Silly Little Country

Stephen Gordon Wants a Pony

... for Christmas, over at Worthwhile Canadian Initiative. I say Amen to his wish!

Labels: climate, economics

posted by Alan Adamson @ 3:51 PM 0 comments

IPCC Science on Himalyan Glaciers

And science is meant in the sarcastic sense it deserves in the above context.
To quote the IPCC:

Glaciers in the Himalaya are receding faster than in any other
part of the world (see Table 10.9) and, if the present rate
continues, the likelihood of them disappearing by the year 2035
and perhaps sooner is very high if the Earth keeps warming at
the current rate. Its total area will likely shrink from the present
500,000 to 100,000 km2 by the year 2035 (WWF, 2005)." (IPCC AR4 WG2 Ch10, p. 493)

I have since heard this reported in the press, accompanied by a concern about the Ganges drying up. I began to feel really sorry for the Indians, as I pictured the trickling Ganges.
As it turns out essentially NOTHING about this is supported by an facts.
It appears in fact that instead:

• The rate of retreat of one Himalayan glacier was enhanced by calculating it by dividing the total retreat over 121 years by the number 21 to get an annual rate.
  
• The year 2035 is a mis-transcription of 2350.
  
• The numbers 500,000 and 100,000 refer to the extent of all extrapolar glaciers
  
• The Ganges depends marginally on glacial runoff and is fed almost totally by monsoon rain (this part is not directly IPCC-related).
  

John Nielsen-Gammon and Barry Lefer detail this farce in this article, and do something the IPCC never seems to have bothered to do - look closely at primary sources. This observation from their article gives a clear indication how committed the IPCC executive are to the truth, and how willing they are to defend it with ad hominem attacks and arrant nonsense.

The Indian environment ministry released a report in November by Vijay Kumar Raina that concluded that Himalayan glaciers on the whole were retreating, but not at an alarming rate or any faster than glaciers on the rest of the globe. According to The Guardian, countryman Rajenda Pachauri, the head of the IPCC, was furious.

Pachauri dismissed the report saying it was not "peer reviewed" and had few "scientific citations".

With the greatest of respect this guy retired years ago and I find it totally baffling that he comes out and throws out everything that has been established years ago.

Given the nature of the peer review and scientific citations in the IPCC report, we have here a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

This would be funny if it were funny.

Labels: climate, duplicity, IPCC

posted by Alan Adamson @ 1:15 PM 0 comments

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

David Archer taped his "Global Warming" lectures from a fall course in the subject at the University of Chicago, and has offered them for viewing on-line - you can find them here. The first five or six provide some lovely simple models that give one a feel for what the more complex analyses will have to look like.
I've been watching them and they certainly are helping deepen my understanding of the climatological issues, a deepening I really need as I continue to try to follow arguments at the many climate science blogs now available.
I recommend them highly and thank David enormously!

Labels: climate, lectures

posted by Alan Adamson @ 8:35 AM 0 comments

Sharing the Pain for Climate Change

Hey it's not just us humans, other species are pitching in!

Since January, cows at 15 farms across Vermont have had their grain feed adjusted to include more plants like alfalfa and flaxseed — substances that, unlike corn or soy, mimic the spring grasses that the animals evolved long ago to eat.
As of the last reading in mid-May, the methane output of Mr. Choiniere’s herd had dropped 18 percent. Meanwhile, milk production has held its own.

Well, maybe that dietary change is not much of a sacrifice.

“They are healthier,” he said of his cows. “Their coats are shinier, and the breath is sweet.”

And this is likely to be the quote of the day for me.

Sweetening cow breath is a matter of some urgency, climate scientists say.

Labels: climate, cows, methane

posted by Alan Adamson @ 10:32 AM 0 comments