Insurance, or does he know something?

Chris Mooney has posted up a article about the forthcoming release of Michael Mann's emails - it now appears likely that these will be disclosed to the public at the end of the day. Mooney looks to me as if he is trying to get his retaliation in first, spinning a story that a scandal we be found in the emails no matter what.

Those who went seeking went in with a theory--that wrongdoing has been done. They all believe "ClimateGate," shown by multiple investigations to be a fake scandal, was actually a real one. So that is their premise.

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Green poison

The EU has exempted a number of "green" technologies from its hazardous chemicals regulations.

The solar industry was celebrating last week after the EU confirmed late on Friday that it would exempt solar panels from new chemicals regulations that had threatened to effectively ban certain thin-film solar technologies.

The revised directive on hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, which was ratified into law last week, imposes a general ban on six hazardous substances, including cadmium, which is commonly used in cadmium telluride thin-film solar technologies.

So it appears that in the EU, at least, poisoning the environment is perfectly alright so long as you are an environmentalist. The end justifies the means.

(H/T Messenger)

Climate cuttings 53

A mini-edition of climate cuttings while I'm up to my neck in other things:

George Monbiot is singing the praises of wind power. I'm intrigued to know the sources for his figures.

Meanwhile, back in the real world,  the momentum of the shale gas is looking unstoppable.

Climate Realists takes a look at an old paper by, among others, Mann and Schmidt on the subject of the solar influence on climate.

"Sceptics" was deemed too polite, so "deniers" was introduced. "Cranks" enjoys favour from time to time. Now, the epithet-du-jour from the climate PR people is climate "truthers". I can't imagine what it's like to spend your whole career thinking up rude names for people.

And lastly, a fascinating article looking at the similarities, or not, between the proxies in one of Mann's temperature reconstructions.

Carbon-crazed Cate

Apparently the actress Cate Blanchett has come out in favour of a carbon tax in her native Australia, a move that has attracted some pointed criticism form political commentators down under.

Readers of this blog may be amused to see Ms Blanchett's modest bungalow in Brighton, her residence when she lived in the UK a couple of years back.

(After that little lurch into the world of celebrity gossip, we expect normal, slightly grumpy service to be resumed shortly.)

Scientists squeal at rising energy bills

If I remember what I have been told correctly, the scientific community is united in its belief that global warming is a real and present danger. So pressing is the crisis that it demands dramatic cutbacks in carbon emissions; rising fuel prices are therefore pretty much a given. There is only a handful of swivel-eyed "deniers" who say otherwise.

Or so the story goes.

If I actually believed this then I would find it hard not to feel just the tiniest hint of satisfaction at yesterday's article in the Guardian:

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Tiny world

Here's a body I came across recently - The Council for Science and Technology, which advises government on scientific issues cutting across departmental boundaries.

Several familiar names crop up, again and again and again.

Who are you?

I thought it might be interesting to find out who you all are, so here's a very short survey covering location, educational background and age.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Nurse podcast

The Guardian podcast features Paul Nurse on the subject of FOI. This is presumably the interview where Prof Nurse's made his rather extraordinary claims about harassment of scientists.

Lockwood: no wind for 40 years

Well, that's not exactly what he said, but it's not far off:

...the last two winters have featured exceptionally low temperatures and were remarkably still when they should have been the windiest seasons of all, as high pressure diverted the jet stream from its normal position.

Meteorologists have found that the position of the jet stream has been influenced by the lower levels of activity on the Sun. This decline in sun-spot activity is expected to continue for the next 40 years, with potentially serious consequences for the viability of wind farms.

Professor Mike Lockwood, from Reading University, said: “Changes in the jet stream will change the pattern of winds that we get in the UK. That, of course, is a problem for wind power.

“You have to site your wind farms in the right place and if you site your wind farm in the wrong place then that will be a problem.”

So, when you see a windmill standing still, despite all the billions of subsidy thrown at them, you can console yourself with the fact that things will have picked up a little in time for your children to see the benefit.

If only Prof Lockwood had discovered this before we spent all that money eh?

Update on May 30, 2011 by Bishop Hill

Mike Lockwood via email says his research on solar/windspeed links is not new and the reduced average windspeed stuff mentioned in the article is nothing to do with his work. I think what he means here is that his research shows the jetstream will move (a problem for windfarms in itself) but says nothing about average windspeeds.

Quote of the day

A propos of my earlier piece about the Hockey Stick, here's Keith Briffa's take on the "NAS defence", from Climategate email no 1140039406.

...you have to consider that since the [Third Assessment Report], there has been a lot of argument re [the] `hockey stick' and the real independence of the inputs to most subsequent analyses is minimal. True, there have been many different techniques used... but the efficacy of these is still far from established.

Subscribe

I've switched the tipjar on for this month's fundraising drive. There's also now a subscribe button for anyone who thinks a regular payment might be more the thing.

Dealing with the civil service

Lubos had posted up this clip from a new Spanish movie about dealing with civil servants. Looks like fun.

Wolff on the Hockey Stick

I thought I'd set down my thoughts on one aspect of Eric Wolff's email to Neil Clark - namely the millennial temperature reconstructions. Eric has adopted what I called the "NAS defence" when I discussed it in the Hockey Stick Illusion. This is the idea that, whatever the failings of the Hockey Stick itself, a series of other temperature reconstructions have reached broadly the same conclusions - Mann may have used in appropriate data and a biased methodology but he still reached the correct conclusions.

Click to read more ...

Engagement

Eric Wolff has sportingly responded to Neil Craig's emailed list of questions and Neil has equally sportingly acknowledged that he could have worded things more delicately. So we've had a hiccup, but everyone is being grown-up about it and making an effort to engage constructively.

Eric's response is here at Neil's site. I hope everyone can keep a lid on things over there.

'Eco-dictatorship'

I leave you on this rather depressing note:

Germany ‘Sliding Head Over Heels Into Eco-Dictatorship

Germany's green government advisors admit frankly that decarbonization can only be achieved by the limitation of democracy - both nationally and internationally.

Read the whole thing.