Luboš Motl, The Reference Frame, Feb 24, 2015

http://motls.blogspot.com/2015/02/ismail-el-gizouli-new-ipcc-boss.html

IPCC Needs to Transform to Scientific Organization – Think Tank

Global Warming Policy Forum urged drastically reform of UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change following the resignation of the IPCC chairman amid sexual harassment allegations.

By Daria Chernyshova, Sputnik, Feb 25, 2015 [H/t GWPF]

http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150225/1018756519.html

The IPCC is an intergovernmental body under the auspices of the UN which has a leading role in the assessment of climate change. It was established in 1988 to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge on climate change.

[SEPP Comment: The IPCC has failed in this mission.]

Building a crony capitalist society

By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Feb 23, 2015

http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/2/23/building-a-crony-capitalist-society.html

“This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time, to change the economic development model that has been reigning for the, at least, 150 years, since the industrial revolution.” Christiana Figueres. UNFCCC.

Mitigating CO2 emissions: a busted flush?

By Michael Kelly, Climate Etc. Feb 23, 2015

http://judithcurry.com/2015/02/23/mitigating-co2-emissions-a-busted-flush/#more-17861

Seeking a Common Ground

Repeating News Story: Eroding Shorelines and Imperiled Coastal Villages in Alaska

By Patrick J. Michaels and Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger, CATO, Feb 26, 2015

http://www.cato.org/blog/repeating-news-story-eroding-shorelines-imperiled-coastal-villages-alaska

Review of Recent Scientific Articles by CO2 Science

Sixty-six Years of Tropical Cyclone Landfalls on Southeast Africa

Fitchett, J.M. and Grab, S.W. 2014. A 66-year tropical cyclone record for south-east Africa: temporal trends in a global context. International Journal of Climatology 34: 3604-3615. Feb 25, 2015

http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/feb/a23.php

[SEPP Comment: Members of Congress should take a look.]

The Many Impacts of Global Warming on Human Health

Cheng, J., Xu, Z., Zhu, R., Wang, X., Jin, L., Song, J. and Su, H. 2014. Impact of diurnal temperature range on human health: a systematic review. International Journal of Biometeorology 58: 2011-2024. Feb 24, 2015

http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/feb/a22.php

“Parenthetically, these findings almost make one want to wish for a little CO2-induced global warming, as it appears to not only stimulate plant growth and development, but to enhance the well-being of humanity as well.”

Acidification Effects on Rock-Boring Sea Urchins of the Red Sea

Hazan, Y., Wangensteen, O.S. and Fine, M. 2014. Tough as a rock-boring urchin: adult Echinometra sp. EE from the Red Sea show high resistance to ocean acidification over long-term exposures. Marine Biology 161: 2532-2545. Feb 23, 2015

http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/feb/a19.php

A Satellite History of Sea Ice Extent in the Southern Hemisphere

Reid, P.A., Tully, M.B., Klekociuk, A.R., Krummel, P.B. and Rhodes, S.K. 2013. Seasonal climate summary Southern Hemisphere (spring 2012): Warmer and drier across much of Australia, along with a new Southern Hemisphere sea ice extent record. Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Journal 63: 427-442. Feb 19, 2015

Models v. Observations

On Natural Climate Variability and Climate Models

By Roy Spencer, Global Warming, Feb 27, 2015

http://www.drroyspencer.com/2015/02/on-natural-climate-variability-and-climate-models/

Link to paper: The Role of ENSO in Global Ocean Temperature Changes during 1955-2011: Simulated with a 1D Climate Model

By Spencer and Braswell, Asia-Pac. J. Atmos. Science. 2014

http://www.drroyspencer.com/wp-content/uploads/Spencer-Braswell-2014-APJAS1.pdf

“The point of this post is to remind people of what I have stated before: to the extent that a change in ocean circulation has negated anthropogenic warming in the last 15+ years, an opposite change likely enhanced warming during the 1970s to 1990s.”

The “Pause” Might End Soon, Or Possibly Not

By David Whitehouse, GWPF Feb 23, 2015

http://www.thegwpf.com/the-pause-might-end-soon-or-possibly-not/

Measurement Issues

Expert team plans to examine ‘adjusted’ temperature data

It is only the adjusted surface records which show 2014 to have been ‘the hottest year on record’, writes Christopher Booker

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/11426889/Expert-team-plans-to-examine-adjusted-temperature-data.html

NOAA Caught Cooling The Past

By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Feb 22, 2015

https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/02/22/noaa-caught-cooling-the-past/

Australian BOM under fire – questions about “adjusted” temperatures exploding around the world

By Jo Nova, Her Bog, Feb 28, 2015

http://joannenova.com.au/2015/02/australian-bom-under-fire-questions-about-adjusted-temperatures-exploding-around-the-world/

Category Five storms aren’t what they used to be

B Jo Nova, Her Blog, Feb 23, 2015

http://joannenova.com.au/2015/02/category-five-storms-arent-what-they-used-to-be/

Changing Weather

Lake Superior Ice Cover Well Ahead of 2014

By Roy Spencer, Global Warming, Feb 22, 2015

http://www.drroyspencer.com/2015/02/lake-superior-ice-cover-well-ahead-of-2014/

Eastern U.S. record breaking cold and snow as seen from space

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Feb 21, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/21/eastern-u-s-record-breaking-cold-and-snow-as-seen-from-space/

Snow for all 50 States Forecast in Next 7 Days

By Roy Spencer, Global Warming, Feb 27, 2015

http://www.drroyspencer.com/2015/02/snow-for-all-50-states-forecast-in-next-7-days/

Changing Climate

Pre-Amazonian Peru was ruled by crocodiles

By Brooks Hays, Washington (UPI), Feb 25, 2015

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Pre-Amazonian_Peru_was_ruled_by_crocodiles_999.html

Study finds massive climate change in North America before there was even an argument about it

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Feb 23, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/23/study-finds-massive-climate-change-in-north-america-before-there-was-even-an-argument-about-it/

“Given the prospect of continued global warming, there is no chance that this ancient weather pattern will return in foreseeable future.”

[SEPP Comment: Contrary to the statement, global warming has stopped and no one can adequately explain why. There is no logical reason to assume that the earth will not experience another major ice age.]

Changing Seas

Inconvenient study: La Niña killed coral reefs 4100 years ago and lasted over two millennia

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Feb 23, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/23/inconvenient-study-la-nina-killed-coral-reefs-4100-years-ago-and-lasted-over-two-millenia/

Link to paper: Climatic and biotic thresholds of coral-reef shutdown

By Toth, et al, Nature Climate Change, Feb 23, 2015

http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2541.html

Local sea level rose 4 inches in the Northeast US and Newfoundland, global warming not to blame

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Feb 25, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/25/local-sea-level-rose-4-inches-in-the-northeast-us-and-newfoundland-global-warming-not-to-blame/

[SEPP Comment: Another reason not to trust predications from short-term trends.]

Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice

You Ought to Have a Look: Antarctic Ice, Summer Thunderstorms, and Cold Winters

By Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger and Patrick J. Michaels, CATO, Feb 23, 2015

http://www.cato.org/blog/you-ought-have-look-antarctic-ice-summer-thunderstorms-cold-winters

Agriculture Issues & Fear of Famine

Owen Paterson: ‘The Green Blob’ is threatening lives in Africa

Former Environment Secretary Owen Paterson will attack EU and Greenpeace over opposition to GM crops

By Matthew Holehouse, Telegraph, UK, Feb 21, 2015 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/greenpolitics/11427506/Owen-Paterson-the-Green-Blob-is-threatening-lives-in-Africa.html

Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?

Politics, science, and public attitudes: What we’re learning, and why it matters

By Jeffrey Mervis, Science Mag, Feb 25, 2015 [H/t Toshio Fujita]

http://news.sciencemag.org/social-sciences/2015/02/politics-science-and-public-attitudes-what-we-re-learning-and-why-it-matters

[SEPP Comment: Focus on communicating better and ignore the evidence that in climate science the issue is the lack of rigor of the evidence that humans are the primary cause of global warming.]

Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.

Catastrophe-Hopping Spiegel: German News Magazine Rolls Out Latest Climate Horror Vision: A Burning North Pole

By P. Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Feb 26, 2015

http://notrickszone.com/2015/02/26/catastrophe-hopping-spiegel-german-news-magazine-rolls-out-latest-climate-horror-vision-a-burning-north-pole/#sthash.VoCnnL9J.dpbs

Unsubstantiated Claim Over One Cyclone: Climate Change is “Expanding the Tropics”

By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Feb 21, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/21/unsubstantiated-claim-over-one-cyclone-climate-change-is-expanding-the-tropics/

[SEPP Comment: Hurricanes (cyclones) appeared in the temperate US, long before there was an “expansion of the tropics of the rate of 150-300 kilometers every 30 years.]

Communicating Better to the Public – Do a Poll?

Study: Climate skeptics and proponents score highest on climate science literacy…but are the most polarized

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Feb 23, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/23/study-climate-skeptics-and-proponents-score-highest-on-climate-science-literacy-but-are-the-most-polarized/

Link to US Government Booklet: Climate Literacy, The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences

By Staff Writers, US Government, Mar 2009

http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/sites/default/files/article_images/Climate%20Literacy%20Booklet%20Hi-Res.pdf

“While global climate has been relatively stable, over the last 10,000 years—the span of human, civilization—regional variations in climate patterns, have influenced human history.”

[SEPP Comment: The Booklet starts with the false premise of climate stability. As HH Lamb demonstrated, global climate has been changing over the past 10,000 years. There is no physical evidence that 20th century warming was caused by human emissions of CO2.]]

Expanding the Orthodoxy

World Economy Transformation Tops UN Climate Agenda

By Larry Bell, Newsmax, Feb 23, 2015

http://www.newsmax.com/LarryBell/climate-co2-warming-un/2015/02/23/id/626273/

 

Questioning European Green

Solar Eclipse Puts Europe’s Power Supplies At Risk

By Pilita Clark, Financial Times, Via GWPF, Feb 23, 2015

http://www.thegwpf.com/solar-eclipse-puts-europes-power-supplies-at-risk/

German Black Forest Wind Turbines Yielded Only 11.8% Of Rated Capacity In 2014! … “Frightening Results”

By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Feb 25, 2015

http://notrickszone.com/2015/02/25/german-black-forest-wind-turbines-yielded-only-11-8-of-rated-capacity-in-2014-frightening-results/#sthash.rtpEiWV6.dpbs

Questioning Green Elsewhere

Climate Revolt Spreads.

By Viv Forbes, Carbon Sense, Via Australian Climate Sceptics, Feb 25, 2015

http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/climate-revolt-spreads.html

Funding Issues

Smear campaign: “His judgment cometh and that right soon”

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Feb 23, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/23/smear-campaign-his-judgment-cometh-and-that-right-soon/

Woods Hole allies with energy firms

Federal funds slip, but researchers remain confident of independence

By Bryan Bender, Boston Globe, May 25, 2014 [H/t Joseph D’Aleo]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/05/24/woods-hole-feeling-budget-squeeze-looks-partner-with-energy-industry/sScPY15XErNsnU5PdtANzI/story.html

Woods Hole has historically received most of its funding from federal research grants, which has helped ensure its independence. But cutbacks at a variety of agencies — and a near-halving of its Pentagon research dollars in the last three years — has prompted it to seek new sources of funding.

[SEPP Comment: We have seen no indication that the objectivity of this valuable institution has slipped. Federal money does not ensure independence of scientific research.]

Subsidies and Mandates Forever

Here we go again

By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Feb 26, 2015

http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/2/26/here-we-go-again.html

“The government, in its infinite foolishness, has spent a million quid or thereabouts to get researchers to develop a process for converting draff and pot ale, by-products of the distillery business, into butanol for use as a biofuel.”

What do we have to show for government subsidies of wind power?

By Randy Simmons, and Jordan Lofthouse, The Hill, Feb 24, 2015

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/233562-what-do-we-have-to-show-for-government-subsidies-of

EPA and other Regulators on the March

“Secret Science”: it’s everywhere, and nowhere, yet it rules our lives

By Staff Writers, ACSH, Feb 26, 2015

http://acsh.org/2015/02/secret-science-everywhere-nowhere-yet-rules-lives/

“The scientific method depends on the free exchange of knowledge and data among researchers with different perspectives, even competing points of view….It is important that risk analysis and health hazard assessment be based on reproducible results, as is done in other areas of science.”

 

GOP attacks EPA on ‘secret science’

By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Feb 24, 2015

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/233714-gop-attacks-epa-on-secret-science

 

CEQ: Talk about Climate Change, Just Don’t Talk about Climate Change

By Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger and Patrick J. Michaels, CATO Feb 24, 2015

http://www.cato.org/blog/ceq-talk-about-climate-change-just-dont-talk-about-climate-change

Energy Issues – Non-US

Cuadrilla: Fracking firm seismic monitor plan refused

By Staff Writer, BBC, Feb 25, 2015 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-31632616

Energy Issues — US

EPA and Utilities Are “On the Wrong Track,” Say Experts

By Aaron Larson, Power Mag, Feb 18, 2015

http://www.powermag.com/epa-and-utilities-are-on-the-wrong-track-say-experts/

“There is a sense within the utility industry that things are definitely going to change, Odegard said, but he suggested that many utilities still don’t seem to know what to do with that knowledge.”

Washington’s Control of Energy

Administration’s “Balanced” Strategy Threatens Alaskan Oil

By Matthew Saba, Manhattan Institute, Feb 5, 2015

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/miarticle.htm?id=11173#.VPCcUPnF98G

Report: Most Keystone crude will stay in U.S.

By Jennifer Dlouhy, Fuel Fix, Feb 23, 2015

http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/02/23/report-most-keystone-crude-will-stay-in-u-s/

[SEPP Comment: Unable to locate report.]

Obama Demands Undeserved Thanks For Low Gas Prices

Editorial, IBD, Feb 25, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/022515-740905-no-thanks-to-obama-for-lower-gas-prices.htm

Obama vetoes Keystone XL bill

By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Feb 24, 2015

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/233651-obama-vetoes-keystone-xl

Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?

Europe’s shale slowdown

Tricky geology, clumsy governments and environmental protesters are smothering Europe’s shale revolution

By Keith Johnson, Pittsburg Post-Gazette, Feb 15, 2015 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2015/02/15/Europe-s-shale-slowdown-is-due-to-tricky-geology-clumsy-government-and-environmental-protests/stories/201502150008

Fracking and the Oil Crisis

By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Feb 24, 2015

https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2015/02/24/fracking-and-the-oil-crisis/

Oil Spills, Gas Leaks & Consequences

Methane leaks from three large US fields in line with federal estimates

By Staff Writers, Washington DC (SPX), Feb 23, 2015

http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/Methane_leaks_from_three_large_US_natural_gas_fields_in_line_with_federal_estimates_999.html

Nuclear Energy and Fears

Palo Verde Nuclear Station Sets U.S. Production Record

By Aaron Larson, Power Mag, Feb 25, 2015

http://www.powermag.com/palo-verde-nuclear-station-sets-u-s-production-record/

[SEPP Comment: Sited on 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) of lands, the station cost $5.9 Billon and produces power at about 1.33 cents per kilowatt-hour.[6] This is cheaper than the cost of coal (2.26 cents per kW·h) or natural gas (4.54 cents per kW·h) in the region as of 2002.]

Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Solar and Wind

Does solar energy have a bright future?

By Martin Livermore, The Scientific Alliance, Feb 27, 2015

http://scientific-alliance.org/node/911

Firm vs. Intermittent Resourcing: A Caveat on Wind Electricity’s Indirect Costs (Part II)

By Thomas Stacy, Master Resource, Feb 27, 2015

https://www.masterresource.org/integrationfirming/part-ii/

[SEPP Comment: Savings in fuel costs do not necessarily mean savings to the consumers.]

Crispy Critters — Nevada Solar Plant Not For The Birds

Editorial, IBD, Feb 24, 2015

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/022415-740678-nevada-solar-farm-sets-birds-on-fire.htm?p=full

Billions in Texas wind power waiting for final go-ahead from feds

Billions of dollars in Texas wind projects remain in a holding pattern, just waiting for the final go-ahead on the federal production tax credit.

By Nicholas Sakelaris, Dallas Business Journal, Feb 17, 2015

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/blog/2015/02/billions-in-texas-wind-power-waiting-for-final-go.html?page=all

[SEPP Comment: All that “free energy.” All it needs are subsidies big enough to justify it.]

Massive clean energy opportunities in reach in Western Australia

By Staff Writers, Melbourne, Australia (SPX) Feb 25, 2015

http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Massive_clean_energy_opportunities_in_reach_in_Western_Australia_999.html

[SEPP Comment: All we need are subsidies!]

Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Energy — Other

A cap on hunger

By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Feb 24, 2015

http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/2/24/a-cap-on-hunger.html

“Precisely what is meant by sustainable development has never been entirely clear, but you could be forgiven for thinking that it was something to do with killing off as many people in the third world as possible. Take, for example, the case of biofuels ..,”

Oh Mann!

Mikey Discovers Ocean Cycles!

By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Feb 27, 2015

https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/02/27/mikey-discovers-ocean-cycles/

Cooler Pacific has slowed global warming, briefly: study

By Alister Doyle, Reuters, Feb 26, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]

http://news.yahoo.com/cooler-pacific-slowed-global-warming-briefly-study-190207474.html

“It appears to be the Pacific that is the main driver” of the two oceans in masking warming, Michael Mann, a co-author and professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University, told Reuters. ”

On Steinman et al. (2015) – Michael Mann and Company Redefine Multidecadal Variability And Wind Up Illustrating Climate Model Failings

By Bob Tisdale, WUWT, Feb 26, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/26/on-steinman-et-al-2015-michael-mann-and-company-redefine-multidecadal-variability-and-wind-up-illustrating-climate-model-failings/

Environmental Industry

Green messages

By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Feb 25, 2015

http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/2/25/green-messages.html

[SEPP Comment: If the wind stops blowing at night, no problem, we will do without electricity.]

Regulating genome-edited crops that aren’t GMOs

By Staff Writers, Sapporo, Japan (SPX), Feb 26, 2015

http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Regulating_genome_edited_crops_that_arent_GMOs_999.html

Other Scientific News

Astronomers find impossibly large black hole

By Staff Writers, Canberra, Australia (SPX), Feb 26, 2015

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Astronomers_find_impossibly_large_black_hole_999.html

Other News that May Be of Interest

Felling of tropical trees has soared, satellite shows, not slowed

By Staff Writers, Washington DC (SPX), Feb 26, 2015

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Felling_of_tropical_trees_has_soared_satellite_shows_not_slowed_999.html

[SEPP Comment: Will felling of tropical trees be called an existential threat to US security.]

Video: How To Think About Statistics, Figures, And New Ideas

By William Briggs, His Blog, Feb 28, 2015

http://wmbriggs.com/post/15271/

[SEPP Comment: An old video of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.]

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BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:

2015 Annual Hockey Stick Awards

By Roy Spencer, Global Warming, Feb 23, 2015

http://www.drroyspencer.com/2015/02/2015-annual-hockey-stick-awards/

[SEPP Comment: Humorous look at an imaginary ceremony.]

Eye roller: Global warming affects maple leaves, and the ponds they fall into

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Feb 26, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/26/eye-roller-global-warming-affects-maple-leaves-and-the-ponds-they-fall-into/

For The Love Of Models: A Global Warming Allegory

By William Briggs, WUWT, Feb 27, 2015

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/02/27/for-the-love-of-models-a-global-warming-allegory/

###################################################

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March 1, 2015 8:53 pm

Political science always makes me think of the complex plane, with a real and an imaginary axis, and with spin control (rotation) induced by magnification (multiplication).

March 1, 2015 9:53 pm

Today, March 1, 2015, will be remembered in history as the day the Big Bang Theory died.
It doesn’t know it yet but it is dead.

Reply to  Alexander Feht
March 2, 2015 1:14 am

That is a rather enigmatic comment.
Have you undiscovered the CMB radiation?

March 1, 2015 11:27 pm

Reblogged this on gottadobetterthanthis and commented:

“Munich Re: The investigation of Roger Pielke, Jr. brings up the incorrect scientific pretentions of this Administration. There is no evidence of increasing losses occurring from more intense weather events, as correctly reported by Pielke. The largest and second-largest reinsurance companies in the world, Munich Re and Swiss Re, reported that 2014 was benign for losses from natural disasters and overall losses are declining. The largest single owner of Munich Re stock is Berkshire Hathaway, which is controlled by Warren Buffett. Buffett is thought to be a supporter of this Administration.
Is the next move for John Holdren to call Warren Buffet, demanding that he inflate the losses of Munich Re to conform with Holdren’s climate beliefs? See TWTW Feb 7, 2015 & Dec 20, 2014”

Bill Murphy
March 1, 2015 11:39 pm

Activists get their jollies blocking pipeline construction, but the crude still flows through your neighborhood.

The ghosts of John D. Rockefeller (the first petroleum pipeline) and “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroad magnate) are surely busting a gut laughing at all this. In many ways an echo of their epic 19th century battle. With — again — the public caught in the middle.

ren
March 1, 2015 11:55 pm

Currently, solar activity (solar wind) is at a medium level.
http://oi60.tinypic.com/be5v1w.jpg
Strong waves in the stratosphere in late December led to a rise in temperature this winter that did not show up at all in the north of the ozone hole.comment image
It can be seen that the temperature continues to drop from the beginning of February.comment image
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/intraseasonal/temp10anim.gif
One word: the average winter returns.

ren
Reply to  ren
March 2, 2015 1:34 am

Sorry. The actual temperature of the stratosphere above the polar circle.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/strat-trop/gif_files/time_pres_TEMP_MEAN_JFM_NH_2015.gif

ren
Reply to  ren
March 2, 2015 2:44 am

Here you can see the temperature jumps this winter in the stratosphere. Currently fell below average.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/temperature/10mb9065.gif

March 2, 2015 12:25 am

As we despair over the sad, sad state of the “science” of climate, let us realize that all government funded and backed “science” ends up in this sorry state. In has happened many times in history. At the present time, the “science” of health and nutrition is in even worse shape than the “science” of climate. As the old TV show used to say, “the truth is out there” — but people don’t seem to recognize it even if it bites them in the hind-parts.

March 2, 2015 4:25 am

To this day, no one area of ​​science and human activity was not as the center of attention, such as the causes of climate change. It is clear that we are talking about something else and not about science. If so many millions of pages, with various diagrams and formulas, write, and you can not get the true causes of phenomena, it is clear that this is something that has no basis in natural law. This is more politics than science. Free evidence for this is that it does not attempt svhatiti that human factors cause local rather than global scale, especially as no one took into account the vast extent of the participation of the interactions of celestial bodies in the solar system.
Interaction of these bodies are changing and the structure of matter in these bodies, which according to certain natural laws changing and temperature, among other things. Solar phenomena are only indicators of these changes, the human factor is null and void according to the forces that govern our solar system.
If someone thinks and knows how CO2 can influence that the planet heats up, why not solve the problem of heating, space for living and working space, with that famous CO2. It’s a wonder that 97% of scientific institutions “tricked” to such propaganda that CO2 is so powerful “aggressor” that threatens humanity will disappear. These creators of many articles on climate change, we need to turn to the study of natural law, not to watch what search policy. If you do not know, I have determined the exact causes of these climate change on all the planets. Let’s common resolve to be in vain not to spend trillions of dollars a year on “empty talk”

Alx
March 2, 2015 5:20 am

Another area with no definitive answer is abortion. No one knows when a fetus acquires a soul and thereby becomes a human being protected by law. Some say when the cell first splits others say at various other times. We really do not know, but the Supreme court has settled the matter not by science (since we have not yet invented a soul indicator test) but came to a political solution reflecting current social, cultural and moral attitudes in the form of a best guess of 6 months of gestation.
The perverse thing about climate science is they have created the equivalent of a soul indicator test, the CO2 test. The presence of CO2 is an indicator not of a soul but humanities sinful nature. Stop killing the planet!, they yell. If you ask, how do you know we are killing the planet? CO2! is the answer. Simple but stupid and shallow enough to create the same kind of polarizing spiteful political debate used in abortion debates.
BTW, Obama would stab his grandmother in the back (which he has metaphorically done) for political gain, so ruining reputations of scientists with integrity or science itself is not of any particular concern for him. For politicians like Obama, innocent people are the perhaps unfortunate but necessary casualties of their political ambitions.

Gamecock
March 2, 2015 7:15 am

Obama vetoing Keystone is not news. He said, “No,” in January, 2012. He meant no. All of the public theater about it since has been for your entertainment.

phlogiston
March 2, 2015 8:57 am

This is an impressive amount of material, thanks to Ken Haapala of SEPP for his tireless efforts compiling this each week.

Ralph Kramden
March 2, 2015 9:25 am

Not only can’t we determine the flow in a pipe from first principles, we can’t even get the lowest order statistic” I can personally vouch for this statement. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to simulate entrainment in a large scale chemical reactor. Total disaster.

R Graf
March 2, 2015 10:33 am

Although the Democrat media routinely places the Pentagon Papers to the Nixon administration since they got published in 1971, the papers wen up to only 1967 and dealt exclusively with the President Johnson’s lies about the Vietnam War.

Ralph Kramden
March 2, 2015 12:41 pm

A little off the subject but I was reading a paper by Dr. Freeman Dyson, a professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. In the paper Dr. Dyson states, “In humid air, the effect of carbon dioxide on radiation transport is unimportant because the transport of thermal radiation is already blocked by the much larger greenhouse effect of water vapor.” I was not aware of this. Anyone care to confirm or disagree with this.

March 7, 2015 2:07 pm

RE: Iceland – Bardarbunga – Holuhraun Erumption:
3 March 2015 – from the Scientific Advisory Board

The volcanic eruption in Holuhraun came to an end on Friday 27th of February.
Scientists are now analysing data and examining the eruption site to reassess the hazard assessment. It was decided to use this week for that assignment. The Scientific Advisory Board will meet again next Tuesday, 10th of March, based on that meeting it will be decided if the hazard assessment and the restricted area will be changed.

27 February 2015 12:00 – from the Scientifc Advisory Board

Seismic activity in Bárðarbunga continues to diminish. No earthquake over M3 has occurred since 21 February and none over M5 since 8 January.

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/articles/nr/3087
September – March GPS measurements of the subsidence of the Bardarbunga crater and Earthquake summary:
http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/gps-measurements/bardarbunga/caldera/
I remember reading (and posting – can’t find it) back in Oct-Nov. that a geophysicist predicted the eruption would end in March when the Bardarbunga crater plug descended to the Holuhraun eruption elevation eliminating the pressure head between the two points. I thought it a bold prediction at the time. But my hat’s off to him — Feb. 27th is close enough.