climate science
Conspiracy!
Even as conspiracy theories go, the
Some members of Congress — not to mention any number of bloggers — think climate change is a hoax. Most famously, Senator Inhofe has said: With all of the hysteria, all of the fear, all of the phony science, could it be that manmade global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American …
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CONTINUE READINGLies, Damned Lies, and Climate Denial
One key question is whether these statements amounted to factual accusations that Mann had engaged in scientific misconduct.
A D.C. trial judge recently refused to dismiss climate scientist Michael Mann’s libel lawsuits against the National Review and the Competitiveness Institute. There are some serious constitutional barriers against such libel suits, which are designed to provide ample breathing room for free speech. Is this one of the rare cases that can jump the hurdles?
CONTINUE READINGWhy the Warming Plateau Can’t Disprove Global Warming
The NY TImes has a thoughtful appraisal of the warming plateau — the fact that global temperatures rose until about fifteen years ago and have wobbled around the same level since then. I think the Times has it about right, but I’d like to point to a less obvious reason why the plateau should not …
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CONTINUE READINGHow Warm is the Planet? — The Warmest in 5000 Years
A new study in the journal Science shows just how extraordinary our current weather is. Here are the key findings: In one century, we have reversed a five thousand year cooling trend. Global temperatures have gone from nearly the coldest to the warmest in the past five thousand years. To give some perspective, five thousand years ago was about …
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CONTINUE READINGFeeling the Heat
The forecast for the end of this century seems to be getting worse. New measurements, reported by E&E here, indicate that Greenland is shedding ice rapidly — and Antarctica is also shedding: Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are shrinking three times faster than they were in the 1990s, and their contribution to global sea …
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CONTINUE READINGHighly Uncertain But Not in Doubt
It seems paradoxical to say that climate change is uncertain but not in doubt. At this point, we can be highly confident that greenhouse gases are disrupting the climate system and that the disruption will be very serious unless we act. But there’s considerable uncertainty about the magnitude of climate change and its local …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Irony of Todd Akin
Todd Akin’s views about rape and pregnancy are crazy, and he deserves his current political plight. The irony is that Akin is by no means the most extreme of the current crop of Senate candidates. In fact, in a recent blog post, I decided not to lump him with the other tea party candidates because …
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CONTINUE READINGThe role of science in climate politics
Jonathan in his recent post and his comments to that post made a big point of emphasizing the importance of science as the basis for action in terms of climate change. He also emphasized his belief that the denial of climate change by leading Republicans in the current campaign is an unprecedented rejection of science …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Climate Misinformation Nation
Scientists are more confident than ever that climate change is happening and is largely caused by human activities. Yet, according to a recent poll, the American public is less likely to believe that climate change is caused by humans than they were even last year. When it comes to climate science, are we a misinformation …
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CONTINUE READINGCan Incomplete Information Still Be Cause For Alarm?
How much comfort should people take from the remaining gaps in our knowledge of climate change. Not much, is the answer. Scientists have learned a lot about climate, but there are still pieces of the puzzle that are yet to be filled in. Here’s a nice picture that Nobel Laureate Mario Molina uses to show …
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