Monday, September 21, 2009

FT.com - Global Insight: no melting of climate doubts
Climatologists are to meet in Oxford next week for a deeply depressing conference.
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Climate scientists seem puzzled about what more they can do to convince people of the urgency of their case. “I don’t understand the psychology here. It should be about the evidence but it’s actually about beliefs,” says Vicky Pope, head of climate change at the UK Met Office.

“When I tell people my job, they sometimes ask: ‘Do you believe in climate change?’”
JPL’s Patzert: “It’s actually eroding the credibility of long-range forecasters and climatologists” « Watts Up With That?
The 2009 “super El Nino” predicted by some may be a “fizzle” according reports attributed to NASA JPL’s Climatologist Bill Patzert. I wonder who he might be referring to when he says “eroding the credibility”? Hansen’s prediction perhaps?
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This El Nino is definitely puny,” Patzert said , adding that this year’s pattern resembles the mild El Nino of 2006-2007, which left California’s snowpack and reservoirs short of what water experts had coveted: an end to five years of drought.
Microbes in Compost: the Little Heroes Battle Climate Change
"With a boost from our patented technology, the microbes have a chance to be heroes in the climate change arena. They eat bad pollutants, reduce carbon emissions and save companies hundreds of thousands--sometimes millions--of dollars in energy costs," said Karl Mundorff, President and CEO, Bio-Reaction Industries.
How a Former Parole Officer Came to Lead Climate [Scam] Talks - NYTimes.com
In an office in Bonn, Germany -- on a street named for Martin Luther King Jr. -- de Boer manages 350 U.N. staffers and a two-year, $55 million budget. The office covers all aspects of the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and organizes annual conferences aimed at crafting a new treaty.

But de Boer is not known for his day-to-day oversight of the U.N. climate bureaucracy. He is probably best remembered for leaving the 2007 negotiations in Bali, Indonesia, in tears. Like many other diplomats, de Boer had been working without sleep for two days.
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De Boer went to college in The Hague, studying social work. His first job was as a parole officer in Holland. Three-quarters of the year, de Boer is on the road.

At past climate conferences, de Boer was often seen slipping out of the climate talks to indulge in hand-rolled cigarettes. While he quit smoking this year, de Boer is still known for his taste for beer, lobsters and the occasional party.

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