Paul Krugman Blames Egypt Crisis On Global Warming
For the second time in eight days, a prominent liberal has blamed the developing crisis in Egypt on global warming.
Following in the footsteps of climate alarmist extraordinaire Joe Romm Monday was New York Times columnist Paul Krugman:
We’re in the midst of a global food crisis — the second in three years. World food prices hit a record in January, driven by huge increases in the prices of wheat, corn, sugar and oils. These soaring prices have had only a modest effect on U.S. inflation, which is still low by historical standards, but they’re having a brutal impact on the world’s poor, who spend much if not most of their income on basic foodstuffs.
The consequences of this food crisis go far beyond economics. After all, the big question about uprisings against corrupt and oppressive regimes in the Middle East isn’t so much why they’re happening as why they’re happening now. [...]
While several factors have contributed to soaring food prices, what really stands out is the extent to which severe weather events have disrupted agricultural production. And these severe weather events are exactly the kind of thing we’d expect to see as rising concentrations of greenhouse gases change our climate — which means that the current food price surge may be just the beginning.
Have food prices really soared?
As Roger Pielke Jr. noted Monday:
The figure at the top of this post is from a paper by Daniel Sumner, of the University of California-Davis (here in PDF), in which he seeks to place the 2006-2008 increase in grain prices into historical context. Current grain prices are at a similar level to the peak in 2007. Sumner's paper also has a figure going back to the mid-1800s. Good luck disentangling a long-term climate signal in the long-term data, which shows a significant decline in grain prices, much less attributing such a signal to a particular cause. Efforts to link short-term wiggles to the effects of greenhouse gas emissions go well beyond the canons of empirical science, to use a polite euphemism from The Climate Fix.
As you can see, although grains prices have been spiking of late, adjusted for inflation, they are well below where they were in the '70s as well as several decades prior.
It is of course not at all surprising that Krugman made up figures to support his argument. He's been doing it for years:
As always, you can’t attribute any one weather event to greenhouse gases. But the pattern we’re seeing, with extreme highs and extreme weather in general becoming much more common, is just what you’d expect from climate change.
The usual suspects will, of course, go wild over suggestions that global warming has something to do with the food crisis; those who insist that Ben Bernanke has blood on his hands tend to be more or less the same people who insist that the scientific consensus on climate reflects a vast leftist conspiracy.
But the evidence does, in fact, suggest that what we’re getting now is a first taste of the disruption, economic and political, that we’ll face in a warming world. And given our failure to act on greenhouse gases, there will be much more, and much worse, to come.
Actually, the evidence doesn't suggest that at all. As astrophysicist Dr. David Whitehouse noted last week:
A NASA Press Release said 2010 tied with 2005 which at a temperature anomaly of 0.63 was 0.01 above 2005. The Press Release went on to say that 1998 was in third place with 09,07,06,03 and 02. However, the reality is that 1998 and the other years are statistically equivalent being spread over a range of 0.03 deg C within the errors of 2010 and 2005. NasaGiss is thus statistically equivalent to no change since 1998 (note that in 2005 NasaGiss announced that 2005 was a dead heat with 1998. In 2007 they put 1998 behind 2005.)
Many press reports said that 2010 was a near-record breaking year despite the cooling influence of a La Nina later in the year. What was omitted however was mention of the fact that the reason why the year was marginally warmer than previous years was because of the warming El Nino.
Contrary to press reports the evidence is that 2010 was a year no different from all of the years 2001-2009 with the exception of a moderate to strong El Nino that elevated temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere’s Spring, and a cooling La Nina later in the year. The standstill seen in global temperatures since 2001 continues.
As such, contrary to what alarmists like Krugman claim, the world's temperatures haven't increased for twelve years. The only thing that has changed is their argument to tax carbon dioxide emissions.
In the previous decade, it was that a supposedly warming planet was going to lead to a greater number of stronger hurricanes, melting glaciers and polar icecaps, and we'd all be swamped by rising seas.
Such dire predictions have not come to fruition, and the public - aided by ClimateGate revelations of book-cooking by these alarmists - have grown increasingly skeptical of Nobel Laureate Al Gore's favorite money-making myth.
With cap-and-trade legislation dying in the Senate last year, and little chance of it being revived in this new Congress, the climate fear-mongers are trying a new strategy to convince people that a less than one degree Celsius rise in global temperatures the past 160 years is causing food shortages that are going to lead to uprisings around the world threatening national security.
The only conclusion is they will try anything however dishonest to get their wish of taxing carbon dioxide thereby controlling all aspects of commerce and human life while redistributing the wealth from the haves to the have-nots.
Makes you sick, doesn't it?
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Comments
So, all of the massive riots
Submitted by rwesley2.0 on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 11:48am.
So, all of the massive riots and marches I have seen coming from the Middle East since the 70's are due to Global Warming? Who knew?
Why not
Submitted by 10ksnooker on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 11:59am.
Yell at the sun? Didn't Egyptians used to do this?
"We’re in the midst of a global food crisis"
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 11:50am.
Hmmmm. Could that be because we turn so much FOOD into ethanol, YOU JACK WAGON?!?!
But whatever we do, let's don't drill, baby drill for oil. We'll just starve the world while you geniuses try to figure out how to make really peachy windmills and solar panels.
That shouldn't be but about eight more revolutions and a billion starved kids from now, right?
The EPA
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 1:03pm.
Don't forget about the EPA telling the electric companies around the country to reduce their output to prevent global warming, only to have rolling blackouts because it was too cold and people wanted to be warm. Imagine that. (I'm still pissed that the Texas electric companies capitulated to the EPA like the way they did just because some federal judge told them too)
And of course, the ever prevalent use of ethanol which causes more pollution and is not beneficial in any way at all.(I know it's used for race cars and some small stunt planes, I'm talking about day to day living)
-Jon
Please forgive a novice
Submitted by Agnostic on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 11:57am.
assuming truth in even slight warming:
1 degree higher - deserts may enlarge - How much food do we grow in and around the deserts now?
longer - healthier growing seasons for the areas we actually grow food?
Thank the Israelis
Submitted by CobraMan on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:04pm.
"How much food do we grow in and around the deserts now?"
Quite a bit, actually. You can thank the Israelis for that. They're the ones who showed the entire world how to make the deserts bloom.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
CobraMan,
Submitted by Ashrak on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:16pm.
I recall some really productive greenhouses that were purchased from the Israelis and given to the Palestinians. Rather then use them to grow food, the Palestinians looted them and destroyed them. I guess global warming made the Pals do it.......
self-sufficiency
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 1:02pm.
That's proof positive that these people are nothing more than animals, nay, scavengers. They would scavenge, or in your words, loot those things instead of make use of them. If they were real men and women, they could have made use of them, but chose not to.
But then that's the way of Islam, they don't want their people to be self-sufficient, just like Marxists/Communists want the people dependent on the government. It's all about control rather than freedom.
-Jon
You actually
Submitted by 10ksnooker on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:09pm.
Want to check out the last glaciation period and move south of there ... LOL.
Not a matter of if, but when. The roll out may be in progress since it's been colling for 4000 years or so now.
Who knew
Submitted by 10ksnooker on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 11:56am.
Cold weather is killing the food ...
Can't fix the sun can we? Easy to hide the lies, much harder to hide the snow ice and cold. Lessons learned recently in England.
Laughable/
Submitted by Ashrak on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:13pm.
Wow, the climate change global warming drama really can make a person sick! Even in the UK, where the greenhouse gas scare first took massive root, the whole global warming thing is now being rejected as the bovine excrement it has always been.
Krugman is trying to connect dots from previous projections that global warming would cause food related troubles. As with so many of his other predictions, time itself busts his myths and rather than just admit he was wrong, he doubles down.
Like a gambler that thinks just one more bet will pay off, Krugman has thrown away the last bit of credibility that existed - if there was even any remaining.
Global Warming, is also the
Submitted by bassndude on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:13pm.
Global Warming, is also the reason Paul Krugman is so stupid. Got that everyone?
Global Warming causes stupidity and stunted IQ's.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal/troll!!
It's the other way around, Paul
Submitted by CobraMan on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:20pm.
"And these severe weather events are exactly the kind of thing we’d expect to see as rising concentrations of greenhouse gases change our climate..."
Actually, Paul, we would expect the climate to become far more stable with increasing "green house gas" concentrations. Take Venus, for example (you know, the planet with the "runaway greenhouse effect"). That planet has the most stable climate of all of the planets in the Solar System, with temperature variations of just a few percent between the poles and the equator. This means less extreme "weather" variations on Venus, something even NASA has noticed. All high winds (or even moderate winds) occur in the upper atmosphere. The lower atmosphere is extremely stable, with almost no wind and absolutely no "storm" activity. (No GE wind farms possible on Venus, alas.)
Well, if the Venus CO2 Model accounts for "global warming" as so many have claimed, then that same model shows us that, no, increasing levels of CO2 won't produce more extreme weather variations. It will, in fact, produce more MODERATE weather variations.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
"Have food prices really soared?"
Submitted by Dave. on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:23pm.
LOL - Been grocery shopping lately?
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Fair enough!
Submitted by Morganfrost on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:25pm.
And I blame Paul Krugman on the hormones in beef.
Google is bereft of
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:23pm.
Google is bereft of connections between global food crisis and the riots in Egypt.
Even Krugman's theory doesn't pop up; that's how widespread that assessment is.
Dr. Krauthammer can add Paul Krugman to Al Gore and his Godzilla on the Mall remark.
Insofar as food prices go up,
Submitted by forest on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:38pm.
Insofar as food prices go up, global warming hysteria is to blame. The statist-collectivists misuse the government to inefficiently turn food into fuel and block development of new fossil fuel sources. They are reducing supply and increasing transportation and all enegry costs for farmers and food suppliers. Prices go up, people have access to less food.
All this ego-friendly eco-kookery is to blame. Environmentalists are killing people, as usual.
The Nobel Prize is Neither
Submitted by gopcongress on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:54pm.
And Kruman has certainly demonstrated his deserving of that "award."
"The news and truth are not the same thing." -Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
It's not getting warmer...
Submitted by changein2012 on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 12:54pm.
What the braindead do not understand is that it is not getting warmer, it is getting cooler and that is why we have seen so many crop failures. Germany said that 2010 was the coldest year in a century. How can that be you may ask?
http://blog.qtau.com/2010/05/dude-where-is-my-thermometer.html
This is how you create man made global warming.
The Graph of Temperature vs. Number of Stations
Submitted by upcountrywater on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 1:00pm.
The 90's the "warmest" decade, crock...
This graph sez it all..(almost).
The point of the graph above is that a change in the raw mean occurred coincidental with the big loss of stations in the early 1990s
_______
Ask Leif Erikson about the (get this) climate deterioration in the 14th Century may have increased the demand for winter fodder and at the same time decreased productivity of hay meadows.
Ice kills green things, lots of food is green.
Government kills, Wave of the hand stop pumping! Save the _____ fish, make corn move cars.
You Didn't Build That.
Loss of stations
Submitted by Rukus on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 1:57pm.
This animation demonstrates rather well.
Gary, No to worry we have the temps from space now.
Submitted by upcountrywater on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 2:53pm.
Gee whizz...Data loss in the same areas of planet earth.
http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/giss_1200km_12202010.png?w=640&h=470&h=470
You Didn't Build That.
Food Prices
Submitted by stanmo42 on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 1:00pm.
Krugman is true to form as usual. Commodity pricing is purely market based but once raw material is purchased, ENERGY PRICING is driving food prices up more that any other factor. Grain producers cannot afford to sow, till, and reap until pricing goes up. How do you get the price up? Produce less. BTW, there are lots of people producing corn thanks to the ethanol farce.
Good point, stanmo42
Submitted by Galvanic on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 6:59pm.
But we've long since come to expect ignorance of market forces from winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics.
He is the same one who tells us we're not spending enough on government-funded stimulus $$$. I've never seen this clown square the math.
personally I blame global warming..
Submitted by redright88 on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 1:28pm.
... for the painful rectal itch I have.
I assume I'll be compensated for my suffering by Al Gore.
Hey Paul, You Moron
Submitted by Cappmann1962 on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 1:41pm.
How's about showing factual figures on: 1. The earth actually warming, and 2. A substantial decrease in food production.
Or maybe, could it be that the increased cost of oil, something which so-called global warming has absolutely no bearing on, is causing the increase in cost of virtually everything? Higher oil prices mean it costs more to plow the fields, more to harvest them, more to process the food, more to transport it to market, more for consumers to go buy it, and so on ad nauseum. And isn't it almost poetic justice that those most affected (according to you) live in oil producing countries and/or regions? Seems to me that the leaders of those countries aren't going hungry. It also seems to me that, unlike this country, most of the wealth in those countries is owned by those same "leaders" instead of by many private citizens. Gee, isn't THAT strange? And here I am, just a non-intellectual, non-Nobel prize winning peon. Whooda thunk?
um, redright88
Submitted by sherlock1 on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 1:55pm.
You might want to be careful what you ask for - who knows what Al's idea of fair compenation might be now that Tipper has given him the boot.
A New Religion
Submitted by Conservator on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 2:27pm.
When the US conducts the next Census, they need to add a new religion in their demographics for all those who Worship at the Altar of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGP). Leftist fools like Paul Krugman reverence for AGP is akin to believing in God and never let facts interfere with their beliefs. Like any religion, believing in AGP requires FAITH and not science.
Come on and Call the Press Conference Dr. Krugman
Submitted by Harbour11 on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 2:44pm.
Obviously the institution of cap and trade policies to artificially increase the cost of hydrocarbons, would have an almost immediate and devastating impact on world food market prices since those costs would have to be incurred within almost every step of the production process from fuel usage, fertilizer production, processing, transportation and delivery. Once again his lack of scientific knowledge would be utterly laughable, if he weren’t given so much credence.
If Paul Krugman was really concerned about weather-related food cost spikes, he should come out on his editorial page and be the first Obama-advising economist to push for the elimination of farm subsidies in which the Federal government pays farmers not to grow crops to prop up commodity prices. If this immediate crisis needs to be rectified, any global warming reduction wouldn’t occur for decades or more in the future, even if his alternative economy and cap and tax policies were instituted today. The removal of price supports would immediately lower food costs worldwide.
I call on Paul Krugman to call a press conference with Al Gore, Obama, and the rest of the Democratic Leadership, by which they call for the immediate elimination of agricultural price supports and the immediate increase in US grain production. They should set a goal for reducing in the cost of a bushel of corn and wheat by 50% by the end of the year to assist these struggling foreign peoples. If Krugman is truly concerned about the people of Egypt, this absolutely can be done. You can get yourself another Nobel Prize. Oh, but good luck campaigning in Iowa 2012 hopefuls.
Hummmmm
Submitted by donabernathy on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 2:56pm.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAtheistAntidote#p/search/0/WftNsz1Nhz8
Poor Paul
roflmao
Krugman Makes Sense
Submitted by MLGoodell on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 2:58pm.
Krugman's argument actually makes sense. It's a simple logical equation.
The Egyptian Crisis is America's fault (a given--ask any liberal),
Global Warming is America's fault.
Ergo, Global Warming caused the Egyptian Crisis.
So logical a caveman could figure it out.
Krugman is one of the morons
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 3:50pm.
Krugman is one of the morons Sorkin says we need to save us from Sarah.
I think someone needs to do a
Submitted by inquiringmind on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 6:36pm.
I think someone needs to do a review of the economic theory Krugeman came up with that got him his Nobel Prize. He is saying some of the dumbest things and doing it with a straight face.
If he is this wrong today every time he opens his mouth what is to lead me to believe his economic theories of yeaterday can hold water.
This is a joke, right?
Submitted by Free Thinker on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 6:59pm.
This is a joke, right?
stop using food to make ethanol
Submitted by merly1 on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 7:14pm.
Duh!
The hystery over global warming is causing food sources to be diverted to allegedly "green projects," ie ethanol.