Denial Fail

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Matt Osborne
Stovepiping denial, USA Today asks: “Could We Be Wrong About Global Warming?”

Maybe so, says a new study published online today in the journal Nature Geoscience. The report found that only about half of the warming that occurred during a natural climate change 55 million years ago can be explained by excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. What caused the remainder of the warming is a mystery.

Predictably, global warming deniers are in a tizzy. Michelle Malkin and YIDWithLid have leapt upon this national news story as “proof” that global warming is a lie aimed directly at capitalism. Longtime climate change denier and Glenn Beck guest Anthony Watts has given them a veneer of truthiness with SCIENCE!

But while the entire paper is not available online, the summary conclusion finds that CO2 levels 55 million years ago

can explain only between 1 and 3.5 °C of the warming inferred from proxy records.

Some perspective is in order: climate change modeling says we can save the world by limiting the rise in global temperature to two degrees.

Wingnuts are smart! …With SCIENCE!

About Matt Osborne

Veteran blogging the culture wars from Alabama. Video journalist, mash-up artist, aspiring novelist, and metalhead. Expect bunnies, geekery, dark humor, and snarky empirical analysis to annoy idealists of all stripes. You can follow me on Twitter, but be ready 'cause it might get loud.
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