Third Saturday Seminar 2006-2007

“Humanity at a Crossroads”

Seventh Meeting
Saturday, 24 March 2007
9:30am to 12:00 noon
Room B-102, Montgomery College (our normal room)
3200 College Park Drive – Conroe, TX – 77384 – 936.273.7000

“MAN MADE GLOBAL WARMING,

THE FACTS, THE SPIN, AND THE CONSPIRACY”

Roger Hall

Roger’s title is self descriptive. We shall get a perspective different than Dr Barry Lefer’s Lyceum Lecture that many of us attended. The term, “follow the money and the power” just may come up. You might be surprised that, possibly, saving the human race may not be the dominant motivating driver for many of the players. Barry Lefer, while saying that “Inconvenient Truth,” was a good attention getter that has brought the climate change issue to the public’s attention, it, in places, depicted some highly unlikely scenarios which could have the effect of creating panic. That candidness was refreshing. Now we are going to get our knowledge expanded further by Roger.

Read Ahead LINKS:

This was world’s warmest recorded winter: govt (This was from the McCann’s)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – This has been the world’s warmest winter since record-keeping began more than a century ago, the U.S. government agency that tracks weather reported on Thursday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the combined global land and ocean surface temperature from December through February was at its highest since records began in 1880. A record-warm January was responsible for pushing up the combined winter temperature, according to the agency’s Web site,http://www.noaa.gov.

“Contributing factors were the long-term trend toward warmer temperatures as well as a moderate El Nino in the Pacific,” Jay Lawrimore of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center said in a telephone interview from Asheville, North Carolina.

You can read the rest of the article at:

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2007-03-15T233738Z_01_N15184990_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENVIRONMENT-WINTER.xml&src=rss

Including this puzzling passage:

“We don’t say this winter is evidence of the influence of greenhouse gases,” Lawrimore said.

However, he noted that his center’s work is part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change process, which released a report on global warming last month that found climate change is occurring and that human activities quite likely play a role in the change.

“So we know as a part of that, the conclusions have been reached and the warming trend is due in part to rises in greenhouse gas emissions,” Lawrimore said. “By looking at long-term trends and long-term changes, we are able to better understand natural and anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change.”

Then compare those words to this scene from Oswego, NY (This is part of the reason this Yankee became a Texan)

And, to make things interesting, Breaking News!!!
Al Gore Challenged to International TV Debate on Global Warming, Mar 19 04:30 AM US/Eastern
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=prnw.20070319.DCM015&show_article=1

Climate Change Challenge
http://ff.org/centers/csspp/docs/20070316_monckton.html
“Center for Science and Public Policy” N.B. This organization is one of those who allegedly have accepted fees from ExxonMobil

Now for the other “readings’ that I listed before

First, The Summary for Policymakers is now the politically accepted position on Climate Change/Global Warming
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Home Page (You can find complete texts of reports here)
http://www.ipcc.ch/

Download Summary for Policymakers
http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf

n.b. the liberal use of conditional terms such as “expected”, “could”, etc. Also try to determine the competence or the experience of the various sources and the validity of their data. Find out what “modeling” means.

But, then if you keep searching, you might (or might not) find reason to be skeptical.

I am skeptical. But, I hope you will make up your own mind (but don’t paint your self into a corner until you are ready to.)

Here are some alternative views:

“Brief introduction to the history of climate”
http://muller.lbl.gov/pages/IceAgeBook/history_of_climate.html

“A New Theory of Glacial Cycles”
http://muller.lbl.gov/pages/glacialmain.htm

RICHARD A. MULLER Vita
http://muller.lbl.gov/pages/MullerVita-03-05.pdf

Book review:
Ice Ages and Astronomical Causes: Data, Spectral Analysis, and Mechanisms (Springer Praxis Books. Environmental Sciences) (Hardcover)
Richard A. Muller, Gordon J. Macdonald
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/185233634X/o/qid=968967454/sr=8-1/ref=aps_sr_b_1_3/002-1601092-4364023

List of scientists opposing the global warming consensus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scientists_opposing_global_warming_consensus

Global Warming, Statistics needed – The Deniers — Part I
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=22003a0d-37cc-4399-8bcc-39cd20bed2f6&k=0

I take some cues from this chart:
http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/exhibitgcc/historical02.jsp
Which says every 100,000 years or so the climate gets really warm and then really cold. It looks to me we are overdue for just such an event.
See if anyone can explain the apparent disconnect between the “recent” extreme apparent increase in CO2 and what actually appears to be a reduction in temperature. Which is the causative condition, the temperature or the CO2?
Isn’t climate is also driven by planet and solar cycles, precession of the Earth’s Axis, volcanoes, etc.

Global warming? By Mark Jaffe, Denver Post Staff Writer
The words “global warming” provoke a sharp retort from Colorado State University meteorology professor emeritus William Gray: “It’s a big scam.” Article Last Updated: 12/26/2006 12:27:55 PM MST
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_4387552
“William M. Gray”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Gray

Current Events: (We always talk about current events to start out)
You know there are plenty – Senator Tim Johnson(D) is well enough to resume producing pork for the home folks in Brookings

This is the seventh meeting of the 2006-2007 Third Saturday Seminar. We will meet every month through June 2007. If you have ideas on subjects or speakers, or better yet would like to lead a session, please let me know.

About The Third Saturday Seminar:

Started in January 2000, We are about personal empowerment through demystification. Our subject matter is broad but it always tries to be about understanding ourselves and others better; and, having fun.

The Third Saturday Seminar is sponsored by the Academy of Lifelong Learning (ALL) Program at Montgomery College. There is no fee for ALL members. You can find the ALL Schedule at: http://www.montgomery-college.com/Estrada.config?resource=66255

Course # 27802 Sa 3/24, 4/21, 5/19 9:30AM-12PM Normally B-102, Montgomery College

For information about Montgomery College: http://wwwmc.nhmccd.edu

Since we are back in B-102, I again suggest the west parking entrance. Ignore the “Instructors Only” signs on the parking, That only applies on week days.
Maps:

http://www.montgomery-college.com/Templates/Content.aspx?pid=14972

http://www.montgomery-college.com/Templates/Content.aspx?pid=14970

http://map-it.woodstock.edu/map_pdf/B_floor_1.pdf

As usual, if anything in this notice doesn’t work or make sense (It is midnight somewhere), please let me know so I can warn the others.

Best regards,

Curt Gibby
Spring, TX
281-353-4350 (cell-)
Fax: 281-288-8230
gcgconsult (at) n-star.com
http://www.northstarinst.org/TSS/