Study: Slowdown In Warming Last Year Not Permanent

WASHINGTON — Climate researchers say cooler temperatures in North America last year do not mean global warming is easing.

Their report comes just days before President Barack Obama goes to Copenhagen, Denmark, to speak at a United Nations conference on climate change.

Rising temperatures over decades have prompted scientific concern, and the last decade has been the hottest in thousands of years, according to climate records. However, the warming eased a bit last year over North America, and groups seeking to deny climate change seized on that in an effort to challenge the idea of overall warming.

North America wasn't as warm as expected because of cooler water in the North Pacific, but the rest of the world continued to warm, the university and government researchers said Friday.

Comments

[Bartel5]

10:39 PM on 12/07/2009

It is interesting that alarmists jump to the conclusion that any changes in ocean health must be attributed to atmospheric co2 but they ignore that the waste from billions of people and thousands of industries flows directly into the oceans untreated.

[guinganbresil]

06:28 AM on 12/08/2009

It they are talking about acidity - that is due to changes in deep ocean water upwelling. The pH drops from ~8.2 at the surface down to ~7.6 at 800 m.

It really doesn't have much at all to do with atmospheric CO2...

[RefreshingTaste]

07:55 PM on 12/07/2009

With the latest E-mail revealings it seems the Manmade global warming proponents are the true "Deniers" !!!!

[Keith52]

08:52 PM on 12/07/2009

Yeah all that evidence should be thrown out 'cause of those two e-mails. That's really scientific, right?

[cybexg]

11:32 AM on 12/08/2009

are you purposely ignoring NASA's work (research) using independent data and hoping others do not call you on your ommission?

[miriamfl]

03:01 PM on 12/07/2009

Is it that hard to agree that we are not good stewards of the earth? The ones that trash the environmentalist should thank them for the fact that our air, rivers,lakes and soil are cleaner, not completely clean but if it weren't for them our environment would be much worse. What is so terrible about trying to stop our dependense on oil and finding new ones to fuel our cars, heat and cool our homes and businesses? What is so terrible about the environmentalist trying to save our Sequoia Natl Park or the rainforrest? It is not only about global warming!

[Bartel5]

10:34 PM on 12/07/2009

Nothing wrong with exploring new energy sources and reducing dependence on foreign oil. However cap and tax does nothing for either of those. First, exploit ALL domestic sources - coastal drilling, naturalgas, wind, solar, nukular. Second, do not permit enviro whackos and dimowit politikins to prevent alternatives from happening. The kesnedys wont permit wind on the east coast. Libs wont permit wind on the west coast. Whackos wont allow solar panels in the desert.

[ProperGanda]

11:29 AM on 12/07/2009

Is mother nature a global warming denier?

[n5ifi]

10:55 AM on 12/07/2009

These Laws of Physics? Whose Rules are those? We need to change that. "We have the Congress and administration. We can Repeal that law, amend it, or use an executive order to get rid of that problem. That's why we are here, to fix these sort of issues."

[StephenBP]

09:01 AM on 12/07/2009

Carbon dioxide absorbs infrared very efficiently. When infrared is absorbed by matter, it warms up. Mankind is putting over 174 billion pound of carbon dioxide into the sky every day. This carbon dioxide is dispersed throughout the atmosphere. The sun is showering infrared and other radiations that create infrared on half the earth every day, 24/7, rain or shine, sunny or cloudy. Green plants consume carbon dioxide, but not as fast as mankind is putting it into the sky. Human beings are putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in order to satisfy demand for energy produced by fossil fuels.

[proudblackman]

08:38 AM on 12/07/2009

There is no climate change

[PWM]

11:56 AM on 12/07/2009

That is as inane as saying there is no greenhouse gasses (smog).

[slithers]

12:46 PM on 12/07/2009

The major greenhouse gas is watervapor not smog.

[prettyinpink]

08:09 AM on 12/07/2009

Fruit of the Poison Tree

http://naturalfake.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/fruit-of-the-poison-tree-tarts-from-the-poison-fruit/

[peterg76]

01:29 AM on 12/07/2009

The fact that climate change (warming, cooling, weird combinations of the two) is complicated and poorly understood even by the experts does not mean it isn't happening. In fact, it means we have to start dealing with it that much sooner.

[Garybot]

02:15 AM on 12/07/2009

Wow.

Maybe a new litterbox would help you feel better.

[katooom]

07:26 AM on 12/07/2009

Your conclusion is correct. It is complicated and we do not understand it. So why do we have such hubris to think we can 'fix' something we admittedly do not understand. Will the so called 'fix' have any effect at all?

[T Specter]

07:53 AM on 12/07/2009

You may not understand it, so that means the Adults in the room should do nothing?

[peterg76]

08:47 AM on 12/07/2009

We have to try, because the alternative may be the extinction of our species.

[juggernaut1729]

11:51 PM on 12/06/2009

The science behind global warming is settled to a large extent.

However, politicians don't have any incentive to punish potential voters today to benefit people who will feel the worst effects of global warming in 2100. So, what explains their support for global warming ?

Simple...... it is a way for them to reward the special-interest groups that get them elected..... the most important of which is big business.

The European steelmaker Arcelor-Mittal (the biggest steel company in the world) stands to make a billion pounds (about $1.6 billion) from the emissions trading boondoggle in the next 3 years.

General Electric will make tens of billions from unviable "green technology"....

And the big investment banks will make trillions by speculating in "Kyoto futures" and other such phony investment vehicles.

[BCALM]

08:33 PM on 12/06/2009

So , the WarmMongers have to refute the cooling with a study they so conveniently publish now,,,Why should any Climate Fixers study be taken seriously after Climate Gate and when they are trying damage control

[joebaggadonuts]

09:12 PM on 12/06/2009

Climate Gate is a farce. Nothing of relevance to the science was discovered.

[Badfickle]

12:25 AM on 12/07/2009

Not true. i mean they used the word trick once!!! What more proof do you need?

[PWM]

11:52 AM on 12/07/2009

Do you have anything but an Exxon talking point?

[realpolitic]

11:25 PM on 12/06/2009

You seem to have invented your own language.

[Patrick McCarthy]

08:20 PM on 12/06/2009

CLIMATE CHANGE!! Not Global Warming.

[T Specter]

07:55 AM on 12/07/2009

Global Warming drives Climate Change.

[Patriot86]

05:44 PM on 12/06/2009

man made global warming believers are the same people that 300 years ago would argue the earth is the center of the universe, the earth is flat and disease is caused by vapors. They can not accept the fact that their "theory" has been debunked. Any first year physics major would be asked to leave the discipline for "losing" the original data to an experiment. If this were anything other than the faith of true believers, this theory would have been tossed out years ago. The only people that still adhere to man made global warming are true believers and those that have a vested, read money, interest in the junk science.

[DocSkull]

05:52 PM on 12/06/2009

The original data exists, you just can't get it all from CRU. Could you point me to the research which debunks the human contribution to global warming?

[ancientmarinader]

05:54 PM on 12/06/2009

He would but he hasnt wiped yet.

[tanglez]

06:06 PM on 12/06/2009

There ia NO PROOF man has caused any climate change.

[Exusian]

08:37 PM on 12/06/2009

Interesting. Which part of the "man made global warming" theory has been debunked, exactly?

Is it the fact that CO2 absorbs and emits infrared energy?
(That CO2 is a greenhouse gas)

Nope. Nothing in the emails that debunks this basic fact of physics.

Is it the fact that atmospheric CO2 has increased and continues to increase and that the isotopic ratio of atmsopheric CO2 demonstrates that 100% of that increase is from human activity, principally from the burning of fossil carbon fuels?

Nope. Nothing in the emails that debunks this measurable fact.

Is it the fact that global mean surface temperature increased by nearly a full degree centigrade over the last century, and that the warming in the Arctic and on the Antarctic Peninsula has been about three times as strong?

Nope. Nothing in the emails that debunks this measurable fact either.

Is it the fact that the overwhelming majority of alpine glaciers around the globe are receding, that Arctic sea ice has been in decline for over 30 years, that the ice sheets on Greenland and the Antarctic Peninsula are melting faster than anyone thought possible?

Nope. Nothing in the emails that debunks these observations.

So please tell us, what, exactly has been "debunked?"

[realpolitic]

11:24 PM on 12/06/2009

Of course, he will not answer, but what an excellent reply.

[Exusian]

12:10 PM on 12/07/2009

"What is debunked is the climate sensitivity to CO2"

How, exactly? And exactly what numbers have been fudged?

Just saying it means nothing.

[fumes]

04:34 PM on 12/06/2009

oh look!

here's a global warming demo: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8394168.stm

now if only she would re-do it with just the ppm of CO2..

that has everyone's knickers in a knot we could all go home!

[DocSkull]

05:54 PM on 12/06/2009

That is a demonstration of the greenhouse effect, which is only part of the processes which are increasing the average global temperatures.

[tanglez]

06:07 PM on 12/06/2009

Water vapor is THE greenhouse gas.

[fumes]

07:09 PM on 12/06/2009

but doc..

don't you see? the demo hypes the CO2 effect:

she added water vapor for cripes sake and waay too much CO2. she did however demonstrate that indeed greenhouse gases work.. but the demo is not at all true to what our atmosphere is experiencing. in fact, if she added only pure CO2 commensurate with the percentage at issue my point of CO2's impotency would be borne out!

[DocSkull]

07:23 PM on 12/06/2009

While I agree with your critique of the experiment, it doesn't really apply to the real world conditions. We aren't adding H2O to the atmosphere when we introduce CO2, and even if we did, it would precipitate out in short order.

[fumes]

07:39 PM on 12/06/2009

define: ''short order''

H2O is ever-present in the atmosphere..

http://www.intelliweather.net/imagery/intelliweather/sat_goes8fd_580x580_img.htm

[fumes]

12:59 PM on 12/06/2009

realpolitic I'm a Fan of realpolitic 153 fans permalink
You argue that the increased ocean temperatures result from deep sea activity affecting the temperatures of the entire ocean at the same time the ocean acidity is increasing, without scientists seeing evidence of increasd deep sea activity? Is it Godzilla?
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 01:30 AM on 12/06/2009

mornin' rp.. science is just now learning more about deep-sea venting.. no really.. looky here:

Deep-Sea Mid-Plate Volcanic Plumes Discovered Under Hawaiian Islands:

"Hawaii may be paradise for vacationers, but for geologists it has long been a puzzle. Plate tectonic theory readily explains the existence of volcanoes at boundaries where plates split apart or collide, but mid-plate volcanoes such as those that built the Hawaiian island chain have been harder to fit into the theory. A classic explanation, proposed nearly 40 years ago, has been that magma is supplied to the volcanoes from upwellings of hot rock, called mantle "plumes," that originate deep in the Earth's mantle. Evidence for these deep structures has been sketchy, however. Now, a sophisticated array of seismometers deployed on the sea floor around Hawaii has provided the first high-resolution seismic images of a mantle plume extending to depths of at least 1,500 kilometers (932 miles). "This has really been an eye-opener," says Solomon. "It shows us that the anomalies do extend well into the lower mantle of the Earth."
http://www.physorg.com/news179074389.html

[DocSkull]

05:57 PM on 12/06/2009

This says that they've located the volcanic materials they had suspected were there. It doesn't say that this activity in dramatically increasing or is a significant contributor to warming the oceans. Considering the volume of the oceans and atmosphere, there would have to be some rather dramatic changes to account for global warming.

[fumes]

07:17 PM on 12/06/2009

how many more vents like that one are actively out there doc?

it took them putting sensors on the ocean floor right down near that vent to even detect THAT one.. and there's a whole lotta ocean floor out there that's presently going unnoticed!

[Exusian]

09:12 PM on 12/06/2009

Fumes, the item you linked to says nothing about deep-sea venting, it's about mantle plumes.

Please tell me you know the difference.