Citizens' assembly is dead, but climate issue remains

THE closest thing to a certainty arising from the morass of possibilities on climate change that flow from a hung parliament is this: Julia Gillard's citizens' assembly is dead.

While she was standing behind the idea yesterday, it has few supporters and has been widely mocked, including within the parliamentary Labor Party.

Al Fin: Wind Turbines Blow

Big turbines often incorporate rechargeable batteries or ultracapacitors to power their own electrical systems. When those get depleted, the power must come from the grid. This power goes into running equipment such as yaw mechanisms that keep the blades turned into the wind; blade-pitch controls that meter the spinning rotor; aircraft lights and data-collection electronics; oil heaters, pumps, and coolers for the multi-ton gearbox; and hydraulic brakes for locking blades down in high winds.

Turbines in northern climes also need blade heaters to prevent icing. Reports I’ve seen say these heaters can consume up to 20% of a turbine’s rated power output. Many big turbines also need dehumidifiers and heaters in their nacelles. And until recently, large turbines employed doubly-fed induction generators that bleed power from the grid to create their magnetic fields. (It should be said, though, that designs now on the drawing boards use permanent magnets instead.)

Prop. 23 gets local support: Measure would roll back 2006 global warming law

--Politicians from the Victor Valley's three largest municipalities are rallying in support of Prop. 23, a ballot initiative that would roll back a 2006 environmental law.

Joe Bastardi On Hurricanes: It’s Astounding How Quiet It’s Been – So Far

Joe compares 2010 with 1950, a year the hurricane season started off late, but then did so with a vengeance. It produced 8 major hurricanes in 6 weeks. He sees 2010 having very similar conditions, and so he predicts the same pattern as 1950.

Joe also explains his theory that with global warming, the tendency will be less tropical storm activity because there will be less of a need to redistribute heat and pressure to the higher latitudes. That’s what hurricanes do.

THE HOCKEY SCHTICK: Global Temperatures 1-2°C higher 6000 years ago

Huang et al published worldwide borehole data for the past 20,000 years since the peak of the last major ice age, which shows the "Holocene Climate Optimum" about 6000-7000 years ago was 1-2°C warmer than the present and the Medieval Warming Period ~1000 years ago. This worldwide borehole data as well as ice core data from both Greenland and Antarctica show that the rate and extent of 20th century warming was not unprecedented and that much warmer periods have occurred naturally.