Where does Carbon really come from - Global warming issue

[Junior]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/07/29/climate_change_new_bill_in_congress_would_de_emphasize_noaa_climate_funding.html

 

Freshman congressman Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) has sponsored a bill (H. R. 2413) that would likely defund at least some of the climate research done by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in favor of weather prediction. The bill actually doesn’t say this out loud, of course—it doesn’t even have the word climate in it, bizarrely enough—but it specifically uses the phrase “redirect NOAA resources,” which is clear enough. By making weather forecasting a priority, coupled with the limited budget for NOAA in the House funding, the bill (currently in committee) will certainly de-emphasize and deprioritize other work done by NOAA. That includes, of course, climate research.

 

If you are unfamiliar with Bridenstine, let me introduce you to his moment of infamy,where he demanded that President Obama apologize to the people of Oklahoma for funding climate change research. (A key claim in that speech, not-so-incidentally, was rated “mostly false” by PolitiFact; I’d have used stronger language). Although a moderate on many issues, Bridenstine is a full-on climate change denier, so any weather- or climate-related legislation he sponsors needs to be examined with more than a touch of skepticism.

[icedavis]

Not that we should be taking away funding from climate research because it does go hand in hand with (daily) weather prediction but the weather prediction field has been severely underfunded for a while now. The shift back to funding forecasting has been slow but it was nice to see certain projects come about including the transition to dual-pol radar, which has been a dramatic improvement. This funding (depending on allocation) could be vital in the very much needed replacement of the GOES satellites that are pretty much either at the end of their life or nearing that point, like a car with 300,000 miles on it you never know when they will completely tank. Of course their are other areas that could really use the funding as well but in any way, it is much needed.

[Junior]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/09/27/226746611/its-clear-humans-are-changing-worlds-climate-panel-says

 

Declaring that "human influence on the climate system is clear," a U.N.-assembled panel of scientists reported Friday that "it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century."

 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which brings together hundreds of researchers from around the world, adds that "warming in the climate system is unequivocal and since 1950 many changes have been observed throughout the climate system that are unprecedented over decades to millennia."

 

Looking ahead, panel co-chair Thomas Stocker warns that "continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all components of the climate system. ... Heat waves are very likely to occur more frequently and last longer. As the Earth warms, we expect to see currently wet regions receiving more rainfall, and dry regions receiving less, although there will be exceptions."