Posted on 3 July 2016 by John Hartz

SkS Highlights

The inter-generational theft of Brexit and climate change by Dana Nuccitelli (Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian) attacted the highest number of comments of the articles posted on SkS during the past week. 

Today's edition of the Weekly Digest contains two new sections -- Internet Buzz by David Kirtley and Graphic of the Week. Be sure to check them out.

Toon of the Week

Hat tip to I Heart Climate Scientists

Quote of the Week 

For a state that has been racked with recession and unemployment, the flash floods that have ravaged West Virginia don’t help much. But the key question to ask — no matter how unpleasant — is whether the coal sector there shares some of the blame.

At issue is the concept of climate change and whether the warmer atmosphere is holding more water and therefore intensifying the storms. To that end, West Virginia’s prime industry has been coal, a fuel that when burned is responsible for a third of all human-induced carbon emissions.

Even more, the surface mining that has occurred is lopping off whole mountaintops and removing the vegetation, leaving the landscape vulnerable to erosion. The water running off the mountain is thus more rapid, adding to the problem of flash flooding, says Kathleen Miller, a scientist with theNational Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., in a phone interview.

“The climate is highly variable and you can’t attribute specific events to climate change,” adds Dr. Miller. “But when you look long term, many environmental changes are all pointing in the same direction and supporting the conclusion that global climate change is underway: melting sea ice, melting glaciers and rising sea levels. “It is the weight of the evidence that must be considered.” 

Are West Virginia's Floods The Result Of Climate Change? And A Congressman Gone AWOL, Op-ed by Ken Silverstein, Forbes, June 30, 2016  

Internet Buzz

You may have noticed the internet buzz this week was about an impending "climate emergency" caused by some unusual jet stream activity:

"The jet stream in the Northern Hemisphere has crossed the equator and joined up with the jet stream in the Southern Hemisphere. This is new behaviour, and indicates that climate system mayhem is ongoing." — Jet Stream Crosses Equator, Unprecedented? Paul Beckwith, June 29, 2016

Is such alarmism warranted? In an Op-ed, meterologist Jason Samenow notes, "these shrill claims have no validity — air flow between the hemispheres occurs routinely. The claims are unsupported and unscientific, and they demonstrate the danger of wild assertions made by non-experts reaching and misleading the masses."

Samenow spoke with a number of meteoroligists and atmosphreric scientists, including Cliff Mass, Roy Spencer and Jennifer Francis, all of whom agree there is no danger of a "climate emergency" caused by this recent jet stream activity.

Claim that jet stream crossing equator is 'climate emergency' is utter nonsense, Op-ed by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, June 30, 2016

Graphic of the Week

The GOP’s Denial of Science Primed Them for the Illogic of Trump by Phil Plait, Bad Astronomy, Slate, June 30, 2016

SkS Spotlights

American Chemical Society's (ACS) Climate Science Toolkit

The fundamental science to help you understand and communicate climate science

Global climate change, whether a result of natural variability or of human activity, is a vital issue for life on Earth and involves many processes and concepts related to chemistry. Engaging with this issue in deliberative discourse with colleagues and others requires understanding the fundamental science that determines Earth’s climate. This fundamental science is the core content of the ACS Climate Science Toolkit.

Coming Soon on SkS

• Aerosol emissions key to the surface warming ‘slowdown’, study says (Robert McSweeney)
• New research suggests Earth’s climate may be even more sensitive to carbon pollution (Dana)
• Temperature records misled us on climate sensitivity; they actually agree with models (MarkR)
• Climate science in the crosshairs (John Abraham)
• Trump’s energy plan poses climate threat to U.S. economy (Roger Koop)
• 2016 SkS Weekly News Roundup #28 (John Hartz)
• 2016 SkS Weekly Digest #28 (John Hartz)

Poster of the Week

SkS Week in Review

• 2016 SkS Weekly News Roundup #27 by John Hartz
• The War on Science will change how you see the world by John Abraham (Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian)
• Discovery exposes fragility of Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf by Roz Pidcock (Carbon Brief) 
• After 6 years of working on climate at Harvard, I implore it to show the courage to divest by Benjamin Franta (Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian)
• Alpine soils storing up to a third less carbon as summers warm by Robert McSweeney (Carbon Brief)
• The inter-generational theft of Brexit and climate change by Dana Nuccitelli (Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian)
• 2016 SkS Weekly Digest #26 by John Hartz

97 Hours of Consensus: Katrin Meissner

Katrin Meissner's bio page

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