By Kenneth Richard ‘Consensus’ Science Takes A Hit In 2017 During 2017,  485 scientific papers have been published that cast doubt on the position that anthropogenic CO2 emissions function as the climate’s fundamental control knob…or that otherwise question the efficacy of climate models or the related “consensus” positions commonly endorsed by policymakers and mainstream media. These 485 new papers affirm the position that there are significant limitations and uncertainties inherent in our understanding of climate and climate changes, emphasizing that climate science is not settled. More specifically, the papers in this compilation support these four main skeptical positions — categorized here as N(1) – N(4) — which question climate alarm. N(1) Natural mechanisms play well more than a negligible role (as claimed by the IPCC) in the net changes in the climate system, which includes temperature variations, precipitation patterns, weather events, etc., and the influence of increased CO2 concentrations on climatic changes are less pronounced than currently imagined. N(2) The warming/sea levels/glacier and sea ice retreat/hurricane and drought intensities…experienced during the modern era are neither unprecedented or remarkable, nor do they fall outside the range of natural variability, as clearly shown in the first 150 graphs (from 2017) on this list. N(3) The computer climate models are not reliable or consistently accurate, and projections of future climate states are little more than speculation as the uncertainty and error ranges are enormous in a non-linear climate system.

In sharp contrast to the above, the corresponding “consensus” positions that these papers do not support are: A(1) Close to or over 100% (110%) of the warming since 1950 has been caused by increases in anthropogenic CO2 emissions, leaving natural attribution at something close to 0%. RealClimate.org: “The best estimate of the warming due to anthropogenic forcings (ANT) is the orange bar (noting the 1𝛔 uncertainties). Reading off the graph, it is 0.7±0.2ºC (5-95%) with the observed warming 0.65±0.06 (5-95%). The attribution then follows as having a mean of ~110%, with a 5-95% range of 80–130%. This easily justifies the IPCC claims of having a mean near 100%, and a very low likelihood of the attribution being less than 50% (p < 0.0001!).” A(2) Modern warming, glacier and sea ice recession, sea level rise, drought and hurricane intensities…are all occurring at unprecedentedly high and rapid rates, and the effects are globally synchronous (not just regional)…and thus dangerous consequences to the global biosphere and human civilizations loom in the near future as a consequence of anthropogenic influences. A(3) The climate models are reliable and accurate, and the scientific understanding of the effects of both natural forcing factors (solar activity, clouds, water vapor, etc.) and CO2 concentration changes on climate is “settled enough“, which means that “the time for debate has ended“. A(4) The proposed solutions to mitigate the dangerous consequences described in N(4) – namely, wind and solar expansion – are safe, effective, and environmentally-friendly. To reiterate, the 485 papers compiled in 2017 support the N(1)-N(4) positions, and they undermine or at least do not support the “consensus” A(1)-A(4) positions.  The papers do not do more than that.   Expectations that these papers should do more than support skeptical positions and undermine “consensus” positions to “count” are deemed unreasonable in this context. Below are the two links to the list of 485 papers as well as the guideline for the lists’ categorization. Skeptic Papers 2017 (1) Skeptic Papers 2017 (2)

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(Parts 1 and 2 are on the same page).   Part 1. Natural Mechanisms Of Weather, Climate Change Solar Influence On Climate (121) ENSO, NAO, AMO, PDO Climate Influence (44) Modern Climate In Phase With Natural Variability (13) Cloud/Aerosol Climate Influence (9) Volcanic/Tectonic Climate Influence (6) The CO2 Greenhouse Effect – Climate Driver? (14) Part 2. Unsettled Science, Failed Climate Modeling Climate Model Unreliability/Biases/Errors and the Pause (28) Failing Renewable Energy, Climate Policies (12) Wind Power Harming The Environment, Biosphere (8) Elevated CO2 Greens Planet, Produces Higher Crop Yields (13) Warming Beneficial, Does Not Harm Humans, Wildlife (5) Warming, Acidification Not Harming Oceanic Biosphere (17) Decreases In Extreme, Unstable Weather With Warming (3) Urban Heat Island: Raising Surface Temperatures Artificially (5) No Increasing Trends In Intense Hurricanes (4) No Increasing Trends In Drought/Flood Frequency, Severity (3) Natural CO2, Methane Sources Out-Emit Human Source (4) Increasing Snow Cover Since The 1950s (2)> Miscellaneous (7) Part 3. Natural Climate Change Observation, Reconstruction Lack Of Anthropogenic/CO2 Signal In Sea Level Rise (38) No Net Warming During 20th (21st) Century (12) A Warmer Past: Non-Hockey Stick Reconstructions (60) Abrupt, Degrees-Per-Decade Natural Global Warming (7) A Model-Defying Cryosphere, Polar Ice (32) Antarctic Ice Melting In High Geothermal Heat Flux Areas (4) Recent Cooling In The North Atlantic, Southern Ocean (10)]]>