The Week That Was: 2014-01-18 (January 18, 2014) Brought to You by SEPP (www.SEPP.org) The Science and Environmental Policy Project

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Quote of the Week: If you wish to converse with me, define your terms. — Voltaire, H/t Gordon Cheyne, in Master Resource

Number of the Week: 679 – 23

No Consensus? Nature magazine published an article by Jeff Tollefson on the failure of the earth’s surface to warm for the past 16 years that contained an interesting sentence: That has led sceptics — and some scientists — to the controversial conclusion that the models might be overestimating the effect of greenhouse gases, and that future warming might not be as strong as is feared. Could this be a first indication that Nature recognizes that there are qualified scientists who are skeptical of the work of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the claim that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases are causing unprecedented and dangerous global warming? If so, is this an admission that there is no consensus as frequently claimed? One must be careful not to read too much into this sentence least that person be grouped with those military analysts who spent their cold war military careers looking for changes in Soviet policy by carefully dissecting sentences in the communist newspaper, Pravda.

To a limited extent, the article discusses some possible causes for the failure of the earth’s surface to warm including changes in the trade winds over the tropical Pacific, which change cloudiness. When there are more clouds, the sun’s energy is reflected back into space. When there are less clouds, more energy reaches the oceans, resulting in warming. Roy Spencer has long discussed that slight changes in cloudiness will have dramatic effects.

Other suggestions include changes in the sun, volcanoes emitting aerosols (fine particles and liquid droplets) that have a cooling effect (no major volcanoes noted), and China emitting aerosols (pollution).

Although the article offers no rigorous explanation of the possible causes, at least it brings up the issue that nature has failed to obey human-created climate models. Though not discussed, the article creates a question about the IPCC Summary for Policymakers with its claim in 2007 (Fourth Assessment Report – AR4) of 90% certainty and in 2013 (Fifth Assessment Report – AR5) of 95% certainty that humans are the cause of global warming/climate change. The question is: What is meant by this certainty? There are many issues of natural variation that are not discussed in the reports.

The article contained comments by members of the climate establishment who gave excuses why the models fail to perform, not rigorous explanations of what must be done to the models to give them predictive value. “If you are interested in global climate change, your main focus ought to be on timescales of 50 to 100 years,” says Susan Solomon, a climate scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. Solomon was a drafting author of AR4 which expressed 90% certainty in its work.

The key period of the 2007 assertion certainty was late 20th century surface warming of a little more than 20 years – about 1976 to 1998. Now Solomon says periods of 50 to 100 years are needed. Does this mean that the certainty expressed in the IPCC AR4 and AR5 Summary for Policymakers are hasty conclusions? See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy and Problems in the Orthodoxy.

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Warming Trend or Jolt? Writing in Master Resource, Robert Bradley Jr. discusses an article by Richard Kerr, a long-time writer for Science, “What Happened to Global Warming? Scientists Say Just Wait a Bit,” which was published in the October 1, 2009 edition of the magazine. The article contained the statement: In the HadCRUT3 temperature record, the world warmed by 0.07°C±0.07°C from 1999 through 2008, not the 0.20°C expected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Corrected for the natural temperature effects of El Niño and its sister climate event La Niña, the decade’s trend is a perfectly flat 0.00°C.

The EPA finding that greenhouse gas emissions, principally CO2, are causing unprecedented and dangerous global warming endangering human health and welfare was made two months later, on December 7, 2009. Too late for the courts, the recognition that prior to the endangerment finding the temperature record had no trend for a decade is an increasing piece of history and illustrates the lack of thoroughness of EPA science. See link under Questioning the Orthodoxy.

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Hearings: The Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee held a hearing on the President’s Climate Action Plan. Most of the time was spent on typical posturing by politicians and bureaucrats. The testimony by Judith Curry and global warming advocate Andrew Dessler may be of particular interest. See link under Seeking a Common Ground.

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The Anti-Science Challenge: One incident coming from the Senate testimony is an anti-science challenge. Writing in the New York Times, Michael “Hockey-Stick” Mann labeled Judith Curry’s testimony as anti-science. Curry has taken the challenge: JC challenge to MM: Since you have publicly accused my Congressional testimony of being ‘anti-science,’ I expect you to (publicly) document and rebut any statement in my testimony that is factually inaccurate or where my conclusions are not supported by the evidence that I provide.

During the Hearing, Senator Whitehouse asked me a question about why people refer to me as a ‘contrarian.’ I said something like the following: Skepticism is one of the norms of science. We build confidence in our theories as they are able to withstand skeptical challenges. If instead scientists defend their theories by calling their opponents names, well that is a sign that their theories are in trouble.

Anti-science is a murky word, with a number of connotations. An excerpt from the wikipedia article on Antiscience:

The question often lies in how much scientists conform to the standard ideal of “communalism, universalism, disinterestedness, originality, and… skepticism”. Unfortunately, “scientists don’t always conform… scientists do get passionate about pet theories; they do rely on reputation in judging a scientist’s work; they do pursue fame and gain via research”. Thus, they may show inherent biases in their work.

From the Rational Wiki article on Antiscience:

Anti-science proponents often attack science through: Attempts to discredit the scientists themselves. Attempts to use flawed arguments, such as argumentum ad populum to prove the position correct even if it has no scientific basis. Attempts to label scientific ideas as conspiracy theories.

JC message to MM: If you want to avoid yourself being labeled as ‘anti-science’, I suggest that you are obligated to respond to my challenge.

A conspiracy buff may wonder if the New York Times, and other outlets, provide a forum for Mr. Mann in order to discredit science in general, and climate science in particular. If so, he is doing a good job. See link under Oh Mann!

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Climate Vortex: The claim that global warming is causing more extreme cold events continues to reverberate. President Obama is scheduled to give his State of the Union address at 9 pm on Tuesday. Weather forecasts have Washington receiving another blast of cold air that day, with nighttime temperatures falling to about 11ºF (-12 ºC). [This is about 17ºF (10ºC, allow for rounding) below the mid-January normal low is about 28ºF (-2 ºC).] Will the President follow his chief science advisor and blame the cold on global warming? See links under Climate Vortex – Whirlpool, Cyclone, or Quagmire?

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Base Load: Much has been written about natural gas replacing coal as the fuel of choice for producing electricity in the US. Economics professor Mark Perry brings up an excellent point regarding this shift. During severe cold weather, the price of natural gas spikes, causing the costs of generating electricity to spike. Perry gives some illustrations. He argues for using nuclear power plants for base load, because they are not subject to price spikes. [Base load is the electricity generation 24 hours a day 7 days a week, except for scheduled maintenance.] The same could be said for using modern coal-fired power plants, which the EPA will oppose. See link under Nuclear Energy and Fears

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Wind Power: The web site, Master Resource has a 4 part series based on a letter Glen Schleede sent to the Senate Finance Committee exposing the economically destructive and foolish tax subsidies being considered by the Committee on behalf of so-called “clean energy” – producing electricity without generating carbon dioxide. The summary and part two on the high cost and low value of wind power were posted with the other two parts coming next week.

The main points brought up thus far are:

• Electricity from wind is high in true cost and low in true value.

• Massive wealth transfers harming ordinary taxpayers and electric customers.

• Misdirecting billions in capital investments dollars.

• High electricity prices that are particularly hard on low income people.

• Adverse environmental, ecological, scenic, and property values impacts.

See link under Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Solar and Wind

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Energy Policy: Former oil man and wind energy advocate, T. Boone Pickens points out that it has been over 40 years since President Nixon called for a national energy policy. Washington has had energy policies but not one singularly identified. Among the many policies are denial, advocacy, and benign neglect. These policies can be rated according to two standards: that which promotes Washington control and that which promotes general prosperity of the nation. The two standards suggested here are not absolute, but they give a starting point for evaluation.

The oil industry along the northern slope of Alaska is an example of denial. After the great success of the initial development of oil and the Alaska pipeline, Washington started to deny further exploration and development. The deliberate reduction in oil development is reaching the point at which it is questionable if the pipeline can be kept open in the future. It is having a negative effect on the budget of the state, which receives royalties. Each time proposals are made in Congress to open the North Slope to further development, the proponents are shouted down that it would take ten years. Washington’s game have been going on for over a decade. It is an excellent illustration of Washington power and indifference to general prosperity.

The heavy subsidies to wind and solar power are examples of advocacy. The central problem of storage of electricity on an inexpensive, commercial scale has not been solved. After two decades of subsidies, wind and solar cannot stand on their own. Green jobs did not materialize in quantities promised, and they are not sustainable without subsidies or mandates. Wind and solar are examples of Washington’s power and indifference to general prosperity. Perhaps what is needed is the requirement that all Federal buildings and official Washington rely only on wind and solar, with no back-up. Eventually, all but the most obtuse politicians and bureaucrats would grasp the problem.

The development of techniques for extracting oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from dense shale is an example benign neglect. Some in Washington claim credit, but the success is on private and state-owned lands, outside of control from Washington. There is no need for subsidies or mandates. The contribution to general prosperity is becoming more evident monthly, unemployment rates in areas with the greatest activity are far below the national or regional rates. In his article, Pickens bring up the natural gas revolution that switched him from being a wind power promoter. See links under Energy Issues – US.

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Number of the Week: 679 – 23. According to Senator Tom Coburn (R., Okla.), the Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the US government has 679 renewable energy programs from 23 different agencies costing $15 billion a year. Who says the Federal government does not have an energy policy? It has at least 679. See link under Green Jobs.

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ARTICLES:

For the numbered articles below please see this week’s TWTW at: www.sepp.org. The articles are at the end of the pdf.

1. Alaska to Invest in Natural Gas Project

State to Pay Up to $5.7 Billion for Stake in LNG Plant

By Cassandra Sweet, WSJ, Jan 15, 2014

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304149404579323224239571660?mod=WSJ_Energy

2. Arctic Passage Opens Challenges for U.S. Military

Thinning Polar Ice Expected to Give Way to New Commercial Waterways and Resource-Rich Frontier

By Julian Barnes, WSJ, Jan 12, 2014

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303330204579250522717106330

3. No Quick Fix for China’s Air Quality

By Andrew Browne, WSJ, Jan 14, 2014

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303595404579319952865306072?mod=ITP_pageone_2

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NEWS YOU CAN USE:

Science: Is the Sun Rising?

New Paper Says Sun Is Behind the Pause

Reduced solar activity may be behind the global warming pause according to a new paper by Peter Stauning of the Danish Meteorological Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark.

By Reporting Climate Science.com, Jan 14, 2014 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.reportingclimatescience.com/news-stories/article/new-paper-says-sun-is-behind-the-pause.html

Link to paper: Reduced Solar Activity Disguises Global Temperature Rise

By Peter Stauning, Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, Jan 2014

http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=41752#.Utf1555dXCt

Suppressing Scientific Inquiry

AGW inquisition burns a journal, Pattern Recognition in Physics

By Luboš Motl, Reference Frame, Jan 17, 2014

http://motls.blogspot.com/2014/01/agw-inquisition-burns-journal-pattern.html#more

The Copernicus-PRP fiasco: predictable and preventable

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jan 19, 2014

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/19/the-copernicus-prp-fiasco-predictable-and-preventable/

[SEPP Comment: An up-to-date account on an effort to suppress scientific inquiry.]

Challenging the Orthodoxy

Another year of global cooling

Falling temperatures are giving climate alarmists chills

By David Deming, Washington Times, Jan 16, 2014 [H/t NCTCSP]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/16/another-year-of-global-cooling/

IPCC WG3 plans to suck excess CO2 and kill 1 billion people

By Luboš Motl, Reference Frame, Jan 16, 2014

http://motls.blogspot.com/2014/01/ipcc-wg3-plans-to-suck-excess-co2-and.html

[SEPP Comment: The word kill may be a bit strong, but the IPCC scenario is science fiction.]

Defending the Orthodoxy

Biggest Emitter China Best on Climate, Figueres Says

By Sangwon Yoon, Bloomberg, Jan 14, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-13/top-global-emitter-china-best-on-climate-change-figueres-says.html

Climate Theology

By Steven Hayward, Power Line, Jan 16, 2014

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/01/climate-theology.php

UNFCC boss: democracy is “very detrimental” for war on AGW

Chinese communism is the best decision-making system

By Luboš Motl, Reference Frame, Jan 14, 2014

http://motls.blogspot.com/2014/01/unfcc-boss-democracy-is-very.html#more

UN climate chief: Communism is best to fight global warming

By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Jan 15, 2014

http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/15/un-climate-chief-communism-is-best-to-fight-global-warming/

UN climate chief calls for tripling of clean energy investment

Christiana Figueres says $1 trillion a year is required for the transformation needed to stay within 2C of warming

By Suzanne Goldenberg, Guardian, UK, Jan 14, 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/14/un-climate-chief-tripling-clean-energy-investment-christiana-figueres

Questioning the Orthodoxy

Falsifiability in my lifetime

By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Jan 16, 2014

http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/1/16/falsifiability-in-my-lifetime.html

Freezing Is the New Warming

By Robert Tracinski, Real Clear Politics, Jan 13, 2014

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/01/13/freezing_is_the_new_warming_121202.html

Water is the Weather Wildcard

By Viv Forbes, American Thinker, Jan 10, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/01/water_is_the_weather_wildcard.html

Richard Kerr (Science) in 2009: Warming ‘Pause’ About to Be Replaced by ‘Jolt’

By Robert Bradley Jr. Master Resource, Jan 14, 2014

http://www.masterresource.org/2014/01/kerr-science-2009-pause-jolt/

Global Warming A Back Door To Socialism – And Now Even The UN Admits It

Editorial, IBD, Jan 16, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/011614-686713-climate-change-a-back-door-to-communism-and-the-united-nations-admits-it.htm?p=full

Maurice Newman: Mother Nature Suggests The Party’s Over For The IPCC

By Maurice Newman, The Australian, Via GWPF, Jan 15, 2014

http://www.thegwpf.org/maurice-newman-mother-nature-suggests-partys-ipcc/

Social Benefits of Carbon

Bad news for Michael Mann’s ‘treemometers’ ?

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jan 15, 2014

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/15/bad-news-for-michael-manns-treemometers/

Problems in the Orthodoxy

Climate change: The case of the missing heat

Sixteen years into the mysterious ‘global-warming hiatus’, scientists are piecing together an explanation.

By Jeff Tollefson, Nature, Jan 15, 2014 [H/t WUWT]

http://www.nature.com/news/climate-change-the-case-of-the-missing-heat-1.14525

The journal Nature embraces ‘the pause’ and ocean cycles as the cause, Trenberth still betting his heat will show up

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jan 16, 2014

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/16/the-journal-nature-embraces-the-pause-and-ocean-cycles-as-the-cause-trenberth-still-betting-his-heat-will-show-up/

Cold Comfort On Global Warming

By Myron Ebell, Standpoint Magazine, Jan-Feb 2014

http://standpointmag.co.uk/dispatches-january-february-2014-cold-comfort-on-global-warming-myron-ebell-climate-change-warsaw

EU In Full Retreat On Climate Policy

By Staff Writers, EU-Info News, Translation, Philipp Mueller, Via GWPF, Jan 13, 2014

http://www.thegwpf.org/eu-full-retreat-climate-policy/

EU retreats on global warming while US pushes ahead

By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Jan 14, 2014

http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/14/eu-retreats-on-global-warming-while-u-s-pushes-ahead/

Seeking a Common Ground

Out of control

By John Brignell, Number Watch, Jan 12, 2014 and

The cliché of our age – Worse than previously thought

http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/2014_january.htm#out

http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/2014_january.htm#cliche

The Realism of Global Optimism

By Bjørn Lomborg, Project Syndicate, Jan 16, 2014

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/bj-rn-lomborg-blames-journalists–bias-in-favor-of-bad-news-for-our-failure-to-appreciate-how-much-the-world-has-improved

New data from the World Bank show that the proportion of extremely poor people has more than halved over the last 30 years, from 42% of the global population in 1981 to 17% in 2010.

[SEPP Comment: The UN and World Bank leaders are blissfully unaware.]

Global Warming is REAL but NOT a Big DEAL

By Ira Glickstein, WUWT, Jan 12, 2014

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/12/global-warming-is-real-but-not-a-big-deal-2/

Senate EPW Hearing on the President’s Climate Action Plan

By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Jan 16, 2014

http://judithcurry.com/2014/01/16/senate-epw-hearing-on-the-presidents-climate-action-plan/

Review of Recent Scientific Articles by NIPCC

For a full list of articles see www.NIPCCreport.org

A 16-Year History of Coral Bleaching in Moorea, French Polynesia

Reference: Pratchett, M.S., McCowan, D., Maynard, J.A. and Heron, S.F. 2013. Changes in bleaching susceptibility among corals subject to ocean warming and recurrent bleaching in Moorea, French Polynesia. PLOS ONE 8: e70443.

http://nipccreport.org/articles/2014/jan/14jan2014a3.html

Simulating California (USA) Extreme Heat Conditions

Reference: Grotjahn, R. 2013. Ability of CCSM4 to simulate California extreme heat conditions from evaluating simulations of the associated large scale upper air pattern. Climate Dynamics 41: 1187-1197.

http://nipccreport.org/articles/2014/jan/15jan2014a1.html

Westerly Biases Over the Equatorial Atlantic

Reference: Zermeño-Diaz, D.M. and Zhang, C. 2013. Possible root causes of surface westerly biases over the equatorial Atlantic in global climate models. Journal of Climate 26: 8154-8168.

http://nipccreport.org/articles/2014/jan/15jan2014a3.html

Cold-Water Corals of Chile

Reference: Jantzen, C., Haussermann, V., Forsterra, G., Laudien, J., Ardelan, M., Maier, S. and Richter, C. 2013. Marine Biology 160: 2597-2607.

http://nipccreport.org/articles/2014/jan/15jan2014a4.html

Models v. Observations

What Causes the Atlantic to Bloom?

Scientists find surprising trigger for spring plant growth

By Cheryl Dybas, Lonny Lippsett, Oceanus, Jan 15, 2014

Using data from her colleagues’ study site, her models confirmed that eddies were the underlying cause of the stratification and blooms that they saw.

[SEPP Comment: Models confirm data?]

Measurement Issues

Scientists Call November 2013 Alleged Record “A Flop”: Far From Record Warmest…Series Of Problems With Surface Stations

Warmest November since measurements began? An analysis of global satellite data leads to a different conclusion

By Sebastian Lüning and Fritz Vahrenholt, Trans P. Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Jan 11, 2013

http://notrickszone.com/2014/01/11/scientists-call-november-2013-alleged-record-a-flop-far-from-record-warmest-series-of-problems-with-surface-stations/

Changing Weather

Flooding chaos is down to David Cameron, not climate change

The Environment Agency’s failure to dredge clogged-up rivers is causing floods

By Christopher Booker, Telegraph, UK, Jan 11, 2014 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/10565247/Flooding-chaos-is-down-to-David-Cameron-not-climate-change.html

[SEPP Comment: The government failure is not from failing to act on climate change, but from failing to dredge rivers. Also, discussion of plans to expand the power of the EU.]

NOAA “state of the climate” report: Contiguous US average temperature plummeted 2.9F in 2013

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jan 16, 2014

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/16/ncdc-state-of-the-climate-report-contiguous-us-average-temperature-plummeted-2-9f-in-2013/

[SEPP Comment: Will it be mentioned in President Obama’s State of the Union speech.]

Extreme Drought in California

By Cliff Mass Weather Blog, Jan 17, 2014

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/01/extreme-drought-in-california.html

Fitch: California Drought to Take a Toll on Hydropower Generators

By Sonal Patel, Power Magazine, Jan 16, 2014

http://www.powermag.com/fitch-california-drought-to-take-a-toll-on-hydropower-generators/?hq_e=el&hq_m=2815658&hq_l=6&hq_v=5e660500d0

UK Flooding: No Climate Link

By David Whitehouse, GWPF, Jan 14, 2014

http://www.thegwpf.org/uk-flooding-climate-link/

Changing Climate

From the book “Omega – Murder of the Eco-system and the Suicide of Man, Paul K Anderson, 1971

Controlling the Planet’s Climate

By John Brignell, Number Watch, No Date [H/t Dennis Ambler]

http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/cooling2.pdf

[SEPP Comment: Ideas from another age – to promote the control of weather in fear of the onset of a new ice age. The World Meteorological Organization was formed at that time, in 1961. One of the suggested changes was to engineer the disappearance of Arctic ice.]

Changing Seas

An Illustrated Introduction to the Basic Processes that Drive El Niño and La Niña Events

By Bob Tisdale, WUWT, Jan 10, 2014

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/10/an-illustrated-introduction-to-the-basic-processes-that-drive-el-nino-and-la-nina-events/

Coral chemical warfare: Suppressing a competitor enhances susceptibility to a predator

By Staff Writers, Atlanta GA (SPX), Jan 14, 2014

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Coral_chemical_warfare_Suppressing_a_competitor_enhances_susceptibility_to_a_predator_999.html

Link to paper: Competition induces allelopathy but suppresses growth and anti-herbivore defence in a chemically rich seaweed

By Rasher and Hay, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Feb 2014

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1777/20132615

Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice

Emperor Penguins breeding on ice shelves

By Staff Writers, London, UK (SPX), Jan 13, 2014

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Emperor_Penguins_breeding_on_ice_shelves_999.html

[SEPP Comment: Have they never done this before?]

Un-Science or Non-Science?

Europe to suffer from more severe and persistent droughts

By Staff Writers, Brussels, Belgium (SPX), Jan 13, 2014

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Europe_to_suffer_from_more_severe_and_persistent_droughts_999.html

Link to paper: Ensemble projections of future streamflow droughts in Europe

By Forzieri, et al. Hydrology and Earth Systems, 2014

http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/18/85/2014/hess-18-85-2014.html

Giant Antarctic glacier beyond point of no return

By Staff Writers, Paris (AFP), Jan 12, 2014

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Giant_Antarctic_glacier_beyond_point_of_no_return_999.html

Lowering Standards

BBC’s six-year cover-up of secret ‘green propaganda’ training for top executives

By David Rose, Mail, UK, Jan 11, 2013

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537886/BBCs-six-year-cover-secret-green-propaganda-training-executives.html#ixzz2qBlfEG9a

Row over BBC climate change conference ‘cover up’

The BBC is dragged into a row over its coverage of climate change after spending thousands of pounds trying to keep details of an “eco conference” attended by top executives secret

By Graeme Paton, Telegraph, UK, Jan 12, 2014

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/10566952/Row-over-BBC-climate-change-conference-cover-up.html

Dems Want Networks To Manipulate Climate Coverage Like BBC

Editorial, IBD, Jan 15, 2014

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/011514-686516-bbc-covers-up-secret-green-propaganda-training.htm?p=full

Climate Comedy?

Ship of Fools

By Steve McIntyre, Climate Audit, Jan 15, 2014

http://climateaudit.org/2014/01/15/ship-of-fools/

[SEPP Comment: Perhaps the definitive on this Antarctic misadventure and its leaders.]

Ship of Fools in the Antarctic

By Jack Kelly, Real Clear Politics, Jan 12, 2014

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/01/12/ship_of_fools_in_the_antarctic_121200.html

Game finally up for carboncrats

By Tom Switzer, Sydney Morning Herald, Jan 14, 2014 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/game-finally-up-for-carboncrats-20140113-30qqo.html

Climate Vortex – Whirlpool, Cyclone, or Quagmire?

The Polar Vortex: Myth and Reality

By Cliff Mass Weather Blog, Jan 13, 2014

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-polar-vortex-myth-and-reality.html

[SEPP Comment: Cliff Mass is hardly a skeptic of human induced global warming, but he gives a good description of the silliness of the claim that a polar vortex is descending on the US. He amusingly creates the term anti-vortex on the west coast – is it similar to anti-matter?]

It’s The Circumpolar Vortex Not The Polar Vortex And Other PR Deceptions

By Tim Ball, WUWT, Jan 13, 2014

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/13/its-the-circumpolar-vortex-not-the-polar-vortex-and-other-pr-deceptions/

No pattern found in Northern Hemisphere atmospheric blocking and weather extremes

By Anthony Watts, WUWT, Jan 10, 2014

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/10/no-pattern-found-in-northern-hemisphere-atmospheric-blocking-and-weather-extremes/

Hot Air About Cold Air

By Patrick J. Michaels and Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger, CATO, Jan 16, 2014

http://www.cato.org/blog/hot-air-about-cold-air

‘Polar vortex’ that caused record cold is related to solar activity, not man-made CO2

The Hockey Schtick, Jan 11, 2014 [H/t GWPF]

http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/polar-vortex-that-caused-record-cold-is.html

Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?

‘Climate Change’: Unpacking a Political Term (looking through the looking glass)

By Wayne Lusvardi, Master Resource, Jan 15, 2014

http://www.masterresource.org/2014/01/climate-change-political-term/

[SEPP Comment: Clarifying some sloppy definitions.]

Climate Change Disbelief Rises in America

By Stephanie Pappas, Yahoo News, Jan 16, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://news.yahoo.com/climate-change-disbelief-rises-america-180339949.html

[SEPP Comment: No doubt, greater exaggeration will achieve greater belief.]

Major newspaper coverage of climate change plummeted last year

By John Upton, Grist, Jan 15, 2014 [H/t GWPF]

http://grist.org/news/major-newspaper-coverage-of-climate-change-plummeted-last-year/

[SEPP Comment: Lamenting the decline in global warming coverage, as global warming stopped.]

Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.

Climate Council’s Deceitful Duplicitous Fraudulent Fibbing

Or Where’s the Data? In Fact Where/s the Report?

By Geoff Brown, NCTCSP, Jan 17, 2014

http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/climate-councils-deceitful-duplicitous.html

NYT Pushes the Rising Tide of Climate Nonsense – This time in the Dominican Republic

By Kip Hansen, WUWT, Jan 14, 2014

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/14/nyt-pushes-the-rising-tide-of-climate-nonsense-this-time-in-the-dominican-republic/

Communicating Better to the Public – Go Personal.

A conservative conspiracy around every corner?

By Martin Morse Wooster, Philanthropy Daily, Jan 7, 2014 [H/t Joe Bast]

http://www.philanthropydaily.com/a-conservative-conspiracy-around-every-corner/

Expanding the Orthodoxy

The scientific abomination that is the “Circumpolar Monitoring Framework for Polar Bears”

By Susan Crockford, Polar Bear Science, Jan 14, 2014

http://polarbearscience.com/2014/01/14/the-scientific-abomination-that-is-the-circumpolar-monitoring-framework-for-polar-bears/

[SEPP Comment: Life is short. An international commission is not so cursed (or blessed)?

Questioning European Green

Fuelling the future

By Martin Livermore, Scientific Alliance, Jan 17, 2014

http://scientific-alliance.org/scientific-alliance-newsletter/fuelling-future

Consumers Rebel – Germany’s Leading Daily Launches Campaign Against Exorbitantly High Electricity Prices!

By P. Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Jan 14, 2014

http://notrickszone.com/2014/01/14/consumers-rebel-germanys-leading-daily-launches-campaign-against-exorbitantly-high-electricity-prices/

Green Fade-Out: Europe to Ditch Climate Protection Goals

By Gregor Peter Schmitz, Spiegel Online, Jan 15, 2014 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/european-commission-move-away-from-climate-protection-goals-a-943664.html

[SEPP Comment: Typical propaganda photo accompanying an article on carbon dioxide with chimneys billowing dark steam.]

Questioning Green Elsewhere

Climate Protection May Cut World GDP 4% by 2030, UN Says

By Alex Morale, Bloomberg, Jan 16, 2014

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-16/climate-protection-may-cost-4-of-world-gdp-by-2030.html

Green Jobs

Congress Turns Spotlight to Government Waste

Hearing exposes billions in wasteful spending

By Elizabeth Harrington, Washington Free Beacon, Jan 9, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://freebeacon.com/congress-turns-spotlight-to-government-waste/

The Political Games Continue

Sen. Inhofe on Obama’s Global Warming Claims: ‘The President Just Made that Up’

By Craig Bannister, CNS News, Jan 16, 2014 [H/t ICECAP]

http://www.cnsnews.com/mrctv-blog/craig-bannister/sen-inhofe-obamas-global-warming-claims-president-just-made

[SEPP Comment: Challenging EPA to provide evidence to support false claims by the President.]

Inhofe: ‘Fewer and fewer’ senators believe in global warming

By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Jan 13, 2014

http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/13/inhofe-fewer-and-fewer-senators-believe-in-global-warming/

Senate Dems to set up global warming task force

By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Jan 9, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/09/senate-dems-to-set-up-global-warming-task-force/#ixzz2pxvhUBHl

Subsidies and Mandates Forever

Blown away? US suspends wind power subsidies, for now

By Staff Writers, Washington (AFP), Jan 15, 2014

http://www.winddaily.com/reports/Blown_away_US_suspends_wind_power_subsidies_for_now_999.html

EPA and other Regulators on the March

CO2 Regulation News from the Federal Register

By Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger and Patrick J. Michaels , CATO, Jan 14, 2014

http://www.cato.org/blog/co2-regulation-news-federal-register

Emails Show Extensive Collaboration Between EPA, Environmentalist Orgs

Top officials coordinate messaging, help groups gather petitions

By Lachian Markay, Washington Free Beacon, Jan 15, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://freebeacon.com/emails-show-extensive-collaboration-between-epa-environmentalist-orgs/

[SEPP Comment: Coffee at Starbucks?]

EPA Administrator Can’t Say Whether Global Temperatures Are Increasing

By Staff Writers, Washington Free Beacon, Jan 16, 2014

http://freebeacon.com/epa-administrator-cant-say-whether-global-temperatures-are-increasing/

[SEPP Comment: Not qualified – to be responsible for EPA decisions?]

McCarthy Dodges Environmentalist Coordination Questions

Republicans press EPA chief on apparent collusion with far-left groups

By Lachlan Markay, Washington Free Beacon, Jan 16, 2014

http://freebeacon.com/mccarthy-dodges-environmentalist-coordination-questions/

EPA’s Final Regional Haze Rule for Wyoming Proves Costly for Coal Plants

By Sonal Patel, Power Magazine, Jan 16, 2014

http://www.powermag.com/epas-final-regional-haze-rule-for-wyoming-proves-costly-for-coal-plants/?hq_e=el&hq_m=2815658&hq_l=7&hq_v=5e660500d0

McCarthy Defends EPA Tactics to Tamp Down Power Plant Carbon Pollution

By Sonal Patel, Power Magazine, Jan 16, 2014

http://www.powermag.com/mccarthy-defends-epa-tactics-to-tamp-down-power-plant-carbon-pollution/?hq_e=el&hq_m=2815658&hq_l=2&hq_v=5e660500d0

[SEPP Comment: Publications such as Power Magazine use terms such as carbon pollution, demonstrates the success of EPA propaganda.]

Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers Ignore Science

By Staff Writer, NCPA, Jan 13, 2014

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=23985&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD

Link to report: EPA and the Corps Ignoring Sound Science on Critical Clean Water Act Regulations

By Daren Bakst, Heritage Foundation, Jan 8, 2014

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/01/critical-clean-water-act-regulations-epa-and-the-corps-ignoring-sound-science

EPA issues hazardous waste-tracking regs

By Ben Goad, The Hill, Jan 15, 2014

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/195585-epa-issues-hazardous-waste-rule

[SEPP Comment: Needed.]

Energy Issues – Non-US

No shortage of energy as emissions rise: BP

By Robin Webster, Carbon Brief, Jan 15, 2014

http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2014/01/no-shortage-of-energy-as-emissions-rise-bp/?utm_source=Daily+Carbon+Briefing&utm_campaign=2fe19b4c36-DAILY_BRIEFING&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_876aab4fd7-2fe19b4c36-303421281

[UK Business Secretary] Vince Cable: Soaring Energy Costs Big Problem for UK Manufacturing

By Shane Croucher, International Business Times, Jan 16, 2014 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/vince-cable-soaring-energy-costs-big-problem-uk-manufacturing-1432625

Germany: How Energy Polices Can Harm The Economy

By Bruno Waterfield, Telegraph, UK, Jan 17, 2014

http://www.thegwpf.org/germany-energy-polices-harm-economy/

Germany is a cautionary tale of how energy polices can harm the economy

Despite Germany’s shift to renewable solar and wind energies, and amid a recession, its carbon emissions rose by 1.8pc last year

By Bruno Wateerfield, Telegraph, UK, Jan 16, 2014 [H/t Bishop Hill]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/10577513/Germany-is-a-cautionary-tale-of-how-energy-polices-can-harm-the-economy.html

Is the energy business being renationalised?

By Nick Butler, Financial Post, Jan 12, 2014 [H/t GWPF]

http://blogs.ft.com/nick-butler/2014/01/12/is-the-energy-business-being-renationalised/

Energy Issues — US

40 Years in the Energy Desert

By T. Boone Pickens, Real Clear Politics, Jan 16, 2014

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/01/16/40_years_in_the_energy_desert_121230.html

States revolt against EPA’s global warming agenda

By Michael Bastasch, Daily Caller, Jan 16, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/16/states-revolt-against-epas-global-warming-agenda/

Good news for 2014 — a domestic energy revolution is underway in the USA

By Nathan Mehrens, Fox News, Jan 2, 2014

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/01/02/good-news-for-2014-domestic-energy-revolution-is-underway-in-usa/

[SEPP Comment: Overly optimistic about the inability of the opposition to thwart these efforts.]

US officials call for more safety for oil by rail

By Staff Writers, AP, Jan 16, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://townhall.com/news/us/2014/01/16/us-officials-call-for-more-safety-for-oil-by-rail-n1780229

US carbon emissions rose 2 percent in 2013

By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Jan 13, 2014

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/195221-us-carbon-emissions-rose-2-percent-in-2013

[SEPP Comment: Certainly not in response to a booming economy.]

Washington’s Control of Energy

Canada Is Tired Of Obama’s Keystone XL Pipeline Delays

Editorial, IBD, Jan 17, 2014

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/011714-686905-canada-wants-obama-to-decide-on-keystone.htm

Examiner Editorial: Obama moves closer to killing coal industry

Washington Examiner, Jan 9, 2014

http://washingtonexaminer.com/examiner-editorial-obama-moves-closer-to-killing-coal-industry/article/2541902?utm_source=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest%20Reoccurring%20-%2001/10/2014&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest

Murkowski calls for updating ‘antiquated’ energy trade policies

By Ramsey Cox, The Hill, Jan 15, 2014

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/195583-murkowski-calls-for-updating-antiquated-energy-trade-policies

U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production in Federal and Non-Federal Areas

By Marc Humphries, CRS, Mar 7, 2013

http://energycommerce.house.gov/sites/republicans.energycommerce.house.gov/files/20130228CRSreport.pdf

Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?

The Wright stuff,

By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Jan 14, 2014

http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2014/1/14/the-wright-stuff.html

[SEPP Comment: Tough statements by the boss of an American shale gas company on the possibility of shale gas in England.]

Acid mine drainage reduces radioactivity in fracking waste

By Staff Writers, Durham, NC (SPX), Jan 14, 2014

http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Acid_mine_drainage_reduces_radioactivity_in_fracking_waste_999.html

Link to paper: Radium and Barium Removal through Blending Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids with Acid Mine Drainage

By Kondash, et al. Environmental Science and Technology, Dec 24, 2013

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es403852h

[SEPP Comment: Enough to drive an enviro mad!]

Lancashire Demands Bigger Slice Of Shale Profits

By Michael Savage, The Times, Via GWPF, Jan 14, 2014

http://www.thegwpf.org/lancashire-demands-bigger-slice-shale-profits/

[SEPP Comment: From opposition to greed: first, smart drilling would not work in Britain; now, communities want more in royalties from what many claimed would not work.]

New study: U.S. power plant emissions down

Press Release by Staff, Univ. Colorado, Jan 9, 2014 [H/t WUWT]

http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2014/01/09/new-study-us-power-plant-emissions-down

[SEPP Comment: Who would have thought that burning less carbon per unit of energy released would produce less carbon dioxide?]

Return of King Coal?

Coal’s Generation Market Share Rises To 39.1% In 2013 And May Break 40% In 2014

By John Hanger, Facts of the Day, Jan 9, 2014 [H/t GWPF]

http://johnhanger.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/coals-generation-market-share-rises-to.html

Energy future is in innovation, not regulation

By Kipp Coddington, The Hill, Jan 9, 2014

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/194840-energy-future-is-in-innovation-not-regulation

[SEPP Comment: CO2 injection into existing wells is regionally very limited.]

Coal’s New Best Friends: An Environmentalist and Obama’s EPA

By Michael Krancer, Forbes, Jan 9, 2014

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkrancer/2014/01/09/coals-new-best-friends-an-environmentalist-and-obamas-epa/

[SEPP Comment: Nonsense, all based on the assumption that CCS works. It has not been tested on a commercial scale. See link immediately above.]

Nuclear Energy and Fears

To Balance Energy Demand, We Need Nuclear Power

By Mark Perry, IBD, Jan 16, 2014

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-viewpoint/011614-686691-us-energy-needs-cant-be-satisfied-only-with-natural-gas.htm

Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Solar and Wind

Energy Tax Reform: Scrap the Baucus Proposal (Part II: High cost/low value of windpower)

By Robert Bradley Jr., Master Resource, Jan 17, 2014

http://www.masterresource.org/2014/01/bachus-energy-tax-reform-2/#more-29370

Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Energy — Other

Incipient Clean Energy Grid Problems

By Donn Dears, Power for USA, Jan 17, 2014

http://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/incipient-clean-energy-grid-problems/

Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Vehicles

New Year, New Buzz

By Donn Dears, Power for USA, Jan 14, 2014

http://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/new-year-new-buzz/

[SEPP Comment: See comment at the bottom on water as a possible source for hydrogen.]

Carbon Schemes

Chasing the Dream of Half-Price Gasoline from Natural Gas

A startup called Siluria thinks it’s solved a mystery that has stymied huge oil companies for decades.

By Kevin Bullis, MIT Technology Review, Jan 15, 2014

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/523146/chasing-the-dream-of-half-price-gasoline-from-natural-gas/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20140115

California Dreaming

$5.4 Billion in Solar: California Goes All In

By Jerry Graf, Master Resource, Jan 13, 2013

http://www.masterresource.org/2014/01/5-4-billion-solar-california/

Oh Mann!

Mann on advocacy and responsibility

By Judith Curry, Climate Etc. Jan 18, 2014

http://judithcurry.com/2014/01/18/mann-on-advocacy-and-responsibility/#more-14347

Environmental Industry

Sierra Club Pressed EPA to Create Impossible Coal Standards

Environmentalist suggested EPA head was lying when she told reporters coal would remain viable under new standards

By CJ Ciaramella, Washington Fee Beacon, Jan 10, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://freebeacon.com/sierra-club-pressed-epa-to-create-impossible-coal-standards/

Germany’s Greens help the coal industry, while the US cut emissions by ignoring the greens

By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Jan 12, 2014

http://joannenova.com.au/2014/01/germanys-greens-help-the-coal-industry-while-the-us-cut-emissions-by-ignoring-the-greens/

Environmental groups say Obama needs to address climate change more aggressively

By Juliet Eilperin and Lenny Bernstein, Washington Post, Jan 16, 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/environmental-groups-say-obama-needs-to-address-climate-change-more-aggressively/2014/01/16/1e891608-7ebd-11e3-93c1-0e888170b723_story.html?hpid=z1

MoveOn Announces Effort to Slow Fracking Boom

Fracking propelling country toward domestically produced energy abundance

By Lachian Markay, Washington Free Beacon, Jan 10, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://freebeacon.com/moveon-announces-effort-to-slow-fracking-boom/

If You Think Communism Is Bad For People, Check Out What It Did To The Environment

By Colin Brabow, Federalist, Jan 13, 2014 [H/t Timothy Wise]

http://thefederalist.com/2014/01/13/if-you-think-communism-is-bad-for-people-check-out-what-it-did-to-the-environment/

The WWF: Still Donning the Science Costume

By Donna Laframboise, NFC, Jan 15, 2014

http://nofrakkingconsensus.com/2014/01/15/the-wwf-still-donning-the-science-costume/

Other Scientific News

The Trouble With ‘Scientific’ Research Today: A Lot That’s Published Is Junk

By Henry Miller and S. Stanley Young, Forbes, Jan 8, 2014 [H/t ASCH]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2014/01/08/the-trouble-with-scientific-research-today-a-lot-thats-published-is-junk/

The state of scientific research today

By Staff Writers, ACSH, Jan 10, 2014

http://acsh.org/2014/01/state-scientific-research-today/

Other News that May Be of Interest

A Report Card for Humanity: 1900-2050

21 economists crunch the numbers on 10 of the world’s most bedeviling problems.

By Bjorn Lomborg, Atlantic, Jan 8, 2014 [H/t David Lessman]

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/a-report-card-for-humanity-1900-2050/282928/

Al Gore: Geoengineering to ward off climate change is “insane”

By Laura Barron-Lopez, The Hill, Jan 16, 2014

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/195646-al-gore-geoengineering-to-ward-off-climate-change-is-insane

[SEPP Comment: If the statement refers to global warming, which is no longer happening, SEPP agrees.]

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BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:

Honest Crooks Join The Climate Con

By Tony Thomas, Quadrant, Jan 14, 2014

http://quadrant.org.au/opinion/doomed-planet/2014/01/honest-crooks-get-climate-scam/

New studies explore conscious and unconscious links between weather and climate change attitudes

By Ros Donald, Carbon Brief, Jan 16, 2014

http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2014/01/conscious-and-unconscious-links-between-weather-and-climate/?utm_source=Weekly+Carbon+Briefing&utm_campaign=597db089e6-Carbon_Brief_Weekly_18_7_137_18_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3ff5ea836a-597db089e6-215218249

The seven deadly sinners driving global warming

By Kate Ravillious, New Scientist, Jan 15, 2014

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129523.100?cmpid=NLC%7CNSNS%7C2014-0116-GLOBAL&utm_medium=NLC&utm_source=NSNS&#.UtlWQJ4o6po

[SEPP Comment: Identifying those guilty of driving the world out of the Little Ice Age, if you assume the CO2 hypothesis.]

Washington D.C. not only a source of hot air, but now “planet killing methane” too,

By Anthon Watts, WUWT, Jan 16, 2014

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/01/16/washington-d-c-not-only-a-source-of-hot-air-but-now-planet-killing-methane-too/

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