Guest Submission: CNSNews Website Comments

I am hoping that cnsnews is willing to post another very long comment of mine on this forum. I have finally realized that I will never convince deniers of human-caused global or change their minds, so this is the last time I will try to add some legitimate proof of the fact that human industries are the primary cause of climate change. I came to this realization when one of those who replied to my comments, suggested that scientific consensus was merely a political organization designed to spread what he calls a “myth” But actually most of the political power trips in this endless and needless debate, are perpetrated by Republicans who started making attempt to smear climate science and climate scientists by falsely politicizing their many decades of research decades ago. And in the white house today we see the start of a cabinet composed of deniers and wealthy plutocrats who oppose the reality of global warming without having very much understandings of the actual science behind it. Trump is appointing Rex Tillerson, the CEO of ExxonMobil who has fought long and hard to oppose reducing its Co2 emissions to acceptable levels—probably in order to delay or prevent his company from losing any of its multi-billion dollar profits. And fossil fuel producing and using corporations who decide to cloak their efforts in secrecy to oppose scientific arguments by portraying thousands of climate scientists around the world as being part of some absurd plot to take control the future energy production of the world,  and of being only interested in the power and wealth they could gain by pushing this supposed conspiracy—pretty strange claims considering that now, a multimillionaire is going to be head of the EPA with the goal of abolishing it. Then there was the recent attempt launched by Republicans to get rid of the Compressional ethics committee—no sign of graft and corruption here right? To Trump’s credit, he scolded them for jumping the gun and not waiting a little longer—meaning that he still may have plans to scrub the Ethics committee.

So if the question is who is really interested in making money and securing power, the answer is as clear as the nose on your faces, and I am not going to stick around in a fruitless attempt to change anyone’s made up minds. So please post this comment cnsnews and you’ll never have to post my comments on this forum again!

I could go on and on, and of course peppered all over google in between these articles Are sites with political bias using all sorts of bogus ideas and false research. Most of it is typically found on sites run by those with conservative political agenda’s or on the website of government think tanks who fund many kinds of efforts to dispense distorted science and political biases. They often have what sound like forward thinking names, like, Center for a Constructive Tomorrow, Americans for Prosperity, American’s for Tax Reform, Education Acton Research Foundation, and The Heartland Institute. And if you browse through a list of the websites which dispense and fund all this massive denial you cans see many more. A Good website is to find that list is:

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-warming/climate-deniers/koch-industries/

Look at some proof if you care!

Peter Johnson

http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming?gclid=CNO76NXit9ECFQyHaQod44wE-Q#.VH4LFU0tCHs?s_src=promo&s_subsrc=googleads

http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

https://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-scientific-consensus-intermediate.htm

https://www.skepticalscience.com/empirical-evidence-for-global-warming.htm

https://skepticalscience.com/graphics.php?g=46

Empirical evidence that humans are causing global warming Link to this page What the science says... Select a level...  Basic  Intermediate Less energy is escaping to space: Carbon dioxide (CO2) acts like a blanket; adding more CO2 makes the 'blanket' thicker, and humans are adding more CO2 all the time. Climate Myth... There's no empirical evidence "There is no actual evidence that carbon dioxide emissions are causing global warming. Note that computer models are just concatenations of calculations you could do on a hand-held calculator, so they are theoretical and cannot be part of any evidence." (David Evans) The proof that man-made CO2 is causing global warming is like the chain of evidence in a court case. CO2 keeps the Earth warmer than it would be without it. Humans are adding CO2 to the atmosphere, mainly by burning fossil fuels. And there is empirical evidence that the rising temperatures are being caused by the increased CO2. The Earth is wrapped in an invisible blanket It is the Earth’s atmosphere that makes most life possible. To understand this, we can look at the moon. On the surface, the moon’s temperature during daytime can reach 100°C (212°F). At night, it can plunge to minus 173°C, or -279.4°F. In comparison, the coldest temperature on Earth was recorded in Antarctica: −89.2°C (−128.6°F). According to the WMO, the hottest was 56.7°C (134°F), measured on 10 July 1913 at Greenland Ranch (Death Valley). Man could not survive in the temperatures on the moon, even if there was air to breathe. Humans, plants and animals can’t tolerate the extremes of temperature on Earth unless they evolve special ways to deal with the heat or the cold. Nearly all life on Earth lives in areas that are more hospitable, where temperatures are far less extreme. Yet the Earth and the moon are virtually the same distance from the sun, so why do we experience much less heat and cold than the moon? The answer is because of our atmosphere. The moon doesn’t have one, so it is exposed to the full strength of energy coming from the sun. At night, temperatures plunge because there is no atmosphere to keep the heat in, as there is on Earth. The laws of physics tell us that without the atmosphere, the Earth would be approximately 33°C (59.4°F) cooler than it actually is. This would make most of the surface uninhabitable for humans. Agriculture as we know it would be more or less impossible if the average temperature was −18 °C. In other words, it would be freezing cold even at the height of summer. The reason that the Earth is warm enough to sustain life is because of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases act like a blanket, keeping the Earth warm by preventing some of the sun’s energy being re-radiated into space. The effect is exactly the same as wrapping yourself in a blanket – it reduces heat loss from your body and keeps you warm. If we add more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, the effect is like wrapping yourself in a thicker blanket: even less heat is lost. So how can we tell what effect CO2 is having on temperatures, and if the increase in atmospheric CO2 is really making the planet warmer? One way of measuring the effect of CO2 is by using satellites to compare how much energy is arriving from the sun, and how much is leaving the Earth. What scientists have seen over the last few decades are a gradual decrease in the amount of energy being re-radiated back into space. In the same period, the amount of energy arriving from the sun has not changed very much at all. This is the first piece of evidence: more energy is remaining in the atmosphere. Total Earth Heat Content from Church et al. (2011) What can keep the energy in the atmosphere? The answer is greenhouse gases. Science has known about the effect of certain gases for over a century. They ‘capture’ energy, and then emit it in random directions. The primary greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), water vapour, nitrous oxide and ozone – comprise around 1% of the air. This tiny amount has a very powerful effect, keeping the planet 33°C (59.4°F) warmer than it would be without them. (The main components of the atmosphere – nitrogen and oxygen – are not greenhouse gases, because they are virtually unaffected by long-wave, or infrared, radiation). This is the second piece of evidence: a provable mechanism by which energy can be trapped in the atmosphere. For our next piece of evidence, we must look at the amount of CO2 in the air. We know from bubbles of air trapped in ice cores that before the industrial revolution, the amount of CO2 in the air was approximately 280 parts per million (ppm). In June 2013, the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory in Hawaii announced that, for the first time in thousands of years, the amount of CO2 in the air had gone up to 400ppm. That information gives us the next piece of evidence; CO2 has increased by nearly 43% in the last 150 years.

https://skepticalscience.com/images/CO2-Emissions-vs-Levels.gif

Atmospheric CO2 levels (Green is Law Dome ice core, Blue is Mauna Loa, Hawaii) and Cumulative CO2 emissions (CDIAC). While atmospheric CO2 levels are usually expressed in parts per million, here they are displayed as the amount of CO2 residing in the atmosphere in rigatonis. CO2 emissions includes fossil fuel emissions, cement production and emissions from gas flaring.

The Smoking Gun

The final piece of evidence is ‘the smoking gun’, the proof that CO2 is causing the increases in temperature. CO2 traps energy at very specific wavelengths, while other greenhouse gases trap different wavelengths.  In physics, these wavelengths can be measured using a technique called spectroscopy. Here’s an example:

Summing Up

Like a detective story, first you need a victim, in this case the planet Earth: more energy is remaining in the atmosphere.

Then you need a method, and ask how the energy could be made to remain. For that, you need a provable mechanism by which energy can be trapped in the atmosphere, and greenhouse gases provide that mechanism.

Next, you need a ‘motive’. Why has this happened? Because CO2 has increased by nearly 50% in the last 150 years and the increase is from burning fossil fuels.

And finally, the smoking gun, the evidence that proves ‘whodunit’: energy being trapped in the atmosphere corresponds exactly to the wavelengths of energy captured by CO2.

The last point is what places CO2 at the scene of the crime. The investigation by science builds up empirical evidence that proves, step by step, that man-made carbon dioxide is causing the Earth to warm up.

Basic rebuttal written by GPWayne

Addendum: the opening paragraph was added on 24th October 2013 in response to a criticism by Graeme, a participant on the Coursera Climate Literacy course. He pointed out that the rebuttal did not make explicit that it was man-made CO2 causing the warming, which the new paragraph makes clear. The statement "...and humans are adding more CO2all the time" was also added to the 'what the science says section. 

Update July 2015:

Summing Up

Like a detective story, first you need a victim, in this case the planet Earth: more energy is remaining in the atmosphere.

Then you need a method, and ask how the energy could be made to remain. For that, you need a provable mechanism by which energy can be trapped in the atmosphere, and greenhouse gases provide that mechanism.

Next, you need a ‘motive’. Why has this happened? Because CO2 has increased by nearly 50% in the last 150 years and the increase is from burning fossil fuels.

And finally, the smoking gun, the evidence that proves ‘whodunit’: energy being trapped in the atmosphere corresponds exactly to the wavelengths of energy captured by CO2.

The last point is what places CO2 at the scene of the crime. The investigation by science builds up empirical evidence that proves, step by step, that man-made carbon dioxide is causing the Earth to warm up.

Basic rebuttal written by GPWayne

Addendum: the opening paragraph was added on 24th October 2013 in response to a criticism by Graeme, a participant on the Coursera Climate Literacy course. He pointed out that the rebuttal did not make explicit that it was man-made CO2 causing the warming, which the new paragraph makes clear. The statement "...and humans are adding more CO2all the time" was also added to the 'what the science says section. 

https://youtu.be/5LvaGAEwxYs

Update July 2015:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_change

U.S. Global Change Research Program[edit]

Formerly: Climate Change Science Program

The U.S. Global Change Research Program reported in June 2009^[24] that:

Observations show that warming of the climate is unequivocal. The global warming observed over the past 50 years is due primarily to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases. These emissions come mainly from the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), with important contributions from the clearing of forests, agricultural practices, and other activities.

The report, which is about the effects that climate change is having in the United States, also says:

Climate-related changes have already been observed globally and in the United States. These include increases in air and water temperatures, reduced frost days, increased frequency and intensity of heavy downpours, a rise in sea level, and reduced snow cover, glaciers, permafrost, and sea ice. A longer ice-free period on lakes and rivers, lengthening of the growing season, and increased water vapor in the atmosphere have also been observed. Over the past 30 years, temperatures have risen faster in winter than in any other season, with average winter temperatures in the Midwest and northern Great Plains increasing more than 7 °F (3.9 °C). Some of the changes have been faster than previous assessments had suggested.

Arctic Climate Impact Assessment[edit]

In 2004, the intergovernmental Arctic Council and the non-governmental International Arctic Science Committee released the synthesis report of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment:^[25]

Climate conditions in the past provide evidence that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are associated with rising global temperatures. Human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), and secondarily the clearing of land, have increased the concentration of carbon dioxide, methane, and other heat-trapping ("greenhouse") gases in the atmosphere...There is international scientific consensus that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities.^[26]

And from the same Wikipedia article:

Academies of science (general science) [edit]

Since 2001, 34 national science academies, three regional academies, and both the international InterAcademy Council and International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences have made formal declarations confirming human induced global warming and urging nations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The 34 national science academy statements include 33 who have signed joint science academy statements and one individual declaration by the Polish Academy of Sciences in 2007.

Joint national science academy statements[edit]

• 2001 Following the publication of the IPCC Third Assessment Report, seventeen national science academies issued a joint statement, entitled "The Science of Climate Change", explicitly acknowledging the IPCC position as representing the scientific consensus on climate change science. The statement, printed in an editorial in the journal Science on May 18, 2001,^[31] was signed by the science academies of Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.^[32]
• 2005 The national science academies of the G8 nations, plus Brazil, China and India, three of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the developing world, signed a statement on the global response to climate change. The statement stresses that the scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action, and explicitly endorsed the IPCC consensus. The eleven signatories were the science academies of Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.^[33]
• 2007 In preparation for the 33rd G8 summit, the national science academies of the G8+5 nations issued a declaration referencing the position of the 2005 joint science academies' statement, and acknowledging the confirmation of their previous conclusion by recent research. Following the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, the declaration states, "It is unequivocal that the climate is changing, and it is very likely that this is predominantly caused by the increasing human interference with the atmosphere. These changes will transform the environmental conditions on Earth unless counter-measures are taken." The thirteen signatories were the national science academies of Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.^[34]
• 2007 In preparation for the 33rd G8 summit, the Network of African Science Academies submitted a joint “statement on sustainability, energy efficiency, and climate change” :

A consensus, based on current evidence, now exists within the global scientific community that human activities are the main source of climate change and that the burning of fossil fuels is largely responsible for driving this change. The IPCC should be congratulated for the contribution it has made to public understanding of the nexus that exists between energy, climate and sustainability.

— The thirteen signatories were the science academies of Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, as well as the African Academy of Sciences ^[35]

If that’s not enough:

In this article take note of the chart with the sudden extreme upward cure at the end.

https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/scientists/proof.html

Here is another one:

http://billmoyers.com/2014/05/16/eight-pseudo-scientific-climate-claims-debunked-by-real-scientists/

and another one:

Are the Effects of Global Warming Really that Bad?

Short answer: Yes. Even a seemingly slight average temperature rise is enough to cause a dramatic transformation of our planet.

March 15, 2016 Melissa Denchak

Eight degrees Fahrenheit. It may not sound like much—perhaps the difference between wearing a sweater and not wearing one on an early-spring day. But for the world in which we live, which climate experts project will be at least eight degrees warmer by 2100 should global emissions continue on their current path, this small rise will have grave consequences, ones that are already becoming apparent, for every ecosystem and living thing—including us.

According to the National Climate Assessment, human influences are the number one cause of global warming, especially the carbon pollution we cause by burning fossil fuels and the pollution-capturing we prevent by destroying forests. The carbon dioxide, methane, soot, and other pollutants we release into the atmosphere act like a blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm. Evidence shows that 2000 to 2009 was hotter than any other decade in at least the past 1,300 years. This warming is altering the earth's climate system, including its land, atmosphere, oceans, and ice, in far-reaching ways.

More frequent and severe weather

Higher temperatures are worsening many types of disasters, including storms, heat waves, floods, and droughts. A warmer climate creates an atmosphere that can collect, retain, and drop more water, changing weather patterns in such a way that wet areas become wetter and dry areas drier. "Extreme weather events are costing more and more," says Aliya Haq, deputy director of NRDC's Clean Power Plan initiative. "The number of billion-dollar weather disasters is expected to rise.”

Are the Effects of Global Warming Really that Bad?

Short answer: Yes. Even a seemingly slight average temperature rise is enough to cause a dramatic transformation of our planet.

March 15, 2016 Melissa Denchak

Eight degrees Fahrenheit. It may not sound like much—perhaps the difference between wearing a sweater and not wearing one on an early-spring day. But for the world in which we live, which climate experts project will be at least eight degrees warmer by 2100 should global emissions continue on their current path, this small rise will have grave consequences, ones that are already becoming apparent, for every ecosystem and living thing—including us.

According to the National Climate Assessment, human influences are the number one cause of global warming, especially the carbon pollution we cause by burning fossil fuels and the pollution-capturing we prevent by destroying forests. The carbon dioxide, methane, soot, and other pollutants we release into the atmosphere act like a blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm. Evidence shows that 2000 to 2009 was hotter than any other decade in at least the past 1,300 years. This warming is altering the earth's climate system, including its land, atmosphere, oceans, and ice, in far-reaching ways.

More frequent and severe weather

Higher temperatures are worsening many types of disasters, including storms, heat waves, floods, and droughts. A warmer climate creates an atmosphere that can collect, retain, and drop more water, changing weather patterns in such a way that wet areas become wetter and dry areas drier. "Extreme weather events are costing more and more," says Aliya Haq, deputy director of NRDC's Clean Power Plan initiative. "The number of billion-dollar weather disasters is expected to rise.”

Plus:

http://whatweknow.aaas.org/get-the-facts/

And:

https://www.edf.org/climate/why-you-need-care-about-climate-change-now?utm_source=ggad&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=gr-ClimateChange&gclid=CIPYnr_yt9ECFVSewAodUXQBcQ

And:

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/index.htm?src=sea.awg.prnone.crv1&gclid=CK3r--Hyt9ECFcS1wAodFfwEuw

https://www.nwf.org/Eco-Schools-USA/Become-an-Eco-School/Pathways/Climate-Change/Facts.aspx

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/climate-change-facts-versus-opinions/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/seven-answers-to-climate-contrarian-nonsense/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/seven-answers-to-climate-contrarian-nonsense/

http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/12/08/vanishing-sixth-mass-extinction-madagascar-coral-bleaching-sutter-mg-orig.cnn/video/playlists/climate-change/

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/six-reasons-that-scientists-are-sure-that-global-warming-is-happening-a6753996.html

This article was published today, note critique Senator Whitehouse’s claims:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/jan/10/conservative-media-cant-stop-denying-there-was-no-global-warming-pause

I could go on and on, and of course peppered all over google in between these articles Are sites with political bias using all sorts of bogus ideas and false research. Most of it is typically found on sites run by those with conservative political agenda’s or on the website of government think tanks who fund may kinds of efforts to dispense distorted science and political biases. They often have lofty names like, Scientist for truth, the real story, or The Call for Scientific Freedom example however these are example typical of those sites, and of my own general observations, (and I am not saying these sites exist.) I have just spent a lot of time writing this long comment, and so I don’t want to add a long list of deniers sites, but if you browse through the websites which dispense all this massive denial, you’ll get the idea.