Hansen refuses to explain why he does it
Richard Treadgold | April 30, 2010
While on the subject of awkward, unanswered emails, let me pass on a message I recently sent to Dr James Hansen, the scientist widely famed as the “father” of global warming. I still hope he will offer some explanation.
4 March 2010
Dear Dr Hansen,
The Climate Conversation Group and I have become interested in the very meaning of “taking the temperature”, calculating the so-called “average” temperature for a place and a region and the meaning of doing so. I have just seen your web page [The Elusive Absolute Surface Air Temperature (SAT)], discussing these and related matters. It is an interesting and informative page.
You say there is no agreed method of measuring surface air temperatures and, in fact, there are numerous practical and theoretical obstacles to ever achieving such a measurement.
There is a very obvious question raised by that discussion. We are interested to know why, if it cannot be done, do you do it?
Regards,
Richard Treadgold
Convenor
Climate Conversation Group
Sorry to hark back, but I note you’ve closed the thread on ocean acidification.
The EPA in the US has decided this week that it is interested in storm-water runoff, because this might carry more carbon dioxide into the ocean and make the seawater less alkaline.
So the EPA would rather see CO2 being left in the atmosphere rather than having it dissolved in the oceans. Well, this is good news, because that is what will happen if the world heats up.
The EPA thinks ocean heat content is increasing and, as we all know, a warmer ocean cannot hold as much CO2 as a colder ocean. The catastrophists point to an argument that warming oceans could keep out-gassing CO2 to cause even warmer oceans – in a vicious circle.
But if this happens, then we won’t have to worry about the oceans becoming less alkaline, will we? People with ocean-acid phobia only need to worry about the sceptics – because they say the oceans are not warming and can therefore dissolve more CO2.
Sorry, I wasn’t aware of any closed threads. The ones I’ve checked are open; what’s the link?
Your analysis is exactly right. You’ve removed the acidic threat fears, as long as the warming continues. If you throw in the fact that the temperature response to increasing CO2 is logarithmic, so the more it increases, the less the temperature rises, then the vicious circle of outgassing causing further (dangerous) warming is also refuted. Of course, the oceans are cooling at the moment, too …
That warming just isn’t a happening thing right now! Who’d be a warmista?
Thread at http://www.climateconversation.wordshine.co.nz/category/ocean-acidification – no place to add a post.
Ah, I see what has happened; you’ve clicked on a category. “Ocean acidification” is a category, not a thread. It lists two posts, either of which you’ll find you can comment on. Hope that helps.
[...] March the Climate Conversation Group sent him a message: “There is a very obvious question raised by that discussion. We are interested to know why, [...]