Talking about methane did anyone see that Stewart feller on tv last night with the latest episode of how the world made us or somesuch? I only caught the bit where methane bubbles up out of the oceans and leads to devastating runaway global warming which is then rectified by weathering of the Himalayas scrubbing all the co2 out of the atmosphere. From then on till the end it was a diatribe against co2. What was not explained was how taking the co2 from the air undoes the effect of methane. I didn't follow the argument. Anyone out there see the program?
Yes, I watched it. He explained that CO2 and CH4 were both GHGs, each causing changes to the atmosphere and its temperature.
Captain Fatty says "What was not explained was how taking the co2 from the air undoes the effect of methane".
Answer: it doesn't. It mitigates at best. That's fighting a losing battle perhaps, but worth doing? No, probably not, given human nature. But at least it must be worth trying to understand the underlying problem? Again no, probably not, for the same reason..
So do remember Captain Fatty, whatever your point of view, it's always worth examining the assumptions from which you start. Or not.
I was with friends who had the TV on, so yes, unfortunately I wasted ten minutes of my life muttering obscenities while it played.
Does anyone have a guesstimate for the half-life of methane in the atmosphere? or where it gets to during that half life?
How much will transporting and compressing a useful gas (CO2), then injecting it into wells drilled at great expense... add to our taxes and to the electric bills of our pensioners?
Ocean acidification = Bull S**t!: The highest CO2 in the reasonably recent geological past seems to have been the Cretaceous.
Cretace = chalk = very pure limestone laid down in massive ammounts during the "Cretaceous" Period. Where sea floor subsidence allowed its accumulation and preservation, several kilometers thickness were precipetated and deposited, for example in Denmark.
How were coccolithophores (chalk making bugs) living in much more CO2 rich seas than we'll ever see, precipetating kilometers thickness of what those seas were supposed to be keeping in solution, and how come it was preserved and not just re disolved?
The academics can go whistle methane if they want tax money to research that one to the same standard as what we're seeing pretty much which ever stone we look under.
I have seen a number of programmes which featured Professor Iain stewart.
All of them, regardless of the subject matter implied by their title, eventually turned into a hand wringing propaganda-fest for the anthropogenic global warming lobby.
Last nights programme followed the familiar form.
It included at least two misrepresentations, or if I were more unkind, deliberate lies.
First, that the frequency of hurricane events had increased during the 20th century (due to global warming). Untrue.
Second, that pre-historic temperatures were a function of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, a theory which is not supported by any of the data gathered from either the Greenland or Vostok ice cores, which indicate a reverse relationship between temperature and carbon dioxide levels.
Professor Iain Stewart is an interesting character, but he clearly has an "agenda".
The nature of his agenda probably illustrates why all of his notable television work to date has been for the BBC.
They would have blamed water vapour a long time ago but they can't figure it out. Not to mention it would be a real challenge scaring the general public with lurid tales of evil water vapour. Perhaps Al Gore could write poems about how we'll all drown due to excess water vapour! ;-)
It will be very difficult to start another climate scare so soon after CO2/AGW. It's rather like trying to interest people in company flotations after the collapse of the South Sea Bubble. Methane or ocean acidification won't have the easy ride that CO2 alarmism has had.
I'd say that much of the expensive climate change machinery will stay in place, Carbon Trading, windmills etc, but it won't be expanded. We'll have to put up with a 10lb ball and chain rather than the planned 50lb ball and chain. The little fact that most of the public thinks CO2 alarmism is a scam won't cause the political and financial aspects of the scam to go away any time soon.
Actually as Alex Cull suggests, stage 5 is not Acceptance but Reinvention - ie starting another scare campaign. But otherwise, great cartoon, and cash in by getting someone to print the T-Shirts!
I think we're starting to see what the cliche calls a "paradigm shift" on the AGW myth. :-)
Soon it will look as silly & dated & passe as the panic over the Y2K bug.
It has made predictions- global temperatures are rapidly rising, at an alarming rate, all down to our carbon dioxide emissions? Well lesse now ... Observe :
Hottest year ever globally ... 1998.
Hottest year in the USA ... 1934 !
Record cold snap - the worst in many decades in China, USA, Europe etc ..This winter.
Co2 levels? Rising all the time and have done since the 1800's.
Nothing the Alarmists say can counter or deny those basic facts.
"G-g-g-global warming my a-a .....!" Myth busted.
Next threat? Well there's always asteroid & comet impacts or maybe now an ice age? A bit retro going back to the 1970's & all but, hey, at least that's a *real* climate nightmare to worry about not things just getting nice and warm. ;-)
Thanks lads for the comments. I'll remember to examine my assumptions though at my age I often forget where I last left them. One more thing, if yer Grace permits; the relationship between pressure and temperature of the atmosphere as detailed by http://www.countingcats.com/?p=4745
Would the "global" temperature tend to increase the more gas was added to an atmosphere regardless of composition of that atmosphere.
Cheers, Fatty (Stupid html link fail there, sorry)
Reader Comments (16)
Talking about methane did anyone see that Stewart feller on tv last night with the latest episode of how the world made us or somesuch? I only caught the bit where methane bubbles up out of the oceans and leads to devastating runaway global warming which is then rectified by weathering of the Himalayas scrubbing all the co2 out of the atmosphere. From then on till the end it was a diatribe against co2. What was not explained was how taking the co2 from the air undoes the effect of methane. I didn't follow the argument. Anyone out there see the program?
Cheers,
Fatty
PS Good book by the way.
Good cartoon! As well as methane, a strong contender for next bugbear is ocean acidification, IMO. The seas - turning to fizzing vats of death!
That's fantastic. ROTFL
Replying to Captain Fatty:
Yes, I watched it. He explained that CO2 and CH4 were both GHGs, each causing changes to the atmosphere and its temperature.
Captain Fatty says "What was not explained was how taking the co2 from the air undoes the effect of methane".
Answer: it doesn't. It mitigates at best. That's fighting a losing battle perhaps, but worth doing? No, probably not, given human nature. But at least it must be worth trying to understand the underlying problem? Again no, probably not, for the same reason..
So do remember Captain Fatty, whatever your point of view, it's always worth examining the assumptions from which you start. Or not.
I was with friends who had the TV on, so yes, unfortunately I wasted ten minutes of my life muttering obscenities while it played.
Does anyone have a guesstimate for the half-life of methane in the atmosphere? or where it gets to during that half life?
How much will transporting and compressing a useful gas (CO2), then injecting it into wells drilled at great expense... add to our taxes and to the electric bills of our pensioners?
Ocean acidification = Bull S**t!:
The highest CO2 in the reasonably recent geological past seems to have been the Cretaceous.
Cretace = chalk = very pure limestone laid down in massive ammounts during the "Cretaceous" Period. Where sea floor subsidence allowed its accumulation and preservation, several kilometers thickness were precipetated and deposited, for example in Denmark.
How were coccolithophores (chalk making bugs) living in much more CO2 rich seas than we'll ever see, precipetating kilometers thickness of what those seas were supposed to be keeping in solution, and how come it was preserved and not just re disolved?
The academics can go whistle methane if they want tax money to research that one to the same standard as what we're seeing pretty much which ever stone we look under.
I have seen a number of programmes which featured Professor Iain stewart.
All of them, regardless of the subject matter implied by their title, eventually turned into a hand wringing propaganda-fest for the anthropogenic global warming lobby.
Last nights programme followed the familiar form.
It included at least two misrepresentations, or if I were more unkind, deliberate lies.
First, that the frequency of hurricane events had increased during the 20th century (due to global warming). Untrue.
Second, that pre-historic temperatures were a function of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, a theory which is not supported by any of the data gathered from either the Greenland or Vostok ice cores, which indicate a reverse relationship between temperature and carbon dioxide levels.
Professor Iain Stewart is an interesting character, but he clearly has an "agenda".
The nature of his agenda probably illustrates why all of his notable television work to date has been for the BBC.
Haha...perfect.
Priceless!
Well Done!
They would have blamed water vapour a long time ago but they can't figure it out. Not to mention it would be a real challenge scaring the general public with lurid tales of evil water vapour. Perhaps Al Gore could write poems about how we'll all drown due to excess water vapour! ;-)
What about the 3 stages of truth:
Ridicule
Violent opposition
Acceptance
My money is on Ocean Acidification, gases are so passé...
It has been slow out of the starting blocks but it may come up on the rails...
You may well be right.The Catlins are at it again.
http://www.catlinarcticsurvey.com/
It will be very difficult to start another climate scare so soon after CO2/AGW. It's rather like trying to interest people in company flotations after the collapse of the South Sea Bubble. Methane or ocean acidification won't have the easy ride that CO2 alarmism has had.
I'd say that much of the expensive climate change machinery will stay in place, Carbon Trading, windmills etc, but it won't be expanded. We'll have to put up with a 10lb ball and chain rather than the planned 50lb ball and chain. The little fact that most of the public thinks CO2 alarmism is a scam won't cause the political and financial aspects of the scam to go away any time soon.
Actually as Alex Cull suggests, stage 5 is not Acceptance but Reinvention - ie starting another scare campaign. But otherwise, great cartoon, and cash in by getting someone to print the T-Shirts!
Awesome cartoon. Spot on.
I think we're starting to see what the cliche calls a "paradigm shift" on the AGW myth. :-)
Soon it will look as silly & dated & passe as the panic over the Y2K bug.
It has made predictions- global temperatures are rapidly rising, at an alarming rate, all down to our carbon dioxide emissions? Well lesse now ... Observe :
Hottest year ever globally ... 1998.
Hottest year in the USA ... 1934 !
Record cold snap - the worst in many decades in China, USA, Europe etc ..This winter.
Co2 levels? Rising all the time and have done since the 1800's.
Nothing the Alarmists say can counter or deny those basic facts.
"G-g-g-global warming my a-a .....!" Myth busted.
Next threat? Well there's always asteroid & comet impacts or maybe now an ice age? A bit retro going back to the 1970's & all but, hey, at least that's a *real* climate nightmare to worry about not things just getting nice and warm. ;-)
Thanks lads for the comments. I'll remember to examine my assumptions though at my age I often forget where I last left them. One more thing, if yer Grace permits; the relationship between pressure and temperature of the atmosphere as detailed by http://www.countingcats.com/?p=4745
Would the "global" temperature tend to increase the more gas was added to an atmosphere regardless of composition of that atmosphere.
Cheers,
Fatty
(Stupid html link fail there, sorry)