New study: "The Chinese media mentioned no politician sceptics at all"

When the warmist journalistic approaches of Reuters and the BBC are combined, no-one should be surprised that the result is a "scientific" study like this one:

In "Poles Apart: The International Reporting of Climate Scepticism", a team of researchers, led by James Painter, a former BBC World Service journalist with a specialism in analysing how climate change is portrayed in the media, conducted a comparative study of the prevalence of climate sceptic voices in the print media across Brazil, China, France, India, the UK and US.

The Guardian´s Environment Blog is, of course, excited by the study, produced by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, based at the University of Oxford:

Where the report offers genuinely new insights is when it compares the coverage of climate scepticism across the six chosen countries. It finds, for example, that the so-called "Climategate" affair received much more attention in the UK and the US compared to Brazil, China, France and India. And it also notes that "significantly more" sceptics are mentioned in the UK and US media compared to the other four countries sampled.

Of course, it never entered the minds of Painter and his fellow warmist team that "Climategate" is perhaps mentioned more frequently in UK and US media, because the scandal erupted in these two countries and the main characters were British and American scientists.

The Guardian has found this additional "new insight" in the report:

Another important contrast between the Anglo-Saxon countries and the other four was that politician sceptics were quoted or included much more in the UK and US media (86%) than in Brazil, China, India and France. The Chinese media mentioned no politician sceptics at all, whereas India and Brazil only mentioned foreign politician sceptics.

"The Chinese media mentioned no politician sceptics at all". What a sensational new finding!   Congratulations to Painter and his bold team of researchers! They should have a good chance of winning the BBC Radio 4's So You Want to Be a Scientist? competition.

U.S. wind turbin market set to "fall off a cliff" in 2013

U.S. wind turbin market is set to "fall off a cliff" in 2013, unless lawmakers decide to extend the present tax credits, according to Ditlev Engel, CEO of the Danish Vestas Wind Systems.

U.S. wind turbine sales may dry up in 2013 unless lawmakers extend tax credits supporting the market beyond the end of next year, said Vestas Wind Systems A/S Chief Executive Officer Ditlev Engel.

The so-called production tax credit, or PTC, provides an incentive of 2.2 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity from wind applied to operators' tax bills. In the past, the termination of such policies has shown markets can "disappear," Engel said yesterday by phone interview.

"Our concern is that if the PTC is not extended, history has shown us that these markets tend to fall off a cliff," Engel said from the company's headquarters in Aarhus, Denmark. "We should prepare ourselves for it."

The expiration of the program would be a blow to Vestas and General Electric Co., two of the three biggest turbine makers, which are struggling with falling turbine prices caused by increasing competition from Chinese rivals. Engel's comments echo concerns made by Lewis Hay, CEO of Nextera Energy Inc.

Read the entire article here

And Engel´s worries do not stop here. The Danish daily Belingske Tidende reports today that the Vestas share price has dropped 27,6% since October 30, when the company adjusted its expectations downwards. With continuing downgrading of expectations, bad figures for the third quarter this year and mass firings, the question is, how long Mr. Engel can keep his job.

Vestas´ downward path is another example off the fact, that companies relying on government subsidies are always in danger of makíng huge losses, immediately when governments decide to remove or reduce the subsidies.

New US study: No link between shale gas extraction and water contamination

Greenies, Russian Gazprom and French nuclear power lobbyists have formed an unholy alliance against shale gas harvesting in Europe, painting a picture of dangerous "pollution" and other problems. However, neither the anti-shale gas campaigners in Europe nor their colleagues in the US will succeed, because they are grossly overstating the dangers.
Here is what a new independent study by the University of Texas´Energy Institute has to say about shale gas drilling:

Preliminary findings from the Energy Institute's study released Wednesday suggest there is no link between the extraction operations and groundwater contamination, said the study's leader, Charles "Chip" Groat, a UT geology professor.
He noted that the dangers associated with shale gas drilling — which is accomplished by hydraulic fracturing, a process commonly known as fracking — are largely the same as other oil-drilling operations.
"Hydraulic fracturing doesn't seem to be of concern to groundwater," Groat said. "If there has been water contaminated related to shale gas development let's not look at fracturing, let's look at surface processes."
As in other types of drilling operations, poor casing or shoddy cement jobs have often been to blame for regulatory violations or contamination in shale gas drilling, Groat said.
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Groat downplayed the problems associated with fracking.
"The violations that we've seen are of no, minor or small impact," Groat said. "The impact on groundwater, the impact on the surface is not of anything substantial, certainly not compared to coal mines or metal mines."

Read the entire article here

New study: Trees growing faster in Alaska thanks to warming climate

This good news from Alaska will not please warmists:
Evergreen trees at the edge of Alaska's tundra are growing faster, suggesting that at least some forests may be adapting to a rapidly warming climate, says a new study.

While forests elsewhere are thinning from wildfires, insect damage and droughts partially attributed to global warming, some white spruce trees in the far north of Alaska have grown more vigorously in the last hundred years, especially since 1950, the study has found. The health of forests globally is gaining attention, because trees are thought to absorb a third of all industrial carbon emissions, transferring carbon dioxide into soil and wood. The study, in the journal Environmental Research Letters, spans 1,000 years and bolsters the idea that far northern ecosystems may play a future role in the balance of planet-warming carbon dioxide that remains in the air. It also strengthens support for an alternative technique for teasing climate data from trees in the far north, sidestepping recent methodological objections from climate skeptics.
"I was expecting to see trees stressed from the warmer temperatures," said study lead author Laia Andreu-Hayles, a tree ring scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "What we found was a surprise."

Read the entire article here

PS

This study does not rely on climate models, which probably is why the results were such a "surprise" to the scientists.

Durban welcomes COP 17 warmists with "a ring of steel"

The soon (28 Nov.) to open Durban COP 17, the UN global warming cult´s annual mega carbon footprint meeting, is more and more beginning to look like a huge battlefield. The 15000 high priests of the cult (the delegates) will be isolated from the rest of the world by "a ring of steel", no-fly zones and thousands of security forces, some of which are trained by the French gendarmerie:

South Africa’s security forces plan to throw a ring of steel around Durban as the city gears itself to host thousands of foreign visitors including heads of states, royalty and celebrities for the imminent world conference on climate change.

SAPS staff leave has been restricted, the South African National Defence Force will be on stand-by and police officers from other provinces will be deployed to Durban to assist in the security operation – that will mirror the security plans implemented during last year’s World Cup, according to police management.

More than 20 000 people, most of them visitors from abroad, are expected in Durban for the 10-day 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) climate talks which begin on November 28 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (ICC).

The COP17 comprises 192 countries who meet once a year to discuss and find solutions to the harmful effects of global climate change.

About 15 000 delegates have registered to attend the climate talks.

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National police spokesman, Colonel Vishnu Naidoo, said several specialised units such as the police’s elite Task Force would be deployed to Durban to assist with security measures but most of the officers will come from KwaZulu-Natal.

He said the officers from the Public Order Policing Units who had been trained by the French gendarmerie for the world cup have undergone refresher training courses in anticipation of protests that may turn violent during the event.

“Our primary focus will be to maintain high visibility and this will consist of members in uniform, on foot patrol, horseback, bicycles, motorbikes, vehicles and air assets that will be utilised for support,” Naidoo said.

Plans also include setting up “no-fly zones” over places such as the ICC or where heads of state may be meeting.

Naidoo said: “As part of the security plan, during certain periods some areas will be declared no-fly zones. Areas that are declared no-fly zones are generally communicated within reasonable time. I am not in a position to say at this stage which areas are no-fly zones.”

Police have been working for months drawing up the security arrangements for the event and have been liaising closely with local and international intelligence agencies including the US’s CIA and Britain’s MI6 to protect visitors to the summit, Naidoo confirmed.

A tight security cordon will also be thrown around the ICC and several road blocks around the venue have been planned.

The ICC will also be given “island status”.

This means the UN will take control of the venue and access to the precinct will be limited to accredited people only.

Naidoo said police had met regularly with the UN when the security plans were being drawn up.

“As part of our plans, no police officers in uniform will be working inside the ICC… The UN will work closely with National Joint Operations in order to ensure the implementation of the required security measures,” he said.

Read the entire article here

PS

There is no information, whether the glorious Durban beach will be within the "ring of steel". If not, the climate tourists delegates will certainly be hugely disappointed.

One wonders, whether anybody will count the entire carbon footprint of this wholly unnecessary and wasteful gathering. In addition, there will be the "footprints" from thousands of (mainly first and business class) flights (paid for by the taxpayers) from all over the world.

Putin´s and Schöder´s failed Nord Stream pipeline opened

The Russian-German Nord Stream pipeline, one of the most scandalous and shameful business deals made in Europe after the Second World War, was formally opened today. Germany´s social democrat chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Russia´s ruler, former KGB agent Vladimir Putin agreed on the Baltic pipeline in 2005. Soon after that, when the socialists had lost the general election, Putin gave his friend Schröder the well-paid job as chairman of the board of Nord Stream. In addition, Putin chose his former Stasi friend Matthias Warnig as managing director for the pipeline company.

"Genosse" Schröder was posing among the dignitaries, but for some reason his Nord Stream colleague, former Stasi spy Matthias Warnig was missing.

The entire idea with the completely unnecessary and expensive Nord Stream pipeline was for Russia to be able to circumvent the existing overland pipelines passing e.g. the Ukraine, thus giving Russia an even better chance to blackmail former eastern block countries, which remain dependent on its gas. Russia also hoped to be able to dominate the western European energy market even more.

All this is, however, proving to be an enormous miscalculation. The American led shale gas revolution is bound to change the entire European energy game. Poland, Ukraine and probably some other European countries will in the not too distant future become net exporters of natural (shale) gas. China and a number of other countries are also planning to invest heavily in shale gas projects. Shale gas, together with improving LNG delivieries, will lead to considerably lower international gas prices, thus putting a stop to Putin´s plan to dominate the gas market.

All this means that Russia - and Nord Stream - will never get the kind of prices and profitability that Putin (and Schröder) dreamt of.

So, when Putin´s puppet Medvedev and Germany´s failed chancellor Merkel praise the new pipeline, they suffer from a complete lack of credibility - their statements today were just another example of political theater:

The leaders of Germany and Russia on Tuesday formally opened the Nord Stream pipeline running 760 miles under the Baltic to pump gas from Siberia to the European Union. The project is aimed at ensuring the long-term safety of Europe's energy supplies, but it remains controversial.

The guest list showed the importance attached to the project: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev attended the official opening on Tuesday of the Baltic underwater gas pipeline running from Vyborg near St Petersburg in Russia to Lubmin in northeastern Germany.

They symbolically turned a wheel to start the flow of gas from Siberia to Europe through the 760-mile (1,200 kilometer) pipe, hailing the controversial project as a long-term guarantee of good relations between Russia and the European Union.

The prime ministers of France and the Netherlands, François Fillon and Mark Rutter, were among 400 guests invited to mark the occasion. Merkel said the pipeline heralded "safe, sustainable partnership with Russia in the future" and made a major contribution towards a reliable energy supply for Europe.

Read the entire article here

A previous post about Nord Stream here

Carbon capture: "The market is dead"

Another huge setback for the AGW lobby: Norway´s only carbon capture company, Aker Solutions, is set to close down:

DN reported Friday that leading local firm Aker ASA is writing off its investment in Aker Clean Carbon and may shut down the company, because of losses and no sign of improvement.
“The market is dead,” Aker chief executive Øyvind Eriksen told DN. “Therefore Aker Solutions is taking its investment as a loss.”
That’s a huge setback, not least to Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s own high-profile carbon emission reduction plans. Eriksen said industrial efforts depend on support from government authorities, but it hasn’t materialized. Aker had hopes for business from Norwegian authorities at Statoil’s Mongstad facility, but it’s been delayed, and from British authorities at the Longannet power plan, but they backed out because of high costs.
Aker Clean Carbon was initially set up in 2007 and Aker even recruited the powerful state secretary at the time, Liv Monica Stubholt, to run it. Now the future for Stubholt and her 30 colleagues appears uncertain.

Read the entire article here

PS

This is just another example of what happens with companies that completely rely on government subsidies. When politicians have other priorities, "the market is dead".