Category Archives: Commentary

Global Warming Commentary by Guest

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Ponderer and I have posted “dueling” commentaries on global warming. A reader sent a paper to join the discussion. It is longer than commentaries usually posted on this site, but it has so much information that deserves consideration that I’ve decided to post it in its entirety with a few minor edits.

The so-called ‘greenhouse effect’ comes about by short wave radiation impinging on the earth from the sun.  Some fraction of this short wave radiation is reflected back into space with little effect.  Another fraction is absorbed by the earth.  Essentially blackbody long wave radiation is emitted from the earth’s surface as a result.  Carbon dioxide (and a few other gases that we will get to) absorbs and reemits this longer wave radiation.  It emits the longer wave radiation in all directions, so some fraction comes back to be reabsorbed by the earth’s surface (either soil or water).  On balance under these conditions there is more heat (in the form of both long and short wave radiation) entering the system than leaving it, so overall heating occurs. Continue reading →

Global Warming Debate

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climate change blue marblePonderer has presented compelling arguments in recent commentaries about global warming and the impacts of carbon dioxide emissions from man’s activities. We have had a frequent back and forth discussion on the subject, and Ponderer has provided data-based responses to my skepticism. I trust Ponderer’s integrity and intellect (both scientific and personal) completely, so why do I continue to cling to my “denier” status (although with less conviction than before)?

I’ll begin by explaining that Dr. Petr Beckmann was a patient of the medical practice where my wife worked as a nurse, and she told him I worked at the Rocky Flats plant that manufactured parts for nuclear weapons. He agreed to meet me and a colleague to discuss his pro-nuclear energy views, and I found him to be a fascinating man. I signed up for his “Access to Energy” newsletter and became more impressed with his brilliance the more I read. Continue reading →

Global Warming and Climate Change: A Scientific Phenomenon

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climate change blue marble

NASA’a famous “blue marble” picture of Earth

I’ve found the global warming/climate change debate to be frustrating.  The Earth is too large a system to grasp intuitively.  In such a large system, anyone can “cherry-pick” a small subset of data to illustrate any point.  Many discussions seem to distill down to:  “You’re lying!”

I posted on the social aspects of the debate previously.  Today I will discuss the science of global warming and climate change.  (“Global warming” refers to average global temperatures while “climate change” refers to the effects.)

climate change lower atmosphere

Makes my eyes cross (and this chart isn’t even very complex)

Global warming is complex enough to make my eyes cross.  It involves many parameters that must be examined over decades and preferably centuries.  I will primarily use information from http://www.skepticalscience.com/.  This site provides the largest and most accessible collection of responses to global warming objections I’ve found.  SkepticalScience has a handy glossary with mouse-over pop-ups in the text.  For example, ice sheets, ice shelves, glaciers, and sea ice are different things.  While unabashedly defending mainstream climate science against “climate myths”, the site also provides a more exhaustive list of objections than anywhere else I’ve run across: 174 of them!  There are also comments from pro and con readers.

I leave you to explore as many of the 174 objections as interest you.  Here is a sampling. Continue reading →

Global Warming: a Social Phenomenon

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climate change blue marble

NASA’s famous “blue marble” picture of Earth

RF_alum and I (the Ponderer) are long-standing friends.  We worked together in technical fields at the Rocky Flats Plant, a nuclear weapons facility that has since been decommissioned.  We worked on weapons and in the environmental clean up.   We both encountered our share of people pushing political agendas by misrepresenting science.

While we have much in common, we also have disagreements.  We thought we would disagree on GMOs, but found ourselves in about the same place after doing our independent reading on the subject.  Global warming is a topic that refuses to yield a similar satisfactory result.  Ponderer is a “warmist” and RF_alum is a “denier”.  We both dislike these terms (they present caricatures) but since they are used in popular discussions, we’ll use them, too. Continue reading →

Guest Commentary on “The Closing of the Muslim Mind”

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A review of this book by Robert R. Reilly was posted in September, and one reader was inspired to purchase the book, read it, and provide personal observations. I continue to recommend the book. I especially recommend it to those who believe that we can depend on “moderate Muslims” to allow logic to prevail in the dealings between Christians and Muslims. The book indicates there are only pure Islamists and infidels; there is no such thing as a “moderate Muslim.” I struggled with whether the following is commentary or an extension of the review, so I’m posting it as both. With that introduction, the following is the input from the “Guest Commenter.”

During my time on the Yucca Mountain Project, I worked with a very devout Sunni Muslim Imam.  He provided me with a couple of books on Islam that were written by Muslims and we had several discussions that left me wondering why our philosophical views were so different.  He is a fine fellow and I do not mean to disparage his theological or philosophical outlook.  However “The Closing of the Muslim Mind” provided a context that makes understanding his viewpoints much easier. Continue reading →