The extreme drought of 2012, which persists into 2013 in about half the country, was just a fluke, says a massive report by dozens of government scientists, helmed by Martin Hoerling. Hoerling is an expert in general circulation models and projections, specializing in the Southwest, and a believer in global warming. As Seth Borenstein wroteContinue reading “Texas-sized drought of 2012: Fluke or global warming?”
Category Archives: climate
Students confront climate change denying scientist
It's almost impossible to quote this story without snark, but I'm going to try. At Michigan State University, a conservative group sponsored a presentation by a notorious climate change skeptic named Willie Soon, an astrophysicist. A small group of students, 21 in all, showed up to hear him, five of which were affiliated with aContinue reading “Students confront climate change denying scientist”
Obama quails on Keystone XL: Poll shows why
Looks like Obama intends to back down and let Keystone XL bitumen pipeline go through. From the NY Times: SAN FRANCISCO — Appearing at the home of an outspoken critic of the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama on Wednesday night told a group of high-dollar donors that the politics of the environment “are tough.” Mr. Obama appears toContinue reading “Obama quails on Keystone XL: Poll shows why”
Getting the Warm Arctic-Cold Continents concept
Occasionally on this site we have discussed the idea of "meridional flow" — a north-sound jetstream pattern, which tends to make for colder winters on the East Coast and in Eurasia. This appears to be the focus of a lot of new research, originating seemingly in James Overland's Warm Arctic-Cold Continents idea (described here by JeffContinue reading “Getting the Warm Arctic-Cold Continents concept”
Katrina-sized hurricanes much more likely in 21st century
Kerry Emmanuel, one of the most prominent of researchers into the connection between climate change and hurricanes, edited a just-released study of hurricanes in PNAS that looks at hurricane magnitude and risk in a new way, by storm surge instead of wind speed or reported damaged, and finds that "Statisically downscaling 21st century warming patternsContinue reading “Katrina-sized hurricanes much more likely in 21st century”
Why Obama should ask a farmer to lead on climate change
The acerbic Timothy Egan of the NYTimes has an interesting idea, re: the politics of climate change: It’s one thing to persuade hipsters in Portland, Ore., or Brooklyn to grow organic — hey, how cool is an artisan radish — in their rooftop gardens. It’s a much tougher push to get Big Ag, made upContinue reading “Why Obama should ask a farmer to lead on climate change”
Could climate change explain good spring job numbers?
David Drayen thinks out loud: …experienced jobs-report watchers have noticed an odd trend over the past several years, one that could temper optimism over the positive indicators for February. Since the start of the recovery in early 2010, the BLS [Bureau of Labor Statistics] reports have shown solid growth numbers in the winter and earlyContinue reading “Could climate change explain good spring job numbers?”
Fracking: Pro, Con and (possible) Compromise for CA
The Wall Street Journal is excited about the possibilities of fracking for California: California has Saudi Arabia-scale oil resources, notably in its largely untapped Monterey shale field, which stretches northeast for more than 200 miles from Bakersfield in central California. New technologies, especially smart, horizontal drilling and hydrofracturing, aka "fracking," make that oil accessible, andContinue reading “Fracking: Pro, Con and (possible) Compromise for CA”
Climate change: it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity
At least when it comes to working outdoors. An interesting study published this month in Nature looks at how rising levels of heat and humidity will impact work in military and civilian sites, and draws a broad conclusion: By 2100 under active mitigation (Fig. 1c), the high stress of present-day India (green Fig. 1b) expandsContinue reading “Climate change: it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity”
How Obama can get it done for a safe climate: Brownstein
Ronald Brownstein, perhaps the foremost political print journalist of recent years, in Quartz explains how and why the President will make a move to protect the climate. Note that the story begins with a fact the left and environmentalists generally will not like. Though President Barack Obama lavished attention on climate change in both his inauguralContinue reading “How Obama can get it done for a safe climate: Brownstein”
Kit Stolz 