Summary: It seems there is no limit to the nonsense the major media will feed us to support their views. Today we see an esp. bizarre example. The news can make us dumber, if we are not careful.
“Earthquakes Became Five Times More Energetic, Discovers Australian Scientist Dr Tom Chalko“, MSNBC (17 June 2008) — “The research proves that destructive ability of earthquakes on Earth increases alarmingly fast and that this trend is set to continue, unless the problem of “global warming” is comprehensively and urgently addressed.”
“Today’s Quakes Deadlier Than In Past“, CBS News reporting an AP story (18 June 2008) — “Study: Seismic Activity 5 Times More Energetic Than 20 Years Ago Because Of Global Warming” Update: CBS News has put this story in the memory hole. No explanation, just a clean deletion. You will not remember this, will you?
The source of the stories is an article in the NU Journal of Discovery, published by Natural University — “NU Journal of Discovery has been created to facilitate exchange of information about the latest discoveries and stimulate the global intellectual activity on Earth. ”
The article is “Earthquake Energy Rise on Earth“, Tom J Chalko (May 2008) — Abstract:
This article presents a method of monitoring earthquake activity on the planetary scale using the data of all individual earthquakes on Earth since 1973, available from US Geological Survey (USGS). The method reveals that in the period of time when the planetary climate changed by a small fraction of one degree, earthquakes have become 5 times more energetic and that this increase is the strongest symptom yet of global warming.
This exhibits the degree of fact-checking that the major media often perform on stories that fit their preconceptions. For example, it would have been nice if their readers saw the following:
USGS: Common Myths about EarthquakesS:
Although it may seem that we are having more earthquakes, earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have remained fairly constant throughout this century and, according to our records, have actually seemed to decrease in recent years.
There are several reasons for the perception that the number of earthquakes, in general, and particularly destructive earthquakes is increasing. …
Also, it would put this new article in context to have mention Chaldo’s earlier work, such as this:
“No second Chance: Can Earth Explode as a result of Global Warming?“, Thomas J. Chalko (May 2001) — “Overheating the center of the inner core reactor due to the socalled greenhouse effect on the surface of Earth may cause the meltdown condition, enrichment of nuclear fuel and a gigantic atomic explosion.”
As usual with discussions about global warming, one of the best analyses of this appears at Climate Audit: “Earthquakes and global warming“. Their comment section is lively, with links to many sources — and uncensored (which might account for its lively and informative nature).
None of this nonsense affects the underlying issues of climate science, but it has slowed the process of verifying current theories. This is esp. unfortunate given the stakes.
For more information about global climate change
(a) Other posts on this site
- A look at the science and politics of global warming (12 June 2008)
- An article giving strong evidence of global warming (30 June 2008)
- Worrying about the Sun and climate change – cycle 24 is late (10 July 2008)
- Update: is Solar Cycle 24 late (a cooling cycle, with famines, etc)? (15 July 2008)
- More forecasts of a global cooling cycle (15 July 2008)
(b) Information from other sources
- “SURFACE TEMPERATURE RECONSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LAST 2,000 YEARS“, Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Division on Earth and Life Studies, NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES (2006) — aka The North Report.
- Report of the “Ad Hoc Committee on the Hockey Stick Global Climate Reconstruction”, commissioned by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (July 2006) — aka The Wegman Report. Also note this excerpt from the Q&A session of the Dr. Edward J. Wegman’s testimony.
- “The role of statisticians in public policy debates over climate change“, Richard L. Smith, American Statistical Association – Section on Statistics & the Environment Newsletter (Spring 2007) — One of the too-few reports by statisticians on the climate change literature.
- A timeline of the science and politics of climate science.
- A Bibliography by year of climate science research
