Presidential hopeful [France] Nicolas Sarkozy reckons that climate change is not caused by man and that the world has far bigger problems on its hands than global warming. Nicolas Sarkozy, who is fighting to regain the presidency that he lost to Fran√ßois Hollande in 2012, has finally come out of the closet as a climate skeptic. Speaking in front of business leaders Sarkozy, a candidate for Les Republicains party primary in November, told them that man alone was not to blame for climate change. “Climate has been changing for four billion years,” the former president said according to AFP. “Sahara has become a desert, it isn’t because of industry. You need to be as arrogant as men are to believe we changed the climate.” —The Local, 15 September 2016
Nicolas Sarkozy, the centre-right candidate for the Presidential elections in 2017, said that “humans were not the only ones responsible” for climate change. “Much is said about climate change; it is very interesting, but the climate has been changing for 4.5 billion years. Mankind is not solely responsible for this change” said the former French President according to comments reported by AFP’s Gerald Darmanin. “I’d rather we talk about a more important issues.” —Le Figaro, 14 September 2016
In 2008 — at the height of the global warming scare — our Bureau of Meteorology warned of endless drought. “Perhaps we should call it our new climate,” said its head of climate analysis, David Jones. “There is a debate in the climate community, after … close to 12 years of drought, whether this is something permanent.” So I was surprised this week to hear again from Jones, now the bureau’s head of climate predictions, as record rains again drowned our paddocks, flooded our rivers and filled our dams. Without a single “whoops” or “sorry”, Jones announced Australia had just had its second-wettest winter on. The droughts are long gone. Floods have since drowned parts of Brisbane and filled dams to overflowing in Sydney as well. Could the global warming experts explain how they got this so wrong? –Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun, 14 September 2016
A meteorological clash of nations is confounding the world’s commodity markets. Global weather agencies can’t agree on whether to expect a La Nina event in coming months. The U.S. has backed off its prediction, Australia remains watchful, while Japan has decided La Nina is already here. Disagreements arise because each nation has different standards for measuring the weather. The ocean-cooling phenomenon — a shift from last year’s warming El Nino — can roil commodities markets with dramatic shifts in weather that wreak havoc on demand and supplies. The yes-no-maybe confusion is giving heartburn to natural gas, coal and agricultural traders who depend on forecasts to place bets on whether prices will rise or fall. –Brian K Sullivan, Bloomberg, 14 September 2016
In most of the discussions about the factors behind the record-breaking global temperature of 2015 and probably 2016, the crucial contribution made by an intense El Ni√±o is often mentioned, though not as often as it should be. Mentioned even less is the so-called Pacific “blob.” According to researchers writing in the journal Nature, “Between the winters of 2013/14 and 2014/15 during the strong North American drought, the northeast Pacific experienced the largest maritime heatwave ever recorded.” The blob’s contribution to the record global temperatures is significant. Is it also delaying the La Ni√±a? –David Whitehouse, Global Warming Policy Forum, 13 September 2016
Americans’ trust and confidence in the mass media “to report the news fully, accurately and fairly” has dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with 32% saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. This is down eight percentage points from last year. —Gallup, 14 September 2016
