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A surreal scientific blunder last week raised a huge question mark about the temperature records that underpin the worldwide alarm over global warming. On Monday, Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), which is run by Al Gore’s chief scientific ally, Dr James Hansen, and is one of four bodies responsible for monitoring global temperatures, announced that last month was the hottest October on record.
This was startling. Across the world there were reports of unseasonal snow and plummeting temperatures last month, from the American Great Plains to China, and from the Alps to New Zealand. China’s official news agency reported that Tibet had suffered its “worst snowstorm ever”. In the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration registered 63 local snowfall records and 115 lowest-ever temperatures for the month, and ranked it as only the 70th-warmest October in 114 years.
So what explained the anomaly? GISS’s computerised temperature maps seemed to show readings across a large part of Russia had been up to 10 degrees higher than normal. But when expert readers of the two leading warming-sceptic blogs, Watts Up With That and Climate Audit, began detailed analysis of the GISS data they made an astonishing discovery. The reason for the freak figures was that scores of temperature records from Russia and elsewhere were not based on October readings at all. Figures from the previous month had simply been carried over and repeated two months running.
The key point this article makes is not that a mistake was made — that can happen. It’s that Gore’s guy screwed up. Again. And showing higher global warming figures (which, oddly, support his theories) than anyone else. Global warming is happening, but with inaccurate or falsified data, how can we determine why? Or is panic the goal?
But whether, on the basis of such evidence, it is wise for the world’s governments to embark on some of the most costly economic measures ever proposed, to remedy a problem which may actually not exist, is a question which should give us all pause for thought.
Where did you get that picture? I like it.
The last IPCC report about global warming that I had heard about predicted an average temperature increase of 3-5 Celsius, and a rise in sea level of 1-2 feet.
The prediction is for this century. So, sometime over the next 92 years, they’re predicting a slight rise in temperature and a slight increase in sea level.
Contrast that with the IPCC reports put out during the late 1990s, when they were predicting 5-10 Celsius increases and 20 feet increase in sea level. – All of which was supposed to have happened by now.
Luckily for us, Obama was elected, he stretched his hand across the waters and the water receded.
Global warming activists have made up their mind about what’s responsible. Their income is tied to people (and pollution) being responsible for global warming, not natural causes. People can be influenced to spend money on global warming charities, green products, politics, etc., out of feeling for guilt.
If global warming is due to natural causes, a huge source of revenue for activists disappears.
Human psychology 101, if the threat is in the future and requires an undesirable sacrifice, humans will live in denial until fear makes the sacrifice acceptable. Unfortunately by then it’s often too late. Maybe it’s not too late to do something. Sustainable growth is possible but will require undesireable sacrifes to make the change. Or we can wait till the tides rise up and swallow our coastal cities and the trash is so high not even wall-e could clean it up. Then I’m sure everyone will be shoutng why didn’t we do something sooner!
Good ole Al Gore has positioned himself to make hundreds of millions of dollars off this climate hysteria, which pretty much screams “conflict of interest”.
If Gore and his buddies had no financial interest in lobbying and pushing for this “save the planet” agenda, I might find it a bit more digestible.
But then again this is all about “us” and not the elites such as Gore. Lest we go into the whole Al and Tipper mansion/energy issues. Or all the energy this guy burned up while V.P. for 8 years, flying around in a private airliner etc with security in tow bla bla bla.
So, with global warming happening (whatever the reason) has anyone compiled the data of how much land in Asia & N. America will be opened up for crop growth that was previously too cold? Also, additional habitable area in those same regions?
Carbon credits are worthless without F.U.D.
Nice to see so many opinions based on reading sound scientific research. You all have read the IPCC reports, peer-reviewed documents, etc..
Oh.
As expected, the deniers are all out again. The Telegraph is NOT a reputable or unbiased paper. Expect them to slant the news to their side.
It is funny that some above are blaming Al Gore for the numbers being wrong. As if the planet warming is his fault. For example,
Lest we go into the whole Al and Tipper mansion/energy issues.
The Secret Service detail put in place most of the extra appliances that run up Gore’s electric usage.
Here is another idiotic comment.
(Global warming activists) income is tied to people (and pollution) being responsible for global warming, not natural causes.
The income of the deniers is tied to continuing the extreme waste of carbon energy. That of the “activists” is not.
#6, Cow-Paddy,
… how much land in Asia & N. America will be opened up for crop growth that was previously too cold?
Very little. Most of the land has been scraped clean by the Ice Age glaciers. While some pockets might exist, on the whole there is very little soil left.
#5, how has Al Gore positioned himself to make millions from climate hysteria?
I’m not questioning what you wrote. Other than his lecture tour and movie, I don’t know how Gore is planning to profit from climate change hysteria, and would like to know.
Also, I don’t understand, since the earth is not actually warming, why is so much of the earth’s permafrost melting. Can anyone tell me?
Aside from the absurdity of confusing weather with climate – not surprising in a nation with the attention span of a cricket – accepting the junk-science-babble of Watts in particular and McIntyre is less than laughable to anyone concerned with legitimate science.
The IPCC documents are the result of work from 1500 climate scientists. You offer up a guy who works in the trucking industry whose primary feat has been challenging the locations of U.S. Weather Stations over decades on the grounds he thinks surrounding buildings have been getting warmer faster than the countryside!
Fortunately, the serious analytical work being done in this field – as in virtually all areas of science – is performed to conservative, strict standards, undissuaded by bullshit in the popular press or over a beer at the American Legion Bar on a Friday night.
Most really don’t notice pimples on the ass of American politics.
What I’ve seen over my 57 years (in the Midwest and Southwest mostly) is climate instability.
One year there’s little or no snow where I live, and the next there are blizzards.
One year there are many tornadoes and the next there are far fewer.
Same with hurricanes and dust storms.
The Southwest had a series of dry spells with dust storms in the late 60s throuugh early 80s. I moved to New Mexico in 1985, was warned by coworkers about dust storms. There has only been one dust storm that I can remember since my move.
On the other hand, tornadoes seem to have been getting worse in the Midwest, as have hurricanes in the Southeast.
I know enough about the chaotic nature of weather to expect this (which is not the same as predict), but what I don’t know, because I’m not a climatologist, is whether there’s a trend that can be seen from all of this. What I’ve seen are a series of hand waves that often contradict each other.
Winston, Al Gore co-founded Generation Investment Management, LLC. This is one of these crackpot companies that sells “carbon credits”.
Big corporations are being targeted as “climate killers” and they, in turn, are giving Al Gore and his company money to get off their backs. They buy carbon credits from Gore’s GIM in order to protect their image and companys’ good standing with the public. In olden days, this was called extortion, coercion, or racketering.
Al Gore is a big beneficiary of the Global Warming, oops, Global Climate Change hysteria. His alarmist mantra is beneficial to his business and his pocketbook.
# 10 Mr. Fusion said, “Very little. Most of the land has been scraped clean by the Ice Age glaciers.”
Really? Some of the most productive farmland in the Mid-west US was under the ice sheet. Doesn’t look like it effected it much.
As I thought. There will be lots of extra farmland in N. America & Asia. And, with warmer temp, more precipitation. So, other than losing some coastline and some warmer temps, N America will do quite well.
September in the Northern hemisphere is warmer than October.
Is this “An Inconvenient Truth” for Al Gore?
When the facts don’t fit your predetermined conclusion change the facts.
this is common throughout history
Solar minimums bring times of unusual cold weather. But of course, the sun has nothing to do with the climate.
>>Lest we go into the whole Al and Tipper mansion/energy issues.
>The Secret Service detail put in place most of the extra appliances that run up Gore’s electric usage.
So you have the latest talking points I see. Nice to see you are no longer claiming it is made up.
Even if this is true, that doesn’t absolve Al Gore. He is not required to have Secret Service protection, and could insist that they reduce their footprint or fire them.
#6 Paddy-O the planet is cooling. Global warming won’t get started again for a few decades.
People keep insisting that various people should be discredited because they get money from oil companies for their studies. Yet if the oil companies hadn’t provided the money, the scientific consensus would be less accurate today. Neither of these errors would have been caught by these ‘unqualifieds’, and people would still be making the wrong claim that 1998 is the hottest year on record, etc.
Just wondering… how many climatologists are there?
It’s actually pretty simple. The IPCC models predicted a continued warming to today.
This has not occurred. Reality and the models diverged in 1998 – 10 years ago. It getting colder, not warmer. Ice cover is growing globally, not shrinking. The seas and the atmosphere are both colder, not warmer.
This is completely at odds with the human caused global warming model.
It is not reality that is wrong, it is the model that is faulty. Undeniably faulty since the models have NOT predicted accurately what has factually occurred in the last 10 years.
Why should we essentially destroy the global economy and make everyone poorer because of a proven false model? This is insanity.
# 20 MikeN said, “Global warming won’t get started again for a few decades.”
Great! Now, what the hell do I do with all that beach front property in Greenland?
In case anyone cares about the truth…
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2008/11/mountains-and-molehills/#more-620
One. Twelve thousand years ago, Lake Victoria dried up. There were, of course, no automobiles anywhere around.
Two. The Little Ice Age is the reason the people of Great Britain drink beer, while the French drink wine.
Three. The energy output of the sun is related to the sunspot cycles. The sunspot cycles are not related to human activity.
Four. Politicians strive to control the people in whatever way they can, to preserve power.
Five. The people are rarely smart enough to figure this out.
Six. All politicians love huge government.
Seven. If politicians convince people the world is doomed without their leadership, they can assert whatever rules they wish upon an ignorant population.
Eight. The population is stupid.
Nine. Any cooling or warming taking place is a natural cycle.
Ten. Politicians lie, statistics can support truths or lies equally well, (witness the subject of this posting).
Eleven. AR-15’s have, in the last two weeks, sold out nationwide.
Twelve. Read the post. Son of a bitch! Al Gore! People, your first impressions were correct. He and his allies are masterful liars and manipulators.
Thirteen. In the past, when Hitler and other tyrants have come to power, segments of the male population of America were not demanding the right to marry men and holding rallies across the country supporting this view. Instead, they were ready to enlist and fight.
Thirteen. Most people are not even thinking about stocking up now on necessary supplies. (See above for one example).
Fourteen. Don’t expect Obama or the police to take care of your every need. They can’t, and won’t.
Fifteen. Remember what the authorities responsible to protect the people did during Katrina. First, they left. Second, look it up yourself.
Sixteen. Enjoy Jan 20. Good luck.
To sum up, Al Gore and his propagandist ‘Climate Change’ machine is a stinking pile of steaming crap. Voodoo science + voodoo conclusions = voodoo truth, how inconvenient.
This post and the comments that follow are depressing to me personally.
First and foremost, the scientific community should never have called it global warming. Instead we should have labeled it properly as severe climate change. It’s not about continuing increases in temperature constantly, then OMG there is an above average season of winter. It’s about severe change (hotter or colder) in the habitual climates of the ecosystems of the world.
Humans can adapt to weather patterns, we have rain coats for rain, winter jackets for snow and ice, wool coats for cold winters and such. And if extreme things like hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes happen we can get evacuated. Animals can’t. They evolved and adapted to their environment, since they lack our godly ability to reshape the world as we see fit.
If you want an example of drastic temperature changes look at the sudden destruction of the great barrier reef in Australia, the polar ice caps, or the nino effect. There are plenty of other examples if you look hard enough.
I’d drag on but the sad fact is there simply are too many ignorant people in the world (and in this post and the great internet). Especially in the US, I mean just look how easily they were duped into destroying their own country (or at least letting Cheney do it for them).
Here’s a personal anecdote. I live in Las Vegas where there are months-long spells of 100+ days. I’ve only lived here four years, but I’ve noticed an interesting trend. In 2004-5, there were a number of days at or above 115. In 2008, there were a couple early in the season and I don’t remember any that hot the rest of the season.
I predict (with my years of casual reading of the occasional environmental news article experience to back me up) that this trend will grow into an inconvenient truth: that in the next few years we will see blizzards in Vegas. During the summer.
Time to trade in my efficient Mazda for a Hummer to help pour CO2 into the atmosphere to save us from the glaciers. It will have the added benefit of aiding GM without government bailout money!
Come on, everyone! Heat up the planet!
Do it for the children!
I guess once you make a statement on global warming. You will do anything to make it stick.
As we have learned about facts. You can spin them to support your beliefs.