The Week That Was: 2015-03-21 (March 21, 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)
Certainty: The quote [below] from logician Bertrand Russell is part of his extensive writings in praise of science and its capability to calculate probability of error based upon evidence, often coming from repeated trials. Not religious, Russell often differentiated between scientists, religious or not, as a group, and politicians. Over the past few decades the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) transformed from an organization for science to one controlled by politicians and expressing a cult-like belief – the belief that human emissions of carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases, are causing unprecedented and dangerous global warming. In the process, the IPCC has turned probability analysis from objective frequency testing to guesswork. The assertions of certainty about human cause in the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR-5) is but the latest example.
As discussed in the March 14 and March 7 TWTWs, MIT Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric Sciences Richard Lindzen considers the shift in terminology by the Climate Establishment from “global warming” to “climate change” indicates the silliness of the entire issue of human cause of climate change. To him, climate change has been occurring since the earth was formed and now this naturally occurring course is taken as evidence of doom. The March 14 TWTW gave one example of natural climate change, a study of borings of marine sediments off the coast of north China, which date back 1.4 billion years.
The IPCC and organizations that follow it, such as the US Climate Change Research Program (USCCRP) are being forced to make silly claims because they have failed to study and understand the natural causes of climate change – natural causes that are contributing to the current temperature trend of no trend, which contradict prior assessments by the IPCC, particularly the Fourth Assessment Report (AR-4) in 2007. It was in 2007 that the IPCC received the Nobel Peace Prize, which the IPCC proudly posts on its web site. Nature is turning the certainty expressed by the IPCC on its head. See the March 7 and 14 TWTWs at http://www.sepp.org/the-week-that-was.cfm and http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/spm.html
###################################################
Quote of the Week: One of the greatest benefits that science confers upon those who understand its spirit is that it enables them to live without the delusive support of subjective certainty. That is why science cannot favour persecution.— Bertrand Russell, The Impact of Science on Society. New York; Routledge, 1985, p. 102. [H/t Paul MacRae]
###################################################
Number of the Week: 8.2%
###################################################
Executive Order: Expressing great certainty in the pronouncements of the IPCC and the USCCRP, President Obama used his executive powers to order a reduction of federal government greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) by 40 percent below 2008 levels, over the next decade. The US government is the largest consumer of energy in the country. He also set the goal that the government will get 30 percent of its power from renewable sources over the next 10 years.
According to reports, Obama announced this when saying: “Today, America is going to be once again leading by example,” in brief remarks during a Department of Energy roundtable with leaders from the federal contractors and suppliers. Also, the “White House said the move would help reach a non-binding commitment Obama signed with China in November 2014 to curb U.S. emissions at least 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.”
From the prospective of Washington, the thought of a 40 percent lowering in CO2 emissions and 30% renewable power is almost amusing. Such a directive will include computers, communications, elevators, moving stars, heating, cooling, subways, etc. Other than hydro, which is impractical for Washington, renewable sources are unreliable and use massive land areas. Will this be a return of the Washington of the 1950s when few people worked in the summer? Will it apply to subways that move federal employees? Will it require denuding the Washington region of its trees? Offshore wind is expensive and has not been demonstrated to be reliable.
Amusement aside, the consequences of this executive order to military complexes such as Norfolk-Newport News is staggering, and may result in a real threat to national defense. See links under Expanding the Orthodoxy.
****************
Renewable Power in the UK: Writing for the Centre for Policy Studies, Robert Darwall outlines the damage that renewable subsidies are creating in the UK. Of course, his analysis is disputed by the Greens, also presented. Darwall’s presentation of the experience of Edison is instructive.
Edison was an inventor, an engineer and an entrepreneur. He successfully established the first electrical grid, in New York City, powered by coal. Edison had the ability to recognize what was needed and invented it, if necessary. Many government leaders saw the benefits of reliable electricity, and demanded it in their cities.
Later, Edison failed because he failed to realize the market advantages of AC power over DC power. Some were hurt by this failure, but the public benefited when one system was replaced by a superior system. Politicians replacing a superior, reliable system with an inferior, unreliable system hurt the public. Only those who take advantage of inferior thinking benefit. See links under Questioning European Green and Subsidies and Mandates Forever.
****************
EPA Demands: A revolt is occurring against EPA demands that States produce a clean power plan. Senior Republican leaders in Congress are stating that the EPA requirement is unconstitutional and illegal. In Congressional testimony, Lawrence Tribe, a constitutional law scholar, who is decidedly very liberal, up to this point, and who mentored President Obama, declared that the EPA energy plan for existing coal-fired power plants is unconstitutional. A number of states are indicating they will ignore EPA demands. According to reports, starting next year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will approve “disaster preparedness funds only for states whose governors approve hazard mitigation plans that address climate change” (read comply with EPA demands).
When similar show-downs occurred with the parties in the White House and control of Congress switched, many major media sources screamed a constitutional crisis. They are strangely quiet now. Apparently, to them, the authority of the executive branch depends on the political party of that executive. See links under The Political Games Continue, Litigation Issues, and EPA and other Regulators on the March
****************
The Third Way: Probably without intending to do so, President Obama may have provided a third way out of a show-down over EPA demands. He announced that America will lead by example. The states could respond to EPA demands by declaring “let the federal government lead by example. Let Washington demonstrate how quickly and effectively it can implement President Obama’s Executive Order – with minimal costs.
****************
In a Nutshell: Roger Pielke, Jr, falsely accused of being a climate change denier by those engaged in the Witch Hunt, communicated a summary of the movie Merchants of Doubt: “How a 90 year-old man and a few dead friends fool the stupid American public, end of civilization results.” These scientists insisted on the IPCC conforming to the principles of science. No wonder the Climate Establishment fears them. It may lose the billions of dollars it is receiving from the federal government.
The movie Merchants of Doubt is failing at the box office. Writing in Climate Etc. Judith Curry expressed hope this may be the end of such claims. Curry concludes: “The bottom line here is that very sloppy history and social science research ([by authors] Oreskes and Conway) is being used to justify ad hominem attacks against scientists that do not support the prevailing consensus. I find this reprehensible.”
See links under Seeking a Common Ground, and Communicating Better to the Public – Go Personal.
****************
Role of Science: On her web site, Climate Etc., Judith Curry presents a thoughtful essay on science and society by William Hooke. Hooke is Associate Executive Director of the American Meteorological Society. He discusses the beginnings of the National Science Foundation and how social stresses may be changing its role in American society.
“How have we faced these new stresses? Unfortunately, many scientists have responded by resorting to advocacy. Worse, we’ve too often dumbed down our lobbying until it’s little more than simplistic, orchestrated, self-serving pleas for increased research funding, accompanied at times by the merest smidgen of supporting argument.
“At the same time, as we’ve observed and studied emerging natural resource shortages, environmental degradation, and vulnerability to hazards, we’ve allowed ourselves to turn into scolds. Worse, we’ve chosen sides politically, largely abandoning any pretense at nonpartisanship.”
For years, members of the Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP) have questioned the direction of federally-funded climate research with senior administrators of science entities, including the head of the National Science Foundation. The funding focused on human-caused global warming, excluding natural causes. When temperatures stopped rising, the term was politically shifted to climate-change, demonstrating a severe weakness in the government-funded science.
Based on government publications, SEPP calculated that, from FY 1993 to FY 2013, the US government spent over $35 Billion on climate science. Yet, no major programs on understanding the natural causes of climate change (warming or cooling) were reported. This funding has created a biased science – one that ignores nature. (“Climate Fears and Finance”)
The current temperature plateau further demonstrates the biased science, with no increase in atmospheric temperatures for at least a decade (University of Alabama at Huntsville calculations), and up to 18 years with Remote Sensing Systems atmospheric calculations and Hadley-Climatic Research Unit surface calculations. Excuses for the plateau vary, but many include a natural cause, such as shifts in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO).
Shifts in the PDO from cooling to warming back to cooling have been known since the 1990s. Yet government-funded climate science fails to take it into account, demonstrating that government-funded climate science is obsolete.
For these reasons, SEPP suggests that all spending measures on climate science carry an amendment that 25% of the spending will be devoted on understanding the natural influences on climate. These measures could include the US Global Change Science Program, with 13 Federal departments and agencies participating, and with a FY 2014 enacted budget of $2.490 Billion. By funding the natural causes of climate change, government can help create a more robust science, not one focused on a special case.
Please see links under Seeking a Common Ground and “Climate Fears and Finance”
http://www.sepp.org/key_issues/ClimateFearsandFinance9-7.pdf
****************
GWPF: Thirteen members of the Academic Advisory Council of the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) wrote a response to A Short Guide to Climate Science by the Royal Society. The response is titled The Small Print: What the Royal Society Left Out and contains 20 points. As with all such efforts, there may be minor issues arising in the response, often relating to emphasis. Fred Singer may be preparing a critique, however, a few issues are presented below.
Under point 2, the response states: “The warming effect of greenhouse gases is widely recognized. However, the direct effect is known to be relatively small: about 1◦C for a doubling of carbon dioxide levels.” The 1◦C comes from experiments using dry air. The main issue is what happens in humid air, particularly over the tropics.
Under point 5, the response states: “Similarly, temperatures in the troposphere over the tropics are predicted to rise faster than anywhere else, including at the surface. This too is a matter of basic physics, where the temperature profile follows what is known as the moist adiabat. Models are, indeed, consistent with this. However, observed warming in the tropical troposphere is very weak compared to warming at the surface, suggesting problems with observations at the surface or in the troposphere or both. Given the small changes that are being studied, neither possibility is implausible.”
The comprehensive atmospheric measurements clearly show that warming over the tropics is not as intensive as suggested by the models or by surface measurements. The surface measurements are sparse and probably not correct.
Under point 18 the response states: “Scientists continue to address some of the unknowns regarding the climate system.” A main issue is the role of government funding in distorting the climate science. For example, there is no US funding for the natural causes of climate change.
The above points are minor, and we recognize the response is significant effort. See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy.
****************
Cosmic Rays: Last week TWTW linked to a paper on cosmic rays by Tsonis, et al., using statistical techniques that were not compelling. Richard Lindzen quickly question the involvement of some of the co-authors. The Washington Post carried an article with the headline “No, cosmic rays aren’t causing global warming.” The hypothesis is stated backwards. The hypothesis is increased high-energy cosmic rays increase cloudiness, thus cause cooling.
The article also stated there was no correlation between cosmic rays and temperatures. Yet, the abstract states: “However, on short interannual timescales, we find a significant, although modest, causal effect between CR and short-term, year-to-year variability in global temperature that is consistent with the presence of nonlinearities internal to the system. Thus, although CR do not contribute measurably to the 20th-century global warming trend, they do appear as a nontraditional forcing in the climate system on short interannual timescales.”
In spite of the Washington Post article, the jury is still out. The time scales involved may be much longer than considered in the paper. Also, surface temperature measurements are questionable. See links under Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.
****************
Adjusting Surface Temperature Records: In discussing the extreme winter of 2014/15 for the East, Joseph D’Aleo of WeatherBell Analytics repeats why he continues to reference the Number of state Record High & Low Temperatures by Decade, as presented by John Christy in US House/Senate Testimony
“I have seen emails suggesting they [NOAA & NASA-GISS] would like to modify this inconvenient data set [record high & low temperatures] but they have no excuse to do it as the Time of Observation adjustment that does much of the adjustment (cooling early decades and warming later) is said to prevent double counting a high two straight days. For all-time records, this doesn’t matter. Homogenization, the other ‘blending’ trick also makes no sense when looking for record cold or warm records.”
Also, the 2014 US tornado year was contrary to White House claims. Please see links under Changing Weather.
****************
Links: Last week several TWTW readers commented that they had difficulty with the links in the email they received. The email service modifies the links when TWTW is sent out. We have taken steps to simplify the procedure in an effort to reduce any such modification. In any case, if the links in the e-mail do not work, the links in the pdf on the SEPP web site should work http://www.sepp.org/the-week-that-was.cfm
****************
Number of the Week: 8.2%. Writing in Watts Up With That, earth scientist David Middleton demolishes the claim that 97% of climate scientists agree with human-caused global warming, used by the President and many others. According to Middleton, only 8.2% of the papers considered by Cook J. et al. (2013) explicitly endorsed human-caused global warming. For 66.73% there is no explicit or implicit position. Several authors have publicly objected to Cook et al. classifying their papers as implicit endorsement.
Writing in Environmental Research Letters, John Cook and Kevin Cowtan have produced a weak explanation. But, the damage has been done, and it is on-going. Such papers have discredited scientists and science in general. See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy and
Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?
###################################################
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. Climate Free Speech
Dissenters push back against political intimidation.
Editorial, WSJ, Mar 16, 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/climate-free-speech-1426548714
[SUMMARY: The editorial states: “The Congressional Democrats trying to smear climate skeptics are betting that the threat of a federal investigation will muzzle academics and companies that question their climate-change agenda. So a round of applause for those pushing back, providing the bullies a public lesson in the First Amendment.”
The editorial praises the response of CATO president John Allison, discussed in last week’s TWTW, Heartland Institute’s Joe Bast and Koch Industries lawyer Mark Holden, “who provided the politicians with a tutorial on his company’s right to free association.” The editorial also praises the efforts of the 11 Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the efforts of the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union.
The editorial concludes: “Democrats and their allies have failed to persuade Americans that climate change is so serious that it warrants sweeping new political controls on American energy and industry. So liberals are trying to silence those who are winning the argument. We’re glad to see the dissenters aren’t intimidated.”]
******************
2. Fossil Fuels Will Save the World (Really)
There are problems with oil, gas and coal, but their benefits for people—and the planet—are beyond dispute
By Matt Ridley, WSJ, Mar 13, 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/fossil-fuels-will-save-the-world-really-1426282420
[SUMMAY: Partially summarized by Mark Perry under Challenging the Orthodoxy, Ridley starts with the statement: “The environmental movement has advanced three arguments in recent years for giving up fossil fuels: (1) that we will soon run out of them anyway; (2) that alternative sources of energy will price them out of the marketplace; and (3) that we cannot afford the climate consequences of burning them.”
Mr. Ridley proceeds to demolish all these arguments and concludes: “The one thing that will not work is the one thing that the environmental movement insists upon: subsidizing wealthy crony capitalists to build low-density, low-output, capital-intensive, land-hungry renewable energy schemes, while telling the poor to give up the dream of getting richer through fossil fuels.”]
******************
3. Notable & Quotable: Environmental Religion
Environmentalism is a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths.
By Michael Crichton, WSJ, 2003
http://www.wsj.com/articles/notable-quotable-environmental-religion-1426456555
[SUMMARY: The editorial repeats a portion of the writing of Michael Crichton:
Today, one of the most powerful religions in the Western World is environmentalism. Environmentalism seems to be the religion of choice for urban atheists. Why do I say it’s a religion? Well, just look at the beliefs. If you look carefully, you see that environmentalism is in fact a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths.
There’s an initial Eden, a paradise, a state of grace and unity with nature, there’s a fall from grace into a state of pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, and as a result of our actions there is a judgment day coming for us all. We are all energy sinners, doomed to die, unless we seek salvation, which is now called sustainability. Sustainability is salvation in the church of the environment. Just as organic food is its communion, that pesticide-free wafer that the right people with the right beliefs, imbibe. . . .
There is no Eden. There never was. What was that Eden of the wonderful mythic past? Is it the time when infant mortality was 80%, when four children in five died of disease before the age of five? When one woman in six died in childbirth? When the average lifespan was 40, as it was in America a century ago. When plagues swept across the planet, killing millions in a stroke. Was it when millions starved to death? Is that when it was Eden?]
******************
4. Real Science Doesn’t Squelch Dissent
Eisenhower: “public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.”
Letters, WSJ, Mar 16, 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/real-science-doesnt-squelch-dissent-letters-to-the-editor-1426438114
[SUMMARY: Emeritus Professor Henry Bauer of VPI writes:
“Richard Lindzen describes accurately how critics of human-caused climate change are attacked personally while their substantive arguments are not answered (“The Political Assault on Climate Skeptics,” op-ed, March 5). It remains to be noted that this sort of thing is far from unique. What President Dwight Eisenhower warned against has come to pass: “In holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.”
“The mainstream consensus controls funding and publication and “peer review” excludes competent minority views on a wide range of topics. On matters like “global warming” that involve public policies and significant public expenditures, the attacks on those who disagree are particularly vicious.”]
###################################################
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Climategate Continued
Another Upside-Down PAGES2K Non-Corrigendum
By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Mar 17, 2015
http://climateaudit.org/2015/03/17/another-upside-down-pages2k-non-corrigendum/#more-20711
[SEPP Comment: Allowing significant corrections without public acknowledgement of the source of the corrections.]
Brandon’s ebook on the Hockey Stick
By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Mar 15, 2015
http://climateaudit.org/2015/03/15/brandons-ebook-on-the-hockey-stick/
[SEPP Comment: Review of a book by Brandon Shollenberger on Mann’s Hockey Stick Wars.]
Weaver: “I do not lobby for more climate funding”
By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Mar 18, 2015
http://climateaudit.org/2015/03/18/weaver-i-do-not-lobby-for-more-climate-funding/
[SEPP Comment: Weaver is a noted Canadian IPCC model builder, now a Green Party politician.]
Weaver Suggests Buddy Review for Mann et al 2005
By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Mar 15, 2015
http://climateaudit.org/2015/03/15/weaver-suggests-buddy-review-for-mann-et-al-2005/
[SEPP Comment: Another example of “pal review” of 21st century works used to invoke the fear of global warming.]
Suppressing Scientific Inquiry – The Witch Hunt
Global warming snipe hunt
Certain Democratic senators are in hot pursuit of heretics
Editorial, Washington Time, Mar 16, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/16/editorial-democrats-seek-out-global-warming-resear/
[SEPP Comment: Snipe hunts are for a mythical bird.]
Suppressing Scientific Inquiry – The Witch Hunt – Push-Back
A Thank You to Rep. Raul Grijalva, Narrative Killer
By Roger Pielke, Jr. His Blog, Mar 16, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://rogerpielkejr.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/a-thank-you-to-rep-raul-grijalva.html
“As I have often written, there is no “war on science” being conducted by Republicans or by Democrats. There is however plenty of politics. Politics can be conducted in ways that contribute to common interests, or in ways that are pathological. The science community has tried the latter for a decade. It is time to move beyond the toxic partisanship of the most recent science wars. Oddly enough, Rep. Grijalva’s overreach helps us to move in that direction.”
Climate expert John Christy on funding: ‘No one is paying me to have my view’
By Paul Gattis, AL.com, Mary 18, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/03/climate_expert_john_christy_on.html
“My response is that I don’t see anything in this letter that challenges the science we produce,” he said. “So therefore, it should not matter where support came from to produce that science. (The Obama) administration believes that if you don’t agree with them about climate change, you must be being paid to have that opinion.”
[SEPP Comment: Another great graph showing the increasing disparity between model projections and observations in the atmosphere.]
University of Delaware defends Legates against witch hunt
By Luboš Motl, The Reference Frame, Mar 19, 2015
http://motls.blogspot.com/2015/03/university-of-delaware-defends-legates.html#more
A comment by Roger Pielke Jr
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Mar 18, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/3/18/a-comment-by-roger-pielke-jr.html
“Thus, Emanuel is (a) self-citing in stealth fashion, and (b) failing to disclose a big COI.”
[SEPP Comment: Conflicts of interest which must be carefully stated by some, can be ignored by others?]
You Ought to Have a Look: Intimidation in Science
By Patrick J. Michaels and Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger, CATO, Mar 20, 2015
http://www.cato.org/blog/you-ought-have-look-intimidation-science
John Kerry: Secretary of Mis-State?; Gore bloviates, hoping to cash in again
By Tim Ball, ICECAP, Mar 17, 2015
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/political-climate/john_kerry_secretary_of_mis_state/
Liberals Don’t Understand the First Amendment – Or the Climate, Either
By John Hinderaker, Power Line, Mar 15, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Drop the climate-change witch hunt
Editorial, Arizona Republic, Mar 16, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2015/03/11/grijalva-asu-researcher/70181160/
[SEPP Comment: From Rep. Raul Grijalva’s home state.]
Climate Change Alarmists Put Climate Witch Trials On Docket
By Kerry Jackson, IBD, Mar 18, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Challenging the Orthodoxy
Royal Society Lets The Dogma Out: GWPF Brings Balance To Climate Debate
By Donna Rachel Edmunds, Breitbart, Mar 17, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
Link to Royal Society Report: A Short Guide to Climate Science
https://royalsociety.org/~/media/policy/projects/climate-evidence-causes/climate-change-q-and-a.pdf
Link to GWPF Report: The Small Print: What the Royal Society Left Out
http://www.thegwpf.org/content/uploads/2015/03/Shortguide.pdf
Why my own Royal Society is wrong on climate change: A devastating critique of world’s leading scientific organisation by one of its Fellows
By Michael Kelly, A Fellow of the Royal Society, Daily Mail, UK, Mar 14, 2015
The implications for climate sensitivity of Bjorn Stevens’ new aerosol forcing paper
By Nicholas Lewis, Climate Audit, Mar 19, 2015
Link to paper: Rethinking the lower bound on aerosol radiative forcing
By Bjorn Stevens, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Journal of Climate, Mar 19, 2015
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00656.1
[SEPP Comment: The study is based on surface temperature trends, which are used by the IPCC, but are not as useful as atmospheric temperatures measured by weather satellites and confirmed by weather balloons.]
Implications of lower aerosol forcing for climate sensitivity
By Nic Lewis, Climate Etc. Mar 19, 2015
Climate sensitivity takes another tumble
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Mar 19, 2015
http://www.bishop-hill.net/blog/2015/3/19/climate-sensitivity-takes-another-tumble.html
The IPCC versus Stevens
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Mar 20, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/3/20/the-ipcc-versus-stevens.html
Matt Ridley: ‘Fossil fuels will save the world,’ and will continue to provide more than 81% of US energy in 2040
By Mark Perry, AEIdeas, Mar 15, 2015
http://www.aei.org/publication/matt-ridley-fossil-fuels-will-save-the-world/
Anatomy of a Collapsing Climate Paradigm
By David Middleton, WUWT, Mar 18, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/03/18/anatomy-of-a-collapsing-climate-paradigm/
Science Lessons for Secretary of State John F. Kerry
By David Middleton, WUWT, Mar 17, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/03/17/science-lessons-for-secretary-of-state-john-f-kerry/
What Is A “Normal” Climate?
By Tim Ball, WUWT, Mar 17, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/03/17/what-is-a-normal-climate/
Why I am a Climate Change Skeptic
By Patrick Moore, ICECAP, Mar 21, 2015
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/political-climate/why_i_am_a_climate_change_skeptic1/
Defending the Orthodoxy
A Reagan approach to climate change
By George Shultz, Washington Post, Mar 13, 2015
[SEPP Comment: For a different view, see link immediately below.]
Taking the Wrong Lesson From the Gipper on Climate
By Steven Hayward, Power Line, Mar 16, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
How to Compensate Small Island Nations for Tropical Cyclone Damage
Heavy storm damage to Vanuatu and the Philippines will affect climate negotiations, diplomats say.
Staff Writers, Climate Wire, Via Scientific American, Mar 17, 2015
Obama: GOP Will Have To Change Its Stance On Global Warming
By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Mar 16, 2015
http://dailycaller.com/2015/03/16/obama-gop-will-have-to-change-its-stance-on-global-warming/
[SEPP Comment: Show the physical evidence that CO2 is the cause, not models that are not validated.]
Defending the Orthodoxy – On to Paris!
Barack Obama’s green gambit
The president is pushing for a global climate change accord that could seal his environmental legacy.
By Edward-Isaac Dovere, Politico, Mar 18, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/barack-obamas-green-gambit-116161.html
[SEPP Comment: No matter what the costs to the public.]
IEA: For First Time in 40 Years, World Energy Sector GHG Emissions Stalled in 2014 [without an economic slowdown]
By Sonal Patel, Power Mag, Mar 18, 2015
“IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol, recently named to take over from Maria van der Hoeven as the next IEA executive director, said the finding “provides much-needed momentum to negotiators preparing to forge a global climate deal in Paris in December: For the first time, greenhouse gas emissions are decoupling from economic growth.”
[SEPP Comment: From this brief period we can establish long-range government policies?]
Questioning the Orthodoxy
Atlas Shrugged, Net Neutrality, and Government Controlled Science
By Roy Spencer, Global Warming, Mar 19, 2015
“Even we admit that humans have some influence on climate. But (1) the human portion is highly uncertain, and (2) we can’t do anything significant about it anyway without killing millions of people in the process.”
Supporting document for Canada’s polar bear status maps reveal surprises
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Mar 17, 2015
The China – US Agreement?
Carbon accounting
By Martin Livermore, The Scientific Alliance, Mar 20, 2015
http://scientific-alliance.org/node/920
Understanding the U.S.-China Announcement On Climate Change
By George David Banks, ACCF Center for Policy Research, Via GWPF, Mar 18, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/understanding-the-u-s-china-announcement-on-climate-change/
Link to paper: Understanding the U.S.-China Announcement on Climate Change: Separating Myth from Reality
By George David Banks, ACCF Center for Policy Research, March 2015
http://accf.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ACCF_ChinaReport_FINAL2.pdf
[SEPP Comment: It is not what was proclaimed!]
Problems in the Orthodoxy
Member states reassert sovereignty over energy mix ahead of EU summit
By James Crisp, Euractiv, Mar 17, 2015 [H/t Anne & Lars Debeil]
Van Ypersele: A Terrible Choice for IPCC Chairman
By Donna Laframboise, NFC, Mar 16, 2015
http://nofrakkingconsensus.com/2015/03/16/van-ypersele-a-terrible-choice-for-ipcc-chairman/
Seeking a Common Ground
Bankruptcy of the ‘merchants of doubt’ meme
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Mar 15, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/03/15/bankruptcy-of-the-merchants-of-doubt-meme/
My Review of Galileo’s Middle Finger
By Roger Pielke Jr, His Blog, Mar 19, 2015
http://rogerpielkejr.blogspot.com/2015/03/my-review-of-galileos-middle-finger.html
On the social contract between science and society
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Mar 18, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/03/18/on-the-social-contract-between-science-and-society/
Link to essay: Reaffirming the Social Contract Between Science and Society
Our geosciences community too often gives the impression that we care primarily about more funding for our research. Such overt self-interest poses risks to our community and to society.
By William Hooke, EOS, Mar 17, 2015
https://eos.org/opinions/reaffirming-the-social-contract-between-science-and-society
Conservatives Are No More Biased About Science Than Liberals Are
By Erik Nisbet and Kelly Garrett, New Republic, Mar 12, 2015 [H/t Climate Etc.]
Dr Tim Ball debates Canadian Green Elizabeth May –UPDATED
By Geoff Brown, Australian Climate Sceptics, Mar 18, 2015
http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/dr-tim-ball-debates-canadian-green.html
[SEPP Comment: Video. Links to an audio interview with Ball stating what he was not allowed to say in the debate.]
Review of Recent Scientific Articles by CO2 Science
Warm Biases and Climate Change Amplification in CMIP5 Models
Cheruy, F., Dufresne, J.L., Hourdin, F. and Ducharne, A. 2014. Role of clouds and land-atmosphere coupling in midlatitude continental summer warm biases and climate change amplification in CMIP5 simulations. Geophysical Research Letters 41: 6493-6500., Mar 18, 2015
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/mar/a17.php
“Continuing to quote the authors, “the above deficiencies of the present climate simulations impact future climate projections,” in that “the same feedback mechanisms identified for the warm-biased areas for the present climate are in play for future climate projections,” which unfortunate state of affairs can artificially amplify predicted climate warming at regional scales.”
Ocean Acidification (Effects on Marine Animals: Bivalves) – Summary
By Staff Writers, CO2 Science, Mar 16, 2015
http://www.co2science.org/subject/o/summaries/acidbivalves.php
“In summation, based on the findings presented above there are ample reasons to reject the conclusion of acidification alarmists, who contend that future reductions in oceanic pH will most assuredly be negative and decimate bivalves. In contrast, a growing number of studies reveal ocean acidification to be much less of a problem, or no problem at all, for these marine species.”
A 1951-2009 History of Conterminous U.S. Streamflow
McCabe, G.J. and Wolock, D.M. 2014. Spatial and temporal patterns in conterminous United States streamflow characteristics. Geophysical Research Letters 41: 6889-6897. Mar 14, 2015
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/mar/a14.php
“In light of their several findings, McCabe and Wolock conclude that ‘most of the temporal variability in flow is unpredictable in terms of relations to climate indices,’ and they thus infer that, ‘for the most part, future changes in flow characteristics cannot be predicted by these indices.’ And that is bad news for climate alarmists who continue to insist that CO2-induced global warming is causing (or will cause) more frequent and more severe streamflow trends.”
Modeling the Mid-Holocene Atmospheric Circulation of Europe
Mauri, A., Davis, B.A.S., Collins, P.M. and Kaplan, J.O. 2014. The influence of atmospheric circulation on the mid-Holocene climate of Europe: a data-model comparison. Climate of the Past 10: 1925-1938. Mar 12, 2015
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/mar/a12.php
“In terms of both the old and the new, therefore, today’s climate models would appear to be unable to accurately describe reality in the case of atmospheric circulation over Europe.”
Models v. Observations
German Meteorologist Says Climate Models Have Gotten 11 Of The Past 12 European Summers Wrong!
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Mar 14, 2015
Harvard-Smithsonian Physicist: Computer Models Used by U.N. Overstate Global Warming
By Barbara Hollingsworth, CNS News, Mar 18, 2015
Model Issues
Where the complex climate models go wrong
By Christopher Monckton, WUWT, Mar 16, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/03/16/where-the-complex-climate-models-go-wrong/
Models overestimate 60 year decadal trends
By Clive Best, WUWT, Mar 17, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/03/17/models-overestimate-such-60-year-decadal-trends/
Measurement Issues
Freedom Isn’t Free
By Steve Goddard, Real Science, Mar 20, 2015
https://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/freedom-isnt-free/
How US Temperatures Trends Have Been Artificially Increased Since 2007 – (And It’s Not TOBS!)
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Mar 19, 2015
Temperature Adjustments At USCRN1 Stations
Adjustments Multiply Warming at US CRN1 Stations
By Ron Clutz, Not a Lot of People Know That, Mar 16, 2015
Temperature adjustments in Australia
By Euan Merans, Climate Etc. Mar 17, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/03/17/temperature-adjustments-in-australia/
Changing Weather
Boston breaks all-time seasonal snow record; California drought an outlier not a trend
By Joseph D’Aleo, ICECAP, Mar 16, 2015
What if Boston Had Record Low Snowfall?
By Roy Spencer, Global Warming, Mar 16, 2015
http://www.drroyspencer.com/2015/03/what-if-boston-had-record-low-snowfall/
“A PhD and a computer have, so far, been insufficient tools to provide useful predictions of the future of our climate system. The current state of climate science — or maybe I should say, how scientists have allowed the media and politicians to portray it — is a continuing source of embarrassment to some of us.”
Extreme winter of 2014/15 redux
By Joseph D’Aleo, ICECAP, Mar 20, 2015
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/new-and-cool/winter_redux/
The Tornado Report For 2014
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Mar 18, 2015
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/03/18/the-tornado-report-for-2014/
[SEPP Comment: Fewer strong tornadoes and due to improved instrumentation, more weak tornadoes reported, refuting the Administration’s claim of more extreme weather events.]
US Is Experiencing The Least Extreme Weather On Record
By Steven Goddard, Real Science, Mar 20, 2015
Link to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center; WCM Page
By Keli Pirlie, Press Release, Mar 17, 2015
“We are in uncharted territory with respect to lack of severe weather”, said Greg Carbin, SPC’s warning coordination meteorologist. “This has never happened in the record of SPC watches dating back to 1970.” [Boldface added]
La Niña boosts the odds of tornadoes and hailstorms in the US, study shows
By Robert McSweeney, The Carbon Brief, Mar 16, 2015
Link to paper: Influence of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation on tornado and hail frequency in the United States
By John T. Allen, Michael K. Tippett & Adam H. Sobel, Nature Geoscience, Mar 16, 2015
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ngeo2385.html
[SEPP Comment: WeatherBell Analytics LLC has reported on this for several years. Will La Niñas become the latest CO2-caused climate change threat, replacing El Niños?]
No Link Between Cyclone Pam and Climate Change
By David Whitehouse, GWPF, Mar 17, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/no-link-between-cyclone-pam-and-climate-change/
Playing politics with every disaster: Vanuatu cyclone blamed on “climate change”
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Mar 18, 2015
http://joannenova.com.au/2015/03/vanuatu-cyclone-due-to-climate-change/
BBC & Guardian Lies About Pam
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Mar 20, 2015
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/bbc-guardian-lies-about-pam/#more-13839
Sorriest El Nino, Ever
By Steve Goddard, Real Science, Mar 17, 2015
https://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/sorriest-el-nino-ever/
Changing Climate
Twice As Much Snow Falling In The Russian Ural Mountains Than 100 Years Ago…Leading To More Tree Growth
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Mar 16, 2015
Danish researchers debunk Greenland’s Norse settler myth
Little Ice Age played less of a part than previously believed
By Christian Wenande, Copenhagen Post, Mar 16, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://cphpost.dk/news/danish-researchers-debunk-norse-settler-myth.13030.html
[SEPP Comment: They survived the colder weather for at least 100 years – not new news.]
Changing Seas
Vanuatu sea levels: how much did they contribute to cyclone damage?
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Mar 19, 2015
West Coast waters shifting to lower-productivity regime
By Staff Writers, Portland OR (SPX). Mar 18, 2015
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/West_Coast_waters_shifting_to_lower_productivity_regime_999.html
[SEPP Comment: A realization of a shift in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Comments on the El Nino and a unique situation ignore history.]
Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice
An atmospheric origin of the multi-decadal bipolar seesaw
By Zhaomin Wang,, Xiangdong Zhang,, Zhaoyong Guan, Bo Sun,, Xin Yang, & Chengyan Liu, Nature, Mar 10, 2015 [H/t Climate Etc.]
http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150310/srep08909/full/srep08909.html?WT.ec_id=SREP-20150317
[SEPP Comment: Starting earlier than any Antarctic ozone depletion.]
Arctic sea ice reaches lowest point on record
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Mar 19, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/236311-arctic-sea-ice-reaches-lowest-point-on-record
Link to press release: Arctic sea ice reaches lowest maximum extent on record [On the satellite record since 1981]
By Staff Writers, Arctic Ice News & Analysis, NSIDC, Mar 19, 2015
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2015/03/2015-maximum-lowest-on-record/
[SEPP Comment: The headlines of the NASA funded NSIDC leaves out important details. There is strong evidence of less ice in the early 20th century.]
Glacier Melts And Alarmists Desperately Want To Blame Man
Editorial, IBD, Mar 20, 2015
Hidden paths could be behind Antarctic glacier melt: study
By Staff Writers, APF, Mar 16, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/hidden-paths-could-behind-antarctic-glacier-melt-study-034919045.html
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
Ponds are disappearing in the Arctic
By Staff Writers, El Paso TX (SPX) Mar 16, 2015
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Ponds_are_disappearing_in_the_Arctic_999.html
Link to paper: Disappearing Arctic tundra ponds: Fine-scale analysis of surface hydrology in drained thaw lake basins over a 65 year period (1948-2013)
By Christian G. Andresen1 and Vanessa L. Lougheed, Journal of Geophysical Research, Feb 12, 2015
“The team points to warming temperatures and encroaching plants as one of the reasons the ponds are disappearing. As temperatures rise, nutrient-rich permafrost – a frozen layer of soil – thaws, releasing nutrients into ponds and enhancing plant growth.”
[SEPP Comment: Will the plants eat the feared greenhouse gas release from the permafrost? Perhaps they did 5,000 to 8,000 years ago when the Arctic was considerably warmer than today.]
Freezing Cold War: Canada to Spend Billions on Arctic Military Gear
By Staff Writers, Moscow (Sputnik), Mar 18, 2015
Acidic Waters
Naturally acidic waters of Puget Sound surround UW’s Friday Harbor Labs
By Staff Writers, Seattle WA (SPX), Mar 17, 2015
“In other words, Puget Sound’s water is already higher in the gas than our CO2-choked atmosphere.”
[SEPP Comment: Another objective article?]
Agriculture Issues & Fear of Famine
More food from less land
By Matt Ridley, Rational Optimist, Mar 15, 2015
http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog/more-food-from-less-land.aspx
“There were only two localised famines last year — in South Sudan and the Central African Republic — both caused by conflict, rather than drought or population pressure. That’s because the feeding of the world is going so well, it’s not news.”
Un-Science or Non-Science?
Claim: computer model says thawing permafrost will run a lopsided carbon game in the Arctic
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Mar 19, 2015
[SEPP Comment: Why didn’t the thawing permafrost release all that CO2 5,000 years ago when it was warmer than today?]
Lowering Standards
The environment correspondent’s standards
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Mar 13, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/3/13/the-environment-correspondents-standards.html
Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?
Reply to Comment on ‘Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature’
By John Cook and Kevin Cowtan, Environ. Res. Lett, Mar 19, 2015 [H/t Climate Etc.]
http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/10/3/039002/article
Amazon rainforest soaking up less carbon as trees die young: study
By Alister Doyle, Mar 19, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://news.yahoo.com/amazon-rainforest-soaking-less-carbon-trees-die-young-180728562.html
“The findings are a surprise because some computer models suggest tropical forests may grow better because carbon dioxide emitted by human use of fossil fuels acts as an airborne fertilizer.”
[SEPP Comment: Puzzling study. Experiential tests show forests grow better with more CO2. Have these forest plots reached full maturity?]
Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.
No, cosmic rays aren’t causing global warming
By Puneet Kollipara, Washington Post, Mar 12, 2015 [H/t Conrad Potemra]
Link to paper: Dynamical evidence for causality between galactic cosmic rays and interannual variation in global temperature
By Tsonis, et al, PNAS, Mar 17, 2015
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/11/3253
“These findings further shoot down the idea that cosmic rays caused the warming we experienced in the 20th century, the researchers conclude.”
[SEPP Comment: The reporter did not bother to get the hypothesis right, cosmic rays increase cloudiness, thus cause cooling.]
Be afraid for your red wine and steak now!
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Mar 15, 2015
http://joannenova.com.au/2015/03/be-afraid-for-your-red-wine-and-steak-now/
Change Your Diet to Prevent Climate Change?
By Larry Bell, Newsmax, Mar 16, 2015
http://www.newsmax.com/LarryBell/climate-global-warming-co2/2015/03/16/id/630298/
Friction means Antarctic glaciers more sensitive to climate change
By Staff Writers, Pasadena CA (SPX), Mar 16, 2015
[SEPP Comment: Is the friction human caused?]
No evidence of actual damage to polar bear brains from environmental contaminants
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Mar 16, 2015
The Insiders: Republicans move from denial to despair on climate change
By Carter Eskew, Washington Post, Mar 9, 2015
[SEPP Comment: Who denies climate changes have been happening for hundreds of millions of years? It is the Washington Post that exhibits despair!]
Communicating Better to the Public – Go Personal.
Leaked Email Reveals Who’s Who List of Climate Denialists
A network of pundits and scientists is consulted about stopping release of “Merchants of Doubt,” a documentary film that exposes their work.
By Katherine Bagley, Inside Climate News, Mar 12, 2015
A New Documentary Profiles Liars for Hire
Today’s corporations have taken a page from the tobacco industry, fooling the public and undermining science in order to boost profits, no matter the human cost.
By Eric Alterman, The Nation: Instigating Progress Daily, Nov 3, 2014
http://www.thenation.com/article/182209/new-documentary-profiles-liars-hire
[SEPP Comment: For The Nation, schoolyard name calling is considered progress?]
Yes, we are seeing more attacks on academic freedom: guest post by historian of science and medicine
By Alice Dreger, Retraction Watch, Mar 12, 2015 [H/t Climate Etc.]
Al Gore at SXSW: We Need to ‘Punish Climate-Change Deniers’ and ‘Put a Price on Carbon’
By Cole Mellino, EcoWatch, Mar 16, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://ecowatch.com/2015/03/16/al-gore-sxsw-punish-climate-deniers/
Gore goes off the deep end, calls to ‘Punish Climate-Change Deniers
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Mar 16, 2015
Climate debate turns nasty
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Mar 14, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/235717-climate-debate-turns-nasty
[SEPP Comment: Where has the reporter been?]
How The Washington Post Is Censoring Climate Debate
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Mar 14, 2015
NPR ombudsman equivocates over equivalence story on climate-change fight
By Erik Wemple, Washington Post, Mar 17, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Expanding the Orthodoxy
Obama to seek 40 percent cut in federal greenhouse gases
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Mar 19, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/236249-obama-to-seek-40-cut-in-federal-greenhouse-gases
Obama to sign executive order curbing federal emissions
By Zack Colman, Washington Examiner, Mar 19, 2015
Why is a disaster risk reduction deal important for climate change?
By Sophie Yeo, Carbon Brief, Mar 18, 2015
Link to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
By Staff Writers, Sustainable Development, No Date
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sustainabledevelopmentgoals
Building a New Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
By Staff Writers, The World Bank, Mar 12, 2015
[SEPP Comment: Another international conference with 9,000 attendees for assuring permanent hunger and poverty?]
House Republican working to get GOP to acknowledge manmade climate change
By John Siciliano Washington Examiner, Mar 18, 2015
The New York Republican told a group of climate lobbyists that he is circulating a “draft resolution” to get fellow GOP members to stop opposing the idea of climate change and accept that carbon dioxide is causing detrimental changes to the Earth’s climate, which many scientists say is occurring.
[SEPP Comment: The issue is not climate change but carbon dioxide causing detrimental global warming.]
Questioning European Green
CO2 cuts claim sees ministers challenged by experts
By Roger Harrabin, BBC, Mar 19 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31952888
[SEPP Comment: The typical propaganda photo of a black cloud emerging from a chimney accompany an article on invisible CO2 places a black cloud on the objectivity of the article.]
Green energy costs ‘far higher than ministers admit’
Centre for Policy Studies report claims that renewable energy is on course to be “the most expensive domestic policy disaster in modern British history
By Emily Gosden, Telegraph, UK, Mar 18, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
Link to report: Central Planning with Market Features: how renewable subsidies destroyed the UK electricity market,
By Robert Darwall, Centre for Policy Studies, Mar 18, 2015
Factcheck: The true cost of UK renewables policy
By Simon Evans, The Carbon Brief, Mar 18, 2015
[SEPP Comment: Greens disagreeing with higher costs suggested at links above.]
Questioning Green Elsewhere
Exporting Australia’s control of Environmental Policies to the United Nations
By Geoff Brown, Australian Climate Scheptics, Mar 17, 2015
http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/exporting-australias-control-of.html
Green Energy Causes Record Spike In Electricity Prices
By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Mar 16, 2015
http://dailycaller.com/2015/03/16/green-energy-spike-electricity-prices/
Link to EIA report: Growth in residential electricity prices highest in 6 years, but expected to slow in 2015
By Staff Writers, EIA, Mar 16, 2015
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=20372&src=email
[SEPP Comment: The rate of price increases may slow, but not decrease the price.]
Non-Green Jobs
EU Slipping on Economic Competitiveness, Employers Say
By Rebecca Christie, Bloomberg, Mar 16, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
Lord Deben and the bureaucratic mindset
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Mar 19, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/3/19/lord-deben-and-the-bureaucratic-mindset.html
[SEPP Comment: As opponents to the Britain’s clean energy policies predicted, jobs are being exported to China. Now the greens are claiming that the emissions resulting from these exported jobs should be counted as British emissions!]
Funding Issues
The Price Is Right, the Letters Are Wrong, and Climate Research Is Booming
By Patrick J. Michaels and Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger, CATO, Mar 16, 2015
http://www.cato.org/blog/you-ought-have-look-price-right-letters-are-wrong-climate-research-booming
The Political Games Continue
House passes bill to overhaul EPA Scientific Advisory Board
By Cristina Marcos, The Hill Mar 17, 2015
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/235988-house-passes-bill-to-overhaul-epa-advisory-board
McConnell to states: EPA climate rule is illegal
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Mar 19, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/236356-mcconnell-to-states-epa-climate-rule-is-illegal
Republican chairman says EPA has ‘muzzled dissenting voices’
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Mar 17, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/235951-lawmakers-question-benefits-of-epa-ozone-rule
[SEPP Comment: The defenders of the rule say it would significantly reduce respiratory problems, including asthma attacks. Yet asthma attacks have been increasing after prior rules went into effect. Does clean air cause asthma?]
Republicans seek to push climate change off national security agenda
By Andrew Freedman, Mashable, Mar 18, 2015
[SEPP Comment: Note to the national security experts at the Pentagon and CIA: World Wars I and II broke out during a period of global warming (1910 to 1940). Did global warming cause these wars?]
Litigation Issues
The Obama Administration’s Attack on the Constitution: Part 2, Environmental Protection Agency
By John Hinderaker, Power Line, Mar 16, 2015
Link to prepared testimony by Lawrence Tribe: EPA’s Proposed 111(d) Rule for Existing Power Plants: Legal and Cost Issues, Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School, Mar 17, 2015]
http://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF03/20150317/103073/HHRG-114-IF03-Wstate-TribeL-20150317-U1.pdf
Cap-and-Trade and Carbon Taxes
The First Gasoline Tax: Less Than Romantic (Oregon: 1919)
By Robert Bradley Jr. Master Resource, Mar 19, 2015
https://www.masterresource.org/public-choice-economics/first-gasoline-tax-oregon-1919/
Subsidies and Mandates Forever
E.ON withdraws gas power plant from grid
By Staff Writers, Energy Live News, Mar 19, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.energylivenews.com/2015/03/19/e-on-withdraws-gas-power-plant-from-grid/
[SEPP Comment: Government preferences and mandates have a cost.]
Green Progress: World’s Most Efficient Gas-Fired Turbines To Get Shut Down Due To “Energiewende”!
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Mar 18, 2015
[SEPP Comments: More costs of government preferences and mandates.]
The Cost of the Renewable Fuel Standard to Motorists
By Staff Writers, NCPA, Mar 16, 2015
Link to paper: The Hidden Corn Ethanol Tax
By Robert Bryce, Manhattan Institute, Mar 2015
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/pdf/ib_32.pdf
U.S. to fund bigger wind turbine blades
By Daniel J. Graeber, Washington (UPI), Mar 17, 2015
http://www.winddaily.com/reports/US_to_fund_bigger_wind_turbine_blades_999.html
Link to DOE Report: Wind Vision; A New Era for Wind Power in the United States.
By Staff Writers, Wind and Water Power Technologies Office, DOE, Mar 2015
http://energy.gov/eere/wind/downloads/wind-vision-new-era-wind-power-united-states
[SEPP Comment: The number of claimed jobs by 2050 is small compared to real jobs being created by the shale oil and gas boom!]
EPA and other Regulators on the March
Al Gore’s ex-lawyer attacks Obama’s climate change plan
It’s constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe versus the Environmental Protection Agency’s power plant rules today in Congress. His views may be his own, but his coal company client won’t object.
Burning the Constitution should not become part of our national energy policy – Laurence Tribe
By Marianne Lavelle, The Daily Climate, Mar 17, 2015 [H/t Joseph Bast]
http://www.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2015/03/epa-coal-plant-rule-testimony-tribe
EPA is on a ‘constitutionally reckless mission,’ Obama’s law professor testifies
By Lydia Wheeler, The Hill, Mar 17, 2015
Experts: EPA Clean Power Plan’s Legal Uncertainty May Have Lasting Impact
By Sonal Patel, Power Mag, Mar 18, 2015
FEMA to States: No Climate Planning, No Money
Governors seeking billions of dollars in U.S. preparedness funds will have to sign off on plans to mitigate effects of climate change.
By Katherine Bagley, Inside Climate News, Mar 18, 2015
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/18032015/fema-states-no-climate-planning-no-money
[SEPP Comment: Abuse of power!]
House passes bill to ban EPA ‘secret science’
By Timothy Cama and Cristina Marcos, The Hill, Mar 18, 2015
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/236132-house-passes-bill-to-prevent-epa-secret-science
Don’t close the door on open science
By Amanda D. Rodewald, The Hill, Mar 18, 2015
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/236001-dont-close-the-door-on-open-science
“if the Secret Science Reform Act is enacted, the EPA may be further prevented from considering studies that cannot be reproduced,”
[SEPP Comment: What is open about science, which is kept secret? Studies with unique results should not be used for policy and regulations. Further, the public should be able to review the quality of the research, which it cannot, with some studies the EPA uses.]
States should defy unlawful EPA carbon dioxide rules
The Clean Power Plan will raise electricity prices and reduce grid reliability, while providing negligible environmental benefits.
By Steve Goreham, Communities Digital News, Mar 18, 2015
Energy Issues – Non-US
German Wind Power Goes Completely AWOL For The 11th Time This Year…Fossils, Nuclear Again To The Rescue!
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Mar 20, 2015
[SEPP Comment: The expected solar eclipse did not give the expected problems, thankfully. Otherwise the wind eclipse would have been worse.]
Energy Issues — US
Why OPEC Can’t Kill The U.S. Shale Boom
By Matt Egan, CNN Money, Mar 17, 2015
http://www.local10.com/news/money/why-opec-cant-kill-the-us-oil-boom/31846148
Texas: From Shale Boom to Water Revolution
By James Stafford of Oilprice.com, London, UK (SPX) Mar 18, 2015
http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/Texas_From_Shale_Boom_to_Water_Revolution_999.html
[SEPP Comment: The article is light on technical details. According to the company’s web site, the demonstration project serves Mentone, a town of 84 residents, and cost $3.5 million. http://www.salttech.com/news/desalination-project-for-drinking-water.php]
Washington’s Control of Energy
Obama cracks down on fracking
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Mar 20, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/236421-obama-cracks-down-on-fracking
Drillers file lawsuit to challenge Obama’s new fracking rules
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Mar 20, 2015
Feds sell nearly 1 million acres for Gulf offshore drilling
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Mar 18, 2015
“Abigal Hopper, director of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which oversaw the auction, said the sale shows strong interest in offshore drilling despite the six-year low in oil prices worldwide. .. Nonetheless, the 195 bids submitted were the lowest from a single sale since 1986.”
[SEPP Comment: Lower oil prices and high costs of regulations do have an effect.]
Federal Land Regulation Continues to Strangle Energy Production…
By Lloyd Bentsen, National Center for Policy Analysis, Mar 16, 2015
http://environmentblog.ncpa.org/federal-land-regulation-continues-to-strangle-energy-production/
Industry assails Obama’s ozone regulations
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Mar 18, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/236040-industry-assails-obamas-ozone-regulations
The crude oil export ban is a relic of flawed policy
By William O’Keefe, The Hill, Mar 18, 2015
Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?
Fear the Fracklog!
By Walter Russell Mead and Staff, American Interest, Mar 19, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.the-american-interest.com/2015/03/19/fear-the-fracklog/
US Shale Industry Shows Remarkable Resilience
By Ed Crooks, Financial Times, Via GWPF, Mar 16, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/us-shale-industry-shows-remarkable-resilience/
Dr. Ross on the radio attacking the Cuomo fracking ban in New York
By Staff Writers, ACSH, Mar 16, 2015
http://acsh.org/2015/03/dr-ross-on-the-radio-attacking-the-cuomo-fracking-ban-in-new-york/
[SEPP Comment: The New York governor selling out a part of the state to the greens due to the fear the greens create.]
Me and Kaye
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Mar 18, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/3/18/me-and-kaye.html
Link to dewatering: Central Oklahoma Hunton Dewater Resource Play:
http://01ef7cc.netsolhost.com/DEWATERING.pdf
[SEPP Comment: Is dewatering a source mild earthquakes in Oklahoma?]
Oil Spills, Gas Leaks & Consequences
NOAA slams BP statement on gulf environment
By Daniel J. Graeber, Washington (UPI), Mar 17, 2015
http://www.oilgasdaily.com/reports/NOAA_slams_BP_statement_on_gulf_environment_999.html
Nuclear Energy and Fears
Japan to Retire Five Old Nuclear Reactors
By Staff Writers, Moscow (Sputnik), Mar 18, 2015
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Japan_to_Retire_Five_Old_Nuclear_Reactors_999.html
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Solar and Wind
Emerging Environmental Scandal: “Thousands Of Tons Of Toxic” Wind Park Rubbish To Get Dumped At Sea!
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Mar 17, 2015
Dominion starts construction on state’s largest solar power array
By John Reid Blackwell, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Mar 18, 2015
http://www.richmond.com/business/local/article_d5827f51-b9d9-51d3-877b-3626509caa45.html
[SEPP Comment: Green Solar Power in cahoots with Big Tobacco!]
Carbon Schemes
A better way of scrubbing CO2
By Staff Writers, Berkeley CA (SPX), Mar 18, 2015
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/A_better_way_of_scrubbing_CO2_999.html
[SEPP Comment: Getting rid of plant food.]
Environmental Industry
How Much Did Greenpeace Pay van Ypersele?
By Donna Laframboise, NFC, Mar 17, 2015
http://nofrakkingconsensus.com/2015/03/17/how-much-did-greenpeace-pay-van-ypersele/
Britain to create world’s biggest protected marine reserve
By Staff Writers, London (AFP), March 18, 2015
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Britain_to_create_worlds_biggest_protected_marine_reserve_999.html
Greens want Clinton emails on Keystone
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Mar 18, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/236093-greens-request-clinton-emails-on-keystone
[SEPP Comment: Will government grant what the greens want and deny everyone else?]
Other Scientific News
Saharan ‘carpet of tools’ is earliest known man-made landscape
By Staff Writers, Cambridge, UK (SPX), Mar 16, 2015
No limit to life in deep sediment of ocean’s “deadest” region
Press Release by Staff Writers, NSF, Mar 16, 2015
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=134420&WT.mc_id=USNSF_1
A new study finds simple tests that seem to predict dementia risk
By Staff Writers, ACSH, Mar 19, 2015
http://acsh.org/2015/03/a-new-study-finds-simple-tests-that-seem-to-predict-dementia-risk/
###################################################
BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:
Terrifying new book about climate change
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, February 2, 2012 [H/t Peter Salonius]
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/02/02/terrifying-new-book-about-climate-change/
[SEPP Comment: With links to scans of the 1970s book containing blurbs of CIA reports.]
Winter, weather, and witchcraft
By Emerson Baker, Oxford University Press, Mar 17, 2015
http://blog.oup.com/2015/03/winter-weather-witchcraft-history/
Hague’s chosen fruitloop
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Mar 19, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/3/19/hagues-chosen-fruitloop.html
EPA Wants to Monitor How Long Hotel Guests Spend in the Shower
$15,000 grant creating device to “modify” guests behavior
By Elizabeth Harrington, Washington Free Beacon, Mar 17, 2015
http://freebeacon.com/issues/epa-wants-to-monitor-how-long-hotel-guests-spend-in-the-shower/
Is The EPA Planning To Crack Down On Backyard Barbecues, Too?
By John Merline, IBD, Mar 20, 2015
###################################################
Or my own favorite version of Russell’s quote (also by Russell):
It’s my /. signature line.
My own favourite Bertrand Russell quote:
This applies directly to CAGW.
How can ‘science’ have a ‘spirit’ and, if it does, where does this ‘spirit’ come from?
The Russel quote reminds me of a saying of mine that I have used for decades; “if you find that almost everyone agrees on a thing, then odds are that thing is wrong.”
The Taoists (Daoists) told us thousand of years ago that the path to wisdom consisted of unlearning things that we thought were correct but in fact are not correct. (they said it much better of course)
Paul Simon sang, “When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it is a wonder I can think at all” (or something like that)
And my favorite:
Russia Rebounds, Despite Sanctions | The Vineyard of the Saker
http://thesaker.is/
http://thesaker.is/russia-rebounds-despite-sanctions/
For all the disruption caused by the sanctions, Russian companies represented in the Micex index are more profitable measured by Ebitda margins (earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortization) than the rest of the companies included in the global MSCI Emerging Market Index.
A number of Russian companies are outperforming their global peers…
Hostility From U.S. as China Lures Allies to New Bank
http://csis.org/
Robert Parry exposes the self-dealing of the totally corrupt neoconservative war thugs – PaulCraigRoberts.org
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2015/03/21/robert-parry-exposes-self-dealing-totally-corrupt-neoconservative-war-thugs/
I spoke briefly with Paul Craig Roberts, he’s going through a difficult period, can’t say much more than that. If you have any spare change it’s tax deductible at IPE. I couldn’t coax an opinion out of him on Martin A Armstrong.
It’s like a slow motion car crash…
http://philosophyofmetrics.com/
http://philosophyofmetrics.com/2015/03/25/when-will-china-end-the-dollar-peg/
When faced with time frames of either May or Oct for the depeg to occur, it is my contention that it will happen piecemeal, with a widening of the peg range in May, followed by a full ending of the peg in Oct. The official gold holdings and any partial support this may offer to the yuan could happen on either time frame, though I’m leaning towards sooner rather than later. What is certain is that we are going to wake up on the morning of January 1, 2016 living in a different world than the one we are living in today. This could very well be the last year of American hegemony. – JC
PS – I have a headache from writing this post.
http://philosophyofmetrics.com/2015/03/22/the-coming-western-tribunals/
As a gesture of fellowship amongst the group, here are a list of links supporting the probability of some sort of tribunal process against the west. The momentum and political mandate for such action is slowly growing around the world. With the move away from USD geopolitical and economic hegemony will come the inability of American interests to veto such actions taken against them for war crimes committed over the last 7 decades. How the process will look, and who will be held responsible can not be determined, but once the required leverage is achieved, you can bet a formal process will be enacted against America for reparations.
This list can go on for a very long time. If any readers question the validity of what I have presented in this post, I suggest they do there own research and consume the vast amount of information which is beginning to accumulate in regards to war crimes committed by the west and its partners and institutions, such as NATO.
http://www.profitconfidential.com/u-s-dollar/three-reasons-u-s-dollar-will-decline-value/
Use of U.S. Dollar in Global Transactions Declining
Surprised there is no comment on NOAA’s second highest Feb, following their second highest January; the two together are the highest start to any year in the instrument record.
Or maybe not surprised.
Maybe because everyone knows it’s BS?
http://www.drroyspencer.com/wp-content/uploads/UAH_LT_1979_thru_February_2015_v5.png
With regard to the ’97per cent’, why is not more made of the over 31,000 sceptical American scientists named in Global Climate Petition Project website?
Sorry, Global Warming Petition Project
The Obama administration is determined to waste taxpayer money which the US does not have to increase the cost of electrical power for the US consumer (German consumers following the green scam plan pay three times as much as US consumers for electrical power.)
Meanwhile back in the real world there are 1.3 billion people without access to electrical power, 2.7 billion people that must cook with biomass, and almost a billion people who face daily electrical brownouts.
http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/resources/energydevelopment/
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21637396-rolling-power-cuts-are-fraying-tempers-unplugged
http://skimon.com/load-shedding-pakistan
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/34bcbe66-3821-11e4-b69d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3V6bHUuQl
A quick LNG energy update that is getting no publicity:
– US LNG production for direct consumption in engines (vs. backup supply for winter peak demand) is approaching a million gallons/day (or may already be there). For most of these liquefaction plants, the main consumer is long haul trucks, but LNG is also being used by drilling rigs and other high fuel usage engines:
http://member.zeusintel.com/LNGFuel/Plant/Index.aspx
(There in only 172,000 gallons/day of capacity at Topock. 86,000 gallons per train, so the above inventory is wrong, but the total capacity is still 896,000 gallons/day and another 400,000 gallons/day of production capacity increase is planned for 2015. Roughly 350 gallons/day of the 896,000 gallon/day capacity came on line since Jan 1, 2014, so a 50% jump in the last 15 months.)
– In Feb, a LNG fuel station opened near Mobile, Alabama making it possible for the first time for a long haul trucker to drive from Los Angeles to Jacksonville on I-10 and buy LNG from a public LNG fuel station every 500 miles or so. That is, often enough he can make the coast to coast run exclusively on LNG from public stations.
– In Feb, a LNG fuel station opened in Birmingham, Alabama that makes it possible for that same trucker to drive a more northerly route through Oklahoma City, Memphis, Birmingham, Atlanta and find LNG every 500 miles or so. Or at Memphis they can turn north and make it to Connecticut.
Thus the first coast to coast LNG routes are opening now.
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/locator/stations/results?utf8=%E2%9C%93&location=&fuel=LNG&private=false&planned=false&owner=all&payment=all&radius=false&radius_miles=5&lng_vehicle_class=all
– The first US LNG fueled marine vessel went into service in the last few weeks. It is a offshore LNG fueling vehicle for the Gulf Coast oil rigs, but the fueling vessel itself is LNG powered.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/03/13/6121351_first-lng-powered-ship-in-the.html?rh=1
William Astley wrote:
Indeed. It’s part of the Cloward-Piven strategy to finish off the wrecked system we have.
Few realize that the very concept of money — at least in terms of USDollars (though no other irredeemable currency is any better) — has lost all rational basis. Money used to be something of positive value. Now it is something of negative value: perpetual, irredeemable debt.
When the derivatives Tower of Babel collapses, as it most certainly will, whatever multilateral trade still exists will flatten out into barter — the ultimate in deflation. (Contrary to trendy fantasies, barter is no substitute for multilateral trade.) We will collapse back to the age of sticks and stones.
Walking in the ashes of civilization will be our only carbon footprint.
“…the IPCC has turned probability analysis from objective frequency testing to guesswork.” That’s getting to the heart of the matter. Is IPCC climatology a pseudoscience? It certainly is!