Archive for the 'Climate Change' Category

Ever wonder why dishonest hacks like Penn Jillette, George Will, James Inhofe, and Michael Crichton resort to telling half truths and outright lies when they’re trying to prove that man-made global warming is a myth?

Our generation will be despised by our progeny for doing nothing to stop global warming

The Republican party plans to filibuster Obama’s efforts to create a revenue-raising cap-and-trade system, and eight Democratic senators plan to help them:

In a letter delivered to the Senate Budget Committee yesterday, eight Democratic senators joined 25 Republicans to defend the GOP’s right to set a 60-vote margin for passing emissions limits.

“We oppose using the budget process to expedite passage of climate legislation,” the senators, including eight centrist Democrats, wrote in their missive.

Using the procedure of budget reconciliation, which would allow a climate change measure to become law with 50 votes while preventing filibusters, “would circumvent normal Senate practice and would be inconsistent with the administration’s goals of bipartisanship, cooperation, and openness,” the 33 senators wrote.

Budget reconciliation was used by George W. Bush and congressional Republicans to prevent Democrats from stalling both the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. The opposition of nearly one-half of the Senate, however, means that President Obama’s party will have little room to use the tactic as successfully as Bush’s supporters did.

In other words, Republicans needed only 50 votes to pass Bush’s tax bills, but Obama will need 61 votes to pass a tax that would help control global warming. You expect that sort of “fair play” to be supported by hyper-partisan Republicans, but it’s disheartening to see almost 15% of senate Democrats playing along with this charade.

The Democrats in question are Robert Byrd (WV), Blanche Lincoln (AR), Ben Nelson (NE), Evan Bayh (IN), Mark Pryor (AR), Bob Casey (PA), Carl Levin (MI), and Mary Landrieu (LA).

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The manufacturer has already shipped my ice line for this year; I picked up some new tackle to try out, too.

My Minneapolis Park Board fishing docks have been pulled.

The cats have retreated to their deep holes, the milfoil has started to sink and the muskies, bass and pike are cruising the declining weed line picking off the increasingly desperate sunfish, although they are perfectly willing to take suckers and shiners, too.  And I sure as hell aint going wading to reach the outside weed line after turnover.

Traditionally I could count on walking on water sometime within the next two or three weeks, but yesterday it was 70 degrees here with 60’s forecast well through next week.  Looks like another winter of no ice until the new year just like the last three.  Used to be that we could count on fishable ice every year by the middle of November and be dead certain of it by the end of the month.  Not so anymore.

Dave Genz must be turning over in his grave about now!  Wait a minute he’s not dead yet.  I guess the trap attacks are just going to have to wait a while to go after that first ice bite, again.

I suppose I will just have to look on the bright side and be thankful that I have so much extra time to get my shack and equipment ready and organized.   I also have a flasher, a whole bunch of little sticks and a power auger with which I drill a whole lot of holes every time I go out (make what jokes of that you want - it’s no skin off my nose), and I dress a whole lot warmer than you can get with red flannels or even a wool union suit, too.  Just because we walk on water, doesn’t mean we are dumb enough to dress like St Peter or like the misconceptions of those from where it really doesn’t get cold, either.

BTW to the rock head from where they don’t get ice, yes, you can catch bullheads through the ice, but I never have.  I normally target crappies, perch, and sunfish, and the occasional walleye and that also once in a while means a something large with sharp edged teeth which is a contest one usually loses with 2# panfish line.

Not an open thread by the way, although I will tolerate a pretty broad interpretation of what is on topic.  Go ahead and have some fun with it.  I gotta go see if my shiners survived the night in the back of the car.

While Gore was working on his renewable energy plan, the Bush administration was covering up evidence that global warming is caused by human activity.

Former vice president Al Gore challenged the nation to convert to 100% renewable energy by the end of 2018, an effort that he said would require a commitment of between 1.5 and 3 trillion dollars. Gore pointed out that the sacrifice would pay huge dividends in the future:

“This is an investment that will pay itself back many times over,” Gore said. “It’s an expensive investment but not compared to the rising cost of continuing to invest in fossil fuels.”

“I hope to contribute to a new political environment in this country that will allow the next president to do what I think the next president is going to think is the right thing to do,” Gore said. “But the people have to play a part.”

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The Bureau of Land Management caved in to public pressure, and repealed a two year moratorium on building solar projects on federal land.

Now that the Bush administration is no longer actively blocking the development of renewable energy, it’s time to put some pressure on the administration to end all the subsidies for the oil companies.

Realistically, though, the only way we’re going to get rid of any of those subsidies will be if Barack Obama gets elected.

Yep.

But don’t worry — according to John Stossel, global warming is just a myth.

Increasingly, it seems that no matter how much truth and/or sense anyone any longer speaks, be they ‘known’ (like Lord [Paddy] Ashdown) or not, it matters not to much of mainstream media.

Especially when it concerns something ‘the establishment’ considers (even the slightest bit), sensitive.

Here’s a clip from an item published today by (the often, much maligned), AOL.

Global threats to national security

The battlelines in the fight to maintain national security need redrawing, taking urgent account of increased threats from climate change, disease, poverty and energy insecurity, a think-tank has warned.

The left-leaning Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said a security strategy based only on preventing military or terrorist attacks was redundant.

(snip)

Intended to inform a report from the commission later this year, it identified five key factors in the new security landscape. These were - globalisation and power diffusion, global poverty and failed states, climate change, the growth of political Islam, and socio-economic vulnerability.

(snip)

“Terrorism is a very real threat but we must not allow it to dominate discussion about national security.

Read the rest of this well balanced report.

How different does the same story sound when read in the well watered down form as released by dear old ‘aunty Beeb’?

Imagine how much impartial information those of us relying solely on supposedly trusted proffesional sources such as the BBC would be denied (be it by accident or by design), if it weren’t for our ability (and desire) to ferret about the internet a bit, for the benefit of both ourselves and others.

Read the rest of the BBC’s so obviously biased-by-ommission, offering.

Well, what do you think?

* (Cross posted at How This Old Brit Sees It)

Britain’s wind power revolution

Hip, hip, hip …. it’s good great news Sunday today, as we learn that the UK’s all set to show the world the sensible way of solving the planet’s most serious problem.

Britain is to embark on a wind power revolution that will produce enough electricity to power every home in the country, ministers will reveal tomorrow.

The Independent on Sunday has learnt that, in an astonishing U-turn, the Secretary of State for Business, John Hutton, will announce that he is opening up the seas around Britain to wind farms in the biggest ever renewable energy initiative.

(snip)

Yesterday hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in 86 countries across the globe to demand urgent action from the Bali meeting. Several thousand campaigners marched in torrential rain through London to rally at the US embassy. Some posters carried a picture of President George Bush and the words “Wanted for crimes against the planet”.

(snip)

… announcement, which will be made at a conference in Berlin tomorrow, will identify sites in British waters for enough wind farms to produce 25 gigawatts (GW) of electricity by 2020, in addition to the 8GW already planned – enough to meet the needs of all the country’s homes.

It means that within only eight years, Britain’s offshore wind industry will be twice the size of that of any other nation in the world.

As an old Brit bulldog, Sir Winston Spencer Churchill once so famously said:”This England. This sceptered isle. This green and pleasant land.”

But what about what the old boy didn’t say?

Possibly, something such as …. set full square in the centre of a veritable surfeit of sustainable natural resources:sea and wind.

Yet it’s taken until now for any of our leaders to latch on. Still, better late than never we suppose.

Read the rest of this environmental revolution report.

We wonder whether the wasters squatting in the White House are watching?

*(Cross posted at How This Old Brit Sees It)

but for what price?

The Northwest Passage is a route through the Canadian Arctic Arphipelago that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, a route that has virtually been impossible due to the think layers of sea ice coating the passage year round. Satellite images have now confirmed that the passage is most definitely opening up.

This opening creates a 4000 km shorter ship route from China to Europe. Also oil production in Alaska would move much more quickly to the European markets. For a long while the resources in Northern Canada have been extremely hard to get to, and even harder to ship - but this passage will open up the possibility of increased exports. The passage opening up could saved billions of dollars on transport costs and save money like mad crazy.

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We’re often told that little things can make a big difference. Change your light bulbs, recycle, walk, buy local food, unplug things when you’re not using them - etc. But what BIG things are people doing? The following is a list of five “big” projects that just might be the coolest projects on the environment from the past year or so…:

1. Solar-Powered Paint

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