A Big Picture Look At “Earth’s Temperature” – “Extreme Weather” Update (2012-11-11). A post “By WUWT regular Just The Facts”. I’m going to assume that JTF is merely another sock-puppet of Anthony’s censors the way that “Smokey”, WUWT’s resident denialist troll that always gets a free pass, is really David B. Stealey (“dbs”).

“Big Picture” is code for step waaaay back, take off your glasses, slap on the blinkers and close your good eye.

Here’s JTF’s nothing-to-see-here preface:

All of these claims and “extreme weather” rhetoric seems to be predicated on the assumption that “Earth’s Temperature” has increased recently, thus causing “extreme weather” to arrive and become the “new normal”. However, does the observational data support this assumption? Let’s take a look…

Just go read Open Mind’s post Extreme Denial to get a somewhat dissenting opinion on JTF’s enthusiastic ignorance:

Under the guise of a “big picture” look, WUWT reader “just the facts” purports to show that climate data don’t support the claim of an increase in extreme weather. But he (she?) doesn’t show evidence about extreme anything, just a bunch of graphs, which he got from other sources, followed by the wrong conclusions. Show a graph of, say, global average temperature, then say “doesn’t look like there’s been much global warming” (even though there has been), and conclude “no increase in extreme weather here.” And of course “he” goes “out of his way” to use “scare quotes” at “every opportunity.”

“Cold homes and energy poverty” (May 17, 2011). Anthony Watts is annoyed that an editorial in the British Medical Journal, The health impacts of cold homes and fuel poverty, accepts “hook line and sinker the ridiculous recent claim of Super exponential accelerating CO2 growth“ and even dares to reference it. Except, not really; the editorial quote makes no mention of “super exponential” and that research is only referred to in passing. Of course the fundamental point that CO2 levels are rising quickly is something that only an idiot (Hi Anthony!) would dispute.

See? Not accelerating! Much. From Skeptical Science.

Here’s the naughty paragraph (most evil bit in my italics):

The world community is struggling to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide is not merely continuing to rise when it should be starting to fall, but its rise is accelerating.8 The essence of the problem is our apparent unwillingness—as people, populations, and politicians—to put moral obligations above short term economic interests. So, when measures are identified that have negligible net cost and that will bring benefits on many fronts, including reducing health inequalities, they should be enthusiastically and promptly embraced and implemented.

So the editorial is really about how increasing the thermal efficiency of British homes, especially older rural housing stock, can keep them warmer in the winter and offer wide-ranging benefits to society. ”Living in cold conditions is a risk to health.”

Isn’t that kind of, sort of, a bit like, nearly the same as the denialist meme that warmer is always better? You missed one Anthony.

“T. Boone Pickens Abandons U.S. wind power“. T. Boone Pickens’ changing business interests apparently proves that Global Warming isn’t happening and that no-one should invest in “green” initiatives. Pasting in a Slashdot story stub proves it.

Hmm. The Slashdot comments suggest that he was angling for big government handouts and had an ulterior motive of wanting control of access corridors for pipelines.

“Comment 500,000“. I think Shakespeare said it best: “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Anthony Watts’ commenters are an excellent example of people trapped in self-reinforcing group-think.

“Jim and Bill’s excellent misadventure“. Anthony Watts has found a transcript of an interview of Jim Hansen by Bill McKibben. I wonder if he got permission to repost it?

According to Anthony;

Reading it, you can feel some of the anger these two guys have for people like you and I, riding just below the surface of the conversation. You can also get a hint of the panic they feel.

Oh, if wishes were fishes Anthony. Think about how people feel about truculent, obstinate stooges and you’ll get an idea of the emotions in play.