Author Archives: curryja

Why conservatives should love a carbon tax

Posted on July 1, 2013 | 340 comments

. . . and why some of them do. – Ed Dolan

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340 Comments

Posted in Policy, Politics

How should we interpret an ensemble of models? Part II: Climate models

Posted on June 30, 2013 | 122 comments

by Judith Curry

To solve these pressing problems, there needs to be much better recognition of the importance of probability models in climate science and a more integrated view of climate modelling whereby climate prediction involves the fusion of numerical climate models and statistical models. – Stephenson et al.

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122 Comments

Posted in climate models, Uncertainty

An energy model for the future, from the 12th century

Posted on June 29, 2013 | 302 comments

by Judith Curry

So, are you wondering what we can learn about energy policy from the 12th century?

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302 Comments

Posted in Energy, History

Open thread weekend

Posted on June 28, 2013 | 539 comments

by Judith Curry

It’s your turn to introduce topics for discussion.

539 Comments

Posted in Week in review

Have U.S. Republicans shifted strategy on climate change?

Posted on June 27, 2013 | 619 comments

by Judith Curry

One day after President Barack Obama unveiled a broad blueprint for reining in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions and adapting U.S. infrastructure for more droughts and floods, Republicans are taking aim at the plan’s economic costs — not the science underpinning it. – Jennifer Dlouhy

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619 Comments

Posted in Politics

‘Noticeable’ climate change

Posted on June 26, 2013 | 182 comments

by Tony Brown

Climate changes. How often? In what direction? What is actually meant by ‘climate change?’ Is the current definition useful?

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182 Comments

Posted in History

Reactions to President Obama’s Climate Change Policy

Posted on June 25, 2013 | 315 comments

by Judith Curry

President Obama has released his new climate change policy:  Plan to Cut Carbon Pollution – Taking Action for Our Kids.

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315 Comments

Posted in Policy, Politics

How should we interpret an ensemble of models? Part I: Weather models

Posted on June 24, 2013 | 130 comments

by Judith Curry

Over the last two weeks, there have been some interesting exchanges in the blogosphere on the topic of interpreting an ensemble of models.

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130 Comments

Posted in climate models

CFC climate bomb (?)

Posted on June 23, 2013 | 200 comments

by Judith Curry

Talk about perverse incentives! It appears that Chinese coolant manufacturers have been producing an excess of a harmful greenhouse chemical in order to dispose of it responsibly under the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). – Walter Mead

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200 Comments

Posted in Attribution, Greenhouse effect

The Economist on The New Republic on the ‘pause’

Posted on June 20, 2013 | 537 comments

by Judith Curry

A new article in the Economist responds to the recent article in The New Republic, discussing the policy implications of the ‘pause.’

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537 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Anatomy of dissent

Posted on June 19, 2013 | 313 comments

by Judith Curry

Two particular subgroups of ACC-questioning mainstream scientists that emerged from my research among atmospheric scientists were two kinds of research meteorologists: the (by definition physics-strong and theoretical) dynamicists and more empirical research meteorologists with past training in synoptic methods and weather prediction. – Myanna Lahsen

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313 Comments

Posted in Skeptics, Sociology of science

The New Republic on the ‘pause’

Posted on June 18, 2013 | 247 comments

by Judith Curry

In the end, the so-called scientific consensus on global warming doesn’t look like much like consensus when scientists are struggling to explain the intricacies of the earth’s climate system, or uttering the word “uncertainty” with striking regularity. – Nate Cohn

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247 Comments

Posted in Attribution

Ocean heat content discussion thread

Posted on June 18, 2013 | 307 comments

by Judith Curry

So, exactly how are the oceans sequestering heat below 700 m?  And how might this heat return to the surface to impact the surface climate?

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307 Comments

Posted in Attribution

UN climate talks: no consensus on consensus

Posted on June 17, 2013 | 271 comments

AFP – A debilitating row with Russia at UN climate talks this week exposed a fundamental flaw in how decisions are taken — the entire system balanced precariously on an ill-defined notion of consensus, observers say.

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271 Comments

Posted in Consensus, Policy

What are climate models missing?

Posted on June 16, 2013 | 184 comments

by Judith Curry

Rather than reducing biases stemming from an inadequate representation of basic processes, additional complexity has multiplied the ways in which these biases introduce uncertainties in climate simulations. – Bjorn Stevens and Sandrine Bony

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184 Comments

Posted in climate models

Tilting at windmills in Germany

Posted on June 15, 2013 | 429 comments

by Judith Curry

The wheels are falling off of Germany’s green energy revolution. – Walter Mead

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429 Comments

Posted in Energy

Sociology of the ‘pause’

Posted on June 12, 2013 | 683 comments

by Judith Curry

The ‘pause’ has gone mainstream, with an article by Justin Gillis in the NYTimes.

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683 Comments

Posted in Data and observations, Sociology of science

Climate Change Officers

Posted on June 10, 2013 | 389 comments

by Judith Curry

Climate change officers are professionals who apply knowledge of climate-related risks and opportunities to their organizations’ near-term and long-term strategies. These professionals help their organizations to adapt and thrive in a world of climate uncertainty, and guide their organizations toward strategic decisions that are simultaneously strategic for the organization and beneficial to the climate.  –  Association of Climate Change Officers

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389 Comments

Posted in Climate change impacts, Sociology of science

Cli-fi takes off

Posted on June 9, 2013 | 151 comments

by Dan Bloom

In a recent Guardian commentary in late May, British writer Rodge
Glass issued a “global warning” about what he termed “the rise of
‘cli-fi'” — noting that ”unlike most science fiction, novels about
climate change focus on an immediate and intense threat rather than
discovery.”

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151 Comments

Posted in Communication

Open thread weekend

Posted on June 8, 2013 | 338 comments

by Judith Curry

It’s your turn to introduce topics for discussion.

338 Comments

Posted in Week in review

Soil carbon: permanent pasture as an approach to CO2 sequestration

Posted on June 7, 2013 | 158 comments

By Robert I Ellison, aka Chief Hydrologist

Eliminating 20 ton/ha soil carbon deficit in ‘permanent pastures’ may be sufficient to offset anthropogenic emissions for on the order of a decade – but with other benefits to soil health and downstream environments.

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158 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

The inevitable climate catastrophe

Posted on June 3, 2013 | 688 comments

by Judith Curry

What can we learn from climate of the 17th century about future climate catastrophes?

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688 Comments

Posted in Climate change impacts, History

What exactly are we debating?

Posted on June 1, 2013 | 519 comments

by Judith Curry

The climate debate is becoming more complex and sophisticated, and the issues and the ‘sides’ in the debate seem less black and white than they used to.

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519 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Open thread weekend

Posted on June 1, 2013 | 191 comments

by Judith Curry

It’s your turn to introduce topics for discussion.

191 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Rep. Lamar Smith on climate change

Posted on May 31, 2013 | 452 comments

by Judith Curry

Last week, Rep. Lamar Smith wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post entitled Overheated rhetoric on climate change doesn’t make for good policies.  Critics are responding with . . . overheated rhetoric.

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452 Comments

Posted in Policy, Politics