I am writing a book for lay people on global warming. I want to look at it from the angle: what are the best, simplest, convincing arguments? The other main question is, what are the questions people trying to make up their minds are going to ask in order to be sure?
The one fact that convinced me was that there is no heating signature in the troposphere, whereas all GCMs say there must be. That's a killer, and I'll shortly write a blog about it. But what convinced you? And when you were investigating, what were the big questions on your mind?
This post is simply to provide an anchor for anyone to weigh in on these issues. In fact, if you were convinced that anthropogenic global warming is happening, what key facts convinced you of that? (Who knows, you might convince me to change my mind - it's always open. But don't tell me about 600 scientists or the IPCC or a consensus or the debate is over; tell me actual checkable facts.)
Over to you all!
Re: What are the important questions about global warming?
Ron:
I guess growing up in the 50s and 60s I learned that the weather always changes and is unpredictable. With an intrest in earth sciences I kept up with geology and weather/climate. So I never thought about alarmism other than to tell people that this type of thing had happened before and will happen again. The earth is well within the historic limits of climate variation and the biosphere does better when the globe is in the upper /warmer portion of the range.
When I started looking into AGW I looked at what was being presented as evidence. I observed the lack of accuracy in the measureing devices and the need or lack of adjustments. I saw the claims regarding the ocean temperatures when there was no way to determine the temperature of the entire ocean by measureing 1%. The po;ar regions where they are showing concern about some thing they do not have enough data to make such claims. The geological evidence shows the climate swings quite well. It only requires a look at the ice cores to understand the extent of the variations.
JoNova has a book about AGW: The Skeptics Handbook and there are others around.
Re: What are the important questions about global warming?
Hi Mike, yes, I have a copy of JoNova's book, but thanks. I am trying to target the need for something giveable-awayable - short and low cost, and downloadable free - to answer the questions of those who haven't made up their minds. So far I am including:
Carbon dioxide is the food of life—it is 100% good; plants and animals are mostly made of carbon dioxide and water;
Carbon dioxide is close to its lowest concentration ever in the history of planet Earth;
More CO2 increases the growth rate of crops, wild plants, trees, the food of all animal species, but the Earth’s plants are close to carbon starvation; calling CO2 “pollution” is a dangerous lie;
Global warming is good for life, humanity, and the environment;
A warming planet is life; a cooling planet is death;
But unfortunately carbon dioxide’s only failing is—it’s not causing much warming!
And the only real climate danger we face is global cooling;
And the vastly expensive cap-and-trade systems being introduced will wreck the economies of the west for no benefit (except for making certain insiders fabulously wealthy);
But they will reduce the food for wild animals and for the poor, and make it slightly more likely the planet will enter a deadly ice age, killing billions of humans and animals;
The most urgent thing anyone who cares for the environment can do is—stop the anti-carbon madness!
What I am really getting at is: What have I missed that was in the key evidence that convinced you?
Re: What are the important questions about global warming?
I have been a contrarian most of my life and I remember a discussion I had with the represetatives from a startup company Accuweather at a National Association of Broadcasters convention years ago. We discussed the accuracy of weather forcasts. They claimed greater accuracy and I claimed Time will tell. I still believe the name is an oxymoron just like the name Realclimate.
I had an uncle that was a scientist at Lawrence Livermore Labs in the 50s and 60s. I walked through the cyclatron when I was 10 years old. Astrology, Geology, all sciences have interested me and history as well. Looking at history and how climate shifts affected civilizations. The fact that Green house operators add CO2 to enhance growth!
You do not equalize the masses by tearing down the advanced but by teaching the depressed and allowing them to advance to the level that others have achieved. I also believe in the need for global peace through understanding and setting an example. History teaches ud that depriveing people of growth causes problems. The AGW crowd thinks it is necessary to restrict advancement and depress the advanced to the same level as those that are dreaming about advanceing.
I guess that life convinced me that CO2 was a part of nature.
Re: What are the important questions about global warming?
Hi Mike, sounds like you've done stuff I wish I could have done! Right on about tearing down and building up. One thing I want to get on to (maybe after I've got something useful out on global warming) is the fact that a country's reproductive rate drops when the country becomes prosperous: poor places reproduce like crazy and get even poorer. It seems as if the social policy in the west right now is all about wrecking the thing that we know works, so we all go backwards together. I can't imagine the hell that will result when that all comes about.