(Note that in the above figure there is no correlation between estimated average temperature (blue line) and atmospheric CO2 concentrations (gray line) for the past 600 million years (from GEOCARB III project). Also, average temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations today are much lower than for most of the past 600 million years. (After Scotese and Bernier, 2001).
Dr. Eric T. Karlstrom
Professor of Geography
California State University, Stanislaus
Summary/Synopsis
(updated December 1, 2010)
Many top, international scientists have now come to the conclusion that the hypothesis of AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming) is disproven by the scientific evidence (AGW Quotes 2). I’ve just completed an 80 page open letter to policy makers entitled: “Disproofs of the Hypothesis of Unprecedented, Catastrophic AGW: And Proofs that AGW is a Fraud”(Open Letter PDF). As Thomas Huxley famously stated:
The great tragedy in science: the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.
If AGW is now disproven by the scientific evidence, why are we still constantly reminded by politicians and the media that we are guilty of damaging the Earth? As Professor Paul Reiter, world expert on tropical diseases at the Pasteur Institute, Paris, and former expert on the United Nations IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) stated:
The global warming alarm is dressed up as science, but it is not science. It is propaganda.
And why would we want to spend trillions of dollars to “fix” the climate when, for the entire 4.6 billion year history of Earth, all organisms have adapted to natural climate change? Meteorologist Mark Nolan stated:
I'm not sure which is more arrogant - to say we caused [global warming] or that we can fix it.
Part of the propaganda is that we are told that a“consensus” of scientists believe in AGW. Not true. Stating the sentiments of many, Ohio meteorologist Dan Webster noted:
In my dealings with meteorologists nationwide, ‘about 95% share my skepticism about global warming.'
Indeed, many top scientists are more than skeptical; they ridicule the idea as foolish. Dr. Reid Bryson, considered the father of modern scientific climatology, stated:
You can go outside and spit and have the same effect as doubling carbon dioxide. All this argument is the temperature going up or not, it’s absurd. Of course it’s going up. It has gone up since the early 1800’s, before the Industrial Revolution, because we’re coming out of the Little Ice Age, not because we’re putting more carbon dioxide into the air.
Before we can evaluate whether or not humans are causing disastrous "global warming," or “climate change” or “climate disruption,” as many now call it, we first need to gain a basic understanding of the magnitude and timing of natural climate changes that have occurred over geologic time and which are still occurring today. Modern scientific climatology is still a very young science, having been established in the U.S. by Dr. Reid Bryson of the University of Wisconsin several decades ago. However, thousands of earth scientists have studied climates of the past over the past century, and have now assembled a truly impressive body of research in the field of paleoclimatology. Even so, however, there is still no generally accepted theory of climate change. This is mainly due to the facts that: 1) weather and climate are extremely complex, often chaotic systems, and 2) the sciences of climatology and paleoclimatology are still in their infancy.
Because of the potentially disastrous consequences of adopting some of the solutions that have been proposed to solve the alleged problem of "climate change," (including imposition of carbon taxes, "cap and trade” schemes, carbon sequestration, geo-engineering, etc.), I herein try to summarize some of the most important aspects of what is known about natural climate change. Before our society is stampeded into political solutions to an alleged problem that many scientists, including myself, now realize does not exist, it is essential that our citizenry and our politicians try to learn from the real climate experts whose voices are often not heard. Among these voices are some of the most distinguished climate and paleoclimate researchers (see audio interview links).
On this website, I feature this and many other choice quotes on the topic of man-caused global warming by various experts (Quotes On Global Warming,) AGW quotes from the U.S. Senate Minority Report: More Than 700 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims). In addition, I list many useful books, articles, DVDs, and government reports on the controversial topic of the "Global Warming Hoax" (References on Global Warming Hoax). This website also includes a series of radio interviews that I’ve conducted with experts such as Dr. Timothy Ball, Canada's first climatology Ph.D., Christopher Horner, author of two books on the global warming hoax; "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism," and "Red Hot Lies; How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats, Fraud and Deception to Keep You Misinformed," Rosalind Peterson, emeritus geology professor, Dr. Don Easterbrook, and retired physics professor, Dr. Howard Hayden.
We cannot even begin to ascertain the extent of human impacts upon the climate system unless and until we understand the natural climate system itself. Thus, we should begin by highlighting what is known about the magnitude and timing of natural climate changes. Certainly, we earth scientists understand that the earth's climate has changed radically during it's 4.6 billion year history, that climate has been much warmer than present for about 80% of Earth history, and that living things tend to do much better during warmer climates. I provide on this website a brief summary overview of earth and human history that I utilize for one of my university courses (GEOG 3020 Human Ecology); Earth and Human History: An Overview. The Carbon Cycle as an essential component of all ecosystems is detailed in How Ecosystems Work.
During my research and teaching career spanning the last four decades, I've always held the conviction that the study of past climate is a truly dynamic, exciting, and important field. Many of my own scholarly research papers are devoted to answering questions about past climates (Biography and Publications of Dr. Eric T. Karlstrom). Many theories of climate change have been advanced to try to explain natural fluctuations. It seems to me we are now finally on the verge of understanding the processes that drive natural climate change.
I also feature the paleoclimatic theories and data developed by my father, Dr. Thor Karlstrom, whose pioneering work on climate cycles spans over 50 years (from the 1950's to the present) and who is the one that got me interested in this subject. Dr. Thor Karlstrom's extraordinary syntheses of global climate patterns are based on his examination of countless climatic records from all around the world. A brief overview of his ideas can be gained by watching an informal presentation on Natural Climatic Cycles that he made at the University of Massachussetts in 2007. Herein, I also include summary notes of this lecture (Notes on Natural Climatic Cycles; June 5, 2007). In the future, I and some of my students will be adding to this website.