scholarly journals On the meaning of independence in climate science

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Annan ◽  
Julia Hargreaves
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Statistical Definition

Abstract. The concept of independence has been frequently raised in climate science, but has rarely been defined and discussed in a theoretically robust and quantifiable manner. Improved understanding of this topic is critical to better understanding of climate change. In this paper, we introduce a unifying approach based on the statistical definition of independence, and illustrate with simple examples how it can be applied to practical questions.

scholarly journals "Crisis, Conspiracy, and Community in Evangelical Climate Denial"

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-91
Author(s):  
Aaron Ricker
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Evangelical Christians ◽  
Special Knowledge ◽  
Definition Of

Statistically speaking, American Evangelical Christians are uniquely attracted to apocalyptic conspiracy theories when it comes to the topic of climate change. Since Evangelicals constitute a powerful voting/lobbying/shopping bloc, it is worth asking why this might be the case and what (if anything) can be done about it. To this end, my study considers the relevance of two major cultural tributaries to American Evangelical pop apocalyptic culture. In the first section I consider biblical apocalyptic culture and argue that the characteristic apocalyptic promise to disclose hidden divine plans to a misunderstood but soon-tobe- vindicated elect group naturally entails conspiracy-theory thinking. I argue further that apocalyptic imagination and conspiracy-theory thinking are powerful tools for the definition of identity and community. In the second section I turn my attention to the kind of Evangelical pop apocalyptic culture that helped push climate science denial into the Christian mainstream. I argue that in pop apocalyptic productions like the influential tracts and comics of Jack T. Chick, the image of the elect as the persecuted and powerful bearers of special knowledge found a new lease on life, and continues to fascinate millions with the attractive offer of somebody special to be and somewhere special to belong. I conclude that apocalyptic questions of crisis and conspiracy have a sociological function, as means to the end of defining social identity. Understanding this concrete function of conspiracy-theory thinking in Christian apocalyptic imagination can help in assessing and addressing the troubling phenomenon of Evangelical climate denial.

scholarly journals On the meaning of independence in climate science

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Annan ◽  
Julia C. Hargreaves
Keyword(s):  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Multiple Constraints ◽  
Model Ensemble ◽  
Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity ◽  
Model Ensembles ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Statistical Definition

Abstract. The concept of independence has been frequently mentioned in climate science research, but has rarely been defined and discussed in a theoretically robust and quantifiable manner. In this paper we argue that any discussion must start from a clear and unambiguous definition of what independence means and how it can be determined. We introduce an approach based on the statistical definition of independence, and illustrate with simple examples how it can be applied to practical questions. Firstly, we apply these ideas to climate models, which are frequently argued to not be independent of each other, raising questions as to the robustness of results from multi-model ensembles. We explore the dependence between models in a multi-model ensemble, and suggest a possible way forward for future weighting strategies. Secondly, we discuss the issue of independence in relation to the synthesis of multiple observationally based constraints on the climate system, using equilibrium climate sensitivity as an example. We show that the same statistical theory applies to this problem, and illustrate this with a test case, indicating how researchers may estimate dependence between multiple constraints.

Science communication and mediatised environmental conflict: A cautionary tale

2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252098513
Author(s):  
Claire Konkes ◽  
Kerrie Foxwell-Norton
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Environmental Conflict ◽  
Cautionary Tale ◽  
James Cook ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Tenured Position

When Australian physicist, Peter Ridd, lost his tenured position with James Cook University, he was called a ‘whistleblower’, ‘contrarian academic’ and ‘hero of climate science denial’. In this article, we examine the events surrounding his dismissal to better understand the role of science communication in organised climate change scepticism. We discuss the sophistry of his complaint to locate where and through what processes science communication becomes political communication. We argue that the prominence of scientists and scientific knowledge in debates about climate change locates science, as a social sphere or fifth pillar in Hutchins and Lester’s theory of mediatised environmental conflict. In doing so, we provide a model to better understand how science communication can be deployed during politicised debates.

scholarly journals Rethinking Climate, Climate Change, and Their Relationship with Water

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 849
Author(s):  
Demetris Koutsoyiannis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Main Element ◽  
The Political ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
External Agent ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Water Issues

We revisit the notion of climate, along with its historical evolution, tracing the origin of the modern concerns about climate. The notion (and the scientific term) of climate was established during the Greek antiquity in a geographical context and it acquired its statistical content (average weather) in modern times after meteorological measurements had become common. Yet the modern definitions of climate are seriously affected by the wrong perception of the previous two centuries that climate should regularly be constant, unless an external agent acts upon it. Therefore, we attempt to give a more rigorous definition of climate, consistent with the modern body of stochastics. We illustrate the definition by real-world data, which also exemplify the large climatic variability. Given this variability, the term “climate change” turns out to be scientifically unjustified. Specifically, it is a pleonasm as climate, like weather, has been ever-changing. Indeed, a historical investigation reveals that the aim in using that term is not scientific but political. Within the political aims, water issues have been greatly promoted by projecting future catastrophes while reversing true roles and causality directions. For this reason, we provide arguments that water is the main element that drives climate, and not the opposite.

scholarly journals Estimating economic damage from climate change in the United States

Science ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 356 (6345) ◽  
pp. 1362-1369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon Hsiang ◽  
Robert Kopp ◽  
Amir Jina ◽  
James Rising ◽  
Michael Delgado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Global Mean Temperature ◽  
Flexible Architecture ◽  
Econometric Analyses ◽  
Business As Usual

Estimates of climate change damage are central to the design of climate policies. Here, we develop a flexible architecture for computing damages that integrates climate science, econometric analyses, and process models. We use this approach to construct spatially explicit, probabilistic, and empirically derived estimates of economic damage in the United States from climate change. The combined value of market and nonmarket damage across analyzed sectors—agriculture, crime, coastal storms, energy, human mortality, and labor—increases quadratically in global mean temperature, costing roughly 1.2% of gross domestic product per +1°C on average. Importantly, risk is distributed unequally across locations, generating a large transfer of value northward and westward that increases economic inequality. By the late 21st century, the poorest third of counties are projected to experience damages between 2 and 20% of county income (90% chance) under business-as-usual emissions (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5).

UNCERTAINTY BASED ROBUST OPTIMIZATION IN AERODYNAMICS

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (03) ◽  
pp. 477-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZHILI TANG
Keyword(s):  
Nash Equilibrium ◽  
Robust Design ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Equilibrium Solutions ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Nash Equilibrium Solutions ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Taguchi Robust Design ◽  
Statistical Definition

The Taguchi robust design concept is combined with the multi-objective deterministic optimization method to overcome single point design problems in Aerodynamics. Starting from a statistical definition of stability, the method finds, Nash equilibrium solutions for performance and its stability simultaneously.

Compare and Analyze of the Definition and Development of Distributed Generation in China and Abroad

2014 ◽  
Vol 953-954 ◽  
pp. 925-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bi Bin Huang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Power Generation ◽  
Energy Conservation ◽  
Distributed Generation ◽  
Basic Characteristic ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
General Definition ◽  
Development Status ◽  
Incentive Policy ◽  
Definition Of

As the positive and important supplement to large-scale power generation, distributed generation (DG) will become key measure to promote energy conservation and solve the problems of climate change in China. Due to absence of universal authoritative definition of DG, this paper summarizes the basic characteristic of DG based on the definitions in typical countries (or organizations) and carried out general definition of DG considering our national conditions and power grid features. From the views of resource, incentive policy and industry, this paper analyzed the fundamental for DG development and compared the development status in typical countries.

Comparative analysis of three NDVI resolutions in different urban typologies. The case of Granollers in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan García-Haro ◽  
Josep Roca
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Urban Studies ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Industrial Area ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
Urban Core ◽  
First Results ◽  
Definition Of

<p>In recent years, the use of remote sensed NDVI has become recurrent in urban studies regarding the adaptation of cities to climate change. However, due to the physical diversity within cities and the different resolution offered by the sensors, the territorial interpretation of what the NDVI values really mean becomes difficult. Where the larger the size of the cells of the image, the greater the number of elements of the built environment within it, and the more complex the interpretation becomes.</p><p>In this work, the relationship between the NDVI of three sensors with different cell resolution for the same location and date is studied. In particular, the city of Granollers in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona is analyzed. First, the NDVI images were obtained from Landsat-8 with 30m resolution, Sentinel-2 with 10m and from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of Catalonia (DARP) with 0.125m resolution. Then, the comparison was performed with a sample of five different typologies of the territory: dense urban core, suburban, industrial, area of highway and rural.</p><p>As first results, a supervised classification of the DARP image allowed the definition of 0.30 as the precise minimum value of NDVI that indicates the actual presence of vegetation. On the other hand, the comparison indicates that, in the urban context, the larger the cell size, the presence of vegetation quality is overestimated, where the higher percentage of cells is concentrated in higher NDVI values than in those with lower resolution. However, this behavior is not appreciated in rural areas, where higher percentages of cells of different resolutions were concentrated in the same NDVI ranges.</p><p>In such a way, it is corroborated that it is in the urban context where this indicator has a greater difficulty of territorial interpretation. Statements that are analyzed in greater depth in this study, where its implications in the use of NDVI in urban studies for the adaptation of cities to climate change are discussed.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document