2015 SkS Weekly Digest #2

SkS Highlights

Not pHraud but pHoolishness, a guest post by Richard Telford attracted the most comments of the articles posted on SkS during the past week. Another guest post, Climate Deniers Employ Predatory Tactics in Fight Against Facts: Scientist by Deirdre Fulton attracted the second highest number of comments. 

Be sure to check out our new featureMedia Matters Posts about Environment & Science 

El Niño Watch

Japan's weather bureau said on Friday the El Nino weather pattern, often linked to both heavy rainfall and drought, is continuing but added that the phenomena could end over spring.

The Japan Meteorological Agency forecast said the El Nino, which emerged during last summer for the first time in five years, was already starting to ease.

El Nino likely to head to an end over spring: Japan weather bureau, Reuters, Jan 9, 2015 

Toon of the Week

2015 Toon 2 

Quote of the Week

The letter calls on Stanford to pull out of all fossil fuel investments, not just coal. “The urgency and magnitude of climate change call not for partial solutions, however admirable; they demand the more profound and thorough commitment embodied in divestment from all fossil-fuel companies,” the letter says.

“The alternative – for Stanford to remain invested in oil and gas companies – presents us with a paradox: if a university seeks to educate extraordinary youth so they may achieve the brightest possible future, what does it mean for that university simultaneously to invest in the destruction of that future? Given that the university has signalled its awareness of the dangers posed by fossil fuels, what are the implications of Stanford’s making only a partial confrontation with this danger?” 

Stanford professors urge withdrawal from fossil fuel investments by Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, Jan 11, 2015

SkS in the News

In his Wonkblog post, 2014 may set a new temperature record. So can we please stop claiming global warming has “stopped”?, Chris Mooney inserted the SkS Escalator graphic and introduced it with the following:

The weakness of the "pause" argument is perfectly captured in this GIF from the website Skeptical Science, showing that you can still have global warming even if you have shorter periods during which temperatures don't rise much:

SkS Spotlights

97 Hours: Rob Dunbar

Rob Dunbar's bio page

Coming Soon on SkS

Poster of the Week

2015 Poster 2

SkS Week in Review

Media Matters Posts about Environment & Science

Posted by John Hartz on Sunday, 11 January, 2015


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