Tuesday
Jul222008
Global warming: Could be a measuring error
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 4:16PM
Expert scientists disagreed on the key contributor to global warming at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing addressing the science and implications behind climate change.
There were fundamental differences between Roy W. Spencer, former NASA scientist during the Clinton Administration, and Dr. Kevin E. Trenberth, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Spencer attributes the majority of global warming contributions to errors in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) measurement due to natural causes, while Dr. Trenberth argues that climate change is a result of carbon emissions from human activity. Spencer cited evidence of natural cloud variability from satellite footage that has contributed to inaccuracies in the IPCC measurements. Forty experts saw this evidence and had no objections, Spencer said.
Spencer claimed that the Clinton Administration told him what he could and could not say to Congress about global warming and greenhouse emissions. Since Spencer is skeptical of climate change, he believes the administration was protecting Vice President Al Gore’s political agenda by censoring him.
Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) cited Spencer’s blog, where he admits that the Clinton Administration never told him what was and was not permissible to say to Congress. Dr. Trenberth warned that global warming is a problem that exists today and is accelerating. Jason Burnett, former Associate Deputy Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said that the climate change issue is not a matter of opinion, but about the facts, which undoubtedly show that it is happening.
There were fundamental differences between Roy W. Spencer, former NASA scientist during the Clinton Administration, and Dr. Kevin E. Trenberth, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Spencer attributes the majority of global warming contributions to errors in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) measurement due to natural causes, while Dr. Trenberth argues that climate change is a result of carbon emissions from human activity. Spencer cited evidence of natural cloud variability from satellite footage that has contributed to inaccuracies in the IPCC measurements. Forty experts saw this evidence and had no objections, Spencer said.
Spencer claimed that the Clinton Administration told him what he could and could not say to Congress about global warming and greenhouse emissions. Since Spencer is skeptical of climate change, he believes the administration was protecting Vice President Al Gore’s political agenda by censoring him.
Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) cited Spencer’s blog, where he admits that the Clinton Administration never told him what was and was not permissible to say to Congress. Dr. Trenberth warned that global warming is a problem that exists today and is accelerating. Jason Burnett, former Associate Deputy Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said that the climate change issue is not a matter of opinion, but about the facts, which undoubtedly show that it is happening.
Reader Comments (2)
The science of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere serving as a greenhouse gas was well established by Svante Arrhenius in 1896, so there is no valid argument that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere does not cause global warming.
The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that global warming is happening. Their three key conclusions are:
* It is "unequivocal" that global warming is occurring.
* The probability this is caused by natural climatic processes is less than 5%.
* The probability this is caused by human emissions is over 90%.
Brad, you shouldn't jump on the bandwagon of junk science. The Policy Center for Forecasting has basically slammed the IPCC report for violating 67 of 89 forecasting scientific principles. Before you jump on that pop science bandwagon, try reading some real science documents: www.forecastingprinciples.com/Public_Policy/WarmAudit31.pdf
Fact: Water vapor comprises 95% of greenhouse gases
Fact: 1.4C is within measuring accuracy. !00 years ago we did not have many measuring points and they were grouped together.
Fact: The earth's optimum temperature is unknown so a 1.4C increase is unknown as whether positive or negative.
Fact: Many "respected" scientific predictions at the turn of the last century as to climate changes put us heading towards another ice age.
The IPCC is discredited as a true scientific body. Scientific theory is not conducted by "consensus."