I wanted to put in an even bigger plug for Richard Alley’s “How to Talk to an Ostrich” youtube series, -that has been spun off from the “Earth: an Operator’s Manual” project – so I made it the subject of this week’s video, and wrapped one of my favorite “Ostrich” videos up in a climate crock package.
The piece I chose to highlight is a particularly good one about the military’s early involvement in developing the data which nailed the radiative properties of greenhouse gases. I’ve discussed this before, here, and even, long ago, here, but its amazing how many people still have no knowledge of that puzzle piece. I just returned from the Heartland Institute Denia-palooza conference in Chicago, more on that later, – maybe – but I was struck by the number of blank stares I got when discussing how far back the history of this science goes, even with people who were supposedly scientifically literate.
Thank you very much for the link to etom.
I like this series. It’s truthful and straight to the point.
so this AGW is for real then?
Hi Bob,
In reference to your question “so this AGW is for real then?”, let me provide you with some reference material so you can decide for yourself.
Exxon Mobil says yes: http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/safety_climate.aspx
Chevron seems to agree with them: http://www.chevron.com/globalissues/climatechange/
And Conoco Phillips: http://www.conocophillips.com/EN/susdev/environment/climatechange/Pages/index.aspx
As well as these 52 or so National Science bodies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_change#Joint_science_academies.27_statements
Even Patrick Michaels, one of Cato Institute and Heartland Institute’s favorite Scientist Spokesperson is on record that the warming is real and we’re causing it.
Here’s a link to his Cato Speakers page: http://www.cato.org/speakers/michaels.html
You can see a video of Dr. Michaels addressing the Heartland Institute folks in a video on this web site: http://climatecrocks.com/2009/09/07/1998-revisited/. If you’re in a hurry, you can hear him tell the audience this starting at around 7 minutes into the video.
Given that Oil Companies, the majority of the world’s working scientists, and the Cato Institute’s climate skeptic all agree that it’s real, I lean toward this being a concensus that AGW is real.
I am available on twitter @tweetingdonal or by email to have a factual discussion on the subject if Peter’s huge body of work here leaves you with questions. If I can’t answer the question, I can generally get the answer, although Peter is better connected than I am 🙂
Regards,
Larry Oliver a.k.a. @tweetingdonal
Peter,
I’m surprised you escaped unscathed from that Chicago event, some of the folks, (I’m thinking Joe Bast) seem to be coming a little unhinged. I mean they’re pretty clear on their web site:
“The people who still believe in man-made global warming are mostly on the radical fringe of society. This is why the most prominent advocates of global warming aren’t scientists. They are murderers, tyrants, and madmen.”
http://heartland.org/press-releases/2012/05/03/do-you-still-believe-global-warming-billboards-hit-chicago
So you, clearly at the forefront of belief must be a murder, tyrant, madman, or all of three.
Glad you went, glad I didn’t 🙂
Keep up the excellent work!
Regards,
Larry Oliver a.k.a. @tweetingdonal
“I’m surprised you escaped unscathed from that Chicago event….”
Awwww c’mon — you know that those Heartland wusses were wetting their pants in fear of the murder, tyrant, and madman who stood before them.
Spencer Weart’s “The Discovery of Global Warming” is indispensable for understanding how far back the science goes and its time course since the beginning. I believe his latest update is Dec. 2011.
http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm