2012 SkS Weekly Digest #11
Posted on 19 March 2012 by John Hartz
SkS Highlights
As to be expected, Dana's Prediction: New Surface Temperature Record in 2013 caused a number of raised eyebrows as well as commentary. The article garnering the most comments was, however, Dana's Roy Spencer's Bad Economics summarizing Spencer's incorrect views on a number of climate-related economic issues. Climate Deniers Are Giving Us Skeptics a Bad Name - Fred Singer by John Mason also generated a lot of discussion as it exposed some fissures within the climate denial machine.
Toon of the Week
Source: Joe Mohr's Cartoon Archive
Issue of the Week
If you were in charge of producing the Weekly Digest, what changes would you make to it?
The Week in Review
A complete listing of the articles posted on SkS during the past week.
- New Research Lowers Past Estimates of Sea-Level Rise by John Hartz
- Rachel Maddow Debunks Climategate Myths Using Skeptical Science by Dana
- The History of Climate Science - William Charles Wells by Doc Snow
- Climate Deniers Are Giving Us Skeptics a Bad Name - Fred Singer by John Mason
- Breaking News...The Earth is Warming... Still. A LOT by Glenn Tamblyn
- Roy Spencer\'s Bad Economics by Dana
- Declining Arctic sea-ice and record U.S. and European snowfalls: are they linked? by John Mason
- New research from last week 10/2012 by Ari Jokimäki
- Prediction: New Surface Temperature Record in 2013 by Dana
Coming Soon
A list of articles that are in the SkS pipeline. Most of these articles, but not necessarily all, will be posted during the week.
- The Skeptical Science temperature trend calculator (Kevin C)
- New research from last week 11/2012 (Ari Jokimäki)
- Fred Singer Debunks and then Denies (Dana)
- An Open Letter to the Future (climatesight)
- Global Warming - A Health Warning (Agnostic)
- Inhofe's Maddow Myths (Dana)
- Friis-Christensen et al. on Solar Cycle Length and Global Warming (Klaus Flemløse)
- Catching up with the Younger Dryas: do mass-extinctions always need impacts? (John Mason)
- Why David Archibald is wrong about solar cycles driving sea levels - Part 1 (Alex C)
- Advancing Climate Science, One Skeptic Talking Point at a Time(rustneversleeps)
- Methane - Part 1 (Agnostic)
- Global Surface Warming Since 1995(Dana)
SkS Spotlights
The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund was established with one goal: to protect the scientific endeavor. Scientific research has brought us amazing advancements in technology, medicine, and in our basic understanding of the planet. Over the last twenty years, a small handful of politically-motivated think tanks and legal foundations, because they disliked certain scientific findings, have taken legal action against scientific institutions and individual scientists. In recent years, the legal attacks have intensified, especially against climate scientists.
The scientific method is designed around the belief that skepticism is good. Results should be subjected to the utmost scrutiny through the peer review process, followed by close examination and replication by others in the scientific community. Those whose ideas do not live up to the standards of rigorous science have instead chosen to litigate.
For the individual scientist these legal actions are a painful burden. Academic salaries were not designed to support ongoing legal expenses. Legal actions also have taken many of our brightest scientific minds away from their research to focus on frivolous lawsuits. This state of affairs is unacceptable. The United States of America should be the leader in science and technology, and it cannot do so if unscrupulous people subject our scientists to these actions.
The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund was established to make sure that these legal claims are not viewed as an action against one scientist or institution, but that they are seen as actions against the scientific endeavor as a whole. As such the Fund will defend climate scientists who are dragged into litigation and act aggressively to protect the interests of the scientific endeavor.
In addition, the Climate Science Defense Fund will create platforms and opportunities for members of the scientific community to gain a better understanding of the legal issues surrounding their work
Comments