Turning up the screws
Ban cars to get better weather!
A UK committee of academics and one of MP’s say cars are not compatible with life as we know it:
Ditch cars to meet climate change targets, say MPs
Roger Harrabin, BBC
The Science and Technology Select Committee says technology alone cannot solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions from transport.
In its report, the committee said: “In the long-term, widespread personal vehicle ownership does not appear to be compatible with significant decarbonisation.”
It echoes a report from an Oxford-based group of academics who warned that even electric cars produce pollution through their tyres and brakes.
Naturally, after suggesting a preposterously large, transformative impossibility — the report then just says the government should spend more on more of the same: buses, trains, bikes and ride shares. See the segue? What starts as a huge mission to change the world morphs into an excuse to boost pet projects. The ridiculous gambit claims pave the way to make another round of “more, more, more” look reasonable.
Let’s join the dots that they won’t. How many storms exactly will 1,000 extra buses prevent?
Next, how not to do journalism by Roger Harrabin:
The MP’s go on to say that the big problem is that the punters keep buying big polluting cars because “financial incentives to buy cleaner cars are insufficient.” Which is another way of saying people want big cars and if we don’t punish them enough with punitive taxes they won’t settle for something less. Being a paid PR agent for the government, Harrabin knows which way of phrasing things sounds better for the rulers and he chooses that.
This next line says so much — mostly by what it doesn’t say:
Ministers have held down fuel duty increases in recent years following lobbying from motoring groups.
Obviously, if it weren’t for motoring groups the whole nation would be asking for a higher fuel tax. To a BBC journalist, “the people” might as well not exist.
But the MPs say they should ensure that the annual increase in fuel duty is never lower than the average increase in rail or bus fares.
Give Harrabin a point for mentioning there was a conflict of interest:
The MPs backed many of the recommendations of the government’s official advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change.
But they complained that its chair, Lord Deben, should have declared the interest of his consultancy firm in Drax power station, the largest recipient of renewable energy subsidies in the country, and Johnson Matthey, which is about to make a huge investment in electric vehicles.
Give Harrabin no points for describing this comically absurd conflict of interest as merely “a complaint”. Here’s the Logo of Debens committee:
…
The Committee on Climate Change (the CCC) is an independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act 2008.
See especially, Strategic policy 3: “Conduct independent analysis into climate change science, economics and policy.”
Thus it’s essentially an industry lobby group. Other industries have to set up their own and don’t get to call themselves “independent”. The big mystery to me is that Lord Deben’s conflicts have been known for years (thanks to David Rose and Christopher Booker), yet Deben’s still in charge?
Could anyone imagine the CCC employing one skeptical scientist?
UPDATE: Official link to the UK Parliament Select Committee statement, thanks to Eric Worrall.
Car image adapted Andriy Makukha.
Oh dear: conflicts of interest to left of them, conflicts to the right, conflicts all around. And who is in the middle? Why Lord Deben, of course.
Follow the money and see where it leads.
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How true, Gummer and Yeo the two biggest green troughers that were in government and still trying it on.
It actually needs the repeal of the CCA 2008 to get the removal of the CCC and all the associated legislation and taxes to get the country back on an even keel.
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The money goes into three directions. Western governments since they are desperate for more revenue, power companies since they are taking advantage of the renewables fake solution to a non-existent climate change problem to make bigger profits (that’s what companies are expected to do as long as it’s legal) and certain individuals peddling the CAGW scam for their own personal gain. All three groups have formed a perfect storm for Western civilisation. Unless all three stop their self-destructive approach the West will crash and burn from within. I’m pretty certain China and Russia know this and are willing to wait for the crash and burn to happen and act like vultures to pick up the pieces. Trump is our last chance to expose the whole road show is about to go over the cliff. All other Western leaders are useless. IMHO I believe it’s already too late. We ought to be building both nuclear and new generation coal fired power stations today, not in years to come.
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The green thing is basically a draconian tax on humanity.
As the Elite continue to squeeze normal people with what are quickly becoming extreme greenist demands, based on what we know about humanity, people will eventually have had enough….. At that point I suspect it wont be pretty. Hope it doesnt come to that.
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Well we do have the Chinese cultural revolution to use as a template.
Do you reckon these Oxford dons would be of any use weeding the commune, [careless] vegetable patch.
50
Thier papers could line the commune chicken coops….keep the chooks warm…
20
I needed a good laugh….people ( figuratively ) running around with thier hair on fire…funny….hysteria set to 11…..
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-08-23/climate-retreat-planning-science/11435382?pfmredir=ms
“Climate change evacuation planning needs to start now, scientists urge
“From Bangladesh to the Philippines and the low-lying islands of the South Pacific, the impacts of climate change for many people around the world are going to get much worse, very soon.
“Key points
“* Preparing now can prevent last-minute disorderly evacuation from climate impacts
“* Building in areas that will be hit by climate disasters in future needs to stop
“* Millions are expected to be displaced by the end of the century
“* Some people will become stateless, and will need to find homes in new countries, while others will need to relocate within their own borders.
“Researchers writing in Science today argue that it’s time to begin preparing the retreat of people living in regions that will become uninhabitable due to climate change.
“By preparing now we can manage retreat in as equitable a way possible, and minimise paternalism and disruption to culture, according to author AR Siders from the Disaster Research Centre at the University of Delaware.
“”People need to think about it right now,” Dr Siders said.
“”We’ve already seen examples of when hazards happen, it is unorganised and it causes more harm than it needs to.”
“Average global sea level will rise by up to 77 centimetres by the end of the century if warming is kept to 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to IPCC predictions.
“If warming reaches 2C, that is likely to be around 10 centimetres higher, displacing around 10 million more people worldwide.
“According to the IPCC, we’re on track to hit 1.5C of warming between 2030 and 2052 at our current rate.
“Extreme weather events, saltwater incursion and bushfires are also expected to displace people in the near future.
40
It of course leads to the coffers of the rich and for the rest of us back to the dark ages.
The gullibility of the masses is unlimited.
GeoffW
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It of course leads to the coffers of the rich and for the rest of us back to the dark ages.
The gullibility of the masses is unlimited.
GeoffW
30
On Topic :
Having heard the awful news,
I have resolved
To again meditate TM style
On my special flying carpet
And thus achieve mobility
After my Commodore is banned
By our ever caring zealous
But stupid Green heads.
I may not get anywhere
I want to go
But who cares about that
With this idiocy abroad
It’s a powerful virtue signal !
🙂
30
If Boris is any good he will put an end to the Committee for Climate Change.
If Scomo is any good he will put an end to th Climate Chamge Commission!
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Scomo didn’t have much luck with the Pacific Islanders but then I guess he didn’t know about this: Sea level rise over recent decades of 0.8 mm pa (or 8 cm/century).
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Why didn’t he know this?
How can we get information to our politicians?
It should be simple, like, just read Jo Nova’s blog.
Apparently, that’s not the case.
We are doomed because of the stupidity of our ruling class. I’m buying candles and power banks, and also considering a petrol generator.
I am disgusted with our government.
Sycophants the lot of them. Even Tony Abbott, whom I much admire, even he failed to push through with his huge mandate and instead tried to supplicate the leftards.
Until we have someone in power like a Donald Trump, we quiet and honest Australians are in a deep quagmire.
I could rephrase that, but would no doubt be censored.
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GD,
I remind you that Donald Trump has all the powers of hell aligned against him. If Democrats are serious enough they might take enough senate seats to make Trump a eunuch for the rest of his presidency.
The worst of it is that Trump can’t find and get rid of those in his administration who don’t agree with him fast enough. And then there’s the matter of The Donald’s sudden support for red flag laws**. I now worry abut him. He could screw things up himself. I hope he knows what he’s doing.
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** laws that allow someone to get a judge to take away someone’s gun(s) on the strength of a supposition that he might be dangerous in the future. That is called prior restraint and the constitution does not permit prior restraint. We cannot succeed that way.
100
Roy the President has lost his charisma, right now he should e planning gun law reform by getting rid of the Second Amendment.
When it comes to climate change he takes his daughter’s advice, which is unhelpful.
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“…right now he should e planning gun law reform by getting rid of the Second Amendment.”
The president has no power to change the US Constitution or any of its amendments; An amendment to the US Constitution can only be created by a 2/3 vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a Constitutional Convention initiated by the States (the latter has never actually been done), then 3/4 of the states must ratify the amendment before it will take effect.
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After the recent mass slaying Donald should have told the people that he will seek the support of both houses to change the constitution. If that is successful, then they could focus on the states.
35
The Epstein thing has stained many of the Elite – even up to the royals.
It seems the D may also be implicated, if so, the US is done for, and madness will rule the planet.
Buckle up, its going to be a rough ride….
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The second amendment grants the ‘right to bear arms’ it doesnt give the ‘right to bear all and any arms’. Are the amendment defenders saying you should be allowed a full-armed F18 fighter jet? or the right to bear nuclear weapons? If no then why the right to bear heavy machine guns? the right to bear semi-auto assault rifles designed solely to kill people? The right to bear arms should be limited to those that have a reasonable purpose – bolt action hunting rifles, sport shooting bolt action rifles, vermin killing manual loading shotguns. So the 2nd amendment doesnt need changing – just interpreting and implementing intelligently.
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“Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.”
When Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, there were no limitations on the Arms citizens could “keep and bear.” The weapons they had were the same used by the military. As for “interpreting and implementing [the 2nd Amendment] intelligently,” just which part of “shall not be infringed” is difficult to interpret?
I’ve read that we have over 20,000 laws restricting gun ownership. Our cities are full of illegal guns with thousands of murders every year. Criminals aren’t following the law, and if they’re willing to break the ultimate law — murder — why would anyone think they’d start following the law if we pass more of them.
Anyone who wants to confiscate guns should first give it a try in Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Los Angeles, Cleveland, etc., etc.
Tucson AZ, USA
50
Gentlemen,
I’m going to say this with a smile on my face and refrain from anger, name calling and everything else that might have a less than civil tone to it. Please remember that I refrain from sticking myself very far into Australian, UK and anyone else’s politics. The reason is that I don’t live there and unless I spent heroic amounts of time on it there’s no way I can understand all the details I would need to master before my comment would be worth reading. And even then, I would not have the right to criticize. There have been exceptions but I’m really careful to avoid telling anyone else what to do so specifically as to say the 2nd amendment should be done away with.
I’ll acknowledge that the rest of you have some stake in what Donald Trump does. Whether we like it or not we seem to be the leader and the world’s policeman all rolled into one. On top of that we seem wiling to lavish money on the whole world, never mind that most of that is wasted in one way or another. Personally I do not like being the worlds policeman, charity ward, banker and whatever else we may be. But here we are and you in Oz have some stake in what Trump does.
But when you advocate doing away with the 2nd amendment you have no idea what you’re proposing. You and I differ a lot when it comes to several things. I believe that to be a sovereign nation you must have and control your borders. You must have and be able to maintain without interference from the rest of the world, a military force. You must be able to impose death as penalty for at least murder. And you must have the right as a citizen to be armed for your protection, for sport or for any reason you want except to commit crimes.
Please don’t advocate doing away with any of those things and certainly not with the bill of rights or any part of it. The bill of rights is an internal matter and simply not open to anyone who does not have U. S. Citizenship to criticize.
And yes, I said I would have a smile on my face. 🙂
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We have different political cultures and I support joining the non aligned movement.
41
With that said I’ll go a step farther. Guns are an inanimate object just like a hammer or an ice pick, both of which have been used to commit murder. To be dangerous a gun has to be held in a human hand, aimed and the trigger pulled. The hammer and the ice pick also need a human hand to make them dangerous.
What we face — and I think you face it too — is not a hardware problem but a disease of the human heart. No law is going to legislate away attitudes like those of AOC and her 3 partners in foolishness in the House of Representatives. And guns will not stop them either.
When we believed our rights came from God we were afraid to mess with them. So it was then necessary to remove God from the picture. That process is nearly complete. And now we can fool ourselves that the source of our rights is the government or some human guru and we’re no longer afraid to mess with those rights. The quickest way to get rid of someone’s fear of guns is to legislate it away. Only the criminal, by the very definition of the word criminal, does not obey laws. Why then do we expect him to obey one more law and give up the gun he uses to enforce his way on his victims?
But the pernicious thing about rights derived from men is that they can be changed or taken away. So today the gun owner has his gun confiscated. Tomorrow those who want to take away our guns will have their rights taken. That’s the way it works. Men are fickle, nothing is constant nothing is dependable. And the United States of America is probably already done for and can’t stop the decline that will end up destroying us. I have never seen a lineup of losers such as the Democrats running for president. If they are the opposition to Trump and with Republicans thinking the same way. It’s over.
I intend to go down fighting if I must go down and I intend to fight to keep my precious country and its constitution intact if I can. I know of no other way to keep my self respect.
160
Hmmm …. which is precisely why I want to break with the American Alliance.
210
In a society without guns, the mentally unwell can be subdued with a chair and milk crate.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/aug/15/sydney-stabbing-chair-man-john-bamford-says-he-had-no-option-but-to-act
47
When pondering the U.S. Democrats call for gun control, I always think of the following Democrat belief.
Gun control laws will work because criminals will obey them.
Tony.
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This is a Republican belief.
“It’s not about guns – it’s about mental health”
27
More guns equals more gun deaths – or does it?
https://www.pickeringpost.com/2019/08/17/more-guns-equals-more-gun-deaths-or-does-it/
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We are way off topic (apologies to mods) but we need to understand the politics of the time.
https://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/the-second-amendment-was-ratified-to-preserve-slavery/
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Roy, I think any intelligent person will realize that if it gets ugly within the US, the armed citizenry will be all that stands between its citizens and tyranny.
This is exactly why the framers of the Constitution provided this safeguard.
Australia was always a dumping ground for serfs and slaves, which is why we have no safeguards in law….and why we appear to be the crash test dummies in more ways an one.
I hope the US survives its coming fight against the horrific communist insurgency currently attacking your way of life, but I am very sure the US definately *wont* suvive if its citizens are defenceless.
20
Gordo, you have missed the point. Laws will not make us a society without guns. If there’s a buyer then there will be a seller. We would no more be free of guns because of laws than we are free of drugs because of laws prohibiting them.
We once foolishly prohibited all alcoholic drinks by constitutional amendment. It was called prohibition. You are free to look up how well that worked or just read from what I found in a few seconds.
And by the way, the mentally unwell are already prohibited from owning or possessing guns. How well does that work?
I’m sure you can argue for your position, even with history from our past. But we will still be right whee we are. It will not change today one bit.
And Gordo, as I said, it’s none of your business unless you’re a United States citizen.
Now a final question: right now where you live is there no black market in guns? Be honest. I know human nature from long association with it. If there’s a willing buyer there will be a seller.
30
Roy there is a black-market in guns, but its only gangsters killing each other. The rest of us have no interest.
‘Australia was always a dumping ground for serfs and slaves …’
Read your history, the American war of independence meant the convicts could no longer be sent there, so Britain sent them to Australia instead.
‘ …. which is why we have no safeguards in law….and why we appear to be the crash test dummies in more ways than one.’
Bollocks.
‘I hope the US survives its coming fight against the horrific communist insurgency …’
Last I saw the US has a democracy and if the people decide to adopt utopian socialist ideals, then it simply means the filthy rich will be purged and the greater middle class would rule.
21
You all apparently still miss the point. Gordo, I don’t know what you’re claiming is true by saying, “Read your history, the American war of independence meant…,” because we are not to blame for what the king decided to do. And in your position I would be afraid to be unarmed when the gangsters around me are shooting it out with me in the way. But I’ll allow you your personal choice if you’ll allow me my choice.
And finally, your last statement is true of Australia as well. You may not have the social justice people in large numbers but socialism looks like a very missionary faith so expect to have them in the near future.
20
‘The right of the people to bear arms’ Of all the ammendments this must be the most contentious. In any civilised society this idea should not be remotely considered.
It is the most ill conceived proposition and only leads to violence and despair.
GeoffW
23
But Geoffrey, the US was not civilized when that Amendment was made. It had two wars with the English, and natives hadn’t been quite killed off by the smallpox. It was the quickest (and cheapest) method of raising a militia at need.
40
True. Trump is just one man. He has almost the rest of the US politicians on both sides against him on climate change. Once the US has a new President the chances are the US will go back on the “save the planet from CAGW” bandwagon. Then the decline will accelerate.
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GD said:
A couple of reasons: you didn’t tell him. (I absolve myself as Scomo is an Australian politician and I’m neither Australian nor resident in his jurisdiction, and I’ve got hands full trying to straighten out my own pollies, Taxinda and Shaw, two ivory headed NZ citizens. If you;re Oz-trah-lian and resident in OZ, then stop sitting on it get on with telling him.)
And because the political sources keep saying outrageous things, which the UnCivil Civil Servants repeat and the other Gullibles repeat ad infinitum refusing to listen to any reason. The current ones are Greenland melting accelerating and East Antarctica melting. Both outrageously wrong.
(The newest one is meat eating harms the climate. That’s Al the Gorebil — he’s now heavily invested in fake meat manufacturing so he’s got to make another fortune.)
A couple of years ago, one of this blog’s Gullibles (Professor De Havilland) tried to convince us that Sea Level rise was at least 3 mm per year and Australia was going to drown Even at that rate of rise, it was still only 1 foot per century (30cm, given 3mm is 3cm per decade) which back then was neither here nor there. (I think he couldn’t do the arithmetic …)
That’s two ways Scomo gets his opinions. But if he’s not given the evidence, he can’t use it. He can’t be told, he has to be convinced (informed).
As far as the Pacific leaders are concerned, their atolls are all going to be washed away. Yes, it’s nice that most of them are increasing in area but when it comes to blackmailing more money, what does that matter?
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Sophocles
There is a big difference between informing and convincing. The convincing part relies on the recipient of the information to: a) be able to understand it and b) to be willing to take it on board. I doubt ScoMo fulfills either category. He’s just a grinning mouth full of empty platitudes, good at balancing on the fence.
70
Beowulf:
It’s not my problem. It’s Yours.
You’re telling me nothing new: I quote: I’ve got my hands full trying to straighten out my own pollies, Taxinda and Shaw You have my sympathy but that’s all FWIW.
If you have to send such information attached to a 5,000 kg bomb, then that’s how you should send it. But we both know there would be repercussions if we invoked that method …
40
GD. It seems you forget that Al Gore somehow persuaded Clive Palmer to use his balance of power in the senate to stymie Abbott’s landslide mandate. We have paid a terrible price for our protest vote that gave the PUP this power.
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I heard on the grapevine that Boris is now covered in green slime, its a catastrophe waiting to happen.
‘The mercury could hit 33C on Monday, which would smash the previous high set two years ago – by FIVE DEGREES.’ The Sun
40
Since the CCC was setup by an act of parliament that act needs to be repealed before the CCC can be disbanded – sorry.
30
Depends what the enabling act says.
10
I’ll stick with my V8 Ute thank you, and their howls of disapproval will be drowned out by its roar and my dissenting laughter.
270
I saw a T shirt you might like”
“Gaze upon my privilege, and despair!”
60
They say:
“A UK committee of academics and one of MP’s say cars are not compatible with life as we know it:”.
Surely that’s a misprint. Shouldn’t it be;
“life as they know it”?
Personally I feel that all Australian academics should be required to work in industry for two years.
There is a problem with that.
There IS NO Australian industry!
KK
220
KK there is indeed a problem with that because most ivory tower academics would be fired from a job in industry in the first week for total incompetence, that is if they could get a job in the first place, and that includes sweeping floors.
140
Someone might have more accurate figures, but it’s possible that 97 percent of Australian workers are employed by government.
KK
40
Perhaps it would be better to require they live off the great outback a year consuming only that which they find in their own 1000 hectare patch of land.
What? No rain? Dead bushes and trees? No pizza delivery? No cell phone service? Too bad. Better luck next time.
If we are lucky, no one would survive. Those who do might be a bit better to serve their desired position more in line with what we mere mortals want and need.
140
Just throw out the government that looks like it will entertain this nonsense. That’s direct and final. The voters have the power and if the don’t use it they deserve to be without automobiles.
80
G’day Roy,
Throw out the government? That’s only useful if the alternate one is, or would be an improvement. Would you really want the Democrats to win next time?
Reminds me of Churchill’s “Democracy is the worst form of government, apart from all the others”. (I think I’m quoting him correctly…)
Cheers
Dave B
60
When you recall someone from office you do get to elect the successor. Why can’t that successor be an improvement? It’s all always up to the voters.
40
Sometimes that does occur, but that sort of change happens when the new candidates and their party appear to be the better option. Sometimes they’re not.
Cheers
Dave B
40
By the way, no form of government is very good. But one in which the people are sovereign and those who govern are constrained by a legal document called the Constitution is about as good as it gets. It’s messy in the best of times and cam go downhill from there. But where would you rather be, in imperfect Democracy or perhaps socialism or communism?
60
Sounds like we both agree with Churchill…
20
One big problem is overcoming the seductive and false promise of a free lunch from government. Even a properly formed republic can be corrupted by such a thing. Historically, this has led to repeated collapse of society and the governments that promoted such false belief.
A largely agrarian society naturally understands this but a largely urban one is easily seduced into thinking they are insulated from the gut level hard work of making the land productive. They don’t have to grow their food. All they have to do is go to the corner grocery store and buy whatever they want and need. It is easy for them to conclude that all the government has to do is give them enough paper called money and all problems of consumption can be solved.
What is lost in the transaction is the fundamental notion that without production there can be no consumption. Once a product is consumed, it no longer exists to be consumed again. Hence, the work of production must continue unabated. If it doesn’t, everything comes to a grinding halt.
The fact that the above is not really learned, the politicians can pretend that all they need to do is take a fair share of excess production (always defined as more) and give it to their urban voters.
Again, the urban citizen has lost contact that continued production will always take some or all of the excess production to pay for still more production. Take that and future production cannot and will not happen.
It is simple. If you eat your seed corn, there is no way to grow corn the next year. A farmer knows this in his bones based upon thousands of years of bitter experience. The urban dweller is usually ignorant of such things. He can pretend that since the seed corn exists and he is hungry, he can ask the government to take the future and give it to him for consumption today. Hence our 22 trillion national debt that continues to grow. All based upon printed paper called money most of which had no production of life sustaining values behind it.
Yet reality insists that if you eat your future, that future no longer can be possible. That no matter how much paper money you print, if you run out of the producers who produce excess wealth, everything grinds to a halt.
Yet government continues to grow based upon the fiction they have free lunches to trade for votes. Taken far enough and you have no future. No amount of AI, robots, or laws that take a fair share from the rich will save you from that fact.
The education is delivered but usually after centuries of poverty, despair, death. and destruction. This is not a good way to run an economy. It is dangerous to your health, longevity, and well being.
60
“A UK committee of academics and one of MP’s are not compatible with life as we know it:”.
FIFY KK 🙂
60
That’s interesting, them or us?
20
I was one of those academics and worked at CSIRO for over 10 years. I then saw the light and left. When my colleagues asked me why I was leaving I told them I wanted to join the real world. They had blank looks on their faces. I laughed. I never regretted that decision. I wished I had done it sooner. So many years of my life wasted. Oh well better late than never.
210
You dont realise how insulated from reality you are till you step outside. I had a similar experience in the multi national corporate world.
50
Off topic, is it news? Someting strange here in the dead of night. Did our voltage drop?
I turned the TV on to see the cricket. Just a bit of pixellated colour across the top of the screen on all channels..After a while it came good, to just miss Warner’s dismissal.
My wife turned on the bathroom light, for a dull glow. The ceiling heater the same. House lights seemed OK. The second bathroom ceiling lights were dim too.
We have been here ten years. The house was built early 1990s, has underfloor heating and those bathroom lights, about fifty power points, six meters and at least one 25 metre extension lead. I have a very poor understanding of the circuitry. About half an hour later the bathroom lights were working again. I suspect we had a brown out.
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BAD THUMB..BAD!
Yep, that sounds like a brownout. Note the time in case any induction motors fry themselves over the next couple of months for insurance purposes.
100
Brownouts are all or nothing … you had better get your system checked out asap. Especially the neutrals .
You may be at risk of fire .
( 45 years in the electric field )
120
We had a dodgy rcd which caused problems…turned out ggr neutral had been a bit loose for a while…
30
Cold temperatures might be the cause, direct or indirect (ie, due to some loose connection).
30
G’day Ted,
I suspect I’m on a different line from you, and it was daylight before I surfaced so couldn’t have observed it even if it had happened here too.
And I agree with Jonesy above, write down date and times. And give 132080 a call and register the occurrence with them. They should already know about it and be able to give you an assessment.
And I have had them out here. Was able to turn off all things with motors sufficiently quickly to have no damage.
Cheers
Dave B
30
Was there any storms in the area at the time? A rapid reclose on a fault could cause your TV to momentarily die and recover before it actually turns off automatically. The power actually goes off but it is so short it can appear as a brown out. My desktop computer will ride through a reclose. They are system faults usually associated with a storm or heavy system load.
You could check with neighbours if they were aware of anything at that time. (I recently suffered damage to a Telstra modem with a very close lightning strike – my neighbour across the street loaned me a spare modem and told me the lightning struck the air cooler on the house on my western side and that neighbour had advised insurance assessors as he had damage to a number of appliances)
If you have an internal wiring fault causing that condition then you will be at high risk of a fire as SOB mentioned. It could also be a fault in your connection at the street.
Definitely worthwhile checking with your distribution provider – the one who installed your meter, not necessarily your retailer – to see if they recorded anything unusual at that time. Some distributors maintain websites that list faults but they are typically current faults not historic.
It is probably worthwhile going to your meter box and having a sniff with the door open. Burnt insulation has a lingering acrid smell. It is not normal that a fault causing brown out would recover though unless the load was reduced eg the heating turned off.
40
I don’t know how it is done in other countries, but I would personally find it very difficult to transport the contents of my grocery shopping cart, from my weekly shopping, to home on public transportation. Also, I would be taking up space, preventing others from riding, were I to try. When I get older, I probably won’t have the strength to carry more than one small bag. That means multiple trips to stock my larder. So, the trade-off with no cars is more trips and reduced seating capacity on public transportation.
Some grocery stores are now starting to offer home delivery — for a fee. I suspect that the outcome of that will be an increased cost for food, and lower quality produce and meat when one can’t choose personally. However, the home delivery option replaces personal cars with vans or trucks, meaning that roads will still be needed, and the tire dust and brake-lining dust will still be produced in nearly the same amount if the miles driven by the delivery fleet is about the same as currently driven by private vehicles.
I don’t think that these ‘academics’ have really thought this through!
140
“I don’t think that these ‘academics’ have really thought this through!”
So what is different then?
100
A long time ago academics did think through things and allowed us to come to a better albeit imperfect understanding. Today though it’s totally different. It appears academics today are drinking the same water as politicians. All they appear to be good at is telling lies. At least that’s the case for Western academics.
110
Peter, we will always need a core of diligent academics and government workers.
What we don’t need is to have those institutions filled with the friends and family of the rich and powerful elites.
There was a time when that wasn’t the case.
KK
70
This, of curse, is more virtue signaling. It’s hey, look at me Ms. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. Who would believe otherwise than what I just said, having watched the way the left operates for even a few months. They are putting themselves into their coffin and then driving nails into the lid.
I’m laughing at this. The backlash will finally kill the UK government…or they will quickly get religion and back down. Either way, how can things be better than a government afraid it will be tossed out.
I never in my life until now have seen anyone acting as though stupidity was a laudable condition. But this takes the blue ribbon for stupidity.
The question is, how willing will voters get to throw the bastards out? It won’t be easy, they’ll fight back. But it has to be done.
110
An American comedian said it very succinctly a few weeks ago:
(as seen on youtube …)
You can’t fix stupid.
110
But many times you can eliminate it.
30
Agreed…the Donald called the gang of 4 “AOC plus 3″…he gets it…..
40
“You can’t fix stupid.”
Well no, but you can quarantine it from power (sort of).
Western Civilisation died by closing down the asylums and transferring the
inmates“residents” to parliament as our representatives.We are now “represented” by far too many lawyers, activists and unionistas and far too few Engineers, Scientists (real ones) and Business People.’
Exactly what did we think was going to happen when we gathered up societies loons and parasites and ceded power over our lives to them?
80
We were too busy.
30
Dare I say, nothing new here, neither in the crass stupidity of faux-academics and their belief in climatism, nor in the expression and objective of their destructive intent. The private car-less World has been suggested before. It is also self-evident that e-trickery vehicles in their current form cannot replace petroleum liquid and gas fuelled vehicles. There simply isn’t enough child slave labour in the Congo to furnish the e-elites with the requisite cobalt and lithium ore for their 29% vehicle curb, short lived, expensive, dead-weight batteries.
They’re merely devoted to and following the ideology. And it has been discussed here innumerable times.
The tragedy occurs when we have been overtly warned and continue to ignore it as an improbability, until it isn’t and one finds one en route to the de-population, de-industrialisation, destitution and despair that is the Green Death.
The UN HABITAT III The New Urban Agenda (Quito 2016) highlights what the UN neo-Marxist Green elite have in mind, in particular articles 54, 66, 79, 114, 118, which, while they are inclined toward repetition leave little doubt. Article 114 sums it up with my addition of the truncated salient points of the further articles. It is noteworthy to point out that the installation of this UN Urban Agenda is targeted on municipal government, an area of government that typically attracts a very low voter turn out and shattering disinterest. It may well be time to pay closer attention:
We will promote to a wide range of transport and mobility options, in particular through supporting: (a) a significant increase in accessible safe, efficient, affordable, and sustainable infrastructure for public transport as well as non-motorized options such as walking and cycling, prioritizing them over private motorized transportation; (114)
54. We commit to the generation and use of renewable and affordable energy and sustainable and efficient transport infrastructure and services, where possible, achieving the benefits of connectivity and reducing the financial, environmental, and public health costs of inefficient mobility, congestion, air pollution, urban heat island effect, and noise … in the following manner: by adopting a smart city approach (66), which makes use of innovative transport technologies, thus providing options for inhabitants to make more environmentally friendly choices and boost sustainable economic growth and enabling cities to improve their service delivery; by promoting international, national, sub-national, and local climate action, including climate change adaptation and mitigation, and to support cities and human settlements, their inhabitants and all local stakeholders to be important implementers. We further commit to support building resilience and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, from all relevant sectors. Such measures should be consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement adopted under the UNFCCC (79).
02
The stupid does burn! In this modern age, one wonders how a supposed intelligent person could even believe this BS…oh silly me, there is a group of them!
90
Notice how green initiatives always lead away from conservation – HELE, nukes, better roads, (much) better public transport SEPARATED from traffic – and straight back to Lobbyland.
Like there’s some kind of either/or about decent infrastructure. Will you have a proper public metro or a proper private transport system? Golly. Which one shall I choose, Alexa? Siri, should I wait endlessly in traffic or should I wait endlessly on crammed train platforms? Is it best to waste oil or electricity while I waste time?
Make me wait, Alexa! Punish me, Siri! I’ve been a bad carbon muncher!
130
🙂
40
It’s a religion. It uses the two emotions, guilt and fear. Guilt that you are a bad carbon muncher. Fear that the world will be a far worse place some time soon and we will all fry in the fires of carbon because of your inconsiderate, thoughtless, uncaring actions. Sound familiar?
What is also true is that there is no science in all this. There are no numbers, no logic, no proofs, just guilt. You need to be punished. Unless you buy carbon offset credits, as Sir John Elton did for Harry and Megan’s private jet travel. His logic is medieval as someone noted, like buying a mink coat but donating to PETA. Guilt.
150
And Greta Thunburg, the visionary determined Swedish teenager who can actually see Carbon Dioxide. Like a miracle. She is a modern incarnation of Joan of Arc and will
lead the wandering lost Donald Trump back to the righteous path when the Green God will smile, so that we are not as one child wrote, burnt to a steak.
150
Great has the same mad stare the Ellen White the spiritual leader of the Seventh Day Adventists.
Both cults drawing in the gullible.
90
My sister – who now lives in Perth and has been a member of the S.D.A. cult for 30+ years – visited me yesterday while over here for her friend’s daughter’s wedding. It was a pleasant enough catch-up, but, they’re a strange bunch. Not surprising – Ellen G. White was a bit of a case herself, suffering breathless ‘visions’ most of her life then engaging in necromancy once her husband died. How many times did they run up that hill in expectation of New Jerusalem’s arrival?
And yes, that Greta stare…
40
It’s interesting that in the 1960’s people feared instant annihiliation, evaporation in a massive nuclear fireball at 100,000C. It rightly terrified most.
In the 21st century, people fear a terrible and slow roasting by a tiny +1C in an average over 100 years and catastrophic sea rises measured in cm in an average?
It’s a soft, soft world.
This is despite the fact that many are now living in the tropics and the desert which were previously unliveable. They should be more afraid of the power going off, which would roast them, than the planet warming slightly, on average, which would not roast them.
On the one hand we have cities like Dubai, 4.5Million people where the summer temperature is often 47C. Then Russian Murmansk with a population of 360,000 at 66 North, 2 degrees inside the Arctic circle where the winter temperature can reach -40C, like much of Alaska and Colorado. These places need power for people to live and the good people of Oxford would deny them power because of a 1C warming in 100 years. Someone is not living in the real world. It gives academics a bad name.
120
Hasn’t this been the end goal all along? Nobles have been trying to get the serfs back on the estate for awhile now. Since a few hundred years ago when the ordinary people traveled to far away lands and started running their show.
110
Back to your little lives, in your little villages, clustered in your little pubs, you plebs!
80
Sort of.
The problem in Australia is..if the senate dont like with what the people voted for, they dont let the legislation through.
So..it always has to be “modified” and slashed..if it has a chance.
The senate is the problem..followed by the sycophants that surround our politicians and give “advise” which is just ^%$#@.
And everyone is scared of being labelled a “denier” of crap science..
120
Morrison is doing the same. He still says meeting our commitment to reduce our emissions is a good thing. Good for what? To destroy our economy?
140
Paul Keating was correct in calling the senate “unrepresentative swill.”
22
In a small densely populated country with good public transportation, housing without garages, and a younger generation using ride share, there is nothing new or revolutionary about this.
Don’t think it would work where those preconditions are not met
414
Too late.
100
I second the motion.
50
Communes and low-class housing.
The PF way !!
90
Ah, the
slave campssustainable cities as set out in the UN New World Order manifesto Agenda 21.40
‘Don’t think it would work where those preconditions are not met.’
The traffic congestion in Sydney is getting worse by the day, so they’ll have to decentralise.
Canberra’s tram service is popular and that model could be rolled out in all the new satellite cities, which are connected by bullet train to megalopolis.
The design of the new cities, in an increasingly robotic world, should incorporate village life without cars.
32
That is a good idea, el gordo. One thing I did not mention is that Amazon and the internet have made living away from the larger conurbations a much more viable prospect.
32
‘Transport Canberra says it is already hitting its 2021 business case passenger numbers for light rail, as the number of people boarding the service continues to grow.’ Riotact
The cities could be high rise surrounded by villages in a romantic Medieval setting.
22
el gordo, you need to read Agenda 21 and Agenda 30 much more carefully, although you are correct about the Medieval setting for the serfs.
40
Let us look at Agenda 21 and see which of the aims is unacceptable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals
12
We should give Climate Action the flick.
30
We left Sydney in the 80s, it was driving me mad then. We go back (or through) about every 5 years or so. To me know it feels like an unliveable ants nest, but when you dont have realptions you just deal with it each day and survive.
40
Another light globe lights up … one at a time.
This light globe is the economics editor at the SMH, Ross Gittins …
Recycling is all about being taken for a ride
“It amazes me that we’ve put recycling up there with motherhood and never stop to question whether it’s the best use of our time and money in the “environmental space”.
It’s more about feeling good than doing good.
Nobody actually wants the stuff, so the authorities have been shipping it off to Asia on the q.t. Much of the stuff that doesn’t get shipped away ends up in landfill anyway.”
>> All those billion$ of dollars in rates to recycle, and they just stored it in warehouses or sent it over seas.
It’s called extortion.
And Morrison wants to double down and spend more taxpayer money.
90
Oops. Missing link: https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/recycling-is-all-about-being-taken-for-a-ride-20190820-p52iva.html?btis#comments
60
I wish the “Science and Technology Committee”. Would spend more time verifying the actual effects of man made CO2 in the atmosphere…
..rather than attempting to predict the future.
80
Meanwhile, some good news:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/08/22/breaking-dr-tim-ball-wins-michaelemann-lawsuit-mann-has-to-pay/
170
Fantastic news. Only 8 years to throw the case out? Justice delayed is justice denied.
80
What is tragic is the sheer cost of it all for Tim Ball. [court] costs mean little. There was little cost in the few appearances. Preparation for those costs and instructing and retaining lawyers for 8 years and the sleepless nights and winters and summers in anticipation would have devasted his family and cost him all his savings and his peace of mind. All for nothing in the end, a throw away line which was no more than a joke. Mann gets off free. Spare change for a successful profiteer of Doom. At least Steyn has countersued.
90
Didn’t see your comment before I posted below. Great news, isn’t it?
60
Absolutely magnificent!
Thanks for the link and congratulations to Tim Ball for his success and tenacity.
Cheers
Dave B
70
Brilliant!
50
doubt if it required 3 CNN staff to write this!
22 Aug: CNN: Ancient tropical plants produce cones in UK for first time on record
By Amy Woodyatt; CNN’s Isabelle Gerretsen and Ryan Smith contributed to this report.
A tropical plant has produced male and female cones outdoors in the UK for the first time in 60 million years, in an event that botanists say is a clear indication of climate change.
Two cycads (cycas revoluta), a type of primitive plant that dominated the Earth’s flora 280 million years ago, have produced cones on the cliffs of a botanic garden on the Isle of Wight, off England’s south coast…
Because of the Isle of Wight’s microclimate and the sheltered location of the garden, plants can be grown at Ventnor which would not usually survive in the British Isles.
A spokeswoman from the Ventnor Botanic Garden told CNN that the island is on average 5 degrees Celsius warmer than the rest of mainland Britain…
Today, climate change is commonly used as a term to describe the effects of global warming that have occurred as a result of human activity following the industrial revolution in the 18th century…
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/22/uk/tropical-plant-uk-intl-scli-gbr/index.html?utm_term=link&utm_content=2019-08-22T23%3A20%3A03&utm_source=twCNN&utm_medium=social
seems Guardian was first MSM to jump on this:
Global heating: ancient plants ***set to reproduce in UK after 60m years
In-Depth – The Guardian – 14 hours ago
6 Aug: IsleOfWight Radio: Rare Plant Produces ‘Cone’ At Ventnor Botanic Garden
By Jamie White
A rare Cycad (Cycas revoluta) plant has produced a male cone at Ventnor Botanic Garden.
It is understood to be just the second time it has happened outside in the UK – the first was in Ventnor in 2012…
A spokesperson for Ventnor Botanic Garden said:
“The climate of the Earth today, with artificially raised CO2 resultant from fossil fuel emissions, may have influenced the cone production. Interestingly, back in time Cycads lived in the area that was to become the Isle of Wight, fossil Cycads have been found in the cliffs along the West Wight coast.
“Therefore Cycads have been on holiday away from the area for 120 million years…
***“Sadly, the Ventnor Botanic Garden Cycad will not bear seeds, as a female cone would be required – and, as yet, our other Cycads have no sign of one being produced.”
https://iwradio.co.uk/2019/08/06/rare-plant-produces-cone-at-ventnor-botanic-garden/
12
Cycas revoluta, sago palm, king sago, sago cycad, Japanese sago palm), is native to southern Japan including the Ryukyu Islands. It is one of several species used for the production of sago.
It is one of the MOST WIDELY CULTIVATED cycads, GROWN OUTDOORS IN WARM TEMPERATE AND SUBTROPICAL REGIONS, or under glass in colder areas. Grown in most Botanical Gardens.
(Untreated) Cycad sago is extremely poisonous to animals (including humans) if ingested. All parts of the plant are toxic; however, the seeds contain the highest level of the toxin.
So Man-made Global Warming has made a sheltered spot almost as warm as as England was about 1,000 years ago, during the Medieval Warm Period.
71
Cycas revoluta
• thrives in temperatures between 14 and 104°F and enjoys the sunshine
• has a slow growth rate, growing about 1inch a year on average
• has to be at least 15 years old to produce flowers
A spokeswoman from the Ventnor Botanic Garden told CNN that the island is on average 5 degrees Celsius warmer than the rest of mainland Britain.
“Fifteen, 20 years ago we started growing cycads — it started as an experiment, something you wouldn’t normally do,” Chris Kidd, curator at Ventnor Botanic Garden, told CNN.
“Fifteen years on, they’re not only surviving winters, growing and producing leaves. Five years ago we had a male cycad that produced a cone, and this year we have a male and female both producing cones,” he said.
“This is the first time that cycads have produced male and female cones in the British Isles since 60 million years ago,” he added.
“It is a clear indication that hotter summers and milder winters are triggering this phenomenon,” the Botanic Garden said in a statement.
Gee wow. A plant that has to be 15 years old to flower started flowering at 15 years old on an island 5°C hotter than Britain and it’s global warming that is to blame.
62
I have been on a plane and just watched the film VICE , a biopic about Dick Cheney, who became Vice President to George (Dubya) Bush and arguably the most powerful Vice President ever.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_(2018_film).
This is not entirely off topic since, the film deals with executive power and how it might have been used ( or could be used).
The film could be subtitled ” be careful what you wish for”, except that it is clearly Holywood lefty satire. It could point to one way in which the lefty Climate Change juggernaught might be turned around.
60
The film could als be subtitled “Misuse of Executive Power”. We have seen plenty of that over the years.
50
Sorry, OT, but you will be delighted to know that Dr Tim Ball has won against Michael Mann. New top thread in WUWT.
110
That news would have been welcome at any time.
Cheers
Dave B
50
Thanks Annie. Now there’s Mark Steyn’s two to go ( Mann sues Steyn, Steyn counter sues).
60
Annie, you will be displeased to hear that the Tillbrook Brexit case was dismissed and has gone onto appeal via a different jurisdiction, but is now a lost cause. The UK judiciary is as much a part of the deep state as the rest of the public service.
70
Well, I would hate to be the judge who jerked the UK out of the EU against the wishes of the british politicians, but what an opportuity missed. Nothing would have “damped the fires” faster or more certainly than revealing that the UK had been out of the EU for 3 months (or more) without the heavens openning nor hellfire raining down.
80
I am indeed Beowulf, but why am I not surprised? Where now can we find truth and justice?
I’ve just been watching Andrew Bolt’s rerun of his Wednesday segment about the almost unbelievable judgement on Cardinal Pell’s conviction. I think George Pell has been set up to get at the church (I’m not denying some shocking wrong-doing by church people…N.B.).
90
not yet a done deal, but why do these “climate leaders” so blatantly choose waterfront properties:
22 Aug: WashingtonFreeBeacon: Obamas Strike Blow for Economic Justice, Donate Millions in Exchange for Massive Beachfront Estate
Former president conquers ‘wealth anxiety’
by Andrew Stiles
Celebrity authors Barack and Michelle Obama are striking a blow for social, economic, and climate justice, vowing to donate an undisclosed eight-figure sum to Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck in exchange for his massive beachfront estate on Martha’s Vineyard, the luxury island vacation spot popular with Northeastern elites, boat-shoed bon vivants, and other rich freaks who use “summer” as a verb and donate to Pete Buttigieg.
The 29-acre property, which includes a 7,000-square-foot main house with seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and two guest wings, is listed at $14.85 million—well within the Obamas’ price range after signing a “high eight-figure” production deal with Netflix, in addition to a joint book deal reportedly worth $65 million. There’s also an outdoor pool and fireplace, balcony jacuzzi, chef’s kitchen, and a private boathouse…
The purchase has not yet been finalized, but barring any unforeseen setbacks, the Obamas will soon become the proud owners of their third mansion, in addition to properties in Chicago and Washington, D.C. “There’s only so big a house you can have,” Barack Obama said in 2018.
Obama once claimed his election marked “the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow.” The decision to buy a property so close to the water is perhaps a subtle vote of confidence in President Donald Trump’s efforts to combat climate change.
https://freebeacon.com/blog/obama-beach-mansion/
29 Jun 2013: ArchivesObamaWhiteHouse: Remarks by President Obama at Young African Leaders Initiative Town Hall
Ultimately, if you think about all the youth that everybody has mentioned here in Africa, if everybody is raising living standards to the point where everybody has got a car and everybody has got air conditioning, and everybody has got a big house, well, the planet will boil over — unless we find new ways of producing energy.
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/29/remarks-president-obama-young-african-leaders-initiative-town-hall
41
Ride share?
What are they going to share and who with.
60
Dad used to rideshare for me during my first uni degree.
40
Apparently there is now a rideshare bingo system and rideshare romances are becoming a thing as well
31
Isn’t that Grindr Peter?
30
What refreshing honesty, there should be more of it.
The stated goals [pre-industrial age CO2 emissions] of decarbonistas are impossible to reach without plunging the world into chaos. The majority seem to think they can be achieved painlessly for themselves by taxing the rich, that they will still be able buy healthy, fresh food at the supermarket and their electronic devices will be at their fingertips. Au contraire, city life will not be survivable.
40
Greenies hate cars – even electric cars – above all else. Not because they pollute, or contribute to global warming, or because they occasionally hit a cyclist. But simply because they are cars – not trains or bikes.
And because they crowd and clutter the roads – blotting the landscape, making it look rather messy, spoiling photographs and depriving it of any timeless quality.
And because people prefer to drive them in an extension of the comfort, privacy, individuality and prestige of their own home – which is non-communal and therefore just unacceptable.
70
“And because they crowd and clutter the roads – blotting the landscape, making it look rather messy, spoiling photographs and depriving it of any timeless quality.”
mmmmmmm, just like wind turbines
70
23 Aug: Fox News: Protests erupt after DNC puts kibosh on climate change-focused debate
By Gregg Re; Fox News’ Andrew O’Reilly and The Associated Press contributed to this report
VIDEO: 1min34sec: Republican blasts ‘unapologetic hypocrisy’ of climate change alarmists: Rep. Thomas Massie calls out Hollywood and liberals on climate change
The Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting in San Francisco erupted into a hail of protests on Thursday, as unruly environmentalist activists condemned the party’s decision not to hold a presidential primary debate focused exclusively on climate change — a demand long sought by left-wing activists.
The San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the environmentalist group Sunrise Movement posted a video of dozens of its members chanting the union hymn, “Which Side Are You On?” after the DNC’s resolutions committee voted 17-8 not to have a climate-focused debate…
(LINK) WATCH: TOP DEM SENATOR SCOLDS KIDS PUSHING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION, TELLS WHIPPERSNAPPERS, ‘I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING’
In a statement, Sunrise Movement called the day a “partial victory for young climate organizers nationwide,” because “after months of campaigning,” the resolutions committee had reversed a ban on presidential candidates participating side-by-side in “non-DNC sanctioned events to discuss the climate crisis.”…
In an embarrassing blunder, dozens of Sunrise Movement protesters recently staged a sit-in protest at what they believed to be a Pennsylvania Democratic Party office lobby to demand the party organize such a debate.
Police arrested 11 individuals, and it later emerged there was no Democratic Party office there. The environmentalists said they had received bad information.
“If you can’t figure out where the local Democratic Party offices are before you show up for the protest, I’m not sure that I trust your analysis of the climate science much less what to actually do about the problem,” Ted Nordhaus, founder and executive director of The Breakthrough Institute, told Reuters…
However, political headwinds appeared to be running against the environmental activists. The bedlam came a day after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who made climate change the center issue of his campaign, announced he was “withdrawing” from the 2020 presidential race, as the Democrat said “it’s become clear” he didn’t have a shot at winning the primary…
For his part, President Trump has said the Green New Deal would “crush the poor.”…READ ON
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/protests-dnc-kibosh-on-climate-change-debate
22 Aug: Townhall: Bernie’s Green New Deal Price Tag: 16 TRILLION!
by Timothy Meads
As noted by the New York Times (LINK), the proposed bill by Sanders would declare “climate change a national emergency; envisions building new solar, wind and geothermal power sources across the country; and commits $200 billion to help poor nations cope with climate change.” Sanders also promised it would eliminate unemployment completely by creating 20 million jobs over a 15 year period. It also calls for the U.S. to completely ditch fossil fuels by 2050…
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/timothymeads/2019/08/22/bernies-green-new-deal-price-tag-16-trillion-n2552091
22
Boynie’s whacked-out Weekend At Bernie’s is still going? Talkin’ of emoygencies:
“For 100 days – rain, hail, and shine – Ollie Langridge has been camped out at Parliament with one message. He wants politicians to declare a climate emergency. Unfortunately, that call to action has not been accepted – yet”. More like fortunately, thank goodness, and may it never come to pass.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018710140/climate-protester-marks-100-days-at-parliament
“The Antarctic is starting to melt in a way that the scientists said would happen at the end of the century”. FAIL.
“He said he’s copped a lot of flak from members of the public about his protest, including for having five children”. CORRECT.
Apologies to English commenters here, but, he’s one of yours. Can we send him home? Please?
21
Nope..no returns….you can keep him…
50
Surely Harry & Meghan or Elton & hubby would love to fly him home – first-class of course with all the kids in tow – back to ye olde Blighty? I mean, he’s a Believer! A Faithful! A fellow Hypocrite! They could house him in one of Slur David Attenbollocks’ outhouses or gardeners’ sheds or one of their castles, no? Think of the walruses!
40
These tiresome fatuous people trumpeting the climate damage done by human activity need simply to be ignored on the whole punctuated by the occasional request for incontrovertible proof of the off the scale of reality fantasies they espouse.
As there’s no arguing with an irrational mob backed by a clique of financiers I say we wait it out; patience is all.
40
Guardian seems to be the only conduit for this piece:
22 Aug: Guardian: National Grid says new-style stability software will avoid blackouts
Operator is working on series of agreements with companies including General Electric
by Jillian Ambrose
National Grid plans to stabilise the energy grid by plugging into new technology after raising concerns a year ago that it may be “walking blind” into the risk of blackouts…
The system operator revealed that it had been running the risk of blackouts over a year before the outage, which cut electricity to almost a million homes.
To safeguard the system it has been working on a series of software agreements with companies including the US giant General Electric (GE) to replace its spreadsheet models, which provide estimates of the grid’s stability.
National Grid is understood to be close to announcing a deal with GE to measure energy system “inertia”, or the energy buffer that helps to keep frequency stable, following a separate deal with another technology firm for similar software in August.
A National Grid spokesman said the initiatives are the first of their kind anywhere in the world, and will be incorporated “over the coming years”…
The deals have emerged after a senior National Grid executive revealed last July (***LINK) that the company was “walking blind” because it cannot measure the stability of the grid…
Renan Giovanini, an analytics manager at GE, said the new systems will “help to reduce the likelihood of a blackout” by evolving the tools National Grid uses to assess the energy grid.
National Grid has blamed lightning strikes…
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/21/national-grid-says-new-style-stability-software-will-avoid-blackouts
***Guardian links to this youtube video at the second “WALKING BLIND” reference, but you get –
“Content warning. If the owner of this video has granted you access, please sign in.
This video is private”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWZK4uJhWaQ
21
Sounds like Tesla and much of the technology industry ….. “it will all be right in the next release of software” Surprisingly , in the real world, software does not alter Physics or reality so I am guessing they will spend lots of money and then stand looking at one another really surprised when they still have blackouts.
80
It sounds like the 737 MAX. A little software patch will stop our planes from crashing.
10
as Ambrose/Guardian didn’t bother to name the other company Natl Grid made a deal with, here it is, dated just days before the blackout:
5 Aug: ReactiveTechnologies: Reactive Technologies Signs Landmark Commercial Agreement with National Grid ESO Supporting its 2025 Zero Carbon Goals
Reactive Technologies has signed a milestone agreement with National Grid ESO to support the system operator to fulfil its 2025 zero carbon goals by measuring system inertia for the first time. The agreement will see National Grid ESO implement Reactive Technologies’ GridMetrix® inertia measurement and analytics service across the UK, providing a real-time view of the operability of power grid stability into the control room.
National Grid ESO is the first system operator in the world to adopt inertia measurement and GridMetrix® offers a solution to measure inertia, which is becoming increasingly important as we transition to a renewable energy mix. This deal demonstrates the appetite from the sector to shift from reliance on estimation models to granular measurements informing control room, procurement and planning decisions…
Renewables are unable to provide system inertia to the same extent as large-scale traditional generation, with the result that transitioning to a greener energy mix inadvertently causes system stability challenges…READ ON
https://www.reactive-technologies.com/news/reactive-technologies-signs-landmark-commercial-agreement-with-national-grid-eso-supporting-its-2025-zero-carbon-goals/
LIGHTNING TALK BY “INSIDERS”:
TWEET: 19 Aug: Jillian Ambrose
National Grid’s interim report has blamed a bolt from the blue for the biggest blackout in a decade
It will come as a surprise to the sceptical system experts I spoke to last week…
….AND apparently National Grid’s own CEO too..
READ REPLIES, INCLUDING EMILY GOSDEN, RICHARD BLACK, EMMA PINCHBECK ETC
https://twitter.com/emilygosden/status/1163704257109008384
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DO AS I TELL YOU NOT AS I DO, the Mantra of the extremist socialist greens, we know what’s good for you even if you don’t.
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The hoax preachers must be laughing ….
How many times do we hear commentators apparently like minded with the majority here who qualify what they say by acknowledging climate change and global warming, need to reduce emissions at the same time?
Playing right into the hands of the Church of Climate Change preachers, reinforcing their messages to the masses.
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It was the Turnbull led Coalition Government that made provisions to pay $300 million to promote electric vehicles to fleet operators.
$100 million reported to have been handed to Macquarie Bank Leasing.
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Because of pollution concerns (smog) China has decided to phase out fuel combustion engines by 2050.
https://technode.com/2019/08/22/miit-ban-fossil-fuel-update/
This is also of strategic and commercial importance, and offers the opportunity to wear a green cloak even though it has nothing to do with AGW.
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There go the last of their steam locos then?
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In other news, my web collection of links to skeptical science videos, which demonstrate the clear lack of consensus, is now up to 350, on the way to 1,000.
http://ccdedu.blogspot.com
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Anthony Watts should be amused:
21 Aug: Scotsman: Bo’ness developer rolls out WattsUp app for electric cars
by Scott Reid
The launch of the Android and iOS app, dubbed WattsUp, by Sanctus Media was made possible thanks to a five-figure funding boost from SP Energy Networks’ Green Economy Fund.
Sanctus Media – described as a non-profit company primarily serving the voluntary, faith and third sectors – is one of over 30 projects to have benefited from the £20 million fund so far.
The WattsUp app, which has now been launched on the Google Play Store, promises UK-wide coverage and locates electric vehicle rapid charging points with real time information and live updates…
The Green Economy Fund was established by SP Energy Networks – the distribution arm of ScottishPower – to help the Scottish Government achieve its green targets…
https://www.scotsman.com/business/bo-ness-developer-rolls-out-wattsup-app-for-electric-cars-1-4988607
hard to tell the news from the ads these days:
21 Aug: Scotsman: Solar solution could help power climate change in Scotland
by Staff reporter
***Freezing winters, scorching heatwaves, flash floods and gale-force winds – these are the new normal for weather in the UK and across the planet, making it increasingly hard to ignore the problems of climate change.
These extreme weather events are only going to get worse as the years continue, unless the world wakes up and begins taking serious widespread steps to bring about a decline in emissions and slow the rise of the planet’s temperature…
Call Install Solar today and take this opportunity to give clean air and a safe world to your children’s children. Visit http://www.installsolar.co.uk to find out more.
https://www.scotsman.com/business/solar-solution-could-help-power-climate-change-in-scotland-1-4988036
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On a BBC radio 4 radio piece related to this exact issue earlier this week Roger Harrabin referred to CO2 as – and I quote, ‘planet-eating carbon’.
Tells you all you need to know about him and his position.
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Logan, where I live, is good at virtu-signalling:
Queensland leading the nation in solar panel uptake, report shows
Brisbane Times – 7 Aug 2019
The latest report from the Climate Council, released on Wednesday, showed Moreton Bay and Logan City council areas in particular are leading the uptake…
The Logan suburb of Jimboomba wan’t far behind, with a little over 60 per cent of homes now having solar panels..
“Climate change is already wreaking havoc in Queensland – we’ve even seen fires burning in rainforests, sea levels are rising and flood risk is increasing,” (Climate Council spokesperson) Professor Karen Hussey said…
unfortunately, our local Council is not so virtuous, and this little item about a $1,000 a week rental is no surprise:
(Suspended Logan City Councillor) Trevina Schwarz denies asking for luxury Mercedes-Benz
Courier Mail – 15 Aug 2019
Ratepayers forked out $2k for councillor’s luxury Mercedes-Benz…after the car supplied to her by the council – a Toyota LandCruiser — was damaged in a carpark on January 20…
Cr Schwarz was one of eight councillors suspended over fraud…
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I’m expecting the government to pass a law forbidding MPs and academics from owning or travelling in cars.
Any time now…
Here it comes…
Should be along any minute…
I’m not sure what’s keeping it…
🙂
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In the UK very view of the ruling class have any scientific knowledge, the same goes for academics whose speciality is the arts/humanities. Also many scientists are on the gravy train or simply in fear of losing their jobs. In the end the people will find that they have been duped and there will be tears before bed time.
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When you put the science of AGW aside and have a look at the people behind the IPCC.
IPCC > Maurice Strong > Rockefellers
https://in-this-together.com/a-climate-emergency-fit-for-a-parasite-economy-part-3/
This makes for some interesting reading…
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Maurice Strong:
son of a Canadian oil magnate; inheritor of oil fortune; co-founder of IPCC / Rio Earth Summit; recipient of 53 honorary doctorate degrees; fled to China after [alleged] financial shenanigans; died in 2015 – you mean that Maurice Strong?
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Yep. > Rothschilds… etc. etc.
The climate change con has been cleverly masterminded.
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Climate Change Con = C.C.C.
The atomic number of carbon (C) is 6, so when you have three of them in a row…
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Note that their logo says “preparing” for climate change. Haven’t we been told since whenever that it is already here and everything that happens is “because climate change”?
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All of these people calling for an end to capitaism and prosperity are on the public payroll, receiving high paid salaries in positions of power or authority. They all know that their own lives will never be affected by their own decisions and they have no regard for the people whose lives they turn to misery. In effect, this is a call to return to the old feudal system, where those in positions of authority lived like kings off the back of the enslaved peasants, who they deliberately kept poor and destitute to ensure they remained enslaved.
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23 Aug: iNewsUK: E-scooter critics call for tighter regulations as injuries and even deaths increase — are they are a dangerous nuisance?
by Isabella Cipirska
Many are calling for tighter regulations as reports of e-scooter-related injuries and even deaths increase, leaving authorities grappling with the question of how to put the brakes on a trend that is rapidly wheeling out of control…
There have been more than 200 accidents in Vienna alone since the introduction of the e-scooter there last October. Last December Madrid announced that it was banning them after a 90-year-old pedestrian was killed by an electric scooter…
But safety concerns have really come to a head in Paris, which has seen an explosion of e-scooters since app-based renting schemes were introduced to the city last year.
There are now more than 20,000 of the vehicles in its streets, with more free-floating scooter companies operating in the capital than in the entire United States, according to a recent study. A 60-person strong campaign group of e-scooter accident victims met with the French Transport Ministry this week with a list of demands.
Arnaud Kielbasa, the vice-chairman of the group, Apacauvi, was walking with his family near their Paris home earlier this year when his wife and their seven-week-old daughter were hit by an electric scooter travelling the wrong way down a street. The baby injured her head and the family spent the rest of the day in hospital…
According to Mr Kielbasa, emergency services in Paris are seeing between 150 and 200 people injured by electric scooters every month. Just last week the city region saw what is believed to be its third scooter-related death, after a 30-year-old man was hit by a motorbike while illegally riding on a French motorway. As well as the €135 (£124) pavement riding fine and 12mph speed limit already introduced, the campaign group want to see helmets and rider insurance made compulsory…
The controversial vehicles have only been legal in Berlin for two months – but German police have said that, since mid-June, seven people have been “seriously injured” and 27 had suffered minor injuries in scooter accidents. Officers blamed most of these incidents on “riders behaving carelessly”…READ ON
https://inews.co.uk/news/world/electric-scooters-regulation-ban-europe/
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22 Aug: Economist: Down and dirty: Asia digs up and burns three-quarters of the world’s coal
That must change if the climate is not to ?
Coal drives Asia. Between 2006 and 2016 the continent’s consumption of it grew by 3.1% a year. Asia now accounts for fully 75% of global demand for the stuff (see chart 1). China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal. Largely as a result, it also emits more carbon dioxide than any other country. India is the second-biggest consumer. Japan and South Korea are also big consumers, while Australia and Indonesia are big producers…
And four of the five countries that shell out the most in subsidies for the fuel are Asian…
To avoid 1.5°C of global warming, virtually all of the planet’s coal-fired plants need to close by 2050, climatologists say…
No new coal-fired plants should be built from next year on, the secretary-general of the UN says. But UBS, a Swiss bank, reckons that Indonesia and Vietnam may still be building coal-fired power stations in 2035. Asia’s last coal plant, it projects, will close only in 2079…
China accounts for about half the coal the world consumes each year—far more than any other country…
China’s efforts to clean up have left India as the world’s most enthusiastic builder of coal-fired plants. In its submissions for the Paris accord, India predicted that its demand for electricity would triple between 2012 and 2030. About 48 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity are under construction in the country. Coal consumption increased by 9% last year, according to BP, a big oil firm…
The government owns more than 70% of Coal India, the giant mining firm that produces most of the country’s coal. India’s state-owned railways depend on the cash generated by transporting coal to subsidise passenger tickets (coal provides 44% of freight revenues). Coal generates hundreds of thousands of jobs, many in the poorest states. The government has an enormous vested interest in seeing the industry prosper…
The government of Vietnam projects that demand for coal will more than double by 2030…
In both China and India, the biggest banks are state-owned, and their lending decisions are as much a function of government policy as of expected returns. The Chinese government, in turn, although pursuing cleaner energy at home, does not seem particularly keen to encourage it abroad. The Belt and Road Initiative, a big Chinese infrastructure-development scheme, will see billions spent to build coal-fired plants in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam, among other countries. Chinese financial institutions are helping to fund more than a quarter of coal-fired power stations under development around the world.
Finance for the coal business in India, meanwhile, comes mainly from the state. Between 2005 and 2015 state-owned banks provided 82% of the funding for coal-fired power plants, according to the Centre for Financial Accountability. If the governments of China and India continue to pump money into coal via state-owned banks, the fate of the climate will be sealed, whatever encouragement they give to other forms of generation.
https://www.economist.com/asia/2019/08/22/asia-digs-up-and-burns-three-quarters-of-the-worlds-coal
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behind paywall:
23 Aug: UK Times: Call to abandon coastal towns before sea claims them
by Rhys Blakely
Governments around the world should prepare to make a “managed retreat” from coasts as sea levels rise because of climate change, scientists have said.
Researchers said that the sacrifice of seaside towns and cites was inevitable. “We can do that the hard way, by fighting for every inch and losing lives and dollars in the meantime,” AR Siders, an environmental fellow at Harvard University, said. “Or we can do it willingly and thoughtfully and . . . re-think the way we live.”
The case for withdrawing from vulnerable regions was made in a paper published in Science. “The question is no longer whether some communities will retreat — moving people and assets out of harm’s way — but why, where, when and how they will retreat”…
England at risk from flooding or coastal erosion, the agency said that “tough decisions…
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/call-to-abandon-coastal-towns-before-sea-claims-them-hbq3fzbch
22 Aug: TheNational UAE: Britain faces coastal timebomb as climate change set to leave thousands homeless
G7 Biarritz summit expected to tackle issue of rising sea levels following warnings from UN chief that the world is facing a ‘global emergency’
by Nicky Harley
As Britain prepares for its first climate refugees, experts reveal the nation is facing a ticking timebomb as its coastal defences are reaching the end of their natural life.
With the fastest eroding coastline in Europe, the east of England is losing two metres of land to the sea every year.
Hundreds of people have been forced to leave their homes in rollback schemes and this year it was revealed Fairbourne, in north Wales, is set to become the first community in the UK to be decommissioned as a result of climate change…
Rising sea levels are expected to be a focal point at this weekend’s G7 summit in Biarritz, following a stark warning by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at last year’s summit that the world is facing a “global emergency” on oceans…
Presently one person every second is being displaced due to floods, storms, earthquakes and droughts across the world.
Latest figures from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre reveal 26.4m people a year are being forcibly displaced.
In the UK, sea levels have risen 15.4cm since 1900 and are predicted to rise up to 1.12m by 2100.
More UK villages are expected to be forcibly abandoned in the future, with Fairbourne likely to be the first, within the next 26 years.
Around 40 per cent of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometres of a coast – leaving them vulnerable to storms, sea level rise and coastal erosion.
According to the latest research, by 2100, 2 billion people – about one-fifth of the world’s population – could become climate change refugees due to rising ocean levels…
https://www.thenational.ae/world/britain-faces-coastal-timebomb-as-climate-change-set-to-leave-thousands-homeless-1.901312
02
23 Aug: Phys.org: AP: Climate change turns Arctic into strategic, economic hotspot
by David Rising And Seth Borenstein
When U.S. President Donald Trump floated the idea of buying Greenland, it was met with derision, seen as an awkward and inappropriate approach of an erstwhile ally.
But it might also be an Aladdin’s Cave of oil, natural gas and rare earth minerals just waiting to be tapped as the ice recedes…
“An independent Greenland could, for example, offer basing rights to either Russia or China or both,” said Fen Hampson, the former head of the international security program at the Centre for International Governance Innovation think tank in Waterloo, Ontario, who is now a professor at Carleton University.
He noted the desire by some there to secede as a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.
“I am not saying this would happen, but it is a scenario that would have major geostrategic implications, especially if the Northwest Passage becomes a transit route for shipping, which is what is happening in the Russian Arctic.”
In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward an ambitious program to reaffirm his country’s presence in the Arctic, including efforts to build ports and other infrastructure and expand its icebreaker fleet. Russia wants to stake its claim in the region that is believed to hold up to one-fourth of the Earth’s undiscovered oil and gas.
China sees Greenland as a possible source of rare earths and other minerals and a port for shipping through the Arctic to the eastern U.S. It called last year for joint development of a “Polar Silk Road” as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative to build railways, ports and other facilities in dozens of countries…
Hampson noted it was an American protectorate during World War II, when Nazi Germany occupied Denmark, and the U.S. was allowed to build radar stations and rent-free bases on its territory after the war. That includes today’s Thule Air Force Base, 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) south of the North Pole.
After the war, the U.S. proposed buying Greenland for $100 million after flirting with the idea of swapping land in Alaska for parts of the Arctic island. The U.S. also thought about buying Greenland 80 years earlier.
Trump “may not be as crazy as he sounds despite his ham-fisted offer, which clearly upset the Danes, and rightly so,” Hampson said…
Although Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called Trump’s idea to purchase Greenland an “absurd discussion,” prompting him to call her “nasty” and cancel an upcoming visit to Copenhagen, she also acknowledged its importance to both nations.
“The developments in the Arctic region calls for further cooperation between the U.S. and Greenland, the Faeroe Islands and Denmark,” she said. “Therefore I would like to underline our invitation for a stronger cooperation on Arctic affairs still stands.”
Greenland is thought to have the largest deposits outside China of rare earth minerals used to make batteries and cellphones…
Around the Arctic Circle, there’s potential for 90 billion barrels of oil…
Greenland officials have visited China to look for investors but Beijing’s interest also has provoked political unease…
Beijing’s biggest Greenland-related investment to date is an ownership stake by a Chinese company in Australia-based Greenland Minerals Ltd., which plans to mine rare earths and uranium…
https://phys.org/news/2019-08-climate-arctic-strategic-economic-hotspot.html
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Eighteen degrees below zero Celsius (-18˚C or 0˚F) in G-land right now:
http://www.summitcamp.org/status/webcam/
Arctic’s gone ‘negative’ – where’s all the shouty headlines about the Northwest Passage (not) melting? (not) Burning?
Didn’t dromedaries (camels) once roam the Arctic lands?
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ABC have jumped on this:
23 Aug: ABC: David Koch, one of the brothers behind Koch Industries, dies aged 79
Koch Industries has confirmed David Koch, who was last year named the 11th richest man in the world, has died aged 79…
More to come
—
no doubt ABC are busy writing their updated to include ***
23 Aug: BBC: David Koch: Billionaire Republican donor dies aged 79
***They have previously put money into groups denying climate change and attacking unions and workers’ rights.
But they have also pushed for criminal justice reform and made large donations to the American Civil Liberties Union
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49438682
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Off topic – Regarding the fires in the Amazon, WUWT has a useful article:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/08/23/amazon-fire-history-since-2003/
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You want palm oil for your bio-fuels the trees have to go.
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In spite of CO2 being a ghg, multiple compelling evidence listed in Section 2 of http://globalclimatedrivers2.blogspot.com rules it out as a significant contributor to climate change. Explanation of why is in Section 5 and how in Section 6.
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Hi Dan,
Not being keen on overworking things, the most obvious put down on human involvement or “responsibility” for climate change comes from quantitative analysis.
All the figures are there, but to the untrained eye the reality is hard to see, especially when the IPCCCCC glibly uses total atmospheric CO2 instead of the more relevant quantity that is the undeniable human contribution.
It’s all been smoke and mirrors.
🙂 KK
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KK, The tiny (what is it, 3% or so?) contribution of humanity to total CO2 is certainly important in keeping things in context but the multiple evidence is that even total CO2 doesn’t have a significant influence on climate.
10
I honestly believe these Dons imagine themselves to be in the 17th century being transported around in a sedan chair carried by peasants.
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