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Comments 23051 to 23100:

23051. Art Vandelay at 13:56 PM on 20 September 2016
       New study undercuts favorite climate myth ‘more CO2 is good for plants’
       

       I seem to recall that 25-28C is the optimum range for photosynthesis, so it makes sense that yeilds decrease at higher temperatrures above 30C.  

       Obviously, sunlight is essential for photosynthesis but I wonder to what extent the warmer winters will offset lower yeilds - by extending the growing season. This is something that isn't apparently adressed in the study.

23052. nigelj at 11:06 AM on 19 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       Michael Sweet @18, yes people in America seem very anti tax, although the congress seem more opposed to tax than the population at large. There seems this strange divergence of views betweeen the population and republican congress in particular.

       I have never had this visceral dislike of taxation, although obviously I don't want astronomical taxes either. I come from a small country and it's hard to provide  sufficient services without taxation, because the private sector is just small.

       It's amazing the euphemisms people ahve to use to describe a tax. I partly agree with your dumping fee  analogy and its quite a good way to promote a carbon tax, however strictly speaking the idea is to stop the dumping completely rather than charge for it, and use the dividend for good works, presumably climate related.

       My ideal preference is that we should require companies to leave fossil fuels in the ground or firmly regulate these companies and other emitters. Of course this is probably  not politically sellable, so it leaves carbon taxes or an ets.

       A carbon tax just seems the most practical option.

       Another thing about emissions trading schemes. In theory these market driven schemes should encourage innovative solutions, but markets are notoriously slow to respond to price signals and change behaviour. I'm not sure we have the luxury of a slow system like this given the current global warming situation. A carbon tax combined with some selective regulation may provide faster results.

23053. michael sweet at 10:26 AM on 19 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       Nigelj,

       Sometimes people use the term "fee and dividend" instead of "tax" because so many people in the USA oppose any tax.  These two terms are equivalent (as long as the tax is accompanied by a dividend).  There is a fee at the dump to leave your trash, why shouldn't there be a fee to dump your trash in the atmosphere?

23054. scaddenp at 08:04 AM on 19 September 2016
       Humidity is falling
       

       Specific humidity is increasing, relative humidity is expected to be approximately constant. The processes are somewhat complex however and are discussed in considerable detail with measurements in sections 2.5.4 and 2.5.5 of the AR5 WG1.

23055. nigelj at 07:45 AM on 19 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       Tom Curtis @16,

       I agree public perceptions are important. The public may see a carbon tax as easy enough to understand, and reasonably transparent and upfront. They may see an ETS as complicated and involving some sort of rort by the corporate sector. 

       It’s interesting as my initial reaction was that a carbon tax might be unpopular as people are wary of new taxes, and that an ETS may be more publicly acceptable as its a market mechanism. Things often don’t turn out as expected.

       However I still see other more practical problems with an ETS. An ETS relies on trust, that companies have reduced emissions, met obligations, and forests are in fact planted. All this requires complex monitoring by government. A carbon tax is right upfront. Use of fossil fuels either decreases or it doesn’t. It all just seems easier to verify, or at least in a way that is easy for the public to comprehend.

       Of course an ETS could in theory lead to carbon sequestration rather than reducing fossil fuels. The scheme is kind of market driven and we cannot fully predict the ultimate solution or direction, only guess it. However I ‘m a born sceptic of market mechanisms ( I declare a bias there) and it just seems to me the obvious goal has to be to reduce fossil fuel use as directly as possible.

       However I’m not opposed to either scheme in principle, and the devil is in the detail of either approach.

23056. Marty Weirick at 23:39 PM on 18 September 2016
       Researching climate change communication at George Mason University
       

       Congratulations, John.  Seems to me you are stepping into the lion's den.  I can't think of anyone better to help tame the deniers.

       Best Wishes and have Great Success.

       Marty Weirick

23057. michael sweet at 23:00 PM on 18 September 2016
       2016 SkS Weekly News Roundup #38
       

       The front page headline (on-line, I do not receive a hard copy) in the Los Angeles Times (one of the biggest newspapers in the USA) today was Trump's climate science denial clashes with reality of rising seas in Florida.  (link to article )  On-line it was accompanied by a large picture of a street in Florida submerged by high tide.  The article said that the biggest tides of the year are always in the fall.  Perhaps Trump will be required to explain the flooding.

       Headlines like this can only mean time for the deniers is running out.  We must hope that Trump does not get elected to continue the farce for four more years.

       Moderator Response:

       [JH] Thnk you for highlighting the LA Times article. I will post a link to it on the SkS Facebook page today.

23058. BilB at 20:57 PM on 18 September 2016
       Climate change doubled the chances of Louisiana heavy rains, scientists warn
       

       I think that statements such as 

       "Understanding all the ways we humans are altering the weather is important"

       ....are missleading because they imply that understanding climate change is complicated, when it is in fact quite simple. The experience of climate is complicated, but why it is changing is very straight forward. 

       There is one dirty little secret that cliamate science takes for granted, but form the dozens of people that I have asked no-one else knows. And they don't know this because they generally don't need to know, and because it is counter intuitive. I frame this in the question, " which is heavier, moist air or dry air?"  Invariably the answer is "Well Moist air of course".

       My doctor was the first to get it right off the cuff but a geologist friend took the damp appraoch, and I only discovered this fact a while ago. 

       Climate scientists please step in here if I have actually got this all wrong.

       So what is going on. It is beyond dispute that CO2 is retaining back scatter radiation and the retained energy is largely going into our oceans which are slowly warming. This warming of the ocean surface and the drying of land is increasing the moisture content of the air near the surface.

       That is the Global Warming part of the process.

       The Climate Change is what happens next. We all grew up knowing that warm air rises to form clouds, which it does. But what we were not taught is that moist air rises also. In fact the density difference between moist air with 10% moisture and dry air at the same temperature is 4%. It takes 35 deg C temperature difference in dry air for their to be a 10% difference in the density. So a body of warm very moist air has two causes to make it begin to rise to form a rain storm. There is nothing new about humid air, what is different in our lifetimes is the amount of moisture available to drive storms once they form, and where these bodies of moist air are forming and the volume of rain they create over short periods of time. That is the first part of the climate change effect, the second is in the amount of air that is being driven around by these increased energy flows, and that is the second part we experience as climate change in the form of weather. 

        

       Science must focus on the complexity of the process of climate, but the rest of us simply need to know the fundamental principle which is that more heat means more moisture which means more atmospheric circulation which means more intense rain, more wind, more heat and for a time more cold.

       The two primary mechanisms are CO2 absorbs back scatter radiation and re-emits it, and moist air rises. 

       I puzzled for a long time over why Low pressure systems (rising air) would form in Arctic regions, the knowledge that moist air rises answers that.

        

       So I argue that understanding Global Warming and Climate Change should not be shrouded in technical mystery, when it is in fact the product of several straight forward robust physical principles.

23059. wili at 20:36 PM on 18 September 2016
       2016 SkS Weekly News Roundup #38
       

       Thanks, again, for these. There is a typo in the title: "Blame Global Warming for Your Bad Attixtude"

       Moderator Response:

       [JH] Thank you, "Eagle Eye."  :)

23060. Art Vandelay at 13:59 PM on 18 September 2016
       BBC climate coverage is evolving, but too slowly
       

       Tom Curtis @18, "Ergo the requirement to be impartial does not supercede the requirement to by truthful and accurate."

       News isn't the same thing as an editorial, which is a considered opinion.  Shukman's corresponsence article (as linked by Dana)  is a news story, not an editorial, so if he's reporting as news what someone has said then he's definitely not obligated  to pass judgement, and indeed it would be in violation of BBC standards to do so.

       4.4.12

       News in whatever form must be treated with due impartiality, giving due weight to events, opinion and main strands of argument. The approach and tone of news stories must always reflect our editorial values, including our commitment to impartiality.

       There is however plenty of scope to fully scrutinise  Trump's views on climate and coal etc through editorials, so I don't personally see this as an obstacle to the preservation of truth and dissemination of facts. 

23061. juanmarch at 13:32 PM on 18 September 2016
       Humidity is falling
       

       My understanding is that specific (or absolute? I always get those confused) humidity is increasing.  Because this would neccessarily capture heat, the atmosphere should warm — thereby increasing its capacity to absorb water.  This increase in capacity would result in a lower measurement of relative humidity.  You can see then how an H2O positive feedback loop would operate, even in the absence of CO2.  I don't personally have any instruments to measure it!  The prediction would be rising temperatures, rising absolute (or specific?  U guys figure it out) humidity and decreasing relative humity as the planet goes to hell.

23062. denisaf at 12:42 PM on 18 September 2016
       Climate change doubled the chances of Louisiana heavy rains, scientists warn
       

       This study just adds to the understanding that irreversible climate disruption and ocean acidification and warming is under way. Sea level rise, more frequent storms, floods and droughts are just some of the predicaments that societies from farmers to urban dwellers will have to try to deal with as the available natural resources irrevocably decline. This will limit what engineers attempt to do. 

23063. william5331 at 11:50 AM on 18 September 2016
       Climate change doubled the chances of Louisiana heavy rains, scientists warn
       

       So the question is what to do about it.  We are unlikely to reduce our carbon dioxide output any time soon and even if we achieved zero C tomorrow, there is some more warming in the pipe line.  Some measures that come to mind are:

       1/ Legislate against the construction of any more buildings within, say, 10 meters vertical elevation above sea level. 

       2/ Begin to put houses below this level on pilings or similar to get them above the flood zone.

       3/  Make sure there are beavers in every possible stream in Florida.

       4/  Get the army core of engineers out of the mississippi catchment and tear down levis which protect farm land upstream.  The Mississippi must be allowed to flood its flood plane and it must be able to start depositing silt where it originally did.

       5/ Plant and protect mangroves everywhere possible.  Floods from the sea will begin to be more and more common and when combined with a dump of fresh water, will have huge effects.

23064. Tom Curtis at 10:02 AM on 18 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       nigelj @15, the link you provide at the end is indeed informative.  Thanks.

       With regard to governments not operating in good faith, as appears to be the case with the NZ government, and is definitely the case with the Australian government - no policy is immune to being sabotaged by such a government.  As a result, I don't think that is a consideration.  Rather, we must see which policy operates best when practised in good faith, and which can secure the most public support in order to make it politically costly to sabotage it.  I believe carbon taxes are an easier sell in that regard than emission trading schemes; so in political reality I expect carbon tax regimes to be more frequent in the future than ETS schemes.

23065. nigelj at 09:44 AM on 18 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       Tom Curtis @14

       Thank's for that very detailed reply. It does clarify some things although I just didn't expect such detail and its appreciated.

       I do broadly understand how the ETS works with permits etc. As I said the idea makes lots of sense in theory and a textbook. Its the application in the real world that seems less convincing. However a carbon tax would have some challenges as well.

       I think the problem is also partly my countries specific version of an ETS. There have been free allocations, unfortunately, and the government doesn't like using income generated as subsidies. I hear what you say about not needing subsidies in an ideal world, but surely its obvious governments should subsidise recharging stations for electric cars?

       Our government also wants all reliance to be put on the ETS and generally opposes add on"measures" or regulations, with a few small exceptions. I agree with the regulatory measures in your final paragraphs, but our government has ruled those out, unfortunately. They have even let a coal fired plant stay in use for no compelling reason.

       However my gut feeling (not very scientific I know) is that its easier for governments to produce a weak ETS than a weak carbon tax! I just think the ETS idea smells a bit wrong, when it comes to trying to make it work in the "real world".

       The following link gives an interesting, balanced comparison of carbon taxes and ETS schemes. You will be aware of all this and certainly better than me, but other readers may be interested.

       www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/31/carbon-tax-cap-and-trade

23066. Tom Curtis at 08:22 AM on 18 September 2016
       BBC climate coverage is evolving, but too slowly
       

       Art vandelay @16, the requirement to be impartial is not to be found in the BBC Charter.  Rather it is to be found in the editorial standards, which state, in part:

       "1.2.2 Truth and Accuracy

       We seek to establish the truth of what has happened and are committed to achieving due accuracy in all our output. Accuracy is not simply a matter of getting facts right; when necessary, we will weigh relevant facts and information to get at the truth. Our output, as appropriate to its subject and nature, will be well sourced, based on sound evidence, thoroughly tested and presented in clear, precise language. We will strive to be honest and open about what we don't know and avoid unfounded speculation.

       1.2.3 Impartiality

       Impartiality lies at the core of the BBC's commitment to its audiences. We will apply due impartiality to all our subject matter and will reflect a breadth and diversity of opinion across our output as a whole, over an appropriate period, so that no significant strand of thought is knowingly unreflected or under-represented. We will be fair and open-minded when examining evidence and weighing material facts."

       Ergo the requirement to be impartial does not supercede the requirement to by truthful and accurate.  Nor do they even conflict, given that to be impartial means to be unswayed by partisan positions, not to have a position intermediate between whatever partisan positions are dominating the current discourse.

       Given that, and given the clear contradiction between Trump's position and the science, Trump's position cannot be truthfully and accurately described unless the clearly relevant fact that it is in clear contradiction of the science is also mentioned.  Nor would it be partisan to do so.  The requirement is to state the facts regardless of whether or not they are helpful or harmful to the positions of particular parties.  To not state the facts because they would be harmful to the position of a particular party is in fact not to be impartial, but to become partisan by default.

23067. Tom Curtis at 08:12 AM on 18 September 2016
       Greenhouse effect has been falsified
       

       C Sheen @157:

       1) The TSI is 1370 W/m^2, not 1370 Watts.

       2) The formula for the volume of a sphere is 4/3*pi*r^3, not 4/3*pi*r^2.

       3) That means the units of TSI/volume/volume (which is your purported formula) is W/m^2/m^3/m^3 which is W/m^8, ie, not the formula for power density at all.  Ergo your formula is in error, and the near coincidence between the purported value of your formula (385 W/m^8) and the surface upward IR flux (390 W/m^2) is coincidental and irrelevant.  It provides no evidentiary support for your strange physics at all.

       4)  Further, even were we dividing the solar flux by the volume of two spheres, the formula would not be Solar Flux/Volume₁/Volume₂ but Solar Flux/(Volume₁+Volume₂).  Preserving your other assumptions that would have a value of 513.75 W/m^5, not 770.625 W/m^8 as is given by your formula.  That value is, of course, coincidental to nothing of any note relating to surface flux, so your conclusion that your formula delivers a result "...is in line with observations" is entirely the result of the use of the wrong formula, even if we ignore the disparity of units.

       5)  The only way to make the units to come out correctly is if we assume that you are determining the power density for a column, with a cross section of 1 meter squared at the solar zenith angle, and that the relevant volume is that of two spheres having a radius equal to (1/pi)^(1/3), or approx 0.683 meters.  That radius is necessary for the volume to come out as being 4/3 m^3.  Even so you will have used the wrong formula as per (4) above.  Given this assumption,

       a)  Your formula is for the column at solar zenith angle only, and in not way represents the power density of insolation over the sunlit half of the atmosphere, let alone the entire atmosphere;

       b) The volume of two spheres of radius 0.683 meters does not equal the volume of a column of atmosphere 1 m^3, and so is entirely unmotivated, and irrelevant to the value you purport to calculate; and

       c) You entirely neglect the impact of the albedo of the atmosphere including high cloud.

       6)  Were we, despite all these flaws, actually motivated to calculate the power density of insolation in the atmosphere, the relevant volume would be the volume of a sphere with the radius of the Earth plus the height of the atmosphere minus the volume of a sphere with the radius of the Earth.  Your two sphere approach is entirely wrong (as should have been evident by now in any event).  Further the insolation would be 1370 W/m^2 times the area of a circle with the radius of the Earth.

       Given that no climate scientist in the history of the science including several of the founders of the theory of thermodynamics has considered this approach, however, and that you have made such a dogs breakfast of attempting to do so, I see no reason to consider the approach further. 

       Contrary to the moderator, I see no reason why we should wish onto Science of Doom the refutation of a discussion so jam packed with fundamental errors of geometry.

        

       Moderator Response:

       [DB] Inflammatory snipped.

23068. John Hartz at 03:12 AM on 18 September 2016
       BBC climate coverage is evolving, but too slowly
       

       Art Vandelay: 

       Pronouncements of psuedo-science poppycock by climate science deniers does not constitute news! 

23069. Art Vandelay at 23:37 PM on 17 September 2016
       BBC climate coverage is evolving, but too slowly
       

       In fairness to BBC, what needs to be considered is that the BBC is constrained by charter to present news with impartiality, and the examples above by Dana181 all appear to be in compliance with the charter. The BBC is not offering 'opinion' here but rather is presenting 'news'. 

       If Dana is arguing that the BBC should be an arbiter or censor of news, it would likely be in violation of the charter.   

23070. C.Sheen at 22:16 PM on 17 September 2016
       Greenhouse effect has been falsified
       

       https://scienceofdoom.com/156. Tom Curtis at 07:01 AM on 25 July, 2016

       You are right, it is correct to divide by four for an approximation of earth temperature as a blackbody. If one uses the irradiation combined with albedo, you get a correct energy balance.

       That´s how we calculate what a body radiates to space. But I agree with fake reality that it should not be used as a surface temperature for solid mass. It is the temperature that a blackbody had when it is totally isentropic, the same temperature throughout it´s whole body, It should also be absorbing and emitting all radiation at it´s surface, which would be at the top of the atmosphere, or the point where 1370W-albedo is the mean flux.

       Since we are dealing with a sphere, and it is only irradiated on half the surface area, and we know that convection and conduction dominates the surface exchange, we should use radiant energy density instead. It has the units J/m^3 and for a sphere we get that by dividing the fluxdensity with 4/3pi*r^2 instead of 4pi*r^2. It is done for all volumes in contact via surfaces, so for the earth surface it is done twice, once for the atmosphere and once for the solid surface.

       
       In wikipedia we can read:

       This article is about energy per unit volume. 

       Energy density is the amount of energy stored in a given system or region of space per unit volume or mass, though the latter is more accurately termed specific energy. Often only the useful or extractable energy is measured, which is to say that chemically inaccessible energy such as rest mass energy is ignored.[1] In cosmological and other general relativistic contexts, however, the energy densities considered are those that correspond to the elements of the stress–energy tensor and therefore do include mass energy as well as energy densities associated with the pressures described in the next paragraph.

       Energy per unit volume has the same physical units as pressure, and in many circumstances is a synonym: for example, the energy density of a magnetic field may be expressed as (and behaves as) a physical pressure, and the energy required to compress a compressed gas a little more may be determined by multiplying the difference between the gas pressure and the external pressure by the change in volume. In short, pressure is a measure of the enthalpy per unit volume of a system. A pressure gradient has a potential to perform work on the surroundings by converting enthalpy until equilibrium is reached."

       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density

       
       When circumstances is that the energy exchange is dominated by conduction and convection at a surface, this is the preferred way to address the energycontent of the solid surface, which is the cause of the surface temperature.

       When dividing 1370W by 4/3 two times we get an absorbed amount of 770W/m^3. Like I pointed out earlier, earth only gets energy on half the surface, we need to distribute the energy absorbed to twice the volume of the sphere. That can be done in several ways, but dividing by two works good. Half the surfacemass is excited to a level equal to the mean total surface mass constantly. 2m^3 will radiate what is absorbed in 1m^3. That gives us 385W/m^3 radiated through 1m^2. Which is in line with observations.

       Then we can find out what earth radiate to it´s outer shell from dividing by four, then we get the atmospheric window of 96W/m^2.

       The effective temperature, the energy balance, is then 342W/m^2 for TOA-radiation. And the balance for the surface and atmosphere is 256W/m^2. The TOA-temperature we get from substracting 256W/m^2 from 385W/m^2, which becomes 128W/m^2. This is all done with simple geometry and such a simple solution seems to be correct. Especially considering what my wiki-link says, that it can be connected easily to pressure, magnetic field, enhtalpy etc. as well as W/m^2 and Kelvin. It accounts for mass, volume and the relative energy.

       It seems that weather and climate are only products of geometrical functions and solar radiation.

       
       I think your model of radiation, energy and the earth is lacking quite a bit.

       Moderator Response:

       [DB]  For those wishing to do so, one can also delve into the nitty-gritty details of the mathematics of the physics and chemistry of climate change at the website, The Science of Doom.

23071. BBHY at 21:55 PM on 17 September 2016
       BBC climate coverage is evolving, but too slowly
       

       Personally, I would be fairly happy if they just made this one simple change:

       " It releases carbon dioxide, which is blamed for global warming because it readily absorbs infrared heat energy."

       That way the reader does't just write-off the statement as, oh well, some blame CO2 and some don't. The reader understands immediately that there is an established physical link between CO2 and heat. If it absorbs heat, then even the most casual reader can see right away that it is entirely reasonable to expect CO2 to cause warming.

       It also makes the reader question; if it absorbs heat then why does Trump think it doesn't cause warming? It puts the doubt on Trump's (and the other deniers) position, since they offer no explaination as why something that absorbs heat would not have the obvious effect of causing heating.

23072. Tom Curtis at 20:34 PM on 17 September 2016
       Welcome to Skeptical Science
       

       Richard @18:

       1)  In the words of the IPCC AR5:

       "Global mean temperatures will continue to rise over the 21st century if greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue unabated.  Under the assumptions of the concentration-driven RCPs, global mean surface temperatures for 2081–2100, relative to 1986–2005 will likely1 be in the 5 to 95% range of the CMIP5 models; 0.3°C to 1.7°C (RCP2.6), 1.1°C to 2.6°C (RCP4.5), 1.4°C to 3.1°C (RCP6.0), 2.6°C to
       4.8°C (RCP8.5)."

       So, the projection is for the average over the two final decades of the century, and depends on assumptions about future changes in forcings.  For the scenario which has the best claim to be a BAU scenario (RCP 8.5) the projected temperature increase is 2.6 to 4.8 C, but depending no how robustly we reduce emissions it may be a lot less than that.

       2)  David Archer has said that as a rule of thumb, ""The lifetime of fossil fuel CO2 in the atmosphere is a few centuries, plus 25 percent that lasts essentially forever."  The processes are illustrated by this graphic showing the draw down from the addition of a large quantity of CO2 in one pulse:

       

       (Source)

       The "few centuries" is represented by the blue shaded portion of the graph, after which comes the long, slow drawn down (extending to about a million years or so to get rid of the last few ppmv increase).  The 25% is a rough figure, and depends on how much we emit in total.  The greater the amount the greater that value, with a full fledged BAU scenario pushing the value up closer to a third.

       3)  If we eliminate all anthropogenic emissions, the slow increase of temperature to equilibrium approximately matches in pace the slow draw down in CO2 concentration, with the consequences that temperatures remain approximately at the value to which they had risen when you eliminated all emissions.  This is an approximate projection, with mismatches in the paces possibly resulting in small fluctuations on either side of that, and overall uncertatinty meaning it may be a slow rise or slow fall overall.  This has been shown in simulations (to anwer your fifth question), but I cannot remember the relevant links at the moment, for which I apologize.  Your question (4) also appears redundant. 

23073. Richard13791 at 14:51 PM on 17 September 2016
       Welcome to Skeptical Science
       

       I am brand new to this site.  
       Here are some observations from the current literature, as I understand them, and questions:

       1. Average global temperatures are predicted to rise by 2100 by from 1.1 to 5.4 deg C. (Is this accurate?)

       2. Once CO2 gets into the atmosphere it stays there for a long time (How long?), and presumably continues to contribute to rising temperatures while it is there.

       3. To set a lower boundary on the problem, let’s say that ALL new human-produced CO2 and methane added to the atmosphere is reduced to ZERO starting tomorrow. Using current models, what is then the predicted change in average global temperature in 2100?

       4. Are my statements/assumptions accurate?

       5. Has anyone run the simulation I describe in (3)?

23074. Tom Curtis at 13:06 PM on 17 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       nigelj @12, your desciption of an ETS is foreign to my experience.  As I understand it, in an ETS a government sets a value for the maximum permitted emissions in its territory over a certain period.  Permits to emit up to that amount are then auctioned of to the public, being mostly bought by major emitters such as power stations, cement works and the like.  

       The revenue from the auction is then available to the government for whatever purposes it desires.  These should include compensation to low income earners and subsidies of renewables, but in a properly designed scheme, such subsidies are redundant if not counterproductive.  Consequently, ideally the revenue will be returned to the population on an equal per capita basis, or a floor plus pro rata on taxable income basis (or some other reasonable, equitable basis).  It should not be used for general revenue, as by design the take of am ETS (or carbon tax) will fall to zero within a few decades; and using the income from it as general revenue will build future deficits and probably reduction of services into the budget.

       The advantages of an ETS over a Carbon Tax are that companies that can more cheaply reduce their emissions will bid less for emission permits, and buy less permits.  That keeps down the cost of emission permits for those for whom the shift is more expensive, so the total economic cost (in reduced GDP growth) for a given reduction in emissions will be less for the ETS than for a Carbon Tax.  In addition, an ETS makes it easier to coordinate emission reduction policies internationally than does a Carbon Tax as noted above.  The advantages of a Carbon Tax are conceptual simplicity and ease of implimentation, although you still need to document emissions to tax them, so the advantage of a Carbon Tax in that regard is not as large as is often claimed.

       In both instances, revenue to the government can potentially be reduced by buying carbon credits from companies or individuals who earn them by negative emissions.  That can be avoided in a Carbon Tax by not allowing such credits, but that then means there is no economic advantage in sequestering carbon.  In the case of an ETS, the credits generated in this form are more likely to be used to allow more positive emissions by pairing them with negative emissions, thereby maintaining net emissions at the government prescribed level.  In Australia's briefly existing scheme, companies making emissions without emission credits from some source were forced to purchase them by law (which transaction because it was mandatory and on a short term, would probably result in a price premium).  The credits thus purchased were either subtracted from future total allowable annual emissions, or offset by credits from sequestration from other sources.

       I notice that the NZ ETS has an all free allocation, which is bad policy IMO.  That requires that allocation to industry be done on the basis of past emissions, and/or bureaucratic decisions, with neither basis likely to be economically efficient.  The only way to do an all free allocation is if it is done to all residents on an equal per capita basis; but even then, that requires all residents to become knowledgeable about the emissions market to be efficient (a big ask, IMO).

       With regard to subsidies for renewables, in a mature ETS or Carbon Tax system, they are at best redundant, and more likely counterproductive.  Any ETS or Carbon Tax should be introduced at a low pricing point (for an ETS that means total credits issued close to current emissions), and then ramped up gradually to minimize economic disruption.  Renewable energy subsidies should phased out durring that process such that they are eliminated when the ETS or Carbon Tax imposes a price close to current best estimates of the social cost of carbon.

       I agree, however, that further regulation in addition to the ETS or Carbon Tax is desirable.  Specifically, the building of new coal fired power stations, and the expansion and/or refitting of new ones should be prohibited unless the employ (or are refitted to employ) CCS that reduces their CO2 emissions per unit energy to the direct CO2 emissions per unit energy of Natural Gas powered plants.  Further, the development of new, or expansion of existing coal mines should also be prohibited.  Non-conventional oil and gas fields should also be subject to the same limits unless the newly developed fields sequester sufficient carbon to bring total fuel lifetime emissions down to those of conventional natural gas.

       Just the burning of currently commercially available coal will put us well past the 2 C limit, and the burning of all currently available and likely exploitable conventional oil and gas reserves will leave us well under.  Therefore the regulations above provide a usefull backup to the ETS at minimal economic cost. 

23075. nigelj at 11:13 AM on 17 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       Tom Curtis @12, I  have a preference for carbon taxes over emissions trading schemes, but I totally agree it comes down to the detail of a carbon tax versus an emissions trading scheme. I’m not closed minded on the issue.

       Carbon taxes are based on very strong evidence that price affects behaviour while the ETS scheme does the same but somewhat indirectly.

       Carbon taxes have one advantage that even a modest tax provides money that can be used to subsidise an activity of choice like, electric cars, or compensate low income people. Emissions trading schemes don’t do this or only subsidise forest planting. The problem is encouraging electric cars requires altering public perceptions, providing recharging stations etc and emissions trading schemes are not good at those things or would require a very high carbon price to get movement on these things. For example the ETS in my country has not encouraged electric cars.

       Of course you could argue philosophically that an ETS is setting up a “market platform or process” and the market may not see electric cars as the answer, - or not right now. Indeed companies in NZ are tending to purchase units in forests rather than cut emissions or develop new technology. However I just don’t like this market process thinking. It’s obvious to me we need electric cars, so we should just do this.

       I’m also a very results orientated person, and carbon taxes seem to be working in places like British Columbia. Emissions trading schemes do not have a great record in Europe or my country of New Zealand. Emissions trading schemes make sense to me in theory, in a textbook, however their record in the real world is not so good.

       Carbon taxes are also fully compatible with other measures like energy efficiency measures, and one would not rely just on a carbon tax. That much is commonsense. Emissions trading schemes are in theory stand alone schemes that should not require other measures, yet in reality they seem to require many other measures.

       You claim ETS schemes can internationally link up. In theory yes, but we have had problems in New Zealand with imported carbon credits of dubious value (from Eastern Europe) so your international linkages are not without problems.

       Of course it all comes back to how the ETS is designed I guess. My country may have a bad version.

       I agree with your last two paragraphs on assisting low income people hurt by emissions reductions schemes, etc, etc. However it’s sad that we have to go to such an extent of convoluted policy to persuade the more conservative viewpoint.

23076. Tom Curtis at 09:39 AM on 17 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       nigelj @2, the majority of the bureacracy required by Emissions Reduction Fund and Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) needs to exist regardless just to monitor total national greenhouse inventories.  The size of that bureacracy is, however, small relative to that required to admister most other government activities.

       While ETS are potentially rortable, most carbon taxes allow the purchase of carbon credits to ameliorate the tax, which introduces the most serious potential to be rorted in ETS as a feature of carbon taxes.  While that is not a necessary feature of carbon taxes, a carbon tax that lacks it will be far more onerous economically than one with it.  In order to avoid that, if emissions credits are not permitted, industries that are high emitters and which face unusual difficulties in reducing emissions are likely to be exempt from the tax, thereby eliminating the price signal to reduce emissions in those industries.  Consequently, in practise, the relative simplicity of a carbon tax relative to an ETS is not as great as you supose.

       Further, an ETS has the advantage of easilly linking up with other ETS schemes internationally, thereby turning local national solutions into global solutions.  (In the US or Canada, the same can be said for a transition between state or province based solutions to national solutions.)  Ideally we would be able to move to a situation in which there is a single, global carbon market with tradable national emission quotas determined by a strict, equal per capita allowance for each nation; said quota reducing annually on a clearly laid out trajectory.  In contrast, the coordination of carbon taxes in a similar manner is far harder, and necessarilly ad hoc.

       Given these to fact, I am in principle in favour of Emission Trading Schemes over Carbon Taxes, although in practise I need to see the details of any particular proposed ETS or carbon tax to determine my preference.

       I will note, on this subject that traditionally ETS and carbon taxes have been suggested on a fee and dividend basis with an equal per capita dividend.  There is a good argument in favour of this on the basis of equity (ie, that the permissible carbon emissions is a public resource, equally owned by all people in the world, so that all people should be equally compensated for its use), but it is not the only reasonable arrangement and its egalitarian nature, I am sure, is very off putting to more conservative voters and politicians.  Consequently a scheme in which there is a base credit sufficient to match in value the cost of the scheme to a person on the poverty line, and with no change in their expenditure patterns (and hence no reduction in emissions), and a second component distributed pro rata based on income tax paid (not taxable income) would have a better chance of being supported by conservative politicians.  It would still be equitable in the limited sense of not making the very poor worse of; but would not involve a massive income transfer between the wealthier and poorer sections of the population, and would reduce the economic impact of the scheme.

       Other, reasonably equitable schemes are also possible, and should be discussed so that we maximize the chance of getting conservative voters and politicians on board, and therefore doing something rather than remaining in a deadlocked situation.

23077. Tom Curtis at 09:11 AM on 17 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       Mal Adapted @10, provided the "or port of entry" is included, and carbon taxes are strictly leveled only on internal emissions of a nation (including fuel purchased for international journeys from that nation), I agree.  The later requires that the carbon tax not be paid on fuel extracted at the mine or well and exported (or that there be a rebate on exports).  Failure to include this provision means that we are taxing the carbon emissions of people whose national per capita emissions are very much below the global average; and making true the currently false skeptical claim that we are impoverishing the third world to salve our first world consciences.  It also makes impossible a fee and divident arrangement for importers of the fossil fuels.

23078. Mal Adapted at 08:50 AM on 17 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       michael sweet:

       The point of a carbon tax is to raise retail prices while wholesale prices remain the same.

       A carbon tax on fossil-fuel production at the source (mine, well or port-of-entry) make the most sense to me.  It would internalize a portion of the hitherto external costs of AGW, in the cost of fossil fuel production.  The producers would be forced to pass their increased cost on to their immediate customers, who are the refiners, distributors and other wholesalers.  That is, wholesale prices are the first to rise, and are passed on to consumers in higher retail prices.

23079. nigelj at 07:54 AM on 17 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       Michael Sweet @7

       Your justification of carbon taxes does make sense. Carbon taxes do seem the most practical option on the whole, and even a moderate tax would likely encourage electric car use given all the current pricing issues.

       Ideally I would see governments passing legislation that keeps fossil fuels in the ground! Of course this is a big move, and unlikely to be popular, or happen in the middle east, so carbon taxes are probably the best next alternative.

       We currently have an emissions trading scheme in New Zealand that has achieved almost nothing. We have had issues with imported credits of dubious origin and value.

       I suspect one weakness in the emissions trading scheme concept is it would have to be set very high to encourage electric car use. Our modest ETS certainly hasn't encouraged electric car use.

       Government oppose subsidies for electric cars, and put all their faith in the ETS as the single mechanism to encourage changes of behaviour and to fight climate change. This doesn’t make much sense to me, because they are relying on just one tool to deal with a very complicated range of issues.

23080. ijames at 02:33 AM on 17 September 2016
       Welcome to Skeptical Science
       

       Apathy and inaction are our greatest enemies. To quote Rachel Carson:

       “We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost’s familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road—the one “less traveled by”—offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.”

23081. denisaf at 23:04 PM on 16 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       The discussion relates to Australia's policy with respect to to the carbon budget, that is the release of greenhouse gases. Australia needs to adopt a sound emission reduction policy only to provide evidence that it is reducing the high per capita level. Ironically, what Australia does will have no impact on the rapid climate disruption and ocean acidification and warming that is under way because its emissions are a very small percentage of the global rate. More focus should be on measures to cope with such issues as sea level rise, more floods, storms and droughts.

23082. michael sweet at 10:52 AM on 16 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       Nigelj,

       The point of a carbon tax is to raise retail prices while wholesale prices remain the same.  This discourages use while it does not encourage more exploration.  It seems to me that your reference is mistaken.  It is only a newspaper report, not a peer reviewed source.

       In addition, your report assumes that there will be no replacement of current power by any other source.  Obviously if carbon is more expensive that makes renewables relatively cheaper and more likely to be deployed.  When energy is more expensive people also make more attempts to be more efficient.  That lowers demand which lowers profits of fossil fuel producers.

23083. scaddenp at 10:34 AM on 16 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       I dont think that makes sense. What would encourage more oil exploration is higher profit not higher prices. The oil companies dont pocket the carbon tax. The analysis that article uses is flawed. OPEC raising prices on their oil, raised all oil prices so companies can reap profits. Carbon tax does not do anything for companies. On the other hand, price elasticity for oil is currently low (lack of reasonable alternatives) and it would be more effective against coal (which is where it really counts). Electric vehicles are rapidly changing the picture however, and I think in a few more year, price elasticity on oil might substantially increase.

23084. nigelj at 09:42 AM on 16 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       Chriskoz @ 4

       The following article is a thoughtful, detailed analysis of some of the problems with carbon taxes, and it comes from a Greenie! Im sorry I dont have time to hunt down anything peer reviewed, however the article is something I read a while ago.

       www.greenbiz.com/article/why-carbon-taxes-arent-silver-bullet-climate-change

       The essential issue is a carbon tax pushes up the price of carbon, so certainly this will reduce use. However higher prices might encourage more oil exploration and so the increased supply of oil pushes the price back down, making the carbon tax self defeating at least to some degree.

       I dont know if studies have been done on existing carbon taxes in British Columbia or Canada etc to see if this happens. 

       Just to be clear, a carbon tax is certainly better than nothing. However carbon really needs to stay in the ground, and I favour more direct regulatory controls on emissions.

23085. chriskoz at 09:09 AM on 16 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       nigelj@2,

       Another approach is carbon taxes, which are simpler to administer. However the problem is they push up the price of carbon, so encourage more oil exploration.

       Can you elaborate please (best with a scientific reference that provides evidence of the issue) because it's news for me.

23086. chriskoz at 09:05 AM on 16 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       Thanks Clive for that important summary.

       I want to comment on the the implied politicization of CCA, implicitly blamed here on the actions of Abbott government. However the sentence:

       This is all the more regrettable because [the majority report is in opposition to the First Report and a special review] released in April 2015 (before the appointment of six new Members to the Authority in October 2015).

       (my emphsis)

       states that said politicization started happening under Malcolm Turnbull govenment, who assumed the offices of LNP leader & PM of Australia after defeating Tony Abbott in a leadership spill on 14 September 2015. Clearly, Turnbull with respect to climate mitigation, continues inadequate, if not outright wrong policies of his predecessor (Abbott), who as recently as 4-5years ago was saying that CO2 is nothing but "invisible and odourless trace gas", and as recently as 1y ago was saying that "coal is good to humanity". What was the point of the leadership spill of 14 September 2015, since the new PM continues the line of a  disgraced predecessor?

23087. nigelj at 08:51 AM on 16 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       My understanding is that the Emissions Reduction Fund is essentially a tax payer funded subsidy to encourage things like cleaner electricity generation. I dont totally oppose subsidies on principle, but I agree this one will be very bureaucratic and problematic. This scheme is trying to avoid being too hard on business directly, and so shifts costs onto the public as much as possible, but in a way that subtly hides the costs by giving it a grand, benevolent sounding name. Its laughable really, like a sort of game of hide and seek.

       But conventional emissions trading schemes (Cap and trade schemes, etc) also have considerable bureaucracy and complexity of administration, and are very easy to rort. I just haven’t seen these schemes having any real success, other than growing forests, which helps but is not an adequate answer to climate change. And there will be immense pressure to cut these forests down anyway, for the resource.

       Another approach is carbon taxes, which are simpler to administer. However the problem is they push up the price of carbon, so encourage more oil exploration.

       There are only two viable answers. Firstly direct regulatory control over electricity generation and car manufacturers, although again this has some complexity of rules.

       Secondly go to the source of the problem. Force fossil fuel companies to leave carbon in the ground. This is much simpler and stronger and gets to the cause of the problem.

       But of course this will lead to big protests from the fossil fuel industry, and also the public. We dare not contemplate this option. So we play silly games instead, that have made no difference, or only a very slight difference of no consequence. We pretend to solve the problem by tinkering.

23088. gws at 08:46 AM on 16 September 2016
       An update on methane emissions from fracking (in the US)
       

       Although some of its contents is outdated, the new paper in PNAS basically confirms the above calculations. For instance, they estimated an increase in annual methane emissions from fossil fuel sources of 21 Tg (terragrams, (same as millions tons per year) over the 2000s, which is at the upper end of the 1-2 million tons of anual increase accumulated over 10 years. Other results differ from the competing isotopic study in Science, so I guess we will have post another update some time next year ...

23089. Leto at 08:14 AM on 16 September 2016
       The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view
       

       Thank you for releasing this minority report. The deliberate pursuit of policies destined to reach a crisis within ten years should be front-page news.

        I have a some questions.

       1) Are any of the majority report authors available for comment, or have they already released comment elsewhere?

       2) Does the inadequacy of the majority report indicate that the Climate Change authority has become a sock puppet for Abottesque political forces?

       3) Have any of the minority report authors performed similar calculations for the more ambitious target of 1.5 degrees?

23090. terrymorse at 08:06 AM on 16 September 2016
       Extreme weather isn't caused by global warming
       

       I searched for some info on USS storm trends and how they relate to temperature change. But I couldn't find anything pertinent, so I decided to put together something myself that compares storm frequency to temperatures.

       The NOAA Storm Database has records of "Thunderstorm Wind" events going back to the 1950s, so I downloaded the years 1975-2015 (380,026 events in total).

       For temperature, I chose the NASA GISTEMP annual means for the Northern Hemisphere.

       Here's the graph of storm counts and temperatures for the past 35 years, showing a strong correlation between the two (97.35%):

       

       Moderator Response:

       [RH] Adjusted image size. Please limit your images to 500px in width.

23091. Tom Curtis at 14:54 PM on 15 September 2016
       There is no consensus
       

       Hathawad @737:

       1)      "There definitely is a consensus that CO2 can increase temperature, but nobody knows by how much"

       IPCC AR5:

       "The equilibrium climate sensitivity quantifies the response of the climate system to constant radiative forcing on multicentury time scales. It is defined as the change in global mean surface temperature at equilibrium that is caused by a doubling of the atmospheric CO2 concentration. Equilibrium climate sensitivity is likely [probability of 66% or more] in the range 1.5°C to 4.5°C [0.41- 1.22 C/(W/m^2))](high confidence), extremely unlikely [probability of 5% or less] less than 1°C [0.27 C/(W/m^2))] (high confidence), and very unlikely [probability of 10% or less] greater than 6°C [1.6 C/(W/m^2))] (medium confidence)."

       That is very simple to interpret.  If your assessment of the Probability Density Function (PDF) of the Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) shows a probability that the ECS lies between 1.5 and 4.5 C less than 66%, you are in disagreement with the IPCC, and your assessment lies outside of the consensus.  If your assessment is that the probability that the ECS is less than 1 C is greater than 5%, you are in disagreement with the IPCC, and your assessment lies outside of the consensus.  If your assessment is that the probability that the ECS lies above 6 C is greater then you are in disagreement with the IPCC, and your assessment lies outside of the consensus.  As a result it is clear that Nick Stokes estimates of the ECS, though low, are clearly within the consensus while those of deniers claiming an ECS of 1 C or less are not.

       I included in the quote from the IPCC the values interpreted as a Climate Sensitivity Factor, which allows you to simply multiply out a forcing to see the temperature response to that forcing.  Thus, at doubled CO2 the forcing is 3.7 W/m^2 +/- 10%.  From the forcing and the Climate Sensitivity Factor, the temperature impact of CO2 at equilibrium is easilly calculated.  In short, the temperature impact of CO2 is known within a significantly constrained range that excludes most denier estimates of the impact.

       2)    "According to believers the icecaps would have been long gone by now..."

       No climate scientist of any repute has claimed that the ice caps (ie, kilometers deep layers of ice covering Antarctica and Greenland, and some thinner ones on islands in the Canadian Archipelago) would have melted by now, or even by the end of the century.    Wieslaw Maslowski and Peter Wadhams has predicted an early loss of Arctic sea ice (ie, the very thin ice floating on the sea surface) around this decade.  The low bracket of their estimate has come and gone.  The central value of his estimate falls in the remaining four years of this decade, and are widely considered by sea ice experts to be utterly implausible.  The actual consensus position, as given in the IPCC AR5 is:

       "Based on the CMIP5 multi-model ensemble, projections of average reductions in Arctic sea ice extent for 2081–2100 compared to 1986–2005 range from 8% for RCP2.6 to 34% for RCP8.5 in February and from 43% for RCP2.6 to 94% for RCP8.5 in September (medium confidence).  A nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean (sea ice extent less than 1 × 106 km² for at least 5 consecutive years) in September before mid-century is likely under RCP8.5 (medium confidence), based on an assessment of a subset of models that most closely reproduce the climatological mean state and 1979–2012 trend of the Arctic sea ice cover. Some climate projections exhibit 5- to 10-year periods of sharp summer Arctic sea ice decline—even steeper than observed over the last decade—and it is likely that such instances of rapid ice loss will occur in the future. There is little evidence in global climate models of a tipping point (or critical threshold) in the transition from a perennially ice-covered to a seasonally ice-free Arctic Ocean beyond which further sea ice loss is unstoppable and irreversible."

       (My emphasis)

       

       (See the upper right panel in particular.)

       So, the consensus position is for a sea ice free Arctic around mid century, approximately 30 years from now, and that being avoidable if we mitigate climate change.

       3)   "...and we would be in knee deep water in Florida".

       The IPCC AR5 predicts a likely range for sea level rice in 2081-2100 of 0.52 to 0.98 meters (ie, enough to make you shin to knee deep if you stand at the current water level) assuming RCP 8.5 (essentially business as usual.  Predictions of knee deep sea level now except as a result of storm surge are figments of your own imagination.

       4)   "Over the past 11,000 years..."

       GISP 2 represents a temperature proxy for only one location on the earths surface, and consequently does not represent Global Mean Surface Temperature (GMST).  You should at the minimum use a mean of several long term temperature proxies, such as this one from Global Warming Art:

       

       The recent decadal average is up around 1 C on this scale, and well above the 2004 value indicated in the graph, and hence above the mean across all decades.  These proxies do not have a annual time scale so some decades in the past 10,000 years may have been warmer than our current decade - but we do not know that any were and it is likely that very few were.  Further, the temperature rise since 1850 is almost certainly unprecedented since the end of the last glacial.

       5)  "During evolution, the CO2 was many thousands of ppm and man was definitely not around then and yet life was possible during this "catastrophic" CO2 level"

       Durring those periods with very high CO2 levels, solar activity was significantly less than it is today.  This is known because solar activity increases overtime in a very predictable pattern.  The result is that combined forcing of CO2 plus solar was not much greater than preindustrial levels, and less than likely levels of forcing with Business As Usual:

       

       It is interesting to note that up to 65 million years ago, land life was dominated by ectotherms and endotherms, ie, creatures much less vulnerable to heat stress than is the case for humans.  Periods of elevated temperatures in the last 65 million years have also see a dominance of smaller animals, with a higher surface to volume ratio and higher basal temperatures (both contributing to more efficient cooling).  Neither of these facts is comforting to large, homeothermic animals such as humans when facing similarly elevated temperatures.  Rodents, snakes and cockroaches, on the other hand, will do just fine.

       In summary, your "points" rely mostly on misrepresenting the claims of climate scientists, or misrepresenting what is actually known.  An argument that can only be pressed by such means (as is the case with nearly all denier arguments) are not worth pursuing, or indeed, giving any credence to. 

       If you surprise me by actually responding, please do so on the appropriate threads as indicated by the moderator.

       Moderator Response:

       [JH] To make it easier for readers to disgest your posts, I suggest that you use italics font for the material you are quoting from the commenter you are responding to.  In this particular case, you may also want to put the quotes in bold-face because they essential serve as subject headers. 

23092. nigelj at 10:49 AM on 15 September 2016
       BBC climate coverage is evolving, but too slowly
       

       Tom Curtis@13

       Yes those seem like sensible media guidelines. I believe freedom of speech is very important, but is only the right to have an opinion without being censored (especially by government), or being assaulted. It is not a right to swear in public, tell lies without consequences, or to promote violence. For example we have defamation suits, and laws against inciting violence.

       The media have a special responsibility for what they say as they have such a wide readership and thus influence. They should of course be free to write whatever opinion they want in general principle, but the media should adhere to some basic standards and face censure if they don’t. Many media have codes of practice, but some are only voluntary in my country.

       For example the media should take all practical steps to ensure articles are honest, and not misleading, and that claims about research are backed up with sources stated. If the media claim they dont have the expertise to discern whether an opinion article by a guest writer is misleading or not, they should at least publish a contrary point of view for balance, and on the same page on the same day.

       However regarding climate change, I think opinion articles by so called sceptics have little value unless its an area of some remaining genuine debate like climate sensitivity. Sceptical opinions should mostly be covered in wider documentary style articles on climate change, that include both the IPCC position and sceptical views (robust points of view rather than the flakey stuff), and in a way that hides nothing and puts all claims in proper context. All the climate sceptical claims I have ever seen fall over once you look at the full context.

23093. Bob Loblaw at 09:54 AM on 15 September 2016
       There is no consensus
       

       Hathawad:

       If you want to learn about these things, go to the "View All Arguments" at the bottom of the thermometer image on the upper left of each page (below "Most Used Cliamte Myths"). You wll find nearly 200 links to various myths, of which your brief posts have covered a surprisingly large number for so few words.

       Your assertions are completely unsupported, and that counts for nothing at this site.

       ...and read the comments policy (link just above the box you type your comment in)

23094. Bob Loblaw at 09:46 AM on 15 September 2016
       Ice age predicted in the 70s
       

       No, Kabothpa, it is not an accurate statement. You seem to have neglected "science" in your comment: the '70s predictions were almost entirely media, with little science, while today there is a very strong science foundation reagarding future warming.

       You have played "bait and switch" (perhaps not intentionally) by first discussing a general statement about the 1970s ice age predictions, and finishing with a statement about media shaping public opinion. How public opion is shaped is not a discussion about the scientific position, and the 1970s scientific position on cooling (extremely limited support) is not at all like the current scientific position on CO2-caused warming (very strongly supported).

23095. kabothpa at 09:25 AM on 15 September 2016
       Ice age predicted in the 70s
       

       What happens when we take this article's opening statement, "1970s ice age predictions were predominantly media based", and apply it to today's climate debate? Let's see:

       "Climate change fears (ice age predictions) of the early 21st century (1970s) were predominantly media based." 

       Is that not an accurate statement? The public's perception of climate change in the modern era has been shaped by the media, not science. Of the millions of people who think they're saving the planet by driving a Prius, only a tiny fraction, far less than 1%, have actually taken the time to review actual scientific data on the topic. They don't know what the term 'greenhouse gas' actually means, nor do they care to. (They also don't know that the Nickel in their beloved Prius's batteries was extracted though mining operations that are more polluting than almost any other human activity).

       The media shaped public opinion on climate in the 1970s just like it does today. 

23096. nigelj at 08:50 AM on 15 September 2016
       Trump and the Republican Party are doing Big Oil's bidding
       

       Is big oil influencing the Republicans? Donald Trump does indeed appear to listen closely and surround himself with the fossil fuel lobby, and climate denialism people. Big oil is influential, and is implicated in attempts to discredit science, and this is all so reminiscent of the tobacco wars. The suggestion of an alternative “scientific method” shows how addicted people are to oil, and how desperate they will become.

       We have lobby groups and corporations funding election campaigns, so obviously they have huge influence over politicians, and the Republicans in particular seem extremely eager to please. The limits in the past on campaign funding in America have been weakened over the last 20 years, due to constant business lobbying, to give the lobby groups absolute power as below. This is the context that empowers climate change denialism.

       www.infoplease.com/us/history/campaign-finance-reform-timeline.html

       I came across this recently. Currently Trump claims climate change is just a hoax by the Chinese to damage American industry, which is of course totally ludicrous. However 7 years ago Trump called for urgent action to stop climate change, as below

       www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/06/trump-climate-change-new-york-times-letter-ad/486335/

       Trump is constantly changing his mind on too many things, and this does not seem like good leadership to me. Trump is possibly making climate change science a sort of expendable tool, to be manipulated or discarded to further his other agendas. This is really dangerous for humanity, and shows his contempt for science.

23097. Tom Curtis at 08:36 AM on 15 September 2016
       BBC climate coverage is evolving, but too slowly
       

       nigelj @12, I would certainly suggest the media treat the public climate science debate like that, whilst also making it very clear what passes as the public debate bears no ressemblance to the actual scientific debates in climate science.  Of course, I would also allow simple reporting of the science without bringing in what are clearly minority (in the scientific community) and poorly supported views.  I think we should expect nothing less than that standard from public broadcasters including the BBC (and the ABC in Australia).

       I also think that reasonably we can go further without risk of violating freedom of speech.  As a first step, it should be incumbent on media, by law, to indicate the primary funding source of their sources.  So, if they use Joe Bast as a source on the climate change debate, they should introduce him as, "Joe Bast from the fossil fuel funded lobbying organization, the Heritage Foundation".  Second, I think any media report claiming to be news or current affairs should meet minimal standards of balance and integrity of the views expressed to be able to make that claim (with a disclaimer that they do not purport to meet those standards if they are unwilling to do so) as a matter of truth in advertising.  Further, the special protections journalists recieve in some countries (and ought to recieve) such as the right to protect sources, and a higher standard of proof in defamation proceedings against them should be conditional on their conspicuously attempting to meet those standards of balance and integrity.

23098. nigelj at 07:33 AM on 15 September 2016
       BBC climate coverage is evolving, but too slowly
       

       Tom Curtis @ 8

       All true enough. Many sceptical claims are simply outrageous, yet the media let them go uncontested. This is wrong, wrong and wrong.

       I gather you are suggesting the media treat climate science somewhat like a Richard Attenborough documentary, and that both sides of the debate are presented, before reaching a conclusion on the more convincing side of the debate (The IPCC position). Climate sceptics would have a chance to explain exactly why they believe climate sensitivity is low, given that most science suggests climate sensitivity is medium to high. Their response would in turn be examined.

       This is my kind of television or writing. It absolutely takes things apart in a rational way. In fact a chap named Gareth Morgan has written a book on climate change called "Poles Apart" where he devotes several chapters to the mainstream IPCC position, and then a couple of good chapters on the sceptical position, - and treats this fairly. Gareth then evaluates everything and explains why he thinks the sceptical position is weak.

       Gareth is actually an economist in New Zealand, but also an environmentalist, multi millionaire and he employed teams of scientists from both sides of the debate for his book and gave them ample input. I have no connection with the guy, I just mention it as a very balanced account of the whole issue, and a very good read as an introduction to climate change for the general reader.

       The trouble is books or media documentaries like this are sophisticated and "nuanced" and may not get the huge crowds, so private sector media aren’t interested. The media have descended into sound bites and desperate attempts to be "noticed" and inflammatory. However I believe the BBC certainly has a duty to treat climate science is this doucumentary way, and it can be made really interesting with some effort. 

23099. hathawad at 05:39 AM on 15 September 2016
       There is no consensus
       

       Why do we analyze only a few hundred years back.

       We need to look back 11,000 years and you will see that the temperature has been much higher in the past and increased at a much faster rate in many occasions in the past. We focus to much on the recent past and its wron to base conclusions on this tiime period alone.

       Moderator Response:

       [TD] This comment is redundant with your previous one. Don't do that.

23100. Nate12674 at 04:25 AM on 15 September 2016
       BBC climate coverage is evolving, but too slowly
       

       Tom #7,

       Agreed, theory often needs to be adjusted or thrown out. But often observations or analysis are wrong or incomplete-throwing out theory that has other supporting evidence can be premature. Example: a recent observation of faster than light particles (neutrinos). Most sensible people took a wait and see attitude rather than throw out relativity, and were proven wise-the experimenters made a mistake.

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