Author Archives: curryja

Senate Hearing – Climate Change: The Need to Act Now

Posted on June 18, 2014 | 368 comments

by Judith Curry

The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is convening a Hearing today on Climate Change:  The Need to Act Now.

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368 Comments

Posted in Policy

What can we expect for this year’s Arctic sea ice?

Posted on June 17, 2014 | 251 comments

by Judith Curry

The seasonal forecasts of Arctic sea ice minimum have been submitted to annual SEARCH Sea Ice Outlook

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251 Comments

Posted in Polar regions

What is the measure of scientific ‘success’?

Posted on June 16, 2014 | 193 comments

by Judith Curry

Science has been extraordinarily successful at taking the measure of the world, but paradoxically the world finds it extraordinarily difficult to take the measure of science — or any type of scholarship for that matter. – Stephen Curry

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193 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

On the AR4’s projected 0.2C/decade temperature increase

Posted on June 15, 2014 | 431 comments

by Judith Curry

“For the next two decades a warming of about 0.2C per decade is expected for a range of emission scenarios.” – IPCC AR4

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431 Comments

Posted in climate models

Steven Hayward: Conservatism and Climate Science

Posted on June 13, 2014 | 670 comments

by Judith Curry

Liberals and environmentalists would do well to take on board the categorical imperative of climate policy from a conservative point of view, namely, that whatever policies are developed, they must be compatible with individual liberty and democratic institutions, and cannot rely on coercive or unaccountable bureaucratic administration. –  Steven Hayward

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670 Comments

Posted in Communication, Skeptics

Climate adaptation – Bangladesh style

Posted on June 12, 2014 | 90 comments

by Judith Curry

With the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta sinking, the race is on to protect millions of people from future flooding. – Quirin Schirmeier

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90 Comments

Posted in South Asia

Clean(?) Coal

Posted on June 11, 2014 | 202 comments

by Rud Istvan

Many climate policy debates come down to coal as an electricity fuel, including the EPA’s proposed coal power plant CO2 regulations.

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202 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

How ‘extreme’ can it get?

Posted on June 10, 2014 | 340 comments

by Judith Curry

When might we see Category 6 hurricanes?  60C surface temperatures?

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340 Comments

Posted in Hurricanes

Asymmetric responses of Arctic and Antarctic

Posted on June 9, 2014 | 205 comments

by Judith Curry

Rapidly melting Arctic sea ice, growing Antarctic sea ice, and concerns about the melting Thwaites glacier – can all of this be explained by anthropogenic global warming?

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205 Comments

Posted in Polar regions

State of the blog discussion thread

Posted on June 8, 2014 | 455 comments

by Judith Curry

After almost four years of blogging at Climate Etc., its time for some reflection

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455 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

World Bank on Understanding Climate Uncertainty

Posted on June 6, 2014 | 270 comments

by Judith Curry

The impact of climate change looms large as a deep uncertainty with global consequences. – Khalra et al.

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270 Comments

Posted in Policy, Uncertainty

What is skepticism, anyway?

Posted on June 5, 2014 | 741 comments

by Judith Curry

Two recent essays on skepticism stimulate reflections on both the scientific consensus and the high level of public skepticism.

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741 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Explaining(?) abrupt climate change

Posted on June 4, 2014 | 152 comments

by Judith Curry

 . . . suggesting that Dansgaard-Oeschger events resulted from a combination of the effects of sea ice and ice shelves—structures that help define the margins of ice sheets—to account for both the rapid and the slower parts of the cycle.

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152 Comments

Posted in Attribution, Polar regions

AGU: Enforcing the consensus

Posted on June 3, 2014 | 375 comments

by Michael Asten

I have decided to reject the submission based on the significant scientific consensus regarding the question of human-induced climate change. – Eos editor

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375 Comments

Posted in Consensus

The sociology of correlation and causation

Posted on June 2, 2014 | 286 comments

by Judith Curry

Correlation doesn’t imply  causation.

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286 Comments

Posted in Scientific method, Sociology of science

‘Global warming’ versus ‘climate change’

Posted on June 1, 2014 | 533 comments

By Judith Curry

We found that the term “global warming” is associated with greater public understanding, emotional engagement, and support for personal and national action than the term “climate change.” 

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533 Comments

Posted in Communication

The Astonishing Math of Michael Ghil’s Climate Sensitivity

Posted on May 30, 2014 | 478 comments

by Robert Ellison

Climate sensitivity is large in the vicinity of tipping points but moderate otherwise.

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478 Comments

Posted in Sensitivity & feedbacks

U.S. House Hearing on the IPCC Process

Posted on May 29, 2014 | 206 comments

by Judith Curry

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space & Technology is holding a Hearing today at 11 a.m.: Examining the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Process

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206 Comments

Posted in IPCC

IPCC: Functional stupidity?

Posted on May 27, 2014 | 542 comments

by Judith Curry

Our point is that the IPCC has bought into a very specific framing of “the problem” that has rendered climate policy ineffective and has foreclosed the possibility of public consent. – Silke Beck et al.

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542 Comments

Posted in IPCC

Climate casino

Posted on May 26, 2014 | 114 comments

by Judith Curry

114 Comments

Posted in Adaptation, Economics

The heart of the climate dynamics debate

Posted on May 26, 2014 | 478 comments

by Judith Curry

Lennart Bengtsson’s recent statement on climate research has elicited a response from Andy Lacis, that directly points to the fundamental debate in climate dynamics.

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478 Comments

Posted in climate models

Are climate scientists being forced to toe the line?

Posted on May 24, 2014 | 901 comments

by Judith Curry

Climate researchers are now engaged in a debate about whether their science is being crippled by a compulsion to conform. They wonder if pressure to reach a consensus is too great. They ask if criticism is being suppressed. No less is at stake than the credibility of research evidence for climate change and the very question of whether climate research is still reliable. – Spiegel

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901 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Skeptics, Sociology of science

How simple is simple?

Posted on May 23, 2014 | 461 comments

by Tomas Milanovic

This essay has been motivated by Isaac Held’s paper [link] arguing for possible emerging simplicity or even linearity in climate dynamics.

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461 Comments

Posted in climate models

Science and policy – reconciling the two cultures

Posted on May 22, 2014 | 262 comments

by Judith Curry

There are obvious issues, such as protecting the independence of advice, acknowledging the limitations of science and being clear about what we know and do not know, to understand how science informs but does not make policy, and the need to ensure honest brokerage of information. – Sir Peter Gluckman

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262 Comments

Posted in Policy, Sociology of science

Mechanisms for Warming of the Oceans

Posted on May 21, 2014 | 425 comments

by Donald Rapp

This paper describes a model that uses the basics of heat transfer to demonstrate than an increase in downwelling infrared radiation associated with increased CO2 reduces heat loss from the mixed layer of the ocean, causing the ocean to warm.

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425 Comments

Posted in Sensitivity & feedbacks