Great news: Greenpeace will be invisible at the COP18 in Doha

The annual UN global warming hoax mega jamboree COP 18 is due to begin in Doha on November 26. One piece of good news can be reported already now: Greenpeace will be invisible during the conference. 

Greenpeace says it will not organise protests during the United Nations conference about climate change (COP-18) that will take place in Doha from November 26 to December 27. During COP-17, held in Durban (South Africa) in 2011, the organisation occupied the conference centre where UN climate talks were being held.

Hoda Baraka, Communications representative of the Arab World Project of Greenpeace Mediterranean, told The Peninsula that “due to practical challenges in a country where we have no local office, we have finally decided not to organise visual events in Doha in the way that we have had at many previous Conference of the Parties”.

The representative of Greenpeace added that “we did explore in detail the possibilities of doing so, but found that we could not carry out activities with sufficient impact at reasonable cost”. For that reason, the presence of Greenpeace will focus on lobbying with the delegations and interacting with the media. 

Nevertheless, the Greenpeace official stated that “of course we still take the opportunity of COP-18 very seriously, and we are sending a large delegation of climate policy experts and communications specialists”.

The lack of an office in Doha did not prevent Greenpeace from sending its flagship to the Doha WTO meeting in 2001:

Greenpeace will dock its flagship Rainbow Warrior outside the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Doha from November 9-13 to push environmental causes, the group said Monday. Representatives of local communities from the five continents whose livelihoods may be affected by WTO decisions will be among about 35 people on board, Greenpeace political director Remi Parmentier told AFP. He said permission was granted to berth the vessel in full view of the conference hotel during a meeting with Qatar's Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani in Doha on Sunday.

Could it be that the Qataris this time did not allow free parking for the Greenpeace new luxury yacht in front of the brand new Qatar National Convention Centre, the venue of the COP18? Or maybe the new yacht is too modest accomodation for the present generation of Greenpeace top brass? Instead Kumi Naidoo and his "large delegation" of "climate policy experts" and "communications specialists" seems to have opted to stay invisible, most probably in the cosy comfort of one of the many Doha five star hotels.

Could the Torch be the preferred choice for Kumi and his band of greenies?:

"At 300m high and with 360° panoramic views across the whole of Doha, The Torch is haven for the discerning traveller be they sports enthusiasts, business leaders or health and wellness seekers. The hotel is ideally situated midway between the major diplomatic area of West Bay, Qatar Foundation and 14 minutes away from Qatar National Convention Centre. Guests at the hotel have private walkway access to Villaggio mall."

Western Europe in the grip of the enviro-fundamentalist global warming lobby

Neither solar power, nor wind power will solve Europe's energy problems.

Another reminder of the blessings of the American led shale gas revolution:

As the world moves towards alternate energy sources, despite all the optimism of sun and wind energy, the real revolution in the energy world has been driven by conventional fossil fuels. Shale gas now dominates the global energy scenario.

US shale production has leaped to over 13 billion cubic feet/day - about 30% of the country’s natural-gas supply, heading toward 50% in the next few years. This increased production has been the primary driver for renewed profitability and growth in several North American industry sectors. Armed with massive and lasting advantage in energy costs over global rivals, companies are now considering major capacity additions in the United States for the first time in decades. America produced over 80% of its total energy needs in H1-2012, the highest since 1991. As per the US Energy Department, the country, poised to produce 11.4 mln bpd of oil, biofuels and liquid hydrocarbons next year, could parallel Saudi Arabia’s production. USA looks poised to approach energy independence before end of this decade. US ethane supplies are forecast to double by 2016, compared with the levels seen before the shale boom, to over 1.4 mln bpd. As a result, the US ethylene industry has seen a revival and restart of idled units, amid significant capacity expansions by either debottlenecking or new world-scale crackers. Royal Dutch Shell is planning an ethane plant in Beaver County. Dow Chemical is shutting operations in Belgium, Holland, Spain, the UK, and Japan, and investing into a propylene venture in Texas using cheap natural gas as feedstock. A study by the American Chemistry Council said the shale gas bonanza has reversed the fortunes of the chemical, plastics, aluminium, iron and steel, rubber, coated metals and glass industries. This is accompanied by the return of manufacturing clusters of machinery, electrical products, transport equipment, among others, from China to the US triggered by a 16% annual rise in Chinese wages over the last decade

The shale gas revolution is - and will continue to be - the main driver for economic growth and prosperity in the United States. Crisis-ridden Western Europe could also hugely benefit from unconventional gas, but the that seems unlikely - at least in the near future - as the global warming enviro-fundamentalists are dictating policy in countries like Germany and France:

According to the estimates of the US Energy Information Administration, Europe has around 639 trillion cubic ft of recoverable shale gas resources, around 75% of USA’s reserves. However, as USA marches ahead with shale gas development, Europe is headed in the opposite direction. Europe is at the core of attention of the geopolitical debates surrounding shale gas. The shale revolution might weaken Russia's authority of the continent, as Europe would become less dependent on gas imports from Russia. In Europe, natural gas prices are dictated by Russia’s Gazprom, as Germany imports 36% of its gas from Russia, Poland imports 48%, Hungary- 60%, Slovakia imports 98% and the Baltics import 100%. Another challenge will be loosening Russia's grip over supplies. Moscow controls the region's pipelines. Many buyers in Eastern Europe are also locked into supply contracts of as long as 25 years with Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom—making it uneconomical in some cases to seek a new supplier. Currently, US natural gas pricesare about 35% of European levels, making it almost impossible to match US’ production costs. U.S. wholesale natural gas prices currently cost around $3.5 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), compared with $9 per mmBtu in Europe. The almost total failure of Europe’s leaders to face up to the reality of shale gas development, or to prepare for their energy crunch ahead is surprising. Germany is slated to shut down its nuclear plants by 2022, is opting instead for a politically-correct grid. The goal is to raise the share of renewables from 20% to 35% by 2020 at a cost of €200 bln, and march towards renewable dominance by mid-decade at an investment of another €600 bln. German industries are concerned about losing a competitive edge against U.S. rivals where the shale gas boom has led to a sharp drop in industrial energy costs. German energy costs, by contrast, are rising as its government has decided to exit nuclear power generation, invest billions of euros into expanding the renewable generation sector and largely relying on imports to meet its natural gas demand. France has shale but has imposed a drilling moratorium and will also shut down a nuclear plant for good to appease the Greens. In much of Western Europe the situation remains unclear: France, estimated to have the second largest reserves within Europe (around 180 trillion cubic ft) imposed an outright ban on fracking under the previous government, and seems unlikely to change its stance under Francois Hollande. Italy has banned nuclear power, while Britain is faced with issue of closing eight coal plants by 2015 to keep up with EU carbon allowances; as well as an ageing nuclear industry that is not being replenished by new commissions.

Read the entire article here

A serious blow to the Putin thugocracy: U.S. House of Representatives passes Magnitsky Act

Putin's mafia state is on the decline.

Excellent news from Washington D.C.: 
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved the Magnitsky Act, which which  imposed sanctions on Russians who have violated human rights:

It requires the United States to place financial and visa restrictions on a list of officials associated with the torture and death, three years ago Friday, of Sergei Magnitsky, a whistleblower who uncovered a $230 million tax refund fraud. Russian officials have denounced the act as interference in domestic affairs.

“We will signal that corrupt thugs who attack whistleblowers and human rights activists will be held to account in America, if not Russia,” said Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).

“We must hold Magnitsky’s killers accountable,” said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), who also denounced Russia’s prosecution this summer of the female punk band Pussy Riot after it took over a cathedral altar last February and sang a song against Vladimir Putin. Two members of the band have since been sentenced to two years in a penal colony, following a trial that Cohen called “little more than a farce.”

He called on the band’s persecutors to be added to the list of sanctioned Russian officials.

“These are exactly the sorts of victims contemplated in this legislation,” he said.

Russian human rights activists support the bill. Lev Ponomaryov, leader of the For Human Rights group, told Interfax it is “a step in the right direction.” Putin, who was elected president in March, met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday, and she also brought up human rights issues in their talks.

Read the entire article here

The bill which includes the Magnitsky Act is also expected to be approved by the U.S. Senate  should be welcomed by people all over the world who care about human rights and democratic values. It is also a major blow to Vladimir Putin and the thugocratic mafia state he has created. There will be a time - hopefully in the not too distant future - when the dictator himself will not be welcome to any civilized country, even without any kind of act. 

President of UN climate talks: Shale gas will ensure global energy security for the next 300 years

Al-Attiyah: Shale gas will ensure global energy security for the  next 300 years.

Finally, the UN Climate Change talks have a President - Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, deputy Prime Minister of Qatar - who seems to know what he is talking about:

The President of the forthcoming UN Climate Change Summit in Qatar says shale gas is “good news” and will ensure global energy security for the next 300 years.

“It’s good news because it gives the world trust and confidence in gas,” he told a TV reporter at the 2012 Oil and Money Conference.

“A few years ago there was uncertainty about enough supply to the world – today the gas will give the world 300 years of security. I believe this is good news and it will give the consumer more trust in gas.”

The greenies are of course furious:

Reacting to these comments, WWF-UK’s International Climate Change Policy Advisor Kat Watts said it was vital all Parties heading to Doha realised the world needed to move away from oil and gas as a source of energy.

“All governments need to realize that the future cannot be not fossil fuelled. There are massive greenhouse gas emissions in both production and consumption of coal, oil, gas, and the only way to minimize the climate crisis is to keep them in the ground,” she said.

If Al-Attiyah stays the course and ignores the alarmists, something good might for the first time come out of a UN mega climate change jamboree ....

The European Union - a sinking ship beyond salvation

The rudderless EU will share the fate of this formerly so proud ship.

The European Union is more and more looking like a rudderless ship slowly sinking in an ocean of bad news:

With rampant unemployment spreading misery in southern Europe and companies shutting factories across the continent, workers around the European Union sought to unite in a string of strikes and demonstrations on Wednesday.

Most European governments have in recent years had to cut spending, pensions and benefits and raise taxes aggressively to bring public debt under control. That includes not only the most financially troubled governments, like Greece, but also the traditionally more stable ones, like France and Britain.

The result has been a dramatic drop in living standards in many nations that leaders have accepted as collateral for policies they claim are unavoidable. With no end in sight to the economic misery, workers were trying to take a stand on Wednesday.

Even Germany, the EU's überpaymaster, is showing serious signs of a beginning recession:

Fears that the eurozone debt crisis could propel Germany into recession grew on Tuesday after investor sentiment in the bloc's biggest economy dropped unexpectedly.
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Jennifer McKeown, Senior European Economist at Capital Economics, said the index was “consistent with economic stagnation in Germany” but she expected Europe's powerhouse to contract.
“We think that the economy will slide back into recession next year as the peripheral debt crisis intensifies and business and consumer confidence weaken further,” she wrote in a research note.
Germany has generally fared better than the rest of the 17-nation eurozone during the three-year debt crisis, but analysts have warned that it cannot resist the turmoil indefinitely.
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The latest version of the Ifo business confidence survey showed German firms were pessimistic about the outlook for Europe's economic powerhouse, as the index slumped to a two-and-a-half year low.

A  fresh survey shows that the "captains" of the European ship are looking more and more like the infamous skipper of the Costa Concordia: 

On a scale of one to 10 - with one being “bad” and 10 “good” - 53.6% of respondents gave the EU executive a mark of three. Furthermore, 23.1% ranked it at the bottom - one - midway through its four-year mandate.

Less than 1% gave the Commission a full 10.

President José Manuel Barroso and Vice President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton received the worst marks by far - 2.5 and two respectively.

The board of shipowners - the European Council - will no doubt continue to hold endless and useless crisis meetings. At some point they will finally have to face reality: Their shoddily designed vessel cannot be salvaged.

What is sad, is that the bill for the senseless rescue operations will be sent to the European taxpayers.  

Desertec - another major solar energy project loosing its shine

Desertec - a green pipe dream soon to be deserted.

Another major solar energy project is going down the drain:

As recently as three years ago, many thought that it was only a matter of time before solar thermal plants in North Africa supplied a significant portion of Europe's energy needs. But Desertec has hit a road block. Industrial backers are jumping ship, political will is tepid and a key pilot project has suddenly stalled.

Supporters hailed the Desertec Industrial Initiative as the most ambitious solar energy project ever when it was founded in 2009. Major industrial backers pledged active involvement, politicians saw a win-win proposition and environmentalists fawned over Europe's green energy future. For a projected budget of €400 billion ($560 billion), the venture was to pipe clean solar power from the Sahara Desert through a Mediterranean super-grid to energy-hungry European countries.

Today, a scant three years later, there is still little to show for the project but the ambition.

The list of recent setbacks in daunting. The project has failed to break ground on a single power plant. Spain recently balked at signing a declaration of intent to connect high-voltage lines between Morocco and the rest of Europe. In recent weeks, two of the biggest industrial supporters at the founding of the initiative, Siemens and Bosch, backed out. And perhaps most tellingly, though last week's third annual Desertec conference was held in Berlin's Foreign Ministry, not a single German cabinet minister bothered to attend.

The reasons for the impending failure are clear:

Renewable energy projects remain more expensive than traditional fossil fuel plants and tend to require government subsidies.

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"The rarest resource in Europe is money," said Michael Kauch, a German parliamentarian who is the environmental spokesman of the business friendly Free Democratic Party. "It's even rarer than energy or rare earth minerals."

The same story everywhere: Solar and wind energy projects, which totally rely on government subsidies, are failing abysmally. There is more than enough of clean and inexpensive shale oil and gas  for the foreseeable future. Why waste taxpayers' money on expensive and completely unrealistic "renewable" energy projects. 

Surprise, surprise - The "troika" gives a "positive" report on Greece

Luxembourg's Juncker - a leading supporter of the "joka"

The "troika" had delivered a "positive" report on Greece. Now it's once again time to start throwing taxpayers' money at the unfortunate Greeks. But the Greek tragedy continues, and everybody knows that the politicians in charge of the European Union are only buying time. The actors playing the part of the "troika" are more and more looking like clowns. Maybe it is time to rename them: How about calling the group the "joka"? 

The inspectors of the troika, made up of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have finally presented their report on Greece. The head of the Euro Group of euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, said it was "positive."

Arriving in Brussels for Euro Group talks later in the day, Juncker said the ministers received the report on Sunday night and that it "is positive in its fundamental tone because the Greeks really delivered. Now it is for us to deliver." He said the ministers would check the report in detail and that he couldn't give a final verdict on it because he was still reading it.