Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere

New Mexico and Colorado are about to enter Rio Grande Compact Article VII restrictions. That means Elephant Butte, the big reservoir down south, is too low, and we’re prohibited from upstream storage. The meat: In flirting with Rio Grande Compact restrictions, New Mexico finds itself in what has become a familiar situation, with the state’s …

Continue reading ‘Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere’ »

Big Toe Reads Thermometers

Big Toe Reads Thermometers Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. Staff climatologist Big Toe reading the thermometers today in the Inkstain World Headquarters weather station. His first assignment is to analyze data from the IWH thermometers as relates to the official National Weather Service readings. We are attempting to resolve uncertainties about the “urban heat island effect.” …

Continue reading ‘Big Toe Reads Thermometers’ »

On China

Down in the comments, Slinger points to Peter Ford’s Christian Science Monitor story on China’s greenhouse gas reduction noises: With China’s carbon footprint expected to outsize America’s within a year, officials in Beijing appear to be backing away from their view that global warming is a Western problem that developed countries must solve. While still …

Continue reading ‘On China’ »

Big Toe Gets Himself Donated to Science

Big Toe Gets Himself Donated to Science Originally uploaded by Driving in Heels. I’ve been increasingly concerned about the rigor I’m able to offer here, so I recently made the decision to add a climatologist to the Inkstain staff. Big Toe has a Masters Degree in Science, and has read several of the books on …

Continue reading ‘Big Toe Gets Himself Donated to Science’ »

Defining the Australian Drought

William Connolley stumbles into the minefield that is defining the Australian drought: Australia hasn’t got a mega-drought, only a 10-15% reduction in rainfall. Many commenters complain, mostly offering up the absolutely useless evidence offered by alarmist news stories from the Australian press. Lab Lemming nails it by noting that drought is best defined by societal …

Continue reading ‘Defining the Australian Drought’ »

An Example of Framing

Press release today from the Coal-to-Liquids Coalition: A leading energy developer told Congress today that liquefied coal offers the United States an extraordinary opportunity to take control of its energy destiny in the face of the nation’s growing reliance on foreign fuels and rapidly escalating prices for imported oil. “At today’s prices, coal-to-liquids is economical …

Continue reading ‘An Example of Framing’ »

Another Example of Framing

UN Security Council climate debate: Britain holds the council presidency this month and organized an open meeting to highlight what its foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, said was the “security imperative” to tackle climate change because it can exacerbate problems that cause conflicts and threatens the entire planet.