Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

Environmentalism is a Religion Complete with Miracles

Share
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Flipboard
Print
Email

Such as global warming causing glaciers to shrink even though the local temperatures have NOT warmed.  Robert Tracinski explains here.

BTW, medieval inquisitors called those who did not accept their views “heretics” or “infidels.”  The religion of environmentalism also has heretics and infidels, but they are called “deniers.”

Comments
Mr mugwumps, I'm not surprised a science deniar such as yourself espouses this view. However as Trump and his minions slowly wake up to the realisation that the rest of the world does indeed embrace life, they may actually turn their heads around and say, 'where the hell is our support?' Trump won with fewer votes than Hillary, (whom I loath BTW). He has no support from his economic gurus or captains of industry. But most imporatant, even if you factor out world opinion (which you obviously have), he is going against the majority of US public opinion, which does indeed support envioronmentalism.rvb8
June 2, 2017
June
06
Jun
2
02
2017
09:01 PM
9
09
01
PM
PDT
mugwump3, this is just sourgrapes. Whether or not I am Marxist (I am not), the world is in another herculean revolution; it is changing, and you and yours, fighting against this innevitability merely expose your weaknesses. Trump, by this decision has made his administration (if you can call this administring), internationally, and more importantly domestically, isolated. You say Marxism, fiscal irresponsibility, cronyism, do you? I don't want a mediocre businessman, who inhrtited his money, is an academic ningcompoop, and childish tantrum thrower, in charge of anything. Apparently I, many US Governors, the Mayor of Pitsburg, US coorporate leaders, China, the EU, every NGO, and THE PEOPLE, agree!rvb8
June 2, 2017
June
06
Jun
2
02
2017
08:54 PM
8
08
54
PM
PDT
Rvb8, giving away the shell game that is AGW marxist redistribution. According to you, the Paris agreement wasn't about saving the planet. It was about corporate and government accumulation of wealth through cronyism, through coercion, not market forces. Yes, states like California can choose to maintain their utopian fantasies while refusing to acknowledge their fiscal liabilities, higher and higher taxes, mass exodus of businesses and entrepreneurs, on and on....and to whom will Cali, Illinois, N.Y., etc.. turn when other ppl's money runs out? Why, they'll be crawling on hands and knees to fiscally responsible, free market states that saw through the junk science scam that would've made even pseudo-science carnival barker, Karl Marx, blush for its complete lack of actual scientific grounding. Course, I'm not surprised to discover the same folks who worship at the feet of the other pseudo-science guru, Darwin, also believe in AGW...both confuse theory and just-so modeling for demonstration and falsifiability.mugwump3
June 2, 2017
June
06
Jun
2
02
2017
08:00 PM
8
08
00
PM
PDT
I don't want to give you ammunition asauber, but I have to say that the term, 'loser' is such a ubiquitous and infantile word these days, that you might like to exchange it for something less reflective. Maybe; the defeated, the disadvataged, flunkee, hasbeen, or just the dud. I don't know, anything but, 'You goddamn loser!' Heh:)rvb8
June 1, 2017
June
06
Jun
1
01
2017
09:15 PM
9
09
15
PM
PDT
The winners; the minority of Americans who voted for Trump, Virginian coal, and a fossil fuel industry that is backward yearning.
The Loser: rvb8 Andrewasauber
June 1, 2017
June
06
Jun
1
01
2017
05:07 PM
5
05
07
PM
PDT
asauber, 'herculean', in common english means, 'difficult'. I think you are confusing the mythecal Hercules for the adjective, 'herculean'.rvb8
June 1, 2017
June
06
Jun
1
01
2017
05:04 PM
5
05
04
PM
PDT
I also note Trump has pulled the US out of the Paris accords on climate. I think this will quite literally come back to bite him in the arse. In the US states have far more reach in environmental law making than the federal government, and I see already California, and several other states have balked. Their long term investment in environmentally friendly power sources, and technologies is not something these savvy states legislatures will give up. More important however is how the multi national companies of the US, so heavily invested in the change of course already begun, have rejected Trump's Ludditeism. More important still is how quicly the EU and China joined hands to increase the speed of defossilisng their economies. Also, how outside these two huge economies, the other countries looked at Trump as if he were some mildly insane narcissist. The winners; the minority of Americans who voted for Trump, Virginian coal, and a fossil fuel industry that is backward yearning. This decision is going to be entertaining to watch as it unravels, and Trump, true to form will at some time next year expain how he never actually endorsed it; despite the television footage showing him saying, 'I endorse this.' Heh:)rvb8
June 1, 2017
June
06
Jun
1
01
2017
05:01 PM
5
05
01
PM
PDT
given the herculean task of extrapolating years in advance
rvb8, Yes, it's all quite mythological. This is the closest thing to insightful you've ever been in a comment (although it's obviously accidental). Andrewasauber
June 1, 2017
June
06
Jun
1
01
2017
04:35 PM
4
04
35
PM
PDT
asauber @40, firstly Barry's posts are becoming like most posts here these days, short click bate opinions, often less than three paragraphs, and often just an attempted, 'hook by outrageousness', comment. Secondly, meteorology is the science, and climate change fits witin its boundaries. Meterology is unusual amongst the sciences because throughout the ages those trying to predict the weather were the butt of so much mockery and general derision. I well remeber the seventies and early eighties when the weather broadcast on the news the night before was the subject of gentle but amused conversation the next day. We have come along way, and today forecasts can be quite accurately predicted days, and increasingly a few weeks in advance. These scientists today, using the most powerful of super computers are given the herculean task of extrapolating years in advance. The amazing thing is that the scientists in this field in all the serious institutions are in agreement about global warming and its future effects. You can call this a religion if you want but that exposes the same kind of ignorance that calls evolution, 'only a theory'.rvb8
June 1, 2017
June
06
Jun
1
01
2017
04:19 PM
4
04
19
PM
PDT
I think its an amazing (but not surprising) phenomenon of nature that the Warmers on this thread still haven't spoken to the topic of the OP after at least a couple comments each. Andrewasauber
June 1, 2017
June
06
Jun
1
01
2017
07:46 AM
7
07
46
AM
PDT
mugwump3 - precipitation (and temperature change) isn't constant across the planet, so reduced rainfall in the Rockies may not reflect a global change. Globally we're still cutting down forests faster than they are re-growing.Bob O'H
June 1, 2017
June
06
Jun
1
01
2017
12:45 AM
12
12
45
AM
PDT
And, anecdotally and slightly empirical, I've worked in commercial kitchens for 20+ years. Within minutes of power loss or mechanical failure, the ambient local temperature begins to rise in my freezers. That's with no wind, no sunlight, nothing. True, if the thermometer was squeezed between two frozen packages or had been frozen into an ice block, no change would be seen for hours. But the air temp begins to rise. Indeed, no kitchen would ever be able to monitor their freezers without that rise. In fact, we're also expected to monitor the duration of defrosting intervals based on this truth. So, why would aforementioned icebox story expected to be believed by millions upon millions of chefs who depend on these air readings to keep their product from being compromised as well as their jobs?mugwump3
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
07:36 PM
7
07
36
PM
PDT
On a mostly curious note, if precipitation, at least in terms of snow pack, is down significantly enough to cause, in conjunction with the heat absorbing property of ice, a recession of a glacier...wouldn't we expect more cloud cover, a greening of the planet, CO2 and thermal sinks in the the form of forestation? And, wouldn't more available land exponentiate this feedback as more greening? Where's the catastrophe? Where's the rising sea levels, or anomalous non-cyclical temperature increases, desertification, or mass extinctions? In short, why is CO2 playing the great and powerful villain in AGW doomsday scenarios, albeit, only if to point the finger at the Anthro behind the curtain? Especially given a complete lack of historical corollation, nevermind causation? Given the only demonstrable effect of believing in AGW modeling fiction is a global wealth redistribution largely supported by the "have-not" victims of modern human advancement, why would a skeptic of the dogma ever be compelled by the climate conquistadors? Marxism is still Marxism even when you dress it up in the Emperor's lab coat.mugwump3
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
07:17 PM
7
07
17
PM
PDT
Of course, Global Warming isn’t a term coined by the skeptics, so they can hardly be blamed for the confusion.
And what is more frustrating is that the AGW deniers jump on the shift in terms from global warming to climate change as if this is some sort of conspiracy. Which just highlights their ignorance of the subject.kmidpuddle
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
05:50 PM
5
05
50
PM
PDT
The effect of heat on ice is to melt the ice. There will be very little temperature rise until most of the ice is melted. The heat energy all goes toward the melting.
I hate to say it, but in this particular case, Neil is actually making some sense. Of course, Global Warming isn't a term coined by the skeptics, so they can hardly be blamed for the confusion.Phinehas
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
03:12 PM
3
03
12
PM
PDT
If snowfall in the winter exceeds snow melt in the summer, the glacier grows. If the snowfall is less than melt, the glacier recedes. Both of these can happen without and change in annual average temperatures around the glacier. In the latter situation the question is, what is responsible for the lower snowfall?kmidpuddle
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
02:14 PM
2
02
14
PM
PDT
Global warming has caused the glaciers to melt even though there has been no warming in the local area where the ice is actually melting. I don't think you've allowed for telecalorification, Barry....Axel
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
02:02 PM
2
02
02
PM
PDT
The answer to that question is a resounding “no” for the simple reason that the climate around the glaciers HAS NOT CHANGED.
What is the basis of this claim? Squinting at a graph of daily (?) temperatures where seasonal cycles swingr ~100F does not seem a useful way of assessing a trend. It might also be helpful to insert a tiny bit of knowledge about how glaciers work into the discussion. It's is quite possible for a glacier to retreat (or have its retreat hastened) without the local temperature changing at all. Glaciers retreat when the water added through snow (mostly in winter) is not enough to counterbalance the water lost through melting at the terminus (mostly in Summer). Changes in precipitation or seasonal weather patterns (e.g. earlier springs) can alter the dynamics of glacier growth even as the mean annual temperature remains flat.wd400
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
02:01 PM
2
02
01
PM
PDT
Neil, you still don't get it. No one is arguing that the glaciers are not melting. They are. They have been for 10,000 years. The issue is whether the melting can be attributed to recent climate change, especially climate change that might have been caused by humans -- i.e., global warming. The answer to that question is a resounding "no" for the simple reason that the climate around the glaciers HAS NOT CHANGED. From this we can conclude that whatever is causing the glaciers to melt, it is most certainly not global warming.Barry Arrington
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
01:37 PM
1
01
37
PM
PDT
But it does not require an increase in temperature
MIT: "Global warming refers to climate change that causes an increase in the average *temperature* of the lower atmosphere" http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2010/finalwebsite/background/globalwarming/definition.html Andrewasauber
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
01:13 PM
1
01
13
PM
PDT
Neil, you have attempted to defend the following proposition: Global warming has caused the glaciers to melt even though there has been no warming in the local area where the ice is actually melting.
"Warming" is a vague and ambiguous term. I have been trying to express things in terms of "heat" and "temperature" which are more precise. The trouble with "warming" is that it can sometimes refer to an increase of heat, and at other times it can refer to an increase in temperature. For ice to melt, requires an increase in heat (i.e. in thermal energy). But it does not require an increase in temperature. Temperature and heat are very distinct, defined separately in physics. One measures temperature in degrees. One measures heat in calories. The link that you provided, was to an argument that confused heat with temperature. The effect of heat on ice is to melt the ice. There will be very little temperature rise until most of the ice is melted. The heat energy all goes toward the melting. Google "latent heat ice melting" for more information.Neil Rickert
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
12:54 PM
12
12
54
PM
PDT
NYT Articles: Cold - December 16, 1934 - Nation Is Held on Verge of Climate Shift; Experts See Old-Fashioned Winters Back America is believed by Weather Bureau scientists to be on the verge of a change of climate, with a return to increasing rains and deeper snows and the colder Winters . . . ____________________________________________________________ Warm - October 28, 1956 - SCIENCE IN REVIEW; Warmer Climate on the Earth May Be Due To More Carbon Dioxide in the Air The general warming of the climate that has occurred in the last sixty years has been variously explained. Among the explanations are . . . ____________________________________________________________ Cold - December 7, 1958 - Frozen Key To Our Climate; The world’s ice masses may be ushering in a fifth Ice Age. Frozen Key To Our Climate SEVERAL thousand scientists of many nations have recently been climbing mountains, digging tunnels in glaciers, journeying to the Antarctic, camping on floating Arctic ice. Their object has been to solve a fascinating riddle: what is happening to the world’s ice . . . ____________________________________________________________ Warm - February 15, 1959 - A WARMER EARTH EVIDENT AT POLES; Arctic Findings in Particular Support Theory of Rising Global Temperatures WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 — The theory that the world is growing slightly warmer is receiving added confirmation . . . ____________________________________________________________ Cold - January 30, 1961 - SCIENTISTS AGREE WORLD IS COLDER; But Climate Experts Meeting Here Fail to Agree on Reasons for Change After a week of discussions on the causes of climate change, an assembly of specialists from several continents seems to have reached unanimous agreement on only one point: it is getting colder . . . ____________________________________________________________ Warm - February 20, 1969 - Expert Says Arctic Ocean Will Soon Be an Open Sea; Catastrophic Shifts in Climate Feared if Change Occurs Other Specialists See No Thinning of Polar Ice Cap Col. Bernt Balchen, polar explorer and flier, is circulating a paper among polar specialists proposing that the Arctic pack ice is thinning and that the ocean at the North Pole may become an open sea within a decade or two . . . ____________________________________________________________ Cold - July 18, 1970 - U.S. and Soviet Press Studies of a Colder Arctic; U.S. and Soviet Press Arctic Studies The United States and the Soviet Union are mounting large-scale investigations to determine why the Arctic climate is becoming more frigid, why parts of the Arctic sea ice have recently become ominously thicker and whether the extent of that ice cover contributes to the onset of ice ages . . . ____________________________________________________________ Cold - January 27, 1972 - Climate Experts Assay Ice Age Clues After invading Nebraska and Colorado, the armadillos, faced with increasingly frigid weather, are in retreat from those states toward their ancestral home south of the Mexican border. The winter snow accumulation on Baffin Island has increased . . . ____________________________________________________________ Cold - October 31, 1972 - Scientist Fears Equable Climate Around World Could Be Ending The current 12,000-year-old era of comfortable climates around the world may be coming to an end . . . ____________________________________________________________ Cold - May 21, 1975 - Scientists Ask Why World Climate Is Changing; Major Cooling May Be Ahead; Scientists Ponder Why World’s Climate Is Changing; a Major Cooling Widely Considered to Be Inevitable The world’s climate is changing. Of that scientists are firmly convinced. But in what direction and why are subjects of deepening debate . . . ____________________________________________________________ Warm - August 14, 1975 - WARMING TREND SEEN IN CLIMATE; Two Articles Counter View That Cold Period Is Due Articles in two scientific journals have questioned widely publicized predictions that, in coming decades, the world climate will deteriorate severely affecting food production and, perhaps, initiating a new ice age . . . ____________________________________________________________ No Change - February 18, 1978 - Climate Specialists, in Poll, Foresee No Catastrophic Weather Changes in Rest of Century; Warning About Carbon Dioxide WASHINGTON, Feb. 17—A poll of climate specialists in seven countries has found a consensus that there will be no catastrophic changes in the climate by the end of the century. But the specialists were almost equally divided on whether there would be a warming, a cooling or no change at all . . . ____________________________________________________________ Warm - February 3, 2007 - Science Panel Calls Global Warming ‘Unequivocal’ In a grim and powerful assessment of the future of the planet, the leading international network of climate scientists has concluded for the first time that global warming is “unequivocal” and that human activity is the main driver, “very likely” causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950 . . . ____________________________________________________________ Fraud - November 20, 2009 - Hacked Email is New Fodder for Climate Dispute Heartlander
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
12:33 PM
12
12
33
PM
PDT
Neil, you have attempted to defend the following proposition: Global warming has caused the glaciers to melt even though there has been no warming in the local area where the ice is actually melting. I understand your argument. You don't understand mine.Barry Arrington
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
11:53 AM
11
11
53
AM
PDT
Convergent warming at work, don't you know.OldArmy94
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
10:44 AM
10
10
44
AM
PDT
Barry:
Do you care to comment on that [Neil's] assertion?
Neil:
No, I never made such an assertion.
I will let you and Neil agree over what Neil asserted before I comment further on it.kmidpuddle
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
10:31 AM
10
10
31
AM
PDT
The discussion is centered on Neil’s assertion that the melting of the glaciers can be attributed to increases in ambient temperatures even though local ambient temperatures did not rise.
No, I never made such an assertion. Please reread my earlier comments, and try to understand what I actually said.Neil Rickert
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
10:18 AM
10
10
18
AM
PDT
A @ 20: Well said. Nothing but the truth!Truth Will Set You Free
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
09:59 AM
9
09
59
AM
PDT
kmid: "But I note that you did not address my comment." Because it was not relevant to the discussion. The discussion is centered on Neil's assertion that the melting of the glaciers can be attributed to increases in ambient temperatures even though local ambient temperatures did not rise. Do you care to comment on that assertion?Barry Arrington
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
09:43 AM
9
09
43
AM
PDT
Barry:
kmidpuddle, we will let you come back once again. I expect it will end the same way as all the other times...
I suspect it will as well. But I note that you did not address my comment. How can ice melt if the water surrounding it stays at zero C?kmidpuddle
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
09:03 AM
9
09
03
AM
PDT
Why is it so difficult for you to understand this?
They do understand it. They just won't accept anything that might undermine the narrative. The amusing part is these same people who are very prideful about identifying themselves with 'science' can watch this train wreck day after day, year after year and not utter a single inquisitive peep about what's being presented to them. They've had their conceptual parts removed. Andrewasauber
May 31, 2017
May
05
May
31
31
2017
07:44 AM
7
07
44
AM
PDT
1 2

Leave a Reply