Climate Change Science Digest

The GOP and Science, never the twain shall meet ?

2010-09-26T20:23:00.000-04:00

On Climate Change, its the Republican Party vs. Reality. A comprehensive Wonk Room survey of the Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate finds that nearly all dispute the scientific consensus that the United States must act to fight global warming pollution. In May, 2010, the National Academies of Science reported to Congress that “the U.S. should act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and

Easter Island, the Mayans and Us

2010-08-01T00:24:00.001-04:00

What do the great Mayan civilization of 800 AD and the peoples of Easter Island circa 1600 AD have in common with us, 21st century mankind with all our technology and connected lifestyle ? Surely very little. Well, we have one thing very much in common, and hopefully not, but possibly two. The Mayan civilization flourished in South America for hundreds of years and built a society similar in

2010, Hottest Year On Record Already, EVER

2010-07-13T21:14:00.000-04:00

Despire the irony that Fox News and other peddlers of disinformation were out in full force in January and February claiming that climate change is a myth because half the US received heavy snowfall in two weeks of the year (!) the latest reports in from NASA confirm what many may have expected looking at GLOBAL average temperatures since year end. And the data is not pretty. Even though the

UOCS - Man made global warming causing earlier and longer spring, summer

2010-05-20T14:31:00.002-04:00

The Union of Concerned Scientists published a paper today discussing the 40 year trend of earlier and longer springs and summers and the correlation to man made climate change. Definately a recommended read. http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/impacts/climate-and-earlier-spring.html Signs of spring are beginning to emerge in many parts of the United States. After

Is there scientific consensus regarding global warming ?

2010-04-20T01:48:00.006-04:00

Frequently, there is a misconception that there is widescale confusion or disagreement in the science community regarding the reality of climate change and man's direct influence on the rate of warming. This couldn't be further from the truth, I present here statements from all major international scientific bodies, plus all references linked where possible : Statements by concurring

Scientist claims CO2 % in atmosphere not rising

2010-04-19T16:44:00.002-04:00

This is a common piece of misinformation currently doing the rounds of the internet via email and climate-change-deniar blogs, the notion that there is a natural force keeping CO2 in check. However, this theory is fundamentally flawed, as follows> The theory suggests that because the amount of carbon dioxide human activity generates that remains in the air is around 43%, then nature is

Carbon Dioxide - How much is human activity adding to the atmosphere ?

2010-04-18T12:51:00.000-04:00

Carbon Dioxide or CO2 is frequently mentioned as the primary catalyst for the observed warming of the planet over the past several decades, and mankind's CO2 emissions are pointed to as the primary factor in the increasing volume of CO2 in the atmosphere. However, how much have CO2 levels really increased and how much is human activity contributing to this increase ? Are there other sources ?

Its the Sun, stupid ! or is it ?

2010-04-17T21:39:00.002-04:00

In 2007, Habibullo Abdussamatov, head of space research at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in Russia issued a controversial theory suggesting that changes in the Sun's activity were the cause for global warming and not raising levels of greenhouse gases such as CO2. As evidence, Abdussamatov pointed to warming on Mars reflected in decreasing carbon dioxide ice caps on the

A very important and revealing list

2010-04-17T20:56:00.001-04:00

Conspiracy theorists will have you believe that a small cartel of universities and research groups have worked together to generate a grand falsehood, presenting false evidence of global warming so as to secure funding for research. This scenario falls apart however as soon as you actually look at the number and variety of groups that have come out with statements confirming man-induced global

Climate Change Fire Hose - nothing but pure data

2010-04-16T23:07:00.058-04:00

Looking for some cold hard data to get some idea of the already recorded climate change impacts over the past few decades, and the projected future impacts ? Then look no further, I bring you, the Climate Change Fire Hose ! More data than you can handle. All data collected as of April 16th, 2010 NASA - Global Climate Change Key Indicators Sea Level : Sea level change is not uniform,

Global warming's impact on allergy sufferers in North America

2010-04-16T00:50:00.001-04:00

The Asthma and Allergy Association of America in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation have issued a report on recorded impacts of to-date global warming trends in North American, specifically the effect on increased allergen production by plant life and extended allergy seasons. In their report, released last Wednesday, the AAAA and NWF found that global warming will likely increase

Climate Change Denial News

2010-04-15T13:28:00.002-04:00

On a semi-regular basis I will share developments in the climate change denial space, notable stories of competing theories and who supports alternative explanations for the warming trend. This week I am sharing a recent report on the hidden elephant, the $60 million campaign Koch Industries have spent on supporting climate change denial groups since 2002. Mother Jones - Inside Kochs's

Nature Magazine - A new view on sea level rise

2010-04-14T22:12:00.000-04:00

The IPCC's (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - UN) report presented and referenced as the basis of the Copenhagen climate change accord late last year predicted sea level rise over a 100 year period averaging globally at around 1.9mm per year, for a total increase in the range of 18 to 59 cm by 2090. However, as Nature explains this month, numerous bodies are suggesting these figures

UN underestimating global warming impacts

2010-04-13T21:56:00.004-04:00

Scientific American has been writing some excellent articles on the science behind climate change and the importance of tackling humanity's contribution to CO2 levels as urgently as possible. This month they bring us a report from the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. James McCarthy of the Harvard Medical School Center for Health and Global Environment

Climate Change Science in Plain English - #1

2010-04-13T15:34:00.001-04:00

A rather excellent plain English discussion of climate change, first in a series of "plain english science" videos I will be posting on a regular basis on this blog. Please share.

Carbon Offsetting for individuals and corporations

2010-04-13T13:16:00.004-04:00

Beyond reducing consumption of energy and keeping an eye on efficiency, concerned individuals and corporations can take further steps to reduce their carbon footprint (how much you individually contribute to global warming gases.) Although the US Congress has yet to enact any legislation to trade or tax carbon pollution via cap and trade or a simple carbon tax, many non-profit organizations

UN makes progress with new negotiations to address Global Warming

2010-04-13T00:41:00.000-04:00

April 11th, the first round of formal negotiations toward a binding treaty to address global warming has been completed in Bonn Germany with the participation of over 100 nations. Negotiations are ongoing to build upon the Dec'09 Copenhagen Accord and change pledges within that accord to binding agreements. As it stands the Copenhagen Accord alone is widely assessed to be too weak to meet its

Methane frozen beneath arctic leaking

2010-04-12T17:07:00.000-04:00

Just a short update here, an article I read some weeks ago on the issue of previously trapped methane leaking from frozen tundra and the arctic seabed. Methane is a dangerous global warming agent, far more potent than CO2 but currently present in the atmosphere at much lower levels. Huge quantities of methane below the Arctic seabed are showing signs of destabilising, according to research

Updated data from NOAA, the National Oceanic & Atmosphere Administration

2010-04-12T15:27:00.000-04:00

NOAA has a long and respected history for impartial and reliable science, seving both the US Government and marine based industry with weather and climate research and modeling. NOAA is an excellent resource for raw data concerning climate trend in North America. I will present several NOAA graphs here which provide a good general picture of the trend of key climate parameters, underlying change

Welcome friends

2010-04-12T12:23:00.000-04:00

Thank you for visiting my blog, the Climate Change Science Digest. As inferred by the title, this blog is focused on one mission and one mission only - to present scientific facts and reports as they emerge to better our understanding of Climate Change. As such, I will be blogging regularly as and when new papers and articles are released which serve to inform and explain this most serious of