Tuesday, December 15, 2009

A Global Warming Discussion - Lord Monckton


http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/

Global sea ice 1979 to present.
The debate is over?

Was that "Green Peace" or "Red Peace"?


OH, the brilliance.


Comments credit = http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=529_1258575334
So egregious was his departure from reality that the following clip should be mandatory viewing for all his fans in the media who seem to be just as scientifically-challenged
On Tuesday, National Review's John Derbyshire noted:

The geothermal gradient is usually quoted as 25-50 degrees Celsius per mile of depth in normal terrain (not, e.g., in the crater of Kilauea). Two kilometers down, therefore, (that's a mile and a quarter if you're not as science-y as Al) you'll have an average gain of 30-60 degrees - exploitable for things like home heating, though not hot enough to make a nice pot of tea. The temperature at the earth's core, 4,000 miles down, is usually quoted as 5,000 degrees Celsius, though these guys claim it's much less, while some contrarian geophysicists have posted claims up to 9,000 degrees. The temperature at the surface of the Sun is around 6,000 degrees Celsius, while at the center, where nuclear fusion is going on bigtime, things get up over 10 million degrees.

If the temperature anywhere inside the earth was "several million degrees," we'd be a star.

The physics and astronomy website Physlink also contests Gore's absurd claim:

It is approximately 4000°C at the centre of the Earth. To put this in context:

1. The centre of the Sun is approximately 15 million°C
2. The surface of the Sun is 5500°C
3. Iron melts at 1535°C (when at atmospheric pressure)
4. Water boils at 100°C (when at atmospheric pressure)
5. Human skin is comfortable with temperatures up to about 60°C
6. The highest temperature recorded on the Earth's surface is 58°C (Libya 1922)

It is not possible to directly measure the temperature at the centre of the Earth and four thousand degrees is nothing more than our most well-established piece of guesswork to date. Most modern calculations rely on the fact that we believe the inner core to be made up of iron and nickel that is just about at melting point. It is under a lot of pressure, which prevents it from melting, even at such high temperatures. There is also a lot of evidence regarding how the outer core of the Earth convects and that helps to establish the temperature. However, recently British scientists have suggested that the temperature of the Earth's core may in fact be as high as the surface of the Sun, so the question is still open.

As such, whether it's 4,000 or 6,000 degrees, Gore's claim of "several million" is absurdly preposterous and not based on ANY scientific fact.

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