Global Warming brigade really grasping now...

Although global warming could cause the number of tropical cyclones to decrease around the world by the end of the century, the storms that do form probably will be more intense, a study in the journal Nature Geoscience finds.

Just like all the other snake oil out there, I don't buy this study in the first place...but suppose it's true. How much more fierce are those lesser number tropical cyclones going to be?

Landsea says the potential increase in strong hurricanes is "pretty tiny. We're not looking at any drastic increase by 2100." For example, he says, a 150-mph hurricane might increase only to a 157-mph hurricane. "In my perspective, that's a little change, a long ways in the future."

That's hilarious. We have this big threatening article in USA Today entitled:

"Fewer, fiercer tropical cyclones are in our future, study finds"

...and we are talking about a Hurricane packing a 157 MPH punch as opposed to a 150 MPH punch...(Laughing)

The Hole in Global Warming...

Well over two decades ago we, the public, were on the receiving end of the Montreal Protocol. Do you remember what that was? Here's a hint:

The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is a landmark international agreement designed to protect the stratospheric ozone layer. The treaty was originally signed in 1987 and substantially amended in 1990 and 1992. The Montreal Protocol stipulates that the production and consumption of compounds that deplete ozone in the stratosphere--chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform--are to be phased out by 2000 (2005 for methyl chloroform).

Here's the thing...which I happened to mention on this blog quite a while ago under the very apt titles of "Behold the Idiots" and "I want a refund." I find it hard to believe that the Montreal Protocol served any valued purpose in reducing the size of the Ozone Hole. I base this on the fact that the Hole was bigger than ever just three years ago.

Stratospheric ozone has been depleted by 5 to 6 percent at middle latitudes, but has somewhat rebounded in recent years. The largest recorded Antarctic ozone hole was recorded in 2006.

Gosh!...those climate scientists screwed up the "model." Of course, despite the increased costs of switching over to approved automobile air conditioners that did not use freon and other costly changes that you likely weren't aware that you financed...it was all for naught.

Ah...but have faith...

While most of the world has warmed, parts of the southern hemisphere have remained stubbornly cold—oddly enough because of a gaping hole in the ozone layer. Now new research shows that all the efforts made by scientists and environmental advocates to close the hole may actually increase warming throughout the entire southern hemisphere.

I, actually, pointed this out a little less than a year ago.

June 10 2008 A new study led by Seok-woo Son and Lorenzo Polvani, in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at SEAS, is suggesting that the winds in the Southern Hemisphere will be greatly impacted by the expected recovery of the ozone hole in the second half of this century. In a study that appears in the June 13 issue of Science, Seok-Woo Son, lead-author and a postdoctoral research scientist at SEAS, and Professor Polvani suggest that stratospheric ozone ought to be more carefully considered by the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) round of climate model predictions.

"We were surprised to find that the closing of the ozone hole, which is expected to occur in the next 50 years or so, shows significant effects on the global climate," said Lorenzo M. Polvan one of two principle investigators and professor of applied mathematics at SEAS. "This is because stratospheric ozone has not been considered a major player in the climate system. We believe the closing of the ozone hole is likely to have profound impacts on the surface winds and, also likely, to have an impact on other aspects of the Earth's climate, including surface temperatures, locations of storm tracks, extent of dry zones, amount of sea ice, and ocean circulation."

So, why trot out this "old" study now? Not much attention was paid back in June 2008. Well, the IPCC's agenda driven Climate Change stance is decaying rather quickly due to false premise, unreliable model, activist "scientists," climate-gate and various other idiocy. The whole "global warming" mantra is rather unpredictable (mostly because no one has developed a model that includes all the applicable factors in climate change...and likely never will). Also, as the Earth's climate cools (as it has been for the last decade) the global warming cabal is left looking...silly.

The fact that more press has been given to the Ozone Hole lately,...and it's inverse relationship to "warming" suggests that it's getting more difficult for the activist scientists and the "climate change machine" to hold back reports detrimental to their preconceived goals.

I look at both the Montreal Protocol legislation and the IPCC's Climate Change report and realize that the environuts are zero for two...while costing us all a pretty penny in the process. I, also, find it ironic that the downfall is delivered in cold hard scientific facts; the same type facts the IPCC is supposed to deliver, but decided on agenda driven tripe wrapped up in ulterior motives instead.

It's a no-brainer...literally

Global warming 37 percent to blame for droughts: scientist
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Global warming is more than a third to blame for a major drop in rainfall that includes a decade-long drought in Australia and a lengthy dry spell in the United States, a scientist said on Wednesday.

You'll recall all the alarmists lining up to blame the drought in the Southeastern United States on global warming about a year ago...But...

Flooded Southeast braces for more rain, possible tornadoes
GENEVA, Ala. (AP) — Residents of the rain-soaked Southeast braced for more storms even as they tried to dry out from a weekend deluge that flooded hundreds of homes, washed out roads and forced evacuations.

Of course...the incessant rain and flooding is, ALSO, a by-product of global warming.

Al Gore is made of Peridotite II

Geologists have mapped 6,000 miles of large rock formations in the United States that could be used to store some of the excess carbon dioxide building up in Earth's atmosphere.

The carbon dioxide released by fossil fuel burning has been continually accumulating in the atmosphere since the start of the Industrial Revolution. While some of the greenhouse gas is taken up by plants and absorbed by the ocean, a significant amount is still hanging out in the air, trapping some of the heat that Earth's surface would otherwise radiate to space and thereby warming the globe.

Yahoo News...you gotta love their expedience. Of course, this has been known for quite some time, and was even posted on this little blog back in November 2008.

The rock in question is Peridotite. And, while it is pointed out that large deposits are found in the US...(mostly on the West Coast and most of the mountain ranges in Alaska...not the East Coast as the article suggests)...our reserves of this ultramafic and ultrabasic rock are dwarfed in comparison to Oman, Pacific islands of Papua New Guinea and Caledonia, and along the coasts of Greece and the former Yugoslavia.

The funny thing is that the primary mantle of the entire planet Earth is peridotite. As I stated before:

Go figure...the Earth is self correcting...and man is an insignificant little pimple that just happens to be tagging along.

I can't wait to see how our scientists suggest we apply this technique pragmatically. I look forward to the Civil Litigation between the US Government (wanting to uncover large rock formations) vs. the Sierra Club (protecting the habitat of the two-nosed fire tail newt). It should be a hoot...

As an extremist...do I get a free tote bag?

But Kert Davies, a climate campaigner for Greenpeace who is attending the Heartland event, said that the experts giving talks were "a shrinking collection of extremists" and that they were "left talking to themselves."

As a full member of the "shrinking collection of extremists," I hereby open membership to the masses.

Rasmussen finds that 60 percent of Americans believe that finding new energy sources is more important than reducing the amount of energy Americans now consume, while only 32 percent believe the opposite. And 51 percent believe that more nuclear plants should be built in the United States, while 31 percent disagree. Some 45 percent believe that global warming is caused primarily by long-term planetary effects, while 38 percent believe that human activity is to blame. Anthropogenetic global warming may be the consensus view of the elite (including corporate leaders who are scrambling to make money off cap-and-trade systems), but there is no such consensus among the public. Rather to the contrary; most Americans think the media is portraying global warming as worse than it is.

Wow...that was fast!!! We now have more extremists.

And, Kert Davies is correct. We are "left talking to ourselves" because those of Mr. Davies' ilk haven't the faintest idea what it means to have an open mind about the issue. In his case...an open mind would show an empty head.

But...I'm not satisfied...let's go get some more extremists:

Ipsos MORI polled 1,039 adults and found that six out of 10 agreed that 'many scientific experts still question if humans are contributing to climate change', and that four out of 10 'sometimes think climate change might not be as bad as people say'. In both cases, another 20 per cent were not convinced either way. Despite this, three quarters still professed to be concerned about climate change.

By God, they have extremists over there in the United Kingdom as well. And, incidentally, the left leaning Guardian skewed the actual results of this poll by trying to imply that thee quarters still professed a concern over climate change without qualifying whether it was an anthropogenetic issue or not. And, they didn't reveal the questions that made up the poll, which leaves open the possibility of a "this or that" trap question that would shape the results as well.

So...in the UK 60% of the populace question whether scientific experts have made the connection between man made carbon emissions and warming. In the United States, 7% more of the populace don't believe that it is a man made issue, than those who do. BUT:

Yvo de Boer, head of the UN office running the meetings leading to a new global climate treaty, said, "I don't believe that what the skeptics say should provide any excuse to delay further" action against global warming.

Arrogance wrapped up in the redistribution of wealth du jour. We extremists have the audacity to request bona fide proof before throwing hard earned money down a rat hole...in in the UN's case...into the til of organized crime.

How's that Global Warming Protest coming?

Looking kind of white (in a non-racist way) down there in the District of Columbia...no?

Let's hope James Hansen wears his boots for the snow...and everyone else wears boots in the event that Hansen feels a need to speak.

Cap and trade...while getting played...

Via Small Dead Animals (Incidentally...voted 2008 Top Conservative Blog just recently)

The Post cited testimony to Congress in September by Peter Orszag, currently Obama's budget director, estimating that revenue from a cap-and-trade scheme could reach 112 billion dollars by 2012.

According to Orszag, who at the time was director of the Congressional Budget Office, the program -- which would force companies to buy permits if they exceed pollution emission limits -- could generate between 50 and 300 billion dollars a year by 2020.

Gosh!!! That sounds wonderful!!! It is also a load of horse hockey. Before you get on your high horse and lecture me on the fact that I'm out of my pay grade, and couldn't possibly know whether this cap and trade nonsense would generate revenue or not, I'll have to defer to historical references.

The European Union gave the ole "cap and trade" a good go. It didn't work. In fact:

Four years later, the carbon trading system has created a multibillion-euro windfall for some of the continent's biggest polluters, with little or no noticeable benefit to the environment so far.

That's right. The "cap and trade" project of the European Union ended up being a windfall for the "polluters" and no one else when they scrapped the "pay for the permit" by handing them out free because the purchasing of said permits put undue strain on the financials of the corporations. The US economy is in worse shape now than the EU economy four, three, two or even one year ago. The companies that were to be tempered by the cost of emitting carbon passed on imaginary expenses to their clients. It's documented.

WE ARE THEY'RE FREAKIN' CLIENTS!!!! Nice tax cut Obama...it will help cover the infinitely higher consumer costs associated with the fees of purchasing carbon permits by the corporations that produce coffee, aluminum siding, lumbar...electricity...etc Pssst...corporations pass on their expenses to their client base.

The biggest polluters are profiting from this scheme...and still passing on imaginary costs to the consumer. Why should it be different in the US? More importantly...how did "cap and trade" do in reference to its goal of reducing carbon output?

Meanwhile, the amount of CO2 emitted by plants and factories participating in the system rose 0.4 percent in 2006 and an additional 0.7 percent in 2007.

Well done...well done, indeed. The intricacy of the scam is that there is no covertness to it what-so-ever. It's like a three year old with one hand in the cookie jar shaking his head vigorously to indicate that he isn't stealing cookies.

By the way...this sentence is buried in the Breitbart article outlining President Obama's folly.

Carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gasses are the main culprits in causing global warming.

Really? I missed the debate.

Crackpot Soapboxing...

GENEVA (AP) — Antarctic glaciers are melting faster across a much wider area than previously thought, scientists said Wednesday — a development that could lead to an unprecedented rise in sea levels.

A report by thousands of scientists for the 2007-2008 International Polar Year concluded that the western part of the continent is warming up, not just the Antarctic Peninsula.

Previously most of the warming was thought to occur on the narrow stretch pointing toward South America, said Colin Summerhayes, executive director of the Britain-based Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and a member of International Polar Year's steering committee.

These guys are relentless...

Here's my favorite quote from Colin Summerhayes...

"David Bellamy has been pushing his anti-global warming barrow around for some time, peddling the same old mistakes (Comment, Oct 22). He apparently understand so little about the issue that he thinks that the “hockey stick” graph that shows a marked increase in global warming since 1900 was generated by a computer (it was actually a summary of measurements and proxy measurements), and he further thinks that it is wrong — whereas it was vindicated not by a bunch of greenies, but by the US National Academy of Sciences."

In case you aren't up to speed...the "Hockey Stick" graph was shown to be a complete waste of time...and about as capable as a three legged dog burying a bone on an icy lake.

Simply put...the man squandered his credibility...so why even refer to him as an expert? Because, he carries the water. And, incidentally:

"The Antarctic wintertime ice extent increased...at a rate of 0.6% per decade" from 1979 to 2006, says Donald Cavalieri, a senior research scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

And...there is a massive vocano under the ice. Pssst...those things tend to give off massive heat...Just saying.

Total Loss Redundancy...

The rocket carrying NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) suffered a technical glitch early this morning that caused the satellite to crash into the ocean near Antarctica.

In development for nine years, the observatory was meant to orbit Earth and monitor global carbon dioxide emissions.

Data from the satellite would have helped researchers better understand distribution of the greenhouse gas, possibly improving climate models. (Get the facts on global warming.)

NASA officials are now calling the $270-million mission a total loss.

"Certainly for the science community, it's a huge disappointment," Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in Washington, D.C., said this morning at a briefing.

$270 Million in tax dollars desinigrated over Antarctica. Massive amounts of carbon dioxide were spewed into the atmosphere and stratosphere. That's a good day's work. Actually, it's a good nine year's work...and I'm not too terribly torn up about it.

Somewhere out there...James Hansen is upping his meds...and the world's temperatures...

Brrrrr...

Via Drudge...it has been a below normal temperature year... Is this a single weather event that the AGW folks say means nothing...while continuously using single weather events to make their case?

There's gonna be a collision...

America's birds are on the move -- and they're heading north, according to a new report by the Audubon Society.

The 14-page study, entitled "Birds and Climate Change: Ecological Disruption in Motion," says nearly 60 percent of the 305 species found in North America are on the move, shifting their ranges northward by about an average of 35 miles.

The report says Audubon scientists analyzed 40 years of bird count data "and their findings provide new and powerful evidence that global warming is having a serious impact on natural systems."

That's all very interesting...but I have to ask. Why would the species migration take place now, since Earth's tempatures have been on decline for more than a few years?

The logical answer is that the Audubon Society is being selective in their data to promote the agenda driven tripe...

ALBANY, NY (01/27/2009; 1208)(readMedia)-- Across New York, Snowy Owl sightings are on the rise this winter. From Buffalo to Long Island, from a grassy field in Greene County to the roof of the State Capitol in Albany, New Yorkers are spotting what appears to be an increase in the number of Snowy Owls traveling south from their Arctic breeding grounds, said John Ozard, a biologist who specializes in bird species at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Uh..Oh...now what? The southern birds are moving North...the northern birds are moving south. There is only one logical conclusion. If you live in New York, and New England...build a garage so you don't have to wash your car every other day.

Do as I say...not as I do...

From February 9th, 2007:

LONDON, Feb. 9 -- British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, with former vice president Al Gore at his side, offered a $25 million prize Friday to anyone who can come up with a way to blunt global climate change by removing at least a billion tons of carbon dioxide a year from the Earth's atmosphere.

Hey...how about this numbnuts? Suppose you don't fly an empty Boeing 777 from Australia to Los Angeles just to "showcase" your new toy?

From February 5th, 2009

LOS ANGELES, CA - In preparation for the launch of non-stop services between Los Angeles and Sydney on February 27, 2009, V Australia is set to take delivery of its first Boeing 777-300ER (extended range) aircraft and will make a special stop-over at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to showcase the new Boeing aircraft.

Go ahead, Sir Richard...tell me that the trip was merely advertising to drum up interest in the 777 service. If I was a billionaire with toys like yours, I would be flying around annoying past bosses and managers, while lighting my carbon producing cigars with $100's.

From Today's USA Today:

Branson cavorted with cabin crew attendants in bikinis Friday amid fake palm trees before the plane took off in rainy weather for Los Angeles. Other celebrities at the ceremony were Australian actor Julian McMahon of the TV show Nip/Tuck.

Now you're talking...Incidentally, was Al Gore with you? Raining in Australia? That sounds like the "Gore Effect."

Now...where's my $25 Mil?

From the mouths of babes...who eat lead paint chips...

Buffalo State College Journalism Professor Doctor Michael Niman said, "What we're seeing today here in Buffalo is extreme weather. It's not that extreme for Buffalo, but we're seeing all over the world extreme weather; weird weather. So, it's climate change. We don't really understand where it's going, but it's changing."

Believe it or not, the winters in New York State are now five degrees warmer than they were in 1970.

The story comes from WIVB in upstate New York. Buffalo...to be specific. There was something called a conference on Global Warming Solutions presented by the New York Public Interest Research Group yesterday. I hope they bundled up..it was -6 F.

My gripe is that the "expert" that this media outlet highlighted is a freakin' journalism professor. He makes these idiotic statements that contradict each other..."what we're seeing today in Buffalo is extreme weather." Except for the fact that " It's not that extreme for Buffalo."

Here...let me try that. "She really is a hot looking babe." "I really could do without her mustache, large flabby arms, and the unbelievable odor that seems to have a life of its own every time she moves."

I don't even have the heart to comment on the other inane comments relative to "extreme weather all over the world." But, he has no problem associating the non-defined or detailed weather as "climate change." Yup...climate changes...Shocking!!!

As for the winters in NY being five degrees warmer than they were in 1970...insipid nonsense...and non-factual, misleading tripe. Not bad for a journalism professor...give him a gold star.

Solar and Wind energy makes great hot air...

Wind and solar power have been growing at a blistering pace in recent years, and that growth seemed likely to accelerate under the green-minded Obama administration. But because of the credit crisis and the broader economic downturn, the opposite is happening: installation of wind and solar power is plummeting.

Factories building parts for these industries have announced a wave of layoffs in recent weeks, and trade groups are projecting 30 to 50 percent declines this year in installation of new equipment, barring more help from the government.

"The credit crisis and the broader economic downturn" is only part of the puzzle reflected in the failing wind and solar energy industry. How about the growing skepticism on necessity? Or, more importantly...how about the concerns that the wind energy farms are turning out to be a scam of inefficiency.

Wind is seasonal. So in the months that our electric demands are highest (June, July, and August), wind-generated electricity in non-existent or practically nil. Even during our supposedly "windy months," wind is often too weak to be useful and much of the time these windmills will sit idle producing nothing.

Even if our entire landscape were covered with wind turbines it would not reduce our dependence on foreign oil, clean our air, or lower global warming. Only 2.45 percent of all electricity in the U.S. is produced by oft-fired electric plants. And for every megawatt that is expected from wind turbines there must be the same number of megawatts in standby mode from conventional power stations, which must be kept idling, ready for immediate cut-in for when the wind turbines fail. And fail they do, with the fluttering and inconsistency of wind.

You can find examples of the absolute inefficiency and undependable aspects of wind farms all over the globe. Even at optimum performance (which seems to be rare) the production of usable electricity rivals the act of rubbing a balloon against your head.

Though its potential is large, solar radiation has a relatively low energy density and is intermittent. The low energy density requires solar energy to be harvested over large areas, affecting the size and material intensity of collection systems. Modern solar energy collection devices are inefficient and expensive compared to other energy conversion technologies. These drawbacks cause direct solar energy to continue to be a minor component of the global energy system.

The only reason the major banks were willing to support these two "going nowhere fast" industries was predicated on large tax credit incentives. Now, as everyone tightens the belt, those industries that are losing their funding are being weeded out of the portfolios of the investors, because THEY DON'T WORK...and likely won't work on anything resembling an efficient capacity.

The only way this industry continues is if Congress and our new 'Green' President hand these boondoggles tax money. Each day, more voters are getting the education that "Earth First" folks don't want you to get...Climate Change cannot be defined by models...wind and solar energy are not a valid all encompassing answer to oil dependency.

Global warming is cool...cooler...and cold

LONDON: Cars slewed, people slipped, trains stopped and hospitals turned back non-emergency patients as heavy snows sweeping in from the east blanketed much of Britain on Monday, taking the nation by surprise with its severity despite alarm-laden weather forecasts.

At London's Heathrow airport, one of the world's busiest, hundreds of flights were canceled as snowfalls closed both runways, the airport operators said. According to news reports, the nose-wheel on of the last planes to land before the shutdown, a Cyprus Airlines flight, skidded off the runway. No casualties were reported.

I know...I know...one winter storm is not indicative of the long term effects of "Global Warming."

Except...the other side keeps using short term temperature changes to boost their little position...

The green "shield" bug, which attacks a broad range of crops, is usually seen in the Mediterranean, Middle East, Australia, North America and Africa.

Its arrival in Britain is a clear sign of climate change, claim experts from the Natural History Museum, London.

The fact is...they DON'T KNOW what the motivation of the green "shield" bug is. They might just be hungry, and found another source of food...perhaps because their usual habitat is overrun with other green "shield" bugs. Guess what? Animals adapt...that's how they survive. This is akin to the "crazy Ivan" scene in "Hunt for Red October." Just a guess backed up with the "neener neener...I'm a scientist so I must know what I'm talking about." Except...the credibility of scientists is flirting in the basement with journalists.

If you think I'm exagerating in reference to the "Warmenists" using short term occurrences to support their case...here's a good example:

A combination of global warming and the El Niño weather system is set to make 2007 the warmest year on record with far-reaching consequences for the planet, one of Britain's leading climate experts has warned.

As the new year was ushered in with stormy conditions across the UK, the forecast for the next 12 months is of extreme global weather patterns which could bring drought to Indonesia and leave California under a deluge.

The "Global Warming" aspect of the short term temperature increase is taken as gospel...as if accepted without the necessity of fact. Instead...it is their fact.

And...the big finish:

(2008) Data from the UK Met Office shows that temperatures in the first half of the year have been more than 0.1 Celsius cooler than any year since 2000.

Ooops...cue the "global warming causes cooler temperatures" crew. These folks keep giving themselves protological exams with their own noses.

Snow Miser Follies...

When it comes to winter weather, President Obama just joked, “folks in Washington don’t seem to be able to handle things.”

They need, he added, some “flinty Chicago toughness.”

The President, joking with reporters before a meeting he’s having right now with business leaders at the White House, said he was amazed this morning to hear that his daughters’ school (the private Sidwell Friends) is closed today because of icy streets and sidewalks in the nation’s capital.

Okay...all together now...

I'm Mister White Christmas, I'm Mister Snow. I'm Mister Icicle, I'm Mister Ten Below. Friends call me Snow Miser, whatever I touch... turns to snow in my clutch...I'm too much!

Big finish....let'r rip...

I never want to know a day that's over forty degrees! I'd rather have it thirty, twenty, ten, five, and let it freeze!

That's right...Al Gore is in Washington today...and the Gore Effect is full throttle.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Al Gore urged lawmakers Wednesday not to let the economic crisis get in the way of addressing global warming.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said Congress should pass President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package as a first step to bringing greenhouse gases under control.

But Gore also pressed for "decisive action" on a bill to cap heat-trapping gases, saying that it is needed for the U.S. to take a leading role in negotiations on a new international climate treaty later this year.

Stop messing with our kids' education, Al.

Ooooo...cat fight....CAT FIGHT!!!!

Among other things, the appointees will have to deal with bruised feelings among many Democrats over the coup Waxman mounted last November to wrest the gavel of the Energy and Commerce Committee from its longtime leader, Representative John Dingell, Democrat of Michigan and a longtime champion of the auto industry and other Midwest manufacturers.

"For us, it's still a big disappointment," said Senator Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan, referring to the unseating of Dingell, who was pursuing a more moderate climate proposal than those advocated by Boxer and Waxman.

Stabenow is a leader of the so-called Gang of 10, representing the coal-dependent states in the middle of the country; the group was formed after the failure of a Senate global warming bill pushed by Boxer last June. The members' goal is to assure that their concerns are met in any future legislation.

"We will play an important role in the final bill," Stabenow said.

Yeah...your role will be to sit down and shut up. Ok, Sherman...to the Wayback Machine.

Right away, Mr. Peabody...

This still consists of Obama sending “price signals” that discourage the use of coal. He does say that getting rid of coal altogether is an illusion, but he’s obviously opposed to expanding its use or even keeping it at current levels. He wants to heavily fine coal operators in order to get “billions” for R&D on alternatives, which will send the coal industry reeling and energy prices skyrocketing, as Obama himself pledges later in the same interview.

How do ya like me now??? Cha-cha-cha...

Zoiks!!!!

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama planned to direct federal regulators Monday to move swiftly on an application by California and 13 other states to set strict automobile emission and fuel efficiency standards, two administration officials said.

The directive makes good on an Obama campaign pledge and signifies a sharp reversal of Bush administration policy. Granting California and the other states the right to regulate tailpipe emissions would be one of the most emphatic actions Obama could take to quickly put his stamp on environmental policy. Obama stops short of ordering the agencies to reverse the Bush administration policy, but they are widely expected to do so.

Once they act, automobile manufacturers will quickly have to retool to begin producing and selling cars and trucks that get higher mileage than the national standard, and on a faster phase-in schedule. The auto companies have lobbied hard against the regulations and challenged them in court.

Someone is not paying attention to the constituency. The Pew Research Center places "Global Warming" at #20 on the list of priorities for the "Great Unwashed" (see graph above). The Obama Administration has placed it much higher in reflection of his deeds above outlined.

The percentage of Americans who think global warming is just another planetary trend has increased, though Democrats and more likely than Republicans to blame human activity for environmental change a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds.

Forty-four percent of voters polled said global warming is the result of long-term planetary trends, according to the survey. In 2006, 35 percent agreed.

The percentage of voters who blame global warming on human activity fell to 41 percent from 46 percent. Seven percent blame other reasons and 9 percent were unsure, the survey found.

Someone forgot to stick their finger up in the air to see which way the climate was blowing...

How about a soda with that straw you're grasping?

Tree deaths, spurred by global warming, have more than doubled in older forests across Western states, federal scientists reported Thursday.

Droughts and pests brought on by warmer temperatures have killed firs, hemlocks, pines and other large trees in particular over the past 30 years without allowing replacements to sprout, the study published in the journal Science finds.

"Very likely the mortality rate will continue to rise," says lead author Phillip van Mantgem of the U.S. Geologic Survey.

In 2007, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found it "very likely" that average temperatures have increased more than 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past century and probably will rise 3 to 7 degrees in this one. In the American West, temperature increases have led to longer summers, drought and the survival of tree-killing beetles at higher elevations. These beetles are widespread in outbreaks reaching to Alaska.

OK...let's assume that "global warming" is actually occurring. Exercises in creativity are always a nice little break from reality...so come along, won't you?

Fine...ready? We jump in our hypothetical Hummer and drive way north... Hey...will you look at that! Why...there are more surviving trees up here then ever before. Gosh darn...that "global warming" is fantastic. These northern forests are thriving...

Incidentally...the beetles they refer to are the Pine Bark Beetle populations. The last outbreak was back in the 1950's. Obviously...the retro-active carbon release program was in effect to cause such a drought. I'm just wondering who has the time machine.

Were you to ask the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service why these beetles are going a little nuts right now, they'd tell you that agressive environmental groups continuously sue to disallow selective removal, brush disposal and prescribed fire thinning. They'd also tell you that the failure to do such upkeep is one of the primary causes of large forest fires.

Though some people blame inadequate thinning of older trees by state forest managers, the study makes a "convincing case" that drought and pests are responsible, says entomologist Kenneth Raffa of the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

USA Today mentions the USDA Forest Service's position as "some people"...and then discounts it with a bug guy in Wisconsin. What they fail to mention is that the USDA Forest Service files hundreds of proposals each year with the GAO to thin growth and scrub. Over half are appealed. Over half of the appeals originate from Environmental groups. These are the same groups that push the "global warming" theory at every turn. In addition to the stalling (which allows the bark beetle a more fertile breeding ground such that outbreaks can occur) the taxpayers end up with a quarter Billion dollars in litigation invoices.

And here's your nightcap:

"Climate change is not just affecting the ice cover of the Arctic Ocean — it's closer to home," says climate scientist Raymond Bradley of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, who was not part of the study. "Climate changes in mountain regions of the world are occurring at a much faster pace than has generally been recognized."

Raymond S. Bradley...Raymond S. Bradley....who's dat?

Raymond S. Bradley, director of the Center for Climate Change, is one of many researchers affiliated with UMass Amherst who contributed to reports issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the past year. The reports earned the panel the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, shared with environmentalist Al Gore.

Bradley and Michael E. Mann presented a study back in 1999 on "global warming" that was thoroughly repudiated HERE. One of Al Gore's cheerleaders gets a shout-out from USA Today to push the agenda even though he has no connection to the basis of the article. That's how it works...enjoy the soda.

Standard Eye roll material...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Last year was the eighth warmest year on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center.

The world's temperature in 2008 tied that of 2001 according to the center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Preliminary calculations show the world's average temperature for 2008 was 0.88 degree Fahrenheit above the 20th Century average of 57.0 degrees F.

The ranking means that all of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1997.

Climate scientists around the world have raised concerns about global warming caused by the so-called greenhouse effect in which chemicals, largely generated by human activity, trap solar radiation.

If you want to believe that their data is correct (to which I hold major reservations)…one would have to question why 2008 is the 10th warmest since 1997. IN OTHER WORDS…83% OF THE OTHER YEARS IN THAT 12 YEAR SPAN WERE WARMER. YET, CARBON OUTPUT (WE ARE TOLD) HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THOSE 12 YEARS.

Let's go ask a meteorologist:

In the midst of cold arctic air that set or nearly set all-time local and state records (Maine at -50F and Rochelle at -38F), a NOAA press release pronounced 2008 was the 8th warmest since 1895 and that now all top ten warmest years have occurred since 1997. To which I and most other climatologists and meteorologists respond “BS”.

Recall that UAH MSU found 2008 was the 14th coldest in the latest 30 years. If greenhouse warming was real, the lower tropospheric warming would be equal to or greater than the surface warming as that is where the heat is said to accumulate that warms the ground.

Let's not allow facts to get in the way of planting trees in Nigeria...