Climate model simulations of the AMO

Posted on August 16, 2013 by | 343 comments

by Judith Curry

What are the implications of climate model deficiencies in simulating multi-decadal natural internal variability  for IPCC’s climate change detection and attribution arguments?

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343 Comments

Posted in Attribution, climate models

So what is the best available scientific evidence, anyways?

Posted on August 14, 2013 by | 465 comments

by Judith Curry

Is “best available evidence” a new, improved “reframing” of the so-called “consensus” (that is not really holding up too well, these days)? Is it simply a way of sweeping aside the validity of any acknowledgement/discussion of the uncertainties? Or is it something completely different?! – Hilary Ostrov

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465 Comments

Posted in Communication, Scientific method

Impact of climate, population and CO2 on water resources

Posted on August 13, 2013 by | 326 comments

by Judith Curry

Increasing CO2 may actually help relieve the water stress associated with increasing global population.

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326 Comments

Posted in Climate change impacts

Climate Science & Sociology

Posted on August 11, 2013 by | 500 comments

by Johanna

The politicisation of climate science is perhaps best illustrated by the emerging role of the social sciences in placing interpretations on human perception of, and responses to, “the science.”

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500 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

After Climategate . . . never the same (?)

Posted on August 8, 2013 by | 759 comments

by Judith Curry

Has Climategate been a good thing? – Mike Hulme

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759 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Himalayan melt impacts

Posted on August 7, 2013 by | 197 comments

by Judith Curry

A new publication in Nature Geoscience projects an increase in runoff from Himalayan catchmants during the 21st century, despite a decline in glacier size.

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197 Comments

Posted in Climate change impacts, South Asia

Conflicts between climate and energy priorities

Posted on August 7, 2013 by | 757 comments

by Judith Curry

The world’s poor need more than a token supply of electricity.  The goal should be to provide the power necessary to boost productivity and raise living standards.  – Morgan Brazilian and Roger Pielke Jr.

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757 Comments

Posted in Energy, Ethics, Policy

(Ir)responsible advocacy by scientists

Posted on August 6, 2013 by | 409 comments

by Judith Curry

Advocacy by scientists seems to be the issue of the week.  What (if anything) constitutes responsible advocacy by scientists?

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409 Comments

Posted in Ethics

AGU Statement on Climate Change

Posted on August 5, 2013 by | 300 comments

by Judith Curry

Human induced climate change requires urgent action. – AGU

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300 Comments

Posted in Consensus

Bouncing forward (not back)

Posted on August 4, 2013 by | 235 comments

by Judith Curry

Forget resilience — its about thrivability.

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235 Comments

Posted in Policy

FT on the IPCC

Posted on August 2, 2013 by | 168 comments

by Judith Curry

Pilita Clark has written a thoughtful post  at the Financial Times entitled What climate scientists talk about now, with subtitle “As the IPCC prepares to release its latest report, Pilita Clark meets some of the key scientists behind it.”

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168 Comments

Posted in IPCC

Ehrlich & Ehrlich: Can a global collapse of civilization be avoided?

Posted on August 2, 2013 by | 315 comments

by Judith Curry

Earlier dire predictions have been made in the same mode by Malthus  on food security, Jevons on coal exhaustion, King  & Murray on peak oil, and by many others. They have all been overcome by the exercise of human ingenuity just as the doom was being prophesied. – Michael Kelly

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315 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

On confusing expertise and objectivity

Posted on August 1, 2013 by | 169 comments

by Judith Curry

Having great intelligence or specialized knowledge isn’t assurance against a person remaining unbiased in their public opinions.

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169 Comments

Posted in Ethics

Tamsin on scientists and policy advocacy

Posted on July 31, 2013 by | 310 comments

As a climate scientist, I’m under pressure to be a political advocate. – Tamsin Edwards

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310 Comments

Posted in Ethics

Tall tales and fat tails

Posted on July 31, 2013 by | 335 comments

by Judith Curry

The economic value of climate mitigation depends sensitively on the slim possibility of extreme warming.

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335 Comments

Posted in Economics, Sensitivity & feedbacks

‘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

Uncertainty: lost in translation

Posted on July 29, 2013 by | 201 comments

by Judith Curry

We have looked at what uncertainty means and doesn’t mean in science, how it is measured, when it can’t be measured and how that might change through research into the big questions. Above all we asked how other people can grapple constructively with advances in knowledge and changes in thinking, instead of despairing at ‘those uncertain scientists’. – Tracey Brown and Tabitha Innocent

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201 Comments

Posted in Uncertainty

World’s Energy Appetite Growing

Posted on July 28, 2013 by | 220 comments

by Judith Curry

[W]orld energy consumption will grow by 56 percent between 2010 and 2040. – EIA

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220 Comments

Posted in Energy

The 97% ‘consensus’: Part II

Posted on July 27, 2013 by | 474 comments

by Judith Curry

[T]here’s good reason to believe that the self-righteous and contemptuous tone with which the “scientific consensus” point is typically advanced (“assault on reason,” “the debate is over” etc.) deepens polarization.  That’s because “scientific consensus,” when used as a rhetorical bludgeon, predictably excites reciprocally contemptuous and recriminatory responses by those who are being beaten about the head and neck with it. – Dan Kahan

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474 Comments

Posted in Consensus

The 97% ‘consensus’

Posted on July 26, 2013 by | 349 comments

by Judith Curry

 Isn’t everyone in the 97%?  I am.  – Andrew Montford

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349 Comments

Posted in Consensus

Arctic time bomb (?)

Posted on July 25, 2013 by | 200 comments

by Judith Curry

It will be difficult — perhaps impossible — to avoid large methane releases in the East Siberian Sea without major reductions in global emissions of CO2.- Gail Whiteman, Chris Hope, Peter Wadhams

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200 Comments

Posted in Polar regions

Disaster economics

Posted on July 24, 2013 by | 112 comments

by Judith Curry

I recently received a query from a journalist:

Do natural disasters help local economies?

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112 Comments

Posted in Economics

UK Met Office on the pause

Posted on July 23, 2013 by | 353 comments

by Judith Curry

The recent pause in global surface temperature rise does not, in itself, materially alter the risks  of substantial warming of the Earth by the end of this century. – UK Met Office

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353 Comments

Posted in Attribution

Addicted to cool (?)

Posted on July 21, 2013 by | 181 comments

by Judith Curry

This post is motivated by predicted by a high temperature forecast of 105 F today in Reno, NV.

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181 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Ocean acidification discussion thread

Posted on July 19, 2013 by | 685 comments

by Judith Curry

Today the surface ocean is almost 30% more acidic than it was in pre-industrial times, and over the next few decades, the level of acidity of the surface ocean will continue to rise without deliberate action to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Increasingly this will cause major problems for many marine organisms like shellfish and corals. – Scott Doney

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685 Comments

Posted in Climate change impacts