Intelligent design falsified by cdesign proponentsists' intellligence decline

I have just finished watching a fascinating documentary on SBS, called Judgment Day, about how a bunch of weird Christian extremists tried to introduce stealth creationism into the science class of Dover High School as an alternative to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. This was obviously Dover, Pa, in the US, and not Dover, England. They called this stealth creationism Intelligent Design (ID

Climate change tougher than Sydney roofs

Great!The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) called on the Federal and State governments to toughen the Building Code of Australia and address the problem of "brittle buildings".It seems research conducted by Professor Alan Jeary, a structural design specialist from the University of Western Sydney's school of engineering, concludes that roofs tiles will not withstand the onslaught of a summer

AGW deniers desperate in their death throws.

Desmogblog asks why we have seen such a flurry of activity from the global warming denial lobby, lately:Barack Obama has promised to lead the nation in a massive climate intervention and reengage with the international community on climate change. The past weeks have also seen progressive environmentalist Rep. Henry Waxman take over as chairman of the House Energy and Environment Committee and

Andrew Bolt: The climate concerned are Nazis

Andrew Bolt reckons "the Global Day of Climate Action, which, to judge from this Friends of the Earth ad requires greenshirts to stage rallies eerily similar to the ones once seen at Nuremberg".What an uncut dick-head! What a prize scumbag this Andrew Bolt is. Only he can be flippant about 6 million murdered Jews and Gypsies, and 80 million dead all up. Put it down to the evidential success of

This isn't Funk — it's the Flying Spagetti Monster

Heathens! What's this, a creepy schism?The full Old Greg (minus ending)Old Greg -- The Ending

Oceans cooling. Not.

A common misconception about measuring global warming, one that deniers prey upon, is that the average global temperature is the whole story. Ergo, if the last ten years of lower atmosphere temperatures plateau, the warming must have stopped, so the meme goes... on and on. No so, according to Josh Willis, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who specialises in estimating how much heat

Cheney grounded $100 million climate satellite

Desmogblog is right into the unfolding story of the Bush Administration's interference with NASA's climate science research. This time it is allegations of Cheney's hand in the mothballing of the DSCOVR satellite question :An unnamed source within NASA intimately familiar with the mothballed Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) mission spoke to Desmog Blog on the condition of anonymity. The

Obama wins the US elocution

I'm sure I am not the only one outside the US who has become fixated on US President-elect Barrack Hussain Obama. I was one of the lucky few who survived the long, long US election media flood by simply ignoring it all. But tuning into the thrilling finish has wet my appetite for more about Obama. The confluence of an historic presidential choice by the US electorate, a global financial crisis of

EPA ruling gives Obama clean slate to build the clean economy

Breaking news at Desmogblog. Kevin Grandia is as surprised as I:Wow. A decision by the Environmental Protection Agency today has ruled that all new and proposed coal-fired power plants must have their carbon dioxide emissions regulated.The implications are very opportune, according to John Spalding, attorney of the Sierra Club, who successfully prosecuted the case:Today’s decision opens the way

The Foole is Dead. Long live the King!

Barrack Hussein Obama delivered a fine acceptance speech on becoming President Elect. So said my goosebumps. Very powerful stuff.It was the first time I had seen and heard more than a soundbite of Obama's famed oratory — two avoidance years plus eighteen listening minutes, and I then knew why he has this reputation. Compelling cadence, great words, good looks, and authoritative body language make

CCS — Use It Or Lose It

One of the most compelling chapters in the PBS Frontline 2-hour special on global warming that aired earlier this week was the segment on America's Addiction to Coal.PBS dives headfirst into the myth of clean coal and pretty much tears it apart using something we don't often see these days when it come US energy issues: facts.

Pay the deniers, call the tune

frankbi of the International Journal of Inactivism is onto something:So, what prompted me to write the above long-winded complaint was a page on the Heartland Institute’s web site, on how people can sponsor their upcoming climate inactivist conference. It’s the kind of jaw-dropping thing that made me think, “Oy, why am I the one writing about this?...I blogged about their program, earlier. But,

Arctic melt season post mortem

From The National Snow and Ice Data Center:2 October 2008Arctic Sea Ice Down to Second-Lowest Extent; Likely Record-Low VolumeDespite cooler temperatures and ice-favoring conditions, long-term decline continuesArctic sea ice extent during the 2008 melt season dropped to the second-lowest level since satellite measurements began in 1979, reaching the lowest point in its annual cycle of melt and

Get in early for a breakthrough in AGW Denial

programlast updated: October 13, 2008Where and WhenThe 2009 International Conference on Climate Change will take place in New York City on March 8-10, 2009 (Sunday - Tuesday), at the Marriott New York Marquis Times Square Hotel, 1535 Broadway, New York, NY.There will be four tracks of panel discussions:1. Paleoclimatology2. Climatology3. Impact of Climate Change4. Economics and PoliticsOr maybe

Desmogblog on election climate politics

Australia had it's green election ten months ago, and the new government signed the Kyoto Protocol as their first act . They transformed us from pariah to trier in one stroke, and today we had the Garnaut report released, recommending 10% emissions reductions by 2020, or 25% in the event of a workable international consensus at Copenhagen.So that's one of the big three per-capita emitters on

Oreskes outs Nierenberg

Story so far: Ronald Regan does not like the first three climate science reports provided by the government's elite scientific advisory group, the Jasons. But he like the fourth. It was synthesised by Bill Nierenberg, a Jason who had worked on the Manhattan project.So bringing us into the now, to history in the making, is Naomi Oreskes, of 'consensus' fame as she dissects how Bill Nierenberg

Life's Good and Do No Evil to power low-carbon grid

clipped from www.worldwatch.orgThe recently announced alliance between technology giants General Electric and Google may provide the lobbying arsenal necessary for the U.S. to overhaul an outdated electric grid widely considered as a barricade to a low-carbon future. The collaboration brings together two industry

Woah there Putin, woah, easy boy

Michael Tobias explores Sarah Palin's ability to portray foreign leaders in animal terms, and her appreciation of geography. Palin:"it's very important when you consider even national security issueswith Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of theUnited States of America, where, where do they go? It's Alaska. It'sjust right over the border."...Tobias: But if Putin were to

Summer will be an erratic El Nino and La Nina sandwich

clipped from www.smh.com.auAfter the coldest winter in a decade, weather experts are warning Sydney to expect an erratic summer.Veteran weatherman and director of Weatherwatch Don White said people should expect the mercury to soar and sink this year, with temperatures in the Pacific Ocean indicating that the

Global warming — bad guys found at last

The science on global warming is so clear that it's hard to understand why the public doesn't push the politicians to pass the laws necessary for our preservation.But, as a species we do not respond to changes on a geological time-scale, even those as rapid as our anthropocene. We can intellectualise the threat of climate change, but it takes a visceral threat, say - a bushfire, to move us into

Sarah "Shapeshifter" Palin's climate change change

From this audio of a long letter of a disgruntled Alaskan, who claims to know Sarah Palin — minus lipstick — we learn that she does not believe that man-made global warming is shrinking the habitat of polar bears. Ergo, legislation protecting their habitat — from oil extraction — should be overturned.That's from before she was thrust into the public spotlight (and into dissonance with McCain's

Australians would dig deep to fight climate change

Good news for the government implementing an ETS. We won't stand in your way (but woe betide it turns out trust is misplaced).A MAJOR survey of Australians' views on climate change has found an overwhelming majority think it is happening and they're prepared to pay to address it.The study by University of Technology Sydney found Australians wanted to see cuts in the nation's greenhouse gas

Hurrican Gustav to test Obama/Biden, McCain/Palin

The damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina also ruined Bush. A point clearly not lost on all presidential candidates as they prepare to respond to the 'certain political fallout' claimed for Gustav:Republican White House hopeful John McCain and running-mate Sarah Palin will Sunday ditch their pre-convention plans and visit people in Mississippi bracing for deadly Hurricane Gustav.The visit comes as

Mother of all storms bearing down on New Orleans

Remember Hurricane Katrina, hitting New Orleans this time to the day three years ago? Mayor Ray Nagin hopes so, invoking her name by omission.New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin has ordered the city emptied tomorrow in the face of "the storm of the century", warning anyone that stays behind that they are on their own."I am announcing today mandatory evacuation of New Orleans starting 8am Sunday (2300

Google Insights for Search on al gore, global warming, climate change

Google Insights for Search (GIS) is Google's latest functionette on offer. It is fascinating, but not all it could be. More like a tease.GIS provides a graphical output for up to five search terms. Numbers on the graph reflect how many searches have been done for a particular term, relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time. They don't represent absolute search volume

Aussie solar generation — where are you?

Casting around me in Sydney to see what our suburban twenty+ year olds are into today, and well, it seems to be, well,.... themselves only. iPoded up (it's not called the usPod, is it?) they listen long enough to think of what they are going to say next when in conversation.My question: It's your future, where's the protest over the mismanagement of your environmental inheritance? The younger

Climate science, the public, and the Whiplash Effect

Andrew Dressler of the Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University spent time as a Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. While there, he became extremely interested in how science gets used in policy decisions. He has published The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the debate (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006).In a new post

LOLdenialists pr-revus teh klimit siens

Tim Lambert has posted submissions to LOLdenialists, a bit of fun. L. Ron Bolt cops it again, this time from Gummo Trotsky, for his insistence that his HadCRUT 'cooling since 2002 ' has significance. Itz teh underling tend, stewpid, by moi. Nexus 6's brilliant Global Warmin LOL is there plus a little dig at Littlemore LOL, and Stefan's Phlogiston is a riot. And there's more...All good LOLs, and

Explain

clipped from thoughtsonglobalwarming.blogspot.com"Found on a city street..via :: Flickr

Hansen — Mankind now controls climate

Set aside an hour for yourself, and hear it from Dr James HansenC/o 回転ドア Revolving Doors Global Warning Climate Change Energy

James Hanson tips cold water on sun theory

This takes The Great Global Warming Swindle down with it... clipped from www.desmogblog.comIn another section of his recent "trip report " (see "westling" post below), James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, answers in careful but fairly accessible detail, the question of whether the

LOLdenialists goes vrial

My entry... LOLlronboltmoar funny picturesInspired by Tim Lambert, who was inspired by Jennifer Ouellette of Cocktail Party Physics who came up with LOLdenialists.Update: Thread has been picked up by Nexus 6, who is always good for a laugh Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Monckton vs. Littlemore Debate audio

Monckton vs. Littlemore Debate audio Monckton vs Littlemore Debate audio Technorati Tags: global warming, climate change

ratS delgnapS rennaB

Unbelievable.Rice looks shocked. Global Warning Climate Change Energy

60 Minutes in denial over climate change

In the 60 Minutes story on climate change denial called Crunch Time, Rudd came off like he needs media-training on the issue. PM KEVIN RUDD: I'm not going to lie to you and say this is going to be cost free. This is a tough decision, we need to take it for the country's long-term future and its long-term economic future. But economic cost of not acting is massive, it's through the roof. Think

AGW deniers — sue Hansen, Al Gore! Or shut up

The normally collegiate International Journal of Inactivism has thrown down the gauntlet to deniers like Christopher Monckton, Anthony Watts, James Inhofe, et al, to back their threats of legal action against Al Gore and Hansen .It is unusual for this esteemed institution, one that is known to be cautious almost to the point of inertia, to be publicly challenging the deniers like this. Something

Alarm!! By Nexus 6

This very clever cartoon will appeal to the alarmist in us all.Technorati Tags: global warming, climate change

Global warming needs a Dr Evil

Psychologist, Dan Gilbert says humans have been conditioned through millions years of evolution to react to PAIN threats:The threat must have one or more of these qualitiesPersonal Abrupt ImmoralNow "Global Warming is happening too slowly", says Gilbert explaining why humans are failing to act in the face of the threat of global climate dislocation.Fascinating insight into our evolutionary

AGW Denial: Obama makes fun of wilful ignorance

Oh yea... tell it like it is. Obama Insists Inflating Tires Better Than Oil Drilling

Obama's Energy Plan: Really good

So says Climate Spin:Obama came out with his energy plan yesterday. I agree with Joe over at Climate Progress that its pretty darn good from a major-party candidate (I don't recall if its better then Gore's 2000 plan. Anyone?)Here are some good points:cap-and-trade program with all credits auctionedReduce emissions to 80% of 1990 levels by 2050.Raise CAFE by 4% a yearIncrease building, appliance

Bone up on Tamino AGW denier debunkery

I so want to lift this Best of Tamino holus bolus from Desmog Blog, I'm going to do exactly that. I feel I am entitled to because I have just used Tamino in another post. Thank you, Brian D:Best of Tamino: Urging an Open Mind8 Aug 08More Summer Reading:Thanks to DeSmogger Brian D., we now have this well-categorized version of The Best of Tamino, a veritable celebration of debunkery courtesy of

Satellite temps slipstream surface readings

Lately, AGW denial shills have made a meal out of the differences between satellite, and land-based temperature measurement GISS, HadCRUT, UAH MSU, RSS MSU (click to enlarge):I came across a link to this Tamino post that clearly explains the difference. Seems Anthony Watts has been pinged for not providing his audience clarity that these are four superimposed graphs are of temperature anomalies,

Nest of deniers exposed

Cameron Stewart, Associate Editor of The Australian describes the battle to confuse the public that is waged by the fossil-fuel industry (read ExxonMobil) and prosecuted though a network of think-tanks, their media hacks, and... bloggers.Of course L. Ron Bolt is taking credit:Blogs blamed Andrew Bolt You readers are starting to rock the Church of the Global Warming Apocalypse. That Church

0-100 kmh in 3.9 seconds.... electric Tesla Roadster

It's no surprise the world's first green sports car is red...... at 0-100 kms in 3.9 seconds.SMHHOLLYWOOD stars anxious to prove their green credentials are paying more than $100,000 for a sexy electric sports car now rolling out in the US.The sleek Tesla Roadster, pictured, is modelled on the Lotus Elise, and goes from 0-100 kmh in 3.9 seconds.With a top speed of 200 kmh, the two-seater has a

Starbucks downsizes — Australia froths

Much has been written in media and blogs about Starbucks' retreat from their strategy of market saturation. A fresh announcement about the closure of 61 Australian stores from tomorrow has awakened Australian punditry, and everyone is excitedly offering their opinions. The thread is buzzing on the bus, by email, in letters to the editor, on opinion blogs, over talk-back radio, the lot.Is this

There are no "smoke-free areas" on the planet

Climate denial may turn out to be the world's most deadly PR campaign. The headline and opening line are the last two sentences of an article by David McKnight, associate professor of the University of NSW. Asking, 'Who is behind climate change deniers?', McKnight tracks the emergence of the AGW denial industry, phoenix-like, from the dying embers of the tobacco-cancer link denial industry in the

Sydney seeks to be carbon trading hub

Verity Firth, the NSW State Government Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, is sticking her hand up to have Sydney house the National Carbon Market.Absolutely."Not a lot of people are aware but the Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme, which was introduced in 2003, was one of the world's first mandatory greenhouse gas emissions trading schemes," she said. "It was run in NSW, has been

L. Ron Bolt hits one million eyeballs

Credit where due, Andrew Bolt has been the MSM journalist to cross over into blogland most successfully. July saw his blog break the one million page impressions mark. Big in anyone's language.So of course he is asserting his bragging rights, using something that is fast becoming his latest shtick — the Andrew Bolt Graph:This one even has a trend-line. Congratulations on that too, and no, the

Added to blogroll: Jules' Klimaatblog

If I was Dutch* and living below sea level, I would be informing myself about AGW and climate change, big time. And voting for bigger dykes. Jules' Klimaatblog is me, if I were Dutch*. And funnier...But is he really that funny? He sounds serious.Deze blog om wat meer achtergrond te geven over klimaatverandering, en tevens over het lobbywerk dat het wetenschappelijk debat tracht te contamineren

AGL green paper briefing notes

The Rudd Green Paper Carbon Policy Briefing Note of the first Australian company to trade on the Chicago Climate Exchange, AGL, is accessible from their website. Carbon Policy Briefing NoteDate: 16 July 2008Subject: Commonwealth Green PaperThe Commonwealth Government has released a Green Paper outlining preferred positions for the introduction of an emissions trading scheme called the “Carbon

Genetic scientist ages L. Ron Bolt

Michael James is a Senior Research Fellow and Director for the Genome Variation Laboratory at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. The way he fisked L. Ron Bolt's now famous 7 graphs will fray the telomeres of The Great Denier. He does a great job debunking Bolt, and explains why. Top and tail:This communication concerns some misinformation that Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt has been

L. Ron Bolt denies AGW thrice (today)

L. Ron Bolt bashes his pulpit, berating anyone who prints politically on climate change:Global warming believer Tim Colebatch in The Age today tries to bat away an inconvenient truth - that the world hasn’t actually warmed for a decade. But more fervent than informed, he simply proves he doesn’t understand the argument, and probably doesn’t want to. AS THE Liberal Party turns into a battleground

Royal Society gives Great Global Warming swindler a Right Royal Bollocking

From DeSmogBlog:The UK's Royal Society, one of the oldest and most prestigious scientific bodies in the world has released this statement today on the Ofcom ruling that the "Great Global Warming Swindle" television movie misrepresented the views of some of the world's most distinguished scientists: clipped from

Very funny Fuel Watch spoof from Get Up

The bowser wowsers in Parliament House want to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic rather than address the real long-term solutions to rising petrol prices.View this new ad we've made to cut through the oil slick - and chip in to put it on the air!Well done! We've reached our first target of $50,000 - but let's keep going!!If we raise $75,000 we can reach an extra one million viewers, and

Al Gore rails America for a Clean Energy "Moon Shot"

Watthead have the good oil.By Alisha Fowler and Jesse JenkinsToday, Al Gore became a major ally in the ongoing effort to build consensus around an investment-centered approach to solving our energy crisis and inspiring our nation to tackle the energy challenge as the defining task of our era.Gore issued a truly ambitious challenge for America "to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity

Rocket scientist brought back to earth

In the comments section of the blog of L. Ron Bolt, a cry of dissent. Or was it a straight-out diss? Ezzthetic replied to Alan of SydneyMon 21 Jul 08 (06:20pm)I would have asked asked her to address the statement Dr. David Evans posed in last Friday’s The Australian She might have asked you why you are relying on the views of someone who is just a computer programmer. Evans was a “

People to Rudd: Grow spine, show climate leadership

Yes.Australia said it when we recently voted, and we are saying it now in response to the opposition abandoning bipartisanship on climate change, and the government politically neutralising the issue by adopting Howard's old Shergold Report recommendations.Reproduced in full. Phillp Coorey reports:Don't fiddle a world burnsAN OVERWHELMING majority of voters support Kevin Rudd's drive to tackle

Thoughts on Rudd's Petrol Excise Cut 'n Run

Considered thoughts on the green paper on emissions trading from Oikos. He has approximately the same take on the petrol excise offset as I have, though is more eloquent in expressing it.There are two ways to look at this – from a practical perspective or from a principle perspective. Either way, my view is that cutting the petrol excise isn’t good but isn’t really all that bad either.The

Green paper tinged with blue hue

In the wake of the release of the Green paper, Michelle Grattan pings the electorate to see if they are still awake:NO WONDER the Opposition is struggling in its efforts to pick a fight with the Government over its emissions trading scheme. The green paper model differs only marginally from the one John Howard endorsed last year.The main variation is in timing. The Howard scheme, based on a

Green Paper is cautious politics

The great Emissions Trading Scheme Sell begins, and the Rudd Government opens by signalling that they ease the pain of introducing the EMT, or whatever they will call it.HOUSEHOLDS earning up to $150,000 and the nation's heaviest polluters will be helped to cope with the introduction of an emissions trading scheme in 2010 that the Government says will be "calm and measured".Sounds a bit soft to

Pell: AGW Science Is Papal Bull

My one question to Cardinal George: If current global warming isn't man-made, then is it God's fault?Then there is that other question. The one that stands out like The Dog Bollocks.clipped from slimpickens.wordpress.comIs Pell exercising his Primacy of Conscience? In stating that he is a climate change skeptic

ASX preparing to trade carbon

Greed is good, but green greed is best.The ASX has their eyes on their share of the $46.5 trillion investment market that the International Energy Agency says is required to reduce the world's CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2030, 21.5 years away.Robert Elstone | July 14, 2008 AS record high prices for coal, gas and oil - together with speculation as to the impact of the forthcoming

George Bush proud to lead world's biggest polluter

Just how embarrassing is it to be an American these days? On average, they are seriously and sadly thick: firstly for having bought the line that Saddam was responsible for 9/11, and secondly, for re-electing George Bush.But even more stupid than that is their pathetic excuse for a president, himself. I don't care that he comes from a wealthy family, that does not hide their lack of class. You

Winds of (climate) change blow

The hilarious Annabel Crabb succumbs to the denialist notion that climate science is a religion. It used to be that anybody advocating unilateral Australian action on climate change, unmatched by corresponding efforts in the developing world, was immediately set upon, denounced, beaten, and cast out into the wilderness.Just ask the Environment Minister, Peter the Exile, who was nearly stoned to

The drought is broken

Not the Australian one, the South African one — in New Zealand.

G8 negotiations on track for 2009 climate deal

G8 nations have committed to working towards a target of at least halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in a summit in Tokyo, Japan.They are pleased with their effort."This is a strong signal to citizens around the world," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said, adding that the EU's benchmark for success had been achieved.Others aren't."The G8 are responsible for 62 per cent of

Whereis tells me where to go. Frankly, I love it

It's just the kind of out-there relationship you can have with a brand now-a-days. Especially one offering to plan my car journey, then offset the fuel emissions.Whereis® (Sensis) are working with Greenfleet (who do good work restoring the Murray) on a project called GreenRoad to plant trees to offset the combined ghg emissions of their membership.They're in the unique position to easily carbon

Developing world won't take lead in climate fight

On page 2 of the Draft Garnaut Climate Change Review he cuts to the chase:The work of this Review is directed at nurturing the slender chance that Australia and the world will manage to develop a position that strikes a good balanced between the costs of dangerous climate change and the costs of mitigation.A slender chance that needs nurturing?Australian emissions reductions are not going to

Frequent Extreme Weather Events scenario for 20 years

Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke has likened a scientific study into links between climate change and drought to the final chapters of a disaster novel.We live in strange times. Mr Burke on Sunday released a joint assessment by the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO, which found that what are now considered to be one in 25 year climate events could become as frequent as once every one to

Garnaut Draft: Critic discounts it by 33%

The 537 page Garnaut CLIMATE CHANGE REVIEW DRAFT REPORT is out today, and already we know it's hurting Australians.We know exactly who, too. L. Ron Bolt is already clawing at the report, and he hasn't even got to the Table of Contents:Garnaut goes for the scareUPDATERoss Garnaut’s 360-page blueprint for tackling the urgent crisis of the end of the warming world is printed on paper. But, says

Cap 'n Trade on US election menu

Hot on the heels of Australia's green election (Rudd signed the Kyoto Protocol as his first act of government), follows the second US climate change election. Bush tore up the Kyoto Protocol after the first one. Waste of good lead-time.Obama and McCain have both stated that climate change requires decisive action. Both support cap-and-trade, putting a limit (cap) on greenhouse gases and enabling

Be Obama for 50 words

Now you can orate like Obama. Here's my effort.Generate a Barack Obama Quote!"You know, there's a lot of talk in this country about uneasiness. Well I think Americans are tired of the same old wet nappies. Ordinary Americans believe in mother, they want less monkey business, they just aren't sure if their leaders believe in a fair go for all."Generate your Barack Obama quote at

Climate Change: A plot to breed new Masters Race

Brett Stephens of the WSJ somehow got the masses onto his couch to listen to it's global warming neurosis. Then he wrote a 450 word thesis explaining there is no such thing as global warming, only the mass belief in it. It's true. He wrote it. He's serious. And the Wall Street Journal published it. Three explanations are offered for free, by Brett. Brett Stephens of the WSJ. (G'day Rupert. Those

ACCI input into The Garnaut Report

In two days the guiding document that kicks off the Australian Government's policy review process gets tabled. The Garnaut report on climate change will input into a white paper, and then a green paper, and I'll be blogging more about these.I came across the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) SUBMISSION TO THE GARNAUT CLIMATE CHANGE REVIEW [25pg PDF] the other day. The ACCI open

Tacky fuel tactic creates hostile climate

A new financial year finds The Australian columnist Philip Adams depressed about our response to climate change. He takes it out on us: Add warming to list of failuresWHY do we have such a rotten national anthem? It's because the only words that rhyme with Australia are dahlia and failure. Even Les Murray couldn't do much with them. Mind you, a sort of mulga-wood version of the Marsellaise,

Arctic sea ice extent running close to record

There is a bet on amongst the climate scientist blogging community, and Stoat is keeping an eye on his investment. He's the one who reckons the record won't be broken this season.mt called me a "polyanna" (presumably by analogy to "polynyas") for betting on the high side. So let me clarify: my "prediction" was based purely on my reading of the statistics of the time series to-date: a record is

Public's conflicting attitudes to climate action

The most interesting part of that Ipsos Mori poll on British attitudes to climate change, 2008 (concerned but still unconvinced) [7 page PDF], was that while no man is an island, the public is.Almost two thirds (61%) say they personally find the subject of climate change interesting, yet over three quarters (77%)are pessimistic about the likelihood of others responding.I am fairly sure they are

Climate denial getting traction

One fossil-fuel fraud peddler is nonchalant about the apparent Ground Gained by deniers in the public debate on climate change. Yet, another affects an air of smugness.I would have thought that if they honestly believed in their work, then an expression of joy would not be out of order. The source of the elusive joy is an Ipsos Mori poll for Britain's Observer. Says in Blairsplog,If Ipsos Mori is

Bolt's gay-baiting, homophobic base

But he's not having any of it.No really, in a Darwin was a Christian thread today, Andrew Bolt let slip that he thinks his conservative Christian readership 'base' is 'gay-baiting' and homophobic, when asked why he promotes Christianity as an agnostic.Andrew, aren’t you an agnostic? So why are you coming out swinging for the Christian faith?AJFA of MoorookaMon 30 Jun 08 (02:05pm)Andrew played a

Pell' bells toll for thee, AGW denier

Nexus 6 confesses that he has no faith in Cardinal George Pell's capability to analyse observed earthly phenomena, i.e. data.Writing in The Sunday Telegraph yesterday, Dr Pell highlighted what he says are inconvenient facts for the climate change bandwagon. These included the declaration by more than 100 international scientists, some of them members of the UN Intergovernmental panel on climate

Climate Resistence is futile

Climate Resistance is a blog in denial. They claim to be 'Challenging climate orthodoxy' in their banner line, but the only thing challenging about their latest post is typographic taste.$IR NI¢HOLA$ $T£RN, the torturers' headline reads.In the text, they render Sir Nick and waterboard him, all because he wrote the Stern Report over 2005/2006 — and now has the temerity to back those conclusions

Impacts of a Warming Arctic

From the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) 2006 report, Impacts of a Warming Arctic.click image to enlargeThis record of temperature change (departures from present conditions) has been reconstructed from a Greenland ice core. The record demonstrates the high variability of the climate over the past 100 000 years. It also suggests that the climate of the past 10000 years or so, which was

California goes down hydrogen highway

Look to California for leadership on climate change action, says John Addison in CleanTechBlog:On April 20, 2004, after 40 years of fighting it was all smiles between auto executives from Detroit and the regulators of California’s health and emissions. That day a new governor signed the historic California Hydrogen Highways Executive Order.Two years later California has it's first hydogen

Put big fossil fuel on the dock

James Hansen wants oil executives who sponsor the PR war on climate science to go to jail.Monboit says it's not a crime, but then sheet the potential blame for runaway climate change to the fossil-fuel funded effort to sow doubt about what scientists are telling us.But the culpability of the energy firms the climate scientist James Hansen will indict in his testimony to Congress today is clear.

Guide to Greener Electronics now captures carbon

The 8th edition of Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics has expanded it's criteria to include both the direct and indirect carbon footprints of a manufacturer's products. An indirect footprint includes emissions from the embedded energy that goes into manufacturing and distributing a product.Only two companies - Sony Ericsson and Sony – score above 5/10. The overall score of the ranked

Stop now. Or we're toast: Hansen tells Congress

Well, they didn't get it when he explained the science, the first time.Exactly 20 years after warning America about global warming, a top NASA scientist says the situation has got so bad that the world's only hope is drastic action.James Hansen told US Congress today that the world has long passed the "dangerous level" for greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and needs to get back to 1988 levels.He

Wind power blowing nuclear away

Desmogblog is onto a Wordwatch Institute report that says new wind power installations are outpacing new nuclear plant constructions by 10 to 1.Much of it in China."The biggest surprise is China, which was barely in the wind business three years ago but which in 2007 trailed only the United States and Spain in wind installations and was fifth in total installed capacity. An estimated 3,449

Intelligent Intelligent Design

Chris H of denialism has a crack at selling ID."Intelligent Design does a better job explaining the fundamentals of how life first appeared on Earth and how a creator could have fashioned all the species in such a way that allowed microevolution to flourish. The Creationism Museum assembles the scientific evidence and philosophical evidence, much of which derives from liturgical sources, to make

AGW quake link not all it's cracked up to be

CBC News picks up some loony science:New research compiled by Australian scientist Dr. Tom Chalko shows that global seismic activity on Earth is now five times more energetic than it was just 20 years ago. The research proves that destructive ability of earthquakes on Earth increases alarmingly fast and that this trend is set to continue, unless the problem of "global warming" is comprehensively

Just Bolt? Or wingnut too?

Falling asleep over a poor whine, I almost missed the latest climate research findings of Andrew Bolt.But of course: hiking prices of such a necessity to “stop” a warming that actually stopped in 1998 and would be unstoppable anyway is hardly something a sane person could support.So, the warming that actually stopped in 1998 is unstoppable anyway?What that about a sane person again? Andrew Bolt

Tsvangirai chokes

I can't believe it. With 5 days to go Moragan Tsvangirai pulls out of the election run-off, handing victory to Mugabe. What a let down. Mugabe is going to go on a murderous rampage. It's a fucking disaster.Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe

Garret must rock Oz, and not Japan

When Peter Garret walks into The International Whaling Commission meeting in Santiago, Chile this week, he will be carrying the weighty electoral expectations on his shoulders. Eighty seven per cent of voters thought Australia should take legal action against Japan to stop whaling and of these, 91 per cent said it should be done even if it meant compromising our relationship, according to

James Hanson — hero

Worldwatch Institute is partnering with Grist to bring you this three-part series commemorating the 20-year anniversary of NASA scientist James Hansen's groundbreaking testimony on global climate change next week.Part 1 — A Climate Hero: The Early YearsPart 2 — A Climate Hero: The TestimonyPart 3 — A Climate Hero: An Outspoken TruthGreat reading.

Truth brought to bear on Bolt's hypocricy

In another Andrew Bolt signature piece of twisted green-hate tenuously stuck together with gnarled logic, Hypocrisy - Hard to Bear, we get this beauty:And ssshhh. Don’t mention that the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre says the extent of Arctic ice is in fact “greater than this time last year”.Tim Lambert picks him up: Andrew Bolt goes quote miningThat quote was brutally ripped from its

Would the Camry $35 mill be better spent on Green Car 2.0?

I've been letting the Australian climate change political commentary slide a bit since the election and the ratifying of the Kyoto treaty. The honey moon is over for the new government, protracted though it was, and all their climate change policies and promises are now coming up for public scrutiny.Kyoto Kev is on notice to deliver. Let's not forget that this last election was the first

Australia accused of dragging post-Kyoto chain

Glen Milne was saying only today that the Australian Labor Party might spin itself into being the first one-term government in the modern political era.I can see that happening, if they do not follow through with the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol they ratified on Australia's behalf as their first act of government.According to a delegate at the Bonn summit where representatives from 172

Global warming denialists right: See for yourself

Sammy Jankis of memeplex confronts his own bias towards climate scientists in order to give 'the other side' of 'the debate' a fair go, and seriously examine the claims of the skeptics.He did his own research, faithfully following their formulations, and has published his methodology and results in easy to follow language, so the average punter can reproduce the experiment for themselves.What he

History of climate change public debate

Spencer Weart is a science historian who has written a two part history on how popular opinion about climate change has evolved. H/t: Only In It For The GoldTechnorati Tags: global warming, climate change

The Economic Consensus

Another day, another Rabett dropping. Today's one has been specially selected to drive the entire climate denial industry triskaidekaphobic.Another list.Joseph Aldy, Resources for the Future James Edmonds, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richard Howarth, Dartmouth College Bruce McCarl, Texas A&M University Robert Mendelsohn, Yale University William Nordhaus, Yale University Sergey Paltsev,

How do global warming skeptics think?

In a thought provoking post Fergus Brown of Old man in a cave, explores the public terrain that the AGW communicator, civilian or scientist, has to negotiate.The first type of ‘lay’ skepticism is the doubt about the facts. The issue is of ‘what’. Generally, more people are content to agree that climate does in fact change, and is changing now, than are inclined to have other doubts. Perhaps this

2008 Arctic sea ice extent — another record low?

Climate Change commented about this six weeks ago.Meanwhile, Colorado researchers say there is a 3 in 5 chance that 2008 will have a new record low. Mr. Atmoz also has a post on this.It is my non-quantified opinion that we’ve hit one of the first “tipping points” as far as global warming is concerned, or at least we will over the next few years – a commitment to seasonal loss of arctic sea ice

Flooded with pink dots of deceit

In L. Ron Bolt's latest ministering to his Carbon Pinkies, he uses the three dot trick favoured by sceptics:Greenpeace drowns the truth, and now may be made to pay:Greenpeace gets pink spot #1, straight up. Truth — #2. Prospect of comeuppance for imagined slight — pink spot in 3rd spot. But who is really drowning the truth? Here's Bolt's take. A group of real estate developers and property

Happy Friday the 13th

The modern reason why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky is said to come from Friday October the 13th, 1307. On this date, the Pope of the church in Rome in conjunction with the King of France, carried out a secret death warrant Against "the Knights Templar". The Templars were terminated as heretics, never again to hold the power that they had held for so long. The Grand Master, Jacques

90% of RW think tanks push climate change denial

Ever wondered where AGW sceptics get their arguments from?A research team at Environmental Politics concludes that 9 out of 10 books published since 1972 that dispute the seriousness of environmental problems and mainstream science can be traced back to a conservative think tank (CTT).The organisation of denial: Conservative think tanks and environmental scepticismPeter J. Jacques; Riley E.

Bolty's dotty deniers play with pink swirls

L. Ron Bolt and his Carbon Pinkies are organising quickly. They have a bumper-sticker, a t-shirt design, and now this poster.From their recently savaging of the arts community, you would think this bunch were creative savages. But no. It's good to see they are not so literal that they are going to be constrained by the tight pink dot brief given to them by their Sceptic-In-Chief.And that the SIC

Personal carbon trading

Was this the future being debated in the British House of Commons by the Environmental Audit Committee, last month?A House of Commons committee suggested last week that the U.K. Parliament create a personal carbon-trading scheme for all citizens of the United Kingdom. It was the strongest statement yet by any government in favor of an individual cap-and-trade system for buying and selling

Spotted by Bolty's dotty denialists

Spotted a fair bit of traffic coming in from Andrew Bolt Blog today, after posting my piece on his pink spot campaign last night. Turns out one of his regular commenters, strange days indeed, spotted that I captured his comment in my piece, and had gone back and bragged about it.Any feedback is good, and the only complaint about my blog seems to be the Global Warming Watch line, "THE ONLY SAFE

Petrol's up. So is Glover

In arguing against a cut in the fuel excise, Richard Glover tells us to get used to higher prices, and that it is a good thing. He's right of course, on both counts. Oil just hit a new high.HOORAY for high petrol prices. No one wants to say the unpleasant truth, so I'll say it again. Hooray for high petrol prices. They are changing our behaviour faster than decades worth of hand-wringing over the

Spot the climate change sceptic — pink

An extraordinary over-reaction to a joke just might grow some legs. With pink spots.Story so far:It seems the Chaser lads, of world-wide Osama Bin to APEC fame, have Andrew Bolt seeing spots. Pink spots.THE boys from the ABC’s Chaser show a map of Australia in their new show at the Athenaeum with a pink dot to indicate the whereabouts of our very last global warming sceptic. Actually, there’s

World's first wind-powered mobile billboard and people-mover

Yarra Trams, in partnership with Pacific Hydro's southwestern Victorian Yambuk Wind Farm and Sustainability Victoria, has secured enough GreenPower 'to supply a 5-carriage tram until the end of 2008.'This mob is switched on. Even their integrated marketing campaign is sustainable. Design it once, and run the campaign 24x7, for no extra cost.The wind-powered tram will run along Route 96 (East

Graham Young vs Robyn Williams and Others

Graham Young is the former vice-president and campaign chairman of the Queensland Liberal Party. As chief editor and the publisher of On Line Opinion, he is using his pulpit to rail against bullying.If it happened in a school yard or in a cyber chat room, and the protagonists were two 15-year-old school girls, it might have hit the front pages of a tabloid. Bullying. In a world where we're all

Great tits adapt to global warming

And British tits cope much better than Dutch ones.

Consumerism — Nature's survival strategy

Howard Bloom has pinged consumerism as a trend or fashion that may appear to be an excessive waste of time, and folly as a survival strategy for all species — from bacteria (our ancestors, as the author explains) to bees to humans.We see how the human 'generation-gap' is echoed by bacteria, where the young, anti-establishment generation eschews the ways of their boring parents in search of their

Over my head, under my bridge

GWW loves serious questions from our resident troll, and will answer them the best we can.BTW, please provide links to the Climate change computer models THAT WERE DEVELOPED IN THE 70's, 80'S AND 90'S THAT PREDICTED THE CURRENT GLOBAL COLLING TREND....or even ANY Climage change computer model built today that can be applied to historical temperature changes. You know, as a computer programmer, I

Dave Sag's new book, departing soon

“The Train is Leaving: Implications for Business of the new Carbon Constrained Economy”. Should be out in a couple of months. Dave's teasing us with a PowerPoint. I don't want to shoot the messenger, but Al Gore has a lot to answer for.Dave Sag has been busy Down-Under, giving presentations to the customers of an enormous IT customer's integration partner (as well as delivering that PowerPoint at

If suddenly there were no more global warming II

Anatomy of a DenialistSubject: Christopher PearsonAccomplice: Phil ChapmanHabitat: Opinion section of The Australian We start by observing the tepid headline. A cool idea to warm toNice puns, but they leave you totally unprepared for the sub-headline. ABOUT the beginning of 2007, maintaining a sceptical stance on human-induced global warming became a lonely, uphill battle in Australia.Steel

Shhh, don't talk about the science

Pomfelo advises on the prudence of not taking a stance on global warming:SuicideGirls > Boards > Current Events > Global warming strikes again

Tackle a climate change troll

The most effective thing you can do to fight climate change is not to buy efficient-energy appliances, convert to green energy, or walk to the shops, etc. Though don't let me dissuade you. Nor is glaring at that poor 17 year old checkout chick for offering you non biodegradable plastic bags, angry as they make you.Nah, the best thing you can do to expedite the revolution, and bring on the carbon

Sell all your re-insurance stock

Extreme weather is here to stay:SOMETHING strange is happening to our weather.Sydney has endured the most sodden school holidays in living memory, including the longest unbroken spell of April drizzle for 77 years, a month after some state capitals sweated through the worst continuous period of baking heat ever recorded. And unseasonably early snow fell in the mountains at the weekend."The

First to go: Iconic Polar Bear or Fabled Narwal?

Andrew Bolt repeats he doesn't want us to use polar bears as a symbol of global warming in our media any more: Bear With Us: More Hype DeflatedThe eco-hype is cooled, along with the weather: The polar bear is in trouble in Canada because of overhunting and global warming, but it is not endangered or threatened with extinction, an independent committee advising the Canadian

Brendan Nelson holds the line on global warming

I almost forgot to tell you about my first scoop ever: Last month the leader of the Liberals, Brendan Nelson, in reply to an email I sent to him, wrote this:As Australians, it is time for us to start living on environmental interests, rather than just capital interests.I made the observation, then, that he 'is working up a lovely line on climate change'.Last week Brendan told Kerry, on The 7:30

Carbon dioxide up 2.4 ppm on last year

Here's the sobering bit: The average annual increase of carbon dioxide between 1979 and 2007 is only 1.65 parts per million (ppm). Suddenly, we are measuring a 0.5% rise in a year.Researchers from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) reported new data that shows a higher than usual average increase in carbon dioxide levels over the last

Trolling the climate trolls

Professor Barry W Brook is Director of the Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability at the University of Adelaide. He warns against engaging with climate change deniers on science blogs, likening them to Internet trolls:"Don't feed the troll!" This is a common admonition in the expanding science blogosphere - at least the rational quarters.Trolls, in the internet vernacular, are

I'd love to have a beer with Brendan...

...'cos Brendan's me local member; leader of the opposition; he replied to my email; .... and he is working up a lovely line on climate change:Climate change is one of the most significant moral, political and economic challenges that will face our generation.Ok, that's Kev07, and Blair05, and Gore06. But the next line is Brendan's. You read it here first.As Australians, it is time for us to

If suddenly there were no more global warming...

...life will suddenly become a whole lot more interesting.A great many founts of authority, from the Royal Society to the UN, most heads of government along with countless captains of industry, learned professors, commentators and journalists will be profoundly embarrassed. Let us hope it is a prolonged and chastening experience. With catastrophe off the agenda, for most people the fog of

Earth Hour boomerangs back to Sydney

NSW Premier Morris Iemma, normally botox-expressioned, is suddenly sounding like a global warming alarmist by taking it to the sceptics of symbolism, and the denier of dangerous AGW.The NSW Premier, Morris Iemma, accused critics of Earth Hour of peddling "utter rubbish" at the launch of the event at Circular Quay this morning."The critics and sceptics need to get on board," Mr Iemma told an

3,500 tigers left — at a crossroads

Tiger, Tiger, burning brightIn the forest of the night,What immortal hand or eyeCould frame thy fearful symmetry? Of Panthera tigris, let not William Blake's immortal poem, or prayer if you like, be the only thing bequeathed to our descendants. Let them not read his words, and wonder what was this marvel of creation... that now is their disinheritance.The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that

Deniers' canard blown out the water

Gordon: "No such thing as global warming."Peter: "Why do you say so?"Gordon: "In the '70s scientists were predicting global cooling, now they predict global warming."Peter: "So they got that wrong?"Gordon: "Sure did."Peter: "So... I thought you didn't believe in global warming?"Gordon:Peter: "Just read Realclimate! They now have a study on what climate scientists really were saying in the '70s."

Exxon still financing AGW denial

Recidivists. Well I certainly will continue to avoid their Mobil and Esso stations at all cost.Today I noticed that BP have a 3c per litre discount if you join their 10% ethanol blend frequent fuelers club. I'll settle for a BP when an independent with ethanol blend is inconvenient. clipped from

Man-made global warming predicted in 1896

Global warming awareness has now seeped into mainstream culture, but have you ever wondered who the first person to predict anthropogenic global warming was?It was a lot longer back than you would imagine.Svante August Arrhenius (February 19, 1859 – October 2, 1927) was a Swedish chemist and one of the founders of the science of physical chemistry. The Arrhenius equation and the lunar crater

America's $1 trillion carbon market twelve years away

clipped from environment.newscientist.comThe new US president will most likely see in the emergence of a colossal carbon trading market, worth $1 trillion a year by 2020, according to a report released on Thursday. Another report, also out this week, estimates the US could be trading $600 billion in pollution

North Atlantic current could be slowing naturally

clipped from environment.newscientist.comGlobal warming may not have caused sluggish AtlanticJudging the effect of climate change on ocean currents could take longer than we thought. The circulation of warm water in the North Atlantic is suspected to be slowing, and the worry is that global warming is to blame.

The clearfelled truth about Melbourne's drought

Andrew Bolt is fond of blaming Victoria's ongoing Level 3 water restrictions on the fact that they haven't built enough dams. All the greenies fault, that sort of stuff.But The Wilderness Society have found a real culprit, and Andrew is not going to like it; the Loggers of the Water Catchment in the Central Highlands:Logging threatens water supply and quality Within the spectacular giant

Hottest Australian January on record

clipped from www.ncdc.noaa.govIn Australia, temperatures were above average in January through much of the country. For the nation as a whole, it was the hottest January on record. According to reports, the January 2008 average temperature for the nation rose 1.3°C (2.3°F), while large areas in Western and

Have green baggage, will travel

Click the link for a salient analysis of the impact of a green-tax on budget travellers. clipped from www.smh.com.auHave green baggage, will travelHigher fares to offset the damage planes do to the environment areunlikely to put us off budget travel, writes Julian Lee.In a previous life, I was a terrible sinner.

Japanese whalers are taking the minke

In justifying the hunting the minke whale by Japanese call it as "the cockroach of the sea". So why eat cockroaches and call it research? Ironic how the minke whale was named after an 18th-century poacher, hey? Amazing that Norway had whale conservation laws in the 1700s: clipped from www.abdn.ac.ukThe minke is

Rudd: Mother of All Summits to futureproof Australia

He loves his summits, dun 'e? Global warming has to be at the top, one would have thought. Watch this space. clipped from news.smh.com.auPrime Minister Kevin Rudd says a summit involving 1,000 Australians will be held to tackle 10 major problems that are facing Australia. The summit will be held at Parliament