Stoat’s already covered this, but it seems that Jo Nova and her husband, David Evans, have started a hedge fund called Cool Futures Funds Management. The motivation for the project seems to be that we’re preparing for catastrophic warming, when we should really be preparing for cooling.

Rather than commenting on their actual plans (which, as Stoat points out, is pretty tricky as they don’t really explain what they are) I thought I might comment on what they seem to regard as The Facts. They suggest that part one of the CAGW hypothesis is that

Human emissions of carbon dioxide is the main cause of increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide

Apart from the fact that there isn’t really a CAGW hypothesis, it is certainly the case that most experts regard the increase in atmospheric CO 2 as mainly due to human emissions. They, however, go on to say

Part one is still hotly debated. Natural carbon dioxide emissions swamp human emissions …..

Well, it certainly not true that part one is hotly debated by anyone credible; if there is one thing about which we are virtually certain, it is that the rise in atmospheric CO 2 is anthropogenic. Also, that natural carbon dioxide emissions swamp human emissions is – at best – lying by omission.

It is certainly true that CO 2 emissions from the ocean and biosphere are much greater than human emissions. However, the ocean and biosphere also take in CO 2 , and both take in more than they emit. Both the oceans and the biosphere are a net sink; the only net source is us. This, together with many other lines of evidence, is why we are pretty certain that the rise in anthropogenic CO 2 is anthropogenic.

The problem is that this is really simple; what’s important are the net emissions (out – in), not just the outgoing emissions, and this should be obvious to anyone with a background in science. David Evans is a self-professed rocket scientist who has a PhD in electrical engineering. Jo Nova also has a science degree and has written about this topic for years. Surely, they must understand this? It’s really hard to believe that they don’t. I realise that we should typically defer to Hanlon’s razor, but sometimes it is difficult.