UPDATE: This Friday Funny-type-curiosity turns out to be a 2007 story a reader emailed, and neither he nor I realized the story itself had been “bobbing around the internet” for the last five years. I wonder how many ducks are still out there? Thanks to MikeUK for pointing that out. – Jo
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Thousands of rubber ducks have been touring the worlds oceans for 15 20 years, and they are about to bob (probably already bobbed) up in England. They fell off a boat in the Pacific Ocean in January 1992, and while most washed up in the South Pacific, some lucky ducks got in the Subpolar Gyre (near Alaska) then frozen in Arctic ice. The pack-ice ducks moved at a mile a day and found their own North West Passage across to the Atlantic. By 2001 were doing tours over the Titanic, washing up between Maine and Massachusetts. Now their chief fan, Curtis Ebbesmeyer predicts they’ll head for the UK.
Mr Ebbesmeyer saw immediately how valuable the little toys would be to scientific research of the great ocean currents, the engine of the planet’s entire climate.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) worked out that the ducks travel approximately 50 per cent faster than the water in the current.
While researchers find the results important for studies of oceanic currents I think it’s interesting that ducks left to fend for themselves in the Arctic and North Atlantic have probably survived longer than those that fell into the hands of small children instead.
The Daily Mail has the full story
Thousands of rubber ducks to land on British shores after 15 year journey
By BEN CLERKIN
… and having been out there 15 years, they have a better idea of how the climate works than most IPCC activi- errr, scientists.
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meanwhile Sandy has become a propaganda tool for a new push for CAGW CO2 trading & Govt subsidies. here we have Republican Bloomberg – owner of Bloomberg/Newsweek – unsurprisingly endorsing Obama:
1 Nov: NYT: RAYMOND HERNANDEZ: Bloomberg Endorses Obama, Citing Climate Change
In a surprise announcement, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Thursday that Hurricane Sandy had reshaped his thinking about the presidential campaign and that as a result he was endorsing President Obama…
But he said he had decided over the past several days that Mr. Obama was the best candidate to tackle the global climate change that the mayor believes contributed to the violent storm, which took the lives of at least 38 New Yorkers and caused billions of dollars in damage…
“Our climate is changing,” he wrote. “And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it may be — given the devastation it is wreaking — should be enough to compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.”…
But Mr. Bloomberg’s endorsement was largely unexpected. (HAHAHAHAHA)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/nyregion/bloomberg-endorses-obama-saying-hurricane-sandy-affected-decision.html?_r=0
Bloomberg/Businessweek’s new cover – pic of Sandy flooding with “IT’S GLOBAL WARMING, STUPID!”:
WUWT: Helping Bloomberg understand ‘stupid’
This cover today is making the rounds in the alarmosphere, where a single storm, a single data point in the hundreds of hurricanes that have struck the USA during its history, is now apparently “proof” of global warming causing bad weather. It is just another silly example of Tabloid Climatology™…
Hurricane expert Dr. Roger Pielke Jr. says:
“The only accurate part of this Bloomberg BusinessWeek cover is “stupid”…
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/01/helping-bloomberg-understand-stupid/#more-73587
Wikipedia: Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. was founded by Michael Bloomberg with the help of Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, and Charles Zegar in 1981 and a 30% ownership investment by Merrill Lynch…
Bloomberg L.P. was formed as a Delaware Limited Partnership in 1981 and has been in business since 1983. Michael Bloomberg owns 88% of the partnership. Bloomberg’s core business is leasing terminals to subscribers. It also runs Bloomberg Television, a financial Television network, and a business radio station WBBR in New York City at a loss…
In 2009, Bloomberg acquired BusinessWeek, a consumer oriented business magazine and Web property, from McGraw-Hill…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomberg_L.P.
i repeat, CAGW is for general MSM consumption; all the real CO2 trading/public subsidy stuff is hidden behind Reuters Point Carbon’s subscription paywall and the likes of Bloomberg/Businessweek and the Financial Times. for the sake of your retirement funds and taxpayer dollars, keep a close watch on these specialist outlets.
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Pat’s links are a good reminder it is time to invoke the “handy bullshit button on disasters”, courtesy of Roger Pielke, Jr.
.
※ Anytime that you read claims that invoke disasters loss trends as an indication of human-caused climate change, including the currently popular “billion dollar disasters” meme, you can simply call “bullshit” and point to the IPCC SREX report.
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28 MARCH 2012
The full IPCC Special Report on Extremes is out today, and I have just gone through the sections in Chapter 4 that deal with disasters and climate change. Kudos to the IPCC —
★ A few quotable quotes from the report (from Chapter 4):
• “There is medium evidence and high agreement that long-term trends in normalized losses have not been attributed to natural or anthropogenic climate change”
• “The statement about the absence of trends in impacts attributable to natural or anthropogenic climate change holds for tropical and extratropical storms and tornados”
• “The absence of an attributable climate change signal in losses also holds for flood losses”
✖ The report even takes care of tying up a loose end that has allowed some commentators to avoid the scientific literature:
The siren song of linking disasters to human-caused climate change exerts a strong pull for activists in all settings, but might be countered by the widespread and judicious use of the disaster and climate change bullshit button.
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Oh so you can quote the IPCC when it’s convenient for you.
Is that how the skeptic mind works?
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Yes , because sceptics are funny like that . We like to know the details about what it is We`re agreeing/disagreeing with and may disagree/agree with various parts of said details , unlike true believers who apparently unquestioningly accept every media soundbite as holy writ as long as it has a suitably catastrophic demeanour even when it directly contradicts their bible . But then accepting on faith that two mutually exclusive statements are THE TRUTH is a feature of all religions isn`t it ?
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Someone needs to release a few hundred plastic blow-up sharks to clean these little yellow monsters up. !!
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Yeah, but then, what kind of rubber animal could we release to eat up all the rubber sharkies that have eaten all the rubber duckies?
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Ahh.. i had thought of that.
Let the inflated sharks loose ………………..(oops! there’s already lots of warmists about)
Then train up a bunch of sea urchins.
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Jeff commented on this WUWT thread:
Bloomberg Businessweek editor Josh Tyrangiel tweeted, “Our cover story this week may generate controversy, but only among the stupid.”…or deluded.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/11/01/hurricane-sandys-unprecedented-storm-surge/
bloomber/businessweek is hoping ONLY that it generates cash for the carbon cowboys.
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top NYT columnist with the most cringe-worthy article ever:
31 Oct: NYT: Nicholas D. Kristof: Will Climate Get Some Respect Now?
President Obama and Mitt Romney seemed determined not to discuss climate change in this campaign. So thanks to Hurricane Sandy for forcing the issue: Isn’t it time to talk not only about weather, but also about climate?
It’s true, of course, that no single storm or drought can be attributed to climate change…
But many scientists believe that rising carbon emissions could make extreme weather — like Sandy — more likely…
Democrats have been AWOL on climate change, but Republicans have been even more recalcitrant. Their failure is odd, because in other areas of national security Republicans pride themselves on their vigilance. Romney doesn’t want to wait until he sees an Iranian nuclear weapon before acting, so why the passivity about climate change?…
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/opinion/kristof-will-climate-get-some-respect-now.html?_r=0
so, if blowing up Iran is cool and right, why not trade carbon dioxide, using pension/Super funds & give out taxpayer subsidies to the carbon cowboys?? is that what he is saying?
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from the Hernandez/NYT Bloomberg endorses Obama article:
In a statement, Mr. Obama said he was “honored to have Mayor Bloomberg’s endorsement.” The president acknowledged Mr. Bloomberg’s chief concern, saying climate change was “a threat to our children’s future, and we owe it to them to do something about it.”
“While we may not agree on every issue,” the president added, “Mayor Bloomberg and I agree on the most important issues of our time.”…
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/nyregion/bloomberg-endorses-obama-saying-hurricane-sandy-affected-decision.html?_r=0
while some are surprised by this endorsement or, in the case of NYT, PRETENDING to be surprised by this endorsement, it is precisely what i have been illustrating with all the Bloomberg/Businessweek articles i have been able to post on this website for months. CAGW is not only a scientific scam, it is a FINANCIAL scam first and foremost. CO2 is one bubble too far.
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The best rhyming slang story ever……
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I say more power to the little ducks.
Good stuff from the WSJ.
Roger Pielke jnr states in his WSJ column that the USA is currently suffering from a hurricane drought.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204840504578089413659452702.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Just three hurricanes in one year in the 1950s would have each caused twice the damage of Sandy.
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What a fantastic story; especially coming out of an unhappy experience for the ship carrying them.
🙂
KK
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Would that qualify as the longest ever bird migration? 🙂
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.
MaxL
I think The Arctic Tern holds the record for longest migration distance flying about 30,000 km every year from the artic to the antartic.
But I think these rubby duckies will live longer?
But sadly no little rubber duckies will ever eventuate out of this mirgration.
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Completely O/T … made a comment to Ross Greenwood (I am a fan – see below), but was irked when he made an off-the-cuff remark about abolishing state royalties yesterday in his daily Money Minute segment – hopefully my comments are seen as constructive criticism:
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Hi Bulldust
As a general principle it’s a good idea to keep a reasonable proportion of the tax recovery from mining as close to the source as possible.
This would theoretical enable the locals to benefit from the taxes which is not happening here in Newcastle.
It is not all jobs and more jobs in coal mining ares; there is a lot of collateral damage from all sorts of sources, one which comes to mind is rail movements through communities near mines.
The higher up the chain these taxes are collected, the less likely we are to see local benefit and recompense from damage and hardship.
Other side of the coin is that we are a Commonwealth and some of the benefit should go to all.
Our biggest problems are out of control government rorting and lack of concern for actually applying the Commonwealth’s resources to better the country.
KK 🙂
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Simply being part of a federation isn’t justification for sharing wealth.
The Constitution expresses common interests to which members of the federation work and for which the Commonwealth government was established and given certain, but limited powers.
The underlying purpose of the federal government is to serve the interests of (the people of) the States. Not the subjugation or the diminishing of the States.
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@KK
Bulldust’ comments that the State Govts own the minerals (Territories and offshore from the low tide mark excepted) is ACCURATE, no matter what you may wish. A number of High Court decisions over the period since Federation has confirmed this
No, I’m not from WA or Q’ld
Deal with that, rather than regurgitating the lefty dream of socialising (stealing, expropriating) other people’s money. Note also that the city-based Greens/Nimbies do all they can to destroy mining projects, then turn around and demand as much money from these projects as they can gouge
If you really wish to change the current Constitution … well, good luck with that Referendum
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Earth Calling Planet Ian
Hello
Maybe you have read somebody elses comment by mistake.
I am KK.
????
🙂
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Disclaimer.
I think mining is a good thing.
I don’t think that out of control mining companies running fully loaded trains on suburban rail lines is a good thing for the people whose homes and lives are shattered by the vibration and noise.
maybe they could do the right thing and build a bypass – or is it just more economical to pay off a
few P*********s and get to use suburban tracking?
If you are a train driver in the above situation it probably explains your sensitivity to the issue as many of the local are.
I have never advocated for a referendum , where did that come from?
I want the current system to be made to work fairly in the best interest of all involved.
Bernd’s comment is quite sensible.
Deal with that?
Or Sit on it and spin?
KK
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here it is folks…
1 Nov: Fox News: George Russell: Eco-Taxes? Study Financed by U.S. Treasury Will Link Tax Code to Carbon Emissions
Coming soon: a green tax code for American businesses and individual taxpayers alike?
A major tax study currently being sponsored by the U.S. Treasury will give environmental activists a powerful new weapon in their campaign to alter the entire American economic and social landscape in the name of halting “climate change”—including the possible levying of new carbon taxes…
***(REGARDLESS)That campaign is bound to intensify in the aftermath of Nov. 6’s presidential election, regardless of who wins the race, as the nation faces the challenge of deficit reduction and tax reform that will be required to overhaul the country’s over-strained finances…
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/11/01/eco-taxes-study-financed-by-us-treasury-will-link-tax-code-to-carbon-emissions/?test=latestnews
Fox points to “environmental activists” yet we know what needs to go viral is the following to counterract the never-ending claim that CAGW sceptics are funded by BIG OIL. send the Fox piece and the following to everyone u know:
28 Oct: Forbes: Jeff McMahon: Renewables Growing Fastest But Can’t Compete Without Help: BP
Renewable forms of energy are growing far faster than any other form of energy, a BP economist said in Chicago last week, but are unlikely to significantly impact the world’s reliance on fossil fuels without continued government interventions, such as a price on carbon…
“The other big issue of course is climate change, and a price on carbon, all else being equal, seems like it would help the cost competitiveness of most renewable forms of energy. We do believe that there will be continued government policy action to deal with climate change—haltingly, and maybe not as coordinated as we would have thought ten years ago—but we do continue to believe that there will be some action on the climate front…
Another corporation in the business of economic forecasting, Lloyd’s of London, has predicted different criteria for the success of renewables: energy demand in the Third World will bring the price of oil far higher than the price of renewable energy…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2012/10/28/renewables-growing-fastest-but-cant-compete-without-help-bp/
28 Oct: UK Telegraph: Emily Gosden: Shell attacks ‘ridiculous’ effects of European energy policy
Royal Dutch Shell has attacked the “ridiculous” impact of European energy policy, warning that governments are erasing the environmental benefits from expensive renewables by allowing coal use to increase.
“You have this ridiculous situation where cash-strapped Europe is putting a lot of money into renewables to reduce CO2, meanwhile allowing … the power generators to take much more coal and back out gas,” he said.
All the benefits you’re getting from the renewable energy are being counteracted by far too much coal.”
Mr Brown said the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), designed to reduce emissions by placing a price on carbon, “doesn’t work”. “CO2 is priced at such a low level it’s meaningless,” he said. “We want a higher CO2 price…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/9639356/Shell-attacks-ridiculous-effects-of-European-energy-policy.html
never forget:
The director of emissions and environment at Westpac, Emma Herd, describes carbon as a bit like a currency. Each country has a different carbon currency and Australia will soon join the ranks.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-tax-just-another-cost–so-get-used-to-it-20111108-1n5k6.html
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Can those thumbs up/down things be removed from comments? Can’t the herd behavior ‘likes’ be left to Facebook. Methinks they contradict ‘Tackling tribal groupthink’ statement.
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Hi Mick!
You guessed it.
KK 🙂
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Yes, it was predictable. FWIW, a Facebook Page and/or Group is a better medium for promoting the AGW message than a WordPress blog. Blogs, by virtue of their technological age, are being unweighted in SERPs.
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What is wrong with Facebook is that there is ONLY a thumbs up button. Having both buttons means feedback. Only having one is group think (you can only agree or be ignored).
Keeping both thumbs is keeping it real.
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FaceBook like TV should be turned of with a blunt instrument(hammer) and the world would be a better place.Cheers
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My nephew put on a like for 720 ABC Perth on his Facebook page. Can’t find where to put”A bunch of left wing propagandists”.
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For the record, yesterday was Ballarat’s coldest 1st of November ever recorded.
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10.4 Rubber Duck we’ve got ourselves a convoy rocking through the night or something.What a great story Jo.Having worked at sea I have seen some unusual things,sadly never a rubber duck.Cheers
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I’m just waiting for a Phd based on the movements of Rubber Ducks in our oceans…
The end result… a real Quack!
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Updated Argo bouys ?
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They won’t just “descend”, they’ll duck-dive!
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Jo, this story is five years old (27 June 2007) and these ducks/turtles/frogs, if there are any still surviving, have been in transit round the world for 20 years, not 15….
Why did it resurface? Or am I missing something?
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What will we talk about, when The Global Warming scare is over & knocking it becomes fashionable 😉
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As long as there are Bankers, Bureaucrats, Politicians, idle Academics, the UN and the gullible there’ll be plenty to talk about.
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Is the amount of plastic in the Oceans a greater Environmental problem than Global Warming ?
Sacrier than Somali Pirates
Yet what are we doing about it ?
Leaving it to the free market , like these enterprising individuals in Africa
Kenyan Flip-Flop Flotsam
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america’s candidates are both puppets, so i couldn’t care less who is or isn’t being boosted by anything.
Bloomberg says Bloomberg endorsement has given Obama a boost:
2 Nov: Bloomberg: Julie Hirschfeld Davis/Henry Goldman: Bloomberg Post-Sandy Backing Gives Obama Unexpected Boost
Republican strategist Matthew Dowd, a Bloomberg Television analyst: “There just feels like there’s been a shift, and I think Mayor Bloomberg endorsing — and in the way he did it — I think just gives more of an impression that that shift is happening” in the presidential race in Obama’s favor.
That narrative “can be powerful going into an Election Day where this thing was dead even,” Dowd said…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-02/bloomberg-post-sandy-backing-gives-obama-unexpected-boost.html
Ground Zero for the carbon cowboys – Reuters Point Carbon:
2 Nov: Reuters Point Carbon: Valerie Volcovici: NY mayor cites climate stance in endorsing Obama
Climate change was catapulted to the forefront of the U.S. general election on Thursday after New York’s independent mayor threw his weight behind Democratic President Barack Obama, citing his stance on climate change..
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/02/us-climate-obama-idUSBRE8A10CV20121102
David Karoly’s mob. Murdoch newspapers are reporting exactly the same nonsense and including the Bloomberg endorsement:
3 Nov: Age, Australia: Ben Cubby: This is the new normal, warn climate scientists
HURRICANE Sandy was a bigger, fiercer and more damaging storm because of human-induced global warming, an analysis produced by Australia’s Climate Commission has found.
The burning of fossil fuels had made a material contribution to the atmospheric conditions that bred and sustained the storm, the report said, echoing international studies produced over the past few days.
On Thursday the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, endorsed Barack Obama in the US presidential election, citing the urgency of tackling climate change…
”This requires urgent action on carbon dioxide emissions.”
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/weather/this-is-the-new-normal-warn-climate-scientists-20121102-28phb.html
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… while all we’ll get is more such emissions from poiticians .
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I just knew I should have kept that rubber ducky. Nuts! $100 gone forever. 😉
Meanwhile, back at the ranch the sky is falling according to just about everyone. I believe the sky’s name is Sandy. She must be quite the seductress to get old Bloomberg into her clutches. But wait a minute; Bloomberg has two left arms and two left legs. I’m surprised he didn’t endorse Obama long ago. The two go together like a bathtub and a rubber duck. Are we sure the endorsement isn’t just recycled old news?
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The truth is more like this. Obama is hurting in the polls so Bloomberg announces his endorsement to give his buddy Barack a boost. Ducks of a feather…
That’s the way things really work.
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Considering our oceans play a major part in stabilising our environment by connecting great amounts of solar heat, disolved gasses and mineral surely it would be worth kitting some with sensors , geopositioning and recording modules to provide a wealth of information. This can be used to understand the worlds climate and hopefully prevent catastrophes or better yet stumble upon a way to sustain our built environment efficiently and ethically.
[Moderator comment: This is an old thread, so many regulars will not see your contribution. However I can suggest that you have a look at http://www.argo.ucsd.edu and http://www.argo.net There is also a wiki at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argo_(oceanography)] -Fly
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