The Week That Was: 2015-06-20 (June 20, 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)
The Encyclical: Early in the week, an Italian newspaper leaked a version of the Pope Francis’ highly anticipated encyclical letter on the environment and climate change. After a flurry concerning the unauthorized release, a final document has been released, which is under review. [There is a bit of irony here because Galileo wrote his scientific works in “vulgar” Italian rather than “scientific” Latin.]
The Pope’s encyclical does not advance science. It offers no empirical evidence that 20th century warming resulted from human carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (and other greenhouse gas emissions). The primary, critical hypothesis needed to be tested is that CO2 emissions are causing dangerous global warming, now called climate change. The pope’s advisors do not advance empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis. The failure of the globe to warm is more than sufficient evidence that there are problems with the hypothesis. Local and regional climate change from land use changes are a secondary issues.
The Letter states: “The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” Environmental degradation has long been a major problem, which, for generations, has been made more visible by urbanization. Western, industrialized societies are making great strides in reducing environmental degradation, in a large part thanks to increased prosperity through the use of fossil fuels.
The Letter calls for reducing the dangers of climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, requiring diminished use of fossil fuels. Yet, there is no empirical evidence advanced that CO2 emissions increase climate change, which has been occurring for at least 1.5 billion years, long before multi-cell life. Denying use of fossil fuels to the extreme poor is hardly a way of alleviating poverty. Many societies in Asia, including China and India, are showing great improvements, even with warts such as air pollution, in the overall health and living conditions of the general population through the use of fossil fuels. Conspicuous consumption and waste may be undesirable, but excess is not justification for removing the necessary.
Perhaps the Letter can be summed as outdated thinking on climate being used to advance questionable environmental goals.
There is a great deal of speculation on why the Vatican issued such a letter. One suggestion is to have a place at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate (UNFCCC) in Paris, starting at the end of November, in order to overrule some of the most drastic measures of population control that may be considered.
Another suggestion is to open up discussion on the entire global warming/climate change issue – something that is sorely needed. After decades of dramatic pronouncements, Western governments have not been able to produce empirical evidence substantiating the central hypothesis — CO2 emissions are causing dangerous global warming. For a diversity of views see Article # 1 and links under Expanding the Orthodoxy – The Pope, and Expanding the Orthodoxy – The Pope – Loyal Opposition.
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Quote of the Week: “Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.” Richard Feynman.
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Number of the Week: $37 Billion ++?
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SEPP’S APRIL FOOLS AWARD
THE JACKSON
The voting for SEPP’s annual April Fools Award is over. We thank all those who participated with nominees and votes. The winner of this close race will be announced at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Doctors for Disaster Preparedness in Ontario, CA, from July 31 to August 2, 2015.
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The Swamp: In a lengthy essay in the Australian online magazine, Quadrant, science writer Matt Ridley gives an overview of the general status of western climate science, as embraced by western governments – a swamp. The opening paragraph bears repeating:
“The great thing about science is that it’s self-correcting. The good drives out the bad, because experiments get replicated and hypotheses tested — or so I used to think. Now, thanks largely to climate science, I see bad ideas can persist for decades, and surrounded by myrmidons of furious defenders they become intolerant dogmas”
Briefly taking readers through scientific fads, such as Lysenkoism and low-fat diets, Ridley focuses on how special interests groups have captured what is termed climate science during and after the second assessment report (1995) by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
“Since then, however, inch by inch, the huge green pressure groups have grown fat on a diet of constant but ever-changing alarm about the future. That these alarms—over population growth, pesticides, rain forests, acid rain, ozone holes, sperm counts, genetically modified crops—have often proved wildly exaggerated does not matter: the organisations that did the most exaggeration trousered the most money. In the case of climate, the alarm is always in the distant future, so can never be debunked.
“These huge green multinationals, with budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars, have now systematically infiltrated science, as well as industry and media, with the result that many high-profile climate scientists and the journalists who cover them have become one-sided cheerleaders for alarm, while a hit squad of increasingly vicious bloggers polices the debate to ensure that anybody who steps out of line is punished. They insist on stamping out all mention of the heresy that climate change might not be lethally dangerous.
Today’s climate science, as Ian Plimer points out in his chapter in The Facts, is based on a “pre-ordained conclusion, huge bodies of evidence are ignored and analytical procedures are treated as evidence”. Funds are not available to investigate alternative theories. Those who express even the mildest doubts about dangerous climate change are ostracised, accused of being in the pay of fossil-fuel interests or starved of funds; those who take money from green pressure groups and make wildly exaggerated statements are showered with rewards and treated by the media as neutral.” [Boldface added].
Based on US government reports, SEPP has traced the US government has spent at least $40 Billion on what it classifies as climate science, since 1993, with little going on understanding the natural causes of climate change. After giving specific examples of how those scientists who disagree with the establishment are marginalized, in the section “Harm to Science”, Ridley quotes Garth Paltridge:
We have at least to consider the possibility that the scientific establishment behind the global warming issue has been drawn into the trap of seriously overstating the climate problem—or, what is much the same thing, of seriously understating the uncertainties associated with the climate problem—in its effort to promote the cause. It is a particularly nasty trap in the context of science, because it risks destroying, perhaps for centuries to come, the unique and hard-won reputation for honesty which is the basis for society’s respect for scientific endeavour.
Such an effort cannot withhold without the implicit support of science journalists, many of whom are obviously in the alarmist camp. As David Whitehouse of the Global Warming Policy Foundation has written, science journalists do not meet the standards required for financial journalists. They fail to look beyond the headlines. This easy-to-read essay should be understandable to many, including the Pope’s climate advisors. See links under Suppressing Scientific Inquiry.
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Beyond the Headlines: As discussed in the June 6 TWTW, a team led by Thomas Karl, the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center, (NOAA-NCDC), and some of his colleagues, have adjusted sea surface temperature record to give the appearance of a stronger warming trend over the past 15 years. Sea surface data is collected from several sources including ships and, later, specially designed buoys. The data from buoys are considered superior in accuracy, than the data from ships, particularly data in the early part of the record. There is no justification for adjusting what most consider to be superior data from buoys to bring it in line with what most consider to be inferior data from ships, and Karl et al. gave none. A brief paper discussing the effort was published in Science.
This week, NOAA announced that this past May was the hottest May on record. Dutifully, many science journalists reported the new claim without bothering to note that the claim is based on a newly adjusted historic record, or that the claim is inconsistent with the satellite record, which is far more comprehensive. Financial journalists would be severely criticizing such a claim of a historic record made by a private company. With such claims, NOAA is becoming a distraction to scientific inquiry rather than a trusted source for scientific inquiry. See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy – Karl et al.
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Changing Standard?: Similar to the World Bank, the Energy Information Agency (EIA) issued a dire warning on future global warming, of up to 3.5 degrees C by 2200, without physical evidence to support its claims. The motto of the report is: “Secure, Sustainable, Together”
“This special report, part of the World Energy Outlook series, assesses the effect of recent low-carbon energy developments and the INDCs proposed thus far. It finds that while global energy-related emissions slow as a result of the climate pledges, they still increase. To compensate, governments will need to ramp up efforts, reviewing their pledges regularly, setting realistic and attainable longer-term goals and tracking their progress. This report also proposes the adoption of five measures that would achieve a near-term peak in global energy-related emissions while maintaining momentum for stronger national efforts.
“The next few months could be decisive in determining our energy and climate future. Will countries take on and abide by commitments that will make a meaningful impact? Will they agree to additional measures to spur further innovation and action? Achieving our goals is still possible, but the risk of failure is great: the more time passes without a deal, the more high-carbon energy infrastructure is locked in.
“COP 21 presents an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.”
This report demonstrates the EIA cannot be considered an independent, non-political entity. One can only hope that the EIA will not begin to adjust its reports to meet its political goals. See links under On to Paris!
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Real Arctic or Imaginary Arctic? Those who have read the writings of European or New World Arctic explorers and observers, and some of the records of the Hudson Bay Company, may be uncomfortable with the view expressed by the Climate Establishment that Arctic sea ice, under natural conditions, provides a stable, predictable habitat, and that only recently has Arctic sea ice become unstable. Independent polar bear scientist Susan Crockford has a new paper challenging what she calls an Arctic Fallacy.
Ms. Crockford bases her paper on observations since the 1960s, but many students of Arctic history would not be surprised by many of her findings, which include naturally-occurring changes in habitat. No doubt, those with a vested interest in keeping the current fallacy alive, which has formed part of the US Arctic policy, will try to dismiss or marginalize her work. See link under Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice
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Number of the Week: $37 Billion ++? An article in the Wall Street Journal states that the China Development Bank has lent nearly $37 billion to Venezuela since 2008. Additional amounts are unclear. Future delivery of oil was the security for the loans. Further, the China Development Bank has made significant similar loans to energy companies and governments of oil-producing countries. With the fall in the price of crude and the decline in the boom of China’s economy, and the stagnation of Venezuela’s oil industry, the future is uncertain and officials refused to comment. See Article # 2
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ARTICLES:
Please note that articles not linked easily 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. The Pope’s Green Theology
The good news: His encyclical invites honest discussion. Let’s have it.
By Robert Sirico, WSJ, Jun 18, 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-popes-green-theology-1434668086
SUMMARY: “Let’s cut to the chase: Much of what is in Pope Francis’ encyclical on environmental stewardship, Laudato Si’, poses a major challenge for free-market advocates, those of us who believe that capitalism is a powerful force for caring for the earth and lifting people out of poverty. But one of the most welcome lines is a call for honest, respectful discussion.
“Francis warns against both extremes: on one end, ‘those who doggedly uphold the myth of progress and tell us that ecological problems will solve themselves simply with the application of new technology and without any need for ethical considerations or deep change.’ And on the other end those who view men and women ‘as no more than a threat, jeopardizing the global ecosystem, and consequently the presence of human beings on the planet should be reduced.’
“He continues: ‘On many concrete questions, the Church has no reason to offer a definitive opinion; she knows that honest debate must be encouraged among experts, while respecting divergent views.’ That Francis would lend the full moral force of his office to call for an honest debate is a great step for the planet. This has not characterized the past few decades of discussion.
“As a priest who strives to be faithful to his church, I know that I too am expected to use my God-given reason in evaluating these questions. The pope’s primary focus is the faith, and the moral implications that faith has for our behavior and the systems of politics and economics we create. In this sense, there is plenty of room for discussion. The purpose of an encyclical is not to close that debate, but precisely to open faith to understanding.”
Fr. Sirico is president of the Acton Institute.
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2. Venezuela Oil Loans Go Awry for China
China Development Bank is on the hook as South American country struggles
By Prudence Ho, WSJ, Jun 18, 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuela-oil-loans-go-awry-for-china-1434656360
SUMMARY: “China Development Bank has lent nearly $37 billion to Venezuela since 2008, helping to prop up the regime of Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro, while becoming one of the Latin American nation’s biggest creditors. Venezuela says China has pledged billions more.
“CDB’s plan was simple. In return for its largess, Venezuela would send China millions of barrels of crude each year. Since the middle part of the last decade, the bank has doled out tens of billions in similar loans to energy companies and governments in other oil-producing countries to help secure resources for China’s expanding economy.
“The Caracas government said in January that China pledged $20 billion in new investment in housing and infrastructure, mainly via CDB.”
“Others are showing little loyalty to Venezuela. The price of its 10-year U.S. dollar-denominated bonds tumbled 60% from July to as low as 31 cents on the dollar in January. Wednesday, the debt traded at 35.15 cents, with a yield of 26.4%. Bond prices move inversely to yields.
“In January, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Venezuela’s credit rating to Caa3, saying “default risk has increased substantially.” Inflation hit 68.5% in 2014 and Venezuela’s central bank has since stopped publishing the data, but economists say the rate has passed 100%. Venezuelans are scrambling for dollars and shedding the bolivar, which has lost 93% of its value in the past two years on the country’s unofficial currency market. CDB doesn’t buy Venezuelan government bonds.
“Venezuela’s finance, foreign and information ministries declined to comment.”
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3. Policy decision regarding the views of climate pause deniers
By Staff Writers, Climate Change Predictions.org, Jun 6, 2015
http://climatechangepredictions.org/uncategorized/3107
[HUMOR: “After careful consideration this website has made the following policy decision.
“Given the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence in favour of the 18 year hiatus in global warming, this website will no longer give coverage of the views of climate pause deniers.
“This announcement will remain in place for a few days. Future articles will examine whether climate pause denialism should be regarded as a form of psychological pathology.”]
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NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Suppressing Scientific Inquiry
The Climate Wars’ Damage to Science
By Matt Ridley, Quadrant, Jun 19, 2015
http://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2015/06/climate-wars-done-science/
The Climate Wars are Damaging Science
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Jun 20, 2015
http://joannenova.com.au/2015/06/the-climate-wars-are-damaging-science/
[SEPP Comment: Emphasizes a few major points in the essay above.]
Challenging the Orthodoxy – ICCC-10
Video of the Tenth International Conference on Climate Change
June 11-12, 2015 in Washington, DC
http://climateconference.heartland.org/
Challenging the Orthodoxy
Climate Change: Where is the Science?
By Howard Hyde, American Thinker, Jun 11, 2015
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/06/climate_change_where_is_the_science.html
‘Scared Witless: Prophets and Profits of Climate Doom’ (Book Review)
By Robert Bradley Jr., Master Resource, Jun 12, 2015
Climate Doom Awards Profits and Prophets
By Larry Bell, Newsmax, Jun 15, 2015
http://www.newsmax.com/LarryBell/climate-gore-weather-global-warming/2015/06/15/id/650507/
Fatal Flaw in the USGCRP Climate and Health Assessment
By Patrick J. Michaels and Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger, CATO, Jun 11, 2015
http://www.cato.org/blog/fatal-flaw-usgcrp-climate-health-assessment
Comments on the USGCRP Climate and Health Assessment
By Patrick J. Michaels and Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger, CATO, Jun 10, 2015
http://www.cato.org/blog/comments-usgcrp-climate-health-assessment
State of the climate debate in the U.S.
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Jun 25, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/06/15/state-of-the-climate-debate-in-the-u-s/
[SEPP Comment: Her presentation in London]
Challenging the Orthodoxy – Karl et al.
He who controls the past controls the future! On the vanishing global warming hiatus
By Nir Shaviv, Science Bits, Jun 16, 2015
http://sciencebits.com/he-who-controls-past-controls-future-vanishing-global-warming-hiatus
Karl et al. hiatus killer is “research” that began with conclusions
By Luboš Motl, The Reference Frame, Jun 5, 2015
http://motls.blogspot.com/2015/06/karl-et-al-hiatus-killer-is-research.html
[SEPP Comment: How to create a trend from noisy data!]
Twin peaks – twin prevarications
Guest essay by Paul Driessen and Tom Tamarkin, WUWT, Jun 16, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/06/15/twin-peaks-twin-prevarications/
NOAA Releases New Pause-Buster Global Surface Temperature Data and Immediately Claims Record-High Temps for May 2015 – What a Surprise!
Guest Post by Bob Tisdale, WUWT, Jun 19, 2015
UAH V6.0 Global Temperature Update for May 2015: +0.27 deg. C
By Roy Spencer, His Blog, Jun 8, 2015
http://www.drroyspencer.com/2015/06/uah-v6-0-global-temperature-update-for-may-2015-0-27-deg-c/
Defending the Orthodoxy
Biden: If You Don’t Believe in Manmade Global Warming, You Must “Deny Gravity” As Well
By Philip Hodges, ICECAP, Jun 19, 2015
Questioning the Orthodoxy
Exclusive: ‘We’ll All be Dead Before Climate Change Orgs Admit They’re Wrong’ Says MP
By Oliver Lane, Breitbart, Jun 16, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
If it can’t be replicated, it isn’t science: BOM admits temperature adjustments are secret
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Jun 18, 2015
Presentation of Evidence Suggesting Temperature Drives Atmospheric CO2 more than CO2 Drives Temperature
Guest essay by Allan MacRae, WUWT, Jun 13, 2015
Time For Skeptics To Expose National Weather Offices: Canada, A Case Study With National And Global Implications
By Tim Ball, A Different Perspective, Jun 10, 2015
On to Paris!
IEA outlines ‘four pillars’ for success of climate talks
By Staff Writers, WNN, Jun 15, 2015
Claim: Paris climate pledges only delay Climageddon by 8 months
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Jun 15, 2015
Link to report: Energy and Climate Change: World Energy Outlook Special Report
By Staff Writers, EIA, 2015
Problems in the Orthodoxy
India’s Coal Boom Drives Australian Coal Export
By Gina Rushton, The Australian, Via GWPF, Jun 14, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/indias-coal-boom-drives-australian-coal-export/
Seeking a Common Ground
What Causes the Greenhouse Effect?
By Roy Spencer, His Blog, Jun 13, 2015
http://www.drroyspencer.com/2015/06/what-causes-the-greenhouse-effect/
Where is All the CO2 Going?
By Norman Rogers, American Thinker, Jun 12, 2015
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/06/where_is_all_the_co2_going.html
Against ‘consensus’ messaging
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Jun 17, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/06/17/against-consensus-messaging/
Ecomodernism and sustainable intensification
Decoupling society from nature through innovation is good for nature
By Matt Ridley, Rational Optimist, Jun 13, 2015
http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog/eco-modernism-and-sustainable-intensification.aspx
“The word [sustainability] is usually shorthand for subsidising things that are not commercially sustainable, “
The Basis for Making Environmental Decisions
By Alan Carlin, Carlin Economics and Science, Jun 18, 2015
http://www.carlineconomics.com/archives/1800
“The climate alarmists, whom I refer to as the Climate-Industrial Complex (CIC) in my book, have essentially built a fantasy world in which small increases in a very minor but vital atmospheric gas, carbon dioxide, somehow controls climate and now extreme weather.”
Review of Recent Scientific Articles by CO2 Science
A Submerged Aquatic Plant in a CO2-Enriched and Warmer World
Cao, J. and Ruan, H. 2015. Responses of the submerged macrophyte Vallisneria natans to elevated CO2 and temperature. Aquatic Biology 23: 119-127., Jun 17, 2015
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/jun/a16.php
Lamenting the Double ITCZ Bias in CMIP5 Climate Models
Oueslati, B. and Bellon, G. 2015. The double ITCZ bias in CMIP5 models: interaction between SST, large-scale circulation and precipitation. Climate Dynamics 44: 585-607. Jun 16, 2015
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/jun/a13.php
“In what must be a difficult acknowledgement to make, Oueslati and Bellon (2015) write that ‘the double intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) bias still affects all the models that participate in CMIP5,’ – i.e. the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5 — while further noting that ‘as an ensemble, general circulation models have improved little between CMIP3 and CMIP5 as far as the double ITCZ is concerned.’ And, therefore, they proceed to discuss some of the many other problems that have ultimately led to this problem.”
South Asian Summer Monsoon and Tropical SSTs in CMIP5 Models
Li, R., Lu, S., Han, B. and Gao, Y. 2015. Connections between the South Asian Summer Monsoon and the tropical sea surface temperature in CMIP5. Journal of Meteorological Research 29: 106-118., Jun 13, 2015
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/jun/a12.php
A 2500-Year SST History of the northern South China Sea (SCS)
Yan, H., Soon, W. and Wang, Y. 2015. A composite sea surface temperature record of the northern South China Sea for the past 2500 years: A unique look into seasonality and seasonal climate changes during warm and cold periods. Earth-Science Reviews 141: 122-136. Jun 13, 2015
http://www.co2science.org/articles/V18/jun/a11.php
“And because these warmer-than-present periods [Roman & Medieval] occurred when the atmosphere’s CO2 concentration was only about 70% of what it is today, it is likely that the atmosphere’s CO2 content has had little to do with the development of the recent warmth of the modern era.”
Measurement Issues
New tool could predict large solar storms more than 24 hours in advance
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jun 9, 2015
May sets new heat record
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Jun 18, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/245424-may-sets-new-heat-record
[SEPP Comment: Apparently, using the newly adjusted, highly questionable temperature records.]
A mess of adjustments in Australian capital cities — The inexplicable history of temperatures
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Jun 17, 2015
America’s Most Advanced Climate Station Data Shows US In A 10-Year Cooling Trend
By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Jun 16, 2015
Despite attempts to erase it globally, “the pause” still exists in pristine US surface temperature data
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jun 14, 2015
Max Planck Society Confirms Warming Pause! …Scrambles To Explain Widespread Model Failure
Max Planck Society: “Temperatures stagnant approximately since 1998, but at high level”
By Sebastian Lüning and Fritz Vahrenholt [Translated/edited by P. Gosselin] No Tricks Zone, Jun 16, 2015
The Daily Caller’s Bad Science on ‘Global Cooling’
By Zoe Schlanger, Newsweek, Jun 18, 2015
“It is a favorite tactic of those who resist climate regulation to cherry-pick data from limited time periods and limited geographical areas to draw broad conclusions that are contrary to the overwhelming body of climate science,” says Michael Gerrard, a law professor and director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.
[SEPP Comment: Perhaps the law professor can explain what caused past warm periods.]
Changing Weather
Intense Rain Bursts Rise with Heat, Forecast More Flash Flooding
The heaviest rainfalls happen when it’s warmest
By Evan Lehmann, Scientific American, Jun 15, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
N. Korea hit by worst drought in a century
By Staff Writers, AFP, Jun 16, 2015
http://news.yahoo.com/n-korea-hit-worst-drought-century-114634649.html
Media hypes ‘monster storm Bill’, so called record heat pace for 2015 – reality check
By Joseph D’Aleo, ICECAP, Jun 17, 2015
Changing Climate
Medieval Warm Period confirmed via cave study of 3000 years of climatic variations
Remote cave study reveals 3000 years of European climate variation
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jun 15, 2015
Link to paper: A composite annual-resolution stalagmite record of North Atlantic climate over the last three millennia
By Baker, et al, Nature, Scientific Reports, Jun 11, 2015
http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150611/srep10307/full/srep10307.html
Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice
My new Arctic Fallacy paper- Sea ice stability and the polar bear
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Jun 8, 2015
Changing Earth
Big dinosaurs steered clear of the tropics
Climate swings lasting millions of years too much for dinos
By Cheryl; Dybas. NSF, Jun 15, 2015
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=135256&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click
Acidic Waters
Astonishing finding: coral reef thriving amid ‘ocean acidification’
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jun 10, 2015
Unravelling the mysteries of carbonic acid
Researchers peeling back veil on a critical but short-lived molecule
By Staff Writers, Science Daily, Jun 16, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150616131621.htm
Link to paper: The hydration structure of dissolved carbon dioxide from X-ray absorption spectroscopy
By Lam et al, Chemical Physics Letters, Jul 16, 2015
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009261415003826
[Comment from Clyde Spencer: “The much maligned carbonic acid that is supposedly responsible for making the oceans ‘more acidic’ actually only lasts for 26 milliseconds before forming bicarbonate buffers.”]
Agriculture Issues & Fear of Famine
Climate Change Mitigation’s Costs Could Make Poor Countries Hungrier
By Seth Augenstein, Laboratory Equipment, Jun 10, 2015
Cutting carbon emissions could escalate hunger: Study
Staff Writers, Business Standard, Jun 14, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
How Neil Young, Greenpeace work to starve the world’s poor
By Owen Paterson, New York Post, Jun 14, 2015
http://nypost.com/2015/06/14/how-neil-young-greenpeace-work-to-starve-the-worlds-poor/
Wasting Food in a Hungry World
By Bjørn Lomborg, Project Syndicate, Jun 18, 2015
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/wasting-food-hungry-world-by-bjorn-lomborg-2015-06
Un-Science or Non-Science?
IEA warns of 4.3C temperature jump from climate change
By Staff Writers, London (AFP), June 15, 2015
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/IEA_warns_of_43C_temperature_jump_from_climate_change_999.html
[SEPP Comment: IEA draws into question any use of its models for forecasts.]
Lowering Standards
Another me-too climate statement by a non-climate body
By Guest Blogger Christopher Monckton, WUWT, Jun 13, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/06/13/another-me-too-climate-statement-by-a-non-climate-body/
Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?
Climate Scientists Helped Create a Spurious Pause in Global Warming
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change may be responsible for confusion about recent global warming
By Gayathri Vaidyanathan and ClimateWire, Scientific American, Jun 9, 2015
Polar bear behaviour gets the animal tragedy porn treatment – two new papers
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Jun 12, 2015
Study: Global Warming won’t reduce winter deaths
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jun 18, 2015
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/06/18/study-global-warming-wont-reduce-winter-deaths/
Link to paper: Winter season mortality: will climate warming bring benefits?
By Kenney, et al, IOP, Jun 19, 2015
http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/10/6/064016/article
[SEPP Comment: Apparent inconsistency between findings in the abstract and subsequent write-up. Time period in 36 US cities (1983-2006) and 3 French cities (1971-2007)
Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.
Is Climate Change Hysteria the New ‘Population Bomb’?
By Thomas Williams, Breitbart, Jun 13, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Navajo Generating Station Powers and Paralyzes the Western U.S.
The latest in ProPublica’s “Killing the Colorado” series looks inside the power plant fueling America’s drought
By Abrahm Lustgarten and ProPublica, Scientific American, June 16, 2015 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
[SEPP Comment: The current draught, which is being eased downwind of the plant is caused by the power-plant?]
Communicating Better to the Public – Go Personal.
IPCC: climate misinformers
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Jun 8, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/6/8/ipcc-climate-misinformers.html
“David Rose’s questioning led him to be being branded ‘climate misinformer of the year’. This paper goes a long way towards demonstrating that that particular accolade belongs to the IPCC.”
On climate policy, coal, charity and ducks
By Matt Ridley, Rational Optimist, Jun 11, 2015
http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog/spectator-diary-%282%29.aspx
Expanding the Orthodoxy
Environmentalist Shipwreck
By Norman Rogers, American Thinker, Jun 18, 2015
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/06/environmentalist_shipwreck.html
[SEPP Comment: Does the Green Industry have undue influence on the International Maritime Organization (IMO)?]
Expanding the Orthodoxy – The Pope
Laudato Si – a cry for the poor
Guest post, by Joe Ronan, Bishop Hill, Jun 18, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/6/18/laudato-si-a-cry-for-the-poor.html
Pope Francis and 21st-Century Stewardship (2882)
If it’s consistent with both the papacy of Pope Francis and the legacy of his saintly namesake, Laudato Sii, the encyclical to be published on June 18, is likely to make a strong connection between the environment and the poor and the vulnerable.
By Jonathan Liedl, National Catholic Register, Jun 8, 2015
Papal Encyclical: A New Club of Rome
Editorial, New York Times, Via GWPF, Jun 16, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/the-new-club-of-rome/
Pope Backs Climate Change Science, Denounces World Leaders
By John Follain, Bloomberg, Jun 15, 2015
Expanding the Orthodoxy – The Pope – Loyal Opposition
Pope’s thinking is outdated: Opposing view
Recognize encyclical’s shortcomings and unintended consequences.
By Joseph Bast, USA Today, Jun 18, 2015
Caveat Venalicium Libertas II [Beware Free Markets]
By Terence Corcoran: Financial Post, Jun 17, 2015
http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/terence-corcoran-caveat-venalicium-libertas-ii
Comment: Encyclical of Pope Francis
By Staff Writers, Climate Change Predictions, Jun 18, 2015
http://climatechangepredictions.org/uncategorized/3282
Pope Francis’ climate change encyclical not binding on Catholics
By Father James Grant, Institute of Public Affairs, AU, No date, [H/t GWPF]
Making climate change a moral issue
By Martin Livermore, The Scientific Alliance, Jun 19, 2015
http://scientific-alliance.org/node/935
“It’s not about morality, but it is about practicality.”
The ironies of Pope Francis’s climate-change cure
By E. Calvin Beisner, Washington Times, Jun 17, 2015
The Pope’s Message Misses the Point
By Nick Butler, Financial Times, Via GWPF, Jun 19, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/nick-butler-the-popes-message-misses-the-point/
Spin Cycle: Free Markets, Poverty and the Environment
Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger and Patrick J. Michaels, CATO, Jun 18, 2015
http://www.cato.org/blog/spin-cycle-free-markets-poverty-environment
The Pope’s Global Warming Encyclical: Don’t Be Misled
Editorial, IBD, Jun 16, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/061615-757609-climate-change-not-part-of-popes-calling.htm
Questioning European Green
Nigel Lawson: The Church of Climatism
By Nigel Lawson, Financial Post, Via GWPF, Jun 18, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/nigel-lawson-the-church-of-climatism/
Rising green energy levies ‘risk public backlash’
Efforts to combat climate change could be jeopardised by a backlash against the rising costs of green levies on energy bills, IPPR think-tank says
By Emily Gosden, Telegraph, UK, Jun 17, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
French Reactor Problems Cast Doubt on UK Decarbonization Plans
By Jim Packard, Financial Times Via GWPF, Jun 15, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/french-reactor-problems-cast-doubt-on-uk-decarbonisation-plans/
German Physics Prof Blasts Climate Science …”Far Too Removed From The Scientific Facts”!
By P. Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Jun 15, 2015
Questioning Green Elsewhere
The perils of trying to hasten the inevitable
By Martin Livermore, The Scientific Alliance, Jun 12, 2015
http://scientific-alliance.org/node/932
Now they Tell You How To Live
By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Jun 19, 2015
https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/now-they-tell-you-how-to-live/
Non-Green Jobs
Shale oil turned North Dakota from one of the poorest US states into the second most prosperous state in a decade
By Mark Perry, AEIdeas, Jun 12, 2015
Funding Issues
Secretive donors gave US climate denial groups $125m over three years
Funds allocated to organisations lobbying against Obama’s climate bill and working to undermine rules to reduce carbon pollution, tax records show
By Suzanne Goldenberg and Helena Bengtsson, Guardian, UK, Jun 9, 2015 [H/t Climate Etc.]
[SEPP Comment: Peanuts compared with what government gives global-warming promoters.]
The Political Games Continue
Senate panel advances $30B bill that targets EPA rules
By Rebecca Shabad, The Hill, Jun 18, 2015
Bill would defund EPA studies of global warming
By Cristina Marcos, The Hill, Jun 19, 2015
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/245557-bill-would-defund-epa-studies-of-global-warming
Subsidies and Mandates Forever
Britain Abolishes Onshore Wind Subsidies a Year Early
By Jim Packard, Financial Times, Jun 18, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/britain-terminates-onshore-wind-subsidies-early/
“After the closure of the RO [Renewables Obligation], companies must compete for a strictly rationed system of subsidies.”
[SEPP Comment: Is the free, “free lunch” over? One has to compete for it?]
Homeland security panel targets EPA’s ethanol mandate
By John Siciliano, Washington Examiner, Jun 18, 2015
Energy Issues – Non-US
So-called Progress that Goes Backwards
By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Jun 16, 2015
https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2015/06/16/so-called-progress-that-goes-backwards/
There is no renewables revolution in China. Here are the numbers that show this
By Robert Wilson, Carbon Counter, Jun 17, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
Deforestation in the UK
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc, Jun 18, 2015
http://judithcurry.com/2015/06/18/deforestation-in-the-uk/#more-19087
[SEPP Comment: Is the next step replacing automobiles with horse-drawn carriages, and the associated filth of tens of thousands of horses in urban areas?]
Energy Issues — US
Exxon Mobil Rejects Crony Energy (Tillerson channels Lee Raymond)
By Robert Bradley, Jr, Master Resource, Jun 18, 2015
[SEPP Comment: There was a difference between Exxon and Enron!]
Big Wind’s Big Barriers
By Lisa Linowes, Wind Action, Jun 15, 2015
http://www.windaction.org/posts/42874-big-wind-s-big-barriers#.VYBPv0ZApqw
“Conclusion: The output of DOE’s models are easy to promote but reality paints a very different picture. DOE’s Vision assumes 7 GW of wind built per year between 2014 and 2020, followed by 12 gigawatts per year between 2020 and 2030, and 17 GW every year after until 2050. The Agency points to the progress since 2009 as proof that a more aggressive wind roll-out is possible. But in many ways, the success of U.S. wind in those years is the very reason wind development will not grow, but continue to slow.”
DOE’s Fantasy Land: 35 Percent Wind in 2050
By Staff Writers, IER, Mar 20, 2015
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/analysis/does-fantasy-land-35-percent-wind-in-2050/
Big Wind’s Big Barriers (examining DOE’s fantasy scenario for a faulty technology)
By Lisa Linowes, Master Resource, Jun 15, 2015
https://www.masterresource.org/linowes-lisa/wind-barriers/
Washington’s Control of Energy
‘Oil, Gas, and Government: the U.S. Experience’ (introduction to a 1996 classic)
By Robert Murphy, Master Resource, Jun 17, 2015
https://www.masterresource.org/bradley/oil-gas-government-introduction/
Continental’s Hamm: End crude export ban to unleash power of ‘Cowboystan’
By Bill Holland, SNL, Jun 16, 2015
https://www.snl.com/Interactivex/article.aspx?CdId=A-32992269-11050
Obama moves to slash truck pollution
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Jun 19, 2015
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/245526-obama-seeks-24-percent-cut-in-trucks-fuel-use
Link to regulations: Proposed Rulemaking: Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles
By Staff Writers, EPA, Jun 19, 2015
http://www.epa.gov/oms/climate/regs-heavy-duty.htm
Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?
Top 10 things I learned on my summer trip to the Bakken oil fields, Part I
By Mark Perry, IEAdeas, Jun 16, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Return of King Coal?
Global Coal Use Growing Faster Than any Other Energy
By Brendan Pearson and Michael Roche, The Australian, Via GWPF, Jun 16, 2015
http://www.thegwpf.com/global-coal-use-growing-faster-than-any-other-energy/
Nuclear Energy and Fears
California’s Mega-Drought: Nuclear Power To The Rescue
By James Conca, Forbes, Jun 9, 2015
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Solar and Wind
Banishing the clouds
To threaten fossil fuels, solar power must solve its intermittency problem
Editorial, The Economist, Jun 13, 2015
WH Science Adviser: ‘Cars, Trucks and Planes Are Going to Have to Run on Electricity, Biofuels or Hydrogen’
By Penny Starr, CNS News, Jun 16, 2015 [H/t Timothy Wise]
[SEPP Comment: No doubt an executive order will solve the power-to-weight ratio problem to allow airplanes to operate on batteries.]
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Energy — Other
How climate change policies are hurting the world’s poor
By Guy Bentley, City A.M., Jun 6, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.cityam.com/blog/1402069088/how-climate-change-policies-are-hurting-worlds-poor
More twists to the insane £1bn Swansea scheme
The Government is determined to push through the tidal lagoon, no matter what the implications
By Christopher Booker, Telegraph, UK, Jun 13, 2015
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/11673376/More-twists-to-the-insane-1bn-Swansea-scheme.html
Carbon Schemes
Ten Reasons Kemper Is Bad for Consumers (Haley Barbour, Mississippi Power boondoggle)
By Steve Wilson, Master Resource, Jun 16, 2015
https://www.masterresource.org/kemper-plant-coal-capture-and-storage/ten-reasons-kemper-bad/
[SEPP Comment: The integrated coal-gasification plant is not working out as planned.]
Health, Energy, and Climate
Revolution and Reaction in Biopharming
By Henry Miller, Project Syndicate, Jun 19, 2015
Oh Mann!
A disgrace to the profession
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Jun 11, 2015
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/6/11/a-disgrace-to-the-profession.html
Mann for Breakfast
By Mark Steyn, Steyn Online, Jun 12, 2015 [H/t Climate Etc.]
http://www.steynonline.com/7000/mann-for-breakfast
(Video)
Environmental Industry
Greenpeace: global warriors against development
Who can blame India for wanting to get rid of these eco-meddlers?
By Sadhvi Sharma, Spiked, Online, Jun 17, 2015 [H/t GWPF]
Other News that May Be of Interest
France bans sale of Monsanto herbicide Roundup in nurseries
By Staff Writers, Paris (AFP), June 14, 2015
Private Ownership Of Land Almost as Important And Unique In the US Constitution.
By Tim Ball, A Different Perspective, Jun 15, 2015
http://drtimball.com/2015/2676/
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BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:
The Maldives’ Latest Underwater Airport
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Jun 16, 2015
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/06/16/the-maldives-latest-airport/
[SEPP Comment: Using publicity stunts, the Maldives sought international pity, and money, as disappearing due to rising seas.]
Engineers develop plan to convert US to 100 percent renewable energy
By Staff Writers, Stanford CA (SPX), Jun 16, 2015
[SEPP Comment: At what cost?]
Another climate researcher claims to have won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jun 17, 2015
Early Hansen Co-authored Paper Notes “global mean temperature was perhaps 1 deg C warmer than today”
Guest Post by Bob Tisdale, WUWT, Jun 13, 2015
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Anthony writes wrt the Vatican Encyclical.
“Another suggestion is to open up discussion on the entire global warming/climate change issue – something that is sorely needed.”
Agreed. All the polemics aside, I think once the broader discussion starts, the gaps and cracks will emerge between the various vested interests, and with any luck, the tower of Babel will cease construction.
An analysis of Steve Goddard’s claims of data tampering. Is this representative of data tampering claims?http://reallysciency.blogspot.com/2012/03/goddard-tampering-with-data-all-over.html
“”….reducing environmental degradation, in a large part thanks to increased prosperity through the use of fossil fuels.
The Letter calls for reducing the dangers of climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, requiring diminished use of fossil fuels….. “”
Maybe I dont really understand the subtlety of the English Language, How can the Pope assert that environmental degradation has been reduced because of the use of “Fossil Fuels” and on the other demand a ban on such a resource. Arent this two contradicting statements?? Or is it a mistake in translation or interpretation like all the various versions of the new and old Testament??
“The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.”
Jesus wept – have these nincompoops ever visited the great outdoors? On a recent river cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow in Russia, I saw enough trash to fill one small trash bin and that included traipsing around St Petersburg, Yaroslavl and Moscow for six days.