ROCKY REX'S SCIENCE BITES

THE GOOD ANCESTOR by Daverick Leggett Every day I walk a hundred years to the hill where my great great granddaughter sits. I carry words of blessing and reach to touch her back But feeling me near she turns sad eyed and heavy with grief “What was it like?” she asks “when the great whales swam when the birds sang you awake when the rains came soft and the soil smelled sweet underfoot?” And the blessings catch in my throat On darker days she turns, her famished face charred and eyes, sunk in their bony orbits, burn with curses. And the blessings froth at my mouth with the poisonous spume of betrayal On the darkest of all days I walk the hundred years and find no one there Let today be the bright day. Let today be the bright day I lay my hand upon her back And, feeling me there, she turns and blesses me, saying “Your love was fierce enough, sweet ancestor, your love was fierce enough”

Here's a statement from a UK scientist, made after 5 climate protesters were sent to prison for years. It's long. I’m Dr Tristram Wyatt, Senior research fellow in Biology at the University of Oxford. I’m here on behalf of scientists outraged by this trial. I’d like to begin by reading you Professor Bill McGuire’s response to Judge Hehir’s rulings in the case. He’s not pulling his punches: ● “My name is Bill McGuire and I'm Professor Emeritus of Geophysical & Climate Hazards at UCL. ● I provided the expert testimony in support of the defendants in last week's conspiracy 5 trial. ● It goes without saying that the trial and the verdict were a farce, marked a low point in British justice, and were an assault on free speech. ● The judge’s characterisation of climate breakdown as a 'matter of opinion and belief' is completely nonsensical and demonstrates extraordinary ignorance. ● Similarly, to suggest that the climate emergency is 'irrelevant' in relation...

In science correlation + mechanism = evidence of a causative relationship Is there a correlation between CO2 levels and global temperatures? Here is a 500 million year correlation https://media.springernature.com/.../426313_1_En_1_Fig1... Is there a correlation between anthropogenic CO2 and global temperatures. Here is a 250 year correlation between the two. http://berkeleyearth.org/.../03/results-plot-volcanoes.jpg What is the mechanism for CO2 a a greenhouse gas? That mechanism has been known for 2 centuries. https://history.aip.org/climate/index.htm Here is an explanation of the mechanism of the "greenhouse effect". https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/.../intro_atmo_chem... How do we know the increase in CO2 is anthropogenic? Carbon isotope analysis of the ratios of C14, C13 and C12 traces the 50% increase in CO2 since the mid 18th century to the burning of fossil fuels https://www.climate.gov/.../how-do-we-know-build-carbon... What about natural forcings? Natural forcings wou...

  From  https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/ Arctic sea ice area changes with the seasons, but there is a long-term decline*, caused by global warming. Most scientific sources suggest there might be a few days of "ice-free" conditions in the Arctic Ocean one summer around mid-century. Ice-free sea (being darker) absorbs heat, while ice reflects heat. Progressively over time, more "ice-free" days are likely, on average.  But what exactly does an "ice-free Arctic Ocean" mean? For measurement purposes, researchers divide the ocean up into small cells. The data cells are 25 km by 25 km. If there is more than 15% ice on a cell, it counts as an "ice-covered" cell. If there is less than 15% ice on a cell, it counts as "ice-free". At some time, the Arctic Ocean one September will meet the 'ice-free' criterion - each cell will be counted as ice-free as long as there is less than 15% ice in the cell. But an 'ice-free' Arctic Ocean ...

Useful graphics    From the following source, where there is plenty of additional material: https://www.wri.org/insights/2023-ipcc-ar6-synthesis-report-climate-change-findings Also:   https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/20/humanity-at-climate-crossroads-highway-to-hell-or-a-livable-future IPCC links.....  (1) Press Release: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/press/IPCC_AR6_SYR_PressRelease_en.pdf (2) Headline Statements: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/resources/spm-headline-statements (3)  Slide-show: https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6syr/pdf/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SlideDeck.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1FD9sBJGgFBiDgC_ioAoM2t8qGqj4XktnYP4nwMY1IlLVNfGrxHPrF5Qw