The Mark Steyn 2016 Tour of Australia kicks off this weekend.
For me it’s unmissable. Mark Steyn is top of my gifted-writers-list, and is the most fearless pundit in the West today. One of the things I most admire is his classy ability to cut down dumb ideas without also cutting down the humans behind them. Steyn genuinely seems to like humanity for all its outrageous flaws. His writing is elegant, cutting — he’s an artisan experimenting with words, punctuation and ideas. His ability to transfer an abstract concept from one brain to thousands is a gift.
Contemplate the impossible challenge of communication — one soul has a pattern of neuronal activity and we want to trigger a similar synaptic pattern to other distant brains. Our only tools are a series of vibrational pulses in air molecules, or a coded spectral pattern in light. It’s a hell of an engineering task. Steyn is a master.
The standouts like Mark Steyn who deal with the front line flak may always seem cool and collected, but it’s a lonely battle on the front line, and they can’t do it without the support of fellow footsoldiers. Be it money, research, or just a kind word, never underestimate how much a little support from you can help. Steyn is in the trenches on several fronts.
Good memes, ideas and people need to be fostered, championed and carried. If you like something, feed it and it will grow.
The Steyn Tour
You do need to book, only pre-registered people can come. Tickets are available online for Cloncurry and Sydney. For other cities get in touch with Rachel at The IPA, even though the event may be listed as booked out. There are waiting lists and Rachel is very helpful. She was suggesting they may offer spots for people willing to stand at the back and sides, and I said I’m sure there would be plenty willing to do that. Unfortunately tickets are especially hard to get for Brisbane, Melbourne, and Canberra.
If you have booked and can’t make it, please let the IPA know, so they can offer a spot to others. Due to security, you can’t send someone in your place. Tickets are non-transferrable. Such is the way…
They will be filming the tour and putting that up online afterwards.
What would we do without the IPA? There is no other group like them in Australia.
as the topic is media, i’m on topic:
9 Feb: SMH: Matthew Knott: ABC power grab: Mark Scott suggests ABC and SBS should merge
The topic was sparked by questions from senators about the ABC’s decision to bid for the Asian Cup football tournament against SBS and to air Foreign Correspondent at the same time as SBS’s leading international current affairs program Dateline.
“It begs the question really, from the viewpoint of the consuming public, why do we want the two public broadcasters?” …
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/abc-power-grab-mark-scott-suggests-abc-and-sbs-should-merge-20160209-gmpbgj.html
I don’t want either these days.
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Mark Scott said we are not North Korea. We do not government broadcasters. Could not agree more. The ABC could charge for their unique services and be subject to the laws which affect every other media outlet, but those who watch would not pay a cent. Those who do not are forced to pay. It is a private channel funded by everyone for no apparent reason. $120 a year for every family in Australia and for what? As for the SBS ($30 a year) satellites and the internet mean it has no basic reason to exist.
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Maybe ABC and SBS should entertain and educate by showing episodes of ‘Yes Minister’ like —
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=niv3_YWfn9U
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Very good. Love the red thumb too. I guess some people have nothing better to do and thumb thing’s better than nothing.
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One public broadcaster will cause less CO2 emissions than Two. They could say they were trying to lower CO2 emissions. Great reasoning.
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what Steyn will be up against. Fairfax carrying the AAP piece too and no doubt the rest of the media will follow:
9 Feb: Sky News: AAP: Heatwaves becoming the norm: scientist
Australians must brace for hotter, longer and far more frequent heatwaves thanks to climate change…
Climate scientist Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick says the extreme events will only continue to increase.
‘Those really rare heatwaves we might have only seen once every 20 years for example, might occur now once every two years,’ she said on Tuesday.
‘They will certainly be occurring lot more often than what they used to had climate change not occurred.’
Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Blair Trewin agreed, saying there had been a strong increase in weather events involving extreme heat and a decline in the number of extreme cold events…
Dr Perkins-Kirkpatrick said weather data from the past 60 years showed a marked increase in the number of heatwaves…
Heatwaves and other extreme weather events are currently being examined in detail at a national meteorological/climate conference in Melbourne.
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2016/02/09/heatwaves-becoming-the-norm–scientist.html
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“had climate change not occurred”
Wow! I am flabbergasted. What Climate Change was this? When did it happen? Was I away overseas? How do we know Climate Change has occurred? Who said so? On what basis?
How can publicists talk in the past tense about Climate Change without any inkling of what they are talking about? So now, after the Climate Change has occured, we have an increased incidence of heat waves? Melbourne has had a cool summer without any heat waves, but apparently, we are cooking. So it seems you do a PhD in heat waves and of course they are more frequent, hotter and more widespread than ever. I hope they enjoy the current cool but lovely summer in Melbourne for their conference on the disaster, completely heat wave free this year.
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“How can publicists talk in the past tense about Climate Change without any inkling of what they are talking about?”
Works for most climate scientists why not publicists?
122
Is there any point in writing to these “experts”.I certainly have not heard of many of them.Possibly very young?
32
I’m devastated Melbourne is sold out, I held off as they only had a Gala dinner appearance and honestly $290 on top of travel was pushing the budget for poor white trash like myself, Mark Steyn would have sold out larger venues or more appearances easily but I suppose there are reasons for doing this, I hope the MSM take the bait and take him on, the term tiger by the tail springs to mind.
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I’d like to link Mark Steyn vs Michael Mann, Climate Change, The Facts, Keynote 4, ICCC10 to give an idea of why this man sells out events.
I’ll also bother Rachel for possible tickets as I now have permission from the minister of finance, I’ll also say JoNova said it was OK. 🙂
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Entry at the Cloncurry venue is free!
You still have to book, and also get there!
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What a great comment Jo; ten thumbs up, (yes, I’m all thumbs).
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Did I hear correctly that Steyn will be a panelist on the ABC’s QandA programme next Monday?
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Robk.
Yes, he is scheduled to appear on the ABC Q&A program on the 15th (I recommend checking it as the lineup sometimes changes).
[SNIP 18C.]
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http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/
Along with Barnaby it will be a terrific night of entertainment.
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el gordo.
Yes, it may well be entertaining. I get tired of Q&A when they have too many pollies on, too much policy set pieces.
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If they touch on climate change then Hanson-Young will find herself in deep water, Steyn is up to speed on the lack of global warming.
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El Gordo.
I will give you an uptick for that one, even though you are wrong. Mark Steyn is not up to speed on global warming. But I have no idea what the Greens will say, their anti-science appears to be increasing so I worry. So potentially two people already on the panel with anti-science views – not off to a good start.
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‘Mark Steyn is not up to speed on global warming’
Steyn is battling Mann in court, he knows the hockey stick is a [snip] and AGW is a fantasy.
Barnaby is a high ranking member of the Denialati.
Terri Butler is a dark horse on climate change, she may have given lip service to that effect to win Rudd’s seat, but essentially she is just a sharp lawyer opened to be swayed.
Hanson-Young lacks wit and wisdom, being green she believes humanity is to blame for the slight warming of late last century.
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el gordo.
“Steyn is battling Mann in court, he knows the hockey stick is a [snip] and AGW is a fantasy.”
Yes, Mark Steyn, famous climate scientist. Why I was just reading one of his scientific papers the other day.
The truth is Mark Steyn is just parroting talking points from the fossil fuel lobby. And he will one day be trying to convince a judge and jury he knows what he is talking about. Bring on the trial!
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‘Yes, Mark Steyn, famous climate scientist. Why I was just reading one of his scientific papers the other day.’
President Obama talks a lot of nonsense on climate change and quite frankly I think its disgraceful because he’s only a scientifically illiterate lawyer by trade.
‘The truth is Mark Steyn is just parroting talking points from the fossil fuel lobby.’
Like CO2 doesn’t cause global warming?
‘And he will one day be trying to convince a judge and jury he knows what he is talking about. Bring on the trial!’
Yes I can see him now, a large graph of a hockey stick and a visual of three trees in Yamal.
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Harry Twinotter:
“Bring on the trial!” is precisely what Steyn has been saying for 4 years. It is Mann who doesn’t want to face a judge (unless cherry picked political appointee from out of state).
Incidentally, Why Twinotter? As far as I know it was a successful, useful and versatile commercial aeroplane.
Try Harry Heyford. To save you some trouble it was the last biplane bomber bought by the RAF in the 1930’s. Do Google for the photo, even you will laugh in disbelief.
It was the result of a not very ambitious specification, so much so that several manufacturers decided it was pre-determined and didn’t enter and one manufacturer entered a monoplane despite the rules. Said monoplane was much faster, carried a heavier bomb load for a longer distance so it was rejected and the contract awarded to Handley Page.
Key ‘features’ of the biplane were
Easy to handle
Could use grass airfield
Bombs were carried in the lower wind, so no need to jack them into bombay.
The high positioned engines were easily serviced because the engine covers were especially thick steel so the maintenance crew could stand on them.
Other features (revealed after adoption);
So could other choices use grass airfields.
Absolutely obsolete even before entering service. (Germans were flying “mail plains” 100 m.p.h. faster before it entered service.
To load bombs one A/C slid backwards under the wing and another slid from the back. One lifted and held the bomb with outstretched arms while the other tightened the clamps. They had 18 inches to work in unless the airfield was muddy …
The weight precluded speed, indeed in operational mode Heyfords were passed in level flight by Swordfish. There were cars with higher speed.
When it came to determine what targets the RAF could bomb (in early 1938 would you believe) it was found that the Heyford could only make the german frontier without any bomb load. But it had no problem carrying a load as far as Calais if it took off from Kent. The latter was a hangover from the RAF’s belief in the 1920’s that their likely enemy would be France.
Despite this the RAF kept the Heyford in ‘frontline’ duty until late 1938 and in reserve until 1941.
You might say that the RAF was clinging to an obsolete and out-moded view.
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spellcheck! spellcheck!
wing not wind.
bomb-bay not bombay (that was another plane)
mail-planes not mail-plains.
Maximum bomb weight was 176 lbs. 10 years after Mitchell demonstrated the power of 2000lb. bombs and after the germans specified that 250 kg. bombs were minimum (and because they were superior to British bombs [when their fuses worked] gave about 8.7:1 more bang).
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“I get tired of Q&A”
That is a program I will never get tired of. 😉
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No doubt they will cut his turns speaking as short as they possibly can.
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I should add… I don’t watch broadcast TV anymore, except for the odd bit of sport. Thanks Netflix and DNS proxy services. It’s been great. Don’t miss TV at all.
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I’ll bet the QandA texting room will be running hot with infuriated eco warriors trying to defend their sacred nest at the ABC.
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Bulldust.
“No doubt they will cut his turns speaking as short as they possibly can.”
Don’t be so sure – the ABC appears to understand the entertainment industry as well as anyone. They know Mark Steyn will be a drawcard. I do not agree with a lot of what he says, but their is little doubt he is a good speaker.
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I give Mark Steyn a compliment, and I get red thumbs?
Are people saying Mark Steyn is not a good speaker?
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Comes with the territory Harry.
This site is known to have anonymous people whose only gift to this site is to red thumb all sensible comments and nothing else.
Still you are lucky – your comment has been noticed.
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I hope Michael Mann succeeds in suing Mark Steyn, it will set a good precedent in the US. Self-appointed pundits should not be allowed to defame climate scientists, scientists or anyone else.
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Harry,
You mean like the author of “silent spring”?
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Do you know exactly the Steyn words that got up Mann’s nose?
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Read Steyn’s’s book ” A Disgrace To The Profession”, on the subject? The damning evidence and opinions of Mann”s Warmist colleagues is ample reason why Mann will never follow through with his libel suit and is indeed fighting desperately to avoid answering Steyn’s counter suit. There are plenty more climate charlatans awaiting justice, Mann is merely the first to overreach himself.
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Kevin Lohse.
You obviously do not know Michael Mann very well. The lobby groups underestimated him when they started picking on him. Mann is a fighter. He called Mark Steyn’s bluff, and the trial will be interesting.
Mark Steyn’s only defense is he was wrong, but honestly believes he did not know he was wrong. He has already provided plenty of evidence that he actually didn’t know what he was talking about! So it is hard to prove malice when a person believes what he said was true, even when it can be shown it wasn’t true.
Complicated. It certainly will be a good trial to follow, when they get around to it.
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In the lawsuit Mann claimed to be a Nobel Laureate
“Michael Mann’s misrepresentation of himself as a Nobel Prize winner, resulted in Mann’s counsel deciding to file an amended complaint with the Nobel falsehood removed.”
Therefore one has to ask the question, if Mann, with what can only be described as a truly blatant contempt for the truth has made such a false claim ( of being a Laureate), what else is he capable of ?
In my opinion Steyn was obviously correct in taking Mann to task. 😀
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Please explain how Mann “called Mark Steyn’s bluff”. What was Steyn’s “bluff” and how did Mann “call” it?
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Carl Stafford.
What do you call a counter-suit?
15
A common response to a frivolous lawsuit.
11
Seriously, though. I’m trying to figure out what you’re saying. So Steyn filed a counter suit. How exactly was Mann supposed to NOT call that “bluff”? Call off his suit? Wouldn’t that prove Steyn’s claim that Mann was just using the courts to shut Steyn up? I’m thinking that to most people the initial suit was the bluff and that Steyn called it by not backing down and eventually counter suing.
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Have a read of A Disgrace To The Profession by Steyn. You might learn something.
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Robel.
Ha ha I read the review and that was enough. It is long on talk and short on facts. Bring on the trial, I say.
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Harry, I haven’t read the book, so make no comment there, but I do know that the phrase “long on talk, and short on facts” is a perfect description of your usual efforts with regards to anything remotely related to science and/or engineering.
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You clearly read a review, Harry. Well done but..
I suspect that it was a review written by someone who holds views that you agree with and, almost certainly, has neither bought or read his book but, instead, has simply referred to the current volume of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Virdis edition).
I’ve read Marks’ “Disgrace…” book and one thing that’s in short supply is Marks’ own text. Most of it is comprised of other peoples words and it’s hard to find a complimentary one about the Good Doctor from any of them. Do yourself a favour, Harry, spend a few dollars, buy it then read it; you’ll be surprised at how many of the quoted sources are from scientists who broadly share your apparent environmental viewpoint.
Be warned, however, although Mark has produced a scholarly and thoughtful tome, it may be spoiled for you by his own unique style of humour, brilliance and literary skill that intersperse what would otherwise have been just another dull scholarly tract.
And, there’s something else that you have in common with Mr Steyn; after half a decade of involuntarily inhaling the legal miasma that pervades the DC judicial system, and paying through the nose for the privilege, he also wants to ‘bring it on’.
If it takes two to tango then he’s the wallflower on the dance-floor waiting for his beau, Michael, to turn up!
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If I found out that a book containing factually incorrect statements and/or conclusions based on faulty logic, published by an author I were publicly obsessing about, on a topic that I were publicly obsessing about, I’d buy (or borrow) the book, and I’d have a field day exposing the presented fallacies and tearing to shreds credibility of the author.
You seem quite clearly too insecure in your perception of what is and what is not “science” or “evidence”, that you don’t dare to come near the book lest you found that it’s your uninformed prejudices what is unsupportable by either science or evidence.
Leaving aside scientific arguments – it doesn’t take a scientist to figure out that a man (Mann) who falsely claims (in documents submitted for inclusion in court proceedings where his credibility is the issue, no less) to be a Nobel Laureate, or who claims to have been exonerated by scientific and governmental bodies that haven’t concerned themselves either with his work, or with him personally, that a person like that has a rather tenuous connection to reality, even when it comes to simple and easily verifiable facts.
The only conceivable unfairness of Steyn’s blog post that contains the alleged offence in Mann’s frivolous suit, is that Steyn could be seen as ascribing intention to deceive to what in reality might have been merely incompetence, combined with pathological level of ambition.
As for the oil lobby mythical financial support, you can check out Steyn’s website to see how he handles financing out of his own pocket a fight for such fundamental issue for a free and democratic society as is the right to free speech.
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Ivan Satori.
Put your money where your mouth is then. You can by a copy of “The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars” at Amazon and other book retailers.
I do hope we get to read Steyn’s emails. Might be all sorts of goodies people can quote mine and put up on websites. “Freedom of Speech” cuts both ways, so Steyn can hardly complain.
11
Free speech cuts both ways, but Freedom of Information does not.
The taxpayers own Manns emails, and his data. Somehow he is an honest and upstanding scientist who has to hide what the taxpayers pais him to do, and his university has spent a lot more taxpayer money to make sure the public can’t see them.
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Joanne Nova.
Well so you claim. I think you are wrong though, unless you think you can walk into whatever government building you like and take stuff.
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Harry, still struggling to pick out the difference between stealing a Photocopier and copying data… ?
11
Really Harry, you’ve read the review have you? That’s awesome work and I’m glad your attention span gave you that time to digest the inside cover. Otherwise Harry, get clued up on why Mann is delaying his trial against Styen. Mann doesn’t want his work exposed in a court of law, namely, the hockey stick. If that’s the crap you trust from our climate scientists, then you are easily led.
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Really Craig.
I am always impressed when people like you claim to have super powers that lets you know what other people are thinking and doing.
All I can say is bring on the trial. We might get to see some of Mark Steyn’s email too, they should make interesting reading. I wonder if he had communications with the Heartland Institute, or any fossil fuel companies. Time will tell.
Seriously though to any trial watchers (when DC gets around to it). The trial will not be about the hockey stick chart, that is just a diversion by some. The trial is about whether Mark Steyn defamed Michael Mann by accusing him of fraud without justification. If it is just a case of yes or no, then Michael Mann has already won because Mark Steyn did accuse him of fraud without justification. But (as far as I understand law), the real question is the question of malice.
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And I wonder how Mann can finance all his legal wranglings. Someone’s got deep pockets.
Genuine question to everyone: who isfinancially backing Mann with all his court actions? I’ve never seen any info about it.
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David Smith.
There has been a climate scientist legal fund set up for just this sort of thing. I can’t say for sure that MM is using it, but he might.
He also has his book sales and (I assume) appearance fees.
Now, how is Mark Steyn paying his legal fees? I’ve never seen any info about it.
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Harry Twinotter,
to see all the info needed would take one visit to Steyn’s website.
I hate to break it to you, but your preference for ignoring easily obtainable facts doesn’t make them disappear.
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Some speculate that George Soros is behind it. Defend and advance “the revolution”, of course.
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Harry old son, comprehension is difficult for you so I’ll slow down. That’s why Mark wants the defamation trial to go ahead, he wants to expose Mann and his shonky science and that, Harry ‘I’m clueless but I’ll keep blogging like I know something’, Twinotter is why he wont bring the case forward. If he does, the AGW game is over.
193
Neither should climate scientists be allowed to peddle mistruths and deceptions… but yet here we are.
284
Mann sued Steyn and Steyn countersued Mann.
Mann wants to move forward with pre-trial discovery of his claim but wants to deny Steyn reciprocal discovery of Steyn’s claim ($1M) against him.
Pre-trial discovery of Steyn’s claim would expose Mann’s ‘hockey stick’ graph and methods to exhaustive expert scrutiny which apparently he wants to avoid at all cost.
The ball is in Mann’s court.
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I think that’s a $20 million claim against Mann, and from the behaviour Mann is exhibiting I don’t think the courts will find that unreasonable if the judgement goes to Steyn.
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gnome.
I believe it is 30 million.
“and from the behaviour Mann is exhibiting I don’t think the courts will find that unreasonable if the judgement goes to Steyn.”
What behaviour is that, got any examples?
03
Mann is ducking and weaving like the last survivor in a dodgeball game.
He CANNOT EVER allow “discovery”
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Ironically, Steyn is fighting for the type free speech you indulge in when you comment @jonova.
If Mann wins, you will be silenced along with the rest of us.
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handjive.
No, Steyn is not fighting for free speech. Steyn is fighting for Steyn. He a) does not want to get sued and have to cough up cash, b) he wants the privilege to make up and say whatever he likes about people because it earns him cash. He is a pundit.
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Why do you comment on things you know so little about?
“He does not want to get sued and have to cough up the cash…”
He has already been sued… that’s why he’s in court. And he’s already coughed up plenty of cash. That’s why they say, “the punishment is the process.”
But I guess there’s no sense in letting facts get in the way of religious belief.
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Why does he comment on things he knows so little about?
Its his only option.
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Accidental uptick, clumsy thumb!
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So Harry, do you really believe that the hockey stick is [snip “accurate”, “correct”]?
Do you really believe there was no such thing as The Medieval Warm Period?
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The Backslider.
Interesting subject change, but I will answer it as my dinner cooks.
It is difficult to answer two questions when they contradict each other, so I will answer them separately.
Do I believe the hockey stick chart is correct? If you are referring to MBH99, yes I believe it. It only covered the northern hemisphere and the confidence bounds are rather large, but it is accurate enough to draw conclusions from it. Later hockey stick charts have confirmed MBH99.
Did the Medieval Warm Period exist? Anecdotally yes, there are plenty of historical accounts. But the scientific question is how global was it, and it’s magnitude. The MWP is visible in the MBH99 hockey stick graph.
As usual. Tediously weak, empty reply. Twinotter uses the confidence intervals in a dubious, known to be wrong paper, to justify why he believes it. Why bother? Then “other hockeysticks” means Yamal/Tjilander junk. Honestly? For global see 6000 boreholes drilled in all the worlds oceans. YES the MWP existed and was global. – Jo
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The Team attempted to lower the warmth of the MWP to raise the present, its an illusion.
This is the real situation, carefully calibrated proxies excluding trees.
http://www.jennifermarohasy.com//archives/Loehle-2007-plus-HadCRUT3.gif
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JoNova.
“YES the MWP existed and was global. – Jo”.
Oh look come on. I know you run a Conspiracy Theory website as a hobby or to raise money – I get it.
But let your readers think for themselves. You are not even challenging my points, you only try to challenge me.
Do not go around claiming you know better than the established climate science. Or if you do, at least supply something that looks like credible evidence.
You are not a scientist.
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Harry. Google “boreholes joannenova”. Find in 0.2 secs
http://joannenova.com.au/2012/11/the-message-from-boreholes/
Apologize for boring us with your unresearched kindergarten logic, moral vanity, and anonymous cowardice.
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Unlike climate scientists who don’t comment to make cash …. *cough*Flannery*cough*
$180k for a part time job spouting gibberish for the rainbow coalition government? And that’s just the first obvious one that springs to mind.
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Harry, do you think legal action should be taken against Al Gore for his wilful, blatant, and frequent abuse of the facts via his movie?
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Assuming that Steyn qualifies as “anyone else”, isn’t it a bit hypocritical for you to call for not allowing others to do in what you are so vehemently and publicly engaging in?
20
Another non-scientist who preaches easily falsifiable nonsense on AGW/CC, aided and abetted by the similar idiots at the IPA. Any body with a modicum of scientific background would consider any of these events as nothing more than a comedy festival.
465
I hope you’re right about it being a comedy festival, what our side needs is an intelligent charismatic personality with a lively wit.
Its the best vehicle to quickly overturn mass delusion.
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“easily falsifiable nonsense on AGW/CC”
You have been watching the AGW cultist brigade too, have you. 🙂
Have you seen the latest hilarity from Marcott et al?
A truly worthless piece AGW garbage…. I doubt even you could support it.
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sillyfrilly.
Yeah Steyn is just a self-appointed pundit. Who really cares what he thinks. It is the entertainment industry.
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You obviously do!
253
“sillyfrilly”!
Someone is having a lend of you
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If it were really the case that nobody cared what Steyn says he would never have been sued for defamation by Tree-ring Mike.
A “self-appointed” pundit… whose radio spots and columns are lapped up by the public in their millions, whose opinions in books are appreciated so much that they funded his defense of the Mannian lawsuit, whose vocals have convinced thousands of people to buy his music CDs, and whose words are highly rewarded in the publishing business by continual voluntary syndication of his weekly columns. Rather than “self-appointed” it seems he is appointed by a great many people on an ongoing basis.
That’s more than can be said for the Twinotter and the Filly, what a double-act to write home about.
Hey harry, I noticed your comment has 43 downvotes and, at this moment, precisely 1 upvote.
Don’t trash-talk the “self-appointed”, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. 😛
30
Quite so Steyn will be indulging in a little japery.
And we shall laugh & mock people like you parading around with your “end is nigh’ climate sandwich boards.
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Handjive: “The end is nigh” climate sandwich boards” – brilliant, I like the concept!
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Sillyfilly – A nonscientist Just like Al Gore, Barack Obama, Bob Brown, Christina Figueres, Malcolm Turnbull, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Cate Blanchett, Hillary Clinton, Rajendra Pachauri, Bill McKibben, Anna Rose, the late Maurice Strong… and the list goes on, and on…
Are you a scientist, Sillyfilly? As it happens, I am (a geologist), so am I eligible to comment on matters scientific, or not?
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Steyn has been a must-read for me for many years now.
I reckon his job is getting easier though – so many targets to choose from as the world of leftist groupthink gets more nonsensical in its utterances.
Keep outing those deniers Mark. Deniers of reality I mean.
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Mick in the Hills.
Leftist groupthink, right-wing groupthink. It is all the same really. I think people should forget about political parties and just think for themselves.
1329
Oh dear Harry!
Look in the mirror and say that!
Tony.
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TonyfromOz.
“Look in the mirror and say that!”
I know you are just being a drongo and that is how I take your comment.
But just for laughs, go ahead and explain why you think that about me?
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“and just think for themselves.”
Why do you constantly talk about things you know nothing about?
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Harry is trying to come to grips with the problem of how politics became embroiled with science, blame the media for dropping the ball.
252
Heh, I think I’ve seen that comment before. 🙂
Rather than wasting a lot of time, maybe that should be a standard response.
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Thanks Jo for a great comment on a great man.
Love your site.
Keep up the fine work.
Cheers,
JQ.
241
I heard Mark Steyn’s testimony to a US Senate committee.
In my opinion he has the broadest knowledge of the climate change scene of any journalist. That includes all of the following: scientific, social, moral, psychological, economic and political aspects.
An no, I don’t know him personally.
423
“Economic”-climate-change is real. Political-climate change, moral-climate-change, scientific-climate-change etc with scattered showers to make it all interesting.
52
There is also James Delingpole!
I can commend his book; Watermelons – the Greens True Colours. Just google to buy it as a Kindle.
10
Having avidly read my signed copy of ‘A Disgrace to the Profession‘ I came to the conclusion that this book should be made compulsory course reading for all undergraduates and in particular to those aspiring to a degree claiming a place in the domain of ‘science’ … yes I know, hell will sadly freeze over first.
Steyne is a genius, and a perfect rapier to the progressive blancmange of fermented green bile that is the intellectual staple of so many today.
363
when it comes to CAGW comedy, it’s hard to beat the ABC, so be forewarned Mr. Steyn:
9 Feb: ABC AM: Climate change causing ‘spike’ in kitten numbers
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Animal experts say there has been an unexpected side effect of climate change in Australia – a marked spike in cat numbers.
One cat charity says the warmer weather is causing kitten “seasons” to extend longer, and for cat breeding to unusually occur in winter…
CEO of the Cat Protection Society of New South Wales, Kristina Vesk, says she’s seen a rise in the cat population.
KRISTINA VESK: Observationally, no doubt that the weather is having an impact.
Cats’ breeding cycles are triggered by hours of daylight and sunshine and warmth, so when you do have exceptionally warm winters or you get a burst of warm weather in winter, it does lead cats to believe that it’s time to breed.
LUCY CARTER: Ms Vesk says the so-called “kitten season” is going for a much longer period of time.
KRISTINA VESK: I’ve seen 10 kitten seasons now in my time at Cat Protection and one thing that has been very noticeable is the extension of the season, the fact that it keeps going right through winter…
LUCY CARTER: University of Sydney feline medicine professor Vanessa Barrs says the science supports what Ms Vesk is saying…
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4402825.htm
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And now for the weather;
The Bureau Of Meteorology has issued a warning to motorists today to take extra care on the roads as heavy downpours of kittens are expected during the peak hour rush period. An additional deluge is predicted for later in the evening which may contain Spaniels, Beagles and a large volume of Black & Tan Coonhound. Significant delays may occur sending some motorists barking mad. The bureau advises that in the event of feeling dog tired due to the long waits, pull over and take a cat nap.
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It’s just as well I’d put my cup of tea down before I read that mc!
30
Too true, imagine a Sussex Spaniel splashing down in your nice cup of Earl Grey!
20
It just couldn’t be that people are harder up financially and the extra costs involved in neutering, microchipping and registering are reducing the enthusiasm to do the right thing? I would be surprised if the added costs of ‘doing the right thing’ hadn’t led to more unwanted breeding of kittens who then continue the process. But no, wait my heretic self, it must be AGW/CC!!!
41
This one stirred them up – most of the trolls are out tonight.
Suggestion, Jo, could you include steynonline on your links?
312
ps I know there are only two – the rest of them are putting their resumes together after being notified of losing their jobs this week.
303
Jo has been getting h/t at Watts and the Bolter, where Silly is the resident troll, but Harry is different.
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Have a look at #1,2,2,1
“Anthony
February 9, 2016 at 2:13 pm · Reply
http://joannenova.com.au/2016/02/csiro-scientist-on-climate-we-dont-know-what-the-heck-is-waiting-for-us/
and have a punt on what organisation
70
Hmmmm, BOM.
111
O/Topic I know… but in case you missed it the Aussie stock market plunged almost 3% today, following similar tumbles in Europe and the US. One of the players hit worst in Europe are our ‘mates’ at Deutsche Bank which lost another 8% overnight (60% in recent months):
http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/why-deutsche-bank-selloffs-are-a-symptom-of-the-coming-crisis-cw/2016/02/09/
Try to hold back the tears folks, I know you all loved DB so much, trying to save the planet and all that…
242
there needs to be a moratorium on CAGW stories at ABC.
9 Feb: ABC The World Today: People also need to adapt to climate change, professor tells conference on movement of species
ELEANOR HALL: Let’s go now to Hobart, where scientists from 40 countries are gathering to discuss how climate change is affecting the movement of species…
FELICITY OGILVIE: Professor Camille Parmesan from Plymouth University in the UK says around the world, animals and plants are moving towards the poles.
She says the species are seeking colder climates in response to global warming.
CAMILLE PARMESAN: For the species that we have really good data on, where they’ve lived historically over the past 100 years, we’re seeing about half of those have actually moved where they live, which is an astonishing number given we’ve only had one degree centigrade warming…
FELICITY OGILVIE: (Finnish speaker) Tero Mustonen says locals have adapted to climate change by restoring a lake… He says it’s important that indigenous communities make their own decisions about how to adapt to climate change.
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2015/s4402878.htm
see wildebeest heading for the South Pole?
Species On The Move: How is Nature Responding to Climate Change?
Tuesday 9 February: Grand Chancellor, 1 Davey Street, Hobart
MC: Dr Alistair Hobday, Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere
Speakers
Professor Will Steffen
Research with Australian National University and Councillor with The Climate Council
Professor Camille Parmesan
Marine biologist, University of Texas at Austin and Plymouth University…etc
SPONSORS: CSIRO, NOAA Fisheries etc…
http://www.speciesonthemove.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/PF-Species-on-the-Move-JF2.pdf
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Fran had already served up Parmesan for breakfast:
9 Feb: ABC Breakfast: Humans at risk as species shift with climate change
A remarkable migration; that’s how experts are describing the massive shift of species—and their breeding and feeding patterns—in response to climate change.
When sea and land creatures move, so too do the diseases associated with them, bringing new concerns about the implications for humans.
One of the world’s leading conservation biologists says that of all the species at risk as the climate changes, humanity faces the greatest threat.
Guest: Professor Camille Parmesan, Marine biologist, School of Biological Sciences, Plymouth University
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/humans-at-risk-as-species-shift-with-climate/7151024
headline makes this piece sound reasonable; don’t be fooled:
9 Feb: ABC The World Today: Much of Australia’s recent ‘weird weather’ natural and not caused by climate change
ELEANOR HALL: Over the last five years, Australians have experienced some particularly extreme weather.
Today, a panel of climate scientists told a national climate conference in Melbourne that while some of these weather patterns are directly linked to global warming, it can’t be blamed for all of them…
BLAIR TREWIN (BoM): Things like, for example, the worst tropical cyclones of the period, we’ve had three tropical cyclones during the five years that resulted in 1000 or more deaths, all of them in the Philippines – Haiyan in ’13 was the most significant of those.
We had events such as the south-east Asian floods in 2011, particularly in Thailand, which caused economic losses of tens of billions of dollars…
LUCY CARTER: However Dr Blair Trewin from the Bureau of Meteorology says the perception of weird weather making more headlines might just be because it is, in fact, making more headlines.
BLAIR TREWIN: Something that may need to be borne in mind here is that particularly for things like tornadoes, a lot of the apparent increase we’ve seen in recent years has actually been because of better reporting, because we’ve got better radars monitoring these things, more systematic damage surveys, you’ve got lots of people out there with video cameras these days.
You’ve got people who are out actively chasing these things, so the amount of information we’re getting about small scale severe weather is much better than it was, and it’s not always easy to separate how much is better reporting and how much is a real increase.
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2015/s4402877.htm
SARAH PERKINS-KIRKPATRICK of AAP’s “Heatwaves becoming the norm” also gets to say stuff like: “We are seeing trends in particular events like heatwaves and there is an element of climate change behind that.
They will occur more often.”
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Yes, cannot wait for Q&A this week. Tony will be honing his ansainteruptus tactics as we speak.
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In 2014……. “Deutsche Bank Is Stumped: The Broad Market Is Ignoring The Bear Market In Energy, “Something Has To Give”….
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/09/2014 18:33 -0400
“”We find current dislocation between deep distress in Energy assets and marginal reaction in broad market indexes to be inconsistent with each other.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-09/deutsche-bank-stumped-broad-market-ignoring-bear-market-energy-something-has-give
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Can’t tell why their pants are on fire.
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Mike
Sounds like you can add Canadian banks to the list
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2016/02/its-probably-no-369.html
and link
30
ABC PM keeps the CAGW scare alive:
9 Feb: ABC PM: Record number of shark attacks in 2015, but no change in fatalities
By Will Ockenden and Yasmin Parry
The world record for the number of shark attacks was broken in 2015, with 98 verified unprovoked attacks recorded.
It was Australia’s worst year for attacks in seven years, with a surfer from Japan killed off Ballina in New South Wales and a scallop diver dying after an attack in waters off Maria Island in Tasmania…
George Burgess is the current curator of the International Shark Attack File, a database which began in 1958 to track, investigate, classify and record shark attacks.
He said despite the record number of attacks, the number of deaths remained average…
***”2015 showed a high number of attacks … we’re all seeing the consequence of global climate change, which means water temperatures are warming,” Mr Burgess said…
***He also attributed the rise in attacks to a greater number of people in the water…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-09/record-number-of-shark-attacks-in-2015/7153046
9 Feb: Australian Geographic: Relax, shark numbers aren’t booming
Shark numbers aren’t on the rise, but more research will make us safer in the water.
BY Jessica Meeuwig, Laurie Laurenson, Shanta Barley
(Jessica Meeuwig is Professor & Director at the Centre for Marine Futures, University of Western Australia; Laurie Laurenson is an Associate Professor at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, and Shanta Barley is a PhD candidate at the School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia. This article was originally published on The Conversation)
A DOCUMENTARY THAT aired last night on ABC’s Four Corners, “Shark Alarm”, came on the heels of a spate of shark bites in New South Wales and raised questions about our relationship with these formidable animals…
Anyone who says that they can confidently predict when, where or why sharks bite people is almost certainly wrong, regardless of whether they’re a scientist, a politician or a journalist. Why? Partly because we simply don’t know enough about sharks to anticipate their moves, and partly because attacks are so rare. Despite the media hype, you’re still more likely to drown than be bitten by a shark…
The shark population “explosion” cited as an explanation for the rise in attacks is very unlikely to be real…
The apparent uptick in shark bites is probably due to more people in the water rather than more sharks…
What’s more, healthy shark populations may well mitigate against a range of ocean stressors including climate change…
http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2016/02/relax,-shark-numbers-arent-booming
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Stay afraid, they are everywhere!!!
Zombie Sharks!
Even on the ski slopes!
And in ‘Extreme weather!’ as photographed HERE
But most devastating of all there is Shark-a-Gore, a genetic mutant pollutant from Clinton era military research. It kills all nearby sea-life by boring it to death!
👿
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MSM is loving the latest study from Climate Central and Potsdam! guess spending $90 trillion to avoid 10,000 years of CAGW makes the cost seem more acceptable:
8 Feb: Mashable: Andrew Freedman: Global warming policies we set today will determine the next 10,000 years
The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, examines the “deep time” implications of emissions of global warming pollutants such as carbon dioxide…
The study also notably details projections for the next 10,000 years based on different scenarios of rising greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil.
It does not base its results on the highest emissions scenario, also known as a worst-case scenario, but the results are sobering nonetheless.
For example, the study shows that future rates of sea level rise due to melting ice caps and warming, expanding seas, could be on the order of up to 4 meters, or 13.1 feet, per century, which would be unprecedented in more than 8,000 years…
“This research is a deeply urgent wake-up call to become much more ambitious,” wrote study co-author Benjamin Strauss of the research and journalism organization Climate Central…
Anders Levermann, a study co-author and researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research in Germany, told Mashable in an email that the study shows how current emissions are creating a new era in geological time, which many scholars have now termed the “Anthropocene” for the human influence on the Earth…
http://mashable.com/2016/02/08/global-warming-implications-study/
72
I joined up to the IPA a couple of years ago after finding I was attending so many of their functions as a non-member, it was financially advantageous to join up. They are really good value and well worth supporting. I have my tickets to Steyn’s Brisbane event next week and can’t hardly wait.
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Somewhere downthread there are one or two silly comments about Mann hopefully beating Steyn up in the defamation “proceedings” in the DC, USA, Court
The reverse is true – Mann and his lawyers are doing everything legally possible to avoid open court on the reasonable assumption that Mann’s supporters (eg. Gore) have way more funding than Steyn, who will face bankruptcy eventually and cave
This even to the point where Steyn has revealed the entirety of his case to Mann’s lawyers as part of their due diligence but Mann has not reciprocated, legally. The judge who agreed to that did say it seemed bizarre but it was the law
The case (probably a misnomer) is held up unconscionably in a DC Court while a trio of Judges from this Court long delay making a ruling on an ambiguous piece of arcane law. It does appear as if these judges may be of the green persuasion and apparently doing their best to prevent Mann being cross-examined in open court until Steyn runs out of money
While I’m a little sympathetic to Steyn’s situation here, that he did not reasonably forsee this happening (and it doesn’t need an Einstein) detracts from his credibility, in my view. It’s quite tiresome for our proxies to be out-manouvered and out-thought all the time
910
All of us who fight against the mass delusion in this matter are basically on our own; it’s not like we have sufficient resources on our own to carry the day, in this massively broken system, unrecognized as broken by everyone within it and almost everyone without (this includes the commenters on this site, and you in particular, given your comment). We each can only do what we see the opportunity to do at any given point, even if it is fraught with uncertainties and “foreseeable” (HA) difficulties.
172
If you say so, old chap, but the DC Court hasn’t heard you (or Steyn). Of course I know the system is broken – my comments here have had the consistency of pointing out that this dysfunction is why we cannot expect useful change
Better to leave Mann to the death of a thousand cuts … it’s quite apparent that a very considerable number of scientific high-rankers despise him. That is sufficient, in my view
41
Not quite!
No one anticipated the publication of ‘A Disgrace to the Profession‘ (Vol 1).
It’s out there, that exposing anthology, quietly doing the rounds, quietly revealing in their own words a range of views from eminent scholars and scientists regarding Mann’s ridiculous hockey schtick in addition to revealing how it ‘received’ the attention it did.
The anthology covers a spectrum of irretrievably damning views indicative of outright [snip-we-have-no-free-speech “cheating”]to belief-corrupted ‘science’. Importantly, it further highlights a small and toxic cabal of climate ‘scientists’ that drive the IPCC, with Mann, a black hole at the centre of their intellectual universe.
Steyn has ably promoted in this first volume a professional mirror of Mann’s disgraceful behaviour and work.
For a more precise, explicit unraveling of Mann’s hockey-schtick pseudo-science nonsense, I recommend reading if you haven’t already:
CORRECTIONS TO THE MANN et. al. (1998) PROXY DATA BASE AND NORTHERN HEMISPHERIC AVERAGE TEMPERATURE SERIES
McIntyre, S. and McKitrick, R. (2003) ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT. VOLUME 14, NUMBER 6
ISSN 0958-305X MULTI-SCIENCE PUBLISHING CO. LTD. 5 Wates Way, Brentwood, Essex CM15 9TB, United Kingdom
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9 Feb: SMH: Peter Hannam: CSIRO cuts amount to ‘real crisis’ in environmental science, scientists say
CSIRO scientists say deep staffing cuts facing key divisions constitute “a real crisis for all environmental science” in the organisation, amid mounting international criticism…
According to an email obtained by Fairfax Media, and written by Paul Hardisty, director of the division, the majority of the losses would land in three of its seven programs: sustainable cities, biodiversity and adaptive social and economic systems…
“For those that survive, they will be part of a CSIRO whereby leadership and science priorities are heavily focused on the private sector: technological and commercial fixes, underpinned by a neo-liberal market ideology,” he said.
“CSIRO gets well over half its funding from Australian taxpayers, who are entitled to a return in the form of public good outcomes for a better society and environment,” he said…
The scientist said the Bureau of Meteorology is considering taking on some of the CSIRO researchers involved in work – such as climate modelling – that could affect the bureau’s operations if halted.
Rob Vertessy, the bureau’s head, told Senate Estimates on Monday his organisation could take on climate-related CSIRO staff but only if accompanied by the resources to pay for them…
Another senior scientist, who describes the CSIRO cuts as “a real crisis for all environmental science” expects Dr Finkel – who has spoken out in the past about the need to address climate change – to give “supportive but cautious” commentary…
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/csiro-cuts-amount-to-real-crisis-in-environmental-science-scientists-say-20160209-gmpdq8
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odd piece with big emphasis on those who didn’t do the study:
8 Feb: WaPo: Chris Mooney: Scientists just uncovered yet another troubling fact about Antarctica’s ice
Now, in a study in Nature Climate Change, researchers provide a new way of looking at how vulnerable Antarctica’s ice is — and the approach, unfortunately, largely reinforces the conclusions of the prior studies…
“In those places where ice-shelf shrinkage and ice-stream acceleration have been observed, there is little or no passive ice shelf, confirming the inference that these places are sensitive to additional warming and ice-shelf loss, and likely have been subject to ice-shelf loss in the past,” added Richard Alley, a glaciologist at Penn State University who was not involved in the study…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/02/08/scientists-just-found-yet-another-reason-to-worry-about-antarcticas-ice/
our MSM has picked this up without even naming who did the study.
9 Feb: Herald Sun: AAP: Antarctic ice ‘point of no return’ warning
A study published online in Nature Climate Change this week suggests that although some large areas of ice sheet can melt without any immediate effect on the rest of the ice shelf, others would only be able to lose a limited, almost negligible amount without major impacts.
Even if as little as five per cent of some ice shelves were to disappear, the ice would likely lose its land-locked roots, the French and German researchers found…
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/antarctic-ice-point-of-no-return-warning/news-story/ca4374225083a196997226334eb93886
9 Feb: Herald Sun: AAP: Antarctic ice ‘point of no return’ warning
61
u have to laugh:
8 Feb: SBS: AAP: Wind farm commissioner watched TV show to prepare for Senate grilling
Australia’s first wind farm commissioner has fronted his first Senate committee, saying his only training was watching political satire (ABC’s) Utopia.
Australia’s first-ever wind farm commissioner experienced his first grilling by a Senate committee on Monday, with his $205,000 annual salary for three years confirmed by the environment department…
“I’ve not had the opportunity to undergo training but I was able to watch the relevant episode of Utopia,” he told the committee on Monday…
He doesn’t have any statutory powers, something he actually sees as a positive…
The commissioner believes that makes him well received by industry, community and government because he’s judged on his merits and persuasion of argument alone…
While Mr Dyer admitted his $205,000 a year gig was part-time, the department stepped in to try to clarify.
“It’s part-time and it’s not,” department secretary Gordon de Brouwer told the committee, adding the workload was judged on specified outcomes.
“That sounds like a Utopian moment,” Labor senator Lisa Singh retorted.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/02/08/wind-farm-commissioner-watched-tv-show-prepare-senate-grilling
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Was it SHY who asked someone at a Senate enquiry “Are you or have you ever been a member of the IPA?”
70
what on earth is Vertessy saying?
8 Feb: ZDNet: Asha Barbaschow/AAP: BOM ducks Senate’s security breach scrutiny
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology remains tight-lipped on December’s alleged security breach, redirecting questions from the Senate towards its new supercomputer instead
Representatives from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) faced the Senate Environment and Communications Committee on Monday, probed with questions pertaining to the alleged breach the BOM experienced late last year…
When answering the Senate on Monday, the response from BOM employees was not one of admission.
Labour Senator Anne Urquhart asked the bureau if it had experienced a breach in December and BOM CEO Rob Vertessy redirected his response to the new supercomputer the department was receiving.
“I can say a few things, the first is that there have been no security-related disruptions to our service delivery, to our ICT systems at all — that’s the first thing,” he said.
“The second is that it is well known throughout the internet and the systems that we all run in government and business that there are a range of threat actors out there that require gradually improving security posture for those agencies to minimise the risks of the violations.
“The bureau, like all agencies, has an active program of improving its ICT security posture and we are in the fortunate circumstance because we’re rebuilding some of our ICT infrastructure chiefly around the supercomputer. We’ve got the ability now to redesign the architecture of our systems as such that we have improved ICT security.”…
http://www.zdnet.com/article/bom-ducks-senates-security-breach-scrutiny/
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What is Vertessy saying?
I read the piece and I still don’t know.
10
9 Feb: Japan Times: Japan to get more coal-fired power plants thanks to Environment Ministry policy reversal
In a policy back flip Tuesday, the Environment Ministry gave the green light to construction of new coal-fired power plants in exchange for power companies and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry taking tougher measures to reduce global warming emissions…
World Wildlife Fund Japan issued a statement opposing the move, saying it could result in coal-fired power plants operating into the latter half of this century while impeding the country’s counter-emission measures for an extensive period…
“Tolerating the increase of coal-fired plants gives the wrong message to society, (it says) that it is still OK to use coal,” WWF Japan said.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/02/09/national/japan-to-get-more-coal-fired-power-plants-thanks-to-environment-ministry-policy-reversal/
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a final laugh:
8 Feb: WaPo: Jason Samenow: Same model predicts 0 then 10 inches of snow for D.C. in consecutive forecasts
In back-to-back simulations, the same computer model predicted these laughably opposing forecasts for Washington, D.C.
Call it a model of inconsistency.
Here’s forecast number one, from the high resolution NAM model, run at 1 p.m. this afternoon:…ETC
What should the public do when the outcome of a forecast is so uncertain? Do your best to be prepared for anything and stay informed.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/02/08/same-model-predicts-0-then-10-inches-of-snow-for-d-c-in-consecutive-forecasts/
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Among the many reasons for deceit in science are the fact that comprehensive theories are the goal of science, not a collection of facts. Because it is sometimes difficult to force facts to conform to one’s theories, such as in situations where there are many anomalies, a strong temptation exists to ignore facts that don’t agree with those theories. The desire to earn respect from one’s peers (and, ideally, to become eminent) has, from the earliest days of science, brought with it a temptation to consciously distort, ignore evidence, play loose with the facts, and even lie. (see Broad, W. and Wade. N., Betrayers of the Truth: Fraud and Deceit in the Halls of Science, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1982.)
¯
Unfortunately it is the painstaking gathering and accurate recording of facts, arranging them in some sort of logical order over an appreciable length time, and then have others duplicate to verify the results that must be done to make good and worthy science.
All too often these days, the fact gathering is abbreviated or doctor in some way through either by conscious fakery or from self delusion. This is often done to ensure that facts will support the researchers’ prevailing theory.
Although more common among researchers working alone, ‘fakery still abounds’ even in group projects watched over by peer review (Roman, M., When good scientists turn bad, Discover 9(4):50–58; 1988) From that standpoint I contend that all would-be eminent scientist’s work must be subjected to the trials of not just peer-review but also the rigors of being compared to all actualities of the field of science under scrutiny in a public domain. We are after all paying for much of the research in science — we must surely ensure money is well spent on science that is honest, accurate, and openly verifiable. This public scrutiny should encompass all researchers and peer-reviewers alike.
Science must be able to accurately explain itself, warts ‘n all, to its paymasters.
¯
The present system of science actually encourages deceit. Careers are at stake, as are jobs, grants, tenure and, literally, one’s livelihood. This is partly a result of the ‘publish or perish’ that is so endemic in academia. Broad and Wade point out that ‘grants and contracts from the Federal government … dry up quickly unless evidence of immediate and continuing success is forthcoming’. Not that this is just an American, or Western democracies’ phenomenon, no, it permeates ‘science’ worldwide.
The motivation to publish, to make a name for oneself, to secure prestigious prizes, or be asked to join an educational board, all entice cheating. Broad and Wade’s honest though unsurprising conclusion is, ‘corruption and deceit are just as common in science as in any other human undertaking’. As Broad and Wade stress, scientists ‘are not different from other people. In donning the white coat at the laboratory door, they do not step aside from the passions, ambitions, and failings that animate those in other walks of life. (see Broad, W. and Wade. N., Betrayers of the Truth: Fraud and Deceit in the Halls of Science, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1982.) Neither do they often remove themselves from personal political beliefs and ambitions.
¯
“Mark Steyn is top of my gifted-writers-list, and is the most fearless pundit in the West today.” Yes Jo, and as such he helps burst the bubble of hubris and arrogance, that envelopes those in the field of ‘climate science™’, through his appearances at public forums. May he long be able gather large audiences to hear him voice his views on today’s science.
[Tom, In moderation for something not a problem in the context in which you said it. Approved with no problem.] AZ
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Mark Steyn – A man for all seasons
Mark Steyn comments on many subjects not just climate change, and what most impresses me about this man, is his comprehension of the facts.
His honesty, wealth of knowledge and rapier wit combine to make any event at which he speaks a “must see” 😀
141
Thank-you AZ.
I knew it would probably get caught but as I correctly surmised this would not be for too long once the context of the f-word, etc., were understood.
If only automatic moderation filtering software had more intelligence (AI), comments could be easier to negotiate…
Thanks again AZ
20
Publish or perish also results in a lot of dross being published. I did my fair share of reading in Resources Economics in my day and you’d be lucky if one in twenty papers was original, and far less were significant in any meaningful way. But academics are scored by runs on the board … more papers gives a higher score which gives more funding (this used to be, and probably still is, how some of the soft funding is distributed). The upshot is you have to wade through a lot of sewage to find the odd gem of research.
41
An odd gem like ‘economic-collapse-causes-a-decline-in-CO2-emissions’, The elephant in the room.
31
With coal so cheap now, it makes coal fired power even cheaper to generate. Makes the false meme that wind power is cheaper than coal look even more ridiculous.
And with oil also cheap, battery cars look an even more distant proposition.
Tony.
61
You don’t believe this?
Wind power supplied 97% of electricity needs of Scottish households in 2015
10
Again, this is a very clever play on what might actually be happening.
Total power consumption comes in three major sectors, Residential, Commerce, Industry, and a tiny percentage going to the Transport sector.
In Scotland, that residential sector might only consume what it does in other Developed Countries, around 22% of the overall consumption.
So, what they have done here is this.
The residential sector consumes a total of X GWH of power.
The wind sector generated a total of X GWH of power. (and say that’s around 97% of the residential total)
Wind power is not connected only to residences. It supplies the WHOLE grid for consumption in every sector.
So in effect, wind power supplied around 97% (if you can believe it was that high in the first place) of 20% or a tick over 19% of Scotland’s overall power consumption. Also, because of the nature of wind power, most of that wind power generation is between 10PM and 6AM, when Residential consumption is at its absolute minimum, so in truth, wind power would be supplying not that 19% of residential power (the same percentage as for the overall consumption) but probably closer to only 5% of all residential consumption, considering peak Residential consumption is from 5AM till 9AM, and 4PM till around 10PM, and just those hours alone account for almost three quarters or more of ALL Residential power consumption.
It’s par for the course for wind. EVERY wind power site says that they supply the power needs for X number of homes, the same clever ploy.
It’s a clever marketing ploy, and only that.
Tony.
81
Trouble is, that Scotland is meant to help supply England as well. !
21
No no no!
Surely, according to this article, Scottish wind power stops at the border.
You know, Scotland, 86% of the size of Tasmania.
The English grid is perhaps just the one grid, England being only half the size of Victoria.
It’s probably one case where a wind tower at John O’Groats might actually be able to add to the power supply for the lamp and the foghorn at Longships Lighthouse at Lands End.
Tony.
51
The article also claims
Who would have imagined that Scotland was so sunny?
.
.
While on solar, I wonder how this
Sydney home becomes ‘mini power station’ with solar + Powerwall + GridCredits
will affect the grids, given this?
Why is there a limit to how much solar we can connect to the grid?
40
Analitik,
this is just such wonderful news, how that Sydney home has become a, dare I even repeat it ….. a mini power station.
So, umm, that means we only need another, let me see now, 2.4 Million of these, and we have the same power output as Bayswater.
However, his own home consumes 7KWH, so he’s only feeding 13KWH per day (on good days that is) back to the grid, so now we need 3.7 Million of them ….. just to equal the power output of ONE real power station.
Lips, please don’t purse!!!
Hmm! Only 3.7 Million Tesla Powerwalls. Wonder how much Lithium they’d need for that? Also, read the article and you’ll see that they, umm, inadvertently forget to mention the price, you know, in exactly the same manner they failed to mention the price of any of the batteries in that half hour of the Catalyst TV program. Not only the price, but how much subsidy from Governments, you know, that price they then add onto all other electricity consumer’s bills.
Tony.
91
Oh, and Analitik,
thanks for that second link. That’s just what I’ve been looking for.
Link saved. and added to the other 180 plus links in just my Electrical Power Folder for saved links.
Tony.
30
ATTENTION GRAEME NO.3.
I recommend that second link to readers. Read that and see what is happening now that rooftop solar power is beginning to reach, quite literally, more than saturation.
I’ll have more to say on next weekend’s Unthreaded.
This effectively will blow rooftop solar power out of the water. No kidding either.
Tony.
60
Didn’t you also see on that Catalyst program that SA is hoping these systems will stabilise their grid against the fluctuating supply from their renewable generation? The Catalyst said their governnment is offering a $5000 subsidy for installations.
I can just imagine the chaos from the local voltage surges and phase imbalances when the wholesale rate goes up and Reposit systems switch to feed in mode. The SA grid operator, ElectraNet, must be looking forward at the prospect of balancing in the future.
BTW There was a mention in the Catalyst program about pricing
100
Why is there a limit to the amount of solar we can connect to the grid?
The article addresses issues of voltage instability and concludes;
I especially liked the last suggestion!
40
OT –
Jo, have you and David seen the WUWT post on a solar-climate model?
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2016/02/08/a-tsi-driven-solar-climate-model/
82
When Mark Steyn bites you, you know you’ve been bitten. He’s got one of the sharpest abilities to get you with words that I’ve ever seen. Yes, truly one of a kind. 🙂
161
Okay, OT, but related to our trolls Harry Twatter and Sillyfilly:
My local alarmist site’s new comments:
“Well, the science is not entirely settled. Yes we know climate change is real, but it is ongoing and we need to monitor it so we can take action, either to plan responses or try to modify it. Stopping research right now is far from helpful.”
“Jim, if it really was settled we wouldn’t be considering dismantling the CSIRO’s climate research.”
To which was responded:
“And that is precisely the reason I read from the head of the CSIRO – for dismantling the climate division in order probably for the resources to be freed to pursue mitigation or other technologies. Honestly, you guys sound like deniers now, THE SCIENCE IS SETTLED, how much more proof is needed. If CSIRO need no further proof then that’s good enough for me.”
The bit that got them was “Honestly, you guys sound like deniers now,”
That’s why Harry and Silly filly are howling now – “be careful what you wish for… ” they are now all in denial and are beginning to recognise their own hypocrisy.
242
It is puzzling. Why does the CSIRO need 350 full time people to prove Global Warming, now Climate Change when all you need is the temperature? What exactly have these 350 people been doing? Is research a benefit in itself? For whom? What benefit has the country had from the $90Million a year? Where is the proof? The unbeatable management snooker is that to prevent closure, they have to cast doubt on their own work but who even knows what that is? Have they conclusively proven (man made) Climate Change in Australia? Where?
I have looked through the CSIRO site for a definition of Climate Change and how it is affecting Australia today and this is not necessarily Man made Climate Change. Otherwise they are studying Natural Variation at great cost and for no apparent reason. I cannot find where it is happening or any quantitative data. So Climate Change is in the same basket as Ocean Acidification when all the oceans are alkali.
143
TdeF,
Q. Why does it take 350 CSIRO climate scientists to prove global warming?
A. 1 to read the temperatures and 349 to fit them to the models.
171
Funny. I suppose some are Irish.
The numbers though are here
Research scientists are only 40% of the CSIRO. For every research scientist there are 1.25 other people in administration and assistance. That’s about 800 people whose salaries come from Climate Research alone, a mere 11% of the 6,000 people in the CSIRO. If the management can admit that the 800 people are wasting their time and our money, how many other projects are in the same mould, unnecessary, irrelevant, unproductive and without results? Is it God’s waiting room for Australian scientists?
So what new and exciting information about our Climate did the CSIRO discover from the thousands of man years of top quality research by our major government research facility? Just one discovery will do.
51
I hope the exciting discovery is not that Australia appears to be 0.8C hotter than 100 years ago! We have the homogenizers of the BOM to tell us that.
61
I think the Washington DC establishment would like to make the whole embarrassing Mann Steyn case just go quietly away like the Climategate whitewash inquiries tried to do. Steyn complicated things by countersuing.
61
Mark Steyn – A man for all seasons
Mark Steyn comments on many subjects not just climate change, and what most impresses me about this man, is his comprehension of the facts.
His honesty, wealth of knowledge and rapier wit combine to make any event at which he speaks a “must see” 😀
Mark Steyn’s Australian Freedom of Speech Tour 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrNcIaWrnq0
71
Tony Wright of Fairfax vying with Steyn for humour…and who can blame him!
10 Feb: Tony Wright: Greg Hunt, the greatest minister in the world, accepts his colleagues’ acclaim
Poor Greg Hunt. No one deserves this. Least of all Greg.
The Best Minister in the World?…
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/greg-hunt-the-greatest-minister-in-the-world-accepts-his-colleagues-acclaim-20160209-gmpqj9.html
10 Feb: Gulf News: Australia’s Minister for Environment was named the best minister in the world in Dubai on Tuesday
Hunt was recognised for his achievements as minister, including his contribution to preserving the world heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, including banning in 2015 the dumping of dredge spoil on the reef.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, presented Hunt with the award during the second day of the World Government Summit.
In accepting the award, Hunt announced a new partnership between the UAE and Australia to lobby the United Nations on developing a method to evaluate blue carbon.
“Let me begin with a heartfelt welcome to Shaikh Mohammad. On a personal level I am humbled and thankful. I am especially glad that the award went to a minister of environment because the environment is our land and identity,” he said.
“This should be something which, if it can be measured, earns [carbon] credits and therefore creates an incentive to protect their mangroves,” he later told Gulf News…
The ‘best minister of the world’ award was an effort by the World Government Summit and ***Thomson Reuters…
In its first edition, 10 out of 100 candidates from 80 countries qualified for the World’s Best Minister Award.
To ensure transparency, ministers from the UAE are not considered for the award.
http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/government/australia-s-minister-for-environment-greg-hunt-named-world-s-best-minister-in-dubai-1.1669305
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10 Feb: SBS: AAP: Hunt wins best minister award
Mr Hunt was given the award at the World Government Summit in Dubai overnight for his role in reducing carbon emissions…
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/02/10/hunt-wins-best-minister-award
10 Feb: HuffPo: Josh Butler: Environment Minister Greg Hunt Named ‘Best Minister In The World’
Australia’s environment minister Greg Hunt, who has overseen the first increase in domestic emissions in a decade and approved dredging by a coal mine on the cusp of the Great Barrier Reef, has been named the world’s best minister…
Hunt has been praised in global environmental circles for his work at the Paris climate summit in helping broker a breakthrough on years-long stalemate points.
Hunt travelled to the UAE to accept the award in person, and in an address he cited policies including support for solar power and water quality, as well as floating the concept of a global rainforest recovery program…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/02/09/greg-hunt-minister-world_n_9193142.html
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9 Feb: StepFeed: Ryan Stultz: UAE to get ministers for happiness, tolerance and climate change
While these “feel-good” positions might be creating the most buzz, the changes are far reaching…
Both the happiness minister and the tolerance minister will be ministers of state. Sheikh Mohammed said that this was designed to allow the government more flexible in a changing world…
The UAE will also now have a Ministry of Climate Change and Environment – a smart move considering the threat that rising sea levels pose to the Emirates.
The changes were announced at the World Government Summit in Dubai, which also saw United States President Barack Obama give a key note address via video link…
https://stepfeed.com/more-categories/big-news/uae-get-ministers-happiness-tolerance-climate-change/#.VrpLxZJuk_4
innovation time:
8 Feb: Emirats247: Barack Obama Keynote: UAE and US can learn from each other
Stefan M. Selig, Under Secretary for International Trade at the US Department of Commerce, spoke after Obama…
“We support the innovation strategy of the UAE. It represents a roadmap towards a more innovative economy…
He hailed the UAE’s National Innovative Strategy and said that the strategy is a roadmap to expand opportunities for Emiratis. “The National Innovation Strategy will add to a diverse economy,” said Selig.
“The UAE’s commitment is great support to innovation,” he added…
He revealed that the UAE and the US governments will be signing an MoU today on innovation partnership…
He said that innovation was helping in redefining responsible government, and that the US and its partners should develop friendly relationship with its partners…
The summit, held under the theme ‘Shaping Future Governments’, is being attended by more than 3,000 participants from 125 countries, including top dignitaries, leaders and experts from the government and private sectors across the world.
The World Government Summit is being attended by a number of heads of states, governments and international organisations.
The World Government Summit is a knowledge-oriented forum that convenes representatives of academic institutions and scientific research centers and university students, who are invited to share their future visions and aspirations…
Jim Yong Kim, President of The World Bank Group, addressed delegates on Day 1 of the World Government Summit in Dubai…
He said the World Bank has been trying to reduce poverty for more than 60 years now…
Kim noted that global warming had resulted in 2015 being the hottest year in history…
“Last week, we used innovative financial tools for Jordan and Lebanon that have been exceptional in taking in refugees,” Kim said…
http://www.emirates247.com/business/barack-obama-keynote-uae-and-us-can-learn-from-each-other-2016-02-08-1.619964
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O/T
Tony Heller (aka Steve Goddard) has added Australia stations to his “Pull Back Curtains” project / software. Comments on his site from those that looked at it using USA sites say it is fantastic.
http://realclimatescience.com/2016/02/australian-stations-now-available/
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Certainly very easy to use. 🙂
http://s19.postimg.org/as7fnvb5f/williamstown.png
51
That’s Williamtown NSW, not Williamstown, Vic – data easy to understand, but is it adjusted?
40
“All of the GHCN data for Oz”
From comments there
30
Yep, I live in Newcastle, somewhat inland.
Williamstown RAAF or Newcastle Uni would be the ones I look at. Nobby’s is on the coast.
I think that the data is meant to be raw, unadjusted from GHCN, but why not ask on SG’s site where the app comes from.
https://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/what-could-possibly-go-wrong-8/
31
missed a comma, changed the meaning of the sentence.
but why not ask on SG’s site, where the app comes from.
we all know where the app comes from 🙂
30
Looking at Alice Springs close up you notice that central Oz was warmer in the period after WW2, unlike the UK which saw a cooling signal.
Also observe the Great Climate Shift of 1976.
http://realclimatescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-02-09114559.png
31
el gordo
“Also observe the Great Climate Shift of 1976.”
From one station? Really? 🙂
Actually I can see a long-term warming trend in that station data. Bit hard to say without calculating a best-fit trend and confidence intervals.
08
Funny, Harry – that would be an homogenised data trend.
Why is it, I wonder, that despite a multitude of technology advances in temperature measuring equipment the normal healthy human temperature range has not changed in 300 years all with no need of homogenisations to account for equipment changing from alcohol, mercury, digital, electronic?
50
Jo
O/T but FYI
https://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/australian-stations-now-available/
21
Say mates, Suzuki rode his carbon trail down your way, his last visit did not go so well. I am sure this visit will be more controlled
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=david+suzuki+in+australia&view=detail&mid=398A30B1FC430A538484398A30B1FC430A538484&FORM=VIRE6
41
Suzuki was so uninformed that I blushed for him, even though I can’t stand the man. Like Paul Ehrlich, who was also on Q&A recently, he made a fool of himself, yet the audience appeared appreciative.
There is no comparison between Suzuki and Steyn. I just hope that Tony Jones gives him time to get his message across.
100
I just hope that Mark Steyn rides roughshod over smarmy Tony Jones and rams the message home regardless.
50
One of my favorite Mark Steyn stories
I crossed the border post , and the guy looked at my green card, and he said
what was the purpose of your business in Canada ?
I said, I have been on trial in British Columbia at the Human Rights tribunal
for crimes against humanity !
At this point the audience burst out laughing… 😀
here is the link , the story is at 45:28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXIHpp53dkg
How on earth Mark keeps a straight face when telling all these stories is beyond me.
71
‘How on earth Mark keeps a straight face when telling all these stories is beyond me.’
He tells the truth and people laugh because of the cleverly crafted irony.
41
Speaking of ‘communication’. we have just been told by the ‘ Guru Weather Chick’ at Channel Who Cares, that if Perth reaches 40 degrees C today (Wednesday Feb 10,) it will be the HOTTEST PLACE IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!
90
Just in from the ABC:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-10/bom-perth-weather-temperature-hits-40c-for-record-fourth-day/7156572
Four 40C+ days in a row equals past record!!!!
I am almost surprised that they admit the last time it happened was 1933. I wonder if 1933 still shows that warmth post-homogenisation.
61
Yes this is the beginning of the end…
41
Oh please. He’s a card-carrying neocon, so he has nothing but disdain for humanity outside of western white city-dwellers. Woe betide you if Washington turns its lidded gaze on your country – Steyn will be waving pompoms and yelling ‘Go team!’ (he might recant if it becomes unpopular, but his reflexive position is identical to Bill Kristol and Tom Friedman).
Steyn is like Hitchens – a third-rater who wr[ites|ote] tolerably well and who happen[s|ed] to be right on a single issue.
The fact that the issue on which Steyn happens to be right (for the moment) is of interest to people who read this site, should not cloud your assessment of Steyn.
In fact, I think Steyn’s writing style is better than Hitchens – but that’s not saying much. Hitchens had to leave the educated English-speaking world and go to America, where standards are FAR lower, in order to make a crust with his pen (reinforcing my view that anyone who doesn’t get a First is not worth listening to – Hitchens got a III at Balliol, in a system where almost half of graduates get IIA or better).
In the single-issue context, Hitchens was right on atheism, but wrong on everything else of consequence. He even walked back his condemnation of Kissinger – although he didn’t overtly walk it back very far, his adoption of neoconservatism basically endorsed Kissingers ‘Ve Can Re-Make Ze Vorld’ rhetoric. Kind of like not withdrawing a condemnation of Stalin, but hanging out with Stalinists.
So it’s OK to accept that Steyn’s view just happens to coincide with yours, without resorting to unjustified encomia (or panegyrics)… hopefully while repudiating everything that Steyn’s wrong about.
As an example – that’s how I view Sam Harris, whose efforts at making neuroscience accessible helped me change my mind on free will, and whose work advancing atheism is second only to Dawkins. That aside, Harris’ ‘ethnocultural biases’ make him effectively a cheerleader for a system that – as a matter of foreseeable, inevitable and direct consequence – slaughters brown children in their hundreds of thousands ‘by accident’ (because it’s ‘accident’ if you bomb a water treatment plant and children subsequently die of cholera and dysentery, so long as you claim your intentions were good – see how naïve that makes him sound when you write it out?).
116
Unrelated: Somebody has a brain.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/9/obama-carbon-emissions-rule-halted-supreme-court/
81
Martin
This is very important news. This means Obama’s “back door” approach to introducing his climate related “laws” are dead in the water as he won’t have time before the end of the year to do much about it.
71
Mark Steyn is brilliant and has a lot of great things to say.
Including, on the coming war for which me must steel ourselves.
131
It would be great if there was some way to expose the mainstream of Australia to Mark Steyn. I just hope his appearance on ABC Q&A isn’t the only MSM appearance. perhaps he could debate Kochie on Sunrise for 15min…now that would be fun.
I will seek out any replays published on the interweb.
91
A simple 2min smackdown of SHY on Q&A will satisfy me.
110
I wonder what the odds are on SHY constructing all “arguments” around the following types of phrases:
“you’re not a climate scientist”
“you’re funded by big oil / big business / an extreme right-wing lobby group”,
“think of the children/grandchildren”
“97% of scientists agree…”
When backed into a corner, I also foresee her becoming more shrill than usual, with subsequent hints at “misogyny” and how everything is unfair and biased, probably via Twitter after the event, rather than having the courage to say it to anyones face.
I’m not sure I can watch Q&A from here, but I will endeavour to find a way to do so.
71
Before SHY even starts talking the audience will cheer and clap. For Mark there will be derision. The ABC, of course, will tell you that Q&A audiences represent a broad spectrum of society. I hope I’m wrong, but knowing Q&A I don’t think Mark will get a fair go.
71
Exactly. The shrill levels will peak out and go into the red. To use audio-tech language.
Interruptions will be high.
71
more good news:
9 Feb: ReutersCarbonPulse: Ben Garside: EU Market: EUAs break below €5 as market looks to lawmakers for support
EU carbon prices dropped below €5 on Tuesday to its lowest for 22 months as analysts slashed their forecasts and some observers urged lawmakers to step in with tougher reforms.
The Dec-16 EUA contract ended down 28 cents to €4.97 after falling to as low as €4.95 – the lowest since March 2014 – on heavy volume of more than 28 million…
Today’s bottom represents a 40% drop since the end-2015 price of €8.29.
Members of the EU Parliament’s environment committee meet next Thursday for their first hearing on the EU ETS reform proposal, which covers changes for the 2021-2030 period.
Environmental campaigners urged politicians to implement more aggressive reforms to drive prices up towards levels capable of incentivising emission reductions.
“Major reform is now needed for the EU ETS to have any relevance,” Sandbag tweeted, with WWF’s Sam van den Plas urging lawmakers to cancel the current ETS surplus, which stands at around 2 billion allowances…
http://carbon-pulse.com/15384/
9 Feb: ReutersCarbonPulse: POLL: Analysts slash EUA forecasts on gloomy outlook following price rout
Carbon Pulse initially collected analysts’ EUA forecasts in early January for the Q1-2016 poll, but in light of the precipitous fall in prices that was taking place during that time, a decision was made to delay the poll until the market stabilised somewhat. This was in order to preserve the survey’s relevance by giving any analysts who wished to revise their estimates time to do so.
Analysts have slashed their estimates for EU carbon prices across the board, cutting some of their forecasts by as much as two-thirds following the recent EUA crash and amid wider fundamental and macroeconomic weakness…
Looking a bit further ahead, MKonline said that they expect a marginal increase in power consumption from households, service and public sectors in 2016 and 2017, due in part to lower oil prices and increased immigration…
Some analysts made massive cuts to their forecasts compared to the previous poll. For example, BNEF (Bloomberg New Energy Financa) slashed its forecast for end-2020 prices to €10.50 from €30, and Energy Aspects cut its average 2020 estimate to €9.60 from €21…
http://carbon-pulse.com/15315/
41
7 Feb: CarbonBrief: The IPCC elects a new leadership team
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – the international body for assessing the science related to climate change – has elected South Korean economist Prof Hoesung Lee as its new chair…
In the run-off, Hoesung Lee was elected over Belgian Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, by a margin of 78 votes to 56…
Lee also said he will also look to incorporate expertise beyond academic and scientific circles:
“The IPCC can also engage with the business and finance sectors. Governments cannot solve the problem of climate change alone. We need the best and brightest from the private sector to become increasingly involved to interpret our findings and act upon them.”…
In the election earlier today, the IPCC elected three vice-chairs for this coming term…ETC
http://www.carbonbrief.org/the-ipcc-elects-a-new-leadership-team?utm_content=buffer6b5ea&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
full results:
***IPCC: Election results
https://www.ipcc.ch/nominations/results.shtml
***click on Working Group II Vice-Chair, Australian Mark Howden for his curriculum vitae, which includes:
Dr Stuart Mark Howden Positions: Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Agriculture Flagship;
Director, Climate Change Institute, Australian National University…etc.
31
8 Feb: ClimateChangeNews: Megan Darby: EU faces two-year wrangle to ratify Paris climate deal
Members of 28-state bloc show little appetite for increasing ambition as they gear up for internal battles over effort-sharing
Brussels will take part in a signing ceremony to be hosted by Ban Ki-moon at UN headquarters in New York this April.
But experts say it could take until late 2017 or 2018 to get the detail member states need to formally accept the agreement.
And the 28-strong bloc’s leaders are showing little appetite for raising ambition during that time, despite Brussels backing a tougher global goal at the critical UN summit….
***It was left to Hendrik Bourgeois of General Electric to point out that the EU’s 2030 climate targets were inconsistent with the Paris pact…
“Things will have to change and action will be necessary,” said Bourgeois…
Energy-intensive businesses are getting more vocal about concerns a high carbon price could drive investment abroad, said Canete. “All the lobbies were very quiet before Paris. Everybody was silent. The day we came out of Paris, all the lobbies came out and said there is carbon leakage”…
At the moment, Poland is blocking an extension to existing treaty the Kyoto Protocol, pending analysis of the economic impacts…
The European Commission is considering ways to bypass Poland’s consent, head of international climate strategy Artur Runge-Metzger told Politico…
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/02/08/eu-faces-two-year-wrangle-to-ratify-paris-climate-deal/?utm_source=Daily+Carbon+Briefing&utm_campaign=585c34b9ac-cb_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_876aab4fd7-585c34b9ac-303449629
9 Feb: ClimateChangeNews: Ed King: Bloomberg climate risk initiative targets secret polluters
Heavyweight investigation into how business reports vulnerability to climate policies and impacts could leave many corporations exposed, say experts
Set up on the sidelines of the COP21 Paris talks last December, the Financial Stability Board-backed initiative met for the first time this week. In just over a month, it releases its initial findings.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Monday, Bloomberg said momentum behind the taskforce came from major institutional investors…
Last year the Asset Owners Disclosure Project revealed just 7% of the world’s 500 largest funds – collectively worth over $40 trillion – could calculate greenhouse gas emissions in their portfolios.
Only 1.4% had reduced their emissions intensity from 2014, while a paltry 2% had a target for 2016. Few knew how exposure to future extreme weather events could affect their investments.
This has to change – and fast – according to Steve Waygood, chief responsible investment officer at Aviva Investors and a newly appointed member of the taskforce.
The goal of making finance flows consistent with a low carbon pathway is explicitly laid out in Article 2 of the Paris climate agreement, he told Climate Home at an event in London outlining the initiative’s ambitions.
“If policymakers don’t deliver on COP21 we will have potentially catastrophic climate change,” he said…
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/02/09/bloomberg-climate-risk-initiative-targets-secret-polluters/
31
10 Feb: BusinessRecorderPakistan: Thar coal power development top priority of government: Ahsan
Chairing a meeting held to review progress of coal gasification project in Thar, he said the coal reserves of 175 billion tonnes would produce 5,000 MW annually for 400 years…
Dr Mand informed 322 million cubic feet gas could be produced along with other useful materials, including diesel. He clarified that the plant was not emitting environmentally hazardous gases in the air since the whole process was being done underground…
http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/pakistan/277977-thar-coal-power-development-top-priority-of-government-ahsan.html
3 Feb: CustomsTodayPakistan: $1.8b project: PM reviews progress on 1,320MW Sahiwal coal power plant
SAHIWAL: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reviewed the progress on $1.8 billion Sahiwal Coal Power Project that would add 1320 MW to the national grid by the end of 2017…
The Chinese president during his visit had announced $46 billion investment in different power projects, that would generate employments and massive economic activity, he added…
Another 3400 MW project was underway at Thar, where local coal was readily available. He regretted that Pakistan had never utilised its own coal to generate electricity.
http://www.customstoday.com.pk/1-8b-project-pm-reviews-progress-on-1320mw-sahiwal-coal-power-plant/
31
10 Feb: Livemint: Moyna Manku: R.K. Pachauri’s Teri post seen violating anti-sexual harassment law
Even though some experts say that the matter is sub judice and hence Pachauri’s guilt is yet to be established, many believe that his appointment is a violation
On Monday, R.K. Pachauri was appointed executive vice-chairman of The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri)…
Meanwhile, some members of the Teri governing council such as Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director of Biocon Ltd, resigned citing differences with the management of the organization…
“This move is a clear violation of every provision of the anti-sexual harassment laws of the country in letter and spirit,” said Vrinda Grover, a senior human rights advocate who has contributed to the drafting of the 2013 Criminal Law Amendment to the law against sexual assault…
“As per the law, Pachauri is not permitted on the premises where a sexual harassment allegation has been made against him. But here we see he has been not only been permitted on the premises but also put in a position of power—giving out the clear signal that Teri condones sexual harassment and there is no recourse for the complainant,” Grover said…
http://www.livemint.com/Home-Page/DCqaU0MesU5hI1mqmgrG1L/Teris-Pachauri-appointment-violates-antisexual-harassment.html
9 Feb: AmericanBazaarOnline: Sreekanth A Nair: Nobel Laureate RK Pachauri makes ‘my flesh crawl’: Sexual harassment victim
Expressing deep concern over the appointment of Nobel Laureate RK Pachauri as the Executive Vice President of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the woman who accused him of sexual harassment released an open letter on Tuesday.
In the letter, she said that the decision made her flesh crawl…
http://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2016/02/09/nobel-laureate-rk-pachauri-makes-my-flesh-crawl-sexual-harassment-victim/
41
Not completely off topic because it is something Mark and many others have been working towards:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/9/obama-carbon-emissions-rule-halted-supreme-court/
The US Supreme Court has ruled against Obama’s mandated carbon emissions regulations.
71
Definitely good news, albeit:
1) the decision was only a “stay” while States go into battle in a Lower Court. Still, it likely pushes the timeframe out past Obama’s shelf-life … and that has to be good
2) it was a tight decision, 5-4, with the 4 no votes coming from the Democrat-appointed judges. This implies a straight political split, so the issue may not go away for too long
I don’t have too much trust in lawyers, myself, but this at least allows the Constitutional arguments to run their course without undue political pressure. One of the nicest things about this “stay” is that the EPA now has to argue with rational facts rather than emotive bullying
101
10 Feb: Australian: John Ross: CSIRO modelling ‘must continue’: Finkel
In his first appearance before a Senate estimates committee, Dr Finkel said CSIRO needed to guarantee a succession plan for its crucial work measuring and modelling the region’s climate.
“Our most immediate national concern must be to ensure that long-term data collections will be funded and staffed,” said Dr Finkel, who took office last month. “The climate modelling capabilities developed by the CSIRO (must) continue to be made available for scientists to use and refine.”…
Dr Finkel told the committee that one of CSIRO’s most critical roles was the provision of continuous data sets, some of which stretched back 40 years. “If you’ve got a gap in the data set, that can never be replaced.
“There is no question that Australia needs a continuous and highly effective commitment to climate science, both to meet our national needs and to fulfil our international commitments. Our contribution is particularly important in light of our central role in understanding the climate of the Southern Hemisphere.”
He said he was heartened by CSIRO’s commitment to develop a “transition plan” to maintain this capacity…
Greens Senator Janet Rice told the committee that the BoM and universities had told her they did not have capacity to take over CSIRO’s climate data collection and modelling…
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/csiro-modelling-must-continue-finkel/news-story/491765eb951d48c49cd9319ea9d82b20
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10 Feb: CNN: Supreme Court blocks Obama climate change rules
By Ariane de Vogue and Dan Berman
The decision means that Obama now has two major legacy actions — immigration and climate change — stuck in the court system with the specter of a Republican taking over the White House in January…
“This is an exceedingly uncommon situation for the court to step in, and it jeopardizes the plan all together from going into affect while President Obama remains in office,” said Bruce Huber, professor of law at Notre Dame Law school. “The Supreme Court’s order signals serious misgivings among some of the justices about the legality of the plan.”…
House Speaker Paul Ryan called the rule “unlawful” in a statement Tuesday.
“This rule should be struck down permanently before coal country is destroyed completely, and American consumers are consigned to higher energy prices,” Ryan said…
David Doniger, director of the climate and clean air program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said he is “confident the courts will ultimately uphold the Clean Power Plan on its merits. The electricity sector has embarked on an unstoppable shift from its high-pollution, dirty-fueled past to a safer, cleaner-powered future, and the stay cannot reverse that trend. Nor can it dampen the overwhelming public support for action on climate change and clean energy.”
“If there was ever a Supreme Court decision that looked backwards instead of towards the future, this was it,” said Jamie Henn of the environmental group 350.org.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/09/politics/supreme-court-obama-epa-climate-change/index.html
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9 Feb: ZeroHedge: Tyler Durden: Deutsche Bank Is Scared: “What Needs To Be Done” In Its Own Words
Which, incidentally, brings us to none other than one of Deutsche Bank’s most respected credit analysts, Dominic Konstam, who clearly has an appreciation of the existential risk he finds himself in, not only career-wise, but in terms of the entire financial structure. We know this, because after reading his email blast from this morning we realize just how vast the fear, if not sheer terror, is among those who truly realize just how broken the system currently is.
We have reposted his entire letter below, because it represents the most definitive blueprint of everything that is about to be unleashed – especially since it comes from the perspective of one of the people who is currently deep inside Deutsche Bank and realizes just how close to the edge the German bank is…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-09/deutsche-bank-terrified-here-what-needs-be-done-its-own-words
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read all:
10 Feb: WSJ: The Carbon Tax Budget
Robbing consumers of the benefit of lower oil prices
President Obama rolled out his $4.1 trillion fiscal 2017 budget proposal on Tuesday, and the good news is that most of it has no chance of passing…
That goes in particular for his proposal for a $10 a barrel tax on oil…
And what a windfall the tax would be—about $650 billion over 10 years, according to Robert P. Murphy of the Institute for Energy Research. Mr. Obama says the tax as a way to fund about $32 billion a year in new “green infrastructure.” …
The other goal is to punish fossil-fuel production. A White House memo admits the point by saying that one benefit is that the tax would provide “a clear incentive for private-sector innovation to reduce our reliance on oil.” Mr. Obama has been frustrated in his climate-change ambitions because green fuels can’t compete economically with oil and gas. So the oil tax is designed to raise the cost of oil production while subsidizing competitors…
The White House is also dishonest about who will pay the tax, calling it a “fee on oil paid for by oil companies.” Translation: It is a tax on drivers collected by oil companies. Studies show that families that make less than $30,000 a year tend to spend more than 25% of their after-tax income on energy, while families that earn more than $50,000 a year spend less than 10%. Mr. Obama’s proposal would increase inequality…
Mr. Obama’s oil tax is one more sign of the left’s shifting climate-change priorities. The greens used to favor mandates for energy efficiency and reduced carbon consumption. But as that agenda has foundered on economic reality, their new campaign is to stop as much oil and gas production as possible. The new command is to “leave it in the ground.” …
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-carbon-tax-budget-1455064173
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9 Feb: New Scientist: Planets with too much carbon dioxide could lose oceans to space
Attention super-villains: with huge quantities of carbon dioxide, you can evaporate all of Earth’s water off to space. Although it probably won’t happen here, the same process might make Earth-like planets around other stars uninhabitable…
Not enough carbon on Earth
Luckily, it shouldn’t happen here. “You could in theory get up there,” says James Kasting at Pennsylvania State University. But “it would take a lot of CO2, and there might not be enough carbon in the entire fossil fuel reserve to do it.”
Journal reference: Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1062
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2076862-planets-with-too-much-carbon-dioxide-could-lose-oceans-to-space/
9 Feb: Smithsonian: Jesse Emspak: Looking for Life Beyond Earth? Watch Out for Steam Bath Planets
Simulations show that water and CO2 can be a surprisingly deadly combo on some unfortunate worlds
But in a twist, a team of scientists used computer simulations to find out what might kill off some of these promising planets, and the results show that not every whiff of life will be a sure-fire hit.
Scientists in Germany started with a model of an Earth-like world entirely covered by oceans. The team then used global climate models to see what happens when the amount of carbon dioxide in the air rises…
“At that point, you will be in a state where you start losing water at a quick rate,” says study leader Max Popp of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology.
After several million years, all the water on the planet would evaporate away, the team reports this week in Nature Communications…
The simulations also weren’t done with a truly realistic planet…READ ON
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/looking-life-beyond-earth-watch-out-steam-bath-planets-180958075/
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9 Feb: Yale 360: Marc Gunther: Can Large Companies Lead The Low-Carbon Revolution?
The dismissal of a green advocate at a major energy corporation and other recent developments raise a critical question: Are big companies too invested in the status quo to be trailblazers in the quest to wean the global economy off fossil fuels?
(Marc Gunther is editor at large of Guardian Sustainable Business US and a blogger at http://www.marcgunther.com. His book, Suck It Up: How Capturing Carbon From the Air Can Help Solve the Climate Crisis, is available as an Amazon Kindle Single)
Not long ago, David Crane and David Steiner were among a handful of Fortune 500 CEOs admired by environmentalists. A climate hawk and the chief executive of NRG Energy, Crane led the company as it invested $1 billion in solar power, wind energy, and electric-car charging. Steiner, chief executive of Waste Management, was an evangelist for recycling…
That was then, and this is now: Crane was abruptly fired last fall just before he was planning to leave for the Paris global climate talks. (He went anyway.) “The market was irritated with me over the green strategy,” he says. Steiner has turned bearish on recycling because of low commodity and energy prices, among other issues. “Momentum has been up, up, up for the last 20 years, and now, it’s stalling — it’s down, down, down,” he said recently…READ ALL
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/can_large_companies_lead_the_low-carbon_revolution/2956/
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9 Feb: ReutersCarbonPulse: Mike Szabo: UK coal plant Eggborough wins 1-yr reprieve from closure
Britain’s Eggborough coal-fired power plant has won a reprieve after signing a contract with National Grid that will allow it to continue to operate for an additional year from March.
The 2GW plant, which was the UK’s seventh largest emitting installation in 2014 according to EU data, was awarded a contract under the National Grid’s Supplemental Balancing Reserve scheme to provide back-up power next winter.
The new agreement is for 775 megawatts of capacity, the plant’s operators Eggborough Power Limited said in a statement…
Eggborough, which is owned by Czech utility EPH, was slated to close next month due to poor market conditions and high running costs – factors that have led to several other major coal plant closures to be announced in the past year…
The country’s carbon floor price, which nearly doubled last April to £18.08/tonne, has likely played a large role in the decisions as analysts have pointed to it, along with falling gas prices, as being responsible for the onset of more fuel switching within Britain’s power sector.
http://carbon-pulse.com/15392/
10 Feb: ReutersCarbonPulse: Stian Reklev: OM Financial parts ways with emissions broker, but eyes Sydney opportunity
An emissions broker has left Auckland-based OM Financial to join electricity trading firm Switch Trading.
Dan Crawford left OM Financial last month after working at its carbon and energy desk since Mar. 2011, and has taken up the position as director of trading with Switch.
He has been replaced at OM Financial’s carbon desk by recent university graduate Daniel Tetro…
“In Sydney we will be doing power, dairy, wholesale interest rates and foreign exchange, and carbon when it starts,” one company source told Carbon Pulse.
Australia has no current plans to set up a domestic carbon market, but many observers expect private sector demand for offsets and trading of international carbon credits to emerge after the upcoming 2017 climate policy review.
http://carbon-pulse.com/15418/
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Pat,
You have probably already posted this:
But Climate change ‘to make transatlantic flights longer’
Here’s a link to Professor Paul Williams that starts off his amazing paper with the fact:
97% of Climate scientists do not know this fact?
The whole thing is an Airline Industry BAIT to lure in more money?
Soon it will be quicker to fly from London to US the other direction?
These publications are becoming a joke!
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Does nothing escape the attention of astute climate scientists? In recent times we’ve had sharks having olfactory issues due to acidic oceans and dogs suffering climate caused psychological trauma. Does anyone out there take these ever increasingly idiotic studies seriously?
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Dave I agree whole heartedly
I did read the article , and was disappointed at the level of understanding of the BBC reporter
The researchers admit :-
“At present there is no firm observational evidence of changes in the jet stream”
However :-
Dr Gregor Leckebusch from the University of Birmingham said the study was sound and the findings were easy to comprehend.
Having worked on the Boeing 737Max , Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus 380 and 310 and many others , It is my experience that most pilots file flight plans to avoid the jet stream ( contra ).
I did find the claim by Dr Leckebusch somewhat amusing
“My meteorological basic instinct would exactly have predicted such a result (shorter eastbound times while longer westbound times), but it is difficult to quantify the net effect without a detailed study using a conceptual model and detailed computational efforts,” he said.
instinct ! – a new scientific method perhaps ?
However, the researchers forget one little point , the change in oil prices and maintenance has a far greater impact on costs than an increase in the speed of the jet stream. It is interesting to note that some Scientists think the jet stream is slowing down.
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While we are talking of planes, cosmic ray bombardment is intensifying because of a quiet sun and flying from Australia to the US means a passenger has had the equivalent of a few dental x-rays.
http://spaceweather.com/images2016/08feb16/cosmicrays.png?PHPSESSID=r4boubqeqip2e87c2rp892jdl7
Of greater interest, low cloud cover should increase and temperatures drop.
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‘The great Jo Nova, an indispensable voice on the climate front, has an over-generous preview of my Australian tour.’
Mark Steyn
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Dave –
I hadn’t posted it, but have this one, which is upsetting some of the CAGW mob:
10 Feb: GizmodoAustralia: Maddie Stone: The UN’s Proposed Airline Emissions Standards Are A Joke
The rules are the result of over six years of negotiations and, if they pass, they will apply to all new aircraft by the end of the 2020s. But they will barely trim carbon pollution from most commercial planes.
The rules would compel airlines to reduce their fuel consumption by 4 to 11 per cent, with proportionally greater reductions for larger planes. They will go into effect first for all new plane designs by 2020 and then for designs currently in production by 2023. By 2029, any aircraft model that isn’t compliant with the new rules would be forced to retire…
But let’s weigh it against what we need: a rapid decarbonisation of the global economy that brings us to net zero emissions by the mid to late 21st century. That’s according to the overwhelming consensus of
scientists as well as the leaders of 196 countries who met in Paris this December to strike a historic global climate accord.
The airline industry currently accounts for two per cent of global carbon emissions. While that may not sound like much, aviation is also the fastest-growing transportation sector. Analysts project that its greenhouse gas emissions will double by 2030 and triple by mid-century.
It’s hard to see how rules that will improve fuel efficiency by 11 per cent tops are going to help us bring that footprint down down…
“The standard as proposed is not going to make a dent in the emissions growth curve of airlines,” environmental lawyer Verda Pardee told the New York Times. “It’s just unfair for an industry as large as the airline industry not to be called to account on their contribution to climate change.”…
It’s 2016. We’re building reusable rockets and self-driving cars. We can do better than this.
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/02/the-uns-proposed-airline-emissions-standards-are-a-joke/
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even tho MSM reports had “experts say the animals’ food supply has been affected by higher-than-normal ocean temperatures linked to El Nino”, some quoting NOAA, & studies done during previous el ninos, news.com.au can’t resist making a CAGW link, & piling it on:
9 Feb: news.com.au: AFP: Baby sea lion found napping in California restaurant
A HUNGRY baby sea lion picked the best seat in the house after wandering into a beachside restaurant in San Diego…
Climate change has been blamed for raising the temperature of the oceans and disrupting marine food chains…
VIDEO: 1hr28mins: The Inertia Trap
Packed with information, The Inertia Trap is a rich compendium of scientific insights on the subject of the effect of climate change on the world’s oceans.
http://www.news.com.au/travel/world-travel/north-america/baby-sea-lion-found-napping-in-california-restaurant/news-story/c3e37e2790dc27263dc39363929f561c
a warning before u consider watching “The Inertia Trap”:
PDF: 1 page: Aug 2011: ANU: “The Inertia Trap” Premiere Screening
Introduced by: Professor Will Steffen Executive Director, ANU Climate Change Institute
Assoc Professor Janette Lindesay Deputy Director, ANU Climate Change Institute
Dendy Cinema Level 2, North Quarter, Canberra Centre…
James Hansen says that ‘you can’t tie a rope around an ice sheet’ and Will Steffen shows that with a one metre sea level rise and storm surge, while you might be able to have a coffee in the second level of the Brisbane airport, your plane won’t be able to come in or
take off because the runway will be under water…
The film is produced and directed by Kathryn Kelly, and narrated by Assoc Professor Janette Lindesay, Deputy Director of the ANU Climate Change Institute.
Scientists in the !lm include James Hansen (NASA), Will Steffen (ANU), David Karoly (Melbourne University), John Church, Steve Rintoul, Susan Wijffels, Alistair Hobday, Bronte Tilbrook (all CSIRO) and Tessa Vance (UTas and Antarctic Ecosystem CRC).
The film will be followed by a question and answer session with Professor Will Steffen, Assoc Professor Janette Lindesay and Director, Kathryn Kelly.
http://mailman.anu.edu.au/pipermail/anugreen.announce/attachments/20110729/9341667c/attachment-0001.pdf
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I’ll be there with bells on.
It will be interesting to see Steyn on a panel with Sarah Hanson Young on Q&A next Monday.
Great news from the US Supreme Court today.
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Well keep still so that i can hear what he’s saying! 😛
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Steyn on Trump:
9 Jan: SteynOnline: Notes on a Phenomenon by Mark Steyn
http://www.steynonline.com/7408/notes-on-a-phenomenon
who won New Hampshire on the Republican side today?
Who won in New Hampshire? The ambitions of Michael Bloomberg | Fox News
Fox News – 5 hours ago
The New Hampshire primary may give Bloomberg a push…
His (Trump’s) appeal is not conservative; it is ***DISRUPTIVE…
Mayor Bloomberg has expressed disdain for the tenor of the race, and many may agree that the substance of the debate is an insult to American voters. Undoubtedly, he imagines elevating the discourse…
Mr. Bloomberg’s priorities, which include gun control and trying to confront CLIMATE CHANGE, are not necessarily those of the majority of Americans, but for sure he would find a following…
***Fox: Trump = disruptive = bad; Boston Globe: Bloomberg = disruptive = good:
Michael Bloomberg is the real winner in New Hampshire – The Boston Globe …
5 hours ago
Bloomberg would need to move swiftly and be prepared to put not just his name, but some of his considerable fortune behind a ***DISRUPTIVE, start-up campaign. It would be a supremely patriotic gesture…
Bloomberg has hinted that he might be interested in a White House run. That’s an easy call for any reasonable man if Trump wins the GOP nomination, or Clinton gets in disqualifying legal trouble. Fate favors the well-prepared, as they say. But it also favors the bold…
Will New Hampshire result persuade Michael Bloomberg to run for presidency?
Telegraph.co.uk – 8 hours ago
The third big winner of New Hampshire primary may well be Michael Bloomberg
International-The WeekUK Magazine-4 hours ago
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9 Feb: Washington Post: Tonight’s winners and losers
by Chris Cillizza
Winners:
Michael Bloomberg: The former New York City Mayor stoked the fires of a possible third party bid earlier this week by disparaging the “banal” nature of the current conversation in both parties. The wins in New Hampshire by Trump and Sanders open up the possibility that one or both men could wind up as their parties’s nominees, a dream scenario for those — most notably Bloomberg himself — who dream of a real chance for the former mayor. I wouldn’t fall down dead if later this week “a Bloomberg insider” leaked either polling numbers or some sort of internal memo designed to stoke the fires for the former mayor’s independent bid…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics-live/liveblog/new-hampshire-primary-live-blog-the-granite-state-votes/#ed87cb75-37e6-46bb-a88e-17b983bfa8cf
3 hours ago, a pile of Bloombergers required for 20 paras:
10 Feb: Bloomberg: Mark Niquette: New Hampshire Bucks the Establishment to Back Trump and Sanders
(With assistance from Jennifer Epstein, Ben Brody, Margaret Newkirk, Kevin Cirilli and Esme E. Deprez)
New Hampshire historically serves to narrow crowded presidential fields, like this year’s Republican contest, but the volatile nature of the race could prolong the nominating fight in both parties, as well as provide a possible path for third party candidates. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for instance, told the Financial Times this week that he is “looking at all options” about a possible White House bid. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News’ parent, Bloomberg LP…
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-02-10/new-hampshire-bucks-the-establishment-to-back-trump-and-sanders
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9 Feb: Financial Times: Michael Bloomberg urges companies to reveal climate change impact
Oliver Ralph, Insurance Correspondent
Mr Bloomberg told the Financial Times that better disclosure would create a competitive instinct among companies when it came to their position on environmental issues.
“One of the things you find today when you interview prospective employees who have choices, they want to know what you are doing about the environment. It’s a competitive advantage when recruiting when you can say ‘this is what our company is doing to save the planet’.”…
He was speaking after the first meeting of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, which he chairs. The task force was launched by Mark Carney, chair of the Financial Stability Board, at the Paris climate change summit in December…
Mr Bloomberg also said for the first time that he was considering a run for the US presidency and criticised the quality of the debate in the presidential race so far.
The climate task force plans to produce a series of guidelines that companies can follow to create better, more standardised information on their exposure to climate change for investors, credit rating agencies, insurers and other users of financial statements. “From an investment point of view, if you can measure it, you can then manage it,” Mr Bloomberg added…
“Big institutional investors care about the companies they are investing in, in terms of how acceptable that company is to the people they work for,” he said. In his own personal portfolio he does not buy coal stocks, gun stocks or tobacco stocks, he added…
Mr Bloomberg is joined on the task force by Mary Schapiro, former chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. “Investors are desperate for this information,” she said. “They are actively seeking out clear and honest and comparable data about climate risk so that they can make decisions about where to allocate their capital, and compare companies within an industry and across industries.”…
The task force will deliver two reports. The first, next month, will look at current levels of disclosure and outline the scope of the work to be done. The second, by the end of the year, will create a set of guidelines for companies to use.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/15425194-cefd-11e5-92a1-c5e23ef99c77.html
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Mark Steyn will love our 350 scientists, 800 staff working on proving Climate Change is a major problem for Australia. Did they prove it? No. However as clever scientists overseas have proven it apparently we can stop trying to establish whether we have a problem as it is accepted that the Climate has Changed and the Globe has Warmed dangerously because of fossil fuel. Our scientists clearly do not disagree.
Now I have heard of this Newtonian sounding pompous “precautionary principle”, but when did we as a country decide that a problem was so great we had to dedicate the lives of 800 people to proving we actually had a problem? On the plus side, it seems these clever hard working people will not lose their public service jobs, but will move to helping us cope with this terrible problem they could not even prove existed.
My only concern, what is it? If 800 people cannot identify a problem in thousands of man years of high quality research, how are we supposed to deal with it? Luckily they will help, dedicating their lives to fixing something even they could not find. The comic potential of this is amazing, if it wasn’t such an expensive example of sheer waste of lives and money.
As Dr Perkins-Kirkpatrick has announced above, our Australian Climate has Changed. As an Australian, I would love to know how it affects me. Everything seems quite the same as it was when I was young, a land of droughts and flooding rains but if politicians overseas have decided this, it must be true. Perhaps Mark can tell us how the climate in Canada has changed?
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Does Mark have any peer-reviewed climate science papers for me to read or does he just have books where you can say anything you like and get it published?
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John,
Peer-reviewed climate science papers are ‘books’ where you can say anything you want and get it published!
Abe
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Thanks for the link to the IPA.
I note their article on the anniversary of the decision under 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. I remain confused by that decision; which race is being discriminated against when you call someone white? I am angered at our politicians failure to restore the freedom of speech we used to have.
I feel this quote is apposite:
“Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear” – George Orwell, English novelist and essayist (1903-1950)
30
Bill Leak made one error in this cartoon: White men don’t have feelings that can be hurt and repaired by litigation. Apparently.
60
Well spotted!
20
As usual Adelaide misses out again
10
May be a first for me
Actually watch QANDA
I was going to link it – but hate linking ABC stuff!
Barnaby Joyce – Minister for Agriculture and Water
Terri Butler – Labor Member for Griffith
Sarah Hanson-Young – Greens Senator
Mark Steyn – Conservative commentator and writer
And also Tony Jones the man who gets free haircuts compliments of Taxpayers ABC
This could be interesting
Terri to get very angry
Sarah to end in tears
Barnaby just being Barnaby
Mark ripping shreds of Tony, Terri & Sarah
Might record it
Watch it the next morning!
00