Re: [asa] Rush Falls for Global Warming Denier Hoax

On 11/12/07, Janice Matchett <janmatch@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> At 02:18 PM 11/12/2007, Rich Blinne wrote:
>
> Because Rush doesn't understand the (undergraduate if not high school)
> physics here it makes him prone to fall for such hoaxes .."
>
>
> *@* And what's *your* excuse for being one of the deluded who believe in
> the AGW hoax?
>
> Freeman Dyson is one of the most highly respected physicists and most
> definitely does understand what's going on. As with any narrow
> specialization, one doesn't have to understand physics, one merely has to be
> smart enough to consult the opinions of the intellectually honest who do and
> are willing to say that those who believe the computer models are "deluded",
> and go on to explain why.
>
> Of course, they say, I have no degree in meteorology and I am therefore
> not qualified to speak. But *I have studied the climate models and I know
> what they can do. *
>

So, what does Freeman Dyson say specifically about the so-called
anthropogenic global warming hoax?

> As a result of the burning of coal and oil, the driving of cars, and other
> *human activities, the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing at a
> rate of about half a percent per year*. … The physical effects of carbon
> dioxide are seen in changes of rainfall, cloudiness, wind strength, and
> temperature, which are customarily lumped together in the misleading phrase
> "global warming." This phrase is misleading because the *warming caused by
> the greenhouse effect of increased carbon dioxide* is not evenly
> distributed. [emphasis mine]
>

No beef with the word "anthropogenic" or "warming". His beef is with the
word "global" because the effects are so much more profound at high
latitudes -- which is an extremely uncontroversial view.

Even though Dyson is critical about the accuracy of the models for the
purpose of predicting climate, what does he say about the use of global
climate models to understand climate and determine what's causing the
current warming?

> The bad news [concerning the inaccuracy of climate models at the local
> level] does not mean that climate models are worthless. They are, as Manabe
> said thirty years ago, essential tools for understanding climate.
>
>

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Received on Mon Nov 12 16:45:47 2007