NARUC Panel Discussion on Climate Change

Posted on February 24, 2015 by | 198 comments

by Judith Curry

At its recent Winter Meeting, The National Associated of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) asked the following question: You’re Still Not Sure Global Warming is Real?

Continue reading →

198 Comments

Posted in Communication

Mitigating CO2 emissions: a busted flush?

Posted on February 23, 2015 by | 263 comments

by Michael Kelly

One graph I caught up with this week has convinced me that climate change mitigation by supressing carbon dioxide emissions is a busted flush that history will look back on with great ridicule, even if the worst of the climate alarmist predictions come to pass.

Continue reading →

263 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Understanding Time of Observation Bias

Posted on February 22, 2015 by | 575 comments

by Zeke Hausfather

Global temperatures are adjusted to account for the effects of station moves, instrument changes, time of observation (TOBs) changes, and other factors (referred to as inhomogenities) that cause localized non-climatic biases in the instrumental record.

Continue reading →

575 Comments

Posted in Data and observations

The Intermittent Little Ice Age

Posted on February 19, 2015 by | 376 comments

by Tony Brown

Is our popular understanding of the ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA) correct, as being a predominantly cold era lasting 500 years, leavened by a few brief warm spells?

Continue reading →

376 Comments

Posted in History

Public intellectuals in the climate space

Posted on February 17, 2015 by | 444 comments

by Judith Curry

Wanted: disruptive ideas on climate change.

Continue reading →

444 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

Denizens II

Posted on February 15, 2015 by | 261 comments

by Judith Curry

The recent article by Paul Matthews has motivated me to start a new ‘Denizens’ thread.

Continue reading →

261 Comments

Posted in Welcome

Berkeley Earth: raw versus adjusted temperature data

Posted on February 9, 2015 by | 1,178 comments

by Robert Rohde, Zeke Hausfather, Steve Mosher

Christopher Booker’s recent piece along with a few others have once again raised the issue of adjustments to various temperature series, including those made by Berkeley Earth. And now Booker has double-downed accusing people of fraud and Anthony Watts previously insinuated that adjustments are somehow criminal .

Continue reading →

1,178 Comments

Posted in Data and observations

Clean Air – Who Pays?

Posted on February 9, 2015 by | 223 comments

by Planning Engineer

A recent posting presented taxonomy of potential policy perspectives around climate/energy policy. The ensuing comments brought home the unfortunate recognition that energy providers have not advocated specific actions and preferred directions for climate/energy policy. I think they have a good story. Why aren’t they telling it?

Continue reading →

223 Comments

Posted in Policy

On determination of tropical feedbacks

Posted on February 6, 2015 by | 184 comments

by Greg Goodman

Satellite data for the period surrounding the Mt Pinatubo eruption in 1991 provide a means of estimating the scale of the volcanic forcing in the tropics. A simple relaxation model is used to examine how temporal evolution of the climate response will differ from the that of the radiative forcing.

Continue reading →

184 Comments

Posted in Sensitivity & feedbacks

Taxonomy of climate/energy policy perspectives

Posted on February 3, 2015 by | 312 comments

by Planning Engineer

Debates on policy issues around climate and energy often feature opposing sides talking past each other.

Continue reading →

312 Comments

Posted in Energy, Policy

Questioning the robustness of the climate modeling paradigm

Posted on February 2, 2015 by | 652 comments

by Judith Curry

Are climate models the best tools? A recent Ph.D. thesis from The Netherlands provides strong arguments for ‘no’.

Continue reading →

652 Comments

Posted in climate models

Climate psychology’s consensus bias

Posted on January 30, 2015 by | 505 comments

by Andy West

Climate psychologists have for years now puzzled over public inaction on climate change and also what makes skeptics tick (or sick), apparently making little progress on these issues.

Continue reading →

505 Comments

Posted in Consensus

Towards mass marketed electric vehicles

Posted on January 29, 2015 by | 268 comments

by Robert Ellison

A look at the Drift EV concept for electric vehicles.

Continue reading →

268 Comments

Posted in Energy

Climate change as a political process

Posted on January 26, 2015 by | 425 comments

All this talk about climate change has misled us collectively. It has made us search for a mega solution to a mega problem: it has created the impression that if we solve the problem of climate change, all other problems would also be solved. This is not the case. – Eija-Riitta Korhola

Continue reading →

425 Comments

Posted in Policy

Planetary boundaries, tipping points and prophets of doom

Posted on January 23, 2015 by | 414 comments

by Robert Ellison

There is a new paper that appeared last week in Science: Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet.

Continue reading →

414 Comments

Posted in Climate change impacts

Nonsensus about the Senate’s non consensus on climate change

Posted on January 22, 2015 by | 323 comments

by Judith Curry

On the politicization of ‘climate change’.

Continue reading →

323 Comments

Posted in Communication, Politics

Raw politics of climate change in the U.S.

Posted on January 21, 2015 by | 613 comments

by Judith Curry

President Obama’s State of the Union address, and the reactions from opposing politicians and the media, illustrate the raw politics of climate change in the U.S.

Continue reading →

613 Comments

Posted in Politics

‘Most’ versus ‘more than half’ versus ‘> 50%’

Posted on January 19, 2015 by | 532 comments

by Judith Curry

Seeking once again to clarify the problems in communicating the IPCC climate change attribution statements.

Continue reading →

532 Comments

Posted in Attribution, Communication, IPCC

‘Warmest year’, ‘pause’, and all that

Posted on January 16, 2015 by | 887 comments

by Judith Curry

So, was 2014 the ‘warmest year’?  Drum roll . . .

Continue reading →

887 Comments

Posted in Data and observations

What would Charles Keeling think? Science in spite of politics

Posted on January 13, 2015 by | 466 comments

by Judith Curry

Perhaps my experience in studying the Earth, initially with few restrictions and later with increasingly sophisticated interaction with government sponsors and various planning committees, will provide a perspective on this great transition from science being primarily an intellectual pastime of private persons to its present status as a major contributor to the quality of human life and the prosperity of nations. – Charles Keeling

Continue reading →

466 Comments

Posted in History, Scientific method, Sociology of science

Charlie: Challenging free speech

Posted on January 11, 2015 by | 1,258 comments

by Judith Curry

In response to the tragic shootings at the headquarters of satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, there have been a number of provocative essays on freedom of speech.

Continue reading →

1,258 Comments

Posted in Communication, Ethics

My interview with Mrs. Green

Posted on January 10, 2015 by | 282 comments

by Judith Curry

This is definitely among the most interesting interviews that I’ve done.

Continue reading →

282 Comments

Posted in Communication

Miskolczi discussion thread

Posted on January 8, 2015 by | 490 comments

by Judith Curry

Ferenc Miskolczi has published a new paper on the greenhouse effect that is generating substantial discussion.

Continue reading →

490 Comments

Posted in Greenhouse effect

Applications of subseasonal weather forecasts

Posted on January 5, 2015 by | 176 comments

by Judith Curry

There is growing interest in the scientific, operational and applications communities in developing forecasts that fill the gap between medium range weather forecasts (up to two weeks) and seasonal forecasts (3-6 months).

Continue reading →

176 Comments

Posted in climate models

Georgia politicians cool to global warming

Posted on January 2, 2015 by | 803 comments

by Judith Curry

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked a dozen of the state’s top elected officials and the director of the agency tasked with the state’s environment whether they believe the globe is warming, and whether they think pollution caused by human activity is a cause.

Continue reading →

803 Comments

Posted in Politics