Lagging just two years behind the blogosphere, the Washington Examiner reports:
Researchers who have inspected climate monitoring stations across the U.S. have found that almost 90 percent of the weather monitoring stations have failed to meet National Weather Service requirements.
Anthony Watts, a retired meteorologist, and a team of over 650 volunteers, photographically documented 1003 out of 1,221 of the climate monitoring stations managed by the U.S. Weather Service. The results of this survey show that the temperature cited as proof of man-made global warming is laced with false biases in favor of alarmism.
“We found stations located next to exhaust fans of air conditioning units, surrounded by asphalt parking lots and roads, on blistering-hot rooftops, and near sidewalks and buildings that absorb and radiate heat,” Watts said. “We found 68 stations located at wastewater treatment plants, where the process of waste digestion causes temperatures to be higher than in surrounding areas.”
The research team also determined that 89 percent did not measure up to the National Weather Service’s requirement that stations must be 30 meters (about 100 feet) or more away from an artificial heating source. This means almost 9 out of every 10 stations are reporting higher temperatures because they are badly sited.
“The errors in the record exceed by a wide margin the purported rise in temperatures of 0.7 degrees C (about 1.2 degrees F) during the twentieth century,” Watts said.
See for yourself at Surfacestations.org
Doh!
Better late than never?
Over the last few weeks/months, I have started to see a trickle of anti-AGW coming out of mainstream media sources. I know some on these forums have suggested the AGW house of cards is coming down. I fear one of two things: either this analysis is overly optimistic or, if it is accurate, it won’t matter since inertia in favor of carbon taxes and cap-n-trade is so advanced, it won’t matter.
In any event, I’m pleased to see this information trickling out. In Canada and the U.S. we still obstensibly live in a representative democracy and the politicians pushing destructive AGW policy may yet see retribution.
Must be a realllly slooowwww news day.
Ooops! Can’t screw people over with articles being published like this. Sorry Goreacle.
Let us hope that this is a crack in the dam so to speak, and soon enough a veritable flood of real journalism might occur, wrt AGW.
Re-reading that sentence I am now falling into fits of hysterical laughter.
wuwt should be compulsory ready for averyone over the age of 12. Go there and click on the ads – no matter how stupid they seem – each click is 5c for the most important blog (apart, of course, from sda) available.
What is important as Colin from Mission points out is that these studies are actually seeing the light of day in the MSM.
If the media can be turned then it will unleash a torrent of suppressed and pent up volumes of science and discourse that has been alive in the blogosphere for years.
The worm is turning and the MSM will have to cover their butts because they are complicit in the suppression of information, they will also crucify the advocates to deflect the anger that should be due to them.
I for one cannot wait since the APA has now said I am Mentally Ill as well as stupid ( per the AGW proponents ) in their efforts to arm the Greens and Politicians with Psycho weapons to re-educate the masses. See my Climate Blog for a comment and a link to the study.
Vancouver Airport is used as a weather station, recording such events as the recent Vancouver heatwave temperatures.
Here’s an image of that airport from 1937:
http://sst-ess.rncan-nrcan.gc.ca/ats-sat/hist/images/sea_island_airport.gif
In Canada one of the weather monitoring stations is located beside the all you can eat buffet Mike Duffy frequents. Stay tuned as to what effect this has on the station.
Somebody had better tell the permafrost that it can stop melting. And also mention it to the governments of Arctic nations that since the ice-free Arctic they are preparing for won’t be happening any time soon, there is no need to ramp up mineral exploration and/or military presence.
If I recall this all started because Watts was curious about NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, James Hansen,Director, adjustment of 20th century temperature records.
Some motivation resulted from Hansen’s underlings running an alarmist psuedo science blog with the like of Micheal Mann (of “Hockey Stick” fame).
IMHO the ground work for this hoax started in the 70’s or earlier…..Margarette Meads eugenics movement referred to such an agenda. First they tried the Ice-Age Hoax, “Peak Oil”, “Peak Food” and then “The Population Bomb” but nothing really caught on until a convenient El Nino wandered in.
Ice-Age Hoax, “Peak Oil”, “Peak Food” and then “The Population Bomb” but nothing really caught on until a convenient El Nino wandered in.
Posted by: sasquatch at August 6, 2009 2:21 PM
What boggles my mind is how the purveyors of these discredited theories continue to be relied upon as experts for the current Armageddon flavor of the month (i.e. AGW).
Mark my words, once AGW is thoroughly discredited, and the human race has moved beyond it in the same way we moved beyond flat-earth theory, these same folks will be touting another catastrophic theory that will require government action. And, surprise, surprise, that action will somehow target western civilization’s energy use as the primary culprit.
**Sniff**
these floatation devices I invented for polar bears are now redundant???
and here I thought I would become a rich inventor
John
**Somebody had better tell the permafrost that it can stop melting. And also mention it to the governments of Arctic nations that since the ice-free Arctic they are preparing for won’t be happening any time soon, there is no need to ramp up mineral exploration and/or military presence.**
I think the Polar Nations have figured that out all by themselves….what with the NW Passage solidly blocked with thick multi-year Ice.
Currently 3 sailboats (warmist manned) are butt-picking in Tuk, awaiting the ice to clear so they can make a statement.
Further several freighters are swinging at anchor in Baffin Bay…..to take a non-existant short cut to Asia…..
Currently 3 sailboats (warmist manned) are butt-picking in Tuk, awaiting the ice to clear so they can make a statement.
Further several freighters are swinging at anchor in Baffin Bay…..to take a non-existant short cut to Asia…..
Posted by: sasquatch at August 6, 2009 2:32 PM
Hey sasquatch, any links for these stories? I’m up for a good schadenfreude-related laugh! 😉
In fact the polar nations have not “figured that out”. All of them are ramping up exploration and their plans for increased military presence, because they are smart enough to read the writing on the wall. Do you deny the facts presented in articles like the one below?
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jWL8G87yQ3JpRDEw2BGAiGQ5u3Bg
What amazes me is that you, a conservative, would let your ideology get in the way of protecting our national interests. That’s pretty far gone.
And I see you have no comment re the melting permafrost. All you can do is desperately point to a report that says monitoring stations could be better. Just because they could be upgraded doesn’t mean they don’t work.
Again… all of the signs (longer growing seasons, record-breaking temperatures in the high Arctic, and melting sea ice prove that you guys are wrong.
I hate to be a pessimist, but I don’t think it’ll make any difference, it’s too little too late. I regularly post to other sites any time the AGW theme is touched on. I will post WUWT as a reference and instantly have multiple responses saying WUWT can’t be trusted, it’s not peer reviewed, he’s not a real scientist, he’s funded by big oil, he uses tricks and deceptions to make the data favor his predetermined outcome, etc. In one thread over on slashdot, I had a dispute with one poster who referenced three New Scientist articles. The first article stated that the sun’s output hasn’t changed since measurements began in 1978. The next article stated that the sun’s output is variable. I asked him to explain how he could be linking to two articles from the same source that contradicted each other and I was modded down as a troll! It seems that when Al Gore stated the science is settled, what he really meant is the debate is settled, their minds are set and they won’t be changing them now no matter how much contrary evidence you can produce. They have critical mass and momentum on their side, it seems carbon taxes and cap ‘n’ trade are inevitable. Even if you can convince people that AGW isn’t true, they still support throttling the fossil fuel industries because “big oil is evil” and such.
Amazing, or perhaps not, that you haven’t mentioned Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s comments concerning cap and trade. He said at the meeting of Canadian premiers that cap and trade seems to be the consensus globally and will likely soon be coming to Canada. Just thought I’d bring you up to speed.
This is starting to be like 2008, when it was clear to the right-o-sphere, anyway, and viewers of Fox News, that we were going to be able to honorably extricate ourselves from Iraq, leaving them with a real chance at democracy, even if the MSM was blind to the reality. The same with climate change. It is always the same with the left, they use rhetoric against logic. The universe runs on logic. One definition of rhetoric is language that sounds like logic, but isn’t. I haven’t heard the first non rhetorical argument for global warming.
“And I see you have no comment re the melting permafrost” – John the Warmie
John, why don’t you explain why the permafrost melt didn’t realease all that methane during the Eemian, which was warmer than now. Or how about during the Holocene Optimum, which was warmer than now for a long time and the summers were longer in the Northern Hemisphere, and the summers came while the sun was closest to the Earth it its orbit and the Arctic Circle was much higher due to increase obliquity of the earth putting the sun more directly overhead? This was enough to melt the mile thick glaciers that used to be where I am before the climate “changed”
Look at the GRIP ice core temps, They were much higher than today during the HO, and remember that those temps have been smoothed and averaged over thousands of years due to loss of resolution, so there were certainly periods even warmer than those shown by the core, as well as periods cooler.
John,
I know that these questions are about science, so it is fine if you can’t understand them and don’t answer. We all know you get sort of lost and fuzzy in the head when the argument gets to specifics, so it is OK. We like you anyway.
What does the rapper Eemiam have to do with climate change?
Seriously though, I’m not pretending to have a background in science, so I’m not going to scramble all over Wikipedia to confirm or deny you claims re these epochs. (Are you a scientist by chance?)
I’m simply stating that denial of climate change is silly when your lying eyes tell you that it is happening.
If you guys want to continue to make the case that humans are not behind it, fine. But to deny that glaciers and permafrost are melting, plants in the far north are growing far earlier and bigger than 20 years ago, and the arctic sea ice is shrinking more every summer, is just plain delusional. These things are not theories, but directly observable facts.
Clearly this “old” finding does not prove that there is (or is not) global warming. But it does prove that 80% of temperature data in the States IS unreliable.
Anyone care to throw their support behind salesman using unreliable data to sell their wares? C’mon there must be some US mortgage brokers reading this.
John, you’re 4 years too late with your posts. Winters have been longer the last couple of years in the Northern Hemisphere, the arctic ice is expanding again, and there have been more cold records broken worldwide in the last two years than in the previous 10. It’s not climate change, it’s climate cycles.
John,
The permafrost has been melting since the depths of the last ice age. Neanderthals with SUVs? I don’t think so.
Guys/Gals. Don’t bait John,T,and Brad Wall.Remember. One is an eco-alarmist,one a troll,and the last a politician.They are mentally delusional,and therefore ignore facts with ease.Not until the glaciers hit will they believe,and even then they will probably try to blame that on humans.
I predict that the Global Warming scare will fade away quietly just like the panic over acid rain and holes in the ozone layer. We never hear about those issues anymore from the MSM. They’ll just move on to whatever new theory can be concocted to promote a centrally-planned economy.
“The permafrost has been melting since the depths of the last ice age. Neanderthals with SUVs? I don’t think so.” … DrD
20,000 years now.
The alarmists like to condemn “doubters” as long as there are scientists who adhere to the global warming theory based on science because that’s logical. Right? No. The fact is: scientists, who the alarmists place all their trust, are not in agreement. As a matter of fact, there’s great division in opinion and so that’s not science. It’s a range of subjective opinion. That means unsubstantiated and unverified and that is a problem for all us doubters, John. Logical.
“I’m simply stating that denial of climate change is silly when your lying eyes tell you that it is happening.”
None of us here have ever said that the climate doesn’t change. Where would you get that from? We just don’t subscribe to human induced climate change.
It’s funny that you would make a statement like that when most of the arguments from the posters here against human induced climate change are historical examples of natural climate cycles and events.
Uh, John. Let me help you out here. Most folks around here don’t dispute “climate change.” The climate, BY DEFINITION, is always is a state of change.
What we dispute is that man, through carbon dioxide emissions, is the sole or primary driver of climate change. I’m not sure if you are being deliberately obtuse in overlooking this subtle, but quite important distinction.
OK John, so you admit you know nothing. Fine. You don’t know any climate history. You think that the Wikipedia is a valid source. Like I said, I know your head hurts when you think about this, but you said one thing that is easily checkable:
“to deny …. the arctic sea ice is shrinking more every summer, is just plain delusional”
No, it’s not. It was low a couple summers ago, and it has been increasing ever since.
http://www.ijis.iarc.uaf.edu/seaice/extent/AMSRE_Sea_Ice_Extent.png
Who, exactly, is delusional?
East Antarctica is four times the size of west Antarctica and parts of it are cooling. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research report prepared for last week’s meeting of Antarctic Treaty nations in Washington noted the South Pole had shown “significant cooling in recent decades.”
Australia Antarctic Division glaciology program head Ian Allison said sea ice losses in west Antarctica over the past 30 years had been more than offset by increases in the Ross Sea region, just one sector of east Antarctica.
“Sea ice conditions have remained stable in Antarctica generally,” Allison said.
Ice core drilling in the fast ice off Australia’s Davis Station in East Antarctica by the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Co-Operative Research Center shows that last year, the ice had a maximum thickness of 1.89m, its densest in 10 years.
A paper to be published soon by the British Antarctic Survey in the journal Geophysical Research Letters is expected to confirm that over the past 30 years, the area of sea ice around the continent has expanded.
It’s annoying living in a completely insane world.
However, it’s always been this way. Religion being a prime example. It’s always been only a minority of people devoted to reason and logic.
Always.
You mean this comment T?
From http://www.leaderpost.com/business/Leaders+premiers+meeting+Regina+stress+operation+environmental+policy/1863526/story.html
“Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall acknowledged a North American cap-and-trade system does appear inevitable, but said the province and even some coal-reliant states feel that the proceeds from levies need to be reinvested in the technological solutions such as clean coal or renewable energy.
“Otherwise we’re just moving the carbon around and using the proceeds of crime – this environmental malfeasance of emitting carbon – we’re using the proceeds for something other than the problem in the first place. That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” said Wall, noting the province has adopted the federal targets for emission reductions.”
So what exactly was your point T? Posters have been saying the same thing for a while.
“Seriously though, I’m not pretending to have a background in science, so I’m not going to scramble all over Wikipedia to confirm or deny you claims re these epochs. (Are you a scientist by chance?)”
He might not be, but I am. The information he quotes is factual and proven. Its documented in just about any general Geology course or text, and the posters here appear to have availed themselves of the info to refute your posts. You have a bit of catching up to do. This information IS available, but it appears that you are too lazy to go read them for yourself.
Sucks to parody the fraud that AGW really is, basing your conclusions on the “$ocial $ciences” rather than on real science. Besides, on WUWT a picture is worth a thousand words with regards to poorly placed climate measuring devices.
As a scientist I find it disturbing that some scientists would even consider the information derived from these poorly placed measuring devices as “gospel” and then use the information to have politicians develop policy that will affect your life and bottom line.
By the way – I wouldn’t use Wikipedia for my “scientific” sources either, I sure don’t for geological science, which these gentlemen are using. There are plenty of “peer reviewed” articles out there to read up on the information that the posters above refer to.
Dennis, the reason the “panic” over acid rain and the ozone layer faded was because legislation has been introduced to phase out the practices causing the problem. (Not without resistance from those on the right however). It will take decades for those systems to repair themselves.
Again, climate change means weather patterns everywhere change, some are warmer, some colder. The prairies might have had a colder winter, but out here in BC, we’ve had the hottest summer on record, and the situation in the forests is dire. But neither of these are necessarily indicative of a warming trend.
But as for the Arctic… sorry guy, but it’s melting. The sea ice may have covered a larger area this year due to lower temperatures, BUT it was thinner, and didn’t last as long. The trend is towards warmer and warmer weather up there.
David Phillips, Environment Canada’s senior climatologist notes that Ellesmere Island broke some records this year, with temperatures soaring to 21C, nearly 12C above normal for what it should be for this time of year.
Another researcher, Greg Henry, who has been studying vegetation in the far north for 30 years has noted that the biomass has increased from 2 to 5 times above ground, and up to 10 times below ground in the wetlands over that time period.
How exactly do you explain this if the area is not getting warmer?
Colin:
This is what I see from these “Global Warming”, no wait, “Climate Change” supporters (I use quotes to imply human-induced/CO2 driving). They try to make arguments that support their “Global Warming” views, but when you call them out, they switch the argument to “Climate Change” and try to mislead everyone into believing that YOU don’t believe in regular climate change and that YOU are the fool.
Pretty dishonest if you ask me, and in John’s case, very deliberate. Only a moron would think that we didn’t believe in natural climate change/cycles.
Hey there po’d in AB,
As I’ve just pointed out, your colleagues who have worked in the Arctic for decades are telling you that the biomass has more than doubled.
Tell me why you think this is, or do you dispute their data?
As for my comments re wikipedia, my point was that just because I could gather up a few internet facts to support my position doesn’t mean I know what I’m talking about. You guys gather your info from rightwing sites, which are at least as suspect.
Again… the Arctic is getting warmer. Period. Every northern government on the planet knows this to be a fact and is preparing for the opening of the North West Passage. Are you saying that they just wasting their money?
And really quickly… re “climate change”. I’m saying that you guys are simply denying a warming trend which is easily provable by the fact that things are melting.
I guess it will be interesting to see what the new satellite date proves. Of course… the right has proven that no matter how many facts are placed before them, they’ll still choose to believe whatever they want.
John, the Arctic was ice free and not due to anything man ever did, 800,000 years ago. The polar bear existed then as now and guess what: they are still here.
Frankly I am appalled by the lack of scientific knowledge that the general lay person who posts here or anywhere else on scientific matters. Some guy jumps up in a theater and shouts “fire” and you clowns don’t even check to see if there is even any smoke, let alone a “real” fire. Like somone once said: there’s a sucker born every minute.
We’ve been breaking records here in Alberta all summer long. To the coolest side of things. I think that global cooling would be more devastating to humans than global warming ever could be. Ask those who lived through the “Little Ice Age” circa 1350-1850. Good thing that the Industrial Revolution occured or the polar caps would be more extensive than they are today.
Living in a cold country like Canada, I would be more inclined to welcome a little more warming than cooling any day.
T That is what Premier Wall said. He also said the money stays to fix problems with clean coal and stuff. Not finance roads as general revenue. Not buy carbon credits and crap like that. The giant fans have been around for years selling ‘green power’. The vast base of the 15% premium is gov’t and gov’t financed. Sask Power has the data. Solar? We still grow things in this Province.
Folks, don’t feed the troll. It didn’t answer my question directly, but it’s pretty obvious it’s being deliberately obtuse. No need to feed it any further.
One of my Senators says that he has been planting on his farm here in Montana earlier and earlier lately due to “global warming”. He is of course a liberal Democrat. Non-Senator Ranchers I talk to here in Southern Montana laugh at this, since springtime has been very late the last couple years. Our last frost was on about the 23rd of June this year, and the hay was a little stunted because of it.
Colin I am following the “Around the Americas” NW Passage Attempt on my climate site. Feel free to follow along.
Climate Heretic
The AGW proponents with their “OMG The Ice is Melting” mantras can chant/follow along too, it will be fun.
From the Crew Blog #55… “The ice chart shows some slight change but nothing really significant.”
Colin, what was your question? I can’t find it. And dude… don’t call me an “it”.
Quoting Environment Canada’s chief climatologist hardly makes me a troll. That’s pretty much quoting the nation’s highest authority on the subject. What have you got?
Oh, but I like feeding TROLLS who believe this bunk.
John, do some reading and then come back for the book report:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VGS-3VW7XG3-4&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=e44ad4170ec186a6e96f5a91247c5970
This one is a good read, as it defines several cooler and warmer periods, post glaciation.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V6R-48C7F1C-6V&_user=10&_origUdi=B6VGS-3VW7XG3-4&_fmt=high&_coverDate=11%2F30%2F1991&_rdoc=1&_orig=article&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=28115130f6d058540286786f1bff61e4
What amazes this 30 year scientific veteran is the omission of what really drives the heating and cooling of this planet. It certainly isn’t CO2. The Sun, 93 million miles away isn’t even factoring into the scientific discussion, until recently, and is almost completely ommitted by lay people purporting to know more than anyone else posting here and who claim that man is the driver of climate change on this planet.
The “air-conditioning” on earth is carried out by ocean currents and air circulation as well as cloud and storm production, which I might point out IS driven by fluctuating heating by the Sun.
Any real scientist knows that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted. So energy transfers accur throughout the world, keeping it at a modicum temperature depending on where you are in the latitudinal sense. It is an intricate sytem that as yet is not fully understood, but intriguing all the same from a scientific POV. The whole process is predominantly driven by that big hot star that rises every morning of every day.
Orbital fluctuations give us our “climate changes” in the form of 4 seasons, rainy seasons, dry seasons, monsoon seasons, whatever.
To think that man has any major impact on the global climate (not discounting some local effects due to deforestation and whatnot)vis a vis that hot star, is the height of human arrogance. We are but specks on this planet. If the Arctic has ever been ice free, it wasn’t due to man. Period.
John, your local political party cannot affect the climate outside of your home or place of business. Only you do using the thermostat. To believe that, you would have to be one of the “suckers born every minute”. What politicos CAN do and DO is affect whether you will survive whatever “they” decide is “best” for you based on the pseudo-science of AGW hysteria.
Its all a fraud and the sooner our political masters face up to the fact that the population doesn’t believe anything they say or do on the subject, or has any scientific basis at all the better for us all. It’s all about the money, control, and paying off those who brought them to power on the subject. Remember, these politicos didn’t pass high school science or they wouldn’t be where they are today.
If I remember correctly, you where on this 2 years ago with posts Kate. Including pics.
If we can keep the web free we may have a chance against the political dictators as freedom fighters plus the enviromentalists with there luddite Religion of nature worship.
I figure the Islamist intrusion will end up in war.
po’d, what sort of scientist are you exactly?
Do you really think that the thousands of scientists who have accepted this theory have discounted the roll of the sun?
Do I really have to point out to you, a scientist, that nobody is suggesting that heat is being created by CO2, but trapped? Really?
And as for us specks not having an impact on the planet, dude. DUDE. I suggest you move to Chernobyl. Or Love Canal. Or maybe the floating garbage patch in the centre of the Pacific. Or go stare at the Antarctic ozone hole. Or talk to the cod fishermen in NF. Humanity has had a huge impact on natural systems. This conversation is silly.
John and T
Seems to me you two really aren’t very concerned about man made climate change or you would just commit suicide. I mean after all, isn’t it your duty to reduce your carbon footprints?
The stupidity never f*cking ends with you guys does it?
The MSM is releasing this information to help the Democrats.
Cap and Trade was supposed to be the tax that paid for ObamaCare without the Kenyan raising huge taxes on the middle class and breaking his promise to the contrary.
When the unemployment numbers come in around the time Congress sits again in the fall, the Democrats need to be able to say, “No, we can’t afford ObamaCare, where will the money come from?”
The Kenyan gets to blame it on the House and the House gets to blame it on the Whitehouse.
Too much blame to go around?
Well, gee, it seems the data from the surface stations was GIGO and the AGW Cult weren’t wrong, they were misinformed.
No Cap’n Trade, and no ObamaCare.
A lot of people will have some specific things to be very glad for next Thanksgiving.
I love it when the Kenyan fails.