Climate Letter #333

“Two degrees of global warming closer than you may think.” We have almost reached one degree, but it has taken a century. Michael Mann thinks the next degree could materialize in as little as two decades, writing for publication in the March issue of Scientific American. Dr. Mann, inventor of the hockey stick image, has one of the biggest names in climate science. Two degrees is widely considered to be the absolute limit of allowable risk for global temperature increase, and two decades is not a very long time. The SA story should thus get plenty of attention. This post, written by David Spratt, provides a detailed review of the kind of previously published information that should serve to support the views of Dr. Mann. It is very well done, and I would suggest that you treat it as a good educational review of the basic principles of climate science, including some that are often forgotten.

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A bit of good news from the GOP? According to this article, Republicans in congress seem to be slowing down a bit in their effort to undercut various environmental rules or policies. Maybe they have been reading the same poll results we have been looking at?

Here are results from a new poll in the UK indicating that the public over there is beginning to treat the climate as a leading political issue.

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New solar technology. This one provides an efficient way to concentrate solar energy on a small scale. That would make it especially useful for rooftop collectors in many regions.

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Climate science—the effect of undersea volcanoes. There is always something new to learn about what may be having an important influence on our planet’s climate trends. Here is the latest example, likely to set off a flurry of new studies, and worth keeping an eye upon because the numbers are potentially so large.

Carl