December 15, 2016

It's cold in NYC, so the NYT springs into action to "to pre-empt the inevitable chatter about climate change that usually crops up when the thermometer drops."

Here's this patronizingly chatty article "Feeling a Chill? Blame the Polar Vortex. And Global Warming."

79 comments:

Michael K said...

The Hudson River glacier will be past West Point before the NY Times admits the possibility of error.

mockturtle said...

It's called 'winter'.

Wince said...

New Headline: "Remember this when you're having your toes amputated: Global Warming!"

Steve said...

Weather doesn't equal climate. Unless it is unseasonably hot.

JPS said...

Because remember: When it's freakishly warm, the proper scientific response is, "YOU SEE?!"

When it's freakishly cold, however, responsible scientists know it's just cherry-picking to make anything of it.

[Which it is - they just have this curious selectivity in noticing.]

PB said...

It's really hard for a believer to admit their religion is a complete fraud.

veni vidi vici said...

The problem with these media nitwit chatterfest articles/tv broadcasts is that when you hear them at a press conference or interview, they all reveal what shallow, tepid intellects they've got, and how little they actually know about what they're covering. Uncritically echoing some agendized talking point isn't sharp-eyed reporting.

Balfegor said...

Re: Steve:

Weather doesn't equal climate. Unless it is unseasonably hot.

Or, you know, hurricanes or something catastrophic.

What Next said...


Psalm 147:15-18 (ESV):

[15] He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
[16] He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
[17] He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his cold?
[18] He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

Bill said...

The phrase climate change works on me at a visceral, almost emetic level now, as diversity and inclusion long has.

rhhardin said...

It's actually getting colder and it's a Florida vortex.

MadisonMan said...

I'm waiting for actual true cold. You know, -20 F. It hasn't been that cold in Madison for a long long long time. (16 years and counting, which is the longest wait in Madison history)

Normal cold winter weather happens and clickbait appears. Not tempted.

YoungHegelian said...

Insty has this headline he re-uses over & over again: "Coffee -- Is there anything it can't do?"

I think the folks who are fans of AGW need their own version: "Global Warming -- Is there anything it can't do?".

CJ said...

"Patronizingly chatty" seems to be the current default tone in today's headline editors' meetings.

I wonder if they actually talk/email like that or if they think their readers do.

Quaestor said...

The author is JFK's granddaughter, Caroline's daughter...

Is she actually dumb enough not to realize a theory that explains everything explains nothing?

Freder Frederson said...

When it's freakishly cold, however, responsible scientists know it's just cherry-picking to make anything of it.

Actually, it is not freakishly cold. It is just colder than it has been in the last few years. Compared to the kinds of cold we had 30 or 40 years ago, this is comparatively mild. I remember it being -26 in Chicago in 1982. Monday it dropped to -16 at O'Hare, four degrees short of the 15 coldest days there.

MikeR said...

This article wasn't so bad. The bad part is when they unscientifically make a big deal out of things like a drought, a hurricane, or a heat wave.

JPS said...

Freder,

Thank you for avoiding my point entirely.

MAJMike said...

Forty-eight degrees F here in San Antonio with a weekend forecast in the 70's. Guess all those frozen Yankees would be grateful for some fracked Texas natural gas to warm their butts.

How's that solar panel heater working for you?

tcrosse said...

Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it, to coin a phrase.

Carter Wood said...

NPR this morning was reporting North Dakota weather, which warmed my heart.

The forecast for Saturday in one of my former home towns, Bismarck.

High: -9
Low: -26

I used to listen to CBC Saskatchewan out of Moose Jaw, which gave the temps in Celsius, of course. At times during the winter, they'd stop saying "below zero" or "minus." The newscaster would say, "It's 20," and the "below" was understood.

lgv said...

Green house gases cause warming. It hasn't warmed much since 1999. Change meme to Climate Change. So, climate is changing due to greenhouse gases, causing severe weather spikes. Problem is there is no evidence to support severity of weather events and greenhouse gas increase. We can argue the science of the models which show warming, but there is scientific data supporting weather severity from greenhouse gas emissions.

Drago said...

JPS: "Freder, Thank you for avoiding my point entirely"

It's important for those on the left to systematically "miss the point" when it comes to the hilarious self-contradicting and non-falsifiability of the (former AGW) now "climate change" "models".

Which you can't see by the way, nor the data. Nor the data manipulations. Nor attempt to replicate results.

Nope. Can't have any of that: #PoliticizedLeftyScience

It's Lysenkoism all the way down, and he was Russian!!

exhelodrvr1 said...

"The Hudson River glacier will be past West Point "

Go Navy!

Greg Hlatky said...

Democrat carbon dioxide is fragrant and helps plants grow.

Republican carbon dioxide is stinky and causes sea levels to rise

Gahrie said...

We are in an ice age that began over 2.5 million years ago, called the Quaternary. Around 12,000 years ago, the Earth entered a period of global warming called the Holocene interglacial. We are still in the Holocene and the Quaternary.

Modern man first appeared 200,000 years ago. For 190,000 years we roamed around in small bands picking lice off of each other. Then 10,000 years ago man discovered agriculture. This led to surplus, which led to specialization, which led to civilization which led to history.

All of human history and civilization has happened during the current period of global warming. If global warming had not happened we'd probably still be roaming around as hunter-gatherers.

Jupiter said...

Snow is explained by Global Warming, President Trump is explained by Russian hackers, everything else is due to racism. Seems pretty clear. Hell, a complete idiot could understand it.

Clyde said...

Gahrie said...

All of human history and civilization has happened during the current period of global warming. If global warming had not happened we'd probably still be roaming around as hunter-gatherers.


And there would be a hell of a lot fewer of us.

James Pawlak said...

I finally understand why you read the "New York Times". That duty is parallel to physicians studying pathology.

John henry said...

I used to listen to CBC Saskatchewan out of Moose Jaw, which gave the temps in Celsius, of course.

When it gets down to -40, it doesn't really make a difference.

John Henry

James Pawlak said...

I have no doubts but that there have been many "Climate Change" cycles, some involving "Global Warming" over the history of our World. The current warm part of the last such warming may be ongoing OR may have been retarding for the last 12-Plus years. I do doubt that human activities have had a meaningful impact on any warming compared to such factors as: Sunspot variations; Changes in the Earth's orbit or angle; Volcanic eruptions; And, other factors beyond human activities. The following questions address that doubt.
1. Are you familiar with the term "1815 And Froze To Death" as refers to a "Mini-Ice Age" as appears to be the effect of one large volcanic eruption? [You might consider the possible-to probable impact (A self-sustaining and full Ice Age) of four-plus such and concurrent eruptions.] 
2. What caused the  "Medieval Warm Period"  as began and continued in a very pre-industrial period?
3. What caused the end of our last, major, Ice Age when there were a only a few thousands of, pre-industrial,humans living?
4. What caused the end of the penultimate Ice Age when there were no humans about our world?
5. Do the “True Believers” have any scientific ["Valid & Reliable", "With A High Level Of Confidence" and independently validated by those "with no ax to grind" (Which excludes those who have inflicted faked data on the world)] as supports any meaningful "Global Warming" directly attributable to human activities?

Chuck said...

Carter Wood said...
NPR this morning was reporting North Dakota weather, which warmed my heart.
The forecast for Saturday in one of my former home towns, Bismarck.
High: -9
Low: -26
I used to listen to CBC Saskatchewan out of Moose Jaw, which gave the temps in Celsius, of course. At times during the winter, they'd stop saying "below zero" or "minus." The newscaster would say, "It's 20," and the "below" was understood.


In which case, it is a really good thing that the Lakota Sioux have Ford F-150's with 4wd; natural gas furnaces, insulated drywall, and cable tv. Oh, and a little Jagermeister too. The Jagermeister helps with the evil spirits.

Bruce Hayden said...

All of human history and civilization has happened during the current period of global warming. If global warming had not happened we'd probably still be roaming around as hunter-gatherers.

I think that it was a little bit more complicated - for example the Australian Aboriginals seem to have come out before, maybe 40-50,000 years ago. But what seemed to happen, over and over, was that in the colder periods, we would essentially get kicked back to Africa, then would venture out again when things warmed up again.

Bruce Hayden said...

Love how she manages to blame AGW for extra cold temperatures. Like Climate Change, what can't it do? I am still, though, trying to figure out the problem with where we are right now, and why we need to beggar our grandkids to make AGore, Tom Steyer, etc even richer. Warmists worried about hurricanes, and the result of the Climate Change is that they are fewer and maybe milder. Worried about warming, so we got colder. Etc. And, yes, the world would probably be a better place for humans, overall, if it were a little warmer, with a bit more CO2 - less disease, more food, less death etc. But, unfortunately, not more govt regulation and control - yet.

Ambrose said...

Of course they do the same when it is unseasonably hot in the Summer....

NOT

bagoh20 said...

Wasn't there an overwhelming consensus about Trump by experts before the recent election?

How much you wanna bet the scientists of the AGW consensus also agreed with that consensus. Now which is more predictable with a greater confidence level? Imagine if we bet our economy and the lives of billions on the inevitable election of Hillary, even though we could have just waited until we had better information.

bagoh20 said...

The most irritating thing about Global Warming is that it is part of every discussion of anything related to the earth. Every TV show, article, or book about anything Earthbound and often outside it, that is related to natural science has some portion about the damned thing, and always with the same slant: fully accepting and never skeptical, in other words never scientific. It may be the biggest blow to science by religious fervor in centuries.

Original Mike said...

Freder said..." I remember it being -26 in Chicago in 1982. "

Really? How old were you?

MadisonMan said...

I was 21 during the 1982 outbreak. But I wasn't in the midwest at the time.

I'm on a telecon, playing around with data while I listen.

The last time Madison was at/below -20: Christmas Day 2000 (I recall it well).

So, 16 years. Previous longest stretch: 8 years, between 1951 and 1959. (Also 8 years between 1942 and 1950). (From this website)

Come on cold air!!

Gahrie said...

What caused the end of our last, major, Ice Age when there were a only a few thousands of, pre-industrial,humans living?

IT HASN'T ENDED!!!!!

Michael K said...

" in the colder periods, we would essentially get kicked back to Africa, then would venture out again when things warmed up again."

The pre-Indians seem to have made it across the Bering Strait and down the west coast during a glacial epoch but, in general, you are correct. The Neanderthals may have been better adapted to cold and less able to resist the Cro Magnons when they came out of Africa and started to develop white skin to absorb more vitamin D in less sunny, colder climates that required clothing. That allowed them to compete in Neanderthal territory.

n.n said...

Global warming. Agreed. It's Mother Nature. What happened to "anthropogenic" global warming or its progressive uncle, catastrophic anthropogenic global warming?

They like to have their baby and abort it too.

Original Mike said...

"I was 21 during the 1982 outbreak."

Not you, MM. I was asking Freder. Rumor has it he was not born yet.

I remember the 1982 cold snap (I was 26). I had a 1970 Chevy Malibu that did not like it at all.

Hagar said...

Hominoids would move into the Sahara when the desert greened up, then move on into Eurasia when it reverted to desert.

pst314 said...

"Global Warming" is like Marxism: If X happens, the theory predicted it. If the opposite of X happens, the theory predicted that too. As practiced by its acolytes, it is not falsifiable and should be classified not as science but as a cultish religion.

MadisonMan said...

I know you weren't asking me -- but I can't help butting into a conversation about weather :)

Original Mike said...

" I can't help butting into a conversation about weather :)"

But not climate, right?

Quaestor said...

Freder wrote: ...this is comparatively mild. I remember it being -26 in Chicago in 1982.

Remembering the temperature is one thing. Remember the date is another. The record low for Chicago is -27, which was 20 January 1985. That's a winter temperature. In case you don't under the calendar, Freder, the date is December 15th, which is a day in autumn.

MadisonMan said...

the date is December 15th, which is a day in autumn.

Only Astronomically. 15 December is during meteorological winter.

Quaestor said...

The pre-Indians seem to have made it across the Bering Strait and down the west coast during a glacial epoch but, in general, you are correct.

Evidence suggests the paleoindians used an ice-free corridor between the Cordilleran ice sheet in the west and the much larger Laurentide ice sheet in the east. Their route was from the area around present day Yellowknife to the vicinity of Grand Forks.

Quaestor said...

15 December is during meteorological winter.

Don't be a weasel. If it were unseasonable warm it would be considered meteorological autumn.

Original Mike said...

15 December is winter. And I'm an astronomer.

Original Mike said...

Although, I guess it depends on where you live.

Original Mike said...

"Their route was from the area around present day Yellowknife to the vicinity of Grand Forks."

I've always said Sioux fans were Neanderthals.

bagoh20 said...

Why are there eskimos? I mean, what's wrong with those people? All the early Americans should have ended up in San Diego for Christ's sake.

bagoh20 said...

Wisconsin is geographical winter.

traditionalguy said...

The only thing cold caused by Hoax CO2 is a pollutant fraud is the cold cash it steals for the UN World Governmemt forces.

Original Mike said...

"Wisconsin is geographical winter."

Not fair. July is (too) warm.

Anonymous said...

I think the most important cause of global warming is the sun.

mikee said...

I am perfectly happy to have the climate changes, even anthropogenic climate changes, cited as the cause of changing weather patterns.

What I object to is the use of climate change to impose statist authoritarianism on everyone in the world, with the destruction of individual rights as a side effect.

Find a better answer to climate change than the crapfest that leftists insist upon serving up for everything and anything that ever has happened, is happening or will happen on this planet. Or go to hell with your crapfest of "solutions" that solve nothing but the leftist quest for dominion in all things.

mikee said...

I am perfectly happy to have the climate changes, even anthropogenic climate changes, cited as the cause of changing weather patterns.

What I object to is the use of climate change to impose statist authoritarianism on everyone in the world, with the destruction of individual rights as a side effect.

Find a better answer to climate change than the crapfest that leftists insist upon serving up for everything and anything that ever has happened, is happening or will happen on this planet. Or go to hell with your crapfest of "solutions" that solve nothing but the leftist quest for dominion in all things.

Carter Wood said...

Questor said ...
Evidence suggests the paleoindians used an ice-free corridor between the Cordilleran ice sheet in the west and the much larger Laurentide ice sheet in the east. Their route was from the area around present day Yellowknife to the vicinity of Grand Forks.


In fact, Wisconsin's lack of glaciation set the stage in a fun Clifford D. Simak time-travel story, "Project Mastodon": Using the 50,000-year calibrations, they had figured it out. One jump (conceding that the calibration was correct) would have landed them at the end of the Wisconsin glacial period; two jumps, at its beginning. The third would set them down toward the end of the Sangamon Interglacial and apparently it had – give or take ten thousand years or so.

Quaestor said...

F*ck you, f*ucking deniers!

Sorry. I was temporarily possessed by the Abie Someone demon.

Hagar said...

Another example of the science being "not settled."
I have seen an article saying that the inland route in fact was blocked somehow, and the early Indians did migrate down along the then west coast shoreline, which is now under water so the traces do not show.

viator said...

I thought global warming caused Trump? Or did Trump cause the polar vortex? Or did climate change cause the polar vortex? Maybe Trump caused climate change. It's all so confusing.

Freder Frederson said...

The record low for Chicago is -27, which was 20 January 1985. That's a winter temperature. In case you don't under the calendar, Freder, the date is December 15th, which is a day in autumn.

In December of '83, it was -21 on the 23rd, and -25 on the 24th. The record for December 1 is -5. The record for December 18 (when it is supposed to be -16 in Chicago), is -11. So although it will probably be a new record for that date, it is certainly not going to smash the record (the record for Dec 19 is -14)

So there.

Trumpit said...

This new story is well done and not patronizing in the least.


http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/15/world/africa/agadez-climate-change.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

But since it has to do with Africa, and Africans, who cares, right? So they starve, and they kill each other, what of it?

JPS said...

Feeder, interesting data.

I'm still curious whether you would disagree that to climate alarmists, every new datum that supports their theory is proof of its obvious validity; whereas every datum that might appear to undermine it is either random noise, is incorrect, or is also proof of their theory's validity.

See, I might look at the pattern and think that the strongest feedback in anthropogenic global warming theory is actually Texas Sharpshooter's Fallacy. But then I'm just a scientist, not a Climate Scientist.

JPS said...

Darned autocorrect. Sorry, Freder.

tim maguire said...

Ahhh....I'm lying in bed watching the snow swirl out the window thinking of sending the kid next door so I can go shoppong without wrapping up more than me and you're all making me think of a winter in Columbus, OH. 1994, I believe, though maybe 1993. One day it was -20 and my car started just fine (I was so proud of that beater that morning), but the next day it was -24 and when I turned the key and Nothing happened. Somewhere between -20 and -24--that's the limit.

One February, when there was a few inches of snow on the ground, the temperature jumped 10 degress from mid-20's to mid-30's. Just long enough to get a heavy rain storm and then the temperature dropped back down again, covering the whole world with an inch-thick layer of glassy smooth ice so strong you could drive the car up on the lawn and not leave a mark.

And the temperature stayed down for weeks so the ice didn't melt. Sure, some peope had fun--some neighbors went ice skating on the sidewalk--but everyone got bruised up and the emergency rooms filled up with broken bones.

Original Mike said...

Feeder's about right.

Gahrie said...

But since it has to do with Africa, and Africans, who cares, right? So they starve, and they kill each other, what of it?

Worldwide poverty and hunger are at all time lows, even as the world's population is at an all time high. Crop yields are up worldwide, and one of the reasons is the increased CO2 in the air.

As to them killing each other.....it's been going on since before civilization arose, and western attempts to deal with the problem are condemned as colonialism. (Unless it is a check of course....)

Michael said...

Models!! I am familiar with financial models and can, if you wish, produce a model that will give you the return you would happen to be looking for based on any investment you would like. Within a basis point if necessary. Or I can give you a model that is the result of inputs that I find satisfactory but which might produce returns that are not so satisfactory to you.

Gahrie said...

The African famines of the past two decades, though commonly attributed to drought, were actually triggered or significantly amplified by political tumult and foolish governmental policies. Even where weather plays a role, human agency always plays a bigger one.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/feed_the_world/2014/04/climate_change_and_agriculture_global_warming_could_cause_catastrophic_famines.html

MadisonMan said...

The Bears game will be cold.

Original Mike said...

"The Bears game will be cold."

Great. Just what Rodgers needs.

Bumsurf said...

I'm a sicko denier. Climate change = weather. if I get locked up I'll probably freeze my ass to death.

Ed Bo said...

In the 1970s, prominent climate scientists were blaming southward excursions of the polar vortex on global cooling.

Darrell said...

Turn the NYT into a warming shelter.