Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

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Radiative Transfer According to AGW: A Note from Neutrino

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RADIATIVE transfer is an incredibly important topic when it comes to the earth’s climate system. It is the only way for the earth to either heat up, via absorption, or cool down, via emission.  The temperature of the earth is set by these two counter acting mechanisms. To solve this balance for the earth’s dynamic systems is incredibly difficult. But to understand the basic principles involved is fairly straight forward and central to understanding the theory of anthropogenic global warming (AGW).

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Already Lost the Forests, Lost the Election, Waiting for the Beer

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Faye O’Brien, from O’Brien Sawmills in Barham, has not seen John Williams, Chair of the Natural Resources Commission (NRC), since the Red Gum forests started to flood in August last year. 

During 2009, Dr Williams was a regular visitor to the central Murray Valley and his team at the NRC prepared a report for the New South Wales Labour government with recommendations for the future management of the red gum forests.

Implementation of the recommendations   in Dr William’s final report, Riverina Bioregion Regional Forest Assessment: River Red Gums and Woodland Forests, has seen the decimation of a once thriving timber community with the closure of the five largest saw mills and many small operations. 

I visited the forests early March 2011 with Mrs O’Brien and saw the red gum forests still underwater – forests Dr Williams claimed faced a “water scarce future”.

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When Revegetation is Not Revegetation

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During the recent drought, when the waters of Lake Alexandrina receded, rye grass was sown on the dry lake bed in front of Trevor Harden’s home to stop the soil blowing away. Mr Harden would have preferred the barrages to have been opened, and the lake allowed to reconnect with the sea.

When I first visited Lake Alexandrina, at the bottom of the Murray River, it was during the drought and the so-called Murray mouth had to be kept open by a sand dredge. During my recent visit the lake was full of water, and still more water flowed in at Wellington, and out at Goolwa, out to the Southern Ocean.

According to lake-front resident, Trevor Harden, more than 50,000 megalitres per day has been flowing past his home and down the Goolwa channel to the Southern Ocean since November 2010 – more than 70,000 was flowing past on the day I visited, on March 14, 2011.

The view from Mr Harden’s veranda on that day was of black swans and pelicans sailing past on a broad expanse of brown water. But the screen saver on his computer showed wheel tracks from a quad bike across the dry lake bed. The photograph had been taken at the height of the drought in April 2009.

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What to Read, and Things to Do, This Week

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 1. Let’s give Professor Flimflam Flipflop a Queensland welcome…

“Australia’s Chief Climate Commissioner, Professor Tim Flannery, is visiting Ipswich… Ipswich will be the first public event for the Climate Commission in Queensland. This is your opportunity to ask questions and share ideas with the Climate Commissioners and participate in the national conversation on this vital issue.

Where: Ipswich Civic Centre, Limestone Street, Ipswich
When:  7:00pm – 8:30pm. Thursday 7 April 2011. Doors open 6:45pm.

Seats are limited so please register, or call (02) 6159 7624, by Wednesday 6 April 2011.

http://climatecommission.us2.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=16cc7ff2b909f36473564f21f&id=687f10fc9e

[via Malcolm Roberts]

2. Leaked Labor ‘Carbon Tax’ Strategy

Last week an internal government document issued to all Labor MPs with 16 pages of suggestions as to how members of the government might best sell the idea of a carbon dioxide tax to the public was leaked.  This document and a critique of it by Bob Carter, Alan Moran and David Evans is now available online here:

http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-planet/2011/04/climate-change-facts 

[via Bob Carter]

3. Ask for The Land

Rural NSW weekly, The Land, has started publishing stories from my recent trip along the Murray River.  The Land comes out each Thursday.  It is for sale in most, larger Australian newsagencies.  Get yourself a copy.

4.  ‘Why No Dangerous Rise in Temperatures Threatens’ by Des Moore

“Let me just make it clear here that, like Garnaut, I am not a scientist. But my nearly 50 years experience as an economic analyst both in Treasury and outside provides a basis for assessing the credibility of data used to justify the dangerous warming thesis and for examining alternative explanations by sceptical scientists. Contrary to Garnaut’s assertion, qualified outsiders must pass judgement on science-based proposals –if they did not there would be a much bigger hole in government budgets!”
 
http://www.menzieshouse.com.au/2011/04/why-no-dangerous-rise-in-temperatures-threatens.html

[via Val Majkus]

5.  Remember Alan Carlin?

You may remember the fuss within the US EPA about 18 months ago, when an internal economic analysis report (that didn’t favour IPCC alarmism) written by one Alan Carlin caused a sensation (leading, I think I remember, to Carlin’s resignation or dismissal?).
 
Anyway that excellent analysis has now been published in an open-source, peer-reviewed journal

http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/8/4/985/pdf

[via Bob Carter]

Consider this an open thread.  Let other readers of this blog know what you are watching, listening, reading and doing this week by way of a comment in the following thread.

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A big thanks to G. for the $100 donation last week!  🙂

Others, there is an orange button for donations in the top right hand corner of this page.

Congratulations! Successful ‘No Carbon Tax Rally’ in Sydney

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The ‘No Carbon Tax’ rally in Sydney today was the first item on the ABC television news tonight.  According to the ABC it was attended by 4,000 people.   Others claim 6,000.

http://www.2ue.com.au/blogs/2ue-blog/passions-run-high-at-carbon-tax-rally/20110402-1cs8x.html 

Well done and congratulations!

Organisers tell me they are learning much about how to organise, how to put on events, the politics and media management.  They say that these rallies are only the beginning and that more actions, media events, fund-raisers and rallies will be organized in due course.

http://www.nocarbontax.com.au/?p=602 

I will be speaking at the Brisbane rally on Saturday May 7, 11.30am to 1.30pm, outside Queensland Parliament House – Cnr George and Alice Streets.

Facebook: Brisbane Anti Carbon Tax Rally http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=187575497948860

I hope to see you there.

Europe Giving up on Climate, More Interested in Economy?

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The Spectator magazine sponsored a debate ‘The global warming hysteria is over: Time for a return to sanity’ held on Tuesday at the Royal Geographical Society in London. 

According to Andrew Montford who attended the event:

“I was a bit disappointed overall – none of the presentations managed to combine slick presentation with a strong coherent argument…

“Here are some of the things that stuck in my mind. The first was the sense of anger in the auditorium. People were just very, very annoyed about what was going on. There were times when the warmists on the stage looked taken aback by the heat that they were receiving.

“Simon Singh’s presentation was memorable, but unfortunately mostly for the wrong reasons. He set up what he called a credibility spectrum, with scientists and academies on one side and sceptics on the other and called on us to trust the establishment on the climate change issue…

“Benny Peiser’s talk was the one that intrigued me. He essentially argued that the science is irrelevant – that the public have made their minds up and that they vote out any party that pushes the green line too far. He also noted that they have moved on to other issues, such as the economy.”

Benny is clearly of this opinion writing in Public Policy Europe that:

“The global warming hysteria is well and truly over. How do we know? Because all the relevant indicators – polls, news coverage, government u-turns and a manifest lack of interest among policy makers – show a steep decline in public concern about climate change.”  

This may be the situation in Europe, but unfortunately we are lagging behind in Australia.   At least, it would appear the Australian media and government doesn’t seem to realize that the public is giving up on the issue even here. 

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Links
http://www.bishop-hill.net/blog/2011/3/30/the-spectator-debate.html
http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/136/climate-fatigue-leaves-global-warming-in-the-cold