Archives - September 2008 Here we go again: Cranking
up the volume: Sounds travel farther underwater as world's oceans become more acidic - It is common knowledge
that the world's oceans and atmosphere are warming as humans release more and more carbon dioxide into the Earth's
atmosphere. However, fewer people realize that the chemistry of the oceans is also changing—seawater is becoming
more acidic as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves in the oceans. According to a paper to be published
this week by marine chemists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, these changes in ocean temperature
and chemistry will have an unexpected side effect—sounds will travel farther underwater. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation funds research that 'finds a problem' -- there's a surprise... So,
what have we got this time? Atmospheric CO2 increase making oceans slightly less alkaline (thus, more
acidic) -- check. Significance of this to marine critters? Well, nothing much really since they've nearly all
evolved while atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were much higher and only about 10% of the last 250 million
years have seen levels anywhere near as low as they are now. Cetaceans, with their evolutionary roots 30-50
million years ago, may find their sonar and communication range increasing back toward that achieved by their
ancestors. Weasel factor ("suggest" "could"... ): moderate to high. Distraction from morning
coffee: nil. Sidebar: check out the axiomatic: "It is common knowledge that the world's oceans and atmosphere are
warming as humans release more and more carbon dioxide into the Earth's atmosphere." Is that true?
Well, kind of. What measures we have suggest the world, including its oceans, has warmed somewhat since the
Little Ice Age (nothing too contentious there) so that part is true. Similarly it is true that humans are using
more fossil fuels and releasing more carbon dioxide from combustion, cement manufacture and use and so on.
However, whether the latter is responsible for the former is highly contentious and doubtful. That it is common
knowledge is equally doubtful given the increasingly expressed skepticism over gorebull warming. This is
probably why there is such an effort to indoctrinate the young and if that effort succeeds then gorebull warming
will be common knowledge. Chilling, isn't it? Speaking of indoctrinated little gorebots: The
greenest generation? - A friend from journalism school who now is now a flak for Scholastic Press sent me one
of the winners of his company’s annual “Kids Are Authors” contest. The Nonsense of Global Warming - Marxism,
Freudianism, global warming. These are proof--of which history offers so many examples--that people can be suckers
on a grand scale. To their fanatical followers they are a substitute for religion. Global warming, in particular,
is a creed, a faith, a dogma that has little to do with science. If people are in need of religion, why don't they
just turn to the genuine article? (Paul Johnson, Forbes Magazine) The Recovery from the Little Ice
Age (A Possible Cause of Global Warming) and The Recent Halting of the Warming (The Multi-decadal Oscillation) The first one is an almost linear global temperature increase of about 0.5 °C/100 years (~1 °F/100years),
which seems to have started at least one hundred years before 1946 when manmade CO2 in
the atmosphere began to increase rapidly. This value of 0.5 °C/100 years may be compared with what the
International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientists consider to be the manmade greenhouse effect of 0.6 °C/100
years. This 100-year long linear warming trend is likely to be a natural change. One possible cause of this
linear increase may be Earth’s continuing recovery from the Little Ice Age (1400-1800). This trend (0.5°C/100
years) should be subtracted from the temperature data during the last 100 years when estimating the manmade
contribution to the present global warming trend. As a result, there is a possibility that only a small fraction
of the present warming trend is attributable to the greenhouse effect resulting from human activities. Note that
both glaciers in many places in the world and sea ice in the Arctic Ocean that had developed during the Little Ice
Age began to recede after 1800 and are still receding; their recession is thus not a recent phenomenon. The second one is the multi-decadal oscillation, which is superposed on the linear change. One of
them is the “multi-decadal oscillation,” which is a natural change. This particular change has a
positive rate of change of about 0.15 °C/10 years from about 1975, and is thought to be a sure sign of the
greenhouse effect by the IPCC. But, this positive trend stopped after 2000 and now has a negative slope. As a
result, the global warming trend stopped in about 2000-2001. Therefore, it appears that the two natural changes have a greater effect on temperature changes
than the greenhouse effects of CO2. These facts are contrary to the IPCC Report
(2007, p.10), which states that “most” of the present warming is due “very likely” to be the manmade
greenhouse effect. They predict that the warming trend continues after 2000. Contrary to their prediction, the
warming halted after 2000. There is an urgent need to correctly identify natural changes and remove them from the present
global warming/cooling trend, in order to accurately identify the contribution of the manmade greenhouse effect.
Only then can the contribution of CO2 be studied quantitatively. Researchers attribute thinning of Greenland glacier to
ocean warming preceded by atmospheric changes - The sudden thinning in 1997 of Jakobshavn Isbræ, one of
Greenland's largest glaciers, was caused by subsurface ocean warming, according to research published in the
journal Nature Geoscience. The research team traces these oceanic shifts back to changes in the atmospheric
circulation in the North Atlantic region. (New York University) I might have missed it, did they have a theoretical cause for the substantial thickening of said glacier from
1991 (1st year of survey) to 1997? BTW, the "sudden thinning in 1997" should
actually read "trend reversal 1997-2001" -- it occurred over 5 years, not just the one. “How
Natural and Anthropogenic Influences Alter Global and Regional Surface Temperatures: 1889 to 2006″ by
Lean and Rind, 2008 - Lean, Judith L., and David H. Rind, 2008. How natural and anthropogenic influences alter
global and regional surface temperatures: 1889 to 2006. Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L18701, doi:10.1029/2008GL034864. Carbon surveillance: Mobile
phones to track carbon footprint - Keeping track of your carbon footprint could become as simple as slipping a
mobile phone in your pocket: a London-based start-up company has developed software for mobile phones that uses
global positioning satellites to work out automatically whether you are walking, driving or flying and then
calculate your impact on the environment. (The Guardian) How long before politicians want to begin taxing you for your emissions based on this kind of constant
surveillance? Already politicians want to track cars to tax road usage, issue carbon ration cards to control
your purchasing power and so on, how long before they want to make this kind of nonsense compulsory? Latest from the hair shirt killjoys: Meat
must be rationed to four portions a week, says report on climate change - People will have to be rationed to
four modest portions of meat and one litre of milk a week if the world is to avoid run-away climate change, a
major new report warns. Look, guys, 'runaway' climate change is not possible on our water-rich little world. Two effects circumvent
the model fudge of water vapor feedback greatly magnifying enhanced greenhouse from increasing atmospheric
carbon dioxide: one is precipitation -- keep adding to humidity and you get cloud formation and precipitation,
it's a locally self-limiting system, in other words and; two: the way to get more water vapor into the system is
to enlarge the moist atmosphere zone, increasing cloud area and its associated albedo, thus returning more
sunlight to space -- a global thermostat shutting off the heat. The first effect results in accelerated latent
heat transfer (cooling the planet's surface) while the second reduces solar energy input (cooling the planet's
surface). Why? Carbon dioxide 'scrubber' captures greenhouse
gases - University of Calgary climate change scientist David Keith and his team are working to efficiently
capture the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide directly from the air, using near-commercial technology. (University of
Calgary) Atmospheric carbon dioxide supports life on Earth, what have these twits got against life? The EU: A climate leader, but headed in
the wrong direction (pdf) - It is claimed that the EU has been a global leader in climate change mitigation.
[“Mitigation” is climate change jargon for reducing the impacts of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas
emissions or concentrations whereas “adaptation” would address climate change by reducing its Wielding
the carbon club - Should Third World countries do as they’re told? Or should they think for themselves and
come to their own conclusions? Another eye-roller: A
critical forecast - ROSS Garnaut may be preaching that the world is headed for a truly diabolical catastrophe
if it doesn't come together with an agreement to combat global warming. But on a glorious Sunday spring afternoon
in the modest suburban Canberra home that he and wife Jane have made their base since the early 1970s, he's on a
high, having just signed off on the last corrected proofs of the final report of the Garnaut Climate Change
Review. All this as a result of PlayStation® climatology not worth a cracker. The correlation between atmospheric
carbon dioxide and global mean temperature (or atmospheric temperature) is woeful. Joe D'Aleo (Icecap)
has produced a graphic showing trends since 2001 for
temperature contrasted with atmospheric carbon dioxide (I admit not being enthusiastic about constricted range
graphs yielding exaggerated slopes but this is to contrast trends and is very clearly labeled). Obviously
enhanced greenhouse from increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide is trivial and completely overridden by natural
forcing, otherwise temperatures could not fall while enhanced greenhouse effect increases. Catastrophic enhanced
greenhouse is a nonsense and so is the Garnaut Climate Change Review for the simple reason it is based on the
idiotic prognostications of climate gamers. Rudd's expert wants tougher carbon goals
- TOP climate change advisor Ross Garnaut has toughened his recommended greenhouse targets - but thinks it
probably won't come to pass. Costly PR over climate
change - KEVIN Rudd has cut back on government advertising - but is he just running multi-million-dollar PR
campaigns instead? That's the impression created by the Garnaut Climate Change Review. Green groups happier with Garnaut -
CONSERVATIONISTS have welcomed the final Garnaut report on emission reductions, but business is urging caution
given the chaos on financial markets. (AAP) Australian Workers Union
carbon compensation call - THE Australian Workers Union is pressing the Rudd Government to adopt its carbon
insurance plan, which would give permits worth about $65,000 to workers made redundant by companies forced
overseas by the new emissions trading scheme. More misdirection: VIETNAM: Heeding Climate
Change Warnings - HANOI, Sep 29 - With a predicted sea level rise of one metre by 2100, Vietnam may end up
being one of the nations worst hit by climate change. Such a rise would affect five percent of the land area, 11
percent of the population and seven percent of the agriculture. It is true that sea level rises and falls locally, not just due to land subsidence or uplift but to
persistent variations in atmospheric pressure deforming the lens of the sea surface (e.g. ENSO phase changes).
What we don't have evidence of is enhanced greenhouse causing any changes. The Week in D. C. - As for lifting the offshore
moratorium, liberal Democrats in the House, led by Representatives Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.
J.), have already vowed to put the moratorium back in place when the Congress returns next year. Even if they
fail, the offshore moratorium victory will be a symbolic one for several years. The next President will have to
decide whether to allow the Interior Department to prepare any offshore areas for leasing by competitive auction.
If he decides to go ahead with some lease sales, it will then take time to prepare them and for the winning
bidders to start drilling exploratory wells. (Myron Ebell, Cooler Heads Digest) Renewables Get Lost in Shuffle of Inter-Cameral Turf War;
Taxpayer Wins - That’s great news for the taxpayer because renewable energy subsidies are a huge waste of
money. When the government meddles in any emergent industry like renewables with tax favors, it is picking and
choosing winners. But bureaucrats and politicians cannot be expected to invest well; instead they are prone to
awarding constituents or pleasing superiors. This is the dynamic that produced synfuels, ethanol, futuregen, and a
host of other government backed energy boondoggles. (William Yeatman, Cooler Heads Digest) The Pickens Plan: Questions Unanswered - Introduction:
On July 7, 2008, Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens introduced the “Pickens Plan,” an ambitious proposal to
reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil by one-third over the next ten years.1 No: Fast-track clean
coal or face rival fuel threat - ONE of Australia's leading clean coal researchers claims that the technology
needs to be implemented widely within 10 years or other fuel sources will emerge. (The Australian) Horrendously wasteful technique to address a non-issue. Don't do it, ever. After the Credit Crunch comes the Energy Crunch
- Opening remarks by The Rt. Hon. Lord Howell of Guildford, President of the British Institute of Energy
Economists, at the BIEE Annual Conference at St. John’s College, Oxford. Wednesday 24th September 2008 (Lord
Howell was Energy Secretary 1979-81) (CCNet) Back
to the Dark Ages: National Grid raises the spectre of blackouts this winter - Homes could be plunged into
darkness this winter as the nation faces the shocking prospect of power cuts. The warning, following the release
of grim industry figures yesterday, will dredge up memories of the last electricity crisis in 1974. Then,
households had to manage with candles, factories were put on short-time and TV broadcasts ended at 10.30pm. The
figures from the National Grid suggest that the country could be crippled by energy shortages when the colder
weather bites because there is so little spare capacity. (Daily Mail) No? Duh! UK's
renewable energy efforts 'ineffective' - The government's renewable power strategy is "ineffective and
very expensive", according to a damning review by the International Energy Agency. (The Guardian) Surviving
epidemiological whiplash: Fruits and vegetables and colorectal cancer - Do fruits and vegetables protect from
colorectal cancer? Last year, we heard that fruits and vegetables were not linked to colon cancer and that risks
were similar between men and women. A Harvard study had been unable to find any tenable correlations among data of
756,217 men and women. This month, we heard that fruits and vegetables may protect men from colorectal cancer, but
not women. Next prohibition: salt - Here is a
question I added to my chapter on logic today. New York City “Health Czar” Thomas Frieden (D), who successfully banned smoking and trans fat in
restaurants and who now wants to add salt to the list, said in an issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality
and Outcomes that “cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.” Describe why
no government or no person, no matter the purity of their hearts, can ever eliminate the leading cause of death. I’ll answer that in a moment. First, Frieden is engaged in yet another attempt by the government to increase
control over your life. Their reasoning goes “You are not smart enough to avoid foods which we claim—without
error—are bad for you. Therefore, we shall regulate or ban such foods and save you from making decisions for
yourself. There are some choices you should not be allowed to make.” (William M. Briggs, Statistician) Understanding the
Financial Crisis - To paraphrase a famous saying: the road to financial ruin was paved with good intentions.
But to understand what has happened, you have to start by understanding the role that finance plays in the
economy. (Stephen Rose, STATS) Bailout
marks Karl Marx's comeback - Marx’s Proposal Number Five seems to be the leading motivation for those
backing the Wall Street bailout (Martin Masse, Financial Post) Can Congress Fix A Problem It
Caused? - Nothing could more painfully demonstrate what is wrong with Congress than the current financial
crisis. (Thomas Sowell, IBD) Lack Of Confidence, Not Capital, Is
Issue - As the financial turbulence in the U.S. spreads, we've heard talk, especially from overseas pundits,
of a "crisis of capitalism." But what we really have is a crisis of confidence, and the sooner it's
solved, the better. (IBD) Court to
say if fish farms are a federal responsibility - A constitutional challenge of B.C.'s right to regulate the
fish-farming industry is to begin today in B.C. Supreme Court. Common insecticide can decimate tadpole populations -
The latest findings of a University of Pittsburgh-based project to determine the environmental impact of routine
pesticide use suggests that malathion—the most popular insecticide in the United States—can decimate tadpole
populations by altering their food chain, according to research published in the Oct. 1 edition of Ecological
Applications. (University of Pittsburgh) Does this effect appear outside the researchers' tanks? Hasn't been reported but leaves room for more grants. Experiment demonstrates 110 years of sustainable
agriculture - A plot of land on the campus of Auburn University shows that 110 years of sustainable farming
practices can produce similar cotton crops to those using other methods. (American Society of Agronomy) September 29, 2008 BBC2 show ignites
contributor row - BBC2's Earth: The Climate Wars is at the centre of a new TV global warming row after four
contributors claimed it misrepresented them. (BBC) We have DVDs and books by three of the four claiming to have been misrepresented by the BBC available in our
store here,
here and here
so you can see exactly what their position is regarding catastrophic anthropogenic global warming. See also the
DVD subjected to a plethora of complaints from warming hysterics to Ofcom, recently rejected. BBC
investigated after peer says climate change programme was biased 'one-sided polemic' - The BBC is being
investigated by television watchdogs after a leading climate change sceptic claimed his views were deliberately
misrepresented. Corrupted science
revealed - Outsiders familiar with the proper workings of science have long known that modern Climate Science
is dysfunctional. Now a prominent insider, MIT Meteorology Professor Richard S. Lindzen, confirms how Al Gore and
his minions used Stalinist tactics to subvert, suborn and corrupt a whole branch of science, citing chapter and
verse in his report entitled "Climate Science:
Is it currently designed to answer questions?" His answer: A resounding "NO!" (Jerome J.
Schmitt, American Thinker) Global warming has paused:
We still need to study nature’s contribution to trend - Recent studies by the Hadley Climate Research Center
(UK), the Japan Meteorological Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of East
Anglia (UK) and the University of Alabama Huntsville show clearly that the rising trend of global average
temperature stopped in 2000-2001. Further, NASA data shows that warming in the southern hemisphere has stopped,
and that ocean temperatures also have stopped rising. Uhie? Who's Uhie? Southern
Californians get a cool summer, but a warm future - So what's behind this long-term warming trend? Patzert
says global warming due to increasing greenhouse gases is responsible for some of the overall heating observed in
Los Angeles and the rest of California. Most of the increase in heat days and length of heat waves, however, is
due to a phenomenon called the "urban heat island effect." NASA JPL
on Heatwaves: “it’s the asphalt, not the atmosphere” - UPDATE: Former California State climatologist Jim
Goodridge presents some data that suggests that ocean temperature may be an equal or greater driving force behind
Los Angeles Temperature increases, see graph below. (Watts Up With That?) Letter of the moment: Cooling
the planet - SIR – Your assertion that “global warming is happening faster than expected” exhibits a
disturbing degree of cognitive dissonance (“Adapt or die”, September 13th). Since 1998 the world’s average
surface temperature has exhibited no warming, according to all the main temperature records. The trend has been a
combination of flatlining and cooling, with a marked plunge over the past year; many countries, including
Australia, Canada, China and the United States, experienced severe winters... (Philip Stott, Emeritus professor of
biogeography, University of London) Former next failed presidential candidate Al Gore in
San Jose speech: Climate change deserves same attention bailout is getting - Al Gore said in San Jose on
Saturday that the climate crisis deserves the same type of attention and money from Washington that the financial
meltdown is getting. Still trying to prop up your carbon scam, eh Al? How 'bout doing something useful and inventing an outernet
or something? Most anything would have to be less damaging to humanity and the planet than your last 7 years of
bullshit. Gore's Rebellion - For a while, it was a
standard-issue Al Gore jeremiad, with calls for everything from installing solar panels in Darfur (seriously) to
legal action against "the carbon lobby" for denying global warming (ditto). But then Mr. Gore really got
going and told his disciples to head -- literally -- to the barricades to "stop" coal. Raked Over Coal - Al Gore has
rightly been scolded for encouraging civil disobedience to stop global warming. But his little-noticed follow-up
statement might be even more foolish — and dangerous. When it comes to sheer crackpottery on environmental
issues, no national figure can measure up to the lofty standard set by the former Tennessee senator and vice
president. This is a man who is leading a caravan of humming hybrid drivers to nowhere and is willing to
criminalize those who disagree with him to get there. (IBD) Clear demonstration of how much the antis want to lower your standard of living: Radical
new vision of a cooler life on earth - Six kilograms of carbon dioxide a day. If that sounds like little more
than an obscure scientific measurement, think again. In the years to come it’s a figure we may have to get used
to. Why? Because, say climate scientists, that’s the maximum daily amount of carbon dioxide each of us can
generate if humanity is to have a chance of keeping the rise in global temperature below 2C. Don't
go soft on climate, PM warned - IN A move that will test the Rudd Government's climate credentials,
Australia's leading climate Researchers who have hitched their stars to the IPCC want K.Rudd to keep throwing our money at them, imagine
that... 'Carbon deadline adding to credit
crisis' - KEVIN Rudd has been urged to rethink his "obsession" to deliver a carbon emissions trading
scheme by 2010 because it is placing intolerable pressure on major companies battered by the global financial
crisis. (The Australian) Hip
pocket a bigger worry than climate - FEAR about the outlook for the economy and jobs have overtaken climate
change as the top foreign policy concerns for Australians, according to a new poll to be released today. Climate fight only worth $10
to Aussies - AUSTRALIANS have put a price on what they're prepared to pay to help fight climate change -- $10
extra a month on their electricity bill. That's very disappointing -- only 21% know this crap's not worth a penny. Pitt's
Institute of Politics fails its mission - So embarrassed was I this week with a University of Pittsburgh
Institute of Politics report -- buying lock, stock and barrel into global warming and one particular
"solution" -- that I resigned from the institute's board of fellows. We could wish... Learning
to like it hot - THE year is 2050. Greenhouse gas concentration has reached 500 parts per million and is
growing steadily, although annual global emissions have fallen to below year 2000 levels. The average temperature
is 1C higher than 50 years earlier but with considerable variation across the globe. (Ziggy Switkowski, The
Australian) ... sadly there is virtually no chance of the above scenario playing out and current indications are the
world will be somewhat (hopefully not much) cooler than it is now. From the perspective that thriving life on
Earth is a good thing then having the global climate warmer and wetter is always better. Convenience
stores under attack by global warming zealots - Now I’ve heard everything. Talk about your “Kyoto
protocol”. The original source of this silliness comes from the city of Kyoto. In June, in a bid to reduce
greenhouse gases and perhaps become a nationally designated “model environmental city,” the municipal
government indicated it would request convenience stores to “voluntarily refrain” from staying open all night.
(Watts Up With That?) Yeah? Europe warming too quickly
- EUROPE is warming faster than the world average and governments need to invest to adapt to a changing climate
set to turn the Mediterranean region arid and the north ever wetter, a study showed. So, for this to be true -- and caused by enhanced greenhouse -- the northern extratropical mid-troposphere
must be really cooking up, right? And yet it's not.
If the region is genuinely warming (not a certainty) then it can't be enhanced greenhouse (a.k.a. gorebull
warming) because the mid-troposphere is demonstrably not warming quickly enough. Shrinking Glaciers and Presidential Politics (Video 3:12) - CO2 Truth-Alert: Are earth's glaciers
wasting away at an accelerating pace as a result of CO2-induced global warming? John McCain and Barack Obama
believe they are, and they have plans for massive government programs to reverse the dreaded meltdown by reducing
our country's CO2 emissions. But are these actions needed? Watch the video to find out. (co2science.org) You
Have Got To Be Kidding... - The unusual snow and cold in South Africa that has occurred this week is reported
as yet another example of global warming; see Warming
has a hand in recent wild weather where it is written “The severe weather conditions experienced in
South Africa in recent weeks are partially due to climate change.” Additional articles on this weather event include Roads
close after snowfalls and Snow
hits South Africa. While clearly a single weather event does not inform us of what to expect in the
future, the attribution of this cold and snow to global warming is yet another example of poor news reporting.
(Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science) EPA Fascism versus America: There is No Natural Evidence
for Man-made Global Warming - This is the third in a seven part series detailing our objections to plans by
the United States Environmental Protection Agency to claim unlimited power over the life of every American. Those
plans were laid out in an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR), dated July 11, 2008. The EPA is inviting
comments to this advance notice. This article explains the second of our six major objections to the EPA plans.
The total of our objections, including our letter, our comments, and a link to the EPA website, may be accessed here.
(John Lewis and Paul Saunders, Capitalism Magazine) Challenging the Activists: Market-based
adaptation should be favoured over central planning - There is currently a consensus amongst the political
establishment – and amongst the intellectual communities that feed into it – that detailed and wide-ranging
government intervention is necessary to combat the effects of climate change. This monograph challenges that
consensus. Will
September be the month the sun truly transitions to Cycle 24? (Watts Up With That?) The quiet Sun - The
debate continues over what the effect of known changes in the Sun's activity have on the Earth. As the primary
source of heat and light and energy, it sustains life on the planet, and variations in its output can be expected
to influence climate in significant ways. A common example of this is the 11- and 22-year cycles of sunspot
activity, during which the number of dark visible spots on the Sun's surface varies between maximum and minimum
values (which are different for each cycle). Higher numbers of sunspots are evidence of a more active Sun. Gulf Stream here to stay
- The Gulf Stream, that almost mythical flow of warm seas that makes Norway and a few other Nordic countries
liveable, isn't about to disappear any time soon. New research contradicts earlier theories that it might. In case you were wondering... NASA data show Arctic
saw fastest August sea ice retreat on record - Following a record-breaking season of arctic sea ice decline in
2007, NASA scientists have kept a close watch on the 2008 melt season. Although the melt season did not break the
record for ice loss, NASA data are showing that for a four-week period in August 2008, sea ice melted faster
during that period than ever before. (NASA/GSFC) ... this is how they are trying to spin a 'worst ever' out of the Arctic's failure to melt. Holy
Writ or Wholly Rot? The new religion of "global warming" - Christopher Monckton of Brenchley replies
to a True Believer in the Canadian Civil Service. (SPPI) Dude,
Where's My Warming? - Last I checked, the debate/panic over anthropogenic global warming still centered around
CO2-driven warming, specifically man’s marginal contribution to the earth’s CO2 budget. Simple enough. But it
now seems that the alarmist industry has simply jumped the rails. (Chris Horner, Planet Gore) CO2 output increased 3
percent in one year - AP informs that the amount of carbon dioxide produced by the civilization grew by 3
percent between 2006 and 2007, mainly thanks to developing countries. (The Reference Frame) Rich Nations' Greenhouse Gases
Fell in 2006 - Survey - OSLO - Rich nations' greenhouse gas emissions dipped for the first time in five years
in 2006, easing 0.1 percent despite robust economic growth, a Reuters survey of the latest available information
showed on Friday. Translation: average season: South
Pacific Faces 8 to 10 Storms This Season - WELLINGTON - Eight to 10 tropical cyclones are expected to hit the
South Pacific region over the next few months, scientists in New Zealand said on Friday, higher than last's year
below-average five storms. (Reuters) Big dry caused by lack of low-pressure
systems - A DECLINE in the number of rain-bearing low-pressure systems along the NSW coast is the main reason
for the state's big dry since 1950, research has revealed. GAO Faults 'Credibility' Of CO2-Offset Market
- WASHINGTON -- The growing U.S. market for carbon offsets -- vouchers that let companies and individuals project
an environmentally friendly image by paying others to cut their greenhouse-gas emissions -- is so opaque and
loosely regulated that it offers consumers "limited assurance of credibility," according to a federal
audit. (Wall Street Journal) Someone thought CO2-offset markets had 'credibility'? Go figure... Australia Carbon Plan May Chill
Investment Climate - SYDNEY - Australia's plans to protect its climate from global warming, by cutting
greenhouse gases, could end up playing havoc with its investment climate instead. EU Eastern States Fear Carbon Plan
Empowers Russia - WARSAW - Eastern members of the European Union said on Friday its tough plans to tackle
global warming could force them to rely more on Russian gas and the bloc should be equally ambitious in ensuring
their energy security. (Reuters) So far out of touch: Financial
Turmoil No Bar to Climate Deal, Says UN - WARSAW - Global financial turmoil should not hamper a new world
climate deal because high energy prices remain an incentive to improve energy efficiency, the UN's top climate
official said on Friday. (Reuters) Green-Eyed Monsters - Few
ecotastrophists will be disappointed that CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has had to be shut down for at
least a couple of months to fix a technical problem. Because, for a while there, the Greens’ perpetual thunder
about the imminent thermageddon was stolen by newspaper headlines insisting that we couldn’t entirely rule out
the possibility that fundamental physics would get us first. Green
Churches: Casting Out Demons - The fashionable new Protestant movement is unquestionably the Green Church,
and, of course, it exhibits precisely the same tendencies to factionalism as did the Baptists and other sects. One
classic split is painfully exposed today in an article by that arch ‘global warming’ believer, Mark Lynas
[‘The green heretic persecuted for his nuclear conversion’, The Sunday Times, ‘News Review’, p.5]. Canada PM Oil Sands Plan Puzzles
Industry, Greens - CALGARY, Alberta - Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday he would ban exports of
tar-like bitumen from Alberta's oil sands to countries that do not match Canadian efforts to cut carbon emissions,
a campaign promise that perplexed both the oil industry and environmentalists. (Reuters) Obama Backs
Biodiesel Baloney - In his first debate with Republican John McCain Friday night, Barack Obama, the Democratic
Party's self-style Candidate of Change, revealed that when it comes to energy, he is either a charlatan or an
eloquent and inspiring ignoramus. France Plans to End Biofuel Tax
Breaks by 2012 - PARIS - The French government said on Friday it will phase out tax breaks for biofuels by
2012, arguing that higher oil and grain prices have removed the need for fiscal support. (Reuters) New ultra-deepwater drill-ship can
reach depth of 40.000 feet - Noble Corporation confirmed its subsidiary, Noble Drilling Holding LLC, has
signed contracts for the construction of a new, dynamically positioned, ultra-deepwater, harsh environment
Globetrotter class drill-ship with South Korea's STX Heavy Industries and Dutch-based design and construction firm
Huisman Equipment. (Mercopress) China takes over leading Norwegian
offshore drilling co. - China Oilfield Services Limited China’s largest integrated oilfield services
provider in offshore China, COSL announced this week it had successfully completed the 2.5 billion US dollars
acquisition of the Norwegian offshore drilling company Awilco Offshore ASA. (Mercopress) Venezuela anticipates oil sales to
China of a million bpd in 2012 - China and Venezuela signed on Wednesday in Beijing a wide range of agreements
to boost trade, energy cooperation and agriculture and in other fields. The agreements were signed by Chinese Vice
Premier Li Kegiang and visiting Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. (Mercopress) Donors Pledge US$6.1 Billion to
Climate Change Funds - WASHINGTON - Industrialized countries pledged more than US$6.1 billion on Friday to
international investment funds aimed at helping developing countries adopt cleaner technologies and mitigate
growth in greenhouse gas emissions, the World Bank said. (Reuters) Carbon clean-up in
Stinky Town - A new German coal-fired power station buries its own CO2. Now Europe must decide whether to
spend €12bn subsidising more. Nick Mathiason reports (The Observer) And the answer is "No!" -- next question? UK accused of 'sabotaging'
Europe's green energy plans - Leaked documents show strong pressure being exerted to 'kill the essence' of the
EU's renewable energy targets. (The Guardian) Tidal power scheme
to launch in Scotland - An experimental tidal power scheme is to be launched in Scotland. Underwater turbines
which harness the power of the tides to generate electricity will be placed at three sites. (Daily Telegraph) Here we go... PM Kevin Rudd
ready to borrow cash - THE Federal Government is prepared to become a borrower for the first time in more than
a decade to fund its ambitious infrastructure building program. ... Socialists plunging us into debt, again. Sell the $Aussie, buy greenbacks, they're currently undervalued.
$Aussie to fall below US$0.75 despite resources demand, probably before Christmas. Trust Congress
— a new Federal priority - Brief policy update: Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed
H.R.1381, which makes public health and preventive health an increased federal priority. Remember the BMI
report card debate? - When Arkansas enacted Act 1220 in 2003, it was done with great fanfare and national
attention. So began the largest and most comprehensive statewide school-based childhood obesity initiative ever
enacted in the country. Act 1220 was to provide the proof needed that the war on childhood obesity could be won.
The fourth annual report evaluating the effectiveness of the Arkansas Act 1220 was quietly released recently. Payout
Fund For Vaccines Nearly Shot - A federal fund has paid out $1.8 billion to families of "unlucky"
children injured or killed by vaccines and now is flooded with hotly contested claims for kids suffering from
autism. How sad that myth peddlers are creating so much distress -- as if parents of kids who genuinely have adverse
reactions to vaccines aren't distressed enough already without adding parents of autistic children into the mix. It is true that vaccinations trigger serious, sometimes fatal reactions in a tiny percentage of children
which makes the vaccines the technical cause. This does not mean those children would have survived or
"been normal" absent exposure to vaccines though -- the probability is high that they would have
experienced the same reaction to infections in the wild anyway. Under the theory that all society should provide some compensation to those who lose children in the broad
campaign to maintain herd immunity to serious disease vaccines in America are taxed to support the VICP. While
this is understandable and compassionate it is also a mistake. These children aren't 'victims' and neither their
parents nor society made a poor decision trying to protect them from debilitating or deadly disease. Making a
pot of money available only encourages shysters and scam artists with the inevitable result parents of autistic
children have been mislead into believing their attempts to protect their children through vaccination did harm
rather than good, that somehow they were forced or deceived into making bad decisions that led to this harm and
that someone (compensation funds or rapacious developers and purveyors of lifesaving medications) must pay. As a society we should be mature enough to educate our members that children are not all born perfect, that
not all will survive childhood and that blame will not necessarily attach. To be entitled to live in our
protected society comes with certain responsibilities -- like contributing to herd immunity -- so there should
be absolutely no exceptions for belief or stupidity and no freeloading. Everyone gets vaccinated and a tiny few
will die earlier than would otherwise have been the case. Unlucky for them, necessary for society. Gates gives $168 mln
for malaria vaccines research - UNITED NATIONS - Microsoft founder Bill Gates gave $168.7 million to develop
vaccines for malaria, part of $3 billion in funding announced on Thursday to tackle Africa's biggest killer
disease. West Nile season appears to be mildest in 7 years --
The West Nile virus season is on track to be the mildest in seven years, with less than a third the number of
serious cases as last year's total, U.S. health officials said. (AP) Tests
for drugs in tap water - Drinking water supplies are to be tested for the presence of prescription drugs amid
fears that rivers are being contaminated by the growing quantity of pharmaceuticals flushed unwittingly down the
drain. Scientists identify gene that may contribute to improved
rice yield - A team of scientists, including Penn State Distinguished Professor of Biology Hong Ma, has
identified a gene in rice that controls the size and weight of rice grains. The gene may prove to be useful for
breeding high-yield rice and, thus, may benefit the vast number of people who rely on this staple food for
survival. "Our work shows that it is possible to increase rice's yield by enhancing the expression of a
particular gene," said Ma. The team's results will be published on 28 September 2008 in an early online
edition of the journal Nature Genetics, and in the November print issue of the journal. (Penn State) Celtic
revolt against Westminster over GM crops: Scottish ministers plan to link up with Wales and Northern Ireland to
head off attempts to grow modified food on home soil - Ministers are facing an unprecedented Celtic revolt
from their Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts as they launch a new campaign to plant GM crops in
Britain. September 26, 2008
Picking on the Pickens Plan? - Billionaire
oilman T. Boone Pickens’ camp responded last week to this column’s multi-part analysis of the so-called
“Pickens Plan.” Focusing on my
most recent comments, Pickens Plan defender Warren
Mitchell said he was “overwhelmed” by my “lack of logic” and wondered what plan I had to “wean
ourselves from foreign oil.” (Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com) Details about the
2008 Arctic Melt Season - The Arctic summer melt season is over as sea ice has already begun to increase in
coverage as the daylength rapidly diminishes. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) released a report
yesterday detailing the 2008 melt season and compared it to the record-low season of 2007. (AccuWeather) NAS reports: 50
million year cooling trend (Watts Up With That?) Excellent! Bush
speech to U.N.: “terror” 32, “climate” 0 - U.S. President George W. Bush upset some delegates by
failing to mention “climate change” or “global warming” in his final speech to the United Nations — in
which he referred to terrorism 32 times. Gorebull warming shouldn't rate a mention when discussion real world problems, something unfortunately few
leaders yet understand. Clean coal plan divides green
groups - KEVIN Rudd has split green groups by placing new emphasis on clean coal technology to combat climate
change, telling the UN its development has to be at the "forefront of the agenda" to cut global carbon
pollution from power stations and not destroy the coal industry. Upsetting the watermelons may be "clean coal's" sole benefit. Regarding K.Rudd's claim he wants to
protect development then there is one action he can take to economically excel -- get the heck away from all
gorebull warming nonsense and truly become a world leader. Coal Is
Already Cleaner - On the coal issue, one fact is routinely butchered: The idea that modern coal energy is
“dirty.” Environmentalists 'out of
touch on emissions plan' - AUSTRALIA'S most active unionist pushing for clean coal technology says the Greens
are becoming increasingly marginalised by maintaining their opposition to clean coal. Just on emissions plans? Hardly, the watermelons give every impression of being collectively the most
clueless bunch on the planet. The Day The Earth Cooled - The
solar wind is slowing, but Al Gore is still spewing hot air. The Oscar winner is promoting civil disobedience to
stop energy and economic growth as the first U.S. emissions cap-and-trade program begins. New theory predicts the
largest ozone hole over Antarctica will occur this month - WATERLOO - A University of Waterloo scientist says
that cosmic rays are a key cause for expanding the hole in the ozone layer over the South Pole -- and predicts the
largest ozone hole will occur in one or two weeks. (Exchange Morning Post) Clueless: Labour's
shocking CO2 admissions - Tens of thousands of 'green collar' jobs will be lost because of the government's
policy of buying reductions from other countries (Gregory Barker, The Guardian) Hundreds of thousands of real jobs could be saved, too. Of course, millions of jobs will be created when
carbon stupidity dies its inevitable death. Wouldn't it be better to simply protect them now by getting over
this adolescent crush on eco-doom and dealing with real problems? UK
Emissions: Facts And Politics - Every now and again, I like to provide raw, unadorned data about various
aspects of our never-ending debate on ‘global warming’. Today, I thought it might be useful to review the
fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions of the UK based on the latest complete set of statistics from 2005. The
information and graph are taken from The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), the primary
climate-change data analysis centre of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). CDIAC is located at DOE’s famous Oak
Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). All fossil fuel carbon dioxide emission figures are expressed in thousand metric
tons of carbon and are for 2005, unless stated otherwise. The error bars range between 5% - 20%, with the figures
probably representing underestimates. (Global Warming Politics) Denmark, Norway Grapple with Growing CO2 - UNITED
NATIONS, Sep 25 - Even as Scandinavian leaders have assumed a prominent role in international efforts to cut
greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change, both Norway and Denmark have failed to reduce their own
emissions. (IPS) Aha! So that's the cause of the... falling temperatures? Carbon
dioxide emissions rise to record again, mostly due to Chinese greenhouse gas pollution - WASHINGTON - The
world pumped up its pollution of the chief man-made global warming gas last year, setting a course that could push
beyond leading scientists' projected worst-case scenario, international researchers said Thursday. Poor old Seth... just can't take a trick, can he? Allegedly evil carbon dioxide keeps rising, people keep
happily consuming and the world, oh the world, just blithely ignores it all. Everyone knows carbon
dioxide will broil us all (Al & Jimmy said so) and Ma Nature, that old trickster, goes and turns down
the thermostat. Doesn't she want to be saved? Cities Get Too Much Blame for
Global Warming - Study - LONDON - Cities often blamed for producing most of the world's greenhouse gas
emissions actually generate just two-fifths or less, according to a study published on Friday. (Reuters) Misconception
And Oversimplification Of the Concept Of Global Warming By V. Ramanthan and Y. Feng - There is a new paper by
a eminent and distinguished climate scientist, Dr. Ramanathan in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences. The paper is Ramanathan, V. and Y. Feng, 2008: On avoiding dangerous anthropogenic interference with the
climate system: Formidable challenges ahead, PNAS, 105, 14245-14250, Sept 23, 2008. (Roger Pielke Sr., Climate
Science) Blame summer on our bad
weather cycle - AS OUR water-logged summer of 2008 recedes and we enjoy what remains of the September
sunshine, perhaps the time is opportune to examine the claims made in the media that the abnormal Irish weather of
July and August was a signal of man-made climate change, writes Ray Bates . Financial saboteurs strike again: Funds
urged to address climate change - GLOBAL - Superannuation and pension funds in Australia are being encouraged
to adopt best practice in managing the risks and opportunities of climate change, through an initiative launched
by minister for superannuation and corporate law Senator Nick Sherry. The misanthropists are busily corrupting fund management to deny seniors a decent standard of living after a
lifetime of service. The greatest risk faced by funds today is climate hysteria, largely driven by Gaia-nuts
wanting to make sure you can't afford to consume. To these ratbags' delight politicians have bought into the
gorebull warming farce and are trying to introduce energy rationing through punitive pricing and taxation,
something which will strangle the economy, your jobs and your purchasing power. Pension funds have a
responsibility to maximize profits for the benefit of their members, not to destroy the profitability of the
entities in which they invest your money. Any idiot who even mentions gorebull warming in fund investment and
management meetings should be escorted from the premises, never to be allowed to return. Wrong on so many levels: At
URI, Nobel Prize-winning scientist answers critics of climate change - SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Michael E. Mann, a
Nobel Prize-winning scientist, had just spent an hour explaining why he thinks there is virtual scientific
consensus that people are causing the earth to warm and sea levels to rise, when a self-described “left-leaning,
pro-environment person,” a meteorologist, rose to angrily dispute him. (Peter B. Lord, Providence Journal) Mikey doesn't have a Nobel, nor a "piece of one" but has contributed to an organization that shared
one with Al Gore - journalists are either clueless or deceptive about that all too often. That Mikey has been 'vilified' is a misstatement, more accurately he has been exposed as either grossly
incompetent or a fraud. That the hokey 'hockey stick' misrepresentation of contemporary climate history has somehow been 'vindicated'
is utterly and completely absurd. For a good overview see this
piece on Bishop Hill. See also: Jeff
Id: cherry-picking in new hockey stick graph; Revival
of the Hockey Stick - a new Low in Climate Science; “North
Hottest for 1500 Years” - Really?; The
Hockey Stick Debate as a Matter of Science Policy and so on and on... As we said when this nonsense first reappeared: Mikey's at it again, still appending instrument records to proxy reconstructions against all advice and good
practice (pretty colored spaghetti graph, below). Without that nonsense addition this time Mann's effort looks a
little more like the non-treemometer reconstruction of Loehle
and a lot less like the hokey "hockey stick"
of days gone by. The point is now, and always has been, that no contemporary proxy measure exceeds (or even
equals) proxies from the Medieval Climate Optimum (or Medieval Warm Period, as it's now known). Check out "divergence
problem" to see what we mean about the stupidity of tacking thermometrics onto a proxy time series. Mikey also claimed gorebull warming was responsible for melting the snows of Kilimanjaro: New
Study in Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research Reveals warming not cause of Kilimanjaro ice loss; Yet
another study disproves Gore's Kilimanjaro claims; Tanzania
official now declares ice caps on Mt Kilimanjaro 'increasing'; Researchers
from the U.S. and Austria say global warming isn't the cause of Kilimanjaro ice loss; Another
study: `Deforestation behind loss of Mt Kili snow` - Using Kilimanjaro for warming called ‘awfully
inaccurate’; Snow Returns to Mount
Kilimanjaro... -- h/t Marc Morano Stupid is as stupid does: How
a Plan for Bus Fuel Grew Expensive - Five years ago, as they were signing a contract for a cleaner-burning bus
fuel, some officials with New York City Transit foresaw the day when similar low-sulfur fuels might become more
common and less expensive. Boutique fuels are something of a problem, huh fellas? The
Petrobras Exception: How a state oil company succeeds—by not acting like one. - There are many reasons oil
is trading above $100 per barrel, including soaring global demand and the fading luster of the U.S. dollar. But
perhaps the most important factor is the mismanagement and inefficiency of state-run oil companies. More than 90
percent of the world’s oil and gas reserves are controlled by national oil companies or by Russian energy giants
caught in the Kremlin’s orbit. And as the price of oil and gas continues to rise, those outfits have less
incentive to increase their production because they can collect the same amount of rent (or more) by keeping their
production flat. Nor do these companies feel much pressure to operate in a transparent, efficient manner. New technology path to
riches - CHIMING in at $25 billion last year, coal continues to be Australia's single biggest export earner.
We're also the biggest coal exporter in the world and have one of the most coal-intense electricity markets on the
planet. Yes, Australia is very big in coal. No, 'clean coal' technology is no big deal since it refers to irrelevant
carbon dioxide. Cabinet
split on Kingsnorth power station - The Cabinet is split over whether to approve a controversial plan for a £1bn
coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent which has become a key test of its green credentials. (The
Independent) Wind power - I was in a conversation today at
lunch with a fellow who told me that “wind power is better than anything we’ve ever done for generating
electricity”. That made me wonder, how reliable (beyond the constancy of wind issues) is it? (Watts Up With
That?) EU Lawmakers Snub Big Carmakers
Over Carbon Curbs - BRUSSELS - EU lawmakers rejected a bid to delay planned limits on carbon dioxide emissions
from cars in a surprise backlash on Thursday against the motor industry's efforts to ease its burden in the fight
against climate change. (Reuters) Hearsay
squared — acupuncture for breast cancer - You’ve no doubt heard the news of a study reportedly finding
that acupuncture works to reduce the side effects of breast cancer treatment as effectively as conventional
medicine, without the side effects. This is a hallmark news story worthy of lining the bird cage — did you catch
why? (Junkfood Science) Cost savings or money
maker? - That was fast. It was just last week, we learned of plans to market bariatric surgery as a preventive
health intervention and way to save public healthcare costs. From the food
for thought file: Two stories from Arizona - A few weeks ago, a Tucson physician was informed that Blue Cross
Blue Shield was terminating his provider contract because he also had a private practice which allowed patients to
pay for their care directly. Taking Time for
Empathy - I would like to believe that I am a compassionate doctor. But when I must convey bad news to a
patient, one of the first things I worry about is time. Inhofe
Report Exposes Environmental Groups as ‘Massive Democratic Political Machines’ - WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S.
Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today
released an updated comprehensive investigation into the financial and political activities employed by charitable
and environmental organizations claiming to be non-partisan. (EPW) How
the energy crunch led to the credit crunch - What follows is excerpted from “Credit Crunch & Energy
Crunch,” released this week from Merril Lynch’s global commodities group. This
is no morality play: The desire to punish the ‘greedy’ on principle remains strong - The widespread
invocation of “greed” to explain the U.S. financial crisis has not been without its comic moments. First there
was Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden telling CBS’s Katie Couric: “When the stock market crashed
[in 1929], Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the princes of greed.” Slight
problems there, in the fact that (1) FDR did not become president until 1933, and (2) there was no commercial TV
at the time. Still, the important thing was to ritually condemn those “princes of greed,” whoever they were.
(Peter Foster, Financial Post) Nuclear threat still very real, activist says
- Dr. Helen Caldicott is a pediatrician by training, but she calls what she does now "global preventive
medicine." Caldicott is still alive? Haven't seen or heard of her in years. Sounds like she's still as much a crank as
ever. Uh-huh... Eating to save
the planet - Remember Brown Rice Week, those seven days of ritual deprivation at university to clear Third
World debt? Well, good news - it's back. Once again we are being invited to change the world through our plates,
only this time it lasts 52 weeks a year and it's not just Africa that we're going to save, it's the entire planet. Woman ‘given bovine TB by
garden badger’ - A woman who contracted bovine tuberculosis is believed to have caught the disease from a
badger that wandered into her garden, raising fears over the spread of TB and its threat to human health. This will lift the push to cull badgers to control bovine TB. Amphibians facing a wipeout by
2050 - Half of Europe’s amphibian species could be wiped out in the next 40 years. Scientists from the
Zoological Society of London say that the combined force of climate change, pollution, disease and habitat loss
and degradation has left many with “nowhere to run”. September 25, 2008
Public Employee Pensions Endangered by
State Officials Playing Global Warming Politics, New Report Says - Washington, DC - Already at-risk public
employee pension funds are being placed at further risk by state officials who are lobbying for global warming
regulation and by state officials who are ignoring the risks posed by such regulation, says a new report,
"Pensions in Peril: Are State Officials Risking Public Employee Retirement Benefits by Playing Global Warming
Politics?," by the National Center for Public Policy Research. (National Center) Oops! CO2 emissions booming, shifting east,
researchers report - Despite widespread concern about climate change, annual carbon dioxide emissions from
burning fossil fuels and manufacturing cement have grown 38 percent since 1992, from 6.1 billion tons of carbon to
8.5 billion tons in 2007. These developing regions are not covered by Kyoto restrictions and they have (rightly) refused to
consider any future restrictions. Even under the virtually impossible case that atmospheric carbon dioxide
proved to be a significant driver of climate developed world restrictions will do nothing. Gorebull warming makes tigers eat people? 'There
are many tiger widows here' - In the Sunderbans forests between India and Bangladesh, climate change is
pitting people against tigers - with deadly consequences. John Vidal reports on how extreme weather and shrinking
habitats are bringing humans and beasts into closer and more perilous contact (John Vidal, The Guardian) Knock, Knock: Where is the Evidence for Dangerous
Human-Caused Global Warming? (pdf) - Before human-caused global warming can become an economic problem, it
first has to be identified by scientific study as a dangerous hazard for the planet, distinct from natural climate
change. WHO says climate change poses health risks
- The World Health Organization on Wednesday warned Asia Pacific countries that they could be vulnerable to health
risks and food shortages as a result of climate change. (AFP) Sure it poses health risks and cold is particularly bad for food production but there's nothing we can do to
control it so we'll have to cope with what we get. Going over the top in the ‘climate
war’ - A recent BBC series showed how dubious scientific conclusions are weapons in the politicised debate
over global warming. (Ben Pile, sp!ked) We might yet all disappear
in the blink of an eye - OPINION We are intelligent enough to wipe out our species, but whether we are smart
enough to prevent this remains to be seen, writes Middle-Class
Greenery Only ‘Ski’ Deep - In his Labour Party Conference speech yesterday in Manchester, Gordon
Brown, the British Prime Minister, was minded to raise his target of 60% for cutting carbon emissions by 2050 to
80% - “And I am asking the climate change committee to report by October on the case for, by 2050 not a 60%
reduction in our carbon emissions, but an 80% cut.” This really is the very worst of political hot air, and I am
afraid it is difficult to take seriously such blather, especially in the light of two highly-revealing surveys
reported today. (Global Warming Politics) No Hope for MDGs Without Climate Plan - UNITED
NATIONS, Sep 24 - With 2.6 billion of the world's poor affected daily by climate change, the linkages between
environment, health and poverty cannot be questioned any longer, U.N. experts say. (IPS) We totally agree development is urgently needed and that it is protective against a hostile climate but to
suggest the poor are daily affected by anthropogenic global warming is a nonsense that destroys the UNDP's
argument. Vegetarian Shift Seen Helping
Climate, Not Poor - OSLO - Eating less meat can help rich nations to combat global warming but may not work
for poor countries where people depend on livestock for survival, a leading expert said on Wednesday. (Reuters) Where do these dipsticks live? As the poor climb out of poverty they add something to their previously
miserable diets, is it a few spoons of lentils, an extra bowl of rice or maybe a portion of, um... meat? Melting, Melting ... Well, Not
Exactly - Predictions of an ice-free Arctic prove to be just a lot of hot air. (Dan Gainor, Business &
Media Institute) Nope: Poorer
nations need urgent help to mitigate impact of climate change, UN told - 24 September 2008 – The leaders of
Nauru and Suriname, two developing nations struggling to protect their vulnerable environments from the ravages
wrought by climate change, issued a call to the General Assembly today for increased assistance to boost their
resilience to the effects of global warming. One meter sea level rise this century "by conservative estimates"? Not even. As it happens the
absurdly alarmist IPCC AR4 estimated a range but a whole meter is well above it. Realistic estimates are 4-8
inches (0.1-0.2 meters) for the 21st Century (the same as preceding centuries, in fact). Crisis No Reason to Dilute Climate
Plan - EU - BRUSSELS - The global financial crisis is no reason to water down the European Union's flagship
plan to fight climate change, the bloc's environment chief said on Wednesday. EU Lawmakers Plan to Make Climate
Goals Cheaper - BRUSSELS - EU lawmakers will vote next month on steps to lower carbon penalties for industry
and funnel billions of euros annually into climate change-fighting technologies, a European Parliament document
shows. (Reuters) 'Ban dirty coal'
says government environment watchdog - The UK government's own environmental watchdog has called for a halt to
the construction of a new generation of coal-fired power stations unless they are built with carbon capture and
storage (CCS) technology installed from the outset. T. Boone Pickens backs
Proposition 10, from which he would profit - The oil billionaire wants California to invest $5 billion in
rebates to help promote use of natural gas in vehicles, though few consumers could benefit. (Nancy Vogel, Los
Angeles Times) It needn't cost the
earth - At the moment it's too difficult to live the green life. Obstacles should be removed and green choices
made cheaper and easier (Ben Caldecott, The Guardian) Rising cost of oil will not
derail climate strategy, says Hilary Benn - Hilary Benn today defended the government's measures to help
people with domestic fuel bills and pledged that the rising cost of oil would not derail its efforts to tackle
climate change. France's EDF
Buys British Energy Firm - PARIS, Sept. 24 -- French power provider Electricite de France said Wednesday it
has agreed to acquire British Energy Group for about $23.2 billion in cash in a deal that would create a
powerhouse in nuclear energy. Colorful study probes climate change,
fall foliage - UNDERHILL, Vt. -- Could climate change dull the blazing palette of New England's fall foliage?
The answer could have serious implications for one of the region's signature attractions, which draws thousands of
"leaf peepers" every autumn. $45,000.00 to leaf peep? Right... Gore
urges civil disobedience to stop coal plants - NEW YORK - Nobel Peace Prize winner and environmental crusader
Al Gore urged young people on Wednesday to engage in civil disobedience to stop the construction of coal plants
without the ability to store carbon. You know it's the darndest thing... I keep watching the mid
troposphere temperature time series because that is where the enhanced greenhouse signature should
appear since, for increased down-welling radiation to warm the surface the mid troposphere temperature must
rise faster if for no other reason than it being a lossy system (not all radiation being returned to Earth). One
thing that leaps out at me is the El Niño spike and its interruption of what appeared to be an oscillation and
so I ran trends for the period before, during and following that event. Here's the trends plotted from start of
series (December 1978) to end 1996 (plot was just falling through '0' average at that time), then the next 6
years until temperature kind of stabilizes (1/97-12/02) and finally the period since. Funny how all three trend
lines are negative: Al's right -- kind of... World
is losing ground against climate change, Gore warns at Clinton Global Initiative - NEW YORK - Bill Clinton's
annual summit of world leaders and celebrities opened Wednesday with the former president sharing the stage with
rock star Bono and dignitaries including his former vice president, who warned that humanity is struggling in the
fight against climate change. It's true, warmers are on a hiding to nothing these days although it is not really skeptics routing them but
Ma Nature. Look at the graphic for the lower troposphere (where warming should be less than the mid
troposphere according to enhanced greenhouse theory but obviously isn't): trivial warming trend to end 1997;
slight warming from the El Niño of '98 through 2002 and then; crash, big time cooling. It's all gone wrong for
them, hasn't it. “The
Impact of Oklahoma’s Winter Wheat Belt on the Mesoscale Environment” by McPherson et al. 2004 - Dr. Rene
McPherson of the University of Oklahoma has contributed significantly to documenting the role of landscape
processes as a first order climate forcing. This weblog is intended to provide much deserved recognition to her
very important research on this subject. (Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science) ISO-8000
Data Quality - something climate science could benefit from - I received the following email in my inbox this
morning, inviting me to attend the first ISO 8000 data quality conference. Looking at the membership directory for
this group, I’m not at all surprised that NASA, NOAA, NCDC, NWS, GISS and others are not members, given the mess
that the surface data set is in. Solar Winds Cooling
Warmist Doomsaying - Global warming alarmists face yet another challenge to their predictions of an inferno of
doom. The solar wind is losing power, and is at a fifty year low, according to NASA. A Stunning
Pro-Drilling Victory - With the clock ticking down to what some are calling “Energy Freedom Day” —
October 1, 2008, when the congressional bans on offshore oil drilling and onshore oil-shale development are set to
expire — anti-drilling Democrats have backed down from a high-stakes stand-off that could have caused a
government shutdown and will now result in the complete demise of the drilling bans. This is a stunning victory
for grassroots activists over environmental special interests and business-as-usual in Washington. If not
derailed, it also will be great news for all American consumers. (Phil Kerpen, NRO) Drilling Forward - In a stunning
defeat, congressional Democrats were forced to allow the quarter-century-old offshore drilling ban to expire. But
the fight has only begun, with the struggle now shifting to state legislatures. (IBD) No Coal For You! - Joe Biden
wants to develop clean coal technology — for the Chinese. As for the U.S., he wants the Saudi Arabia of coal to
be the Bangladesh of energy. Coal power stations
must have carbon capture and storage, Environment Agency says - New coal-fired power stations shouldn't be
built unless they have the technology to filter out damaging greenhouse gases, the Environment Agency has warned. Really? Green Energy Should
Create 20 Mln Jobs by 2030 - UN - UNITED NATIONS - Development of alternative energy should create more than
20 million jobs around the world in coming decades as governments adopt policies to address the depletion of
resources, according to a UN report released on Wednesday. How many real jobs would it destroy? Britain Looks to France for
Nuclear Future - TORNESS, Scotland - Peering down from a viewing gallery high up in Torness nuclear power
station, plant director Brian Cowell points out a turbine about the size of a large off-road vehicle. China Needs "Energy Tax"
For Efficiency -Think-Tank - BEIJING - China should introduce an "energy tax" as early as possible
while raising taxes on major resource products to encourage energy saving and improve energy efficiency, a
government think-tank said in a report published on Wednesday. (Reuters) Study suggests air quality regulations miss key pollutants
-- A new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder reveals that air quality regulations may not
effectively target a large source of fine, organic particle pollutants that contribute to hazy skies and poor air
quality over the Los Angeles region. (PhysOrg.com) Look closely before
leaping - For more than a year, medical and legal controversies surrounding an especially radical form of
bariatric surgery have been in the Australian news. While the legal and medical investigations have yet to be
resolved or all the facts made public, what is striking in following this story are two precautionary lessons that
it highlights for patients and their families. (Junkfood Science) Here's the environmental whacko group with more of their ridiculous scaremongering: Consumer
groups fret over chemicals in teen cosmetics - Teenagers may be contaminated with potentially risky chemicals
from cosmetics, according to a small study released Wednesday from the Environmental Working Group. (USA TODAY) By the way, the fact that traces of these compounds are found in the girls' urine actually means the girls
are dealing with them properly and excreting these along with other unused compounds. EWG either doesn't know or
deliberately neglected to mention this is a perfectly normal and expected result of absolutely no concern. Free school meals to
teach benefits of healthy eating - Primary pupils are to be offered free school meals in a pilot scheme
intended to improve behaviour, cut obesity and promote healthy eating. (The Times) Good! UC hits
tree-sitters with expensive surprise - Berkeley's infamous tree-sitters have been hit with a rude surprise
since they came down to earth: Judges are socking them with thousands of dollars in fines and legal fees. Wildfires reduced by human activity - For the last
2,000 years the climate has been the major cause of wildfires, but during the late 19th and early 20th century,
human activity dramatically reduced burning in many parts of the world, according to new research published in
Nature Geoscience this week. (PhysOrg) More? Less? Make up you minds guys, either humans cause more fires or we suppress them. Today's yawn: Boxer
calls absent Bush officials 'cowardly' - WASHINGTON – Sen. Barbara Boxer called top Bush administration
officials cowards Wednesday after they failed to attend a hearing on the administration's environmental record. September 24, 2008 Oh boy, Jimmy's right out of his tree: NASA
climate expert warns Kansans of dire consequences of global warming - TOPEKA — One day after a scientist
told Kansas leaders not to worry about global warming, one of the leading experts on climate change stated Tuesday
that if carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase it will eventually mean the end of life. “If we don’t get this thing under control we are going to destroy the creation”? Oh Jimmy! For
the greatest part of the last 150 million years Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide level has been much higher
than that of today while life on Earth thrived. In fact for much of the history of life on Earth the planet has
been not slightly but greatly warmer than it is now and ice caps but brief occurrences on a world too cold (the
tropics extended to the current mid-temperate zone and the temperate zone extended to the poles). Such
conditions obviously did not destroy the creation. Fast?
Try The Younger Dryas - Where climate change is concerned, context and history are everything. This is why
anybody daring to comment on the possible effects of current climate change on the distribution and ecology of
living organisms must read a brilliant new review published recently in the scientific journal, Progress in
Physical Geography [see: G. M. MacDonald et al.: ‘Impacts of climate change on species, populations and
communities: palaeobiogeographical insights and frontiers’, Progress in Physical Geography 32(2) (2008), pp. 139
- 172: DOI: 10.1177/0309133308094081. An Abstract and .PDF are available at Sage Journals Online]. This review is
by some of the world’s leading authorities on palaeobiogeography, the study of the distribution of organisms
through geological time. (Global Warming Politics) Palin, McCain
Disagree on Causes of Global Warming - No one, including Gov. Sarah Palin, questions that Alaska's climate is
changing more rapidly than any other state's. But her skepticism about the causes and what needs to be done to
address the consequences stands in sharp contrast to the views of her running mate, Sen. John McCain, and place
her to the right of the Bush administration and several other Republican governors. Well, hopefully Sarah can take John aside and give him a few clues about the whole gorebull warming farce --
she seems pretty rational about it. Oh CNN... Polar bears resort to
cannibalism as Arctic ice shrinks -- Summer is over in the northern hemisphere, but it's been another chilling
season for researchers who study Arctic sea ice. So, CNN thinks Sputnik began Arctic ice surveys? Granted Sputnik made history October 4, 1957 and technically
opened the door to satellite monitoring of surface conditions but sea ice area surveillance by satellite did not
begin until the late 70s while moderately useful information did not become available from this source until
recently (satellites still confuse surface melt and water pooling with open water). We suspect CNN confuses the
old cold war submarine runs and surface ship voyages with modern-era monitoring from space. Then there's the
throw away headline (cannibalism did get a brief mention in the depths of the piece) which is pretty silly -- we
have pointed out many times that this behavior has been observed as long as people have been watching bears,
regardless of sea ice extent (left to readers to search for references this time, there are plenty out there and
they are not hard to find). Stupid piece. Fat Polar
Bears Are Killing The Polar Bears (Climate Resistance) Atlantic Canada facing big chill - Some
scientists are cautioning that global warming could mean colder weather for Atlantic Canada. Radical environmentalists part of economic meltdown
- Collapse of financial institutions is just part of a disturbing failure of leadership in the business segment of
society. It is part of a wider crisis of leadership at all levels of society, but is the most immediate and
potentially dangerous right now. The business world pushed by government has capitulated to greed and deception
and has put people in financial jeopardy. Sadly, all this plays to a conundrum identified by David Lillenthal, Big
business is basic to the very life of this country; and yet many--perhaps most--Americans have a deep-seated fear
and an emotional repugnance to it. Here is monumental contradiction. Climate
Response And Radiative Forcing From Mineral Aerosols By Mahowald Et Al 2006 - Climate Science has promoted the
perspective that climate forcings involve much more than just the radiative forcing from carbon dioxide. This
viewpoint is also emphasized in a National Research Council report National Research Council, 2005: Radiative
forcing of climate change: Expanding the concept and addressing uncertainties. Committee on Radiative Forcing
Effects on Climate Change, Climate Research Committee, Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Division on
Earth and Life Studies, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 208 pp. Wow! The
American anti-intellectual threat - ... Climate change, for example, poses dire threats to the planet that
must be assessed according to prevailing scientific norms and the evolving capacity of climate science. The Nobel
Prize-winning global scientific process called the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has set the
gold standard for scientific rigor in analyzing the threats of human-induced climate change. (Jeffrey D. Sachs,
Today's Zaman) Delusion, really wishful thinking or outrageous porky? Hard to tell, Sachs might merely believe the
propaganda. Bottom line however is that the IPCC's mandate precludes scientific rigor by virtue of being
premised entirely on dangerous human interference with the climate, anything else is outside their purview. In
the real world, however, we must preface IPCC output with "If dangerous human interference with the
climate exists... " while knowing that observations do not support PlayStation® Climatology-generated
claims that it does. On the Threshold
of Abrupt Climate Change - Abrupt climate change is a potential menace that hasn't received much attention.
That's about to change. Trying 'Abrupt Climate Change" now that gorebull warming is failing to drive the populace? Why not,
"global weirding" and "dangerous climate interference" have failed to catch on, looming ice
age has been done and global warming, well, isn't. More right than they know: First US
emissions market serves as trial balloon - NEW YORK, Sept 23 - When 10 states in the U.S. Northeast launch the
country's first cap and trade emissions market this week, their greatest service to the fight against global
warming may be the mistakes they make. (Reuters) The biggest mistake is having anything to do with "carbon constraint" and hopefully they will
demonstrate that to the rest of the country (apparently they've learnt nothing from the European farce). EU Climate Policy Falters (yet again) - The “success”
of the EU’s climate policy has long been a talking point for those who want Congress to enact energy-rationing
legislation to fight global warming. If Europe can do it, they assert, then so can the U. S. It will all add up, Liberals insist - OTTAWA–Liberal
Leader Stéphane Dion is asking Canadians to trust him with a campaign promise to take $40 billion from their
pockets in the form of carbon tax and give it back in income tax cuts. But Stéphane, people remember the GST, that was supposed to be "revenue neutral" too. More
importantly, energy rationing will not work unless people are deliberately impoverished while "revenue
neutral" would require taking more off them than is now the case or returning less (due to the cost of
running such an absurd two-way transfer of people's wealth). Either way people lose and the only question is by
how much. D'oh! British
public 'unwilling' to pay for climate change bill - Most people in the UK want more action on the environment,
but don't want to pay more taxes to fund it, a new survey has revealed (The Guardian) Big talk: Australia Govt
Says No Carbon Trade Delay - CANBERRA - Australia's plan to impose a carbon emissions trade scheme on its US$1
trillion economy within two years will not be affected by global financial turmoil, Climate Change Minister Penny
Wong said on Tuesday. They still need to get any legislation through what is now a fairly hostile (and conflicted) Senate -- some
of the votes they need are Green & don't think the proposals are sufficiently misanthropic while the others
are unimpressed by such draconian (and pointless) measures. The K.Rudd government talks a good game. EU Has Little to Show From Energy
Scheme - Court - BRUSSELS - A European Union energy saving programme used up 250 million euros (US$366
million) of taxpayers' money but ended with little proof of progress, the European Court of Auditors said on
Tuesday. EU Lawmakers Set to Brake Carbon
Curbs on Cars - BRUSSELS - European Union lawmakers are set to slam the brakes on plans to curb carbon dioxide
emissions from cars, easing the burden on the auto industry in the fight against climate change, documents
circulated on Tuesday showed. (Reuters) NASA’s press
conference on the state of the sun - I just finished participating in the press teleconference call in for
reporters with NASA and their panel of solar experts today. There was a lot of interesting discussions and
questions. Uh-oh... Ulysses spacecraft data indicate Solar
System shield lowering -- Data from the joint ESA/NASA Ulysses mission show that the Sun has reduced its
output of solar wind to the lowest levels since accurate readings have become available. This current state of the
Sun could reduce the natural shielding that envelops our Solar System. (PhysOrg.com) The world according to Seth: Sun's
wind and output on extended dimmer switch - WASHINGTON — The sun has dialed back its furnace to the lowest
levels seen in the space age, new measurements from a space probe show. But don't worry — it's too small a
difference to change life on Earth, scientists said Tuesday. In fact, it means satellites can stay in orbit a
little longer. (AP) Adjusting Pristine Data - On
September 15, 2008, Anthony DePalma of the New York Times wrote an article about the Mohonk Lakes USHCN weather
station titled Weather History Offers Insight Into Global Warming. This article claimed, in part, that the average
annual temperature has risen 2.7 degrees in 112 years at this station. What struck me about the article was the
rather quaint description of the manner in which temperatures are recorded, which I have excerpted here (emphasis
mine): (John Goetz, Watts Up With That?) Heavy Snow Fall In South Africa Blamed
On Global Warming - Phantom warming still cited as NASA sounds alarm bells on greatly reduced solar activity
(Steve Watson, Infowars.net) From CO2 Science this week: Medieval
Warm Period Record of the Week: Subject Index Summary: Plant Growth Data: Journal Reviews: Eurasian River Flows: Are they increasing in
response to global warming? Surface Temperatures of the East China Sea: How did
they vary over the Holocene? Upward-Migrating Plants in the Swiss Alps: Are they
being "pushed off the planet," as James Hansen has suggested should happen? The Impact of Elevated CO2 on
Herbivore and Pathogen Damage of a Common Prairie Legume: How will the ongoing rise in the air's CO2
content impact the future evolution and population dynamics of Lespedeza capitata? Temperature
Record of the Week: Is reality beginning to intrude, even at The Guardian? Arctic
'methane chimneys' raise fears of runaway climate change - Researchers say evidence suggests that the frozen
seabed is perforated and is starting to leak methane, but other scientists urge caution (The Guardian) They are skipping a chance to promote rank hysteria? Goodness, George Moonbat may have to find another host
for his bizarre diatribes. Essential trace gas as a pollutant: ARB
chairman tells U.S. Senate committee Clean Air Act is powerful tool to fight global warming - Washington, D.C.
Sep. 23, 2008 - Mary Nichols, chairman of the California Air Resources Board, today told a Senate Committee in
Washington D.C. that Congressional action is urgently needed to set a firm and ambitious cap on greenhouse gas
emissions. Public Employee Pensions Endangered by
State Officials Playing Global Warming Politics, New Report Says - Washington, DC - Already at-risk public
employee pension funds are being placed at further risk by state officials who are lobbying for global warming
regulation and by state officials who are ignoring the risks posed by such regulation, says a new report,
"Pensions in Peril: Are State Officials Risking Public Employee Retirement Benefits by Playing Global Warming
Politics?," by the National Center for Public Policy Research. (National Center) Economist: Global warming a
back-burner issue - A Washington D.C. economist says global warming is not America’s most pressing concern
in these economically challenged times. Congress still protecting you – from
lightbulbs! - An act sponsored by 25 representatives asking the government to reconsider its ban on
incandescent light bulbs has been stalled in committee – and the leading sponsor is faulting Democratic
leadership. Labour Conference:
Gordon Brown says CO2 targets must be raised to 80% by 2050 - Gordon Brown is ready to adopt much tougher
targets for slashing the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. He made clear that he wants the current target of a 60 per
cent cut in CO2 by 2050 raised to 80 per cent. (Daily Telegraph) Bill Would End Coastal Oil Drilling Ban
- House Democrats are preparing a stopgap spending measure that would eliminate a 26-year-old ban on coastal oil
drilling, avoiding a showdown with Republicans. (New York Times) The Democrats' 'Kill Drill' Bill
- With nearly 70% of voters demanding more domestic oil, the Democratic Congress is about to sneak a new drilling
ban into a must-pass government funding bill — while claiming it supports drilling. (IBD) The Coming Energy Abundance: How new technology can lower
prices and reshape the global economy - As politicians, consumers, and manufacturers fret over the price of
oil, there's good news on the energy front: Natural gas production is booming from "huge shale beds found
throughout North America," reports The New York Times. The improving technology of underground horizontal
drilling and fracturing has opened up trillions of cubic feet of gas that had formerly been thought unobtainable.
And natural gas can also be used to run automobiles (after about $2,000 in conversion costs). These and other
alternative methods of lowering fuel prices could dramatically reshape not only energy policy but the global
economy. (Jon Basil Utley, Reason) Energy Crunch Looms in Britain - Evidence is mounting in
Britain that the Labor Party’s policy of replacing conventional sources of energy with renewables is leading to
a major energy crunch. EU
nears agreement on funding CO2 capture - The European Parliament is getting closer to secure funding for
emerging technology to capture and store the carbon dioxide emissions of heavy-polluting coal-fired power plants,
in an agreement that could bolster the EU's leadership in the fight against global warming. Wind Farm Site Considered 10 Miles From Queens
Shore - A year after its plan to build a wind farm off Jones Beach fell through, the Long Island Power
Authority is studying the economic feasibility of a wind farm 10 miles off the south shore of Queens. (New York
Times) Biomass Study Shows REMs Could Lead to
Unsustainable Fiber Harvests - Government renewable energy mandates (REMs) in the U.S., both federal and
state, could lead to over-harvesting of forests if fully implemented, and are therefore unrealistic, according to
a new study published by RISI (Boston, Mass., USA) titled ”The Emerging Biomass Industry: Impact on Woodfiber
Markets.” The report examines proliferating woody biomass projects throughout North America and what rapid
growth in this industry would mean to the pre-existing markets that depend on a steady and reasonably priced
source of woodfiber. (TAPPI) How’s that working? - In
2006, Massachusetts signed into law the nation’s first state universal health insurance program. It was to be
the test ground to see how well universal health coverage would work here in the United States. So, why do we hear
so little about how it’s going? (Junkfood Science)
Charlatans to the Rescue - Ever since
psychiatrist Leo Kanner identified a neurological condition he called autism in 1943, parents whose children have
been diagnosed with the most severe form of the illness -- usually in the toddler stage, before age 3 -- have
found themselves desperately searching for some way not to lose their children to autism's closed-off world.
Unfortunately, such parents have often found misguided doctors, ill-informed psychologists and outright charlatans
eager to proffer help. Get your copy of Autism's False Prophets through our store and
help keep JunkScience.com online! <chuckle> Green
idealists fail to make grade, says study - People who believe they have the greenest lifestyles can be seen as
some of the main culprits behind global warming, says a team of researchers, who claim that many ideas about
sustainable living are a myth. Greenland's Inuits blast EU plans to ban
seal skin sales - A European Union proposal to ban imports of seal skins has Greenlandic Inuits worried they
could soon face a repeat of boycotts that severely crippled one of their major sources of income two decades ago. September 23, 2008 Important new paper: Climate Science: Is it currently designed
to answer questions? - Abstract: For a variety of inter-related cultural, organizational, and political
reasons, progress in climate science and the actual solution of scientific problems in this field have moved at a
much slower rate than would normally be possible. Not all these factors are unique to climate science, but the
heavy influence of politics has served to amplify the role of the other factors. By cultural factors, I primarily
refer to the change in the scientific paradigm from a dialectic opposition between theory and observation to an
emphasis on simulation and observational programs. The latter serves to almost eliminate the dialectical focus of
the former. Whereas the former had the potential for convergence, the latter is much less effective. The
institutional factor has many components. One is the inordinate growth of administration in universities and the
consequent increase in importance of grant overhead. This leads to an emphasis on large programs that never end.
Another is the hierarchical nature of formal scientific organizations whereby a small executive council can speak
on behalf of thousands of scientists as well as govern the distribution of ‘carrots and sticks’ whereby
reputations are made and broken. The above factors are all amplified by the need for government funding. When an
issue becomes a vital part of a political agenda, as is the case with climate, then the politically desired
position becomes a goal rather than a consequence of scientific research. This paper will deal with the origin of
the cultural changes and with specific examples of the operation and interaction of these factors. In particular,
we will show how political bodies act to control scientific institutions, how scientists adjust both data and even
theory to accommodate politically correct positions, and how opposition to these positions is disposed of.
(Richard S. Lindzen, Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Richard Lindzen: Climate
science: Is it currently designed to answer questions? - Richard Lindzen is not only a renowned climate
scientist but also an experienced person who has met many people and understood how many institutions work. In his
new, published 35-page paper that is also available via the arXiv, Climate
Science: Is it currently designed to answer questions? (PDF) he
shows that institutionalized climate science is becoming an inefficient tool to answer scientific questions. (The
Reference Frame) Met Office admits natural variation greater than enhanced greenhouse, kind of: Met
Office says climate change deniers deluded - Climate change sceptics such as Nigel Lawson who argue that
global warming has stopped have their "heads in the sand", according to the Met Office. There was a brief run of years about 0.2 K
warmer than average at the beginning of the 21st Century but that seems to have passed. The
warmest August in the Central England
Temperature time series was in 1995 while August 2008 ranked a lofty, um, 98th hottest! They must
be worrying people are starting to wise up. Romm rant: As dirty as Inhofe: John
McCain's environmental record is as bad as climate change denier James Inhofe - Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is
an avowed climate science believer who comes from a state with enough solar resource to power the entire nation.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is an avowed climate science denier who comes from a major oil patch state. Granted it's not really clear whether Joe is touting for McCain or whining about him but given the target
audience it seems clear Joe really thinks McCain should be a green idiot. It is true McCain has given the
wrong impression -- I, for one, was not aware his voting record was near as good as Romm claims (I should pay
more attention to politics). Note he makes all the wrong noises below: McCain vows to 'answer Australia's
call' on climate - AUSTRALIA has looked to the US for leadership on global climate change and it is "time
for us to answer that call", John McCain says. Kansas
Chamber of Commerce lends ear to scientist who disputes man-made global warming - TOPEKA — Global warming?
So what. Storms
heat up climate clash - With Texas still measuring the toll from Hurricane Ike, fresh gusts are blowing in a
long-stormy debate about global warming's role in spawning deadly cyclones. Actually the Northern Hemisphere ACE index
is running somewhat low to September 1 this year: 218 from an expected 251 (30-year average). It is true that
the North Atlantic has been busy this season but the Pacific has been very quiet. Ryan Maue's Global
and Northern Hemisphere TC ACE plot Jan. 1990-Jul. 2008 tells a very different story from that of gorebull
warming alarmists. US Companies See Climate Risk, But
Lack Plan - NEW YORK - US companies judge climate change a risk to their business, but lag global companies in
setting targets to cut emissions, according to a global survey. (Reuters) The most serious climate risk posed to companies is climate hysteria and to address that companies need to
tell governments they are not playing this stupid game. If governments threaten to increase costs pretending to
control the climate enterprises need to bluntly inform them their businesses will relocate to more
business-friendly climes. Climate change
fears after German opt-out - A German government decision to back an almost total exemption for industry from
new rules that would force companies to pay for the carbon dioxide they emit threatens to undermine a key tenet of
European Union climate policy, climate campaigners warn. What utter nonsense: Burying
CO2 Could Pay for Itself by 2030 - Report - BRUSSELS - Trapping and burying carbon dioxide from power plants
could become viable without public funding by 2030, helping nations reduce their dependence on energy imports and
meet climate goals, a report said on Monday. Even with a 100% improvement in efficiency we'd still be throwing away 20% of generated energy just
liquefying and injecting carbon dioxide. Why? What have we suddenly got against plants that we want to deny them
the accidental bounty of our activities? Liberals crunch carbon tax for
Canadians - OTTAWA — Canada's Liberals unveiled their election plank Monday, touting the largest tax shift
in recent Canadian history, massively cutting income and corporate taxes to offset a new pollution tax. Hmm... like the GST was introduced as "revenue neutral" eh? A
New Paper: “India’s Future Climate: No Cause for Alarm” by Dr. Madhav L. Khandekar - There is a very
informative new article by Madhav Khandekar. It is Khandekar, M.L., 2008: India’s Future Climate: No Cause for
Alarm. i4d, August 2008, 24-26. Craig Loehle: trouble with
tree-ring reconstructions - In this weekly dose of peer-reviewed skeptical climatological literature, we visit
Springer's Climatic Change where Craig Loehle has the following article: A
mathematical analysis of the divergence problem in dendroclimatology (abstract, preview
of page 1) He shows that the tree ring proxies can completely mislead you. Even if you have reasons to believe
that the tree ring width primarily depends on the temperature, there is one subtlety that can literally turn your
results upside down: nonlinearity. (The Reference Frame) THE IMPORTANCE OF NOTHING! (On the Sun) - This concerns
the current lack of sunspots and NASA's observations and announcements for 23 Sept - this is a continuation of the
previous CO2Sceptics.Com exclusive 'The Roll Of The Spotless Sun' New Cycle 24 Sunspot and SSN wavelet
analysis - Maybe there is some hope for SC24 ramping up this year yet. This appears to be the largest SC24
spot to date. Previous SC24 spots have faded quickly, we’ll see how long this one lasts. (Watts Up With That?) Climate Skeptic Warren Meyer: Those retreating glaciers -
We’re told the melting and retreat of the glaciers is “unprecedented,” due, of course, to anthropogenic
warming, but a 2005 study shows that the glaciers have been retreating steadily for the past 150 years — before
AGW became even a theoretical factor. (False Alarm) Transcript: Global warming could help
protect grey nurse shark from extinction - TONY EASTLEY: It's not often we hear about a positive impact of
climate change, but new research has identified one critically endangered animal that could benefit from global
warming. Oh boy... these clowns are expecting the Southern Ocean to warm enough to allow cold-sensitive sharks to
traverse southern Australia? Ain't gonna happen. This nonsense, again: Modest CO2 cutbacks may be too
little, too late for coral reefs - How much carbon dioxide is too much? According to United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) greenhouse gases in the atmosphere need to be stabilized at levels low
enough to "prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system." But scientists have
come to realize that an even more acute danger than climate change is lurking in the world's oceans—one that is
likely to be triggered by CO2 levels that are modest by climate standards. (Carnegie Institution) Most corals evolved in the Ordovician with atmospheric carbon levels greater than 4,000 ppmv so they sure as
heck are not likely to be troubled by less than one-fifth that concentration. Climate change, human activity and wildfires - Climate
has been implicated by a new study as a major driver of wildfires in the last 2,000 years. But human activities,
such as land clearance and fire suppression during the industrial era (since 1750) have created large swings in
burning, first increasing fires until the late 1800s, and then dramatically reducing burning in the 20th century.
(University of Oregon) What's the
cost of global warming? - Analysis Let us assume global warming is happening. Let us assume too that it is
doing so at a rapid pace. What should we do about it? The Indy... Exclusive:
The methane time bomb - Arctic scientists discover new global warming threat as melting permafrost releases
millions of tons of a gas 20 times more damaging than carbon dioxide. (The Independent) ... so tell us, oh Indy, since there is no indication the Arctic sea floor is warming and no historical
information on methane release in the region, why should we think this is new or alarming? After all, methane
leaks into all the oceans all the time anyway, why should this observation be anything other than confirmation
there is in fact gas below the Arctic? Most rational response? Cool, hope we can get access to commercially
viable gas reserves. New hope for tapping vast domestic reserves of oil shale
- Researchers in Canada and Turkey report discovery of a new process for economically tapping vast resources of
crude oil in the United States, Canada, and other countries now locked away in rocky deposits called oil shale.
(ACS) Labour conference:
John Hutton criticised for comments on coal fired power stations - Environmental protection groups rounded on
Business Secretary John Hutton after he said the UK needed new coal-fired and nuclear power stations. Really stupid idea: Carbon
capture viable by 2030 but needs £8bn to begin now - One of Gordon Brown's pet energy projects - to build up
to a dozen pilot plants to capture and store carbon dioxide as power stations burn coal to generate electricity -
would require EU subsidies of as much as €10bn (£7.9bn) over the next few years, it emerged yesterday. More socialist nonsense: Crisis
must be turned to green benefit, scientist says - Governments need to show the same boldness to intervene in
the markets to kickstart a move to a low-carbon economy as they did when they helped the banks stave off financial
crisis last week, a leading academic has demanded. The financial markets are in trouble mostly because governments have meddled with them and require rescue
because of, not despite government regulation. Lehman Brothers, like Enron before them, tried to harvest money
from the ludicrous carbon-driven warming scam rather than from real markets with real products. In short it is
largely a green/government-driven crisis and must not be used as an excuse for even more absurdities. Suffer the little
children: null link between tylenol and asthma - When little ones hurt, have a high fever and are crying and
too miserable to rest or eat, their parents have been able to help them feel better with a few drops of tylenol or
panadol. It’s the most-used analgesic around the world and used by parents for more than 50 years. This weekend,
parents were frightened by 442 worldwide news reports of a study on more than 205,000 children just published in
Lancet, claiming to find a link between acetaminophen use during infancy and asthma in childhood. Obesity
harms heart more than smoking, study finds - Heart attacks are hitting the overweight more than a decade
sooner than "normal" weight people, researchers are reporting. Research indicates new virus is culprit, not bystander, in
deadly skin cancer - University of Pittsburgh scientists are uncovering more evidence that a virus they
recently discovered is the cause of Merkel cell carcinoma, an aggressive and deadly form of skin cancer.
(University of Pittsburgh) EPA Won't Remove Rocket Fuel From
Water - The Environmental Protection Agency has decided there is no need to rid drinking water of a toxic
rocket fuel ingredient that has fouled public water supplies around the United States. New Process Eliminates a
Fertilizer’s Blast Threat - A major chemical company will announce Tuesday that it has found a way to render
nitrogen fertilizer useless as an explosive, and improve its value to some crops. Bedbugs make a return via low-cost
flights - Increased foreign travel and a lack of awareness have been blamed for the rise in bedbug
infestations being reported by airlines, train and bus companies. Bringing back broad-spectrum insecticides would help. So would dousing accommodation with DDT powder. Science minister attempts to
reopen the debate on GM crops - Ministers have given their strongest backing yet to GM crops being planted in
the UK. The science minister, Ian Pearson, predicted the public would accept GM crops if they could be convinced
that the technology would benefit consumers. September 22, 2008 More to Come in Busy Atlantic
Hurricane Season - MIAMI - The 10 tropical storms and hurricanes that ripped through the Atlantic and
Caribbean during this busy hurricane season savaged Haiti, Cuba and the US Gulf coast, and conditions are now ripe
for more. More hysterical drivel: Blocking
the Sky to Save the Earth - TO the relief of climate scientists around the world, it appears that the polar
ice cap hasn’t shrunk as much this summer as it did last summer. To begin with it wasn't temperature and hence wasn't enhanced greenhouse effect that dumped thicker multiyear
ice out of the Arctic but a cyclic reversal of wind patterns. Like so much else these wind cycles aren't in GCMs
so no one is surprised models didn't get it right (the only surprises are when models are accidentally close).
No one has much of a clue how the Arctic ice behaves over century time scales (we've really only been watching
for about 30 years) but it is a fair bet there will be some moderation of conditions as we get further from the
Little Ice Age (always providing we don't return to similar conditions with a quiescent sun). The other point to
note is that the last year's larger, more persistent snow packs probably increased Earth's albedo significantly
more than increased Arctic sea ice melt reduced it so no, a little more open water during the northern summer
did not warm the planet at all. Sun Warms and Cools the Earth - In an op-ed in a Polish weekly
I commented recently on a remarkable decrease of global temperature in 2008, and over the past decade. Not
surprisingly the op-ed evoked a strong reaction from Polish co-workers of IPCC, denying the existence of cooling.
Surprising, however, was that the criticism dwelled upon a “global climatic conspiracy”, and “colossal
international plot”. I did not use these words nor even hinted at such an idea. The idea was probably apparent
from the data and facts I presented, showing weaknesses of the man-made global warming hypothesis. Without
irrational political or ideological factors, it is really difficult to understand why so many people believe in
human causation of the Modern Warm Period, which was never plausibly proved by scientific evidence. Some of these
factors I will discuss here. (NZCPR) Hmm... Clearer
skies have brought more rain - FETCH the umbrella - global warming and cleaner skies are making it rain more. ... Asian Brown Cloud? Chinese industrialization? Amazonian, African wet tropics and Indonesian land
clearance fires? We hear a lot about increasing atmospheric pollution. Who says the skies are clearing? Oh my... Trees
Will Save Us From Global Warming? Scratch That - For the couple of decades the Greening Earth Society, a
creation of the coal industry, has been happily insisting that the more carbon dioxide we pump into the atmosphere
the lusher and more verdant the world will be. As far as climate change goes, their attitude is Alfred E.
Neuman’s: what, me worry? ... Begley really is dire at this, isn't she? Sharon, drought inhibited prairie grass in this failed
experiment -- it was their uncontrolled variable and yes, drought is actually not good for plants (even puts the
poor dears off their food -- CO2). For those not aware the comparison Begley should have made
is between CO2-boosted plants and 'natural-state' controls in the same years to see what
effect increased CO2 has rather than merely looking at boosted plants in consecutive years. This is
where she would have seen that the Greening Earth Society is quite correct, increased atmospheric carbon dioxide
is indeed good for plants (NASA even put out a release a few years ago about how the world is, in fact, greening
in response to elevated carbon dioxide and their GSFC did
similarly back in 2001). More importantly, Begley would have discovered that increasing atmospheric CO2
makes plants more water efficient and drought resistant (or she could have gone to say, co2science.org
and got hundreds, probably thousands of references on plant growth enhancement and drought resistance with
increased carbon dioxide). The one point Begley accidentally got right is that trees will not 'save us' from global warming -- but only
because we are not in any danger from same. Can Rubber Ducks Help Track a
Melting Glacier? - WASHINGTON - To help figure out what's happening inside the fastest-moving Greenland
glacier, a US rocket scientist sent 90 rubber ducks into the ice, hoping someone finds them if they emerge in
Baffin Bay. (Reuters) NSIDC’ s Dr. Walt
Meier Answers 10 Questions - Regular readers may recall some of the posts here, here, here, and here, where
the sea ice data presented by NSIDC and by Cryosphere today were brought into question. We finally have an end to
this year’s Arctic melt season, and our regular contributor on sea-ice, Steven Goddard, was able to ask Dr. Walt
Meier, who operates the National Snow and Ice Data Center 10 questions, and they are presented here for you. I
have had correspondence with Dr. Meier and found him straightforward and amiable. If only other scientists were so
gracious with questions from the public. - Anthony (Watts Up With That?) Climate cuttings 24
(Bishop Hill) The global warming debate isn't over - I have
written a lot about global warming in this column challenging the argument that you and I are responsible. I do it
to provide balance to the media coverage. They have failed to print both sides of this story. When questioned,
many reporters say "the debate is over!" That's not their job! Back in the days when real journalism was
practiced, we got both sides. The debate is never over as long as there is a strong argument from both sides of
any question. It's probably just crusty old curmudgeons like me but... Scientist
speaks up: Andrew Weaver's conscience pushed him into the political fray - It was pure chance that University
of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver's new book on global warming came out during a federal election
campaign. But since it has, he's taking an extraordinary step for a scientist and declaring, point-blank, no
punches pulled, how he thinks people should vote. ... this looks a whole lot like "Quick, vote for the dudes that'll throw the most of your money at my
global warming Saskatchewan Premier Warns Against
Carbon Tax - BANFF, Alberta - Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said Friday that his province, which has been
riding a commodity-driven boom, should not be saddled with new environmental taxes as prices for oil and grain
fall from their highs of a few months ago. (Reuters) Reality beginning to intrude? Green Shift: Are Liberals
downplaying eco plan? - WINNIPEG–Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion yesterday appeared to back away from his
Green Shift plan featuring a controversial carbon tax by insisting it is not a major part of his election
platform. Plundering the private purse
- It was the great economist and philosopher Adam Smith who wrote: People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends
in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. Now, they do not even bother to hide their intentions – they just cite "climate change" and lobby
the government so that they can "compete for the lucrative business" made possible by its measures. (EU
Referendum) Global Warming Peters Out on Navy Pier
- On September 22-24, hundreds of spokespersons for big corporations will gather on Chicago's Navy Pier to discuss
how they can cash in on public worries about "global warming." The timing of the "Corporate Climate
Response" event could hardly be worse for its sponsors. (News Blaze) Proposed greenhouse gas rules could
hit Alaska business - No matter who wins the presidential election, if you're in business, there's new
government paperwork in your future. And no matter whether you believe in global warming, if your business
operates buildings or mobile equipment, you'll be measuring and filing reports on greenhouse gases, that cocktail
of chemicals - carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, methane and three other gases - scientists say are causing climate
change. Emissions scheme 'will mug
farmers' - THE Rudd Government's proposed emissions trading scheme could cost tens of thousands of jobs, drive
businesses offshore and force thousands of farming families off the land, according to a leading rural economist. Eco-Activist: Children Amplify
Emotional Effect of Alarmist Claims - If you want to get people on your side of an issue, scare them by
suggesting something is going to hurt their children. Looking for something to set your kids' minds to rest? Try Holly Fretwell's "The Sky's Not Falling:
Why It's OK To Chill About Global Warming" -- available now through the JunkScience.com
store. Economic crisis threatens EU measures on
climate change - BRUXELLES - The recent economic downturn could push the European Union to adopt more modest
ambitions in its fight against climate change. Look how much the fruitloop brigade have devalued "polluting" -- what they are talking about here
is carbon dioxide emissions. Wonder when they'll start carrying protests signs "Don't feed the
plants!"? NEWS:
NASA to hold press conference on the state of the sun - This is unusual. A live media teleconference on the
sun. Even more unusual is this statement: Coming event: "A
Critique of Global Warming Science and Policy" - It is now widely believed that man-made greenhouse gases
are causing an unnatural warming of the earth that will have devastating consequences for human life.
Environmentalists and politicians are pressing for severe restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions aimed at
preventing global warming. But are these beliefs and policies justified? What does the scientific evidence
actually support regarding the causes of climate variability and the role of anthropogenic greenhouse gases? Are
the predictions of catastrophic changes supported by scientific fact? Is government economic intervention aimed at
severely restricting greenhouse gases an appropriate policy response? Panelists will address these critical issues
in a spirited discussion. Comment
On The September 13, 2008 Article in The Economist “Adapt Or Die” - The Economist published an article
this past week titled “Adapt or die” [subscription needed]. It is an informative article and starts to address
the issue of vulnerability that has been emphasized on Climate Science (e.g. see). UAF
professor emeritus continues to question sources of global warming - FAIRBANKS — A University of Alaska
Fairbanks professor emeritus known for his belief that carbon dioxide is not the sole cause of climate change
presented his latest research Thursday. Economic Slowdown Won't Ease
Carbon Emissions - LONDON - Tumbling factory output following an economic slowdown will not be enough to curb
rising industrial carbon emissions in Europe, analysts said on Friday. That means no bright lining to a credit
crisis which at the same time has pressured political commitment to fighting climate change. (Reuters) Only rabid misanthropists could possibly think there is a 'silver lining' to people's financial catastrophe.
Not that that is a big surprise -- rabid misanthropists are driving the gorebull warming farce. Global
Warming’s Boom Bust - “‘Global warming’ is sub-prime science, sub-prime economics, and sub-prime
politics, and it could well go down with the sub-prime mortgage.” (Philip Stott, September 21) (Global Warming
Politics) Financial crisis:
Lehman misses out on carbon credit scam - What is the connection between the bankrupt Lehman Brothers and the
likelihood that in four years' time our electricity bills will jump another 25 per cent (on top of the rises
likely from soaring coal and gas prices)? Jeff Id: cherry-picking
in new hockey stick graph - Jeff Id provides us with some new
perspective on the new hockey stick graph, Mann et al. 2008. It seems that the paper is not only a case of sub-prime
science but an example of scientific fraud. World's
premier scientific journal says "Kumbiya!" - Nature's descent from serious scientific
publication to journal of record for the darker fringes of the green movement continues apace with a hilarious
piece from hippie-chick editor, Olive Heffernan. (Bishop Hill) Speaker Pelosi would
'save the planet' with higher gas prices - Nancy Pelosi has changed her mind. She'll allow a vote on drilling
for America's offshore oil potential after all—sort of. The Worst Energy
Ideas of 2008 - Both presidential candidates have made arguments and endorsed policies that are inconsistent
with economic reality. (Abigail Haddad, The American) Windmills for
Suckers: Pickens’ Genocidal Plan (pdf) - Billionaire T. Boone Pickens’ boondoggle to create the world’s
largest wind farm in the Texas Panhandle, is scientifically and economically worthless, as Gregory Murphy reports.
(EIR) Petrobras to Return Amazon
Oilfield to Ecuador - QUITO - Brazilian oil company Petrobras has agreed to give back to Ecuador a
controversial oilfield in the heart of the Amazon jungle, President Rafael Correa said on Saturday. (Reuters) Brazil: Development of oil will
help expand 4% in 2009 - Brazil's economy is forecasted to expand 4% in 2009 as oil exploration bolsters
investment even as the United States and European Union slowdown hamper global growth, according to the
country’s Planning Minister Paulo Bernardo. (Mercopress) Canadian company finds crude in
northeast Argentina - An oil deposit was discovered in an exploratory well in the northeast Argentina province
of Formosa announced the Canadian company Gran Tierra Energy Inc. The Calgary based company said Wednesday it
plans long-term production testing on the Proa.x-1 well and will begin commercial oil sales in about a week. (Mercopress) Environmentalists balk at drilling off NJ coast
-- With oil and gas drilling heating up as an issue in the presidential race, environmentalists and the governor
reiterated their opposition to tapping reserves off the state's coast, saying it would endanger the environment
and the tourism industry on which New Jersey is so dependent. (AP) Cost of Syncrude Emissions Plan
Jumps to C$1.6 Bln - CALGARY, Alberta - Syncrude Canada Ltd's cost for installing equipment to cut emissions
of deadly sulfur dioxide has more than doubled to C$1.6 billion (US$1.52 billion), the joint-venture's biggest
shareholder said Friday. ETS threatens gas industry
and worse climate change - AUSTRALIA'S $15 billion gas industry could shrink by more than a quarter by 2020
unless it is protected from the economic effects of the proposed emissions trading scheme. PM wants more for his money
on clean coal - KEVIN Rudd has warned miners and power generators to do more to tackle climate change, while
handing them $100 million a year for a new research institute to rescue international efforts to develop carbon
capture and storage technology. This gibbering idiot is headed for New York this week... how much to keep him? Melting Ice Brings Competition for
Resources - Climate change is freeing the Arctic of ice -- and spurring a global competition for the natural
resources stored beneath. Countries that border the sea are staking new territorial claims and oil giants are
dispatching geologists. But what will the tug-of-war mean for the indigenous people and wildlife? (Der Spiegel) Good luck guys, the Arctic environment will remain, um... challenging for a long time yet. EU Biofuel Panic Threatens Planet
- Brazil Envoy - BRUSSELS - Europe's heated debate over biofuels risks weakening one of the world's best tools
to fight climate change and one of the developing world's best hopes for economic growth, Brazil's ambassador to
the EU said on Friday. (Reuters) UK Firm Eyes Ethanol Plant in
Tanzania - DAR ES SALAAM - British-based energy firm CAMS Group plans to produce 240 million litres of ethanol
a year from sweet sorghum in Tanzania at a cost of up to US$600 million, its chief executive said. (Reuters) Rees scraps biofuel
mandates - NSW Premier Nathan Rees has ditched his predecessor's commitment to introduce mandated levels of
biodiesel in motor vehicles and boost ethanol levels from 2 per cent to 10 per cent. The phantom
epidemic of child diabetes - We’ve heard it repeated so many times that consumers and healthcare
professionals, alike, assume it must be true: that the epidemic of childhood obesity has created a new epidemic
among today’s young people — of type 2 diabetes. Once thought to be an adult disease, type 2 diabetes is said
to have alarmingly increased among children and adolescents because rates of overweight and obesity have tripled
in the past two decades. FYI: a new
preventive health measure - A new intervention has been added to the field of public health and preventive
medicine: bariatric surgeries. This is being disseminated worldwide pretty much simultaneously and offers insight
into the marketing of disease prevention. When something
sounds too good to be true: more cancer scams - As covered here in June, the Food and Drug Administration
issued warning letters to 125 companies marketing fraudulent cancer cures through the internet and launched a
consumer website, “Beware of Online Cancer Fraud,” which lists some of the most obvious signs of health fraud.
The FTC, which regulates fraudulent marketing claims, joined the FDA in a new initiative to try and help prevent
deceptive products from harming or taking advantage of cancer patients — at a time when they’re the most
vulnerable, frightened and desperate. (Junkfood Science) FTC warns
consumers about bogus cancer cures - WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission charged five companies with
making false and misleading claims for cancer cures and said Thursday that it has reached settlements with six
others. "As long as products have been sold there has been somebody out there selling snake oil to
consumers," said Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection. Uh-huh... Obesity
may diminish a man's fertility - NEW YORK - Being obese may dim a man's chances of becoming a father, even if
he is otherwise healthy, a new study suggests. ... following this to its logical conclusion, because obese men are less likely to have ever fathered a child
then natural selection caused obesity to be bred out of the human race and... oh. Weighing the Evidence
to Prevent On-the-Job Pain - Results are mixed on whether ergonomic measures prevent musculoskeletal pain.
(New York Times) Interestingly, Australia was the RSI (repetitive strain injury) capital of the world with a veritable
epidemic of cases -- right up to the point where insurance stopped paying for it. The epidemic then disappeared
even faster than it grew and we haven't been troubled by it since. Doubtless you can over-train and strain young
tennis players and 'tennis elbow' certainly exists but RSI in its many guises has been a vastly overplayed
malady. We are facing a global pandemic of antibiotic resistance,
warn experts - Vital components of modern medicine such as major surgery, organ transplantation, and cancer
chemotherapy will be threatened if antibiotic resistance is not tackled urgently, warn experts on bmj.com today. (PhysOrg) 'CLUELESS'
CRIME LABS: PROS SLAM CSI TECHNIQUES AS 'JUNK' - A federal panel of experts looking into the reliability of
CSI tests has heard damning evidence against some of the most common techniques used to convict killers, rapists
and other criminals, The Post has learned. African
Grasslands Regenerated Through Fire - Are fires more important than rain for the savannah ecosystem? (Red
Orbit) And yet, greenies hand-wring over rainforest burning/clearance because it is 'lost'. Actually it isn't and
this is a reminder that unless kept browsed or the land grazed or cropped then woody plants take over (which is
another way of saying the rainforest regrows). Nanomaterials Could Harm Fish,
Environment - Study - CHICAGO - Buckyballs, tiny soccer ball-shaped carbon molecules that hold promise for
uses ranging from novel drug-delivery systems to fuel cells, may threaten health by building up in fat,
researchers said on Friday. (Reuters) US Agriculture Squeezed by Demand,
Climate - ST. LOUIS - US agriculture faces the daunting task of growing enough crops to meet the demands of
both a hungry world and the booming new biofuels industry while reducing its impact on climate change. World malnourished soar to 925
million with global food crisis - The way out of the global food crisis, which has plunged at least 75 million
more humans into hunger and poverty, lies in increased agricultural production, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf
told Italy’s Parliament on Wednesday. (Reuters) Research pushes back history of crop development 10,000
years - Researchers led by Dr Robin Allaby of the University of Warwick's plant research arm Warwick HRI have
found evidence that genetics supports the idea that the emergence of agriculture in prehistory took much longer
than originally thought. (PhysOrg) September 19, 2008
Anti-chemical Activists Hit the (Plastic) Bottle
Again - Anti-chemical activists opened a new front in their jihad against the plastics chemical bisphenol-A
(BPA) this week. (Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com) Suzuki off with the tree fairies again: Seeing
the forest for the trees - How much is a forest worth? And how do we calculate that value? Do we simply count
the trees and figure out how much we could get for them if we were to cut them down and turn them into logs,
lumber and pulp and paper? It's about time we started telling it like it is: carbon sequestration is not a service -- it's a cost and
those depleting this essential resource from the atmosphere should be paying for it (or at least grateful to
those replenishing it). The real situation is that hundreds of millions of years of biological activity have depleted essential
atmospheric carbon dioxide and the atmosphere is currently in a parlous state, drawn way below a safe margin of
~1,000ppmv carbon dioxide to the point where many plants barely function at all. You would think tree huggers
would be rejoicing the fact a byproduct of human activity is restoring to the atmosphere some of its former
bounty and supporting more life on Earth but no, the misanthropic watermelons simply can't overcome their
"if humans are involved it has to be bad" mindset and decry the best thing that has happened for the
biosphere in millions of years. <chuckle> Palin
letter sets off eco-fury - Furious environmental campaigners have hit out at vice presidential candidate Sarah
Palin, after it was discovered that she tried to block air-pollution cutting legislation in California. They don't like Palin doing her job as Governor of Alaska? I was going to mention the hacking of Governor Palin's personal e-mail account but, as is often the case,
Luboš has beaten me to it: Sarah
Palin: nothing wrong about a Yahoo address - A hacker - possibly a group calling itself "Anonymous"
(not too helpful) and maybe a student nicknamed Rubico - has hacked into Sarah Palin's e-mail account, gov.palin@yahoo.com,
and published some content on the web. It was easy: he or she only resetted the password by answering a few
trivial questions such as the ZIP code and the place where she met her husband (Wasilla High). What he or she or
it or they have found seems innocent so I can show you: (The Reference Frame) They've Got Mail! - As an army
of Democratic operatives looks for dirt in Alaska, Gov. Sarah Palin's e-mail account is hacked into. It seems
Barack Obama's supporters haven't given up the politics of personal destruction. (IBD) Just for laughs: Startle
Response Linked to Politics - People who startle easily in response to threatening images or loud sounds seem
to have a biological predisposition to adopt conservative political positions on many hot-button issues, according
to unusual new research published yesterday. (Washington Post) Now let's see if I have this straight. Conservatives cling to guns, go hunting and have Confederate flags on
their pickups. People who startle easily in response to loud sounds are likely to be conservatives. Guns make
loud sounds so... conservatives like to be startled? No, no! Conservatives like to use silencers on their guns,
that must be it! Another naive propagandist: Climate
change's various faces - For the past 16 years the first intergovernmental negotiation took place in
Washington DC in early 1991 the world has been haggling about what it knows about climate change but does not want
to accept. It has been desperately seeking every excuse not to act, even as science has confirmed and reconfirmed
the fact that climate change is real, it is related to carbon dioxide and other emissions, the emissions are
related to economic growth and wealth in the world. In other words, it is human made and it can devastate the
world as we know it. Global Warming to
Shake Up Big Ten - Jim Nichols of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote an article this past Tuesday (September 16)
that has gotten the attention of Ohio State and Michigan fans around the country: Global warming could send
buckeye trees to Michigan (Watts Up With That?) Trusting climate model output is just plain dumb: Colorado
resort real estate buffered from global warming - Ski towns in Colorado’s high country — including Summit
County — may have some short-term immunity from predicted global-warming impacts that could drive down resort
real-estate values by more than 50 percent in some parts of the country. Guess what? We have no reason whatsoever to believe the world will warm catastrophically or that the snowpack
will diminish. Douglass & Christy:
limits on CO2 climate forcing - In this dose of skeptical peer-reviewed [see some debate about the adjective
in the comments] literature about the climate, we look to Energy and Environment. In the August 2008 issue, David
Douglass and John Christy have the following article: Limits on CO2
climate forcing from recent temperature data of Earth (PDF) Granted I've only had a chance for a cursory examination of this paper but my impression was they may still
be significantly overestimating increased forcing from carbon dioxide. While the extrapolation if about +1 °C
for a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide holds from the last 30 years data I suspect it will not once we get
further into a cooling (or warming stall, as warmers prefer to call it). Perhaps I haven't fully understood
their paper but, at the moment, I've seen nothing to suggest we should up-revise the conclusion drawn here. Kudos
To Andy Revkin At Dot Earth For A Balanced News Article - Climate Science has been critical of news articles
that are clearly biased in their presentation of our understanding of Climate Science. Thus, it is a pleasure to
report on a balanced article by Andy Revkin on September 17, 2008 titled Arctic Ice Retreat Misses Last Year’s
Mark Uh-huh... The IPCC report: what
the lead authors really think - In the final months of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s
Fourth Assessment reporting in 2007, the world’s three leading climate science agencies asked people directly
and intimately involved with the report for their views on how the process had gone and some of the key issues it
raised. (ERL) IPCC lead authors are chosen for their gorebull warming belief so this is asking the promoters of the
whole shemozzle. Green Job
Rhetoric, Meet Carbon-Cap Reality - It certainly seems incongruent to witness the candidates ever so quietly
promoting their plans to address the greatest threat facing mankind, burying nonspecific throwaway lines in
speeches given when they know lots of people are watching. Not much talk out of either of them at their respective
conventions, when they had massive, rapt audiences. Strange. (Chris Horner, Planet Gore) More Push
for Green Jobs - Wednesday’s Washington Post also had a story, “Report: Emission rules to boost Calif.
economy,” noting that “business groups and some Republican lawmakers” doubt this. Clearly, the
global-warming industry has sensed the difficulties that it will face forcing its agenda on a public sharpening
the pitchforks over what would prove in hindsight to be relatively cheap energy. I also now see that a “green
recovery” hearing of Rep. Ed Markey’s Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming is taking
place this afternoon, so the coincidences make some sense. (Chris Horner, Planet Gore) Business chiefs urge
action on climate change - Business leaders including directors at Tesco, Lloyds TSB and other top high street
names have urged Gordon Brown to drop his slowly, slowly approach to tackling global warming and go for
"transformational change", saying the prime minister should not be held back by fears over the current
financial crisis. Certainly does -- they should get the heck away from the whole "address gorebull warming" nonsense. Socialist saboteurs looking for any excuse: 'Let
us strike over climate change' - UNIONS are looking to change industrial laws to allow employees to strike
over climate-change issues. (The Australian) Dirty rain: clearing up the mystery
- The effect of aerosols in the atmosphere on rainfall has been the subject of much dispute, with some studies
finding that higher aerosol concentrations increase precipitation and others showing that they decrease it. Carbon dioxide levels depended on
ocean - During the last ice age, roughly 20-100,000 years ago, there were a number of abrupt changes in
climate. Now researchers from Oregon State University have found out more about the role of carbon dioxide in
these transitions. Yes, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are dependent on ocean temperatures and, as we pointed out last week,
abrupt cooling with only slow decline in carbon dioxide levels and the long lead time (2-5ka) between increased
atmospheric carbon dioxide and Greenland warming fail to support the enhanced greenhouse hypothesis. There goes another hysterical claim: Oldest
ice in North America 'more resistant to climate change than thought' - The oldest known ice in North America
has been found, revealing that it is three quarters of a million years old and more resistant to climate warming
than thought. Of all the things they could and should be doing... Chicago
Unveils Multifaceted Plan to Curb Emissions of Heat-Trapping Gases - The blueprint would change the city’s
building codes to promote energy efficiency, and it calls for installing huge solar panels at municipal properties
and building alternative fueling stations. (New York Times) How
the IPCC Portrayed a Net Positive Impact of Climate Change as a Negative - And it was done without uttering an
untruth! (Cato @ Liberty) Newsflash: used-car salesman says 'Trust me!': Carbon
trading boss rejects fears of slowdown in pollution permits business - There has been a 150% increase in the
volumes of carbon trading on the European Climate Exchange in the first six months of the year and its boss
predicted there would be further growth despite a global economic slowdown. (The Guardian) Tax and Charade - ... And this
is indeed the problem with cap and trade. Any policy, no matter how theoretically sound, that cannot meet the test
of political and economic realities is indeed fatally flawed. RGGI may do many things, but reducing emissions does
not seem to be among them. It is high time we started calling cap and trade what it really is — tax and charade.
(Roger Pielke, Jr., Prometheus) Drill, Baby, Drill - Energy is essential
in America, and 40% of what we use comes from oil and 23% from natural gas. That comes to about 21 million barrels
of oil and 64 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day. Domestic oil production is declining--down nearly half
since 1970--so imports are up, from one-third of what we needed in 1970 to just under 60% today. So we need to
discover and access more of our own energy resources. Pelosi's Drilling Ruse - The sudden
pro-drilling makeover of the Pelosi Democrats has always had an air -- a gale, really -- of election-year
convenience, and the House proved it Tuesday by passing an energy bill that would put any bunko man to shame. This
confidence trick won't expand domestic oil-and-gas supplies even a bit. The Democrats’ Sham Energy Bill -
WASHINGTON -- The other night when House Democrats appeared to reverse their long-standing ban on offshore oil
drilling, the electorate was again hoodwinked. At least the Democratic leadership hoped the electorate was
hoodwinked. (R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., American Spectator) Ganging Up on the
Gang - It’s a familiar story: A promising kid gets in with the wrong crowd, ends up joining a gang, and
wastes his life away in addiction and futility. In this case, the addiction is to expensive foreign oil and the
gangsters are the Senate’s so-called Gang of 20, who are pushing a potentially disastrous energy package that
amounts to near-complete capitulation to the anti-drilling, anti-energy crowd. The promising kid is John McCain.
And the bad influence? His name is Sen. Lindsey Graham. (NRO) Russia Makes a Move for Arctic Oil - The international
struggle to assert sovereignty over oil and gas rich Arctic waters heated up this week after Russian President
Dimitri Medvedev suggested that the Federal Security Service (FSS) draw a formal border around Russia’s claimed
territory. The Arctic is thought to hold 80 billion barrels of oil and up to 20 percent of the world’s natural
gas deposits, but it is unclear which countries control what in the region. Under international law, each country
is entitled to control an economic zone within 200 miles of its continental shelf, but the limits of the shelf are
disputed, and Russia, the United States, Norway, Canada, and Denmark have made competing claims. In 2004, Russian
President Vladimir Putin created the Arctic Directorate within the FSS (the successor to the KGB) to further
Russia’s claim to over 460,000 square miles of the mineral-rich territory. (William Yeatman, Cooler Heads
Digest) Firms Line Up to Get in on Brazil
Oil 'Gold Rush' - RIO DE JANEIRO - The discovery of huge offshore oil reserves has made Brazil one of the
world's hottest energy markets, with firms that make everything from planning software for wells to floating
"hotels" for platform workers clamoring for a piece of the action. (Reuters) More wasted $s and energy: Kevin
Rudd's $100m clean coal plan - KEVIN Rudd has summoned mining and industry chief executives, environmentalists
and union leaders to Canberra this morning to unveil a $100 million clean coal research institute aimed at making
Australia the world hub for the climate-change-fighting technology. (The Australian) EU must build new power capacity faster
-engineers - FRANKFURT, Sept 17 - European Union countries must quickly build new power generation plants to
put in an additional 400,000 megawatts, or half the current total again, by 2020, plant engineers' association VGB
said on Wednesday. Va. energy
group hears view against coal plants - The U.S. should stop building coal-burning power plants because they
contribute to global warming, a key speaker said at a Richmond energy conference yesterday. Someone hit Lynas with a reality stick? Why
greens must learn to love nuclear power - Global warming and finite resources mean our way of life is more
threatened than ever, and it's time for the environmental movement to face up to some hard truths (Mark Lynas, New
Statesman) Hmm... WHO:
Recalculation cuts malaria cases by half - GENEVA — The World Health Organization halved its estimate of the
number of people who get malaria each year, saying Thursday that better measurement techniques had cut the number
from 500 million people to 247 million. ... pretty handy to be able to claim you are doing your job well by magically waving away half the problem.
"The Intolerable Burden of Malaria: A New Look
at the Numbers," - supplement to The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
suggested a few years ago that WHO dramatically underestimated malarial cases and deaths with mortality
at ~2.7 millions deaths per annum and now WHO statistically massages away half their estimate of the globe's
cases. Hmm... again. On the brighter side, gorebull warming has been frequently (albeit fraudulently) claimed to increase malaria.
The globe has allegedly warmed (certainly the first few years of the 21st Century were above
recent average) and WHO says malarial cases have halved, so I guess we can now claim gorebull warming
reduces malarial incidence. Public needs to know vaccines are safe, docs say -- A
new coalition of 22 major medical groups says public confidence in vaccine safety needs to be restored to avoid
risks for deadly disease outbreaks. Hmm... Paracetamol
given to babies is linked to global rise in asthma - The global rise in asthma over the past 50 years, which
has mystified doctors for decades, may be linked to the growing use of paracetamol, researchers suggest today. ... kids more prone to fevers -- and hence more frequent users of paracetamol -- might also be more prone to
asthma, maybe? Ancient, but
How Safe? - LIKE many people these days, Lori Potter, a 50-year-old massage therapist living on Kauai, Hawaii,
has explored alternative healing for everything from headaches to skin problems. So when she wanted to boost her
immune system and lower her stress levels a few years ago, she made an appointment with a visiting practitioner of
ayurveda, a medical system that originated in India thousands of years ago and has gained wide popularity in the
United States. France Throws "Picnic
Tax" in the Bin - ROME - France has dropped plans to introduce a so-called "picnic tax", French
Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Thursday, looking to head off controversy over the eco-friendly measure. The
Hyperbole Market -- It's the Worst - John McCain was right when he said Monday that despite the bad news about
Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy and AIG trolling for help from Uncle Sam, "the fundamentals of our
economy are strong." As politicians running for the White House learn, honesty is a commodity best used
sparingly on the campaign trail. Voters apparently believe that America is in a terrible recession -- even though
the gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.3 percent last quarter and grew by some .09 percent in
2008's first quarter. When the public is in full panic mode, McCain could take a lesson from Barack Obama, who is
running ahead of the stampede. (Debra J. Saunders, Rasmussen Reports) The Crone doesn't understand why people like Palin, either: Gun
Lobby First - The House stampeded past serious public safety concerns and the democratic rights of residents
of the District of Columbia on Wednesday to approve a bill that would gut sensible gun controls in the nation’s
capital. (New York Times) The mother of all failures -
From the organisation that wants to sell you New System Could Help Avert
Collapse of Fisheries - CHICAGO - Guaranteeing individual fishermen a share of the catch could help avert a
global collapse of fisheries, US researchers said on Thursday. They're talking about avoiding the tragedy of the commons with proprietary interest -- otherwise known as
"property rights" -- anathema to the Left and simple common sense to the Right. A rising
tide - Scientists find proof that privatising fishing stocks can avert a disaster (The Economist) Privately Owned Fisheries May Help Shore Up
Stocks - Giving people ownership rights in marine fisheries can halt or even reverse catastrophic declines in
commercial stocks, researchers are reporting. (New York Times) Conservancy
Buys Slice of Adirondacks - A 14,600-acre piece of the Adirondacks long prized by environmentalists for its
forests and wetlands, including a pond where Ralph Waldo Emerson led a “philosophers’ camp,” was purchased
on Thursday by a preservation group for $16 million, the group said. Bread Stays on Menu
for Carp at Pennsylvania Lake - PITTSBURGH — The carp in Pymatuning Lake will not be denied their daily
bread, the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks has decided. GM crops protect neighbors from pests - A study in
northern China indicates that genetically modified cotton, altered to express the insecticide, Bt, not only
reduces pest populations among those crops, but also reduces pests among other nearby crops that have not been
modified with Bt. These findings could offer promising new ideas for controlling pests and maximizing crop yields
in the future. The report will be published by the journal Science on Friday, 19 September. (AAAS) FDA issues rules for
genetically modified animals - WASHINGTON - Genetically engineered animals moved closer to the dinner table on
Thursday as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made the process it will use to review new proposals public. For dinner: Genetically altered 'super chicken' --
Super Chicken strutted a step closer to the dinner table Thursday. The government said it will start considering
proposals to sell genetically engineered animals as food, a move that could lead to faster-growing fish, cattle
that can resist mad cow disease or perhaps heart-healthier eggs laid by a new breed of chickens. (Associated
Press) Walnut trees emit aspirin-like chemical to deal with stress
- Plants in a forest respond to stress by producing significant amounts of a chemical form of aspirin, scientists
have discovered. The finding, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), opens up new
avenues of research into the behavior of plants and their impacts on air quality, and it also has the potential to
give farmers an early warning signal about crops that are failing. (NCAR) September 18, 2008
Funny: Sarah Palin: The ice
queen - Sarah Palin, the Republican party's vice-president nominee, governs an oil-rich area that has seen
some of the most dramatic effects of climate change. So what's her record on environmental concerns? By Britt
Collins (The Guardian) Chris Mooney, author of The Republican War on Science, says: "The irony of a climate change denier
being based in Alaska is breathtaking. The state is warming faster than practically anywhere else, with winter
temperatures up by 6F since 1950. Well yes Chris, that's true - kind of... Alaskan temperatures did shoot up -- in
the 1970s with the Great Pacific Climate Shift (look
it up if you are unfamiliar with the term). And since 2005? Cooling, big time. The green scam - The Lehman crash opens
wide a vein of which we had begun to explore with our examination of carbon capture. It may be obvious when you
think about it, and start doing some digging, but it has not been to forefront of the debate – the simple
precept that one of the main beneficiaries of "climate change" is big business. Dammit! Passed over again! Rubber
Dodo award for governor - Sarah Palin may have seen the light - sort of - on climate change but that did not
spare her from being singled out yesterday as America's environmental enemy of the year. There's just no justice, the amount of effort I put in... [sounds of editor muttering off into the distance] Most
Business Execs are Climate Change Skeptics - Most Wisconsin business executives are skeptical about climate
change science, but still favor energy conservation and alternative energy use, according to a survey released by
the Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp. (WECC). Biased Broadcasting
Climate - Dr. Iain Stewart’s new BBC2 series Earth: The Climate Wars promised to be a ‘definitive guide’
to the climate debate. Instead, this week’s episode ‘Fightback’, which focused on the sceptics was as
shallow and as hollow as any old commentary. The film’s blurb on BBC iPlayer, advertises it thus: Dr Iain Stewart investigates the counter attack that was launched by the global warming sceptics in the
1990s. Before the film has started, it is clear that it lacks objectivity. Notice how the blurb casts the players of
the debate as either ’scientists’ or sceptics’, as if they were mutually exclusive terms. Notice too, how it
is supposed to be important that ‘positions have changed over time’, as though the counterpart argument had
such integrity that it had never shifted, or responded to emerging evidence. Third, Stewart characterises the 1992
Rio summit (both in the blurb and in the film) as evidence of a consensus, which was seemingly attacked by ‘the
sceptics’, when in fact, agreements and frameworks since then have failed for their non-viability, not because
of any attack. And there was no such consensus in 1992. As we have pointed out before, in 1992, the
‘consensus’ was characterised very differently to today, and the UNFCCC agreements proceeded not on the basis
of scientific evidence and certainty, but according to the precautionary principle. (Climate Resistance) Most Europeans 'very concerned' by
climate change - BRUSSELS — Most Europeans are very concerned about climate change though a sizeable
minority feel they do not know enough to help counter it, a major EU poll released Thursday showed. 45% is a pretty large swing vote... Under-achieving
B-team players fumbling on climate change too - As evidence to the contrary started rolling in and one
prominent scientist after another abandoned ship, the global warming brigade lost much of its sizzle in the past
year. Old Fulla's at it again: Rudd
lashes climate change sceptics - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has lashed climate change sceptics as
"reckless and irresponsible". Every day we get closer to an election. Every day we get closer... Economist
warn ETS rush could backfire - SOME of the nation’s most senior agricultural economists warn of severe
economic consequences for the farm sector if Australia introduces a carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) ahead of
our trade competitors like the US and Brazil. Is This The
Beginning of Global Cooling - Many scary stories have been written about the dangers of catastrophic global
warming, allegedly due to increased atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from the
combustion of fossil fuels. But is the world really catastrophically warming? NO. And is the warming primarily
caused by humans? NO. Astronomical Influences Affect
Climate More Than CO2, Say Experts – Warming and cooling cycles are more directly tied in with astronomical
influences than they are with human-caused carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, some scientists now say. Well gosh... Natives
will survive climate change, study finds - AS THE world warms, Australian trees will grow faster and larger
and become more water-efficient, research suggests. ... plants, which evolved in with higher atmospheric carbon dioxide conditions, actually thrive when not
carbon-deprived as they have been for the last few million years. Go figure! This should be more to disaster-mongers' liking: Global
warming's ecosystem double whammy - Plants and soils act like sponges for atmospheric carbon dioxide, but new
research finds that one abnormally warm year can suppress the amount of carbon dioxide taken up by some grassland
ecosystems for up to two years. The findings, which followed an unprecedented four-year study of sealed, 12-ton
containerized grassland plots at DRI is the cover story in this week's issue (September 18) of the journal Nature.
(Rice University) 'Calm before storm' may foreshadow climatic tipping point
-- Abrupt climate change has occurred on earth many times over the past millions of years. Climate scientists
hypothesize that these sharp transitions may be caused when the earth system reaches a tipping point, or a
critical value, resulting in a change of several degrees. These abrupt transitions have caused, for example, the
formation and melting of glaciers throughout the earth, North Africa’s change from savannah to desert 5,000
years ago, and various other changes. (PhysOrg.com) Healthy
breakfast can lead to a sicker planet - What you have for breakfast could have twice the impact on the
environment as driving to work, according to a study published in New Scientist magazine. Mikey's a Nobel Laureate now? At
URI, global warming as a natural event - SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Forget about Al Gore and his film An Inconvenient
Truth. Forget about the thousands of scientists who contributed to the United Nations reports on climate change.
Forget about most of the countries in the world that signed on to the Kyoto Protocol and agreed to reduce their
climate change emissions. Actually not and we wonder if reporters will ever figure out that the Nobel was awarded (however foolishly)
jointly to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and not to individual contributors
or reviewers of some of their documentation. No matter, here's the video: Limits
on CO2 Climate Forcing from Recent Temperature Data of Earth by David H. Douglass and John R. Christy, 2008 -
There is an important and informative new paper on the role of the radiative forcing of CO2 on the climate system.
It is Douglass, D.H., and J.R. Christy, 2008: Limits on CO2 Climate Forcing from Recent Temperature Data of Earth.
Energy and Environment, accepted. (Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science) The Only Source of Heat - The John Locke Foundation (my
former employer and current office landlord) hosted University of Alabama-Huntsville research scientist Roy
Spencer at a luncheon (full video presentation is linked) in Raleigh yesterday, where he spoke about his book
"Climate Confusion." (Paul Chesser, Climate Strategies
Watch) These pieces are always fun: White roofs, streets
could curb global warming - The idea of painting our roofs and roads white to offset global warming is not
new, but a recent study has calculated just how significantly white surfaces could impact greenhouse gas
emissions. Last week, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley presented their study
at California's annual Climate Change Research Conference in Sacramento. (PhysOrg) To figure this out these guys must know the warming that will result from 1 metric ton of atmospheric carbon
dioxide, right? How much is that? Forty years ago in the seminal work “Climate Modeling Through Radiative-Convective Models,” (Review
of Geophysics and Space Physics 16 (1978):465) V. Ramanathan and J.A. Coakley, Jr. stated: "Partly
because the infrared absorption bands of the various components of the atmosphere overlap, the contributions
from individual absorbers do not add linearly. Clouds trap only 14 percent of the radiation with all other major
species present, but would trap 50 percent if all other absorbers were removed (Table D2 and Figure D1). Carbon
dioxide adds 12 percent to radiation trapping, which is less than the contribution from either water vapor or
clouds. By itself, however, carbon dioxide is capable of trapping three times as much radiation as it actually
does in the Earth's atmosphere." and as far as we know no one has disproved or even disputed this. What does that all mean? Basically that there is 'competition' among absorbers for outgoing longwave
radiation and that there has been more than sufficient greenhouse gas in the atmosphere to achieve the bulk of
Earth's greenhouse effect since long before man learned to manipulate fire. It is also the reason adding
greenhouse gases to the atmosphere has a logarithmic effect on net greenhouse rather than linearly accumulative
(that is, each additional molecule has less effect than the one before it...). There is no neat formula of 1 ton carbon dioxide = some amount of warming and there is no significant
enhanced greenhouse warming left to worry about for the simple reason we are already at the point where
relatively huge increases in greenhouse gas provide negligible increased greenhouse effect. More PlayStation® climatology: Warming world in
range of dangerous consequences - The earth will warm about 2.4° C (4.3° F) above pre-industrial levels even
under extremely conservative greenhouse-gas emission scenarios and under the assumption that efforts to clean up
particulate pollution continue to be successful, according to a new analysis by a pair of researchers at Scripps
Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Guess what? Without costing $100ks, we used an Earth energy balance model, made two assumptions: cleaner air
would reduce the discoloration of snow and ice fields, increasing Earth albedo from 31% to 31.5% of incoming
solar radiation and enhanced greenhouse would see the %age outgoing longwave radiation returned to Earth
increase from 39.7% to 40.2% and found that ... Earth would actually warm trivially (about as much as Kyoto
could possibly cool it, in fact, ~0.07 °C). You can use the form in this
page to run your own simulations and it's free. Using the three adjustable variables you can tweak incoming
and outgoing radiation to cook or freeze the planet to your heart's content. Why? Bush administration
taps climate change believer - The US environmental protection agency -- hardly known as a bastion of climate
consciousness -- makes an interesting personnel choice. (The Guardian) Regulate
CO2 Under the Clean Air Act . . . Crash the Economy - On Tuesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a
study on the compliance burdens businesses will incur if the EPA, in response to Massachusetts v. EPA, decides to
establish first-ever greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for new cars and trucks. (Marlo Lewis, Planet Gore) Leaked papers show
Britain trying to weaken plan for EU carbon cuts - Britain is trying to weaken European proposals to make
governments and companies cut their carbon emissions by 2020 to tackle global warming, the Guardian has learned.
Leaked documents show Britain wants Brussels to offset more domestic carbon savings through investment in clean
projects in the developing world. (The Guardian) EU's
CO2 plans a cost disaster: German industry - BERLIN - Germany must push for change in how European countries
share the financial burdens of tighter carbon trading rules after 2012, or face prohibitive rises in carbon
avoidance costs, energy users' group VIK said on Monday. Climate change
could lead to a surge in Legionnaires' disease - Climate change could lead to a surge in cases of
Legionnaires' disease, Government scientists have warned. A study carried by the Health Protection Agency has
found that higher temperatures and increases in humidity are linked with an increase in cases. (Daily Telegraph) Administration rips Democrats' energy bill
as waste of time - WASHINGTON -- The White House slammed an energy bill that the House of Representatives
passed Tuesday night, calling it a waste of time. Drill-Shy Congress - House
Democrats have passed an "oil drilling bill" that bans drilling where most of the oil is. President Bush
and congressional Republicans — especially John McCain — can't let them get away with it. (IBD) A Willing Producer - As Congress
futzes around on offshore drilling, Colombia is doing the exact opposite — discovering and producing lots of new
oil. So why does Congress withhold free trade from such a helpful ally? (IBD) Medvedev says Arctic resources crucial for Russia's economic
future - MOSCOW - President Dmitry Medvedev says it is imperative that Russia immediately begin marking its
claims in the Arctic. Well said, that man! Indulging
The Greens Must Stop - The Green movement has become dangerous for the survival of our society. It is surely
time to stop pandering to its often ridiculous whims and fancies. We have been far too kind to its utopianism.
Politicians of all parties have become enfeebled by indulging its fanaticism and unrealistic proposals, especially
on food and energy. This has led to inertia, and to a serious failure to act when action is urgently required, a
situation often exacerbated by the ludicrous obligations laid on us through a bureaucratic and unaccountable EU. Emissions scheme will kill NT
economy: truckies - CARBON emission cuts of the kind promoted by UN climate change committee members would
destroy the Territory economy, the head of Australia's trucking association said yesterday. Tight Labor Vexes Brazil's
Deep-Sea Oil Drilling - RIO DE JANEIRO - Technological advances will help oil giant Petrobras and its foreign
partners tap huge subsalt reserves off Brazil's coast, but a shortage of skilled workers and tight equipment
supplies pose challenges. (Reuters) Petrobanks Capri / Thai
processes for upgrading and recovering oilsands and heavy oil - If the Capri/Thai processes are successful
then Canada's oilsands, other oilsands and heavy oil deposits around the world will have higher recovery rates
using a more economic process and the oil will be upgrading in the ground to a higher and more valuable quality.
This would be the technology that would crush peak oil for several decades and allow an orderly transition to a
post oil world. The processes would enable trillions of barrels of oil to be economically accessed. In a few
months the Capri process could be proven out and the energy world would be changed. Oil technology would change
the world by unlocking the oilsand and heavy oil around the world. Trillions of barrels of oil would become
economically feasible. It would be a and game changer. More projects like the one in would go ahead to access 3-4
billion barrels of oil at 120,000 bpd within 5 years. (Next Big Future) Britain urged to dump climate
goals - LONDON - British climate and energy policy is incoherent and needs an overhaul, dumping carbon targets
and building more coal and nuclear power stations to stop the lights going out, a pro-nuclear scientist said. A step forward for space solar power - One of the
criticisms leveled against the concept of space solar power (SSP) is that it is that it requires a large number of
breakthroughs to become feasible. Major steps need to be taken in a wide range of technologies, from space
transportation and on-orbit assembly to the collection and transmission of power, for SSP to be possible and
economically viable. Those obstacles mean that it will take decades—if ever—for SSP to become reality. Is Wind Power a Big Con
Trick? - The case for producing more of our power through renewable means is well-made. Even without the
threat from climate change, the pollution and waste that goes with burning fossil fuels is not sustainable in the
long term. A more varied mix of generating options must be sought, as we move through the 21st century. Sapphire Raises Over US$100 Mln
for Algae Crude - NEW YORK - Private company Sapphire Energy, which aims to squeeze "green" crude
oil from blooms of one of the planet's oldest life forms, said on Wednesday it has raised over US$100 million from
investors. (Reuters) 'Normal weight' obesity now? Half
of normal-weight adults may still be too fat - NEW YORK - People with body mass indexes (BMI) that fall into
the normal range may still have to be concerned about obesity, a cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic warns. In
defence of fat - Banishing butter, well-marbled steaks and chicken skin from our diets hasn't made us skinnier
or healthier. It's just made our food boring. It's time to shed our phobia of fat and embrace the ingredient that
may be the sixth taste, James Beard Award-winning author Jennifer McLagan argues in this excerpt from her
controversial new book. (Jennifer McLagan, Globe and Mail) Superfood or Monster From the Deep? -
Major food companies are competing for health-conscious consumers by plugging one food into another and claiming
the health benefits of both. (New York Times) The logic of public health
- Imagine shopping at the mall or supermarket and someone wearing a bright-colored vest approaches to talk to you
about your being fat and wants to measure your waist. Would you be happy to discuss your weight with a stranger
and welcome the unsolicited diet and exercise advice? Car fat - When the Institute for
European Environmental Policy, based in London, released a report last summer noting a correlation between rising
car ownership and obesity, and a correlation between rising obesity rates and global warming, the solution
proposed was to dissuade Europeans from driving their cars and to walk more. Government agencies began considering
the plan, but few consumers took it all that seriously, thinking “what are they going to do, make us?” US researchers call off controversial autism study -- A
government agency has dropped plans for a study of a controversial treatment for autism that critics had called an
unethical experiment on children. (AP) It was rank quackery anyway -- chelation could not work because the cause is demonstrably not mercury from
childhood vaccines (cessation of mercury preservative use made no difference in autism incidence ergo mercury
preservative in childhood vaccinations is not the cause). Royal Society or Rotten
Society? - The resignation of Michael Reiss shows the zealots are taking over science, says Robert Matthews
(First Post) Guess
who killed AIG - AIG was a model Sarbanes firm that followed all the new accounting rules (Terence Corcoran,
Financial Post) The
vaunting hubris of regulators - Every politician and TV analyst says they know what went wrong on Wall Street.
Why don’t the rest of us? (William Watson, Financial Post) Congress Tries To Fix What It Broke
- As the financial crisis spreads, denials on Capitol Hill grow more shrill. Blame an aloof President Bush, greedy
Wall Street, risky capitalism — anybody but those in Congress who wrote the banking rules. Lehman Bros. and Consensus - My interest in climate change
derived in part from experience in the stock market where "consensus" is not infrequently established in
favor of opinions that are completely incorrect. And, in many cases, the people promoting the views are competent
and serious people. How are such things possible? I read about the Bre-X and Enron failures, trying to distinguish
between the "shame on you" and the "shame on me" components - i.e. yes, the original
misconduct and deceit was deplorable; but at what point should proper independent due diligence have been able to
detect misconduct? At what point were regulatory agencies negligent? Obviously we're going to see a new spate of
such inquiries in the wake of the recent collapses. Benchmark cyanobacterium sequenced could be cheap renewable
energy source -- A team of researchers headed by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has
sequenced the genome of a unique bacterium that manages two disparate operations — photosynthesis and nitrogen
fixation — in one little cell during two distinct cycles daily. (PhysOrg.com) September 17, 2008
How sad for the broilers: Arctic
sea ice melt comes close, but misses record - Crucial Arctic sea ice this summer shrank to its second lowest
level on record, continuing an alarming trend, scientists said Tuesday. The broilers are that bunch of hysterical sad sacks eagerly awaiting every sign of the apocalypse with claims
we are all going to burn/ drown/ boil/ bake/ desiccate/ whatever/... due to some manifestation of gorebull
warming. These are the guys who appear to have learned about the world from Hollywood's budget horror movies and
whose worldview is scripted along the lines of Freddy Krueger and the Gaia Murders, The Amazon Chainsaw
Massacre or some such thing. They are the ones so eager to demonstrate massive Arctic meltdown after so much
thicker multiyear ice was blown out of the Arctic that surely a new 'record' low would ensue -- except it
didn't. So, what excuses should we anticipate for the Arctic having been cooler despite increased atmospheric carbon
dioxide emission and accumulation? Could we perhaps have an Olympic claim, with Chinese industrial shutdowns not only clearing Beijing's air but
reducing black carbon deposition on the Arctic ice, hence maintaining brighter albedo and reduced melt? But
wait, that won't do since it would be associated with reduced sulfate particulate emission, reduced albedo and
increased warming while the summer was in fact cooler. Can't blame a spotless sun since the sun is not supposed to be able to influence Earthly conditions... Obviously I'm not very good at this game because I can't think of a single viable excuse why the promised
massive melt didn't occur when all the other conditions were met -- people kept using fossil fuels and emitting
carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide levels rose, Arctic sea ice was in fact thinner due to the winds having pushed
multiyear ice south out of the Arctic, summer did in fact occur, no one held a giant parasol over the Arctic and
yet there was no massive increase in open water -- the record failed to materialize. "Not quite" setting a record is a huge reversal with a massive meltdown checked from significant
loss of thicker multiyear ice last year to lesser loss of thinner first-year ice this year. Arctic
Sea Ice Melt Season Officially Over; ice up over 9% from last year - We have news from the National Snow and
Ice Data Center (NSIDC). They say: The melt is over. And we’ve added 9.4% ice coverage from this time last year.
Though it appears NSIDC is attempting to downplay this in their web page announcement today, one can safely say
that despite irrational predictions seen earlier this year, we didn’t reach an “ice free north pole” nor a
new record low for sea ice extent. (Watts Up With That?) Getting weirder... NOAA
Claims: Global Summer Temperature Was Ninth Warmest - Questionable - This just doesn’t seem to add up given
what we’ve seen from anecdotal weather information and satellite data. For example the UAH global temperature
for the lower troposphere shows that the temperature in 2008 doesn’t get anywhere close to this claim made by
NOAA: Scientist: Warming is natural - RALEIGH -
Scientist Roy Spencer thinks global warming is a natural occurrence and not man-made. Even the UN has trouble maintaining the illusion of a warming crisis: Global
network necessary to confront climate change crisis, says Ban - With media interest in climate change waning
since last year, cooperation from all sectors of society is essential to tackle the crisis that it poses,
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today. Meanwhile... Denmark
to host next UN Climate Conference - Next November, the Danish capital Copenhagen will host 15,000 NGO
members, business leaders and diplomats for the annual UN COP15 Climate Conference. Keeping with the theme and
priority of the conference, the Danish government will fund the meeting with carbon-neutral flights, effectively
making it an emissions-free event – although scientists still argue the efficacy of carbon offsetting as a tool
against climate change. (Ice News) Carbon Regulation Could Hit 1
Million US Firms - Study - WASHINGTON - The prospect of US regulation of climate-warming carbon dioxide has
sparked a pre-emptive outcry from the Chamber of Commerce, which warned of bureaucratic gridlock if proposed
limits are put in place. Steel, Aluminium Need Aid in EU
Carbon Plan - Study - BRUSSELS - Parts of Europe's steel and aluminium industries are highly exposed to
international competition and may need free allowances to emit carbon dioxide (CO2) after 2013, according to a
preliminary EU analysis. (Reuters) From the department of major yawns: Antarctic
Ozone Hole Already Larger Than in 2007 - WMO - GENEVA - The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has
already surpassed its 2007 size this year, and is set to keep growing for another few weeks, the UN weather agency
said on Tuesday. (Reuters) Predictable 'news' release on 'Ozone Day' and of no consequence to anyone (unless your research grants depend
on ozone layer nonsense). Said 'hole' was there when people first looked and there's not the slightest evidence
it is anything but all-singing, all-dancing, all-natural. Ozone 'depletion' hysteria has already caused more
ill-health than the alleged problem ever will by terrorizing people about sun exposure to the point where they
are getting insufficient to synthesize vitamin D -- lack of which leads to a plethora of health problems. Complete with space aliens :) Save
the Ozone, Save Earth! - Have you been happy to have experienced more rainfall in your area than usual, of
late? Have you more frequently used the expressions “it’s too cold” or “it’s too hot” than you used to
ever before? Have you been a witness to the changing weather pattern in your part of the world, of late? Have you
been reading about frequent hurricanes and cyclones in newspapers? There are a number of such similar questions
and if you answer in the affirmative to any one of these, then do not be amused or surprised! Because all this
signals a change in “your world”, and certainly, it’s not for “your good”! You would want to ask why?
The answer is simple: the climate is changing and it would change the way you survive, not live, forever! In case any of our newer readers are unaware, the great ozone
farce is and always has been a nonsense. Chemical Lobby Weakening Ozone Treaty - UXBRIDGE,
Canada , Sep 16 - In hard economic times, protecting the environment is often seen as a luxury -- or ignored
completely. But had that attitude prevailed 20 years ago when it came to taking action to protect the ozone layer,
skin cancer rates would have soared and climate change would be even more dramatic than it is today. (IPS) What utter rubbish! To begin with ozone is a greenhouse gas so, had 'more ozone been preserved,' the world
would be warmer according to the enhanced greenhouse hypothesis but that is only part of it -- substitute
compounds used in lieu of 'ozone depleting substances' tend to have very high GWP numbers (GWP = global warming
potential) meaning the Montreal Protocol is potentially a gorebull warming bad guy. Fortunately gorebull
warming is an equally fraudulent scare. Moreover, even were the misnamed 'ozone hole' anthropogenic it still has Buckley's and no effect on skin
cancer rates for the simple reason that no one sunbathes at the South Pole in the southern Spring (ozone
destruction occurs in the super cold atmosphere when sunlight returns to power the reactions). When the South
Polar Winter Vortex collapses as Spring advances then for a couple of days areas of reduced ozone may pass
between the sun and settled regions, allowing residents in say Punta Arenas to experience as much solar UV as do
residents of Boston in the Fall. There absolutely should not be an 'ozone treaty'. UN BS on the day: Restoring
ozone layer could ring in health, economic benefits – Ban (UN News) Expert survey: Israel will continue to use oil and
coal for most energy needs - Israel will have to continue to use oil and coal for the vast majority of its
energy needs, according to a recent survey of Israeli scientists and other experts commissioned by the
Environmental Protection Ministry. Uncertainty
In Multi-Decadal Global Climate Model Predictions Associated With Snow Albedo Feedbacks - There is a paper
which documents a large uncertainty of the feedback of snow albedo on the climate system. It is Hall A., X. Qu
(2006), Using the current seasonal cycle to constrain snow albedo feedback in future climate change, Geophys. Res.
Lett., 33, L03502, doi:10.1029/2005GL025127. (Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science) From CO2 Science this week: Medieval
Warm Period Record of the Week: Subject Index Summary: Plant Growth Data: Journal Reviews: Debilitating Drought and the Classic Mayan Collapse:
Evidence continues to accumulate for the hydrological manifestation of the Medieval Warm Period in eastern
Mesoamerica. Warming of Antarctic Tundra: How does it impact
above- and below-ground ecosystem carbon stocks? Aerobic Methane Emissions from Terrestrial Plants:
Are they real or imaginary? More on the Role of Earthworms in Sequestering Soil
Carbon: Working in the dark -- and beneath our feet -- the lowly creatures are quietly doing their part to
mitigate the ongoing rise in the air's CO2 content. Temperature
Record of the Week: Henny Penny Goes Carbon-Free - Months had
passed since we last talked with Ms. Henny-Penny, whose famous declaration -- "the sky is falling!" --
electrified the world. At the time, her barnyard colleagues quickly fell into line with her, save one, Chicken
Little, who demurred. When last Ms. H-P and I talked, she scoffed at her former friend as a "denier." Break Out
the Airbrush! - These coincidences are something. Lehman Brothers Close Ties to Gore, Hansen and Carbon
Trading - Al Gore’s carbon trading business GIM was banked with Lehman Bros. It will be interesting to see
how this will play in the future but I suspect that this increases the risk of participating in Carbon trading.
Merrill Lynch, was also deeply involved in this business. Scrap this sham! House
Adopts Plan to Ease Offshore Drilling Ban - WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday night approved a measure that
would ease a longstanding ban on offshore oil drilling and try to spur greater use of alternative fuels as
Democrats and Republicans engaged in a bitter pre-election clash over America’s energy future. Democrats Still Aren't Serious About Drilling
- After a five-week paid vacation, Democrats are back in Washington and claiming that they want to do something
about oil prices. EnCana wants credits for carbon piped in from the U.S.:
document - OTTAWA - A Canadian energy giant wants offset credits from the federal government for carbon
dioxide it pipes in from the United States and stores underground in Saskatchewan, a newly released document
shows. Energy security 'more
important than climate change' - Securing the country's supply of electricity is more important than tackling
climate change, a new report from energy analysts has claimed. It warned that the UK's economy could be wrecked if
there was no action to plug the energy shortfall predicted for the next decade, with businesses going bust and
hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs. (The Guardian) Check out this video: Out Of Control -
How the EU is costing you the Earth. Think very carefully before tolerating any fossil fuel restrictions. Presidential Candidates Differ Sharply on Ethanol
- Barack Obama and John McCain have sharply different visions of ethanol in the nation’s future. Obama wants
more ethanol, while McCain thinks we should probably have less. Both say man-made global warming is a serious
threat, and both say they want the best for the nation’s farmers. Prairie Atoms: Expanding nuclear power in Alberta
and Saskatchewan - The Canada West Foundation today released a paper examining how Alberta and Saskatchewan
can take advantage of the nuclear revival that is sweeping the globe. Prairie Atoms: The Opportunities and
Challenges of Nuclear Power in Alberta and Saskatchewan outlines both the opportunities and challenges of
expanding the value-added nuclear industry and the use of nuclear energy as a source of electricity. The paper
also recommends ways to improve public policy as it relates to Canada’s untapped nuclear capacity. (CFP) Freddie vom Saal rides again: Chemical
in Bottles Linked to Heart Disease, Diabetes -- Heart disease and diabetes are twice as common in adults
exposed to higher levels of a chemical used in plastic bottles, food-storage containers and the lining of cans,
new research shows. Agency
Affirms Plastics’ Safety, as Study Raises Questions - WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators on Tuesday
defended their assessment that a chemical widely used in plastic baby bottles and in food packaging is safe, even
as a preliminary study reported that it was associated with increased risks for heart disease and diabetes. There’s
no case for a new Keynesian era - Robert Skidelsky implies that the Depression was a failure of laissez-faire
capitalism, but Milton Friedman blamed government monetary manipulation (Peter Foster, Financial Post) Breaking
News: Reiss Steps Down - Further to my earlier posting of this morning [see: ‘Biting The Creationists’,
September 16], here is some extremely interesting breaking news. The Royal Society has now issued the following
Press Release: (Global Warming Politics) More from the 'people are a disease' crowd: Cause
And Effect: Why Scientists Succumb To Political Correctness - Dr. Albert A. Bartlett, University of Colorado
at Boulder, wrote another stunning paper concerning America’s love affair with self-delusion. Dr. Bartlett
remains the premiere voice in America concerning the greatest predicament facing our civilization in the 21st
century. Klaus Against the Greens - For most people, being
the president of a country would be enough to keep one busy, but not so for Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic. He
directs as much time and energy as he possibly can to campaigning against those he characterizes as global warming
alarmists. That is why Klaus was delighted when a major Czech daily newspaper ran the complete text of a speech he
gave last week -- in Tokyo -- to the The Mont Pelerin Society, a prestigious international economics organization
of which he is a member. Klaus, who has been President of the Czech Republic since 1993, holds a doctorate in
economics. (Human Events) Calif. wildlife
officials propose expanded protections for native red-legged frog habitat - Federal wildlife officials on
Tuesday proposed more protection for the threatened California red-legged frog, providing up to four times as much
habitat than was set aside two years ago. Not so cold suits some critters? Longer
breeding season provides new hope for the kiwi - It might be down to global warming or just a couple of
shorter winters on the trot, but whatever the reason, the kiwi breeding season is getting longer – the kiwi bird
that is. That is good news for those working to ensure the survival of the North Island brown kiwi as Ali Ikram
found out. (3 News) Aquarium Releases Sharks Off
Sydney Beach for Study - SYDNEY - A Sydney aquarium released seven sharks bred in captivity and tagged with
acoustic tracking devices into the waters off a city beach on Tuesday to study if it is feasible to breed sharks
to restock dwindling wild numbers. (Reuters) Wishful thinking from the antis? Transgenic
Crops' Days May Be Numbered - Pressure from the president of the European Commission has not succeeded in
advancing the cause of transgenic crops. In spite of the power wielded by the executive organ of the European
Union, the bloc’s member countries are gradually discontinuing the use of genetically modified seeds. (IPS) September 16, 2008
You know, gun control nuts are really going to hate this: How
not to measure temperature, part 71: NOAA neglect of volunteer observers - As we get more of the private
observers in USHCN surveyed, we start hearing about stories like this one from Dufur Oregon, where the observers
seem to have been pretty much “left on their own” for about many, many, years. The lack of guidance and QC on
the part of NOAA is stunning. The station itself is even more troubling. I don’t blame the observer, but NOAA
clearly failed this observer and the science mission to collect climate data. (Watts Up With That?) Weather
History - NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — It is probably a good thing that the Mohonk Mountain House, the 19th-century
resort, was built on Shawangunk conglomerate, a concrete-hard quartz rock. Otherwise, the path to the National
Weather Service’s cooperative station here surely would have turned to dust by now. Roll back time to
safeguard climate, expert warns - A return to pre-industrial levels of carbon dioxide urged as the only way to
prevent the worst impacts of global warming (David Adam, The Guardian) Sure, why not? How about during the ice age when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were about a dozen times
higher than they are now? If Ordovician conditions are not to your taste maybe you'd prefer the 1500-2000 ppmv
normal when giants trod the Earth? Almost the entire history of life on Earth has occurred with atmospheric
carbon dioxide levels far higher than now and the average of pre-Industrial Era Earth is well above 2,000 ppmv.
Should we aim for that and roll back time? I don't think we can achieve it but it should would help boost the
biosphere. Al
Gore’s Global Warming Find-and-Replace (The Chilling Effect) More saboteurs: Institutional
investors urged to join forces to stop unconventional fossil fuels extraction - The Co-operative Asset
Management is urging more than 20 Institutional investors to join forces to exert pressure on the oil companies
leading the rush to exploit unconventional oils. Newly revised: Climate Change
Science - One of the goals of the Friends of Science Society is to educate the public through dissemination of
relevant, balanced and objective technical information on the scientific merit of the Kyoto Protocol and the
global warming issue. The science of climate change is complex. Unfortunately, politics and the media has affected
the science. Climate research institutions know that they must present scary climate forecasts to receive
continued funding - no crisis means no funding. The media presents stories of climate disaster to sell their
products. Scientific research that suggests climate change is mostly natural does not receive much if any media
coverage. These factors have caused the general public to be seriously misled on climate issues resulting in
wasteful expenditures of billions of dollars in an ineffective attempt to control climate. This document gives an
overview of climate change issues as determined by a comprehensive review of the state of climate science.
(Friends of Science) The trillion dollar band-aid
- Solving climate change will be the most expensive public policy decision ever. Half-baked thinking won't fix it
now (Björn Lomborg, The Guardian) Much as I disagree with Lomborg regarding gorebull warming being any sort of problem at all he is right that
carbon constraint will have trivial effect on climate while causing massive harm to humanity. Too green is no good -
IT is too risky for the environment and the economy for Australia to take up calls to commit to cutting our
greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40 per cent in little more than a decade. It could be even more dangerous in the
unlikely event that Kevin Rudd convinced the rest of the industrialised world to sign on to such ambitious targets
in the name of saving the planet. Japan Carbon TradeTargets to be
Voluntary - Paper - TOKYO - Japanese companies taking part in a trial carbon trading system to be launched
next month will work to voluntary reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions, rather than mandatory ones, a
newspaper reported on Monday. (Reuters) Brussels Would Allow State Aid for
Carbon Capture - BERLIN - Brussels would look favourably at member states giving financial support for plants
to test almost carbon-free power production, which could help fight climate change, a European Commission official
said on Monday. (Reuters) EU's New Car CO2
Rules "are illegal" - A regulation forcing car makers to cut average CO2 emissions to 130g/km for
their model ranges, or face hefty fines, has been declared illegal. Farmers
vulnerable under emissions trading scheme - Major changes to the international greenhouse accounting rules,
and more accurate measurements of carbon sequestration, are needed before farming can be included in the Federal
Government’s emissions trading scheme. Why I’ve got a beef with going
vegetarian - After policing how we shop, holiday and dispose of waste, now environmental bigwigs want to turn
us into eco-veggies. (James Panton, sp!ked) Increasing
Eolian Dust Deposition in the Western United States Linked to Human Activity by Neff et al 2008 - There is an
important new paper that presents further evidence of the complexity of the climate system. It is Neff, J.C.,
Ballantyne, A.P., Famer, G.L., Mahowald, N.M., Conroy, J.L., Landry, C.C., Overpeck, J.T., Painter, T.H.,
Lawrence, C.R., and Reynolds R.L., 2008, Increasing eolian dust deposition in the western United States linked to
human activity. Nature - Geosciences. doi:10.1038/ngeo133 (Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science) State-sanctioned radicalism - The
Greenpeace activists acquitted of criminal damage are not true protesters: they are part of a new caste of
agitated bourgeois insiders. (Brendan O’Neill, sp!ked) The Week in D. C. - The offshore drilling provisions that
have been drafted in both the House and the Senate would open some limited areas beyond fifty miles of the coast
to drilling. But the State with the coastline would have to agree to allow drilling between fifty and hundred
miles. (For production between one and two hundred miles out, the federal government wouldn’t have to get state
approval.) It’s not likely that most State governments would agree, since no provision to share federal
royalties with those States is in either plan. Moreover, production within fifty miles would be permanently
banned. Of course, that’s where most of the oil and natural gas is. And generally speaking, the closer to shore,
the shallower the water and the lower the production costs. Thus enacting Pelosi’s or the Gang’s plan would
turn an annual provision included in the Interior Department appropriations bill into law for the offshore areas
with the highest potential. Thus the appearance of allowing a little drilling covers up the reality that it would
lock up more securely trillions of dollars of oil and gas. (Myron Ebell, Cooler Heads Digest) Is The Crone really this stupid? Ms.
Pelosi’s Compromise - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s energy plan, which allows for offshore drilling in
exchange for investment in alternative energy, deserves support. (New York Times) Pelosi is not compromising, she's just sabotaging oil extraction by subterfuge: No-Energy
Nancy’s Phony Energy Plan - Today’s Greenwire (subscription required) reports that the House is expected
to vote as soon as tomorrow on Democratic legislation that would “allow drilling more than 100 miles from the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and as close to 50 miles from the shore if coastal states agree to it.” Save the
Environment: Drill, Baby, Drill - THE audience’s mantra at the Republican National Convention — “drill,
baby, drill” — reflected deep frustration with Washington’s decision to lock down tens of billions of
barrels of oil under American territory in an era of $4-a-gallon gasoline. Whatever the merits of his argument,
Barack Obama’s response that “drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution” won’t make the
sting go away as long as it costs $100 to fill the tank of a pickup truck. Obstacles
stunt Calif. offshore drilling - The Bush administration and oil companies say they want to open up the
nation's coastal areas to new drilling, but in two cases - involving some of California's most promising oil
fields - they are doing little to make that happen. (Patrice Hill, Washington Times) One if
by Land, Billions if by Sea - THE House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, is to unveil specifics of a Democratic energy
bill this week that would open some offshore areas to drilling — marking a major change in her position. She
will likely face opposition from the House Republican leadership, who believe her plan falls short. Only their
proposal, they say, will adequately reduce fuel prices and help America become energy self-sufficient. As
Oil and Gas Prices Rise, Wood Stoves Gain Converts - JEFFERSON VALLEY, N.Y. — Fire Glow Distributors Inc., a
store in this hamlet in the Westchester County suburb of Yorktown Heights, has pellet stoves on back order. Tree
trimmers for the utility company in Orange and Rockland Counties, used to scavengers in pickup trucks, have
spotted Mercedes-Benzes trailing their crews to load logs into their (carefully lined) trunks. Energy 101- 2 Energy Policy Thoughts (pdf) -
Introduction: The preceding paper (Energy 101-1) we
established a basic picture of US Sources and Uses of Energy. A categorization framework was established to
facilitate discussion and understanding of the Sources as they relate to our NEEDs. (Tom Horgan) Lithium Battery for Many Vehicles
Seen a Ways Off - ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY, Ill. - Vast improvements are needed to extend the life and
lower the cost of lithium batteries before they can efficiently power vehicles, a US government official who
tracks high-power battery development said on Monday. (Reuters) New study says high grain prices are likely here to stay
- An ethanol-fueled spike in grain prices will likely hold, yielding the first sustained increase for corn, wheat
and soybean prices in more than three decades, according to new research by two University of Illinois farm
economists. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Europe's Biofuels Conundrum -
The European Parliament may be backing away from its targets for crop-based biofuels, but the EU is still hoping
that it can create a certification scheme that will ensure that biofuels are produced in a sustainable and
environmentally friendly way. (Der Spiegel) With their money, myopia and
abuses, these pill makers match big pharma - The food supplement industry likes to style itself as people's
medicine, but the way it stifles debate is far from democratic (Ben Goldacre, The Guardian) Fall of the doctor who said his
vitamins would cure Aids - Promoter of nutritional pills drops libel action against Guardian Vitamin deficiency -
Editorial (The Guardian) Is there new
evidence that low vitamin B12 levels cause brain atrophy? - When an observational study finds a bunch of
things linked to a health condition, it’s always interesting to observe which correlation people latch onto as
the important one. It’s nearly always whatever someone is selling or whatever people want to believe is the
healthy message. The 9/11 faker: suffering as celebrity
- Tania Head, who achieved fame posing as a survivor of 9/11, grasped the source of modern celebrity: victimhood.
(Patrick West, sp!ked) AIDS epidemic? It was a ‘glorious
myth’ - The author of 1987’s The Truth About the AIDS Panic welcomes two new whistleblowing texts on the
opportunism of the AIDS industry. (Dr Michael Fitzpatrick, sp!ked) In defence of plastic - Plastic has attracted a
lot of bad press recently about its potentially damaging environmental implications. After the BBC's Chris Jeavans
spent a month living without plastic, Susan Mossman explores the many inventions that rely on it. (BBC) Biting
The Creationists - ‘Creationism’ is in the news again, from US vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin
[“How did she evolve into a pitbull?”], to private Christian, Jewish, and Muslim schools. And this is not just
in America, where some 47% are reported to reject Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. In the UK, a 2006 survey
for the BBC found that more than a fifth of those polled were convinced by the ‘creationist’ argument, with
less than half - 48% - choosing ‘evolution’ [see: ‘Who are the British creationists?’ BBC Online News
Magazine, September 15]. Church owes Darwin apology over
evolution, says senior Anglican - Church of England commissions series of introspective online articles ahead
of 200th anniversary of naturalist's birth (Audrey Gillan, The Guardian) Contraceptive
jabs to curb wild boar - Contraceptive vaccines may be used to control the number of wild boar in the English
countryside. The animals, which until recently had been extinct in Britain for at least 400 years, have been
steadily rising in number in three main locations after a series of escapes from farms, and there is increasing
concern that they may damage crops, spread disease and attack other animals – or even people. A big male can
weight 400lb and has razor-sharp tusks. (The Independent) Largest
owls in the world threaten British birds - Several pairs of eagle owls, the largest owls in the world, are now
breeding in the wild in Britain, according to a new study. Why? 'Too
conservative' Scotland urged to speed up return of missing lynx - A LEADING wildlife expert has called for
Scotland to accelerate plans to re-introduce extinct species. Speaking ahead of a major conference today, Roy
Dennis said he thinks the Highlands could support the reintroduction of the lynx and the wolf. (The Scotsman) Big Donors Shifting Green Agenda - OBERLIN, Ohio,
Sep 15 - "Philanthro-capitalists" and more traditional foundations are addressing global problems like
climate change with unprecedented zeal. But are their money and efforts being put to the best use? (IPS) Not even close. Never mind that if it's 'green' it's generally misanthropic or at least a very bad idea --
these guys are being stampeded into worrying about the wrong risk. Humans and the biosphere generally prosper
during warm periods and suffer dreadful privation during cooler ones -- if you must worry about and take
defensive measures against one then worry about a real risk: cooling is very bad, warming is not. Environmentalism or death: is that the
choice? It’s fitting that the scaremonger Caroline Lucas has been elected first leader of the doom-obsessed
Green Party. (Ben Pile, sp!ked) French Green "Picnic
Tax" to Hit Throwaway Cutlery - PARIS - France will tax non-recyclable throwaway plates and cutlery to
encourage consumers to buy more eco-friendly products, ahead of a wider move that could include consumer
electronics, the environment minister said on Monday. (Reuters) Hell hath no fury like a Eurocrat
scorned - A leaked briefing reveals why officials think they lost the Irish referendum: because there’s
‘too much’ press freedom. (Tara McCormack, sp!ked) What Is So Fair About Fair Trade? - PARIS, Sep 15 -
Fair trade is held up as promoting fair prices for producers and guaranteeing social and environmental standards.
These ideas are neither new nor controversial. But the recent boom in fair trade has drawn attention as standards
and models multiply while authentication mechanisms lag behind. (IPS) Actually 'fair trade' isn't, it's just socialist top-down control by a different name. What does do a lot of
good and has lifted vast numbers of people out of poverty is free trade, which is the only variety I'll support. Let’s cap this myth of overpopulation
- The Balanced Migration group moans that Britain will need seven new cities to cope with an influx of immigrants.
Well, let’s start building then. (Nathalie Rothschild, sp!ked) Courts - the Battleground for Fight Against Paper Mills
- PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, Sep 15 - The battle against the wood pulp industry has intensified in the Brazilian
courts, especially in those states where eucalyptus plantations have expanded the most: Bahia and Espírito Santo
in the east and Rio Grande do Sul in the south. (Tierramérica) Food prices: don’t turn a drama into a
crisis - We could challenge the food crisis by calling on governments to remove the bizarre barriers to
producing more food. (Rob Lyons, sp!ked) September 15, 2008
Two new papers confirm MWP and knock down
resurrected ‘Hockey Stick’ - Study: A mathematical analysis of the divergence problem in dendroclimatology
– By Craig Loehle, Published in Journal Climate Change, September 10, 2008 (Full paper requires subscription) Problems with the
Climate Models - Recalling that people such as Robert F. Kennedy have called climate skeptics “traitors”,
David Suzuki calls for their jailing, the Grist website called for Nuremburg trials for them, NASA’s Dr. Jim
Hansen calling for their trials for treason, along with the habitual insults from Al Gore, its been difficult for
anyone to respectfully dissent. It’s been difficult to stick to the rules of hard science, by demanding evidence
and replication, both of which require questioning but are often followed by insults and threats. Hockey
Stick? What Hockey Stick? (pdf) - An extraordinary series of postings at www.climateaudit.org,
the deservedly well trafficked website of the courageous and tenacious Canadian statistician Steve McIntyre, is a
remarkable indictment of the corruption and cynicism that is rife among the alarmist climate scientists favored by
the UN’s discredited climate panel, the IPCC. In laymen’s language, the present paper respectfully summarizes
Dr. McIntyre’s account of the systematically dishonest manner in which the “hockey-stick” graph falsely
showing that today’s temperatures are warmer than those that prevailed during the medieval climate optimum was
fabricated in 1998/9, adopted as the poster-child of climate panic by the IPCC in its 2001 climate assessment, and
then retained in its 2007 assessment report despite having been demolished in the scientific literature. It is a
long tale, but well worth following. No one who reads it will ever again trust the IPCC or the “scientists”
and environmental extremists who author its climate assessments. (Lord Monckton) Current Global Warming Alarmism and the Mont
Pelerin Society’s Long Term Agenda - I think I have to start with expressing my deep and ever-deeper
conviction that the recently created panic as regards dramatic, in the past allegedly unknown global climate
changes and their supposedly catastrophic consequences for the future of human civilization must not remain
without a resolute answer of the – until now – more or less silent majority of rationally thinking people,
especially classical liberals, libertarians and other freedom loving men and women. Not everyone is silent but the
current dominance of climate alarmism practically in the whole world can’t be disputed. This is
what passes for a sunspot these days (Watts Up With That?) Kasatochi
Volcano SO2 update: aerosols may have cooling effect on the NH this year (Watts Up With That?) How not to
measure temperature, part 70 (Watts Up With That?) More
on the Santa Ana Rooftop Weather Station: comparison stations also problematic (Watts Up With That?) I am a Skeptic (Watts Up With
That?) More alarmism turned
into more hard cash (Tom Nelson) Don't let the facts spoil a good story -
Here is a cautionary tale for anyone working in research. "Captain Cook and Lord Nelson seem unlikely
figureheads in the fight against climate change alarmists," said the Sun. "Lord Nelson and Captain
Cook's ship logs question climate change theories," announced the Telegraph. Oh that's handy. So perhaps we
can just keep on burning oil regardless then? "The ships' logs of great maritime figures such as Lord Nelson
and Captain Cook have cast new light on climate change by suggesting that global warming may not be an entirely
man-made phenomenon." The funniest part of this is that it applies most specifically to gorebull warming. There is absolutely no
research whatsoever that demonstrates enhanced greenhouse as a driver of global temperatures or climate, much
less that any catastrophe can or will ensue but no one is ever going to know that from the media coverage. Its the Sun, Not
Your SUV! - The evidence is in. Before we go bankrupt, read lt's the
Sun, Not Your SUV and make up your own mind. This book is an excellent presentation of the truth about the
changes in temperature over the past 125 years. Increases in solar activity along with reduction of cloud coverage
and thus Earth albedo (reflectivity) are the primary reason temperatures have increased. Buy this book through our store and help JunkScience.com at
the same time! Australia Seeks to Lower Carbon
Emissions From Cars - SYDNEY - The Australian government issued a discussion paper on reducing automobile
carbon emissions on Saturday, with recommendations such as providing financial incentives for manufacturing
low-emission cars. (Reuters) Climate change heroes' sham
case - ONE commonly repeated argument for doing something about climate change sounds compelling, but turns
out to be almost fraudulent. It is based on comparing the cost of action with the cost of inaction, and almost
every major politician in the world uses it. (Bjorn Lomborg, The Australian) Canada Tories Reject Rivals' Fear
of Carbon Tariff - OTTAWA - Canadian Trade Minister Michael Fortier rejected the notion on Thursday that some
countries might slap tariffs on Canadian products because of the Conservative government's weak climate change
policies. (Reuters) Why? NZ's Carbon Scheme
Expected to Survive Election - WELLINGTON - New Zealand's planned carbon trading scheme, the first
cap-and-trade market outside Europe, is expected to survive even if Prime Minister Helen Clark loses a national
election on Nov. 8. (Reuters) A scare too far: Tapping
football fever, environmentalists say global warming could send Ohio buckeyes to Michigan - It's not the
best-researched global-warming theory, but it could be the most horrifying to certain fans of college football:
Environmentalists said Friday that climate change might push the growing range of Ohio's iconic buckeye tree out
of the state, leaving it for archrival Michigan. I know enviros specialize in low blows and shoddy claims but this is especially egregious! Wrongly asserting
Ohio's state pride could be transferred to Michigan if people don't stop liberating the stuff of life, the trace
gas that supports most life on Earth? That is a new low even for misanthropic ratbags claiming to be green. Rise
up, Buckeye fans, rise up and cast these fearmongering agents of Michigan out of Ohio! With all the usual 'Yes, but' weaseling; Antarctic
sea ice increases despite warming - The amount of sea ice around Antarctica has grown in recent Septembers in
what could be an unusual side-effect of global warming, experts say. Bottom line guys, if it's a result of warming because more snowfall is available from a warmer atmosphere
then claims of looming sea level rise are wildly overstated (they are anyway but just go with it) or,
alternatively, it's because southern polar regions are not,
in fact, warming. Since the entire Southern Hemisphere mid-troposphere shows no
warming it is quite correct to say global warming is not happening. Slowdown predicts 'tipping points'
- There's a theory that as climate change progresses the Earth could undergo a series of climate tipping points
– sudden changes beyond which a return to the original state just isn't possible. But it's been hard to prove
that such tipping points exist and even more difficult to tell how near we might be to reaching one. (ERL) Hmm... 'smart filtering' eh? Sometimes known as 'data diddling', too. Sodden farmers struggling with a
changing climate - A terribly wet summer in the UK has left farmers facing the worst harvest in 40 years and
the task of adapting to new conditions (The Guardian) Unfortunately John may be right -- the last time we had a period of really wet summers was during the
Little Ice Age, accompanied by great morbidity, misery and human unrest. Get Fagan's The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History 1300-1850 through our
store and keep JunkScience.com online. See why we really don't want to cool the Earth! Why carbon offsets don't
work - They're like a fat person claiming he's losing weight by paying a thin person to go on a diet (Lorrie
Goldstein, Toronto Sun) Not so Lorrie, paying a thin person to diet would result in their losing weight and reduce the net mass of
people on the planet but reducing carbon emissions will have zero effect on global temperatures, making the diet
scenario far too effective to be analogous. Runny Nose, Itchy Eyes? Blame Global
Warming - One of the few potentially positive effects of climate change, at least in the short term, is that
increased concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may enhance the growth plants. That could be good for
agriculture — though warming temperatures and changing rain patterns in a warmer world might wipe out that
advantage. But there are no unalloyed gifts from climate change. Recent research suggests that global warming will
also exacerbate respiratory allergies, as higher CO2 concentrations lead to vast increases in ragweed pollen
production. "There's no denying there's a change," says Paul Ratner, an immunologist with the American
College of Allergies. "It's definitely bad news for people who have allergies." (Bryan Walsh, Time) Another wayward 'gotcha' attempt: Palin
Denies Denying Human Role in Global Warming - In an interview with ABC's Charles Gibson that was broadcast
Thursday and Friday, the GOP vice presidential nominee took pains to say she had not denied humans' role in
driving climate changes across the globe. Can anyone not see that Palin not being convinced anthropogenic influences are the major determinant of
global climatic change is distinct from her denying any anthropogenic role in global climate? I publicly
doubt majority human influence (in fact publicly call that assertion complete crap) but that in no way conflicts
with human activities influencing at least weather at the local scale (think dust from agriculture or the Asian
Brown Cloud, Urban Heat Islands...). Comprehensive
Data Set of Global Land Cover Change for Land Surface Model Applications by Sterling and Ducharne (2008) -
There is yet another paper that documents the very important role of land cover change as a component of the
climate system [and thanks to Laure M. Montandon for alerting us to this article!]. The paper is Sterling, S., and
A. Ducharne (2008), Comprehensive data set of global land cover change for land surface model applications, Global
Biogeochem. Cycles, 22, GB3017, doi:10.1029/2007GB002959. (Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science) Review: Hot, Flat and
Crowded. Why the World Needs a Green Revolution by Thomas L. Friedman - Would a Green America save both the
world and its own supremacy? wonders Philip Stott (Daily Telegraph) Too funny: Wind power speed record bid fails
- A team that had hoped to break the world land-speed record for a wind-powered vehicle is blaming climate change
for its failure. (BBC News) Well why not, we suppose, gorebull warming is blamed for everything else. Vandalizing
the Economy - This is very big. Over in the UK, a group of Greenpeace supporters trespassed on to a coal-fired
power station and started vandalizing it, painting a message to UK Prime Minister Gordon Borwn about global
warming. They were arrested and prosecuted. Their defense strategy was to claim a "lawful excuse" on the
grounds that their actions could help prevent significant damage to others' property that would result from global
warming. Their defense witnesses included James Hansen, Al Gore's adviser and head of NASA's Goddard Institute of
Space Studies, and Zac Goldsmith, ultra-wealthy heir of Sir James Goldsmith and a wannabe Tory MP. The strategy
worked. Yesterday, a jury returned a majority verdict, acquiting the so-called Kingsnorth Six. As The Independent
put it, the jury decided the "threat of global warming justifies breaking the law." (Iain Murray, Planet
Gore) Crossing the Line
- Top NASA climatologist James Hansen endorses eco-vandalism. (Henry Payne, NRO) Phase
out coal and burn trees instead, urges leading scientist - Humanity must urgently embark on a massive
programme to power civilisation from wood to stave off catastrophic climate change, one of the world's top
scientists has told The Independent on Sunday. I was just pondering the inspiration for Jimmy's mania... could it be: “A massive campaign must be launched to de-develop the United States. De-development means bringing our
economic system (especially patterns of consumption) into line with the realities of ecology and the world
resource situation.” -- Paul Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich, “Population, Resources, Environment”
(W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1970, 323) or maybe: "Isn't the only hope for the planet that the industrialised civilizations collapse? Isn't it our
responsibility to bring that about?" -- Maurice Strong, head of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro
and Executive Officer for Reform in the Office of the Secretary General of the United Nations. Geoffrey
Lean: The public are ahead of the game on climate change - Thursday, Ben Stewart feared, would be the day he
started a prison term. But instead of being banged up, he found himself "in the green room of The Jeremy Vine
Show, next to Cliff Richard". (The Independent) Actually not and the judge really should never have entertained such an absurd 'defense'. The public may
indeed have been stampeded by activist media and a hugely financed and orchestrated campaign of deceit over
trivial enhanced greenhouse effect but this is where responsible government and the judiciary should be
restraining the impetuosity of mobs. Instead they've made essential services more of a target than ever. We
don't need jihadists to bring down society -- we have the greens and activist judges. Climate
change chicanery - Recent events have seen the scare campaign over global warming descend to the level of a
Monty Python sketch. Grasshoppers are recruited as
climate change scouts - The rasping summer sound of grasshoppers chirping in fields and meadows is to be used
to help to track climate changes. Editorial: Comprehensive policy should be
legislative goal - We can’t drill our way to energy independence, but neither can we conserve our way there
or rely wholly on alternatives such as wind and solar power. We need a full basket of options. (Journal Sentinel) Kind of like the Republican's "all of the above" refrain, huh? Why
the Drilling Windfall Will Change the Drilling Debate Debate - The debate over new oil drilling in the United
States usually breaks down into a debate over the effects of any new supplies on the price of oil. Some say that
the effects are marginal, and thus pretty much irrelevant to the longer-term challenge of transitioning away from
fossil fuels, while others say that the the effects are positive and work toward getting the U.S. off of foreign
sources. In this debate, there are valid arguments on both sides, but the “drill or not to drill” debate
itself misses what seems to be the elephant in the living room, which has been discussed in today’s Wall Street
Journal: (Roger Pielke, Jr., Prometheus) Democrats Reluctantly
Embrace Offshore Drilling - WASHINGTON — For decades, opposition to new offshore oil drilling has been a
core principle of Congressional Democrats, ranking in the party pantheon somewhere just below protecting Social
Security and increasing the minimum wage. (New York Times) We wish... Climate
is right for Arctic oil rush - WASHINGTON – It's a scramble for the spoils of global warming as the rapid
melting of Arctic sea ice is opening access to previously unreachable deposits of oil and gas, setting off a race
by northern nations – including the United States, Canada and Russia – to claim them. (San Francisco
Chronicle) ... unfortunately the most likely change is more Arctic icing, which means we'd need to develop drilling
submarines to exploit Arctic subsea resources. Why Is Our Oil Up Hurricane Alley?
- Even as global forces drive oil prices lower, all it takes is one nasty storm to reverse that. With a continent
full of energy resources, why is U.S. oil production still concentrated in one Hurricane Alley? (IBD) Electrifying Idea From The 'Gang Of
10' - The recent conflict between Georgia and Russia has once again highlighted the profound danger that oil
dependence poses to free nations, including the United States. Our nation's deep reliance on oil, largely imported
from unstable and, in some cases, hostile regimes is corrosive to the integrity and effectiveness of American
security policy. (Gen. P.X. Kelley And Frederick W. Smith, IBD) Actually not. Far better to get coal to liquids up and running. For one thing we have hundreds of years worth
of coal and for another the Air Force would have a difficult time maintaining flight operations with
battery-powered aircraft. Battery-operated Abrams Tanks may not exactly be battlefield dominant, either. If they don't wanna invest in carbon, get out of oil stocks... Investors
press for disclosure of tar sands' climate risk - F&C Management, the UK's oldest investment trust, has
teamed up with a group of US and Canadian fund managers to halt Wall Street financial regulators softening the
rules on tar sands, arguing that new rules should take account of the carbon impact of reserves disclosed by oil
and gas companies. (Terry Macalister, The Guardian) Oil
sands cleanup - The public debate on oil sands fails to recognize that restoration is possible and not that
expensive (Lawrence Solomon, Financial Post) BG's
Brazilian oil discovery is three times larger than expected - BG Group's most recent oil discovery in Brazil's
Santos Basin is more than three times larger than expected, the company has revealed, and could contain between 3
and 4 billion barrels of recoverable oil. (The Independent) Gas, Gas Everywhere
- Billions are being pumped into new U.S. natural gas exploration, leading to a jump in production, lower prices,
and a lot of rich Texans (Business Week) Critics claim deception in Californian energy
measures - SAN FRANCISCO: Californians will vote on two ballot initiatives this fall that at first glance
would seem shoo-ins for approval in a state long associated with environmental activism. (Associated Press) Renewable energy may dim if tax break ends -
Credits benefiting industry will expire unless Congress acts (Journal Sentinel) The Pickens Plan: Questions Unanswered - Introduction:
On July 7, 2008, Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens introduced the “Pickens Plan,” an ambitious proposal to
reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil by one-third over the next ten years. Wind-Power Politics - For years,
wind-farm projects had stalled in the face of local political opposition. Then an entrepreneur named Peter
Mandelstam came up with a new and energizing approach. (New York Times) Windfarms:
One of the great deceptions of our time - The total power generated by all the 2,300 turbines so far built in
Britain, is less than that contributed by a single medium-size conventional power station. (Christopher Booker,
Daily Telegraph) Wind
farms fail to deliver value for money, report claims - Wind farms are failing to deliver value for money and
distorting the development of other renewable energy sources, a report claims. (Daily Telegraph) Cost of
£1bn energy relief plan 'will end up on household bills' - Gordon Brown faces a double revolt despite
announcing a £1 billion package yesterday to help struggling households to cope with soaring energy prices. (The
Times) Personal nukes: Update
Hyperion Nuclear Power Generator - Hyperion Power Generation, Inc., (HPG) with the assistance of Los Alamos
National Laboratory, is developing and commercializing a small, factory-sealed, mass-produced, transportable
nuclear power module that is uniquely safe and proliferation-resistant. The technology utilizes and builds upon
similar features of the 60+ TRIGA training reactors that have been safely operated for years in universities and
laboratories around the globe. Current identified applications include industrial use (oil shale & sand
retorting), power for military installation, homeland security, emergency disaster response, and remote community
and infrastructure. As of September 9, 2008, HPG has ten installation commitments and 50 pending. The first HPG
reactors should be ready in 2013. The cost of the reactors will be about $1400/kw. After 5 years, each reactor
would have a softball size amount of waste. The uranium hydride reactor can burn up to 50% of the uranium or about
ten times more than current reactors. (Next Big Future) There goes another one: Beatrice
BioDiesel in bankruptcy - BEATRICE — Two years ago this month, ground was broken in a northwest Beatrice
industrial park on what was supposed to be a $52.5 million biodiesel plant. By summer of 2007, partners in the
plant construction hoped to be producing millions of gallons of a soybean oil-diesel fuel mix. India Dreams Big on Biofuel But
Can it Deliver? - NEW DELHI - India's drive to ramp up biofuels use within a decade offers hope to a
struggling biodiesel sector, but without a clear roadmap, commercial production will remain years away, a top
trade official said. (Reuters) No evidence
that bariatric surgeries save healthcare costs or save lives - A study has been in all the business news this
past week and its reported finding is already on its way to becoming a truism: that obesity surgery pays for
itself in lower insurance costs in just two to four years. As with so many beliefs that are repeated over and over
again, the real story behind its origin are lost. Lessons from the Amish - If
we believe news reports this week, there’s no excuse for being fat because our genes can be overcome by having a
healthy lifestyle and getting plenty of exercise. A new study of Old Order Amish living in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, was reported as showing that physical activity can combat obesity and keep people trim, even among
those with a genetic susceptibility to obesity. Today’s modern lifestyles and obesogenic environment, with its
perceived more fattening, processed foods and lack of exercise, are believed to cause the current obesity
epidemic. And people living simpler lives, eschewing the trappings of modern life, eating natural foods and
getting lots of exercise, don't have weight problems...or so the myth goes... (Junkfood Science) Support Junkfood Science. What we want you to do is show Sandy how much you appreciate her dedicated
efforts, undertaken at her own expense (Junkfood Science has no sponsor and never has had). Donate whatever
you can to help Sandy continue the wonderful work she does. Click on the button below to show Junkfood Science some love. Looking for a new scare? New
form of 'mad cow' disease could infect humans - JUST when it looked as if we had mad cow disease licked, a new
threat may be lurking down on the farm - bovine amyloidic spongiform encephalopathy. First discovered in Italian
cows in 2003, BASE has infected a monkey, suggesting that the disease may also be capable of spreading to humans. Old
enough to fight, old enough to drink - At age 18, an American can enlist in the military, vote, sign a
contract, get married, have an operation - hey, in California, a 14-year-old can have an abortion without telling
her parents - but cannot buy a beer. Not legally, anyway. Oh boy... Is it better to buy canned or
frozen food? - Frozen and canned foods may eat energy, but it's the 'chilled' ranges you should cross off your
shopping list, says Lucy Siegle (The Observer) But wait, maybe this is associated: Going
veggie shrinks the brain - SCIENTISTS have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain - with
those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage. Hmm... cows are veggies and they suffer brain wasting diseases, does this mean BSE is from vegetarianism? (No
e-mails please -- the assertion is not meant to be taken seriously) How
China Helps America’s Poor - The University of Chicago’s Christian Broda says U.S. trade with China has
reduced prices and mitigated inequality. (Heather Wilhelm, The American) The Progressive Case For Free Trade
- As recently as eight years ago, when the Clinton-Gore administration ended, a bipartisan consensus existed among
Democrats and Republicans in favor of free trade, which leaders of both parties recognized was in America's
economic interest. (Senator Joe Lieberman, IBD) Kids endanger the planet? Scientists:
Save the planet—have fewer kids - As rising populations strain a warming planet, a British journal suggests
having smaller families (Laurie Goering, Chicago Tribune) MTV
Trashes A Piece Of Rainforest For Their New Reality Show (ecorazzi) Will
environmentalists miss George Bush? - No doubt, environmentalists are counting down the days until President
Bush leaves office. However, is this parting bittersweet? Consider the following figure on the number of Americans
that claim to belong to an environmental organization. (David Cherney, Prometheus) Iran supports Obama (no surprise there): The
world’s verdict will be harsh if the U.S. rejects the man it yearns for - An America that disdains Obama for
his global support risks turning current anti-Bush feeling into something far worse (Jonathan Freedland, The
Guardian via Tehran Times) Funny how dictatorships and the axis of weasels yearn for those whose ideas of self defense and international
policing are a plaintive "Please don't do it. I don't like it." Record 2007/08 harvest in Brazil,
143.8 million tons - Brazil confirmed that the 2007/08 was the greatest grain and oilseed crop ever, 143.8
million tons. The Ministry of Agriculture said it was 9.2% above the previous season and could further increase
when the final volumes of the northeast second corn harvest are completed. (Mercopress) How much is due to aerial crop fertilization from increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide? UN: soaring prices and agro-fuel
threaten right to food - The global food crisis caused by soaring prices is jeopardizing the right to food,
and any potential solution to the problem must be viewed through the lens of human rights, an independent United
Nations expert said Wednesday. (Mercopress) Group Plans to Sue EPA Over Sewage
Sludge on Farms - WASHINGTON - The Center for Food Safety, a private advocacy group, said Thursday it plans to
sue the US Environmental Protection Agency over its refusal to put a moratorium on dumping sewage sludge on
farmland. (Reuters) September 12, 2008 Pickens' Natural Gas Nonsense - "Get this
one," says billionaire T. Boone Pickens in his latest TV ad, "Iran is changing its cars to natural gas
and we're not doing a thing here. They're doing this to use less oil and sell it for $120 a barrel. We can switch
our cars to natural gas and stop sending our dollars to foreign countries." Readers of this column know better than to take at face value the marketing of the so-called "Pickens
Plan." (Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com) Excuse me? Ice core studies confirm accuracy of
climate models - An analysis has been completed of the global carbon cycle and climate for a 70,000 year
period in the most recent Ice Age, showing a remarkable correlation between carbon dioxide levels and surprisingly
abrupt changes in climate. Actually the only mention of models in the paper is to say that model output also seems to show some
relationship between temperature and carbon dioxide but I don't view that as "confirming the accuracy of
climate models" (how they got in the title of this release when the actual title of the paper is Atmospheric
CO2 and Climate on Millennial Time Scales During the Last Glacial Period is anybody's guess). What they did
find was that the Antarctic rapidly cooled and atmospheric carbon dioxide then slowly declined (no support there
for atmospheric CO2 controlling temperature since it is still the wrong way round) and 2,000-5,000
years following increases in carbon dioxide (as determined from ice cores) Greenland temperatures rose. A 2-5ka
gap in cause and effect is pretty tenuous, to say the least. If atmospheric carbon dioxide is a key driver of
global temperature then why do temperatures plunge only to be slowly followed by carbon dioxide levels in one
hemisphere while taking 2-5ka to elicit a response in the other? Hardly compelling. Hmm... another model mix study: Atmospheric
Warming and the Amplification of Precipitation Extremes - Climate models suggest that extreme precipitation
events will become more common in an anthropogenically warmed climate. However, observational limitations have
hindered a direct evaluation of model-projected changes in extreme precipitation. We used satellite observations
and model simulations to examine the response of tropical precipitation events to naturally driven changes in
surface temperature and atmospheric moisture content. These observations reveal a distinct link between rainfall
extremes and temperature, with heavy rain events increasing during warm periods and decreasing during cold
periods. Furthermore, the observed amplification of rainfall extremes is found to be larger than that predicted by
models, implying that projections of future changes in rainfall extremes in response to anthropogenic global
warming may be underestimated. (Allan & Soden, Science) My first worry would be determining whether positive Nino-3 events are the same as increase in global mean
temperature (granted, rearrangement of the Earth's thermal furniture during ENSO events does affect global mean
temperature, something we examined more closely here).
Granted too, that the event we looked at demonstrated a transient temperature increase of 0.5 K to 1.0 K
(depending on time series). Now we get to my major concern: Low-level moisture rises with temperature at about 7%/K, as expected from
the Clausius Clapeyron equation they say, citing Soden and Wentz papers. Well, up to about 500 feet above
sea level it does appear there has been some
atmospheric moistening concurrent with a few tenths of one kelvin rise in global mean temperature but what
about the annual 10-12 K hemispheric warming? While there is little equatorial warming and cooling
throughout the year this is not true of higher latitudes so the assumption must be that the higher the latitude,
where greater seasonal warming occurs (New York, for example, is barely greater than 40 degrees North Latitude
yet typically warms about 25 K from January to July), the drier the winter and more extreme the summer
precipitation, right? Such a hypothesis might wash & wear in the monsoon belt but I can't see it holding
much attention in say, Mediterranean climates. Sorry but I think extrapolating from Nino-3 to global warming is a reach way too far and that their argument
is all wet. Emissions not making rivers
run dry - IS the ongoing drought in the Murray-Darling Basin affected by climate change? The simple answer is
that there is no evidence that CO2 has had any significant role. Like it or not, that is the science. Another assumption bites the dust: Research team
proposes new link to tropical African climate - The Lake Tanganyika area, in southeast Africa, is home to
nearly 130 million people living in four countries that bound the lake, the second deepest on Earth. Scientists
have known that the region experiences dramatic wet and dry spells, and that rainfall profoundly affects the
area's people, who depend on it for agriculture, drinking water and hydroelectric power. (Brown University) Adapt
or die - Environmentalists have long said the world should concentrate on preventing climate change, not
adapting to it. That is changing. (The Economist) They are finally coming to their senses? Don't hold your breath! Al Gore's
Carbon Empire, Cashing in on Climate Change (pdf) - Al Gore says everyone will benefit when new government
rules require companies to pay to reduce global warming. But some people will benefit more than others, as will
some companies. Benefiting most are those like the ex-vice president who can set up and invest in companies that
will profit from the federal regulations imposing heavy costs on others. (Capital Research Center) People not as stupid as this lot hoped they were? Pity... World
carbon standards to relax -CCX head - NEW YORK, Sept 11 - World greenhouse gas markets probably will relax
their notions of what constitutes a carbon credit to encourage more people to reduce emissions of planet-warming
gases, the head of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) said in an interview. K.Rudd... Climate
change summit scrapped - THE Rudd Government has scrapped plans for a climate change summit with state
premiers and chief ministers due in three weeks because of delays in getting the policy together and uncertainty
over the West Australian election. Climate row sparks
debate around world - THE row over the Environment Minister's controversial climate change scepticism stormed
into its fifth day yesterday, with comments coming in from around the world. East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson penned an
article in last Friday's News Lettter in which he expressed strong doubts that global warming is caused by man.
Thousands of people from around the world logged into the News Letter website to read his views and dozens joined
in the debate. Many of the posters supported Mr Wilson while around a third have condemned him. (News Letter) Harper Says
Carbon Tax May Trigger Canadian Recession -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said a plan by Liberal
Party Leader Stephane Dion to tax the use of carbon-based energy would trigger a recession and re-ignite the
pro-sovereignty movement in Quebec. Green
light to anarchy: Eco-activists cleared of power station damage after using climate change as defence -
Protesters have been given a legal 'green light' to commit crime after six Greenpeace activists accused of
vandalising a power station were cleared, an ex minister has warned. The eco-campaigners admitted causing damage
to the value of £30,000 when they climbed a chimney and began painting a slogan. But a judge allowed them to base
their 'lawful excuse' defence around their cause: the fear that the power station could contribute to climate
change. (Daily Mail) So, if some Englishmen truly fear greenies could contribute to famine and disease then that's a legitimate
defense for damaging greenies? Can't just see this idiot judge sitting still for that... 'If I was E.ON or owned an
airport, I'd be very, very worried' - Interviews by Bibi van der Zee (The Guardian) 'Defending' the indefensible: Beyond
all reasonable doubt - Each had a job to do, and each did it to perfection. The four key witnesses chosen by
Greenpeace to speak in its defence at the Kingsnorth trial were crucial to the environmental group's acquittal.
They were chosen not only to "push all the right buttons" with the court, but to answer the very
specific questions the judge would ask the jury to answer, says Ben Stewart, Greenpeace's communications director
and a defendant in the case. "We wanted a not guilty verdict, but we also wanted to put the government's
policy on coal in the dock." (Jon Henley, The Guardian) Climb every chimney ... -
The 'Kingsnorth Six' admitted causing £30,000 worth of damage to a coal-fired power station - yet a jury still
refused to find them guilty. The verdict has left the government's energy plans in the balance, says John Vidal,
and given a huge boost to climate change protesters (John Vidal, The Guardian) No, it's opened the door to anarchy. 'Shoot on sight' orders are probably more responsible. Bullshit: Policy,
not protesters, should be on trial - Unlike the jury in Maidstone, policy-makers seem unable to grasp that
unabated coal burning will lead to climate disaster (Tony Juniper, The Guardian) Just for fun: On
male pattern baldness and global warming - Global warming doesn’t cause baldness in men. At least, I
haven’t seen anybody claiming this. Yet. Rethinking
Carbon of the Past: Scientist Uncovers Miscalculation In Geological Undersea Record - Carbon isotope ratios
are central to many reconstructions of past climate. For example the IPCC Working Group 1 cited C12/C13 ratios as
the basis for determining some of their findings about climate in the last 1000 years. However, longer term
reconstructions are less certain, and now with this new discovery, some of the long term work may have to be
reconsidered. (Watts Up With That?) All the World’s a Cage -
According to World Water Council’s director-general Ger Bergkamp, Australia is ‘the metaphorical canary down
the coalmine when it comes to climate change‘: Corporate
Irresponsibility: Dow Chemical Promotes Climate Hype Instead of Drill, Drill, Drill - Just as good political
advertising can sway an election, effective ads on issues such as energy can move public opinion and Congress. At
a time when the soaring price of energy has public sentiment strongly in support of off-shore oil drilling,
corporations have a unique opportunity to drive home the importance of developing domestic natural resources. With
corporate profits being stung by the high cost of energy, aggressive advertising promoting fossil fuels is in the
corporations’ self-interest. Drilling
for Dollars - Congress is usually scrambling for revenue to spend, not rejecting it out of hand. Which makes
it all the more strange that Democrats have resisted the windfall they stand to collect if they drop their ban on
offshore oil-and-gas development. Sheesh! Investors
look at carbon cost for oil reserves - NORTH AMERICA – Oil companies should be forced to factor in the
carbon cost of extracting future reserves when reporting, according to a letter delivered to the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). These guys are supposed to be looking after members (i.e., maximizing profits) but look at the nonsense they
get up to. They listen to these fools too much: MTV
ad attacks 'greenwash' firms - MTV is launching a global marketing push to tackle climate change that includes
a TV ad attacking businesses guilty of "greenwash" - deliberately misleading consumers about their
eco-credentials. (The Guardian) It is not and never will be the function of business to focus on anything but business. Maine offers testbed for power from tides - Electricity
produced from bay with greatest tide change in continental U.S. (Associated Press) EU Committee Votes to Cut Biofuels
Goal - A committee of the European Parliament has voted to cut the EU's target for using traditional biofuels
for road transport by 2020. The move has been welcomed by environmental and aid groups concerned that the growth
in biofuels has been boosting food prices and causing deforestation. (Der Spiegel) AP Enterprise: Drugs affect more drinking water --
Testing prompted by an Associated Press story that revealed trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in drinking water
supplies has shown that more Americans are affected by the problem than previously thought - at least 46 million. 41, 46, 10 gazillion... still makes no real difference to anyone's health that we can detect ever smaller
(and less relevant) trace levels of these compounds. Agreed: Huge increase in
spending on water urged to avert global catastrophe - Countries across the world will have to dramatically
increase investment in dams, pipes and other water infrastructure to avoid widespread flooding, drought and
disease even before climate change accelerates these problems, experts have warned. (The Guardian) We do need massive increase in development, including but not only huge increases in water catchment and
storage, treatment and reticulation. The biggest obstruction is and has long been the misanthropists known as
enviros or greenies and we must sweep them aside as a matter of survival for large numbers of the world's
poorest people. Australian researchers discover elusive frog -- A tiny
frog species thought by many experts to be extinct has been rediscovered alive and well in a remote area of
Australia's tropical north, researchers said Thursday. (AP) Officials pluck tree-sitters from their perch - After
almost two years perched in the sky, Berkeley's tree-sitters came back to earth Tuesday. The final four were
handcuffed and escorted by police down steep steps of scaffolding for a safe-and-certain descent cheered by
hundreds of bystanders, who anxiously gathered in fear of a conflict at the top of a 100-foot redwood. (San Jose
Mercury News) Hmm... what was that scene from Police Academy about getting the kitty out of the tree? The
World Bank Urges A New Green Revolution - CHURCHVILLE, VA—The World Bank is warning of “climate chaos”
and demands a rebuilding of the world’s agricultural science centers to keep everyone fed. The basic message is
right on target, even if it is swathed in climate hype. Katherine Sierra, the World Bank’s vice president for
sustainable development, says climate change will mean more droughts, floods, more outbreaks of pests and disease,
more heat stress for livestock and less arable land for crops. She warns the world “dropped the ball” on
agricultural science after the Green Revolution saved a billion people from starvation and preserved 16 million
square miles of forest from being plowed for more low-yield crops. Asia poverty level
down, child health poor-UN - NEW DELHI - Asia is making progress in reducing extreme poverty but faces an
uphill battle to improve child nutrition and lower child mortality rates, the United Nations said on Thursday. September 11, 2008
Obama And 9/11 - Eight
days after terrorism declared war on America, a young state senator blamed it on "a failure of empathy"
— yet another reason why Barack Obama should never be commander in chief. Uh-huh... Australia Being
Hit by More "Extreme Waves" - Study - CANBERRA - Australia's vast coastline is increasingly being
battered by destructive "extreme waves" driven in part by climate change, scientists said on Wednesday. ... and this is due to the extratropical warming that Australia is not
experiencing, right? In fact the southern
hemisphere as a whole is pretty much ignoring gorebull warming. "Accelerated version of global
warming"? What a crock. Old Farmers Almanac: Global
cooling may be underway - DUBLIN, N.H. — The Old Farmer's Almanac is going further out on a limb than usual
this year, not only forecasting a cooler winter, but looking ahead decades to suggest we are in for global
cooling, not warming. Brits have a law and order problem because courts won't uphold the law: Greenpeace
Protestors Cleared Over Coal Protest - LONDON - Six activists from environmental group Greenpeace were cleared
by a court on Wednesday of causing criminal damage when they closed down a coal-fired power station in Kent last
year in a climate change protest. (Reuters) Note to NASA:
Fire Dr. James Hansen, now. - I’ve been wrestling with this topic for hours now as to how to best present it
in this forum. I finally decided to simply just write it as I see it. John
McCain walks a fine line on the environment - His choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate and new support for
offshore oil drilling could undercut any standing on the issue he earned with his bipartisan proposal to limit
greenhouse gas emissions. (Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times) 2 out of 3 isn't that bad... Now, if we can just get through to him that Al lied, there is no enhanced
greenhouse emergency and no gain to be had from rationing energy he'll really be worth having. Alaska is a Battleground in
"Green" Wars - KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK, Alaska - Sarah Palin makes some greens see red, not least
because her Alaskan home is a battleground in America's "environmental wars." Gosh, that sounds a big number! Why that annual retreat is almost the combined length of the 3 vehicles left
idling outside while Ozone Al does his warming shtick! What can we do? Who can we telephone? McCain Surrogate Tim
Pawlenty: Human Impact On Global Warming ‘Half A Percent’ - Appearing on the Glenn Beck radio show
yesterday, Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) denigrated the science of climate change, saying the human impact on global
warming was only “half a percent.” He implied mandatory programs to reduce global warming emissions — like
the cap-and-trade programs he has previously called for — would “wreck the economy.” And he said that it’s
“understandable” that plans to fix global warming have “faded into the background” because of the
“energy crisis”: (The Wonk Room) The colossal arrogance: Labour
must encourage individuals to tackle global warming - Now that the argument for global warming has been almost
universally accepted, the debate has shifted to how countries can best go about cutting carbon emissions. "The argument for global warming has been almost universally accepted"? Not exactly -- it hasn't
even been joined yet. Arrogant prat. Dangerous human-caused warming can neither be
demonstrated nor measured - There is no evidence, neither empirical nor theoretical, that carbon dioxide
emissions from industrial and other human activities can have any effect on global climate. In addition, the
claims so often made that there is a consensus among climate scientists that global warming is the result of
increased man-made emissions of CO2, has no basis in fact. (John Nicol, CFP) EU Lawmaker Warns CO2 Caps in
Danger, Eyes Shipping - BRUSSELS - A key European Union lawmaker, Swedish liberal Lena Ek, said the EU's
Emission Trading Scheme was in danger of being undermined and proposed to include the shipping sector in the
scheme from 2013. Emissions trading scheme
futile - NATURAL climate changes include warmings, coolings and more abrupt steps represented by the Great
Pacific Climate Shift in 1977. Parallel universes: Ross
Garnaut's report is a welcome reality check - THERE are two parallel debates running in Australia on climate
change, one grounded in reality and the other floating off into the world of fantasy. One is the economic debate
towards which Ross Garnaut made a major contribution with his supplementary report last week setting an achievable
trajectory for Australian greenhouse gas emissions and a framework on which to build international agreement. The
other debate is the one that takes the worst climate projections as a given and sets incredible targets that are
impossible to achieve and would not, given the relatively small size of Australia's domestic emissions, make the
slightest dent on global carbon output. Break out the Woohoo Hats: Melting
ice caps could suck carbon from atmosphere - It's not often that disappearing Arctic ice is presented as good
news for the planet. Yet new research suggests that as the northern polar cap melts, it could lift the lid off a
new carbon sink capable of soaking up carbon dioxide. (NewScientist.com news service) This from the bloke who claims to be 'muzzled': US
election: Climate scientist aims to get 1m students to vote on presidential candidates' green energy records -
Renowned climate scientist James Hansen today lent his voice to a US voter organising drive with an ambitious
goal: enlisting 1m students who will cast their vote for the presidential candidate with the greenest energy
record. Actually we should thank The Guardian -- they have an excellent track
record when interfering in US
elections (now, if they'll just launch another 'get out the vote' campaign) :-) NASA study illustrates how global peak oil could impact
climate -- The burning of fossil fuels -- notably coal, oil and gas -- has accounted for about 80 percent of
the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide since the pre-industrial era. Now, NASA researchers have identified
feasible emission scenarios that could keep carbon dioxide below levels that some scientists have called dangerous
for climate. (NASA/GSFC) Hansen rides against evil Coal again... Uh-oh... Scientists uncover miscalculation in
geological undersea record - The precise timing of the origin of life on Earth and the changes in life during
the past 4.5 billion years has been a subject of great controversy for the past century. The principal indicator
of the amount of organic carbon produced by biological activity traditionally used is the ratio of the less
abundant isotope of carbon, 13C, to the more abundant isotope, 12C. (University of Miami) ... this might upset current theories on the carbon cycle and the "human fraction". Nice berg pictures, at least: Paradice
Lost (don't blame me, that's how The Sun wrote it) - LIKE graceful sculptures of white rising from the
sea, these icebergs are an undeniably beautiful sight. But as magnificent as the photographs are, according to the
man who took them, they are also a dire warning of how our climate is changing. (The Sun) Imagine that: Alaska,
Russia Forests Overlooked in Climate Fight - OSLO - Old forests from Alaska to Russia soak up vast amount of
greenhouse gases as they age and are wrongly overlooked as a weapon in a UN-led fight against global warming, a
study said on Wednesday. (Reuters) Even older forests thrive in a carbon dioxide-enriched environment (no calls or e-mails please, we know that
current levels remain near historic lows but here we use enrichment in a relative sense). Charlie, Prince of Wails: Prince
in call to save rainforests - The Prince of Wales has called for a "sense of wartime urgency" in a
bid to save the rainforests and cap global warming. Charles, addressing a dinner at Mansion House in the City of
London, described tropical forests as "the world's lifebelt", the destruction of which could result in
"unprecedented geopolitical and economic upheaval". (Press Association) A
Geophysical Research Letter Article by Lobell, D. B., G. Bala, and P. B. Duffy (2006): Biogeophysical Impacts Of
Cropland Management Changes On Climate - Recently, I came across an interesting paper that is another valuable
resource that documents the first order role of landscape processes as part of climate variability and change. The
paper is Lobell, D. B., G. Bala, and P. B. Duffy (2006), Biogeophysical impacts of cropland management changes on
climate, Geophys. Res. Lett. L06708, doi:10.1029/2005GL025492. (Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science) Gravity-mapping
satellite will help predict climate change - Scientists are preparing to launch a new satellite to make more
precise measurements of the Earth's gravitational field and so help improve predictions about global warming. (The
Guardian) If it is anything like GRACE we are underwhelmed. To win the
presidential race, it takes energy - Record-high prices for gasoline, heating and electricity and growing
concern about global warming have pushed energy issues to the forefront of the 2008 presidential campaign. Energy is the lifeblood of the nation and the only real issue is guaranteeing adequate supply at the cheapest
possible price. Get that done and everything else becomes doable and, more importantly, affordable (think health
care, social security, employment, declining debt...). Drilling takes center stage on
Capitol Hill - Ideas galore, but an energy bill seems unlikely to make it out alive (Houston Chronicle) Liquid Pork -
Congress is back. If, upon reading those words, your hand shoots reflexively to your wallet or purse to make sure
it’s still there, then you know what comes next: A Gang of 16 in the Senate is pushing an energy bill that would
spend billions of dollars, raise taxes, and do nothing to lower the price of gasoline. And they’ve only been
back for three days! (NRO) Enviro-waffle: Tar-sands
pipeline will undo Quebec's work on environment - Quebec was one of the first provinces to show leadership on
tackling global warming. It is now pursuing more efficient vehicles, has a carbon tax at the fuel wholesale level,
and is joining other jurisdictions in a cap-and-trade system to control greenhouse-gas emissions. Progress? As in "advance to the rear"? "Tackling gorebull warming" is a display of
superstition and ignorance, not "progress" and carbon taxes are some of the most insidious attacks on
the poorest members of society. What they are saying then is that the tar-sands pipeline will circumvent at
least some of the enviro-misanthropy. This is supposed to be a bad thing? The Fallacy of 'Green Jobs' -
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has a great twofer pitch: "green jobs." It sounds like a
winner. In one fell swoop he can promise to end unemployment and fix and save the planet from climate change. Baracking for starvation of the world's poorest? Obama
Tells US Farmers He Backs Ethanol Mandate - WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama told
farmers on Tuesday that he backs the federal requirement to use ethanol as a way to reduce reliance on oil
imports. (Reuters) EU Lawmakers Propose Lowered
Biofuels Target - BRUSSELS - European Union lawmakers have proposed cutting the share of traditional biofuels
to less than 6 percent of EU road transport fuel by 2020, a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed. New York Yellow Cab Owners Sue
Over Green Plan - NEW YORK - A group of New York taxi owners is suing the city over a plan to turn the entire
fleet of cabs "green" by 2012, saying the plan compromises safety and is unconstitutional. (Reuters) UK, Italy to Work Together on
Nuclear Energy - LONDON - Britain and Italy agreed on Wednesday to work together to develop nuclear energy to
ease their reliance on expensive oil and gas. (Reuters) Popcorn can be
good for you - People who snack on popcorn may actually be helping keep their diet healthy and be doing their
heart a favour, according to new research. Researchers from The Center for Human Nutrition in Nebraska found that
people who eat popcorn consume more whole grains and less meat than people who opt for other snacks. (Reuters)
Sheesh! £70
FINES FOR USING THE WRONG DUSTBIN - HEFTY fines are to be inflicted on householders who fail to recycle their
rubbish correctly, it emerged last night. People caught mistakenly putting normal waste into their green recycling
bins could be fined £70 – more than many shoplifters, drug users and dangerous drivers. (Daily Express) September 10, 2008 Relax, truth has surfaced -
KEVIN Rudd's global warming guru has finally - and reluctantly - exposed the con. Ignore everything the Government
has told you. Personal carbon
trading is not as simple as swiping an Oyster card - Defra's study concluded that there are more
cost-effective forms of emissions trading, says Richard Starkey (The Guardian) Um, no: Brutal truth of climate
change - AT LEAST Ross Garnaut was honest about the cost to our greatest natural treasure when he said
Australia should initially aim for a global consensus to stabilise greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at 550 parts
per million. Most of the current coral was merely limestone ridges about 50 meters above sea level a scant 10 millennia
past. Corals are highly adaptable opportunistic niche colonizers that have flourished over a huge range of
atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, planetary (and local) temperatures and sea levels. They evolved in
the Paleozoic Era when atmospheric carbon dioxide ranged from 5,500 ppmv down to perhaps 1,500 ppmv (from 10
times down to a mere 3 times the 'stabilization target' bemoaned by this enviro lawyer) and when global
temperatures ranged from 8-10 °C warmer than today down to ice age conditions (yes, there was an ice age
when atmospheric carbon dioxide was more than 10 times current levels). The GBR is obviously not at risk from
human influence on atmospheric trace gases. Spencer
R. Weart On The Weblog Real Climate Makes A Confession - Spencer R. Weart posts a remarkable weblog on Real
Climate titled “Simple Question, Simple Answer… Not“. He writes Petascale
Climate Modeling Heats Up At University Of Miami - The development of powerful supercomputers capable of
analyzing decades of data in the blink of an eye mark a technological milestone capable of bringing comprehensive
changes to science, medicine, engineering, and business worldwide. (SPX) Sure it's Garbage In, Garbage Out -- but man, it produces it really fast! The One Legged Stool (pdf)
- The Carbon Sense Coalition submission in response to the Government Green Paper on The Carbon Pollution
Reduction Scheme (Carbon Sense Coalition) We all must support the
poorest people - This year has seen millions of people face drought in Ethiopia, 11 million people affected by
flooding in India, and up to 128,000 people killed by the cyclone that struck Burma. Scientists predict that such
weather events will only become more frequent and more extreme as a result of climate change. (Douglas Alexander,
The Guardian) Yes, we must help the poorest people develop and this stupid misdirection of effort to 'address' the phantom
menace of enhanced greenhouse is hindering that effort. Extreme measures -
Bangladesh, no stranger to natural disasters, is also on the frontline when it comes to climate change. Now the UK
is putting in £75m to help beleaguered communities adapt and survive. John Vidal reports (The Guardian) But John, the populist gorebull warming version of 'climate change' doesn't exist outside computer games. From CO2 Science this week: Medieval
Warm Period Record of the Week: Subject Index Summary: Plant Growth Data: Journal Reviews: Storminess in Northwest Europe: How has it
responded to 20th-century global warming? A "New-and-Improved" 1500-Year North
Fennoscandian Summer Temperature History: What does it suggest about the degree of warmth of the Medieval Warm
Period? Elevated CO2 and Surgarcane:
Can the atmospheric trace gas we all exhale make the sweet crop even sweeter? Fine Roots of Sweetgum Trees Growing in CO2-Enriched
Air: How do they impact carbon and nitrogen input to the soil in which they grow? Temperature
Record of the Week: Is Carbon Lost Cause? - Browsing a
Royal Society Phil Trans special issue on geo-engineering and reading a paper by Lane and Montgomery tempts me to
ask: is carbon a lost cause? (Overcoming Bias) Another Message
from Kyoto - Do a web search for “Kyoto and Global Warming” and you will be pointed to a stunning 4.5
million sites. For many people in the world today, Kyoto could never be located on a map, few would know that it
was once the imperial capital of Japan, and for that matter, few would even know that Kyoto is in Japan. It really
wouldn’t matter, for most importantly, almost everyone knows Kyoto has something to do with global warming,
“Kyoto” is something President Bust did or didn’t do, and it led to more global warming, right? (WCR) Elitist evangelists - By claiming
it represents scientific truth, Greenpeace is turning political protest into an elite, aloof, religious-style
activity (Brendan O'Neill, Daily Telegraph) I don't agree with O'Neill's assertion about this being 'protest' -- criminal damage is criminal damage and
these bloody idiots are self-admittedly guilty. People have an undeniable right to protest but they most
definitely do not have any rights to interfere with anyone else, any enterprise or any property. Polar
Defense Project Deletes The Tough Questions - You may be familiar with the much ballyhooed “Polar Defense
Project” which aimed to get two kayakers into the arctic sea as far north as possible. While it’s difficult to
find a succinct mission statement on their web page, this is about as close as one can get: (Watts Up With That?) Low levels of Arctic sea ice signal global warming's
advance - WASHINGTON — This year will see the second-biggest loss on record of Arctic sea ice — a sign
that the area of ice coverage is shrinking at a pace faster than once expected. But it was supposed to be much reduced due to the absence of multiyear ice, no? As my son would say: Epic
fail! Melting Swiss glacier yields Neolithic trove, climate
secrets - Some 5,000 years ago a prehistoric person trod high up in what is now the Swiss Alps, wearing goat
leather pants, leather shoes and armed with a bow and arrows. This item sure is being recycled a lot, perhaps because warmists mistakenly believe it supports their case.
Sorry to disillusion them once again but the fact so many different eras are represented at this particular
glacial melt point actually highlights that the glacier has receded to this extent many times in the last few
thousand years (i.e., this is 'normal'). Yes, it is interesting that these passes have been open in previous
warm periods but we knew that already. It's surprising to see it appearing so often since it delivers exactly
the wrong narrative according to 'the SUVs done it' crowd. Scares pay: Rockland
scientist wins international award for work on climate change - PALISADES - A Rockland scientist who was among
the first to warn of global climate change has been awarded a nearly $1 million prize from a European foundation
that honors initiatives that advance world peace. Broecker is strictly amateur league, nothing to compare with the millions raked in by individuals like Ozone
Al or industrial strength, corporate scare mongers like Greenpeace and WWF but not bad, all the same. And Mikey says: Please Sir, I'd like some more: A review of
"Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming," by Michael E. Mann and Lee R. Kump - Global
warming, increasing greenhouse gases and melting ice sheets are among the predictions made by the Nobel-Prize
winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), but comprehending the scientific assessments, their
human impacts, and the possibilities for mitigation is not easy. Now, in a new book, Penn State climate scientists
Michael E. Mann and Lee R. Kump digest the most recent IPCC reports into easily understood, sometimes amusing
explanations and illustrations. (A'ndrea Messer, Penn State) Four
former PMs join in call for climate change action - TORONTO — Four of Canada's former prime ministers have
joined together with business leaders, environmentalists and academics in demanding that the country do more to
tackle climate change. (Globe and Mail) Makes you wonder if this is why they are 'former' (read: has beens). Large industries cry foul
over emissions trading scheme - Among the loudest critics of the emissions trading scheme are large industrial
concerns which claim it will undermine their ability to compete in export markets or against imports. Oil-eating microbes give clue to ancient energy source
- Microbes that break down oil and petroleum are more diverse than we thought, suggesting hydrocarbons were used
as an energy source early in Earth's history, scientists heard today at the Society for General Microbiology's
Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin. These microbes can change the composition of oil
and natural gas and can even control the release of some greenhouse gases. Understanding the role of microbes in
consuming hydrocarbons may therefore help us access their role in the natural control of climate change. (Society
for General Microbiology) I suspect that should read: assess their role... Not-So-Slick Oil Bill - Some GOP
senators allied with Democrats are peddling a "drilling" bill that actually adds exploration
restrictions, raises taxes and may even end up meaning no new domestic oil. Some Republicans never learn. (IBD) Ministers in power
struggle over power - Two events in recent days shed light on a battle at the heart of government over what
threatens to be as serious a crisis as Britain has ever faced. (Christopher Booker, Daily Telegraph) Blackout Britain Warming -
Britain is “quite simply running out of power” and blackouts are almost inevitable within the next few years.
This is the stark warning from the head of an energy think-tank who believes power cuts could be serious enough to
spark civil disorder. (Daily Express) Warning over growing fuel
poverty - Almost a quarter of the population will be in fuel poverty by next year and those on low incomes
will be especially badly hit, new figures have shown. Ah, Socialism...No
windfall tax: it’s energy-saving instead - Eleven million homes are to be given help to reduce bills in the
biggest state-backed programme to modernise household energy use for more than 40 years. Kyoto power costs pass to
consumers - One of the biggest impacts of the emissions trading scheme on the economy will be through the
electricity sector, which will have to pay for its carbon emissions from 2010. Fuel emissions from marine vessels remain a global concern
- The forecast for clear skies and smooth sailing for oceanic vessels has been impeded by worldwide concerns of
their significant contributions to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that impact the Earth's climate.
(Rochester Institute of Technology) Biofuel boom profiting corporations, not
locals: activists - The boom in biofuel production in Latin America, particularly Brazil, is benefiting
corporations but not local people, a network of environmental activist groups said in a report released Wednesday. Normally we would post some of the wonderful items from Junkfood Science here but we are taking a break from
doing so. What we want you to do is show Sandy how much you appreciate her dedicated efforts, undertaken at her
own expense (Junkfood Science has no sponsor and never has had). Donate whatever you can to help Sandy
continue the wonderful work she does. Click on the button below to show Junkfood Science some love. NYC
Food Cops' National Agenda - IF the city Health Department gets its way, government officials - local, state
and federal - will soon be deciding what you can and can't eat. D'oh! Lessons from
the Amish: We're not doomed to obesity - OK, folks, it’s time for another round of Health Lessons We Can
Learn From the Amish. Four years ago we discovered that the Amish maintained super-low obesity levels despite
eating a diet high in fat, calories and refined sugar. They key was their level of physical activity — men
averaged 18,000 steps a day, women 14,000. That’s monumental compared to the paltry couple of thousand or so
most of us eke out in a day. Yes, it's largely a matter of energy balance, calories in and calories out. That said, you don't need to be
thin to be healthy and there's plenty of evidence it's not particularly good for you to be thin nor bad to be
fat either. Activity is good and you should try to at least walk -- oh, and get some sunshine too, you need
sunlight on your skin to synthesize vitamin D. The universal conspiracy? How
industry money protects killer chemicals - It happens almost every time. When a study is published linking a
workplace chemical to serious disease, a scientist working for the industry disputes the findings. David Michaels,
author of ‘Doubt is their product’, exposes industry’s dangerous tactics to protect its toxic favourites.
(David Michaels, Alternative News) If industry is so bad why don't these twits go where there is little to none? Try Liberia or Mali perhaps. Britain worries as companies flee over tax
rates - LONDON: Already struggling with an economy on the brink of recession and a record budget deficit,
Britain's government is facing another problem: how to stop an exodus of British companies fleeing the local tax
regime. (IHT) Superstitions
evolved to help us survive - Darwin never warned against crossing black cats, walking under ladders or
stepping on cracks in the pavement, but his theory of natural selection explains why people believe in such
nonsense. Or not: Environmentalism
as hysteria - A short but totally crazy video here.
I wonder who is the guy behind it. Another Jim Jones, I suspect. Landmark study reports breakdown in biotech patent system
- The world's intellectual property system is broken. It's stopping lifesaving technologies from reaching the
people who need them most in developed and developing countries, according to the authors of a report released in
Ottawa today by an international coalition of experts. Of course there's a lack of trust impeding progress -- green whackos have spent years fomenting it. A Genetically
Engineered Swat - Last week, I discussed rewriting the genes of viruses in order to make better vaccines. This
week, I’d like to discuss the genetic engineering of mosquitoes as a way to stop the spread of dengue fever.
(Olivia Judson, New York Times) September 9, 2008
Actually, not: Found
after 300m years: rainforest fossils show how climate change could look - A series of fossilised forests the
size of small cities have provided prehistoric evidence of how tropical rainforests are destroyed by global
warming. The fossil remains represent the first rainforests grown on the planet and their demise more than
300million years ago “points to the future” of the modern-day Amazon. (The Times) As I remember description of these fossils the most plausible theory for their formation was geological
upheaval and submersion in a series of stages. It was submergence and silting that killed the lush
then-equatorial forests (how did gorebull warming make it into the current version?) and formed the rainforest
fossils. The so-called 'weedy ferns' populated the brackish silt when the region drained and these were in turn
submerged and silted with further subsidence and submergence. There was never a need to invoke global
temperature increase or any such thing to explain the formation of these fossilized forests. Further,
temperature changes around 300million years ago involved a dramatic cooling to roughly similar temperatures as
we find today and atmospheric carbon dioxide had previously fallen through the Devonian, remaining analogous to
today's levels through the Carboniferous, only rebounding to more 'normal' (usual? common?) levels in the latter
Permian. Moreover, for these fossils to "point to the future" of the modern-day Amazon as a gorebull warming
parable there would need to be a realistic expectation of significant tropical warming, which there is not. Even
in the absurdly huge accident that our current generation of admittedly pathetic climate models somehow proved
prescient and the globe were to prove hypersensitive to trivial changes in trace gas constituents, it is not the
tropical home of the Amazon rainforests where significant warming could occur. The wet tropical atmosphere is
already replete with greenhouse gases in the bandwidths where carbon dioxide is significant and adding more will
make no difference. All that enhanced greenhouse can do is extend the tropical and temperate zones polewards (as
has occurred in Earth's past), thus extending the suitable geographic range for tropical rainforests. The big
gorebull warming risk for the Amazon rainforests? Middle-aged spread. Poor, terrified little blighters: The
dark dreams of global warming - MY 12-YEAR-OLD supports Barack Obama, and after the Democratic National
Convention, I expected euphoria, but he surprised me. "Actually," he said, "Schwarzenegger is the
one I really want for president." Discuss An Inconvenient Youth -
Childhood indoctrination. It’s a dirty word. Hitler did it. Stalin did it. It can never happen here in the free
world, now can it? Of course not. Comic relief: Research Links Allergies to Climate
Change - Lewis Ziska, a weed ecologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, researched how warmer
temperatures and carbon dioxide emissions affect the growth of ragweed. Global Warming’s Kaput; 2008
Coolest in 5 Years - The global warming theory is going into the freezer, some climate experts say. China Government Adviser Urges
Greenhouse Gas Cuts - BEIJING - China should bind itself to international goals to slash greenhouse gas
pollution, one of the nation's most prominent policy advisers said, in a striking break with Beijing's official
stance. (Reuters) His next post will be village idiot... Here's another one: Only
a small price to tackle emissions - AWARENESS of human influence on the planet's climate has grown
substantially in recent months thanks to the efforts of Al Gore and the release of the Fourth Assessment Report of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It is no surprise that the outcome of the last Australian general
elections was determined significantly by the position that today's Government articulated on climate change
during the election campaign. Save the planet by
cutting down on meat? That's just a load of bull - Look, I hate to be rude to the UN. I don't want to seem
churlish in the face of advice from a body as august and well-meaning as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change. But if they seriously believe that I am going to give up eating meat - in the hope of reducing the
temperature of the planet - then they must be totally barmy. Garnaut
is wrong, say [Greenpeace] scientists - AUSTRALIA'S most respected climate scientists have condemned the
advice of greenhouse adviser Ross Garnaut and urged the Federal Government to take a more aggressive position at
global climate change negotiations. Hare works for Greenpeace and is 'on loan' to Potsdam. We expect the whackos and scam dependents to object to
Garnaut's all too slow realization that attempting to 'address' climate change is the path of greatest
destruction, it's what they do, after all. Climate case built on thin
foundation - ROSS Garnaut made it clear in his interim report that his climate change review takes as a
starting point - not as a belief but on the balance of probabilities - that the claims made in the fourth
assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are correct. Ross Garnaut recommends
focus on greenhouse emissions - ON Friday, Ross Garnaut recommended a starting price of $20 a tonne on
greenhouse emissions, at least until a global deal could be brokered. It won't be happening -- K.Rudd can fall on his sword or wait to be booted to the kerb at the next elections
but Australia will not commit economic suicide. Action plan sets us up for a
fall - ROSS Garnaut set up a fabulous straw man in his second report on emissions trading, released last week. Poll shows
hopeful signs for Harper - TORONTO - A majority of Canadians aren't especially worried about the economy and
support the Conservative government's approach to climate change, according to a poll released on Sunday, as Prime
Minister Stephen Harper triggered an October 14 general election. (Reuters) Further
Evidence Of The Serious Limitations Of Using Regional Climate Models For Multi-Decadal Predictions - Regional
Climate Models (RCMs) are used extensively to provide regional and local weather, water resource and other
predictions, decades into the future, to planners and policymakers. The RCMs use lateral boundary conditions and
interior domain nudging from the multi-decadal global climate model predictions (e.g. see Chapter 7 in the 2007
IPCC report). Volcano’s
Eruption Colors World’s Sunsets - Will it Affect Climate by Augmenting Cooling? - In this story Volcano’s
Eruption Colors World’s Sunsets on Live Science, Andrea Thompson reported: “Reports of unusually fiery orange
sunsets on Earth and ruby red rings around the planet Venus have popped up on the Internet in the last week. Dirty air brings rain -- then again, maybe not - An
international team of scientists, headed by Prof. Daniel Rosenfeld of the Institute of Earth Sciences at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has come up with a surprising finding to the disputed issue of whether air
pollution increases or decreases rainfall. The conclusion: both can be true, depending on local environmental
conditions. (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Michael
McCarthy: Another summer of sodden misery. Is it bad luck – or worse? - It's getting wearisomely familiar,
isn't it? Last summer's toll of sodden misery is with us again as people are flooded out of their homes from one
end of the land to the other and, for the second year running, a famous medieval abbey is an island. You could be
forgiven for thinking, is this really all just coincidence? Hmm... it could be Svensmark Effect
with the currently quiescent sun, or not. With the August
CET figure ranking 98th warmest it's unlikely to be gorebull warming though. Doomsday talk on Barrier Reef
angers tourism operators - TOURISM operators reliant on the Great Barrier Reef are battling a new menace they
say is as damaging to their businesses as crown of thorns starfish. (Courier-Mail) Indeed climate hysteria has the capacity to decimate the tourism industry -- see how many tourists must
necessarily fly to Australia before they can visit the GBR to start with. The GBR itself is at no risk (it's a
huge complex spanning roughly 25 degrees of latitude and at least 15 °C [27 °F] mean water
temperature) and is completely indifferent to the concerns of mere people. Bear in mind that corals managed to
repopulate this structure following the last ice age when the bulk of it was more than 50 meters above sea level
(resilient critters, aren't they?) and corals do this rough mass drift spawning with larvae anchoring and
beginning new communities in any suitable location (including ships hulls, oil platforms...). Relax about the
GBR, it's not particularly fragile and it for sure is not endangered. A Melting Arctic:
Happy News for Mankind - Alarm over sea ice loss is misplaced. Inhofe says
he's his own man - OKLAHOMA CITY - Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma's blunt-talking, 73-year-old Republican senator, says
he's a target of outside forces in his re-election bid, but has no intention of letting an upstart state senator
slip up on him. Fight
Global Warming - Hand Wash Your Clothes - From the Creative Ways to Tackle Global Warming files: Man-made global
warming? Worry about the sun - LAST week Environment Minister Sammy WIlson caused anger among some
environmentalists by questioning whether global warming was caused by man. The Green Party has already hit back -
now NIGEL CALDER, former editor of the New Scientist defends Mr Wilson's position. (Newsletter.co.uk) UAH Global
Temperature dips in August - UAH (University of Alabama, Huntsville) Microwave Sounder Unit (MSU) lower
troposphere global temperature anomaly data for August 2008 was published today and has moved a bit below the zero
anomaly line, with a value of -0.010°C, down from 0.048°C in July 2008 (Watts Up With That?) It's Time To Turn Down the Heat: What Thomas Friedman's doomsday
environmental scenario gets wrong—and right. - Buzz. BUZZZZZZZZZ. There are so many buzz phrases in Thomas
Friedman's new book that it practically vibrates in your hand. Code Green. Day-trading for electrons. Green is the
new red, white, and blue. Subprime planet. Petrodictatorships. The Common Era, Friedman tells us, should be
supplanted by the Energy Climate Era; the year is 1 ECE. Fair bit of nonsense: How
carbon capture and storage (CCS) could make coal the fuel of the future - It has been condemned as one of the
main causes of global warming but is coal about to enjoy an extraordinary rebirth as the fuel of the future? (The
Times) Beginning with the idea coal's usefulness depends on containing carbon dioxide emissions. Coal is abundant
and chemically stores a great deal of energy humans wish to use -- of course it's the fuel of the future... and
present. “CO2
- less” coal power plant draws green ire anyway - I’ve always thought that the biggest issue with greens
was not CO2 and AGW, but “progress in general”. This story seems to support that notion. Maybe they’ll get
James Hansen to denounce it too. - Anthony (Watts Up With That?) Arctic Oil and Gas Rush Alarms Scientists -
UXBRIDGE, Canada, Sep 8 - As greenhouse gas pollution destroys Arctic ecosystems, countries like Canada are
spending millions not to halt the destruction but to exploit it. (IPS) Humans are opportunists, exploiting niches as they open? Go figure... Dikeman
Skeptical of 'Game Changing' New Energy Technologies - "People think new energy [technology] is going to
be disrupting the whole industry," he said. "It's not. ... People are lying to themselves if they think
their technology is game-changing and it isn't." Researchers advance cellulosic ethanol production - A
team of researchers from Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering and Mascoma Corporation in Lebanon, N.H., have
made a discovery that is important for producing large quantities of cellulosic ethanol, a leading candidate for a
sustainable and secure alternative to petroleum-derived transportation fuel. For the first time, the group has
genetically engineered a thermophilic bacterium, meaning it's able to grow at high temperatures, and this new
microorganism makes ethanol as the only product of its fermentation. (Dartmouth College) Behind the
scenes of Stand Up to Cancer - Friday night, the nation witnessed the complete control over print and
broadcast media for a star-studded cancer fundraiser. No one doesn’t care about those who suffer and die from
cancers, of course. Nor does anyone want to appear not to care. So the fact that cancer is now literally the
cause-celeb and that we heard only one unified message shouldn’t surprise us. While more than $100 million
dollars was successfully raised by this event, we would be remiss to believe we heard the full story or accurate,
balanced information. In fact, what we didn’t hear offers some of the most important and cautionary information.
(Junkfood Science) A new addiction: Internet junkies - While compulsive
gambling is only beginning to be addressed by mental health professionals, they must now face a new affliction:
Internet addiction. (University of Montreal) Rusted Roots: Is Organic Agriculture Polluting Our Food
With Heavy Metals? - Scientists have known since the 1920s that organic fertilizers used by farmers to
supplement conventional systems—composted animal manure, rock phosphates, fish emulsions, guano, wood ashes,
etc.—further contaminate topsoil with varying concentrations of heavy metals. Organic advocates, who rely
exclusively on these fertilizers, remain well aware of the problem today, although they rarely publicize the
point. Not so bad: Friendly
Invaders - New Zealand is home to 2,065 native plants found nowhere else on Earth. They range from magnificent
towering kauri trees to tiny flowers that form tightly packed mounds called vegetable sheep. September 8, 2008
Naomi & the conspiracy theorists: Jason
and the secret climate change war - A shadowy scientific elite codenamed Jason warned the US about global
warming 30 years ago but was sidelined for political convenience (Naomi Oreskes and Jonathan Renouf, Sunday Times) Same time, same channel next week -- season finale double episode: Naomi & the black
helicopters followed by Naomi & the government
mind-control chemtrails! Garnaut
exposes Rudd: doing nothing is actually cheaper - Kevin Rudd repeatedly claims we cannot afford to do nothing
about global warming: All are familiar with the fact that the economic cost of inaction on climate change is far greater than the
economic cost of action on climate change. But Piers Akerman discovers that Rudd is now contradicted even by his own global warming guru, Professor Ross
Garnaut: In his July 4 draft, [Garnaut] stated that the cost of no mitigation - that is, if no action were taken on
so-called greenhouse gases - would be minus 0.7 per cent of GDP in 2020. It is highly revealing that in presenting his first specific trajectories and estimated costs of emissions
reduction, Professor Garnaut has found that the cost of reducing emissions is greater than the cost of doing
nothing - although that is not how he sold his paper. (Andrew Bolt Blog) [Links in original] Rudd's climate change
hot air - NO SINGLE issue better illustrates the Rudd Government's gross incompetence than its blindly
ideological approach to the question of climate change. Science slows global
warming! - Yes, kids, science is a wonderful thing. But not nearly as wonderful as climate modeling, which can
perform supernatural miracles. Honest! Climate modeling can raise the level of the oceans (even without Obama's
intervention), it can burn up the planet a hundred years from now, and Shazzam! -- the models can save us again --
all without leaving your video games, and without the benefit of the real-world data that you need for boring old
regular science. Actually, the great 'blind Patagonian Sheep' (as Ozone Al was prone to rant) scare was a total crock from
start to ... well, it hasn't actually finished yet, it's just kind of staggering along. Some genuine information
is available here. Note the South
Pole graphic and see the step change in values following the missing data years of '72 & '83 (hint:
equipment change and calibration -- there's actually no trend). There is absolutely nothing interesting
happening in the Mauna Loa Observatory values. The Montreal
Protocol is based on poor
experiment design and crappy models. A great example of how not to conduct science and international
agreements and which forms the basis for Kyoto and climate nonscience. Bill
Kininmonth Requests Explanation of the Greenhouse Effect - Bill Kininmonth knows a lot about climate science,
he is a meteorologist and he was the head of Australia’s National Climate Centre from 1986 to 1998. He is also a
well known global warming skeptic and is particularly critical of the idea that the principles for sustaining the
greenhouse effect are well understood. While this may seem like a ridiculous proposition, indeed the greenhouse
effect is the underpinning science for the hypothesis of dangerous global warming, in a recent letter to the
Federation of Australian Scientists and Technologists (FASTS) he explains how the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) are neither consistent in their explanation for the greenhouse effect nor provide a
mechanism that accords with the global average earth energy budget. (JenniferMarohasy.com) Paying the climate change
bill - How much will it cost the European Union to fight global climate change? Clearly, the answer depends on
what your target is, how you propose to get there, and the size of the EU’s contribution compared with those of
the US, China and so on. But a new report from the Centre for European Policy Studies thinktank offers some useful
estimates. Wong
misquotes a misquote - Climate Change Minister Penny Wong does the booga-booga: There is a great deal of scientific advice about the impact of climate change on rainfall, particularly in
southern Australia… We know the IPCC said by 2050 that Australia should expect around about a 25 per cent
reduction in rainfall in the southern part of ... Australia. Ian Castles, former head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, then demonstrates just how badly Wong - and
the IPCC - have misrepresented the facts. (Andrew Bolt Blog) [Links in original] NO! Thaw Of Polar Regions
May Need New UN Laws - Experts - OSLO - A new set of United Nations laws may be needed to regulate new Arctic
industries such as shipping and oil exploration as climate change melts the ice around the North Pole, legal
experts said on Sunday. (Reuters) The
Large Media Collider (Global Warming Politics) Wow! ABC admits Little Ice Age: Scientists
warn Pyrenees will melt by 2050 - Leading global warming scientists say the 21 remaining glaciers in the
Pyrenees mountains in Europe will melt by the year 2050. We are all content we are not currently in said Little Ice Age. We are all content Spanish glaciers formed
during said Little Ice Age. Presumably then we are all content these glaciers should disappear because we are
not in said Little Ice Age. No need to invoke gorebull warming to explain less frigid conditions and reduction
of glaciers then, is there. Arctic
Ice Hints at Warming, Specialists Say - Leading ice specialists in Europe and the United States for the first
time have agreed that a ring of navigable waters has opened all around the fringes of the cap of sea ice drifting
on the warming Arctic Ocean. It
Causes Everything - Mention global warming and it always rains. This is an international phenomenon, as Rod
Liddle observes: It is exactly one month to the day since the Fire Brigades Union put out a press release saying that
Britain’s wildlife was in danger of being wiped out by the “tinder-dry” heathlands turning into raging
bushfires, caused by global warming. And, as in Australia, rain and cold in Britain are likewise blamed on global warming: The floods, of course, are also caused by global warming – just like those hot dry summers at the beginning
of the 1990s when we were warned that Essex would soon resemble Chad and we would all get skin cancer or die of
thirst. That was global warming too. Read on for further ridicule of “global warming monkeys”. (Tim Blair Blog) [Links in original] Critique
of “A Semi-Empirical Approach to Projecting Future Sea-Level Rise” by Rahmstorf - A recent article in
Science by Stefan Rahmstorf (2007) predicted extreme sea level rise during the 21st century. Rahmstorf’s
predictions went as high as 140 cm (55 inches), far beyond even the high edge of the uncertainty of the IPCC’s
unlikely A1Fl scenario (see here, page 820). This high estimate by the IPCC was 59cm (23 inches), with other other
scenarios yielding considerably lower estimates. Following is a critique of Rahmstorf’s method and conclusions. Another clueless wonder: Carleen
Cullen fights global warming - "I often tell the kids that it's just like a car," said Cullen, who
holds a bachelor's in English literature from Loyola Marymount University, "When you go into your parents'
car and it's been sitting in the sun in a parking lot and all of the windows are up - when you open the door, you
notice how much warmer it is inside the car. That's what's happening to the Earth - it's as if all the windows are
getting rolled up and it's starting to get hot and all the gases can't release. If we stop using so many fossil
fuels, we'll allow the Earth to be able to breathe again." (SF Chronicle) No, no and absolutely NO! The effect Cullen describes is the restriction of convection, which so-called
greenhouse gases categorically can not do (in fact infrared absorbers facilitate convection by warming the
atmosphere, increasing molecular excitation, reducing density and allowing cooler, more dense overlaying air to
displace the lower density warmed air -- the same reason hot air balloons experience lift). As so often is the
case Cullen is confusing the function of physical greenhouses with Earth's greenhouse effect (which has a lousy
name for completely different physics). Earth's misnamed greenhouse effect is limited by convective activity
within the atmosphere and by evaporation and condensation (bright clouds altering Earth's albedo -- use the form
in this page to see how great that effect is). Cullen should stop misinforming kids by regurgitating Gore's rubbish presentation. The Revival of the Hockeystick Graph - a New Low in
Climate Science (pdf) - The highlight of the 2001 climate report of the IPCC was undoubtedly the hockeystick
graph, created by the Penn State University climate scientist Michael Mann. The curve was a reconstruction of the
northern hemisphere’s temperature since 1000 B.C showing a linear contour until the 19th century and an abrupt
rise since about 1900. Most remarkable was the absence of the well documented Medievial Warm Period (MWP) and the
Little Ice Age (LIA) during the 17th century. Relying mostly on the treerings of bristlecone pines growing at
extreme locations several groups of scientists meanwhile had falsified Mann’s study. In September 2008 M. Mann
has published a new paper, using data from 9 different proxies and confirming the contradicted claims of his first
article in 1998. Again he summarized: “Surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere were warmer over the last
10 years than any time during the last 1,300 years”. According to his updated temperature reconstruction modern
temperatures exceed those of the MWP by approx. 0.8C. In New Zealand: Global Warming is a Hoax, Al
Gore is a phoney and a fraud - "The entire climate change - global warming hypothesis is a hoax, the data
and the hypothesis do not hold together, Al Gore is a phoney and a fraud on this issue, and the emissions trading
scheme is a worldwide scam and swindle.” Rodney Hide MP in NZ Parliament. (CFP) And in Northern Ireland, too: Wilson
row over green 'alarmists' - The Environment Minister Sammy Wilson has angered green campaigners by describing
their view on climate change as a "hysterical psuedo-religion". (BBC News) UPDATE: Death Blow To Anthropogenic Global Warming:
- My earlier article “The Death Blow to Anthropogenic Global Warming.” has proved to be a highly popular
article having received over 10,000 viewings on CO2Sceptics.Com and probably similar numbers of viewings on sites
that reproduced it. Back to this: Wind of
change on farms as cows help to save the Earth - Hundreds of cattle in Britain are being fed a new diet to
reduce their burping and cut emissions of greenhouse gas. (The Times) MWP Non-Dendro Proxies #2 - OK, I'm starting to get the feel
of the new proxy network and have some ideas of what the new Mannomatic is doing. The manouevres have a lot of
similarities to the moves in MBH98 and I think that a few main components can be singled out: Dispelling Delusions:
Human-caused climate change and carbon “pollution” mythology (pdf, 1MB) - “Knowing and understanding the
past is a vital key to the future, and earth scientists can present much of this information in a context that can
assist in exposing the truth and misrepresentations of the current “Climate Change” debate. New
Evidence For The Complex Role Of Aerosols On The Climate System By Rosenfeld et al 2008 - There is an
important new paper in Science magazine that sheds new insight into the complex role that aerosols play within the
climate system. Since aerosols are input into the atmosphere through a variety of human activities (e.g.
industrial and vehicular emissions, biomass burning, blowing dust from landscape degradation), this means that the
human aerosol effect on climate is not only very significant but also quite complicated in how it affects weather.
(Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science) Lifestyle
choices won't win the battle against global warming - Should you feel guilty about flying? A lot of people
would say you should. After all, the danger of runaway climate change is real. (The Independent) Stop right there. There is absolutely zero potential for 'runaway climate change' from fossil fuel use,
period. Even if we succeeded in warming the globe a degree or two from enhanced greenhouse effect (itself
extremely unlikely, near impossible) the extra evaporation will increase low cloud availability and persistence,
which increases planetary albedo and cools the planet. This is one of the reason previous warmer interglacial
periods have peaked out only a degree or two warmer than we are now. 'Runaway warming' simply cannot happen on
our watery world. Conservatives,
Climate Change, and the Carbon Tax - Global warming has for a long time been a partisan issue rather than a
purely scientific one—and in important respects, conservatives have painted themselves into a corner. Based on
the reasonable expectation that admitting a problem would lead to a huge government power-grab, those
conservatives with access to the biggest megaphones have long used scientific uncertainty to avoid the issue. That
game is up, and they suddenly find themselves walking unprepared into the middle of a sophisticated scientific and
economic conversation about how to deal with the problem. While a few conservative think tanks have considered
these issues seriously for some time, the public discussion has until recently been conducted largely among
various liberal factions and has turned into a technical debate about differing schemes for taxing emissions of
carbon dioxide. And all for nothing, too. That's the part all these advocates forget -- no amount of carbon constraint can or
will predictably adjust global temperature and climate model output is neither a necessary nor sufficient reason
to suspect any warming might occur at all, whatever we do or don't do. Met’s
models washed out - Britain’s Met office firmly predicts man will cause the world to warm by 2100. But its
record of predicting the weather over just the few months keeps inspiring ridicule. Steven Goddard on the Met’s
latest: On April 3, 2008 the Met made their annual UK summer forecast - “The coming summer is expected to be a
‘typical British summer’, according to long-range forecasts issued today. Summer temperatures across the UK
are more likely to be warmer than average and rainfall near or above average for the three months of summer.” Newest
geo-engineering plan is salt water daffy (Watts Up With That?) Pachauri’s
at it again - shun meat, he says (but what about the buffalo?) (Watts Up With That?) ‘Coimhtioch
Gan Cuireadh’ have Irish in a Dander (Watts Up With That?) NOAA: China to Warm
U.S. Heartland (Watts Up With That?) Public
Invited to Submit Essays, Photos for Online Global Warming Book (Watts Up with That?) The Role Of The Spotless Sun - An exclusive interview
with Piers Corbyn. Time Rejects Climate Change as
Cause of Storm Intensity - Magazine reports disasters worse due to population, not global warming (Julia A.
Seymour, Business & Media Institute) UN Plan to Protect Forests Flawed
- UK Adviser - LONDON - Plans to pay tropical countries to protect forests under a UN pact to fight climate
change are flawed and risk alienating voters in rich nations, Britain's top adviser on forests told Reuters.
(Reuters) Stupid Crone! John
McCain’s Energy Follies - The industries that create energy — coal, wind, nuclear, ethanol, and, of
course, oil and gas — all clamored to be heard at the Republican convention. At cocktail receptions and in
hundreds of ads, each claimed to welcome the challenge of creating a cleaner, greener energy future. (New York
Times) None of these industries 'create energy'! They are all harvesters and/or transformers of energy but no energy
is created or destroyed. Of those list wind is completely unreliable and doesn't deserve a place in the baseload
energy suppliers list. The irresponsible
Congress - Congress returns today for an abbreviated session, with energy being the number one issue on the
agenda. Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader John Boehner, spent
the August recess pushing for Congress to enact an "all of the above" package to increase energy
supplies and lower gasoline prices, and they will continue to do so. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid, clearly thrown off balance by public opinion polls showing that a decisive majority of
the electorate agrees with the Republicans on drilling, have a different, irresponsible agenda: running out the
clock and preventing a straight up-or-down vote on drilling. But to do this successfully, they will have to
continue their strategy of pretending to support compromise, while loading up energy legislation with poison pills
that will make expanded drilling impossible. (Washington Times) US Congress Faces Big Push on
Offshore Drilling - WASHINGTON - America's pain at the gasoline pump has been years in the making, but there
will be a big push in Congress next week, when lawmakers return from summer break, to fix the problem by expanding
offshore oil drilling. (Reuters) The
sands of peace - Russia’s energy supplies enabled their aggression, Canada’s supply could be the placating
alternative (Lawrence Solomon, Financial Post) Planned Chaos in Energy
(pdf) - “Australian state and federal governments are today pursuing plans that must produce high prices for
electricity and gas, electricity blackouts and high risks to petrol and diesel supplies. Environmental
rules 'could cause plane crashes' - Environmental rules demanding planes burn less fuel could cause pipes to
freeze increasing the risk of a devastating crash, it has been warned. (Daily Telegraph) Norway Surveys Troll Field for
Carbon Storage - OSLO - Norway has begun seismic surveys at its biggest North Sea oil and gas field, Troll, to
determine whether carbon dioxide emissions could be stored there, energy officials said on Friday. (Reuters) If it's economical to increase oil recovery, great. If not there's no point, is there. EU told to unite on energy supplies -
BRUSSELS, Belgium: The International Energy Agency on Thursday warned EU nations to overcome divisions to secure
their future energy supply - now heavily reliant on Russia - and reduce costs for customers. Germany Engulfed in Row Over
Nuclear Waste Sites - BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday called for a decision on where to
store radioactive nuclear material after a scandal over leaks at a depot this week sparked a row about what to do
with atomic waste. (Reuters) Revealed: Brown's £1bn power windfall
- Rising energy prices are on course to net the government a windfall of over £1bn thanks to a little-known
scheme designed to promote the development of renewable energy. (The Guardian) When the wind doesn't blow - By 2020, more than a
third of Britain's electricity will be generated by wind power, according to government plans. But what happens on
calm days? (BBC News) Spinning to destruction -
Wind power may be one of the cleaner, greener energy sources available, but turbine and blade failures point to
dangers that were not anticipated, says Michael Connellan (The Guardian) Emission Rules - WASHINGTON -
Exhaust-spewing lawn mowers and speed boats will get a green make-over under tough new rules from the US
Environmental Protection Agency designed to reduce smog and save millions of gallons of gasoline. (Reuters) Waste of energy: World's First Carbon Capture Pilot
Fires Up Clean-coal Advocates - German project will burn coal in an atmosphere of pure oxygen - producing CO2
waste which can be buried - creating enough electricity to power 1,000 homes (Guardian Newspapers) Britain Meets Biofuels Target But
Imports Dominate - LONDON - Britain is meeting its 2.5 percent target for biofuels use in motor fuel but is
relying heavily on imports, government data issued on Friday showed. (Reuters) Africa Becoming a Biofuel
Battleground - Western companies are pushing to acquire vast stretches of African land to meet the world's
biofuel needs. Local farmers and governments are being showered with promises. But is this just another form of
economic colonialism? (Der Spiegel) New
Doubts That Dust Killed a 9/11 Rescuer - A 2003 pulmonary biopsy of James Zadroga, the New York City police
detective whose death in 2006 has been held up as an example of the illnesses suffered by 9/11 rescue workers and
others sickened by toxic dust at ground zero, found only minor abnormalities and no signs of the foreign materials
found in his lungs after he died, according to a new report. Considering the
value of life... medical ethical issues at the beginning, middle and end of life - This summer, the public
learned of a 64-year old woman, living in a low-income apartment and covered by Medicaid under the Oregon Health
Plan, who was denied coverage for chemotherapy prescribed by her oncologist for her lung cancer, but she was
offered state-assisted suicide as a “palliative or comfort care measure.” (Junkfood Science) Whacko flag-waver: Pollution
can make you fat, study claims - Children exposed to pesticide in womb twice as likely to be overweight,
refuting idea of sole personal responsibility. Geoffrey Lean reports (The Independent) Another whacky one from Geoffrey "if it's modern or human it must be bad" Lean Electronic
smog 'is disrupting nature on a massive scale' - New study blames mobile phone masts and power lines for
collapse of bee colonies and decline in sparrows (The Independent) For the record anthropogenic EMFs are really quite trivial compared with those of the Sun and Earth which are
really powerful, erratic, prone to polarity reversal and, um... entirely natural. Bug decline sparks
food fears for other wildlife - The miserable summer has led to a decline in bugs, prompting concern for birds
and other wildlife reliant on insects. (Daily Telegraph) The flip side of this, of course, is when weather suits bugs -- which is then a disaster because disease
vectors thrive, prompting claims of spreading tropical diseases, etc. and: Nigeria to Spray Pest-Ravaged
Northern Farmlands - LAGOS - Nigeria will spend 251 million naira (US$213,339) to spray farmlands in its arid
northern region that are being ravaged by thousands of tiny grain-eating quela birds and locusts, the agriculture
minister said on Sunday. (Reuters) More excuses for governments failing to provide adequate infrastructure? Era
of cheap water over, say Stavros Dimas, EU Environment Minister - The era of cheap water in Europe is over and
people will have to pay for what they use, Expo 2008 has heard. European Environment Minister Stavros Dimas told
the conference in Zaragoza, Spain - which has a water theme - that the Continent was squandering too much of its
water resources and the guiding principle now had to be: the user pays. (Daily Telegraph) Granted, the main reason governments avoid investing in adequate water storage and reticulation is fear of
rampant greenies but that is simply a display of cowardice. Green activists 'are keeping
Africa poor' - Western do-gooders are impoverishing Africa by promoting traditional farming at the expense of
modern scientific agriculture, according to Britain's former chief scientist. Europe's
GM food fear 'exacerbates famine' - Europe's reluctance to encourage the adoption of genetically-modified (GM)
foods is threatening the health of the third world, Britain's former chief scientist will warn. (Daily Telegraph) September 5, 2008
Cholesterol Drug Scare Shenanigans - Why is the
editor of the New England Journal of Medicine encouraging a cancer scare over the cholesterol-lowering drug
Vytorin? Is he overcompensating for past bad behavior? (Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com) Kingsnorth trial: Goldsmith
defends climate change activists - Millionaire environmentalist tells court direct action against planned
coal-fired power station can be justified (The Guardian) Bullshit! These morons are attacking society and endangering lives (think of the number of people requiring
electrically powered medical support, traffic control lights, hazard lighting...). They should wear the
consequences of their criminal actions and are poster cases for capital punishment. <chuckle> Garnaut:
modest climate cuts ok - Top climate adviser Ross Garnaut says Australia should aim for a 10 per cent cut in
greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 because immigration rules out any greater reduction. In a major report released
today, Professor Garnaut says Australia is a special case and should reduce its emissions by less than every other
developed country. The reason is a high level of immigration, which he says means Australia cannot realistically
cut emissions as much as can other wealthy nations. And Professor Garnaut thinks Australia should soften its
target to a five per cent cut, based on 2000 levels, if an international climate pact is not forged. The 10 per
cent target will be a disappointment to the environmental lobby, which has called for a cut of up to 40 per cent.
(AAP) There's no reason to even attempt any cut at all but it is interesting to see the change of pace from 'We
have to kill the entire economy' Garnaut. Canada Opposition Liberals Adjust
Carbon Tax Plan - WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Canada's opposition Liberal Party responded to criticism of its carbon
tax plan on Wednesday, ahead of a looming election call, promising a total of C$900 million (US$849 million) in
tax breaks and subsidies to farmers, loggers, fishermen and truckers. (Reuters) Electricity
system among the worst polluters in the world - DESPITE having one of the world's most advanced economies,
Australia has an electricity system that is one of the worst greenhouse-gas polluters. The performance of only a
handful of countries, including Cuba, Botswana, Kazakhstan, Libya, Malta and Bahrain, rates more dismally. Nonsense. Australia should be proud of the amount of previously lost carbon being restored to biological
availability -- our free gift to everyone trying to grow food for the world's population and to wildlife by
protecting their habitat through increased productivity. Only green whackos could consider assisting the
biosphere to be bad because humans benefit too. Here's Seth again: Asian soot, smog may boost global
warming in US - Smog, soot and other particles like the kind often seen hanging over Beijing add to global
warming and may raise summer temperatures in the American heartland by three degrees in about 50 years, says a new
federal science report released Thursday. Actually Hansen floated this 'black carbon first' line several years ago, before he descended into his
current CO2 mania. Long before that black carbon dusting of snowfields was proposed as a way to defer
the onset of the next ice age but that was back in the '70s when people still realized cold was our greatest
threat. Blasting Air Conditioning Outdoors No
Longer Legal in New York City - Walk certain streets in Manhattan in the sweltering summer, and you could pass
a gauntlet of cool air... flowing out wide-open storefronts. I mean purposely propped open, not just open from
customers passing through doorways. An
Inconvenient Truth exaggerated sea level rise - Al Gore's Oscar-winning environmental documentary exaggerated
the likely effects of global warming on sea levels, a new study shows. The film, An Inconvenient Truth, suggested
that the sea would rise up to 20ft "in the near future" as the ice in Greenland or Western Antarctica
melts. Historical average is 4-8 inches per century and that is what we anticipate for this century, too. All other
claims are based on the absurd output of PlayStation® climatology models, process models of zero known
prognostic ability (and never likely to have either, due to the chaotic nature of the complex, coupled,
nonlinear system we call climate). Global sea-rise levels by 2100 my be lower than some
predict, says new study - Despite projections by some scientists of global seas rising by 20 feet or more by
the end of this century as a result of warming, a new University of Colorado at Boulder study concludes that
global sea rise of much more than 6 feet is a near physical impossibility. (University of Colorado at Boulder) Recent
Presentation By Roger A. Pielke Sr. - “Human Impacts on Weather and Climate - Recent Research Results Require
That We Adopt A Broader Assessment” - I recently gave the following recent invited talk at the 2008 American
Association of Wind Engineering meeting; Pielke Sr., R.A., 2008: Human Impacts on Weather and Climate - Recent
Research Results Require That We Adopt A Broader Assessment. AAWE Keynote Lecture, August 21, 2008, Vail, CO.
Included in the talk were examples of climate data which should be routinely monitored in order to accurately
communicate climate variability and trends. (Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science) We're Losing Our Instruments! - The Wilmington (NC)
Star-News (a New York Times property) reports today about the meteorological community (as well as other folks)
bemoaning the loss of ocean buoys and instruments that track hurricane strength and other impacts as they approach
U.S. shorelines. The reason for the loss is attributed to a drop in federal government funding. (Paul Chesser,
Climate Strategies Watch) Another
Example of Bias - This Time By The Weblog Desmogblog.com - In response to the Climate Science weblog
Hurricanes And Global Warming - A Scientific Disconnect the website Desmogblog.com published an attack titled
“Roger Pielke Sr. Attacks Messenger, Injures Self“. This ad hominem Desmog weblog is a clear example of the
bias that has permeated the climate science issue. The article fails to comment on the science that is presented
[which implicitly means the perspective presented by Climate Science on this issue is correct]. (Roger Pielke Sr.,
Climate Science) Likin' her better by the minute: Palin's
record on wildlife as harsh as Alaska's environment itself - WASHINGTON - At the National Governors
Association conference where she first met John McCain, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had other business: making her
case to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne against classifying the polar bear as a threatened species. Applying
Monte Carlo simulation to Sloan’s and Wolfendale’s use of Forbush decrease data - Introduction: It’s
been five months since the widely remarked upon paper, Testing
the proposed causal link between cosmic rays and cloud cover, by Sloan and Wolfendale, was published in the
journal Environmental Research Letters. In that short time this paper has been enshrined in the hall of fame of
anthropogenic global warming dogma. The thing that makes this paper a favorite of the climate change alarmists is
its purported proof that there is no possible significant relationship between galactic cosmic ray flux, as
modulated by the sun’s magnetic field and climate change. This is important to the alarmists, because anything
that might even partially exonerate CO2 must be stifled. Treading carefully around oil - CALGARY --
Six months ago, residents of the cattle country south of Calgary invited a climate scientist to town to speak to
140 students from J.T. Foster High School in Nanton and bused in from nearby Claresholm. The guest was Tim Ball, a
prominent Canadian skeptic of the theory of man-made climate change and perennial bugaboo of the green lobby. Hot air over global warming - As a
congressman once joked before a political meeting in chilly Pennsylvania, "You'd think, with all these
politicians present, there'd be more hot air." More fantasy modeling: Old-growth
trees worth more alive than stumped: Study - Logging B.C.'s old-growth forests would produce chump change
compared to the economic benefit of letting them stand, says a new study. Major 'oops!' is that carbon storage is not really worth anything -- in fact keeping carbon out of the cycle
is a net minus for the entire biosphere. Without that mythical 'value' lumber value almost always wins
(sometimes it just isn't worth the effort to extract lumber from difficult/remote locations). People need to
relearn there is absolutely nothing to be gained from locking up a wonderful resource like atmospheric carbon
dioxide. Necessity's
inventions - Can the new science of geoengineering save the planet? Tim Radford weighs the probabilities (The
Guardian) No it can't -- first the planet would need to be endangered. Study
Seeks Human Fingerprint On Western Australian Climate - Research into the causes and extent of climate change
in WA will be conducted during the third stage of the Indian Ocean Climate Initiative (IOCI) - a partnership of
the state government, CSIRO, and the Bureau of Meteorology. Pandora Hope models climate... apparently not
a joke name though. Palin
says U.S. oil imports pose security risk - ST. PAUL - U.S. reliance on imported oil poses a national security
risk, and energy policy should include everything from expanding domestic drilling to finding alternative fuels,
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said on Wednesday. As Energy Mom,
Palin’s influence could be good news for Canada - Sarah Palin, a climate skeptic and energy booster, knows
more about Canada-U.S. issues than Joe Biden (Terence Corcoran, Financial Post) The Social Responsibility
of Coal - They get little credit for their efforts, but most resource extraction, manufacturing and power
generation companies strive to be “socially responsible” - by emphasizing energy efficiency, resource
conservation, pollution control and worker safety in producing the raw materials, consumer products and
electricity that improve, safeguard and enrich our lives. It’s not easy, due to the nature of their business,
public intolerance for any ecological impacts - and the fact that “corporate social responsibility” often
defined and used by activist groups to promote ideological agendas. Above all, activists want to engineer a
“wholesale transformation” of our energy and economic system, away from hydrocarbon fuels and into
“eco-friendly” renewable resources; reduce our living standards to “sustainable” levels (their definition
again); and give them power over the power that sustains our modern society. (Paul Driessen, Icecap) Picking
through the Pickens Plan - In a recently posted Youtube video, energy analyst Donn Dears identifies what
appears to be a major flaw in the Pickens Plan. (Marlo Lewis, Planet Gore) Poverty fears over wind power - Half a million people
could be pushed into fuel poverty by the UK's drive for wind power, the government's former chief scientific
adviser has said. Sir David King said: "If we overdo wind we are going to put up the price of electricity and
that means more people will fall into the fuel poverty trap." The UK has signed up to an EU agreement for 20%
of power to come from renewable sources by 2020. Professor King told the BBC EU leaders did not understand their
own targets. (BBC News) Biofuel push may backfire
says official - Laws have been passed that require oil companies to sell a certain amount of biofuel each
year, beginning on October 1. Fire retardant
chemical found in children - group - WASHINGTON - A fire retardant chemical used in electronics, toys and
furniture has been detected in children's blood at triple the levels found in their mothers, the Environmental
Working Group reported on Thursday. (Reuters) This has been declared a potential problem if you are trying to light children -- those not trying to use
kids as biofuels need not worry. No? Duh! Focus
on green offices wanes - Environmental concerns such as energy efficiency have been pushed to the bottom of
the agenda for UK companies as cost becomes increasingly crucial in the more difficult economic climate. 'Green issues' and similar fatuous crap should never be on the agenda at all. Traditions embraced in a naive style
- HOW easily are we fooled by people dreaming up oppressive new Aboriginal "traditions"? (Andrew Bolt,
Herald Sun) Jim Hopkins: Why women take
the carbon credit - When tomorrow's historians finally set upon the 20th century with their usual rigorous
gusto, they will likely see it in a light unglimpsed by us. Gull Sets Arctic Pollution Record
for Birds - OSLO - A small Arctic gull has set a record as the bird most contaminated by two banned industrial
pollutants, scientists said on Thursday. (Reuters) I've always wondered whether these critters aren't more endangered by researchers harassing them during their
breeding attempts than anything else people do. Managing drought -
CLIMATE change is so inexact a science that debate over how much, if at all, it is responsible for the crisis in
the Murray-Darling Basin will produce little but hot air. While politically inept to open up the debate, Brendan
Nelson is correct that water management is one problem we can address immediately. Regardless of whether manmade
greenhouse emissions are exacerbating the problem by warming the basin and increasing evaporation, drought has
been part of the Australian landscape for centuries. The fact that current conditions, according to the
Murray-Darling Basin Commission, are the worst since records began in 1892 should be a spur to instigate better
management. In making good its election promise to end the "blame-game", there is no better issue on
which the Rudd Government can act than redressing underpricing and overallocations by state governments as part of
a national approach. (The Australian) Listeria
hysteria - Politicians are using the listeriosis outbreak as an excuse to increase their resources and power
(Pierre Lemieux, Financial Post) Tiny particles hit the big time
- Products that use nanotechnology, from TV screens to water filters, are coming to the market faster than ever
before (The Guardian) September 4, 2008
Massive Canada Arctic Ice Shelf
Breaks Away - OTTAWA - A huge 19 square mile (55 square km) ice shelf in Canada's northern Arctic broke away
last month and the remaining shelves have shrunk at a "massive and disturbing" rate, the latest sign of
accelerating climate change in the remote region, scientists said on Tuesday. And why so? These trivial remnants are the pathetic remains of significant ice shelves which broke up before
the 20th Century was even out of diapers. That they are continuing to break up indicates conditions
are less severe than they were a few hundred years ago (darn!) and we haven't yet plunged into a new ice age
(darn again!). Arctic Melting Shows Global
Warming Serious - Expert - OTTAWA - The incredibly rapid rate at which Canada's Arctic ice shelves are
disappearing is an early indicator of the "very substantial changes" that global warming will impose on
all mankind, a top scientist said on Wednesday. (Reuters) Dr Vincent was a little more forthcoming when talking to Andy Revkin a few years ago: It was the last
large remnant of a much more extensive ice shelf that once fringed all of Ellesmere Island, Dr. Vincent said.
Over all, that fringe has diminished by more than 90 percent over the last century, he said. According to his colleague: Ellesmere Island was once entirely ringed by a single enormous ice shelf that
broke up in the early 1900s. At 170 square miles and 130 feet thick, the Ward Hunt shelf is the largest of those
remnants. Mueller said it has been steadily declining since the 1930s. With the bulk of the ice shelf breaking up about a hundred years ago, prior to any appreciable change in
atmospheric greenhouse gas loading, we are forced to assume this is in fact part of a natural process, most of
which occurred before we were paying any attention. Arctic Sees Massive Gain in Ice Coverage -
Data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has indicated a dramatic increase in sea ice extent in the
Arctic regions. The growth over the past year covers an area of 700,000 square kilometers: an amount twice the
size the nation of Germany. I'm not really in favor of "on this day" comparisons but the Arctic does seem to be grabbing a lot
of attention. Strongest
Hurricanes May Be Getting Stronger - A new study finds that the strongest of hurricanes and typhoons have
become even stronger over the last two and a half decades, adding grist to the contentious debate over global
warming and its ability to unleash more destructive storms. Not remotely plausible. If it were a matter of trivial warming and sea surface temperatures then the storm
threshold (the surface temperature required to form and sustain hurricanes) would be exceeded for more days per
year and over a larger sea surface area and there would be a disproportionate increase in the number of weaker
category storms, which no one claims to be happening. There is no plausible mechanism for stronger storms to
selectively gain energy from gorebull warming while lesser storms do not, which is what they are claiming has
occurred. Nonsense,
Incoherence, and Inconsistency at the Hurricane Science and Media Interface - A new paper has been published
today in Nature by Elsner et al. which documents trends in the strongest tropical cyclones in a satellite record.
The analysis overcomes some of the challenges of other studies by relying on a single dataset from 1981-2006, thus
avoiding the problems of inhomogeneities when datasets are combined, and thus adds some useful knowledge to a
growing literature. The paper and its reception also indicate how dysfunctional the hurricane science-media
interface is, particularly this time of year. (Roger Pielke, Jr., Prometheus) Hurricanes
And Global Warming - A Scientific Disconnect - There was a news release by Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer,
entitled “Global warming’s toasty water connection to Gustav.” Among the statements in the text are Hurricane Gustav and the incitement to
panic - US officials’ overblown reaction to Gustav shows that the politics of worst-case thinking can
seriously harm community safety and solidarity. (Frank Furedi, sp!ked) August
RSS Global Temperature - holding steady, still cooler than 1 year ago - Even though little change has been
seen, there is some interesting news in the August RSS numbers. We are still cooler than one year ago, and the 12
month trend continues to drop. (Watts Up With That?) Climate
Change - The Real Causes - "It is so easy to grab onto the notion that the increase in fossil-fuel
burning and subsequent growth in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is directly the major cause. Even from season to
season we see snow and ice-covered mountains thaw, and massive areas of the Antarctic ice shelf melt, but in just
6 or so months they are restored. We are not alarmed at these annual changes! So why can’t we see that climate
changes occurring all over the world now (not as big as these dramatic annual changes) are simply similar but on a
larger time-scale." Professor Geoffrey Duffy, University of Auckland, NZ (NZ Climate Science) Climate change
isn't something to be believed or disbelieved - Polemics won't help us solve this problem; it is alarming that
some treat it as an article of faith, says Martin Parry (The Guardian) Fortunately gorebull warming doesn't exist in the real world so we need not take any action to address it
(stopping the computer program eliminates the 'problem' immediately). What will be problematic is that cooling
is equally likely and for more dangerous yet it will be very hard to cause any protective action to be
undertaken because warming hysterics have destroyed all climate science credibility. “X years to
Climate Catastrophe” - The scare: In the late summer of 2008, the once-serious Washington Post published a
joint op-ed article by the president of the formerly-prestigious Brookings Institute and a foreign-policy wonk who
works there. The article, entitled “Seven Years To Climate Midnight”, took a now-traditional form, claiming
that we have only x years (x being declared equal to 7 in the present instance) to avert irreversible climatic
catastrophe “within decades”. The co-authors, who are currently working with Stanford University on a
“global governance” project, whatever that may be, recite a well-worn litany about the “momentous political
challenge” faced by the next US President because of warmer weather. They say greenhouse gases are warming the
Earth; that it will warm by more than 4.5 F by as soon as 2050, causing “vast regions” to “slide towards
being uninhabitable”; that arable land will turn into desert; that the sea will rise to flood coastal areas from
Manhattan and Florida to Bangladesh, St. Petersburg, and Mali; that the Gulf Stream will be altered; that Nevada
will have no water at all; that cap-‘n’-trade, windmills, solar panels, biofuels, and carbon-capture are the
answer to this “existential threat to civilization”; and that Americans are guilty because the United States
emits four times as much carbon per head as the Chinese and 12 times as much as the Indians. Predicting the Impact of Climate
Change on Germany - More heat waves, far less snow: Using a new more precise climate model, the Max Planck
Institute for Meteorology has calculated the impact of global warming on weather patterns in Germany stretching up
to the year 2100. (Der Spiegel) Climate Change May Cut Plague
Cases in US - Study - OSLO - Rare outbreaks of plague in the United States seem to match climate shifts over
the Pacific Ocean in a hint that global warming may make the region too hot and dry for the disease, scientists
said on Wednesday. (Reuters) Climate Must be Heart of Foreign
Policy - EU Official - LONDON - Climate change represents such a threat to global security it must be at the
heart of European Union foreign policy, much as energy security is now, a top EU bureaucrat said on Wednesday.
(Reuters) Another assault on farmers clearing and using their land: Forests
to the rescue on climate change - KEVIN Rudd will be asked to drastically lift Australia's reserves of natural
forests and grasslands as part of its climate change solution in a bid to ease emissions cuts on industry as part
of the transition to a low-carbon economy. The ecoflakes try every excuse to prevent farmers clearing even regrowth down-under and this is simply an
extension of same. Even worse increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is a significant plus for life on Earth --
including people. We do not need or want to reduce this wonderful resource. Really? From what? Geo-engineers,
too, have a vital role in saving the planet - Cleaner fuel will not halt climate catastrophe. We need to find
pioneering solutions that alter the earth's thermal balance (Oliver Tickell, The Guardian) Guess what? Carbon-based fuels will not (can not) cause climate catastrophe. Global Warming Falls On List Of Environmental
Concerns - WASHINGTON -- When it comes to environmental concerns, more Americans are starting to think less
about global warming and more about energy, according to a recent survey. The survey on environmental attitudes
shows that 58 percent of Americans believe the environment is headed in the wrong direction. Global warming has
been a top environmental issue for many since the release of Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth."
However, with a lagging economy, many Americans priorities have shifted towards pushing energy issues to the
forefront, the survey showed. (NBC) On the credibility of climate
predictions - Geographically distributed predictions of future climate, obtained through climate models, are
widely used in hydrology and many other disciplines, typically without assessing their reliability. Here we
compare the output of various models to temperature and precipitation observations from eight stations with long
(over 100 years) records from around the globe. The results show that models perform poorly, even at a climatic
(30-year) scale. Thus local model projections cannot be credible, whereas a common argument that models can
perform better at larger spatial scales is unsupported. (Koutsoyiannis, 2008) | Get
full PDF Brookings Institute
Trips over Climate Science, Says SPPI - In the most recent edition of its influential ScareWatch series, the
Science and Public Policy Institute questions whether the Brookings Institute is familiar with basic geography, to
say nothing of climate science. (TransWorldNews) Fear Mongering in Denver - George Nathan said,
“Politics is the diversion of trivial men who, when they succeed at it, become important in the ideas of more
trivial men.” Henry Adams said, “Practical politics consists in ignoring facts.” “Many scientists predict-shockingly-that the entire north polar ice cap may be completely gone during summer
months during the first term of the next president. Sea levels are rising; fires are raging; storms are stronger.
Military experts warn us our national security is threatened by massive waves of climate refugees destabilizing
countries around the world, and scientists tell us the very web of life is endangered by unprecedented
extinctions.” Hyperbole heaped on hyperbole based on gross misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the facts around a
nonexistent problem. (Tim Ball, CFP) Dutch draw up drastic measures to defend coast
against rising seas - THE HAGUE, Netherlands: The Netherlands needs a massive new building program to
strengthen the low-lying country's water defenses against the anticipated effects of global warming for the next
190 years, an important panel advised Wednesday. (Associated Press) Hopefully they are not being stampeded by the output of GCMs because these models have zero prognostic
ability. Earth about as hot as it was in 1900 -
Barack Obama says the United States must "end the age of oil in our time," with "real results by
the end of my first term in office." Demand seen thin in first US greenhouse
auction - NEW YORK, Sept 3 - U.S. Northeast power companies likely will not race to buy permits to emit the
main greenhouse gas in the country's first carbon auction later this month because the region's emissions of the
gas have slipped over the last few years, experts said. (Reuters) That and it's a completely stupid exercise to begin with. Crude
logic on oil prices - Oil continues its apparent decline towards $100 a barrel, most recently “because of”
Hurricane Gustav’s mildness and “despite” Vladimir Putin’s Georgian aggression. But, as ever, it’s a
good deal more complicated than single factor lurches. Energy's
Most Dangerous Game - All the energy America needs for the next 100 years lies under the sea off the coast of
South Carolina. One problem: Digging it out could cause a global climate disaster. Georgia-Russia conflict changes the
energy equation - Officials at the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline announced last week that the pipeline is fully
functional and work has started to refill it. But in the weeks since the pipeline stopped working due to a fire
along the Turkish section, much has changed along the pipeline's route due to the Georgian-Russian conflict. Coalfields
could soon be supplying our gas - VAST swathes of the South Wales coalfields could be at the centre of a
multi-billion-pound gas industry, according to a global energy firm hoping to extract a valuable energy source. EU Lawmakers Delay Vote to Get
Tough on Car CO2 - BRUSSELS - EU lawmakers have delayed a key vote on curbing carbon dioxide emissions from
cars, allowing themselves time to make tougher demands on the car industry, they said on Wednesday. (Reuters) Oh good grief! Nasa
scientist appears in court to fan the flames of coal power station row - The Nasa scientist who first drew
attention to global warming 20 years ago appeared in a British court yesterday as a key witness in support of
climate change activists charged with damaging a power station. (The Independent) Brown must halt new coal
power stations, scientist tells court - James Hansen, a former White House adviser and Al Gore's science
adviser, giving evidence in a British court, said sticking to a "business as usual" approach would see
the planet passing its climate change tipping point. Look, the bloody idiots were filmed in the act, don't deny it and are merely milking it for fundraising
purposes. Either extract the cost of their criminal damage from them or shoot them or something useful to
reestablish the rule of law but stop pandering to these misanthropic twits! Sheesh! Wind power: Economic
insanity of the Government's renewable energy strategy - The Government's Renewable Energy Strategy document
is out for consultation until 26 September. Greenpeace Proposes Giant North
Sea Windfarm Grid - BRUSSELS - North Sea nations could link their offshore windfarms via a giant electricity
grid on the sea bed and bring huge benefits for Europe, according to a Greenpeace report gaining interest from the
European Commission. (Reuters) Really? The fuss greenies and fishermen put up over Basslink (connecting the Victorian and Tasmanian grids
with one monopolar HVDC submarine cable) because it would allegedly upset the fishies and other marine
critters, disrupting migrations, causing the cohabitation of catfish and dogfish and all manner of ills and yet
gridding the North Sea (where cod & other fishies are allegedly on their last legs, so to speak) is a good
idea? How wonderfully flexible are these ratbags -- they're agin it except when it is the most expensive and
least practical option for energy. Bulgaria Kick-Starts Belene
Nuclear Power Project - BELENE, Bulgaria - Bulgaria launched on Wednesday the construction of a 4 billion euro
(US$5.78 billion) new nuclear power plant to restore its position as a leading regional power exporter and meet
European Union emission targets. (Reuters) Italy Not Enough to Plug Gap in
Solar Power Demand - VALENCIA, Spain - Growth in solar power installations in Italy may not be enough to plug
a gap in global demand as Spain prepares to slash subsidies, say Italian industry experts. (Reuters) Dutch Brewers Say Enthusiasm for
Biofuels Waning - THE HAGUE - Enthusiasm for biofuels is receding and European legislators have become more
sensitive to the needs of the food industry, hit by soaring commodities prices, the head of the Dutch brewers'
association (CBK) says. Rewards of renewables - Thanks to concerns about
carbon emissions and the rising price of fossil fuels, the green-energy industry is currently experiencing huge
growth worldwide. This presents plenty of interesting and lucrative opportunities for physicists, as Gregory
McNamee describes. (Physics World) Bisphenol A Assessment Released: Debate over the
safety of low-level exposure to the plastics chemical continues - Current levels of exposure to bisphenol A
(BPA), a chemical used in making polycarbonate plastic bottles and epoxy-based canned food liners, are of
"some concern" for developmental and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants, and children, according to
a final assessment released
on Sept. 3 by the National Toxicology Program. The report
comes just weeks after FDA declared in a draft assessment that the estrogenic
chemical is safe in food contact products such as baby bottles and infant formula cans (C&EN,
Aug. 25, page 10). (C&EN) U.S. study clears measles
vaccine of autism link - CHICAGO - Scientists who tried to replicate a study that once tied a measles vaccine
with autism said on Wednesday they could not find any link and hope their study will encourage parents to
vaccinate their children to combat a rash of measles outbreaks. “Doctor do I
really need this drug?” Uncertainty and best judgements in cholesterol drugs - One can only imagine how
anxious yesterday’s news of a possible link to cancer must have left people taking cholesterol-lowering drugs.
With the publication of the results of the 5-year SEAS trial (Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis),
arguments have been vehemently made on both sides of cancer risks, making things even more confusing. But no one
is arguing about two things. (Junkfood Science) LA's fast-food ban
draws skepticism - LOS ANGELES - A ban on new fast-food restaurants in poor Los Angeles neighborhoods has made
headlines around the world, but residents say they don't plan to give up their cheeseburgers, fried chicken and
tacos anytime soon. Smoke smudges Mexico City's air, chemists identify sources
- Mexico City once topped lists of places with the worst air pollution in the world. Although efforts to curb
emissions have improved the situation, tiny particles called aerosols still clog the air. Now, atmospheric
scientists from UC San Diego and six other institutions have sorted through the pall that hangs over the city to
precisely identify aerosols that make up the haze and chart daily patterns of changes to the mix. Raising skeptics - As children across the
country return to school, the National Post takes a look at the curriculum issues that are flashpoints in their
respective regions and examines how the most controversial subjects are taught. Today, teaching environmentalism
in Alberta. (Kevin Libin, National Post) Organic food: no flash in the pan
fad - Far from being niche, our research shows that as the price of oil increases, organically farmed food is
the most profitable option (Peter Melchett, The Guardian) Pete works for the soil association now, flogging their overpriced fad produce, doesn't he? Nice try: Eco-Sellers
Gaining Momentum With Mainstream Buyers - LAS VEGAS - The move to more sustainable, earth-friendly clothing,
shoes and other consumer goods may be at a "tipping point" of mainstream acceptance, and major companies
like Nike Inc and eBay Inc are recognizing their growing importance among global shoppers. Actually word is people are becoming more cost-conscious and avoiding green claptrap (probably why this lot
are trying to talk up their market). World Needs GMO Wheat to Fight
Hunger - Wheat Body - CANBERRA - Japan and Europe need to embrace genetically modified wheat to combat food
shortages in poor countries, rather than pander to consumer fears, the head of a global wheat research institute
said on Wednesday. (Reuters) EU to Approve Bayer GM Soy Imports
Next Week - BRUSSELS - The European Union will next week approve imports of genetically modified (GM) soybeans
made by Bayer CropScience, hoping to ease a shortage of animal feed, officials said on Wednesday. (Reuters) NZ must keep up with GE
progress, says AgResearch - AgResearch says more than 100 million hectares of land overseas is planted with
genetically engineered crops, and New Zealand needs to be able to keep up the technology. European parliament calls for ban on cloned farm animals
- The European parliament on Wednesday urged the EU's executive branch to ban the cloning of animals for the food
trade, citing reduced genetic diversity among other concerns. (AFP) September 3, 2008
Ambulance-chasing Graun goes after
Gustav - Spare a thought for anyone on the Environment beat at the Guardian newspaper. It must be like working
for Pravda during the Breznhev era. There, as the economy became ever more dysfunctional, reporters were obliged
to pump out ever more absurd stories saluting record productivity and efficiency records. The triumph over
capitalism was imminent! Oh... Hurricanes, Floods
Show Risks of Climate Change - UN - OSLO - Atlantic hurricanes and floods in India are reminders of the
risks of ever more extreme weather linked to a changing climate, the head of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) said on Monday. (Reuters) These guys never give up their nonsense claims, do they? We have no indication of more frequent or more
intense weather events and anticorrelations are common: for example August was one wet month for Central England
-- it was also 98th warmest. Just because activist claim every weather event is correlated or
consistent with gorebull warming doesn't make them so and people should be tipped off by the same trivial cause
being blamed for both too little and too much precipitation in the same place in successive years (interesting
mechanism that, one that can selectively increase/decrease a particular topography's rainfall). Seth Boringtheme getting all excited: Tropical
quartet: 4 storms with more to come -- The tropics seem to be going crazy what with the remnants of Gustav,
the new threat from Hanna, a strengthening Ike and newcomer Josephine. Get used to it. Basic
Bunkum - Every scientist, every science teacher, and possibly every gardener in the world knows that applying
the terms ‘greenhouse effect’ and ‘greenhouse gases’ to the atmosphere, and to climate, is the most basic
bunkum. Why then do we continue to propagate these two terms which are scientifically wrong and so misleading? Or,
for some, does their propaganda value make the science irrelevant? It is no wonder that a physics teacher whom I
met recently at one of our top schools was in despair: “How can we teach the kids real science if such nonsense
is allowed into the curriculum?” (Global Warming Politics) Philip is absolutely correct. Those wishing to see a great deal more about the effect can see here. Trees Suffer One-Two Punch of Acid
Rain and Climate Change - Forests in Vermont's Green Mountains transition abruptly from a heat-loving mix of
sugar maple, American beech, and yellow birch on the lower slopes to a cold-adapted mix of red spruce, balsam fir,
and paper birch higher up. (Natural History Magazine) So, gorebull warming would be good for "heat-loving sugar maple"? (I thought gorebull warming was
supposed to kill off maple sugar but, oh well...) Oh, that acid rain thing? Actually, not so bad: British
acid rain helps our trees, says Norway - British acid rain is good for Norway's trees, says a Norwegian
scientific study. It wipes out damage caused by pollution from local industry and has helped the country's
forests spread by a quarter in recent decades. The report, by the state-run Norwegian forestry research
institute, says that acid rain has been unfairly demonised. Svein Solberg, of the institute, said: "After
15 years' research, it is now clear to us that, as far as forests are concerned, our fear of acid rain was
totally unfounded. Oops! Solar
panels 'take 100 years to pay back installation costs' - Solar panels are one of the least cost-effective ways
of combating climate change and will take 100 years to pay back their installation costs, the Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors (Rics) warned yesterday. Yohe and Lomborg - Last week I
had a post up titled “Yohe vs. Lomborg” focusing on an exchange in the Guardian between Gary Yohe and Bjorn
Lomborg. Now, are you sitting down? If not the following might knock you over. It's not
about us - The climate change debate, while very public and very political, is not the place for hyperbole and
hysteria; it's time to move on (Björn Lomborg and Gary Yohe, The Guardian) Sunspeck
counts after all, debate rages…Sun DOES NOT have first spotless calendar month since June 1913 - UPDATED AT
8:30AM PST Sept 2nd- There Goes The Sun - Al Gore's
been busy in recent years scaring everyone about what he's sure is disastrous global warming. More ruinous,
though, would be a deep cooling, which is the direction our planet might really be heading. (IBD) “North Hottest for 1500
Years” - Really? (Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science) Publicly available PDF here: Proxy-based
reconstructions of hemispheric and global surface temperature variations over the past two millennia (Mann et
al, PNAS). Supporting information here. Earth Has Had Sharp Climatic Shifts In
Past: Is Earth Nearing Another Tipping Point? - In the Earth’s history, periods of relatively stable climate
have often been interrupted by sharp transitions to a contrasting state. For instance, glaciation periods
typically ended suddenly. About 34 million years ago the Earth’s long lasting tropical state in which most
recent life forms evolved, shifted abruptly and irreversibly to a cooler state with ice caps. Irreversibly to a cooler state with ice caps? We'll take that under advisement. Isn't it weird that gorebull
warming hand-wringers worry about Earth returning to the tropical state in which most recent life on Earth
evolved (the same weird critters snowbird to tropical locations for holidays and gorebull warming conferences). Ensuring
the Climate Record from the NPOESS and GOES-R Spacecraft: Elements of a Strategy to Recover Measurement
Capabilities Lost in Program Restructuring - In 2000, the nation s next-generation National Polar-orbiting
Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) program anticipated purchasing six satellites for $6.5
billion, with a first launch in 2008. By November 2005, however, it became apparent that NPOESS would overrun its
cost estimates by at least 25 percent. In June 2006, the planned acquisition of six spacecraft was reduced to
four, the launch of the first spacecraft was delayed until 2013, and several sensors were canceled or descoped in
capability. Arctic Sea Ice - Media Darling Of
Misrepresentation (.pdf) - Distinguished Canadian climatologist, Dr Timothy Ball, explains why and how news
media have misrepresented claims about the state of Arctic sea ice. This analysis is a superb backgrounder for
anyone wanting to know the facts about the Arctic and the changes that have occurred in its ice volumes. (via NZ
Climate Science) Carbon
tax sales pitch falls flat - The election campaign will reveal more of the risks to the economy (Terence
Corcoran, Financial Post) Canadians
should be wary of green protectionism - Imposing ‘carbon tariffs’ might level the playing field, but it
would wreak havoc on trade agreements (Michael Hart and Bill Dymond, Financial Post) Support
for the Liberals' Green Shift dropping: Poll - WINNIPEG - Support for the Liberals' Green Shift carbon tax
proposal fell over the summer, signalling leader Stephane Dion faces "a big problem" with the
centerpiece of his election campaign platform, says Darrell Bricker, president of the Ipsos-Reid polling firm. (Canwest
News Service) Government open to carbon trading scheme
alternatives: Wong - Climate Change Minister Penny Wong says the Federal Government is open to alternatives to
a cap and trade emissions scheme. (Australian Broadcasting service) Sure they have options: scrap this nonsense or lose office. Rudd’s
dud study (Andrew Bolt Blog) Still with this nonsense: Climate Change Refugees
Look to Australia, N.Z. - With the apparent effects of global warming already being felt among Pacific island
nations, Australia and New Zealand are being urged to do more to prepare for ‘climate change refugees’. Actually, deformation of the sea surface lens causes sea level difficulties for these low lying atolls during
La Niña events -- that's right, the ones associated with cooling. During the warm-associated El Niños
changes in upwelling patterns and surface pressure causes local sea level fall, giving the islanders another
half-meter or so of freeboard. Absent ENSO effects there is absolutely zero indication of accelerating sea level
rise. Emissions scheme to hit charities -
AN emissions trading scheme will cost charities and community groups $1.1 billion a year, a new report says. Beyond
Carbon: Scientists Worry About Nitrogen’s Effects - For example, Dr. Vitousek said in an interview,
“There’s a great danger in doing something like, oh, overfertilizing a cornfield to boost biofuel consumption,
where the carbon benefits are far outweighed by the nitrogen damage.” From CO2 Science this week: Medieval
Warm Period Record of the Week: Subject Index Summary: Plant Growth Data: Journal Reviews: Cherry Blossoms and Climate Change in Kyoto: What
do the former tell us about the latter? British Lepidoptera Responses to Global Warming:
How did their species composition and populations change between 1864 and 1952? ... and 1976 to 1997? Elevated CO2 vs. Warming and
Drying: What's the net result for the soil water content of an old field ecosystem? Cloud Effects on Forest Carbon Uptake: Do they
enhance or reduce it? Temperature
Record of the Week: World Bank warns of 'climate chaos'
- AN expert from the World Bank has warned that "climate chaos" will affect farmers around the globe,
and called for a revolution in sustainable agriculture. Bleeding-heart jetsetters spell bad news for
climate - The emergence of a new generation of ‘bleeding-heart jetsetters’ has disturbing
implications for the UK’s spiralling emissions from air travel, according to new research by the University of
Exeter. The results of the research by the School of Geography, Archaeology and Earth Resources and University of
Exeter Business School were presented by Dr Stewart Barr at the Royal Geographical Society with IBG Annual
Conference. Actually it tells us they plain don't believe the climate hysterics, making fliers smarter than the average
media talking head. Emissions scheme 'won't stop logging'
- THE forestry industry has rejected suggestions it will stop harvesting trees under emissions trading. Republicans urge more drilling in
energy blueprint - ST PAUL, Minnesota — Republicans adopted a blueprint calling for stepped up petroleum
drilling and refinery construction in the "most aggressive" energy policy in the party's history. Unfit To Lead On Oil - If anyone
still thinks Democrats can provide leadership on the No. 1 issue of the day — energy — then Harry Reid's
remarks to their party's convention last week should dispel the notion for good. Palin's Importance - The impact
of prolonged high oil prices is moving well beyond economics. Russia now takes license to assault Georgia, and
intends worse. John McCain's Alaska running mate has the only weapon. US Republicans Break With Bush on
Ethanol - ST. PAUL - US Republicans called on Monday for an end to a controversial requirement that gasoline
contain a set amount of ethanol, a policy backed by the Bush administration that critics say has helped drive up
world food prices. (Reuters) Coal plans go up in smoke
- Environmentalists in the US have halted a huge new wave of coal-fired power stations. What lessons can Europe
learn from them? (The Guardian) Ooh! Ooh! Pick us, we know! That we must get green whackos out of the decision loop in order for people
and the environment to prosper! What do we win? Canada's Tar Sands Lobbyists Focus on Democrats - As
the U.S. election campaign kicks into overdrive, Canadian politicians and oil executives are stepping up lobbying
efforts to make sure whoever controls the White House keeps purchasing notoriously dirty oil from the Alberta tar
sands. (IPS) Fish or fuel? Debate divides Norway's far north - The
pristine Lofoten Islands off Norway's far north paint an idyllic image of tranquility, but beneath the surface is
a roiling debate over the islands' resources, dividing fishermen, environmentalists and oil companies. (AFP) Scotland Could Boost Hydropower by
50 Pct - Study - LONDON - Scotland has potential to raise hydropower capacity by about a half, helping Britain
cut greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate global warming, a new study showed on Tuesday. (Reuters) Wouldn't get too excited, as soon as they pick a site some fool will 'discover' it to be required habitat of
the left-handed dormouse, the particularly icky windshield-spot bug or some such thing. Environment:
Solar plant yields water and crops from the desert - Vast greenhouses that use sea water for crop cultivation
could be combined with solar power plants to provide food, fresh water and clean energy in deserts, under an
ambitious proposal from a team of architects and engineers. (The Guardian) Irradiating
Lettuce Will Save Lives - CHURCHVILLE, VA—For years, our Center has been demanding irradiation for spinach,
lettuce, and other high-risk produce—to kill the food-borne bacteria that present a last big preventable risk in
our food supply. On August 22, the Food and Drug Administration granted our plea. (Dennis T. Avery, CGFI) A telling name change - It
was a quiet little press release that received very little notice, but told a much larger story. The Mary Ann
Liebert, Inc. media company which publishes 60 journals for various health-related groups — from obesity
management to genetic engineering — announced last week that Disease Management, the publication of the Disease
Management Association of America: The Care Continuum Alliance, was being changed to Population Health Management.
(Junkfood Science) So, the burgers are better at Hungry Jack's (Aussie version of Burger King): Critics
bite at Hungry Jack's fat stack - A FAST-food chain's sale of a 4520-kilojoule hamburger is irresponsible and
a sign the industry is ignoring health warnings about obesity, experts say. TV commercials are promoting the
Hungry Jack's Quad Stack Burger, which contains four beef patties, four slices of cheese, two rashers of bacon,
barbecue sauce and two sugared buns. It contains 71g of fat, 34.7g of saturated fat, 1930 milligrams of sodium and
74.8g protein. (Herald Sun) Cartwheels in cotton wool aren't fun
- 'PSST, pass it on - everybody meet behind the bike shed at one o'clock." Another cherished green myth bites the dust: Ancient
Amazon Cities Found; Were Vast Urban Network - Dozens of ancient, densely packed, towns, villages, and hamlets
arranged in an organized pattern have been mapped in the Brazilian Amazon, anthropologists announced today. Throwaway
razors and nappies should be taxed as luxuries, says Defra - Disposable razors and nappies could be taxed as
luxury goods in order to cut the amount of waste going to landfill, a Government-funded report to ministers has
suggested. September 2, 2008
Inevitably, here's Seth Boringtheme: Global
warming's toasty water connection to Gustav - Global warming has probably made Hurricane Gustav a bit stronger
and wetter, some top scientists said Sunday, but the specific connection between climate change and stronger
hurricanes remains an issue of debate. More wishful thinking from the catastrophists: A
savage force of nature – and mounting evidence they are becoming more violent - Hurricanes are one of the
most destructively powerful forces of nature and their existence depends on the surface temperature of the ocean
reaching at least 26C. One obvious question is whether Gustav is the result of rising sea temperatures associated
with global warming. Latest science debunks Hurricanes and Global
Warming Link - Before the media starts predictably linking Hurricane Gustav and Hannah to man-made global
warming a sampling of a few of the most recent studies should easily silence such chatter. See below report. (CFP) MICHAELS: Record low for
climate science - Ever since Soviet and Western climate scientists published the first international
compendium on global warming, back in 1985, we have known that scaring people to death is very good for the
environmentalist business. Such documents appear once or twice a year under the aegis of sundry governmental and
international agencies, such as the United States' Climate Change Science Program (CCSP). Sigh... 99
months, and counting - Howl farewell to the dog days of August. They were mostly damp and drab, not to mention
marking the beginning of a 100-month countdown to the world entering a new, more perilous phase of global warming.
Not everything, though, can be blamed directly on climate change. For the record, weather varies enormously due to
short-term atmospheric changes. The climate system, however, changes in response to the complex push and pull of
many spheres, from solar radiation to ice cover and greenhouse gas levels. Weather is a subset of climate, whose
long-term patterns will nevertheless change as the climate system alters. As our planet has demonstrated so many times in the past "runaway warming" is simply not possible
on this watery world (for those who don't understand this it is because more warming increases evaporation and
more evaporation leads to more clouds, more reflected sunlight, less warming... we have a form in this
page where you can play with solar radiation, albedo and greenhouse effect to see what effect it has on
global temperature). The always ignored negative feedbacks in our climate system ensure the fantasies of
gorebull warming hysterics can never occur. As far as The Indy knows: For
the first time in human history, the North Pole can be circumnavigated - Open water now stretches all the way
round the Arctic, making it possible for the first time in human history to circumnavigate the North Pole, The
Independent on Sunday can reveal. New satellite images, taken only two days ago, show that melting ice last week
opened up both the fabled North-west and North-east passages, in the most important geographical landmark to date
to signal the unexpectedly rapid progress of global warming. History however is rather short on Polar circumnavigation and covers only the period since the depths of the
Little Ice Age. Kinda takes the fun out of it, doesn't it? Meier of NSIDC on
melt: “it’s not going to make it to the North Pole” (Watts Up with That?) Was There Less Arctic
Ice in 1932? - “Arctic Becomes an Island for the first time in human history“…really??? Arctic Ice Growth,
2008 - How Much? (Watts Up With That?) Ball gazing: Johnson
warns of climate threat to London - Climate change could seriously threaten quality of life in London and the
capital's position as a leading world city, Mayor Boris Johnson has warned today. 'Will bring'? That's some crystal ball, hopefully it came with some kind of warrantee so they can get their
money back when prognostications prove false. 'Too early' to blame climate
change for wet summer - It is too early to blame the unseasonable weather on climate change despite the
wettest summer in half a century, a senior Met Éireann forecaster said today. A
Balancing Act on Emissions - The Apollo Alliance, a coalition working to promote green jobs and clean energy,
has been struggling with how to offset the global warming pollution that results from its day-to-day operations,
especially from its travel. “Our carbon footprint is ridiculous,” its co-director, Kate Gordon, said referring
to the amount of greenhouse gases emitted each year by the organization. Air travel is its worst offender, Ms.
Gordon said. The quest for renewable energy has its employees on the move for speaking engagements and lobbying.
(New York Times) No, atmospheric carbon dioxide is not "pollution". California land use subject to global
warming review - SACRAMENTO—For decades, California cities and counties knew one way to grow—by sprawling
outward. Cranking up the extreme scenarios, again: Past
evidence boosts concern for Greenland icesheet: scientists - PARIS - Scientists Sunday said they could no
longer rule out a fast-track melting of the Greenland icesheet -- a prospect, once the preserve of doomsayers,
that would see much of the world's coastline drowned by rising seas. (AFP) What's the bottom line here? "In February 2007, in the first volume of a landmark report, the
Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted the oceans would rise by between 18 and
59 centimetres (7.2 and 23.2 inches) by 2100." but ""[The new] work suggests that future
reductions of the Greenland ice sheet on the order of one metre (3.25 feet) per century are not out of the
question," they said." So they've upped the ante from 0.6m to 1.0m maximum expectation over the 21st
Century (realistic expectation is about 0.1-0.2m). A Hard Habit to
Break, Even With Gas at $10 a Gallon - ROME — Ten dollars a gallon may seem unthinkable to American drivers
still smarting from the spike in gas prices to around $4 a gallon. But that was nearly the price that Marco
Annarumi faced recently when filling his Jeep on his way home from work. Climate Fight Hit by Global
Slowdown, Russia Fears - LONDON - The fight against global warming is in danger of being downgraded on more
urgent fears over energy security, heightened by a Russian war with Georgia, and a global economic slowdown.
(Reuters) Gore Hailed, Warns Against McCain,
Climate Change - DENVER - Al Gore, who lost the 2000 election but has become a world leader on the
environment, was embraced at the Democratic Party's convention on Thursday as a comeback hero -- with a warning
against John McCain and climate change. (Reuters) Little warmer throws big tantrum: Sarah
Palin: Making John McCain Look Like Al Gore? - In stark contrast with Senator Barack Obama’s energy policy,
which he described last night calling for millions of new green jobs, improved national security, and reduced
global warming pollution, John McCain today announced that his running mate, Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska,
doesn’t believe in anthropogenic climate change or evolution. Combine all of this with the fact that Ms.
Palin’s husband works for British Petroleum drilling in North Alaska, that she doesn’t believe that climate
change science is clear or that the changes are caused by mankind’s greenhouse gas emissions and the fact that
she wants to drill in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge to guarantee our energy security rather than pursuing
renewable energies, and you’ve got one of the worst climate candidates yet! Even John McCain has spoken vocally
to protect ANWR, so his selection of one of the nation’s biggest supporters for drilling there has been a major
blow. (Caroline Howe, It’s Getting Hot In Here) I, for one, have no problem with Palin being a woman of faith and certainly will not hold against her her
taking Genesis more literally than some, although I firmly believe evolution belongs in Science classes while
faith-based counter cases should be kept in Religious Instruction with clear distinction between the two.
However, given Palin's clarification: In an interview Thursday, Palin said she meant only to say that discussion of alternative views should be
allowed to arise in Alaska classrooms: I've heard her referred to as the 'Anti-Gore', which has to be about the highest accolade available. If Sarah
Palin can educate McCain regarding gorebull warming and natural resource extraction while helping rein in
government spending then the U.S. may recover its rightful ascendancy. This is indeed a ticket worth getting out
and voting for and, for the first time, makes me regret Aussies can't vote in U.S. elections. You go, girl! Gov. Sarah Palin, (R) Alaska - Days
before being announced as the Republican party's first female candidate for Vice President, Alaska Governor Sarah
Palin was interviewed by Maria Bartiromo (CNBC) America: Meet Sarah Palin - "In Full": Sarah
Palin, governor of Alaska, speaks at a GOP rally in Dayton, Ohio following her introduction by John McCain as his
pick for vice president. (CBS) Sarah Palin on Glenn Beck - 06/02/2008 Sarah Palin
guests on The Glenn Beck Show to discuss Alaska's lawsuit against the federal government regarding the polar bear
listing. Sarah Palin, interviews, commentary (IBD) A Star
Is Born? - Thursday night, after Barack Obama’s well-orchestrated, well-conceived and well-delivered
acceptance speech in Denver, Republicans were demoralized. Twenty-four hours later, they were energized — even
exuberant. It’s amazing what a bold vice-presidential pick who gives a sterling performance when she’s
introduced will do for a party’s spirits. No romantic notions about cuddly-wuddly polar bears, either: Governor
Palin Responds to New Climate and Polar Bear Studies (State of Alaska) Bearing Up - Sarah Palin in the New
York Times last January. What's not to like? Palin
backs oil drilling in wildlife refuge - WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain's choice of a running mate, Gov. Sarah
Palin of Alaska, favors drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, questioned the science behind
predictions of sea ice loss linked to global warming and opposed a state initiative that would have banned metal
mines from discharging pollution into salmon streams. UN Chief Warns Against Waiting for
Climate Deal - GENEVA - The world should not wait until next year to cobble together a new climate change
pact, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday. Nowhere near as ill-advised as actually having anything to do with UNFCCC and its ill-conceived progeny. Climate change target may lead to
‘dangerously misguided’ policies - The pledge from G8 countries to cut global emissions by 50 per cent by
2050, in an effort to cut global warming to 2ºC, could lead to ‘dangerously misguided’ climate change
adaptation policies, according to new research from The University of Manchester. True but not for any reason they suggest. Any attempt to adjust global climate or even merely the temperature
through carbon constraint is dangerously misguided. Any adaptation policy must be prepared for cooling as well
as warming since each outcome is possible at any given time and cooling will be significantly more difficult to
deal with than any likely or even possible warming. Check out this absurd claim: "The special edition of the journal is edited by Professor Brian
Launder, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Manchester. In the introduction to the
journal, he and co-author Prof Michael Thompson write that the consequences of global warming are “already
causing misery and premature death for millions and hold the prospect of unquantifiable change and potential
disaster on a global scale for the decades to come”." Actually the only known cause of "global warming-related misery and death" is hysteria and foolish
policies to "address" the phantom menace inflating the cost of food and fuel. Rapid climate
change needs a global solution, says scientist - Global warming is happening faster than expected and
planet-wide engineering projects may be needed to buy humans more time, a leading scientist has warned. The 'consensus' on
climate change is a catastrophe in itself - As the estimated cost of measures proposed by politicians to
"combat global warming" soars ever higher – such as the International Energy Council's $45 trillion
– "fighting climate change" has become the single most expensive item on the world's political agenda. Assessing the carbon market -
London -- Debate is rife in Australian political circles about whether carbon trading is the way forward for
climate change abatement. There's actually only one carbon trading lesson from Europe -- DON'T DO IT! Why I recanted - 'There is no evidence to
support the idea that carbon emissions cause significant global warming' (David Evans, Financial Post) Today's cringe: Africa's
animals could evolve into separate species as climate changes - CLIMATE change could trigger an explosion in
the number of new species in Africa, according to research from Edinburgh University. The future loss of lakes and
rivers in Africa would influence how species such as buffalo, wildebeest and elephants evolve, according to
scientists. (The Scotsman) Um... who said Africa would continue to desiccate in a warmer world? Who suggests such change would persist
long enough to significantly influence evolution? Hippos once used to wallow in the Thames but there is no
suggestion they evolved into cold climate critters as conditions changed. Hopefully the piece is a joke (well,
it's certainly that but we hope it was meant to be), otherwise Edinburgh University has some really big
problems in the biology faculty. From the Tyndall Centre for generating climate hysteria: Temperature
rises 'will be double the safe limit' for global warming - IT IS "improbable" global warming will be
kept below 4C – double the rise considered safe to avoid climate catastrophe – according to an influential new
report. Internationally, it has long been agreed governments should be aiming to keep a global temperature rise
below 2C, to avoid climate change spiralling out of control. However, a bleak new study by scientists at the
Tyndall Centre, a leading organisation for climate change research at the University of Manchester, now suggests
we should be adjusting our expectations towards far higher rises. (The Scotsman) Hmm... Has
Autumn come early to Britain? - With purple blooms of heather on the hills, crops of berries in the hedgerows
and huge numbers of fungi fruiting around the country, the British countryside looks to have entered Autumn a
month earlier than normal. (Daily Telegraph) A dismal summer does not an autumn make. More anecdotal unwarming: Coldest
August in 64 years - Sydney has shivered through its coldest August in 64 years. (Sydney Morning Herald) Cold 'consistent with' warm: Big
chill a symptom of climate chaos - Forget global warming - the latest problem is global cooling. Conservation
group WWF has blamed climate change for the coldest August in Sydney for more than 60 years. The freezing
temperatures are proof of the urgent need to cut carbon pollution, according to WWF development and sustainability
program manager Paul Toni. (AAP) Global
cooling? An inconvenient truth - The sudden change of focus from global warming to global cooling by leading
environment group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) demonstrates the lack of substance to the argument that manmade
carbon emissions are responsible for global warming, according to Senator Boswell. We could wish... Thawing
Permafrost Likely To Boost Global Warming, New Assessment Concludes - A new assessment more than doubles
previous estimates of the amount of carbon stored in permafrost, and indicates that carbon dioxide emissions from
microbial decomposition of organic carbon in thawing permafrost could amount to roughly half those resulting from
global land-use change during this century. (ScienceDaily) The Sun remains
in a magnetic funk - While sunspots are often cited as the main proxy indicator of solar activity, there is
another indicator which I view as equally (if not more) important. The Average Planetary Magnetic index (Ap), the
strength of which ties into Svensmark’s cosmic ray theory modulating Earth’s cloud cover. A weaker Ap would
mean less cosmic rays are deflected by the solar magnetic field, and so the theory goes, more cosmic rays provide
more seed nuclei for clouds in Earth’’s atmosphere. More clouds mean a greater albedo and less terrestrial
solar radiation, which translates to lower temperatures. (Watts Up With That?) Sun
has first spotless calendar month since June 1913 - Many have been keeping a watchful eye on solar activity
recently. The most popular thing to watch has been sunspots. While not a direct indication of solar activity, they
are a proxy for the sun’s internal magnetic dynamo. There have been a number of indicators recently that it has
been slowing down. Still with this nonsense: Antarctic
Ozone Hole May Be Larger in 2008 - UN - GENEVA - The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica may be larger
this year than in 2007, the United Nations weather agency said on Friday. (Reuters) The problem that never was. He's ba-ack: Global warming greatest in past decade
- Researchers confirm that surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere were warmer over the last 10 years than
any time during the last 1300 years, and, if the climate scientists include the somewhat controversial data
derived from tree-ring records, the warming is anomalous for at least 1700 years. (Penn State) Mikey's at it again, still appending instrument records to proxy reconstructions against all advice and good
practice (pretty colored spaghetti graph, below). Without that nonsense addition this time Mann's effort looks a
little more like the non-treemometer reconstruction of Loehle
and a lot less like the hokey "hockey stick"
of days gone by. The point is now, and always has been, that no contemporary proxy measure exceeds (or even
equals) proxies from the Medieval Climate Optimum (or Medieval Warm Period, as it's now known). Check out "divergence
problem" to see what we mean about the stupidity of tacking thermometrics onto a proxy time series. Proving they've learned nothing at the Beeb: Climate
'hockey stick' is revived - A new study by climate scientists behind the controversial 1998 "hockey
stick" graph suggests their earlier analysis was broadly correct. Michael Mann's team analysed data for the
last 2,000 years, and concluded that Northern Hemisphere temperatures now are "anomalously warm".
Different analytical methods give the same result, they report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
(Richard Black, BBC News) Appending thermometrics to proxy records is plain stupid because the time series do not match -- while the
thermometric record indicates rising near-surface temperatures treemometers indicate cooling over the same
period, hence the "divergence
problem". A
Coupled MM5-NOAH Land Surface Model-based Assessment of Sensitivity of Planetary Boundary Layer Variables to
Anomalous Soil Moisture Conditions by Quintanar et al 2008 - There is an excellent new paper that illustrates
effectively the role of soil moisture on weather and climate. A
2008 Science article “Did You Say ‘Fast’?” by Jacqueline Flückiger - In our paper Rial, J., R.A.
Pielke Sr., M. Beniston, M. Claussen, J. Canadell, P. Cox, H. Held, N. de Noblet-Ducoudre, R. Prinn, J. Reynolds,
and J.D. Salas, 2004: Nonlinearities, feedbacks and critical thresholds within the Earth’s climate system.
Climatic Change, 65, 11-38, we concluded that “The Earth’s climate system is highly nonlinear: inputs and
outputs are not proportional, change is often episodic and abrupt, rather than slow and gradual, and multiple
equilibria are the norm.” A new Science perspective article reinforces this conclusion. The article is Flückiger,
J., 2008: Did you say “Fast”? Science, 321, 651-651. (subscription required) (Roger Pielke Sr., Climate
Science) We really, really hope this is facetious: Global
Warming FAIL - I couldn't resist. FAILBlog has
the original entry, a screenshot from a forum by someone who has a plan to stop sea level rise, an outcome of
global warming. Here is what the text says: "I was watching inconvenient truth the other day and theres the bit where it shows the sea level rising
really high and flooding most of the world. Well i live near the sea, and don't want to drown, so i got to
thinking. Maybe if we lower the sea level a bit, when the water level rises then it won't rise high enough to
flood. ROTFLMAO, but seriously this is a scientist, education and media fail. If this person is to represent an
average person who gets his information from TV and the internet with no scientific background, then we may as
well be doomed. (Deep-Sea News) Joe's hot for Jim: Hansen's still got it
- Right for 27 years: 1981 Hansen study finds warming trend that could raise sea levels (Joseph Romm, Grist) Joe likes to point out that journal searches do not come up with reams of papers suggesting a lot of
scientists worried about an impending ice age back in the 1970s (he just fails to mention we didn't have a
plethora of specialist climate journals then -- there simply wasn't the financial interest or incentive,
something which didn't change until the late 1980s). What we had in the era were publications like Newsweek
and Time Magazine reporting
what scientists claimed to worry about. Silly Joseph :) BHP's Argus Says Emissions Trade
Re-Think Needed - AUSTRALIA: September 2, 2008 -- CANBERRA - Australia's government came under pressure on
Monday from the chief of BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining group, to reconsider a planned emissions trading
system expected to reshape the US$1 trillion economy. (Reuters) The greatest danger of gorebull warming is that some idiot may actually try to 'do something' about it: Extreme
and risky action the only way to tackle global warming, say scientists - Political inaction on global warming
has become so dire that nations must now consider extreme technical solutions - such as blocking out the sun - to
address catastrophic temperature rises, scientists from around the world warn today. Sadly, not true: Scientists uncover
key to boosting carbon capture - Buried under a giant stand of bamboo in northern New South Wales, two
Australian soil scientists have made a discovery they believe will help save the planet. (Australian Broadcasting
Corp.) The two scientists in question are not, in fact, buried under a giant stand of bamboo. It might be better if
they were, however, since the last thing we should be doing is wasting such a precious resource as atmospheric
carbon dioxide. Radical ideas
to save the planet - Artificial clouds to reflect away sunlight, creating colossal blooms of oceanic algae,
and the global use of synthetic carbon-neutral transport fuels - just three of the climate-transforming
technologies in need of urgent investigation, according to leading scientists. The group argues that, with
governments failing to grasp the urgent need for measures to combat dangerous climate change, radical - and
possibly dangerous - solutions must now be seriously considered. (The Guardian) Geoengineering
is no solution to climate change - Tinkering with our entire planetary system is not a silver bullet. It's an
expression of political despair, writes Greenpeace's Doug Parr (The Guardian)
For once we agree with Greenpeace -- we don't want anyone trying to engineer planetary cooling. Not because
it can't be done but because it's is highly undesirable to have cooler planetary conditions. Ghost ship fleet could be a
silver lining in clouds of climate change - It looks like something out of a Dan Dare comic book, and it might
just help to save the world. A scientist at the University of Edinburgh has devised a new weapon in the fight
against global warming: a fleet of 1,500 unmanned sailing ships creating wakes that whiten clouds to reflect the
heat of the Sun better. Medicine for a
feverish planet: kill or cure? - Planetary scale engineering might be able to combat global warming, but, as
with nineteenth century medicine, the best option may simply be kind words and letting Nature take its course,
says James Lovelock (The Guardian) Geoengineering:
The radical ideas to combat global warming - Artificial clouds and creating colossal blooms of oceanic algae
are among the ideas scientists say must now be considered (The Guardian) Carbon sins? Sheesh! Aid
agencies plan CO2 offsets that also help poor - LONDON, Sept 2 - From fuel-efficient stoves for displaced
Congolese families to drought-resistant cashew trees in Brazil, some aid agencies offering carbon offset schemes
want to marry emissions savings with help for people living with climate change. Making Gore's
Switch Isn't Quite So Simple - Al Gore must be kidding. I am determined to seek self-sufficiency in energy as an urgent national priority. My goal is to make
America independent of foreign energy sources by 1985. -- Gerald
R. Ford - April 23, 1975 (10-year wishful thinking didn't work then either) The High
Cost of Low Temperatures - The price of home heating oil has dropped from a peak of over $4.60 a gallon, but
it is still about 40 percent higher than it was a year ago. That could mean painful choices for some Americans
this winter — between heat and balanced meals or between heat and medicines. Surge
in Natural Gas Has Utah Driving Cheaply - SALT LAKE CITY — The best deal on fuel in the country right now
might be here in Utah, where people are waiting in lines to pay the equivalent of 87 cents a gallon. Demand is so
strong at rush hour that fuel runs low, and some days people can pump only half a tank. Russia may cut off
oil flow to the West - Fears are mounting that Russia may restrict oil deliveries to Western Europe over
coming days, in response to the threat of EU sanctions and Nato naval actions in the Black Sea. Any such move
would be a dramatic escalation of the Georgia crisis and play havoc with the oil markets. (Daily Telegraph) Caution likely at EU summit on Russia -
BRUSSELS, Belgium: When it comes to action over Georgia, Russia has the European Union over a barrel. In fact, 1.2
million barrels. Funny, in a sad kind of way: EU leaders
issue another warning to Russia - BRUSSELS: The leaders of the European Union, having repeatedly warned Moscow
in vain to abide by the six-point cease-fire agreement reached by France to end the fighting with Georgia,
gathered here Monday in an emergency summit meeting and after several hours of talks, decided to warn Moscow
again. (IHT) EU, Dependent on
Russian Energy, Balks at Georgia War Sanctions -- European Union leaders refused to impose sanctions on Russia
over the invasion of Georgia, acknowledging their reliance on Russian oil and gas at a time of faltering economic
growth. (Bloomberg) Vladimir
Putin threatens Europe over energy supply - Vladimir Putin has warned Europe that Russia's energy reserves
will flow to the Far East if the continent's leaders seek to punish his country for invading Georgia. (Daily
Telegraph) Russia Bears Down on European Energy - ... It therefore seems that
when faced with a choice between empowering Russia and annoying environmentalists, Western Europeans are less
afraid of the former. (Really Inconvenient Blog) Greenpeace Canada Blasts Syncrude
Lawsuit - TORONTO - Greenpeace Canada blasted a lawsuit brought against it by Syncrude Canada Ltd, saying the
move was designed to intimidate critics of the sprawling oil sands developments in northern Alberta. These bloody idiots wants a seat in the game then they have to ante up, just like everyone else. You keep
launching nuisance suits and interfering with commercial operations you have to figure sooner or later someone
is going to respond, no? Brazil ponders about wealth from
recent huge oil finds - Towering above the beautiful bay of Angra dos Reis near to Rio de Janeiro a vast oil
platform stands almost ready to head out to sea. Work is almost completed on Petrobras 51 (P-51) and there seems
little doubt it will be put to good use, with Brazil making headlines around the world for its recent oil finds. UK presents before UN sea bed claim
around Ascension Is - Britain is to formally present its case to the United Nations in New York for extending
its territorial rights around Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. States have rights over their resources,
including oil or gas reserves, up to 200 nautical miles from the shoreline. (Mercopress) Oil rig for South Atlantic
exploration arrives next month - Argentine and Chilean government and private oil companies announced
Wednesday they would be investing 150 million US dollars to search for hydrocarbons in the South Atlantic. (Mercopress) Coal back-up for wind power
'will cost £100bn' - A LEADING power company has claimed wind energy is so unreliable that even if 13,000
turbines are built to meet EU renewable energy targets, they could be relied on to provide only 7 per cent of the
country's peak winter electricity demand. E.On has argued that, during the coldest days of winter, so little wind
blows that 92 per cent of installed wind capacity would have to be backed up by traditional power stations. It
argues this would require new coal-fired power stations to be built so they could be used in an emergency when
little wind blows. This, E.On suggests, will mean that, to meet renewable targets of 20 per cent of energy being
provided from renewables by 2020, the UK's installed power base will need to rise from 76 gigawatts today to more
than 100GW. The company estimates this could cost £100 billion. (The Scotsman) The
return of Old King Coal - At least one noteworthy policy directive emerged from the recent G8 forum in Tokyo.
It now seems that the preferred option to meet the energy needs of the 21st century is for all of us to start
burning coal again. What's being proposed is a reappraisal of the use of coal as a power source for developed
economies, with a particular emphasis on carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. (Investors Chronicle) Forget the CCS and they've got it about right. UK Coal raises output to capitalise on
higher prices - UK Coal is seeking to cash in on rising energy prices through higher production and the end of
long-term, low-priced legacy contracts. Argentina, Brazil to develop
nuclear energy agency - Argentina and Brazil are scheduled to address the creation of a bi-national nuclear
energy agency when the countries two presidents meet next month in Recife, northeast Brazil, reports the Brazilian
press. (Mercopress) EU Lawmakers Move Towards Phased
CO2 Cuts for Cars - BRUSSELS - Curbs on carbon dioxide emissions from new cars sold in the European Union
could be phased in slowly through 2015 after two political groups in a key EU parliamentary committee agreed a
compromise. (Reuters) The authorities have lied,
and I am not glad - Dr Michael Fitzpatrick, author of 1987’s The Truth About the AIDS Panic, says it is a
shame that AIDS insiders did not expose the myths and opportunism of the AIDS industry earlier. But still, better
late than never. (Dr Michael Fitzpatrick, sp!ked) It must be Tuesday... -
Without looking at the calendar, healthcare professionals know it’s Tuesday by the Medscape journals in their
inboxes. Unhealthy health programs
- Dr. Leanne Barron, a Queensland doctor, again speaks out on behalf of children being harmed by “healthy
eating” campaigns and today's childhood obesity interventions. (Junkfood Science) Remember your long lost
aunt? - The mere suspicion that you might have one of the genes associated with a health risk factor now makes
you a target for screening and government monitoring. The socialist
determinants of health - The WHO last week released its long-awaited report on the "Social Determinants
of Health" - that is, the social and economic factors behind disease. By defection, not election: Canada's
Greens Gain First Seat in Parliament - VANCOUVER, British Columbia - A member of Canada's Parliament joined
the Green Party on Saturday in a move that could boost the fledgling party's bid to participate in televised
debates in the expected fall election. (Reuters) Environment: Keep It Real
- There is increasing concern among politicians and NGOs about the effects of Africa's economic growth on people's
health. As anyone who has breathed the not-so-fresh air of Lagos or Nairobi can attest, the soot, pollution and
traffic fumes of a growing city do indeed sit heavily on the lungs. Kingsnorth protest:
Activists to use climate change as defence for £30,000 tower damage - Greenpeace climate change activists who
scaled one of Britain's tallest power station chimneys, causing £30,000 damage, were accused in court yesterday
of crossing the line of acceptable protest. (The Guardian) |