by Judith Curry
In pondering what might happen in 2012 in terms of energy and climate policy, oilprice.com suggests that stove-piped analysis of individual strategic sectors (e.g. energy) is inadequate, and we need to consider the broad global strategic environment.
Posted in Energy
by Judith Curry
“Climate dice”, describing the chance of unusually warm or cool seasons relative to climatology, have become progressively “loaded” in the past 30 years, coincident with rapid global warming. The distribution of seasonal mean temperature anomalies has shifted toward higher temperatures and the range of anomalies has increased.
Posted in Attribution
by Judith Curry
So…how do you tell when a research field is in the grip of an error cascade? The most general indicator I know is consilience failures. Eventually, one of the factoids generated by an error cascade is going to collide with a well-established piece of evidence from another research field that is not subject to the same groupthink.
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
The American Meteorological Society 2011 Award for Distinguished Science Journalism in the Atmospheric and Related Sciences goes to . . .
Posted in Communication, Uncertainty
by Judith Curry
When unanimity of opinion is forged among the most learned men across various bodies of knowledge, such agreement must be protected against the threat of violent upheaval by one careless agent with only the most meager qualifications. A broad base of common agreement is necessary for the progress of scientific knowledge which alone carries the hope of civilization, thus it is no exaggeration to say that our very survival is at stake. It is imperative that we voice our united opposition to this threat to the common good posed by the irresponsible propagation of that one man’s abominable theories.
Pop Quiz time! Don’t worry, it will be a multiple choice. What is the source of the above?
Posted in Skeptics
by Judith Curry
Stanford physicist’s prescriptions include more natural gas and nuclear power, doubts about renewable energy goals, and a new way to gain political support.
Posted in Policy
by Don Aitkin
In Australia, where I live, these weeks lead up to Christmas, and to the start of the summer holidays. The serious side of news lifts a little, and there is a more light-hearted air about many things. In that spirit, I offer the following little collection in the hope that those who read it will laugh a little, and feel prompted to add their own favourites. I’ve tried to be ecumenical in the selection. No single person has been cited more than once, to the best of my knowledge. And I’ve used no names. Here we go.
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
Happy New Year, everyone! What do you think 2012 portends in the debate on climate change and energy?
Posted in Welcome
by Judith Curry
So, during 2011, what was interesting and what “mattered” in the climate debate?
Posted in Welcome
by Judith Curry
Suppose, for the sake of argument, that the globe is warming. What follows, as a normative matter?
Posted in Climate change impacts
by Judith Curry
Uncertainty abounds in issues related to climate science and climate changes, the impacts of those changes, and the efficacy of strategies that might be used to mitigate or adapt to change. There are, however, a few things about which we can be quite certain. There are also a number of things about which many people are certain, but should not be.
Posted in Uncertainty
Posted in History
by Judith Curry
One hundred years ago, a popular theory contended that various aspects of climate determined the physiology and psychology of individuals, which in turn defined the behavior and culture of the societies that those individuals formed. As the ideological wars of the twentieth century re- shaped political and moral worlds, environmental determinism became discredited and marginalised within mainstream academic thought. Yet at the beginning of a new century with heightening anxieties about changes in climate, the idea that climate can determine the fate of people and society has re-emerged in the form of ‘climate reductionism’.
Posted in Climate change impacts
by Judith Curry
the emerging links between climate, conflict, and national security are far from being thoroughly understood
Posted in Climate change impacts
by Judith Curry
how building new capacity, tools and partnerships between disaster risk managers and climate information providers can lead to improved disaster risk management, including prevention, preparedness and response.
Posted in Climate change impacts, Policy
by DocMartyn
This is the first of a three part presentation where I will attempt to explain the climate of the last 800,000 thousand years, drawing on the role of the biosphere’s response to interstellar dust.
Posted in Attribution
by Judith Curry
Here is a synopsis of some recent papers and other issues in the Arctic
Posted in Polar regions
by Judith Curry
Posted in Uncertainty
Climate Etc has discussed the IPCC’s new protocol for alleged errors and an error found by Nic Lewis regarding climate sensitivity. This post discusses another error in IPCC AR4, one that has been around for some time but has only recently been reported to the IPCC.
Posted in Sensitivity & feedbacks
by Judith Curry
From the latest UNFCCC press release:
Countries meeting in Durban, South Africa, have delivered a breakthrough on the future of the international community’s response to climate change
Posted in Policy
by Judith Curry
Producing energy uses water, and providing freshwater uses energy. Both these processes face growing limits and problems. In most power plants, water cools the steam that spins the electricity-generating turbines. Refining transportation fuels requires water, as does producing fuels—for example, mining coal, extracting petroleum, or growing crops for biofuels. Using water in our homes and businesses requires getting it there, treating it, heating it, and more.
Posted in Energy
by Judith Curry
Last week, over 20,000 scientists met in San Francisco at the annual Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
Posted in Uncategorized
by Judith Curry
Gail Tverberg writes:
In a recent post, I discovered something rather alarming–the fact that in the last decade (2000 to 2010) both world energy consumption and the CO2 emissions from this energy consumption were rising as fast as GDP for the world as a whole. This relationship is especially strange, because prior to 2000, it appeared as though decoupling was taking place: GDP was growing more rapidly than energy use and CO2 emissions. And even after 2000, many countries continued to report decoupling.
Posted in Policy
by Judith Curry
A June 22, 2010 article in the New Republic provides one of the most sensible analysis of global warming policy that I’ve seen (h/t Roger Caizza). It is particularly relevant in light of the current negotiations at Durban
Posted in Policy
by Judith Curry
In 2010 a cluster of United Nations and pan-African organizations released a little book entitlted “Climate Smart Agriculture.” Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) “seeks to incease sustainable productivity, strengthen farmers’ resilience, reduce agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration.” The little book and the concept are getting a lot of attention here at COP17. [link]
Posted in Climate change impacts
