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Greenpeace Co-Founder Declares Himself a Climate Change Skeptic

New submitter PensacolaSlick writes that [Patrick Moore a], co-founder of Greenpeace, and seven-year director of Greenpeace International, with other very pro-environmental credentials, has come out with a brief rationale for why he is "skeptical that humans are the main cause of climate change and that it will be catastrophic in the near future." He argues instead that in a historical context, human activity has saved the planet, declaring that "at 400 parts per million, all our food crops, forests, and natural ecosystems are still on a starvation diet for carbon dioxide." (Consider the source, which according to the New York Times is "the primary American organization pushing climate change skepticism.") Moore breaks with what might be expected of a Greenpeace founder as well in that he is currently chair of Allow Golden Rice.

573 comments

  1. Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by casings · · Score: 5, Informative

    But of course that fact won't get people to click on your article.

    1. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by whh3 · · Score: 1

      What was the reason for his departure?

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    2. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by casings · · Score: 5, Informative

      He commented that he had left Greenpeace because it "took a sharp turn to the political left" and "evolved into an organization of extremism and politically motivated agendas"

      From wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    3. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by ganjadude · · Score: 5, Funny

      sounds about right

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    4. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by rtb61 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      More like his wallet took a sharp turn to the right https://en.wikipedia.org/ "Moore has earned his living since the early 1990s primarily by consulting for, and publicly speaking for a wide variety of corporations and lobby groups" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.... So why was he in Greenpeace in the first place, likely pursuing the opposite sex. Caring sharing community activities often have a preponderance of the fairer sex (they are referred to as the 'fairer sex' for a reason) http://siteresources.worldbank....

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    5. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      they are referred to as the 'fairer sex' for a reason

      "Fair" as in lighter, weaker. NOT as in open minded and logical.

    6. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by hey! · · Score: 5, Interesting

      And apparently he's a "founder" of Greenpeace in the same sense that Willie Soon is a Harvare-Smithsonian astrophysicist -- which is to say he's worked with them.

      So the headline should read, "Oil industry funded think tank announces that a guy who used to belong to Greenpeace is a climate denialist."

      Not exactly prime clickbait.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    7. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep and he was 100% correct.

    8. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you, Anonymous Coward. You just reconciled the left's position of "fairer society" with their methodology of turning everyone into milksops.

    9. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I don't agree with his latest position, not at all actually, but I'm with in on that one.

      More specifically, the "green movement" has become a harbour for all the malcontents who don't so much care about the environment as despise the society we live in. These people see global warming not as a problem, but as the solution: what will force society to change its ways.

    10. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by blue+trane · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I despise the society we live in, you insensitive clod!

    11. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      There are plenty of reasons to dislike the society we live in without having to bring the environment into it, not the least of which is that it champions greed as a virtue above all else and turns a blind eye to rampant corruption.

    12. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He commented that he had left Greenpeace because it "took a sharp turn to the political left" and "evolved into an organization of extremism and politically motivated agendas"

      From wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Really! Nah, you don't say!

    13. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And I know for a fact he has been playing up his "greenpeace founder" credentials for a couple of decades now. He's uses it as a cudgel every time some corporation needs to fight regulation of their pollution. The guy is a hack and as usual, the dumb-as-rocks slashdot editors fell for it.

    14. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by camg188 · · Score: 0, Troll

      On the other hand, the wallets of people working for IPCC are dependent on global warming. If global warming is not a problem, the IPCC goes away and they are all looking for new jobs.

      The rest of your post is pure speculation.

    15. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by blue+trane · · Score: 1

      But greed inevitably involves the environment. Example: the gold rush, which ruined the pristine environment that had existed unchanged by the American Indians for centuries. Also logging, clearcutting all that priceless old growth for "plush" toilet paper, or other silly vain trifles.

    16. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And let me guess - you've been relying on a grant from the "Disinterested Neutral Party Trust" for your livelihood.

    17. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Moron, science is their job, they go on working on science in the same exact way they already are, just different science. Of course on the other hand the fossil fuelers with trillions of dollars locked the the ground and the ability to get it out and sell it rapidly disappearing and no other alternatives for them. So on balance a scientist get paid tens of thousands of dollars to do science going on simply to do other science (because according to you, no global warming, zero need for weather science, fuck the weather, who needs to now anything about the weather, after all you can just watch the weather man on the idiot box PS butt for brain TV weather people get their weather from oh yes weather scientists who would still be working all over the world). Now this versus lost trillions of dollars owned by corporate psychopaths. Now which is far more likely. The whole of your post is fossil fueler bullshit.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    18. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by superwiz · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      No, they are not optimistic. They left is the archetype of evil. They commit mass murder in the name of good intentions. Why would you think, even for a second, that their excuses have anything to do with their intentions? The right only puts up a good fight to defend civilization (the intricate fabric of interdependencies which keeps us alive).

      --
      Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    19. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by hey! · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, I give him his due in that he took part in some of Greenpeace's earliest activities. And I agree with him on Golden Rice and GMO foods. And he *does* have scientific credentials as an ecologist, although that doesn't mean he's not a crackpot -- especially when he weighs in on areas outside his expertise.

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      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    20. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by blue+trane · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What are the good intentions in cutting food stamps and social programs, when there is no scarcity of food or housing? They're defending scarcity thinking, not civilization, which has advanced enough to maintain a minimum standard of living for everyone. #BasicIncome!

    21. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      it is sad that you believe this, and even sadder at least one other person does

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    22. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Curious that you didn't try to refute the mass murder charge. The Left has a strong belief in the Ends Justifies the Means.

    23. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Don't feed the animals; they'll become dependent and won't teach their next generation how to fend for themselves."
      If food is so abundant, then it shouldn't take long for these people to work to make some food for themselves or pay for food someone else created. Unless, of course, "liberal" laws outlaw gardens and keeping livestock so that people will become dependent on The State. Democrats are the party of anti-liberty.

    24. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The conflict of interest is plain and obvious. While most scientists would move on, many of the most vocal and activist scientists have staked their careers and reputations on the premise of AGW. Given the petty behavior we witnessed in the release emails, it's not a far stretch to believe that those who stand to lose the most would fight the hardest to advance the AGW research even in the light of obvious empirical data that refutes the theory.

      1. No warming for nearly twenty years.
      2. Models that fail failed to predict #1.
      3. Inability to hind cast
      4. Obvious deficients in the understanding of Climate that are revealed on a regular basis.

    25. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by superwiz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The left is not what's responsible for not having the scarcity. Leftist governments always create the scarcity. The drive to succeed is the drive to outproduce your competition. It is the constant improvements in the efficiency of production which creates lack of scarcity. What the left seeks to do is to destroy the abundance and return to the scarcity(and mass murder). It is evil.

      --
      Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    26. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      That's hilarious. Calhoun wasn't a member of the "political right". The fact that you associate some of those things with the right today, does not mean he was a "right winger" in his own day.

      How easily people forget. Forget, for example, that Southern segregationists (and even the KKK) were overwhelmingly Democrat over the last century.

      And who would you choose for a role model instead of Calhoun? Maybe Abraham Lincoln? What about what he said during the Douglas debate?

      I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, [applause]â"that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied every thing. I do not understand that because I do not want a negro woman for a slave I must necessarily want her for a wife.

      Lincoln did not like negroes. His stated reason for wanting to free them was so that he could ship them back to Africa. He actually sent one ship full of them to the Caribbean as a trial run. Most of those on board died from smallpox. He was preparing a second expedition when the Civil War broke out.

      You are blaming people for living in the day they lived, and for the society in which they were raised. Granted, it might have been rough and bigoted by our standards, but those were the best standards those people knew at the time.

    27. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by blue+trane · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No, the green revolution was a result of government research efforts that the private sector is too short-sighted to invest in.

      Farmers are stupid sod-kickers who do ignorant things like kill prairie dogs out of paranoia, when actually the little critters help to irrigate the soil with their diggings.

      The internet was rejected by the private sector. AT&T saw it as competition for their business model which was based on telephones. The right, which fetishizes the private sector, is not good at disruptive innovation. You need permissionless, disruptive innovation, not some rich capitalist telling you what to do.

    28. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 2

      No warming for nearly twenty years.

      How do people still believe "no warming" bullshit? There is no pause. Please stop speading misinformation. Thank you.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    29. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by blue+trane · · Score: 1, Troll

      Lincoln learned. He supported compensated emancipation, which the right-wingers of the day rejected for budgetary reasons, mainly; and ended up spending at least as much on the Civil War.

      Calhoun's point of view is pretty much the same as the righties running today. The same rhetoric about "appeasement", the same paranoia about their way of life being destroyed. That is the essence of the right, and it is hopelessly backwards, on the wrong side of history.

    30. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      You really need to reach beyond your stereotypes.

      I know, I know, it's more rewarding to righteously oppose the parodies you spin up in your head.

    31. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      A blog on slate isn't a very good citation.

    32. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      We should take up a collection to buy you a handgun so you can take yourself out of the society that you despise.

      Or a canoe, I suppose. Surely there's a desert island out there that you can build utopia on.

    33. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      although that doesn't mean he's not a crackpot -- especially when he weighs in on areas outside his expertise.

      Almost all the 'scientists' who sign petitions regarding AGW are 'outside their areas of expertise' when they sign. It's no different than 10,000 plumbers signing the petition.

    34. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by approachingZero+ · · Score: 1

      The IPCC, what a marvelous racket. When you think about it a thing of real beauty. Your objective? Change the weather, which can't be changed, so you always have this crusade to engage in year after year as you pursue the quest that can never be met. And then you have all the grifters who have leached on - and let's be real, the thing reached a critical state and happily exists from the momentum that Patrick Moore so succinctly illustrated. But you, you're a troll because you won't obey the group think.

      --
      'I don't know what it's called. I just know the sound it makes, when it takes a man's life.' ~ Four Leaf Tayback
    35. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 2, Informative

      Calhoun's point of view is pretty much the same as the righties running today. The same rhetoric about "appeasement", the same paranoia about their way of life being destroyed. That is the essence of the right, and it is hopelessly backwards, on the wrong side of history.

      You don't seem to know your history very well. As already stated, Lincoln supported emancipation for reasons of his own, which had absolutely nothing to do with "equality". His reason for wanting to end the keeping of black slaves was so they could eventually be removed from the continent entirely.

      And to be honest, I don't know a single person who holds Calhoun's views today.

    36. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      John Christy, a climate expert at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, said Tuesday that he has not accepted any funding from the fossil fuel industry.

      http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/03/climate_expert_john_christy_on.html

      Now, tell me why this guy is a skeptic since you can't claim he's been bought.

    37. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 5, Informative

      Here is what is also true: greenpeace and other "green" organizations have been found to be taking millions of dollars in money from Russian oil interests, through shell corporations

      Hey, you left out your link to a reliable source for this claim.

      According to the GAO, $106 billion was spent by US government on climate research by 2010.

      A total over an unstated number of years is meaningless. According to Forbes -- hardly a lefty source, and this is a denialist article -- the U.S. Government spent $32.5 billion on climate studies over 20 years between 1989 and 2009. That's $1.6 billion a year. About $5 per American per year. Accoridng to the GAO (notice the hyperlink, please starting using them, thanks) federal climate change acivities in 2010 were $8.8 billion, but that includes "technology to reduce emissions, science to better understand climate change, international assistance for developing countries, and wildlife adaptation to respond to actual or expected changes" -- so climate research is only a small part of that. Figure a quarter to a third of it is climate research. So we're looking at something on the order of $2 or $3 billion a year spent by the federal government on climate change research.

      For comparison, the Iraq war was is estimated to have cost $1,100 billion in total.

      Exxon Mobills's profits -- not revenues, profits -- last year were $32.5 billion. And that's just one company.

      The Army's R&D budget -- not the whole military, just the Army -- is around $21 - 32 billion.Climate research funding is chump change. I kind of liked this line of bullshit better when it was "those scientists telling us smoking causes cancer are just riding the research gravy train!" At least it was a fresh and audacious sort of intellectual dishonesty then. Now it's just pathetic.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    38. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by blue+trane · · Score: 0

      The speeches Repubs are giving today are Calhoun with 'slavery' replaced by 'gay marriage' or 'abortion' or 'climate change'. Calhoun would win the Republican nomination.

      Lincoln learned, unlike the conservatives of today.

      In a speech delivered on April 11, while referring to plans for Reconstruction in Louisiana, Lincoln proposed that some blacks-including free blacks and those who had enlisted in the military-deserved the right to vote. He was assassinated three days later, however, and it would fall to his successor to put plans for Reconstruction in place.

      http://www.history.com/topics/...

    39. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by guises · · Score: 3, Informative

      Are you trying to suggest that Democrats have never been right-wing? The fact that Southern segregationists were Democratic prior to the modern reformulation of the parties does not make John Calhoun any less right-wing. I don't know what you're trying to suggest with the Lincoln quote, that has nothing to do with anything. Though, admittedly, this whole thread is nothing but mud-slinging... maybe you're just trying to fit in.

    40. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by blue+trane · · Score: 1

      Or you could just go Galt. Pretty please? Can I raise your taxes, to make you leave sooner?

    41. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Can we talk about how the right endlessly defended slavery?

      Take John C. Calhoun [wikipedia.org]: "he became a greater proponent of states' rights, limited government, nullification and free trade".

      What does this have to do with today's right? John C Calhoun was part of the same party that Obama is now part of. And no, the parties didn't switch spectrum, rather all of them have changed their stances on certain subjects. Remember it was still the Democrats that were largely opposed to civil rights during the 50's and 60's (for example, it was a Democrat governor who called in the national guard to keep black students out of Central High School in Arkansas.)

      The biggest change a lot of people refer to happened during the 80's under the Raegan. Prior to Raegan, Democrats were staunchly opposed to communism (Kennedy and Johnson for example) and somehow the modern Democrat party moved away from that hard line stance (Greenpeace is an example of that, and Patrick Moore cited the organization as looking favorably upon communism as an environmental solution as part of his reasoning for leaving.) At the same time, a huge portion of the US population shifted to the right, which was mainly those that were still hard-line opposed to communism and were disillusioned by the Jane Fonda types of that era.

      And yes, during the 80's, communism was still a pretty serious threat to the west, it only stopped being so after its biggest backer (the USSR) decided they have had enough of it and finally dropped the Iron Curtain. And now to this day, several major Democratic figureheads like to claim that the Red Scare was just a big farce, communism really isn't so bad and just needs to be done right, etc.

      However neither party has been in favor of either discrimination or slavery since at least the late 70's. But prior to then, Democrats were the pro-discrimination party, and prior to at least the 1900's they were still the pro-slavery party.

    42. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Gees dude you can even count, here is a list of the income of the largest oil companies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L..., and no, I will not add it up for you (that is the money being generated by your drill baby drill, burn baby burn, side of the argument, not tens of millions but trillions of dollars). Lobbying in just one election in one country http://thinkprogress.org/clima.... Dude science is not "rhetoric" talk about subconsciously exposing yourself.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    43. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      You might want to consider understanding the language you use before making a point in it ... that's not what fairer sex means.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
    44. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      Don't confuse people with the facts -- money spent on their own pet subject is legit, and money spent against it is wrong of course.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
    45. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can we talk about how the right endlessly defended slavery?

      Let's talk about how the left endlessly defended lynching instead

      Harding supported Congressman Leonidas Dyer's federal anti-lynching bill, known as the Dyer Bill, which passed the House of Representatives on January 26, 1922. The bill was defeated in the Senate by a Democratic filibuster.[151] Harding had previously spoken out publicly against lynching on October 21, 1921.

    46. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You poor kid. Once you're out of high school you'll learn how life really works :) Unfortunately, with your gullibility to easily seen through propaganda, you'll probably just continue to be a Dunning-Kruger suffering, useful idiot.

    47. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by guises · · Score: 4, Informative

      $106 billion was spent by US government on climate research by 2010

      I... don't know where to begin with this figure. If "by 2010" you mean the amount which has been cumulatively spent on climate research since the United States was first conceived as a country, I probably would still not believe you. But maybe, at the outside. And only if you adjusted for inflation and you included work to address the 1930's Dust Bowl as "climate research."

      That is a staggeringly ridiculous number, and the fact that you would present it here as though it were true, as though it were a plausible thing to say, represents a deep myopia. The total R&D budget for the US for 2015 is $135B, most of that goes to defense research.

    48. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Your ignorance on political history is stunning, but that is unsurprising, seeing how your veil slips when you use the word "Democrat" as an adjective.
      Throughout history, which of the two dominant political parties at any given time would correspond to today's "righ" and "left" has shifted many times, with the last significant shift corresponding to Nixon's adoption of the "Southern Strategy" in 1968, 47 years ago. Your contention that segregationists were "overwhelmingly Democrat over the past century" turns on all of three years and hasn't been true for the lifetimes of the vast majority of Slashdot readers.

      But hey, gotta keep those disingenuous right-wing talking points going, don't we.

      and FWIW, Calhoun's viewpoints, racial and otherwise, do correspond much more closely to those held by the Right/GOP today and were contemporaneously considered to be very conservative positions.

      That's hilarious. Calhoun wasn't a member of the "political right". The fact that you associate some of those things with the right today, does not mean he was a "right winger" in his own day.

      How easily people forget. Forget, for example, that Southern segregationists (and even the KKK) were overwhelmingly Democrat over the last century.

      And who would you choose for a role model instead of Calhoun? Maybe Abraham Lincoln? What about what he said during the Douglas debate?

      I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, [applause]â"that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied every thing. I do not understand that because I do not want a negro woman for a slave I must necessarily want her for a wife.

      Lincoln did not like negroes. His stated reason for wanting to free them was so that he could ship them back to Africa. He actually sent one ship full of them to the Caribbean as a trial run. Most of those on board died from smallpox. He was preparing a second expedition when the Civil War broke out.

      You are blaming people for living in the day they lived, and for the society in which they were raised. Granted, it might have been rough and bigoted by our standards, but those were the best standards those people knew at the time.

    49. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dryeo · · Score: 0, Troll

      Perhaps you should join ISIS, a government as far right as you can get. There's also Saudi Arabia, a shining right wing paradise. Me, I'd rather live in the evil left wing Scandinavian countries.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    50. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't seem to know your history very well. As already stated, Lincoln supported emancipation for reasons of his own, which had absolutely nothing to do with "equality". His reason for wanting to end the keeping of black slaves was so they could eventually be removed from the continent entirely.

      And to be honest, I don't know a single person who holds Calhoun's views today.

      Your history is awfully rusty as well if you can't remove the ideology from the name that espoused it. Civil War era Democrats were modern day Republicans.

      And a cursory google search reveals you don't know how to do that either, because I found 20+ pages of quotes from Republicans espousing exactly those views. Nice try, too bad reality doesn't back you up.

    51. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by harlequinn · · Score: 0

      Every time I see someone call somebody else a "denialist" I can't help but think they are treading a very thin line towards Godwin's law.

      Attack the argument, not the person.

    52. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dryeo · · Score: 1

      The Democrats are still quite a ways to the right of the political spectrum, you just have to look at Obama's master piece, basically Romneycare renamed and designed to take money from the people and give it to the rich in the form of insurance companies.
      Anyways the real problem is not left vs right but authoritarian vs non-authoritarian and generally in democracies the right is also highly authoritarian, at least those who are successful.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    53. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about people who are labeled "crackpots" by the "other side who have no scientific credentials whatsoever but are put on the forefront of reducing emissions? (Read as Leonardo DiCaprio, Alicia Silverstone, Brad Pitt, Sting and such.)

    54. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      So why was he in Greenpeace in the first place, likely pursuing the opposite sex.

      There's other places for that.

      The head of the UN's climate science panel Rajendra Pachauri has stepped down in the wake of sexual harassment claims against him that have surfaced at a crucial time on the climate agenda.

      Mr Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 2002, has denied any wrongdoing, claiming his email account and mobile phone were hacked.

      http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-25/indian-rajendra-pachauri-steps-down-as-head-of-un-climate-panel/6259696

    55. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How about the fact that the founder of the Weather Channel has repeatedly come out questioning the concept of human involvement in global warming? (The Weather Channel is now all-in on that bullshit, but the founder is not really involved anymore, anyway).

      I'm open to all possibilities. It's unfortunate that so many people are so anti science that they just participate in shaming and piling onto people and pointing and laughing at any questioning of the general consensus. Pretty gross behavior. I expect that from the layman, but not scientists and engineers. That's *not* how science is done.

    56. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dala1 · · Score: 1

      The best part about that quote is the cognitive dissonance you would need to say that being enslaved is good for black people, but it would 'destroy (white people) as a people.' If I wasn't so sure it was real I would assume it to be satire.

    57. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by riverat1 · · Score: 2

      1. No warming for nearly twenty years.

      I went to Wood for Trees and plotted GISTEMP, HADCRUT4, RSS lower trop. and UAH lower trop. for the last 20 years. You can see the graph here. The only one even close to showing no warming is RSS. They have some issues because the satellite they use is out of fuel and can't keep its orbit so they have to adjust for that.

      Your other 3 points are just climate science denier memes that don't stand up in the real world. 2) Climate models aren't expected to predict the short term variability of things like ENSO and the PDO but those average out in the long term which is what climate models project. 3) Models do just fine hind casting. 4) There is plenty to learn about climate but the big picture seems well in hand. I'm still waiting for some earth shattering revelation.

    58. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      Dictators and demigods are the antithesis of democracy no matter which side they claim to represent.Blaming the "left" for Stalin and Mao makes as much sense as blaming the "right" for Mussolini and Hitler, none whatsoever.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    59. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dbIII · · Score: 1

      I don't know a single person who holds Calhoun's views today

      You've exported a few to Australia as "rock star CEOs" to fuck up our communications and other technology companies.
      There must be a festering pool of them somewhere.

    60. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by TubeSteak · · Score: 1

      So the headline should read, "Oil industry funded think tank announces that a guy who used to belong to Greenpeace is a climate denialist."

      Oh come on, give The Heartland Institute some credit.
      They were also big players in the "tobacco doesn't give you cancer" and "taxes will give you cancer" movements.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    61. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Everything you said is true, except omitting that the left are evil too, in their own ways.

    62. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      The IPCC's objective is to "change the weather", do you realise how monumentally ignorant that statement is? Science is not groupthink, it's just politically and financially inconvenient for some. I admire Patrick Moore and Jane Goodall but Patrick is wrong about AGW, and Jane is wrong about GMO's. Being a genius doesn't automatically make you immune to anti-science propaganda.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    63. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      He commented that he had left Greenpeace because it "took a sharp turn to the political left"

      Newtonian relativity, perhaps? As in, Greenpeace stayed where it always was, only he took a sharp turn to the right?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    64. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny, that leftist darling Hillary is the one taking million dollar bribes from Saudi Arabia but some fucking moron is trying to obfuscate Democratic bullshit by calling Muslims Republicans.

    65. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 2

      Wouldn't "outproducing your competition" lower the market price and kill your profits? (Isn't that why cartels often arise?) And accusing the left of "trying to destroy the abundance" when communism calls for a post-scarcity society seems kind of contradictory.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    66. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      I use links quite frequently, but I include them according to my priorities, moods, and convenience, not yours.

      Your priorities as an insane lunatic, or deliberate troll doesn't mean anything to the rest of us. Site your sources or continue to be correctly and verifiably identified as a insane lunatic troll.

    67. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by colin_faber · · Score: 1

      Wish I had mod points to mod you up

    68. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by AnotherSeattlePrgmr · · Score: 0
      trimmed it down

      ...

      What does this have to do with today's right? John C Calhoun was part of the same party that Obama is now part of. And no, the parties didn't switch spectrum, rather all of them have changed their stances on certain subjects. Remember it was still the Democrats that were largely opposed to civil rights during the 50's and 60's (for example, it was a Democrat governor who called in the national guard to keep black students out of Central High School in Arkansas.)

      Those people in the 50s who were democratic racists are all be republicans today. The parties switched on racism. It's stupid to pretend that is not the case. Southerners avoided voting republican for 100 years because that was the party of lincoln, that destroyed the south in the civil war. I'm from arkansas, you are wrong.

    69. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The left isn't too fond of 'disruptive' innovation either: like autozone choosing to lend obd readers to customers for free, or companies that compete with heavily state regulated taxi services.

      I guess those in charge are fond of their power over others. Perhaps that is something that needs fixing.

    70. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by AnotherSeattlePrgmr · · Score: 0

      Freebeacon.com doesn't look like a legitimate news org. it looks like the kind of place where they pass around cartoons of black people drawn to look like monkeys. it may be that russians are paying us green groups but you need real journalists to report it. greenpeace sure has been hasseling russian oil companies and getting arrested for it. how about an article from the ap or something? I searched but didn't find anything.

    71. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by JDAustin · · Score: 1

      Let's see, you take a DEMOCRAT Vice Pres from 30 years before the formation of the republican party and 100+ years before the modern conservative movement came into play and use him as a example of conservatives.

      You're not interested in the facts, just making sure the ends justify your means.

    72. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by JDAustin · · Score: 1

      And yet communist nations have been shown over the past 100 years to be the worst polluters in history.

      The Left/Greens like communism because communist governments provide them with a authoritarian vehicle to impose their will on the general public.

    73. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We're talking about Patrick Moore, not ex-IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri.

      Pachauri, 74, is accused of sexually harassing a 29-year-old female researcher from soon after she joined his Delhi-based research group, The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri). The lawyers for the woman, who cannot be named, said the harassment by Pachauri included unwanted emails, text messages and WhatsApp messages.

    74. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      'ER' I did check 'fairer sex' and included a PDF link from the world bank, to show there is more than one meaning accepted "Are Women Really the âoeFairerâ Sex? Corruption and Women in Government".

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    75. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      he was not a co-founder of Greenpeace but he was their early in its creation, he's a paid consultant at the Heartland Institute http://www.greenpeace.org/inte...

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    76. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

      I shall never fight in the armed forces with a negro by my side ... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds. ~Robert C. Byrd, in a letter to Sen. Theodore Bilbo (D-MS), 1946

      Robert C. Byrd: a Democrat US Senator and a member of the KKK. He died on June 28, 2010

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    77. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The author of the article used a long-standing cliche in an unusual way. That shows it is in fact not an accepted use of the phrase and twists the original meaning of "fairer sex".

      In other words the exact opposite of what you think. The world must be a confusing place for you.

    78. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      so? greenpeace isn't the end-all of environmental activism.

    79. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by ultranova · · Score: 1

      That's hilarious. Calhoun wasn't a member of the "political right". The fact that you associate some of those things with the right today, does not mean he was a "right winger" in his own day.

      ...That isn't really saying anything too nice about modern-day right wing, you know.

      Lincoln did not like negroes.

      But he still issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Calhoun issued the tripe we just read. That's their respective contributions to history, and is what they are to it.

      You are blaming people for living in the day they lived, and for the society in which they were raised. Granted, it might have been rough and bigoted by our standards, but those were the best standards those people knew at the time.

      Except the whole reason the Civil War was fought in the first place is that people did know a better way, but some simply didn't want to give up their unjust privileges. Perhaps it's unfair to judge Calhoun with our standards, but he also falls short of those of his own time.

      And it's not like the idea of slaves and slavemasters - or serfs and lords - is gone. The whip and manacles have been disguised and integrated into the very structures of society itself, but still some do the work and others watch their coffers fill. And it's always the right wing which champions the rich and powerful against the poor and weak. Championing hierarchy and inequality is the very definition of right-wing politics. It's simply a milder version of dictatorship and authoritarianism, and like them, belongs in the dark past of human species, to become nothing but a bad memory and perhaps a museum exhibition.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    80. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by trenien · · Score: 1
      Equating 'Democrats' (as in "the" party and its members) with the left shows you are, at best, not really aware of the history of that party.

      To begin with, until the 50's, there was no such thing as an united Democratic party, the biggest divide being between North and South : ever since the late XIX century, the US statu-quo was to leave the nation as a whole to, mostly, the Republicans, and the South to the pro-segregation Southern Democrats.

      Considering their reactions and the way they acted under Roosevelt's presidency, it is quite clear that you should be seen as firmly conservatives.

    81. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by spitzig · · Score: 1

      The "southern Democrat" block that was one of the big anti-civil rights blocs mostly moved over to the Republicans after Johnson supported the 1965 Civil Rights Bill. Although, I think after that, neither side could really use anti-civil rights as a position. After that, both sides still were sometimes opposed to civil rights, but would usually only show opposition to things that are more specific(like quotas). Republicans have shown more opposition to these specific things.

    82. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by quantaman · · Score: 1

      Can we talk about how the right endlessly defended slavery?

      Take John C. Calhoun [wikipedia.org]: "he became a greater proponent of states' rights, limited government, nullification and free trade".

      What does this have to do with today's right?

      It's relevant since there's still a lot of racism on the right and even some who defend slavery as something that wasn't so bad.

      John C Calhoun was part of the same party that Obama is now part of. And no, the parties didn't switch spectrum, rather all of them have changed their stances on certain subjects. Remember it was still the Democrats that were largely opposed to civil rights during the 50's and 60's (for example, it was a Democrat governor who called in the national guard to keep black students out of Central High School in Arkansas.)

      You misremember.

      Southern Democrats were more pro civil rights than Southern Republicans, and Northern Democrats were more pro civil rights than Northern Republicans. But Southern Democrats were opposed to civil rights as compared to Northern Republicans, and since there were a lot of Southern Democrats there were a lot of anti-civil rights Democrats.

      The Democratic party chose to make a stand on civil rights, since then the South has belonged to Republicans.

      The biggest change a lot of people refer to happened during the 80's under the Raegan. Prior to Raegan, Democrats were staunchly opposed to communism (Kennedy and Johnson for example) and somehow the modern Democrat party moved away from that hard line stance

      We're apparently talking about different Democratic parties.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    83. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      The left did used to be optimistic (reread your London and your Steinbeck), and that was when it was popular. Post-1970, it seems to have sunk into anti-human primitivism. Remember when a synonym for leftist was "humanist?"

    84. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

      Everybody loved Greenpeace when it was saving whales. Then it didn't just take a turn to the left, but to the radical anti-human left. Now it reflexively opposes anything that might promote humanity, like changing fuels from fossil to nuclear if, perchance, their own climate scenario were proved true.

    85. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by approachingZero+ · · Score: 1

      I stand corrected, 'weather' should read 'climate'. Thanks for pointing that out.

      --
      'I don't know what it's called. I just know the sound it makes, when it takes a man's life.' ~ Four Leaf Tayback
    86. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Right: tirelessly working to support the Left.

      Forced to do so by the Left.

      Self-righteous payback for slavery?

      This is, of course, about as on-topic as the rest of this rubish!

      Posting AC due to mod rules.

    87. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985. But of course that fact won't get people to click on your article.

      I hope, in the future, the Slashdot community won't jump on the "Ad Hominem" Fallacy band-wagon that is typical of Drudge.

      The post's actual content/quote remains compelling, and merits a rational discussion in the affirmative or otherwise--rather than de-evolution into weighing the credentials and employment history:

      at 400 parts per million, all our food crops, forests, and natural ecosystems are still on a starvation diet for carbon dioxide.

    88. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by superwiz · · Score: 1

      Do read your Steinbeck. Just don't stop at the Grapes of Wrath. Read on to East of Eden. The very premise of the book is personal responsibility for one's choices. And that's the book that Steinbeck wrote (according to him) for his children.

      --
      Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    89. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by el_chicano · · Score: 2

      Your ignorance on political history is stunning, but that is unsurprising, seeing how your veil slips when you use the word "Democrat" as an adjective. Throughout history, which of the two dominant political parties at any given time would correspond to today's "righ" and "left" has shifted many times, with the last significant shift corresponding to Nixon's adoption of the "Southern Strategy" in 1968, 47 years ago. Your contention that segregationists were "overwhelmingly Democrat over the past century" turns on all of three years and hasn't been true for the lifetimes of the vast majority of Slashdot readers.

      But hey, gotta keep those disingenuous right-wing talking points going, don't we.

      I am a socialist (Barack Obama is closer to Dwight Eisenhower and Gerald Ford than me) and you are basically correct but I wanted to comment on a couple of points:

      1. You are partially correct about shifts in the electorate, they are called "realigning elections" but the last one most people agree on was Ronald Reagan's election in 1980.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realigning_election

      Wikipedia speculates that Bill Clinton's and Barack Obama's elections were of the realigning type but I disagree because the swing to the left in those elections did not persist and the electorate has swung back to the right since then while Reagan's realignment was more lasting.

      2. By the time John F. Kennedy was elected the Democratic Party was already on left nationally but many parts of the Southern US (including Texas) only had one party, the Democratic Party. As such the Democratic Party covered both ends of the spectrum but overall in the South the Party leaned to the right due to the conservatism of the White Protestants that ruled (and still rule) the South.

      Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy was an attempt to split the Democrats in the South, and it worked for him. By the time Jimmy Carter (who was a Southerner himself) was elected the conservatives had already become disenchanted by the Democratic Party and had switched to the Republican Party. But one needs to remember that before the rise of the Republican Party in the South there were a fair number of White Protestant racists who supported segregation in the Democratic Party because there was no other place for them to go.

      Also don't forget that in many progressive places like New York and Boston there were a lot of racist White Protestants that voted Democratic until Reagan. They also became disenchanted by the Democratic Party because of its emphasis on civil rights for minorities and they too became Republicans because they felt more comfortable with their fellow White racists in the Republican Party.

      While I agree that Faux News and their ilk may be twisting the truth and making false narratives into talking points the only way the Left can fight those false narratives is to be totally honest, which includes admitting that the Democratic Party has been racist in the past. As long as in the present Democrats keep supporting racial equality and diversity it will eventually serve as an impetus for any racists remaining in the Democratic Party to finally become Republicans.

      --
      A man who wants nothing is invincible
    90. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by superwiz · · Score: 1

      The internet was rejected by the private sector. AT&T saw it as competition for their business model which was based on telephones.

      AT&T was a state-sponsored monopoly (until it wasn't). It is the court-ordered end of the state-sponsored monopoly which precipitated telecom Renaissance.

      You need permissionless, disruptive innovation, not some rich capitalist telling you what to do.

      Right. Because state regulation is what causes venture capitalism (ie, investment in creative disruption). GIve me a break.

      No, the green revolution was a result of government research efforts that the private sector is too short-sighted to invest in.

      If you still haven't heard, the actual scientists (you know... the ones concerned with facts and numbers) don't see green energy as a net-positive in energy gain. Chu stated the fact that he was forced to defend technology which is not mature enough as the reason for his resignation. And that's just on the generation side. On the storage side? Storing energy as covalent bonds is the most stable way of transporting it between disconnected paths which are not effected by gravity.

      --
      Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    91. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by superwiz · · Score: 1

      when communism calls for a post-scarcity society

      missed the whole point about the left not meaning what it says, did ya?

      --
      Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    92. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by camg188 · · Score: 1

      You can call me a moron if you want. I really don't care, but it detracts from your credibility.
      My point was to mirror your comment but swap the IPCC with Mr. Moore in order to show that your argument applies to anyone who makes an income related climate change.

    93. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      That's obvious paranoia. "Everyone is lying to you, don't trust anyone!"

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    94. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      What do you mean by "their own climate scenario"? They have some independent climate research unit?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    95. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dryeo · · Score: 1

      Hillary is quite a ways to the right herself. Only in America are a party such as the Democrats considered left wing socialists.
      You can tell how socialist they are by how they nationalized the banks after the fiscal meltdown in 2008 rather then rewarding them and how they introduced Romneycare to reward the insurance companies instead of a single payer system.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    96. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by smashin234 · · Score: 1

      I see you did not include actual figures. You just SPECULATE that the numbers are wrong.

    97. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is AGW your field of expertise, then?

    98. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by superwiz · · Score: 1

      I don't believe I said "everyone." I am pretty sure I named a specific category of people.

      --
      Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    99. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      If you had bothered to read a little further, you would have found appropriate links.

      Also, I find it so amusing to get modded down by people who just can't stand to have their religion challenged. Not saying YOU are one of those, but obviously some are.

    100. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      Gees dude you can even count, here is a list of the income of the largest oil companies.

      Gees dude you can't even argue. The issue here isn't income, it's what the money is spent on. If I were to use your argument, I'd be saying the trillions of dollars in the whole U.S. budget all apply here.

      But they don't.

    101. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      I... don't know where to begin with this figure.

      You could begin by totaling up the annual expenditures as shown in the GAO report. If you're too lazy to look it up yourself, you could have read a few inches further down the page and found links.

      I agree it's a ridiculous number, but it is also true, according to the U.S. government itself. So read it and weep, or not. I don't care. But I sure as hell didn't make it up.

    102. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by superwiz · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't "outproducing your competition" lower the market price and kill your profits?

      It would if you didn't lower costs. Which is what drives the investment in improvements in efficiency and, thus, enables the abundance.

      --
      Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    103. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      Greenpeace espouses the standard climate scenario of today's radicals, which is that all bad weather is the fault of human-emitted carbon. So if this is the case, we need to eliminate emitted carbon right away. When can we kick open the doors to Yucca Mountain and start building the new reactor fleet?

    104. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      What does the cost of the Iraq war, ExxonMobil's profits, and the Army R&D budget have to do with spending regarding climate science?

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    105. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      When you can't do the former, you do the latter.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    106. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by guises · · Score: 1

      Okay, I have looked up the GAO report: link

      I am not weeping.

    107. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      You misremember.

      Southern Democrats were more pro civil rights than Southern Republicans, and Northern Democrats were more pro civil rights than Northern Republicans. But Southern Democrats were opposed to civil rights as compared to Northern Republicans, and since there were a lot of Southern Democrats there were a lot of anti-civil rights Democrats.

      No, this is false. In fact, during the Civil Rights movement, the majority of those in congress who voted in favor of reforms were Republicans. There was just one major exception, which was that Barry Goldwater voted against one of the Civil Rights bills, and he voted against it because he was libertarian and he didn't want to force it upon private businesses, e.g. "We reserve the right to deny service to anybody for any reason."

      Being a libertarian myself, I agree with that viewpoint, but it has nothing to do with racism. If I owned a business, I wouldn't deny service over race. But I would deny it to a gangbanger who comes in with baggy clothes hanging so low that you can see the brown stains on his whitey tighties. I've actually that walk into a used car dealership I used to work for, and this person was asking to be financed for a used car, with the immediate answer being no. Yes he was black, but race wasn't the reason for it. Still, I'd be pretty pissed if some law forced us to offer a loan to somebody who comes in looking like he has probably never made a timely payment in his life.

      At any rate, this particular opposition won Barry Goldwater the electoral votes in his home state as well as a number of southern states. However, the three presidential elections afterwards, none of the southern electorates went to Republicans. The first for that to happen (other than goldwater) was Richard Nixon, who took basically the entire nation (including left wing havens New York and California.)

      You might want to read this, which consults several historians and has sources:

      http://freeplanetickettonorthk...

    108. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by quantaman · · Score: 1

      You misremember.

      Southern Democrats were more pro civil rights than Southern Republicans, and Northern Democrats were more pro civil rights than Northern Republicans. But Southern Democrats were opposed to civil rights as compared to Northern Republicans, and since there were a lot of Southern Democrats there were a lot of anti-civil rights Democrats.

      No, this is false. In fact, during the Civil Rights movement, the majority of those in congress who voted in favor of reforms were Republicans.

      I can't speak to all the civil rights legislation, but as to the civil rights act itself you just ignored my entire point (and you were still wrong). Look at the vote totals:

              Southern Democrats: 7–87 (7–93%)
              Southern Republicans: 0–10 (0–100%)

              Northern Democrats: 145–9 (94–6%)
              Northern Republicans: 138–24 (85–15%)

      Being a libertarian myself, I agree with that viewpoint, but it has nothing to do with racism. If I owned a business, I wouldn't deny service over race. But I would deny it to a gangbanger who comes in with baggy clothes hanging so low that you can see the brown stains on his whitey tighties.

      Of course that has nothing to do with the era in question. If that person was white they'd probably get the service, but if they were black no matter how dignified they were they'd be denied service (or at least forced to wait behind the white person for service). Even if the owner themselves wasn't racist they'd have to discriminate or the prominent white folk in the community would single them out.

      How do you approach that issue as a libertarian? Community groups forcing business owners to discriminate if they want to stay in business.

      However, the three presidential elections afterwards, none of the southern electorates went to Republicans. The first for that to happen (other than goldwater) was Richard Nixon, who took basically the entire nation (including left wing havens New York and California.)

      You might want to read this, which consults several historians and has sources:

      http://freeplanetickettonorthk...

      That article doesn't really disprove my point. No one claims that every Dixiecrat changed their party registration overnight, people are incredibly reluctant to change political identity and the first ones to do so will be the new ones entering the system. And I don't care about Goldwater as an anecdote, but if you were voting against civil rights for racist reasons (either personal or political) wouldn't you couch your vote in some better principal?

      But to claim it has nothing to do with civil rights and racism is to be incredibly obtuse. The change started with the civil rights act, the south still has a lot of racism and civil rights issues, and the Republican party still has a lot of issues with civil rights and racism.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    109. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by PensacolaSlick · · Score: 1

      The first line of attack for someone who has no sound argument is ad hominem: attack your opponent... the reasoning is that if you can discredit the purveyor of an argument, you have discredited their argument. Ad hominem arguments are worthless, since they don't even deal with the issue at hand. But boy, are they informative. When I see such an attack, my opinion of the person being attacked is strengthened. If you disagree, attack the argument, not the person.

    110. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dave420 · · Score: 2

      Perspective. It's really not too hard to understand.

    111. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      when communism calls for a post-scarcity society

      missed the whole point about the left not meaning what it says, did ya?

      A post-scarcity society may not be possible in the short term under communism, but it will certainly never be possible even in the long term under capitalism. Capitalism depends on inequality (or economic diversity if you like weasel words), since there is no point in someone working hard to make money (and therefore get power) if their neighbour gets exactly the same by staying at home dreaming or reading poetry.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    112. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by stoatwblr · · Score: 1

      Greenpeace rapidly turned into what people I know who are involved in green organisations call "Corporate greenies" - they are very good at mediabombing and taking credit for other people's work by showing up after agreements have been signed and in several cases their antics have derailed decades of work by local conservation groups.

      The membership structure is interesting to analyse too - the founders had language in articles of association which meant that subsequent members would only get voting rights after being members for a fixed period - and they've subsequently moved those goalposts repeatedly.

      What Greenpeace is very good at, is raising money for Greenpeace. Everything else is a means to that end.

    113. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dywolf · · Score: 1

      completely unlike The Heartland Institute.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    114. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dywolf · · Score: 1

      Again: the dividing line is geographical, not political.
      It is far more accurate to state that discrimination and jim crow were southern ideologies, not democratic party ones.

      when the civil rights act was passed it was voted along geographical lines, not party lines.
      99.9% of southern delegates (all but one), republican or democrat, voted against it.
      99.9% of northern delegates (all but one), republican or democrat, voted for it.

      This idea, this half truth, that democrats are or were "pro slavery" or "pro discrimination" makes use of people's ignorance about history. The parties didn't used to be as monolithic as they are today. The southern democrats were long the conservative wing of the democratic party, just as the northern "Radical republicans" were long the more liberal and progressive wing of the republican party. These wings had much in common with the opposite party. the parties were truly divided on civil rights, which is why the more proper dividng lines are along geographical or ideological lines, not party lines.

      The Conservative stance was largely against the civil rights reforms, and consisted of people from both parties.
      The Liberal stance was in favor of civil rights reforms, and consisted of people from both parties.

      The Conservative view was the majority viewpoint of the South, at least of those in power since they had effectively blocked blacks from voting.
      The Liberal stance on civil rights was the majority viewpoint outside of the South.

      The result of the Civil War and following through until the 1980s was the gradual sorting of the parties into the monolithic structures we see today, as the different wings of the parties vanished, until you have what we have today: the republicans are conservative, and democrats are progressive. Those same southern delegates who votes against the CRA as democrats soon became republicans as white southerners, a largely conservative demographic, gradually switched parties to become today a Republican voting block.

      But then you're not interest in facts which is why you keep repeating the same half truths.

      And the red scare was a big farce. the threat of war with Russia was real, but Russia ceased to be communist around the time Stalin took over. After that is was simply totalitarianism perpetrated by people who called themselves communists but really weren't.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    115. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by houghi · · Score: 1

      Compared to the rest of the world, the Democrats ARE right-wing right now.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    116. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dywolf · · Score: 1

      Don't worry.
      Jane Q Public is no danger of confusing anyone with anything resembling a fact... ...mostly since he doesn't have any facts to start with.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    117. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dywolf · · Score: 1

      It's much like people who read Orwell and get the wrong message.

      People in this country read his books as being anti-socialist, which is large part is itself an artifact of the books being taught that way in schools and a reflection of this countries automatic rejection of anything appearing communist.

      But really, Orwell wasn't warning against socialism, or even Communism, but against Totalitarianism.
      And totalitarianism can come from both the right (Mussolini's fascists) or the left (Stalinism).

      In fact, most people are very surprised to learn that Orwell was himself a lifelong socialist.
      And thus again we illustrate why the simple left/right dynamic is insufficient.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    118. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dywolf · · Score: 1

      Care to try again?
      Phil Plait is an actual scientist, well versed in the science, and as such it IS a very good citation.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    119. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dywolf · · Score: 1

      Sure....it was the past 40 years of "leftist" government that created the current economic scarcity, the stagnant wages, the rise in inequality... ...and the left, with it's constant claims that "the richest nation on earth can afford to spread that wealth around a bit better" is all about creating scarcity...

      Do you go to school stupid, or just come out that way?

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    120. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I kind of liked this line of bullshit better when it was "those scientists telling us smoking causes cancer are just riding the research gravy train!" At least it was a fresh and audacious sort of intellectual dishonesty then. Now it's just pathetic.

      There are two really sad things resulting from this. One is that smoking doesn't JUST cause cancer. Most people have no idea what the exhaustive list of negative consequences looks like; many young smokers believe they will get a lung lesion and drop dead from smoking one day. I can't think of a single disease that isn't aggravated by smoking - heck even a single cause of death... you could die in a fire or driving to the store for more cigarettes, more likely to be present during a robbery etc... It even takes up to 60% longer for bones to heal. Tooth implants are less likely to be permanent. The fact that other people are exposed to smokers is even worse, from a value judgement perspective, since these people didn't make any choice to begin with.

      The other sad thing is that this intellectual dishonesty persists, even today people believe smoking might even be good for you. A naive reading of the data shows this to be "obviously" true, because children who die young have never smoked, and typically people who quit smoking are near death already. It doesn't take much brain power to see why, but the tobacco companies championed these insights for decades.

    121. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by dywolf · · Score: 1

      John C Calhoun is and was MOST DEIFNITELY a member of the political right, even in his own day. you try to say he isn't because he was a democrat, but again: party affiliation is NOT what determines placement on the spectrum. he is the one who gets the credit for redefining republicanism to allow for slavery. he supported increased state's rights, only he called it "minority rights", the minority he was referring to being the Southern states. and most importantly he is the one who pointed the way towards secession of the Southern States.

      the constant abuse of party labels, and the conflation of such with political spectrum gets very tiresome. today it largely correlates, but today the parties are monolithic. but 60 years ago the parties weren't so monolithic, and 160 years ago even more so. the "Radical Republicans" were radical BECAUSE they were so different from the rest of their party: more progressive, less conservative, especially about slavery (which leads to another datum: it wasn't -all- of the republican party that opposed slavery).

      the divide on civil rights did not come down to party lines until after the various civil rights acts, the 1960s, and most importantly Nixon's Southern Strategy. the key unifying factor over civil rights WAS NOT PARTY AFFILIATION, BUT GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION. The congress critters who opposed the civil rights act of 1964 were nearly all southerners, particularly white southerners elected by systems that repeatedly disenfranchised black voters giving them no representation in the Congress. nearly every southerner in Congress voted against it, regardless of party. The inverse is seen among those who voted for it.

      Again: the breakdown isn't by party, but by geography.
      80% of Republicans voted for the CRA of 1964, 20% against.
      ~65% of Democrats voted for the CRA of 1965, ~35% against.

      But 99% of southern congressmen voted against it, and 95% of northern congressmen voted for it.
      Even a complete statistical noobie can see that that is a much tighter correlation than party affiliation.

      the parties had wings that they no longer have. they are now monolithic structures.
      the liberal leaning republicans have all fled by now and become democrats.
      as have all the conservative leaning democrats, largely southerners, who opposed civil rights are now republicans.

      the willful glossing over of this fact, of this ongoing homogenization of the parties from 1865 continuing to the present day (reaching it's peak with Richard Nixon) in order to disingenuously claim "democrats are the real racists" is pure BS.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    122. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      When can we kick open the doors to Yucca Mountain and start building the new reactor fleet?

      As soon as you manage to convince a group of investors that picking up the tab for one of the poorest risk-to-profit industries in the world is a good idea.

    123. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      That is a website summary of various issues and reports, not the actual report referenced above.

      If you want to argue about something else, then argue about something else. But don't try to call it the same.

    124. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Having lived through some of this time period, you're wrong. (Well, the 1960s on; it's irrelevant now what party stances before 1900 were.)

      First, what's the difference between the parties switching spectrum and the parties changing their stances? There were a lot of conservative southern Democrats in those days, and southern Democrat Johnson was instrumental in pushing civil rights, accepting losing much of the South to Republicans. Civil rights was a primarily Democrat position, and those opposed tended to join the Republicans. Obviously this says nothing about any individual Democrat or Republican, but on the whole the Democrats pushed it and the Republicans dragged their heels.

      In the 60s, pretty much everybody was opposed to Communism. The Vietnam War radicalized a lot of people, who reasoned that (a) we shouldn't be involved in Vietnam, and so (b) the North Vietnamese were partly the Good Guys, and (c) Communism really wasn't that bad. It wasn't good reasoning, but the revulsion to the Vietnam War did a lot of unfortunate things. (I consider this largely LBJ's fault.) You're misinterpreting Reagan's role here.

      Communism never was the threat it was presented as, and the US allowed its actions to be controlled far too much by opposition to Communism. For example, the US in this period destabilized and overthrew democratic governments because they looked socialist and were talking to Moscow (if the US is strongly against you, who the hell do you talk to?), often replacing them with brutal right-wing dictatorships. Communism was indeed that bad, but the US tended to lump in socialism and simply being left-wing with Communism, and made up what fictions it needed to say that brutal right-wing dictatorships were better than Communist governments.

      I've never been sure how many movements moved to Communism just because they were anti-American, and the only source of help for anti-Americans was the overrated Communist bloc (Red China and the Soviet Union were never buddies).

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    125. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Roughly about the time a certain Missouri Democrat President desegregated the Armed Forces over considerable opposition.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    126. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by khayman80 · · Score: 1

      Recent federal GAO report: $106 BILLION dollars spend on "climate change" research by 2010. Four years ago. [Lonny Eachus, 2014-10-14]

      ... $106 BILLION (GAO rpt.) by 2010 for AGW was wasted. ... [Lonny Eachus, 2014-11-02]

      ... according to a recent GAO report, our own government spent $106 Billion dollars on "climate change" research, and that was by 2010, 4 years ago. [Jane Q. Public, 2014-11-20]

      A recent GAO report said that $106 BILLION was spent by the US government through 2010 on global warming research. If you figure that was through the end of 2010, that was still 4 years ago, so the number is now much larger. ... [Jane Q. Public, 2015-01-30]

      US GAO report last year said govt spent $106 BILLION on climate change research by 2010. [Lonny Eachus, 2015-03-07]

      ... According to the GAO, $106 billion was spent by US government on climate research by 2010. Five years later, that figure is no doubt by now much higher. ... [Jane Q. Public, 2015-03-21]

      I've already pointed out that research is different from propaganda, but I'd have better luck educating my coffee table about that. So let's focus on a more tangible question.

      I clicked on the actual report Jane referenced above, and clicked on Accessible Text to view the full report. There is no reference to $106 billion in that report. If there were, it would be easy for Jane/Lonny Eachus to quote it. Instead, Jane tells us to "begin by totaling up the annual expenditures as shown in the GAO report."

      However, totaling up the annual expenditures in the GAO report's "Funding Category: Total;" sums to: $80.529 billion.

      Not $106 billion. Where did Jane/Lonny Eachus get that total from?

    127. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by guises · · Score: 1

      You're overstating that by a lot. We're not looking at total funding, we're just looking at research. Even if we made the assumption that all of the funding in the science category went to research, the total would be $31.3 B.

    128. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by drewlake2000 · · Score: 1

      I remember a sketch a very long time ago from "KYTV" it was a parady version of "John Craven's Newsround" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N... a new programme for kids. Anyway it was discussing the US political system thus: "The Republican party, which are like our Conservative party ..." "...and the Democratic Party, which is like our Conservative party" to us brits, the US extreme left would be somewhere near our Labour Party after Tony Blair.

    129. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by khayman80 · · Score: 1

      I agree. What I'm trying to figure out is, even overstating the total by including non-research funding, how did he arrive at a total of $106 billion?

    130. Re:Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1985 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seeing you run from apk's fair challenge to you's not hard to understand troll http://slashdot.org/comments.p...

  2. Who cares? by mbone · · Score: 0

    All I can say is, I hope his checks cashed.

    1. Re:Who cares? by hairyfeet · · Score: 3, Informative

      Which checks would those be? The checks from Goldman Sachs for pushing the AGW reverse robin hood credit default swaps...err I mean ":carbon credits". Or would those be the checks from Al Gore who is in bed with Goldman Sachs and has set himself up to become carbon billionaire if he and GS get their giant scam that won't do shit but make them even richer made into the law?

      Dude if you believe EITHER side gives a single fuck about the environment? I have some genuine Arkansas anti global warming crystals I'll be happy to sell ya, only $499.99 so act now! BTW if you actually DO give a shit about the environment? DO NOT BUY THE SCAMS, talk to somebody that actually walks the walk...Ed Begley Jr. unlike Rev Al who lives in a McMansion whose indoor basketball court uses more AC than a family home? He lives in a modest 3 bedroom, Rev Al drives a fleet of SUVs to his one man Lear jet? Begley drives an electric car to a commuter flight.But if you were to look up Begley's thoughts on the subject? You'd find an overdose of COMMON SENSE, make it easier for folks to use electric cars, promote renewables in places like AZ where solar works really well, invest in tech that will let us do more with what we have and recycle easier...its ALL common Goddamned sense!

      But of course you can't become a billionaire with sensible logical approaches which is why you are getting pounded with "ZOMFG teh sky is fallin! You HAVE to do this thing (which won't do a damned thing because we filled it with more loopholes for our 1% pals than a Coke has HFCS) because we have to SAVE TEH EARF!"

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    2. Re:Who cares? by blue+trane · · Score: 1

      How does this ex-greenpeace guy feel about begley? Does he write him checks now?

    3. Re:Who cares? by superwiz · · Score: 1

      As opposed to the checks given to IPCC by government (you know... the people who kill people for a living).

      --
      Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    4. Re:Who cares? by u19925 · · Score: 2

      The guy has been sold out. Climate skeptics are mostly sold out people or illiterate people. There argument is as illogical as the argument of any religious fanatic.

      -- "Earth has been warming very gradually for 300 years"
      The warming data clearly indicates that rate of temperature of last 50 years is far higher than any other period in history

      -- Increase in CO2 in atmosphere directly correlates net fossil fuel burned

      -- All computer models including from climate skeptics show that earth will warm with increased CO2

      -- "...we are doomed unless we reduce carbon-dioxide emissions to zero. Effectively this means either reducing the population to zero, or going back 10,000 years..."
      It is not the emission, but the net emission. Today we generate more electricity from non-fossil fuel than all of electricity we used to generate just 40 years ago. So it is not going back 10000 years. With proper conservation and focus on renewable, it is possible to get rid of fossil fuel based energy altogether without going back or reducing population.

      -- He claims that without such doomsday predictions, there want be a need for IPCC. However, IPCC was formed because scientific study prior to it pointed towards doomsday scenario.

      -- "The optimum level of carbon dioxide for plant growth, given enough water and nutrients, is about 1,500 parts per million, nearly four times higher than today."
      This may be optimum (I don't know) level of CO2 if other variables are kept constant, such as temperature. However, at this level of CO2, there is not a single climate model in the world which predicts temperature increase less than 10C. At this level of increase, 70% of the land will be unhabitable without AC. Also, 70% of the land won't be able to sustain any plants which are in existence today.

      -- "There has been no significant warming for 18 years while we have emitted 25 per cent of all the carbon dioxide ever emitted."
      Except for one single outlier year 1998, the temperature has steadily increased by 0.2C a decade.

    5. Re:Who cares? by riverat1 · · Score: 2

      As opposed to the checks given to IPCC by government (you know... the people who kill people for a living).

      The IPCC runs an annual budget of $7 million, according to the Wall Street Journal, making the United States a major benefactor for its global warming agenda.

      That's pretty much chump change in today's world.

    6. Re:Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But while I am taking Begley's approach (solar powered EV, bike riding, super insulation on 3 bedroom home (close off 3rd one in winter), $8k worth of solar panels, and other practical ones), I am only one guy. And how many other people will do these things because they are better and cleaner? You have more people buying new SUV's and big trucks in a week then electric vehicles in a year, even though the SUV's and trucks costs just as much or more.

      The right wing used to be rational before 2007 on this issue and only a small fringe group denied that we had a problem. Mainly because they didn't want Liberals to win. But they aren't arguing that we shouldn't have carbon credits because it will make some people rich and there are better ways to get it done. They are arguing that we should do nothing and "drill, baby, drill".

    7. Re: Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The batteries in an EV create a tremendous Eco burden, in production to disposal. A study, cradle to grave, of a humvee versus Prius showed the humvee to have less impact on the ecology of our planet.
      There is a five mile dead zone around the Canadian plant that produced the majority of the refined nickel for older cells, and lithium production is not much cleaner. The components make multiple trips across the pacific to become batteries. Ed's solar cells required manufacture using rare earths mined in China by abused workers. Same for the battery components. It is all feel good social science.
      The 20 year cooling trend is just a continuation of they cycle that in 1974 they said was the start of a new Ice age, and scientists looked at things like spreading lampblack over the arctic and Antarctic ice to reduce the surface ice that reflects significant light/heat back out of the atmosphere.
      And the subject of the article, also changed his POV on nuclear power as well. The hot climate supporters can't explain the current cooling trend some statistics show. Except we have had abnormally low solar output (the sun cycles too) including a year with none, zilch, zero, sunspot activity. But the anti-climate-deniers say solar impact is very minimal on climate change. I am not sure how they say that with a straight face. While Patrick has "sold out"according to some, he is a trained ecologist, and wants to have a paying job. There is not much of a market outside the government (speak the politically correct truth of the moment) and business (speak the truth slanted towards what we want our customers and supporters to hear). So take it all with a 25 pound bag of NaCl and do some fact checking on your own. Want to add the least heat to the environment? Support nukes. Want to destroy various subspecies of migratory birds? Support Wind ... Like China and Korea to profit, support massive EV panels. Want to do the best for the environment? Walk. Go to sleep at dusk. And look at the cradle to grave cost of all that you buy or use by proxy. No matter what the law of unintended consequences will get you. Remember Greenland was once green land. An agricultural society thrived there. Climate cycles. We should too. Get it? See what I did there?

    8. Re:Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >The warming data clearly indicates that rate of temperature of last 50 years is far higher than any other period in history

      Of course - if you add a bit on the side of the more recent data set and subtract a bit on the older data set to get the 'correct' (or should we say 'corrected' results)?

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/com...

    9. Re: Who cares? by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1
      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    10. Re:Who cares? by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Booker convieniently ignores the fact that the largest adjustment of historical readings reduces the warming trend.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    11. Re:Who cares? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      "Today we generate more electricity from non-fossil fuel than all of electricity we used to generate just 40 years ago"

      And those nonfossil sources are hydro and nuclear, compared to which all the other carbon-free sources are a rounding error. If Greenpeace were really trying to reduce carbon, it wouldn't be opposing these every chance it gets.

    12. Re:Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're trying too hard and make shit tons of logical fallacies in the process. Get rid of those and You have nothing left but "Hey, look at Me!"

    13. Re:Who cares? by Troed · · Score: 1

      The warming data clearly indicates that rate of temperature of last 50 years is far higher than any other period in history

      Why do you believe that? It's not even true for the last 150 years - even less so if we include the rest of the Holocene.

      Q: Do you agree that according to the global temperature record used by the IPCC, the rates of global warming from 1860-1880, 1910-1940 and 1975-1998 were identical?

      A: So, in answer to the question, the warming rates for all 4 periods are similar and not statistically significantly different from each other.
      - Phil Jones, director of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU)

      http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/851...

      Until a few decades ago it was generally thought that all large-scale global and regional climate changes occurred gradually over a timescale of many centuries or millennia, scarcely perceptible during a human lifetime. The tendency of climate to change relatively suddenly has been one of the most suprising outcomes of the study of earth history, specifically the last 150,000 years (e.g., Taylor et al., 1993). Some and possibly most large climate changes (involving, for example, a regional change in mean annual temperature of several degrees celsius) occurred at most on a timescale of a few centuries, sometimes decades, and perhaps even just a few years. The decadal-timescale transitions would presumably have been quite noticeable to humans living at such times, and may have created difficulties or opportunities (e.g., the possibility of crossing exposed land bridges, before sea level could rise)

      http://www.esd.ornl.gov/projec...

      (This post does not question AGW. It does question strange statements regarding our current climate that have no scientific basis)

    14. Re:Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The guy has been sold out. Climate skeptics are mostly sold out people or illiterate people. There argument is as illogical as the argument of any religious fanatic.

      -- "Earth has been warming very gradually for 300 years"
      The warming data clearly indicates that rate of temperature of last 50 years is far higher than any other period in history

      -- Increase in CO2 in atmosphere directly correlates net fossil fuel burned

      Citation Needed

      -- All computer models including from climate skeptics show that earth will warm with increased CO2

      -- "...we are doomed unless we reduce carbon-dioxide emissions to zero. Effectively this means either reducing the population to zero, or going back 10,000 years..."
      It is not the emission, but the net emission. Today we generate more electricity from non-fossil fuel than all of electricity we used to generate just 40 years ago. So it is not going back 10000 years. With proper conservation and focus on renewable, it is possible to get rid of fossil fuel based energy altogether without going back or reducing population.

      -- He claims that without such doomsday predictions, there want be a need for IPCC. However, IPCC was formed because scientific study prior to it pointed towards doomsday scenario.

      -- "The optimum level of carbon dioxide for plant growth, given enough water and nutrients, is about 1,500 parts per million, nearly four times higher than today."
      This may be optimum (I don't know) level of CO2 if other variables are kept constant, such as temperature. However, at this level of CO2, there is not a single climate model in the world which predicts temperature increase less than 10C. At this level of increase, 70% of the land will be unhabitable without AC. Also, 70% of the land won't be able to sustain any plants which are in existence today.

      Citation Needed

      -- "There has been no significant warming for 18 years while we have emitted 25 per cent of all the carbon dioxide ever emitted."
      Except for one single outlier year 1998, the temperature has steadily increased by 0.2C a decade.

      Citation Needed

    15. Re:Who cares? by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      The adjusted (not raw) warming data clearly indicates that rate of temperature of last 50 years is far higher than any other period in history

      FTFY.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    16. Re:Who cares? by Xest · · Score: 1

      Just because people are going to make money from something doesn't inherently make it bad, or a scam. Only whether it's actually bad or a scam can define that, and you've done nothing to prove your case.

      If Al Gore is cashing in on green technology that doesn't mean green technology is a scam, it just means he's a competent investor in spotting markets to invest in that the human race are simply going to have to move towards to reduce the impacts of climate change, and similarly to reduce the impacts on non-renewable sources (like having to depend on middle-eastern dictatorships and Russia for fuel). You don't make money and become a billionaire by investing in shit that has no prospect for growth and that the world sees no value in.

      It's possible to care about the environment, still make money, and have whatever you're investing in be a good idea all at once.

      Carbon tax makes a lot of sense, because right now everyone else is paying the externalities of fossil fuel burning. Coal is a cheap power source because you and I have to pick up the bill for the health costs via your health insurance or my country's NHS. Moving that cost onto the people who make the profits from burning and causing those billions of pounds of health problems is eminently sensible, and it makes cleaner technologies like nuclear that already have to foot the bill for cleaning up their harmful chemicals (nuclear waste) more competitive.

      I'm continuously amazed at how people fail to grasp what a good idea it is to tax polluters for polluting because they have absolutely no idea how much it's costing them personally to pay for the cleanup. Go Google fossil fuel externalities, even with the most conservative estimates you're currently paying a hell of a lot personally for the fact that such pollution has largely been untaxed such that you pick up the bill. There's no such thing as a free ride, burning all that shit and letting them pollute has a cost, why not make the people who profit from it pay for it? Why is that such a terrible idea? Or is yours just a kneejerk libertarian "OMG GOVERNMENT, TAX, IT MUST BE BAD!" response?

    17. Re:Who cares? by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      Nooo bringing in the same bunch that wrote the credit default swaps house of bullshit makes it a scam, along with having carbon indulgences for the worst polluters like the guy that owns the coal power plants on the east coast (who has actually bragged about how it won't do shit to him) makes it nothing but a reverse robin hood.

      Did you bother to actually READ any of the links, or did you just come to wave your flag? Because if you would have actually bothered to read TFL you'd have seen the people they have hired are about as honest as your average infomercial huckster.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  3. This is interesting.... by plazman30 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Though I do believe humans are doing a good job of trashing the environment, I have always felt like Global Warming was being used as a scare tactic, much like those "Repent and be saved!" guys that stand on street corners and preach about the end of days.

    Is Global Warming happening now? Yep, it appears it is. Is mankind the only cause of this phenomenon? I'm not 100% sure on that, and if we don't keep looking to see what's really going on, we may be in for a rude awakening in the not too distant future. when though our best efforts at curbing carbon emmisions, we still end up screwed.

    1. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Pretty much my veiw point. Does human activity cause some manifestations in the weather that are excacerbated by current climate change, I'm sure it does. Is "global warming" 100% human caused, I doubt it very much. To many conflicting arguments as far as I can tell.

    2. Re:This is interesting.... by west · · Score: 1

      There's nothing stopping (and in fact, it seems almost a certainty) that Man-made Global Warming is real *and* is being used as a scare tactic by some people.

      When billions are presented with the same crisis, you can expect there to be a multitude of different responses, including those who seek to capitalize upon it by denying its existence, and those seeking to capitalize upon it by promoting its existence.

      In the last Ebola crisis, I'm certain there were people recruiting for their Church as a cure ("it's real, and every single person will die if you don't join our Church"), and those pretending it didn't exist so that quarantine wouldn't hurt their business. However, all of it was irrelevant to the fact that the disease was real and could potentially have been globally devastating. Luckily for us, there weren't large Western concerns that had a financial interest in the crisis being ignored.

    3. Re:This is interesting.... by u38cg · · Score: 1

      Does climate change happen naturally? Yes? Is the current experience of climate change natural? No. This stuff isn't up for debate; it's as established science as evolution and planetary motion. Unlike evolution, though, there are a lot of people with a financial interest in the status quo and therefore strive (often honestly) to show that AGW is not true.

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    4. Re:This is interesting.... by Crashmarik · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Please both Evolution and Newtonian mechanics are predictive, "Climate Science" is not. When or if it ever does become predictive then the science will be settled

    5. Re:This is interesting.... by blue+trane · · Score: 2

      Newtonian mechanics can't predict the time anomalies crucial to getting GPS to work.

    6. Re:This is interesting.... by itzly · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Keeping adding the same energy to a system. Reduce energy going out. System warms up.

      That's predictive and settled.

    7. Re:This is interesting.... by toejam13 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      You've hit on one of the main issues with Global Warming. How much of it is a man made issue and how much of it is due to natural causes? There are a few reports that suggest that the ice caps on Mars are slowly receding too, so it may be in part due to changing solar activity. I see the next battle being exactly how much human activities are to blame.

      Having said that, the debate over Global Warming is distracting in how it steers the conversation away from all of the other problems man-made pollution are causing. CO2 emissions appear to be the main factor in ocean acidification. Particulate pollution is a main factor in changing evaporation rates, rainfall frequency and lung disease. Nitrogen oxides contribute to acid rain. Heavy metals and radioactive metals from coal have a number of adverse health effects. Improper fracking installations can contaminate ground water. Tailing ponds can leak and contaminate surface water.

      All of this seems to have taken a back seat. To be honest, I wonder if energy companies are quietly happy about this. Global Warming has so many shades of gray that it is easy for energy interests to dismiss it and for people to believe them. Traditional pollution is a lot more black and white, making it hard to wave away as quack science. Changing the conversation is a fantastic way to stop talking about it.

      Because if we were talking about how 40-year old coal and oil fired power plants skirt modern pollution controls by doing upgrades under the guise of "repairs", allowing them to keep their grandfathered pollution limits, I think people would be really pissed. What's the point of companies like GE and Hitachi advertising their modern cleaner power plants during the nightly news when nobody is forced to buy them? If that was the center of topic, there would be a better chance of it changing.

    8. Re:This is interesting.... by Serge_Tomiko · · Score: 1

      Evolution is not established science. It is an interesting hypothesis for which much circumstantial evidence is present, but it has never been observed. The same is true for climate change. If the scientific method can't be used to test the hypothesis, it is not science. Period.

    9. Re:This is interesting.... by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

      What is unpredictive with "climate change"?
      Increase CO2 levels: global temperatures goes up, pretty simple to predict!

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    10. Re:This is interesting.... by itzly · · Score: 1

      There are a few reports that suggest that the ice caps on Mars are slowly receding too, so it may be in part due to changing solar activity.

      If you're curious about possible solar activity, wouldn't it be smarter to look directly at the sun ?

      http://www.skepticalscience.co...

    11. Re:This is interesting.... by itzly · · Score: 4, Informative

      except that is not what is happening.

      Can you see the green line ?
      http://www.woodfortrees.org/pl...

    12. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We can always emit carbon tomorrow. Plenty of stuff left to burn if we leave it where it is underground.

    13. Re:This is interesting.... by plazman30 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This stuff certainly IS up for debate. There's always a danger when it comes to a majority of scientists agreeing with something and then having government money, and special interests ram it down everyone's throats.

      Look at what happened in the 70s with the damn low fat craze. Everyone went low fat and Type II diabetes has gone through the roof.

      I'll stay a skeptic till there is irrefutable science. And don't bother posting any links, cause for every article yo find, I can find one with a dissenting opinion. Though the whole planet seems to think that the matter is settled, that's not the case.

      Climate Science has been incredibly inaccurate at times. It might be right in the end. But there's enough doubt to allow the naysayers to continue.

    14. Re:This is interesting.... by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Do you know WHY all of that took a back seat?

      Risk.

      All of thse things you mention are:

      1. Localized.
      2. Cumulatively far less dangerous for survival of our entire society and species than just that one issue of global warming.

    15. Re:This is interesting.... by pitchpipe · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I don't fucking get it: you believe that global warming is happening, yet you reject the theory that scientists have put forth to explain the phenomenon. A theory well grounded in science, that makes predictions that we see coming true every day, and that the vast majority of experts actually working in the field subscribe to. A phenomenon for which no other plausible (at this juncture) theory has been put forth.

      Do you ever feel the need to examine why you so strongly want to disbelieve the theory?

      --
      Look where all this talking got us, baby.
    16. Re:This is interesting.... by u38cg · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "It is possible to debate this" /= "This is not settled science". Yes, I dare say you will be able to blether for as long as I can. But here's the thing. Science converges on the truth. Yes, it might be wrong. But by definition you cannot know better than the scientific consensus, especially not on something as well scrutinised as AGW. So, in short, you can shove your "scepticism" up your ass, because I don't care and your opinion is of no relevance.

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    17. Re:This is interesting.... by plazman30 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I read the study on the Martian polar ice caps. I also read that all the planets in the inner solar system are heating up at the same rate. When you mention stuff like this, the Global Warming guys flip and jump down your throat that you can't use data from other planets to predict what's happening on Earth.

      There was also a great article on how the polar ice caps are refreezing at the fastest rate ever.

      The problem here is that the people on the side of man-made global warming think every mention of the fact that this may be a natural phenomenon or just temporary automatically makes you some kind of industry shill. That is far from the case. I think it's the job of every scientist to continuously question and test. No one should assume man-made global warming is 100% truth at this point.

      And I do agree that is distracting poeple from many other problems. I hear combating global warming all the time, but no one EVER talks about cleaning up the Great Pacific Garage Patch. The average Global Warming advocate that would call you an industry shill, doesn't even know what the Garbage Patch is. Or they don't know that Wind Turbines for electricity production kill bats by the thousands. Or that the Toyota Prius battery factory in Canada is slowly destroying the environment around it.

      When I mention any of this stuff, they get outraged, and continue to call me an industry shill. Which I am not. I'm trying to show them that Global Warming is NOT the greatest crisis to face mankind. Cause before that the greatest crisis was power lines causing cancer. And before that, it was acid rain. And before that was the Ozone Layer. Before that, a new ice age was coming. There's always some crisis out there that the media brings to the forefront. Global Warming is just the latest attempt to sensationalize headlines, use "carbon neutral" as a marketing term to sell products and keep you scared that this crisis is far worse than the last one that was supposed to wipe us out and didn't.

    18. Re:This is interesting.... by plazman30 · · Score: 1

      It's a real good thing that scientists didn't say that to Darwin, or Gallileo. We might still believe in divine creation of every species and an earth-centric universe.

    19. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm assuming we can start from what ever date we want?

      http://www.woodfortrees.org/plot/gistemp/from:2005/plot/gistemp/from:2005/trend

    20. Re:This is interesting.... by sycodon · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Except for the last twenty years or so.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    21. Re:This is interesting.... by plazman30 · · Score: 1

      Science does not work on the "I'm right and you're a fucking idiot" princple. You statement shows me how little you truly understand about science. And you're such a believer in this, tell me exactly what you're doing to combay global warming personally in your daily life?

    22. Re:This is interesting.... by Oligonicella · · Score: 1

      nylonase

    23. Re:This is interesting.... by Xyrus · · Score: 1

      Though I do believe humans are doing a good job of trashing the environment, I have always felt like Global Warming was being used as a scare tactic, much like those "Repent and be saved!" guys that stand on street corners and preach about the end of days.

      It's not a scare tactic. There are consequences when you screw up the climate that major agriculture depends on. We've already seen a couple of examples of what happens even when there's temporary regional shifts. And then of course there's sea level rise on top of that. No, it won't be the end of humanity but it certainly won't be pleasant.

      Is Global Warming happening now? Yep, it appears it is. Is mankind the only cause of this phenomenon? I'm not 100% sure on that...

      Science is never 100%. That's why it's science and not math. That's why just about every scientific conclusion includes error bars. Science provides the best answer based on available evidence and knowledge. That doesn't mean that knowledge can't be wrong or evidence can't be misleading. That's why the process of science is always reviewing and improving upon itself.

      That being said, some high school level physics and math are all you need for strong evidence that the warming is caused by human activities. All the advanced research, models, etc. beyond that is trying to figure exactly how screwed we're going to be. :P

      --
      ~X~
    24. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Climate science is indeed predictive. Wait a few decades and it will be very obvious by then whether going from ~270ppm CO2 to over 400ppm CO2 will have the predicted effects, or alternatively whether the current model is wrong.

    25. Re:This is interesting.... by toejam13 · · Score: 2

      Ocean acidification and upper atmosphere particulate pollution are anything but localized. The former is leading to widespread worldwide disruption of the seafood industry, the latter is leading to widespread drought conditions.

      Most of the rest are regional at the least, with pollution traveling possibly thousands of kilometers. As example, air pollution from China is being detected in increasing levels along the North American west coast. Heavy metals dumped in streams in Montana can be detected in Mississippi and Manitoba.

      The only one in that list that is localized is groundwater contamination. Even then, look at the radioactive creep in the groundwater under the Hanford Site in Washington. It is slowly creeping towards the Columbia River, and is expected to start seeping out within a few decades. The contamination rate will be minimal, but that water is used for both crop irrigation and drinking water.

      You have a much better point with your second remark. Rising ocean levels and changing climate will be heavily disruptive. It'll also be slower to happen. China and India are poisoning their agricultural breadbaskets right now. Same with mega-droughts. Good chance that we're going to see widespread famine in Asia within a couple decades unless they radically change their agri-policy.

    26. Re:This is interesting.... by Oligonicella · · Score: 2

      Posting on /. with a computer made of rare earth, poisonous materials mined by hand by third world humans being paid a subsistence living. What more do you expect of him?

    27. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, I'm imagining that something like 80 or 90% of glaciers are in retreat and losing mass, or that the ocean is becoming more acidic, or that permafrost is melting all over the arctic, or that global average temperatures are continuing to climb? Or are you confused by the shorter term climate fluctuations into thinking there is no long-term increase in temperature? That would be kind of like thinking because the daily temperature was colder today we can't be heading into (northern hemisphere) springtime.

    28. Re:This is interesting.... by sarefo · · Score: 1

      There are also reports that God created Earth + two people less than 7000 years ago.
      If you really believe what you're claiming, you've been had big time. Here's the gist on Mars: http://www.skepticalscience.co... , and on the solar influence: http://www.skepticalscience.co... - solar activity has been going down, while temperature on Earth (mainly in the oceans for now, check the first image here: http://www.skepticalscience.co...) has been rising dramatically.

    29. Re:This is interesting.... by plazman30 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't need to examine anytihng.

      The theory, as put forth, does a relatively good job of explaining MOST of the things we are seeing at present. The model has some issues with the Mideval mini ice-age and the peroid of significantly reduced polar ice that happened after that. It did a horrible job of predicitng the polar ice refreezing that happened 2 or 3 years ago.

      And right now, the theory is being used as an excuse for everything. We had a record hurrincane year 2 years ago. We actually went through the whole alphabet and then some. Scinetists were all over the news telling us this is a result of global warming, since the oceans are now warmer. They said it fit the model to a tee, and that it's just going to get worse from year out. Last year was the mildest hurricane season they had seen in a long time. Global Warming was being used by meteorologists as the cause for the polar vortexes that dropped temperatures down into the single and negative digits.

      So, yeah, global warming has been well studied, but it's not the damn be-all, end-all for how this planet does shit. Everythig bad that happens on the planet is not the result of the CO2 levels in the air. And all the work you do to try and save our asses from rising temparatures will be meaningless when the Yellowstone Supervolcanoe erupts and takes out half the country, which "well established science" said should have erupted close to 20 years ago.

      I was a research biologist for a number of years, and it sickens me how many people these days make the data fit the theory, rather than making the theory fit the data

      Like I said in a previous post, infra-red imaging of the inner planets in our solar system shows them heating up at a rate similar to Earth. But, say that out loud and people like you friggin flip out.

    30. Re:This is interesting.... by addikt10 · · Score: 1

      Except for the last twenty years or so.

      What?
      Are you saying the system hasn't been warming up?
      Because if you are, you are wrong.

      If that isn't what you are saying, then you did a poor job of communicating clearly.

    31. Re:This is interesting.... by wish+bot · · Score: 1

      Haven't looked at average temperatures anytime recently, have you?

      http://www.realclimate.org/ind...

      2014 was the warmest recorded year.

      --
      lemonade was a popular drink and it still is
    32. Re:This is interesting.... by plazman30 · · Score: 1

      That is great point. We're all worried about global warming and no one gives a shit that your Xbox and iPhone are made in a Chinese factory by workers pulling 12 hour shift in conditions you would fine deplorable.

      And something I always tell the greehouse gas nuts. You know what produces ZERO greenhouse gases? Nuclear reactors. Nuclear energy is completely carbon neutral.

    33. Re:This is interesting.... by sycodon · · Score: 1
      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    34. Re:This is interesting.... by plazman30 · · Score: 1

      The we deserve to be wiped off the planet. Something else will evolve to take our place.

      To be honest, that's the way it should work. When any species overruns an area and decimates it, it usually goes extinct and then the ecosystem goes back into balance over time through selective pressure causing new species to evolve. We're just trying to delay the inevitable.

    35. Re:This is interesting.... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Is mankind the (only) cause of it? Is that really the question now?

      Seriously. If my house is on fire, I first of all go OUT. Then I put the fire out. Then, and ONLY THEN, I start trying to find out what caused it. It's kinda useless to know that it was my neighbor who torched it rather than lightning striking when I'm well done and crispy sitting on my couch inside the house because I really had to know what's the reason for the fire instead of fucking getting out of harms way!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    36. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is funny and somewhat scary to see people believing their own propaganda.

      Why don't you show the whole gisstemp graph. What drove temperatures from 1910 to 1945? Certainly not CO2....
      The Periods from 1910-1940 and 1970-2000 are nearly identical! Why is that?

    37. Re:This is interesting.... by sycodon · · Score: 1

      You call up the IPCC and Dr. Curry and argue with them.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    38. Re:This is interesting.... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Could we hold off that debate 'til we've done something against it? Whether its our doing that turns our planet into a hellhole or whether it's the normal flow of operation doesn't really matter that much, does it? What matters is that we somehow find a way to keep that change from happening.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    39. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      disclosure: I'm posting A/C because I moderated in this thread.

      There was also a great article on how the polar ice caps are refreezing at the fastest rate ever.

      meanwhile, over on Ars, "Warm Arctic winter starts sea ice off at a record low. Temperatures up by 10C in some areas of the Arctic suppressed ice growth."

      http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/03/warm-arctic-winter-starts-sea-ice-off-at-a-record-low/

      The Ars article is based on actual observations and includes citations. Yours?

      There are more plots of actual observations at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, CO if you are interested in real numbers. Somehow I'm guessing you're not though, and will accept a source which equates a recent increase seasonal sea ice area cover in the antarctic due to increased winds pushing ice offshore thus exposing raw ocean to antarctic air temperatures, to loss of millennial ice shelf volume which is the thing which actually contributes to sea level rise. Sea ice is 3 to 6 feet thick and there since the last year or two. The ice shelves are hundreds of feet thick and there since 10000 years ago, but many are now collapsing. But if you only cherry pick the three year area metric everything is all cupcakes and roses again, right?

    40. Re:This is interesting.... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Please, this is the useless bickering between the climate changers and the climate deniers.

      Find another thread where you can start useless bickering about evolution vs. creation.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    41. Re:This is interesting.... by Hussman32 · · Score: 1

      The pH of the ocean is 8.1 to 8.2, which is alkaline. This means that almost all of the CO2 is rendered in bicarbonate form that remains in solution. What the articles don't mention is that the pH is determined by rainfall (dilution), temperature and the distribution of mostly sodium, chloride, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, with all other electrolytes having about 0.6 percent of the electrolyte balance. http://oceanplasma.org/documen...

      In short, CO2 does nothing to the chemistry of the ocean, it's the other way around, the ocean controls the CO2 in the air.

      --
      "Who are you?" "No one of consequence." "I must know." "Get used to disappointment."
    42. Re:This is interesting.... by plazman30 · · Score: 2

      Not to mention the global overpopulation problem. We're going to get to a point where the world won't be able to feed the human population with the avialable resources of the planet, long before we hit a crisis with global warming.

    43. Re:This is interesting.... by wish+bot · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Part of the reaction you might be getting is that many of these 'counter arguments' have been shown to be:

      - outright fabrication
      - cherry picking of data
      - intentional misleading analysis

      Things like the polar ice is a great example - there is a local phenomena of sea ice generation, but it doesn't refute the bigger picture of constant warming ocean and land temperatures. It is being studied by a number of teams, and will eventually expand our knowledge of the planet and its systems, but it doesn't change any of the argument to date.

      I also want to say that you're not being terribly consistent when you complain others call you 'shill', and you then go on to give the 'sheeple' argument that society is being manipulated into a crisis mentality to simply sell some products. That's being hugely insulting and completely disingenuous to your skepticism. It shows the bias and lack of understanding you're investing into the sceptical position that you've decided to take.

      You could take your ozone issue as an example - it wasn't just some crackpot genius marketing idea to sell new aerosol cans, it was a genuine issue that still effects everything everything in the lower southern hemisphere. It could have been catastrophic, but action was taken and the problem has stabilised (and begun to recover). I would also argue that most environmentalists are fully aware of issues like the Pacific Garbage Patch, and there are plenty of active campaigns to reduce waste in all forms. However, there is an element of relative urgency in all things, and just like you wouldn't complain to the doctor about the scratch on your arm when you need to be discussing your cancer treatment, plenty of people are naturally focusing on the perceived bigger environmental threat of global warming,

      --
      lemonade was a popular drink and it still is
    44. Re:This is interesting.... by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Ocean acidification is directly linked to CO2 emissions and global warming and are a CONSEQUENCE of it. As a result, just like global warming itself would suggest, it's a global problem.

      At the same time, ocean acidification related to other forms of pollution is highly localized around polluters due to extreme oceanic ability to dilute anything that is pushed into them in concentrated amounts. Which is a great thing considering the sheer volume of extremely toxic materiel that was dumped into various seas and oceans over last century.

      Particulate emissions are also highly localized to the point where they effectively ceased being a problem in many regions around Europe after being a severe problem over the continent for a long time. This is mainly related to introduction of various emissions rules and quotas which in turn forced most of the polluting plants to switch to cleaner burn cycles coupled with various filters on exhaust, intake quality controls and other methods of pollution control. Catalytic filters both on burner plants and automotive ICEs also helped clean it up a great deal. At the same time countries with no such rules such as China experienced significant worsening.
      This is because of highly localized nature of this kind of pollution. Particulates that get into upper atmosphere and spread into jet streams are more mobile, but they are far less harmful to surface dwellers in general as most particulates never get that high in significant concentrations. You angle of "being detected" is utterly ignorant of difference between "ability to detect" and "being harmful". Differential here is typically counted in millions and billions of times.

    45. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Evolution is *predictive*? Really? And Newtonian mechanics falls apart with more than two bodies!

    46. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see, so you're proposing we move all 7 billion (+200000 every day) over to Spare Earth 2 first, and then wait and see?

      Brilliant.

    47. Re:This is interesting.... by Kjella · · Score: 1

      When I mention any of this stuff, they get outraged, and continue to call me an industry shill. Which I am not. I'm trying to show them that Global Warming is NOT the greatest crisis to face mankind. Cause before that the greatest crisis was power lines causing cancer. And before that, it was acid rain. And before that was the Ozone Layer. Before that, a new ice age was coming. There's always some crisis out there that the media brings to the forefront. Global Warming is just the latest attempt to sensationalize headlines, use "carbon neutral" as a marketing term to sell products and keep you scared that this crisis is far worse than the last one that was supposed to wipe us out and didn't.

      I'll agree that the media through sensationalism is running high on hyperbole. But just because the media is crying wolf doesn't mean there won't one day really be a wolf. And that could end up pretty bad for us when we don't believe it.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    48. Re:This is interesting.... by BradleyUffner · · Score: 0

      Please, world population has nothing to do with the people currently starving. That's all down to local politics. Warlords and 3rd world governments seize or otherwise don't allow food to get where it needs to go. We could easily support a population at least 3 times higher than we have now if people would stop being dicks.

    49. Re:This is interesting.... by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

      Evolution is *predictive*? Really?

      Yes Really
      http://ncse.com/rncse/17/4/pre...

      And Newtonian mechanics falls apart with more than two bodies!

      http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs7...

      Really, Earth, Moon, Apollo 11 that sounds like more than 2

      For the general 3 body problem

      http://news.sciencemag.org/phy...

      Is Ignorance your bliss ?

    50. Re:This is interesting.... by BergZ · · Score: 1

      What the person you are replying to (u38cg) says is exactly what I say to Creationists who claim to be "challenging the consensus of Evolution" (the Creationists I talk with call themselves "Evolution skeptics").
      ... And then they reply the same way you just did. The Creationists say "It's a real good thing that scientists didn't say that to Gallileo. We might still believe in an earth-centric universe!"

      I don't take it seriously when Creationists make the "appeal to Galileo" argument, why should I take it any more seriously when you make it?

      --
      Warning: This sig is not thread safe. For more information see Slashdot's sig policy.
    51. Re:This is interesting.... by Sebastopol · · Score: 1

      "The average Global Warming advocate that would call you an industry shill, doesn't even know what the Garbage Patch is"

      Brah, do you even THINK?

      --
      https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
    52. Re:This is interesting.... by harlequinn · · Score: 1

      Science is almost never settled and is always up for debate (don't be a bigot).

      Climate change science has not been settled. Every year better and better models come out superseding the older models. This comes about by climate scientists debating the merits of their existing models.

      "Does climate change happen naturally? Yes? Is the current experience of climate change natural? No."

      In regards to the second question you posed the answer is yes and no. "Natural" (non-anthropogenic) climate change has not paused while anthropogenic causes increased in effect.

    53. Re:This is interesting.... by BergZ · · Score: 1

      Science does not work on the "how consistently do you live by your beliefs" principle! That shows me how little you understand about science.

      --
      Warning: This sig is not thread safe. For more information see Slashdot's sig policy.
    54. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The icecaps on Mars expand drastically and then recede to almost nothing on a yearly basis. This is a seasonal pattern that has been well-known since the 70's and has nothing to do with a multi-year warming trend. The "receding" we are talking about on earth has to do with year-over-year reduction in both ancient ice pack and maximum polar ice extent over the past several decades. It's analagous to the difference between "weather" and "climate" that climate change skeptics often like to conveniently ignore.

      You've hit on one of the main issues with Global Warming. How much of it is a man made issue and how much of it is due to natural causes? There are a few reports that suggest that the ice caps on Mars are slowly receding too, so it may be in part due to changing solar activity.

    55. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Avoid overly simplistic sweeping judgements.

      What is consistent with CO2 buildup is a gradual warming trend. It does not explain extreme weather or large transient regional events. Most of those a driven not by absolute temperature, but temperature differences, as well as sudden enhancements to atmospheric charge.

      People look only at energy output then rule out the sun having any role, failing to address the other things that change. Those that would rather not talk about it call that "natural variation". But that's an insultingly broad label. Not being man-man, even a troublesome asteroid or volcano would be considered "natural".

      Discussing influences on climate doesn't have to be a one explanation versus another choice. It all adds up. And some changes are good for other reasons besides climate. And yes, money promoting agendas is very real. But it's not only about oil. There are major players in solar now too, and nuclear is touted as green. Look at the way transmission system charges affect neighbors sharing local solar. It's healthy to be skeptical and open-minded.

      Ask more questions. Hole in the ozone - why is it at the South Pole? Why are El Nino events usually at solar max? What was the sun doing in mid/late 2003 during the EU 2003 heat wave? (70,000 died)
      Don't let the talking heads do all your thinking.

    56. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So I checked out your link. I ran the HADCRUT unadjusted numbers and had it replot. All of them show no warming for about 20 years, of course they scale them to make it not look that way, but if you look to see what the warming is for the last 2 decades it obvious there isn't any.

      Thats funny you gave a link to an AGW alarmist interactive web page that actually proves the point you were trying to disprove.

    57. Re:This is interesting.... by Fatalis · · Score: 1

      Why don't you show the whole gisstemp graph. What drove temperatures from 1910 to 1945? Certainly not CO2....

      Actually, CO2 seems to have played some role, and you seem to be parroting a debunked, tired myth.

      --
      Deus est fatalis
    58. Re:This is interesting.... by pipingguy · · Score: 0

      Like solar energy? Why isn't Earth a burnt-away desolate wasteland?

    59. Re:This is interesting.... by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      When I mention any of this stuff, they get outraged

      They are emotionally invested in their beliefs, so don't even bother. You can explain things to them but you cannot understand things for them.

    60. Re:This is interesting.... by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Is mankind the (only) cause of it? Is that really the question now?

      It's the move on from outright denial that there is a fire at all and the latest excuse to ignore the fire.
      Don't knock it, such a line has turned an obscure Danish economist with nothing to his name into a millionaire!
      There's serious sponsorship money in arguing to keep pollution regulators off the lawn of companies that may get regulated.

    61. Re:This is interesting.... by wish+bot · · Score: 1

      There's no need for me to call them, because the IPCC has never made such a claim, and the IPCC reports all suggest there has been no pause too.

      Everyone agrees that the warming trend is not accelerating as fast as it was previously, but this is very very different to 'not warming'. If you can't tell the difference between 'acceleration' and 'increase', I suggest that you never ever drive a car.

      The only thing I can find is an article from The Australian newspaper:

      "an article by Graham Lloyd in The Australian (paywalled) claims that the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Rajendra Pachauri agreed that there has been a 17-year pause in global temperature rises. Unfortunately we don't know exactly what Pachauri said on the subject, because Lloyd did not quote him directly".

      Also, despite many requests, The Australian refuses to release a transcript, and Pachauri and the IPCC claim the paper has misquoted and misrepresented them entirely.

      So, maybe you can get Dr. Curry and the IPCC to give me a call and tell me I've got it all wrong. Thanks.

      --
      lemonade was a popular drink and it still is
    62. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I read the study on the Martian polar ice caps. I also read that all the planets in the inner solar system are heating up at the same rate. When you mention stuff like this, the Global Warming guys flip and jump down your throat that you can't use data from other planets to predict what's happening on Earth.

      Funny, that's not what they actually have to say in response. Their actual response is that over the last 50 years total solar irradiance has decreased slightly So, unless there is some secret planetary system wide heat source that we are unable to detect, any planetary warming is independent.

      When I mention any of this stuff, they get outraged, and continue to call me an industry shill. Which I am not.

      Based on the fact that you have not provided a single citation except "a great article" and "a study I read" the fact that I have given you an actual verifiable citation will slide right past you like water off a duck's back. And when that happens I won't call you an industry shill. I'll call you a useful idiot.

    63. Re:This is interesting.... by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      Is Global Warming happening now? Yep, it appears it is. Is mankind the only cause of this phenomenon? I'm not 100% sure on that, and if we don't keep looking to see what's really going on, we may be in for a rude awakening in the not too distant future. when though our best efforts at curbing carbon emmisions, we still end up screwed.

      How screwed we end up being may well depend on how fast we can cut carbon emissions. It's not an either/or situation but rather a 'gradually getting worse' situation. Where we end up depends on where we stop.

    64. Re:This is interesting.... by riverat1 · · Score: 2

      Why don't your cite the actual IPCC report that says that rather than some people spinning what it says?

    65. Re:This is interesting.... by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      I'm assuming we can start from what ever date we want?

      Not really. To qualify as a climate graph it needs to be at least 30 years long (as defined by the World Meteorological Organization).

    66. Re:This is interesting.... by sycodon · · Score: 1

      I suppose your spin is more valid than others? Or the spin of those you agree is more valid?

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    67. Re:This is interesting.... by trout007 · · Score: 1

      You are forgetting the very important store energy as chemical energy.

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

      --
      I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
    68. Re:This is interesting.... by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      I read the study on the Martian polar ice caps. I also read that all the planets in the inner solar system are heating up at the same rate.

      I see this claimed a lot but I've never seen any actual data to back it up. If you want to make it scientific give a graph that compares the different planet's temperature changes. Until I see that it's just hearsay.

    69. Re:This is interesting.... by Squiggle · · Score: 2

      Like I said in a previous post, infra-red imaging of the inner planets in our solar system shows them heating up at a rate similar to Earth. But, say that out loud and people like you friggin flip out.

      Evidence? We measure the sun fairly carefully, so it would have to be in disagreement with those measurements: http://www.skepticalscience.co...

      --
      Complexity Happens
    70. Re:This is interesting.... by tbannist · · Score: 2

      It did a horrible job of predicitng the polar ice refreezing that happened 2 or 3 years ago.

      Good, because if the models predicted events that did not happen, that would be a bad sign for them. The "polar ice refreezing" that you are refering to didn't happen. Polar ice did rebound from a record low, which it was widely expected to do. In fact, every record low polar ice year is followed by a few years that are higher than the record low before until we reach the next record low. However, the overall trend is still downward.

      Global Warming was being used by meteorologists as the cause for the polar vortexes that dropped temperatures down into the single and negative digits.

      From my understanding, that is correct. Warming in the arctic is changing the wind flow which is allowing colder Arctic air to be pushed over the North East section of North America.

      And all the work you do to try and save our asses from rising temparatures will be meaningless when the Yellowstone Supervolcanoe erupts and takes out half the country, which "well established science" said should have erupted close to 20 years ago.

      The National Science Foundations seems to think it will be 1 or 2 million years from now. Are you sure you know the difference between reporters and scientists?

      Like I said in a previous post, infra-red imaging of the inner planets in our solar system shows them heating up at a rate similar to Earth. But, say that out loud and people like you friggin flip out.

      Maybe, the flip out at you because it's not true? Mars isn't warming.

      --
      Fanatically anti-fanatical
    71. Re:This is interesting.... by riverat1 · · Score: 2

      Here it is with no spin. IPCC AR5 WG1 Chapter 9 - "Evaluation of Climate Models". [PDF] Search for "Box 9.2 | Climate Models and the Hiatus in Global Mean Surface Warming of the Past 15 Years" and you get it straight from the horses mouth.

    72. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I read that the founder of Greenpeace was writing as a climate skeptic, I wondered if maybe he felt that certain groups were setting up a fake environmental enemy in order to divert public zeal and funds away from opposing present environmental disasters with powerful culprits (the coal town with the contaminated water supply comes to mind.) Judging by what he wrote about carbon dioxide, it looks as if this is exactly what he thinks.

    73. Re: This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you are saying that science does not work by criticising each other ?

    74. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because you're lying. There is no evidence that the other planets are warming so you're just another science-denying fucking liar.
      Your other points are fucking lies too. Peolple flip out because you keep telling fucking lies!

    75. Re:This is interesting.... by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      "Is Global Warming happening now? Yep, it appears it is. Is mankind the only cause of this phenomenon? " i've not seen anything that says we are the only cause, my understanding is that we are contributing to it and this is accelerating the climate change.

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    76. Re:This is interesting.... by Cl1mh4224rd · · Score: 1

      Like I said in a previous post, infra-red imaging of the inner planets in our solar system shows them heating up at a rate similar to Earth. But, say that out loud and people like you friggin flip out.

      Probably because it's not actually true.

      And you never did say where you got that interesting bit of information, anyway...

      --
      People will pass up steak once a week, for crap every day.
    77. Re:This is interesting.... by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      perhaps you need to read this as well http://www.skepticalscience.co...

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    78. Re:This is interesting.... by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      and we in the west are terrible wasters of food

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    79. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Darwin's theories were more evolutionary rather than revolutionary and he collaborated with Wallace and developed ideas by the likes of Grant (under whom Darwin studied) and Darwin's own grandfather.

      Galileo was building on the work of Copernicus from the best part of a century earlier. Galileo's issue was as much effectively calling the Jesuits 'simple-minded' for backing an alternative theory which, given the quality of observational data at the time, was probably not distinguishable from Copernicanism. Copernicanism was more elegant given application of Occam's Razor, though.

    80. Re:This is interesting.... by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      The Periods from 1910-1940 and 1970-2000 are nearly identical! Why is that?

      Not really --

      1910-1940 Trend: 0.135 +/-0.051 C/decade (2sigma)
      1970-2000 Trend: 0.164 +/-0.057 C/decade (2sigma)

      (17% more warming between 1970-2000)

      And of course, the major difference -- the post 1970 warming didn't stop in 2000:

      1970-2014: Trend: 0.163 ±+/-0.031 C/decade (2sigma)

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    81. Re:This is interesting.... by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      So I checked out your link. I ran the HADCRUT unadjusted numbers and had it replot. All of them show no warming for about 20 years,

      Sorry? http://www.woodfortrees.org/plot/hadcrut3gl/from:1994/plot/hadcrut3gl/from:1994/trend

      Do you have a problem with your eyes?

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    82. Re:This is interesting.... by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      1. I suport nuclear power (I live in France, for fucks sake -- 80% of my electricity is nukes).
      2 No, nuclear is not "carbon neutral", GHG's are released in mining and transporting the fuel and in building and decomissioning the reactors. It is, however about the lowest carbon energy source we have.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    83. Re:This is interesting.... by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      I read the study on the Martian polar ice caps. I also read that all the planets in the inner solar system are heating up at the same rate. When you mention stuff like this, the Global Warming guys flip and jump down your throat that you can't use data from other planets to predict what's happening on Earth.

      The "global warming guys" often get a bit cranky when the same fucking zombie arguments come up again and again.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    84. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The most popular cherrypicking these days is from 1998 until today. I think it has something to do with 17 being more random than other numbers.

    85. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a graph of points with a line from one end to the other. Why no dates before 1970? Why no examination of the huge flat bit for the last 14 years, in spite of rising CO2?

      Take a look at the chart going back to 1900. Ask some questions of those who present that original chart as evidence of inexorable anthropogenic climate change. Look for more information. Seek.

    86. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "makes predictions that we see coming true every day"

      Yeah but no. For my part of the world, the predictions included more cyclones and more powerful cyclones. Turns out cyclonic activity is decreasing, in number and power.

      Snow seasons would be worse - no again.
      Summer rains, winter storms, you name it, the predictions have turned out wrong. It's kind of embarrassing really.

    87. Re:This is interesting.... by sycodon · · Score: 1

      As if Dr. Curry would even bother dialing the phone to reach you. You think too highly of yourself.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    88. Re:This is interesting.... by n2hightech · · Score: 1

      The ozone hole was never a real issue and is not a real issue today. One thing no one seems to point out is that ozone is formed naturally by the action of sunlight (UV) portion of the spectrum. When you get UV you get Ozone. It regenerates. The only place the Ozone hole forms is where there is no UV light. IE the poles during winter when it is dark 24 hours a day. When we looked for the first time there was a hole. My guess is that the hole has always been there and will always be there no matter what. That its size will fluxuate just like all natural things do. And yes I believe this was an industry fostered campaign to get an inexpensive widely manufactured refrigerant banned so they could force people to buy more expensive ones protected by patents.

    89. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, no problems with my eyes. Thanks for showing me how to set the link to an arbitrary date. Mine now shows EXACTLY zero warming from 1998 to today, just as was claimed originally and was reclaimed a second time by you.

      While I was kind of wondering about the 18 year pause, now I see absolute proof that such claims are TRUE. Thanks again for the link. I'm sure you will claim I'm cherry picking the year, but isn't that what you did first?

      AGW alarmists are funny when the facts are always against them.

    90. Re: This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are things we can do and things we can't. We might be not sure that global warming is only caused by humans but we certainly know that some human activities are part of the problem.

      It makes perfectly sense then to try to limit those activities to not make things worse. Saying "we are not sure if humans are the sole responsible for this" is not an excuse to not act where we have power to act to try fix the situation.
      It is certainly more logical than not acting at all even where we can make a difference.

    91. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I feel the same way. We certainly need to be mindful of the impact we have on our planet. But the "most scientists agree" argument has its own problems. This is a self-selecting group. Your odds of getting an academic appointment if you disagree with the consensus view is low. We can't even predict the weather three days from now - butterfly effect and so on. So I'm always a little suspicious when people proclaim, with great certainty, what will happen to the earth's climate over the next one hundred years.

    92. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Speaking of things that AREN'T in the news - deep sea oil extraction in the arctic. The BP spill in the gulf was almost impossible to close, and was catastrophic. And it was accessible. When a well blows in the arctic, what happens next? Nothing. No one has any idea how to do underwater repairs in such a remote and dangerous location. Perhaps with a little foresight, we can avert a man-made ecological catastrophe of global proportions. Or not.

    93. Re:This is interesting.... by chuckugly · · Score: 1

      Abundant clean energy from nuclear isn't painful enough to cleanse and purify our wicked souls though. We seek atonement through asceticism. Other peoples asceticism, collectively.

    94. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We are at war with Eurasia. We have always been at war with Eurasia...

    95. Re:This is interesting.... by Lserevi · · Score: 1

      Actually, it's relatively difficult to find good, peer-reviewed papers that conclude that humans aren't warming the planet. It is easy to find such in opinion pieces -- but that's not science.

    96. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To oversimplify only a bit: If climate change is not human caused, and we do something, we lose some money. If climate change is human caused, and we do nothing, we lose the planet. Why would one require certainty to chose to act?

    97. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a hypothesis not a theory.

    98. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Instead of fire, imagine your house is knee deep in water. Finding out if its the river flooding or a pipe burst can change what actions are needed.

    99. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      we produce about twice as much food as needed to feed everyone,
      hunger is a distribution issue, not a production issue

      add to that that things like vertical farms using hydroponics are only just starting to take of, and that we're only at the very start of the improvements we can get through better understanding of genes...

      we're nowhere close to having a food production issue

      we do desperately need to get a handle on the flaws in our economic system

    100. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1998 is the warmest year on record, so yes you're cherry picking. This is why denialists always start at 1998. I don't know why, honestly; it's fucking retarded.

    101. Re:This is interesting.... by plazman30 · · Score: 1

      Of course it. Good look getting a government grant to try and disprove the human influence on global warming.

    102. Re:This is interesting.... by dave420 · · Score: 1

      It's probably more to do with the fact he, or someone else, made that stuff up. People often get outraged when people introduce utter fabrications into the discussion - it wastes time and shows the person offering the nonsense clearly doesn't care about a real discussion.

    103. Re:This is interesting.... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      As if Dr. Curry would even bother dialing the phone to reach you. You think too highly of yourself.

      As so often on slashdot, it is hard to know where deadpan humour stops and absolute literal-minded pedanticism begins.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    104. Re:This is interesting.... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      What is unpredictive with "climate change"? Increase CO2 levels: global temperatures goes up, pretty simple to predict!

      Because there is not a huge increase in temperature everywhere across the planet year on year, AGW deniers think this proves that the predictions are wrong.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    105. Re:This is interesting.... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      And don't bother posting any links, cause for every article yo find, I can find one with a dissenting opinion.

      Possibly so, in the sense that I can find any number of pro-ISIL or neo-Nazi websites on the internet, so therefore they're just as right as anyone else.

      Though the whole planet seems to think that the matter is settled, that's not the case.

      Failing to follow the common herd is right if the herd is wrong. Otherwise, it's just being contrarian for the sake of it.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    106. Re:This is interesting.... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      And you're such a believer in this, tell me exactly what you're doing to combay global warming personally in your daily life?

      Right, because he's personally responsible for climate change.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    107. Re:This is interesting.... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I'm trying to show them that Global Warming is NOT the greatest crisis to face mankind.

      Well, no, because you know it's simply not true.

      It's all a conspiracy between governments and climate-change stoolpigeon scientists to, um, sell products.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    108. Re:This is interesting.... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      And all the work you do to try and save our asses from rising temparatures will be meaningless when the Yellowstone Supervolcanoe erupts and takes out half the country, which "well established science" said should have erupted close to 20 years ago.

      Yeah, and we might be hit by an asteroid tonight so I'm not going to bother buying any cornflakes for breakfast tomorrow.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    109. Re:This is interesting.... by dywolf · · Score: 1

      Smack yourself until all the stupid leaves your head.

      Yes, the ocean is still largely alkaline, but that is a very different thing from "being more acidic" or "acidifying".

      Calling it alkaline is making a judgment of state based on current pH in relation to 7.0.
      Saying that it is acidifying is making a statement on its current pH in comparison to a past pH, i.e., a statement about it's change in pH.

      Therefore both statements can be true at the same time, indeed, they are both true.
      They are not contradictory or mutually exclusive statements.

      Between 1751 and 1994 surface ocean pH is estimated to have decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14, representing an increase of almost 30% in H+ ion concentration in the world's oceans

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

      As for CO2 doing nothing to the chemistry of the ocean...you say it controls the CO2 in the air...so how exactly do you propose that it controls it?? Hmm?? By a chemical reaction of some sort? Like say, the sort where it absorbs amounts of CO2, which then reacts with sea water in some way?
      Gee...I wonder what that would look like:

      Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans, caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. An estimated 30–40% of the carbon dioxide released by humans into the atmosphere dissolves into oceans, rivers and lakes. To achieve chemical equilibrium, some of it reacts with the water to form carbonic acid. Some of these extra carbonic acid molecules react with a water molecule to give a bicarbonate ion and a hydronium ion, thus increasing ocean "acidity" (H+ ion concentration).

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

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    110. Re:This is interesting.... by dywolf · · Score: 1

      Again: smack yourself until all the stupid falls out.

      Your 2nd grade understanding of the scientific method is the only thing that isn't science. It is however pure idiocy.

      Do yourself a favor and read http://undsci.berkeley.edu/art... and its following pages.

      The Scientific Method is traditionally presented in the first chapter of science textbooks as a simple recipe for performing scientific investigations. Though many useful points are embodied in this method, it can easily be misinterpreted as linear and "cookbook": pull a problem off the shelf, throw in an observation, mix in a few questions, sprinkle on a hypothesis, put the whole mixture into a 350 experiment — and voila, 50 minutes later you'll be pulling a conclusion out of the oven! That might work if science were like Hamburger Helper®, but science is complex and cannot be reduced to a single, prepackaged recipe.

      The linear, stepwise representation of the process of science is simplified, but it does get at least one thing right. It captures the core logic of science: testing ideas with evidence. However, this version of the scientific method is so simplified and rigid that it fails to accurately portray how real science works. It more accurately describes how science is summarized after the fact — in textbooks and journal articles — than how science is actually done.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    111. Re:This is interesting.... by dywolf · · Score: 1

      We've covered this before:

      -Solar activity is currently in a decreasing period.
      -If a change in solar activity were the driving force, then we should see cooling trends, not warming.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    112. Re:This is interesting.... by dywolf · · Score: 1

      you're a shill because the things you said aren't true, but are talking points that come directly from fossil fuel lobbyists.

      the planets are not heating up at the same rate. that's simply a variation on the "solar activity" myth, which again, if a change in solar output were the cause we should be cooling at the moment, not warming, as the sun's output is currently in a decreasing phase.

      At this time, there is little empirical evidence that Mars is warming. Mars' climate is primarily driven by dust and albedo, not solar variations, and we know the sun is not heating up all the planets in our solar system because we can accurately measure the sun’s output here on Earth.

      http://www.skepticalscience.co...

      This is a round-up of the planets said by sceptics to be experiencing climate change:
      Mars: the notion that Mars is warming came from an unfortunate conflation of weather and climate. Based on two pictures taken 22 years apart, assumptions were made that have not proved to be reliable. There is currently no evidence to support claims that Mars is warming at all. More on Mars...

      Jupiter: the notion that Jupiter is warming is actually based on predictions, since no warming has actually been observed. Climate models predict temperature increases along the equator and cooling at the poles. It is believed these changes will be catalysed by storms that merge into one super-storm, inhibiting the planet’s ability to mix heat. Sceptical arguments have ignored the fact this is not a phenomenon we have observed, and that the modelled forcing is storm and dust movements, not changes in solar radiation.
      Neptune: observations of changes in luminosity on the surface of both Neptune and its largest moon, Triton, have been taken to indicate warming caused by increased solar activity. In fact, the brightening is due to the planet’s seasons changing, but very slowly. Summer is coming to Neptune’s southern hemisphere, bringing more sunlight, as it does every 164 years.
      Pluto: the warming exhibited by Pluto is not really understood. Pluto’s seasons are the least understood of all: its existence has only been known for a third of its 248 -year orbit, and it has never been visited by a space probe. The ‘evidence’ for climate change consists of just two observations made in 1988 and 2002. That’s equivalent to observing the Earth’s weather for just three weeks out of the year. Various theories suggest its highly elliptical orbit may play a part, as could the large angle of its rotational axis. One recent paper suggests the length of Pluto’s orbit is a key factor, as with Neptune. Sunlight at Pluto is 900 times weaker than it is at the Earth.

      Claims that solar system bodies are heating up due to increased solar activity are clearly wrong. The sun’s output has declined in recent decades. Only Pluto and Neptune are exhibiting increased brightness. Heating attributed to other solar bodies remains unproven.

      http://www.skepticalscience.co...

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    113. Re:This is interesting.... by dywolf · · Score: 1

      Actually it doesn't have any issues with those. the mini freeze and following warming period were local events, not global.

      and if you're referring to the blast of arctic air that drifted south last year in the "polar vortex", again: that's A) a local event not global, and B) it doesn't predict things like "in 2 years an arctic oscillation will push really far south causing abnormally cold temperatures".

      so yes, you do need to examine something: your own ability to think and understand the current topic of discussion.

      And keep in mind that while the east coast has seen abnormally cold temps, the past two winters have been abnormally warm on the west coast, and particularly in Alaska. And in general, even though it got really cold on the east coast, those winter months were still some of the warmest on record because global warming dealing with...GLOBAL...trends and averages. Not local record temperatures.

      And no, there is no documented warming of other planets in our solar system.
      That is a complete fabrication. A lie.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    114. Re:This is interesting.... by Lserevi · · Score: 1

      Questioning the motivation of the granting agencies is a form of ad hominem argument -- which is fallacious and also isn't science.

    115. Re:This is interesting.... by BigZee · · Score: 1
      I'm generally happy that GW is being caused by human activity. Having said that, I'm also prepared to listen to genuine information that might contradict this. So far I've not seen any reason to change my opinion.

      What concerns me more though is that the debate continues. Regardless of whether humans or nature are responsible or a combination of the two, the reality is that the climate is changing. If we assume for a moment that humans are not responsible, are we really prepared to accept the climate changing. If it continues to change in this way, we are going to be seeing more extreme weather and we are going to see higher sea levels. This seems indisputable to me. So, sit back and do nothing if humans didn't cause it and do something if we did? That seems utterly mad to me.

      Don't misunderstand, I realize there are dangers in deciding that we do want to try and improve the climate but it seems to me that that is the debate we should be having as well.

    116. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is mankind the only cause of this phenomenon? I'm not 100% sure on that, and if we don't keep looking to see what's really going on, we may be in for a rude awakening in the not too distant future. when though our best efforts at curbing carbon emmisions, we still end up screwed.

      This is an odd attitude, probably related to you trying to be "middle of the road" or something.

      If you do the math on measured concentrations in the atmosphere, human estimated emissions, and all of the known global carbon sinks, and do some simple addition and subtraction, you end up with zero. There's no surprises here, except to someone with their head in the sand. Typically, you see this kind of magical thinking pop up when there's a volcanic eruption. Lay-people tend to believe a volcano is going to produce bigger emissions than humans do, but when you look it up, this attitude is tragically false. Please look it up and stop spreading uncertainty.

    117. Re:This is interesting.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "you cannot know better than the scientific consensus"

      oh lordy.

      so what youre saying is that when men agree (i.e., consensus), they *always* outperform an individual. absolutely ahistoric.

      me thinks youve romanticized a thing or two.

    118. Re:This is interesting.... by BevanFindlay · · Score: 1

      Good point about the ozone layer. I live in New Zealand but have done a bit of travel. I could spend most of the day out in the sun in crazy-hot equatorial countries with little or no sunburn, but burn to a crisp in half an hour or so on a cloudy day here in the southern hemisphere. I haven't noticed sunburn as bad recently as back in around the 90s, but then I am a lot more mindful and careful now too.

      Also, I think the GP misses the point that global civilisation-threatening risks (i.e. AGW) actually should outweigh localised risks - even if they're not entirely certain, because of the damage potential.

    119. Re:This is interesting.... by u38cg · · Score: 1

      It also doesn't work on the "continue to argue with an idiot when the conversation has moved on" principle.

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    120. Re:This is interesting.... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      For every article I can find, you can find a dissenting one: maybe. For every scientific paper I can find that argues for or accepts AGW, you're not going to find a dissenting scientific paper. The scientific consensus is overwhelmingly that AGW is happening and is dangerous, and that's always the way to bet.

      I don't know what triggered the low fat craze, but most of the diet crazes I've seen haven't been based in science, at most sensationalized accounts of a few studies. People pushing diets have never been slow to talk about scientific backing, whether it existed or not. There were a lot of "Mayo Clinic" diets, none of them actually associated with the clinic. Eventually, the Mayo did put out a diet book, and it was rather general, trying to help the reader come up with a good diet.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    121. Re:This is interesting.... by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      No, no problems with my eyes. Thanks for showing me how to set the link to an arbitrary date. Mine now shows EXACTLY zero warming from 1998 to today, just as was claimed originally and was reclaimed a second time by you.

      Hahahahah!

      You complain that people are messing with the scaling to pretend that there is warming, then you mess with the scaling (by plotting 1994-now but showing the trend from 1998-now).

      Your original claim was "no warming for about 20 years". Why are you plotting the trend since 1998?

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    122. Re:This is interesting.... by drewlake2000 · · Score: 1

      Which I and George Mombiot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Monbiot#cite_note-Monbiot2011-45) welcome. Nuclear fuel is probably the only way to go that we have now. And if Fukushima has shown anything it is that an old outdated plant can have all the disasters it has had thrown at it, and cause so little damage, imagine how safe the newer reactors will be.

    123. Re:This is interesting.... by Serge_Tomiko · · Score: 1

      Do you post such vitriol to feel better about yourself? Is this supposed to be a persuasive counter argument?

  4. No need to know science ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 4, Informative

    ... follow the money.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    1. Re:No need to know science ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly. Tells of billions spent promoting warmist predictions that have failed to come true. Al Gore likes to say "the science is settled", so why are billions a year still going to politically biased researchers (eg: NASA scientist quoted saying lying about global warming is ok because the cause is important enough) producing scary warming predictions that don't match the actual temperature observations.

    2. Re:No need to know science ... by evil9000 · · Score: 1

      Indeed!

      $200 billion tax payer dollars later, the consensus scientists still have not figured out the climate sensitivity of the atmosphere. Apparently it'll take another $200 billion to peursuade them to do basic science.

    3. Re:No need to know science ... by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Propose a better study, genius.

    4. Re:No need to know science ... by superwiz · · Score: 1

      Ok, let's do. How much in federal grants has been awarded to scientists wishing to conduct inquiries into why AGW may be wrong? What's the dollar figure? What's dollar figure of the amount awarded to scientists conducting inquiries with intent of supporting AGW?

      --
      Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    5. Re:No need to know science ... by sycodon · · Score: 1

      The Feds have spent $77 Billion Dollars on Climate Change related activities since 2008.

      Even Dr. Evil would think that's a lotta money.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    6. Re:No need to know science ... by dbIII · · Score: 1

      To put that in perspective everything related to weather and climate which may have earlier have been seen to be agricultural related activities has been relabled as being climate change expenditure.
      That weather report on the TV news or the net you just saw was paid for as part of those millions.

    7. Re:No need to know science ... by sycodon · · Score: 1

      Yeah....but no. It is clearly labeled Climate Change. And as you never get tired of telling us, weather is not climate.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    8. Re:No need to know science ... by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Nice attempt to distract with semantics, but I doubt you are actually stupid enough to push the line you are pushing. So what are you pushing it? I work in the resources industry and I'm not pushing it, what's your excuse, are you trying to save my job by pretending that any science that sees problems with coal and oil use does not exist? Should I be flattered that you are prepared to be a liar and look like an idiot for my sake?
      How the fuck did science denial get to such prominence in a site like this? We're supposed to be the ones that understand how to use technology and supposed to know that it is the fruit of science.

    9. Re:No need to know science ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is that all? I propose you give me the $200 billion. You'd get the same result. Promise.

    10. Re:No need to know science ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't know Shit about Climate Science. All you know is what the wackos spoon feed you and what you read on a website run by a fucking cartoonist. And that all adds up to nothing.

    11. Re:No need to know science ... by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Obviously today's weather readings become tomorrow's climate data so why predend to be too stupid to be able to work out how to log on here? Show some respect for the poor bastards who are reading what you've written.

    12. Re:No need to know science ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is not like there is no money behind Greenpeace and the likes. Saudia Arabia is putting billion dollars behind its policy to make the barrel of oil price to drop below the profitability price for not conventional sources of oil. Don't you think Saudia Arabia isn't willing to spend a few millions on Greenpeace like organisations to encumber countries exploiting unconventional oil and stimulate activism against unconventional oil exploitation? Of course they are.

      You know, that Patrick Moore would make much more money if he was willing to team with Saudia Arabia against unconventional oil.

    13. Re:No need to know science ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Says the guy who's too stupid to respond to the correct post.

    14. Re:No need to know science ... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Ok, let's do. How much in federal grants has been awarded to scientists wishing to conduct inquiries into why AGW may be wrong? What's the dollar figure? What's dollar figure of the amount awarded to scientists conducting inquiries with intent of supporting AGW?

      Do you not think that if some scientist could come up with credible evidence that AGW was rubbish, he wouldn't (a) be sponsored out of his arse by oil companies and (b) win the Nobel Prize for Everything?

      The idea that scientists are universally conspiring to fake evidence for AGW makes no sense.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  5. Moderate -1 troll for this guy by itzly · · Score: 0

    Nothing but one long list of typical denier misrepresentations and ignorance.

    1. Re:Moderate -1 troll for this guy by Brett+Buck · · Score: 2

      Right, maybe we should burn him at the stake for heresy!
          You true believers have absolutely no idea how foolish you come across.

    2. Re:Moderate -1 troll for this guy by itzly · · Score: 0

      You true believers have absolutely no idea how foolish you come across.

      He's the foolish one for repeating boring old talking points without bringing any new science to the table. If he wanted an honest debate, he shouldn't start with outright lies.

  6. Claims should be easily verified by zwede · · Score: 4, Insightful

    1) Was the pre-industrial level of 280 ppm a historic low?
    2) Was the level decreasing before the industrial revolution?
    3) Is there a minimum level of CO2 plants need to grow and if so, what is it?

    1. Re:Claims should be easily verified by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      lets introduce science into these questions, mr. zwede:
      Check, verify, check, verify...

    2. Re:Claims should be easily verified by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      1. Yep, the historic low was about 150 to 200 thousand yeas ago (the lowest was around 300 million years ago...give or take).

      2. Yep, its been trending "down" that way for the last 600 million years. Nifty chart from the University of California

      3. They do, but it varies from plant to plant. During the late Pleistocene, CO2 concentrations were 25% to 50% lower than at present, declining to values of 180 ppm during glacial periods. Studies have been done on plants growing with less then 50ppm (to find fast growing breeds). I would say under 30ppm would be the breaking point but could be as low as 25ppm...or even 15 on some high altitude/slow growing tree strains like firs and redwoods (some plants can go much lower but only like 5% of the ones we know of).

    3. Re:Claims should be easily verified by rgbatduke · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not historic (read on about low levels in the Wisconsin), but probably low in the Holocene. Part of the issue (and the reason for "probably") is that plant stoma give a different answer than ice cores. Both methods of determining Holocene CO_2 levels have their problems, but arguably the ice cores have more. Since it is low in the Holocene, yes, they were slowly descending. The climate was cooling, culminating in the Little Ice Age, which is still recorded as being very likely the coldest stretch in the last 11,000 years post the Younger Dryas. Since the ocean takes up more CO_2 as it cools, it is not implausible that CO_2 was as low as it had been for order of 12,000 years, BUT plant stoma show CO_2 level varying by almost an order of magnitude more than ice cores, and with a somewhat different mean behavior. So it is possible that it actually varies naturally on a century timescale by at least 30 or 40 ppm and it wasn't an actual low. Still, both are plausible and supported by evidence.

      Plants get very sad (IIRC) at around 160 ppm, which is the level at which mass extinction of at least some kinds of plants becomes possible. During the last glaciation (the Wisconsin) the low-water CO_2 level was around 180 ppm, which is, in fact, really, really close to the critical point. Since carbon tends to be systematically removed from the environment by a variety of processes (such as shellfish growing their carbonate shells and a colder ocean absorbing more) we (the planetary ecosystem) might or might not have been in serious trouble in the next glacial episode. More than the trouble caused by the fact that there are all of these kilometer thick glaciers where things like New York and Montreal are today and the pretty serious effect of global cooling by 5 to 10 C in a stretch of time as short as a century, if we can believe parts of the fossil record and icepack cores from places like Greenland.

      Finally, there is absolutely no doubt that plants are much happier with 400 ppm than they were at 280 or 300 or 320 ppm. Plants grow faster, are healthier, and are more productive at higher CO_2 levels. This is known both from lab work (greenhouses with controlled CO_2) and from observations of crop yields and tree growth rates in the real world. Plants would be happier still with 1000 ppm. Over almost all of the last 600 million years, atmospheric CO_2 has been anywhere from 1000 ppm to 7000 ppm. Levels as low as 300 ppm are extremely rare and yes, probably dangerous to the biosphere.

      We will now return to your regularly scheduled rants about "warmists" and "deniers" and hatin' "C-AGW" without questioning the "C".

      rgb

      --
      Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken. --- Bertrand Russell.
    4. Re:Claims should be easily verified by budgenator · · Score: 2

      No CO2 has gone down to as low as 150ppm, 120ppm is considered a point of no return where sufficient amounts of plants die to trigger a mass extinction.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    5. Re:Claims should be easily verified by ptudor · · Score: 2

      Yay UCSD and Roger Revelle! More charts of the Keeling Curve, which passed 400 three months ago. "1700 to Present" is my favorite.

      I'm still totally amazed people can't look at a before and after of the summer ice in the Arctic or glaciers in Patagonia and Glacier National Park and make the leap that, "Okay, releasing carbon from long-dead dinosaurs in the form of petroleum and coal results in atmospheric carbon dioxide which warms and expands oceans and makes ice melt."

      Okay, fine, here's a link to pictures of glaciers melting over the last century.

    6. Re:Claims should be easily verified by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      No need to restrict yourself to the Wisconsinan glaciation or Holocene interglacial. There's a clear record back through several glacial-interglacial cycles. They all max out at about 260-270ppm or so in the interglacials. 400ppm is *way* above the "normal" values for an interglacial in the last half million years. The current value really stands out. We were already in an interglacial and we're pumping things up again about the equivalent of the change seen from glacial (the 180ppm you mention) to an interglacial. The net result might look more like something typical of the Paleogene (tens of millions of years ago, and before significant ice sheets had developed in Antarctica), although the exact values at that time are hard to determine.

      While you're right that land plants are "happier" at higher CO2 concentrations, it comes at the cost of greater ocean acidity, which would cause problems for quite a lot of animal and photosynthetic life. Corals are the most obvious creatures with problems at those higher concentrations, but there are some types of phytoplankton that also have difficulty. It would change ocean food webs in pretty significant ways. It wouldn't be a complete disaster because as you mention the Earth has experienced similar conditions before. Life will find a way, but whether it can adjust on the scale of a century or two without experiencing the equivalent of a mass extinction is hard to say.

    7. Re:Claims should be easily verified by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      2. Yes, it has been trending down, but on that multi-hundred million year timescale, that's what's offsetting the long-term increase in solar luminosity. If long-term average CO2 concentration didn't come down the Sun would be driving climate significantly hotter by now.

      Putting it another way, you can't directly compare the CO2 situation now to the situation in, say, the Paleozoic, because the Sun was also dimmer. Stick to the last 50 million years and you can probably compare things pretty directly because solar luminosity changes so slowly.

    8. Re:Claims should be easily verified by Hussman32 · · Score: 1

      Has anyone done an analysis of diffusion of CO2 in the ice core samples? Solid state diffusion is slow, but they were there a long time...

      --
      "Who are you?" "No one of consequence." "I must know." "Get used to disappointment."
    9. Re:Claims should be easily verified by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Yes they did because it's fucking obvious to anyone who did high school chemistry or even had a helium balloon for a week.

    10. Re:Claims should be easily verified by garyebickford · · Score: 1

      Reading your commen, I was inspired to do a bit of 'research' (aka googling). This from WIkipedia:

      Carbon dioxide is well mixed in the Earth's atmosphere and reconstructions show that concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere have varied, ranging from as high as 7,000 parts per million during the Cambrian period about 500 million years ago in ancient-Earth biospheres to as low as 180 parts per million during the Quaternary glaciation of the last two million years.

      So this bears out the thesis that even the 400 ppm figure that everyone is so worried about is on the very low end of what Life is used to. As you point out, much lower than the present 300ppm and plants are essentially starving. It's already been shown that as CO2 has increased, various deserts are starting to 'green up' - the plants there were not suffering from lack of water but lack of CO2. If the viable range is, say, 200 ppm to 7000 ppm, then it's arguable to say that a reasonable mean would be either 3400 ppm (arithmetic mean) or about 1180 (geometric mean).

      --
      It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
    11. Re:Claims should be easily verified by Hussman32 · · Score: 1

      My guess is that you're not familiar with electrolyte diffusion. It's not the simple A diffusing through B using Fickian diffusion, you have to include the electric potential and charge balance...it's not trivial by any means. Plus this has varying boundary conditions over the sample length. I've not seen it in the IPCC records, could you point me to the appropriate reference?

      --
      "Who are you?" "No one of consequence." "I must know." "Get used to disappointment."
    12. Re:Claims should be easily verified by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Care to link to a paper on electrolyte diffusion of carbon dioxide through ice at -40C and below or are you just bluffing?

      Of course mister cut and paste above is unlikely to even know that diffusion rates vary with temperature so will dismiss the low temperatures of the ice cores as irrelevant.

    13. Re:Claims should be easily verified by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please prove your claim that plants are better off at 400ppm.

      Please, not prehistoric plants that evolved in a 400+ppm atmosphere, but todays plants today in the environment they exist in.

      Because you're wrong, you see. Or you're lying by omission. I.e. "Well if you pump more CO2 into a greenhouse, plants grow more!", but that's only changing one variable in a carefully controlled system that you ensure has no other limiting factor. And ignoring all those factors renders the claim wrong in fact, if not in (fictional) theory.

    14. Re:Claims should be easily verified by rgbatduke · · Score: 1

      The really fun thing is that an entire ice age occurred with CO_2 never lower than around 4000 ppm. Sure, it was a long time ago, completely different land mass arrangement and so on, but still something that IMO completely eliminates the "Venus catastrophe" possibility Hansen has warbled about with boiling seas and so on triggered by CO_2 around 1000 ppm. I doubt many (other) climate scientists take it that seriously either, but hey, criticizing another climate scientist about an egregious climate claim publicly, especially Hansen, for speaking nonsense in public is like a priest criticizing the pope these days in more way than one. Hence you will learn privately that many climate scientists have some doubts about whether or not catastrophe is inevitable, or whether ECS is really 3+ C instead of, say, 1.4 C, but they tend to be very careful about stating it on national television or even to a reporter. There is never any shortage, however, of people calling for more violent storms or reporting on the horrors that await us (according to an incredibly implausible calculation or study) when climate does what the high ECS models claim that it will, sometimes (in some PPE runs).

      A very recent paper -- very very recent -- has done a careful study of the integrated effects of aerosols on the climate (aerosols cool, and current models achieve high CO_2 gain by taking pure radiative CO_2 trapping of around 1 C and augmenting it with 2-3 times more from water vapor feedback, subtract a large and uncertain part of that against aerosol cooling, and then show runaway warming when CO_2 increases outpace aerosols). It lowered the upper bound of the aerosol coolng from around -2 C to -1 C, and dropped the lower bound to -0.3 C, with a most probable value around -0.5 C.

      If correct and verified -- and the work appears to have been very carefully done, but who knows, we will see -- this result will reject most of the models in CMIP5 which get their high ECS and TCR from the large cancellation. Fitting a function by cancelling two large terms is numerically a much riskier and less precise an operation because small relative errors in either function make big relative changes in the result, and this generally applies to things like climate models that actually are solving a computational fluid dynamics problem. The models themselves can probably be rebalanced to fit the reference period with a much lower aerosol, but this will without question require them to readjust the water vapor contribution radically downward since there is no aerosol cooling to speak of to trade it off against in the reference period. This in turn drops ECS -- by roughly a factor of 2.

      Lewis and Curry reran a climate model with the new numbers and got an ECS distribution from 1 to 2, centered around 1.45 C, which is very close to no net feedback on top of pure CO_2-only warming. I get numbers in the same range when I fit atmospheric CO_2 (inferred from e.g. ice core data and smoothed to fit the industrial increases from 1850 to the present) to HadCRUT4 -- a direct fit of the global anomaly (for what it is worth) yields ECS around 1.8, well within their error estimate, and a two parameter fit of logarithmic warming has sufficient explanatory power of the data that there is little left to explain -- a weak 67 year sinusoid with amplitude around 0.1, that's it. But that is only 164 years of data, and the error bars on the first 2/3 of that data are large enough (and never shown to the public) that grown statisticians weep when they see the certainty of all claims about the climate and the abuse of fitting non-stationary timeseries.

      It will be very interesting to see what impact this has on the public discourse -- in six months to a year. ECS was in freefall anyway -- the "pause" in global warming and increasing divergence of the model predictions from the actual temperature have been weakening confidence in the unproven assertion that one can take a collection of disparate CFD codes, apply them with wildly different pa

      --
      Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken. --- Bertrand Russell.
    15. Re:Claims should be easily verified by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Makes ice melt. Yes. Also makes plants grow, and they sequester carbon. We're not only burning fossil fuels, we're cutting down forests. First simple easy sane thing to do would be to reforestation. Not impossible to do either. Massachusetts was 20% forested only a generation ago. Now it's 80% forested.

    16. Re:Claims should be easily verified by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You seem pretty well informed, and any statement about runaway warming is definitely crackpot. I had really thought Hansen smarter than that. The study you mention is interesting, but I'm pretty skeptical that the H2O feedback would be cancelled by anything, given that H2O is a very strong GHG and there's ludicrous amounts of it all over the place. I appreciate your posting though; this is what AGW skepticism should look like.

    17. Re:Claims should be easily verified by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks for providing this - a bit hard to follow but useful

    18. Re:Claims should be easily verified by PensacolaSlick · · Score: 1

      Thank you for this very informed and totally apolitical answer. This is the kind of discussion I was hoping for, though we all know the trolls come out when they smell the bait.

    19. Re:Claims should be easily verified by dbIII · · Score: 1

      My guess is that you're not familiar with electrolyte diffusion

      WTF in ice is going to reduce CO2 to CO so that electrolyte diffusion can happen at all?

      What an incredibly stupid bluff.

  7. Satellite data shows at least some warming by mc6809e · · Score: 0

    Here's the RSS at 0.122K/decade:

    RSS temperature time series

    1. Re:Satellite data shows at least some warming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      why didn't you suggest this graph instead?
      http://data.remss.com/msu/graphics/C12/plots/RSS_TS_channel_C12_Global_Land_And_Sea_v03_3.short.png
      which actually suggests a trending downward?

    2. Re:Satellite data shows at least some warming by Rob+Bos · · Score: 1

      That one only shows five years.

    3. Re:Satellite data shows at least some warming by itzly · · Score: 2

      Because there's no such thing as a 4 year climate "trend". At those time scales, you're staring at noise.

    4. Re:Satellite data shows at least some warming by BECoole · · Score: 1

      Even at 30 years, it's all noise.

    5. Re:Satellite data shows at least some warming by itzly · · Score: 1

      Not quite. You can show that 30 year intervals have statistically significant trends.

    6. Re:Satellite data shows at least some warming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey thanks itzly for clearing that up. I knew you knew everything.

    7. Re:Satellite data shows at least some warming by mc6809e · · Score: 1

      C12 is for 30Km from the surface, that's why.

      The link I gave shows the temperature for the lowest part of the atmosphere.

    8. Re:Satellite data shows at least some warming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      30, not 4.

  8. Climate Engineering by BECoole · · Score: 4, Informative

    If we were to engage in climate engineering, warming things up and adding a little CO2 is exactly what we'd want to do.
    It would increase the range of latitudes for food production and mitigate future ice ages, which are much more catastrophic than any effects from warming.

    1. Re:Climate Engineering by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Insightful

      However, at our stage of understanding the system, climate engineering is probably not such a good thing to be doing. The planet isn't an experiment that we can easily clean up after we make a mess. We can't 'nuke it from orbit' just to make sure.

      That is a major issue with the carbon sequesters and everybody else. We're really running in the dark. We need to put quite a bit more energy (pun intended) into understanding the system before we blithely go and tinker with it (like we are doing at present).

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Climate Engineering by itzly · · Score: 1

      It would increase the range of latitudes for food production and mitigate future ice ages, which are much more catastrophic than any effects from warming.

      There was no imminent threat of an ice age. These things take thousands of years. And at the current rate of CO2 production, we can prevent an ice age in decades.

    3. Re:Climate Engineering by BECoole · · Score: 1

      It's been suggested that we could ALREADY be in an ice age if it weren't for the extra CO2.
      http://www.skepticalscience.co...

      The real argument is legislative - Given that developing nations will overshadow developed nations in CO2 emissions, legislation will do nothing except harm the World economy.

    4. Re:Climate Engineering by BECoole · · Score: 1

      However, at our stage of understanding the system, climate engineering is probably not such a good thing to be doing. The planet isn't an experiment that we can easily clean up after we make a mess. We can't 'nuke it from orbit' just to make sure.

      That is a major issue with the carbon sequesters and everybody else. We're really running in the dark. We need to put quite a bit more energy (pun intended) into understanding the system before we blithely go and tinker with it (like we are doing at present).

      I think we agree on that point - that carbon legislation is not a good idea and that we should allow the economy to naturally evolve beyond the use of carbon. Not that legislation would work anyway, only the lowest emitters would sign on.

    5. Re:Climate Engineering by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It would increase the range of latitudes for food production
      It would not. northern and southern latitudes unusable for food production have the dreaded polar day and polar night cycle.
      It is irrelevant as it leaves a band of deserts closer to the equator anyway.
      and mitigate future ice ages
      Wow ... a thing that might destroy your own property or that of your children - and where you have full control about by reducing CO2 production - is less important than a thing that will happen in 100,000 years and you have no control about?

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    6. Re:Climate Engineering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, we can't agree on that. This isn't kindergarten, where you can deal with conflict by holding hands and singing kumbaya. Government has the power of coercion for a reason.

    7. Re:Climate Engineering by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      "Natural evolution of economy" leads to crashes because it chases short term gains that are often vastly damaging to itself in long term.

      Citations: 1930s recession, currently ongoing credit crunch crisis.

      Suggesting this as a viable solution to a long term problem is akin to suggesting burning your house down as a solution to warming yourself for the upcoming winter.

    8. Re:Climate Engineering by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      The obvious problem being that world economy is already taking a massive hit from current problems associated with rise of CO2 emissions.

    9. Re:Climate Engineering by budgenator · · Score: 1

      However, at our stage of understanding the system, climate engineering is probably not such a good thing to be doing.

      Really, and everyone keeps saying that the science is settled, who would have thought.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    10. Re:Climate Engineering by Xyrus · · Score: 1

      If we were to engage in climate engineering, warming things up and adding a little CO2 is exactly what we'd want to do.
      It would increase the range of latitudes for food production and mitigate future ice ages, which are much more catastrophic than any effects from warming.

      Wrong on all counts. Temperature is just one of many factors when it comes to growing food. Just because it's warm enough to grow something doesn't mean it will actually grow. For example, you aren't growing jack on top of the giant granite block in Canada known as the Canadian Shield. In addition, crops also depend on day-night cycles and would have no protections against pests and destructive species in the region. And what about water? In that shiny new latitude do you have any aquifers that can support major agricultural operations?

      Starting major agricultural operations isn't something trivially done, and there aren't a hell of a lot of places in the world that actually have the conditions and/or resources to support it (let alone species adapted to those regions).

      And no, ice ages are no more destructive than warm periods. Historically climate shifts, either warm or cold, were accompanied by extinction events. Life adapts to current conditions, and if those conditions suddenly change then more often than not that life dies. Just like sheets of ice, heat can easily make regions of the planet practically uninhabitable.

      --
      ~X~
    11. Re:Climate Engineering by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Natural evolution of economy? Are you high?

      Let's try a thought experiment. And you're invited to reject my theory and come up with a better one any time. Let's work from a few assumptions:

      1. Current technology levels are applied.
      2. No government funding or restrictions whatsoever apply for power generation or consumption.
      3. Only general laws apply (i.e. no killing, stealing...), but no legislation whatsoever that could influence the market directly.

      Let's see, what would happen. Well, my prediction would be that we'd first of all see a heavy increase in coal power. Because it's probably with some margin the cheapest form of energy you could have if there is no government keeping you from using it. Nuclear plants are no longer really that interesting without governments willing to take care of the burned up fuel rods.

      Coal prices would eventually rise due to increased demand, so we might see an increase of coal mining which has become unprofitable in many areas of Europe and the US. If prices keep rising, the demand for gas and fossil oil driven power plants might increase, driving gas prices up.

      I didn't forget about solar, wind and other "reusable", "alternative" power sources, but they are not viable without government subsidies, especially in research. And there simply is no incentive to move there, because fossil fuels are simply cheap and the technology for using them is here. There's no need to move away from them. Except for environmental issues. But since they don't show up in quarterly reports and don't affect bonus payments, who gives a shit?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    12. Re:Climate Engineering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem is that ANY rapid change, being that both warming or cooling, change of water PH or ... whatever +/- wipes out substantial part of species which got used (read:evolved) to particular conditions. Humans are so selfish not wanting to die out and create space for future species. And selfish humans don't want to give up on close friends either - those kitties are so cute after all...

    13. Re:Climate Engineering by dbIII · · Score: 1

      The science is telling you not to put your fingers on a glowing metal hotplate but the exact amount of damage from the burn is a bit harder to predict.
      Simple enough analogy for you, or are extremes all you can deal with?

    14. Re:Climate Engineering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ugh not to deflect but aren't we currently in an ice age? I mean Antarctica is alone and isolated at the polar cap... isn't that what ice age is? I mean I think we will be in this ice age for a while..... and you may be referring to interglacial periods, but we are in the fuckin' ice age now and all this talk about global warming does not even mention that basic fact.

    15. Re:Climate Engineering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We can't 'nuke it from orbit' just to make sure.

      Sure we can. A limited exchange between India and Pakistan would aerosolize cities into upper-atmosphere particulate, sharply reducing the climate across the globe. It would also include a much-needed pruning of the Human population in the region and likely outrage the rest of us to the point we might finally realise that nuclear weapons aren't actually that beneficial in the long run. To those afraid of an attack from space I suggest that nukes were never a credible defence. They only work well in an atmosphere, for a start.

      Let's be honest with ourselves. With the current population levels, the time of the nuke is at hand. We may even be able to keep the conflict 'limited', although I suspect not.

      This all assumes such an exchange doesn't plunge the globe into a nuclear winter, which is admittedly a fairly fine line to tread I imagine.

    16. Re:Climate Engineering by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      If we were to engage in climate engineering, warming things up and adding a little CO2 is exactly what we'd want to do.
      It would increase the range of latitudes for food production and mitigate future ice ages, which are much more catastrophic than any effects from warming.

      I wouldn't call a 40% increase in CO2 little. Rather than expanding food production ranges may just move northward and warmth isn't the only thing that affects food production. According to our current state of knowledge it's impossible for an ice age to get going with CO2 levels above about 250 ppm.

    17. Re:Climate Engineering by garyebickford · · Score: 1

      present-day economists pretty much agree that the 1930s depression would have lasted about two-three years if the Fed had not used a tight money policy, while the government used Keynesian methods to try to artificially induce growth with inefficient make-work and dependency programs. Both were wrong - one removes the incentives for businesses (and agencies) to alter their behavior, and the other removes the incentives for individuals to change their behavior, while both incentivize their respective groups to become dependent on government handouts. Prior to government interventions the hundred years prior had a number of short, sharp recessions that resolved themselves within three years. It is only since we've had government interventions that these long, drawn-out painful decades have become common.

      --
      It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
    18. Re:Climate Engineering by garyebickford · · Score: 1

      I guess you've never heard about the intense growing season in Alaska, resulting in giant vegetables and other crops - 65 lb. cabbages feet in diameter. 24 hour sunlight has amazing effects on some plants. (Of course in some cases this natural phenomenon has been encouraged by selective breeding, etc. but that's beside the point.)

      Also, increased CO2 has been shown to be a powerful plant growth stimulant.

      --
      It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
    19. Re:Climate Engineering by garyebickford · · Score: 1

      I left out - recent studies (started after anomalous growth was noticed in satellite data) have shown that deserts around the world are showing increased greenness, as plants are responding to increased CO2 by growing.

      --
      It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
    20. Re:Climate Engineering by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Present day economists do not agree on any such thing, unless you only follow a very specific school of economists and dismiss everyone else.

    21. Re:Climate Engineering by BlueStrat · · Score: 1

      Present day economists...

      Who are the same school of economists that didn't see the either the 1930s Depression or the current US economic crisis coming.

      ...do not agree on any such thing, unless you only follow a very specific school of economists and dismiss everyone else.

      Yeah, the school of economics and economists that was correctly screaming warnings both times and were ignored and/or attacked/destroyed by those economically/politically/ideologically invested in the status quo and their economic/political/ideological fellow-travelers.

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    22. Re:Climate Engineering by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      That is factual false. All deserts I know about are increasing in size.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    23. Re:Climate Engineering by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Also, increased CO2 has been shown to be a powerful plant growth stimulant.
      Ofc it is: in a greenhouse. The natural level we have right now is not a big difference for plants.

      Nice article though!

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    24. Re:Climate Engineering by BECoole · · Score: 1

      All you have to do is look at the results of the Medieval Warming Period.

      Google some pictures of the Canadian Shield. I see LOTS of trees. Lots of water. Your entire post is hysterical ranting with a bunch of (incorrect) opinion and guessing.

      I guess Ice Ages are easy to frivolously dismiss when you live in a place like Rio.

    25. Re: Climate Engineering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem with climate/geo-engineering is that everyone expects to find a fire-and-forget option--a one-time action to miraculously "fix" everything (whatever that would mean).

      In reality, geo-engineering can only happen if they accept that it will have to be a permanent program of ongoing manipulations to react to every turn to climate takes thereafter

    26. Re:Climate Engineering by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      If we were to engage in climate engineering, warming things up and adding a little CO2 is exactly what we'd want to do.

      So: the AGW, which doesn't exist, and is a conspiracy between communist scientists and the NWO government, or something, is actually quite a good thing anyway. If it's true. Which it isn't.

      Short version: we don't have to do anything either way.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    27. Re:Climate Engineering by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      fellow-travelers

      The 1950s called and wants its insult back.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    28. Re:Climate Engineering by dywolf · · Score: 1

      No. There's actually a lot of bad assumptions in what you just said.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    29. Re:Climate Engineering by BlueStrat · · Score: 1

      fellow-travelers

      The 1950s called and wants its insult back.

      Your hgh school English teacher called, he wants your passing grade in 'Vocabulary' back.

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
  9. Don't be trolled by duck_rifted · · Score: 1

    They try to debate us because they can't answer the experts.

  10. incredulity != evidence by Layzej · · Score: 5, Informative
    Needless to say, scientists disagree. Patrick Moore shows he knows little of science when he says "There is no scientific proof." There is very compelling evidence, but there is no such thing as "Scientific proof".

    He laughably accuses scientists of being in the pay of vested interests all the while being a PR front for fossil fuel interests such as the Heartland Institute that published this very piece.

    His 'argument' amounts to long debunked talking points.

    He shows he hasn't read an IPCC report when he says IPCC will "consider only the human causes of global warming". IPCC outlines scientific consensus on all sources of climate change from solar cycles to milankovitch cycles.

    He shows he hasn't looked at paleoclimate reconstructions which show that the Earth has been generally cooling for the last 8000 years and that the current temperatures are likely higher than at least the last couple thousand.

    The rest of his argument boils down to simple incredulity, which is not very compelling.

    1. Re:incredulity != evidence by Layzej · · Score: 2

      He shows he hasn't read an IPCC report when he says IPCC will "consider only the human causes of global warming". IPCC outlines scientific consensus on all sources of climate change from solar cycles to milankovitch cycles.

      Honestly, there's a whole chapter on it. He could have figured this just by reading the headers.

    2. Re:incredulity != evidence by BECoole · · Score: 0, Insightful

      We can argue about whether or not the Earth is warming/cooling and whether that warming/cooling is due to man, but the AGW Alarmist arguments totally break down when they get into value judgements about the supposed facts.

      The only real fact is that a person's opinion that warming and adding CO2 is beneficial is every bit as valid as someone saying it's not.

    3. Re:incredulity != evidence by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      Patrick Moore shows he knows little of science when he says "There is no scientific proof

      there is no such thing as "Scientific proof".

      so, ummm yeah?

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    4. Re:incredulity != evidence by camg188 · · Score: 0

      He shows he hasn't looked at paleoclimate reconstructions

      Neither have you.

      We are still well below the average temperatures for the Cenozoic era (and life goes on).
      For a majority of the Cenozoic there have been no polar ice caps (and life went on).
      We are currently in an ice age inter-glacial period.
      50, 100, even 1000 years is an extremely short period geologically speaking.

      Patrick Moore believes that anthropogenic global warming is not a grave threat to the planet and that climate change is being used as a scare tactic for political purposes. Based on the geologic record, I'd have to agree.

    5. Re:incredulity != evidence by Layzej · · Score: 1

      He doesn't believe in physics because something that cannot exist does not exist? Not very compelling.

    6. Re:incredulity != evidence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >scientists disagree
      >IPCC outlines scientific consensus
      #1. define consensus
      #2. use circular reasoning
      #3. profit!

      >paleoclimate reconstructions
      pseudoscience at it's finest.

      stop accepting everything your told because they are wearing the same team jersey you have on.

    7. Re:incredulity != evidence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But the goal of the AGW guys is to reduce industry which is a good goal with our without AGW. That is why they deserve our support no matter what the data shows.

    8. Re:incredulity != evidence by Layzej · · Score: 1

      The consensus is outlined in the scientific literature. The IPCC reports are a literature review.

    9. Re:incredulity != evidence by itzly · · Score: 2

      For a majority of the Cenozoic there have been no polar ice caps (and life went on).

      And sea level was about 100 m higher than now.

      global warming is not a grave threat to the planet

      Agreed. The planet will be fine. It's the people that will be fucked.

    10. Re:incredulity != evidence by Mostly+a+lurker · · Score: 1

      ... anthropogenic global warming is not a grave threat to the planet and that climate change is being used as a scare tactic ...

      Sure, in overall terms, global warming is not a grave threat to the planet. It is probably only slightly more dangerous than a catastrophic meteor impact. Apart from some coastal areas, the fundamental shape of the continents will remain pretty much in place. If you do not care that most current animal species (including our own) will not be part of the picture, there is really nothing to worry about.

    11. Re:incredulity != evidence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That would be the same report that they had to admit that all their models are wrong and they have no idea why the climate hasn't warmed in 18 years. If we are going to choose what source is credible ... it isn't going to be the IPCC.

    12. Re:incredulity != evidence by Oligonicella · · Score: 2

      People who have built on flood plains, the sides of earthen hills and mountains, in the US tornado ridden plains and on the beaches have *always* eventually been fucked.

    13. Re:incredulity != evidence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Agreed. The planet will be fine. It's the people that will be fucked."

      so what?

      Are you one of those religious/anti-science nutcakes?

      The Earth will go on revolving and keep orbiting the sun no matter what happens in the climate.

      Now, if you want to go all "anti-science" and argue that there is anything like "purpose" or "meaning" and that there might be anything that survives beyond the eventual cold dark run-down state of the universe, then I suppose what people do and any legacy of those actions might have "meaning" and therefor it might matter if something happens to humanity. Absent such mumbo jumbo, however, humans are just a biological parasite that accidentally arose on this rock orbiting this unremarkable star and the sooner they die-out the better.

    14. Re:incredulity != evidence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Patrick Moore shows he knows little of science when he says "There is no scientific proof." There is very compelling evidence, but there is no such thing as "Scientific proof".

      So you agree with him 100% on this particular point.

      PM: "There is no scientific proof."
      You: "There is very compelling evidence, but there is no such thing as 'Scientific proof'."

    15. Re:incredulity != evidence by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      Not only is there no scientific proof, there is no science. Remember in grade school where they taught the scientific method? Well they've shot that to hell over and over by their models. In fact the last report said they don't know why things aren't a lot warmer given the level of co2 in the atmosphere, yet they are even more sure it's causing it. Ok, that removes all their credibility. They're into religion now. Follow the money.

      Just a matter of time before this MM GW is debunked and people will want to kick your ass for even hinting they believed in MMGW. Sort of like still believing in Santa at the age of 25.

    16. Re:incredulity != evidence by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      People who have built on flood plains, the sides of earthen hills and mountains, in the US tornado ridden plains and on the beaches have *always* eventually been fucked.

      Something something eventual heat death of the universe something something in the long run we're all dead

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    17. Re:incredulity != evidence by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Tornadoes are small, and the area of the US that tends to get them is large. Tornadoes aren't a major threat in general, although they can be absolutely devastating on a small scale.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  11. That makes me take him MORE seriously by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Modern Greenpeace is doing things like defacing ancient monuments thousands of years old to spread propaganda. If this guy WERE with Greenpeace any time recently I would have cause to question his sanity and/or motives... instead he seems like a guy that actually cares about the environment instead of money or publicity.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by ciaran2014 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "One strike, you're out Greenpeace!"

      Thanks for the 45 years of environmental activism, it was nice knowin' ye.

      (I assume you hold companies to the same standard.)

      --
      Help build the anti-software-patent wiki
    2. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by ciaran2014 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      And the article you link to doesn't mention that the Peruvian government lets the Dakar Rally use said monument as part of its route.

      Is it possible there's politics involved in approving race cars but criticising environmental activists who wear normal shoes instead of special shoes?

      --
      Help build the anti-software-patent wiki
    3. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Greenpeace protesters have broken into a CSIRO experimental farm in Canberra to destroy a crop of genetically modified wheat.

      In the early hours of this morning a group of Greenpeace protesters scaled the fence of the CSIRO experimental station at Ginninderra in the capital's north.

      Greenpeace says activists were wearing Hazmat protective clothing and were equipped with weed string trimmers.

      http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-14/20110714-greenpeace-gm-protest/2794272

      Anti-nuclear, anti-carbon emissions...

    4. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let me guess without even googling: they let the cars drive _past_ the monument?

      I'm right aren't I? They don't drive on the monument, they drive adjacent to and away from it?

    5. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      And the article you link to doesn't mention that the Peruvian government lets the Dakar Rally use said monument as part of its route.

      Well since that would be a lie (as shown by the fact you provide no link) it's hard to fault a real news article for not mentioning it.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    6. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So he did bad so I can do bad too, and a third party can't criticise either of us? That is some insane logic you have there.

    7. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by TapeCutter · · Score: 0

      I lost interest in GP about the same time Moore and the other scientist founders left in disgust. Their anti-GMO campaign is a perfect example, it's just as intellectually dishonest as the anti-AGW campaign from the FF industry. I don't agree with Moore here, I think he's an old man who's been mislead/misinformed, but he is correct when he says greenpeace have been putting politics before science for the last 30yrs.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    8. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by Phillip2 · · Score: 1

      Your grammar is wrong here. They were spreading propaganda, yes. And they did deface an ancient monument. But this was not their intention which you are implying.

      Screw up, yes. Hooliganism, no. There is a difference.

    9. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by markass530 · · Score: 1

      If you think that's their only strike you don't know much about what greenpeace does

    10. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      it's many strikes.

      furthermore, greenpeace works exactly like a multinational corporation in gathering funds.

      then they spend it on stupid stuff that accomplishes nothing, like trying to take over russian ships in what anyone else would describe as piracy.

      I mean, I'm living in what you could call rural Thailand, the other day at the mall there was a greenpeace booth - can't get away from them anywhere! luckily the facers here don't speak english. in a country that does not currently appear to have a constitution and has environmental problems - country where they could improve things like water management, waste disposal and number of other things to make the environment better - but they're here only to grab cash. Greenpeace is just a big show and hasn't had concern with actually changing the world in many, many years.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    11. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by potpie · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Perpetuating famine in Zambia by spreading rumors about the dangers of GMOs was a pretty big strike. I'd like to believe that Greenpeace's role in it was exaggerated, that their position isn't really so offensive to famine-stricken countries planting corn that's modified to grow quicker and more dense, so I searched their website for "Zambia." This came up: http://www.greenpeace.org/inte....

      Some gems from the article:

      Disgracefully, hunger and desperation have become the Genetic Engineering industry's best tools to penetrate the developing world's food supply.

      Starving people still deserve the dignity of choice.

      --
      Esoteric reference.
    12. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by Reziac · · Score: 1

      I vaguely recall that he quit Greenpeace because he wasn't happy with the direction it was taking.

      And what he says in TFA actually makes sense, somewhat to my surprise.

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    13. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    14. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Telling people to burn food because it's magically infected with teh GMO. Spray painting seal pups, which destroys their waterproofing and insulation, and makes them easier for polar bears to find (Which is why they are white in the first place--camouflage). Spilling oil all over the ocean--the real "rainbow" that warrior offers. Piracy. Various other sabotage.

      If corporations or governments were really as bad as Greenpeace hystericalizes, they'd have been waterboarded and shot through their soft skulls decades ago.

    15. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      They're about making money from crazy lefties. I remember before 2001 they were caught falsifying testimony in Arizona to try to make a certain animal an endangered species. They were doing this with data where the animal wasn't native to, so of course they're scarce there. They got exposed. Same with logging and not letting the forest service set things right. Instead they grow up spindly and tend to catch on fire. Of course - they stopped logging and lost the forest.

      So don't donate to them thinking your helping the environment. You aren't.

    16. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      greenpeace works exactly like a multinational corporation in gathering funds

      I agree with you, multinational corporations should be disbanded, along with charities, and the distribution of resources should be carried out by democratically elected and accountable governments.

      Or isn't that what you meant?

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    17. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by stoatwblr · · Score: 1

      That route would happen to be the pan-american highway which was there before the monument was discovered by anyone outside the local area (it was the road's existence which led to the discovery. Locals of course not only knew of the monument but had been maintaining it for centuries)

      Rerouting the highway has been mooted on a number of occasions but between the issue that there's not much else practically available and the fact that the road already exists and making a new one would cause more damage elsewhere, it's generally regarded as the lesser of 2 evils to just keep things as-is.

    18. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by houghi · · Score: 1

      I assume you hold companies to the same standard.

      Greenpeace IS a company.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    19. Re:That makes me take him MORE seriously by BCGlorfindel · · Score: 1

      "One strike, you're out Greenpeace!"

      Thanks for the 45 years of environmental activism, it was nice knowin' ye.

      (I assume you hold companies to the same standard.)

      One strike?

      45 years of activism?

      Let's look at that activism, or more specifically 2 of the biggest issues they are 'working' on.

      1. Anti-GMO activism and fear mongering. Despite the absence of any scientific basis for it and a mass of scientific evidence showing GMO crops are no more dangerous than their non-GMO counter parts Greenpeace is fighting hard to get them banned. A campaign of misinformation and fear mongering on the subject is their trademark. What's worse, in reality GMO crops have changed Ag practices to use much safer pesticides and in many cases fewer pesticides, but Greenpeace is steadfastly against it.

      2.Anti-Nuclear power lobbying. They've been doing this since their founding, but what really compounds the matter is that Greenpeace of late has at the exact same time been lobbying hard for a reduction of CO2 emissions. I'm afraid a pretty basic litmus test to me is that if you oppose nuclear power AND demand a reduction in CO2 emissions sooner than later, you most likely don't know what your about. When putting forward activist campaigns on both fronts you are causing harm on both fronts by condemning one of the best existing solutions to a problem you purportedly care about. That just makes people willing to listen to both fronts turn around and stop caring when they follow both campaigns to their inevitable conclusions.

  12. Good for what kind of life? by anagama · · Score: 1

    Gazzilions of years ago or whenever it was, when the oil we use now was floating around in the form of giant mats of algae, some belching deadly hydrogen sulfide as they decompose, there was a lot more life on the planet. But do we really want to live on a world choked with so much scum? Over time, that algae turned to oil and the carbon really was sequestered -- but now we're putting it all back into circulation -- I suppose it could become more animals, more corn, more people, but it could also become massive amounts of stinking toxic slime.

    --
    What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
    1. Re:Good for what kind of life? by Oligonicella · · Score: 1

      Hyperbole and error combined.

  13. What global warming? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    What global warming? The global temperature record is aggregated from 5 datasets. The 2 satellite datasets say no global warming for the last 18 and 26 years (the entire time the satellites have been measuring), while the 3 terrestrial datasets say no global warming in the last 10 years (only after urban heat islands are ignored and measurement gaps are adjusted upwards).

    1. Re:What global warming? by Layzej · · Score: 1

      Yup. That's about the level of 'argument' presented by Patrick Moore. It basically amounts to just making stuff up. Here is the temperature increase over the last 18 and 26 years according to the satellite reconstruction compiled by skeptic Roy Spencer: http://woodfortrees.org/plot/u... . The warming over the period is considerable. Equivalent to billions of nuclear bombs worth of accumulated energy.

    2. Re:What global warming? by budgenator · · Score: 1

      RSS data looks far different.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    3. Re:What global warming? by Layzej · · Score: 1

      Of the seven temperature reconstructions you are going to put your faith in the minority report?

  14. Don't have popcorn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But I do have peanuts. Commence.

  15. Going against consensus is scientific ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    No need to know science

    That is equally true for the far left as the far right. To berate a person for wanting to investigate non-human causes is political, not scientific. Aren't many heroes of science those who went against the scientific consensus of their day and were eventually proven to be correct?

    1. Re:Going against consensus is scientific ... by itzly · · Score: 4, Informative

      To berate a person for wanting to investigate non-human causes is political, not scientific

      Non-human causes have been investigated, and are still being investigated. Claiming that this is not the case, is simply lying or ignorance.

    2. Re:Going against consensus is scientific ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To berate a person for wanting to investigate non-human causes is political, not scientific

      Non-human causes have been investigated, and are still being investigated. Claiming that this is not the case, is simply lying or ignorance.

      Do you have a reading comprehension problem? I made no such claim.

    3. Re:Going against consensus is scientific ... by itzly · · Score: 1

      Do you have a reading comprehension problem? I made no such claim.

      I was referring to the claim in the article, where he said: "[IPCC's] mandate is to consider only the human causes of global warming, not the many natural causes changing the climate for billions of years", which is simply not true. Possible non-human causes have been looked at, and quantified, and they come short of explaining the temperature rise.

    4. Re:Going against consensus is scientific ... by budgenator · · Score: 1

      Since AGW has only been theoretical possible since the 1950's, how do explain that it hasn't warmed for longer than it has warmed?

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    5. Re:Going against consensus is scientific ... by garyebickford · · Score: 1

      Hendrik Svensmark, one of the original members of IPCC, is just one of several original well-respected scientists who left IPCC in disgust a number of years ago after their results were doctored in the official report, eliminating all mention of any results that contradicted the official message - this is just bad science. IIRC some of the results were left in the largely-unread-by-politicians complete science publication. It's also plain from his own statements that Rajendra Pachauri who ran the IPCC from the beginning until recently not only has a religious belief in Global Warming regardless of any evidence, but is also somewhat of a sociopathic personality, who won't let anyone or anything stand in his way to get what he wants - the most recent scandal had to do with sexual misconduct in India, which finally has caused him to resign from IPCC. Perhaps now IPCC will be allowed to become a true scientific effort.

      --
      It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
    6. Re:Going against consensus is scientific ... by dywolf · · Score: 1

      key point: "proven to be correct".

      Galileo won because he was correct, not because he was persecuted by the establishment.

      http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/G...

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
  16. It might be also about a stuffy room outdoors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    While people can bear amounts of CO2 much higher than 5000ppm, which is unsurprising given the amount of CO2 in the ehxaled air, it does not mean, that they do not sense much lower levels. At 1000 ppm, the negative influence on a human in so substantial, that it is actually measurable using simple tests [1]. The question is, which levels makes air feel stuffy, or at least not "outdoor fresh".

    [1] Is co2 an indoor pollutant? Direct effects of low to moderate co2 concentrations on human decision, Satish U. 2014.

  17. So he's gone full senile like James Watson? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is he racist too?

  18. Greenpeace vs. Science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The biggest danger to science is not the US GOP. It's not even the states of Kansas or Texas. Or even Arkansas. It is Greenpeace.

    Greenpeace vs. Biology: Species are static in their description vs. species change over time.
    Greenpeace vs. Physics: Long half-life is more dangerous vs. short half-life emits more radiation over time.
    Greenpeace vs. Chemistry: Chemicals are bad vs. Everything you eat is a chemical.
    Greenpeace vs. Environmentalism: Spotted Owls only nest in old growth forests vs. they nest anywhere they damn well want.

    And this is just a few examples.

    I went to a very weird university when I was younger. We had a very large population of stark-raving bonkers environmentalists, tree-hugger forest protectors, and loony free-thinkers. Greenpeace showed up at a environment conference at my school and they were booed off the campus. Why? Because our stark-raving environmentalists were lovers of the great outdoors that went hiking, fishing, hunting, prospecting, mountain climbing, and enjoyed being out in the woods. Because our tree-hugger forest protectors were forestry workers, farmers, silviculturists, and flood management. Because our loony free-thinkers were interested in bio-fuels, alternative energy that actually worked, developing fuel efficient vehicles and HEVs, and coming up with technologies to make our lives better.

    Whenever I run into someone from Greenpeace protesting technology, they are invariably wearing Nylon and Gore-Tex. It's just sad.

    1. Re:Greenpeace vs. Science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You forgot the part where they killed spotted-owls In Oregon to save the spotted-owls.

    2. Re:Greenpeace vs. Science by garyebickford · · Score: 1

      they killed spotted-owls In Oregon

      ... along with the timber industry, and 200,000 jobs, causing 28% unemployment at the peak.

      --
      It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
    3. Re:Greenpeace vs. Science by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Whenever I run into someone from Greenpeace protesting technology, they are invariably wearing Nylon and Gore-Tex. It's just sad.

      Yes, because there is a simple binary choice between embracing all technologies unconditionally, and living in a cave eating grubs.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    4. Re:Greenpeace vs. Science by dywolf · · Score: 1

      Spotted owls of the pacific northwest (subspecies Northern Spotted Owl) do actually prefer old growth forests.
      That observation is a known datum of the species and is not under debate or question.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
  19. Golden Rice by ChromeAeonium · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Moore breaks with what might be expected of a Greenpeace founder as well in that he is currently chair of Allow Golden Rice.

    Well, while he is wrong about climate change, his stance on Golden Rice is pretty well on. We know it works, we know it is safe, Greenpeace still opposes it because they know damned well that their cries of genetic engineering being a dangerous horrible thing that you should totally give them loads of cash to fight are going to look a bit silly when it is saving the lives of thousands of children. It's despicable that they are willing to allow unnecessary death and human suffering in developing countries just to further their careers as professional activists. They're no different than anti-vaxxers who bring back vaccine preventable disease, not in my book. I don't agree with Moore's stance on climate change, but at least he's doing good on this front to bring attention to the harm Greenpeace and other anti-science groups are doing.

    1. Re:Golden Rice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      IPCC still endorses AGW because it knows damned well that their cries of Climate disasters and impending global doom and that you should totally give them loads of cash to fight are going to look a bit silly when it turns out to not be true. It's despicable that they want to impose economic suffering in developed countries and stifle economic development in developing countries just to ensure they can still have fresh powder in March to ski on.

    2. Re:Golden Rice by ChromeAeonium · · Score: 2

      I can't tell if you're trolling or not but enough people do believe that keeping people impoverished and hungry is somehow good for them, and that it is somehow ethical to sit idly by and watch and do nothing while people starve just for being born in the wrong part of the planet. It's completely idiotic of course. Everywhere we see a reduction in poverty and increases in the standard of living we see lower birthrates. Do you really think we are going to bring about a greater human development index without first addressing the issues of starvation and malnutrition? Unlikely. Normal Borlaug once correctly remarked that the first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind. You want to fight poverty, start by ensuring that no one goes to bed hungry. It's pretty hard to work your way to economic prosperity when you're dying of vitamin A deficiency.

    3. Re:Golden Rice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And the Racist Democratic Party of America support golden rice because they know it will allow more impoverished children to grow up to have even more impoverished children. Their kind wants foreigners to be dependent upon golden rice so that the Democrats can have slaves for their tobacco plantations again. It's what the racists dream of.

    4. Re:Golden Rice by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      "a dangerous horrible thing that you should totally give them loads of cash to fight"

      That could be equally said by the government-paid climate-obsessed about "global warming".

    5. Re:Golden Rice by blue+trane · · Score: 1

      GOP-funded astroturf alert!

    6. Re:Golden Rice by garyebickford · · Score: 1

      I've always thought that, if you believe 'everyone' should live a certain way, then you should live that way. If you are correct, eventually others will follow. By extension, if you believe that humans are evil and should all die off, then be my guest, start the trend.

      --
      It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
    7. Re:Golden Rice by garyebickford · · Score: 1

      Now that the cult leader Rajendra Paucheri has been forced to resign after allegations of sexual misconduct in India, perhaps IPCC can become the scientific tool it was intended to be.

      --
      It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
    8. Re:Golden Rice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, while he is wrong about climate change, his stance on Golden Rice is pretty well on.

      I have no particular opinion on Golden Rice, as I didn't know what it was until today. I still didn't know what it was after reading the summary nor after reading comments and clicking the link in the summary. I finally found the Wikipedia article which told me what was golden about it.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Golden rice is genetically modified to produce beta carotene (for Vitamin A) in the rice grains. A side effect of this is that the rice is yellower than normal. It's controversial both because it is genetically modified and because some feel that it would be better to focus attention on a more mixed diet (more fruits and vegetables rather than grains).

      It was annoyingly difficult to get all that. Oh well, at least I could fix the Wikipedia article. As we all know /. editors are beyond help. The web site might want money in order to fix their FAQ links, so I think I'll just give up on that. Although one would think that a site dedicated to Golden Rice might provide a paragraph of explanation as to what Golden Rice is.

    9. Re:Golden Rice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My only opposition to it is that it requires a license. If they irrevocably waive the license for all I'd be all for it.

    10. Re:Golden Rice by houghi · · Score: 1

      I agree on almost nothing with GReenpeace, expet their stance on genetic stuff. Although for different reasons. Look into what Monsanto is doing and THAT will be the real issue.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  20. ain't nothing but a lying shill by meglon · · Score: 1
    --
    Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
  21. Merchants of Doubt by Layzej · · Score: 1

    Opinions are like arseholes. Everyone's got one. This guy's is paid for by the Hearland Institute.

  22. Basic biology what? by Cantankerous+Cur · · Score: 1

    The science behind what he's saying isn't really adding up. While there's naturally studies on both sides, this study indicates greater CO2 levels can inhibit growth http://news.stanford.edu/pr/02...

    Moreover, methane is significantly more responsible for global climate change because it traps 100 times more heat than CO2. http://www.onegreenplanet.org/...

  23. not really. NPK fertilizer., Haber process. by aepervius · · Score: 1

    " He argues instead that in a historical context, human activity has saved the planet, declaring that "at 400 parts per million, all our food crops, forests, and natural ecosystems are still on a starvation diet for carbon dioxide."

    Our crop are starved from other stuff than carbon. if carbon was the problem only, we would put carbon in our fertilizer. But we don't what provocated an explosion of food production was not the CO2 increase during industrial revolution up to today, but NPK fertilizer (nitrogen, Potassium, phosphorus).

    While it is true that plant growth would increase as a whole, our crop would still be far more dependent on fertilizer than CO2. And then there is the impact of the change of climate on the zone where the top soil is best for crop growth. If the winter and summer become more extreme, wheat growth might hit a water problem. What good is CO2 if you have not enough water to fix it ?

    --
    C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
    visit randi.org
  24. Bzzzt! Thank you for Playing! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You are 100% incorrect. Evolution is routinely observed. WTF do you think we need to have a new Flu vaccine every year?

    1. Re:Bzzzt! Thank you for Playing! by harlequinn · · Score: 1

      No, he's correct. Evolution has not been observed happening in real time at a genetic level. We have observed the long term effects of it. I.e. we can compare the DNA of one batch of bacteria in the E. Coli long-term evolution experiment with another batch and see that they have changed, but we don't know which exact bacterium started the change and why or how that change occurred during cell replication. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E...
      Or, as in your example, we can compare the DNA or RNA of a virus with a previous generation and we know it has changed. We didn't see it changing. We don't know why it has changed. I.e. we didn't see it evolve, but we observed the effects of the evolution (a changed organism).

    2. Re:Bzzzt! Thank you for Playing! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Conflating evolution as an origin of species and evolution as a way to get a faster racehorse out of previous racehorses. Well done.

  25. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't you have women to harass online? I mean, pursue the important problem of ethics in game journalism we all can't stop worrying about?

  26. Not only about temperature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The problem with CO2 isn't only about temperature (theoretically fixable by geoengineering, etc), it's ocean acidification. It's destroying entire marine ecosystems and might create huge feedback loops. Then there's the whole "we're screwing with the thermohaline circulation" thing, that might just break the climate as we know it. Oh the plants will be fine, sure. The guy just really likes trees, that's all; to hell with the rest of the planet.

    1. Re:Not only about temperature by garyebickford · · Score: 1

      And yet in previous epochs, atmospheric CO2 has ranged as high as 7000 ppm - more than 16 times the 'worst case' of 400 ppm presently under discussion. In fact, except during ice ages, it's been higher than the present value almost all the time. But the oceans were not (AFAIK) more acidic - or at least they had lots of life in them, including a majority of shelled creatures. If so, then perhaps the acidity (if it is actually occurring) may be a transition phenomenon.

      --
      It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
    2. Re:Not only about temperature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Relevant articles on the subject (which I have not checked for scientific validity, but the sources seem OK):
      http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-ocean-acidification-intimates-long-recovery-from-climate-change/
      http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/april/prehistoric-mass-extinction-042710.html

      "In fact, roughly 121 million years ago—during an age known as the early Aptian—global CO2 levels were likely higher than 800 ppm (and possibly as high as 2,000 ppm) thanks to cataclysmic volcanic eruptions. [...] The records reveal that acidification proved a big problem for nannoplankton."

      "It took at least 25,000 years for the new acidity levels reached in the surface waters to transfer to deeper waters, according to the research—and the ocean took 75,000 years to reach its peak acidity for that episode, as well as at least 160,000 years to recover. "

      From the other article:
      "New evidence gleaned by analyzing calcium embedded in Chinese limestone suggests that volcanoes, which spewed massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for a million years, caused the biggest mass extinction on Earth."

      "[...] as carbon dioxide gas dissolved in the oceans, it raised the acidity of seawater. The research team said it was a deadly combination – carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and higher acidity in the oceans – that eventually wiped out 90 percent of marine species and about three-quarters of land species, in a cataclysmic event 250 million years ago known as the 'end-Permian extinction.' "

  27. Why does everyone forget about pollution? by Theovon · · Score: 2

    I'm still of the opinion that we're dumping too much CO2 in to the air. Although I know that scientists make mistakes, scientific knowledge is never 100% perfect, and that science is a system of incrementally improving our knowledge, I'm not a science skeptic. Climate scientsts are better experts on this topic than I am, science is highly competitive (remember, they all compete for a very limited supply of grant money, so one scientists's failure is another's success, so they want to overturn each other's ideas), and peer-review is effective much more than it is ineffective.

    That all being said, a perhaps a more accessible issue people should be talking about is all the other crap we're dumping into the air *besides* the CO2. We're poisoning ourselves. And besides the air, what about junk we're putting into our bodies from other sources, like pesticides, BPA, and all manner of other harmful chemicals?

    Ok, so maybe global warming is something that will only kill our great-great-great-grandkids, and we don't care about them. What about the stuff that's killing us right now?

  28. I think the main issue is what is "too high"? by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's somewhat important to know how much is man-made vs natural (a question we are not very close to answering).

    I think a way more important question though is, how much warming is too much? We know from historical temperature data that the warming we are supposed to see now in about 200 years, will be still a bit below the medieval warm period.

    But if it continued beyond that, is there some point ay which we should consider drastic measures like climate engineering? I don't see a lot of studies that seem to be able to predict at all what happens as the climate gets slowly warmer over time (at least they have done a terrible job at predicting that so far).

    We should not forget that the most dangerous thing of all would be to have the climate cooling, so to whatever degree man affects the climate, we should try to err on the side of warming. Energy is life, a frozen Earth is death for many.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:I think the main issue is what is "too high"? by speederaser · · Score: 1

      It's somewhat important to know how much is man-made vs natural (a question we are not very close to answering).

      Actually, science has that one nailed .

      The answers to your other perplexities are here .

    2. Re:I think the main issue is what is "too high"? by Xest · · Score: 1

      Energy can also be death. If you don't believe me then go get hit by lightning or stand in a furnace then turn it on.

      Sure it's great for me, I mean, the UK will get a really nice climate, I'm not much a fan of the cold.

      Meanwhile everyone in Africa and Australia will have died from drought.

      I don't think your simplistic understanding of energy has done anything to prove your case that warming is inherently better, only that it's inherently better for you personally, a wealthy westerner.

    3. Re:I think the main issue is what is "too high"? by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      We should not forget that the most dangerous thing of all would be to have the climate cooling, so to whatever degree man affects the climate, we should try to err on the side of warming. Energy is life, a frozen Earth is death for many.

      So, basically, AGW is a load of nonsense and therefore we don't need to do anything about it, but just in case it's not, we'd still be better off ignoring it 'cus a bit of extra heat is better than freezing to death?

      Brilliant. "Your honour, my client pleads not guilty to murder on the basis that he wasn't there and doesn't own that particular make of crossbow and didn't know the victim, but that even if was there it was simply for target practice shooting apples off the victim's head, who might in fact have been his wife."

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  29. Just read this by internet-redstar · · Score: 1
  30. This is getting old by sarefo · · Score: 1

    Patrick Moore is an industry shill if there ever was one. Yes, claiming to be a Greenpeace founder is a nice gimmick, but it's not true at all: http://www.desmogblog.com/2014... - Also, when did the Heartland Institute ( http://www.desmogblog.com/hear... ) become a source for Slashdot? This is a very interesting post+comment thread, first time that sanity has not instantly overwhelmed some tentative /. climate science denial.

    1. Re:This is getting old by occasional_dabbler · · Score: 1
      Ragardless of your views on climate change, this man degrades the word 'whore,' and his very existence further prevents a reasonable debate on the subject.

      I no longer make any charitable donations to left-wing-infiltrated organisations ike Greenpeace or the RSPCA, despite a deeply held beleif in their original charters; they have no interest in the environment or animals, just politics.

      --
      "Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs," I said. "we have a protractor"
    2. Re:This is getting old by occasional_dabbler · · Score: 1

      I had no mod points tonight Sara. Sorry.

      --
      "Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs," I said. "we have a protractor"
    3. Re:This is getting old by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I no longer make any charitable donations to left-wing-infiltrated organisations ike Greenpeace or the RSPCA, despite a deeply held beleif in their original charters; they have no interest in the environment or animals, just politics.

      Setting aside Greenpeace, the RSPCA's most obvious recent "political" actions have been to oppose the badger cull and support the ban on fox hunting.

      In both cases, I really don't see how you can not have a view on them, as you are either for or against them. Also, they both seem to involve cruelty to animals, so I don't see how they can be classed as outwith the Society's concern.

      It is a common right wing complaint that issues become "politicized", as though something like being pro-fox hunting is a non political stance.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    4. Re:This is getting old by occasional_dabbler · · Score: 1
      It would have been more correct for me to say that I just didn't agree with their actions, rather than to asign a political subtext.

      I'm sure that the vast majority of the RSPCA works purely in the interests of the animals but the problem with fox hunting in particular is that is has been hijacked as a 'class war' issue. This has resulted in a decision being taken for reasons that have nothing to do with the welfare of either the foxes or their prey.

      FWIW I beleive the wrong decision was taken.

      --
      "Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs," I said. "we have a protractor"
  31. How do you know it would affect warming? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    If we were to engage in climate engineering, warming things up and adding a little CO2 is exactly what we'd want to do.

    Except that despite large increases in CO2, we've seen no statistically significantly warming in almost two decades now. So it's ver questionable now if that would be the right approach to take if you wanted to cause warming.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:How do you know it would affect warming? by wish+bot · · Score: 1

      I keep seeing this argument, but no one ever tells me where they get the "no warming" from. It's just not true.

      http://images.remss.com/msu/ms...

      --
      lemonade was a popular drink and it still is
    2. Re:How do you know it would affect warming? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Even the IPCC has said the same thing, ask them.

      It's your priests spreading inconsistent messages, don't ask me to make sense of them.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re:How do you know it would affect warming? by wish+bot · · Score: 1

      You didn't link to the IPCC anywhere. You linked to something written by Richard Tol, who is an economist and ex-lead author at the IPCC, and has pretty much zero experience with scientific analysis of temperature changes. 'Lead author' is a bit of stretch too - he was heading one of the IPCC report sections dealing with an economic analysis of the impacts of global warming, His departure from the IPCC was surrounded by use of incorrect or limited data from other papers and errors in his own work.

      So not a really credible source for saying 'no warming'. A link to a chart of temperature data from some peer reviewed source would be better.

      --
      lemonade was a popular drink and it still is
    4. Re:How do you know it would affect warming? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      It's your priests

      It's very funny when Americans just do not get that the meme you are using began when Ian Plimer was comparing climate scientists to your fundamentalist lay preachers and creationists in order to make fun of them.
      The science denial crowd really is a strange bunch mostly astroturfed by PR companies but somehow you've been conned and taken for a ride,

  32. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't you have women to harass online?

    The author of the phrase can't hear you, he's long dead. As for the GP, he or she merely stated what the phrase "fairer sex" in fact means. If you ignorantly believed that it meant something different then that is rather embarrassing for you isn't it?

  33. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unchanged. Except killing off quite a few large animals, building huge temples and societies, domesticating foods like corn potatoes tomatoes squash quinoa...

  34. I have Black Friends... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...Every time I read someone say "I believe in Global Warming. but..." reminds me of people saying they have Black friends just prior to saying they don't think Affirmative Action is a good idea, or that Obama is not a very good president.

    Has AGW become such an article of faith and political correctness that people can't take the opposite side without paying homage or ritual deference to its existence? Might as well add on a "Mann, the merciful" or something.

    1. Re:I have Black Friends... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh for fuck's sake. Is affirmative action a good idea?

      No.

      And not because of your friends. Anyone who thinks it is a good idea is happy to put the rights of the individual below a macro societal goal - i.e. they are playing the Game of Life with people.

      As soon as you accept that you deny the existence of any inalienable rights, you deny any notion of equality, and you are facilitating a legal system which can ride roughshod over any principle that currently protected your life, liberty, happiness, and freedom from being trampled.

  35. Absolutley by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "One strike, you're out Greenpeace!"

    If that strike is destroying monuments thousands of years old and causing irreparable damage to a very fragile desert ecosystem - yes, absolutely I would be strongly against ANY entity that did that, but more importantly didn't even consider it to be a problem.

    Thanks for the 45 years of environmental activism, it was nice knowin' ye.

    Greenpeace has not helped the environment in any meaningful way for at least two decades now. I consider helping them to be morally as questionable as supporting human trafficking, especially since you are taking away funds to help groups that actually help the environment instead of themselves (like the Nature Conservancy).

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Absolutley by blue+trane · · Score: 2

      Conveniently ignore that greenpeace apologized and acknowledged it made a mistake.

    2. Re:Absolutley by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Conveniently ignore that an apology doesn't fix the damage. In fact, it seems that nothing can repair the damage they did; it's quite permanent.

    3. Re:Absolutley by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > If that strike is destroying monuments thousands of years old and causing irreparable damage to a very fragile desert ecosystem - yes,

      So, the fact that the Nature Conservancy sold the drilling rights on their "conservation land" to big oil would be a problem for you, right? And if they promised to stop doing that but were still doing it 10 years later, you would be strongly against that right?

      And when it came to light that the Nature Conservancy took millions of dollars from BP, but kept mum about it during the disaster in the Gulf, you would be strongly against them for not considering that to be a problem, right?

      Or is your support of the NC more about opposing Greenpeace than it is about any sort of meaningful and consistent principles?

    4. Re:Absolutley by epine · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If that strike is destroying monuments thousands of years old and causing irreparable damage to a very fragile desert ecosystem - yes, absolutely I would be strongly against ANY entity that did that, but more importantly didn't even consider it to be a problem.

      I take it then that you'll be pretty negative toward the American administration who oversaw the destruction or loss of a substantial slice of cultural artifacts held in trust on behalf of the entire Iraqi civilization.

      "The images you are seeing on television you are seeing over and over and over. And it's the same picture of some person walking out of some building with a vase. And you see it 20 times. And you think, my goodness, were there that many vases?" Rumsfeld told reporters. "Is it possible that there were that many vases in the whole country?"

      This from the man who likely repeated the phrase "weapons of mass destruction" times beyond measure. My goodness, is it possible that there were any WMD in the whole country?

      the true figure was around 15,000 items, including 5,000 extremely valuable cylinder seals

      Perhaps Rumsfeld hates all museums with the same uniform, searing passion, but I suspect he might have summarized the matter differently if 15,000 items walked out of the Smithsonian, including personal artifacts brought over to American on the Mayflower that were already so venerable they predated Constantine.

      Now to deal with the article at hand:

      If this trend continued, the carbon dioxide level would have become too low to support life on Earth.

      If he thinks this trend could have continued deep into the extirpation of the chlorophyllosphere, he's badly in need of that new ultrasound treatment used to cure Alzheimer's disease in the mice model.

      Epic fail. Crank dismissed.

    5. Re:Absolutley by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      An apology won't repair the environmental damage they caused.

    6. Re:Absolutley by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, how about Exxon, Mobil, Shell, and BP? They've all had massive oil spills that have caused permanent environmental damage in the past couple of decades. Where do you get gasoline for your vehicle? You don't, I hope, since you have that one strike thing going.

      How about Duke Energy? Do you like coal ash in your rivers?

      How about Japan? Everybody loves fallout.

      I really hope you're a hermit living in a mountain cave in Albania, because your one-strike policy means you can't do a damn thing.

    7. Re:Absolutley by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry I burned your house to the ground, but hey, at least I apologized.

    8. Re:Absolutley by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is it okay for me to go on a killing spree if I apologise and acknowledge I made a mistake afterwards?

    9. Re:Absolutley by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I really hope you're a hermit living in a mountain cave in Albania, because your one-strike policy means you can't do a damn thing.

      You should know that the environment here is just as shitty and polluted :P

      Source: I am an Albanian living in Albania

    10. Re:Absolutley by stoatwblr · · Score: 1

      "If that strike is destroying monuments thousands of years old and causing irreparable damage to a very fragile desert ecosystem - yes, absolutely I would be strongly against ANY entity that did that, but more importantly didn't even consider it to be a problem."

      That incident was hardly the first time that Greenpeace have caused environmental damage, or destroyed goodwill towards unassociated conservation groups. Greenpeace is widely disliked in conservation circles because their extremist tactics cause far more political problems than they ever solve.

    11. Re:Absolutley by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Conveniently ignore that greenpeace apologized and acknowledged it made a mistake.

      World doesn't work like TV. You can't just apologise and everything is alright.

  36. Nothing new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    All the glaciers melting is a normal phenomenon that has happened in every previous interglacial warming period.

    We're in an interglacial warming period. Nothing man has don started this warming period and man is incapable of stopping the warming. At some point the Earth will reach the warmiest point of this warming period and then, history tells us, the Earth will cool down to the point where much of North America is under an ice sheet miles thick. This has happened many times and will keep happening until the sun burns out; man can only effect it at the margins.

    The big problem the warming alarmists have and cannot answer is its most basic anti-scientific paradox: It's hanging on a claim that effect can precede cause; the temps began rising before man-made CO2 emmissions rose and the current pause in rising temps happened while CO2 emissions were rising. There is on other place in science where anybody claims with a "straight face" that the cause of something is decoupled from the effects and even trails it by massive margins and over centuries.

    I do not fear the warming, which constitutes an excess of energy in the system (and we humans are very good at using energy) - what I fear is the cooling (which is a lack of excess energy). The next ice age will probably kill billions of people.

    1. Re:Nothing new by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      So we're not to blame for the sea levels rising? Whew, that really makes it all better. For me at least, I can continue living like I enjoy it.

      Because I'm about 300m above sea level. People with beach houses may disagree, though. And I guess they also won't give a fuck whether it's "normal" that they should find out how to convert their dwelling into house boats.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Nothing new by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      At some point the Earth will reach the warmiest point of this warming period and then, history tells us, the Earth will cool down to the point where much of North America is under an ice sheet miles thick.

      At some point was about 3000 years ago.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
  37. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by blue+trane · · Score: 1

    From http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/...

    "Miwok were great conservationists. Nothing was ever wasted. Game were killed and fish were caught not for sport, but to feed people. After they had inhabited this country for a number of centuries, the white man came and found the wild game plentiful, the streams fresh and clear, the air pure and clean, the timber uncut and the large deposits of gold still lay untouched in the foothills of the Sierras."

    Compare to today: overpopulation, pollution, drought, clearcuts. There is much we could have learned from the native Americans; instead we greedily pursued the "barbarous metal" and ruined the land.

  38. Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Flu has become a new species????? WOW!!! Alert the press!

    This is like the famous moths and finches... a temporary and reversible adaptation NOT evolution. Every year the guys who make the flu vaccines try to figure out which strain is likely to be the problem and they brew up lots of drugs for that strain (so they do not spend 100 times as much time and money stockpiling drugs for all strains and then have to throw that all out when it expires - thereby making the cost of each vaccination skyrocket). This effort is completely unrelated to the idea that the flue is evolving and we must figure out what new organism it is turning into and figure out a way to make a drug to fight it in under a year (remember: this is an annual thing)

    It's a very simple-minded (and very wrong) idea that any change in a living thing is "evolution"

    1. Re:Wow by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      And it is also a very simple-minded idea that the effects of small changes over long periods of time won't end up as new species. Give me a budget and 100,000 years and I'll show you your new species.

    2. Re:Wow by harlequinn · · Score: 1

      It would be simple minded. Of course I didn't say or imply that, so I'm not sure where you're coming from.

    3. Re:Wow by harlequinn · · Score: 1

      My apologies, Anonymous Coward was hidden. Now I see it...

    4. Re:Wow by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      No sweat.

  39. uh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You do not need to bring "any new science to the table" when the existing and unrefuted facts will do just fine.

    The warming alarmists keep shifting their arguments and teminology to dodge one big sticky problem: the hard facts don't fit their core argument. Every time they run up againsts this they scream, and hurl insults at their critics, and wave their arms frantically ("don't look at THAT! look over HERE!") and they try to find new words and new ways of arguing and they double-down on efforts to propagandize school kids - but they can never answer any of the basic problems which is WHY those same basic challenges keep being used.

  40. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

    Actually, the California gold rush was a movement to rapidly settle the West Coast that we had expropriated from Mexico. We won a war against Mexico and California was part of the 'spoils' of that war. President Polk 'won' the land, and we needed to quickly settle people onto it.

  41. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The mass murder charge can't be defended because it's a completely bogus, made up delusion of a rightard.

  42. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Compared to an opinion with no citation at all?

  43. whereas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All the guys being paid by power-hungry and money-hungry governments to study global warming (and to "discover" that governments need more power, control, and money - all with the trump-card of "it's SCIENCE") are pure as the wind-driven snow, right?

    All the guys like Al Gore who become rich and famous pushing global warming (while investing in companies that would be economic losers if they had to stand on their merits, but which are fantastic money-makers when pumped full of government "stimulus" money) are absolutely untainted by THAT money right??? Even when they prove they don't actually believe in it by [a] flying around in private jets, often to resort locations where all the consumables have to be shipped-in at great carbon footprint expense, and [b] buying huge estates that hog energy and are often at sea level on shorelines, which would be a bad investment if they truly thought the seas were going to rise significantly.

    Right

    Go back to reading your Dr Seuss books... the adults are having a conversation you are apparently ill-equipped to have.

  44. Comrades by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is getting more difficult to edit deposed party members out of photographs with this Internet capitalist tool.

  45. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by angst_ridden_hipster · · Score: 1

    Uh, fair has never meant "weaker" in the English language. The phrase "fairer sex" refers to the definition of "fair" as pleasing to the eye or mind.

    --
    Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?
    www.fogbound.net
  46. Look at his company, make up your own mind by Sklivvz · · Score: 1

    For many years, he hasn't worked or been an active environmentalist. In fact he works for a marketing company whose blog you can read here: http://greenspiritstrategies.c... and contains many articles in which he openly espouses anti-environmentalist positions such as:

    Green godfather says pipeline must be built

    Furthermore, the article is published by the Heartland institute, which is notoriously a lobbyist for many not-so-great corporations such as the fossil fuel, tobacco or walmart.

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

  47. volcanoes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    natural volcanic emissions (which are what triggered previous notable climate catastrophes) have been and still do (to this day) emit tons and tons of more emissions (and directly to the stratosphere) than mankind ever can or will... the simple fact is the earth expands as its internal nuclear reaction occurs and emits atmospheric altering gasses and projects them directly into these spheres.. don't blame yourself.. is mankind a factor? well yes, but so are other animals ... so just because you can relate human emissions doesn't mean if you removed all human emission this still wouldn't happen naturally.. which is what we should really be focusing on instead of relating statistics to generate profit.. we should generate change instead.. but of course, there are profits to be made from

  48. 'Doctor'? So why spout mistruth? by psinet · · Score: 1

    "The optimum level of carbon dioxide for plant growth, given enough water and nutrients, is about 1,500 parts per million, nearly four times higher than today. Greenhouse growers inject carbon-dioxide to increase yields." - Dr. Patrick Moore.

    Completely false. Why would a 'Doctor' misrepresent such basic facts regarding plant biology? Plants have 2 types of CO2 requirements - during the photo-period and during the non photo-period. Such extreme and sustained levels of 1500ppm CO2 during the non photo-period will result in chlorosis, stretching, wilting and eventually fatal compromise of their immuno-suppressant functions. 1500ppm is not the optimum level for plants - it is the level at which it is guaranteed plants will die. To avoid these negative factors, CO2 levels must be reduced to 400-500ppm during non photo-periods, especially in the presence of moisture.

    Does Dr Moore have knowledge of a global CO2 photo-period regulator that I am unaware of? What an amateur. It is terrible these people are quoted and listened too at all.

    1. Re:'Doctor'? So why spout mistruth? by garyebickford · · Score: 1

      According to Wikipedia, atmospheric levels of CO2 have ranged as high as 7000 ppm (during the Cambrian period), at which time the rate of plant growth was as high or higher than any other time in the history of life. Present levels are scarily close to the lowest ever found, 180 ppm during the last glaciation.'' So I think you have your facts wrong. There is also satellite data and associated research showing that today, the deserts are greening up more than any time in recent history, due entirely to increased CO2.

      It seems to me that being only a factor of two greater than the 'iceball Earth' level, out of a range of almost a factor of 20, puts us at present in the bot tom of the range. The geometric mean of 7000 and 200 is about 1180, which seems to be a not-unreasonable number compared to the geological record. This may, of course, mean that Florida is a rather small island and Bangladesh will need to hire the Dutch to build dikes.

      --
      It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
    2. Re:'Doctor'? So why spout mistruth? by psinet · · Score: 1

      Of course, the ability of plants to deal with CO2 concentrations has evolved - alongside the CO2 fluctuations themselves. That is one of the reasons you see so few Cambrian period plants around.

    3. Re:'Doctor'? So why spout mistruth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm looking forward to the two foot dragon flies and 40 foot ferns! :D

  49. The dark side pays better. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nuf said.

  50. TRaitor! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Activate the Punishment Panda! Oh, wrong organization.

  51. Very Wrong by SuperKendall · · Score: 0

    They hardly apologized at all. Of note is that what they did was a CRIMINAL ACTION in Peru with very severe fines - a REAL apology would be to turn over the people responsible.

    What they did was no apology at all.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  52. Explain China then by dbIII · · Score: 1

    The "future shock" scarcity of mass starvation was on track until China got it's act together, so your dumbed down idea doesn't fit the most simple comparison to reality.
    I'm not an advocate of Chinese politics, their "justice" system is evil for a start with 99%+ convictions, but I just did not want to see such hardline left/right division stupidity run free.

    Come on superwiz, you are not as dumb as the words you've written so don't be so lazy and lift your game.

    1. Re:Explain China then by superwiz · · Score: 1

      The "future shock" scarcity of mass starvation was on track until China got it's act together

      And getting its act together meant loosening the screws and allowing capitalist enterprises to emerge. That's moving to the right. Oh, and my words may offend you, but they are not dumb. Just honest. And the only reason they are dissonant to your ears is that you are too used to the hearing the leftist serenade which, just as the original serenade, is meant to trap you into a lull, Odysseus.

      --
      Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
    2. Re:Explain China then by dbIII · · Score: 1

      So China on the right now?
      What a fucking idiot.

  53. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by blue+trane · · Score: 1

    http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/... .pdf

    "In 1839, Swiss immigrant John Sutter settled in what is now Sacramento and began building a private empire defended by a fort. [...] Sutters fort became a symbol of oppression.

    "Native Americans worked his fields [...] Sutter would control the Indian people through a system of forced labor.

    [...]

    "In 1848, the discovery of gold at Sutters sawmill set off a rush to California that would end the old world of the Sierra people and change their lives forever."

    In other words, it started before the gold rush, but it could have been managed better without the blind greed of the forty-niners. It would have been slower, at least. Gold, the "barbarous metal".

  54. The fairer sex by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sure, maybe he only got involved for the pussy initially. C'mon, it's first, second, third, fourth and last thing on EVERY guy's mind from the age of 12 on up.

    But, somewhere along the line, he had gotten his fill of pussy, or was rendered impotent, and found he actually cared about something else.

    Because pussy is SO *not* good for the environment.

    Don't believe me? I have roughly 8 billion examples for you.

  55. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Supporting a basic income means you think so much of yourself you believe the world owes you a living, literally. It doesn't. Pull your own damn weight.

  56. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by PatrickNarkinsky · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Out of curiosity, do you have a source for any of this that has voted Democrat since Kennedy? It's a lot of horseshit. The Dixiecrats, who favored segregation, largely became Republicans in the 70's. That's why Reagans first campaign speech after the convention was in Mississippi on the topic of "states' rights." This is code. And the Dixiecrats abandoned the Democrats because they supported integration! You're engaged in a long winded and grossly distorted fallacy of guilt by association.

  57. Climate Change on Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You can only be amused by the responses these articles attract.

    Here are some facts that puts all of these comments into perspective.

    1. 99.9% of Slashdot commenters are NOT Climate Scientists.
    2. Probably 90% don't even have education in areas remotely related to Climate Science.
    3. 90% are the posts seem to cite Skeptical Science in order to prove their point.
    4. Skeptical Science is run by a Cartoonist.
    5. The .01% of Slashdot commenters that ARE qualified to offer a valid opinion...don't do so on Slashdot. (Unless Curry and Man have Slashdot accounts?)

    The bottom line is that this is all a wankfest, complete with name calling and morons on both side who are under the delusion that A) their opinion matters and B) . That their opinion is worth a bag of warm shit, and it's getting pretty fucking annoying.

    1. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by FlyHelicopters · · Score: 1

      Shame you posted as AC, you're actually right. :)

    2. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by JDAustin · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sounds like the Slashdot has the same composition of climate scientists that the IPCC does.

    3. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Skeptical Science is run by a Cartoonist.

      And that is relevant, how?

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    4. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's see, how did that go?

      "Well, he's not a Cliiiimate Scientist!!!"

      I think that's the standard response to information put out on Wattsupwiththat.

      So which way do you want it? Either both sites are shit or both are informative.

      Let me guess, YOUR site isn't shit, is that it?

      Fucking moron.

    5. Re: Climate Change on Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's see made up statistics check
      Hidden disdain at those that state opinions against anything he believes. Check
      Blind adherence to climate scientist stated doctrine because we know allscients are pure and never ever list secure funding check
      Go figure -

    6. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by MPAndonee · · Score: 1

      You can only be amused by the responses these articles attract.

      Here are some facts that puts all of these comments into perspective.

      1. 99.9% of Slashdot commenters are NOT Climate Scientists.
      2. Probably 90% don't even have education in areas remotely related to Climate Science.
      3. 90% are the posts seem to cite Skeptical Science in order to prove their point.
      4. Skeptical Science is run by a Cartoonist.
      5. The .01% of Slashdot commenters that ARE qualified to offer a valid opinion...don't do so on Slashdot. (Unless Curry and Man have Slashdot accounts?)

      The bottom line is that this is all a wankfest, complete with name calling and morons on both side who are under the delusion that A) their opinion matters and B) . That their opinion is worth a bag of warm shit, and it's getting pretty fucking annoying.

      The thing is, 3 of my friends are climate scientists.

      Surely, what they tell me can't be lies that they concoct where they work?

      --
      Nothing to see here -- move along now...
    7. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by TheRealLifeboy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You can only be amused by the responses these articles attract.

      Here are some facts that puts all of these comments into perspective.

      1. 99.9% of Slashdot commenters are NOT Climate Scientists.

      But most are literate and can evaluate material that they read critically.

      2. Probably 90% don't even have education in areas remotely related to Climate Science.

      Appeal to Authority is a fallacy. You don't have to be an "expert" to be able to evaluate written material.

      3. 90% are the posts seem to cite Skeptical Science in order to prove their point.

      And you're assuming without evaluation that all skeptical science is wrong and all non-skeptical science is not. Are you totally dense? There is no non-skeptical science. All science must be skeptical. Because some IPCC stooges are not, we have the problem we have!

      4. Skeptical Science is run by a Cartoonist.

      Eh, cartoonists are mostly very sharp en perceptive. Able to see aspects of a situation and portray that which many other don't see right away. Also, if you have only ever read one "skeptical" scientist, no wonder you're in the dark!

      5. The .01% of Slashdot commenters that ARE qualified to offer a valid opinion...don't do so on Slashdot. (Unless Curry and Man have Slashdot accounts?)

      Man? You mean Mann? That Mann that created Mann-made warming? He did some work, found something and built a hypothesis. Some non-skeptical scientist (Al Gore and his friends?) said it's the new Gospel. Others investigated further over time and found all is not kosher with his hypothesis. Mann also removed inconvenient truths about the earth's climate history...! Now he's acting more non-scientic in that he doesn't consider the new evidence, but rather refuses to even engage with his critics.

      The bottom line is that...<snip>

      ... your poor language reflects your education or lack of it, since you are not able to express yourself in decent language and have to stoop to crude expletives in an attempt to be heard. It doesn't work.

    8. Re: Climate Change on Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      John Cook once worked as a cartoonist, but the site he manages actually links to papers done by climate scientists. Does that help?

    9. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by colinwb · · Score: 2

      "Appeal to Authority is a fallacy. You don't have to be an "expert" to be able to evaluate written material."

      You might want to test your argument using as an example Andrew Wiles's 1994 proof of the modularity theorem for semistable elliptic curves. Is his proof valid or not?

    10. Re: Climate Change on Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And yet you continue to visit this site...why?

    11. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by dywolf · · Score: 1

      If the science is sound, then his being a cartoonist is irrelevant. Guess what? The science IS sound and is vetted by actual scientists, whose work is publicly available and fully cited when referenced. What you are propagating is the opposite of the appeal to authority fallacy, claiming that because he isn't an authority he cannot be listened to. But would you ignore a man who said 2+2=4 because he wasn't a mathematician? No you wouldn't. I imagine the reason you ignore Skeptical Science isn't really because of his background, but because of your own inability to personally vet the scientific knowledge being presented, knowledge that in truth he is merely passing along and repeating, albeit in a more accessible and user friendly form.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    12. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by dywolf · · Score: 2

      he's refuting a variation on the appeal to authority fallacy.

      the typical ATAF involves "X is an expert, we should listen to X".
      the post he's refuting is making a related claim "X is not an expert, he is a cartoonist. We should NOT listen to X."
      It's an inversion of the typical ATAF.

      The key point is that scientific facts are true regardless of the status of X as an expert or non-expert.
      In this case, X is a cartoonist, but X has more than a typical laypersons familiarity with the topic, even if he isn't a leading researcher in the field.

      But most importantly, it's not that we should accept/dismiss X's statements be he is or isn't an expert.
      It's that we should accept/dismiss his statements because the science bears them out.
      In the case of Skeptical Science, the science is pretty sound.

      X's position, really all of Skeptical Science and its staff, is more like that of Neil Degrasse Tyson, or Carl Sagan: he is science communicator, bringing the science down to a simplified form, a way it can be understand by lay people, while still being rooted in what the actual experts say. Effectively spreading the knowledge (ie, expertise) of what the science is around more, so that lay people can be more fully knowledgeable.

      Another key point: the presence of a fallacy is a caution light, not an absolute judgment of truth/untruth.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    13. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by dywolf · · Score: 1

      their refusal to induct you into the international cabal simply shows their level of commitment.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    14. Re: Climate Change on Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      3 of your friends are wankers (climate scientist) on the public dole. Better to tutor students in the hood in math.

    15. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      3. 90% are the posts seem to cite Skeptical Science in order to prove their point.

      And you're assuming without evaluation that all skeptical science is wrong and all non-skeptical science is not. Are you totally dense? There is no non-skeptical science. All science must be skeptical. Because some IPCC stooges are not, we have the problem we have!

      4. Skeptical Science is run by a Cartoonist.

      Eh, cartoonists are mostly very sharp en perceptive. Able to see aspects of a situation and portray that which many other don't see right away. Also, if you have only ever read one "skeptical" scientist, no wonder you're in the dark!

      I had to laugh so hard reading this. I'm not going to spoil it for you, Mr. Skeptic.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    16. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      Whether a site is shit or not depends on the information that is posted, not the person who is running the site. (And, to a lesser extent the comments on the site).

      Watts sometimes posts reasonable stuff (like when he trashed the "Sky dragon" lunatics), but too much of it is just junk (and most of the comments are worse).

      What gets posted on Skeptical Science includes links to the actual papers backing it up. It is of much higher quality.

      Skeptical science itself says:

      Skeptical Science is maintained by John Cook, the Climate Communication Fellow for the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland. He studied physics at the University of Queensland, Australia. After graduating, he majored in solar physics in his post-grad honours year. He is not a climate scientist. Consequently, the science presented on Skeptical Science is not his own but taken directly from the peer reviewed scientific literature. To those seeking to refute the science presented, one needs to address the peer reviewed papers where the science comes from (links to the full papers are provided whenever possible).

      Watts Up With That says:

      About Anthony:

      I’m a former AMS certified (Seal 676 retired) television meteorologist who spent 25 years on the air and who also operates a weather technology and content business, as well as continues daily forecasting on radio, just for fun.

      Weather measurement and weather presentation technology is my specialty. I also provide weather stations and custom weather monitoring solutions via www.weathershop.com (if you like my work, please consider buying a weather gadget there, StormPredator for example) and www.tempelert.com, and turn key weather channels with advertising at www.viziframe.com

      The weather graphics you see in the lower right corner of the blog are produced by my company, IntelliWeather. As you can see most of my work is in weather technology such as weather stations, weather data processing systems, and weather graphics creation and display. While I’m not a degreed climate scientist, I’ll point out that neither is Al Gore, and his specialty is presentation also. And that’s part of what this blog is about: presentation of weather and climate data in a form the public can understand and discuss.

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    17. Re:Climate Change on Slashdot by TheRealLifeboy · · Score: 1
      One doesn't need to understand the complete mathematical proof of Fermat's Last Theorem to understand that there is 1) a proof offered and 2) no-one has shown his proof to be incorrect and it is generally accepted. If there was a dissenting view and it was published, it would be up to anyone to read it and offer support or a rebuttal. With Climate Science however there are many well qualified people that are pointing out errors, wrong assumptions and omissions in the IPCC stance and reports, as well as in the work of scientists. This is good and should be so. To claim however that the science is settled (it never is!), is disingenuous and deceptive and a certain political agenda has hijacked the process for their own nefarious purposes, regardless if one considers it to be a conspiracy or not. Anybody can point out a problem with a scientific theory, regardless of qualification. More-so, anyone can point to evidence not made public or receiving little media coverage. You don't have to be an expert to do that. A good example would be http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.... where it is reported that a qualified scientist has published his report:
      1. The man-made share of CO2 in the atmosphere is only a maximum of 30% (0-30%). The remainder is related to temperature changes, natural outgassing from the oceans, and to soil moisture.
      2. The residence time of CO2 in the atmosphere is only 4-7 years, not hundreds of years as falsely claimed by the IPCC Bern model.
      3. Man-made CO2 emissions increased a whopping 350% faster since 2002, yet the rate of CO2 increase in the atmosphere remained steady at ~2.1 ppm/yr, a "strong indication that anthropogenic emissions can not have a significant or even dominant share."
      4. His conclusion: "Because of the saturation effect in the energy absorption of CO2 molecules with increasing concentration and short residence time, the further increase in temperature could be therefore only at most a few tenths of a degree, if at all. However, the known fossil reserves would be exhausted by then."

      Now, if you want to disprove what he says, your have to go do the science for the next 10 years. There is no point it shouting "denier" or "skeptic", unless you're a shill or just an idiot in general.

  58. Libertarians hate America by jsepeta · · Score: 1

    Libertarians are selfish pricks who can't think 10 minutes into the future, and do not recognize that they put all society in danger by their short-sightedness.

    --
    Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.
    1. Re:Libertarians hate America by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like how well you support your view with solid arguments and how you don't try to generalise in any way.

  59. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, Senator Byrd was one helluva Republican, moron. I guess that's why Clinton has to make some bullshit excuse for him being the Grand Poobah Wizard of the KKK.

  60. proof by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Capitalism has solved billions of problems. The government wants to confiscate all the capital to save the world. Their track record does not inspire confidence worth betting the planet on.

  61. Blessing and a curse? by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm sure there are people here far more knowledgeable about politics, science and other topics than I. I however am moderately versed in all these things and I specialize in cause and effect both mathematically as well as sociologically as a hobby.

    1) I'm glad he came forward as a "semi-credible" skeptic. It's time we get someone "on the other side" who will attempt to use gray matter to ponder the mysteries of global warming. Of course, he's a political activist and therefore probably has burned up most of his gray matter and left holes by now, but he poses questions that need to be addressed.

    2) Has anyone noticed that there's probably twice as many global warming skeptics that don't even know what it means, but side with the "Right" because they would die before siding with the "Left". I know people who believe strongly that it's Jesus's will that we have this issue and therefore when eggheaded lefties contradict that, it must be gods will to disagree. There need to be people trying to actually ask and answer questions who don't think in terms of "If we evolved from the monkeys why are there still monkey then?".

    3) People will side with this guy. He's an egghead they agree with. Let's raise him up as a major scientific leader. Let's not bash him or attack him. Let's reason with him and show his new groupies that we don't have to make this a political left and right thing. It can be more reasonable than that. This is something that should rise above political interests and be delt with.

    4) I am not a climate change skeptic.... I believe that since the beginning of time, there has never been a constant climate. I believe it's always changing. I believe we're hellbent on proving that we were right all along and that this chemical or that one must be the specific reason for the climate change. I am inclined to agree with the research I've read in the direction that suggests that CO2 is in fact the primary cause. I however also believe that it seems a little too easy and too obvious. I'm thinking ... somehow when there's just that much CO2 rushing up to suffocate us, it feels like a reaction to something we're not looking for. I don't like the idea of trying to scrub the CO2 down without first checking to see, do we need to CO2 to protect us against something else? Was CO2 the lesser of two evils?

    5) We have far bigger problems than CO2 right now. We have things like fracking. Don't get me wrong... global warming is very very very dangerous... but I see drinking water as being far more important short term. Do I think we should stop working on climate change? NO!!! We need to address this. We should have trillions of dollars of tax money going into fixing this. But we need to get the damn research done to prove that intentionally attacking the Earth's mantle and intentionally destabilizing it by intentionally cracking it to force it to bleed oil has to stop. I have never in my life dreamed of anything that sounds so impressively stupid as this. The U.S. is in a damn near perpetual clean water shortage in areas where 50+ million people live and now we're destroying even more clean water reserves. This is clearly a problem we can address and we don't. Why the hell isn't fracking a major item on the presidential election agenda?

    I think I love this guy. I am so happy he's there and now let's use him for all he's worth. Let's stop attacking him and instead talk with him. Maybe his believers who have raised him to messianic status will follow him because they finally have "a credible scientist" to listen to. Let's educate him so he can educate his people.

    Let's lead by example, not by insult.

    1. Re:Blessing and a curse? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's lead by example, not by insult.

      Yes, please lead by example. Use your money, not mine.

  62. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

    The Dixiecrats, who favored segregation, largely became Republicans in the 70's.

    Really?

    http://www.archives.gov/federa...

    What actually happened to the Dixiecrats is they essentially retired, and in their place were younger politicians which weren't pro-segregation, who joined the GOP.

    And if you want a source, here it is:

    http://freeplanetickettonorthk...

    Note this bite in particular:

    There weren’t many Republicans in the South prior to 1964, but that doesn’t mean the birth of the souther GOP was tied to “white racism.” That said, I am sure there were and are white racist southern GOP. No one would deny that. But it was the southern Democrats who were the party of slavery and, later, segregation. It was George Wallace, not John Tower, who stood in the southern schoolhouse door to block desegregation! The vast majority of Congressional GOP voted FOR the Civil Rights of 1964-65. The vast majority of those opposed to those acts were southern Democrats. Southern Democrats led to infamous filibuster of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

    Anyways don't let me get in the way of your quest to rewrite history. Remember to just keep repeating your lie enough, and it will become the truth.

  63. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No you are just an idiot or troll, his figure is easily verifiable and is useful to validate his idea that this figure is not as much, your post was idiotic at most and did not contain the mean to check the source. Also your attitude is the one of a dick.

  64. Because pollution won't make them $$$$ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The term Global Warming was created with the sole purpose of selling the scam called "Carbon Credits". If they use the word pollution, they won't be able to charge a fee for the fake credits.

  65. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > Supporting a basic income means you think so much of yourself you believe the world owes you a living, literally. It doesn't. Pull your own damn weight.

    The point is that the weight is minimal for a human being in the modern world thanks to technology, once you get rid of the waste and artificial scarcity and mandatory growth model.

    Each of us could easily "pull his own damn weight" with 1 day of work per week. Greed keeps us mired in 19th-century capitalist insanity.

  66. This FUD angle is juvenile by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Nice try but the chemists who are looking at the samples did a bit more than high school chemistry as well.
    WTF is it with the science deniers? I suppose I should at least be happy that they are looking up new words on wikipedia and they may actual pick something up by osmosis (new word for you to look up kid that you would have learnt if you'd done high school chemistry).

    1. Re:This FUD angle is juvenile by Hussman32 · · Score: 1

      I did my doctorate in electrolyte diffusion in liquid phases, so my questions will be a little more subtle, and I haven't seen them answered in IPCC publications; they are always too general in their descriptions. And yes, the temperature is very low, but it's not absolute zero so there will be movement. Other questions such as local warming periods over a year that could result in CO2 release from the surface, and many other things that can disrupt a datapoint over 300,000 years, especially when we know there have been large, long term weather heating and cooling periods and all of a sudden the mismatched data suggest we are at peak levels...there is room for questioning the data.

      A scientist wouldn't just say "Oh, the concentration at depth X is here, therefore everything is true." Enough of the name calling please.

         

      --
      "Who are you?" "No one of consequence." "I must know." "Get used to disappointment."
  67. Wrong strategy, perhaps? by jandersen · · Score: 1

    Taking into account the rather tattered reputation Greenpeace seems to have on /. - perhaps emphasising this guys past involvement in the same is not the best way to give his words weight. And of course, when I read that he has gone from being the founder of what was always a 'leftist', anti-establishment organisation, to being a more right-wing person living off his past fame, then it seems to be simply what most most people do in their life; and he feels embarrassed and want to put some distance to his past.

    Whatever the story may be, the science is science, and this article brings nothing new to the table - "climate change can't possibly be our fault, because who are we to think that we are so important?" - ignoring the fact that other species, and indeed the entirety of life, have a profound influence on the planet's climate, geology etc. Science does not postulate - it presents the facts, it tries to explain those facts, it submits itself to constant, critical scrutiny and gets new adjustments all the time. It leaves everybody to make up their own mind. But when you ask science for its advice on matters, you will get scientific advice - anything less would be dishonest.

  68. Not that new by sugarmotor · · Score: 1

    This is not really news.

    He's been saying stuff like this for a long time.

    The wikipedia article about him says "In 2006, he wrote to the Royal Society arguing there was "no scientific proof" that mankind was causing global warming" -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    Also http://amherststudent.amherst....

    --
    http://stephan.sugarmotor.org
  69. Old news and also wrong. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, this fella's been saying this for decades, so how the hell could it be news? And he wasn't the founder of Greenpeace.

    Also check up his current work history. His salary depends on denying AGW.

    http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/about/history/Patrick-Moore-background-information/

  70. The moron is strong in this one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lets look here, not going anywhere other than what you wrote:

    "The pH of the ocean is 8.1 to 8.2, which is alkaline"

    Yup. And it's changing to more acidic.

    "In short, CO2 does nothing to the chemistry of the ocean"

    Except "almost all of the CO2 is rendered in bicarbonate form" Therefore not all is removed.

    Sigh.

    "Oh, it's still an alkaline! That mean's it's not acidifying!"

    NO MORON, IT DOES NOT.

    1. Re: The moron is strong in this one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I didn't see him say that at all. Please point it out for me.

      I have no strong opinions on this subject but one side of the debate sure seems to have the vast majority of people like you (shouters and name callers).

  71. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 19 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, basic income means you think everyone should have the means to survive, and are willing to give up some of your "earnings" to achieve that goal. There should be precisely 0 deaths from malnutrition or exposure in modern society, and the fact that you're willing to entirely demean the simplest solution on a fraudulent basis is a clear demonstration of why.

  72. Why does nobody talk about education?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh, would that be because this thread isn't about it?

    Hmm. I wonder if that is anything like the reason why nobody is talking about pollution?

    Oh looky here:

    http://yro.slashdot.org/story/15/03/22/0715203/in-response-to-pollution-spike-paris-temporarily-halves-traffic-by-decree

    Even on slashdot today, within hours, they're talking about pollution.

    So maybe it is true that "nobody is talk[ing[ about pollution" when the conversation isn't about pollution, but there ARE conversations going on about pollution.

    In effect you're running a "LOOK! SQUIRREL!!!!" gambit. Since you can't stop the science and facts supporting the reality of AGW, you try to get people to stop talking about it, in the hope that if it's not talked about, nothing will be asked to be done about it.

    All you'd have to do, on the extremely unlikely chance you're genuinely curious, is go look for where they're talking about pollution, or ASK about pollution rather than just complain that nobody is talking about it. This is so simple and obvious a method that the fact you did not and instead whined about how pollution was being ignored (IT IS NOT!) that you'd need extraordinary evidence of culpable stupidity to prove that you are not, in fact, shouting "LOOK! SQUIRREL" as a ridiculous attempt to avoid having to appear stupid and deny the science. "Oh, but I totally do agree that AGW is real" is no more convincing than a redneck hick wearing a KKK outfit who says "Some of my best friends are niggers!" as proof he's not a racist.

  73. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 1

    What's wrong with thinking so much of yourself? I happen to think that much of everyone.

    My question would be, why do you think so little of everyone that you feel they should be forced to spend the majority of their days performing some form of labour to prove their entitlement? Its not even like most of that labour is useful to society beyond making sure the system is perpetuated.

  74. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 1

    Probably because he, like the rest of us, have no idea what that person was talking about. Maybe if they were more specific as to what they meant by "mass murder" and in what context (since it was obviously hyperbole), there would be something to address.

    --
    while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
  75. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 1

    The DNP has not always been liberal and the GOP has not always been conservative. Before the Southern Strategy politics of the 60s, the DNP was comprised of two factions, the Northern/Progressive Democrats and the Southern/States Rights/Conservative Democrats (KKK included). They had different political ideologies but similar goals. That is why we had weird tickets like the very liberal JFK running with the very racist and very conservative LBJ. After the Southern Strategy politics (by Richard Nixon and the GOP), the State's Rights faction abandoned the DNP for the GOP, and the GOP have had a clear political/ideological divide ever since. Just because Calhoun was in the DNP doesn't mean he was liberal.

    --
    while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
  76. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 19 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's not about proving their entitlement. Nobody has entitlement. It's about taking care of themselves and not asking others to do it for them.

  77. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 1 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Show me the substantive, logical difference between "everyone should have the means to survive," and "the world owes you a living." I submit they are the same. If that's what you believe, then that's what you believe, fine. But don't pretend it isn't.

  78. "... Declares Himself a complete idiot." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There. Fixed the headline for you.

  79. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by amxcoder · · Score: 1

    Actually, if by 'spoils' you mean we took it from them because we won, you're wrong. The US paid Mexico $24M for the south-western states (in 1800's money value). I wouldn't call land that the US purchased for money, 'spoils of war'.

  80. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So scientists have an endless supply of jobs waiting for them but businessmen starve and die because their current venture dries up. This actually makes sense to you? That there are more opportunities in the science world than the business world?

    The fact of the matter is successful business people go where the market is, they don't invent it out of thin air. If all the oil in the world dried up today, the energy sector would thrive using the next most viable option as their source of income. Oil just happens to be the current meal ticket and all your screaming, fussing and social engineering attempts to change reality are meaningless chaff to them.

  81. ecosystems are still on a starvation diet for CO2? by Cthulhu's+Physicist · · Score: 1

    "declaring that "at 400 parts per million, all our food crops, forests, and natural ecosystems are still on a starvation diet for carbon dioxide."

    Yeah but it seems there may be some unintended consequences...

    http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/ar...

    Lead author Dr Roel Brienen, from the School of Geography at the University of Leeds, said: “Tree mortality rates have increased by more than a third since the mid-1980s, and this is affecting the Amazon’s capacity to store carbon.” Initially, an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – a key ingredient for photosynthesis – led to a growth spurt for the Amazon’s trees, the researchers say. But the extra carbon appears to have had unexpected consequences. Study co-author Professor Oliver Phillips, also from the University’s School of Geography, said: “With time, the growth stimulation feeds through the system, causing trees to live faster, and so die younger.”

    "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long - and you have burned so very, very brightly Roy"

  82. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They add their own twist.

  83. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Citation, please. "They left commits mass murder"

  84. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Democrats and Republicans flipped parties in the 20th century. I recall learning this in my government class in college. And, it makes complete sense too. Look at the platforms of the Democrats and Republicans and compare them to what they used to be in the mid 19th century. Just like a politician, they flipped-flopped.

  85. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Rakarra · · Score: 1

    Actually, if by 'spoils' you mean we took it from them because we won, you're wrong. The US paid Mexico $24M for the south-western states (in 1800's money value). I wouldn't call land that the US purchased for money, 'spoils of war'.

    Well. You're both right. The Americans paid for it, but it was a war treaty to stop the Mexican - American War. Mexico wasn't willing to sell before then. The US had offered over double that amount for the land purchase years earlier, but Mexico refused. Texas declared its independence, there was a dispute over what were the correct borders, and the US's annexation of that state was proceeded by full war.

  86. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  87. full responsibility by volmtech · · Score: 1

    The tobacco settlement was 206 billion dollars. What would the claimed damages for climate change be? Of course the fossil fuel industry is going to fight tooth and nail.

  88. First was Michael Mann... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...the hockey stick graph man. Now this guy. One by one the alarm raisers reach their personal limits of embarrassment and finally admit they were wrong. But will that change Democrats? No. Because Democrats do not learn.

  89. Alaskan Farming by Tenebrousedge · · Score: 1

    I was born and raised in Alaska. It's still a short growing season no matter what happens, and the light at the polar latitudes is less intense. Also, it's still cold there even when you add in AGW, so you still need cold-tolerant crops. Also, there's very, very little in the way of topsoil in these regions. Consult a map of permafrost extent in the Arctic, and mark off any land shaded in blue as being unsuitable for farming for the next millennium or so.

    Generally speaking, we're still better off growing crops in the current latitudes.

    --
    Those who advocate genocide deserve every protection afforded by law, and none afforded by common human decency.
  90. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Lefties" are communists, ergo they worship Mao and Stalin and want to emulate them at any cost. <rolleyes>

  91. Not too swift, is he? by iq145 · · Score: 1

    Patrick Moore is a pale shadow of Paul Watson!

  92. Diffusion in cold solid solutions is slow by dbIII · · Score: 1
    My metallugical background is pointing out to me that you should be considering gas diffusion through solid phases instead of liquid ones, and since that is so incredibly obvious it makes me wonder if you really are who you are pretending to be or just trying on some sort of bluff.
    Carbon Dioxide is pretty large in comparison to the ice crystal structure it has to get through, and drop that down to temperatures where the carbon dioxide isn't that far from being a solid itself and there's not a lot to drive diffusion is there?

    A scientist wouldn't just say "Oh, the concentration at depth X is here, therefore everything is true."

    It's not as you suggest and sounds like a gross insult to people who freeze their arses off in Antarctica to do this sort of sampling. It sounds like you are dishing out some "name calling" immediately before being asked for no response in kind.

    So, got anything on electrolyte diffusion through ice - which in this case is fairly pure, solid right at the time of deposition and really cold? Would it happen at all? If so is it relevant at all in less than long geological timescales?

    I'd be interested if it is relevant but it appears to defy all logic - thus easily mistaken for FUD bullshit if it has not been deliberated crafted as such.
    Also the ice cores are not the only source of information available about historical carbon dioxide levels so you've got a few more things to debunk before you can push bullshit about an unchanging atmosphere down our throats.

    1. Re:Diffusion in cold solid solutions is slow by Hussman32 · · Score: 1

      I looked up what you meant by FUD, and I'm guessing it's Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. I'll gladly accept that I'm questioning Uncertainty, but Fear and Doubt I leave to the media.

      I would note that I asked the parent poster of this thread what he knew about this topic as he has apparently looked at the plant data and associated uncertainties as well as the ice-core samples; and I asked if an error analysis has been done on the ice samples, and how rigorous it would be. You jumped in with comments about helium balloons and 'fucking deniers.'

      Of course I'll respect the effort to acquire the data, and I'll give it the appropriate scrutiny as suggested by the scientific method. I work in metal oxides also, and corrosion reactions to turn metal plus oxygen (oxygen being much larger than metals) into dirt are on the orders of years, not hundreds of thousands of years. So while some of your points about temperature and structure may (or may not) have merit, they are not proven and I asked someone who may know. What you're regarding as FUD, I'm regarding as business as usual.

      --
      "Who are you?" "No one of consequence." "I must know." "Get used to disappointment."
    2. Re:Diffusion in cold solid solutions is slow by dbIII · · Score: 1

      So while some of your points about temperature and structure may (or may not) have merit

      If you think they have no merit then you are not who you pretend to be since it would have been covered very early in your coursework.

      How can electrolyte diffusion apply to carbon dioxide through almost pure ice anyway? That doesn't seem to make any sense which is why you look very much like someone just throwing some cut and pasted words in there to sow seeds of doubt. Are you that, did you just guess and not apply anything from your background or have I missed something?

      I work in metal oxides also, and corrosion reactions to turn metal plus oxygen (oxygen being much larger than metals) into dirt are on the orders of years

      So you are hoping I or some poor reader that has made it down this far doesn't know the difference between corrosion and diffusion? Shame on you! You could have used age hardening of some aluminium copper alloys as an example of fairly quick diffusion through a solid but you went for a shameful spoon bending trick and hoped nobody would notice your deliberate distraction.

      I asked if an error analysis has been done on the ice samples

      No you implied that an entire field of research made a high school level mistake for decades. That's pretty fucking insulting to the entire scientific and engineering community as you are well aware.

    3. Re:Diffusion in cold solid solutions is slow by Hussman32 · · Score: 1

      How can electrolyte diffusion apply to carbon dioxide through almost pure ice anyway? That doesn't seem to make any sense which is why you look very much like someone just throwing some cut and pasted words in there to sow seeds of doubt. Are you that, did you just guess and not apply anything from your background or have I missed something?

      Hrm, I'm guessing you're not familiar with corrosion either, as the corrosion reaction is only one of the steps, the oxygen has to diffuse through the oxide film before it reacts with the base metal. The oxide film grows, increasing the length of the diffusion pathway, which slows the transport of oxygen (hence the desire for passivation of some surfaces). Check out problem 18B.13 of the 3rd edition of 'Transport Phenomena' by Bird Stewart and Lightfoot.

      I'm sorry to break this to you man, but you are out of your league on this discussion. They may have done an analysis, and it may have been good (which is why I asked), but I'm more than certain that it could be done with greater rigor, and that is what the scientific method is all about.

      --
      "Who are you?" "No one of consequence." "I must know." "Get used to disappointment."
    4. Re:Diffusion in cold solid solutions is slow by dbIII · · Score: 1
      Corrosion in ICE! WTF!

      I'm sorry to break this to you man, but you are out of your league on this discussion

      So the guy going on about corrosion when we are talking about ice suggesting someone who was a member of ASTM in 1995 doesn't know about corrosion. Yes I know about passive layers, it's 99% of the reason to use aluminium or titanium - not happening in ice though is it?
      Also CO2 vs oxygen ions alone is a huge difference in the size of the stuff that has to diffuse through. Also please explain how the CO is going to be produced for electrolyte diffusion. It's still pretty big, but I suppose that's irrelevant since it isn't there. So did they consider electrolyte diffusion? I'd say they didn't because it's not fucking happening and you know that perfectly well yourself, it's just a fucking stupid bluff to insult the intelligence of yourself and anyone with the misfortune to read it.
      If you are going to make a big deal about your background then use it instead of making shit up that contradicts what you know. The first question anyone looking at trapped gas in something is going to ask is whether it's as it was when it was trapped and if not how much has it changed. Suggesting the researchers did not do that is a massive insult to them and whoever did the peer review. Of course you know that but you are pushing a political angle and mocking the "reality based community".

  93. Ha ha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hansen's degree was in Physics, NOT climate science..... just like Freeman Dyson but every time a sceptic of man-made global warming pointed out all of Dyson's criticisms and proposals for easily mitigating any excess CO2 the warming people screamed that Dyson (a world-famous scientist with a famously thoughtful approach to things) should be ignored because his degree was "only" in physics and not climate science (hypocrisy on parade).

    The runaway greenhouse scanario never had any validity (the solid scientific proof has always been there in the geologic record) ... BUT the IPCC has a set of POLITICAL contraints that force it to look away from any contrary data. This built-in anti-science bias has distorted nearly everything in this field so that it is nearly an act of heresy to consider any theme other than "man produces CO2, CO2 traps heat, therefore man is heating the planet and must be stopped".

    There is no design document for planet Earth that specifies how to measure a "global temperature" and what that temperature should be. We all know what the climate has been like for the tiny number of years we people have been living here and recording it, so we are easily trapped into thinking any variance from this is "abnormal" and "wrong". The geologic record however tells us that the planet has been far warmer, far colder, had lots more CO2 in the atmosphere and lots less CO2 in the atmosphere many times in the past. All of these major swings happened BEFORE man was in a position to have ANY influence on them. Some of these large swings just might actually be periodically REQUIRED for the health of the planet (more REAL science needs to be done on this). One thing the gelogical record makes us CERTAIN of, however, is that the current climate hysteria is both unscientific and irrational; it IS tied to a LOT of politics though and people need to pay attention to that...

  94. "Consider the Source" shows your ad hominem bias! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This thread shows the lack of intellectual rigor climate change believers bring to the debate. It's all about personal attacks and statements of belief, generally with no backup except the nefarious backgrounds / sayings / attitudes / etc. of those who are skeptics.

    It's an embarassment, and it shows how weak the minds are that are posting here on Slashdot re climate change.

  95. Patrick Moore for hire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Patrick Moore is a corporate shill (a word I didn't learn until I was researching... Patrick Moore). Want more information?

    http://www.desmogblog.com/patrick-moore
    http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Patrick_Moore_appearances
    http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Patrick_Moore#Clients

    This guy isn't a co-founder of Greenpeace. He was involved in their Canadian operations at one point. He generates consulting revenues from corporate interests in GM, nuclear energy and other well-funded commercial operations and trades on having once been involved in some 'green' stuff.

    You should see some of the rubbish he comes out with on Twitter, particularly directed at people that are anti-GM, or even just people that suggest that seed swapping and maintenance of biodiversity is a good thing. He has no interest in the future of the planet, only in the future of his wallet.

  96. Religious Fervor by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Sorry, but I don't read religious screeds. Try real science.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  97. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Talderas · · Score: 1

    There are people that believe "fairer sex" was a phrase referencing something other than physical appearance?

    --
    "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  98. I think more people need to watch this by BevanFindlay · · Score: 1

    I think more people need to watch this. It puts the argument in really simple terms: either anthopogenic climate change is real, or it's not, and either we do something, or we don't. And the consequence of being right or wrong pretty much leave us with worst-case scenarios of: it's not real, we did something = we wasted some resources when we didn't need to, versus it is real and we did nothing = existential risk (i.e. civilisation collapse, or in layman's terms, we're screwed). Even if we're wrong (and that's in disagreement with most serious scientists), we're better to do something about it than not (and, as an aside, we're better to be reducing our environmental impacts anyway, so this is a good driver).

    For reference: my position was climate change skeptic until I started talking to academics in the field and looking into the data myself. I don't think we've got the models perfect, far from it - climates are crazy-complex systems - but the data is pretty compelling.

  99. Re: Hasn't been involved with Greenpeace since 198 by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

    Anyways don't let me get in the way of your quest to rewrite history. Remember to just keep repeating your lie enough, and it will become the truth.

    If the "birth of the souther GOP" wasn't tied to “white racism.” - why the heck are there so many openly racist pigfuckers among them?

    --
    Of course news about a fake are Fake News.