The Week That Was: 2013-06-15 (June 15, 2013) Brought to You by SEPP (www.SEPP.org) The Science and Environmental Policy Project
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Quote of the Week: For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled. Richard Feynman [The Quotes Page]
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Number of the Week: 96%
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THIS WEEK:
By Ken Haapala, Executive Vice President, Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP)
NIPCC in China: The editors of the two large reports by the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) are attending a press conference held by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) where CAS announcing the translation of the reports into Chinese. The Academy?s invitation to the event stated:
??NIPCC is what its name suggests: an international panel of nongovernment scientists and scholars who have come together to understand the causes and consequences of climate change. In 2009 and 2011, NIPCC publicized two reports named Climate Change Reconsidered, providing evidences the IPCC ignores and questioning the proposal of IPCC that climate change is caused by human greenhouse gas emissions.
China information center for global change studies of CAS edited and published the Chinese version of ?Climate Change Reconsidered: Report of the NPICC? to facilitate Chinese scholars? understanding the opinions of NIPCC. The International Symposium of Global Changes is held on this occasion to enhance exchanges on the new advancements internationally and researches. A press conference will be held, with lead authors of NIPCC reports Craig D. Idso (USA), Robert M. Carter (Australia), S. Fred Singer (USA) and many other prominent scholars of the field presenting.?
Researchers from home and abroad are warmly welcomed to attend the conference.
Time: June 15th 2013
Venue: Xijiao Hotel, Beijing
http://english.ucas.ac.cn/Lists/Events/ListDispForm.aspx?List=dc8f2138-7d88-4a0d-bad4-6939139997da&ID=164
Such an event clearly illustrates that 1) the science is not settled, 2) the absurdity of claims of 97% of climate scientists support the concept that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are causing unprecedented and dangerous global warming, and 3) leaders of the Chinese Academy have a better command of the principles of modern Western science than the leaders of many once venerable Western scientific institutions.
Also the event vindicates the work by S. Fred Singer who conceived and directed the NIPCC project and Fredrick Seitz who provided valuable guidance until his death in March 2008. Along with two other scientists, Seitz and Singer were vilified by largely unsubstantiated ad hominem attacks by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway in the Merchants of Doubt. Publications such as Science carried fawning reviews of Merchants and refused to publish a rebuttal by Singer, the only one of the four still living.
The Heartland Institute was the publisher of these reports as well as the first one, and will be the publisher of the upcoming report. Please see links under NIPCC in China.
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IPCC Hype: According to an article by Bob Ward, who is Policy Director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has secretly delivered the draft of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) to the governments involved. According to the IPCC schedule it would be Summary for Policymakers (SPM) because the authors are still writing the synthesis report and papers are still being accepted. As typical, for the IPCC the summary comes first, then the research. The review of the SPM by governments ends on August 2. The schedule does not clearly state when the government representatives will be negotiating the findings in the SPM.
Ward?s article is all too characteristic. ?Governments around the world have just received one of the most important scientific reports ever written.? According to Ward, the reports state that at the end of the century temperatures will be ?about 3 deg C higher than the little ice age.? Apparently, he and the IPCC remain blissfully unaware that the models have not been validated, thus are useless for prediction, and that they are failing miserably.
We will have to wait to see if the IPCC has tightened its review methods as Ward claims: ??governments and the public can be confident that the report will be the most reliable scientific assessment of climate change that has ever been produced.? Please see link under Defending the Orthodoxy, and http://www.ipcc.ch/scripts/_calendar_template.php?wg=8#.UbzDmPm1Fc4
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Carbon Dioxide and Temperatures: Astrophysicist Murry Salby of Australia?s Macquarie University gave a technical talk at Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany, on the relationship between CO2 concentrations and temperatures in which he attributes the rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations more to a rise in temperatures (from natural causes) than from human emissions. His assertions are controversial. For those who wish to explore the arguments and some of the responses please see link under Challenging the Orthodoxy.
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The Mean Is Meaningless: Christopher Monckton had a post on WUWT titled No significant warming for 17 years 4 months. This was followed by a comment by a person identified by only rgbatduke, who Judith Curry thinks is Robert Brown, a lecturer in Physics at Duke University. The comments are penetrating. There are many climate models, each making different projections of future temperatures. A mean (average) of the results of these models has no scientific meaning. The models have not been validated and there is no reason to assume the mean of the models approaches some true mean (value). The same applies for standard deviations derived from the models, and to the probability ?likelihood? statements of the products of the models. It particularly applies to the ?science? presented by the EPA in Federal court. Brown also argued that those models that perform well against temperatures should be enhanced, and those that perform poorly should be thrown out. Please see links under Challenging the Orthodoxy.
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It?s Real: The US production of oil increased by 14% last year, the greatest increase among countries producing a million or more barrels a year, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2013. In 2012, the US was the third largest producer of oil, behind Saudi Arabia and Russia. This increase is in spite of Washington?s policies, which have caused the production of oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas, and coal from federal lands to fall, both in quantity and as percentage of total production.
The remarkable developments come from the combination of technological advances in precise horizontal drilling, multi-port hydraulic fracturing using sand or ceramic proppants to keep fractures open under intense pressure, a chemical mix to promote flow, and expanding knowledge of oil and gas bearing formations. Isaac Orr of The Heartland Institute termed it ?smart drilling.? As more wells are drilled, knowledge on how to drill them and keep them productive expands. We do not know how much oil and natural gas products can be recovered, at a given price level, but with changing technology and knowledge the estimated recoverable amounts expand over time.
A major issue with this boom is getting the oil and gas from the fields to refineries and the market. According to the BP review ?The average crude price at a major benchmark hub in Europe last year was $111.67 a barrel, compared with $94.13 in Oklahoma.? The oil produced from shale is light as compared to that from the North Sea, therefore should command a higher price. The necessary pipelines need to be built, but will be opposed by many in Washington and by environmental organizations, many of which oppose all energy, except, perhaps, that from solar and wind.
At a time in which many in Washington and in the several states are complaining about tight budgets, in 2012 North Dakota experienced a 29% increase in taxable economic activity, according to the editors of Master Resource. This is largely attributable to the oil field activity in the Bakken formation.
Please Article #4 and links under Energy Issues ? Non-US, Washington?s Control of Energy, and Oil and Natural Gas ? the Future or the Past?
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Carbon Tax: The Heartland Institute and the R Street Institute hosted a debate on the question: Should conservatives accept a carbon tax? The concept was that the revenues from the carbon tax would be offset by reductions in other taxes, unspecified. Global warming was specifically excluded for the debate. Both sides of the issue were well represented with James Taylor, of Heartland, and David Kreutzer of Heritage Foundation opposed and Andrew Moylan of R Street and former US Representative Bob Inglis, of Energy and Enterprise Initiative in favor. From his questions, it quickly became evident that the moderator, Ronald Bailey of Reason magazine, had already formed an opinion supporting of carbon tax. T
The debate can be summed as those who do not trust the government to permanently reduce other forms of taxation to offset a carbon tax as opposed to those who do. The proponents of the tax asserted that the EPA would regulate carbon fuels anyway, presenting the false dilemma that the choice is between an expansion of government power thru taxation or the expansion of government power thru EPA blunt force.
Inglis asserted that his opponents are against the concept of self-government, as the country?s founders envisioned. The false dilemma and the concept of self-government triggered an idea for different debate. The label ?conservative? is poorly defined. During the contentious debate on the adoption of the Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation, many founders grudgingly admitted that a stronger central government was necessary, but stipulated its powers must be few, defined, and limited. To address these concerns the Bill of Rights was quickly added by the new government. The founders demanding limited government could be identified as conservatives.
The question could be then phrased as: What limits to government power will prompt conservatives to discuss expansion of government powers thru a carbon tax? A possible answer could include clear limits on government regulatory power, especially the EPA, which evokes science that is not publicly available, and uses models that have not been validated, in proclaiming a need for regulatory expansion in the name of public health.
Proposed limits to power could include: 1) no secret science ? all data and computer codes must be publically available; 2) independent replication of all studies used to justify regulation; 3) all models used must be validated; 4) all litigation agreements (sue and settle) must meet the above conditions; and 5) all existing regulations not meeting the above must be immediately rescinded.
Such conditions should provide a practical basis to discuss the merits of a carbon tax.
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Amplifications and Corrections: Last week?s TWTW discussed sea level rise, the uncertainty, and the possible acceleration of the rate of rise. Physicist Donald Rapp send a set of papers a making a powerful argument that ?It is possible that all (or most) of the claimed acceleration is due to ground water depletion, not global warming.? He may be right. We appreciate all those who take the time to send amplifications and corrections.
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SEPP Web Site: Several readers stated that their antivirus software flagged an item when they downloaded from the SEPP website. We found three unauthorized items, deleted them, and worked with the host provider to tighten the security of the website. One of the items had the name Blackhat, which, years ago was a code name for a NSA operation, purpose unknown. We will endeavor to be vigilant.
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Number of the Week: 96%. Last week, TWTW linked to a post by Roy Spencer showing the great divergence between observations and the projections from 73 CMIP5 climate models for the period 1979 to 2012 between latitudes 20 deg N and 20 deg S (approximately the tropics). As stated, the linearization of the observations hide the climate shift shown by the actual data. However, the end points for 2012 are illuminating. A rough measurement shows that 70 out of 73 of the models (96%) projected a warming greater than twice that shown by the observations. All 19 US models were in the 96%. Will this divergence appear in the IPCC AR5? http://www.drroyspencer.com/2013/06/epic-fail-73-climate-models-vs-observations-for-tropical-tropospheric-temperature/
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ARTICLES:
For the numbered articles below please see this week?s TWTW at: http://www.sepp.org. The articles are at the end of the pdf.
1. Fracturing in California
Democrats revolt against a ban on oil and gas ?fracking.?
Editorial, WSJ, Jun 7, 2013
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324767004578488821344316236.html
2. U.S. Corn Belt Expands to North
Warmer Climate, Hardier Seeds Help Crop Gain on Wheat, North Dakota?s Staple
By Owen Fletcher, WSJ, Jun 14, 2013
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324904004578539352566317388.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories
[SEPP Comment: Informed the reporter that there is another driving factor for this shift ? carbon dioxide enrichment.]
3. Why U.S. Wood Can?and Should?Power Europe
A forest owner (and Rolling Stones keyboardist) on the benefits of ?biomass? sales.
By Chuck Leavell, WSJ, Jun 9, 2013
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324798904578529690411491374.html?mod=ITP_opinion_0
4. U.S. Oil Notches Record Growth
Rise in Production Is World?s Largest; Fueled by Fracking
By Keith Johnson and Russell Gold, WSJ, Jun 12, 2013
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324049504578541601909939628.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTTopStories
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NEWS YOU CAN USE:
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NIPCC in China
Chinese Academy of Sciences Publishes Heartland Institute Research Skeptical of Global Warming
?Another sign that the latest science does not support claims of catastrophic man-made climate change?
By Joseph Bast, Craig Idso, S. Fred Singer, and Robert Carter
http://heartland.org/press-releases/2013/06/11/chinese-academy-sciences-publishes-heartland-institute-research-skeptical-
Climate Change Reconsidered ? Translation by the Chinese Academy of Sciences
By Joe Bast, Craig Idso, S. Fred Singer, Robert Carter, Heartland, Jun 11, 2013
http://heartland.org/policy-documents/climate-change-reconsidered-translation-chinese-academy-sciences
Exclusive: China Translate 1,200-Page Rebuttal to Climate Change Agenda
By Staff Writers, Breitbart, Jun 11 2013
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/06/11/exclusive-China-rebuttal-climate-change
Challenging the Orthodoxy
On the meaning of ensemble means
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Jun 14, 2013
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2013/6/14/on-the-meaning-of-ensemble-means.html
No significant warming for 17 years 4 months
By Christopher Monckton, WUWT, Jun 13, 2013
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/06/13/no-significant-warming-for-17-years-4-months/
[SEPP Comment: See the link immediately above for a comment on the article.]
Before and After the Temperature Standstill
By David Whitehouse, GWPF, Jun 11, 2013
http://www.thegwpf.org/temperature-standstill/
An Engineer?s Take on Climate Change #2
By Ronald Voisin, WUWT, Jun 14, 2013
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/06/14/an-engineers-take-on-climate-change-2/
Man-Made Global Warming WRONG ? The Ten Reasons.
By Cohenite, NCTCS, Jun 5, 2013
http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/man-made-global-warming-wrong-ten.html
Murry Salby: CO2 is the integral of temperature
By Lubo? Motl, The Reference Frame, Jun 12, 2013
http://motls.blogspot.com/2013/06/murry-salby-co2-is-integral-of.html
Defending the Orthodoxy
Climate Change by the Numbers
By Bob Ward, Project Syndicate, Jun 11, 2013
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-ipcc-s-fifth-assessment-of-global-warming-by-bob-ward
What to Make of a Warming Plateau
By Justin Gillis, NYT, Jun 10, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/science/earth/what-to-make-of-a-climate-change-plateau.html?_r=1&
World in danger of missing climate goals
By Staff Writer, WNN, Jun 10, 2013
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/EE-World_in_danger_of_missing_climate_goals-1006137.html
Natural disasters not odd coincidences:
By Robert Redford, USA Today, Jun 11, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/06/10/president-obama-climate-change-column/2407783/
[SEPP Comment: When all else fails bring in Hollywood.]
Questioning the Orthodoxy
Are Climate Scientists Wrong About Man?s CO2 Emissions?
Editorial, IBD, Jun 12, 2013
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/061213-659745-co2-increases-follow-temperature-increases.htm
12 Reasons the MET Office Is Alarmed
By Staff Writer, GWPF, Jun 14, 2013
http://www.thegwpf.org/12-reasons-met-office-alarmed/
Climate Models Predict Heat That Hasn?t Occurred
Editorial, IBD, Jun 11, 2013
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/061113-659660-observed-temperatures-cooler-than-scientists-projections.htm?p=full
Keep Your Long Flannel Underwear: Climate Scientists Predict Hell To Freeze Over!
By Larry Bell, Forbes, Jun 9, 2013
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrybell/2013/06/09/keep-your-long-flannel-underwear-climate-scientists-predict-hell-to-freeze-over/#comment-4715
The Pause In Global Warming
By Art Horn, Energy Tribune, Jun 12, 2013
http://www.energytribune.com/77618/the-pause-in-global-warming#sthash.05PEHM2Y.dpbs
Effects of CO2 on Nitrous Oxide Emissions
By Staff Writers, SPPI & CO2 Science, Jun 12, 2013
http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/originals/effects_of_c02_on_nitrous_oxide_emissions.html
In summation, it would appear that concerns about additional global warming arising from enhanced N2O emissions from agricultural soils in a CO2-enriched atmosphere of the future are not well founded.
Problems in the Orthodoxy
Climate talks collapse!
Russia derails treaty track at UN climate summit in Bonn
By Craig Rucker, Jun 12, 2013
http://www.cfact.org/2013/06/12/climate-talks-collapse/
UN climate talks collapse amid acrimony in Bonn
By John Parnell, RTCC, Jun 12, 2013
http://www.rtcc.org/un-climate-talks-collapse-amid-acrimony-in-bonn/
Is UN negotiating an unattainable climate goal?
By Staff Writers, Bonn (AFP), June 13, 2013
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Is_UN_negotiating_an_unattainable_climate_goal_999.html
Divorce? Lovers finally stumble across boundary object which once kept them together!
By Werner Krauss, Die Klimazwiebel, Jun 12, 2013 [H/t GWPF]
http://klimazwiebel.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/divorce-lovers-finally-stumble-across.html
Climate activist group close to IPCC removes video: The science on which it was based, from Stefan Rahmstorf, is no longer the scientific consensus
By Fritz Vahrenholt and Sebastian L?ning (translated/edited by P Gosselin), No Tricks Zone, Jun 13, 2013
http://notrickszone.com/2013/06/13/skeptical-science-folly-video-based-on-flawed-rahmstorf-foster-paper-disappears/
Met Office withdraws article about Marcott?s hockey stick
By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Jun 14, 2013
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2013/6/14/met-office-withdraws-article-about-marcotts-hockey-stick.html
[SEPP Comment: What took so long?]
Seeking a Common Ground
A Climate Debate: Both Sides Showed Up!
By Dennis Avery, Center for Global Food Issues, Jun 3, 2013
http://www.cgfi.org/2013/06/a-climate-debate-both-sides-showed-up-by-dennis-t-avery/
[SEPP Comment: Mass starvation occurs more often in cold periods than in warm periods. In cold periods often crops do not ripen, in warm periods they ripen earlier.]
Leading the way with an unbiased climate panel
By Tom Harris, WUWT, Jun 14, 2013
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/06/14/leading-the-way-with-an-unbiased-climate-panel/
Expanding the Orthodoxy
Climate Change Officers
By Judith Curry, Climate Etc., Jun 10, 2013
http://judithcurry.com/2013/06/10/climate-change-officers/#more-11566
[SEPP Comment: A new professional society. Wonder how many of them ever studied climate change history such as by H.H. Lamb?]
Polar Bear Specialist Group adds WWF and PBI activists as full voting members
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Jun 6, 2013
http://polarbearscience.com/2013/06/06/polar-bear-specialist-group-adds-wwf-and-pbi-activists-as-full-voting-members/
[SEPP Comment: No doubt to give the organization great objectivity!]
Questioning European Green
German Government Pushes Electricity Costs to Record High
By Daniel Wetzel, Trans. Phillipp Mueller, Jun 6, 2013
http://www.thegwpf.org/german-government-pushes-electricity-costs-record-high/
[SEPP Comment: Government regulations and taxes, not cost of fuel, are causing sharply increasing costs to consumers.]
Merkel Sees the Folly of Green Energy Policy
By Walter Russell Mead, Via Meadia, Jun 13, 2013 [H/t GWPF]
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2013/06/13/merkel-sees-the-folly-of-green-energy-policy/
[SEPP Comment: Waiting to see what she proposes to do, rather than what she says.]
Plymouth diesel power stations ?to help green energy
Two diesel power stations planned in Plymouth will compensate for fluctuations in supplies from green energy, say developers.
By Staff Writers, BBC, Jun 11, 2013 [H/t Bishop Hill]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-22845487
Its 52 generators will consume more than 1.1m litres of diesel a year, or about one tanker a week.
Questioning Green Elsewhere
DOE Green Energy Loans: $11.45 million per job and a rounding error?s worth of averted carbon emissions.
By David Middleton, WUWT, Jun 11, 2013
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/06/11/doe-green-energy-loans-11-45-million-per-job-and-a-rounding-errors-worth-of-averted-carbon-emissions/
Communicating Better to the Public ? Exaggerate, or be Vague?
Climate science tells us the alarm bells are ringing
By Michael Oppenheimer and Kevin Trenbert, Washington Post, Jun 7, 2013 [H/t Conrad Potemra]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/climate-science-tells-us-the-alarm-bells-are-ringing/2013/06/07/ca81cb84-cef6-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html
A Couple of Comments about the Oppenheimer and Trenberth Op-Ed in the Washington Post
By Bob Tisdale, WUWT, Jun 9, 2013
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/06/09/a-couple-of-comments-about-the-oppenheimer-and-trenberth-op-ed-in-the-washington-post/
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
Communicating Better to the Public ? Make things up.
Bloomberg?s Folly
By Joseph D?Aleo, ICECAP Jun 11, 2013
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/political-climate/bloombergs_folly/
[SEPP Comment: Devastating critique of New York Mayor Bloomberg?s plan and the lack of knowledge behind it. See links below.]
Bloomberg?s race to protect NYC from climate change
By Dana Milbank, WP, Jun 11, 2014
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-bloombergs-race-to-protect-ny-from-climate-change/2013/06/11/5f06265c-d2d9-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_story.html
[SEPP Comment: See link immediately above.]
Gotham will be a Southern-fried hot mess by 2020, climate pros warn
City Hall urges preparations for Alabama-slammer summers with heat waves that?ll be hell, and high water from 10% more rain. A quarter of the Big Apple is predicted to be submerged under water by 2050.
By Jennifer Fermino, New York Daily News, Jun 10, 2013 [H/t WUWT]
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/2020-forecast-hell-high-water-city-article-1.1368794
[SEPP Comment: See first link in the section.]
Carbon dioxide emissions rose 1.4 percent in 2012, IEA report says
By Steven Mufson, Washington Post, Jun 10, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/carbon-dioxide-emissions-rose-14-percent-in-2012-iea-report-says/2013/06/09/35d32bac-d123-11e2-8cbe-1bcbee06f8f8_story.html
The agency said continuing that pace could mean a temperature increase over pre-industrial times of as much as 5.3 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit), which IEA chief economist Fatih Birol warned ?would be a disaster for all countries.?
[SEPP Comment: Nothing is rising faster than hyperbole!]
Gore laments scientists ?won?t let us? tie climate change to tornadoes
By Zack Colman, The Hill, Jun 11, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/304755-gore-says-record-breaking-tornadoes-a-result-of-climate-change
Measurement Issues
Australian Warming Exaggerated
By Geoff Brown, NCTCS, Jun 15, 2013
http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/australian-warming-exaggerated.html
Changing Weather
English Winters Back To Normal?Julia Blames Global Warming!
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Apr 12, 2013 [H/t GWPF]
http://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/english-winters-back-to-normaljulia-blames-global-warming/
Germany begins to count cost as floods surge north
By Staff Writers, Berlin (AFP) June 11, 2013
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Germany_begins_to_count_cost_as_floods_surge_north_999.html
Maxeiner, Miersch And Magdeburg: Superstitious Spiegel Devolves To The Dark Ages, Blames Floods On ?Deniers?
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Jun 11, 2013
http://notrickszone.com/2013/06/11/maxeiner-miersch-and-magdeburg-superstitious-spiegel-devolves-to-the-dark-ages/
Hungary says catastrophe averted after Danube hits new record
By Staff Writers, Budapest (AFP), June 10, 2013
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Hungary_says_catastrophe_averted_after_Danube_hits_new_record_999.html
To NCDC: it?s been two year of La Ni?a, what do you expect?
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jun 14, 2013
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/06/14/to-ncdc-its-been-two-year-of-la-nina-what-do-you-expect/
[SEPP Comment: Clear explanation using NOAA maps showing why La Ni?as create droughts in the southwestern US.]
Changing Climate
Borneo stalagmites provide new view of abrupt climate events over 100,000 years
By Staff Writers, Atlanta GA (SPX), Jun 11, 2013
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Borneo_stalagmites_provide_new_view_of_abrupt_climate_events_over_100000_years_999.html
Link to paper: ?Varied response of western Pacific hydrology to climate forcings over the last glacial period,?
By Stacy Carolin, et al., Science, Jun 6, 2013
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2013/06/05/science.1233797
Changing Cryosphere ? Land / Sea Ice
Ocean Water Melting Antarctic Ice From Bottom Up
By James Foley, Nature World News, Jun 13, 2013 [Catherine French]
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/2446/20130613/ocean-water-melting-antarctic-ice-bottom-up.htm
Link to paper: Ice Shelf Melting Around Antarctica
By E. Rignot1, S. Jacobs, J. Mouginot, B. Scheuchl, Science, Jun 13, 2013
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2013/06/12/science.1235798.abstract
New Study Shows Antarctica Ice Is Melting 70% More Slowly Than Thought ? Another Scare Bites The Dust
By Translated P. Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Jun 15, 2013
http://notrickszone.com/2013/06/15/new-study-shows-antarctica-ice-is-melting-70-more-slowly-than-thought-another-scare-bites-the-dust/
[SEPP Comment: 70% less than what was predicted in the 2007 IPCC-AR4]
Friday Funny (well maybe not so funny) ? XKCD takes on the real climate threat
phics to scale: ice sheets 21,000 years ago versus today?s skylines.
By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jun 14, 2013
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/06/14/friday-funny-well-maybe-not-so-funny-xkcd-takes-on-the-real-climate-threat/
[SEPP Comment: Cannot attest to the accuracy, but it give a perspective that is often ignored.]
Acidic Waters
Rutgers findings may predict the future of coral reefs in a changing world
By Staff Writers, New Brunswick NJ (SPX), Jun 10, 2013
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Rutgers_findings_may_predict_the_future_of_coral_reefs_in_a_changing_world_999.html
On the commonly used pH scale, where lower numbers are more acidic, today?s seas are a moderately alkaline 8.2. But they are expected to creep toward 7.6 as carbon dioxide concentration increases in the air. Using a scanning electron microscope and other measurement devices, the scientists examined the proteins and found that all had begun to precipitate calcium carbonate crystals in the test tube at both pH levels.
[SEPP Comment: Unless it goes below 7, lowering the pH of an alkaline solution does not make it more acidic; it makes it more neutral.]
Agriculture Issues & Fear of Famine
Is there a crisis in farming?
By Martin Livermore, Scientific Alliance, Jun 14, 2013
http://scientific-alliance.org/newsletter
Biotech crops vs. pests: Successes and failures from the first billion acres
By Staff Writers, Tucson AZ (SPX), Jun 11, 2013
http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Biotech_crops_vs_pests_Successes_and_failures_from_the_first_billion_acres_999.html
Review of Recent Scientific Articles by NIPCC
For a full list of articles see www.NIPCCreport.org
Storm-Track Activity: Modeled vs. Measured
Reference: Chang, E.K.M., Guo, Y., Xia, X. and Zheng, M. 2013. Storm-track activity in IPCC AR4/CMIP3 model simulations. Journal of Climate 26: 246-260.
http://nipccreport.org/articles/2013/jun/11jun2013a1.html
Effects of Elevated CO2 on Plant Attacks by Herbivorous Insects
Reference: Klaiber, J., Najar-Rodriguez, A.J., Piskorski, R. and Dorn, S. 2013. Plant acclimation to elevated CO2 affects important plant functional traits, and concomitantly reduces plant colonization rates by an herbivorous insect. Planta 237: 29-42.
http://nipccreport.org/articles/2013/jun/11jun2013a2.html
Reassessing the Past Century of Warming in Australia
Reference: Stockwell, D.R.B. and Stewart, K. 2012. Biases in the Australian high quality temperature network. Energy and Environment 23: 1273-1294.
http://nipccreport.org/articles/2013/jun/11jun2013a3.html
How Do Non-Specialist Sub-Arctic Mammals React to Warming?
Reference: Hof, A.R., Jansson, R. and Nilsson, C. 2012. Future climate change will favor non-specialist mammals in the (Sub) Arctics. PLOS ONE: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052574.
http://nipccreport.org/articles/2013/jun/12jun2013a1.html
Subsidies and Mandates Forever
Eternal Vigilance: Federal Energy Spending Tracker (www.energysubsidies.org)
By Robert Bradley Jr. Master Resource, Jun 12, 2013
http://www.masterresource.org/2013/06/eternal-vigilance-federal-energy-spending-tracker-www-energysubsidies-org/
Link to the Federal Energy Spending Tracker:
By Staff, IER,
http://data.instituteforenergyresearch.org/
EPA and other Regulators on the March
EPA nominee in limbo as Republicans press for documents
By Zack Colman, The Hill, Jun 12, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/305059-gop-call-for-epa-data-signals-more-waiting-for-nominee-mccarthy
How the EPA connives with Greens on policy
Radical partisans use threat of lawsuits to intimidate the agency
By Bob Beauprez, Washington Times, Jun 10, 2013
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/10/how-the-epa-connives-with-greens-on-policy/
What happens in the backroom of a sue-and-settle lawsuit?
By Ron Arnold, Washington Examiner, Jun 6, 2013
http://washingtonexaminer.com/what-happens-in-the-backroom-of-a-sue-and-settle-lawsuit/article/2531305?utm_source=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest%20-%2006/11/2013&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest
?Environmental Justice,? EPA Style
If the EPA wants to help low-income and minority populations, it should stick to promoting technologies that reduce pollution for everyone, rather than making environmental issues about racial justice
By Steven Hayward, The American, Jun 9, 2013
http://www.american.com/archive/2013/june/environmental-justice-epa-style
GOP warns of $1T EPA regs
By Julian Hattem, The Hill, Jun 12, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/305081-lawmakers-debate-most-expensive-regulation-ever
Rogue EPA Staff Spies On U.S. Farmers, Releases Data
Editorial, IBD, Jun 11, 2013
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/061113-659663-epa-spies-on-farmers-releases-data.htm
Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Operations: EPA?s Continuing, Conscious Overestimate
By Katie Brown, Master Resource, Jun 10, 2013
http://www.masterresource.org/2013/06/epa-methane-overestimate/#more-25695
Pebble mine?s Shively discusses future of project, EPA?s watershed assessment
Transcript by Staff Writers, EETV, Jun 13, 2013
http://www.eenews.net/tv/videos/1698/transcript
White House knew about Lisa Jackson?s secret email account
By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Jun 9, 2013 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://dailycaller.com/2013/06/09/white-house-knew-about-lisa-jacksons-secret-email-account/
Energy Issues ? Non-US
Statistical Review of World Energy 2013
By Staff Writers, BP, June 2013
http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/about-bp/statistical-review-of-world-energy-2013/group-chief-executive-s-introduction-.html
Coal remained the fastest-growing fossil fuel, with China consuming half of the world?s coal for the first time ? but it was also the fossil fuel that saw the weakest growth relative to its historical average.
Developing world oil demand surpasses wealthy nations: EIA
By David Sheppard, Reuters, Jun 11, 2013
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/11/us-eia-stea-nonoecd-idUSBRE95A16120130611
Could US Oil Trends Alter How Oil Prices Are Set?
By Geoffrey Styles, Energy Tribune, Jun 14, 2013
http://www.energytribune.com/77723/could-us-oil-trends-alter-how-oil-prices-are-set#sthash.5FDljwGI.dpbs
Fear and bad policy is holding back the UK?s huge shale potential
By Dan Lewis, City A.M., UK, Jun 12, 2013 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.cityam.com/article/fear-and-bad-policy-holding-back-uk-s-huge-shale-potential
Energy Issues ? US
Exporting Natural Gas
By Donn Dears, Power for USA, Jun 14, 2013
http://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/exporting-natural-gas/
Washington?s Control of Energy
Sales of Fossil Fuels Produced from Federal and Indian Lands, FY 2003 through FY 2012
By Staff Writers, US Energy Information Administration, May 2013
http://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/federallands/pdf/eia-federallandsales.pdf
Oil and Natural Gas ? the Future or the Past?
Energy agency: US oil-and-gas reserves up 35 percent, thanks to shale boom
By Zack Colman, The Hill, Jun 10, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/304495-eia-shale-boom-drives-us-oil-and-gas-reserves-up-35-percent
The Mighty Bakken (Resourceship in action: II)
By Fred Lawrence, Master Resource, Jun 14, 2013
http://www.masterresource.org/2013/06/mighty-bakken-resourceship2/
[SEPP Comment: Part 2 of a well-written and informative series ? we simply do not know how much is down there and how much can be recovered. With changing technology and knowledge, the recoverable amount expands over time.]
Fracking Energy Mess: Deconstructing the Green Agenda
By Michael Economides and Peter Glover, Energy Tribune, Jun 11, 2013
http://www.energytribune.com/77587/fracking-energy-mess-deconstructing-the-green-agenda#sthash.w2I7k3WN.sKXJr7zh.dpbs
Return of King Coal?
Clean Coal Needs Another Look
By Donn Dears, Power for USA, Jun 11, 2013
http://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/clean-coal-needs-another-look/
[SEPP Comment: Focus on a solution that is practical and works.]
Environmental Organizations Don?t Want Clean Coal. It?s Making Fossil Energy Too Expensive. Really!
By Larry Bell, Forbes, Jun 11, 2013
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrybell/2013/06/11/environmental-organizations-dont-want-clean-coal-its-making-fossil-energy-too-expensive-really/
Oil Spills, Gas Leaks & Consequences
Cleanup work after BP oil spill end in 3 states
By Staff Writers, AP, Jun 10, 2013
http://www.boston.com/business/news/2013/06/10/cleanup-work-after-oil-spill-end-states/jfNglfgHQorCBIoLT2RYpM/story.html
[SEPP Comment: According to the report, BP spent over $14 Billion.]
Nuclear Energy and Fears
Nuclear plant closures show industry?s struggles
By Michael Blood and Ray Henry, AP, Jun 8, 2013
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/06/08/nuclear-plant-closures-show-industrys-struggles/
Alternative, Green (?Clean?) Solar and Wind
Can You Get More than 100% Solar Energy? The Answer is Yes!
By Cliff Mass, His Blog, Jun 14, 2013
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2013/06/can-you-get-more-than-100-solar-energy.html
[SEPP Comment: More problems for the grid. Shows actual production and solar radiation on a roof top rather than modeled production.]
Goldman Sachs Eyes Japan Offshore Wind in Clean Energy Expansion
By Chisaki Watanabe, Bloomberg, Jun 13, 2013
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-13/goldman-sachs-eyes-japan-offshore-wind-in-clean-energy-expansion.html
Spain: Sorry about this, but some of these renewable-energies subsidies have got to go
By Erika Johnsen, Hot Air, Jun 9, 2013 [H/t Timothy Wise]
http://hotair.com/archives/2013/06/09/spain-sorry-about-this-but-the-renewable-energies-subsidies-have-got-to-go/
Alternative, Green (?Clean?) Energy ? Other
Ethanol Use Creates a Spike in Global Food Prices
By Staff Writers, NCPA, Jun 10, 2013
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=23262&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD
Wood Not So Green a Biofuel? Logging May Have Greater Impact On Carbon Emissions Than Previously Thought
By Staff Writer, Science News, Jun 13, 2013 [H/t GWPF]
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130611122103.htm
Link to paper: Mineral soil carbon fluxes in forests and implications for carbon balance assessments.
By Buchholz, et al., Bioenergy, Jan 29, 2013
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcbb.12044/abstract
Carbon Schemes
Moving Iron in Antarctica
By Staff Writers, Atlanta GA (SPX), Jun 13, 2013
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Moving_Iron_in_Antarctica_999.html
Link to paper: Role of biogenic silica in the removal of iron from the Antarctic seas
By Ingall, et al., Nature Communications, Jun 10, 2013
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2013/130610/ncomms2981/full/ncomms2981.html
Environmental Industry
NRDC chief: Fracking ?most complicated thing I?ve encountered?
By Zack Colman, The Hill, Jun 11, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/304785-nrdc-chief-fracking-most-complicated-thing-ive-encountered
[SEPP Comment: Totally clueless!]
The Sierra Club Exposed
By Marita Noon, Energy Tribune, Jun 13, 2013
http://www.energytribune.com/77674/the-sierra-club-exposed#sthash.NimdKqsO.dpbs
Potentially ?catastrophic? changes underway in Canada?s northern Mackenzie River Basin
By Staff Writers, Los Angeles CA (SPX), Jun 13, 2013
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Potentially_catastrophic_changes_underway_in_Canadas_northern_Mackenzie_River_Basin_999.html
Other Scientific News
Science, Heal Thyself
By Ferric Fang, Project Syndicate, Jun 5, 2013
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/using-science-to-address-threats-to-the-scientific-enterprise-by-arturo-casadevall-and-ferric-c?fang
Last year, for example, when C. Glenn Begley and Lee Ellis sought to reproduce 53 ?landmark? preclinical cancer studies, they discovered that nearly 90% of the findings could not be reproduced. While the researchers who originally published those studies may have profited from increased funding and recognition, the patients who need new cancer treatments gained nothing.
[SEPP Comment: Highlights the need for independent reproduction of studies before major policy decisions including funding. Disagree with the authors comments on climate change. The alarm is not based on scientifically-established principles.]
NASA To Study How Pollution, Storms And Climate Mix
By Staff Writers, Edwards CA (SPX), Jun 10, 2013
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/NASA_To_Study_How_Pollution_Storms_And_Climate_Mix_999.html
New study proposes solution to long-running debate as to how stable the Earth system is
By Staff Writers, Southampton, UK (SPX), Jun 13, 2013
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/New_study_proposes_solution_to_long_running_debate_as_to_how_stable_the_Earth_system_is_999.html
Link to paper: The Emergence of Environmental Homeostasis in Complex Ecosystems
By James Dyke and Ian Weaver, PLOS, May 16, 2013
http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1003050;jsessionid=342B29A1D6AE6804179E9B06A99E702C
Abiogenic methane made in the mantle from carbonate?
By Matt Ridley, His Blog, Jun 8, 2013
http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog/is-gas-made-in-the-earth?s-mantle.aspx
[SEPP Comment: A long debated issue.]
Other News that May Be of Interest
Signs that Davis Strait polar bears are at carrying capacity
By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Jun 10, 2013 [H/t GWPF]
http://polarbearscience.com/2013/06/10/signs-that-davis-strait-polar-bears-are-at-carrying-capacity/
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BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:
Climate change could slash snowfall in Southern California mountains
By Bettina Boxall, LA Times, Jun 14, 2013 [H/t WUWT]
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-southern-california-snow-20130614,0,1562365.story
[SEPP Comment: Based on studies of unvalidated models. Snowfall observed from Los Angles is rare, but occurs on the next set of mountains further east.]
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