What happened to the traditional role of skepticism in climate science?

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Guest essay by Forrest M. Mims III

Traditional science required a skeptical view of one’s own findings until they could be replicated, especially by others. Unfortunately, skepticism has been deleted from the latest edition of “On Being a Scientist,” a widely-read booklet published by the National Academies of Science. When I asked the NAS about this unfortunate deletion, they explained there was insufficient space to include this fundamental aspect of doing science. Yet I counted nearly 10 pages of white space in the new edition.

Despite the NAS change, I’ll continue to view science, including mine, through a veil of skepticism. That’s why I am concerned about what has become of the global warming/climate change movement, which is rapidly assuming the status of a paradigm that is automatically assumed correct by many of those unfamiliar with the science.

Some of those who criticize skeptics like me seem unaware of the scandals and the political and religious-like motivations behind the climate change movement. They need to become familiar with the content of the Climategate emails and the use of non-peer-reviewed data and erroneous information about Himalayan glaciers in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. (Disclosure: I was an expert reviewer of the IPCC ‘s AR-5 Report.)

The IPCC scandals occurred under the leadership of former IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri, who acknowledged in his resignation letter that his “fight” against global warming is his “religion” and “dharma” (http://ift.tt/2rH5LFr). Pachauri had to resign after charges of sexual harassment of some of his staff.

Those who doubt political motivations are behind the global warming/climate change movement, including the Paris Agreement, should simply read what major political leaders have stated. Beginning at the top is Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and the subject of this United Nations media release (http://ift.tt/1zpDCCG):

“Figueres: First time the world economy is transformed intentionally“
Tuesday, 03 February 2015 18:34

“Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, warns that the fight against climate change is a process and that the necessary transformation of the world economy will not be decided at one conference or in one agreement.

“This is probably the most difficult task we have ever given ourselves, which is to intentionally transform the economic development model, for the first time in human history”, Ms Figueres stated at a press conference in Brussels.

“This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the industrial revolution.”

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June 22, 2017 at 03:01PM

New Study: Electric vehicles do little to reduce CO2 emissions; ‘Just a waste’

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Subsidizing the purchase of electric cars in Canada is an inefficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and it’s not cost-effective, according to a Montreal Economic Institute study released Thursday.

“It’s just a waste,” said Germain Belzile, one of the authors of the study, which examined electric vehicle subsidies offered by Canada’s two biggest provinces Ontario and Quebec, which can rise to as much as a third of a vehicle’s purchase price, depending on the model.

“Not only do these programs cost taxpayers a fortune, but they also have little effect on GHG emissions,” he said.

The government of Quebec has set a goal of having one million electric and hybrid vehicles on its roads by 2030, up from 6,000 currently. Ontario has the same objective.

On this basis, said Belzile, carbon emissions would fall by about 3.6 percent in Quebec and 2.4 percent in Ontario.

The two provinces have said they aim to reduce CO2 emissions by about 37 percent by 2030, from 1990 levels.

Quebec is offering rebates of up to Can$8,000 for the purchase of new electric or rechargeable hybrid cars—which are significantly more expensive than their gas-guzzling counterparts—while Ontario is offering to refund Can$14,000 of the purchase price.

The study estimates that these subsidies cost taxpayers Can$523 per tonne of GHG not emitted in Ontario and Can$288 in Quebec.

By comparison, a cap and trade system for big polluters in Quebec and the US state of California, which Ontario is due to join soon, costs a mere Can$18 per tonne.

In subsidizing electric vehicle purchases, Ontario and Quebec end up spending up to 29 times and 16 times, respectively, the carbon market price for each tonne of GHGs eliminated.

“Common sense, both economically and ecologically speaking, argues in favor of reducing these subsidies, and even eliminating them,” the study concludes.

Read more at Phys.org

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June 22, 2017 at 02:57PM

New efficient, low-temperature catalyst for hydrogen production

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Scientists have developed a new low-temperature catalyst for producing high-purity hydrogen gas while simultaneously using up carbon monoxide (CO). The discovery described in a paper set to publish online in the journal Science on Thursday, June 22, 2017-could improve the performance of fuel cells that run on hydrogen fuel but can be poisoned by CO. […]

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June 22, 2017 at 02:41PM

Electric vehicles inefficient way to reduce CO2 emissions: study

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Subsidizing the purchase of electric cars in Canada is an inefficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and it’s not cost-effective, according to a Montreal Economic Institute study released Thursday. “It’s just a waste,” said Germain Belzile, one of the authors of the study, which examined electric vehicle subsidies offered by Canada’s two biggest provinces […]

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June 22, 2017 at 02:27PM