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Climate Confusion: How Global Warming Hysteria Leads to Bad Science, Pandering Politicians and Misguided Policies That Hurt the Poor Hardcover – Illustrated, March 27, 2008
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length184 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherEncounter Books
- Publication dateMarch 27, 2008
- Dimensions6.29 x 0.84 x 9.28 inches
- ISBN-101594032106
- ISBN-13978-1594032103
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Climate Confusion is the best book length treatment of global warming science that is available to the literate citizen. The title says it all. Spencer explains the broad agreement over the existence of some climate change and the existence of some human role, but he also explains why these have little to do with the implausible and overheated projections of environmental disaster. The author thus cuts through all the rhetorical brickbats of denialism” and salvationism” to allow the citizen to reach rational conclusions. Despite a light touch, Spencer does not pull punches when it comes to unclothing the moral pretenses of many in the environmental movementpretenses often disguising some truly immoral agendas.” Richard S. Lindzen Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
An outstanding discussion of the many scientific, political and religious problems associated with the acceptance that humans are the primary cause of global warming. A must read for anyone wanting a full and balanced understanding of the global warming debate.” William M. Gray Professor Emeritus, Department of Atmospheric Science Colorado State University
Roy Spencer’s Climate Confusion is needed to put the global warming hysteria in its rightful place. He has done a yeoman’s job in making the issue understandable and accessible to the general public without a sacrifice in the rigor of his arguments.”
From the Author
From the Back Cover
Richard S. Lindzen, Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Sciences
"An outstanding discussion of the many scientific, political and religious problems associated with the acceptance that humans are the primary cause of global warming. A must read for anyone wanting a full and balanced understanding of the global warming debate."
William M. Gray, Professor Emeritus, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University
Roy Spencer's "Climate Confusion" is needed to put the global warming hysteria in its rightful place. He has done a yeoman's job in making the issue understandable and accessible to the general public without a sacrifice in the rigor of his arguments.
Walter E. Williams John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics George Mason University
If you have an interest in global warming, but are intimidated by equations and scientific terminology, this book is for you. The author explores the philosophy of global warming (and cooling), examines the limitations of global numerical models for which all alarmist statements are based, and discusses the economics of alternative actions that might be pursued. This book is an excellent read! Neil L Frank Former Director National Hurricane Center
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Encounter Books; Illustrated edition (March 27, 2008)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 184 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1594032106
- ISBN-13 : 978-1594032103
- Item Weight : 16 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.29 x 0.84 x 9.28 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,522,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,179 in Environmental Policy
- #1,804 in Climatology
- #4,279 in Environmental Science (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Roy W. Spencer is a Principal Research Scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He was formerly a Senior Scientist for Climate Studies at NASA. He is co-developer of the original satellite method for precise monitoring of global temperatures from Earth-orbiting satellites. He has provided congressional testimony several times on the subject of global warming and authored the 2008 New York Times bestseller, Climate Confusion.
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Top reviews from the United States
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Spenser explains some simple facts about the carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is, along with water vapor, the main byproduct of virtually all processes that free energy by burning a carbon based fuel. This includes the human body's burning sugar. It is also one of the so-called greenhouse gasses. These gasses are transparent to the energy from the light of the sun, but opaque to the infrared energy the earth reflects back. For this reason, increasing levels of CO2, by themselves, would lead to increasing global temperatures.
The key notion is "by themselves". Spenser, a climatologist by training and specialist in satellite monitoring of global temperatures, asserts that if CO2 levels were the only factor, doubling them would increase global temperatures by about 1° F. The assertion of the promoters of anthropogenic global warming is that the small increase from CO2 increases the amount of an more significant greenhouse gas, water vapor. Higher levels of water vapor in the air then raise the temperature higher, which becomes a self feeding system that spirals out of control.
Weather systems, primarily precipitation, serve to cool the earth's surface. Without precipitation, Spenser estimates the earth's surface temperature would be about 140°F! Precipitation and cloud formation, while perhaps the most important factor in surface temperature, is the least understood part of our climate system.
So an alternative outcome to a mechanism that spirals out of control is one that self-corrects, so that slightly higher temperatures result in slightly higher levels of precipitation. Between the two likelihoods, Spenser asserts the self-correcting model is more probable, given that IS a role of the weather systems.
In addition, he weighs in with more observations on clouds and oceans, and also on the apparent lack of strict scientific objectivity on the part of the climate change acolytes. He also casts some aspersions on the state of the historical data reported by those believers.
I found the technical side of his arguments challenging to fully follow, but most of the first half of the book was very readable.
The political and economic half of the book was much more simplistic, and much more strident. His arguments follow a relatively straightforward conservative theme, and examines what he considers the relative futility of the various proposed solutions. Any conservative will find he reasoning very sound.
In summary, Spenser is quite thorough in his presenting an alternative mechanism of the environmental response to increased levels of carbon dioxide. His reasoning throughout looks sound, and the book is an entertaining read. My personal experience of the book was that I was actually more open to the prospect of an anthropogenic warming problem than before I started, but as convinced as before the current proposed course for the United States is an exercise in futility. This is a very valuable read for anyone opened to a balanced technical view that is at odds with the "settled science" of anthropogenic global warming.
An aside to remember when listening to politicians bloviate on global warming: If every politician had to pay the US Treasury $10,000 every time they told a lie, we'd have the national debt paid off in a year.
So what does this book add? Well, environmentalism has become a new type of religion, pagan in orientation, in which Mother Earth is the all-powerful God (as ably assisted by her disciples, the environmental elite.) Insects and animals are more important than humans, and we had better watch our step lest we tread on an endangered Furbish lousewart.
The impact of mankind's industrial revolution is probably miniscule compared to the father God, the Sun, and probably this is all much ado about nothing. Wait twenty years and the Earth will be in a cooling phase regardless of what we release into the atmosphere in the way of greenhouse gases. That's the nice thing about the whole argument -- we'll find out shortly (geologically speaking) who is correct. And if he is wrong, will Al Gore return all the money he has made terrifying people plus all donations?
The author explains how the climate system works -- more or less since there is much we don't know -- and treats forecasts beyond the very short term as meaningless. Perhaps the Farmer's Almanac can tell us what will happed July 4th, 2030, but the model used by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change can't predict two weeks out. There are too many clouds and other factors about which we know next to nothing.
Instead, the global warming catastrophic scenerio is a political theory with a huge bureaucracy and academic community depending on it for their well-being (including the author.) To be scientific, a theory must be provable, or at least be subject to possibly being disproved and pass those tests. Unforunately for the GW cult, literally all of the details in their theories have been or probably soon will be disproven. Can we say like Roseanne Roseannadanna, "Oops, never mind?" This assumption that global warming is manmade (and I will assume the earth has been warming one degree per century for the last three centuries as the best scientific evidence now indicates) has NOT been proven, and likely never will be.
The author points out in classical fashion the huge human catastrophy brought about by Rachel Carson's propaganda in "Silent Spring" that caused DDT to be banned. Tens of millions of people in Africa and the 3rd World have died from malaria as a result, but apparently these are just necessary losses among the unfortunate. The environmental elite and their fellow traveler politicians should come and work on my cattle ranch picking off deer ticks and worry about getting Lyme disease. That should change their attitude. Maybe a few tens of thousands of deaths in the US will bring back DDT or Diazinon, but several thousand per year so far hasn't caught their attention.
So read this book as a starter, then become informed from the dozens of good books presenting the science of the situation. That's why I gave this book only three stars -- it is a teaser without much scientific meat for the reader to hang his hat upon. But it is going in the correct direction, and it does ask the right questions and pose the situation in an understandable light. For that I thank Dr. Spencer.
Top reviews from other countries
Spencer’s Climate Confusion puts the global warming hysteria into its rightful place. He explains the general agreement that climate change is occurring through natural causes with some human effect, but also makes clear that the human impact is overstated and implausible.
Spencer cuts through the extremes of denial and alarmist statements, and offers clear common sense to help non-scientific readers reach their own conclusions. He examines the various computer models on which the alarmist claims are based, pointing out their intrinsic weaknesses and similarities which generate predictable and repeatable catastrophic results. And he very clearly explains why carbon dioxide really plays such a minor role in climate change.
Climate Confusion does not hold back when it challenges the false morals of many environmental groups and individuals – morals often disguising huge profit and power motives. Spencer’s book is an outstanding revelation of the scientific, religious and political problems with the idea that humans are the main cause of global warming.
All the nay-sayers are continually vilified by the Global Warming industry








