Sunday, August 05, 2012

Weaver Backs Hansen Research on Global Warming

For more than a quater century, NASA Space Laboratory director James Hansen has led the effort to warn the world about the fact of global warming.

Now, Hansen has created another stir across the world with the announcement of a research study based on data from the past six decades that he claims shows global warming is a scientific fact, no longer just a theory.   The peer reviewed study will be released this week but many have already read it online.

So, what to make of the Hansen study?   I don't know, do you?   Unless you're a climate scientist, you probably don't know either.   Fortunately there's a prominent Canadian climate scientist, Dr. Andrew Weaver from the University of Victoria, who has read the report and come to a pretty clear conclusion.

The science in Hansen's study is excellent "and reframes the question," said Andrew Weaver, a climate scientist at the University of Victoria.

"Rather than say, 'Is this because of climate change?' That's the wrong question. What you can say is, 'How likely is this to have occurred with the absence of global warming?' It's so extraordinarily unlikely that it has to be due to global warming," Weaver said.

I'll take Weaver's word for it.   Science is never a closed book but some things get so close to certain that we have to accept them as fact.   For the past decade or two we've gotten pretty close on global warming with climate models.   Hansen's research backs those models up with hard data, closing the door on denialists and their powerful benefactors.

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5 comments:

  1. Dan Pangburn1:35 PM, August 05, 2012

    I monitor the temperature anomalies from all five reporting agencies. I average them to avoid bias. Anyone else actually paying attention is aware that the planet stopped warming over a decade ago. Meanwhile, the atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased since 2001 by 25% of the increase from 1800 to 2001.

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  2. The Mound of Sound2:41 PM, August 05, 2012

    Dan, what are your academic credentials? What I would suggest you do is contact any of the fossil fuel associations. With your bombshell data you can unequivocally refute the IPCC, the Royal Society, the Royal Institute, NOAA, NASA, and the national science academies of every OECD nation. That information would be worth countless millions to oil and coal producers and you'll be rich beyond your imagination. Then, when you get that money, you can contact me to hand over 10% for pointing you in the right direction.

    Or not.

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  3. liberal supporter3:09 PM, August 05, 2012

    Dan must not be getting very well paid for his shilling. I suppose the payment is denied when he is refuted.

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  4. The Mound of Sound3:31 PM, August 05, 2012

    Ooh, ouch! That was a third degree burn, Dan.

    Thanks LS

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  5. Anonymous4:53 PM, August 05, 2012

    About time, thank-you Mr. Hansen.

    Is it too late? We need strict laws now curtailing CO2 emissions NOT taxing them. And we have a government asleep at the switch, thanks to the Harper Government we Canadians have even less time and more uphill running battles ahead.

    I call on Stephen to resign for getting rid of our climate science everything (facilities and scientists) when we need it most in exchange for his precious Red Chinese Oil Sands.

    NOW HARPER GOVERNMENT GET PACKING.

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