[Another] State climatologist not jumping on global warming bandwagon

Another state climatologist has spoken out about the lack of consensus on anthropogenic global warming (AGW), this time at Mississippi State University. From the Commercial Dispatch Online:

Many people who saw “An Inconvenient Truth,” a global warming documentary featuring Al Gore, immediately became very concerned about global climate change and impending weather disasters.

Don't count state climatologist Dr. Charles Wax of Mississippi State University as one of them.

“First off, there isn't a consensus among scientists,” Wax told the Columbus Rotary Club Tuesday. “Don't let anybody tell you there is.”

Wax spent much of his presentation telling the audience how the global climate is cyclical. It's always gone through periods of warming and cooling. As for cries of impending doom, Wax says there's tons of data on both sides - and man's ever-changing weather monitoring capability further clouds the picture.

“I wouldn't want to be called a skeptic,” Wax said. “I have been called non-reputable (by people who believe differently).”

The climate is changing, Wax admits - but it's always changing and always has.

“I don't know if it's going to rain Thursday or not. Certainly I don't know what the temperature is going to be in 2050,” he said.

Wax said political and policy confusion have fueled the debate over global warming, and changes in the way weather is tracked have added to the confusion.

“In 1957, all the thermometers (the government uses to track temperatures) were moved from fields onto airports,” Wax said. “It went from the Weather Bureau, which supported agriculture, to the Department of Commerce. Cities are hotter. (If you look at the numbers) you'll see a major climate change in 1957 alone.”

Wax showed Rotarians graphs of climate trends over 11,000 years, pointing out the cycles global temperatures have gone through. He said the rise of civilization coincided with a warming period.

“There was a little ice age from 1400 to 1800,” Wax said. “We're warming back up, but it's not nearly as warm as it was 2,000 or 7,000 years ago.”

One can only wonder if Dr. Wax will face similar experience as these two other state climatolgists.

Update: Associate State Climatologist Fired for Exposing Warming Myths

University of Washington climate scientist Mark Albright was dismissed on March 12 from his position as associate state climatologist, just weeks after exposing false claims of shrinking glaciers in the Cascade Mountains.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels (D) had asserted in a February 7 Seattle Times editorial, "the average snow pack in the Cascades has declined 50 percent since 1950 and will be cut in half again in 30 years if we don't start addressing the problems of climate change now."

Albright knew from his research that the Cascade Mountains snow pack had not declined anywhere near what Nickels asserted, and that the snow pack has actually been growing in recent years.

h/t.