A brief note to let you know that all the presentations at the recent Climate Futures Forum organised by the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute at VUW have now been made available for web viewing. There’s a good deal of gold in there: presentations by Martin Manning, David Karoly and Bob Gifford will especially repay the diligent viewer. Slides are available for many of the talks. You can also view the “authors discussion” between Fred Pearce, Erik Conway and myself. My other gig, an evening café session with Lloyd Geering, Robert Gifford, and Bronwyn Hayward will be broadcast on Radio NZ National’s science programme Our Changing World tomorrow night (Thursday May 12), and will also be available as a podcast from the RNZ site.
Category: Climate science
Climate rap – scientists fight back
[youtube]LiYZxOlCN10[/youtube]
This is a preview of a section of tonight’s Hungry Beast show (Wikipedia explains) on ABC in Australia — I’m A Climate Scientist — a rap attack on climate denial. Opening lines:
Droppin facts all over this wax/
While bitches be crying about a carbon tax/
Climate change is caused by people/
Earth Unlike Alien Has no sequel/
We gotta move fast or we’ll be forsaken/
(Politician): Cause we were too busy suckin’ d*** in Copenhagen
Slightly not safe for work, or if you are sensitive to rude language. Full lyric at Youtube. But hilarious, and well worth watching. I’d pay good money to see a version with Gavin Schmidt, Mike Mann, Kevin Trenberth and Phil Jones. Or do I mean “Bad”? Hat tip: John Cook via @skepticscience.
The Fate of Greenland
Gary Comer was a wealthy retired American who found on a private voyage in 2001 that he was able to easily navigate the normally ice-bound Northwest Passage in northern Canada. It perturbed him that he could do so and resulted in his substantial funding of scientific research into the global extent of abrupt climate change. Glaciologist Richard Alley, oceanographer Wallace Broecker and geologist George Denton were leading scientists in the research he funded, and are co-authors with editor Philip Conkling of a newly published book which draws on the past decade of their and others’ work. The Fate of Greenland: Lessons from Abrupt Climate Change is a handsomely produced volume, lavishly illustrated with stunning photographs, many of them taken by Comer himself. It’s written for a general audience, albeit at times requiring close attention from readers when the complexities of some of the scientific detective work are explained.
Carter and Beck: partners in misconduct
Jim Renwick’s review of Bob Carter’s book, Climate – The Counter Consensus, reminded me that I have long promised provide a detailed explanation of why EG Beck – lauded by Bob Carter and Bryan Leyland – is a fraud. So here, connecting the two, is a syllogism (*):
- EG Beck is a fraud.
- Bob Carter pretends to believe EG Beck, therefore…
- Bob Carter misconducts himself before Parliament.
(*) Yes. I know it is not really a syllogism – much less a Barbara – I have studied philosophy you know.
Here I will show 1 and 2 to be true, leading to 3 (that Bob Carter has been ‘misconducting’ himself and is therefore in contempt of Parliament). You will have seen some of this before but, as it never bothers the deniers to recycle text, I feel no guilt in using a partial retread.
Supporting Jim: Saunders, Oram and Salinger on tour
With James Hansen arriving in New Zealand next week to tour much (but not all) of the country talking climate action and coal, three NZ-based climate experts have announced a regional speaking tour designed to complement Hansen’s efforts. Climate scientist Jim Salinger will be joined by Professor Caroline Saunders from Lincoln University (well-known for her work on the carbon footprinting of agricultural exports) and business commentator Rod Oram to present a session on “Maintaining farm productivity and profits in an uncertain climate”. They’ll explain:
…the nature of climate change, its impacts on New Zealanders’ health, properties, infrastructure, environment and rural industries. They will bring the latest information on climate change science and how it affects rural industries in regional New Zealand.
They’ll be visiting Wanganui, Hawera, New Plymouth, Stratford, Gisborne, Napier and Hastings in May, with visits to Northland, Bay of Plenty/Waikato, Nelson/Marlborough, South Canterbury and Westland planned for July/August. Sounds like a very worthwhile session for anyone with an interest in agriculture, climate and New Zealand’s future. Schedule below the fold…
Continue reading “Supporting Jim: Saunders, Oram and Salinger on tour”