JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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Statistics
Just glanced at the reneweconomy site. SA is currently drawing 378mw via the umbilical cord. Just how much money has the SA Govt. spent to be not self sufficient in energy.
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Also Victoria has a demand supply deficit.
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The only State that rarely if ever imports is QLD
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WA never imports. No extension lead.
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Victoria now importing 882MW. Interesting that the two green states spend so much time on the teat.
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4-8 weeks ago, the SA Soviet was generating 1100 MW, and importing another 700 MW from Victoriastan.
This was a fairly consistent figure while it was hot……
Clearly renewables are glorious Soviet achievement……..
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yes its pretty obvious he was talking NEM
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Give Labor the chance & they’ll export electricity to the south at rates below cost & subsidised by Queenslanders to show solidarity with the renewables freaks!!
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The silly part is that Queenslanders are paying South Australians for the excess LGCs created in that state. So not only reliable power sent south but also money as well to help subsidise the intermittents in SA. ALL sanctioned by the federal government.
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With the SA election imminent, its worth reminding the sensible voters down there , to keep an eye on their electricity supply source.
As i write this, all the RE shouting, investment, extra costs, etc etc…has resulted in approx only 5% of the electricity being currently used, actually being produced by RE sources.
The vast majority is from Gas fired generation and (imported Victorian) coal power.
How much longer will you let these idiots fool you ?
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I’m surprised how often Tas imports. Wasn’t their claim to fame “plentiful, cheap electricity”?
Are they short of water again or are they playing ducks and drakes with the price a la Enron?
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Heading through the end of summer they may just be conserving water till they see it trending up again. It is an interesting question though.
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If it is cheaper to import from Victoriastan and they have pumped storage facilities installed then why not? Keep the water level up and lets them charge the gullible Vics twice for the same electricity.
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G3,..
Its not the pumped storage that Tassie uses the imports for….they have very little.
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G3,..
Its not the pumped storage that Tassie uses the imports for….they have very little.
They simply shut down the dam hydro and run their demand from the Vic imports , to conserve dam capacity. That is much more efficient than pumped storage also.
The odd thing is , they never seem to reduce the 200MW or so of thermal Gas generation that they run, which must be much more expensive than hydro or the Vic imports ?
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It makes economic sense for Tasmania to take coal fired power from Victoria in times of low demand and at low price so they conserve perched water. That means Tasmania is then in a position to make a killing on what they send back to Victoria at very high price when demand is high.
Tassie can keep the coal fired stations running harder and producing at lower unit cost in times of low demand. They can send back to Victoria to avoid outages during periods of high demand in Victoria.
Hydro becomes an increasingly valuable grid asset as the wind and solar gain market share.
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Just recently SA was using ‘liquid fuel’ as part of its electricity production. I presume that is diesel.
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Ian,
Yes, Tassie has quite a lot of Diesel generation, relative to its normal demand, but i dont think they use it often. They primarily rely on hydro and Gas generation.
You can see the details here..
http://anero.id/energy/fossil-energy.
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i hope you get this: http://balance10.blogspot.com/2018/03/cross-signaling-whole-western-world.html
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‘…..man did not start as cavemen but descended to that state through neglect of devotion to the sacred fire of the heart…..’
Whoa …. I’ll stop you right there.
Long before homo sapiens walked the earth we were sea dogs and going even further back to the time of the dinosaurs we were little more than rodents or something akin.
Sorry if this news comes as a shock, but if god made man in his own image then its a beastly matter.
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Interesting discussion could follow this Gordo. Too bad this is a “midweek” unthreaded as it could take some days.
I’ll tease with: Why couldn’t God be an evolved being?
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I read further …… I’ll bow out of further comments about anything on that link
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indeed. Although it is completely sane on the time cube scale… http://timecube.2enp.com/
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Mark that’s the tease with “why couldn’t god be [insert anything here]”. In other words an endless discussion about nothing IMO.
I’ll stick with the great FSM.
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Omnipotence has it’s benefits.
Blindness is curable when one is willing to see.
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“an endless discussion about nothing”
Just like the anti-CO2 religion.
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He/she/it can be whatever you imagine it to be, thats why there are so many.
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It’s C*R*A*P with too many undefined terms, suppositions, and assumptions. Proof(s)? Of course not.
But top marks to the student.
He just used the wrong word: “genders” instead of “sexes.”
Humans are animals and animals have two sexes.
Some plants do, too.
🙂
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Throat chakra to the rescue.. I can see it will all get sorted…
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superb madness. Keep up the good work.
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What do you make of this GA.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-13/ufos-former-insider-says-pentagon-doesnt-care/9542484
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I saw that… interesting footage but nothing I can interpret personally.
The whole story has all the obfuscation and nothing statements and claims that, possibly conveniently, have no independent sources (“Mr Mellon claims the military does virtually nothing with the numerous reports of UFOs that soldiers make” etc), to make me prefer to watch and wait.
If it is all as claimed it is amazing and I’m sure I could find dozens of earnest blog posts debunking or enhancing the story, some in directions that are fantastical. My personal judgement is that I wont spend time on that rabbit hole just yet.
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My interest is in the technology, the one rotating in the bottom vid is the standard model, phenomenol speed.
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That vidio is made from the F-18 block II IRST21 (infra-red search-track). That effect may or may not; be an artifact of exactly how that IRST21 sequentially constructs an image for presentation to the pilot and\or the subsequent time dependent modification for antiquated TV recording! Trust your instrumentation, never some gut feel; you MAY then possibly live through it! 🙂
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A Hornet fighter pilot said its “faster than I’d ever seen anything in my life.” Visual observation by a well trained individual is hard to ignore.
The other interesting thing is the new Tic Tac model, which has that appearance in both colour and shape.
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el gordo March 15, 2018 at 1:06 pm
So said, ‘so what’? Such was never visible by any human, with limited visual skills, a machine (computer),generated illusion! If repeated 10,000 times, with same exact result, perhaps some slow learning of “Science”!
All the best! -will-
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Kenneth Arnold’s calculation gives us speeds of 1,900 kph, not too fast for the human eye and brain.
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If der were jet engine thermal emissions from dat illusion, Simply light off yur modern AIM 9 block III, (sidewinder), and watch your illusion disappear wid many sparkles!
All the best!-will-
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gordo March 15, 2018 at 2:03
But only if pilot had capability to visually observe such! Do you have any evidence of such? 🙂
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‘Do you have any evidence of such?’
He was probably ex-USAF and his calculations should be taken seriously.
Back in Australia a fleet was sighted in March 1962, travelling north-west to south-east and very high, travelling at roughly 20,000 mph.
This phenomenon was seen by thousands of people.
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The image of that F-16 a 3-5 micron wavelength is approximately correct.(white hot). Lotsa rapidly condensing WV behind that engine. Where is the JEM? 🙂
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With the B2 both plume and JEM are down by 22 db! You tink da fine JPL\Caltech guys ‘only’ want to jump da girlies? 🙂 Most fine Caltech female guys are not girlies, but some (wid tits) still wish to go off somewhere and mess around a bit! OH YA!
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One of Earths subterranean civilisations.Maybe Thulean.Atlantan?
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What is under that base in Greenland? Can we move all Climate Clowns to that base, for some possible measurement\observation; rather than this computer generated BS? 🙂
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G.A. you must be speaking from a white grape perspective.
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MarK D:
A bit subtle for him?
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It certainly was subtle for me 🙂
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poorly distilled grappa is madness inducing
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I have no trouble with madness.
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I guess make sure there is no methanol in the grappa….
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“cross-signaling the whole Western world with anti-real-values”
I cannot wait for gynacologists to do both.
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Good grief!
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Might need Tony from OZ to explain how this all works.
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I am interested in what you think of this video:
https://youtu.be/_I_lsZCAWi4
“Global cooling forecast 2020-2030 global famine mini ice age 2015-2035”
(43 mins)
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I’d be wary of replacing one set of dogmas with another. Enlightenment science requires that we observe and live with uncertainty; the new Scientism, encouraged by Publish-or-Perish (which should really be called Publish-then-Perish) elevates theory and dogma, a trend we can see clearly in the climate beat-up.
Even if we experience a marked global cooling soon, severe heat will still be a problem, just as it was in episodes during the LIA. Much actual science has indicated for a long time that drought, as before, will be a big factor in any widespread cooling, despite the facile assumptions of alarmists about warming and drought. So the best one can do is dig in for possible bad weather while having infrastructure that actually works for most purposes. Energy sources should be potent, constant, available and, preferably, domestic. (Keep coming back to coal, don’t we?)
We have only scratched the top of our planet and the deep hydrosphere remains pretty mysterious. In an age of science, not now, curiosity would be driving us to know more about the hot mushy ball whose skinny surface and atmosphere have got most of the attention. (Done the Earth and Moon, so it’s on to Mars now, right?)
It would be smart to learn heaps more about celestial influences and the internals of Earth. But how do we control the shamans and astrologers who’ve dressed themselves in lab-coats and academic gowns? As recently as the 70s they were brainstorming about perpetual winter, sooting the poles and nuking the icecaps (though the Global Cooling scare has now gone through official Orwellian denial). A new global cooling scare overreaching sane observation will just produce new Brian Coxes and DeGrasse Tysons. Can humanity bear that much smirking? Surely we’ve reached Peak Smirk by now.
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Do the gas giant planets modulate solar activity?
Landscheidt cycles. Even though he was an astrologer he was also an amateur climatologist and had some legitimate peer reviewed publications.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Landscheidt?wprov=sfti1
See video: https://youtu.be/07k6yrPegV0
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David Maddison:
He also made some predictions before her died (in 2004) and they have come true, unlike those from the IPCC and crew.
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Landscheidt made a contribution to solar knowledge. Yes, he earnt his income from astrology, so what? Some “Climate Scientists” like Dana Nutty-Cherry do that, too, and claim it’s a respectable profession. He’s happy: this solar downturn is only going to cause “less than 0.3°C lower [glogal average] temperature.” Dream on Nutty-Cherry. As long as you’re keeping your eye on that variable, you ain’t going to be watching the important ones.
I’m looking for news/facts/information about the Northern Hemisphere food crops. Last winter, it was easy to find out the damage: the winter wheat crop was down to 32% of what was planted and the winter vegetables were wiped out. Across Europe. This winter? I’m having a bit of trouble. The MSM doesn’t seem to regard potential massive food shortages as news until their supermarket shelves are actually empty. I’m more interested in much earlier information.
It’s not temperatures that we need to know, it’s not about storms or Beasts from the East. We need to find out about crops. Did France only harvest 15% of its winter wheat again this year? What about the France, Germany, Hungary etc’s winter vegetable crops? What’s happening with global agriculture? Their last summer was a short growing season.
In the Southern Hemisphere: the Southern African nations including South Africa are in serious drought which is going to badly affect their food. New Zealand is building houses instead of growing crops because it has been cheaper to import. That will suddenly change. Australia is in a very comfortable position with bumper harvests, so far, and is likely to have a path being beaten to its granaries by those wanting to buy it. Watch your food prices. They will climb with prices offered for food from nations bidding for it. Highest bidder wins. I haven’t found out much about South American nations, esp. Argentina.
How much food should I be putting aside? I’ve got some full to almost overflowing freezers and I’m hoping I’m not going to lose power for any long periods. An emergency generator is looking decidedly attractive, because even insurance is worthless if there isn’t enough affordable food to replace it with. We saw what hungry people do a few years ago in the Arab Spring. One point the commentator in the 2030 video made and which we should all note: hungry people riot and don’t care about soldiers with guns. Several North African governments were overthrown during the Arab Spring.
We live in Interesting times. Governments are playing climate games instead of looking out for food production and food security. Scary.
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Sophocles: RE food crop outlook:
USDA Latest World Demand and Supply estimates: https://www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/latest.pdf
If you get a generator, know your intended load profile. Generators are most efficient at about 80% rated capacity on a continuing basis. If you are running light loads on balance, make sure it is an inverter generator. Saves you 20% on fuel costs.Inverter gensets cost more than constant speed gensets but save fuel at light loads.
Water is a necessity moreso than food. An required drugs like insulin or heart medications.
I’d opt for water, ammo, and dried foods. Forget the freezers and generators. Just my view.
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Chiefio suggests several large bags of dry dog food in case of real emergencies
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Water is OK, I’ve got good storage capacity and Auckland’s water supply is excellent—well filtered and chlorinated so in a clean container it keeps well. Medications … Umm. Interesting point. I’m looking at inverter generators anyway …
Thanks for the link, Lance, I will be exploring.
Ammo: about 10,500 rounds. Enough, I think. NZ is not an armed society 🙂 but I hold the necessary licence—I do a lot of target shooting so that’s two years supply. I’m in the process of renewing fences in order to renew the large dog supply so I’ll have to think about food for that.
Another Ian: I can’t rely on the supply of natives to ameliorate that problem much as I might like to, so I have already been thinking along the lines of dry food. It’s easily obtainable in quantity and keeps well
I think we have about 5 years before the balloons go up.
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Dry food can’t be relied on unless it is very dry, sub 10% moisture or even less, because of possible insect infestation. Cooked and dried might be OK if done properly.
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… as long as the bags stay sealed …
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” The MSM doesn’t seem to regard potential massive food shortages as news” Sophocles, wait until a crop is wiped out by a heat wave and the MSM will be all over it.
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Assuming they have the strength to cover it when they are starving…..a bit of hunger will focus their tiny minds…
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Like one Friday in October 1988 when a westerly gale at 41 degrees turned our beautiful 800 acres of wheat brown on top.
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Of course. For weeks! 🙂
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I do know that in 2017 we humans once again produced more cereal grains than at any time in the past and that has been the trend for the last several years. All part of advancing agricultural practices and the greening of the earth.
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Reading your gloom and doom statements, one might get the idea that grocery store shelves are empty of bread and green beans.
We have not noticed this.
We will check again on Wednesday.
You might have picked up on a small area where winter vegetables were wiped out, or some such thing. Further, wheat is grown in a large part of North America. It is common for one region to see a lower yield. That only matters to the growers there. Elsewhere, the growers can have an ample crop — and higher prices.
Growers understand these things and adjust rapidly.
How much food should one put aside. Enough for 42** years — that’s the magic number. Fresh, frozen, canned, and dry — some of each.
Seriously, store enough water (per person) for about 2 weeks. If your local issues last longer than that you are in deep deep trouble.
Store pure water for drinking and cooking.
Less pure water is needed for cleaning and general cleanliness, including flushing.
**42 – – – Look up this number.
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USDA used to be good at monitoring world crop production.u
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I did say “about 5 years before balloons go up” didn’t I? I did. I’m watching for trends so don’t get all excited and do an MSM Stupid-Reporter-Panic™ yet.
Yes, I’m carrying significant reserves already, but so what? I live in a country where earthquakes are common, (search google for “Christchurch Earthquake,” “Kaikoura Earthquake” “Napier Earthquake” “Murchison Earthquake” and “Inangahua Earthquake” “Seddon Earthquakes” “Wellington Earthquakes”) and volcanic eruptions ( “Tarawera Eruption,” “Ruapehu Eruptions”—note the plural—and so on) are only slightly less so. Our Civil Defence organisation recommends such. So what? Such a surplus requires careful management but it’s still necessary. You live in the CONUS? You’re on the upsidedown part of the globe, so you have a different set of problems and a different set of priorities.
Last winter, that’s the 2016/2017 winter, not this one, the US winter wheat crop was down 32% on expectations. That doesn’t mean the whole year’s result was down 32%, so you can stay calm, John, you don’t need to do an MSM and run around like a headless chook.
Watch this winter’s one. Next winter could be warmer, it could be the same as the 2016/2017 or 2017/2018 ones or it could be worse. Watch/observe and note. Plan, from your observations. That way you don’t get caught with your pants around your ankles—it’s hard to run with them there.
I do my own food shopping so I’m right up to date with current prices. Are you? It pays to watch. They’re going to be the best warning signals. But I prefer to figure out what I can before my pocket starts yelling at me. It hurts less, because there is a bit of time for thinking, planning and acting on those plans.
To be blunt: We have two things going on more or less simultaneously and we don’t have the full knowledge to be able to predict results at all accurately:
1. the sun is going into a solar minimum. Some say it will be similar to the Dalton Minimum, some say it will be similar to the Maunder minimum. I wasn’t there for either of them. Neither were you. Neither had particularly good winter weather. Go read Charles Dickens’ books. He lived through the Dalton. The weather described in his books is somewhat more extreme than that we experience.
2. The planet’s magnetic poles are on the move. The last magnetic pole reversal was c. 700,000 years ago so evidence for what effects it had is not lying around. We don’t know, we can only surmise from what indirect evidence (aka proxies) we have. What is happening, so far, is that the planetary magnetic field has weakened significantly which means smaller solar flares are having bigger effects on terrestrial weather. That can and does affect climate.
Neither of those two are going to dump on us tonight or tomorrow morning. They move at the same pace as our glaciers, which are among the fastest in the world, but still slower than walking pace.
Given that our food supply is CO2 dependent (livestock included) and the world has idiots trying to sequester CO2, and more idiots trying to drive our governments in the wrong directions, then careful and timely planning becomes more important than ever, especially given points 1 and 2 above and our almost total ignorance about the effects and the almost total lack of concern about those effects. A bit of interest in food supply security would be reasonable, would it not?
Doom and Gloom? Given Australia’s problems with its power supply—and it’s taken only two years to screw that up—and the New Zealand governments new Minister of Climate’s (a management or manglement consultant—the one who wants a Category 6 designation for tropical cyclones; a nice fellow who is a True Believer and therefore dangerous) virtue signalling (100% renewables by 2030 despite the mess next door—Australia is our neighbour—then some things acquire a bit of urgency because they can and do dump on us overnight. Prudence.
Feel better now?
Whatever. Panicking or not panicking is your affair.
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… I’m talking about New Zealand’s Glaciers, nobody elses, not even Antarctica’s.
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It is also prudent to store seeds for growing food one never knows how long the sh*t will hit the fan for.
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Ive got a 100,000 litres, will that do?
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nope. You’re too far away. 🙂
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Do a search on tallbloke.wordpress.com. He’s been looking into the giant planets effects for a while and over the last six months or so, he’s published some interesting articles.
Recommended.
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Oldbrew and Paul Vaughan have been discussing the planetary “Why Phi” for over 6 years @tallbloke!
All the best!-will-
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I know, I’ve been following them. They’ve managed to reach some conclusions over the last six months in some of the areas they’ve been discussing.
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YES! Not only that; but all planets and moons modulate each individual body’s thermal expression of the solar system conservation of angular momentum which may be correct!
All the best!-will-
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BTW Climate Clown Claims are never Wissenschaft; (science) but instead gewissenhaft, (deliberate shafting)! 🙂
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There have been comments recently about the amount of GST that SA and Tasmania get, but people have fallen for the pea and thimble.
Current ratios are
NSW 0.88
Vic 0.93
Qld 1.19
WA 0.34
SA 1.44
TAS 1.80
ACT 1.19
NT 4.66
The biggest decrease has been for the NT, and the biggest increase has been for the ACT????
Why should the ACT be subsidised? Do they have vast outback areas like WA, SA and Qld? Do they have connection problems with the rest of Australia (well, yes but that isn’t what I meant)?
Do they have an impoverished population? With their average income?
The Department of Social Services spends $5,500m every year just in admin costs. Again, an average of over $160,000 per employee – and they’re not even the worst offenders. The Federal Department of Health employs 4500 people, costing $222,000 each. That’s a big number, especially since health spending is largely a state government remit. Then, finally, we have the Department of Foreign Affairs, whose 7000-plus employees cost taxpayers $240,000 each
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Canberra? Well it costs a lot to run a country bigly.
Lotsa’ bureaucrats to be paid …
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My interest was piqued by claims that the ACT would be 100% renewables when it signed long term deals with south australian wind farms for $76 per MWh INCLUDING the RET certificate.
As it stood it implied that the ACT could sell the Certificate for (around $85) and have free electricity, but the wind farmers would make a loss (their costs being $96-111). Translating the journalese it meant that the ACT got cheaper electricity, the wind farmers could sell the certificate, thus netting around $160 per MWh – “a nice little earner, Arfur Daley”. But who would have to buy the certificate? Not the ACT because they would claim to be 100% renewables (regardless of where their electricity came from) so the rest of us would get to pay a bit more. Don’t expect electricity prices to fall anytime soon.
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The ACT is subsidised because that’s where most of the uncivil civil servants live.
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what is Novichok? https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/03/12/what-is-novichok-the-russian-nerve-agent-and-the-scientist-who-revealed-it/?utm_term=.c43638086689
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More end of the world Coral bleaching
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-14/coral-bleaching-sign-nt-marine-ecosystem-under-threat-scientists/9544956
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If some bright fellow comes up with a way to permanently kill off coral I suggest putting the genius to work on lantana next. (A bit of frost burn won’t count, no more than some coral bleaching.)
I’m only joking about lantana. While a pest in paddocks, it’s a perfect host and companion for moso bamboo, which then removes it without any effort from humans.
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Oh we already know what will quickly kill coral off: Oxybenzone. In minute quantities. It’s in some of the stronger modern sunscreens.
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El Nino is absent, there shouldn’t be any bleaching at Coburg.
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And on Trumps latest sacking oh if only we could do the same here
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I doubt Tillerson was an anti-Trumper but he was a luke-warmer at best.The NK negotiations must have brought this to a head. Not sure Pompeo is a big improvement.
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Meanwhile in other places
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/03/13/delingpole-mike-pompeo-climate-change-skeptic-energy-realist/
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It seems I rushed to judgement in my earlier post. Apart from being a sceptic my reading since indicates that as Secretary, State will be more responsive to FOIA requests. Judicial Watch complains that State and Justice are no easier to deal with now than under Obama.
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Trump knows exactly what he wants. Anyone who doesn’t deliver what he wants goes.
Next please.
It’s rather refreshing, actually.
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Pompeo will likely sack the rest of the pompous career diplomats at state!
The new Judge will likely void the LtGen M. Flynn confession to the corrupt FBI. Since already confirmed by the USsenate; please, please, our new director of the CIA! Finally a master Spook dat out Spooks V. Putin, every turn!
Still more sacking is needed there! Many ex-Crats are running for Congress now! These wimpy ex-Crats have never witnessed a well placed IED! Jus sayn! 🙂
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Tillerson simply forgot who was his boss. A not uncommon trait of those who have been in positions of near absolute power as he was in the civilian sector.
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I think straw that broke the camel’s back was his colluding with Europeans to try and minimize changes to the Iran deal. Major changes or scraping that deal was a Trump campaign promise.
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Earth Hour 2018, 24 March,WWF;
Win a fossil-fuelled trip to the Great Barrier Reef… just by switching off a light?
Register for Earth Hour 2018 and you could win the chance to experience the beauty of the Reef first-hand.
https://twitter.com/WWF_Australia/status/973044700532719616
https://www.earthhour.org.au/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_campaign=earthhour&utm_content=video_comp
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I will be home, must remember to switch on all the outside lights
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Thanks for the reminder. Everything will go here on in celebration of electricity…while we still have it.
I notice our watermelon ‘betters’ are very happy to entertain big city crowds to massive light shows and firework displays at various times of the year. Bread and circuses to keep the sheeple happy and distracted from what’s really going on.
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I’ll have EVERY light with-in our household on.
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I’ll bet nobody’s home.
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I’ll celebrate electricity by using the oven and electrically heated sauna, plus of course turn lights on to show everybody how important I see cheap energy.
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I’ll be in bed asleep. If I wake up it’ll be just the iPad and the modem to see what you are up to.
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13 Mar: NZ Herald: Solar power for wealthy poses risk to low-income Kiwis
by Pattrick Smellie
Energy Minister Megan Woods has told a major electricity industry conference the government is watching to make sure low-income consumers don’t end up facing higher electricity costs caused by wealthier people installing solar power units…
“This is particularly in the context of the rise of emerging technologies like solar panels and distributed generation which mean that more people who can afford to are able to draw less electricity from the grid, pushing the price of electricity up for everyone else – often the people who are least able to afford it.
“I want the review to consider whether current regulations in place allow consumers, especially those in lower socio-economic areas, to fully realise the potential benefits of emerging technology.”…
Her comments place her at odds with the Green Party, which supports the government on supply and confidence votes in Parliament. Its energy spokesman, Gareth Hughes, is a long-time advocate of subsidised solar rooftop installations as a way to increase renewable electricity generation in New Zealand. Renewable electricity from hydro, wind and geothermal sources currently produce about 85 per cent of the country’s electricity.
The government is committing to New Zealand achieving 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2035, based on a year with average inflows to the country’s hydro-electricity storage lakes…
Woods acknowledged newly published research by several electricity network owners warning that rapid uptake of electric vehicles could place severe peak-load pressure on the electricity system and require costly upgrades unless carefully planned for.
“One of the critical roles of the Climate Commission will be to chart a transition path that ensures we have security of supply without pushing prices sky-high as a result of the required levels of over-capacity that a 100 per cent renewable energy system will require,” she said, referring to the government’s plan to create an independent commission to advise on national carbon budgets required for New Zealand to meet its 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12012098
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13 Mar: RFI: Volkswagen boss predicts return of diesel
By Christina Okello
Volkswagen boss Matthias Mueller said Tuesday he’s convinced that there will be a comeback for diesel motors more than two years after his firm admitted to cheating on US emissions tests, a move that sparked a huge backlash against diesel.
“I am convinced that diesel is experiencing a renaissance,” Mueller told an audience at the German company’s annual news conference in Berlin Tuesday.
This upbeat view contradicts the bleak drop in sales of diesel cars across Europe, triggered by Volkswagen’s emissions scandal in 2015…
The fallout cost the German maker more than 3 billion euros last year. Coupled with that, is the recent ban on diesel cars in cities in Germany, honing fears that driving bans could deal a further blow to the car sector. A far different picture from Mueller’s so-called renaissance…
***But that would be ignoring VW’s record sales. The company sold 10.7 million vehicles in 2017, up by 4.3%, meaning that it is still the number one carmaker in the world…
“It’s surprising that they are able to get those results with so much pressure, and so big losses on correcting vehicles and so forth,” Berry Van Gestel, the former chairman of Cadillac and Corvette in France, told RFI…
It shows that “they have so much margin on the production that they do, that they can bear all those extra costs,” he said…
Volkswagen, like many other carmakers, uses diesel engines. They have the benefit of being important power systems for on-road and off-road vehicles, but the downside is they emit significant amounts of nitrogen oxide (NOX)…
New retrofit technologies have been developed to reduce harmful emissions, but environmentalists are pressing for bans on older diesels in German cities with high pollution levels…
This ban is an “ideological fight,” Fabio Reinhardt, a member of the right wing AFD party told RFI.
“All of these city councils, they’re basically ruled by green-red coalitions. They’re using the diesel issue to have a fight against cars in general which I don’t like,” he said…
For his part, Van Gestel, who’s worked with a wide range of vehicles his entire life, also dismisses the idea of a diesel ban.
“If you have a truck and you have to go heavy loads, then the best way to do it is with a diesel. But a diesel with a proper engine.”…
The Volkswagen scandal has nonetheless boosted investment in electric vehicles, with CEO Mueller vowing to pour 34 billion euros by 2022 on autonomous and electric technology.
“What everybody still forgets is that the solution with electrical vehicles is not without any pollution either,” adds Van Gestel.
“We still do not have a solution to recyle the batteries,” he explains, nor do “we have enough lithium to make all those batteries,” he said…
http://en.rfi.fr/economy/20180313-volkswagen-ceo-vows-diesel-comeback-amid-ban-record-profits
30
I think people are looking at this entire VW/emissions thing the wrong way.
They were required to produce vehicles that passed the emission tests… and they did. True we have that entire spirit vs intent thing that can be argued, but if you are asked to pass a set process as an engineering requirement and you design a method then more credit to you. VW, from an engineering viewpoint, are clearly a very clever company.
Diesel cars are actually awesome to drive. Bit of turbo lag from a standing start, but having 320Nm of torque to play with throughout the entire rev range makes for very enjoyable driving.
Plus they trigger Greenies – Win/Win.
140
Mubcrab says :
Remember it was the greenies and the EU who pushed for diesel back in the nineties due to slightly lower CO2 emissions than equivalent petrol engines. This awakening to pollutants such as particulates and oxides of nitrogen is just the latest green fad.
70
Yet another technical decision made by non-technical people….
40
doubt if many cars have noticeable turbo lag in 2018
20
so the Nissan Skyline GTR I beat off at the lights in my old Nissan Skyline 3L a few years ago was more driver lag than turbo lag?
00
He did go past me way down the road very much faster than I was going … 🙂
00
I have 2 diesel cars and they are great long distance tourers. My Ford Focus 2 l diesel is 10 yrs old has done 189000 kms uses no oil and I can still get under 5l/ 100 kms. Ie over 56mpg.
50
Near new Isuzu diesel 4WD wagon is my transport, 3 litre common rail intercooler turbo, 430 Nm of torque, 6-speed auto and a particulate filter that burns off particle collected when full. Euro 5 Standard.
Excellent highway performance averaging 13 Kilometres per litre and towing 2 tonnes 9-10 kilometres per litre.
So far 20,000 kilometres in 5 months travelled and I am very happy with it. As Mal above acknowledges the diesel is a great long distance tourer, and I add general highway or country transporter.
21
I’m a bit greedier and prefer a stinking big 6.5 litre turbo charged Duramax which still has good economy when towing but can belch voluminous clouds of black soot over any unsuspecting Prius at the flick of a switch .
02
Plus you can buy tax free diesel also known as low sulphur heating oil and avoid paying excessive fuel taxes!
20
Yeah apparently over here they get suspicious at the gas stations if you pull up in a diesel car and buy a bunch of “heating oil” for your “furnace” 🙂 It’s also coloured red and my engine has some transparent fuel lines which makes it very obvious to the tax man if I’m running on red heating oil. Drat!
10
Install a “heating oil” storage tank at home and arrange for home delivery?
00
Solution: get some flammable dye and change its colour.
00
I agree wholeheartedly! Our (VW) superior Technologie can always devise a way to pass some insane political test! Hi compression diesel is the only way to go even for shippspower; think 103-year-old Sulzer diesel; Winterthur Switzerland,the heart of craftsmanship, Wissenschaft.
That Nox stuff can be easily contained; then sold to dentists at profit! 🙂
00
I sympathize with VW. US EPA gave them an emissions test to meet: Specific emissions at specific performance points.
VW met those standards. EPA claimed fraud. That’s a bit hard to accept when the test conditions and performance and emissions were met. That said, outside the test conditions, emissions were “somewhat different”. Well, that’s how a Diesel cycle operates. You can optimize efficiency, HC or NOx, but in any case one suffers at the expense of the other. VW optimized efficiency. For that they got blasted. The test conditions had nothing to do with real roadway conditions. That’s the fault of the EPA. Had VW maintained the HC & Nox levels and sacrificed efficiency, the ultimate total emissions would have been higher. This is most relevant in an NOx “Non Attainment District” or “smog prone area”. Everywhere else, it is irrelevant. My view is that VW did exactly what both the EPA and Consumer demanded of them. EPA should have had a different test if they wanted a different answer. Unfair outcome.
140
I agree, but VW did cheat morally. They optimized differently when the bonnet was closed. That (if the hood is up or down during the test) was AFAIK not specified in test specs, but doing that optimization was considered wrong anyway, probably because they didn’t tell it openly.
00
What Bull Crap! The specified test was upon emission generated from power delivered to driven wheels; never about actual nimble VW accelerations! The only cheats are the pedal stompers!:-)
00
13 Mar: CleanTechnica: Steve Hanley: Green Party In Australia Proposes Internal Combustion Ban After 2030
Australia has fewer electric cars than most of its peers in the world community. At present, only 0.1% of the new cars sold in Australia are electric, most of them Teslas…
Now the Green Party is calling for a ban on internal combustion powered cars beginning in 2030, along with economic incentives, according to The Guardian. That proposal is part of a package of measures, which include adding a 17% surcharge on the sale price of cars costing more than $65,000. Such vehicles are already saddled with a 33% tax levy, which is one reason why most of the cars on Australian streets are smaller and lighter than those normally seen in America.
Part of that 17% surcharge would be used to build an EV charging infrastructure for the country. Gail Broadbent, a researcher at New South Wales University, claims the lack of chargers today is one of the biggest factors keeping people from buying electric cars…
Other policy proposals by the Green Party would set a limit of 105 grams per kilometer for carbon emissions by 2022, three years sooner than a similar proposal by the national government, and a reduction in registration fees for electric vehicles. The emissions rules are similar to those in the European Union but less strict. The EU standard is now 90 grams/km…
While the federal government dithers, Australian states have been charting their own course when it comes to bringing renewable power to their citizens. South Australia, home to the port city of Adelaide, has led the way…
Australians in general are well aware of the awesome amount of solar energy available in their sun kissed country. Solar power and electric cars are two sides of the same coin. The electric car revolution will come to Australia eventually. The results of the upcoming by elections and how much support the Green Party receives from the voters will have a great deal to say about how soon that transition will begin in earnest.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/03/13/green-party-australia-proposes-internal-combustion-ban-2030/
13 Mar: BusinessGreen: Michael Holder: Is 2018’s electric vehicle sales slump just a bump in the road?
Latest SMMT figures show a slow start to 2018 for pure electric car sales – but is this a long term cause for concern or are consumers simply waiting for more models to hit the market?…
Since 2013, UK sales of plug-in cars – including pure electric and hybrids – have shot up from 3,500 to more than 135,000 by the end of January this year. There are also now 60 plug-in models available for consumers to choose from and around 14,900 public places to charge up, including 900 rapid charge points that can power up a typical EV in under 30 minutes.
Nissan claims one of its popular LEAF’s is sold every 12 minutes in Europe, and even demand for used EVs is growing, with a recent analysis suggesting that, unlike for fossil fuel cars, some electric models may actually increase in value 12 months after purchase…
Low emission vehicle sales still make up only 0.5 per cent of total car sales, making the government’s target of ending sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 look like a distant goal…
In January and February last year, almost 1,500 pure battery powered cars were sold in the UK. This year, that number has dropped below 1,000. The market appears to be heading in the wrong direction…
While sales of pure EVs fell the number of plug-in hybrid cars sold over the same period rose from 2,750 last year to almost 3,900 in January and February 2018, according to official data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The appeal of vehicles that can offer zero emissions over shorter journeys while negating range anxiety concerns is obviously starting to resonate with motorists…
“These figures suggest that consumers are still worried about the four R’s that we see holding back the pure-electric market: retail price, range limitation, recharging availability and uncertain residual value,” said (RAC Foundation director Steve) Gooding. “Until more affordable models come to market with a longer range, and more is done to make recharging less of a headache, it is hard to see how the picture is really going to change.”…
At present, pure battery electric cars and plug-in hybrid vehicles are both eligible for plug-in grant funding, through which the government provides buyers of such vehicles with up to £4,500 off the upfront purchase cost of an EV and £2,500 off plug-in hybrids. But despite helping boost low emission vehicle sales to date, that grant is due to come to an end – at its current level of funding at least – next month…
“If zero-emission vehicles are to become mainstream in future, long-term government support with a consistent approach to incentives and tax, and greater investment in charging infrastructure will be critical,” said (SMMT chief executive Mike) Hawes in a statement…but recent surveys (LINK) suggest many motorists still harbour ‘range anxiety’ over EVs, believing the UK lacks sufficient charging points to ensure battery cars don’t risk running out of juice…
https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news-analysis/3028279/is-2018s-electric-vehicle-sales-slump-just-a-bump-in-the-road
20
These greens should try and drive an electric shopping trolley through a high-water creek crossing complete with 10 hay bales on the back and tell me what happens….or grey nomads who want to travel inland a long way…or anywhere in QLD away from urban centres ( which is 99% of QLD ), or anyone who wants to go 4WD-ing…..
Tell ’em theyre dreaming….I cant see australians tolerating such stupidity.
We have a country that is mostly desert that takes 4 hours to fly across. Anything else apart from diesel in areas outside of urban centres is pretty much unworkable.
10
Of course the Greens would. They have no idea that the automotive Lithium batteries also need cobalt to make them. About 33% of the world’s known Cobalt reserves and production are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That should ring a few alarm bells.
Cobalt. An element whose price rose from c. $2000 per ton just over 2 years ago to $81,000 per ton at the end of last year (2017). That was an increase (linearly) of $3250 per ton per month.
If that trend continues, it can be expected to touch $200,000 per ton in three years time or by the end of 2020. Cool. I can see automotive lithium battery prices turning around from falling to rising by next year. At that rate of increase, Cobalt should be hitting $1,000,000 per ton in c. 20 years time. 🙂
Converting motor vehicle fleets to all electric by 2030?
ROTFL 🙂
It ain’t gonna happen until enough Cobalt is discovered to cover the demand. 🙂 🙂
It ain’t gonna happen until the manufacture and operation of EV batteries no longer depends on or uses Cobalt. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Until then, it ain’t gonna happen.
So don’t hold yer breath, I’m not.
10
UK Tele article behind paywall, but Homewood has much of it here:
13 Mar: Paul Homewood: ‘Beast from the East’ exposed our energy failings
UK Telegraph: ‘Beast from the East’ exposed our energy failings
By Tony Lodge
(Tony Lodge is a research fellow at the Centre for Policy Studies and co-author of “The Hidden Wiring – How electricity imports threaten Britain’s energy security”)
The recent severe weather placed a huge strain on Britain’s energy networks. As well as a gas supply threat there were troubling signs that electricity supplies were dangerously exposed. Current policies are set to make the situation worse.
Until recently, British power generators could supply all of the electricity the nation needed. A mixed portfolio of nuclear, gas, coal, oil and renewable plants kept the lights on and allowed for a balanced choice of fuels to generate power.
But chronic policy failures over a generation to get plants built as old ones shut, mean Britain is looking to import more electricity from Europe. Imports are set to make up to a fifth of supplies by 2025. The “Beast from the East” laid bare the risks of this approach…
Billions of pounds of investment are now at risk, which will undermine future security of supply and threaten price rises. Policy needs to change. Energy security and more competitive pricing must become a priority as we prepare to leave the EU…(LINK)
—
Homewood: A rare bit of realism in the Telegraph about the looming threat to Britain’s energy security.
It is sad though that it takes an outsider to write it, when the Telegraph has its own Energy Editor, Jillian Ambrose, who spends most of her time writing puff pieces for the renewable lobby.
FROM COMMENTS:
Robin Guenier: Tony Lodge notes that –
consumers have been presented with a sham claim by National Grid that the UK is increasingly enjoying “coal free” days – a PR wheeze based on the point that no UK coal plants are generating any electricity at a certain time. –
Too true! At 9:00 this morning fossil fuels and nuclear power were contributing 87% of electricity demand – coal’s share was 22.5%. Wind and solar contributed 5.7%.
reply:
Robin, currently at 2:20pm it is about the same, but once the Sun goes down and with Wind at 1% we could be talking a total of 1% for all those Billions spent…READ ON
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2018/03/13/beast-from-the-east-exposed-our-energy-failings/
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Can’t figure out why Mods ‘disappeared’ a post on LCOE being inappropriate comparison between synchronous thermal and non dispatchable generation. Was it the links or the topic?
10
how many links did it have, Lance?
00
I’m getting an electrician to do some work at my place so while he’s there I’m getting him to put a switch in to isolate the house from the grid and an input socket so I can connect the house to a generator in anticpation of grid failure due to an oversaturation of renewables.
53
best to decide which circuits are essential and wire them to a sub panel and then switch the sub panel to or from the grid.
Switching the main breaker to a generator is unwise.
Unless you have a very large generator. Say 6 times the capacity of your AC unit.
Just sayin’.
50
The commercially available and certified transfer switches are unbelievably overpriced! I have my 20 Hp, 10 KW Hobart\ Kohler welder\generator. I use one 60 Ampere three phase reversing winch controller US$150.00 that automagically switches from 150 amp 220 Volt grid feed to local source upon starting generator, but only upon failure of grid;; such can only reconnect to grid after shutting off generator. I can arc-weld to hearts content from Kohler Power.
So far only 5 field workers for Arkansas Valley Power & Light, have replicated such for own residence! I guess if I do not get cold enough, I have no reason to go start generator. Perhaps Momma kicks! 🙂
00
Good idea,
My Grandfather had a diesel powered generator to light his farmhouse. The Ronaldson Tippett engine may be one of those which gets displayed at the Lake Goldsmith display days.
A problem for the urban environment is that it was fairly noisy. Hence he had it in a separate building about 50m from the house.
50
A bloke around here had a venacular all of his own in which oil was “fat”
So the (badge engineered Ronaldson Tippet) Moffat Virtue engine on the lighting plant was the “More Fat and Torture”
40
I have a video of a Ronaldson Tippett engine at Lake Goldsmith here:
https://youtu.be/hUOyir238Z8
01
I procrastinated for years before installing rooftop solar, believing that the madness that mandated them could not continue. WRONG!
If in SA and committed to staying there I would go in boots ‘n all. ie solar, storage batteries, a smart meter and ‘puter controlled isolation switch which disconnects when the power price gets too high. Next step is to have the diesel kick in as battery voltage drops. Someone may even design and manufacture the sub-board and controller if we continue into oblivion.
Householders should never have to become their own network engineers, that’s what our specialised employment system is meant to avoid. Madness!
70
I’ve changed the cooking over to gas, have one gravity feed tap to kitchen sink as well as normal taps. The next project is to get lights, computers etc in one room on a separate circuit, either solar or just battery reserve. That way life goes on except for limitations with pumps, opening fridges and running major appliances. I could hold out quite a while that way.
Line maintenance is better around here these days but one never knows what power deficits elsewhere might do locally. At present governments cover up the problem with borrowed money and lots of imported diesel. But interest rates and one day’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz can stop those flows.
We waste money on war and debt to become more vulnerable to war and debt. Coal rich Australia fights oil wars with invented goodies and baddies, right down to white helmets and black bandanas. Doesn’t seem too smart. Still, when a luminary of the Green Left can be “guided by the beauty of our weapons” there must be a new definition of smart which I’m missing.
40
We did that in preparation for this summer. Just need to be sensible about expectations from the generators. We found a/c OK (modern invertor style) but things like pumps with heavy start up peaks can be an issue. If you are on town water, not an issue I guess.
30
Any chance of you getting the name of the switch and cost to install David
20
12 Mar: Breitbart: James Delingpole: More Climate Scientists Rescued from Polar Ice. This Could Be a Major Trend
Good Morning America reports:
A group of American scientists was rescued from an island off Antarctica’s coast after ice prevented a U.S. Antarctic Program research vessel from reaching them.
The four U.S. scientists and a support staff member conducting research on Antarctica’s Joinville Island were airlifted by helicopter Sunday from an icebreaker ship dispatched by Argentina, said the National Science Foundation, which funds and manages the Antarctic program…
The research party, which was studying ancient climate, was led by Alex Simms of the University of California, Santa Barbara, according to the foundation. An employee of the foundation’s U.S.-based support contractor accompanied the group, the foundation said…ETC
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/03/12/delingpole-more-climate-scientists-rescued-from-polar-ice-this-could-be-a-major-trend/
***only a member of the CAGW mob could write this crazy opening sentence:
13 Mar: Scotsman: Sarah Beattie-Smith: SNP Government is backsliding on climate change
(Sarah Beattie-Smith is climate and energy policy officer at WWF Scotland)
***While Scotland was engulfed by snowy weather in recent weeks the Scottish Government revealed its latest plan to hold back long-term changes to the climate…
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/sarah-beattie-smith-snp-government-is-backsliding-on-climate-change-1-4704457
40
pat:
“While Scotland was engulfed by snowy weather in recent weeks the Scottish Government revealed its latest plan to hold back long-term changes to the climate…” I thought it was the Vikings that went berserk, not the Scots.
40
That’s just gold….
Climate Science is the gift that just keeps on giving….
30
Sarah Beatie-Smith, or whatever, is typical of the green bone head mentallity that has not a clue about energy production and use, but can only offer the singular monotonous mantra of reducing CO2 emmissions in order to make Scotland into the fresh clean air paradise that only a bone head can conceive.
God help the Scottish Nation from such people.
No apologies for the language.
GeoffW
10
“Scotland as a country undoubtedly possesses the essential quality, the character and the history of nationhood but Scotland’s people unfortunately do not”
The Baron of Ravenstone, (1986) “Scotland Bloody Scotland”
10
What is it with the modern West these days? Why do the relevant authorities allow disproportionately large numbers of young girls, be they aboriginal here or white in other places, to be raped and in some cases murdered without lifting a finger to prevent them given the signs are there for them to see? Or as I suspect this is just one sign of many showing the decline and eventual destruction of the West due to collapsing moral standards set by those in authority, as was the case for pretty much every other civilisation in history? We never learn.
ANOTHER POLITICALLY-CORRECT SILENCE, ANOTHER ROTHERHAM
20
12 Mar: Fox News Op-ed: Rep. Lamar Smith: Climate change and the scientific method – we should welcome new research, not resist it
Climate alarmism has become the chant of the media and liberals who favor more government regulations. As Chairman of the House Science Committee, I have challenged the alarmist rhetoric and pursued the facts about climate change.
The Committee follows the scientific method, which welcomes critiques, avoids exaggerated predictions, and relies on unbiased data. Unfortunately, alarmists ignore all these principles.
Those of us who subscribe to the scientific method by questioning assertions are wrongly labeled “climate denier.” So much for welcoming critiques…
Furthermore, the idea that anyone can make precise predictions of what kind of climate will exist 85 or more years from now is laughable. There is simply no way to take into consideration climate variables or technological breakthroughs…
The third tenant of the scientific method, reliance on unbiased data, is violated by climate alarmists who present the American people with suspect data to advance a political agenda.
For example, some claim that the Paris Climate Accord will reduce global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius. They have barraged the American people with this falsehood to garner support for the deal. But MIT data shows that the agreement would decrease warming only 0.16 degree Celsius by 2100 – over 80 years from now – and only if all 195 countries completely abided by the agreement…
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/03/12/rep-lamar-smith-climate-change-and-scientific-method-should-welcome-new-research-not-resist-it.html
12 Mar: WaPo: Chris Mooney: The government is nearly done with a major report on climate change. Trump isn’t going to like it
The U.S. National Academies on Monday released a public peer review of a draft document called the U.S. National Climate Assessment, a legally required report (LINK) that is being produced by the federal Global Change Research Program. The document, which is in its fourth installment, closely surveys how a changing climate is affecting individual U.S. states, regions, and economic and industrial sectors. The final version is expected later this year; the last version came out in 2014 during the Obama administration…
The report, 1,506 pages long in draft form, says U.S. temperatures will rise markedly in coming decades, accompanied by many other attendant effects. It predicts that Northeastern fisheries will be stressed by warmer ocean waters, that the Southeast will suffer from worsening water shortages, that worse extreme-weather events will tax water and other types of infrastructure, and far more.
For the most part, all of this has received a check mark from a panel of scientific referees at the National Academies.
“We had 16 experts review it, go through it in detail, see if it meets the congressionally mandated requirements, and we agree that it did,” said Robin Bell of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, chair of the committee that reviewed the report…
“Coastal ecosystems are being transformed, degraded, or lost due to climate change impacts, particularly sea level rise and higher numbers of extreme weather events,” the document states.
“As the pace of coastal flooding and erosion accelerates, climate impacts along our coasts are exacerbating preexisting social inequities as communities face difficult questions on determining who will pay for current impacts and future adaptation strategies and if, how, or when to relocate vulnerable communities,” it continues.
Regarding agricultural communities, the draft states that “reduced crop yields, intensifying wildfire on rangelands, depletion of surface water supplies, and acceleration of aquifer depletion are anticipated with increased frequency and duration of drought.”…
Granted, the current review is not a 100 percent endorsement — for instance, it states that when it comes to discussing different types of scientific uncertainty, “improved differentiation and more standardized treatment is needed across the draft report.”
The document also contains more than 40 pages of line edits to the longer report…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/03/12/the-government-is-close-to-finishing-a-climate-change-report-trump-wont-like-it/
10
Columbia University = communist university. Home of the Frankfurt School during the second world war.
10
Mike Pompeo, the new Secretary of State ran a manufacturing company for ten years. He is not Big Oil like Tillerson. Never forget that oil is in competition with coal, gas is in competition with coal. We have kept going through summer by burning all our reserves of gas at enormous cost. To us.
However even in reading Delingpole’s comments, there is one thing missing.
Consider The fundamental proposition that
– we humans have increased the CO2 in the air by 50% in the last century
– CO2 is warming the planet
– if we stop CO2 output, even in little Australia, we will stop CO2 climbing.
After thirty years of this, all three are wrong. Greens even claim perversely that we need to spend even more on something which has failed. The Paris accord and 350,00 windmills are having no effect at all on CO2 growth.
In Pompeo’s opposition to windmills, their only function was CO2 reduction. With all the money being grabbed from us by law and given to vendors of solar and wind power and their friends, what reduction in CO2 in Australia have we seen? None. What do we expect. None.
Why are we still being forced to pay for them?
What reduction in world CO2 has anyone seen in 30 years of sacrifice and the biggest waste of money since WW2.
None.
Why not just stop?
There is absolutely no logic in it but a huge amount of money to an army of opportunists.
We can only hope Mike Pompeo kills off this monster. There is no science involved in this crazy scare, even if you believe everything.
The pattern CO2 growth has been utterly unaffected one way or the other, by China or Australia.
Surely anyone can see nothing adds up, except the trillions.
102
Good thing that it’s a good day for small solar in SA, wind is giving almost nothing, just 89MW. Gas is cranking (965MW), and 109MW via the umbilical cord.
50
SA is effectively playing Russian Roulette with their economy. All they need an alignment of various delirious events to occur and the whole state will be blacked out for a day or more. It’s just a matter of time. One of those “events” is the result of an ever increasing population all around Australia. Eventually each state will be looking after their own people. Sooner or later the interconnect will not be available for them when they need it the most. Better to let SA sink on its own than to drag down the rest of us with them.
60
De-industralisation, power so expensive many go off grid, de-population etc I expect it wont be that long until there will be no demand for external power anyway
20
Believe it or not, the ABC News website currently has an article outlining why SA does NOT have the most expensive power in Australia AND does NOT have the most unstable grid in Australia. This is probably the ABC’s contribution to the SA election for Labor.
They also have another anti-Adani article on the website. More good service for the ALP.
Unbiased my ar*e
40
13 Mar: Brisbane Times: Queensland schools go solar in $97 million boost over three years
By Tony Moore
More Queensland schools are going solar with the state government announcing it will spend almost $100 million over three years to put solar energy systems on the roof of more than 800 schools.
But the state opposition has pushed for the money to instead be spent on air-conditioning schools and warned the LNP would watch to see if the money was only spent in Labor electorates
Speaking at Bremer State High School on Tuesday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said schools would save $10.2 million a year in electricity costs once the scheme was fully operational.
The tender for the first 210 solar energy rooftop systems, 30 schools in each of the seven Education Queensland districts, will be released in a few weeks.
“The Advancing Clean Energy Schools or ACES program will save our schools an estimated $10.2 million a year,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“That’s a great saving for schools as well as a fantastic contribution to our 50% renewable energy target by 2030.”…
In 2016, then-Energy Minister Mark Bailey said Queensland government schools, TAFE campuses and hospitals were the government’s first targets to introduce solar panels and save electricity costs…
About 1200 Queensland schools have installed solar panels since 2006, but the newer panels and solar systems have the advantage of modern technology, Education Minister Grace Grace’s spokesman said…
Ms Grace said Bremer State High School, as one of the first sites to have a solar system installed, spent $250,000 on electricity each year, “with $100,000 of that in network charges”…
Bremer State High School current 4.1 kilowatt solar system supplied about 0.7 per cent of its electricity consumption…
Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said while the opposition supported the solar school rollout, it preferred the money went into school air-conditioning systems…
Bremer State High School is in Labor MP Jennifer Howard’s electorate. It is normal for governments to launch a program in the electorate of one of its sitting MPs.
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-schools-go-solar-in-97-million-boost-over-three-years-20180313-p4z45v.html
10
Without coal royalties they wouldn’t have the money to spend.
70
Never stopped a “government enthusiasm” before
10
A bit of levity…pardon the pun….acoustic recognition and auto-targetting system for rail gun-based anti-drone system anyone?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-13/drone-delivery-system-coming-to-canberra-suburbs/9543274?WT.ac=statenews_act
30
Jokes aside, given that drones are not people will a rise in drone delivery promote a rise and drone based robbery?
If drones can be programmed to deliver, is it not too much of a stretch to have drone programmed to intercept and rob from these?
Pirate Drones – Arrrrr!
(Also – if they do develop autonomous Hunter-Killer drones is that how we will get Skynet?)
30
It will be like watching a digital version of a lion take down an antelope at the waterhole….
20
Antelope, that reminds me.
Did you know there is an antelope that can jump as high as an average house? This is due to the antelopes powerful hind quarters, and also because the average house cannot jump.
50
https://www.redpowermagazine.com/forums/topic/113033-no-horses-after-this-round/
10
Hi Jo.
There is a problem with the “comments” link on the post before this one.
The link is missing. Or has been corrupted.
30
I cannot access previous blog on rooftop solar panels.
However great blog Jo. Problem we have is that both ‘major’ parties refuse to make it an issue. No question in my mind that ‘roof panels’ are a bad idea on all levels; a useless solution to Australia’s energy problems and an unfair result for the poor who are subsidizing the better of inour society.
GeoffW
70
If you click on the article to open the whole thing then comments can be accessed. As noted the comments link doesnt work.
10
Thanks Yarpo . .
Regards GeoffW
00
Just heard that Stephen Hawkins as died aged 78.
He was a great human being and a physicists who survived in the face of adversity. He wil be remembered as a great thinker of our time.(though I disagreed with his views on AGW)
GeoffW
50
Hawking, not Hawkins. We met him once, years ago.
22
How’s your head for heights?
https://www.redpowermagazine.com/forums/topic/113040-scary-ladders/
20
Hawkins dead.
For a man who was nominally one of greatest minds of our time he didn’t seem to understand a lot of basic principles.
Remember, “We are close to the tipping point where global warming becomes irreversible. Trump’s action could push the Earth over the brink, to become like Venus, with a temperature of two hundred and fifty degrees, and raining sulphuric acid,” was one of his lines.
Let us be pragmatically honest and ask the question – just how much of awe of Hawkins was due to his contributions in understanding the universe and how much stemmed from our social fear of being seen to pick on a man suffering from motor neurone?
To me he should be remembered as a shining example of personal courage in the face of devastating illness. I think I can safely say if faced with the same diagnosis about my health has he did at age 21 I would have collapsed into self defeating pity and been finished well before I hit 22. It should be seen by everyone that inner spirit and strength can live on and that in many ways the only thing that holds one back is themselves.
Very brave and strong man, but also another science free crackpot pushing a Leftist agenda and his bravery should not have clouded us into never questioning his statements.
And yes, I went there.
152
I agree with your sentiment. Dawkins was perhaps over indulged but I did like the fellow.
GeoffW
10
That of course should be Hawkins, above . . my typo
Dawkins is still with us I hope!
GeoffW
10
No…Hawking.
22
Why everybody misspells his name? 8-/
10
A bit like Spike Milligna, the well known typing error.
10
For a number of years I could not type exchange, it kept coming out exchnage. Of Murphy ensured at the time I was in charge of a group that supported Microsoft Exchange (typed very carefully)
10
Thanks got it this time Annie – no s . .
GeoffW
10
14 Mar: AFR: Peter Ker: Minerals Council cedes ground to BHP, Rio on climate
The Minerals Council of Australia has ceded ground to BHP and Rio Tinto by ramping up its rhetoric on climate change and revising its stance on energy policy.
In changes that come three months after BHP threatened to quit the lobby group over its pro-coal advocacy, the MCA appears to have adopted some of BHP’s public positions including its belief that energy policy must equally balance emissions reduction with reliability and affordability of energy supply.
The revised policy stance was welcomed by Rio and “noted” by BHP, and came as Rio’s board urged shareholders to vote against a resolution at the company’s coming annual meeting that demands a review of Rio’s involvement in lobby groups like the MCA.
The Minerals Council had previously highlighted the “importance of access to reliable, affordable energy” in its policy document, but its new manifesto appears more aligned with BHP’s view that energy policy must satisfy the “trilemma” of reliability, affordability and Australia’s commitment to reduce emissions in line with international agreements such as the 2015 Paris accord…
BHP is also reviewing its membership of the World Coal Association and the US Chamber of Commerce, and is scheduled to give a verdict on both memberships before the end of March, with the company flagging in December it was likely to quit the former.
A Rio spokesman said the MCA’s revisions were “a good development”.
“We’ve been engaged in the process and it affirms a number of positions on climate change that we consider important,” said the Rio spokesman.
BHP’s review of its MCA membership was sparked by a shareholder resolution lobbed by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), and the same group has pushed the same issue with Rio, which will hold its Australian meeting of shareholders in Melbourne on May 2.
ACCR executive director ***Brynn O’Brien said the MCA’s statement was not an adequate response to investor concerns…
http://www.afr.com/business/mining/minerals-council-cedes-climate-ground-to-bhp-rio-20180314-h0xgk4
ACCR’s Brynn O’Brien’s Twitter page tells us everything we need to know about ACCR:
TWEET: 1 Mar: Brynn O’Brien: Feel very privileged today to stand with my tiny @AustCCR team and our big group of civil society, investment, public service, corporate and academic collaborators around the world.
TWEET: 13 Mar: Brynn O’Brien: Very exciting to be at launch of #HumanRightsUNSW – new, multidisciplinary, applied research centre at @UNSW. Looking at health, climate, business, etc through a human rights lens.
https://twitter.com/brynnobrien?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
ABC profile: Brynn O’Brien is a lawyer working on human rights, global work and migration issues.
10
They’re at it again with the weather is climate meme. It’s as if meridional flow bringing Nor Easter’s and Arctic air south never happened before.
If that were not enough I read that a “solar storm” is going to melt our electronics because of ” cracks in the earths magnetosphere”.
20
Those “cracks” are only supposed to appear every equinox. :-). And the sun is going into the SSC24-SSC25 interregnum so it will be rather quiet for a year or two. But that won’t necessarily save us. September last year saw one of the biggest X-Class flares for several decades. Right in time to kickstart those three hurricanes the warmists went ape about …
(The Sun and Storms 2017 update.
You might (if you haven’t already) see Ben Davidson’s The #1 risk to Earth.
There’s also a very good series about the sun and space weather on Ben’s Sun Series
This will probably go into moderation with three links. Sigh.
20
Ok, it didn’t :-). Miracles do sometimes occur!
20
The “cracks” are not really cracks and they’re nothing new. And it has been well documented that powerful Solar Flair’s occur even when solar activity is low. Just a matter of if we happen to be in the path.
20
I had some nice Flairs in the 70s
10
You have my sympathy … 🙂
00
Sympathy? none needed they went very nicely with my seersucker body shirt, velour jacket and clogs (matching denim clogs of course)
00
Darn cell phone!
00
14 Mar: Reuters: U.S. government sued after failing to submit climate change report
by Sebastien Malo
NEW YORK – An environmental advocacy group sued the U.S. government on Tuesday for failing to release records that could show why it has not filed a report required under a global climate compact.
The Paris accord obligates the United States to submit a report every two years detailing greenhouse gas emissions and steps taken to meet a goal to keep the global temperature rise “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit)…
Its latest report should have been filed by Jan. 1 with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – the Paris accord’s guardian – said the plaintiff, the ***Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), an Arizona-based non-profit.
“This is a critical report that the world needs,” Jean Su, the CBD’s attorney, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone, adding that the U.S. submitted its last biannual report on 31 Dec. 2015…
The Department of State said through a spokeswoman that it “does not comment on matters under litigation”…
It is the latest legal action taken by green advocates to combat efforts by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to minimize its role in combating climate change and roll back environmental regulations…
The lawsuit asked the court to order the Department of State to “conduct searches reasonably calculated to locate all records” related to the information request by the CBD, which claims 1.6 million members and supporters.
Trump has previously said he thinks climate change is a hoax. Scientific consensus, however, holds that climate change is largely manmade, with such devastating effects as extreme weather, rising sea levels and more frequent, powerful storms.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-lawsuit/u-s-government-sued-after-failing-to-submit-climate-change-report-idUSKCN1GP25H
28 Feb: SanFranciscoWeekly: Ida Mojadad: Bay area bashes EPA over clean power plan repeal
PHOTO CAPTION: A rally organized by the ***Center for Biological Diversity holds a symbolic polar bear funeral in front of San Francisco Main Library, in protest of the repeal of the Clean Power Plan on Feb. 28, 2018.
Before the meeting even began, the Center for Biological Diversity staged a funeral for a polar bear named Frostpaw outside the library and walked the procession around the building past — presumably — tech workers waiting for their commuter vehicles.,,
http://www.sfweekly.com/news/bay-area-bashes-epa-over-clean-power-plan-repeal/
***the only way to go…
13 Mar: WUWT: Anthony Watts: A conversation with Patrick Moore
Originally published for the French “Association des climato-réalistes”, republished here by request of the author.
Patrick Moore: …***And that is why the most important thing that can happen now, on the global basis in terms of the evolution of the movement to stop this hysteria about climate change and CO2, would be for the United States to overturn the endangerment finding of the Environmental Protection Agency which calls CO2 officially a “pollution,” when in fact it is fertilizer for plants. This is what has to be understood…
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/03/13/a-conversation-with-patrick-moore/comment-page-1/
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Steven Hawkins has passed away
00
Despite some of the nutty stuff he supposedly said the last few years you’ve got to admire the man’s grit. Who here would have fought to live so long in his condition?
20
If a tiny battery [tiny WRT overall demand] is the difference between success and failure, you are sailing too close to the wind.
Generators have tripped ever since Edison and Tesla vied for market dominance but engineers learnt how to protect from this in such a way that consumers never knew about it, the lost generation was replaced seamlessly. OK “usually replaced seamlessly”. 🙂
Why have we regressed to the point that we are on a knife edge the moment it gets hot or the wind drops?
20
Oh dear, I’ve done it again. The above post was a response to Pat #42
00
In Reply to pat #42 ??
Do you mean #22 ?
post #42 was from D Maddison.
00
Stephen Hawking. ph, n, no ending s. Are you guys jokin? Must be, right?
20
serial seniors moments I think
10
btw while I was typing my last comment, David Speers was on with Andrew Bolt/Sky, parroting Giles Parkinson’s “Tesla battery saved SA when coal failed” spiel.
20
INCOMING !!
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-03-13/massive-x-class-solar-storm-slam-earth-tomorrow-could-knockout-satellites-power
great combination of sensational story and doomsday site
on a more educational note, an interesting summary about Basslink background/problems/futures
http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php/article/basslink-a-short-summary-of-risks-
11
Some sources say G1 storm. Others not so sure. Oh, well, maybe the worst that could happen is that TC Linda could spin up … again :-). It’s a bit off the line for a damaging CME to hit so we’ll just have to see.
00
Not according to this site, which I found has a good record of predicting such events. Let’s wait and see who wins.
NO SOLAR STORM COMING | Nonsense News March.14.2018
00
That’s right. Just lumpy solar wind from a large coronal hole. No flare. No CME …
G1 magnetic storm. Just baby stuff.
00
The fuktards have changed the goal posts on how energy (electricity) is costed so now South Australia does not have the dearest electricity in the world .
Also a new term “unserved energy” has come to the rescue of Weatherdill .
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-14/the-conversation-fact-check-does-sa-have-highest-energy-prices/9546506
32
So it is a thing “unserved energy” and it’s quite easy to work out .
3. We then use the N iterations above to estimate Expected Unserved Energy (EUE) as follows:
─ EUE = 1 ∑
11
The numbers (costs) are totally distorted anyway ,…since much of the “cost” of SAs decisions on electricity, are spread over all the other states.
If SA, was truely independent for recovering its own costs, rebates and subsidies,..they would be so high it would be laughable.
10
I note that JMA (Japanese Meteorological Agency) is forecasting a windier, wetter, and cooler overall weather outlook for Australia for the next 3 months.
http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/tcc/tcc/products/model/map/4mE/map1/zpcmap.php
30
BoM has it down to drier and warmer, I’ll put my money on the Japanese model.
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/outlooks/#/overview/summary
40
If the BOM says drier and warmer then I am checking my gutters and downpipes
30
Been there, done that! After three TCs in three months … each one hyped up more than the previous one, I had to. Once into it, I found I had to anyway so it was time well spent.
30
Please everyone, get his name right. It’s Stephen Hawking. We met him many years ago. His wife was once a girlfriend tennis player of my OH.
12
Who was your old handyman?
20
My old and present husband dontcha’ know.0)
12
Eh…where did those last two symbols come from? I didn’t type them! Not knowingly…
02
Eh…where did those last two symbols come from? I didn’t type them! Not knowingly…
OH stands for Other Half in my comment above.
02
Annie you might like this cartoon, not behind a paywall …
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/cartoons
12
Annie you might like this …
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/cartoons
Not Behind A Paywall!
12
there’s an echo in here…in here…in here
10
I see, I see, I seeeeeeee! A good cartoon Dennis.
02
I see dear little red thumb is around…what’s your problem then…do explain.
21
Red thumb problem, Annie? Why it’s jest a ‘School of
Resentment’ red thumb, by one of them gender-socio-politico
-accentuating-the-negative-social-warriors aimed at oh-so-
evil conservative-inter-gender-relationships,that POV-post-modernism-reduces to (white) paternalist power-hierarchy and
nothing but.
30
whurley has an idea:
13 Mar: Inverse: Danny Paez: SXSW 2018: Quantum Computers Could End Climate Change Debate, Says Expert
Give deniers data they can’t refute
On Tuesday, tech entrepreneur William Hurley took to the SXSW stage to reveal how quantum computers could reshape the future.
Otherwise known as whurley, the tech expert predicted quantum computers could be used to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues. One of them is putting an end to the climate change debate once and for all by capturing and modeling the chaos of real-world climate conditions that can sometimes flummox traditional computers.
“This issue with climate change is that it can be argued ***because most of the science can be disproven,” Hurley said during his panel. “Because in classical systems, it is very hard to model a quantum system. So what happens is a lot of the forecasts we make, they prove to not be accurate. That gives people the ability to say they aren’t real.”…
“Since nature is quantum mechanical and so are quantum computers, we should be able to build much better models of the effects of climate change and really hit home,” he said.
Scientists arguing that climate change is taking a toll on the Earth could then present deniers with extremely accurate models and simulations that they could not refute — assuming deniers are acting in good faith, of course.
In Hurley’s vision, this would hopefully get everyone on the same page regarding climate change and spark unanimous action to try and halt its affects. Of course modeling nature would take a fully functional quantum computer, which is still a little ways off.
Nonetheless, Hurley urged his audience to get informed and get involved in this technology that won’t only help computer scientists, but could completely change the way we interpret the world around us…
Hello! You’ve made it to the end of the article. Nice. Here’s a related VIDEO you might like: “Bill Nye Predicts the Future of Bacon, the Environment, Animals, and Bacteria”.
https://www.inverse.com/article/42244-sxsw-2018-quantum-computers-end-climate-change-debate
10
The use of “denier” and “deniers” tells me the rest of it isn’t worth reading.
30
‘Extremely accurate models and simulations they could not refute’…oh really? Pull the other one. Where will the input come from and who knows all the possibilities?
52
‘In Hurley’s vision, this would hopefully get everyone on the same page regarding climate change and spark unanimous action to try and halt its affects. Of course modeling nature would take a fully functional quantum computer, which is still a little ways off.’
Hey, quantum computer, that’s not the answer we expected/wanted! Are you not yet fully functional, or are you just being a little naughty?!
20
Offshore wind turbines in the UK falling apart after just a few years – ITV Meridian News:
“An investigation by ITV News Meridian has revealed that turbine blades at the world’s largest offshore wind farm off Kent have developed a fault.
Actress and activist Emma Thompson has even fronted a controversial Greenpeace campaign, claiming wind power costs have halved.
However, this video has since been removed from their website and social media sites.”
http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2018-03-12/wind-farm-blades-eroding-after-few-years-at-sea/
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Roger,
There was a whole thread on this issue , on this blog, last week.
00
Hi Chad,
I read that one – but I thought it particularly interesting that this has now been picked up by the MSM and particularly by ITV as national tv.
R
00
Emma Thompson – another green bonehead . .
Better for all if she stuck to acting rather than trying to mislead the British public about the false claims of wind turbine energy costs.
GeoffW
00
Is sea ice in the Antarctic goes back to normal?
https://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/S_stddev_timeseries.png
10
Or perhaps it’ll keep moving on its present trajectory and produce another big sea ice event this Austral winter.
Wonder what mechanisms were involved last time.
00
TSI monthly average from 2003.
http://www.woodfortrees.org/graph/pmod/from:2003
Magnetic activity of the Sun.
https://services.swpc.noaa.gov/images/solar-cycle-planetary-a-index.gif
10
Very high levels of galactic radiation in high latitudes.
http://cosmicrays.oulu.fi/webform/monitor.gif
10
The temperature above the 80th parallel is the lowest since the beginning of winter and close to 245 degrees K.
http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/meant80n.uk.php
20
Judah Cohen at AER forecasts a late spring in Europe.
‘Over the next two weeks the location of the stratospheric PV over Northern Asia favors low heights and cold temperatures across Northern Asia in the troposphere. This coupled with high pressure in the polar stratosphere will induce easterly flow across northern Eurasia and return cold temperatures to much of Europe.’
00
The ice at the Antarctic Peninsula looks good.
http://images.tinypic.pl/i/00961/nxufmpluw0dg.png
00
It’s getting cold in Europe.
http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/sst/anomaly/2018/anomnight.3.15.2018.gif
00
North America will welcome the spring snow.
https://earth.nullschool.net/#2018/03/20/1200Z/wind/isobaric/850hPa/overlay=temp/orthographic=-86.23,40.01,1037
00
Paul Joseph Watson talks about low testosterone feminised left wing soy eating feminised men. (8 min)
https://youtu.be/FTSvLKY7HEk
32
Very funny, and to make it even funnier what should pop up as the Youtube advert front the video? the bearded hipster w&#$$&%& AGL advert. How appropriate.
00
The coral reefs again same meme but this time a more accurate study trust us .
http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-03-15/acidic-oceans-could-slow-coral-reef-growth-by-a-third/9547184
00
Anti Adani protesters cop heavy fines.
From Townsville Bulletin, prolly behind a paywall.
Will they pay them?
50
I do not agree that $6,115 per d*ckhead is a hefty fine at all.
30
Be thankful for small mercies.
20
Was woken up in my truck at 03:00 Wed. morning as a plow was scraping the global warming from the lot I was parked in up in Rochester, NY. Drove through snow squalls from Rochester to Buffalo, NY then to Erie, PA, which as usual had the worst road conditions along I-90 and where I was held up by a crash of a big truck that had lost control almost certainly due to the slick conditions caused by global warming. Don’t think it turned out well for the driver of that truck since it was torn in half between the sleeper and cab. Took a pic of the accident with my cell phone as I creeped by the wrecker that was hooked up to the front half of the remains but haven’t figured out how I could post it here. Used two gallons of windshield washer fluid on this one but that isn’t even close to my record which is 4 gallons in 940 miles. My recently washed and shiny red truck is now a salt streaked mess.
50
I seem to be out of favour with certain red thumbers but not once has there been a reason given. Well, try telling me about what is so offensive about correcting the spelling of someone’s name and mentioning that we had met the person concerned many moons ago? Go on, I dare you. Otherwise, grow up!
11
I’m not trolling you guys, honest.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-15/higgins-storm-chasing-criticised-by-farmers-for-flood-forecast/9549878
😀
For the Central West towns such as Winton and Longreach, how did the bureau’s prediction stack up?
That’s why the BoM is the source of truth; they are wrong by a slightly lesser gap than some random blogger nobody ever heard about anyhow.
10
Concerning the Tillerson firing. Seems some others agree with my assessment.
From: The Ace of Spades HQ blog: http://ace.mu.nu/
Report: Tillerson Fired Because He Was Directly Undermining Trump’s Efforts to Get Europe to Agree to Tougher Positioning on Iran
—Ace
Trump’s position on the Iran Deal is apparently this: If the European states which used to join us in economic sanctions before Obama let them out of it agree to force Iran to agree to actual inspections, performed by people called “Not the Iranian Government itself,” of suspected nuclear sites, and agreed to limitations on ballistic missile technology, etc., then Trump would go along with the Iran Deal for a while.
It was Rex Tillerson’s job to go out to the European states and sell them on this.
Instead, of course, he walked back from what Trump was demanding and instead made softer offers he was never authorized to make — to appease Iran.
You know — gross insubordination of the actual chief foreign policy officer of the United States. And also, appeasement of Iran, in a way that the TruCon Crying Eagle Brigade like to pretend they’re opposed to.
The abrupt firing Tuesday of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson follows months of infighting between the State Department and White House over efforts by Tillerson to save the Iran nuclear deal and ignore President Donald Trump’s demands that the agreement be fixed or completely scrapped by the United States, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon.
In the weeks leading up to Tillerson’s departure, he had been spearheading efforts to convince European allies to agree to a range of fixes to the nuclear deal that would address Iran’s ongoing ballistic missile program and continued nuclear research.
While Trump had prescribed a range of fixes that he viewed as tightening the deal’s flaws, Tillerson recently caved to European pressure to walk back these demands and appease Tehran while preserving the deal, according to these sources. The Free Beacon first disclosed this tension last week in a wide-ranging report.
White House allies warned Tillerson’s senior staff for weeks that efforts to save the nuclear deal and balk on Trump’s key demands regarding the deal could cost Tillerson his job, a warning that became reality Tuesday when Trump fired Tillerson by tweet.
Yesterday, the conspiracy theorists all proposed their newest conspiracy theory (which apparently occurred to them all nearly spontaneously) that Trump had fired Tillerson because Tillerson had endorsed the UK’s conclusion that Russia had attempted to assassinate a defector living in Europe, and Trump couldn’t have anyone saying anything about Vlad.
Apparently these geniuses did not know about the long-simmering tension about the Iran Deal (though the Free Beacon says they reported on just that last week).
And look at that — they did report on it last week.
Iran is undertaking a massive buildup of its ballistic missile program, sparking fears of a “second Holocaust” amid sensitive international negotiations that could see the Trump administration legitimize Iranian missiles capable of striking Israel, according to multiple sources familiar with ongoing diplomatic talks.
As the Trump administration and European allies continue discussions aimed at fixing a range of flaws in the landmark Iran nuclear deal, sources familiar with the progression of these talks say the United States is caving to European demands limiting restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program.
While the Trump administration went into the negotiations with a hardline stance on cutting off Iran’s ballistic missile program, it appears the United States [that is, Tillerson — ace] is moving closer in line with European positions that would only regulate a portion of the missiles.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the ongoing talks told the Washington Free Beacon U.S. officials [Tillerson] have been backpedaling on key demands originally proposed by President Trump in order to preserve the agreement and appease European allies who are eager to continue doing business with Tehran.
Senior Trump administration officials recently told the Free Beacon the United States is prepared to abandon the nuclear deal if European allies fail to address what it views as a range of flaws in the nuclear deal that have enabled Iran’s missile buildup and allowed it to continue critical nuclear research.
However, it appears the United States is losing ground in the talks, moving closer to the European position, which includes what insiders described as only cosmetic changes to the nuclear deal that fail to adequately address Iran’s massive missile buildup.
00
The amount of snow in Eurasia is growing.
https://www.ccin.ca/home/sites/default/files/snow/snow_tracker/eu_swe.png
The GCW/FMI SWE Tracker illustrates the current winter records for 2014/2015, relative to the long-term mean and variability of the snow water equivalent for the Northern Hemisphere (1 standard deviation calculated for 1982-2012), excluding mountains. The historical SWE record is based on the time series of measurements by two different space-borne passive microwave sensors. The current data combines these satellite measurements with groundbased weather station records in a data assimilation scheme. Updated daily by GlobSnow, a Global Cryosphere Watch initiative, funded by the European Space Agency and coordinated by the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
https://i1.wp.com/globalcryospherewatch.org/state_of_cryo/snow/fmi_swe_tracker.jpg
http://www.globsnow.info/index.php?page=Home
Strong frost returns to Hudson Bay.
http://pics.tinypic.pl/i/00961/e5xbyad4rctd.png
10
We need a new unthreaded to discuss the SA elections.
Three things I’m pleased about: Weatherill is beaten, the X man has failed and Melbourne storm just got beaten.
10
Andrew McCabe firing a big deal.
McCabe has in the past threatened to out his compadres if he was fired. More revelations coming to light all the time and quite a few in the deep state and one FISA judge are shaking in their boots right now I suspect. McCabe and quite a few others need to be frog walked, put on trail, and put into prison and the FISA judge who has apparently colluded with the FBI to keep the illegal surveillance on the Trump campaign and continue it after he was president elect impeached.
A long article: 14,000 words that lays much of it out. The tangled web cannot be described adequately in an abbreviated manner.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/03/russia-collusion-real-story-hillary-clinton-dnc-fbi-media/
10