Climate Activist Training at the West Islip Public Library

http://longisland.about.com/b/2010/08/28/climate-activist-training-at-the-west-islip-public-library.htm

The workshop will include a deeper look at the science of climate change, tools for influencing elected officials (e.g. letter writing) and a how-to on imparting this knowledge to others. Learn how to become a more effective advocate for the earth's climate!

Climate change and recent dangerous weather patterns - by Amanda Stagnetto - Helium

http://www.helium.com/items/1935543-climate-changes

 One day last summer I had left mycar parked out under the sun while I lunched with a friend only to find when I came back to it at about 4.30 in the afternoon that the thermometer of the car read 50 degrees centigrade. There was no way that I could get into that car as I couldn't even touch the steering wheel and certainly couldn't sit down on the seat so I had to turn the engine on and stand outside while I left the air conditioning run for at least 10 minutes in order to cool it down enough for me to be able to get in.  I know that I was guilty in that moment of adding to the harm caused in the ozone layer and consequently the climate but when faced with such heat one's logic no longer works well!

Q&A with environmentalist Bill McKibben - Lexington, MA - Lexington Minuteman

http://www.wickedlocal.com/lexington/news/x380043201/Q-A-with-environmentalist-Bill-McKibben

Winter is becoming steadily shorter and warmer.

Temperature variations are not increasing

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LuboMotlsReferenceFrame/~3/Fa77x5qXczw/temperature-variations-are-not.html

To summarize, nothing has been changing about the temperature variations on the monthly time scale during the last 40 years or so. Whenever someone will tell you that the variations, oscillations, or extremes are increasing, you may inform him or her about this analysis.

Residents air views on climate

http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2010/08/28/ballina-lismore-climate-council/

Participants were selected in a random process to be part of the workshop at the House With No Steps and will come up with recommendations to council on how to deal with climate change.

What About the Destructive Influence of U.S. Government Funding on Science? | MND: Your Daily Dose of Counter-Theory

Many people have come to understand that the climate scam involves collusion between corrupt politicians and dishonest scientists. The problem however, is much broader even than Al Gore. Science is critical to our modern existence. Large amounts of public money are spent on a wide range of scientific activities each year; a practice that has become the heart of the problem. Yet, precious little focus has been placed on developing reforms to undo the ongoing damage.
...
The circle of corruption is almost complete. As children were indoctrinated with the fake science, they (and many others) were pushed to a level of ignorance previously thought impossible in the modern, civilized world. Millions accepted, in effect, the outlandish superstitious idea that insufficient sacrifice to and worship of the leftist Political Class would summon the wrath of nature. The social, emotional, and intellectual damage caused by such well-funded misinformation campaigns is immeasurable.

C3: Do Sea Corals Like Ocean Acidification? Peer-Reviewed Research Indicates They Do

There exists corals in several locations already thriving in open waters that possess the attributes of sea water under a condition of CO2 levels 2 to 3 times higher than today. The empirical evidence suggests that corals are fully capable of adapting to a wide range of conditions, including much higher levels of atmospheric CO2.

Skeleton of World War I soldier found buried in glacier on Italian ski resort | Mail Online

An amateur historian has discovered the mummified body of a World War I solider frozen into an Italian glacier.

Dino De Bernardin made the grim find as he walked in mountains close to his home, which had been the scene of bitter fighting between Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops between 1915 and 1917.

But will voters buy this idea?: In an attempt to prevent droughts, let's make airline flights so expensive that only rich people can afford them

Global Warming Could Cool Holiday Homes Market | Health news for americans

The call for new taxes on flights to reduce carbon emissions could impact the prices of properties, according to Tribune Properties, who specialise in the sale of overseas property to second home buyers.

’There has been more discussion and calls for action recently over the impact that air travel is having on the environment,’ say Tribune, ‘And one of the most obvious ways to cut air travel is to raise the price of travelling through taxes. It’s a win-win situation for governments, more tax revenue and being seen combating global warming at the same time. It’s only a matter of time before cheap air fares on the scale we see it today comes to an end’.

Exclusive: Fannie regulator digs in on clean-energy opposition | Grist

The Federal Housing Finance Agency solidified its opposition to the home-greening program Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) in a letter to members of Congress Thursday, telling them it doesn't see a way to let the program move forward.

Maine Voices: Climate change caused by humans? That’s a highly disputable claim | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

A generation from now, people will all see how we today were misled by scientists and journalists who pursued an agenda. It ended up by starving prosperous countries of needed energy supplies. A whole generation suffered unnecessarily from a sort of mass hysteria.

Science has been corrupted. That’s nothing new, but perhaps never before has it happened on the present scale.

Australia: Trillion-dollar climate question

Less far-fetched coalitions could be shattered by outgoing climate sceptic Steve Fielding anyway. Stranger things have happened. So we wait and ponder the all-powerful independents.

Rubio: Stimulus failed, repeal health bill - TheHill.com

He also said policy proposals such as cap-and-trade and card check have made employers think twice about adding to their payrolls.

No more ethanol for America, please - The Hill's Congress Blog

Nussle goes onto praise the environmental benefits of ethanol. In reality, the environmental benefits are marginal, and come at an enormous cost. The Congressional Budget Office found that reducing greenhouse gas emissions through biofuel tax credits would cost taxpayers approximately $750 per metric ton of carbon dioxide. This analysis does not include any indirect land-use effects, nor does it consider the suspected effects that excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers has had on the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem.

Barack Obama's holiday entourage | Mail Online

Just popping to the shops for some light reading in the Massachusetts town proved a logistical headache for minders who made up part of a 20-vehicle motorcade.
...
Earlier in the trip, the couple and daughters Malia, 12 and Sasha, nine, arrived by Air Force One which has armour-plated wings allegedly capable of withstanding a nuclear blast from the ground.

They then transferred to presidential helicopter Marine One, preceded by a police helicopter which swept the across the island.

Eco-chicken James Cameron: "We've got to get these climate deniers out of the way"

Celebritology 2.0 - James Cameron on the special edition of 'Avatar,' eco-conscious DVDs and BP

When I do my next film, we’re going to go much farther than we did in terms of running a green set. You know, look at a typical film set. There’s thousands of plastic water bottles that are used in a given week and that all needs to be revisited. Honestly, the truth is, we have to revisit almost every part of our lives and our existence over the next few years. Energy consumption, I think, being the biggest one. Energy and global warming are interlinked issues obviously, and global warming is going to take us out long before plastic pollution. Don’t get me started on that. I just got back from a two-day renewable energy conference in Aspen and it’s grim trying to get the needle of policy to move. You’re there in D.C. You see what goes on there. You see the paralysis of our leaders, even when there’s a Democratic majority. It’s still paralyzed.
...And the only way that’s going to happen is for people to realize that carbon is a pollutant and it’s a pollutant that’s going to affect, not only the quality of our lives, but it will cause the destruction of 50 percent of all species on this planet by the end of the century. And people need to wake up to that. We've got to get these climate deniers out of the way. I mean, I’m talking about the paid disinformation campaign. People have to wake up to the fact that they’re being lied to. Then we’ve got to take action.

But you know, the leaders in Washington, they can’t do anything without a mandate from the public and right now they don’t have it. So the Waxman-Markey bill and [Sen. John] Kerry’s attempt to have an energy bill, it’s not going to go anywhere until we have a strong public mandate. And we don’t have that right now. So, I don't know, maybe guys like me that work in media can something about that. It’s difficult, but we can’t give up hope.

EU Referendum: Antarctic cold snap = climate change ... yay!!!!!

Frankly, though, it is now just boring. These people have nothing new to say, offer nothing of any interest and know nothing that matters. Their narrow, one-dimensional world view would be comedic if it wasn't so damn boring – not least the vitriol they pour out to anyone who has the temerity to disagree with them.

That is what is going to destroy their little game ... not the science, but the sheer boredom of it all. Climate change is boring, boring boring. Get a life people!

- Bishop Hill blog - Revkin on the HSI (or not)

In the comments to one of the DotEarth threads Andy Revkin pointed out yesterday, the great man has this to say when asked whether he had read the Hockey Stick Illusion.

Others have far more capacity/time to dissect climate books than I do (given that this is not a climate blog, but tracking issues ranging from wildlife trafficking to population growth). I recommend folks go to Realclimate for some informed critiques of that book.

Illogical causal attribution

An email from a reader. He shows what happens when you are consistent and use ratio scales (i.e. scales with a meaningful rather than an arbitrary zero) to evaluate both temperature and CO2 levels
...
A 33% increase in CO2 causing a 1/2 of 1% increase in temperature seems a RATHER WEAK association to use to claim 'causality'!!

ABC News Watch: Before the ABC:FLOOD TERROR

Thursday 31 July 1930, page 1

James Cameron on Hollywood’s Extravagance: ‘DVDs Are Wasteful’ at Deceiver.com

Twentieth Century Fox has made a commitment to be carbon neutral by the end of 2010.

Obama’s green initiatives lobbied for by the same people who profit from them « » Print The Daily Caller

“But anytime the government artificially stimulates the consumption of something that doesn’t make economic sense,” said Kish, “when the market finally corrects itself, people will get hurt.”
Kish continued by explaining how this is the “Tanya Harding approach to energy.”

“The president wants to make green energy be profitable,” he said. “The only way to do that is break the leg of other types.”

But that will only create a “green-energy bubble,” said Kish. “When the government money dries up, the product will dry up.” In the meantime, he added, the government subsidies will cause the price of electricity to skyrocket.

“Every recession has been preceded by a spike in energy costs,” he said.

AP Spins for Obama’s Electric-Car Program - Planet Gore - National Review Online

The AP should just call it what it is — taxpayer-subsidized automobiles.

MUST SEE: The Green Swindle Video Link from Fox News | Climate Realists

Click source to download video link of "The Green Swindle" from Fox News

Fix the IPCC process | Ross McKitrick | Financial Post

The IPCC began before the Internet did, and its structure is now obsolete. It adopted a rigid bureaucratic structure that had some relevance in the days before the Internet imposed deep transparency on public organizations. But times have changed and public expectations have evolved. Henceforth, from the start of the chapter review process, the attention of international bloggers will be intense, and every aspect of the report-writing process will occur in a fishbowl. Without major reforms to the process, the next Assessment Report will simply explode on impact. All it will take is for one error to be found, or one email to be leaked, or one graph to be manipulated, and the entire report will be discredited.
This is not because there are armies of nasty, unreasonable bloggers out there. It is because the IPCC has become one-sided and brittle, and has no real ability to cope with legitimate differences of opinion. That makes it inevitable that there will be growing numbers of critics who see it as biased and insular. The choice is whether simply to press onwardº with the hope the IPCC will somehow regain its former glory, or to consider whether the critics actually have a point, in which case the process needs correction.

Vice President and Nobel Peace Laureate Al Gore to Speak at Green Energy Conference on Aruba | Official Travel News from Aruba

Former vice president of the U.S.A. and Nobel Peace laureate Al Gore will be the keynote speaker at the opening of the conference “Our Future with Green Energy” in Aruba on September 29, 2010, the Dutch Caribbean island’s minister of finance, communication, utilities and energy and conference host, Mike de Meza announced Friday.

Observed Climate Change and the Negligible Global Effect of Greenhouse-gas Emission Limits in the State of Massachusetts | Climate Realists

In this report, we review the long-term climate history of Massachusetts and find little in the way of evidence that the greenhouse gas build-up in the atmosphere has much-altered Massachusetts’ climate. While statewide average temperatures have generally risen in Massachusetts over the past 115 years, they have, in fact, changed little over the past 75 years. Massachusetts precipitation and drought histories since the end of the 19th century are marked by annual and decadal variability atop an overall increase in total annual precipitation and decrease in the incidence of drought.

Rear Mirror: The EPA vs. Ed Krug over the Acid Rain Scare | The SPPI Blog

The EPA’s performance on acid rain–and how it dealt with a respected scientist who told the truth–is not comforting when one considers how important the federal government now is in funding scientific research and how politicized current environmental issues such as global warming and depletion of the earth’s ozone layer have become. One NAPAP scientist, who for obvious reasons wishes to remain anonymous, warns that in the future the EPA will not go through the pretense of research and debate: “There is no NAPAP for global warming.”

Probe Seeks Climate-Panel Changes - WSJ.com

A group investigating the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will recommend in a report Monday that the scientific organization beef up its capacity to ferret out errors in its scientific assessments, a member of the investigating body said.

But the group, appointed by the InterAcademy Council, a consortium of national scientific academies, won't pass judgment in its report on the state of knowledge about global warming and its causes. It also won't address whether IPCC Chairman Rajendra Pachauri should resign—a step that some critics have called for and that the chairman has said he doesn't intend to take.

Pacific Hot Spells Shifting as Predicted in [an allegedly] Human-Heated World - NYTimes.com

I asked Lee and McPhaden how a connection to greenhouse-driven warming could be made, given the possibility that the Pacific shift could be the result of long-term oscillations in conditions in the ocean unrelated to the buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the air.
...
Michael McPhaden:

    If all we had was data the interpretation would be ambiguous as to what causes what. However, we also have climate change computer models which are valuable guides to how the climate system will respond to greenhouse gas forcing.
...
The bottom line is that the work provides more evidence the climate system is being pushed by the buildup of greenhouse gases, with big consequences likely. But anyone seeking solace in uncertainty can still find a comfort zone.

Climate Camp Uses Glue in Bank Protest - NYTimes.com

A year earlier, a climate protester even briefly stuck himself to the sleeve of the prime minister at the time, Gordon Brown.

“After 20 seconds, he tore my hand off; it really hurt,” Dan Glass, a member of the climate protest group Plane Stupid, told Sky News. “He had to give it a couple of tugs before before it came away.”

Opinion | Seattle will become an even 'hotter' destination | Seattle Times Newspaper

Due to climate change, Seattle's future average temperature will look a lot more like Los Angeles' today. King County's average July temperature over the years 1968 to 2002 was 65 degrees. One climate-change model (with the catchy name CCSM) predicts that Seattle's average July temperature will be 71 degrees in the year 2070. Winter average temperatures will remain roughly what they are now.

Obama’s electric car champion drives the drive | The Salt Lake Tribune

Plenty of obstacles remain. The lithium-ion batteries expected to power electric vehicles are extremely expensive, even when the costs are reduced by a $7,500-per-vehicle federal tax credit. The government recently estimated that a battery with a 100-mile range costs about $33,000, although federal stimulus funds could bring the costs down to $10,000 by the end of 2015. Other concerns remain about the durability and longevity of the batteries.

Your UNICEF contributions used to encourage children to promote the greatest scientific fraud in history?

UNICEF - Zambia - Media initiative brings Zambian youth to the front-line of climate crisis

Daniel and Tendai were delegates at UNICEF’s second Zambian Children’s Climate Conference, held recently in Lusaka, the country’s capital. More than 90 Zambian Climate Ambassadors under 18 years of age from almost every province in the country attended the conference – and sharpened their advocacy skills. Tackling issues that ranged from carbon footprints to global warming, Zambia’s young people discussed topics that will affect their lives and shared their visions of change for the future.

Working with the non-governmental organization and UNICEF partner Children’s Radio Foundation, 16 of the young conference delegates formed part of the press crew that reported on the Zambian Children’s Climate Conference. Using audio recorders, video, cameras and blogs, the young reporters were trained to capture the experiences of Zambian youth with issues such as climate change and HIV and AIDS.

Glaciers – The Dark Side. It’s Not the CO2 Carbon

Ed Caryl has become a regular contributor here, and today he presents insights on the causes of glacial melt. Here he discusses how absorption of solar energy by soot and Black Carbon contribute significantly to glacial melting and that CO2 is a minor factor.

Extreme Nonsense « NoFrakkingConsensus

Maclean’s, Canada’s weekly news magazine, currently has a cover story that is causing climate skeptics to roll our eyes. “Hottest Summer on Record. Extreme Weather Warning” it proclaims. The subtitle reads: “Fires, floods, droughts, and freak storms. Why it’s only going to get worse.”

Yadda, yadda...
...
There’s a good reason why “people don’t wake up until things are flying apart.” That’s because the professional doomsayers are nearly always dead frakking wrong.

We have been conned « JoNova

When John McLean writes about the lack of transparency in the ICSU or the IPCC, and the overlapping names and aims, I see the dark shadow of monopoly science smothering the competition.

Heather Taylor-Miesle: Why didn't anyone tell me that Sen. Murkowski was a climate champion?

To say this primary suggests that climate change is a political non-starter in Alaska shows a selective memory. Just two short years ago, Alaska elected a real climate champ, Mark Begich, to the Senate. Climate change was a top issue during Begich's campaign, when he called for an 80% reduction in carbon pollution by 2050 and adaption strategies to help Alaska deal with the effect of climate change.

Cold snap kills hundreds of people, thousands of cattle, and millions of fish in South America; CO2 blamed

Cold empties Bolivian rivers of fish : Nature News

Antarctic cold snap kills millions of aquatic animals in the Amazon.
...during the Southern Hemisphere's recent winter, unusually low temperatures in part of the country's tropical region hit freshwater species hard, killing an estimated 6 million fish and thousands of alligators, turtles and river dolphins.

Scientists who have visited the affected rivers say the event is the biggest ecological disaster Bolivia has known, and, as an example of a sudden climatic change wreaking havoc on wildlife, it is unprecedented in recorded history.
...
With such extreme climatic events potentially becoming more common due to climate change, scientists are hurrying to coordinate research into the impact, and how quickly the ecosystem is likely to recover.
...
The prolonged cold snap has also been linked to the deaths of at least 550 penguins along the coasts of Brazil and thousands of cattle in Paraguay and Brazil, as well as hundreds of people in the region.

The Great Collapse of the Chicago Climate Exchange « 21st Century Wire

In the end it’s just another age-old tale of grovelling academics, big business, politics, power and money. So it doesn’t require an expert to tell you that the carbon market was doomed to fail from the beginning.

Obama turns an even lighter shade of green | Grist

So what's up with President Obama? He says all the right things about clean energy and global warming. But actions speak louder than words, and in the past six months he has been the anti-green president. He opened up the East Coast and the Gulf to more deepwater drilling -- before the BP leak thwarted the plan, for now at least. He let the climate bill, and then any energy bill, wither like a baked grape in the Senate. Now, his Justice Department, our Justice Department, has sided with utility companies in a lawsuit that was trying to curtail greenhouse gas emissions.

We're dazed and confused.

Don't Say We Didn't Warn You: RFID-embedded Bins in Cleveland

Not content with sending us their cheddar cheese and their tea, the English have now exported their terrifying trash technology to the United States. In a story almost too chilling to believe, The Cleveland Plain Dealer exposed a new program that the City of Cleveland is set to roll out next year to make sure residents are going green.

On August 18, the Cleveland City Council announced that it had approved a $2.5 million budget request for the high-tech carts for 25,000 customers. The recycling carts will contain a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip that will send a signal to the city’s waste management department every time the recycling cart is rolled to the curb. If too much time passes without a signal being received, the city will send out a “trash supervisor” to rifle through the trash in search of recyclable items.

If the rubbish regulators find that the regular trash cart contains more than 10 percent recyclable material, then a $100 fine could be imposed on the guilty planet haters.

Cold weather, snow possible this weekend in Tahoe region | TahoeDailyTribune.com

LAKE TAHOE — A wall of cold air is on its way down from Alaska, set to drop Tahoe-area temperatures for the weekend and possibly even deliver some high-elevation snow.

“This is a really strong low dropping out of Alaska,” said Jim Wallmann, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service office in Reno. “The last time something this cold happened this time of year was 10 years ago — it's really uncommon.”

But if CO2 is so harmful, why is it deliberately injected into so many of our drinks?

'Carbon Trees' Would Suck CO2 Out of Air and Into Your Soda | OnEarth Magazine

New devices could capture greenhouse gas and provide CO2 for commercial uses, all in one pop

Carbon dioxide is one of the most plentiful gases in the atmosphere, but when soda makers want to inject the fizz into their sweet-tasting drinks, they often have to pay through the nose for it. Many bottlers buy CO2 that was created as a byproduct of industrial processes, paying up to $300 per ton for the gas.

Atmosphere of Earth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dry air contains roughly (by volume) 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1%.

The Obama Team's Drink of Choice? Coke, Not Pepsi - TIME

Several senior Administration officials are committed cola drinkers, and without fail they spend their days sipping from a can of Diet Coke, a product of Pepsi's chief competitor, Coca-Cola. On Monday, as members of Congress and key lobbyists filed into a briefing room for the final event of a daylong fiscal summit, they were greeted with an ice chest full of complimentary Diet Coke, not Diet Pepsi. (Montana Democratic Senator Max Baucus was one of many to grab a can.) Hours earlier, at a breakout session with members of Congress in the Indian Treaty Room, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag handled not one, but two cans of Diet Coke during the nearly two-hour session. Larry Summers, Obama's top economic adviser, rarely walks anywhere in the White House complex without a can of Diet Coke in his hand.

Progressives Against Progress by Fred Siegel, City Journal Summer 2010

Neither the failure of the environmental apocalypse to arrive nor the steady improvement in environmental conditions over the last 40 years has dampened the ardor of those eager to make hair shirts for others to wear.

Breitbart.tv » Dennis Miller Skewers James Cameron for Backing Out of Global Warming Debate

Dennis Miller's unique reaction to the news that director James Cameron backed out of a planned global warming debate.

Power Line - The Green Swindle

If you've had a hard time keeping up with events related to the exposure of the global warming hoax over the past year, tune in to tonight's special edition of Hannity on Fox News at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern). The show is devoted in its entirety to the rise and, we hope, the fall of the hoax. It should make for a valuable contribution to an issue that, unfortunately, remains of political relevance.

[May 2009]: Charlie Munger's Thoughts on Just About Everything (BRK-A)

On ethanol: "Ethanol is quite possibly the stupidest thing ever invented by rational people. The ultimate social safety net -- which is a very good idea, by the way -- is cheap food, and ethanol production is destroying this. It was a monstrously stupid idea like I haven't seen before."

On cap and trade: "It's an absolutely insane idea. I mean a really, really stupid idea. If everything [global pollution] was contained to one country, it might work. But it isn't. Do they think China will stop polluting and go back to student labor? Of course they won't. It's insane. We're being distracted by stupid things that have been popular in the past."

U.S. Western States Have Cap-and-Trade Emissions Plan

Onboard for carbon trading, for now, are the states of California and New Mexico in the United States and British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec in Canada. The five jurisdictions are home to 64 million people.

ManBearChicken « Shub Niggurath Climate

It is known that ManBearChicken thinks using the precautionary principle – for everything, including debating global warming skeptics.

C3: Australia's "Unequivocal" Warming: The Dark Art of Fabricating Global Warming Documented

Across the globe, climate scientists eager to sustain their global warming research funding have resorted to fabricating increases in global warming. What climate scientists refer to as "unequivocal" warming really means unequivocal fabrication.

Ken Stewart, an Australian blogger, documents how the Australian climate scientists fabricated additional warming...

Dalton Minimum Returns: On the cusp of a Dalton Minimum redo

It is time to start thinking about the consequences or a long term cooling period. In the early 1800 California coastal weather was cool and dry, with a 13 year drought. The climate was cool enough to stunt the Native American crops, according to Mission Records. The growing season was shorter and some grains would not mature. With the help of Mission Fathers Indian farmers shifted from wheat to oats that matured earlier. They also started to migrate from native structures into the warmer adobe buildings built by the Spanish, according to records and historical evidence.

'The show Al Gore doesn't want America to see'

In a program devoted to exposing the roots of the global warming scandal, Sean Hannity will feature author Brian Sussman tonight on his Fox News program.

"This is the show Al Gore doesn't want America to see," said Sussman, author of the best-selling WNB Books titled, "Climategate: A Veteran Meteorologist Expose the Global Warming Scam."

Hannity also will include a host of climate scientists who claim the science cited to support global warming trends is fraudulent.

"This is the television program that will pound the final nail into global warming's coffin," said Sussman. "Sean and his team at Fox News approached me earlier this summer, asking me to play a significant role in the show. Sean knows that my book reveals the Marxist foundation of fraud upon which the climate-change movement is built. He also knows that in 'Climategate' I call out the perpetrators of this con by name – and that's exactly what Sean will do tonight on national television."

Rich nations accused of rehashing old funding to help the poor - 27 Aug 2010 - BusinessGreen.com

Rich nations’ commitment to help poor countries fight climate change has been called into question once again, after reports show some countries may be rehashing old funding and presenting it as new.

1,000 protesters expected on Portland biofuel march (From Dorset Echo)

UP TO one thousand protesters are expected to take to the streets in a new bid to stop a biofuel plant opening on Portland.

Advertiser 24 - Norfolk third century Roman fort gets new lease of life

The Roman fort, thought to date from about 275AD, still has the original walls, standing 15ft high, which survive on three sides. And visitors can also appreciate the impact of climate change over the past 1,800 years because the water level, which would have once lapped the walls of the fort, is now about 25ft lower.

Big Hollywood » Blog Archive » Exclusive: James Cameron’s Chickened Out of Global Warming Debates Before

* Cameron invites prominent conservatives to a high-profile debate on a very important issue.
* They agree to pay their own way for the opportunity of being on stage with him.
* Then he starts demanding ridiculous changes to prior agreements.
* He then either uses the exotic coolness schtik of being too needed in other parts of the globe to cancel the debate or….
* Tells those he’s invited to debate with him that they’re suddenly not good enough to share the stage with, and…
* Sticks would-be participants with any expenses they’ve incurred for stupidly assuming he was negotiating in good faith. I know for a fact McElhinney ate more than $1,000 in camera crew expenditures.

Cameron clearly sees no need to honor his commitment with those he regards as lesser mortals. Get the joke?

Climate Change Fraud - Modern Phrenology Society Newsletter (satire)

Never forget our society moto:

Restoring Science to its Proper Place….the Nineteenth Century!

Yes, it is global cooling « Don Surber

Let’s get this straight: It is global cooling that threatens life on the planet, not global warming.

The relative inactivity of the sun was noted early by we skeptics of the government-funded “research” on global warming, which was designed to exaggerate and even falsify the downside of global warming while ignoring its benefits.

To be fair, this warning comes from government research. But of course, it is couched as not affecting surface temperatures.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

How James Lovelock introduced Gaia to an unsuspecting world | Science Book Club | Science | guardian.co.uk

Similarly, it would be another nine years before global warming exploded as a political concern. In fact, on page 149, Lovelock is rather more concerned about the fate of the next ice age, suggesting that the presence of "a large quantity of chlorofluorocarbons" might entirely reverse the onset of glaciation, "or at least greatly diminish its severity".

California moves to set up auction market for green energy | Grist

By letting the market essentially determine electricity prices rather than the government setting a premium rate to be paid for renewable energy, California hopes to avoid the boom-and-bust cycles that have whipsawed the European solar industry when subsidies have been cut.

Koch Industries, Inc - Perspectives

We are often told our planet will be devastated unless we immediately make drastic reductions in man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The list of possible climate catastrophes caused by GHGs seems endless.
...
Interestingly enough, all of these claims have been disproven or grudgingly retracted.

So why would a reasonable society rush to implement far-reaching (and costly) climate change policies based on such shaky understanding of the science?

Furthermore, are the actual outcomes of these policies even going to be beneficial?

SA to pay billions in green taxes: Fin24: Business

Johannesburg - National Treasury’s coffers will receive billions this year and next year, thanks to three so-called green taxes being levied on companies and taxpayers.

EU Referendum: A non-apology

Using the biggest crooks in the libel business, known to Private Eye readers as Carter F*ck, Pachauri has done a "no-win, no-fee" deal which, with a special insurance scheme introduced under the last administration, enables these sharks to go to law and stack up colossal fees. Recently, they represented a minor celebrity in a libel case, gaining £15,000 in damages – for which they then charged £350,000 costs.

The difficulty facing the paper is that, when having to deal with an unethical law firm which has been given a writ to stack up open-ended costs, going to law to fight even a good case can be perilous and expensive. Even a win stands to cost several hundred thousand pounds, in your own costs. If you lose, the costs can run to millions.

Faced with this blackmail, it is easier for the newspapers to give a "non-apology" and cut their losses. So far, Carter F*ck have stacked up £100,000 in costs and are seeking recovery from the paper. No damages have been claimed or offered, so the only financial beneficiaries are the lawyers

On Harvard Misconduct, Climate Research and Trust - NYTimes.com

Do I trust climate science? As a living body of intellectual inquiry exploring profoundly complex questions, yes.

Do I trust all climate scientists, research institutions, funding sources, journals and others involved in this arena to convey the full context of findings and to avoid sometimes stepping beyond the data? I wouldn’t be a journalist if I answered yes.

How Andrew Breitbart Makes James Cameron Look Like an Ass | TheWrap.com

Cameron’s global blockbuster “Avatar” may be a hit when it returns to theaters Friday, but the outspoken environmentalist is not the savviest operator when it comes to handling his critics on climate change.

UN’s Ideal – Global Government « the Air Vent

Bottom line Jeff: Global wealth will essentially be cut in half under the Copenhagen plan.

Children have the potential to lead the fight against climate change - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, August 27, 2010 /India PRwire/ -- Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar Awardee Sadhguru will be in Hyderabad on a 3 day visit ( August 28-30) to participate in a green cover initiative to be launched by 1000's of school students on Monday.
...
The potential impact on children has been a critical missing element from the debate about climate change world over. It is very important to rapidly develop a greater understanding of the impact of climate change and environmental concerns on children and take appropriate measures to protect them from its consequences.

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev says "There is a strong case for engaging children as actors in the climate change agenda, rather than treating them as passive observers or victims..."

Sacrifices are for others | Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog

One of the three independents choosing your prime minister says he wants something done about global warming:
...

CHANGES made to the Federal Parliament’s Register of Members’ Interests reveal the member for New England Tony Windsor has sold his property Cintra to Werris Creek Coal Pty Limited and then leased the property back.

The federal MP, who has conducted a long-running and highly vocal campaign against coal mining on the Liverpool Plains, sold the family farm for more than $4.6 million – to one of Australia’s largest coal companies.

HELMER: Global warmists abandoned fact for fancy - Washington Times

And the propaganda works. Every schoolchild knows about dangerous sea-level rise. But the children don't know that it's simply a projection of a virtual-reality computer model. They don't know that in the real world, sea-level rise (at around six to seven inches in 100 years) is the same as it has been for centuries, that the Maldives and Tuvalu aren't sinking beneath the waves. They don't know that successive IPCC reports have consistently reduced their alarmist estimates for sea-level rise by 2100.

Every schoolchild knows that the ice caps are melting - but glaciers and ice fields accumulate snow (which compacts to ice) at high levels, while chunks of ice break off at the margin. Vast blocks of ice tumbling into the sea make great video footage, but they say nothing about warming or cooling. That's simply what ice sheets do.
...
...if I were a betting man, I'd bet that 2030 will be cooler than today.

Johann Hari: How much proof do the global warming deniers need? - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent

Everything the climate scientists said would happen - with their pesky graphs and studies and computers - is coming to pass. ...Global warming may not be hot today, but the planet is – hotter than ever. When you stare out over the wave of Weather of Mass Destruction we are unleashing, who looks crazy – the protesters, or the people who have yet to join them?

8/26: Record cold start, beautiful days ahead| Lubbock, Texas

A new record for this date in Lubbock. Today's 51 breaks the previous mark of 53 from 1962.

Muleshoe dropped to 39

Gore on the inconvenient expansion of Antarctic sea ice

[March 2009]: Gore: polar ice caps will melt completely “in just a few years” | CEJournal

In an interview with the Guardian yesterday, the Nobel prize winner said business leaders are realizing that action is required on climate change because they are “seeing the writing on every wall they look at. They’re seeing the complete disappearance of the polar ice caps right before their eyes in just a few years.”

Yesterday: Al's Journal : Another Climate Denial Myth Answered

Climate deniers often cite the expanding sea ice in the Southern Ocean as evidence that the climate crisis is not occurring. It turns out the opposite is true

William M. Briggs, Statistician » Global Warming Political Enemies List

The blurb describes my reaction on being named to the Enemies of Science List, ludicrously compiled and published by the National Academies of Science. In times historical, the NAS was an organization to which it was a great honor to be named a fellow. But much of the prestige has drained away as its members have ossified into orthodoxy.

Feds seek to toss states' anti-warming lawsuit

(08-26) 18:15 PDT WASHINGTON -- To the dismay of environmental groups, the Obama administration has told the U.S. Supreme Court that a global-warming suit by California and seven other states, seeking to require major power companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, should be dismissed.
...
Environmentalists and their allies were alarmed.

"This is the legal and political equivalent of unilateral disarmament," said Jonathan Zasloff, a UCLA law professor who writes about climate change litigation.

EDITORIAL: Cold feet on global warming - Washington Times

(Mr. Cameron appears not to limit his personal consumption as he owns not just one, but two adjacent 8,000 square-foot mansions in Malibu.)
...
There's good reason for global warmists to be afraid. To take just one example,we've heard Hollywood big shots and United Nations bureaucrats peddling the tale for years that man has angered Mother Earth with development and she has struck back with "extreme" hurricanes, floods and other disasters. Unfortunately for the hysterics, the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society earlier this month debunked this nonsensical plotline. "The studies show no trends in losses, corrected for changes (increases) in population and capital at risk, that could be attributed to anthropogenic climate change," the peer-reviewed journal article concluded.

An EPA report from another era: Preventing damage from sea level rise would not be so expensive - National environmental policy | Examiner.com

Where and when did we lose the ability to discuss things so rationally?

Of smurf and swine: James Cameron should read The Daily Caller

Hypocrisy is not the only feature of the global warming alarmist agenda. James Cameron should have read my previous Daily Caller column to avoid a trap so simple that even a Na’vi wouldn’t take the bait. Think of it this way: sticks and stones may break my bones but the global warming alarmist “Pure Anger” approach will never hurt me:

“Pure Anger” Approach” – This occurrence is an emotional, visceral display that shows skeptics are winning the day. It’s a common feature of debate — a citizen dares to question the validity of the global warming religiosity and is called a “flat-earther” or some other pejorative name. Dr. Cohen’s advice for the Pure Anger approach is to simply ignore it and revel in the fact that it is the surest sign that global warming advocates are losing the debate.

[Co2 insanity] - For Children - Schedule - NYTimes.com

How is planting a seed in Lower Manhattan a step toward preserving the polar ice caps? What can you do in just one minute to help relieve global famine?

Although these sound like riddles, children will address them as real-life questions on Saturday at the Action Center to End World Hunger.
...
Family Fun Day will focus on climate change and how measures like urban gardening combat it.

Gore's Repower America suggests that Monckton is spending "big bucks" to spread misinformation about global warming

[Email from Repower America] Despite the overwhelming facts, skeptics -- like the now infamous Koch brothers, Massey coal and Lord Monckton -- will no doubt continue to spend big bucks to keep spreading misinformation about global warming.

But if we want to fight the skeptics, we'll need a growing number of people to get informed.

[The email excerpted above links to this page]: Repower America | Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Extreme weather is putting hundreds of thousands of lives and livelihoods at risk all around the world. In order to avoid the worst and most devastating impacts of the severe weather events that are consistent with climate change, we must begin to significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
...
* A warming climate increases the chance that we will experience extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and intense storms, and ramps up the risk that severe weather events will cause catastrophic damage.
* The floods, fires and droughts we're seeing in places like Pakistan and Russia are consistent with the effects of global warming, including temperature increases, increased precipitation in some parts of the world, and droughts in others.
...
* Unless we significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, we are likely to see even more extreme weather events and the consequences they bring.

Climate change: Is El Niño heating up? | Greenspace | Los Angeles Times

Jpl el nino The weather pattern known as El Niño, which can bring heavy rains to Southern California, has doubled in intensity and warmth and shifted westward over several decades, according to scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Ice Sheet Loss Cut In Half | The Resilient Earth

So, when the more exact measurement separation methodology of Wu et al. is applied to the GRACE geoid data, ice sheet shrinkage, which has been systematically overestimated, is cut in half. “The differences between the work by Wu and colleagues and earlier studies may reflect errors in present deglaciation models with respect to the ice-load history and response of the Earth's mantle,” conclude Bromwich and Nicolas. According to Wu et al. “significant revision” is required. The general result—the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets will be with us for a long time to come.

Texas: Planview posts record overnight low

A touch of autumn was in the air this morning as temperatures dipped to record lows.

Shortly before 8 a.m. today, the mercury reached 50 degrees, erasing the former record of 52 set in 1962.

It was a full 10 degrees colder in both Dimmitt and Tulia this morning as the temperature dipped to 40.

Lexington Patch, MA - Bill McKibben to Give Climate Change Talks Sunday

McKibben will also be speaking Sunday morning at Hancock United Church of Christ, which he attended while growing up, and will preach at the 10 a.m. morning worship service on the "Moral Math of Climate Change."

Breaking news from NASA and NSF: Sun's magnetic cycle may vary more than previously thought

Ok, so maybe the science *wasn't* settled:
Shrinking Atmospheric Layer Linked to Low Levels of Solar Radiation - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Large changes in the sun's energy output may drive unexpectedly dramatic fluctuations in Earth's outer atmosphere.

Results of a study published today link a recent, temporary shrinking of a high atmospheric layer with a sharp drop in the sun's ultraviolet radiation levels.

The research, led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., and the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU), indicates that the sun's magnetic cycle, which produces differing numbers of sunspots over an approximately 11-year cycle, may vary more than previously thought.
...
But the magnitude of the density change during the recent solar minimum appeared to be about 30 percent greater than would have been expected by low solar activity.

The results also showed the thermosphere's density decreasing by 31 percent, with just 3 percent attributable to carbon dioxide, and closely approximated the 30 percent reduction in density indicated by measurements of satellite drag.
...
"If it is indeed similar to certain patterns in the past, then we expect to have low solar cycles for the next 10 to 30 years," Woods says.

Twitter / David Roberts: I know I'm not supposed to say this

I know I'm not supposed to say this, but James Hansen managed his transition from scientist to activist *terribly*. All influence lost.

Obama Stance on Climate Suit Stuns Allies - Washington Wire - WSJ

The Obama administration has riled up environmental groups by siding with big utilities in a lawsuit over whether states can sue power plant operators for contributing to climate change.

americanenergyalliance.org - August 20, 2010

Warm Boot: In Fitting Eulogy to Cap-and-Raid, White House Quietly Removes All References to Policy on Energy and Environment Website - Like It Never Happened.

Appalachian Dems seek distance from Obama on coal, climate

Democrats in Appalachia are running away from the Obama administration's coal record like their political lives depend on it.

They may be right.

Global Warming 'Alarmist' Heidi Cullen 'Refrightens' Stephen Colbert

[With 4.5-minute video] Heidi Cullen, Senior Research Scientist at Climate Central, appeared on Colbert's show last night to promote her new book, "The Weather Of The Future: Heat Waves, Extreme Storms, and Other Scenes from a Climate-Changed Planet."

Colbert asked Cullen to "refrighten" him about climate change.

Cullen, in response, cited the floods in Pakistan and the heat wave in Russia, which destroyed 30 percent of the country's wheat yield.

Climate aid reaches $30 bln goal, but is it new? | Reuters

(Reuters) - Aid promises from rich nations to help poor countries slow global warming are reaching the $30 billion goal agreed in Copenhagen but analysts say much of that is old funding dressed up as new pledges.
...
The cash was meant as a "fast start" for action to slow floods, droughts, heat waves and rising seas.

US Ex-Im Bank Approves Funding For Massive Coal-Fired Plant in India

After bowing to political pressure to reverse its rejection of a huge coal-fired power project in India, the United States Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) voted on Wednesday to provide a "final commitment" and send the project to Congress for final review.

The New York Times and Lies about 'Acid Rain' by William L. Anderson

In his excellent essay, "America’s Ruling Class," Angelo M. Codevilla writes regarding the modern "Progressives" and science that "identity always trumps" the truth. Indeed, in the case of acid rain, Codevilla’s assessment is on the mark. Americans were bullied by political elites and their amen media and academic corners into having new restrictions placed on their lives in order to deal with a non-existent threat. And it will happen again and again and again. But it will happen.

Video: Putin Asks Each Scientist Point Blank: Is Climate Change Caused By Man? Answer: We Don’t Know!

Repulsive: Zillionaire James Cameron advocates energy poverty for people of color! Cameron went to 'Brazil to protest against Amazonian dam that would be world's 3rd-largest hydroelectric project' | Climate Depot

But even leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejects Cameron's attempts to keep energy out of developing world! Lula da Silva 'argues that dam will provide clean energy and is needed to meet current and future energy needs'

Cowardly director James Cameron to be purged from the Party! : People's Blog

Once again, the capitalist running dogs are mocking us in their reactionary press because of wet noodle comrades like James Cameron. Just look at this disgrace:

Can All States Be ‘Particularly Vulnerable’ to Global Warming? - by James M. Taylor - Environment & Climate News

While “particularly vulnerable” is used as a rallying cry in various states to push for state-specific global warming laws, the truth of the matter is that “particularly vulnerable” has become an absolutely meaningless term. If all states are “particularly vulnerable,” then none are.

Am I an activist for caring about my grandchildren's future? I guess I am | James Hansen | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Concerted action to tackle climate change will happen only if the public demands it for the sake of future generations

Why would Hansen think that I don't care about my grandchildren's future?

Reminder: A wealth of climate realist videos and MP3s is available at heartland.org

The Heartland Institute: Fourth International Conference on Climate Change: Audio

Audio Proceedings

Fourth International Conference on Climate Change

Videos from the Fourth International Conference on Climate Change, May 2010, Chicago, IL.

In Alaska, Doubts About Climate Change Rise With a New Politician - NYTimes.com

The attack amounted to "corroboration" for voters that Murkowski is too willing to side with Democrats, says Dave Dittman, a Republican pollster and consultant who worked in the past with Murkowski's father, Frank.

"Alaskans by a wide, wide margin do not believe in man-caused global warming," he said, pointing to a recent poll by his firm finding that just 33 percent of state residents believe humans are contributing to climate change. Five percent said the planet is cooling.
...
...That position is finding a home in several races around the country, as conservative candidates tap into voter uncertainty around climate change while defining it as an ideological agenda item for Democrats and their GOP allies.
...
Back in Alaska, the winner of the GOP primary for lieutenant governor, Mead Treadwell, also questions whether human activities play a role in climate change.

VENABLE: Texas fights global-warming power grab - Washington Times

Texas leaders are doing what Congress so far has been unable to do (a Senate vote to stop the EPA's global-warming power grab got just 47 votes on June 10): take on the EPA. Good thing, because Texas would be hit especially hard by these regulations.

Australia: Heavy snow's all the go for spring

At Falls Creek, 54 centimetres of snow was reported to have fallen in 24 hours to late yesterday, taking accumulated snowfall to 226 centimetres this month - the best since 1992.

''The resort's natural snow depth is now a whopping 177 centimetres,'' said resort spokesman Ian Talbot.

American Thinker Blog: Silencing global warming critics

For some incredibly odd reason, the suicidal idea that a small group of people can manipulate the news and suppress criticism prevails, as opposed to a more logical approach where debate is won though the presentation of incontrovertible evidence.

Another global warming denier inches closer to Washington | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Politico points out that the potential new batch of western senators could include Sharron Angle of Nevada, Mike Lee of Utah and Carly Firoina of California. None of these senators is as moderate as Murkowski, and she isn’t really that moderate. But, while Murkowski has, at least, acknowledged that man-made climate change is real, Miller’s campaign website offers a completely different stance.

Hot Problems: Al Gore, Karl Dean and Others Weigh in on What Climate Change Means for Nashville and Middle Tennessee | Pith in the Wind | Nashville Scene

As former Vice President Al Gore told me via email: "I think it’s already clear that the climate crisis has very real and serious implications for middle Tennessee and the United States as a whole. Although scientists warn us that no single weather event can be solely blamed on climate change because there is a lot of variability in weather, including the occurrence of extreme events — it’s clear that long-familiar patterns are being disrupted and the extreme events are becoming both more extreme and more frequent. [Since it's so clear and all, does Gore have some actual evidence to back up that claim?] Moreover, the changes — like larger downpours — are absolutely consistent with what the scientists have long warned us would accompany global warming."

Truffle-gate and settled science: Is carbon dioxide really good *and* really bad for truffles?

Global warming: Can the San Bernardino flying squirrel be saved? | Greenspace | Los Angeles Times

According to the center, the squirrel's habitat is moving up-slope as temperatures warm. Truffles, its primary food, depend on wet, cool conditions that could be altered by climate-induced drought.

Flashback: Global warming good news for truffle lovers - Sustainable Business Oregon

New research from Oregon State University indicates that the warming world may be good news for chefs who cook with truffles and the entrepreneurs who make their money selling the often smelly fungi.

Prized truffles, which can sell for as much as $1,500 per pound, favor hotter, drier forest habitats, scientists say.

Flashback: Europe's truffle shortage blamed on global warming - USATODAY.com

Farmers say production is down by 50-75% this winter season and they blame global warming, warning that if thermometers keep rising — as many scientists predict they could — France's black truffle will one day be just a memory.

Meteorologist expects monster La Nina - drastic cooling

However, "the expansion of the Southern Hemisphere sea ice, now approaching record high levels, ought to tell you something about the oceans immediately around the sea ice," says Bastardi. This large mass of water is cooling and has cooled most dramatically in the area where it is warmest (the tropical pacific).

"We see drastic cooling over land and IN THE ATLANTIC TOO. In fact, it basically keeps cooling the tropical Pacific into next year, then hammers away at the two areas warmest now - the Atlantic and the continents.

San Francisco Shares Vetted List of Green Vendors - NYTimes.com

Called the SF Approved List, the Web site lists more than 1,000 products, from bathroom disinfectants to computer keyboard cleaners, that do not emit greenhouse gases.

American Thinker Blog: State Attorney Generals to impose cap & trade

Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) fetishist are in crisis. Hard scientific evidence is mounting that their exalted theory should go the way of the dodo. The "scientists" in the community continue to refuse to release data so that it can be verified and attack skeptics. AGW theory is getting such a black eye that it's adherents are refusing to debate the facts in public. Opinion has started to change, especially in the aftermath of climategate. Taken together, this volatile mix of facts ensures that cap and trade legislation is dead.

Since cap and trade is the culmination of the AGW cultists theory, it's death is being mourned and the hope is that the EPA will impose the economy killing rules.

Rajendra Pachauri [allegedly] innocent of financial misdealings but smears will continue | George Monbiot | Environment | guardian.co.uk

In other words, he made £45,000 as his salary at TERI, and a maximum of £2,174 in outside earnings. So much for Pachauri's "highly lucrative commercial jobs" amounting to "millions of dollars".

Is Optimism Rational? by Bill Walker

Optimism is out of favor. But then as Matt Ridley points out in The Rational Optimist, optimism has never been IN favor. Even in the fastest-growing booms in human history, "experts" were always sure that doom was imminent. We were going to run out of wood, then of coal, then of whale oil, then of petroleum, then of petroleum again, then of petroleum again. (We were never going to run out of uranium or thorium, but that was fixed by running out of the permits to build nuclear reactors.)

In the 1960s, the world was going to be destroyed by fossil fuels, by running out of fossil fuels, by acid rain, by overpopulation, by pesticides, by famine, and by Global Cooling. But what actually happened was that fuel production went up, population growth rates fell in every nation (except Kazakhstan, thanks a lot you idiot Borat), pesticide use dropped off with the invention of BT crops, food production went up until recently (we still produce more crops every year, but they are drained off to make ethanol and not to feed people), acid rain was overblown, and you know what happened to Global Cooling (it’s still a huge threat as far as anyone knows, one good asteroid or volcano and it’s Fimbulwinter for sure! I mean, ummm, everyone believes in global warming so there won’t be any more Ice Ages, because, ummm… Al Gore, QED. Take no notice of my pack of Malamutes, they’re just show dogs. Really. They mainly guard the snowmobile, anyway.)

Doom: The Big No-Show Of History

Hillary's scientific acumen somewhat lacking (OneNewsNow.com)

Marc Morano, executive editor of ClimateDepot.com, thinks it is "very sad to hear the level of scientific acumen coming from a secretary of state."

"Her scientific thinking is no more advanced than the Aztecs who ordered the slaughter of people to end a drought in 1450," he contends. "Her scientific thinking is no more advanced than witch trials during the little ice age where they blamed witches for the crop failures. Her scientific thinking is no more advanced than the readings of Nostradamus or the Mayan calendar."

Morano believes Clinton's comments are an insult to everyone's intelligence. "She's literally saying that our SUVs are weather machines," he explains. "That is climate astrology; that is not science. That should not be coming out of the mouths of anyone in our government."

Not PC: James Cameron—a Titanic lack of balls [update 3]

Oil drilling in the Arctic? Blame the bankers | FT Energy Source | FT.com

...why is it less acceptable to drill near barely-populated frozen landmass than in the middle of India, where actual people may be affected by the drilling operations?

Maybe because polar bears are much cuter than people?

Robert Bryce: Wind Power Won't Cool Down the Planet - WSJ.com

The wind industry has achieved remarkable growth largely due to the claim that it will provide major reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. There's just one problem: It's not true. A slew of recent studies show that wind-generated electricity likely won't result in any reduction in carbon emissions—or that they'll be so small as to be almost meaningless.

FOXNews.com - Alaska Primary Shows That Energy Taxes Can Be Toxic

Joe Miller, however, has an enormous advantage over Murkowski on energy policy. Miller signed the NoClimateTax.com pledge and made a strong commitment, in writing, to oppose any global warming bill that hides a tax hike.

Murkowski, on the other hand, refused to sign the pledge and openly discussed a carbon tax approach that could have a major negative impact on the oil and gas industry and the U.S. economy.

In an energy state like Alaska, that's not just a major economic policy mistake; as Murkowski has learned the hard way, it might end a Senate career.

New Jersey Business Owners, Activists Seek Repeal of "Cap and Trade" that Could Reverberate Nationally

Business owners have joined forces with free market activists in New Jersey who are calling on state lawmakers to repeal “cap and trade” policies, which are responsible for boosting energy prices. On Thursday, The New Jersey Restaurant Association (NJRA), which represents the state’s largest employment sector, announced its support for a bill that would both revoke “cap and trade” and rescind New Jersey’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

If the UK government really believed in the global warming hoax, would they seek to "maximise oil and gas extraction in the North Sea"?

Ministers to help UK energy firms win deals abroad - Telegraph

David Cameron and other British ministers will "get out there" lobbying Russia and other oil-rich countries to give UK energy companies new business, according to Charles Hendry, the energy minister.
...
"I can't see where the downside is to Britain. At the end of the day the oil is still under the UK continental shelf. It's not like it's being siphoned off and popped away in some vault half way round the world."

Mr Hendry will spend this week in talks with his Norwegian counterpart about how to maximise oil and gas extraction in the North Sea and improve safety standards.

The slope of temperatures does not appear related to CO2 concentration in Vostok data - Latest News (hidethedecline)

It appears that there is no visible connection between CO2 concentration and the slope of temperatures in these Vostok data. In fact, if I insert a trend line it appears slightly negative.

Again, these are the data that should show the warming effect of CO2. Im not sure how much I can conclude on this, but i believe the CO2 - warming message would stand stronger if one could see bigger warming trends for bigger CO2 concentrations.

Huge snow dumps delight skiers - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Victoria's northern ski resorts have received one of their biggest ever 24-hour snow dumps, and more is expected today.

Fifty-four centimetres of snow has fallen at Falls Creek in the past day.

It is the biggest August dump ever recorded.

2010 a year of contrasts for N.D. hunters

Stilling said consecutive harsh winters have dropped the pronghorn numbers to about 6,500, a number that had been consistently higher than 10,000 since 2003.

In some areas, the back-to-back tough winters were followed by cold, wet springs that resulted in poor production this year.

“We need to give these populations the opportunity to recover,” he said. “The last thing pronghorn need is another severe winter.”

Anglican Communion News Service: "Climate change will kill more Africans than malaria or AIDS," Anglican church warned

The continent of Africa is facing a future in which climate change will kill more people than traditional causes such as malaria and HIV, according to a Ugandan environmental expert.

Dr Rose Mwebaza warned Anglican bishops from Africa in Entebbe that lakes across the continent are shrinking and drying up, crops are failing, deforestation is leading to terrible flooding and, as a result, people are fighting and killing each other over resources.

Climate Camp is restricting free speech | Marc Vallée | Environment | guardian.co.uk

This was land that RBS had given the Climate Camp permission to use. I'm sure RBS had its own PR strategy for doing this.
...
On Sunday, after around 200 Climate Campers breached police lines and smashed five large windows, a senior police officer on the ground wanted accredited journalists removed from the RBS site as it had become a "crime scene". Interestingly, an RBS press officer tried very hard to keep the media on site.

Op-Ed Contributor - Near the North Pole, Looking at a Disaster - NYTimes.com

A climate shock in North America is easy to imagine. Say a prolonged drought causes major cities in the American Southeast or Southwest to run out of water; both regions have large urban populations pushing against upper limits of water supply. The news clips of cars streaming out of Atlanta or Phoenix might finally push our leaders to do something serious about climate change.

[If people in New York pay $5.5 millon for a "green" bathroom complex now, will children in Timbuktu in 2050 see less bad weather?] - NYTimes.com

The bathroom, which would compost sewage to fertilize park greenery and use solar panels to power the complex, is being designed to operate without causing carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to global warming.
...
The planned bathroom complex would replace the two portable toilets, a small brick shack and repurposed shipping containers currently being used for equipment storage. It would be built on a defunct parking lot at the southeast corner of the courts.
...
The association, which raised $40,000 last fall to pay for a feasibility study, is now working to raise $600,000 more to design the building. Community Board 7 responded favorably to the proposal, and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department has approved the concept and is endorsing it for a planning grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Raising the estimated $5.5 million needed for construction will be a challenge given tight state and city budgets and the effects of a slow economy on private donations.

MIT Professor Can’t See Forest For Trees; Confuses Meteorology – Climate – Weather

Recently Kerry Emanuel said, “Why would anybody ask weather forecasters about their opinion on climate? I think it is because there is a hope that I don’t think is justified that ordinary people will confuse weather forecasters with climate scientists.”

Emanuel is a professor of meteorology at MIT with a specialization in atmospheric convection and hurricanes. He is a meteorologist not a climatologist and many weather forecasters are meteorologists. Indeed, his specialty is even more narrow than that required by weather forecasters.

Climate activism: is the trial more important than the protest? | Environment | guardian.co.uk

For the Aberdeen airport defendants, sentencing guidelines dictate they could have received up to five years in jail. In the end they were given only modest fines, but one of those convicted in the case, Dan Glass, says harsher punishments won't dissuade activists from similar actions in the future.

'The more people see the wings of state trying to put us away while scientists support what we're doing, the more we will see civil disobedience in the face of government failure on climate change,' said Glass.

Green religion: a movement with roots in Ann Arbor - AnnArbor.com

Lent, usually a time for Catholics to sacrifice a luxury in their lives, took on the theme of an "energy fast" for the parish. Members were encouraged to replace all or at least one light bulb in their home with a more energy efficient light bulb during Lent. Money saved on members' utility bills was collected and donated to Food Gatherers on Easter.

My holiday is being ruined by global cooling. But try telling that to the 'scientists' – Telegraph Blogs

Over the next three hours, Sir Paul and I had a long, friendly, on-camera argument in which he tried to make a distinction between “scepticism” [good] and “denialism” [bad] – an entirely specious distinction, in my book – while I tried to focus on the details of the Climategate emails because it’s only on details that an arts graduate journalist is ever going to win a debate like this with a (feisty, bright, delightful but not a little combative) Nobel genetics laureate.

A trick I noticed Sir Paul trying to perform throughout our debate was to move away from specifics to the general. So, for example, he would keenly assert that “the majority” of the world’s scientists agreed with a thing called a “consensus” on man-made global warming, and whenever I got down to grimy and tedious detail suggestive of the contrary – eg Ben Santer’s outrageous rewriting of the Summary for Policy Makers in the Second Assessment Report, which seriously exaggerated the unanimity of scientific opinion on AGW – he’d either politely brush it off as if it were far too involved to be of much interest or he’d airily cite the three whitewash enquiries into Climategate as “proof” that the scientists had done nothing wrong.

Another obvious lie from fraudster/Climate activist Michael Mann: He actually claims that the globe is "warmer than it has ever been"

Panelists discuss climate change worries - The Daily Collegian Online

Climate experts -- including professor Michael Mann of the recent "Climategate" controversy -- expressed concerns about recent environmental change in a press conference Wednesday at Schlow Centre Region Library.
...
"We want to alert the public that we are heading for a future they're not going to be comfortable with," said Ed Perry, the outreach coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation's Global Warming Campaign.
...
Mann, a meteorology professor, said there is a connection between global warming and recent climate change.

"The heat waves that have broken out are taking place within a globe that's warmer than it has ever been," he said. "There is a connection."

Flashback: Antarctica: A Keystone in a Changing World

The evolution of Antarctic climate from a Cretaceous greenhouse into the Neogene icehouse is captured within a rich record of fossil leaves, wood, pollen, and flowers from the Antarctic Peninsula and the Transantarctic Mountains. About 85 million years ago, during the mid-Late Cretaceous, flowering plants thrived in subtropical climates in Antarctica. Analysis of their leaves and flowers, many of which were ancestors of plants that live in the tropics today, indicates that summer temperatures averaged 20°C during this global thermal maximum.

Flashback: High Arctic was once warm, year-round, new study shows - Sikunews

During the Eocene, Ellesmere Island -- which is adjacent to Greenland -- probably was similar to swampy cypress forests in the southeastern United States today, said Eberle.

Eocene fossil evidence collected there in recent decades by various teams indicate the lush landscape hosted giant tortoises, aquatic turtles, large snakes, alligators, flying lemurs, tapirs, and hippo-like and rhino-like mammals.

Climate science: Green View: Could temperature be less intemperate? | The Economist

The website (surfacetemperatures.org) set up in preparation for the Exeter meeting is hardly a hotbed of activity. On the blog Dr Thorne has set up to allow people to provide feedback on more than a dozen draft white papers, dealing with everything from data interpolation to project governance, it’s a rare post that manages to attract as many as two comments. “It’s disappointing,” says Ian Jolliffe, a statistician on the Exeter meeting’s steering committee. By way of contrast, the top post on Mr Watts’s blog at the time of writing, which deals with a new paper on the ever popular topic of the shortcomings of using tree rings and other proxies (a subject on which, as it happens, Dr Jolliffe has made contributions of which sceptics approve), has over 1,000 comments.

This is in part Dr Thorne’s own fault. While surfacetemperatures.org has been publicised on a number of mailing lists and the like within the scientific community, Dr Thorne decided not to tout his wares directly to bloggers, on the basis that he would inevitably be seen as playing favourites in some way and polarise the issue unhelpfully. As a result Mr Watts, for one, says that he first became aware of the project when asked questions for this column. Apprised of it, he says that while “a noble effort, it is a reaction to a series of data transparency blunders rather than a proactive approach to open replication”. If Dr Thorne had accepted the risk of making direct contact, he might have established more dialogue, or at least a better record for proactivity.

It's Getting Hot In Here: There Must Not Be a President on the Ballot - OpenSecrets Blog | OpenSecrets

So how has every presidential election year for the past two decades been cooler than the years immediately preceding and following them?

“I’m not aware of any science that has addressed that,” Arndt said, adding that it’s “a little weird” to see a downward dip every presidential election year, like clockwork.

[Note that the article above uses a bogus polar bear photo]: New bear species discovered: Ursus Bogus | Watts Up With That?

I had been avoiding this photo issue, because well, the whole thing is stupid no matter how you look at it and it’s been been heavily covered elsewhere. But when Tim Blair coined the clever headline “Ursus Bogus“, in the Daily Telegraph, I knew I had to pass it on to American readers.