Monthly Archives: May 2012

What separates science from non-science?

Posted on May 31, 2012 by | 284 comments

by Judith Curry

This past week, legislation was introduced in the U.S. Congress to cut NSF funding of political “science” .  This amendment . . .  brings to light an important debate on the more fundamental nature and scope of science itself.

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284 Comments

Posted in Scientific method, Sociology of science

Science is not about certainty

Posted on May 30, 2012 by | 701 comments

by Judith Curry

I seem to be saying two things that contradict each other. On the one hand, we trust scientific knowledge, on the other hand, we are always ready to modify in-depth part of our conceptual structure about the world. But there is no contradiction, because the idea of a contradiction comes from what I see as the deepest misunderstanding about science: the idea that science is about certainty.     — Carlo Rovelli

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701 Comments

Posted in Scientific method, Uncertainty

2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season

Posted on May 28, 2012 by | 117 comments

by Judith Curry

So, what can we expect for the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season?  All of the seasonal forecasts are coming in for a near or below normal year.  But already, we have seen two named storms, before the official start of the hurricane season on June 1.

What do I think the 2012 season holds?

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117 Comments

Posted in Hurricanes

Doubt has been eliminated (?)

Posted on May 26, 2012 by | 710 comments

by Judith Curry

In a speech before the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, Gro Harlem Brundtland, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, said:

So what is it that is new today? What is new is that doubt has been eliminated. The report of the International Panel on Climate Change is clear. And so is the Stern report. It is irresponsible, reckless and deeply immoral to question the seriousness of the situation. The time for diagnosis is over. Now it is time to act (Brundtland 2007).

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710 Comments

Posted in Uncertainty

Heartburn at Heartland

Posted on May 24, 2012 by | 799 comments

by Judith Curry

UPDATE: Email from Joe Bast

“You can not simultaneously say that you want to promote a debate while equating the other side to terrorists and mass murderers.” — Ross McKitrick

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799 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Time varying trend in global mean surface temperature

Posted on May 23, 2012 by | 268 comments

by Judith Curry

“Our results also serve to highlight the importance of Atlantic multidecadal variability in mediating the rate of global warming, and they suggest that these variations deserve more explicit consideration in twentieth century climate simulations and in attribution studies based on recent observations of the rate of change of [global mean surface temperature]. — Wu et al. (2012)

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268 Comments

Posted in Attribution

Copenhagen Consensus 2012

Posted on May 20, 2012 by | 727 comments

by David Hagen

The results of The Copenhagen Consensus 2012 have just been released. Bjørn Lomborg assembled a blue ribbon panel including Nobel Laureate economists. They ranked the top 30 most important humanitarian projects.

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727 Comments

Posted in Policy

CMIP5 decadal hindcasts

Posted on May 17, 2012 by | 287 comments

by Judith Curry

The CMIP5 decadal simulations are now available for seven climate models.  The first intercomparison results have just been published.

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287 Comments

Posted in climate models

Climate science in public schools

Posted on May 12, 2012 by | 914 comments

by Judith Curry

How the controversy over climate change affects America’s classrooms is receiving increasing attention.

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914 Comments

Posted in Communication

The Bias of Science

Posted on May 11, 2012 by | 252 comments

by Judith Curry

Alarming cracks are starting to penetrate deep into the scientific edifice. They threaten the status of science and its value to society. And they cannot be blamed on the usual suspects — inadequate funding, misconduct, political interference, an illiterate public. Their cause is bias, and the threat they pose goes to the heart of research.

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252 Comments

Posted in Scientific method, Sociology of science

Climate sensitivity discussion thread

Posted on May 10, 2012 by | 782 comments

by Judith Curry

There are several recent estimates of climate sensitivity that are worth taking a look at.

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782 Comments

Posted in Sensitivity & feedbacks

The legacy of climategate: Part II

Posted on May 9, 2012 by | 317 comments

by Judith Curry

I’ve just been informed that WIREs Climate Change invited two articles on this topic, and also editorial commentary.

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317 Comments

Posted in Ethics

The legacy of climategate

Posted on May 7, 2012 by | 669 comments

by Judith Curry

But when evaluating climategate, a variety of responses is seen, ranging from the apologetic to the highly critical. It is argued that reluctance to critically examine the climategate affair, including suspect practices of scientists, has to do with the nature of the debate which is highly politicized. A call is made for more reflection on this case which should not be closed off because of political expediency.

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669 Comments

Posted in Ethics

Energy supplies and climate policy

Posted on May 3, 2012 by | 249 comments

by David Rutledge

Judy Curry has provided a remarkable forum for climate science and policy, and I appreciate the opportunity to continue the discussion on energy supplies that Rutt Bridges started with his post Wednesday on natural gas. In this post, I will consider the limited impacts of climate policy on fossil-fuel production and discuss ways to estimate fossil-fuel production in the long run.

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249 Comments

Posted in Energy

Climate change cartoons

Posted on May 3, 2012 by | 178 comments

by Judith Curry

Taking climate change seriously doesn’t mean you cannot joke about it. That’s the idea behind the exhibition Facing the Climate where Swedish cartoonists have their take at one of our time’s greatest challenges. 

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178 Comments

Posted in Communication

The Future of Natural Gas

Posted on May 2, 2012 by | 175 comments

by Rutt Bridges

Let me start by admitting that the future of natural gas is especially difficult to predict. Commodity forecasting is always a pseudo-science at best. At times it seems that its primary function is to make astrology look respectable.

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175 Comments

Posted in Energy