The Hockey Schtick
"A new paper published in Nature Climate Change finds tree-ring reconstructions of temperature, such as Mann's infamous hockey stick, "underestimate climate fluctuations of, for example, air temperature," due to data complicated by "the climate of past years and other factors like tree age" and precipitation. "Our results point to uncertainties in the global climate system that were previously not recognized," says David Frank, co-author of the study."
Monday, 4 February 2013
Pachauri Takes WWF Money
Donna Laframboise (Canada)
"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is supposed to be a scientific body. But its chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, can’t seem to help himself. He keeps associating with green activists. Every year, a sustainability summit is held in Delhi, organized by TERI, the institute of which Pachauri is the Director-General. This year’s event wrapped up two days ago."
"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is supposed to be a scientific body. But its chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, can’t seem to help himself. He keeps associating with green activists. Every year, a sustainability summit is held in Delhi, organized by TERI, the institute of which Pachauri is the Director-General. This year’s event wrapped up two days ago."
Residents on estate with super-insulated 'homes of the future' featuring rainwater harvesters and solar panels hit with electricity bills double the national average
Daily Mail
"Residents promised cheaper bills to live in a multi-million pound eco-friendly 'homes of the future' complex say they will have to move out after being hit with sky-high electricity charges. The Pavilion Gardens complex in West Bowling, Bradford, West Yorkshire, was heralded as being the most environmentally-friendly in the county when it was completed in July 2011 at a cost of £5.6million. Residents were told their electricity bills would be £500 cheaper than average because the houses are super-insulated with biomass boilers for heating and solar panels for electricity. But just 18 months after moving in, many residents say they have been hit with massive electrical bills almost double the annual average and they can't afford to live in the properties."
"Residents promised cheaper bills to live in a multi-million pound eco-friendly 'homes of the future' complex say they will have to move out after being hit with sky-high electricity charges. The Pavilion Gardens complex in West Bowling, Bradford, West Yorkshire, was heralded as being the most environmentally-friendly in the county when it was completed in July 2011 at a cost of £5.6million. Residents were told their electricity bills would be £500 cheaper than average because the houses are super-insulated with biomass boilers for heating and solar panels for electricity. But just 18 months after moving in, many residents say they have been hit with massive electrical bills almost double the annual average and they can't afford to live in the properties."
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Cancun can-do is a con
Catallaxy Files (Australia)
"Developed countries are also avoiding new emission abatement measures. While their politicians enjoy the accolades of the green commentariat, cold reality usually dominates policy actions. Thus, Canada’s Kyoto commitment was to reduce emissions by six per cent below their 2000 levels by 2012, but with emissions tracking at 30 per cent above this,Canada simply abandoned the pledge. Last month, Japan became the latest country to drop its greenhouse reduction targets, which involved a 25 per cent reduction in emissions.
Europe, the epicentre of climate orthodoxy, is now re-examining its greenhouse gas abatement policies. These are aggravating the region’s economic demise. They are hurtling it towards Angela Merkel’s nightmare where Europe becomes merely “an interesting place to visit”.
Like Europe’s emission policies, those in Australia are also causing economic damage. We have a carbon tax, which at $23 more than doubles the wholesale electricity price and is fivefold the EU’s carbon tax. Australia shares with the EU crippling requirements for the use of wind generated electricity which costs over twice as much as electricity from coal. The costs these measures bring do not effect on emissions at the global level, but do cause relocation of industry and lower income levels."
"Developed countries are also avoiding new emission abatement measures. While their politicians enjoy the accolades of the green commentariat, cold reality usually dominates policy actions. Thus, Canada’s Kyoto commitment was to reduce emissions by six per cent below their 2000 levels by 2012, but with emissions tracking at 30 per cent above this,Canada simply abandoned the pledge. Last month, Japan became the latest country to drop its greenhouse reduction targets, which involved a 25 per cent reduction in emissions.
Europe, the epicentre of climate orthodoxy, is now re-examining its greenhouse gas abatement policies. These are aggravating the region’s economic demise. They are hurtling it towards Angela Merkel’s nightmare where Europe becomes merely “an interesting place to visit”.
Like Europe’s emission policies, those in Australia are also causing economic damage. We have a carbon tax, which at $23 more than doubles the wholesale electricity price and is fivefold the EU’s carbon tax. Australia shares with the EU crippling requirements for the use of wind generated electricity which costs over twice as much as electricity from coal. The costs these measures bring do not effect on emissions at the global level, but do cause relocation of industry and lower income levels."
The Inconvenient Truth About Polar Bears
The Hockey Schtick
" "There are far more polar bears alive today than there were 40 years ago"... "polar bear populations are large, and the truth is that we can't look at it as a monolithic population that is all going one way or another."
" "There are far more polar bears alive today than there were 40 years ago"... "polar bear populations are large, and the truth is that we can't look at it as a monolithic population that is all going one way or another."
Top Swedish Climate Scientist Lennart Bengtsson Says Warming So Small, Not Noticeable Without Meteorologists!
NoTricksZone
"A major Swedish online daily has an article about what one of Sweden’s leading climate scientists, Lennart Bengtsson, has to say about the global warming hysteria."
"A major Swedish online daily has an article about what one of Sweden’s leading climate scientists, Lennart Bengtsson, has to say about the global warming hysteria."
Sydney may have shivered through its coolest February weekend in 19 years
SMH
"Sydney may have shivered through its coolest February weekend in 19 years but it won't be long before the mercury jumps back above normal for this time of year. The city's February's average maximum is 25.8 degrees and while temperatures over the weekend were only a couple of degrees below that mark, rain and winds made conditions feel much cooler. The weekend was also the city's coldest in three months. Warmer conditions, though, will build up through the week, said Brett Dutschke, senior meteorologist with Weatherzone."
"Sydney may have shivered through its coolest February weekend in 19 years but it won't be long before the mercury jumps back above normal for this time of year. The city's February's average maximum is 25.8 degrees and while temperatures over the weekend were only a couple of degrees below that mark, rain and winds made conditions feel much cooler. The weekend was also the city's coldest in three months. Warmer conditions, though, will build up through the week, said Brett Dutschke, senior meteorologist with Weatherzone."
Saturday, 2 February 2013
Do forests drive wind and bring rain? Is there a major man-made climate driver the models miss?
JoNova (Australia)
"What if winds were mainly driven by changes in water vapor, and those changes occurred commonly in air over forests? Forests would be the pumps that draw in moist air from over the oceans. Rather than assuming that forests grow where the rain falls, it would be more a case of rain falling where forests grow. When water vapor condenses it reduces the air pressure, which pulls in more dense air from over the ocean.
A new paper is causing a major stir. The paper is so controversial that many reviewers and editors said it should not be published. After two years of deliberations, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics decided it was too important not to discuss.
The physics is apparently quite convincing, the question is not whether it happens, but how strong the effect is. Climate models assume it is a small or non-existent factor. Graham Lloyd has done a good job describing both the paper and the reaction to it in The Australian."
"What if winds were mainly driven by changes in water vapor, and those changes occurred commonly in air over forests? Forests would be the pumps that draw in moist air from over the oceans. Rather than assuming that forests grow where the rain falls, it would be more a case of rain falling where forests grow. When water vapor condenses it reduces the air pressure, which pulls in more dense air from over the ocean.
A new paper is causing a major stir. The paper is so controversial that many reviewers and editors said it should not be published. After two years of deliberations, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics decided it was too important not to discuss.
The physics is apparently quite convincing, the question is not whether it happens, but how strong the effect is. Climate models assume it is a small or non-existent factor. Graham Lloyd has done a good job describing both the paper and the reaction to it in The Australian."
Burying the good news about our climate
Andrew Bolt,Herald Sun (Australia)
"The Sydney Morning Herald - with the suspicious help of the CSIRO’s warmists - beats up another January of heat and flooding rains: Hottest year start keeps climate change in spotlight In fact, nowhere in the article is the claim of “hottest year” sustained. In fact, Bureau of Meteorology figures dispute it: ...... And in the body of the article comes this grudging admission of something I’ve often noted, to howls of protests by warmists:
Professor John McAneney, the director of Risk Frontiers, an independent research group funded mostly by the insurance industry, said that based on a database of natural hazard events in Australia, including some dating from 1803, ”there has been no increase in the frequency of natural hazard events since 1950”…
“When this data set, and many other data sets in different jurisdictions across the world and for many different perils, is corrected for the increases in numbers of buildings at risk and their value, no long-term trend remains,” Professor McAneney said. ‘’It is indisputable that the rising toll of natural disasters is due to more people and assets at risk.”
"The Sydney Morning Herald - with the suspicious help of the CSIRO’s warmists - beats up another January of heat and flooding rains: Hottest year start keeps climate change in spotlight In fact, nowhere in the article is the claim of “hottest year” sustained. In fact, Bureau of Meteorology figures dispute it: ...... And in the body of the article comes this grudging admission of something I’ve often noted, to howls of protests by warmists:
Professor John McAneney, the director of Risk Frontiers, an independent research group funded mostly by the insurance industry, said that based on a database of natural hazard events in Australia, including some dating from 1803, ”there has been no increase in the frequency of natural hazard events since 1950”…
“When this data set, and many other data sets in different jurisdictions across the world and for many different perils, is corrected for the increases in numbers of buildings at risk and their value, no long-term trend remains,” Professor McAneney said. ‘’It is indisputable that the rising toll of natural disasters is due to more people and assets at risk.”
Professor John McAneney, the director of Risk Frontiers: "This whole thing about climate change being responsible for an increase in extreme weather, or natural disasters, is just a fiction really."
Tom Nelson
"Professor John McAneney, the director of Risk Frontiers, an independent research group funded mostly by the insurance industry, says that based on a database of natural hazard events in Australia, including some dating back to 1803, "there has been no increase in the frequency of natural hazard events since 1950".
"Professor John McAneney, the director of Risk Frontiers, an independent research group funded mostly by the insurance industry, says that based on a database of natural hazard events in Australia, including some dating back to 1803, "there has been no increase in the frequency of natural hazard events since 1950".
New study finds wind farms last only 50% of claimed lifetime
The Hockey Schtick
"A peer-reviewed study finds from actual performance data of wind farms in the UK and Denmark that the life of wind turbines is only about 50% of that claimed by the wind industry. The report finds the performance "of wind farms declines substantially as they get older, probably due to wear and tear" and that "This decline in performance means that it is rarely economic to operate wind farms for more than 12 to 15 years. After this period they must be replaced with new machines, a finding that has profound consequences for investors and government alike."
"A peer-reviewed study finds from actual performance data of wind farms in the UK and Denmark that the life of wind turbines is only about 50% of that claimed by the wind industry. The report finds the performance "of wind farms declines substantially as they get older, probably due to wear and tear" and that "This decline in performance means that it is rarely economic to operate wind farms for more than 12 to 15 years. After this period they must be replaced with new machines, a finding that has profound consequences for investors and government alike."
Sabotage suspected at toppled wind turbine as second is brought down
Telegraph
"A 115ft wind turbine which collapsed last week may have been sabotaged, officials have claimed as it was revealed that a second has been brought down less than 20 miles away."
"A 115ft wind turbine which collapsed last week may have been sabotaged, officials have claimed as it was revealed that a second has been brought down less than 20 miles away."
Friday, 1 February 2013
James Annan on climate sensitivity
Bishop Hill
"James Annan has a must-read post on climate sensitivity today, picking up on the Norwegian study, Nic Lewis's work and the contents of the leaked IPCC report. Here are some choice excerpts: ......"Since the IPCC can no longer defend their old analyses in any meaningful manner, it seems they have to resort to an unsupported "this is what we think, because we asked our pals". It's essentially the Lindzen strategy in reverse: having firmly wedded themselves to their politically convenient long tail of high values, their response to new evidence is little more than sticking their fingers in their ears and singing "la la la I can't hear you".
"James Annan has a must-read post on climate sensitivity today, picking up on the Norwegian study, Nic Lewis's work and the contents of the leaked IPCC report. Here are some choice excerpts: ......"Since the IPCC can no longer defend their old analyses in any meaningful manner, it seems they have to resort to an unsupported "this is what we think, because we asked our pals". It's essentially the Lindzen strategy in reverse: having firmly wedded themselves to their politically convenient long tail of high values, their response to new evidence is little more than sticking their fingers in their ears and singing "la la la I can't hear you".
Staggering Admission By James Annan: “High Climate Sensitivity Increasingly Untenable”
NoTricksZone
"That is what we call a landmark change of course - by one of climatology’s most renowned warmist scientists. If even Annan can see it, then the writing is truly emblazoned on the wall. For the warmist zombies out there, still desparately clinging to your catastrophe obsessions, take note!"
"That is what we call a landmark change of course - by one of climatology’s most renowned warmist scientists. If even Annan can see it, then the writing is truly emblazoned on the wall. For the warmist zombies out there, still desparately clinging to your catastrophe obsessions, take note!"
Encouraging admission of lower climate sensitivity by a ‘hockey team’ scientist
WUWT
"Andrew Revkin published the email today at the NYT Dot Earth blog as a comment in that thread, so now I am free to reproduce it here where I was not last night. Below is the comment left by Andy, quoting Annan’s email, bolding added:
The climate scientist James Annan sent these thoughts by email:
‘Well, the press release is a bit strange, because it sounds like it is talking about the Aldrin et al paper which was published some time ago, to no great fanfare. I don’t know if they have a further update to that.
Anyway, there have now been several recent papers showing much the same – numerous factors including: the increase in positive forcing (CO2 and the recent work on black carbon), decrease in estimated negative forcing (aerosols), combined with the stubborn refusal of the planet to warm as had been predicted over the last decade, all makes a high climate sensitivity increasingly untenable. A value (slightly) under 2 is certainly looking a whole lot more plausible than anything above 4.5.’
And this is what many have been saying now, that the climate sensitivity has been overestimated. Kudos to Annan for realizing the likelihood of a lower climate sensitivity.
"Andrew Revkin published the email today at the NYT Dot Earth blog as a comment in that thread, so now I am free to reproduce it here where I was not last night. Below is the comment left by Andy, quoting Annan’s email, bolding added:
The climate scientist James Annan sent these thoughts by email:
‘Well, the press release is a bit strange, because it sounds like it is talking about the Aldrin et al paper which was published some time ago, to no great fanfare. I don’t know if they have a further update to that.
Anyway, there have now been several recent papers showing much the same – numerous factors including: the increase in positive forcing (CO2 and the recent work on black carbon), decrease in estimated negative forcing (aerosols), combined with the stubborn refusal of the planet to warm as had been predicted over the last decade, all makes a high climate sensitivity increasingly untenable. A value (slightly) under 2 is certainly looking a whole lot more plausible than anything above 4.5.’
And this is what many have been saying now, that the climate sensitivity has been overestimated. Kudos to Annan for realizing the likelihood of a lower climate sensitivity.
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