REV Climate Change Impacts

The only rationale for the enormous challenge of a transition away from fossil fuels is that climate change is a reality and our future is at stake. In Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act Section 1, Legislative findings and declaration states:

    1. Climate change is adversely affecting economic well-being, public health, natural resources, and the environment of New York. The adverse impacts of climate change include:
      1. an increase in the severity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as storms, flooding, and heat waves, which can cause direct injury or death, property damage, and ecological damage (e.g., through the release of hazardous substances into the environment);

This page provides links to posts on the claims that the effects are being seen now and there is a climate emergency that dictates action now.  Note that I have a page with posts highlighting the  difference between weather and climate which is constantly mistaken by Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) advocates.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 6th assessment report represents the scientific “consensus” on climate change.  Last summer the Summary for Policy Makers was released claiming that the results of the scientific assessment reports showed that this was “Code Red” for humanity.  However, the descriptions in the Summary for Policy Makers are driven by politics rather than the science.  David Wojick writes that the Irish Climate Science Forum and CLINTEL have “produced a 17 page catalog of “misrepresentations” in the 40 page IPCC AR6 Summary for Policy Makers” that you can read here: https://clintel.org/clintel-letter-to-world-leaders-serious-misrepresentations-in-latest-ipcc-report/.

Dr. Roy Spencer: Near the end of the Trump Administration a series of short, easily understandable brochures that support the general view that there is no climate crisis or climate emergency, and pointing out the widespread misinformation being promoted by alarmists through the media were prepared.  The brochures are no longer available where it originally posted but I made copies for later use.

Joseph S. D’Aleo, CCM posted a series of fact checks of the 11 most common climate claims such as those made by CLCPA advocates. The authors of these reviews are all recognized experts in the relevant fields.

While the Climate Always Has and Always Will Change, There Is no Climate Crisis The emphasis on a false climate crisis is becoming a tragedy for modern civilization, which depends on relible, economic, and environmentally viable energy. The windmills, solar panels and backup batteries have none if these qualities. This falsehood is pushed by a powerful lobby which Bjorn Lomborg has called a climate industrial complex, comprising some scientists, most media, industrialists, and legislators. It has somehow managed to convince many that CO2 in the atmosphere, a gas necessary for life on earth, one which we exhale with every breath, is an environmental poison. Multiple scientific theories and measurements show that there is no climate crisis. Radiation forcing calculations by both skeptics and believers show that the carbon dioxide radiation forcicng is about 0.3% of the incident radiation, far less than other effects on climate. Over the period of human civilization, the temperature has oscillated between quite a few warm and cold periods, with many of the warm periods being warmer than today. During geological times, it and the carbon dioxide level have been all over the place with no correlation between them.

For each claim, a summary of the relevant rebuttal is provided below along with a link to the full text of the rebuttal, which includes the names and the credentials of the authors of each rebuttal.

See Impacts of Climate Change Perception and Reality by Indur M. Goklany here.

Heat Waves – have been decreasing since the 1930s in the U.S. and globally.

Hurricanes – the decade just ended as the second quietest for landfalling. hurricanes and landfalling major hurricanes in the U.S since the 1850s. 2020 saw a record 30 named storms and many Gulf impacts like the quiet solar periods in the late 1800s and this century, but the AC index ranked 13th highest. See 2020 Update showing similarities to late 1800s here and global contrasts here.

Tornadoes – the number of strong tornadoes has declined over the last half century. More active months occur when unseasonable cold spring patterns are present.

Droughts and Floods – there has no statistically significant trends

Wildfires – decreasing since the very active 1800s. The increase in damage in recent years is due to population growth in vulnerable areas and poor forest management. See Australia Wildfire story here.  See this analysis that shows how public lands are ablaze but private lands are not because they are properly managed here.

Snowfall – has been increasing in the fall and winter in the Northern Hemisphere and North America with many records being set.

Sea level – the rate of global sea level rise on average has fallen by 40% the last century. Where today, it is increasing – local factors such as land subsidence are to blame. See how sea level trends are being adjusted here.

Arctic, Antarctic and Greenland Ice – the polar ice varies with multidecadal cycles in ocean temperatures. Current levels are comparable to or above historical low levels. Arctic ice returned to higher levels with a very cold winter in 2019/20. Ice was highest level since 2013. See update here on the AMO, PDO ocean cycles, the Solar and Arctic temperatures.

Alaska July 2019 heat records/ winter 2019/20 cold – the hot July resulted from a warm North Pacific and reduced ice in the Bering Sea late winter due to strong storms. Record ice extent occurred with record cold in 2012. 2019/20 has been the third coldest winter in Fairbanks since the Great Pacific Climate Shift in the late 1970s.

Ocean Acidification” – when life is considered, ocean acidification (really slightly reduced alkalinity) is a non-problem, or even a benefit.

Carbon Pollution as a health hazard – carbon dioxide (CO2) is an odorless invisible trace gas that is plant food and it is essential to life on the planet. CO2 is not a pollutant.

Climate change is endangering food supply – the vitality of global vegetation in both managed and unmanaged ecosystems is better off now than it was a hundred years ago, 50 years ago, or even a mere two-to-three decades ago thanks in part to CO2.

There is a 97% consensus that climate change is man-made – a 97% consensus is a convenient fiction meant to bypass the scientific method and sway public opinion and drive societal changes and policies that support political agendas.

See the detailed rebuttals here. Each section details claim and links to a detailed scientific analysis with supporting graphics and lnks.

Other Articles

The Globe’s Total Greenhouse Effect Forcing Has Been On A Declining Trend For Decades

Climate Fact Sheet: January 2023 Edition

Pragmatic Environmentalist of New York Climate Change Articles

The Washington Post has published an enlightening opinion piece on climate alarm and climate realism. Mark Thiessen, its weekly columnist, has based his op-ed on an interview with Steve Koonin and his new book ‘Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters‘ which is making quite a splash due to its matter-of-fact, no-nonsense approach

The biggest uncertainty in climate modeling articles

Scientists aren’t sure what will happen to clouds as the planet warms