Climatologist Dr. John Christy: Climate Change Overview in Six Slides

Reblogged from Globalwarming.org, with PDF files converted for readability:

Yesterday, Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) hosted a climate change conference in a technology park in Fairmont, W.Va.

A mixed panel of warmistas and skeptics featured Marc Marano of Climate Depot, Scott Denning of Colorado State University, Jim Hurrell of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Joe Casola of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Annie Petsonk of Environmental Defense Fund, Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Dennis Avery of the Hudson Institute, and John Christy of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, who participated by satellite link.

I emailed Dr. Christy and asked for permission to post his presentation on GlobalWarming.Org; he promptly sent me the files.

Dr. Christy’s Power Point presentation is available here. The accompanying text is available here. The main takeaway points:

• Popular scare stories that weather extremes – hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, floods — are getting worse are not based on fact.
• In the U.S., high temperature records are not becoming more numerous.
• Climate models significantly overestimated warming during the past 15 years.
• Even if climate models were correct, a 50% reduction in U.S. CO2 emissions by 2050 would avert only 0.07°C of warming by 2100.
• If a policy is not economically sustainable, it’s not politically sustainable.
• The climate change impact of enhancing CO2 concentrations has so far been small compared to the public health and biospheric benefits provided by affordable, carbon-based energy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30 May 2013 Written testimony of John Christy:

Congressman McKinley, panelists and guests, thank 

you for allowing me to appear via the internet. Going 

to the next slide.

The first point I want to make is that popular scare 

stories of weather extremes getting worse are not 

based on fact. In the upper left, tornadoes are not 

increasing. In the lower left, hurricanes are not 

increasing. In the upper right, snow cover is not 

disappearing, in the lower right, droughts and floods 

continue to happen as they always have. 

Next. What about record high temperatures in the 

U.S.? This chart shows that 2012 had quite a few, but 

hardly the most. Indeed a careful look shows a 

downward trend. High temperature records are not 

becoming more numerous.

Next. What about climate model projections? The red 

line shows the temperature response to greenhouse 

gases that the very latest models indicate should be 

clearly evident - the tropical atmosphere is supposed to 

be rapidly warming. The green and blue lines show 

what the real world has done. The models are 

significantly wrong compared with the real world in 

this signature quantity.

Next. Let’s suppose for a brief moment that the 

models are correct. The red line here shows global 

temperatures over the next 100 years. The harsh 

policy that congress considered four years ago of 

drastically reducing CO2 emissions would have the 

effect seen in the green and blue lines – in other 

words, no detectable impact. Energy costs would soar 

without any benefit.

Next. As State Climatologist I work on many economic 

development issues, including legislation to take 

advantage of Alabama’s climate resources. One thing I 

know about this area is that if an idea is not 

economically sustainable, in the long run, it is not 

sustainable no matter its other intentions.

Next – Finally. Affordable energy is the basis for our 

standard of living today. Energy comes from the green box 

here, mostly from carbon. The benefits of energy 

are in the blue box, and who doesn’t want long life, 

progress, plentiful food and so on. 

The lower green box shows the physical consequences 

of carbon-based energy production – invigorated 

biosphere, increased food production and the debated 

climate impact. The evidence I’ve presented shows 

the climate impact of enhancing the concentration of

CO2 is not much. 

However, I’m quite certain that making energy more 

expensive will cause the results of energy in the blue 

box to become more expensive and therefore more 

scarce. I’ve lived in Africa and can assure you that 

without energy, life is brutal and short. We are not 

evil people for emitting CO2, we are good people 

because we recognize the direct and powerful benefits 

to human life that carbon-based energy supplies. With 

that I’ll close, thank you.