Mathturbation

There seems to be a rash of trying to explain global warming by theories that either ignore, or flatly contradict, the science called “physics.”

While We Fiddle …

A Montana state congressman wants to legislate scientific truth about global warming. The so-called “journal” Energy & Environment tries to intimidate RealClimate with the threat of a libel action. Judith Curry flirts with becoming the “Sarah Palin of climate science.” And some scientists not of the climate variety, in regard to scientists of the climate variety, seem willing to read their personal email but not their scientific research. Madness …

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Fooled Yet Again

In the previous post I discussed the refutation of LeMouel et al. (and a companion paper) by Legras et al. Now it seems that LeMouel et al. have responded to their critics (which is actually part of the discussion, not a published peer-reviewed response).

Fooled Again

A recent post on RealClimate discusses how easy it is to get fooled when analyzing data. It focuses on two recent papers, which critique other papers that go astray in assessing the relationship between solar activity and climate. I’d like to discuss one of those critiques, Legras et al. 2010, A critical look at solar-climate relationships from long temperature series (Climate of the Past, 6, 745-758, doi:10.5194/cp-6-745-2010).

My Hero(ine)

ClimateSight has a post about “Extinction and Climate.” Read it — it’s one of the most important global warming posts I’ve ever seen.

The author of that blog is Kate, a young woman (18 or 19 years old I think) who is an undergraduate studying climate science. And she’s one of the best writers on the subject around. She combines genuine knowledge, perspective, and a cool head to get right to the point.

Sometimes the utter stupidity of our politicians drives me to the brink of despair. Then I remember we’ve got Kate on our side. It gives me hope.

The Champion

When it comes to global warming, who’s the worst politician out there? Not long ago, I’d have had a ready answer. But now, I’m not so sure.

Open Thread

Another open thread.

Also, if you haven’t read this, check it out. It’s funny, and hits the nail on the head.

After you’ve finished laughing at that, prepare to be sickened by this.

Maybe we’re getting through … ?

WUWT has posted a slideshow by David Archibald (here as a pdf). It’s pretty dreadful.

Ridge Regression

Since the subject of “ridge regression” came up in discussions on RealClimate recently, I thought I’d give a very brief description of what the heck it is.

I tried to keep the math to a minimum, but I failed. There’s no getting around that fact that this is a mathematical topic so there’s lots of math anyway. But it’s still only a peek at the subject — I hope that it at least gives a little perspective on what ridge regression is and why it’s used. Oh well, at least the “rigor police” have been banished.

Bullseye

In the wake of the misrepresentation of the views of Gavin Schmidt, regarding his decision not to attend the so-called “reconciliation” conference, I’m impressed by a comment by Chris Colose at Judith Curry’s blog. It pretty much sums up the present situation of the “debate” and of the so-called “skeptic” approach.