Thursday, July 17, 2008

Cool news about “human-induced global warming”

Readers Alert: Following publication of the Daily Tech post referenced below, the American Physical Society issued a statement saying it had not reversed its position on "human-induced global warming."

You can read it here where I also offer some brief comments on the matter.

John
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Daily Tech headlines: Myth of Consensus Explodes: APS Opens Global Warming Debate

DT’s story follows with my comments below the star line - - -

The American Physical Society, an organization representing nearly 50,000 physicists, has reversed its stance on climate change and is now proclaiming that many of its members disbelieve in human-induced global warming. (all emphasis added)

The APS is also sponsoring public debate on the validity of global warming science. The leadership of the society had previously called the evidence for global warming "incontrovertible."

In a posting to the APS forum, editor Jeffrey Marque explains,

"There is a considerable presence within the scientific community of people who do not agree with the IPCC conclusion that anthropogenic CO2 emissions are very probably likely to be primarily responsible for global warming that has occurred since the Industrial Revolution."
The APS is opening its debate with the publication of a paper by Lord Monckton of Brenchley, which concludes that climate sensitivity -- the rate of temperature change a given amount of greenhouse gas will cause -- has been grossly overstated by IPCC modeling.

A low sensitivity implies additional atmospheric CO2 will have little effect on global climate.

Larry Gould, Professor of Physics at the University of Hartford and Chairman of the New England Section of the APS, called Monckton's paper an "expose of the IPCC that details numerous exaggerations and "extensive errors."

In an email to DailyTech, Monckton says,

"I was dismayed to discover that the IPCC's 2001 and 2007 reports did not devote chapters to the central 'climate sensitivity' question, and did not explain in proper, systematic detail the methods by which they evaluated it. When I began to investigate, it seemed that the IPCC was deliberately concealing and obscuring its method."
According to Monckton, there is substantial support for his results, "in the peer-reviewed literature, most articles on climate sensitivity conclude, as I have done, that climate sensitivity must be harmlessly low."

Monckton, who was the science advisor to Britain's Thatcher administration, says natural variability is the cause of most of the Earth's recent warming. "In the past 70 years the Sun was more active than at almost any other time in the past 11,400 years ... Mars, Jupiter, Neptune’s largest moon, and Pluto warmed at the same time as Earth."

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Comments:

A hat tip to Mike Williams who called the DT story to my attention. Somehow my local liberal/leftist newspaper, the Raleigh News & Observer, missed it.

I suspect most of MSM will ignore or grossly underreport this most important story.

A really big hat tip goes to frequent commenter Jack in Silver Springs. He’s been spot on about “human-induced global warming” and has in many detailed, well-written comments here informed JinC readers on the subject while the Al Gores, Nancy Pelosis and Barack Obamas have been misinforming the broader public.

What’s most important about the APS’s reversal for those of us who value Western Civilization and the scientific method based on free inquiry is this: The APS’s reversal is an overdue step back by APS from a possible embrace of fascist-like ideologues who’ve proclaimed “human-induced global warming” a settled matter and, in some instances, actually advocated punishments for those scientists who challenged it.

Copernicus and Galileo would approve of what the APS has just done.

Your turn.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

"A really big hat tip goes to frequent commenter Jack in Silver Springs. He’s been spot on about “human-induced global warming” and has in many detailed, well-written comments here informed JinC readers on the subject while the Al Gores, Nancy Pelosis and Barack Obamas have been misinforming the broader public."

And another hat tip to Jack in Silver Springs.

Umm. . . Now, how do we get John McCain off that particular misinformation bus?

Anonymous said...

Jack in Silver Spring has been spot on in his comments re: global warming. There has not been a fraud this massive nor as easily disproved as Al Gore's baby. Of course there's global warming. There's global cooling, too, and lots of other things happening to our earth as well as to other planets in our solar system. Perhaps Gore's usage of power is sufficient to affect the rate of global warming--Lord knows he emits enough hot air to overheat several atmospheres--but to assume that man's puny emissions of carbon have some grand affect strikes me as somewhat egotistical. I would truly appreciate hearing Gore's explanation about Mars' recent warming. Are the little greem men buring martian carbon-base fuels, too? Isn't it amusing to be surrounded by so many idiots?
Tarheel Hawkeye

JWM said...

To Anon @ 4:13,

Point well made.

Please keep commenting.

John

Anonymous said...

Thank you John. Very, very kind of you, I shall do.


Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.
- George Washington

Anonymous said...

Global Warming is a replacement for socialism.

The Left's cult for a good chunk of the 20th century was socialism and that got wrecked. Rather than learn from their humiliating defeat, they have joined the cult of environmentalism as a back door attack on capitalism and a new approach to achieving their goal of one world government.

Their narrative is unraveling and hopefully will be completed undone before they can engineer a multi-trillion dollar power grab in Washington.

Anonymous said...

John, etc. -

Thank you all for your kind comments. I am humbled.

Jack in Silver Spring

Anonymous said...

While not one to praise either socialism or Marxism, at least one can say that its true believers never claimed that either was responsible for kidney stones as was postulated earlier this week about global warming.
I suppose that we should not be surprised to see claims that anything wrong with society will have its root cause in global warming.
cks

Anonymous said...

CA Wildfires:
"This administration did not believe in global warming, Schwarzenegger told ABC News, adding that any claims of progress by Bush were probably bogus."
----------------
What the media isn’t saying is fewer than 100 homes have been lost, is in part a credit to the U.S. Forest Service's controversial practice of "thinning" forests for limiting the potential threat to life and property. (Against furious protests by tree huggers.)

Schwarzenegger has ‘Jumped the Shark’ and become a RINO in my opinion.

zonga said...

Just off my cuff -

The dry season will end in November when the rainy season (landslide and sink hole season) begins. That is our climate in California. It rains only in the winter. Our green season is the winter, dead brown vegetation and highest fire threat occurs in the summer. Why should that surprise anyone, especially the Gov?

There are certain plants that are considered to be fire hazards - the creosote bush for example. Why not teach people to remove them from their environs? It is well known that we can do things to improve property survival, should a fire come close. Clear 100 feet around any dwelling, trim tree branches to 12 feet above ground, get involved with community efforts to do these things, and more.

Dry lightening occurs and causes fire. One of the recent Santa Cruz Mountain fires was caused by smoldering brush left unattended by men. The California Gov is playing "Let's Pretend" with the climate. I say, "Let's Not."

God Bless the Firemen and Smoke Jumpers!

We should expect the media and local government to educate us on exactly how to survive and prevent disaster rather than encourage us to beg for more Nanny State handouts.