[Terrapreta] A reward system for eliminating and/oroffsettingfossil carbon usage

Ron Larson rongretlarson at comcast.net
Mon Apr 14 23:07:16 CDT 2008


Greg (cc terrapreta)

Just want to pick up on two parts of your message this afternoon.  Again I agree with much - especially about how we have to find a way to get to China (and India next) involved.  

    My motivation still is only to get you to agree
     1)  that the evidence is overwhelming that the climate is changing rapidly, 
    2) that the causation is largely human-introduced CO2, and 
    3) that it is urgent that we do something soon.  

I believe we agree on TP/biochar being an important new technology.

Topic #1:   You said in response to my paragraph on hope that you would read 3 cited, still unpublished very recent (last week) papers by Jim Hansen:

         "Is this the same data that was found to have a flaw in the software that after the year 2000 added in a warm bias - then when flawed software was fixed the scientest involved had the original data massaged another way for the numbers to remain the same?    I'll have to find the artical where I read about that - it was in the last 2 years so it might take awhile.

    [RWL2:   I doubt there is much connection, but I promise to research thoroughly any citation you send on this topic.  I have heard Hansen talk 3 times - and he is very cautious and meticulous from what I can see.  I know of no scientist anywhere in world who has taken a bigger professional risk in speaking out - so I'll bet that he worries a good bit about proveable accusations of the type this article was making.
  
     I vaguely recall that he or someone with his group might have revised some data a few years ago of the type you are referring to.  I could barely tell the revised data from the original on a times-series plot.   I also will try to find an article on this topic.  

    But I am pretty sure these three latest Hanse papers are not of a type where that sort of accusation will be made.  He has in total over 100 references (including those in the Supplemental) and mostly is synthesizing and comparing two or three authorities when they differ.  He is trying to develop relationships that are universal and show that man-made CO2 is the only possible explanation for a forthcoming apocalypse.  My question is where you feel he is in error.
    
Follow-up #2.  You said in closing:
    In short, I am a skeptic on this issue, and the fact that flawed data or flawed data handling went for years with being promoted before the flaw was found, only reinforces my belief that the scientists promoting it, are promoting the latest scientific fad with out checking all the data. 

    [RWL2:   The purpose of continuing the dialog is to learn why you are a skeptic.   I doubt it is due solely to one example of flawed data handling (which is probably a correct assertion on your part, albeit one I feel is not very important in the big picture).  I doubt any of us know any Scientist who has never corrected anything.
     I hope you will read Hansen carefully, because I have nothing better to recommend.  I welcome your critiques of his argument and welcome hearing of competing papers which support your skepticism.  I promise to read them carefully.  

    We on this list urgently need you to change from skeptic to convert.

Ron
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