Deviations From Average Temperature, Sept. 2008
Deviations From Average Temperature, Sept. 2008
Note 11/30/08: Thank you for those of you who have been following this data, and my apologies that this page has not been updated in recent months due to other time demands. In all likelihood, the monthly temperature charts will not be continued simply due to lack of manpower. It would be great to continue them in the future, but my hope is that the data that they provided are quite useful even in their very limited time period. I will attempt to continue adding links to current events and new data as the become available.
Climate Change
The concept of global warming, or what has now more innocuously become known
as the subject of "climate change", has become an object of intense interest. Many good scientists have done
detailed work with computer modeling
and gathering historical weather data from various direct measurements and from indirect sources such as ice core
samples, tree ring data, and isotope ratios from peat bogs and limestone
deposits. Other scientists have taken careful and repetitive measurements
of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations from various sites around the world
which show a steady increase in magnitude. Whether or not these two
phenomena are related may be the central scientific, political, and social
question of our time. We should all be indebted to these many scientists
for this data because it affords us the opportunity to work with it,
analyze it, and to critically examine any conclusions that are made
with it.
My goal in this arena is to uncover as much factual information as I can for the informed citizen and to make this knowledge readily accessible to the public. Philosophically, it is problematic to consider any one group of society as keepers of Truth (whether they be clergy or scientists) and to consider their assessments as beyond the reproach of the "common" people. It is to this end that I make an attempt on this site to publish facts which are accessible to all of society, and especially those facts which have suffered from remarkable underexposure in mainstream public outlets which have the most powerful effects on shaping public opinion, such as the media, Hollywood, and academia.
A Rational Process
Before one draws any conclusions on climate change, and certainly before one
begins instituting public
policy in this regard, there are a series of simple and progressive questions
which must be addressed.
1. Is the earth warming?
2. If so, is this warming potentially catastrophic?
3. If so, is this warming primarily caused by CO2
concentrations in our atmosphere?
4. If so, are humans responsible for altering these
concentrations appreciably?
5. If so, can these concentrations be reversed substantially
by reducing carbon emissions?
6. If so, how should carbon emissions be reduced?
If one reaches the last question, many others suddenly present themselves. Who should make the decisions on how these strategies are implemented? How much time do we have? Should world concerns trump individual civil rights? Should third world populations be deprived of development in order to address this problem? Is there, or should there be, a World Governing Authority to oversee this and other matters?
The mind-boggling truth is that in most of politics, academia, and business today we are attempting to address questions #4-6 and beyond regardless of the fact that questions #1-3 are still unanswered. In fact, as this website will outline, most of the data lean toward the answer of "no" to each of these questions.
In the News -- A frequently updated list of weather-related stories from a diverse range of sources, but for some reason absent from our mainstream news.
Solar Forcing -- Surprise, it is the sun that drives the earth's temperatures...and in fascinating ways! Much has been discovered in this area in the past few years that somehow hasn't made the headlines. Find out more here.
Aren't you in the extreme minority of scientists?
Previous Talks on Climate Change (Slides Only):
"Global
Warming and Science" -- March 4, 2008
"Global
Warming and Science, Take 2" -- April 21, 2008
"Global
Warming Cracked Open: A Peek Inside" -- April 28, 2008