Climate & Climate Change

From ABC News:

New northern ice age could send refugees to Aust

A new study from the Australian National University (ANU) has found that this country may not be as severely affected by a new ice age as countries in the Northern Hemisphere.

ANU paleoclimatologist Timothy Barrows and his fellow researchers used a new dating technique that measures the radioactive elements in some rocks.

Dr Barrows explains that Europe is at risk of a new ice age as a result of global warming.

“There are some fears that warming in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly around the Greenland ice sheet, might cause quite a bit of meltwater to come into the North Atlantic Ocean,” he said.

Read the whole article.

Excellent piece here from John McLean entitled ‘Ignoring a Natural Event to Blame Humans.’

In the last week of September 2007 we had yet another example of a well-recognized natural climate event being ignored in order to sell the notion that mankind is responsible for global warming. Maybe it was deliberate or maybe just ignorance, but you’d think that capable scientists would look closely at prior research and the data and not just be activists for their latest cause.

This time it was Power and Smith, from Australia’s CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology respectively, who were reporting a weakened Walker Circulation over the last 30 years and a concurrent period of unprecedented El Niño dominance [note 1], both of which they blamed on human activity.

Last year in May it was Vecchi et al [2] who told us that the same Walker Circulation had weakened by 3.5% since the mid-1800s and there that there was a just 1% probability that this was due to natural events. Vecchi and Soden [3] recently continued their line of argument from 2006 by claiming that an ensemble of 23 climate models confirms that weakening of the Walker Circulation is to be expected under anthropogenic warming.

These three papers seem to be the product of researchers lost in their computer simulations and putting the virtual reality of computer models ahead of observational reality.

What they attribute to human activity are natural events that have been well described by other researchers.

Read the full article.

There is also a follow up article by Joseph D’Aleo enitled ‘More on The Great Pacific Climate Shift and the Relationship of Oceans to Temperatures and Arctic Ice’

In a recent guest blog, John McLean explained how Australia’s CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology (Power and Smith) respectively were reporting a period of unprecedented El Niño dominance the last 30 years, which they blamed on human activity. Last year in May it was Vecchi who told us there was a just 1% probability that this was due to natural events.

On The Weather Channel blogs, meteorologist Stu Ostro, also found a similar continuity shift in weather pattern starting 30 years ago. Blog comments back to Stu and John McLean’s blog here showed how the change had precious little to do with anthropogenic factors but was a large scale cyclical climate shift known for decades as the Great Pacific Climate Shift.

Later on it was shown to be the latest change in a cyclical regime change given the name Pacific Decadal Oscillation by Mantua et al. This followed research showing decadal like ENSO variability by Zhang et al. in 1993.
They found the Pacific Ocean temperature regime and overlying pressure patterns tended to persist in one mode for two or three decades and then flip to very nearly the opposite mode for a similar period.

Read more.

3 relevant papers:

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 33, L06712, doi:10.1029/2005GL025052, 2006

Long-term behaviour of ENSO: Interactions with the PDO over the past 400 years inferred from paleoclimate records

Danielle C. Verdon1 and Stewart W. Franks1

[1] This study uses proxy climate records derived from paleoclimate data to investigate the long-term behaviour of
the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the El Nin˜o Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During the past 400 years,
climate shifts associated with changes in the PDO are shown to have occurred with a similar frequency to those
documented in the 20th Century. Importantly, phase changes in the PDO have a propensity to coincide with
changes in the relative frequency of ENSO events, where the positive phase of the PDO is associated with an
enhanced frequency of El Nin˜o events, while the negative phase is shown to be more favourable for the development of La Nin˜a events.

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES INVITED COMMENTARY Hydrol. Process. 16, 559–564 (2002) DOI: 10.1002/hyp.600

Assessing hydrological change: deterministic general circulation models or spurious solar correlation?

Stewart W. Franks Centre for Environmental Dynamics, University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, New South Wales, Australia

Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are at an historic high, and this must lead to strong concerns over our future climate. However, it is not often appreciated that solar activity is also at an historic high [from 400 years of solar observations (Hoyt and Schatten, 1997)]. The problem of disaggregating these factors in temperature trends is largely due to long-term upward trends of both factors. However, through the use of a simple non-linear ARX[1] model, it has been shown that temperature trends over the 20th century display some coherence with solar irradiance. It should therefore be considered that documented hydrological changes in regional climates, available via the IPO/PDO indices, may be driven by solar–terrestrial interactions. Until GCMs can elucidate the mechanisms of hydrological variability, then any projections of long-term future climate changes must be viewed with obvious caution.

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 30, NO. 2, 1035, doi:10.1029/2002GL015992, 2003

Multi-decadal variability of flood risk

Anthony S. Kiem, Stewart W. Franks, and George Kuczera School of Engineering, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia

[1] Recent research has highlighted the persistence of multi-decadal epochs of enhanced/reduced flood risk across
New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Recent climatological studies have also revealed multi-decadal variability in the
modulation of the magnitude of El Nin˜o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) impacts. In this paper, the variability of flood risk
across NSW is analysed with respect to the observed modulation of ENSO event magnitude. This is achieved
through the use of a simple index of regional flood risk. The results indicate that cold ENSO events (La Nin˜a) are the
dominant drivers of elevated flood risk. An analysis of multidecadal modulation of flood risk is achieved using the interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) index. The analysis reveals that IPO modulation of ENSO events leads to multi-decadal epochs of elevated flood risk, however this modulation appears to affect not only the magnitude of individual ENSO events, but also the frequency of their occurrence. This dual modulation of ENSO processes has the effect of reducing and elevating flood risk on multi-decadal timescales. These results have marked implications for achieving robust flood frequency analysis as well as providing a strong example of the role of natural climate variability.

Thanks to Luke Walker for blog post title and The Sydney Mornig Herald article:

Three-headed dog cruels spring hopes

DROUGHT-STRICKEN farmers could face spring rainfall that is up to 40 per cent below average because of a rare weather pattern last seen 40 years ago.

A CSIRO scientist, Wenju Cai, told the Greenhouse 2007 conference in Sydney yesterday that Australia was experiencing an unusual combination of two events: a La Nina phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean in the east, and an Indian Ocean Dipole phenomenon in the west.

“The only time in [recorded] history we had this kind of combination was in 1967,” he said.

In that year, spring was extremely dry in the south and east of the country, and this could provide an indication of what was ahead in the next few months, he said.

Although La Nina usually brings more rainfall to eastern Australia, it appeared to have been overwhelmed in 1967 by the positive Indian Ocean Dipole, which reduces rainfall across Australia, including in the south-east.

Dr Cai said that, overall, the projection in coming decades was for reduced rainfall in winter and spring in southern Australia, with a decline of up to 15 per cent by 2070.

“There is no longer any doubt that climate change caused by increases in greenhouse gases is influencing seasonal shifts in rainfall patterns,” he said…………..

Dr Cai said that three major phenomena, which he likened to a “three-headed dog”, influenced Australia’s rainfall: El Nino events, the Indian Ocean Dipole, and the Southern Annular Mode, a weather pattern in the Southern Ocean that promotes airflow towards south east Australia.

The good news was that the dog had “a tail”, which may be able to partially offset some drying. This was rapidly heating waters in the Tasman Sea, which research suggested could lead to an increase in rainfall in the south-east during summers.

Dr Cai said that greenhouse gas emissions accounted for about half the rainfall reduction in the south west of the country, where there has been a 10 per cent decline since the early 1970s.

Separate research on an Antarctic ice core suggests this drying may represent a very unusual event.

Tas van Ommen, of the Australian Antarctic Division, told the conference his team had identified a link between rainfall in the south-west and snowfall at a site called Law Dome in East Antarctica.

Their study of an ice core from Law Dome that covers the past 750 years suggests that the last 30 years in south-west Australia has been the driest period, and longest period of reduced rainfall, since the year 1250.

“So media suggestions that the drought in Australia is a 1-in-1000-year event is not unreasonable, at least for the south-west,” Dr van Ommen said.

El Niño returns: Southern Africa droughts in 2007

afrol News 6 October – Satellite photos of the Pacific reveal the return of a world-wide weather phenomenon, the so-called “El Niño”. For Southern Africa, the phenomenon always has spelled severe drought and famine. Scientists expect the Niño to strike already in 2007. The 1991-92 El Niño brought the worst drought in southern Africa during the 20th century.

The US space agency NASA today reported that it has detected a “weak El Niño” returning to the Pacific Ocean, the first since the dramatic climatic season of 1997-98. NASA’s Aqua and Jason satellites have measured increasing ocean surface temperatures in belts across the middle and eastern Pacific, which are signs of a major transformation of global weather systems.

Every few years, such unusually warm currents flow off the western coast of South America. Its appearance after Christmas lead sailors in Peru to christen it El Niño, the Christ-child in Spanish. Like a child, it is sometimes unpredictable, and sometimes creates havoc. In El Niño’s case, it brings natural disasters such as storms, floods and droughts and famine in far-flung parts of the world.

El Niño events occur irregularly, about every 2-7 years and they last from 12 to 18 months, according to the World Health Organisations (WHO), which is very conscious about its many health risks around the world.

Southern Africa is known to be one of the regions world-wide to be most strongly impacted by an El Niño period, together with parts of South America and South-East Asia. In Southern Africa, it is followed by severe droughts almost every time it occurs. “The 1991-92 El Niño brought the worst drought in southern Africa [the 20th] century, which affected nearly 100 million people,” according to WHO.

The 1997-8 El Niño – the last until now – also caused drought in Southern Africa. Its effects were however strongest in Australia – which experienced its worst drought in decades – and in South-East Asia. Throughout the Americas, devastating floods caused great material damage……..

Below are a couple of papers from the latest edition of the Journal of Quaternary Science examining a possible solar link to climate:

JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE (2007) 22(7) 659–665

Climatic change during the last 4000 years in the southern Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, northwest China

WEI ZHONG,1* JI BIN XUE,1 QIANG SHU2 and LI GUO WANG2
1 School of Geography Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, P. R. China
2 School of Resource and Environmental Science, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, P. R. China

ABSTRACT: In this study, a ca. 4000 cal. yr ancient lacustrine (or wetland) sediment record at the southern margin of Tarim Basin is used to reconstruct the history of climate change. Six radiocarbon dates on organic matter were obtained. d18O and d13C of carbonate, pollen and sediment particle size were analysed for climate proxies. The proxies indicate that a drier climate prevailed in the area before ca. 1010 BC and during period 1010 BC–AD 500 climate then changed rapidly and continuously from dry to moist, but after about AD 500 climate generally shows dry condition. Several centennial-scale climatic events were revealed, with the wettest spell during AD 450–550, and a relatively wetter interval between AD 930–1030. Pollen results show that regional climate may influence human agricultural activities. Spectral analysis of mean grain size (MGS) proxy reveals statistically pronounced cyclic signals, such as ca. 200 yr, ca. 120 yr, ca. 90 yr, ca. 45 yr and ca. 33 or 30 yr, which may be associated with solar activities, implying that solar variability plays an important role in the decadal- and centennial-scale climate variations in the study area.

Possible solar forcing of climate in the southern Tarim Basin

Zhong et al. (2004) found that decadal- or centennial-scale climate events indicated by mean grain size (MGS) in the Niya section matches residual D14C variation remarkably well, suggesting a possible common solar forcing as inferred from D14C fluctuation. The humid periods (lower MGS values) inferred from the Niya section correspond to D14C maxima (solar minima) in most cases. Possibly, weaker solar irradiance results in a cold climate, leading to an increase in relative atmospheric humidity in the extreme arid southern Xinjiang. By applying the method of red-noise spectral analysis (REDFIT) for unevenly spaced time series proposed by Schulz and Mudelsee (2002) to deal with MGS proxy records in the Niya River section, we can find several statistically significant cyclic signals of ca. 200 yr, ca. 120 yr, ca. 90 yr, ca. 45 yr and ca. 33 or 30 yr (x2¼99%, Fig. 7). Most of these cycles are related to solar activity, the ca. 200 yr and 97–90 yr cycle are mostly likely to be related to the Suess and Gleissberg cycle respectively. The 33–30 yr cycle is possibly associated with the notable Brueckner cycle (Zhang, 1976).

JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE (2007) 22(7) 667–679

A multiproxy climate record from a raised bog in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland: a critical examination of the link between bog surface wetness and solar variability

GRAEME T. SWINDLES,* GILL PLUNKETT and HELEN M. ROE
School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

ABSTRACT: A proxy climate record from a raised bog in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is presented. The record spans the interval between 2850 cal. yr BC and cal. yr AD 1000 and chronological control is achieved through the use of tephrochronology and 14C dating, including a wiggle-match on one section of the record. Palaeoclimatic inferences are based on a combination of a testate amoebae-derived water table reconstruction, peat humification and plant macrofossil analyses. This multiproxy approach enables proxy-specific effects to be identified. Major wet shifts are registered in the proxies at ca. 1510 cal. yr BC, 750 cal. yr BC and cal. yr AD 470. Smaller magnitude shifts to wetter conditions are also recorded at ca. 380 cal. yr BC, 150 cal. yr BC, cal. yr AD 180, and cal. yr AD 690. It is hypothesised that the wet shifts are not merely local events as they appear to be linked to wider climate deteriorations in northwest Europe. Harmonic analysis of the proxies illustrates statistically significant periodicities of 580, 423–373, 307 and 265 years that may be related to wider Holocene climate cycles. This paper illustrates how the timing of climate changes registered in peat profiles records can be precisely constrained using tephrochronology to examine possible climatic responses to solar forcing. Relying on interpolated chronologies with considerable dating uncertainty must be avoided if the climatic responses to forcing mechanisms are to be fully understood.

Conclusions

………….Several shifts to wetter conditions are registered in the records, possibly related to wider climatic
deteriorations in northwest Europe. There are also a number of statistically significant periodicities in the record, that may be linked to climate-forcing parameters. The major wet phases generally occur at times of high 14C levels, tentatively suggesting a persistent influence of solar forcing on Holocene climate change. A wet shift at 750 cal. yr BC clearly lags a decrease in solar activity which begins at 850 cal. yr BC, but at other times in this record, the precise timing of wet shifts in relation to solar anomalies remains to be established. This study shows that tephra can be used as an effective alternative to wiggle-match radiocarbon dating to generate high-precision chronologies in order to investigate the solar forced contribution to climate change.

Al Gore, Ignoble Laureate

Political Correctness: The front-runners for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize are a couple of global warming alarmists. With dozens of wars raging, the committee couldn’t find a single person laboring honorably for peace?

Once a symbol of distinction, this honor has plumbed shameful depths in recent years. A county fair blue ribbon has more significance. Since 1990, winners include terrorist Yasser Arafat, fraud Rigoberto Menchu, foreign-policy incompetents Jimmy Carter and Kofi Annan, unreconstructed communist Mikhail Gorbachev and the useless Mohamed ElBaradei.

Each year, the Peace Prize committee has a chance to redeem itself, yet it never seems up to the task. It looks like 2007 will be no exception. Later this week, say reports, it will name as this year’s co-winners Al Gore and Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a Canadian who has drawn attention to what she believes are climate change’s effects on Arctic communities.

It will be interesting to see how those two will be linked to anything resembling the promotion of peace…….

Washington Post Reporter Admits number of Skeptics ‘Expanding’ – CNN Meteorologist Slams Gore! – Newsweek says Skeptics = Moon Landing Deniers? – More studies Debunk fears

Round Up – October 4, 2007

Washington Post Staff Writer Juliet Eilperin Admits Obvious: Climate Skeptics “appear to be expanding rather than shrinking” (Eilperin wrote her article for October issue of Outside Magazine)

Excerpt: In recent months, [MIT’s Richard] Lindzen’s circle of allies has appeared to be expanding rather than shrinking. In late May, Michael Griffin, administrator of NASA, which conducts considerable amounts of climate research, told National Public Radio that he was not sure climate change was “a problem we must wrestle with” and that it was “rather arrogant” to suggest that the climate we have now represents the best possible set of conditions. Alexander Cockburn, a maverick journalist who leans left on most topics, lambasted the global-warming consensus last spring on the political Web site CounterPunch.org, arguing that there’s no evidence yet that humans are causing the rise in global temperature. Other skeptics include Czech Republic president Václav Klaus; Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville; and Patrick J. Michaels, a senior fellow in environmental studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.

http://outside.away.com/outside/culture/200710/richard-lindzen-1.html

[Note: There are oh so many more skeptics joining the ranks as new science continues to debunk fears. For sampling of former believers in man-made climate fears who converted to skeptics, see here: http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=927B9303-802A-23AD-494B-DCCB00B51A12 — For latest studies that are dismantling climate fears see: http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=84e9e44a-802a-23ad-493a-b35d0842fed8 ]

CNN Meteorologist: ‘Definitely Some Inaccuracies’ in Gore Film

Excerpt: CNN Meteorologist Rob Marciano clapped his hands and exclaimed, “Finally,” in response to a report that a British judge might ban the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” from UK schools because, according to “American Morning,” “it is politically biased and contains scientific inaccuracies.” “There are definitely some inaccuracies,” Marciano added. “The biggest thing I have a problem with is this implication that Katrina was caused by global warming.” Marciano went on to explain that, “global warming does not conclusively cause stronger hurricanes like we’ve seen,” pointing out that “by the end of this century we might get about a 5 percent increase.”

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/paul-detrick/2007/10/04/cnn-meteorologist-definitely-some-inaccuracies-gore-film

MIT scientist predicts global warming skeptics will be vindicated in 20 years (Richard Lindzen)

Excerpt: “My best guess is, 20 years from now it will be accepted that global warming is not an issue, and everybody will claim they knew it all along,” he says, adding that he’s not holding out hope of being recognized for his work by future generations. “Chances are, 20 years from now I’ll be dead,” he jokes, “and someone else will want to take credit.”
http://outside.away.com/outside/culture/200710/richard-lindzen-1.html

Climatologist Timothy Ball: Gore wrong on warming

Excerpt: Re: “The planet has a fever,” Sept. 30. < > I’ve spent my career educating people that climate changes all the time and current changes are well within natural variability. The article correctly reports I “branded Gore’s 100-minute documentary an error-filled propaganda piece.” I’m not alone. James Hansen, Gore’s own science adviser and political supporter conceded, with huge understatement, the movie has imperfections and technical flaws. The flaws are large enough to fail a term paper from any student in attendance. There’s no evidence humans are affecting the global climate. Despite this, Gore’s ignorance pushes policies harmful to the planet and humanity. The world has cooled slightly since 1998 and experts expect continued cooling to 2030. Gore and others have stampeded world leaders into preparing for warming. Signed Dr. Tim Ball,

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/letters/story.html?id=568728ac-adb9-4703-9cd0-97d1bbd79345

Newsweek Reporter Begley compares climate skeptics to Moon-landing Deniers

Excerpt: Begley, a senior editor for the magazine, recently defended its August 13 issue that focused on the climate change “denial machine.” On the new The Yale Forum on Climate Change & The Media Web site, Begley compared global-warming skepticism to moon-landing denial. When asked if journalists should be more interpretive or analytical in their climate change reporting Begley said, “It depends …When you cover the history of the space program, you don’t quote the percentage of Americans who think the moon landings took place on a stage in Arizona.” < > Begley reiterated her blatant bias in an online chat hosted by Newsweek. She dismissed skepticism in a question that asked how “responsible media [can] best meet their ‘fairness/accuracy/’balance’ responsibilities in dealing with climate change deniers.” “[M]e, I don’t do he said/she said, but delve into the arguments and see which has empirical merit,” Begley wrote. “It’s not that hard.” The idea of using outlandish analogies to defend biased global-warming reporting is not an original concept. CBS’s Scott Pelley compared global-warming skepticism to Holocaust denial on March 23 when he posed the question: “If I do an interview with Elie Wiesel, am I required as a journalist to find a Holocaust denier?”

http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2007/20071003110932.aspx

[Note: Sharon Begley’s reporting on global warming is literally the model of how NOT to report on climate issues. Her Newsweek cover report was so bad, a Newsweek contributing editor debunked the article in the very next issue. See Newsweek Editor Calls Mag’s Global Warming ‘Deniers’ Article ‘Highly Contrived’ ] Also, Begley’s dismissal and name calling of skeptics (comparing them to those who question the moon landing) is perfectly in line with other proponents of climate fears. See: EPA to Probe E-mail Threatening to ‘Destroy’ Career of Climate Skeptic They have nothing left but name-calling and ignoring the latest peer-reviewed science which is destroying climate fears. Begley’s climate reporting would be fine if she were writing newsletters for NRDC, Greenpeace or Union of Concerned Scientists, but her reporting is currently not fit for a news organization.]

Yet Another New Study Finds Mankind’s emissions are not harming atmosphere

“Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide” by Dr. Art Robinson, Noah Robinson, & Dr. Willie Soon – Published in journal of American physicians and surgeons

Excerpt: A review of the re search literature concerning the environmental consequences of increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to the conclusion that in creases during the 20th and early 21st centuries have produced no deleterious effects upon Earth’s weather and climate. Increased carbon dioxide has, however, markedly in creased plant growth. < > There are no experimental data to sup port the hypothesis that increases in human hydrocarbon use or in atmospheric carbon dioxide and other green house gases are causing or can be expected to cause unfavorable changes in global temperatures, weather, or landscape.

http://www.jpands.org/vol12no3/robinson600.pdf

Study Finds some scientists who promote climate fears “Ignoring a Natural Event to Blame Humans’

Excerpt: By ignoring a natural event scientists blame climate changes on human activity – It is shown here that there is good evidence the Great Pacific Climate Shift in 1976 changed the upwelling of cold water and moved the Pacific Ocean into a warmer state, which means towards El Niño conditions. If we draw a trend line through the Southern Oscillation Index over a long term we find a trend towards El Niño conditions. It is a trend that’s largely due to the 1976 shift because since then the Southern Oscillation has continued to fluctuate as it has always done, but now it does so about a lower mid-point. < > All three papers suggest that either the authors have an appalling lack of knowledge about one of the most important climate shifts in the twentieth century or that this event was deliberately ignored in order to falsely support the claim of man-made warming. There are no other options. I’d like to think it was the former, but there’s plenty of reasons to consider it may have been the latter.

http://icecap.us/images/uploads/Walker_Circ_2.pdf

Celebrities Say They’re ‘Hotter than They Should Be’

Excerpt: What do Scarlett Johansson, Orlando Bloom and Rachael Ray have in common? They have joined together with 13 other hot celebrities to support an online auction for World Wildlife Fund. Each has signed a WWF “Hotter than I Should Be” t-shirt to be auctioned off on eBay starting today with funds going to support WWF’s global climate change and other conservation initiatives. T-shirts have been signed by Kevin Bacon, Candice Bergen, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Gisele Bündchen, Cindy Crawford, Harrison Ford, Scarlett Johansson, Tobey Maguire, Paul Newman, Rachael Ray, Susan Sarandon, Charlie Sheen, Martin Short, Oliver Stone and Betty White. These graphic t-shirts are creating a buzz, both in the media and in Hollywood, as a unique way to spread the message that the earth is warming and encourage individuals to take action.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,191411.shtml

EPA predicts global warming will raise sewer bills

Excerpt: Global warming, already on the hook for declining polar bear populations, disappearing glaciers and rising sea levels, may also increase your sewer bill. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency climate change expert says warming temperatures over the next several decades will be accompanied by an increase in the number and severity of storms. The combination will reduce the effectiveness of scores of federally mandated sewer improvements and water treatment upgrades designed to stop almost all of the sewage pollution flowing into rivers and creeks when it rains.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07276/822386-85.stm

Danish Study Finds: ‘Sun still appears to be the main forcing agent in global climate change’

Excerpt: Despite the claim of a heavily publicized recent study, the sun still appears to be the main agent in global climate change, according to new research by Danish scientists. The study by the Danish National Space Center rebuts a July study by UK scientists who allege there has not been a solar-climate link in the past 20 years. The Danish researchers, Henrik Svensmark and Eigil Friis-Christensen, contend the UK study erroneously relies on surface air temperature, which, they say, “does not respond to the solar cycle.” Over the past 20 years, however, the Danes argue, the solar cycle remains fully apparent in variations both of tropospheric air temperature and of ocean sub-surface water temperature. “When the response of the climate system to the solar cycle is apparent in the troposphere and ocean, but not in the global surface temperature, one can only wonder about the quality of the surface temperature record,” Svensmark and Friis-Christensen say. The surface air temperature, they argue, is “a poor guide to sun-driven physical processes that are still plainly persistent in the climate system.” The researchers explained it’s “customary to attribute to greenhouse gases any increase in global temperatures not due to solar changes.” “While that is reasonable,” they say, “one cannot distinguish between the effects of anthropogenic gases such as carbon dioxide and of natural greenhouse gases.”

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57949

UK SCHOOLS MUST WARN OF GORE CLIMATE FILM BIAS

Excerpt: Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth has been called unfit for schools because it is politically biased and contains serious scientific inaccuracies and ‘sentimental mush’.

Schools will have to issue a warning before they show pupils Al Gore’s controversial film about global warming, a judge indicated yesterday. The move follows a High Court action by a father who accused the Government of ‘brainwashing’ children with propaganda by showing it in the classroom. Stewart Dimmock said the former U.S. Vice-President’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, is unfit for schools because it is politically biased and contains serious scientific inaccuracies and ‘sentimental mush’.

He wants the video banned after it was distributed with four other short films to 3,500 schools in February. Mr Justice Burton is due to deliver a ruling on the case next week, but yesterday he said he would be saying that Gore’s Oscar-winning film does promote ‘partisan political views’. This means that teachers will have to warn pupils that there are other opinions on global warming and they should not necessarily accept the views of the film. He said: ‘The result is I will be declaring that, with the guidance as now amended, it will not be unlawful for the film to be shown.’

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7025376.stm

Al Gore Getting Rich Spreading Global Warming Hysteria With Media’s Help

Excerpt: ABC News.com estimated soon-to-be-Nobel Laureate Al Gore’s net worth at $100 million, which isn’t bad considering that he was supposedly worth about $1 million when he watched George W. Bush get sworn in as president in January 2001. Talk about your get-rich-quick schemes, how’d you like to increase your net worth 10,000 percent in less than seven years? < > Some environmentalist groups disparage Gore and his investment banker friends. They say the Gore group caters to others who share their financial interest in the carbon-exchange concept. The bulletin of the World Rainforest Movement says that members of a United Nations-sponsored group called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stand to gain by approving Gore’s carbon-trading enterprise. The IPCC has devised what it says is a scientific measure of the impact of greenhouse gases on global warming. In fact, the critics charge, the IPCC sanctions a mechanism that mainly promotes the sham concept of carbon exchange. The global non-profit organization Winrock International is an example of one IPCC panel member that seeks out groups and individuals with an interest in carbon trading. Arkansas-based Winrock provides worldwide “carbon-advisory services.”

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2007/10/03/al-gore-getting-rich-spreading-global-warming-hysteria-media-s-help

Catholic Cardinal Debunks Climate Fears: ‘Increases in carbon dioxide are following the changes in temperature rather than causing it’

Excerpt: Excerpt: Australia’s Cardinal GEORGE PELL: I notice this is their latest change, I’ve studied this a little bit, and there’s a whole history of differing estimates, 30 or 40 years ago, actually, some of the same scientists were warning us about the dangers of an ice age, so I take all these things with a grain of salt, they are matters for science and, as a layman, I study the scientific evidence rather than the press releases. < > GEORGE PELL: There are many latest pieces of research; I myself think talking to a scientist just the other night, he says that the increases in carbon dioxide are following the changes in temperature rather than causing it. SIMON SANTOW: And in the lead up to the Federal Election, he’s prepared to challenge the opinion polling which puts climate change and the environment right up the top of the list of voter concerns. GEORGE PELL: It’s much less important than the faith of the five or ten or fifteen per cent of the poorest Australians; it’s much less important than the problem of marriage breakdown, it’s much less important than the problem of abortion.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s2050357.htm

HURRICANE/GLOBAL WARMING LINK FURTHER WEAKENED

Excerpt: “Given this state of affairs, projections of changes in [tropical cyclone] intensity due to future global warming must be approached cautiously.” This is the concluding sentence of a just-published article by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Kyle Swanson in which he carefully examined the historical relationship between sea surface temperatures and tropical cyclone intensity in the Atlantic and western Pacific ocean. Swanson justified his research efforts, well summarizing the current state of things (including references):”Further, satellite reanalysis suggests no increase in the fraction of intense TCs outside the North Atlantic basin [Kossin et al., 2007]. Trends in TC intensity are difficult to discern, as statistics are inherently noisy due to fluctuating storm numbers and life spans. As the theory underlying TC intensities specifically predicts only the maximum potential intensity, it is necessary to control for these other factors if the response of the TC intensity to changes in SST is to be understood.” < > It certainly is beginning to seem that the more and more people look, the less and less they can find any clear relationship between rising SSTs and increased activity and intensity levels of tropical cyclones. Further, the lack of a clear understanding of the past and present relationships serves to cloud our ability to see into the future when many aspects of the tropical environment are projected to change, not simply sea surface temperatures (for more information about how these other projected changes may impede tropical cyclone development, see here).

http://www.worldclimatereport.com/index.php/2007/10/02/hurricaneglobal-warming-link-weakened/

UK climate skeptics warm to their theme

Excerpt: “You either believe it or you don’t,” Roger Helmer, the eurosceptic MEP, told them. “And in my case, I don’t!” Cheers. “This whole issue has got completely out of hand. It has become a new religion. You have to believe it. If you do not believe it, you are a heretic. They would like to burn us at the stake – using recycled faggots!” < > Helmer introduced Russell Lewis, the former director-general of the Institute of Economic Affairs. That meant we could trust him, Mr Helmer explained. “My real reason for coming here tonight is to cheer you up,” Lewis told delegates. “I have two messages. First, I am sceptical about the whole official theory of global warming. Second, I think if it does happen it will do us a world of good.” One by one, he exposed the myths peddled by the environmental movement. The rise in temperature over recent years was “tiny – well within the range of natural variation”. Scientists were using thermometers on land rather than in the sea, and everyone knew that urban development raised temperatures. Antarctica and Greenland were only melting around the edges – in the middle, the ice was getting thicker. The population of polar bears was “exploding” and had risen by 25% in the past decade. As for penguins, they are “very adaptable creatures, and certain penguins are flourishing in the tropical Galapagos islands.” Global warming would not increase malaria: it used to be endemic in Westminster. “It is not the planet that is in danger. It is freedom… Don’t worry about global warming – it’s a myth,” he concluded. The audience roared.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/tory2007/story/0,,2182100,00.html

Al Gore ‘Debates’ Global Warming for the First Time in YouTube Video

Excerpt: Since former Vice President and global warming activist Al Gore has so far refused to debate global warming skeptics, the debate has been brought to him. The public can now watch Al Gore make his case head-to-head against expert climatologists in the first episode of the new environmental education video series, “We Debate, You Decide,” launched by DemandDebate.com. The “Al Gore Debates Global Warming” video is posted on YouTube (http://youtube.com/watch?v=XDI2NVTYRXU).

“Al Gore has refused multiple invitations to debate in-person about global warming,” said Steve Milloy, executive director of DemandDebate.com. “So we’ve decided to let video of his previous remarks do the talking for him,” Milloy explained.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-04-2007/0004676061&EDATE=

PETA protests Gore’s speech with cartoon of ‘beer-bellied Gore waving a chicken leg’

Excerpt: Animal-activist organization PETA hired a truck to circle the convention center during Gore’s speech that depicted a cartoon, beer-bellied Gore waving a chicken leg.

“Too chicken to go vegetarian?” It read. “Meat is the number one cause of global warming.”

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7067710

Blind people say noiseless hybrid cars pose hazard

Excerpt: Gas-electric hybrid vehicles, the status symbol for the environmentally conscientious, are coming under attack from a constituency that doesn’t drive: the blind. Because hybrids make virtually no noise at slower speeds when they run solely on electric power, blind people say they pose a hazard to those who rely on their ears to determine whether it’s safe to cross the street or walk through a parking lot. “I’m used to being able to get sound cues from my environment and negotiate accordingly. I hadn’t imagined there was anything I really wouldn’t be able to hear,” said Deborah Kent Stein, chairwoman of the National Federation of the Blind’s Committee on Automotive and Pedestrian Safety. “We did a test, and I discovered, to my great dismay, that I couldn’t hear it.”

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-hybrids-blind,0,1346882.story

Quebec introduces carbon tax, Canada CEOs urge more

Excerpt: Quebec province slapped the country’s first carbon tax on energy firms on Monday, as Canadian business leaders urged “environmental taxation” to rein in greenhouse-gas emissions. The tax, proposed more than a year ago, is expected to raise C$200 million ($202

million) a year to fund the province’s plans to reduce emissions.

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=oilRpt&storyID=2007-10-01T173902Z_01_N01295303_RTRIDST_0_CANADA-QUEBEC-TAX.XML

Cap-and-trade fraud: Proponents misunderstand the dynamic marketplace

Excerpt: Due to these constraints, limiting GHGs emissions in the short term can only be achieved by limiting the supply of energy produced. Disrupting the country’s energy supplies, whether by domestic regulation or foreign oil embargo, is an energy supply shock. It is not necessary to forecast impacts on the U.S. economy from a significant energy supply shock. Starting with the 1973 OPEC oil crisis, the U.S. economy has endured several supply-induced energy crises over the last 40 years. These real-world examples clearly illustrate the adverse economic impacts in the short run from supply-induced energy shocks. < > The bottom line: Due to the reduction in economic growth, by 2020 every man, woman, and child would be about $2,700 poorer than the baseline scenario — or about $10,800 for a family of four.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/comment/story.html?id=96dc23c8-33e2-45c4-bf6a-14aba852d764

Student Debunks Climate Fears
Excerpt: The Russian Academy of Sciences showed in January that, as solar radiation warms Earth, CO2 is released into the atmosphere from the world’s oceans, not from SUVs and factories. Also, CO2 may not be as dangerous and threatening as we once thought. Surprisingly, in 2006, even the United Nations’ records show that cow emissions are more damaging to the planet than CO2 from cars. Greenhouse gases, the lovechildren of increased CO2 levels, do not consistently continue to have a warming effect on Earth, contrary to popular opinion. At some point “the heat-trapping capacity of the gas and its effect get saturated, and you don’t have increased heating,” according to a report by Boston College geology and geophysics professor Amy Frappier.
http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2007/10/03/Opinion/The-Sky.Is.Falling-3007739.shtml

Mr. Gore: Let my environment go

Excerpt: Mr. Gore’s global warming campaign has something of a religious feel to it. Don’t believe me? Mr. Gore said so himself in a New York Times op-ed earlier this year, calling the fight against global warming a chance “to embrace a genuine moral and spiritual challenge.” This could be a problem, because if there’s one thing religion doesn’t mix with, it’s science.

http://badgerherald.com/oped/2007/10/04/mr_gore_let_my_envir.php

Australians’ see global warming equal to Terrorism as threat, new survey finds

Excerpt: AUSTRALIANS consider global warming to be at least as big a threat as Islamic fundamentalism, a new survey has found. < > The survey also found that 76 per cent of respondents thought global warming was a more serious problem than, or equally serious as, Islamic fundamentalism.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22525925-952,00.html