global warming Archive

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  Climate science – another missing link is found - by frog

  
  
  
  It is the primary cry of the deniers and the false sceptics – “There is no definitive link between atmospheric carbon dioxide and global temperature.” (I leave the genuine, scientific sceptics out – those who play a constructive role in challenging the science.) Last Friday, the new edition of Nature contained an article on just [...] read more
  June 20, 2009 2:19 pm - 117 Comments
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  The ETS and Strings theory - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  Hi Strings, you raised some really interesting questions in the comment section of this ETS post and I’m sorry I haven’t had time to answer them till now: We can’t “leave agriculture out of Kyoto” – it is already in, for all countries, and all countries have liabilities that include all their emissions above their [...] read more
  May 18, 2009 11:18 am - 18 Comments
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  Biological Particles in High-Altitude Clouds - by frog

  
  
  
  It is utter geek-speak, but scientists have finally been able to directly observe biological particles in high-altitude clouds. Why should we care about this? Because: “If we understand the sources of the particles that nucleate clouds, and their relative abundance, we can determine their impact on climate,” said Pratt, lead author of the paper. The [...] read more
  May 18, 2009 10:21 am - 3 Comments
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  Mass medication: the debate rages on and on - by frog

  
  
  
  I see in today’s Sunday Star Times that the Government is rethinking its plans to force bread makers to put folic acid into all of our bread supplies. This comes after a Chilean report that shows increased incidence of cancer since they started requiring that wheat flour be fortified with folic acid some years ago. [...] read more
  May 17, 2009 11:34 am - 37 Comments
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  Farming and the ETS – the latest from the select committee - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  Yesterday we heard all the farming related submissions. Federated Farmers continued to be the most extreme – agriculture should be entirely left out of the ETS because food production is important. But in NZ methane and nitrous oxide from farming are the large half (51%) of our emissions. Leaving them out means taxpayers fork out a hefty subsidy to farming, or other energy users pay twice as much as they otherwise would. read more
  May 6, 2009 7:30 am - 112 Comments
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  Aussie Greens strike out at ETS - by frog

  
  
  
  Australia can, must and will meet 40% cuts by 2020. The Greens are confident that once we set off on the path to 25% cuts, delivered mostly at home, we can easily accelerate our effort towards 40% and beyond to carbon neutrality. Putting 25% on the table will see Australia taken seriously at the Copenhagen [...] read more
  May 5, 2009 2:50 pm - 17 Comments
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  AGW Haiku - by frog

  
  
  
  Regretfully, I made a quip about global warming haiku on another thread. Frogblog readers have responded with a flourish of creativity. I invite all readers to make a contribution here. read more
  May 5, 2009 11:32 am - 42 Comments
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  Gareth Morgan: The science is irrefutable - by frog

  
  
  
  Nobody wants to hear it from the Greens. Perhaps they will listen to Gareth Morgan, one of New Zealand’s more successful economists. Gareth got fed up with all the noise surrounding global warming, so he decided to hire the best scientific guns he could find on both sides of the so-called debate. Sceptics vs Alarmists. [...] read more
  May 3, 2009 8:38 pm - 67 Comments
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  On thin ice: Documenting earth’s disappearing glaciers - by frog

  
  
  
  This past week the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) of the US ran this documentary, showing the vast destruction of human habitat that is coming in just a few short years due to global warming. No doubt the deniers who love to hang about frogblog will point out how helpless we are and how doing our [...] read more
  April 21, 2009 8:10 am - 14 Comments
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  Aerosols May Be Major Driver Of Arctic Warming: NASA - by frog

  
  
  
  Interesting new research from NASA shows that aerosols play a much bigger part in Arctic warming than was previously thought: Though greenhouse gases are invariably at the center of discussions about global climate change, new NASA research suggests that much of the atmospheric warming observed in the Arctic since 1976 may be due to changes [...] read more
  April 12, 2009 10:00 am - 84 Comments
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  Trees dying faster as climate warms - by frog

  
  
  
  From the Washington Post: The death rates of trees in Western U.S. forests have doubled over the past two to three decades, according to a new study spearheaded by the U.S. Geological Survey, driven in large part by higher temperatures and water scarcity linked to climate change Nathan L. Stephenson, one of the lead authors, [...] read more
  January 25, 2009 9:27 am - 28 Comments
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  Scientist’s Warning to Humanity - by frog

  
  
  
  In 1992, not long after the Rio Summit, the Union of Concerned Scientists published a warning to all of humanity. Unfortunately, little, if any, of their recommendations have been heeded. Instead, we continue along the unsustainable growth trajectory that they so deplored. Almost 1700 scientists signed the declaration, including 104 Nobel Prize winners. Here is [...] read more
  December 20, 2008 4:27 pm - 49 Comments
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  Putting the ETS “on hold”? - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  Question time yesterday gleaned a little more information about the Government’s plans for the ETS – and showed the full extent of their ignorance of how the scheme works.Many people have been wondering what John Key meant when he said he would “put the ETS on hold” while it was reviewed. We now know it [...] read more
  December 17, 2008 9:08 pm - 77 Comments
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  John Key’s Uncertainty Principle - by Jeanette Fitzsimons

  
  
  
  Does John Key understand the uncertainty his wild statements have created for business? Is there any thinking or policy intent behind the statement that the ETS will be “put on hold” or was it just post-election rhetoric? The key thing is that the businesses most affected don’t know. About a week after the election, reassured [...] read more
  December 15, 2008 11:34 am - 23 Comments
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  George Monbiot gives Yvo de Boer a serve - by frog

  
  
  
  In a new Guardian video series entitled Monbiot meets…, George gives the United Nations chief climate change negotiator Yvo de Boer a serve, and asks if the Kyoto protocol is too little too late for the planet. This version of the video is from eco-tube.com. We all know now that a carbon tax would have [...] read more
  December 9, 2008 11:34 am - 62 Comments
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  Leadership - by frog

  
  
  
  Obama telling it like it is and as we have always said it is: My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process. That will start with a federal cap-and-trade system. We’ll establish strong annual targets that [...] read more
  November 25, 2008 4:30 pm - 39 Comments
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  FAQ on Climate Models - by frog

  
  
  
  I promised in a comment yesterday that I would post this today. It’s an FAQ put together by RealClimate, a blog definitely worth giving a regular perusal. Here is just one sample from the armchair geek’s paradise: What is robust in a climate projection and how can I tell? Since every wiggle is not necessarily [...] read more
  November 21, 2008 9:23 am - 25 Comments
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  Water vapour research validates climate models - by frog

  
  
  
  For those who wish to deny the climate science outright, you have just lost another straw man. For those who wish to engage with the science, acknowledging its limitations, this latest research is for you. The sceptics love to bash on about how water vapour is the real greenhouse culprit, how climate scientists ignore it [...] read more
  November 20, 2008 10:07 am - 74 Comments
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  Denial is no longer an acceptable response - by frog

  
  
  
  Greenpeace ironically notes that New Zealanders should be seriously alarmed at the prospect of the National-led government damaging the country’s relationship with the United States. “New Zealand is at serious risk of becoming an international Pariah over climate, and jeopardising its international standing and trade relations. The last thing we want is to become the [...] read more
  November 19, 2008 12:10 pm - 51 Comments
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  Economics and climate science are not Hide’s strong suits - by frog

  
  
  
  Brian Rudman today pins down the real danger the Rodney Hide’s climate denialism represents to New Zealand: The British Government Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, published in March, was blunt. “The scientific evidence is now overwhelming; climate change is a serious global threat, and it demands an urgent global response. Hundreds of [...] read more
  November 19, 2008 12:09 pm - 14 Comments