Australian climatologist: Humans have been warming the planet "at the rate of four Hiroshima bombs of heat every second"

Down under, the global warming alarmists must be quite desperate, if they think that this kind of arguments will convince anybody:

The planet has been building up temperatures at the rate of four Hiroshima bombs of heat every second, and it's all our fault, say climate scientists.

Hurricane Katrina and superstorm Sandy are just two examples of how extreme weather will intensify, Australia's Climate Action Summit has heard.

Humans are emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than any other time in history, says John Cook, Climate Communication Fellow from the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland.

"All these heat-trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere mean ... our planet has been building up heat at the rate of about four Hiroshima bombs every second - consider that going continuously for several decades.''

Read the entire article here

Finally, some good news about shale gas in Poland

Lately,  most reports about shale gas exploration in Poland have been negative. That's why it is nice to have some good news:

Wisent Oil and Gas, partly owned by Poland's Petrolinvest and the U.S. Hallwood Resources, found its initial shale oil and gas operations in Poland promising and decided on further drilling, the company said on Friday.

Its decision to hire the Warsaw based United Oilfield Services for drilling comes in a time when hopes for shale gas in Poland have diminished after three global firms left disappointed with poor drilling results and an uncertain legal environment.

Until now 46 wells have been drilled in Poland, with few key hydraulic fracturing processes taking place on more than 100 licences awarded to companies, but experts say that hundreds of wells are needed to show whether shale gas output is profitable.

The European Court of Auditors again criticizes the wasteful ways of Brussels bigwigs

One good reason to say no to the European Union is the continuous waste of taxpayers' going on in Brussels . The EU's main  audit authority, the European Court of Auditors, has in the past criticized the a great number of wasteful EU projects, but to no avail. 

Yes, the the Brussels bigwigs always promise to take action in order to stop the waste, but in reality almost nothing gets done. 

In this year's report the audit authority has found a lot to criticize about in the lavish aid given to Egypt: 

Egypt is one of the largest recipients of E.U. aid under a program called the European Neighborhood Policy, which seeks to promote stability and democracy among 16 recipients, including the Palestinian territories and Belarus.

In the case of Egypt, up to €600 million, or $800 million, of direct aid to support sectors like health and education could not be properly traced because of the lack of an adequate audit trail, according to the European Court of Auditors, an E.U. body that reviews major areas of spending by the bloc.

The audit agency’s criticism will sting the E.U. authorities — in particular Catherine Ashton, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, and Stefan Fule, its commissioner for the neighborhood policy — at a time when they and their colleagues are under unprecedented pressure to justify their effectiveness amid rising disenchantment with the European Union.

“The softly-softly approach has not worked, and the time has come for a more focused approach which will produce meaningful results and guarantee better value for the European taxpayers’ money,” Karel Pinxten, a member of the court, told reporters.

The report by the court will also call into question whether the European Union is keeping close enough tabs on spending for Egypt worth about €5 billion that was agreed to in November 2012 during a meeting between Ms. Ashton and the Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi.

The court, which publishes up to 20 so-called special reports each year focusing on major areas of E.U. expenditure, said its criteria for success were whether aid had been effective in improving management of public finances, reducing corruption and promoting human rights and democracy.

But Ms. Ashton’s and Mr. Fule’s departments had failed to use their leverage to promote those goals, and they failed, even once the lack of progress had become apparent, to take “decisive action to ensure accountability for considerable E.U. funds,” the court said in a statement summarizing its 50-page report.

Ms. Ashton’s department also failed to use its leverage to counteract the “negative attitude of Egyptian authorities” to encourage greater respect for human rights and democracy, the statement said.

The findings, which cover the period from 2007 through September 2012, call into question a European approach to development aid, known as budget support, that relies on transferring large amounts of money directly to recipient governments in countries like Egypt. The bloc was the only major donor giving that kind of direct support to Egypt, the court’s report noted.

Read the entire NYT article here

Researchers in Finland have found a way to combat global warming: Reindeer!

Could Rudolf be the solution in the fight against disastrous global warming?

Researchers at the University of Turku, Finland, have found a way to protect humanity from dangerous global warming - Reindeer! 

According to Professor Lauri Oksanen of the University of Turku, grazing by reindeer keep arctic vegetation in check, thus reducing the solar heat absorption that leads to a self-reinforcing cycle of climate change.

Snow cover and mostly barren tundra reflect large portions of the sun's rays. When darker shrubs and trees spring up in arctic areas they absorb more energy, heating up their surroundings and the earth's atmosphere.

Researchers in Finland have now carried out a comparison between an area in Norway where reindeer are not allowed to graze in the summer, and a similar area in Finland where grazing reindeer have kept shrubs and tree from growing.

They have found that the heat radiated by the overgrown area in Norway is at a much higher level.

"The heat difference between what happens there and in the Finnish area during three spring months, March, April and May, would be enough to melt a cubic kilometre of ice. That is no small matter,” explains Professor Lauri Oksanen.

(image by wikipedia)

The Washington Post on Barack Obama's failed "reset" policy with dictator Putin's mafia state

Barack Obama is clearly unable or unwilling to admit that his "reset" policy with Vladimir Putin's mafia state is a complete failure. During his tour of Europe this week, Obama has portrayed the corrupt Russian dictator as somebody with whom he can build a "constructive,cooperative relationship". Nothing could be further from the truth. 

The Washington Post's editorial is spot on: 

Neither in that speech nor in his joint public appearance with Mr. Putin on Monday did Mr. Obama make any reference to Russian politics or human rights.

This is a vision entirely at odds with Mr. Putin’s record since he returned to the office of president last year. In an attempt to suppress swelling protests against his rigged reelection and the massively corrupt autocracy he presides over, Mr. Putin has launched what both Russian and Western human rights groups describe as the most intense and pervasive campaign of political repression since the downfall of the Soviet Union. Not just opposition leaders but also former senior Kremlin officials have been prosecuted or driven into exile; independent civic and human rights groups are being systematically stripped of funding and legal protection.

Having lost the support of the urban middle class in cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, Mr. Putin has been fortifying his base among Russia’s nationalists and Orthodox Christians. That means basing his foreign policy on anti-Americanism. U.S. aid programs have been shut down and Americans banned from adopting Russian children. An intense propaganda campaign is being waged by government-backed media, one of which recently claimed that the Obama administration has secretly allied with al-Qaeda. More substantively, Mr. Putin has devoted himself to thwarting the Western goal of regime change in Syria, a stance that serves his political goals at home as much as it does in the Middle East.

Unless and until President Bashar al-Assad loses Syria’s civil war — something Russia is trying to prevent with massive supplies of weapons — Mr. Putin will not alter this stance. Nor is he likely to seriously engage with Mr. Obama on the proposed reductions of nuclear weapons. Instead, he will use the issue to demand a dismantling of NATO’s missile defense architecture in Europe. Any serious progress on economic and commercial issues would require the Kremlin to purge corrupt bureaucrats and end its shakedowns of foreign firms — yet there, too, Mr. Putin is headed in the opposite direction.

It makes sense to maintain lines of communication with the Russian leader. But a strategy of silence on human rights in hope of cutting deals is neither realistic nor pragmatic. In fact, it is starry-eyed in its stubborn optimism, in spite of all the evidence, that bargains in keeping with U.S. interests remain likely.

"The Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative" - another fake environmentalist project

An organization calling itself the International Tourism Partnership (ITP), working together with the World Travel & Tourism Council and 23 hospitality companies, has introduced the latest humbug in the hotel business, "The Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative". The director of ITP claims that corporate customers are "increasingly hungry for this information":

A new carbon initiative has been adopted by over 15,000 hotels around the world, according to BreakingTravelNews.com. The Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative allows them to calculate and communicate the carbon footprint of guests' hotel stays and meetings in a way that is consistent and transparent.

The measurement was developed by the International Tourism Partnership, the World Travel & Tourism Council and 23 leading global hospitality companies to bring this new methodology to their properties and to communicate the new initiative to a wide range of stakeholders, which includes industry associations, certification bodies and corporate customers. ++

"The industry's willingness and ability to come together to make sense of the carbon issue, for the benefit of the customer, is a significant achievement and a great example of practical, effective collaboration on a critical environmental concern," Stephen Farrant, the director of ITP, said. "With such a high volume of hotels globally now measuring their carbon footprint in a consistent way, and with corporate customers increasingly hungry for this information, this is a great step forward on World Environment Day."

Fortunately there are more than 500,000 other hotels in the world, which have chosen not to participate in this fake environmentalist project. However, Mr. Farrant could actually be right about corporate customers being hungry for the information about which hotels have chosen to join his Carbon Measurement humbug - in order to avoid them them in the future. 

A former East German "secretary for agitation and propaganda" welcoming the US President

Obama and Merkel behind a wall of armored glass at the Brandeburger Gate.

US President Barack Obama, who is on his first official visit to Germany, was this afternoon -on the previous East German side of the Brandenburger Gate - welcomed by a former secretary for "agitation and propaganda" of the DDR Communist Party youth organization Freie Deutsche Jugend at the Academy of Sciences in East Berlin (who also happens to be the present German chancellor). 

While listening to Merkel praising the fight for freedom (in which she played no part) in the Soviet satellite DDR, the President apparently felt a need to demonstrate the informal nature of this official visit, by quenching his thirst in this way:

Or was it that the hosts had forgotten to provide glasses?


PS

The speeches at the Brandenburger Gate were of course full of praise for the "close relationship" between the two countries. The sad reality is, however, that Germany has for years chosen not to be a close ally of the United States.  

The G8 meeting in Enniskillen

I have not yet seen the final Enniskillen G8 statement, but it would be miracle if would be anything else than empty words. The problem with G8 is that there should not be a G8 at all - the original G7 should never have been expanded. The inclusion of dictator Vladimir Putin's Russia was a huge mistake. The thug in charge of Russia is now in a position to block any sensible agreements. 

Likewise, it was a mistake - although a fairly harmless one - to allow the unelected EU "president" to be present at these meetings. The haiku poet himself is of course celebrating his presence on Twitter, by publishing a "family photo" as proof of participation. Maybe Barack, Vladimir and the others even called him Herman!

Herman Van Rompuy ‏@euHvR1h

Family photo #G8 pic.twitter.com/vDXpMMczIA

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"Grandiose claims made on behalf of wind-generated electricity are rubbish"

Jay Lehr, science director at the Heartland Institute, thinks that federal support for wind energy will stop within ten years. Let's hope that that this huge waste of taxpayers' money stops even earlier:

After decades of federal subsidies—almost $24 billion according to a recent estimate by former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm—nowhere in the United States, or anywhere else, has an array of wind turbines replaced a single conventional power plant. Nowhere. --

Taxpayer support for wind energy will eventually come to an end, I optimistically predict. The only question is how soon. My pessimistic guess is it will take another decade—by which time the number of wind turbines, currently about 45,000 according to the American Wind Energy Association, could more than double.

It is unclear whether very many wind-energy firms have sufficient monetary reserves to cover dismantling these behemoth lawn sculptures once the tax credits wind down or disappear. If not, the result will be a scene from a science fiction movie—as though giant aliens descended onto our planet only to freeze in place.

The promise that wind and solar power could replace conventional electricity production never really made sense. It's known to everybody in the industry that a wind turbine will generate electricity 30% of the time—but it's impossible to predict when that time will be. A true believer might be willing to do without electricity when the wind is not blowing, but most people will not. And so, during the 30% of the time the blades are spinning, conventional power plants are also spinning on low, waiting to operate during the other 70% of the time.--

Wind is at best a niche player in energy. Grandiose claims made on behalf of wind-generated electricity are rubbish, whether or not renewable-energy advocates admit it. Wind-power developers will milk taxpayers across the world out of a few billion more dollars, euros or pounds in subsidies, tax credits and the like, but sooner or later the public will wise up.

Read the entire article here

Two high level Chinese delegations visiting Sweden

An official Chinese high level delegation  together with their Swedish hosts in Stockholm in 1906. 

In the spring of the year 1906 a high level official Chinese delegation visited Europe. A visit to Sweden was also included in the study tour. The Chinese mandarins, among them two viceroys, arrived in Stockholm on April 22. During their stay in Sweden the Chinese guests met with Swedish officials and visited several industrial plants. 

However, the Swedish weekly Hvar 8 Dag, which published the photo above, considered it very unlikely that the visit would result in any reforms in China. 

106 years later, in 2012, another official Chinese delegation, led by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, visited Sweden. As in 1906, the Swedish hosts had included a visit to an industrial plant in the program. 

The difference was that this time the Chinese were visiting one of their own plants. Since 2010 the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group owns Sweden's probably most famous industrial brand, Volvo cars. 

As Bob Dylan used to say, The Times They Are a-Changin'...

Germany - an ally of Russia?

Now, when Angela Merkel's government - siding with Russia - has reiterated its opposition to sending weapons to opposition forces fighting Syria's murderous dictator Bashar al-Assad, the US and its true allies must ask the question: 

Is Germany - although formally a member of NATO and a "close" ally of the US - in reality an ally of Russia? 

Considering Germany's earlier opposition and refusal to participate in the toppling of two other murderous dictators, Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi - again siding with Russia  - the surprising answer looks more and more like, yes it is.

Germany's sad gliding into the Russian sphere began when dictator Vladimir Putin's close personal friend, socialist chancellor Gerhard Schröder helped to prolong the Iraq war by several years, when he chose to ally himself with Russia and China instead of the US. (The decision to remove Saddam, who had killed tens of thousands of innocent people, was the right one. The UN debate about the missing proof of weapons of mass destruction was only a sideshow, serving the interests of Russia and China). 

Later Germany - now under supposedly conservative politician Angela Merkel - again in good cooperation with Russia, also opposed military intervention against the bloody dictator Gaddafi in Libya. 

With friends like the Germans, who needs enemies?

The true costs of the wind industry revealed in the UK

Ineffective, bird killing, landscape destroying wind turbines are are extremely expensive
 for the taxpayers, and  create just a handful jobs.
(image wikipedia)

Wind turbines are a bonanza for the owners, but extremely expensive for the taxpayers. A new analysis of government and industry figures shows that every job in the UK wind farm industry is subsidised to the extent of £100,000 (157,000 USD) per year:

The disclosure is potentially embarrassing for the wind industry, which claims it is an economically dynamic sector that creates jobs. It was described by critics as proof the sector was not economically viable, with one calling it evidence of “soft jobs” that depended on the taxpayer.

The subsidy was disclosed in a new analysis of official figures, which showed that:

The level of support from subsidies in some cases is so high that jobs are effectively supported to the extent of £1.3million each --

Among the examples of extremely high subsidies effectively for job creation is Greater Gabbard, a scheme of 140 turbines 12 miles off the Suffolk coast.

It received £129million in consumer subsidy in the 12 months to the end of February, double the £65million it received for the electricity it produced. It employs 100 people at its headquarters in Lowestoft, receiving, in effect, £1.3million for every member of staff. --

The London Array, Britain’s biggest wind farm, with 175 turbines, employs 90 people at its base in Ramsgate, Kent. The array, which is 12 miles offshore, became fully operational in the spring. The foundation predicts its Renewables Obligation subsidy in its first year of full operation will be £160million — effectively £1.77million per job. --

Campaigners also warn that turbines do not generate power when the wind is too low or too high, and cannot store it, meaning conventional generation is needed as a backup.

Dr John Constable, director of Renewable Energy Foundation, said: “Subsidies can create some soft jobs in the wind power industry but will destroy real jobs and reduce wages in other sectors, in the UK’s case because the subsidies cause higher electricity prices for industrial and commercial consumers. The extravagant subsidy cost per wind power job is an indication of the scale of that problem.”

He added: “Truly productive energy industries — gas, coal, oil, for example — create jobs indirectly by providing cheap energy that allows other businesses to prosper, but the subsidy-dependent renewables sector is a long way from this goal; it’s still much too expensive.”

Read the entire article here

PS

It is, of course, the same story in other countries. Without huge subsidies, there would not be a wind industry to speak of. The landscape destroying, bird killing and ineffective wind turbines are an expensive monument to stupidy everywhere.