On climate change
editPielke regards the human addition of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere as a "first-order climate forcing," but he does not believe that it is the only first-order climate forcing, nor even necessarily the most important one.[1][2][3]
In his written testimony to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality in June, 2008,[4] he stated:
The role of humans within the climate system must be one of the following three possibilities:
- The human influence is minimal and natural variations dominate climate variations on all time scales;
- While natural variations are important, the human influence is significant and involves a diverse range of first-order climate forcings, including, but not limited to the human input of CO2;
- The human influence is dominated by the emissions into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide.
He went on to give his view that the correct scientific conclusion is that "[w]hile natural variations are important, the human influence is significant and involves a diverse range of first-order climate forcings, including, but not limited to the human input of CO2."
He has reiterated his House Testimony position statement a number of times, both on his weblog and in the peer-reviewed literature,[5][6] as well as emphasizing elsewhere the need to properly understand the role of natural variability.[7]
Pielke has been a vocal critic of the global average temperature both in terms of its theoretical utility (i.e. he has argued that it is not a useful measure of climate change) and its accuracy (i.e. he has criticized the reliability of the temperature record itself).
References
edit- ^
Pielke Sr., R.A. (7th April, 2009). "Summary Of Roger A. Pielke Sr's View Of Climate Science". Retrieved 2009-04-10.
Research has shown that the focus on just carbon dioxide as the dominate [sic] human climate forcing is too narrow. We have found that natural variations are still quite important, and moreover, the human influence is significant, but it involves a diverse range of first-order climate forcings, including, but not limited to the human input of CO2 (e.g. see NRC, 2005 and Kabat et al, 2004). These other forcings, such as land use change and from atmospheric pollution aerosols, may have a greater effect on our climate than the effects that have been claimed for CO2 (e.g. see)
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); External link in|quote= - ^ Pielke Sr., R.A. G. Marland, R.A. Betts, T.N. Chase, J.L Eastman, J.O. Niles, S.N. dev Dutta, S. Niyogi and S.W. Running (2002). "The influence of land-use change and landscape dynamics on the climate system: relevance to climate-change policy beyond the radiative effect of greenhouse gases" (PDF). Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A360 (1797): 1705–1719. doi:10.1098/rsta.2002.1027. PMID 12460493. S2CID 524570.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ See Pielke Sr., R.A. (July 2005). "Main Conclusions". Retrieved 2009-04-01.
- ^ Pielke Sr., R.A. (June 26, 2008). A Broader View of the Role of Humans in the Climate System is Required In the Assessment of Costs and Benefits of Effective Climate Policy (PDF). Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Pielke Sr., R.A. (March 31, 2008). "Roger A. Pielke Sr.'s Perspective On The Role Of Humans In Climate Change". Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ Pielke Sr., R.A. (2008). "A broader view of the role of humans in the climate system" (PDF). Physics Today. 55 (11): 54-55. doi:10.1063/1.3027992.
- ^
Pielke Sr., R.A. (June 10, 2008). "A 1,000-year, Annually-Resolved Record of Hurricane Activity From Boston, Massachusetts by Besonen et al". Retrieved 2009-04-16.
Claims that we "need to stabilize the climate" illustrate a complete lack of understanding of the actual large variations in time and space of the climate system from natural climate variability.