tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81930376233249681772024-03-13T10:38:26.249-07:00Environment, Energy & Global WarmingPGAlliancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10474589912232082691noreply@blogger.comBlogger528125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-53315256417330067102014-04-11T08:00:00.002-07:002014-04-11T08:00:39.349-07:00EPA chief’s weekly flights home emit tons of CO2 Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy may be a global
warming crusader, but her weekly flights home to Boston are causing her
to emit tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.<br />
<br />
The EPA recently released a <a class="itxtnewhook itxthook" href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/04/09/epa-chiefs-weekly-flights-home-emit-tons-of-co2/#" id="itxthook0" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border: 0px none transparent; display: inline; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="itxtrst itxtrstspan itxtnowrap" id="itxthook0p"><span class="itxtrst itxtrstspan itxtnowrap itxtnewhookspan" id="itxthook0w" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: transparent transparent rgb(0, 204, 0); border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #009900; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px 0px 1px ! important; text-decoration: underline ! important;">photo</span><img class="itxtrst itxtrstimg itxthookicon" id="itxthook0icon" src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png" style="margin-bottom: 0px!important; margin-left: 0px!important; margin-right: 0px!important; margin-top: 0px!important; padding-bottom: 0px!important; padding-left: 4px!important; padding-right: 0px!important; padding-top: 0px!important; vertical-align: baseline!important;" /></span></a>
album titled “A Day In The Life of the EPA Administrator” that shows
what McCarthy does on a typical day, including the fact that she flies
home nearly every weekend to spend time with her family.<br />
<br />
“Although she keeps a small apartment near EPA headquarters, almost
every weekend McCarthy travels back to Boston, to her home and her
husband,” <a class="external" href="http://www2.epa.gov/aboutepa/day-life-epa-administrator#main-content" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">according to the EPA</a>.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />Read more: <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/04/09/epa-chiefs-weekly-flights-home-emit-tons-of-co2/#ixzz2yaeTX8Wb" style="color: #003399;">http://dailycaller.com/2014/04/09/epa-chiefs-weekly-flights-home-emit-tons-of-co2/#ixzz2yaeTX8Wb</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-55226025796153548002014-04-10T08:35:00.001-07:002014-04-10T08:35:05.665-07:00Germany Amends Green-Energy Regime to Curb Rise in Prices<h2 class="subHed deck">
Analysts Say Reforms Fall Short</h2>
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<span class="intro">By</span>
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<span class="c-name" itemprop="author" rel="author"> Harriet Torry <span class="bk-box"></span></span> and
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<span class="c-name" itemprop="author" rel="author">Jan Hromadko<span class="bk-box"></span></span>
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April 8, 2014 11:43 a.m. ET</div>
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BERLIN—The German government has amended renewable-energy laws meant
to help make the country nuclear-free but that have sent power prices
rocketing—squeezing consumers and the country's formidable export
machine.<br />
<br />
The cabinet approved amendments on Tuesday that it said
would contain soaring electricity costs while seeking to protect German
jobs in the industrial sector. The changes include less ambitious
targets for wind power and a...<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304819004579489434076477734?mg=reno64-wsj">http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304819004579489434076477734?mg=reno64-wsj</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-88380638866582099832014-04-08T07:08:00.001-07:002014-04-08T07:08:33.739-07:00Second Climate Thoughts
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The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change published its latest mammoth report last week, and the
effort marks an improvement over the IPCC's last such effort in 2007.
That may not be saying much, but on climate change intellectual progress
of any sort is worth commending.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 15px;">
The
IPCC's "Fifth Assessment Report," or AR5, is generating the usual
alarmist headlines: "Impacts on All Continents, Worse to Come" was
typical. That's partly a function of what the IPCC frontloads into the
28-page "summary for policymakers," the only portion of the report that
most politicians or journalists ever bother reading, and that is sexed
up for mass media consumption.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So it's
worth diving deeper into the report, where a much more cautious picture
of the state of climate science comes into view. Gone are some of the
false alarmist claims from the last report, such as the forecast that
the Himalayan glaciers would vanish by 2035 or that hurricanes are
becoming more intense. "Current data sets," the report admits, "indicate
no significant observed trends in global tropical cyclone frequency
over the past century." Recall the false claims of climate cause and
storm effect last year after Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines.</div>
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<br /></div>
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READ MORE: <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303532704579477222157281450?mod=rss_opinion_main&mg=reno64-wsj" target="_blank">http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303532704579477222157281450?mod=rss_opinion_main&mg=reno64-wsj</a> </div>
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</section>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-33833527406486460732014-04-04T07:11:00.003-07:002014-04-04T07:11:47.698-07:00Delaware Carbon Tax to Increase Electric Rates The first regional carbon auction using new rules confirmed
electric rates will eventually increase by about $60 a year for an
average residential customer as predicted by CRI. Electric cost could
rise hundreds of thousands a year for large industrial customers
compared to non-carbon tax states leading to even more job losses in
Delaware. Speculators snapped up over half the available permits
freezing out power plants that will have to pay even higher prices in a
secondary trading market.<br />
<br />
<div>
Permits to release carbon dioxide (CO2) must be
purchased in quarterly auctions by electric power plants. Unhappy with
the state tax revenue being generated, Delaware, along with eight other
states, reduced the number of available permits by 45% hoping a shortage
of permits would lead to higher prices. The March 5, 2014, auction saw
prices more than double from where they were before the announcement of
the change a year ago. All the available permits sold as opposed to 53%
in earlier auctions resulting in revenue increasing 3.5 times to $4.5
million. The cost of the permits is passed on in electric bills.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
One of the rule changes added price caps to the auction
that started at $4/ton in 2014 and increased to $10/ton by 2017. To
keep prices going above the cap extra permits would be held in reserve
to increase supply. The entire annual reserve was used up in the first
auction as demand was three times higher than the number of permits
available. Making matters worse, speculators purchased 55% of the
available permits. These permits will be sold to power generators in a
secondary market at even higher prices resulting in even higher electric
rates as the cost is passed on. We expect speculators will add over 40%
to the cost of the program. Prior to the rule change there were no
speculators in the market.</div>
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<div>
READ MORE: <a href="http://caesarrodney.org/index.cfm?ref=30200&ref2=446" target="_blank">http://caesarrodney.org/index.cfm?ref=30200&ref2=446</a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-89197510183122747862014-04-03T08:15:00.002-07:002014-04-03T08:15:12.388-07:00EPA's shredding system makes bad news about climate regulations disappear<span itemprop="articleBody">
</span><br />
Federal <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/policy/law" target="_blank">law</a> mandates an independent scientific review of the possible effects -- both good and bad -- of proposed <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/policy/environment-energy" target="_blank">environmental</a> regulations before decisionmakers act. The <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/section/epa" target="_blank">Environmental Protection Agency</a> doesn't do that.<br />
<br />
The scofflaw EPA routinely and systematically kills any hint of bad
effects from its rulemaking that might appear in its scientific reviews.<br />
<br />
That despicable tampering with the truth has duped the American
public into believing that environmental regulations have only good
effects and positive net costs and deliberately blinded us to the
enormous evils we suffer because of EPA’s self-serving malice.<br />
<br />
The EPA's outrageous meddling has come to light as it prepares the
most expensive regulation in history, harsh new ozone rules, with the <a href="http://www.epa.gov/glo/pdfs/fs20100106ria.pdf" target="_blank">agency's own cost estimates</a> at more than $90 billion per year.<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/epas-shredding-system-makes-bad-news-about-climate-regulations-disappear/article/2546272" target="_blank">http://washingtonexaminer.com/epas-shredding-system-makes-bad-news-about-climate-regulations-disappear/article/2546272</a> <br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-68085663391714065812014-04-02T07:56:00.001-07:002014-04-02T07:56:29.829-07:00Kansas Senate gives approval to new bill ending renewable energy standardsA bill repealing renewable energy standards for utility companies won approval in the Kansas Senate on Tuesday.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/hb2014/" target="_blank">House Bill 2014 </a>would
end the renewable portfolio standards that require Kansas utility
companies to receive 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources
by 2020.<br />
<br />
The vote was 25-15. The bill now goes to the House.<br />
<br />
Sen.
Forrest Knox, R-Altoona, who carried the bill, contended that repeal
was necessary because of the expiration of a federal tax credit for wind
production. He said Kansans would be stuck making up for the loss of
that tax break in their electric bills.<br />
<div style="color: black; font: 10pt sans-serif; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-transform: none; width: 1px;">
<br />Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/03/25/3367792/kansas-senate-to-consider-bill.html#storylink=cpy</div>
<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://www.kansas.com/2014/03/25/3367792/kansas-senate-to-consider-bill.html" target="_blank">http://www.kansas.com/2014/03/25/3367792/kansas-senate-to-consider-bill.html</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-75272739762103021182014-03-31T08:01:00.003-07:002014-03-31T08:01:32.933-07:00EDITORIAL: When smoke gets in the EPA’s eyes<h3 class="ss grey mb min">
Another of life’s pleasures goes the way of the light bulb</h3>
<h3 class="ss grey mb min">
</h3>
Nothing chases the chill of a cold winter’s night like pulling a chair up close to a wood-burning stove. The <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/environmental-protection-agency/">Environmental Protection Agency</a>,
which lives in mortal dread that somewhere, someone is enjoying life,
wants to eliminate wood-burning stoves. President Obama has agreed to
impose a tax on coziness, with new regulations proposed by his <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/environmental-protection-agency/">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/environmental-protection-agency/">EPA</a>).<br />
<br />
These
new rules would reduce the maximum airborne particulate emissions for
new stoves by 80 percent to 4.5 grams per hour initially, and crank down
the allowable level further to 1.3 grams after five years. Achieving
these targets will add between $300 and $500 to the cost of a stove,
prompting fears that working-class folk who typically burn wood to save
money won’t be able to afford to do so. A period of public comment on
the proposed standards ends May 5.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />Read more: <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/24/editorial-when-smoke-gets-in-the-epas-eyes/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS#ixzz2xYKpYeqd" style="color: #003399;">http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/24/editorial-when-smoke-gets-in-the-epas-eyes/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS#ixzz2xYKpYeqd</a>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-32139658067298550502014-03-28T07:34:00.001-07:002014-03-28T07:34:18.952-07:00Germany Is Running Out of Energy Options<div class="text text-1 parbase section">
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Germany, Europe’s <a href="http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=gm" target="_blank">largest energy consumer</a>—and the world’s seventh-largest—seems to be running out of politically feasible sources of power.</h4>
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At a summit last week, EU leaders pledged to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/business/international/weaning-europe-from-russian-gas.html" target="_blank">reduce their reliance</a>
on Russia for energy supplies. This isn’t an immediate crisis: No
matter how tense things get, Russia isn’t likely to eliminate 14 percent
of its export earnings by cutting off Europe’s energy supply. If Moscow decides to punish Ukraine by withholding gas supplies or raising prices, there are now <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/03/ukraine-crisis-gas-europe-idUSL6N0M01VY20140303" target="_blank">alternate supply routes</a> for getting the gas to Western Europe. And thanks to a milder-than-normal winter, gas reserves are currently high.<br />
<br />
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But in the long term, countries like Germany would likely feel in a better position to deal with Russia if they <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/03/04/why_is_angela_merkel_so_hesitant_to_punish_russia.html">weren’t dependent on it</a> for one-third of their oil and natural gas. Unfortunately, none of the country’s other options looks that great either.<br />
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Germany is <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/02/25/japan_s_new_energy_plan_three_years_after_fukushima_the_world_still_craves.html">one of the few countries in the world</a> that seems to be sticking with its post-Fukushima pledge to wean itself off of nuclear energy. It plans to have <a href="http://www.dw.de/scrapping-nuclear-plants-to-cost-billions/a-17439221" target="_blank">all of its nine remaining nuclear plants offline</a> by 2022.<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/03/24/no_nukes_no_russian_gas_no_fossils_no_solar_no_fracking_how_exactly_does.html" target="_blank">http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/03/24/no_nukes_no_russian_gas_no_fossils_no_solar_no_fracking_how_exactly_does.html</a> <br />
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-42764966577180526652014-03-27T06:41:00.001-07:002014-03-27T06:41:12.397-07:00Biofuels do more harm than good, UN warns<h2 itemprop="alternativeHeadline description">
Growing crops to make “green” biofuel harms the environment and drives up food
prices, admits the United Nations</h2>
<h2 itemprop="alternativeHeadline description">
</h2>
<div class="firstPar">
The United Nations will officially warn that growing crops to make “green”
biofuel harms the environment and drives up food prices, The Telegraph can
disclose.<br />
</div>
<div class="secondPar">
A leaked draft of a UN report condemns the widespread use of biofuels made
from crops as a replacement for petrol and diesel. It says that biofuels,
rather than combating the effects of global warming, could make them worse.<br />
</div>
<div class="thirdPar">
The draft report represents a dramatic about-turn for the UN’s
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).<br />
</div>
<div class="fourthPar">
Its previous assessment on climate change, in 2007, was widely condemned by
environmentalists for giving the green light to large-scale biofuel
production. The latest report instead puts pressure on world leaders to
scrap policies promoting the use of biofuel for transport.<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/10716756/Biofuels-do-more-harm-than-good-UN-warns.html" target="_blank">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/10716756/Biofuels-do-more-harm-than-good-UN-warns.html</a> </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-78662536188308295982014-03-26T10:00:00.002-07:002014-03-26T10:00:59.966-07:00German city wants ‘green police’ to raid homes to enforce electric heater ban Germany politicians are taking the notion of going green to a whole
new level, calling for the creation of “green police” with the power to
raid homes and businesses in order to enforce environmental regulations.<br />
<br />
The German port city of Bremen is setting out a goal to cut carbon
dioxide emissions 40 percent by 2020. To meet this goal, the city is
toying with the idea of creating a green police force that would enter
private homes and property to enforce a ban on electric heaters.<br />
<br />
<a class="external" href="http://www.libmag.de/endlich-die-gruene-umweltpolizei/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Friedrich Naumann Foundation For Liberty reports</a>
that, “[w]hat sounds like one of the usual injection of fuel into the
green bonfire of bans in fact takes on a whole new quality. The proposed
law by Environment Senator Joachim Lohse foresees a system of
monitoring that allows for detection of violations and punishment.”<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />Read more: <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/21/german-city-wants-green-police-to-raid-homes-to-enforce-electric-heater-ban/#ixzz2x5aNkphS" style="color: #003399;">http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/21/german-city-wants-green-police-to-raid-homes-to-enforce-electric-heater-ban/#ixzz2x5aNkphS</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-82437759475974353752014-03-25T06:42:00.000-07:002014-03-25T06:42:15.342-07:00Governments rip up renewable contracts<em><strong>Companies ‘do not have a right [to expect the compensation] not to be changed’</strong></em><br />
<br />
Governments across Europe, regretting the over-generous deals doled
out to the renewable energy sector, have begun reneging on them. To slow
ruinous power bills hikes, governments are unilaterally rewriting
contracts and clawing back unseemly profits.<br />
<br />
In Italy, one of Europe’s largest economies and one that lavished
billions in subsidies on the renewable sector, the government in 2013
applied its so-called “Robin Hood tax” to renewable energy producers.
Under the new rule, renewable energy producers with more than €3 million
in revenue and income greater than €300,000 must now pay a tax of
10.5%.<br />
<br />
That follows a 2012 move to charge all solar producers a five cent
tax per kilowatt hour on all self-consumed energy. The government also
told solar producers that it would stop taking their power – and would
offer no compensation – when their output overwhelms the system.<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://opinion.financialpost.com/2014/03/18/governments-rip-up-renewable-contracts/" target="_blank">http://opinion.financialpost.com/2014/03/18/governments-rip-up-renewable-contracts/</a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-63141342416860983992014-03-24T08:02:00.001-07:002014-03-24T08:02:43.932-07:00A Climate Analyst Clarifies the Science Behind California’s Water Woes<div class="story-body-text">
There’s no question that residents of California and much of the West face a <a href="https://www.nae.edu/Publications/Bridge/55183/55194.aspx">collision between high water demands</a> driven by <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21596955-drought-forcing-westerners-consider-wasting-less-water-drying-west" title="Economist on California Water">growth and outdated policies</a> and <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140214-drought-california-prehistory-science-climate-san-francisco-2/">a limited and highly variable water supply</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But that reality hasn’t stopped heated arguments from springing up in recent days over the cause or causes of <a href="http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Rainfall-Does-Little-Quench-SoCal-Thirst-248484081.html" title="California's drought">California’s continuing epic drought</a>.
Is one of the drivers the growing human influence on the climate? Or is
this drought something we’ve seen before, the result of natural
variability?</div>
<div class="story-body-text">
<br /></div>
<div class="story-body-text">
In the wake of an <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116887/does-climate-change-cause-extreme-weather-i-said-no-and-was-attacked">unusual public debate</a> on this issue between <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/critique_of_pielke_jr_statements_on_drought.pdf" title="Holdren on Pielke">President Obama’s science adviser, John Holdren</a>, and <a href="http://rogerpielkejr.blogspot.com/2014/03/john-holdrens-epic-fail.html" title="Pielke on Holdren">Roger Pielke, Jr.</a>, <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=%22pielke+jr%22+losses+climate&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C33&as_sdtp=">a longtime analyst of climate-related disaster losses</a> at the University of Colorado, I received a helpful note from <a href="http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/people/martin.hoerling/">Martin Hoerling</a>, who <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=hoerling+extreme+climate&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C33&as_sdtp=" title="Hoerling research on extreme events">studies climate extremes</a> for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.</div>
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<div class="story-body-text">
READ MORE: <a href="http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/a-climate-analyst-clarifies-the-science-behind-californias-extreme-drought/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=2" target="_blank">http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/a-climate-analyst-clarifies-the-science-behind-californias-extreme-drought/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=2</a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-87774851878383606432014-03-21T07:25:00.003-07:002014-03-21T07:25:19.987-07:00An Obama Advisor Is Attacking Me for Testifying That Climate Change Hasn't Increased Extreme WeatherLast Friday, the White House posted on its website a six-page criticism of me by the president’s science advisor, John Holdren, expanding on testimony he had given to Congress last week claiming that my views on climate change and extreme weather are outside of "mainstream scientific opinion.” Holdren was specifically responding to Senate testimony I gave last year where I argued that recent extreme weather events, including hurricanes, droughts, floods, and tornadoes, have not increased in recent decades due to human-caused climate change. In this debate the facts are on my side. The claims I made in my congressional testimony are no different from the ones made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ("Long-term trends in economic disaster losses adjusted for wealth and population increases have not been attributed to climate change, but a role for climate change has not been excluded") and broadly supported in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Even Warren Buffett recently explained that more extreme events haven't affected his insurance investments, but that "I love apocalyptic predictions" because they increase insurance rates, earning him more money. When Holdren links specific weather events to human-caused climate change—such as the California drought or the cold winter—he is exaggerating the state of scientific understandings.Last Friday, the White House posted on its website a <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/critique_of_pielke_jr_statements_on_drought.pdf">six-page criticism</a> of me by the president’s science advisor, John Holdren, expanding on <a href="http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=e8d6a0c3-982e-2afa-f53d-131ea566818b">testimony</a> he
had given to Congress last week claiming that my views on climate
change and extreme weather are outside of "mainstream scientific
opinion.” Holdren was specifically responding to Senate <a href="http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=cfe32378-96a4-81ed-9d0e-2618e6ddff46">testimony</a> I
gave last year where I argued that recent extreme weather events,
including hurricanes, droughts, floods, and tornadoes, have not
increased in recent decades due to human-caused climate change.<br />
<br />
In
this debate the facts are on my side. The claims I made in my
congressional testimony are no different from the ones made by the <a href="http://ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> ("Long-term
trends in economic disaster losses adjusted for wealth and population
increases have not been attributed to climate change, but a role for
climate change has not been excluded") and broadly supported in the <a href="http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/2010BAMS3092.1">peer-reviewed scientific literature</a>. Even Warren Buffett recently <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/101460458">explained</a> that
more extreme events haven't affected his insurance investments, but
that "I love apocalyptic predictions" because they increase insurance
rates, earning him more money. When Holdren links specific weather
events to human-caused climate change—such as the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/101460458">California drought</a> or the <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2014/01/john-holdren-video-polar-vortex">cold winter</a>—he is exaggerating the state of scientific understandings.<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116887/does-climate-change-cause-extreme-weather-i-said-no-and-was-attacked" target="_blank">http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116887/does-climate-change-cause-extreme-weather-i-said-no-and-was-attacked</a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-82760634566587273342014-03-20T08:13:00.002-07:002014-03-20T08:13:25.794-07:00Europe needs an alternative to Russian natural gasOVER THE past decade, Russian President Vladimir Putin has extorted
fealty from his neighbors by using energy, particularly natural gas, as a
political cudgel. In 2006 and 2009, <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-demands-ukraine-pay-overdue-gas-bill-raising-fears-of-gas-war-1.2286634">Gazprom, the Russian state gas monopoly</a>,
suspended exports to Ukraine, demonstrating its willingness to withhold
fuel from millions of customers to push them around. Now, in the
tensest conflict yet between the two nations, Russia is threatening to
boost the price Ukrainians pay for gas imports.<br />
<br />
This behavior has boomeranged to some extent. Along with other
developments in world energy markets, Russia’s subordination of economic
considerations to political ones has given both Ukraine and the West
incentive to diversify their supply sources, which has increased their
leverage. That should help Ukraine and the European Union resist
Russia’s aggression now and do more to free themselves from Gazprom’s
grip in the future.<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/europe-needs-an-alternative-to-russian-natural-gas/2014/03/05/31f30ac2-a321-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c_story.html" target="_blank">http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/europe-needs-an-alternative-to-russian-natural-gas/2014/03/05/31f30ac2-a321-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c_story.html</a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-2724801001075462462014-03-19T08:04:00.002-07:002014-03-19T08:04:22.850-07:00Wave Energy Developer Pulls Plug On Oregon ProjectDevelopers have scrapped their plans to build the nation’s first
large-scale wave energy project off the Oregon Coast, saying the costs
were too high to make it work.<br />
<br />
The much-anticipated project would have placed a flotilla of 100
energy-producing buoys, each the size of a school bus, in the waves off
the coast of Reedsport, Ore.<br />
<br />
The project’s developer, Ocean Power Technologies, surrendered its
preliminary permit with the federal government, Oregon regulators
disclosed Monday.<br />
<br />
<br />
The project <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/us/project-aims-to-harness-wave-energy-off-the-oregon-coast.html?_r=0" title="">generated national headlines</a>
in the run-up to its planned launch in October, 2012. But after it
delayed the deployment of its first buoy, the project seemed to be stuck
on hold.<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://earthfix.opb.org/energy/article/wave-energy-developer-pulls-plug-on-oregon-project/" target="_blank">http://earthfix.opb.org/energy/article/wave-energy-developer-pulls-plug-on-oregon-project/ </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-84359528221797435832014-03-18T07:13:00.002-07:002014-03-18T07:13:38.130-07:00Top 5 failed ‘snow free’ and ‘ice free’ predictions With the U.S. East Coast blanketed in snow once again, it’s hard to
imagine that climate scientists and environmentalists predicted years
ago that the “end of snow” was nigh and that the Arctic would soon be
“ice-free.”<br />
<br />
The U.S. East Coast got pounded by yet another winter storm on Monday
that brought to temperatures to a 141-year record low in the
Baltimore-Washington, D.C. metro area. The rash of cold weather and
snowstorms have put environmentalists and climate scientists on the
defensive, as they explain that one exceptionally cold and snowy winter
does not disprove global warming.<br />
<br />
New York Times writer Peter Fox took to the editorial pages to pen an op-ed called the “<a class="external" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/08/opinion/sunday/the-end-of-snow.html?_r=0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">End of Snow</a>” which argued that global warming meant that there could be no more snowy areas to hold future Winter Olympic games.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />Read more: <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/04/top-5-failed-snow-free-and-ice-free-predictions/#ixzz2wK85tf5p" style="color: #003399;">http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/04/top-5-failed-snow-free-and-ice-free-predictions/#ixzz2wK85tf5p</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-16719488997841081032014-03-14T06:53:00.002-07:002014-03-14T06:53:57.749-07:00This Is The Gas Pipeline Map That Shows Why The Crisis In Ukraine Affects All Of EuropeIf you question the strategic location of Ukraine, check out this map
that Agence France-Presse made last in December — two months before
protesters in Kiev forced President Viktor Yanukovych out of office.<br />
<br />
Russia has now <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-stance-on-ukraine-2014-3">invaded</a> the strategic Black Sea <span>peninsula </span>of Crimea, and markets are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-sparks-monday-market-sell-off-2014-3">spooked</a> at the possibility that Russian troops that are being built up on the border could enter eastern Ukraine.<br />
<br />
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">As the international tug-of-war for
Ukraine continues, the tension involving economic relations in the
region — especially regarding gas flow from Russia to both Ukraine and
Europe — will increase.</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />Read more: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-one-economic-reason-russias-invasion-of-crimea-pulls-in-europe-2014-3#ixzz2vwf171OZ" style="color: #003399;">http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-one-economic-reason-russias-invasion-of-crimea-pulls-in-europe-2014-3#ixzz2vwf171OZ</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-77342318846608472282014-03-13T06:33:00.001-07:002014-03-13T06:33:35.687-07:00Electric customers feel winter's costly impactA few years back, Kerri Heaney thought she would save money by
dropping Delmarva Power and signing a one-year contract with Liberty
Power Holdings for her electricity supply.<br />
<br />
The contract expired,
but she thought nothing of it until last month, when she received a $950
supply charge on her power bill for her Prices Corner-area farmhouse.
It was nearly three times what she had paid the month before, despite
the fact her family had used less electricity.<br />
<br />
"Just looking at it, seeing it on paper, it was like, holy smokes, that's a huge jump," Heaney said.<br />
<br />
People
who buy their electricity from Delmarva Power, or those who have an
active contract with a competitive supplier, are merely using more
electricity during an especially cold winter. But customers like Heaney,
whose supplier contract has lapsed, generally are experiencing price
shock this winter, confirmed David Bonar, state public advocate.<br />
<br />
Those customers have seen their per-kilowatt-hour rate mirror spot
electricity market rates, which have increased more than 400 percent in
the past two months, according to information released by PJM
Interconnection, the regional grid manager.<br />
<br />
Public Service
Commission spokesman Matt Hartigan reported there have been 53
complaints about high bills from alternative electricity suppliers so
far this year, across four different suppliers. By contrast, there have
been no complaints about Delmarva's electricity charges, he said.<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/2014/03/02/electric-customers-feel-winters-costly-impact/5955275/" target="_blank">http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/2014/03/02/electric-customers-feel-winters-costly-impact/5955275/</a> <br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-48885534517232640472014-03-12T06:21:00.002-07:002014-03-12T06:21:13.073-07:00How Coal Can Alleviate Pain at the Plug Adjusted for inflation, American median household incomes have eroded six percent since 2007<span style="line-height: 1.538em;">,
and for some low- and middle-income families, energy cost are rising
faster than incomes. More than just the pain at the pump most Americans
experience with gas prices, high energy costs create a regressive tax
for families trying to keep their lights on and their houses warm. A
record one in three Americans qualify for energy assistance.</span><br />
<br />
In the last decade, the cost of energy as a percentage of after
income has risen by two-thirds for middle-income households. Today, the
average middle- to lower-income family spends 20 percent or more of
their take-home pay on energy expenses. The lower the income, the more
disproportionate the energy strain becomes. Households earning less than
$30,000 in 2011 – nearly one-third of all households in the United
States – faced energy costs that consumed, on average, 27 percent of
their family budgets.<br />
<br />
Historically, energy has been far less burdensome on the family
pocketbook, but today it competes with other fundamental necessities
such as food, housing and health care. While federal funding for the Low
Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has helped alleviate
some of these hardships, funding for LIHEAP was cut from $5.1 billion to
$4.7 billion in 2011, and slashed again to $3.5 billion in 2012. The
result has been a weaker safety net for lower income families that were
already struggling to make ends meet.<br />
<br />
READ MORE: https://www.advancedenergyforlife.com/article/how-coal-can-alleviate-pain-at-the-plug<a href="https://www.advancedenergyforlife.com/article/how-coal-can-alleviate-pain-at-the-plug" target="_blank">https://www.advancedenergyforlife.com/article/how-coal-can-alleviate-pain-at-the-plug</a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-10063381037121016752014-03-11T08:28:00.001-07:002014-03-11T08:28:06.874-07:00Greenpeace co-founder says ‘no scientific proof’ humans cause climate changeA co-founder of <a href="http://p.washingtontimes.com/topics/greenpeace/">Greenpeace</a> told a <a href="http://p.washingtontimes.com/topics/senate/">Senate</a> panel on Tuesday that there is no scientific evidence to back claims that humans are the “dominant cause” of climate change.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://p.washingtontimes.com/topics/patrick-moore/">Patrick Moore</a>, a Canadian ecologist who was a member of <a href="http://p.washingtontimes.com/topics/greenpeace/">Greenpeace</a> from 1971-86, told members of the <a href="http://p.washingtontimes.com/topics/senate-environment-and-public-works-committee/">Senate Environment and Public Works Committee</a> <a class="itxtnewhook itxthookactive" href="http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/26/greenpeace-co-founder-says-no-scientific-proof-hum/#" id="itxthook0" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border: 0px none transparent; display: inline; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="itxtrst itxtrstspan itxtnowrap" id="itxthook0p"><span class="itxtrst itxtrstspan itxtnowrap itxtnewhookspan" id="itxthook0w" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: transparent transparent rgb(0, 204, 0); border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #009900; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal; padding: 0px 0px 1px ! important; text-decoration: underline ! important;">environmental</span><img class="itxtrst itxtrstimg itxthookicon" id="itxthook0icon" src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png" style="margin-bottom: 0px!important; margin-left: 0px!important; margin-right: 0px!important; margin-top: 0px!important; padding-bottom: 0px!important; padding-left: 4px!important; padding-right: 0px!important; padding-top: 0px!important; vertical-align: baseline!important;" /></span></a> groups like <a href="http://p.washingtontimes.com/topics/greenpeace/">Greenpeace</a> use faulty computer models and scare tactics in further promoting a political agenda, Fox News reported.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />Read more: <a href="http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/26/greenpeace-co-founder-says-no-scientific-proof-hum/#ixzz2vfV7EREO" style="color: #003399;">http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/26/greenpeace-co-founder-says-no-scientific-proof-hum/#ixzz2vfV7EREO</a>
<br />Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=ctd-fI3Dar4z1uacwqm_6r&u=washtimes" target="_blank">@washtimes on Twitter</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-63548551105599702532014-03-07T06:18:00.000-08:002014-03-07T06:18:19.163-08:00Warren Buffett: Supposed Increase in Extreme Weather 'Hasn't Been True So Far' Any climate alarmist will tell you that climate change is increasing
extreme weather events, but liberal billionaire Warren Buffett easily
destroyed that argument.<br />
<br />
Buffett told CNBC March 3, that extreme weather events haven't
increased due to climate change, saying that weather events are
consistent with how they were 30-50 years ago. Buffett, who is heavily
invested in various insurance markets, said that climate change alarmism
has simply made hurricane insurance more profitable, driving up
premiums without increasing risk.<br />
<br />
READ MORE: http://cnsnews.com/mrctv-blog/sean-long/warren-buffett-supposed-increase-extreme-weather-hasnt-been-true-so-far#sthash.WGaR67s2.dpuf
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-17947895518098675942014-03-06T06:53:00.003-08:002014-03-06T06:53:12.964-08:00Customers tell horror stories of solar company that gets $422M in tax dollarsWe all get them — telemarketing callers pushing home solar-energy systems that will save us from rising electric bills.<br />
<br />
Most of us generally hang up. But in 2012, <b>Jeff Leeds</b>, who lives in the <b>Northern California</b> town of <b>Half Moon Bay</b>,
listened. His 3,100-square-foot home features 91 incandescent bucket
lights, a 180-gallon fish tank, three large refrigerator-freezers and a
huge entertainment system. His electric bill was averaging $350 per
month.<br />
<br />
The sales pitch Leeds was hearing on the phone sounded ideal: Lease a system from <b>SolarCity</b>, the <a href="http://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/top-250-solar-contractors/" target="_blank">nation’s second-largest</a> solar electrical contractor, for a low monthly fee and reap the rewards of cheap electricity.<br />
“For a $600 fee up front, I would pay $182 a month for the next 20
years,” Leeds said. “They have a performance guarantee. If I don’t make
enough electricity, they said, ‘No problem, don’t worry, we will write
you a check.’ I thought, ‘I’m covered.’”<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://watchdog.org/130098/solarcity-horror-stories/" target="_blank">http://watchdog.org/130098/solarcity-horror-stories/ </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-50502681483852295942014-03-05T06:39:00.001-08:002014-03-05T06:39:12.328-08:00US, UK scientists: Cutting all CO2 emissions would not stop global warming Calls from environmentalists and lawmakers to cut carbon dioxide
emissions to fight global warming would do nothing to stop global
temperatures from rising, according to American and British climate
scientists.<br />
In fact, completely stopping all man-made carbon emissions would do nothing to stop the Earth from warming.<br />
<br />
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the UK’s Royal Society have
jointly put out a publication to lay out the knowns and unknowns of
global warming science. The publication says that global temperatures
are rising due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from the
burning of fossil fuels.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />READ MORE: <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/27/us-uk-scientists-cutting-all-co2-emissions-would-not-stop-global-warming/#ixzz2v6DbBoJj" style="color: #003399;">http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/27/us-uk-scientists-cutting-all-co2-emissions-would-not-stop-global-warming/#ixzz2v6DbBoJj</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-91658414322642292622014-03-04T10:21:00.002-08:002014-03-04T10:21:29.930-08:00The myth of ‘settled science’I<span> </span>repeat: I’m not a global warming believer. I’m not a global warming denier. <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052903266.html">I’ve long believed</a>
that it cannot be good for humanity to be spewing tons of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere. I also believe that those scientists who
pretend to know exactly what this will cause in 20, 30 or 50 years are
white-coated propagandists.<br />
<br />
“The debate is settled,” asserted propagandist in chief Barack Obama in his <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/full-text-of-obamas-2014-state-of-the-union-address/2014/01/28/e0c93358-887f-11e3-a5bd-844629433ba3_story.html">latest State of the Union address</a>.
“Climate change is a fact.” Really? There is nothing more
anti-scientific than the very idea that science is settled, static,
impervious to challenge. Take a non-climate example. It was long assumed
that mammograms help reduce breast cancer deaths. This fact was so
settled that Obamacare requires every insurance plan to offer mammograms
(for free, no less)
<a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-obamacare-laid-bare/2013/10/31/d229515a-4254-11e3-a624-41d661b0bb78_story.html">or be subject to termination</a>.<br />
<br />
READ MORE: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-the-myth-of-settled-science/2014/02/20/c1f8d994-9a75-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html" target="_blank">http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-the-myth-of-settled-science/2014/02/20/c1f8d994-9a75-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html</a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193037623324968177.post-20823344622270862432014-02-28T06:56:00.002-08:002014-02-28T06:56:35.282-08:00Health links hyped to drive fear of fracking despite studies that fail to back up claims DENVER — Environmentalists are still waiting for proof that hydraulic
fracturing makes people sick, but that’s not stopping them from
whipping up anxiety over public health.<br />
<br />
Two high-profile research
papers seeking connections between hydraulic fracturing and health
issues in Garfield County, Colo., are being trumpeted as evidence that
fracking is harmful, even though the studies don’t show that.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />Read more: <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/25/health-links-hyped-to-drive-fear-of-fracking-despi/#.Uw31-P9Uelc.facebook#ixzz2ud3SSaR3" style="color: #003399;">http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/25/health-links-hyped-to-drive-fear-of-fracking-despi/#.Uw31-P9Uelc.facebook#ixzz2ud3SSaR3</a>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0