Hope during COVID-19

It's hard for me to articulate my words right now, as each day feels as overwhelming as the next. However, i'm going to try.

🌟Thank you to ....

👉all the workers in a health care position working at the hospitals, retirement homes, and other medical facilities who are doing their best to save lives and provide mental health support to those of us who need it - on any level.

👉all the grocery clerks who are working around the clock, putting products on the shelves so everyone can feed themselves and their families

👉all the educators for continuing your passion for teaching in whatever capacity that is and not giving up on your students

👉the residents of Windsor-Essex County (and beyond) for supporting each other in so many ways, big and small - I've been connected with some amazing people I never knew before

👉all the entertainers who have lost all their gigs until an undetermined amount of time, you're appreciated and valued more than you know, keep on creating, singing, dancing, juggling, making us laugh, and whatever else you have up your sleeves

👉those who are debunking and reporting fake emails/stories/videos and other messages regarding COVID-19, to protect our most vulnerable right now

👉all the local restaurants still providing customers with amazing food, take-out/delivery service and a great big smile, even though we know you're hurting too

👉those who have reached out to someone else in the community, whether that's a family member, friend, neighbour, or a total stranger and provided emotional support, financial aid, or simply offered to pick up some extra toilet paper

the list goes on and on....

Just thank you ALL for being superstars. I'm proud to know you.

CBC Marketplace: Weighing in on deception

“Honest liars” are everywhere and they are experts in the art of deception! Bill Nuvo knows this, as he is one, being a master magician over the last 30 years.

However, when he is not performing for audiences, his passion is to help others avoid being duped in their every day lives. The most vulnerable population is often seniors, but we can all be fooled at any age. The sad reality is that sometimes we don’t even know it until it’s too late.

The anticipated CBC Marketplace episode with Asha Tomlison that has Bill helping to debunk a scam that even the Dragons' Den investors bought into, will air Friday, February 2, 2018, at 8 pm on CBC!

Click here to view previous episodes: http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/

Stay tuned!

*updated.  here is the video!

Climate Change: Ask Bill!

Bill has been overwhelmed by the number of requests that he receives from people asking him a variety of questions related to science and scams that circulate on the Internet and elsewhere. To manage his time effectively, Bill has decided to do a weekly fun and educational "Ask Bill" segment.

Every Wednesday, Bill will choose one question from his e-mails and answer another science or hoax question. Get your questions into him ASAP.


Check out below for today's question about climate change.

“Was this year the hottest July (world average) in our recorded history? Somebody showed me some results that said otherwise. I didn't get to check the sources because I was out and it was on his phone. What do the stats and experts say regarding it and where are these false stats coming from?”

ANSWER:

According to reports from NOAA (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201507), NASA (http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata_v3/GLB.Ts+dSST.txt) and JAPAN METEROLOGICAL AGENCY (http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/tcc/tcc/products/gwp/temp/jul_wld.html), this past July (2015) was the hottest recorded.

Some climate change deniers like Joanne Nova (Codling) and Roy Spencer are making claims to the contrary. They are correct in stating that some of the headlines get it wrong, such as those claiming “hottest in 4000 years” because we haven't been recording temperature for that long. The two naysayers though seem to rely on data strictly from UAH satellite data. The problem with this is that satellites do not measure temperature directly, but are inferred from radiance. The UAH data has had problems with the inferred temperatures not matching the actual site surface temperature (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v394/n6694/full/394661a0.html).  Thus their claims are suspect and need to be investigated further. Even if it wasn't the hottest July on record, it would not indicate a lack of climate change. Variations go up and down in the short term and that is expected. It's the long term trend that is most important and that clearly shows a warming trend.

It is interesting to note that Joanne Nova has a degree in microbiology and molecular biology and not climatology. Roy Spencer is a meteorologist and not a climatologist. The major difference between the two is time frames. Meteorologists produce forecasts in a window no larger than 10 days and usually localized (weather). Climatologists are concerned with long term climate conditions. When considering sources, one would want it from the highest quality and someone actually in the field of studying climate. 97% of publishing climate scientists agree that humans are causing global warming.

To learn more, I suggest taking this free, self-paced course: Edx Course

I hope this answers your question.

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*For over 30 years, Bill has been a professional magician and has traveled all across Canada, performing for all ages. Along with his passion for entertaining, Bill is an educator and life-long learner. He continues to study biology, psychology, neuroscience and chemistry.  Bill has also written many articles on science and scams for various blogs, newspapers and other publications.

Visit his business site, Nuvo Entertainment: www.nuvoentertainment.com