A number of publications last week published compendiums of amazing images from the polar vortex's drunken stagger, in Chris Mooney's wonderful story, across nearly all the nation save drought-stricken CA. Frozen lakes, waterfalls, etc. Here's NASA's GOES satellite picture: Fine. But what about the vortex of public reaction? Tom Toles sketches that one:
Category Archives: climate
Connecting global warming and California drought
What is causing the drought in the West? Could it be a jetstream phenomenon connected to the cold winter being experienced back East? Which could be connected to blockages interrupting the polar vortex, causing it to spill southward into places like the Ohio Valley? And could those blockages be connected — as researchers such asContinue reading “Connecting global warming and California drought”
If climate change is dangerous, can’t a scientist say so? (Hansen’s keynote address at the AGU 2013)
Back in l988, physicist/climatologist James Hansen told Congress that that we had begun to change the earth's atmosphere. This was during a heat wave in Washington, and his testimony made headlines. That's rare for a scientist of any sort. "Global warming has began, Expert tells Senate" reported the NYTimes. "It's time to stop waffling soContinue reading “If climate change is dangerous, can’t a scientist say so? (Hansen’s keynote address at the AGU 2013)”
A leaf tells us: Prehistoric ice melting in Italian Alps
Great story from AGU. Officially this is a press release from Ohio State University. But really it's just a great story from Pam Frost Gorder, and deserves attention in its own right. SAN FRANCISCO—Less than 20 miles from the site where melting ice exposed the 5,000-year-old body of Ötzi the Iceman, scientists have discovered newContinue reading “A leaf tells us: Prehistoric ice melting in Italian Alps”
How the media covered Obamacare vs. Typhoon Haiyan
Amazing graphic from Pew Research: Advocates (even including myself, I'm embarrassed to say now) have in the past blamed the media for not rasing the global warming question — repeat, question — when it comes to vast storm disasters, such as Typhoon Haiyan. Look at that graphic and you realize that in the American mediaContinue reading “How the media covered Obamacare vs. Typhoon Haiyan”
Global warming conference in Geneva “fizzles”: LA Times
Sometimes a picture is enough: The AP photo depicts the French president, the Japanese Prime Minister, the American President, and the German Chancellor unable to agree. An LA Times story tells of how the conference "fizzled to an inconclusive end," but allowed the conferees to avoid the embarrassment of total failure. Nice puppets, tho.
What the heck happened with Super Typhoon Haiyan?
After the strongest hurricane ever hits, it's natural to ask what happened. What made this storm so strong? Climatologists have ideas on the subject. Eli Rabbet looks at a graph from the NOAA Environmental Visulaization Lab. Darkness indicates warmth in the ocean, fuel for a potential hurricane. Here's the commentary from the lab at the time: TheContinue reading “What the heck happened with Super Typhoon Haiyan?”
Deniers scoff at Typhoon Yolanda (aka Haiyan)
From the New York Times: CEBU, Philippines — One of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded now appears to have devastated cities, towns and fishing villages with heavy loss of life when it played a deadly form of hopscotch across the islands of the central Philippines on Friday. The first and most vocal city to cryContinue reading “Deniers scoff at Typhoon Yolanda (aka Haiyan)”
Toles: Did you see how bad the Chinese air is?
Another of Toles' thoughtful sketches: All of us share the same air, live under one sky.
Could this climate ad have tipped the VA Gov race?
Tea Party/GOP candidate Ken Cuccinelli, as Attorney General, spent over $600k of state of Virginia funds on what the Washington Post called a "witch hunt" directed against Michael Mann, a highly reputable scientist. Mann's crime? He crunched global temperature numbers into a graph that shows soaring temperatures over the last hundred years that made clearContinue reading “Could this climate ad have tipped the VA Gov race?”
Kit Stolz 