Climate 101

Climate Basics: Discussing climate change with leftists:

For basic knowledge of Earth's climate, read this short post and you'll be 'armed' with enough climate knowledge to debate 99% of leftists.

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Leftists live in a world of climate beliefs and false conclusions -- if they have any supporting data, those data will usually be false or misleading.
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The only thing you really need to know about the climate is Earth's climate is better than it was when you were born. 
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It is slightly warmer, and more carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air makes green plants grow faster. 
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Both are good news. 
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In a sane world, without leftists, people might talk about their local weather, but no one would talk or care about the average temperature on Earth.
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With leftists, however, there is always an alleged environmental crisis around the corner, about to end life on Earth as we know it, unless everyone does as they say without question! 
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DDT, acid rain, hole in the ozone layer, global warming, global cooling, climate change, etc. 
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One false environmental boogeyman after the other, since the 1960s!
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The only measurable effect humans have had on Earth's climate is from building towns and cities -- they are considerably warmer than surrounding rural areas … and dark soot on Arctic ice and snow, mainly from burning coal and wood in the Northern Hemisphere.
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Dirty snow and ice absorbs more solar energy than clean ice and snow does, although there are no direct measurements to specify how much.  
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Replacing coal power plants with natural gas and nuclear power plants would be a good idea, although there is no rush.
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Economic growth and natural climate variations account for all, or nearly all, of the global climate variations in our lifetime. 
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There is no correlation of airborne CO2 and average temperature, so there is no scientific proof manmade CO2 has affected the average temperature at all. 
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The average temperature is so difficult to measure that the statistics may not be useful … yet NASA recently reported the average temperature on Earth in hundredths of a degree = complete nonsense!
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Global warming is pleasant for humans, since it is mainly during winter nights, and mainly in the northern half of the Northern Hemisphere. 
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Floating Arctic ice melting does not raise sea level (Antarctic ice on land is not melting).
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Never forget that leftists are not very bright. 
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They consider socialism to be a better economic system than free market economics, for one example. 
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And they always favor Big Government over Big Corporations, even though no one is ever forced to buy any Big Corporation product or service they don't want, while everyone is always forced to obey all Big Government rules and regulations they don't want or need.
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Leftists consider ridicule and name calling to be the highest possible levels of "debate" with anyone who doesn't agree with everything they say. 
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That means an actual discussion, or a debate, is not likely to happen. 
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But if it does, speak slowly and pause after each sentence, because leftists need time to think of a character attack in response to your facts.
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Here are some logical responses to typical leftist talking points:

(1) Climate change is a serious crisis !

LOGICAL RESPONSE:

There is no crisis. 
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Earth's climate is always changing. 
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Ice ages have come and gone. 
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A hot greenhouse age has come and gone. 
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These changes were not caused by people, SUVs, or carbon dioxide (CO2). 
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A warming trend started in the mid-1800s. 
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It was not started by CO2. 
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This warming may continue for hundreds of years, or it may end tomorrow. 
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No one knows when the next cooling trend will begin.

 
(2) 2014 was the hottest year on record !

LOGICAL RESPONSE:

So what? 
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All measurements have been made during a warming trend that started in the mid-1800s. 
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There will be many record years until the warming trend ends, and a cooling trend begins. 
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A warming trend that increased the average temperature of Earth one degree in the past 135 years is nothing to worry about.
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Weather satellites, by the way, say 1998 was the hottest year since they were launched in 1979, not 2014. 
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NASA owns the satellites, but "forgot" about them in their "2014 is the hottest year" press release -- the leftist appointed by Obama, who is in charge of NASA, saw no need to contradict the 'climate scare'.

 
(3) Earth's temperature is rising rapidly !

LOGICAL RESPONSE:

Do you consider a one degree rise in the past 135 years to be "rapid"?  
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I don't. 
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And what about the flat temperature trend for the past 12 to 18 years, based on EVERY measurement methodology in use? 
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The UN's IPCC calls that a "hiatus" -- a word selected to confuse people. I'd describe that as "global warming has stopped".

 
(4) Manmade CO2 is warming the climate !

LOGICAL RESPONSE:

In 4.5 billion years of Earth's history, the climate has always been changing, from natural causes.  
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Manmade CO2 didn't cause the last ice age to end over 15,000 years ago. 
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Only once in 4.5 billion years, from 1976 to 1998, did the average temperature of Earth happen to increase while manmade CO2 in the air increased. 
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That brief coincidence is not proof CO2 caused all, or any, of the warming in those 22 years.

 
(5) 97% of scientists agree !

LOGICAL RESPONSE:

Earth warmed slightly in the past 135 years. 
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Almost all scientists agree that happened. 
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So what? 
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Earth is always warmer or cooler than it was 135 years ago -- climate is always changing.
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(6) Global warming will accelerate !

LOGICAL RESPONSE:

Climate modelers receive government grants only if they predict a climate catastrophe. 
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They've been 'crying wolf', and taking money, for 45 years. 
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Decades ago they predicted ice at both poles would melt. 
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They were very wrong! 
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Antarctica in 2014, for example, had more ice on the land, and more ice in the surrounding ocean, than at any time since satellite measurements began 35 years ago!   

 
(7) Computer models predict a climate disaster !

LOGICAL RESPONSE:

The claim that computer games can correctly forecast the climate is the biggest scam in history.
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Not one computer simulation in the 1980s and 1990s predicted the past 12 to 18 years would have no warming at all. 
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Past predictions have been 100% wrong about the "pause".
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Long-term computer game climate simulations overestimated actual warming, often by a huge amount, 97% of the time.