Josh writes: Here’s an odd thing.
Replying to Tweeter ‘Hot Topic’, who was highlighting this article in the Guardian, Gavin Schmidt said that there are “More than 10x number of English vineyards now than in medieval times.” with a link to a 2006 Real Climate article.
Gavin implies that this comparison trumps the argument about English vineyards being proof that Medieval Warm Period was hotter.
However, one can conclude that those who are using the medieval English vineyards as a ‘counter-proof’ to the idea of present day global warming are just blowing smoke (or possibly drinking too much Californian).
Hang on a sec! Surely you would not compare the two without mentioning the population size – the number of people buying and drinking the stuff – I mean that would be unscientific, wouldn’t it?
A quick bit of research and doing some sums, admittedly by a cartoonist, gave me approximate ratios of 15 Vineyards per million in medieval times compared to 7.5 Vineyards per million today. That means that if you want to use Vineyards as a proxy for temperature (I wouldn’t) the MWP was twice as hot as it it today!
I think we can conclude that this is simply Vintage Gavin (pronounced Ga-Vin) and we should all be enormously cheered up by the logic of climate science – what they can brew up with numbers is very entertaining.
Please embibe responsibly. No more that two units of Climate Science per day.
***
P.S. I didnt see it at the time but William Briggs also noted Gavin’s omission.
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The guy is a knobber. What more can one say.
More important than what was growing in England during the MWP, is what was growing in Greenland during the MWP.
By the way, does he do this chatting on NASA’s time?
Did Gavin allow for the effects of the extra CO2?
Fourty years ago I was up by Hadrians wall, way up north, went over the remains of a Roman winery and vinyard it was just moorland with stunted shrubs and heather! Oh and 2000 year old terracing! I wonder if there are vines there now? I doubt it!
Chris; I live in Newcastle upon Tyne a few miles away from Hadrians Wall. Twenty years ago they were telling me that, by now, I would be able to have a vineyard in my back garden,I can definitely tell you that is not the case. I have to buy my wine, and at £5 a bottle it isn’t cheap, in Spain I pay E1.99 (£1.45, $2).
And bottles of wine in Spain can be bought for only €0.85. At that price it is usually cr*p, but I have on occasions bought such bottles for a red wine sauce, or to slow cook chicken in wine, and drank some of the surplus and was pleasantly surprised.
“0% Proof” – A classic subtle but true statement.
What a ridiculous but unsurprising statement from GS. Surely to goodness no one would buy this argument!
A better measure is cultivated area- don’t know how you’d find that data but I bet they have done a lot of clearing since the Medieval Period so naturally there is more space to produce wine.
Let’s not forget that viticulture has also advanced in quantum leaps and bounds. The scientific advancements include hybrid vines, pest and disease control, new varieties that grow in warmer and cooler climates and yield enhancements. It would be foolhardy to use viticulture as a climate measure.
Minnesota, which is a state that averages 110 days per year with snow cover of an inch or greater, has wineries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Minnesota
http://mnwine.org/wineries/
Climatology’s version of Kool Aid.
Clever!
To me think this is the best image Josh has drawn. I love the “0% Proof” bit…classic!
One of the major changes in viticulture has been the creation of numerous varietal clones. These clones will grow in colder climates than would have been possible centuries ago. This has allowed wine grapes to be grown successfully in many new locations. Consequently, the number of English vineyards has much more to do with advances in viticulture than it does with climate change. This issue was discussed on Real Climate over a decade ago. At that time, I tried to explain to explain the impact of advancements in viticulture to Gavin et al. In order to thank me, Real Climate deleted all my posts.
Hey, perhaps instead of “Ga Vin” this 0% proof wine should be called “Gaga Vin”…
Rich.
Gag A Vin?
Having more vineards is a good thing. Why should we try to avoid it?
Now, who else would ever think plants are thermometers first and foremost?
Josh,
The label is terrific.
Ordinaire as well as 0 % proof. ROFLMAO
Boone’s Farm just came to mind.
there are 100% more airports now than there were in Medieval times.
Clearly, Global Warming causes airports.
Given the cultural changes going on in the US perhaps Gavin could give us a hemp thermometer as well.