A Free-Market Energy Blog

Climate Model Magic: Washington Post Today, Gerald North Yesterday (Part IV in a series)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- April 13, 2010

[The other parts of this series on the activism of Texas A&M climatologists are here: Part I, Part II, and Part III]

“If the models are as flawed as critics say … you have to ask yourself, ‘How come they work?'”

– Gavin Schmidt [NASA], quoted in David Fahrenhold, “Scientists’ Use of Computer Models to Predict Climate Change is Under Attack,Washington Post, April 6, 2010.

“We do not know much about modeling climate. It is as though we are modeling a human being. Models are in position at last to tell us the creature has two arms and two legs, but we are being asked to cure cancer.”

     – Gerald North (Texas A&M) to Rob Bradley (Enron), November 12, 1999

A Washington Post piece last week, “Scientists’ use of computer models to predict climate change is under attack,” has brought attention to the importance of climate modeling in the current debate over climate sensitivity to greenhouse gases (GHGs).…

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Obama, Hybrids, and Electric Vehicles

By Tom Tanton -- April 12, 2010

Last week whilePresident Obama was touring a factory in Charlotte, N.C., one of the workers asked the President why he didn’t use an electric limousine. According to the LA Times , the President, who had just made his customary speech extolling renewable energy and green jobs, said there’s not much he can do to wring more fuel efficiency from the armored limousines that drive him around. He had asked the Secret Service about converting to hybrid vehicles, the president said, but was told that it’s not possible.

“It’s because the cars that I’m in are like tanks,” Obama said.

But he did emphasize that he ordered a tripling of the number of hybrid vehicles in the federal government’s massive fleet. That’s our proactive president where image, not the cost to taxpayers, is what matters.…

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1Q-2010 MasterResource Activity Report: Continued Progress

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- April 10, 2010

MasterResource’s growth and influence continues. First quarter visits of 115,000 were the highest in our five quarters of existence, and our total visits will exceed a half-million this quarter.

MasterResource is a top 25 “green blog” according to Technorati. We are currently #21 out of 2,172 qualifying blogs as of 4/10/2010, and we have reached as high as #14.

Our one-per-day posts are now regularly picked up by other blogs such as Tom Nelson and Junk Science, but also from time-to-time by the megablogs WattsUpWithThat? and Climate Depot.

MasterResource, the free market energy blog, is now a very top energy blog. Our scholarly and well categorized posts will remain relevant for many years to come. Each of us writes for the day but also for the record.

New Principal: Kent Hawkins

MasterResource is ‘owned’ by its principals, not any individual or organization.…

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Atomic Dreams (Nuclear power not ready for prime U.S. time)

By Jerry Taylor -- April 9, 2010
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U.S. EPA’s Adventures In Arithmetic: A Look at the CO2 Car Standards

By Donald Hertzmark -- April 8, 2010
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Case Study on Methods of Industrial-scale Wind Power Analysis (Part II)

By Kent Hawkins -- April 7, 2010
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Case Study on Methods of Industrial-scale Wind Power Analysis (Part I)

By Kent Hawkins -- April 6, 2010
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Regulating CO2 Emissions for Local Air Quality: Another EPA Bad Idea

By Chip Knappenberger -- April 5, 2010
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Energy Density is Key

By Richard W. Fulmer -- April 3, 2010
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Obama’s Offshore Drilling Misdirection (Say What, Daniel Yergin?)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- April 2, 2010
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