Rhrosty

This comment: "A rise of just 2C, as attested to by the palaeoecological record, will be enough to melt the frozen tundras, and release the trillions of tons of methane they hold."

Sorry but straight speculation, and the bit about palaeontological record is a real stretch from anything that actually happened. Granted that there is a chance this might happen, if and when temperatures actually do increase by 2 degrees,and granted there is an episode in climate history that can be invoked as part of the scare story but if you look closely at reliable sources you'll find it wasn't an overnight, or even over century matter. Basically you're on new ground, if and when temperatures do rise by the forecast amounts..

As for the current methane content in the atmosphere you find that if you look at records for the Cape Grim CSIRO measuring site you'll find that methane content has actually leveled off in the past decade. there has been some speculation about why its leveled off, with a lot of the betting on improvements to European gas pipelines, but no one really knows.

Julian
It is in PWC's commercial interests to take the AGW pseudo science as gospel, as it generates lots of consulting business from alarmed clients who mistakenly believe in AGW. That business would not exist if PWC took the opposite view.

With regard to the World Bank's alarmist report about global temperature rising by 4 degrees by century-end, I will take the lazy way out and refer you to OLO contributor Don Aitkin's comment at

http://donaitkin.com/the-world-bank-cries-climate-disaster/

If the ice is at -40c, why would it melt at -38c degree ?

Isn't the World Bank closely associated with the United Nations? Apparently some people think this is an organisation of world banks?? No, it is simply an arm of the originators of the big warming scam, the UN. Its no co-incidence that all these reports are coming out now before the next big climate meeting. Its all about pushing the public to push the pollies to do what the UN wants.

Here is the IPCC Calendar. http://www.ipcc.ch/scripts/_calendar_template.php?wg=8#.ULRFh4ZadT8

Its clearly a tax payer funded full time job for hundreds of people pushing the big agenda. Looks like it really pays for some!

Bazz

you raise a good point about the ice.. certainly the temperature increases should not be enough to melt the ice but the scare story is linked to an acceleration in the normal ice burg forming process.

As you are probably aware iceburgs are always breaking off the likes of the greenland and antarctic ice sheets - the higher temps are supposed to boost the breakup process.. something along the lines of more water lubricating the base of the ice sheet, or at least that use to be the story. Of late scientists have come to the sad conclusion that ice sheets just don't don't break up that fast, and that's why you don't hear about the really big sea level increases of meters within a century any more.

Satellite measurements of sea level increases, incidentally, show that they have increasing at exactly the same, small rate of 3.1 mm a year almost since the IPCC was formed. No change at all.. see http://sealevel.colorado.edu/

cohenite,

...but you keep linking to your blog.

Here's a good demonstration on what happens when the people with real scientific credentials come up against the non-credentialed "skeptics".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhJQp-q1Y1s

(hint cohenite is Michael Palin:)