Category Archives: Computer Models

It’s the carbon intensity, stupid!

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Rick Altman

Forget the ‘War on Terror’, Obama’s #CleanPowerPlan rightly declares ‘War on Climate’ (i.e. #ActOnClimate + #WarOnCoal). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYXyYFzP4Lc Explanatory note: Obama may highlight coal but, given that climate change and ocean acidification are consequences of pumping geospheric carbon* into the biosphere, … Continue reading →

Advertisement

Posted in Climate Science, Computer Models, Environment, IPCC, Palaeoclimatology | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Merchants of Doubt need to do the math

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Rick Altman

A feature-length documentary, based on the content of the Merchants of Doubt book by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, went on general release at movie theatres in the USA this weekend. As Desmogbog.com points out, it has already attracted the … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Cognitive Dissonance, Computer Models, Denial, Environment, Fossil Fuels, IPCC, James Delingpole, Merchants of Doubt, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A summary of the ‘Climate Departure’ research of Mora et al.

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Rick Altman

The video below contains a very compelling 22-minute summary of an impressive array of work, widely reported in the World’s newspapers this week. The research team, based in the Geography Department at the University of Hawaii, was led by Associate … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropocene, Climate Science, Computer Models, Environment, Mass Extinctions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

Another open letter to James Delingpole

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Rick Altman

James Delingpole is almost as difficult to engage in debate as Lord Monckton; but not quite – at least I have had several exchanges of emails with Monckton. His Lordship may be equally as fond of facile sarcasm but at … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Computer Models, Environment, Fossil Fuels, James Delingpole, Junk Science, Maketplace of Ideas, Scepticism | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Fables about climate change?

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Rick Altman

Continuing my review of Paul and Anne Ehrlich’s Betrayal of Science and Reason (1996), we come to Chapter 8 – regarding (what they called) the “brownlash’s” fables about the Atmosphere and Climate. Given that the Ehrlichs acknowledge that climate change … Continue reading →

Posted in Betrayal of Science and Reason, Climate Science, Computer Models, Environment, Hockey Stick Illusion, James Hansen, Mass Extinctions, Modernity, Politics, Richard Lindzen, Storms of my Grandchildren, Sustainable development | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Hansen – where the IPCC went wrong

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Rick Altman

I could have just called this post “Climate science in a nutshell – Part 3” but that would have been to display a singular lack of imagination (no pun intended); and may not have grabbed your attention. So, yes, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropocene, Arctic, Climate Science, Computer Models, Environment, IPCC, James Hansen, Politics, Storms of my Grandchildren | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

How does James Hansen sleep at night?

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Rick Altman

James Hansen is widely regarded as one of the most important people in the now at least 30-year-old campaign to get concern over anthropogenic global warming (AGW) taken seriously. I must admit that I sometimes wonder what it must feel … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropocene, Climate Science, Computer Models, Environment, IPCC, James Hansen, Politics, Richard Lindzen, Scepticism, Storms of my Grandchildren | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Why are Euro sceptics also climate sceptics?

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Rick Altman

Because both involve the maladaptive coping strategy of ‘blame-shifting’. (Clive Hamilton) It is a matter of public record that only 3 MPs (all Conservatives) voted against the third and final reading of the Climate Change Bill in October 2008 (Christopher … Continue reading →

Posted in Capitalism, Climate Science, Computer Models, Consumerism, Economics, Environment, Growthmania, IPCC, Liberalism, Money Fetishism, Politics, Scepticism | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Being economical with your scepticism

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Rick Altman

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) claims that it is “the UK’s original free-market think-tank…” but, is it the best, or the most sensible? This would appear to be debatable because, as Tim Worstall has kindly pointed out, the Adam … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Computer Models, Consumerism, Economics, Environment, Growthmania, IPCC, Scepticism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Computer models – can we trust them?

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Rick Altman

I have decided to break into my mini-critique of the school of environmental thought known as Ecological Modernisation (i.e. seeking solve the potential problem of perpetual growth on a finite Planet!) to address the above question. This is because, at … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Computer Models, Economics, Environment, IPCC, Limits to Growth, Merchants of Doubt, Politics, Scepticism | Tagged , , | 5 Comments