State of the Sun for year end 2008: all’s quiet on the solar front - too quiet « Watts Up With That?

Looking at the SWPC graph below, it appears that we are in uncharted territory now, since the both the high and low cycle 24 predictions (in red) appear to be falsified for the current time frame. No new cycle 24 predictions have been issued by any solar group (that I am aware of ) in the last couple of months. The last time NASA made a change was in October 08. The question now seems to be, are we seeing the beginning of a cycle skip, or a grand minima? Or is this just an extraordinary delay for cycle 24 ?

Solar cycle 24: where are you?

Oregon looks at taxing mileage « Blowing Our Tax Dollars on Wind Farms

This is almost funny - The Greenies want electric and hybrid cars to get away from evil fossil fuels. Now the govt. in Oregon and many other states are going to tax drivers on the number on miles they drive instead of on the fuel.
60 mpg or 10 mpg - it won’t matter. Ha!

They say that as people change to other forms of fuel and drive vehicles with better fuel mileage the govt. will lose the tax on fuel which they use to maintain the roads and transit systems.

Greenie housing restrictions to take a hit in Britain

GORDON BROWN is preparing to sweep aside planning controls in villages and market towns to allow the biggest rural housebuilding programme for a generation.

Local authorities are to be controversially ordered to adopt a relaxed approach to the building of new homes in areas where planning permission has traditionally been refused.

The government has concluded that protecting the environment should no longer be the overriding consideration when decisions are made about whether to allow development in areas where locals are struggling to afford homes. [Via Greenie Watch]