With the IPCC almost forgotten R.K. Pachauri is now concentrating on something he is good at

Better as a bowler

"they call it the Patchy Greens... Lush green outfields.. nice strips... a kind of a place where every cricketer dreams of playing cricket..."


Now that only a handful of global warming zealots remain interested in the activities of the IPCC, Indian railway engineer R.K. Pachauri is finally able to concentrate on something he is good at:

A little known but fascinating facet of his character is the fact that Dr Pachauri is a keen cricketer with particular skills as a seam and swing bowler. His vision has led to the creation of TERI Oval (later known as Patchy Greens) —one of the finest and most scenic cricket grounds in India—which is now recognized as a venue for first class matches. Several International, national and indeed corporate cricketers enjoy visiting and playing at Patchy Greens. Dr Pachauri’s remarkable achievement of 600 wickets in corporate cricket for TERI is a milestone few can aspire to match in the foreseeable future.

 

Dr. Pachauri has been a driving force in not only developing interest in cricket in TERI, but also among various corporate who have participated in the tournaments conducted at Patchy Greens. Annually, the ground holds five to six corporate cricket tournaments and has been instrumental in keeping the interest among working professionals. Dr. Pachauri himself is a fitness conscious personality and plays for team TERI as its premier bowler.

 

He has bowling, mostly during power-plays, and has now brought 600 wickets in his corporate cricket career. He has been maintaining a  stunning strike rate of just 14 balls per wicket since the last two years and in the duration of less than two years he added 100 more wickets (from 500 to 600) to his tally. It is not only his swing which is difficult for the batsmen to handle, but his skill to read the batsman's mind that does the trick. Although, he is a non-interfering on the cricketing fields, but he is ready provide strategic inputs  to the captain and coach. Team TERI recently won the 8th Madhao Rao Scindia Cricket Tournament, the 16th D.G Phadkar tournament the Ist Krishna Maruti Tournament, and the 2nd Tiger Pataudi Cricket Tournament beating the leading corporate cricketing teams.    

We wish Dr. Pachauri a Successful New Year 2014 on the cricket field!

PS

If Pachauri gets tired of bowling at the "lush green outfields", he can use another of the first class TERI facilities in Gurgaeon (although the local town planner does not seem to be quite so  enthusiastic about it):

Here, it runs a five-acre golf course as part of the 69 acres of institutional land it acquired from Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) in 1985 to build a residential training facility for executives called Retreat. Work on the golf course began in 2005.
According to Gurgaon's district town planner Vijender Singh Rana, commercial activity through sports on institutional land is illegal. "HUDA gave this land to TERI for institutional or public and semipublic purpose," Rana said. "Though they have asked for change of land use (CLU) regularly from HUDA, permission cannot be given for any sporting activity. If TERI is selling golf course memberships, it is wrong." Rana said the conditions for use of institutional land were clear.
"If TERI uses it for its own purpose, there is no problem. But it cannot use it commercially and sell golf memberships," he said.
A TERI spokesperson denied it was making commercial use of the course. However, when MAIL TODAY anonymously contacted the course officials, they offered memberships for Rs.25,000.

Kerry tells Indians - who celebrate the discovery of 133 new species - that "the science of climate change is screaming at us for action"

Secretary of State John Kerry, on a visit to India, has praised his old pal "Patch" - and his own over 20 years of climate alarmism: 

"For years, as Patch, as we call him fondly, Dr. Pachauri knows, I have been working on this in the United States, with others, where for over 20 years we all know we haven’t been able to do all that we want to do, for a number of different reasons." --

"From the hearings that I took part in with Al Gore back in 1987, the first hearings ever in the United States Senate on the subject of climate change, through the Rio Earth Summit that I attended, through Copenhagen, Kyoto, and many debates in between, I have watched in dismay while responsible people act irresponsibly, ignoring science and fact. This is an issue that is personal to the many people who’ve worked on it, like Dr. Pachauri, people who have invested time and reputation in order to try to get ahead of the curve." --

"And here in India, the home of so much of the history of science, we must recognize that today the science of climate change is screaming at us for action."

The screaming appears to have been so loud that Kerry could not hear that the Indians were celebrating the latest results of "climate change" in their country:

New Delhi: Scientists have discovered 133 new species of fauna in India and among the most significant is a bird - yet to be named - found in the Great Nicobar Island. 

Scientists have also discovered new species of spiders, reptiles, insects and fish in various parts of the country that have been compiled by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in 'Animal Discoveries 2012'. 

Releasing the book recently, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarjan said India has only about two percent of the world's land surface, but is known to have over 7.52 percent of the total animal species in the world. 

"I am indeed happy to know that 133 species which are new to science were discovered by scientists from ZSI and other universities and colleges across the country. This shows the extent of biodiversity our country holds within it," Natarajan said. 
"I am sure that by exploring the various remote and isolated places within the 10 major biogeographic zones of our country, we can discover many more species," she added. 

It is estimated that about twice the present number of species still remain to be discovered in India alone. India accounts for over 92,000 animal species. Apart from these, scientists have also found 109 species of animals recorded for the first time in India. 

Elaborating on the important discoveries, ZSI director K. Venkataraman said: "A significant one would be that of a yet to be named bird in the Great Nicobar Island." 

"Though our researchers have taken a picture of this elusive bird during one of their surveys in the island, efforts are on to gather more information on this bird, including netting one for proper description," Venkataraman told IANS. 

German warmist to the UN Security Council: Global warming could lead to war in India in 2033

The German Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research has for years now been one of the main bastions of international climate alarmism. The fact that the UN Security Conuncil has accepted its director Joachim Schnellhuber as a speaker at one of its meetings, tells us a lot about the state of this once highly regarded body. Fortunately Russia and China, for a change, played a constructive role, and saw to it that it was an informal meeting: 

Imagine India in 2033. It has overtaken China as the most populous nation. Yet with 1.5 billion citizens to feed, it’s been three years since the last monsoon. Without rain, crops die and people starve.

The seeds of conflict take root.

This is one of the scenarios Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, presented today to members of the United Nations Security Council in New York to show the connection between climate change and global security challenges.

Either rich nations will find a way to supply needy nations suffering from damaging climate effects “or you will have all kinds of unrest and revolutions, with the export of angry and hungry people to the industrialised countries,” Schellnhuber said in an interview.

In the Marshall Islands -- site of US nuclear tests in the 1940s and 1950s and now being lost to a rising Pacific Ocean -- global warming has “threatened our very existence,” said Tony deBrum, minister-in-assistance to the president of the island state. In the future, the 68,000 inhabitants of the low- lying coral atolls could become stateless.

“Our roads are inundated every 14 days,” he told reporters in New York after the meeting. “We have to ration water three times a week. People have emergency kits for water. We can no longer use well water because it’s inundated with salt.”

Serious consequences

The Security Council session was evidence of the increased focus on the link between climate change and global security.

Climate change is a “reality that cannot be washed away,” according to notes prepared for diplomats at today’s session. “There is growing concern that with faster than anticipated acceleration, climate change may spawn consequences which are harsher than expected.”

Yet, today’s discussions were not held as a formal meeting of the council because China and Russia, two of the larger emitters of the greenhouse gases that scientists tie to climate change, raised objections, said two UN diplomats who asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the subject. China was the largest gross emitter of carbon dioxide in 2011, followed by the US, the European Union, India and Russia, according to the European Commission’s Joint Research Center.

Read the entire article here

Pachauri's Sustainability Circus in New Delhi

In case you have not yet noticed, "South Asia's leading Multimedia News Agency" ANI brings us this piece of cheerful news from New Delhi: 

TERI's flagship summit ends with international consensus on resource-efficient growth

New Delhi, Feb.3 (ANI): Expressing concern at the mounting environmental challenges, global thought leaders unanimously emphasised on the need to adopt resource-efficient innovations at the final session of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2013.

The summit, organised annually by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) since 2001, provided an international platform for comprehensive discussion on issues pertaining to resource efficiency, climate change, clean energy and sustainable development.

Continuing the series' rich legacy, DSDS 2013 featured an illustrious array of distinguished luminaries from more than 35 nations across the world.

Among the Heads of State attending the discussions were the Former President of Finland, Ms. Tarja Halonen; President of the Asian Development Bank, Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda; President of African Development Bank, Mr. Donald Kaberuka; President of the sixty-sixth session of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser; Member of the House of Lords, UK, The Rt. Hon. The Lord John Prescott; Nobel Laureate and Scientific Director of Germany's Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Carlo Rubbia; renowned economist and Director of The Earth Institute at USA's Columbia University, Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs; and noted author and Foreign Affairs Columnist of The New York Times, Mr. Thomas L Friedman will also be leading the sessions

I wonder whether someone has counted how many times such "illustrious luminaries" and "global thought leaders" as Labour Lord Prescott, NYT columnist Thomas Friedman, professor Jeffrey Sachs, former president Tarja Halonen and their likes have criscrossed the globe - of course flying first class and staying in five star hotels, directly or indirectly at taxpayers' expense - on this kind of useless sustainability/climate change/global warming junkets? 

ANI also reports that R.K. Pachauri revealed the theme for next year's "flagship summit":

 'Energy, Water and Food Security for All'. 

No doubt Friedman, Sachs and the rest will be there - and where ever similar gatherings are  happening - to provide an "illustrious array of distinguished luminaries". The Sustainability Circus show must go on ....

Siberian winter killing people in India

Icy Siberian winds are chilling  northern India - with New Delhi having the coldest day since 1969 - and will according to weather forecasts intensify in the days ahead, making the winter even more severe:
For companies selling beverages, winter-wear and heaters, business is booming with sales rising up to 40% in one of the coldest Indian winters in decades, but farmers are getting anxious about the impact on vegetables, pulses and oilseeds although the wheat crop is secure. The weather office says there is no quick relief in the offing.

"There's no respite from the bone-chilling cold. A high-pressure system created over Siberia is pushing cold waves to India. The system doesn't phase out and persists at least for a couple of weeks once it is created," said Laxman Singh Rathore, director-general,India Meteorological Department.

Thee BBC reports that more than 170 people have already died in the cold snap sweeping across northern India.

China is experiencing the coldest weather in almost thirty years:
Ice swimmers were taking their shocking plunges in north China through the thickest ice in years, but most Chinese nationwide are shivering through the coldest weather in nearly three decades.

Freezing weather has sent temperatures diving to a national average of 25 degrees Fahrenheit since Nov. 20, the lowest average temperature in 28 years, says the China Meteorological Administration.


"Nobel laureate" R.K. Pachauri of course knows the reason for the Siberian winter in India: Global warming! 
Precipitation in the form of heavy rain and snow could worsen the winter," said RK Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Pachauri said the frequency of extreme weather events is bound to rise if no action is taken against greenhouse gas emissions.

The Times of India: "Good snowfall gives new life to glaciers"

Great news from the Himalayas. Abundant snowfall in the last three years has rejuvenated almost one thousand glaciers, which are back to almost their "original size":

With high-altitude mountains in Himachal Pradesh experiencing up to 100 cm fresh snowfall in November month after 10 years, the abundance of snow on mountains has rejuvenated nearly one thousand glaciers and has ensured uninterrupted supply of water for drinking, irrigation and hydel projects.

Even after years of research on glaciers and climate of Himalayas, scientists have failed to learn the pattern of the weather here. While scanty snowfall and rising temperature in last decade had sparked the possibilities of fast shrinking of glaciers, good spells of snowfall in last three years have changed the trend with glaciers almost growing to their original size. Some scientists say that despite heavy snowfall in winters, the extreme heat in summers is causing the melting of the glaciers with abnormal speed and others say extreme cold in winters is neutralizing the minor effect of risen temperature in summer. Overall, speed of melting of glaciers has reduced over the past few years only due to good snowfall in winter months.

EU aviation tax: Brussels busy planning face saving retreat

I have said it before - and I say it again: The European Union is going to be the big loser in a forthcoming trade war about the EU´s (incredibly stupid) carbon tax on foreign airlines. Now we hear that the Indian government is planning tough countermeasures: 


The trade battle with the European Union over the latter's unilateral decision to impose carbon tax on Indian airlines flying into or via the EU could turn into a full scale war with the Cabinet to soon consider a proposal for counter-measures against EU including reducing the number of flights and breaking existing bilateral agreements. 

The proposal, mooted by the civil aviation ministry, seeks the Cabinet's permission to impose various sanctions against EU airlines if the Indian aviation industry is either charged a carbon tax or penalized for not adhering to their taxation regime. The counter-measures recommended in the proposal include cancellning EU flights to India as well as cancelling "horizontal agreements". 

The move comes after the government told the Indian aviation sector not to provide data the EU had asked for as part of this new carbon tax regime. The tax itself is to be imposed from next year but the EU has sought data from all flights landing in or transiting via European airspace for calculating the taxes which some estimates suggest could add up to $1.5 billion per annum. 

The decision to go for a Cabinet clearance comes after a group of 26 countries including China, US, Russia, Brazil and India jointly agreed to a bouquet of retaliatory measures against EU in February 2012. It was decided that 'like-minded' countries would pick from the menu of options to counter EU's unilateral move if things came to a head.


Read the entire article here


It is quite obvious that the European Union - which is in the middle of a serious economic and political crisis - will have to abandon its unilateral carbon tax. In Brussels the behind-the-scenes search for a face saving retreat is now intensifying. The fact that EU´s previously so aggresive "climate queen" Connie Hedegaard has recently toned down her language considerably, is another sign of what is coming. 


Fabrice Brégier, CEO of Airbus has offered one possible solution:

“Solutions like applying the [EU emissions trading scheme] first to European [airspace], giving a fair chance to ICAO to come up with a negotiated international solution with­in the next 18 months and then extending it according to the recommendations of ICAO ... would be, for me, one possible good solution.”


Read the entire article here

Unelected EU überwarmist threatening China and India

The EU´s überwarmist, Danish wind energy promoter Connie Hedegaard is threatening China and India:

 The European Union on Tuesday gave China and India a month to comply with a new airline carbon emissions fee coming into effect across the bloc, or face penalties for flights in and out of Europe.

"They have been given till June to report back their data," she said.

--

Asked what would be the consequences should they fail to respond by June 15, Hedegaard said "if there is no data by the mid-June deadline then it will be up to member states to apply penalties."

The two Asian giants have attacked the EU scheme, calling it a unilateral trade levy disguised as an attempt to fight climate change. India last month barred its airlines from complying with the EU carbon tax, joining China in resistance.

Hedegaard and her cronies - living a high carbon footprint life of luxury in the Brussels cloud cuckoo land - will soon have to wake up and face the real world:

The Germans will never "apply penalties" to China, their most important export country and the key to the export led German economic boom. Neither will any other European government. 

The Brussels warmists will not be able to ignore the warning recently issued by the leaders of Europe´s most important major airlines and aviation industry manufacturers:

The signatories include plane-maker Airbus, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, Air France, Air Berlin and Iberia, who jointly submitted the letter to the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Spain, the four countries that helped found Airbus.

According to industry players, the tax could lead to billions of dollars in losses, which ultimately translates to more expensive air travel and job losses.

Europe’s largest long-haul carrier, Lufthansa, has already started implementing a carbon surcharge in its fares. According to the German carrier, the controversial carbon tax scheme will cost the company an additional 130 million euros in 2012.

China, who also opposes the tax, has reportedly suspended its purchase of 45 Airbus planes made in Europe because of the levy – a deal worth almost $12 billion. 


The measure is threatening more than 1,000 jobs (at Airbus) and another thousand through the supply chain. 

Indian agriculture minister: "Global warming has not adversely impacted India´s agriculture production"

Remember all those doomsdays predictions about global warming leading to famine and huge harvest failures in India and other countries?

Well, it did not happen:

Global warming has not adversely impacted India's agriculture production which has been increasing over the last five years, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Friday.

"In the last five years ... wheat, rice, sugarcane and cotton production has not dropped, but increased," agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said during Question Hour. "In fact," he said, "except for Nigeria, no negative impact of global warming has been reported globally so far".

Read the entire article here

But if anybody thinks that Lester Brown and the other scaremongers will admit that they were wrong - again -  it will not happen. These people never accept facts. Instead they will invent new "predictions" about even worse things to come ...

Military activity - not global warming - causing Himalayan glacier to melt

Satellite image of the Siachen glacier  (wikipedia)

Another global warming myth debunked:


The Siachen glacier in Himalaya is not melting because of global warming. The rise in temperature is directly proportionate to the heavy military presence in the area, according to Arshad Abbasi, an authority on glaciers and a consultant with the Sustainable Development and Policy Institute.

The rise in temperature is directly proportionate to the excessive military presence in the area, he said.

The latest images of the glacier show “visible cracks in its midst and the number of glacial lakes formed beneath it,” he added. Abbasi also rejected the impression that global warming was causing the Siachen glacier to melt.

The adjoining Baltoro Glacier is not only stable, but has also gained mass compared to its volume in 1904, he said.

He cited a NASA report titled ‘Advancing Glaciers and Positive Mass Anomaly in the Karakoram Himalaya’ which states that more than 65% of glaciers in the Karakoram are growing.

“Therefore, it is a myth that Siachen is melting because of global warming; it is a case of direct human interference,” Abbasi said.

He said it is time that the global community works with Pakistani and Indian leaders to save Himalayan glaciers by solving the long-standing Siachen dispute.

Meanwhile, adviser to the federal government on climate Qamar Zaman Chaudhry said heavy military presence of India and Pakistan has definitely had an impact on the glacier surge in Siachen.

Read the entire article here

The European Union´s aviation tax: India prepares for trade war

China, U.S. Brazil, Russia - and now also India - are preparing themselves for action against the European Union´s unilateral carbon tax on aviation. The Times of India reports:


After a carbon tax levied on aviation by the European Union, the government is now preparing for a possible trade war with the European Commission imposing a similar levy on shipping business as well - a move that can increase freight rates by 3-15%.


With EU mulling a tax on the shipping industry that will impose a levy based on carbon emissions on ships entering European waters., the Indian government has prepared a policy document to examine impacts of such a move and list measures to retaliate what it sees as a unilateral move.


The government has also asked aviation sector players in India not to communicate with EU on the carbon tax it has imposed. The decision was taken after official meetings with the aviation ministry now empowered to take progressively stronger steps to block the EU move.

Read the entire article here

We have said it before: This is a fight José Barroso´s and überwarmist Connie Hedegaard´s "empire" will loose.

India’s total grain output is expected hit a record for the second year in a row

Flashback 2009:

Lester Brown explains that what happens to India’s wheat harvest and its agricultural supply chain, including and in large part due to the resulting effect on food prices, will determine the economic status of everyone everywhere, as scarcity and price pressures alter the base economy of every nation around the world.
Population growth and depletion of water resources are determining the future sustainability of an affordable food supply at high volume. With over 500 million people entirely dependent on the Ganges for drinking water and crop irrigation, even the massive US agricultural export base will not be able to prevent price rises at home.
The one river feeds more people than live in the entire 27-nation European Union. Glacial melt is so severe and the reduction in river flow already so marked that there is no tap water in some districts even within Delhi. Water-scarcity riots are already commonplace as residents scramble to siphon as much clean water as possible from the government trucks that distribute the slim supplies day after day.

Read the entire article here

Reality check 2012:

India is reaching records this year in many key agriculture areas, potentially giving rise to more intensification of food crops as the government moves to bolster its food security.

As previously reported in FCI, India has become the world’s largest producer of rice as a result of record production and the lifting of a three-year ban non-basmati rice exports. Rice exports are expected to reach 6 million tons in the 2011/12 growing year compared to 2.2 million tons the previous growing year. Thailand was the world’s top exporter last year, followed closely by Vietnam.

India’s total grain output is expected hit a record for the second year in a row. Agriculture Secretary P.K. Basu said grain output will reach its target of 245 million tons for the growing season ending in June 2012, almost 3.5 million tons more than the production record set in the 2010/11 growing year.

Additional production updates include:- Chili production is expected to rise 10% to 15% compared to last year due to favorable rainfall and temperatures. However, prices for the crop are expected to decline as a result of lower demand domestically and abroad. This year’s relative oversupply could prompt farmers to opt for other crops next year
- A bumper onion harvest and an export ban, which has already expired, has led to price deflation for onion farmers.
- The value of spice exports were up 43% in the last three quarters of last year compared to the same period in 2010, driven largely by heightened demand and price stability for pepper and cardamom.
- Tea prices are likely to rise as a result of early onset of winter in northeast India, which lost 15 million kilograms of the crop. India exported about 990 million kilograms in 2011. Key African producers, including Kenya, are reporting lower harvests as well due to drought, which could contribute to higher tea prices.
- The Indian Council on Agriculture Research is planning to double the production of cashew nuts during the next five years. Powdery mildew disease is the biggest threat to cashew productivity.

Read the entire article here

Wheat exports from India, the world’s second-biggest producer, is expected to more than double to 1.5 million tonnes in the 2012-13 marketing year on account of back-to-back record harvest, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a report.

“Assuming the current export price parity for Indian wheat vis-a-vis other origins, 2012-13 marketing year wheat exports are forecast at 1.5 million tonnes,” the report said.

Read the entire article here

Global warming: Smart tomatoes strike back

Is this the future?

Smart tomatoes seem ready to take over the planet when global warming has wiped out humanity.

While almost all other species are said to suffer or even be destroyed by the coming green armageddon, Indian scientists have now found out that tomatoes will outsmart global warming:

India: Tomatoes outsmart global warming

Researchers from Kakatiya and Osmania Universities have successfully developed tomato varieties that are able to cope with increasing temperatures and withstand the onslaught of various pests.

They have produced a variety of "smart" tomatoes that can survive in drought conditions and in soils affected by salinity.

PS

Who knows, maybe catastrophic global warming in reality is the result of a devilish scheme created by smart killer tomatoes?

Warmist Schwarzenegger misinforming Indians about U.S. energy imports

Former California governor Arnold Schwarzegger gave an interview to India´s NDTV television company during his recent visit to Delhi. The transcript of the interview shows that the warmist ex governor seriously thinks that India is going to achieve energy independence by installing solar panels developed by the former railway engineer R.K. Pachauri! Schwarzenegger also had some interesting things to say about the US dependence on foreign fuel.

This is what Indians should do according to the great energy and security "expert" Schwarzenegger:

 We are going to go and create energy independence. We are not going to do this like the developed countries, where everyone has to beg for the grid to work, for electricity to arrive or for some power company to say, alright six weeks maybe we will install some energy in your part. No, I am going to go and develop a solar panel like Dr Pachauri is, where he took out a whole idea where to light a billion lives. That whole programme where he wants to go get people off kerosene lamps and have a solar panel, so they can have a light, they can have a stove and refrigerator etc. That's a whole new way of going that gives you energy independence, which other people don't have. They have to be slaves to the power companies now. And also India has a way of looking at the rest of the world and saying, why is for instance, America is relying 60 percent on fuel to come from outside? That makes the United States very vulnerable. So the national security goes down, as you rely more and more on this outside power.

The Terminator has probably been busy with too many greenie cocktail parties lately, because otherwise it is difficult to understand where he got his information about the "very vulnerable" US "relying 60 percent on fuel to come from outside".

A fact check could have spared Schwarzenegger from misinforming Indian television viewers. (But maybe the truth would have spoiled his environmentalist message?):

U.S. Energy Information Administration:

The United States imported about 49% of the petroleum, which includes crude oil and refined petroleum products, that we consumed during 2010. About half of these imports came from the Western Hemisphere. Our dependence on foreign petroleum has declined since peaking in 2005.

And some more facts:

The U.S. has reversed a two-decade-long decline in energy independence, increasing the proportion of demand met from domestic sources over the last six years to an estimated 81 percent through the first 10 months of 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from the U.S. Department of Energy. That would be the highest level since 1992.
“For 40 years, only politicians and the occasional author in Popular Mechanics magazine talked about achieving energy independence,” said Adam Sieminski, who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to head the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “Now it doesn’t seem such an outlandish idea.”
The transformation, which could see the country become the world’s top energy producer by 2020, has implications for the economy and national security -- boosting household incomes, jobs and government revenue; cutting the trade deficit; enhancing manufacturers’ competitiveness; and allowing greater flexibility in dealing with unrest in the Middle East.

U.S. energy self-sufficiency has been steadily rising since 2005, when it hit a low of 70 percent, the data compiled by Bloomberg show

PS

Schwarzenegger´s description of R.K. Pachauri´s appearance in California some years ago is also interesting:

But I have seen him in California. He is like a rock star over there. People were listening to him like this, leaning forward, kind of inhaling and taking in every word that he said, because he is an extra ordinary human being, that has taken it upon himself, that I am going to lead an environment crusade, and go around the world and make sure we are going in the right direction, that is going to protect us from an international disaster.

It is of course possible that some of Pachauri´s most ecstatic followers in California were "kind of inhaling".

The reality of Durban: India will not sign any legally binding agreement

The celebrated Durban "agreement" is clearly a "road map" to nowhere. India is definitively not intent on signing any legally binding agreement to reduce its CO2 emissions:

India will not sign any legally binding global agreement for emissions reduction, as the country needs to eradicate poverty through economic growth, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said today.

"There is no question of signing a legally binding agreement at this point of our development. We need to make sure that our development does not suffer," Natarajan said in Rajya Sabha.

She was responding to clarifications on her December 21 statement in the House after she returned from the United Nations Climate Change Conference at Durban early this month.

Seeking clarification, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley said if India was made legally bound to cut emissions, the country's economic growth would suffer.

Natarajan said, "Our emissions are bound to grow as we have to ensure our social and economic development and fulfil the imperative of poverty eradication."

Read the entire article here

Poverty eradication as an imperative is clearly the only sensible policy for India. And it should be supported by the rich industrialised countries.

Durban COP 17: In praise of India

"India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all".

Will Durant


The Independent reports from Durban that India is now the leading opponent of a "new comprehensive global-warming treaty":

The Indians are refusing to approve anything that might put a brake on their economy, now expanding with growth in 2010 estimated at 10.4 per cent. Its carbon emissions are growing at more than 9 per cent a year, the fastest of any major nation, and the country has shot up to become the world's third biggest carbon emitter, after China and the US.

But the Indians are relying on this growth to take hundreds of millions of their nearly 1.2 billion people out of poverty and they want nothing to do with curbing these emissions.

Instead, along with some other emerging economies, India is seeking a renewal of the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 climate agreement due to run out next year under which Western industrialised countries agreed to make reductions in their emissions of greenhouse gases, while developing countries such as China and India had no obligations to make cuts at all.

India has to be congrutaled for its wise policy. That India supports a renewal of the Kyoto Protocol is not surprising, either. Why should India - and other developing countries - want to oppose this self-inflicted madness that is seriously hurting the economies of its competitors, the western industrialised countries?

(image by Wikipedia)

Sociologist: Global warming could lead to "nuclear exchange" between India and Pakistan

Dr. Christian Parenti (a contributing editor at The Nation, a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute, and a visiting scholar at the City University of New York) is convinced that human induced climate change will lead to increasing violence and wars in different parts of the world. He even seems to think that global warming could contribute to a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.

Here is an excerpt from a review which praises Parenti´s new book:

The collision between climate change and violence is the subject of Christian Parenti’s impressive new book, Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence. The guiding idea is what Parenti calls the “the catastrophic convergence.” By this he means something more geographically and historically targeted than a coming climate-triggered global war. Chaos focuses on a handful of developing countries where the author says climate change is amplifying previous crises with roots in the more climatically stable 20th-century.

The book’s most chilling chapter surveys how climate change threatens to upend the increasingly delicate water balance in South Asia. Kashmir, aside from holding deep symbolic value to both Islamabad and New Delhi, is the source of rivers providing 90 percent of Pakistan’s agricultural irrigation. Because of declining rainfall, these rivers are not what they used to be, and water tables are falling throughout the country. The glaciers that feed the Ganga and Indus rivers in India are likewise shrinking, threatening India’s future water stability.

Although they don’t often make it into media accounts of militant Islam or U.S. Af-Pak policy, climate issues are increasingly relevant. Parenti reminds us that the religious fanatics of Pakistan and Afghanistan “talk of water, god, and violence in the same breath.” Subtract god from the equation, and you also have the battle cry of the Maoist Naxalites, India’s own increasingly climate-driven rebel army. Should India’s water situation throw the country into an even deeper agricultural crisis, Hindu extremists, who have major party representation in the form of the BJP, will likely take up a similar battle cry. And it won’t just be a regional disaster if the two countries go to war over water. The latest science indicates an Indo-Pak nuclear exchange would trigger an atmospheric disturbance that would lead to “worldwide destruction” and a further decimation of global food capacity.

Read the entire article here

Reality check:

This year India has experienced an all-time record harvest - which has created serious problems due to lacking storage capacity. So, not very likely that climate change is throwing the country "into an ever deeper agricultural crisis" and certainly not to an "Indo-Pak nuclear exchange".

And how about the "chilling chapter" about "water tables falling throughout" Pakistan leading to war and violence?
Not very likely either: The Pakistani government has just launched a major new initiative in order to prevent damages created by extremely heavy rains:

Rapid Response Plan–Pakistan Floods 2011, has been launched on Sunday, Federal Minister for information Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that masses in country are unfortunately once again passing through great hardship due to unexpected and unprecedented heavy monsoon rains and resultant floods that have hit the entire Province of Sindh as well as few areas of the Province of Balochistan.

Global warming blamed for the melting of a holy "phallus-shaped" ice stalagmite in India

The latest climate change scare comes from India:

Hindus who believe in the god Shiva are blaming global warming for the melting of the holy "phallos-shaped" ice stalagmite in a Himalayan cave:

A very long way from home, Arvin Prasad Goel clutched his wife’s hand as they prepared to eat in a makeshift communal kitchen set up on the Himalayan mountainside.
They were weary from a four-day trek through rough terrain and cold weather to visit the Amarnath cave, perched at an altitude of 12,600 feet (3,880 metres) in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The cave is revered by many Hindus as a shrine of the god Shiva, whom they worship in the form of an ice stalagmite known as the Shiv lingam. Over a 45-day period each year, more than half a million pilgrims make the arduous, 60 km (38 mile) uphill trek to pray before the phallus-shaped formation.
Goel, a 60-year-old resident of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh state, has made numerous pilgrimages to Amarnath, and said his faith made the journey possible.
"For our age and health this trek is simply impossible, but it seems Bolay (Lord Shiva) infuses in us the intrinsic power to climb the difficult terrain," he said.
But this year, faith was no match for warmer conditions on the mountain, as the couple found when they finally arrived at the cave.
"To my dismay, the lingam had melted and I could not do the darshan (religious observance),” said Goel. “I couldn’t let my wife see the holy lingam.”
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But by ten days prior to the end of the pilgrimage period, the stalagmite had completely melted, disappointing thousands of devotees like the Goels.
Shrine Board officials attribute the early melting of the ice to the effects of climate change on the region. In their view, this important cultural practice is at risk from a warming planet.
“The Shiva lingam melted simply because of a warm summer this year,” said. R. K. Goyal, chief executive officer of the SASB ( Shri Amarnath Shrine Board). "The overall increase in temperature is the reason.”

A local meteoroligist seems to have a more realistic view of the disappearance of the Shiva lingam:

“During the first 25 days on average 15,000 to 20,000 people visited the holy cave (each day), and this does have an impact,” he added.

Read the entire article here

Game over for the IPCC? - Railway engineer Pachauri now building a canal in India

Railway engineer Pachauri is now helping to build a canal

We all know that IPCC chairman R.K. Pachauri does not have a degree in anything close to climate science - he is a railway engineer. But now it turns out that Pachauri is also an expert on shipping and the construction of canals:

An expert team, led by Dr R K Pachauri, Chairman of Inter-governmental Panel on climate Change, has visited costal Dhanushkodi and neighbouring areas to analyse the possibility of finding an alternative site for Sethusamudhram Shipping Canal Project.

Officials said the team after visiting the area yesterday, also interacted with Coast Guard officials at Mandapam.

The panel was formed following the direction from the Supreme Court to find a solution to the problem.

The sources said one proposal suggested was digging part of land near Dhanushkodi to connect Palk Straits and Gulf of Mannar.

SSCP proposes linking Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping channel through the shallow sea and a chain of islands known as ‘Ramar Sethu and Adam’s Bridge.

Read the entire article here

PS

The fact that Pachauri now concentrates on other things than the IPCC and the global warming hoax, should be seen as a positive development. It shows that the game is over for the UN climate circus - and the Nobel laureate is turning his attention elsewhere.

It also appears that Pachauri has lost his personal belief in global warming. Why should he otherwise participate in the construction of a canal, for which there would be no need, if the alarmists´ predictions of a huge rise of the water level were true?  

Should Pachauri like to return to the railway business, there are, of course, plenty of opportunities. Here is just one: The Indian railways are looking for an Assistant Station Master in Mumbai. Filling the application form should not be too difficult:  

02 The candidate's Name, Address with Pin Code, Date of Birth, Father's Name and nearest Railway Station should be written legibly in English in bold capital letters, even if the candidate fills up the application form in Hindi.

03 Photographs: One recent (not earlier than three months from the date of application) colour passport size photograph with clear front view of the candidate without cap and sunglasses should be pasted on the application form in the space provided.

(image by wikimedia)

All-time record harvest in India may lead to riots

As we have reported earlier, India has been blessed with an all time record grain harvest this year - contrary to all "forecasts" by the global warming alarmist community. However, it appears that celebrating this major agricultural breaktrough is somewhat premature:

Less than a week after India announced a record harvest, Hindustan Times has learnt that the nation’s main grain-buying agency is running out of money for its massive nationwide purchase operation. Over the last month, the state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) has twice stopped payments to state governments, various grain-purchasing agencies and rice millers who buy wheat and rice, the main food crops, from millions of farmers, a senior government source told HT on condition of anonymity.

"If this financial crisis continues, FCI and state agencies funded by it will not be able to procure grain. There is no money for August and September,” said the source. “This is a serious situation, and it is being brought to the notice of the finance minister."

Read the entire article here

Indian Equitymaster has more on this story:

Currently around 99% of the grain produced in India is bought by FCI (Food Corporation of India). And this is entirely funded by the government's subsidies as FCI has no alternate source of income. At the same time, FCI has to buy the grains from the farmers because it cannot legally refuse them.

So what would happen now? FCI has requested the government for Rs 380 bn in addition to the Rs 472 bn it received from this year's annual budget. If the government does not agree to this or delays the payment, the country would face serious problems. These would be in the form of huge protests and unrest from the farmers who would not get paid for their grain. And even worse, if no one buys the grain then it would just be left out in the open to rot and waste away.

Read the entire article here

It would be very sad, indeed, if the all-time record harvest in India would lead to serious unrest and waste of the much needed grain. There is, however, a possibility to avoid a crisis: The European Union could divert a tiny percentage of its huge climate change aid to "mitigate" the storage and distribution problems in India. An initiative from the EU´s chief climate change alarmist Connie Hedegaard would be a pleasant surprise. (Of course, it will never come)

Whatever happens, one thing is almost certain; soon we will hear from some "official" IPCC climate scientist, that the record harvest actually is fully consistent with global warming predictions, and that it in reality only will contribute to an even more catastrophic future harvest reduction.