Daily Archives: May 25, 2011

Efforts to reign in the Dept of Misanthropy (a.k.a. US EPA)

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Republicans eye summer vote on bill to expand scrutiny of EPA rules
By Ben Geman – 05/24/11 04:15 PM ET

The House will likely take up bipartisan legislation in the coming months that would mandate a new multi-agency review of how various Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules will affect the economy, employment and energy prices.

A panel of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee cleared the bill Tuesday, and a spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Republicans hope to bring it to the floor this summer. (E2 Wire)

Republicans float bill aimed at limiting enviro lawsuits
By Andrew Restuccia – 05/25/11 03:07 PM ET

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) floated legislation Wednesday aimed at limiting the number of lawsuits brought by environmental groups over the federal government’s land management decisions.

The bill would limit the scope of the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) — which reimburses individuals and groups for the cost of suing the federal government if they win the suit — in an attempt to exclude environmental groups and other interest groups from receiving relief under the law. (E2 Wire)

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Posted in EPA, Misanthropy

Steven Goddard: succinct; apposite

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Violent Tornadoes Declining – Landfalling Hurricanes Declining

Climate fraudsters claim that severe weather has increased with increasing CO2. In fact, there is strong evidence indicating otherwise.

Severe Drought Has Declined With Increasing CO2

Severe drought peaked in the 1930s, with as much as 80% of the country experiencing moderate to extreme drought. Currently, the percentage of the US experiencing drought is about 1/3 of that.

Hiding The Decline

The 1930s had the most extreme heat in the US, by far. Obviously it is has nothing to do with CO2

Burning Both Ends Of The Candle

For the past few months, most of the cold air in the Arctic has been centered over Greenland. This means that it is not over Siberia. Sometimes it is the other way around. This is the normal condition for the Arctic – the cold tends to pool on one side or the other.

Either way, alarmists have devised a mechanism to keep the madness alive. When Greenland is warmer, they warn of meltdown and sea level rise drowning the planet. When Siberia is warmer, they warn of massive bubbles of methane that will consume the planet.

Antarctica has almost completely dropped off the AGW radar. Greenland is turning into an AGW train wreck. Look for the attention to turn back to Siberia. (Steven Goddard, Real Science)

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Posted in Climate

Ultimately taxpayers and consumers are paying for this nonsense

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

While it is lovely that they kept a patch of trees toasty-warm – and noticed that warmth was certainly good for the trees, all else being equal – what was the point? 9°F (5°C)? No one who knows anything about climate and/or the contemporary physical world expects any such increment in mean temperature, that’s strictly the realm of PlayStation® Climatology and other fantasies.

Global Warming May Affect the Capacity of Trees to Store Carbon, MBL Study Finds

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Posted in Climate change, PlayStation® climatology

Uh-oh… further admissions CO2 isn’t the powerful driver of climate the IPCC likes to claim it to be

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

New Paper “Econometrics And The Science Of Climate Change” By Tim Curtin

Tim Curtin has shared with us a new paper that has been accepted. It is

Econometrics and the Science of Climate Change

This has been accepted by the Economic Society of Australia for its annual conference, which this year will be in Canberra (ANU) from 11th to 14th July.

The paper includes the text

“This chapter has produced statistical and econometric analysis showing that the mainstream science of climate change has been too focussed on a single supposed causative agent, carbon dioxide emissions (about 30 GtCO2 p.a), to the serious neglect of the much larger volumes of anthropogenic water vapour produced by the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels, both by direct creation of water vapour in the combustion process (18 GtH2O p.a.), and by the much larger volume of steam created by the power generation process (300 GtH2O). It is true that individual injections of water vapour to the atmosphere have a short residence time there before descending as precipitation (Kelly, 2010), but increases in the average level of [H2O] over a year remain significant.’

“The implications of full accounting for the radiative forcing attributable to anthropogenic water vapour are confounding. On the one hand, it is conceivable that it has been unwittingly included in the radiative forcing ascribed to rising [CO2e], while on the other it may be an addition to that forcing, which would mean that temperature projections are being understated. Alternatively, it may be that the forcing ascribed to positive feedbacks from rising evaporation due to the observed annual global temperature increase of 0.007C p.a., which raises the IPCC‟s projected temperature increase from a doubling of [CO2e] to 3C from the 1C due to [CO2e] alone, despite lack of evidence for this effect, should be reassigned to anthropogenic water vapour.”

(Roger Pielke Sr.)

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Posted in Climate change, IPCC, PlayStation® climatology

Chip Knappenberger on NAS’s recycled weather superstition

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

NAS Panel Backs Manufactured Crisis to Tame Climate Change
by Chip Knappenberger

House Energy and Commerce Committee members Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) have requested a climate-science hearing in light of a just-released report from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). This report, “America’s Climate Choices,” however, presents no new science.

Instead, as climate scientist Chip Knappenberger explains below, the NAS document lays out a strategy formanufacturing a crisis by exaggerating the climate threatand artificially raising fossil-fuel prices in an effort to compel American’s to emit less greenhouse gases.

Congress has heard all of this before and has been unmoved to pass legislation which will raise the price of living and doing business in America by taxing our primary energies–Editor.

Plentiful and inexpensive fossil fuels are the preferred energy source, whether it be to run your car, heat your home, or generate electricity. Oil, gas, and coal are relatively safe, readily portable, fairly efficient, and relatively energy dense. While fossil fuels perhaps are not the perfect energy source, they do go a long way towards meeting our current needs, and the infrastructure (and know how) is in place to allow for rapid expansion into the future. So, all in all, fossil fuels are pretty darn good now–and as far as the eye can see. (MasterResource)

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Posted in Climate change, Propaganda

Some forecasting is better than others

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Forecasting

May 25, 2011

I’m grateful to a correspondent for this powerpoint. Click images for full size.

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Posted in Climate change, PlayStation® climatology

From the global warming wind[bag] capital of the world

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Growing Again: Norway’s CO2 Emissions Recover From Recession
Wednesday, 25 May 2011 22:53 Associated Press

Norway’s ambitious climate goals suffered a setback with official statistics showing greenhouse gas emissions rose nearly 5 percent in 2010, reversing a downward trend in the previous two years.

Statistics Norway on Wednesday said emissions reached 53.7 million tons last year, boosted by higher economic activity as the Nordic country recovered from the financial crisis.

Norway’s emissions are now 8 percent higher than in 1990. The country has pledged to reduce emissions by at least 30 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 — the most ambitious target by a developed country.

Norway aims to achieve two-thirds of the reduction through domestic cuts and the rest through credits for green investments in developing nations. (GWPF)

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Posted in Climate change, Crazy carbon schemes

Tornados and the PDO

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

The Tornado – Pacific Decadal Oscillation Connection
May 25th, 2011 by Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.

This is a continuation of the theme of my last 2 blog posts, dealing with the fact that a greater number of strong to violent tornadoes occur in unusually COOL years, not warm years. As a quick review, the following plot clearly shows this: (Roy Spencer)

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Posted in Climate

I was going to call this an energy round up but it’s more anti-energy, obstructionism, fear-mongering and failed wishful thinking

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Playing The Fuel

Change: The president has ordered the federal vehicle fleet to be made up entirely of alternative-fuel autos by 2015. The high cost of this policy will be far out of proportion to any positive environmental impact. (Investors.com)

Next Generation Fuel Economy Sticker – To Boldly Label What No Agency Has Labeled Before
by MARLO LEWIS on MAY 25, 2011

Today, the U.S. EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proudly unveil their new, improved, long-awaited, supah-dupah, “next generation” fuel economy sticker. All model year 2013 vehicles will have to display the redesigned stickers. (Cooler Heads)

White House climate aide says Obama’s ‘clean energy standard’ is alive
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Posted in Crazy carbon schemes, Energy, Enviros, Transport

From the “believe it when we see it” files

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

U.N. climate panel sets one-week deadline to fix errors

The U.N. committee of climate scientists will fix any future errors “within a week or so,” its head said on Wednesday, after coming under fire last year for bungling a forecast of when Himalayan glaciers would thaw.

“I think we now have a firm procedure by which we are going to deal with errors, or alleged errors,” Rajendra Pachauri told Reuters during a visit to Oslo, referring to a set of reforms agreed at a meeting in Abu Dhabi on May 17. (Reuters)

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Posted in IPCC

The ongoing saga of UVa and the Mann e-mails

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

University of Virginia ordered to disclose Michael Mann’s emails Source: Washington Examiner By: Norman Leahy Could the long-running fight over former UVA professor Michael Mann’s emails be edging toward resolution? Perhaps. Yesterday, a Prince William county judge ordered the University to comply with a FOIA request from Del. Bob Marshall and the American Tradition Institute. According to the organization’s press release, getting the state-funded school to comply with the FOIA law was a test of both patience and will: (SPPI)

UVA to supply Mann emails/documents but you can’t look (yet)Posted on May 24, 2011 by Anthony Watts Updated: 8:30PM PST, statement from ATI received via email, see below. – Anthony BREAKING:

Steve McIntyre sends word that University of Virgina has been ordered to produce the Mann emails and documents sought by the lawsuit from the America Tradition Institute (ATI). Only one little hitch. Get a load of this excerpt from the court consent order:

“All Exempt Information contained or discussed in any pleading, motion, exhibit, or other paper filed with the Court shall be filed under seal.” (WUWT)

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Posted in Climategate

Luboš Motl on Micronesia’s attempted “global warming” extortion

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Micronesia escalates sea level lawsuits against a faraway power plant

As I wrote in December 2009, January 2010, and March 2010, the chieftains of Micronesia decided to start lawsuits against the Czech coal power plant in Prunéřov because, according to the wildest predictions, this facility may contribute up to whopping 42 micrometers to the sea level rise in the next 50 years. Eco Tretas summarized some graphs indicating that the sea level in the region isn’t measurably changing at all.

The executive board of the Micronesian Academy of Sciences

This insanity, predicted in “The State of Fear” by Michael Crichton, was started by my childhood friend Mr Jan Rovenský who suffered from a severe brain damage a few years later and who became a top Czech Greenpeace apparatchik. His organization has sent letters to all top politicians in island countries of the world, attempting to undermine the Czech industry. They expected to receive no answers. However, Micronesia did say Yes and things began to get out of control.

Well, it’s also possible that Mr Jan Rovenský has simply read the “The State of Fear” and he said “Why not”, so Crichton’s contribution wasn’t just a prophesy – it was an actual guide for the terrorists. ;-)

» Don’t Stop Reading » (The Reference Frame)

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Posted in Climate change, Green scams, Rubber room

Mandated risk or security?

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

I haven’t got a dog in this hunt but I do have an opinion. Nothing I’ve seen suggests any health risk for travelers from backscatter scanners. People don’t worry about another couple of minutes flying time so why would they worry about these scans? No noticeable negative there. On the other hand these scanners make it more difficult for terrorists and limit their avenues for harming air travelers (and those who may be the inadvertent targets of weaponized air transport). I’d call that a definite plus. I believe deploying all available tools to do the job to be quite appropriate. IBD appear to be off target here:

How The Radiation Lobby Puts Air Travelers At Risk

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Posted in Radiation, Transport

You’ll pay to “upgrade” grid so others can dictate when you use power – and how much

Posted on May 25, 2011 | 2 Comments

U.S. smart grid to cost billions, save trillions

A planned modernization of the U.S. national power grid will cost up to $476 billion over the next 20 years but will provide up to $2 trillion in customer benefits over that time, according to industry experts.

The so-called “smart grid” will save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability by delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers using two-way communication that can control appliances, the charging of electric vehicles and the flow of power from renewable sources at customers’ homes.

“The implementation of the smart grid is a continuous process. As new technology is developed and becomes cost effective, it is being used to find the most effective way to meet supply and demand,” Matt Wakefield, smart grid program manager at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) said in a conference call on Tuesday.

To make the power system of the future a reality, EPRI, a non-profit electric research and development company, said power companies need to invest between $17 and $24 billion a year over the next two decades. Much of those costs will be passed onto consumers. (Reuters)

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Posted in Energy

Why the loons don’t like abundant natural gas supplies

Posted on May 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Cheap Gas Threatens Expensive Wind Farms
Tuesday, 24 May 2011 12:54 Ed Crooks, Financial Times

Construction of new wind farms in the US is set to decline next year because of competition from cheap natural gas for power generation, the country’s largest developer of new wind power projects has said.

Ignacio Galán, chief executive of the Spanish energy group Iberdrola, said the rise in US shale gas production had transformed the country’s energy industry, driving down gas and electricity prices. “Shale gas makes the production of electricity from other sources not attractive enough,” he said. (GWPF)

Natural Gas a Natural Winner? Let the (Transportation) Market Decide!
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Posted in Energy, Fracking, Wind