Just like that: US serves notice to quit Paris Agreement

First nation out leads the way:

US Flag, Flying.Lisa Friedman, New York Times

Trump serves notice to quit Paris Aggreement

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration formally notified the United Nations on Monday that it would withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change, leaving global climate diplomats to plot a way forward without the cooperation of the world’s largest economy.

The action, which came on the first day possible under the accord’s complex rules on withdrawal, begins a yearlong countdown to the United States exit…

A true leader, Trump didn’t wait for herd approval, just made his own path.

But why does it take so many years to get out?  It’s a non-binding, non-treaty with no legal teeth except ones countries domestically screw on themselves. The wording is “should” not “shall”. Most nations aren’t even aiming to meet their own targets, and their commitment is essentially to turn up and renegotiate their commitment, and get told off for not fawning enough, whether or not their actual target reductions in carbon emissions are met or not. Is there any reason why this can’t be extinguished overnight except that the deep state bureaucrats knew the agreement was so disadvantageous they’d have to tie nations down to stop them leaving?

Paris was only ever a PR theater stunt — the point being for big-government-actors to use it to win domestic funding or to hang domestic legislation off it.

It’s worth remembering that the fourth largest nation in the world, Indonesia, has also threatened to pull out of the Paris Agreement. And when asked, 48% of Australians were happy to pull out of Paris. No biggie.

In other news, last week Sri Lanka scrapped its carbon tax

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka will scrap a controversial carbon tax from the end of the year, under tax changes passed in parliament.

Sri Lanka brought a carbon tax for cars escalating for older cars used by less affluent persons who drive less.

But Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has now scrapped the tax. However it will be charged for 2019.

h/t Dave B, Pat, Marvin W, Joe Bast Heartland

Related:

9.8 out of 10 based on 68 ratings

71 comments to Just like that: US serves notice to quit Paris Agreement

  • #
    Hope it's not like Brexit

    But why does it take so many years to get out?

    You couldn’t exit for the first 3 years after submission.

    In accordance with Article 28, as the agreement entered into force in the United States on 4 November 2016, the earliest possible effective withdrawal date for the United States is 4 November 2020 if notice is provided on 4 November 2019. If it chooses to withdraw by way of withdrawing from the UNFCCC, notice could be given immediately (the UNFCCC entered into force for the US in 1994), and be effective one year later.

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    • #

      Remember Terry Gilliam’s movie “Brazil”? Basically it’s what England would have been like if Germany had won the war. A modern remake could build on antagonism btwn pro- and anti-Anschluss movements.
      I supported the Petition Project when it was collecting signatures. To this day nothing like the 31000+ signatures dissing Kyoto and “all similar” treaties or agreements has shown more clout. Even that initiative came a few years after the 1991 “Warning to Mankind” last-gasp Soviet try with sth like 1500 signatures from purported scientists.

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  • #
    glen Michel

    This is great news that was imminent. Of course, the socialist,green, 4th estate will go into a right lather over this. Go Trump – stick it right up the establishment!

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    AndyG55

    Now IF ONLY there were some sensible politicians in Australia. 🙁

    But they have nearly all been taken in, to some degree, by the lies and deceit of the greenie infection.

    Morrison is actually cow-towing to the agenda.

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      justjoshin

      Politicians opinions and policies go wherever they think the votes are. Once the doubt about AGW hits a critical level, we will see some sensible energy policies out of the pollies.

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        Sceptical Sam

        Once the doubt about AGW hits a critical level, we will see some sensible energy policies out of the pollies.

        More like one the smelters and manufacturers pull the plug and head overseas we will see some sensible energy policies out of the pollies.

        I doubt Morrison and Co. will do much before then, given his decision to put another $1.0 Billion into the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

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          Robber

          Exactly Sam. We are going to see smelters and energy intensive manufacturing move overseas, taking jobs with them. But peasants relying on government handouts is precisely how the socialists hope to achieve power.

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            Ernest Bush

            But the peasants wake up too late when the government runs out of other peoples money used to keep them controlled. In California, even with increasingly large numbers of people living in tents on the sidewalk leaving piles of needles and pooping and peeing in the gutters, Democrats still hold sway.
            Once great cities are worse then 3rd world cities in their centers. Come spring rains that stuff will pollute the bays and ocean beach areas. The forests and homes therein are fast becoming burnt sticks. People in those areas will still vote for Democrat Socialists in coming elections. Socialism at its finest.

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          Sam
          I have to agree with you, but it will have to get worse before it gets better. The people I talk to are in lala land over this. My wife has just been invited to a “climate change” dance event. Of course she knows about it being a complete con, but they will get a heap of attendees who will earnestly talk about how “important it is” etc, but basically have no clue whatsover.

          Once it really starts to hit home then suddenly people will wake up, but they nearly always wake up too late. The bus has to be over the cliff before they realise that there is a problem.

          I am in my 50s and have always tried to learn, and the one of the biggest lessons I can tell anybody is “you’d better realise that most people don’t think the way you do”. I look for logic – many are driven by emotion, I ask how much will it cost – many stumble into serious financial issues because they never bothered to think of cost, I have a plan B – only 30% may have something and 10% definitely, I plan in advance – most don’t.

          Morrison is clueless and thinks appeasing climate change thickheads will enable him to avoid the worst of it. Trouble is this allows the idiocy to still perpetuate and we have massive power prices due to years of failing to stand up to stupidity. You cannot please all of the people all of the time. I can tell you all sorts of bad things about Trump, but in the end he does respond to logic and he stands up again China and against the hoax of climate change (although he should clean house at NASA and NOAA). He is a leader, Morrison initially sounds good but tries to be half pregnant on climate change – basically you are in or out.

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    • #
      Yonniestone

      Oh to awaken one morning with the realisation that whom we the majority dutifully elected to enact our wishes that were proposed, nay teased with, by they we made king.

      All men vote, but not equally.
      Those who vote with thought in the dusty recesses of their minds,
      wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
      but the voters on the day are dangerous men,
      for they may act on their vote with closed eyes,
      to make them miserable.

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      destroyer D69

      A parliamentary petition was circulated asking for a withdrawal in accordance with the same provisions that Trump used but it did not get any exposure in the Aus media……..

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  • #
    Geoff

    We will pull out but only after our economy is destroyed. The socialist media will then blame all the “deniers” for this destruction. Australia’s “elite” now mostly works for government. They produce NOTHING but regulate EVERYTHING. They create DEBT via money printing. They lecture us about business while working for a university, the ABC, the BoM, AEMO etc.

    We are now in the top bracket of cost for fuel, power, gas and water. The RBA has no more room to cut. You have to work at it to get into our position. Its taken 40 years of stupid.

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      Kalm Keith

      The number of empty shops and offices has been noticeable over the last year, but the appearance of vacant properties in prime commercial areas has become an avalanche in the last two months.

      Spooky!

      Dropping the reserve bank interest rate won’t fix this calamity.

      As several people here have pointed out we urgently need an infrastructure program.

      Dams, water transfer systems, basic industry resurrection.

      Cancel social security for all under 50 and give all of those people Work on the nation building projects.

      This is urgent. Venezuela. Argentina, Chile may be reminders and if that’s not enough look at the EEU and destruction of Europe.

      Where is Australia’s government????

      KK

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  • #
    RickWill

    One simple table debunks the whole “greenhouse” gas fairy tale; mind it took a few years y=to find such a compelling and simple piece of evidence.

    Mnth TPW- OLR
    Jan 17.04 236.8
    Feb 17.29 236.5
    Mar 17.73 237.9
    Apr 18.19 238.7
    May 20.40 240.6
    Jun 20.92 243
    Jul 21.89 243.9
    Aug 21.04 243.4
    Sep 20.54 242.2
    Oct 19.68 239.5
    Nov 18.93 237.1
    Dec 18.91 236.5
    This table give the global total water column in mm and the global average outgoing long wave radiation in W/sq.m averaged over the whole globe. Both determined by satellite measurement.

    The minimum in TPW is in January when OLR is also near its minimum. The maximum TWP is in July when the OLR also reaches its Maximus. This data is for 2018 but it repeats a similar pattern each year.

    When graphed, the trend line has high correlation with a regression coefficient of 83%:
    https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNg0eoxeRHedx24wc5

    This data clearly demonstrates that the most powerful “greenhouse” gas, water vapour, does the exact opposite of what it is supposed to do according to the “greenhouse gas theory”.

    Anyone with some data handling ability can can get this data from:
    https://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/view.php?datasetId=CERES_LWFLUX_M
    and
    https://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/view.php?datasetId=MODAL2_M_SKY_WV
    To verify the data in the above table.

    If increasing atmospheric water vapour increases cooling from day-to-day and month-to-month then it does it one every time scale. There is no such thing as a “greenhouse” gas in relation to climate on earth.

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    • #
      Robber

      Needs more explanation Rick.

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        RickWill

        That single table debunks the “greenhouse” gas fairy tale. You can look at any month in any year for the entire globe and you get the same result. As water vapour increases, the outgoing long wave radiation increases; when the water vapour reduces the outgoing long wave radiation reduces. This is the exact opposite of the fairy tale that claims that water vapour traps heat.

        The basis of the fairy tale comes from analysing the response of the US Standard Atmosphere to changes in water vapour and carbon dioxide. It is apparent that the US Standard Atmosphere does not compare well with the global atmosphere.

        Understanding the annual weather cycle gives a clue to what actually happens:
        https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNg010BDztETYzNE85
        The eccentricity of earth’s orbit around the sun drives this annual cycle. Next year the variation in insolation normal to the sun will range from 1407W/sq.m on Jan 5 down to 1317W/sq.m on Jul 5. The difference is 85W/sq.m, which averages to 21W/sq.m across the entire globe. That variation, combined with sun’s view of the Southern Hemisphere when insolation is highest, will lift 2500Gt of water vapour into the atmosphere from Jan 2020 to Jul 2020. All that extra water will eventually form clouds that have a net cooling before it finds its way back to the surface.

        Each 1% in cloud reduces OLR by 1.5W/sq.m:
        https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNg0IRyDIi8vnTC1Gt
        So the clouds do reduce the rate of cooling. Clouds have vastly different properties to uncondensed water vapour.
        Each 1% increase in cloud increases the reflected insolation by 3W/sq.m:
        https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNg0bl2B46ioIcDZ1C
        Hence clouds are twice as effective at preventing heat in as they are at retaining heat.

        Climate models are blind to orbital eccentricity and axis obligatory. These are extremely powerful drivers of the annual weather cycle. Averaging them out results in a complete fail. That is why climate models cannot replicate clouds in any useful way.

        Understanding the global annual weather loop leads to realising that there is potential for increased ice deposition over land in the northern hemisphere when eccentricity is reducing because the annual energy input is reducing year-on-year. So when the rate of change in eccentricity goes negative there is potential for accumulation of ice on land in the NH:
        https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNg0ONoV86hmuEpHGt

        An interesting feature of the present weather loop is that the maximum SST occurs in August each year. This is when the insolation is at its weakest. The weather loop does what is expected during the austral summer with oceans taking in vast amount of heat but that ends by June. However from June to August the land in the northern hemisphere is taking in energy and some of that goes into melting ice and heating accumulated water that runs off into the water bodies surrounding or within the land resulting in a dramatic increase in SST temperature adjacent to the land masses:
        https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aq1iAj8Yo7jNg0lXWzyccVHItf34
        This chart shows the SST temperature change from June to July in 2018. Not all the heat that goes into the land masses in the Northern Hemisphere is lost the night after it arrives. Quite a lot gets taken in by the surface ice and water that finds its way into the oceans.
        That can lead to glaciation.

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    • #

      you know this paper then?

      https://www.pnas.org/content/115/41/10293

      Linearity is due to the cancellation of two nonlinear processes and always arises in an atmosphere dominated by a condensable greenhouse gas. Our work explains a fundamental property of Earth’s climate and has implications for climate change as well as the climates of extrasolar planets with exotic greenhouse gases.

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      • #
        Peter C

        Thanks Gee Aye,

        Many assumptions in that paper.

        But worth a read through in any case. I expect that they mean water vapour, when they say “condensable greenhouse gas”. All gases are condensable given the correct circumstances.

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        • #

          more assumptions than Rickwill made would be difficult.

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          • #
            RickWill

            I make no assumptions regarding the data in the table. I have simply collated the satellite OLR and TPW data produced by NASA for each month of calendar year 2018 and produced a table.

            The data, in the simplest and clearest terms, completely debunks “greenhouse gas theory” as it relates to climate on Earth.

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        • #

          just read about “condensable”. It is context dependent and is used in the refrigeration industry a lot.

          The context here refers to the range of conditions present in the atmosphere so nitrogen and oxygen are considered non-condensable.

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      • #
        Kalm Keith

        Sounds like it might be the Global Warming equivalent of that paper on Paris’s rat colonies which found that the rat population was proportional to the number of consensual, gender specific, subterranean encounters.

        Hard to conceive of any real value. Maybe it’s a misconception.

        KK

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  • #
    Another Ian

    Never in it if this is right?

    “Lawsuit Says Obama Entered Paris Climate Agreement Illegally, Cites Mysterious Legal Memo”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/11/04/lawsuit-says-obama-entered-paris-climate-agreement-illegally-cites-mysterious-legal-memo/

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  • #
    Brian

    It is all a bit of a nonsense really. The Paris targets have no common baseline and in any case are not binding. India, with a rapidly growing economy couched their target in terms of emissions intensity (emissions per unit of GDP) which means they can triple their emissions while still claiming a reduction in emissions intensity as their GDP grows. Others use per capita emissions and for China this means that the biggest emitter in the world has a low comparative emissions measurement base because of its huge population. Australia was silly enough to use actual emissions, CO2 pumped into the air. With our population growth fueled by an unsustainable level of immigration, if we had designated per capita as the metric we would have been home and hosed without having to embrace energy poverty. The Paris agreement offers no panacea for CO2 partial pressure but is a good vehicle for redistribution of wealth from the West to all other nations. While I do not have overmuch time for Trumps methods I fully support him in this instance.

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    • #
      Peter C

      While I do not have overmuch time for Trumps methods I fully support him in this instance.

      Some Deeds of Trump:
      ENVIRONMENT
      1. Pulled the USA out of the Paris accord
      2. Reined in the EPA – appointed Scott Pruitt director
      3. Appointed William Happer chair of new Climate Review Panel
      4. Restoring scientific rigour to the US Geophysical survey and National Climate Assessment
      ECONOMY
      5. Promoted use of coal and gas. US is energy sufficient
      6. Redefined NAFTA (Canada and Mexico)
      7. Started tariff exchange with China to change trade parameters and protect intellectual property
      8. Cut taxes
      BETTER TRADE DEALS
      9. Rejected unfair tarrifs (China and EU)
      10. Improved domestic employment (esp Mexicans and Negroes)
      LEGISLATURE
      11. Appointed a conservative judge to the High Court
      MILTARY/DEFENCE
      12. Bolstered the armed forces
      13. Pulling troops out of Syria and Afghanistan
      14. Told EU to pull its weight on NATO funding
      IMMIGRATION
      15. Has tried to build a wall against enormous resistance, Now succeeding
      16. Has enlisted Mexico to reduce illegal immigrants traversing Mexico

      Polarised the Democrats.

      What’s not to like?

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  • #
    Chad

    Sorry to drift OT so early in a new thread, but this type of blog just leaves subjects and discussions burried in the churn.
    I finally found a recent briefing paper on the most recent “Revised Bradfield” irrigation scheme.
    Its important because it could be influential in next years QLD election, with its consequences,..and if implimented , a major economic and social keystone for Australia.
    http://landshape.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bradfield-briefing-noteV3-1.pdf

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    • #
      Another Ian

      I notice not a mention of salt under those mitchell grass plains

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      • #
        Chad

        Im sure there are many issues to be considered and resolved.
        But remember much of this is an “aquaduct” system using lined channels, so there need not be any interaction with existing soils if it is felt to be necessary.
        The objective is ultimately to transport water to the MDB….+ other benefits.
        Currently , it is no more than a political football !

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      robert rosicka

      It’s a great start and yes a few things I don’t like or agree with but build just build it , getting water to Bourke should be included and the Feds along with the other states benefiting should chip in .
      While they’re working on this an assessment should be done on other options for expanding the scheme to get more water into it .

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  • #
    pat

    4 Nov: AFR: The wealthy Australians funding climate change candidates
    by Andrew Tillett
    Wealthy climate change activist Simon Holmes a Court wants to assemble a $1 million war chest to bankroll independent candidates at the next election after funding disclosures showed the organisation he and rich-lister Mike Cannon-Brookes backed emerged as one of 2019’s biggest donors.
    Mr Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 initiative donated about $450,000 to 12 independent and crossbench political candidates in the run up to the May 18 poll, helping independent Helen Haines prevail. Two incumbent MPs Climate 200 helped, Adam Bandt and Rebekha Sharkie, were re-elected…

    Nevertheless, candidate donations returns released by Australian Electoral Commission on Monday revealed just how potent climate change had become as for political fundraising.
    Independent Zali Steggall disclosed receiving a whopping $1.1 million in donations for her successful bid to unseat former prime minister Tony Abbott in the northern Sydney electorate of Warringah…

    Businessman and environmental philanthropist Robert Purves donated $67,000 each to Ms Steggall’s campaign while his sister Sandra gave $37,000.

    Given how well she was resourced, Climate 200 opted not to donate to Ms Steggall, instead spreading its money around other independent candidates in other seats.
    But Climate 200 gave $145,000 to the former head of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Oliver Yates for his campaign against Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the seat Melbourne seat of Kooyong, out of $363,000 he disclosed receiving.

    Kerryn Phelps received $47,500 from Climate 200 (out of $219,000 in total donations) for her failed bid to hold Wentworth in Sydney’s east while Dr Haines included $35,000 from the group in her list of $421,000 in donations.
    All up, candidates disclosed receiving $354,500 in donations from Climate 200 but the real figure is higher because donations under $13,800 do not have to be publicly declared…READ ON
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/the-wealthy-australians-funding-climate-change-candidates-20191104-p5376e

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  • #
    robert rosicka

    I wonder if the 48% of Aussies was from a carefully selected cohort?

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    • #
      Yonniestone

      Probably all old white males, with their backward ideas on science, economics and the welfare of others.

      /sarc. if needed.

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  • #
    pat

    comment w/ AFR’s coverage is in moderation:

    5 Nov: Australian: Federal election independent candidates backed by Climate 200 funding vehicle
    by Geoff Chambers & Olivia Caisley
    Pro-climate change independent candidates were bankrolled by a company backed by renewable energy activists Mike Cannon-Brookes, Simon Holmes a Court and the Climate Outcomes Foundation in a co-ordinated funding campaign ahead of the election.
    Australian Electoral Commission disclosure returns reveal funding connections between candidates and supporters through a Climate 200 funding vehicle, established by accountant Damien Hodgkinson.

    Climate 200 Pty Ltd was formed on April 9 ahead of the May 18 election, and donated about $450,000 to 12 independents. Disclosure documents lodged by Mr Hodgkinson reveal donations made by Climate 200 to Helen Haines, Kerryn Phelps, Anthony Pesec, Gary Kent, Oliver Yates, Rob Oakeshott and Julia Banks totalled $354,500.
    The AEC returns, listing ­donations above the $13,800 disclosure threshold, also show Alex Turnbull, the son of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, made two donations worth $20,000 to Mr Pesec’s Senate campaign, which was supported by Mr Hodgkinson.

    AEC documents reveal the independent campaigns of Warringah MP Zali Steggall, Ms Haines, who replaced Cathy McGowan in Indi, and Mr Yates, who failed to unseat Josh Frydenberg in Kooyong, raised almost $2m from 2641 donors.
    The Australian understands Ms Steggall’s warchest was the largest-funded independent campaign in history. Mr Hodgkinson appears as an agent on Ms Steggall’s AEC return, which ­listed 1378 donors and more than $1.1m in donations…

    Mr Cannon-Brookes, who is backing a $25bn project in the Northern Territory to create the world’s biggest solar farm, declined to comment on his donation to Climate 200. In March, the billionaire founder of software giant Atlassian called for Australia to move to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2035.
    Mr Holmes a Court, a climate activist whose father Robert was Australia’s first billionaire, said Climate 200 would continue backing independent and major party candidates who “back science-based climate policy and integrity in our political system”.
    He disputed suggestions the bloc of climate change candidates should have registered as a political party…

    Mr Yates, the former Clean Energy Finance Corporation chief, raised $362,578 from 261 donors…READ ON
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/federal-election-independent-candidates-backed-by-climate-200-funding-vehicle/news-story/1a4c635f0bee627b2a8f97f007491090

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  • #
    Mal

    The common man realises it’s the Parsites climate agreement and they are being scr..ed!

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      Environment Skeptic

      Heard animals can only go by what they have heard. It isn’t easy..Smith says something and then so does Brown, and then they are convinced, the entire herd/heard, it is so and couldn’t be otherwise, simply because it is something they heard. That includes something about the Paris agreements Parisians herd something about…

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      farmerbraun

      The Parisite Climate Treaty .
      I like it.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    See, it wasn’t hard to do at all.

    You tell them you’re going to leave and after the required notice period, you’re out.

    And nothing bad happens.

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    • #
      Saighdear

      Yeah! … Just like when the Donald won his election – Whor didn’t break out ( don’ want to tempt f8 by right in popperlee ). See Oceans haven’t drowned us and snow is already falling over Iceland and in the Alps / N Italy ( Source: Webcams this now ). Maybesoon to fall in Spain too ( ? 😉 )

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      Roy Hogue

      Maybe one bad thing happens. The heads of all the climate change believers in congress might explode. AOC is a particularly good candidate to watch.

      By now you’re already asking why is this such a bad thing? Well-l-l-l-l it’s a bad thing because some poor capitol building janitor has to come along and clean up the mess left by all those exploding heads. And he doesn’t deserve that kind of treatment. 😉

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        Mark D.

        Roy, I put AOC I.Q. at below 100. There isn’t enough in her head to explode…..

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        • #
          AndyG55

          Implode. !

          Into the abyss. !

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          Roy Hogue

          Mark, I’ve been trying to figure out whether she’s abysmally stupid or abysmally ignorant. And to be honest, I can’t tell. I recently watched a documentary about her and she is frighteningly well organized and dedicated to what she wants and is willing to walk all over anyone and anything in her way. And that tends to rule out stupid. But she says things almost anyone would know are not true. What is she underneath her clothes, ignorant, stupid, or an act of some kind? I’m about out of ability to write her off as stupid or ignorant and that leaves an act. She is dangerous.

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  • #
    Greg in NZ

    Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Live In Atlantic City

    If I leave here tomorrow
    Would you still remember me
    I must be travelling on now
    ’cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ndb_lt4xA

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    Saighdear

    Aye munn, Oor Donal’ must have been a Tommy Cooper fan! Just wish the UK politico elites watched the programmes that their types broadcast to the plebs. We enjoyed Tommy, ……. Brexit just like that. … and all the rest. UK News this morning banning Diesels (& non-Euro4 Petrols) in /around Bristol ….’Just like that’ Listening to XRbums ‘Just like that’, stopping fracking ‘Just like that’. Stupid does what stupid is ‘Just like that’, Time someone flipped the coin over ‘Just like that’

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    Lionell Griffith

    One more Obama legacy down the tubes. Obama who?

    At least Obama did achieve a fundamental change in America. The apathetic half who merely make things work have finally gotten angry enough to do something: get out and vote FOR Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Thereby overwhelming those who vote to take more of the substance of others, by force, so they can pretend they are getting a free lunch from government. At least for a while.

    What has bugged me for a long time is why were the apathetic so apathetic? Their enemy is so inadequate, incomplete, and incompetent that all they can do is vote in favor of a free lunch and cannot otherwise take care of themselves.

    What if the apathetic half who create all those so called free lunches stopped creating them? The free lunch crowd would soon be SOL and no longer be a problem. Especially when facing a fully armed and willing to use them to protect their lives, liberty, and property crowd. Those who need a free lunch to survive wouldn’t have a chance.

    He who is free, never submits. He who submits, was never free. Stay free!

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    pat

    4 Nov: KTLA: AP: ‘Little Arson Grasses’: Non-Native Species Making California Wildfires More Frequent, Study Finds
    For much of the United States, invasive grass species are making wildfires more frequent, especially in fire-prone California, a new study finds.
    Twelve non-native species act as “little arsonist grasses,” said study co-author Bethany Bradley, a University of Massachusetts professor of environmental conservation.

    Wherever the common Mediterranean grass invades, including California’s southern desert, fires flare up three times more often. And cheatgrass , which covers about one-third of the Intermountain West, is a big-time fire promoter, Bradley said.
    “I would not be surprised at all if invasive grasses are playing a role in the current fires but I don’t think we can attribute to them directly,” Bradley said…

    Experts say the areas burning now in California are more shrubs and grasses than forests, despite what President Donald Trump tweeted over the weekend.
    “This is a global problem,” said University of Alberta fire expert Mike Flannigan, who wasn’t part of the study but said it makes sense. “I think with climate change and human assistance we are moving to a grass world. One region they should have mentioned is Hawaii where wildfires are increasing in large part due to invasive grasses.”…

    The study in Monday’s journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looks at the connections between a dozen species of invasive grasses and fires nationwide, finding fires occur more often in places with the non-native grasses. But the study did not find a link between invasive grasses and the size of the fires…READ ON
    https://ktla.com/2019/11/04/little-arson-grasses-non-native-grass-species-making-california-wildfires-more-frequent-study-finds/

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      Ernest Bush

      Just another bogus study about California forest areas. In the late summer/early autumn months in California there is absolutely no rain. During the Spring/Early Summer months there is abundant rain and snow runoff, causing specific plants to grow taller and greener. During neutral to light El Nino conditions Spring rains are larger. Regulations do not allow removal of underbrush or removal of tree branches along power lines. Santa Anna winds cause powerlines to touch and spark, causing forest fires. Everywhere else in the U.S. has seen a drop in fires. Not in California. It is the elephant in the room, statistically.
      California. Just another aspect of the socialist green agenda. Sadly, there has been destruction of a lot of great wine grape vines. BTW, the snowpack last winter in California was 4 times greater than the average.

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    The non binding targets may have big bucks value for the developing countries. In Madrid they will be trying to finalize the Paris Accord emission trading scheme. Anyone who exceeds their target can sell the difference as indulgences, called carbon credits. The airlines are already promising to offset their jet propelled emissions so there are a lot of buyers.

    Countries like China and India have a lot to sell, despite their coal mania, because their targets are based on emissions per GDP, not emissions per se. Industrialization increases emissions but it increases productivity even more, a lot more.

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    Kalm Keith

    U S A !!!!!

    Breaking Free and showing the way.

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      dinn, rob

      I’m elated that Sri Lanka dropped the carbon tax.
      Seriously now, not politically/psychotically: precautionary principle does not kill people. Use of caution/restraint forms a major part of common sense or horse sense. That horses/people can be stampeded does not invalidate precautionary principle. Logic choppers try to rule the town, try to cut every man, woman and child down.

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    One day it’s the end of the world if Trump pulls out of the Paris Agreement. Next day, it’s business as usual and everyone’s doing it. I guess that’s the New York Times for you.

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      I saw that in the green news too. Hoping it won’t happen then making the best of it. The U.S. Will still have observer status in the Paris talks, so will be in the room, as it was with Kyoto blather. They still have full membership in the UNFCCC as well. Too bad.

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    Ruairi

    Let’s hope Donald Trump sets a trend,
    And a message to ditherers send,
    That they follow his lead,
    And from Paris secede,
    Bringing climate alarm to an end.

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    In regard to invasive grass species, with climate change, whether new or repetitious, it’s like dropping a pebble into a pond. No matter where the event takes place, there will always be wide spread ripples.

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    John F. Hultquist

    One can argue that the USA was out of the Paris thing when then President Obama walked out of his White House office for the last time. Or for an alternative time, when Donald Trump said “I will”, or whatever – Friday, January 20, 2017.
    From Wikipedia:
    At noon Trump became the 45th president of the United States, taking the oath of office with Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump was also sworn in using two Bibles, a Bible his mother gifted him and the historic Lincoln Bible.

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      We sent and will still shed a team to every COP, which did negotiate, in Obama style.

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      Ernest Bush

      Mostly it has been ignored singe Trump took office. He is following the withdrawal according to the the protocols. In actuality, the treaty has never been binding for the U.S. government. Treaties have to be ratified by our Senate to be binding. The withdrawal process is for show. Obama ignored the Constitution and got away with it for obvious reasons. Meanwhile a suit has been filed to force an immediate withdrawal.

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    Robert Swan

    The action, which came on the first day possible under the accord’s complex rules on withdrawal, begins a yearlong countdown to the United States exit…

    What puzzles me with these sorts of agreements and, for that matter, the oft-cited “international law”: who enforces these “rules”, and how do they enforce them?

    If, rather than waiting a year, Trump declares “We’re out as of right now”, what happens? An invasion of the USA? All US diplomats ejected from all the nations of the world? A trade war against the USA? Or might it just be that the US would receive fewer invitations to other international gabfests?

    International agreements seem to have about as much substance as all these climate emergencies we keep hearing about.

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    Dennis

    It is a gigantic tangled web of bureaucratic green and red tape beginning with UN Treaties and Agreements and to get around the constitutional laws of member nations.

    In Australia there is elected government (politicians), appointed government departments and employees (unionised work force) and then tribunals, commissions, offices of, and as we learnt about environmental water releases recently the holder of the water makes the decision, not the government directly.

    Consider deportation orders issued and then pushed aside by bureaucrats.

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    pat

    sadly, for months, 2GB’s Michael McLaren has obsessed that he is the first & only person in the world who understands that CAGW – if true – is caused by over-population. this morning, he was amazed to find a population piece in The Conversation (he clearly didn’t follow the article to its intended CAGW audience at the upcoming ANZSEE conference):

    AUDIO: 12min06: 6 Nov: 2GB: Michael McLaren Wake Up Australia: No Australian city has a long-term vision for living sustainably
    Michael speaks to Professor Mike Berry, Emeritus Professor at RMIT University, about his co-authored article that claims that no Australian city has a long-term vision for living sustainably…
    https://www.2gb.com/no-australian-city-has-a-long-term-vision-for-living-sustainably/

    5 Nov: TheConversation: No Australian city has a long-term vision for living sustainably. We can’t go on like this
    by Mike Berry, Emeritus Professor, RMIT University
    and Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Science, Griffith University
    Disclosure statements
    Disclosure statement
    Mike Berry has received funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, an independent organisation funded by universities and the nine federal, state and territory governments, and the Australian Research Council.
    Ian Lowe was president of the Australian Conservation Foundation from 2004 to 2014. He is now chair of the Wakefield Futures Group.

    This article is part of a series on rebalancing the human–nature interactions that are central to the study and practice of ecological economics, which is the focus of the 2019 ANZSEE Conference in Melbourne later this month.

    More complex policies like finding ways of diverting population growth to non-metropolitan regions will take careful thought and experimentation. This might include ***relocating government agencies to provincial cities…
    http://theconversation.com/no-australian-city-has-a-long-term-vision-for-living-sustainably-we-cant-go-on-like-this-123916

    ***start with theirABC.

    ANZSEE: PROGRAM
    Our great set of keynote speakers and panels spans some black humour from the inimitable Rod Quantockat our vegetarian conference dinner to a panel on the School Strike for Climate (SS4C) movement, with student protesters Harriet O’Shae Carre and Kaity Thompson, led by climate campaigner David Spratt…READ ON
    https://anzsee.org.au/2019-anzsee-conference/program-news/

    ANZSEE (The Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics): 2019 ANZSEE Conference
    24–26 November 2019, RMIT University, Melbourne
    2 COMMENTS:
    Amartya Pani: If my abstract will select, then any travel Grant available as a early carrier research scholar from India?
    REPLY: ANZSEE: Thank you for your interest. No travel grant will be available as this conference is run with a shoe string budget.
    https://anzsee.org.au/2019-anzsee-conference/

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