Britain.s cold snap does not prove climate change wrong
Britain’s cold snap does not prove climate science wrong
Climate sceptics are failing to understand the most basic meteorology – that weather is not the same as climate, and single events are not the same as trends
Snow in Bury, Greater Manchester. Why is there a national outpouring of idiocy every time some snow falls? Photograph: Christopher Thomond
It’s as predictable a feature of the British winter as log fires and roasting chestnuts: a national outpouring of idiocy every time some snow falls.
The resurgence of el nino means that 2010 could be the hottest year on record
The resurgence of El Niño means that 2010 could yet be the hottest year on record
Despite the big freeze Britain’s climate is getting distinctly warmer – and we may feel it this summer
- The Observer, Sunday 10 January 2010
- Article history
It may be a hard notion to accept after a week that has seen the nation paralysed by snow and ice. Nevertheless, meteorologists are adamant that our world is still getting warmer. Indeed, many now believe that 2010 may turn out to be the hottest year on record.
Britain may be shivering, the Met Office may have issued emergency weather warnings for the entire country and hundreds of trains and flights may have been cancelled, but our future is destined to be a hot and sticky one. And we are likely to feel the consequences sooner rather than later.
It is a point stressed by Doug Smith, a climate expert at the Met Office. “The hottest year on record was 1998 and some people have argued that if global warming is really taking place, we should have had an even warmer year since then. We haven’t, I admit. And yes, the weather is absolutely terrible at present. However, I am sure things will change – and we won’t have to wait long either.”
Smith and other meteorologists say that for the past few years, temperatures have been prevented from soaring even higher than they did in 1998 thanks to one key factor: the El Niño warming of the Pacific. This phenomenon occurs at irregular intervals of between two and seven years and can last for months, pumping vast amounts of heat into the atmosphere. A strong El Niño occurred in 1998 and played a key role in heating the world to a record-breaking level. (El Niño is Spanish for “the boy”, a reference to the birth of Christ, which relates to the fact that this warming period typically begins around Christmas.)
In recent years, however, the Pacific has cooled thanks to a corresponding ocean phenomenon, known as La Niña (Spanish for “the girl”). It depresses sea surface temperatures and has played a key role in limiting global warming since the turn of the century. As a result, global temperatures have been prevented from rising above their 1998 record level. That cooling has now stopped, however, and a new El Niño warming period has just started in the Pacific.
The proliferation of nuclear panic is poltitics at its most ghoulish
The proliferation of nuclear panic is politics at its most ghoulish
The risk from radiation is exaggerated. Worst-case scenario fantasies are used to justify wars that cause many more deaths
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- guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 January 2010 20.00 GMT
- Article history
Some books are written to be read, others to be put in a cannon and blasted at the seat of power. Two such blasts have just crossed my desk, from academics on either side of the Atlantic. Both are on the same subject, the consequence of the irrational fear of radiation.
The first book, Radiation and Reason, is by an Oxford professor of physics, Wade Allison. It narrates the history and nature of nuclear radiation, culminating in an attack on the obsessive safety levels governing nuclear energy. These overstate the true risk, in Allison’s view, by up to 500 times, thus rendering nuclear prohibitively expensive and endangering the combat of global warming.
The second is Atomic Obsession by John Mueller, professor of political science at Ohio State University. Mueller describes the toxic fear associated with radiation from nuclear weapons. It distorts the balance of international relations and senselessly makes enemies of friends. The books jointly undermine conventional wisdom on the two greatest political challenges of the day, in the fields of energy and defence. As such, they are sensational.
Copenhagen blame game is obstacle to 2010 climate deal
Copenhagen blame game is obstacle to 2010 climate deal 24
The holidays are supposed to be the season of goodwill. But that has been in short supply over the past week and a half as governments and environmental groups blame each other for the disappointing outcome of the Copenhagen climate summit.
The blame game began with Europe-based environmental groups pointing the finger at President Obama and the United States. Greenpeace International said the U.S. had “dragged the talks down,” while Christian Aid singled out Obama for special condemnation and decried rich countries’ “strong arm tactics and intransigence.” President Lula of Brazil joined in, blaming Obama for offering “too little” when it came to pledges to cut emissions.
Sea-Rise and flood guide mapping
Here is an interesting site. http://flood.firetree.net/ It shows maps of the world which can be magnified in detail like Google maps. You set the extent of sea level rise from 1 metre to 14 metre rise in sea level and can check out the new shape of the new coastline. Check out Sydney for instance. Continue Reading →
Moralistic evironmentalists turn people off buying green
Ecologist
6th January, 2009
Poll shows that consumer willingness to buy ethical products has fallen, but the recession may not be the only cause
There has been a fall in consumer willingness to buy ethical products over the past two years, according to a MORI poll.
Today, 56 per cent of people are prepared to pay more for products that meet ethical standards compared to 68 per cent in 2007 and 63 per cent in 2005.
But confusion and distrust of ethical products remains high with 71 per cent admitting to having difficulty judging ethical standards and 73 per cent of people believing companies pretend to be ethical just to sell more products.