A monthly review of climate, energy, environmental, and political policy issues
Articles compiled by Jonathan DuHamel
You may post comments at the end of this post or send them to [email protected]
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”— Philip K. Dick
“I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.” — Johannes Kepler
THE CLIMATE CON IS COLLAPSING
The Christmas Gift that Climate Grinches Can’t Abide
by Vijay Jayaraj
The quietude of looking out the kitchen window on a December morning at a meadow dusted in snow is magical. A deer pauses at the edge of the wood, breath steaming in the cold air, grazing on whatever bits of green poke through the snow. It is a scene replicated on greeting cards and stamped on cookie tins.
Part of the magic behind that tableau—from the roast in the oven to the cranberries on a plate, from the pine and hardwoods standing tall outside to the browsing fauna—is a phenomenon the establishment media ignore: CO2-driven, NASA-acknowledged greening of Earth.
Satellite data from the last four decades confirm a significant increase in vegetation over as much as half the globe. During this period, atmospheric CO2 increased from about 350 parts per million (ppm) to more than 400 ppm, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels.
It is a gift arriving right on cue to meet a continuous increase in population and demand for food. This basic sustenance allows for all other human endeavors—developments in artificial intelligence, medicine, and more. It is difficult to write computer code on an empty stomach.
Behind this gift of plenty is a process fundamental to all life, starting with plants: Photosynthesis is a mechanism by which plants use CO2, water, and sunlight to make sugars for food. When atmospheric CO2 rises—whether from the emissions of human activity or any other source—plants grow faster. A side benefit is that they use water more efficiently, making them more resilient to arid conditions and extending their geographic range. (Read more) ☼
A Huge Retraction: Journal Nature has finally retracted ‘fatally flawed’ study used to ‘justify projections of catastrophic future climate impacts’ – Authors admit errors are ‘too substantial’ for just a correction (Read article) ☼
Astrophysicist Challenges The Climate Consensus: It’s The Sun, Not CO2
Dr. Willie Soon says decades of research show solar activity, not human CO2, drives Earth’s climate.
by Pierre Gosselin
In a candid interview with the German language Weltwoche, astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon asserts that the sun is the overwhelmingly dominant force driving Earth’s climate, not human-emitted CO2.
His decades of research into solar and stellar physics led him to the controversial conclusion that focusing on regulating CO2? is misguided.
“You can’t make laws against the sun,” he argues.
Dr. Soon states that the sun provides 99.99% of the energy that powers our weather and climate, and satellite data confirms that solar radiation is not a constant, but fluctuates, particularly in the UV and X-ray ranges.
He contends that temperature patterns over the last 150 years correlate much better with solar activity fluctuations than with CO2? levels.
According to Soon’s analysis, the CO2? signal is below the detection limit as a primary climate driver. (Read more) ☼
Wrong, Phys.org, Faulty Thermometers Aren’t Evidence of a ‘Climate Roller Coaster’
by Anthony Watts
Phys.org recently published “Global warming amplifies extreme day-to-day temperature swings, study shows,” reporting on a new study in Nature Climate Change which claims that human-caused warming is intensifying rapid day-to-day temperature fluctuations, in the process creating a new category of climate hazard. This is false. The underlying study not only relies almost entirely on notably flawed climate-model assumptions, but astonishingly also ignores well-documented, real-world factors that directly affect short-term temperature variability, such as the urban heat island effect (UHI) and temperature-station siting biases. These omissions fatally undermine the study’s conclusions. (Read more) ☼
Remember when they told you climate change was causing a ‘mass extinction’? Never mind!
by Anthony Watts
Extinction rates have slowed across many plant and animal groups, study shows
Prominent research studies have suggested that our planet is currently experiencing another mass extinction, based on extrapolating extinctions from the past 500 years into the future and the idea that extinction rates are rapidly accelerating.
A new study by Kristen Saban and John Wiens with the University of Arizona Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, however, revealed that over the last 500 years extinctions in plants, arthropods and land vertebrates peaked about 100 years ago and have declined since then. Furthermore, the researchers found that the past extinctions underlying these forecasts were mostly caused by invasive species on islands and are not the most important current threat, which is the destruction of natural habitats. (Read more) ☼
Thankfulness for Climate and Energy Reality
by Anthony Watts
What We Should Be Grateful For in Climate, Energy, Living Standards, and Human Prosperity
Every year, as the cranberry sauce congeals and the football game drones on in the background, we’re told to “reflect on what really matters.” Fair enough. But rarely does anyone suggest reflecting on something far more fundamental to our modern existence: the extraordinary environmental stability, energy abundance, and human progress that underpin every comfort we enjoy today.
Instead, we hear about apocalyptic tipping points, “unlivable” futures, and the suggestion that your Thanksgiving turkey may soon be illegal unless it’s raised on insect protein and good intentions. But beneath the noise, the data tell a very different story—one worth genuine gratitude.
Below is an extended reflection—yes, a long one, the length you’d expect from me—covering the things we should be thankful for when it comes to climate, energy, standard of living, and human prosperity, backed by evidence, historical perspective, and just enough wit to keep things digestible. (Read more) ☼
No hurricanes made landfall in the US in 2025
Hurricane Erin caused high tides along the East Coast in August, but did not make landfall.
The 2025 North Atlantic hurricane season is officially over, and for the first time since 2015, not a single one made landfall in the US. There was still plenty of activity, however:
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted an above-average season of activity for 2025. The agency said that the season fell within the ranges it predicted for “named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes.” Between June 1 and November 30, the Atlantic basin produced 13 named storms and five hurricanes. Three of the hurricanes reached Category 5 status, a tie for the second-most on record. While the US got off scot-free on the hurricanes-making-landfall front this year, other nations were nowhere near as lucky. Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 and brought significant devastation at the end of October before moving on and hitting Cuba as a major hurricane. Melissa ranks in the top three strongest hurricanes ever to make landfall in the Atlantic basin, according to The Weather Channel. (Read more ) ☼
New Scientific Findings Expose the Hoax Behind Meat Eating Climate Alarm
by Chris Morrison
Sensational new scientific findings have blown holes in the climate hoax opinion that humans need to give up eating meat to save the planet. The effect of methane (CH4), a minor ‘greenhouse’ gas, have been grossly exaggerated to suggest that animal farming poses a significant threat to the global climate. But the invented threat relies on multiplying by around ten the length of time that CH4 stays in the atmosphere – an invention under Global Warming Potential 100 know as GWP100 that is in widespread use in activist circles, including the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. At current emission levels, five Italian scientists predict 54% less warming than under GWP100, while small decreasing emissions, possible with some changes in animal diets, produce only tiny amounts of claimed warming. (Read more) ☼
Insurance Companies Are Making Record Profits Off Climate Change Panic, Not Facts
Climate-risk hype drives higher premiums even as insurers rake in cash.
by Roger Pielke Jr.
The headlines are relentless, loudly proclaiming that -climate-fueled extreme weather has caused an insurance crisis, reflected in dramatic rate increases for homeowners and businesses. Some warn that total economic collapse may soon follow. But as is often the case with apocalyptic warnings about climate change, real-world data don’t support the narrative. In reality, the insurance industry, which provides coverage related to hurricanes, fires, and other extreme events, is enjoying a streak of record profits. Defenders of high premiums say it’s because homes are much more expensive to insure due to climate change. But the recent spike in insurance prices is much more likely due, in significant part, to political requirements across the industry that financial companies consider “climate risk,” and the corresponding suite of risk modelers established to meet the newly -created demand. (Read more) ☼
Chill Out: Refrigerants Pose No Global Warming Threat
Biden EPA refrigerant rule hikes costs and risks with zero measurable climate benefit.
by Gregory Wrightstone
A federal rule mandating the use of certain refrigerants has substantially boosted the price of air conditioning and increased the risk of fire, only to reduce global temperature by an amount too small to measure.
Imposed by the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), beginning this year, the rule forced the replacement of a hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant known as R-410A with others that are less potent as greenhouse gases, which climate alarmists falsely claim will overheat Earth.
However, a report by the CO2 Coalition, Fairfax, Virginia, calculated the atmospheric warming from continued use of R-410A at “0.044 degrees Celsius in 100 years, which is … absurdly small” and too little to be measured or felt.
The amount of warming averted by replacing the refrigerant with other greenhouse-gas hydrofluorocarbons was calculated to be an infinitesimal 0.03 degrees Celsius, according to the report titled “Chill Out: AC Refrigerants Cause Negligible Warming.”
Widely used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems since 2010, R-410A was considered an economical, nonflammable refrigerant that posed less of a threat to damaging Earth’s ozone layer than hydrofluorocarbons it had replaced – itself a concern advanced by alarmists with dubious scientific support. It turns out that the chemicals replacing R-410A are more expensive and flammable, raising issues of both cost and safety. (Read more) ☼
Geological Heat, Not Climate, Drives Antarctica’s Vast And Hidden Freshwater System
by James Edward Kamis
One of Antarctica’s most amazing features is a hidden network of streams, rivers, and freshwater lakes beneath its ice sheet, stretching across the entire continent. All this water eventually flows downhill into the ocean. The presence of this hidden system beneath Antarctica’s two-mile-thick ice sheet is perhaps the most compelling evidence that geological forces shape nearly every aspect of the continent and its surrounding oceans. Many research studies confirm what has long been proposed: a liquid river and lake system exists beneath the entire Antarctic continent. The presence of this hidden water network carries significant implications for the validity of climate change theory. (Read more) ☼
CLIMATE SCIENCE BACKGROUND:
by Jonathan DuHamel
Geologic evidence shows that Earth’s climate has been in a constant state of flux for more than 4 billion years. Nothing we do can stop that. Much of current climate and energy policy is based upon the erroneous assumption that anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, which make up just 0.1% of total greenhouse gases, are responsible for “dangerous” global warming/climate change. There is no physical evidence to support that assumption. Man-made carbon dioxide emissions have no significant effect on global temperature/climate. In fact, when there is an apparent correlation between temperature and carbon dioxide, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been shown to follow, not lead, changes in Earth’s temperature. All efforts to reduce emissions are futile with regard to climate change, but such efforts will impose massive economic harm to Western Nations. The “climate crisis” is a scam. U.N officials have admitted that their climate policy is about money and power and destroying capitalism, not about climate. By the way, like all planetary bodies, the earth loses heat through infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases interfere with (block) some of this heat loss. Greenhouse gases don’t warm the Earth, they slow the cooling. If there were no greenhouse gases, the night side of the planet would freeze every night.
For more on climate science, see my Wryheat Climate articles:
A Review of the state of Climate Science
The Broken Greenhouse – Why Co2 Is a Minor Player in Global Climate
A Summary of Earth’s Climate History-a Geologist’s View
Problems with wind and solar generation of electricity – a review
The High Cost of Electricity from Wind and Solar Generation
The “Social Cost of Carbon” Scam Revisited
ATMOSPHERIC CO2: a boon for the biosphere
Carbon dioxide is necessary for life on Earth
Impact of the Paris Climate Accord and why Trump was right to drop it
New study shows that carbon dioxide is responsible for only seven percent of the greenhouse effect
Six Issues the Promoters of the Green New Deal Have Overlooked
Why reducing carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuel will have no effect on climate ☼
America’s New Security Doctrine and the Reordering of Global Energy Geopolitics (Read article) ☼
How Wasteful is Green Energy? Count the Ways (link) ☼
Trump Admin Pauses Offshore Wind, Citing National Security Risks (link ) ☼
Newsom’s Man-Made Energy Crisis Drags California Toward Disaster
by Vince Fong
As California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled to Brazil touting his failed energy agenda in mid-November, the reality back home is unavoidable: because of his policies, Californians are paying some of the highest gas and electricity prices in the nation.
We are being crushed by the Newsom energy affordability crisis — and it’s crippling our national security.
Since 2018, more than 360 energy companies have left California due to the state’s debilitating regulations, and new oil drilling permits have fallen by 95% since Newsom assumed office in 2019.
As a result, California has produced nearly 128,000 fewer barrels of oil per day over the past five years — despite holding the fifth-largest petroleum reserves in the country.
The undeniable consequence of Newsom’s refusal to support domestic production is a greater reliance on foreign oil. (Read more) ☼
Trump Opens Major Alaskan Minerals Mine That Biden Tried To Bury (Read story) ☼
Trove of Critical Minerals Uncovered in the Utah Desert
Mineral production company Ionic says it discovered 16 different rare earth and critical minerals that will help the U.S. compete with China
By Clara Hudson, Wall Street Journal
Ionic Mineral Technologies was mining the clay in Utah when it chanced upon what could be the critical mineral equivalent of a gold mine.
Ionic MT had leased the land as part of its business producing nanosilicon for lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles. But the company told WSJ Pro Sustainable Business that what it found was a host of other minerals, in what it says may be the most significant critical mineral reserve in the U.S.
Ionic MT said it discovered high grades of 16 different types of minerals, everything from lithium to alumina, germanium, rubidium, cesium, vanadium and niobium at the site in Utah’s Silicon Ridge. (Read more) ☼
THE SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY PROJECT REPORTS
[SEPP provides a weekly roundup of news available every Monday as The Week That Was (PDF) and reprinted as a blog post here as Weekly Climate and EnergyNews Roundup. Click on date for full reports.]
Scope: This TWTW begins with a discussion of saturation physics by William Happer. TWTW then presents more evidence that this Solar Cycle may be hazardous for some types of electronic equipment. It then presents evidence that the UN COP movement may be unraveling. TWTW then presents comments by Roger Caiazza that the New York State plans for electricity may be unfeasible. TWTW concludes with a discussion of asbestos which was found in wind turbines in Australia.
Saturation physics explains why temperatures were not catastrophically high over the hundreds of millions of years when CO2 levels were 10 to nearly 20 times higher than they are today.
*********************
Scope: This TWTW begins with a discussion by Roy Spencer of maximum and minimum temperature trends in southern Canada. TWTW then discusses some proxies for CO2 concentrations and a retraction of a much-used paper. TWTW discusses what is meant by the statement that a model is verified and validated. TWTW concludes with the two views that the push for green energy is over and that it is not.
*********************
Scope: This TWTW begins with an essay by David Legates on the Greenhouse Effect. TWTW discusses a 2007 paper by Christopher Essex, Ross McKitrick, and Bjarne Andersen on the global temperature. Then, two papers by Net Zero Watch are presented one on human liberty, the other on powering human freedom. A Swiss magazine published an interview with SEPP director Willie Soon. TWTW discusses a paper by Charles Rotter and Anthony Watts that explains incorrect views concerning increased energy in the atmosphere from greenhouse gases. TWTW concludes with further discussion on the retraction of a significant paper in Nature.
*********************
Scope: This TWTW presents different views on the possible closing or reconfiguration of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). TWTW discusses a different view by David Legates of the retraction by the authors of a paper published in the journal Nature. TWTW presents new activities by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and closes with a NOAA announcement of new weather models.
END
wryheat 
