As more and more evidence comes out that man has very little to do with the established fact of Global Warming, damage controllers have set into high gear. Including a certain Utah governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change.It was a Blue Ribbon panel. It is thus infallible. It had all of the experts. None of whom had any conflicts of interest or anything to gain. Right?
You'd like to think that, wouldn't you!
The Deseret News reported
A state blue ribbon task force on climate change stated emphatically Monday that humans are to blame for global warming and offered a slate of recommendations on ways Utah can fight the changes.
Disclaimer for infrequent readers of Simple Utah Mormon Politics: I believe that the earth is warming. I believe that we should look for ways to reduce emissions and clean up our environment. I do not, however, believe that we should do so under duress from people who are benefiting from government subsidy to say so, and would continue to benefit by greater government control when it is not warranted. Now, on with our story...
DesNews, itself an infallible source of truth, had this to say as well:
Recommendations are divided into high priority and medium priority items to combat global warming, which a consensus of scientists blames on greenhouse gas emissions. (Emphasis added.)
Horse feathers! I hope he didn't get that from the governor's august council.
Maybe I'm chastizing the Blue Ribbon Advisory Council (doesn't that sound nice? say it again with me: Blue Ribbon Advisory Council, Blue Ribbon Advi...) for the interpretations of a reporter. Here's how the...um...BRAC was quoted in the article:
"There is no longer any scientific doubt that the Earth's average surface temperature is increasing and that changes in ocean temperature, ice and snow cover, and sea level are consistent with this global warming," says the report.
Okay, so far I agree. Nothing wrong there. But then it said
"Based on extensive scientific research, there is very high confidence that human-generated increases in greenhouse gas concentrations are responsible for most of the global warming observed during the past 50 years."Like with almost as high a degree of confidence that the weatherman thinks it's going to rain tomorrow?
Okay, so it was a little less confident than the first paragraph. It's interesting that the man-made global warming forecast has been downgraded to"Very high confidence" and "most". (Or has it always been that way?) Maybe the BRAC is not as confident that "humans are to blame" as the DesNews reporter.
Were you wondering who was on the Council? Here's a list. I'll be darned. It's completely devoid of any axe grinders! Just kidding.
I'd like a Pabst Blue Ribbon.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the governor needs to get off this global warming kick. It's ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI would also like a PBR.
As with any political blue ribbon panel (whatever the heck blue ribbon means ... I thought that was something that applied to cattle at the county fair), you will get a political statement rather than a scientific statement. While the panel is not free of axe grinders, it looks like the Guv tried to round it out by having axe grinders from opposite sides. Then add the concave lense of the Des News staff's bias, and voila! you get propaganda.
ReplyDeleteHuman caused global warming has become the great rallying cry for politicians every where...
ReplyDeleteA couple of references that you might enjoy...
First - What appears to be an actual scientific view of the facts:
http://www.friendsofscience.org/index.php?id=158
Second - Where I got the link to the first, as well as a reference to an error which the Goddard Institute found in the calculations, but aren't being very vocal about...
http://chesterbear.blogspot.com/2007/08/heres-some-recommended-viewing.html
And finally and somewhat less impressive, a posting I put up a month or 2 back:
http://urbankoda.blogspot.com/2007/06/scared-of-global-warming.html
Howdy,
ReplyDeleteGreenhouse gasses trap solar energy. We know this, and most of you learned it in 7th grade earth science class, if you were paying attention.
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, these gasses have increased in our atmosphere at unprecedented rates, as recorded in gas bubbles trapped in ancient ice (which won't be around to study for long). We put those gasses there.
If you believe that climate change is occurring, it seems hard to write this off as coincidence. If climate change isn't the result of increased levels of CO2, then what is causing it?
And, if you don't know, why would you deny the one plausible explanation?
Happy Trails,
Ron
I don't deny the PLAUSIBLE explanation, which is that solar energy fluctuates. I learned this in 7th grade too.
ReplyDeleteHowdy, Frank--
ReplyDeleteSure, solar energy fluctuates. Unfortunately, the technology for measuring that is so new we don't have any frame of reference for the changes. However, we do know that the current climate change event differs from past events, especially in the speed of the change. Those past events may well have been related to fluctuations in solar energy, but the rate of the current change suggests other factors.
We have more CO2 in the atmosphere. We can measure that. We know the effect that has on solar energy. If we're in a period of increased solar energy, a CO2 blanket around the planet will exacerbate the problem. Considering the amount of CO2 humans produce, it seems obvious that we've caused at least part of the problem, even if there are other factors.
Happy Trails,
Ron
Of course we have a way to measure it. Scientists have measured the variations in oxygen isotopes in several places around the world, and they have come to a clear conclusion that solar energy fluctuates--based on their measurements.
ReplyDelete