JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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Statistics
Oregon wind turbine ignites 2000 acre wildfire.
https://amp.kptv.com/story/38803146/wind-turbine-caught-on-fire-in-arlington
Please note the “Substaion Fire” in first link…
Photo of fire burning 1 of 2 railroad trestles.
https://katu.com/news/local/wind-turbine-sparks-fire-in-arlington
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Oregon wind turbine ignites 2000 acre wildfire.
https://amp.kptv.com/story/38803146/wind-turbine-caught-on-fire-in-arlington
Please note the “Substation Fire” in first link…
Photo of fire burning 1 of 2 railroad trestles.
https://katu.com/news/local/wind-turbine-sparks-fire-in-arlington
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the Bigelow (wiki below), project is located near the current wind turbine fire mentioned here: Note mention of substation fire in article….
https://amp.kptv.com/story/38803146/wind-turbine-caught-on-fire-in-arlington
Nearby is the substation that connects it to the grid. About 2 weeks ago the ‘Substation fire’ burned over 78,000 acres, homes were lost and at 1 fatality reported.
https://www.opb.org/news/article/crops-reported-substation-fire-boundary/
This is still ‘under investigation’.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biglow_Canyon_Wind_Farm
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Having been a fire chief, forest fire warden, lineman and wind power consultant, I am certain that the substation fire had to have started at the substation that solely services wind farms.
On the inciweb site
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5963/
it shows the location SW of the current wind turbine fire, exactly where the station is located. The prevailing winds spread the fire SE-SSE TO CONSUME OVER 78,000 acres.
I am convinced in my experience that the fire started at the substation.
john
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Hi, I was wondering if there is any news or updates on the Notch-Delay model? I haven’t heard anything from Dr. Evans on the topic here in a long time.
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David continues to work. He finds he gets more done when he keeps a low profile. The book was nearly finished when he pursued another line of cross checking which has produced some very interesting results and helps to develop and mature the original work. I’m going to have to raise some funds soon to help him get to the US to meet some key people there. There are layers upon layers to his work now…
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We stand ready with chocolate when required
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this
http://onarki.no/blogg
“Hva med de moderate nazistene?”
Seriously???
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Eh?
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google translate is your friend
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I would rather an explanation before looking at a non https site.
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The news abound with comment that the PM is sleepwalking off a cliff (Chris Kenny) and The man who wasn’t there (Phillip Adams). So both sides of politics agree our faux Prime Minister as not being terribly interested in either winning the election or even doing the job.
There is however the unjustified presumption that he wants to win the next election. Why should he? It doesn’t seem to matter that he was most surprised to win the last and missing in action for most of it.
No, Malcolm is very happy for Labor and the Greens to win. He handed it to them on a platter last time and refused to campaign or have policies. Now he will do it again. In fact this time he might even resign right before the election to make sure of it and avoid all the work, as long as Abbott doesn’t get in at the last minute and come up with any policies.
Malcolm has achieved everything he wanted for himself, his place in history and his family Labor party. He has destroyed the conservatives from within, forced them to adopt Green/Labor text policies and put his very left friends in all the positions that matter. He has started building his monument to his energy policies, a scheme to pump water uphill at enormous expense both in building and operation. It is as crippling a scheme as Rudd’s signature NBN. Another Labor white elephant.
Even so, he does love being a Prime Minister on the world stage, in particular putting that awful Trump in his place. Malcolm is also quietly bringing in 260,000 people a year despite the fact that Abbott’s popular boat turnbacks stopped a seaborne invasion. This is the other great achievement of his UN/EU backed policies and few people have even noticed. Open borders. Come on a tourist or student visa and you can stay forever. Safer than by boat.
I read today that ‘we’ have to increase taxes (on Australians with jobs) to be able to pay to look after all these people who expect up to date infrastructure and accommodation and jobs and better transport and roads. Government needs to get a lot bigger. We need to be taxed more.
So as loyal members of the UN/EU approved elite, the Turnbulls are doing a great job and they are ready to hand over to Bill Shorten and his Union and Green friends who can remove the last of the Abbott policies, stop the boat turnbacks and bring back the Carbon tax. There is little they can do to shut down the electricity system though except to approve the National Energy Guarantee, which is nothing of the sort. Pure UN/EU/Labor/Green policy.
Malcolm’s only regret perhaps is that he is not asked to stay on as Labor PM.
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At least he will go down proudly as the most popular Labor leader in history. He has fulfilled his destiny, despite being rejected by the Labor party. If he does stay on for the election, his concession speech will have already been written as it was last time. Having to write a victory speech without notice did cause a delay because he had a lot of people to blame.
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What is so frightening is that this person was elected by other Australians.
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What is even more frightening is most of the voters will vote 1 for one of the two major parties. How bad do things have to get before voters wake up and stop supporting either of them? Both are destined to destroy this once great nation. Wake up Australians!
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KK – I assume you are referring to the traitors in his own party. I am one Australian who did not vote for him. I was OS at the time of the last election, but would not have voted for him anyway. Goodness knows how I can fill in ballot paper this time to the best advantage. There is nowhere to go. Poor man, my country.
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Hi Peter,
Yes, a dilemma. I have only ever voted one of the major parties twice in my life.
In both cases the sitting laba memba was unseated.
Every other vote has been to the most independent candidate running.
That needs a little bit of research but the main thing is to put libs and labs last.
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Labia major labia minor either way none have enough skin in the game.. .
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G’day KK,
I generally agrre with you, but reckon I must put the Greens absolutely last, so there is no chance of their getting my preference by default.
This is why I dislike the compulsory preferential requirement to fill in all boxes in the Reps.
In spite of that I’m lucky. My local member is a National and is outspoken in his support for the views of the Monash Forum.
Cheers,
Dave B
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Thanks, for some reason the greens slipped my mind.
At the moment it’s hard to pick the lesser of three weevils.
KK
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Indeed. But really, at this moment in Australian politics, it’s ‘put the Greens last’, followed by Labor. THEN the LINOs.
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This is the problem with having to vote – if it was voluntary, you would see a more realistic outcome.
In our country, we force people who probably shouldn’t vote, to vote.
But it does legitimize maintaining an effectively “rigged” 2 party system….
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Nah…he’ll go down as the dick who handed over $443M of taxpayer funds to a small group of Liberal mates and donors with no questions asked, no contracts, and NFI as to how its spent except for the millions they can take as “admin costs” and interest since the whole lot was put in their accounts. All up front in the 17-18 budget. Remarkably dodgy behaviour.
Isn’t he lucky that he has the issue of whether or not an ALP MP wears panties to distract the plebs happening?? Bill shorten obviously has “questions to answer” over that vitally important issue wot??
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But he doesn’t care…see there in lies the difference….you’re wrongly assuming he cares.
He is a hollow globalist….this is just a fun gig and is carrying out his orders.
Look at who his missus is linked to – globalist through and through….
Globalists appear to happily “sacrifice” whole countries to their paymasters agenda….were seeing this with SA, now Victoria, and more hair-brained schemes that can only cause economic catastrophe….
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It couldn’t be expressed any better.
He doesn’t care about the working plebs and has only been really involved in “stuff” that will get Golden Sacks more handling commissions for turnover on Carbon related projects and more generation certificates for friends and family in the green electricity business.
How did it ever get so far??????
KK
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Because propaganda works.
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Propaganda works as long as the people allow it to work.
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To change people’s mindset is not difficult, a verbal restraint is applied.
In a microscopic way its exhibited here, where the use of certain words will put your comments in the sin bin until retrieved by a mod. So we get into the habit of expressing ourselves in a different way, even in normal day to day living.
This came about because of the vilification thingy, with the Bolter going down for the count, and of course there was that undeclared war involving religious fanatics.
In a broader context PC is a verbal restraint on free speech to modify behaviour, Beijing understands perfectly.
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Talk is cheap.
Because supply exceeds demand.
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Propaganda works when the media is in lock step.
As you know the Murdoch papers are more balanced, so the merger between WIN and Sky News is great for diversity in the bush.
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Is that true? How come I haven’t heard about it? If WIN broadcasts sky news and sky business on its secondary channels I’d be so pleased! Would be much better than getting all my news with a mandatory
proregressive side order on ABC 24.60
https://mumbrella.com.au/sky-news-to-run-on-free-to-air-television-in-deal-with-win-520141
Its a big deal in the run up to the election.
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Ta
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Mostly public apathy and/or ignorance. It takes time for most people to wake up and eventually realise they have been led down the wrong road. Once the scenery darkens people tend to notice something is really amiss and their voting patterns has to change. The next federal election will be very telling as to how far away we are from that point of realisation and the time to do something about it rather than just whining about it.
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Until it’s too late….
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There is still hope.
‘Daniel Andrews suggests he won’t support the NEG unless the federal government proves it can win support in the partyroom.’ Oz
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Yes there is hope but if nothing is done eventually hope is replaced with hopelessness. As for the NEG it’s now appears to be a smokescreen for another form of carbon tax or ETS, which Turnbull always wanted.
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It’ll be fine, our troops are ready and we have the backing of Murdoch.
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‘State Labor governments are poised to scuttle the PM’s signature energy policy at a make-or-break COAG meeting.’ Oz
Turnbull doesn’t have a plan B, how do you see this panning out?
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How would I know? I don’t have a crystal ball. Those who are awake know how it could/should/might pan out but only time will tell what will actually happen.
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‘How would I know?’
You appear to be wallowing in the present, in political science 101 predicting the future is vey important.
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Predicting the future is one thing. Knowing it is another. Do you have a time machine? Wallowing? How so? I’ve been very clear as to where we are heading long term if we do not change direction – crash and burn. There is a way to prevent it but that requires most voters to wake up and stop voting for either major party to send a clear message we won’t put up with the nonsense any longer. Then there’s your so called ginger group who might come to the rescue. Let’s wait and see.
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ACP is history in Victoria.
‘In a scathing resignation letter obtained by The Sunday Age, Dr Carling-Jenkins hit out at Senator Bernardi, saying he had failed to advance the party in Victoria, had denied her requests for a campaign budget, and refused to give her a say in the party’s decision-making.
“I know this resignation comes as no surprise to you — you have told numerous people, including reporters, that you have expected this,” she wrote.
SMH
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Not wishing to rub salt in the wounds, Cory’s latest uttering is on a drive in Elon’s electric car and a pleasant chat on renewables.
I’m speechless, he must have lost the script.
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Shortly before the Great Split Cory accepted the offer of a three month secondment to the UN, accompanied by some Labor sheila. He went, despite the UN being an “unelected and unaccountable body” and a “fiscal black hole of bureaucracy”. Cory decided on “engaging with the UN committee system, to see from a much closer perspective how it works and maybe how it can be improved.”. Aw.
At the time I thought Malcolm was getting Cory out of his hair while discrediting him…slyness being Malcolm’s one real strength. The end of the
junketsecondment joined up nicely with the start of the parliamentary break, but you get that with jun…with secondments.I used to think it was Malcolm being sly (yet again), despite the yarn about Cory winning a ballot. I now think these people are mocking us, but for profit as well as fun. Imagine getting that dream bloc of Aussie conservatives in your Senate…only to find that they are “engaging with the system” in frightfully civilised fashion.
The last straw for me was when the Conservatives starting sending out surveys which were flagrant push polls couched in sinister management-speak. I sent them an email explaining that actual conservatives don’t do push polls and do speak English. I copped the explanation that…oh gawd, if you want to hear their explanation you are not a conservative.
Look, maybe I’m not the conservative, since I’d rather people in countries that are supposed to be naughty got a feed rather than a colour revolution from us. But I can surely agree with conservatives about waste, debt, white elephants and Green Blob. And surely we all can love the smell of a newly-wetted coal-loader on a summer morning. Cory, I suspect, is not one of us.
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el gordo you are not alone in preferring Turnbull/Shorten to Cory. I agree his party has very little hope of surviving. The public at large do not like him and other conservatives like him.
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mosomoso, what you are implying is Cory’s polices do not match his convictions. Perhaps that is so and he us a fake just like all other politicians. Perhaps that’s why he’s not popular. However, I still consider him light years ahead of Turnbull or Shorten, who apparently are far more popular. How ironic.
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Cory should consider his future.
‘Victoria, Queensland claim Josh Frydenberg’s energy policy must first go to the Coalition party room before they will sign up to it.’ Oz
The ginger group in action.
‘Barnaby Joyce says Australian climate change policy will make no difference to the global temperature or the plight of farmers.’ Oz
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You and I know he has no future for one simple reason – most voters are still stuck in the two-party mindset. The same applies to ON and other minor parties. It might change though when things get real bad and more people wake up. Then we might see a strong rise of one of the minor parties to overtake the LNP if it continues to stay centre-left. One thing is for sure. The ALP is safe since Australia is biased to the left and too many people prefer socialism.
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We are well down that track, both the majors have average primary votes with a 3 in front in longman lib had a 2 in front and even the winner had just 41% even adding greens the regressive vote was under 50%, it was the 40% of preferences from the 3rd placed party that got Labor across the line and that was One Nation. In working class longman the majors polled 70% this means that 30% of voters didn’t allocate their primary vote to one of the majors. At around 40% anti LIBLAB we will start to see more indies elected and then its game-on
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3-23-18 A massive increase in Australia’s annual permanent migration intake – from 85,000 in 1996 to 208,000 last year.
The emergence of India and China as the largest sources – by far – of migrants.
The movement away from family migration to skilled migration targeting national workforce needs. In 1996, family migration was about two-thirds of the program, and skilled one-third. Those ratios are now reversed.
A huge increase in temporary migration to Australia – through short-term work visas (the soon-to-be-replaced 457) and international students.
The rise of “two-step migration”, where those on short-term visas (usually 457 or student visas) gain permanent residency.
The emergence of migration, rather than natural increase (i.e. births) as the primary driver of population increase. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/24/australias-fierce-immigration-debate-is-about-to-get-louder
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Interesting migration figures for 2016-17 in The Oz yesterday.
Our population increased by 152,000 naturally, but 262,000 others migrated here.
Also 150,000 foreign students arrived but only 50,000 left.
And of 72,000 “visitors”, only 18,000 went home.
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Concerning.
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Excellent comments TdeF.
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TdeF, very well said. It summarises the deteriorating state of this once great nation. Now all we need to turn things around is for the people to vote accordingly sooner rather than later to avoid going through a crash and burn scenario.
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Interesting turn of phrase, that; “Sleepwalking off a cliff,” could describe so many in world politics and positions of authority or power generally as easily as it was applied to the PM in Australia.
The unfortunate thing is that so many of them have a cadre of supporters at the bottom who insist on catching them rather than letting nature take its course. And in many cases they’re sleepwalking the rest of us off the cliff without our consent. I wonder who will be there to make the catch.
But whoever said, “Life tends toward commons sense and straight thinking?” No one I can remember.
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Thanks for the outline John.
It would be interesting to get your opinion on prevention measures that could reduce the spread and intensity of inevitable fires.
From the wind turbine complex and transmission line pathway there are probably safe separation zones that could reduce the likelihood of fires significantly.
Are you aware of the legislated safe clear zones and if so how do they compare with your own estimates of what’s needed?
KK
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Thanks and here is my take.
1. Almost always all fire departments can do is clear the area in the event of blades being thrown or tower collapse and watch the turbines burn. Almost every fire rescue department do not have the necessary equipment, let alone training to fight these fires or effect high angle rescue. The turbines are generally located in remote rural areas served by tiny volunteer fire depts. Even big city department do not have the equipment or training to deal with turbine incidents.
2. In almost every case the turbine owners do not have fire reporting mandates and no one on site. The units are remotely monitored. This is a big problem.
3. Back prior to 2000, power plants has to have a very high availability rate for power production. Having been involved as a wind consultant during that period it made it difficult to get a PPA (power Purchase Agreement) if the availability was less than adequate, and, If a PPA was in effect, the plant owner paid serious fines for unavailability. Enron had a hand in changing those rules with de-regulation, allowing intermittent and unreliable power plants to gain grid access.
4. Finally, the turbines have a high failure rate and up to 10 times the rate of fires due to non reporting, including media ignoring this problem. The best course of action is to stop all new development and mandate the absentee owners (hedge funds) maintain a 4 person safety/maintenance team on site at all times per 20 turbines. Each year every turbine must be inspected in a similar fashion as aircraft. After 8 years service, the units must be either replaced or removed at the owners own cost.
In the end, there are much better and more reliable/safe alternatives. Wind is a bad idea.
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Thanks, some interesting background there.
Was mainly thinking of clearance of scrub and combustibles.
The fires are inevitable but “hazard reduction” burns can reduce the intensity and reach.
That’s doable, but government won’t spend.
KK
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From a fire perspective, one needs to look at the height of the Turbine(s) and evaluate the maximum wind speed to determine how far away ANY combustible material should be.
IMHO, 3000 feet. That would include any dry grass. It’ll make the area look like heck and could be an erosion problem.
In general, there is a problem with improper forest/land management with excess deadfall etc. not being cleared due to ‘environmental’ reasons. This is not just a wind energy issue but over development of wildlands as well.
Then again these turbines are sometines located in grain fields that can be quite combustable before and during harvest.
Controlled burns are helpful but like the Yellowstone fire years ago, get out of control. Biomass plants clean up the deadfall/ diseased wood/shrubs and generate electricity/ jobs and allow vigorous new healthy growth for the wildlife and produce oxygen.
Wind is best left for sailboats and small turbines for offgrid use.
Large scale wind has no real long term benefits, raises cost of electricity, is unreliable and is a burden to taxpayers and a serious wildfire problem. Why waste valuable money, time and resources on something that has NO real benefit for the citizens and only benefits corrupt, greedy politicians and cronies?
It’s time to move on. If there were a real public benefit, I would still be in the business. Alas , I’m not and am using my professional experience to honesty warn others about the problems which cannot be reasonably resolved due to corruption in the political, academic and energy sectors.
john
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Good summary.
Wind power seems idyllic but the reality involves fire, homes, people, animals and high subsidy costs.
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I was an idealest once years ago…not anymore 😉
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One more thing. Certain companies operate many shell and shelf Llc’s. Some are involved closely with ‘national security’ interests and protected by them legally and otherwise. Offshore banks and all that…
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https://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2018/08/02/24-state-attorneys-general-seek-change-to-rule-on-shell-companies/?guid=BL-252B-15654&responsive=y&redirect=amp&dsk=y#click=https://t.co/DCAV8bSlrC
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I thought I was wrong once.
But I was mistaken.
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Here is a really great example of one of the best water bombers fighting a wildfire. It can do 12,000 gallon drops 30 times an hour if water is close by. Remember that heat rises and creates a huge amount of turbulence. If the fire is out of control, even the big modified 747’s which can only drop a load per hour cannot compete.
These planes ($34 million usd) are the way to go. Pilots deserve a huge kodis as well as the Hotshots/ground crews who may spend a month or more in hell…
Thank you all:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2w6N3LQ5uR8
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Not here in Australia. Fire executive are stuck steadfast behind helitack(1 to 2kl) SEAT(4to7kl) and Elvis (up to 9kl) Every time the Canadians come out here their toy is always tasked and set up for failure.
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While I mentioned Enron, UPC renewables is even more guilty. A lot of former Enron personnel went there, formed related companies such as Mafia related IVPC, First Wind and Longroad Energy Partners. Billions in wasted tax money, useless generation and fire hazards are all they leave behind.
Other entities now follow their ‘business plan’.
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What actually causes wind turbines to catch fire and is it just gearbox oil that sustains the fire before it spreads to the blades?
You never hear of real power plants catching fire!
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Scored/bad bearings, faulty braking mechanisms, hydraulic oil leaks/grease leaks, cooling system failure, faulty electronics and of course….
Lightning.
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https://www.nachi.org/wind-turbines-lightning.htm
Turbines always attract lightning. While lightning will hit the turbine, the turbines also cause nearby strikes without hitting the turbine that cause fires as well. Sometimes it’s days before the fire is evident as it smoulders in the trunk of a nearby tree or in the root system underground.
john
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Thank you John, all of your comments should be emailed to Australian politicians, first and foremost Tony Abbott.
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Do you think he’d listen? Yea, that was sarcasm. I could march in with a small army of scientists, firefighters, insurance folks (lol, you all pay for it, and they get their cut) and of course….the grants to NGO’s, schools of lower learning and…well…those on the take including hedge funds and banks.
Then again poverty and hard work builds character, right???
It does.
Rule # 1….
Don’t let the bastards get you down.
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Our former Prime Minister was trying to abolish the Renewable Energy Target and related subsidies for wind and solar before he was replaced by the leftists on his on side of politics.
In 2014 he said that he would not stand for socialism masquerading as environmentalism and today he leads a Group of MPs determined to abandon the Paris Agreement and much more.
He listens.
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJqxXKRuxUU
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The AGW folks love hockey sticks. Recently they show charts of wildfire increase since the year 2000. So, I’d suggest showing the graph of land based wind turbine construction since then and compare. Add to that the reporting requirements ..See something, say something. Their words, not mine…
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🙂
Kick em where it hurts.
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On Statista.com I found Projection of wind turbine gear oil market volume worldwide from 2013 to 2020 (in metric tons)
Now at 2018 we have a factory fill of 10200 metric tons and a service fill of 23600 metric tons or ~33800 metric tons consumption for the global turbine market. (projection)
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Power Engineering 2010 Proper Lubrication is Key to Wind Turbine Longevity.
For a practical look at what’s involved in a typical wind turbine oil change, talk to someone like Aaron Sage, chief operating officer with Sage Oil Vacuum, based in Amarillo, Texas. The company has been in the wind turbine maintenance business since the mid-1990s. It generally takes two maintenance workers to perform an oil change, one worker on the ground and the other in the nacelle. A 330-foot-long hose is pulled up into the nacelle’s yaw deck just under the gearbox. The hose is connected to the gearbox through a ball valve. A vacuum is pulled using an air pressurizer on the ground. Draining the rate of four to six gallons a minute it can take around 30 minutes to drain the roughly 80 gallons (300l)of oil from the gearbox, Sage said. Refilling the gearbox can take another 30 minutes, meaning the total fluid exchange process from start to finish can take as much as two hours.
Sage Oil’s equipment offers either a 250- or a 390-gallon tank, which means that as many as four oil changes can be done each day by a single two-person crew. Sage Oil has fielded 20 oil exchange systems in the United States since 2008. Most of those are in Texas and Iowa, the two states with the largest installed wind capacity. A system can cost anywhere from $40,000 to $65,000 depending on options. Systems can either be sold outright to an operator or service provider or leased.
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That’s a pretty high cost for free energy.
Plus, isn’t it awful for a clean green turbine to use all that nasty fossil lubricant?
Government must mandate that turbines give up their oil.
Use only natural lubricants, like goose grease.
In a world that has given us safe, cost effective dispatch power, the left wishes to return to windmills.
In a world that has given us the mobility of autos and aircraft, the left wants to return to choo choo trains.
In a world that has given us the versatility of plastic, the left wants us to return to papyrus.
In a world of health through modern medicine, they’ll fight vaccines and make grocery bags reusable microbe stores.
In a world that can manage forests, the left wants to make them tinder traps.
In a wealthy world that allows unprecedented individual freedom, the left favors the collective, and wealth reduction.
What are the various litmus tests of the left?
The Moderator will flag them as inflammatory if stated in plain language.
In the US:
There is a test about babies.
There is a test about guns.
There is a test about health care.
There is a test about the role of judges.
There is, of course, a test about climate.
There is a test about crop improvement.
There is a test about Gender.
There is a test about religion.
But the basic test is about government. Should government be limited, with a large space in life exercised by free men and women of have natural rights independent of civil authority? Should government be selected and renewed by the consent of the governed?
Or is government the source of rights, and, once in power, self perpetuating? Where one is either a member of the governing elite, or a tool used to benefit them.
Who wants to be a tool.
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Goose grease?! My goodness Richard…that’s using an animal product; not very vegan is it? /Sarc, just in case there’s a little snowflake about.
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https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/articles/statistics-show-bearing-problems-cause-majority-wind-turbine-gearbox-failures
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world news: http://balance10.blogspot.com/2018/08/south-african-ruling-cadres-to-be.html
http://balance10.blogspot.com/2018/08/world-news-update.html
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also important: http://balance10.blogspot.com/2018/08/iran-covert-surveillance-ship-saviz.html
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[…] out the comments on Jo Nova’s Weekend Unthreaded: there is technical stuff about fires and wind turbines and some political comment on the […]
00
The recent CC™ hyperbolic hysteria in the media appears to be the result of a warmer July than the past thirty year average on the NE and W coasts of US and N Europe particularly London.
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“Turnbull was outright evasive about probity concerns on Barrier Reef $.5BN foundation grant”
http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2018/08/turnbull-was-outright-evasive-about-probity-concerns-on-barrier-reef-5bn-foundation-grant.html
”
The taxpayer isn’t providing that money over 7 years. We’ve already done it, this financial year.
And all of that so Turnbull can make his vanity statement “The biggest ever investment in the Great Barrier Reef’s History”.
If Turnbull thinks this all about his legacy he’s probably right.
He’s right up there with the dodgiest of Rudd and Gillard’s antics. “
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More money sequestered ready to support the inevitable honorary position once he vacates the presidential suite.
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I noted one comment in particular at the website:
seeker of truth said in reply to seeker of truth…
I was wondering if an MOU was involved with this Foundation, as with the Clinton Foundation.
The Great Barrier Reef Foundation entered into a MOU with the Government’s Great Barrier Reef Foundation in 2017 as mentioned in this document –
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:OVREJ6VOa3YJ:https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx%3Fid%3D63dd135d-3111-4797-b43c-d089962a2227%26subId%3D612653+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au&client=firefox-b-ab
It states – “Foundation has a long-standing, strong and trusted working relationship and partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, formalised via an MOU in 2017.”
I don’t know what the nature of this MOU was but it seems that it possibly has lead to the $443 million plus agreement. This was the modus operandum with the Clinton Foundation – MOU first then the Agreement as to the amount involved a few months later.
It is difficult to obtain details of this MOU. Certain MOUs with the Authority only provide an asterisk as to the other party involved
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/__data/assets/…/Harradine-Report-July-December-2017.docx
The Foundation is also looking for private investment, as mentioned in that submission document above to the Senates Committee. This submission document outlines what the Foundation proposes to do with the grant and t the outcomes it envisages. Cart before the horse – this type of submission should have been lodged prior to the allocation of funds made to it.
The Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s 2017 Annual Report (signed off on 5 May 2018) is of particular interest. It contains the following –
“17. Events subsequent to reporting day
On 29 April 2018 the Australian Government announced a new funding investment through the Reef Trust which included a partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to implement Great Barrier Reef protection activities aligned with the Reef 2050 Plan as amended from time to time.
The partnership will include an initial grant of $443,300,000 from the Reef Trust paid in full in the 2018 financial year for delivery of outcomes over the following six years inclusive of 2023-2024.”
https://www.barrierreef.org/uploads/2017%20Annual%20Report.pdf
This document confirms that the $443 million plus was to be paid in full in the first financial year.
As for the Agreement that the Great Barrier Reef Foundation entered into with the Government, here is a copy of the pro forma document
http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/4322207b-af9c-488f-b6bd-89dbf4af8302/files/reef-trust-gbr-foundation-grant-agreement-20180627.pdf
I’d love to know when this agreement was first prepared. It would be from April 2018 onward and possibly early May.
The grant now appears on the Australian Government’s website – Grant Connect. It states that it was approved on 20 June 2018. That contradicts what is disclosed in the Foundation’s Annual Report. It would have to be prior to 5 May 2018 (the date of signing off of the Report) in view of what was disclosed in that Report
https://www.grants.gov.au/?event=public.GA.show&GAUUID=7649DB83-A532-0FBB-C637BB3E55BC3F0E
It seems that a few lies have been told by Frydenberg and Turnbull on this one.
110
I wonder if Peter Ridd was the price that had to be ‘removed’ before the Federal government would hand over such a grant. For Malcolm there wouldn’t have been anything worse than leaving an honest, ‘can’t be bought’ attack dog in position to hound him into posterity over his largesse for the GBR.
111
“The Guardian: The Rise of Post Denialism – Celebrating the Holocaust, Denying Climate Change”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/08/03/the-guardian-the-rise-of-post-denialism-celebrating-the-holocaust-denying-climate-change/
00
Fair enough – but ’twas The Guardian that said it
40
“Nobel Laureate Dr. Kary Mullis: Climatology is a “Joke” ”
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/nobel-laureate-dr-kary-mills-climatology-is-a-joke/
60
Sensible bloke.
41
‘Sensible bloke’.
Very. He saw through the HIV/AIDS paradigm as well, and provided evidence from his area of expertise to support others who were critical of said paradigm.
22
I missed that?
00
KK
Here’s a short interview you may find of interest . . . . .
Nobel Prize Winner Challenges The Myths About Aids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IifgAvXU3ts
12
There are a few Kary Mullis interviews on YouTube. They are all worth watching.
00
And warning for those that haven’t yet –
Link at
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/nobel-laureate-dr-kary-mullis-climatology-is-a-joke/#comment-98394
30
Interesting, skipped through it but couldn’t understand.
I never knew anything about it really and uncertain as to what this means to the understanding of aids.
00
I think one could take it to mean it’s possible HIV has no more to do with causing aids than CO2 has to do with causing global warming.
Reading material by the critics of the HIV/AIDS hypothesis is not unlike reading material by the critics of the
CO2/AGW hypothesis in that it provides a lot of information that isn’t being propagated through the mainstream media.
11
Forty shilling freeholders. This was the idea that in order to have a right to vote you had to have a certain value of property. What do you think of some variation of this idea in modern Western democracies? The problem now is that political parties are in competition with each other to see who can give away the most welfare in order to secure votes. This applies to corporate welfare as well (i.e. protection from market forces ensuring that industry has no incentive to become efficient). Ultimately there will be so many people voting themselves funds from the public coffers there will be no incentive to produce. (We are almost at that point now.) If voters had some interest in owning some amount of property this would not be such an issue.
Note, that an exception to the above is that Donald Trump got elected without promises of individual or corporate welfare.
71
We have come a long way, haven’t we.
31
“Twelve Invisible Eco-Catastrophes and Threats of Doom That are Actually Fake”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/08/03/twelve-invisible-eco-catastrophes-and-threats-of-doom-that-are-actually-fake/
30
Good article but I disagree with the labelling of the CO2 graph which says:
“CO2 had been declining to dangerously low levels during the past 500 million years until our CO2 emissions reversed the trend and brought some balance back to the carbon cycle.7 The uptick on the right end of the CO2 line represents the contribution of human emissions.”
This gives the false impression that there is a significant contribution of anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere when it is only about 4% of all CO2.
92
We opted out of the upcoming MyHealth govt medical record system last night. The experience during opting out only heightened my sense of lack of controls and incompetence in govt IT.
Apparently i couldnt opt out as i already had a MyHealth record. I have never applied for one and didnt even know it was an existing system. I had to login in and delete my profile.
My wife’s process appeared to go normally until the end when a “why are you leaving?” question popped up. Tried to enter a response and the system dumped us into a generic logon screen with a govt logo on it.
Yes Minister, we can all be assured that the best and brightest, well managed minds will ensure the protection of our data.
100
Apparently staff working in medical services believe they need to opt out because co-workers may be able to access their confidential medical records.
70
We opted out last month and ticked two responses for “why are you leaving?” 1- we didn’t think our information was secure 2- we didn’t trust the government with securing information. (something like that) you could type in extra comments but there wasn’t enough room. (for me anyway)
Link here https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/for-you-your-family/opt-out-my-health-record
81
Like you, I don’t have much faith in anything on the internet with a URL such as, something.gov (U.S. Government) or something.ca (california state domaine).
The political influence possibility is too great. And at the same time I may have to deal with some of them. Go figure how confidence in government at nearly all levels is falling while they leave us only government Internet sites with which to conduct any business with government and there’s such a big flap about hacking into secure servers.
Even the local neighborhood forum web site is acting like it contained the plans for nuclear missiles when in fact, the most serious thing on it is announcements of arrests of thieves and burglars around the neighborhood, advertisements from local businesses and banter — well maybe more serious than that but still just talk among neighbors about local complaints and problems of all kinds.
20
Y
Remember this and remain of little faith
https://www.couriermail.com.au/extras/qweekend/fff/features/pdfs/338.pdf
10
Thanks for the link.
10
How did you login if you didn’t know you had a record?
42
Medicare card Annie and drivers licence, everyone has a record as I found out 10 years ago at human services the consultant had records of my family from 1972, parents, addresses, jobs, income etc..
Nice to be noticed I suppose.
40
Frightening, I reckon. Thanks Yonnie. I will check later. I’ve neglected outside duties today but the sheep will start bleating and the chooks will get underfoot and there’s a new camellia to plant!
53
Look out Carmelia!
Here she comes!
30
Any black sheep, Annie?
40
One black sheep Beth, well, he’s brown now with a black face…small but lively. He was born at Christmas, along with his brother, there were two ewe lambs as well. The four lambs were named Noelle, Noel, Noel and Noelle…strange to relate! The second Noelle was stuck and I had to ‘Call the Midwife’, our daughter, on Christmas Day evening; it’s a miracle she survived and even more of one that she didn’t end up with a neck like a giraffe! The camellia still resides in its pot! Trying today to dispose of dead hakeas, a ghastly job while distracting the dog from rolling in stinky wombat p00! (Especially as I bathed him yesterday because I was sick of the smell of him from his previous escapades).
32
I meant the ewe lamb, not our daughter! 🙁
42
LOL, Annie, today a busy, busy day. Yr midwife tale,
also LOL …’Noel, Noelle,’ made me think of Dickens’
Xmas Carol. https://blog.oup.com/2012/12/cratchits-dinner-christmas-carol/
20
They did not mention Noelle and Noelle.
Congratulations on your performance as a midwife. I attended a birth as a coucher (catcher) once or twice but I did not have to do much. The babies were born without my help.
30
Once I discovered I had Myhealth account I went to MyGov (I have an account there with Centrelink for an overseas pension) I was able to link Myhealth to MyGov with no password or other checks (!?) and once that was done when I clicked return to Myhealth it just dumped me into their system already logged in. To this day I dont know what my ID or pass word was for Myhealth, even though I had an account , was able to access it and delete it.
40
Hmmm, very interesting indeed. How does that give one confidence in the security of the system?
32
This is a video of the Fly Geyser in Nevada which was created in 1915 when a farmer drilled for water.
https://youtu.be/UbHGpJjB-Dg
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_Geyser
40
Thanks for posting that. I bookmarked it and saved the Wiki picture. It’s a good reminder to all of us that the “solid” ground under our feet may not be so solid after all.
30
Question: The colours in the deposits come from thermophillic bacteria. Just how would they get there if there are no other hot springs nearby?
10
I was wondering if the bacteria came from a source above ground after there was hot water present or came up with the water in the first place.
You asked the question and I’m thinking you may have an idea about how those bacteria got there. There wasn’t much that I found about the source of the colors except that it’s described as bacteria or algae.
Snopes tries to fact check nearly everything and they claim that a well was drilled, capped off improperly and then groundwater seeped down dissolving the minerals that now form the big vent that we see. But that’s too simple to me. For one thing it doesn’t really account for the geyser or its continuing to spout water. I think the actual source of the heat and the water must be a lot deeper than a well and the well just hit the top of whatever is going o down there.
Or maybe there are aliens being hidden in caves deep underground so no one can find them. 😉
30
Hi Roy, I don’t know the answer. I am genuinely curious as to how these organisms got there.
10
I just realized something. I checked it on Mapquest and I’d estimate that Fly geyser and Virginia City are roughly 80 – 85 miles apart. I wonder if there’s a connection.
The gold miners in Virginia City encountered both water and high temperatures as they went deeper. One mine was so hot that blocks of ice were brought from nearby mountains and taken down to specially cut out rooms where the miners could go to cool off or they couldn’t work. And the shaft had to be pumped or drained continuously or it would fill with water. The final solution to the water was to cut a tunnel from below where the gold was to an arroyo farther down the mountain to let the water drain rather than try to keep pumping it out.
From my search using a wider net it appears there’s geothermal energy plans well along and there appears to e quite a few sites of interest, among which is the fly geyser. There has to be more to Fly than the one waterspout and I wouldn’t be surprised if those bacteria/algae were not moving around down below ground for maybe hundreds of thousands of years or more.
20
One of the problems you can get with bores is iron bacteria contamination which gums up the flow.
e.g. http://www.backyardbores.com/resources/Iron%20Bacteria%20in%20Water%20Bores.pdf
Fortunately I haven’t had to deal with it
10
This is a video of Burning Mountain, NSW, Australia which is an underground coal seam fire which has been burning and producing wonderful CO2 for the last 6000 years. It is thought to be the longest burning coal seam fire in the world.
https://youtu.be/rm9UGkH1YQk
Here is a video from 1963. (It states the age at 10,000 yrs, but 6,000 is the current consensus.)
https://youtu.be/gRCVRZZDKzk
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_Mountain
61
But don’tch get it David? That CO2 is OK because they can’t stop that fire. They can stop the one in your powerplant and your automobile.
We have a coal mine still burning for a long time and it’s so significant to the grand scheme of things that I’ve forgotten it’s name. 😉
I enjoyed learning about both the guyser and the burning mountain. We live in an interesting world. At least if you pay attention.
60
Misspelled geyser and the spell checker didn’t catch it and that’s because the way I did it has a definition too, I know, I was curious why it slipped through. You don’t want to go there.
30
Chrome’s Internet based spell checker leaves a lot to be desired.
40
Roy don’t forget the increasing number of active volcanoes.
00
A clear sign of global cooling is this cold pool of SST off east Africa.
https://4k4oijnpiu3l4c3h-zippykid.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/clip_image014.png
22
That should read west Africa in the Atlantic.
32
Peter Ridd.
From Peter Ridd;
From Senator Simon Birmingham;
Senator Birmingham’s letter is undated but came to my email box on 27 July 2018. Senator Birmingham says that Universities are required by legislation to “maintain an environment in which freedom of intellectual inquiry is upheld and protected”. However he does not commit to actually enforcing that legislation at the JCU
120
Hmmm.
Or else what, I wonder?
Who is the “policeman”? What are the penalties?
Interesting Peter C. Thanks.
30
I decided to have a look at the legislation to see if I could find an answer to my questions:
1. Who is the “policeman”?
As I thought, a limp lot of toothless self-congratulatory backslappers.
6.1 Corporate governance.
1. There is a formally constituted governing body, which includes independent members, that
exercises competent governance oversight of and is accountable for all of the higher
education provider’s operations in or from Australia, including accountability for the award
of higher education qualifications, for continuing to meet the requirements of the Higher
Education Standards Framework and for the provider’s representation of itself.
2. What are the penalties?
You see if you can find where penalties are identified:
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2015L01639/Download
Go to the PDF for Legislative Instruments, and weep.
Under the Explanatory Statement we see all the rights outlined Of course!). The one that made me smile was the “Right to just and favourable conditions of work”.
It sanctimoniously states:
“…….A higher education provider’s governing body must develop and maintain an institutional environment in which freedom of intellectual inquiry is upheld and protected, where students and staff are treated equitably, and the wellbeing of students and staff is fostered…”
Ask Peter Ridd how that works. Or Murry Salby.
It’s nothing more that a backslappers club. I’ll “p” in your pocket if you “p” in mine.
And Birmingham?
Well, he’s is just another incompetent parliamentarian who is out of his depth; more worried about his pen$ion than any professor’s prejudice.
20
The US is becoming ungovernable, partly because of activist judges as in this headline:
Other Breitbart headlines:
They outnumber those proclaiming good news re employment.
41
For Original Steve,
Prediction:04/08 Frosty if wind W, Snow if E.
Observed Ballarat Victoria, BOM observations, L 2.7C 3:30am, H 11.8C 3:30pm, Wind North, Personal observations no actual frost, windy, grey cloud cover, cold.
For the next 11/8 traditionally in Vic if the weather is from the East its unusual and anything can happen.
20
Here is a website devoted to wind turbine fires.
http://turbinesonfire.org/
41
One doesn’t even have to have wind farms in operation before they cause major fires.
Massive Ontario forest fire sparked by wind farm construction during extreme fire ban, workers allege
If the weather continues to remain dry here in Australia we run the real risk of massive forest fires thanks to the wind farms, completed or not. Arsonists can then take a holiday.
70
Here is a Global Warming Contour Map, which shows the warming rate for the Stratosphere, since 1960. Notice the “slowdown”, which started about 1995.
https://i2.wp.com/agree-to-disagree.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/RATPAC-Stratosphere.png
You can see contour maps for the Upper and Lower Troposphere at my website:
https://agree-to-disagree.com
The Stratosphere, Upper Troposphere, and Lower Troposphere, each have very different warming rates.
Check out the Robot-Train Contour Maps, to see how contour maps work.
Also, see the Legend for Global Warming Contour Maps.
40
Sheldon, I’m interested in Stratospheric cooling. Can you link to your data for that, and the discussion on it? Or is that all listed on your long home page? Thanks,
Jo
40
Sheldon, I don’t know what causes the high temperature regions above the one you are talking about, but they are very hot.
Given that lack of solid material out there is is most likely an effect related to incoming solar radiation interacting with the Earth’s magnetic field.
Similarly the presence of only one twentieth of an atmosphere in the stratosphere may lead to some unusual events.
Perhaps the temperature drop is due to reduced solar activity?
KK
10
Don’t forget KK that beyond the Statosphere there is the Mesosphere and then the Thermosphere.
The Thermoshphere is very hot!
https://www.bing.com/search?q=Thermosphere&form=EDNTHT&mkt=en-au&httpsmsn=1&refig=4b83dd8b12014d28f24f1a6c7a024292&sp=-1&pq=thermosphere&sc=8-12&qs=n&sk=&cvid=4b83dd8b12014d28f24f1a6c7a024292
In any case I am sceptical because the data that Sheldon is using is from NOAA (RATPAC).
11
Yes Peter,
Those were the ones I was referring to.
I’d only recently been made aware of them here and find the idea fascinating.
But so far away, tens of kilometers above the atmosphere we inhabit and almost certainly an irrelevance to the global warming issue.
I’ll be flying home in a couple of hours and will be at about 10,000 metres altitude where the temperature is minus 58 °C.
I suspect that any “energy” in those higher level zones will be looking towards deep space for a home rather than the Earth.
🙂
KK
10
What does the contour map show??
01
more response to john’s turbine fires comments.
indeed, there is little MSM coverage, but here’s one:
3 Aug: EastOregonian: Wind turbine sparks grass fire
by Jade McDowell
Claughton said he’s seen about “half a dozen” wind turbine fires over the years, but this is the first one he saw that sparked a grass fire.
“They’re usually electrical fires,” he said. “Usually they go out after closing the door and letting them smother out.”
A 2012 study by the Renewable Energy Foundation found that wind turbines in Europe were marketed with a 20-year life expectancy, but were actually wearing out in 12-15 years. The Global Wind Energy Council, an international trade association for the wind industry, found records of about 200 wind turbine-caused fires between 1995 and 2012 — an average of one per year for every 19,230 turbines worldwide…
Agencies from Umatilla and Morrow counties also responded last week to a fire along Interstate 84 near Arlington that burned about 1,800 acres. That fire was suspected to be caused by a cigarette butt thrown from a vehicle.
http://www.eastoregonian.com/eo/local-news/20180803/wind-turbine-sparks-grass-fire
10
reading this and the lengthy turbine fire discussion previously makes me feel slightly queasy. This does seem to be the sort of infrastructure that you would liberally sprinkle about the countryside in a bushfire prone country. Then to add a little spice in some locations like Horndale we throw in some batteries capable of self sustaining ignition.
Sounds like living in the area downwind of these in prevailing summer winds (for us Northerly) would be danger zone material. Seems like only a matter of time as the population increases.
10
On the limitations of grid-scale batteries.
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2018/08/04/the-2-5-trillion-reason-we-cant-rely-on-batteries-to-clean-up-the-grid/#comments
30
jumbled mess from BBC, who can’t find a record, but manage to make do with “a real feel of 50C”:
4 Aug: BBC: Europe heatwave: Spain and Portugal struggle in 40C+ temperatures
Friday saw local all-time record temperatures at almost half the country’s (Portugal) weather stations…
BEACH PIC: Temperatures in parts of Portugal have topped 40C…
On Saturday the fire was boosted by 46C temperatures with “a real feel of 50C”, rescue operations head Victor Vaz Pinto told local media…
Temperatures reached 44C in the southern city of Cordoba (Spain)…
Temperatures remain in the high 20s in southern England.
But in Sweden temperatures have dropped and some areas see rain showers after the country’s hottest July for 250 years, which saw dozens of wildfires…
Researchers said that climate change made Europe’s extended heatwave twice as likely as it would otherwise have been.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45070498
on LinkedIn, ***Ash Cant is listed as “Entertainment reporter” for news.com.au:
5 Aug: news.com.au: Mercury soars, wildfires ablaze as Europe suffers intense heatwave
by ***Ash Cant; With Wires
Europe is sweltering as hot air from the Sahara approaches, wildfires are ablaze and police dogs get fitted for shoes.
EUROPE is sweltering in intense heat with temperatures hitting near-record highs of 46 degrees Celsius in Portugal, while elsewhere the high temperatures exacerbated fires and melted the asphalt on highways…
Although Austria isn’t copping the worst of Europe’s heatwave, police dogs patrolling a beach volleyball tournament will be fitted with special shoes.
Temperatures have reached 34C in Austria but surfaces exposed to the sun may reach up to 50C, which would be excruciatingly hot for a pups paws…
Police in the Swiss city of Zurich have called for dog owners to provide protection for their dogs, including providing them with shoes. The Zurich Police launched a Facebook campaign, appropriately called “Hot Dogs”.
Switzerland is experiencing heat up to 37C…
https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/mercury-soars-wildfires-ablaze-as-europe-suffers-intense-heatwave/news-story/9f68bf0f0ac12f7ba4dedfb688b63d53
00
***so much for the British heatwave:
Twitter: Met Office
4 Aug 4.17pm
Your daily extremes for Saturday were as follows:
***Highest temperature 29.8 ºC at Gosport
Lowest temperature 7.0 ºC at Eskdalemuir
Wettest place 7.6 mm at Resallach
Sunniest place 13.3 hrs at Reading…
REPLY: Bug Wrightson: Only 29.8 in Gosport. It’s going to feel cold when we get home from India tonight
4 Aug 11.37am (PROVISIONAL)
Met Office: Provisional figures suggest that Spain and Portugal came very close to reaching their all time country-wide #temperature records today with unconfirmed maxima of 46.6 °C at El Granado and 46.4 °C at Alvega respectively
4 Aug 7.53am
Met Office: The thermometer has now risen to 45.5°C in Alvega, #Portugal. It’s less hot around the coasts, but temperatures are still rising…
reply: Jim Munro: How about the longer term forecast please? Any chance it’ll get cooler?
Met Office: Hi Jim, Looking like it will be getting cooler towards the end of the week, and it could stay that way until the end of the month. If you give us a location, we can tell you more. Katie
Just Ezekiel: Have been told highs of around 25 max for Greater London from around Wednesday for the rest of the month (varying between 22-25). Looking forward to it
https://twitter.com/metoffice/
Portuguese wildfires – for the record:
4 Aug: AP: Hot, dusty and on fire: Portugal’s heatwave breaks records
By BARRY HATTON; Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Jim Heintz in Moscow and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.
Portugal sees large wildfires every year, although unseasonably cool weather through the end of July has meant fewer blazes in 2018. The government says only about 15 percent of the 10-year average area has been charred so far this year…
https://apnews.com/5758feff11054d55930372021498b7d0/Hot,-dusty-and-on-fire:-Portugal%27s-heatwave-breaks-records
00
the long game:
Pulitzer Center: Lesson Plan Grouping: ‘Losing Earth’: A Climate Change Curriculum
Here you will find reading comprehension tools, activities and other resources to bring “Losing Earth,” The New York Times Magazine’s special issue on climate change, into the classroom and beyond. Wondering where to start? See our introduction…READ ON
Contact
Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
“We will illuminate dark places and, with a deep sense of responsibility, interpret these troubled times.”
—Joseph Pulitzer III (1913-1993)
http://pulitzercenter.org/nytclimate
28 Jun: Christian Science Monitor: Why these young Republicans see hope in climate action
Why We Wrote This
Climate change is often painted as a starkly partisan issue. But within the Republican Party, a generational divide has emerged as some Millennials tug the GOP toward climate action.
By Amanda Paulson
“We’re having some sort of negative impact on the environment, and I believe it’s our responsibility to alleviate any negative impacts we’re having, and to be proactive while we can rather than reactive when it’s too late,” says Ms. Collins, a political science major who is spending the summer working for Students for Carbon Dividends (S4CD), a coalition that includes 23 college Republican groups along with a handful of campus Democratic and environmental groups. “I think that younger people care about it more, because we are seeing the effects it’s having…
While climate change remains a starkly partisan topic, some polls show an emerging generation gap when it comes to how younger Republicans view the issue. They’re more likely to accept the scientific consensus around climate change and more likely to push for clean energy development…
“Young people are more likely to have studied climate science in school, and to have a high regard for science,” says Alexander Posner, a rising senior at Yale University and president of S4CD…
Finding the ‘right messengers’…
“Either it’s a real cohort effect, and you’re seeing one generation that’s more liberal on the issue, or it’s just a phase, and it will pass as these voters age and become more conservative,” says Dan Kahan, a Yale professor of law and psychology who studies the roots of partisanship…
Similarly, Edward Maibach, director of George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication, says that while he’s somewhat encouraged by the polls showing that conservative Millennials are more concerned about climate change than their parents’ or grandparents’ generation, he’s more encouraged that polls are showing an increase in moderate Republicans’ concern about the issue in the past year.
“I suspect this trend will continue, given that climate impacts in the United States are becoming more obvious all the time, and perhaps this trend will be led by conservative Millennials and Gen-Xers,” says Professor Maibach in an email.
https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2018/0628/Why-these-young-Republicans-see-hope-in-climate-action
00
2 Aug: Daily Caller: Chris White: NYT Hosted A Ritzy Dinner With Enviros The Night Before Dropping Its 30,000-Word Climate Piece
http://dailycaller.com/2018/08/02/new-york-times-exxon-global-warming/
1 Aug: The Atlantic – Science: Robinson Meyer: The Problem With The New York Times’ Big Story on Climate Change
By portraying the early years of climate politics as a tragedy, the magazine lets Republicans and the fossil-fuel industry off the hook.
The New York Times Magazine has tried to make the release of its new article, which details a decade of climate history, as momentous as possible. It has devoted the entire new issue of the magazine to just this one story, which is written by Nathaniel Rich. It has even produced a video trailer for it.
Having read the story, I am left to wonder: What was the point?…
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/nyt-mag-nathaniel-rich-climate-change/566525/
00
comment in moderation re: Daily Caller: Chris White: NYT Hosted A Ritzy Dinner With Enviros The Night Before Dropping Its 30,000-Word Climate Piece
IF ONLY THE PUBLIC UNDERSTOOD THE FULL EXTENT OF THE PARIS MADNESS:
4 Aug: SMH: Nicole Hasham: Clearing the air: who should do the most to tackle climate change?
Under the (NEG) proposal, which applies only to the electricity sector, energy retailers would be required to deliver both a set level of reliable power that can be delivered on demand, and electricity from low-emissions sources such as wind and solar.
But critics say the electricity sector is unlikely to raise a sweat to meet the modest emissions reduction task the government has set. They argue that if Australia is to act seriously on climate change, farmers, manufacturers, motorists and other parts of the economy will be forced to make up the shortfall – at a potentially greater cost.
National Farmers Federation president Fiona Simson said agriculture has already reduced its environmental footprint and has more work to do. But progress will be “hard”.
By contrast the electricity sector “has already made huge gains in [cutting emissions] and arguably it could be easier for them to make some more”, she said…
Mired in negotiations over the energy plan, the government has not yet waded into the treacherous territory of imposing emissions cuts elsewhere in the economy…
But leading environmental economist Frank Jotzo says if the Paris target is to be met, it is fair to assume the average emissions cuts across the rest of the economy will match the contribution made by electricity.
This, he says, is a problem. The technology to cut emissions created by electricity generation already exists. As ageing, polluting coal-fired power stations close, they are replaced by renewable energy sources – technology which is becoming ever-cheaper…
Jotzo, who directs the Australian National University’s Centre for Climate Economics and Policy, said prospects for cutting agriculture emissions were good. But change would be gradual and “little can be achieved for free”…
Many potential solutions, such as curbing methane emissions from cattle and sheep through feed changes or selective breeding “will take a long time to come to fruition, and many of them imply higher production costs”.
Policy measures that would have an immediate impact, such as a meat tax, are politically unpalatable. Programs that encourage farmers to revegetate their land are small and plagued by technical problems, he said.
Simson said a suite of options to cut agriculture emissions were being explored, including capturing methane at piggeries and intensive livestock farms…
And agriculture’s position at the bottom of the supply chain was “another reason it’s harder for us … farmers can’t impose those costs on people who eat our food”.
Climateworks Australia chief executive Anna Skarbek said the carbon-cutting potential of the land sector was huge and farms could both revegetate and maintain output…
However she said there was no escaping the fact that electricity “has more cost-effective options for reducing emissions than all the other sectors do”…
The Property Council of Australia has warned the government that inadequate emissions cuts by the electricity sector will constrain climate action in homes, business premises and public buildings…
The Property Council’s national policy manager for sustainability and regulatory affairs, Francesca Muskovic, said while the sector wanted to transition swiftly to net-zero emissions, “you can only do so much within the envelope of the building”.
“All our policy in this space … prioritises efficient buildings, looking at energy efficiency, looking at onsite solar generation – but that’s not going to get you the whole way to net-zero,” she said.
“It really does require ambition in the electricity sector to help effectively decarbonise the rest of the grid.”…
If and when the federal government clears the barnacle of energy policy from its ship, all eyes will be on the transport sector…
Jotzo said consumers generally valued a lower car purchase price over fuel efficiency, despite more efficient vehicles reducing petrol costs over the long term.
“You need mandated standards to nudge or force people to do the right thing,” he said…
The number of electric cars on Australian roads has increased by 160 per cent in the past five years, but the nation remains an international laggard…
Electric vehicle advocates say financial incentives should form part of government assistance to the industry – a move strongly opposed by right-wing Coalition backbenchers…
Deep emissions cuts by the electricity sector would also transform the environmental footprint of manufacturing and mining, which are heavily reliant on fossil fuels, Jotzo said.
“You need to heat up minerals and metals … you need to boil vegetables to turn them into soup,” he said.
“A large share of that today is using direct combustion of fossil fuel. And the bulk of this can be converted to electricity … if [the grid is] run on renewables then that’s a great reduction.”…
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/clearing-the-air-who-should-do-the-most-to-tackle-climate-change-20180803-p4zvfn.html
00
Judith Sloan suggested that the National Farmers President, Fiona Simson, should stick to her knitting and leave her climate change agenda out of it. Judith referred to the damage to Agriculture that is evident by those pursuing the hoax.
62
Very hot in Southern Spain at the moment.
I was there in August 2016 for two weeks. It was very hot then.
In fact, it was a darn sight hotter than at present.
So much for CNN, Fairfax, MSM, ABC, NYT, BBC, WaPo, etc news that they are experiencing record heat.
Wh do these rags get their information from. Haven’t they yet realized that the Hansens, Gores and Flannerys of this world are WRONG, have always been dead set WRONG and will always be WRONG.
61
Commonsense demands that if a European location can hit 48C (Athens 1977), a European location can hit it again. If the world’s and (Northern Hemisphere’s) highest temp was recorded in 1913 in Death Valley, commonsense dictates that it can get very hot there in another year. Since Australia and the Southern Hemisphere recorded its highest official temp in 1960. there is no reason to expect such a temp not to be repeated when conditions are right. It’s commonsense.
In fact, with much more monitoring and reportage, it’s surprising that these old records stand.
It’s not surprising to me that there is now drought in parts of Australia. Commonsense tells me that if we have endured the droughts of Federation, WW2 and the Millennium (not to mention the Long Drought starting in the late 1950s and the drought at the very start of the colony in the early 1790s) we should not be surprised by a drought such as the present one. If so little rain fell in eg 1902 it should make us concerned and sympathetic about current rural prospects…but not surprised. Commonsense insists that droughts of great length and severity have to come to this continent. Except for a couple of years in the mid-1970s, have we ever been free of serious drought somewhere?
But maybe commonsense is not invited to this party.
72
A young Dorathea Mackellar wrote a well known poem featuring droughts and flooding rains in the late 1800’s , so we sorta know it a feature of our country. Hard yards for those that have to endure it, but not exactly a surprise event.
70
Elite coteries don’t do common sense – they do, well,
you know. (
60
Hi Jo
I see this week the PM and his energy & environment minister gave away $470 million to a small group of self appointed saviours of the Great Barrier Reef. Today it was announced the federal government will increase its drought relief for farmers by $190 million bringing the total to about $400 million.
So farming communities suffering from a real climate event (drought) are almost, but not quite, regarded by our government as important as communities of coral polyps suffering from an entirely imagined climate threat (global warming). What sort of country have we created?
Of coarse when we factor in the actual amount of money governments in the country waste on “reef research” i.e. funding the lifestyles of a hippy science elite, then the comparatively tiny amount of money spent on drought relief should be a national scandal/disgrace. Don’t expect to hear about it in the left or right media though. We all just have to loooove those coral polyps above all else, right?
51
Just to put that in perspective, TdeF calculated that as being the equivalent of 7 tons of gold.
I checked that and got 7.5 tons.
That’s a block of gold sitting on the ground that is a metre by one metre on the base and a third of a metre deep.
Awesome.
KK
51
https://www.afr.com/news/politics/nsw-farmers-dont-deserve-1b-in-drought-aid-20180731-h13dnm
Interesting take on the “drought crisis”.
It’s being called by some the worst drought in over 700 years. It seems that it is more widespread than what they can deduce from previous years but it’s hardly been as long yet. As described in the article above the media do love a story about a farmer doing it tough
Thoughts
30
Not sure who might have made that claim. How could they deduce that? From dream time stories?
71
From tree rings and ice cores.
The ice cores from the Simpson desert are truly amazing.
61
They interviewed Methuselah
20
But he was young and naïve at the time – just like Juliar.
20
We have old rainfall records for places like Bourke out west, which had its driest year in 1929. Sydney had its driest year in 1888. The driest decade for Australia overall was likely the 1930s, the wettest was likely the 1970s…but this is hard to calculate over such a large continent with different climate zones. The period from the start of the Fed Drought in 1895 to around 1947 was somewhat drier for the country than the following half century.
My own region (NSW midcoast) had its worst dry spell just after 1900, though 1993-4 was bad. We’ll never know enough about that drought before 1840 which dried up the ‘bidgee, but it must have been a shocker.
Really, we need our agriculture. How people come by the idea that global warming causes drought is mysterious. Studies of the glacial periods indicate a dry climate in Oz. I’m one of those who thinks there has likely been warming in recent times, both decadal and secular, due to poorly understood factors. But what has drought to do with warming? Please explain.
We help the cockies in bad times because we can’t dismantle our agriculture every time things look a bit grim, especially when so many limitations, reasonable and unreasonable, are placed on farming by all layers of government.
And no, you can’t re-wild the continent. Wilderness just means unnatural regrowth, fire-traps and ferals. Try and find money for maintenance from a government agency once the economic imperative disappears and the bien-pensants have found a new fetish. You’re lucky to get a cracker to keep a Bob Carr National Park in order now.
We help the cockies. Like with all welfare, there’ll be corruption and abuses. But we help the cockies because they make food and nobody else does. We help them because farming is practical, constant land maintenance and nothing else is.
60
‘But what has drought to do with warming? Please explain.’
Good point, at the last Glacial Maximum around 18,000 years ago Australia was a cold desert.
At the Holocene max, between 10,000 to 8,000 years before present, it was at least 3 degrees warmer and wetter.
31
The Fin is behind a paywall so here is another version’
https://theconversation.com/recent-australian-droughts-may-be-the-worst-in-800-years-94292
I tentatively accept the proposition that droughts are getting worse at Holocene’s end.
10
Dave Scott performed one of the most legendary experiments: the galilean ‘hammer & feather’ held on the Moon, 47 years ago Aug 2 …
“At the end of the last Apollo 15 moon walk, Commander David Scott (pictured above) performed a live demonstration for the television cameras.
He held out a geologic hammer and a feather and dropped them at the same time.
Because they were essentially in a vacuum, there was no air resistance and the feather fell at the same rate as the hammer, as Galileo had concluded hundreds of years before – all objects released together fall at the same rate regardless of mass.
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_15_feather_drop.html
30
Those NASA links aren’t working for me.
Here is a twitter link that does show the video of this experiment:
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1025013944715501569
20
Yes I watched that on TV.
It is not quite correct. The heavier item falls faster.
The difference is not measurable for small objects in the gravitational field of a very large object eg The Moon.
10
Actually I may have to withdraw that.
The heavier object experiences a greater force because:
Newtons Law of Gravity F=GMm/r^2,
but the heavier object needs more force to accelerate at the same rate because of Newtons 2nd Law of Motion: F=ma. So they fall at the same rate.
However the moon accelerates toward the hammer slightly more than it does towards the feather!
So maybe I was right but for the wrong reason.
10
Or perhaps right for the wrong reason?
Still thinking about that.
00
Think I’ve got it.
Only the acceleration counts; in this case g is the same for the feather and the hammer.
s = ut + 1/2at(2)
In the end they both travel the same distance s, in the same time because they both have the same acceleration.
S is proportional to acceleration only in the absence of friction from the atmosphere.
KK
10
Atmospheric blocking break through by Japanese scientist.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180524141647.htm
40
Dilbert meets the President.
Scott has an interesting chat about Trump, the man,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbuJ-myttO8
00
4 Aug: CBC: Paris targets still within reach, despite carbon tax shift: minister
AUDIO: 9:17
Changes to Ottawa’s plan for a carbon tax are raising questions about the impact on Canada’s ability to meet their climate commitments, but is the environment minister concerned? Not at all.
“It won’t have an impact,” Environment Minister Catherine McKenna told The House.
The Liberal government adjusted its plan to price carbon pollution after hearing concerns from Canadian industry officials about how the tax would affect their ability to compete…
The tax is set for $20 a tonne in 2019 and will rise to $50 in 2022…
When asked about the shifts in the carbon plan, McKenna said the targets were set based on science and consultations.
Not all provinces agree with her government that the carbon tax was designed properly. Saskatchewan and Ontario are engaging in court challenges to determine whether the federal government has the jurisdiction to impose a plan on provinces…
Meanwhile, across the border, the White House has proposed a weakening of fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks…
McKenna said her government will keep an eye on that situation, but Canadian climate policy is the focus.
“We will make decisions based on science evidence and facts ***and after listening to folks.”
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thehouse/the-house-canadians-aren-t-buying-ottawa-s-message-on-asylum-seekers-1.4771108/paris-targets-still-within-reach-despite-carbon-tax-shift-minister-1.4773014
00
4 Aug: TWEET: Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch:
.@Twitter run by anti-@RealDonaldTrump Democratic donors and activists.
No wonder I was shadowbanned. https://nypost.com/2018/08/04/how-twitter-is-fueling-the-democratic-agenda/ …
https://twitter.com/TomFitton/status/1025815554026872832?s=09
4 Aug: NY Post: Paul Sperry: Twitter is run by Democratic donors and activists
After Twitter was caught last month “shadow-banning” Republicans, while giving Democrats unrestricted voice, the social-media giant insisted it has no political agenda. But records of its political contributions show board members, top executives and major shareholders have all given overwhelmingly to Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, while snubbing Republicans and Donald Trump…
Vice News last month broke the story that Twitter limited the visibility of Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and several Republicans leading Hill investigations into the Obama administration’s efforts to spy on the Trump campaign, including Reps. Devin Nunes (Calif.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Jim Jordan (Ohio), Mark Meadows (NC) and John Ratcliffe (Texas).
San Francisco-based Twitter blamed it on a search-engine filter deployed against “bad” actors, such as racists, trolls and users inciting violence, which it maintains accidentally ensnared Republicans, while curiously failing to affect any Democrats.
“We enforce our rules without political bias,” Twitter Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde said in a statement.
But Republicans aren’t buying it. They blame the unequal treatment on political bias, and they argue the timing is suspicious. They say Republican voices are being suppressed on the 355 million-user platform just months before the highly contentious November congressional elections…
https://nypost.com/2018/08/04/how-twitter-is-fueling-the-democratic-agenda/
20
This pretty much explains what is happening to the West. We are all part of it and all excuses in the world will not invalidate this fact. I can’t see how the fall of the West can be avoided if the people by and large continue to treat the numerous issues as no more than minor annoyances.
A Critical Message From Stefan Molyneux
21
3 Aug: VIDEO: 17min05sec: Judicial Watch: On Watch: The Truth about the Trump Tower Meeting
In this episode of “On Watch,” JW Director of Investigations & Research Chris Farrell dissects the Trump Tower meeting between Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya–and how Fusion GPS was involved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5wECjuwlKs&t=15s
4 Aug: WND: OBAMA LAWYERS ‘KOWTOWED’ TO CLINTON OVER EMAIL EVIDENCE
Newly released documents show negotiations over another private server
Documents turned over Friday by the FBI show Obama administration lawyers “kowtowing” to Hillary Clinton’s legal team over the release of evidence on a second private email server she used while secretary of state, tweeted Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
The documents were obtained as part of a Judicial Watch lawsuit.
The “successor server,” hosted by Platte River Networks in Denver, was famously erased with the software program BleachBit.
National Security reporter Jordan Schachtel, as the Gateway Pundit blog reported, combed through the documents and found that Clinton lawyers initially did not reveal to the FBI the existence of the second server.
The FBI lawyers and Clinton’s team then engaged in negotiations over what the bureau could and could not see…
https://www.wnd.com/2018/08/obama-lawyers-kowtowed-to-clinton-over-email-evidence/
4 Aug: WashingtonTimes: Christopher Steele broke FBI media rules after being ‘admonished,’ documents show
By Rowan Scarborough
The FBI continued to cite Mr. Steele in three subsequent wiretap renewals stretching for a year. The court-approved surveillance allowed them to view all of Mr. Page’s previous electronic messages.
By that time, not only had Mr. Steele been admonished but eventually he was outright fired by the FBI in November 2016 for violating the rules.
Mr. Steele in late October had become so frustrated in not being able to stop the Trump candidacy that he went to the liberal Mother Jones magazine and spilled all of his charges as an unnamed intelligence source.
Alarmed by the article, his FBI handlers deemed him “not suitable for use as a CHS.”…
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/aug/4/ex-spy-christopher-steele-trusted-fbi-despite-misc/
20
3 Aug: Washington Examiner: 12 times Christopher Steele fed Trump-Russia allegations to FBI after the election
by Byron York
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/12-times-christopher-steele-fed-trump-russia-allegations-to-fbi-after-the-election
3 Aug: Daily Caller: Just Released: Here’s What The FBI Is Hiding About Christopher Steele
by Joe Simonson
The FBI released its internal records on Christopher Steele, the former British spy behind the controversial “Russia dossier.”
One problem: Nearly every page has been redacted…
http://dailycaller.com/2018/08/03/fbi-dossier-christopher-steele/
3 Aug: FrontPage: Daniel Greenfield: When the Mueller Gang Met Judge Ellis
The Manafort trial isn’t going to give Mueller what he wants
Paul Manafort. Tony Podesta. Tad Devine. Greg Craig.
Manafort worked for Trump. Tony Podesta is the brother of Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager. Tad Devine was Bernie Sanders’ chief strategist. Greg Craig was Obama’s White House Counsel.
All four men also, directly or indirectly, allegedly did work for the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine. And the ECFMU was allegedly a front for Yanukovich’s Ukrainian pro-Russian faction. Manafort and the Podesta Group had failed to register as foreign agents. Tad Devine had worked for Manafort on the Ukraine project. Craig had written a report on Ukraine for one of Manafort’s lobbying efforts.
But only Manafort had the predawn raid, the solitary confinement and the high profile show trial…READ ON
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/270928/when-mueller-gang-met-judge-ellis-daniel-greenfield
20
Thanks pat,
The Christopher Steele story has some way to play out yet. The FBI is not cooperating with the House of Reps Intelligence Committee enquiry. Almost all of the documents that they produced were totally redacted.
I am not sure why the committee cannot compel the FBI to comply. Maybe American readers can advise.
40
Peter C,
The swamp is large and deep.
50
It’s also growing not shrinking. Trump is just one man against a tsunami, which will eventually swamp the whole world. That’s reality.
00
Seems Steele already had an active relationship with the FBI
as early as Feb 2, 2016, six months before his ‘front door’
introduction to the FBI in July 2016.
https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-fbi-records-show-dossier-author-deemed-not-suitable-for-use-as-source-show-several-fbi-payments-in-2016/ (Posted at Climate Audit.)
20
no need to listen:
AUDIO: 4 Aug: ABC Saturday Extra: Geraldine Doogue: Portugal’s revival
Greek leaders must be wondering what might have happened had they chosen the path of Portuguese Prime Minister Costa in 2015, by rejecting austerity measures imposed by the EU and IMF, something former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis wanted to do.
And the rest of Europe is watching.
Antonio Costa took the risk to reverse deep cuts to wages, pensions and social security and instead, offered business incentives. Today, the economy has kick started and confidence has returned, not just within the economy but also the Portuguese people.
Guest: Liz Alderman, Paris-based chief European business correspondent for ***The New York Times, covering economic and inequality challenges around Europe…
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/portugals-revival/10069716
Fairfax liked the same “story”, it seems:
How Portugal spent its way to recovery by Liz Alderman
The Sydney Morning Herald-22 Jul. 2018
But as the misery deepened, Portugal took a daring stand: In 2015, it cast …. Costa formed an unusual alliance with Communist and radical-left…
22 Jul: NYT: Liz Alderman: Portugal Dared to Cast Aside Austerity. It’s Having a Major Revival.
“What happened in Portugal shows that too much austerity deepens a recession, and creates a vicious circle,” Prime Minister António Costa said in an interview. “We devised an alternative to austerity, focusing on higher growth, and more and better jobs.”
Voters ushered Mr. Costa, a center-left leader, into power in late 2015 after he promised to reverse cuts to their income, which the previous government had approved to reduce Portugal’s high deficit under the terms of an international bailout of 78 billion euros, or $90 billion.
Mr. Costa formed an unusual alliance with Communist and radical-left parties, which had been shut out of power since the end of Portugal’s dictatorship in 1974. They united with the goal of beating back some of the toughest aspects of austerity, while balancing the books to meet eurozone rules…
European officials are now admitting that Portugal may have found a better response to the crisis. Recently, they rewarded Lisbon by elevating the country’s finance minister, Mário Centeno, who helped engineer the changes, to president of the Eurogroup, the influential collective of eurozone finance ministers…
The economic about-face had a remarkable impact on Portugal’s collective psyche…
(NEAR THE END)
Yet Portugal’s success is still vulnerable.
Growth is cooling from 2.7 percent last year, as Mr. Costa keeps public investment at a 40-year low to cut the deficit. While he restored public sector salaries to previous levels, they have barely budged since before the crisis. Social precariousness lingers, worsened by the spread of low-paying part-time contracts. And the minimum wage of 580 euros a month, although up, remains one of the lowest in the eurozone…
Portugal’s unions are now threatening strikes to press the government to more fully reverse austerity, increase wages and unlock more public spending to reduce inequality.
Mr. Costa insists that the government must keep cutting the deficit to offset the biggest threat to Portugal: its enormous debt, still one of the eurozone’s largest…
Christian Santos, Mecachrome’s director in Portugal, said he plans to hire 150 more workers and to make millions in additional investments in the next three years.
“Things are happening in Portugal,” he said. “There’s an enthusiastic mojo here.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/business/portugal-economy-austerity.html
NOT MENTIONED AT ALL IN NYT, NOR ON ABC’S DOOGUE PROGRAMME, IS CHINA, CHINA, CHINA:
1 Aug: Deutsche Welle: Jochen Faget: Chinese eyeing of Portuguese assets raises some hackles
While the troika was determining Portugal’s fate, China was buying Portuguese companies. That trend has continued. Is the EU member on the road to economic and political dependence?
At one time the Portuguese power company Energias de Portugal (EDP) was a proud state owned company with more than 25,000 employees. Soon it could be a lucrative corporation owned by the Chinese. China Three Gorges (CGT), a state owned power company which already owns a quarter of EDP, has made takeover bid on the Lisbon Stock Exchange, intending to buy the remainder of the company’s stock.
The total value of the proposed deal is €9.07 billion ($10.83 billion), excluding a 23 percent stake already owned by CTG. The company said in its offer announcement in May that it planned to reach a minimum of a 50 percent voting stake plus one share in the company. EDP rejected the price for a full takeover.
It’s part of a ‘master plan’ with which the People’s Republic wants to take over key areas of the Portuguese economy, warn critics. The Portuguese government on the other hand says that the Chinese are just as welcome as any other foreign investors.
China’s shopping spree across Europe has already provoked sharp criticism in other countries: In Germany over the acquisition of key companies in the robotics, automotive and medical sectors; in Greece over the purchase of the port of Piraeus, among others.
However, the chronically cash-strapped government of hard hit Portugal is pleased with the Chinese financial injections — especially since it helped the country at the western end of Europe through the tough troika (made up of the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund) period. The Chinese even stepped up during the crisis and bought — as no one else did — Portuguese government debt.
Today, the Portuguese insurance company Fidelidade belongs to the Chinese Fosun Group, just like the highly lucrative private clinic operator Luz Saude. Fosun also controls a quarter of the Millennium BCP Bank. Haitong bought the investment bank BESI for €379 million ($423 million at the time).
The HNA Group became a junior partner at the airline TAP. The Portuguese power grid operator REN is now part of China’s State Grid International. In Sines, south of Lisbon, a barely used deep-sea port is being expanded by Chinese companies.
“The Chinese are investing mainly in finance, insurance and banking, as well as infrastructure,” says Ilidio Serodio, vice president of the Portuguese-Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the capital…
“From an economic point of view, it makes no sense for the country’s largest electricity producer by far to be controlled by just one shareholder,” says economics professor Joao Duque.
It’s all the more astonishing therefore that the Portuguese government is not opposed to the takeover attempt, especially because they had pulled the emergency brake on the sale of the airline TAP to an American consortium a year ago and kept 50 percent of the shares for themselves. The silence around EDP can only have a political backdrop.
Indeed the Portuguese government is surprisingly quiet on Chinese investment in general. Even though it torpedoed the sale of a private television channel to French investors, it had no qualms when an investor from Macau bought 30 percent of Global Media, becoming the principal shareholder in a major Portuguese media group. Portugal may become dependent on Chinese investments and open to political blackmail, fears Duque…
But the takeover attempt of EDP by the Three Gorges Group is not just about Portugal, it has international consequences since EDP is well positioned internationally with water, wind and solar power plants around the world, even in South America and the US.
“It’s about markets like Brazil, where foreigners can hardly get a foothold,” says Ilidio Serodio of the chamber of commerce. “The detour via Portugal should help the Chinese to get into those markets more easily.”…
https://www.dw.com/en/chinese-eyeing-of-portuguese-assets-raises-some-hackles/a-44911136
20
Re China
The Chinese play a long-game. Several life-times worth, under past pre-communist leaders, and no reason to expect the mind-set and long-game ideals to have gone away with communism – I’d expect it has actually been improved upon. In the past China was the world, and everything China saw was China’s. No real reason to believe they’ve changed that view much, either. Oh, the various wars and suppressions by more militarily equipped countries may have put a kink in the thinking, but when China gets “hurt” she retreats, licks her wounds, and gets back to work on goals that could be generations away.
The only difference between the old dynasties and the current regime is the modernity of tools and the realization that there is a lot more World to become China. The peasants are slightly elevated, some becoming “powers” and others having degrees in sciences and engineering, but all work for the benefit of China, and anyone caught not doing so is swiftly dealt with.
The recent acquisitions of various companies throughout Asia and Europe are just one part of the long-term planning, as are the new roads, rails, power plants, etc. They could be behind some of the accusations of Russian meddling in UASn and other elections, or the Russians could just be that desperate to gain power and control, having a large border with China not anywhere near the resources it claims, pre- or post- USSR break-up. The idea of a Chinese Hegemony is something we should be aware of and ready for – if our western governments didn’t have their heads in places that don’t see sunshine, all bothered about CAGW and Russian “interference” perhaps the Chinese would be moving more slowly – but I am certain they’d still be moving.
Europe and South America are the next in line. Europe may give China indigestion for a bit, but at the rate they are losing value (Euro, land, businesses) it might not be too big a tummy-ache – many people will welcome a steady diet and a roof over-head, no matter who supplies it, if the economy collapses. S America is a mess already, and once China has what she wants out of it she might leave it slightly cleaner, take over entirely, or just make sure there’s nothing left to fight back with and walk away.
Australia may be close to enough to being in the pocket, and is isolated enough geographically, that the Chinese can leave her be for a bit, slowly buying up her resources and land. Australia might be the last bastion of real freedom in time, and only until she is seen as a threat to China. If she goes to Europe’s, or the UK’s, aid, she might be just a staging ground for Chinese troops headed east and west around the Asian/European landmass.
After S America, I’m not sure if the US/UK/Canada trio will be next, or Russia. Nations like Finland, Sweden, Norway – mop-ups after Russia.
I doubt we’ll all have to learn Chinese – but we will, eventually, be under China’s rule. No one in the European or USAn government takes takes China’s long-game seriously. China likes it that way.
00
comment in moderation re: ABC Saturday Extra: Geraldine Doogue: Portugal’s revival
10
” Home Climate Skeptic BMOC Park Privatization AZ Parks Proposal Contact
Tesla New Math
August 1, 2018, 2:51 pm
I was reading the Tesla shareholder letter and I found this funny. Tesla began by celebrating that it produced 5,000 Model 3 cars in the last week of Q2. And also
Highlights from the company’s letter to shareholders included the promise to produce 6,000 Model 3 sedans a week by late August, and to produce 50,000 to 55,000 of the sedans in the third quarter.
So we began the quarter at 5,000 per week and will hit 6,000 a week about two thirds of the way in so that we will on average produce around 4,000 a week for the quarter. Right.”
http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2018/08/tesla-new-math.html
Seems to help explaining the “cost savings” from “ephemeral energy” too
21
4 Aug: Youtube: 8min12secs: Judge Jeanine: Dinesh D’Souza Talks About His New Movie “Death Of A Nation”
Dinesh D’Souza joins Judge Jeanine Pirro on Fox News to discuss his new film that just hit theaters Talks “Death Of A Nation”, followed by the trailer for the movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdfbFltivPk
“Death of a Nation” Movie Trailer
by Dinesh D’Souza
Overview
Not since 1860 have the Democrats so fanatically refused to accept the result of a free election. That year, their target was Lincoln. They smeared him. They went to war to defeat him. In the end, they assassinated him.
Now the target of the Democrats is President Trump and his supporters. The Left calls them racists, white supremacists and fascists. These charges are used to justify driving Trump from office and discrediting the right “by any means necessary.”
But which is the party of the slave plantation? Which is the party that invented white supremacy? Which is the party that praised fascist dictators and shaped their genocidal policies and was in turn praised by them?
Moreover, which is the party of racism today? Is fascism now institutionally embodied on the right or on the left?…
Inspired by the turbulent events of post-2016 presidential election America, Dinesh D’Souza’s Death of a Nation reveals an eerie similarity between the situations faced by President Trump now and the situations faced by President Lincoln in 1860…
https://www.deathofanationmovie.com/
Amazon Books: Death of a Nation: Plantation Politics and the Making of the Democratic Party
Hardcover July 31, 2018
https://www.amazon.com/Death-Nation-Plantation-Politics-Democratic/dp/1250163773
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In all this Climate Change story, there is one outstanding feature. Governments stop things and tax things. They do nothing. Or at least the professional bureaucrats who run everything are at pains to change nothing, except to hire more people to look into things and stop people. Stop them building dams. Stop them changing water flows. Stop them building coal power stations. The only reason Snowy II is approved by the people against everything is that a new dam is not being built.
We can only be grateful that the people who built the 24 locks on the Murray did so before the advent of this new ecology, where water is supposed to run free to the sea, leaving a dry river bed.
So the question behind Climate Change is that if we have the ability to change climates, what do we want? More rain? Greener landscapes. Better water storage. More water distribution. All these things are considered bad in the new ecology as it ‘interferes’ with nature.
What our ancestors knew is that nature is not compatible with people. The whole of Europe is a product of 2,000 years of intensive agriculture from the forests of France to the rolling hills of England. Canals, storage, roads, fences, hedges. Would they be permitted today? No. The canals are being intentionally left to clog up, reintroducing disastrous spring flooding to the Thames. This because in the new ecology, the water fowl are more important than the humans.
Now we face another drought. How much was spent to build water storage, decrease losses and improve water distribution in preparation for the next drought? What the government is doing is destroying power stations and forcing us to pay for more windmills, all for the new ecology. Drought is natural. Dry water courses are natural. Floods are natural. Starving is natural. All brought to you by the new government enforced ecology.
$441 million to ‘study’ the Great Barrier reef. What, to prevent the natural and cyclical bleaching? How much would that cash have done to help prepare the land for the coming drought? How much the the $10 billion a year in the RET money grab or as much again for the unfunded, off balance sheet NBN? Then the $12Billion for Snowy II or the $60Billion for future diesel submarines which are utterly useless.
Think of what we could have done since the last Australia wide drought broke. Think of what the Rudd, Gillard and Turnbull goverments have done. Bickered over water rights. What has been done to keep more water? Instead, in the land of droughts and flooding rains, politicians and Greens talk about ‘ecological flows’. That means wetting the river bed occasionally when water is critically short. Utter waste.
Why? Because bureaucrats believe we cannot change the climate, cannot and should not trap water and that natural is best, even when that has never been the case in the history of mankind. It is man vs the planet, not Mother Earth looking after us. This new religion is absurd, the stuff of fantasy like Avatar where the planet is wise and looks after everyone. Absolute rubbish.
Until we get a government which realises we need to keep doing what we have been doing for thousands of years, our agriculture will suffer. We need to be responsible and husband our resources, but we also need to develop the country as generations of people have done. Only that way can we feed our people.
Still Canberra imports food, like Dubai. Who needs farmers? Who needs to plan for droughts? Who needs to be ready for the next devastating bushfires? To the elites of Canberra, Brussels and Washington DC, farmers are just a nuisance.
Climate Change. If we could change the climate and we can, why aren’t we? Where are the real engineering projects? Why are a group of politicians lawyers deciding what is good for the country? Where are the engineers who used to run major projects. While the government advertise that we want to be the smart country, Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics, the reality is that there are no jobs for such people, except in the BOM, CSIRO which must be a living death for creative minds, run by Canberra. Even Canberra did not trust the BOM to report on Climate Change.
Personally, I would like to create better rain fall. The rainfall halved 50,000 years ago across Australia. We all know why. Even Tim Flannery. However we have to pretend the country is best looked after by its traditional custodians and events should unfold ‘naturally’, devastating the country.
Welcome to the next drought, brought to you utterly unprepared by your government who just gave 7 tons of solid gold to study climate change in the Great Barrier Reef, which should be left alone. No one really cares about the Climate. It’s all politics and cash and crippling Australia politically and economically, one State at a time.
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Tdef,
One of your best! Sadly I am not laughing (well maybe a little bit).
31
Tony Abbott in his speech in Melbourne made three more points.
1. The cost of Snowy II is $12Billion, not the $4.5billion figure in the papers. Tony is in a position to know. (That by the way would build three new coal HELE power stations which we ‘cannot afford’ or would take ‘too long to build’)
2. As our politicians are against Nuclear power, especially in South Australia, we insisted the new French submarines were redesigned to use diesel engines. That’s a huge change! So now we are paying a fortune to buy unique new and untested submarines which in Tony’s opinion are not as good as the ones we already have and of dubious value anyway. How’s that for $60Billion in waste? That’s not even counting the fact that our enemies already have the design and can track our as yet unbuilt subs.
3. That we are not allowed to use coal and iron ore ourselves, despite being our biggest exports by far. Why?
And not mentioned in my long rant above, remember the desalination plants in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and Adelaide. The debt is eternal and much bigger than you are told, like everything else in this country which now owes over $700Billion. Thanks to Rudd, Gillard and Turnbull, this debt is still rocketing as we put things like desalination plants on the credit card.
You would not allow teenagers to run their lives the way this our State and Federal governments are running up debts. We even finished paying for the freeways in Victoria and Labor opted to let Citilink continue collecting fees as long as they split them with the government. We are paying companies to drive on roads we own as long as the government gets their cut. That is not taxation. Once again it is conspiracy to steal unsupported by legislation. Like the RET, theft.
Tony Abbott is the only sound of common sense I have heard all through this. Cory Bernadi and a few others in support. The Black Hand is spending us out of business as a country. Soon our prices will be set overseas as we owe the French for their desalination plants and soon for their submarines.
The only irony is that Bill Shorten will inherit a country which is already bankrupt, breaking the old tradition of conservative governments. All his wild spending plans, mass immigration plans and cash to mates plans are already in place. At least the Unions will run all the government contracts again and make Australia the most expensive place in the world to build new structures.
Can we please have our real Prime Minister back? Before it’s too late?
By the way, we are told our debt is low. However they compare with Japan when most of the Japanese debt is to the people of Japan i bonds, not overseas debt. The Japanese are rich, where we cannot afford not to sell our coal and iron ore and soon not at the prices we want. We are being shut down, like the UK. Not even allowed to fish their own waters, a vassal state of the mighty EU, run again by the Germans and French as it was under Napoleon and Hitler.
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To make my point about tolls again, if the government wants to put tolls on roads, fine. Legislate it. Make it public. Why though should we pay people who do nothing, people who are already paid in full, for the right to continue to drive on roads we now own?
Why should we pay Hepburn Wind $800,000 a year for producing wind power when we already bought their windmill and they have no debts? Why is the public paying for things we own and paying private companies to exist and for nothing at all?
This is why the RET is illegal. They take hidden cash from our electricity bills, doubled by the retailers and everyone gets cash and we get nothing. It is not taxation, as it does not go into General Revenue. Like so much about these Labor Governments (and I count Turnbul’s Liberals as a classic Labor government), they are operated criminally. At least there is a good chance a number of Victoria Labor Ministers will be charged with theft, the police having arrested and strip searched at 6am some 24 election employees for signing false documents. I can’t wait for that to happen to the ministers as the Labor party hires Criminal Lawyers to defend their ministers. All those people who criminally signed the declaration that they were not dual citizens should be arrested too. On the form there is a criminal penalty of 1 year in jail. Who has been charged?
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“Governments stop things and tax things.”
This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Ronald Reagan: “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
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Plus; “If you can’t Tax it, Ban it!”
31
Now human caused climate change is causing gaining ice in the Arctic.
Pollution is slowing the melting of Arctic sea ice, for now
https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/aug/03/pollution-is-slowing-the-melting-of-arctic-sea-ice-for-now?__twitter_impression=true
Wait.
What will they blame the next chilly winter on?
2013: Is Shrinking Sea Ice Behind Chilly Spring?
Melting Arctic ice may be making winters colder and longer, scientists say.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/03/130326-arctic-sea-ice-global-warming-science-environment-spring/
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By 2050 half of China’s energy will come from renewables, apparently.
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201808/04/WS5b65020da3100d951b8c8965.html
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5 Aug: Standard Kenya: Sam Njuguna: New technology fires up investment in coal power
Coal power will continue being the dominant source of electricity for several more decades despite aggressive pursuit by renewable energy, according to investors in the industry.
New investments in South Asia and the Middle East, as well as increasing interest from Sub-Saharan Africa including Kenya, are likely to maintain coal’s stranglehold on the power market, where it holds 40 per cent of the world’s energy output.
Global energy solutions firm, GE Power, projects that even with a dynamic power mix that is shifting towards green sources, coal-fired power will only fall to about 30 per cent of global production in the next decade…
In Malaysia, for instance, coal is only second to natural gas as a major source of energy, with the landscape set to change in the next few years.
Heavy investments in power plants have tilted in favour of coal, including a 3,100-megawatt plant that sits on reclaimed land on the shores of the Strait of Malacca, owned by State energy firm TNB. The facility’s production is larger than Kenya’s total installed capacity of about 2,300MW from all energy sources.
Among the five plants that make up the TNB Janamanjung facility is the 1,00MW Manjung 4, the first in South East Asia to use GE Power’s USC technology. GE led the plan’s construction and supplied the equipment including boiler, steam turbine and generator.
“The use of USC technology enables Manjung 4 to convert coal more efficiently, burning less coal for more power while complying with emission standards,” said TNB Janamanjung Managing Director Datuk Shamsul during a tour of the plant by journalists last week. “The plant also meets stringent environmental standards set by the Wolrd Bank.” …
Germany, which had retired its coal plants to go green, recently built a new coal power plant that is said to be the most efficient in the world, using the GE platform.
Baseload energy
Others such as Kenya seek to have coal-fired steam power as part of the baseload energy as the country aims to double its installed capacity within 10 years, with a planned coal power plant set to be constructed in Lamu by a local consortium, Amu Power.
Kenya has for decades been dependent on hydro-power but long periods of drought have rendered the energy source less reliable even as demand increases.
“As it stands, Kenya’s energy mix needs to be sustainable to guarantee absolute energy security. Due to climate change, pollution, human encroachment within water towers and diversion of water sources for agricultural use, rivers are quickly becoming seasonal and cannot be relied upon for energy generation,” says Amu Power Chief Operating Officer Cyrus Kirima.
With the improvements in technology, investors in coal power are gaining more confidence about the sustainability of their business.
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001290706/new-technology-fires-up-investment-in-coal-power
4 Aug: AlabamaToday: Alabama’s new coal miners head underground sparking economic impact
A new investment in Alabama’s coal mines is impacting industries, communities and individuals across the state.
The global demand for Alabama’s high-quality metallurgical (met) coal, a special type of coal used to make steel, is creating a need for more underground coal miners according the the Alabama Coal Association. In an effort to fill these positions the company has partnered with Bevill State Community College in Jasper, Ala. to offer prospective employees a new miner training class…
Each new mining job offers an average salary of $85,000 a year, and while enrolled in the program, miners earned a $600 per week stipend.
But the economic impact of the Alabama coal industry goes far beyond the Warrior Met mines Cagle noted. The coal then travels by barge or train to the Port of Mobile. There, it’s loaded on to export vessels and transported to international steel makers…
In May, Warrior Met Coal announced the competition of a new portal facility on the company’s No. 7 mine. After $19 million and three years of work to open the new mine the company now employs over 1,300 people and hopes to add more in the coming years…
http://altoday.com/archives/25581-alabamas-new-coal-miners-head-underground-sparking-economic-impact
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Ni/Cd batteries appear to be the new scourge for the Greens. Right up there with plastic shopping bags and plastic straws.
Please don’t tell them what is in LED screens and Lithium batteries. I await their banning of the wheel – for any obscure reason they can dream of.
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Was trolling through Youtube and stumbled over an old Monty Python sketch from the Holy Grail, with the mob wanting to burn a witch.
Reminded me of alarmist logic. Witches burn, therefore must be made of wood, wood floats, so do ducks, therefore if she weighs the same as a duck she must be a witch. I kept seeing Al Gore and Mann in the knight roles and the baying mob as the MSM and the AGW faithfull.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9PY_3E3h2c
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I often refer to this. A very funny way to debunk coincidence equals causality. In real science proof is needed. In political science, conjecture is proof.
So increased CO2 causes warming oceans when it is far more obvious real science that warming oceans increases CO2. It also explains why the atmosphere is not warming.
Is there any part of man made Global Warming which is based on actual proof? Not that I can find. You can in fact prove none of it is true, but still I read that CO2 is pollution and coal fired power stations are heavy polluters. Obvious they are made for and by ducks. At least the cooling ponds.
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Fake news or not?
In the search for truth I read as much as I can get from both sides of the CAGW argument.
Here are two sample articles I have read.
The first is the establishment NOAA etc. slant on things.
http://www.noaa.gov/news/noaa-2017-was-3rd-warmest-year-on-record-for-globe
The second is from a Canadian with data on the ice in Hudson Bay. Check on Adapt 2030 for your own information. Actual data and satellite photos and corroborating info in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKLRC7BjH9Q&feature=player_embedded
Both of these two things cannot be true.
So which one is fake news.
Australian ABC is telling us we have just had the hottest July EVA! And yet the snow fields are having a bumper season.
http://www.mountainwatch.com/Snow-news/mountainwatch-snow-depth-chart-ranking-a-decades-worth-of-snow-depths/
Perth is wet and freezing and there is snow on the mountain in Hobart.
Any one care or game to comment?
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Hi,
As you all know, there has been a lot of comment about the death of the internal combustion engine. You might be interested in the review article rebutting such views that was recently published in Applied Energy (Title: Is it really the end of internal combustion engines and petroleum in transport?). I’ll send a copy if you email me at [email protected].
– Gautam Kalghatgi FREng FSAE FIMechE FCI
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Thanks to Gautam Kalghatgi for highlighting this.
I have not contacted Gautam Kalghatgi but here is some links that might be of use or interest if not included.
2016: Don’t Count Out the Internal Combustion Engine
“But this assumes that the internal combustion engine is standing still—and it’s not.”
http://www.realclearfuture.com/articles/2016/08/29/dont_count_out_the_internal_combustion_engine_111937.html
2017: The death of the internal combustion engine
https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21726071-it-had-good-run-end-sight-machine-changed-world-death
This crazy see-through engine shows you what internal combustion actually looks like
http://www.sciencealert.com/this-awesome-see-through-engine-shows-you-what-internal-combustion-actually-looks-like
20
On the good news side:
If we don’t listen to the caterwauling of the press, and their daily Armageddons whose harbingers they are, we’ve gotta
think that life away from the narrow strips of land where liberals cluster is actually getting better at the moment.
You’d never know from the “news” that capitalism is working pretty well. Forgive my idioms if they don’t make sense as this is from an American perspective.
There have been several great jumps in the quality of life for ordinary Americans in our history. One started just after World War II.
The destruction of much of the civilized world, with the preservation of the American industrial base, geared for war and converted to peace with a boatload of customers and pent up demand, lead to a golden age.
The rich got richer: they always do. The golden age is defined by the poor getting richer, and in this period after the war relative wealth pushed down farther and faster into society than ever before. The so-called proletariat essentially disappeared, much to the chagrin of the left which had to search out a new class of victims to champion as the blue collar worker achieved his or her dreams.
Life had been essentially insecure for much of the working world. Roosevelt could legitimately bemoan ‘one third of a a nation, ill clothed, ill housed and ill fed’.
The new reality was a home whose mortgage could eventually be paid off, a car, a boat, two weeks vacation, a lot in Florida, and a certainty that your kid would be better off than you are.
We lost that for a while.
The economic optimism for the bulk of the folks is coming back. Its built, not so much on physical prosperity, but attitude. “I have a job, I can get a better one or get a raise, I can achieve without fancy certification if I work hard, I can have stuff I’ve earned, I can take care of my kids….”
This wasn’t the case a decade ago. A lot of the trend lines were negative, they’ve turned up.
Poverty in America wasn’t a land devoid of stuff. A Poor person was likely to have a flat screen, a cell phone, air conditioning, a car, housing, food and health care assistance. The “poor” in the US lived better than much of the world. But the prevailing attitude was pessimistic.
Our Kitchen tables, at least away from the left coasts, are places of optimism. Folks are working. Jobs are available. There was been small windfall in small towns as tax receipts grow, the the parks are mowed, the schools are getting a face lift, charities have fewer clients and more donors, Businesses are doing a little better and the proprietors are smiling more. Maybe a plant reopened, maybe a local kid took over a derelict garage and now has a little machine shop going, maybe two or three of the vacant stores in the strip center are open for business. It isn’t exactly the same as the past, of course. Small towns have Amazon and cell phones and streaming too and the changes they bring. But they also have county fairs and veterans day parades and local high school football even church services and ice cream socials, and life is OK again. These folks were there when Houston flooded. Where did all those little fishing boats come from? and all those helpful people. They were there all along, living an improving life totally outside of the view of the news media and coastal curmudgeons. There are literally thousands of towns that don’t have needles in the parks and feces in the streets and homeless panhandling on the library steps. Sure there are issues. Many exported from the cities to the countryside. The tend to be more visible and dealt with better in the less anonymous environment of a small town. 96% of our working age folks who want work are working, and a lot of jobs disdained by the elites pay really well. Have you called a plumber lately?
There’s a lot a really nice living going on in the countryside, where the ordinary concerns of daily life are more important than the irrelevancies that consume the now seldom watched nightly newscasters.
At least half of America is overjoyed that ‘the mountains are high and the Capital is very far away’.
Everyone knows about the boiling frog. Middle America has been given a reprieve, and is enjoying it. There will be considerable annoyance if there is an electoral change, followed by an attempt to turn the heat back up. “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” probably isn’t very believable the second time around.
For now, life is pretty good in the real world.
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G’day Richard. Your post gives one heart that Trump will survive the midterms. Coupled with #walkaway it’s a sure thing, right?
But there are thoughtful people who still talk of a dem majority in the house which will immediately try to impeach. What do you reckon?
30
Not impeachment. A two thirds majority of the senate is required to convict.
Probably makes the president look a victim.
More likely enough investigations to completely shut down government, replete with leaks
of selected information, such as Mr Trumps tax returns, with sinister remarks.
Lots of show votes on measure that will die in the senate. Outcome very unpredictable.
Mr Trump has been very hesitant to use the power of the presidency, but if personally attacked,
such as with release of tax returns or personal attacks on his family, he has many options.
A democratic attack perceived as unfair, coupled with promises to reverse the acts that have
made the economy better, and the excesses of an unrestrained judiciary where a few of our 400Plus federal
district judges will be encouraged to implement and enforce policy….would IMHO lead to a Republican sweep in 2020.
But a Trump response seen as unhinged might also be damaging. We are seeing a lot of behavior well outside our historic norms.
Our models did not work really well in the last election. If the Dems run a socialist – open borders type I think middle America flocks to the polls to maintain normalcy; if they don’t some of the left stay home.
I’m betting on a functionless congress for two terms, and Trump surviving to a second term, with executive deregulation and conservative judicial appointments continuing. But I do think we’ll have to survive a Dem house for two years.
Unless he can pull off a biggie; a new trade deal with China, or real movement in North Korea. Or he has to lob missiles in defense of the US. September/October events can override years of political effort.
30
From J. Curry’s blog a commenter, Ragnaar, with a linked video shows (HERE), chaos is not amenable to reductionists’ methods — like the IPCC lack of mathematical ability is the driving force of cAGW, their reductionist ideal of measurement just having noise, and that noise is reduced by averaging is profoundly wrong.
As Ragnaar says “The punchline is, variability or noise, is the system. To lead everything with CO2 plus noise isn’t understanding the system. ” [my bold]
This means that there is no simple noise reduction method that will not distort the analysis of the (climate) system. There can never be enough measured accuracy or precision to which all climate processes and parameters are subjected to and be able to elucidate any highly accurate long term predictability. All those IPCC figures of confidence are just unverified nonsense.
We can at best only infer probabilities for future events but then only when ALL the climate processes (terrestrial and extraterrestrial) are accurately understood, and all measurements are done to the very highest accuracy — no fudge factors and no approximation! For as inaccuracies creep in then the loci of the calculated probabilities (within a chaotic system) will drift away from the actuality, away from what will really happen.
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California frets over peril and cost of wildfires
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/national/as-wildfires-rage-california-frets-over-a-future-of-greater-perils-and-higher-costs/2018/08/04/c2663022-96a4-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html?noredirect=on
Here’s the punch line:
“Six of the 20 most destructive fires in California history have occurred in the past year, including ones caused by utility company equipment.
Speaking to reporters this week in Sacramento, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said “there is concern that we could lose our utilities” to bankruptcy unless the law changes. Utilities here are owned by shareholders, and liability for fire damage has, in the past, been passed on to customers.
If utilities suffer financially because of the strict-liability law, “our whole program of trying to deal with renewable energy and mitigate climate change would be adversely affected,” Brown said.”
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hmmm!
20
yes governer Brown push out more distributed power sources into your unmanaged bushfire landscape, what do you think will be the result?
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A 2003 CSIRO report, part-funded by the ski industry, found that the resorts could lose a quarter of their snow in 15 years, and half by 2050.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/icons-under-threat-the-alps-20051118-ge19jo.html
Factcheck time.
2018, August: Mountainwatch Snow Depth Chart – Ranking A Decade’s Worth Of Snow Depths:
“This season is about to get a kick up the proverbial and be taken to a whole new level of epicness.
The Southern Annular Mode is plummeting into a negative phase, bringing all that cold air and those juicy fronts up closer to the Aussie Alps.
It’s early days, but several snowstorms over the next ten days or so could see over half a metre of fresh powder accumulating in some areas.
The current snow depth at Spencers Creek is just above 120cm, so we could see this skyrocket up close to it’s seasonal average of 195cm.
It’s also worth comparing 2018 to 2017 – which went down as one of the best years in recent memory – and noting how 2017 was well below where we are now for the end of July/beginning of August.
http://www.mountainwatch.com/Snow-news/mountainwatch-snow-depth-chart-ranking-a-decades-worth-of-snow-depths/
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note the graph in the Age article and the careful cherry picking, carefully avoiding recent bumper years
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NY’s latest wind boondoggle….
https://www.newsli.com/2018/08/05/new-york-spent-5-million-on-wind-turbines-that-dont-even-work/
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It seems that the BoM’s Climate Data Online (CDO) and the ‘All available’ data from the Climate Statistics for Australian locations are not available at the moment. Anyone have any idea what’s happening?
40
G’day Ian,
I’ve not been able to access their “Water and the Land” 4 day forecast for the last couple of days. It starts up, then just sits there saying “Loading”. Have used their feedback link to advkse them, but only a couple of hours ago.
The weather radar worked OK.
No reponse yet.
Cheers,
Dave B
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This article is from the US but the general principles apply. Some differences to the US they have 1) Donald Trump to unwind this garbage and 2) the unreliable energy industry in the US relies on tax credits for their subsidies but in Australia unreliables primarily rely on subsidies from other electricity consumers (you and me).
Failing the laugh test: Wind, solar power make subsidy accusations
July 29, 2018 by CFACT 102
The lavishly subsidized wind and solar power industries apparently don’t like other meth dealers – er, make that energy subsidy recipients – on their federal-pork street corner. The evidence? Wind and solar apologists are squealing with outrage that coal and nuclear power may finally get their own small piece of the action.
For important context, the wind and solar power industries each receive such enormous taxpayer subsidies that all other energy industries combined do not receive as much taxpayer pork as either wind or solar power alone. According to the U.S. Energy Information administration, the net subsidies for coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear power combined amount to only 1/9th of the amount of federal renewable energy subsidies (see Table 3: https://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/subsidy/pdf/subsidy.pdf).
Keeping wind and solar power’s dominance of the energy subsidy racket in mind, wind and solar apologists are making laughable objections to Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s proposal to provide credit – on energy security grounds – to power facilities that can produce electricity 24/7 and can store their fuel onsite. With coal and nuclear power fitting these energy security goals, and wind and solar power falling short, renewable power apologists claim energy security considerations amount to “subsidies” and “bailouts” for coal and nuclear power.
For example, University of Michigan professor Mark J. Perry argued Tuesday in the Washington Examiner (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/energy-bailout-plan-would-raise-consumer-prices-all-for-nothing) that coal and nuclear power “are being pushed out of competitive electricity markets by an abundance of cheap natural gas and renewable energy.” He may be correct that low natural gas prices are giving coal and nuclear power a run for their money, but wind and solar power prices certainly don’t. It is precisely because wind and solar power are so expensive and unreliable that the wind and solar industries need lavish subsidies and renewable power mandates to force consumers to purchase their products.
Perry digs himself a deeper hole by calling energy security considerations a “bailout” and then arguing, “It is time to let natural gas and renewable power earn their fair share of the electricity market, unencumbered by government interference.”
“Unencumbered by government interference”?!! This is a renewable power apologist talking? Forgive us for spewing our coffee all over our keyboard as we read this.
Free-market economists can debate whether the federal government should assign preference to baseload power that is available 24/7 and is relatively immune to supply interruptions. But people championing wind and solar power are the last ones who can criticize coal and nuclear power finally being considered for a small portion of the renewable power industry’s federal energy subsidies.
http://www.cfact.org/2018/07/29/failing-the-laugh-test-wind-solar-power-make-subsidy-accusations/?mc_cid=85ab53af82&mc_eid=f5e09c15ae
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Note to mods. There is permission provided to republish the above in full:
© CFACT All articles on this site may be republished without modification and with an attribution of the author and a hotlink to CFACT.org within the body of the article.
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“Is There Any Democrat NOT Compromised By Foreign Spies? – China”
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2018/08/05/is-there-any-democrat-not-compromised-by-foreign-spies-china/
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GJohns said…
This is another UN Global – 2050 reef sustainability, climate change. World Ocean summit in Bali, Paris Agreement. Tim Flannery is on board! Malcolm Turnbull & Julie Bishop too.
https://www.barrierreef.org/the-foundation
“…With the landmark Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan as the roadmap, we’re working to help deliver practical solutions and actions for the Reef more quickly, more efficiently and more effectively, using science and innovation as our lens….”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-24/50-reefs-first-global-plan-says-only-10-pc-reefs-can-be-saved/8293514
“…Scientists estimate 90 per cent of the world’s coral reefs will disappear in the next 35 years due to coral bleaching induced by global warming, pollution and over-development.”
“The grim outlook accounts for the targets set by the Paris Agreement on climate action being met and ocean temperatures stabilising.”
“The 50 Reefs initiative, launched today at the World Ocean Summit in Bali, is an ambitious plan to identify and protect the world’s most critical reefs.”
“Built on the work of a team led by University of Queensland Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg and the Ocean Agency’s Richard Vevers, it brings together a coalition of scientific experts and philanthropic innovators from around the world to fund and implement the plan…”
Michael Smith News website
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I wonder how you become a “critical” reef? wont the other reefs sue for profiling and/or discrimination?
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A coral chorus?
30
India and China have too many single men.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/world/too-many-men/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ced4bfab31ee
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There are no men or women in politically correct leftist land of Oz.
Ask our ADF soldiers.
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Ancient lake holds secrets to Mayan civilization’s mysterious collapse
The chemical composition of the fossil water indicated periods of drought in the Mayan timeline, and revealed how long and intense this particular drought was.
Many theories about the drought triggers exist, but there is no smoking gun some 1,000 years later.
The drought coincides with the beginning of the Medieval Warm Period, thought to have been caused by a decrease in volcanic ash in the atmosphere and an increase in solar activity.
Previous studies have shown that the Mayans’ deforestation may have also contributed.
Deforestation tends to decrease the amount of moisture and destabilize the soil.
Additional theories for the cause of the drought include changes to the atmospheric circulation and decline in tropical cyclone frequency, Evans said.
Matthew Lachniet, a professor of geosciences at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, who was not involved in the study, said the quantification of the drought is important because it illustrates the power of natural climate variability alone.
https://ottawasun.com/news/world/ancient-lake-holds-secrets-to-mayan-civilizations-mysterious-collapse/wcm/c859785d-6142-4ba4-9ce7-8ba86e19305c
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The NEM widget seem to have vanished from the renew economy site since the redesign of the home page.
40
5 Aug: VIDEO: 5mins19secs: Fox News: Tom Fitton reacts to FBI document dump on Christopher Steele
The FBI released 71 pages of redacted documents tied to the bureau’s relationship with Christopher Steele; Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton weighs in on ‘Fox & Friends.’
http://video.foxnews.com/v/5818237121001/?#sp=show-clips
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There was a conspiracy by Hilary Clinton campaign team, the Democratic National Convention and the FBI and DOJ to spy on Donald Trump.
All are openly Trump’s enemies and they lied to the judge not least by omission about the reason for the surveillance. Steele was the paid informer working for everyone and while declared not reliable, the FBI used him to get a court order for electronic surveillance of Trump. The FBI quotes Steele twice, once as his own inpendenent corroboration.
Watergate. Mueller should be investigating crooked Hillary. 40 people went to jail over Watergate. This could be the same size. It’s doubtful that anyone believes Comey and Lynch and bothClintons are innocent. However Hollywood is throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Trump but 88% of Republicans believe Trump. If against tradition the Republicans hang on in the mid term elections, it will because of this unbelievable and hysterical assault on the President on the United States, his staff and friends. Often for policies like gun control and child separation which were part of the Obama and Clinton administrations.
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It looks like Labor States will refuse Turnbull’s Emissions Intensity Scheme mislabelled as the National Energy Guarantee, simply to be against their traditional enemy. In fact it is everything they want, pure Labor/Green policy from the most popular Labor/Green PM in history.
Of course GetUP and the Greens want 100% renewables but will settle for 50%. Turnbull will offer 25% but also the requirement to buy carbon certificates from overseas, $100Million fines for electricity using industry and another layer of public servants to police electricity users. Everyone will get electric cars.
All this is so farcical as Australia through coal and iron ore is the world’s biggest exporter of CO2 making materials, but we are the most innocent as we refuse to make CO2 pollution ourselves. Through this absurd hyprocrisy, we will stay cool while the rest of the planet boils, apparently. We will drive around powered by the wind and sun and everyone will work for the government on record wages. We do not need farmers, cattle will be banned and water will go uphill. It’s too bad our money will not buy anything and most of it goes to pay interest on our debts.
200 years to build the lucky Country. 10 years to turn it into another Pacific island like Nauru. Most of our guano though is in Canberra.
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Just one point, Donald Horne referred to us as the lucky country in a satirical sense, our politicians are pathetic.
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We will be required to use community owned EV and private ownership will be discouraged.
Over time we will not be allowed the freedom to travel without permit or prohibitively expensive road tolls using EV GPS to collect from our government toll department monitoring.
ICEV will be forced off the showroom floors and roads, including already owned and registered vehicles.
Agenda 21, Agenda 30 and to be announced Agenda 40 maybe?
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Sebastian Gorka answers fake news leading questions from Matt Frei about Donald Trump on Channel 4. Another absolute pasting comparable only to Jordan Peterson’s vs Cathy Newman on the BBC.
All Russia and racism and the righteousness of the British media. Global Warming did not get a mention.
What is really odd is that the US and British media feel justified in attacking, insulting and vilifying the US President on every possible subject. What happened to respect, not least for the democratic process? Then as Delingpole says, their argument is that communism is fine, it just hasn’t been done properly, not in Russia, Cambodia, Cuba. So Venezuela is a roaring success? My fear is that Australia is rich in energy like Venezuela where people now do not have enough to eat. It’s what happens when politicians help themselves.
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TdeF –
that would be veteran BBC hack, Matt Frei.
now to ExtremeFakeNewsCNN
5 Aug: CNN: Our climate plans are in pieces as killer summer shreds records
By Angela Dewan
Deadly fires have scorched swaths of the Northern Hemisphere this summer, from California to Arctic Sweden and down to Greece on the sunny Mediterranean. Drought in Europe has turned verdant land barren, while people in Japan and Korea are dying from record-breaking heat.
Climate change is here and is affecting the entire globe — not just the polar bears or tiny islands vulnerable to rising sea levels — scientists say…
Remarkably, scientists can now work out in just a matter of days how much human-induced climate change has had to do with a particular weather event, using a combination of observation, historical data and current information from weather stations…
Scientists have been able to use this kind of modeling for more than a decade, but improved technology now allows them to do it nearly in real time, letting people understand the links between what they are seeing and climate change…
And last year also saw US President Donald Trump announce his plan to pull the US from the Paris Agreement, in a striking blow to global action on climate change…
After the US was hit with several catastrophic hurricanes, the number of people who felt global warming was affecting US weather “a lot” leaped to 33% last October from 25% in May, five months earlier. That number went back down when winter came and extreme weather events subsided…
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/04/world/climate-change-deadly-summer-wxc-intl/index.html
PIECE HAS VIDEOS ON AUTOPLAY:
1: Obama: Climate Change may Define the Century
2: Neil Degrasse Tyson, with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria: Irma, Harvey and Climate Change
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re CNN’s Angela Dewan:
Twitter: Angela Dewan, Digital news producer @CNNI London. Before: Online News Editor, AFP London; Dep. News Editor AFP Jakarta
(LEAVES OUT STINTS WITH AMNESTY, VOICE OF AMERICA. LINKEDIN EDUCATION: University of Sydney, Bachelor of Arts, Music and Spanish 2002-2004)
TWEET: Angela Dewan: We’re having a killer summer, yet our global plan for combatting climate change is a mess. In 2017, carbon levels were at an all-time high, spending on fossil fuels rose, while investment in renewables dropped. My story on @CNNI
reply: Jeremy Poynton:
UK. 650 deaths from heat, Summer 2018
UK. 40K+ deaths from cold, Winter 2017/18
(FEW REPLIES, BUT ALL SCATHING)
(NO SURPRISE, ANGELA LOVES LIZ ALDERMAN’S NYT ARTICLE ABOUT HOW LEFT/COMMUNISTS & FAR LEFT MIRACULOUSY REVIVED THE PORTUGUESE ECONOMY AS POSTED IN COMMENT #42. LOL)
TWEET: Angela Dewan: European officials are now admitting that Portugal may have found a better response to the crisis. Great read via @NYTimes
https://twitter.com/angeladewan?lang=en
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It seems from what Ive observed in the USA, that CNN is very much on the nose…..
No one seems to give them any cred any more…they might as well shut down, no one listens to them any more…
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Jim Carrey does. He needs them for inspiration for his artistic output. It seems he was well cast in Dumb and Dumber.
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As reported on Breitbart, (man made) Climate Change is also both racist and sexist, selecting out vulnerable races and women and children for punishment. Is there no evil Western democratic CO2 cannot perform? Oh, the humanity.
Still we export our coal and iron ore without a care for the women, children and non white non Christian people. We need to be punished. Luckily we have Turnbull and Shorten and Di Natale and Bishop and Daniel Andrews to make us pay for our sins against the planet. Wind power. That will save us. We will float to work on the wind. Who needs manufacturers and farmers anyway?
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And how will refer to Mother Nature?
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Gaia. Ask Tim Flannery. We have to go back to Greek mythology to understand how primitive the science free Greens are, how they understand the world in terms of animist and ancient religions. So much for the Englightenment. Closer to druidism than any idea of science.
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The left-biased MSM are at war with Trump. They clearly hate him and will create as much fake news as necessary to destroy Trump and put back a leftist leader to continue the march to some kind of Orwellian groupthink cesspool. That’s one area where we are ahead of the US. We are well along that path with Turnbull/Shorten.
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The only difference between Turncoat and Shortionideas is that under Labor, the bad stuff just happens faster….
Both parties are owned by the globalists….
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True. Some prefer we get there faster to get it over and done with.
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BTW CNN’s Angela Dewan, described below as “freelance journalist”, (altho her LinkedIn states she has been with CNN since April 2016), signed the petition designed to censor cartoonist, the late Bill Leak:
Aug 2016: New Matilda: Journalists, Writers, Academics Sign Open Letter Condemning Bill Leak Cartoon
The statement reads:
“We are journalists, writers, photographers, artists, publishers and others who work in the media and communications industries. Signatories also include journalism, media and communications researchers and academics…”…ETC
Among the signatures are a number of prominent journalist and educators including Editor of the Koori Mail Rudi Maxwell, Meanjin editor Jonathan Green, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism Professor Margaret Simons, as well as Celeste Liddle, Dr Anita Heiss, Jenna Price, and Wendy Bacon.
A number of New Matilda’s columnists have signed the letter, as well as Publisher and Editor Chris Graham.
Croakey are now encouraging further journalist and communication workers to come forward and sign on to the statement…
The full list of signatories is below.
INCLUDES ANGELA DEWAN, FREELANCE JOURNALIST
https://newmatilda.com/2016/08/09/media-workers-sign-open-letter-condemning-racist-bill-leak-cartoon/
Angela gives a shout-out to Fairfax, hoping they’ll fight to “keep the bar from falling”!
26 Jul: TWEET: Angela Dewan: RIP Fairfax. Feel for my journalist friends there today. But they’re a good bunch and hopefully can fight to keep the bar from falling.
(LINKS TO GUARDIAN)
https://twitter.com/angeladewan/status/1022395261249830912
find anything credible in the following?
6 Aug: SMH: ‘The time for excuses is over’: Energy ultimatum delivered to states
By Eryk Bagshaw; with Peter Hannam
A high-powered coalition of business, energy and agricultural groups have laid down the gauntlet to Labor state governments, demanding they pass the National Energy Guarantee this week or voters will pay the price…
The ultimatum from the Business Council of Australia, National Farmers’ Federation, Australian Energy Council and three other lobby groups warns “households cannot afford the costs of yet another cycle of political sparring, indecision and inaction”…
Modelling released by the Kerry Schott-chaired Energy Security Board last week forecast households will save $550 a year on their power bills from 2020-21 to 2029-30, including $150 each year as a direct result of the NEG after years of soaring power prices.
A substantial amount of the savings are expected come from a forecast 45 per cent fall in wholesale energy prices…
Labor is concerned the NEG will lock a future government into the Turnbull government’s target of reducing emissions by 26-28 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030. It wants to be able to increase that to 45 per cent if it wins the federal election before May next year…
Business Council of Australia chief Jennifer Westacott said disagreements about emissions reduction ambitions were putting future economic prosperity at risk.
“For the first time in a decade we have a policy on the table that puts both affordability and reliability at the centre of the debate, alongside reducing emissions to meet our international commitments,” she said.
“Make no mistake, it will be the Australian community and businesses that to pay the price if the COAG Energy Council plays politics with NEG.”…
The six peak bodies – who represent 80 per cent of Australia’s economic output – warned consumers would pay for more delays…
While the business peak bodies generally support the NEG policy, environment groups and many climate scientists have said the emissions targets do not go far enough.
National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simson said an end to the policy paralysis was urgent to help farmers bounce back once the drought sweeping large parts of the country was broken…
“We need an emissions target that is there to support natural investment to make sure the market can dictate where investment goes not political forces.”…
“If we get a landing that will give policy certainty and that will allow reinvestment in the market,” said KPMG power and utilities lead analyst Cassandra Hogan.
“If we aren’t able to get that landed this week that will be a blow for investor confidence”…
The states and territories must provide unanimous support for it to proceed. They have raised concerns the negotiations will be shot down next week in the Coalition party room if it does get through the Council of Australian Governments on Friday…
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-time-for-excuses-is-over-energy-ultimatum-delivered-to-states-20180805-p4zvm3.html
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Fairfax’s Eryk Bagshaw 2 days ago. record numbers hit the snowfields, but everyone desperate to find customers! India and China to the rescue? Xi “asks” then “orders”. quite amusing:
4 Aug: SMH: The ‘triple threat’ facing Australia’s snow economy
By Eryk Bagshaw
The towns of Jindabyne, Bright and Jamieson are watching. Their homes, shops and cafes depend on a victory for a multi-billion dollar industry against the tide of climate change…
It has been nearly 30 years since the Bureau of Meteorology measured three metres of snow in the Australian alps. It used to hit that mark up to twice a decade until the 1990s…
By 2050 the average Australian snow season could be between 20 and 55 days shorter under a low risk scenario modelled by the CSIRO.
But there have never been more skiers or snowboarders heading to Perisher, Thredbo or Falls Creek.
Mt Buller in Victoria doesn’t have enough restaurants, carparks or toilets to meet demand.
“The gate is closed at 10 in the morning and people can’t get in,” said Australia Ski Areas Association chief Colin Hackworth.
Once derided as “fake snow,” man made snow has become so efficient that the entire snow economy is now dependent on it…
University of Canberra researcher Dr Tracey Dickson said the record 2.2 million visitors the Australian snow resorts had last year masked a broader trend…
“Snow resorts are facing a triple threat: climate change, changing leisure patterns and declining participation from an ageing population,” Dr Dickson said.
“So how do you get more people into resorts that have large infrastructure commitments?”…
Dr Dickson said the Chinese and Indian markets and their Australian diaspora could provide the answer…
(Snow store) Rhythm hired a Hindi speaker during the past two seasons to convert tourists with a snow fascination into skiers and snowboarders…
PIC: Chinese President Xi Jinping has ***asked 300 million people to take up snow sports.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ***ordered 300 million of his countrymen and women to take up snow sports before the next Winter Olympics in Chongli, north-west of Beijing in 2022…
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-triple-threat-facing-australia-s-snow-economy-20180802-p4zv5e.html
“fake snow”/”fake news”?
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Under the coming LIA, the ski resorts will be overwhelmed with natural “fake” snow….
We really have hit a new low point with human gullibility and stupidity…the only problem with a mass delusion is that people who aren’t using their grey matter will do as they are told without thinking.
In effect, we do have a real zombie apocalypse. The danger isn’t from terrorism, its from your own neighbours who history shows, can be coaxed into a “zombie” state, by the State, into doing all manner of unspeakable things – look at the former Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe, Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, Communist China….
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Hope this is not a repeat:
http://www.drroyspencer.com/wp-content/uploads/UAH_LT_1979_thru_July_2018_v6.jpg
UAH shows lower troposphere July average a whopping 0.32C above the 30 year average. If Europe is abnormally hot then there must be a few places that are abnormally cold. Maybe WA was to blame for not doing the right thing:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-01/wild-weather-hits-perth-with-wind-gusts-up-to-125/10060030
The average global surface temperature is about 15C. It is interesting that the 10 cities with “perfect” weather average 24C:
https://themysteriousworld.com/cities-with-best-weather-year-round/
So we need about 9C temperature rise to get the global average into the perfect range. After 40 years of serious global warming we have only managed a lousy 0.32C. If we can maintain this trend the earth could see the “perfect” average temperature within 1000 to 2000 years. Not sure if there is enough carbon to achieve that but at least China is doing its fair share.
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Interesting archeological report from tomb excavations near Stonehenge, proving that the builders of the monument grew up in Wales. The stones are from Welsh mines but now so are the people. What was interesting is that the ratio of two isotopes of Strontium varies between the districts and this could determine that the bones absorbed their atoms from Wales. Radio carbon dating with C14 gave the age of the bones. Now Strontium gives the origin of the people.
Now you can also use C14 to date the CO2 in the air and there is almost no fossil fuel CO2 in the air. Still, this never gets reported. It is absolute proof that mankind has not and therefore cannot change the levels of CO2. So all this man made CO2 business is nonsense. Like bleaching of the Great Barrier reef, the crown of thorns starfish, the cycles of droughts and flooding rains, it is all natural cyclical variation.
So why is the world spending trillions in a futile and after 30 years failed attempt to control CO2? Why is invisible and harmless and essential CO2 dirty? What is the Paris Accord really about? Why did we ratify it immediately when Donald Trump was elected? Is that why Malcolm Turnbull was given the job?
Our first priorities must be to leave the Paris Accord, repeal the RET and dismantle all the windmill and solar machinery. Governments must stop stealing from the people, whether to fund their elections (Victoria), fill their pockets (Victoria) or make coal power incredibly expensive and make windmill owners rich (RET).
We could also ask those politicians who took wages and costs for years while being potentially or really foreign citizens should pay the money back. That was theft too.
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Answer: Socialist new world order and one world government, an EU with states not member nations.
The Socialist Fabian new world order of the late 1800s implemented using the United Nations as headquarters with branch organisations to oversee the various agenda items and supervise the now member nations of the UN until achieved via compliant elected governments and like minded politicians deceiving the voter citizens.
Socialism masquerading as environmentalism is but one tactic.
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“Chairman Mal drops $.5BN on GBRF whim – listen to his bullshit on why farmers have to wait”
http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2018/08/chairman-mal-drops-5bn-on-gbrf-whim-listen-to-his-bullshit-on-why-farmers-have-to-wait.html
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Without reading: Because farmers in Indonesia needed the financial assistance more than Australian farmers?
sarcasm.
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And more
“Mr Harbourside Mansion pretending to feel farmers pain”
http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2018/08/mr-harbourside-mansion-pretending-to-feel-farmers-pain.html
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-08-06/virtual-reef-diver-great-barrier-reef/10069510
Be a virtual reef diver…..monitoring for “climate change”?
Didn’t they just hand out 433 million to do this? Should they hand the money back then?
“It’s fair to say that with all the bad news we hear about the Great Barrier Reef, many of us are left feeling powerless to know what to do.
But a new project called Virtual Reef Diver, led by a collaborative team of scientists and featured by the ABC during Science Week, is calling for people all across Australia to help out — by classifying underwater reef images from their own loungerooms.
By volunteering your time to identify coral, algae or sand, you can help scientists get as much information as possible about the Great Barrier Reef.
………….
“We’re asking people to identify hard coral, soft coral, algae, sand and so on.”
That information can then be turned into useful data, according to Erin Peterson, a spatial scientist from QUT and the project leader for Virtual Reef Diver.
“Behind the scenes, that data gets sucked into a model and we use that to make predictions of coral cover across the Great Barrier Reef,” she said.”
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One of several points needing explanation is why a budgeted item spread over 7-years was granted in this financial year in full?
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I don’t even know these guys, but it’s hilarious how they are out to prove who really, really cares about the Reef. the CAGW mob fighting each other?
read the back and forth, incl document showing Today prog did have some Foundation funding for a particular program or whatever:
Twitter: Hugh Riminton
Dear Karl, might it have been appropriate to mention that @GBRFoundation has been a TODAY show event sponsor? There is some strength in old principles.
https://twitter.com/hughriminton/status/1025626166021910528
6 Aug: New Idea: Karl Stefanovic in bitter new public feud
Things turned ugly.
by Georgia Mars
Karl Stefanovic and Hugh Riminton have lashed out in a bitter public feud.
Stefanovic endorsed a Barrier Reef charity, Great Barrier Reef Foundation, on Sunday, and Riminton claimed the 43-year-old television host had no ‘journalistic principles.’
Karl wrote to Twitter, ‘The @GBRFoundation deserves and will use every cent in its arsenal to save the reef.
‘I’ve no doubt their research into reef DNA and conservation is the key. Let’s give them supporting space to prove it.’
Twitter users were quick to notice that Karl’s intentions may not have been genuine, with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation being a sponsor for the Today Show’s We Love Australia trip last year.
Hugh Riminton tweeted a response to the Today host, questioning his ‘principles’.
Hugh addressed Karl directly, writing: ‘Dear Karl, might it have been appropriate to mention that @GBRFoundation has been a TODAY show event sponsor? There is some strength in old principles.’…
https://www.newidea.com.au/karl-stefanovic-and-hugh-riminton-in-bitter-public-feud
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comment in moderation re Great Barrier Reef Foundation media feud.
***if you click on the link to the poll in the following, u get Flinders News (Fairfax/ACM) article with a tiny Fairfax online poll. click “view results” & u get the 83% in favour, but NO INDICATION WHATSOEVER AS TO HOW MANY PEOPLE VOTED! what a laugh.
6 Aug: RenewEconomy: Why did South Australia council reject solar, wind hydrogen hub?
by David Clarke
I live in the Mid-North of South Australia in an area with the greatest concentration of wind power in the country; there are eight wind farms with 463 turbines within 70 kilometres of my house in Crystal Brook.
The nearby northern Spencer Gulf has also been in the news recently:
Whyalla because of Sanjeev Gupta’s rescue of the steel works,and the proposed thousand megawatts of solar PV and pumped hydro proposals, and …
Port Augusta with mayor Sam Johnson’s video publicising 13 renewable energy projects involving five billion dollars of private investment in the vicinity of the city.
The third Spencer Gulf city, Port Pirie, is another story.
After vacillating for some time, the council unanimously voted in June to oppose the very innovating proposed Crystal Brook Energy Park which, if built, will be within five kilometres of my house.
The Crystal Brook Energy Park – labeled a battery and hydrogen hub – would include a wind farm, a solar farm, a big battery, possibly a hydrogen generator and has an estimated investment value of around a half billion dollars. It is proposed by Neoen Australia, the owners of the nearby Hornsdale wind farm and Tesla big battery.
For a council in a small rural city to oppose a half-billion dollar project in a region desperate for employment is remarkable enough, perhaps especially so in the case of a renewable energy development.
But Council’s opposition reaches the point of weirdness when one considers that the only poll to test the local feeling for the development showed an 83% approval rating…
I can only say that it is very fortunate that the decision on the CBEP’s future is with the state government rather than the Port Pirie Regional Council, and early indications are that the new Liberal government is as well disposed to renewable energy as was the previous Labor government.
***The poll can be seen by clicking here; to see the result click on ‘view results’.
The newspaper that ran the poll back in March, The Flinders News, did not print the results. The editor told me that he was going to print the results on 2018/08/01, he didn’t.
My strong impression is that the staff of the Finders News generally favours the opposition to the energy park. I suspect that they ran the poll hoping that it would be show that those opposed to the project would be in a majority. When it went the other way they decided not to print the results…
https://reneweconomy.com.au/why-did-south-australia-council-reject-solar-wind-hydrogen-hub-33306/
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It seems the spirit of economy killing is alive and well in that area….
What else logically coukd it be?
00
5 Aug: Daily Caller: New York Spent $5 Million On Wind Turbines That Don’t Even Work
by Jason Hopkins
New York state spent millions on a lauded wind project several years ago, but most of the turbines now stand idle as officials wait to repair malfunctioning parts.
The New York State Thruway Authority — the governing body of a major toll highway that runs across the state — has taken part in New York’s attempts to transition to renewable energy. From 2013 to 2015, the authority built five wind turbines along the thruway in the western corner of the state.
The project was expensive, with the five windmills costing $4.8 million and another $500,000 for design expenditures. The authority believed that the turbines would pay for themselves, saving as much as $420,000 annually on energy bills.
However, the project did not go as planned. Of the five turbines that are dotted across the thruway from Eden, New York to the Pennsylvania state line, four aren’t even spinning.
“They are currently offline waiting for replacement parts and/or maintenance,” thruway authority spokeswoman Jennifer Givner said, according to Buffalo News (LINK).
“We’re working with the manufacturer to get replacement parts.”
Between October 2017 and January 2018, all the turbines except for one were taken offline. The issue appears to stem from inoperable parts made from Vergnet, a French renewable energy company that declared itself insolvent a year ago.
The lifespan of a windmill typically spans 20 to 25 years, but these turbines began to break down in less than three.
Notably, the one-and-only working turbine involved in the botched Authority project was built with parts made by Northern Power Systems, a Vermont-based company.
The authority does not know when they will get the new parts or when the turbines will be operational again.
The project was part of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s push for more wind energy. The Democratic governor, a major proponent of climate change policies, hopes to completely eliminate coal from the state’s energy mix by 2020 and has made major investments in wind energy projects.
http://dailycaller.com/2018/08/05/new-york-wind-turbines-dont-work/
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It seems once some people realized they coukd get huge handouts for delivering nothing, they stuck thier souts in the trough….
Dont you love Socialism? Remibds me of the Socialist EU that pays farmers to produce nothing…..
00
can’t vouch for this analysis, but remember to read the comments:
6 Aug: RenewEconomy: NEG promises death of wind and solar, and even battery storage
by Simon Holmes à Court
(Simon Holmes à Court is senior advisor to the Climate and Energy College at Melbourne University and can be found on Twitter @simonahac)
The ministers have been given little opportunity to understand this complex beast. The “Final detailed design” paper — which is neither final nor detailed — was released just five days ago. A worksheet with many of the numbers behind the modelling was published late on Friday. The devil is still very much in the yet-to-be-developed detail…
Last Tuesday 23 energy researchers from 11 universities wrote to the state energy ministers (LINK) asking for the release of “the ACIL Allen modelling [of the NEG] in full, including all assumptions … and to provide access to the modelling team” so that the work may be properly peer reviewed — a fair ask given that the NEG is the most significant change to the National Electricity Market since its implementation in 1996…
The following is a summary of the published NEG model results — despite the name, there is no “guarantee” within the NEG, and nor can there be of any model’s results…
Even though there’s an emissions intensity scheme (EIS) at the heart of the NEG — shhhhh! — it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the emissions intensity barely moves once the NEG comes into effect in 2021…READ ON
https://reneweconomy.com.au/neg-promises-death-of-wind-and-solar-and-even-battery-storage-83047/
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5 Aug: Daily Hampshire Gazette: Editorial: Resident concerns about solar projects need to be taken seriously
Across western Massachusetts, sizeable tracts of land are being cleared for the installation of solar photovoltaic systems. The rapid development of this renewable energy source is being encouraged and supported by state and federal policies, programs and tax incentives. One such initiative is the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, which provides incentives to promote cost-effective solar development in the state.
Among the biggest projects under review in Hampshire County are in Belchertown where two companies, Syncarpha Community Solar of New York and BlueWave Solar of Boston, each plan to build approximately 50-acre solar arrays near Gulf Road and North Street on land owned by W.D. Cowls Inc. In addition to promoting renewable energy, the projects’ proponents say there will be approximately $1.6 million in payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for the town over 20 years.
Opponents of the 5- and 7.5-megawatt projects say they are concerned about the impact on the environment and quality of life, as well as preserving the area’s scenic beauty. Clearing trees could cause stormwater runoff issues, increase soil erosion, disrupt wildlife and potentially cause groundwater contamination, they argue. A group called Citizens for Responsible Land Use is calling for an assessment of the Belchertown projects by a professional biologist, the creation of new solar zoning bylaws and, at a special Town Meeting Aug. 20, a vote to reverse the town’s PILOT agreement with Syncarpha Solar.
There are similar concerns among residents in Westhampton where that town is reviewing a proposal by CVE North America, a French energy producer that plans to build a nearly 5-megawatt solar facility on about 20 acres off Montague and North roads. The company says it has targeted states like Massachusetts and New York because of their policies promoting renewable energy. The project would require as many as 14 acres of forest to be cleared for the installation of more than 17,000 solar panels. The land is owned by Kurt Meehan of Agawam, who said he had been contacted by about 10 solar companies with proposals.
The project in Westhampton falls outside the town’s solar photovoltaic district and is being reviewed by town officials as some residents warn of negative environmental impacts. Elvira Loncto, of the town’s Conservation Commission, described the proposal as “a huge project in a small town.”…
Other solar photovoltaic systems are being eyed or built in areas of Northampton, Deerfield, Williamsburg and Shutesbury, to name some…
Certainly there are financial benefits for cities and towns, their residents and businesses, in discounted electricity rates and tax revenues. And certainly there are impacts to the environment, where some of these projects are being built around wetlands, streams and vernal pools, and along wildlife corridors, for example.
Local officials who are reviewing such projects must balance these competing interests as they make important decisions. In doing so, we urge them to listen closely and take seriously the concerns of residents who, unlike the companies who build and own these solar facilities, must live with them.
https://www.gazettenet.com/Editorial-19222993
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Strong El Nino causes US wind drought, no due diligence.
https://s2s4e.eu/newsroom/news/2015-wind-drought-paper
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6 Aug: SouthChinaMorningPost: Shares of Chinese solar panel maker GCL expected to face selling pressure after asset-sale talks collapse
Hong Kong-listed shares of GCL Poly Energy, the world’s largest solar panel materials maker, could face selling pressure on Monday after talks to sell 51 per cent of its principal subsidiary to state-backed power generation equipment maker Shanghai Electric Group for up to 12.75 billion yuan (around US$1.9 billion) collapsed.
The demise of the stake sale deals a blow to debt-laden GCL’s attempt to raise funds to cut debt, and Shanghai Electric’s plan to further diversify away from its fossil fuel-driven business.
“In view of the size and complexity of the transaction, the parties found it difficult to reach a full agreement on the relevant terms and plans for the potential disposal in a short time frame,” GCL said in a filing to Hong Kong’s stock exchange late on Friday.
For GCL, controlled by mainland tycoon Zhu Gongshan, the intended disposal would have allowed it to declare a “special” dividend after not having declared any dividend since 2015, improve its financial health and ease solvency concerns, said Daiwa Ip, head of Hong Kong and China utilities equities research at Daiwa Capital Market in a report.
Ip said the deal would allow GCL to cut its net debt-to-shareholder equity ratio which stood at an elevated level of 187 per cent at the end of last year…
GCL’s shares surged 9.2 per cent a day after the share sale was unveiled. Since the start of the year the shares have fallen 53 per cent due to rapidly falling prices and overcapacity of polysilicon and solar wafer. GCL is the world’s biggest producer of both materials by capacity…
https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2158358/shares-chinese-solar-panel-maker-gcl-expected-face-selling
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comment in moderation re: 6 Aug: SouthChinaMorningPost: Shares of Chinese solar panel maker GCL expected to face selling pressure after asset-sale talks collapse
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After watching this I think I now get what the left are actually planning. They are using reverse psychology and actually want Russia to take over the US with a silent revolution. I think the will have a civil war on their hands if they try that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dy26HE28Gc
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‘EnergyAustralia has almost trebled its first-half operating earnings as it took advantage of higher wholesale electricity prices but its Hong Kong-listed parent has advised of softer prices ahead as well as increasing pressure on retail margins.’
Fin Review
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Many warmists like to claim that the MWP (Medieval Warm Period) was ONLY regional. As if that means that it is not important.
But what these warmists don’t realise, is that the present day global warming is ONLY regional, as well.
Can I prove that? Of course I can. I divided the earth up into 8 equal sized areas, by latitude. They were:
90N to 48N, 48N to 30N, 30N to 14N, 14N to Equator, Equator to 14S, 14S to 30S, 30S to 48S, and 48S to 90S
As you move from north to south, the warming rate decreases consistently. From +3.98, to +2.53, to +1.99, to +1.63, to +1.61, to +1.29, to +1.07, to +0.26 (all in degrees Celsius per century).
Look at the brightly coloured Global Warming Contour Maps, which show the decreasing warming rates from north to south, as colours. They go left to right, and top to bottom. Look at the legend, to see what warming rates each colour represents.
I will put full sized versions of these contour maps on my website, when I have time. Until then, enjoy the eye candy:
https://i1.wp.com/agree-to-disagree.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Regions-8-equal-sized-areas-by-latitude.png
Here is the legend:
https://i0.wp.com/agree-to-disagree.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/legend.png
My website is:
https://agree-to-disagree.com
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How is it that no one in the media stands up for the President of the United states. The foul abuse coming from Hollywood is amazing.
Not in the history of the United States has a President of the US been so publicly abused? For what? Having a different opinion?
As for Kathy Griffin and the attacks on Trump’s family, wife and children they could not go any lower. This on prime time. These people so concerned for the rights of others have total contempt for Democracy, elections and feel free to abuse. Such vileness was never applied to Kennedy, Nixon, the Bushes or the saintly Clintons, despite their many transgressions.
The hatred of the media for Trump, the hatred of the actors and singers and night time comedians seems to have no bounds of decency at all? Not everyone thought either Clinton was a saint, but why do Griffin and say Carrey feel they can abuse, threaten and belittle the President. No one pulls them up on it. The only punishment seems to be withdrawal of advertising. If a conservative says anything at all, they lose their job instantly. Roseanne Barr lost her job for a single tweet. It is career suicide to fight back.
The same in Australia. The violent criminals on the left, in the Unions and in the mobs which threaten speakers are not charged with affray but a conservative gets the bill for holding these people at bay. They can shut down the city and the police do nothing. Why? The only parallel you can draw is with the Brown shirts and Black shirts of Hitler and Mussolini, violence approved by the state.
The same with Geoffrey Blainey, Keith Windschuttle, Andrew Bolt, Peter Ridd, all thrown out and Bolt and Abbott attacked in public for daring to speak or tell the truth. The attack on Abbott was approved by Prime Minister Gillard and one of her staff and involved the ABC. It was criminal.
Never in my lifetime has there been such abuse of an American President, even in the UK. Without the Americans they would be speaking German and we would be speaking Japanese. Who is behind this abuse and why does Hollywood feel that it is appropriate? What heinous crime has Trump committed? Being elected?
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Censorship rules have been crushed and rewritten to suit self appointed trustees of “truth”, in reality we’re seeing the ugly face of the political lefts moral compass, one that gives no direction and spins when something true presents itself.
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The ‘noble lie’ of leftist utopian engineers( with themselves
as helmsmen,) justifies any action to bring about the end of
parliamentary democracy, the US a particular target….the
Long March through the institutions by stealth, Gramsci/Alinsky
Rules for Radicals, undermining the nation state,subverting the
non-fiat,legal system and electoral laws, promoting ‘cognitive
make -over of students in education via ‘internalized learning
to develop an amenable society.
The UN and George Soros work to undermine the nation state by
pushing treaties, conventions and protocols to by pass democratic parliamentary constraints on centralized authority. Laws at the
UN are created by 15 judges of the International Court of Law,
up to half of whom come from non-democracies. Soros misnamed
‘Open Society ‘ organization funds anti-democratic organizations
including ANTIFA disrupting Trump speeches and other free speech
meetings. Here’s one of many links to Soros connections.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/11/heres-proof-soros-money-funding-anti-trump-leftist-protest-riots/
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Latest Pointman
“Turd level educashun”
https://thepointman.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/turd-level-educashun/
And the previous one on Trump and Putin
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We’re with AGL (they’re all bad) and I finally received our Energy Insights which is,
We’re excited to introduce Energy Insights, a powerful new service offering you greater visibility and helping you to take control of your electricity usage. Best of all? It’s totally free.
We’ve developed smart technology that estimates how much energy you use in your home on heating, cooling, lighting, laundry, standby and more.
The estimated energy use by appliance was broken down as,
We estimate that 26% of your usage went towards heating your home.*
Heating Heating
(incl. electricity to run fans in ducted gas systems) $97
Lighting Lighting
$85
Standby Standby and always on
$42
Cooking Cooking
$41
Fridge Fridges & freezers
$32
Entertainment Home entertainment
$29
Laundry Laundry & dishwasher
$21
Anything else Anything else
$19
I only allowed this insight by AGL out of curiosity of what they could monitor through our smart meter, the lighting cost is a joke as we have led lighting throughout the house which will use stuff all power, anyone else who’s done this I’d be interested to hear.
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Oh there is an admission of flaws,
*We use your smart meter data, home profile info, weather, and other data to estimate your energy costs by appliance. Appliance usage estimates are not 100% accurate, and may differ from actual consumption and costs. You can learn more about each appliance category and how they’re calculated. See our Terms of Use for important information.
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Also the option to do a Complete Home Profile to give a more personalised breakdown of our energy use, so by doing this a future acceptance of appliance control by AGL when the grid goes south is on the cards?
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Standby Standby and always on
$42
I’m sceptical of this. LED clocks use SFA [sweet fanny Adams] and power packs only needed a bit of thought and a diode or two to draw virtually nothing. They did that ages ago. In sleep mode a Mac, and I assume PCs, draw just one watt.
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Isn’t that why its called virtue signalling?
Deriving maximum smug satisfaction from steps that will do virtually nothing.
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AGL is excited to bring you Energy Insights, a totally useless piece of technology which provides a breakdown of your electricity use based on a guess by someone in AGL (or their IT contractor). The numbers may or may not (most likely not) bear any resemblance to your actual usage and may provide no “insights” at all.
We are excited!! are you with us??
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How dumb do you need to be to need a smart meter? (Convenience of a cordless, head-up display aside).
Energy used (kWh) = power rating (kW) x time it’s been running (hours).
Far simpler & more more accurate than all the any number of smart estimates.
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Major dams do nothing for graziers [ranchers].
I’ve been watching Bolt and the Outsiders and both lament our failure to build major dams. They are also trotting out the Bradfield Scheme, which could possibly [at a cost similar to Snowy II I would assume] water some farms on the black soil plains. These schemes can water irrigated farms and “turn the north into the world’s food basket” but our broad acre grazing industry cannot water their thousands of acres. The distances for water to be channelled and the amount needed are impossible.
When we get these droughts we have two choices: Allow our grazing industry to die and import Argentinian beef or to help them survive. If they are not offered aid they should not pay tax in good years.
There ya go, I’m an agrarian socialist. [I think]
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I’d still like the extra dams.
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comment still in moderation re: SouthChinaMorningPost: Shares of Chinese solar panel maker GCL expected to face selling pressure after asset-sale talks collapse
6 Aug: CaixinGlobal: Solar Company’s Stock Dims as Major Stake Sale Fizzles
By Yang Ge
Shares of solar company GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. fell sharply on Monday after the company announced the scrapping of a plan to sell a majority of its core business making polysilicon wafers to Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd.
The collapse comes shortly after China slashed its generous state support for building new solar farms, which has caused the broader market to sag and the nation’s many panel-makers to cut back output and consider layoffs.
GCL and Shanghai Electric had originally announced their plan in June, but on Friday said in separate statements they had decided to terminate the deal after failing to reach a final agreement. Under the original plan, Shanghai Electric had been preparing to buy 51% of GCL’s Jiangsu Zhongneng Polysilicon Technology Development Co. Ltd. unit in a deal that valued the unit at up to 25 billion yuan ($3.66 billion).
GCL shares fell 7.6% in Monday trade in Hong Kong, and have lost more than a quarter of their value since a brief rally following the original deal’s announcement in early June. Shares of Shanghai Electric rose by 1.6% for the day…
UBS analyst Alex Liu said the Monday sell-off of GCL’s stock may have been influenced by broader weakness in solar shares, and that many observers may have been suspicious all along that the deal wouldn’t be able to close due to GCL’s aggressive valuation…
GCL was trying to sell the unit as China’s broader solar panel sector comes under pressure due to global oversupply, exacerbated by Beijing’s recent cutbacks in state support for building of new solar farms.
The Beijing policy changes, which were announced in June shortly before the GCL deal, have led many of China’s solar panel makers to trim output and consider cutting jobs.
https://www.caixinglobal.com/2018-08-06/solar-companys-stock-dims-as-major-stake-sale-fizzles-101312209.html
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TdeF writes –
“The hatred of the media for Trump, the hatred of the actors and singers and night time comedians seems to have no bounds of decency at all” and “”Who is behind this abuse and why does Hollywood feel that it is appropriate?”
CELEBRITIES DEPEND 100% ON THE FAKENEWSMSM FOR THEIR PHONY CELEBRITY. THEY KNOW WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS AND BEHAVE ACCORDINGLY. TO DO OTHERWISE WOULD BE CAREER SUICIDE.
6 Aug: GatewayPundit: Cristina Laila: REPORT: President Trump to Declassify June 2017 Carter Page FISA Renewal App Signed By Rod Rosenstein THIS MONTH
Look for President Trump to declassify the June 2017 Carter Page FISA renewal this month, says investigative reporter, Paul Sperry.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and then-Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe both signed off on the June 2017 Carter Page FISA renewal–things could get interesting!…
President Trump may also possibly declassify the FBI’s 302 notes on 12 interviews they conducted with twice-demoted DOJ official Bruce Ohr between December 2016 – May 2017.
Via Paul Sperry: Look this month for POTUS to declassify …
— 20 redacted pages of June 2017 FISA renewal
… and possibly …
— 63 pages of emails and notes b/t Ohr & Steele
— FD-302 summaries of 12 FBI interviews w/ Ohr re Steele
… and watch Dems and media toadies become apoplectic…
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/08/report-president-trump-to-declassify-june-2017-carter-page-fisa-renewal-app-signed-by-rod-rosenstein-this-month/
Twitter: Paul Sperry
TWEET thread: Look this month for POTUS to declassify …ETC
5 Aug 2018
reply: Cheryl: It’s apparent from his tweets today …. he’s going to release all we have needed to see. God bless our @POTUS
https://twitter.com/paulsperry_/status/1026099858288136194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1026099858288136194&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2018%2F08%2Freport-president-trump-to-declassify-june-2017-carter-page-fisa-renewal-app-signed-by-rod-rosenstein-this-month%2F
TWEET: Donald J. Trump: …Why aren’t Mueller and the 17 Angry Democrats looking at the meetings concerning the Fake Dossier and all of the lying that went on in the FBI and DOJ? This is the most one sided Witch Hunt in the history of our country. Fortunately, the facts are all coming out, and fast!
5 Aug 2018
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1026086905539174400
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