Tag: carbon dioxide

[def from Wikipedia.]  Carbon dioxide (chemical formula CO2) is a colorless and odorless gas that is vital to life on Earth. This naturally occurring chemical compound is made up of a carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. Carbon dioxide exists in Earth’s atmosphere as a trace gas at a concentration of about 0.04 percent (400 ppm) by volume.[3] Natural sources include volcanoes, hot springs and geysers, and it is freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution in water and acids. Because carbon dioxide is soluble in water, it occurs naturally in groundwater, rivers and lakes, in ice caps and glaciers and also in seawater. It is present in deposits of petroleum and natural gas.

[added comments] While carbon dioxide is a “greenhouse” gas and it does absorb energy in some infrared wavelength bands, many scientists will argue that its affect on average global temperatures have been considerably exaggerated by the proponents of catastrophic anthropogenic global warming.  In order to derive effects extreme enough to be considered catastrophic, they have had to rely on strong positive feedback resulting in much larger effects than CO2 could produce without any feedbacks.  Many prestigious scientists disagree with that and some even suspect the feedback is not only much less than estimated, but may even be negative.

One must always consider that contrary to that which is frequently stated by climate activists/alarmists, the debate is never over in science.

Preview and Analysis of “Climate: The Movie”

Robert W. Endlich

I was very pleased to be able to view and comment on the sequel to “The Great Global Warming Swindle,” (GGWS), a serial documentary directed by the UK’s Martin Durkin and released by Channel 4 in the UK in 2007. The sequel, released in 2024, is “Climate: The Movie.”

INTRODUCTION

It is useful to introduce “Climate: The Movie” by describing how the enemies of Martin Durkin, GGWS, and skeptics of climate alarm label the video and its director, Martin Durkin.  A good example of this is in the Wikipedia listing for GGWS.

Figure 1. The Wikipedia listing for “The Great Global Warming Swindle,” taken from the Presentation Graphics. This listing exemplifies the profound ignorance of Big Tech and the so-called “educated elites,” in these specific topics: “scientific consensus,” they’re resorting to name calling “deniers” and “climate change denial.”

The previous phrase, “enemies of Martin Durkin,” might be too limiting. Writ large, this group also includes many/most left-leaning members of society. Some call them the “educated elites;” they include many in Government, Continue reading “Preview and Analysis of “Climate: The Movie””

A Critique of the Fifth National Climate Assessment

The Fifth National Climate Assessment, NCA5: It is Full of Bogus Claims 

Robert W. Endlich
INTRODUCTION:
Image by Pixabay

On 14 November 2023 the office of President Biden released a video of him praising the publication of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a report required every four years by the Global Change Research Act of 1990. Some of the graphics in Biden’s video proclaim, “Historic Climate Action,” a daft, in my opinion, notion that humans, led by the population of the United States, through supposedly legal (Congressional), Administrative, Executive and Judicial Continue reading “A Critique of the Fifth National Climate Assessment”

Another BS Claim from another New York politician — Gov Kathy Hochul

“Climate Change means New York City’s flooding is ‘new normal,’ Governor says.”

Robert W. Endlich 

An extract of this 30 Sep 2023 story by Reuters summarizes what we need to know about Gov. Hochul’s claim:

“Torrential downpours that caused flash flooding in New York City on Friday reflect a ‘new normal’ due to the effects of climate change, New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned on Saturday, as the city began drying out after one of its wettest days ever.”

“Almost eight inches of rain fell in some parts of the most populous U.S. city, enough to enable a sea lion at the Central Park Zoo to swim briefly out of the confines of her pool enclosure.”

Image courtesy of Pixabay

My interpretation:  When a politician mentions “climate change,” that politician means “Human-Caused, CO2-fueled Global Warming,” and the presumption that humans can therefore control the temperature of the earth and the level of the sea by controlling us, and our use of petroleum-based fuels.

But humans do not and cannot now change the temperature of earth, or the level of the sea.

So, why do I call this…

“Another BS Claim from another New York Politician?” Continue reading “Another BS Claim from another New York politician — Gov Kathy Hochul”

In Search of the Perfect Dozen Graphics to show the Climate Alarmists are Wrong

Robert W. Endlich
Illustration by Pixabay

During the comments and questions part of the 15 July 2023 meeting, CASF Member and physicist Edward Burlbaw suggested that we find a “perfect 10 or 12” images that any CASF member might pull up, for instance, on a cell phone, to show their climate alarmist friends data or graphics to dispel the current climate alarm in the mainstream media (MSM), Governments, Academia, and popular culture.

So, with that as background, this is an admittedly different kind of post for this site. I used the 19 August 2023 meeting of CASF as an opportunity to describe some of what I call the “insanity” of the climate alarmist Continue reading “In Search of the Perfect Dozen Graphics to show the Climate Alarmists are Wrong”

Very Low Dew Points in the Borderland Region

Precursor to the Midwest’s Severe Weather

 Robert W. Endlich
Image by Pixabay

 At the end of March 2023, a storm system was moving from the Rocky Mountain states eastward into the Great Plains. One clue as to the severity of the convective storms to come to the tornado-prone Midwest was the very dry weather in New Mexico, indicated by very low dew point temperatures. This post explains why the dry air in New Mexico and adjacent areas in the US and Mexico is an essential component of the severe Continue reading “Very Low Dew Points in the Borderland Region”