Climate Change - Meet the Scientists

potholer54 — May 25, 2010 — In response to several requests, I'll put references in the video description rather than the body of the video:

John Coleman listed as media graduate in 1957
University of Illinois Alumni Association
http://www.uiaa.org/illinois/honors/c...

Coleman claiming to be a meteorologist in Weather Channel founder suing Gore? Glenn Beck interview with John Coleman, March 5, 2008
Transcript at:
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/arti...

Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Program
http://www.ametsoc.org/amscert/index....
list of Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM)
http://www.ametsoc.org/memdir/seallis...

Christopher Moncktons resume:
Whos Who 2010

Oregon Petition found at:
http://www.oism.org/pproject/

Steven C. Zylkowski credentials found at:
http://www.forestprod.org/durability0...
http://www.forestprod.org/durability0...

Earl Aaagard web page:
http://www.theseventhday.tv/Experts/a...

John Stossel clip from Global Warming? Really Bad? on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUlGoa...

Bob Carter listed as palaeoclimatologist in US Senate Minority Report,
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cf...

Sorry to ruin the fun, but an ice age cometh
Phil Chapman
The Australian, April 23, 2008

Chapman bio on NASA website:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios...

Tim Ball 28 Years Professor of Climatology at the University of Winnipeg
Letter to Paul Martin
http://www.john-daly.com/guests/marti...

Tim Ball: for 32 years I was a Professor of Climatology at the University of Winnipeg.
Deniers vs Alarmists in the Eco-Argument
Orato website, May 28th, 2006
http://www.orato.com/health-science/g...

Tim Ball lettrt to Royal Society, listed as professor of climatology
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersoname...
and
http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/pro...

University of Winnipeg website:
http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/

Geography course units at the University of Winnipeg
http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/cms-fil...

Tim Ball described as professor of geography
Fraser Institute Website
http://www.fraserinstitute.org/author...

Tim Ball letter to Royal Society, listed as retired professor of geography:
http://www.nhinsider.com/nhigb/2006/9...

Global Warming, Two Points of View
Bio of Tim Ball showing time spent at University of Winnipeg
http://www.stam.mb.ca/Global_Warming_...

6 key messages from Copenhagen

2,500 of the worlds scientists from 80 countries have gathered in Copenhagen to build consensus and draw conclusions about the acceleration of the degradation of the planets' climate . The full report will come out in June but they have 6 key points ready for distribution now. I found them over on World Changing

Those of you who visit this blog regularly won't be surprised to learn that my favorite is #5 "Inaction is inexcusable". No Kidding?! Also, I especially like part of #6, "reducing the influence of vested interests that increase emissions and reduce resilience;".

Meanwhile, short term thinking threatens to stall progress in Congress, read more, again, over on World Changing.

I've been trying to scan US media, ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN, for the last several days of this Copenhagen meeting and have seen nary a mention of it. I did see it on the BBC, as expected. To paraphrase one quote, "Scientists warn that worst case scenarios mentioned 2 years ago are already coming to pass." There is no shortage of Chevron ads on US media though. Please let me know if you see coverage of the Copenhagen meeting in America. On a brighter note I caught David Letterman talking to Tom Brokaw about global warming, and their individual efforts and involvement, on the tonight show.

"The scientists' six key messages are:

1) Climatic trends

Recent observations confirm that, given high rates of observed emissions, the worst-case IPCC scenario projections (or even worse) are being realised. For many key parameters, the climate is already moving beyond the patterns of natural variability within which our society and economy have developed and thrived. These parameters include global mean surface temperature, sea-level rise, ocean and ice sheet dynamics, ocean acidification, and extreme climatic events. There is a significant risk that many of the trends will accelerate, leading to an increasing risk of abrupt or irreversible climatic shifts.

2) Social disruption

The research community is providing much more information to support discussions on "dangerous climate change". Recent observations show that societies are highly vulnerable to even modest levels of climate change, with poor nations and communities particularly at risk. Temperature rises above 2C will be very difficult for countries to cope with, and will increase the level of climate disruption through the rest of the century.

3) Long-term strategy

Rapid, sustained, and effective mitigation based on coordinated global and regional action is required to avoid "dangerous climate change" regardless of how it is defined. Weaker targets for 2020 increase the risk of crossing tipping points and make the task of meeting 2050 targets more difficult. Delay in initiating effective mitigation actions increases significantly the long-term social and economic costs of both adaptation and mitigation.

4) Equity dimensions

Climate change is having, and will have, strongly differential effects on people within and between countries and regions, on this generation and future generations, and on human societies and the natural world. An effective, well-funded adaptation safety net is required for those people least capable of coping with climate change impacts, and a common but differentiated mitigation strategy is needed to protect the poor and most vulnerable.

5) Inaction is inexcusable

There is no excuse for inaction. We already have many tools and approaches — economic, technological, behavioural, management — to deal effectively with the climate change challenge. But they must be vigorously and widely implemented to achieve the societal transformation required to decarbonise economies. A wide range of benefits will flow from a concerted effort to alter our energy economy now, including sustainable energy job growth, reductions in the health and economic costs of climate change, and the restoration of ecosystems and revitalisation of ecosystem services.

6) Meeting the challenge

To achieve the societal transformation required to meet the climate change challenge, we must overcome a number of significant constraints and seize critical opportunities. These include reducing inertia in social and economic systems; building on a growing public desire for governments to act on climate change; removing implicit and explicit subsidies; reducing the influence of vested interests that increase emissions and reduce resilience; enabling the shifts from ineffective governance and weak institutions to innovative leadership in government, the private sector and civil society; and engaging society in the transition to norms and practices that foster sustainability.

This piece originally appeared in the Environment section of the Guardian"

Musings on science, religion, and us - By Robb

I was listening to a lecture/conversation between Wes Jackson of the Land Institute and Wendell Berry this morning and the topic wandered to science and it's mandate. To paraphrase, science doesn't decide what's good, culture does that, within culture religion has largely had a monopoly on that word, that task, that responsibility. How has good come to mean allowing massive corporations to enrich shareholders at the expense of diversity, both cultural and ecological, to control our media and our governments, the very food we eat? Is this what religion has defined as good? How has it become good to siphon off the riches, the potential of a nation, to bailout, prop up a failed system of debt dependent on unlimited growth, a literal physical impossibility, to the tune of 700 billion dollars? How has it become good to hand that wealth to very people who created the mess in the first place? The fox is in the hen house, the fox owns the hen house.

Meanwhile back at the ranch.

While we are busy crafting corporate welfare the planet gets hotter, while we let the rich scarper off with their ill gotten gains we ignore the looming scientific warnings. I can't help it, the science just keeps getting scarier!

I never liked horror movies as a kid, they gave me nightmares, but I've always liked apocalyptic science fiction. Well science fact is getting more and more apocalyptic and I can't seem to stop keeping up with it. Maybe it is my deepest held conviction that humans are just animals after all, nothing special about us. In fact, with all our supposed intelligence we are the only animals that soil our our own nest, knowingly, willingly destroying the future of our progeny and the progeny of all the other species we share this gift of a globe with. If anything, this proves to me that we are the least of species not the best. I do hope that someday I'm proven wrong about this, if there is one thing that can make us stand out in a positive way it will be a decision to make the necessary changes to create a sustainable and just lifestyle for all species on this earth.

We do have the capability, we do have the technology, we do have the resources. Without a new definition of the good we don't have a chance.

New science as found at Organic Consumers Association;
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_14872.cfm

Summary of recent climate science

Please have a look at this Indymedia UK website for a concise review of the science that didn't make it into the latest IPCC report. These are all reasons why to practice sustainable living.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/12/386936.html