Dr. James Hansen: Global Surface Temperature Change (Summary)
Communication of the status of global warming to the public has always been hampered by weather variability. Lay people’s perception tends to be strongly influenced by the latest local fluctuation. This difficulty can be alleviated by stressing the need to focus on the frequency and magnitude of warm and cold anomalies, which change noticeably on decadal time scales as global warming increases.
A greater obstacle to public communication has arisen with the politicization of reporting of global warming, a perhaps inevitable consequence of the economic and social implications of efforts required to alter the course of human-made climate change. We have the impression that the effect of politicization on communication of the science is aggravated by the fact that much of the media is owned by or strongly influenced by special economic interests.
Dr. James Hansen expects a new global temperature record to be set within the next few months
A must-read paper from James Hansen at NASA: “We conclude that global temperature continued to rise rapidly in the past decade” and “that there has been no reduction in the global warming trend of 0.15-0.20°C/decade that began in the late 1970s.”
Orbiting Carbon Observatory Launch Failure
Nasa’s first dedicated mission to measure carbon dioxide from space failed early this morning following a rocket malfunction. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) was intended to help pinpoint the key locations on our planet’s surface where CO2 is being emitted and absorbed.
