Misleading Witch Hunts

     There has been a lot of hot air blowing around Capitol Hill. (Yes, that's normal.) Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), head of the House Science Committee is demanding emails and other correspondence from scientists in the US because he, and many others like him, think there exists a vast liberal conspiracy to fool people into believing Climate Change is real. Of course, because of the scientific method, the evidence and data that has been compiled and shared in the scientific community, the results seem pretty clear. Climate Change is real and will continue to get worse as we burn more fossil fuels to power our world.

     Scientists are not taking Congressman Smith's witch hunt lying down. The evidence, their methodology and the peer review process protects against false findings and making things up. Say some scientist decides to fake his results? No problem. Other scientists will review any and all papers published and try to recreate the findings. This ensures that one person can't just make crap up. Peer review. It is a wonderful thing. Now why wouldn't the head of the House Science Committee ignore the very basis of scientific debate in his quest to find scientific truth? The heads of 7 scientific societies have stood up to Congressman Smith in response.

     The issue that we must face now is that many uneducated people and people who do not understand the scientific method (and how it bases findings on hard evidence and repeatable experiments) will see the refusal of these scientists and experts as them trying to hide something. Which is how many conservatives want this to look. It creates a false sense of debate, allowing people, who have no clue how to comprehend or explain how global warming is affecting Climate Change, to dismiss it. Many hide behind their religious faith, saying they believe that God wouldn't let this happen. Or that we can't possibly understand how the world and nature works. Which is their right. Faith and freedom of religion is ensured under the Constitution.

     But, to impose those beliefs and religious faith on others, telling others that their faith scientific inquiry and experimentation to explain the natural world violates their rights ensured under the Constitution. Believing in religious teachings and accepting them as gospel takes a leap of faith. Believing in science and how conclusions are drawn through the scientific method takes a different kind of faith, but it is one built on facts, tangible variables and measurable interactions.

     This fantastic article from The Atlantic, written by Paul Bloom, explains the difference between Why Scientific Faith Is Different From Religious Faith. This is such a delicate subject, especially nowadays. Does anyone really understand what the scientists are saying? How they came to believe in their findings? And if conservative law makers insist on uncovering a so-called global conspiracy to fool people into reducing waste, making clean energy and cleaning up the air and water, why are they not investigating or demanding emails and data from the Fossil Fuel industry and big corporations? Wouldn't these entities have valuable information that could make (or break) this so called witch hunt?

     People need to start asking these questions. One can not come to a reasonable and informed decisions by investigating one side of an issue. One has to examine all the evidence, read all the emails, look at all the conclusions. To do that, there is this thing called the scientific method. It works great! Perhaps the head of the House Committee on Science should look into that.

Happy Monday

     There has to be a point where the well-being of the people on the planet becomes more important that quarterly profits. I mean, come on!

Reprieve

   The summer was not kind to Climate Guy 73. During the past year, I saw monthly increases in site visits, culminating in the all-time high of 12,436 in April. Ever since, the numbers have dropped so fast you would think you were looking at the temperature graph of the stratosphere for the past 40 years. (Look it up. That was my best science joke ever.)  I figured that people were just probably outside more, it being late Spring and then Summer.  Now, the green of Summer is giving way to the brilliant colors of Autumn as we speak. There is so much to do and see and experience in the world, why waste it sitting  inside on a computer? That has got to be the reason my loyal readers stopped coming by. (I'm sure it would have nothing to do with my erratic blogging, week long absences, or precipitous decline in the quality of my writing. Hey, you have a baby while living in a foreign country, all the while taking german classes to learn a new language.)

     The break was cathartic in a lot of ways, in all honesty. In this business, you can have your throat handed to you in the snap-hiss of a lightsaber. I have been read the riot act by many who think I am too radical, too "Left", that say I taint my message with "environmental alarmism" which damages my credibility. After awhile, I'll be honest, it can get to a person. There is a dread deep down, when it comes to the future of the planet, that this all maybe for naught. Am I making a difference? Are people reading? Am I doing enough?

    Then I look at my son: five months of smile and drool. The kid is easy going and sweet, the center of my universe. One smile from that toothless wonder and I realize that "Fuck yes it is all worth it!" People have to understand that we are damaging our rivers and oceans, leveling our forests, and killing millions of species every year. I owe it to my son to raise that red flag so it does NOT go unnoticed before it is too late, if it isn't too late already. I owe it to everyone's kids to do that! Even if I only get one person every few weeks to stop in and say, "Wow, that guy was funny! And I'm going to look into this Climate Reality Project, or the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards, or the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. " That's real all that matters.

     So I amble on. Reading new articles and watching new interviews everyday. Dropping into online communities and sharing what I know and have learned, while trying to learn more. Starting the conversation and reaching out to fill in the gaps for those who want to know more. Of course, this means lots of people rolling their eyes and shaking their heads when they don't like what I have to say. I have been told on more than 734 occasions (not that I'm counting) that I am wrong about the Climate, that Climate Change isn't real. Those people that say this to me ignore the science, the facts, the evidence. I even had a few people tell me that since they KNEW they were right, they didn't HAVE to prove it. It was up to ME to prove them wrong. What?! These are the people that take part in a scientific discussion and ignore the parameters set forth by science to state one's case. Instead, they just dismiss me as a brainwashed liberal who wants to trick people into buying clean renewable energy and plant more trees. They say I am a tree-hugger, a hippie, an Alarmist.

     Look, if you don't believe that Climate Change is real, that it is happening right now and will continue to happen in the future, and that we are the cause...this is not the blog for you. Especially now, with me back from a few weeks break and ready to type! I am trying to open the eyes of people on this planet so they can see how they are affecting the world today with their actions, and how they can affect the future by altering our present course. Some out there call me an Alarmist. I don't agree. Why? Well, it's not Alarmist if it's true, right?

Good Advice

This Is What It Comes Down To...

Isaac Asimov

President Obama Wants to #ActOnClimate

     If you haven't yet seen the White House video featuring President Obama and Climate Change, it is below. Do yourself a favor and take a look.

     The action we take now (or fail to take) will determine the state of the world for centuries to come. We must act now!

Meme Predicts Study Results

     I posted this meme last year sometime. I think I posted it again some time early this year. Here it is again just to refresh your memory.

     And for those of you that always brush aside memes as silly internet speak with no basis in fact, here's the article that provides documentation that the meme is indeed real. Suck it.

     Its the truth. We can measure this accurately because its only been a few hundred years since we started doing it.

   

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

     August was quite the busy month. Spent my first ever night in the hospital (it was for something very minor and the German Healthcare system is fantastic!), I started the last Module of my German class which will lead up to my big exam in October and the difficulty level went from meh...to "Holy shit this doesn't make any sense!". I also have a 4 month old and an empty lot around the house that I am trying to take care of simultaneously. Did I mention I have a baby? I have a wife, too, and she is amazing. Needless to say the blog posts have suffered this month and I am sorry. Life happens, right?

     Now my mother is visiting for a few weeks, and after is the last few weeks of my course and then the test. I suspect that I will get back into the swing of things in a month or so. So fear not, loyal readers (both of you), I will return with e vengeance!

     In the meantime, here's a webinar from The Climate Reality Project that discusses the Business of Climate Solution. Many climate change deniers keep belly aching that fighting climate change will ruin the world economy and cost people jobs. Quite the opposite is true. There is so much to be done in order to adjust and adapt to our changing climate. There is actually money to be made as we switch to a more sustainable society. Check out the video below to learn more.

Rich Doesn't Make One Smart

     I'm not sure about you, but I think Donald Trump is an idiot. I don't care how rich a person is. All the money in the world doesn't make one smarter than everyone else. It just makes someone a bigger, more pompous asshole. Trump thinks because he speaks his mind and is a millionaire, he knows more than everyone. Including hard working and brilliant scientists.

     Take for example this article in Eco-Watch. http://ecowatch.com/2015/08/21/trump-keystone-xl/

     Trump dismisses the studies that say the Keystone Pipeline will harm the environment in anyway. He thinks the endangered species that live in the proposed pipeline areas will be just fine with spilled oil, increased human activity and further disruption of their natural habitat. Trump thinks that burning more oil wont add more CO2 to the atmosphere which can lead to higher temperatures and shutting climate patterns. Trump dismisses the additional pollution, in the form of toxic organic chemicals and heavy metals, that will enter the air and water columns and disrupt normal life cycles, in the wild as well as in the civilized areas of the country. Trump just waves all of these off because as a rich guy, he doesn't have to read any studies or scientific findings or acknowledge facts that could potentially reduce profits. His wealth nullifies facts and best practices. 

     It's this kind of ignorance that has destroyed eco-systems world-wide and created the Climate and Environmental Crisis we now face. It's hard enough to address these issues as it is, and now we have to deal with rich buffoons like Trump on top of everything? Trump may be entertaining, but he offers us no chance at progress. Trump offers us more of the same destructive behavior that created the damaged the planet and its life forms and put us in this position in the first place. 

Seeing Ice Melt With Your Own Eyes

     Below is a link to the Washington Post that shows pictures of the glacial melt happening in Greenland. I have heard so many people say that ice melting is normal and its not an issue. They are wrong. Its not THAT the ice is melting...its how FAST the ice is melting. And it is melting fast. Take a look for yourself.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/greenlands-melting-glaciers/2015/08/19/4e747112-4691-11e5-8e7d-9c033e6745d8_gallery.html?hpid=z6

The Great John Muir

Sustainable is More Profitable

Climate vs Weather

     I think everyone is familiar with this photo of Senate Climate-Change-Denier James Inhofe using a snowball as evidence that climate change doesn't exist. It was snowing outside in Washington that day in the winter, so climate change can't be real, he posited. Which of course is ridiculous. Weather isn't climate. Weather patterns over long periods of time are climate. Besides, there is more to Climate Change than just global warming, which if the Senator would talk with a science teacher, he may understand.  

     Climate Change doesn't mean that the Earth is ONLY getting warmer. It means that due to global warming brought upon by ever increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, which can and has been directly traced to the burning of fossil fuels by humans, weather patterns over time begin to change. Summer gets longer, Spring and Fall get shorter. Winters can get nastier, storms get stronger. Places around the world get more rain than the normally get on average and there are floods, while others get less and suffer droughts. Sure, these things happen and have happened for millions of years. But, the frequency and the magnitude is increasing. The Extremes get more extreme. The Earth is warming much faster than at any other time that scientists can determine. We can look back at the climate changes over the past million years or so and what we see happening now is unprecedented. Rapid change makes it harder for life to adapt, which leads to mass die offs of species, which is taking place all over the world. 

     This report shows that 2015 is on its way to becoming the hottest year on record, beating the previous record year, which was...2014. Ouch. Not good. Hotter temperatures change the local environment and can shift weather patterns, creating a different climate. Where I grew up in Southern Maryland, you could set your watch by the 4 year snow storm that brought us 20+ inches of snow. Every four years. I vividly remember as a kid those years because we were usually out of school for a week! '79, '83, '87, '91, '96, '00. But, now storms like that are becoming more frequent and the four year interval is less predictable. 2010 saw the four year storm, but then we had another winter with heavy snows in 2013. And again in 2014. The winter of 2015 saw a ridiculous amount of snow in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (just ask my cousins) and they prediction for this coming winter is again looking like heavy snow along the Eastern Seaboard due to a VERY strong El Niño. As you can see, all of this gets complicated.

     What I have noticed is that when discussing weather patterns, people get angry and things can get contentious. Some dismiss weather changes as normal and ignore the new emerging patterns. But weather patterns aren't the only way to recognize climate change. It can also have an effect on the local flora and fauna. Trees that once thrived in your area with what the local climate used to be are now stressed and struggling to survive. Too much water, extended drought. Too much rain or not enough has thrown their health out of whack. Animals that were once plentiful in an area suddenly decline in numbers, which has a domino effect on other plants and animals. Warmer temperatures can create ideal conditions for certain bacteria and fungi to grow, which can kill plants and trees. Everything is connected. 

     Where we live now, in Southern Germany near the Alps, I have talked at great length the locals about the weather: is it the same as it was 20 years ago? Has anything changed? Is it warmer in the Summer? In the Winter? Does it snow more often or less? Are the thunderstorms more frequent and more powerful? What about insects? Everyone that I have talked to says the same thing: 20 years ago, Autumn started at the end of August but now it starts closer to the end of September. Mosquitoes are a much bigger pest than ever before, they say. Local trees (in yards and in the forests) are struggling in the Summer months due to the reduced rainfall. House fly and Wasp populations have exploded; no one remembers them being so bad, and we live deep in cow country so flies have always been around. This is a place where they don't normally have screens for their windows, but now most people are installing them because these insects have become a major issue. 

     Of course, this is all unscientific. I have to admit that. I'm just out asking questions, getting to know people and trying to improve my crappy german. But, the people I am talking to have lived here most if not all of their lives. We are talking about old farmers, bent-backed from hard work, school teachers, gray-haired and stress-wrinkled from years in the schoolroom. People who's families have lived here for generations. People who learned how to work the land from their parents. That's DECADES of experience, observing the environment and refining methods to be a successful farmer. And now, their methods are not enough due to the changing climate. 

     I find it all fascinating and worrisome. Which is why Inhofe's snowball really frosts my little red wagon. The naysayers always focus on one thing, and that's weather. But it's not about weather, not really. Weather is a factor, but its the weather patterns that we are talking about and studying. They are changing, which bring about other more measurable changes like increases in insect populations or declining plant populations. So if you notice that there are more mosquitoes or a certain weed is suddenly everywhere and you can't fight it back, it may be because where you live the climate has changed enough to create different conditions, conditions that those insects of weed just so happen to thrive in. Something to consider the next time someone throws a snowball and tells you the world is getting colder. 

Friday Ice Cream

     Want to join the Climate Movement? Sign the petition from Ben and Jerry's by clicking the image below! Who doesn't like Ben and Jerry's? Who would want to keep the Earth cool enough for ice cream?

Good-bye Jon Stewart

     This is a tough day for me. I have been a Jon Stewart fan for a really long time. Before he scored his gig on the Daily Show, I remember seeing him on MTV on some game show I forget the name of. I remember the "Jon Stewart Show", short-lived but smart and hilarious. For the past 15 years, I rarely missed the Daily Show because, well, Jon always slapped us in the face with truth. He echoed the incredulity and anger that we all shared when it came to the things wrong with our country and the world. He pushed us all to use common sense and logic when addressing issues, while calling for the other media outlets to do the same. That voice was like a beacon of hope, a light in the darkness, the laugh when we needed it. Without his humor, I am convinced that I would be suffering from severe depression and hopped up on untold number of anti-depressants.

photo from: http://media.salon.com/2012/07/stewart_rect.jpg

     The truth is, Jon Stewart inspired me to write this blog. Good or bad, smart or dull, funny or boring, I do this every week (mostly) to try and reach those of you out there who are distressed about the state of our world, who need a laugh sometimes, who need to see a different perspective on things. A perspective that shows you how ridiculous the news-spin can be and how common sense and logic will always show the way. I owe that to Jon Stewart. He made it okay to question, challenge and push all that bullshit to the side and demand honesty and truth. Who else could take a subject as serious as the war in Iraq, the fight for Gay Rights or the hypocrisy that is Citizens United and lay it all out for us, all while still being able to make us laugh? How are we supposed to go on with out him to keep us all honest?

     I always had this fantasy that I would hit it big one day. When I was a kid, it was as a hockey player. In my 20's, it was as an author and a writer. For the past 5 years, as I finished my degree, joined the Climate Reality Project and the Watershed Stewards, I figured it would be for my Environmental and Climate Activism. With my witty and funny blog posts, future books and the fact I will be a hilarious interview, I had this dream of making it onto "The Daily Show", sitting across from Jon and discussing the climate crisis, the environmental issues facing our world and saying "fuck" a lot. The thought scared the crap out of me, of course, because Jon is so smart and his BS meter so sensitive. But I wanted the chance! I wanted to just talk to him. To pick his brain. To pick things apart, dissect idiot comments from idiot public officials that don't know what the hell they are talking about. To say something witty enough to make Jon Stewart laugh.

     That would help me reach more people, would help me make more of a difference in combating our current climate and environmental issues and the ones that face us in the future. It would signal that I was truly making a difference in the world, reaching people, inspiring others to stand up and make their voices heard. I would be making the world a better place, not just posting unread blogposts for my own entertainment or piece of mind. It was a goal I wanted to strive for, but was unsure how to do it. Except to just keep plugging away. Maybe I would make it on "The Daily Show" one day. Maybe not. But having a goal is the first step to attaining it. Who knows what the future holds?

      Sadly, my future does not include sitting across the desk from Jon Stewart on his daily show. I wont get that chance now. I may make it big one day and become a world renowned Climate Activist, but I won't get to walk onto to that stage, make sarcastic comments about the dolts in Congress or pick his brain about environmentalism and what he thinks we should do or be asked to stay past the 30 minute mark to discuss things further and have it thrown up on the internet for viewers to check out after the show. I won't get to turn on the TV and flip to Comedy Central when I feel that despair that can set in when everything seems so overwhelming. I wont get to hear his take on the inequities of the world. Every week for almost 15 years I had that chance. After today, we all won't have that chance. I don't like when tv shows end that I am emotionally invested in. But this, this is different. Saying good bye to this "Daily Show"...this will be extra hard. Why? Because it was real. It was true and it was good for all of us.

     Thanks Jon. I will truly miss you.

 

The White House's Clean Power Plan

    The White House is releasing the new Clean Power Plan for the USA today. It is a revised version of the plan released last year with changes to the plan that addresses concerns raised by opponents of the plan as well as the Supreme Court ruling from this past June. It is a huge step towards showing the rest of the world that America will lead when the Climate Conference in Paris this December takes place.

   
     Watch the video above to learn more. There are better and cleaner alternatives to coal, oil and natural gas, alternatives that greatly reduce pollution in many of its forms. A clean energy future is possible and vital for the future. Back the President and the White House and push for a Clean Energy Future!

Bill Nye's Evil Twin

Shout out to the folks over at Eco Watch. They shared a pretty funny video bout climate change denial and how oil spills are actually good for animals. It is satire, of course, and you can check it out here:     Bill Nye's Twin Brother Reveals the Truth About Climate Change

Who knew Bill Nye had a twin brother?

Musical Interlude

Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz
between what's flesh and what's fantasy.

And the poet's down here don't write nothing at all

they just stand back and let it all be.

And in the quick of the night
they reach for their moment 

and try to make an honest stand.

But they wind up wounded

not even dead. 

- Bruce Springsteen

Climate Reality Thursday

     It's been a few weeks since I posted a video. So, what better way to break that streak than with a video of young Climate Leaders striving to make a difference? Enjoy.