Posted on 27 May 2017 by John Hartz

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Scientists just published an entire study refuting Scott Pruitt on climate change 

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt speaks with coal miners in Sycamore, Pa., in April. (Justin Merriman/Getty Images)

In a sign of growing tensions between scientists and the Trump administration, researchers published a scientific paper Wednesday that was conceived and written as an explicit refutation to an assertion by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt about climate change.

The study, in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, sets up a direct test of a claim by Pruitt, made in written Senate comments following his confirmation hearing, that “over the past two decades satellite data indicates there has been a leveling off of warming.”

After reviewing temperature trends contained in three satellite data sets going back to 1979, the paper concludes that the data sets show a global warming trend — and that Pruitt was incorrect.

Scientists just published an entire study refuting Scott Pruitt on climate change by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 24, 2017

Above-Normal Atlantic Hurricane Season is Most Likely This Year: NOAA

Hurricane Matthew, the strongest Atlantic hurricane of 2016, as seen on September 30, 2016, when it was rapidly intensifying into the first Category 5 storm observed in the Atlantic since 2007. 

Residents living in Hurricane Alley need to prepare for what may be another busy Atlantic hurricane season. In its first outlook for 2017, issued Thursday, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center predicted a 45% chance for an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season, a 35% chance for a near-normal season and a 20% chance for a below-normal season. NOAA gave a 70 percent likelihood of 11 - 17 named storms, 5 - 9 hurricanes,  2 - 4 major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) and an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) 75%-155% of the median. These numbers include Tropical Storm Arlene, which developed in April over the northeast Atlantic. If we take the midpoint of these ranges, NOAA called for 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes. This is above the 1981-2010 seasonal averages of 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes. 

Above-Normal Atlantic Hurricane Season is Most Likely This Year: NOAA by Jeff Masters, WeatherUnderground, May 25, 2017 

Links posted on Facebook

Sun May 21, 2017

• World Lags on Clean Energy Goals by Stephen Leahy, Inter Press Servie (IPS), May 14, 2017
• 'Maximum damage': What's going wrong in our deep blue and warming sea by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, May 21, 2017
• Renewable Energy Is Unstoppable, Declares Financial Times by Steve Hanley, Clean Technica, May 19, 2013
• 'We can't be passive bystanders': Advisers call for dramatic re-think on Great Barrier Reef by Adam Morton, Sydney Morning Herald, May 21, 2017
• How Rollbacks at Scott Pruitt’s E.P.A. Are a Boon to Oil and Gas by Hiroko Tabuchi & Eric Lipton, New York Times, May 20, 2017
• Experts reject Bjørn Lomborg's view on 2C warming target by Paul Karp, Guardian, May 20, 2017
• Obama’s Clean Power Plan: What to Know About the Newest Legal Showdown by John H Cushman Jr, Inside Climate News, May 17, 2017
• At the UN Oceans Forum in June, Will the US Play a Bit Part? by Lori Silberman Brauner, Inter Press Service (IPS), May 18, 2017

Mon May 22, 2017

• On the Thawing Tundra, Researchers Race to Understand Black Carbon’s Climate Impact by Madeline Ostrander, Ensia, May 17, 2017
• There Are No Legitimate Arguments Against Human-Caused Climate Change by Tom Ward, Futurism, May 21, 2017
• Exxon Climate Fraud Investigation Widens Over Missing 'Wayne Tracker' Emails by David Hasemeyer, Inside Climate News, May 20, 2017
• Vulnerable Voices’ Lash Out as Companies Sway Climate Talks by Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times, May 16, 2017
• Trump's deputy national security adviser gave him fake climate news by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, May 22, 2017
• Half the Great Barrier Reef may have died in last two years by Charis Chang/ AAP, News.com.au, May 22, 2017
• Limiting warming to 1.5C has clear benefits for Australia, study says by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, May 15, 2017
• India Launches Massive Push for Clean Power, Lighting, and Cars by Stephen Leahy, National Geographic, May 22, 2017

Tue May 23, 2017

• Antarctica’s high elevation is slowing rate of warming, says study by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, May 18, 2017
• 'The great unknown': New climate change data lifts the sea-level threat by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, May 23, 2017
• Scientists say the pace of sea level rise has nearly tripled since 1990 by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 22, 2017
• Trump told he risks ‘lasting damage’ to ties between U.S. and Europe by Sophie Yeo, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 22, 2017
• 'My worst nightmares are coming true': Europe's last primeval forest on 'brink of collapse' by Christian Davies, Guardian, May 23, 2017
• NATO lawmakers warn climate change may worsen Middle East security risks by Alex Whititng, Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 22, 2017
• California Engages World, and Fights Washington, on Climate Change by Coral Davenport & Adam Nagourney, New York Times, May 23, 2017
• China, Germany urge US not to ditch Paris climate accord, Deutsche Welle (DW), May 22, 2017

Wed May 24, 2017

• Climate change: Model predicts Australia to lose famous sites in new sea-level rise by Tom Wilde, ABC News (AU). May 23, 2017
• NATO Countries Worry Trump Will Undo Climate Progress, Drafts Show by Nicholas Kusnetz. Inside Climate News, May 23, 2017
• Why Scientific Consensus Is Worth Taking Seriously, Opinion by Faye Flam, Bloomberg View, May 22, 2017
• More people heading to court to spur action on climate change, study finds by Oliver Milman, Guardian, May 23, 2017
• Pope Lends Weight to G-7 Push to Bind Trump to Climate Deal by Margaret Talev & Lorenzo Totaro, Bloomberg News, May 24, 2017
• Scientists just published an entire study refuting Scott Pruitt on climate change by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 24, 2017
• Half the global population could face ‘unknown’ climates by mid-century by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, May 22, 2017
• Pope Francis politely shades Trump’s climate ignorance with a parting gift by Jack Jenkins, Think Progress, May 24, 2017

Thu May 25, 2017

• Renewable Energy Powers Jobs for Almost 10 Million People by Mahmoud Habboush, Bloomberg News, May 23, 2017
• Trump Administration Says It Isn’t Anti-Science As It Seeks to Slash EPA Science Office by Lisa Song, ProPublica, May 24, 2017
• Pope Francis Gave President Trump a Copy of His Encyclical on Climate Change by Katie Riley, Time Magazine, May 24, 2017
• How Rising Seas and Coastal Storms Drowned the U.S. Flood Insurance Program by Gibert M Gaul, Yale Environment 360, May 23, 2017
• SkS Analogy 5 - Linear, Non-linear, and Coastal Flooding by Evan, Skeptical Science, May 23, 2017
• So much water pulsed through a melting glacier that it warped the Earth’s crust by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 25, 2017
• Above-Normal Atlantic Hurricane Season is Most Likely This Year: NOAA by Jeff Masters, WeatherUnderground, May 25, 2017
• Trump Budget Still Funds One Big Climate Program by Niina Heikkinen, ClimateWire/Scientific American, May 24, 2017

Fri May 26, 2017

• The Arctic “doomsday” seed vault is supposed to ensure our future. Its architects are worried about climate change. by Brian Resnick, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 22, 2017
• India Cancels Nearly 14 Gigawatts Of Proposed Coal Plants by Joshua S Hill, CleanTechnica, May 25, 2017
• Global climate projections help civil engineers plan by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, May 25, 2017
• 8 in 10 People Worldwide Fear 'Catastrophic' Climate Change: Poll by Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams, May 25, 2017
• Will Carbon Capture and Storage Ever Work? by Umair Irfan, E&E News/Scientific American, May 25, 2017
• 10 things you should know about sea level rise and how bad it could be by Rob Motta, James White & R. Steven Nerem, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, May 20, 2016
• World Leaders Increase Pressure on Trump to Stay in the Paris Accord by Michael D Shear & Coral Davenport, New York Times, May 26, 2017
• Alaska's Sea Ice Is Melting Unusually Early, 'Another Sign Arctic Is Unraveling' by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, May 26, 2017

Sat May 27, 2017

• Cash-strapped cities struggle to clean up their climate act by Megan Rowling, Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 26, 2017
• India to raise over $350 million in bonds to fund clean energy programs by Sudarshan Varadhan and Rajesh Kumar Singh, Reuters, May 24, 2017
• Donald Trump will make 'final decision' on Paris climate deal next week by Patrick Wintour, Guardian, May27, 2017
• Factcheck: Whale strandings and offshore windfarms by Simon Evans, Carbon Brief, May 26, 2017
• Industry group tries to drop out of children’s climate lawsuit by Sophie Yeo, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 24, 2017
• In a “World of Plenty,” G7 Must Fight Famine by Tharanga Yakupitiyage, Inter Press Service (IPS), May 26, 2017
• There's one sentence that could decide the fate of the planet (yes, really) by John D Sutter, CNN, May 27, 2017
• These Before And After Images Show The Startling Effects Of Climate Change by Chris D’Angelo & Chris McGonigal, Huffington Post, May 22, 2017