Opinions in Newspapers

This post will be about the opinion of editorial boards of two mayor newspapers in the USA on the connection between manmade climate change and extreme weather. But on both the opinions  were readers who disagreed. I will discuss the opinions of the newspaper and the two letters of readers who disagreed. Although the readers  who disagreed were scientists. The two newspaper are the Washington Post and the USA today. USA today agrees  on the fact that there is a link, the Washington Post is not sure yet. 

 First I talk about the USA today. The title of the article is Are heat records performance-enhanced?. They start by using the same metaphor as in the last post about climate change and baseball. The USA today believes that climate change has an influence on  extreme weather. As arguments they give the large number of broken temperature records and  facts such as the fact that last July was the 329th consecutive month in which the global temperature exceeded the 20th century average. This is according to USA today more than coincidence, the climate change does influence extreme weather.  Their main statement is :

 Evidence continues to mount that the warming goes beyond what could be expected by natural variability and the urban "heat island" effect.

USA Today 1 August 2012 

They also speak with Research meteorologist Martin Hoerling who is according to the USA today not an climate alarmist and he says that he agrees on the fact that extreme weather and climate change are connected. Also they say that climate sceptic Richard Muller recently switched sides and now also believes in the dangers of climate change.  When even sceptics start to believe it than it must be true argues the USA today. The newspaper state as a final word that the time for action has come. 

 The person who disagrees is Joe Bastardi, he is an American weatherman and is very sceptical about climate change. His article is called  Natural cycles trigger extremes in weather. He does not believe in manmade climate change influencing extreme weather because there is not such a thing as manmade climate change . According to Bastardi it is all part of nature, including extreme weather. Mankind does not have any influence on extreme weather, climate change or what so ever. And even argues that the earth is cooling down :

  

All the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections for our climate have proved to be wrong. Global temperatures have stopped increasing and are nowhere near estimates made a decade ago.

USA Today 2 August 2012 

At the end he says that everyone should learn the ´´real´´ fact about manmade global warming and names a few sceptical blogs that people should visit in their search for the truth. 

Also the Washington Post made an Editorial article about the influence of climate change on extreme weather. The article is called Not so fast on blaming global warming. The editors of the Washington Post argue that people link climate change and extreme weather too quickly with each other. But they agree on the fact that the earth is warming. This editorial article is  written after the study was a published about the extreme weather  events in 2011. You can also read about that study on my blog. They belief that the study does contain truth but is it yet too early that give a definitive answer. And they also point out :

In recent years, there have been more record-breaking heat events and fewer record-breaking cold ones. Scientists are also beginning — but only beginning — to assess how much particular incidents can be attributed to climate change in anything like real time.

Washington Post  18 July 2012 

The Washington Post thinks that the scientists who study the links between extreme weather and climate change need more time before claims can be made. 

But also the Washington Post has a reader who disagrees. He is James E. Hansen, the director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He writes that there is more than enough evidence to support the link between climate change and extreme weather. His article is called Climate change is here — and worse than we thought. He argues that there is more than enough prove to make a statement about extreme weather and climate. In his article he writes that he in 1988 already warned for climate change but  that today climate change is even worse than he had ever thought possible in 1988. He writes about a study that will is due to be publish in which it is proven without doubt that climate change influences extreme weather. About the statement made by the Washington Post saying not so fast on blaming global warming he writes this :

To the contrary, our analysis shows that, for the extreme hot weather of the recent past, there is virtually no explanation other than climate change.

Washington Post  4 August 2012 

 

He makes his claim even bolder by saying :

These weather events are not simply an example of what climate change could bring. They are caused by climate change. The odds that natural variability created these extremes are minuscule, vanishingly small. To count on those odds would be like quitting your job and playing the lottery every morning to pay the bills.

Washington Post  4 August 2012

After saying these things he explains why there still can be extreme cold, although a lot less than without climate change and tries to encouraged  to people to act now against climate change.

Personally I think that  Joe Bastardi is completely off the track. He does not say anything about the weather, he just denies the whole concept of climate change as it has been proven, researched and teach at universities and elsewhere. He just wanted a stage for his opinion and used the extreme weather discussion for it. Joe Bastardi makes even a bolder claim than Hansen by saying that he does know what ´´real´´ climate change is but most scientists don´t know or don´t want to know. Everyone should listen to him instead of listening to most of the other scientists. The only arguments he gives for his ´´real´´ climate change are some links to some sceptical blogs. He does not say where the science behind this ´´real´´ climate change comes from and one of these sceptical blogs has been deleted, the blog was named real science. For all the links see the article of Bastardi.

 

 Also Hansen makes a very bold claim by comparing extreme weather with winning the lottery. Just don´t compare weather and climate with the lottery it shows overconfidence and makes you easy prey for people like Joe Bastardi. There is truth in his words but not so much as he claims there is. The need for more research is great as I will show on this blog with the example of the Russian heat wave in 2010. One study sees a link with climate change and one study does not see a link. You need to be careful with what you say. There is no place for bold claims in this stage. In this case the newspapers have better opinions than the scientists. USA today argues that on the basis of all the broken records and the fact that even well-known sceptics switch sides that it must be true and that there is a link. The Washington Post is more conservative in its opinion about extreme weather and wants more research but admits that the earth is warming. The Washington Post says that research on extreme weather is just beginning to start and to give a clear answer you have to wait some years. The Washington Post tends to believe it but wants more prove. 

I think that there is evidence that links extreme weather and climate change but it is still immature and arguing on the basis of  broken weather records and sceptics who switched sides it not enough. More research on extreme weather is needed  but I think that James E. Hansen is more than willing to do that.

Editorial Board (2012) Editorial: Are heat records performance-enhanced?  USA today , 1 August 2012 Here

Bastardi (2012) Natural cycles trigger extremes in weather USA today, 2 August 2012 Here

Editorial Board (2012) Not so fast on blaming global warming  Washington Post, 18 July 2012  Here

Hansen (2012) Climate change is here — and worse than we thought  Washington Post, 4 August 2012  Here

This is the study about which Hansen is talking in his article Here