Earth ChangesS

Life Preserver

More Americans Believe Global Warming Natural Versus Man-made

Despite years of hysterical, Al Gore-loving media hype that humans are destroying the planet by emitting too much carbon dioxide, more Americans now believe global warming is being caused by long-term planetary forces rather than man's activities.

This represents a stunning reversal in the past twelve months, and is likely a function of a recent global cooling that has thwarted efforts by climate alarmists to convince citizens that the warming trend that began in the mid-'70s was going to continue forever if the world didn't immediately stop burning fossil fuels.

Now, according to Rasmussen Reports, those believing man can actually control the planet's thermostat have plummeted in number:

Control Panel

Climate campaigners, sceptics live in different worlds

"Two Different Worlds" was a mid-50s hit-parade song. The title perfectly describes the world of "climate".

One world is where I have been taken by 2,500 hours of researching climate research.

The other world is the one portrayed by Gwynne Dyer in his April 8 column, by Thomas Friedman a few days earlier, or by Al Gore and David Suzuki any time.

To scare us, Dyer threw in "the climate problem has grown hugely,-point of no return", "planet turns to desert", and other red-letter disaster scenarios. Friedman was hardly to be outdone, with dire warnings that "climate change is happening faster,-higher temperatures are triggering self-reinforcing feedback mechanisms," and on and on. Gore's movie is pure hyperbole from start to finish Have these opinion-makers looked out their windows the past two winters? Care to hum a few bars of "I'm Dreaming of a White Easter" with me?

According to them, all knowledgeable in fields other than climate, a dire future awaits us UNLESS... unless we mend our ways and live righteously. "Righteously" is, of course, defined only by them, and requires sharp reductions in our production of carbon dioxide.

Darkly amusing is the way they write with full certainty that they know what the future will bring. They don't. They appear unaware that the world stopped warming 10 years ago, and that it has been actively cooling for more than half that time.

Key

Lord Stern, 'Scaremonger in chief', exposed by simple blunders

alligator crossing
© Telegraph UKLord Stern predicts that global warming will make the Arctic an ideal habitat for alligators

How come "the world's leading expert on climate change" doesn't even know how much carbon dioxide there currently is in the air, wonders Christopher Booker.

Confronted last week with the unfolding horror story of the Budget, we might have been grateful for the light relief provided by Lord Stern of Brentford, who told us how, unless we halt global warming, we can look forward to the sight of alligators gambolling at the North Pole, and Florida and Bangladesh sinking beneath the sea.

Since he produced the 570-page Stern Review in 2006, which Tony Blair described as "the most important report on the future ever produced by this Government", this former Treasury official and chief economist to the World Bank has won extraordinary adulation. In the US Congress he is acclaimed as "the world's leading expert on climate change", vying with Al Gore to be the world's Scaremonger-in-Chief.

Compass

Global warming alarmists creating unnecessary fear

This letter is in response to the April 23 article "Students urged to go green, hug a tree."

Whenever I hear a person shouting "The debate is over" I get suspicious. Usually, this is code for "Everyone who disagrees with me can shut up." You see, if the debate really is settled, then no one objects to having it. It should be easy to win.

This is why I find professor Jon Krosnick's remarks to be so revealing. As the Collegian reported,
Krosnick argued the media's inclusion of global warming skeptics in reports on the phenomenon led the public to believe scientists disagreed on the issue. By reporting less balanced stories, the public would be better informed.
Got that? Global warming alarmists need the media to silence their critics because they consistently lose when they debate.

Sun

Solar ISN mean dips below 1.00

spotless sun 4-21-2009
© SOHO

While the sun still struggles to form cycle 24 spots like seen in this weak plage area (upper right) in today's SOHO MDI and Magnetograms (shown below) Paul Stanko of NOAA writes to tell me of an interesting development in his tracking of the International Sunspot Number (ISN).


Blackbox

Catlin Arctic Ice Survey: paid advertising of results before they are even off the ice!

Sharp eyed Watts Up With That reader Rick K spotted this advertisement on Yahoo News:
Catlin Arctic Survey Team Yahoo Advertising screen shot
© unknown

I double checked what Rick K reported, and yes, they are running this ad. Either they just don't care that they are running ads for "results" prior to any hard data being published or this is some sort of advertising scheduling slipup. Given how sloppy this laughable facade of a scientific expedition has been so far, publishing "live" biometric readings that were actually 30 days old, I'm guessing the latter.

Mr. Potato

The Left Hand Knows Not What The Right Hand is Doing

confusion
© unknown

Last weeks' top Antarctic Anthropogenic Global Warming story was :

Antarctic ice melting faster than expected

due to CO2, of course.

This week the #1 story is :

Antarctic ice spreading

but the increase in size is due to "stratospheric ozone depletion" which is of course also caused by man-made gases.

So Antarctic ice is disappearing faster than expected due to man, and it is also expanding in size due to man. Meanwhile, the early autumn temperature in Vostok, Antarctica is a toasty -95F, a nice warm up from the -104F temperatures earlier this week.

Einstein

Flashback Polish Academy of Sciences Position on the Threat of Global Warming

The climate change of our planet, which can be observed more frequently in recent years, has become alarming for public opinion. Various methods to remedy the situation are elaborated on the international level by decision makers, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (operating since 1988) and different ecologic organisations.

Having a part in this significant debate, the Geologic Science Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences wishes to turn to 10 fundamental aspects of the problem closely related to the functioning of geosystem - the complex interdependence of processes occurring in the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. The knowledge of these factors should be the foundation for any rational and careful decisions, which could interfere in the geosystem.

Better Earth

Has the sun gone in? Earth's closest star 'dimmest it's been for a century'

Daily Mail Sun
© AFP/Getty ImagesBaffled: Scientists last year assumed the sun was entering an active phase but instead it has hit a 100-year low in sunspot activity
The sun is the dimmest it has been for almost a century, scientists say.

Leading astronomers admit they are baffled why the Earth's closest star has gone so quiet - and when it will burst back into life.

The sun normally goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. At its peak - a period known as the solar maximum - the sun is covered with dozens of sun spots as it spits out vast flares and balls of superheated gas the size of planets.

Ambulance

'Sun at its quietest for 100 years'

sun
© Press Association

With fewer sunspots and solar flares, the sun is at its quietest for almost a century.

Scientists believe the conditions provide a new opportunity to study the sun's confusing cycle of activity.

Space telescopes can be used during the extended "solar minimum" to study the sun in more detail than ever before.

More than 1,000 astronomers and space scientists have gathered at the University of Hertfordshire for the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science, where they are discussing the issue.

The sun normally undergoes an 11-year cycle. At its peak the sun shoots out flares, gases and materials, and dozens of sunspots can be seen. It then goes through a period of calm. Scientists have little idea why these cycles happen, how they affect the earth and when the current low will end.