On 2 Jul 2005 21:57:11 -0700, wrote:


.... snip
This is the sort of nonsense one reads from junk scientists. There
is no doubt that humans have an effect on Global Climate. The issue
in controversy is the magnitude and direction.

Typical of the junk scientist is a tendency to try to reduce all
questions as a dichotomy and to claim (contary to fact) that
statistics can determine which answer is correct.

...


The global warming hysteria is a prime example. The idea that by
measuring tree ring size, one can determine the average temperature of an
area to within tenths of a degree is ludicrous, yet this is one of the bits
of evidence being used to show how average temperature is increasing
compared to several centuries in the past.

In general I tend to doubt stories presented without references.
In the instant case this sounds like it might be a misrepresentation
of some published work by a junk scientist (like Malloy) who most
likely didn't understand it in the first place.


... alright fred, present a credible source for how global temperature
change in tenths of a degree (which is the amount and rate being cited for
global warming evidence) can be identified for periods before accurate
weather records were kept. Deconvolve any other potential causes for the
evidence so cited such as cyclical rain cycles and other climate phenomena.
Unfortunately peer reviewed journals aren't what they once were. In the
past, peer reviewed journals meant that the peer reviewers questioned
assumptions, required substantiating experiments and repeatability in
measurements. This does not seem to be true today; statistical correlation
techniques are often substituted for root-cause phenomenological analysis.
Finally, the other thing missing is identifying causality; even when long
term trends are identified, showing that human activity is the cause for
said phenomena has thus far been highly speculative. To derail an entire
culture on such speculative evidence should make people question the
underlying motives of those demanding such actions. Again, note that I am
not saying that human activity cannot mess up local environments; ample
evidence for this exists. However, scaling that evidence to a global scale
is far from a proven fact.




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If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

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