UN: 2008 will be Year of the Fonzie
posted at 8:37 am on April 4, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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And what’s Fonzie like? Come on, Yolanda, what’s Fonzie like?
If you answered “cool”, give yourself a correctamundo. The UN now predicts that global temperatures will cool in 2008, keeping the 10-year streak of declining temperatures intact. That has some questioning whether anthropogenic global warming theories really hold water:
Average global temperatures in 2008 are forecast to be lower than in previous years, thanks to the cooling effect of the ocean current in the Pacific, U.N. meteorologists say.
The World Meteorological Organisation’s secretary-general, Michel Jarraud, said it was likely that La Nina, an abnormal cooling of sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, would continue into the summer.
If the forecast holds true, global temperatures will not have risen since 1998, prompting some to question climate change theory.
The UN says not to panic — er, rather, not to not panic. Just because carbon emissions have continued to increase while the world has cooled doesn’t mean that we’re not killing ourselves and the planet. Just because the models that predicted that clouds would amplify the greenhouse-gas effect have been shown as exactly incorrect doesn’t mean that we’re not going to submerge New York and Miami in the Atlantic Ocean.
Just be cool. Like Fonzie. Cool in this case means panicking and running around like Chicken Little, and demanding change now while ignoring the data.
Or maybe this has jumped the shark? (via the Astute Blogger)
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It only jumps the shark if richie and ralph (aka the main stream media) are chearing it on.
Wyrd on April 4, 2008 at 8:41 AM
I hope the temperature is warmer in 2008 than 2007. Just so the UN will be shown wrong, again.
Seixon on April 4, 2008 at 8:46 AM
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60626
World needs more CO2, environment confab told
‘There will be significant cooling very soon,’ asserts solar scientist
“Carbon dioxide is not even a little bit bad – it’s wholly beneficial.”
One observer at the February conference said there would have been fewer jaws dropping had Archibald stripped off his clothes before the assembled…
After Archibald’s speech, Martin Craigs, president of Aerospace Forum Asia, went to the microphone and asked: “Don’t you have Al Gore’s e-mail address?” “How can you be right and 2,000 scientists wrong?”
Archibald replied: “I am happy to share the science. It’s all reputable.”
alegnab on April 4, 2008 at 8:53 AM
use more engery now… more than ever.. need to get it warmer until its just the.right.balance.
DaveC on April 4, 2008 at 8:55 AM
The Left has already abandoned global warming in favor of rapid “climate change.” They’re covered. Even McCain had the new terminology down when he appeared on Letterman the other night.
JiangxiDad on April 4, 2008 at 8:59 AM
It’s all AL Gore’s fault. If he hadn’t invested so much in carbon credits.
Sensei Ern on April 4, 2008 at 8:59 AM
Who the hell is Fonzie?
LT Nixon on April 4, 2008 at 9:01 AM
Al Gore=Ralph
jgapinoy on April 4, 2008 at 9:02 AM
If the Fonz would just lean against the Earth, and give it a little hit in just the right place, all will be fine.
JetBoy on April 4, 2008 at 9:06 AM
Prediction: IPCC meetings will be canceled for the foreseeable future.
Remember….the debate is OVAH!
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on April 4, 2008 at 9:09 AM
Newt=Pottsie
jgapinoy on April 4, 2008 at 9:09 AM
Sean Penn = Potsie
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on April 4, 2008 at 9:09 AM
No, Sean Penn=Chachie
jgapinoy on April 4, 2008 at 9:12 AM
Allah=Fonzarelli
jgapinoy on April 4, 2008 at 9:13 AM
Laverne/Shirley=Hillary/Rosie O.
jgapinoy on April 4, 2008 at 9:13 AM
So the UN is admitting that man-made global warming is a giant fraud…. well better late than never I guess. Now I want my money back. Every time the government spends a billion dollars it cost the average American worker about ten bucks. Over the years since the early 1980’s congress has authorized more and more money each year up to present for “research” on global warming. They have wasted probably a trillion dollars or more. That means somebody owes me about ten thousand dollars. I’ll take in the form of a tax credit… that would be acceptable, but I do want my money back…. where do I go to get my refund?
If they don’t have my refund, then who is going to jail for all of the waste, fraud and abuse?
Maxx on April 4, 2008 at 9:20 AM
who would be Joannie and Chachi? chacci? (scott bai)
How does
ManbearpigAlGore hope to stop that pesky ‘climate’ change that happens 4 times a year pretty much everywhere?DaveC on April 4, 2008 at 9:22 AM
I’ve always marveled at those killer glaciers headed for New York manage to avert the Canadian maritime provinces, because their country’s good.
mymanpotsandpans on April 4, 2008 at 9:24 AM
It’s all for the greater good.. You should be able to sleep well at night KNOWING that politicians are LOOKING OUT for your well being… /sarc off..
i’m not holding my breath waiting at my mail box..
DaveC on April 4, 2008 at 9:25 AM
Maybe if we all collectively hit the U.N., it’ll work, for once.
emailnuevo on April 4, 2008 at 9:27 AM
Outstanding. AP and MM would never quote “Pulp Fiction”, though See-Dub definitely would.
steveegg on April 4, 2008 at 9:27 AM
“Average global temperatures in 2008 are forecast to be lower than in previous years …”
DAMMIT! Hey, some of us actually WANT global warming! I just moved from Florida to Delaware (DelaWHERE?) and it’s FREEZIN’ up here!
Others want global warming to be true so that they can say “Told ya!” and implement more govt social programs, but we won’t say who these people are *cough* libs *cough cough*.
Tony737 on April 4, 2008 at 9:28 AM
Ah, global cooling is coming. Yippee. I guess that means it’ll only be 114 degrees here in July, instead of the usual 115.
AZCoyote on April 4, 2008 at 9:29 AM
What’s our own idiot candidate going to do now?
Saying that he’s against waste and fraud in government, then signing on to this multi-trillion dollar shakedown scam, sort of takes away Maverick’s credibility.
TexasJew on April 4, 2008 at 9:31 AM
I want some darned warming; it’s April 4 and it’s -30C outside right now!
Frozen Tex on April 4, 2008 at 9:31 AM
There was an episode where the Fonz could not say the words ” I was wr….” wrong. It’s one I do remember well.
Al Gore = Fonzie
kahall on April 4, 2008 at 9:35 AM
You don’t notice that kind of thing when your head is up your ass.
JiangxiDad on April 4, 2008 at 9:36 AM
As a fellow Arizonan, I’d rather have 114-degree summers & no snow/ice/frostbite in the winter, thank you.
jgapinoy on April 4, 2008 at 9:36 AM
Does this mean we can tell the UN to give us our wallet back?
bj1126 on April 4, 2008 at 9:40 AM
With public schoolss, MSM, and Algore’s $300 million propaganda blitz, facts don’t matter much anymore.
petefrt on April 4, 2008 at 9:42 AM
Abnormal?? Um, isn’t it we have El Nino for X period of time then La Nina for Y period of time (whether it be months or years depending on the cycle)? What’s abnormal about something that occurs quite frequently during our lifetimes?
Tyrs Fury on April 4, 2008 at 9:45 AM
It won’t matter. “Global warming” was never really about “saving the planet”, it was always only about the psychosis suffered by those infected with Leftism. As soon as the official debunking of “global warming” occurs (as it must, soon) the same mental patients, er, “concerned citizens for peace and justice” will invent another, equally lunatic cause to force upon the globe. It’s about them, and their religious addiction to self-flagellating guilt, nothing else. Most likely, their next cockamamie fix will make “climate change” seem relatively sane.
Halley on April 4, 2008 at 9:50 AM
Good point. If it doesn’t fit their agenda, it’s ‘abnormal’.
After a few more years, if we’re caught possessing a gun, a SUV, or an incandescent light bulb, they’ll be sentencing us to counseling and re-education camps.
petefrt on April 4, 2008 at 9:53 AM
I’ve got more analysis of temperatures and what’s REALLY causing them over at the Autopsy.
Nethicus on April 4, 2008 at 10:08 AM
To AZCoyote; you know how they can’t even predict weather two days in advance in Phoenix, well get ready for 116. Two weeks ago, morning paper sunny/clear. Weather Channel sunny/clear. Local weather on TV, sunny/clear. Little lady and I went to mall at noon. Rained like hell, freeway had standing water. Yeah right, they are gonna tell me the weather for all of this year, 5 years, 20 years, 100 years.
pueblo1032 on April 4, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Solar cycles might be caused by man. Nobody has proven they’re not. If we don’t stop doing X, and start doing Y, our sun just might go out. Do you want to be responsible for that?? I didn’t think so.
JiangxiDad on April 4, 2008 at 10:10 AM
It would be nice if we could treat Al Gore and the U.N. in general the same way they did Richie’s brother Chuck on the show.
jon1979 on April 4, 2008 at 10:20 AM
How do they keep this “man made climate change” BS going with all the available conflicting evidence?
duff65 on April 4, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Joe Lieberman must be the older brother (Chuck) who disappeared after the first season.
exhelodrvr on April 4, 2008 at 10:27 AM
If you watch the debate closely, you’ll see that the global warming argument really hinges on two big points:
1. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased over time. Temperatures have increased over time. The two are related. Since we know from laboratory experiments that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas (air with higher concentrations of it retain more heat than air with lower concentrations of it), it’s considered by global warming advocates to be the causal factor behind temperature increases. This portion of global warming accounts for about 1 degree of warming in the next 50-100 years in the climate models.
2. Once temperatures increase, there’s a positive feedback effect from water vapor in the atmosphere, which amplifies the greenhouse effect. This portion of global warming accounts for 2-4 degrees of warming in the next 50-100 years.
If you watch the debate really closely, you’ll see that the proponents of global warming really push the first part, and give really short attention to the second part, even though it would be responsible for the bulk of any future temperature increase. There’s a reason for that – the science to date tends to support the first element, but not so much the second,
Interesting sidepoint: Recent research suggests that perhaps half the measured warming to date is likely the result of socioeconomic factors (such as urban heat-island encroachment on temperature measuring stations), rather than real climate-driven factors.
The big problem with the second point is that it’s flies against how nature tends to work. Nature is filled with processes and cycles that demonstrate a negative feedback effect (diminishing returns with increased inputs, if you will) while natural processes that involve positive feedback loops are truly exceptional and rare. I would think that if one were really inclined to use science to either demonstrate that the computer models supporting global warming are worth the electrons they consume or not, that would be a good place to begin.
ironman on April 4, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Reviving the wisdom of the ancient Meso-Americans, I see.
Bigfoot on April 4, 2008 at 10:51 AM
But it’s a dry heat…so we got that going for us.
jdpaz on April 4, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Sit on it, UN!
Nosferightu on April 4, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Are polar bears still drowning? That’s the true test.
tlynch001 on April 4, 2008 at 11:10 AM
The temperatures may be cool (like Fonzie),
but the whole Global Climate Change insanity is more like…
Mork from Ork.
My collie says:
Being a true conservative, I never forget the important lessons of history.
CyberCipher on April 4, 2008 at 11:28 AM
Dam, there goes my evil genius retirement plan…
I’ve got property in Denver… I figured if Gory was right, I’d end up with a Tropical Island Paradise… you know, PRIME real estate…
/sarc off
Romeo13 on April 4, 2008 at 11:46 AM
Randy Rhodes as Pinkie Tuscadero???
Will liberalism in general loose credibility when global warming is shown to be nonsense? Or will they say, “so we got that one wrong, but higher taxes are really the way to go….”
tommylotto on April 4, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Does this answer your question?
AZ_Mike on April 4, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Gore just seen running down street with fingers in ears yelling lalalalalalalalalal…
right2bright on April 4, 2008 at 12:50 PM
I am confused. I thought that CO2 and not El Nino and the sun caused global warming. Does that mean that La Nina and carbon credits, do or do not cause global cooling?
Johan Klaus on April 4, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Best line I’ve heard on the subject:
“I guess we better start doing something about global warming before we all f*cking freeze to death.”
ErikTheRed on April 4, 2008 at 12:53 PM
You could have cut your post down to this:
1) you have to be really stupid
2) you have to be very stupid
right2bright on April 4, 2008 at 12:53 PM
AZ_Mike on April 4, 2008 at 12:50 PM
We need a government program to teach polar bears how to swim.
Johan Klaus on April 4, 2008 at 12:53 PM
If everyone works for the government, who is going to pay them.
Johan Klaus on April 4, 2008 at 12:56 PM
Ah yes… another day which of course brings yet another obvious bald-faced lie from the global warming hucksters. This time it was none other than Mr. Adam Scaife, lead scientist for (British spelling) Modelling Climate Variability at the Hadley Centre in Exeter, UK that decided to lay claim to “Giant Global Warming Lie” (GGWL) number 9,437. Please don’t quote me on the exact number of GGWL’s, they often come so fast and furious that they are difficult to keep track of.
Here we have Mr. Scaife doing his part to gain a bit more job security. You see, if it would turn out that man-made global warming was all just a big “mistake” Mr. Scaife and his staff would no longer receive their paychecks. Undoubtedly, Mr. Scaife drives a very nice late model car, has a nice house and mortgage payments, so in his mind its perfectly justified to scare our children into sleepless nights for that all important paycheck.
Well, never mind that, let’s move on. What was GGWL # 9,437?
Regarding 2008, one of the coldest years in recent memory for many parts of the world, Mr. Scaife told the BBC:
Dear Mr. Scaife …. 1998 was TEN years ago ! Clearly your models which have predicted hotter and ever hotter years are not even in the ballpark for accuracy. But there is an even bigger problem than that ! THERE WAS NO RECORD SET IN 1998 FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE !! You, Mr. Scaife are either lying or incompetent or both. Which ever the case, you should be fired. If you are not aware that that fact, then why not? Its your job to know such things.
Here is the official NASA data Mr. Scaife, I suggest you review it. You will find its 1934 that holds the record for hottest year, NOT 1998. But of course the record only goes back to 1880, which is a relative “eye blink” in time compared to the age of the earth. Its also well known there were previous centuries much hotter than our current one. So exactly what do you have to support your extremist view that there is any kind of climate crisis, or even anything unusual about the current climate?
And just one question Mr. Scaife, assuming you are correct about “La Nina.” Isn’t it the sun that ultimately supplies the power to drive that effect….. or does “La Nina” somehow generate it’s own power? If we were to find that “La Nina” was ultimately powered by the sun’s energy, would it be reasonable to assume the sun has more influence on the planets’ temperature than say …… carbon dioxide?
Perhaps you will want to contact the BBC and retract your erroneous statement concerning “record year 1998” but I won’t hold my breath for that.
Maxx on April 4, 2008 at 1:16 PM
In response to Ironman’s comment, the proponents of global warming theory are pushing the carbon dioxide heat-trapping angle because combustion process emit carbon dioxide, and (according to them) we can do something about that.
Ironman is right that very few processes in nature have positive feedback. A slight warming of the atmosphere (whatever its cause) would increase evaporation rates from the oceans, meaning more water vapor in the atmosphere, but also more clouds and rain. Although overcast skies at night tend to trap heat, overcast skies during daytime hours tend to reflect sunlight, and the net result is a slight cooling effect.
In addition, higher CO2 concentrations tend to increase plant growth rates (there are hundreds of experiments that show this), which increases the rate at which CO2 is taken out of the atmosphere by photosynthesis. Even if man-made CO2 emissions are not reduced, the rate of CO2 removal by photosynthesis will eventually catch up to the man-made CO2 emission rate, and an equilibrium will be reached at a higher CO2 concentration than now. But increasing CO2 also increases crop yields–this would be a GOOD thing!
The heat-trapping effect of CO2 tends to be over-estimated. Infra-red radiation reflected from Earth is emitted over a wide range of wavelengths, and water vapor in the air absorbs (traps heat) at most of them. Carbon dioxide only absorbs infra-red over a narrow band of wavelengths, although very strongly, so that current concentrations of CO2 already absorb nearly all the infra-red radiation in the narrow band, and additional CO2 would not absorb much more. It’s analogous to painting a window black to prevent sunlight from getting through–once all the light is blocked, adding more black paint doesn’t absorb any more light, if it’s already completely blocked.
The major heat-trapping gas on Earth is not CO2, but water vapor. It absorbs infra-red over a much wider spectrum, and its concentration in the air is about 10 to 100 times that of CO2, depending on temperature and humidity. With 70% of the Earth’s surface covered by water, there will always be a huge supply of evaporation to replace water vapor lost by rain.
The best scientific estimates show that CO2 only accounts for about 0.03% of the “greenhouse effect”. Even if mankind could reduce the CO2 concentration by reducing emissions, the effect on temperatures would be minimal, probably within the measurement error of thermometers. Do we really want to spend trillions of dollars trying to reduce the concentration of a harmless gas that might affect temperatures by a small fraction of a degree, or do we have better things to do with our money? Like, maybe, don’t worry about it and reap increased crop yields in the future?
Steve Z on April 4, 2008 at 1:36 PM
Maxx on April 4, 2008 at 1:16 PM
Well said.
Johan Klaus on April 4, 2008 at 1:49 PM
Thank you Maxx. I hope that Ed can update his post to include the info. you present on the Nasa data. I had heard it, here at HA probably, but forgot. But as you say, Mr.Scaife surely didn’t forget. He doesn’t want anyone to know.
JiangxiDad on April 4, 2008 at 2:02 PM
It’s the EVIL CONSERVATIVES…they’re screwing up our Global Warming!!! They’ve somehow talked all the cows into not farting…
We need to raise taxes and elect more Liberals to restore balance…
yada, yada, yada….
landlines on April 4, 2008 at 2:12 PM
Nice summary and review of the real science! AMEN!!
And if we’ve got to fear something, I choose to fear politicians and bureaucrats who claim they can change the climate, influence the weather, or alter the orbit of planets with my money!!
landlines on April 4, 2008 at 2:22 PM
Fonzie can just pound on the atmosphere and get the carbon to clear out.
Capitana on April 4, 2008 at 2:39 PM
As a fellow Arizonan I second that “yippee!”
Liberty or Death on April 4, 2008 at 3:07 PM
Polar bears are getting too hot. Let’s send them more Coca-Cola.
saved on April 4, 2008 at 3:13 PM
I think Al Gore need to be Potsie. That would make the whole manmade global warming issue one giant Potsie sceme.
Corsair on April 4, 2008 at 3:21 PM
No, it’s the idiots’ fault who’ve generously paid to make him a rapid multi-, multi-millionnaire. Good for him. Capitalism is cool! Even if, in his case, unethical. But when it’s sanctioned with a Nobel, I give him a pass.
Entelechy on April 4, 2008 at 3:54 PM
I taught my son to ice skate last year and he has become a raving hockey fan. He actually gave away his baseball bat today–who needs it when you’ve got hockey? When I told him about how it’s going to start getting cooler, possibly much cooler according the people who do research on the sun, and who believe somehow that the sun is the source of most of the warmth on the planet (not withstanding how much hotter it gets at night when the sun doesn’t shine), he wents nuts. Whoo hoo, we’ll be able to have a backyard rink like these guys http://youtube.com/watch?v=h13HQXo1aZg !! He watches this clip all the time and moans, “Why couldn’t I have been born where there is ice in the winter, like you dad?” (Btw, that’s my comment under the name drewby613 on that youtube clip.) Now he’s constantly leaving sites like this http://www.outdoorfunstore.com/ice-rink-kits.asp up on my computer when I’m away from my desk. Whatta nudge. I tell him he’s a lot more likely to grow up to be a lobbyist than a hockey player.
I used to be a liberal, but started thinking after 911. Now when my lib friends ask me why I switched, I just say I got tired of being wrong all the time. No tanks in the streets after Bush’s second term, no global warming, etc. Add to this list, and let’s see how many things we can come up with.
Idea for a political cartoon. Al Gore tending a bonfire next to a gizmo marked “Official UN global temperature measuring station.” Al Gore with sheepish smile on his face saying, “Did I mention that I’m running a huge sale on carbon offsets?”
smellthecoffee on April 4, 2008 at 3:55 PM
I am hoping that Al and not the U.N. flat-earhers turn out to be right. It is 42 degrees in the Portland area (at least 10 degress cooler than normal for early April) and it was actually hailing for a few minutes just a while ago.
Go Global warming!!
P.S. Please hurry Al.
MB4 on April 4, 2008 at 4:18 PM
I’m still waiting on the summer of George.
TimboJackson on April 4, 2008 at 4:44 PM
The problem is, there has never been 2,000 scientists on the global warming bandwagon -only a small, vocal handful. This “hundreds” or “thousands” of scientists forming some kind of consensus has always been a myth. Just because that handful cherry-picked data from hundreds/thousands of scientists does not mean they all agree with the conclusions of those few alarmists.
Unfortunately a true scientific consensus takes years if not decades to form, and the a few rogues (in more than one sense of the word) always seem to use this lag to try to “control” the science to make a name for themselves. Anyone familiar with how scientific research progresses would have known there was no real scientific consensus because the had simply not been sufficient time to test the various hypothesis coming out with any real rigor. So while hundreds/thousands of scientists were saying, “we don’t know the answer yet”, the rogues were saying they had the answer. And the media and politicians just couldn’t resist the Chicken Little scenario. Who wants to lead with, “the sun rose today” when they could shout, “We’re dooooomed!”
taznar on April 4, 2008 at 9:59 PM
wow, you said much better than I ever could hope to do..
errr.. more CO2.. more plants grow.. take that, Algore..
DaveC on April 5, 2008 at 12:41 AM
They ended up with that number because of one scientist did an experiment off of another’s scientist work.. there’s two..
and so on and so forth.. working it up the tree, until there was an impressive sounding number, like two thousand scientist’s agree..
A PR move to push a scientist’s theory..
I believe that’s how it went.. I will dutifully take any correction though..
DaveC on April 5, 2008 at 12:47 AM
Young whipper-snappers.
labrat on April 5, 2008 at 1:34 AM
Well Ted Turner says, we are all going to be cannibals, dibs on Scarlet Johansen…AYYYYYYYYYY!!!
pueblo1032 on April 5, 2008 at 2:01 PM
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