Sunday, August 12, 2007

THUMP - Did Somebody Drop Another Shoe?

Anthony Watts granted Steve McIntyre the opportunity to further explicate the meaning of the rather small change by GISS that his discovery of Hansen's error necessitated. (Watermelons have knocked McIntyre's site off line for the non.) It's an enjoyable read, especially after having waded through numerous comments by warmermongers deprecating the importance of the discovery, mainly by belittling both the minimal size of the adjustment necessitated by McIntyre's discovery and by rather fulsome statements concerning the "fact" that measurements in other countries provide ample trustworthy verification of increased warming.

Which is all well and good, except for the rather discomforting accusation that some of the claims regarding the homogeneity of the record in at least one major country are fabricated. McIntyre provides some insight as to the potential importance of the alledged fabrication.

If this keeps up the warmermongers are going to start sounding like the Black Knight insisting that "it's just a flesh wound".

10 comments:

Barry Dauphin said...

Sharon Begley, the science reporter for Newsweek and formerly of the WSJ, had an article last week titled, "The Truth About Denial". It was basically an article about politics instead of science reporting (since of course the science is all settled and everything). The names McIntyre and Pielke appear nowhere. In fact there was nothing examining the merits of Team Hockey or much of anything else for that matter. It was a journalistic hit job (and I used to like some of her reprorting). Apparently the deniers are funded by big money and are no better than the tobacco companies. This has moved into the realm of religion, for the warmers that is. There is no evidence many of them wish to consider. When the case is closed that always spares people from actually having to think about anything.

Knucklehead said...

In the past century Europe, Russia, Japan, and China have undergone major upheavals - for most more than one major upheaval. The notion that there is an extant dataset of even rudimentary continuity and consistency is, well..., a wet dream of the Gaia worshippers. The US dataset, which we've seen is downright terrible, is the best available.

There is no global surface temperature dataset. Anyone claiming to be a scientist and publishing with something they claim is a global surface temp dataset is something very similar to a fraud.

Rick Ballard said...

Knuck,

I think it might be possible to get decent surface data even in Europe. Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, heck even France except for 11 months from June '44 to May '45. Australia and New Zealand down in the Pacific, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania - lots of South America.

Can the measurements be extrapolated to the entire globe with a high degree of confidence? I would imagine so but the error bars would be so wide that the perceived "danger" would disappear and the political push toward "global governance" (the political heart of the matter) would lose its luster.

I believe that McIntyre is aiming on taking Hansen's scalp - and I believe that he will. Hansen's refusal to divulge his "secret sauce" is on a par with Mann's. These guys are One Worlder pols and deserve to be treated as such.

The One Worlders need to hope for an invasion by Martians. Then we could all turn to the UN for salvation. Of course, the UN would be selling the Matians targeting info on the US - but it's the thought (actually, the lack thereof) that counts.

Barry Dauphin said...

I acknowledge that we could be in a relative period of warming compared to say the past couple hundred years. Still in the "history of the world"? What arrogance. But the science has a long way to go to say the least. I'm am interested in the accumulation of good science, but that always includes sound statistical analysis.

That said, it is the "solutions" that should raise the greatest suspicions. Very often the "solutions" resemble communism trying to get another bite of the apple, trying to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, trying to obtain in subterfuge what could not be won in competition, or any other metaphor one could invoke like this. Communism didn't die in 1989. At approximately the same time, the whole warm-mongering began. It has always set its sites on the US as the evil over-consumers who are wrecking the planet because of its capitalistic system and interest in decentralized decision making. The "solutions" usually involve a combination of central planning, the reatardation of econmic growth, draconian limitations on property rights, the herding of people into smaller areas, suppression of opposing speech, and finger-wagging-school-marmesque-sniping about living a simple lifestyle (you will live simply and you will like it). Sounds like the USSR.

Rick Ballard said...

Barry,

When did we hire the UN to decide what constitutes a problem? Way beyond that - what does the world think a 99-0 vote rejecting Kyoto actually meant? It's like the rejection of the EU constitution - the jerks keep pretending that it's "accepted" when it's not.

I definitely agree that communism appears to be just taking a breather and I'm beginning to wonder more than a little about Russia's commitment to even a flimsy pretense of democracy.

I'm not sure that fraud can be proven against Hansen but I do have my fingers crossed. His deletion of rural stations and "magic elixir" modifications need to be examined under a microscope.

Barry Dauphin said...

Rick,

Way beyond that - what does the world think a 99-0 vote rejecting Kyoto actually meant?

Yes and in Begley's hit piece, she goes on about Bush rejecting Kyoto and neglects the fact that the Senate ratifies (or doesn't ratify) treaties. Hell, Algore was even vice president at the time. Had he no influence? All these narratives must have the structure of Bushitler lest they be aligned with the "deniers". With my own profession's propensity to create a diagnosis for everything, I wonder if the DSM V will have Global Warming Denial Syndrome.

I too worry about Russia, although I don't think they are in a position to spread communism, nor even necessarily inclined to resume it for themselves. Putin prefers a kleptocracy. He is a very dangerous man in my opinion and not to be trusted. I'm betting he doesn't transfer power when his term is up.

Rick Ballard said...

Barry,

Isn't communism definitionally kleptocracy? I can see Putin doing a reversion in a heartbeat. I don't think he will wander off the stage unless someone puts a bullet in his ear.

The beguiling lie of Hegelian historicism seems to require a bit more time to be put finally to rest.

Barry Dauphin said...

Rick,

I here you about there being little distinction between communism and kleptocracy. I was also thinking about the whole exporting that style of governemnt thing and with specific appeals to Marxism, etc. Putin seems more like the mafia (and Saddam), although the party in the USSR was little more than a bunch of thugs with shiny rhetoric.

Barry Dauphin said...

I don't think he will wander off the stage unless someone puts a bullet in his ear.

...or radioactive substances in his food.

richard mcenroe said...

Will you stop dropping those damn shoes? You're kicking up the carbon...