American Loon #2022: Patricia Moore-King

A.k.a. Psychic Sophie Patricia Moore-King is one of many people making a living out of charging gullible people money in return for Tarot card readings, for psychic and clairvoyant readings, and for answering strangers’ personal questions in person, over the phone, or by email. Her answers and...

Read the full lunacy: #2022: Patricia Moore-King Encyclopedia of American Loons

This is what happens, if you treat cancer with homeopathy

I am not a regular reader of the ‘HALTERNER ZEITUNG’, I have to admit; but this article from the paper came to me because of my interest in homeopathy. It tells a tragic story of a German women who paid dearly for consulting a homeopath. Here is an excerpt – as it is in German, […]

Read the rest here: This is what happens, if you treat cancer with homeopathy

Aluminum in vaccines – new paper dismisses anti-vaxxer claims

Trying to have a reasonable discussion with the anti-vaccine religion is usually very difficult. To these militants, scientific evidence is unimportant – well, unless it’s a cherry-picked article from an obscure, predatory journal that has been retracted. Part of the problem is the moving goalposts of the anti-vaccine arguments. First, it was mercury (no mercury in vaccines). Today, the argument is that aluminum in vaccines is dangerous. What next, the water in vaccines causes something because of reasons? >>> Aluminum in vaccines – new paper dismisses anti-vaxxer claims

The SUNDAY TIMES just broke my BS-meter

“This utter hokum is symptomatic of the crass stupidity of the vacuous classes before the lumpen mob rebelled and chopped off their useless heads. Where, oh where, is our mob?” No, I am not calling for a British re-run of the French revolution. This is a comment that made me chuckle. I found it under […]

Read the rest here: The SUNDAY TIMES just broke my BS-meter

Here’s What Oncologists Won’t Tell You About Essential Oils

The Internet is full of complete nonsense about alternative medicine, as we all know. Much of it could be funny – if it was not so extremely dangerous. Misinformation on health can (and I am afraid does) kill people. One of the worst BS I have seen for a long time is this article entitled ‘Here’s […]

Read the rest here: Here’s What Oncologists Won’t Tell You About Essential Oils

American Loon #2021: Kaitlyn Moore

Kaitlyn Moore is an abysmally delusional conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine crank, whose post are published on the NaturalNews website, no less. There really is no particular need to continue to explain why she deserves an entry beyond that observation, but if you really want to sample...

Read the full lunacy: #2021: Kaitlyn Moore Encyclopedia of American Loons

Homeopathy: progress at last!!!

I have often mocked the lack of progress in homeopathy. Essentially, it has hardly moved an inch since Hahnemann first dreamt it up 200 years ago. But now, there has been a breakthrough! Progress at last!!! It has been reported that Dr. William Edwin Gray III is selling homeopathic ‘sound files’ that can cure a […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathy: progress at last!!!

Seven thinks you might want to know about ‘CEASE’ therapy (as practised by homeopaths and naturopaths)

Canadian naturopaths are reported to be under investigation for practising and promoting ‘CEASE’. It might be worth therefore, to explain what this treatment amounts to. The name ‘CEASE’ is the abbreviation of Complete Elimination of Autistic Spectrum Expression. Here are 7 points that are, I think, relevant: CEASE therapy was developed by Dr Tinus Smits […]

Read the rest here: Seven thinks you might want to know about ‘CEASE’ therapy (as practised by homeopaths and naturopaths)

American Loon #2020: E. Ray Moore

E. Ray Moore is a solidly Taliban-style fundamentalist, theocrat and political activist (staff member for Pat Robertson’s ;campaigns in the 1980s, for instance) – in 2014 he even ran for governor of South Carolina. He is currently President of Frontline Ministries, Inc. and Director of the...

Read the full lunacy: #2020: E. Ray Moore Encyclopedia of American Loons

Acupuncture for acute stroke? Perhaps better not!

My previous post praised the validity and trustworthiness of Cochrane reviews. This post continues in the same line. Like osteoarthritis, acute stroke has been a condition for which acupuncture-fans prided themselves of being able to produce fairly good evidence. A Cochrane review of 2005, however, was inconclusive and concluded that the number of patients is […]

Read the rest here: Acupuncture for acute stroke? Perhaps better not!

American Loon #2019: Gene Moody

Yes, there are people who follow advice on exorcising demons from Youtube clips presented by that guy. A deliverance ministry is a fundamentalist organization that tries to cure peoples’ ills by casting out demons. More colorful and nefarious than, but otherwise essentially similar to, faith...

Read the full lunacy: #2019: Gene oody Encyclopedia of American Loons

Acupuncture: a beautiful theory slain by an ugly fact

I have said it often, and I say it again: I do like well-conducted systematic reviews; and Cochrane reviews are usually the best, i. e. most transparent, most thorough and least biased. Thus, I was pleased to see a new Cochrane review of acupuncture aimed at assessing the benefits and harms of acupuncture in patients with […]

Read the rest here: Acupuncture: a beautiful theory slain by an ugly fact

Homeopathic Prevention and Management of Epidemic Diseases

Remember when an international delegation of homeopaths travelled to Liberia to cure Ebola? Virologists and other experts thought at the time that this was pure madness. But, from the perspective of dedicated homeopaths who have gone through ‘proper’ homeopathic ‘education’ and have the misfortune to believe all the nonsense they have been told, this is […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathic Prevention and Management of Epidemic Diseases

Exeter University offers bogus treatments, but is ‘not in a position to actively condone the effectiveness of such treatments’

Once upon a time, the University of Exeter prided itself of having the ‘1st chair in complementary medicine’ in the country. That was in 1993, when I was appointed to that position. I then recruited a team of motivated researchers, and we soon managed to become the world’s leading research group in our field. Together, […]

Read the rest here: Exeter University offers bogus treatments, but is ‘not in a position to actively condone the effectiveness of such treatments’

American Loon #2017: Jeff Monroe et al.

Jeffrey “Jeff” Rodrick Monroe has been representing District 24 in the South Dakota Senate since 2013, and previously in the South Dakota Legislature between 1995 and 2003. It is worth mentioning that Monroe is a chiropractor whose education is from the Northwestern College of Chiropractic –...

Read the full lunacy: #2017: Jeff Monroe et al. Encyclopedia of American Loons

New back pain study: “support for the inclusion of chiropractic care as a component of multidisciplinary health care for low back pain”

Many of you will know that JAMA is one of the most respected medical journals. It is therefore surprising that, within the period of a few days, they published not one but two dodgy RCTs of alternative treatments. The new trial was aimed at determining whether the addition of chiropractic care to usual medical care […]

Read the rest here: New back pain study: “support for the inclusion of chiropractic care as a component of multidisciplinary health care for low back pain”

More about homeopathy in Switzerland: “Globuli only cause unnecessary healthcare costs”

Switzerland seems to be something like the ‘promised land’ for homeopaths – at least this is what many homeopaths seem think. However, homeopaths’ thinking is rarely correct, and the situation of homeopathy in Switzerland is not quite what they believe it to be. This article explains (my English explanations are below for all those you cannot […]

Read the rest here: More about homeopathy in Switzerland: “Globuli only cause unnecessary healthcare costs”

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #20

Story of the Week... El Niño/La Niña Update... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... Climate Feedback Reviews... SkS Week in Review... 97 Hours of Consensus...

Story of the Week...

Water shortages to be key environmental challenge of the century, Nasa warns

Freshwater supplies have already seriously declined in 19 global hotspots – from China to the Caspian Sea – due to overuse, groundbreaking study shows

The Theewaterskloof Dam, a key source of water supply to Cape Town, South Africa ahead of the current water crisis. Photograph: Halden Krog/AP

Water shortages are likely to be the key environmental challenge of this century, scientists from Nasa have warned, as new data has revealed a drying-out of swaths of the globe between the tropics and the high latitudes, with 19 hotspots where water depletion has been dramatic.

Areas in northern and eastern India, the Middle East, California and Australia are among the hotspots where overuse of water resources has caused a serious decline in the availability of freshwater that is already causing problems. Without strong action by governments to preserve water the situation in these areas is likely to worsen.

Some of these hotspots were previously undocumented or poorly understood: a region in north-western China, in Xinjiang province, has suffered dramatic declines despite receiving normal amounts of rainfall, owing to groundwater depletion from industry and irrigation.

Water shortages to be key environmental challenge of the century, Nasa warns by Fiona Harvey, Environment, Guardian, May 16, 2018 

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El Niño/La Niña Update...

The La Niña event that overtook the tropical Pacific this past winter is officially over, according to the latest update from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. La Niña’s signature of heavier-than-usual rainfall in the western part of the basin has tapered off, and the cool surface waters in the central part of the basin are dissipating.

Adios, La Niña by Rebecca Lindsey, NOAA's Climate.gov, May 11, 2018

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Toon of the Week...

 

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Quote of the Week...

The complexity of climate science may always be at odds with the simplicity that's key to inspiring action.

Remember the hole in the ozone layer? It was more of a thin spot, but in the 1980s, that dramatic term may have helped spur a global movement to reduce certain pollutants staved off disaster.

It's too late to prevent anthropogenic climate change, or unnatural climate change, or global warming — call it what you will. But it isn't too late to slow the warming, and perhaps even reverse it. If only someone could sell the idea.

Inspiring Terms Are Simple. ‘Climate Change’ Isn’t., Opinion by Faye Flam, Bloomberg News, May 11, 2018 

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Graphic of the Week...

 

 

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• Yes, EVs are green and global warming is causing sea level rise (Dana)
• Climate change is already making droughts worse (Benjamin Cook)
• Global warming, hurricanes, and rain (John Abraham)
• Climate science websites around the world (Baerbel)
• New research this week (Ari)
• 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #21 (John Hartz)
• 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #21 (John Hartz)

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Poster of the Week...

 

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Climate Feedback Reviews... 

Wall Street Journal commentary grossly misleads readers about science of sea level rise

Climate Feedback asked its network of scientists to review the article, The Sea Is Rising, but Not Because of Climate Change, Opinion by Fred Singer, The Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2018.

Five scientists analyzed the article and estimate its overall scientific credibility to be 'very low'.

A majority of reviewers tagged the article as Biased, Flawed reasoning, Inaccurate, and Misleading

Review Summary

This commentary published by The Wall Street Journal, written by Fred Singer, claims that warming (and therefore greenhouse gas emissions) has no effect on global sea level rise. Although Singer concedes the physical fact that water expands as its temperature increases, he claims that this process must be offset by growth of Antarctic ice sheets.

Scientists who reviewed this opinion piece explained that it is contradicted by a wealth of data and research. Singer bases his conclusion entirely on a cherry-picked comparison of sea level rise 1915-1945 and a single study published in 1990, claiming a lack of accelerating sea level rise despite continued warming. But in fact, modern research utilizing all available data clearly indicates that sea level rise has accelerated, and is unambiguously the result of human-caused global warming.

Since the 1990s for example, satellites have measured an acceleration in the rate of global sea level rise:

 

 

Figure – Global mean sea level (blue), after removing an estimate for the impacts of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo (red), and after also removing the influence of El Niño (green), fit with a quadratic (black). From Nerem et al. (2018)  

Wall Street Journal commentary grossly misleads readers about science of sea level rise, Edited by Emmanuel M Vincent, Climate Feedback, May 18, 2018 

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SkS Week in Review... 

• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #20 by John Hartz
• New research, May 7-13, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki
• Global solar capacity grew faster than fossil fuels in 2017, says report by Simon Evans (Carbon Brief)
• Video: The Myth of the Mini Ice Age by greenman3610 (Climate Denial Crock of the Week)
• SkS Analogy 12 - A Sinking ship reaches new heights by Evan & jg
• California, battered by global warming’s weather whiplash, is fighting to stop it by Dana Nuccitelli (Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #19 by John Hartz

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97 Hours of Consensus...

 

 

Greg Holland's bio page.

Quote derived from:

"I think we definitely need to actually change our habits so that we can leave our children and our children's children with a better world to live in. But in the meantime, over the rest of my lifetime and indeed the rest of your lifetime and many other people, we are going to have to adapt, we're going to have to accept that it's not gonna be six days per summer of extreme temperatures, it may be 20 days per summer of extreme temperatures and we have to take the appropriate actions to actually live with those conditions. 
...the overwhelming consensus is that the globe is warming. The overwhelming consensus is that this is making changes to severe weather and rare events, be it heavy rainfall, droughts, tropical cyclones or whatever." 

High resolution JPEG (1024 pixels wide)

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American Loon #2016: Matt Monarch

Matt Monarch is a raw food vegan activist who thinks that cooking food kills it and poisons you (cooked foods are “dead,” having had their “vital force” and nutrients sucked out of them), while eating only raw vegetables, fruit, grain, and plant matter is the secret to health. He...

Read the full lunacy: #2016: Matt Monarch Encyclopedia of American Loons

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #20

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week.

Editor's Pick

Urgent Climate Action Required to Protect Tens of Thousands of Species Worldwide, New Research Shows

Limiting global warming to 2 degrees and not the more ambitious 1.5 degrees would put far more species at risk of extinction. Insects are especially vulnerable.

A mere half degree of extra global warming could mean profound risks for tens of thousands of the planet's species, scientists have found. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Humanity can powerfully improve the survival odds of tens of thousands of species, but only if nations dramatically raise their ambitions in the fight against climate change, according to new research published on Thursday in the journal Science.

One key to salvaging plant and vertebrate habitat and protecting the world's biodiversity is to limit warming to the most challenging benchmark established under the 2015 Paris treaty—1.5 degrees Celsius of warming—not to the treaty's less stringent 2 degree guardrail, the study found.

The study assessed, in more detail than ever before, a key measure of extinction risk: the shrinking size of each species' current geographical range, or natural habitat. It projected that for an alarming number of species, their range size would shrink by at least half as temperatures rise past the Paris goals.

If nations do no more than they have pledged so far to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions—and warming consequently shoots past 3 degrees by the end of this century—6 percent of all vertebrates would be at risk. So would 44 percent of plants and a whopping 49 percent of insects.

But the dangers would be greatly reduced if warming can be limited to 1.5 degrees. That might protect the overwhelming majority of the 115,000 species assessed by the researchers. Just 4 percent of vertebrates would lose more than half of their current range. Only 8 percent of plants and 6 percent of insects would face that risk.

Keeping warming to 2 degrees is not nearly as effective, they found. The additional half degree of warming would double the impact on plants and vertebrate species, and triple the impact on insects.

Urgent Climate Action Required to Protect Tens of Thousands of Species Worldwide, New Research Shows by John H Cushman Jr & Neela Banerjee, InsideClimate News, May 17, 2018

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun May 13, 2018

• New research, Apr 30 - May 7, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, May 11, 2018
• UAE's fish at risk from hotter seas caused by global warming Daniel Bardsley, The National (UAE), May 12, 2018
• Inspiring Terms Are Simple. ‘Climate Change’ Isn’t., Opinion by Faye Flam, Bloomberg News, May 11, 2018
• A radical way to cut emissions – ration everyone’s flights, Opinion by Sonia Sodha, Opinion is Free, Guardian, May 9, 2018
• Why George Pell dined with under-fire EPA's Scott Pruitt in secret by Rachel Olding, National, Sydney Morning Herald, May 12, 2018
• 'From coal to clean' – UK does not need to turn to gas, says WWF by Adam Vaughan, Business, Guardian, May 13, 2018
• In a First, California Requires Solar Panels for New Homes. Will Other States Follow? by Dan Gearino, InsideClimate News, May 10, 2018
• New technology could slash carbon emissions from aluminium production by Fiona Harvey, Environment, Guardian, May 10, 2018

Mon May 14, 2018

• Christians, Jews, and Muslims Unite to Call for Climate Action by Eliana Rudee, Breaking Israeli News, May 13, 2018
• Logjam for Paris climate "rule book" as end-2018 deadline looms by Alister Doyle, Reuters, May 10, 2018
• Solar and wind could ease Australia's water shortage by Cole Latimer, Business, Sydney Morning Herald, May 13, 2018
• Climate change could be intensifying dust storms in India, experts say by Mayank Aggarwal, Mongabay, May 14, 2018
• Climate change is already making droughts worse, Guest Post by Benjamin Cook, Carbon Brief, May 14, 2018
• Insurance turns to coral reefs and mangroves as ocean risks surge by Emma Farge, Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 14, 2018
• California, battered by global warming’s weather whiplash, is fighting to stop it by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian, May 14, 2018
• In the Arctic, the Old Ice Is Disappearing by Jeremy White & Kendra Pierre-Louis, Climate, New York Times, May 14, 2018

Tue May 15, 2018

• Bonn Climate Talks Yield Some — But Not Enough — Progress Putting the Paris Agreement Fully Into Motion by Paula Caballero, David Waskow, Yamide Dagnet, Eliza Northrop & Joe Thwaites, World Resources Instittue (WRI), May 11, 2018
• Linguistic analysis shows oil companies are giving up on climate change by Nikhil Sonnad, Quartz, May 14, 2018
• 11 ways the Paris climate deal is working in the real world by Soila Apparicio, Megan Darby and Karl Mathiesen, Climate Home, May 14, 2018
• Business Insider highlights health impacts of climate change, but some aspects are misleading by Scott Johnson, Climate Feedback, May 15, 2018
• SkS Analogy 12 - A Sinking ship reaches new heights by Evan & jg, Skeptical Scince, May 15, 2018
• How Solar Panels on a Church Rooftop Broke the Law in N.C. by Dan Gearino, InsideClimate News, May 14, 2018
• Arctic oil 'undrillable' amid global warming: U.N.'s ex-climate chief by Alister Doyle, Energy & Environment, Reuters, May 15, 2018
• Almost half of Australian big business moving to renewables by Ben Smee, Environment, Guardian, May 14, 2018

Wed May 16, 2018

• These Are the Countries That Will Have the Worst Temperature Swings in the Future by Greta Jochem, Climate Desk/Mother Jones, May 13, 2018
• Shell Documents Back Up Plaintiff Claims in Rhode Island Climate Suit by Karen Savage, Climate Liability News, May 15, 2018
• Toxic Algae Blooms Occurring More Often, May Be Caught in Climate Change Feedback Loop by Georgina Gutin, InsideClimate News, May 15, 2018
• 'Adapting to uncertainty' needed in face of climate shocks - experts by Zoe Tabary, Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 15, 2018
• Wind power overtakes nuclear for first time in UK across a quarter by Adam Vaughan, Environment, Guardian, May 16, 2018
• ‘Impossible to Ignore’: Why Alaska Is Crafting a Plan to Fight Climate Change by Brad Plumer, Climate, New York Times, May 15, 2018
• Climate Change Is Conspicuously Absent From College Textbooks by Marlene Cimons, Nexus Media News, May 15, 2018
• Most Americans say climate change affects their local community, including two-thirds living near coast by Brian Kennedy, Fact Tank, Pew Research Center, May 16, 2018 

Thu May 17, 2018

• I’m an environmental journalist, but I never write about overpopulation. Here’s why. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 14, 2018
• The World Wants Air-Conditioning. That Could Warm the World. by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Climate, New York Times, May 15, 2018
• Trump Administration Brief Opposes California Climate Suits by Karen Savage, Climate Liability News, May 15, 2018
• Water shortages to be key environmental challenge of the century, Nasa warns by Fiona Harvey, Environment, Guardian, May 16, 2018
• U.S. insurers unprepared for climate change disasters - study by Sebastien Malo, Climate, Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 15, 2018
• Pruitt’s Own Scientist Appointees Challenge EPA Science Restrictions by Marianne Lavalle, InsideClimate News, May 17, 2018
• Earth just had its 400th straight warmer-than-average month thanks to global warming by Doyle Rice, USA Today, May 17, 2018
• Shell Documents Back Up Plaintiff Claims in Rhode Island Climate Suit by Karen Savage, Climate Liability News, May 15, 2018

Fri May 18, 2018

• Climate change on track to cause major insect wipeout, scientists warn by Damian Carrington, Environment, Guardian, May 17, 2018
• California will require solar panels on all new homes. That’s not necessarily a good thing. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 15, 2018
• Mysterious rise in emissions of ozone-damaging chemical by Matt McGrath, Science & Environment, BBC News, May 16, 2018
• Republican lawmaker: Rocks tumbling into ocean causing sea level rise by Scott Waldman, E&E News/Science, May 17, 2018
• Trump’s NASA Chief: 'I Fully Believe and Know the Climate Is Changing' by Marina Koren, Science, The Atlantic, May 17, 2018
• ‘A profound crisis’: Sea-level rise and the remaking of the world by Charlie Mitchell, Environment, stuff.co.nz, May 13, 2018
• Senate report: climate change is a clear and present danger to Australia’s security by Matt MacDonald, The Conversation AU, May 18, 2018
• The Energy 202: Why climate scientists want to be thought of as the real 'climate skeptics' by Dino Grandoni, PowerPost, Washington Post, May 15, 2018

Sat May 19, 2018

• UK onshore wind energy potential could ‘rise by 10%’ with 1.5C warming by Jocelyn Timperely, Carbon Brief, May 17, 2018
• Here’s Why Seas Are Rising. Somebody Remind the Wall Street Journal., Guest Commentary by Scott Denning, Union of Concerned Scientists, May 18, 2018
• Will Climate Change Cause More Migrants than Wars? by Daniel Gutman, InterPress Service (IPS), May 17, 2018
• Here’s how big a rock you’d have to drop into the ocean to see the rise in sea level happening now, Analysis by Philip Bump, Politics, Washington Post, May 17, 2018
• Climate change is a security threat – so where is the UN Security Council? by Ashley Murphy, The Conversation UK, May 15, 2018
• Urgent Climate Action Required to Protect Tens of Thousands of Species Worldwide, New Research Shows by John H Cushman Jr & Neela Banerjee, InsideClimate News, May 17, 2018

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‘SCAM charities’ = charities promoting so-called alternative medicine

Many charities in the UK (and most other countries) openly promote bogus treatments. After having been reminded of this fact regularly, the UK Charity Commission have decided to look into this issue. Arguably, such charities – I have previously discussed ‘YES TO LIFE’  as an example (in total there are several hundred ‘SCAM charities’ operating […]

Read the rest here: ‘SCAM charities’ = charities promoting so-called alternative medicine

American Loon #2015: Tom Monaghan

Often counted among the American Taliban’s greatest success stories, Tom Monaghan is the founder of Dominos Pizza, dominionist and currently owner of the Ave Maria Foundation, the Ave Maria University (garbage) and an area of land in Florida called, well, Ave Maria. Monaghan is, as you may...

Read the full lunacy: #2015: Tom Monaghan Encyclopedia of American Loons

Does acupuncture increase birth rates after IVF? No, of course not! But telling a few porkies might help all the same

Does acupuncture increase birth rates after IVF? You might be correct when pointing out that this is a rhetorical question. Why should acupuncture increase the live birth rates after in vitro fertilization (IVF)? Because it re-balances yin and yang? Give me a break!!! Yet acupuncture is widely used by women undergoing IVF, and therefore, we perhaps […]

Read the rest here: Does acupuncture increase birth rates after IVF? No, of course not! But telling a few porkies might help all the same

Complaints about chiropractors (and osteopaths as well as physiotherapists) – are they really that rare?

Systematic research on complaints about chiropractors, osteopaths, and physiotherapists is rare. We have often heard chiropractors claim that complaints against them are extremely rare events. But is this true? Two recent investigations might go some way towards answering this question. The aim of the first investigation was to understand differences in the frequency and nature […]

Read the rest here: Complaints about chiropractors (and osteopaths as well as physiotherapists) – are they really that rare?

Osteopathy is “effective for reducing anxiety” (presumably the anxiety of the osteopaths and thier bank-managers)

THE CONVERSATION recently carried an article shamelessly promoting osteopathy. It seems to originate from the University of Swansea, UK, and is full of bizarre notions. Here is an excerpt: To find out more about how osteopathy could potentially affect mental health, at our university health and well-being academy, we have recently conducted one of the […]

Read the rest here: Osteopathy is “effective for reducing anxiety” (presumably the anxiety of the osteopaths and thier bank-managers)

American Loon #2014: Roberto Miranda

More religious extremist fanaticism. Roberto Miranda is the pastor of Congregación León de Judá, ostensibly one of the biggest churches in Boston. Miranda is best known for claiming that Satan is behind marriage equality and for directly tying the promotion of gay rights to 9/11. “Satan has...

Read the full lunacy: #2014: Roberto Miranda Encyclopedia of American Loons

HOMEOPATHY: When the great Vithoulkas publishes his findings, we should listen – or shouldn’t we?

One thing one cannot say about George Vithoulkas, the ueber-guru of homeopathy, is that he is not as good as his word. Last year, he announced that he would focus on publishing case reports that would convince us all that homeopathy is effective: …the only evidence that homeopathy can present to the scientific world at […]

Read the rest here: HOMEOPATHY: When the great Vithoulkas publishes his findings, we should listen – or shouldn’t we?

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #19

Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Graphic of the Week... SkS in the News... SkS Spotlights... Video of the Week...  Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... 97 Hours of Consensus...

Story of the Week...

2016 Arctic heat would have been virtually impossible without global warming

 

 

In the fall of 2016, the Arctic experienced heat that was so extreme that one expert called it a black swan event. That warmth helped set a new annual temperature record that was double the magnitude of the record set the year before. New NOAA-led research confirms that the event could not have happened without human-caused global warming and sea ice loss.

These maps compare the observed differences from average temperature in 2016 (left) to two computer simulations of 2016 (right). The top right map shows results from models that included only natural climate influences, using estimated conditions from the late nineteenth century. The bottom right map shows results from models in which things like  greenhouse gases, sea surface temperatures, and sea ice were allowed to change as they have in the real world due to human activities.

None of the simulations using only natural climate influences were able to reproduce the extreme warmth that overtook the Arctic in 2016. Instead, those models projected that there would have been some areas that were cool and some that were warm, but not extremely so. Only the simulations that mirrored human-caused changes in greenhouse gases and the resulting sea ice loss were able to generate a realistic picture of the extreme heat. The most realistic simulations were generated by models in which sea ice was not only allowed to shrink in area, but also to thin—just as it has in the real world.

The scientists concluded that there was virtually zero chance that such an extreme heat event would have occurred without human influence on the climate. But they also concluded that its severity—exactly how far above average the temperatures were— was partially due to natural variability, including the influence of the strong 2015-16 El Niño event in the tropics.

This overlap of the impacts of human-caused climate change and natural variability is a common theme for many types of extreme weather events from high-tide flooding to heavy downpours. Events like the extreme warmth in the Arctic in 2016 are an early preview of what “normal” may look like within as little as a decade if greenhouse gas emissions continue their rapid rise.

References:

Sun, L., Allured, D., Hoerling, M., Smith, L., Perlwitz, J., Murray, D., & Eischeid, J. (2018). Drivers of 2016 record Arctic warmth assessed using climate simulations subjected to Factual and Counterfactual forcing. Weather and Climate Extremes, 19, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2017.11.001 

2016 Arctic heat would have been virtually impossible without global warming by Rebecca Lindsey, NOAA's Climate.gov, May 7, 2018

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Toon of the Week...

 

Hat tip to Stop Climate Science Denial.

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Graphic of the Week...

 

2018 Arctic temperatures (red line) compared with other years back to 1958. (Danish Meteorological Institute data adapted by Zachary Labe)

Another extreme heat wave strikes the North Pole by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, May 7, 2018

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SkS in the News...

The Climate Denier Roundup article, Free Speech on Campus Under Attack...By the Koch Bros, posted on the Daily Kos includes the following:

Case in point: the AP last week reported that newly released documents from 2003 to 2011 revealed that the Kochs had influence over the hiring process for their Mercatus center at George Mason University. Considering the Kochs had funded the center to the tune of nearly $50 million, this should be more of a confirmation of suspicions than startling revelation. (To be perfectly clear, the Mercatus Center is somewhat independent of George Mason itself, which employs great folks like climate communications researcher Ed Maibach and Dr. 97% himself, John Cook.) 

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SkS Spotlights...

Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate (PAOC)

PAOC oversees a broad program of education and research in atmospheric, oceanic, and climate sciences. We are engaged in some of the most intellectually challenging and important problems in science, such as the physics of hurricanes, and the dynamics of ice ages. PAOC is part of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT and includes members from other MIT departments and from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 

The phenomena under study involve a large array of scientific disciplines - geophysics, geochemistry, physical and chemical oceanography, meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, and planetary science. The program carries out research and gives instruction in all of these principal areas. Perhaps more than any other program in the world, PAOC offers its students unique opportunities for interdisciplinary study and research. In all areas we emphasize a combination of theoretical, observational and modeling approaches.

Students and researchers come from all over the world attracted not only by our programs but also the city of Cambridge and its environs which contain many institutions active in atmospheric and oceanographic research; Harvard University, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Boston Office of the National Weather Service, as well as many private companies.

Contact with all of these institutions is maintained through seminars and symposia. Moreover students can formally take subjects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Harvard University. The research and educational programs of PAOC also benefit from the larger intellectual milieu provided by MIT with its strengths in science and engineering. In research there are no departmental boundaries and we collaborate freely across discipline. PAOC is also involved in undergraduate education within the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences.  

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• California, battered by global warming's weather whiplash, is fighting to stop it (Dana)
• SkS Analogy 12 - A sinking ship reaches new heights (Evan Whitby)
• Global warming, hurricanes, and rain (John Abraham)
• Global solar capacity grew faster than fossil fuels in 2017, says report (Simon Evans)
• New research this week (Ari)
• 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #20 (John Hartz) 
• 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Waming Digest #20 (John Hartz)

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Poster of the Week...

 

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SkS Week in Review... 

• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #19 by John Hartz
• New research, April 30 - May 6, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki
• Analysis: How much ‘carbon budget’ is left to limit global warming to 1.5C? by Zeke Hausfather (Carbon Brief)
• Global warming is melting Antarctic ice from below by John Abraham (Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian)
• The 1970s Global Cooling Zombie Myth and the Tricks Some People Use to Keep it Alive, Part II by David Kirtley 
• Global warming will depress economic growth in Trump country by Dana Nuccitelli (Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian) 
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #18 by John Hartz

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97 Hours of Consensus...

 

 

Alan Robock's bio page and quote source.

High resolution JPEG (1024 pixels wide)

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Encyclopedia of American Loons: #2013: Tom Minnery

Tom Minnery is president emeritus of CitizenLink and the vice president of public policy at Focus on the Family, a fundamentalist institution devoted to homophobia, gun policy, wingnuttery, science denialism and supporting corporal punishment for unruly children... Encyclopedia of American Loons: #2013: Tom Minnery

Kombucha: hype, harm and humbug

Few alternative fads have survived as long as the current Kombucha boom. Since decades, it is being hyped as the best thing since sliced bread. Consequently, it has become popular and is now being promoted as a veritable panacea, allegedly curing asthma, cataracts, diabetes, diarrhoea, gout, herpes, insomnia and rheumatism and purported to shrink the […]

Read the rest here: Kombucha: hype, harm and humbug

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #19

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week.

Editor's Pick

Methane, Climate Change, and Our Uncertain Future

Methane is generally considered secondary to carbon dioxide in its importance to climate change, but what role might methane play in the future if global temperatures continue to rise?

 

Flooded permafrost tundra in northeast Siberia. Hydrology is a key control on methane emissions in wetland and permafrost ecosystems. Credit: Joshua Dean 

The greenhouse gas, methane, is produced by both natural processes and human activities. While there has been much attention paid to curbing anthropogenic emissions, a changing climate will likely increase the production of natural methane. In an open access article recently published in Reviews of Geophysics, Dean et al. [2018] describe the ways in which biological, geochemical, and physical systems influence methane concentrations and explore how methane levels in natural systems may alter in a warming climate. Here the authors answer some questions about the sources and significance of methane, and indicate some future research directions. 

Methane, Climate Change, and Our Uncertain Future by Joshua Dean, Editors' Vox, Eos, May 11, 2018

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun May 6, 2018

• One-sided dialogue as rich countries sit out talks on climate loss by Soila Apparicio, Climate Home, May 4, 2018
• Climate change: Scientists predict significant changes in monsoon rainfall by Syed Akbar, TNN/Times of India, May 5, 2018
• On Climate Change, a Disconnect Between Attitudes and Behavior by Tom Jacobs, Pacific Standard, May 4, 2018
• Pruitt's EPA Is on the Verge of 'Regulatory Capture', Study Says by Neela Banerjee, InsideClimate News, May 1, 2018
• Science can't solve climate change — better politics can, former IPCC scientist says by Anna Salleh, Science, ABC Radio News (Australia), May 1, 2018
• Green Climate Fund may ask donors for a refill in 2019 - director by Megan Rowling, Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 3, 2018
• Are we ready for an epidemic this summer?, Opinion by Ronald A Klain, Washington Post, May 4, 2018

Mon May 7, 2018

• The Carbon Brief Profile: Turkey by Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, May 5, 2018
• Making cities more dense always sparks resistance. Here’s how to overcome it. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 5, 2018
• EPA’s climate change website went down a year ago for ‘updating.’ It’s still not back. by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 4, 2018
• The B.C. pipeline project you've never heard of — and why it may succeed by Mike Laanela, CBC News, May 5, 2018
• Lyme-carrying ticks and other dangerous pests are creeping into Utah, thanks to climate change by Emma Penrod, Salt Lake Tribune, May 5, 2018 
• What genuine, for real, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 7, 2018
• Global warming will depress economic growth in Trump country by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian, May 7, 2018
• Will the Clean Power Plan Repeal Come with a Replacement? by Niina Heikkinen, E&E News/Scientific American, May 7, 2018

Tue May 8, 2018

• Why We Need More Conversation When It Comes To Climate Change by Chris Shaw, Earth, Science Trends, May 4, 2018
• In Ancient Rocks, Scientists See a Climate Cycle Working Across Deep Time by Kevin Krajick, State of the Planet, Earth Institute, Columbia University, May 7, 2018
• Scientists Say Ocean Circulation Is Slowing. Here’s Why You Should Care. by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, May 7, 2018
• 2016 Arctic heat would have been virtually impossible without global warming by Rebecca Lindsey, NOAA's Climate.gov, May 7, 2018
• Another extreme heat wave strikes the North Pole by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, May 7, 2018
• Tourism responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, study finds by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, May 7, 2018
• Three newspapers confront one challenge: Sea-level rise is real, South Florida needs all hands on deck — now, Editorial Board, Miami Herald, May 4, 2018
• Pediatricians are concerned about climate change, and here's why by Jacqueline Howard, Health, CNN, May 8, 2018

Wed May 9, 2018

• Facebook partners with global warming skeptics while cracking down on ‘untrustworthy’ news sources by Amy Martin, Consumer Affairs, May 7, 2018
• Because of climate change, hurricanes are raining harder and may be growing stronger more quickly by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, May 8, 2018
• The 1970s Global Cooling Zombie Myth and the Tricks Some People Use to Keep it Alive, Part II by David Kirtley, Skeptical Science, May 8, 2018
• E.P.A. Emails Shed Light on Pruitt’s Plan to Debate Climate Change by Lisa Friedman & Coral Davenport, Climate, New York Times, May 9, 2018
• Global warming is melting Antarctic ice from below by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian, May 9, 2018
• Hotter seas threaten marine wildlife with extinction - researchers by Isabelle Gerretsen,Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 7, 2018
• 'It's all about vested interests': untangling conspiracy, conservatism and climate scepticism by Graham Redfearn, Planet Oz, Environment, Guardian, May 7, 2018

Thu May 10, 2018

• Extra climate talks scheduled amid Bonn stalemate by Karl Mathiesen, Climate Home News, May 8, 2018
• Development banks ‘not aligned’ with Paris Agreement goals: report by Soila Apparicio, Climate Home News, May 9, 2018
• Explainer: Six ideas to limit global warming with solar geoengineering by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, May 9, 2018
• April: high CO2, low sea ice and extreme weather, World Meteorological Society (WMO) News, May 7, 2018
• Alien Waters: Neighboring Seas Are Flowing into a Warming Arctic Ocean by Cheryl Katz, Yale Environment 360, May 10, 2018
• King County, Washington Files Latest Suit Against Big Oil for Climate Impacts by Dana Drugmand, Climate Liability News, May 10, 2018
• Emails show EPA turned to climate skeptics to craft ‘red team-blue team’ exercise by Dino Grandoni, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 9, 2018
• Trump White House quietly cancels NASA research verifying greenhouse gas cuts by Paul Voosen, Science, May 9, 2018

Fri May 11, 2018

• "No follow up" from Trump over staying in climate pact-UN by Alister Doyle, Reuters, May 9, 2018
• Social investors see the light on clean energy for the poor by Megan Rowling, Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 10, 2018
• Pentagon revised Obama-era report to remove risks from climate change by Chris Mooney & Missy Ryan, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 10, 2018
• Bonn climate talks: key outcomes from the May 2018 UN climate conference by Simon Evans & Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, May 11, 2018
• Allergy explosion' across much of the country linked to climate change by Shamard Charles, NBC News, May 9, 2018
• Half of America’s carbon-free electricity comes from nuclear. Here’s how to save it. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 10. 2018
• Here’s what vanishing sea ice in the Arctic means for you by Alessandra Potenza, Science, The Verge, May 10, 2018
• With Schneiderman Resignation, Exxon Climate Investigation Loses a Leader by Jennifer Dorroh, Climate Liability News, May 8, 2018

Sat May 12, 2018

• The environment is finally getting its day in court by Anna-Catherine Brigida, Yale Cimate Connections, May 11, 2018
• These 20 Water-Stressed Countries Have the Most Solar and Wind Potential by Tianyi Luo, World Resources Instittue (WRI), May 10, 2018
• La Niña is Gone; Severe Weather in Late-Spring Mode by Bob Henson, Category 6, Weather Underground, May 10, 2018
• Methane, Climate Change, and Our Uncertain Future by Joshua Dean, Editors' Vox, Eos, May 11, 2018
• Secret UK push to weaken EU climate laws 'completely mad' by Arthur Neslen, Environment, Guardian, May 9, 2018
• California upstages Australia by becoming first place to require solar panels on new homes by Sebastien Malo & Nichola Groom, Finncial Review (AU), May 11, 2018
• Hurricane season may be even worse in 2018 after a harrowing 2017 by Oliver Milman, Environment, Guardian, May 11, 2018
• American energy use, in one diagram by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 12, 2018

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Should I Vaccinate My Child?

Many of my patients choose not to vaccinate their children. I welcome these patients and, frankly, love each of them. I love that they are passionate about their responsibility as moms and take the time to research and educate themselves about things that affect their kids. I love that they question the status quo and don’t just go along with whatever people tell them. These are my kind of people: skeptical, caring, persistent... Should I Vaccinate My Child?

American Loon #2012: Forrest Mims

A somewhat central figure in the Intelligent Design creationist movement, Forrest Mims has no formal academic training in science but does teach electronics and atmospheric science at the University of the Nations, an unaccredited religious institution in Hawaii. He has also written quite a...

Read the full lunacy: #2012: Forrest Mims Encyclopedia of American Loons

Good news ahead of the wedding: “Meghan Markel is a fan of alternative medicine”

‘HELLO’ is, of course, a most reliable source of information when it comes to healthcare (and other subjects as well, I am sure). Therefore, I was thrilled to read their report on Meghan Markel’s list of supplements which, ‘HELLO’ claim, she takes for ” calming any stress or nerves ahead of the royal wedding on […]

Read the rest here: Good news ahead of the wedding: “Meghan Markel is a fan of alternative medicine”

American Loon #2011: Susan Miller

It hardly needs repeating but we’ll repeat it nonetheless: astrology is hilariously stupid bullshit, people who believe in it profoundly critical thinking-challenged (it’s actually been thoroughly tested), and astrologers themselves either frauds or delusional cranks whose inability to...

Read the full lunacy: #2011: Susan Miller Encyclopedia of American Loons

Medorrhinum: another surprising homeopathic remedy

Homeopaths seem prone to getting a few things badly wrong (evidently, if not they would not be homeopaths!). Gonorrhoea is not a viral condition as some of them seem to assume, for instance; it is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. But never mind, we should not be pedantic. Anyway, I wasn’t going to write about […]

Read the rest here: Medorrhinum: another surprising homeopathic remedy

American Loon #2010: Shira Miller

“Informed consent” has become a codeword for anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, and the California-based group Physicians for Informed Consent (PIC) is certainly radically anti-vaccine (its board of “scientific advisors” consists of people like Tetyana Obukhanych and Association for American...

Read the full lunacy: #2010: Shira Miller Encyclopedia of American Loons

How turn a negative trial into a positive one? Simple, just cheat! PART TWO OF A SORRY TALE

You may remember my post entitled “How turn a negative trial into a positive one? Simple, just cheat!” No? Let me remind you by copying the relevant parts of my original post of 20/2/2018:   …The purpose of their study was to examine the feasibility of Sipjeondaebo-tang (Juzen-taiho-to, Shi-Quan-Da-Bu-Tang) for cancer-related anorexia. A total of […]

Read the rest here: How turn a negative trial into a positive one? Simple, just cheat! PART TWO OF A SORRY TALE

The German media campaign to save homeopathy

In Germany, homeopathy had been an undisputed favourite for a very long time. Doctors prescribed it, Heilpraktiker recommended it, patients took it and consumers, politicians, journalists, etc. hardly ever questioned it. But recently, this has changed; thanks not least to the INH and the ‘Muensteraner Kreis‘, some Germans are finally objecting to paying for the […]

Read the rest here: The German media campaign to save homeopathy

American Loon #2009: Lloyd Miller

Lloyd Miller is the apparently self-proclaimed “Research Director of A-albionic Research”, which has something to do with how “the overt and covert organs of” the Vatican and the Judeo-Masonic Neo-British Empire, which is apparently allied with Islam, are “locked in mortal combatfor control of...

Read the full lunacy: #2009: Lloyd Miller Encyclopedia of American Loons

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #18

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week.

Editor's Pick

Earth’s atmosphere just crossed another troubling climate change threshold 

 

Recent CO2 measurements at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

For the first time since humans have been monitoring, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have exceeded 410 parts per million averaged across an entire month, a threshold that pushes the planet ever closer to warming beyond levels that scientists and the international community have deemed “safe.”

The reading from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii finds that concentrations of the climate-warming gas averaged above 410 parts per million throughout April. The first time readings crossed 410 at all occurred on April 18, 2017, or just about a year ago.

Carbon dioxide concentrations — whose “greenhouse gas effect” traps heat and drives climate change — were around 280 parts per million circa 1880, at the dawn of the industrial revolution. They’re now 46 percent higher.

As you can see in the famed “saw-toothed curve” graph above, more formally known as the Keeling Curve, concentrations have ticked upward in an unbroken progression for many decades. But they also go up and down on an annual cycle that’s controlled by the patterns and seasonality of plant growth around the planet. 

Earth’s atmosphere just crossed another troubling climate change threshold by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 3, 2018

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun Apr 29, 2018

• The Australian’s coverage of Great Barrier Reef study creates perception that scientists are divided by Scott Johnson, Climate Feedback, Apr 22, 2018
• Low-lying atolls could become ‘uninhabitable’ earlier than thought by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, Apr 25, 2018
• The Carbon Brief Interview: Prof Stephen Belcher by Leo Hickman, Carbon Brief, Apr 26, 2018
• A Hawaiian island got about 50 inches of rain in 24 hours. Scientists warn it's a sign of the future by Heidi Chang, Los Angeles Times, Apr 28, 2018
• February and March madness: How winds miles above the Arctic may have brought wintry weather to mid-latitudes by Amy H Butler, NOAA's Climate.gov, Apr 27, 2018
• Desperate farmers left high and dry as federal relief funding runs out before drought does by Dominique Schwartz, ABC News (Australia), Apr 28, 2018
• Climate change: Australia's position is unconscionable for a wealthy country, Opinion by David Shearman, ABC News (Australia), Apr 28, 2018
• Cars Are Ruining Our Cities, Opinion by Justin Gillis & Hal Harvey, New York Times, Apr 25, 2018

Mon Apr 30, 2018

• China Installs Nearly 10 Gigawatts Of Solar In First Quarter, Up 22% by Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, Apr 24, 2018
• Battling climate change with little resources: The fight of Mozambique's coastal cities by Katharina Wecker, Deutsche Welle, Apr 24, 2018
• Governments Meet in Bonn To Step Up Climate Action Critical to the implementation of Paris Agreement, UN Climate Press Release, Apr 28, 2018
• Trump administration drafts plan to unravel Obama-era fuel-efficiency rules, challenge California by Chris Mooney, Dino Grandoni & Juliet Eilperin, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Apr 27, 2018
• Boaty McBoatface leads £20m mission to melting Antarctic glacier by Fiona Harvey, Environment, Guardian, Apr 30, 2018
• Republicans have so corrupted EPA, Americans can only save it in the voting booth by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Conseunsus - the 97%, Envioronment, Guardian, Apr 30, 2018
• It’s time to think seriously about cutting off the supply of fossil fuels by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Apr 29, 2018
• Growing Pressure for Lobbying Transparency in Climate Talks by Mike Small, DeSmog UK, Apr 30, 2018

Tue May 1, 2018

• Through Talanoa Dialogue, New Paths for Enhanced Action on Climate Change Are Emerging by Eliza Northrop & Nathan Cogswell, World Resouces Institute (WRI), Apr 27, 2018
• Climate-Linked Spending Set to Rise to a Quarter of EU Budget by Ewa Krukowska, Bloomberg News, Apr 30, 2018
• Texas Court OKs Exxon Attempt to Challenge California Climate Plaintiffs by Karen Savage, Climate Liability News, Apr 30, 2018
• Record heat for Australia in driest April for 21 years by Peter Hannam, Environment, Sydney Morning Herald, May 1, 2018
• State of the climate: Warm start to 2018 despite La Niña conditions by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, May 1, 2018
• Bonn morning brief: ‘We simply don’t have any time to waste’ by Karl Mathiesen, Megan Darby & Soila Apparicio, Climate Home, May 1, 2018
• Rising levels of 'frustration' at UN climate stalemate by Matt McGrath, Science, BBC News, May 1, 2018
• Industry Sway Over EPA Is Stronger Now Than Under Reagan, Study Says by Neela Banerjee, InsideClimate News, May 1, 2018

Wed May 2, 2018

• Former Exxon executive calls on oil industry to clean up its climate act by Bill Hafner, CNBC, Apr 30, 2018
• Mapped: African heatwaves could increase ‘five-fold’ with 3C of global warming by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Apr 27, 2018
• 11 key themes as countries take stock of Paris Agreement progress by Megan Darby, Climate Home, May 1, 2018
• Umbrella in a hurricane': U.N. says climate funding far too low by Alister Doyle & Laurie Goering, Reuters, May 2, 2018
• Shock and Thaw—Alaskan Sea Ice Just Took a Steep, Unprecedented Dive by Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, May 2, 2018
• Recent Australian droughts may be the worst in 800 years by Mandy Freund, Ben Henley, Kathryn Allen & Patrick Baker, The Conversation AU, May 2, 2018
• Mosquito season could get longer and more hazardous to your health — especially in Miami by Alex Harris, Health Care, Miami Herald, May 1, 2018

Thu May 3, 2018

• Mormon environmentalist conveys ecological message through fiction, Opinion by Jana Ries, Religious News Service (RNS), Apr 30, 2018
• Paris agreement: “Don’t water it down”, Lutheran World Federation, May 1, 2018
• Pakistan May Have Just Set a World Heat Record by Brian Kahn, Science, Earther, May 1, 2018
• The people who’ll be most hurt by climate swings did the least to cause them, study says by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 2, 2018
• Climate change aid to poor nations lags behind Paris pledges by Fiona Harvey, Environment, Guardian, May 2, 2018
• Carbon Dioxide Has Never Been Higher in Humanity's Existence by Brian Kahn, Science, Earther, May 2, 2018
• In Shadow of Trump's New Foreign Policy Team, U.S. Climate Negotiators Walk a Fine Line by Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimate News, May 3, 2018
• Caribbean Island Nations Cite U.S. Report at Climate Change Talks by Jean Chemnick, E&E News/Scientific American, May 3, 2018

Fri May 4, 2018

• Powerful Investors Push Big Companies to Plan for Climate Change by David S Rauf, Policy & Ethics, Scientific American, May 3, 2018
• Plants Find a New Way to Fight Climate Change — Nap by Marlene Cimons, Nexus News Media, May 2, 2018
• World Is Not on Track to Meet UN’s 2030 Sustainable Energy Goal by Georgina Gustin, InsideClimate News, May 3, 2018
• SkS Analogy 11 - Cabinets, airplanes, and frame of reference by Evan & jg, Skeptical Science, May 4, 2018
• Greenhouse gas concentrations hit highest level in human history by Andrew Freedman, Science, Mashable, May 3, 2018
• Kids Challenge Alaska’s Climate Paradox: Relying on Oil Production as Global Warming Wreaks Havoc by Sabrina Shankman, InsideClimate News, May 4, 2018
• The 1970s Global Cooling Zombie Myth and the Tricks Some People Use to Keep it Alive, Part I by David Kirtley, Skeptical Science, May 3, 2018
• ‘Sunny day flooding’ worsens at NC beaches — a sign sea rise is decades too soon, studies say by Abbie Bennett, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), May 3, 2018

Sat May 5, 2018

• New research, April 23-29, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, May 4, 2018
• Future sailors: what will ships look like in 30 years? by Fred Pearce, Environment, Guardian, May 3, 2018
• ‘Foehn winds’ causing Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf to melt in winter by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, May 2, 2018
• ‘Manels’: Male speakers outnumber women two to one at UN climate talks by Soila Apparicio &amp Megan Darby, Climate Home, May 3, 2018
• Earth’s atmosphere just crossed another troubling climate change threshold by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 3, 2018
• Beneath a Melting Glacier, a Peruvian Town Prepares For the Worst by Daniel Setiawan, Justice, Eather, May 3, 2018

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