Weekend Unthreaded

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447 comments to Weekend Unthreaded

  • #
    Richard Ilfeld

    My local newspaper does not print letters from ‘deniers’.
    I tried the following and was rejected:
    To The Editor;

    ‘Climate Change’ appears everywhere, in lots of news items and opinion pieces in your publication. ‘Climate Change’ seems to be why some people want to make massive changes in how we work and live. ‘Climate Change’ is presented as a fact of nature and a clear and present danger to mankind.

    If we are going to have massive changes in society, however, we ought to know what we are talking about. We also ought to have some confidence the proposed solutions are plausible.

    The latter is easy. Take one town in America, of, say, 50,000 people with a good mix of the activities we do as a people, education, commerce, industry, academia. Take it off the grid. Completely. Absolutely. Provide alternative energy, and the necessary changes to make alternative energy work. And keep careful track of the costs, and the changes required in people’s lives. You don’t send you very first rocket to the moon (to use a program often cited as a project of similar scope), you do a long a carefully managed series of tests to make sure you are on the right track. Go ahead and spend federal money. Proving we can do this at a reasonable price is important to all of us. I think it would be best to pick a town in the midwest, to show we can manage both cold winters and hot summers.

    If we can’t make a changover work in one town, well, it’s probably not a good idea to overturn all of society and industry just yet.

    But what is this ‘Climate Change’ we are talking about? What exactly is climate? How do we describe or measure it? Does our town have 7 units of climate? Or 10? What is the perfect Climate? 8 1/2? I don’t know that climate is something we can easily define, let alone prescribe a perfect climate for the entire earth. There are two misused words in our debating here, ‘Climate Change’ and ‘Carbon”. Lets drill back down to the definitions we started with before this stuff became a political football.

    The “climate change’ discussion is about the change in the average temperature of the earth, expressed as a single number for an entire year. It’s about 56 1/2 degrees Farenheit. This is the average of about 1200 thermometers all over the earth (although not at all evenly spaced) each read twice a day for the maximum and minimum.

    The theory is that Carbon Dioxide, a trace gas in the atmosphere essential to life, is the primary driver of the earth’s temperature. The concentration of carbon dioxide is increasing as we burn fossil fuels ( and according to some authorities, due to other sources such as cow farts).

    In nature there are various sources of Carbon Dioxide. We are one. We breathe in air, consume some of the Oxygen, and emit Carbon Dioxide. There are also various sinks. Trees for example, absorb Carbon Dioxide, and emit Oxygen.

    The Global Warming theory (that some people now call ‘Climate Change’) says that as we burn more fuels, our efforts will overwhelm the natural carbon cycle. The earth will warm, and a lot of bad things will happen.

    Over history as we understand it, the earth has had two relatively stable states. A cold state and a warm state. The cold state is an ice age. In an ice age the earth is very cold. During the last one a sheet of ice a mile thick covered North America extending as far south as the Ohio valley.

    Periods between ice ages are inter-glacials. The one we are in now started about twelve thousand years ago. As the earth warmed, most of the ice melted, and sea levels rose. The continental land mass rose too, as all that weight was removed from it. All the history of our civilization has happened in this inter-glacial.

    We don’t know why the earth got cold in the first place, nor why it warmed in the current interglacial. We are glad it warmed. Ice Ages are very bad for life as we know it.

    The temperature has not been constant during this interglacial. At times it has been warm enough for the Vikings to settle and farm in Greenland, and the folks in the UK to grow grapes and make wine. At other times it has been quite a lot colder, and human affairs have been more difficult.

    ‘Climate Change” advocates think the optimum average temperature for earth is somewhat colder than today, and that by reducing the carbon dioxide concentration in the environment we can make it colder and we will all be better off.

    People opposed to this are in different groups. Some don’t believe carbon dioxide accounts for more than a small part of temperature change. Others think a little warmer would be OK, and like that plants, including our farm crops, grow better when there is more Carbon Dioxide. Still others suggest that since the warming will occur slowly over a long period time, and we normally are constantly rebuilding and inventing new stuff, that we’ll easily cope with the changes over time. These folks point out that a crash program locks in current stuff. A 50 year plan to manage horses in cities in the 1880’s, would look really stupid in 1930 when the autmobile had taken over.

    This is really important. If we had set out to restructure the world 50 years ago, and locked in our plans, they wouldn’t have included powerful personal computers. cell phones, or the internet. “Predicting things is really hard, especially the future.”

    So if someone tells us they know what is going to happen, and we should be very afraid, and they know what to do about it, we can listen respectfully, because they may be right. But we should be very cautious, because they may be wrong. It was once generally believed that man would never fly. Yet it took little more than half a century before the Wright brother’s first flights led to a moon landing.

    Please think about all this when you hear the phrase ‘Climate Change’. Please don’t be scared, be thoughtful. The more important an issue is the more we should educate ourselves about it. If we are going to change a lot of things about how we live our lives based on a theory, we’d better be darn sure that the theory is right, and that we can, in fact, manage the changes proposed.

    …..

    I am leaving the notion that we can deal with believers rationally. It is a cult, Worse, to fully buy into climate change and alternative energy, one has to abandon the facility of testing one’s ideas against reality. This may impact other ares of life, and may work to enable other bad outcomes, such as losing faith in vaccines.

    It is a cult, and deprogramming my be required.

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    • #
      John F. Hultquist

      My counter thinks your letter has 1,148 words.

      Our local paper limits to 400 words, and likely edits down to 250-350;
      if they decided what the letter says is interesting.

      Maybe you should visit with the editor and inquire about a weekly column.

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      • #
        Dave in the States

        Yes they usually limit you to a few hundred words. This makes it so you can only address a small aspect of such a complex and vast, multi-disciplined, topic.

        If it gets published it will be followed by several rebuttals accusing you of over simplifying and cherry picking. They will imply that you are uneducated and/or ignorant of all the various aspects of the topic. If you provide a history of the scam and scientific malpractice they will dismiss you as a crank and conspiracy theorist. This will send a message to anybody else who might be thinking likewise, and it will bolster the faith of the believers in their idol religion.

        The believers have it easy. Typical pro man made global warming letters to the editor can just use a few cliches and catch phrases. They can appeal to some recent weather event. They can appeal to the manufactured consensus. They can appeal to academia or government. They can appeal to corrupted data and graphs. They can use the words pollution or fossil fuels to prejudice the reader against skeptic views. They can juxtapose terms like clean and green against dirty oil, or dirty coal. They build on the scientific illiteracy of the general population to present flawed but simple arguments that require little to no critical thinking or scientific understanding to accept.

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    • #
      el gordo

      Its too long Richard, reduce it to three small paragraphs and try again.

      Remember our ancestors came down from the trees and walked the grassy plains because of climate change.

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      • #
        robert rosicka

        Local paper here won’t print anything that counters the 97% narrative.

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      • #
        sophocles

        El G said: at #1.2

        our ancestors came down from the trees and walked the grassy plains because of climate change.

        A heck of a lot of our configuration is for very warm climate environmental conditions, significantly warmer than it is now:
        – we walk up right to keep cool: only the tops of our shoulders and top of the head are directly exposed to the overhead sun, and the head is insulated by our hair.
        – our torsos are fully exposed—every square inch—not to the sun but to every little (horizontal) breeze to assist in keeping us cool.
        – we lost our body fur (except on the top of our heads) to keep cool and if that isn’t enough, we’re the only animal other than the equines (horses and asses) with sweat glands in our skins—for even more cooling.
        – we dress in clothing (or make a fire) when it becomes too cool to be comfortable, which is most of the time.

        Yeah, Global Warming is just so not scary!
        Global Warming is just so not dangerous!
        Why do most humans live in the tropics?
        We’ll go so extinct over a 1.5°C temperature rise? Not. Only fools, idiots and ignoramuses would/could be terrified by that prospect!
        We come pre-adapted for it. It’s why cold is the big killer!

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        • #
          el gordo

          We adapt or go extinct.

          The climate shock of north and south America joining at the Isthmus, made us who we are. The survival mechanism throughout the ice ages was the development of a bigger brain and I draw your attention to homo erectus, the first of our kind out of Africa by the lower Red Sea route.

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        • #
          George

          Why do most humans live in the tropics?
          We’ll go so extinct over a 1.5°C temperature rise? Not. Only fools, idiots and ignoramuses would/could be terrified by that prospect!

          And the temperature rise is considerably greater in the cold regions than the tropics – ideal scenario really.
          The tropics have the greatest diversity and luxuriance of life.

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        • #
          ЯΞ√ΩLUT↑☼N

          I would have thought we walk upright because our opposable thumbs allowed us to carry tools and weapons, it’s much more efficient and we can see further over the savanna grass avoiding predators. I doubt it’s got anything to do with keeping cool.

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          • #
            sophocles

            Our opposable thumbs go way back to our lemur ancestors. We had those before we came down from the trees.
            Opposable thumbs were necessary to swing from bough to bough.

            We lost our opposable big toes very soon after we left the trees, so we could run.

            You can doubt as much as you like. That’s your right, but I will ask you two questions:

            1. Why did we keep our body fur only on the top of our heads?
            2. Why did we lose it everywhere else (except for the male mane)

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            • #
              ЯΞ√ΩLUT↑☼N

              1. Not everyone agrees with Charles Darwin, but he proposed it was a mating aid. I mean, why does a male peacock have such a tail? People like to look after their appearance and if you sum EVERYTHING up that we men and women do, it’s all for power and through that ultimately more sex. Pretty simple really.
              2. Similar, but you have to ask why humans are so unique as to lose most of their body hair considering we’re so related to chimps, and THEN migrate to colder climates such as Europe. It’s a much debated topic and I don’t think anything’s ever been proven unless we can ask a favour of Dr. Who.

              Besides that I don’t really care.

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            • #
              ЯΞ√ΩLUT↑☼N

              Again, why would we evolve to walk upright to keep cool as you suggest, THEN migrate to colder climates. Cart before horse much..?

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              • #
                Graeme No.3

                We evolved to walk on 2 legs because that way we could wave our arms around when arguing. It looks more impressive, especially if one hand is holding a sharp edged rock.
                As to migrating to colder climates such as Europe, that as before the current policies on decarbonisation so you could burn as much wood as you wanted. So you could roast a mammoth and be warm at the same time.
                Then some fool invented public servants and Neanderthals were wiped out.

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              • #
                ЯΞ√ΩLUT↑☼N

                🙂 +1

                But I thought public servants were the neanderthals or at least their offspring.

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              • #
                sophocles

                why would we evolve to walk upright to keep cool as you suggest, THEN migrate to colder climates.

                The area the hominids first evolved in was transitioning from forest cover to grass plains from climate change which was without any help from those ancestors. The grassland were an exploitable environment. Australopithicenes could have been furred or may not have been. Do you know?

                So our remote ancestors moved to exploit this new emvironment. Evolution evolved the giraffe, the antelope, horses and zebras to exploit this new and abundant food source, which evolved predators such as lions, etc and scavengers such as hyenas, for similar reasons — food sources to be exploited.
                Forest elephants evolved into plains elephants whose behaviours help modify the land to extend the grasses, and supress the forest. “A herd of elephants” is a force to be marveled at. Primitive bulldozers.

                Who knows why the group who left Africa when they did, left? Not much in the way of documentation was left behind by that group, like no letters home, nothing. Was it population/territorial pressure? Our ability to wage war against groups identified as Them by Us doesn’t appear to have been recently learned, but hunting tribes use large areas to support themselves.

                Or was it advanced foot-itch, horizon fever and new hunting grounds. We have always been the “ape-who-hunts.”

                The genetic studies of the species over the last few years, have discovered that all modern humans are descended from that first small group to have wandered out of Africa and ended up in what is now Israel, about 100kYA. That’s a remarkable discovery. The plotted paths of the migrations followed as Home Sapiens spread out are mostly through the warm zones and the invention of clothing (why waste furry skins just because the animal no longer needs it?) seems concurrent with the Grand Exit. Clothing enabled colder environments with rich hunting —lots of food resources — to be expoited. Homo Sapiens is a tool maker and a very observant and inventive one. Look at how they made the pyramids—and it was probably not by using lots of slave labourers but by exploiting hydraulics. Look at today’s tools.

                (see Dr Bryan Sykes: “ The Seven Daughters of Eve” for the genetic information)

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        • #
          Hanrahan

          I wondered how our primitive, puny ancestors survived in such a hostile environment before realising the things you list, things that enabled man to run down faster animals ’til they dropped from heat exhaustion. Language and teamwork would also have helped. 🙂

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          • #
            sophocles

            You’re getting it! 🙂

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            • #
              sophocles

              We need red meat and animal fat in our diets. We evolved that way.

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              • #
                el gordo

                You give no credibility to their beach combing diet, rich in brain food.

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              • #
                sophocles

                Protein is protein. Piscean protein is a healthy change in the diet of an omnivore.

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              • #
                sophocles

                We need Iodine as a trace element in our diets. It wouldn’t have taken our ancestors to have learnt that sea food had some health benefits. Volcanic soils are iodine poor whereas the sea is iodine rich. Coastlines are inevitably more densely settled in those circumstances.

                Food is not just an evolutionary pressure, but also a population migratory pressure.

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        • #
          Bobl

          It’s not 1.5 degrees, it’s 1.5 degrees above preindustrial which is about 0.6 degrees above today. Half a degree is what the IPCC ET Al is pooing their pants about. It’s ridiculous.

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          • #
            sophocles

            It’s just a figure plucked out of the air by the economists in the climate groups. You may remember it started off as 2° first.

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      • #

        How did we get up the trees in the first place?

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    • #
      Hanrahan

      I think John and EG have pinned it.

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    • #
      David Maddison

      I’m sure they don’t print “denier” material but even if you find a paper with a rational editorial policy it needs to be three to five hard hitting paragraphs (max) with no more than 2 to 3 sentences each.

      Good letter for the right audience, however.

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      • #
        David Brunt

        Define denier.
        I think the alarmists should be described or defined as “Natural Climate Deniers”.

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        • #
          David Maddison

          Fair enough, I was using the term as it is commonly used by anti-science people (those that believe in anthropogenic global warming) hence my use of quote marks.

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        • #
          sophocles

          No, Science Deniers. They believe in a propaganda-psuedo science. Not real science.

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    • #
      Yonniestone

      A nice letter Richard however wasted on the wrong outlet, try social media and websites to post this then ask people to repost or forward it on, it’d be a lot more effective than trying to make a ripple in an already stagnant pond that’s evaporating.

      I gave up on our local Fauxfacts rag years ago after the anti-skeptic censorship became so tight it was impossible to reply to online comments let alone get a letter published, in fact just looking at the site comments have not been available for 5 years? and all the letters have to be left/green leaning with all the safe weasel words we’ve come to know and loathe.

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      • #
        OriginalSteve

        Our Fairfaux paper requires you to subscribe for the right to post comments on any story……

        Its a good way to limit the paper to climate true believers only.

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        • #
          yarpos

          Most Fairfax papers (now 9 media) can be accessed and comments posted just buy using incognito/private mode on your browser. I do this all the time on The Age. I am guessing they do it deliberately as its such an obvious hole.

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      • #
        GD

        I often wrote to the SMH Letters section and was usually published. The topics were capitalism and the global warming hoax. Then they appointed a new Letters editor. I never had a letter published after that.

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    • #
      beowulf

      THE LAND newspaper (weekly paper for NSW farmers) used to be balanced — it even had an article by Jennifer Marohasy every 2nd week — then Fairfax got hold of it.

      The new resident weatherman was a full-on warmist who used to come out with some outrageous distortions. In addition there were about 3 warmie letter writers who were pampered by the editor and published nearly every week, and whose letters mysteriously seemed to run over the 200 word limit regularly.

      Sticking to 200 words was nigh on impossible when writing a single reply to counter some article by the weatherman plus a couple of letters from his cheer squad members, but I tried anyway.

      Out of about 4 attempts I had one published and it was so beaten up that I didn’t bother again. Crucial facts were excised; other garbage was inserted to give the exact opposite view to the facts I had presented, but it still had my name under it.

      It wasn’t a letter TO the editor: it was a letter BY the editor. After 40 odd years of loyal readership I stopped buying the LAND forever about 5 years ago. Thank you Fairfax.

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      • #

        E.M Smith, Chiefio has posted a vid from Oz, re UK controls on free speech. Sigh… New word ‘misgendered,’ new bureau role, ‘Community Cohesion Officer.’ Creepy.
        https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2019/02/16/uk-thought-crime-wave/

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        • #
          theRealUniverse

          UK is getting more Fascist every day..and creepy, ‘common purpose’ etc. go to Windowsontheworld and find out more.

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          • #
            OriginalSteve

            Funny how “V for Vendetta” has eerily predicted the UKs trajectory.

            Bear in mind the Queen could stop this at any time, but has chosen not to. But she is one cornerstone of the Establishment, so….

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            • #
              beowulf

              Her Maj could prorogue parliament as is regularly done at the end of each sitting, but normally on the advice of her ministers. Since other conventions of hundreds of years’ standing have recently been trashed to bolster the Remainers’ position, petitions from other parties might now also be an acceptable trigger for regal intervention.

              The Speaker of the Commons (a Remainer) has already overridden 350 years of precedent to allow an amendment through that he should not have and which he was vigorously advised by the clerks to disallow. He is said to have yelled at and abused the clerks who advise him on points of law and convention.

              Proroguement was first suggested a few weeks ago by a legal historian as a simple way to stop the dirty tricks campaign and ensure an automatic WTO Brexit when the Article 50 deadline expires on March 29, 2019 at 11 PM GMT. The UKIP leader has since petitioned the queen for proroguement. The legal advisors at the Palace must be on edge and giving the queen daily updates on the Brexit shambles in parliament. They will have worked through the possible scenarios and developed their responses.

              If the reserve powers of the crown are not used as the instrument of last resort to preserve the British constitution and enforce the express will of the people, then what is the point of having a monarch at all? I’m sure her son will have no hesitation in using royal powers to push his personal views in a few years’ time.

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      • #
        Annie

        I’ve stopped buying The Weekly Times (Vic rural paper) as it is now so sickeningly warmist…a pity as it was very good in the past. I will never buy The Age again. I do buy The Australian when in town or at Marysville, if the shop hasn’t run out. It’s time we bought an online sub for the latter and also The Spectator.

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        • #
          Greebo

          I had a sub to the Oz for maybe 8 years. Recent policy changes to its comments section, plus a less balanced editorial position, caused me to cancel. It’s a shame. I always thought that a newspaper that would put Paddy McGuinness and Philip Adams on the same page was a newspaper to be reckoned with. Sadly, like Paddy, those days are long gone. The Oz is still the best “paper” in the land, but it is fading fast imo.

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    • #

      Mr. Ilfeld:

      Your letter to the editor was long-winded, boring
      and made no memorable points about climate change
      in a simple, direct way.

      No sane editor would publish it !

      Next time write some simple ideas
      and questions that make people think,
      such as these:
      .
      .

      Why is it that climate change
      in the past 20,000 years
      was all good news ?

      But the climate change
      predicted for the future
      is always bad news ?

      We’ve been hearing bad news
      predictions of a coming climate
      change disaster since the 1960’s,
      but all we get is a better climate !

      We have slightly warmer winter nights,
      and our planet is ‘greening’ from more
      CO2 in the air.

      Why is it that the bad news predicted never happens,
      and all we actually get is a better climate ?

      Could the predictions of the future climate
      be wrong?

      Well, the climate predictions HAVE been wrong since the 1960’s !

      Why should anyone believe new climate predictions?

      Could it be that the future climate
      is impossible to predict ?

      Maybe because the future is impossible to predict ?
      .
      .
      .
      My climate science blog,
      with over 30,000 page views so far:
      http://www.elOnionBloggle.Blogspot.com

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  • #
    Lionell Griffith

    There is no one as blind as he who will not look.

    There is no one as deaf as he who will not listen.

    There is no one as stupid as he who refuses to know.

    In my not so humble opinion, we have far too many who refuse to look, will not listen, and who refuse to know. They simply signal virtue by following their significant others who do exactly the same thing but speak loudly about that which they do not know nor understand.

    The bottom line is that no matter how many zeros one attempts to sum, the result will always be zero.

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    • #
      Yonniestone

      We’re in a unique position where a large percentage of the population has access to an internet device and its vast data base but how that data is viewed and absorbed is manipulated by many influential factors at play, ultimately its up to the reasoning of the person reading the information and considering how much the latter generations have been exposed to the march though the institutions things do not look good.

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      • #
        theRealUniverse

        Sorting the actual real information from the fake or half truth semi fake ill referenced data is hard enough for informed educated people let alone the uneducated.

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        • #
          theRealUniverse

          You have really got to analyse who what where and draw conclusions BUT be prepared to be fooled.

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        • #
          Another Ian

          TRU

          My description is that it is like a bad wheat crop – there’s grains in amongst a hell of a lot of chaff

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        • #

          When people predict the future,
          don’t believe them.

          Anyone can do that.

          They don’t need a college degree.

          When people predict bad news in the future,
          unless you do everything they say,
          don’t believe them, and hold onto your wallet too !

          That is a strategy used by many religious leaders,
          for centuries, to control people, and its now used by
          leftists politicians to control people.

          The coming climate change disaster is a fake crisis
          used to scare and control people, with the goal of
          more government power over the private sector,
          through control of their energy use and prices.

          In plain English, a fake crisis promoting “Global Warmunism”.

          Only fools ( or leftists — I rep[eat myself ! )
          could allow themselves to be controlled
          by an invisible climate crisis … coming since
          the 1960’s … that never shows up … it’s always
          off in the future ( because it is nothing more
          than a scary fairy tale from smarmy leftists,
          used for political and financial gain )

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    • #
      Hanrahan

      There is no one as stupid as he who refuses to know.

      I have a lefty son living with me. He does not accept that Abbot “stopped the boats” [he hates him] or that labor allowed 50,000 illegals in. The left: If you don’t like the facts, invent your own.

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      • #
        Peter C

        Son, living with you; probably ok.

        Son does not accept facts; sad for him and hard for you. However family still comes first.

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      • #
        Bobl

        I’m not sure that living on your dime gives him a particularly powerful position to ague with you from. Hes kind of a poster boy for the left out protesting while living off the very people he’s protesting against.

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  • #
    TdeF

    In the US President Trump is declaring a National Emergency and Hollywood is freaking out. Fascism. Dictatorship. As Streisand says, Climate Change is the real National Emergency.

    It’s a wall, a barrier and one which largely already exists. He wants to make it work as originally intended by congress and to stop the threat of foreign invasion, which is his explicit job as head of the Armed forces. So that’s clearly the end of 200 years of democratic government to solve a real problem when changing the world’s climate by wiping out all livestock is the real challenge of Climate change. Sausages are the danger to life in America, not illegal aliens, imported drugs and violence.

    Perhaps if he declared that people are to become vegetarians, walk and ride bicycles and not drive, take diesel, not steam trains on business and not fly on their holidays to Hawaii and the government would pay everyone just to live, not work, he would be a real democratic President? At what point did the rich and totally indulged actors and singers go quite mad?

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  • #

    This beggars belief:

    Millions of houses across Australia are extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change but dozens of experts say a lack of national leadership could prove catastrophic.

    Government spending on disaster response outstrips that on remediating existing buildings and infrastructure to prepare for future extreme weather events by a ratio of 10 to one, a Senate committee heard.

    Among the evidence given during the hearings: 86 per cent of Victorian houses built before 2005 are not required to have a minimum energy rating and are therefore considered at risk of extreme temperatures. Of these, the average efficiency rating is 1.81 stars, well below the six-star minimum required for newly-built homes.

    https://tinyurl.com/y3rkk9a8

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    • #
      AndyG55

      ffs… Just close all the doors and put on a jacket and an extra blanket at night.

      Its not going to get that cold as to be a worry.!!!

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      • #
        Kinky Keith

        🙂

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      • #
        Mark D.

        Yessir that is funny!

        Too bad about the real world and associated not-so-funny.

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      • #
        OriginalSteve

        This sounds exactly like the loopy ideas of Ms Occasional Cortex ( usage ) in the US. She wanted to rebuild all the buildings in the USA so they would handle climate Change, except I suspect what she really is driving at is the need for better insulation to keep out the LIA cold, not the CAGW mythical heat….

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      John F. Hultquist

      the tinyurl did not open for me.

      I did find this, glanced at it, and decided I had more important things to do.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Energy_Rating#Controversies

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    • #

      The entire report is just crap.

      While insulation will keep a house cool for a while, after several consecutive days of heat (even mild 30s), the inside begins to retain heat and is no longer keeping the place cool (I know this from experience). And as we lose the ability to power air-conditioning, these houses will become ovens.

      On another note, if beachside houses are so at risk, why aren’t they virtually being given away as residents flee to higher ground. There doesn’t appear to be any loss of popularity and price of such houses.

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      • #
        yarpos

        Depends where you live really. If you are outside the urban heat islands then a well insulated house is more livable (less unpleasant) during extreme heat or cold, and on hot days you can open up whenever the sun goes down.

        We lived in one of those 1 star places for 20 years , slowly improving it over time and now we are in a 6 star + place and I know where I would rather be, no contest.

        Its mind boggling they still play the sea level card , in the total absence of any real data, that there is anything going on that hasnt been going on for thousands of years.

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          We live in South Gippsland in a small township 300m above sea level. Fully insulated houses in summer only work for so long during protracted hot spells and when it’s dead calm, or hot winds blow even late in the evening, opening doors and windows makes no difference.

          And we don’t even have air-conditioning, relying on fans (so we’re partly prepared for the coming Climate Armageddon). But come winter, we emit lots of ‘carbons’ with our wood fired heating when the ‘electrikery’ doesn’t flow.

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        ivan

        Not just crap but Agenda 21 crap where they want everyone to live in little boxes all made of tiki taki, all looking the same and all crowded together in the slave pens sustainable cities.

        191

      • #
        Hanrahan

        We don’t build the most suitable homes in Oz, we build McMansions with an awful lot of concrete in them which are unsuited to the tropics.

        Every home in the worst hit suburb during the floods last week had over a foot of water through them – They were ALL slab on ground, masonry walls, gyprock interior. I bucked the trend with a two story, timber framed, weatherboard exterior home. Definitely more suitable but WHS makes highset homes expensive today.

        140

      • #
        Greebo

        My son and family live in the northern suburbs of Adelaide in a modern house. In the recent “heat wave” their aircon broke down. They were forced to sleep outside. Modern houses don’t work without the luxuries.

        140

        • #
          Graeme No.3

          Greebo:

          You brought back memories of the 1950’s??? when I was young and I remember people sleeping on their front lawn on hot nights in Adelaide.

          80

        • #
          yarpos

          they would have been better off in an old house??

          30

          • #
            Greebo

            Yes. Old houses were designed to catch breezes. They were oriented so that they did not face north ( at least in Adelaide ),so they didn’t get the full sun. They had higher ceilings. They had broader eaves. Roof tiles were thicker. Houses like TdeF’s, and the one I grew up in, were made of double brick, and the bricks were far denser. Older houses had room for trees which, strangely, create shade.

            Point is, the “little boxes” that are thrown up today are hopeless if one system fails. What will they be like if the WHOLE system fails?

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2lGkEU4Xs

            90

            • #
              yarpos

              “catch breezes”? old style suburban houses?

              rose coloured glasses I think, yearning for the good old days, especially of you lived in the double brick belt rather than the weatherboard and fibro belt.

              Its hard to contemplate how a 6 star + rated house introduces special problems unless its a special one withput windows and doors

              10

              • #
                Greebo

                rose coloured glasses I think,

                Not at all. The house I grew up in was naturally cool. Fireplaces kept it warm in winter. There was no such thing as aircon, except the odd one in a window, which we did not have.

                yearning for the good old days,

                Perhaps. I know that my childhood home was far more liveable without aircon 50 years ago than my grandsons 5 year old home is now without it. Windows that barely open, no possibility of a through breeze, narrow doors and low ceilings. Suburbs with no trees and no room to grow them.

                My point was, new houses are fine as long as everything works. The way we are going about supplying energy in this country, just how long will everything work, do you think?

                10

            • #
              TdeF

              Fully agree.

              From the colder climes around 50North, mostly British people were very conscious of cold winters and unbearably hot summers and stifling humidity from Sydney and North.

              Without airconditioners and land at a premium without cars or roads or public transport, people knew to build terraces and keep cities small.
              Backyards were consolidated into parks. There was a pub on every corner to prevent dehydration. In little Port Melbourne there were 150 hotels , South Melbourne 250.
              Of course they were called hotels because they had to have accomodation. This was a law introduced to keep the Irish out of the pub trade. Usually the family lived upstairs.

              Huge verandahs stopped the hot Australian sun bakingand freestanding houses often had verandahs on multiple sides. Even small windows had awnings. The old thick walled houses keep the people warm in winter and cool in summer. Some rooms have less than 1/3 of one wall connected to the outside temperature, so the houses can still feel like caves. Windows were small, partly to reduce energy loss but also as glass was cast and very expensive. Large panes of glass were a novelty and in previous centuries people had to make do with small pieces and leadlight. Castles had no windows, no glass. Shutters were more common.

              A fireplace in every room. Essential ventilation was into a vent disguised as a ceiling rose. Warm air from downstairs fires heated the rooms above. Few rooms had wall vents as well. Chimneys also acted as vents to take dangerous CO away from people. They could be closed when required. Tall hallways and doors had little windows which could be opened for ventilation by long poles or ropes. The fireplaces generally burned coal, not wood.

              The airconditioner changed all this. Concrete slabs. Quarter acre blocks made cities huge. Still it was an age where power was plentiful and cheap, power as petrol, diesel, coal based electricity. The old gasometers for coal gas just disappeared in the 70s and 80s.

              Now we are relearning the lessons of the past. The reason Queenslanders made sense, the reason suburbs were kept small and everything in walking distance. The really odd thing though is that there was no shortage of power then. The current electricity mess is self inflicted harm by our politicians and journalists who are told what to think by people overseas. It is Man Made Global Warming is socialist dogma, as if that was not obvious.

              Meanwhile our scientists in the BOM, CSIRO publicly support crippling the country to prevent magical man made Global Warming, ocean acidification and decry the elimination of tiny species. Do they know it’s all a disastrous hoax. Of course they do, but it’s a living.

              90

        • #
          Another Ian

          Bring back the verandah!

          90

          • #
            yarpos

            We added a verandah around our place , best thing we ever did. Great if it hot or cold and wet.

            30

          • #
            Hanrahan

            I’m not so nostalgic. If you can afford patios that are add-ons to the house – great, but whether the risk is real or imagined you just can’t have kids sleeping on verandahs today as we did. Besides who wants to sleep under a mosquito net? There are cheaper ways to build a cooler/warmer home. Project homes are badly designed but the floor-plans looks loverly. 🙂

            10

            • #
              TdeF

              I remember one summer in Adelaide. Stifling heat like Colorado, hotter at night than in the day. No wind. An oil slick at Glenelg with the gulf flat like a pond. Not a ripple but a layer of coppertone. There was no point getting in the water to cool off. It was only cool under the water.

              After three long days over 100F, we slept outside on the lawn. You could feel the radiation off the brick walls if you ran inside. It was like a microwave. So I remember waking up on the lawn, standing up and looking down the street where every other family was also waking up on the lawn in their pyjamas. It may come to that again if South Australians do not start demanding coal based electricity.

              I know each generation wants to make a difference. Why did this generation want to go back to a past which never existed?

              50

          • #
            toorightmate

            Rudd and Conroy could have added a verandah – to every high rise apartment in the capital cities.
            They were very wise men.
            So wise, they came up with a $5bn NBN while spending the war chest.

            30

            • #
              TdeF

              Except you will find it’s $50Bn. As much again for the RET spending on Windmills and solar panels to achieve absolutely nothing. In twenty years the big debate is who will pay for the demolition of the decrepit windmills and for the disposal of 300Kg to 2Tonne of Niobium in each.

              60

      • #
        sophocles

        There’s a very good reason youse guys have to watch out for extreme temperatures. You’re warming up natcherally by charging north at a great rate: straight into the tropics at nearly 1500mm over just the last 25 years. That’s really skating! GPS (see link) just can’t keep up! 😛

        [ https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/09/australia-moves-gps-coordinates-adjusted-continental-drift/ ]

        80

        • #
          Hanrahan

          So let’s hope your neighbour isn’t a terrorist and the Yanks call a drone strike on him.

          “When there is a significant shift in land masses over time we need to revise the models of the Earth from which GPS coordinates are calculated, so for example your neighbor doesn’t end up with your old coordinates.”

          40

      • #
        Another Ian

        bemused

        My mother thought she would like a South Australian type stone farm house.

        Until she met a woman who grew up in one and had it explained that once they heated up in summer they were like living in an oven and once they got cold in winter like living in a refrigerator.

        80

        • #
          Annie

          That is very true. We lived in a bluestone house (1873) in Melbourne for a few years. We visited it before moving in and before it was fitted with hydronic heating. It was absolutely freezing and damp, much colder than outside! That heating made a tremendous difference once the house fabric dried out. We didn’t need to set the temperature high; just a gentle background heat. In the summer the house was wonderful in the first few days of a hot spell. After that, especially upstairs, it felt like hell on earth. It retained the heat for days after a cool change. We ended up fitting an AC in the sash window of the main bedroom. It also had the benefit of muting the racket from the traffic and assorted drunken yobs going by.
          While we were rebuilding here we rented a house nearby; cedar boards with a suspended wooden floor on stumps…awful little house; unbelievably cold in winter and hot in summer, although it did cool off around 0100. Our new house is much more insulated but it does heat up after a few days and opening windows at night does nothing to cool it if there is no wind. In the winter we keep very comfortable with an all-singing, all-dancing wood stove. In the real heat, such as we had for a bit last month, we did use AC but try to have it on just gently.

          40

          • #
            OriginalSteve

            I can never work out why they dont create double skin walls, with an air gap between the bit that faces the sun and allow a flow of air between the external wall and the insulated inner wall. The airflow between the walls would stop a lot of the radiated heat from the ouer wall from reaching the inner wall as quickly. Presumably you could shut off the air vents once it was winter time.

            00

      • #
        shannon

        “While insulation will keep a house cool for a while, after several consecutive days of heat (even mild 30s), the inside begins to retain heat and is no longer keeping the place cool (I know this from experience).”………

        Agree………my sister living on the Gold Coast QLD, found this out too ..the hard way..

        Installing insulation to her home, resulted in reduced circulation, and a humidity charged, sweat box.!!

        Needless to say after 2 Summers, she had the insulation removed !!

        40

        • #
          yarpos

          how insulation affects humidity is a bit of a mystery

          sounds like she needed AC rather than paying money to remove insulation (apart from roof insulation, I acnt imagine how you do that without pulling the structure apart)

          20

    • #
      Tdef

      My house was built in 1887 with coal burning grates in 8 chimneys and gas lights. Clearly ignorant people who dreamed of global warming. It’s all their fault electricity is so expensive.

      161

      • #
        theRealUniverse

        Thats nice, already for the ice age, youll survive.

        90

        • #
          Dennis

          Don’t know about that, have you ever viewed the short film The Ice Man Cometh?

          It gave me the shivers viewing it, a terrace house in Glasgow Scotland GB before WW2 in winter, a very poor family who could not afford fuel for the fireplace and the wood stove in the kitchen so they lived in the kitchen wearing overcoats.

          The house meanwhile iced up until it was almost uninhabitable. Occasionally the children would find a lump of coal that the delivery cart are dropped and they were so excited.

          40

      • #
        Mark D.

        A mansion? You pig! AOC is after you.

        30

    • #
      Hanrahan

      If anyone is thinking of moving north, out of the cold climes, NEVER underestimate the value of ceiling fans. When it is actually hot and you need aircon, a fan on low allows you to set the temp a couple of degs warmer so by morning it is no longer cooling. If it’s a bit cooler but still warm, opening windows with the fan set higher may still be pleasant. [I don’t like dry air] For a number of months just moving the air around is all you need, you are not fighting your environment.

      10

  • #
    Kinky Keith

    Richard’s comment at #1 covers so many important points and is great reading for anyone with a genuine interest in understanding this very complex issue.

    To those intent on pushing the global warming, death by incineration from human origin CO2, meme this all needs to be ignored in the mad rush to save the planet.

    With each and very mad idea there’s only one guiding principle:

    Push It Through.

    Facts, science, consequences are irrelevant when the primary objective is to funnel our hard earned dollars their way.

    This has always been about Control and Cash.

    KK

    141

    • #
      Tdef

      As science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard concluded, there is more money in religion. You just need to invent one and a bit of fake science. He succeeded. Hollywood believes that religion too.

      210

      • #
        Dennis

        The High Church of Climate Change Scientology.

        131

      • #
        Another Ian

        Many years ago (ca. 1970) there was an item in Ariadne’s column of New Scientist on the possibilities of a computer based religion.

        Things I remember of that

        One of the conditions for its basis was “mores diametrically opposed to the practices of the general population”

        And a comment on how many would still believe when it was known that the electronics were supplied by Company A and the software written by Company B.

        80

  • #
    dinn, rob

    Uighur worsening conditions 2-8-19 Bitter Winter previously cited sources as saying that prisons in Inner Mongolia have also accepted camp detainees from the XUAR, and that authorities plan to disperse and detain “an estimated 500,000 Uyghur Muslims” throughout China, although these reports could not be independently confirmed by RFA.
    https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/detainees-02072019190912.html

    20

  • #
    Another Ian

    “I, For One, Welcome Our New Self-Driving Overlords”

    “A Tesla car crashed into a Virginia couple’s home on two occasions when its parking assistance features failed, a new lawsuit alleges.”

    http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/index.php/2019/02/16/i-for-one-welcome-our-new-self-driving-overlords-22/

    110

    • #
      Dennis

      Repost

      A Travellers Tale: 3 litre diesel engine with 6-speed auto transmission Isuzu 4WD verses Tesla S Electric Vehicle travelling the Hume Highway south of Goulburn NSW yesterday.

      As my vehicle entered the highway from a Goulburn entry point and I was increasing speed to the 110 KMH limit a Tesla S moved to the overtaking lane and passed. After a few minutes I overtook the Tesla with cruise control engaged and travelling at an actual 110 KMH, 117KMH speedometer reading. After overtaking the Tesla I steered back into the left hand lane and the Tesla maintained my speed at a safe distance behind.

      Soon I approached a construction zone and slowed as directed to 80, 60 and finally 40 KMH. While slowing the usual fools raced past ignoring the construction zone speed zones, and a couple ended up between my vehicle and the Tesla.

      As the 110 KMH zone appeared I lifted my speed to 110 KMH steadily and then engaged cruise control. The Tesla rocketed up passing the vehicles in front of it and pulled in behind my 4WD. A while later as we approached another hilly section the Tesla driver pulled out to overtake me as we closed in a large truck, and to my annoyance stayed alongside and forced me to disengage cruise control, my vehicle’s indicator was blinking but the Tesla stayed alongside until the top of the hill and then overtook the truck.

      At 110 KMH my 4WD overtook the Tesla and again it followed at a safe distance. It remained behind for maybe 20 minutes and then started to fall back and was soon way back and falling further back. Obviously the driver was concerned about battery charge and distance remaining. I noted there were two men in the Tesla and a rear seat full of luggage.

      I understand that typically an EV with as new battery pack should be given a one third discount on factory range to account for weight, hills, speed, accessories used etc. And that range could be fifty per cent of new battery pack range. Better performance at suburban speeds.

      This was my first on highway encounter with an EV. Compared to what my 4WD achieves at 110 KMH with 6-speed automatic transmission in auto lock (5th and 6th engaged only above 80 KMH (from memory) an average of close to 13 Kilometres per Litre with two people and luggage. The on board computer when leaving Goulburn with a full tank of diesel indicated 850 Kilometres range.

      The Tesla S (from memory) offers 450 Kilometres of range, less up to fifty per cent depending on speed and conditions, average less one third.

      My point is that obviously EV is not a good choice for country road travellers, and with due consideration for recharging time (30-40 minutes for an eighty per cent fast charge), and stress working out where the next closest recharge station is located.

      221

      • #

        The Tesla was obviously slip streaming you to improve mileage, but was not finding it all too successful at the speed that you were doing.

        My 10 year old Nissan Patrol diesel would have been more cost effective, economical and less polluting (taking everything into account) over those 10 years than any Tesla in half that time. Plus I can go around 1000km (10lt/100km on highways), fully loaded, before I have to refuel.

        141

        • #
          Yonniestone

          If a Tesla driver has to slipstream (otherwise known as tailgating) other cars for efficiency then not only is the EV premise flawed but it also promotes dangerous driving, the average car travelling at 110kph will take the driver at least 20m to apply the brakes then a further 70m to stop so about 90m (300ft) probably further with car/driver/road factors considered.

          A Tesla 3 road test from May 2018 shows it stopped at varying distances averaged to 152ft (47m) so even at that brake speed if the driver was tailgating a car at 20m or less a collision is very probable with a 1850kg long range model plus passengers rear ending the car and a possible fire (rare apparently) to boot.

          82

          • #
            Greg Cavanagh

            At 110km/h the vehicle is traveling at 30.5m/sec.

            On a highway or major road, the design reaction time is 2.5 seconds. Which means it’ll take 76.3m just to start to hit the brakes. The design reaction time is for the typical, non-alert driver. Day dreaming or chatting. I know I sometimes zone out while driving on the highway.

            10

          • #
            Greg Cavanagh

            OK, I’m bored so I figure I should bore everyone else. Here’s what the Road Design Manual says. AustRoads part 3: Geometric Design.

            Reaction Time 2.5 sec
            Unalerted driving conditions due to road only having isolated geometric features to maintain driver interest. Areas with high driver workload/complex decisions. High speed roads with long distances between towns.

            Reaction Time 2.0 sec
            Higher speed urban areas. Few intersections. Alerted driving situations in rural areas. High speed roads in urban areas comprising numerous intersections or interchanges where the majority of driver trips are of relatively short length. Tunnels with operating speed >= 90km/h.

            Reaction Time 1.5 sec
            Alert driving conditions e.g. High expectancy of stopping due to traffic signals. Consistently tight alignments for example, mountainous roads. Restricted low speed urban areas. Built-up areas – higher traffic volume. Interchange ramps when sighting over or around barriers. Tunnels with operating speed <= 90km/h.

            Longitudinal Deceleration:
            Vehicle. Coeficient of deceleration.
            Car 0.61 Dry sealed roads.
            Car 0.46 Mean value for braking on wet, sealed roads for a hazard. Minimum value when decelerating at an intersection.
            Car 0.36 About a 90th percentile value for braking on wet sealed roads. Maximum value allowed for deceleration lanes at intersections.
            Car 0.26 Comfortable deceleration on sealed roads. Normal driving event.
            Car 0.27 Breaking on unsealed roads.
            Truck 0.29 Breaking by single axle unity truck, semi-trailers and B-doubles on dry sealed roads.
            Bus 0.15

            Table 5.4: Stopping sight distances for cars on sealed roads.
            Refer page 128 of this manual.
            https://www.scribd.com/document/349181549/Austroads-Guide-to-Road-Design-Part-3-Geometric-Design

            10

      • #
        Hanrahan

        It will be a long time before EV’s are common in regional Qld and NSW. I’m driving to Clermont later in the week, a drive that would be impossible in an EV. Ballyando Crossing [you stop there for a break even if you don’t need fuel] would be running off a generator so would have little power to spare for any Tesla.

        Re Teslas: I wonder about the “ludicrous” mode that owners brag about. Hooning such a heavy vehicle around would flatten the battery super quick and the expensive tyres would tear up quickly too. What’s the point of performance you can’t use?

        82

      • #
        RickWill

        My son is looking to get rid of the 20 year old Supercharged Commodore S he was given a decade ago and asked for my input on its replacement It encouraged me to purchase the latest Wheels magazine – the 2018 Yearbook because they have prices and performance data for all the cars currently sold in Australia. Making it a single point of reference to get basic information that can take hours to dig out on the web.

        This particular Wheels issue has the main story covering battery electric vehicles. It gives some insight into the problems of driving various electric vehicles between Sydney and Melbourne. Range anxiety was a key factor. With one particular car they had to slipstream a truck doing 80kph to get to the next charging station. Overall they ranked the Tesla as the most liveable because the charging station have high capacity plugs that can get useful range into the car in less than 1 hour.

        When you look at any battery electric vehicle it would be difficult to live with compared to something like a Camry Hybrid, which has all the goodies, very low maintenance costs and achieves 4.6L/100km while costing $31k compared to say a Nissan Leaf at $50k or an Hyundai Ioniq at $48k.

        By the way my 10yo Renault diesel gets from Melbourne to Newcastle towing a small boat trailer on one tank of fuel. I have a friend who regularly gets 1100km from a tank in his VW CC in mostly city and near city driving.

        70

        • #

          I read a motoring article a few years ago that compared like sized electric vs petrol cars and when it came down to purchase cost, running costs (factor in a charging station at home), maintenance and driveability and resale value over the life of the car, the petrol cars all came out in front.

          A small petrol car beat any electric car by a country mile. The smaller cars were all hampered by weight because of the batteries and the comparatively small battery capacity.

          80

          • #
            Dennis

            Buying second hand would be worrying, not knowing the driving and recharging history and that the expensive battery pack might last 12 years from new.

            20

            • #

              My understanding is that the batteries should be replaced at max of 7 years if looked after properly. In cold climates, the batteries can deteriorate much more quickly (like any battery) and that’s been the case in the US.

              Batteries really only work optimally within a certain temperature range and charging regime. The temperature will affect performance and life. Fast charging will reduce a battery’s lifespan as well.

              40

              • #
                Greg Cavanagh

                Yes, this is the one fact that many of the battery car lovers overlook. The price of the battery replacement. Which also assumes that the battery CAN be replaced at that time.

                I’m well experienced with buying devices which fail after 2 to 4 years which can not be fixed because that device is out of production or the company is bust.

                Those Tesla’s are a costly item. It would be insane to have all that value gone just because the battery can no longer be replaced.

                50

        • #
          Hanrahan

          When you look at any battery electric vehicle it would be difficult to live with compared to something like a Camry Hybrid, which has all the goodies, very low maintenance costs and achieves 4.6L/100km while costing $31k compared to say a Nissan Leaf at $50k or an Hyundai Ioniq at $48k.

          I have an 8 yr old Camry hybrid and as you say, they are low maintenance and well built by a reliable manufacturer, but I wouldn’t take a lot of notice of 3.6l/100ks [MPG was sooo much simpler]. While the later models have improved I get in the high sixes in winter and 7.2 in summer.

          Features of the model:
          Timing chain instead of belt so no expensive replacement.
          Electric power steering so no oil leaks or failing belts.
          Electric aircon so the compressor runs constantly at design speed.
          Electric power breaks.
          [These things can’t be motor driven because the engine can power down @ 60kph with a steady throttle]
          No starter motor so the 12V battery lasts far longer [I’m still on the original]
          The CV transmission is sealed so no maintenance [I will get a service done anyway]
          100,000 km spark plugs. [Prolly standard on all cars today]
          I’ve looked through the service log book and there just aren’t any major services.
          If buying one, trade in the Dunlops immediately. Otherwise 5 stars.

          51

          • #
            Another Ian

            Hanrahan

            Check on that no replacement timing chain.

            A friend’s Mitsubishi diesel ute has replacement at 100,000 km and you’d better do it.

            His was missed in servicing and resulted in an expensive extra when it broke.

            40

            • #
              Hanrahan

              It’s not in the service log but thanks for the h/t.

              Having spent some time as a mechanic I’m aware that nothing is forever and would have someone look for stretch about that time.

              30

          • #
            Sceptical Sam

            trade in the Dunlops immediately

            Why?

            00

            • #
              Hanrahan

              I was in the motor trade in the sixties. Dunlop was junk then and are still junk. For most of the years since I would have said Bridgestone but, like Honda, they may have lost their shine.

              BTW I still like Honda, they are just not the standouts they once were.

              00

              • #
                Sceptical Sam

                OK, but for the record, I’ve done 290,000 Kilometres in my Landcruiser 100 Series. Off-road and long distance highway plus around town. I’m on my 4th set of Dunlops (Grandtrek). The first three sets averages 87,000 Kilometres each. All legal tread depth. No blow-outs. No tread-shed. No problems. I still have the original spare sitting only partially used in its rack.

                10

        • #
          Greebo

          It gives some insight into the problems of driving various electric vehicles between Sydney and Melbourne.

          The nearestTesla drivers are likely to come to that is the road to the airport.

          10

      • #
        Greebo

        My 2000 model, 2.7 tonne Land Rover Discovery TD5, with three adults, their luggage, a large dog and a roof rack can achieve 10/100 on the road from Tecoma ( Vic) to Adelaide. Around town of course, not so much. 4 speed auto with converter lock up in fourth.

        30

    • #
      theRealUniverse

      I saw a very funny bit recently on Top Gear when they discussed self parking Audis. Comment that they(the self driving AUDIs) would all try to find the best park so they would fight with each other to get a park and probably crash..

      40

      • #
        Dennis

        And be programmed to blame the human driver.

        Software secret.

        20

      • #
        Graeme No.3

        theRealUniverse:

        I can imagine that on the ABC with breathless commentary by David Attenborough “It’s nature’s way….the survival of the strongest”.

        30

    • #
      yarpos

      cant park your own damned car, and want to sue someone else over damage? Murica!

      20

  • #
    el gordo

    Melissa Price missing in action.

    ‘She is being called the “invisible minister”, the cabinet member responsible for the environment who is accused of “disinterest” during Australia’s summer of natural disasters and record-breaking heatwaves.’

    Guardian

    30

    • #
      Dennis

      The Guardian tag is a red alert fake news warning for me.

      110

    • #
      yarpos

      So if you dont strut and preen in fron of cameras making mileage from the weather , like the climate alarmists/ rent seekers, you are “disinterested”

      I think they mistake a media presence with actually doing work.

      50

      • #
        Annie

        It should be ‘uninterested’ anyway; ‘disinterested’ has a somewhat more altruistic meaning. Journo’s in some rags have very poor literary skills.

        60

  • #
    Another Ian

    “In Search of the Standard Day”

    “Recent posts and discussions on WUWT regarding air temperature sampling frequencies and their influence on the daily average – propagating to monthly and yearly trends – demonstrated that the classic sampling method of Tmax and Tmin is not adequate to correctly represent daily averages (Tav); to produce a representative value at least 24 samples (hourly readings) should be used.

    From the discussions also an idea emerged, that it could be possible to produce a “Standard Day” temperature curve and use it to correct older data sampled by Tmax and Tmin only, in order to obtain a more representative value of Tav.”

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/02/16/in-search-of-the-standard-day/https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/02/16/in-search-of-the-standard-day/

    50

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
      So, with only Tmax and Tmin available for much of the time since thermometers were invented, averaging the two seemed like a good idea to Climatologists.
      Whether that average actually means anything is far less important than its use as a way of panicking the gullible.

      51

  • #
    Another Ian

    I kid you not!

    “UK Thought Crime Wave!”

    “A witty woman named Sydney explores the United Kingdom law about making someone feel bad… Yes, in the UK, it would seem that it is a CRIME to make someone feel bad. ”

    https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2019/02/16/uk-thought-crime-wave/

    50

  • #
    RickWill

    Western Australia is proving highly prospective for lithium mining.
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-04/wa-in-box-seat-lithium-boom-new-refinery-kwinana/9728552

    One of the world’s biggest lithium refineries is set to be established south of Perth, which the state government says puts WA at the centre of the booming global industry.

    Wodgina is one of the new lithium mines now producing and plans to increase output:
    https://thewest.com.au/business/mining/blue-skies-for-mineral-resources-wodgina-lithium-project-ng-b88906450z

    Mineral Resources has revealed its Wodgina lithium project could more than double its underlying earnings when fully commissioned

    The Chris Ellison-led company announced yesterday its proposed 750,000 tonnes a year lithium spodumene concentrate plant in the Pilbara was expected to deliver $600 million in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.

    This mine is in the highest sun drenched land on the globe so would be the ideal location for cheap solar power coupled with lithium battery storage particularly given that the mine is producing the key ingredient of the batteries. So it may come as a surprise to some that the expansion requires upgrading the existing gas pipeline so the plant can increase its power generating capacity.

    To me, this is a very clear example of the relative economics of gas fuelled generation versus dispatchable solar. If solar/battery power supply is not economic in the very best location on Earth for solar to supply an operation producing the main input to the current best battery technology then it is not going to be economic anywhere else that has access to an abundant fossil fuel resource.

    I had a short chat to a fellow at Melbourne airport who was heading off to

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  • #
    yarpos

    Next door neighbour has just returned home from having triple bypass heart surgery. The whole process for the surgery and the toll it takes on the body is quite amazing. Better than the alternative I guess. Something best avoided, although in the small sample we have been exposed to it does appear rather random.

    40

    • #
      Dennis

      I knew three relatives (related by marriage) who had heart surgery during the 1970s and 1980s and they all survived almost to the year for ten more years and were told that this was their fate by doctors.

      No doubt heart surgery has improved considerably since then.

      41

      • #
        Hanrahan

        Mrs H has three siblings who have had bypass surgery, and her father died of a heart attack soon after we were married. Sadly I never got to know him well. Strangely she has never lost a second’s sleep about her own heart.

        It is V important to hug that pillow and do the exercises recommended.

        40

    • #
      Annie

      A sibling has just had that surgery in England…not nice. I will do my best to avoid it.

      20

      • #
        Hanrahan

        I will do my best to avoid it.

        Annie, be careful whose advice you take. Listen to your GP but always get a second opinion from Dr Google.

        I argue with my GP constantly but at 76 I am healthier than I was 30 years ago. Trust yourself and your God.

        I see some red thumbs commin!

        10

  • #
    Mark M

    One is from the Onion …

    Beached Whale Trying To hold On until Sea Levels Rise

    https://www.theonion.com/beached-whale-trying-to-hold-on-until-sea-levels-rise-1832655587

    New Toyota Prius Will Remind You To Check Your Privilege Every 3,000 Miles

    https://babylonbee.com/news/new-toyota-prius-will-remind-you-to-check-your-privilege-every-3000-miles

    40

    • #
      Dennis

      On an early Bolt Report broadcast on Channel 10 he had a casual panel consisting of former Federal Liberal Treasurer and former NSW State Labor Treasurer Costa, I believe both are good people, competent and patriotic.

      Costello mentioned that he drives a Toyota Prius and Costa responded: “pious”.

      lol

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    • #
      Greg in NZ

      Mark, the Onion’s headline reminds me of Dan Piraro’s (BizarroComics) cartoon where concerned humans are trying to assist a beached whale into deeper water as it grumpily complains, “How are we ever going to evolve if you people keep pushing us back into the ocean?”

      80

    • #
      yarpos

      A classic American approach to whale removal from the beach

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD5sPgV61bw

      30

  • #
  • #
    RickWill

    Pet Credlin on coal:
    https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/people-turning-away-from-coal-a-myth/video/2d66bb2dd1307024f247c3568ea10201

    Sky News host Peta Credlin says it is a myth that the world is turning away from coal, with Australia’s thermal exports at record levels and the strong resource industry fueling the government’s surplus budget.

    150

    • #
      Dennis

      There are fanatics who make that claim on various blogs from time to time, recently referring to the US using less coal. In fact the US is using less coal but using much more natural gas.

      120

  • #
    Maptram

    A couple of weeks ago, in the Southern Australian states, we had a few days of very hot weather. At least some parts of Victoria and I think South Australia, also had power outages for several days so there was no electricity to run air conditioners, fridges, lights, phones etc.

    If the climate change believers get their way, in the next ten to twenty years, authorities or someone else, will provide enough charging stations so we can all go and buy electric cars.

    What if, then we have another heat wave, as the climate change model predicts we will, and we have power outages. Not only will we be without airconditioners, fridges, light etc, unless we plan ahead and ensure the car is fully charged, we could also be without cars.

    But how do we plan ahead. The climate change model may predict a heat wave, but it will probably be after the event.

    80

    • #
      yarpos

      Not sure aspect of planning ahead your are concerned about. Regardless of the topic you plan ahead by working out what your desired future state is, and what the risk factors are that may stop you getting there.

      You then weigh up what you can do about the risks, to remove them, reduce them or sell them to someone else (like insurance and outsourcing). You arent planning ahead based on certainties just probabilities, thats the nature of the risk when its weather related.

      In the weather event case, a far bit of base preparation would be required and then you have to be able and willing to act based on available knowledge. These events dont fall from the sky with 5 minutes warning (tornados may be the exception but even then in the US they generally now when tornado season is)

      The starting point is deciding if you want to be part of the passive victim herd or actually spend energy and $ to make your situation potentially better than the do nothing case.

      10

  • #
    robert rosicka

    Ian Plimer is about to speak with the Outsiders team on Fox News

    50

  • #
    Peter Fitzroy

    It is interesting to note that China, which first announced its plans to put up an orbital solar power plant in 2017, have completed their first phase, and are now looking to move to the test phase with small units going into the stratosphere from around 2021, said the Science and Technology Daily. The downlink is going to be either laser or microwave. Bravo I say.

    Mind you, is any nation on earth going to be happy about a steerable high energy beam located in the geosynchronous orbit? Given the Longitudes of Australia, Japan, Korea, and China, we might have a new overlord, in this case a literal one, to worry about

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    • #
      Graeme No.3

      I assume the geostationary point would be over China, to reduce energy losses in transmission. Whether it would be able to deliver enough power to justify the cost is doubtful, and it still won’t solve the problem of the sun not shining 24 hours a day.
      And if they transmit the power as microwaves wear your tin foil hat at all times.

      100

      • #
        Peter Fitzroy

        A researcher from the China Academy of Space Technology Corporation, Pang Zhihao, said a space solar power station held the promise of providing “an inexhaustible source of clean energy for humans”.Electric cars could be charged at any time and any place. It could reliably supply energy 99 per cent of the time, at six-times the intensity of solar farms on earth, he said.
        That is because the geosynchronous orbit only experiences about 70 minutes of shadow at the equinox. Remember that the earth’s axis is tilted relative to the orbital plane.

        Sure it would cost, but this is a dual use system, with military as well as commercial uses. Given that the military budget tends to be unlimited, cost will not be a limiting factor here.

        415

        • #
          Dennis

          For your information the military have no money, governments have no money other than the tax revenue received from the taxpayers, or what is borrowed in our name and for which our taxes pay interest to the lenders.

          20

        • #
          yarpos

          “Electric cars could be charged at any time and any place”

          Just an opinion but we may be getting just a little bit ahead of ourselves there, and perhaps exaggerating just a tad. Such is the nature of renewables rainbows and unicorns land that all things are immediately feasible, even in the absence of a base working prototype.

          80

        • #
          sophocles

          Pang Zhihao, said a space solar power station held the promise of providing “an inexhaustible source of clean energy for humans

          Careful pFitz, your Gullibility is showing, as usual.
          I’m surprised the spokesperson didn’t make it a coal-fired power station. It would make it no less ridiculous.

          We already have a huge one, about a million times the size of this planet up there. It’s been providing “an inexhaustible source of clean energy for humans for about 4.5 billion years and will continue to do so for about 4.5 billion years more. That’s effectively inexhaustible. What’s even better is:
          – it’s maintenance free,
          – it’s totally reliable: rises in the east every morning, without fail

          The only thing wrong with it is that it’s remote control was lost about 4.5 billion years ago and we don’t know how to make another one.
          Otherwise GLobal Warming, Climate Change and Global Cooling wouldn’t bother us any.

          We call it ‘The Sun.’

          That, pFitz, is either just a euphemism for putting weapons in orbit. Big weapons, which are banned by International Treaty, or laughing at you and all the other westerners like you: The Gullibles.

          30

      • #
        GADAB

        Geosynchronous orbit over China?
        https://www.space.com/29222-geosynchronous-orbit.html
        A geosynchronous orbit is a high Earth orbit that allows satellites to match Earth’s rotation. Located at 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth’s equator

        00

    • #
      David Maddison

      Where is the cost benefit analysis for this?

      Not even a ground based solar power station is economical at free market electricity prices so how could a space based one be with construction costs hundreds or thousands of times greater?

      140

      • #
        theRealUniverse

        There are allot of ‘pie in the sky’ ideas around , and quite allot from China, which will get built hard to tell. The energy conversion losses could be rather high.

        50

        • #
          Peter Fitzroy

          China, when it announces a new project tends to do it, and within the announced timeframe. The last demonstration was the successful moon landings.

          59

          • #
            Hanrahan

            If China doesn’t stop provoking the US they will have far greater problems than this. An Admiral with status is talking about “bloodying the US’s nose” by destroying a couple of aircraft carriers. His logic is that the Yanks couldn’t tolerate losses and would run home with their tail between their legs.

            How did that work out for Yamamoto at Pearl, or for Hitler during the blitz? You can only learn from history if you read it.

            Interesting fact: The Germans and Italians dropped more tonnage of bombs on Malta than was dropped on London. The garrison held out.

            70

            • #
              el gordo

              If the US Alliance doesn’t stop provoking Beijing they will have far greater problems than this.

              There, fixed it.

              01

              • #
                Sceptical Sam

                Can’t agree el gordo.

                The Chinese are serial thieves of others’ Intellectual Property. They’re also currency manipulators, and WTO trade protocol manipulators.

                It is a Communist dictatorship that holds human rights in total contempt. Ask the Uighurs, ask the parents of the slaughtered in Tiananmen Square, ask Falun Gong.

                The PLA has divisions of military personnel undertaking international cyber-crime, cyber attacks and cyber hacks.

                Australia, unfortunately, has just too many apologists who have sold out the nation for 20 pieces of silver from the Chinese. Mao’s useful idiots. Carr and Co.

                There is nothing about the Chinese Government, its policies, its ethics or its morality that can be supported.

                Trump, love him or hate him, has their measure.

                50

              • #
                el gordo

                Its a fascist dictatorship, but no threat to us if we keep them at arms length.

                The US owns more of Australia than China and we are staunch members of the Alliance for now, but its untenable in the long run. Time we became a non aligned republic.

                Donald is alright in my book, but he has no answer for this new form of capitalism.

                10

              • #
                Sceptical Sam

                Donald is alright in my book, but he has no answer for this new form of capitalism.

                On the contrary, it seems that he does have the answer to your so-called new form of Capitalism.

                China breaches WTO protocols. The USA is challenging that.

                China dumps product into the USA market. Trump is dealing with that. Come 1 March we’ll see what happens.

                China controls Chinese IT companies. Trump is dealing with that. Watch the whinging from Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd as a case in point.

                Trump will do to China what the USA did to the USSR. China won’t last under the current structure. It’ll have to change or collapse.

                50

              • #
                el gordo

                Its easy to forget that the US dumped oranges on us and practically wiped out the local market.

                The thing is, looking at the big picture, Beijing is a benevolent dictatorship and will drag Africa out of poverty. Its in their interest to do so, capitalism has to create new markets or collapse.

                21

              • #
                Hanrahan

                So you advocate the Chamberlin response to China’s expansionism?

                00

              • #
                el gordo

                The white paper was worthless and we are practically powerless to stop what is coming.

                ‘The computer networks of Australia’s major political parties have been attacked by a “sophisticated state actor”. Oz

                00

      • #
        Yonniestone

        This well known Doctor came up with the idea of a giant moon laser decades ago, Giant Moon Laser.

        30

      • #

        There’s no real point in commenting on this, but I will anyway. There’s probably an ulterior motive behind it, (both the original comment here, and the idea of this whole thought bubble) because at face value, all that China hopes for here is a Nameplate of 1000MW (1GW) by 2050.

        The actual generated power comes in at 0.06% (at the best case scenario) of what China is actually generating RIGHT NOW, so that minute percentage will be even less by the time it comes on stream, if at all. The astronomical cost for what is basically a single f@rt in a Month long Cat 5 Typhoon would not be worth it, and even China knows that.

        Tony.

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        • #
          Peter Fitzroy

          You’ve hypocritically missed the point I’m trying to make, it is about having a steerable energy beam in space, a long way out, with oversight of all of the lower orbits. But then, that’s you privilage

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          • #

            See, what did I say?

            There’s probably an ulterior motive behind it, (both the original comment here, and the idea of this whole thought bubble)

            Who would have thought!

            And here’s me thinking you were talking about electrical power generation, considering this is what you wrote:

            It is interesting to note that China, which first announced its plans to put up an orbital solar power plant in 2017…..

            and then embellished it with …..“bravo I say.”

            Silly me, eh!

            Just another chance to for you to (as usual) divert away and leave a snide personal remark.

            Tony.

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            • #
              Peter Fitzroy

              This is what I said:
              “Mind you, is any nation on earth going to be happy about a steerable high energy beam located in the geosynchronous orbit? Given the Longitudes of Australia, Japan, Korea, and China, we might have a new overlord, in this case a literal one, to worry about”

              That’s the important bit, the energy transfer to earth is a sideshow, which you pointed out.

              As to the snide remarks – I’m still waiting for you to defend Gee Aye and myself from the misrepresentations to our screen names, which you upbraided me for when I asked Bill how the other denizens of Oz were getting along.

              511

              • #

                I had a problem with what YOU said about ME. I called you out on it, and it was resolved.

                Now you (again) deflect from that suggesting I need to apologise to you on their behalf. If you have a problem with them, then you take it out with them, not through a third person.

                And you persist with the snide comment regarding denizens of Oz. I responded to that particular ad hom from you at the comment at this link, but you obviously don’t go back and check on old comments when a new Thread is put up here, so allow me to expand on that.

                Long before facebook, twitter et al, where people only use their real names, up to 16 years ago now, some sites started to open up their sites for comments, all of them moderated before posting. In fact, one of them was the ABC, not long they first started their on line profile, and they actually had a multi and many topic Forum, where people could leave comments, wait for moderation, and then be posted. I was in fact a regular contributor there for the couple of years of its existence. At the top of the forum, and as each new site, mostly in the U.S. opened up their sites for comments, they specifically cautioned AGAINST using your real name, and advised that you select a screen name, that they could then refer to your email, which also had to be provided, so they could send you a response that you had been accepted. Once accepted, you used that screen name exclusively. I settled upon mine for the reason shown in that earlier comment, and I have been using that screen name now for nigh on 16 years.

                I understand it is a laughing point for you, because you have no idea what we did in those early days.

                You use every chance available to you to change the subject, divert away, make up responses, and be snide about it.

                THAT’S what makes me particularly angry about the way you conduct yourself here.

                It’s a pattern you adhere to. You need to be thankful that you get free rein here to get away with what you do get away with. We have no chance whatsoever to contribute at other sites the opposite of this one. Any comment we might make just doesn’t even get published there.

                You give us no credit at all for having a knowledge base in our subject of choice, and just use the ‘slagging off’ pattern you know best all the time, waiting for a response so you can divert away from it again.

                I know this is a bit of a rant, and to all you others I apologise to you. (because he won’t)

                Tony.

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              • #
                AndyG55

                Well said TonyinOZ 🙂

                Absolutely no need to apologise. 🙂

                162

              • #
                toorightmate

                Peter Fitzroy,
                Go away please – you horrible person.

                70

              • #
                Kinky Keith

                As I’ve said before on several occasions there has been absolutely Nil from this person in terms of genuine inquiry or contribution.

                The nature of all posts by this person is not hard to detect and begs the question as to what benefit there is in his continued access to this blog.

                The blog is being held up to ridicule.

                Is it Time.

                KK

                70

              • #
                sophocles

                Don’t apologise at all for calling an @$$hole to account, TonyfromOZ.
                An ill-mannered, ignorant and arrogant one at that. Go for it.

                pFitz: go look in the nearest mirror. For a long time.
                You should take Billy Connelly’s trademark request to heart and do it.

                70

              • #
                AndyG55

                His soul intent is to troll and disrupt rational conversation.

                He has no other purpose.

                61

              • #

                meh. I used a fake name on bbs’s in the 80s

                23

      • #
        Hanrahan

        It’s easy, all you need to do is develop a wind powered rocket and they could be put into orbit “free”*.

        *Everything is free if it comes from renewables. lol

        110

    • #
      David Maddison

      China always has an agenda. If they do go ahead with this (and bear in mind that these things have been seriously proposed in the West since the early 1970’s but never found to be viable) it is because they want the West to follow their example and waste money building them. China will build one then gullible countries like Australia will pay the Chinese to build one for them. The gullible countries will have their economies further ruined with “renewables” while the Chinese economy will benefit from a) sales of these things, b) cheap power from their own coal power plants and c) further ruination of Western economies (except the US).

      110

  • #
    Mark M

    Inconvenient truths # 1301.2:

    January 29, 2019: The decline of the monarch butterfly is a natural disaster that requires attention now

    “Just like hurricanes, floods, droughts and wildfires, the decline of the monarch is a warning sign of a much larger problem: climate change
    [global warming].

    http://blogs.edf.org/growingreturns/2019/01/29/decline-of-monarch-butterfly-climate-change/

    Wait!

    Jan 30, 2019: “The yearly count of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico, released today, shows an increase of 144 percent from last year’s count and is the highest count since 2006”

    Eastern Monarch Butterfly Population Rebounds

    https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2019/monarch-butterfly-01-30-2019.php

    via tom nelson

    90

    • #
      Hanrahan

      Guys, I’ve often wondered about the migration of the monarch. Do they have a long life so that individuals can migrate from Mex into Nth America or does it take a few generations to complete the migration? It seems a long way for a fragile butterfly.

      30

      • #
        robert rosicka

        No expert but from what I hear they have a short life and it’s future generations that migrate back .

        30

        • #
          John F. Hultquist

          The current year’s young find their way back to the site, never having been there.
          One of the great mysteries of the Universe.

          Clean farming and irrigation has reduced milkweed in North America.
          Habitat loss (trees) on the other end has hurt.

          Not an expert either. Just read.

          20

      • #
        Sceptical Sam

        Build a wall.

        Stop the Monarchists.

        10

  • #
    Mark M

    She must be thrilled to pieces with the result of the unpredicted North Queensland floods …

    WA Labor MP Lisa Baker attacked after blaming farmers for climate change [global warming]

    “A State Government MP has been attacked as a “green communist” after she blamed farmers for climate change [global warming], demanded livestock be replaced with plants and called on people to eat less meat.”

    https://www.perthnow.com.au/politics/state-politics/wa-labors-meathead-ng-b881106534z

    Up to 500,000 drought-stressed cattle killed in Queensland floods

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/11/up-to-500000-drought-stressed-cattle-killed-in-queensland-floods

    > Electricity Bill Shorten was unavailable to comment or endorse the devastation.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    Note to BOM readers.

    I’m sure there are a few public serpents in the BOM that read this blog who are not yet completely brain dead. I’m sure some even read it at work when they’re not checking their share portfolio (with shares in “renewables”) or Ebay transactions.

    I would just like to know how you can live with yourselves altering historic temperature records to prove the false narrative of anthropogenic global warming? The country is spending (and wasting) billions and destroying our economy based on your wrong advice.

    The reality is that the world is very likely cooling as we enter a grand solar minimum (the sun and Milankovitch Cycles being the primary drivers of climate in case you didn’t know) and as a result of your bad advice (and your colleagues at NASA/NOAA etc.) the world will be unprepared and millions will die during the coming cooling.

    I hope you can feel comfortable with what you have participated in.

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    • #
      Peter Fitzroy

      When is this cooling expected?

      413

      • #
        Hanrahan

        If “they” stopped fiddling the record it would be evident already.

        153

        • #
          Peter Fitzroy

          Who are “they”, even the UAH are reporting heating, and they use a different method than SAT

          316

          • #
            AndyG55

            No heating in UAH in 40 years except from ocean releases.

            There is NO TREND apart from that which you create using those El Ninos.

            There certainly is no CO2 warming signature, anywhere.

            AMO is starting to turn down,

            Ocean surfaces cooling in important areas.

            And absolutely nothing to stop the cooling as the oceans gradually loose the heat built up during the latter half of last century.

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            • #
              Peter Fitzroy

              To quote you
              “Before we go too far, it should be noted that BOM shows a trend of about 0.19ºC/decade from 1980 to 2010

              UAH Australia also shows a trend from 1979 – 2018 of 0.19ºC/decade.

              What UAH does show up is the distinct step change at the 1998 El Nino.”

              411

              • #
                AndyG55

                ONLY from El Ninos.

                You are not listening or learning , because you are too intent on trolling with mindless idiocies.

                And why now switch to UAH Australia when we are talking Global, which also shows only warming from El Ninos

                Your mind is an empty husk.

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      • #
        RickWill

        The cooling began in 2016:
        http://climexp.knmi.nl/data/ihadcrut4_0-360E_-90-90N_n_1980:2020_a.png
        This aligns very well with declining solar activity as cycle 24 winds down and is consistent with more cloud cover induced by unimpeded cosmic rays seeding more clouds:
        http://climexp.knmi.nl/data/icoads_cldc_0-360E_-90-90N_n_1980:2020.png

        I expect we are a long way from the next peak in cosmic rays making it to surface stations:
        http://cosmicrays.oulu.fi/webform/onlinequery.cgi?station=OULU&startday=01&startmonth=01&startyear=1980&starttime=00%3A00&endday=14&endmonth=02&endyear=2019&endtime=00%3A00&resolution=Automatic+choice&outputmode=default&picture=on
        Cloud cover is expected to continue its upward trend and maintain the current cooling trend.

        The El Nino, which represents a surge in ocean near surface heat loss, is looking less likely now than a few months ago:
        https://www.capitalpress.com/ag_sectors/water/el-nino-a-no-show-so-far-losing-steam/article_c57cb1ba-15c9-11e9-865c-8b2ca7921466.html
        So there is not enough heat being collected in oceans to establish the next El Nino.

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        • #
          Peter Fitzroy

          So according to your chart, the cooling started in 2016, also in 2010, 2007, 1998, 1996 and 1991. And yet each downturn came from a higher anomaly. The trend is still positive, at 1.9C a decade.
          More clouds is in line with global warming, cosmic rays only play a small part in global systems, but I can see no correlation with temp, cloud cover and cosmic rays from your links.
          El Nino is still neutral, and again as el gordo will tell you, el Nino’s are the hot years, but each el nino event has created a new, hotter, peak.

          So what I am saying is that in 2029 the average temp will be 1.9C higher than today.

          For funzies, what is your prediction?

          415

          • #
            RickWill

            The linked chart above is not mine. It is HadCRUT data. It is also a close match to UAH:
            http://www.drroyspencer.com/wp-content/uploads/UAH_LT_1979_thru_January_2019_v6.jpg
            Which also peaked in 2016.

            The trend is nothing like 1.9C/decade. It just scrapes 0.11C/decade. You are out by more than a factor of 10. Reality does not match models!

            The inability of the El Nino to form indicates that there is not enough near surface ocean energy build up to produce an El Nino. An El Nino results in a release of energy as the tropical mid Pacific ocean surface warms up and carries heat to higher latitudes in both hemispheres. There is not enough heat now because cloud cover is increasing and will continue to increase until solar activity returns in cycle 25.

            The fact that there are temperature peaks in the years you nominate is one of the best indicators to demonstrate how useless climate models are and the incorporated ignorance on natural variation as well as fundamental drivers. The models get the peaks incorporated after the event but are never predicted. Another classic failure is silly climate modellers claiming to have found the “missing heat” in oceans. For models to have the slightest relevance to reality they MUST incorporate ocean heat. The fact that it has been missing and only recently discovered is clear indication that modellers need to buy a clue because they are clueless.

            2029 will certainly be cooler than 2016.

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            • #
              Peter Fitzroy

              A factor of 10 – LOLZ, if it is 1.1 that is only a factor of 2 . Take it up with Andyg55 this is his quote

              “Before we go too far, it should be noted that BOM shows a trend of about 0.19ºC/decade from 1980 to 2010

              UAH Australia also shows a trend from 1979 – 2018 of 0.19ºC/decade.

              What UAH does show up is the distinct step change at the 1998 El Nino.”

              38

              • #
                AndyG55

                El Ninos !! and only 0.19ºC/decade NOT 1.9ºC/decade

                Just double down on your stupidity and ignorance, its who you are.

                You still can’t even grasp the concept of a step change, with NO OTHER WARMING, can you.. You MUST be pretending to be so DUMB.

                62

            • #
              Peter Fitzroy

              Good for you RickWill, at least you are prepared to stand behind your statement.

              47

              • #
                AndyG55

                Yet YOU have never been prepared to back up your “belief” that CO2 causes warming.

                Perhaps that’s because you know you can’t.

                72

          • #
            RickWill

            One more point. A 2yo can figure out that more clouds causes cooling. Climate models fail dismally on clouds – completely clueless.

            The total precipitable water has declined this century and is in complete contrast to climate model predictions. So increasing cloud is occurring despite reducing water vapour.

            The only ways that TPW can reduce is for more rainfall than evaporation. If the globe was warming there would be increasing TPW.

            91

            • #
              Peter Fitzroy

              proofs you will need for the climate models failing on clouds, and the total precipitable water and which century are we talking about?

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              • #
                AndyG55

                proof will be needed that increased atmospheric CO2 causes warming

                So far you are batting zero, zero, zero, zero….. NONE. !!

                Climate models often don’t even model clouds AT ALL.. its not just a FAIL, its a “didn’t even sit the test”

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              • #
                Peter Fitzroy

                so no references then?

                210

              • #
                AndyG55

                Direct from the IPCC

                “The quantification of cloud and convective effects in models,
                and of aerosol–cloud interactions, continues to be a challenge.
                Climate models are incorporating more of the relevant processes
                than at the time of AR4, but confidence in the representation
                of these processes remains weak
                .”

                And when IPCC says “confidence is weak”.. It means THEY HAVEN’T GO A CLUE

                OOPS……. pfitz faceplants again.

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              • #
                AndyG55

                more..

                Uncertainty in the sign and magnitude of the cloud
                feedback
                is due primarily to continuing uncertainty in the
                impact of warming on low clouds.”

                Uncertainty in the SIGN and magnitude….. roflmao !!!!

                ie CLUELESS. !!!

                92

              • #
                AndyG55

                More… from your beloved IPCC….

                “Low clouds contribute positive feedback in most models, but that behaviour is not well understood, nor effectively constrained by observations, so we are not confident that it is realistic.”

                ie.. they are CLUELESS.. just like you

                ROFLMAO !!!

                Now, where is that empirical evidence for warming or climate effects due to increased atmospheric CO2 ?

                … or are you going to continue your COWARDLY sliming and slithering in avoidance of admitting that THERE ISN’T ANY

                72

              • #
                Peter Fitzroy

                AR4 (2007), and what – no progress since then?
                AR5 (2013) The simulation of clouds in climate models remains challenging. There is very high confidence that uncertainties in cloud processes explain much of the spread in modelled climate sensitivity.

                So clouds are hard, but progress is continuing.

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              • #
                AndyG55

                roflmao..

                As their models diverge more and more from REALITY, they become more and more “CONfident”

                And you fall for it.

                Such a gullible little twerp, aren’t you

                They are CLUELESS and they admit that they are CLUELSS.

                About time you did the same instead of the constant doubling down on your ignorance

                Now, where is that empirical evidence for warming or climate effects due to increased atmospheric CO2 ?

                … or are you going to continue your COWARDLY sliming and slithering in avoidance of admitting that THERE ISN’T ANY

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              • #
                RickWill

                Raw data for TPW from MODIS is here:
                https://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/view.php?datasetId=MYDAL2_M_SKY_WV
                I have done the analysis using this data since it was produced in 2002. It shows a downward trend since then. I will leave you to do your own assessment as that will encourage you to do some analysis based on measured data rather than referencing clueless. models.

                31

            • #
              el gordo

              ‘The total precipitable water has declined this century and is in complete contrast to climate model predictions.’

              Do you have a link for that?

              30

            • #
              el gordo

              ‘In reality, water vapor (humidity) raises the atmosphere’s enthalpy; moist air holds a lot more energy than dry air. 100% humid air (say in a misty Bayou after an afternoon rain shower) at 75F holds twice the energy of dry air at 100F (say Death Valley) in kilojoules per kilogram.

              ‘Moist air is also lighter than dry air, so naturally convects upward until the water condenses and then freezes at each state change releasing heat to be radiated away to space. Water cools the Earth in the hydrologic cycle it does not warm it. This is why there is such effective homeostasis at the equator.’

              Ian Wilson

              20

        • #
          sophocles

          Phil Jones of CRU at East Anglia, reported cooling starting in 2003. (That was in 2008)

          30

    • #
      Peter Fitzroy

      When is this cooling expected?

      417

      • #
        David Maddison

        Quite likely it has already started, but any clear evidence is hidden by data tampering. There are numerous online references, I suggest you Google them and make up your own mind.

        113

        • #
          Peter Fitzroy

          I must have a leftist google, all I find is warming

          517

          • #
            RickWill

            You are not asking the right question:
            https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=global+cooling+2019&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
            I get 156,000,000 hits. Not bad when you consider how biased public funded press is regarding their Global Warming religion.

            93

            • #
              Peter Fitzroy

              using Google
              Global Cooling 2019
              About 156,000,000 results (0.58 seconds)
              Global Warming 2019
              About 400,000,000 results (0.58 seconds)
              using Climate Change 2019
              About 717,000,000 results (0.44 seconds)
              Using Bing
              Global Cooling 2019 357,000 Results
              Global Warming 2019 13,300,000 Results
              Climate Change 2019 14,000,000 Results

              I’m not at all sure that this proves anything though although the 2 engines do show that in the popularity stakes, cooling loses out

              Duck Duck Go does not give statistics

              211

          • #
            Hanrahan

            Try duck duck go.

            30

            • #
              Peter Fitzroy

              yep I agree with you Hanrahan, sheer numbers do not help. Now in Google Scholar, there is the citation list, which does show which papers are considered important.

              for example:
              global cooling 2018 scholarly articles gives About 20,400 results (0.11 sec) but most of these do not relate to the current climate. With the highest ranked one being cited 983 times
              global warming 2018 scholarly articles gives About 25,400 results (0.28 sec)and these are more relevant to the current climate. With the highest ranked one being cited 4382 times

              Still it would be hard to draw conclusions without a more detailed examination, but it does show the same trend as the raw searches.

              28

              • #
                AndyG55

                If you had a brain and a rational thought of your own, instead of using gallop polls and consensus, maybe you could come to a sensible conclusion based on reality and fact.

                You know, use “science”

                Unfortunately, “science” seems to be totally beyond your capabilities.

                73

              • #
                Peter Fitzroy

                I’m sorry AndyG55, what is it about looking at google scholar and the attached citations that is unscientific?

                39

              • #
                AndyG55

                Except you haven’t used any science, just a search of numbers.

                You have yet to present one piece of empirical evidence to show that the AGW scam is based even slightly on any actual reality.

                No evidence that increased atmospheric CO2 causes warming or affects climate in any way.

                Without that, all your irrelevant searches are just like you, IRRELEVANT.

                Warming predictions are based on scientifically unsupportable mantra.

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          • #
            yarpos

            correct, that is the only flavour of Goggle

            50

      • #
        el gordo

        ‘When is this cooling expected?’

        A strong El Nino this year and a sharp decline in temperatures in 2020-21 with a robust La Nina.

        With a quiet sun we should expect a string of La Nina over the coming decade, world temperatures will fall quite sharply.

        70

        • #
          Peter Fitzroy

          Fingers crossed, but I have doubts.

          27

          • #
            AndyG55

            Only a crazy, ignorant, brain-washed clown would want a protracted cooling trend.

            The ramification for global food production are horrendous, just for a start !

            And considering that a large proportion of the world’s population already has to battle through harsh winters, cooling would only make the situation worse.

            You are one evil, despicable, anti-human, piece of ****, pfutz.

            53

            • #
              el gordo

              It won’t be so bad, like the 50s and 60s, the baby boomers survived.

              Today there is little chance of horrendous effects from climate change, nothing humanity can’t handle.

              ‘You are one evil, despicable, anti-human, piece of ****, pfutz.’

              That is unwarranted, I suggest an apology is in order.

              50

              • #
                AndyG55

                1950, 60s was hardly a protracted cooling spell, only took the globe back down to what it was before the 1940s’ warm peak. But even that would drop food yields.

                pfutz is wanting to destroy all the yield increase and the food supply that increased CO2 and natural warming has brought.

                That will plunge many places into famine and even greater hardship than they already have.

                If that isn’t despicable and anti-human, what is ??

                32

              • #
                el gordo

                All Fitz said was that he had his doubts about my ENSO projection, nothing more.

                I’m tempted to put on a lukewarm coat and argue that CO2 causes a little non catastrophic warming and critique everything you say.

                The 1950s was a wet time in Australia and in the early 60s the UK experienced historical cold winters, that is what we are heading into.

                The biggest threat during colder periods is monsoon failure, but I’m not sure of the mechanisms involved.

                12

              • #
                AndyG55

                “argue that CO2 causes a little non catastrophic warming “

                Say what you like.. do you have any empirical evidence?

                32

              • #
              • #
                AndyG55

                Feldman took 5 years to “extract” an increased forcing of 0.2w/m² from the bottom of a La Nina to the top of El Nino.

                Even if real, that 0.2w/m² essentially shows that CO2 has no effect anyway, being totally drowned by H@O and solar effects.

                He did no partial period testing that I could see in his paper.

                He used models to subtract out unknown affects of H20, assuming that cloudless skies meant little or no Water Vapour. DOH !!!

                All he showed was that the atmosphere was warmer during an El Nino.

                Whoopy-doo !!

                He drew no correlation to temperature, either, didn’t even mention temperature, I wonder why. 😉

                The graph he then produced was also from a model, not from any readings.

                Good thing he didn’t check to 2008 or 2012, hey.

                It is a NON-paper. Goodness knows how it got through peer-review ! 😉

                10

              • #
                el gordo

                Yeah, you win that one, but I’ll keep looking.

                A guest post by Javier at Climate etc. which suggests H2O keeps CO2 in check.

                ‘The last 70 out of 300 years of Modern Global Warming are characterized by human-caused, extremely unusual, rapidly increasing CO2 levels. In stark contrast with this rapidly accelerating anthropogenic forcing, global temperature and sea level appear to have continued their rising trend with no perceptible evidence of added acceleration. The evidence supports a higher sensitivity to CO2 in the cryosphere, suggesting a negative feedback by H2O, that prevents CO2 from having the same effect elsewhere.’

                00

              • #
                AndyG55

                “In stark contrast with this rapidly accelerating anthropogenic forcing”

                What rapidly accelerating forcing?

                Feldman showed it is totally insignificant at most.

                CO2 does not re-emit below about 11km altitude.

                The mean free absorption path of surface emitted LW in that tiny thin band that CO2 can absorb, drops from maybe 10m to 9.5m, which has absolutely no effect, because convection RULES in the lower atmosphere.

                Calling an absorption curve a “forcing” is bad nomenclature to say the least. A rethink needed by everyone.

                There is no “rapidly accelerating forcing”

                00

          • #
            el gordo

            Ian Wilson has a lunar hypothesis which links to ENSO behaviour, he forecasts a strong El Nino this year.

            http://astroclimateconnection.blogspot.com

            10

          • #
            el gordo

            If you go directly to comments its Javier leading the charge on the coming La Nina, and note how Curry seeks his advice.

            https://judithcurry.com/2019/02/08/sea-level-rise-whiplash/

            10

        • #
          glen Michel

          Well I still contend we are in a Modoki event ATM and trending towards a full El Nino. All indicators in the Pacific indicate this. What manifests is anyones guess.

          30

          • #
            el gordo

            Looks like it and this will send temperatures higher unit a strong La Nina kicks off, similar to 1878-79.

            10

  • #
    Greg in NZ

    David, according to your BoM’s entrails of chicken projections, TC Oma (after providing QLD & NSW with what could very well be The Swell Of The Century!) will drift southwards over northern New Zealand, then suck up VERY COLD, ie. snowy, climate weather. But hey, that’s a week away, and we all know they’re only accurate for 50 and 100 and 1,000 years into the future –

    http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/viewer/index.shtml (scroll through to Saturday 23 Feb – bull’s eye!)

    No doubt Alarmists, if this scientific prophecy comes true, will pull out their favourite unprecedented! and extreme weather! and see? we told you! yet ex-TCs causing snow on the Southern Alps in summer is a not uncommon feature in these parts. Then again, their supercomputer may get it completely wrong…

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    • #
      Hanrahan

      This is a pretty good pic of Oma:

      https://himawari8.nict.go.jp/

      40

      • #
        Greg in NZ

        Nice one. However, the first thing my eyes were drawn to was that MONSTER UNNAMED SNOW BLIZZARD tickling the south coast of your fair continent. Surfers in Torquay (and many other spots) will be pulling a sickie tomorrow…

        As for Tropical Cyclone Grandmother (‘Oma’ is Dutch for Nana, methinks), our state-funded radio broadcaster has been reporting Oma “has stalled west of Vanuatu” for three-days-in-a-row, as if it’s breaking news. It’s starting to feel like Groundhog Day yet I know it’s just that old Tasman blocking high doing its thing. Hopefully New Hebrideans and New Caledonians survive the blow without too much pain or loss; it is called ‘cyclone season’ for a reason.

        60

    • #
      glen Michel

      If the ridge holds up Oz may be the beneficiary. Otherwise it’s into the trough bin and over to you Greg NZ!!

      20

  • #
  • #
    Yonniestone

    I’d like to thank everyone that responded to my questions about getting around Perth last week, unfortunately I couldn’t go but Mrs Yonnie did and has found the information you gave very useful, everything went well as can be expected for such a trip and reports Perth is a lovely metropolis.

    Thank you to all.

    50

  • #
    robert rosicka

    Don’t read this Tony from oz , apart from the delusion the labor party have with renewables and now the moment there is too much intermittent power for the grid to handle , they have come up with a new measure of windfarm power .
    One coal fired power unit is apparently equal to one wind farm by the look of it .

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-17/rural-victoria-power-networks-to-buckle-under-wind-energy/10808534

    50

    • #
      Dennis

      Imagine the government deciding to ban 42-tonne capacity diesel powered trucks from the roads and enacting an Electric Vehicle Transport Target with subsidies to private sector businesses that operated fleets of 42 1-tonne capacity EV trucks to replace the diesel fleet.

      It would make as much nonsense as the RET wind turbines replacing power stations.

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    • #
      yarpos

      I had an exchange with a State Labor party candidate in the lead up to last VIC election. She was talking about renewballs power in terms of Hazelwood equivalents. It must be a Labor thing to simplify it for the masses. Never mind that they are comparing apples and aardvarks.

      100

    • #

      Sorry robert rosicka,

      I already read that at around 8.30AM, after I got back from my morning walk.

      Just as my heart rate was lowering, the laughing attack raised that heart rate again.

      Another Pixie Ann Wheatley.

      I wonder why none of these journalists have even thought to ask their Premier how soon he’ll be closing Loy Yang A and B and Yallourn W if there’s so much renewable power out there.

      Big area for wind power too, all concentrated across that Southern Australia area there. Watch what happens on Thursday to wind power though.

      Tony.

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  • #
    Maptram

    I read the article referenced by Robert. In part it says

    “While units were falling over in our coal-fired power stations, renewable energy was going strong,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said at the time.

    Why was renewable energy going strong when the coal-fired power stations were falling over? Because of the conditions, sun, high temperatures, strong winds etc that the climate change believers think are caused by climate change and can be changed by reducing the amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere

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  • #
    pat

    theirABC can’t help themselves – note no “alleged” in front of “attack” in the headline:

    15 Feb: ABC: AP/Reuters: Police shoot down reports racist, homophobic attack on Empire star Jussie Smollett was staged
    Smollett has said his attackers yelled “this is MAGA country”, referencing the President’s “Make America Great Again (MAGA)” slogan, during the incident…
    Smollett also told Robin Roberts of ABC (America) News people it was “ridiculous” to think he would lie…
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-15/chicago-police-fox-dispute-reports-about-smollett-maga-attack/10816076

    most FakeNewsMSM, including BBC – have omitted “alleged” since this ridiculous story came out at the end of Jan:

    16 Feb: BBC: Jussie Smollett: Suspects held over attack on actor released
    Earlier, police had dismissed local media reports that the alleged attack was a hoax…

    ANYONE PAYING ATTENTION TO ALL THE INCONSISTENCIES, AND BACK-TRACKING BY SMOLLET – WOULD HAVE SEEN WHERE THIS STORY WAS HEADLING:

    Police: Two brothers told investigators they were paid by Jussie Smollett to stage attack
    USA Today – 16 Feb 2019

    Chicago police believe Jussie Smollett may have paid men to attack him: Reports
    Entertainment Weekly – 16 Feb 2019

    16 Feb: CBS Chicago: Jussie Smollett Case: Brothers Questioned By Police Bought Rope Used In Attack At Actor’s Request, Sources Say
    By Charlie De Mar
    The sources also say the “Empire” actor paid for the rope, which was purchased at the Crafty Beaver Hardware Store the weekend of Jan. 25.
    The brothers were paid $3,500 before leaving for Nigeria and were promised an additional $500 upon their return…
    The sources say plain red hats worn by the brothers were bought at an Uptown beauty supply store and that the attack was supposed to happen before Jan. 29…
    The brothers are now cooperating with police…
    Police raided the the brothers’ home on Wednesday, the same day police met them at O’Hare International Airport, as they were returning from Nigeria…
    https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/02/16/sources-brothers-released-bought-rope-used-in-jussie-smollett-attack/

    16 Feb: TMZ: Jussie Smollett Reportedly Paid Brothers to Stage ‘Attack’
    6:15 PM PT — Chicago PD’s Chief Communications Officer confirms the case has taken a turn based on details provided by the brothers, saying … “The information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation.”
    He adds that police have reached out to Jussie’s attorney to request a follow-up interview…

    Jussie Smollett has turned from a presumed victim to suspect in the criminal investigation into the alleged racist, homophobic attack, and sources say there is mounting evidence the 2 brothers who were arrested and subsequently released were acting at Jussie’s behest and reportedly paid…

    One law enforcement source tells TMZ at least one of the brothers turned over his phone and there is a call between him and Jussie in the vicinity of the “attack,” but before it happened.
    CNN is reporting the brothers purchased what looks like the rope Jussie had around his neck at a Chicago Ace Hardware store. CNN is also citing law enforcement sources saying Jussie paid the brothers to orchestrate the phony assault…

    Various sources in the Chicago PD have told TMZ almost from the beginning there was wide sentiment Jussie’s version of events were false, despite the party line that he was the victim of a crime.
    As we told you … the Nigerian brothers never fit the profile of Jussie’s alleged attackers, even when they were arrested for battery. Not only are they not white — which contradicts Smollett’s claims from the beginning — but “Empire” cast and crew sources tell us they’re very close to Jussie … and they’re pro-LGBTQ and anti-Trump too…
    https://www.tmz.com/2019/02/16/jussie-smollett-attack-brothers-rope-suspect-staged/

    30

  • #
    Bill in Oz

    At 12.29 pm I posted this i the previous post as my brouser was not showing the ‘Weekend Unthreaded” blog.

    ( I am with Adam/IINet/TPG & I have been having trouble with internet service for over a week. Working like cold treakle ! I wonder who else has had this trouble ? )

    Any way here again is my comment from earlier :

    The Bureau of Misinformation has stuffed up again !
    I just checked on it’s website. It says there are “NO CURRENT CYCLONE WARNINGS” here http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/

    But on it’s latest “Mean Sea Level Pressure map, there is Cyclone Oma at 966 out in the Coral Sea. :http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/synoptic_col.shtml

    And the BOM’s 4 days Colour Forecast maps show Oma heading straight towards Brisbane. http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/4day_col.shtml

    I suspect anyone not living in a Queensander type house will have an exciting time later this week.

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    • #
      Graeme No.3

      Bill in Oz:

      I too have Adam/IINet etc. and have noticed slow internet at times. I put it down to the endless f*arting around setting up the NBN for this town, and indeed area. My Telstra box is buried right by my driveway and so far I have counted 11 visits to work on it (that I am aware of). I had thought of putting up a sign “Local Tourist Attraction”.
      My experience with Adam over 10 years has been excellent, far more than anything I’ve heard about Telstra, so cannot see why they would have changed.
      Incidentally was discussing NBN with someone from the next town (Nairn) disgruntled because they complained to Telstra and was told it was the fault of the NBN. When she said she wasn’t on the NBN they referred to some map which she looked up and it showed her street had been connected (which it hadn’t) although her niece on the other side of town was shown as connected which the niece said was true “some of the time”. I know of 3 who went with Telstra onto the NBN and are all waiting to switch when their contract finishes (or in one case when they sell their house shortly).

      30

      • #
        Bill in Oz

        Graeme
        My service was excellent while it was just Adam. The problems started when it was taken over by IINet. Long wait times to get help from folks based somewhere overseas who have no idea where Mt Barker is.

        Curiously I was so annoyed Friday night that I rang Aussie Broadband to start the process of changing over..I have a locked NBN IInet modem. So it will be slightly complicated switching over.

        But next morning the speed of my internet was 5-6 times faster than it was the night before. (Though not as fast as meant to be )
        So I wonder if they somehow found out I was arranging to switch to Aussie Broadband

        30

    • #
      Bill in Oz

      PS I have nothing with Telstra. I refuse to buy anything from them.
      Why because when I had two mobile phones with Teltra on a monthly contract on quite a few occasions they attempted add in extra charges for stuff we did not want, did not ask for & did not use. This happened three time and I went to the Telstra shop & had them remove the extra charges. The fourth time I went to the shop again and had them cancelled. But I then went to a Virgin mobile shop and switched over. ( The mobiles were ours )

      Telstra sent me an account to $540 for breaching the contract. I replied in writing to the Telstra CEO that there is NO contract between a customer and . company which breached the contract by attempting to steal from the customer I told them to go jump.
      And rang the telecommunications ombudsman. They spoke to Telstra. Shortly after I got a call from a very embarressed Filipina saying the charges had been cancelled.

      Bugger Telstra !

      40

  • #
    Mark M

    Carbon (sic) to blame?

    1954:

    The world’s temperature has gone up two degrees Fahrenheit in the past 100 years, most of the rise developing since 1890.

    A new survey of world warmth has been made by United Nations scientists working for UNESCO and their conclusions are that not only is the world getting warmer, but the rise in temperature is probably caused by industrial man.

    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/161614751

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  • #
    TdeF

    It’s interesting how the very left press call popular governments ‘populist’. Really, what would the people know?

    Only the elites of the EU/UN/ and their useful idiots in CNN and BBC and ABC know what is right. Open borders. No cattle. Cars, flying is evil (except for them). Climate Change. Taxes on everything. According to them Donald trump is a racist, mysogynist, anti semitic lunatic and worst of all, a ‘populist’.

    So now Spain is going to an election and the ‘populist’ group has come from nowhere to be the potential king maker. Add that to Italy, Hungary, Brazil and America itself. The ultra rich are angry as are the insulated elites behind their high fences and gated communities. They want to rule without borders, without interference from the people, without such ignorant people choosing totally unsuitable people like Trump. Clinton’s deplorables. As in the US where McConnell and Ryan and their swamp friends seemed to always conspire with Schumer and Pelosi against Trump. Keep him in the dark. Do not prod the bear.

    Climate Change. What would the populists know? Too much apparently. The demands for the original temperature data, the methods, the corrections and the justification for these are getting stronger. Who would think a few amateurs could challenge the political will of the people who really run democratic countries. Not the politicians, but their masters, the senior bureaucrats and their ultra rich friends in the Climate Change trough who are getting even richer on windmills and solar panels and desalination plants and cheap labour and high taxes all based incredibly on the simple idea that CO2 levels are man made. Now who would believe that?

    Roll on democracy. 75% of the world’s ‘governments’ are military dictatorships and care nothing for climate change. It’s a laugh. However ‘populists’ like the Gilets Jaune and those people who check the facts are really a bloody nuisance. This site must cause a few headaches. There should be a law.

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  • #
    robert rosicka

    Just watching the ABC Trump dummy spit show Planet America , they use the same dodgy cherry picking stats that our trolls do , they come up with a graph that shows insurance payouts are rising because of weather related disasters etc etc .
    They don’t show that a flood like Townsville is more expensive now than a hundred years ago simply because less people less homes less infrastructure! No they go straight to stats that fit the narrative .

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    Annie

    I now have a sore finger from scrolling down rapidly past all Peter Fitzroy’s comments and the replies to them.
    I’m not a fan of wasting time on trolls and feeding them, nor of overly rude name-calling.

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    • #
      TdeF

      Agreed. He reminds me of Peter Cook, the Australian alleged scientist of 97% fame. A degree in something like Climate Psychology but no real science at all. These people exist. He can only guess from numbers of times words are used on the internet. It’s a bit like someone who cannot understand another language but thinks he can interpret. Clearly they feels they can argue with any scientist, engineer, chemist, physicist or reasonably informed person on an equal footing using alleged facts from Google.

      I heard Tim Flannery giving his opinion on Nuclear Power along with his Hot Rocks debacle (The technology is quite straightforward)
      You really have to wonder why these people consider themselves science educated at all. A mammal expert? At least Al Gore does not pretend to know any science. He has a Nobel Prize in Peace, though why is a total mystery.

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      Another Ian

      Annie

      Brings to mind Cromwell on Charles 1

      10

    • #
      Serp

      As I’ve said before, history tells us that the more fervid and insistent the opposition the higher the probability that its proponent will quite suddenly convert to the opposite set of beliefs, so there is some element of suspense in the exchanges.

      Yes, it can be tiresome scrolling through the whack-a-mole game we are getting several times a day but there seems to be a keen appetite for it evidenced by the players and I’d be the last to deny them their beady-eyed duelling.

      It’s all part of the rich tapestry &c… and in a way makes up for the absence recently of Will Janoshka’s outbursts. It will pass as all things do so we should savour it while we can.

      30

  • #
    pat

    16 Feb: SMH: Qld chief scientist backs Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s ‘resilience’ projects
    By Tony Moore
    •A Senate committee this week recommended the $443 million given to the Great Barier Reef Foundation should be returned.
    •Queensland’s new chief scientist, Professor Paul Bertsch, says the Foundation should keep the funds because it has set aside $100 million for “finding solutions”, not further monitoring.
    The projects it funded – with money also received from many philanthropists – were chosen and directed by an international scientific advisory committee (LINK).

    Professor Bertsch, a Queensland Labor government interim appointee, said $100 million from the $443 million grant was for “risky, but necessary, life-extending” projects to restore the reef and help it adapt to conditions in 2019…

    The GBRF has been criticised for attracting only $90 million in private research funding to date and a January audit found bureaucrats failed to scrutinise administrative costs and properly mitigate against conflicts of interest (LINK) in awarding the grant…
    “Obviously the reef is more vulnerable, but not just because of sediment and nutrients,” (Bertsch) said…
    “Obviously increasing temperatures are one, but when you look at the cumulative impact of many stressors it is clear that it is more vulnerable currently than it was in 2014.”…

    The Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s scientific panel includes Australian Institute of Marine Science CEO Dr Paul Hardisty, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority executive chairman Dr Russell Reichelt, University of Queensland Global Change Institute director Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg and CSIRO research director Dr Christian Roth…

    The Queensland government would release a green paper in July on ways to react to the impacts of emerging extreme weather, he revealed.
    Former US vice president Al Gore will present a climate change forum in Brisbane, also in July, according to Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch…

    Professor Bertsch said Queensland planned to have a net “neutral” carbon-emission status by 2050.
    “But what is more impressive from my point of view is that they have a 2030 target, which very few state governments do have,” he said…
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/qld-chief-scientist-backs-great-barrier-reef-foundation-s-resilience-projects-20190215-p50y3p.html

    CSIRO People: Dr Paul Bertsch Science Director/Deputy Director, Land & Water
    Dr Paul Bertsch joined CSIRO in 2013 as Chief of the Division of Land and Water and in July, 2014 he was appointed Deputy Director-Science of the new Land and Water Business Unit…

    Prior to joining CSIRO in 2013, Paul was the Director of the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment and Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, University of Kentucky, Lexington. He is the Georgia Power Professor of Environmental Chemistry Emeritus at the University of Georgia, Athens and is an adjunct Professor of Environmental Systems Engineering and Science at Clemson University, South Carolina…

    Paul has authored or co-authored more than 300 scientific and technical publications and is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). He is also a lifetime National Associate of the United States’ National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
    Publications…READ ON
    https://people.csiro.au/B/P/Paul-Bertsch

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  • #
    pat

    the schoolies climate strike was a bit of a dud. BBC says organisers claim 15,000 over 60+ towns & cities, which could be half that or less, for all we know:

    15 Feb: BBC: Climate strike: Schoolchildren protest over climate change
    Pupils from around the UK went “on strike” on Friday as part of a global campaign for action on climate change.
    Students around the country walked out of schools to call on the government to declare a climate emergency and take active steps to tackle the problem.
    Organisers Youth Strike 4 Climate said protests took place in more than 60 towns and cities, with an estimated 15,000 taking part…
    It began with 15-year-old Swede Greta Thunberg skipping class to sit outside government buildings in September, accusing her country of not following the Paris Climate Agreement…
    At the scene
    By BBC education reporter Judith Burns
    Teenagers brandishing brightly-coloured posters packed Parliament Square chanting “save our planet”…
    By about 13:30 only a noisy hardcore of a few hundred demonstrators remained, determined to cause maximum disruption to traffic outside the Palace of Westminster…
    Small groups staged sit-down protests across junctions, surrounding buses, shouting “engines off” at drivers and climbing traffic lights. As police dispersed one group another would form. I saw one young man arrested for obstruction – but he said he was not a school student…
    Hundreds of young protesters chanted for climate justice in Cambridge. One of them was 10-year-old Zachary, who attended with his mother.
    He said: “People just have to change their ways as we don’t want the world as it is right now.
    “We just want to make people aware of it. We were talking about it in our class, so we just came along.”…

    Meanwhile in the Scottish Highlands, pupils staged hour-long walkouts outside their school gates.
    First Minister Nicola Sturgeon backed youngsters taking part, saying it was a “cause for optimism in an often dark world”…
    Another nationwide protest has been planned for 15 March.
    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47250424

    biggest crowd I saw in photos was in Brighton, where Caroline Lucas made an appearance, so wouldn’t be surprised if plenty of Green Partiers boosted the numbers:

    15 Feb: Brighton&HoveIndependent: Students on strike: Crowds turn out for climate march in Brighton
    by Bex Bastable
    (FROM PAGE OF PICS LINKED FROM ABOVE: Green MP Caroline Lucas joined the march, which is calling on the Government to declare a climate emergency, the ‘ecological crisis’ included in the National Curriculum, and for the voting age be lowered to 16…

    photographer Eddie Mitchell has pics in the above, and has posted many of his pics on his main Twitter page, virtually all with the BBC tags.

    am posting the pic which shows the largest number of protesters, so I can post the reply:

    TWEET: Eddie Mitchell, BrightonSnapper
    Brighton Climate Change March @bbcsoutheast @BBCSussex @brightonargus @BrightonIndy
    15 Feb 2019
    reply: HappyBunnyNow:
    Our schools pour scarce resources into improving attendance then along comes an excuse to take a day off from learning. Be interested to see how many ‘concerned’ pupils would have rocked up to protest on a Saturday or in the holidays. Would prob have more influence on Gov policy.
    https://twitter.com/brightonsnapper/status/1096397685391790081

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      yarpos

      Brighton? I am surprised its still there and hasnt been swallowed by sea level rise

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      • #
        Annie

        Well, the stony beach is well below the town, or was when I last visited for a favourite aunt’s funeral a few years ago. It was quite a climb back up to where we were staying…a lot of sea level rise needed to reach that! I walked, or struggled, along the beach at dawn and took some photographs of the sunrise and the sea front housing, way above.

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  • #

    .
    ❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶
    ❶①❶①
    ❶①❶① . . . How hot is that country? . . .
    ❶①❶①
    ❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶①❶
    .

    To know how global warming will affect a country, you need to know what the country’s current temperatures are, for the average hottest month, the average month, and the average coldest month.

    But the IPCC, and Alarmists in general, don’t want you to believe that. They want you to believe that ALL warming is “BAD”. And that ANY warming is “BAD” for EVERY country, no matter what that country’s climate is.

    Next time that you talk to an Alarmist, ask them if global warming is “bad” for Russia (temperature data for Russia is shown in the article).

    ====================

    This article contains 3 graphs, and 1 table.

    The table is at the end of this article, and lists all 216 countries in alphabetical order, along with the region, population, and temperature of the average coldest month, the average month, and the average hottest month.

    The 3 graphs each list all 216 counties, along with a bar graph showing the temperature of the average coldest month, the average month, and the average hottest month, for each country.

    ====================

    It is fun just browsing through the graphs, seeing the temperatures of the different countries, and trying to explain why different countries have different temperatures.

    But eventually, you will probably want to look up a particular country (like the country that you live in). Because there are 216 countries, you might find it hard to find a particular country. You can use your knowledge of a countries temperatures, to help you to locate it on a graph.

    If you live in Kuwait, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Chad, Qatar, Sudan, Niger, or Pakistan, and you are looking at the graph sorted by the average hottest month, then I suggest that you look at the bottom of the graph (they all have high average hottest months).

    If you live in Mongolia, Russia, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Canada, Finland, Kyrgyzstan, or Armenia, and you are looking at the graph sorted by the average coldest month, then I suggest that you look at the top of the graph (they all have low average coldest months).

    If you live in England (which is listed under the country name “United Kingdom”), then I have to say “bad luck”. Not everybody can live in a country with nice temperatures. I am just joking. But United Kingdom actually has the 7th lowest average hottest month temperature (+19.8 degrees Celsius, that is colder than Finland, and Russia). I lived in London for about a year, and I was amazed at how nearly everyone in England gets badly sunburned, whenever there is a sunny day. It is because they don’t get many sunny days, so they like to enjoy them, when they occur.

    ====================

    Time to get serious again. You can’t search for a country using the browsers “find” function, because the graphs and the table are all pictures. But there is a fairly easy way to find a particular country. Look it up in the alphabetical table at the end of this article. Memorize (or if you are like me, write down) the temperature of the average coldest month, the average month, and the average hottest month.

    To find the particular country on the graph sorted by the hottest month, find the countries average hottest month, in the hottest month “continuum”. The country will be near that position, in the hottest month “continuum”.

    https://agree-to-disagree.com/how-hot-is-that-country

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    Greg Cavanagh

    While viewing another YouTube, I stumbled upon this one.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TbHx3yt16Y
    Green New Deal | I Was Wrong About Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

    A recommended viewing. It’s 12 minutes long.

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  • #
    pat

    17 Feb: SMH: ‘Big stick’ energy plans are an ’embarrassment’, says former AGL boss
    By Cole Latimer
    The former head of electricity retailer AGL has attacked the government’s “big stick” legislation giving it the power to break-up energy firms, calling it an “embarrassment” and a desperate policy from a party that is ignoring its own experts…
    The plans have been widely condemned by the energy and business sectors, which claim the changes have the potential to wreck industry…

    “I think it’s an embarrassment that either a Liberal or National Party government would even support such legislation, given a complete lack of support for it by anybody who knows anything about the energy sector,” former AGL chief and now APA chairman Michael Fraser said…
    “If you’re a member of the Liberal Party you should be embarrassed to be a part of this legislation, it’s why the young Libs have distanced themselves from it.”…

    “It was on the Labor Party’s watch when they were last in government that electricity prices doubled and now they are obstructing key reforms which save money for Australian families and businesses,” Mr Frydenberg said…
    The bill was slated to be debated in parliament last Thursday but was pulled after the Greens gained enough support to tack on an amendment that would have barred the government from subsidising coal-fired power stations…
    “Price re-regulation would be disastrous for investment and consumers,” Mr Fraser said…

    Power prices are already regulated in Tasmania and the ACT, and re-regulation for Victoria was backed by a recent review.
    A recent study said a national regulated power price could cut household power bills by up to a third (LINK)…
    The forced divestment bill is slated to be brought back at the next sitting of Parliament in April, should the government have the support to defeat the Greens’ proposed amendments.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/big-stick-energy-plans-are-an-embarrassment-says-former-agl-boss-20190215-p50y33.html

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    pat

    Chris Kenny/Sky News just had Axios CAGW writer Amy Harder on spruiking for a carbon price/tax or whatever!

    15 Feb: Axios: Amy Harder: Australia’s coal exports are booming despite climate change concerns
    The big picture: As concerns about climate change grow, coal is considered on its way out. But for many growing economies in Southeast Asia that are Australia’s biggest coal customers, it’s often seen as the preferred, cheapest electricity option.
    Driving the news: Coal exports brought in a record $66 billion (in Australian dollars) in export value last year, according to data from the government’s Bureau of Statistics released earlier this month…

    The intrigue: Earlier this week, I visited coal-export terminals in Newcastle, a couple hours’ drive north of Sydney. The collective volume of approximately 160 million tons a year makes the area the single biggest port for coal exports in the world, according to executives at the Port Waratah Coal Services, which runs the largest operation on site here…

    What’s next: du Plooy says growth is expected to remain stable through at least the next decade or more due to demand from Southeast Asia…

    The big looming challenge for Australian producers is to what degree permits for new coal mines in Hunter Valley and elsewhere are rejected on the basis of climate change concerns, based on a potential precedent setting court ruling just this month. That would erode supply for the export market over time…
    https://www.axios.com/australias-booming-coal-exports-0a2b55f5-3372-4bd8-9115-b42194c7df9f.html

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    pat

    15 Feb: Dave Tokes green energy blog: OFGEM to boost large gas power stations and increase costs for renewables
    Remarkably, on the day thousands of schoolchildren protested in Parliament Square to demand Government action on climate change, the energy regulators, OFGEM were sharpening their knives to cut down renewable energy and boost large gas fired power plant. They are doing this by sneakily changing a couple of difficult to understand regulations governing electricity transmission and network charging. These are things that the children, OFGEM hope, won’t notice! The costs of renewable energy could be increased by up to 20 per cent in some cases as a result.

    For OFGEM renewables are a big problem and large gas fired power stations, evidently, are a big solution. In the conclusions to their so-called ‘Targeted Charging Review’ their proposals will end regulations that have encouraged local, that is ’embedded’ generation, and bring in different regulations that benefit large, centralised combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs)…READ ON
    http://realfeed-intariffs.blogspot.com/2019/02/ofgem-to-boost-large-gas-power-stations.html

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    pat

    15 Feb: CarbonBrief: Analysis: BP’s outlook for fossil fuels could be undermined by slowing energy demand
    by Simon Evans
    Global energy demand will continue to increase as a result of human development in the world’s poorest countries, says oil and gas major BP in its latest outlook to 2040.
    BP says in its energy outlook 2019 (LINK) that this increase in demand is a necessity for rising prosperity, but an impediment to the Paris climate goals. This is because even rapid uptake of renewable and other low-carbon sources is insufficient to cover rising energy demand.

    As a result, according to the outlook, there is a continued need for large amounts of fossil fuels…

    Meanwhile, an alternative outlook (LINK) published this week by the consultancy McKinsey suggests global demand could stop rising in the 2030s, after more than a century of sustained growth…READ ON
    https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-bps-outlook-for-fossil-fuels-could-be-undermined-by-slowing-energy-demand

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    pat

    behind paywall:

    16 Feb: UK Times: Wind farm to cost taxpayer £500m a year
    by Emily Gosden
    Every household in Britain faces paying £6 a year in subsidies for the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, which began generating power from its first turbine yesterday.
    Hornsea One, which is being built by Orsted, the Danish energy group, 75 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire, eventually will comprise 174 turbines and is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than a million homes each year. Each turbine will be up to 190 metres tall and each blade will weigh 28 tonnes.

    The wind farm is expected to leave British homes and businesses facing an annual subsidy bill of £500 million, thanks to a contract awarded by the government in 2014 that was widely criticised as unduly generous, including by MPs on the public accounts committee…
    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1909d320-3155-11e9-b26a-04579b7820b3

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    pat

    16 Feb: ABC: Shell’s purchase of household battery maker Sonnen tipped to bring down prices
    By Daniel Keane, staff
    Global petroleum giant Shell has announced it will take over German home battery company Sonnen, as part of its strategy of investing in renewable technologies.
    Sonnen is an emerging player in Australia’s energy market, establishing a base at the former Holden site in Adelaide’s north to manufacture batteries for installation in homes.

    The purchase for an undisclosed sum will be subject to regulatory approval, but has been welcomed by renewable energy advocates as a positive step for the sector as well as consumers.
    “Sonnen is one of the global leaders in smart, distributed energy storage systems,” Mark Gainsborough, executive vice-president of Shell’s new energies division, said in a statement.
    “Full ownership of Sonnen will allow us to offer more choice to customers seeking reliable, affordable and cleaner energy.”…

    Renewables industry analyst Giles Parkinson, who runs renewable advocacy website Renew Economy, said the announcement was good news for consumers and would help make batteries more affordable.
    “As you get more and more manufacturing, you’re going to start to see those costs coming down,” he said.
    “Basically the prediction for batteries is that it’s going to follow the same cost curve as solar. Solar’s come down 90 per cent in cost in the last 10 years.”…
    “It’s another sign that big oil companies are getting a clear view of the future, and that future is not their traditional business which has been based around oil extraction and petrol,” Mr Parkinson said…
    “This is about money … this is a business decision, this is not a moral decision.”…

    Engineer and solar analyst Finn Peacock has welcomed Shell’s move, but is also sceptical about the company’s motivations.
    “This is pocket change for Shell,” he said…
    Mr Peacock said grid-scale batteries like Tesla’s project near Jamestown currently made better economic sense than home battery packs.
    “Household batteries will be important in the future but the price they’re at now — they simply do not pay for themselves while they’re in warranty,” he said.
    “The rebates for home batteries are pure politics. Politicians haven’t looked into the economics of household solar and storage.”
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-16/shell-to-buy-battery-manufacturer-sonnen/10818752

    Shell carbon call riles Coalition
    The Australian-13 Feb 2019
    Shell’s call for action on carbon pricing backs up similar demands from Woodside Petroleum, Rio Tinto and BHP, which argue that having such…
    Energy giant Shell has reignited climate tensions between big business and Canberra after its call for the reintroduction of a carbon price was…

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      Kinky Keith

      I’m not sure of the fine detail in this report but it seems to confirm that oil, gas, diesel being liquid and soft are not a threat to the environment.

      On the other hand coal is black, hard and “dirty”.

      Coal bad. Use liquid to help the environment.

      Is Shell marketing department involved in this weird thought train that might just increase their sales of non carbon fuels?

      KK

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    robert rosicka

    Latest poll results show Labor has lost favour for some reason ! Can’t think of anything major that happened last week ?.

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    pat

    plenty of speculation from Clyde:

    14 Feb: Reuters: Column: China’s coal imports surge, but prices tell a better story
    by Clyde Russell
    China’s coal imports soared in January, more than tripling from the prior month to 33.5 million tonnes, but there are compelling reasons to treat this outcome with caution, including weakness in benchmark Australian coal prices
    January’s coal imports were the highest in five years, rising 228 percent from the weak 10.23 million tonnes reported for December…
    This year the new year fell in early February, meaning there was likely some pulling forward of coal import demand as traders brought in cargoes ahead of the holidays…

    In China, Indonesian coal is often used as a blending feedstock with domestic supplies, as the low sulphur content offsets the lower energy value.
    The popularity of Indonesian coal in China can be seen in the vessel-tracking and port data compiled by Refinitiv.
    In January, China imported 12.3 million tonnes of Indonesian coal, the highest monthly total since Refinitiv started monitoring in January 2015.//

    What the shipping data shows is perhaps an emerging trend for the world’s two biggest exporters of coal, with Indonesia seemingly gaining the upper hand over Australia, at least as far as China is concerned.
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-russell-coal-asia/chinas-coal-imports-surge-but-prices-tell-a-better-story-russell-idUSKCN1Q30HM

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    pat

    15 Feb: Guardian: Emissions reduction fund could be used to upgrade 40-year-old coal-fired power plant
    The owners of the Vales Point power station, which produces 6.9m tonnes of emissions annually, want to extend operations by 20 years
    PIC: dusk, chimneys “smoke
    by Adam Morton
    In a step that underscores the political divide over emissions policy, Vales Point power station in New South Wales was registered in August for a proposal to improve some of its turbines. It is the first stage in it being allowed to bid against land owners and other businesses for climate funding…

    The Coalition has indicated it is considering tipping more into the fund, which started with $2.55bn ***but is now near empty, before this year’s election…

    Sunset Power International bought Vales Point from the NSW government for $1m in 2015. Two years later it was re-valued at $730m and last year it reported a net profit of $113m.
    Its part-owner, coal power advocate and former National Party candidate Trevor St Baker, has flagged extending its operation beyond its expected closure date of 2029 to 2049…
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/15/emissions-reduction-fund-could-be-used-to-upgrade-40-year-old-coal-fired-power-plant

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    pat

    15 Feb: ClimateNewsNetwork: Melting polar ice sheets will alter weather
    by Tim Radford
    (Tim Radford, a founding editor of Climate News Network, worked for The Guardian for 32 years, for most of that time as science editor. He has been covering climate change since 1988)
    The global weather is about to get worse. The melting polar ice sheets will mean rainfall and windstorms could become more violent, and hot spells and ice storms could become more extreme.
    This is because the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica are melting, to affect what were once stable ocean currents and airflow patterns around the globe.

    Planetary surface temperatures could rise by 3°C or even 4°C by the end of the century. Global sea levels will rise in ways that would “enhance global temperature variability”, but this might not be as high as earlier studies have predicted. That is because the ice cliffs of Antarctica might not be so much at risk of disastrous collapse that would set the glaciers accelerating to the sea.

    The latest revision of evidence from the melting ice sheets in two hemispheres – and there is plenty of evidence that melting is happening at ever greater rates – is based on two studies of what could happen to the world’s greatest reservoirs of frozen freshwater if nations pursue current policies, fossil fuel combustion continues to increase, and global average temperatures creep up to unprecedented levels…

    “Under current global government policies, we are heading towards 3 or 4 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels, causing a significant amount of melt water from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to enter Earth’s oceans. According to our models, this melt water will cause significant disruptions to ocean currents and change levels of warming around the world,” said Nick Golledge, a south polar researcher at Victoria University, in New Zealand.
    He and colleagues from Canada, the US, Germany and the UK report in Nature (LINK) that they matched satellite observations of what is happening to the ice sheets with detailed simulations of the complex effects of melting over time, and according to the human response so far to warnings of climate change…

    But how bad this could be is re-examined in a second, companion paper in Nature (LINK). Tamsin Edwards, now at King’s College London, Dr Golledge and others took a fresh look at an old scare: that the vast cliffs of ice – some of them 100 metres above sea level – around the Antarctic could become unstable and collapse, accelerating the retreat of the ice behind them…
    https://climatenewsnetwork.net/melting-polar-ice-sheets-will-alter-weather/

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      Another Ian

      Pat

      “Melting polar ice sheets will alter weather”

      So expanding polar ice sheets will also alter weather?

      But which way? Place your bet.

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      Bill in Oz

      Pat, maybe it’s time to mount a civil law action against global warming activists like this idiot and the Guardian.

      Why ? Because it amounts to falsely shouting fire in theatre.

      I think a request for crowd sourcing would yeile enough support.

      And I’m sure that there are ethical teams of legal experts willing to help

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    robert rosicka

    Weird but true , English is not the official language of England !

    https://www.englishlanguagefaqs.com/2016/08/why-is-english-not-official-language-of.html

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    • #
      GD

      English is not the official language of England

      Of course it’s not. The official language is Arabic. Please try to keep up 🙂

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    James Murphy

    I’m curious if anyone uses Jupyter Notebooks to do anything constructive with Python. It seems like a good way to do things when wanting to share more than just code, but is it as practical as it seems?

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    pat

    16 Feb: UK Express: Yellow Vest: Protestors injured after car ploughs through crowd
    PROTESTORS have been left injured after a car reportedly ploughed through crowds taking part in Yellow Vest protests in France.
    By Rebecca Perring
    Four people have been left injured after they were hit by a driver who went through crowds taking part in demonstrations in Avenue du Mont-Riboudet, in the northern city of Rouen, according to local reports. An eyewitness told journalist Julien Bouteiller: “The car was in the middle of the protest. The passenger opened the door to yell at these #GiletsJaunes, then the driver sped up…” Three people were taken to hospital in a critical condition, while another person has been left with minor injuries following the incident at 4.30pm (local time)…

    French interior ministry said around 41,500 protesters took part in demonstrations across the country, compared with 51,400 including 4,000 in the capital, compared with 5,000 in Paris last week.
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1088229/yellow-vest-protest-car-hits-protestors-france-terror-Rouen

    16 Feb: EuroNews: ‘Gilets worn’? Yellow vest protesters ‘tired’ but vow to carry on
    By Louise Miner with Reuters
    Last week there were around 50,000, according to government estimates, but organisers put the figure at more than 100,000…
    https://www.euronews.com/2019/02/16/paris-clashes-marked-third-month-of-gilets-jaunes-protests

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    Another Ian

    Might be worth checking the BOM records for similar winter activities

    https://realclimatescience.com/2019/02/the-fake-post-1970-us-temperature-spike/

    “I did some analysis on this, and discovered that since 1970, NOAA has been losing December data much faster than they have been losing July data. This causes post-1970 temperatures to be skewed upwards.”

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    pat

    ****THE MOST SIGNIFICANT UNION MOMENT IN THE CAGW/COAL BATTLE.

    behind paywall:

    CFMEU threatens MPs over Adani coalmine
    The Australian-8 hours ago
    The CFMEU will demand Bill Shorten’s candidates across Queensland pledge support for the coalmining industry — including Adani’s …

    you would think the following would have substantial excerpts from the above. not at all. short video ends with StopAdani protesters:

    VIDEO: 37sec: 17 Feb: news.com.au: CFMEU reportedly demanding Qld Labor candidates back Adani
    CFMEU is threatening to campaign against federal Queensland Labor candidates at the upcoming election if they do not support the state’s Adani Carmichael coal mine. The union says it will endorse individual candidates, rather than endorsing all of Labor’s Queensland candidates at the upcoming federal election. The Palaszczuk government has stalled the mine’s construction as concerned(sic) was raised over its protection methods to protect the endangered black-throated finch were critcised by a commissioned report.
    https://www.news.com.au/video/id-5348771529001-6003202274001/cfmeu-reportedly-demanding-qld-labor-candidates-back-adani

    following video plays automatically at end of above:

    VIDEO: 26secs: Govt can’t fun coal fired power plants without parliamentary approval
    The federal government cannot fund new coal-fired power plants without parliamentary approach, according to new legal advice. The Australia Institute obtained the advice that indicates the plan to underwrite new forms of power including coal, could not be enacted unless there is supporting legislation. Amendments put forward by the Greens that prevented public money being used to underwrite coal forced the Coalition to pull its ‘big stick’ energy legislation last week. The Coalition’s ‘big stick’ divestiture policy is designed to crack down on energy providers convicted of misusing their market power and, in extreme cases, force the removal of assets in order to drive prices down.

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      pat

      ***The Australian article behind paywall includes the following about Prof Brendan Wintle:

      15 Feb: Daily Mail: $2billion Adani mine that will create 15,000 jobs is derailed after ‘anti-coal’ environmentalists claim a rare bird could be wiped out by the project
      •Indian miner reacted with anger after draft copy of review was published
      •Adani claims the review is biased and is work of ‘anti-mining campaigners’
      •The review was written by Brendan Wintle, ecologist at University of Melbourne
      •In November, Professor Wintle attended a strike for climate action in Victoria
      By Australian Associated Press and Ben Hill For Daily Mail Australia
      The Indian miner has reacted with anger after a draft copy of the review – ordered by the state government – was published by The Australian on Friday.
      Adani claims the review is biased, ‘reads like an anti-coal, anti-mining, anti-Adani lobbying brochure’ and ‘even references the work of anti-Adani campaigners’…

      The draft review was written by Brendan Wintle, an ecologist at the University of Melbourne.
      ***In November, Professor Wintle tweeted a photo of two young children holding a placard reading ‘I’ll stop farting if you stop burning coal’ at a School Strike for Climate Action demonstration at the Victorian Parliament.
      ‘On our way to Climate Strike! Fun! Climate action is fun!’ Professor Wintle tweeted.
      ‘Big crowd at Climate Strike! Kid power!’…

      The miner (Adani) said it wanted ‘a fair go’ and accused the government of ordering the review at the last minute, after 18 months of work, consultations with the environment department, and seven sets of revisions…READ ON
      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6706511/2billion-Adani-derailed-anti-coal-environmentalists-discover-rare-bird.html

      MSM loved that placard:

      30 Nov 2018: SBS: ‘Thanks for the global warming. NOT’: Students get creative at climate change protests
      Despite a serious message, the events were a sea of colour and placards, many of which poked fun at their adult counterparts.
      “I’ll stop farting if you stop burning coal,” one read…
      https://www.sbs.com.au/news/thanks-for-the-global-warming-not-students-get-creative-at-climate-change-protests

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        pat

        17 Feb: AFR: CFMEU in Queensland splits with Labor over coal jobs
        By Matthew Stevens
        Leaked minutes from the December board of management meeting of the Queensland coal union reveal the leadership increasingly anxious about the state government’s plans to make a “just transition” away from coal-fired power.
        The minutes, which carry a passionate defence of coal generation and of the “proud men and women” who work across the state’s mining and power sectors, reveal the growing political faultlines released by the energy sector’s unnecessarily chaotic but gathering response to climate change.
        The coal union’s powerful Queensland branch insists that state would do better to invest in emissions management than to continue to steer away from coal generation.

        The CFMEU’s clarion for coal was put to the December board of management meeting by Queensland branch president Stephen Smyth. It was supported unanimously.
        Smyth’s motion stands a direct challenge to a state Labor government that is committed to an increasingly renewable energy future and that seems now determined to resist Adani Mining’s latest attempt to get on with its Carmichael coal thermal coal mine, a project that would open a new coal basin to development.
        As The Australian Financial Review recalled on Friday, the government’s need for Greens preferences in the 2017 election cooled the state’s ardour for the Carmichael project, ***and that change of mood appears to endure…

        ‘No real jobs in green energy projects’
        In all of this, and more, one of the most militant outposts of Australia’s most militant unions arguably finds itself more closely aligned with the coal sector’s leading political apostles – like, say, Federal Resources Minister and leading Queensland National, Matt Canavan – than it does with anyone in the Labor Party’s leadership.
        The union, for example, thoroughly dismisses the possibility the renewable energy sector can mitigate the loss of jobs that any “just transition” from coal would force on CFMEU members…
        The motion claimed “there are no real jobs in green energy projects as is already evident in Queensland”…READ ALL
        https://www.afr.com/business/no-green-energy-jobs-for-us-says-coal-union-20190217-h1bd4v

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          pat

          18 Feb: The Saturday Paper: The Briefing
          by Alex McKinnon
          (SCROLL DOWN)
          The Queensland branch of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, Maritime and Energy Union has threatened to campaign against Labor candidates unless opposition leader Bill Shorten declares his support for major mining projects in the state. Speaking to The Australian… CFMEU Mining and Energy Queensland president Steve Smyth said “if you want support for us, you pledge your support for the coal industry”, and that “if we have to, we will campaign against those MPs no matter which party they’re in, even if they’re perched up in the little cosy suburbs somewhere in the southeast drinking their lattes”. Shorten has refused to make a firm declaration either way on the controversial Carmichael coal mine project in central Queensland…
          https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/thebriefing/2019/02/18

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  • #
    beowulf

    Solar radiation over Japan has increased 10% over the last 60 years and correlates nicely with temperature.

    http://notrickszone.com/2019/02/17/land-of-the-warming-sun-japan-has-seen-solar-radiation-rise-10-over-past-60-years/#comments

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    robert rosicka

    ABC is naming and shaming companies who don’t take climate change seriously ?

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-18/australias-biggest-companies-ignore-climate-change-risk/10808966

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    • #
      theRealUniverse

      The ABC is being named and shamed on this site! So take that ABC.

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      • #
        Bill in Oz

        “More and more responsible investors are considering divestment from fossil fuel companies as an option on the table.”

        I’d like to see a list of the Australian companies which are increasing prices and costs of production, through being a part of this utter clap trap.!

        Then I would be able to choose not to spend anything on their offerings.

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    • #
      yarpos

      Should read “Some of Australias Biggest Company correctly evaluate climate risk as being what it has been for centuries”

      00

  • #
    pat

    behind paywall:

    Trad ‘treats North like mugs’ over Adani
    Minister Matt Canavan slams Treasure Jackie Trad over Adani finch roadblock
    Queensland Times – 18 Feb 2019

    The Daily Telegraph editorial: Climate activists targeting school children are taxpayer-funded
    Daily Telegraph – 8h ago

    Climate change activists coach children on how to state massive school walkout
    Daily Telegraph – 2h ago
    Taxpayer-funded eco-worriers are coaching children to skip school again next month … make posters and organise marshals for a climate change protest march. … Under the template letters for the school strike, children are told to write to their …

    Exclusive: Activists secretly incite climate change demonstration using students
    Daily Telegraph – 10h ago

    Hardcore greenies coach kids to skip school
    Hardcore climate change activists coach children on how to orchestrate massive…
    Queensland Times – 18 Feb 2019

    18 Feb: Daily Mail: AAP: Minister lashes student climate strikes
    Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan claims “professional activists” are “orchestrating” school student strikes against climate change.
    The Daily Telegraph reports the Facebook page School Strike for Climate Action, which organised a strike in November, is being run by the taxpayer-funded Australian Youth Climate Coalition.

    The Facebook site encourages students to sign up to the schoolstrike4climate website where they are given regular messages, scripts, posters, links to local groups and form letters to send to their teachers.

    Another strike is planned for March 15, but the education minister has branded the campaign as an “appalling political manipulation”.
    “The Australian public will be cynical about a so-called student-led strike that is actually organised and orchestrated by professional activists,” Mr Tehan told the newspaper.

    “What is most appalling is this political group is organising their protest on March 15 when all schools and students across Australia are being asked to take part in the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence to stand up to bullies and support the victims of bullying.”

    A spokeswoman for AYCC, which has reportedly received $786,524 in government grants over the past three financial years, insists the strike is an “independent movement”.
    “When asked by the core student leaders behind the strike, AYCC has provided logistical support and leadership training,” she said.
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-6714797/Minister-lashes-student-climate-strikes.html

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  • #
    pat

    all XR could muster was “about 150”! no sign of that number in the videos, which are hilarious, though Mattha/Guardian probably wouldn’t think so:

    17 Feb: Guardian: Climate protesters disrupt London fashion week by blocking roads
    Extinction Rebellion calls for British Fashion Council to declare climate emergency
    by Mattha Busby
    Protesters from the environmental action group Extinction Rebellion disrupted the third day of London fashion week, forming human blockades on roads around event venues to highlight the spiralling throwaway culture in the UK’s clothing market and to urge the British Fashion Council (BFC) to declare a climate emergency.

    Groups made up of scores of demonstrators wearing black to mourn those whose lives have been devastated by environmental destruction caused traffic standstills for seven-minute intervals, unfurling banners saying “Rebel for life” and holding placards inscribed “Climate change = mass murder”…
    Attendees outside the events said that ethical considerations had become fashionable, even mainstream, though campaigners contended they had always been trendy…

    Some fashionistas dismissed the protesters’ concerns, while others questioned whether climate change was indeed a man-made phenomenon. “We are in a diabolical situation and it’s too late to convince climate deniers,” said ***Caroline Vincent, a scientist. “We do need to engage, but we really don’t have the time: we must convince the people who already recognise there is a problem to do something about it.”…

    The afternoon of civil disobedience by ***about 150 people passed peacefully with no arrests, as organisers stayed in constant contact with police on the ground and allowed emergency vehicles to pass when required…

    Following one of the constructive conversations between protesters and drivers halted by the traffic, a liaison officer said the action had been ***a pleasure to police, adding: “You are getting the point across.”

    Shortly after, one motorist who refused to turn off his engine during the stoppage shouted, “F*** off back to Richmond. Can’t you move these soapy bast***s?”…
    https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/feb/17/climate-protesters-take-action-to-disrupt-london-fashion-week

    ***a possible candidate for “scientist” Caroline Vincent (might even recognise her in a video on The Guardian page):

    LinkedIn: Caroline Vincent
    Founder, Pangolin PharmaTech
    2012 – Aujourd’hui • 7 ans
    London, Royaume-Uni
    The pharmaceutical business and academic background of the founders, has shaped the development of Pangolin Pharmatech Limited, a company that develops forecasting and analytical tools that explicitly address the needs of the pharmaceutical industry…

    Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Cambridge
    1988 – 1991
    Awarded research grants from La Fondation de la Recherche Medicale and from the Wellcome Trust…
    (SCROLL DOWN)
    Groupes
    Global Extinction Rebellion
    https://lu.linkedin.com/in/caroline-vincent-39a36440

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    • #
      theRealUniverse

      Caroline Vincent.. another ‘ignorant’ raving “scientist” with no background in what she is even talking about.

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  • #
    pat

    15 Feb: WSJ: Gas Shortages Give New York an Early Taste of the Green New Deal
    The state is dependent on imports even though it sits atop the abundant Marcellus Shale.
    by Robert Bryce
    (Mr. Bryce is a Manhattan Institute senior fellow and producer of the forthcoming documentary “Juice: How Electricity Explains the World.”)
    The combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling—sometimes known as the “shale revolution”—has enabled Texas, Pennsylvania and other states to produce record quantities of natural gas, some of which is being frozen, loaded onto giant ships, and transported to customers in places like Chile, China and India. Thanks to the environmental policies of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York has missed out on this windfall.

    Now, in a preview of what life might be like under the Democrats’ proposed Green New Deal, some New Yorkers are about to face a natural-gas shortage. Consolidated Edison , an energy utility that provides gas and power to the New York City area, announced last month that beginning in mid-March it would “no longer be accepting applications for natural gas connections from new customers in most of our Westchester County service area.” The reason for the shortage is obvious: The Cuomo administration has repeatedly blocked or delayed new pipeline projects. As a Con Ed spokesman put it, there is a “lot of natural gas around the country, but getting it to New York has been the strain.”…

    New York now imports nearly all of its gas even though part of the Marcellus Shale, one of the biggest and most prolific sources of natural gas in the country, extends into the state’s Southern Tier region. To get an idea of how much gas the state might have been able to produce from the Marcellus, New Yorkers can look across the state line to Pennsylvania, which now supplies about two-thirds of the gas consumed in New York. At the end of 2018, Pennsylvania drillers were producing about 18 billion cubic feet of gas a day. That’s more gas than Canada now produces…READ ALL
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/gas-shortages-give-new-york-an-early-taste-of-the-green-new-deal-11550272395?mod=hp_opin_pos3

    if you can’t access the piece, place the url in outline.com

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    • #
      Kinky Keith

      How could le macron work with that.

      Stumped.

      🙂

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    • #
      beowulf

      I saw a vid of the memorial service at the Menin Gate from a year or 2 back; front and centre was the EU flag spread out fully with the actual national flags of the combatants draped and hidden behind it. What is an EU flag doing at a WW1 memorial, let alone in prime position? I’ll bet the Yankees were thrilled to have the Stars and Stripes hidden behind that EU rag.

      Recently Junker made a statement to the effect that the EU should be given credit for helping to win WWII. What the @#%$#&! This man has no shame. He makes more sense when he is drunk than when he is (semi)sober.

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      • #
        Bill in Oz

        Junker : A career politician from Luxemburg with all of 800,000 people.

        Truly a dopey pollie !

        As for Macron, he is truly torn betwixt & between..If he condemns the raising of the Tricoleur instead of the EU flag, he will reveal to all le peuple Francaise that is NOT French

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        • #
          beowulf

          I think it’s a brilliant tactic by the Yellow Vests and one that should be widely adopted throughout Europe. How can any national politician criticise the raising of their own national flag. I’m sure the EU will now come up with a law against disrespecting the EU flag.

          BTW Juncker and his cronies have just passed an EU law to allow them to interfere in the upcoming EU national elections. What a surprise.

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    • #
      AndyG55

      “are pulling down EU flags in Paris and replacing them with the French flag.”

      SWEET !!! 🙂

      Letting the macaroon know exactly how they feel. ! 🙂

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  • #
    pat

    17 Feb: WSJ editorial: $1,973 LEDs and the Green New Deal (How many union workers does it take to screw in a light bulb?)
    The Green New Deal that Democrats unveiled last week has a grand ambition to eliminate fossil fuels in 10 years, retrofit every building in America, and guarantee high-paying jobs in the bargain. If you want to see how that works in the real world, consider the public housing projects near Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s New York office.

    The New York City Housing Authority (Nycha) has a more modest goal of a 30% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2027. As part of its plan, Nycha is switching to LED lighting, which lasts longer than incandescent bulbs and consumes less energy. Sounds smart, until you see how many union workers it takes to screw in a light bulb.

    One recent project focused on 23 housing developments, and changing the light bulbs and fixtures there cost $33.2 million. Supplies account for a fraction of that cost. Under Nycha’s Project Labor Agreement, electricians make $81 in base pay and $54 in fringe per hour, and overtime is usually time and a half. Add administrative and contracting expenses. All in, Nycha paid an average of $1,973 per apartment to install LEDs.
    For Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, sky-high labor costs are part of the plan…

    “I can buy LED myself,” said Barbara Jones, 69, who has lived in Cypress Hills since her 20s and is dismayed by the disrepair. Others we interviewed said they’d rather see money go first to getting rid of vermin, mold and lead paint, tidying filthy premises, or improving safety…

    Nycha also updated the heat and hot water systems in addition to upgrading the lights at these 23 developments, and the total cost for the energy-efficiency overhaul was $68.7 million. A Consolidated Edison grant covered $8.25 million, but Nycha took out a loan to cover the rest. The housing authority has three similar projects in construction at other developments, and the total cost for all four is $271.8 million.

    LED lights and other energy-efficiency upgrades may drive Nycha’s utility bills down, but those savings aren’t directly passed on to taxpayers for as long as 20 years. Under the federal Energy Performance Contracting Program, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development continues to reimburse Nycha for utilities at pre-LED levels. Public housing authorities must spend a minimum of 75% of their savings on servicing the loan and other project costs, but they have more discretion over the rest.

    In the private economy, $1,973 could go a long way toward improving a dilapidated apartment. Only in the world of green government spending is replacing light bulbs for two grand a unit a cost-saving measure.
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/1-973-leds-and-the-green-new-deal-11550274408?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1

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    How many of the children who are taking a holiday from school, to protest about climate change, know what Russia’s average temperature is?

    I am guessing, not many.

    If you told them that Russia’s average temperature was +0.2 degrees Celsius, how many would have enough science and mathematics knowledge, to say whether that was hot or cold (especially American children, who are not familiar with Celsius).

    I am guessing, not many.

    How many of the children who are taking a holiday from school, to protest about climate change, know that Russians live at an average temperature, which is near the freezing point of water?

    I am guessing, not many.

    How many of the children who are taking a holiday from school, to protest about climate change, know that the average coldest month in Russia (the coldest winter month), is -21.1 degrees Celsius (yes, that is MINUS 21.1).

    I am guessing, not many.

    How many of the children who are taking a holiday from school, to protest about climate change, know that Russian children are also taking a holiday off school. To demand that the world increases global warming, so that they can survive in the future.

    I am guessing, not many.

    To increase your knowledge of other countries temperatures (average hottest month, average month, and average coldest month), read the article at this link:

    https://agree-to-disagree.com/how-hot-is-that-country

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    • #
      AndyG55

      The Australian children need to be given a list of all countries that are colder than Australia.

      It seems Australia STILL has pretty much an ideal climate, and a degree or so either way will make basically no difference..

      So, what these little children fussing about !! ???????

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  • #
    Ian Wilson

    Dear Jo,

    David might be interested in the post at WUWT by Vukcevic – It talks about an 11-year lag
    between the NAO and AMO.

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/02/17/influence-of-solar-activity-on-european-rainfall/#comment-2632307

    vukcevic February 17, 2019 at 3:22 pm

    There is no convincing longer term relationship between the NAO or the AMO with the solar activity.
    However, there is an odd relationship with an 11-year lag between the NAO’s 11-year moving
    average (atmospheric, fast variable) and the AMO’s 3-year ma (ocean, slow variability) as
    you can see [at the link below] but not available elsewhere.

    http://www.vukcevic.co.uk/AMO_NAO.htm

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    PeterS

    In response to the cyber threat mentioned today by Morrison, Shorten proclaimed the increased threats are coming from ultra-right wing organisations attacking progressives. Since when was China and Russia ultra-right? Another example of foot in mouth disease by Shorten. He simply can’t avoid politics even in serious matters of national security. He is a dangerous fool.

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    pat

    Jennifer Marohasy was just on 2GB with Chris Smith re BoM adjustments etc. will post audio asap:

    17 Feb: Breitbart: Global Warming News: California Officials Warn Skiers to Stay Home, Too Much Snow
    by Penny Starr
    Ski and snowboard fans may have to make plans to stay inside over the Presidents Day three-day weekend instead of taking to the slopes as state officials warn there is too much snow to be cleared making mountain roads dangerous.

    Mammoth Mountain, a popular ski resort, is just 5 inches short of 30-year snowfall record for February.
    The Daily Mail reported (LINK)…

    The Union of Concerned Scientists has a white paper (LINK) on its website that warns the western United States will suffer drought and reduced snowpack, even as strong snowstorms hit in the northwest U.S. and above-normal rainfall measurements in southern California have been recorded so far this year.
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/02/17/global-warming-news-california-officials-warn-skiers-stay-home-too-much-snow/

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    • #
      Peter C

      Thanks,

      I am waiting for the link to the Jennifer Marohasy interview audio.

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    • #
      Bill in Oz

      The Worry worting Concerned Union of Scientists have been worrying about things for 50-60 years..

      Now that their latest claim has been shown utterly dopey, they will think of something else to worry about ASAP.

      And then try to get us all worrying with them.

      🙁

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  • #
    pat

    more speculation – best read alongside Reuters/Clyde Russell piece posted in comment #46:

    18 Feb: ABC: China restricts Australian coal imports at its ports in a bid to boost domestic market
    NSW Country Hour By Olivia Ralph
    Dozens of vessels carrying Australian coal continue to be in limbo off the coast of China as restrictions on imports are introduced at key ports across the country.
    Beijing imposed import restrictions in January, primarily in the north-east of the country, to boost domestic coal prices with no indication of when they might be lifted.
    Tania Constable, CEO of the Minerals Council of Australia said companies were “deeply concerned” about the restrictions and the uncertainty of when they would be lifted.
    “We believe an unofficial quota system [has been] employed since the restructure of customs and quarantine administrative arrangements in October 2018,” she said.
    “It would have a significant impact on the industry if [restrictions] extend for too long.”…

    Vivek Dhar, a commodities analyst at Commonwealth Bank, said it was during this time Beijing began turning the tap on and off to imports of Australian coal.
    “[Chinese] policy on coal has very dramatically shifted over the last three to four years, but particularly over the last year [as] import restrictions have been fiddled with,” he said…

    The latest round of restrictions was imposed about a week before the Lunar New Year celebrations, a national holiday for China, which added to the uncertainty.
    “There’s still a lot of confusion,” Mr. Dhar said.
    “Given the holiday period, it’s very difficult to know exactly what’s causing this issue and finding the right people to contact.”…
    China is heavily reliant upon Australian coking coal, which accounts for approximately 75 per cent of the coal used in Chinese steel production…
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2019-02-18/china-restricts-australian-coal-imports-to-boost-own-market/10812098

    18 Feb: HellenicShippingNews: China’s Cold Becomes Shipping’s Flu As Slower Demand Hits Rates
    The Lunar New Year also marks a traditional slowdown in trade in and out China…
    China likewise is hindering imports of coking coal and other bulk commodities with up to 300 ships at one point said to be idling off the country’s coast waiting for customs clearance. While the Lunar New Year slowdown is the obvious cause, (Petros Pappas, chief executive officer of dry bulk shipping company Star Bulk Carriers Corp) said the delays could portend a breakthrough in U.S.-China trade negotiations, as China may be looking to throw a sop to the U.S. side with imports of more coking coal. “If the China-U.S. trade war is over, China will have to import more from the U.S., so they are delaying coal imports to compensate with cargoes from the U.S. in case there is some agreement coming forth.”…
    https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/chinas-cold-becomes-shippings-flu-as-slower-demand-hits-rates/

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    pat

    includes links, but none to the report, it seems:

    headline on ABC “Just In” page is: Millions of fish killed in perfect storm of conditions, investigation reveals

    the article is now headlined:

    18 Feb: ABC: Menindee fish kill is Australia’s mainland ‘coral bleaching event’, scientists warn Labor
    By national regional affairs reporter Anna Henderson
    “Excess” upstream irrigation, drought and water releases from the Menindee Lakes created the perfect storm that led to the ecologically disastrous fish kills over summer, according to scientists who prepared a report for Labor on the state of the Murray-Darling Basin.
    Labor asked an independent panel of scientists to assess the river system (LINK) in the wake of the scenes near Menindee in the NSW far west, where fish suffocated as blue-green algae died in the river and sucked up the oxygen…

    Panel chairman Professor Craig Moritz, who is the director of the Centre for Biodiversity Analysis at the Australian National University, said the fish kills over summer awakened people to the extent of the damage to the river system.
    “To me, it was like the coral bleaching event for the mainland,” Professor Moritz said…

    But after Labor engaged the Australian Academy of Science to do the work, the government announced its own separate scientific study into the fish kill.
    That report, conducted by a group of scientists headed by Professor Rob Vertessy, is expected to deliver its initial report to the Government on Wednesday.

    However, the Academy of Science review confirms the two scientific panels have been sharing information…READ ALL
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-18/academy-of-science-menindee-fish-kill-report-released/10820248

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  • #
    Mark M

    Doomsday Sea-level rise update:

    13 dec 2018: (0.10sec) We are not prepared to die’, Maldives tell UN climate talks!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MMdW1n3ym0

    8 Feb, 2019: Maldives to open 20 new resorts in 2019 to boost arrivals

    http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2019-02/08/c_137807059.htm

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  • #
    pat

    can’t see any link to the study, as per usual for theirABC. lengthy & CAGW activist:

    18 Feb: ABC: Australia’s biggest companies failing to plan for climate change risks: report
    By business reporter Nassim Khadem
    Australia’s biggest companies are ignoring calls from regulators and investors to do more to mitigate the risks of climate change, with a new study finding that many of the nation’s top 100 companies still do not identify climate change as a material business risk.
    The report, to be released on Monday by ***environmental campaign group Market Forces, is based on public information from 72 big listed companies operating in sectors considered high-risk on climate change…

    ***(Market Forces analyst Will van de Pol) said investors should demand companies produce Paris-aligned transition plans, and divest from those that cannot or will not…

    2 of the related articles:

    PIC: Night/chimneys/”smoke “Banks increase exposure to fossil fuels

    New coal power is not the answer
    The tipping point’s been reached: the cold, hard numbers show that new renewable energy is supplying cheaper electricity than new coal-fired power plants could and will continue do so, writes Stephen Long -Sept 2018
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-03/angus-taylor-energy-minister-power-price-solution-curious/10188496

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  • #
    pat

    huh?

    18 Feb: ABC: Tuvalu PM slams Kevin Rudd’s proposal to offer Australian citizenship for Pacific resources as neo-colonialism
    Pacific Mornings By Anthony Stewart
    A proposal from Kevin Rudd to address the impacts of climate change on the Pacific has been labelled as “imperial thinking” by Tuvalu’s leader, who lambasted the former prime minister’s suggestion to swap Australian citizenship for maritime resources.

    Mr Rudd wrote in a recent essay (LINK) that Australia should offer citizenship to residents of the small Pacific nations of Tuvalu, Kiribati and Nauru in exchange for control of their seas, Exclusive Economic Zones, and fisheries.

    “Under this arrangement, Australia would also become responsible for the relocation over time of the exposed populations of these countries [totalling less than 75,000 people altogether] to Australia where they would enjoy the full rights of Australian citizens,” Mr Rudd wrote…

    (Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Enele) Sopoaga pointed out that Mr Rudd’s proposal comes after Australia exported $66 billion in coal last year, making it our most valuable traded commodity.
    “The more [Australia fails to be] serious about cutting coal mining and exporting this for money, the more problematic the issue of global warming and the more we have to adapt,” he said…

    Instead, Mr Sopoaga has called for the establishment of a Pacific supra-state, along the lines of the European Union, that is “based on cooperation and integration, perhaps into some sort of United States of the Pacific”…
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-18/tuvalu-pm-slams-kevin-rudd-suggestion-as-neo-colonialism/10820176

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    • #
      pat

      omg. Rudd’s essay – novel length, of course – is beyond tedious.
      the Pacific Island proposal is but a minor footnote.

      just one of the CAGW highlights:

      “Apart from France, and possibly China, no other countries are rising to this urgent international challenge. We must work as genuine global activists on climate change and do so in all global fora of which we are members…
      We should use the G20 to create a new Global Solar Enterprise to fund and coordinate global R and D on solar energy storage – the single greatest “moonshot” still needed to achieve the strategic breakthrough necessary for the long term delivery of renewable energy to meet the electricity system’s future
      ‘base-load’ requirements.”

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      • #
        Bill in Oz

        Ruddles never did have a firm grasp on reality.
        With the passage of time what grasp he had has diminished.

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  • #
    pat

    17 Feb: ABC: Rural Victoria’s power networks set to buckle under weight of wind energy
    Landline By Charlotte King
    Authorities say two coal-fired power stations’ worth of renewable energy won’t be able to reach the grid without major upgrades to networks in Victoria’s west.

    Developers are lining up to build wind and solar projects in towns to the west and north of Ballarat, in what is being hailed as another gold rush.
    “We’ve got $3 billion worth of projects currently underway,” said Stuart Benjamin, the chairman of a Victorian Government-commissioned taskforce that is overseeing the boom in the Grampians.
    “And if some of the limitations that we’re seeing in terms of infrastructure are addressed, we could possibly double or even triple that number.”

    Regional Victoria ‘can’t accept high volumes of electrical flow’
    The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has predicted as much as 5,000 megawatts of new renewable energy will be generated in the state’s west by 2025…
    There is just one problem.
    “The current electricity lines in some parts of regional Victoria can’t accept high volumes of electrical flow without becoming overheated,” said James Prest, from the Australian National University’s Energy Change Institute.
    As it stands, the rural transmission lines will be simply unable to transmit the five gigawatts without significant upgrades.
    “It’s really a bit like building a high-tech, modern greenhouse for agricultural production, and then attempting to get the produce to market down a one-lane bush track, which frequently becomes flooded,” he said.

    The AEMO is calling for immediate investment to the tune of $370 million to upgrade the network, including double circuit transmission lines between Ballarat, Bulgana and Sydenham, augmentations to existing lines between Moorabool and Terang and Red Cliffs and Bendigo, as well as a possible new terminal station at Ballarat.
    An expression of interest for developers wanting to build, own or operate the new infrastructure closes on Monday.

    ***The cost of the work is expected to be recovered through transmission charges on electricity bills once the infrastructure is constructed and will be spread over a period of 30 to 40 years…
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-17/rural-victoria-power-networks-to-buckle-under-wind-energy/10808534

    VIDEO: 14min 22sec: 16 Feb: ABC Landline: Winds of Change: The wind turbine transformation in western Victoria
    Billions of dollars have been spent on renewable energy in western Victoria but there are concerns the state’s ageing electricity network could buckle under the surge of new energy.
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-16/winds-of-change:-the-wind-turbine-transformation/10819322

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    robert rosicka

    Solar farm proposed at Winton has been approved by VCAT after being knocked back by council , more good farmland ruined by this massive eyesore and all up four solar farms will span about seven kilometres.
    If this was a coal mine it would have been rejected , the rare and endangered Regent Honeyeater has a presence in the area and the toxic materials in the panels will find their way into many thousands of hectares of prime agricultural land and waterways .
    More Victoriastan green madness .
    The only saving grace is this unreliable and intermittent subsidy farm will send all its electricity to Melbourne.

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      Serp

      There’s plenty more of this in store for Victorians as the Andrews government’s commitment to replacing reliable coal fired generation with part time sporadic energy production is yet to run into any credible opposition and there’s a few years to go before the cost to the domestic consumer simply to light a room let alone a house becomes prohibitive.

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      Ve2

      I thought a couple of magazines of .223 would do the job.

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    Hanrahan

    Wanna see some REAL crash tests? The Spaniards do apparently. The crazy stuff starts at abt 8 mins.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyQ3zxIH02k

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    Ve2

    My grandmother used to say “If you are going to tell a lie you had better have a good memory”

    Somebody hasn’t.

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    Skeptikal

    Australia makes it into the news for having the world’s first ‘climate change extinction’.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6719849/Aussie-rodent-climate-change-extinction.html

    True journalism in the MSM appears to have gone extinct as well.

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