You will recall that in July a paper came out claiming that clouds, not CO2, caused climate change (I simplify slightly). Later, the Editor in Chief of the journal that published the paper resigned. Well, today, a paper came out that addresses the science side of the original paper. The origional paper appears to have been both poorly done and probably improperly (as in unethically done). The paper that just came out shows that clouds do not cause climate change. Climate science remains intact. Climate change denialism takes another hit.
I’ve written it up here. Deltoid has this covered as well.
In addition, there is some interesting reading here, here, here, and here.
Enjoy.
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or Paperback
*Please note:
Links to books and other items on this page and elsewhere on Greg Ladens' blog may send you to Amazon, where I am a registered affiliate. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, which helps to fund this site.
I’m dealing with a whole other breed of denialist at my place — Ben Pile of Climate Resistance. He believes AGW is happening, it’s less severe than people are saying it is, and doing something about it is extremely damaging to the poor so we should stop complaining and being such alarmists.
Jason, I know .. Ben Pile, right? That guy has a web site and everything. He’s stuck in the 19th century ideal of “Man Against Nature” more or less.
Before there were many people on Earth climate has been changing. The forests were vast and CO2 levels were low. The ice sheets were far more extended, although reducing from the peak of the last Ice Age; therefore the atmosphere was a lot dryer or with less moisture than it has today. The reason from the dryness is that most of the water was in the ice. That is the same phenomenon as in Antarctica which is considered to be the most dry in the surface of the planet. Humidity in Antarctica is almost zero.
So what was it that was driving the changes in the climate before there were humans? What caused the continuation of the retreat of the ice sheets even when humans were not yet numerous and there were no cars to cause excessive emissions? What caused the ending of the Ice Age and brought us to the present warm climate? Are the drivers of the past climate changes (that is before there were many humans) still around? If the warming was started immediately after the peak of the last Ice Age what is driving its continuation? Is the present warming of the planet a continuation of what was already going on from since after the peak of the last Ice Age?
Since the ice sheets have been retreating, then logically the amount of moisture in the atmosphere has been growing; that is from zero moisture during the Ice Age, to the present moisture levels. Is it not that moisture or humidity cause warming to reinforce or add to the warming that is caused by the retreat of the ice sheets?
One of the effects of the retreat of the ice sheets is the warming of the planet favorable to the increase in human population. Increase in human population have brought about deforestation. The loss of the forests have released more moisture into the atmosphere on top of that which came from the retreat of the ice sheets. So there is more humidity and more warming of the planet, reinforcing the acceleration of the retreat of the ice sheets.
Since there are now less forests and more humans (approaching 7 billion), humans themselves, with their livestock contribute heat and release more CO2. On top of the increase in human population we have also increased man made goods, products like the steam engine that use up wood and coal, cars and trucks that have caused the extraction of fuel to power the vehicles. This situation have caused the increase in the levels of CO2, and reduce the CO2 absorption capacity of the planet by the loss of the forests. So now we have more variables that add up to the situation that contribute and continues the warming of the planet, that has already been warming up since after the last Ice Age.
The driver that caused the Ice Age to end plus the retreat of the ice sheets, plus the increasing moisture in the atmosphere, plus the loss of the forests that also add up more moisture into the atmosphere, plus the loss of the CO2 absorbing and cooling effect of the forests, plus more clouds in the atmosphere that traps the heat, plus the increase in humans and livestock population, plus human products that add heat to the atmosphere, are we not indeed accelerating the process of warming? Are we not causing a warming tsunami (a tsunami becomes destructive when wave over wave start to accelerate and strengthen the inland movement of the waters from the sea)?
The problem with the scientific debate is that they are polarized between CO2 driven climate change, and cloud driven climate change. They should now begin to see that it is not CO2, or the clouds, but the warming is like a tsunami that accelerates when waves travel on top of waves and so on, getting faster and stronger as it moves inland.
They should see that the variables that contribute to warming are adding up on top of each other and reinforcing the warming process to an upward spiral. It is wrong to say that it is CO2. It is wrong to say that it is the clouds. What is right to say is that from since the last Ice Age the Earth is warming up and continuing to get warmer, and as it continues to do so, new warming variables are added on top of the previously operating variables setting up the occurrence of a warming tsunami.
Definitely, there will be more clouds that will add up to the heating and changing of the climate. Definitely, there will be more CO2 for as long as we are unable to restore the forests. Definitely, the Earth will continue to warm, and God knows up to how hot and how soon it will be we do not yet know. What we know is that the climate has continued to change from since after the last Ice Age and the changes are continuing, and we people are compounding the problem.
To me, the first and most logical step is to bring back the forests. Those who believe that CO2 is the knob the makes the climate what it is, so do something to bring down the CO2. Those who believe that nothing could be done about the phenomenon towards a Thermal Maximum, I really do not know what to say. For those who believe that expanding and restoring the forest areas will have the ultimate impact to mitigate or slow down or put into equilibrium the warming process, should plant trees and restore the forests for every opportunity that they can have.
I have planted 14,000 trees already. I am sure those trees will help cut down CO2 levels; those trees are going to produce oxygen for the atmosphere; those trees will keep some of the moisture on the ground, under their canopies, beneath the dead leaves that they drop; those trees are going to make the lives of birds, bees, animals, insects and bacteria better.
So let us stop claiming who is smarter, and let us go back to data gathering and the determining of the variables and how much each variable are contributing to the warming and to the changing. Let us all get to the right science and take out the politics and the pecuniary motivations that are driving the climate debate like crazy. Those who claim that they already have the science to explain what is going on should reconsider their position. There is still much to be learned and understood. My solution of planting trees is now being acted, because I am definitely convinced regardless of whether the CO2 scientists or the cloud scientists are correct, the forests will address the concerns of both sides. The forests will reduce CO2; the forests will reduce the moisture in the atmosphere!
Gabriel Atega, that is not an accurate representation of climate change and the items you pose as questions with no seeming answer are actually well understood. Hoever, I agree that deforestation is a cause of many problems and replanting trees is a fantastic idea.