Climate Climate & Energy

‘The satellites show cooling’–No, they don’t

(Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide)

Objection: Satellite readings, which are much more accurate, show that the earth is in fact cooling.

I wonder how long before this one stops coming up?

Open and Shut Up Case

Agencies investigate claims of muzzling by Bush administration Has the Bush administration tried to suppress climate-change research? We’d tell you, but there’s a guy in a trench coat watching us type. Maybe inspectors general at NASA and the Commerce Department will have better luck as they investigate claims that climate scientists were muzzled by political […]

‘It’s cold today in Wagga Wagga’–Weather and climate are different

(Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide)

Objection: It was way colder than normal today in Wagga Wagga, proof that there is no global warming.

Does this even deserve an answer? If we must ...

Cheaper By the Ruzzin

Voters in Boulder, Colo., will vote on carbon tax next week Next week, Boulder, Colo., will seek to become the first U.S. city to impose a carbon tax on homes and businesses. If the progressive hotspot’s voters say yes, the per-kilowatt tax will raise the average home energy bill by less than $2 a month […]

‘The temperature record is unreliable’–But temperature trends are clear and widely corroborated

(Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide)

Objection: The surface temperature record is full of assumptions, corrections, differing equipment and station settings, changing technology, varying altitudes, and more. It is not possible to claim we know what the "global average temperature" is, much less determine any trend. The IPCC graphs only say what the scientists want them to say.

The Best Damn Solar Show, Period

U.S. renewable advocates say their power is bigger and better If America has to resort to renewables, we’re gonna do it in butt-kickin’ style. Yesterday, Arizona approved rules that would require a 15 percent renewable-energy mix by 2025, pending certification from its attorney general. “Move over California,” said utility commissioner Kris Mayes. “We are making […]

‘Glaciers have always grown and receded’–A few glaciers melting does not mean global warming

(Part of the How to Talk to a Global Warming Skeptic guide)

Objection: A few glaciers receding today is not proof of global warming. Glaciers have grown and receded differently in many times and places.

The Texas Supply-chain Massacre

Federal agency says cost-cutting a factor in fatal BP refinery explosion Ooh, what a little belt-tightening can do: a new federal review says cost-cutting by BP contributed to the 2005 refinery explosion in Texas City, Texas, that killed 15 workers and injured 180 others. Carolyn Merritt, chair of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, says the […]

Hauntingly Familiar

Groundbreaking climate report inspires predictable political responses World reaction to yesterday’s U.K. report linking climate change with possible economic ruin has been swift — and painfully predictable. While British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his likely successor Gordon Brown hailed the findings, Kyoto-resisters Australia and the U.S. offered more lukewarm responses. Australian Prime Minister John […]

It’s a poor indicator of progress on global warming

A recent news article about the Stern Report contained the following gem from a Bush administration spokeswoman:

The statement from spokeswoman Kristen Hellmer said the United States is "well on track to meet the president's goal to reduce greenhouse gas intensity of our economy 18 percent by 2012."

This statement makes it sound like the Bush administration is taking on the problem of climate change head-on, with an aggressive program to reduce emissions.

But it ain't so.