Comments on: Michael Mann to be investigated over CRU emails http://globalwarming-factorfiction.com/2009/11/30/michael-mann-to-be-investigated-over-cru-emails/ Dedicated to the balanced discussion of global warming Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:59:47 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: LittleWolf http://globalwarming-factorfiction.com/2009/11/30/michael-mann-to-be-investigated-over-cru-emails/comment-page-1/#comment-46942 LittleWolf Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:14:56 +0000 http://globalwarming-factorfiction.com/2009/11/30/michael-mann-to-be-investigated-over-cru-emails/#comment-46942 I've always thought it was ridiculous to consider temperature readings as proof or denial of climate change. Like Dennis Miller jokes about in his stand-up routine, do we really trust the temperature readings from 100 years ago? Nowadays it's mostly digital thermometers with automatic reporting, but back then some guy gets out of his tent, poops in the woods, then checks his non-certified mercury thermometer. "Looks to be about 10 above today." Because the temp change over the past century falls within the margin of error of manual temperature reading, it's not a reliable indicator of anything. For evidence of climate change, one has to look at the EFFECTS of change, such as sea ice, glaciers, tree rings, species range, bloom & seed timing, etc. Here the evidence is clear, the climate is changing. But of course it is... any student of history knows that climate is always changing on Earth. Our last ice age peaked just 18,000 years ago, and we had a significantly cooler period in the 1800s. The Earth's climate is a complex, ever-changing highly-dynamic system. So the crux of this issue appears to be whether humans have any positive/negative role in this change, and what can/should we do about it, if anything. I’ve always thought it was ridiculous to consider temperature readings as proof or denial of climate change. Like Dennis Miller jokes about in his stand-up routine, do we really trust the temperature readings from 100 years ago? Nowadays it’s mostly digital thermometers with automatic reporting, but back then some guy gets out of his tent, poops in the woods, then checks his non-certified mercury thermometer. “Looks to be about 10 above today.” Because the temp change over the past century falls within the margin of error of manual temperature reading, it’s not a reliable indicator of anything.

For evidence of climate change, one has to look at the EFFECTS of change, such as sea ice, glaciers, tree rings, species range, bloom & seed timing, etc. Here the evidence is clear, the climate is changing. But of course it is… any student of history knows that climate is always changing on Earth. Our last ice age peaked just 18,000 years ago, and we had a significantly cooler period in the 1800s. The Earth’s climate is a complex, ever-changing highly-dynamic system.

So the crux of this issue appears to be whether humans have any positive/negative role in this change, and what can/should we do about it, if anything.

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