By the numbers open thread

This is an open thread for anyone who wants to discuss Climate Change by the Numbers. I'll set some thoughts down in the morning.

Readers may also be interested in the post-match thoughts of one of the presenters, Norman Fenton.

Quote of the day, chutzpah edition

As a social scientist and policy researcher with a particular interest and involvement in the media I’ve long been frustrated by the predominant tactics aimed at mobilising public concern. Phrases like “the science is finished” and “the greatest challenge facing humanity” have sought to enrol the public and politicians in a grand cause. But these approaches may alienate as many as they attract.

This comes from Joe Smith, in an article at the Conversation. Smith's career to date involves trying to get just these kind of messages on the BBC airwaves, preferably by stealth.

Another line for Gordon's political epitaph

Having used his time in office to slap a supertax on the oil industry, Gordon Brown is now demanding massive state intervention to fend off the collapse of the North Sea drilling industry:

He is suggesting a number of measures that he said could help the industry, including;

• A North Sea reserve to maintain and upgrade essential infrastructure and to provide "last-resort" debt finance for companies who want to keep fields open.
• UK government co-investment through public-private partnerships.
• Government loans.
• And advance purchase agreements.

Mr Brown said: "In the most extreme cases, to avoid the field being mothballed in its entirety, the government could go into partnership for a take-over of the field.

"If it is temporarily abandoned, the government should act to ensure that sometime in the future it is possible to come back and exploit the oil.

To be fair, the situation has not been helped by low oil prices, but I think it's fair to say that the political establishment had pretty much done for the North Sea already. That, I suppose, needs to be added to the list of misdemeanours on several political epitaphs, including the particularly lengthy list of Mr Brown's.

How wrong can the Guardian be?

Less food for more people on a hotter, drier Earth. How can we work to avoid this future?

That's the standfirst on the Guardian's editorial on food security this morning, introducing a more-than-usually daft dose of apocalytic predictions from the once-great journal. You know the kind of thing:

The big heat has yet to arrive. It will be catastrophic.

I'm struggling with their idea that the world is going to get drier. I thought it was supposed to be basic thermodynamics that greenhouse warming is going to produce more water vapour and therefore more rain? Anyone would think that the Guardian was just making up fairy stories for the entertainment of their readers.

This impression is confirmed elsewhere in the editorial, which makes it fairly clear that it is written as a trailer for the Paris climate conference. Also as part of the apparent push is a new paper cited by the Graun that claims to find a link between recent temperatures in Europe and stagnation of grain yields. Doug Keenan will no doubt be interested in its claim that there has been statistically significant warming in Europe in recent years. Watchers of the scientivist movement will be intrigued to see that the paper is edited by Ben Santer. Quite what a climate modeller is doing involved in a statistical analysis of crop yields is anyone's guess.

I also noted the use of "business as usual" with respect to the concentration pathways underlying the predictions of 4 degree warming. This is of course not true, but that has rarely concerned the Guardian.  Tim Worstall is similarly unimpressed with the treatment of emissions and CO2 concentrations, but for different reasons.

So in summary, Guardian editorial is drivel.

It's not really news is it?

Diary dates, look back in anger edition

Readers are no doubt looking forward to tonight's Climate Change by Numbers on BBC4, which promises to be the talking point on the climate blogs for a couple of days at least. It turns out, however, that there is another BBC show on climate this week:

Today, the topic of climate change is a major part of daily life, yet 40 years ago it was virtually unheard of. Since then, Horizon and the BBC have followed scientists as they have tried to unpick how the climate works and whether it is changing. Dr Helen Czerski delves into this unique archive to chart the transformation of a little-known theory into one of the greatest scientific undertakings in history. It has been a constantly surprising journey of discovery that has revolutionised our understanding of climate, and seen scientists face unprecedented controversy and criticism.

Czerski, you may recall, won plaudits for her intelligent coverage of the Antarctic sea ice issue a few weeks ago.

There is a trailer for the show here.