Simple Answers to Simple Questions....
FAQs on Climate Science**….
"There’s no consensus!”
About 98% of actual climate scientists agree humans are causing global warming; the tiny handful that don’t agree are subpar scientists with lower levels of expertise and research records.
“There is a HUGE amount of scientific debate about anthropogenic climate change! Teach the controversy!”
Every single reputable and prestigious scientific body on the planet concurs that global warming is very likely due to humans; there are no known - zero, nada, zilch - reputable scientific institutions of international-standing on the planet that disagree or think the warming is natural.
"The science isn't settled!"
It is known with high scientific certainty that warming of the last half century is mostly due to humans and confirmed by observations; also refer back to previous two responses.
"It was freaking cold in Walla Walla last January!"
A local cold day has nothing to do with long term global warming trends.
"Climate’s changed before!”
The climate changes in response to whatever forces it to change at the time, which now is dominated by humans.
”It’s the Sun!”
The sun’s output has barely changed in thirty years and has nothing to do with recent warming.
”Scientists predicted an ice age in the 1970s!”
No, there were a few stories in the popular media that fueled that, and a few speculations; the scientific community in the 1970s made no such prediction.
”It hasn’t warmed since 1998!”
Wrong, 2005 was the hottest year on record, 2009 was the second hottest, and 2010 is trending towards being the hottest year on record.
"Al Gore got it wrong!”
The facts Al Gore presents are very accurate, and far more accurate than the stuff Climate Gate Clowns routinely get wrong.
"Al Gore is fat!”
True.
”Climate scientists LIED, and Climate Gate proved it!”
Multiple independent investigations of the CRU scientists completely exonerated them, and concluded that their “integrity and rigour as scientists was beyond doubt”.
"Arctic Ice has recovered and at it's highest levels since the 1970s!"
The total volume of arctic ice is in rapid retreat.
”Dr. Phil Jones said no warming since 1995!”
Dr. Jones was misquoted.
"There hasn’t been statistically significant warming since 1995".
It is unequivocal that there has been warming since 1995, the 10 on the hottest years on record are since 1997; please take a statistics class to understand what statistical significance means.
"IPCC LIED and used non-scientific data!"
IPCC summarizes the research of thousands of the world’s top climate scientists.
"IPCC is full of lies, and errors”
There were a couple of minor errors in a thousand page report, none of which affected IPCC’s summary conclusions, which have been independently corroborated by prestigious scientific bodies across the planet.
"I saw some list signed by HUNDREDS of scientists who refute human caused global warming!”
Anyone with a science degree from some college can sign anything they want, those “lists” had very few, if any, actual reputable climatologists.
"IPCC was wrong about Himalayan glaciers!”
Glaciers are in retreat worldwide, despite one error in a one thousand page report.
"IPCC used non-scientific NGO sources and LIED about the Amazon!”
The IPCC statements on the Amazon were correct, were backed by peer-reviewed science, and were misreported in the media.
"The EVIDENCE is all B.S., and it's too expensive to fix!"
This assertion is not plausible coming from anyone who supported a costly and bloody war on Iraq on the basis of the flimsiest, feeblest, and most circumstantial of evidence; the science of global warming is extremely sound, almost universally accepted by actual experts, and the cost of inaction outweighs the cost of action.
"Why did sneaky liberals switch using the word “global warming” and switch it to “climate change”?!
Nobody switched anything, it’s been called “climate change”- due to global warming - at the highest levels of science and government since the 1980s.
"I saw huge freaking snow storms last winter that PROVE global warming is a liberal lie!”
Global warming causes more snowstorms, because of increased evaporation and precipitations, as climate scientists have predicted for decades.
“Solar radiation and cosmic rays are causing it!”
Solar irradiance is at a minimum, and the trend in output of cosmic rays hasn’t change appreciably in decades.
"1934 was the hottest year!”
1934 was the hottest year in the United States, not on the planet.
"The HOTTEST temperature was 136 degrees in 1922, PROVING the earth isn’t warming!”
A temperature reading from one, single thermometer in the Libyan desert in 1922 is irrelevant to global climate change, as is reflective of very localized and anomalous weather conditions.
"You can't PROVE for sure that humans cause it!"
Science isn't in the business of proving anything, or providing answers with absolute, one-thousand percent bullet-proof certainty - science can only disprove. 400 year after Isacc Newton scientists are still trying to unravel uncertainties about the exact nature and causes of gravity. It is unequivocal that the earth is warming, and it is known with high scientific certainty that humans are causing it.
"Its just a natural cycle!”
Natural cycles in the ancient past are irrelevant to explaining the current warming trend, who’s rate of increase and magnitude can only be scientifically explained by human GHG emissions.
"Tree rings temperature record diverge after 1960, and liberals hid the data!”
This is a complex scientific topic that has been addressed by the world’s leading climate scientists, and is irrelevant to the current warming trend.
“But, the tree ring data PROVE the science is all mucked up and full of LIES!”
Other paleoclimate data proxies independently show an anomalous human-induced warming trend in the last half century, whether you use the tree ring data or not.
“There’s no correlation between CO2 and temperature!"
There is a long term correlation between CO2 and temperature; the greenhouse effect is well-established physics and confirmed by observations.
“Volcanoes cause it!”
Volcanic eruptions can have localized temporal affects on temperature, but are irrelevant to the current global warming trend.
"We can't trust climate science if they LIE and HIDE data!"
Modern climate science is probably the most transparent scientific endeavor in the history of science; almost all of the data is in the public domain for anyone to use or research; the IPCC assessments were likely the most peer-reviewed scientific reports in human history; and the science itself has been repeatedly tested, vetted, and verified by multiple lines of evidence and independent researchers.
“Models are wrong and full of LIES!”
Modeling successfully reproduce temperatures since 1900 globally, by land, in the air and the ocean.
“Climate skeptics are shut out of the scientific process!”
Climate skeptics have not produced, analyzed or presented any original research and tested alternative theories for peer review and scientific publication.
Climate scientists lie and fake data, just so they can get a huge pile of research grant money !”
Many scientists – like the CRU scientists - were involved in climate research when it an obscure and poorly funded scientific topic; scientists routinely serve on national assessment panels pro bono and without compensation.
“There’s NO evidence!”
There are multiple independent lines of evidence from direct observations that humans are causing global warming.
“CO2 is NOT a pollutant”
Increasing concentrations of CO2 will stress agriculture, cause regional droughts, change precipitation patterns and stress water supplies, effecting human health and welfare.
“Who cares if climate changes?! It’s changed before and it might be good for us!
Human-induced rapid climate change will have detrimental and disruptive effects on humans, agriculture, the biosphere, precipitation patterns, increasing occurrences of extreme weather conditions, and water supplies.
"Dr. Hulme said the IPCC consensus was phony!"
Dr. Hulme was was misreresented by rightwingers, and Dr. Hulme responded on his webpage to put on the record that his words were twisted and misused by rightwingers.
“It’s not that bad! We will be able to grow oranges in North Dakota!!”
The negative impacts of global warming on agriculture, water supplies, national economies, and the environment far outweigh any positives.
“Human CO2 is a tiny percent of the atmosphere!?
Human emissions of CO2 upset the natural balance and are causing global warming.
"Scientists can't even predict weather!"
Weather and climate are different; weather is chaotic and short term; climate is much more predictable than weather.
“Why won’t scientists and sneaky message board liberals accept the credibility of my blogs, OpEd columns; and think-tank articles on climate??!!”
Opinion, assertion, and speculation are not part of the scientific method; skeptics are free to do their own original research using the data which is almost all in the public domain, and submit their research for peer review and publication in reputable scientific journals.
“It cooled mid-century PROVING global warming is a LIE!”
A brief mid-century cooling trend involved aerosols are is irrelevant to global warming of the last half century.
“CO2 lags temperature!
Recent CO2 increase has caused recent warming without any time lag.
“The CLOUD researchers at CERN are going to PROVE that climate scientists are LYING about climate change”
The CLOUD researchers have said no such thing, none of their actual peer reviewed scientific publications dispute human-induced warming, and their experiments are based on an untested hypothesis which may or may not shed some light and semi-interesting factoids on how much – if at all – cosmic rays are related to cloud cover.
“Cypress is a moron, and I’m sure that climate scientists LIED!”
Having an emotional breakdown is irrelevant to the science; it is unequivocal that the earth is warming, and it is known with a very high degree of scientific certainty and confidence. that most of the warming is due to humans.
