Media false claim: ‘The weather has been weird’ – ‘There Was Nothing Normal About America’s Freakish Winter Weather’

Bloomberg News is promoting anecdotal claptrap. Excerpt: 

By Brian K. Sullivan – Bloomberg News

It’s not your imagination. The weather has been weird.

So weird, in fact, it’s had an almost biblical feel: a February tornado in Massachusetts; record wildfires across the Great Plains and beyond; more snow than ever in the Sierra Nevada; and temperatures whiplashing from balmy to frigid, killing crops and coaxing flowers out of their winter slumber.

While some of the swings may result from chance, scientists agree climate change is adding to weather mayhem and that the world will have to brace for worse. President Donald Trump is also seeking to roll back measures to fight global warming, saying the regulations kill jobs.

“The bottom line: It’s not just in our minds that the weather is changing,” said David Titley, a meteorology professor at Pennsylvania State University. “It is changing, and changing rapidly in ways we understand and ways we are just beginning to examine.”

Start with the temperature. The winter of 2016-17 marked the second mildest on record, according to Jake Crouch, a climate scientist with the National Centers for Environmental Information. February, which has been warming faster than any other month through the decades, also was the second warmest in the 138-year global record. There were some bizarre temperature readings along the way. Like a high of 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 Celsius) in Chicago on Feb. 18. Or 72 degrees in Boston less than a week later.

The month was so mild that natural gas inventories rose earlier than in any year going back to 1994, when records began, and plants threw off winter’s yoke and began to grow.

More nonsense here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-04-10/there-was-nothing-normal-about-america-s-freakish-winter-weather?bcomANews=true

#

Climate Depot Rebuttal: 

Bloomberg media is claiming: “It’s not your imagination. The weather has been weird.”

Actually, it is your imagination, the weather is normal. A few basic rebuttals below.

Norther Hemisphere Winter Snow Extent Continues Rising Trend – ‘Well above avg., ranking 9th highest since 1967’

Scientist to Congress: ‘No evidence’ that hurricanes, floods, droughts, tornadoes are increasing

NOAA Tornado data revealing 2016 as ‘one of the quietest years since records began in 1954’ and below average for 5th year in a row

Inconvenient NOAA report: ‘It is premature to conclude (AGW has) already had a detectable impact on’ hurricanes

Bill Nye not wanted at ‘March For Science’: He’s the wrong race, sex

By Dr. Lubos Motl

On April 22nd i.e. the birthday of Vladimir Lenin, radical left-wing activists plan to organize the March For Science where they want to reiterate Lenin’s opinion that Marxism-Leninism-Progressivism is one (and perhaps the only) scientific world view. Willis Eschenbach at Anthony Watts’ blog and William Briggs at Stream.org have had lots of fun with some developments that have turned the event into a truly ludicrous farce.

The most amusing development is that numerous enthusiastic and important organizers have attacked the idea that Bill Nye should be a leader of the parade – for a funny reason.

Just to be sure, the reason is not that Bill Nye is just a “clown the scientist” who starred as a cool scientist on a TV show for kids two decades ago – rather than a real scientist. No one behind the March For Science cares whether the leaders of the parade know something or nothing about science as long as their ideology is sufficiently left-wing.

The trouble with Bill Nye is that he is a white male! Your parents have just doubly screwed it, Bill, or triply if I count Bill Nye himself as the third screw-up.…

Analysis: ‘March For Science’ Descending Into ‘Farce’

By WILLIAM M BRIGGS Published on April 9, 20177 Comments

Last thing the March for Science needs, say some agitated folks, is Bill Nye the “Science Guy” co-leading the parade. Why?

Their complaint is not that he’s an errorprone non-scientist, though that’s true. See, Nye is white. And a man. And some organizers are concerned that onlookers will notice Nye is white, and a man, and project his male-whiteness onto science itself. That in turn will cause the gullible to figure science is mostly done by white men.

Which, historically and in many current fields, it was and is. Now this fact may be for good or for bad, but it is a fact. And it’s not likely those who say they are “for” science and reason would be pleased were the contributions from white men removed from science. So long, calculus!

Or maybe they would be. Because it seems organizers believe scientific results are less important than who is producing them. Diversity trumps science.

Proof? Buzzfeed reports that, so far, the March for Science has already gone through “four diversity statements.” So the Twitter account @ScienceMarchDC tweeted (and later deleted) “colonization, racism, immigration, native rights, sexism, ableism, queer-, trans-, intersex-phobia, & econ justice are scientific issues.” The tweet also pictured a black power fist and rainbow flag icons.

Of course, science per se is silent on all these matters. But that’s because natural science alone is mute on every moral and ethical question put to it. Including the question whether to deign to include a white man holding a science baton.

“I love Bill Nye,” said Stephani Page, a biophysicist at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who created the Twitter hashtag #BlackAndSTEM. Page was asked to join the march’s board in February after she tweeted criticism of its approach to diversity. “But I do feel comfortable saying to you what I said to the steering committee: He is a white male, and in that way he does represent the status quo of science, of what it is to be a scientist.”

And being a scientist is not about race and sex. It’s about intelligence, talent, interest, drive, money, and luck. Much the same as what success in most fields require.

The March organizers say nothing about this. They want us to know what they really stand for

EPA staffer bravely quits job in defiance of Trump… sort of

BY JAZZ SHAW

Remember those surveys which showed that up to one third of federal workers were thinking of quitting their jobs as soon as Donald Trump was sworn in as the nation’s 45th president? More than a few of them were obviously workers at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where the media mournfully reported that workers were “coming to work in tears” over what was to become of their beloved agency. But for all of the angst and bluster showing up in the press we weren’t actually seeing many (if any) people making good on their promise. That is… until now. We’ve finally found that long sought after worker who took a stand, flipped the bird to Scott Pruitt and Donald Trump, fired off a take this job and shove it letter and walked off the job. And his name is Mike Cox. (Washington Post)

When Mike Cox quit, he did so with gusto.

After 25 years, he retired last week from the Environmental Protection Agency with a tough message for the boss, Administrator Scott Pruitt.

“I, along with many EPA staff, are becoming increasing alarmed about the direction of EPA under your leadership … ” Cox said in a letter to Pruitt. “The policies this Administration is advancing are contrary to what the majority of the American people, who pay our salaries, want EPA to accomplish, which are to ensure the air their children breath is safe; the land they live, play, and hunt on to be free of toxic chemicals; and the water they drink, the lakes they swim in, and the rivers they fish in to be clean.”

Oh, my! How principled. How bold. And I love the way the Washington Post chooses to describe Cox’s actions. The headline informs us that he “leaves with a bang.” The opening paragraph lets us know that he “quit” and that “he did so with gusto.” But did he really?

Not really. In fact, he didn’t quit at all. He retired with 25 years of service… something he could have done at least five years earlier if he didn’t want to hang around and run out the clock to maximize his benefits. And speaking of which, Mike is in for a pretty sweet deal. If you calculate his Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) payout he’s looking at anywhere from …

DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS THE U.S. VERY LOW – Limited to only 1.6% of continental US

Current US Drought Monitor map; courtesy NOAA and National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Current US Drought Monitor map; courtesy NOAA and National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Overview
It is not often that “severe”, “extreme” or “exceptional” drought conditions are limited to only 1.6% of the continental US, but that is exactly what is currently taking place.  Going back to the year 2000, only February and March of 2010 had similar limited drought conditions on a nationwide basis that we are enjoying today.  In fact, the news may actually get better with the next “drought monitor” update as the numbers cited in today’s posting reflect only precipitation data registered through last Tuesday, April 4th and does not include the substantial rainfall that fell late last week in California and across the southern and eastern US.

Western US drought conditions from one year ago (left) to current (right); courtesy NOAA/CPC

Western US drought conditions from one year ago (left) to current (right); courtesy NOAA/CPC

Discussion on current and recent conditions
In recent years, much of the western US was suffering through widespread and deep drought conditions, but that has changed dramatically in recent months; especially, in the state of California.   One year ago, much of California was in the midst of an “exceptional” drought – the worst category of drought as classified by NOAA – but all of that has changed dramatically this winter season with a tremendous amount of rainfall throughout the state.  In fact, drought conditions have improved to the point that nowhere is the state classified by NOAA/NDMC as experiencing “exceptional” (D4) or “extreme” (D3) drought conditions and less than one percent of California is currently experiencing “severe” (D2) drought.

Sierra Nevada Mountains provide more than 60% of California's developed water supply

Sierra Nevada Mountains provide more than 60% of California’s developed water supply

Claim: Brain-Invading Parasite Spreading Because of ‘Climate Change’

By Rhett Jones

Health officials in Hawaii have been warning residents not to touch snails or slugs with their bare hands because of an increase in cases of people coming into contact with a rare parasitic infection known as a rat lungworm. Experts are blaming its sudden spread across the United States on climate change and globalization.

Pretty much everything about this disease is nasty. Rat lungworm is a parasitic nematode (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) that begins its life as an infection in rat’s lungs, blood, and brains. From there, the rats defecate worm larvae that are spread to other creatures like snails, slugs, and freshwater shrimp. Humans might eat one of these infected hosts or they might eat produce that has had the worm transferred to it by a host. Next thing you know, your brain is being invaded and it doesn’t sound good at all. Once rat lungworm disease moves into the brain it can cause meningitis and its symptoms include tremors, pain, and inflammation. It is often fatal.

The Maui News reported on the recent cases this week and spoke with local residents about the spread of the invasive semi-slug on the island, and the infectious disease that it carries. Locals say that they’ve become increasingly paranoid about eating produce and they line their yards with slug bait. And for an area that thrives on tourism, paranoia about eating the local food can be an economic nightmare.

A local preschool teacher described her experience with parasitic meningitis that was a result of rat lungworm to the Honolulu Civil Beat:

The parasites are in the lining of my brain, moving around. Because I work with children I try to tell stories through word pictures. My visual graphic for what’s happening is that every once in a while somebody opens the top of my head, sets a

DESPITE NOAA DENIAL, GROWING NUMBER OF NEW STUDIES CONFIRM GLOBAL WARMING HIATUS

  • Date: 08/04/17
  • GWPF

Despite widespread denial among climate activists, a growing number of scientific research papers in recent months have confirmed the global warming hiatus, trying to explain its possible reasons (for the latest studies see here, here and here).  The latest study claims that the Southern Ocean played a critical role in the global warming slowdown.

Image result for GWPF NOAA pause hasn't gone away

Image result for Josh cartoon global warming pause

The post-2002 global surface warming slowdown caused by the subtropical Southern Ocean heating acceleration

Geophysical Research Letters, 27 March 2017

Abstract: The warming rate of global-mean surface temperature slowed down during 1998-2012. Previous studies pointed out role of increasing ocean heat uptake during this global warming slowdown, but its mechanism remains under discussion. Our numerical simulations, in which wind stress anomaly in the equatorial Pacific is imposed from reanalysis data, suggest sub-surface warming in the equatorial Pacific took place during initial phase of the global warming slowdown (1998–2002), as previously reported. It is newly clarified that the Ekman transport from tropics to subtropics is enhanced during the later phase of the slowdown (after 2002) and enhanced subtropical Ekman downwelling causes accelerated heat storage below depth of 700 m in the subtropical Southern Ocean, leading to the post-2002 global warming slowdown. Observational data of ocean temperature also support this scenario. This study provides clear evidence that deeper parts of the Southern Ocean play a critical role in the past-2002 warming slowdown.…

Pause Or Not, Climate Models Continue To Grossly Overstate Global Temperature Trends

What follows is a wrap up of an article written by skeptic climate and weather site wobleibtdieerderwaermung.de here.

It writes that for thousands of years it has been the solar and ocean cycles that have been influencing the weather worldwide and in Germany.

And looking at data objectively, it is pretty clear that there is little relationship between weather/climate and the rising CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, as the global warming pause between 1997-2016 shows:

Linear trend of RSS temperatures. No warming in 224 months despite the current powerful El Niño-event. “The least-squares linear-regression trend on the RSS satellite monthly global mean surface temperature anomaly dataset shows no global warming for 18 years 8 months since May 1997, though one-third of all anthropogenic forcings have occurred during the period of the Pause.“ Source: The Pause hangs on by its fingernails.

Naturally climate models continue to grossly overstate the trend for global temperature:

IPCC-Modellprognosen der globalen Temperaturen im Vergleich zu den gemessenen Temperaturen im laufenden Fünfjahresmittel: Die Klimamodelle weisen offensichtlich eine zu hohe Klimasensitivität für den steigenden Anteil des lebenswichtigen CO2-Anteils in der Atmospäre auf

IPCC climate models obviously have assumed an excessively high value for CO2 climate sensitivity. Source: On Natural Climate Variability and Climate Models.

The IPCC climate model projections diverge increasingly from the measured reality, year after year.

In fact new studies have clearly exposed three decisive errors in the programming of climate models:

1. The cooling effect of aerosols has been over-estimated by a factor of 2: Hamburg Max Planck Institute for Meteorology: Aerosols cool less than originally thought.

2. The warming effect of CO2 in in the atmosphere is as a result overestimated by a factor of 2 or three. See: Die kalte Sonne site here (German).

3. The complex effect of fluctuations in solar activity are poorly accounted for in climate models. Solar Forcing of Climate – NIPCC

The consequences: All parameters when used realistically lead to a considerably lower global and regional warming — especially in the future, see following chart:

Vergleiche der Klimamodellprojektionen für die globalen Temperaturen mit der gemessenen Realität

Source: Peer-reviewed pocket-calculator climate model

It’s time to end the hysteria surrounding CO2 and its grossly exaggerated effects on climate and the ridiculous efforts of protecting the climate on every point on the planet every day for 30 years (whose statistical average is the World Meteorological Organization’s definition of climate). Very little can be accomplished trying, and the price would be enormous and ruinous.

– See more at: http://notrickszone.com/2017/04/08/pause-or-not-climate-models-continue-to-grossly-overstate-global-temperature-trends/#sthash.ozs3j696.dpuf…

Alarming Arctic heat waves look a lot like the last alarming heat waves in 1940s

Alarming Arctic heat waves look a lot like the last alarming heat waves in 1940s

http://joannenova.com.au/2017/04/alarming-arctic-heat-waves-look-a-lot-like-the-last-alarming-heat-waves-in-1940s/

The Arctic is the most sensitive place to man-made emissions on Earth, which is why it has barely warmed since 1944? Well, it makes sense if CO2 is largely irrelevant. Humans have made 90% of all their CO2 in the last 70 years and nothing much happened in the place where it was supposed to hurt the most. The WMO apparently missed the first 30 years of data. But Dr. Sebastian Lüning and Prof. Fritz Vahrenholt are here to help them out. : -) “Heat waves in the Arctic – climate scientists sound the alarm“ Area weighted Arctic (70-90N) monthly surface air temperature anomalies (HadCRUT4) since 1920 in relation to the WMO normal period 1961-1990. Fig. 2: Arctic temperature since 1920. Data: HadCRUT4, Chart: Climate4You. These heat waves look a lot like the last heat waves. Read it all thanks to Pierre Gosselins translation: Learning from the climate’s history: the Arctic heat waves of the 1930s and 40s Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

— gReader Pro…

New UK Govt Policy: ‘Less Climate Concern’ Key To Brexit Trade

New Govt Policy: ‘Less Climate Concern’ Key To Brexit Trade

http://www.thegwpf.com/new-govt-policy-less-climate-concern-key-to-brexit-trade/

Government papers reveal plan to tone down stance on environment in bid to win deals with Latin America and Africa Civil service documents, photographed on a train, reveal that Britain plans to scale down its concern over climate change and the trade in illegal wildlife to clear the way for post-Brexit trade deals. Details of the policy change were contained in the papers of a senior civil servant at the Department for International Trade (DIT) photographed by a passenger earlier this month. They include the speech notes of Tim Hitchens, the director-general of economic and consular affairs at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The notes show he will tell diplomats and trade negotiators that they need to change their focus if the UK is to fulfil Theresa May’s vision of Britain as “a great, global trading nation”. “You have a crucial role to play in posts in implementing our new approach to prosperity against the huge changes stemming from last year’s Brexit vote,” the notes say. “Trade and growth are now priorities for all posts — you will all need to prioritise developing capability in this area. Some economic security-related work like climate change and illegal wildlife trade will be scaled down.” Hitchens was unavailable for comment but Whitehall sources said the change of emphasis will make it easier to sign trade deals with countries in Latin America and Africa. At the moment, trade and aid arrangements with these countries can get bogged down with clauses that put environmental protections ahead of economic prosperity. Full story

— gReader Pro…