The IPCC consensus on climate change was phoney, says IPCC insider
Lawrence Solomon June 13, 2010 – 8:50 am
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change misled the press and public into believing that thousands of scientists backed its claims on manmade global warming, according to Mike Hulme, a prominent climate scientist and IPCC insider. The actual number of scientists who backed that claim was “only a few dozen experts,” he states in a paper for Progress in Physical Geography, co-authored with student Martin Mahony.
“Claims such as ‘2,500 of the world’s leading scientists have reached a consensus that human activities are having a significant influence on the climate’ are disingenuous,” the paper states unambiguously, adding that they rendered “the IPCC vulnerable to outside criticism.”
Hulme, Professor of Climate Change in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia – the university of Climategate fame — is the founding Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and one of the UK’s most prominent climate scientists. Among his many roles in the climate change establishment, Hulme was the IPCC’s co-ordinating Lead Author for its chapter on ‘Climate scenario development’ for its Third Assessment Report and a contributing author of several other chapters.
Hulme’s depiction of IPCC’s exaggeration of the number of scientists who backed its claim about man-made climate change can be found on pages 10 and 11 of his paper, found [url=http://www.probeinternational.org/Hulme-Mahony-PiPG%5B1%5D.pdfher e[/url].
Financial Post
LawrenceSolomon@nextcity.com
Lawrence Solomon is executive director of Energy Probe and the author of The Deniers.
Cold winter weather in South Africa's Eastern Cape region has killed nearly 500 African penguins in the last 24 hours, the national parks agency said Tuesday.
"The chicks, aged between a few weeks old and about two months old and covered only with down feathers, succumbed to the cold and wet weather which has hit Bird Island," national parks spokeswoman Megan Taplin told Sapa news agency.
According to the parks agency, the penguin population is already dwindling with only 700 breeding pairs left in the area.
The trouble with penguins is they don't know the difference between climate and weather.
Cold winter weather in South Africa's Eastern Cape region has killed nearly 500 African penguins in the last 24 hours, the national parks agency said Tuesday.
"The chicks, aged between a few weeks old and about two months old and covered only with down feathers, succumbed to the cold and wet weather which has hit Bird Island," national parks spokeswoman Megan Taplin told Sapa news agency.
According to the parks agency, the penguin population is already dwindling with only 700 breeding pairs left in the area.
The trouble with penguins is they don't know the difference between climate and weather.
The Penguin Conservation Centre (PCC) was founded in November 1968 to care for ill, injured and oiled seabirds. In its long history, PCC has handled an overwhelming influx of birds into the Centre and responded to every major oil spill along the South African coast. To date, PCC has treated over 83,000 seabirds.
The Penguin Conservation Centre is best known for its success in rehabilitating oiled African Penguins. Due to the exploitation of guano and penguin eggs and the depletion of fish resources, their numbers have dropped by a frightening 90% in the past century. In recent years, oil spills have threatened to decimate the relatively few survivors that remain. Since African penguins are flightless and live in close-knit colonies, a single oil spill can be devastating.
The Penguin Conservation Centre has pioneered and refined many oiled seabird rehabilitation procedures and is now a world leader in this field, achieving survival rates that are exceptional by international standards. Recent research by scientists at the University of Cape Town’s Avian Demography Unit (ADU) indicates that the African Penguin population is 19% higher today than what it would have been in the absence of PCC’s efforts.
Despite their highly dedicated, professional team of 10 permanent staff, the Centre is barely able to handle the large numbers of birds which arrive everyday. PCC treated 817 penguins in 2001, 977 penguins in 2002, 1,052 penguins in 2003, 655 penguins in 2004, 951 penguins in 2005, 1,301 penguins in 2006 and 896 penguins in 2007. Their conservation efforts continue 365 days each year due to the fact that increasing numbers of our vulnerable seabird species require rehabilitation year round.
The greatest threat however, is the danger of oil pollution from tankers illegally cleaning their tanks as they round the Cape to the Middle east, or by sinking ships,
The oil destroys the insulating ability of the feathers and the birds eventually die of exposure. In 1968, two accidents involving oil tankers caused the deaths of approximately 25,000 penguins. During the 1994 Apollo sea disaster. l0 000 penguins were oiled. Cape Nature Conservation and SANCCOB managed to rescue, clean and rinse 4,500 penguins, which were later released. About 3,000 of these were from Dassen Island and it appears that more than 1,200 of these oiled penguins have returned to this island.
The ability to withstand intense cold is one of the penguin's greatest assets. Most penguins have rather small feet, wings and heads, the relatively little surface area in comparison to the birds volume results in excellent heat conservation. In addition, many penguins have a thick layer of fat under the skin. Some species are better equipped for cold weather than others. The Emperor penguin which may weigh 27 to 30kg (60-701bs.) appears to be best equipped of all.
"The chicks, aged between a few weeks old and about two months old and covered only with down feathers, succumbed to the cold and wet weather which has hit Bird Island," national parks spokeswoman Megan Taplin told Sapa news agency.
No oil pollution sapping their ability to withstand the cold. Just cold weather. No need for "spin".
500 African penguins killed due to cold snap
16 June 2010 09:26:20 by IANS -
Johannesburg, June 16 (DPA) The cold snap that has swept across South Africa in the first week of the World Cup has killed nearly 500 African penguin chicks, South Africa’s national parks authority said.
Several cities hosting the World Cup were plunged into freezing conditions this week. Temperatures fell to -2 Celsius in Johannesburg Tuesday night and -5 in the central city of Bloemfontein.
It is a common trick of Climate Alarmists to muddy the waters by mixing other REAL enironmental problems such as pollution, with the invented claptrap of "man-made global warming" / "climate change"/ "global cooling" / "we're all doomed whichever way you look at it just give us all your money" scam.
The average June minimum temperature for Johannesburg is plus 4 degrees centigrade. Of course that is only weather.
SUNSPOTS come and go, but recently they have mostly gone. For centuries, astronomers have recorded when these dark blemishes on the solar surface emerge, only for them to fade away again after a few days, weeks or months. Thanks to their efforts, we know that sunspot numbers ebb and flow in cycles lasting about 11 years.
But for the past two years, the sunspots have mostly been missing. Their absence, the most prolonged for nearly a hundred years, has taken even seasoned sun watchers by surprise. "This is solar behaviour we haven't seen in living memory," says David Hathaway, a physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The sun is under scrutiny as never before thanks to an armada of space telescopes. The results they beam back are portraying our nearest star, and its influence on Earth, in a new light. Sunspots and other clues indicate that the sun's magnetic activity is diminishing, and that the sun may even be shrinking. Together the results hint that something profound is happening inside the sun. The big question is what?
Lengthy article can be read at above link. Interesting conclusion though!
Quote:
It seems that the sunspot bonanza of last century is over.
Looks like we are in for some very cold winters like the last one. The question is - did the scammers manage to alter "Global Warming" to "Climate Change" in time to fool the gullible masses?
Stuart Clark's latest book is The Sun Kings (Princeton). He blogs at stuartclark.com
Cold winter weather in South Africa's Eastern Cape region has killed nearly 500 African penguins in the last 24 hours, the national parks agency said Tuesday.
"The chicks, aged between a few weeks old and about two months old and covered only with down feathers, succumbed to the cold and wet weather which has hit Bird Island," national parks spokeswoman Megan Taplin told Sapa news agency.
According to the parks agency, the penguin population is already dwindling with only 700 breeding pairs left in the area.
The trouble with penguins is they don't know the difference between climate and weather.
The Penguin Conservation Centre (PCC) was founded in November 1968 to care for ill, injured and oiled seabirds. In its long history, PCC has handled an overwhelming influx of birds into the Centre and responded to every major oil spill along the South African coast. To date, PCC has treated over 83,000 seabirds.
The Penguin Conservation Centre is best known for its success in rehabilitating oiled African Penguins. Due to the exploitation of guano and penguin eggs and the depletion of fish resources, their numbers have dropped by a frightening 90% in the past century. In recent years, oil spills have threatened to decimate the relatively few survivors that remain. Since African penguins are flightless and live in close-knit colonies, a single oil spill can be devastating.
The Penguin Conservation Centre has pioneered and refined many oiled seabird rehabilitation procedures and is now a world leader in this field, achieving survival rates that are exceptional by international standards. Recent research by scientists at the University of Cape Town’s Avian Demography Unit (ADU) indicates that the African Penguin population is 19% higher today than what it would have been in the absence of PCC’s efforts.
Despite their highly dedicated, professional team of 10 permanent staff, the Centre is barely able to handle the large numbers of birds which arrive everyday. PCC treated 817 penguins in 2001, 977 penguins in 2002, 1,052 penguins in 2003, 655 penguins in 2004, 951 penguins in 2005, 1,301 penguins in 2006 and 896 penguins in 2007. Their conservation efforts continue 365 days each year due to the fact that increasing numbers of our vulnerable seabird species require rehabilitation year round.
The greatest threat however, is the danger of oil pollution from tankers illegally cleaning their tanks as they round the Cape to the Middle east, or by sinking ships,
The oil destroys the insulating ability of the feathers and the birds eventually die of exposure. In 1968, two accidents involving oil tankers caused the deaths of approximately 25,000 penguins. During the 1994 Apollo sea disaster. l0 000 penguins were oiled. Cape Nature Conservation and SANCCOB managed to rescue, clean and rinse 4,500 penguins, which were later released. About 3,000 of these were from Dassen Island and it appears that more than 1,200 of these oiled penguins have returned to this island.
The ability to withstand intense cold is one of the penguin's greatest assets. Most penguins have rather small feet, wings and heads, the relatively little surface area in comparison to the birds volume results in excellent heat conservation. In addition, many penguins have a thick layer of fat under the skin. Some species are better equipped for cold weather than others. The Emperor penguin which may weigh 27 to 30kg (60-701bs.) appears to be best equipped of all.
http://www.weatherforecastmap.com/south_africa/johannesburg/ Average Weather in Johannesburg for June
Sunlight 10 hours a day
Coldest daily temperature 4 Celsius
Warmest daily temperature 16 Celsius
Coldest June temperature -7 Celsius
Warmest June temperature 25 Celsius
Discomfort -
Morning Humidity 70 percent
Evening Humidity 33 percent
Rain 7 mm a day
Wet days for June 1 days
Quote:
500 African penguins killed due to cold snap
16 June 2010 09:26:20 by IANS -
Johannesburg, June 16 (DPA) The cold snap that has swept across South Africa in the first week of the World Cup has killed nearly 500 African penguin chicks, South Africa’s national parks authority said.
Several cities hosting the World Cup were plunged into freezing conditions this week. Temperatures fell to -2 Celsius in Johannesburg Tuesday night and -5 in the central city of Bloemfontein.
That's right the coldest recorded temperature EVER in June was minus 7 Centigrade. The AVERAGE minimum temperature is plus 4 Centigrade. So the recent temperature (minus 2 C) was SIX degrees Centigrade lower than the AVERAGE minimum and only five away from matching the record June low, with another two weeks of June left. Not spin. Evidence that Global Warming is bunk! Its the same cold that killed the penguins. It was NOT oil on their feathers. THAT was spin. Not even very good spin either. I look forward to reporting on the rest of June's temperatures in Johannesburg to see if I can find any evidence of CO2 raising the temperature.
Cold winter weather in South Africa's Eastern Cape region has killed nearly 500 African penguins in the last 24 hours, the national parks agency said Tuesday.
"The chicks, aged between a few weeks old and about two months old and covered only with down feathers, succumbed to the cold and wet weather which has hit Bird Island," national parks spokeswoman Megan Taplin told Sapa news agency.
According to the parks agency, the penguin population is already dwindling with only 700 breeding pairs left in the area.
The trouble with penguins is they don't know the difference between climate and weather.
The Penguin Conservation Centre (PCC) was founded in November 1968 to care for ill, injured and oiled seabirds. In its long history, PCC has handled an overwhelming influx of birds into the Centre and responded to every major oil spill along the South African coast. To date, PCC has treated over 83,000 seabirds.
The Penguin Conservation Centre is best known for its success in rehabilitating oiled African Penguins. Due to the exploitation of guano and penguin eggs and the depletion of fish resources, their numbers have dropped by a frightening 90% in the past century. In recent years, oil spills have threatened to decimate the relatively few survivors that remain. Since African penguins are flightless and live in close-knit colonies, a single oil spill can be devastating.
The Penguin Conservation Centre has pioneered and refined many oiled seabird rehabilitation procedures and is now a world leader in this field, achieving survival rates that are exceptional by international standards. Recent research by scientists at the University of Cape Town’s Avian Demography Unit (ADU) indicates that the African Penguin population is 19% higher today than what it would have been in the absence of PCC’s efforts.
Despite their highly dedicated, professional team of 10 permanent staff, the Centre is barely able to handle the large numbers of birds which arrive everyday. PCC treated 817 penguins in 2001, 977 penguins in 2002, 1,052 penguins in 2003, 655 penguins in 2004, 951 penguins in 2005, 1,301 penguins in 2006 and 896 penguins in 2007. Their conservation efforts continue 365 days each year due to the fact that increasing numbers of our vulnerable seabird species require rehabilitation year round.
The greatest threat however, is the danger of oil pollution from tankers illegally cleaning their tanks as they round the Cape to the Middle east, or by sinking ships,
The oil destroys the insulating ability of the feathers and the birds eventually die of exposure. In 1968, two accidents involving oil tankers caused the deaths of approximately 25,000 penguins. During the 1994 Apollo sea disaster. l0 000 penguins were oiled. Cape Nature Conservation and SANCCOB managed to rescue, clean and rinse 4,500 penguins, which were later released. About 3,000 of these were from Dassen Island and it appears that more than 1,200 of these oiled penguins have returned to this island.
The ability to withstand intense cold is one of the penguin's greatest assets. Most penguins have rather small feet, wings and heads, the relatively little surface area in comparison to the birds volume results in excellent heat conservation. In addition, many penguins have a thick layer of fat under the skin. Some species are better equipped for cold weather than others. The Emperor penguin which may weigh 27 to 30kg (60-701bs.) appears to be best equipped of all.
http://www.weatherforecastmap.com/south_africa/johannesburg/ Average Weather in Johannesburg for June
Sunlight 10 hours a day
Coldest daily temperature 4 Celsius
Warmest daily temperature 16 Celsius
Coldest June temperature -7 Celsius
Warmest June temperature 25 Celsius
Discomfort -
Morning Humidity 70 percent
Evening Humidity 33 percent
Rain 7 mm a day
Wet days for June 1 days
Quote:
500 African penguins killed due to cold snap
16 June 2010 09:26:20 by IANS -
Johannesburg, June 16 (DPA) The cold snap that has swept across South Africa in the first week of the World Cup has killed nearly 500 African penguin chicks, South Africa’s national parks authority said.
Several cities hosting the World Cup were plunged into freezing conditions this week. Temperatures fell to -2 Celsius in Johannesburg Tuesday night and -5 in the central city of Bloemfontein.
Weather forecast Johannesburg
Thursday
Max: 13°C
Min: -3°C
weather forecast for Thursday is Sunny Sunny
Friday
Max: 14°C
Min: -2°C
weather forecast for Friday is Sunny Sunny
Saturday
Max: 15°C
Min: -2°C
weather forecast for Saturday is Sunny Sunny
Sunday
Max: 17°C
Min: -2°C
weather forecast for Sunday is Sunny Sunny
Monday
Max: 18°C
Min: 0°C
weather forecast for Monday is Sunny Sunny
Quote:
That's right the coldest recorded temperature EVER in June was minus 7 Centigrade. The AVERAGE minimum temperature is plus 4 Centigrade. So the recent temperature (minus 2 C) was SIX degrees Centigrade lower than the AVERAGE minimum and only five away from matching the record June low, with another two weeks of June left. Not spin. Evidence that Global Warming is bunk! Its the same cold that killed the penguins. It was NOT oil on their feathers. THAT was spin. Not even very good spin either. I look forward to reporting on the rest of June's temperatures in Johannesburg to see if I can find any evidence of CO2 raising the temperature.
So you show the forecast of five successive days of freezing temperatures, all well below the average minimum and all in the early stage of their winter and you say it is spin to say the penguins died of cold. Even though the report clearly says they did. Your cult of climate alarm is dredging the barrel and it is beyond spin what you spout - it is lies. I suppose it is safe now to disregard our last winter with record low temperatures all over the Northern hemisphere. Just "spin" was it?? Or just "weather"? Well it is the turn of the southern hemisphere now and winter has only just started. No problem though - it is just "local" - it is just "spin".
So you show the forecast of five successive days of freezing temperatures, all well below the average minimum and all in the early stage of their winter and you say it is spin to say the penguins died of cold. Even though the report clearly says they did. Your cult of climate alarm is dredging the barrel and it is beyond spin what you spout - it is lies. I suppose it is safe now to disregard our last winter with record low temperatures all over the Northern hemisphere. Just "spin" was it?? Or just "weather"? Well it is the turn of the southern hemisphere now and winter has only just started. No problem though - it is just "local" - it is just "spin".
Quote:
500 African penguins killed due to cold snap
16 June 2010 09:26:20 by IANS -
Johannesburg, June 16 (DPA) The cold snap that has swept across South Africa in the first week of the World Cup has killed nearly 500 African penguin chicks, South Africa’s national parks authority said.
Several cities hosting the World Cup were plunged into freezing conditions this week. Temperatures fell to -2 Celsius in Johannesburg Tuesday night and -5 in the central city of Bloemfontein.
Weather forecast Johannesburg
Thursday
Max: 13°C
Min: -3°C
weather forecast for Thursday is Sunny Sunny
Friday
Max: 14°C
Min: -2°C
weather forecast for Friday is Sunny Sunny
Saturday
Max: 15°C
Min: -2°C
weather forecast for Saturday is Sunny Sunny
Sunday
Max: 17°C
Min: -2°C
weather forecast for Sunday is Sunny Sunny
Monday
Max: 18°C
Min: 0°C
weather forecast for Monday is Sunny Sunny
What it shows is the temperature also at night within its range for june.
item8 wrote: Not me.
Quote:
The trouble with penguins is they don't know the difference between climate and weather.
The southern hemisphere gets their turn at "Global Warming"
Quote:
Big freeze sets in as province shivers under snow blanket
2010/06/18
Mthetho Ndoni, Janine Oelofse and Dineo Matomela ndonim@avusa.co.za
HEAVY rainfall and snow across the Eastern Cape resulted in at least three serious accidents and forced the closure of several roads and passes yesterday.
Snow fell over most of the province, with heavy rain along the coast. Heavy falls were recorded in the Baviaanskloof, George mountains, Queenstown, Grahamstown, Cradock and Graaff-Reinet.
Arrive Alive said the Penhoek, Lootsberg, Wapadsberg and Barkly passes were all closed due to snow.The N9 between Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg and the R61 between Graaff-Reinet and Cradock were closed “to avoid accidents, but Penhoek and Barkly passes were reopened for traffic after the snow was cleared”.
Several people were injured on the R58 between Barkly East and Lady Grey when a minibus taxi overturned. A truck overturned on the N2 between Dutywa and Mthatha, while a car drove into the back of a truck in Graaff-Reinet.
Bitter cold and rain also lashed the Garden Route, leaving deep snow on the high peaks and forcing the closure of the Swartberg and Outeniqua passes.
In Graaff-Reinet, residents woke to a blanket of snow on the surrounding mountains as the mercury fell.
Farmers welcomed the snow, saying it would ensure moist ground until spring.
Lucy Dixon, who works on a cattle and horse farm, said she had never seen so much snow in the area. “Every mountain was covered, even the famous Spandau Kop.
“I heard some farmers say it has never snowed like this since 1977. We have had up to six inches of snowfall.”
Stock farmer James Kingwill said he had not seen so much for a long time. “It is good for farmers,” he added.
The Garden Route weather office warned of very cold conditions for Oudtshoorn, where the mercury is expected to hit -2°C.
George and Knysna municipal spokesmen refuted reports the weather had affected the travel arrangements of the Japanese, Danish and French World Cup soccer teams.
By afternoon, the road between George and Willowmore via Uniondale, as well as the Outeniqua Pass between Oudtshoorn and George, was re-opened. But the Swartberg Pass between Oudtshoorn and Prince Albert, and the Prince Alfred Pass between Knysna and Avontuur was closed.
SA Weather Service forecaster Garth Sampson said more icy conditions were expected.
More than 30mm of rain was recorded in some areas within 24 hours. In Port Elizabeth, 29mm was recorded in the morning. Uitenhage had 7mm, George 26mm, Grahamstown 22mm with snow, Graaff-Reinet 9mm with snow, Humansdorp 15mm and Kareedouw 34mm.
There was a 60% chance of coastal rain and showers today, spreading inland, but likely to clear from tomorrow.
Port Elizabeth temperatures forecast for tomorrow are 6°C to 17°C, Uitenhage 3°C-16°C, Plettenberg Bay 6°C-16°C, George 6°C-16°C and Graaff- Reinet -3°C to 14°C.
Nelson Mandela Bay spokesman Kupido Baron said heavy rain in the catchment areas had lifted dam levels, but there had not yet been enough to lift water restrictions. The municipality would issue a statement tomorrow after the rainwater had run into the supply dams.
Peter Foster, Financial Post · Wednesday, Jun. 16, 2010
The past six months has seen a series of unprecedented setbacks for the cause of catastrophic man-made climate change: the collapse of the Kyoto process; the release of incriminating Climategate emails; the discovery of the shoddy standards of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); the mounting evidence that a job-creating green industrial revolution is a fantasy; and the growing suspicion by the public that it has been sold a bill of goods.
The British Royal Society recently released a statement that "Any public perception that the science is somehow fully settled is wholly incorrect," thus contradicting its own former president, and true believer, Lord May. And if the science isn't settled, there can hardly ever have been "consensus" on the issue.
A forthcoming paper by Mike Hulme, Professor of Climate Change at the University of East Anglia, from which the Climategate emails emerged, admits that the actual group involved in the "consensus" that "human activities are having a significant influence on the climate" was in fact "only a few dozen," rather than the thousands invoked by the IPCC.
Last week, economist Richard Tol, one of the IPCC's own lead authors, suggested that the whole IPCC process should be suspended until the selection of authors has been fixed. This week, the IPCC's head, Rajendra Pachauri, who has previously accused skeptics of flat Earthism and "voodoo science," suddenly had a Damascene conversion as to the validity of dissent. "I am not deaf," he wrote, "to those who do not agree with the scientific consensus on man-made climate change. Nor, indeed, to those who do not agree with the findings--or, in some cases, the existence--of the IPCC."
But while such newfound humility (even though still embracing bogus "consensus") is welcome, every country on Earth is still officially committed to catastrophic man-made warming as a reality that demands a draconian policy response. The erection of such a massive commitment on such shaky foundations begs for explanation, and must be put in both a larger political and psychological context.
Hubristic overestimation of human significance -- in this case both for doing harm and correcting it by policy -- may be the fundamental reason for broad acceptance of man-made climate change theory. The notion that man's sinful and selfish ways will be punished goes back to the myth of the Flood. In many ways, belief in climate apocalypse reflects similar moralistic disapproval of "materialist" Western society, and the claim that its wealth has been bought at the expense of others, including now that of "future generations."
This quasi-religious belief is particularly appealing to the political and bureaucratic classes, because it provides new justifications for intervention to correct the imperfections and ongoing inequities of perpetually demonized capitalism. In a classic example of psychological "projection," however, alarmists claim that it is their opponents who are tainted by "greed" and "self-interest."
One insufficiently addressed question is why scientists would allow themselves to be recruited to essentially political objectives. Another is why they seem so resolutely committed to increasingly shaky theories, and lash out at critics. Surveys have shown that natural scientists tend to be left-liberal in their leanings. Many perhaps believe that a world with more top-down economic control and greater transfers to poor nations is desirable whatever the realities of climate science, and that given the possibility (however remote) of man-made climate catastrophe, that it is appropriate to adopt the "precautionary principle."
Such a mindset can be buttressed by the way science is done. In his classic book TheStructure of ScientificRevolutions, Thomas Kuhn noted that scientific groups adopted, and committed to, "paradigms," which then became fundamentally unquestionable. That stance was hardened furtherwhenmoralvalues, suchasbeing "sociallyuseful," wereinvolved.
The IPCC came with its moralistic paradigms pre-installed.
Kuhn noted that "professionalization" of any paradigm leads to "an immense restriction of the scientist's vision and to a considerable resistance to paradigm change." He even suggested that a scientist, as a captive to a paradigm, is " like the typical character of Orwell's 1984, the victim of a history rewritten by the powers that be."
Kuhn also suggested why catastrophic man-made climate change theory--even if it is found to have been greatly exaggerated, or even falsified -- will take a good deal of killing. "The transfer of allegiance from paradigm to paradigm," he wrote, "is a conversion experience that cannot be forced." The problem is that there is no other clear and simple climate theory to which to be "converted" at the moment.
Kuhn noted that the Earth-centred Ptolemaic system of astronomy, based on elaborately waltzing planets, "worked" for a long time, but eventually became a monster whose complications overwhelmed its usefulness. Then along came Copernicus. The resultant destruction of the Earth-centred universe led to enormous soul-searching, as did Darwin's vaporizing of the assumption of biological "progress" towards divine ends.
For most modern liberals, including many scientists, the market sun still goes round the government Earth, and it's a paradigm they are reluctant to change. Policy skeptics, by contrast, who are still trying to establish the revolutionary and counterintuitive insights of Adam Smith, point out that carbon rationing, green industrial strategy and aid transfers under the aegis of "clean development" are--whatever the science--economic junk.
Global warming book withdrawn
Published Thursday June 17, 2010
By Joe Dejka, WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Millard Public Schools will stop using a children's book about global warming -- but only until the district can obtain copies with a factual error corrected.
A review committee, convened after parents complained, concluded that author Laurie David's book, "The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming," contained "a major factual error" in a graphic about rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels.
Mark Feldhausen, associate superintendent for educational services, this week sent a letter to parents who complained, including the wife of U.S. Rep. Lee Terry of Nebraska, outlining the committee's findings.
"Although the authors have pledged to correct the graph in subsequent editions, the committee recommends that this correction be made to all MPS-owned texts before using it with students in the future," Feldhausen wrote.
Corrected versions will continue to be used in Millard's sixth-grade language arts curriculum, he wrote.
However, the district will cease to use a companion video about global warming, narrated by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, he wrote.
The committee found the video "without merit" and recommended that it not be used.
Robyn Terry, the congressman's wife, had described the video as a "political commercial."
Lee and Robyn Terry released a statement saying they were pleased with the decision and "impressed" by the district’s handling of the case.
"We are pleased with their decision not to use the politically natured global warming video as a classroom instruction tool and that they have set a standard that information-based texts must be factually correct to be put in front of our children," they wrote.
A committee of five middle school parents, three teachers and one administrator met to determine whether the book and video served a proper purpose within the curriculum.
The book, new to the Millard curriculum this year, was part of "Plugged in to Non-Fiction," a collection of books on a variety of subjects. Parts of the book were required reading for sixth-graders in Millard reading and language-arts classes.
Three parents, including Robyn Terry, complained to the district. The Terrys’ 12-year-old son attended Beadle Middle School last year. Mrs. Terry said that the materials used in his class portrayed global warming as fact when scientists disagree.
In the video, DiCaprio attributes global warming to mankind’s "destructive addiction" to oil. He says "big corporations" and politicians gained too much money and power "on our addiction," making them "dangerously resistant to change."
In the letter to parents, Feldhausen said the committee recognized there are "multiple viewpoints" on global warming. The committee recommended that all teachers using the book "make students aware of both sides of the global warming theory," he said.
Polar Heat Bringing Harder Winters
By Stephen Leahy
OSLO, Jun 15, 2010 (IPS) - Last winter's big snowfall and cold temperatures in the eastern United States and Europe were likely caused by the loss of Arctic sea ice, researchers concluded at the International Polar Year Oslo Science Conference in Norway last week.
Climate change has warmed the entire Arctic region, melting 2.5 million square kilometres of sea ice, and that, paradoxically, is producing colder and snowier winters for Europe, Asia and parts of North America.
"The exceptional cold and snowy winter of 2009-2010 in Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North America is connected to unique physical processes in the Arctic," said James Overland of the NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in the United States.
"In future, cold and snowy winters will be the rule rather than the exception" in these regions, Overland told IPS.
# Posted by Greg on June 19, 2010 at 6:28pm in Exposing The Global Warming Scam
Skiing in June a first in the resort’s thirty-two year history
18 Jun 2010 - Mount Washington has announced it will
open for skiing on the first weekend of summer. With an astounding
15 meters of snowfall from November 2009 through April 2010, there
is still plenty of white stuff at the higher elevations and enough
down low to allow snow sliders to make it all the way to the Alpine
Lodge.
“Imagine telling your friends and family across the country that you
skied on Vancouver Island on the first day of summer,” Global Warming? ya, whatever lol
'Climate change sceptics have smaller members, uglier wives, dumber kids' says new study made up by warmists
By James Delingpole Politics Last updated: June 22nd, 2010
Are there really no depths to which ManBearPig-worshippers will not stoop in order to shore up their intellectually, morally and scientifically bankrupt cause?
Apparently not, as we see from the latest “study” – based on a petty, spiteful, Stasi-like blacklist produced by an obscure Canadian warmist – outrageously aggrandised by being published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Hat tip: Watts Up With That)
The study examined 1,372 scientists who had taken part in reviews of climate science or had put their name to statements regarding the key findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Scientists were grouped as “convinced” or “unconvinced”, and researchers examined how many times they had published papers on the climate.
The results showed that “unconvinced” scientists accounted for just three of the 100 most prolific authors on the subject, while papers by “convinced” scientists were more frequently cited in other research.
Well, no s***, Sherlock. And might this have anything to do, perchance, with the fact that – as the Climategate emails made abundantly clear – “unconvinced” scientists were deliberately shut out of the peer-review process by the “convinced” ones?
And how many scientists, with bachelor of science degrees or higher, have signed the Oregon Petition expressing doubts about Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW)? 31,000 plus.
And how many of the supposed 2500 climate scientists responsible for the IPCC “consensus” were actively involved in the sections to do with AGW? 53.
And how many scientists does it require to successfully falsify – ie prove wrong – a shabby, tired old theory like “Phlogiston”, or “Geocentrism”, or “Dangerous, unprecedented Man Made Global Warming?” One.
But guess how BBC Radio 4 reported the story this morning? Yep. “98 per cent of scientists support global warming theory.” (Hat tip: Nick Mabbs)
Then again, since when did we expect any kind of honesty or decency from the Warmists? Have a look, for example, at this great analysis by the National Post’s Lawrence Solomon on how Warmist propagandists are using their useful idiots in the MSM to exaggerate the level of public credulousness in AGW.
In a New York Times op-ed, which has been much crowed-over by warmists, a Stanford university professor called Krosnick argued that – contrary to the impression given by every other opinion poll in the last three years – the majority of the US public is fully behind measures to ruin their economy in the name of combatting climate change.
In our survey, which was financed by a grant to Stanford from the National Science Foundation, 1,000 randomly selected American adults were interviewed by phone between June 1 and Monday. When respondents were asked if they thought that the earth’s temperature probably had been heating up over the last 100 years, 74 percent answered affirmatively. And 75 percent of respondents said that human behavior was substantially responsible for any warming that has occurred.
For many issues, any such consensus about the existence of a problem quickly falls apart when the conversation turns to carrying out specific solutions that will be costly. But not so here.
Fully 86 percent of our respondents said they wanted the federal government to limit the amount of air pollution that businesses emit, and 76 percent favored government limiting business’s emissions of greenhouse gases in particular. Not a majority of 55 or 60 percent — but 76 percent.
Solomon explains here how Krosnick rigs his questions in order to “hide the decline” in public support for AGW lunacy.
The best question of all, Krosnick found, came from adding an assumption of pessimism:” What do you think will be the most serious problem facing the world in the future if nothing is done to stop it?” When put this way, 25% of the public responded with “Global warming/the environment.” Krosnick doesn’t tell us how many of that 25% choose global warming versus the myriad of other environmental issues, such as air pollution, food and drinking water safety, wildlife and species protection, farmland or woodlands protection.
Krosnick recommends that pollsters ask his 25% question, believing it will obtain a result more useful for policy makers. He also chastises the press for interviewing global warming sceptics along with global warming advocates, saying this creates in the public mind the impression that the science is not settled on global warming. 6% of articles on global warming last year included the views of sceptics, a percentage Krosnick evidently views as too high.
Krosnick gets different results than other pollsters do by asking questions that some might consider bizarre. For example, when people told him that they didn’t believe global warming was happening, he asked them to pretend they did by asking them, “Assuming that global warming is happening, do you think a rise in the world’s temperature would be caused mostly by things people do, mostly by natural causes, or about equally by things people do and by natural causes? He then lumped the pretend response from people who don’t believe in global warming with a similar question asked of people who weren’t pretending about their belief in global warming. The result of the merger of these two groups was: 30% blame global warming on humans, 25% blame global warming on natural causes, and 45% believe humans and natural causes are about equally to blame. In the New York Times oped, Krosnick summarized this finding by pretenders and believers as “75% of respondents said that human behaviour was substantially responsible for any warming that has occurred,” even though many of those 75% didn’t believe that global warming was happening at all.
So when dealing with the Warmist lobby, always remember these helpful tips: sup with a long spoon, know that they’re lying from the fact that their lips are moving, and when they leave, make sure to count your fingers and your silverware.
Experts say it is unusual to see such widespread cold weather in June. (User submitted: Rick Box)
People across south-east Australia are complaining about unusually chilly temperatures and experts say there will be no relief from the cold until Sunday at the earliest.
From Brisbane this morning, Miss7t7 wrote on Twitter "Still in bed, so dam cold.. What's going on Brisbane !!!!". While in Melbourne, lexandraKR tweeted "Waiting for frostbite to set in... Sooo cold in Melbourne! Too scared to get out of bed incase I get hypothermia".
Others are embracing the weather and urging those who are complaining to toughen up.
"I am in love with this cold weather. Melbourne reminds me of Paris at the moment. How can that be a bad thing?" wrote hannahjtoy. "Is it seriuosly newsworthy that sydney temps are in the low single digits? seriuosly? it not cold! suck it up!" FilthiAssistant tweeted.
But ABC weather specialist Graham Creed says people's complaints are justified.
"It's definitely quite unusual to see such widespread cold weather in June, it would be more typical in July and August," he said.
"So people are complaining about the cold for a good reason."
Mr Creed says most areas across the south-east are experiencing temperatures well below average.
"Last weekend a cool change moved through and that introduced some significantly colder air across most of south-east Australia," he said.
"Quickly in behind that we had a high pressure ridge move through, producing clear skies during both the day and the night, but it's also helping to trap that cold air in.
"The clear skies mean we are losing what little daytime heating there is and overnight temperatures are dropping into the minuses through many of those states, producing widespread frosts.
"On top of that we've got quite a breeze in certain areas and the air is very dry so that's producing very low wind chill, so not only is the sun not providing much warmth, you've also got the assistance of the wind making it feel colder than it actually is."
He says Queensland is in for a particularly rough few days, as widespread rainfall will see the conditions change from cold and sunny to cold, cloudy and wet.
Yesterday, an icy blast through Adelaide brought enough rain to supply the city for a month, with a hail storm capping off the exceptionally wintry day.
Yesterday was also the coldest day in Melbourne in nearly two years, with the city not reaching its maximum temperature of 10.8 degrees Celsius until 7:55pm (AEST).
If the temperature in Melbourne fails to hit its forecast maximum today, it will be the first time in 14 years the city has recorded three consecutive days of temperatures below 12 degrees.
Last night Brisbane was coldest at 9:00pm (AEST), when the mercury dropped to below 8 degrees, but experts say it will be even cooler tonight.
Sydney recorded its coldest June morning today since 1949, with temperatures diving to 4.3 degrees just before 6:00am (AEST).
Sneaky, bullying, self-pitying Climategate scientists write to Sir Muir Russell inquiry begging: 'Make it a whitewash hat trick!'
By James Delingpole Politics Last updated: July 1st, 2010
Does the shamelessness of the noisome Michael Mann and his Hockey Team know no bounds?
Not content with the two whitewash inquiries into Climategate so far, Mann and his Hockey Team (though mainly Mann, probably – the writing is very much in his half-wheedling, half-blustering style) have written to the chairman of the third and final inquiry Sir Muir Russell to “express some serious concerns” and to “provide specific suggestions” as to what his conclusions might be.
Here is a summary of what they urge in the letter, which you can read in full at Bishop Hill. (Hat tip: Nick Mabbs)
1. There should be a cosy arrangement where corrupt, parti-pris scientists should be free to carry on behaving as badly as they like without any risk of their skulduggery being exposed by awkward public investigations. Private emails in which, say, they gloat about the deaths of climate sceptics, fantasise about physical violence against sceptics, plot how to misuse public funds, plot how to discredit scientists who legitimately disagree with them, plot how to shut down journals which don’t act as their amen corner, etc, should remain private.
2. The Muir Russell inquiry should continue to promulgate the great Climate Change lie.
“We believe that it is important to state unequivocally in your findings (and any summary of your findings) that nothing that you have seen calls into question the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change.”
3. Don’t listen to McIntyre and McKitrick because they know their stuff, they rumbled us twice with the Hockey Stick and we would much prefer it if you just accept that everything we tell you is true.
“Not all the evidence submitted to the Independent Climate Change Emails Review (ICCER) comes from parties with genuine interest in furthering scientific understanding. We hope that this can be taken into account in evaluating the credibility of submitted evidence.”
4. Feel sorry for us. We are the victims in all this. Sob. Sniff. Now where did we put that onion?
“We hope you are able to acknowledge and take into account the intense campaign of harassment that has been directed at CRU and other climate scientists.”
For me it’s this last one that takes the biscuit. Really, the most disgusting thing of all to emerge from the Climategate emails was the way Michael Mann and his Hockey Team bullied any scientists who disagreed with them, effectively seeking to deny them a livelihood by having them shut out of the peer review process. Good decent men have had their careers stymied or even ruined by Mann’s bully mob. How dare they have the gall to complain when these activities are publicly exposed?
New Zealand’s Prime Minister: Climate Change bill a “load of rubbish” and “hoax”
Posted on July 1, 2010 by Anthony Watts
Via Andrew Bolt in email, some surprising revelations about New Zealand’s Prime minister and his previous opinion of the ETS. It appears he has done a complete about face from his very strong opinions of 2005.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, has just introduced the world’s first Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) today for new Zealand. It is not going over well with voters.
EXCERPTS:
JOHN KEY (National—Helensville) : “I rise on behalf of the National Party to give the good news to the people of New Zealand—that is, the Climate Change Response Amendment Bill is a load of rubbish and the National Party will not be supporting it, for very, very good reasons indeed.”
…
“Yet here we are down in New Zealand, a very little country with about 0.2 percent of the world’s emissions, putting a self-imposed straitjacket on our businesses, and waving a huge flag that says: “Foreign investment, don’t come anywhere near us. Australia is over there—the West Island. Go over there to pour your dollars in.” To the Chinese we are saying: “Come in and buy as much coal as you like from our West Coast. We’ll sell it to you and you can burn it without a carbon charge—but, by the way, to those back here in Aotearoa New Zealand we will be slapping on a carbon charge and you won’t be able to operate.”
“This is a complete and utter hoax, if I may say so. The impact of the Kyoto Protocol, even if one believes in global warming—and I am somewhat suspicious of it—is that we will see billions and billions of dollars poured into fixing something that we are not even sure is a problem. Even if it is a problem, it will be delayed for about 6 years. Then it will hit the world in 2096 instead of 2102, or something like that. It will not work.”
The IPCC's attempts to hide the truth about its exaggerated claims on the deforestation of the Amazon have ended in defeat, says Christopher Booker.
By Christopher Booker, Published: 6:36PM BST 10 Jul 2010
Fire in the Amazon, it turns out, was not a 'report' or a scientific paper but, as the WWF now acknowledges, a text published by IPAM? on its website in 1999
Last week, after six months of evasions, obfuscation, denials and retractions, a story which has preoccupied this column on and off since January came to a startling conclusion. It turns out that one of the most widely publicised statements in the 2007 report of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – a claim on which tens of billions of dollars could hang – was not based on peer-reviewed science, as repeatedly claimed, but originated solely from anonymous propaganda published on the website of a small Brazilian environmental advocacy group.
The ramifications of this discovery stretch in many directions. First, it seems to show that the IPCC – whose reports governments rely on to justify presenting mankind with the largest bill in history – has been in serious breach of its own rules.
Second, it raises hefty question marks over the credibility of the world’s richest and most powerful environmental pressure group, the WWF, credited by the IPCC as the source of its unsupported claim.
And third, it focuses attention once more on a bizarre scheme, backed by the UN and promoted by the World Bank, whereby the WWF has been hoping to share in profits estimated at $60 billion, paid for by firms all over the developed world.
“Amazongate”, it may be recalled, was one of the rash of scandals which rocked the authority of the IPCC last winter, when it was revealed that many of the more alarmist statements in its 2007 report originated not from peer-reviewed science but from papers written by environmental pressure groups. One which aroused particular controversy was a warning that climate change was putting at risk up to 40 per cent of the Amazon rainforest. Chapter 13 of the IPCC’s Working Group II report on “climate impacts” specifically claimed that “up to 40 per cent of the Amazonian forests could react drastically to even a slight reduction in precipitation”. It went on to say that this would cause such chaos in local climate systems that the forest could rapidly revert to savannah.
The only source cited for this claim was the Global Review of Forest Fires, a paper written for WWF and the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2000, the lead author of which was an environmental activist and freelance journalist. This in turn appeared to cite a paper published in 1999 by a team led by Dr Daniel Nepstad, “senior scientist” with another advocacy group closely linked to the WWF, the Woods Hole Research Center. However, Nepstad’s paper was primarily concerned not with climate change but with the impact of logging and fires.
When this created a storm last January, the WWF quickly issued a “clarification”, stating that its own paper “does not say that 40 per cent of the Amazon forest is at risk from climate change”. But it went on to say that the real source of the claim quoted by the IPCC was a document, Fire in the Amazon, published by the “respected Instituto de Pesquiza Ambiental da Amazonia (IPAM)”. Headed by Nepstad, IPAM is a Brazilian advocacy group, also closely linked with the Woods Hole Research Center.
The document cited by the WWF, which it later described, after a full internal inquiry, as a “report”, proved remarkably difficult to track down. Since then, both the WWF and Dr Nepstad have cited other papers in support of their claim – but none of these provided any support for the specific claim about the impact of climate change made by the IPCC.
Only now, after I was able to confront them with evidence from an internet archive, has the WWF finally admitted the precise origin of the IPCC’s much-quoted claim. Fire in the Amazon, it turns out, was not a “report” or a scientific paper but, as the WWF now acknowledges, a “text published by IPAM… on its website in 1999”. It was merely a brief, anonymous and unreferenced note on the exposure of the forest to fire risks, posted in February 1999 and taken down four years later. Here, at last, is the sole source for the statement later published by the IPCC.
The original read: “Probably 30-40 per cent of the forests of the Brazilian Amazon are sensitive to small reductions in the amount of rainfall.” This was hyped up in the final drafting of the IPCC report, to claim that “up to 40 per cent of the Amazonian forests could react drastically to even a slight reduction in precipitation”. “Brazilian Amazon” – only around half the total rainforest area – was changed to include the entire forest. The word “sensitive” was changed to “react drastically”. And the original IPAM note had made no mention at all of climate change.
To begin with, this would seem to justify a formal complaint to the IPCC that it was acting in breach of its own rules. Annex 2 of its rules of procedure lays down that non-peer-reviewed material should only be cited when it has been subjected to rigorous critical appraisal and that “each chapter team should review the quality and validity of each source before including results from the source into an IPCC report”.
Last week I put it to the IPCC that it should at least acknowledge this blatant breach of its rules and withdraw the passage, as it did last winter when it was revealed that it had no scientific basis for claiming that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035. To date I have had no reply.
Neither WWF nor Woods Hole come well out of this story. In seeking to justify their part in the IPCC’s statement, they have cited other studies which they claim support it – but neither, until now, has been honest enough to admit that it was based on an unsubstantiated website claim.
This curious episode may also point to another reason why WWF and Woods Hole have been so active in recent years to promote concern over the danger of global warming for the Amazon rainforest. As I revealed here on March 20, they have been closely allied in support of a scheme known as REDD (Reduction in Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation of Tropical Forests). Its aim is to turn the CO2 in forest trees into “carbon credits”, saleable on the world market to allow firms to continue emitting CO2. Backed by $80 million from the World Bank, WWF, Woods Hole and IPAM are partners in a consortium, supported by the Brazilian government, to protect and manage a vast area of forest in the Tumucumaque region, in return for which they would have the right to sell its carbon credits. In 2007 Dr Nepstad published a formula which would allow the carbon contained in the entire forest to be valued at $60 billion.
Although the REDD scheme was approved in principle at December’s UN Copenhagen conference, two serious snags remain. First, it has yet to be approved in detail (although they still hope to achieve this in Cancun later this year). Second, the US Senate still hasn’t passed its cap and trade bill, which would open up a lucrative new market for anyone involved in carbon trading, such as those with a stake in REDD.
Finally, we may recall, another newspaper recently published a prominent “correction” to its earlier report on Amazongate – accepting that “the IPCC’s Amazon statement is supported by peer-reviewed scientific evidence” and that this was “based on research by the respected IPAM which did relate to the impact of climate change”. Since neither of these statements seems to be true, perhaps we can look forward to a retraction of the retraction?
Equally unhappy may be all those global warming enthusiasts who took this climbdown as licence to crow shamelessly over those of us who, last January, helped to expose Amazongate as a major IPCC system failure. The IPCC, they chorused, had been totally vindicated, the climate change sceptics had been utterly routed. Today, I fear, it is they who have been put to rout and we who have been vindicated.
Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
Alice Springs is experiencing extremely cold weather conditions.
An appeal has been launched for donations of blankets and dry bedding as rain forces people out of Alice Springs town camps on what is likely to be the town’s coldest day on record.
The previous coldest day was in August 1966 when the maximum temperature reached just 7 degrees Celsius.
ADELAIDE has shivered through its fifth consecutive overnight temperature below 5C and is heading for a record-equalling sixth tonight.
Sydney’s week of cold weather continues, with the city recording its coldest June morning since 1949 when temperatures dived to 4.3 degrees.
Melbourne faces longest cold snap in 14 years
If you thought it was colder than normal, you’re right: Melbourne is within reach of its longest cold snap in 14 years.
If the temperature stays below 13 degrees today, Victoria’s capital will mark its longest cold stretch since 1996.
Perth on track to beat winter chill record
The recent run of cold night weather in Perth could soon become the longest spell on record as the city shivers through its coldest June in 15 years.
Cloud blankets Queensland, Brisbane coldest in two years
Queensland is normally known as “the Sunshine State” yet today saw a very different state of affairs, with thick cloud blanketing almost the whole state.
July 17, 2010 — Argentina is suffering from some unusually cold weather. In fact, snow fell in over half the provinces on Friday.
.............
Local newspapers reported that the temperature plunged to -1.5°C in Buenos Aires, on Friday -- making it the coolest day in a decade for the capital. Even the beaches saw white powder. The coastal resort city Mar del Plata was blanketed by snow for two days straight.
The snow was easily the biggest story of the day, as most newspaper front pages were dedicated to pictures of the snow. One paper reported snowfall in 12 of the country's 22 provinces.
A spell of extreme cold weather has brought ice and snow to much of Argentina, killing at least nine.
Most of the victims were homeless people in the capital Buenos Aires who died of hypothermia, a local non-governmental organisation said.
The cold front moving up from Antarctica has caused temperatures to plunge across the southern cone region of South America.
Deaths have also been reported in Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia.
"The wave of cold air from the polar region continues to affect all of Argentina's territory with intense frosts" Argentina's national meteorological service reported.
It recorded minimum temperatures of minus 14C in Patagonia and central Argentina and between 0C and 3C in the north.
Argentina has stepped up electricity imports from Brazil and put restrictions on the use of natural gas by industry to ensure the increased energy demand for domestic heating can be met.
The cold snap also hit Bolivia, where local media reported at least two deaths in the tropical region of Santa Cruz.
Bolivia's education ministry ordered schools to close until 21 July because of the cold.
Low temperatures have also affected Chile, southern Brazil, and eastern Peru.
The unusually cold winter weather in South America follows one of the coldest winters for years in many parts of the northern hemisphere.
I can barely move because of all the coverage this is getting in the mainstream media!!!
South Africa: Cold snap to continue biting
Posted on Wednesday 11 July 2007 - 09:41
By George Matlala in Johannesburg - Johannesburg News Agency
Joburg will be freezing for the rest of the week, with temperatures warming a little over the weekend. And then it's back to the big chill again, according to the South African Weather Service. It's not time to pack away your gloves, scarves and woolly jumpers just yet, as the bitterly cold chill is expected to keep Johannesburg freezing until at least Friday, the South African Weather Service has warned.
US Government Halts Funds For Climate Unit
Sunday, 18 July 2010 08:00 Jonathan Leake, The Sunday Times
The American government has suspended its funding of the University of East Anglia’s climate research unit (CRU), citing the scientific doubts raised by last November’s leak of hundreds of stolen emails.
The US Department of Energy (DoE) was one of the unit’s main sources of funding for its work assembling a database of global temperatures.
It has supported the CRU financially since 1990 and gives the unit about £131,000 a year on a rolling three-year contract.
This should have been renewed automatically in April, but the department has suspended all payments since May pending a scientific peer review of the unit’s work.
The leaked emails caused a global furore. They appeared to suggest that CRU scientists were using “tricks” to strengthen the case for man-made climate change and suppressing dissent.
A spokesman for the DoE said: “The renewal application was placed on hold pending the conclusion of the inquiry into scientific misconduct by Sir Alastair Muir Russell.”
Muir Russell published his report earlier this month. It said that the rigour and honesty of the CRU scientists were not in doubt but criticised them for “a consistent pattern of failing to display the proper degree of openness”.
The DoE peer review panel will now sift through the report and decide if American taxpayers should continue to fund the unit.
A spokesman for the university said: “We are still waiting to hear if the latest bid for funding to the US Department of Energy has been successful and would not comment or speculate in the meantime.”
Global Warming Scam : 2010 is Not the Hottest Year
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Warmers and Democrats are once again getting overheated by their own propaganda; claiming 2010 is the hottest year on record. The current Cap-n-Trade promotional reads something like this (from The Hill blogs):
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported Thursday that the January-June period was the warmest worldwide on record, based on average land and ocean temperatures.
The NOAA data, which is based on records dating to 1880, ....
From NOAA's webpage:
NOAA: June, April to June, and Year-to-Date Global Temperatures are Warmest on Record
The monthly analysis from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, which is based on records going back to 1880, is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides government, business and community leaders so they can make informed decisions.
If you'd like to see a graph, click here.
According to Marc Morano at Climate Depot, the 10th of a degree difference they're talking about is the result of cherry-picking data.
Besides – this is summer, and what they're talking about is weather, not climate change.
But aside from the normally expected counter-analysis to warmist claims from those who are actually scientifically competent, there is a particular phrase in the new promo that immediately catches my attention - on record.
What record?
Even the most recent fake British inquiry into the behavior of scientists at East Anglia had to admit that their data was “misleading.” Now one needs merely to take notice of the copy-paste arguments of rank and file warmers. NOAA has routinely presented results corresponding to those of East Anglia.
One of the most important facts discovered in relation to Climategate was that East Anglia's Phil Jones went to great effort to falsify temperature records throughout the world, asking its caretakers to replace their data with his fake data and for permission to present his fake data as original data from them. The United States, NOAA included, was not on the very short list of countries that said no. (And while we're at it, NASA – i.e. the godfather of the global warming hoax James Hansen at Columbia – is also not on that list.)
The Climategate conspirators have all gone back to work as if nothing happened. Warmers are once again using their products as talking points to promote arbitrary tax increases and government take-overs. Are they really expecting the rest of us to believe any of it? (Keywords: “hockey stick”, “trick”, “hide the decline”)
Special note: I correctly predicted this warming back in February: Climate: New Warming Expected, An Obviously Unbiased Report
Posted by Roger F. Gay at 7/17/2010 03:22:00 PM
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