Once upon a time governments bragged about how much they spent on “climate change”. Every Climate Quiz or tin-pot-program to insulate a chicken-run was wrapped under the Climate Action banner so that politicians could claim they were saving the world. Nowadays voters have voted for the guy who called it a hoax, and the funding’s gone underground because he was going to boast about how much climate funding he’d cut.
When I wrote Climate Money in 2009, a lot of the spending was already documented, under the Climate Change Science Program or by the GAO. How times have changed.
To Protect Climate Money, Obama Stashed It Where It’s Hard to Find
President Donald Trump will find the job of reining in spending on climate initiatives made harder by an Obama-era policy of dispersing billions of dollars in programs across dozens of agencies — in part so they couldn’t easily be cut.
Climate change is so important that no one even estimates what the government spends on it:
The last time the Congressional Research Service estimated total federal spending on climate was in 2013. It concluded 18 agencies had climate-related activities, and calculated $77 billion in spending from fiscal 2008 through 2013 alone. But that figure could well be too low. The Obama administration didn’t always include “climate” in program names, said Alice Hill, director for resilience policy on Obama’s National Security Council.
What was $79 billion in climate funding from 1989-2009 doubled in the next 5 years. The US government has spent far more than $150 billion.
“The Trump Administration needs to defund the entire apparatus of the climate change federal funding gravy train,” said Marc Morano, a former Republican staffer for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “In order to dismantle the climate establishment, agencies and programs throughout the federal government need to be targeted.”
“The climate funding has spread to almost every aspect of the federal government with sometimes wacky results,” said Morano, who doubts global warming and runs the website climatedepot.com. He cited one example of a Department of Transportation query about the link between climate change and fatal car crashes.
Marc is right.
h/t Climatedepot
As a scientist I must stay rational: it is possible that CO2 causes atmospheric temperature change so we must continue some research. However, that temperature change could well be negative so having shown that positive temperature is not happening, and can be explained by other processes, we must be aware of all possibilities.
456
Scientists as yourself are rare these days. Most are either on the global warming bandwagon for the money or at best silent on the matter and letting their profession turn into a farce to the point that science is now a dirty word. In fact several areas of science are now becoming more like Hollywood’s unreal world of acting and fibbing, which is not surprising as that too is all about the money.
433
‘…can be explained by other processes…’
I’ve put all my money on ENSO, driven by some kind of internal dynamic, to explain temperature variations at the end of the Holocene.
124
It seems to me that; geology, ocean circulation and prevailing winds will ultimately be the cause of ice ages and the warm periods between them. As the ocean circulation shuts down we enter an ice age, and is probably the cause of coming out of one as well.
Pacific osculations and ENSOs of the world, will direct the cyclic nature of short term temperature ups and downs.
62
The two recent large El Ninos are probable evidence of that. The heat has been shifted to the poles. The Arctic has melted a bit because of the ingress of warmer water into the Arctic Sea. The Antarctic has frozen a bit because of the accumulated extra snow.
25
NO. There was a jet stream anomaly that transferred the normal “very cold” to the northern Russia region causing death, and great hardship.
https://www.rt.com/news/russia-freeze-cold-temperature-379/
None of which will ever be reported in MSM news.
It was a WEATHER event, nothing more.
Arctic sea ice extent is now above 2006, 2015, 2016 according to NSIDC.
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The jet stream change probably resulted from the change of ocean currents. These events are all connected, including N Atlantic surface cooling. However, because this can be interpreted in different ways, we need to continue the debate.
Nevertheless, CO2 warming is kept very ner zero by the water cycle, which is why global mean temperature has been within ±3 K for a million years.
23
‘The jet stream change probably resulted from the change of ocean currents.’
This is highly problematic, more likely some internal or external natural variable flicked a switch which has produced a wayward jet stream. This behaviour is a clear global cooling signal.
52
‘The heat has been shifted to the poles.’
No, the Arctic maybe losing ice but Antarctica is stacking it on.
Richard M. commenting at wuwt has done a neutral ENSO graph (criticised for being a simple linear regression line) yet still looks like a good starting point as the Holocene draws to a close.
http://www.woodfortrees.org/plot/hadcrut4gl/from:1945/to:1977/plot/hadcrut4gl/from:1945/to:1977/trend
Professor turnedoutnice we need to sit down and have a serious discussion about the meaning of everything.
31
“it is possible that CO2 causes atmospheric temperature change “
NO. you should assume that it doesn’t until proven otherwise.
That is the scientific null hypothesis.
And there is NO proof, just fairy tales.
115
Might I add, hot off the press** that in the UK the Sainted Theresa has just announced plans to shake up the energy market dramatically to reduce prices. This is to be announced ‘very soon’. My money is on a plan to develop millions of CHP units based on ceramic/metal fuel cells. The likely technology was developed from the early 1990s but there are similar technologies in the USA and Australia.
Because these units are 55% efficient, methane to electrons, the gas pipelines are already in place and there is minimal electrical loss, they will save > 40% of the gas used when CCGTs back up windmills, plus the massive extra Grid losses from windmill to the UHT lines. Use the power in a heat pump and it’ll be 70% or more. Furthermore, by reducing demand by up to 25%, the renewables’ corporations will have to slash prices.
**http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/17/theresa-may-reveals-government-preparing-step-control-energy/
05
There are major problems with consumer focused alternatives like CHP or other comgeneration or trigeneration setups, while they are very efficient they are consumer focused. They allow one to go off grid, and that means for each one deployed the balance of the consumers need to meet the cost of the electricity grid. This breaks the business model of centralized energy and forces the central generators into bankruptcy well before a full deployment of the distributed generators can be completed. Well before this the grid will reign in costs deferring critical maintenance and sacrificing reliability. Any such scheme is a recipe for disaster. Having said that, if there was a decent trigen set for a home, I’d do it since I don’t care if the grid operators go broke. The government on the other hand should care.
50
Agreed!…Many gasoline\propane\CH4 generators are available from Westinghouse and others. Still spendy for off grid, but a real bargain with propane, when ever the grid goes down.
21
In the UK the Grid has to take wind energy when it is available and pay compensation when the wind energy cannot be used. These subsidies push up prices so the poor cannot afford to buy power at peak times.
Make it mandatory that rented properties have CHP, a simple swap of the gas boiler, and the poor need only buy additional power when they must. Hence they will use washing machines at the dead of night when the smart meter bribes them.
Net result: the renewables’ corporations cease to control supply.
21
As a rational scientist, the first logical question is not whether an increase in CO2 causes warming. The first question is whether mankind has or even can change CO2 levels.
That fossil fuels are responsible for the 50% increase in CO2 since 1900 is presented as science fact in every discussion and there is absolutely no evidence for this. In fact C14 levels prove it is not true as C14 levels should be 2/3 of the current value if it were true. So there is no fossil fuel CO2 in the air.
Then rationally if mankind does not control CO2 levels, if CO2 levels simply increase with ocean warming as is known science, whether increased CO2 levels produce any warming is a moot point, interesting but not able to be controlled by man, councils, politicians or windmills or $1.5Trillion dollars a year.
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It has always puzzled me that people accept man made CO2 increase. The IPCC logic is that everyone knows how we love our cars. Cars pollute. CO2 is the pollution. So we are obviously responsible for the CO2 increase. CO2 is a greenhouse gas. The world would be much colder without greenhouse gases. So the world will get dangerously warmer because of the car.
All this plays on feelings, fears, not science. There is no science in this logic. It is like heavy things fall faster, the experience of ordinary life. It is not science and generally not true, instinct. Science is not about feelings, instincts, common sense. It is about fact based rational logic which can often defy instinct.
So the warmists are desperate to move on from the first and most obvious fallacy, that cars are increasing the world’s CO2. That is no more true than that cars are increasing the world’s water supply because H2O is the other output, the major greenhouse gas, because that would be silly because the oceans are so vast.
That cars are increasing the world’s CO2 is just as silly but CO2 has carbon in it and carbon is black and black is pollution is about as scientific as it gets. That is as far as Eric Idle, Leonardo Di Caprio and Al Gore can go in science. So while the opening comment is about keeping an open mind, that is not what a scientist does. Science is not about opinions and balance and equal weighting to two points of view. Science is about facts. So I very much doubt the opening comment is from a scientist.
72
“Science is about facts. So I very much doubt the opening comment is from a scientist.”
The null hypothesis is never fact, only another fantasy!
turnedoutnice March 17, 2017 at 4:36
(“As a scientist I must stay rational: it is possible that CO2 causes atmospheric temperature change so we must continue some research.”)
Accuracy from a true scientist! “some research”, yes! One ‘competent engineer’ from JPL, that can demonstrate that all current claims\fantasy of atmospheric CO2 vs. atmospheric temperature are only fantasy, never science! Flush all others!!! “Is possible”? Yes indeed! No one has a clue as to how that may be possible, however! Carbon itself has weird properties, the dioxide, also weird! Perhaps Quantum Weirdness! 🙁
11
“One ‘competent engineer’ from JPL, that can demonstrate that all current claims\fantasy of atmospheric CO2 vs. atmospheric temperature are only fantasy, never science!”
That is most difficult to do from the ‘competent’ at JPL or Lockheed! Most folk there well understand fantasy, else your “cubical mate” has demonstrated such fantasy! OTOH ‘Watch this puppy’ go twice the velocity of any other; Gains many many new acolytes! 🙂
11
Yes sir, as a scientist (geophysicist) myself, I think we should give about 0.04% of the available funding to this bogus hypothesis, about the same of CO2 that exists in our atmosphere. When lay persons of the “Climate Church” call me a “climate denier”, I say to them: “Of course I am not, as a geophysicist, my hero is Milutin Milankovitch. The poor indoctrinated fools then ask: “who is Milankovitch?”
82
Two months in, we’re not tired of winning yet. Trump’s got some rough roads ahead, but he seems to be heading in the right direction.
554
Trump is doing a fantastic job, but the swamp is very, very large and the crows at he back of the grandstand are still making a lot of noise (CNN, Washington Post, etc)
254
Crows…I like that analogy. Today (yesterday to you) he successfully turned a lot of potential no votes in the House to yes votes by negotiating some changes in the replacement bill for Obamacare. The Senate will be a tougher sale. He will gut a lot of departmental regulations regarding energy production, water, and land use with HIS pen. He has the authority.
20
Crows…I like that analogy. Today (yesterday to you) he successfully turned a lot of potential no votes in the House to yes votes by negotiating some changes in the replacement bill for Obamacare. The Senate will be a tougher sale. He will gut a lot of departmental regulations regarding energy production, water, and land use with HIS pen. He has the authority.
11
Crows…I like that analogy. Today (yesterday to you) he successfully turned a lot of potential no votes in the House to yes votes by negotiating some changes in the replacement bill for Obamacare. The Senate will be a tougher sale. He will gut a lot of departmental regulations regarding energy production, water, and land use with HIS pen. He has the authority.
01
“The Donald” seems to be ignoring that old saying that “It is difficult to remember the aim is to drain the swamp when you are up to your backside in crocodiles” and forging ahead.
Even if he only gets part of the way we will still be better off than we are now.
Personally I would like to see him gut the whole “climate alarm industry” completely.
333
No doubt Obama hid spending for his other Leftist causes in a similar manner as well.
444
Grats to David Maddison:
Submissions to the Independent Review into the Future Security of the National Electricity Market have been released.
http://www.environment.gov.au/energy/national-electricity-market-review/submissions?platform=hootsuite
52
History shows us what the real agenda leftist styled political systems are about, weaken the masses to the point any productivity is given to the state while the party hoards the masses real wealth creating false flag problems to distract them with thought crimes socially engineered into their psyches to deter any protests.
Apply this to the great green scam and it fits perfectly, when virtually no elected politician in this country utters the idea of building more fossil fuelled power plants because the idea CO2 is evil and doing so will end their party careers, you know your done.
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The Greens today are a prime example of that. Almost all of their policies are about destroying our economy and social fabric with only one express aim – to put into place a totalitarian government as bad if not worse than the likes of Stalin and Hitler. Yet so many Australians still will vote for them and their close allies the ALP. Do we have that many people who want such a regime change or are they just plain nuts? I think most are the latter but it doesn’t excuse them.
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What is it about CO2 “asymptote” that these smart people don’t understand?
What is it about heat pumps,
…..and sending warm air to a dark place the sun don’t shine to “chill out”,
these smart, clever, resourceful folk don’t understand?
The “pursuit of $$$$ is the root of all evil”.
93
Ssuan?
Not far off the Earth’s surface the “temperature” of space is about 1.6 C degrees above absolute zero.
We need to be thankful for all the heat/energy that we
receive and try to hold on to as much as we can.
It is destined to become very cold far too soon for comfort.
KK
72
The president’s budget proposal is just a sentiment. The real budget is decided by Congressional committees. Those committees have a *lot* of incentive to maintain/increasing spending they control. The real fight will take place in the months ahead. However the sentiment is really important. Will other countries step up to end their spending on global warming hysteria? We need a skeptics’ country-by-country progress tracker like they have for the Paris agreement (http://climateanalytics.org/hot-topics/ratification-tracker.html)
233
The rot was not achieved over night. Getting rid of it will not be done that easily either.
262
Her in Oz we haven’t even begun, and we don’t have
the leaders who will combat the globul warming band wagon.
162
There will be many multi-year on-going projects that likely are contractual obligations. Stopping anything new, however, should unwind the mess in a few years. Government programs may require attrition over time depending on union rules and contracts. The howling will be deafening.
41
Just the opening salvo in a long budget war. But another campaign promise kept.
332
Trump to cut EPA budget by 31%, State Department 29%.
https://imgur.com/a/T8oFA#qjagery
/Chart in Wahington Post
242
Australia has pledged $1 billion to the Green Climate Fund run by the United Nations.
Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop took $800m from Foreign Aid, and added $200m.
273
On top of the millions of dollars already pledged. I understand $200 million was pledged at the South American meeting and at the time PM Abbott angered Minister Bishop by refusing to provide new money, she had to take it from the existing foreign aid budget.
So now the government has found foreign aid budget to be a useful laundry?
122
Both Turnbull & Bishop have to go – both leftie lawyers. They will promote the AGW Gravy Train and squander A$billions of Oz’s hard earned tax dollars. Australia needs pollies with a business brain – mind you Malcolm accumulated a lot of wealth with clever business tactics prior to his political career, but this business acumen hasn’t translated into his political career. What Oz needs is senior pollies with proven business acumen e.g. the likes of Michael Chaney, Richard Goyder etc. The problem though is senior pollies earn way less than big coy CEO’s – so it is a case of “if you pay peanuts you get monkeys” and we seem to be getting mainly the latter in the Oz political arena of late – John Howard excepted.
217
Trump doesn’t even take a presidential salary so I don’t think you have to offer big money to attract the right people.
183
That’s not actually correct – I believe President Trump draws a US$1.00 annual salary, otherwise he is not “employed” by the US government!
Hmmmmm …. and how much are we paying our multi millionaire Trumbull???
102
I knew about that token dollar ColA, but didn’t mention it. If he doesn’t get paid at all, he would not technically be working and that has legal implications. Thanks for bringing it up.
63
Spicer announced this week that Trump will donate his salary to charity, and asked the press corps to help decide where it goes.
61
It was pointed out to me at a meeting of major shareholders, a lunch meeting arranged for them to meet subsidiary company and holding public company senior managers, that merchant bankers and other investment managers are excellent at crunching numbers and investing money but they are not producing anything. An NRMA investment manager said that.
42
The only reason”Little Johnny Howard “gave us a surplus was because of the GST windfall.Now the GST windfall is being”Pi$$ed”up against the wall by these”Lying,do nothing,career politicians”
11
Sorry Clive, GST is a windfall for the state and territory governments. The federal government via the ATO collects GST but distributes to the states and territories, zero goes to federal revenue.
The Howard Government produced budget surpluses in all but one year 1996 to 2007 and the deficit budget was related to the East Timor deployment.
11
Seven red thumbs. You must have said something right in the first sentence. No troll bothers to read further. Yes, Turbull and Bishop are both self indulgent science ignorant leftie lawyers.
31
Seven red thumbs – a record for me – must be some lawyers consulting this excellent blog. I see Perth is heading for yet another month with below average maximum temps – that makes it 11/12 in the past year with only November above average. Clearly the “Theory of AGW” is not taken very seriously in Perth these days. Makes our “skeptic preaching” a lot easier.
10
Turnbull is not and never was a “businessman”. He was and is and “investor” who cashes in on others’ business acumen. Don’t conflate the two, he has no idea how a business should be run. That’s why Trump will win out in the end. He will run the US like a business, cutting out the fat and promoting issues that will make money for the country and the workers involved.
10
Let us hope they are justly rewarded.
52
Why did they get the funds from there when they could have taken the lot from our ABC/SBS and nobody would have noticed even a blip?
111
And we the voter shall not forget!
21
Obama apparently slipped two $500M payments into the fund in 2016, and our Bozo- Trudeau- sent them $2.5B last year. They hired 140 bureaucrats up front to run the program. Much has been done very quietly because the public doesn’t rate it as a high priority issue.
61
The Trump way:
Say you want to cut 25% from a budget.
Tell the world you intend to cut that budget by 50%.
When the budget passes, it might be reduced by some number “X” —
Even if X = 10%, that’s helpful.
The usual way:
An agency claims it needs last year’s budget +20% more.
When it only gets 10% more, it tells the world the budget was cut by 10%.
However, the budget, in fact, increased.
Government-speak has been deliberately obtuse for many years.
292
That, my good friend, is exactly what Bob Hawke did when he wanted to introduce a new tax.
32
Somewhat O/T
”
Dark days ahead for the UK solar industry;
44,000 solar rooftop panels, previously exempt from business taxes, will now face a wall of expenses as the government finally takes its share of profits. This does not bode well for the UK’s solar industry, which seems to be extremely sensitive to governmental policy changes – when subsidies were cut last year, the industry lost 12,000 jobs and growth fell 85 percent.
The solar industry, of course, is outraged by the direction the government is moving. Many are claiming these taxes will undermine all the progress the government has sought after for so long in the renewable energy sphere.
How can this be? Sunlight is free.”
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2017/03/we-dont-need-no-614.html#comments
And comments
243
Rates are assessed on the value of the property.
Are the solar advocates saying that solar systems DO NOT add value to the property ?? 😉
92
One such hidey hole for government waste is under Elon’s mattress.
It doesn’t look like we will need to put up with that musky smell much longer.
Of course a religious zealot in SA is likely to commit public funds to this scam.
Summary
We do the numbers and conclude that, indeed, Tesla will be insolvent in four months.
Can Tesla’s credit lines come to the rescue? Perhaps just a bit, but there’s not much running room left.
Worse yet, Tesla is close to triggering the fatal Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio test in its revolving credit agreement. A test it cannot possibly pass.
So, what to do? Why, raise more capital. Sure, Tesla last May raised capital for the Model 3 but, what the heck, let’s do it again.
273
Are you there, Willard???
212
There are only so many green rich boys and girls wanting to buy those toys
162
Based on the actual number of orders Tesla receive, one or two is a hell of a percentage! And then they celebrate so that the one beer each gets rid of the cash flow!
83
Yes I’m here Rod, and the short sellers keep knocking Tesla year after year, predicting the end, yet year after year Tesla just won’t go away, they just steadily increase production, opening up markets in more countries, adding more Superchargers to their network every week, selling new products such as the Powerwall and the Solar roof tiles, and winning over more of the public, and maybe one day Tesla will fold ( or get purchased by Apple, Google, Mercedes ), it won’t really matter as their aim has been achieved, other car makers are going the electric way, battery tech companies are ramping up production, there is no turning back. Go ahead Rod keep knocking Tesla, your not the only one doing it, it’s been going on for years.
120
So Dullard,
You already bought shares in Tesla or are going to … right?
If not, why not?
152
James.
I think you are behind the game here.
Remember that pest here years ago? Tristan, or something like that? I think he was just getting background material for his newspaper column.
Do you think this bloke doesn’t already have a job with Tesla.
In a way it’s a compliment that this blog has been chosen by Elusk Moron to use in getting the material used by non believers to give to the company’s publicity team.
Take a bow, all who post here.
Of course I could be wrong, he may be living with his parents who know nothing about his battery fetish.
KK
52
I think you are wrong in this instance.
I have met many ‘Dullards’ over the years.
They are all the same, they read The Gruniad, watch the ABC and link to SKS whenever someone questions climate change on their local community group facebook pages.
The Dullards believe wind turbines and solar panels are our last hope to save the planet and ignore the great environmental cost to our native wild life and bush lands.
They hail Elon Musk as a saviour because he is selling them their dream. They see him as Don Quixote fighting Big Coal, Big Oil and Big Gas on their behalf.
They ignore the fact that he is raping the planet for irreplaceable raw materials all the while creating an abyss for tax payer sudsidies that are disappearing at an ever increasing rate to feed his ego.
And here’s the kicker… and this explains the Dullard’s blind obedience to their false god…
Our Dullard and all the other Dullards who defend Tesla and Musk do have skin in the game…
They all put down a deposit for the New Tesla model 3!
122
Oh, I’m not knocking it Willard.
At $262.50 I’m selling TSLA short!
71
And how would Tesla be with no government subsidies?
91
“Tesla will be insolvent in four months.”
And no more Obama slush fund subsides to the rescue. 🙂
94
I didn’t think it would take Tasmania long to jump on the band wagon.
Instead of actual power production capacity in the form of the lower Gordon dam or a coal fired power station, Tassie wants pumped storage too.
All we want for Christmas is some pumped storage, a few hundred windmills, and a second Bass link.
It would be cheaper for the Commonwealth to just draw up the anchor and let it float away.
252
If you think you have problems, just think of us in the UK. There are plans for a 1GW interconnector from Iceland to the UK: only 750 miles of undersea cabling!
IceLink
http://www2.nationalgrid.com/About-us/European-business-development/Interconnectors/Iceland
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13925015.Icelandic_volcanoes_to_power_Scotland_through_subsea_cable
121
Robert Christopher:
Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just import a volcano?
52
Import? Pshaw!
Drill, baby Drill!
https://youtu.be/hGXVBW82GnY?list=PLWnpLKoHt_xRYjxaXs0KQRhwNdhYGvmiI
00
2015 – tell me this not really going to happen. I used to live across he Forth from one of the largest coal fired power stations in Scotland which was closed a couple of years ago to placate the Green Dragon of the Scottish Parliament. Poor fella, my old country.
00
Europe’s power problems are somewhat hidden by the ability to draw on French nuclear power and Scandanavian hydro. Australia has no neighboring power producers we can draw on.
183
We could build lots of dams and windmills on New Zealand South Island and run a cable back home. Nobody lives there, it’s all good 🙂
65
Greg Cavanagh:
Are you kidding? There will be at least 20 obscure threatened species, birds, mammals, lizards, worms and lower forms of life like Greenies.** Also all sorts of grasses etc.
** Greenies is the local name for some sort of shellfish, not what you were thinking.
42
Ok…what about the ones we were thinking of?
12
Trolls?
12
An interesting observtion;
South Australia needs more sources of power that can be dispatched on demand.
Local authorities are already investigating the possibility of an additional interconnector to NSW, Victoria or Queensland.
If they decide to proceed, the solution will take years and cost power users billions of dollars.
Other potential options include storage of renewable energy — through batteries, pumped hydro or other technology.
The SA Government is also seeking to stimulate a new market entrant, in all likelihood a gas generator, by offering a long-term contract to supply 75 per cent of its own power needs.
92
Labor was elected in 2002 with a platform of building an interconnector to NSW. The new Premier Mike Rann blamed the Liberals for inaction.
11
too funny not to post:
16 Mar: WaPo KidsPost: AP: Scientists link record-breaking February weather to man-made global warming
“I don’t recall ever seeing a February like this,” said Princeton University climate scientist Gabriel Vecchi, who was part of the World Weather Attribution team that performed the study. “We expect this to happen with more and more frequency over time.”…
Several outside scientists praised the study, including Pennsylvania State University meteorology professor David Titley, who was on a National Academy of Sciences panel that certified the accuracy of climate change attribution science.
“This is the new climate normal that we all need to come to grips with,” Titley said. “And it’s stunning how quickly our climate has changed.”…
Reminder:
KidsPost stories are written for readers age 6 to 13. Thank you for joining the discussion. When commenting, please avoid using offensive language or discussing topics inappropriate for the age group…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/2017/03/15/1af691c2-041c-11e7-b1e9-a05d3c21f7cf_story.html?utm_term=.958864dd717b
73
If that was a Kids Post, it sure wasn’t written with a 6 to 13 year old in mind. It was all scientific sounding bluff and bluster, what kid would read that past the first sentence?
“What is lurking behind the corner while we’re outside throwing a Frisbee might be looking to make our lives less pleasant,” he said.
The guy is delusional.
33
‘Crying fire in a crowded theatre.’
h/t kim at Climate Etcetera.
21
At least the US has Trump.
The EU on the other hand has no one to rain in the madness. 20% of the EU budget is mandated to be spent on ‘climate change’ which includes lobbying and legal work associated with pushing the message. What an obvious waste of tax payer money.
http://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/NewsItem.aspx?nid=7778
“EU climate action: serious risk that 20 % spending target will not be met
There is a serious risk that the EU’s target of spending at least one euro in every five of the EU budget on climate action between 2014 and 2020 will not be met, according to a new report from the European Court of Auditors. While progress has been made, the auditors warn that more effort is needed to ensure a “real shift” towards climate action.
The implementation of the target has led to more and better focus on climate action in the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund. But in the areas of agriculture, rural development and fisheries, and in the European Social Fund, there has been no significant shift towards climate action.”
143
William Astley:
Australia can help. We have a large number of politicians expert at spending money on futile projects.
We will ship as many as you want free of charge, with 6 you get a free set of steak knives.
43
16 Mar: Financial Post: Ontario manufacturers eye greener pastures stateside as hydro rates go through the roof
by Peter Kuitenbrouwer
Bamford might be shouting regardless of the noise since the hydro bill for her Toronto-based company has her mad as hell. Once boasting one of the continent’s lowest electricity rates, Ontario today has some of the highest and that has many industrial companies planning to move at least some operations to the United States…
Automatic Coating’s electricity bill has more than doubled in the past decade. Its bill for last November was $49,209.68. The first line is for electricity: $6,577.93. The second line is much harder to explain: it is the euphemistic Global Adjustment charge: 217,165 kWh at 11.6 cents each for a total of $25,223.73.
The Global Adjustment contains many different costs, including Ontario’s payments to solar and wind energy makers at far more than the market rate, the cost to sell excess power to U.S. states at a loss, and even the cost of replacing light bulbs with LED bulbs
For manufacturers, the Global Adjustment fee symbolizes all the excesses of Ontario energy policy, including headline-grabbing salaries at state-owned utilities and the wages for the armies of bureaucrats who manage what plant owners describe as the province’s Byzantine array of energy cost-abatement programs…
Hydro rate hikes and cap and trade make the idea of relocating this business — at least for the navy contract — very attractive. Mississippi’s hydro rates are about one-third those of Ontario…
http://business.financialpost.com/news/energy/ontario-manufacturers-eye-greener-pastures-stateside-as-hydro-rates-go-through-the-roof
13 Mar: Newsweek: Stav Ziv: Bill Nye, The Planetary Society Have Five Space Goals for the Trump Administration
The Planetary Society and its FAMOUS CEO urge Trump to set his sights on Mars, increase NASA’s budget, support the commercial space industry and more.
The document is accompanied by a video featuring the nonprofit’s VERY FAMOUS CEO, Bill Nye, commonly known as “the Science Guy” from his popular 1990s TV show…
The report and Nye — whose new show on Netflix, Bill Nye Saves the World, premieres April 21 — outline five primary recommendations…
But for all the emphasis on NASA and the Planetary Society as bipartisan and nonpartisan bodies, Nye has been quite critical of the Trump administration, particularly with regard to climate change. He has chastised Trump for claiming climate change was “created by and for the Chinese” and more recently expressed exasperation about Trump’s job-creation methods, which don’t harness the opportunities in renewable-energy sectors.
Nye has long spoken out about climate change and vehemently opposed those who deny it or are unwilling to address it. He wrote about climate change in his 1993 kids’ book, Bill Nye the Science Guy’s Big Blast of Science, and much more recently in his 2015 book, Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World, and he has discussed global warming in other contexts over the course of more than two decades…
“Climate change is very serious. Everybody’s running around, waving arms about the 2016 election,” he told Newsweek in a wide-ranging interview in May 2015, about a month before Trump announced his bid for the White House. “I just want to remind everybody who’s voting, everybody who is running for office, everybody who is watching people run for office, [of] Article 1, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution: ‘Congress shall promote the progress of science and the useful arts,’” Nye said. “So if you have people running for office who don’t believe in science, who deny science…just really question whether or not those people are on your side.”…
http://europe.newsweek.com/bill-nye-planetary-society-have-five-space-goals-trump-administration-567835?rm=eu
Related Stories:
Bill Nye’s New Show Couldn’t Come at a Better Time (It Also Looks Amazing)
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I think the notion of sending Bill Nye to Mars is an excellent one.
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16 Mar: Reuters: EPA hit hardest as Trump budget targets regulation
By Valerie Volcovici and Timothy Gardner
The budget would also eliminate some $100 million in spending on research and international programs on combating climate change…
Asked about climate change programs, Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s budget director, told reporters “we consider that to be a waste of your money.”
“I think the president is fairly straightforward. We’re not spending money on that,” he said…
The EPA had already faced sharp cuts under Obama…
While employees at EPA headquarters in Washington worried about their jobs, some hoped opportunities might open up at the other side of the country.
Representatives of California, where state energy commissions and a clean air agency are hiring, handed recruitment fliers to EPA employees on their way to work.
The fliers said: “Fight Climate Change, Work for California.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-budget-epa-idUSKBN16N0E1
16 Mar: Reuters: Michelle Nichols: U.N. chief warns against abrupt U.S. funding cuts to world body
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday against an abrupt cut to U.S. funding for the world body, and France’s U.N. envoy said a retreat by Washington from global affairs could lead to more instability…
U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed a 28 percent budget cut for diplomacy and foreign aid, which includes an unspecified reduction in financial support for the United Nations and its agencies, as well as enforcement of a 25 percent cap on U.S. funding for peacekeeping operations…
The United States is the biggest contributor to the United Nations, paying 22 percent of the $5.4 billion core budget and 28.5 percent of the $7.9 billion peacekeeping budget…
The United States currently owes the United Nations $896 million for its core budget…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-budget-un-idUSKBN16N2FT?il=0
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David Middleton has a guest post up at Watts on the Trump cuts and reading through the comments there is naturally a lot of scepticism as to whether the President can dismantle the AGW apparatus.
I’m more positive because he has the gift of the gab and no right thinking person takes the MSM seriously.
http://www.investors.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/EDITpoll_030617-640×360.png
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Not only that, the average IQ is a lot lower than I ever expected. So anyone with some natural intelligence at all is light years ahead of the pack. No wonder he’s a billionaire. He almost makes it look easy.
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Not only has he got the gift of the gab, he is a tough negotiator with an IQ reputed to be around 150, well ahead of most of the dead beats he is up against.
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To be fair, the money only exists when you have to pay it back. If you ever do. Which you can’t. So you don’t.
To explain all this we have economists. They’re like climate scientists except they’re more likely to wear ties to lectures.
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And just as likely to get their forecasts badly wrong.
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The ones I have known, however, and quite prone to “blackouts”.
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btw whenever Republican admins attempt to cut funding for left-leaning public broadcasters – NPR & PBS – FakeNewsMSM, celebs, etc always bring up “Sesame Street” for some reason! lol.
they’ve done it again, but it’s even sillier this time:
16 Mar: WashingtonExaminer: Big Bird has been an HBO star for two years now and will survive any budget cut
by T. Becket Adams
On Tuesday, after President Trump unveiled his budget proposal, newsrooms hummed again stories about the GOP’s supposed efforts to kill off Big Bird…
However, the difference today is that a privately owned network now has the exclusive rights to the show. The program’s parent company, Sesame Workshop, struck a deal with HBO in 2015 that gave the private cable network first-run episodes. PBS is still allowed to air the reruns.
In other words, “Sesame Street” is alive and well in the private sector. Budget cuts will not lead to the show’s total cancellation, but you’d hardly know that from reading news reports Thursday afternoon…
MULTIPLE EXAMPLES
However, buried in nearly every story published Thursday about Big Bird’s supposedly looming demise is the fact that the kid’s show is being produced for HBO.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/big-bird-has-been-an-hbo-star-for-two-years-now-and-will-survive-any-budget-cut/article/2617608
16 Mar: Breitbart: Daniel Nussbaum: Celebrities melt down over Trump budget cuts
Celebrities took to Twitter Thursday to bemoan President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget proposal, which, among other items, eliminates the budgets for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
While the stars’ criticism focused on the broad nature of the proposed budget cuts, including deep cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency, the bulk of the criticism appeared to center on the elimination of the arts budgets, which fund public media including PBS and NPR.
Some, including Billy on the Street host Billy Eichner and The Wire creator David Simon, lamented that the elimination of the NEA would cut funding to Sesame Street, though the long-running kids television program was picked up by HBO …
16 Mar: Reason: Jim Epstein: Even NPR-Loving Liberals Should Applaud Trump’s Plan to Kill Federal Funding for Public Broadcasting
The media landscape has shifted in a way that’s made government subsidies less necessary than ever.
http://reason.com/blog/2017/03/16/trump-pbs-npr-big-bird-cuts-media
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16 Mar: Reason: Jim Epstein: Even NPR-Loving Liberals Should Applaud Trump’s Plan to Kill Federal Funding for Public Broadcasting
The media landscape has shifted in a way that’s made government subsidies less necessary than ever.
Now, Malcolm, that would get your rating up ANOTHER 2%
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Big Green is at the heart of the new collectivism and top-down authoritarianism…which aren’t much different to the old forms we spent last century unpicking.
I try to do something every day AGAINST Green Blob, even if it’s just popping into Jo’s site to give the Holocene deniers and white elephant breeders a good kicking.
Do not reason with Big Green. It doesn’t like humans and has no curiosity about or interest in the natural world. It is anti-people and anti-conservation. It wastes and weakens to make the elites’ path to power easier.
Steve McQueen didn’t negotiate with the Blob. Ripley didn’t have lunch with the Alien to discuss their differences.
It’s a war. Win it.
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Yes it’s a waste of time trying to reason with Big Green or even little Greens. However, each one of us are free to believe whatever they want but that does not mean one particular group of ideology has a mandate to force the rest of the people to follow that group’s beliefs. The same applies to any other ideology be it atheists vs theists, Muslim vs non-Muslim, Jew vs Gentile, etc.. Each to their own in peace. Of course the trouble is there are certain people who refuse to allow others to have a different ideology and that’s where the trouble starts, and according to history invariably ends with war.
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“White House Budget Director: Climate Spending “a waste of your money” ”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/03/16/white-house-budget-director-climate-spending-a-waste-of-your-money/
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That’ll gettem.
A waste of YOUR money.
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Here is more on the break down, my guess is that the Administration might not get all the science cuts.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/climate/trump-budget-science-research.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=a-lede-package-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
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One of the articles available with that set is about Jesus and Paul Ryan.
Very clever if you’re into that sort of thing.
No wonder Jo Average doesn’t know what’s going on.
The distortion is excellent.
KK
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The NY Times is fake news but reading between the lines Donald Trump is a master deal maker, he will be forced to take medical science off the table and come down even heavier on global warming science.
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We hope.
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Gee, el gordo, that is really sneaky. I would never have thought of that, what a devious mind you have! Brilliant!
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Thanks, JoNova, for pointing out that almost every federal agency has squandered funds to fight “global climate change,” regardless of original mission.
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But don’t ignore that politicians allowed that to happen.
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Don’t ignore that the National Academies of Sciences and the Royal Society betrayed public trust by allowing science to become a tool to enslave, rather than benefit, the public.
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I actually regret my decision to not join the Royal Society.
I am now in the position where I can’t leave in protest.
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Or the Australasian Sceptics Society. Sceptical ?
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One of the common phrases is ‘researching Climate Change’.
For some years in Australia the CSIRO employed 350 scientists ‘researching Climate Change’ quite independently of the Bureau of Meteorology. What was their purpose? What does researching Climate Change mean? I have no idea but it sounds what it is, a huge expenditure with no result and none intended except support for socialism masquerading as environmentalism. As Jo pointed out yesterday, people will do what they are told, especially scientists. To paraphrase the old Russia, they pretend to pay us and we pretend to research.
It is now thirty years since the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) started but the only thing I hear about is Global Warming. Even when people say Climate Change, they go on to talk about warming. Now we are expected to believe that CO2 is heating the oceans because the land is not heating and the Sahara has two metres of snow, Antarctica has record ice and sea levels have even gone down instead of the steady climb. No one even bothers to explain how a Greenhouse gas heats the ocean but not the land? Science is now irrelevant, quite unnecessary. Climate Change is a religion which gobbles power stations, shuts industries, cripples economies, costs jobs.
So the US is going to cut ‘Climate Change research’? Great. As in Australia, what good has it done for anyone? Point to a single benefit for anyone of all those trillions in cash, currently $1,5000 Billion a year on Climate Change and that is possibly an underestimate. Point to where the poor, the starving or the homeless are better off. Or even the rich, the educated and the secure? It is a hoax. Why are we giving $1,000million to the UN for Climate Change?
Donald Trump is calling this for what it is, a hoax, a huge waste of money for no reason and benefitting no one except those people working full time doing nothing about anything. What actual good has Australian of the Year Tim Flannery done for anyone? Or Al Gore? Or the CSIRO team to research Climate Change who after a decade could not even prove it existed? People who get public money must be accountable. Where is our benefit for the hundreds of millions on ‘Climate Change Research’ in Australia? The CSIRO diet?
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Not sure what was there purpose but what we should have seen is a proper CSIRO study of climate change and a good model coming out of it to make reasonably accurate predictions that actually works. Instead we got nothing but a regurgitation of the IPCC crap giving us several predictions across a wide range that are as useful as throwing a die and have since turned out to be debunked given the latest temperature measurements. This voodoo science is really not becoming of CSIRO but for whatever reason it’s taken strong hold in the climate change group.
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u can’t make this up. Monty Python’s Eric Idle gets into the act. plenty of joke replies:
16 Mar: Twitter: Eric Idle: I think that denying climate change is a crime against humanity. And they should be held accountable in a World Court
https://twitter.com/EricIdle/status/842157775115452416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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Eric/Loretta has clearly joined the People’s Liberation Front.
What has the British industrial revolution based entirely on coal and gas done for us?
The world is far greener, cleaner and safer, the forests have recovered, sewerage exists, the world is at peace despite two or three world wars in which Britain was a little involved. There is still a little problem in Judea which was a British Protectorate.
The real enemy of peace and prosperity and humanity are the Greens and the misinformed. You can’t blame them. What Eric fails to realise is that the Greens are the problem.
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Don’t you mean the people’s front of Judea?
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Splitters!
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Romans go home…
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Romans they go to the house.
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Eric Idle; Writer, reader, husband, father, dog owner …
Perhaps Eric should read this, then jail himself:
Pet dogs as bad for planet as driving 4x4s, book claims
Owners should consider doing without, downsizing or even eating their pets to help save the planet, according to a new book.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/climatechange/6416683/Pet-dogs-as-bad-for-planet-as-driving-4x4s-book-claims.html
As Eric sang, “Let’s hope there is intelligent life in space, because there is none here on earth.”
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I say bring it on.
Let’s examine the IPCC first. They are the guys who decide what goes into their reports and then review that . . apparently.
Effectively they play both judge and jury.
It won’t happen though because the UN will invoke their self proclaimed immunity. How cool is that.
The UN are the UNtouchables.
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No one is untouchable…..
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They’ve done alright so far.
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16 Mar: ClimateChangeNews: Trump budget: US to stop funding UN climate process
“America First” budget would axe 20% of the UN’s climate body’s funding and $2bn to help developing countries deal with global warming
By Karl Mathiesen
The State Department section of the budget proposal said the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI) would be eliminated. According to its 2016 budget request the GCCI, which was set up by president Barack Obama, directs money to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – the diplomatic and scientific branches of the UN’s climate process.
Through the GCCI, the State Department is a major funder of the UNFCCC, providing €6 million (US$6.44m) each year – roughly 20% of its operating budget.
An official told Climate Home the State Department had not provided any funds appropriated in the 2017 financial year to the UNFCCC or IPCC…
Under the proposed budget, the State Department would also make savings by “eliminating US funding related to the UN’s Green Climate Fund and its two precursor Climate Investment Funds”…
The GCF is the major international instrument for financing climate-related projects in the developing world. If the US fails to deliver the rest of its pledge it will leave a $2bn hole in the fund’s $10bn balance sheet.
Developing countries, which are suffering the greatest consequences of climate change but did little to cause it, see this support as a matter of justice…
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/03/16/trump-budget-us-stop-funding-un-climate-process/
on the other hand, Charlie and the chocolate makers plan to throw cocoa farmers off their land (to boost the price of cocoa?) and the FakeNewsMSM says it’s great:
17 Mar: Bloomberg: Isis Almeida: Prince Charles Turns to Chocolate to Tackle Deforestation
In a meeting Thursday organized by his International Sustainability Unit, 12 of the top cocoa and chocolate companies including Mars Inc. and Cargill Inc. committed to ending deforestation that has plagued West Africa.
The initiative also involves governments of top growers Ivory Coast and Ghana, where large amounts of cocoa are grown on environmentally unsuitable land, Richard Scobey, president of the World Cocoa Foundation, said in an interview in London. The Ivorian Forestry Ministry estimates about 80 percent of the country’s forests have disappeared since the 1970s…
Commodities including cocoa, coffee and palm oil have been the backbone of West African economies for decades…
Ivorian cocoa output will reach a record 1.9 million metric tons this season, the International Cocoa Organization says. The nation, which has the highest deforestation rate in Africa, has pledged to evict farmers from protected parks and areas and double the remaining forest cover by 2020…
To produce more without expanding areas, chocolate makers and cocoa traders will focus on improving yields, something that hasn’t happened as much as in other crops, said Barry Parkin, head of sustainability at Mars…
The initiative, which will have concrete actions drafted before a final announcement in November, comes as higher output and slowing demand pushed prices down by 34 percent from a six-year high set in July. If demand doesn’t match better yields, that may threaten incomes for millions of already poor farmers…
“The Prince of Wales coming to the table did attract and engage our members,” he (Parkin?) said. “Otherwise, I fear we would have taken a lot more time to reach a consensus position.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-16/prince-charles-turns-to-chocolate-to-tackle-africa-deforestation
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FakeNews:
14 Mar: Gallup: Lydia Saad: Global Warming Concern at Three-Decade High in US
Forty-five percent of Americans now say they worry “a great deal” about global warming, up from 37% a year ago and well above the recent low point of 25% in 2011. The previous high was 41%, recorded in 2007…
In addition to warmer weather, anxiety about President Donald Trump’s environmental stance could be a factor in Americans’ heightened concern about global warming this year. The new poll found 57% of Americans saying Trump — who has called global warming a “hoax” — will do a poor job of protecting the environment. That far exceeds the percentages of Americans predicting the same for Barack Obama or George W. Bush at the start of each one’s first term…
Additionally, 71% of Americans — also a record high — agree that most scientists believe global warming is occurring. This is up from 65% a year ago and is easily the highest Gallup has recorded since 1997. The low point was 52% in 2010…
***Although Americans widely acknowledge global warming and humans’ role in it, a key reason climate change ranked last in importance as a voting issue in 2016 may be that the public discounts the severity of the problem — at least in the short term. Less than half (42%) believe global warming will pose a serious threat to themselves or their way of life in their lifetime. This percentage is the highest Gallup has recorded in over two decades but is essentially unchanged from 2016…
A subsequent Gallup report will explore the 2017 findings and trends by subgroup to show whether the increased concern this year is shared broadly or confined to certain groups.
LINK: View survey methodology, complete question responses and trends.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/206030/global-warming-concern-three-decade-high.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=syndication
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Voter turnout for the 2016 US election was 55.3%.
There’s some perspective for ya . . 😉
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Senator Malcolm Roberts at a Book launch concerning the Climate Scam : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqlp1Td-nOQ&index=1&list=LLcnxO
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What happened to Dr Karl debates Malcolm Roberts?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/11/08/dr-karl-will-debate-malcolm-roberts-on-climate-science/
Has Dr Karl got Cold Feet and pulled out?
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Dr Karl is another ABC yes man….this climate clown compares arsenic to co2 …..one is a lethal chemical and one is an essential for all life harmless gas.
When he showed up recently on the ABC with climate clangster ,Mick the Hockey Stick Mann, whatever credibility he had he just lost.
He’s just another ABC group thinker and CONsensus flogger.
Like Roberts says: where is the empirical evidence?…. there isn’t any. there is only nonsensical belief and medieval propaganda from climate shysters and racketeers.
Reduce forced taxpayer funding to zero , and support for such rubbish will disappear by the next day.
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Bought a book for my daughter that night. She’s been in university for a hand full of weeks and they are already hitting her with the propaganda.
The blonde at 26:40 is her mother.
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Once people realize leftist dominated educashun is primarily to be used to mess peoples heads up, it makes sense unis are socialist “distilleries” of conformity and seagull mob mentality.
I think they shoukd appky the same approach to unid as trump has to the EPA…..sack them all, and rehire if they arent loony lefties….
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Here’s a little comic I’m keen to share with you.
I’ve enjoyed the author, Zach Weinersmith’s off-beat science humour for years. Though he often appears strongly small-l liberal, here he has penned a gem that should be tattooed onto the bodies of every politician on the face of the planet. He gets it. To myself, I have titled it “The Romance of the Renewables”
http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/capacity
Enjoy.
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Wow, haven’t the Red Thumbers been busy!
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Sorry David I missed
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read all:
16 Mar: Daily Caller: Michael Bastasch: Fears Trump Would Gut Climate Agencies Were Overblown
Trump’s budget does cut dozens of federal climate programs, but the deep cuts many feared would hit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) didn’t materialize…
NOAA satellites won’t fall out of the sky and NASA will still conduct climate science, says Ryan Maue, a meteorologist and adjunct scholar with the libertarian Cato Institute.
“Scientists lose credibility as policy advisors when they latch onto conspiracy theories created by activists,” Maue told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “The rumors and speculation that led to hysterical overreaction turned out to be unfounded.”
Trump’s budget proposal maintains funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) climate monitoring satellites “to provide forecasters with critical weather data to help protect life and property,” according to the plan.
The budget also expands NOAA’s ability to use commercial weather data to improve its weather models, and it gives more than $1 billion to the National Weather Service to maintain the agency’s forecasting abilities…
The White House only recommended a 0.8 percent cut to NASA’s budget for 2018. NASA’s Earth science program, which conducts global warming research, will have its budget cut by $102 million — a 5 percent cut.
The budget also “terminates four Earth science missions … and reduces funding for Earth science research grants.”
For perspective, Trump’s proposed NASA budget is $600 million more than President Obama requested for the space agency in 2016. NASA gets more money in Trump’s budget than the former administration predicted it would need by 2018.
Other federal agencies saw climate and green energy programs eliminated, but those don’t really involve raw climate data collection. Some activists still sounded the alarm over the budget…
“Our worst fears are now being realized,” Mann told the New Republic of the budget cuts.
Are these the deep cuts activists fretted over?…
“By funding the National Weather Service and investing in the future of weather prediction, the Trump administration must see the huge economic benefits of accurate weather forecasts and timely warnings,” Maue said…
The White House will release its full budget proposal in May. That’s when more details will come out on NOAA’s overall budget.
http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/16/fears-trump-would-gut-climate-agencies-were-overblown/
war on coal continues, more PR for gas:
16 Mar: Financial Times: Pilita Clark: Fight against climate change finds an unlikely ally: Donald Trump
US president’s commitment to shale may help keep lid on carbon emissions
Is Donald Trump about to become a leading force in the global effort to combat climate change?…
“Today, globally, the share of gas in the energy mix is close to 25 per cent but in China it is 6 percent and in India 5 per cent – two countries with huge coal consumption,” (IEA executive director Fatih) Birol said in a Financial Times interview. “If gas becomes cheaper as a result of much higher production it can compete with coal.”…
https://www.ft.com/content/ab9bd972-0a6a-11e7-97d1-5e720a26771b
more anonymos FakeNews? possibly.
claims only small energy companies want to back out of the Paris Agreement:
15 Mar: Reuters: Trump seeks input from U.S. energy companies on Paris climate pact
by Valerie Volcovici & Timothy Gardner
President Donald Trump’s administration has been contacting US energy companies to ask them about their views on the U.N. global climate accord, according to two sources with knowledge of the effort, a sign Trump is reconsidering his 2016 campaign pledge to back out of the deal.
The sources, who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the subject, said many of the companies reached by the administration had said they would prefer the US remains in the pact, but would also support reducing US commitments in the deal. …
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-climatechange-idUSKBN16M2CB?utm_source=Daily+Carbon+Briefing&utm_campaign=920f597548-cb_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_876aab4fd7-920f597548-303473869
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17 Mar: Bloomberg: G-20 Finance Chiefs Said to Drop Climate Reference in Document
by Alessandro Speciale & Rainer Buergin
Finance ministers from the world’s biggest economies dropped a reference to climate change in a draft of their statement at a Group of 20 meeting, frustrating plans by Germany to devote a section to the topic, according to people familiar with the talks.
Deputies concluded crafting the communique on Thursday evening, and ministers and central-bank governors will debate the document in the German town of Baden-Baden on Friday. The language may still change before the final version is released the next day.
Germany is using its year as G-20 president to push for the group to support climate protection. That effort has run into resistance from countries including the U.S., China, India and Saudi Arabia, one G-20 official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks were private…READ ALL
https://www.bloombergquint.com/markets/2017/03/17/g-20-finance-chiefs-said-to-drop-climate-reference-in-document
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Turnedoutnice (comment #1) The rest of the story:
1. In 1922, Francis William Aston reported “powers beyond the dreams of scientific fiction“ in cores of ordinary atoms.
2. During WWII, the Allied nations and Japan independently used those “powers beyond the dreams of scientific fiction“ in atoms of heavy elements (Th, U and Pu) to build their own atomic bombs.
3. In Aug 1945, Stalin declared war on Japan as WWII was ending. Stalin’s troops captured Japan’s atomic bomb production plant at Konan, Korea, and Stalin then had control of the world’s entire inventory of atomic bombs.
An American B-29 bomber flew over Konan, Korea, was shot down and the crew captured and held for negotiations in Aug-Sept 1945.
4. On 24 Oct 1945, nations and national academies of sciences were united under the UN, to “save the world from nuclear annihilation by hiding the source of energy in atomic bombs.
The rest of this story is told in world history and fictional postmodern scientific models of reality.
Even after Trump’s election, the US NAS still trys to hide reality from the public:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10640850/NeutronRepulsionb.pdf
00
OT, I regretfully cannot make it to Melbourne today as planned, unforeseen family issues have my priorities elsewhere, my apologies to any that wanted to attend.
41
I should have checked here this morning Yonnie.
I maintained a vigil at the Parliament House steps form 10-10:30am.
I saw some asian tourists taking selfies, a escorted tour group and a wedding party. I was not sure what to expect. Otherwise not much traffic.
Disappointed not to meet you. Perhaps a weekday would be better.
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I’m really sorry Peter, honestly I’d never make such claims in an offhand manner, unfortunately between working full time and having family that are loved dearly my priorities are in the realm of the majority, rest assured the next foray into battle will be well prepared with committed purpose.
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The Finkel inquiry has released almost 400 public submissions into the future of the electricity market.
“The heart of the Review’s task is to find solutions to address the so-called energy trilemma – policies that simultaneously provide a high level of energy security and reliability, universal access to affordable energy services, and reduced emissions. This is easier said than done.”
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This bloke gave a pretty good submission http://www.environment.gov.au/submissions/nem-review/maddison.pdf and http://www.environment.gov.au/submissions/nem-review/maddison-reference-material-a.pdf
The nuclear option is dismissed way too quickly in this country.
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As you would know, the Australian Communists and fellow travellers have opposed nuclear during and ever since their comrades in the USSR and China told them too.
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That’s fake news, we didn’t move towards nuclear because of its inherent danger and the high cost of building a nuclear plant compared to coal fired plant.
I have it on good authority that the China Infrastructure Bank will lend South Oz the money to build a nuclear power plant near Adelaide, but they seem reluctant to take advantage of the very low interest rates on offer.
43
Interesting as both of those comrades have embraced nuclear power rather enthusiastically, our local Communists are short sighted revolutionaries indeed.
31
They are more in line with Gramsci than Lenin.
Even a small nuclear reactor (SNR) would still be odious to the South Australian electorate, so I can’t see that happening anytime soon.
Looking to see what cost comparisons are between a small coal plant and SNR but no luck, this is an interesting read.
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21715685-new-crop-developers-challenging-industry-leaders-how-build-nuclear-power-plant
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Thanks Yonniestone. They forgot to attach my other article on super and ultrasupercritical coal, but I have told them.
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It’s a good read, I’d like to share it if its OK with you David.
31
No problem.
11
I have started reading the executive summaries of the almost 400 submissions to the Finkel inquiry. So far I have been amazed at how few talk costs and affordability. All the players in the industry play the politically correct line of how critical sustainability is, with proposals to spend even more money in pursuit of that goal. Very few acknowledge that high electricity costs are a major impediment to industry and a blow for consumers.
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Apart from mine, do any question where CAGW is actually occurring?
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Whether not where.
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Here’s a fun budget fantasy.
The democrats, in a desperate effort to save big bird and planned parenthood,
threaten to shut down the government (not approve the debt ceiling).
Donald, channeling his inner Reagan v. GAorbachov , quoting Clint Eastwood:
Go Ahead Mr. Shumer, make my day.
Debt ceiling extension held up.
Donald says, cool, I’ll run the government on the tax reciepts. Gotta cut 25%. Exec gets to make decisions.
Have to lay off some folks.
Makes his cuts being legislated a continegncy for signing debt ceiling —
he can veto it.
A balanced budget causes economic take-off & enough growth to cover social security & medicare fixes.
Thousands of “civil servants” who can’t be fired remain separated from the government — 99 44/100% were dem donors anyhow.
By the way, Former Sen Coburn had a plan for this that essentially cut staff and redudencies, but no actual benefits.
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97% Permanent Drought Update:
May 2007: Study predicts permanent drought in Southwest
https://www.ucar.edu/communications/staffnotes/0705/drought.shtml
August 2016:
Losing Lake Tahoe to [Doomsday Global Warming]
In a season of urgent alarms about global warming, a UC Davis report adds Lake Tahoe to the struggling casualties.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article93821937.html#storylink=cpy
March 17, 2017:
Lake Tahoe expected to fill up with largest physical rise in recorded history
“And perhaps the most significant milestone is that the drought will be considered over in the Tahoe area.”
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Lake-Tahoe-fill-full-capacity-level-rise-record-11007117.php
California’s desert blooms as drought comes to an end
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-flowers-idUSKBN16L24F?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews
. . .
If only I could find a 97% climate science prediction from 20 years ago that predicted that.
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There are oodles of farmers getting bogged when driving into town to collect their drought relief cheques recently.
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On Friday all news services reported a ”willy willy” as a tornado. It was a tiny twisting wind that could do no damage and lasted for seconds, it was FAKE NEWS
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99.99% of men have experienced a “willy willy” that barely made a dent and lasted for seconds, nothing new here……
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it was bad reporting.
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“it was bad reporting.”
It was AGW driven MSM, of course it was bad reporting/FAKE news. !
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Fake Stream Media: “It’s Our Job to Control What People Think.”
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World’s largest “virtual” power plant for Adelaide – a mere 5MW with an unspecified amount if MWh, but not likely much.
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-16/virtual-power-plant/8358894?pfmredir=sm
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update…smile:
18 Mar: Reuters: Climate change financing dropped from G20 draft statement
By Jan Strupczewski and Michael Nienaber
Opposition from the United States, Saudi Arabia and ***others has forced Germany to drop a reference to financing programmes to combat climate change from the draft communique at a G20 finance and central bankers meeting.
A G20 official taking part in the meeting said on Friday that efforts by the German G20 presidency to keep the wording on climate change financing had run into resistance.
“Climate change is out for the time being,” said the official, who asked not to be named…
http://www.reuters.com/article/g20-germany-climatechange-idUSL2N1GU1TO
***Reuters, u know Bloomberg has already named China and India as “OTHERS” – WHY CAN’T YOU?
Bloomberg piece I posted yesterday seems to be slightly updated:
17 Mar: Bloomberg: G-20 Finance Chiefs Said to Drop Climate Reference in Document
by Alessandro Speciale and Rainer Buergin
U.S., China, India, Saudi Arabia said to resist climate effort
***“The link between global warming and the ***ORGANIZATION OF FINANCIAL MARKETS and even the ORGANIZATION OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY” is particularly important for France, (French Finance Minister Michel) Sapin said in Baden-Baden.
“We’ll see whether there’ll be agreement with the U.S. administration, but there can be no going back on this for the G-20.”…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-17/g-20-finance-chiefs-said-to-drop-climate-reference-in-document
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18 Mar: BusinessTimesSingapore: AFP: G20 hits America First, climate change speed bumps
PHOTO CAPTION: Finance ministers from the world’s biggest economies struggled Friday to find common ground at global trade talks, in the face of Donald Trump’s “America First” policy and his scepticism towards climate change.
[BADEN BADEN] Finance ministers from the world’s biggest economies struggled Friday to find common ground at global trade talks, in the face of Donald Trump’s “America First” policy and his scepticism towards climate change.
All eyes were on United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as finance ministers and central bankers from G20 nations gathered in Baden Baden, western Germany…
But there remained a gap on trade openness and climate change…
Clouds over climate change
Mr Trump’s stance on climate change also sat uneasily with the rest of the room, as sources say the US delegation is resisting wording in the final communique on the issue.
A source close to the talks said US negotiators appear to be unable to commit due to an absence of mandate from Washington.
On Thursday, Mr Trump proposed to take the axe to environmental financing, slashing funds in his first national budget proposal for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by a third, as well as eliminate contributions linked to the UN climate change programmes…
French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said if no agreement could be found on both sticking points, that could be reflected in Friday’s final statement.
“Our heads of states are meeting in a few weeks. On subjects that are so important, it’s not up to the finance ministers to block or to walk back on the issue, there will not be any backsliding on such fundamental issues,” he said
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/g20-hits-america-first-climate-change-speed-bumps
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what is a “climate veteran”?
China & India sound mightily relieved!
17 Mar: ClimateChangeNews: Megan Darby: Climate veterans say Trump budget undermines global cooperation
Laurence Tubiana, one of the architects of the historic Paris climate deal, described the US U-turn as “shocking”.
“It is not the final budget of course and I hope that Congress will revise that,” said Tubiana, who now heads the European Climate Foundation. “But it is an intention, it is a signal clearly and it is a pity because the US will not be truthful to its commitments. That will certainly create a lot of diplomatic feedback.”
Chai Qimin, an international climate cooperation expert at China’s National Development and Reform Commission, said US breach of trust was already undermining economic transition inside the world’s biggest carbon polluter.
“It is undeniable that more questions are being raised in Chinese government and industry,” said Chai. “An ambitious green plan will be more difficult to implement than previously – and may even meet scepticism and opposition, if the US lowers its ambitions in such a way.”
The US stance also eases pressure on India to steer away from coal, former environment minister Jairam Ramesh suggested: “India will continue with its aggressive solar energy programme but it may have earned a breather to execute its coal expansion plans.”…
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/03/17/trump-budget-undermines-global-climate-cooperation/
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Here are some initial extracts covering only A-B headings and pdf versions from the almost 400 submissions to the Finkel inquiry:
Summary of Submissions to the Finkel Inquiry into the National Electricity Market
(I have taken extracts from Executive Summaries of each submission I have read.)
350.org The need to reduce carbon emissions is paramount. We urge the Review to adopt a vision in which, by 2030, the Australian electricity generation system has no fossil fuel generators, but only renewable sources and storage (and balancing) facilities. We cite recent research which indicates that such a goal is achievable and affordable.
ACA Low Emissions Technologies Policy that provides an incentive or subsidy to a particular technology in preference to other options cannot meet the Government’s energy objectives. Non-distorting policy is a better approach to support a transition to a lower emissions future. Looking ahead we need to ensure there are no policy impediments for the uptake high efficiency low emissions (HELE) coal fired plants and carbon capture and storage(CCS).
AGL Energy The piecemeal introduction of carbon reduction and renewables policies has produced unintended consequences for wholesale energy markets, most apparent in South Australia which has been disproportionately impacted due to its superior wind resource attracting a large share of renewables investment. In order for the energy market transition to effectively respond to the competing policy objectives, which it must deliver concurrently (reliable and secure electricity supply, delivered at an affordable price, with increased integration of renewable energy capacity), AGL believes actions in three key areas are critical: Orderly closure through an energy intensity scheme; adding a requirement for dispatchability to new intermittent generation; protecting customers.
Agriculture Electricity Taskforce Electricity costs are crippling the agricultural sector. In the past five years, our food and fibre producers have been subject to exponential price increases.
Alinta Energy Alinta agrees the energy sector’s biggest challenge is producing reliable and secure energy, at an affordable price, while delivering on Australia’s national emissions reduction commitments. A singular national energy and renewables policy should be adopted and extended to provide stability and certainty for investors. Consideration of the removal of state moratoriums on the exploration of gas.
Altitude Energy Altitude Energy’s objective in this submission is to show how harnessing the energy of the very powerful and persistent winds above Australia can solve the national electricity trilemma. This submission details how twinrotor or quad-rotorcraft can be tethered at altitude to generate electricity, windmill-style, while simultaneously developing sufficient lift to maintain flight, gyroplane-style.
APL (Australian Pipeline Ltd) There is a tradeoff between the speed of transition to a low CO2 economy and costs. Natural gas has an important part to play and some policies are counterproductive.
Australia Pacific LNG APLNG supports policies that encourage development of natural gas. Natural gas prices are significantly below the current costs of development and production.
Ausgrid Ausgrid is aligned to the currently widely held industry view that network tariff reform is urgent and vitally important, to the industry, the customer and, the Australian economy. Ausgrid is fully aligned to the prevailing view of the Electricity Supply Industry and industry observers that unless greater policy certainty, stability, consistency (across jurisdictions) and technology neutrality can be brought to the competitive generation sector of the industry, future investment in generation, other than perhaps rooftop PVs, will stall.
Ausnet Services If we do not move customers to fairer prices (while offering opt-out choices) in the near future, we risk a longer term outlook that has higher overall costs and risks significant social problems by creating segments of energy “haves” and “have-nots”, ironically, with the “have-nots” funding the “haves”.
Australian Academy of Technology Provide technologically neutral, market based mechanisms to reduce emissions and maintain system security at least cost.
Australian Chamber of Commerce State and territory gas moratoria should be lifted. State renewable targets should be abolished. It is essential that all businesses, no matter the size or sector, have access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy. Australia is unfortunately an increasingly uncompetitive place to do business.
ACF We recommend the adoption of a target to ensure that the electricity sector achieves net zero greenhouse emissions by 2035, so that the entire energy sector (e.g., transport, industrial processes, etc.) can be decarbonised through increased electrification well before 2050. A grid entirely based on renewable technology can feasibly supply affordable and reliable energy and is the only credible option capable of resolving all three elements of the energy trilemma.
ACTU We act as a voice for workers in industries facing the challenge of decarbonisation, for workers, whose future depends on the growth of new sectors such as renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as for workers (e.g. those in construction) that are likely to be particularly affected by our changing climate and rising temperatures. Australia’s national interest will best be served if the negative social and economic impacts of this transition are minimised and the positive opportunities around job creation are seized.
Australian Energy Council Policy is the problem, not markets. As the generation mix changes to incorporate a growing amount of intermittent generation, demand for energy services such as Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS), reactive power, and inertia will increase. The operation of the market also needs to change to reflect these changed conditions. Wind and large scale solar generation cannot typically be used for Automatic Generation Control (AGC). Ensuring system security will require additional, complementary measures that support a NEM in transition. To date, revenue adequacy has been compromised by the weight of off-market subsidy for new renewables as a proxy for emissions reduction policy.
Australian Energy Market Commission There are three matters the AEMC believes are critical to maintaining security in the current environment of change: 1. Good Governance – there are opportunities to improve the effective functioning of the current governance arrangements to shorten the lag between when challenges emerge, and when they are acted upon. 2. Effective integration of emissions reduction and energy policy – the design of any mechanism to achieve emissions reduction objectives is crucial if we are to achieve both the required emissions reductions and the safe, secure and reliable supply of electricity at the best price for consumers. 3. Giving investors and consumers confidence.
AEMO Matters AEMO considers to be of greatest urgency for the independent review to address: Speed of regulatory decision-making to effect change; Availability of detailed power system information; Support for “proof of concept” mechanisms; Reliability.
Australian Energy Regulator The preliminary report notes that effective energy market governance is critical for managing the transition that is under way. We agree with the Review Panel that effective governance arrangements are critical for progressing key reforms. Ultimately, policy makers will need to balance objectives of emissions reduction and energy security and affordability, but this can only happen effectively if the interrelationships between emissions reduction policy and energy policy are well understood. Emissions reductions should be achieved at least cost in terms of the energy policy objectives of reliability and affordability. This is important to ensure continuing public support for emissions reduction policies.
APPEA Reliable, secure and competitively priced energy is crucial to our everyday lives in Australia. Within this framework, oil and gas plays a key role in meeting many of our energy needs. Using more natural gas in Australia’s power generation and resource processing would significantly enhance the nation’s ability to meet increasing energy needs while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Australian Renewable Energy Agency ARENA is focusing on innovation for secure and reliable electricity to help smooth the transition to a more renewable electricity system . Wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) are currently the cheapest and most bankable forms of renewable energy in Australia with the current lowest cost projects less than $70 and $90 per megawatt-hour (MWh) respectively (on a levelised cost of energy basis). Off-river pumped hydro provides utility-scale, short term energy storage, with the potential to be constructed wherever there is suitable geographic elevation difference.
Australian Solar Council Australia’s energy market is no longer working and needs substantial reform. Take a bold, independent approach, recommending fundamental, long-term reform of the National Electricity Market based on smart distributed renewable energy and a substantial increase in large-scale renewable energy and energy storage. Recently, a study by Professor Andrew Blakers of the Australian National University found that Australia can build an affordable and secure electricity network with 100 percent renewable energy, using existing technologies. This would involve a mix of solar PV, wind and pumped hydro storage.
BHP Billiton The need for change is urgent. Increasing energy prices and supply disruptions hinder the competitiveness of Australian businesses and threaten future investment (particularly given the global mobility of capital in the manufacturing and resources sectors). The first priority should be stabilising the market in South Australia to manage the high levels of intermittent generation within the state portion of the NEM.
Business SA In August 2016, prior to the State-wide blackout which cost South Australian business approximately $450 million, a coalition of representative organisations led by Business SA called for an independent review of the electricity market’s transition to low carbon; primarily driven by our distress about the impact of high wholesale electricity prices on the community and economy, and concerns over predicted reliability shortfalls should South Australia be unable to access sufficient baseload generation. Particular attention must be given to small to medium sized energy intensive businesses (in South Australia alone, forming the vast majority of 5,500 ‘large market’ customers) which and have experienced a doubling or more of wholesale energy costs when re-contracting since mid-2015. This follows several years of substantial price increases, primarily on the back of rising network and renewable subsidy costs.
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It seems all these special interest groups will be making lots of money by selling expensive unreliable electricity or participating in its production (unions)
None of them have an interest in cheap, reliable coal, gas or nuclear electricity.
And it’s ridiculous to call the inwuiry independent if it is starting out from the belief that CAGW exists in the first place.
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The Weekend Australian
A meeting of the powerful economic body the G20 has dropped any reference to climate change, in a dramatic policy shift.
[paywall]
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Donald has them on the run and they have nowhere to hide, China will be livid.
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google cache
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They might stop talking about it but they’ll still be “doing” it out of public view.
The Money must keep flowing.
10
The G20 meeting in July has bigger issues to deal with than
further promoting the largest unscientific scam in history .
They won’t walk away from it they will just pretend it never happened .
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Because carbon dioxide emissions have stabilised the G20 will say catastrophe has been averted for now so there is no point in bringing the matter up.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-18/iea-graph-of-global-carbon-emissions-since-1980/8366336
Fair trade sounds better than laissez faire free trade and avoids conflict.
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OT SA wind plant’s producing 1 mW only Jay can save us now
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Sorry 1 MW although factoring power drawn from the grid it might only be 1 mW lol
72
This is a very important article and timely from my most trusted news source….The Accredited Times..
From: https://www.accredited-times.com/2017/03/13/climate-change-why-it-is-time-for-a-new-inquisition/
“Climate Change – Why It Is Time For A New Inquisition”
“The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 as a special taskforce within the Roman Catholic Church, charged with rooting out and neutralising heretics. Ruthless, intolerant, and deadly, the Inquisition hunted down infidels who preached ideas contrary to those handed down by the so-called Magisterium since the time of Christ. Apologists for the Inquisition claim that its goals justified the means – namely the salvation of souls.
“Today, a new Inquisition is urgently needed for a challenge even greater than saving the immortal soul: the utter devastation “caused to this planet by carbon dioxide gas. As politicians, rock stars and the Accredited Media never fail to remind us, time “is unfortunately running out for us on Planet Earth to DO SOMETHING. Time has been running out since the 1980s and it “continues to run out.
“The truth is that Carbon Dioxide is arguably the greatest killer known to mankind, even if we do not always recognise it as “such. CO2 raises global temperatures, is responsible for freak weather events like hurricanes in Florida, drought in Africa, “and sunshine in the Lake District of Britain. It causes the earth’s ice-caps to melt, and thereby kills whole colonies of “polar bears who lose their habitation and natural hunting-grounds……………………………………….”
So if that does not convince anyone here, there is no hope……sad…..*sigh*
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Turnbull wants to expand the Snowy Mountains Scheme to make available “2GW” of pumped storage although the number of Wh is not stated. It is being made out by the clueless that this is extra power production but of course, it is only a big “battery”. In fact, since pumped storage is only about 70-80 percent efficient it will basically drain 400-600MW out of the grid.
Naturally, the massive cost is of no concern to him, just borrow or print more money.
Pumped hydro storage is fine for its intended purpose of load balancing but not for grid scale storage.
(For those interested I wrote an article on pumped hydro storage in the Jan 2017 Silicon Chip magazine.)
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Donald Trump can be counted on to do at least one thing: never quit. If anyone can find that buried climate change money he can. And I doubt that the expenditure will continue once it’s discovered.
Sadly, he may turn out to be a one term president because of all the hatred and anger directed against him.
10
Or he will be the “silent” president. No one gave him a chance this time. And nothing has changed. But he is getting results. SO will get another term when those who are not destroying the country – quietly vote.
00