Just so you know, at some point soon we will get the first site upgrade in three years, and … (drum roll)… nested comments! There will be a few other improvements too, but largely things will look similar. It has been a couple of months of work, behind the scenes, to upgrade my sometimes quixotic CSS code.
But if the site goes down, or you are not able to add comments for a while in the next few days, it is probably maintenance.
Apologies for the inconvenience.
Jo
Then perhaps I can pose a question:
Does Julia Gillard know that the Carbon Tax is a crock of s**t, but will ram it through anyway for a mix of political expediency and neo-Marxist control-freak ideology, or is she really so dim as to believe that it relates in any way to ‘saving the planet’?
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Hmm!
Odd isn’t it?
Sort of makes you wonder why (after the intent of the Kyoto Protocol became obvious) the State Governments in Victoria and New South Wales were so desperate to sell off their coal fired power plants to private enterprise.
Wonder why people haven’t put two and two together on that front.
Tony.
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Are sea levels dropping?
European Space Agency’s Envisat global sea level monitoring Data.
compare:
Start:2003.976717 4.858260e-01
End:2011.529146 4.856059e-01
To reduce the annual effect…
Near start:2004.526609 4.880448e-01
End:2011.529146 4.856059e-01
“e-01” Does that mean sea levels have dropped nearly 3mM?
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Oops link for above:
ftp://ftp.aviso.oceanobs.com/pub/oceano/AVISO/indicators/msl/MSL_Serie_EN_Global_IB_RWT_NoGIA_Adjust.txt
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We are slow learners, TonyfromOz.
Two government-supported, lock-step, consensus beliefs:
1. The 1967 Bilderberg dogma that Earth’s heat source is a ball of hydrogen, in equilibrium, generating constant heat by H-fusion.
2. The 1971 auto-centric dogma that humans cause global climate change.
Blocked progress in science for four decades (1971-2011):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10640850/20110722_Climategate_Roots.pdf
It took me four decades to realize that the problem began with meetings between Henry Kissinger and Chinese leaders in 1971!
With kind regards,
Oliver K. Manuel
http://myprofile.cos.com/manuelo09
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The warmanistas are about to slam head on into one of the most impenetrable barriers on the planet: the average American citizens wallet. The greens want to see there hero, President Obama, halt the construction of two pipelines from the Alberta tar sands. http://www.pej.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=8963&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
If Obama allows the pipeline to be built (technically Secretary of State Clinton has the last word) he will anger the greens. If he halts the construction he will upset the unions who want the jobs. Will Americans put energy and economic security ahead of the environment while we are in a severe recession? Hmmm…. is water wet, do bees be?
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Hey Tony remember i told you all about the guy i know who i suggested lead by example and top himself?
Yeah well i was talking to him again last night this time about the tax, i talked about all the stuff you said about power plants etc
Running scoreboard is now
Crakar24 2
My mate 0
Thanks for your help.
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Good Luck with the upgrade Jo.
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Old chinese proverb:
When web site broken, fix
When web site fixed, more broken.
Hey, I’m just sayin’ … 🙂
20
Since I cannot comment on the relevant thread I will do so here. This is a very concise and considered analysis of what should have happen in the Andrew Bolt case from a legal standpoint.
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Crakar24,
what happened to you is indicative of this whole Renewable Power (Fiasco).
Without any knowledge on how power plants (any of them) generate their power, they use a search engine and lo and behold, they come up with what your friend found and immediately they have a viable alternative, and an answer to come back at you with.
I have mentioned this plant before here, but for any new readers who may be swayed, I’ll do it again.
At the absolute height of the Northern Summer this Concentrating Solar (Solar Thermal) plant actually did make power for one full 24 hour period.
The plant is a 14MW plant with heat diversion to a molten salt compound. The molten salts stay molten enough to actually be able to boil water to steam to drive a conventional turbine/generator.
At the height of Summer and on a bright hot, cloud free day with almost 14 hours of Sunlight, enough heat was diverted away from actual generation to keep that compound molten throughout non daylight hours, and it was enough (just) to be able to make steam through the dark.
This same actual plant has a Capacity Factor of 60%, and keep in mind that is a yearly theoretical value, hence averaged over the whole year, you’re looking at just over 14 hour a day of power.
Then again, look at the power output, 14MW. This is boutique level power we’re talking about.
Also, the more that the heat is diverted to keep the compound molten enough to make steam, through non daylight hours, the less power can be generated DURING those daylight hours.
The more heat retaining compound that is used, then the cost of the plant rises. and exponentially from that.
When I explain these ‘inconvenient’ fats, then it’s only because I’m doing this to make a somehow ‘Political’ point, or I’m somehow anti green, and I”m using selective data for those reasons.
People point at large scale coal fired power and quote back at me the same 60% CF, without again realising how power is generated, and that a plant of this nature has a CF that low because it is (usually) an older plant kept on spinning reserve, in other words turning and burning, but not providing power until it is called for as demand necessitates.
The same CF is also quoted for some Natural Gas fired plants, with CF as low, again without understanding that plants of this nature can run up to speed fairly quickly and supply their power at short notice, plants of this nature used for ‘Peaking Power’ periods, in other words, only supplying power for around 6 hours a day, and sitting idle for the rest of the time.
So, for horrendous amounts of money, and up to ten years in the making, and half the life span, people say, well, there you go, look at that. We actually can replace coal fired power.
These ‘dreamers’ have no concept of what they are looking at, and then talking about, and ‘shoot me down’ because I have obviously stated somehow ‘convenient’ data from a political standpoint.
So, when you hear of wonderful headlines like this, be very aware that something of this nature is absolute bovine waste.
Tony.
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Siliggy at #3:
Without the metadata for that source it is strictly impossible to say.
If we *assume* that the measurements are in SI units then they are in metres as a delta from some baseline, and are written in scientific notation. ie 4.856059e-01 == 4.856059 x 10^-01 which presumably is 0.4856m or 485.6mm.
That would imply the oceans dropped 0.22mm over that time.
Seems unlikely this could be measured so precisely. I mean seriously, how can you measure the average height of the ocean, with waves all over it, to the nearest tenth of a millimetre of accuracy, let alone 6 decimal places of precision. It’s surely impossible. That apparent precision is probably an artifact of averaging. So I would instead say the oceans stopped rising, not that they definitely dropped by any significant amount.
Other skeptics have been less cautious in judgement. YMMV.
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Good luck with the site maintenance Jo.
As long as the HTML is clean and sound a little bit of CSS work shouldn’t cause a problem. I like a little bit of CSS tinkering myself. Will you make your nested comments expandable/contractable?
Cheers
NicG.
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There will be no inconvenience to us (just withdrawal symptoms). Sounds like some good things are coming! Thanks for the warning and the apology (although not necessary).
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The whole idea of the sea level rising in response to warming has always seemed a bit daft to me. Yes salt water has a positive coefficient of thermal expansion but so would the land! While pure water just above freezing temp has a negative expansion most ‘stuff’ will expand and a lot of it more than sea water. So why would the land not grow to match the water? Anyone know what the thermal expansion coefficient of a continent is?
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Notice a very significant article, because it is by a deeply involved Aborigine, in today’s Australian on the Bolt case:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/repeal-dusty-sections-of-racial-discrimination-act/story-e6frgd0x-1226154340112
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Sorry a hasty retraction on #16. Confused Christopher with Noel.
10
just saw this comment on WUWT tips and notes:
by JacobusZeno:
“I have just watched an episode of a show titled “The Crownies” on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that featured a court case where a “Climate Scientist” had to defend himself in court because he punched an extremely annoying “Climate Skeptic”.
I nearly wet myself laughing at the parody of arguments for and against Global Warming that were expressed in the court case. The script writer was obviously toeing the “Consensus” party line.
And get this… the “Scientist” was named something like Professor Caroly who was SO “respectable” that he had represented Australia on the IPCC AND the “Skeptical blogger” was named James WATT!
I don’t know that folks outside Australia would be able to view this online but Australians can probably see it on the ABC iView system for a week or two
I really think you are getting under their skin Anthony – keep at it laddie!”
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link to the Crownies episode mentioned above:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/crownies/stories/s3323328.htm
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Flawed Carbon Trading Scheme (3693 signatures)
This petition on the proposed Carbon Trading Scheme is sponsored by Dennis Jensen MP. Dr Jensen has agreed to present the petition with signatories to the Australian House of Representatives.”
Please sign it: http://petitions.listentous.org.au/detail/index/pid/16
There could be 3000 more …. when most of the members here sign it. Thanks.
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People, did anyone record that episode Crownies this week? If so I’d very much like to hear from you. Please email me joanne AT this domain here. Anthony W would like to hear too. No people overseas apparently can’t see this gem of ABC self-satire, shame, because there’s no chance any network overseas would buy it.
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Hi Joanne,
It’s possible that overseas people can watch this Replay on the net at
the ABC’s iView facility.
http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/program/832494
It will be available for viewing for the next two weeks.
If that link doesn’t work, then you can access it by going to the abc website at
http://www.abc.net.au
Click on TV on the menu, then click iView, then Programs, then Drama, then click on the Segment “Crownies” – Episode 13.
Hope that helps.
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Joanne,
just email the link as follows.
This is the ABCTV iview and it shows the whole episode.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/crownies/video/default.htm?pid=player2&src=/tv/crownies/xml/s3323328.xml&title=Episode%20Thirteen&videoID=videpcrownies_episode13&videoDate=Episode%2013,%20Thursday%20September%2029&autostart=true
The ‘Climate Scientist’ is named Tim Coghburn, and, (as the Episode brief says) the ‘persistent climate denialist’ is named as James Watt.
This is the link to that episode short background, and it’s very much along the Party line let me tell you.
Tony.
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Wow!
scroll through to the 16.21 mark.
I feel sure Anthony Watts will be really pleased!!!! about that.
Tony.
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The UN.
What do you have to do to get suspended from what must be the world’s least exclusive but most expensive club?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2043306/Christian-pastor-faces-execution-Iran-refusing-renounce-faith.html
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Best of luck with the upgrade.
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Jo, the Crownies episode. A plaintiff called Watt was suing a
climate scientist for assault. The prosecuting barrister was uncomfortable because the climate scientist was his hero, and the defendant’s lawyer had been his lecturer at university. Watt disagreed with the climate scientist, mentioning the place where thermometers had been placed near air conditioning units and on airport runways, he ignored the medieval warm period, etc. And at a book launch or lecture had asked these questions. On the way out he approached the climate scientist and was standing with his back to the stairs, where he alleges he was punched and fell down the stairs. The defendant said he put out his hand to try and stop him falling? On cross examination the prosecuting lawyer through an emotive cross examination, gets the defendant to agree he punched him. He was fined a $1000 but not imprisoned. (Neither he should have of course) Watt the plaintiff asked the lawyer to lunch, and the lawyer refused and told him to learn his science.? The scientist said it was worth $1,000 to put their skeptics in their place.
Difficult to decide whether it was a pro warmists, but when the lawyer got back to his office, one of his colleagues mentioned it was a good result, after all they did put thermometers near air conditioners and on runways. That made the lawyer think a bit.
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How’s this for stupid alarmism in the MSM?
“Britain to bask in hottest October ever recorded” … and the date is …. October 1.
Then we read that some places this weekend may be hotter than the current October record of 29.4C, the record to be “shattered” as the writer puts it.
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Rick @ 27
I don’t think that report is anything to worry about. The report of record temperatures seems just like we used to have, before all this climate nonsense appeared. I see no mention of climate or it implying thereon. Newspapers of course want to deal in record s being broken & superlatives, to have a story. Nothing appears irresponsible in this reporting. Such weather is just a freak. Sparse compensation for a poor summer perhaps . We have just become conditioned by all this climate nonsense to read too much into such innocuous reporting.
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Rick I was in London in 1969,(having left UK in 1965 for Australia, and then returning to London and the Midlands for a few weeks from September 29th to late October for a holiday in UK on the way back to Australia) they were experiencing what is known in UK as an Indian summer. Nothing unusual. When I was at school
between mid July and first weeks in September, we always said we
had the worst weather while we were on Summer Holidays. As soon as the new years school term started the weather warmed up. And the rain stopped too. However, four days into October the weather turned cold again. I mean 29 degrees is hardly hot. And I dispute that hottest day for 100 years, when we were in UK, and were into Fahrenheit, 85 deg.F was unusual, but depends where you were living. But not impossible or unheard of.
I remember commenting when I arrived in Sydney in 1965, that their winters were very much like English summers. Except that in Sydney the temperature per day and night fluctuation was much greater than in England.
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PS. I was returning to Sydney Australia having lived in Bermuda for 10 months. And was absolutely amazed that on the 1st October, the
trees still had some leaves left in Hyde Park and St.James park.
But 1 week later, up near Lincoln, it began to snow and sleet.
I remember whilst still in London those few days, it was around
79 degrees F. We had come all wrapped up too, and shed our coats
to walk through the near by parks etc. The media will take any opportunity to say its a record etc., but its just a short lived
Indian summer.
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Bush Bunny @ 29
Interesting to hear your weather recollections. I wish I could remember is such vivid detail. Please don’t take that down arrow seriously. A case of smatphone finger, which failed to hit the right mark. Sadly it happens sometimes & there’s no going back. :-!
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Turbine vetoed by CouncillOrs
It’s nice to see Carbon Cameron’s ambitions can still be thwarted by one single minded Councillor, in this article from the Green press.
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No no TonyfromOz, you don’t get it! Big Pullooding Power has to pay us to take the wicked stuff off their hands. Hold on to your tinfoil hats folks because soon the Gummint is gunna make Coles and Woollies pay you to shop there because we can’t have wicked people profiteering.
As the man said- You know it makes sense!
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Looks to me like the Crownies scriptwriter has read some of the Climategate e-mails… you know, “I’m really sorry that you have to go through all this stuff. Next time I see Pat Michaels at a scientific meeting, I’ll be tempted to beat the crap out of him. Very tempted.”
🙂
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Annabell Crab having a serious bad hair day on Insiders today! Couldn’t happen to a nicer alarmist.
(Crab Crabb Crap- who cares?)
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I might be wrong- we might now know where Bruce Doule’s missing hair went!
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Joe V I can’t see a thumbs down vote, but apology accepted.
I recall that Indian summer all too well! My ex left me in London with 3 children under 6, and went off with his mistress on a holiday in Wales, while supposed to be trying to find transport back to UK. He was a commercial pilot. Of course I was unaware of this at the time. But I remember getting lost around London one Sunday morning, when there were no coppers to ask where to go. Carrying one child and two in a stroller. Walked for miles in circles, smelling all those roast dinners coming from cute mews homes. We were housed in St.James hotel, near Buckingham Palace, and was I hot when I found my way back. I recall it only too well sadly. We divorced two years later.
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Something interesting I haven’t heard about before – from Pravda.ru – don’t know how true it all is.
Science » Planet Earth
Giant ocean whirlpools puzzle scientists
12.04.2011
US scientists discovered two giant whirlpools in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Guyana and Suriname. It became a sensational discovery because this part of the ocean has been studied thoroughly, and no one expected anything like that to appear in the area. More importantly, no one can understand where the whirlpools came from and what surprises they may bring to people.
According to Brazilian scientist Guilherme Castellane, the two funnels are approximately 400 kilometers in diameter. Until now, these were not known on Earth. The funnels reportedly exert a strong influence on climate changes that have been registered during the recent years.
“Funnels rotate clockwise. They are moving in the ocean like giant frisbees, two discs thrown into the air. Rotation occurs at a rate of one meter per second, the speed is sufficiently large compared to the speed of oceanic currents, on the border hoppers is a wave-step height of 40 cm,” Castellane said.
Even during the dry months, when the movement of oceanic currents and the flow of the Amazon River practically comes to a standstill, the funnels do not disappear. Therefore, the nature of the funnels does not depend on the flow of water, which one of the world’s biggest rivers brings into the ocean. The natural phenomenon, which creates the whirlpools, is unknown to modern science.
0
SharePrint version Font Size Send to friendAs a matter of fact, the phenomenon of giant whirlpools in the World Ocean is not new to science. In most cases, the craters, or rings, as scientists call them, are formed as a result of so-called vertical currents. The latter, in their turn, appear because of differences in water density which appear because of difference in temperatures of water layers. It is an open secret that cold water is thicker and heavier, so it goes down, underneath the masses of warm water, which is lighter. This is the reason why warm currents in the World Ocean always flow closer to the surface, whereas colder currents flow closer to the bottom.
However, such movement of water may not always depend on the difference of temperatures of the water column. The difference in salinity can also be a reason. The mechanism here is the same. The density of saltier water is higher, this water is heavier and it moves closer to the bottom, pushing less saltier water up. This type of vertical fusion occurs frequently in the tropics because high temperatures lead to the evaporation of water from the surface. The salt does not evaporate with water, though. It stays in the ocean, which raises the level of salinity on the upper layer of water. This layer “drowns” and gives way to less saltier waters of the depth.
Such vertical movements of water create giant whirlpools. The whirlpools, tens and even hundreds of kilometers in diameter, may last for months and even years, scientists say. The vertical movement of waters is a slow process, though. Why do those whirlpools exist for such a long time? This is partially the effect of Earth’s magnetic field. In addition, marine water contains many charged ions, Na and Cl for example. To crown it all, water molecules are dipoles that are charged both positively and negatively.
Any dipole starts spinning when moving in the magnetic field. An oceanic ring gathers millions of billions of molecules together. That is why the giant circle movement triggered by the vertical movement of water may last for months and years mechanically. Ions also give more power to the craters. Natrium and Chlorum are charged as well, and their movement in the magnetic field of the Earth also leads to the appearance of the circle movement.
It is not ruled out that the reason for the appearance of the whirlpools off the coast of South America is the same as in other parts of the World Ocean. Scientists are currently studying the influence of those giant funnels on the climate of Latin America and Africa. Such whirlpools show influence on the atmosphere and form cyclonical air mass. They can also affect the movement of air mass formed in other places. For the time being, scientists do not know how the newly discovered water craters can affect the climate of Central and South Americas.
Anton Yevseyev
Pravda.Ru
http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/12-04-2011/117547-ocean_whirlpools-0/#
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the madness and badness continues:
30 Sept: IOL South Africa: Barabara Cole: 8,000 rooms still needed for Cop17
The UN is expecting 15,000 accredited delegates to attend its conference at the International Convention Centre and the Durban Exhibition Centre, and thousands of other visitors will also fly in for other gatherings and exhibitions at other venues across the city…
Project manager of Thompsons Africa Erica Gardner, said on Wednesday that there was an 8 000 room shortfall. “And we are not even half way there,” she told a meeting at the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which was attended by stakeholders from the hospitality industry and related businesses.
Although the conference will be held from November 26 to December 3, some delegates are expected to come in from November 21 until December 11 – and some UN officials are expected to arrive from early November…
http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/8-000-rooms-still-needed-for-cop17-1.1148383
29 Sept: IPS: Climate Change Will Impede North-South Trade
By Servaas van den Bosch
Climate change is increasingly playing a role in North-South trade, as carbon emissions are being used as an excuse to protect markets, with poorer countries likely to lose out…
The absence of a legally binding agreement and especially a proper enforcement mechanism for such an agreement will lead to a surge in trade disputes and heightened protectionism, predicted experts at a Sept. 27 trade meeting in Windhoek…
But on a global scale climate change could see tariff walls, which were painstakingly broken down over the past decades, being resurrected, thereby affecting market access for the South.
“The climate change debate is increasingly framed as a competition debate,” noted Peter Draper of the South African Institute of International Affairs. “Take the strict carbon legislation in the European Union and some states in the United States. This results in companies relocating the more pollution-intensive part of their production to countries with less stringent legislation, like China.
“Not only does this make the problem worse, because emissions are moved from a controlled to an unregulated environment, it also causes job losses. In response to this leakage the U.S. and EU are trying to level the playing field by instituting border carbon adjustments, which are essentially tariffs.”
Already, said Draper, the U.S. is reluctant to sign any climate package that does not cater for border carbon adjustment…
In the transport sector, the drive for greener, more efficient ships will also come with a price tag attached.
“The rising cost structure of ships, together with generally higher energy prices, might lead importers to cut their supply chain. Shortening of supply chains by developed markets could be a problem for countries like South Africa that are far from markets,” said Draper.
On the other hand, countries worldwide are positioning themselves to grab a piece of the growing renewable technology market and have not shied away from old-fashioned protectionism in the process.
“We will see an increase of disputes on tariffs and subsidies for renewable technology,” commented Draper.
“Recently Japan took the Canadian state of Ontario to the World Trade Organization because of discrimination against foreign suppliers of renewable energy. A similar case played out between the U.S. and China.
“The struggle over carbon emissions and renewable energy markets feeds into climate change protectionism. As long as the Doha round of trade talks (which would have reduced subsidies for developed countries’ agricultural industries, thus allowing developing countries to export) stays comatose, you are likely to see these disputes escalating.”…
Border carbon adjustment could also affect Southern Africa, especially energy-intensive sectors like metal processing, chemicals and mining.
“Because 94 percent of South Africa’s energy comes from coal plants, products from sectors that use a lot of dirty energy will likely fall under some border carbon adjustment regime,” said Draper.
Countries in this region that rely heavily on agriculture could face scrutiny from importers on the carbon-intensity of their production methods and be negatively affected by the green labels that retailers increasingly use to bar imports.
Asked about whether climate change will bring opportunities for industry, Draper seemed pessimistic.
“There might be some opportunities to benefit from developed countries moving their production, but this could be negated by border carbon adjustments. It’s hard to see the silver lining, quite frankly…
“Namibia with its long coastline and many days of sunshine is excellently positioned to reap the benefits of wind and solar energy,” Braby said.
However, some think that Namibia is not ready for this.
“We are not ready for renewable energy,” countered the ruling South West Africa People’s Organization member of parliament, Ben Amathila. “We need to make laws that are futuristic in order to exploit wind and solar technology, but decision makers have far too little knowledge of these issues.”
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105295
30 Sept: Globe & Mail, South Africa: Sipho McDermott: Green fund full of empty promises
Climate change will be expensive to manage and one of the most contentious issues in the negotiations is where that money will come from and who will dispense it.
Enter the Green Climate Fund. It is one of the key issues expected to be finalised in Durban at the climate change conference, COP17, and is likely to be one of the success stories of the conference…
Between 2012 and 2020, the fund is to be increased until it reaches its full amount. But reports from international civil society group Civicus say that the UN has received only $12-billion for the fund.
http://mg.co.za/article/2011-09-30-green-fund-full-of-empty-promises/
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with so much talk of budget deficits, etc., explain again why %50bn is being spent on an NBN that will only make sense to a small percentage of internet users:
3 Oct: Telegraph: Simon Benson: $140,000 NBN launch party stunt to to announce the first seven customers to sign up for a free NSW trial
A PUBLICITY stunt to announce the first seven customers to sign up for a free trial of the NBN in NSW cost the federal government $140,000, it has been revealed.
The launch in independent MP Tony Windsor’s northern NSW seat in May was attended by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, as well as NBN Co boss Mike Quigley.
The government has now admitted that the cost of the event, which the Opposition has labelled as a “giant publicity stunt”, was $138,474.05.
It was organised to show the PM “switching on” the first mainland NBN connection in Armidale.
It was later revealed that only seven retail customers in Armidale had actually signed up for the free trail prior to the launch – despite 3000 homes in the area being NBN ready…
Answers provided by NBN Co to a parliamentary inquiry into the broadband rollout have also revealed that the government-funded monopoly has leased top-of-the-market premium office space in Melbourne and Sydney in which to base it operations.
Documents show office space has been leased in North Sydney at a cost of $3.1 million a year – or $512 per square metre. This would put the office in the highest quality space, regarded as A grade or Premium real estate.
In Melbourne, its office rental costs $535 per square metre at a cost of $2.46m a year…
“Such is Labor’s propensity for wasteful spending that even the flicking of a switch comes with a whopping great price tag,” Mr Birmingham said. “These launches have been little more than giant publicity stunts for the Prime Minister and other Labor ministers.
“If Labor had any regard for taxpayers money it would refund the cost of these blatantly political media opportunities. By throwing taxpayers money around like confetti NBN Co is living up to all the fears many had about Labor’s new $50 billion monopoly company. With expenses like these it is little wonder NBN Co has sought approval for price rises 5 per cent above the inflation rate.”
The documents also reveal that by December 31, it is estimated that 1427 staff will be employed at an average yearly wage of $145,000 per employee…
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nbn-launch-party-stunt-to-to-announce-the-first-seven-customers-to-sign-up-for-a-free-nsw-trial/story-e6freuy9-1226156396999
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so much compensation needed, for what?
3 Oct: Qld Times: Carbon tax will cost abattoir $3m
OWNERS of the Dinmore Meatworks have called on the Federal government to help them reduce their carbon emissions in order to avoid a carbon tax bill of more than $3 million a year.
Dinmore Meatworks, the biggest abattoir in Australia and the biggest private employer in Ipswich, will have to pay an additional $3.3 million a year after the carbon tax comes into effect.
JBS Australia, owner of the site, said more than half of that cost will be directly due to their emissions with a further $1.5 million due to increased utility prices…
“I’m absolutely committed to making sure the company is profitable,” he said.
“We want to make sure they’re not looking disadvantaged.
“Dinmore Meatworks is very important to Ipswich.”
Mr Berry said he held positive discussions with the Federal government regarding the issue.
“I’ve had positive discussions with Shayne Nuemann our local Labor member, and also Minister Ludwig, the agricultural minister,” he said.
“But Dinmore needs to receive a significant amount of direct government assistance to mitigate the cost of the carbon tax.
Mr Berry said in its current state, the carbon tax will create a dual tiered system for meat processing facilities.
He said smaller abattoirs will avoid the carbon tax, while Dinmore would be forced to pay an additional cost of up to six dollars extra a head of cattle processed…
Mr Berry said the Dinmore site is being punished for its size.
“Dinmore is twice as large as the next biggest meat processing facility in Australia. The JBS flagship employs 1900 people and is being disadvantaged due to its size,” he said.
http://www.qt.com.au/story/2011/10/03/red-flag-rise-on-3m-carbon-cost/
1 Oct: Qld Times: Peter Foley: Council braced for carbon tax bill
IPSWICH ratepayers will be forced to foot the bill after the council learned the carbon tax could cost it $2 million a year more to dump waste.
The council’s waste contractor warned it to expect an increase of $22 a tonne to take household waste to landfill sites.
“This is a giant impact on our community and I need to get answers to it,” Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said.
“The only people we’ve got to pass it on to is the community and they’ve already been hit by electricity and all the other rising costs…
About 65,000 tonnes of household waste is dumped each year and the council says the tax would cost it an extra $2 million a year, including associated costs.
With about 50,000 people paying rates in Ipswich, that would mean an added $40 on top of every Ipswich ratepayer’s bill.
Federal MP Shayne Neumann argued councils would be compensated for the carbon tax to be introduced in July next year…
However, Councillor Trevor Nardi, responsible for the city’s waste management, said council had not been told about compensation.
“I don’t know how we would be compensated. Compensated to what extent?” Cr Nardi said.
“It’s a tax that is handed down and it can’t be absorbed by the council. Ultimately the ratepayer is the one who is left with the bill.
“I’ve been told the carbon tax could cost us $2 million to $3 million per year just from wheelie bins. It’s going to be an increase for all residents.”
Ipswich West Greens candidate Ursula Monsiegneur dismissed the complaints as “a Labor Party-supported council using politics to justify extra costs.”
http://www.qt.com.au/story/2011/10/01/council-braced-for2m-carbon-tax-bill/
3 Oct: Australian: Lauren Wilson: Double dissolution warning from Coalition MP
THE Coalition will go to a double dissolution election if it wins government and Labor baulks at repealing the carbon tax and its associated compensation, opposition climate change spokesman Greg Hunt says.
But Mr Hunt has declared he expects Labor to eventually support the Coalition’s push to unravel the Gillard government’s climate change policy, if it loses the next federal poll…
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/double-dissolution-warning-from-coalition-mp/story-fn59niix-1226156451009
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The “green” Agenda 21 building in Beijing.
The eight-story Agenda 21 office building in Beijing, completed in 2005, doesn’t seem that different from its neighbors. But a closer look reveals an integrated system that some hope will be the future of Chinese architecture.
Low-emissivity windows allow in light but repel heat. The building’s design maximizes sunlight while efficient lighting systems dim or turn off automatically as needed. On the roof, a garden stormwater system further insulates the building and captures water that can be re-used.
These are just some of the dozens of green features working together to let Agenda 21 use 74 percent less energy and 64 percent less water than its comparable non-green neighbors.
Here’s the kicker – it was cheaper to build. Final construction costs came out to about 5,700 yuan ($880) per square meter compared to a 2005 average in the area of 6,000-6,200 yuan for commercial buildings.
Long way to go
It was built as a model to kick-start China’s green building industry, and since its completion about 200 green building projects have begun construction. But to put that in perspective, China currently constructs 2 billion square meters of new floor space annually, equivalent to over 150,000 Agenda 21-sized buildings.
Green building has yet to take off.
“The obstacle in the market is that everyone believes [green building] will cost more,” says Jin Ruidong, who was an engineer for Agenda 21. “But we’ve already shown that it doesn’t cost more.”
In addition to the obvious savings on utilities over the life of a green building, smart integration from the outset can save on upfront building costs. Insulation features like low-emissivity windows, for example, cost more, but allow for less heating and cooling capacity to be installed. In many cases this makes the net upfront costs lower than a traditional building.
Agenda 21 enjoyed these savings, but there were setbacks. Joe Huang was a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who helped design the building’s HVAC (heating, ventilating, air-conditioning) system. He calculated that only half the heating and cooling capacity of a normal Beijing office building would be needed thanks to the insulation features. This allowed for a much smaller HVAC unit and a smaller room to house it in.
But the mechanical engineer wasn’t willing to change the blueprint. “His professional license was on the line,” said Huang. “He’s doing everything right according to Chinese procedures [for calculating energy needs]. He didn’t want to take the risk of going for a smaller machine.”
In the end Huang was right and only a small unit was needed which was put in a small side room. The big room built for a larger HVAC system is now used for playing ping pong.
Understanding needed
When integration between technologies isn’t built into the building’s design effectively from the beginning, costs begin to rise.
A study by the Symbiosis Institute of International Business concluded, “Sustainable construction principles may not be well understood by the design professionals undertaking the project” which could “lead to misunderstandings between the design team, construction team, and client.”
Tsinghua University’s architectural engineering department in Beijing is one of the few programs in China working to close these knowledge gaps hindering green building.
Zhu Yingxin, a professor in the department, says many of China’s green projects so far have been for generating public interest rather than energy or monetary savings. But arbitrarily buying green components doesn’t always boost efficiency. If used in the incorrect climate, some green technology can actually increase energy usage.
“Green building is not a kind of marketing,” Zhu said. “It’s a concept. It’s a kind of appropriate technology combination.”
Many doubt that green building can ever take off on its own though. “I don’t think market forces alone can substantially increase building efficiency,” said Staff Scientist David Fridley from China Energy Group, which promotes energy efficiency in China. “It has to be driven by policy, in this case building standards and incentive programs.”
The Chinese government has realized the need to provide these incentives. Zhejiang Province is currently experiencing the worst power shortages in seven years, which are expected to get worse across southern areas of China later this summer and may lead to electricity rationing and industrial slowdowns.
Additionally, an estimated 4 million new buildings will go up in China by 2030; half the world’s total.
China’s green future
On January 1 this year, China became the first country to enact nationwide DSM (Demand Side Management) legislation.
Under the new regulations, utility companies which supply electricity across China must achieve annual energy savings equal to 0.3 percent of their sales from the previous year by helping customers invest in efficiency measures.
“It’s really developing a whole new industry in China, and it’s pretty exciting,” said Barbara Finamore, China program director for the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “It requires [utilities] to consider efficiency a resource just like coal, gas, or nuclear.”
NRDC studies have found that it costs about one-fourth to one-third as much to save a kilowatt of energy through efficiency measures as it does to buy a kilowatt of generated energy. Given the potential benefits, the Chinese government has cited green building as a national strategy of economic development, and in March, the National People’s Congress pledged to “give priority to energy conservation management and a green-buildings campaign.”
As part of this initiative, a system for providing financial support for green buildings is being drafted.
“In the past the government only gave subsidies,” said Zhu Yingxin, who’s been advising the government. “This is totally wrong.”
She says design guidelines appropriate to the type of building and region must be issued to architects so they know how to build most efficiently and achieve actual energy savings.
With new legislation, some are more optimistic about green building’s future in China than others. “In the end, when China needs to build a billion square meters of new building space each year, much gets built in a standard way,” said David Fridley.
Master’s candidate Mike Grinshpon, on the other hand, came from the US to study green building at Tsinghua University. “If anyone wants their future career to be in green technology or clean energy it would be a grave mistake not to come to China,” he said. “China is the future of green technology.”
http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/662244/Green-go-ahead.aspx
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Good to see your site back up and running Jo, looks almost the same as before (as it supposed to).
Good to have you back.
Oh by the way to Sliggy in post 2, yes sea levels fell throughout 2010 they did it just in spite of Al and Tim. Apparently they fell by up to 6mm due to all the rain dumped on the land by La Nina, but never fear once all that rain runs off back into the oceans AGW induced sea level rise will continue just as the models predicted.
The desperation is becaoming a little too obvious dont you think?
Oh how could i forget the King of Geothermia is being hailed again this time by his complete lack of foresight in WA, after predicting the state will be a dustbowl and Perth a ghost town by now only to hear WA is set to produce a record grain harvest due to all the good rains they had, long live the King and all that……….
Its good to have ya back Jo.
Regards
Crakar24
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Steve Jobs – 1955 to 2011 – R.I.P.
This quote of his is going to be my email signature from now on.
“Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”
Very relevant to climate science I think.
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http://www.pakalertpress.com/2011/09/28/18-examples-of-how-christians-are-being-specifically-targeted-by-big-brother/
The American Dream
When the freedom of speech of one group is being threatened, it is a threat to all of us. Just because you may not be a Christian, don’t think that what you are about to read is not a problem for you as well. The truth is that any individual or group that does not “fit in” with the new “politically-correct” global system that is emerging is going to be persecuted sooner or later. In our society today, it has become quite fashionable to bash Christians. In fact, I am quite certain that some of the comments that get left after this article will say really horrible things about Christians. But after “Big Brother” is done with the Christians, are you sure that they will not come after you next? When I speak of “Big Brother”, I am not just speaking of the government. In today’s world, giant corporations and the mainstream media also play instrumental roles in the totalitarian police state prison grid that is being constructed all around us. The elite control the government, they run nearly all of the major corporations and they own most of the major media outlets. Anyone that does not “conform” to their system is a threat. As time goes by, the persecution of those that attempt to “rebel” against their system is only going to become more intense.
So if you are not a Christian, do not applaud when the system cracks down on Bible-believing Christians.
You never know, you might be next.
The following are 18 examples of how Christians are being specifically targeted by “Big Brother”….
#1 Home Bible studies are now banned in the city of San Juan Capistrano, California. According to city officials, regular gatherings “of more than three people” in private homes are simply not allowed. One couple that has held home Bible studies for years has already been fined twice and is being threatened with even more fines.
#2 Paypal has initiated “formal investigations” of a large number of Christian websites and organizations. Apparently, many of these investigations have been launched due to concerns that these websites and organizations do not hold to a “politically-correct” view of sexuality.
According to WorldNetDaily, Paypal has targeted include Americans For Truth, Last Days Watchman and a host of other Christian organizations including “Abiding Truth Ministries, New Generation Ministries, Noua Dreapta of Romania, Truth in Action Ministries, Dove World Outreach, Faith Word Baptist Church, Family Research Institute and American Society for the Defense of Traditional Family”.
#3 In Wichita, Kansas last year, a Christian minister was handcuffed and hauled off to jail by police for sharing the gospel and handing out tracts to Muslims on a public sidewalk. Apparently freedom of speech does not apply on the public sidewalks of America any longer.
#4 In the UK, police recently threatened a cafe owner with arrest for silently playing a Bible DVD on a small television on the back wall of his cafe. The following is an excerpt from a Daily Mail article about this incident….
Mr Murray, 31, was left shocked after he was questioned for nearly an hour by the officers, who arrived unannounced at the premises.
He said he had turned off the Bible DVD after an ‘aggressive inquisition’ during which he thought he was going to be arrested and ‘frog-marched out of the cafe like a criminal’.
#5 Last year, a high school student in Southern California was suspended for two days because he had private conversations with his classmates during which he discussed Christianity. He was also banned from bringing his Bible to school ever again.
#6 Big cable networks regularly feature “comedians” that love to mock Christians. For example, HBO “comedian” Bill Maher recently stated that “there’s a term for people who hate charity and love killing: Christian“.
If that had been said about another minority group, it would have made front page headlines for weeks.
#7 Down in Texas, the Department of Veteran Affairs actually tried to ban prayers that include the words “God” or “Jesus” during funeral services for veterans.
#8 In North Carolina last year, a pastor was dismissed from his chaplain duties for praying in the name of Jesus.
#9 An unclassified Department of Homeland Security report published a couple years ago entitled “Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment” claims that a belief in Bible prophecy “could motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food, ammunition and weapons.” The report goes on to state that such people are potentially dangerous.
#10 Back on February 20, 2009, the State of Missouri issued a report entitled “MIAC Strategic Report: The Modern Militia Movement“. That report warned that the following types of people may be potential terrorists….
*anti-abortion activists
*those that are against illegal immigration
*those that consider “the New World Order” to be a threat
*those that have a negative view of the United Nations
#11 All over the nation, “child protection agencies” are ripping an inordinate number of children out of Christian homes. In many of these cases the parents believe in homeschooling their children or they do not believe in having their children vaccinated.
#12 On June 18, 2010 two Christians decided that they would peacefully pass out copies of the gospel of John on a public sidewalk outside a public Islamic festival in Dearborn, Michigan and within three minutes 8 police officers surrounded them and placed them under arrest.
#13 A Christian consultant was recently fired by Bank of America and by Cisco because they discovered a book that he had written that expressed Christian viewpoints about social issues.
#14 A while back, a federal judge actually ruled that the University of Californiacan deny course credit to applicants from Christian high schools that use textbooks that teach that it was God who created the earth.
#15 Back in 2009, one 8 year old boy in Massachusetts was sent home from school and was forced to undergo a psychological evaluation because he drew a picture of Jesus on the cross.
#16 The Obama administration has announced that there is a whole host of laws that it will not be enforcing, but one thing that the Obama administration has chosen to do is to aggressively pursue lawsuits against anti-abortion protesters.
#17 During a Congressional hearing earlier this year, U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee warned that “Christian militants” might try to “bring down the country” and that such groups need to be investigated.
#18 According to a shocking FBI document obtained by Oath Keepers, the FBI definition of “suspicious activity” now includes making “extreme religious statements” and believing in “radical theology“.
The good news is that there still is at least a limited amount of religious freedom in America. It may soon be gone, but at least we are in better shape than most of the globe.
Almost 70 percent of the population of the world now lives in countries where religious activities are highly restricted.
The sad truth is that the entire planet is moving away from freedom of religion.
That is a right that we are supposed to be guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, but it should be obvious to everyone that our right to religious freedom is rapidly dying.
If you are not religious, don’t think that you should not be fighting for religious freedom along with the rest of us.
Once they take some of our rights away, it will be much easier for them to take all the rest of our rights away.
United we stand, or divided we will fall.
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