The global average surface temperature in 2015 is likely to be the warmest on record and to reach the symbolic and significant milestone of 1° Celsius above the pre-industrial era, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The WMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations, with a global membership of 185 member states and six territories. It released its new report on November 25, 2015, as world leaders converged in Paris for the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21). The WMO says the high temps in 2015 are likely due to a combination of the overall trend of global warming, plus the strong ongoing El Niño.
A WMO five-year analysis by the WMO said that the years 2011-2015 have been the warmest five-year period on record. During this period there have been many extreme weather events; heatwaves topped the list, according to WMO. Michel Jarraud, WMO Secretary-General, commented in a statement:
The state of the global climate in 2015 will make history as for a number of reasons. Levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached new highs and in the Northern Hemisphere spring 2015, the three-month global average concentration of CO2 crossed the 400 parts per million barrier for the first time.
2015 is likely to be the hottest year on record, with ocean surface temperatures at the highest level since measurements began.
It is probable that the 1°C Celsius threshold will be crossed …
Added to that, we are witnessing a powerful El Niño event, which is still gaining in strength. This is influencing weather patterns in many parts of the world and fueled an exceptionally warm October. The overall warming impact of this El Niño is expected to continue into 2016
The WMO’s report comes on the heels of another United Nations report – this one from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction – showing that over the last 20 years, 90% of major human disasters have been caused by 6,457 recorded floods, storms, heatwaves, droughts and other weather-related events. That earlier report – released November 23, 2015 – also said that that weather-related disasters were nearly twice as frequent over the past decade as two decades ago.
A preliminary estimate based on data from January to October shows that the global average surface temperature for 2015 so far was around 0.73 °C above the 1961-1990 average of 14.0°C and approximately 1°C above the pre-industrial 1880-1899 period.
This temperature tendency indicates that 2015 will very likely be the warmest year on record. The global average sea-surface temperature, which set a record last year, is likely to equal or surpass that record in 2015. The global average temperatures over land areas only from January to October suggest that 2015 is also set to be one of the warmest years on record over land. South America is having its hottest year on record, as is Asia (similar to 2007), and Africa and Europe their second hottest.
According to preliminary figures as of the end of September 2015, 2011-15 was the world’s warmest five-year period on record, at about 0.57°C (1.01°F) above the average for the standard 1961-90 reference period. It was the warmest five-year period on record for Asia, Europe, South America and Oceania, and for North America. WMO compiled the five-year analysis because it provides a longer-term climate signal than the annual report.
Average temperature anomalies for January to October, 2015. Crosses (+) indicate temperatures that exceed the 90th percentile. Dashes (-) indicate temperatures below the 10th percentile, indicating unusually cold conditions. Source: Met Office Hadley Centre, via WMO.
Bottom line: The 2015 global average surface temperature is likely to be the warmest on record and due to a combination of a strong El Niño and human-induced global warming, according a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released on November 25, 2015.
The global average surface temperature in 2015 is likely to be the warmest on record and to reach the symbolic and significant milestone of 1° Celsius above the pre-industrial era, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The WMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations, with a global membership of 185 member states and six territories. It released its new report on November 25, 2015, as world leaders converged in Paris for the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21). The WMO says the high temps in 2015 are likely due to a combination of the overall trend of global warming, plus the strong ongoing El Niño.
A WMO five-year analysis by the WMO said that the years 2011-2015 have been the warmest five-year period on record. During this period there have been many extreme weather events; heatwaves topped the list, according to WMO. Michel Jarraud, WMO Secretary-General, commented in a statement:
The state of the global climate in 2015 will make history as for a number of reasons. Levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached new highs and in the Northern Hemisphere spring 2015, the three-month global average concentration of CO2 crossed the 400 parts per million barrier for the first time.
2015 is likely to be the hottest year on record, with ocean surface temperatures at the highest level since measurements began.
It is probable that the 1°C Celsius threshold will be crossed …
Added to that, we are witnessing a powerful El Niño event, which is still gaining in strength. This is influencing weather patterns in many parts of the world and fueled an exceptionally warm October. The overall warming impact of this El Niño is expected to continue into 2016
The WMO’s report comes on the heels of another United Nations report – this one from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction – showing that over the last 20 years, 90% of major human disasters have been caused by 6,457 recorded floods, storms, heatwaves, droughts and other weather-related events. That earlier report – released November 23, 2015 – also said that that weather-related disasters were nearly twice as frequent over the past decade as two decades ago.
A preliminary estimate based on data from January to October shows that the global average surface temperature for 2015 so far was around 0.73 °C above the 1961-1990 average of 14.0°C and approximately 1°C above the pre-industrial 1880-1899 period.
This temperature tendency indicates that 2015 will very likely be the warmest year on record. The global average sea-surface temperature, which set a record last year, is likely to equal or surpass that record in 2015. The global average temperatures over land areas only from January to October suggest that 2015 is also set to be one of the warmest years on record over land. South America is having its hottest year on record, as is Asia (similar to 2007), and Africa and Europe their second hottest.
According to preliminary figures as of the end of September 2015, 2011-15 was the world’s warmest five-year period on record, at about 0.57°C (1.01°F) above the average for the standard 1961-90 reference period. It was the warmest five-year period on record for Asia, Europe, South America and Oceania, and for North America. WMO compiled the five-year analysis because it provides a longer-term climate signal than the annual report.
Average temperature anomalies for January to October, 2015. Crosses (+) indicate temperatures that exceed the 90th percentile. Dashes (-) indicate temperatures below the 10th percentile, indicating unusually cold conditions. Source: Met Office Hadley Centre, via WMO.
Bottom line: The 2015 global average surface temperature is likely to be the warmest on record and due to a combination of a strong El Niño and human-induced global warming, according a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released on November 25, 2015.
As you all have no doubt noticed over the years, I love highlighting the best science books every year via the various end of year lists that newspapers, web sites, etc. publish. I’ve done it so far in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
As in previous years, my definition of “science books” is pretty inclusive, including books on technology, engineering, nature, the environment, science policy, history & philosophy of science, geek culture and whatever else seems to be relevant in my opinion.
(Astute readers will notice that I kind of petered out on this project a couple of years ago and never got around to the end of year summary since then. Before loosing steam, I ended up featuring dozens and dozens of lists, virtually every list I could find that had science books on it. While it was kind of cool to be so comprehensive, not to mention that it gave the summary posts a certain statistical weight, it was also way more work than I had really envisioned way back in 2008 or so when I started doing this. As a result, I’m only going to highlight particularly large or noteworthy lists this year and forgo any kind of end of year summary. Basically, all the fun but not so much of the drudgery.)
from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1TnkLQG
As you all have no doubt noticed over the years, I love highlighting the best science books every year via the various end of year lists that newspapers, web sites, etc. publish. I’ve done it so far in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
As in previous years, my definition of “science books” is pretty inclusive, including books on technology, engineering, nature, the environment, science policy, history & philosophy of science, geek culture and whatever else seems to be relevant in my opinion.
(Astute readers will notice that I kind of petered out on this project a couple of years ago and never got around to the end of year summary since then. Before loosing steam, I ended up featuring dozens and dozens of lists, virtually every list I could find that had science books on it. While it was kind of cool to be so comprehensive, not to mention that it gave the summary posts a certain statistical weight, it was also way more work than I had really envisioned way back in 2008 or so when I started doing this. As a result, I’m only going to highlight particularly large or noteworthy lists this year and forgo any kind of end of year summary. Basically, all the fun but not so much of the drudgery.)
Zachariae Isstrom glacier in northeast Greenland. Photo was shot from a NASA Falcon jet on September 30, 2015. Image Credit: John Sonntag.
Scientists have detected accelerated ice loss at Zachariae Isstrom, a large glacier located in northeastern Greenland. The accelerated period of ice loss began in 2012, these scientists say. They believe it is being driven by warming air and ocean temperatures. Water from the melting glacier is expected to contribute to the ongoing rise in sea levels. This new research was published in the journal Science on November 12, 2015.
If all of its ice were to melt, Zachariae Isstrom holds enough water to raise sea levels by about 0.5 meters (20 inches), these scientists say.
To assess recent changes at this glacier, the team analyzed several decades’ worth of imagery data that were collected via satellites and aircraft.
The ice front data showed that the glacier was relatively stable throughout the latter part of the 20th century. Then, around 2002–2003, a large chunk of ice broke off, and the glacier started its retreat. Acceleration in the retreat rate was detected in late 2012, and by the end of 2014, the ice shelf — the terminal end of the glacier that floats in seawater — was 95% smaller than its 2002 size. Changes were also observed in the position of the glacier’s grounding line and in the speed of ice movement.
Collectively, the data suggest that this glacier is undergoing a number of destabilizing processes.
Presently, Zachariae Isstrom is losing mass at rate of 5 billion tons per year.
Interestingly, a neighboring glacier named Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden did not show evidence of dramatic changes in the ice front position, although it too is experiencing rapid melting. The scientists think that the underlying topography is protecting Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden from rapid retreat.
Satellite image of two glaciers in northeast Greenland. Image was taken on August 30, 2014. Image Credit: NASA/USGS.
Jeremie Mouginot, lead author of the study, is an associate project scientist in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine. He summarized the results by stating:
North Greenland glaciers are changing rapidly. The shape and dynamics of Zachariae Isstrom have changed dramatically over the last few years. The glacier is now breaking up and calving high volumes of icebergs into the ocean, which will result in rising sea levels for decades to come.
Co-authors of the paper included Eric Rignot, Bernd Scheuchl, Ian Fenty, Ala Khazendar, Mathieu Morlighem, Arnaud Buzzi, and John Paden. The research was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Bottom line: Scientists have detected accelerated ice loss at a major glacier in northeast Greenland. Warming air and ocean temperatures are to blame. This new research was published in the journal Science on November 12, 2015.
Zachariae Isstrom glacier in northeast Greenland. Photo was shot from a NASA Falcon jet on September 30, 2015. Image Credit: John Sonntag.
Scientists have detected accelerated ice loss at Zachariae Isstrom, a large glacier located in northeastern Greenland. The accelerated period of ice loss began in 2012, these scientists say. They believe it is being driven by warming air and ocean temperatures. Water from the melting glacier is expected to contribute to the ongoing rise in sea levels. This new research was published in the journal Science on November 12, 2015.
If all of its ice were to melt, Zachariae Isstrom holds enough water to raise sea levels by about 0.5 meters (20 inches), these scientists say.
To assess recent changes at this glacier, the team analyzed several decades’ worth of imagery data that were collected via satellites and aircraft.
The ice front data showed that the glacier was relatively stable throughout the latter part of the 20th century. Then, around 2002–2003, a large chunk of ice broke off, and the glacier started its retreat. Acceleration in the retreat rate was detected in late 2012, and by the end of 2014, the ice shelf — the terminal end of the glacier that floats in seawater — was 95% smaller than its 2002 size. Changes were also observed in the position of the glacier’s grounding line and in the speed of ice movement.
Collectively, the data suggest that this glacier is undergoing a number of destabilizing processes.
Presently, Zachariae Isstrom is losing mass at rate of 5 billion tons per year.
Interestingly, a neighboring glacier named Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden did not show evidence of dramatic changes in the ice front position, although it too is experiencing rapid melting. The scientists think that the underlying topography is protecting Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden from rapid retreat.
Satellite image of two glaciers in northeast Greenland. Image was taken on August 30, 2014. Image Credit: NASA/USGS.
Jeremie Mouginot, lead author of the study, is an associate project scientist in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine. He summarized the results by stating:
North Greenland glaciers are changing rapidly. The shape and dynamics of Zachariae Isstrom have changed dramatically over the last few years. The glacier is now breaking up and calving high volumes of icebergs into the ocean, which will result in rising sea levels for decades to come.
Co-authors of the paper included Eric Rignot, Bernd Scheuchl, Ian Fenty, Ala Khazendar, Mathieu Morlighem, Arnaud Buzzi, and John Paden. The research was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Bottom line: Scientists have detected accelerated ice loss at a major glacier in northeast Greenland. Warming air and ocean temperatures are to blame. This new research was published in the journal Science on November 12, 2015.
Here’s the Texas Star Party in 2009, one of the biggest public astronomy events of each year, drawing about 500 deep-sky enthusiasts and their telescopes to the Davis Mountains of West Texas. Image used with permission, via Todd Hargis and Ron Ronhaar.
Interested in astronomy, but not sure where to begin? Seek out your local astronomy club, a roomful of willing and able amateur astronomers, whose telescopes may offer your first glimpse of the cosmos. The Astronomical League, an umbrella organization of 240 amateur astronomy clubs and societies in the U.S., helps us create and maintain the list of events on this page. Click here to visit the Astronomical League’s website.
Know of an event that’s not on the list below? Contact us.
Do you have a great photo of a star party in your area? Submit here.
Looking for an astronomy club in your area? Click here.
Jump below the photo for a list of upcoming events!
View larger. | Big Dipper on the horizon while getting set up at the Astronomical Society of New Haven‘s 25th annual Connecticut Star Party in Goshen, Connecticut, October 9-11, 2015. Photo by Kurt Zeppetello.
Upcoming astronomy events …
December 11-13
Riverside Astronomical Society Star Party
Landers, California http://ift.tt/1QnmZ0z
February 8-14
Winter Star Party
Big Pine Key, Florida www.scas.org
April 2–9, 2016
OzSky Star Safari, a.k.a. Deepest
South Texas Star Safari
Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia www.ozsky.org
May 1-8, 2016
38th Annual Texas Star Party
Prude Ranch near Fort Davis, Texas texasstarparty.org/
May 2-5, 2016
Night Sky Utah Photography Workshop
Moab, Utah Taylor Photography
May 9-12, 2016
Night Sky Utah Photography Workshop
Moab, Utah Taylor Photography
July 27-31, 2016
York County Star Party
Shreveport Airport North
Wellsville, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC) http://ift.tt/1lpzzCt
Bottom line: List of astronomy and night sky events for the public, for 2015 and 2016, compiled in cooperation with the awesome Astronomical League. Join in, and have fun!
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1UhrUpV
Here’s the Texas Star Party in 2009, one of the biggest public astronomy events of each year, drawing about 500 deep-sky enthusiasts and their telescopes to the Davis Mountains of West Texas. Image used with permission, via Todd Hargis and Ron Ronhaar.
Interested in astronomy, but not sure where to begin? Seek out your local astronomy club, a roomful of willing and able amateur astronomers, whose telescopes may offer your first glimpse of the cosmos. The Astronomical League, an umbrella organization of 240 amateur astronomy clubs and societies in the U.S., helps us create and maintain the list of events on this page. Click here to visit the Astronomical League’s website.
Know of an event that’s not on the list below? Contact us.
Do you have a great photo of a star party in your area? Submit here.
Looking for an astronomy club in your area? Click here.
Jump below the photo for a list of upcoming events!
View larger. | Big Dipper on the horizon while getting set up at the Astronomical Society of New Haven‘s 25th annual Connecticut Star Party in Goshen, Connecticut, October 9-11, 2015. Photo by Kurt Zeppetello.
Upcoming astronomy events …
December 11-13
Riverside Astronomical Society Star Party
Landers, California http://ift.tt/1QnmZ0z
February 8-14
Winter Star Party
Big Pine Key, Florida www.scas.org
April 2–9, 2016
OzSky Star Safari, a.k.a. Deepest
South Texas Star Safari
Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia www.ozsky.org
May 1-8, 2016
38th Annual Texas Star Party
Prude Ranch near Fort Davis, Texas texasstarparty.org/
May 2-5, 2016
Night Sky Utah Photography Workshop
Moab, Utah Taylor Photography
May 9-12, 2016
Night Sky Utah Photography Workshop
Moab, Utah Taylor Photography
July 27-31, 2016
York County Star Party
Shreveport Airport North
Wellsville, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC) http://ift.tt/1lpzzCt
Bottom line: List of astronomy and night sky events for the public, for 2015 and 2016, compiled in cooperation with the awesome Astronomical League. Join in, and have fun!
This morning, video producer Gavin Heffernan dropped EarthSky a note, saying:
… enclosed is a link to DISHDANCE, a SETI [Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence] tribute and timelapse medley of Radio Astronomy facilities …
This timelapse was filmed as part of SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM, our ongoing crowdfunded quest to explore the effects and dangers of urban light pollution in contrast with some of the most incredible Dark Sky Preserves in North America.
Voiceover: Carl Sagan, from the section “Darkness” in his book “Pale Blue Dot.”
Music by Tom Boddy, music track “Thoughtful Reflections.”
Edited by: Harun Mehmedinovic
Dishdance was filmed at Very Large Array Observatory in New Mexico, Owens Valley Observatory in California, and Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia.
Video still from Dishdance, part of project Skyglow.
Bottom line: A new video from project Skyglow – an ongoing crowdfunded quest to explore the effects and dangers of urban light pollution – called Dishdance. This video focuses on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and features a voiceover by the late, great Carl Sagan.
This morning, video producer Gavin Heffernan dropped EarthSky a note, saying:
… enclosed is a link to DISHDANCE, a SETI [Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence] tribute and timelapse medley of Radio Astronomy facilities …
This timelapse was filmed as part of SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM, our ongoing crowdfunded quest to explore the effects and dangers of urban light pollution in contrast with some of the most incredible Dark Sky Preserves in North America.
Voiceover: Carl Sagan, from the section “Darkness” in his book “Pale Blue Dot.”
Music by Tom Boddy, music track “Thoughtful Reflections.”
Edited by: Harun Mehmedinovic
Dishdance was filmed at Very Large Array Observatory in New Mexico, Owens Valley Observatory in California, and Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia.
Video still from Dishdance, part of project Skyglow.
Bottom line: A new video from project Skyglow – an ongoing crowdfunded quest to explore the effects and dangers of urban light pollution – called Dishdance. This video focuses on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and features a voiceover by the late, great Carl Sagan.
We had our usual tv time on Sunday morning at my parents’, with the kids alternating picking what they watched. When it came around to SteelyKid’s turn, she opted for MythBusters, which wasn’t available on demand, but she has several episodes on her tablet. Of course, if SteelyKid was going to watch video on her tablet, then The Pip had to watch video on his, which led to this shot:
SteelyKid and The Pip watching video on their tablets.
And also blissful, blessed quiet, a gigantic improvement over the sounds of “Paw Patrol,” which was The Pip’s cartoon of choice on this trip. And, well, ugh.
Anyway, that’s what’s up with the kids these days and their newfangled personal multimedia devices. And music that’s just noise– NOISE, I tell you…
from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1jtdHVM
We had our usual tv time on Sunday morning at my parents’, with the kids alternating picking what they watched. When it came around to SteelyKid’s turn, she opted for MythBusters, which wasn’t available on demand, but she has several episodes on her tablet. Of course, if SteelyKid was going to watch video on her tablet, then The Pip had to watch video on his, which led to this shot:
SteelyKid and The Pip watching video on their tablets.
And also blissful, blessed quiet, a gigantic improvement over the sounds of “Paw Patrol,” which was The Pip’s cartoon of choice on this trip. And, well, ugh.
Anyway, that’s what’s up with the kids these days and their newfangled personal multimedia devices. And music that’s just noise– NOISE, I tell you…
I’ve been blogging for nearly eleven years now—and continuously at that, with only brief breaks for vacations or when the vagaries of life and career (particularly grant deadlines) interfered with the writing impulse. It’s true that I’ve slowed down a bit. I rarely post on weekends any more and not infrequently miss a weekday, but I tend to think that’s a good thing, as it decreases the frequency of posts in which I’m clearly forcing it, where I’m “phoning it in,” so to speak. Or at least I like to think so. One major challenge over the years, however, has been the inevitable problem that comes with writing a regular feature for so long, regardless of medium, and that’s familiarity. As I reach ancient status as a blogger, I’ve started to think that I’ve seen it all, that there’s nothing new under the sun in terms of quackery or pseudoscience. The compensating advantage of longevity is that, with the benefit of time and study, I can see patterns and draw relationships that wouldn’t have occurred to me before, and I can abbreviate a lot of posts by linking to material that I’ve written in the past. Still, every so often I do so like to find a bit of woo I haven’t encountered before.
Truly, I don’t recall having seen anything like this Radionic Remedy Maker/Homeopathic Simulator before. Seriously. Watch the video. It’s four minutes that are guaranteed to have skeptics chuckling mightily by the end, if not within the first 30 seconds. The product portrayed in the video is something called a Spectrum Radionic Copier. It consists of a wooden box, with two metal dishes embedded in it and a control of some sort in between. What is it for? Glad you asked! The video helpfully informs us right away that this particular model is used to make a remedy at a specific potency or to change to a higher or lower one or to make “straight copies of any substance, homeopathic remedies, flower essences, gems, crystals, etc., etc.” Helpfully, next to each metal dish is a sign, one reading “input,” the other reading “output.”
Yes, the device works exactly as you might think—or, I should say, is claimed to work as you might imagine looking at its design. All you need, apparently, are either sugar pills or mixtures of water and alcohol to put in the “output” dish. Then all you have to do is to put the original, whatever it is, into the “input dish.” The original can be pretty much anything, but the device seems primarily designed to replicate homeopathic remedies because, well, no one would ever know if it actually worked or not given that most homeopathic remedies are diluted to nonexistence. Then all you have to do is to switch the machine on for 15 seconds, and, as the video proclaims, “Your remedy is ready to use!”
How does it work, you might ask? If you believe the video, this magic machine can “‘copy’ the energy of anything.” In fact, you can do better than that. The very next scene shows several remedies in the “input” dish, and we’re told that the machine can easily make combinations of remedies. All you have to do is to put as many remedies as will fit in the “input” dish and fire this sucker up! Voila! Instant combination therapy! I do have to wonder, however: Isn’t the manufacturer worried about interactions between homeopathic remedies? Imagine the potential horror if, for instance, the Bach flower remedies interfered with the “memory” of water in the homeopathic remedies whose “energy” interfered with the crystal remedy. Come to think of it, if this thing can replicate crystals, why not put a diamond or other precious geme in the “input” dish and start replicating away? It’d be instant money!
Oh, wait. The manufacturer only says that the “energy” of any crystal or gem can be copied. Bummer. On the other hand, you can take the energy from any combination of crystals and infuse the sugar pills or alcohol-water with it to do…well, it’s not exactly clear what, but I bet it’ll be awesome.
Perhaps my favorite part of this commercial is where it explains the dial. Basically, if you leave the dial at zero, the machine just makes a direct copy. However, if you turn the dial up or down you can adjust the potency according to a chart that’s supplied with the instrument. Helpfully, the video recommends that you can use applied kinesiology (at least, that’s what I assume to be meant by “muscle testing”) or dowsing to find the exact potency needed. How convenient! Even more convenient is the fact that if you only want to make straight copies of your woo-ful remedies, all you need is the basic model. It’s only if you want to get all fancy and adjust the potency that you need to invest in the fancier model. I did notice that the basic model looked like it was made of black metal or plastic, while the fancy model was encased in the lovely polished wood box.
There was a web address, www.lesleyknight.com at the end of the video, but when I tried to visit the site the domain was listed as being for sale. So I Googled “Lesley Knight” and “radionic,” and what I found was Lesley’s Healthcare and Radionics, as well as a Facebook page for Radionics UK, as well as a spiffy picture on Facebook of her new Radionic copiers. On her website, Knight describes herself thusly:
15 years ago I decided to change direction after doing Social Work as a career. I trained in Vega testing after finding it helped enormously with the issues one of my sons had.
That started the journey which has led me to train in and try many different therapies.
The most recent discovery and the most powerful one to effect permanent change is Access Consciousness. Access has created more profound changes in me than the combination of everything else I have tried previously. I see the same transformational results for my clients so cannot recommend it highly enough.
Electro Acupuncture unlike Chinese Acupuncture does not involve the use of needles. It is a system of diagnosis which was developed in Germany by Dr Voll over 50 years ago.
The diagnosis is performed by placing a probe on acupuncture points on the hands and feet. Each acupuncture point relates to a specific body part or system.
Each point measured gives a reading on the machine which indicates the presence of toxins and the health of that part of the body. It is possible to detect pathogens within the body in the way of bacteria, viral, fungal infections, parasites & tropical diseases.
These can then be eliminated using appropriate remedies matched both to the toxins and the patient. i.e. the cause of cold sores can be detected and cleared using a Nosode as treatment – hence no more cold sores, likewise specific tooth infections can be detected and eliminated without the use of antibiotics.
The testing device can also test allopathic drugs, herbs, vitamins etc. on the patient, this shows if a drug will have a positive or negative effect on them. So this will indicate which one is the most suitable one for the patient.
For instance infections such as in Lyme disease from a tick bite. Borrelia, Mycoplasma, Babesia, Bartonella amongst others can cause chronic health conditions. Detecting these in the body using Vega testing is possible, and using Isopathic remedies and Nosodes they can be cleared.
Hmmm. I thought electroacupuncture was just transdermal electrical nerve stimulation rebranded as acupuncture by hooking up electrodes to acupuncture needles. Who knew it was a diagnostic modality as well? Of course it is. As if that’s not enough, there’s even Access Bars. Check out the link and you’ll see that that’s some serious, high-powered woo. Basically, if you believe this stuff, there are 32 points on the head that, when lightly touched, clear all the limitations that you have, including money, aging, sex, joy, sadness, creativity, and awareness. What? A head massage means I can have better sex? Sign me up!
But back to the Radionic Remedy Maker.
There are so many questions I had when I looked at this. For instance, what powers these things? There don’t appear to be any electrical wires or plugs to plug the device into an electrical outlet. Batteries? There’s no mention of them, but one has to assume that that’s a likely power source. More importantly, though: If this device can truly replicate the “energy” of various woo-ful remedies, then presumably if you purchase this device you’ll never need to purchase any given homeopathic remedy, Bach flower remedy, crystal, or other remedy more than once, because you can use this device to replicate it again and again and again and again, for as long as you like. I’d think that homeopaths and other quacks might not be too happy about that. After all, this device coul basically put them out of business, which in itself wouldn’t be such a bad thing. The price, however, would be bad because you’d be paying one quack like Lesley Knight to put other homeopaths out of business.
from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1XrmsCm
I’ve been blogging for nearly eleven years now—and continuously at that, with only brief breaks for vacations or when the vagaries of life and career (particularly grant deadlines) interfered with the writing impulse. It’s true that I’ve slowed down a bit. I rarely post on weekends any more and not infrequently miss a weekday, but I tend to think that’s a good thing, as it decreases the frequency of posts in which I’m clearly forcing it, where I’m “phoning it in,” so to speak. Or at least I like to think so. One major challenge over the years, however, has been the inevitable problem that comes with writing a regular feature for so long, regardless of medium, and that’s familiarity. As I reach ancient status as a blogger, I’ve started to think that I’ve seen it all, that there’s nothing new under the sun in terms of quackery or pseudoscience. The compensating advantage of longevity is that, with the benefit of time and study, I can see patterns and draw relationships that wouldn’t have occurred to me before, and I can abbreviate a lot of posts by linking to material that I’ve written in the past. Still, every so often I do so like to find a bit of woo I haven’t encountered before.
Truly, I don’t recall having seen anything like this Radionic Remedy Maker/Homeopathic Simulator before. Seriously. Watch the video. It’s four minutes that are guaranteed to have skeptics chuckling mightily by the end, if not within the first 30 seconds. The product portrayed in the video is something called a Spectrum Radionic Copier. It consists of a wooden box, with two metal dishes embedded in it and a control of some sort in between. What is it for? Glad you asked! The video helpfully informs us right away that this particular model is used to make a remedy at a specific potency or to change to a higher or lower one or to make “straight copies of any substance, homeopathic remedies, flower essences, gems, crystals, etc., etc.” Helpfully, next to each metal dish is a sign, one reading “input,” the other reading “output.”
Yes, the device works exactly as you might think—or, I should say, is claimed to work as you might imagine looking at its design. All you need, apparently, are either sugar pills or mixtures of water and alcohol to put in the “output” dish. Then all you have to do is to put the original, whatever it is, into the “input dish.” The original can be pretty much anything, but the device seems primarily designed to replicate homeopathic remedies because, well, no one would ever know if it actually worked or not given that most homeopathic remedies are diluted to nonexistence. Then all you have to do is to switch the machine on for 15 seconds, and, as the video proclaims, “Your remedy is ready to use!”
How does it work, you might ask? If you believe the video, this magic machine can “‘copy’ the energy of anything.” In fact, you can do better than that. The very next scene shows several remedies in the “input” dish, and we’re told that the machine can easily make combinations of remedies. All you have to do is to put as many remedies as will fit in the “input” dish and fire this sucker up! Voila! Instant combination therapy! I do have to wonder, however: Isn’t the manufacturer worried about interactions between homeopathic remedies? Imagine the potential horror if, for instance, the Bach flower remedies interfered with the “memory” of water in the homeopathic remedies whose “energy” interfered with the crystal remedy. Come to think of it, if this thing can replicate crystals, why not put a diamond or other precious geme in the “input” dish and start replicating away? It’d be instant money!
Oh, wait. The manufacturer only says that the “energy” of any crystal or gem can be copied. Bummer. On the other hand, you can take the energy from any combination of crystals and infuse the sugar pills or alcohol-water with it to do…well, it’s not exactly clear what, but I bet it’ll be awesome.
Perhaps my favorite part of this commercial is where it explains the dial. Basically, if you leave the dial at zero, the machine just makes a direct copy. However, if you turn the dial up or down you can adjust the potency according to a chart that’s supplied with the instrument. Helpfully, the video recommends that you can use applied kinesiology (at least, that’s what I assume to be meant by “muscle testing”) or dowsing to find the exact potency needed. How convenient! Even more convenient is the fact that if you only want to make straight copies of your woo-ful remedies, all you need is the basic model. It’s only if you want to get all fancy and adjust the potency that you need to invest in the fancier model. I did notice that the basic model looked like it was made of black metal or plastic, while the fancy model was encased in the lovely polished wood box.
There was a web address, www.lesleyknight.com at the end of the video, but when I tried to visit the site the domain was listed as being for sale. So I Googled “Lesley Knight” and “radionic,” and what I found was Lesley’s Healthcare and Radionics, as well as a Facebook page for Radionics UK, as well as a spiffy picture on Facebook of her new Radionic copiers. On her website, Knight describes herself thusly:
15 years ago I decided to change direction after doing Social Work as a career. I trained in Vega testing after finding it helped enormously with the issues one of my sons had.
That started the journey which has led me to train in and try many different therapies.
The most recent discovery and the most powerful one to effect permanent change is Access Consciousness. Access has created more profound changes in me than the combination of everything else I have tried previously. I see the same transformational results for my clients so cannot recommend it highly enough.
Electro Acupuncture unlike Chinese Acupuncture does not involve the use of needles. It is a system of diagnosis which was developed in Germany by Dr Voll over 50 years ago.
The diagnosis is performed by placing a probe on acupuncture points on the hands and feet. Each acupuncture point relates to a specific body part or system.
Each point measured gives a reading on the machine which indicates the presence of toxins and the health of that part of the body. It is possible to detect pathogens within the body in the way of bacteria, viral, fungal infections, parasites & tropical diseases.
These can then be eliminated using appropriate remedies matched both to the toxins and the patient. i.e. the cause of cold sores can be detected and cleared using a Nosode as treatment – hence no more cold sores, likewise specific tooth infections can be detected and eliminated without the use of antibiotics.
The testing device can also test allopathic drugs, herbs, vitamins etc. on the patient, this shows if a drug will have a positive or negative effect on them. So this will indicate which one is the most suitable one for the patient.
For instance infections such as in Lyme disease from a tick bite. Borrelia, Mycoplasma, Babesia, Bartonella amongst others can cause chronic health conditions. Detecting these in the body using Vega testing is possible, and using Isopathic remedies and Nosodes they can be cleared.
Hmmm. I thought electroacupuncture was just transdermal electrical nerve stimulation rebranded as acupuncture by hooking up electrodes to acupuncture needles. Who knew it was a diagnostic modality as well? Of course it is. As if that’s not enough, there’s even Access Bars. Check out the link and you’ll see that that’s some serious, high-powered woo. Basically, if you believe this stuff, there are 32 points on the head that, when lightly touched, clear all the limitations that you have, including money, aging, sex, joy, sadness, creativity, and awareness. What? A head massage means I can have better sex? Sign me up!
But back to the Radionic Remedy Maker.
There are so many questions I had when I looked at this. For instance, what powers these things? There don’t appear to be any electrical wires or plugs to plug the device into an electrical outlet. Batteries? There’s no mention of them, but one has to assume that that’s a likely power source. More importantly, though: If this device can truly replicate the “energy” of various woo-ful remedies, then presumably if you purchase this device you’ll never need to purchase any given homeopathic remedy, Bach flower remedy, crystal, or other remedy more than once, because you can use this device to replicate it again and again and again and again, for as long as you like. I’d think that homeopaths and other quacks might not be too happy about that. After all, this device coul basically put them out of business, which in itself wouldn’t be such a bad thing. The price, however, would be bad because you’d be paying one quack like Lesley Knight to put other homeopaths out of business.
