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"But when it comes to the longer term picture, the authors say their work is consistent with previous estimates.
The researchers say the difference between the lower short-term estimate and the more consistent long-term picture can be explained by the fact that the heat from the last decade has been absorbed into and is being stored by the world's oceans....

"There is other research out there pointing out that this storage may be part of a natural cycle that will eventually reverse, either due to El Nino or the so-called Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, and therefore may not imply what the authors are suggesting," [said Prof Steven Sherwood, from the University of New South Wales].

The authors say there are ongoing uncertainties surrounding the role of aerosols in the atmosphere and around the issue of clouds....

"But the current focus is predominantly on women's health."
[Sarah Hawkes from the University of London's Institute of Global Health] says that when you look at recent data, men lose three times more years of healthy living than women because of tobacco, alcohol and unsafe driving.

"It's cool to be a man that smokes and drinks — who drives a fast motorbike, or fast cars," she says. "If you were really serious about saving lives, you would spend money tackling unhealthy gender norms" that promote these risky behaviors.So the "health problems" that have to do with mean are personal behavioral choices. The focus on women is about pregnancy and childbirth, where health care is needed. In that view, what's wrong concentrating on women? That focus is really about the next generation, which includes males and females.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's banner story today was about Gov. Scott Walker's breathtaking effort to gain unilateral power to sell state buildings and other public property. You can read this well-reported story yourself at the link below. Walker wants the power to sell state-owned power plants, unused lands -- even University of Wisconsin campus buildings that were paid for with dedicated private donations or student fees. Bye-bye, Kohl Center, maybe, or perhaps UW-Madison's student union. They'd fetch a fine price, dontcha know.

The story documents how some state property sales might make bad economic policy. Sure, the sales would bring in some quick cash to help the governor balance his budget. But in the long run, operating costs to the state might very well increase. Worse, the governor wants power to arrange sole-buyer deals without first seeking public bids.

We've heard this story before when, in his first budget proposal, Walker proposed selling off state-owned power plants, many of them situated on University of Wisconsin campuses. That deal was set aside by lawmakers but now it's back, and expanded to a general principle that the governor can hold a state garage sale anytime he likes. And he'd actually might be selling the garage itself.

The rumor the first time Walker's proposal came up was that the notorious Koch brothers wanted the power plants. Now, according to the Journal Sentinel, state power utilities are salviating over them. Whatever that case, it's obvious Walker still wants to shrink state government holdings for short-term (i.e., his political) gain. And he's kicking things up a notch. Again he hides his attempted power grab in the state budget, widening his own power in ways that are quickly turning the governorship of this state into a one-man autocracy.

So kudos to the Journal Sentinel for today reporting much of this in detail and with great prominence. Then again, it appears the paper's editors haven't quite fully grasped the issue. Nor, yet, has the public. Because in the very same issue of the newspaper that features this new Walker power grab, another story trumpets the apparently good news that the Department of Natural Resources is close to buying 140 acres of pristine private land along the Oconomowoc River near the Kettle Moraine State Forest in the Town of Erin.

The private owners told the newspaper they want to preserve the forest and wetlands on the property. They think selling it to the DNR will ensure that. Whoops! Back on the front page, the governor is revealed as seeking blanket power to sell state-owned properties including "unused" lands.

We already knew that to the governor and his team, wetlands and forests are mostly just economic development opportunities. Wisconsin is Open for Business, ya know. After all, the governor and legislature right now are also busy gutting the state's previously bipartisan Stewardship Program, which sets aside public dollars to buy and set aside precious, pristine lands for the benefit of all. And recall Walker's move in his first budget to allow a specific big-box discount store to build on wetlands in the Green Bay area. The measure passed, but the retailer was spooked by widespread public criticism and pulled out of the deal.

And if you think any deed restrictions would stop this sort of opportunism in the case of the Oconomowoc River Valley land the DNR is looking to scoop up, think again. Here in Milwaukee, we're still shaking our heads at how the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Milwaukee County are busy trampling historic buildings and butterfly habitat to erect an "innovation" center on county grounds in Wauwatosa. Walker's fingerprints are all over that, too, both as governor and when he served (I use the verb advisedly) as Milwaukee County executive. Clearly, this is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Years before that fiasco, despite seemingly solid deed restrictions, UWM cut deeply into the Downer Woods on its main campus to expand an athletic facility, even though the private land donor had stipulated -- and the university had agreed -- never to touch the woods. Apparently clear-cut contract language meant UWM could clear-cut the woods as needed. Lawyers seemingly can find all sorts of ways around what is supposed to be iron-clad. Restoration of the woods is UWM's official policy today, but restoring developed acreage doesn't seem within those plans. It wanted some of that space for other purposes, and took it.

Which is why I'd counsel that caring couple in the Town of Erin to think twice about selling their beautiful property to the state. Instead consider giving it to the Nature Conservancy or some other private environmental organization that is more likely to honor the land than rip it up for cash and political profit the moment our backs are turned. 

Meanwhile, just think of Walker as the governor who paved paradise and put up a parking lot. The guy seems to care a lot all about concrete and highways and the huge sums of money associated with them. But little else.

Related Links

• "Couple wants wetlands near Lowe Lake preserved"
• "Proposal gives Walker more power to sell state property"

If so, we'll find out soonest by following the SCOTUSblog live-blogging here.

ADDED: The Court granted cert. in an Establishment Clause case, Town of Greece v. Galloway, about whether "a legislative prayer practice violates the Establishment Clause notwithstanding the absence of discrimination in the selection of prayer-givers or forbidden exploitation of the prayer opportunity." SCOTUSblog opined that it's "a potentially significant religion case" because "The Roberts case has not done much in that field so far." My instant impression was they granted cert. to reverse and it's obvious (based on precedent).

AND: This chart shows which cases are undecided from each month of the term so far. All the November cases have been decided, but one case remains from October, Fisher v. University of Texas, the affirmative action case. There's also a chart which shows which Justices have written the cases from each "sitting," and that chart makes it appear that Kennedy is writing the affirmative action case.

ALSO: No Fisher today.

"... when the revelations about the IRS’s activities first came to light on May 10. But, taken together, it’s certainly enough to earn her four Pinocchios."

Glenn Kessler reviews 3 key statements by Lois G. Lerner, the IRS’s director of the exempt organizations division.

"... for a variety of reasons: the rise of science; the emergence of the Social Gospel, a theology that encouraged churches to create heaven on Earth by fighting for social justice; and the growing affluence of Americans."

"The new science of spending points to a surprising conclusion: How we use our money may matter as much or more than how much of it we've got."

I don't know why that is "surprising," but the details are perhaps worth noting. For one thing, buying a house or moving to a better house is found unlikely to bring more happiness.
And dozens of studies show that people get more happiness from buying experiences than from buying material things. Experiential purchases — such as trips, concerts and special meals — are more deeply connected to our sense of self, making us who we are.... Some meal you ate is more deeply connected to your sense of self than your home? I find that hard to believe. I think it's more that the meal is over and done with, so the happiness was consumed on the spot and remembered. The house continues and you enjoy it sometimes but are burdened by it too. You have mixed feelings over a long period of time. It's not a memory.
And experiences come with one more benefit: They tend to bring us closer to other people, whereas material things are more often enjoyed alone. (We tend to watch our new television alone on the couch, but we rarely head to a wonderful restaurant or jet off to Thailand solo.)  That's why you might want to bring loved ones into that house of yours. And why is there no mention of the nonwonderful restaurants and nonwonderful flights overseas?
So, doing things with other people makes a difference for happiness, and our research suggests that doing things for other people can provide an additional boost.  That's obvious and not about how you spend your money. Dropping dollars on restaurant meals and travel won't necessarily get you better social connections.
In experiments we've conducted around the world, including in Canada, the United States, Uganda and South Africa, we find that people are happier if they spend money on others. And we've found that spending even just a few dollars on someone else provides more happiness than using the cash to treat yourself. This is why we love to pay taxes, no?

... and the argument to the contrary.

"Walker may be shrugging off chatter about 2016, but political observers see plenty of signs he is considering a run for president after his 2014 re-election campaign is over."
He’s working on a book about his life, tentatively titled “Unintimidated: A Governor’s Story and a Nation’s Challenge.” And Walker readily admits he’s traveling around the country for high-profile fundraisers and other conservative gatherings, from New Orleans to Iowa, Washington, D.C., to California. “We used to call this period ‘testing the waters.’ I think that’s what he’s doing,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “He can’t be explicit yet. But I think he’ll run.” Sabato and his colleagues put Walker at the top of their list of 2016 Republican presidential contenders, noting that "Democrats tried — and failed — to strike him down in a recall election last year:
"Not only did Walker survive, but this unscheduled political war elevated him to stardom amongst conservatives across the country. If Walker were to become the Republican presidential nominee, Democrats will have helped it happen."

Obama was addressing the graduates at Morehouse College, which is an all-male and historically black college.
Obama said that too many young black men make “bad choices.”

“Growing up, I made quite a few myself,” Obama said. “Sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down. I had a tendency to make excuses for me not doing the right thing.”

But, the president implored, “we’ve got no time for excuses.”

“In today’s hyper-connected, hyper-competitive world, with millions of young people from China and India and Brazil, many of whom started with a whole lot less than all of you did, all of them entering the global workforce alongside you, nobody is going to give you anything you haven’t earned,” he said. “Nobody cares how tough your upbringing was. Nobody cares if you suffered some discrimination.” ADDED: Here's the full text of the speech.

Jarrett Renshaw: The state's largest teacher's union has formed a new political advocacy group that can raise unlimited amounts of money from donors during the upcoming campaign season, according to federal and state filings. The move by the New Jersey Education Association underscores a growing trend in the state as donors and interest groups turn to the federal tax code to avoid the state limits on campaign contributions. The New Jersey Education Association formed Garden State Forward in March of this year, according to filings with the Internal Revenue Service. The NJEA already has a state political action committee, but a spokesman said the new group will allow the union to focus more on issues, less on specific elections. "We established it so, if we wish, we can express issue advocacy with our members," NJEA spokesman Steve Wollmer said. Related: WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators.

Stephen Wolfram: I've been curious about Gottfried Leibniz for years, not least because he seems to have wanted to build something like Mathematica and Wolfram|Alpha, and perhaps A New Kind of Science as well--though three centuries too early. So when I took a trip recently to Germany, I was excited to be able to visit his archive in Hanover. Leafing through his yellowed (but still robust enough for me to touch) pages of notes, I felt a certain connection--as I tried to imagine what he was thinking when he wrote them, and tried to relate what I saw in them to what we now know after three more centuries: Some things, especially in mathematics, are quite timeless. Like here's Leibniz writing down an infinite series for √2 (the text is in Latin):

By Javier Hernandez and Al Baker: Charter schools would no longer be allowed space in traditional school buildings. Neighborhood school boards would be given more oversight over superintendents and principals. Cellphones, long considered contraband in schools, would again be permitted past the door. The Democratic candidates for mayor have promised, in varying degrees, to revamp the city's school system by undoing some of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's signature policies. The attacks have put City Hall on the defensive, leaving aides worried about the future of one of the most ambitious efforts in the nation to overhaul education. Fearing a sea change, the city's Education Department has worked over the past few months to lock in critical components of Mr. Bloomberg's agenda. Education officials have reserved space for charter schools more than a year in advance, called for a permanent system for evaluating teachers and sought new contracts for school bus routes, saving money in part by eliminating union job guarantees.

Diane Ravitch:The Forward Institute of Wisconsin released a new study of education policy in the state. This is a statement made by the Institute's Chair, Scott Wittkopf: Wisconsin has always been a leader in K-12 public education because we have long valued the right of every child to receive a quality public education. The fundamental nature of our values is reflected in the State Constitution, which guarantees all children equal access to educational opportunity in our public schools. That constitutional right is now being systematically eroded and defunded. The research presented in this report shows that current fiscal policy and education funding are depriving our poorest students access to a sound public education. Public schools are not failing our children, Wisconsin legislators and policymakers are failing the public schools that serve our children. Our comprehensive report documents in detail that the resources being afforded schools and students of poverty are insufficient, and facing further reduction. Moreover, the resources being diverted from schools of poverty into non-traditional alternative education programs are producing questionable results with little to no accountability for the state funding they receive. The following seven points highlight critical findings of our study:

Madison Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham (PDF): his report presents high school graduation rates for the Madison Metropolitan School District. For additional information on graduation rates, see the Appendix. For this report, we focus on a cohort of students expected to graduate at the end of the 2011-12 school year. For additional context and to track changes over time, we provide a three-year history for some measures. This report uses publicly available data from Wisconsin's Information Network for Successful Schools (WINSS). Additional data is available through http://winss.dpi.wi.gov/. Key findings include the following: 1. Overall graduation rates improved almost one percent from 2011 to 2012, from 73.7% to 74.6%. 2. African American and Hispanic students have improved their graduation rates by five percent and almost seven percent over the last three years. 3. Graduation rates for students with Limited English Proficiency have improved about four percent over the last three years. 4. MMSD high schools have similar graduation rates, ranging between 74.7% and 82.8%.

HMCO: The four-year college experience is as American as apple pie. So is the belief that higher education offers a ticket to a better life. But with student-loan debt surpassing the $1 trillion mark and unemployment of college graduates at historic highs, people are beginning to question that value. In College (Un)bound, Jeffrey J. Selingo, editor at large of the Chronicle of Higher Education, argues that America's higher education system is broken. The great credential race has turned universities into big business and fostered an environment where middle-tier colleges can command elite university-level tuition while concealing staggeringly low graduation rates, churning out graduates with few of the skills needed for a rapidly evolving job market. Selingo not only turns a critical eye on the current state of higher education but also predicts how technology will transform it for the better. Free massive online open courses (MOOCs) and hybrid classes, adaptive learning software, and the unbundling of traditional degree credits will increase access to high-quality education regardless of budget or location and tailor lesson plans to individual needs. One thing is certain--the Class of 2020 will have a radically different college experience than their parents.

Ron Winslow:A major study of children born with serious heart defects suggests that at least 10% of cases result from genetic mutations that weren't inherited from their parents. Instead, the genetic anomalies arise spontaneously early in prenatal development. Researchers said some of the mutated genes play a critical role in activating or deactivating other genes responsible for the development of the heart. "This for the first time really establishes that these new mutations account for a significant fraction of this disease," said Richard Lifton, head of the department of genetics at Yale University School of Medicine and a senior author of the study. The findings were published online Sunday by the journal Nature. About 40,000 babies, or nearly one in 100, are born in the U.S. each year with congenital heart disease, making it the most common birth defect. About one-third of cases involve life-threatening structural defects to the organ. Surgical advances over the past few decades have enabled the majority of such kids to live well into adulthood, though the repairs often wear out by their 20s and 30s, leading to additional procedures.

James Hagerty:Few mothers are likely to get more cards, flowers and phone calls this Sunday than Joyce Dumont. Mrs. Dumont, 77 years old, a Native American of the Chippewa tribe, is at the root of a family tree so tangled that it seems more like a forest. By her reckoning, she has had 69 kids--including six through childbirth, five stepchildren, 11 who were adopted, several dozen foster children and a few who simply moved in when they had no better place to go. Her latest three were adopted by Mrs. Dumont and her husband, Buddy, also 77, over the past few years. They range in age from 7 to 10. "They're really rambunctious," she told a recent visitor to her home near the Canadian border, where a washing machine chugged and a chubby Chihuahua named Peewee scoured the floor for Cheerios.

Megan Garber: Conventional wisdom says that synesthesia is innate -- you're either born with the condition or you're not, end of story. If you happen not to have been born that way but would really, really love to experience numbers as colors, or colors as sound ... then you, my sense-straight friend, are pretty much out of luck. Except ... maybe not? A group of psychologists at the University of Amsterdam have been testing whether synesthesia might, actually, be learned. Synesthetes' innate cognitive wiring leads them to augment their perception of the physical world; the researchers wanted to see whether the reverse could take place -- whether an augmented physical world could lead to synesthetic perceptions in people who weren't born with "crossed senses." And the researchers have now published their findings in the journal PLoS One.