Colbert v McKibben: physics and chemistry don’t haggle…

by Gareth on August 20, 2009

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Bill McKibben
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Protests

Bill McKibben in the lion’s den: 350 ways to tame the Colbert Nation. Brave man — but the plug for October 24th is an effective one. Check here for NZ events…

[H/T to Whoar]

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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

R2D2 August 20, 2009 at 11:42 pm

“We need to keep CO2 below 350ppm or dangerous climate will happen”

“Where are we now?”

“Were at 390 now.”

“What? Why hasn’t it happened already?”

“Well the climate system takes time to adjust”

“Well how long have we been above for?”

“Since 1988″

“Oh. So how long will it take?”

“Oh about 30 years”

“So we are 2/3 through. How hot are we now?”

“2008 was above 0.7 above preindustrial”

“Yeah? but 2008 wasn’t really that bad was it? I thought it was actually quite cold in China and the US. How much hotter will it get in the next 10 years?”

“Well the IPCC says that if all greenhouse gasses are above 445ppm CO2-e we will have about 2C warming, and that will likely mean CO2 is about 350ppm, according to the 2007 synthesis report. (table 5.1)”

“So they are predicting 1.3C of warming in 8 years? Thats dramatic alright. More than all the warming since 1850 in just 8 years? Surely by that measure we should be higher than 0.7C right now?”

“Well we have to believe what the scientists are telling us on this one”

“Are any other scientists saying anything different?”

“Well, there are some that are saying the world will cool in the next ten years to 1970′s levels, due to solar cycles and ocean oscillations. But they are not really mainstream.”

“Well I guess all we have to do is wait and see eh?”

CTG August 21, 2009 at 8:16 am

Slight typo there, R2.

“Well, there are some that are saying the world will cool in the next ten years to 1970’s levels, due to solar cycles and ocean oscillations. But they are not really mainstream.”

That last sentence should be “But they are totally insane.”

Gareth August 21, 2009 at 8:39 am

But R2, you forget about aerosols…

Whoops August 21, 2009 at 8:06 am

Ever heard of an idea called ‘latent heat’?

No?

Ok…we can ignore Physics then, and yes of course ‘wait and see’ is a great strategy.

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