Author Archives: curryja

Hiatus revisionism

Posted on September 17, 2015 | 280 comments

by Judith Curry

Some interesting new papers on the hiatus in global warming.

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280 Comments

Posted in Attribution, Data and observations

Heterodox Academy

Posted on September 15, 2015 | 399 comments

by Judith Curry

I don’t agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of view. I think you should be able to — anybody who comes to speak to you and you disagree with, you should have an argument with ‘em. – President Obama

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399 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

Has the AMO flipped to the cool phase?

Posted on September 11, 2015 | 119 comments

by Judith Curry

Klotzbach and Gray ask whether the active Atlantic hurricane era has ended, owing to the negative values of the AMO.

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119 Comments

Posted in Oceans

The Urgenda ruling in the Netherlands

Posted on September 9, 2015 | 326 comments

by Lukas Bergkamp

The Dutch government has decided to appeal the widely publicised “Urgenda” ruling from the district court in The Hague, ordering the Netherlands to step up its climate change actions. There are good reasons why we should hope that the court of appeals will overturn the ruling — it sets a dangerous precedent for judicial activism, is inconsistent with European law and will even undermine international climate negotiations.

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326 Comments

Posted in Policy

Managing uncertainty in predictions of climate change and impacts

Posted on September 7, 2015 | 169 comments

by Judith Curry

Climatic Change has a new special issue:  Managing Uncertainty Predictions of Climate Change and Impacts.

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169 Comments

Posted in Uncertainty

Ins and outs of the ivory tower

Posted on September 3, 2015 | 440 comments

by Judith Curry

This is the strongest, and most cogently made, argument that I’ve seen against political advocacy by academics related to their subject of expertise.

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440 Comments

Posted in Ethics

Hurricanes and global warming: 10 years post Katrina

Posted on August 30, 2015 | 237 comments

by Judith Curry

We anticipate that it may take a decade for the observations to clarify the situation as to whether the hypothesis has predictive power. – Curry et al. 2006

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237 Comments

Posted in Hurricanes

The conceits of consensus

Posted on August 27, 2015 | 501 comments

by Judith Curry

Critiques, the 3%, and is 47 the new 97?

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501 Comments

Posted in Consensus

JC’s conscience

Posted on August 25, 2015 | 326 comments

Quotations that serve as a conscience of a profession. – Tom Nelson

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326 Comments

Posted in Ethics

Climate Change, Epistemic Trust, and Expert Trustworthiness

Posted on August 24, 2015 | 602 comments

by Judith Curry

Among the best indirect indicators available to nonexperts is the overwhelming numbers of scientists testifying to anthropogenic climate change. Yet the evidential significance of such clear numbers turns substantially on our nonexpert assessment of these scientists’ trustworthiness. Absent trust, even without active distrust, the numbers’ evidential weight drops considerably. – Ben Almassi

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602 Comments

Posted in Consensus

Industry funding: witch hunts

Posted on August 18, 2015 | 525 comments

by Judith Curry

There is a remarkable and disturbing story playing out in the biotechnology academic community over industry  funding related to genetically modified food.

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525 Comments

Posted in Communication, Ethics

Industry funding and bias

Posted on August 16, 2015 | 212 comments

by Judith Curry

When should research come with a ‘warning’ label?

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212 Comments

Posted in Ethics

‘Climate culture’ versus ‘knowing disbelief’

Posted on August 14, 2015 | 103 comments

by Andy West

Climate culture versus knowing disbelief.

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103 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

Mark Steyn’s new book on Michael Mann

Posted on August 13, 2015 | 735 comments

by Judith Curry

A Disgrace to the Profession: The World’s Scientists – in their own words – on Michael E Mann, his Hockey Stick and their Damage to Science – Volume One

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735 Comments

Posted in Communication, Ethics

Carly Fiorina hits the ‘sweet spot’ on climate change

Posted on August 12, 2015 | 185 comments

by Judith Curry

Carly Fiorina shows how to address the left on climate change.

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185 Comments

Posted in Politics

The adversarial method versus Feynman integrity

Posted on August 12, 2015 | 168 comments

by Judith Curry

If you think about the costs I’ll pay for raising these concerns, including the cost of damaged relationships with people that I like, I think you will conclude that a personal commitment to science is the only thing that could be big enough to offset these costs. – Paul Romer

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168 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Scientific method

Will the President’s Clean Power Plan save consumers money?

Posted on August 10, 2015 | 273 comments

by Dave Rutledge

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On August 3, President Obama declared that “under the Clean Power Plan, by 2030, renewables will account for 28% of our capacity,” and “will save the average American family nearly $85 on their annual energy bill in 2030.”

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273 Comments

Posted in Economics, Energy

Embracing uncertainty in climate change policy (!)

Posted on August 5, 2015 | 387 comments

We argue for a redesign of climate change mitigation policies to be ‘anti-fragile’ with respect to scientific uncertainty. – Otto et al.

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387 Comments

Posted in Attribution, Policy

President Obama’s Clean Power Plan

Posted on August 3, 2015 | 406 comments

by Judith Curry

The effects of climate change are already being felt across the nation. In the past three decades, the percentage of Americans with asthma has more than doubled, and climate change is putting those Americans at greater risk of landing in the hospital.

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406 Comments

Posted in Energy, Policy

Assessments, meta-analyses, discussion and peer review

Posted on July 29, 2015 | 440 comments

by Judith Curry

There is an unfortunate knowledge monopoly in climate science and policy – the IPCC and UNFCCC.  As a result there is insufficient intellectual and political diversity in assessments about climate change.  To break this monopoly, we need identify new frameworks for encouraging, publishing and publicizing independent and interdisciplinary ideas and assessments.

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440 Comments

Posted in Communication, Sociology of science

Microgrids and “Clean” Energy

Posted on July 28, 2015 | 142 comments

by Planning Engineer and Rud Istvan

Microgrids and “clean” energy are intertwined in the minds of many. There is a common belief that microgrids will facilitate “clean” energy and that “clean” energy will better support microgrids.

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142 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Hansen’s backfire

Posted on July 26, 2015 | 520 comments

by Judith Curry

Jim Hansen’s new paper, and his PR strategy, are raising a whole host of issues that are arguably a backfire for his objectives.

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520 Comments

Posted in Attribution

Eco – (post) modernism

Posted on July 22, 2015 | 528 comments

by Judith Curry

Can we have a good, even great, anthropocene?

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528 Comments

Posted in Adaptation

Risk assessment: What is the plausible ‘worst scenario’ for climate change?

Posted on July 20, 2015 | 514 comments

by Judith Curry

We know that climate change is a problem – but how big a problem is it? We have to answer this question before we can make a good decision about how much effort to put into dealing with it.

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514 Comments

Posted in Climate change impacts, Policy

Decision strategies for uncertain, complex situations

Posted on July 15, 2015 | 605 comments

by Judith Curry

How to gain clarity when making decisions in uncertain and complex situations.

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605 Comments

Posted in Policy, Uncertainty