Last warning: mustelid.blogspot.com October 28, 2017 This is your last warning to update your links to mustelid.blogspot.com. I don't know when Sb is going to peg out but it may well be end-of-this-month and I don't expect to get any more warning.

Dynamics of Stoats October 14, 2017 It seems that the cat is out of the bag: scienceblogs is shutting down. Well, nothing lasts forever; or as Bowie - who also didn't last forever - put it: breaking up is hard, but keeping dark is hateful. I regret the close, partly as a disruption to my quiet routine but also as the end of someone'…

Gunz: constitutionalism and majoritarianism October 10, 2017 As the increasingly sparse readership of this blog will have noticed, I'm writeing less and less about science - science is hard, and increasingly GW science isn't terribly interesting, whatever James may say - and becoming increasing interested in the fringes of politics and philosophy, in which…

That it is easier to agree on economics than morality October 8, 2017 When I argued for treating GW as economics not morality, I didn't trouble myself to say "and I think it is easier to agree on economics than on morality", because it hadn't occurred to me that people might disagree. But of course, this is the internet, so people do disagree. CIP says so, for…

Morality and economics October 7, 2017 I seem to have run out of variations on Architecture and morality and Weasels ripped my flesh so I thought I'd drop the obscurity for once and use a simple post title which actually described the subject, rather than through several levels of indirection1. The recent trigger to this was mt's The…

Carbon taxes: Macron is an idiot September 30, 2017 Zut alors! Ze Chef Frog, Macron, 'e iz not 'appy wiz ze prix of ze Carbon: Europe needed a significant minimum carbon price to boost investment in its energy transition, and a European carbon tax at the bloc’s borders to guarantee fair competition for its companies... Macron said Europe had to…

Global Warming Advocate Shoots Self in Head? September 28, 2017 According to robbservations.blogspot, which may not be the most reliable of sources. Also, it is from 2009, so not fresh either; but someone asked about it so I thought I'd reply. Context: The theory of anthropogenic Global Warming rests on the so-called "idealized greenhouse model". This…

Talking with the taxman about carbon September 26, 2017 Those of you paying attention will have noticed several approving references here recently to Cafe Hayek, run by one Don Boudreaux (an American libertarian economist, author, professor...). For economics or law, I like it. For GW, it is regrettable; for example, he's keen on George Will. Aanyway,…

Life's a riot with JA vs JA September 24, 2017 "I am the milkman of human kindness, I will leave an extra pint". But not today; try Dover beach if you want me being nice. In this strange shadowy incestuous world of the blogosphere, it is hard sometimes to remember that there's an outside world, and even otherwise well-informed and intelligent…

We need to make democracy work in the fight to save the planet? September 19, 2017 By AC Grayling in the Graun, h/t Timmy. And it's the thing you've read so many times before, the idea that Democracy is great but, alas, doesn't deliver what the article writer wants. In this case the thing he wants is something all right-thinking people want, a solution to GW, but that doesn't…

Avoiding dangerous to catastrophic climate change? September 16, 2017 ATTP started it by posting on Well below 2 °C: Mitigation strategies for avoiding dangerous to catastrophic climate changes by Yangyang Xua and Veerabhadran Ramanathan. But as you can tell from ATTP's post, the principal question - although he is far too polite to put it so bluntly - is "where's…

The idea that climate scientists are in it for the cash has deep ideological roots? September 15, 2017 Or, "world is not as I like it shocker; villain must be found!". Again; sigh. In this case the normally sensible Graham Readfearn in the Graun has picked up the unfortunately not very sensible Nancy MacLean's "Democracy in chains"2 and run with it. GR is sad about cynicism about the motives of…

Don’t blame hurricanes Irma and Harvey on climate change? September 9, 2017 Says Alan Reynolds in Newsweek, although originally at Cato. But Michael Mann says he wants you to let @Newsweek know what you think about them running Koch-funded Cato Institute climate denial propaganda. But I only care because someone called "Lawrence Torcello"1 Tweeted Quoting Popper against…

Retread: Just 90 companies caused two-thirds of man-made global warming emissions? September 9, 2017 Apparently, Just 90 companies caused two-thirds of man-made global warming emissions? was so popular that it gets a retread. Despite the original being published in 20133, we're now being told that Researchers have for the first time tied a group of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies,…

Questions September 7, 2017 While I was away having fun in the mountains, I rudely ignored a number of comments on the blog that I'd normally answer. I could answer them in place, but if I did that now, no-one would notice, hence this post. Did I rudely ignore your fine comment here, too? Then tell me. But first, a picture:…

NASA scientists seek to improve sea ice predictions September 5, 2017 An excellent idea, you might well have thought. But that leads me to look at the annual Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) aka SIPN. Here are some pix: 2014: 2015: 2016: [2013: everyone underestimated. 2012 was massively low, and everyone overestimated. If you'd just predicted from extrapolating the OLS line-…

US energy agency asked scientists to scrub references to climate change August 31, 2017 Sez Nurture (via SR's fb feed). Notice how good I've been: I didn't even put a question mark at the end, because Nurture is a WP:RS. Let's quote: Multiple researchers who received grants from the US Department of Energy (DOE) say that they have been asked to remove references to “climate change”…

Harvey August 29, 2017 My feed, as you'd expect, is full of stuff from Houston about hurricane Harvey. A typical example is How Climate Change is Making the Houston Situation Worse. Or Stefan's Storm Harvey: impacts likely worsened due to global warming. I'm sure you can fill in any gaps. But also Timmy's It’s amazing…

Antient ice August 28, 2017 I don't see anyone else blogging this, so I will, even though it is old news. Record-shattering 2.7-million-year-old ice core reveals start of the ice ages says Science, but you have to immeadiately know the caveat: it isn't a continuous 2.7 Myr core. In fact, before long you discover that it's…

Kant's cats August 27, 2017 You're wondering - I know you are - about the unexplored connection between Kant and Cats. And I need to begin by disappointing you: this is not one of his. This is nameless cat from Vallouise whose only sin was to stumble into my viewfinder. I should continue by saying that I'm going to parrot…

I was a teenage Exxon-funded climate scientist? August 27, 2017 Schlock, horreur: Exxon funds science. Yes, we knew that already. More schlock and awww: ExxonMobil deliberately attempts to sow doubt on the reality and urgency of climate change. Yes, we knew that too. This is all kicked off by Oreskes astonishing ability to re-tread the same story again and…

A bit more mountain, 2017 August 26, 2017 Just like in 2016, you may have noticed that things have been thin around here recently, and the reason is the same: I've been off in the mountains; the Ecrins again. Here is very nearly the same view as 2016. It isn't quite so good; I lack the fluffy cloud layer; this was taken about an hour later…

Economic denialism? August 10, 2017 Well, the conversation over at Kevin Anderson: how numbers reveal another reality got rather silly and bad tempered, but more than that it also became totally, obviously pointless1. Remarkably, my attempt to enlighten people by pointing out that their attitude to and discussion of economics bore a…

Ze Robots are comink August 6, 2017 Via CIP what I agree is a rather nice story about robotisation, from the WaPo. The bit that seems interesting is that the robots are getting cheaper, and more flexible. You don't need to convert the whole factory at once; you can do little bits at a time. For the folk doing the work that the…

Manichean paranoia? August 5, 2017 Ha. While I'm wasting my time on heat waves, ATTP is reaping the clicks with Manichean paranoia, a far more amusing topic. After all, everyone loves RP Jr [content advisory: talk given at the GWPF: may pollute your brain]. I'm not terribly interested in most of it, but I'll talk to "Engage with…

Extreme weather 'could kill up to 152,000 a year' in Europe by 2100? August 5, 2017 It is summer. Normally the time for relaxation, but even though the rowing is over (alas) there's a T/O coming up and little freizeit; and after that I'm off on holiday; so I should squeeze off a quick cheap post to keep those clicks coming in. And on a summer's day when it is rather cool and…

Why don't people pay attention to the future of their own world? July 29, 2017 More politics, but since it is cunningly disguised as a reply to mt's Twitter rant, I think I may get away with it. You should go off and read mt's post, for context. But not for content; much as I like his take on the science I can never agree with his take on the politics. Here's a sample: One…

The rule of law July 25, 2017 Is a familiar concept but also a page-turning pot-boiler by Thomas "just call me Tom" Bingham, which I'm in the middle of reading1. And there is much to be said upon the subject, including the need for clarity; but my attention was drawn to two clauses in his "history of" section, where he includes…

The management apologise for more inconvenience July 16, 2017 I'm not having the problems this time, but you are. Or so I'm told. If you can see this, then you're not having problems, I suppose, but they are said to look like: Your access to this site has been limited Your access to this service has been temporarily limited. Please try again in a few minutes…