From three of my favorite blogs: Protein Wisdom, The Anchoress, and Villanous Company. All three are well worth reading; the first is full of links that take you to all sorts of information...
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Solar Irradiance vs. Climate...
Some scientists advocate the notion that small changes in solar irradiance (basically the brightness of the sun) make a major contribution to the changes in the Earth's climate, most especially the average temperature. I've seen bits and pieces of their work before, and while there are some very suggestive correllations, I haven't seen much in the way of plausible mechanisms explored.
Still, the apparent fact that solar irradiance is well-correllated with average global temperatures is very suggestive. I think we can be fairly certain that climate changes on Earth do not cause the sun to get brighter or dimmer. It's at least plausible on the face of it that changes in solar brightness do cause temperature changes on Earth. And it seems highly unlikely that a correllation like this could be a coincidence:
There's much more where this came from, in a very readable seven-page report available here (PDF). The discussion on the current solar cycle is particularly interesting...
Still, the apparent fact that solar irradiance is well-correllated with average global temperatures is very suggestive. I think we can be fairly certain that climate changes on Earth do not cause the sun to get brighter or dimmer. It's at least plausible on the face of it that changes in solar brightness do cause temperature changes on Earth. And it seems highly unlikely that a correllation like this could be a coincidence:
There's much more where this came from, in a very readable seven-page report available here (PDF). The discussion on the current solar cycle is particularly interesting...
Politics of Personal Destruction...
The Clintons famously accused Republicans of engaging in the “politics of personal destruction” when accusations about Bill's dalliances emerged. Of course, the real masters of such politics are the Clintons themselves – most notoriously for the way they dealt with the “bimbo eruptions” that plagued the Clinton presidency.
Some lefties are now carrying on the tradition with a vile attack on Sarah Palin. They're accusing her of faking her last pregnancy to cover for the “fact” that her daughter (Bristol) was pregnant. The accusation is based entirely on amateur evaluation of carefully selected photographs, and on no actual evidence. Even worse than the accusation are the running commentary from Kos Kids and members of the Democratic Underground. Just awful. Makes me hang my head in mortification that these people are (presumably) fellow Americans. It's so bad that even a number of the commenters are begging their fellows to stop raking this muck...
I know I'm voicing a fantasy when I say this, but...wouldn't it be wonderful to have a Presidential election campaign that focused on actual substantive issues?
Some lefties are now carrying on the tradition with a vile attack on Sarah Palin. They're accusing her of faking her last pregnancy to cover for the “fact” that her daughter (Bristol) was pregnant. The accusation is based entirely on amateur evaluation of carefully selected photographs, and on no actual evidence. Even worse than the accusation are the running commentary from Kos Kids and members of the Democratic Underground. Just awful. Makes me hang my head in mortification that these people are (presumably) fellow Americans. It's so bad that even a number of the commenters are begging their fellows to stop raking this muck...
I know I'm voicing a fantasy when I say this, but...wouldn't it be wonderful to have a Presidential election campaign that focused on actual substantive issues?
Palin Visits the Troops...
I set out this morning to see if I could find anything at all – good or bad – about Palin's attitude toward our troops. I was especially looking for anything that occurred well before her getting the VP slot. In her Dayton speech, she referenced her son Track, who's in the Army and about to be deployed to Iraq – but politicians are slippery beasts, and I wanted some evidence that was uncolored by her recent leap onto the national stage.Well, it wasn't hard to find what I was looking for, because it turns out that last year (2007), shortly into her tenure as Governor of Alaska, she embarked on a worldwide tour to the places where Alaska's troops are serving. The top photo shows her visiting with an injured soldier in Germany (which of course immediately brings to mind Obama's snub on his recent trip). The bottom photo shows her visiting with some Alaskan troops (their faces make their Inuit heritage evident) in Kuwait. This trip was widely – and very approvingly – covered in the contemporaneous press reports.
In addition to that tour, as Governor she has made many visits to military facilities in Alaska. It's also easy to find approving references to her by military support organizations, for whom she's made publicity appearances, helped with fund raising, and made contributions herself. Even before she was Governor she was involved in these efforts.In other words, her record demonstrates a clear commitment to our troops. The news reports at the time have many quotes from the soldiers themselves – some what you'd expect from young men who get to sit down and talk with a beauty queen; others more substantive words of praise for their Governor who so obviously cares about them. Not a negative peep of any kind.
Chalk up one more plus in her column for me...