Posted on 04/13/2016 8:10:32 PM PDT by Daffynition
Date: April 12, 2016 Source: Michigan Technological University Summary: A research team confirms that 97 percent of climate scientists agree that climate change is caused by humans.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Scientific truth is not a function of consensus.
The 97% have been wrong more often than right about the important things, including:
Galileo’s heretical and unproven claim that the Earth circles the sun;
Louis Pasteur’s ridiculous, dangerous and unproven claim that microbes cause disease and that his Rabies vaccine is safe and effective;
Alfred Wegener’s ridiculous and unproven claim that the Earth’s crust is made of thin plates that float on molten magma and cause earthquakes and volcanoes;
Robin Warren’s ridiculous, dangerous and unproven claim that bacteria cause stomach ulcers;
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek’s ridiculous and unproven claim that he sees invisible beasties with his instruments of the devil.
Really disappointing coming from Michigan Tech. which is a good tech college.
The March of the Morons.
“Unless we announce disasters, no one will listen.” — Sir John Houghton, first chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and lead editor of its first three reports.
~~~~~~~~~~~ During the 20th century, the earth warmed 0.6 degree Celsius (1 degree Fahrenheit), but that warming has been wiped out in a single year with a drop of 0.63 degree C. (1.13 F.) in 2007. A single year does not constitute a trend reversal, but the magnitude of that temperature drop — equal to 100 years of warming — is noteworthy. Of course, it can also be argued that a mere 0.6 degree warming in a century is so tiny it should never have been considered a cause for alarm in the first place. But then how could the idea of global warming be sold to the public? In any case, global cooling has been evident for more than a single year. Global temperature has declined since 1998.
Meanwhile, atmospheric carbon dioxide has gone in the other direction, increasing 15–20%. This divergence casts doubt on the validity of the greenhouse hypothesis, but that hasn’t discouraged the global warming advocates. They have long been ignoring far greater evidence that the basic assumption of greenhouse warming from increases in carbon dioxide is false.
Man made emissions of carbon dioxide were not significant before worldwide industrialization began in the 1940s. They have increased steadily since. Over 80% of the 20th century’s carbon dioxide increase occurred after 1940 — but most of the century’s temperature increase occurred before 1940! From 1940 until the mid-1970s, the climate also failed to behave according to the greenhouse hypothesis, as carbon dioxide was strongly increasing while global temperatures cooled. This cooling led to countless scare stories in the media about a new ice age commencing.
In the last 1.6 million years there have been 63 alternations between warm and cold climates, and no indication that any of them were caused by changes in carbon dioxide levels. A recent study of a much longer period (600 million years) shows — without exception — that temperature changes precede changes in carbon dioxide levels, not the other way around. As the earth warms, the oceans yield more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, because warmer water cannot hold as much carbon dioxide as colder water.
The public has been led to believe that increased carbon dioxide from human activities is causing a greenhouse effect that is heating the planet. But carbon dioxide comprises only 0.035% of our atmosphere and is a very weak greenhouse gas. Although it is widely blamed for greenhouse warming, it is not the only greenhouse gas, or even the most important. Water vapor is a strong greenhouse gas and accounts for at least 95% of any greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide accounts for only about 3%, with the remainder due to methane and several other gases.
Not only is carbon dioxide’s total greenhouse effect puny, mankind’s contribution to it is minuscule. The overwhelming majority (97%) of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere comes from nature, not from man. Volcanoes, swamps, rice paddies, fallen leaves, and even insects and bacteria produce carbon dioxide, as well as methane. According to the journal Science (Nov. 5, 1982), termites alone emit ten times more carbon dioxide than all the factories and automobiles in the world.
In 1543, >99% of scientists believed that the Earth was the center of the Universe. The accepted consensus was unquestioned, and skeptics were prosecuted as heretics. That didn’t stop Copernicus from publishing his book “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium” (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres)
In the end scientific observation trumps dogma, be it the medieval Church, or the present cult of Anthropogenic Climate Change.
“It could be, it should be, therefore it is...” is not an acceptable basis for climate modelling.
The Inquisition is here.
The insanity in those words in the world of science if stunning.
The new science is: The proof is that a team claims that some bunch of others claims they believe it.
In this case, I think the error is in the vagueness of the question rather than the answer itself.
Human activity is probably a factor in observed climate change. This is why 97% of scientists “agree” but the question is not clearly asked, what percentage of climate change is natural and what percentage is human in origin?
As somebody very familiar with the field and its large community of members, I have the impression that most of this 97% would say 30 to 50 per cent is human. Some would say less, some would say more. So really it’s something like 97% who agree that part of the change is human in origin. I think the case is fairly easy to make that greenhouse gases are increasing and this would cause warming if there were no other factors (natural) at work.
The actual records seem to indicate that this warming may be a background component of a more variable trend and that the human factor has not exceeded the natural component.
This would not be a revelation in weather circles. The faulty impressions are more among the media and those who rely on the media for their information in the general public including political decision makers. But I think it’s true that for political reasons, many climate scientists are quite happy to maintain the ambiguity as a clearer exposition would reduce the political will for carbon taxes. Being left of center, these scientists figure that carbon taxes will somehow maintain higher salaries in the public sector. This is probably true for as long as the system doesn’t collapse under the weight of too many shall we say unsustainable assumptions.
I'm shocked. Don't ask why, but I'm shocked.
Excellent. What’s the source?
Sure. Key word "observed".
The encroachment of construction and paved parking lots on instrumentation locations, including HVAC exhausts, and urban heat island effects likely cause an increase in readings compared to the past, prior to such construction.
The elimination of data points and the use of averaging also would be an artifact in the data set.
But those observational errors and artifacts do not mean humans are causing the planet to warm up.
And 97% of stamp collectors collect stamps.
“The Inquisition is here.”
It is? Then, where’s Mel Brooks?
As usual, the narrative does not explain anything.
What are the credentials of these “climatologist”, and have they as individuals conducted their own necessary multidiscipline studies?
Consensus is not truth. Otherwise we would still believe a lot of crazy things.
There once was 100% scientific consensus that ours was the only galaxy, that the earth was flat, and that the sun revolved around the moon.
The primary reason that there is a consensus on this point is that 10% actually believe it, and the other 87% want to keep their jobs, foundation grants, government grants, and their skin.
Best post on this subject.
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