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All IPCC definitions taken from Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Working Group I Contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Annex I, Glossary, pp. 941-954. Cambridge University Press.

Recent Comments

Comments 30751 to 30800:

protagorias at 08:24 AM on 3 March 2015

Models are unreliable

Only one quick example

International Journal of Climatology Vol 25, Issue 15 High Resolution Climate Surfaces for Global Land Areas

For many applications, data at a fine spatial resolution are necessary to capture environmental variability that can be partly lost at lower resolutions, particularly in mountainous or other areas with steep climate gradients. However, such high-resolution data are only available for certain parts of the world...

Moderator Response:

[PS] Except that it is not. What is discussed is not input into any GCM.

KR at 06:03 AM on 3 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

Sorry, that last post should have said "_fewer_" skeptics on talk shows.

swampfoxh at 05:54 AM on 3 March 2015

New Video: What Climate Deniers Learned from Big Tobacco

Thanks guys, for the correction. I marched off to take my wife to the opera before proofing my comment.

KR at 05:51 AM on 3 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

ryland - Fortunately, with the exception of the usual suspects (Fox News, The Telegraph, the Australian, and so on), mainstream media appears to be taking climate change much more seriously.. Skeptics on talk shows, dimension of climate change comes more and more often in general news shows, etc.

It's my impression that the deniers are just becoming less and less credible.

knaugle at 04:47 AM on 3 March 2015

Cowtan and Way 2014: Hottest or not?

To expand on KevinC (#7 above)

One thing about how some trumpet how 2014 was only 38% likely most warmest, is they fail to follow up with which year was "warmest". Most imply 1998 is the big winner. I went looking for this information and found Brett Anderson's Climate blog on AccuWeather:

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-blogs/climatechange/expert-commentary-on-global-te/40988095

Where he shows that the other candidates for "warmest" fared even worse. 2010 was 23%, 2005 17%, 1998 4% and the remainder presumably single digit. So in the arena of "lies, damnable lies, and statistics", it seems 2014 remains the big dog in the fight.

Moderator Response:

[PS] Fixed link

billthefrog at 03:25 AM on 3 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

@ Zeke,

Thanks for the illuminating piece, I look forward to reading parts II & III.

In the PHA section, you briefly mention Reno, and this has triggered some - possibly false - memory. A nagging little voice (Aside to the wife: No, not you dear!) keeps telling me that I've read that the UHI adjustment for Remo is somewhere in the order of 11^o C.

Does that sound about right, or shall I merely add it to the list of "things that I thought were real, but weren't"?

I suppose the same kind of problem exists in the wonderful world of phenology (not phrenology). Yet another article has appeared on the BBC discussing non-instumental indicators.

Cheers Bill F

ryland at 02:46 AM on 3 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

My apologies to all for my inability to express myself in a manner that makes my stance clear. My comments at 25 were directed at the MSM appealing to the man in the street and are not, repeat not, me having a go at Gavin Schmidt. I thought, obviously incorrectly, that my comment "The Daily Mail, whatever you may think of this paper it does have a very wide circulation, does know its audience and made Gavin Schmidt look a charlatan" made it clear that it was not me but headline in The Daily Mail making Gavin Schmidt appear a charlatan. Personally I know what margins of error are but does the "man in the street"? The point I obviously didn't make is that columnists know how to get their message across, after all it is their job, and no I certainly don't accept every word these journalists write. Nor did I chide Gavin Schmidt on margins of error, I was pointing out that that is what David Rose in the Daily Mail did. I agree it is a privilege to post here and have no wish to lose it. I obviously need to make it much clearer than I have done in 25 above, which are my own thoughts and which are the thoughts of others. In a nutshell I think, and this is a personal think, that the sceptical MSM is winning the debate on human induced climate change. This could be because the papers that "the masses" read don't want opinion pieces from climate scientists and/or that the language used in op-eds and other publications from climate scientists does not resonate with "the man in the street"

Rob Honeycutt at 02:16 AM on 3 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

"This statistic might give you cause for pause, the article by Christopher Booker in the Telegraph got 31,758 comments. The title of the piece was "The fiddling of temperature data is the biggest science scandal ever" In contrast this piece at SkS has 24 to date."

That would still mean this SkS thread has roughly twice the number of substantive comments as the Telegraph article.

billthefrog at 02:07 AM on 3 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

@Ryland

Nice segue from a seemingly innocent comment about the CET in #1 to letting rip with some blatant ideology in #25.

I would like to ask a straightforward question: When you're reading articles by the likes of LLoyd, Booker or Rose, does it ever occur to you to actually employ some genuine scepticism, or does every word they write simply get accepted at face value? (Since you hail from the CET area, I'm sure you won't mind if I spell "scepticism" without the increasingly ubiquitous "k".)

Since you seem to have a bee in the bonnet regarding error margins, here's a little trick - meaning technique or procedure - which you may care to try out some time...

Pick any of the main global temperature datsets (UAH, RSS, Gistemp, HadCRUT, NCDC or BEST) and work out the most recent half dozen or so pentadal (5-year) averages. (i.e. 2010-2014, 2005-2009, 2000-2005, 1995-1999,1990-1995,1985-1989)

Notice any underlying trends there?

As the periods of interest are now 60 months long - rather than just 12 - the associated uncertainties will have decreased. Kevin Cowtan wrote an article on this matter about 3 years ago describing the SkS temperature trend calculator. Perhaps you should peruse this before digging a deeper hole for yourself.

David Rose making Gavin Schmidt look like a charlatan? - Pot, Kettle, Black!

Jim Hunt at 01:59 AM on 3 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

Ryland @25 - It may interest you to learn that according to The Sunday Telegraph's Head of Editorial Compliance:

[Christopher Booker’s article] is clearly an opinion article and identifiable as such.

http://GreatWhiteCon.info/2015/02/a-letter-to-the-editor-of-the-sunday-telegraph/#Feb20

Furthermore we also have proof positive that David Rose simply makes stuff up for his articles in The Mail on Sunday:

http://GreatWhiteCon.info/2014/08/has-the-arctic-ice-cap-expanded-for-the-second-year-in-succession/#Feb03

If you have any further questions (that conform to the SkS comments policy) then please do not hesitate to ask!

PhilippeChantreau at 01:07 AM on 3 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

Ryland, I'm surprised that you start your post describing accurately some newspapers' attitudes then ends by chiding scientists for not including the margin of error. Seems you're the one being naive. The only thing doing damage to climate scientists is to be targeted by despicable people who will back at nothing to undermine the public's understanding of science. The silly talk about margin of error is laughable coming from the clowns who keep saying that it hasn't warmed since 1998 or that there is a pause. Let's start there for statistical accuracy why don't we? But the media never calls this kind of BS a "scandal" do they?

The real problem of climate scientists comes from the stooges willing to organise harassment campaigns, steal e-mails to twist their meaning, threaten them with physical violence, use every dirty trick in the book with no regard whatsoever for any kind of intellectual honesty or scientific accuracy. The real problem comes from media outlets that are used to foster the ideological agenda of their owner and manipulate peope's minds without any scruples or regard for such details as physical reality. The real problem is that scientific illiteracy is so deep and prevalent that a buffoon like Monckton can manage to attract attention with his delirious ramblings and gather more credibility than those who know what they're talking about. That's the real problem. There is no other.

Regardless what they do, climate scientists are damned. There is no debate with people like that. It's like being on trial with Staline as the judge. They're only out to silence you and they'll stop at nothing so long as they are reasonably sure they'll get away with it. Margin of error? Give me a break.

ianw01 at 00:20 AM on 3 March 2015

With climate change, US presidents matter

So, if the tar sands were in North Dakota, would he have vetoed it? No way. Let's not over-do the credit to Obama. This was a political opportunity to take a high-profile stand against one foreign source of CO₂, while overseeing increases in domestic sources (see Synapsid comment #1). Meanwhile the illusion that meaningful progress is underway lives on.

ryland at 23:10 PM on 2 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

Tom Curtis and Glenn Tamblyn In view of Rob Paintings's comment @ 19 I had not intended to write further on this but I do think the level of naivety in your posts, particularly that from Tom Curtis, does need addressing. Those writing the articles know exactly the audience they wish to reach and write accordingly. Graham Lloyd almost certainly didn't give a hoot about his wording he just wanted to get a simple message across and so used simple language. Similarly most readers of these pieces neither know of or care about anomalies. They just look at the simplistic analyses presented and as you state say "yeah looks reasonable to me" This statistic might give you cause for pause, the article by Christopher Booker in the Telegraph got 31,758 comments. The title of the piece was "The fiddling of temperature data is the biggest science scandal ever" In contrast this piece at SkS has 24 to date. One thing that does damage climate scientists cause are statements such as "2014 was the hottest year ever" which then has to be modified in view of the margins of error. The Daily Mail, whatever you may think of this paper it does have a very wide circulation, does know its audience and made Gavin Schmidt look a charlatan (http://tinyurl.com/lsr87rg). Unlike the MSM, connecting with the "man in the street" does not seem the forte of those promoting the dangers of human caused climate change.

Moderator Response:

[JH] You are skating on the thin ice of sloganeering which is prohibited by the SkS Comments Policy.

Please note that posting comments here at SkS is a privilege, not a right. This privilege can be rescinded if the posting individual treats adherence to the Comments Policy as optional, rather than the mandatory condition of participating in this online forum.

Please take the time to review the policy and ensure future comments are in full compliance with it. Thanks for your understanding and compliance in this matter.

protagorias at 21:30 PM on 2 March 2015

Models are unreliable

Glenn Tamblyn

You may be right.

Be that as it may, I will continue to maintain that increased accuracy in measurement is one of the primary drivers of model improvement.

Moderator Response:

[PS] Then maybe you would like to provide evidence to support that assertion.

Glenn Tamblyn at 21:07 PM on 2 March 2015

Models are unreliable

protagorias

"Well, to the extent that certain specific models can be improved I think you'll see a decrease in public misunderstanding and "denialism", and an increased acceptance of the science."

With respect I think that is utterly naive. Most misunderstanding and denialism has diddly-squat to do with the minutiae of the accuracy of specific models. 99.999% of the earths population have no idea of how 'the models' differ.

Glenn Tamblyn at 20:23 PM on 2 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

Tom

" I think that is just poor wording by Lloyd"

Not so sure. In terms of his personal understanding of the temperature record is concerned it may simply reflect his ignorance - and enthusiasm for promoting a message. But it plays to a deeper misunderstanding.

I suspect most people who think about how temperature record calculations are done can easily fall into the trap of thinking that adding/removing warm stations/cold stations will automatically bias the calculation.

They don't get the difference between the Anomaly of the Averages, and the Average of the Anomalies.

So dropping/adjusting stations can seem far more significant than it actually is.

That's why this particular zombie just keeps on walking. And every time someone waves a voodoo wand at it again to keep it moving a whole new audience can be left scratching their heads - 'yeah, sure looks reasonable to me'.

protagorias at 19:47 PM on 2 March 2015

Models are unreliable

Tom Curtis,

So what is the purpose of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project as mentioned in #800, if all the models are homogenized as you appear to suggest? According to CIMP5, one of the goals is "determining why similarly forced models produce a range of responses". Clearly, not all models are equally valid in their predictions. I'm not suggesting that they don't all improve over time, but merely that certain improvements may more accurately reflect appropriate environmental factors. For example, heat in the oceans may be an appropriate factor.

Furthermore, what is the purpose of discussing consensus itself as a specific factor if not to encourage acceptance of the facts, if non-acceptance (which I agree is motivated by ideology) - leads to unhelpful inaction on the part of the public?

Peter Metaskeptic at 18:38 PM on 2 March 2015

2015 SkS Weekly Digest #9

I just answer to a comment at http://sciblogs.co.nz and the question of using social dilemmas crops up.

Why aren't social dilemmas a core tool in our battle against GW-deniers (which can also be applied to anti-vax? Social dliemmas give us a pretty good explanation about why we fail to weigh on the political momentum of our civilization. (ref: tragedy of the commons)

Peter : http://www.metaskeptic.net

Tom Curtis at 17:16 PM on 2 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

Glenn Tamblyn @22, I think that is just poor wording by Lloyd, ie, that the claim is that not using those stations increases the trend. Unfortunately I have been unable to find a more detailed exposition of the claim to confirm that, or to find a list of the stations purportedly excluded. In fact, all I have found is a powerpoint presentation of Stockwell's more general critique of ACORN-SAT which proves he is just another denier. The proof is in his running the argument that the difference in rate of positive and negative adjustments between different time periods proves there is something wrong, without noting tha the algorithms used in homogenization do not factor in the decade of the adjustment, and therefore logically cannot be biased in the way he claims.

Tom Curtis at 17:07 PM on 2 March 2015

Models are unreliable

protagorias @802:

First, your claim is false. There has been a remarkable and continuous improvement of the models over time. Going back to Hansen 88, models did not even include aerosols. By the TAR, they universally did, but did not show ENSO like fluctuations. By the AR4, some did, but others did not. Now, with AR5 they all do. None of this has had any noticable effect on public non-acceptance of climate science - which is not driven by the science, but by political ideology.

Second, no scientist anywhere should alter how they do science to "increase acceptance of the science". Doing so is just modifying science to suit political ends by a different name. Indeed, that is exactly what you are after, a fact given a way by your desire "that certain specific models" be "improved", rather than that all of them be improved by standard methods. By "improved" you mean no more than adjusted to give the results that you want.

protagorias at 16:56 PM on 2 March 2015

Models are unreliable

Well, to the extent that certain specific models can be improved I think you'll see a decrease in public misunderstanding and "denialism", and an increased acceptance of the science.

wideEyedPupil at 14:36 PM on 2 March 2015

Why the Miocene Matters (and doesn’t) Today

Fiction is a great way to help the non-scientitst (but former science student in my case) engage with technically complex topics in a way that brings them to life and provides a backdrop inviting and understanding of more technical information. It's seems like SciFi has inspired many technological breakthourghs and science careers, certainly my fathers career in nuclear physics was accompanied at an early stage with heaps of SciFi.

Perhaps we need more CC fiction to help win the war against FF and livestock industries.

One Planet Only Forever at 13:01 PM on 2 March 2015

2015 SkS Weekly News Roundup #9B

The LA Times article contains very little technical information, yet the comments are mainly opinions from people who seem to desperately need to not accept that human burning of fossil fuels is an unsustainable practice that needs to be curtailed earlier than the un-natural marketplace of popularity and profitability would bring the practice to its inevitable end. The willful lack of understanding is outstanding.

p.s. The line at the end of my previous comment is not meant to have been part of another point.

One Planet Only Forever at 12:55 PM on 2 March 2015

2015 SkS Weekly News Roundup #9B

One way to address the "Pause" or "Hiatus" with a "Climate Science Doubter" is to show them the SkS Temperature Trends visualization tool and ask them to review the Land/Ocean history since the 1800s, any way they wish to look at all of the data. Then ask them to explain what they see in the data that is so particularly unusual about the most recent temperature values that needs to be explained to them, rather than other peculiar things like how unusually warm 1998 was relative to the years before it, or the very long "pause" in the temperatures from 1950 through 1980 that were definitely not "the end of the global average temperature increases".

o explain why they are asking about the most recent set of data

Glenn Tamblyn at 12:35 PM on 2 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

ryland

"It is claimed that the BoM removed 57 stations from its calculations replacing them with 36 on-avreage hotter stations and that this has created an increase of 0.42C in the recorded Australian average temperature independently of any actual real change in temperature."

And in this Graham Lloyd highlights that he doesn't understand how temperature trends are calculated. Just substituting warmer stations doesn't necesarily increase the trend. One actually would need to substitute warming stations to manipulate the trend.

This harks back to claims some years ago about the dropping of high latitude stations in Canada from the analysis, implying that since they were from a colder region, this would bias the trend higher. When in fact, since the fastest warming in the world is happening in the Arctic, if dropping stations from there were to have any impact (it doesn't by the way, there is still enough coverage) it would actually lower the trend.

Tom Curtis at 09:25 AM on 2 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

ryland @16, with regard to the claims made in The Australian, several of them are certainly false. Thus Graham Lloyd writes:

"ACORN-SAT, which the Senate was told this week is managed by a two-person team in BoM, uses information from a select range of weather stations and computer modelling to compile its national temperature record. The data is also used to help create the global temperature record."

However, the various teams generating global temperature series independently access the raw data from their own choice of stations. Therefore, selection of stations used by the BoM has no bearing on those global temperature records.

That fact also means those global records can be used as an independent check on the ACORN-SAT method, something done by the BoM as part of the review of the independent peer review of ACORN-SAT. Of most interest is the comparison with BEST, not made in that review. BEST, like ACORN-SAT shows a 0.9 C warming from 1910 to current. That is interesting because BEST leaves out no records. So whether you use 686 current, and 821 former stations (BEST) or 112 stations choses for their high quality and largely continuous record (ACORN-SAT), you get essentially the same result.

That in turn means that if stations left out of the ACORN-SAT network make a difference to the trend, they were left out for good reason, ie, that station moves, change of equipment or changes in station surroundings have rendered those stations poor records of centenial change.

DSL at 09:25 AM on 2 March 2015

Models are unreliable

I'm still not sure what "increasing importance of precipitation data" means in the context of general circulation modeling. Is it not important enough right now? Why should it become more important?

scaddenp at 09:03 AM on 2 March 2015

Models are unreliable

You will note that IPCC reports make heavy use of CMIP model runs.

CMIP = Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Read about it here.

Funnily enough it exists to highlight and explore differences between models and understand what is going on.

protagorias at 08:48 AM on 2 March 2015

Models are unreliable

Some models predict better than others and failing to adequately account for emerging environmental factors of differing importance - for instance the increasing importance of precipitation data - will likely, over time, negatively impact a model's predictive capacity.

Moderator Response:

[JH] You are once again skating on the thin ice of sloganeering which is prohibited by the SkS Comments Policy.

Please take the time to review the policy and ensure future comments are in full compliance with it. Thanks for your understanding and compliance in this matter.

Stephen Pruett at 08:19 AM on 2 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

Excellent article. Will you be addressing the status of metadata in the climate records and how this influences adjustments? After reading the Harry_readme file of climategate fame, I have the impression that at least some climate records have incomplete, confusing, and perhaps incorrect metadata. I have also read that older records (pre 70s) generally have little or no metadata associated with them. I would appreciate any information you could provide about this issue.

Also, are any of the raw climate records with metadata available online? It would be interesting to me to see at least a small sample. I have done analysis of microarray data for quantifying gene expression for over 40,000 genes and these data generally require normalization due to quirks of the fluorescence readers and the microarrrays, so I understand that it is sometimes necessary to adjust data. However, most journals that publish microarray data require the results and a description of the normalization method to be placed in a public database before the paper can be published. Wouldn't something like that be useful for enhanced credibility in climate science?

KR at 01:51 AM on 2 March 2015

2015 SkS Weekly News Roundup #9B

The first link, to the LA Times, is wrong, and in fact seems to point to a SkS login page.

Moderator Response:

[JH] Link fixed. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

FredColbourne at 23:33 PM on 1 March 2015

CERN CLOUD experiment proved cosmic rays are causing global warming

I commend you for your strictness in interpreting the results of the Cloud Experiment. As you quite rightly say, the lead author (Jasper Kirby) has been very cautious in his claims, limiting himself to the results of the CERN experiments. You can see this very clearly in the recent paper that reports the experimental results.

In his lecture available via Youtube, Dr Kirby was careful to warn his audience concerning the uncertainties in the putative mechanism relating GCR to climate via cloud formation. There is a big ? mark in the graphic and he points it out to the audience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63AbaX1dE7I

In an earlier paper Dr Kirby was likewise cautious about what was expected from the Cloud Experiment, together with the uncertainties in relation to climate.

He stated,

"Although recent observations support the presence of ioninduced
nucleation of new aerosols in the atmosphere, the possible contribution of such new particles to changes in the number of cloud condensation nuclei remains an open question." Page 32.

Cosmic Rays, Clouds, and Climate (CERN-PH-EP/2008-005, 26 March 2008. Surveys in Geophysics 28, 333-375.

LINK

Only the most intrepid readers will wish to study the full paper, however the Youtube video contains the gist of the paper and several of the graphics.

Dr Kirby's presentation is clear and I believe accessible to non-physicists.

There is a reference to protons and muons at one point, but readers of your blog will know that Wikipedea has good explanations of these.

Moderator Response:

[RH] Shortened link.

michael sweet at 21:24 PM on 1 March 2015

Climatology versus Pseudoscience book tests whose predictions have been right

Dana,

Arhennius calculated a climate sensitivity of 4.5C per doubling of CO2 way back in 1896 using a pencil. Can that calculation be considered as a temperature projection? It is still in the IPCC likely range of climate sensitivities all these years later (although it is at the high end of the range). In any case, Arhennius should get credit for a solid estimation of the climate sensitivity.

This calculation shows that the argument that climate is chaotic and cannot be predicted at all is incorrect. After 120 years, Arhennius projection still stands as accurate.

Rob Painting at 21:00 PM on 1 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

Of course. This misinformation likely plays a big part in the lack of climate policy action. But this is definitely the wrong thread to continue this discussion.

ryland at 20:52 PM on 1 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

But the real point Rob Painting is that very few people are going to read either your comments or my comments while several tens of thousands and possibly a hundred thousand or more will read the pieces in the Australian and the Telegraph. As the Australian piece is quoting emails in what it refers to as "Climategate" that don't portray the scientists involved in a very good light, the majority of the readers may well consider global warming to be something less than it really is.

Rob Painting at 19:56 PM on 1 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

I expect that's kind of the point of these reality-challenged newspaper opinion pieces - to convince people something isn't happening when it is. Even without the land surface temperature record, we know that global sea level is rising and worldwide loss of land-based ice is accelerating. So very clearly the world is warming. A lot.

BBHY at 17:09 PM on 1 March 2015

New Video: What Climate Deniers Learned from Big Tobacco

Lookup "Lessons from Past Predictions: Hansen 1981" on this very website.

If someone was able to make accurate predictions as far back as 34 years ago, perhaps we should take their current predictions seriously.

ryland at 15:54 PM on 1 March 2015

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

I have just read two pieces by Graham Lloyd in The Australian (February 28) stating that the BoM has questions to answer about the change in temperatufre records and that an independent assessment panel has been set up to look at ACORN-SAT. It is claimed that the BoM removed 57 stations from its calculations replacing them with 36 on-avreage hotter stations and that this has created an increase of 0.42C in the recorded Australian average temperature independently of any actual real change in temperature. Pieces such as these in The Australian and similar pieces in the UK's Sunday Telegraph, are widely read and add significantly to the scepticism about the reality of human iinduced temperature change. I

Stephen Baines at 11:09 AM on 1 March 2015

With climate change, US presidents matter

Elmwood,

The fault is in ourselves, not in the stars - meaning the so-called elites. We make and empower the elites, and presidents have to work with the congresses people elect. We have elected congresses that have generally made Obama's efforts on the environment close to impossible. Considering that, he's done remarkable well when I think back on it.

Obama has been actively engaged in promoting alternative energies, and has received crushing criticism from the right for his efforts. He has managed to get progress with China on language regarding GHGs. He has pushed fuel standards repeatedly - and managed to get them. He has overseen an increase in EPAs control of GHG's, and that has lead to the new power plant emission rules. Can't think of a single president with a record to match that on green house gasses.

He has pushed development of fossil fuels as well it's true. It certainly hasn't helped him win many electoral votes on its face, so I don't think that is purely a political calculation, although one could argue he would be even more crippled by charges of being antibusiness if he didn't do so. I see it more as a backdoor form of stumulus to help the country recover economically (essential if environmental concerns are to have any traction). There is also a foreign policy argument for energy independence behind it. The long game (much longer than his presidecny) is to make sure we are not left out of the alternative energy market when it inevitably starts booming.

I'm not sure what kind of president you are imagining instead.

Tom Curtis at 09:42 AM on 1 March 2015

With climate change, US presidents matter

Elmwood @11, the party, and opinions of the President do make a difference. Had the US actually been a democratic nation, and hence Al Gore become President (with the majority of the popular vote, and the majority in Florida, counting all votes in which the voting intention of the voter was discernible) the we may have had an Afganistan war, but we would not have had a second Iraq war, and hence would not have had ISIS to contend with. We also, almost certainly, would have had earlier US action on climate change. Had John McCain defeated Barack Obama, odds are we would not now have the EPA regulation of CO2 emissions.

Obama may have not given you everything you want, but that is a far cry from getting everything you don't want - the probable outcome of Republican victories. If you don't believe me, just look at the Abbot government in Australia (or the Howard government, for that matter).

chriskoz at 08:22 AM on 1 March 2015

New Video: What Climate Deniers Learned from Big Tobacco

swampfoxh@1

It's been about 37 years since Dr. James Hansen (NASA) warned the US Congress about the threat of AGW

A typo sneaked into your sentence. Jim Hansen published his first general circulation model in 1988, followed by a famous "Global Warming has begun" testimony. So that was 27 years ago. 10y earlier than that would be when Stephen Schneider started his campaign to debunk "it's colling" myth.

But, sadly, the way we are going, I forsee, in 2025, your comment will become accurate.

Elmwood at 08:08 AM on 1 March 2015

With climate change, US presidents matter

U.S. national politics are mostly driven by elites and corporate interests, this is nothing new. To think it really matters whether Bush, Clinton, or Obama is in charge is laughable: the U.S. has no serious plans of cutting fossil fuel production. There is simply too much money involved to allow care of our planet to get in the way.

As long as Im president, Mr. Obama said, America is going to be pursuing an all-of-the-above energy strategy. Yes, we'll develop as much oil and gas as we can, in a safe way, but we're also going to develop wind power and solar power and advanced biofuels.

william at 06:19 AM on 1 March 2015

With climate change, US presidents matter

I'm so looking forward to the book that President Obama will write after he leaves office. He has been the most wasted president in the history of the United states. It is a credit to him how much he has achieved despite having a totally hostile senate and congress against even measures that they previously supported. One thing I would like to know from him, though, is why he hired exactly the same people from companies like Goldman Sachs, that caused the 2008 near meltdown (only avoided due to quick action by Obama)

wili at 05:15 AM on 1 March 2015

2015 SkS News Bulletin #1: Adjusting Temperature Records

Thanks for collecting these. Perhaps for the next News Bulletin you might consider collecting the spate of articles on the likely acceleration of the rate of GW in the coming decades related to the recent article on the topic in Science by M. Mann. Here's the link to his recent related piece at RC that has links to many of the other related works: www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2015/02/climate-oscillations-and-the-global-warming-faux-pause/

See also Climate Central, robbertscribbler and other articles linked at those sites.

Moderator Response:

[JH] Thank you fopr the suggestion. If only there were more hours in the day...

John Hartz at 03:06 AM on 1 March 2015

New Video: What Climate Deniers Learned from Big Tobacco

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