Climate Change In The News - Spring 2013

[4wd]

Alternatively, this has more bright colours.

[Gray-Wolf]

Let's be mindful that this is not a 'tit for tat' affair guys. Whilst we're being given reasurances that nothing is happening out there day by day we see more evidence that major events are unfolding. you'd better be real sure your not standing at the end of a modern 'Younger Dryas' and what we see occuring out there is not the dawn of the abrupt climate shift that brought the origional to an end? In that instance the Greenland records show an 6c temp rise over a 1 decade time span with most of that rise thought to have occured in 1 single year.

We were told to look for change first in the Arctic and what do we see there currently?

If this year, post the 2012 melt, proves as damaging as the ones following 07' then by Aug you will need to be doing quite a bit of explaining as to why you could not see what is coming when so many folk brought you so much current and varied evidence of it.

None of us are escaping this. Some of us are trying to be constructive in our warnings as to what we should expect (forewarned is forearmed) on the evidence that we are all recieving from the branches of science currently engaged in monitoring the changes.

Looking at predictions made in an age of less evidence and then holding them up as some kind of 'proof' that the current science is not up to date is not really worth much is it? It's like expecting the folk in New Mexico to know ,beforehand, what Hiroshima would be like for those about to experience it?

[loafer]

Your hypocrisy knows no bounds it appears.

Every time someone disagrees with your, or one of the other tripartite of regular posters, you jump on them with immediate tit-for-tat comments, just like the playground bullies we all saw at school.

When I started posting in this area of the site, I felt pity for those who said 'thank you' for being willing to post a contrary view because of the way you and other posters behave.

I now understand what they meant and cheer, like they did, when new and enthusiastic posters try their luck and face the onslaught.

I suggest you look in the mirror.

Edited for spelling.

Edited March 20, 2013 by loafer

[stewfox]

Let's be mindful that this is not a 'tit for tat' affair guys. Whilst we're being given reasurances that nothing is happening out there day by day we see more evidence that major events are unfolding. you'd better be real sure your not standing at the end of a modern 'Younger Dryas' and what we see occuring out there is not the dawn of the abrupt climate shift that brought the origional to an end? In that instance the Greenland records show an 6c temp rise over a 1 decade time span with most of that rise thought to have occured in 1 single year.

The problem is we are spending trillions globally on a unproven theory and ifs maybes are all well and good but I dont want 45,000 wind turbines just yet and nor do over 95% of the population.

[knocker]

Another myth-buster. Dear oh dear.

http://www.gci.uq.edu.au/news/climate-myth-buster-video-goes-viral

[knocker]

The problem is we are spending trillions globally on a unproven theory and ifs maybes are all well and good but I dont want 45,000 wind turbines just yet and nor do over 95% of the population.

Not forgetting that Hinkley is expected go ahead.Thirty year too late of course.

[BornFromTheVoid]

Alternatively, this has more bright colours.

What did this actually have anything to do with? Other than a happy colourful distraction for those who'd rather not think? It certainly isn't "in the news".

Can you not see how many obvious and blatant, lets call them, mistakes and misleading annotations are in that image?

The problem is we are spending trillions globally on a unproven theory and ifs maybes are all well and good but I dont want 45,000 wind turbines just yet and nor do over 95% of the population.

Just because you don't believe it doesn't make it unproven. Just as people believing in the genesis story doesn't mean plate tectonics is an "unproven theory".

Anyway, once more, what about the trillions being spent of dealing with the mess caused by burning fossil fuels. What about the livelihoods, ecosystems and lives decimated by oil spills?

Would you really rather have the British landscape the subject of mass drilling and fracking?

There is so much anti-scientific, emotionally driven rhetoric appearing in this area. That kinda stuff just shouldn't be in a science forum.

Edited March 20, 2013 by BornFromTheVoid

[Gray-Wolf]

The 'denialist movement' is as well funded and , as such, fully aware of the truth of the situation. It is in their best interests to 'muddy the waters' to keep their interests as unaffected, for as long as possible, as they can.

The recent flurry of interest in global temps has me intrigued as to watch they are distracting folk from? No focus on a 'non-melting' Arctic is there? This 'cool-down' appears to coincide with the wholesale collapse of the arctic so why?

Natural variability of temps has always been included in the AGW remit, the rapid collapse of the Arctic was not. The impacts of the collapse are also not included in the original remit of AGW and so science is 'running to catch up' with the events on the ground. Denialism trails the science and makes it's largest gaffs in it's utterances on the subject. The current 'Crackopalypse' event is notable in it's absence from the major Denialist blogs (whilst mainstream in science and complimentary blogs) is it of no importance? GAC12 was played down , both here and in the denialist world, as it raged over the Arctic as 'nothing special' only to then appear as their sole reason for the record melt? Are we about to see the fracture event suffer the same fate as melt season moves into summer?

The extremes of last year had many folk re-examine their beliefs on AGW , this years extremes, if the arctic plays a role in northern hemisphere circulation patterns, will surely trump those of a year ago so where will the Denialist movement try and focus their adherents attentions then?

[Methuselah]

This story http://news.sky.com/story/1067659/thousands-of-dead-prawns-washed-up-in-chile could be climate-related...

Could it be down to ENSO, chemical contamination, or a shipload of toffs not liking their sandwiches?

[knocker]

More on March Extremes

Although it’s still early to say that this is pound-on-the-table settled science – the most recent research suggesting a link between newly open arctic water and changes in the jet stream does seem to be one of the most compelling and interesting explanations for the wild swings in weather extremes that the planet has experienced in recent years.

I’ve posted Jennifer Francis’ lecture on this, as well as my interview from last fall, - check those for background if you haven’t yet, – and yesterday I made the point about the forces responsible for the difference between last march, and this march in North America. Today Andrew Freedman drills deeper.

Interesting that some computer models have been projecting that, sometime during the next couple of days, the Greenland High could come close to setting the mark for the highest atmospheric pressure ever recorded.

http://climatecrocks..._medium=twitter

Edited March 21, 2013 by knocker

[knocker]

Researching impacts of ocean acidification on coral reef growth

Jana Maclaren and Ken Caldeira discussing the Carnegie Institution expedition to One Tree Island in Queensland, Australia, on 11 March 2013. This scientific expedition is aimed at testing the hypothesis that ocean acidification is already impacting coral reef growth.

[knocker]

The Arab Spring and Climate Change

http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ClimateChangeArabSpring.pdf

[knocker]

As Pollution Worsens in China, Solutions Succumb to Infighting

BEIJING — China’s state leadership transition has taken place this month against an ominous backdrop. More than 16,000 dead pigs have been found floating in rivers that provide drinking water to Shanghai. A haze akin to volcanic fumes cloaked the capital, causing convulsive coughing and obscuring the portrait of Mao Zedong on the gate to the Forbidden City.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/22/world/asia/as-chinas-environmental-woes-worsen-infighting-emerges-as-biggest-obstacle.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

[knocker]

The Egg Was first, No, The Chicken, No Never Mind.

An evergreen in Eli's business is which came first exiting the ice age, the temperature or the greenhouse gas concentrations. Since the forcing is orbital changes, it is reasonable to expect at least some initial lag in the greenhouse gas and that includes water vapor, but the length of this lag has been an issue ever since Monnin, et al's analysis of the EPICA Dome C core inferred a lag of 800 + 200 years. This has become an evergreen amongst the less serious, and indeed, there has even been considerable discussion by reasonable folk. Jeff Severinghaus provided an answer

So one should not claim that greenhouse gases are the major cause of the ice ages. No credible scientist has argued that position (even though Al Gore implied as much in his movie). The fundamental driver has long been thought, and continues to be thought, to be the distribution of sunshine over the Earth’s surface as it is modified by orbital variations. This hypothesis was proposed by James Croll in the 19th century, mathematically refined by Milankovitch in the 1940s, and continues to pass numerous critical tests even today.

The greenhouse gases are best regarded as a biogeochemical feedback, initiated by the orbital variations, but then feeding back to amplify the warming once it is already underway. By the way, the lag of CO2 of about 1000 years corresponds rather closely to the expected time it takes to flush excess respiration-derived CO2 out of the deep ocean via natural ocean currents. So the lag is quite close to what would be expected, if CO2 were acting as a feedback.

http://rabett.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-egg-was-first-no-chicken-never-mind.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[knocker]

Melting of the Arctic sea ice

Guest post by Jos Hagelaars. Dutch version is here.

This was the title of a discussion that was held on the recently launched website ClimateDialogue regarding the possible causes of the decline in Arctic sea ice over the past decades. Three experts participated in this discussion: Walt Meier, Research Scientist at the NSIDC, Judith Curry, professor at Georgia Institute of Technology and Ron Lindsay, Senior Principal Physicist at the Polar Science Center of the University of Washington.

In this blog post I will start off with a description of the observations of the Arctic region, followed by a short overview of the potential causes of the decline in Arctic sea ice, incorporating the views of the three experts as they were expressed on ClimateDialogue. The final parts concern the uniqueness of this decline in a historical perspective and the possibility of having an ice-free Arctic in the summer in the not too distant future.

http://ourchangingclimate.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/melting-of-the-arctic-sea-ice/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[Polar Maritime]

[Polar Maritime]

Prof Sir John Beddington warns of floods, droughts and storms

The UK government's chief scientist has said that there is already enough CO2 in the atmosphere for there to be more floods and droughts over the next 25 years.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21357520

Edited March 25, 2013 by Polar Maritime

[knocker]

Dr. Jeff Masters: Katrina-level storm surges have more than doubled due to global warming

http://scienceblogs.com/illconsidered/2013/03/dr-jeff-masters-katrina-level-storm-surges-have-more-than-doubled-due-to-global-warming/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[UV-RAY]

Dr. Jeff Masters: Katrina-level storm surges have more than doubled due to global warming

http://scienceblogs...._medium=twitter

So that would explain the decline in land fall hurricanes decreasing would it, as well as their intensity.

[knocker]

Climate change brings opportunities

Climate change will bring both big opportunities and threats to the fish-dependent nations of the Pacific, international scientists say.

While the coral reef fisheries of Pacific islands are likely to take a major hit from warming and ocean acidification, there is potential for well-managed tuna stocks to grow, improving both national food security and economic prospects in many countries.

The finding appears in the journal Nature Climate Change and is the work of a team of marine scientists from Australia, France, New Caledonia and Fiji.

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20132503-24186.html

[keithlucky]

Prof Sir John Beddington warns of floods, droughts and storms

The UK government's chief scientist has said that there is already enough CO2 in the atmosphere for there to be more floods and droughts over the next 25 years.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...onment-21357520

Please don!t quote somebody who only studied economics and done his thesis on red deer lol!so what gives him the right to speak about climate change,

[knocker]

More right than that nutter Monckton.

[BornFromTheVoid]

Please don!t quote somebody who only studied economics and done his thesis on red deer lol!so what gives him the right to speak about climate change,

Keith, the vast majority of the links you post are from people who have no qualifications related to climate change.

[Polar Maritime]

Please don!t quote somebody who only studied economics and done his thesis on red deer lol!so what gives him the right to speak about climate change,

Im sure this thread was called "Climate Change in the News".... Anyway I can only echo BFTV ^

Edited March 26, 2013 by Polar Maritime

[knocker]

Climate change likely to worsen threat of diarrheal disease in Botswana, arid African countries

In a National Science Foundation funded study, Kathleen Alexander, an associate professor of wildlife at Virginia Tech, found that climate drives a large part of diarrheal disease and increases the threat of climate change for vulnerable communities.

The only study of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa is based on three decades of historical data and has important implications for arid countries around the world struggling with poverty and increasing health challenges.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/vt-ccl032613.php