The Week That Was: 2014-09-13 (September 13, 2014) Brought to You by SEPP (www.SEPP.org) The Science and Environmental Policy Project
By Ken Haapala, Executive Vice President, Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP)
WMO – Omits Temperature Trends: In recent years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has issued the “WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.” Generally, these are issued in November of the year. On September 9, the WMO issued a “Climate Summit edition” referring to the UN Climate Summit scheduled to be held in New York City, September 23, 2014. Some UN officials have declared the Climate Summit to be a “tipping point” meeting. If it is to be a “tipping point” meeting, it will be the abandonment of a key principle of science as expressed by Einstein in the Quote of the Week – Do not omit critical data.
The WMO report omits any discussion of temperature trends. There has been no significant warming trend in the atmosphere for over a decade, and no warming trend on the surface for about 17 years (Based on his statistical analysis, Ross McKitrck puts the periods of no atmospheric warming from 16 to 22 years.) The WMO is one of the parent organizations of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (The UN Environmental Programme is the other parent organization of the IPCC).
Fred Singer argues that there has been no significant multi-year warming trend since 1940. The surface data shows a jump in 1969-77, before satellites. Both the satellite and surface data show a warming during the super-El Niño year of 1998. And, the satellite data shows another jump in 2001. These are not the types of warming trend one would expect from greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide.
The IPCC has projected significant future global warming. It is the fear of future global warming that has driven countries to spend enormous sums of money on science and on measures to address it. [From Fiscal Year 1993 to FY 2013, for the US government alone, such expenditures exceeded $165 billion.] Now, the WMO does not consider it important to discuss the failure of nature to obey the UN IPCC pronouncements?
Instead of discussing actual temperature trends, the WMO bulletin features a detailed discussion on the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases and their calculated impact on radiative forcing, rather than what actually occurred.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Annual Greenhouse Gas Index shows that from 1990 to 2013 radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases increased by 34%, with CO2 accounting for about 80% of this increase.
The bulletin gives the measurement of greenhouse gases, particular carbon dioxide (CO2) with great precision; yet, the influences of greenhouse gases, and CO2, on the earth’s temperatures is left to the imagination of the reader.
Writing in Climate Audit, Steve McIntyre reminds us that in its 1999 report, WMO was one of the first to practice the deceptive trick of “hide the decline.” In this practice, recent proxy data that showed divergence (a cooling) from instrument data was eliminated from graphs and not used. Such data would indicate that the proxy and the instrument data were not in alignment, as they should be if the proxy data indicates temperatures as accurately as instrument data. Will the elimination of temperature data become the new fad of the Climate Establishment to continue the fear of Anthropogenic (human-caused) Global Warming (AGW)? See links under Climategate Continued and Lowering Standards.
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WMO and Acids: Those who took high-school chemistry were taught that the corrosiveness of an aqueous (water based) solution is measured by its pH. If the pH is 7, it is neutral; if it less than less than 7, it is an acid; if it is greater than 7, it is a base (alkaline). Vinegar has a pH of about 2.4 to 3.4 (about the same range as soft drinks) and household ammonia has a pH of about 11. Surface sea water has a pH of about 7.8 to 8.3, depending upon where the measurements were taken and the time of year.
The WMO report (cited above) has a special section on “Ocean Acidification, which states”
“Uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the ocean led to increased CO2 concentrations and increased acidity levels in sea water.”
The report contains detailed annual linear trends for pH in certain ocean locations, ranging from -0.0011 +/-0.0001 to -0.0024+/-0.0007. The degree of the precision is extremely questionable. In the discussion and the table showing these estimates, the value of the pH is not mentioned. It is only in the detail of the graphs that one realizes that the pH values shown remain above 8. If anything, the calculations show a modest reduction in the corrosive effect of an alkaline solution – not an increase in acidity due to additional atmospheric CO2.
In various locations near the continental shelves, upwelling cold ocean waters are rich in nutrients and CO2. These upwelling locations are a great benefit to marine life, not destructive to it.
The press made a great deal about another comment in the WMO Bulletin:
The current rate of ocean acidification appears unprecedented at least over the last 300 million years, based on proxy-data from paleo archives.
SEPP doubts that this statement can be substantiated. Do the paleo archives show changes in the ocean pH from great volcanic eruptions such as the Yellowstone Caldera, which occurred a dozen times in the last 18 million years, or the Siberian Traps about 250 million years ago? See links under Lowering Standards.
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The Last 97%: In a paper published by the Global Warming Policy Foundation, Andrew Montford has a devastating review of the article by John Cook, et al. ‘Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature’ published in Environmental Research Letters.
Recent reports that 97% of published scientific papers support the so-called consensus on man-made global warming are based on a paper by John Cook et al. Precisely what consensus is allegedly being supported in these papers cannot be discerned from the text of the paper. An analysis of the methodology used by Cook et al. shows that the consensus referred to is trivial:
• that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas
• that human activities have warmed the planet to some unspecified extent
Montford also shows that the Cook paper is intentionally vague, and is a planned, deliberate effort to mislead the public. For example, the classification of papers by Nir Shaviv and Alan Carlin as papers explicitly endorsing, not minimizing, AGW, is misleading. Neither author can be considered an advocate of dangerous AGW. Montford also demonstrates that by their actions executives at the University of Queensland cannot be considered as examples of academic rectitude. See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy.
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Blocking Force: Another scientific paper appeared that, at least indirectly, challenges the claim of the IPCC of over 95% certainty in its science. The paper was brought to our attention by Anthony Watts. The paper finds recent winter weather events in the Northern Hemisphere are associated with changing North Atlantic Oscillation, related to the Greenland Blocking Index. The evidence, based on five major data points in the 115 year record, is hardly impressive. But, the abstract states:
These recent observed changes are not present in the current generation of global climate models, although the latest process studies do offer insight into their causes. We invoke several plausible climate forcings and feedbacks to explain the recent NAO changes. [Boldface added.]
In has classic, Climate, History and the Modern World, H.H. Lamb discussed the role of blocking forces in creating extreme cold events in Europe, particularly during the Little Ice Age. It now seems such things are being rediscovered by the Climate Establishment. See links under Changing Weather.
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The Dance: The Dance of the Missing Heat continues. We now have some 52 explanations why the world is not warming as proclaimed in the climate models and by the IPCC. Since there is little or no evidence any Heat is missing, all this may be an artifact (human made) of the climate models. See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy and Un-Science or Non-Science?
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A Different Way: Writing on his web site, Roy Spencer presents a different way of explaining global warming and the role of greenhouse gases in keeping the earth warmer, particularly at night.
Global warming is the predicted result of increasing atmospheric CO2 causing a very small (~1-2%) decrease in the rate at which the Earth cools to outer space through infrared radiation. And the since temperature change of anything is always the result of net gains and losses of energy, a decrease in energy lost leads to warming.
Spencer goes on to explain that for a long time he, and others such as Richard Lindzen, have argued that the water vapor feedback, which is presumed to be positive, may be negative. Thus, the strong warming from increased CO2 asserted in the climate models and by the IPCC may actually be quite small. Spencer also states;
The important thing to understand is this: the largest control of water vapor feedback is the efficiency of precipitation systems, which controls how much water vapor is detrained into the upper troposphere.
The climate models may be getting better but they cannot address the water vapor feedback, which Richard Lindzen asserted in the 1980s, or the important issue of clouds. See link under Challenging the Orthodoxy.
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AU-BOM: Following up on articles published in The Australian, Jennifer Marohasy and Jo Nova continue to exposed deficiencies in the records kept by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. At issue is the process called homogenization. This process has led to records at a particular station to show a warming, when the raw data shows a cooling. Marohasy has been undeterred in her detailed criticism, backed by examples, of the results of the process. Perhaps, because the government has changed to one that does not support the claim of dangerous AGW, the Bureau of Meteorology may be backing down.
Joe D’Aleo and Anthony Watts have demonstrated that homogenization in the US has produced less than satisfactory results. By minimizing strong warm periods, such as the 1930s, the mathematical manipulation of the historic data may be introducing a bias in the data record. See links under Measurement Issues.
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Natural Gas Prices: In the US, the price of natural gas is falling, in part due to mild weather. However, indications are that the natural gas companies still can make a profit at prices below $4.00 per million Btu. If so, then the drillers must be improving their techniques in the comparatively new technology of deep-underground horizontal drilling and multiport hydraulic fracturing using sand and small amounts of chemicals. The shale revolution may last a long time. See links under Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?
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Number of the Week: 15% and 23%. In its discussion of increases of greenhouse gases, the WMO report, cited above, brings up NOAA’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index.
NOAA’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI) is a yearly report on the combined influence of long-lived greenhouse gases (atmospheric gases that absorb and radiate heat) on Earth’s surface temperature. The index compares the warming influence of these gases each year to their influence in 1990…
According to that index, in 2002 the influence of greenhouse gases on surface temperatures was 1.166 of that in 1990. In 2013 the index is 1.338. This represents an increase in the warming index of 0.172, or 15% during a period in which the atmosphere has not warmed. In 1997 the index was 1.089. Thus, in 2013 the index was 0.249 larger than in 1997, or the calculated greenhouse effect was 23% greater than in 1997 – over a period in which the surface has not warmed!
No wonder the Climate Establishment no longer wishes to discuss temperature trends! See links under Lowering Standards and http://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-annual-greenhouse-gas-index
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Quote of the Week: The right to search for truth implies also a duty; one must not conceal any part of what one has recognized to be true. —Albert Einstein,
ARTICLES:
For the numbered articles below, please see this week’s TWTW at: http://www.sepp.org. The articles are at the end of the pdf.
1. Matt Ridley Replies to His Climate-Change Critics
Jeffrey Sachs blows a gasket, and our contributor cleans up the intellectual mess.
Editorial, WSJ, Sep 9, 2014
http://online.wsj.com/articles/matt-ridley-replies-to-his-climate-change-critics-1410271012
2. Poor pay more for renewable energy
Letter By Charles Battig, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sep 5, 2014
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NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Science: Is the Sun Rising?
New paper finds Indian climate is influenced by solar activity
By Staff Writer, The Hockey Schtick, Sep 9, 2014
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2014/09/new-paper-finds-indian-climate-is.html
Link to paper Study of the influence of solar variability on a regional (Indian) climate: 1901–2007
By O.P.M. Aslam, Badruddin, Advances in Space Research, Oct 15, 2014
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117714003810
Climategate Continued
The Original Hide-the-Decline
By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Sep 6, 2014
http://climateaudit.org/2014/09/06/the-original-hide-the-decline/
“Mann knew of CRU’s deletion of the decline, but, as Lead Author of IPCC AR3, Mann willingly and enthusiastically participated in the hide-the-decline scheme, because he didn’t want to “give fodder to the skeptics” or “dilute the message”. But the technique originated with CRU and the “exoneration” of Jones, Briffa and Osborn on hide-the-decline by Muir Russell and Oxburgh was totally undeserved.”
Inventory of Hide-the-Decline
By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Sep 10, 2014
http://climateaudit.org/2014/09/10/inventory-of-hide-the-decline/
[SEPP Comment: Not confined to a single incident, but a repeatedly used technique.
Manns rea?
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Sep 11, 2014
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/9/11/manns-rea.html
Challenging the Orthodoxy
New Paper: The 97% ‘Consensus’ And Its Critics
By Andrew Montford, GWPF, Sep 9, 2014
http://www.thegwpf.org/new-paper-the-97-consensus-and-its-critics/
Link to paper: Fraud, Bias and Public Relations: The 97% ‘consensus’ and its critics
By Andrew Montford, GWPF, No date
http://www.thegwpf.org/content/uploads/2014/09/Warming-consensus-and-it-critics1.pdf
Water Vapor Feedback and the Global Warming Pause
By Roy Spencer, His Blog, Sep 10, 2014
http://www.drroyspencer.com/2014/09/water-vapor-feedback-and-the-global-warming-pause/
Global Warming and the Feynman test
By Tom Trinko, American Thinker, Sep 11, 2014
http://americanthinker.com/2014/09/global_warming_and_the_feynman_test.html
A look at carbon dioxide vs. global temperature
By Danley Wolfe, WUWT, Sep 12, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/12/a-look-at-carbon-dioxide-vs-global-temperature/
List of excuses for ‘the pause’ in global warming is now up to 52
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 11, 2014
UN Global Warming Propaganda Campaign: Return to Perceived Success Indicates Desperation
By Tim Ball, WUWT, Sep 12, 2014
Defending the Orthodoxy
Development of Social Cost of Carbon Estimates
By Staff Writers, GAO, Aug 25, 2014
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-663
Link to full report: Development of Social Cost of Carbon Estimates
By Staff Writers, GAO, July 2014
http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/665016.pdf
[SEPP Comment: The study omitted the social benefits of carbon.]
UN says CO2 pollution levels at annual record high
By John Heilprin, AP, Sep 9, 2014
Go green and prosper, British government says
By Daniel J. Graeber
London (UPI) Sep 9, 2014
http://www.winddaily.com/reports/Go_green_and_prosper_British_government_says_999.html
Globalization threatens benefits of an African ‘green revolution’
By Staff Writers
Vancouver, Canada (SPX) Sep 11, 2014
[SEPP Comment: Promoting environmental neo-colonialism.]
Questioning the Orthodoxy
One-half of CO2 doubling achieved
By Luboš Motl, The Reference Frame, Sep 11, 2014
http://motls.blogspot.com/2014/09/one-half-of-co2-doubling-achieved.html
Once More: Why “Climate Change” Alarmism Is Not Science
By John Hinderaker, Power Line, Sep 7, 2014
[SEPP Comment: Quotes from SEPP.]
The problem with climate change? It doesn’t exist
By Benny Peiser, PR Week, Sep 9, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.prweek.com/article/1311173/problem-climate-change-doesnt-exist
[SEPP Comment: Climate change does exist, but is not what has been claimed for about three decades.]
A Guide for Those Perplexed About Global Warming
By Ira Glickstein, WUWT, Sep 10, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/10/a-guide-for-those-perplexed-about-global-warming/
[SEPP Comment: Includes a section addressing false claims by alarmist about skeptics.]
A marvel and a mystery
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Sep 11, 2014
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/9/11/a-marvel-and-a-mystery.html
[SEPP Comment: Questions the new fad that humans are causing stratospheric cooling as evidence of human caused global warming.]
Do Researchers Really Know Why Global Warming Is On Pause and When It Will End?
By Ronald Bailey, Reason, Sep 9, 2014
http://reason.com/blog/2014/09/09/global-warming-pause-to-end
Unsettled Science
By Viv Forbes, American Thinker, Sep 10, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/09/unsettled_science.html
Global Warming ‘Skeptics’ Hold Political Sway From The UK To India
By Michael Bastasch, The Daily Caller, Sep 10, 2014
http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/10/global-warming-skeptics-hold-political-sway-from-the-uk-to-india/
Everybody Knows That about Climate Change
By Anthony J. Sadar, American Thinker, Sep 9, 2014
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/09/everybody_knows_that_about_climate_change.html
Study Shows Record-High Increases For Atmospheric CO2 In 2013 – but there’s still no warming
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 9, 20114
Problems in the Orthodoxy
Quote of the week: ‘It’s a remarkable document’
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 10, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/10/quote-of-the-week-its-a-remarkable-document/
[SEPP Attempting to side-step the no warming trend.]
Study: Natural Variations Play Key Warming Role
By Staff Writer, Reporting Climate Science, Sep 9, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
Link to paper: Contribution of natural decadal variability to global warming acceleration and hiatus
By Watanabe, et al, Nature Climate Change, Aug 31, 2014
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2355.html
Imagine there’s a climate conference, but no one goes
By Sebastian Lüning and Fritz Vahrenholt, Translated by P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Sep 9, 2014
IPCC needs a rethink, say academics
By Staff Writers, The IPCC Report Blog, Jun 11, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://ipccreport.wordpress.com/2014/06/11/ipcc-needs-a-rethink-say-academics/
Link to paper:
Towards a Reflexive Turn in the Governance of Global Environmental Expertise. The Cases of the IPCC and the IPBES
By Beck, et al. GAIA – Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, May 2, 2014
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/oekom/gaia/2014/00000023/00000002/art00004
Is Narendra Modi a climate sceptic?
India’s PM used to call climate action a moral duty, now he tells students ‘climate has not changed, we have changed’
By Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, Sep 9, 2014
UN official: New York climate summit a ‘major turning point’
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Sep 8, 2014
Oh the irony! Cutting CO2 emissions is harming the ozone layer
By Staff Writers, The Hockey Schtick, Sep 11, 2014
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2014/09/oh-irony-cutting-co2-emissions-is.html
Swiss News Weekly Calls IPCC Lead Author Thomas Stocker “A Butler For Politicians”! Scientists Grow Shriller
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Sep 10, 2014
Seeking a Common Ground
The role of models in science
By Martin Livermore, Scientific Alliance, Sep 12, 2014
http://scientific-alliance.org/scientific-alliance-newsletter/role-models-science
“It is important to realise that pronouncements on the ‘safe’ level of carbon dioxide and the current highly expensive but ineffective policy on decarbonisation are based only on these flawed models.”
[SEPP Comment: A thoughtful essay on the strengths and weaknesses of models and their proper use.]
Rowan Williams falls into the old climate change logical trap
By Tim Worstall, Adam Smith Institute, Sep 11, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
Study: Conversion Of Forests to Cropland Cooled the Climate
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 8, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/08/study-conversion-of-forests-to-cropland-cooled-the-climate/
Measurement Issues
Bureau Caught in Own Tangled Web of Homogenisation
By Jennifer Marohasy, Her Blog, AU, Sep 12, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://jennifermarohasy.com/2014/09/bureau-caught-in-own-tangled-web-of-homogenisation/
Jennifer Marohasy- A real scientist- kicking goals.
By Bob Moore, Just Grounds Community, Aug 23, 2014
http://justgroundsonline.com/forum/topics/jennifer-marohasy-a-real-scientist-kicking-goals-2
The lost climate knowledge of Deacon 1952: hot dry summers from 1880-1910
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Sep 12, 2014
Under pressure, Australian BOM puts up facade of “transparency” — too little, too late
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Sep 12, 2014
Matt Ridley: Whatever happened to global warming?
By Mark J. Perry, AEIdeas, Sep 5, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.aei-ideas.org/2014/09/matt-ridley-whatever-happened-to-global-warming/
Is the atmospheric ozone recovery real, or just for scoring political points?
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 12, 2014
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately below.]
Scientists say the ozone layer is recovering
By Seth Borenstein, AP, Sep 10, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
Changing Weather
Extreme Winter Claims – Part II
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Sep 10, 2014
http://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/extreme-winter-claims-part-ii/
Rising CO2 Concentrations: No Measureable Impact on Floods, Droughts, and Storms
By Marlo Lewis, Global Warming.org, Sep 11, 2014
The Alarmist Rains in Phoenix
By Sierra Rayne, American Thinker, Sep 11, 2014
http://americanthinker.com/2014/09/the_alarmist_rains_in_phoenix.html
Warming Defied…Meteorologists Again Pointing To Another “Piercing Cold Winter” Ahead
By P Gosselin No Tricks Zone, Sep 7, 2014
Great moments in forecasting – UK winter weather to be ‘ very mild, wet and stormy to extremely cold and snowy’
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 9, 2014
Link to paper: Recent seasonal asymmetric changes in the NAO (a marked summer decline and increased winter variability) and associated changes in the AO and Greenland Blocking Index
By Hanna, et al. International Journal of Climatology, Sep 8, 2014
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joc.4157/abstract
All Great Lakes water level is at or above normal for first time in 14 years
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 9, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/09/all-great-lakes-at-or-above-normal-for-first-time-in-14-years/
Changing Climate
Egypt went from wetter to drier three times in Predynastic times with perfect CO2 levels
By Jo Nova, Her Blog Sep 9, 2014
Link to paper: Collapse of an ecological network in Ancient Egypt
By Yeakel, et al. PNAS, Sep 8, 2014
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/09/03/1408471111
Egyptian art offers clues to mammalian extinctions through history
By Brooks Hays, Cairo (UPI), Sep 9, 2014
[SEPP Comment: What caused the extinctions – the drying of the Sahara as the globe cooled?]
Changing Seas
EPA Takes on the Oyster/Acidification Scaremongers
It’s been a convenient story for some.
By Cliff Mass, Weather Blog, Sep 7, 2014
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/09/epa-takes-on-oysteracidification.html
Ocean acidification and GHGs hit record levels
New scientific evidence of the highest greenhouse gas concentrations on record is compounded by the revelation that oceans are acidifying faster than at any time in the last 300 million years.
By Staff Writers, Eco-Business, Sep 10, 2014
Brown Tide Algae Exploit Nutrient-Rich Coastlines
By Staff Writers, New York NY (SPX), Sep 09, 2014
Claim: Ocean Warming Affecting Florida Reefs
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 10, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/10/claim-ocean-warming-affecting-florida-reefs/
Link to paper: A Century of Ocean Warming on Florida Keys Coral Reefs: Historic In Situ Observations
By Kuffner, et al. Estuaries and Coasts, Sep 5, 2014
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12237-014-9875-5
Data Reveal Florida Keys Sea Surface Temperatures Haven’t Warmed in 80+ Years* [Based on Linear Trend]
By Bob Tisdale, WUWT, Sep 11, 2014
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice
German Professor: 2014 Arctic Sea Ice Melt Falls Below Long-Term Mean…North Atlantic Heat Content Plummets!
The Latest News On Arctic Ice
By Prof. Fritz Vahrenholt and Frank Bosse, Translated, edited by P. Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Sep 4, 2014
Study resolves discrepancy in Greenland temperatures during end of last ice age
By Staff Writers, Corvallis OR (SPX), Sep 10, 2014
[SEPP Comment: Did they adjust the sudden cooling in the Younger Dryas out of existence?]
Agriculture Issues & Fear of Famine
Are greenhouse gas emissions a reason to keep Africa starving?
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 9, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/09/are-greenhouse-gas-emissions-a-reason-to-keep-africa-starving/
Un-Science or Non-Science?
Last decade’s slow-down in global warming enhanced by an unusual climate anomaly
By Staff Writers, EU Joint Research Centre, Sep 10, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/news/climate-anomaly-causes-global-warming-slow-down
Link to the paper: Application of the Singular Spectrum Analysis Technique to Study the Recent Hiatus on the Global Surface Temperature Record
By Macias, Stips, Garcia-Gorriz, PLOS one, Sep 10, 2014
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0107222
[SEPP Comment: The multidecadal variability was not mentioned in the Summary for Policymakers of AR5. Further evidence that the more than 95% certainty expressed is not substantiated.]
New excuse for ‘pause’ #52: ‘Unusual climate anomaly’ of unprecedented deceleration of secular warming trend
By Staff Writer, The Hockey Schtick, Sep 11, 2014
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2014/09/new-excuse-for-pause-52-unusual-climate.html
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
Climate Change Will Disrupt Half of North America’s Bird Species, Study Says
By Felicity Barringer, NYT, Sep 8, 2014
Link to slick web site: 314 Species on the Brink
By Staff Writers, Audubon Climate Report, September/October 2014
U.S. bird species dying out amid development : report
By Barbara Goldberg, Reuters, Sep 9, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
Climate change could ‘fundamentally alter’ US forests
By Staff Writers, Washington (AFP), Sept 10, 2014
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Climate_change_could_fundamentally_alter_US_forests_999.html
[SEPP Comment: Global warming is no longer happening, but it must be stopped!]
Lowering Standards
CO2 levels in atmosphere rising at dramatically faster rate, U.N. report warns
By Joby Warrick, WP, Sep 9, 2014
Link to report: WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin
By Staff Writers, WMO, Sep 9, 2014
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/2013-global-greenhouse-gas-report/1297/
Debunking the latest UN climate propaganda
By Staff Writer, The Hockey Schtick, Sep 9, 2014
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2014/09/debunking-latest-un-climate-propaganda.html
Big money behind brainwashing effort by NSF, GMU, AMS
By Spencer Adkins, ICECAP, Sep 10, 2014
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/joes-blog/big_money_behind_brainwashing_effort_by_nsf_gmu_ams1/
Meanwhile, back at the BBC
By John Brignell, Number Watch, Sep 10, 2014
http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/2014_september.htm#BBC
The Australian Government Broadcaster asks if we should ditch Democracy to ensure a climate change response
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Sep 6, 2014
Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?
Andrew Derocher raises the “starving polar bears” issue in DailyMail interview
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Sep 11, 2014
“And did Derocher not read Amstrup’s 2003 “Polar bear” entry in “Wild Mammals of North America” where he pointed out that starvation is probably the leading cause of death for young and old bears alike?”
Is the polar bear a political weapon? Arctic creatures are NOT threatened by climate change, says scientist
By Ellie Zolfagharifard, Mail, UK, Sep 9, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
Warmer air caused ice shelf collapse off Antarctica
By Alister Doyle, Reuters, Sep 11, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
[SEPP Comment: Science follows Hollywood.]
Avoiding the path to zero
By Amanda D. Rodewald, The Hill, Sep 10, 2014
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/217176-avoiding-the-path-to-zero
[SEPP Comment: Fails to answer an important question: what caused the extinction of the passenger pigeon? Could it have been a disease that prevented it from successfully breeding?]
Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.
Great moments in climate science: “we could have forecast ‘the pause’ – if we had the tools of the future back then”
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 10, 2014
“Democracy hurting our climate response” — closet totalitarians at the ABC again
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Sep 8, 2014
No Trend in UK Rainfall Since Records Began
By Sierra Rayne, American Thinker, Sep 9, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/09/no_trend_in_uk_rainfall_since_records_began.html
[SEPP Comment: So much for the recent UK rains being the result of human emissions of CO2]
Genesis according to Kerry: you shall save the Muslim world from global warming
What an interesting combination of insanities
By Luboš Motl, The Reference Frame, Sep 6, 2014
http://motls.blogspot.com/2014/09/genesis-according-to-kerry-you-shall.html
Hillary: ‘Climate Change Is Most Urgent, Consequential Challenge We Face’
By Robert Wilde, Breitbart, Sep 5, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
Communicating Better to the Public – Go Personal.
A saching
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Sep 6, 2014
http://www.bishop-hill.net/blog/2014/9/6/a-saching.html
David Suzuki Must Set Positive Example in Climate Controversy
By Tom Harris, Net News Ledger, Sep 8, 2014
How Not to “Crush and Bury” Climate Sceptics
By Ben Pile, Climate Resistance, Sep 6, 2014
http://www.climate-resistance.org/2014/09/how-not-to-crush-and-bury-climate-sceptics.html
Communicating Better to the Public – Use Propaganda on Children
The inescapable urge to indoctrinate
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Sep 12, 2014
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/9/12/the-inescapable-urge-to-indoctrinate.html
“The goal for teachers is to provide the balance between emotion and analytical reasoning to create a situation where students can effectively learn about climate change and feel empowered to act…we need to focus on actions that students can change to mitigate climate change. By promoting the positive, we can leave students with a sense of what they can do.”
‘Climate disruption’ gets a movie
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 8, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/08/climate-disruption-gets-a-movie/
Expanding the Orthodoxy
Clean coal key to combating climate change: Rio Tinto
By Staff Writers, Sydney (AFP), Sept 09, 2014
http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Clean_coal_key_to_combating_climate_change_Rio_Tinto_999.html
Mining giant Rio Tinto said Tuesday clean coal was key to tackling climate change and that developing the technology was a challenge greater than the first moon landing.
Do Researchers Really Know Why Global Warming Is On Pause and When It Will End?
By Ronald Bailey, Reason, Sep 9, 2014
http://reason.com/blog/2014/09/09/global-warming-pause-to-end
Opportunities to Reduce Federal Fiscal Exposures Through Greater Resilience to Climate Change and Extreme Weather
By Staff Writers, GAO, Jul 29, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-504T
Link to full report: Opportunities to Reduce Federal Fiscal Exposures Through Greater Resilience to Climate Change and Extreme Weather
Statement of Alfredo Gomez, Director Natural Resources and Environment, Jul 29, 2014
http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/665089.pdf
Questioning European Green
Election of Donald Tusk puts EU climate position in doubt
By Aline Robert, EurActiv, Sep 9, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
Spain’s Canete to Get EU Merged Climate-Energy Chief Role
By Ewa Krukowska, Bloomberg, Sep 10, 2014
Brussels Anti-Green Purge – New EU Leaders Neuter Green Lobby
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 12, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/12/brussels-anti-green-purge-new-eu-leaders-neuter-green-lobby/
Juncker’s plan would ‘shut down environmental policy’, campaigners warn
Business groups have welcomed Juncker’s new ‘streamlined’ Commission structure, but green campaigners have decried the loss of dedicated environment and climate commissioners.
By Dave Keating, European Voice, Sep 11, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/is-environment-off-the-commissions-agenda/
Shame of fake EU climate change “aid” to Third World
It is quite staggering that the EU is “helping” poverty stricken countries in Africa by pumping taxpayers’ money into, wait for it, “green energy”. The figures have to be seen to be believed
By Luke Stanley, The Commentator, Sep 9, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/5215/shame_of_fake_eu_climate_change_aid_to_third_world
Forecast March-2015 Solar Eclipse Has Power Grid Operators Distressed…”Dangerously Destabilized”
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Sep 8, 2014
[SEPP Comment: At least it is predictable.]
£215 energy smart meters to cut bills by just 2pc, PAC warns
Public Accounts Committee warns that £10.6bn programme may be too costly and may result in customers footing the bill for technology that is already out of date by the time it is installed
By Emily Gosden, Telegraph, UK, Sep 10, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
Questioning Green Elsewhere
Green Energy More Hype Than Benefit
By Larry Bell, Newsmax, Sep 9, 2014
http://www.newsmax.com/LarryBell/Green-Energy-Hype-carbon/2014/09/09/id/593475/
Funding Issues
Ocean Acidification: NSF awards $11.4 million in new grants to study effects on marine ecosystems
Oceans may be acidifying faster today than in the past 300 million years
Press Release, NSF, Sep 9, 2014
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=132548&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click
We can win on climate change – but without the UN
By Assaad Razzouk, Eco-Business, Sep 9, 2014
[SEPP Comment: The promised cash does not come.]
The Political Games Continue
15 GOP governors to Obama: Climate rule breaks the law
By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Sep 10, 2014
Lawmakers clash over transparency at wildlife agency
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Sep 10, 2014
EPA and other Regulators on the March
EPA’s Phony “Environmental Justice” Caper
By Paul Driessen, Townhall, Sep 7, 2014
EPA tries again to explain water jurisdiction rule
By Timothy Cama, The Hill Sep 8, 2014
EPA Should Improve Adherence to Guidance for Selected Elements of Regulatory Impact Analyses
By Staff Writers, GAO, Aug 11, 2014
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-519
Link to full report: EPA Should Improve Adherence to Guidance for Selected Elements of Regulatory Impact
By Staff Writers, GAO, July 2014
http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/664872.pdf
EPA puts climate target on airlines
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Sep 7, 2014
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/216844-epa-puts-climate-target-on-airlines
EPA Fakes Regulatory Cost-Benefit Calculations
By Diane Katz , The Daily Signal, Sep 5, 2014
http://dailysignal.com/2014/09/05/epa-fakes-regulatory-cost-benefit-calculations/
Watchdogs: Agencies obstructing probes
By Timothy Cama, The Hill, Sep 10, 2014
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/217324-inspectors-say-agencies-obstruct-investigations
Energy Issues – Non-US
Methane – damned if you do, dammed if you don’t
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 12, 2014
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/12/methane-damned-if-you-do-dammed-if-you-dont/
Energy Issues — US
Preparing For A Carrington Event
By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Sep 12, 2014
https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2014/09/12/preparing-for-a-carrington-event/
Hawthorne Redux
By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Sep 9, 2014
https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2014/09/09/hawthorne-redux/
Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?
Shale gas tops PM Narendra Modi’s agenda for US visit
SUMMARY: Two sides expected to talk about exploration of unconventional resources in India
By Siddhartha P Saikia and Huma Siddiqui, The Financial Express, India, Sep 12, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Shale-tops-Modi-s-agenda-for-US-visit/1288069
[SEPP Comment: India’s government-owned oil companies have invested large sums in the US.]
Shale gas getting cheaper
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Sep 9, 2014
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/9/9/shale-gas-getting-cheaper.html
Link to report: Raymond James Drops NatGas Price Forecasts on ‘Staggering’ Onshore Output
By Carolyn Davis, NG Daily, Sep 8, 2014
Return of King Coal?
Coal, There’s Just No Alternative
By Tony Thomas, Quadrant, Sep 12, 2014
http://quadrant.org.au/opinion/tony-thomas/2014/09/coal-theres-just-alternative/
Coal India planning measures to ease fuel supply The state-owned coal producer plans to augment its output to 615 million tonnes by fiscal 2017
By Staff Writers, Live Mint, India, Sep 7, 2014 [H/t GWPF]
Nuclear Energy and Fears
Uranium 2014 Report: Red Book Highlights Continuing Growth Trend
Supply and Demand Strong Despite Lower Prices
By Staff Writers, IAEA, Sep 9, 2014
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2014/redbook.html
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Solar and Wind
A Government-subsidized Desert Death Ray
By Norman Rogers, American Thinker, Sep 12, 2014
http://americanthinker.com/2014/09/a_governmentsubsidized_desert_death_ray.html
Spiegel: Germany’s Large-Scale Offshore Windpark Dream Morphs Into An Engineering And Cost Nightmare
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Sep 11, 2014
[SEPP Comment: According to the web site by BARD, the rotor circle diameter is 122m – about 400 feet – and the blades are made of glass-fibre reinforced plastic based on epoxy resin. The mass is 28.5 t (31.4 tons) and the hub mass is about 70 t (77 tons).]
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Energy — Other
GAO Report: Renewable Fuel Standard Costs Outweigh Benefits
By Staff Writers, Taxpayers for Commonsense, Aug 12, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://www.taxpayer.net/library/article/gao-report-renewable-fuel-standard-costs-outweigh-benefits
Link to Report: Environmental Regulation: EPA Should Improve Adherence to Guidance for Selected Elements of Regulatory Impact Analysis
By Staff Writers, GAO, July 2014
http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/GAOreport.pdf
Feds pay $105M to turn garbage, feces into fuel
By Tim Devaney, The Hill, Sep 5, 2014
http://thehill.com/regulation/216833-whats-that-smell-usda-pays-105m-to-turn-garbage-feces-into-fuel
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Vehicles
Tesla picks Nevada for $5 bln battery plant
By Staff Writers, Los Angeles (AFP), Sept 05, 2014
http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Tesla_picks_Nevada_for_5_bln_battery_plant_999.html
Critics slam Nevada’s $1.3 billion in incentives for Tesla
Lawmakers weigh battery factory deal in special session ordered by Gov. Brian Sandoval
By Scott Sonner, AP, Sep 10, 2014
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/10/nevadas-proposed-13-billion-incentive-package-tesl/
Mr. Sandoval said the lithium battery factory and its 6,500 workers would generate more than 20,000 construction and other related jobs and up to $100 billion for Nevada’s economy over the next 20 years — a return on investment he estimated to be $80 for every $1 the state spends.
[SEPP Comment: The numbers work out to be about $200,000 per permanent job.]
California Dreaming
California solar projects plan undergoing major overhaul
By Carolyn Lochhead, SFGate, Sep 10, 2014 [H/t David Kreutzer]
The California High Speed Rail
By Baruch Feigenbaum, NCPA, Sep 8, 2014
http://environmentblog.ncpa.org/the-california-high-speed-rail/
Oh Mann!
Another Porky from Mann, Williams and Fontaine
By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Sep 10, 2014
http://climateaudit.org/2014/09/10/another-porky-from-mann-williams-and-fontaine/#more-19692
Fraudulent(?) hockey stick
Michael Mann’s brief
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Sep 11, 2014
http://judithcurry.com/2014/09/11/fraudulent-hockey-stick/
Other Scientific News
Microscopic Diamonds Suggest Cosmic Impact Responsible for Major Period of Climate Change [Update]
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Sep 11, 2014
Trinity geologists re-write Earth’s evolutionary history books
By Staff Writers, Dublin, Ireland, (SPX) Sep 09, 2014
Other News that May Be of Interest
China’s “National Plan on New Urbanization”
By Xinyuan Zou, NCPA, Sep 10, 2014
Canada finds 1 of 2 explorer ships lost in Arctic
By Rob Gillies, AP, Sep 9, 2014 [H/t Clyde Spencer]
California blue whales rebound from whaling, first of their kin to do so
By Staff Writers, Seattle WA (SPX) Sep 10, 2014
How evolutionary principles could help save our world
By Staff Writers, NSF, Sep 11, 2014
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=132674&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click
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BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:
US offshore wind making progress, but craves policy certainty
A report produced by Navigant Consulting for the Energy Department in the United States has indicated that there is a need to provide policy certainty in order to maximize offshore wind development.
By Ritesh Gupta, Wind Energy Update, Sep 8, 2014
[SEPP Comment: Policy certainty is correctly interpreted as sustained subsidy certainty.]
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