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All IPCC definitions taken from Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Working Group I Contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Annex I, Glossary, pp. 941-954. Cambridge University Press.

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Comments 81351 to 81400:

  1. Berényi Péter at 05:25 AM on 25 June 2011
    Sea Level Hockey Stick
    #96 Albatross at 02:27 AM on 25 June, 2011 So a constant correction was applied to all the data, and just as if a temperature sites has a systematic bias, that systematic bias/offset does not affect the trend. But groundwater extraction rate in the North Carolina Central Coastal Plain was not constant during the last two thousand years. From the USGS report: "As of 2004, large volumes of groundwater being pumped in the CCPCUA ([North Carolina] Central Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area) had affected groundwater levels and flow regimes (State of North Carolina, 2004) in the aquifers and confining units underlying the area. As the simulated groundwater flow budget analysis indicates, groundwater continues to be removed from storage in many of the hydrogeologic units, and groundwater level declines continue to occur. Until these reductions in groundwater storage are lowered or stopped, groundwater availability will continue to decline in this area." For example PSMSL station DUCK PIER OUTSIDE is not too far (less than 30 km) from Sand Point (where secular coastal land subsidence rate is said to be 1 mm/year). If you calculate rate of sea level change relative to the tide gauge station there between the end of 1992 and beginning of 2010, it turns out to be 4.86 mm/year. On the other hand satellite data at the same location and for the same time period show 1.16 mm/year. It means land subsidence rate at Duck Pier is 3.7 mm/year during the last two decades, almost four times the secular rate due to GIA alone. The additional 2.7 mm/year is probably caused by decreasing pressure in the groundwater table adjacent to the coast. And this (clearly anthropogenic, but local) phenomenon is a new one, caused by excessive drilling and pumping in the region (which, unlike fast increase in global atmospheric CO2, started in the late 19th century indeed). Is it obfuscation, really? Can we look forward to you writing up and submitting a formal rebuttal to the journal, or are you simply here to grandstand? You can't, it's not my job. There are guys who get a salary for that. And I am really surprised this issue has not come up in the peer review process. It is more than obvious. BTW, you are free to submit a letter to PNAS, I have no claims :)
  2. Eric (skeptic) at 05:24 AM on 25 June 2011
    Linking Extreme Weather and Global Warming
    I was simply explaining why one river was breaking the record by five feet. Minot had 6.22 inches of precip in May versus normal of 3.91 but Jan-Apr were all below normal. Their river record is fairly isolated except for the Missouri downstream from the Ft Peck dam which just started releasing extra water in early June. The flood control releases must be considered when comparing old records to new ones.
  3. A Detailed Look at Renewable Baseload Energy
    Re grayman@9 - the cost is a good incentive for reducing consumption :-) If you don't need lights on in the evening then you are wasting a lot of money by having them on. There is an issue of security (keeping the burglars away), light pollution etc. At least there is no excuse now for street lighting to be on during the day. I remember the old fashioned electromechanical timers used to get out of sync and lights would remain on during the day. These days light sensors have fixed that problem.
  4. A Detailed Look at Renewable Baseload Energy
    Hi Dana, Well written post, a few questions. 1) I am sure you have wondered as have i that the cities we live in, why all the lights on in buildings ETC. when not in use from private to govt., i find it a waste. How do we get this slowed or stopped, that would be a suffient start. Just looking at satilite picture of cities at night boggles the mind and i for one see it as a waste period. 2) How can a model accuratly portray the probrabilties of wind when weather models a barly able to do it 4-5 days out, as jetstream winds much less lower level winds are to variable in speed or predictablity?
  5. A Detailed Look at Renewable Baseload Energy
    In the UK RLTec have developed a smart grid fridge which alters it's energy use depending on what power is being provided by the grid: http://www.rltec.com/ According to their latest press release they did a deal with Sainsburys to put the technology in 200 supermarkets. They have also developed a fridge with Indesit. I know another UK company are developing a fridge/freezer that can continue working for about a week without power. They're using a phase change material. The technology was originally developed for cooling vaccines in developing countries.
  6. Eric the Red at 04:45 AM on 25 June 2011
    Websites for Watching the Arctic Sea Ice Melt
    JMurphy, I was looking for it in the Hansen report because michael stated that the report made such a claim, which resulted in the subsequent posts. michael, If you claim that all these effects are the result of rising temperature (resulting from a CO2 increase), then a reduction in temperature (CO2) will reverse all the effects. Which of these effects will not be reduced? We cannot undo a flood that already happened, but future flooding would be reduced. sky, The trend in maximum sea ice extent shows considerable linearity. The trend in minimum sea ice show more linearity than not, but may be skewed by the high value in 1996 and low value in 2007. It is entirely possible that it could be non-linear, or a shift in the linear trend starting in 1996. There are other possibility that exist with such a small dataset. Some people here seem to prefer the volume calculations over the area measurements. I have a differences of opinion on the topic which I will not pursue. Tom, Yes, it was an initial response to your post, which has been blown out of proportion, and should be put to rest.
  7. Linking Extreme Weather and Global Warming
    Thanks Camburn. Have you managed to sow your seeds yet?
  8. Linking Extreme Weather and Global Warming
    Albatros@206: We are in a global ag market with 3 grains being the main ones traded. Soybeans/Corn and Wheat. Brazil is a major player in Soy/corn.....Agentina soy/wheat. The US is a major player in all of them. Rainfall affects production in Brazil/Arg just as it does in the USA. All of this affects the world markets prices. That is how it affects my business.
  9. A Detailed Look at Renewable Baseload Energy
    Norway is I believe almost totally hydro-electric which isn't practical for most nations/regions. Power generation is not the only issue as Okatiniko says. We are talking about system design from generator to home or factory. The load(s) have to be balanced with the power source(s) otherwise the grid/mains frequency starts drifting. In fact one of the key ways that a smart grid would work is buy monitoring the frequency so that intelligent appliances can alter their use of energy.
  10. Eric the Red at 04:24 AM on 25 June 2011
    Linking Extreme Weather and Global Warming
    JMurphy, Of course, we in the North know that adage well. A few notes on your post. Heavier snowstorms occurred in wetter winters sounds self-evident, and has no relation to temperature. The Changnon study was restricted to heavy snowstorms. Their graph of snowstorms (which may or may not correlate with seasonal snowfall) shows that snowstorms were lowest in the three decades from 1920-1950, and highest in the 1910s, and 1960-1980. Roughly corresponding to the high and low temperature decades (the exception being the 1990s). The heaviest snowfall occur when the temperature hovers around freezing. Colder temperatures tend to result in lower snowfall totals. The report did not mention total seasonal snowfall.
  11. Websites for Watching the Arctic Sea Ice Melt
    Eric (Skeptic) @102, David Archer has studied this issue extensively. He shows that if we release 2000 Gigtonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, then in a thousand years, atmospheric concentrations will still be elevated by 29% of that value, and by 14% after 10,000 years. He also shows an interesting graph correlating global temperatures with sea levels from geological records: (As adapted here)
  12. Bibliovermis at 04:05 AM on 25 June 2011
    Linking Extreme Weather and Global Warming
    My guess would be that is where his planting stock comes in from.
  13. actually thoughtful at 03:52 AM on 25 June 2011
    A Detailed Look at Renewable Baseload Energy
    Okatiniko - You say that Norway already has 100% renewable energy, then you say computer simulations that say you can run a country on 100% renewable are wrong. Can you clarify your point?
  14. Linking Extreme Weather and Global Warming
    Camburn, A long time ago you stated in a discussion with me that: "I am most interested in Argentina/Brazil as weather patterns in that area directly affect my business." With you being a farmer in N. Dakota, how does rainfall in Argentina/Brazil directly affect your business?
  15. Rogues or respectable? How climate change sceptics spread doubt and denial
    “The very first step should be for climate scientists to make a conscious effort to read some of the documentation appearing in the more respectable sceptic weblogs,” he argued. Hmm..."respectable sceptic weblogs"... Nope, sorry: can't think of a single one.
  16. A Detailed Look at Renewable Baseload Energy
    okatiniko: {citations needed}
  17. A Detailed Look at Renewable Baseload Energy
    okatiniko: Your contribution here will be much more valuable if you actually bother to read your posts and make sure they make sense before you hit the submit button.
  18. Websites for Watching the Arctic Sea Ice Melt
    michael sweet @105, given sufficient low entropy energy, in principle everything is reversible (except perhaps plate tectonics). We could even resurrect the dinosaurs in principle, although it would probably take fifty years research to develop the correct techniques. We would certainly be able to resurrect all of the many species expected to go extinct over the next century - if we where prepared to devote enough resources to it. Should we desire, we could even spray sulfates in the upper troposphere above greenland, and "crop dust" the surface with fresh water to recreate the ice sheet and glaciers. What we can't do is reverse anything except the smallest changes cheaply. We can't reverse anything significant except at a far greater cost than the cost of preserving it in the first place. And what is more, given the likely impacts of BAU, in fifty years we won't have the spare resources to even think about reversing anything. Contrary to Eric's claim that he was responding to you when he made his comment about reversibility, it was actually a response to my claim that effective action had a used by date of 2020 @86 (see his 87). As such, it was an empty rhetorical sally to divert attention from my point and should be allowed to die a quiet death.
  19. Rogues or respectable? How climate change sceptics spread doubt and denial
    The "Galieo Gambit" in action. What climate science "skeptics" (along with anyone else who attempts to score rhetorical points with this gambit) forget is that it is not enough to espouse a position contrary to the consensus of experts. One must also be right. The contrarians have manifestly failed in this latter regard. Indeed, they are not even persecuted the way Galileo was (that fate is, it seems, reserved for climate scientists).
  20. Linking Extreme Weather and Global Warming
    JMurphy You are quite right about what constitutes "precipitation".
  21. Linking Extreme Weather and Global Warming
    EricS and Camburn, While management of river flows and dams is obviously critical in these situations and sometimes bad decisions are made. Have either one of you paused to actually consider why we have all this water on the ground to manage in the first place? This cannot mostly or all be blamed on officials guys, the primary reason for this situation is that the Northern Great Plains have been receiving record-breaking rains at a time when the soils are saturated, dams are full and rivers swollen. But yes, let us ignore those very real and critical factors and take our anger and frustration out on officials. And both of you seem to be forgetting that rivers are breaking previous records on the order of metres. No, no, nothing unusual going on here at all. I have stated before that people in denial about AGW can and will be knee deep in water and still be claiming that 1) It is OK, this happens all the time, nothing unusual here, or 2) This is happening because of something else unrelated to AGW. With all that said, Camburn, keep safe. PS: Camburn earlier I gave you the Chagnon details to look up trends in thunderstorms and associated phenomena, but you seem to have used it to go on a very different tack.
  22. A Detailed Look at Renewable Baseload Energy
    Norway has already a 100 % renewable electricity , and other countries such as Iceland as well, and other such as France have an almost carbon free nuclear power. The issue is not only power generation, but power USE. Computer simulations may prove that it is possible to use only electricity and biomass - reality proves that computer simulations are wrong.
  23. Websites for Watching the Arctic Sea Ice Melt
    Eric the Red wrote : "I find no one in the Hansen report were he says that the amount of CO2 added to the atmosphere today is enough to raise sea levels 5m." Why were you looking for such a scenario in that report ?
  24. actually thoughtful at 03:08 AM on 25 June 2011
    A Detailed Look at Renewable Baseload Energy
    I applaud Skeptical Science's work on debunking these myths that state, in essence, "there is nothing we can do about it anyway". There is, and many, many individuals and companies are taking steps on their own initiative, in light of the global failure of governments to respond.
  25. Websites for Watching the Arctic Sea Ice Melt
    EricR @96, "The IPCC predicted that it would take a 5.5C temperature rise to melt Greenland, and it would take several centuries. Recent studies show that the melt rate is significantly less." That statement is demonstrably wrong. Your biased interpretation of the papers (which you don't seem to really understand) have been addressed by Michael and Skywatcher, and you did not recognize your error, ignored their insights and just tried to re-frame your argument and shift the goal posts @100. Doing so is incredibly ungrateful, people are trying to help you understand this better, but you appear to have too many mental hurdles/blocks (and no I am not saying you are dim or anything like that) in the way I doubt you even followed the link to Tamino's statistical analysis of Arctic sea-ice volume. Monthly Arctic sea-ice volume anomalies: September Arctic sea-ice volume anomalies with quadratic fit: Source]
  26. michael sweet at 02:38 AM on 25 June 2011
    Websites for Watching the Arctic Sea Ice Melt
    Eric, What about my questions about reversibility here?? You have chosen one of my comments and ignored the rest. You claimed that nothing is irreversible. What will reverse the flooding, drought, fires and ocean acidification that already exist? Your claim that all is reversible is not supported by showing that it is not yet known how much sea level will rise in the next few decades. It may just as well be true that sea level will rise more than 2 meters by 2100 as that it will be less than 1 meter, uncertainty cuts both ways. Your choice of only the most optimistic models is unlikely to hold up.
  27. Sea Level Hockey Stick
    BP @94, "Anyway, this GIA thing only gives a -0.3 mm/year contribution to sea level rise." Well there you have it folks, BP agrees with the University of Colorado, and refutes the ridiculous assertions being made here.
  28. Sea Level Hockey Stick
    BP, I commend your obfuscation efforts @80. On the surface of it, and ignoring your unsubstantiated hypotheses and musings, you may (or may not) have a out about the GIA correction. Can we look forward to you writing up and submitting a formal rebuttal to the journal, or are you simply here to grandstand? But before that, perhaps we should show what they actually say in the paper: "A constant rate of subsidence (with no error) was subtracted from the Sand Point (1.0 mm/y) and Tump Point (0.9 mm/y) records. These rates were estimated from a US Atlantic coast database of late Holocene (last 2000 y) sea-level index points (13, 15). Use of a constant rate is appropriate for this time period given Earth’s rate of visco-elastic response (14). The resulting records are termed “GIA-adjusted,” expressed relative to mean sea level from AD 1400–1800 and visually summarized by an envelope (Fig. 2C)." So a constant correction was applied to all the data, and just as if a temperature sites has a systematic bias, that systematic bias/offset does not affect the trend.
    Moderator Response: [Dikran Marsupial] Please can we all dial back the tone of the discussion a notch or two, and keep things on a constructive a level as possible.
  29. Sea Level Hockey Stick
    Camburn@74 It is right there in the OP: "IPCC AR4 showed that local sea-level trends differed by up to 2 mm/y from the global mean over AD 1955–2003, which implies deviations of up to ±10 cm at some locations (but ±5 cm along most coastlines) as the sum of forced and unforced effects. This analysis suggests that our data can be expected to track global mean sea level within about ±10 cm over the past two millennia, within the uncertainty band shown for our analysis." So if I am understanding it correctly, this regional proxy is average when compared to global proxies. Not everyone can be a unique snowflake! On the Bell Curve someone has to be average.
  30. Berényi Péter at 02:13 AM on 25 June 2011
    Sea Level Hockey Stick
    The only process that has a measurable effect on ocean basin volume is GIA (Glacial Isostatic Adjustment). Currently volume of ocean basins is increasing at a 100 km3/year rate, because vast continental areas that were once covered with miles of ice, having got rid of this weight, started rising. It can only happen if mantle material (which behaves as a high viscosity fluid) is sucked in from below the oceans to support rising rock. That is, ocean basins next to previous ice sheets (like the Laurentide and Fennoscandian one) are getting progressively deeper. All other processes like plate tectonics or sedimentation operate on much longer time scales and their contribution is negligible to millennial rates of ocean basin volume change. Anyway, this GIA thing only gives a -0.3 mm/year contribution to sea level rise. As for ocean water volume changes, relative sea level measurements at continental margins (tide gauges) are not representative, because continental margins themselves are sinking on average. There are two reasons for that. One is still GIA, because sea level is some 120-140 m higher now than it was twenty thousand years ago. This additional weight of seawater is slowly pushing continental margins down (relative to the true geoid). The other one is ground water depletion which (through decreasing pressure in water table) induces sinking of sedimental layers in many coastal regions. Therefore part of sea level rise as measured by tide gauges is in fact (coastal) land level decrease. Volume of sea water can change in two ways. One is steric when water mass is unchanged and only its volume changes due to decreasing (or increasing) density, mainly because of changes in heat content. In this respect sea level behaves as a thermometer. Not a terribly good one though, because volumetric thermal expansion coefficient of seawater depends heavily on both temperature and pressure, so the addition of the same amount of heat can produce quite different sea level changes depending on which part of the ocean absorbed it. As volumetric thermal expansion coefficient is increasing with both temperature and pressure, while water temperature decreases with depth, there is a layer at about 1000 m below the surface where absorption of heat has the least effect on sea level. Expansion due to the same amount of heat absorbed increases both below and above this level (the former because of increasing pressure, the latter because of increasing temperature). The other way to change sea water volume is to change its mass, that is, to add some more water to the oceans or subtract it from them (and store it elsewhere). The main processes here is melting of land based ice (or snow accumulation), water storage in reservoirs (negative contribution) and groundwater depletion. These processes do not have much effect on heat content of the climate system. The last two has simply none, while melting ice uses almost a hundred times less heat to produce the same sea level change as (steric effect of) heat absorption by water. ( -Snip- )
    Response:

    [DB] Off-topic unsupported conclusions snipped.

  31. Sea Level Hockey Stick
    "When dot-cloud radar scanners can penetrate 3700m of seawater and measure the bottom to an accuracy of 0.1mm, we could determine if the bathtub is growing or shrinking in volume. If the bottom was rising 1-2mm per year - there is your SLR." Surely they jest? What a lovely red herring. Occam's razor applies here, and some would rather have us debate how many angels can dance on a pin head, rather than face the fact that the global sea levels are rising in step with increasing temperatures as they have in the past (and here I mean over statistically significant periods of time). This paper has obviously causing "skeptics" and those in denial about AGW some cognitive dissonance and their posts here show that. Posts such as the one I quoted above are trolling and baiting, and nothing to so with the paper being discussed. It is also a perfect example of how someone in clearly denial can rationlize what they so dearly wish to believe. That is not science either. They are also examples of fabricating doubt, confusion and exaggerating uncertainty, claiming that "we do not know everything so we know nothing" all tricks routinely plied by the "skeptic" and denialist misinformation machine. Can we please get back on track folks.
  32. Websites for Watching the Arctic Sea Ice Melt
    Eric, is the trend in sea ice volume or in minimum sea ice extent linear or nonlinear? And please do not insult everyone's intelligence by suggesting that the trends are based on 'one or two points'! These things can and indeed have been assessed properly, and we do not need to rely on your 'anticipation' to evaluate the shape of the current trend.
  33. Eric the Red at 01:55 AM on 25 June 2011
    Websites for Watching the Arctic Sea Ice Melt
    JMurphy, I find no one in the Hansen report were he says that the amount of CO2 added to the atmosphere today is enough to raise sea levels 5m.
  34. Eric (skeptic) at 01:51 AM on 25 June 2011
    Websites for Watching the Arctic Sea Ice Melt
    #92, moderator, if went to zero tomorrow CO2 would immediately exponentially decay to half way back to 280 in less than 48 years. There is simply no other possibility considering how much we have put in the atmosphere and how much remains. I posted a simple spreadsheet showing this here: https://www.iwork.com/document/en/?a=p1415598010&d=CO2growth.numbers
    Moderator Response: [Dikran Marsupial] You would indeed get a fairly swift reduction half way back to the pre-industrial level (although 48 years would be an optimistic estimate IIRC), however the decay would not be a simple exponential and the reduction to a quater of the way to the pre-industrial equilibrium would take very much longer.
  35. Renewables can't provide baseload power
    rcglinski, did you actually read the report that the graph came from ? In it, it states this : In 2050, energy demand is 15 per cent lower than in 2005. Although population, industrial output, passenger travel and freight transport continue to rise as predicted, ambitious energy-saving measures allow us to do more with less. Industry uses more recycled and energy-efficient materials, buildings are constructed or upgraded to need minimal energy for heating and cooling, and there is a shift to more efficient forms of transport. Now, straight-faced or otherwise, what are your arguments against that ? For further information, read the report, especially from page 44.
  36. A Detailed Look at Renewable Baseload Energy
    Great article, lot to digest.
  37. Renewables can't provide baseload power
    The very first graph has global energy consumption peaking soon and then declining. That doesn't pass the straight face test.
  38. Sea Level Hockey Stick
    Ken Lambert @ 89, says "When dot-cloud radar scanners can penetrate 3700m of seawater and measure the bottom to an accuracy of 0.1mm, we could determine if the bathtub is growing or shrinking in volume. If the bottom was rising 1-2mm per year - there is your SLR.". That was my point at the end of #48. There is still a lot we have little knowledge of, including sea floor topography.
  39. Websites for Watching the Arctic Sea Ice Melt
    Eric the Red wrote : "My comments were to counter michael's claims that if we stopped emitting CO2 today that temperatures would continue to rise dramatically, resulting in several meters of sea level rise." Are you referring to michael sweet's comment at 91 ? If so, I can see no use of any form of the word 'drama' and he links to a paper by Hansen et al which predicts a sea-level rise of up to 5m. What would you call 5m, if not 'several' ? Can you specify where your use of the word 'dramatically' comes from (or withdraw it, if you can't), and show how your argument against Hansen et al is backed by peer-reviewed research.
  40. Eric the Red at 23:53 PM on 24 June 2011
    Websites for Watching the Arctic Sea Ice Melt
    All, My comments were to counter michael's claims that if we stopped emitting CO2 today that temperatures would continue to rise dramatically, resulting in several meters of sea level rise. My point was that nothing that has happened to date is irreversible. No one has presented anything to dispute that contention. Speculating that future events will happen does not constitute evidence. What is the best way to predict the future? Simple, by looking into the past. Some may call this optimistic, becasue I am not anticipating acceleration in the trends. Can you actually say something is accelerating based on one or two points? Do you reason to believe that the trend is nonlinear?
  41. Linking Extreme Weather and Global Warming
    Eric the Red wrote : "Overall, AGW predicts greater precipitation, but not snow." Precipitation is precipitation, whether it falls as rain or snow, and others here have already shown how snow can be more likely, depending on local or regional conditions. More information and links available from Jeff Masters : Another interesting result from the Changnon et al. (2006) paper of Figure 2 is the relationship between heavy snowstorms and the average winter temperature. For the contiguous U.S. between 1900 - 2001, the authors found that 61% - 80% of all heavy snowstorms of 6+ inches occurred during winters with above normal temperatures. In other words, the old adage, "it's too cold to snow", has some truth to it. The authors also found that 61% - 85% of all heavy snowstorms of 6+ inches occurred during winters that were wetter than average. The authors conclude, "a future with wetter and warmer winters, which is one outcome expected (National Assessment Synthesis Team 2001), will bring more heavy snowstorms of 6+ inches than in 1901 - 2000. The authors found that over the U.S. as a whole, there had been a slight but significant increase in heavy snowstorms of 6+ inches than in 1901 - 2000. So, there is evidence that the average climate of the U.S. over the past 100 years is colder than optimal for heavy snow events to occur. If the climate continues to warm, we should expect an increase in heavy snow events for a few decades, until the climate grows so warm that we pass the point where winter temperatures are at the optimum for heavy snow events. However, a study by Houston and Changnon (2009) on the most severe types of snowstorms--the "top ten" heaviest snows on record for each of 121 major U.S. cities--shows no upward or downward trend in the very heaviest snowstorms for the contiguous U.S. between 1948 - 2001. And Joe Romm : Research says big snow storms not inconsistent with — and may be ampliflied by — a warming planet
  42. Sea Level Hockey Stick
    Ken Lambert @90, "I am not going to check your sums this time Tom, but I do wonder why you present such an array of number facts and then cast doubt on your own sums which are supposed to make your point." Because, KL, unlike you I would rather arrive at the truth than make a point. That is why I can admit my errors, while you give every evidence of being incapable of doing so.
  43. Sea Level Hockey Stick
    Tom Curtis #84 Sediments are a very small contributor globally - less than 0.2mm/annum by my rather old sum extrapolating the Yangtze River flow. "Please by all means check my maths as I am notorious for errors in that area, but this simple reality check suggests there is no significant impact on ocean volume by sedimentation" I am not going to check your sums this time Tom, but I do wonder why you present such an array of number facts and then cast doubt on your own sums which are supposed to make your point.
    Moderator Response: [Dikran Marsupial] Please stick to discussing the science, rather than comments regarding the motives of the participants. As this is an area where you have tended to sail rather too close to the wind with respect to the comments policy, it would be well worth refraining from such comments entirely. As it happens, explicitly stating any uncertainties in ones argument is standard operating procedure in the sciences. "If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts: but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties" - Francis Bacon
  44. Sea Level Hockey Stick
    Tom Curtis #84 BP#80 BP seems to me making good unanswered points. This whole SLR debate should be reframed as a VOWIO (volume of water in oceans) debate. Because that is the real measure of warming via thermal expansion and ice melt. I did some numbers a while ago on sediments and biomass - and they were one or two orders of magnitude smaller than the 2-3mm/year of SLR. When dot-cloud radar scanners can penetrate 3700m of seawater and measure the bottom to an accuracy of 0.1mm, we could determine if the bathtub is growing or shrinking in volume. If the bottom was rising 1-2mm per year - there is your SLR.
  45. The chief troupier: the follies of Mr Monckton
    Ken wrote: "Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" was found unfit for use as an educational tool..." More fiction. An Inconvenient Truth continues to be distributed in the UK as educational material. The judge in the Dimmock case (which you presumably refer to) found that it was "substantially founded upon scientific research and fact" and thus allowed for use in schools. The judge did require that a 'guidance' document accompany showing of the film to inform students that a few parts of the film expressed views which were still disputed by some skeptical scientists. Seriously, don't you ever get tired of being lied to? As to Williams... you now argue that he has a closed mind because he didn't read the 'Climategate' letters. That's arguable... but very different from your assertion that he (among others) is guilty of outrageous claims and distortions. For which you have still provided no examples that are not demonstrably false.
  46. Sea Level Hockey Stick
    #86 ... and also, on the other hand, that many commentators on this site seem to get genuinely happy for every new hockey stick that shows up!
    Moderator Response:

    [DB] I'm extremely certain that every single regular poster here would like nothing more than for a "silver bullet" to be found that makes the entire problem of the radiative physics of our fossil fuel emissions "go away".  But being human, there is a natural tendency towards elation when we have solid scientific data showing the dissembling of the denialist movement to be exactly what it is: a house of cards built on shadows and myths.

    [Dikran Marsupial] Proof that every cloud has a silver lining, even if it is only one atom thick! ;o)
  47. Sea Level Hockey Stick
    81, okatiniko - I realise this ha been declared OT but thought I'd make you aware of some developments since that 2004 paper. This is a comment on the paper published in 2006 pointing out errors in their methodology. Further discussion here.
  48. IPCC Report on Renewable Energy
    Hey Rob, I'm totally with you on this-trust me. I was simply making the point that the coal industry-both in the US & Australia-rarely even *try* to rehabilitate the land they destroy, which is one of the reasons their costs are so low. Now they want to risk polluting our ground water by switching to *fracking*! Time to send this dinosaur of an industry into extinction!
  49. Sea Level Hockey Stick
    Methinks that some around here, and presumably on certain well-known blogs really don't like hockey sticks showing up in different kinds of palaeoclimate records...
  50. Rogues or respectable? How climate change sceptics spread doubt and denial
    Where I first heard about the Galileo Movement I immediately thought that we could add a third bit of advice to an old saying. "Never play poker with a man called Doc, never eat at a place called Mom's and never trust a science organistaion calling itself the Galileo Movement."

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