Freeman Dyson: Climate change models are rubbish..

[Stuart]

The famous physicist, Freeman Dyson has been challenging the established view on Climate change again.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/14/freeman_dyson_climate_heresies/

It's interesting to read the above article. In it he basically says that although the establishment is saying that global warming is killing the planet and we are causing global warming, there has been little or no research into how we are affecting the planet.

Put simply, while he doesn't discount the view that Global Warming is bad (he merely says there isn't much evidence either way), he appears to be questioning how much is due to man's influence, and how much is due to the normal functioning of nature. About which, we know relatively little.

I have to admit, if the article is correct, and I understand it correctly, I think I agree. While I agree that Global Warming is probably a problem, if it is nature that is causing the problem, then it is pointless reducing our carbon footprint, as it will make little or no difference.

Not that I am saying we should all go and buy huge cars and leave everything switched on. No, regardless of the carbon footprint, the planet does have a limited supply of fuel, and it's pointless wasting that.

[punky]

He's also a practicing Christian. Its a wonder he's made it his field I guess.

No doubt his views will be dismissed out of hand by the establishment, which is a shame.

[Stuart]

Actually, an interesting point is a friend has just started studying for his PhD in physics. The project he has joined is concerned (somehow - he did explain it fully, but I am not sure I understood) with how water effects the environment, and particularly how the amount of water in the air may be a greater cause of global warming than carbon.

His argument against the current establishment view is that there are an awful lot of companies trying to cash in on it (which isn't in itself, a bad thing, but if they are involved in experiments and then profiting from the results, they may be influencing the results).

[ladyboy]

not many people know that the world has heated up and cooled down through out its life we are currently going into a heating up process.not very scientific i know but **** happens.

[Chorlton]

I remember seeing a program on TV some years back, which examined all the arguements about global warming and disproved them. I can't remember all the details, but US coastguard records showed no increase insea level, ice cores showed that increased CO2 in the atmosphere came as a result of global warming, not a cause, and most temperature recordings are taken at airports and the increasing number of jet planes flying obviously heated up the air in the area.
Another point was if someone wanted to do research to prove global warming was a fact, governments threw money at them but try to prove the opposite and you had to find your own cash.
My own personal conspiracy theory is that if government keep us thinking/worrying about global warming all the time then we are not worrying about the pigs ear they make of things.

[Stuart]

Another thing I would like to point out. The temperature models will only be accurate with a large and verified database of temperatures to work from. We only have data going back 200 years, and only have accurate data for the last 40 or 50 years.

[danielf]

There may well be truth in what Dyson says. However, I am tempted to side with the majority opinion. I don't think we can afford the consequences if we sit and wait and the majority opinion is correct.

As an aside: ever heard of global cooling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling)? Quite popular in the 40s-70s apparently.

[Chorlton]

I remember global cooling - according to the scaremongers then we were only a matter of years from the next ice age, now it's the opposite - some people want it all ways.
By the way, anyone remember the nuclear clock when we were only seconds from a nuclear holocaust? Since the end of the cold war it's all gone quiet.
I'm of the firm opinion that if there's no bad news then somebody will make some up just to frighten us.
Sod them all and enjoy yourself.

[Tezcatlipoca]

By the way, anyone remember the nuclear clock when we were only seconds from a nuclear holocaust? Since the end of the cold war it's all gone quiet.



The Doomsday Clock is still going ;)


Currently at "five minutes to midnight" (closest it's been to midnight for a while now).

http://www.thebulletin.org/minutes-to-midnight/

[Mr_love_monkey]

Incidentally, something that was quietly put out recently, was that NASA's climate data/model was wrong, and was giving incorrect trends :

http://www.dailytech.com/Blogger+finds+Y2K+bug+in+NASA+Climate+Data/article8383.htm

Interesting really