Four degrees and a whole new world - Cape Argus | IOL.co.za

Sceptics who question or deny human-induced global warming rightly point out that Earth’s climate has changed fundamentally, and changed many times, during the planet’s 4.5 billion-year existence.

However, they tend to gloss over the fact that Homo sapiens, as a species, evolved less than half a million years ago and that fully modern humans like ourselves only emerged during the last 200 000 years or less, in the proverbial blink of a geological eye. So our ability to experience, and survive, significant climate change has been limited.

...Although Earth’s temperatures vary from between a maximum of about 57°C to a lowest recorded minimum of –89.2°C, the average global temperature during the past century has been around a relatively balmy 14°C or so, ideal for life, but definitely getting warmer, which is bad news.

Obama’s Green Albatross

Stimulus spending on environmentalist policy is a green albatross around the neck of President Barack Obama. Inspector Generals are having a field day auditing stimulus-funded programs for so-called “green jobs,” and the media LOVES stories about wasted taxpayer money. What started as a sop to his environmentalist base, now threatens to become a slow-drip nightmare of negative press. The timing couldn’t be worse for the President. It takes time to spend scores of billions of dollars, so we are only now starting to scrutinize stimulus spending. By November 2012, we’ll know how most of the money for green jobs was spent, and unless the current trend changes radically, the Executive in Chief is going to look conspicuously incompetent.

Whoa: White House Pressured Solyndra to Postpone Layoffs Until After 2010 Elections - Guy Benson

The White House was probably hoping that Silver would be the symbolic fall guy in this costly misadventure, allowing them to conveniently cite his ouster as proof that any potential improprieties had been adequately dealt with.  I suspect that just isn't going to cut it any more.  Based on the Post's report, these political directives came from inside the White House; the question now becomes how high up the totem pole that decision-making process climbed.  Perhaps this is why the Obama Administration is so keen on depriving House investigators of internal emails and documents related to the president's failed green pet.  Energy Secretary Steven Chu's scheduled testimony before the House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee on Thursday is going to be epic.

Solar Panels: Now Coming to a Utility Pole Near You - Belleville, NJ Patch

In July 2009, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) granted approval to PSE&G for the power company to invest more than $500 million in 80,000 kilowatts of solar projects.

Report: 80% of DOE Green Energy Loans Went to Obama Backers

A new book by Hoover Institution fellow Peter Schweizer details the startling extent of the cronyism that has pervaded President Obama’s “green jobs” push. According to Schweizer, 4 out of every 5 renewable energy companies backed by the Energy Department was “run by or primarily owned by Obama financial backers.”