The Swiss Basler Zeitung (BZ) reported on April 13, 2018, that a new research institute opened at Lake Aegeri in Switzerland last year: the Institute for Hydrography, Geo-ecology and Climate Sciences (IFHGK), which will focus on the natural causes of climate change.

Image copyright ANJA RUTISHAUSER

Researchers have found lakes that may shed new light on icy worlds in our Solar System. High in the Canadian Arctic, two subglacial bodies of water have been spotted beneath over 500 metres of ice. The water has an estimated maximum temperature of -10.5C, and would need to be very salty to avoid freezing.

In addition to the case of Aden, discussed in Parker & Ollier (2017) and Parker & O’Sullivan (2018), that is only one of the many where the data proposed by the PSMSL are not trustworthy, another example recently added to the long list is Guam (Parker & Ollier, 2018).

It’s commonly accepted today that our spherical planet absorbs only ¼ of the radiant energy that the Sun imparts because a sphere has four times the surface area as a flat disk facing the Sun.

Recently released three-dimensional models of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) give us a much better idea of the process behind these solar eruptions. From the viewpoints of NASA satellites, massive shock waves can be seen rippling out from the Sun, according to an article on Space.com.

Volcanic eruptions in the Roman period led to climate anomalies affecting the whole northern hemisphere, according to new research.

Half the results published in peer-reviewed scientific journals are probably wrong. John Ioannidis, now a professor of medicine at Stanford, made headlines with that claim in 2005.

Since then, researchers have confirmed his skepticism by trying—and often failing—to reproduce many influential journal articles. Slowly, scientists are internalizing the lessons of this irreproducibility crisis. But what about government, which has been making policy for generations without confirming that the science behind it is valid?

The Trump Administration is backing a new technology for the genetic manipulation of plants and even animals with no intend to supervise or regulate against possible dangers.

If left unchecked, it could open a Pandora’s Box of dangers to human health for generations. Yet very little debate is taking place on this dramatic development. Here are some things to consider.

I admit that I am not a climate scientist. In this case, that may be a strength, as I’ll explain below. First, here are my biases: Like most, I appreciate a clean, healthy environment. I value human life above that of bees and trees. I consider nature to be amoral: Nature doesn’t care about you or your family, nor does it know right from wrong. And of course, I oppose initiation of force and fraud against my fellow man. I am dismayed when people try to deny their biases.

We’ve all heard or read about how our atmosphere is supposed to mimic a real greenhouse and how that is supposed to make our earth warmer through the emissions of human generated carbon dioxide.

Now we have a real-life example of how a real greenhouse leaks heat like a sieve leaks water. The breakdown of a boiler in a professional greenhouse in Edinburgh is causing concern about the special plants and flowers grown within that greenhouse.

The case of Aden, discussed in Parker & Ollier (2017) and Parker & O’Sullivan (2018), is only one of the many where the data proposed by the PSMSL are not trustworthy.  Another examples has been recently added to the long list, Funafuti, in Tuvalu (Parker, 2018).

SPOTLIGHT: Journalistic professionalism evaporates in front of our eyes.

BIG PICTURE: When historians document the demise of the mainstream media, an article published this week by the New York Times will make an excellent case study.

Grégoire Canlorbe: You say polar bears are far less endangered by global warming than by environmentalists dreading ice melt. Could you expand?

Dr. Willie Soon*: Yes, indeed. I have argued that too much ice will be the ultimate enemy for polar bears. Polar bears need less sea ice to be well fed and to reproduce.