By Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science

In his latest post, Roger reports that Dr. Richard Keen of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC) at the University of Colorado has a very interesting set of questions that he has posted with respect to global warming. It can be viewed here.

His class website, which illustrates his expertise in atmospheric science. His global warming quiz is quite informative.

Climatologist Dr. Richard Keen is a lecturer in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado, a member of the American Meteorological Society and has worked with the National Center for Atmospheric Research.  Keen specializes in volcanic aerosols and climate change studies and wrote the book ”Skywatch: The Western Weather Guide.”

According to Keen, global warming ranges between a “minor inconvenience that’s overblown” or “nothing - it doesn’t exist” or “a good thing.” “Earth has cooled since 1998,” Keen noted, “in defiance of the predictions by the UN-IPCC.” According to Keen, “The global temperature for 2007 was the coldest in a decade and the coldest of the millennium.” After noting the recent cooling temps, Keen wrote “which is why ‘global warming’ is now called ‘climate change.’” Keen also pointed out that the most Antarctic sea ice on record was recorded in 2007 and then he rhetorically asked: “Did you see [that fact] reported in the news?” Keen’s quiz also showed that 10 out of 11 “wacky weather” events occurred in the U.S. before 1957.

Wacky Weather: When did most of the following events occur?

1. Alaskan glaciers melt at the rate of 1 mile per year 1900
2. Alaska bakes at 100 degrees north of the Arctic Circle 1915
3. North Dakota bakes at 120 degrees 1936
4. Hurricane hits Boston with Category 5 winds (180 mph) 1938
5. Hurricane kills half the population of a large southern city Galveston 1900
6. Hurricane destroys most of Los Angeles 1839
7. Half a dozen hurricanes hit the East Coast of the US 1954-1955
8. A dozen tornadoes strike Los Angeles 1983
9. A major US city hit by a hurricane, tornado & earthquake Charleston 1886
10. U.S. warmest year ever; 20 states set new all time heat records 1934
11. Greenland warms - Farmers raise crops and brew beer 1000 A.D.