Why facts cut no ice in the climate debate | Ben Pile | spiked

Reports of Greenland’s ice melting are overheated because the eco-outlook poisons both science and politics.
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The account of the climate debate that has driven most comment on it is that it is a debate between two camps: scientists on the one hand battle sceptics on the other. This misconception is the basis from which more mythology about the debate develops: scientists are united by a consensus, are of unimpeachable character and the science is unequivocal; sceptics are financed by oil interests, motivated by ‘ideology’ and are ‘anti-science’. But reactions to an incautiously worded press release announcing the discovery of an ‘unprecedented’ melting of Greenland’s ice sheet reveals that this understanding of the climate debate is deeply flawed. Nobody involved has a monopoly on science abuse or questionable motivations.
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One way out of this impasse might be to recognise the extent to which the dramatic storyline of climate catastrophe precedes science, afflicting even scientists. It’s not enough to simply say that this or that aspect of alarmism is overcooked; the problem is with the entire outlook. Science cannot tell you that melting ice is significant; it can only explain how much of it has melted. The significance of melting ice is determined by how much we believe the future depends on ice not melting.

When will it start cooling? | Watts Up With That?

[David Archibald] Altrock’s green corona emissions diagramme (http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/01/08/solar-cycle-24-length-and-its-consequences/) suggests that Solar Cycle 24 will be 17 years long, ending in 2026. That leaves twelve and a half years of cooling from mid-2013.

From all that, for Solheim’s predicted temperature decline of 0.9º C over the whole of Solar Cycle 24 to be achieved, the decline from mid-2013 will be 1.2º C on average over the then remaining twelve and a half years of the cycle. No doubt the cooling will be back-loaded, making the further decline predicted over Solar Cycle 25 relative to Solar Cycle 24 more readily achievable.

Old Green: Clean Energy—New Green: No Energy | Via Meadia

For years, the green argument was something like this: If only we can replace fossil fuels with cleaner, renewable energy sources, we can enjoy our current standard of living without endangering the environment. Now it appears some greens have advanced the argument to a brand new phase: It’s as if they’ve replaced a green energy policy with a no-energy policy.

Good luck with that.

Hiding The Sharp Decline Of Hot Days In Wisconsin | Real Science

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin has had 191 days over one hundred degrees since 1900. None of them occurred between 2000 and 2011.

The hottest day was July 22, 1901, when the temperature reached 110F – during a streak of eight consecutive days over 100F.

The 1930s had fifty eight days over 100 degrees, compared to zero days between 2000 and 2011. (Weather Underground reports two days over 100 degrees in July, 2012, but they aren’t official temperatures.)

James Hansen says heatwaves are getting worse in the US due to CO2.