Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Climate Science 4


“As you promised, Curmudge, today we’ll talk about the findings and conclusions of the anthropogenic global warming skeptics.”

Contrarian Perspectives

“Please remember, Julie, that they are termed ‘contrarians’ in SINTEF report A24071.  Within this broad classification are people who disagree with minor elements of the IPCC reports as well as those ‘who do not accept that (a) human actions are influencing the climate to produce global warming, or that (b) this possible influence does not amount to a threat that needs extra particular resolve or attention.’  ‘A common position here is that climate change is the normal condition on earth.’ (p. 11 in SINTEF A24071)”

“Listen up, Retired Scientist.  This quotation should help members of the public understand what’s been going on.  ‘The fact that the developed world went into hysterics over changes in global mean temperature of a few tenths of a degree will astound future generations.  Such hysteria simply represents the scientific illiteracy of much of the public, the susceptibility of the public to the substitution of repetition for truth, and the exploitation of these weaknesses by politicians, environmental promoters…and many others as well.’ (Lindzen, p. 41)”

“Despite its being essential for life (plants require carbon dioxide, and animals require plants), CO2 has been designated a pollutant and the principal villain in the global warming debate.  Many of the accusations against it were refuted in the report by Robinson et al. discussed in our Climate Science 2 posting.  Here are some more pertinent quotes: ‘Atmospheric CO2 variations generally follow changes in temperature and other climatic variables rather than preceding them.’ (Soon, p. 45)  ‘440 Myr [M = million?] ago atmospheric CO2 was ~16 times higher than today.  However, this enhanced level of atmospheric CO2 does not seem to have been accompanied by unusually warm temperatures.’ (Yapp & Poths, p. 45)  ‘The available scientific data, and proven relationships, do not justify the belief that carbon dioxide emission controls can be used as a means of managing or stopping future climate change.’ (Carter, p. 45-46)”

“Curmudge, these quotations go on and on.  I hope we have room for a few more.  ‘Cosmic ray intensity data show that solar activity was related to both the LIA (Little Ice Age) and its recovery.’ (Akasofu, p. 48)  ‘The new religion of global warming …contains a grain of truth and a mountain of nonsense.  And that nonsense could be very damaging indeed.  We appear to have entered a new age of unreason, which threatens to be as economically harmful as it is profoundly disquieting.  It is from this, above all, that we really need to save the planet.’ (Lawson, p. 50)  ‘Please remain calm: The Earth will heal itself…Climate is beyond our power to control…Earth doesn’t care about governments or their legislation…Climate change is a matter of geologic time, something that the earth does routinely on its own without asking anyone’s permission or explaining itself.’ (Laughlin, p. 58)”

Kaizen Curmudgeon

Link to posting from blog archives: Patient Safety Requires a Reporting Culture 12/11/08

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