Midweek Unthreaded

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170 comments to Midweek Unthreaded

  • #

    It’s cold and wet. I want global warming!

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    • #
      Bill in Oz

      Nahhhhhh
      You can’t have her !
      We want her more here in South Australia
      It’s cold, wet windy and generally bloody miserable here.
      And Ms Global Warming is urgently needed to sort the emergency !!!

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    • #
      el gordo

      Its a cold air outbreak.

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      • #
        Bill in Oz

        Ms Global warming
        And her papa Gorbull Warming
        Are sunning themselves
        On Holiday
        In Bali
        They are boycotting us all
        To make us all more appreciative
        of their glorious ‘Warming’ selves !

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    • #
      Yonniestone

      Well I was just in the middle of posting how nice the weather is here in Perth (Winter? pfft) and Mrs Yonnie came back from the shops in tears as a poor soul just met their end on the road From 20 floors up right in front of her.

      Road is blocked off and authorities attending, very sad and upsetting for everyone, RIP.

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    • #
      Lionell Griffith

      All you have to do is wait six months. I wanted some global warming last January and had to wait six months for it. Your global warming is called Summer just as it is here. Except that it is six months out of phase with our Summer.

      I live near Chicago in the USA. It was 96F here yesterday. It was called “the hottest day this year.” The record was set July 10, 1936 at 102F. Given those two data points, along with some high quality green blob cherry picking, it looks like global cooling is at work. Given the use of reason and historical experience (I have 80+ years of it), it is expected to be hot in July in Midwestern USA. To be cool is the surprise.

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      • #
        Roger

        Groundfrosts in Germany, Belgium etc the other day …… no mention of this in the MMS after daily headlines about the hot wind from North Africa bringing ‘record’ (NOT) high temperatures to Europe ………

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    • #
      Sceptical Sam

      Now bemused, about that global warming….

      It’s reported at RT that scientists have apparently been left ‘speechless’ by a young Arctic fox’s amazing journey from Norway to Canada.

      They’re probably “speechless” because they’ve decided not to talk about it, in case their irrational alarmist Arctic-ice-is-a-thing-of-the-past colleagues get offended.

      Despite its age, this resolute Arctic fox has made headlines, broken records and baffled scientists who tracked its blistering 2,176-mile trek from Norway’s Svalbard island to Canada in a mere 76 days.

      And no, it didn’t swim or catch an icebreaker. It fox-trotted.

      The green snowflakes are melting as they desperately try to find a way to keep this story under wraps.

      https://www.rt.com/news/463211-arctic-fox-intercontinental-journey/

      Wieslaw Maslowski and what’s his name Wadhams have been out-foxed once again by the real world.

      Ain’t Gaia great?

      60

      • #
        Bill in Oz

        Sam hat article ends with this sentence ” Scientists are worried that even the trip to Canada might soon no longer be a possibility, as shrinking polar ice caps threaten to isolate Svalbard altogether.”
        Bah !
        The arctic has been ‘melting away” for decades according to the Gore Bull warmists. But this little fox did not read he news. And discovered it was fake news.

        70

    • #
      Ted O'Brien.

      Hasn’t yet made it the last 50 miles to us.

      10

  • #
    Peter C

    Is Methane a potent Greenhouse Gas?

    On a recent post there was a limited discussion about the claim that Methane is 32 times more potent than CO2 as a Greenhouse gas.
    http://joannenova.com.au/2019/07/methane-emissions-dont-blame-cows-and-camels-blame-the-oceans/#comment-2158654

    I asked the Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub ( a self confessed propaganda unit at Monash University) if they could explain this claim which I regard a wild untruth.
    https://www.monash.edu/mcccrh

    So far I have not received a reply. I suppose I should not be surprised.

    130

    • #
      Graeme#4

      May well be, but there is 228 times more CO2 up there than Methane (410 ppm compared to 1.8 ppm), so surely that would more than negate any increased potency.

      120

      • #
        TedM

        Methane has a reALLY SHORT HALF LIFE IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

        80

        • #
          StephenP

          I did a rough calculation based on figures of 110 kg methane emitted per dairy cow per year and a life of 12 years for methane in the atmosphere.
          The methane level in the atmosphere builds up to a peak of c 715 kg of methane per cow and then remains constant.
          Beef cattle produce about half that quantity per head.
          I feel that methane is a being used as a whipping boy for those who wish to eliminate livestock farming.
          They will certainly have a problem in India where the cow is worshiped as a sacred animal.

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          • #
            Ted O'Brien.

            110 kg/year for a dairy cow?

            Dairy cows are indeed a fairly standardised item consuming a fairly standardised diet. So it may be possible to make a reasonable prediction of their methane output.

            But you cant just extrapolate that figure across the cattle population. Methane output varies hugely according to the animal’s diet. And the people who make these claims cannot be relied on to tell the full story.

            How much greenhouse gas would be produced if the fodder consumed by a cow was left to decompose naturally?

            How much is the methane production by a cow different from that produced by a kangaroo?

            How much has this so called GHG output changed over the last 50 years?

            This “atmospheric carbon” is recycled over and over again. And the warmists want to tax it on the same basis as fossil carbon, allowing no credits for the sequestration side of agriculture’s carbon cycle.

            For me this was the greatest confirming factor of all, that AGW alarmism was and is a monstrous scam! A scam designed to destroy capitalism so that it can be replaced with the economic system that the USSR spent a lifetime trying to make it work before discarding it thirty years ago.

            Venezuela is their blueprint!

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            • #
              StephenP

              Ted, you didn’t get the points:
              1. that the methane level has ALREADY plateaued out where cattle numbers are static
              2. beef and growing cattle produce less methane per head

              10

        • #
          sophocles

          According to a NASA video I watched early last year (there’s no sign of it, now. I wonder why?) all the methane was rushing up to mesosphere to form Noctilucent clouds. It was being oxidised to CO2 nad H2O as it passed through the Stratophere by all the ozone.

          The poor Ph.D, who presented the video must have been set up.

          Water way up there is easy to account for: it’s how the planet built its oceans. There are all these hundreds. thousands, etc micro-comets or small slush balls, of all sizes up to the size of houses, falling into the atmosphere and vaporising on the way down. All the time.

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      • #
        StephenP

        Can Greta see methane as well as CO2?

        60

    • #
      theRealUniverse

      Titan has methane equivalent to O2 on earth. It acts like water, rains methane and ethane. Quote NASA planetary scientist ‘it would smell like a gas station’. If Methane causes ‘heat trapping’ then it would show up there. There is none, temps are at about -180C as per the Huygens Titan probe data.

      130

    • #
      gnome

      Why would anyone care? Are you planning on releasing lots of methane to take some of the sting out of winter? (Blessed relief?)

      Do it with CO2 if you believe in it.

      40

      • #
        Peter C

        It is part of the Green Agenda against eating meat.

        They want to eliminate animal farming. Demonising CH4 is their weapon.

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        • #
          Ted O'Brien.

          It’s the small business capitalists that own the animals that they are gunning for. They don’t give the proverbial for the animals.

          10

    • #

      “Down the memory whole with it!”
      – Monash Propaganda Unit Policy.

      60

  • #
    Stan

    “Australians don’t know what snow is”:
    https://www.perisher.com.au/reports-cams/cams#Xhappy

    130

  • #
    joseph

    Tried posting . . . didn’t happen.

    40

    • #
      joseph

      Third time lucky . . . and this, the fifth . . . On the first, second, and fourth attempts I tried posting a link that I guess doesn’t allow the post get through the rigamarole. I’ve posted links successfully from the same site previously so I’m curious as to what is happening. Hmmmmmm

      30

      • #
        Bobl

        Look at the word strings in the URL, if any substance are on the banned word list like say Fr4ud. Then you will trigger the moderation filter.

        10

  • #
    Dennis

    Another day, another barrow load of timber taken from woodpile to wood heater to deal with global warming,

    130

    • #
      Bill in Oz

      Dennis, you are not dealing with Ms global warming.
      Nooooo !
      I suspect you are being bone chilled around by her cousin
      Ms ‘Global Colding’
      Who has a nastier temperament.
      Keep the wood supply dry and handy !
      Good luck !

      60

      • #
        Bill in Oz

        What only 2 green thumbs ?
        is that all the applause I get for trying to crack a joke here,
        At the expense of our Greenist dimwits !

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    • #
      Another Ian

      But think with all that exercise and the wood burning you “done good” in the CO2 department

      60

  • #
    pat

    ***this is analysis, BBC?

    10 Jul: BBC: Climate change: UK government ‘like Dad’s Army’
    By Roger Harrabin, BBC environment ***analyst
    (LINK) London climate change protests

    The UK has been dealt a “brutal reality check” on its climate change ambitions, environmentalists have said…
    Committee on Climate Change chair John Gummer likened them to the hapless characters in 1970s comedy Dad’s Army…
    Its report says new policies must be found to help people lead good lives without fuelling global warming.
    Policies are needed to ensure that people living in care homes, hospitals and flats can stay cool in increasingly hot summers.
    And ministers must show how funds will be found to protect critical infrastructure – like ports – from rising sea levels…

    Doug Parr from Greenpeace UK said: “This is a truly brutal reality check on the government’s current progress in tackling the climate emergency.
    “It paints the government as a sleeper who’s woken up, seen the house is on fire, raised the alarm and gone straight back to sleep”…
    There’s palpable annoyance from the committee that their recommendations are often ignored…

    Committee chairman Lord Deben, the former agriculture minister John Gummer, said: “The whole thing is really run by the government like a Dad’s Army. We can’t go on with this ramshackle system.”…

    Friends of the Earth’s Mike Childs said…
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48929632

    33

    • #
      Bill in Oz

      Hot smelly vocal farting from the usual suspects Pat

      60

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      Well, if he and his Committee are so distressed the obvious answer is to disband it. They can have a retirement untroubled by having to generate alarming reports every few weeks. It is true that some of them, esp. the Chairman might have a sudden drop in income but I am sure they will switch to more frugal lives, no more flights to Climate conferences in exotic locations, no more flights to tropical islands when the weather turns cold, they might even resort to turning the heat off in their fourth house. I am sure they will burst into song as they gladly make PERSONAL sacrifices for the cause.

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    • #
      theRealUniverse

      “It paints the government as a sleeper realist who’s woken up, seen the house is on fire it is a scam, raised the alarm and gone straight back to sleep”

      40

  • #
    pat

    endless nonsense…truly pathetic:

    11 Jul: ABC/RMIT Fact Check: Are there really 54,000 people employed in thermal coal mining?
    Principal researcher: Lucinda Beaman, Sydney Editor
    Verdict: Doesn’t check out
    In an interview on RN Breakfast, host Fran Kelly asked National Party Deputy Leader Bridget McKenzie about the outlook for the development of the Galilee Basin, in light of mining companies such as BHP signalling moves away from investment in thermal coal…
    Senator McKenzie said she hoped to see the Galilee Basin opened up, with communities throughout Central Queensland having been “resounding in standing up for their local jobs, their local industries”.
    “And that includes thermal coal exports. We know there are 54,000 people employed in that industry…” Senator McKenzie said…

    A spokesman for Senator McKenzie told Fact Check the minister’s source was Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Force Survey data for the quarter to February 2019. The figure of 54,000 used by the minister was based on an average of the last 12 months, the spokesman said.
    This publication shows the number of people employed in coal mining overall, including thermal coal and other types of coal.
    “Even though the discussion mentions thermal coal, the employment and value figures the minister refers to are for both thermal and met coal,” the spokesman said…

    PIC: night sky, chimneys, “smoke

    In terms of employment prospects in new coal mines, Frank Jotzo, director of the Centre for Climate and Energy Policy at the Australian National University Crawford School of Public Policy, said “newer mines tend to be much more highly automated than older mines”.
    “Mines naturally close down at some stage to be replaced by new mines, and those newer mines will employ fewer people. We’re looking at an inevitable reduction of coal mining jobs, even if the industry maintains the same production levels.”
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-11/fact-check-are-there-54000-jobs-in-thermal-coal-mining/11198150

    ABC Brisbane’s Breakfast with Craig Zonca and Loretta Ryan were pushing a similar story this morning. news bulletins included the mining industry crisis talks, plans for safety training. they made it a topic for callers. two phoned in. first, John, was asked by Loretta: Are you scared at work? “nervous” ventured John; Loretta asked about what or something. in case a wall collapsed, said John.

    second was Troy (sounded like a Union guy). lots of people moving away from the industry, including him. Troy thinks mining is a TRANSITIONAL industry; money is not as good as it is made out to be.

    then talked to CFMMEU’s Stephen Smyth, who said safety training was a good start.

    based on the 2 calls from “listeners”, ABC’s Craig went on to claim companies are giving lip service to safety;
    Loretta said, judging from what their (ONE) listeners said, workers were leaving the sector!
    Craig made a point of saying the mining companies were multi-nationals.

    inbetween, the program featured/promoted this morning’s XR roadblock, with ABC Lachlan Mackintosh, Journalist & Breakfast Producer for @abcbrisbane, hanging out in a park with 30 XR-ers, letting listeners know he’d looked up XR’s website, where he found instructions on how to cause maximum effect with roadblocks (sounded like he was directing traffic to XR). Lachlan said the protesters were fed up with govt inaction on climate change.

    no need to listen, but the 2 calls, plus CFMMEU, begin from around 1hr32min.

    11 Jul: ABC Brisbane: Breakfast
    Presenters: Craig Zonca and Loretta Ryan
    https://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/breakfast/breakfast/11280332

    40

  • #
    el gordo

    Global warming related model invalidated, scientists acknowledge they need better models.

    http://www.co2science.org/articles/V22/jul/a1.php

    Also note they don’t talk about a fall in sea level as the cause of bleaching, its all about the waters getting warmer.

    80

    • #
      tom0mason

      And also el gordo there’s this …

      Clouds utterly destroy climate models …

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THg6vGGRpvA

      Best laughs… hand held calculators match super-computer models… 12:28, climate model uncertainty (error bars)… 24:25

      “Cloud error is 114 times larger than the variable they are trying to detect”

      From a comment by ‘Gator’ at https://realclimatescience.com/2019/07/climate-scam-collapse-continues/#comment-234479

      Basically the climate models are so inaccurate that they can ‘project’ a single year with any reliability/accuracy.

      40

      • #
        tom0mason

        Ooops (again)

        Wrong …
        Basically the climate models are so inaccurate that they can ‘project’ a single year with any reliability/accuracy.

        Replace …
        Basically the climate models are so inaccurate that they can not ‘project’ a single year with any reliability/accuracy.

        50

  • #
    Hanrahan

    Don’t hit potholes in your Tesla S. This chap did and had a repair of $2,668.00′

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6sPc9dFsGw

    While waiting an hour and a half for roadside assist no other car that hit the pothole suffered damage.

    30

    • #
      Hanrahan

      My error, it was a Model 3.

      20

    • #
      Bill in Oz

      US$2668.00to replace two wheels and tyres
      On A Tesla electric !
      Oooooch !
      i wonder what repairs for real damage costs

      50

      • #
        Another Ian

        Bill,

        That might actually be a bargain.

        I saw recently that the 22 inch wheel of a Ford ?something? sedan” was $US 2000-ish for the wheel alone.

        Wheel and tyre on a Falcon XR a couple of years ago was about $A1000 – that one was wiped out on the first dirt road on the delivery trip.

        30

        • #
          Chad

          Lots of reports of owners being nailed $5+k for replacement wheel/tyre on regular cars ( BMW/Merc etc.
          God forbid you should kerb your Ferrari or Bently !

          Personally, i avoid buying any car with low profile tyres and large dia wheels (18”+) .
          Totally unnecessary, harsh ride, and double the price to replace.

          30

          • #
            Bill in Oz

            I shall not be trading in my 10 year old Commodore Omega any time soon !
            For an upmarket imported sedan !

            20

            • #
              Chad

              Ditto !.. but a 12 yr old Mitsi’ 380.
              $300 for a fullset of tyres fitted, balanced, alligned.
              I think the rears (FWD) have probably done 100k before changed !

              20

          • #
            Ted O'Brien.

            Ultra low profile tyres are real bad on a rough road. My brother one night broke two wheels on the end of the bitumen in a Honda Civic, only moderately low profile (55?) But he was able to drive 40km home on the flats on bitumen. Slow trip I imagine.

            20

      • #
        Hanrahan

        Tesla S tyres are abt US$400 a corner. Imagine how long they wouldn’t last if you enjoyed “spirited” driving in such a heavy car.

        30

    • #
      yarpos

      Just completed 2000km up the East Coast, didnt see one EV. Did see a Prius in Coffs Harbour though. That was exciting.

      The little Subaru was getting 5.9ltr per 100km or about 1000km per tank.

      70

      • #
        Ted O'Brien.

        Lately have been driving a Toyota CH-R. An interesting vehicle, 100 kg heavier than a Corolla, 1.2 litre turbo, some sort of auto transmission, big wheels, good suspension rides bumps well, lots of ground clearance, very nice to drive. When I drive on mostly cruise control plus radar it does 45mpg on expensive petrol’ The Corolla might do that on the same petrol. Haven’t tried it. Bit claustrophobic in the back. Cruises at 100 km/h at about 1600 rpm, and for my driving never gets over 3,000 rpm except when cruise control employs engine braking, when it gets up to almost 4,000 rpm. I would use the brakes if it wen tover that, which kills cruise control anyway.
        The VW Caravelle also cruises at about 1600 rpm. Another small engine turbocharged, 2 litre diesel, some sort of 7 speed transmission. All this for a bloke who used to do his own mechanical repairs. I don’t even know how they work!.
        I once took a Prius for a test drive. It was a beautiful car, and it would be even more interesting to drive.

        10

  • #
    el gordo

    David Whitehouse discusses the Antarctic sea ice expansion of 2016, it remains a mystery to be solved.

    https://www.thegwpf.com/antarctic-ice-surprise/

    40

  • #
    Another Ian

    In a recent Weekend Australian magazine Phillip Adams had an item on the great potential for getting water by harvesting humidity.

    Now some plants get by doing this (e.g. Prosopis tamarugo in the Atacama Desert).

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopis_tamarugo

    But on an industrial scale this might put a crimp in the planetary climate water cycle?

    Open for discussion

    30

    • #
      Graeme#4

      Rabbits survive on the Nullarbor by eating the bluebush and saltbush at night, obtaining sufficient moisture.

      40

    • #
      yarpos

      Isnt that what airconditioners do?

      30

    • #
      Sceptical Sam

      Phillip Adams reads too much Grisham.

      But he is truly an amazing polymath. He’s perfected a system of extracting maximum publicity from the trendiest subject. He learnt this skill from farming in the Hunter valley in New South Whales where the greenies congregate during the breeding season. By studying S. gracilipes he found that by standing on a small podium on his fat little legs and facing the audience, with his body angled at 45°, he could catch his own saliva, spittle and nasal droplets on his white well trimmed facial hair.

      He also discovered that if he faced upwind of his own bluster, opened his orifices and spread his tongue against a damp breeze, minute water droplets (15-20 µm in diameter) emanating from the fog excreted from from his own mouth would gather on the microphone; there the droplets would stick to the hydrophilic (water-loving) bumps on the eternal surface of the mic, which is generally surrounded by waxy, hydrophobic troughs feeders of a green colouration. These droplets flattened as they made contact with the hydrophilic surfaces of the mic, preventing them from being blown away by the greatness of his utterances and provided a surface for other droplets to attach. He found that accumulation continued until the combined droplet weight overcame the water’s electrostatic attraction and the rational forces opposing the windbag; at 120 words/minute, each droplet would stick to the microphone until it grew to roughly 5 mm in diameter; at that point it rolled down the mic-stand and cause an electric short in the accompanying electrical system. This, in turn, fried the brain cavity and precipitated a case of perpetual Hydrocephalus.

      Phillip Adams has never studied science in his life and wouldn’t know the difference between a proton and a moron.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenocara_gracilipes

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      • #
        Bill in Oz

        As it happens I listened to him being interviewed for his 80th birthday last night.
        He did study Marxism & communism from te age of 15.
        And only abandoned the Communist party in 1968 when the Soviets over run Czechoslovakia
        For daring to have a Prague Spring.
        I wonder what he thought of the Russian occupation of Hungary in 1956 ?
        Seems it was not an issue for him

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    • #
      Ted O'Brien.

      When I was a young bloke at a seminar another young bloke with a university degree told us some impossible figures for moisture and crops, with transpiration far exceeding rainfall, which his professors apparently hadn’t told him was impossible.

      There had to be an explanation which they apparently hadn’t researched. I thought the biggest unexamined factor would have to be that crops recovered a lot of moisture from overnight humidity.

      10

  • #
    el gordo

    The practice of Flagellant became popular after a volcanic eruption in 1258.

    https://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/051018_1800_theeffectof7.png

    Atonement for sins committed, which caused massive crop failures. These simple minded Europeans had no idea that the Little Ice Age had just begun.

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    • #
      Another Ian

      One a thread in the last couple of days (which I can’t find atm) was the wonder if the practice of sacrificing virgins actually lead to an increase in promiscuity?

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    • #
      Ted O'Brien.

      In the Oz today somebody noticed that the Italian word for “left” is sinistra.

      As I recall, Laitn for Left is sinister, and for right dexter.

      The modern connotation for sinister came from the superstition that left handed people, who were a minority, were under the influence of The Devil.

      30

  • #
    el gordo

    Red team shelved.

    ‘The proposed White House panel that would conduct an “adversarial” review of climate science is dead for now, as President Donald Trump grapples with negative perceptions of his environmental record at the outset of his reelection campaign.’

    The Climate Wars

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    • #
      pat

      10 Jul: ClimateDepot: Marc Morano: Trump admin’s skeptical presidential climate committee is ‘dead’ – Skeptic Morano responds: ‘A dark day for science as Trump disappoints skeptics’
      White House won’t review climate science before election
      By Scott Waldman, E&E News reporter
      An official at NSC disputed the characterization that the panel was dead, even while confirming that it had been indefinitely delayed…
      Climate Depot’s Marc Morano statement…READ ON
      https://www.climatedepot.com/2019/07/10/trump-admins-skeptical-presidential-climate-committee-is-dead-skeptic-morano-responds-a-dark-day-for-science-as-trump-disappoints-skeptics/

      10 Jul: The Hill: Government analyst resigns over blocked climate change testimony: reports
      By Rebecca Klar
      A State Department analyst has resigned after White House officials blocked his written testimony to a congressional panel citing evidence that climate change poses a national security threat, according to Wednesday reports.
      The analyst, Rod Schoonover, resigned in protest and Friday will be his last day, according to State Department officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal…

      In June, The Washington Post reported White House officials blocked portions of Schoonover’s prepared statement to a House Intelligence Committee that mentioned human-caused climate change could be “possibly catastrophic.”…
      Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is inviting Schoonover to return to the committee, “to shed light on alleged efforts to censor his written testimony,” according to a statement shared with the Journal…

      In his 12-page prepared testimony, reviewed by The Washington Post, Schoonover detailed how rising greenhouse gas emissions raise global temperatures and acidify oceans…
      https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/452459-government-analyst-resigns-over-blocked-climate-change-testimony?amp

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      • #
        pat

        the power of the CAGW mob:

        10 Jul: Washington Examiner: Trump mothballs climate skeptic panel
        by Josh Siegel
        Happer is a physicist, rather than a climate scientist, who gained notoriety by once declaring that the “demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler.”
        “It’s clear that there is considerable opposition to this kangaroo climate panel idea from within the White House, across the Administration and in Congress, including the Defense Department, the intelligence community and the science agencies, and that it’s now dead on the vine,” Frank Fernia, co-founder of the Center for Climate and Security, which opposed the plan, told the Washington Examiner…

        Judith Curry, a scientist who was considering participating in the panel, said it appeared the Trump administration was not pursuing a good-faith effort to scrutinize climate science.
        “A serious examination of the National Climate Assessment and its implications for national security would be a very good idea,” Curry, former head of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech, told the Washington Examiner. “I’m not at all sure that this is what the White House had in mind. Personally, I’m not interested in participating in a politicized assessment.”

        Myron Ebell, a senior fellow at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, said while President Trump has been receptive to the idea, some of his advisers have warned him the project could damage his reelection campaign by turning off swing voters who worry about his handling of environmental issues.
        Trump delivered a speech Monday defending his environmental record, despite never mentioning climate change…

        “What I have been told is that Happer’s climate review has been put on hold indefinitely, which I interpret to mean that it’s dead,” Ebell, who formerly led Trump’s EPA transition team, told the Washington Examiner. “Opponents of the Happer effort were successful in delaying its launch to urge that the White House needed to shore up support with certain types of voters concerned about environmental issues and that they could do this by dropping controversial initiatives (like critically reviewing climate science) and instead talking up the administration’s environmental accomplishments.”

        “I would encourage the president to look long and hard on the science, admit the science is real, and come up with solutions that do not destroy the economy like the Green New Deal,” said Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina senator, at a press conference Wednesday where he and other Republicans announced the creation of a new caucus intended to showcase the party’s new innovation-centric approach to reducing emissions. “I am tired of playing defense on the environment. We will win the solution debate, but the only way to win is admit you have a problem.”

        Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, another Republican close to Trump, said the president’s pro-environment speech Monday shows the success of a lobbying effort by lawmakers like himself who want the party to take climate change seriously.
        “You can see the positive impact that Senator Graham, myself and others in the administration have had on the president,” he said at the press conference Wednesday.

        Other Republicans said Trump is right to postpone the climate skeptic panel and begin to talk about environmental issues, but argue his rhetoric alone is insufficient.

        “It’s clear the president and the dministration are nervous about the politics of the environment,” said Carlos Curbelo, a former Republican congressman from Florida who introduced a carbon tax bill last year. “If this is the beginning of a broader shift toward a rational, science-based approach to climate policy, that would be welcome. However, until the president recognizes the urgent need to reduce carbon pollution, swing voters who are concerned about this issue will not take him seriously. “
        https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/trump-mothballs-climate-skeptic-panel

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        • #
          Kinky Keith

          Of, this is about winning an election, not reality.

          Give the People what they want: if they want cake, give them cake, if they want to play pretend, let them do that.
          Just pretend that global warming can be mitigated and get the votes.

          40

          • #
            theRealUniverse

            Unfortunately, Trump will sacrifice anything to stay in.

            21

            • #
              Kinky Keith

              And if he does it too much he might end being just a Clinton Clone.

              20

            • #
              AndyG55

              Doesn’t he realise that “sacrificing” these things means that he WON’T get back in.

              He was elected by people who want this climate malarkey garbage GONE.

              If he doesn’t, they may not turn up to vote next time.

              50

              • #
                pat

                the forces ranged against Trump are legion. time will tell if he gets back in, and does go ahead with the exercise.

                meanwhile, how disappointing to see Judith Curry say:

                “Personally, I’m not interested in participating in a politicized assessment”

                when the entire CAGW project is political.

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              • #
                Peter C

                It is a real shame, that the red team exercise has been shelved for the moment. Somehow the Greenhouse Lies need to be exposed. I thought that the red team/ blue team battle would do that.

                On the other hand let us not forget Trump’s real achievements on the environment; EPA, Energy security, Coal mining etc.

                40

              • #
                el gordo

                Trump is essentially a businessman and knows zip about climate change, yet with Happer at his side he could have exposed the big lie. Instead he has chosen for political reasons to sit on his hands.

                I’m not surprised by Judith’s comment, lukewarmers are pathetic.

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    • #
      Ted O'Brien.

      e.g.@ #13.
      I wouldn’t lose any sleep over that. It wasn’t a safe way to go about the problem. Better to let it hang itself.

      10

  • #
    David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

    G’day,
    I recently revived my old practice of buying “The Land”, a weekly agricultural newspaper which has recently changed ownership. That was in hope that the new people might change their editorial policy away from the previous warmist one.
    Today (Thursday July 11) I was surprised by a good article by John Carter on page 25. He is a long term correspondent for the paper.
    It’s behind a paywall, and I read the hard copy, so I can’t even give you a link.
    ” …Most agreed someone should do something to address the IPCC scientists’ predictions about “global warming”, since modified to “climate change” as the computer models have proved to be hopelessly wrong. … ”
    (All punctuation is from the original. D)
    And there’s more in similar vein.
    I hope this is a harbinger of significant change, and will see if I can do something to encourage it.
    Cheers
    Dave B

    110

  • #
    el gordo

    The big news is the 210,000 year old fossil found in Greece was a homo sapien, obviously the first wave out of Africa.

    https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/10/piece-of-skull-found-in-greece-is-oldest-human-fossil-outside-africa

    Who exactly were they and what was the weather like?

    40

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    pat

    10 Jul: Committee on Climate Change: UK credibility on climate change rests on Government action over next 18 months
    The UK has legislated for net-zero emissions by 2050 – now the UK Government must show it is serious about its legal obligations to tackle and prepare for climate change, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) says today in two new reports on reducing emissions and preparing for climate change impacts (LINK)…

    UK action to curb greenhouse gas emissions is lagging far behind what is needed, even to meet previous, less stringent, emissions targets. Over the past year, the Government has delivered just 1 of 25 critical policies needed to get emissions reductions back on track.
    Meanwhile, action to prepare our homes, businesses and natural environment for a warming world is less ambitious than it was ten years ago. Of 33 key sectors assessed by the Committee, none show good progress when it comes to managing climate change risk…

    There are many co-benefits of taking action to adapt to the impacts of climate change whilst reducing the UK’s emissions to net zero. These include improvements to physical and mental health through increased green infrastructure, resilient homes with excellent indoor environmental quality, less noise thanks to quieter vehicles; more cycling and walking; and healthier diets.
    https://www.theccc.org.uk/2019/07/10/uk-credibility-on-climate-change-rests-on-government-action-over-next-18-months/

    11

  • #
    pat

    UK £2bn power grid auction derailed by Labour party pledge
    Financial Times – 9 Jul 2019
    A £2bn auction for Electricity North West has been derailed by the Labour party’s plan to nationalise UK energy networks if it wins power…
    Electricity North West, which owns infrastructure responsible for distributing electricity in an region that includes Manchester, was put up for sale last year by the JPMorgan Asset Management and Australia’s Colonial First State. Final bids in the auction, run by Citigroup, were due last month but the process has been hit by the political risk surrounding the sector, according to two people familiar with the situation…

    40

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    pat

    10 Jul: Bloomberg: The World Is Spending the Least on Clean Energy in Six Years
    By Gerald Porter Jr.
    Renewable project financing down 14% from first half of 2018
    BNEF sees spending rebounding as China holds power auctions
    Worldwide investments in clean energy projects have hit a six-year low.
    Global spending totaled $117.6 billion in the first half of 2019, down 14% from a year earlier and the least since 2013, according to a report by BloombergNEF. Investments slowed in all three major markets — the U.S., Europe and China — but China’s decline was especially pronounced as the country continued its shift away from subsidies for solar and wind power.
    The slide in spending underscores how much sway China holds in the global market for renewable energy…
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-10/the-world-is-spending-the-least-on-clean-energy-in-six-years

    10 Jul: MIT Technology Review: Global clean-energy spending is plummeting
    Worldwide funding of clean-energy projects fell to its lowest level in six years, in a staggering blow to the battle against climate change.
    The findings: BloombergNEF found that global investments in solar, wind, and other clean energy sources added up to $117.6 billion during the first half of 2019, a 14% decline from the same period last year and the lowest six-month figure since 2013.

    China saw a 39% drop in investments, as the nation eases up on its aggressive solar subsidies to get costs under control. But spending also declined 6% in the US and 4% in Europe, part because of policies that are being phased out and weak demand for additional energy generation in mature markets…

    More bad news: BNEF found that private investments into clean energy companies also declined, ticking down 2% to $4.7 billion, limiting the pipeline of the innovative new companies needed to solve remaining challenges in the climate puzzle.
    Reversing the trend: Preventing the spending dip from solidifying into a sustained trend will almost certainly require more aggressive government policies, both pushing clean energy development and providing incentives to increase private investment
    https://www.technologyreview.com/f/613938/clean-energy-investments-are-plummeting-bloomberg-bnef/

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      pat

      10 Jul: Bloomberg NEF: World Clean Energy Investment Slips in 1H 2019, Despite Billion-Dollar Financings of Solar in Dubai and Offshore Wind in Taiwan
      London and New York – The first half of 2019 saw a 39% slowdown in renewable energy investment in the world’s biggest market, China, to $28.8 billion, the lowest figure for any half-year period since 2013, according to the latest figures from BloombergNEF (BNEF)…
      The “big three” of China, the U.S. and Europe all showed falls, but with the U.S. down a modest 6% at $23.6 billion and Europe down 4% at $22.2 billion compared to 1H 2018, far less than China’s 39% setback…

      Breaking global clean energy investment[1] down by type of transaction, asset finance of utility-scale generation projects such as wind farms and solar parks was down 24% at $85.6 billion, due in large part to the China factor…
      https://about.bnef.com/blog/world-clean-energy-investment-slips-1h-2019-despite-billion-dollar-financings-solar-dubai-offshore-wind-taiwan/

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    Another Ian

    “University of Minnesota: Zimbabwe Food Production Declining Because Climate Change”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/07/10/university-of-minnesota-zimbabwe-food-production-declining-because-climate-change/

    Maybe they could have a look at Stalin’s Ukrainian efforts too?

    Confirming the average American’s abysmal knowledge of history and not much better at geography – from having been a foreigner there.

    And illustrating what you get from fully fledged members of the “empixellated” – those who spend too much time looking at computer screens and not enough in the real world (IMO of course).

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    pat

    behind paywall:

    11 Jul: UK Times: Wind power is destroying our birds, says President Putin
    by Marc Bennetts
    President Putin has criticised renewable energy sources, saying that wind turbines pose a threat to birds and worms.
    “Wind-generated power is good, but has anyone thought about the birds? How many birds are dying?” Mr Putin said at a manufacturing and industrialisation forum in Yekaterinburg. “This is no joke. [Turbines] shake so hard that the worms crawl right out of the ground — this is the consequence of these modern forms of energy production.”
    Russia, the world’s biggest exporter of oil and gas, has so far failed to embrace wind or solar energy, which together account for less than 1 per cent of all electricity generated. In Britain, the figure is more than 20 per cent.
    Russia’s first wind turbines were installed last year…
    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/5ce027fe-a313-11e9-a6f9-8847b0c7b91c

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      theRealUniverse

      ‘Russia, the world’s biggest exporter of oil and gas’.. they dont need wind or solar they have plenty of nuke and other power. Biggest resources continent/country by far. Also they know where to get oil and gas, by not using standard geochemistry.

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    pat

    written before RE plummeted:

    14 Mar 2018: MIT Technology Review: At this rate, it’s going to take nearly 400 years to transform the energy system
    Here are the real reasons we’re not building clean energy anywhere near fast enough.
    by James Temple
    Fifteen years ago, Ken Caldeira, a senior scientist at the Carnegie Institution, calculated that the world would need to add about a nuclear power plant’s worth of clean-energy capacity every day between 2000 and 2050 to avoid catastrophic climate change. Recently, he did a quick calculation to see how we’re doing.

    Not well. Instead of the roughly 1,100 megawatts of carbon-free energy per day likely needed to prevent temperatures from rising more than 2 ˚C, as the 2003 Science paper (LINK) by Caldeira and his colleagues found, we are adding around 151 megawatts. That’s only enough to power roughly 125,000 homes.

    At that rate, substantially transforming the energy system would take, not the next three decades, but nearly the next four centuries. In the meantime, temperatures would soar, melting ice caps, sinking cities, and unleashing devastating heat waves around the globe…READ ON
    https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610457/at-this-rate-its-going-to-take-nearly-400-years-to-transform-the-energy-system/

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    pat

    what’s not to like…except maybe getting Melbourne’s weather!

    10 Jul: iNewsUK: London’s weather will be more like Barcelona by 2050 due to climate change, study finds
    Edinburgh could resemble Paris by 2050 and Leeds will be like Melbourne
    by Tom Bawden
    Within three decades London will have the climate Barcelona has now while the weather in Manchester will resemble that of Lyon, as the UK’s climate effectively moves 900 miles south, according to a landmark study.
    Edinburgh’s climate will change to resemble that of Paris, while Leeds will be having Melbourne’s weather, the study found…
    More concerning still, nearly a quarter of the planet’s urban areas, including Singapore and Jakarta, will have climate conditions more extreme than anything seen before in a major city anywhere in the world, they found.

    ‘Amazing’ findings
    Professor Tom Crowther, of the ETH Zurich university in Switzerland: “Having a climate like Barcelona’s might sound nice but it will require vast changes in infrastructure to handle it. There will be droughts, water shortages, difficulties in agriculture – it will have an impact across the board,” he said…

    Prof Gabi Hegerl, at the University of Edinburgh, who was not involved in the research, said: “What I find most striking are the number of cities that move to unknown climatic conditions, most of them in the tropics. Some of these are large and fast-growing cities, and the new conditions could be harmful or dangerous as they are presently inexperienced in coming with extreme events.
    The study is published in the journal Plos One.
    https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/london-weather-barcelona-climate-change-study/

    10 Jul: PLOS ONE: Understanding climate change from a global analysis of city analogues
    https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0217592

    11 Jul: ScienceAlert: 1 in 5 Cities Is About to Have a Climate Unknown to Any Place on Earth
    by PETER DOCKRILL
    Underpinning their visualisations, the researchers used existing data based on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Representative Common Pathway 4.5 (RCP 4.5) pathway – generally considered an optimistic best-case-scenario in which CO2 emissions peak in the middle of this century…
    https://www.sciencealert.com/one-in-five-cities-is-about-to-inherit-an-alien-climate-unknown-to-any-city-on-earth

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      yarpos

      Might be a better place to hold the Cricket World Cup by then. They can put away the anoraks.

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    I’ve been preoccupied for the last eleven days. My good lady wife took ill, and after transport to hospital at Redland Bay General. She was diagnosed with a small Pneumonia and fluid on the lungs. It was a harrowing time for five days of the eight days she has now been there in hospital, as it got worse. They drained the fluid on day three, an amazing thing to see from a detached point of view, and how the draining needle was guided directly to the fluid bulge via Ultrasound. I have never seen so many medical people in the one room, and everyone has a set task, and it’s efficiency personified. They bring everything to the patient, and it’s done in the room where she is, in the High Dependency Unit. The drain stayed in for three days, as they ‘flushed’ all the other pockets of fluid out, guided by X Rays, and that small machine is also brought to her in that room as well. There was around 600mL of fluid all up, and it drained for three days, with a ‘flush’ with specific chemicals to get all the remaining pockets of fluid. Three or four further X Rays were also brought to her, in that room as well. She’s improving, but there’s a way to go yet. I’m there every day for five to six hours, hence I haven’t been as active as I have usually been.

    During the time I was not there, those hours I am in this lonely old apartment, Barbara asked the nurse (one of so many there) why it was so cold in there. I always thought it would have been for a ‘solid’ medical reason, but it was explained to Barbara that they keep it cold because there is so much electrical equipment, generating its own heat, and there is a need to keep all of that cold, and cool the ‘generated’ heat from all that electrical equipment. Knowing my interest in the electrical side of things Barbara mentioned it to me, and I then also quizzed a nurse, (a different one that Barbara asked) and the response was exactly the same. As a sidelight, there are as many male nurses as there are female nurses, and the same also applies for Doctors, although the five or so Specialists I have seen have all been males, and the treatment from everyone, so many people, is superb.

    And there is electrical equipment like I have never seen in my life, and so much of it. You imagine there might be a lot in hospitals, but until you actually see it, (and from the point of view of my being trained in that electrical field) you just cannot believe it.They all have wheel borne computers with all the records of every patient, and there are quite literally hundreds of them, as they are ubiquitous, and absolutely everywhere, with someone in front of each and every one of them. The amount of electrical equipment is absolutely astonishing.

    So, then what might you perceive that the electrical power consumption for this medium sized hospital might be?

    From a now temporary detached position, considering the personal situation, last night I came home and looked it up, and chased it down, and found as much information as I could, not just looking at one site, but chasing down a number of them.

    A medium sized hospital of this similar size consumes around 40MWH of electrical power per day. FORTY MEGAWATTHOURS a day.

    The average Australian home consumes 20KWH of power per day, so this hospital consumes the equivalent of two thousand average homes. It’s also not like a home where the bulk is consumed during the evening peak. This is consumed constantly across, day and night.

    Any power outage is inconceivable. They just HAVE to have that power in place, 24/7/365, no questions asked.

    There is no way known on this God’s good Earth that they can do without power FULL STOP.

    That power will NEVER be supplied by wind power or any form of solar power ….. also FULL STOP.

    Now add up all the hospitals, and large ones in Capital cities might consume anything up to 60MWH PLUS per day.

    Look at the Load Curve for power consumption and note that the minimum power consumption each and every day here in Australia is 18000MW.

    Part of that is hospitals, and when you have someone in a hospital who is so near and dear, you WANT that power to be there ….. FOREVER, without wavering.

    It’s a d@mned necessity.

    Guess what form of power generation CAN actually deliver that power on a constant and reliable basis.

    It isn’t wind power and it isn’t solar power, and it NEVER will be.

    THAT’S why coal fired power is so important.

    My good lady wife will recover, thank the Lord, and coal fired power will play its part in that.

    I rant on sometimes about it, but this is the actual pointy end, and until you see it, you can have your green dream, but be aware that green dream is actually a full blown cast iron, absolute nightmare.

    FORTY MEGAWATTHOURS PER DAY ….. EVERY DAY.

    Tony.

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    • #

      People don’t ask me much about my politics or philosophy but when asked I say I’m a conservative in the sense that I’m a serial appreciator. Still can’t get over how light comes on without smoke or flame, just by flicking a switch. This little office can be warmed in minutes by flicking another switch. It’s just too wonderful.

      I sense you too may be a serial appreciator, Tony.

      Best wishes for your good lady.

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      Yonniestone

      So glad to hear she’s doing well Tony, I know the dangers of pneumonia first hand resulting in a fully collapsed lung and a Plural Tap (drain), I don’t envy anyone having it done even though she was probably braver than me. 🙂

      You’re bang on about the power needing to be reliable, I’d love to give any green/warmist the choice of hospitals one ran off the grid one off renewables and see what they’d choose, even with generator back up it’s not something you’d want to rely on daily basis where lives are concerned.

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      yarpos

      best wishes for recovery, pneumonia is no small thing

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      Kinky Keith

      KK

      50

    • #

      Best wishes for yr wife’s full recovery Tony, and as you observe, so much we owe to ol’ king Cole’, efficient 24/7. Those who seek to take us back to Dark Ages energy insufficiency are evil haters of the human race.

      80

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      Annie

      Tony, all good wishes for Barbara’s full and rapid recovery.
      I always much appreciate your articles about electricity supply.

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      Bill in Oz

      Ahh Tony !!
      I’ve noticed that your posts were late recently
      And the zero comments here as well
      Good luck and good health to your lovely lady !
      And thank you again for the insight that the facts you bring here, give to us all.
      Yes coal or gas or hydro
      They are the only reliable power sources
      There when we need it

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      pat

      hope your wife has a speedy recovery, Tony.

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    theRealUniverse

    Tony, must have been a worrying time, hope your good wife recovers well.
    Yes they certainly need that full 40MWH 24/7.
    Its absurd to think that those greentards would even think useless windmills or solar farms could provide anything like it, multiply that hospital by all the others in the state.

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      beowulf

      Speaking of useless windmills, here’s another. Not sure if this is a new development or if I am just out of touch. A bladeless wind turbine that employs a single concave disc that drives a reciprocating arm has been developed in Tunisia. Certainly won’t do anything for intermittency and pricing, but would stop the carnage and I would think the noise issues, audible and infrasonic. They also claim it harvests “twice as much energy” (no actual % given). Your thoughts?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQfHTjnp-pM

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      • #
        Kinky Keith

        Looks interesting, can’t quite get my head around it, but there’s an awful lot of movement and therefore large cyclical stresses on key components.

        Would it last for a month?

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        Another Ian

        You’ve probably seen that cartoon series on “The Polish Tree Swing” which progresses through the various stages of WHS design and is contrasted with “what the customer wanted” which was a basic tyre swing on a rope?

        There is similar potential for a WHS redesign of the sheep shearing handpiece. First thing to go would be exposed sharp points and reciprocating blades. Then via various “new design features” and ending with a couple of sheep reviewing the new design with the question “But how does it get the wool off?”

        But I;m not a cartoonist to draw it.

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    theRealUniverse

    Just looking at https://www.windy.com/-Temperature-temp?temp,50.736,143.965,3,i:pressure
    You can see the warm air up in Siberia. Remember the North Polar regions above 67 deg N, doesnt have a sunset, 24 hour sun. Some of that air will extend to the Arctic, esps near Berring straight. The odd bit of summer melt is expected within normal ranges.

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    Greg in NZ

    From Princess Jacindarella, The Mormon From Morrinsville: Do As I Say, Not As I Do –

    http://www.cookislandsnews.com/national/item/73311-pm-ardern-here-for-holiday

    “The cheerful looking [sic] Ardern arrived in the country yesterday with her fiancé Clarke Gayford and their year old baby Neve… It has been a busy and challenging year for prime minister Ardern and this trip will provide her with an opportune time for a well-deserved break from the political affairs of her country“. The what?!

    There’s a ƒ@&#N! ™CLIMATE EMERGENCY™ declared yet Comrade Cinders jumps ship with bubba & boyfriend and flies to Aitutaki via Rarotonga? On evil carbon-spewing aeroplanes? Haven’t all those endangered atolls sunk beneath the waves because of said evil, polluting, holiday planes anyway? Maybe she’ll plant some trees while she’s there, and bury the baby’s nappies – sure don’t want to bring those back into the country, recycled or not.

    Anyway Cinders, we’re doing fine without you. It’s a bit nippy and there’s snow on the way – not really a ‘crisis’ nor an ’emergency’ – but hey, take your time, stay longer if you want, perhaps, for ever…

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    pat

    11 Jul: SMH: Morrison government experts say Australia must ‘do more’ on climate
    By Nicole Hasham
    The Morrison government’s climate change advisers say Australia and others must do a better job of cutting emissions for the world to meet the Paris goals, and more ambitious policies are needed to put the nation “firmly” on the path to a zero-carbon economy.
    The statement coincides with a new scientific assessment of the Great Barrier Reef that found coral had suffered an “unparalleled” decline over the past five years and the damage wrought by climate change would only worsen.

    The Climate Change Authority on Thursday released a consultation paper (LINK) to inform advice to the government, to be delivered later this year, on meeting Australia’s international climate obligations.
    The paper signalled the authority is investigating a number of contentious policy areas. These include the government’s plan to meet the Paris targets by using so-called carryover carbon credits Australia accrued by exceeding its emission reduction targets in the Kyoto Protocol period to 2020.
    The authority noted that Australia’s emissions continue to rise…

    Australia should be positioned to not only meet its 2030 emissions target, but also to meet more stringent future targets “that put Australia clearly and firmly on the path to net-zero emissions”, the authority said…

    Meantime, the Australian Institute of Marine Science has delivered a dire assessment (LINK) of the Great Barrier Reef, which is struggling with the effects of climate change and other threats…READ ON
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/morrison-government-experts-say-australia-must-do-more-on-climate-20190711-p52693.html

    Wikipedia: Climate Change Authority: The Authority has a Board comprising a Chair and eight permanent members: Dr Wendy Craik (Chair), Stuart Allinson (Acting Chair), Kate Carnell AO, Professor David Karoly, Professor John Quiggin, Professor Clive Hamilton, The Hon. John Sharp, Dr Alan Finkel and Danny Price. A tenth member, Andrew Macintosh, sits as an associate member until the conclusion of the Special Review. Dr Finkel is an ex officio member of the Authority as Australia’s Chief Scientist, replacing the former Chief Scientist Ian Chubb.

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    pat

    another ridiculous fact-check:

    10 Jul: BBC: Putin: Is he right about wind turbines and bird deaths?
    By Reality Check
    Research does suggest that wind power has led to birds and bats dying – in collisions with turbines or because of habitat loss.
    We couldn’t find any reference to worms.

    It’s hard to get at a definitive figure on how many birds are killed by wind turbines, though, and estimates vary…
    Studies looking at the US have put the figure at anywhere from fewer than 10,000 to more than 500,00.
    We were unable to find any studies looking particularly at Russia.
    But it’s not only wind power that harms wildlife…

    ***President Putin’s message followed news that Russia would ratify the international Paris agreement, and came fresh on the heels of meeting world leaders, including Theresa May, at the G20 summit to discuss climate change…
    https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48936941

    10 Jul: EurActiv: Russia readies to ratify Paris Agreement, warns about renewables ‘absolutism’
    By Natalie Sauer
    The Russian government will submit legislation to ratify the Paris climate agreement by September…
    On Friday, deputy prime minister Alexei Gordeev ordered the ministries of environment and foreign affairs to submit a bill to ratify the accord to parliament by September 1, according to a government statement (LINK RUSSIAN)…READ ALL
    https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/russia-readies-to-ratify-paris-agreement-warns-about-renewables-absolutism/

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    pat

    read all:

    11 Jul: Reuters: European airline chiefs push back against flight shaming, carbon taxes
    by Tim Hepher, Conor Humphries
    BRUSSELS – The heads of some of Europe’s largest airlines hit back on Wednesday against efforts to discourage Europeans from flying, arguing the industry was making huge strides in cutting its carbon footprint and that there was no shame in air travel.

    The share prices of Europe’s largest airlines fell this week when France announced a tax on air travel, the latest move by an EU government to discourage flying, which ***activists say is a major contributor to climate change.

    “We are sensitive to the criticism that we are getting a free ride on the environment because frankly it is not true,” Ryanair (RYA.I) chief executive Michael O’Leary told a press conference in Brussels…
    The industry’s image has been damaged in recent months by the rise of the Swedish-born anti-flying movement and the concept of “flight shame.”…
    https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airlines-europe/european-airline-chiefs-push-back-against-flight-shaming-carbon-taxes

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    TdeF

    I know I’m repeating yesterday’s comment, but I had not thought of it before. You can date wood, bone/teeth, anything which has come from Carbon in the biosphere from aerial CO2 but you can also date CO2 itself and methane CH4, any carbon compounds which occur naturally. So it would be great if someone could measure the C14 the age of aerial CH4 in the same way. A wonderful little project for the C14 people. The ratio of C14 to C12 is all you need.

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    pat

    does The Guardian report anything other than over-the-top CAGW? oh yes, their anti-Trump, anti-Brexit pieces are prolific:

    10 Jul: Guardian: Individuals can’t solve the climate crisis. Governments need to step up
    People do have a responsibility – to stay informed and demand the politicians make the planet their priority
    Anders Levermann
    (Anders Levermann is a professor at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)
    PIC: Students protest in London in May. ‘It’s only as a society that we can collectively demand our politicians take the action needed to address the climate crisis.’
    Global challenges must be tackled by institutions. That’s why the UK’s Committee on Climate Change was absolutely right to criticise the government in the strongest terms today for failing to take more action against the climate crisis.

    Personal sacrifice alone cannot be the solution to tackling the climate crisis. There’s no other area in which the individual is held so responsible for what’s going wrong. And it’s true: people drive too much, eat too much meat, and fly too often…
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/10/individuals-climate-crisis-government-planet-priority

    ***Dad’s Army again? see Harrabin/BBC artile, comment #6:

    11 Jul: Editorial: The Guardian view on the climate emergency: a dangerous paralysis
    The closer the prospect of disaster becomes, the less the government manages to do
    The sea level might rise over time by 10 metres; even the much lower mid-range of predictions would see Scunthorpe, Doncaster and Lincoln in the UK become coastal cities; most of Cardiff would vanish, along with the South Bank in London. Amsterdam and Rotterdam will be inundated along with large parts of the Netherlands. The Danube, the Mississippi, and the Murray-Darling rivers in Australia, on which millions of people depend, will shrink by up to 40%. At least 300 million people will become climate refugees; China and the USA will lose coastal cities. Resource wars are a possibility; famine and epidemic disease are a certainty. There is no simple technological fix: in fact, technological progress can make societies more vulnerable, because they become more complicated.

    All this is a realistic prospect by the end of the century and possibly 40 years earlier. These are not crank predictions. They are official estimates, derived from the best scientists the government has available. The inaction and frivolity of the state’s response is breathtaking. It is now 11 years since the then chief scientific adviser to Defra, Professor Bob Watson, warned about the prospect of a four degree rise, which in those relatively optimistic days looked like a worst case scenario. It is past time to plan seriously and to act on these plans. ***Dad’s Army won’t muddle through this global emergency. However painful real change may be politically and economically, waiting for the inevitable will be worse.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/10/the-guardian-view-on-the-climate-emergency-a-dangerous-paralysis

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    pat

    behind paywall:

    11 Jul: UK Times: Shipping industry needs to clean up its act on pollution
    by Jawad Iqbal, visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics’s Institute of Global Affairs
    Many of the clothes, toys and technology in our shops are brought here from the other side of the world in huge container ships. These fossil fuel-burning vessels power the global economy, but are also some of the biggest polluters. The shipping industry is estimated to account for just over 2 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions contributing to global warming, equivalent to the total emissions of Germany, the world’s fourth biggest economy.

    Until now, scandalously little has been done to tackle this growing problem, but at last moves are under way to clean up shipping. The government has just announced targets for cutting emissions as part of its Maritime 2050 strategy. This includes an ambition for all new UK ships ordered from 2025…
    Electric-powered ships could be a useful option on short journeys, as well as cruise ships sailing at slower speeds to help reduce emissions…
    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/shipping-industry-needs-to-clean-up-its-act-on-pollution-hrw8wcjd6

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    pat

    11 Jul: TheConversationUK: The stark truth about UK government climate action: there is no one in charge
    by Rebecca Willis, Research Fellow, Exeter University; Professor in Practice, Lancaster University, Lancaster University
    Disclosure statement
    Rebecca Willis is a Research Fellow on the IGov project at the University of Exeter, funded by the EPSRC. She is an Associate of Green Alliance and a Trustee of the New Economics Foundation

    The (Climate Change) Committee is forthright in its criticism of government. On its report card, assessing progress against 25 policies needed to meet carbon targets, there is just one green tick. But, beyond asking for the prime minister to set up a “climate cabinet”, the Committee has much less to say about how government – at both national and local level – should be reconfigured to make climate action a priority.
    The stark truth is that no one is in charge…

    The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) oversees progress, but other departments have no carbon targets or responsibilities, and BEIS cannot tell them what to do. Neither are there targets or responsibilities for local areas…

    As part of the IGov project at the University of Exeter, I have been helping to develop proposals for an institutional framework (LINK) which would enable coordinated climate strategy, to implement the transition to zero-carbon. ***We advocate allocating carbon targets to each government department…READ ON
    http://theconversation.com/the-stark-truth-about-uk-government-climate-action-there-is-no-one-in-charge-120187

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    pat

    fulsome praise from UK Times for the “climate warriors”? unbelievable:

    11 Jul: UK Times: Climate change warriors turn to courts
    Litigation over global warming has exploded but UK judges have not proved receptive
    by Catherine Baksi
    PIC: A climate protester in Berlin last month as global anger swelled over inaction
    While the Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg skips school and Extinction Rebellion uses colourful civil disobedience to protest about climate change, others, from youngsters in the US to Swiss pensioners, are turning to the law.

    Climate change litigation has become a global phenomenon, according to a report from the Grantham Institute and the London School of Economics, with more than 1,300 legal actions started against governments and corporations in at least 28 countries since 1990.

    The vast majority — 1,023 — have been launched in the US, but lawsuits have been taken by campaign groups, investors and activist shareholders in countries from Australia to Brazil, India to Spain. Fifty-three cases have been brought in the UK, but with the notable exception of those by the campaign group ClientEarth…
    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/climate-change-warriors-turn-to-courts-jp99whzxx

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    pat

    plenty of smearing:

    11 Jul: BusinessInsider: Barnaby Joyce claims the coming ice age means any climate action is ‘misguided and quite ludicrous”
    by Jack Derwin
    • Nationals MP, and former deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce has penned a scathing criticism of “barking mad” climate activists, arguing that Australia is powerless to do anything to halt climate change and that any policies that propose to do so could endanger the country’s future prosperity.
    • Even if we could, he proposed that the world’s population will likely starve to death during an inevitable ice age anyway.
    • Joyce’s comments come just days after Sir David Attenborough singled out Australia for its lack of climate policy, despite already experiencing some of its most severe effects.
    Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has unleashed a spectacular social media tirade against the climate action movement.
    Quoting directly from an opinion piece written by New Zealand geologist David Shelley in The Australian newspaper (LINK), Joyce said, “the very idea that we can stop climate change is barking mad”.
    “The central theme of David Shelley’s analysis is that sea levels are rising and have been for thousands of years and will fall during the next ice age which is expected about now, give or take a thousand years…

    “If we could (change the climate) we should be the first to make it rain and, more importantly, stop the recurrence of an ice age anytime in the coming millennium,” Joyce wrote…
    “You don’t get the feeling when you listen to the political propaganda or the supporting lobbyists that there is any doubt about their capacity to ‘fix the climate problem’. I do get the feeling that you will be tried for heresy if you dare question the zeitgeist so you basically have to lie about your honest assessment of what the hell we are doing to our economy, standard of living, our basic rights and the real future of our children,” Joyce wrote…
    https://www.businessinsider.com.au/barnaby-joyce-claims-the-coming-ice-age-renders-all-climate-action-ludicrous-2019-7

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      Bill in Oz

      Good grief Pat
      An intelligent elected pollie
      Who honestly speaks what he thinks !
      How can I vote for him ?

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        Graeme#4

        Maurice Newman is back in action, writing a good piece in today’s The Australian about Clover Moore, mayor of Sydney.

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    pat

    Lachlan Mackintosh, on ABC Brisbane “Breakfast” this morning said that XR would be carrying out protests in Brisbane for an entire week – 15 – 19 July. have they downsized it to one day – Monday 15? who knows. who cares, except ABC, Guardian, ex-Fairfax etc:

    11 Jul: ABC: Climate protestors plan more disruptions for Brisbane commuters
    Climate change activists are planning to disrupt Brisbane’s peak-hour commute again next week with more demonstrations set for ***Monday.
    This morning’s rally, in which they stopped traffic for 10 minutes at a time, created congestion and disruption…

    He (Sergeio/XR) said from Monday to Friday next week, Extinction Rebellion would carry out similar protests, blocking morning peak-hour traffic in the heart of Brisbane.
    Although there were only a couple of dozen protesters today, the small group took targeted action…
    In a bid to ease the tension activists handed out vegan biscuits to motorists…
    Two of the protesters are due to appear in court today over the action…
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-11/brisbane-climate-change-protest-commuter-traffic/11298146

    still all week here:

    11 Jul: BrisbaneTimes(ex-Fairfax): Climate change activists disrupt Brisbane CBD traffic
    By Toby Crockford
    Climate change activists who blocked major intersections in Brisbane CBD on Thursday morning plan to hold traffic up again ***every weekday next week during morning peak-hour…

    However, some motorists caught in the congestion were happy to sit and wait.
    “I honestly don’t mind, it’s a pretty important thing they’re protesting for so go for broke, fight the good fight,” driver Glynn Holland-Leam said.
    “I was just dropping my wife off, so my day is not being impacted too heavily. But I understand other people do have places to be, but it’s an important thing.
    “It was a bit of a shame [the Adani approvals]. The world is pretty flooded with coal anyway so it’s not like it’s a needed mine. There are better things that we can do with our time and money.”…

    Protest spokesman Sergeio said they were bringing the “climate emergency” to the forefront of society’s mind.
    “We don’t take pleasure in disrupting people, our target is the government,” he said…
    The activists’ action were building towards a “rebellion day” on August 6, where hundreds of people were expected to disrupt the River City.
    https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/climate-change-activists-disrupt-brisbane-cbd-traffic-20190711-p5265r.html

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    tom0mason

    Ever wonder what all the CO2 will do to the oceans?
    Well it IS NOT turning the oceans acidic!
    Some scientists led by the USF College of Marine Science used NASA satellite observations to discover the largest bloom of macroalgae in the world called the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt (GASB), as reported in Science. I bet they were surprised (well aren’t they always about nature and it’s resilience?)

    There a record-breaking belt of brown algae stretches from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico — and it’s likely here to stay, says this team.
    Now IMO it didn’t start growing last week or last year, it probably has been quietly moving along for a few decades except no one notice till now.
    But apparently no so according to these scientists …
    It can grow so large that it blankets the surface of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. This happened last year when more than 20 million tons of it — heavier than 200 fully loaded aircraft carriers — floated in surface waters and some of which wreaked havoc on shorelines lining the tropical Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and east coast of Florida.

    See HERE for more.

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    tom0mason

    HERE is a new paper with the title,
    No experimental evidence for the significant anthropogenic climate change
    Jyrki Kauppinen, Pekka Malmi
    (Submitted on 29 Jun 2019)
    [Abstract]

    In this paper we will prove that GCM-models used in IPCC report AR5 fail to calculate the influences of the low cloud cover changes on the global temperature. That is why those models give a very small natural temperature change leaving a very large change for the contribution of the green house gases in the observed temperature. This is the reason why IPCC has to use a very large sensitivity to compensate a too small natural component. Further they have to leave out the strong negative feedback due to the clouds in order to magnify the sensitivity. In addition, this paper proves that the changes in the low cloud cover fraction practically control the global temperature.

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      Bill in Oz

      Their conclusion is interesting Tom:
      “We have proven that the GCM-models used in IPCC report AR5 cannot compute correctly the natural component included in the observed global temperature. The reason is that the models fail to derive the influences of low cloud cover fr action on the global temperature. A too small natural component results in a too large portion for the contribution of the greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. That is why 6J. KAUPPINEN AND P. MALMIIPCC represents the climate sensitivity more than one order of magnitude larger than our sensitivity 0.24°C. Because the anthropogenic portion in the increasedCO2is less than 10 %, we have practically no anthropogenic climate change. The low clouds control mainly the global temperature”

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    amortiser

    I went to the Science Museum in London today and in particular its Atmospheric Display. As I expected it was a hot bed of climate change and global warming and human’s cause of it.

    It included this little gem:

    “Scientists don’t know of any natural climate cycles that would cause the type of long term warming trend they have observed since 1970.

    Scientists have added the effects of El Niño to the effects of other natural causes. Altogether, these factors cannot account for the observed warming since 1970.

    It’s only when scientists include the impact of human activities on the climate that they can account for the 0.5 degree C warming that’s been measured since 1970.”

    These guys obviously know ALL the natural influences on climate so because they can’t find a natural cause it must be man’s fault.

    There has no mention of the relative contributors to CO2 emissions. Even though human’s contribute only 3% it’s human emissions that are largely responsible for the raised CO2 concentration.

    If this was the case the rate of CO2 absorption would have to be fixed. Is this so? Sounds preposterous to me. Does ocean absorption remain constant? Does soil and plant absorption remain constant? Does ocean out gassing remain constant?

    All this is ignored in their presentation. I would have thought that if man’s contribution to CO2 emissions was responsible for the rise in the concentration they would explain in detail how this came about. It is just but an assertion. One could just as easily argue that our 3% contribution would only be responsible for 3% of the overall increase or just 4 ppm of the CO2 concentration.

    What do others think?

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      el gordo

      ‘Scientists have added the effects of El Niño to the effects of other natural causes. Altogether, these factors cannot account for the observed warming since 1970.’

      All the warming since 1970 has happened because of strong El Nino and not an increase in CO2. The so called super El Nino is nothing new and can be traced back to a time long before the Industrial Revolution.

      ‘It’s only when scientists include the impact of human activities on the climate that they can account for the 0.5 degree C warming that’s been measured since 1970.’

      Its a blatant lie and I’ll prove it. ENSO is the temperature control knob and within a couple of years global warming will cease and be replaced by global cooling. It will kick off with a very strong La Nina at the end of next year.

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    Destroyer D69

    Qld Police statement on TV News last night about the protesters blocking Brisbane streets at peak hour. that they are not breaking any laws and the police will not intervene……. Go figure who is behind this travesty??????

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      Bill in Oz

      Maybe the Labor police minister ?

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      beowulf

      Campbell Newman was talking about this on Bolt last night and basically laughing at the XR idiots. He made the point that every time they glue themselves to the road and stop people getting to work, the weight of opinion grows against them, not with them.

      They are another manifestation of the Bob Brown anti-Adani convoy mentality that backfired so spectacularly.

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    Graeme#4

    There is eight climate change articles in today’s The Australian. It wasn’t that long ago when you would be lucky to find even one in any month. And most of the articles are well-written and factual. It appears that, at least in Australia, some of the MSM is coming on board.

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      David-of-Cooyal-in-Oz

      G’day G,
      The Australian has been at least neutral for some years. In fact I think it was one of their articles which first pointed me to our Jo. And a couple of book reviews gave me Ian Plimer’s “Heaven and Earth”, and Donna Laframboise’s “The delinquent teenager”, both of which supported my developing scepticism. And they’ve supported Maurice Newman’s articles when he was writing in support of (then) PM Abbot.
      So I’m not surprised that they are now supportive. But I am delighted.
      (I only get to read their weekend edition and in hard copy.)
      Cheers
      Dave B

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    Enoch Root

    I don’t know if it was posted before, but this is an interesting article:

    https://arxiv.org/pdf/1907.00165.pdf

    NO EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FOR THE SIGNIFICANT ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE

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    Zane

    The Met in the UK, one of the main climate stormtroopers, wasted £97 million of taxpayers money on installing a Cray XC40 Supercomputer. To justify this extravaganza they need to run endless fake climate models and employ scientists to interpret them and keep the scam on the rails. They are dug in too deep to respond to any reason. Similarly all the NGO lifers and Green activist groups have their paychecks and careers tied to the hoax. They are well entrenched and loaded with ammo.

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      Greg in NZ

      NIWA (Noddy Ignoramus Warmist Alarmists) blew $23 million on a similar deal for three shiny new “supercomputers capable of processing more than 2000 trillion calculations per second [which] will enable scientists to carry out more research into the effects of climate change” GIGO, “bigger, faster, more powerful” GIGO.

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/375406/new-supercomputers-to-research-effects-of-climate-change

      “I’ve been using these computers for a number of years to predict the impact of climate change on New Zealand [an expensive zero!]. With these new supercomputers, essentially it’s 100 times more powerful – and we’ll be able to run models that are 100 times more powerful and thus much more accurate.” BS.

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    Zane

    A story in last weekend’s Australian magazine about Jon Muir, the adventurer, who lives off grid on 60 acres bordering the Grampians. Solar etc. He was cooking his chicken/vegie dinner using a camping headtorch…

    Are we all meant to live like this? Endless new subdivisions of gardenless cookie cutter houses are being built all across Australia. By 2050 there will be 40 million inhabitants, 20 million in Sydney and Melbourne, add SEQ, that will be two thirds of the population. Canberra will have more people than Tasmania. All will expect to have grid power. And that is where the power stations will need to be, in the Hunter and Latrobe Valleys, maybe a gas powered plant next to LNG terminals by Westernport.

    Renewables just won’t cut the mustard.

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    Zane

    Get rid of that ludicrous TV license tax in the UK that funds the climate cult promoters at the BBC. It’s not the 1940s anymore.

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      yarpos

      Yes its pretty clear its 1984

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      Chad

      Does the UK still have the “TV Detector Vans” , that used to cruise around checking if anyone was watching TV without a licience ?.
      That really is Orwellian stuff.

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    robert rosicka

    Nice and warm in Broome during the day and just cool enough at night to make sleeping easier , can’t wait till we get on the Gibb and onto Home valley .

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    I don’t know if y-all have seen this – Bombshell Claim: Scientists Find “Man-made Climate Change Doesn’t Exist In Practice” – Finnish and Japanese scientists, covered by Tyler Durden in ‘Zero hedge’

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    Hanrahan

    I defy anyone to scan the headlines of Breitbart today and NOT feel depressed. The few pollies who seem to be doing their best for the nation are greatly outnumbered by criminals.

    Where goes the US, we follow.

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    el gordo

    A lot of people are not taking their carbon footprints seriously.

    ‘The transmission and viewing of online videos generates 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, or nearly 1 per cent of global emissions. On-demand video services such as Netflix account for a third of this, with online pornographic videos generating another third.

    ‘This means the watching of pornographic videos generates as much CO2 per year as is emitted by countries such as Belgium, Bangladesh and Nigeria.’

    New Scientist

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