Fake news, and any interesting news, can spread like wildfire. Unfortunately, recent wildfires in Greece generated more fake news. It has now become popular to blame every natural disaster on global warming. Here I try to explain why this attitude is wrong and can sometimes even impede our scientific progress. Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming (CAGW) is a scientific theory that states that carbon dioxide emissions from human sources are causing global temperature to rise … [Read more...]
The changing climate of science
Have mathematical models replaced good old-fashioned scientific testing? An understanding of the big picture in a field of study helps to frame and give essential perspective to that field. Take the field of natural science for instance. A big-picture look at the overall operation of the natural science profession has traditionally been seen in the “scientific method,” which consists of observation, hypothesis and testing. Rigorous testing of a hypothesis eventually leads to a … [Read more...]
The Curbelo Carbon Tax as Wealth Redistribution
No matter how you look at it, the Florida Republican’s new proposal is bad policy. Environmental policy as a tool of wealth redistribution is nothing new. The latest example is a proposal for a greenhouse-gas (GHG) tax just introduced by Representative Carlos Curbelo (R., Fla.). Curbelo’s tax would start at $24 per metric ton of GHG emissions, growing 2 percent per year above inflation and an additional $2 per ton every two years if emission-reduction goals are not met. Those goals rise … [Read more...]
The Complex Climate Conundrum: Moving from Panic to Progress
The media buzz about climate doomsday can be quite overwhelming to any ordinary person who is not into sciences or academia. In recent decades, more and more people have been persuaded to believe that an imminent climate collapse is at hand. But do we know enough about climate change to justify such claims? How much sense can we make from what we do know? I’ve grappled with these questions for over a decade, starting with my graduate studies in climate science at the University of East … [Read more...]
Anti-Science Attitude and Media Lies: Your Blinded Climate Friend
Climate change is divisive. While most conservatives tend to be skeptical of the dangers of climate change, most liberals tend to exaggerate them. Within the scientific community too, a plethora of scientists believe the current change in climate is not unprecedented. Their opinion stands in stark contrast to opinions held by scientists who head the climate policy making bodies at the United Nations. Friends are no exception. Recently, a friend told me that climate change's impact is very … [Read more...]
From Soil to Dirt to Soil: The Legacy of Eugene Poirot and William Albrecht
Ideas have consequences, and words have meaning. So if we want to talk about subjects of science, we need to start with our thoughts and the words we use. For soils people, dirt is inert. We all played in the mud or dirt as kids, didn’t we? Mud puddles could be turned into clay structures and mud balls thrown at combatants. We had great fun—to the consternation of the mothers who saw the dirt all over bodies, clothes, hands and feet. Dirt is what’s left after the life is gone out of soil. … [Read more...]
Are Record Temperatures Evidence of Manmade Global Warming?
It is a slam-dunk certainty that American mainstream media will seize upon a recent story in the Los Angeles Times, “Southern California sets all-time heat records amid broiling conditions,” as justification for its continuing support of the contested theory of man-caused global warming. It has already happened with a Yahoo News story claiming that the new temperature records world-wide prove man causes climate change. But there are problems in pursuing that path. First, days that reach … [Read more...]
The “Temperature Circle” Deception
About a year ago, Finnish climate researcher Antti Lipponen posted a new way to visualize global warming, an animation he called the “temperature circle”. It displays the GISS land temperature data as colored bars for each country in the world radiating from a circle. As the temperature in a country goes up, the colored bar changes from a blue bar to a red bar, and gets longer…and wider: I didn’t pay much attention to the ‘temperature circle’ at the time as it seemed rather … [Read more...]
Hawaii’s Sunscreen Ban: A Good Law or More Needless Government Meddling?
On July 3, Hawaii became the first state to ban the sale of sunscreens considered harmful to coral reefs. The bill received bipartisan support. Banned sunscreens contain the chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate, which, as I'll explain in a moment, can harm coral. Personally, I'm against excessive environmental regulations that keep people from enjoying creation and shut down businesses for no good reason. So, if you are still reading, please use this as an opportunity to educate yourself on … [Read more...]
Scandals and Scott Pruitt
With EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s recent resignation, the scandal talk heats up again. According to CNN and the leftist Vox site, Pruitt had engaged in a number of scandalous activities, and even the conservative National Review had demanded Pruitt’s resignation before the publication permitted a guest column by a Pruitt associate that raised questions about whether or not he had engaged in disreputable behavior at all. For example, the Washington Post reported that Pruitt used his … [Read more...]
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