Climate Climate & Energy

Should we worry about sudden climate shifts?

We hear a lot about climate "tipping points" in the news. You may very well be wondering what a tipping point is and whether it's something to be concerned about.

To understand a tipping point, imagine that you're sitting in a canoe and you start to lean your body over one side. The canoe will slowly rotate (I think the nautical term is "list") as you lean ever further -- until, that is, you lean just far enough, and suddenly the canoe flips over, sending you into the water. You've just encountered a tipping point.

The worry is that the climate will slowly warm as CO2 is added -- until we cross a tipping point, at which point the climate abruptly shifts into a new and possibly very different state. If this happens, it would likely be a disaster of Biblical proportions, unleashing unimaginable suffering and hardship.

‘Antarctic ice is growing’–Well, probably not, but even if it were, we are not off the hook

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

Objection: The Antarctic ice sheets are actually growing, which wouldn't be happening if global warming were real.

Answer: There are two distinct problems with this argument.

First, any argument that tries to use a regional phenomenon to disprove a global trend is dead in the water. Anthropogenic global warming theory does not predict uniform warming throughout the globe. We need to assess the balance of the evidence.

‘What about mid-century cooling?’–No one said CO2 is the only climate influence

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

Objection: There was global cooling in the '40s, '50s, and '60s, even while human greenhouse-gas emissions were rising. Clearly, temperature is not being driven by CO2.

‘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.