FIFTEEN senior Australian climate scientists have hit back at the resurgence of climate scepticism among the nation’s politicians and the media, warning that the threat from climate change is real, urgent and approaching a series of ‘‘tipping points’’ where it will feed on itself. Read more here and here.
Al Gore Turns Up Heating?
It was delightfully appropriate that, as large parts of Argentina were swept by severe blizzards last week, on a scale never experienced before, the city of Nashville, Tennessee, should have enjoyed the coolest July 21 in its history, breaking a record established in 1877. Appropriate, because Nashville is the home of Al Gore, the man who for 20 years has been predicting that we should all by now be in the grip of runaway global warming. Read more here.
What will an ETS do for Australia’s Environment?
AN historic piece of legislation, The Carbon Pollution Reduction Bill, currently rests on the Senate table which, if passed, will have a huge impact on Australia’s economic and social future. The legislation will next be considered on August 13th. If passed what will this mean for the Australian environment?
It is generally agreed that the legislation is intended to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and methane. However, given the big global polluters including China have no intensions of signing up to such a scheme, it is also generally agreed that an Australian emissions trading scheme will have no significant impact on global emissions or global temperatures.
But in terms of economics how big will the impact be and what will the flow on effect be in terms of Australian industries and as a consequence the Australian environment. [Read more…] about What will an ETS do for Australia’s Environment?
Science Not Settled for Chemists
An outpouring of skeptical scientists who are members of the American Chemical Society (ACS) are revolting against the group’s editor-in-chief — with some demanding he be removed — after an editorial appeared claiming “the science of anthropogenic climate change is becoming increasingly well established.” Read more here.
Models Blur Science and Advocacy: A Note from Ian Read
MANY mainstream media science, economic and environmental journalists are not sufficiently trained to be aware of the limitations of models when they present climate-modelled output computated projections not only as data but also advocate this output as supposed proof of the threat posed by anthropogenic global warming, particularly with regard to runaway or catastrophic climate change. This disjunct between the scientific and media presentation when contained within the paradigm of advocacy represents a threat to the integrity and falsifiability of science.
Science seeks the truth in knowledge; (some) media advocacy seeks to propagandise this knowledge. The impact is reinforced if a climate scientist/modeller is directly quoted as an expert, further blurring the line between science and advocacy. This has societal repercussions as the science of anthropogenic global warming (AGW) and the perceived impact of runaway or catastrophic climate change is so model-dependent that the citizenry is not always able to differentiate between the science and advocacy – the implications of which, as regards policy development in term of climate change mitigation, are likely to have a profound effect on society. [Read more…] about Models Blur Science and Advocacy: A Note from Ian Read
Carbon Trading and Dinner: A Note from Barnaby Joyce
IT has become apparent that there is a general lack of understanding in the community about exactly what an emissions tradings scheme (ETS) is. People may understand the sentiment that surrounds it but they don’t really understand how it works and how it will affect them…
If you live on a diet of naturally grown wild berries and lentils, which you scavenge for in your back yard, then you’d also probably be OK. But if you’re associated with the consumption of food, that’s either grown with the use of carbon intensive processes, or if you like to eat beef, mutton or lamb, which involves the emission of methane and is apparently a super form of carbon, then under Mr Rudd’s proposal, you’ll potentially have to pay for the privilege. [Read more…] about Carbon Trading and Dinner: A Note from Barnaby Joyce
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.