Unfortunately, some misuse science. Some of their intentions, are far from benevolent. They see science as a mechanism for political power and control. There is great danger from those who would use science for political control over us.

How do they do this? They instill, and then continuously magnify, fear. Fear is the most effective instrument of totalitarian control.

Chet Richards, physicist,

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/03/science_in_an_age_of_fear.html

Thursday 17 June 2010

Schools' Low Carbon Day - 'concerned mothers' want their kids to worry too

The remarkable spread of alarm about climate is worthy of much study. How did it take place? What led so many people to get so exercised when the case for alarm is so thin, being based as it is on the output of computer models preset to produce dramatic results linked to CO2 but requiring the insertion of a positive feedback mechanism never observed in practice, nor even likely to exist since it would presuppose a climate more unstable than is credible given the historical reconstructions we have.

These reconstructions include periods of far higher CO2 levels, major variations in solar input, dramatic transformations of the earth's surface, and extended periods of substantial volcanic activity. Over more recent periods, we have evidence that the Roman and Medieval Warm Periods were at least as warm, and possibly warmer, than the late 20th century climate, and that rates of temperature rise in the Central England Temperatures (the longest instrument record we have) have been higher than anything we have seen recently. The slow rises of global mean temperatures in the 19th and in the 20th centuries were both at about the same rates (0.6 to 0.7C per century) despite substantial differences in ambient CO2 levels between the two. In summary, nothing particularly unusual has been observed in our climate in recent times. We have a variable climate system, on a very large range of space and time scales, and we would be wise to resist over-reacting to the various cooling and warming cycles we have seen over the past few hundred years. (Especially if that over-reaction leads to reducing our energy supplies and our wealth, both of which increase our ability to cope with these inescapable cycles.)

The specious analogy, much touted by alarmists, with greenhouses being driven by differential radiative effects falls at the first hurdle, since that is not how they work. They work by suppressing convective and wind-driven mixing with the outside air, and these two processes of convection and wind, coupled with the transport and phase changes of water, are also the dominant movers of heat within the lower atmosphere in which we live.

Yet read the following extract (I have put it italics) from the website promoting Low Carbon Day for schools in the United Kingdom, and try to imagine what you would feel if you believed these words:

'Few scientists now doubt that due to human activity – burning fossil fuels and deforestation - the climate is changing. Without very significant action, temperature changes of at least 2°C, and possibly 3°C or 4°C are expected to happen by the end of this century. Hundreds of millions of people may not have enough water. Floods, heat waves and droughts may affect millions more. The ensuing migration could make the world a very unstable place. And that's not to mention the 30% of species at risk of extinction. The effects of climate change are already being felt in Asia and Africa.

The truth is the worst will probably not happen in our lifetime. But it will happen in our children's lifetime. And it will happen big time during their children's lifetimes. Children born today will not be in a position of influence for 40 years, and by then it will be too late. The inertia in the climate system means that without action from us, by the time they can change the world, catastrophic warming will almost certainly be factored into the system.

And so we believe as adults we have a duty to change the world for them.’


Source: http://www.cooltheworld.co.uk/about_us.php

If you were as convinced as them, perhaps you would be stirred to political action, or even lifestyle changes. But would you want to push the same message into schools? Is this not a totalitarian impulse you might wish to resist? Even as a believer, would you not want your children to have a more carefree time, allowing them to concentrate on their basic education rather than imposing adult anxieties and responsibilites on them? I guess some of us would, and some of us wouldn't. But right now, I am concerned that we are not being given the choice.

A great many people, the UK political class included, seem intent on capturing the hearts and minds of the young, and turning them into eco-worriers (what have I done wrong, what am I doing wrong?) and eco-agitators (I must make sure my parents and others do the right things). This seems to be the intention of this 'group of concerned mothers':

'Schools Low Carbon Day 24.06.10 is being organised by a registered charity set up by a group of mothers concerned about climate change. Schools Low Carbon Day is about educating children about climate change and inspiring children and their families to change their behaviour to reduce carbon emissions.'

Source: http://www.cooltheworld.co.uk/about_us.php


I have concerns over every single sentence in those paragraphs shown in italics. I will post more comments on them tomorrow.

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Looking ahead

Here are some things I have been looking at.

a) Schools Low Carbon Day: http://www.cooltheworld.co.uk/low_carbon_day.php Apparently well-intentioned initiative, but of course based on smoke and mirrors.
b) Genie: http://www.projectgenie.org.uk/ An overblown scare site based on notion that CO2 is a genie buried in the earth, one which we are releasing to our imminent danger and disadvantage. Complete with trailer for DVD designed to keep the kids from sleeping either in the classroom, or at night.
c) Zilla: http://www.kidsclubzilla.com/index.html I am not sure how current this site is. It is spooky, of unclear origin, and may be a money-making scam taking advantage of the CO2 scam to take money from alarmed people. I have heard that such sites appear after major disasters are in the news. Well, the IPCC is certainly one of those.
d) and thanks to 'the world as we know it' site (http://www.twawki.com/?p=6628 ) I have found another long list of counter-alarmist links at: http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/OSGWD.htm

Tomorrow I hope to complete a gentle Fisking of the Carbon Day's foundation arguments from their site. They are basically trusters in the IPCC, a point of view which has been widely exposed as naive, duped by the PR, and of course just plain wrong in many specifics. Thus Fisking them brings phrases like 'sitting ducks' and 'fish in a barrel' to mind, and turns into an exercise in manners and restraint more than anything. However, I hope it will be my first shot at a kind of rebuttal-template which will be widely applicable.

I did a Google on 'climate lessons' just now. It found around 14,100,000 hits.

Wednesday 9 June 2010

Links to useful resources on the Internet

I am looking for ways to share web links to useful resources, and am currently trying Diigo for this.

I want to make available to others, the set of links which I am building up, and which I find useful for insight into climate materials, and also for finding rebuttals of climate alarmism. I anticipate that something like this should provide help for anyone encountering poor teaching materials, and looking for ammunition to help get them improved.

It is not clear to me how best to share the links yet. Suggestions would be most welcome.

In the meantime, here is a .csv file containing 127 links, searchable using the column entitled 'Tags'. It opens easily using Excel: http://rapidshare.com/files/397131228/ClimateLessonsLinks2010_06_09.csv

Monday 7 June 2010

Keep faith in the young: a schoolgirl in the States looked at some climate data

UPDATE added 9 June 2010. It now seems established that the NSF award was a hoax. However, the merits of this school project remain, and so I am leaving most of the original post here in place. I have now deleted references to the hoax award.
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UPDATE added 12 June 2010. The father of the child has confessed to being the fraudster!. See: http://www.mysoutex.com/view/full_story/7901678/article-Father-says-he-is-sorry-for-science-fair-hoax?

Several commenters to this blog have referred to youngsters being smart enough to think for themselves, e.g. TG O'Donnell on the 3rd of June wrote:

'Brainwashing in direct contradiction of the empirical evidence does not have a good track record in any society and there is little reason to assume that it will be more effective in our culture than it has been in others.
Pactum serva! '


Here is a report of a science fair project by a young schoolgirl in the States, in which she checked the temperature records for her own bit of the planet:

'She researched online data basis of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, the National Weather Service, and checked out books on climate change at the Joe Barnhart Bee County Library.

Her findings:

• temperatures rose and fell from 1900 to 1950.

• temperatures in Beeville cooled down over a 20-year period beginning in 1955 and ending in 1975.

• Since 2001, temperatures in Beeville have grown cooler year after year.'


Only one point on the planet. Only one girl. But her spirit is encouraging.
She concluded:

'There is not enough evidence to prove global warming is occurring.'


Now that's a big leap from one point on the planet, but her approach of actually checking some data ought to be an inspiration for other schools, and indeed for some Fellows of the Royal Society who seem to prefer arguing from authority.

More details at: http://www.mysoutex.com/pages/full_story_landing/push?article-Conclusion-+%E2%80%98pretty+creative%E2%80%99%20&id=5061446

Sunday 6 June 2010

This should scare 'em

Horror stories frighten children, but can turn into a bit of fun when trusted adults assure them they are made-up, and that the beasties and bogles don't really exist. Seeing adults make fun out of the monsters can help children do the same, while at the same time enjoying the tingle of a scary story.

But horror stories about the climate told by alarmists to children have no such happy ending. They need to persuade them the scares are real, and really threatening. The best they can do for their young spirits is to assert that we can do something about it. But how is a child to get this into perspective? You are, say, 8 years old and you have to help save the planet, or else?

Here is what one project designed to increase the awareness of children about climate did earlier this year in London. They got a successful writer of vampire stories for children, a Mr Darren Shan, to pen a piece for them on climate change. Here it is:

‘If London gets hotter and drier, everyone will sweat more! The city will stink of sweaty armpits and feet and other body bits!! The heat will turn the sweat to steam, which means we'll be walking through swog (sweaty smog) every time we step outside!!! Every time you breathe in, it will be like licking a slug's belly!!!! There will be no more trains in the tube - you'll simply grab a rubber ring and sail down an underground river of sweat to your destination!!!!!

‘Unless you LIKE sweat, it's time to start walking whenever you can, use public transport, recycle, don't waste water or energy - hey, we're not talking rocket science here! The world's in bad shape, and a lot of people don't care - they're going to carry on as recklessly and selfishly as before. Don't be one of them. Fight the good fight. Do what you can to help the environment. Try getting your friends to do their bit too. We're NOT helpless. This is a battle we CAN win. But only with people like YOU. It's going to take billions of small, personal steps to stop climate change and get our planet back on track. Every one of those steps is essential. Every individual counts. Be brave. Be considerate. Be smart. Or prepare yourself for the horrors to come as one of the unfortunate, stench-ridden citizens of PLANET SWEAT!!!!!!’


(Published at: http://www.london.gov.uk/media/press_releases_mayoral/young-people%C2%A0urged-give-creative%C2%A0climate-change%C2%A0ideas-top%C2%A0vampire%C2%A0autho)

Now of course there is no good science to back up this scaremongering. Even the IPCC projections, which of course the real temperatures have stubbornly refused to comply with, talk only of a few degrees of warming. Thus London with a average low/high temperatures in January of 32F/44F and 52F/71F in July, could still be cooler than the current climate in Rome which has average lows/highs of 38F/55F in January and 64F/83F in July (http://goeurope.about.com/od/historicclimate/Europe_Climate_Historic_Averages.htm).

Who would trade the climate of Rome for the climate of London? Not scary at all. In fact, quite attractive. But of course when you are a zealot, you must not concede any benefits from the devils you are trying to paint into the world view of others, and so instead we are given breathing as like 'licking a slug's belly', and the tube as an 'underground river of sweat'.

Here is how one tourist site ( http://londonhotelsinsight.com/2010/04/19/big-city-showdown-london-or-rome/ ) sees it:

'London’s annual average temperature is 11°C, whilst Rome’s is 16°C.

Result: Rome is a clear winner, unless you’re keen on drizzle and scarves!'


One of the problems facing alarmists intent on scaring children into conformance, is that there are many benefits to be gained from a further rise in temperatures in the temperate to polar regions (where they assert the largest rises would occur), and in fact even quite a modest cooling there would present many problems. There are of course grounds to believe that we may well entering a cooling phase for the next 20 years or so. Perhaps Mr Shan will have to be brought back in with a different brief, this one involving perhaps icebergs in the Thames, and underground rivers of ice? Or better still, if it does indeed get cooler over the next few years, how about bringing him back as a warning to children to be wary of adults trying to scare them? And as an indictment of whoever commissioned him in London in 2010 to frighten their children.

PS I meant to add this earlier. About a month after the London report referred to above, there were reports published based on a research paper speculating about very uncomfortable, indeed life-threatening temperatures being reached. This has been rebutted here: http://pielkeclimatesci.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/comments-on-the-study-researchers-find-future-temperatures-could-exceed-livable-limits/

Thursday 3 June 2010

Children frightened or anxious about climate

This blog has two primary areas for investigation:

1. Examples of children being frightened about climate
2. Examples of children being fed misleading information about climate

Here is an example relevant to the first of these.

In 2008, an initiative called 'The Climate Change Schools Project' was launched in the North East of England, through one of the many 'Science Learning Centres' in that country.

The website for it is here: https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/centres/north-east/climate-change-schools-project/introduction.

They describe themselves as follows:

‘The Project aims to put climate change at the heart of the national curriculum via an organic and pioneering network of ‘Climate Change Lead School’ who build climate change understanding and positive action from the ground-up. Visionary schools and teachers are at the core of this approach, though the focus of the Project is on young people – helping them to achieve a better understanding of the nuts and bolts of climate change science, as well as to discover solutions and explore how to positively adapt to the challenges brought by climatic changes over the coming decades.’

In July 2009, they published a progress report on their work to date. This included the following statements:

Significant (positive) shifts in responses to four of the attitudinal statements were observed for Year 5 students, that were not observed in the control group. At the second stage, Year 8 students were more likely to accept the idea that climate change is a risk to them and that it will kill plants and animals.

‘There was a subset of younger students who became quite anxious about climate change, and some with worrying misconceptions about the world ending. This appeared to be prevalent in certain classes rather than across the board and is likely to have been influenced by a range of factors within and outside the project. This did not appear to be an issue at Key Stage 3. ‘


The report is available for download at the website given above.  The report is also available here: http://www.lauragrantassociates.co.uk/Resources/Resources/45/CCSP_evaluation_final_report_July09.pdf

Hat tip: http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2010/3/26/climate-change-in-schools.html

Tuesday 25 May 2010

Another climate website?

Why another web site on climate? As far as I can see, there is no web site in the UK for those concerned about inaccuracies, and harmful consequences, in alarmist materials reaching our schoolchildren. In particular, I am concerned over the possibility that some people will deliberately or accidentally frighten children about their future, and about their impact on climate.

In view of the zealotry which has led to so many errors and manipulations in the IPCC reports, the distribution of a seriously misleading DVD on climate to schools, and government propaganda on climate which the Advertising Standards Authority could not stomach, I think there are grounds for concern.

I hope that through this site, I will be able to learn more about materials being used in schools, or otherwise produced for schoolchildren on climate. I hope to collate links and papers on such materials, and gather commentary on them. If my concerns turn out to be justified, I hope this site will help and encourage the production of better materials. I hope also to give whatever publicity this modest effort can produce to good materials and events on climate, that is materials which seemed designed to inform rather than frighten, and which maintain high standards of scientific integrity.