Category Archives: Skeptics

Positioning skeptics

Posted on March 9, 2014 by | 270 comments

by Judith Curry

What use is science to society, if its advocates are not brave enough to point out the nonsense that is produced in the name of the scientific consensus? – Ben Pile

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270 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Steyn et al. versus Mann

Posted on February 22, 2014 by | 1,142 comments

by Judith Curry

Some significant developments in various lawsuits involving Michael Mann

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1,142 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Chemistry’s climate of skepticism

Posted on November 4, 2013 by | 330 comments

by Judith Curry

‘While climate change is occurring, the drivers of change are less clear.’

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330 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Liberal denial on climate change and energy

Posted on October 24, 2013 by | 366 comments

by Judith Curry

Well, this is an interesting twist on climate denialism.

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366 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Perspective from a weather forecaster

Posted on October 20, 2013 by | 363 comments

by Judith Curry

The answer is the fruit of my labor, not the object of it. Because of that, you’ll look for anything to come up with the correct answer, not just a predetermined one where your self-esteem depends on it. – Joe Bastardi

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363 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Peer review: the skeptic filter

Posted on September 19, 2013 by | 417 comments

by Judith Curry

As the IPCC struggles with its inconvenient truth – the pause and the growing discrepancy between models and observations – the obvious question is: why is the IPCC just starting to grapple with this issue now, essentially two minutes before midnite of the release of the AR5?

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417 Comments

Posted in IPCC, Skeptics

Who is on which ‘side’ in the climate debate, anyways?

Posted on August 24, 2013 by | 1,148 comments

by Judith Curry

Well, if you judge ‘sides’ by what climate scientists have to say about the science, it is getting difficult to tell.

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1,148 Comments

Posted in Consensus, Skeptics

‘Denier’ blogs

Posted on July 30, 2013 by | 498 comments

by Judith Curry

Judith Curry’s blog, Climate Etc., is an exception to the stereotype of denier blogs. Curry is a real climate scientist with strong credentials.  Committed to reason, evidence, and open inquiry, she is willing to examine legitimate points the climate skeptics may be making — as well as the evidence and arguments from mainstream climate science. – Society of Environmental Journalists

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498 Comments

Posted in Communication, Skeptics

Why farmers don’t believe in anthropogenic global warming

Posted on July 17, 2013 by | 573 comments

by Judith Curry

If there’s one thing U.S. farmers can count on, it’s bad weather, and perhaps as a result, many of them don’t think humanity is to blame for the long-term shifts in weather patterns known as climate change.

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573 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

AGW skeptics in the professional community

Posted on July 15, 2013 by | 304 comments

by Judith Curry

We find that climate science scepticism is not limited to the scientifically illiterate, but well ensconced within this group of professional experts with scientific training – who work as leaders or advisors to management in governmental, non-governmental, and corporate organizations.

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304 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Anatomy of dissent

Posted on June 19, 2013 by | 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

What exactly are we debating?

Posted on June 1, 2013 by | 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

Calling out climate change deniers in Congress

Posted on May 27, 2013 by | 777 comments

by Judith Curry

We need to work to curb climate change, and a big step is to raise our voices to change the conversation in Washington. Call these deniers out. Hold them accountable. Ask them if they will admit climate change is a problem. –

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777 Comments

Posted in Politics, Skeptics

Cool first, warm later

Posted on September 22, 2012 by | 626 comments

by Judith Curry

From an article in the New Scientist by Fred Pearce, written in Sept 2009:

One of the world’s top climate modellers said Thursday we could be about to enter one or even two decades during which temperatures cool.

“I am not one of the sceptics,” insisted Mojib Latif of the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at Kiel University, Germany. “However, we have to ask the nasty questions ourselves or other people will do it.”

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626 Comments

Posted in Prediction, Skeptics

PBS Ombudsman

Posted on September 22, 2012 by | 678 comments

by Judith Curry

A segment on climate change last Monday evening produced a storm of protest from critics who felt the program mislead viewers — by a faulty application of journalistic balance — about the very real threat of global warming and man’s contribution to it, as well as a sprinkling of support from those who think that threat is overstated and that balance was just the right touch for the NewsHour. – Michael Getler, PBS

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678 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Skeptics: make your best case. Part II

Posted on September 18, 2012 by | 1,251 comments

by Judith Curry

By popular request, here is  new thread on one of the original ‘hot topics’ at Climate Etc.

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1,251 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

BS detectors

Posted on September 15, 2012 by | 802 comments

by Judith Curry

Most likely, their bullshit detectors just went on high alert. – Greg Breining

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802 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

The ‘hard won’ consensus

Posted on September 3, 2012 by | 913 comments

by Judith Curry

The extent to which a consensus is “hard won” can be understood to depend on the personal qualities of the participating experts.” Brent Ranalli

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913 Comments

Posted in Communication, Consensus, Skeptics

The ‘irresistable’ story of Richard Muller

Posted on August 4, 2012 by | 453 comments

by Judith Curry

The story surrounding Richard Muller is providing some interesting insights into the psycho-dynamics of climate change science.

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453 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

John Christy’s EPW testimony

Posted on August 1, 2012 by | 689 comments

by Judith Curry

John Christy’s testimony to the Senate Committee Environment & Public Works Committee can be found here [christy testimony 2012].

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689 Comments

Posted in Attribution, Skeptics

Cato’s Impact Assessment

Posted on July 23, 2012 by | 621 comments

by Judith Curry

The Cato Institute has a new report entitled ADDENDUM: Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, which is an addendum to the 2009 USGCRP Report with the same title.

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621 Comments

Posted in Climate change impacts, Skeptics

Garth Paltridge held hostage (?) by the uncertainty monster

Posted on July 2, 2012 by | 795 comments

by Andy Lacis

JC note:  this essay responds to Garth Paltridge’s recent post Science held hostage in climate debate.

What’s up with Garth?

Why the surprisingly out of touch lack of understanding of what it is that makes the global climate change?

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795 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Science held hostage in climate debate

Posted on June 22, 2012 by | 522 comments

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by Garth Paltridge

The broad theory of man-made global warming is acceptable in the purely qualitative sense. If humans continue to fill the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, there can be little doubt that the average temperature of the world will increase above what it would have been otherwise. The argument about the science is, and always has been, whether the increase would be big enough to be noticed among all the other natural variations of climate. The economic and social argument is whether the increase, even if it were noticeable, would change the overall welfare of mankind for the worse.

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522 Comments

Posted in Politics, Skeptics

Analyzing people who talk about AGW denialism

Posted on June 19, 2012 by | 822 comments

by Judith Curry

Sociologists and journalists are writing articles about understanding AGW skepticism and denialism.  This latest article from Nature  makes me think somebody needs to study these people who think that:

Study 2 examined whether framing climate change action in these ways (increasing interpersonal warmth and societal development) may be a more effective approach for motivating action in deniers than the more traditional focus on the reality and risks of climate change. 

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822 Comments

Posted in Skeptics

Analyzing AGW skepticism: missing the point?

Posted on June 15, 2012 by | 718 comments

by Judith Curry

There is a growing body of aca­demic lit­er­ature that seeks to under­stand, explain – and even over­come – cli­mate change scep­ti­cism. But is it get­ting to grips with scep­ti­cism, or missing the point? – Adam Corner

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718 Comments

Posted in Skeptics