Researchers have found that spring is arriving in the polar regions considerably earlier, and they anticipate that the long-term effect will be that species from warmer climates will establish themselves further north, competing with and in some cases crowding out now-native flora and fauna. From the BBC: Spring in the Arctic is arriving “weeks earlier” […]
Read more...Gristmill pointed us to this news item, “Warming behind kitty boom, pets group says.” The theory is global warming = more warm weather = more randy cats = more cat fornicating = more kittens (which it tantamount to “more cats”): Droves of cats and kittens are swarming into animal shelters nationwide, and global warming is […]
Read more...As we have said before, the Wall Street Journal’s news reporting isn’t all its cracked up to be. One pattern we’ve noticed is a tendency to put a positive spin on economic news. Now we’ve detected a second: failing to report when powerful foreign interests jerk America’s chain. When the US said that it would […]
Read more...One of the big bones of contention in the “what to do about global warming” debate is whether to use carbon taxes or carbon trading to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In theory, either regime could produce a satisfactory result, and many commentators prefer carbon trading, out of what amounts to an ideological bias in favor […]
Read more...Yet another instance of the Administration fudging the data in an effort to change the record. After a proud history of climate change denial, the White House now claims that the US has been more successful than Europe in reducing greenhouse gases. “The Political and Selective Use of Data: Cherry-Picking Climate Information in the White […]
Read more...Can you tell who is who on this test? Now admittedly there is sample bias (I’m sure they had to cherry pick the Unabomber’s saner moments). But I scored only 25%!javascript:void(0)
Read more...Earlier this month, the national science academies of the G8 plus those of China, India, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, and India, issued a strongly worded joint statement about global warming and energy usage. Let us stress that it is pretty much unheard of for this many independent science bodies to agree on such an unequivocal […]
Read more...This is a great post on Gristmill (courtesy Brad DeLong): How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic Below is a complete listing of the articles in “How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic,” a series by Coby Beck containing responses to the most common skeptical arguments on global warming. There are four separate taxonomies; arguments […]
Read more...Larry Summers keeps getting better and better as an op-ed writer. His current article in the Financial Times lays out a series of practical recommendations on what to do about climate change. He focuses on the problem of the developing world, since they will account for 75% of the increase in greenhouse gases, and as […]
Read more...For those of you who (understandably) don’t follow this matter, Australia is in the midst of a six year drought that shows no signs of abating. It has gotten so serious that agricultural irrigation may be severely curtailed, which will not only further damage badly depressed agricultural areas, but will destroy fruit trees that take […]
Read more...This New Scientist special report is a great resource for those of you who have the misfortune to know climate change deniers. Here’s the overview: Our planet’s climate is anything but simple. All kinds of factors influence it, from massive events on the Sun to the growth of microscopic creatures in the oceans, and there […]
Read more...A first page story in the Financial Times, “Tourism chiefs face guilt trip on green issues,” demonstrates that much of the tourism industry is in the deer-in-the-headlights phase regarding climate change. They can’t believe that environmental concerns, and the changing consumer attitudes that go with it, are bearing down on them. Consider that, as reported […]
Read more...This article from the BBC discusses the US’s effort to eliminate language from a draft G8 agreement to take action to limit temperature increases this century to 2 degrees Celsius and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050. The 2 degree target is particularly important, since some scientists believe that a rise of 3 […]
Read more...Apologies for being a bit behind the eight ball. Still under the weather, so forgive me if my posts for the next little while are a bit light on my own commentary. This op-ed piece, “Getting on a low-carbon diet,” by Ronald Brownstein in the LA Times gives an even-handed treatment of the merits of […]
Read more...In an underreported story (no mention in the Financial Times or the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal reference was in its energy blog, far from prime time), the United Nations said in essence that biofuels could create as many problems, via environmental damage and higher food prices, as they solve. It also […]
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