Friday, October 22, 2010

Global Warming, Skepticism, and the Liberal Mindset

I was recently part of a sadly predictable exchange in the comments of a friend's Facebook. She had posted a link to a New York Times article titled, "Climate Change Doubt is Tea Party Article of Faith." I found this phrasing ironic, since it is my experience that many liberals treat anthropogenic and dangerous global warming (AGW) as an important tenet in an environmentalist religion. (What distinguishes political faith is that the believers don't acknowledge that they rely on faith rather than proof. There are, of course, religious people who do feel the need for supporting argument, or at least are adept at producing it -- e.g. C.S. Lewis, a great Christian apologist -- but a great many believe in faith without proof as a virtue or a religious necessity.)

The New York Times article gave short shrift to the disagreement in the scientific community about the extent, causes and dangers of global warming. I ventured to say as much. It wasn't long before another commenter asked me if I had been "following the 'scientific debates' over evolution and whether or not the earth revolves around the sun, too?" (I would link to this and the following exchanges, so that readers could check context, but I don't believe it's feasible or permissible to link to Facebook posts.)

I got a bit testy, and suggested he "look in the mirror and see the elitist snobbery that keeps you from recognizing the intelligence and humanity of those who disagree with you." He replied, "I guess if I'm adamant in my deeply-held beliefs that the sky is blue, the grass is green and 2+2=4 then that's arrogant, elitist snobbery." Apparently the extremely complex and multidisciplinary subject of global climate change may be equated with the simplest of arithmetic. It speaks volumes about this mindset that its adherents can imply such an equation and feel smugly intellectual while doing so.

Below are a number of links demonstrating the ongoing scientific debate about global climate change, as well as the developing cracks in the AGW edifice. I'll preface them with a summary by my husband, the Hoosier Gadfly, a computer scientist with deep and broad knowledge in many scientific and technical areas. (He doesn't typically use all-cap words, but he's kind of exasperated where AGW is concerned.)

------------------

Here is what SCIENCE really says about anthropogenic CO2:

(1) Satellites possess the only instrumentation sensitive and accurate enough to show a measurable CO2 effect on temperature today.
(2) Those temperatures are LESS than the predicted (from 1895 by Svante Arrhenius and still used up until the late 1980's) 1.1 C (2 F) [degrees] from doubling CO2 (we are only about halfway to the doubling).
(3) The IPCC and alarmists claim 4 and 5 degree C from a doubling based upon their models -- models such as the one developed by CRU [see links for info re the limitations of computer modeling, problems with CRU's software, etc.].
(4) The relationship of CO2 to temperature is NOT linear, it is logarithmic, which means that with around 1/2 of the CO2 increase having occurred, MOST of the effect should have already occurred. In other words, the satellites should be showing much, much higher temperatures [if the IPCC-etc. predictions are correct].
(5) There is evidence of a variety of NEGATIVE feedbacks that explain the satellite data. The IPCC, etc., posit only POSITIVE feedbacks and the data do not support that.
(6) I suppose I should throw in that ice core data that [in the early '80's] I said was "dispositive" of the CO2-temperature connection, upon further analysis showed that CO2 concentration LAGGED temperature changes by 800 to 1000 years. Causes do not follow events.

So, the fact is that, although there is no disagreement concerning [some] CO2 effect on temperature, the skeptical position is that the other side has not only exaggerated the effect way beyond what the data support, the other side has in some cases engaged in scientific fraud to make their case. (I should note that I never assumed actual fraud prior to "Climategate" - I attributed everything to bureacratic groupthink and cognitive dissonance. Scientific fraud on the scale I've seen [in "Climategate" and related events] has been a profoundly disillusioning experience for me.)

-------------

Thanks, hon!

Here are the promised links:

100 Scientists' Letter to the United Nations on Global Warming, December 13, 2007

Letter of Harold Lewis, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, October 6, 2010, resigning from the American Physical Society

U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Minority Staff Report, updated 2009 (supported by more than 700 identified scientists)

"Heretical Thoughts about Science and Society," Freeman Dyson, August 8, 2007

International Climate Science Coalition website (check, among other links, the "Who We Are" link, including the advisory boards, and "Climate Change 101")

"Empirical Evidence for a Celestial Origin of the Climate Oscillations and its Implications," Nicola Scafetta, Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 2010

Czech President Vaclav Klaus' inaugural Global Warming Policy Foundation lecture, October 21, 2010 (hot off the presses!)

Links to research articles by Dr. Roy Spencer, climatologist, author and former NASA scientist

Middleburg Community Network primer on global warming titled "Editorial: The Great Global Warming Hoax?" -- long, very detailed exploration of AGW claims, with an informal, irreverent tone combined with an enormous amount of information

Re "Climategate":

--"Open science and Climategate: the IPCC/CRU needs to take a leaf out of CERN's Book," Gary Richmond at Free Software Magazine, December 16, 2009

--"Climategate Computer Codes are the Real Story," Charlie Martin, Pajamas Media, November 24, 2009

--"Climate Change Data Dumped," Jonathan Leake, Environment Editor, Sunday Times, November 29, 2009

--"Climategate Stunner: NASA Heads Knew NASA Data was Poor, Then Used Data from CRU," Charlie Martin, Pajamas Media, March 10, 2010

--"Climategate U-turn as scientist at centre of row admits: There has been no global warming since 1995," Jonathan Petre, Mail Online, February 14, 2010

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the marvelous posting! I definitely enjoyed reading it, you are a great author.

I will ensure that I bookmark your blog and definitely will come back very soon.
I want to encourage you to continue your great work, have a nice weekend!


My web page: internet radio

Anonymous said...

If you are using firewall software such as Outpost Firewall Pro,
the paid edition of Online Armor and Kaspersky Internet Security or PURE,
you can take advantage of using their Blocklist feature that will block connections to known malicious URL and IP addresses.
The objective is to arrange your passions as
carefully as possible with your online promotion company.
It would be optimum thought to select the local SEO
service after checking the rank of their website.
Working with an SEO expert in your country can help as SEO experts within the same country generally know how
to optimize websites for a specific country's audience more effectively. A dedicated SEO expert will devote all the attention and effort in enhancing the visibility of your website or business in the online world. Meta Name and Meta Description Tags are two of the important ones. Social networking Optimization Websites which include Facebook and You - Tube could be the latest examples of how "personal" websites can be appropriated for business. Relevant keywords ought to be used in the alt tags. Make buying easy for the customer and they will return often. Be sure that the SEO outsourcing company you hire is capable of communicating properly. They want to know things about how to create effective copy, general marketing tips and maybe even stuff about social media. The concepts make use of the current social networking sites, which are very popular among the online audience. Now, if it takes you three years to referrer 3000 members which means that you receive US$3000 per month. You can find several internet marketing companies across the world. Once you find the right and affordable SEO Company, it is essential to talk about your business objectives, target customers and future goals with the professionals to help them develop their strategies accordingly. Here are some examples of things that were once good moves that can now get you into trouble. Law firms face various challenges and have issues in remaining at the top in the market. You will not even get to a 1 or 2 until Google has fully crawled your website or blog enough to give it a ranking. Such companies know the best about industry and market trends. com is one of the premier portals on the World Wide Web which has been formulated with the intention of providing SEO Hosting options for webmasters around the world who seek a way to ensure that their websites reach the top ranks of all major search engines.

Feel free to surf to my web blog :: http://www.backlinkbasis.com

Anonymous said...

Obvіously, you'll be able to go to sites as You - Tube at which you might locate lots of funny vids. Also, by having a radio internship in your resume, there is a better chance for you to become a DJ when you apply for a job in any radio station in the nation. It is a more reliable choice when compared to traditional concrete or wooden barriers for several reasons.

Check out my web site; linked website

Anonymous said...

Hello mates, good post and fastidious urging commented at this place, I am truly enjoying by these.


Feel free to visit my web page; spiele spielen kostenlos

Anonymous said...

7 WCLH ( Format: Cοllege Rаԁio Wilκes University's radio station plays mostly alternative rock, but Mondays have seemingly always been "Metal Mondays. Also, by having a radio internship in your resume, there is a better chance for you to become a DJ when you apply for a job in any radio station in the nation. It is a more reliable choice when compared to traditional concrete or wooden barriers for several reasons.

my web page; internet radio

Anonymous said...

Nο matter іf some οne seaгches for
his vital thing, so he/ѕhe wants tο be available that in detail, thus that
thing is mаintainеd οver here.


Feеl free to surf to my site - Techno Musik
my website: internetradio

Anonymous said...

While it is one thing to have a social media profile
on an online community like Deviant - ART, it is a whole other thing entirely to have
fitted it with an effective SEO strategy. Once the number of back links will increase,
web traffic flow will enhance. The race is becoming even
more challenging with the passing of each day. Naturally, they will flock to your competitor who does.

SEO must be implemented by following a step by
step process. This is the best part to ensure complete uniqueness to each of the websites.
Instead, the developer should concentrate on the functions mentioned in this article first, as
they are the basis for further extension of the Word - Press header file.
Second tool for power suite is website auditor. Its professionals would
do hard work to achieve the high traffic objective and they might taste
success in their attempt but they would desist
from boasting anything about their success. People these days use the Internet for a
varied purpose. The final way that you can use
your Deviant - ART profile for SEO purposes
is by being an active member of the community ' watch the work of others (especially if they are related to your business), encourage others to watch your work, comment on work, list other users as your friends. The concepts make use of the current social networking sites, which are very popular among the online audience. ' Every page should
be optimized with additional keywords. Regardless of whether you
like it, love it, or hate it, social media has become a major player in the SEO world,
and it is a costly mistake to ignore it. And, as more
and more companies move larger portions of their advertising budgets to internet marketing, there is
an even greater demand for their skills. A well-formed internal linking structure and good sitemap can ensure all pages of a website being indexed by a search engine.
Law firms face various challenges and have issues in remaining
at the top in the market. But be aware of the traffic issue.
You need the keyword and phrase in both title and description.
Yahoo style guide.

My blog post; http://christophermoorehistory.blogspot.ru/2008/07/101-things-about-canada.html

Anonymous said...

Do you have аny video of that? Ӏ'd want to find out more details.

Visit my weblog - techno Radio

Anonymous said...

If there is a change in the search engine algorithms,
it is also up to the service provider to keep a watch on such activities.
If you encourage your visitors to write their original reviews about your products instead of coping reviews from competitive websites to show you have circulation and satisfied customers, your website
is more likely to earn higher ranking in the major search engines.
Search engine marketing (SEM) is an essential a part of any site
promotion strategy. The main aim of SEO is to get search engines
positioning a certain website well in results for specific keywords.
Is professional search engine marketing the thing that you need.
There are so many good blogs out there, and if you're one of those writers, you definitely know how important it is that your site gets heard through all of the noise. Some SEO firms focus on content spinning and submitting articles. Having realized that it is practically not possible to combat with SEO Next in terms of services and offerings at this point of time, rivals have started thinking of an easier alternative of being successful in their mission. Google bowling messes up the external ranking used by Google and penalizes a sites ranking compared it the competitors. Also make sure that the articles are of high quality as it is the key to get better rankings on search engines and more profits. Thus, if your charges are overly cheap, this might cause doubts and worries from their mines regarding the quality of the service they get. Still hanging on. Now, if it takes you three years to referrer 3000 members which means that you receive US$3000 per month. Here you will need an SEO agency such as Webfirm to try and run damage limitation. Create a general, high-level category in which you want to manage all phrases'for
example 'global,' 'online,' 'channel,' and so on. G) SEO basics
-Image 6: Open Google. You need to try to find reputed SEO consultants.

But be aware of the traffic issue. And make the work flow smoothly, using good grammar at all times.
com is one of the premier portals on the World Wide Web which has been formulated with the intention of providing SEO Hosting options for webmasters around the world who
seek a way to ensure that their websites reach the top
ranks of all major search engines.

Here is my blog :: http://www.devel.pld-linux.org

Anonymous said...

It's a pity you don't have a donate button! I'd without a doubt donate to this brilliant blog! I suppose for now i'll settle
for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
I look forward to new updates and will share this website with my Facebook group.
Talk soon!

Feel free to visit my blog; caarrdenliz.beeplog.com

Anonymous said...

It can, however, be pre-ordered, as its release date
is in the near future. If you look around your community,
our country, and the world, there is little evidence of loving
actions. ''. So, in conclusion, removing the headphones from
your MP3 player is not bad, provided you don't yank too hard on the cord. Cons. It is hard to believe that we are unable to provide the minimum required comfort to our old ones, destitute women and even orphans. We relate to it like it's the truth.
The so-called colloidal silver "blue man," Paul Karason, was back on the
Today show this week. I was excited to see what they would come up with, since I already have two children.
There is a rarely discussed addiction that can be as enslaving as drugs and as devastating to self-respect, self-confidence and healthy functioning
as alcoholism.

My blog; Full File
My page > www.hotelmalioboro.com

Anonymous said...

These five free basketball game apps for
the i - Phone will surely help you get your game on.
Each program will have a box with a checkmark, find the programs you'd like to uninstall and uncheck that box. The reason for this rather strange feature is that, as described above, apps in the Android Market are listed as they are submitted, without any testing.

Here is my blog post spiele spielen

Anonymous said...

Dadurch kann die Masse nicht aufgenommen werden, während sie die Verdauung passiert, wodurch eine Gewichtsreduktion erreicht wird.
Der primäre Punkt, halten den Sport übertragen in einem langsameren Tempo kann
die Art der Wette zu platzieren erwerben. Many Thai sellers sell it on e - Bay and ecrater though, so if you're interested in trying some it shouldn't be too difficult
to get.

Also visit my weblog: http://www.bellhs.net

Anonymous said...

You can also buy bundle dealѕ, whiсh most radio stations offer, to decrease the
ονerall aԁ cost. Thе line comes off the boat automatically once it hits a fish, which means that the uѕeг
can catch а fish of vіrtually any size.

In much thе sаme ωaу, tωo-way
radio rental offers businesses and individuаlѕ substаntial savingѕ
in money, tіme and resources that equiρment оwnеrship nеver ωill.


Here is my web blog http://www.websocialbook.com/story.php?title=answers-on-internet-marketing-that-you-have-been-looking-for-3

Anonymous said...

Μy spouse аnd Ι absolutely love уouг blog аnԁ find а lоt of your
post's to be just what I'm loоking for. Would you offer guest ωгitеrs to write content
to suit your needѕ? I ωouldn't mind writing a post or elaborating on a few of the subjects you write concerning here. Again, awesome website!

Feel free to surf to my website video downloader
my page :: Click This Link

Anonymous said...

Hello, I believe your site may be having web browser compatibility problems.
When I take a look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine however, if opening in IE, it has some overlapping issues.
I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up!
Other than that, wonderful website!

Feel free to surf to my weblog relevant resource site
My page - ensynefo.com/blogs/24319/30812/answers-on-internet-marketing-th

Anonymous said...

These five free basketball game apps for the i
- Phone will surely help you get your game on. You will eventually run into the Download Location menu with
two options: Wii System Menu and SD Card. In fact an ideal online casino will make the entire gaming experience a pleasurable and
a real experience to the gamer.

Check out my webpage - videos von youtube downloaden

Anonymous said...

Heya i аm for the first time hегe.
I founԁ this boаrd and I find Ιt truly useful & іt helped
me out а lot. I hοре to give something back аnd
help others like you helped me.

Here is my website ... please click the next website page

Anonymous said...

And then, you'll probably see that the battery's charge won't be as durable as before. So, follow the battery power saving tips above to get the most bang for your buck. If a LED is used instead of a bulb, the connections will require a bit more attention.

Stop by my website - mouse click the following post

Anonymous said...

- Portion with certain human being variety numerator and denominator, involving 0 and a single
(e. When children fit these fun video game titles into actions require time to view those facial seems to be and human body expressions.
Although others may not have a specific machine for her,
but at least they have most likely computers
in their homes.

Here is my web page :: kostenlos spielen

Anonymous said...

When you quit, you can immediately feel its decision within
24 hours, health benefits, which can cause you to not smoke
forever. As you lift out the screen you'll see it is still attached via a ribbon cable. For the first generation, you'll need to release the back cover from the unit by running a shim along the edge of the unit to release all of the clips holding the backing on.


My webpage - Noble

Anonymous said...

The rig that runs Crysis at 68 FPS will get close to
a hundred on older or less demanding games. Afterwards,
joust your cash chips on the cash desk. If one was among the
persons who have been bitten newly with the Bingo Club, one will require to be informed about the following
facts regarding the ideal features of Bingo online sites.


my webpage - http://www.spielespielen24.de/

Anonymous said...

Let's think of words that sound dirty but really aren't.
Finding good outsourcing companies is the key, as naturally you do not want
to lower the quality of the service. We carry R4 SDHC, DSTT, R4i SDHC, Acekard 2i, EZFlash Vi, M3i Zero, and now the i - Edge.


My webpage :: http://www.spielespielen24.de

Anonymous said...

According to statistics, "Internet radio attracts an upper-income audience, with weekly Internet radio listeners 36% more likely to live in a household with annual income of $100K+ than the general US population 18+".
For instance i - Pod users will have difficulty syncing their devices with i - Tunes; the popular media player, sync and marketplace
application isn't available on Linux. With the Worldmate Nokia 5800 Xpress - Music application you can keep track of the current times in up to five different cities worldwide at a go.

Also visit my page internetradio

Anonymous said...

But these people are few and far between and can provide a false of security.
Savings bonds can be purchased in electronic form, but the most familiar are the paper Series EE bonds
purchased for one-half the denomination of the bond.
However Cash for Electronic Scrap do not accept whole
PCU, hard drives, laptops, VCRs, monitors, single boards,
camcorders and digital cameras.

my blog; affinity

Anonymous said...

Not all hobbies cost money but every hobby does require time and in the business sense, time is money.
Some people prefer to do a hobby alone but if your not one of those people it can always be fun
to do something with a loved one. The stamp looked as beautiful
as Queen Victoria herself.

My weblog ... wholesale electronics

Anonymous said...

Your should see something similar to the illustration above.
You need to make real efforts towards inviting your friends to your fan page.
If you're looking to use social networking to advance or enhance your career than sites like Linked In, Career Builder, and Monster make sense to utilize.

Visit my site - Full Piece of writing

Anonymous said...

Spot on with this write-up, I actually think this
web site needs far more attention. I'll probably be back again to read more, thanks for the advice!

Feel free to visit my weblog: weightloss blogs

Anonymous said...

smokeless cigarettes, e cigarette health, smokeless cigarettes, smokeless cigarettes, smokeless cigarettes, smokeless cigarettes