Ministry Of Truth At Work In Florida
47 minutes ago
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Climate change on Jupiter
THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS: PROOF OF GLOBAL WARMING - ON JUPITER AND SATURN
Jupiter's recent outbreak of red spots is likely related to large scale climate change as the gas giant planet is getting warmer near the equator.
Speaker outlines wind power 'myths'
Speaker outlines wind power 'myths' [National Wind Watch]
On foreign oil use, Mr. Boone cited a Rocky Mountain Institute study that said only 3 percent of oil use in the United States goes to electricity production. And of that, five-sixths comes from useless byproducts of the refining process.
So oil is not a competitor for wind energy.
Wind energy, especially onshore in the eastern U.S., does not produce close to its rated capacity. The turbines produce the most during winter nights and the least during summer afternoons, when demand is highest.
“It’s out of whack seasonally and during the day,” Mr. Boone said.
Lawrence Solomon: What I told the Petroleum Club
Lawrence Solomon: What I told the Petroleum Club - FP Comment
There is no endorsement by 2500 top UN scientists. The press has been taken. And so the public has been taken.
The extent to which the public has been taken may surprise you. Not only is there no consensus, the scientists who are skeptics — the deniers — have extraordinary credentials, people at the very top echelons of the scientific establishment. They are the Who’s Who of Science.
Not only do they disagree with the UN conclusions, they often value CO2 for the benefits it provides the planet — satellite data shows the planet is now the greenest it has been in decades. Until recently, after all, CO2 was universally viewed as Nature’s fertilizer.
If these top scientists are right, you are being attacked without justification. You are being painted as criminals and your children are being made to feel ashamed of what you do. You are being victimized, in a modern form of shunning.
Your present strategy of lying low and hoping all this will pass has gotten you nowhere. You need to make your case, factually and frankly. The public will be skeptical of your arguments, as it should be. But if your critics can’t counter your factual arguments, it is your critics who will fail.
You need to decide. Do you want to go on being attacked for something that may be laudable, for producing CO2 may well be laudable? Do you want to go on feeling guilty out of public ignorance of where scientists truly stand on the global warming issue?
On global warming, the science is not settled. You have the facts on your side. But facts will count for naught as long as you see the battle as lost.
So will climate realists now be allowed to speak at Greenpeace meetings?
Greenpeace Sneaks In, Addresses Coal Conference : TreeHugger
That the organizer of the conference -- Gerard McCloskey of McCloskey Group -- was willing to let Greenpeace air a litany of the environmental costs of coal to its biggest promoters came as a bit of a shock.
Then again, this was coal's home turf, and letting the green guys speak their piece looks better than trying to shut them down. Given Greenpeace's proclivity for dramatic measures (interrupting industry dinners, shutting down power stations, scaling buildings) the conference organizers might have caused even more of a scene has they forced Greenpeace out.
Also it was just the right thing to do. "I thought what we should do was engage them," McCloskey told Reuters. "All of us have children, grandchildren. It was good to see Greenpeace here willing to put their argument out."
Sun: Still quiet, over two months since a cycle 24 spot seen
Sun: Still quiet, over two months since a cycle 24 spot seen « Watts Up With That?
Its all quiet on the solar front. Too quiet. It has now been almost 2 and a half months since the last counted cycle 24 sunspot has been seen on April 13th, 2008. There was a tiny cycle 24 ”sunspeck” that appeared briefly on May 13th, but according to solar physicist Leif Svaalgaard, that one never was assigned a number and did not “count”. It is just barely discernable on this large image from that day.
Politicians Shouldn't Be Fooled: America's "Armchair Environmentalists" Quantified
Bulldog Reporter - Daily Dog | Previous Stories | Marketers Shouldn't Be Fooled: America's "Armchair Environmentalists" Quantified in New Eco Pulse Study
Despite a vast U.S. marketing and media coverage trend toward green affinity and awareness in recent years, most Americans admit putting personal comfort ahead of the environment, and a significant percentage voice ambivalence — even negativity — about increased media attention regarding the environment. So reports Eco Pulse, the newest national study on U.S. consumers and green affinity, produced by Shelton Group (www.sheltoncom.com/), a Tennessee advertising agency focused on energy, energy efficiency and sustainability.
"What we've quantified in Eco Pulse is that by and large, consumers behave as 'armchair environmentalists' at best," said Suzanne Shelton, CEO of Shelton Group. "Folks who talk up their green purchases and lifestyles at a cocktail party really aren't doing as much as they say they're doing."
Eco Pulse reveals how few Americans actually put their own environmental views into practice at the check–out counter. When asked, "How much, if any, does a company's environmental record and/or practices impact your decision whether or not to buy their products?" 49 percent said "somewhat" to "very much."
However, when asked a specific follow–up to this question, "Have you ever chosen one product over another based on the environmental record/practices of its manufacturer?" only 21 percent said "yes," and of those, only 28 percent — six percent of the total population — could name the actual product.
When asked, "Given a choice between your comfort, your convenience or the environment, which do you most often choose?" 46 percent chose comfort, while 31 percent chose the environment, and 23 percent chose convenience. When asked if they feel like they are often asked to choose between their comfort and the environment, most consumers (48 percent) were undecided, but 26 percent agreed.
Coloring the Models: Climate Change through Color Change
Coloring the Models: Climate Change through Color Change « Watts Up With That?
If the evidence for global warming is that compelling, why is it necessary for those who believe in global warming, to misrepresent data in this manner to support their cause?
Cooling coming?
Cooling coming | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog
It supports the contention that the level of activity on the Sun will significantly diminish sometime in the next decade and remain low for about 20 - 30 years. On each occasion that the Sun has done this in the past the World’s mean temperature has dropped by ~ 1 - 2 C.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Big Green Tent For Bloggers at Democratic National Convention
Big Green Tent For Bloggers at Democratic National Convention
A significant section of The Big Tent will be open to the public where the Digg Stage will present nationally known speakers and panels on global warming, the new energy economy and other hot topics during the day.
Greening effort at DNC looking pale
Greening effort at DNC looking pale : DNC - Going "green" : The Rocky Mountain News
Just three of 50 state delegations have committed all their delegates to being "carbon neutral" during their stay at the Democratic National Convention, a fact that has green planners wringing their hands over how to get more states signed up, faster.
California, Nevada and Vermont have met the challenge. Eleven other states have agreed to participate at least to some degree, according to Damon Jones, spokesman for the Democratic National Convention Committee.
But the majority of Democratic delegations haven't purchased carbon offsets for their delegations. They have until Aug. 1 to do so.
Money spent on the environmental credits goes to specific climate friendly undertakings, such as tree plantings and wind farms, which reduce the amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere, and help offset the effects of jet travel, which puts more in. Delegates can, if they chose, purchase the offsets individually for $7.50.
On a DNC map that tracks state participation, large chunks of real estate remain starkly white, nearly three months after the party announced the initiative. Those states that are 100 percent committed are coded dark green, while those that are partly participating, are pale green.
Cuddly polar bears threaten farming
Matter of perspective: Cuddly polar bears threaten farming
When farmers take their families to the zoo, you can bet they spend as much time enjoying the polar bears as anybody does. But their appreciation for the white fluffy guys has its limitations.
Those limitations are probably best expressed by the highly-respected Pacific Legal Foundation in Sacramento. It is a public service law firm that fights for individual rights, and it believes the rights of many individuals, especially farm landowners, risk being trampled by the polar bears and their two-legged friends.
By listing polar bears as an endangered species as it did in mid-May, Congress has convinced PLF to fight the listing with all its energy. PLF calls the listing "government intrusion so potentially devastating that it could bring our country to its knees."
Patrick Michaels digs up the dirt on James “crimes against humanity” Hansen.
Right-Thinking from the Left Coast
I’ve never understood how environmental scientists can retain their credibility after being so mind-bogglingly wrong. Paul Ehrlich is still a god to greens despite being hopelessly spectacularly wrong about everything. Any time some environmental terror (such as overpopulation) turns out to be garbage or some environmental fad (such as food miles) turns out to harm the planet, the panic mongers just shift to the next target. No one’s career is ruined. No one’s credibility is shot.
So what is Mark "The Arctic is screaming" Serreze's problem?
AFP: North Pole may briefly have no ice this summer: US expert
From this 2002 page:
[Serreze] put the chances of there being no ice at one point at 50 percent, saying it could see "ships sail from Alaska to the North Pole, that's possible."I mean, the guy's identified as "a scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado"--could he really not know that the North Pole HAS been ice-free (and ships HAVE been there) in modern times?
The ice on the north pole has melted before, "but certainly not in modern times," Serreze said.
From this 2002 page:
Recalling the reaction of passengers when they saw an iceless North Pole, he said: “There was a sense of alarm. Global warming was real, and we were seeing its effects for the first time that far north.”Note also Serreze's odd backing away here:
I hope that I will not be pilloried by the community for being a part of this story. From what I can gather, it started with a piece in “National Geographic Online”, moved to a piece in “The Independent”, another piece on CNN, and then quickly grew out of all reasonable proportion. A positive feedback process. I’ll be the first to agree that losing the ice at the north pole this summer would be purely symbolic, but symbolism can be pretty darned powerful.
Does AP "Science" writer Seth Borenstein not have access to the Internet?
The Associated Press: This summer may see first ice-free North Pole
Last August, the Northwest Passage was open to navigation for the first time in memory.Hey Seth--would you PLEASE read this, and then stop making that embarrassing claim?!
The Northwest Passage was successfully navigated in 1906, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1957, 1969, 1977, 1984, 1988, and 2000 (and probably in other years as well).
Oakes agrees: gas plan could kill Rudd
Oakes agrees: gas plan could kill Rudd | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog
But Oakes and the rest of the press gallery still see emissions trading as somehow beyond rational criticism on the grounds of science (is the world actually warming dangerously?) and utility (would emissions trading work anyway?) or even economics (is the pain really worth any gain?). Any suggestion from the Liberals that emissions trading is a turkey is to be dismissed as simply immoral...
Fashionistas feel a heat that their thermometers don’t
Fashionistas feel a heat that their thermometers don’t | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog
World temperatures rose just 0.7 degrees until 1998 and then stopped. But fashion airheads consult not the thermometer but the vibe to declare that winter is now like summer, and the fashions need not change either...
Stelmach complains of environmentalist 'hidden agenda'
edmontonsun.com - Alberta - Stelmach complains of environmentalist 'hidden agenda'
Premier Ed Stelmach launched into a scathing attack against Alberta's environmental critics today, saying some may have ulterior motives to attack the provincial economy.
The cynical politics of global warming and its hobgoblins
WMICentral - From other pens - The cynical politics of global warming and its hobgoblins
Gore needed the scientific community to back up his assertions and the media to spread the word. Enlisting the help of the media was easy (apocalyptic fantasies are sure ratings winners), but getting enough scientists on board was trickier. When Gore started his global warming campaign in the early 1990s, a contemporary Gallup poll of scientists showed that only 18 percent thought there was any evidence to support Gore's theory. Even a survey conducted by Greenpeace found only 13 percent of climatologists willing to declare global warming "probable."
Nevertheless, Gore repeatedly claimed that (literally) 98 percent of scientists agreed with him, and he exhorted reporters to ignore skeptics. Right from the outset, the global warming cult (like other illiberal movements, such as communism and fascism) had to resort to the "big lie" technique to make it appear that the science of global warming was settled.
As senator, and then vice president, Gore used his power to channel money toward those who "played ball" and away from those who doubted global warming. The latter found that grant money dried up, promotions were denied and even jobs were terminated. Gore's colleague, Colorado Sen. Timothy Wirth, became undersecretary of state for global affairs in charge of promoting global warming theory and international agreements to address the alleged problem. Wirth was quoted as bragging that he could change a lot of minds with a billion dollars per year of State Department money. Indeed, recent estimates are that $50 billion has been spent promoting the global warming theory (mostly governments and international organizations using tax money) and less that $1 billion to question it. Advantage: global warming.
North America's 1st carbon tax rolls out under fire
North America's 1st carbon tax rolls out under fire
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Civic leader Scott Nelson says he is as worried as anyone about global warming, but that does not make him happy to be one of the first North Americans to pay a carbon tax to curb climate change.
Nelson, mayor of Williams Lake, British Columbia, says record high energy prices mean that the levy, for all its good intentions, could not come at a worst time for residents in his community, a lumber and ranching town about 525 km (340 miles) north of Vancouver.
"The last thing they need now is a tax on top of these soaring prices to add insult to injury," said Nelson, predicting that a taxpayer revolt will eventually scuttle the new tax, which takes effect on July 1.
Brainstorming with Sting
Sting.com news.news
Sting's Rainforest "Scam" Gets Zero Charity Rating
"one of Sting's and Mrs. Sting's SEVEN homes"
"Let's be honest, our carbon footprint is massive. But then every industry's carbon footprint is massive. Maybe this is the last era of big tours, unless we innovate. I read a wonderful article about container ships having massive sails attached to them. It's like a Jules Verne fantasy but it would cut the cost of shipping.More related links here:
"There are equally fantastic solutions to touring. Can you imagine zeppelins going around the world with tours underneath them, with a stage, the band, all the equipment and lights, and just lowering themselves into a car park somewhere? And then off they float. Crazy and fantastic, but who knows? We certainly can't rely on cheap oil any more."
Sting's Rainforest "Scam" Gets Zero Charity Rating
"one of Sting's and Mrs. Sting's SEVEN homes"
Flying Soon May Only be for the Rich
Flying Soon May Only be for the Rich | OpenMarket.org
Although such taxes might be sold as for the public good, the burden inevitably falls on those of least means. And government–politicians, bureaucrats, and lobbyists alike–are the big winners, milking the system for as much money and power as possible.
Lord Stern's Prayer
Planet Gore on National Review Online
Heaven forbid we leave it to politicians . . . unless they agree with the economists Pachauri and Stern, that is. Otherwise, it seems, the ultimate authority is with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and five Norwegians.
Are Medical Meetings Environmentally Unfriendly?
Welcome to AJC! | ajc.com
But an expert writing in the June 28 issue of the British Medical Journal argues that medical meetings should be a thing of the past.
The author, Dr. Malcolm Green, a professor emeritus of respiratory medicine at Imperial College London, confesses to having attended such meetings himself throughout an illustrious career going back 30 years.
"This is not a matter of whether, but when," Green said. "The adaptations to climate change over the next few decades will be massive. This will be an inevitable part of that change. Canute was unable to hold back the tide, and we will be unable to hold back the consequences of climate change. The current 'crisis' of oil prices is here to stay and will intensify."
Yet another story about yet another climate change meeting
This one's got all the usual elements--hundreds of attendees, a luxury hotel, a UN connection, the accompanying photo of cracked earth, lots of talk with no action, etc etc...
Reuters AlertNet - Will climate change forum generate more than hot air?
Reuters AlertNet - Will climate change forum generate more than hot air?
Imagine a network of thousands of tiny weather stations dotted around Africa, each conveying critical meteorological data to farmers through mobile phones, radio or even comic books...There was some scepticism about the lavish nature of an event that focused on the poor and vulnerable, as well as the under-representation of those regions likely to be worst affected (Africa and Asia). Journalists were a bit disgruntled because they weren't allowed into the brainstorming sessions - a policy Annan said would likely be revised next year.
Lack of global warming in Brazil causes coffee price rise
Coffee rises to highest in three months on supply concerns - MarketWatch
The market is concerned that frost and extremely low temperatures in Brazil, which is entering the winter season, will damage coffee trees, Sette said.
Florida: New offshore drilling poll leaves Greens feeling queasy
Southern Political Report
There’s a new poll out about offshore drilling, and it’s a gas. It says that sure enough, green is great as long as folks can still afford to drive to work. Otherwise, hand them some weed killer.
InsiderAdvantage/Poll Position conducted a poll this week that was commissioned by the Associated Industries of Florida. We appreciate their permission to make reference to and observations about their poll.
This sums it up: “Do you favor or oppose increased exploration and production of oil and natural gas off the coasts of Florida?”
Favor (61%)
Oppose (32%)
No opinion (7%)
The poll was conducted June 24 among 685 registered voters in Florida, for a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6%. Data have been weighted for age, race, gender and political affiliation.
Virginia coal-fired power plant approved
America's No 2 utility wins right to build $1.8bn power plant | Environment | guardian.co.uk
The vote was unanimous, with even board members who favour a carbon tax calling for more coal to burn.
"We need more power in this country … and if we get brownouts, we will quickly lose support for carbon controls," pollution control board member Bruce Buckheit told the Times-News of rural Kingsport, Tennessee.
...
Although coal industry analysts describe a growing scepticism about new production until the dream of carbon-trapping plants is achieved, some see the beginnings of a bum rush for new construction.
Because the next president, whether he is Barack Obama or John McCain, aims to control emissions through a "cap and trade" system, electric utilities such as Dominion have the chance to control their pollution destiny.
"The utility industry is asking for a free allocation system, where [the government] would give [carbon] credits away based on historic past emissions levels," Cale Jaffe, a staff attorney at the nonprofit Southern Environmental Law centre, said.
Thus if companies build new power plants now, Jaffe explained, they stand to benefit from larger carbon credits in the future under a free allocation system. "You have a perverse reduced incentive … they want to build as many coal plants as possible," he added.
Lots of people pointing out the shortcomings of wind "power"
The Cumberland News
Jill Perry may be happy to keep her head in the utopian clouds of eco-idealism (The Cumberland News, June 20) but as usual she sidestepped all the important issues including the coming energy crisis...
Aussies refuse to dump beer fridges for sake of global "warming"
Aussies refuse to dump beer fridges for sake of global warming
Putting forth a list of "practical actions for NT households,'' the Government urges residents "retire the second fridge or freezer''.
According to a Power and Water Corporation brochure, Territorians can save up to 200 dollars a year by getting rid of their beer fridge.
However, for Chief Minister Paul Henderson, it is a case of "do as I say, not as I do'."
"I've got a beer fridge -- as many Territorians do -- and I'm keeping it,'' the Northern Territory News quoted him, as saying.
CNN again displays the prowess of mainstream media fact-checkers
North Pole could be ice-free this summer, scientists say - CNN.com
Much more detail is available here.
The ice retreated to a record level in September when the Northwest Passage -- the sea route through the Arctic Ocean -- opened up briefly for the first time in recorded history.Except that the Northwest Passage was successfully navigated in years like 1906, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1957, 1969, 1977, 1984, 1988, and 2000.
Much more detail is available here.
US Rep. Dana Rohrabacher stands firm in opposing the global warming scam
Huntington Beach Independent - Serving Huntington Beach & Fountain Valley, California
Your editorial also mentioned my outspoken opposition to the manmade global warming theory.
As a senior member of the Science Committee, I’ve studied vast amounts of peer-reviewed evidence directly challenging that theory. More than 31,000 scientists, 9,000 of whom hold Ph.Ds, recently signed a petition rejecting the idea of manmade global warming. I would say that makes me far from the “final authority” on this issue.
Still cool on "halting" global "warming"
Still cool on halting global warming | theage.com.au
Japan is moving to tackle climate change in numerous small ways, but when it comes to making large-scale carbon cuts of the order environmentalists say are needed to avert global disaster, it is one country among many that appears to lack the necessary will.
Tony Blair Sees The Light (Partially at Least)
Tony Blair Sees The Light (Partially at Least) « The Unbearable Nakedness of CLIMATE CHANGE
There isn’t even any mention of biblical catastrophes. All in all, not the usual miserabilist rant, with a hint of optimism even. I am sure that’ll make Mr Blair very, very unpopular in AGW circles.
Motl on Gavin Schmidt's "science"
The Reference Frame: Phytoplankton surprisingly destroys a lot of ozone
Wow! [Gavin Schmidt] seems to be so proud that their models neglect virtually everything. So if a mechanism happens to destroy another greenhouse gas that is as important as CO₂, partially as a result of the presence of CO₂ itself, the sensitivity will not be affected "at all"! Who could have thought? Has Mr Schmidt ever heard of feedbacks? Or does he think that there is no interaction (or causal relationship) between the concentration of different chemical compounds (and between temperature, too)? Has he ever heard of the so-called chemical reactions?
What he says is so flagrant denial of basics of science that I believe that most people who have heard some science at the elementary school will know what's wrong with his opinions.
Political activists like him love to talk about positive feedbacks all the time - especially the production of water vapor indirectly caused by CO₂-induced warming - but when it comes to negative feedbacks such as the destruction of other greenhouse gases such as O₃ and CH₄, they shouldn't be looked at "at all"! Is it what you call science and how you want to obtain correct (...) answers, Mr Schmidt? I am stunned.
The climate models that try to emulate the greenhouse effect but that don't reproduce the correct chemistry are simply wrong models because the chemistry that involves the greenhouse gases on either side of the formulae is completely crucial for the greenhouse effect. Because O₃ and CH₄ are also greenhouse gases, it is damn important to know whether they exist in the atmosphere and whether they are being destroyed and whether they will be destroyed in the future (and how much).
...
Well, this approach of Mr Schmidt might be one of the reasons why his personal opinions about the climate and the opinions of his comrades at RealClimate.ORG are scientifically worthless piles of crap. The more science will know about Nature, the more crappy the opinions of similar zealots who are not ready to adjust their opinions will be. If you try to quantify how much this particular paper changes the numbers relevant for the climate sensitivity, it is fair to say that 5-10 papers like that are able to change the numbers by something of order 100%. In a year or two, our understanding may be very different if we're doing things right. It's therefore damn important for climate science to (critically) read and (rationally) process such papers!
People like Schmidt are neither willing nor able to correct mistakes in their models and theories. Fortunately for them and unfortunately for the society, they are being paid for something completely different - for a blind promotion of wrong theories and politically convenient conclusions that are irrationally extracted from these wrong, never-updated, obsolete theories.
Normalised Australian insured losses from meteorological hazards: 1967–2006 Archives
- Prometheus: Normalised Australian insured losses from meteorological hazards: 1967–2006 Archives
Once the weather-related insured losses are normalised, they exhibit no obvious trend over time that might be attributed to other factors, including human-induced climate change.
Biofuel use 'increasing poverty'
BBC NEWS | Europe | Biofuel use 'increasing poverty'
Next time you see Al Gore, don't forget to thank him for "saving the ethanol".
The replacement of traditional fuels with biofuels has dragged more than 30 million people worldwide into poverty, an aid agency report says.
Oxfam says so-called green policies in developed countries are contributing to the world's soaring food prices, which hit the poor hardest.
The group also says biofuels will do nothing to combat climate change.
Its report urges the EU to scrap a target of making 10% of all transport run on renewable resources by 2020.
Oxfam estimates the EU's target could multiply carbon emissions 70-fold by 2020 by changing the use of land.
The report's author, Oxfam's biofuel policy adviser Rob Bailey, criticised rich countries for using subsidies and tax breaks to encourage the use of food crops for alternative sources of energy like ethanol.
"If the fuel value for a crop exceeds its food value, then it will be used for fuel instead," he said.
"Rich countries... are making climate change worse, not better, they are stealing crops and land away from food production, and they are destroying millions of livelihoods in the process."
Fred Singer's presentation to the Centre for Policy Studies, 25th June
CO2sceptics News Blog | Fred Singer's presentation to the Centre for Policy Studies, 25th June
Dr Singer gave a presentation on the NIPCC paper 'Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Climate', of which he was the editor. He showed that the most damning evidence against man-made climate change was the 'fingerprint' method of comparing what the climate models predict should be happening to atmospheric temperatures and what measurements show actually is happening - and they are totally different.
There was a question and answer session after the presentation. In response to a question from the Bishop of Chester about what was driving the whole climate change scare, Dr Singer described the financial beneficiaries (activists, scientists, industrial organisations) and ideological factors. CO2 control was also the perfect vehicle for promoting world government.
One of the issues stressed by Dr Singer was that climate policies are negatively impacting energy policies, making energy much more expensive. In his view we need to be seeking economic growth throughout the world, which can only be achieved with access to relatively cheap energy. Since the end of the current interglacial cannot be too far away, we need to be wealthy enough to have the resources to adapt to the potentially catastrophic effects of the severe cooling that is inevitable within the next few thousand years.
The Global Warming Scam
American Chronicle | The Global Warming Scam
Seems we bought the global warming myth hook, line and sinker, but of course it was sold to us impressively, with glitzy Hollywood stars on Oprah, Gore winning an Academy Award and "An Inconvenient Truth" being shown as truth in our schools. What we seemingly fail to understand, though, is that the climate on the earth changes, it always has and it always will, it is not something we can control. Continents have shifted, societies and animals have gone extinct, storms and floods have ravaged and mountains have been born, the earth changes and those changes are beyond our control. And attempting to control this myth of global warming is causing far more harm than good.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
More breathtaking stupidity from the mainstream media
From this page from The Independent:
See the details here, and note that the New York Times ran (and then retracted) a similar story back in August 2000.
From a November 2000 Patrick Michaels article:
Exclusive: No ice at the North PoleFrom a June 20 National Geographic article:
Polar scientists reveal dramatic new evidence of climate change
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Friday, 27 June 2008
It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year.
The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic – and worrying – examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer.
"From the viewpoint of science, the North Pole is just another point on the globe, but symbolically it is hugely important. There is supposed to be ice at the North Pole, not open water," said Mark Serreze of the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Colorado.
Arctic warming has become so dramatic that the North Pole may melt this summer, report scientists studying the effects of climate change in the field.But there's a big problem with this "alarming" story: it's not even rare for the North Pole to be ice free.
"We're actually projecting this year that the North Pole may be free of ice for the first time [in history]," David Barber, of the University of Manitoba, told National Geographic News aboard the C.C.G.S. Amundsen, a Canadian research icebreaker.
See the details here, and note that the New York Times ran (and then retracted) a similar story back in August 2000.
From a November 2000 Patrick Michaels article:
By August 29, the level of outrage the Times had incurred provoked a half-hearted retraction of sorts, on page D-3, where the paper admitted it misstated the true condition of polar ice, noting that about 10 percent of the Arctic Ocean is open in the summer and that those open areas do in fact sometimes extend to the Pole. McCarthy, the Times reported, “would not argue with critics who said that open water at the pole was not unprecedented.” How about the truth? Open water is common.
That’s apparent from even a cursory look at the U.N.’s own temperature data or from a study of climate history. Climatologists are pretty sure that polar regions were around 2°C warmer than they are today during the period from 4,000 to 7,000 years ago. That’s three millennia in which summer sea-ice was likely more scattered than it is today. The only ecological catastrophe ecologists might be able say resulted from this deplorable condition was the rise of human civilization.
Mandating's the easy part
Clean Energy -- tomorrow! - SFBG Politics Blog
The Board of Supervisors Rules Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow (Friday) to discuss the new clean-energy charter amendment. It’s a long-overdue measure that would give San Francisco control of its own energy future and set aggressive mandates for sifting to renewable resources for electricity.
The measure is sponsored by Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi and Aaron Peskin, and includes the following:
1. A mandate that 51% of the city’s electricity is generated from renewable resources by 2017, 75% by 2030, and 100% by 2040. This would be one of the few laws in the country that requires a city to move toward a 100 percent renewable portfolio.
FIRST IT WAS YELLOW JOURNALISM, NOW IT'S YELLOW SCIENCE
nzclimatescience.net - FIRST IT WAS YELLOW JOURNALISM, NOW IT'S YELLOW SCIENCE
Nevertheless, over the past several decades an increasing number of scientists have shed the restraints imposed by the scientific method and begun to proclaim the truth of man-made global warming. This is a hypothesis that remains untested, makes no predictions that can be tested in the near future, and cannot offer a numerical explanation for the limited evidence to which it clings. No equations have been shown to explain the relationship between fossil-fuel emission and global temperature. The only predictions that have been made are apocalyptic, so the hypothesis has to be accepted before it can be tested.
The only evidence that can be said to support this so-called scientific consensus is the supposed correlation of historical global temperatures with historical carbon-dioxide content in the atmosphere. Even if we do not question the accuracy of our estimates of global temperatures into previous centuries, and even if we ignore the falling global temperatures over the past decade as fossil-fuel emissions have continued to increase, an honest scientist would still have to admit that the hypothesis of man-made global warming hardly rises to the level of "an assertion of what has been or would be the result of carrying out a specified observational procedure." Global warming may or may not be "the greatest scam in history," as it was recently called by John Coleman, a prominent meteorologist and the founder of the Weather Channel. Certainly, however, under the scientific method it does not rise to the level of an "item of physical knowledge."
Nevertheless, the acceptance of man-made global warming as scientific fact has become so prevalent that the secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, recently declared: "The debate is over. It's time to discuss solutions." Leaving aside the question of the secretary-general's qualifications, that is certainly one of the most antiscientific statements ever made. The first question that this raises is why have so many scientists chosen to ignore this glaring failure of the global warming hypothesis to meet the standards of their own profession? The second question is what, if anything, can be done about it?
IPCC Expert Reviewer speaks out - Dr. M. L. Khandekar
Just another cycle
There is an unfortunate misconception that reducing carbon dioxide now would stop the Arctic ice from melting and would stop climate change.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The earth's climate has gone through warm and cold cycles for its entire geological history of over four billion years.
The present warm phase is no more than one of those naturally driven cycles.
Rudd’s carbon catastrophe
Column - Rudd’s carbon catastrophe | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog
So I’m not surprised voters are now growing wary of such green plans to “save” the planet from a threat that may well not exist, and which in any case would be best solved by technology - like nuclear power - and not taxes.
Only last week, a Galaxy poll in Queensland found 71 per cent of voters were against an extra petrol tax to cut emissions, and that’s even with most journalists and politicians still refusing to tell them the full truth about the great global warming swindle.
Such scepticism will only grow, especially while the planet refuses to keep warming - a fact now so unmissable that even The Age may report it this side of Christmas.
Already the sweaty Government is thinking of ways to dodge the backlash to come, this week reportedly considering delaying any price rises until after the election (more fool you), or making them so low that you won’t feel the pain - but won’t cut your emissions, either.
What a farce. For once I’m hoping Rudd will be true to type and be all spin and no substance, giving us a green tax too low to work, but just high enough to make him seem he’s Doing Something.
A hypocrite is better than a wrecker, after all. Unless, of course, you really, really think another 40 cents at the pump will do for the planet what the last 40 cents couldn’t. But then you’d be crazy enough to believe in catastrophic global warming, too, wouldn’t you?
Kroger nixes global warming “policy”
Kroger nixes global warming “policy” « Watts Up With That?
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that one the nations oldest and largest grocery firms, Kroger Inc., based in Cincinnati, OH rejected a shareholder proposal which called for the company to develop a comprehensive policy addressing climate change.
Having shopped at many a Kroger store myself, I’m glad I won’t be bombared with climate change messages while I shop. I really don’t need to know what the carbon footprint is on a can of soup or a head of lettuce.
Save a polar bear cub by growing vegetation on your roof!
Green roofs cool cities, combat climate change, say Germans - CNN.com
The concept of a green roof goes back centuries: The turf roofed dwellings of the Vikings are early examples, but the modern green roof we know today was developed in Germany 50 years ago. Since then, they have become increasingly popular, yet the industry still struggles against skeptics, who believe green roofs to be expensive and liable to leaking.
"Today marked a new low for the way congressional Democrats deal with national security."
The Corner on National Review Online
1) In response to a question by Global Warming Committee member Greg Walden (R-OR), the Intelligence Community admitted they had "low to medium confidence" in the accuracy of this estimate because intelligence officers lack the expertise to write such an estimate (it was mostly contracted out to other organizations) and climate change science is so uncertain. As Walden started to ask about why an analysis of such low reliability was issued, Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA), the Global Warming Committee Chairman, cut him off and told him he was out of time even though Markey let all the previous Democrats speak substantially past their time limits.
2) Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Peter Hoekstra asked what intelligence was used for this estimate and whether intelligence collection requirements were prepared. National Intelligence Council Chairman Thomas Fingar said no clandestine intelligence was used and that intelligence officers extrapolated what would happen if the "mid-level estimates" by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were correct. When Hoekstra asked why the U.S. Intelligence Community would write an major analysis of low to medium confidence that contained no intelligence, Fingar answered, "because you [Congress] told us to."
San Diego: Lack of global warming kills swallows
Newsblog | Vet: starvation killed swallows
In a report, veterinarian Nikos Gurfield said the birds' thin bodies, the lack of food in their stomachs and other factors suggest they didn't have enough insects to eat. He linked the low bug population to unseasonably cold weather in late May.
Bravo, David Bellamy
Bellamy: Flying not to blame for global warming - Travel Trade Gazette
Controversial environmental campaigner and botanist David Bellamy has claimed the world is getting colder and aviation should not be blamed for climate change.
An outspoken critic of claims that global warming is man-made, he was talking during Haven Holidays’ Big Green Weekend event last week, designed to promote eco-friendly domestic tourism.
“In the next 24 hours the amount of deforestation will pour the same amount of CO2 into the atmosphere as eight million people flying from Britain to America. So stop the logging and we can stop the problem,” he said.
“There is more proof that global warming is natural climate change and we have to adapt to it. In the past 17 years the temperature has actually gone down.”
Bellamy, who has faced widespread criticism for his unorthodox views, also said there is now more sea ice at the poles than ever before and that, despite concerns about climate change driving polar bears to extinction, their numbers had trebled.
Nice quote from FP&L CEO Lew Hay
Climate-change summit resumes Thursday | news-press.com | The News-Press
FP&L CEO Lew Hay returned the favor when he told the group that "with Gov. Crist's leadership, this will be a Florida with a dramatically smaller carbon footprint."
Although some skeptics continue to insist otherwise, he said, climate change is real, it's progressing fast because of human actions, and companies must act now to dramatically slow or stop the use of dirty fossil fuels and carbon emissions.
"We cannot let these people have their way or there may not be a tomorrow," he said of climate change skeptics.
Arctic ice melt may be due to undersea volcanoes
American Thinker Blog: Arctic ice melt may be due to undersea volcanoes
The Arctic ice that is supposedly melting, stranding those cuddly looking polar bears, just might be affected by a wave of volcanic eruptions on the ocean floor under the Arctic ice cap. AFP reports on the recently-documented volcanoes, but oddly makes no mention of the possible effect on apocalyptic predictions of global warming.
When madness grips the land
EU Referendum: When madness grips the land
Like the insanity of the tower blocks of the '60s – and much like the madness of the 17th Century when apparently sane men branded innocent women as witches and burnt them to death, with the approval of the communities in which they resided – this particular brand of madness will have to work its way through the collective consciousness.
In due course, we will emerge from it and survey our recent past, wondering as we do with the gaunt wrecks of a once proud vision that we now dismissively call "tower blocks", how we could have been so taken in by what was so obviously an utterly foolhardy obsession.
Until then, we are in the grip of what nineteenth Century writer, Gustave Le Bon called the "psychology of the crowd". It is beyond logic, beyond reason, beyond argument. There is no antidote, no cure. Reason, particularly, is no answer.
We can only watch, shake our heads and wonder at the stupidity of our fellow man. And when it passes – as it will – "everyone" will agree that it was madness. By then, of course, we will be in the grip of a new obsession. I guess it is called the human condition.
Booker: Why spending £100bn on windfarms to please the EU is Labour's greatest act of lunacy
A load of hot air: Why spending £100bn on windfarms to please the EU is Labour's greatest act of lunacy | Mail Online
Today, a giant new wind turbine soars the height of a London tower block above the Mendip hills where I live in Somerset.
A perfect symbol of what is arguably the greatest single political madness engulfing Britain today.
Although this 330ft monster will produce an income of £500,000 a year for the company that built it - nearly half of it in subsidies paid by all of us through higher electricity bills - the amount of power it contributes to our national grid will be so derisory as to scarcely register.
I know something about this turbine because I was the chairman of a group which was set up to campaign against it.
Big Shoes to Fill
Planet Gore on National Review Online
As a follow-up on my “Everything’s Bigger in Texas” post, here is a petition from Environment Texas, the group calling for 30-mile-by-30-mile solar plants in west Texas that they say will power the entire state. Here is the text of the email linking to the petition:
...
For those not familiar with just how big Texas is — and how big its growing energy needs are: according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas: (1) Texas’ energy demand is expected to grow 1.8 percent per year for the next decade; (2) Texas’ population of 24.3 million is expected to grow to 29.7 million by 2020 and 40.1 million by 2040. As of January 2008, the year-to-date contributions of coal, natural gas, and nuclear power to our nation’s total energy generation were 50.3 percent, 19.8 percent, and 19.5 percent, respectively. And wind and solar are supposed to bear that whole load?
According to the Energy Information Administration, for YTD through January 2008, wind energy provided just 1 percent of our nation’s energy needs (The figure for YTD through January 2007 was just under 0.7 percent.). And solar, well, you can do the math: Out of the 363,268 units of energy generated in 2007 (measured in 1,000 mWh), solar thermal and photovoltaic energy did their part by producing 15 units. Yep, wind and solar are well on their way to meeting all of our needs.
Is your ATM really a "global warming crime scene"?
The Understory » Bringing the Climate Fight to King Coal’s Communities in North Carolina
Activists from around North Carolina have come together in Charlotte to take citizen action against Bank of America in their own company town. To highlight the socio-economic abuses perpetrated by the bank against the communities and ecosystems of Appalachia, several ATMs and bank branches have been shut down, roped off and declared “global warming crime scenes.”
Should you be getting your climate "reality checks" from the Prince of Wales?
Fueling Station | tampabay.com - St. Petersburg Times and tbt*
* His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, provided a useful reality check at lunchtime, albeit in a pre-recorded video, which the Prince described as a "virtual, virtuous low carbon" appearance.Note that this is the same Prince of Wales who toured the Caribbean on a 246-foot yacht a few months ago...
He praised Crist for his "courageous determination" to get things moving in Florida. Even so, not enough was being done to combat global warming. The Prince dedicated his presentation to highlighting the impact of deforestation on greenhouse gas emissions. He described the world's forests as "giant global utilities" which store carbon and act as "a natural thermostat" for the planet.
In the last 50 years he said we have lost 50 per cent of the world's rain forest, "and the destruction goes on relentlessly," he said.
"We are destroying our planet's air-conditioning system," he added. The Prince said that time was running out. "There is just the smallest window left to stop catastrophic climate change."
Tropical oceans expose riddle over global-warming equation
AFP: Tropical oceans expose riddle over global-warming equation
This unexpected discovery implies that the mathematical model for
calculating the various sources of global warming could be flawed,
although global warming itself is not being contested, one of its
authors said.
"A Better Way Than Cap and Trade"
Bjorn Lomborg - A Better Way Than Cap and Trade - washingtonpost.com
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), a co-sponsor of the bill, has called it "the world's most far-reaching program to fight global warming." It is indeed policy on a grand scale. It would slow American economic growth by trillions of dollars over the next half-century. But in terms of temperature, the result will be negligible if China and India don't also commit to reducing their emissions, and it will be only slightly more significant if they do. By itself, Lieberman-Warner would postpone the temperature increase projected for 2050 by about two years.
Politicians favor the cap-and-trade system because it is an indirect tax that disguises the true costs of reducing carbon emissions. It also gives lawmakers an opportunity to control the number and distribution of emissions allowances, and the flow of billions of dollars of subsidies and sweeteners.
Many people believe that everyone has a moral obligation to ask how we can best combat climate change. Attempts to curb carbon emissions along the lines of the bill now pending are a poor answer compared with other options.
Consider that today, solar panels are one-tenth as efficient as the cheapest fossil fuels. Only the very wealthy can afford them. Many "green" approaches do little more than make rich people feel they are helping the planet. We can't avoid climate change by forcing a few more inefficient solar panels onto rooftops.
"if I have to cough up or do without, I’d like to see some bloody results."
THE MIDNIGHT SUN » Blog Archive » Brace yourself for the real price of climate change
I’d much rather a government be flipping around and remaining undecided on the issue of screwing the public over than one that has its mind firmly set on screwing us over in the name of junk science and ideology. Amidst all this are these morons putting down any milestones or measurements, you know, those things that you’re supposed to use to see if some half-baked policy of yours is actually working? I know about the targets of cutting emissions by X, I’m talking about the goal. Cutting emissions, feeling fuzzy, dancing around in Bali and reducing your carbon assprint is not the goal.
The goal is supposed to be stopping climate change, or stop the globe from warming isn’t it. Is the sea level around Australia going to drop, is it going to get colder, will we get more rain, will the hurricanes go away? Will it start snowing up near the equator, will the drought end, no more winter or summer, what and when! They aren’t screwing us over for the sake of it are they. And if these milestones or whatever aren’t going to be met, then what, will we scrap the trading scheme or will we just have to keep coughing up?
How realistic is the "carbon revolution"?
How realistic is the "carbon revolution"? « 3E Intelligence
One of the most fascinating finds of the study is that the world sustainable level of per-capita emissions lies at 2.2 tonnes CO2e per year (or 6 kg of CO2e per day). Currently per-capita emissions in the EU-27 are at 9.6 tonnes (US 21.5 tonnes). This daily “emission budget” (which we need to reach if we want to stick to “safe” levels according to McKinsey) would mean we would have to choose between the following alternatives: doing a 20-40 km car ride, 10-20 hours air conditioning, buying two new T-shirts (not including the drive to the shop) or eating 2 meals a day. Challenging enough for you?
So how'd you decide which scientists to ignore?
The McCain Effect :: The Memphis Flyer :: Politics Feature :: Politics
In his remarks at the University Club, [Senator Bob] Corker focused on domestic policy issues. He said he backed "cap-and-trade" legislation that would ration carbon dioxide discharges by industry, assigning "allowances" that had value as securities — a means whereby government coffers could be replenished simultaneous with positive environmental action.
On the question of global warming, he said, "I choose not to debate with scientists."
British Columbia: The carbon tax is economic folly
The carbon tax is economic folly
The purpose of the carbon tax to take effect on Tuesday is to change consumption patterns. It imposes penalties on consumers who choose to heat their homes, drive their cars or turn on their lights. Few consumers have the disposable income to convert to solar heating, buy hybrid vehicles or adopt other expensive technologies touted by the eco-lobby.
"McCain is a moron"
GREENIE WATCH
Just HOW is he going to cut CO2 emissions drastically without sacrificing economic growth?? The only way of getting any movement at all would be to replace all the coal-fired plants with nuclear and that is going to cost a hell of a lot more than pocket change -- particularly considering the huge costs that Greenie regulations impose. Such costs would amount to a huge burden on the economy. McCain is obviously talking through his anus
$IR NI¢HOLA$ $T£RN
Climate Resistance: $IR NI¢HOLA$ $T£RN
He's no fool, Sir Nick. This gives the lie to the claims that environmentalism is the continuation of anti-capitalism - there is clearly room for capitalists at the fair-trade, organic, global warming beano.
Just shouting about hypocrisy gets nothing done, and doesn't change anything. But how does this happen? Why isn't Stern embarrassed about this? Why don't we see an equivalent to Exxonsecrets.org, showing the monied interests buzzing around the global warming issue? Why is it that this kind of barefaced conflict of interests is largely overlooked, while people like James Hansen call for oil company executives to face trials for 'high crimes against nature and humanity', allegedly for distorting the public perception of climate change for profit?
What this shows is that 'the ethics of climate change' allow for financial and political interests to be overlooked for the 'greater good'. The fact that Stern has been instrumental in creating the idea of mitigation serving that greater good must, by the very standards demanded by the environmental movement, surely raise questions about his profiting from it. Yet don't expect outrage, because, as we have seen before, the ethics of climate change only apply one way. To challenge Sir Nicholas's apparent profiting from his report would be to undermine the very foundations of so many environmentalists' arguments. For example, one of our favourites, Sir Bob May, former president of the Royal Society, in his review of the Stern Report and George Monbiot's Heat, cites Stern as an authority on 'the facts' which we are expected to 'respect'.
Wind turbines are 'unreliable and will cost each home £4,000' claims think-tank
Wind turbines are 'unreliable and will cost each home £4,000' claims think-tank | Mail Online
The Government's plan to build thousands of new wind turbines across Britain is misguided, doomed to failure and will cost every household at least £4,000, a new report claims.
Rather than trying to solve the UK's energy crisis by investing in wind power, ministers should focus on tidal energy, clean coal and nuclear power, it says.
Obama's Corn Fake
IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Obama's Corn Fake
Energy: If Obama wants energy independence through alternative fuels, why doesn't he back imported sugar-based ethanol? This old-style politician knows it isn't grown in the Midwest and Brazil has no electoral votes.
Goklany: An Irrelevant Europe - Best for the World?
Cato-at-liberty » An Irrelevant Europe - Best for the World?
It has abandoned scientific inquiry, relying instead on mantras such as the “science is settled.” Having abandoned science, it now relies on superstition, manifested in the notion of a global-warming-triggered apocalypse of Biblical proportions if average temperatures exceeds 2 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels — an apocalypse complete with death, disease, pestilence, droughts, famines and floods. Not only is there no evidence for this, this superstition persists despite the current reality that more Europeans die in winter than in summer, Europe’s long history of misery and want during cold periods and plenty during warm eras, and that even as media coverage of extreme weather events becomes more compelling and ubiquitous, globally the deaths and death rates from such events are in long term decline. If Europe had spent a fraction of the resources in adapting to climate change as it did on complying with the futile, but politically-correct Kyoto Protocol, it might have reduced by thousands the death toll of its 2003 heat wave.
Europe is now on the verge of abandoning the quest for technological progress, preferring instead to be ruled by the so-called precautionary principle which, as applied by Europe, actually increases human misery and death. It does this by discouraging, if not vetoing, new and safer technologies that could displace older and less safe technologies on the grounds that “safer” is not good enough — it has to be absolutely safe.
The precautionary principle was used to justify relinquishing its use of DDT, which was easy, because Europe had already conquered malaria...
Radical Environmentalism: The “Imperfect Storm”
The Reality Check » Blog Archive » Radical Environmentalism: The “Imperfect Storm”
In other words, any reliable computer model or prediction has yet to be achieved, despite all of the emotion and money thrown into the effort. Indeed, the only grim expectation that has been consistently met is that with the passing of each warm season, each cool season, each dry season, and each wet season, entrenched governmental bureaucrats and shameless political opportunists will seek to exploit the earth’s natural ebb and flow as a means of scaring the public into further subservience.
Scientists update HIV/AIDS history
The Reality Hammer Blog
Poor AIDS. It never achieved "pandemic" proportions, never received unlimited taxpayer funding and is now being shoved aside in favor of the global warming carnival.
A guy whose wife works at GISS weighs in
Global Warming: Top Scientist Tells Us We have Just One Year Left to Act | culturekitchen
Global warming is hitting us already. It is no coincidence that some of the biggest storms and an unexpected number of storms are hitting us now. Nor are food shortages coincidence...nor are they caused primarily by biofuels. Extreme weather, an expected part of global warming, is hitting us hard, damaging crops around the world. Crops are established based on a particular climate. That climate has changed and it will take time for agriculture to adapt and infrastructure to be put into place. Time and money.
Global warming isn't our future. It is our now.
I have covered how the more optimistic scientists think we have 10 years (now more like 8) to deal with global warming before we are hit with the full brunt of it. Essentially that means we have that period to mitigate the eventual effects. Keep in mind that there will be some delay before the worst happens. That relative optimism is fading. Now even some of the most optimistic scietists are realizing that the models were wrong. Global warming is hitting harder and faster than predicted. Things are WORSE than the models predicted. Jim Hansen, possibly the top global warming scientist and the head of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Sciences (where my wife works), has revised the estimate of how long we have to act to mitigate global warming down to one year. This is our last chance right now. Time has run out to act.
...
[A note and warning to global warming deniers: I am done with you. The scientific evidence is overwhelming, clearly stated by every credible climatologist, and the consequences are too important for dithering denial anymore. I am done with global warming deniers and will delete all but unusually intelligent comments from deniers. We don't have time for your BS anymore.]
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Why McCain Is Losing
Open Left:: Why McCain Is Losing
...My second reaction was that this ad is a perfect example of why John McCain will lose this election.
The ad, like much of McCain's messaging lately, focuses on energy independence, global warming, and standing up to other Republicans. Not to be too much of a concern troll, but there is simply no way that a Republican can win a campaign with this message. It is the exact same thing that caused Democrats to lose elections for the past two decades: McCain is admitting that the opposing party is right. Not only will this anger McCain's base, but when even the Republican nominee for President admits that Democrats are right on global warming, odds are that people will just vote for actual Democrats instead of the Republicans who are trying to act like Democrats.
Writer says fears of global warming unfounded
Writer says fears of global warming unfounded
REGINA -- Mother earth "is doing wonderfully,'' despite alarmist reports about global warming and unfounded warnings about pending environmental catastrophes, a Regina audience was told Wednesday.
Lawrence Solomon, an author and newspaper columnist who has long been involved in environmental issues and organizations, said there is no scientific proof global warming is caused by the burning of carbon-based fuels.
Speaking to an audience of about 50, at a lunch organized by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, Solomon readily conceded there has been a trend toward global warming, at least in the last century or two.
But there is no scientific consensus that global warming has been caused by industrialization or by the burning of carbon-based fuels, said Solomon, who is the authour of the book "The Deniers,'' that deals with global warning related issues..
International expedition discovers gigantic volcanic eruption in the Arctic Ocean
Fire under the ice
An international team of researchers was able to provide evidence of explosive volcanism in the deeps of the ice-covered Arctic Ocean for the first time. Researchers from an expedition to the Gakkel Ridge, led by the American Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), report in the current issue of the journal Nature that they discovered, with a specially developed camera, extensive layers of volcanic ash on the seafloor, which indicates a gigantic volcanic eruption.I wonder how much heat was released.
Batty
the scotto bloggo: Batty
I'm confused.
The Glens Falls Post-Star reports today that wildlife experts are stumped as to why thousands of bats died over the winter.
I thought this issue was settled.
In March, the Albany Times-Union ran the headline Bat deaths linked to climate change. The story quoted one state pathologist who said that global warming -- read that as "man-made global warming" -- was causing bats to go into hibernation later, after the number of bugs to fatten up on for the winter had peaked, leaving them to starve to death.
We must all learn the new catechism of the green religion
We must all learn the new catechism of the green religion… « IAIN HALL
...Not only that but we are expected to believe that the “compensation” scheme for business and the less well off will be fair. Frankly I think that the whole carbon trading scheme is just a bullshit scam to raise taxes and even if the AGW warmenists were correct (for which there is not any substantial evidence) the efforts in this little (in global energy consumption terms) nation is totally dwarfed by the nations of India and China and they show no signs of changing their ways at all. Even if the bishop were to double what is proposed above and completely cripple our economy there would still be no effect on the climate as a result of all of our pain.
Sadly the Bishops acolytes will help him spin up a storm and suggest that any sinners who complain about shivering in the dark because they can’t pay the increased energy bills are just not pious enough, and that we should instead bathe in the lovely warm inner glow that comes from true belief, while our children freeze in the cold.
Cheers Comrades
"These people are getting out of control."
Madison Wisconsin may ban Drive-Throughs at Restaurants to Fight Global Warming « Wake Up America
These people are getting out of control. Who would have ever thought that in the United States of America the government would decide that people can’t sit in their cars while the cars are idling?
I know I sound like a broken record on this, but think about what all of the supposed remedies for global warming include, either more taxes or less freedom. Or both. Americans need to say enough is enough, otherwise it will be ban this and tax that until we have no money left and no freedoms to spend that money on anyway. We will just be good little subjects.
The Times: New Ice Age is On The Way [1972]
Jennifer Marohasy: The Times: New Ice Age is On The Way
'Climate: New ice age is on the way.' That was a headline from The Times newspaper on 21st October 1972.
On 23rd March 1970 the headline read: 'Antarctic may be key to ice ages.' According to Dr A T Wilson of Wellington University, New Zealand, the Antarctic may once again be approaching the point of instability at which an ice age is triggered off.
UK's Looming Energy Gap Suffers 'Wind Chill'
Jennifer Marohasy: UK's Looming Energy Gap Suffers 'Wind Chill'
I've often thought that maybe the Kyoto Protocol could have been more aptly named the 'Don Quixote Protocol.' Why? Because 'Kyoto' sounds like 'Quixote' and, in the novel by Miguel de Cervantes, Quixote fought an imaginary enemy of giants that turned out to be windmills. Today, our imaginary enemy is 'big warming' driven by CO2 conjured up in computer models. One of the consequences of fighting this phantom menace is the UK's looming energy gap. Instead of windmills, we have wind turbines. This brings me to a new report by the Centre for Policy Studies entitled: 'Wind Chill'...
Lomborg: Kyoto Would Save Only One Polar Bear a Year
Climate Expert: Kyoto Would Save Only One Polar Bear a Year
“My point is simply: if we actually care about the polar bear, why is that we are so intent on only discussing one option – that is cutting carbon emissions?” Lomborg said. “Nobody ever talks about what would be the effect of cutting carbon emissions. Well, let me show you – if everybody did the Kyoto Protocol all the way through the century, which is very, very far away, but if everybody actually did that, we’d save one polar bear every year.”
Lomborg said he was all for saving that one polar bear a year, but questioned the costs. He estimated the worldwide annual cost of the Kyoto Protocol to be $180 billion. Kyoto is a treaty supported by Gore and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He proposed a simpler solution:
“It strikes me as odd, that in this conversation, nobody seems to mention the fact that every year, we shoot somewhere between 300 and 500 polar bear,” Lomborg said. “Wouldn’t it be smarter to first stop shooting the polar bear?”
“Why is it we care about polar bears in the least effective way and the most costly way, rather than dealing with the issue where we would do a lot of good?” Lomborg added.
Brazil: Lack of global warming a problem for winter wheat and winter corn crops
Your Spot for Futures Trading, Commodities Info, Ag News, Successful Farming Tips & More
Cold weather slows vegetative growth of winter wheat in southern Brazil, while raising concern for possible freeze damage to winter corn.
The Most Politically Correct Show on Earth: Democrats Gear Up for Denver
The Greenest Show on Earth: Democrats Gear Up for Denver - WSJ.com
To police the four-day event Aug. 25-28, she's assembling (via paperless online signup) a trash brigade. Decked out in green shirts, 900 volunteers will hover at waste-disposal stations to make sure delegates put each scrap of trash in the proper bin. Lest a fork slip into the wrong container unnoticed, volunteers will paw through every bag before it is hauled away.
"That's the only way to make sure it's pure," Ms. Robinson says.
Republicans are pushing conservation, too, as they gear up for their convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Like the Democrats, they're cutting down on printing by doing as much work as possible by email; using recycled office furniture; and urging employees to walk or take public transportation to work. The Republicans also encourage vendors to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
But Matt Burns, a spokesman for the Republican convention, looks on with undisguised glee at some of the Democrats' efforts -- such as the "lean 'n' green" catering guidelines.
Among them: No fried food. And, on the theory that nutritious food is more vibrant, each meal should include "at least three of the following colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white." (Garnishes don't count.) At least 70% of ingredients should be organic or grown locally, to minimize emissions from fuel burned during transportation. "One would think," says Mr. Burns, "that the Democrats in Denver have bigger fish to bake -- they have ruled out frying already -- than mandating color-coordinated pretzel platters."
Democrats say the point is to build habits that will endure long after the convention. To that end, the city has staged "greening workshops" attended by hundreds of caterers, restaurant owners and hotel managers. "It's the new patriotism," Mayor Hickenlooper says.
THE HOT WATER BOTTLE EFFECT
CO2sceptics News Blog | THE HOT WATER BOTTLE EFFECT
The sun is the primary temperature driver and warms the oceans in which huge quantities of heat are stored and released into the atmosphere over long multi decadal periods of time usually operating via the oscillations in each ocean. Those oscillations sometimes work together and sometimes offset one another until any time lags are worked through. Additionally at different times they can work with or against the primary solar driver. Each oceanic oscillation has a warming and a cooling mode and they regularly switch between them.
Apocalypse delayed
Apocalypse delayed | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog
Samuel’s Blog discovers that if you’re a global warming believer in Melbourne or Sydney, it sure isn’t because you’re unusually warm these days. In fact, checking the hottest recorded day for each month in both cities, he finds not a single record set since 1983.
Ok, but is God CO2-phobic?
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's second climate change summit seeks solutions -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
The director of Florida International University's Center for the Study of Spirituality will lead a discussion on "Preserving God's Creation," featuring a rabbi, a Roman Catholic bishop and the head of the Evangelical Environmental Network.
"We may not agree on abortion, climate change or fighting terrorism, but we can all agree, whoever God is, he or she would want us to cherish his or her creation," said FIU's Nathan Katz.
Pournelle on McCain's battery prize
Current View
The neat thing about prizes is that we spend no money unless someone wins. Now surely it would be worth far more than $300 million to have any capitalist have the battery technology McCain describes. Indeed it would be worth far more, and the only real criticism of the McCain prize might be that it wasn't large enough. On the other hand, how does it harm us to have the $300 million offered? This is a very good move on McCain's part, and makes me a lot happier to support him than I was. It makes him something more than the lesser evil...
Keeping the lights on
Keeping the lights on - Examiner.com
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The prospect of having to endure rolling brownouts in addition to the Washington region’s already legendary traffic jams would make even Pollyanna reach for the Prozac. But that could happen in just three years unless state politicians and regulators on both sides of the Potomac approve more transmission lines to handle the Washington region’s ever-increasing thirst for electricity.
Both power-line and traffic gridlock have the same root cause: an inexplicable unwillingness to add the capacity needed to accommodate demand by current residents, plus the tens of thousands of newcomers who are expected to move to the Washington area in the next two decades with their iPhones, computers and hybrid cars.
Farmers under attack - lobbyist - New Zealand
Farmers under attack - lobbyist - New Zealand rural news on Stuff.co.nz
Dairy farmers were being held responsible for greenhouse gas emissions that they could do little about without reducing food production, he said.
"What do these people really want? Apart from re-election," said Mr Brenmuhl, a Canterbury nut-farmer who has owned a dairy farm on the West Coast for 25 years.
"This election is about personal freedom, it is about the right of families to choose how they raise their children," he said.
"It is about the right of farmers to continue to produce food for the world and revenue for this nation".
Mr Brenmuhl -- a longterm critic of some Kyoto policies -- has previously said climate change proposals are a deliberate targeting of the machinery of the state against a minority group: farmers.
More Than 100 Organizations, Experts Sign Up to Debate Consumer Topics, Hot Issues Online at Opposing Views
More Than 100 Organizations, Experts Sign Up to Debate Consumer Topics, Hot Issues Online at Opposing Views
www.opposingviews.com - More than 100 well known organizations and leading experts have signed up to debate consumer issues at Opposing Views, a media company launching this summer.
The National Rifle Association (NRA), PETA, Amnesty International, Sierra Club, National Abortion Federation, CODEPINK and Focus on the Family are among the organizations poised to respond to hot topics.
Opposing Views will pose questions such as "Would Allowing Students to Carry Weapons Make College Campuses Safer?" and "Is Global Warming a Crisis?" and the experts will supply their side of the argument and engage one another, allowing consumers to view all sides of issues they care about.
What's this post doing on uber-alarmist DeSmogBlog?
Could Nature Be Planning a Sudden 'Surprise Party'? | DeSmogBlog
So are we no longer supposed to believe that a .6C degree rise over 100 years proves that humans are dangerously warming the planet?The Northern Hemisphere briefly emerged from the last ice age some 14,700 years ago with a 22-degree-Fahrenheit spike in just 50 years, then plunged back into icy conditions before abruptly warming again about 11,700 years ago. Massive "reorganizations" of atmospheric circulation coincided with each temperature spurt, with each reorganization taking just one or two years, according to a new study.
Are we no longer supposed to believe that animals and plants can't handle abrupt climate change?
Are we no longer supposed to believe that we can somehow "stop" climate change by trying to lower the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
Save the World--DRILL NOW!
Save the World--DRILL NOW! by Brooks Mick
2) We should develop alternative energy sources. To which the proper answer is IF YOU THINK IT WILL TAKE A FEW YEARS TO GET OIL FROM THE CONTINENTAL SHELF, HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT WILL TAKE TO DEVELOP SOURCES WE HAVEN'T EVEN INVENTED YET? BUT HEY, LET'S GET STARTED! Just don't stop drilling while we look for alternatives.
Heating a fuel tax is explosive politics
Heating a fuel tax is explosive politics | The Australian
In any contest between morality and money, however, money usually wins. This is underscored by the findings of a joint government and industry survey in Britain last month, which confirmed that for the public, worrying about climate change was one thing, but paying to do something about it was something else. The snapshot of attitudes for the Energy Saving Trust found 80 per cent of the public believed climate change was having an impact, but few were doing anything about it. Most people were not willing to forgo a foreign holiday or plasma television to help. And government measures such as new taxes, congestion charges and carbon rationing were considered to be less socially acceptable than banning smoking in public or same-sex marriages. Only 5 per cent of the 1192 people surveyed thought setting a personal pollution limit was a good idea. It is not difficult to imagine what result the Opposition would get in Australia if it polled motorists on whether they favoured a new 10c, 20c or 30c a litre tax on petrol.
Yet another huge meeting about the alleged dangers of trace amounts of a natural atmospheric gas
Crist: Florida can lead way in green technology | news-press.com | The News-Press
MIAMI — The Florida Summit on Global Climate Change, a pet project of Gov. Charlie Crist, gets under way this morning, with speeches and panels scheduled on a host of climate-related issues today and tomorrow at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami.
The conference begins later this morning with a speech by Crist.
About 1,000 people have registered for the event, along with about 160 media from across the country.
...
Along with the conference itself, the hotel's cavernous lobbies are filled with exhibitors staffing booths from energy-related businesses, and environmental groups.
Global warming fails to register on Europeans' list of two most important issues facing their own country
From page 13 here (click to enlarge):
Some background information from a related link here:
Some background information from a related link here:
June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Inflation has surpassed unemployment as the top concern among European citizens, whose confidence in the outlook for their national economies plunged in early 2008, according to a survey released by the European Commission.
The poll of more than 30,000 people across Europe ``shows an important shift downward in the confidence Europeans place in their national economy,'' the commission, the EU executive in Brussels, said in a statement today. ``EU citizens now consider inflation as the most important issue in their country.''
Two posts from Instapundit
Instapundit.com -
ENVIRONMENTAL CLASSISM: "Why did Congress stop offshore oil drilling while allowing coal mining in Appalachia?"
Instapundit.com -
BECAUSE IT'S NOT LIKE WE NEED ANY NEW OIL SUPPLIES: Obama vs. the Canadian Oil Sands.
ENVIRONMENTAL CLASSISM: "Why did Congress stop offshore oil drilling while allowing coal mining in Appalachia?"
Instapundit.com -
BECAUSE IT'S NOT LIKE WE NEED ANY NEW OIL SUPPLIES: Obama vs. the Canadian Oil Sands.
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