Actress Daryl Hannah was arrested this afternoon in West Virginia along with NASA climatologist James Hansen, local activist Michael Brune of Rainforest Action Network, Goldman Prize winner Judy Bonds, 94-year-old former U.S. Representative Ken Hechler and more than a dozen others. Read more here.
Keeping Carbon Dioxide in the Soda – or Not
YESTERDAY the US President, Barrack Obama, urged action to curb “dangerous carbon emissions that contaminate the water we drink”.
If you consider carbon dioxide a “dangerous contaminate” and want to get rid of the carbon dioxide in say the soda, before you drink it, then shake the bottle first. Fizzing allows dissolved carbon dioxide gas to be released in the form of bubbles.
But here’s a dilemma, since the fizz in the soda is actually dissolved carbon dioxide gas, shouldn’t you really be trying to keep as much of the gas in the bottle as possible as suggested by US scientists, Steve Spangler? [Read more…] about Keeping Carbon Dioxide in the Soda – or Not
Defining the Sceptics (Part 3)
THE word ‘sceptic’ has come to be associated with anyone who does not subscribe to the consensus view on anthropogenic global warming (AGW).
The term is generally used in a derogatory way, so some politicians (e.g. Steve Fielding) and scientists (e.g. Stewart Franks) even if they are genuinely sceptical of the consensus view on AGW, usually shy away from the label insisting they are not sceptics.
Then there are faux sceptics, people who have very little understanding of the theory of anthropogenic global warming, but who are so ideologically opposed to the greens or more regulation, that they have quickly identified with the label climate change sceptic. Of course there are also contrarians who will always oppose a majority view.
The majority view has become so fashionable, and is so vigorously defended, that even those who simply wish to hear the alternative view, or give the alternative view a platform, now risk being quickly labelled ‘a sceptic’.
Giving such a mismatch of groups and individuals the same label has so far been a useful tactic employed by AGW activists to limit discussion and instil fear.
Legislating on the Basis of a Scientific Theory
IS it ever a good idea to base legislation on a scientific theory?
The Australian Parliament’s upper-house Senate has begun debating the Rudd Labor government’s proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009, also known as the emissions trading scheme. The legislation is based on the theory of anthropogenic global warming.
[Read more…] about Legislating on the Basis of a Scientific Theory
Measuring Changes in Attitude
WE live in a world in which we are constantly bombarded with the results of surveys about attitudes to political, social and economic issues of the day. Even the Australian Statistician undertakes surveys that produce subjective data that has potential implications for government policies. Read more here.
Local Level Climate Projections
Up until now, most projections have been at a sub-continental level – giving information at a regional level in squares of 300km on a side. Defra’s projections are among the first in the world to give information at a local level – to the scale of large cities of 25km square and, in some cases, projecting weather patterns to a village scale of 5km square. Read more here.
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.