Why Can't Climate "Science" Get Its Stories Straight? Three Revealing Examples Show It's Because Everything Is Now Political

I live on the Northeastern edge of Pennsylvania where the fracking debate was intense a decade ago. Our area is increasingly populated by Manhattantites who, having moved here, want nothing to change, no one to follow them and no economic activity that might interfere with the serenity of their escape from the home of the beast they created. They came to our home, were welcomed and, then, immediately started telling us what not to do. One, I recalled, rallied her troops by telling us "breathing is political."

It's a profoundly depressing thought to suppose everything we do, even breathing, must be political but, of course, city life produces that in a person, I suppose. When you're stuffed in steel cans like sardines, you need to assert your independence somehow. Politics is an outlet for the primal scream, I guess. Worse, because most of the world is urban these days, nearly everything has, in fact, become political, including science.

The following excerpts from stories over the last four months all launch into the mantra that climate change is an existential threat, yet they contradict on the simplest of matters; whether the oceans are warming or cooling:

Science News — April 29, 2024 — Four Months Ago

Earth’s largest ecosystem is broiling. Every day for the last 12 months, the average temperature of most of the sea’s surface has been the highest ever recorded on that calendar date, preliminary data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show.

“And we’re currently outpacing last year,” says Robert West, a NOAA meteorologist in Miami. “We’re continuing to set records, even now over last year’s records.”

…Since the middle of March last year, the average sea surface temperature of the extrapolar ocean, at latitudes from 60° N to 60° S, has broken the daily record every single day, NOAA data show. Daily sea surface temperatures are now beating previous records set one year ago. These temperatures are based on observations from satellites, ships and buoys in the sea.  

Human-caused climate change has done this (SN: 3/10/22). Since 1971, the ocean has absorbed more than 90 percent of the excess heat trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases, or more than 380 zettajoules of heat.

NPR — August 14, 2024 — Two Weeks Ago

The oceans are extremely warm right now. Worldwide, average ocean temperatures were in record-breaking territory for 15 months straight since last April.

That’s bad news on multiple fronts. Abnormally hot ocean water helps fuel dangerous hurricanes, like Hurricane Ernesto, which is expected to rapidly gain strength this week in the Atlantic, and like Hurricane Debby, which dumped massive amounts of rain along the East Coast of the U.S. last week. And when the water gets too hot, fish and other marine species also struggle to survive. For example, the ocean water near Florida is so warm that it’s threatening coral reefs.

So, why are the oceans so hot right now?

Let’s start with what we know: Climate change is broadly to blame. Humans continue to burn fossil fuels that release heat-trapping gasses into the atmosphere, and most of that extra heat is absorbed by the oceans. Ocean temperatures have been steadily rising for decades.

New Scientist — August 19, 2024 — One Week Ago

After over a year of record-high global sea temperatures, the equatorial Atlantic is cooling off more quickly than ever recorded, which could impact weather around the world…

Over the past three months, the shift from hot to cool temperatures in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean has happened at record speed…

“We are starting to see that the global mean ocean temperatures are going down a bit,” says Pedro DiNezio at the University of Colorado Boulder. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), global sea surface temperatures this past July were slightly cooler than in July 2023 – ending a 15-month streak of record-high average ocean temperatures…

Over the past three months, temperatures in that part of the Atlantic cooled off more rapidly than at any time in records extending back to 1982. This sudden shift is perplexing because the strong trade winds that normally drive such cooling have not developed, says Franz Philip Tuchen at the University of Miami in Florida. “We’ve gone through the list of possible mechanisms, and nothing checks the box so far.”

Yes, climate science has been irredeemably polluted by politics. It is as plain as a brown paper bag. Moreover, it’s gotten so bad the advocates can’t even keep their stories straight anymore.

#Climate #OceanTemperature #ClimateChange #Science #Politics