The Origin of the Climate Change Dogma
I got to thinking the other day: When did the whole global warming, now climate change, religion begin.
I vividly remember the 1970’s when there were “scientists” warning us about the coming of another Ice Age. In 1971, the Global Ecology network forecast the ‘continued rapid cooling of the earth,’ In 1975 the New York Times brooded that the earth ‘may be headed for another ice age.’ In the March 1975 issue of Science, we were informed that ‘the approach of a full-blown 10,000-year ice age [was] a real possibility.’ That prediction was made using lots of ‘supporting historical data’ reflecting the cooling of the planet.
Then comes 1988. In June that year Dr. James Hanson, then head of the NASA Goddard of Space Studies Institute, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, telling the Committee of the ‘greenhouse effect’ and that as a result the earth was warming.
Here are some quotes:
- “The present temperature is the highest in the period of record. The rate of warming in the past 25 years, as you can see on the right, is the highest on record. The four warmest years, as the Senator mentioned, have all been in the 1980s. And 1988 so far is so much warmer than 1987, that barring a remarkable and improbable cooling, 1988 will the warmest year on the record.”
- “I would like to draw three main conclusions. Number one, the earth is warmer in 1988 than at any time in the history of instrumental measurements. Number two, the global warming is now large enough that we can ascribe with a high degree of confidence a cause-and-effect relationship to the greenhouse effect. And number three, our computer climate simulations indicate that the greenhouse effect is already large enough to begin to affect the probability of extreme events such as summer heat waves.”
So in less than a decade, we went from all the data supposedly supporting the coming of an ice age to one where the data supposedly supported dire predictions of global warming. Dr. Hanson’s numbers covered the same years as the ice age proponents, but apparently reflected the opposite prediction.
Global warming predicters didn’t encounter the fate of ice age predictors which was similar to what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah – and Lot’s wife, who despite the warning, didn’t believe she would be turned into a pillar of salt by looking. Instead, climate change advocates enjoyed a following of vocal believers that has only grown the congregation over the years.
A member of that Senate committee in 1988 was Al Gore. For years following that hearing he became the spokesperson, the champion, for global warming. He made a fortune in speakers’ honorariums, publishing, and film. But he’s a politician, not a scientist.
Those activities generated the formation and funding of numerous organizations and research projects. Major funding came from governments, including ours, and the United Nations. It fed itself. You could get money if you believed in global warming.
NASA’s Goddard Institute recently reported 2023 was the hottest year on record – dating from 1880.
There are actually three different current methods used measure the temperature of the earth. I won’t elaborate here.
NASA assembles its temperature record, known as GISTEMP, from surface air temperature data acquired by tens of thousands of meteorological stations, as well as sea surface temperature data from ship and buoy-based instruments. This raw data is analyzed using methods that account for the varied spacing of temperature stations around the globe and for urban heating effects that could skew the calculations.
The analysis calculates temperature anomalies rather than absolute temperature. A temperature anomaly shows how far the temperature has departed from the 1951 to 1980 base average.
When I look at the data, I see 2023, for example, measured against the average temperatures reported in the ’51-’80 period – and the total 20th century period. I don’t see whether there were any years used in either average that were comparable or even exceeded the 2023 temperature – like the 1930’s dust bowl years.
Using the average of the 20th century against current temps the NASA 2023 number is reported as 1.57 degrees F above that average – “the hottest year on record.” BTW, that average is reported as 53.4 degrees F, so the 2023 temp was 55 degrees. The number when Dr. Hanson testified was 57 degrees F. so there’s one year that was higher than 2023.
The other thing that seems missing is the method(s) used in measuring global temperatures. It would seem to me that if we’re talking apples to apples, we should be using the same measurements. Oh, but current measurements didn’t exist 100 years ago! So, what am I comparing?
These numbers are provided to our “it isn’t news if it doesn’t bleed” media with these days are couched in current year numbers against an average. There’s no questions about where or how anyone came by the headline of the report.
In my research I didn’t find a single chart or table that shows what the earth’s temperature was year by year. So, how does one get an average if one doesn’t have the individual numbers? Frankly, what good are they anyway if they’re arrived at using different measurements.
Couple these scientific method violations with supposedly comparable numbers doesn’t mean we’ve manufactured facts or truth. It means just the opposite.
Meanwhile, brace yourself for the continuing credo of boiling oceans in our future if we don’t stop burning fossil fuels – based on unreliable, refutable evidence.
********************
Have a great and prosperous week.
Hug somebody.
References:
https://www.sealevel.info/1988_Hansen_Senate_Testimony.html
https://junkscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Climate-Fact-Check_June-2023-Edition_v3.pdf
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202301/supplemental/page-1
https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3282/nasa-announces-summer-2023-hottest-on-record/
SPIDER Bites
This week’s trivia question: What do the stripes on the American flag represent? The answer to last week’s question re: the name of the notable astronomer who penned the 1980 best-selling book Cosmos: Carl Sagan. In addition to a master’s degree in physics, he held doctorates in astronomy and astrophysics. Because of his TV series in the early ‘80’s with the same name as the title to the book, he was the most famous scientist in America. I vividly remember him at least once saying there were more stars in the universe than there were grains of sand on earth. I don’t think he missed a show when he didn’t say “billions and billions” about something.
The Michigan Wolverines ‘ran’ for a convincing win over the Washington Huskies for the national college football championship last week. A good team out of Ann Arbor this year.
72-year-old, 7-time national champion coach, Nick Saban of Alabama retired last week. His remuneration for 2023 was $10.7 million.
Prices were up 3.4% in December, from 3.1% in November. Inflation remains – and not close to the increase in wages of the last several years. We’re all poorer with double digit higher energy, shelter, and food costs. Bidenomics.
Here we go. Finally, after almost three months of attacking shipping in the Red Sea, we threw some ordinance at the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. The Houthis promised revenge and additional shipping costs to the West. We have but another powder keg we’re sitting on that will escalate, hopefully not on our soil. While we bombed the Houthi surrogates, we’re doing nothing but appease the real Mid-East culprit, Iran.
Whoopie! Averting a ‘government shutdown’ next Friday is still I play, with the Congress yet approve to increase the national debt by another $1.6T. What the hey, it’s not their money and future.
In zero and below temperatures the much-hyped Iowa Republican caucuses will kick off another national election for president tomorrow evening. Brace yourself for a barrage of negative ads again. Big money from ‘king makers’ will likely determine the November voting results.
Was Chris Christie ever a viable candidate for president? If we didn’t care what he said before taking his hat out of the ring last week, why would we care after?
Illegal immigrants were sheltered in a NYC high school last week while the students were sent home. Teaching kids plays second fiddle to illegal immigrants. We invited the immigrants. Right?
Meanwhile Saint Fauci testified before Congress that he didn’t think closing the schools during the COVID exercise had any negative impact on student learning or mental health. He also said he didn’t have any scientific basis for suggesting 6-foot intervals between people to stop contagion. Add flimsy masks to that list.
The UK plans to build a new full-scale nuclear power plant to supplement the two already under development. Clean, efficient, and reliable, nuclear energy is off the docket here and only Allah knows why.
Global coal use in 2023 hit a record high, surpassing 8.5 billion tons for the first time on the back of strong demand in countries led by India and China. While China is the world’s largest energy consumer, India is ranked third globally, and both countries are the top consumers of coal as they strive to fuel economic growth.
In the come to be expected ‘crying wolf’ scenario, we’re now being told that 2023 recorded the hottest global temperature in history, dating back even to prehistoric times. How does anyone know that?
