Author: greenman3610

“Folks, its about to become very dangerous to be a climate scientist”

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, a foe of progress, reason and science, will become chairman of the
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

“..or for that matter, any kind of scientist.”

That’s what one of the world’s most well known climate scientists recently told friends.

This article in Politico is the case in point. In the event the House of representatives shifts to republicans, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, a foe of progress, reason and science, will become chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

He has vowed to obstruct the pursuit of truth about climate change, and intimidate those foolish enough to ask questions and seek answers about the real world.

We’ll also get Joe “I apologize to BP” Barton on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and, in the case of the Senate switching hands, Senator James “global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people” “There have never been any gay people in my family” Inhofe to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Every election is critical, as we saw in 2000, but this election could be a watershed if the tea-party fueled anti-science know-nothings of the Republican party take power. My father was chairman of the local county Republicans back in the Eisenhower/Kennedy era, and I know what that once-great party used to be like. But in today’s environment, people like Dwight Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, and even Ronald Reagan would not meet ideological purity test for what’s become the party of our own native Tea Party Taliban.

Extinction: It’s not just for Polar Bears anymore.

An accelerating rate of species extinction isn’t just all part of mother natures plan. It’s an expected result of climate change.  With changes in the arctic happening faster than any other place on earth, polar species are among those most at risk.  Case in point: The Pacific Walrus.

NPR ran a story on this today, quoting USGS biologist Anthony Fishbach:
“I’m surprised by one thing,” he says. “Essentially all the animals here are adult females.” You’d expect to see about one in three with newborn yearling calves, he says. The vast majority of walruses in the Chukchi each summer are females who fatten up on clams that populate the seafloor. They need a lot of protein to nurse their young. This time of year, they should be foraging from the sea ice floating over the productive waters of the continental shelf. Instead, they’re stuck on land. “I only see a small number of yearling calves,” Fischbach says. “That makes me wonder what’s happening with the calves.”

Correction:
The video at 6:51 with the walrus stampede is shown as “Video: US Geological Survey” but it actually is by Fredrik Blomqvist (not affiliated with USGS) taken Cape Schmidt, Russia, 4 September 2009.  He also is the one who took the video with Geoff York (WWF) at 7:54 (also taken at Cape Schmidt last year).

Climate Scientists utterly destroy what’s left of Monckton’s Cred

Real Science. Real Scientists. What a concept.

The world’s most accomplished scientists have decisively debunked the “obvious and elementary errors” in “Lord” Monckton’s testimony before the US Congress, see here.

What’s pathetic is that this load of garbage is what passes for science among congressional republicans – who made Monkton their only witness in recent hearings.

“Lord” Christopher Monckton will presumably move on to his third career of  inventing common cold cures and peddling snake oil for AIDS sufferers.

Readers are urged to write to their representative and urge them to read this document.

The “Earth is Carbon Starved” Crock

The history of the earth is immense, and diverse – and its easy to get confused and mangle history, — to mix things that never belonged together in the real world.

What was natural in the distant past might not be a good fit alongside man’s creations.  Human beings and the climate of the ancient world, could find themselves on a collision course.

Pakistan – Snapshot of the Global Future

For whatever reason, islamaphobia, donor fatique, media indifference, the Pakistan mega-flood has slipped through the cracks after the initial media splash.

The Pakistani disaster is, in my mind, unquestionably, even more than Katrina, the template for the “threat multiplier” events that climate change will be triggering for the rest of our lives.

Those interested in keeping awareness alive and making a tax deductible donation for Pakistan, with some confidence that their donation will get to those who need it most, can go to this page set up by the US State Department.

“CO2 is Plant Food” – New Paper Further Refutes Sixth Grade Science

A paper published at about the same moment as I was uploading my latest video, (“The CO2 is Plant Food Crock“) further nails down the case.

A team from the University of Guelph has determined that Trees are soaking up less carbon than expected given the increase in atmospheric CO2.  According to the press release, “Scientists and policy-makers hoping to use forests to naturally soak up increasing amounts of carbon dioxide may have overestimated the role of trees as carbon sink”.

“Contrary to expectations, tree growth has declined over the past century despite rising amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere, said Madhur Anand, a professor in Guelph’s School of Environmental Sciences.”