Category Archives: Climate Change

History on Ice

Posted on April 5, 2015 by gymnosperm

, This graphic of Greenland ice core temperature based on data by Alley has been making the rounds. I took a notion to plot human history against it and don’t know who to credit for the base graphic, but grateful acknowledge it as not … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Climate and Civilization, Climate Change, Geography, History | Tagged | Leave a comment

The New Ptolemy

Posted on February 15, 2015 by gymnosperm

The evolution of consciousness since the Enlightenment can be thought of as the progressive, and unwelcome realization of human insignificance. We inhabit this rock, spinning in infinity*, the center of nothing, outweighed in biomass by ants. God still loves us, … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropocene, Anthropology, Climate Change, History, Metaphor | Leave a comment

Satellites and Thermometers

Posted on November 3, 2014 by gymnosperm

In a recent blog discussion with some unusually astute folks who are still concerned about human warming, the thread came to a dead-end at satellites and thermometers. It became clear that the real crux of the climate debate between well-studied … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Climate Change, Global Warming, Mount Whitney | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Ocean Ate It

Posted on October 5, 2014 by gymnosperm

One of the arguments one hears often these days to explain the lack of lower atmospheric warming for a human generation is that the ocean is somehow absorbing the “heat” or enthalpy that Carbon dioxide is supposed to be creating … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Climate Change, Geography, Global Warming, Oceanography | Tagged , | 5 Comments

The Dud PDO Index of Climate Sensitivity

Posted on May 12, 2014 by gymnosperm

Climate sensitivity is the response of the climate system to a given increment of CO2. It is often expressed as the response to a “doubling” of this gas from a pre industrial level. Estimates of climate sensitivity are all over … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Climate Change, climate sensitivity, Dud PDO, Global Warming, PDO | Tagged | 1 Comment

Everyone Loves Lists, Should We Worry or Not?

Posted on April 26, 2014 by gymnosperm

Take a big leap back in time. It is 1974, forty years ago. The planet has been cooling for thirty years. There is very real concern about this. The Pentagon is making Ice Age contingency plans. The scientific community is agnostic. … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Climate Change, Cold is the New Hot, Global Warming, Greenhouse Effect, Greenhouse Spectra, Large Igneous Provinces, Photon Food Fight, Spectra, the "Pause" | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Cold is the New Hot

Posted on March 4, 2014 by gymnosperm

Once it was that everything was getting hotter and hotter and pretty soon we would be frying eggs by just putting the pan outside. This was to have been because a certain trace gas was invested with magical powers far … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Climate, Climate Change, Cold is the New Hot, Global Warming, Religion, Shamanism | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Dinosaurs Died for our Sins

Posted on November 17, 2013 by gymnosperm

The original sin, secondary, tertiary, quaternary sins. Hurricanes, tornadoes are upon us. Quick! Find a witch to burn. Well, at least he saved the weed eater. Not to minimize the tragedies, just the sensationalism. Nobody wants their house trashed and … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Biology, Climate, Climate Change, History of Life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

YGBFkiddinme, Low Emissions Grass?

Posted on September 18, 2013 by gymnosperm

From Nature Magazine this pearl of pulchritude: “The solution, says Michael Peters, an agronomist at CIAT and leader of the team that has developed the low-emissions grass, is to encourage ammonium to persist in the soil for longer, by suppressing microbial … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Carbon Cycle, Climate, Climate Change, History of Life, Microbial Dark Matter, Paleoclimate, Salvation from Cows, What's going on here? | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dude, It’s Not About Carbon Dioxide

Posted on August 25, 2013 by gymnosperm

We know a lot about Carbon dioxide in a jar. We know the wavelengths it prefers to absorb and emit photons. We know it tends to mix efficiently with other gasses. We know it has a nearly magical affinity for … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbon Cycle, Carbon Dioxide Loves to Swim, Climate, Climate Change, Global Warming, Paleoclimate | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment