After spending time at the largest gathering of world class climatologists, meteorologists, physicists, engineers, and economists, among other very brainy folks, I came away with the feeling that the battle remains joined by this hearty group, otherwise derided as skeptics and deniers of global warming. Read more here, from Alan Caruba.
Archives for March 2009
Australians: Sign the Petition Against the ETS
Jennifer, I heard you on Radio 2GB which was great [even if China’s population has expanded to 6 billion!] and have posted it here. Max Rheese.
Max, I did mentioned the need to sign the petition, click here. Sorry for confusing the size of the world’s population with China’s! Jennifer Marohasy.
Time for Plan B: Adaptation to Climate Change
The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s plan of prevention has been trialled by combining regulation under the Kyoto Protocol with the dissuasive powers of a carbon dioxide trading system, for instance in Europe. From this trial it is apparent that the CO2 reductions agreed to under Kyoto, even were all to be achieved, will make no measurable difference to future temperature. Also, the experience of early mover countries on carbon dioxide taxation, such as Norway, is that at reasonable tax levels of $15-25/tonne no reduction in emissions is achieved, Norway’s having increased 15% since 1990. Thus Plan A doesn’t work, can’t work and won’t work; it is already a dead parrot.
Meanwhile, Nature has delivered powerful messages recently as to the danger of natural climate change, via Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in USA, and devastating bushfires and floods in Australia in 2009. It is obvious that countries need to be better prepared to understand, cope with and adapt to the damaging effects of these and other natural climatic events and trends. Just like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, major climatic events are unpredictable long in advance and unstoppable once started.
The appropriate response – and climate policy plan B – is to adapt to such events when and as they occur.
[Read more…] about Time for Plan B: Adaptation to Climate Change
US Cap n Trade Legislation Unlikely to Pass
US Senator Kent Conrad said that it would be a “distant hope” to expect the climate change plan to pass unless it includes help for industries that would be hit hard by limits on carbon emission production. Read more here.
Sceptics Conference in New York, Day 2
James Taylor, in introducing the breakfast speakers, noted his regret that Mr Al Gore and Dr James Hansen had been unable to attend the conference. Read more from Bob Carter here.
Redefining the Limits of Global Warming
YESTERDAY, at the second International Conference on Climate Change in New York, Australian climatologist William Kininmonth explained that: The computer models on which the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change bases its projections significantly underestimate the rate of increase of evaporation with increasing temperature. As a consequence, Mr Kininmonth explained they grossly exaggerate the surface temperature increase from carbon dioxide. It follows that the suggestion that global temperature might pass a ‘tipping point’ and even go into a phase of ‘runaway global warming’ are not realistic because the oceans and the hydrological cycle are a natural constraint on anthropogenic global warming.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.