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So, if I get this thread right -
anyone who talks about the climate is a loony
buying a pair of bombers will kill polar bears
saving money in the bank is as eco-friendly as digging up a coral reef using a spade made from lonesome george's shell
So, if I get this thread right -anyone who talks about the climate is a loony
buying a pair of bombers will kill polar bears
saving money in the bank is as eco-friendly as digging up a coral reef using a spade made from lonesome george's shell
A beautiful summary of green issues and the carbon economy.
A beautiful summary of green issues and the carbon economy.
But only if you're a class one nincompoop.
I really appreciated what the article was saying about it being time that the deniers hold a conference and 'set out their scientific stall', that really helped to clarify things for me, but I felt that it was on shakier ground when talking about the characteristics of the 'conservative mind'. Not sure if making sweeping generalisations helps the author's arguement at all tbh.
It's the Guardian, firstly it's never going to be read by conservatives and secondly to get published in the (Champagne) Socialist Workers paper you have to bash some tories!
Haha!
On a side note it looks like Ed Miliband has been prodding an index finger at what seems to me, as far as the media coverage of the floods is concerned, to be the elephant in the room
[url= http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/feb/15/ed-miliband-stark-warning-climate-change ]Link[/url]
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reassuring....
climate change is now an issue of national security that has the potential not only to destabilise and cause conflict between regions of the world, but to destroy the homes, livelihoods and businesses of millions of British people.
No shit, sherlock...
Seems like the two major parties are in a rare moment of agreement
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26213919 ]Link[/url]
It's a relief to know that we have now pinned movements in the jet stream to AGW. We can stop all the unnecessary spending on research now and spend it solely on the resolution - the case is that clear cut. Brilliant.
But climate scientists says floods not caused by global warming.
Mat Collins, a Professor in climate systems at Exeter University, said the storms have been driven by the jet stream – the high-speed current of air that girdles the globe – which has been ‘stuck’ further south than usual.Professor Collins told The Mail on Sunday: ‘There is no evidence that global warming can cause the jet stream to get stuck in the way it has this winter. If this is due to climate change, it is outside our knowledge.’
That's a pity, looked like it was all wrapped up for a moment. Still it was reported in the wail.
It makes more sense than listening to Lord lawson or delingpole [ spell]
I agree we cannot be certain what weather [ intentional use]] events are weather and what are climate[ intentional use] change related events
It does seem increasingly clear though that we are getting more variety in weather patterns and more extreme events. It might just be bad luck but it may also be the beginning of clear signs of AGW
only time will tell - problem is by the time we are certain we wont be able to act.
It does seem increasingly clear though that we are getting more variety in weather patterns and more extreme events
Not to me it doesn't. Anecdotally the biggest UK storms I can remember are the 1987 Michael Fish one and the 1968 Glasgow hurricane that killed 20 people. I remember that one. trees down everywhere in my local area.
The 1968 Scotland storm (or Hurricane Low Q)[1][2] was a deadly storm that moved through the Central Belt of Scotland during mid January 1968. It was described as Central Scotland's worst natural disaster since records began and the worst gale in the United Kingdom.[2][3][6] Some said that the damage resembled what happened during the Clydebank Blitz in 1941.[4] 20 people died from the storm, with 9 dead in Glasgow.[7] 700 people were left homeless.[8]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Scotland_storm
People have short memories for weather.
http://euanmearns.com/so-foul-a-day-and-the-jet-stream/#more-2099
Hang on a minute- is that the [i]American government[/i] saying that it's time to do something?!
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26214135 ]Well, yes[/url]
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26214135 ]it appears it is[/url]
John Kerry and Milliband in agreement. Now there's a good reason to head rapidly in the other direction.
John Kerry and Milliband in agreement. Now there's a good reason to head rapidly in the other direction.
Why?
"We just don't have time to let a few loud interest groups hijack the climate conversation," he said."I'm talking about big companies that like it the way it is, that don't want to change, and spend a lot of money to keep you and me and everybody from doing what we know we need to do.
"We should not allow a tiny minority of shoddy scientists... and extreme ideologues to compete with scientific fact.
"The science is unequivocal and those who refuse to believe it are simply burying their heads in the sand."
[/url]
The man speaks a lot of sense... Unless you're one of the ideologues he's on about?
There is no sensible debate on climate change. The debate should be on what we are going to do about it, and how much it might influence feedback effects from terrestrial and marine sources and sinks.
And IRC, to help with your short memory, the industrial revolution started in 1760. 1968 and 1987 are some time after we started releasing fossil-CO2 into the atmosphere. Hope that clears things up for you.
Yep, the way I see it if the US government is starting to talk about not letting the large corporations get in the way of pushing forward with environmental issues then its probably time to start breaking out the man nappies.
There is no sensible debate on climate change.
That's a bit harsh. Our understanding is starting to get better these days. We'll even understand the oceans one day.
There is no sensible debate on climate change.
Not really, there is a huge amount of credible, peer reviewed and accepted science on one side, the other side seems to still use maps that have sea monsters on it and would probable not go on a round the world cruise for fear of falling off the edge.
You went to see 100 doctors about a very nasty cough you had. 98 of them said 'lung cancer - we need to treat you' and 2 of them said 'nasty cough - just chew this gum and ignore it because it might not be cancer', what would you do?
I don't see how anyone can object to reducing pollution and trying not to burn up everything we can in our own lifetimes. I don't see how 'reducing the damage humans do' would be a bad thing no matter what the motivation.
That's a bit harsh.
Harsh, but true. See the medical science analogy above.
I don't see how anyone can object to reducing pollution and trying not to burn up everything we can in our own lifetimes. I don't see how 'reducing the damage humans do' would be a bad thing no matter what the motivation.
Now [i]that[/i] I have no argument with. Good point, well made.
zokes - MemberHarsh, but true. See the medical science analogy above.
That analogy rather falls down in that is relatively easy to directly observe cancer in the lab. The climate of the Earth is vastly complex and the timescales upon which it operates are enormous.
There is nothing wrong with taking a view on the balance of probabilities and saying 'yes the likelihood is that mankind is affecting the climate let's look at what we can do to reduce the impact'. Our confidence in the theories strengthening as time goes on.
However that does not mean that this should be a closed book- already decided and set in stone. And anyone who questions anything related to it derided as a 'denier'.
Very true Retro83 but we also need to be careful when we differentiate between Climate Scientists, Scientists and people making comments and speculation.
Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities,1and most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position. The following is a partial list of these organizations, along with links to their published statements and a selection of related resources.
Source http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus
There are a large number on the "denial" side that are not working in the climate area. The point raised earlier is a very valid one - if you don't agree with the theory do some research and come up with a credible alternative. Shouting it's not happening is not a valid counter argument.
We are the only living thing in this planet that destroys our own habitat... I am beginning to think we do not come from this planet afterall 🙁
You went to see 100 doctors about a very nasty cough you had. 98 of them said 'lung cancer - we need to treat you' and 2 of them said 'nasty cough - just chew this gum and ignore it because it might not be cancer', what would you do?
speaking from personal experience I got packed off to a consultant who did a fairly definitive test and he said whatever is causing the problem it isn't lung cancer. With climate science there isn't a definitive test
I don't see how anyone can object to reducing pollution and trying not to burn up everything we can in our own lifetimes. I don't see how 'reducing the damage humans do' would be a bad thing no matter what the motivation.
whilst I am a cynic I actually have quite strong views that chucking lots of nasties into the environment (air or water) is actually quite stupid. But pollution and long term public health issues aren't sexy, climate science is and it attracts lots of valuable grants hence the current science fashion
Not really, there is a huge amount of credible, peer reviewed and accepted science on one side, the other side seems to still use maps that have sea monsters on it and would probable not go on a round the world cruise for fear of falling off the edge
what was Charles Darwin's experience when he published [b]On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. [/b] ❓
this is further reinforced in regard to climate science) when scrutinised:
http://order-order.com/2014/02/11/sketch-peter-lilley-v-tim-yeo/#more-160667
You mean when Darwin published a theory based on a large amount of information he had collected and put it up against the idea that the world was created in 7 days and everything no is as it was at the beginning of time?
I got packed off to a consultant who did a fairly definitive test and he said whatever is causing the problem it isn't lung cancer. With climate science there isn't a definitive test
I love the idea of fairly definitive testing, still yes/no/maybe then 😉
I love the idea of fairly definitive testing, still yes/no/maybe then
best you will ever get from a Dr 😉
speaking from personal experience I got packed off to a consultant who did a fairly definitive test and he said whatever is causing the problem it isn't lung cancer. With climate science there isn't a definitive test
It's a 'fairly definitive test' because there is scientific consensus that the majority of the time it gives the correct diagnosis. Pretty much like there is scientific consensus that climate change is strongly influenced by anthropogenic emissions, which is a 'fairly definitive conclusion'.
FFS. Stop the planet, I want to get off.
Yep, the way I see it if the US government is starting to talk about not letting the large corporations get in the way of pushing forward with environmental issues then its probably time to start breaking out the man nappies
I'll be keeping my diapers dry until they actually DO something. They're good at talking - closing Guantanamo Bay, cleaning up Wall Street, making peace in the Middle East; meantime they're looking the other way on Gitmo, employing Goldman Sachs alumni as economic advisers, and sucking Netayahu's cock.
And, if you're happy to be a 'denier', [url= http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/17/tony-abbott-dismisses-link-between-drought-and-climate-change ]you're placing yourself in the same category as the Prime Moron of Australia, whose intellectual ability wouldn't worry an amoeba...[/url]
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who did a fairly definitive test and he said whatever is causing the problem it isn't lung cancer. With climate science there isn't a definitive test
Nor is there for Alzehemiers until post mortem....I assume you think we should stop diagnosing it then and ignore the fact that all the symptoms match and just stick to our guns that their is no definitive test
that is relatively easy to directly observe cancer in the lab
Indeed and it is realtively easy to observe AGW as the data shows
Your right we cannot predict every single event or what will happen exactly. Then again we cannot with cancer. if 100 million folk start smoking we will have more cancer. i cannot tell you who, where, when, how it clusters, when they die etc. Apparently this means there is no definitive proof it causes cancer
the point is no other area of science has this very high set bar where if we cannot give complete information then we must assume it is not true.
Lots of things in life dont have this we are 100% sure it cannot be anything else - FFS even gravity may be magic fairies.
However you cannot just deny you must explain what is happening with the additional stored energy cause dby the greenhouse effect and explain why this additional input of energy does not lead to warming
There is nothing credible here as a counter explanation that matches the know science or the observation hence they just deny and shrug - the fact they are a long way from experts on the subject further diminishes this dreadfully weak starting point..
Indeed and it is realtively easy to observe AGW as the data shows
The problem is that some of the data doesn't match the script, hence the exchange in the select committee
The question should always be "cui bono " which should apply to both sides of the discussion
Junkyard - lazarus
Nor is there for Alzehemiers until post mortem....I assume you think we should stop diagnosing it then and ignore the fact that all the symptoms match and just stick to our guns that their is no definitive test
The symptoms present readily and are relatively easily tested for. Modelling the climate of a planet is orders of magnitude more complex, if even possible at all. Alzheimer's disease has also had over 100 years of study.
Indeed and it is realtively easy to observe AGW as the data shows
No, that's the point. It isn't. We are looking at the output of a very complex system which we do not fully understand and of which man's contribution is but one of the inputs. Look at how accurate the models are. Hint: [url= 
]Not 100% accurate.[/url]
the point is no other area of science has this very high set bar where if we cannot give complete information then we must assume it is not true.
Yes it does, bio-science/medicine springs immediately to mind, materials engineering, some areas of computer science. Many more, I'm sure.
Who is to say that the current obsession with co2 is not diverting attention from other more critical issues. NOx, methane, water vapour etc. NOx increases in fact a direct result of promoting low co2 (diesel) cars via beneficial taxation.
As I posted before, we should take sensible precautions based on what the current information says, but not take this as a blinding beacon of unquestionable truth.
I've missed a couple of pages, so apologies if this has already been posted.
I suppose the (poor) analogy is that one of the reasons you get your car serviced each year is to stop things catastrophically falling off at speed on the motorway, or when you're driving in a built up area. It might not happen, but it's nice to be prepared if it does, eh.
Alzheimer's disease has also had over 100 years of study.
So has climate science.
As I posted before, we should take sensible precautions based on what the current information says, but not take this as a blinding beacon of unquestionable truth.
That's fine. But the questions should be intelligent, well thought out, and backed by evidence. As was said in one of the Guardian articles linked above, if there really is a strong scientific basis that is a credible counterpoint to current theory, then lets hear it. Let's have a conference or a summit to communicate these important data and their implications. You'd have thought with all the oil money the denier camp has they'd be able to organise something suitable, surely? Get it published in [i]Nature[/i] or [i]Science[/i], with press releases communicating these new exciting data in a form the general public can understand. We could have documentaries, perhaps even a film!
Oh? That is unless they don't have a credible argument to discuss, of course...
The question should always be "cui bono " which should apply to both sides of the discussion
No, it should not. On one side of the argument, there is the consensus of 97% of the world's qualified scientists agree that climate change is happening, and its primary cause is anthropogenic activity. On the other side of the argument there are a few qualified skeptics, often funded by fossil fuel companies, and a whole lot of loud denialists funded by big business to obfuscate and make it appear like it's a 50-50 discussion.
As for who benefits? We clean up our act: some rich people become poorer, we stop destroying the planet, a lot fewer people die, and our children and grandchildren might have somewhere worth living. Or, we carry on BAU: A few rich people get richer, the rest of us get poorer, and the most vulnerable die from starvation and disease as a result of failed harvests, whilst hundreds of millions of people become homeless due to inundation.
Unless you're one of the rich few (who could easily make money from renewable energy if they had the gumption), nobody benefits from carrying on as we are.
Cui bono is quite easy to demonstrate here.
Yes it does, bio-science/medicine springs immediately to mind, materials engineering, some areas of computer science. Many more, I'm sure.
This is so incredibly not true. There is only one 'science' that can be 100% proven and that is mathematics, because it is pure abstract.
That's fine. But the questions should be intelligent, well thought out, and backed by evidence. As was said in one of the Guardian articles linked above, if there really is a strong scientific basis that is a credible counterpoint to current theory, then lets hear it. Let's have a conference or a summit to communicate these important data and their implications. You'd have thought with all the oil money the denier camp has they'd be able to organise something suitable, surely? Get it published in Nature or Science, with press releases communicating these new exciting data in a form the general public can understand. We could have documentaries, perhaps even a film!Oh? That is unless they don't have a credible argument to discuss, of course...
I read this in Stewies voice....
Yes it does, bio-science/medicine springs immediately to mind, materials engineering, some areas of computer science. Many more, I'm sure.
i can assure you that there's loads still to learn about the world of 'materials engineering'.
and bio-science...
etc.
we know our computer models of 'residual stress in forged components' are far from perfect.
but they're good enough to build a jet engine that doesn't explode on take off.
(imperfect/incomplete science is in use all around us)
AdamW - Member
This is so incredibly not true. There is only one 'science' that can be 100% proven and that is mathematics, because it is pure abstract.
ahwiles - Memberi can assure you that there's loads still to learn about the world of 'materials engineering'.
and bio-science...
etc.
we know our computer models of 'residual stress in forged components' are far from perfect.
but they're good enough to build a jet engine that doesn't explode on take off.
(imperfect/incomplete science is in use all around us)
I obviously didn't explain my point very well though because your counter examples illustrate what I meant.
We can say with close to reasonable certainty that used within these parameters, this material will take loadings A,B & C and not fail. In drug creation, we run many many trials before we even get close to trying a particular drug on a human patient so that we can say with reasonable confidence that it is safe.
What we don't do is say, here you go, I've made a model of this compound and it looks okay. Chug this down your neck and let's hope it doesn't paralyse you or cause birth defects in your child.
We absolutely cannot do this at the moment with the climate, it is far too complex to model accurately. I'm not saying that this means we should not try though. It just means we must remain open to the possibility that our understanding is wrong.
zokes - Member
No, it should not. On one side of the argument, there is the consensus of 97% of the world's qualified scientists agree that climate change is happening, and its primary cause is anthropogenic activity. On the other side of the argument there are a few qualified skeptics, often funded by fossil fuel companies, and a whole lot of loud denialists funded by big business to obfuscate and make it appear like it's a 50-50 discussion.
I assume you mean MMGW as opposed to climate change, but in any case the consensus doesn't matter in a way. The consensus was the Aether theory was correct before Einstein came along. Just because a lot of people stand behind it, does not make it certain, and this is why we must remain open but skeptical.