tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-610803938756668468.post122125877905947794..comments2024-03-28T07:08:58.221-04:00Comments on Todd Seavey: Nature at War, Todd at Brown (and BDH Archives Online!)Todd Seaveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08589187886030112999noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-610803938756668468.post-63735966281511665192011-05-24T16:28:23.250-04:002011-05-24T16:28:23.250-04:00Yeah, in this case I really meant to criticize ABC...Yeah, in this case I really meant to criticize ABC more than the scientific establishment -- and knowing how these things work, I realize I'm likely criticizing some overworked twenty-year-old intern who was given stern instructions to "make the headlines exciting" rather than the writer, even.Todd Seaveyhttp://facebook.com/ToddSeaveynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-610803938756668468.post-54837394390689588012011-05-24T16:19:59.279-04:002011-05-24T16:19:59.279-04:00You don't give climate change scientists enoug...You don't give climate change scientists enough credit, they generally are fairly dispassionate when it comes to the actual underlying scientific questions. The article itself quotes the NWS scientist as saying: "We know that there are ingredients that thunderstorms need that could increase in a warmer world, but we also know there are ingredients that may decrease, so the connections if any are very tenuous and the scientific discoveries on this have yet to be made." <br /><br />Even quotes from climate change scientists most typically sounding the global warming alarm are pretty circumspect, e.g. <br /><br />- "It is a truism to say that everything has been affected by climate change so far and therefore this latest outbreak must in some sense have been affected, but attribution is hard and the further down the chain the causality is supposed to go, the harder this is. For heat waves it is easier, for statistics on precipitation intensity it easier – there are multiple levels of good modelling, theory and observations to back it up. But we have much less to go on with tornadoes."<br /><br />- "In general I do think it’s best to avoid statements like “global warming is to blame for” or “global warming caused” or “this is evidence of global warming,” especially in regards tornadoes."<br /><br />Our own local climate expert upbraided the Seattle mayor for claiming that last year's problems with mountain snowpack had anything to do with climate change (although his bottom line summary re: the climate change "debate" was that, to be skeptical of global warming, you'd have to believe that putting blankets on your bed would make you cooler.)Marc S.http://google.comnoreply@blogger.com