And climate change recedes...

[billc]

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/01/climate-crisis-downgrade-arriving-on-schedule.php

Yesterday the Research Council of Norway—that would be one of those national research bodies that the climateers relentlessly tell us we should pay attention to—issued the conclusion that global warming is likely to be much less severe than the “consensus” estimate of 2 – 4.5 degrees C. The Norwegian body thinks it will top out at 1.9 degrees:

Professor Berntsen explains the changed predictions: “The Earth’s mean temperature rose sharply during the 1990s. This may have caused us to overestimate climate sensitivity.
“We are most likely witnessing natural fluctuations in the climate system – changes that can occur over several decades – and which are coming on top of a long-term warming. The natural changes resulted in a rapid global temperature rise in the 1990s, whereas the natural variations between 2000 and 2010 may have resulted in the levelling off we are observing now.”
​

Of course, you can expect environmentalists to cling bitterly to their narrative of climate catastrophe, as it still remains the best game in town for their relentless drive to acquire more power over people and resources—always the end game of environmental politics. But it’s okay now for the rest of us to adopt the head-patting attitude of “There, there; I know it’s hard when your narrative falls apart. You’ll get over it some day.

 

[Sukerkin]

:chuckles: Like all of us, well mostly, have been saying all along ... it's a vast and complex system and anything we do can have unpredictable results so it's best to err on the side of 'do no harm' and not waste or pollute more than we have to :sensei rei:.

I still agree with the position I've held to all along but I do have to say, at the risk of 'turning my coat' a little, that some of the more politically based axe-grinding for the past decade made me deeply suspicious of the motives of some organisations. Certain things are necessary, certain things are sensible and certain things are plain not possible. When it came to the point that any economically viable solution to a problem was still not acceptable ... well, that makes you throw up your hands at the intractability of some 'camps'.

 

[Tez3]

However...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...for-climatesceptic-organisations-8467665.html

"A climate scientist who says he has been subjected to a vitriolic hate campaign has denounced the way that American billionaires have been able to secretly finance the climate-sceptic organisations that have attacked him.
Professor Michael Mann of Pennsylvania University, who has been targeted by climate-change sceptics for his work on global temperature records, said it was wrong for wealthy individuals such as the oil billionaire Charles Koch to surreptitiously finance the “counter-movement” that denounces the science of global warming.
Yesterday, The Independent revealed that a fund operated by the Koch family has given millions of dollars to climate-sceptic organisations though a financial intermediary “donor advised fund” called The Donors Trust. Charles Koch and his wife, Liz, are directors of the Knowledge and Progress Fund which gives money to the Donors Trust, which then passes on the funds to climate sceptic organisations.
One such climate-change sceptic body, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, is being sued by Professor Mann for defamation relating to suggestions he committed scientific fraud and could be compared to a convicted child molester. Professor Mann said the allegations are untrue and are part of a smear campaign.............."

 

[arnisador]

Climate science is done the same way all science is done. You don't have to agree to make changes, or even believe the consequences spell disaster, but the earth is warming on average and anthropogenic effects are part of the reason why.