From the Independent, warming causes cooling

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/why-buildup-of-fresh-water-in-arctic-could-spell-trouble-for-britain-2263654.html

From The Guardian
Doctors urged to take climate leadership role
Military and medical experts call on doctors to use their position of trust in society to build support for action on climate change

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/05/doctors-climate-change-leadership

"The authors of a letter to the BMJ urge doctors to use their position of trust in society to build support for action on climate change..."

I can see a certain amount of trust evaporating fast if the they adopt this approach - and I have a close family member who is a doctor!

I've just finished reading "Hutton's Arse - 3 billion years of extraordinary geology in Scotland's Northern Highlands" by Dr Malcolm Rider.

Highly recommended, including as it does a geologist's perspective on climate change.

Here's the book's accompanying website:

http://www.huttonsarse.com/index.php

Barry’s comment re George Monbiot “burning bridges” about nuclear power (here) was interesting. I was particularly taken by his criticisms of greens’ failing to provide sources, refuting data with anecdote, cherry picking sources, etc. Doesn’t he know that’s how greens usually operate?

Why is George doing this? Well, I think he genuinely believes that nuclear energy is the best solution to what he sees as the threat of man-made climate change. But I suspect he also thinks (correctly on my view) that, following Fukushima, anti-nuclear sentiment is gaining traction – look at this, developments in Germany and the growing campaign by the Green party and many Liberal Democrats. And he knows that, if nuclear power is abandoned, the only “solution” left is renewable energy. George is well aware that would be unpopular with the public and, in any case, would be a disaster for future energy supplies. And, if Government and the electorate were faced with that, a radical review of the so-called threat is probably inevitable. Methinks George would be anxious to avoid that.

matthu

"Usually in cold winters we observe that about 25% of the ozone disappears, but this winter was really a record - 40% of the column has disappeared," she said.

"This winter, while the Arctic was unusually warm at ground level, temperatures 15-20km above the Earth's surface plummeted and stayed low."

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I may be) but isn't this exactly where we would expect to detect global warming first?.

Yes. But low solar UV output has also caused the thermosphere to cool and contract. We have to be careful not to mis-attribute the cause of stratospheric cooling to radiative imbalance (CO2).

Arctic ozone levels in never-before-seen plunge ... thanks, AJC. I loved this,

"due to cold weather in the upper atmosphere" apparently. "It seems that we have some winters that get much colder than before and also the cold periods last longer, into the spring."

"The low temperatures were not that different from some other years, but extended much further into March and April - in fact it's still going on now," said Farahnaz Khosrawi, an ozone specialist at the Meteorological Institute at Stockholm University, Sweden.

Another, Dr Florence Goutail from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), put the 2010/11 winter in context.

"Usually in cold winters we observe that about 25% of the ozone disappears, but this winter was really a record - 40% of the column has disappeared," she said.

"This winter, while the Arctic was unusually warm at ground level, temperatures 15-20km above the Earth's surface plummeted and stayed low."

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I may be) but isn't this exactly where we would expect to detect global warming first?

Arctic ozone levels in never-before-seen plunge
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12969167

Oh I know about the climate change deniar bit at the end... Cognotive disonance at work
He has burnt a number of bridges inthe last couple of weeks, especially now going after Coldicutt

http://www.collide-a-scape.com/2011/04/05/monbiot-goes-nuclear/comment-page-1/#comment-56241

The Cif commentors think he has sold out to nuclear....(15 pages allready, 6 a few hours ago)

This one might sting a little… ie a number of comments that he’s sold out.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/discussion/comment-permalink/10248934

“How much did they pay you George?”

I would have more sympathy, but he’s Hon. President of the Campaign Against Climate Change, that has a deniar’s “Hall of Shame”, which would no doubt have me in it if I was more famous..

http://www.campaigncc.org/whoweare

http://www.campaigncc.org/hallofshame
(maybe he’ll have a bit more sympathy for Bjorn Lomborg, in his hall of shame, just for being sceptical of economic policy, not agw)

Now he can see first hand how some irrational environmentalists treat climate change (man made catastropihic version) sceptics. He is still using ‘climate change deniar ‘in his article (even though the Guardian was going to stop using ‘deniar’)

lest we forget sceptic alerts..
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2010/4/19/skeptic-alerts.html

bishop hill targeted:
http://www.realclimategate.org/2010/11/bishop-hill-targeted-sceptic-alerts/

The CaCC have now sceptic alerted hundreds of Bishop Hill blog posts, since last year ( I still get my daily sceptic alert)

sit back and watch them attack each other.

Poetic justice...

...a whole new use for recycling bins.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-12936103

Barry Woods
Re: George Monbiot burning bridges
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/05/anti-nuclear-lobby-misled-world

Thanks - very interesting article which I thoroughly recommend to anyone else.
But perhaps not quite burning bridges?

Failing to provide sources, refuting data with anecdote, cherry-picking studies, scorning the scientific consensus, invoking a cover-up to explain it: all this is horribly familiar. These are the habits of climate-change deniers, against which the green movement has struggled valiantly, calling science to its aid. It is distressing to discover that when the facts don't suit them, members of this movement resort to the follies they have denounced.