The Price Of Green Dreams: Energy Woes Will Hobble Europe For 20 Years

The Price Of Green Dreams: Energy Woes Will Hobble Europe For 20 Years | The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF): "One of biggest stories of this decade is the steady erosion of the global green movement, which has almost entirely been driven by the incoherence of green policy proposals and the serial failure of signature policies. Yet the response of the mainstream green movement to critics who point these facts out is “Shut up, you evil science deniers.”"

On thin ice — the politics of snow removal

On thin ice — the politics of snow removal: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg were in hot water after a snowstorm slammed the East Coast while both were out of their home states vacationing in warmer climates.
Bloomberg was in Bermuda and Christie was with his family at Disney World."

Godly Denialists Won't Be Raptured from Climate Hell | OpEdNews

Article: Godly Denialists Won't Be Raptured from Climate Hell | OpEdNews: "Just as certain biblically oriented minds perceive in Sherman's March God's horrifying punishment for slavery's inhuman sin, I hope they'll come to see in potentially cataclysmic weather God's equally frightful punishment for the arrogant, heedless sin of climate-change denial. For in global warming, the prophecy of the world ending by fire may strangely be fulfilled. But on the way to humanity-ending climate Armageddon, the suffering and death toll from chaotic, unanticipated extreme weather (as previewed in miniature in Atlanta) will prove almost unthinkable. And who among climate-change deniers--or among any of us--is so righteous as to arrogantly presume we'll be raptured away from the rapidly approaching armies of climate Apocalypse? Now marching our roads in double-time. "

Waxman poetic: Climate hawk leaves an impressive ‘stache of green achievements | Grist

Waxman poetic: Climate hawk leaves an impressive ‘stache of green achievements | Grist: "Like a mustachioed white knight from a fairy tale, Waxman rode in and rescued Mother Earth from the clutch of Dingell’s gnarled, choking fingers."

Europe To Lose A Third Of Its Global Market Share Of Manufacturing Exports, IEA Warns | The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF)

Europe To Lose A Third Of Its Global Market Share Of Manufacturing Exports, IEA Warns | The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF): "High gas and electricity prices will continue to plague Europe for at least 20 years, damaging the competitiveness of industries that employ almost 30m people, the world’s leading energy forecaster has warned."

EU climate targets under fire : Nature News & Comment

EU climate targets under fire : Nature News & Comment: "“The science shows that a renewable energy target would go a long way in creating jobs and economic growth in Europe without increasing the costs of the energy system,” says Jacopo Moccia, a policy director at the European Wind Energy Association in Brussels...“Back in 2008, climate change was a top-priority issue among world leaders,” says Harms. “Six years on, it feels as if political elites are suffering the climate debate rather than engaging in it.”"

Propane Shortage Is A Side Effect Of Obstructing Energy Infrastructure Like Keystone Pipeline | Say Anything

Propane Shortage Is A Side Effect Of Obstructing Energy Infrastructure Like Keystone Pipeline | Say Anything: "The Keystone XL pipeline alone could take 100,000 barrels of oil per day out of the North Dakota oil fields, a little more than 10% of current production. That’s a lot of trucks off the highways, and rail cars off the tracks. The Keystone pipeline, along with other infrastructure projects like the Sandpiper line (which is facing political opposition in Minnesota) could take pressure off of rails and roads which, in turn, would help alleviate the region’s propane shortage and passenger rail service delays.

But it’s not happening. Because President Obama would rather cater to a small but vocal minority of environmental activists."

Tax funded namecallers? Clive Hamilton, The Conversation are the same: beyond reason « JoNova

Tax funded namecallers? Clive Hamilton, The Conversation are the same: beyond reason « JoNova: "What we need is a mature national discussion. But what The Conversation (and the Business Spectator) gives us is logic-according-to-Clive, which is a black and white world where complex debates are reduced to yes or no answers and there are no shades of gray. How much will our climate warm? Clive says “Yes”.

Clive Hamilton is an Australian “intellectual” a Professor of Public Ethics and holds the Vice-Chancellor’s Chair at Charles Sturt University, and is a former candidate for The Australian Greens."

US Vs. Europe: The New Energy Battle Heats Up | The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF)

US Vs. Europe: The New Energy Battle Heats Up | The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF): "A senior European official has warned that without a change in energy policies at both the European and national levels, “we will lose our energy intensive industries — and we will lose our economy long term.”"

Procrastinating About The Global Warming ‘Pause’ | The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF)

Procrastinating About The Global Warming ‘Pause’ | The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF): "The world is entering the 17th year of the greatest climate science embarrassment in modern history — the pause in global warming. “Because intellectuals are densely networked in self-selecting groups whose members’ prestige is linked, we incubate endless, self-serving elite superstitions, with baleful effects.”"

Bitter cold places January on par with 3 decades ago | The Journal Gazette

[Indiana] Bitter cold places January on par with 3 decades ago | The Journal Gazette: "“Many of the coldest Januaries on record occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, including 1977, 1978 and 1979,” Call said. “Anyone over 35 has experienced weather like this before – just not recently.”"

20007: Former Inuit Circumpolar Leader Sheila Watt-Cloutier Just Misses Nobel Peace Award for her Work on Climate Change

Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada) - Former Inuit Circumpolar Leader Sheila Watt-Cloutier Just Misses Nobel Peace Award for her Work on Climate Change: "Anchorage, October 12, 2007 The former Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), Sheila Watt-Cloutier, jointly nominated for her work on climate change with Al Gore just missed winning the award earlier today. Although it was widely speculated that Ms. Watt-Cloutier might share the award with Mr. Gore, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, gave the award instead to both Mr. Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)."

OP-ED: Does anyone still believe Al Gore?

OP-ED: Does anyone still believe Al Gore?: "Al Gore, Tom Steyer and Google have all figured out how to exploit environmentalism for power and money, and they’re not alone. Plenty of companies and individuals have figured out ways who manipulate the public’s legitimate concern for the environment to make a quick buck, improve public perception, increase market share and lure lawmakers into passing legislation that benefits them."

More from James Powell, who could find only one dissenting paper last year

Startling Number of Scientific Papers Disputed Human-Caused Global Warming Last Year - weather.com: "If there really is solid, peer-reviewed scientific literature that proves human-caused fossil fuel emissions aren't the chief cause behind the global warming we've experienced over the past several decades, Powell says it's nearly impossible to find.

"If I knew sitting here talking to you, of some really significant piece of evidence that shows that global warming is wrong, I would rush out and write a paper and send that to a journal," Powell said.

"They would no doubt publish that paper and I would become famous," he added. "And I’d have my assistant talking to you, because I’d be too busy receiving accolades.""

Cool it … | Pointman's

Cool it … | Pointman's: "The work the two Macs did on deconstructing Mann’s hockey stick paper gave a whole new meaning to the words forensic science. When any scientist in any field does everything in their power to prevent replication of their research, the inescapable conclusion to be drawn is that they’re up to no good."

A Carbon Tax Would Be Better Than the EU's Vacuum Ban - Economic Intelligence (usnews.com)

A Carbon Tax Would Be Better Than the EU's Vacuum Ban - Economic Intelligence (usnews.com): "Starting in September, the European Union will ban vacuum cleaners using more than 1,600 watts of power, with the limit slated to be lowered to 900 watts by 2017. This ban won't just affect a handful of the worst offenders. According to the European Commission, the average vacuum cleaner sold today uses 1,800 watts.

Intended largely to reduce carbon emissions, the vacuum cleaner ban joins numerous other regulations throughout the world that severely restrict consumers' choices. Want an incandescent light bulb? Too bad – they're banned. How about a gas guzzling car? Sorry – they're being squeezed out by tighter fuel economy standards."

Latest European climate targets may never be met - environment - 22 January 2014 - New Scientist

Latest European climate targets may never be met - environment - 22 January 2014 - New Scientist: "European energy policy is in disarray because of concern that high prices are choking off economic recovery. As a result, countries would not accept national targets for renewables. Countries like Poland are keen to stick with burning domestic coal. Others, most notably the UK, want to follow the US path: exploiting what they hope will be cheap shale gas reserves. The UK also wants a nuclear option.

In Germany, Europe's largest economy, CO2 emissions have begun rising again: coal burning hit a record high last year, nuclear power plants are shut and expansion of renewables has stalled at 17 per cent. Last week, its energy minister announced plans to cut subsidies for renewables by a third."

Another fiasco in Antarctica: $12M ice drilling project fails when hose freezes and fossil fuel runs short

Polar drilling problems revealed : Nature News & Comment: "A specially developed hot-water drilling technique, devised by engineers at the British Antarctic Survey, was designed to minimize air and water pollution...Water also leaked into the cavity drill and froze the hose in the drill hole. Attempts to remove the hose failed, so it had to be cut. At that point, and with not enough fuel left to reach the lake, Siegert gave up."

Antarctic field trip a factor in ship becoming trapped in sea ice on Christmas Eve

Antarctic field trip a factor in ship becoming trapped in sea ice on Christmas Eve: "A passenger standing near Professor Turney overheard the voyage leader, Greg Mortimer, telling him over the radio to bring passengers back to the ship so it can leave.

But minutes later, Professor Turney drove six more passengers into the field.

The overloaded vehicle had no space to collect returning passengers."

Miss Global Warming Yet? If Not, Just Wait And You Might - Forbes

Miss Global Warming Yet? If Not, Just Wait And You Might - Forbes: "Shortened, less reliable growing seasons in Europe brought on the Great Famine of 1315-1317. Norse colonies which had settled in a formerly warmer Greenland starved and vanished by the early fifteenth century as crops failed and livestock froze.

 During the mid-seventeenth century encroaching glaciers destroyed farms and villages in the Swiss Alps. Sea ice surrounding Iceland closed harbors to shipping. Boxed in and experiencing cereal crop farming failures, Iceland’s population fell by half.

In the late seventeenth century agriculture dropped off so dramatically that Alpine villagers lived on breads made from ground nutshells mixed with barley and oat flour. Famines claimed about ten percent of the people in France, Norway and Sweden, about one-fifth of those in Estonia, and one-third in Finland during the late 1600s."

Europe Divides Over More Ambitious Pollution Limits - Bloomberg

Europe Divides Over More Ambitious Pollution Limits - Bloomberg: "“Voices calling for a target of less than 40 percent in Europe want to expose the EU to volatile global fossil fuel prices, risking higher bills,” U.K. Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Davey said."

What happens during a “Little Ice Age?

What happens during a “Little Ice Age?: "Food-producing land becomes scarcer, food-growing seasons become shorter, and the world becomes a much more arid and less hospitable place. Think food shortages and the social unrest that follows."

£10M Of Funding For Tyndall Centre In Last Two Years | NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

£10M Of Funding For Tyndall Centre In Last Two Years | NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT: "It seems strange that the government should be using taxpayers’ money to enable the Tyndall Centre to lobby it about climate policy."

Ken Caldeira on scientists who "make poorly supported assertions in areas outside of their expertise"

Fresh Views on Climate Scientists as Advocates - NYTimes.com: "There is a disease wherein one develops expertise in one area and then feels free to pontificate on other areas about which one knows nothing. This is an affliction of many senior scientists, common even among Nobel Prize winners, and an affliction to which I have not been immune.

If someone is speaking with great confidence while uttering pure hogwash, this does tend to reduce confidence in the utterances of the scientist.

So, there is a cost to science and to our personal credibility when scientists make poorly supported assertions in areas outside of their expertise."

MITx course injects science into the global warming debate - MIT News Office

MITx course injects science into the global warming debate - MIT News Office: "Emanuel and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences also hope to change the dynamic around the study of climate change on the MIT campus. In part because the course is not a requirement, and in part because of the perception among students that climate-change study is mostly about politics and not hard science, the on-campus course has not seen the enrollment levels Emanuel would like to see. “Part of the problem is all the publicity of global warming has sent out a message that global warming is highly politicized, and has nothing to do with science,” he says. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”"