With all of the pending disasters blamed on global warming blasting their way through the media, I can understand why many might fear the future climate. We are told emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), are destroying not only polar bears and petunias, but the planet as a whole. If we don’t “stop global warming,” The End will surely come. I am a climate scientist. My research and that of many others does not lead me to be afraid for the climate’s future. However, I am … [Read more...]
Our Climate Numbers Are a Big Old Mess
For years, records from surface thermometers showed a global warming trend beginning in the late 1970s. But temperatures sensed by satellites and weather balloons displayed no concurrent warming. These records have been revised a number of times, and I examined the two major revisions of these three records. They are the surface record from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the satellite-sensed temperatures originally published by University of Alabama's John … [Read more...]
Peer-Reviewed Research Suggests Very Little Warming from CO2
A year-old article in Idõjárás: Quarterly Journal of the Hungarian Meteorological Service is suddenly getting attention in the meteorological community. And it deserves it. By Hungarian meteorologist Ferenc M. Miskolczi, the peer-reviewed article uses rigorous mathematical and physical analysis to re-estimate climate sensitivity--that is, the amount of warming to be expected from doubled atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. Miskolczi's answer: not the 2 to 5 degrees C typically asserted … [Read more...]
My Nobel Moment and Global Climate Change
I'm sure the majority (but not all) of my IPCC colleagues cringe when I say this, but I see neither the developing catastrophe nor the smoking gun proving that human activity is to blame for most of the warming we see. Rather, I see a reliance on climate models (useful but never "proof") and the coincidence that changes in carbon dioxide and global temperatures have loose similarity over time. There are some of us who remain so humbled by the task of measuring and understanding the … [Read more...]
Perceived Southern Baptist Split on Global Warming Evaporating
. Washington, DC (March 11, 2008) - In response to the well-publicized announcement of the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative, Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, national spokesman for the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, issued the following statement today: This declaration, though sincere, is being used to give the false impression of a major split among Southern Baptists over global warming. Indeed, according to the most prominent signer, Southern Baptist Convention … [Read more...]
If Global Warming Were Real, It Would Mean Fewer Deaths
A seriously hot summer between now and 2017 could claim more than 6,000 lives, the Department of Health report warns. But it also stresses that milder winters mean deaths during this time of year - which far outstrip heat-related mortality - will continue to decline. The report is to help health services prepare for climate change effects. A panel of scientific experts commissioned by the Department of Health and Health Protection Agency (HPA) has looked at the way the UK has responded to … [Read more...]
Humpty Dumpty Policies
Corporate decisions affect a limited number of workers. Government policies, by contrast, affect millions. The drive to eliminate fossil fuels, switch to a CO2-free economy and prevent computer-generated climate disasters could cost countless jobs and impact families all across America. European industries are already reevaluating investment decisions and canceling projects, largely because of an increasingly strict and unpredictable regulatory climate in the EU, according to World Energy … [Read more...]
Good Stewards, Good Samaritans
The environment is again an important election issue. Some candidates have claimed religious support for their views, but there is no single “Christian” perspective on the environment. It is a question of fact and prudence, not theology. We all have a stake in a healthy environment. God gave humanity dominion over the earth and called us to be good stewards of his creation. But he gave us no particular policy agenda. Rather, we must work together to balance environmental protection, economic … [Read more...]
Courts Should Confront Evidence on Global Warming
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled late last year that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration must consider the "risks of global warming" when setting gas-mileage standards for light trucks, minivans and SUVs. Central to the court's ruling was the claim that the federal agency, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, had ignored the benefits of reducing emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Whatever their legal acumen, Judge Betty … [Read more...]
The Authoritarianism of Experts: Promoting a Green Dictatorship?
Have you ever heard anyone make the argument that we must take a certain course of action because the experts tell us we must? The issue might be the threat of another country or an environmental risk, but increasingly we see appeals to authority used as the basis for arguing for this or that action. In a new book, David Shearman and Joseph Wayne Smith take the appeal to experts somewhat further and argue that in order to deal with climate change we need to replace liberal democracy with an … [Read more...]
