New Year is the time to re-evaluate, and model predictions are no exception. Andrew Bolt has a list of how 10 climate predictions fared in 2008. Too triumphal for my taste, but worth a read, even if for the last line. Those, then, are the top 10 dud predictions of that hooting, screaming and screeching tribe of warming alarmists. Look and laugh. And dare to believe the world is bright and reason may yet triumph. Read more [...] none

A grader rolled over on to its side on an embankment after the right side ram of the grader was activated by the laser guided blade control system. The blade was resting on the ground when the right side ram automatically activated, apparently because the laser system thought it was at an extreme angle and was attempting to rectify itself. The ram continued to push the blade downward eventually jacking the grader upward causing it to roll onto its left side. No one was injured during the incident. Read more [...] 6 com

Starting this post is a poll of readers view's on a CO2 emissions target for Australia, announced recently by the Prime Minister. Please take a moment to respond, before moving on to the rest of the post. Results This was prompted by a bad article in The Australian newspaper called Climate change: 2008 is world's 10th hottest year. I put aside the subtext of the article, such as abundant references to phenomena of La Nina, droughts, and Arctic Ice, where global warming is the usual explanation Read more [...] 8 com

A forum has been added using the software phpBB (link on menu bar above). This is a message board/community forum for landshape related issues. We are at the stage of needing this, as there are a number of interesting and lengthy discussions which are hard to do justice to in this format. As well, a number of knowledgeable contributors need a forum for posting dedicated threads. Currently anyone can add new forums under the categories: Modeling and Statistics (Climate Change) Forum (Journal Club) Software Read more [...] 8 com

Yesterday, the UN suspended a firm responsible for 50% of carbon-offset certifications, after a spot check carried out in early November at the firm's headquarters revealed serious flaws in project management. As international climate talks began last week in Poland, the United Nations (UN) suspended the work of the main company that validates carbon-offset projects in developing countries, sending shockwaves through the emissions-trading business. At its meeting on 28 November in Poznań, the Read more [...] 10 com

One of the main assumptions of linear regression is, ahem, linearity. Here is an example drawn from dendroclimatology, the reconstruction of past climates using tree rings, of the trouble one can get into by blindly assuming linearity. This subject was dealt with some time ago at ClimateAudit Upside-Down Quadratic Proxy Response. From the Summary of chapter 9 of my book, niche-modeling-chap-9 9.2 Summary These results demonstrate that procedures with linear assumptions are unreliable when Read more [...] 5 com