Free Republic

A recent Yale University study funded by the National Science Foundation found that those with opposing views on climate change don’t hold those views because of insufficient scientific understanding, but because of “opposing sets of cultural values.” To be specific, people have a rather solid foundation in science and mathematics, but they use scientific evidence to fit their cultural group’s values. In other words, global warming deniers aren’t stupid, they just want to fit in. “In effect, ordinary members of the public credit or dismiss scientific information on disputed issues based on whether the information strengthens or weakens their ties...

It took some 10 million years for Earth to recover from the greatest mass extinction of all time, latest research has revealed. Life was nearly wiped out 250 million years ago, with only 10 per cent of plants and animals surviving. It is currently much debated how life recovered from this cataclysm, whether quickly or slowly. Recent evidence for a rapid bounce-back is evaluated in a new review article by Dr Zhong-Qiang Chen, from the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan, and Professor Michael Benton from the University of Bristol. They find that recovery from the crisis lasted some 10...

The theme of the 7th International Conference on Climate Change was “Real Science, Real Choices.” We featured approximately 50 scientists and policy experts speaking at plenary sessions and panel discussions exploring what real climate science is telling us about the causes and consequences of climate change, and the real consequences of choices being made based on the current perceptions of the state of climate science.

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Anthony Watts Seal of the C.I.A. – Central Intelligence Agency of the United States Government (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Despite what NCDC’s Thomas Peterson, Wikiwrangler William Connolley, and John Fleck would like you to believe as a “myth” (The Myth of the 1970s Global Cooling Scientific Consensus), there was in fact serious consideration of the global cooling issue in the 1970’s thanks to this 1974 document from the CIA. – AnthonyThe CIA Report and the Warning from WisconsinGuest post by David ArchibaldIn August, 1974, the Office of Research and Development of the Central Intelligence Agency produced...

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Anthony Watts Al Gore, is his usual incompetent persona, is bloviating weapons grade nonsense again.A few prior examples: On TV, Earth’s core is millions of degrees, in AIT, snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro will gone due to global warming, except the snows are growing, and Gore’s 24  hours of Climate Reality “high school science” that is so solid it has to be faked in post production.Gore’s got a new schtick, he is now complaining about “dirty energy” making “dirty weather”.From the Daily Caller there’s this: Former Vice President Al Gore showed that he isn’t giving...

Still at it: Gore blames ‘dirty energy and dirty money’ for ‘dirty weather,’ ‘extreme climate events’ [VIDEO] By Jeff Poor - The Daily Caller 8:31 AM 05/25/2012 Former Vice President Al Gore showed that he isn’t giving up on sounding the alarm on global warming and its catastrophic consequences in an appearance on Current TV’s “The War Room with Jennifer Granholm” on Thursday. Gore, who owns CurrentTV and appeared alongside former Obama administration “green jobs czar” Van Jones, explained that “dirty energy and dirty money” are thwarting a green economy. And that, according to the former vice president, is behind...

Two weeks ago, the Obama campaign quietly edited its website to highlight the president’s support for “clean coal.” In place of a section for “energy efficiency” with no mention of coal, BarackObama.com now boasts that the stimulus package “invested substantially in carbon capture and sequestration research.” The administration’s position on coal has, shall we say, evolved. In 2001, the EPA released an endangerment finding stating that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide threaten public health and the environment by contributing to climate change and that therefore they could be regulated under the Clean Air Act. Since then, as Bryan Walsh...

This post will be a sticky top post for a day or two, new stories will appear below this one.Climategate ContinuesBy Andrew Montford & Harold AmblerMay 24, 2012 4:00 A.M. in the National Review – reposted here with permissionClimategate, the 2009 exposure of misconduct at the University of East Anglia, was a terrible blow to the reputation of climatology, and indeed to that of British and American science. Although that story hasn’t been in the news in recent months, new evidence of similar scientific wrongdoing continues to emerge, with a new scandal hitting the climate blogosphere just a few days...

After a year of erratic weather, a large majority of New Jersey residents consider climate change and global warming a real concern — and they also expect government to start taking a bigger role in protecting the environment, according to a Kean University/NJ Speaks poll released today. The possible effects of climate change and global warming were a concern for 71 percent of respondents in the poll, and nearly all of those, 69 percent, said human activity has contributed to global warming and other environmental problems.

SHOPS and restaurants could face fines up to $1.1 million if waiters or sales staff wrongly blame the carbon tax for price rises or exaggerate the impact. And households are being warned to watch out for telephone scammers offering to deposit carbon tax compensation into their bank accounts. The prices watchdog, the ACCC, will today launch its countdown to the July 1 carbon tax with a special focus on helping small businesses understand their obligations and consumers to be vigilant for false claims. It is releasing internet videos to help business, a 16-page guide and has set up a dedicated...

Black Eyed Peas rapper Will.i.am is the typical Hollywood-esque global warming alarmist. He's also the typical hypocrite who touts the apocalyptic effects of climate change, and then rides around in his helicopter -- or, technically, his "hip.hop.copter." Mr. Will.i.am attended a climate change conference at Oxford University before lifting off to carry the Olympic torch on the same day. On May 21, the American musician, who is also a coach on the British version of the singing competition television show “The Voice,” tweeted pictures of his helicopter as he was leaving Oxford and headed to Taunton, where he would help carry a...

Full Title at WUWT: Bob Carter’s essay in FP: Policymakers have quietly given up trying to cut ­carbon dioxide emissionsDeal with climate reality as it unfoldsSpecial to Financial Post May 23, 2012Dr. Bob Carter By Dr. Bob CarterOver the last 18 months, policymakers in Canada, the U.S. and Japan have quietly abandoned the illusory goal of preventing global warming by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Instead, an alternative view has emerged regarding the most cost-effective way in which to deal with the undoubted hazards of climate change.This view points toward setting a policy of preparation for, and adaptation to, climatic events...

Here is a five minute long special report on a power source for the 21st Century; one that the “greens”, climate change alarmists and global warming skeptics might all agree on (video link below). And here is my blog about that power source. JOHN COLEMAN’S BLOG May 21, 2012 THORIUM will power the world. That is the bumper sticker of the future. The ugly debate about energy has gone on and on. It is costing us billions of dollars. It is beginning to cripple our nation. I have been looking for a source of abundant, cheap electric power that short...

Frank Lansner’s first graph surprised me. It’s well known and often quoted that sea levels have been rising by 2-3mm a year every year for the last 20 years. But it’s not well known that the original raw satellite data doesn’t show that at all.What astonished me was the sea levels first recorded by the Topex Poseidon satellite array showed virtually no rise at all from 1993-2001. Surely not, I thought. I asked sea-level expert Nils Axel-Morner, and he confirmed: “Yes, it is as bad as that.“ Now, given that Envisat (the European satellite) showed no rise from 2003-2011...

Short notice – this is on NOW.Worth watching, even if only for how they justify saying ‘black carbon and other “short-lived” greenhouse gases.’. I didn’t know black carbon was a gas. Here’s the release: On Thursday, May 24, at 12 NOON EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME / 9:00 AM PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, a group of internationally acclaimed scientists will present to the California Air Resources Board findings on black carbon and other “short-lived” greenhouse gases.The presentation will be webcast. For more information, see the email below and visit http://www.cal-span.org. MEDIA ADVISORY: Leading scientists to present findings on black carbon and climate...

Canadian reporter Ezra Levant explains how global warming skeptics are demonized by the left and mainstream media even though surveys show regular citizens aren’t so concerned.

Human use of water contributes markedly to rising tides. Climate change, with its associated melting ice caps and shrinking glaciers, is the usual suspect when it comes to explaining rising sea levels. But a recent study now shows that human water use has a major impact on sea-level change that has been overlooked. During the latter half of the twentieth century, global sea level rose by about 1.8 millimetres per year, according to data from tide gauges. The combined contribution from heating of the oceans, which makes the water expand, along with melting of ice caps and glaciers, is estimated...

Many thanks for the invitation and for giving me the opportunity to address this distinguished audience. I am not for the first time in Chicago. It is also not for the first time that I am attending a conference organized by the Heartland Institute. But it is for the first time I am with Heartland here in Chicago.Some of you know that I came to Chicago for the NATO summit. Yesterday and today I was supposed to speak about what to do in Afghanistan, how to keep NATO going in an era of overall indebtedness and budgetary cuts, and about...

This will be a top sticky post for a day or two, new stories will appear below this one. At the Heartland Conference in Chicago this morning, four of the forty-nine signers of the March letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden (discussed at WUWT here, here, and here) appeared to discuss their reasons for signing that letter and to announce a second letter responding to NASA’s response.The text of that letter is reproduced below: May 11, 2012The Honorable Charles Bolden, Jr. 
NASA AdministratorNASA HeadquartersWashington, D.C. 20546-0001Dear Charlie: In our letter of March 28, 2012, we, the undersigned, respectfully requested that...

ATLANTA, Georgia, May 23, 2012 (IPS) - A coalition of advocacy groups is targeting corporate support for the right-wing Heartland Institute after the organisation took out a controversial billboard in Chicago comparing people who believe in global warming to a serial killer and mass murderer. On Tuesday, the group protested outside the Heartland Institute's Seventh International Conference on Climate Change, a conference for climate change deniers being held at the Hilton hotel in Chicago. Heartland's billboard featured a photograph of Ted Kaczinski, the mass murderer known as the Unabomber, with text, "I still believe in Global Warming. Do you?" Heartland...