THE MANITOBA REVIEW OF UPPER NECK MANIPULATION

This is a fascinating new review of upper neck manipulation. It raises many concerns that we, on this blog, have been struggling with for years. I take the liberty of quoting a few passages which I feel are important and encourage everyone to study the report in full: The Minister of Health, Seniors and Active […]

Read the rest here: THE MANITOBA REVIEW OF UPPER NECK MANIPULATION

Chiropractic: a ‘global overview’

Chiropractic is hugely popular, we are often told. The fallacious implication is, of course, that popularity can serve as a surrogate measure for effectiveness. In the United States, chiropractors provided 18.6 million clinical services under Medicare in 2015, and overall spending for chiropractic services was estimated at USD $12.5 billion. Elsewhere, chiropractic seems to be […]

Read the rest here: Chiropractic: a ‘global overview’

German association of doctor-homeopaths receive prestigious award

Yes, I did promise to report on my participation in the ‘Goldenes Brett’ award which took place in Vienna and Hamburg on 23/11/2017. I had been asked to come to Vienna and do the laudation for the life-time achievement in producing ridiculous nonsense. This year, the award went to the ‘DEUTSCHER ZENTRALVEREIN HOMOEOPATHISCHER AERZTE’ (DZVhÄ), […]

Read the rest here: German association of doctor-homeopaths receive prestigious award

2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. 

Editor's Pick

Should a healthy environment be a human right? These Norwegians think so 

 

Greenpeace and the environmental group Youth and Nature are suing the Norwegian Government for granting Arctic oil drilling licenses.

Their argument is based on an article in the Norwegian constitution protecting the right to an environment that’s healthy and that long-term consideration be given to digging up natural resources.

Greenpeace Norway head Truls Gulowsen told Hack it all comes down to climate change and oil licenses.

"We had challenged the Norwegian state for handing out new licenses for drilling in the arctic in spite of the fact that they have signed the Paris Agreement," he said on his way to court.

"They acknowledge climate change is a problem, and they know that the world has already found more carbon, fossil carbon, than we can ever afford to burn."

He said Norway's constitution gives future generations the right to a healthy environment.

"[That] puts duties on the state to guarantee and safeguard those rights."

Brendan Sydes, lawyer and CEO of Environmental Justice Australia, says the strategy used by Greenpeace goes to a country’s legal foundation, instead of working with a country's environmental regulations.

Should a healthy environment be a human right? These Norwegians think so by Courtney Carthy, ABC News (Australia), Nov 23, 2017

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun Nov 19, 2017

• New research, Nov 6-12, 2017 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Nov 17, 2017
• World’s biggest sovereign wealth fund proposes ditching oil and gas holdings by Adam Vaughn, Guardian, Nov 16, 2017
• The McKibben effect: a case study in how radical environmentalism can work by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 17, 2017
• U.S. Is Acting ‘Like a 5-Year-Old’ Over Global Warming, EU Official Says by Jess Shankleman, Bloomberg News, Nov 17, 2017
• Conflict and climate push 224 million Africans into hunger - U.N. by Thin Lei Win, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Nov 16, 2017
• The once and future Democratic consensus on climate change by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 18, 2017
• COP23: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Bonn by Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, Nov 19, 2017
• After Bonn: where next for the global climate caravan?, AP/Washington Post, Nov 17, 2017

Mon Nov 20, 2017

• Climate Change: The World’s Poorest Will Judge us by Action by Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, Inter Press Service (IPS), Nov 16, 2017
• At Climate Summit, Two Global Energy Alliances Emerge by Stella Paul, Inter Press Serice (IPS), Nov 19, 2017
• These things are costing us:' Arctic climate change affecting the south by Bob Weber, National Observer, Nov 19, 2017
• We Were Warned, Opinion by Anthony Doerr, Sunday Review, New York Times, Nov 19, 2017
• Battered by extreme weather, Americans are more worried about climate change by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Nov 20, 2017
• As Oceans Warm, the World’s Kelp Forests Begin to Disappear by Alastair Brand, Yale Environment 360, Nov 20, 2017
• Added Arctic data shows global warming didn't pause, Phys.org, Nov 20, 2017

• Is Trump's Nasa Nominee Ready to Tackle Climate Change by Eric Niler, Wired, Nov 20, 2017

Tue Nov 21, 2017

• Why China Wants to Lead on Climate, but Clings to Coal (for Now) by Somini Sengupta, Climate, New York Times, Nov 14, 2017
• Desperate Need to Halt ‘World’s Largest Killer’ — Pollution by Baher Kamal, Inter Press Service (IPS), Nov 20, 207
• EPA Revises the Social Cost of a Potent Greenhouse Gas by Niina Heikkinen, ClimateWire/Scientific American, Nov 20, 2017
• Why It's Vital for the U.N. To Agree on a Plan for Loss and Damage by Eric J Lyman, Pacific Standard, Nov 17, 2017
• Solar 'revolution' as residents sharing energy create virtual power plants by Matt Peacock, ABC News (Australia), Nov 20, 2017
• An American at the Bonn Climate Change Negotiations. by Donald Brown, Ethics and Climate, Nov 20, 2017
• As climate talks end, it is time for action, Editorial, Nature, Nov 20, 2017
• To combat climate change, increase women's participation by Katharina Wecker & Irene Banos Ruiz, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 20, 2017

Wed Nov 22, 2017

• Antarctic glacier's rough belly exposed by Jonathan Amos, BBC News, Nov 20, 2017
• Surfing for Science: Ocean Enthusiasts Could Help Gauge Coastal Warming by Andy Extance, Scientific American, Nov 20, 2017
• In his own words: Behind a one-time skeptic's climate 'flip' by Bud Ward, Yale Climate Connections, Nov 20, 2017
• Ocean acidification: climate change's evil twin by Lars Bevanger, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 21, 2017
• Global Warming Might Be Especially Dangerous for Pregnant Women by Ellie Kincaid, The Atlantic, Nov 21, 2017
• COP23 video: Three need-to-knows from the UN climate talks in Bonn by Rosamund Pearce & Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, Nov 21, 2017
• Ice Apocalypse by Eric Holthaus, Grist, Nov 21, 2017

Thu Nov 23, 2017

• One Ocean, Two La Nina Forecasts: A Look Behind the Numbers by Brian K Sullivan, Bloomberg News, Nov 21, 2017
• California nets $860 million from carbon auction by Jonathan J Copper, AP, Nov 21, 2017
• How Greed, Fear and Our Own Biases Blind Us to the Realities of Climate Change by James S Gordon, Alternet, Nov 22, 2017
• Debunking Climate Change Myths: A Thanksgiving Conversation Guide, InsideClimate News, Nov 22, 2017
• A chat leads to a change of view on climate by Karin Kirk, Yale Climate Connections, Nov 21, 2017
• Trump didn't blow up the climate summit. What did happen in Bonn? by Mike De Souza, National Observer, Nov 22, 2017
• Americans get it on climate change, Opinion by Rhea Suh, Lin-Manuel Miranda & Vanessa Nadal, USA Today, Nov 22, 2017
• After ditching Paris, Trump’s team has another big international climate decision to make by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Nov 22, 2017

Fri Nov 24, 2017

• New global survey reveals that everyone loves green energy — especially the Chinese by David Roberts, Energy & Environemnt, Washington Post, Nov 21, 2017
• I Asked a Bunch of Climate Advocates About Life Under Trump. They Were Weirdly Optimistic. by Jermy Deaton, Nexus News, Nov 20, 2017
• Not if the Seas Rise, but When and How High, Book Review by Jennifer Senior, New York Times, Nov 22, 2017
• New Video: Climate, Sea Level, and Superstorms by Peter Sinclair, Climate Denial Crock of the Week, Nov 20, 2017
• The Carbon Brief Interview: Dr Katharine Hayhoe by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, Nov 23, 2017
• A Cop Out at COP23? by Tharanga Yakupitiyage, Inter Press Service (IPS), Nov 23, 2017
• America Gave Up On Climate Change, So These Global Efforts Stepped Up by Alexis Chemblette, Vice Impact, Nov 24, 2017
• Arctic climate change being felt farther south, scientists say, Canadian Press/CBC, Nov 23, 2017

Sat Nov 25, 2017

• Disrupting sensitive soils could make climate change worse, Stanford researchers find by Ker Than, Stanford News, Nov 24, 2017
• Combating Climate Change? Combat Land Degradation, Says UNCCD Chief by Stella Paul, Inter Press Service (IPS), Nov 24, 2017
• A Dispatch from Bonn: How Germany Uses Morality to Teach Climate Change by Katie Worth, Frontline, PBS, Nov 22, 2017
• Should a healthy environment be a human right? These Norwegians think so by Courtney Carthy, ABC News (Australia), Nov 23, 2017
• Climate scientists would make more money in other careers by Dana Nuccitelli, Skeptical Science, Nov 24, 2017
• Renewables will drive 'steep decline' in wholesale electricity price in Australia – report by Katharine Murphy, Guardian, Nov 22, 2017

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Many dentists are fond of alternative treatments – but why?

The fact that many dentists practice dubious alternative therapies receives relatively little attention. In 2016, for instance, Medline listed just 31 papers on the subject of ‘complementary alternative medicine, dentistry’, while there were more than 1800 on ‘complementary alternative medicine’. Similarly, I have discussed this topic just once before on this blog. Clearly, the practice […]

Read the rest here: Many dentists are fond of alternative treatments – but why?

200 years of homeopathy against malaria – and still utterly hopeless

Malaria is an infection caused by protozoa usually transmitted via mosquito bites. Malaria is an important disease for homeopaths because of Hahnemann’s quinine experiment: it made him postulate his ‘like cures like’ theory. Today, many experts assume that Hahnemann misinterpreted the results of this experience. Yet most homeopaths are still convinced that potentised cinchona bark […]

Read the rest here: 200 years of homeopathy against malaria – and still utterly hopeless

Homeopathy on trial

There has been a flurry of legal actions against manufacturers of homeopathic products (mostly) in the US. Many of these cases seem to settle out of court which means that we hardly hear about them. Of those that go to court, most are being won by the plaintiffs, but unfortunately some are also lost.

The […] Read the rest here: Homeopathy on trial

The most preposterous piece of pseudoscientific piffle of the year

Several national organisations of sceptics give annual awards to people and institutions who do outstanding work and those who do the opposite. Later this week, I will travel to Vienna, for instance, to give away one of this year’s ‘GOLDENES BRETT’, a negative prize for the most outrageous BS of 2017. Such things are good […]

Read the rest here: The most preposterous piece of pseudoscientific piffle of the year

2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #46

Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... Climate Feedback Reviews... SkS Week in Review... 97 Hours of Consensus...

Story of the Week...

UN Climate Talks Wrap Up with World Leaving Trump Behind

‘However much Trump wants to take us backward on climate change, the rest of the world — and the rest of the U.S. — is intent on moving forward.’

 

While protesters outside the UN climate talks urged an end to coal, a broad range of climate supporters spoke up inside, including U.S. states, cities and businesses that support great global ambition to rein in climate change. Credit: Sascha Schuermann/AFP/Getty Images 

Two weeks of international climate talks in Bonn made only incremental progress toward resolving disputes that have been lingering since the Paris Agreement of 2015. The main achievement may have been cementing a firebreak to prevent the Trump administration from torching the whole process.

The strategy is to assert a broad new leadership among nations big and small, to bolster their resolve with high-profile commitments from American cities and states, to muster corporations and financial institutions in an attempt to kickstart renewable energy and assist poor countries, and to leave Washington isolated on the world stage.

It's a strategy pinned on the hopes—although diplomats would never put it so bluntly—that either Donald Trump will change his mind or that the United States will change its leader.

"The story of these climate talks was that however much Donald Trump wants to take us backward on climate change, the rest of the world—and the rest of the U.S.—is intent on moving forward," said Nathaniel Keohane, vice president for global climate at the Environmental Defense Fund. 

UN Climate Talks Wrap Up with World Leaving Trump Behind by John H Cushman Jr, InsideClimate News, Nov 16, 2017 

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Toon of the Week...

 

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Quote of the Week...

“This is the worst moment for the Americans to start behaving like a five-year old all of a sudden,” Christian Ehler, a German member of the European Parliament who speaks on EU and U.S. relations at the climate change talks, said in an interview. “The leader of the western world is stepping out of the multilateral framework used to tackle the most dramatic problem the world might be facing in the next 100 years.” 

U.S. Is Acting ‘Like a 5-Year-Old’ Over Global Warming, EU Official Says by Jess Shankleman, Bloomberg News, Nov 17, 2017

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• Pummeled by extreme weather, Americans are growing concerned about climate change (Dana)
• Analysis: WRI data suggests emissions have already ‘peaked’ in 49 countries (Zeke Hausfather)
• Guest Post (John Abraham)
• Impact of climate change on health is ‘the major threat of 21st century’ (Daisy Dunne)
• New research this week (Ari)
• 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47 (John Hartz)
• 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Waming Digest #47 (John Hartz)

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Poster of the Week...

 

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Climate Feedback Reviews...

 

Climate Feedback asked its network of scientists to review the article, The three-degree world: the cities that will be drowned by global warming by Dom Phillips, Helen Roxburgh, Jonathan Watts, Josh Holder, Justin McCurry, Niko Kommenda, Richard Luscombe & Ruth Michaelson, Guardian, Nov 3, 2017

A majority of reviewers tagged the article as: Insightful and  Misleading.

Review Summary

This story in The Guardian includes maps of, and reporting from, five coastal cities that will be affected by continued sea level rise. The story discusses the impact sea level rise will have on those cities, and what they are doing to prepare and adapt.

However, scientists who reviewed the story found that it fails to explain one very important thing to readers: nowhere is it explained that the magnitude of sea level rise shown (for a scenario in which the world warms by 3 °C) is the amount that would occur after the planet has had centuries to millennia to come into equilibrium with elevated temperatures. Readers are likely to assume that the story’s maps illustrate sea level rise that could occur before the end of the 21st century, but this is not the case.

See all the scientists’ annotations in context

UPDATE (15 November 2017): The article has been updated to include some explanation in an expandable box. It states, in part, “How quickly will oceans rise? It could take decades or centuries, but change will be locked in by a 3C temperature rise, which would extensively melt ice caps, shrink glaciers and thermally expand the oceans so many current coastlines and low-lying plains would be under sea level.”

Guardian explores sea level rise impact on cities, but fails to make timescale clear, Climate Feedback, Nov 10, 2017

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SkS Week in Review... 

• 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #46 by John Hartz
• New research, November 6-12, 2017 by Ari Jokimäki
• California’s new law aims to tackle imported emissions by Zeke Hausfather (Carbon Brief)
• An Inconvenient Sequel – the science, history, and politics of climate change byJohn Abraham (Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian)
• Analysis: Global CO2 emissions set to rise 2% in 2017 after three-year ‘plateau’ by Zeke Hausfather (Carbon Brief)
• On climate and global leadership, it's America Last until 2020 by Dana Nuccitelli (Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian)
• 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #45 by John Hartz

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97 Hours of Consensus...

 

 

James White's bio page and Quote source 

High resolution JPEG (1024 pixels wide)

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2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #46

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. 

Editor's Pick

‘Planet at a crossroads’: climate summit makes progress but leaves much to do

The UN negotiations in Bonn lay the groundwork for implementing the landmark Paris deal, but tough decisions lay ahead

Representatives of Act Alliance hand out chocolate coins, promoting the need for climate finance for adaptation. Photograph: Kiara Worth/ENB/IISD

The world’s nations were confident they were making important progress in turning continued political commitment into real world action, as the global climate change summit in Bonn was drawing to a close on Friday.

The UN talks were tasked with the vital, if unglamorous, task of converting the unprecedented global agreement sealed in Paris in 2015 from a symbolic moment into a set of rules by which nations can combine to defeat global warming. Currently, the world is on track for at least 3C of global warming – a catastrophic outcome that would lead to severe impacts around the world.

The importance of the task was emphasised by Frank Bainimarama, Fiji’s prime minister and president of the summit: “We are not simply negotiating words on a page, but we are representing all our people and the places they call home.”

‘Planet at a crossroads’: climate summit makes progress but leaves much to do by Damian Carrington, Guardian, Nov 17, 2017 

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun Nov 12, 2017

• New research, Oct 30 - Nov 5, 2017 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Nov 10, 2017
• How Responsible Is Each Country When an Extreme Climate Event Strikes?  by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, Nov 9, 2017
• A Huge Plume of Magma Is Bulging Against Antarctica by Rafi Letzter, LiveScience/Scientfic America, Nov 11, 2017
• Trump’s top environmental pick says she has ‘many questions’ about climate change by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington, Post, Nov 8, 2017
• COP23: Fake Donald Trump marches in Carnival-themed climate protests in Bonn by Jennifer Collins, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 11, 2017
• Pope Slams 'Shortsighted' Human Activity for Warming and Calls for Global Outlook From World Leaders, AP/The Weather Channel Canada, Nov 10, 2017
• Congo basin’s peaty swamps are new front in climate change battle by John Vidal, Observer/Guardian, Nov 11, 2017
• As U.S. Sheds Role as Climate Change Leader, Who Will Fill the Void? by Lisa Friedman, New York Times, Nov 12, 2017

Mon Nov 13, 2017

• New research shows why forests are absolutely essential to meeting Paris Climate Agreement goals by Mike Gaworecki, Mongabay, Nov 9, 2017
• Solar Boom in Trump Country: It’s About Economics and Energy Independence by Lindsey Gilpin, InsideClimate News, Nov 10, 2017
• Lessons From Hurricane Harvey: Houston’s Struggle Is America’s Tale by Michael Kimmelman, Climate, New York Times, Nov 12, 2017
• Natural gas emissions will blow Europe's carbon budget at current levels by Arthur Neslen, Guardian, Nov 7, 2017
• Global CO2 Emissions to Hit Record High in 2017 by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, Nov 13, 2017
• McKibben: We need action to match the scale of the problem by Charlotta Lomas, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 9, 2017
• Over 15,000 Scientists Just Issued a 'Second Notice' to Humanity. Can We Listen Now? by Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams, Nov 13, 2017
• Will we be ‘wiped out?’ How climate change is affecting California by Christopher Cadelago, Sacramento Bee, Nov 13, 2017

Tue Nov 14, 2017

• Repair or Renovate? Puerto Rico Faces Stark Power Grid Options by Larry Greenemeier, Scientific American, Nov 13, 2017
• Do the opposite thing you did 18 months ago”: EPA staffers on the agency in the Trump era by Rachel Leven, Energy & Environment, Nov 10, 2017
• State of the climate: 2017 shaping up to be warmest ‘non-El Niño’ year by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, Nov 9, 2017
• Singing activists interrupt U.S. coal-focused event at United Nations climate conference by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Nov 13, 2017
• Global Warming Really Did Make Hurricane Harvey More Likely by Robinson Meyer, Atlantic, Nov 13, 2017
• On climate and global leadership, it's America Last until 2020 by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Nov 13, 2017
• COP23: The 10 Science ‘Must Knows’ on Climate Change by Earth League & Future Earth, futurearth, Nov 13, 2017
• US will become a net oil exporter within 10 years, says IEA by Adam Vaughn, Guardian, Nov 13, 2017

Wed Nov 15, 2017

• Floating Cities, No Longer Science Fiction, Begin to Take Shape by David Gelles, New York Times, Nov 13, 2017
• Analysis: Global CO2 emissions set to rise 2% in 2017 after three-year ‘plateau’ by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, Nov 13, 2017
• Can Carbon-Dioxide Removal Save the World? by Elizabeth Kolbert, Annals of Science, The New Yorker, Nov 20, 2017 Print Edition
• Unregulated solar geoengineering could spark droughts and hurricanes, study warns by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Nov 14, 2017
• Forget Donald Trump. Can anybody solve climate change? by Christopher Cadelago, Sacramento Bee, Nov 14, 2017
• Growing number of global insurance firms divesting from fossil fuels by Jonathan Watts, Guardian, Nov 15, 2017
• Koch-Funded Group Prods Trump’s EPA to Say Climate Change Not a Risk by Ari Natter, Bloomberg News, Nov 15, 2017
• These are the melting glaciers that might someday drown your city, according to NASA by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Nov 15, 2017

Thu Nov 16, 2017

• On Gender Day at Climate Meet, Some Progress, Many Hurdles by Stella Paul, Inter Press Service (IPS), Nov 15, 2017
• Global insurance plan aims to defuse potential climate damage 'bombshell' by Damian Carrington, Guardian, Nov 14, 2017
• Manage climate risks or face much more hunger by 2050 – U.N. by Laurie Goering, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Nov 15, 2017
• 2°C: 'We have a 5 percent chance of success' by Charlotta Lomas, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 16, 2017
• An Inconvenient Sequel – the science, history, and politics of climate change by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Nov 16, 2017
• October 2017 was the second warmest October on record, NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Nov 16, 2017
• In Bonn, Trump’s Answer to Global Warming? Drill, Baby, Drill! by Elizabeth Kolbert, Daily Comment, The New Yorker, Nov 15, 2017
• Europe steps in to cover US shortfall in funding climate science by Matt McGrath, BBC News, Nov 15, 2017

Fri Nov 17, 2017

• $2 billion investment in forest restoration announced at COP23 by Mike Gaworecki, Mongaby,  Nov 15, 2017
• Canada partners with U.S. climate resistance by Mike De Souza, National Observer, Nov 13, 2017
• Twenty countries join global alliance to phase out coal by 2030 by Nina Chestney & Stine Jacobsen, Reuters, Nov 16, 2017
• The U.S. Flooded One of Houston’s Richest Neighborhoods to Save Everyone Else by Shannon Sims, Bloomberg Businessweek, Nov 16, 2017
• Extreme Harvey-Like Rains in Texas 6x More Likely Today Than 25 Years Ago by Jeff Masters, Category 6, Weather Underground, Nov 16, 2017
• A More Conciliatory Tone on Climate from the U.S. at Global Talks by Lisa Friedman & Brad Plumer, New York Times, Nov 17, 2017
• ‘Planet at a crossroads’: climate summit makes progress but leaves much to do by Damian Carrington, Guardian, Nov 17, 2017
• 'Ringing alarm bells': Australia near the bottom of the heap for climate action by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, Nov 15, 2017 

Sat Nov 18, 2017

• Pope Francis denounces climate change deniers, AP/CBS News, Nov 16, 2017
• 3 things we learned at this week’s U.N. climate change meeting, Analysis by Joshua Busby, Washington Post, Nov 17, 2017
• COP23 video: Does Donald Trump make limiting global warming to 1.5C impossible? by Leo Hickman & Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, Nov 15, 2017
• Assessing the Global Climate in October 2017, NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, Nov 17, 2017
• Does NASA Data Show That Global Warming Isn’t Causing a Sea Level Rise? Fact Check Science by Alex Kasprak, Snopes, Aug 1, 2017
• Polluting UK coal plants export power to France as cold weather bites by Adam Vaughn, Guardian, Nov 18, 2017
• UN Climate Talks Wrap Up with World Leaving Trump Behind by John H Cushman Jr, InsideClimate News, Nov 16, 2017
• Global warming: NASA tool predicts which city will flood first; Mangalore, Mumbai at risk by Malavika Vyawahare, Hindustan Times, Nov 16, 2017

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Be aware of the BS called ‘chiropractic’

This is too wonderful (I found it on Twitter where it was posted by ‘Doctors Leonard and Michael Valentine’, chiropractors at Valentine Chiropractic in Fountain Valley, CA.) – I have to show it to you.

This could almost pass without a comment. But for what it’s worth, here are my 7 points: platitude, platitude, no, […]

Read the rest here: Be aware of the BS called ‘chiropractic’

Chiro behaving badly… is the GCC fit for purpose?

This article is worth reading, I think. It again begs the question whether the GCC is fit for purpose.

START OF QUOTE 

AN ILKLEY chiropractor has been found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct by the General Chiropractic Council (GCC). 

Dr John Rees, who works at Ilkley Chiropractic Clinic, Wilmot House, Railway Road, appeared before the Professional […]
Read the rest here: Chiro behaving badly… is the GCC fit for purpose?

Chiros as prescribers of medicines?

Chiropractors are often proud of offering drugless treatments to their patients. Many even have an outright aversion against drugs which goes back to their founding father, DD Palmer, who disapproved of pharmaceuticals. On this background it seems surprising that, today, some chiropractors lobby hard to get prescription rights.

A recent article explains:

A legislative proposal […] Read the rest here: Chiros as prescribers of medicines?

Happy Birthday YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS

Today, Price Charles celebrates his 69th birthday. Gun salutes will mark the occasion but he is said to celebrate in private. As in previous years, I take this occasion to update my tribute to him. Charles is one of the world’s most outspoken proponent of alternative medicine and attacker of science. He therefore has a […]
Read the rest here: Happy Birthday YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS

I AM SOOO PROUD!!! ‘Dr Rath Foundation’ published an entire article all about me!

The ‘Dr Rath Foundation’ just published a truly wonderful (full of wonders) article about me. I want to publicly congratulate the author: he got my name right [but sadly not much more]. Here is the opening passage of the article which I encourage everyone to read in full [the numbers in square brackets refer to […]

Read the rest here: I AM SOOO PROUD!!! ‘Dr Rath Foundation’ published an entire article all about me!

2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #45

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. 

Editor's Pick

Conservatives probably can’t be persuaded on climate change. So now what?

One more round of “messaging” won’t do it.

 

When it comes to climate change, US conservatives inhabit a unique position, as part of the only major political party in the democratic world to reject the legitimacy of climate science and any domestic policy or international agreement meant to address it. Instead, the GOP is working actively to increase production and consumption of fossil fuels and to slow the transition to renewable energy.

How can conservatives be moved on climate change?

I recently heard a podcast that helped me order my thoughts on this perennial debate. It was Political Research Digest, a weekly 15-minute research round-up hosted by Michigan State University political scientist Matt Grossman for the Niskanen Center. (Grossman is the author of Asymmetric Politics, a crucial text for understanding American political parties. The podcast is nerdy and good.)

In the third episode, Grossman takes a look at some recent literature on climate change opinion and how, if at all, it can be shifted among conservatives.

It begins well, with an excellent lay of the land. But the discussion of how to move forward goes off course, in a very familiar way. It stops short of contemplating the uncomfortable but increasingly likely possibility that persuading conservatives on this subject has become impossible, and what that might mean for those concerned about the looming dangers of climate change.

Let’s start with a look a few basic facts about public opinion on climate.

Conservatives probably can’t be persuaded on climate change. So now what? by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 10, 2017  

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun Nov 5, 2017

• Rapid CO2 cuts could allow some cool-water corals to adapt to global warming by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Nov 1, 2017
• The Two Faces of U.S. Negotiations at Cop23 by Lucia Graves, Pacific Standard, Nov 2, 2017
• U.S. Report Says Humans Cause Climate Change, Contradicting Top Trump Officials by Lisa Friedman & Glenn Trush, Climate, New York Times, Nov 3, 2017
• The COP23 climate change summit in Bonn and why it matters by Damian Carrington, Guardian, Nov 5, 2017
• Floods swamp Vietnam as typhoon death toll reaches 27 by Mai Nguyen and Matthew Tostevin, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Nov 5, 2017
• The world shrugs at Trump as global climate meeting begins in Bonn by Brady Dennis & Chris Mooney, Health & Science, Washington Post, Nov 5, 2017
• Donald Trump accused of obstructing satellite research into climate change by Robin McKie, Observer/Guardian, Nov 5, 2017
• Humanity has entered a global warming minefield, climate scientists say by Adam Wernick, Public Radio International (PRI), Nov 4, 2017

Mon Nov 6, 2017

• British Antarctic research station to shut for second winter as cracks in ice grow by Nicola Davis, The Guardian, Oct 31, 2017
• At Vatican, ‘Tenets of Faith’ Seen as Crucial in Climate Change Effort by Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, Nov 4, 2017
• Scott Pruitt’s Plot to Sabotage Science at the EPA by Emily Atkin, New Republic, Nov 2, 2017
• COP23: Thousands protest German coal use ahead of UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn by Katharina Wecker, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 4, 2017
• How the Trump White House Wound Up Releasing Dire Climate Report by Eric Roston & Christopher Flavelle, Bloomberg News, Nov 6, 2017
• We have every reason to fear Trump’s pick to head NASA by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Nov 6, 2017
• Five things that will be top of the agenda at the COP23 climate summit by Emily Farnworth, World Economic Forum, Nov 6, 2017
• As Climate Talks Open, Federal Report Exposes U.S. Credibility Gap by John H Cushman Jr, Nov 6, 2017

Tue Nov 7, 2017

• This year to be among three hottest on record: "extraordinary weather" - UN by Alister Doyle, Reuters, Nov 6, 2017
• Mapped: Where multilateral climate funds spend their money by Jocelyn Timperley & Rosamund Pearce, Carbon Brief, Nov 11, 2017
• The Zombie Diseases of Climate Change by Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, Nov 6, 2017
• How India’s battle with climate change could determine all of our fates by Damian Carrington & Michael Safi, Guardian, Nov 6, 2017
• Here’s How Far the World Is From Meeting Its Climate Goals by Brad Plumer & Nadja Popovich, New York Times, Nov 6, 2017
• As Syria embraces Paris climate deal, it’s the United States against the world by Brady Dennis, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Nov 7, 2017
• Trump Is Quietly Surrendering to China on Climate Change by Geoff Dembicki, Vice, Nov 7, 2017
• Wind and Solar Power Advance, but Carbon Refuses to Retreat by Eduardo Porter, New York Times, Nov 7, 2017

Wed Nov 8, 2017

• Records from Ancient China Reveal Link Between Epidemics and Climate Change by Chelsea Harvery, ClimateWire/Scientific American, Nov 7, 2017
• Scientists may have solved mystery of rapidly rising Indian Ocean sea level by Olivia Trani, GeoSpace, AGU Blogosphere, Nov 7, 2017
• How telling the right stories can make people act on climate change by Tom van Laer & Ross Gordon, The Conversation UK, Nov 6, 2017
• The seven megatrends that could beat global warming: 'There is reason for hope' by Damian Carrington, Guardian, Nov 8, 2017
• The climate science report Trump hoped to ignore will resonate outside of Washington, DC by Gary W. Yohe, The Conservation US, Nov 8, 2017
• This hypnotizing animation shows the incredible trend of global warming by Umair Urfan, Vox, Nov 7, 2017
• COP23: Trump, U.S. govt. seen as irrelevant to global climate action by Justin Catanoso, Mongabay, Nov 7, 2017
• EU proposes 30 percent CO2 reduction for cars by 2030, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 8, 2017

Thu Nov 9, 2017

• This company wants to build a giant indoor farm next to every major city in the world by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 8, 2017
• Changing Where Crops Are Grown Could Feed an Additional 825 Million People, Study Finds, Yale Environment 360, Nov 6, 2017
• Emerging nations urge rich to kick-start climate pact before 2020 by Alister Doyle, Reuters, Nov 8, 2017
• Election Winners Promise Climate Action in Coast-to-Coast Pushback on Trump by Phil McKenna, InsideClimate News, Nov 8, 2017
• Mapping how to feed 9 billion humans, while avoiding environmental calamity by Rhett A Butler, Mongabay, Nov 8, 2017
• La Niña Declared; Cooldown Nipping the Warmest Autumn on Record in Northeast U.S. by Bob Henson, Weather Underground, Nov 8, 2017
• Climate summit deadlocked over immediate action by Joydeep Gupta,India Climate Dialogue, Nov 9, 2017
• California Gov. Jerry Brown delivers a blunt climate change message in Germany by Erik Kirschbaum, Los Angeles Times, Nov 8, 2017

Fri Nov 10, 2017

• Will Policymakers Listen to Climate Change Science This Time Around? by Busani Bafana, Inter Press Service (IPS), Nov 8, 2017
• Angry seas and pouring rain: people in search of safe ground by Max Martin, India Climate Dialogue, Nov 8, 2017
• The climate has changed before. But this is different – look at the archeological record by Peter B Campbell, Guardian, Nov 9, 2017
• “Toasted, roasted and grilled” or already over the hump? by Dana Nuccitelli, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Nov 8, 2017
• Climate change” and “global warming” are disappearing from government websites by Umar Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 9, 2017
• How China has reduced the carbon footprint of developed countries, Guest Post by Glen Peters, Robbie Andrew &Jan Ivar Korsbakken, Carbon Brief, Nov 8, 2017
• We can brighten clouds to reflect heat and reduce global warming. But should we? by Stuart Leavenworth, McClatchy News, Nov 8, 2017
• Zillow: Climate change could make nearly 2 million more U.S. homes susceptible to future flooding by Michele Lerner, Washington Post, Nov 9, 2017

Sat Nov 11, 2017

• COP23: Writing the Paris accord rule book by Bob Berwyn, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 7, 2017
• COP23: Corporations and lobbyists welcome in Bonn by Dave Keating, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 10, 2017
• Al Gore: 'I tried my best' but Trump can't be educated on climate change by Oliver Milman, Guardian, Nov 10, 2017
• Conservatives probably can’t be persuaded on climate change. So now what? by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Nov 10, 2017
• EU strikes deal on carbon market reform by Alissa de Carbonnel & Oleg Vukmanovic, Reuters, Nov 9, 2017
• Anti-Trump US coalition tells UN climate talks: "We're still in" by Alister Doyle, Reuters, Nov 9, 2017

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Many physicians using homeopathy employ it as a placebo

Some doctors use homeopathy, and for proponents of homeopathy this has always been a strong argument for its effectiveness. They claim that someone who has studied medicine would not employ a therapy that does not work. I have long felt that this view is erroneous.

This article goes some way in finding out who is […]

Read the rest here: Many physicians using homeopathy employ it as a placebo

Aromatherapy: an efficient therapy for anxiety/depression? It’s time to stop such nonsensical pseudoresearch

This randomized controlled trial was aimed to investigate the effect of aromatherapy massage on anxiety, depression, and physiologic parameters in older patients with acute coronary syndrome. It was conducted on 90 older women with acute coronary syndrome. The participants were randomly assigned into the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received reflexology with lavender […]

Read the rest here: Aromatherapy: an efficient therapy for anxiety/depression? It’s time to stop such nonsensical pseudoresearch

Christopher Robin: a sad story

Jump to follow-up Today we went to see the film, Goodbye Christopher Robin.  It was very good. I, like most children, read Pooh books as a child.  Image from Wikipedia I got interested in their Author, A.A. Milne, when I discovered that he’d done a mathematics degree at Cambridge. So had [...]

DC's Improbable Science: Truth, falsehood and evidence: investigations of dubious and dishonest science

Read the rest at: Christopher Robin: a sad story

Peter Doshi is at it again with the anti-vaccine stuff

Let me start with the conclusion, because Peter Doshi’s article can be a little dry if you let it. I don’t want you to miss the point…

In the end, yes, CDC and vaccine manufacturers are out there paying for pushers of vaccines to push vaccines on the population. But we’re talking about vaccines and […]

Read more at: Peter Doshi is at it again with the anti-vaccine stuff by Reuben

Is Boiron (the world’s biggest manufacturer of homeopathics) telling the truth? What do you think?

It was the very first sentence of the Boiron US website on Oscillococcinum (we have discussed this amazing product before) that caught my attention: “Homeopathy is a therapeutic method that uses diluted substances to relieve symptoms.” I think this is demonstrably wrong.

Homeopathy is a therapeutic method that uses mostly the complete absence of an ingredient, and […]

Read the rest here: Is Boiron (the world’s biggest manufacturer of homeopathics) telling the truth? What do you think?

2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #44

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. 

Editor's Pick

There’s a huge gap between the Paris climate change goals and reality

Current pledges are about a third of what’s needed.

 

Coal-fired power plant in Wyoming 

n 2015 in Paris, the countries of the world agreed to hold the rise in global average temperatures to “well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”

How’s that going?

The unavoidably grim answer: not well, and not just because President Donald Trump has promised to pull the United States out of the accord.

Every year, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) releases an “Emissions Gap” report, on the remaining disparity between the world’s stated ambitions on climate and the actions it is currently taking. The 2017 edition of the report is out a week before the next round of international climate talks in Bonn, Germany. And it reports that the gap remains ... substantial.

Researchers calculate that for a reasonable chance of hitting our goal, global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2020 and the gap must be closed by 2030 — in other words, if we are not on the right trajectory by 2030, all hope of 1.5 degrees is lost and 2 degrees is almost certainly out of reach as well.

Let’s run through a few of the top-line conclusions of the report, which was assembled by an international team of scientists based on the most recent published science. 

There’s a huge gap between the Paris climate change goals and reality by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Oct 31, 2017

---

Links posted on Facebook

Sun Oct 29, 2017

• Guest Post: Dieter Helm’s review is not as radical as it might first appear by Matthew Bell, Carbaon Brief, Oct 27, 2017
• Why Isn’t the Bond Market More Worried About Climate Change? by Henry Grabar, Slate, Oct 28, 2017
• US winter has shrunk by more than one month in 100 years, AP/Guardian, Oct 27, 2017
• China Has Shut Down Up to 40% of Its Factories in an Unprecedented Stand Against Pollution by Peter Dockrill, Futurism, Oct 25, 2017
• UCS Publishes Industry’s Anti-ScienceDisinformation Playbook by Climate Denier Roundup (Climate Nexus), Daily Kos, Oct 25, 2017 
• These U.S. Cities Are Most Vulnerable to Major Coastal Flooding and Sea Level Rise, Research Report by Climate Central, Oct 25, 2017
• Global warming threatens nutrition levels in staple crops by Adam Wernick, Public Radio International (PRI), Oct 29, 2017
• Richard Branson’s green energy plan for Caribbean may include debt relief by Adriana Brasileiro, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Oct 28, 2017

Mon Oct 30, 2017

• 5 Years After Sandy: Vulnerable Red Hook Is Booming, Right at the Water's Edge by Brian Walsh, InsideClimate News, Oct 26, 2017
• How Fossil Fuel Allies Are Tearing Apart Ohio's Embrace of Clean Energy by Brad Wienders & David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News, Oct 29, 2017
• The internal inconsistency of Scott Pruitt’s climate stance by Jeremy Deaton, Think Progress, Oct 25, 2017
• Climate, migration disputes cloud German coalition talks by Hans-Edzard Busemann & Andrea Shalal, Reuters, Oct 28. 2017
• Global atmospheric CO2 levels hit record high by Jonathan Watts, Guardian, Oct 30, 2017
• 5 years after Superstorm Sandy, the lessons haven’t sunk in by Frank Eltman & Wayne Parry, AP News, Oct 27, 2017
• Trump administration’s Clean Power Plan repeal proposal is illegal, Opinion by William W Buzbee, The Hill, Oct 29, 2017
• Who will deliver the negative emissions needed to avoid 2C warming?, Guest Post by Glen Peters & Oliver Geden, Carbon Brief, Oct 30, 2017

Tue Oct 31, 2017

• Bonn, the global climate village: Bigger, greener ... better? by Helena Weise, Deutsche Welle (DW), Oct 30. 2017
• Sumatran region heats up as forests disappear by Hans Nicholas Jong, Mongabay, Oct 29, 2017
• Massive Carbon Sink May Be More Resilient Than Scientists Thought by Chelsea Harvey, Climate Wire/Scientific American, Oct 30, 2017
• New data gives hope for meeting the Paris climate targets by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Oct 30, 2017
• Trump’s Gang of Climate Deniers Has Grown Into an Army by Emily Atkin, New Republic, Oct 30, 2017
• Trump sued, lawyers claim denying children a healthy future by Niki Anderson, Yale News, Oct 30, 2017
• Climate change fueling disasters, disease in ‘potentially irreversible’ ways, report warns by Ben Guarino & Brady Dennis, Health & Science, Washington Post, Oct 30, 2017
• UN warns of 'unacceptable' greenhouse gas emissions gap by Fiona Harvey, Guardian, Oct 31, 2017

Wed Nov 1, 2017

• New Zealand considers creating climate change refugee visas by Charles Anderson, Guardian, Oct 31, 2017
• China says it still wants US cooperation on climate change, AP/Washington Post, Oct 31, 2017
• World set to bust global warming goal, but U.N. cool on threat from Trump by Tom Miles, Reuters, Oct 31, 2017
• Beyond Electric Cars: As China Leads in Electric Buses, India Could Follow Suit in Electric Motorcycles by Srikanth Shastry, World Resources Institute (WRI), Oct 31, 2017
• Can religions help in the fight against climate change? by Anna Pujol-Mazzini, Reuters, Oct 31, 2017
• Sea Change by Hannah Hoag, bioGraphic, Oct 31, 2017
• Climate change is happening — but it's not game-over yet by Ruby Russell, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 1, 2017
• Fossil fuel companies undermining Paris agreement negotiations – report by Michael Slezak, Guardian, Nov 1, 2017

Thu Nov 2, 2017

• The Cruel, Topsy-Turvy Economics of Collapse by Jeremy Lent, Patterns of Meaning, Oct 31, 2017
• Got Climate Questions? Climate Watch Has Answers by Johannes Friedrich & Andrew Pickens, World Resources Institute (WRI), Nov 1, 2017
• Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator comes under fire at Senate hearing by Christian Davenport. Washington Post, Nov 1, 2017
• Government Scientist Blocked from Talking About Climate and Wildfires by Brittany Patterson, ClimateWire/Scientific American, Oct 31, 2017
• 'Critical turning point' as more nations hit peak carbon emissions: think-tank by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, Nov 2, 2017
• Huge private sector investment puts Paris climate target in reach, says report by Fiona Harvey, Guardian, Nove 2, 2017
• Trump Team to Promote Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power at Bonn Climate Talks by Lisa Friedman, New York Times, Nov 2, 2017
• Trump's pick to lead NASA reveals controversial global warming views by Andrew Freedman, Mashable, Nov 1, 2017

Fri Nov 3, 2017

• Red Sea Warming Faster Than Global Average by Ruth Schuster, Haaretz, Nov 2, 2017
• How Wind Might Nudge a Sleeping Giant in Antarctica by Chelsea Harvey, ClimateWire/Scientific American, Nov 2, 2017
• Impact of climate change on health is ‘the major threat of 21st century by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Oct 30, 2017
• New Greenland maps show more glaciers at risk by Carol Rasmussen, NASA's Global Climate Change, Nov 1, 2017
• Mining activity causing nearly 10 percent of Amazon deforestation by Zoe Sullivan, Mongabay, Nov 2, 2017
• Massive Government Report Says Climate Is Warming And Humans Are The Cause by Christopher Joice, All Things Considered, NPR, Nov 2, 2017
• Is the world prepared for climate refugees? by Dave Keating, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nov 3, 2017
• A Contested Finding in a Major New Climate-Change Report by Robinson Myer, The Atlantic, Nov 2, 2017

Sat Nov 4, 2017

• More coral bleaching feared for Great Barrier Reef in coming months by Michael Slezak, Guardian, Nov 2, 2017
• There’s a huge gap between the Paris climate change goals and reality by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Oct 31, 2017
• UNEP: Six crucial actions to help close the world’s ‘emissions gap’ by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, Oct 31, 2017
• After a Record-Breaking Atlantic Hurricane Season, Here's What to Expect in the South Pacific by Kate Wheeling, Pacific Standard, Nov 3, 2017
• What do Jellyfish teach us about climate change? by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Nov 3, 2017
• From Miami to Shanghai: 3C of warming will leave world cities below sea level by Jonathan Watts, Guardian, Nov 3, 2017

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