November 8, 2006

CFACT Europe's climate expert Dr. Wolfgang Thuene juices up lively talk show on German TV

On November 7th Dr. Wolfgang Thuene, a member of CFACT Europe's advisory board, participated in a Televised debate on climate policies and possible outcomes of the U.N. climate conference in Nairobi Kenya. Dr. Thuene was the guest of Arabella Kiesbauer, a prominent host of the German N24 TV station. Dr. Thuene's appearance on one of Germany's national networks caused a sensation among climate activists since political correctness usually excludes any non-alarmist view from public debate.

While Dr. Thuene represented climate realism, Prof. Dr. Carlo C. Jaeger of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, sociologist and head of the department for "global change and social systems", defended the views of the climate alarmists.

Professor Jaeger conjured up images of droughts and floods, forecasting that by the year 3000 sea journeys from Berlin to New York and Hamburg will only be possible in submarines. He attempted to support his forecasts with pictures of calfing (!) glaciers, an allegedly overflowing mountain lake, and old fishing boats on the dry ground of Lake Aral. Dr. Thuene broke in and urged him "to return to reality," reminding him that the attrition of Lake Aral had "nothing to do with climate, but everything to do with the false irrigation policy of the then communist leadership of the USSR."

Dr. Thuene, a meteorologist and former scientist at the analysis and forecast center of the German National Weather Authority and author of two voluminous books on climate development, also expressed his belief that humans cannot interfere with the weather. Therefore it follows that humans cannot influence the climate. In particular he criticized Prof. Jaeger's theory of planet earth as a "greenhouse". He refuted this theory by citing infrared samples taken by weather satellites since 1977.

Dr. Thuene also quoted a report of a 1988 federal parliamentary commission which stated that radiation is not influenced by concentrations of atmospheric gases or water vapor, due to the existence of a so called "open atmospheric radiation window between 7 and 13 micrometers".

"This effect is the only explanation for the daily temperature decrease near the ground, the daily interplay between the permanent radiation of the earth and the daily irradiation of the sun. You could already read this in Tydall's book "The heat as mode of motion" in 1868."

After the show Dr. Thuene said, "one thing is obvious: Prof. Jaeger hasn't the slightest idea of physics or meteorology. Even the difference between real meteorological parameters and deduced proxy parameters had to be explained to him. However I tried to make clear that our calculated climate always emanates from our capricious and volatile weather. Furthermore, during history humans always adapted to any weather and were therefore able to settle in almost any region of the world. Thus the development of weatherproof clothing and housing is a major cultural achievement."

Apparently, the N24 people didn't have much courage as they didn't air the show until a half hour before midnight. However, it could have a significant impact as many people requested it on DVD.