Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
Not my headline but that adorning Judah Cohen's op-ed published in the New York Times on Christmas Day. And he's serious.
THE earth continues to get warmer, yet it’s feeling a lot colder outside. Over the past few weeks, subzero temperatures in Poland claimed 66 lives; snow arrived in Seattle well before the winter solstice, and fell heavily enough in Minneapolis to make the roof of the Metrodome collapse; and last week blizzards closed Europe’s busiest airports in London and Frankfurt for days, stranding holiday travelers. The snow and record cold have invaded the Eastern United States, with more bad weather predicted.
All of this cold was met with perfect comic timing by the release of a World Meteorological Organization report showing that 2010 will probably be among the three warmest years on record, and 2001 through 2010 the warmest decade on record.
How can we reconcile this? The not-so-obvious short answer is that the overall warming of the atmosphere is actually creating cold-weather extremes. Last winter, too, was exceptionally snowy and cold across the Eastern United States and Eurasia, as were seven of the previous nine winters.
And so we have the latest example of the non-disprovable hypothesis in glorious operation. Don't believe me? Try asking an anthropogenic global warming enthusiast what sort of data would diminish his support for socialist industrial policy imposed in the name of saving the planet. My bet is that you will be rewarded by a blank stare. Some practical advice, based upon my experience with friends and family yesterday, is to change the subject to sports: you have your data.
In case you missed it, Mr. Cohen is telling us to disbelieve the evidence of our own eyes...and fingers, and toes...in favor of a report from the World Meteorological Organization. Following Cohen's own link:
The WMO global temperature analysis is thus principally based on three complementary datasets. One is the combined dataset maintained by both the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom. Another dataset is maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the United States Department of Commerce, and the third one is from the Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
So the East Anglia Climate Research Unit--which brought you ClimateGate, the most significant fraud in scientific history--is assuring you that the world is heating up at an alarming rate. The chief collaborator in this effort is James Hansen, Director of the Goddard Institute of Space Studies, which has a history of simply making up its data when reality isn't good enough.
I'm in East Anglia right now and, as we used to say in Boston, it's wicked cold. I remain a supporter of studying our fascinating global climate--"Knowledge is Good," as Emil Faber reminds us-- but isn't it time we knock off the apocalyptic prophesying?
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May '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
Thank goodness the Obama administration has "restored science to its rightful place" so now we get nothing but all truth all the time. Add "cold is warm" to Orwell's "war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength." Comrade Lysenko lives on in the climate change catechism of the ruling class.
May '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
For all I know they are right that the cold is a result of some warming phenomenon, but they (especially George Monbriot) seem to see no issue with having things happen completely differently than they predicted a decade ago, then saying, "Of course these completely different results prove our point."
Sure, perhaps they were just wrong in how the warming effect would play out...but clearly their inability to predict these things calls into question how we are supposed to respond to them.
Anyway, brace yourself for the new onslaught: As I've noticed in the LA Times and elsewhere, it's now all about "weird extremes".
I happen to be reading about the making of Empire Strikes Back...they went to Norway 25 years ago and ran into the worst winter in 150 years. You can only imagine what the press story would be now!
Dec '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
Right on George!
As a Minnesotan who has 2 + feet of snow outside his doorstep, I respectfully request that Al Gore, Judah Cohen, and the host of other Global Warming sycophants come stay in my pole barn for the remainder of the winter and fully experience global warming. I'll leave the light on...
Speaking of Climategate....
Why is it when events such as the Pentagon Papers or Wikileaks happen, it's reported as speaking truth to power; however when Climategate occured it's framed as a criminal act or ignored altogether....hmmmm....
May '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
These very same charlatans were telling us, not so very long ago, that the wee children of England would never, ever play in the snow again.
Oct '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
Johannes Allert:
Speaking of Climategate....
Why is it when events such as the Pentagon Papers or Wikileaks happen, it's reported as speaking truth to power; however when Climategate occured it's framed as a criminal act or ignored altogether....hmmmm.... · Dec 26 at 1:58pm
Indeed, it's reminiscent of when back in the '90s, Linda Tripp was vilified for recording her conversations with Monica Lewinsky while a couple of Democratic Party hacks were hailed as heroes for illegally listening in on one of Newt Gingrich's cell phone conference calls with fellow House GOP leaders.
Jun '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
George Savage
"Knowledge is Good," as Emil Faber reminds us-- but isn't it time we knock off the apocalyptic prophesying? ·
Academic 'scientists' lack all humility so even if they could recognize that they were wrong (or inaccurate), they certainly wouldn't announce it publicly. Their entire livelihoods depend upon perpetuating this myth. They have made millions upon millions of dollars by convincing others that the sky is falling. I seriously doubt we will ever hear an apology, no matter the pile of evidence amassed.
Jul '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
When everything is evidence of the thing you want to believe, it might be time to stop pretending you’re all about science.
.....Ann Althouse
Ten years ago climate scientists forecast warm winters and lack of snow, because we were having warm winters and a lack of snow. Now they forecast cold winters and lots of snow, because that is what is occurring.
We used to call them snake oil salesmen, now we call them climate scientists.
.....Steven Goddard
And Exactly what were THEY SAYING ten years ago?
Jul '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
When they're wrong they're right. It can't be beat.
May '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
East Anglia is a beautiful part of England; I hope you are enjoying your time there Mr. Savage. That being said, haven't we been told every year for the last five to seven years has been the warmest on record? Why is it only the following year when a different set of data is needed that we find out, say, 2009 wasn't the warmest but 2008 and 2010 were? I think most of us instinctively understand the goal posts keep moving on climate change/warming.
I don't think the changes are malicious but, as Thomas Sowell told Peter Robinson, people have a remarkable ability to rationalize.
Aug '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
We often hear of the dangers of mixing politics with religion.What about the lethal cocktail of politics and science?
Jul '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
"September was the hottest October ever recorded."
Pretty funny.
To all the global warmers..... Our planet is evolving.
May '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
Charles Mark: "We often hear of the dangers of mixing politics with religion.What about the lethal cocktail of politics and science?" Alas they are one and the same...since the science *is* their religion... (BTW...any progress on the Ricochet comment interface for my new Christmas iPad?)
Oct '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
Savage: "In case you missed it, Mr. Cohen is telling us to disbelieve the evidence of our own eyes...and fingers, and toes...in favor of a report from the World Meteorological Organization."
Umm--yeah. Because if we stuck to the evidence of our own eyes, we'd believe in a geocentric solar system and the "evil spirit" theory of illness.
What I recall hearing about global warming warnings from way back was that we could expect disruption in the gulf stream, with consequent colder winters for England and Europe. Sorry George; nothing about these weather reports convinces me that the planet isn't heating up.
The real question is why it's happening--we can't say for sure that it's human-caused--and what to do about it. As is typical of the left, even when they id a problem, in their apoplectic raving about it, they fix on the worst possible solutions. I heard an excellent Teaching Company lecture (I think it was Economics: Second Edition) that pointed out the folly of restricting economic development now for what would amount to an insignificant reduction in global warming later. That, IMHO, is the argument conservatives should adopt.
May '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
The prediction is for more global temperature extremes, ie. hotter summers and colder winters as polar ice caps melt. I'm sorry but the "it sure is cold outside" defense against global warming plays right into the hands of critics that accuse conservatives of being know-nothings. Engage the science on its own terms, but colder winters actually are a part of the phenomenon that has been predicted. So I am less than reassured to see that happening.
Oct '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
Climate change is far bigger then any industrial policy or tax scheme can deal with. . .but it does exist.
We cannot have economic growth, global poverty reduction, and carbon reduction all at the same time. This is why most serious climate change proposals are not feasible; contrary to popular rhetoric, Western nations have nowhere near enough money to compensate poor nations if global economic progress is sacrificed on the alter of climate change.
The technology and investment to deal with climate change is going to be around 20-30 years too late. The basic reasoning is if we put a simple price on carbon (or complex, as in cap and trade) price signals will propegate throughout the economy and speed up investment.
This idea has merits, much as I absolutely hate it. Luckily the rising price of oil will likely fulfill the same role in a more efficient manner. Still, the situation is complex--no one really knows how much of this is man-made, even today--and I suspect world leaders will quietly begin talks on direct climate-engineering sometime this decade.
Nov '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
I might be convinced by this line of reasoning if they had been using it all along. But as several links have shown us, 10 years ago they were saying that all our winters would be getting warmer. Once the winters started getting colder, they changed their tune. How can anyone take them seriously any more?
Nov '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
"Who are you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?"
- Groucho Marx
May '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
Lucy Pevensie
I might be convinced by this line of reasoning if they had been using it all along. But as several links have shown us, 10 years ago they were saying that all our winters would be getting warmer. Once the winters started getting colder, they changed their tune. How can anyone take them seriously any more?
Lomborg warned about this a few years ago -- if the alarmists didn't stop lying to the public, people were going to stop believing them even when they were right, and this seems likely to be happening.
People like Monbiot are the ones who made the absolute predictions of what would happen in specific places like the UK and are now completely reversing themselves. If they had approached this with appropriate scientific humility from the beginning, they'd be covered; but they went political, so now everything they say is suspect.
May '10
Re: Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming
Here is what George Monbiot said five years ago:
"The freezes this country suffered in 1982 and 1963 are - unless the Gulf Stream stops - unlikely to recur. Our summers will be long and warm. Across most of the upper northern hemisphere, climate change, so far, has been kind to us."
Here's what Viner, the "children won't know snow" guy said four years ago:
"It's a cold winter compared to the last 10 years, but in the long term it's still warmer than average...We have short-term memories and know the winter climate is warming up..."
They are the ones who set up this situation. They shot themselves in the foot.
If they are right about global warming, then what they did with these unadulterated claims is even worse because they caused people to stop believing.
Edited on Dec 27, 2010 at 8:07pm