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Climate Talk Jan 2009

Monday, January 19th, 2009

It recently amazed me to look back and see that it has been almost a year since I wrote my last significant post on climate issues.[1]   And it has been almost two years since I finished my first series of 8 entries on climate.[2]  It’s time for a bit of an update and a [...]

Enhanced Geothermal Systems - to supply 10% to 20% of future engergy needs?

Thursday, January 1st, 2009

Geothermal energy isn’t sexy but it is a viable alternative engergy system that is getting more attention and hopefully more funding for some good problem solving, otherwise known as, engineering.
Hot Rocks
m.

PDO - The Pacific Decadal Oscillation officially changes to a cool phase

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) put out a press release about a week ago indicating that the PDO or Pacific Decadal Oscillation had moved into the early phases of its cool phase. [1] [2] The PDO is a Pacific Ocean cycle of water temperature (like La Nina or El Nino) except that is [...]

More press coverage on the intesifying “global warming” versus “global cooling” debate

Sunday, March 2nd, 2008

Even the New York Times is taking note of the recent increase of debate activity between the global warming/anthropogenic and global cooling/solar crowds
Skeptics on Human Climate Impact Seize on Cold Spell
In general the article is pretty good and balanced in terms of reporting the debate. At the end it even points out the danger that [...]

Climate in Jan/Feb 2008: Wait a minute

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

Previously I wrote eight entries on climate and the ongoing discussion of global warming.  At the time I presented a contrast between the global warming crowd and the solar causation crowd.  There is quite a bit of news in the last 12 months that has only served to sharpen the contrast between the groups and [...]

Climate Talk #8: So what?

Monday, February 18th, 2008

Original April 28, 2007.
So even if one grants that average global temperatures are rising (and hardly anyone denies this) and that at least a significant portion of this rise is anthropogenic, that is, caused by human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, so what? I have often joked that we in Nebraska would not [...]

Climate Talk #7: It’s the sun, stupid

Monday, February 18th, 2008

Original: April 10, 2007.
One of the main alternative claims to anthropogenic global warming is that the rise in global temperatures is due to solar effects. Nothing seems more naturally intuitive. Essentially all atmospheric heat is due to energy the earth receives from the sun. Any variation in the output of energy from the sun, so [...]

Climate Talk #6: Its all natural, but where is the evidence

Monday, February 18th, 2008

Original: April 1, 2007.
These weak links (and others) in the majority view as well as other less scientific motivations[1] have led to a body of alternative proposals to explain the change in environment that is now being observed and described as global warming. Many, if not most, of these alternative proposals use some form of [...]

Climate Talk #5: The weak links in the majority view

Monday, February 18th, 2008

Original: March 4, 2007
The scientific method in the classic sense calls for theories to make testable propositions by which such a theory can be verified or falsified. In the case of climate, like other areas of rational investigation, the object of investigation (the climate) is not subject to manipulation as required by the classic scientific [...]

Climate Talk #4 - New IPCC Report - The consensus & uncertainties of the future

Monday, February 18th, 2008

Original: Friday February 2, 2007
On Friday, the UN based IPCC report on climate was released.[1] The last such report was released in 2001, so this was a long anticipated event. This report is intended to summarize the results of ongoing climate science and the conclusions reached on that basis. Since it is such an important [...]

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