This is a video of Colin O'Mara while he was Technology Office in San Jose, CA. You'll notice that he's talking environmental "unsustainability" even though California has probably the toughest environmental rules in the world and there has been 40 years of progress. For the true believers, it seems there is never any progress.
Click to watch VIDEO
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Bloom Energy - Do you want to play?
RE: Reject the Fuel Cell Tariff
DATE : 9/30/11
The Markell Administration would like you to become a high risk venture capitalist to support an expensive “green” jobs agenda. You get to bet about $1250. Tariff documents, using dubious assumptions, claim avoided Renewable Energy Credit purchases and Bloom’s sale of electricity will offset this by $1000. Economic development benefits from the Bloom Energy factory will have to offset the rest of your “investment”. Your odds are one in twenty of winning that bet. Large manufacturing and commercial customers will “invest” $2.5 million. Do you want to play? If not tell the Public Service Commission to reject Delmarva Powers’ request for an electricity rate increase to pay for power from Bloom’s fuel cell servers.
Those 900 jobs Bloom is promising may or may not happen as only between one and five percent of business startups succeed, think dot.com bubble and Solyndra. We will pay $16 million towards the $50 million manufacturing plant construction cost and another $7.5 million for roads, water, and sewers. Bloom has said that is not enough.
Bloom wants a guaranteed market for 300 to 500 servers. Keep in mind they have only sold about 100 so far with very large California and federal subsidies. Furthermore, they want the approvals in a hurry so their investors can receive a 30% federal cash grant, or about $90 million, that expires at the end of this year. They have said the manufacturing plant will not be built if these conditions are not met.
Legislation was passed in a hurry in June to define natural gas fired fuel cells as renewable energy. We will guarantee Bloom $800 million in tariff payments and guarantee Delmarva Power $300 million for the natural gas to fuel it (Delmarva does not profit from this). Bloom gets a guarantee, you get shaky assumptions in return. The “Expected Case” used to justify the tariff assumes inflated estimates of future conventional power prices and both regular and solar Renewable Energy Credit prices to calculate your offsets to this $1.1 billion price tag.
How inflated? The future electricity price is double estimates from the U.S Energy Information Agency. Standard Renewable Energy Credits from power sources like wind sell for $1.50 each now. The “Expected Case” assumes a price seventeen times higher at $25.57. Solar Renewable Energy Credits sell for $100 each but the tariff case used $205.
Now the last I checked when demand drops prices drop. Think about the current value of your home. Delmarva will have to buy one third fewer solar credits and won’t have to buy any more regular credits until about 2022 because of the tariff. But the price of these credits will increase? The law that requires power companies to buy these credits and to pass the cost onto you expires in 2025. The tariff case also assumes they continue to 2035 with no legislation to back it up. The potential impact to you is $3 to $4 a month instead of $1. This may not seem like a lot but put $3.75 a month in an IRA at 7% interest and you would have over $2,500 by the end of the contract.
It is a common tactic of proponents of this type of program to try and minimize the apparent cost impact. They break it down to a single month instead of the total cost, use only the residential impact and ignore the $25,000 to $100,000 a year cost to manufacturers, use inflated cost comparisons for conventional power, and spread the cost over as many customers as possible. This time the cost will even be spread to customers who don’t buy the generation portion of their power from Delmarva.
The Bluewater Wind offshore wind cost was originally estimated at $6.56 a month. Following the above steps, along with a price concession, proponents reduced the apparent effect to $.70 a month. No offshore wind power has been produced yet but the latest estimate is $1.70 a month because conventional power prices didn’t go up as fast as the exaggerated estimate said it would. Future electric rates are still being exaggerated so the actual cost of wind will be even higher.
Venture capitalist and business founders cash out when a startup company sells stock to the public. The Delaware project will probably be the trigger for this step for Bloom. Ratepayers have no such exit plan. Once approved the tariff cannot be revoked without paying the entire remaining cost in a lump sum. The best case for ratepayers is they recover 80% of the Tariff cost and gain some economic benefit from Bloom’s manufacturing plant. The worst case is ratepayers only recover 20% of the Tariff and Bloom stays in business just long enough to build the 30 MW fuel cell project and enough replacement cells to keep it running until the Tariff runs out and the jobs disappear.
Don’t be fooled fuel cells offer environmental benefits. If we really want to emit less carbon dioxide and fewer air pollutants we should build an advanced conventional natural gas fired generator. These plants are 20% more efficient than fuel cells, produce less carbon dioxide and emit about the same amount of other pollutants. For the same investment as the proposed fuel cell plant we could build a conventional plant with ten times the power production and reduce air pollution proportionately.
Legislators who voted for the Fuel Cell Act, some at my suggestion, need to take another look now that the illusion of low cost premiums has been exposed. Let the Public Service Commission know your objections.
David T. Stevenson
Director, Center for Energy Competitiveness
DATE : 9/30/11
The Markell Administration would like you to become a high risk venture capitalist to support an expensive “green” jobs agenda. You get to bet about $1250. Tariff documents, using dubious assumptions, claim avoided Renewable Energy Credit purchases and Bloom’s sale of electricity will offset this by $1000. Economic development benefits from the Bloom Energy factory will have to offset the rest of your “investment”. Your odds are one in twenty of winning that bet. Large manufacturing and commercial customers will “invest” $2.5 million. Do you want to play? If not tell the Public Service Commission to reject Delmarva Powers’ request for an electricity rate increase to pay for power from Bloom’s fuel cell servers.
Those 900 jobs Bloom is promising may or may not happen as only between one and five percent of business startups succeed, think dot.com bubble and Solyndra. We will pay $16 million towards the $50 million manufacturing plant construction cost and another $7.5 million for roads, water, and sewers. Bloom has said that is not enough.
Bloom wants a guaranteed market for 300 to 500 servers. Keep in mind they have only sold about 100 so far with very large California and federal subsidies. Furthermore, they want the approvals in a hurry so their investors can receive a 30% federal cash grant, or about $90 million, that expires at the end of this year. They have said the manufacturing plant will not be built if these conditions are not met.
Legislation was passed in a hurry in June to define natural gas fired fuel cells as renewable energy. We will guarantee Bloom $800 million in tariff payments and guarantee Delmarva Power $300 million for the natural gas to fuel it (Delmarva does not profit from this). Bloom gets a guarantee, you get shaky assumptions in return. The “Expected Case” used to justify the tariff assumes inflated estimates of future conventional power prices and both regular and solar Renewable Energy Credit prices to calculate your offsets to this $1.1 billion price tag.
How inflated? The future electricity price is double estimates from the U.S Energy Information Agency. Standard Renewable Energy Credits from power sources like wind sell for $1.50 each now. The “Expected Case” assumes a price seventeen times higher at $25.57. Solar Renewable Energy Credits sell for $100 each but the tariff case used $205.
Now the last I checked when demand drops prices drop. Think about the current value of your home. Delmarva will have to buy one third fewer solar credits and won’t have to buy any more regular credits until about 2022 because of the tariff. But the price of these credits will increase? The law that requires power companies to buy these credits and to pass the cost onto you expires in 2025. The tariff case also assumes they continue to 2035 with no legislation to back it up. The potential impact to you is $3 to $4 a month instead of $1. This may not seem like a lot but put $3.75 a month in an IRA at 7% interest and you would have over $2,500 by the end of the contract.
It is a common tactic of proponents of this type of program to try and minimize the apparent cost impact. They break it down to a single month instead of the total cost, use only the residential impact and ignore the $25,000 to $100,000 a year cost to manufacturers, use inflated cost comparisons for conventional power, and spread the cost over as many customers as possible. This time the cost will even be spread to customers who don’t buy the generation portion of their power from Delmarva.
The Bluewater Wind offshore wind cost was originally estimated at $6.56 a month. Following the above steps, along with a price concession, proponents reduced the apparent effect to $.70 a month. No offshore wind power has been produced yet but the latest estimate is $1.70 a month because conventional power prices didn’t go up as fast as the exaggerated estimate said it would. Future electric rates are still being exaggerated so the actual cost of wind will be even higher.
Venture capitalist and business founders cash out when a startup company sells stock to the public. The Delaware project will probably be the trigger for this step for Bloom. Ratepayers have no such exit plan. Once approved the tariff cannot be revoked without paying the entire remaining cost in a lump sum. The best case for ratepayers is they recover 80% of the Tariff cost and gain some economic benefit from Bloom’s manufacturing plant. The worst case is ratepayers only recover 20% of the Tariff and Bloom stays in business just long enough to build the 30 MW fuel cell project and enough replacement cells to keep it running until the Tariff runs out and the jobs disappear.
Don’t be fooled fuel cells offer environmental benefits. If we really want to emit less carbon dioxide and fewer air pollutants we should build an advanced conventional natural gas fired generator. These plants are 20% more efficient than fuel cells, produce less carbon dioxide and emit about the same amount of other pollutants. For the same investment as the proposed fuel cell plant we could build a conventional plant with ten times the power production and reduce air pollution proportionately.
Legislators who voted for the Fuel Cell Act, some at my suggestion, need to take another look now that the illusion of low cost premiums has been exposed. Let the Public Service Commission know your objections.
David T. Stevenson
Director, Center for Energy Competitiveness
Dover Sun Park a Job Killer
RE: Dover Sun Park a Job Killer
Caesar Rodney Institute FOIA Request Sheds Light on Costs
DATE : 9/22/11
With the opening of the Dover Sun Park, proponents of alternative energy have driven another stake into the heart of the Delaware economy. Temporary installation jobs needed to build the Park, and others like it, will be offset by the loss of ten permanent jobs elsewhere. Electricity from solar farms costs four to five times more than conventional sources. The extra money spent for electricity will mean fewer trips to the mall, restaurant, or even the dentist. Every product we buy will be more expensive as higher power bills ripple through the economy.
The Dover Sun Park experience will need to be repeated another thirty-five times to meet the level of solar power required by Delaware law. Delaware has the highest percentage requirement for solar power of any state east of the Mississippi.
Dover Sun Park press releases praised the creation of 200 “green” constructions jobs to complete the second largest solar park east of the Mississippi. Also released were the actual hours worked. Those hours convert to each person working about seven weeks or the annualized equivalent of 28 jobs. Those very temporary jobs will cost us $2.3 million each over the next twenty years, the typical contract period. Building thirty-five sun parks over the next fifteen years to meet Delaware law would require 65 installers. The higher electricity costs caused by those parks will result in a loss of about 700 jobs! Please see “The Cost and Economic Impact of Delaware’s Renewable Portfolio Standard” at www.CaesarRodney.org for details.
But, you say, won’t the savings in greenhouse gas generation be worth it? Using the current value of carbon dioxide emission permits in the regional cap and trade market the Dover Sun Park carbon offsets are worth less than $25 thousand a year. The three-fold increase in the U.S. Supply of natural gas has been a carbon emission game-changer as it cuts carbon emissions in half compared to coal. Calpine Corporation switched fuels from coal to natural gas at the Edge Moor electric generating plant saving money and a years’ worth of Dover Sun Park carbon emissions every five days and the entire expected savings of the Delaware solar law in half a year.
Strangely, The City of Dover refused to release the price they will pay for power from the park citing confidentiality agreement restrictions. We believe the ratepayers of Dover and throughout the state should know the cost. Attorney John Paradee, acting at the behest of CRI, obtained the information in a Freedom of Information Act request. The City initially refused to honor the request but did so after CRI urged the Attorney General’s office to render an opinion which cited legal precedence favoring the request.
It is astonishing you are not allowed to know what the Dover Sun Park is costing you. The total added cost of the Sun Park compared to using conventional power over the twenty year contract will be $65 million or $3.25 million a year! The cost will be shared by Dover Electric Utility customers, electric customers around the state, and by tax payers. Thirty-five Dover Sun Parks would add $2.3 billion to electric rates over twenty years or $105 million a year.
The City of Dover will pay about $.155 a kilowatt-hour (KWh) including about $.135/KWh for the electricity and $.02/KWh equivalent for Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC). For comparison, electric generation now costs the city about $.10/KWh from conventional sources. This is an increase of 55% in the cost per KWh. Dover residents will pay about $17.25 a year more. However, large commercial users may pay an extra $35,000 a year.
The cost would have been four times higher but the Park developers used a common trick of spreading the cost over ratepayers and tax payers around the state to hide the true impact. Delmarva Power and the Delaware Municipal Electric Cooperative will buy the rest of the SREC’s at a cost of $50 million. Delmarva Power contracted to buy 70% of the SREC’s at $216.70 each and will wind up paying a $24 million premium over the current spot market SREC price. The city will pay an average of $151/ SREC.
In addition, White Oak Solar Energy, LLC, who owns the park, will receive a $13.5 million federal tax credit paid for with deficit spending. The cost of the deficit spending will add another $9.5 million in interest over the twenty years. We pay for the grant and the interest in our tax bills. CRI estimates White Oak will make a guaranteed 11% a year return on their investment at a time when thirty year U. S. Treasury bonds are paying 3% interest.
When homeowners buy a solar installation they bear the risk SREC’s may be worth less in the future. Indeed, prices dropped from $270/ SREC to $100 this year because of an oversupply caused by a more rapid increase in solar installations than expected. The risk of lower SREC values for the Dover Sun Park was shifted to residential and small commercial customers through long term utility contracts. The utilities are forced to buy the credits and pass the cost onto residential and small business customers.
Solar proponents tell us their products will become more competitive. Installed prices have come down 27% over the last two years. The Dover Sun Park uses state of the art technology and the installed price of $4 a watt reflects the recent price reductions. Solar modules in the Park have an efficiency rating of 20% and use mechanical tracking to increase the number of hours the panels are illuminated. They will produce about 50% more power per square foot than the typical module but still only operate a few hours a day and are clouded out almost half the time yielding poor reliability. Even with these improvements solar power remains four to five times more expensive than conventional power and is not reliable.
David T. Stevenson, Director Center for Energy Competitiveness
Caesar Rodney Institute FOIA Request Sheds Light on Costs
DATE : 9/22/11
With the opening of the Dover Sun Park, proponents of alternative energy have driven another stake into the heart of the Delaware economy. Temporary installation jobs needed to build the Park, and others like it, will be offset by the loss of ten permanent jobs elsewhere. Electricity from solar farms costs four to five times more than conventional sources. The extra money spent for electricity will mean fewer trips to the mall, restaurant, or even the dentist. Every product we buy will be more expensive as higher power bills ripple through the economy.
The Dover Sun Park experience will need to be repeated another thirty-five times to meet the level of solar power required by Delaware law. Delaware has the highest percentage requirement for solar power of any state east of the Mississippi.
Dover Sun Park press releases praised the creation of 200 “green” constructions jobs to complete the second largest solar park east of the Mississippi. Also released were the actual hours worked. Those hours convert to each person working about seven weeks or the annualized equivalent of 28 jobs. Those very temporary jobs will cost us $2.3 million each over the next twenty years, the typical contract period. Building thirty-five sun parks over the next fifteen years to meet Delaware law would require 65 installers. The higher electricity costs caused by those parks will result in a loss of about 700 jobs! Please see “The Cost and Economic Impact of Delaware’s Renewable Portfolio Standard” at www.CaesarRodney.org for details.
But, you say, won’t the savings in greenhouse gas generation be worth it? Using the current value of carbon dioxide emission permits in the regional cap and trade market the Dover Sun Park carbon offsets are worth less than $25 thousand a year. The three-fold increase in the U.S. Supply of natural gas has been a carbon emission game-changer as it cuts carbon emissions in half compared to coal. Calpine Corporation switched fuels from coal to natural gas at the Edge Moor electric generating plant saving money and a years’ worth of Dover Sun Park carbon emissions every five days and the entire expected savings of the Delaware solar law in half a year.
Strangely, The City of Dover refused to release the price they will pay for power from the park citing confidentiality agreement restrictions. We believe the ratepayers of Dover and throughout the state should know the cost. Attorney John Paradee, acting at the behest of CRI, obtained the information in a Freedom of Information Act request. The City initially refused to honor the request but did so after CRI urged the Attorney General’s office to render an opinion which cited legal precedence favoring the request.
It is astonishing you are not allowed to know what the Dover Sun Park is costing you. The total added cost of the Sun Park compared to using conventional power over the twenty year contract will be $65 million or $3.25 million a year! The cost will be shared by Dover Electric Utility customers, electric customers around the state, and by tax payers. Thirty-five Dover Sun Parks would add $2.3 billion to electric rates over twenty years or $105 million a year.
The City of Dover will pay about $.155 a kilowatt-hour (KWh) including about $.135/KWh for the electricity and $.02/KWh equivalent for Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC). For comparison, electric generation now costs the city about $.10/KWh from conventional sources. This is an increase of 55% in the cost per KWh. Dover residents will pay about $17.25 a year more. However, large commercial users may pay an extra $35,000 a year.
The cost would have been four times higher but the Park developers used a common trick of spreading the cost over ratepayers and tax payers around the state to hide the true impact. Delmarva Power and the Delaware Municipal Electric Cooperative will buy the rest of the SREC’s at a cost of $50 million. Delmarva Power contracted to buy 70% of the SREC’s at $216.70 each and will wind up paying a $24 million premium over the current spot market SREC price. The city will pay an average of $151/ SREC.
In addition, White Oak Solar Energy, LLC, who owns the park, will receive a $13.5 million federal tax credit paid for with deficit spending. The cost of the deficit spending will add another $9.5 million in interest over the twenty years. We pay for the grant and the interest in our tax bills. CRI estimates White Oak will make a guaranteed 11% a year return on their investment at a time when thirty year U. S. Treasury bonds are paying 3% interest.
When homeowners buy a solar installation they bear the risk SREC’s may be worth less in the future. Indeed, prices dropped from $270/ SREC to $100 this year because of an oversupply caused by a more rapid increase in solar installations than expected. The risk of lower SREC values for the Dover Sun Park was shifted to residential and small commercial customers through long term utility contracts. The utilities are forced to buy the credits and pass the cost onto residential and small business customers.
Solar proponents tell us their products will become more competitive. Installed prices have come down 27% over the last two years. The Dover Sun Park uses state of the art technology and the installed price of $4 a watt reflects the recent price reductions. Solar modules in the Park have an efficiency rating of 20% and use mechanical tracking to increase the number of hours the panels are illuminated. They will produce about 50% more power per square foot than the typical module but still only operate a few hours a day and are clouded out almost half the time yielding poor reliability. Even with these improvements solar power remains four to five times more expensive than conventional power and is not reliable.
David T. Stevenson, Director Center for Energy Competitiveness
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Frederick officials call bay cleanup costs ‘unrealistic’ State says cost is high, but not final yet
The state of Maryland’s plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay will not only cost billions of dollars, but it continues to frustrate local officials who have to implement it.
Frederick County’s share for one part of the plan alone — renovating older neighborhoods to reduce stormwater runoff — could cost up to $4.3 billion, according to Shannon Moore, the county’s acting manager of sustainability and environmental resources.
“The problem is that the limits established by the state put a heavy burden on municipalities and citizens,” Moore said.
The burden, she said, “is not possible from a feasibility or cost perspective.”
As part of a federal mandate to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay by 2025, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) determined how much counties need to lower the amount of pollution they contribute to the bay, and local officials have to figure out how.
The state’s cleanup plan, or the “Watershed Implementation Plan,” is divided into two phases, the first of which was released in December 2010.
According to the plan, Frederick County and its municipalities need to upgrade their wastewater treatment plants; hook up septic systems to treatment plants; renovate older developments to reduce stormwater runoff; and change some farming habits to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus that ends up in the bay.
Hooking up a septic system to a sewer line could cost $13,000 per house, according to an April 2011 study by the Sage Policy Group on behalf of the Maryland Builders Association.
And the costs of renovating older housing developments with separate stormwater management systems could run as high as $4.3 billion, Moore said in an email.
Using a state computer program to help determine costs, Moore said that the county could not meet the goals of removing nitrogen and phosphorus from urban areas, even if the county retrofits 100 percent of all urban land.
“The state has been promoting stormwater retrofits very heavily, but they are not cost-effective or efficient,” Moore said.
State officials acknowledge that the costs are high — the state projects $10 billion for phase one — but insist that the cost to each county has not been determined.
“Everyone is worried about costs, and they will be high, but we don’t know what they are yet, and we are looking at ways to reduce the costs, and are also looking for additional funding sources,” said Richard Eskin, director of science services administration at MDE.
The program Moore used to estimate the cost to Frederick is only meant for establishing “what-if scenarios,” according to Eskin.
According to Sage Policy Group report, the state’s estimates are conservative, do not represent the final cost, and will not assure that reduction goals are met.
Stricter than mandated
An added aggravation, many officials say, is that Maryland is pursuing a more aggressive schedule than required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA, by executive order from President Barack Obama to abide by the federal Clean Water Act, put states in the 64,000-square-mile watershed of the Chesapeake Bay on a pollution diet, targeting reductions for 2025.
Maryland is pushing for 2020, and is leading the way, Eskin said, because it has the most to benefit by the bay’s restoration. “It makes sense to get it sooner rather than later,” he said.
Del. Kelly M. Schulz (R-Dist. 4A) of New Market said the state is skirting the question of cost. “If the state was being honest, it would say the funding would come from an increase in taxes because the revenues aren’t going to show up miraculously,” she said in an interview.
Schulz said she is working on building a coalition of stakeholders to present a unified front during the 2012 session of the Maryland General Assembly.
Local politicians are also reaching out to elected officials on the federal level.
Frederick city Alderman Shelley Aloi (R) is working with the Washington Area Council of Governments to create a coalition across counties to lobby the U.S. Congress to either change the deadlines or provide funding for the plan.
Frederick city is on the hook for $21 million in upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant, in addition to stormwater changes. Some of the funding will come from a state grant.
Still, Aloi questions the effectiveness of the mandated upgrade. “The problem is that what is being required has no scientific data to indicate that once we do what they’re requiring, that it’s even going to work,” Aloi said in an interview.
Frederick Alderman Karen L. Young (D) wants to lobby the state to at least change the deadlines for implementation so that they are commensurate with those established by MDE.
As vice chair of the legislative committee of the Maryland Municipal League, she said municipalities are just starting to figure out the impact of the state requirements, and have a lot more questions about the plan.
Meanwhile, MDE is working on phase two of the watershed implementation plan, due to the EPA on March 30.
That plan, Eskin said, will answer questions about the operational aspects of the bay restoration. MDE plans regional meetings, webinars and hands on training for those involved in preparing local plans.
“Hopefully, the plan will be consistent with local priorities and visions,” Eskin said. “We are anticipating very significant improvements in local streams as a result and in local water supplies by recharging the watersheds, which will benefit before it benefits the bay.”
kheerbrandt@gazette.net
Planet Healer Obama Calls It: In 2008, he declared his presidency would result in 'the rise of the oceans beginning to slow' -- And By 2011, Sea Level
Obama 'presided over what some scientists are terming an 'historic decline' in global sea levels' -- 'Obama should declare 'mission accomplished' and take credit!'
Wednesday, September 21, 2011By Marc Morano – Climate Depot
President Barack Obama can take a bow. As Obama struggles with poor polling numbers, persistent high unemployment, the possibly of a primary challenge within his own party and a stagnant economy saddled with massive deficits and debts, one area where he can claim success is his prediction that he would slow sea level rise.
Obama -- in similar fashion to baseball legend Babe Ruth calling his home run during the fifth inning of Game 3 of the 1932 World Series -- called it successfully on sea level rise.
Obama declared in a June 8, 2008 speech, that his presidency will be “the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” Obama's prognostication occurred during his victory speech in St. Paul for the Democratic Party nomination.
Climate Depot can now announce it is official. Earlier this month, the European Space Agency's Envisat monitoring, global sea level revealed a “two year long decline [in sea level] was continuing, at a rate of 5mm per year.”
In August 2011, NASA announced that global sea level was dropping and was “a quarter of an inch lower than last summer.” See: NASA: 'Global sea level this summer is a quarter of an inch lower than last summer'
The global drop in sea level followed NASA's announcement that sea level around the U.S. was declining in February 2011.
Most surprising, despite the fact that Obama said he would only “slow” the rise of the oceans, his presidency has presided over what some scientists are terming an “historic decline" in global sea levels. Obama appears to have underestimated his own powers to alter sea level.
Even more impressive for President Obama is the fact that just six months into his presidency, sea level started its historic reversal. In July 2009, sea level was already showing a “slowdown and was “still flattening.” See: Sea Level Rise: An Update Shows a Slowdown & See: Global Sea Level Updated at UC – still flattening'
President Obama's success in lowering sea level has not gone unnoticed. The skeptical website Real Science, made sarcastic note of Obama's “healing of the climate” and his sea level accomplishment on June 3, 2011.
“No hurricanes have struck the US since Obama became president, temperatures and sea level have dropped, and we have had record snow,” Real Science noted. “Reservoirs are filling up – and all of the damage [President George W.] Bush did to the climate has been healed. Obama should declare 'mission accomplished' and take credit!” Real Science concluded.
[The August 2011 Hurricane Irene ruined Obama's perfect record when it comes to U.S. land falling hurricanes. Many scientists question whether Irene should have been categorized as a hurricane. See: The Chosen One? Obama Presides Over A Hurricane Free Presidency: 'First president to have not had a hurricane make landfall on US soil' ]
Can Obama control the Earth's Thermostat Next?
It remains to be seen whether President Obama will enjoy the same sea level and hurricane success when it comes to future global temperatures. In 2009, Obama was part of a UN effort to limit the Earth's future temperature rise to no more than 2°Celcius. See: We're Saved?! Politicians at UN Announce They Will Control Earth's Thermostat! Climate Deal 'sets a cap on worldwide temp increases at no more than 2°C
In July 2009, Obama was also part of the G8 leaders “historic breakthrough” where they agreed to the “goal of keeping the world's temperatures from rising more than 2C.” See: Controlling Nature? Obama backs 'historic breakthrough' in G8 climate talks - 'Agree to goal of keeping the world's temps from rising more than 2C' - July 9, 2009 & Climate Depot's Morano: G8 Leaders embrace 'climate astrology' - Trying to control Earth's thermostat is 'madness of our age' - July 10, 2009
President Obama has also claimed he can "block the Sun's rays to end global warming." In addition, Obama made the completely scientifically indefensible claim that the Waxman-Markey climate bill in 2009 would stop global temperature increases of up to five degrees! Obama said on June 25, "A long-term benefit is we're leaving a planet to our children that isn't four or five degrees hotter."
Politicians efforts to control global temperatures have been met with ire from Award-winning Princeton physicist Dr. Will Happer. See: Princeton Physicist: 'The idea that Congress can stop climate change is just hilarious' - Warns of 'climate change cult' - July 8, 2009
Other analyses have compared Obama's efforts to dictate the Earth's temperature akin to primitive cultures attempts to control the weather. See: Which is more plausible? Ugandans blame drought and disease on the 'angry gods' or More 'Educated' Western Leaders blame SUVs and 'cell phone chargers?!'
Obama's Commerce Secretary Ray LaHood has warned Americans that they better “pay” up or face extreme storms. See: La Cosa Climate: Commerce Sec. Warns: Americans Need 'To Pay' Or Face Mother Nature's Wrath -- Pay up or face 'floods, droughts and rising sea levels' - July 17, 2009
Related Links:
Watch 2008 Video of Obama announcing he will 'slow' sea level rise
Flashback 2008: Obama commands the seas! My presidency will be 'the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal'
'No hurricanes have struck U.S. since he became president, temps & sea level have dropped -- record snow' -- 'All of the damage Bush did to climate has been healed!'
'Reservoirs are filling up –and all of the damage Bush did to the climate has been healed. Obama should declare 'mission accomplished' and take credit!'
Obama's 'Climate Astrologer': Energy Sec. Chu claims he knows 'what the future will be 100 years from now'
Faith-Based Climate Astrology: Women hit by global warming head to Capitol Hill: 'We have freezing temps when we shouldn't have freezing temps' -- 'We didn't know what was happening...We blamed God' -- But then they 'learned that human activities are one cause of climate change'
NASA: Sea Level Declining Around The US
NASA: 'Global sea level this summer is a quarter of an inch lower than last summer'
Breaking: Sea Level Continues Its Historic Decline -- 'Envisat shows that the 2 year long decline is continuing, at a rate of 5mm per year' -- September 15, 2011
Obama Heals The Climate! 'No hurricanes have struck U.S. since he became president, temps & sea level have dropped -- record snow' -- 'All of the damage Bush did to climate has been healed!' -- 'Reservoirs are filling up –and all of the damage Bush did to the climate has been healed. Obama should declare 'mission accomplished' and take credit!'
Presto! Just 2 1/2 years in office & Obama Lowers Sea Level! 2011: Sea Level Plummeting: Lowest Level Since At Least 2004: 'Dropping through the floor. Europe's Envisat satellite 'shows that sea level is lowest it has been since they started collecting data in 2004'
The Chosen One? Obama Presides Over A Hurricane Free Presidency: 'First president to have not had a hurricane make landfall on US soil'
Flashback 2009: 'Welcome to the delayers': Obama's 'half-hearted climate efforts' welcomed by skeptics -- 'Obama seems to approach climate issues as nothing more than a 'check box' issue'
We're Saved?! Politicians at UN Announce They Will Control Earth's Thermostat! Climate Deal 'sets a cap on worldwide temp increases at no more than 2°C'
2009
La Cosa Climate: Commerce Sec. Warns: Americans Need 'To Pay' Or Face Mother Nature's Wrath -- Pay up or face 'floods, droughts and rising sea levels' - July 17, 2009
Click here to view original article
Wednesday, September 21, 2011By Marc Morano – Climate Depot
President Barack Obama can take a bow. As Obama struggles with poor polling numbers, persistent high unemployment, the possibly of a primary challenge within his own party and a stagnant economy saddled with massive deficits and debts, one area where he can claim success is his prediction that he would slow sea level rise.
Obama -- in similar fashion to baseball legend Babe Ruth calling his home run during the fifth inning of Game 3 of the 1932 World Series -- called it successfully on sea level rise.
Obama declared in a June 8, 2008 speech, that his presidency will be “the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” Obama's prognostication occurred during his victory speech in St. Paul for the Democratic Party nomination.
Climate Depot can now announce it is official. Earlier this month, the European Space Agency's Envisat monitoring, global sea level revealed a “two year long decline [in sea level] was continuing, at a rate of 5mm per year.”
In August 2011, NASA announced that global sea level was dropping and was “a quarter of an inch lower than last summer.” See: NASA: 'Global sea level this summer is a quarter of an inch lower than last summer'
The global drop in sea level followed NASA's announcement that sea level around the U.S. was declining in February 2011.
Most surprising, despite the fact that Obama said he would only “slow” the rise of the oceans, his presidency has presided over what some scientists are terming an “historic decline" in global sea levels. Obama appears to have underestimated his own powers to alter sea level.
Even more impressive for President Obama is the fact that just six months into his presidency, sea level started its historic reversal. In July 2009, sea level was already showing a “slowdown and was “still flattening.” See: Sea Level Rise: An Update Shows a Slowdown & See: Global Sea Level Updated at UC – still flattening'
President Obama's success in lowering sea level has not gone unnoticed. The skeptical website Real Science, made sarcastic note of Obama's “healing of the climate” and his sea level accomplishment on June 3, 2011.
“No hurricanes have struck the US since Obama became president, temperatures and sea level have dropped, and we have had record snow,” Real Science noted. “Reservoirs are filling up – and all of the damage [President George W.] Bush did to the climate has been healed. Obama should declare 'mission accomplished' and take credit!” Real Science concluded.
[The August 2011 Hurricane Irene ruined Obama's perfect record when it comes to U.S. land falling hurricanes. Many scientists question whether Irene should have been categorized as a hurricane. See: The Chosen One? Obama Presides Over A Hurricane Free Presidency: 'First president to have not had a hurricane make landfall on US soil' ]
Can Obama control the Earth's Thermostat Next?
It remains to be seen whether President Obama will enjoy the same sea level and hurricane success when it comes to future global temperatures. In 2009, Obama was part of a UN effort to limit the Earth's future temperature rise to no more than 2°Celcius. See: We're Saved?! Politicians at UN Announce They Will Control Earth's Thermostat! Climate Deal 'sets a cap on worldwide temp increases at no more than 2°C
In July 2009, Obama was also part of the G8 leaders “historic breakthrough” where they agreed to the “goal of keeping the world's temperatures from rising more than 2C.” See: Controlling Nature? Obama backs 'historic breakthrough' in G8 climate talks - 'Agree to goal of keeping the world's temps from rising more than 2C' - July 9, 2009 & Climate Depot's Morano: G8 Leaders embrace 'climate astrology' - Trying to control Earth's thermostat is 'madness of our age' - July 10, 2009
President Obama has also claimed he can "block the Sun's rays to end global warming." In addition, Obama made the completely scientifically indefensible claim that the Waxman-Markey climate bill in 2009 would stop global temperature increases of up to five degrees! Obama said on June 25, "A long-term benefit is we're leaving a planet to our children that isn't four or five degrees hotter."
Politicians efforts to control global temperatures have been met with ire from Award-winning Princeton physicist Dr. Will Happer. See: Princeton Physicist: 'The idea that Congress can stop climate change is just hilarious' - Warns of 'climate change cult' - July 8, 2009
Other analyses have compared Obama's efforts to dictate the Earth's temperature akin to primitive cultures attempts to control the weather. See: Which is more plausible? Ugandans blame drought and disease on the 'angry gods' or More 'Educated' Western Leaders blame SUVs and 'cell phone chargers?!'
Obama's Commerce Secretary Ray LaHood has warned Americans that they better “pay” up or face extreme storms. See: La Cosa Climate: Commerce Sec. Warns: Americans Need 'To Pay' Or Face Mother Nature's Wrath -- Pay up or face 'floods, droughts and rising sea levels' - July 17, 2009
Related Links:
Watch 2008 Video of Obama announcing he will 'slow' sea level rise
Flashback 2008: Obama commands the seas! My presidency will be 'the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal'
'No hurricanes have struck U.S. since he became president, temps & sea level have dropped -- record snow' -- 'All of the damage Bush did to climate has been healed!'
'Reservoirs are filling up –and all of the damage Bush did to the climate has been healed. Obama should declare 'mission accomplished' and take credit!'
Obama's 'Climate Astrologer': Energy Sec. Chu claims he knows 'what the future will be 100 years from now'
Faith-Based Climate Astrology: Women hit by global warming head to Capitol Hill: 'We have freezing temps when we shouldn't have freezing temps' -- 'We didn't know what was happening...We blamed God' -- But then they 'learned that human activities are one cause of climate change'
NASA: Sea Level Declining Around The US
NASA: 'Global sea level this summer is a quarter of an inch lower than last summer'
Breaking: Sea Level Continues Its Historic Decline -- 'Envisat shows that the 2 year long decline is continuing, at a rate of 5mm per year' -- September 15, 2011
Obama Heals The Climate! 'No hurricanes have struck U.S. since he became president, temps & sea level have dropped -- record snow' -- 'All of the damage Bush did to climate has been healed!' -- 'Reservoirs are filling up –and all of the damage Bush did to the climate has been healed. Obama should declare 'mission accomplished' and take credit!'
Presto! Just 2 1/2 years in office & Obama Lowers Sea Level! 2011: Sea Level Plummeting: Lowest Level Since At Least 2004: 'Dropping through the floor. Europe's Envisat satellite 'shows that sea level is lowest it has been since they started collecting data in 2004'
The Chosen One? Obama Presides Over A Hurricane Free Presidency: 'First president to have not had a hurricane make landfall on US soil'
Flashback 2009: 'Welcome to the delayers': Obama's 'half-hearted climate efforts' welcomed by skeptics -- 'Obama seems to approach climate issues as nothing more than a 'check box' issue'
We're Saved?! Politicians at UN Announce They Will Control Earth's Thermostat! Climate Deal 'sets a cap on worldwide temp increases at no more than 2°C'
2009
La Cosa Climate: Commerce Sec. Warns: Americans Need 'To Pay' Or Face Mother Nature's Wrath -- Pay up or face 'floods, droughts and rising sea levels' - July 17, 2009
Click here to view original article
Monday, September 26, 2011
Gov. Patrick Seen Riding In SUV During “Car-Free Week”
BOSTON (CBS) – Governor Deval Patrick did walk to a morning event on Beacon Hill — a stone’s throw from the Statehouse — but was quick to sheepishly admit that he probably hadn’t set the best example earlier in the day.
“You got me!” grinned the Governor.
He’s talking about video shot by WBZ of Mr. Patrick leaving his Milton home this morning with his assigned state trooper at the wheel for the routine drive into work in his SUV.
WBZ-TV’s Ken MacLeod reports
One problem.
The Governor himself recently declared this “Car-Free Week,” urging people to ditch their autos in favor of public transportation, biking, walking, or at the very least carpooling — espousing the environmental and health benefits of that switch.
WBZ-TV’s Jon Keller takes a look back at politicians who were less than enthusiastic about following their own advice.
“It’s a little bit of hypocrisy,” observed one commuter.
We asked some regular folks if the Governor was ‘talking the talk’ instead of ‘walking the walk.’
“If he’s going to tell people to do something,” says another man, “he should try to do it himself. That’s the way I see it.”
“I carpooled this morning with my trooper,” says the Governor with a chuckle, “We both had to come together.”
He’s joking — and he’s not.
Of course, the Governor does have legitimate security, time, and logistics concerns.
He makes lots of stops on and off the beaten path — with a small entourage in tow — and some folks were willing to cut him some slack on that account.
“Going without a car has issues,” one woman told us. “It depends on where you’re going — where you have to be. It’s not always practical. I think you can still sell a message even if you’re not able to do it yourself that day.”
Indeed, the Governor was quick to urge people not to follow his lead.
“Look, it’s a great initiative for people who can make the most of it,” Patrick told reporters. “I hope they will and I hope during the course of the week to make the most of it, too.”
“Car-Free Week” in Massachusetts is actually an expansion of “World Car-Free Day” — which is Thursday.
A thousand cities in 40 countries are taking part.
The Governor says he’s got a crazy schedule this week, but will make good on his pledge to follow the spirit of the initiative — when he can.
The Red Line, by the way, is within walking distance of his house — one of three “T” stations within a half mile of home.
“He should be a role model for everyone,” one man told us.
“I got the gotcha question,” the governor admitted. “Believe me, I’m going to do my best.”
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/09/19/gov-patrick-seen-riding-in-suv-during-car-free-week/
“You got me!” grinned the Governor.
He’s talking about video shot by WBZ of Mr. Patrick leaving his Milton home this morning with his assigned state trooper at the wheel for the routine drive into work in his SUV.
WBZ-TV’s Ken MacLeod reports
One problem.
The Governor himself recently declared this “Car-Free Week,” urging people to ditch their autos in favor of public transportation, biking, walking, or at the very least carpooling — espousing the environmental and health benefits of that switch.
WBZ-TV’s Jon Keller takes a look back at politicians who were less than enthusiastic about following their own advice.
“It’s a little bit of hypocrisy,” observed one commuter.
We asked some regular folks if the Governor was ‘talking the talk’ instead of ‘walking the walk.’
“If he’s going to tell people to do something,” says another man, “he should try to do it himself. That’s the way I see it.”
“I carpooled this morning with my trooper,” says the Governor with a chuckle, “We both had to come together.”
He’s joking — and he’s not.
Of course, the Governor does have legitimate security, time, and logistics concerns.
He makes lots of stops on and off the beaten path — with a small entourage in tow — and some folks were willing to cut him some slack on that account.
“Going without a car has issues,” one woman told us. “It depends on where you’re going — where you have to be. It’s not always practical. I think you can still sell a message even if you’re not able to do it yourself that day.”
Indeed, the Governor was quick to urge people not to follow his lead.
“Look, it’s a great initiative for people who can make the most of it,” Patrick told reporters. “I hope they will and I hope during the course of the week to make the most of it, too.”
“Car-Free Week” in Massachusetts is actually an expansion of “World Car-Free Day” — which is Thursday.
A thousand cities in 40 countries are taking part.
The Governor says he’s got a crazy schedule this week, but will make good on his pledge to follow the spirit of the initiative — when he can.
The Red Line, by the way, is within walking distance of his house — one of three “T” stations within a half mile of home.
“He should be a role model for everyone,” one man told us.
“I got the gotcha question,” the governor admitted. “Believe me, I’m going to do my best.”
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/09/19/gov-patrick-seen-riding-in-suv-during-car-free-week/
Sunday, September 18, 2011
EPA KILLS CHESAPEAKE
Positive Growth Alliance members and interested parties:
We urge you to study the picture of the Chesapeake Bay in this message to see how EPA neglect is likely killing the Bay as we speak. Torrential rains caused by Hurricane Irene a few days ago caused historic flooding in Pennsylvania. Now the mud, silt, and phosphorus is descending from the Susquehanna River (top of the picture) in a deadly plume that will likely smother bay grasses, oyster beds, and other delicate habitat for years to come.
SEE THE LATEST PICTURES OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE SILT SMOTHERING THE BAY (choose a date, then click on "view selected")
http://mddnr.chesapeakebay.net/eyesonthebay/satellite_result.cfm#picview
Was this just a tragic accident with natural causes? NO!!!
Read this article that describes exactly what happened in 1972 as a result of Tropical Storm Agnes. To summarize, Agnes washed countless tons of silt through the flood gates of Conawingo Dam that smothered much of the bay. The article below describes why a comparable storm today would be much worse because the Conawingo dam silt trap is almost full.
QUOTE FROM THE ARTICLE
A filled reservoir also poses a greater threat to the Upper Bay in the event of another storm like Hurricane Agnes, which in 1972 scoured huge amounts of sediment from behind the dam and smothered much of the Upper Bay in several inches of sediment, obliterating underwater grass beds and other habitats.
A similar storm today would flush even more material downstream because of the additional sediment buildup.
http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=3650
WHY EPA IS TO BLAME!!
About two years ago, EPA sent incredibly threatening letters to the six states that drain into the bay. (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and West Virginia) These letters told them in no uncertain terms that there would be draconian punishment for any state that dared to ignore the new mandates contained in their Chesapeake Bay Initiative, supposedly to clean up the bay.
Maryland and Delaware both immediately kneeled to kiss the EPA ring. As best we can tell, both states' Natural Resource Departments (DNREC in Delaware) seemingly offered to do anything EPA wanted, regardless of how much harm it would cause the citizens of their two states. Here's an article that estimates that it will cost the citizens of Maryland alone somewhere between $15 and $30 billion to comply.
http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=3816
We say "supposedly to clean up the bay," because EPA knew the measures it was forcing on the states would be totally overwhelmed by one major storm washing the silt from the almost full trap behind Conawingo Dam. Their Chesapeake Bay Initiative, by contrast, consists of a whole series of measures, many of which we predict will never show any measurable benefit despite absurd costs. In our opinion, EPA's real motive is control, not cleanup!
In fact, just a few weeks ago, in a meeting with EPA, we asked them what they intended to do about the Conawingo trap. Their answer was that they were "starting" to work on a solution. Now, it's almost surely too late. It will take time to evaluate exactly how much damage has been done, but we predict that any possible environmental benefit that might have been created by the Chesapeake Bay Initiative has been more than overwhelmed.
No doubt EPA's response will be that the Conawingo Dam silt reservoir is the responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers. That may be the case, but EPA is the prime environmental protector in our country. They should have done whatever it takes to resolve the politics of this problem and get the job done.
To ignore the "ticking time bomb" of the Conawingo reservoir while foisting a travesty like the Chesapeake Bay Iniative on states in a possible depression is an example of "government gone wild." We will either elect politicians who will clean up the EPA bureaucracy in the next election or Americans will reap the whirlwind of lost freedoms and a destroyed economy, not to mention a devastated Chesapeake Bay.
Also, as you study the picture, notice how little sediment is coming down the Nanticoke River from Delaware. Overwhelmingly, most of it is coming from the Susquehanna River through the Conawingo Dam.
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