As temperatures soared past 110 degrees in some states and thunderstorms pummeled the deep South, raising fears of flooding, a new report says climate change has likely influenced the odds of extreme weather. Judy interviews Thomas Karl, director of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center
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Interesting editorial and article in the NYT:
Heating Up
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Many politicians and a vocal minority of scientists dispute such predictions as alarmist. What they cannot dispute are the numbers. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 11 years from 2001-11 rank among the 13 warmest globally since record-keeping began 132 years ago. The average temperature in the contiguous United States for the first six months of this year, the National Climatic Data Center reported on Monday, were the hottest recorded since 1895.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations body that examines climate change with help from thousands of scientists around the world, says that more frequent and potentially more damaging extreme weather events lie ahead. In a report last November assessing weather extremes, the panel said that “it is virtually certain that increases in the frequency and magnitude of warm daily temperature extremes and decreases in cold extremes will occur in the 21st century on the global scale.” If greenhouse gases continue unabated, it said, heat waves that now occur once every 20 years will be occurring every two years by the end of the century.
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Global Warming Makes Heat Waves More Likely, Study Finds
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A new study found that global warming made the severe heat wave that afflicted Texas last year 20 times as likely as it would have been in the 1960s. The extremely warm temperatures in Britain last November were 62 times as likely because of global warming, it said.
The findings, especially the specific numbers attached to some extreme events, represent an increased effort by scientists to respond to a public clamor for information about what is happening to the earth’s climate. Studies seeking to discern any human influence on weather extremes have usually taken years, but in this case, researchers around the world managed to study six events from 2011 and publish the results in six months.
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And this from the UK’s Guardian newspaper:
Scientists attribute extreme weather to man-made climate change Researchers have for the first time attributed recent floods, droughts and heatwaves, to human-induced climate change
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jul/10/extreme-weather-manmade-climate-change
Good Interview. Thanks for posting.
Here’s the page where the new NCDC 2011 Climate report can be downloaded:
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate/2011.php
I’m going to be curious to see why the epic and unprecedented Thailand flooding can’t be associated with climate change…
Although I understand that administrations such as NOAA want to put knowledgeable people on television. However, could they not find or train staff that are both intelligent and interesting to listen to?
I know this sounds petty, however, people listen more when the speaker is interesting and animated. And we need everyone to hear the message that NOAA is trying to spread.
Hi jpgreenword,
Re: “I know this sounds petty, however, people listen more when the speaker is interesting and animated.”
Yes, you make a very good point here. Not petty at all. After all, it’s going to take some serious persuading to counteract the incessant lies, PR blather and willful deceits of the climate denying charlatans who’ll say anything to convince the stupid that they want the happiness of ignorance bestowed upon them forever.
I find it very frustrating when you have a climate scientist debating a “denialist” – you know who’s going to win because the “denialist” can better speak at the level of the crowd (not meant as an insult to “the crowd”) and is much more interesting and convincing. Scientist come off as cold and boring. And that’s understandable – if they wanted to speak publicly for a living, they wouldn’t have become scientists!
That means we need better communicators spreading the message.
Re: “I find it very frustrating when you have a climate scientist debating a “denialist” ”
Keep in mind that the U.S. is a horror story as far as corporate media is concerned. It is a great failing of the media that they have hit upon the completely dishonest con that there are two sides to every story. When it comes to the climate, there are two sides, science and charlatanry. To permit the charlatans to have the bully pulpit is evil. The media knows this and acquiesces to this dishonesty.
Speaking as an American, I believe that one of the most monumental problems we face today is that so many tens of millions of Americans prefer to be lied to and pandered by frauds.
We don’t necessarily need better spokespersons. What we desperately need is a smarter, better-informed, more critically-thinking and more honest public.
I see the zombie comments of the proto-fascist right everywhere on the Net these days and it is a cause for alarm. There’s a huge minority of Americans who have given up on thinking, honesty or any genuine concern for anything beyond Ayn Rand selfishness. [Are you reading this Dave Burton? Pay attention!]
That’s our big problem, notwithstanding the fact that Thomas Karl of the NCDC is a bit on the dull side.
Not that I’m proud of it, but our media, in Canada, seems to be catching up to yours. We even have our version of Fox!
OK, you’ve got my interest. Which Canadian network are you are referring to?
BTW, I was a big fan of the Canadian Air Farce years ago. And of the New Red Green Show before that. 🙂
And I’m rather fond of the Aussie team of Clarke & Dawe. Here’s one of their best skits:
I’m sorry to say that I can’t recall the name. You see, I haven’t owned a TV for about 6 years! But I swear it exists!!!
Oh, and Royal Canadian Air Farce is AMAZING!
Found it!!!
http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/home.html
Thanks, I can see what you mean about this being a Fox knockoff. Every story a propaganda ploy. Or at least the lead story about The Bethune Memorial was pure right wing spin. [wink]
My pleasure.
Hi JP. In response to your comment regarding the communication of science, you may be interested in (1) the work of Neil Gavin at the University of Liverpool in the UK and (2) the statement of the UK Government’s Chief Scientist, Sir John Beddington, at the Rio+20 Summit…
(1) Mediated climate change in Britain: Scepticism on the web and on television around Copenhagen (Abstract of paper and an email address provided free).
(2) Top scientist appeals for better communication of risk.
Thanks Martin. Very interesting stuff. Although the idea of an additional billion humans in the next 15 years scares the be-jee-bus out of me! And the crazy thing is, we still have politicians in our DEVELOPED countries who are against a woman’s reproductive rights.
‘Cause we need more people! (excessive sarcasm)
Thanks for the inadvertent reminder about another BBC News item I want to blog about)…
That’s what I’m there for : )
ABC talking head George Will defies that network’s increasingly intelligent reporting on climate science and declares recent extreme weather is just ‘summer’.
http://therealnews.com/t2/component/hwdvideoshare/?task=viewvideo&video_id=74096
Poor George, a fool who is being hung by his own sweat-saturated petard. And what can we say about Stephanopoulos? The man is exhibiting extremely poor taste (and poor judgment) in propaganda partners.
***
Last night I happened upon a wonderful Edward Abbey quote that absolutely applies to the likes of any abysmally unctuous cad like George Will:
“It is an author’s most solemn obligation to honor truth. If the free and independent writer does not speak truth to power, who will?”
“Note to my fellow American writers: What a gutless pack of invertebrates you mostly are. What a fawning groveling writhing genteel array of courtiers (male courtesans) – gutless temporizing trimming poetical-rhapsodical fence-straddling castrated gelded neutered craven equivocating tepid vapid insipid timorous timid high-minded low-bellied spineless cool hip crafty cowardly moral jellyfish you are! Banana slugs of literature! A living slime-mold on our intellectual life!” (from Journal XX, Confessions of a Barbarian, p 343) —Edward Abbey
PBS always disappoints with the Nature shows,science shows..they talk about the beautiful animals without mentioning the danger they are in cause of us…Koch backed Science is Koch science after all
Good God, man, you’re the director of an agency trying to warn us that we’re in for a long, rough ride – show some FU****G EMOTION!!!!!
Even Spock wasn’t so stonefaced.
He seemed like an inexperienced interviewee. Still, given the subject matter…
From the info on his Wikipedia page, he should be as smooth as silk when talking about climate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_R._Karl
NOAA Administrator’s Award (1989)
Dept. of Commerce Bronze Medal (1988)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Lead Author 1995, 1992, 1990
Public Affairs: Numerous news media interviews, testimony to U.S. Congress and briefings to cabinet level officials and Vice President of the US
I hope this was just an off day for him but I’m very, very grateful for Richard Alley
Jeff Masters covers the new climate report:
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2150
Reblogged this on Watching the Deniers and commented:
Via Climate Denial Crock of the Week. Good PBS story on how climate change is driving extremes.
The BAMS State of the Climate in 2011 is a long very detailed look at the 2011 climate that is an essential read, but also takes quite a bit of time. The webinair slides they provide focus on the extreme issue and is a good quick look.