Climate Change -- conspiracy theory or is it time we all drive a Prius?

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he Trump administration has asked NASA employees to draw up plans to end at least two major satellite missions, according to current and former NASA staffers. If the plans are carried out, one of the missions would be permanently terminated, because the satellite would burn up in the atmosphere.

The data the two missions collect is widely used, including by scientists, oil and gas companies and farmers who need detailed information about carbon dioxide and crop health. They are the only two federal satellite missions that were designed and built specifically to monitor planet-warming greenhouse gases.

It is unclear why the Trump administration seeks to end the missions. The equipment in space is state of the art and is expected to function for many more years, according to scientists who worked on the missions. An official review by NASA in 2023 found that "the data are of exceptionally high quality" and recommended continuing the mission for at least three years.

Both missions, known as the Orbiting Carbon Observatories, measure carbon dioxide and plant growth around the globe. They use identical measurement devices, but one device is attached to a stand-alone satellite while the other is attached to the International Space Station. The standalone satellite would burn up in the atmosphere if NASA pursued plans to terminate the mission.

Quote: odiousgambit

for the Atlantic zone, the recent excitement of a 90% chance of a hurricane developing has completely evaporated, and the site [see link] says there is nothing expected for the next 7 days.

Now, I won't say that proves anything about climate change, although it would be fair play considering how the opposite situation would be handled by activists and the media... but you have to admit that's pretty remarkable, seeing how a busy season was predicted and the lull is happening right at the expected peak of activity

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Quote: odiousgambit

The Polar motion kicked in again, and this last region given a big chance to form a hurricane has fizzled out .

A new one has formed off Africa which has a 20% chance of 'cyclone formation' in the next 7 days

Quote: odiousgambit

The forecast that it would be a busy season is worth noting. This really does say something is wrong if they can't do better than that.

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What predictions have climate change skeptics made that didn't come true?

Many claims made by climate change skeptics and opponents of climate action have not come true, and they often misrepresent scientific data to make their case. These failed arguments often focus on single data points, short-term trends, or unrelated factors to deny the broader, independently confirmed evidence of human-caused warming.

Failed predictions about global temperatures
A new ice age is coming: In the 1970s, a few scientists and media reports speculated about a coming ice age due to aerosols, but the vast majority of peer-reviewed climate science was already pointing toward warming from CO2. Some skeptical sources still mention this, but it was never the scientific consensus and has been contradicted by the past 50 years of warming.

Global warming stopped in the 1990s: Some climate skeptics claimed that global warming had stopped or paused after the exceptionally warm El Niño year of 1998. However, since then, every subsequent decade has been warmer than the previous one, and multiple years have broken global temperature records.
The warming trend is unreliable: Skeptics have claimed that global temperature records are unreliable due to the "urban heat island effect" (cities being hotter than rural areas) or inaccurate sensors. Studies have found that the warming trend is consistent in both urban and rural areas, and the trend holds true across various measurement systems, including satellites and ground-based thermometers.

The warming trend is unreliable: Skeptics have claimed that global temperature records are unreliable due to the "urban heat island effect" (cities being hotter than rural areas) or inaccurate sensors. Studies have found that the warming trend is consistent in both urban and rural areas, and the trend holds true across various measurement systems, including satellites and ground-based thermometers.

It’s the sun, not humans: This argument, which suggests that solar activity is the cause of global warming, fails because the sun has shown a slight cooling trend over the past 35 years, while global temperatures have continued to rise.

Models are unreliable: Skeptics have long claimed that climate models are too inaccurate to be trusted. However, when tested, models have successfully reproduced past temperatures and have accurately projected many aspects of climate change that have since been observed, including global temperature rise, stratospheric cooling, and polar amplification.

Failed predictions about polar ice
Arctic sea ice would recover: In 2014, some outlets used a temporary increase in Arctic sea ice to suggest it was recovering. However, the long-term trend remains a steep and accelerating decline, with thick, multi-year ice rapidly disappearing.

Antarctica is gaining ice: While there is some localized ice growth in parts of East Antarctica, satellites show that the continent as a whole is losing land ice at an accelerating rate, contributing to sea level rise.

Glaciers are growing: While a few isolated glaciers may show temporary growth, the overwhelming global trend is for glaciers to retreat. The worldwide rate of melting has been accelerating since the mid-1970s.

Failed predictions about wildlife
Polar bear populations are increasing: Skeptics have argued that polar bear populations are stable or increasing and are therefore not threatened by climate change. However, the key scientific finding is that polar bears' habitat—the Arctic sea ice—is disappearing. Scientists project that two-thirds of the world's polar bears could be gone by mid-century as ice loss makes hunting seals more difficult.

Animals and plants can adapt: Many skeptics have suggested that nature is resilient enough to adapt to climate change. However, the speed of current climate change is unprecedented, overwhelming the natural speed at which many species can migrate or evolve, and leading to predictions of mass extinctions.
Failed predictions about other climate change impacts

Ocean acidification isn't serious: Some skeptics have dismissed the threat of ocean acidification. However, rising CO2 levels are causing a measurable drop in ocean pH, threatening the marine food chain and coral reefs.

Sea level rise is exaggerated: Skeptics have often downplayed the threat of rising sea levels. In reality, various measurements agree that sea levels have been rising at an accelerating rate, and recent observations show that the increase is tracking near the upper end of past projections.