Climate and the solar cycle: Chilling out in the winter sun | The Economist

Stratospheric changes can lead to nasty cold snaps

THOSE unconvinced—and those seeking to unconvince others—of the reality of man-made global warming often point to the changeable behaviour of the sun as an alternative hypothesis. A new study showing how the severity of winters in Europe, and warming in the Arctic, might be linked to changes in solar activity might seem to add to this case. In itself, it does not, for the heat (or, rather, the cold) in question is being redistributed, not retained. But it does point to two other lessons about climate change: that hard data on the factors which affect it are sometimes difficult to come by; and that computer models of the climate can be quite impressive tools for working out what is going on.
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But though global warming has made people look to models as predictors of the future, that is not their strongest suit. Something they can do much better is look at what happens when a variable such as UV is altered, compare that with the data, and thus gain insight into the mechanisms by which climate works. This new research provides a good example of what such an approach can achieve.

Chicken Little jumps the shark – Telegraph Blogs

When I heard Chris Huhne's proposal that the new 80mph speed limit should apply to electric cars only, I knew it could only be a joke. No one, not even an alleged economics "expert" who had argued so wholeheartedly for the Euro a few years back, could be quite that wilfully perverse, surely?

Apparently, though it's true.
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This really has gone on long enough. Having Huhne in charge of Britain's energy policy is like having Homer Simpson run the Springfield Nuclear power plant in the middle of a meltdown. The fact that Cameron can't see this speaks volumes about his lack of judgement.

4x4 prices on the rise as UK braces for winter

Values on used 4x4s are already starting to rise in reaction to reports that the UK will face another harsh winter.

A Case Against Climate-Change Alarmism - Forbes

For many scientists, this distinction between theory and real-world conditions is what typifies the differences between so-called “alarmists” and “skeptics.” As Colorado State University emeritus professor and hurricane expert William Gray frequently explains, alarmists base their climate alarmism on speculative computer models programmed and run within the confines of cubicles and drywall. Skeptics, on the other hand, base their skepticism on real-world data and observations.

The Sandia paper may present an interesting theory that global warming may produce an imminent climate catastrophe within a chaotic global atmosphere, but the theory is strongly contradicted by thousands of years of real-world data and real-world climate observations. The Scientific Method dictates that real-world observations trump speculative theory, not the other way around.