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The anti-science crowd is all for “teaching” our kids about dirty energy (see “Let’s Learn About Coal”: Industry front group distributes coloring book on the “advantages” of coal).  But when it comes to climate science, their motto seems to be “We don’t need no education,” as Think Progress reports.

Until recently, the Build-A-Bearville website (part of the Build-A-Bear Workshop) featured online videos telling children about manmade global warming and the dangers it holds for the North Pole. In the videos, little animals learn about the problem and teach Santa Claus about it. The right wing has been outraged over the antics of these bears and penguins. One conservative called for a boycott of Build-A-Bear, and another said the the videos amount to “indoctrination.” In response to this right-wing pressure, Build-A-Bear has taken down the educational videos. A statement from “Founder and Chief Executive Bear” Maxine Clark:

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Key Pacific region now warmer than in 2005 and 2007, the hottest and second hottest years on record

That’s the the 7-day (12/14-12/20) sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly map from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (ABM).  Their El Ni±o-Southern Oscillation report finds:

Pacific Ocean temperatures remain at levels typical of a mature El Ni±o….  As a result, central Pacific Ocean surface temperatures are now at their warmest level since the El Ni±o of 1997-98, exceeding temperatures observed in both the 2002-03 and 2006-07 events. During the past week, small regions which are more than 3°C above their average temperature have emerged along the equator.

Leading climate models continue to suggest tropical ocean temperatures are approaching their peak, and will remain above El Ni±o thresholds through the southern summer before starting to cool.

The longer and stronger the El Ni±o, the more likely 2010 is the hottest year on record (see “Hansen predicts better than 50% chance 2010 will set new record” and UK Met Office: Global warming plus El Ni±o means it’s “more likely than not that 2010 will be the warmest year in the instrumental record”).

The warming in the Nino 3.4 region of the Pacific is typically used to define an El Ni±o “” sustained postive sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies of greater than 0.5°C across the central tropical Pacific Ocean.  Here’s the Nino 3.4 data for the last 5 years from ABM:

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