Climate Change Quiz
Headlines about towns disappearing under 70m of water and all you need to do about it is buy an energy efficient light bulb and switch the TV off instead of leaving it on standby. Is that right ?
The public need some clear scientific information. There's nothing more complicated than climate science, then factor in politics, statistical games and word games. I have never seen so much disinformation and confusion. I couldn't find an ideal site on the net so I made my own pages, and I think you can get all the essential points from this little quiz.... please check it and say what you think

Put the mouse pointer over the picture to check your answer

  1. How many scientists think average global temperature has consistantly risen in the last 100 years ? All of them do. It's a scientifically measured FACT. It varies from place to place, the average global temperature is rising
  2. Were average global temperatures consistantly rising 200 years ago ? Yes ...
  3. 200 years ago was the planet warmer than it ever has been since the Ice Age ? The lifetime of the planet is huge, there have been many different temperature patterns, but since the end of the last Ice Age, we have been getting warmer. It's argued that hotter times in the past were only local e.g. the Middle Age Warm period in Northern Europe and Greenland (of course we can't be certain of past temperature patterns they are only educated guesses).
  4. What's the difference between temperature pattern 200 years ago and today ? Climate patterns are extremely complex and variable remember the 7 good years and 7 bad years of the Bible. Average global temperatures normally rise, but it's proven that in the last 100 years they are rising faster than normal .
  5. How many scientists think levels of atmospheric CO2 have risen in the last 100 years ? All of them. Another scienticically proven fact
  6. What's the most active greehouse gas by far ? Water Vapour. Manmade CO2 counts for a fraction of 1%. So what about using hydrogen as an alternative fuel ? will you end up with more Greenhouse gases ?
  7. How likely is it that extra warming has been caused by manmade CO2 ? The words are highly highly likely. The science is complex so no-one can say for sure. There are two pointers 1. It works in computer climate models, 2. isotope patterns in the high atmosphere
  8. Less than 15,000 scientists believe that manmade CO2 is NOT the major cause of current climate pattern. True or False False : The phrase banded around is ..the consensus of scientists believe... . It's difficult to say who counts as a scientist or how they qualify their beliefs, but there are some big scientific organisations supporting the belief . On the other side I found one Anti-petition with 19,000 scientists on. Unfortunately grants and political interference are available to both sides, but I think most scientists try to give an unbiased opinion..
  9. The more CO2 the more the temperature will rise ? True or False False, The overall effect is not linear as the science is complex - Generally there are 2 effects 1. today the effect maybe not much stronger as some new molecules will line up behind existing molecules and so won't reflect more heat 2. the effect would last longer tho cos when the existing molecules drop back then the new molecules will reflect heat. Unlike what Met Office chief scientist said it's logarithmic. This is on their own web site
  10. Are the CO2 emission figures accurate ? No not thought to be, it's claimed UK figures miss some out and China claims it's emmissions haven't risen much even though it builds as many NEW coal fired power stations each year than we actually have in total in the UK.
  11. How much will the sea rise if we stopped burning carbon completely in 10 years time. 20 years time ? It could rise , or it could actually fall. Since it's a new phenomenon and the system is so complex with feedbacks no one can predict.
  12. How can we tell that scientists are not completely convinced there will be a catastrophe ? Believers say it's critical to do something now, but in something so complex how can the public make decisions other than follow the lead of the scientists. They are doing very little to reduce their CO2 use. Anyone who says it's the number one priority, but can't backit up with justified numbers has a weak argument. If you do look at the numbers you'll see that standard things such as recycling, energy efficient lightbulbs and building Eco-houses lead to a net increase in CO2 emmissions. They'd demonstrate seriousness by changing their whole way of life, abandoning consumerism, emergency only car use, saying they regret having children etc. Anyway what does catastrophe mean ? anything between a bit of flooding to collapse of the ecosystem, so give us some numbers.
  13. Do most scientists think it's been oversold ? I think they would, I'm sure few would say reporting is accurate. Ask them, though many now are reluctant to talk to the press.
  14. Are some people making 2 + 2 = 7 ? Yes, e.g. there is more malaria in Ethiopia so fund raisers said .. see it's global warning ! .... Actually there was no measureable local temperature change and they forgot to take any other factors into account like increased resistance etc. Maybe cos funding is available some scientists are observing ecological changes and working backwards to try to prove the changes are due to climate change, conveniently ignoring other factors.
  15. Are there are measurable effects of manmade CO2 on the weather ? No, you can say that there is a hurricane in Florida or heatwave in France or a glacier melting in Greenland, but you can't say that they are caused by manmade CO2, that would be an extrapolation based on an extrapolation based on extrapolation. In a science so complicated.as climate science we often have to admit we just don't know. Strange patterns with the weather have happened throughout history.
  16. Give 5 reasons why you should have a low carbon footprint anyway ? - you won't be contributing to using up easy fossil fuels - you'd be keeping down the price of energy, cos as the developing world wants electricity demand is going up forcing up prices - by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels we make ourselves safer from terrorists - it's good for you health to walk or cycle - you won't cause smog
  17. What's causes most of your own personal CO2 footprint ? transport, home energy or consumerism I'm willing to bet, that manufacturing and transporting consumer goods uses most energy
  18. You can't go wrong by planting lots and lots of trees ? Doing anything drastic without being sure of your science, can lead to problems. If you planted the wrong kind of trees or monocrop you could damage the ecosystem and so reduce the amount of plant matter that stores carbon. Before the carbon was in atmosphere it was inside the fossil fuel. The trick is to retrap the carbon again inside the plants and soil. Some scientists say since more carbon is trapped below the surface, grassland stores more carbon than forest. The key thing is not to burn the plants or trees otherwise the carbon is back in the atmosphere. One would presume that forests trap more carbon than bare earth
  19. Carbon Credits will really solve the problem ? If I drive my big SUV I can buy credits saying the CO2 I produce is being used up in a growing forest. Yes, but if I didn't drive at all wouldn't the tree have grown anyway ?
  20. Using Biofuels for heat to transport increases CO2 a little bit ? Yes, It is much better than using fossil fuels, but it's not as good as not using any fuel in the first place.
  21. Glaciers, is it natural that some melt in one part of the world while some grow in other parts of the world ? Yes, some scientists say that now more are melting, but you would NOT expect there to always be a balance between melting and growing. tricky eh ?
  22. What is the main organisation backing the manmade CO2 causes global warming hypothesis ? UN IPCC, now followed by most scientific bodies like the Royal Society, The Met Office ..but remember consensus has been wrong before: like when someone proved bacteria cause ulcers.. It would be very convenient if consenus was wrong this time.
  23. Official figures say the average global temperature between 100 years ago and these days has risen by as little as ___ and as much as ___ ? Most people reckon between two and three degrees. They are not even close. The real figure, according to the main promoter of Climate Change the IPCC is between 0.4C and 0.8C (that's 0.6C with a 0.2C margin of error). And remember a component of this is natural as temperature should be rising anyway as we coming out of the iceage
  24. Extra Question - Was there a scare about global cooling 30 years ago ? True, though modern scientists would regard this information as not helpful (http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/global%20cooling.htm|)

- What worries me is not that CC can be proved wrong, but that there is too much of "1. Of course it's the number one priority and 2. of course it will be a disaster"
- And no time to explain a better understanding of scientific principles : double blind trials, peer level review what is an absolute proof, what is concensus etc
- Assumptions are dangerous things, so media people don't be afraid to show us the clear scientific evidence.

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You can read much more information in my 6 pages of full Climate Change notes

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