Let it snow ...

[RootesRooter]

"...More than 31,000 scientists, including eminent climatologists, meteorologists and physicists, including 9,029 PhDs and 9,738 with other advanced degrees and several Nobel Prize laureates, have sent a letter to the president denouncing plans to impose ruinous restrictions on the country, at a time when we are likely to enter a second, worse, recession, in the name of a false climate scare..."

Wow, that's a LOT of scientists. I guess the 'lamestream media' must have kept me from reading about this earlier...

 

[RootesRooter]

Search engines are just frickin' amazing. Here's the lowdown on the supposed "31,000 scientists."


http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Oregon-Petition:-How-Can-31,000-Scientists-Be-Wrong?&id=5141096

 

[Nickodell]

Appendix 4. The Petition Project
1.1. About the Petition
1.2. Qualifications of Signers

The petition has been signed by
31,478 Americans with university degrees in science,
including 9,029 with Ph.D.s.

The petition reads in
part: “There is no convincing scientific evidence that
human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other
greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable
future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s
atmosphere and disruption of of the Earth’s climate.
Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that
increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce
many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and
animal environments of the Earth.â€

The majority of the current listed signatories signed or resigned
the petition after October 2007.
The purpose of the Petition Project is to
demonstrate that the claim of “settled science†and an
overwhelming “consensus†in favor of the hypothesis
of human-caused global warming and consequent
climatological damage is wrong.

No such consensus or settled science exists. As indicated by the petition
text and signatory list, a very large number of
American scientists reject this hypothesis.
From the clear and strong petition statement that
they have signed, it is evident that these 31,478
American scientists are not “skeptics.†These
scientists are instead convinced that the human-caused
global warming hypothesis is without
scientific validity and that government action on the
basis of this hypothesis would unnecessarily and
counterproductively damage both human prosperity
and the natural environment of the Earth.

The petition was originated by Professor
Frederick Seitz. Dr.
Seitz, a physicist, was president of the U.S. National
Academy of Sciences and of Rockefeller University.
He received the National Medal of Science, the
Compton Award, the Franklin Medal, and numerous
other awards, including honorary doctorates from 32
universities around the world. In August 2007, Dr.
Seitz reviewed and approved the article by Dr. Arthur
B. Robinson, Dr. Noah E. Robinson, and Dr. Willie
Soon that is circulated with the petition and gave his
enthusiastic approval to the continuation of the
Petition Project. A vigorous supporter of the Petition
Project since its inception in 1998, Professor Seitz
died on March 2, 2008.

1.2. Qualifications of Signers:

The current list of petition signers includes 9,029
persons who hold Ph.D.s, 7,153 who hold an MS,
2,585 who hold MDs or DVMs, and 12,711 who hold
a BS or equivalent academic degrees. Most of the MD
and DVM signers also have underlying degrees in
basic science.

All of the listed signers have formal educations in
fields of specialization that suitably qualify them to
evaluate the research data related to the petition
statement. Many currently work in
climatological, meteorological, atmospheric,
environmental, geophysical, astronomical, and
biological fields directly involved in the climate
change controversy. The Petition Project classifies
petition signers on the basis of their formal academic
training, as summarized below. Scientists often
pursue specialized fields of endeavor that are different
from their formal education, but their underlying
training can be applied to any scientific field in which
they become interested.

1. Atmospheric, environmental, and Earth
sciences includes 3,803 scientists trained in
specialties directly related to the physical
environment of the Earth and the past and current
phenomena that affect that environment.

2. Computer and mathematical sciences includes
935 scientists trained in computer and mathematical
methods. Since the human-caused global warming
hypothesis rests entirely upon mathematical computer
projections and not upon experimental observations,
these sciences are especially important in evaluating
this hypothesis.

3. Physics and aerospace sciences include 5,810
scientists trained in the fundamental physical and
molecular properties of gases, liquids, and solids,
which are essential to understanding the physical
properties of the atmosphere and Earth.

4. Chemistry includes 4,818 scientists trained in
the molecular interactions and behaviors of the
substances of which the atmosphere and Earth are
composed.

5. Biology and agriculture includes 2,964
scientists trained in the functional and environmental
requirements of living things on the Earth.

6. Medicine includes 3,046 scientists trained in
the functional and environmental requirements of
human beings on the Earth.

7. Engineering and general science includes
10,102 scientists trained primarily in the many
engineering specialties required to maintain modern
civilization and the prosperity required for all human
actions, including environmental programs.
The outline below gives a more detailed analysis
of the signers’ educations.

Qualifications of Petition Signers

Atmosphere, Earth, and Environment (3,803)
1. Atmosphere (578)
a) Atmospheric Science (113)
b) Climatology (39)
c) Meteorology (341)
d) Astronomy (59)
e) Astrophysics (26)
2. Earth (2,240)
a) Earth Science (94)
b) Geochemistry (63)
c) Geology (1,684)
d) Geophysics (341)
e) Geoscience (36)
f) Hydrology (22)
3. Environment (985)
a) Environmental Engineering (486)
b) Environmental Science (253)
c) Forestry (163)
d) Oceanography (83)

Computers and Math (935)
1. Computer Science (242)
2. Math (693)
a) Mathematics (581)
b) Statistics (112)

Physics and Aerospace (5,810)
1. Physics (5,223)
a) Physics (2,365)
b) Nuclear Engineering (223)
c) Mechanical Engineering (2,635)
2. Aerospace Engineering (587)

Chemistry (4,818)
1. Chemistry (3,126)
2. Chemical Engineering (1,692)

Biochemistry, Biology, and Agriculture (2,964)
1. Biochemistry (744)
a) Biochemistry (676)
b) Biophysics (68)
2. Biology (1,437)
a) Biology (1,048)
b) Ecology (76)
c) Entomology (59)
d) Zoology (149)
e) Animal Science (105)
3. Agriculture (783)
a) Agricultural Science (296)
b) Agricultural Engineering (114)
c) Plant Science (292)
d) Food Science (81)

Medicine (3,046)
1. Medical Science (719)
2. Medicine (2,327)

General Engineering and
General Science (10,102)
1. General Engineering (9,833)
a) Engineering (7,280)
b) Electrical Engineering (2,169)
c) Metallurgy (384)
2. General Science (269)

More Faked Data

Is climate change raising sea levels, as Al Gore has argued -- or are climate scientists doctoring the data?

University of Colorado’s Sea Level Research Group added 0.3 millimeters every year to its actual measurements of sea levels, sparking criticism from experts who called it an attempt to exaggerate the effects of global warming. "Gatekeepers of our sea level data are manufacturing a fictitious sea level rise that is not occurring," said James M. Taylor, a lawyer who focuses on environmental issues for the Heartland Institute.

Taylor calls it fakery.
"There really is no reason to do this other than to advance a political agenda," he said.

Climate scientist John Christy, a professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, said that the amount of water in the ocean and sea level were two different things.

"To me… sea level rise is what's measured against the actual coast," he said. "That's what tells us the impact of rising oceans."
Taylor agreed.

"Many global warming alarmists say that vast stretches of coastline are going to be swallowed up by the sea. Well, that means we should be talking about sea level, not about global water volume."

Nerem indicated that he considered "sea level rise" to be the same thing as the amount of water in the ocean. "If we correct our data to remove [the effect of rising land], it actually does cause the rate of sea level (a.k.a. ocean water volume change) rise to be bigger," Nerem wrote. The adjustment is trivial, and not worth public attention, he added.

"For the layperson, this correction is a non-issue and certainly not newsworthy… [The] effect is tiny -- only 1 inch over 100 years, whereas we expect sea level to rise 2-4 feet."

But Taylor said that the correction seemed bigger when compared with actual sea level increases.

"We’ve seen only 7 inches of sea level rise in the past century and it hasn’t sped up this century. Compared to that, this would add nearly 20 percent to the sea level rise. That's not insignificant," he told FoxNews.com.
Nerem said that the research center is considering compromising on the adjustment.

"We are considering putting both data sets on our website -- a GIA-corrected dataset, as well as one without the GIA correction," he said.
Christy said that would be a welcome change.
"I would encourage CU to put the sea level rate [with] no adjustment at the top of the website," he said.

Taylor’s takeaway: Be wary of sea level rise estimates.
"When Al Gore talks about Manhattan flooding this century, and 20 feet of sea level rise, that’s simply not going to happen. If it were going to happen, he wouldn’t have bought his multi-million dollar mansion along the coast in California."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011...re-for-adjusted-sea-level-data/#ixzz1PaiBV7wx

 

[RootesRooter]

Nick your bio on the global warming petition originator Dr. Seitz is a tad incomplete. After the late Dr. Seitz left the U.S. Academy of Sciences in the late 1960's, he eventually spent a decade as a consultant for RJ Reynolds working to convince the public that the dangers of smoking were exaggerated.

This and more interesting stuff at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Seitz

Are you sure you want to hitch your wagon to this horse?

Hey, ain't it a great day to take the Alpine out for an early-autumn spin?

 

[RootesRacer]

I am surprised that no one has come up with an acceptable explanation for the hockey stick algorithm.

Without it, I could never stand with the folks on that side of the aisle.

As a rational independent person, I dont drink the political coolade too much, but when you have to fudge the data to make your point, thats another matter.

In my work I would go to jail if I fudged the numbers since if I make mistakes, people can die.

 

[Nickodell]

What's this?

It's a plot of the Earth's north magnetic pole from 1831 to 2001 (source: Geological Survey of Canada.) The 1831 location was done by explorer James Ross, the 1904 by Roald Amundsen. Most people are not aware that the magnetic pole was moving steadily at a speed of about 6 miles per year through the 20th century, and this has accelerated lately to some 25 miles per year. At this rate - assuming no further acceleration - it will exit North America and be located in Siberia by the mid-century. If the acceleration continues, who knows. Maybe Turkey.

Back in 2001, a humorous newspaper columnist in England, noted that the course of the shift was not a straight line but, taking the shape of the globe into account, for the last half century has described a counterclockwise curve. He jokingly suggested that this was due to the fact that the majority of the world's automobiles, trucks, trains and ships keep to the right when passing - also describing counterclockwise patterns of movement – and if everyone adopted the UK’s “drive on the left,” the problem would be solved. It was, of course, a joke, but inevitably a few of the tinfoil hat/there was no moon landing/9-11 was an inside job brigade took it seriously.

They noted with alarm that, not only is the global shift accelerating, but compass needles in Africa, for instance, are drifting about one degree per decade and that the magnetic field has weakened 10% since the 19th century. When this was reported during a meeting of the American Geophysical Union, a few tabloid newspapers sported headlines like “Is Earth’s Magnetic Field Collapsing?”

The final fact that sent this tiny group over the top was the news that the North Pole not only drifts, it swaps places with the South Pole every so often and that such a reversal would have devastating effects on birds and other species, including humans, that depend on magnetic fields for navigation. That this reversal occurs every 300,000 years on average and the last time it happened was 780,000 years ago sent them into hysteria. “We’re long overdue for another one!” “Mass extinction!” and “it’ll be the End of the World!” They even forecast - confusing the magnetic field with gravity - that we will all be projected into space. In time, of course, they faded away in the face of ridicule and as more urgent things, like earning a living, intervened.

Now let us imagine what might have happened.

Let’s say that a group of opportunits scientists lobbied Congress and received multi-million dollar grants to study the impact of magnetic polar shift and its causes. Their research simply confirmed that the Earth’s magnetic field is controlled by the liquid iron core, that this moves and this was a natural process that had been going on since the planet’s birth. But, seeing the end of their comfortable academic life they not only buried this information, but actually issued reports containing faked data and dire warnings of imminent catastrophe, blaming the phenomenon on human activity.

Politicians, seeing the opportunity to extract millions of dollars from industry, got on board, branding anyone who said it was all bogus pseudo-science “Holocaust deniers” and “flat earthists.” In vain did experts from all over the world point out the errors – or lies – in the reports. A US Senator, who had faded into the background since his failed presidential candidacy – let’s call him Eyegore after the character played by Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein – adopted this as his opportunity, not only to get his face in front of millions again but also to derive tens of millions of dollars from speaking fees and royalties on his books and films, such as “The killing (magnetic) fields.” The usual coterie of America-haters and assorted liberals feted Eyegore and persuaded several countries’ governments to play his film in schools, causing children to have nightmares about all the birds falling out of the sky and polar bears dying as they tried to swim to the South Pole. The EPA went on a great hunt to track down any possible source of magnetic disruption, employing 250,000 inspectors to look into the direction of rotation of elevators, escalators, lawn mowers, conveyor belts and more, and issued thousands of mandates to force even such things as carousels and childrens’ roundabouts to be built or modified to rotate only clockwise.

Finally, the United Nations appointed an international committee, composed overwhelmingly of politicians, with a few paid-off or deluded scientists thrown in, to compel the United States not only to change to driving on the left and having its trains proceed in a clockwise direction, but also to cough up billions of dollars to pay poorer nations – particularly in Africa – to do the same. In vain did realists point out that making such a switch in the US alone would cost uncounted trillions of dollars and cause such disruption to industry, commerce, communications and travel that the economy would collapse permanently. “America is destroying the world! All you care about is Big Business and the almighty dollar. Sweden did it!” screamed the Global Magnetic Field Savers.