Who knew global warming was being caused by sheep?

(I wish I could say I’d written this, but I didn’t.  This post is greatly condensed from the original post at www.realclimate.org.  But, the pictures of authentic NZ sheep are mine.)

NZ sheep1 April 2007

A remarkable new result was announced in a press conference today by Dr. Ewe Noh-Watt of the New Zealand Institute of Veterinary Climatology.

Global warming is being caused by the decline of New Zealand’s sheep population.  Sheep are mostly white, thus large numbers of sheep increase the planet’s albedo (the amount of sunlight reflected back into space). As the sheep population declines, the ground absorbs more solar radiation, thus warming the planet.

more NZ sheep"…It can be seen that the recent warming can be explained entirely by the decline in the New Zealand sheep population … Evidently there are amplifying feedbacks at work which give the Sheep Albedo Index a disproportionate influence over climate."

The recognition of the role of sheep albedo opens up some fascinating new possibilities for climate change mechanisms. There is in fact an important destabilizing positive feedback in the system: as the climate gets warmer, there is less demand for wool sweaters and wooly underwear. Hence the sheep population tends to drop even further, leading to even more warming.

If not curtailed, this vicious circle has the potential to lead to "runaway sheep-albedo feedback."

tartan sheep

If that’s not enough for you, we also have this in from The London Times: "tartan sheep" said to have been bred by Grant Bell of West Barns, East Lothian. 

However, the Times warned, "Before you complain of being fleeced, check out the baa-code for today’s date."

All this and more great stuff can be found at www.museumofhoaxes.com!