Scientific method for making policy.
Fig. 1

Crackpot Biochemist Predicts End of World

Another "scientist" turned political activist making a fool out of himself.

Nov. 19, 1970 New York Times, Nov. 18 (AP)

To quote:

A Harvard biochemist says civilization will end within 15 to 30 years...Dr. George Wald, a Nobel Prize winner and antiwar figure, made the statement in a speech at the University of Rhode Island on Monday.

The problems that Dr. Wald called "overwhelmingly threatening" are pollution, overpopulation and the possibility of nuclear war. It is "utterly meaningless and bankrupt," Dr. Wald said, to believe that merely increasing food production is an answer to growing population. "The problem is quality of life," he said, "and that quality has already deteriorated within this century. We are overpopulated even here in the United States."

His comment about the U.S. being "overpopulated" is demonstrably false. He even attacks food production. He sounds like a whiney, entitled child.

He is another Jewish refugee that escaped the Nazi death machine by coming to America - a culture and nation he seems to disdain. He is a biologist and philosopher. (WIKI)

He has zero credentials in earth science, technology, manufacturing, or related fields.

He doesn't know what he is talking about, no matter how many Noble Prizes or how brilliant he is.

This problem is false authority. Being a noted scientist doesn't mean one's uninformed opinions and political activism are science anything.

To quote another article:

"Wald was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War and the nuclear arms race. He even flew to Moscow at one point to advise the leader of the Soviet Union on environmental policy."

He has no business advising on such issues because he knows nothing about them. He did speak against human rights abuses in the Soviet Union.

Posted 8/23/2022.

Slight Warming as Background Noise?

The last 50 million years have seen massive and continuing mountain building. Mountain erosion removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The erosion of rocks releases minerals into the oceans. To quote www.whoi.edu,

Scientists have long known that steep mountain ranges can draw carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere—as erosion exposes new rock, it also starts a chemical reaction between minerals on hill slopes and CO2 in the air, "weathering" the rock and using CO2 to produce carbonate minerals like calcite.

Also known as calcium carbonate-limestone. CO2 forms a weak acid in rainwater. This erodes rocks. That calcium (and magnesium, barium) carbonate flows into the oceans. It neutralizes acid. That is why one takes an antacid for an upset stomach.

This also occurs in the oceans. No the oceans are not becoming acidic. The pH may vary in specific locations, but the oceans are still basic due to mountain erosion and carbonates from rivers. Measuring surface water pH will be lower than deeper water. CO2 dissolves at the surface layers, is removed in the deep oceans.

This is the typical problem. To quote,

per NOAA Global Climate Report for June 2021 anomaly above 20th century average of 13.5 degrees C, preindustrial absolute temperature per Berkeley Earth 2020 anomaly of 1.27 above preindustrial.

The attached graph listed the following: 2021 Jan-Jun (14.29 degrees C); preindustrial (~13 degrees C).

This claim is deceptive. When did "industrial" begin? Some claim 1800; others claim ~1850.

Others place the industrial revolution back to 1750.

This date makes a difference because we came out of the Little Ice Age (which started ~1500 and ended 1800-1850), which was 1-2 degrees C cooler than today.

They do not know the global temperature in 1800 or 1850 within a few degrees and only in specific locations.

Few nations outside Europe and America even had thermometers. Computer models were used to concoct this number. I reject computer models.

Let us argue that from 1800 to 2021, the temperatures rose 1.27 degrees C over 221 years. That is a whopping 0.0057 degrees C per year. You have to be kidding me!

Is this minor change an emergency? Prove it is not a natural event! It was supposed to warm up as it did in the past!

These minor variations are normal background noise.

Finally using real and not computer model speculation the Great Lakes present a puzzle for Climate Thumpers.

One year the press howls lake levels are falling due to climate change. A few year later howling about lake levels rising due to climate change.

Records show constant rise fall since 1918. This is normal. It is background noise.

See the graphics Great Lakes water levels 1918-2021

See Crackpot Press Falsely Blames CO2 for Great Lakes Water Level Changes