The Coming Climate Change

[jhowelb]

November 29, 2007
Everything is Caused by Global Warming (600+ links)
Christopher Alleva
Dr. John Brignell, a British engineering professor, runs a website called numberwatch. He has compiled what has to be the most complete collection of links to media stories ascribing the cause of everything under the sun to global warming. He has already posted more than six-hundred links.

The site's stated mission is to expose all the "scares, scams, junk, panics and flummery cooked up by the media, politicians, bureaucrats and so-called scientists and others that try to confuse the public with wrong numbers" Professor Brignell's motto is "Working to Combat Math Hysteria."

This exercise is not merely a lark to show the abject absurdity of this global warming nonsense. Brignell wrote a great book titled Sorry Wrong Number, The Abuse of Measurement on this very subject.

Dr. Brignell is accepting additions to the list so if you have any send them along.

[http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/...by_global.html

Agricultural land increase, Africa devastated, African aid threatened, Africa hit hardest, air pressure changes, Alaska reshaped, allergies increase, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end, amphibians breeding earlier (or not), ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, Antarctic grass flourishes, anxiety, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic lakes disappear, asthma, Atlantic less salty, Atlantic more salty, atmospheric defiance, atmospheric circulation modified, attack of the killer jellyfish, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased, bananas destroyed, bananas grow, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, better beer, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billions of deaths, bird distributions change, bird visitors drop, birds return early, blackbirds stop singing, blizzards, blue mussels return, bluetongue, boredom, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain Siberian, British gardens change, brothels struggle, bubonic plague, budget increases, Buddhist temple threatened, building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, business opportunities, business risks, butterflies move north, cancer deaths in England, cardiac arrest, caterpillar biomass shift, challenges and opportunities, childhood insomnia, Cholera, circumcision in decline, cirrus disappearance, civil unrest, cloud increase, cloud stripping, cockroach migration, cod go south, cold climate creatures survive, cold spells (Australia), computer models, conferences, coral bleaching, coral reefs dying, coral reefs grow, coral reefs shrink , cold spells, cost of trillions, cougar attacks, cremation to end, crime increase, crocodile sex, crumbling roads, buildings and sewage systems, cyclones (Australia), damages equivalent to $200 billion, Darfur, Dartford Warbler plague, death rate increase (US), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, dermatitis, desert advance, desert life threatened, desert retreat, destruction of the environment, diarrhoea, disappearance of coastal cities, diseases move north, Dolomites collapse, drought, drowning people, ducks and geese decline, dust bowl in the corn belt, early marriages, early spring, earlier pollen season, Earth biodiversity crisis, Earth dying, Earth even hotter, Earth light dimming, Earth lopsided, Earth melting, Earth morbid fever, Earth on fast track, Earth past point of no return, Earth slowing down, Earth spinning out of control, Earth spins faster, Earth to explode, earth upside down, Earth wobbling, earthquakes, El Niño intensification, erosion, emerging infections, encephalitis, equality threatened, Europe simultaneously baking and freezing, evolution accelerating, expansion of university climate groups, extinctions (human, civilisation, logic, Inuit, smallest butterfly, cod, ladybirds, bats, pandas, pikas, polar bears, pigmy possums, gorillas, koalas, walrus, whales, frogs, toads, turtles, orang-utan, elephants, tigers, plants, salmon, trout, wild flowers, woodlice, penguins, a million species, half of all animal and plant species, not polar bears, barrier reef, leaches), experts muzzled, extreme changes to California, fading fall foliage, famine, farmers go under, fashion disaster, fever,figurehead sacked, fir cone bonanza, fish catches drop, fish catches rise, fish stocks at risk, fish stocks decline, five million illnesses, flesh eating disease, flood patterns change, floods, floods of beaches and cities, Florida economic decline, food poisoning, food prices rise, food security threat (SA), footpath erosion, forest decline, forest expansion, frostbite, frosts, fungi fruitful, fungi invasion, games change, Garden of Eden wilts, genetic diversity decline, gene pools slashed, gingerbread houses collapse, glacial earthquakes, glacial retreat, glacial growth, glacier wrapped, global cooling, global dimming, glowing clouds, god melts, golf Masters wrecked, Gore omnipresence, grandstanding, grasslands wetter, Great Barrier Reef 95% dead, Great Lakes drop, greening of the North, Grey whales lose weight, Gulf Stream failure, habitat loss, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, harvest increase, harvest shrinkage, hay fever epidemic, hazardous waste sites breached, health of children harmed, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes (Australia), heat waves, hibernation ends too soon, hibernation ends too late, homeless 50 million, hornets, high court debates, human development faces unprecedented reversal, human fertility reduced, human health improvement, human health risk, hurricanes, hurricane reduction, hydropower problems, hyperthermia deaths, ice sheet growth, ice sheet shrinkage, illness and death, inclement weather, infrastructure failure (Canada), Inuit displacement, Inuit poisoned, Inuit suing, industry threatened, infectious diseases, inflation in China, insurance premium rises, invasion of cats, invasion of herons, invasion of midges, island disappears, islands sinking, itchier poison ivy, jellyfish explosion, Kew Gardens taxed, kitten boom, krill decline, lake and stream productivity decline, lake shrinking and growing, landslides, landslides of ice at 140 mph, lawsuits increase, lawsuit successful, lawyers' income increased (surprise surprise!), lightning related insurance claims, little response in the atmosphere, lush growth in rain forests, Lyme disease, Malaria, malnutrition, mammoth dung melt, Maple syrup shortage, marine diseases, marine food chain decimated, marine dead zone, Meaching (end of the world), megacryometeors, Melanoma, methane emissions from plants, methane burps, melting permafrost, Middle Kingdom convulses, migration, migration difficult (birds), microbes to decompose soil carbon more rapidly, monkeys on the move, Mont Blanc grows, monuments imperiled, more bad air days, more research needed, mountain (Everest) shrinking, mountains break up, mountains taller, mortality lower, mudslides, National security implications, new islands, next ice age, Nile delta damaged, no effect in India, Northwest Passage opened, nuclear plants bloom, oaks move north, ocean acidification, ocean waves speed up, opera house to be destroyed, outdoor hockey threatened, oyster diseases, ozone loss, ozone repair slowed, ozone rise, Pacific dead zone, personal carbon rationing, pest outbreaks, pests increase, phenology shifts, plankton blooms, plankton destabilised, plankton loss, plant viruses, plants march north, polar bears aggressive, polar bears cannibalistic, polar bears drowning, polar bears starve, polar tours scrapped, porpoise astray, profits collapse, psychosocial disturbances, puffin decline, railroad tracks deformed, rainfall increase, rainfall reduction, rape wave, refugees, reindeer larger, release of ancient frozen viruses, resorts disappear, rice threatened, rice yields crash, riches, rift on Capitol Hill, rioting and nuclear war, rivers dry up, river flow impacted, rivers raised, roads wear out, rockfalls, rocky peaks crack apart, roof of the world a desert, Ross river disease, ruins ruined, salinity reduction, salinity increase, Salmonella, salmon stronger, satellites accelerate, school closures, sea level rise, sea level rise faster, seals mating more, sewer bills rise, sex change, sharks booming, sharks moving north, sheep shrink, shop closures, shrinking ponds, shrinking shrine, ski resorts threatened, slow death, smaller brains, smog, snowfall increase, snowfall heavy, snowfall reduction, societal collapse, songbirds change eating habits, sour grapes, space problem, spiders invade Scotland, squid population explosion, squirrels reproduce earlier, spectacular orchids, stormwater drains stressed, street crime to increase, suicide, taxes, tectonic plate movement, teenage drinking, terrorism, threat to peace, ticks move northward (Sweden), tides rise, tourism increase, trade barriers, trade winds weakened, tree beetle attacks, tree foliage increase (UK), tree growth slowed, trees could return to Antarctic, trees in trouble, trees less colourful, trees more colourful, trees lush, tropics expansion, tropopause raised, tsunamis, turtles crash, turtles lay earlier, UK Katrina, Vampire moths, Venice flooded, volcanic eruptions, walrus displaced, walrus pups orphaned, war, wars over water, wars threaten billions, water bills double, water supply unreliability, water scarcity (20% of increase), water stress, weather out of its mind, weather patterns awry, weeds, Western aid cancelled out, West Nile fever, whales move north, wheat yields crushed in Australia, white Christmas dream ends, wildfires, wind shift, wind reduced, wine - harm to Australian industry, wine industry damage (California), wine industry disaster (US), wine - more English, wine -German boon, wine - no more French , winters in Britain colder, wolves eat more moose, wolves eat less, workers laid off, World bankruptcy, World in crisis, World in flames, Yellow fever.

[xyzdonna]

Originally Posted by WYLD xyzDonna... Not to attack you from two fronts....but.... If we, humans, are these horrible parasites slowly killing our host, Earth...then how do you explain not one, but several meteorite impacts throughout history (The one in Siberia (Tanguskie?), the one that supposedly ended or ushered the end of the dinosaurs reign, the one in Mauritania, the one in the Nazca Plains in Central America...) that would have had an impact considerably greater than any nuclear blast...and surely contributed to global weather patterns (When Mt. St. Helens exploded, its ash traveled as far away as Italy on the air currents and released millions of tons of toxic gases...and had an adverse effect on the following winter) but miraculously, Earth survived those catastrophic bombardments, but now, little puny man, with his SUV is killing the earth? Give me a break. Please. ADAPT or DIE. That is how man has managed to go from hairless ape to top of the foodchain. Harsh as it sounds, adapting is better from an EVOLUTIONARY standpoint than any technological solution. We are after all, organic, biologic creations. We must evolve or go extinct. Technology is not our savior, it is our creation. I will not bow to any virtual "Jesus" that the NEO-GREENIES parade about as the way to salvation...but I just may pass on stronger genes to my children that will keep them alive if this impending BBQ you call GW/CC is indeed the new Armageddon. I hope that you have strong genes to pass on to your children as well. I damn sure don't want my children having machines be their protectors. I want my children to be strong enough to deal with adversity. Not coddled in some bubble-wrapped air-conditioned techno nanny cubicle.

Hi WYLD,
These natural disasters did a lot of damage. I'm not sure I follow your logic, just because these things happened what does that have to do with what we are doing to the planet now? I'm not saying we won't survive, I'm just saying things won't be good. Think, if we melt the ice caps you'll have a sea level rise that will be catastrophic. That in conjunction with the population explosion will be devastating. Your allusions to evolution are interesting. You don't evolve by destroying your habitat.
Donna

[dynosor]

Originally Posted by Geof FACTS???? ACTUAL DATA???? REAL HARD NUMBER STUFF???? You must be dreaming!!!!!

Geof, that was one of the best summaries I have read on GW!

You are quite right that fully grown trees don't absorb CO2 and if they die and decay, CO2 is released. I might counter with "use the wood of mature trees to build houses for the continually increasing human population before the trees self-destruct. Then replant new trees." That is, if I really believed we need to do something to reduce CO2, which I don't.

My mantra of "plant more trees" is meant in the same vein as I might have said "go buy a Prius". If anyone believes this "we must act now" BS then let them do something that makes them feel good and is benign from my point of view. So, go plant a Prius.

The idea of artificial carbon sequestration scares me - that is if it holds CO2 for longer than the natural lifespan of a tree and its possible wood products. By burying sealed containers of CO2 we will eventually reduce the breathable oxygen available in air - remember the "O2" in "CO2" represents oxygen. Better to spew the CO2 into the air and let Nature find its own balance.

[xyzdonna]

Originally Posted by Geof Actually the Biblical Flood, and other flood legends, are most likely related to the refilling of the Black Sea from the Mediterranean some 8000 or so years ago. The Climatic Optimum was a solar orbit phenomenon being one of the Milankovich cycles. Regarding taking action before going past a tipping point. What action do you propose? Do you have some magic way to cut CO2 emissions by 50% in the next twenty years without bringing much of the World's economy to a crashing halt?

Hi Geof,
I propose using science to implement more energy sources that don't use carbon. Burning natural gas in our vehicles might be a better alternative while other sources of energy are being developed. I know that still uses carbon but maybe not as much and we don't send as much of our money overseas to fund terrorism. Energy efficiency is another good strategy. Research is the answer. It won't happen overnight, we have to get started right away. We'll soon have had 8 years of the most incompetent administration in the history of our nation. It may take decades to recover from what this moronic Bush administration has done to the country and to the world. We're way behind. But it can be done and new energy sources will create new opportunities. People hate change. But I've found that you can adapt and change and create new directions.
About 15 years ago I got fired from a job I really liked but truthfully, wasn't that good at. I didn't let it defeat me, I started my own business. I succeeded because I adapted and changed. That's what's needed now.
Donna

[Geof]

Originally Posted by xyzdonna Hi Geof, I propose using science to implement more energy sources that don't use carbon. Burning natural gas in our vehicles might be a better alternative while other sources of energy are being developed...

Okay what are your energy sources? Hydro, Wind, Tidal, Solar, Nuclear Fission and possibly Nuclear fusion if you are being very pie in the sky. Worldwide about 75% of the energy consumed comes from fossil fuels so at the present time 25% comes from the sources I list. You can remove Tidal because it is truly negligible. Solar is minuscule and it is debatable whether it is truly a net source because of the limited lifetime of solar panels and the energy used for their manufacturer. Wind in some countries is approaching 10%, maybe more, but the problem with Wind is that it is intermittent so it needs to be combined with a steady source and cannot comprise more than somewhere between 15 to 20% of the total.

The only practical large scale alternate energy sources are Hydro and Nuclear Fission and if they are to fill the hole left by not using fossil fuels it will be necessary to build three times as many dams and three times as many Nuclear facilities as currently exist.

But perhaps you are thinking of a different type of science? Perhaps you can point out the flaws in my analysis.

[dynosor]

Originally Posted by Geof Okay what are your energy sources? Hydro, Wind, Tidal, Solar, Nuclear Fission and possibly Nuclear fusion if you are being very pie in the sky.

You forgot geothermal, not that it changes the validity of your point any...

[307startup]

Originally Posted by xyzdonna Hi WYLD, These natural disasters did a lot of damage. I'm not sure I follow your logic, just because these things happened what does that have to do with what we are doing to the planet now? I'm not saying we won't survive, I'm just saying things won't be good. Think, if we melt the ice caps you'll have a sea level rise that will be catastrophic. That in conjunction with the population explosion will be devastating. Your allusions to evolution are interesting. You don't evolve by destroying your habitat. Donna

xyzDonna

Those disasters happened and Earth Abides. Abides well enough that not only did the reign of dinosaurs end and the slooooooooooooooow rise of man began, but that several of those incidents occurred during the time of man. Man was barely out of trees and living in caves during the last Ice Age...gee, how could we possibly survive as a species during this next cyclical global weather phenomona...probably through evolution. Evolution is driven by responses to external stimuli. If the stress of the external stimuli is great enough, beneficial evolutionary traits develop within a few generations. I would daresay that while the Armageddon scenario of GW/CC is fetishistic philosophical porn for all the survivor buffs, it's going to be no more of a destruction of our habitat as the impending Ice Age and its effects were to Neanderthals and Cro Magnons.

A sea level rise that is catastrophic? Man has known better than to build at or below water level since his first campsite was flooded and his rations and belongings were lost. I don't feel sorry for ignorant 3rd world countries whose populations are so out of proportion to their resources that they consciously choose to breed themselves into a situation they are unable to resolve. I live in the middle of the US in the most sparsely populated state. It's also the 7th largest in land mass. The Rocky Mountains run through my backyard. I'm sure I'll survive the impending flood. Just because people have babies, doesn't mean that all people are important to the survival of the species. I'm sure that I sound cold and heartless, but I believe in Darwinian evolution. If you cannot support yourself or your offspring, you are expendable to the species. I will not bear the burden of people too stupid to remember the first rule of survival. Take care of yourself. So, for myself, the "impending disaster" will not affect me. And should I find myself in a situation where the displaced immigrants are clamboring for harbor and demanding that I give them what they need, I will respond in kind. With lots of 5.56mm & 7.62mm FMJ rounds. I will fill their hungry bellies with heaping helpings of lead. And have lots of compost for my garden. Care for a homegrown tomato from the hothouse?

[the4thseal]

ok....i am an engineer.... and i love data.....lots of data....never too much data :-)..i am thinking that the ability to measure the earth's temperature is a current ability using satellites ect. that leads me think the temperature assessments that predate the satellite are suspect. or should i say that they lack fidelity????? i know when i am trying to make a design if i do not have good data than i am screwed. am i alone here in thinking that there is not great data on this topic?. we have had global heating and cooling cycles in that past that exceed what we have now or likely to see , right?
i am getting the feeling that this is just pissing in the wind....or maybe a global warming hurricane....oops they were wrong, there were far fewer hurricanes than predicted. O buy the way ,does anyone know if the global warming models are more accurate than the climate models for hurricane prediction? i am getting the feeling that our understanding is way light to make any serious analysis possible. Or are we all just picking a position thats suits our personal points of view? thoughts?

[dynosor]

Originally Posted by the4thseal i love data.....lots of data....

See post #165 of this tread for an excellent summary on GW and the facts/data that predictions are based on: The Coming Climate Change

[xyzdonna]

Originally Posted by Geof Okay what are your energy sources? Hydro, Wind, Tidal, Solar, Nuclear Fission and possibly Nuclear fusion if you are being very pie in the sky. Worldwide about 75% of the energy consumed comes from fossil fuels so at the present time 25% comes from the sources I list. You can remove Tidal because it is truly negligible. Solar is minuscule and it is debatable whether it is truly a net source because of the limited lifetime of solar panels and the energy used for their manufacturer. Wind in some countries is approaching 10%, maybe more, but the problem with Wind is that it is intermittent so it needs to be combined with a steady source and cannot comprise more than somewhere between 15 to 20% of the total. The only practical large scale alternate energy sources are Hydro and Nuclear Fission and if they are to fill the hole left by not using fossil fuels it will be necessary to build three times as many dams and three times as many Nuclear facilities as currently exist. But perhaps you are thinking of a different type of science? Perhaps you can point out the flaws in my analysis.

Hi Goef,
No you can't negate solar. Let me quote from a website I perused:

Two German scientists, Dr Gerhard Knies and Dr Franz Trieb, calculate that covering just 0.5% of the world's hot deserts with a technology called concentrated solar power (CSP) would provide the world's entire electricity needs, with the technology also providing desalinated water to desert regions as a valuable byproduct, as well as air conditioning for nearby cities.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...gy.environment

I agree with you that solar panels aren't the way to go with current technology but mirrors that track the sun and heat water, that works now. Again let me quote from the website above:

CSP technology is not new. There has been a plant in the Mojave desert in California for the past 15 years. Others are being built in Nevada, southern Spain and Australia. There are different forms of CSP but all share in common the use of mirrors to concentrate the sun's rays on a pipe or vessel containing some sort of gas or liquid that heats up to around 400C (752F) and is used to power conventional steam turbines.

There is of course the problem of nighttime when there is no sun light. Here in Tennessee where I live, TVA has a lake that they built high up in a mountain called Raccoon Mountain. During off peak hours they pump water into it with excess electrical generating capacity. They use it to store water for peak periods of electrical usage. When they need more power, they just let water out though a turbine and generate it. Probably not real efficient but cheaper than building a whole new electrical plant for peak demand periods. The technology is there, it just takes a commitment to implement it.
Donna

[xyzdonna]

Originally Posted by WYLD xyzDonna Those disasters happened and Earth Abides. Abides well enough that not only did the reign of dinosaurs end and the slooooooooooooooow rise of man began, but that several of those incidents occurred during the time of man. Man was barely out of trees and living in caves during the last Ice Age...gee, how could we possibly survive as a species during this next cyclical global weather phenomona...probably through evolution. Evolution is driven by responses to external stimuli. If the stress of the external stimuli is great enough, beneficial evolutionary traits develop within a few generations. I would daresay that while the Armageddon scenario of GW/CC is fetishistic philosophical porn for all the survivor buffs, it's going to be no more of a destruction of our habitat as the impending Ice Age and its effects were to Neanderthals and Cro Magnons. A sea level rise that is catastrophic? Man has known better than to build at or below water level since his first campsite was flooded and his rations and belongings were lost. I don't feel sorry for ignorant 3rd world countries whose populations are so out of proportion to their resources that they consciously choose to breed themselves into a situation they are unable to resolve. I live in the middle of the US in the most sparsely populated state. It's also the 7th largest in land mass. The Rocky Mountains run through my backyard. I'm sure I'll survive the impending flood. Just because people have babies, doesn't mean that all people are important to the survival of the species. I'm sure that I sound cold and heartless, but I believe in Darwinian evolution. If you cannot support yourself or your offspring, you are expendable to the species. I will not bear the burden of people too stupid to remember the first rule of survival. Take care of yourself. So, for myself, the "impending disaster" will not affect me. And should I find myself in a situation where the displaced immigrants are clamboring for harbor and demanding that I give them what they need, I will respond in kind. With lots of 5.56mm & 7.62mm FMJ rounds. I will fill their hungry bellies with heaping helpings of lead. And have lots of compost for my garden. Care for a homegrown tomato from the hothouse?

Hi WYLD,
Glad to see you have a plan in place. Here in Chattanooga we're OK as well, I think about 600 ft. above sea level. If it comes to that then global warming may well solve the problem that caused it, overpopulation of the earth.
I'm an optimist though, I think we can get things under control if we can convince people there is a problem. That is the hard part. Conservative Christians, you won't convince them. My whole family is radical right wing conservative, everyone voted Bush. Most of them still support this idiot, yep they are in that 30% that are still loyal. They won't even hold a conversation with me about politics anymore. I wear them out.
Your comment about evolution may be on the mark as well, I see what you mean now. Yep, things may well get bad before they get worse but we'll survive.
Donna

[xyzdonna]

Originally Posted by the4thseal ok....i am an engineer.... and i love data.....lots of data....never too much data :-)..i am thinking that the ability to measure the earth's temperature is a current ability using satellites ect. that leads me think the temperature assessments that predate the satellite are suspect. or should i say that they lack fidelity????? i know when i am trying to make a design if i do not have good data than i am screwed. am i alone here in thinking that there is not great data on this topic?. we have had global heating and cooling cycles in that past that exceed what we have now or likely to see , right? i am getting the feeling that this is just pissing in the wind....or maybe a global warming hurricane....oops they were wrong, there were far fewer hurricanes than predicted. O buy the way ,does anyone know if the global warming models are more accurate than the climate models for hurricane prediction? i am getting the feeling that our understanding is way light to make any serious analysis possible. Or are we all just picking a position thats suits our personal points of view? thoughts?

Hi,
I think that's exactly what we're doing, picking a position thats suits our personal points of view. I know I am a dyed in the wool unapologetic liberal and am going to argue that perspective. I agree with you that the historic records are suspect. I don't think we had a major melting of the ice caps 6,000 years ago during the Climatic Optimum that Geof referred to. I just allowed his assumptions for the sake of argument.
Sure, we've had these cycles before, but the earth was a lot less populous then. If we go into a sustained warming trend now a lot of people are going to die. The CSP (concentrated solar power) technology that I told Geof about is competitive with $60 a barrel oil. Where is the downside?
I can think of much better uses for oil than sticking it into the atmosphere.
Donna