The president of the EU Commission, former maoist Jose Manuel Barroso, apparently thinks that he is the Emperor of Europe. Who is this failed bureaucrat to lecture anybody on what UK voters might decide about their own elections?
The president of the European Commission hit out at the leader of the British Conservatives in the European Parliament on Wednesday, saying his party's copying of the eurosceptic UKIP group risked election defeat.
In unusually frank remarks, Jose Manuel Barroso broke with the Commission's usual reluctance to comment on national politics to challenge the Conservatives' stance of questioning Britain's continued membership of the European Union.
Responding to criticism from Martin Callanan that he had not "delivered on any of the big promises or any of the grand rhetoric", Barroso countered that the Conservatives risked losing British elections to the eurosceptic UK Independence Party led by Nigel Farage.
"I think increasingly your party and your Group is looking like UKIP, a Eurosceptic, anti-European group," Barroso said, having earlier delivered his annual "state of the EU" speech.
"And I am starting to have some doubts that you are going to be elected yourself in Britain, or if it is not UKIP that is going to be the first force in the British elections," he said.
"Because when it comes to being against Europe, the people, between the original and the copy, prefer the original," he added. "That is probably why they are going to vote more for Mr Farage than for Mr Callanan."
Read the entire article here
Saturday, 14 September 2013
Why on earth is the BBC wasting money and resources on "the largest ever study of people's experience of climate change in seven countries"?
BBC Media Action (the new name for the BBC World Service Trust) has today launched, Climate Asia, "the largest ever study of people's experience of climate change in seven countries - Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam."
Ahead of the launch, senior research manager at Climate Asia, Sonia Whitehead has written a summary of the research project in the warmist Guardian, titled "The first rule of climate change research: don't mention climate change".
And what did the scores of BBC researchers find out, when they talked to 35,500 people in seven countries, without mentioning "climate change"?
Senior research manager Whitehead relates some core findings:
It was clear that people were noticing changes in weather and resources. They said things like, in Vietnam "I now don't need to wear a jumper until November", in India "I have to walk further to get water", and in Nepal "maize is not as fat as it used to be" and in China "goats are now grazing further up the mountain".
The Climate Asia website gives us some more fascinating "results" of this ground breaking research:
No Warranties
The Data is believed to be correct at the time of posting. BBC Media Action cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the Data or any information on or provided in connection with the Site, or any other information accessed through this Site. BBC Media Action and any of its officers, trustees, agents, employees, and sub-contractors, are not responsible for any errors or omissions or for results obtained from the use of this information and disclaims any representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranty of fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement, to the fullest extent permissible under any applicable laws.
BBC Media Action does not warrant that the functions contained at this Site will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that this Site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or other harmful components.
Ahead of the launch, senior research manager at Climate Asia, Sonia Whitehead has written a summary of the research project in the warmist Guardian, titled "The first rule of climate change research: don't mention climate change".
And what did the scores of BBC researchers find out, when they talked to 35,500 people in seven countries, without mentioning "climate change"?
Senior research manager Whitehead relates some core findings:
It was clear that people were noticing changes in weather and resources. They said things like, in Vietnam "I now don't need to wear a jumper until November", in India "I have to walk further to get water", and in Nepal "maize is not as fat as it used to be" and in China "goats are now grazing further up the mountain".
The Climate Asia website gives us some more fascinating "results" of this ground breaking research:
83%
of people feel changes in climate are affecting their ability to be healthy
40%
of people in the region feel the number of extreme weather events has increased over the last 10 years
46%
do not feel well informed about these issues
The purpose with the research is this, according to the information published in the Climate Asia portal:
This unique data provides information for governments, donors, the media, NGOs and everyone who wants to support people to adapt to the changing environment.
Even the BBC "researchers" themselves do not appear to be too convinced about the reliability of their research:
The Data is believed to be correct at the time of posting. BBC Media Action cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the Data or any information on or provided in connection with the Site, or any other information accessed through this Site. BBC Media Action and any of its officers, trustees, agents, employees, and sub-contractors, are not responsible for any errors or omissions or for results obtained from the use of this information and disclaims any representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranty of fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement, to the fullest extent permissible under any applicable laws.
BBC Media Action does not warrant that the functions contained at this Site will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that this Site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or other harmful components.
The entire undertaking raises at least on basic question:
Why is the BBC wasting huge sums of money on this kind of empty and useless research, which is totally unrelated to its task of producing high quality programmes?
Matt Ridley: Real possibility that "overall effect of climate change will be positive"
The IPCC's "fifth assessment report", to be published on September 27, will - quite like its predecessors - be presented as a portender of ominous happenings. However, as Matt Ridley points out, it is quite possible that the overall effect of global warming will be positive:
It is significant because it points to the very real possibility that, over the next several generations, the overall effect of climate change will be positive for humankind and the planet.--
Warming of up to 1.2 degrees Celsius over the next 70 years (0.8 degrees have already occurred), most of which is predicted to happen in cold areas in winter and at night, would extend the range of farming further north, improve crop yields, slightly increase rainfall (especially in arid areas), enhance forest growth and cut winter deaths (which far exceed summer deaths in most places). Increased carbon dioxide levels also have caused and will continue to cause an increase in the growth rates of crops and the greening of the Earth—because plants grow faster and need less water when carbon dioxide concentrations are higher.
Up to two degrees of warming, these benefits will generally outweigh the harmful effects, such as more extreme weather or rising sea levels, which even the IPCC concedes will be only about 1 to 3 feet during this period.
Yet these latest IPCC estimates of climate sensitivity may still be too high. They don't adequately reflect the latest rash of published papers estimating "equilibrium climate sensitivity" and "transient climate response" on the basis of observations, most of which are pointing to an even milder warming. This was already apparent last year with two papers—by scientists at the University of Illinois and Oslo University in Norway—finding a lower ECS than assumed by the models. Since then, three new papers conclude that ECS is well below the range assumed in the models. The most significant of these, published in Nature Geoscience by a team including 14 lead authors of the forthcoming IPCC scientific report, concluded that "the most likely value of equilibrium climate sensitivity based on the energy budget of the most recent decade is 2.0 degrees Celsius." --
Since the last IPCC report in 2007, much has changed. It is now more than 15 years since global average temperature rose significantly. Indeed, the IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri has conceded that the "pause" already may have lasted for 17 years, depending on which data set you look at. A recent study in Nature Climate Change by Francis Zwiers and colleagues of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, found that models have overestimated warming by 100% over the past 20 years.
Explaining this failure is now a cottage industry in climate science. At first, it was hoped that an underestimate of sulfate pollution from industry (which can cool the air by reflecting heat back into space) might explain the pause, but the science has gone the other way—reducing its estimate of sulfate cooling. Now a favorite explanation is that the heat is hiding in the deep ocean. Yet the data to support this thesis come from ocean buoys and deal in hundredths of a degree of temperature change, with a measurement error far larger than that. Moreover, ocean heat uptake has been slowing over the past eight years.
Read the entire article here
It is significant because it points to the very real possibility that, over the next several generations, the overall effect of climate change will be positive for humankind and the planet.--
Warming of up to 1.2 degrees Celsius over the next 70 years (0.8 degrees have already occurred), most of which is predicted to happen in cold areas in winter and at night, would extend the range of farming further north, improve crop yields, slightly increase rainfall (especially in arid areas), enhance forest growth and cut winter deaths (which far exceed summer deaths in most places). Increased carbon dioxide levels also have caused and will continue to cause an increase in the growth rates of crops and the greening of the Earth—because plants grow faster and need less water when carbon dioxide concentrations are higher.
Up to two degrees of warming, these benefits will generally outweigh the harmful effects, such as more extreme weather or rising sea levels, which even the IPCC concedes will be only about 1 to 3 feet during this period.
Yet these latest IPCC estimates of climate sensitivity may still be too high. They don't adequately reflect the latest rash of published papers estimating "equilibrium climate sensitivity" and "transient climate response" on the basis of observations, most of which are pointing to an even milder warming. This was already apparent last year with two papers—by scientists at the University of Illinois and Oslo University in Norway—finding a lower ECS than assumed by the models. Since then, three new papers conclude that ECS is well below the range assumed in the models. The most significant of these, published in Nature Geoscience by a team including 14 lead authors of the forthcoming IPCC scientific report, concluded that "the most likely value of equilibrium climate sensitivity based on the energy budget of the most recent decade is 2.0 degrees Celsius." --
Since the last IPCC report in 2007, much has changed. It is now more than 15 years since global average temperature rose significantly. Indeed, the IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri has conceded that the "pause" already may have lasted for 17 years, depending on which data set you look at. A recent study in Nature Climate Change by Francis Zwiers and colleagues of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, found that models have overestimated warming by 100% over the past 20 years.
Explaining this failure is now a cottage industry in climate science. At first, it was hoped that an underestimate of sulfate pollution from industry (which can cool the air by reflecting heat back into space) might explain the pause, but the science has gone the other way—reducing its estimate of sulfate cooling. Now a favorite explanation is that the heat is hiding in the deep ocean. Yet the data to support this thesis come from ocean buoys and deal in hundredths of a degree of temperature change, with a measurement error far larger than that. Moreover, ocean heat uptake has been slowing over the past eight years.
Read the entire article here
Friday, 13 September 2013
Charles Krauthammer on Obama's "epic incompetence"
Charles Krauthammer says it all:
Yet consider what’s happened over the last month. Assad uses poison gas on civilians and is branded, by the United States above all, a war criminal. Putin, covering for the war criminal, is exposed, isolated, courting pariah status.
And now? Assad, far from receiving punishment of any kind, goes from monster to peace partner. Putin bestrides the world stage, playing dealmaker. He’s welcomed by America as a constructive partner. Now a world statesman, he takes to the New York Times to blame American interventionist arrogance — a.k.a. “American exceptionalism” — for inducing small states to acquire WMDs in the first place.
And Obama gets to slink away from a Syrian debacle of his own making. Such are the fruits of a diplomacy of epic incompetence.
Yet consider what’s happened over the last month. Assad uses poison gas on civilians and is branded, by the United States above all, a war criminal. Putin, covering for the war criminal, is exposed, isolated, courting pariah status.
And now? Assad, far from receiving punishment of any kind, goes from monster to peace partner. Putin bestrides the world stage, playing dealmaker. He’s welcomed by America as a constructive partner. Now a world statesman, he takes to the New York Times to blame American interventionist arrogance — a.k.a. “American exceptionalism” — for inducing small states to acquire WMDs in the first place.
And Obama gets to slink away from a Syrian debacle of his own making. Such are the fruits of a diplomacy of epic incompetence.
The European Union's huge - and expensive - climate bureacracy should be cut down
European politicians and bureaucrats often boast about the EU's climate policy leadership role in the world. However, as Europe's competitiveness is continuing to deteriorate as a result of these policies, it is not surprising that influential business leaders have began to demand an end to the excessive, costly - and useless - climate policies.
And it is not only the policies which should be rewritten. The huge and expensive EU climate bureaucracy should also be abolished, or at least scaled down drastically.
The Commissioner for Climate Action, the former Danish journalist Connie Hedegaard, has a staff of over 20 bureaucrats, and when one adds the staff of the Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG.CLIMA) and other climate related EU units, then we are talking about hundreds of overpaid bureaucrats, wasting European taxpayers' money that could, and should, be used for some meaningful purposes.
A look at the DG.CLIMA's staff page shows that the Directorate-General consists of at least 23 units:
++ CLIMA,
+++ CLIMA.DG (Reporting directly to the Director-General)
++++ CLIMA.DG.SIAC (Shared International AuditCapability ENV/CLIM)
++++ CLIMA.DG.001 (Office of Policy Coordination and liaison with DG ENV)
++++ CLIMA.DG.002 (Communication)
++++ CLIMA.DG.003 (Administrative & Legal support, Liaison SRD)
+++ CLIMA.A (International and Climate Strategy)
++++ CLIMA.A.1 (International and Inter-institutional Relations)
++++ CLIMA.A.2 (Climate Finance and Deforestation)
++++ CLIMA.A.3 (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification)
++++ CLIMA.A.4 (Strategy and Economic Assessment)
+++ CLIMA.B (European and International Carbon Markets)
++++ CLIMA.B1 (Implementation of ETS)
++++ CLIMA.B2 (Benchmarking)
++++ CLIMA.B3 (International Carbon Market, Aviation and Maritime)
+++ CLIMA.C (Mainstreaming Adaptation and Low Carbon Technology)
++++ CLIMA.C.1 (Low Carbon Technologies)
++++ CLIMA.C.2 (Transport and Ozone)
++++ CLIMA.C.3 (Adaptation)
+++ CLIMA.SRD (Shared Resource Directorate, ENC/CLIM)
++++ CLIMA.SRD.1 (Human Resources and Administration)
++++ CLIMA.SRD.2 (Finance)
++++ CLIMA.SRD.3 (Information Technology)
All of these units have large staffs. Just as an example, the CLIMA.A.2 includes at least the following bureaucrats:
These people are of course only the tip of the iceberg. To keep the EU warmists rolling, there is a huge number of unnamed ushers, drivers, caretakers, cooks and other service staff ....
And it is not only the policies which should be rewritten. The huge and expensive EU climate bureaucracy should also be abolished, or at least scaled down drastically.
The Commissioner for Climate Action, the former Danish journalist Connie Hedegaard, has a staff of over 20 bureaucrats, and when one adds the staff of the Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG.CLIMA) and other climate related EU units, then we are talking about hundreds of overpaid bureaucrats, wasting European taxpayers' money that could, and should, be used for some meaningful purposes.
A look at the DG.CLIMA's staff page shows that the Directorate-General consists of at least 23 units:
++ CLIMA,
+++ CLIMA.DG (Reporting directly to the Director-General)
++++ CLIMA.DG.SIAC (Shared International AuditCapability ENV/CLIM)
++++ CLIMA.DG.001 (Office of Policy Coordination and liaison with DG ENV)
++++ CLIMA.DG.002 (Communication)
++++ CLIMA.DG.003 (Administrative & Legal support, Liaison SRD)
+++ CLIMA.A (International and Climate Strategy)
++++ CLIMA.A.1 (International and Inter-institutional Relations)
++++ CLIMA.A.2 (Climate Finance and Deforestation)
++++ CLIMA.A.3 (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification)
++++ CLIMA.A.4 (Strategy and Economic Assessment)
+++ CLIMA.B (European and International Carbon Markets)
++++ CLIMA.B1 (Implementation of ETS)
++++ CLIMA.B2 (Benchmarking)
++++ CLIMA.B3 (International Carbon Market, Aviation and Maritime)
+++ CLIMA.C (Mainstreaming Adaptation and Low Carbon Technology)
++++ CLIMA.C.1 (Low Carbon Technologies)
++++ CLIMA.C.2 (Transport and Ozone)
++++ CLIMA.C.3 (Adaptation)
+++ CLIMA.SRD (Shared Resource Directorate, ENC/CLIM)
++++ CLIMA.SRD.1 (Human Resources and Administration)
++++ CLIMA.SRD.2 (Finance)
++++ CLIMA.SRD.3 (Information Technology)
All of these units have large staffs. Just as an example, the CLIMA.A.2 includes at least the following bureaucrats:
These people are of course only the tip of the iceberg. To keep the EU warmists rolling, there is a huge number of unnamed ushers, drivers, caretakers, cooks and other service staff ....
| ||
EU president Herman Van Rompuy wants European Court of Auditors to tone down critical reports
"But given this media handling of information, and its impact on public opinion in some countries, the Court might want to give some further thought as to how it can encourage more nuanced reporting. It's important that citizens can have the whole picture, with all its nuances."
Herman Van Rompuy
President of the European Council
EU president Herman Van Rompuy has congratulated the European Court of Auditors, celebrating its 35th anniversary, by encouraging it to publish less critical reports ("more nuanced reporting"):
Herman Van Rompuy
President of the European Council
EU president Herman Van Rompuy has congratulated the European Court of Auditors, celebrating its 35th anniversary, by encouraging it to publish less critical reports ("more nuanced reporting"):
In a frank speech to the European Court of Auditors, the EU president expressed alarm at the
negative public reaction to its regular reports that frequently find problems in
accounting for over £110 billion in annual spending.
Mr Van Rompuy and other Brussels officials are concerned that rigorous
accounting standards do not give a "nuanced" enough picture of European
expenditure leading the public to learn the wrong lesson about the EU.
"As European institutions, we share the responsibility to make these results
known, and to work hard to overcome shortcomings. In doing so, we share another
responsibility: that of being as didactic as we possibly can," he said.
"In the end we are all responsible for Europe and its image. We all have to
account for the Union. In times of crisis, it is more vital than ever to foster
confidence by impartial control and meticulous evaluation of public policy. We
should also be teaching to convince Europeans and demonstrate clearly that
Europe is not the source of problems, but the solution."
The world of Brussels officialdom was shaken in July by EU polling showing that
trust European institutions had plummeted to an all time low of 31 per
cent in the wake of eurozone crisis and collapsing living standards
in many countries across Europe.
Read the entire article here
Read the entire article here
Bright future for Greenland: World's largest deposits of rare earth metals likely to be opened up for mining soon
Danmark's image as a green, anti-nuclear energy country, full of swivelling wind turbines, could according to the Danish weekly Weekendavisen soon change, if the autonomous Greenland government, as expected, decides to say yes to mining of Uranium and rare earth metals in the world's largest island.
The Australian mining company GME, in charge of preparatory work, is enthusiastic about the prospects:
The mining project at Kuannersuit is a unique project in southern Greenland. The mining preparatory work that has been in operation since 2007, has unveiled the world's largest deposits of rare earth metals including uranium and zinc. --
Kvanefjeld has the potential to meet the world's rapidly growing demand for rare earth metals, and thus can contribute strongly to the Greenlandic economy for many decades to come.
Greenland Minerals and Energy believes that Kvanefjeld can be the starting point for a mining area in the world that can be developed in a responsible and environmentally friendly way and become one of the world's leading sources of rare earth metals.
The ore in Kvanefjeld contains a number of elements with a very high commercial value. The rare earth metals are the primary product and the uranium is extracted as a byproduct. The potential annual production of rare earth metals are more than 40,000 tonnes, which is ten times more than the production of the byproduct uranium oxide.
Greenland decided more than 30 years ago that there should not be exploration or mined uranium and other radioactive elements. This political decision remains valid - the so-called zero tolerance.
But the Greenlandic authorities have eased zero-tolerance a little bit and changed the standard conditions for mineral exploration, so Greenland Minerals and Energy has been allowed to continue test drilling and complete exploration work on Kvanefjeld, although there is uranium in the ore. --
The US and the EU - as well as China - are closely watching the development of the Kvanefjeld project:
China accounts for nearly 95 percent of world production of rare earth metals. The national demand is so high that the majority is consumed in China, and only a relatively small proportion is available for export. China has slowly but surely reduced its export quotas and increased their export tax knowing that the rare earth metals in the degree is a strategic commodity.
Unless large and stable detection of rare earth metals outside of China happen, foreign companies may be forced to relocate their production to China to get access to the rare earth metals. In the light of that the deposit on Kvanefjeld plays a significant strategic role, and the mining project will be followed with great attention in the EU and the U.S. and multinational industrial groups.
Greenland was in 1979 granted self-government by the Danish parliament. In 2009 Greenland acquired greater responsibility for internal affairs, including the right to decide about use of raw materials.
The Australian mining company GME, in charge of preparatory work, is enthusiastic about the prospects:
The mining project at Kuannersuit is a unique project in southern Greenland. The mining preparatory work that has been in operation since 2007, has unveiled the world's largest deposits of rare earth metals including uranium and zinc. --
Kvanefjeld has the potential to meet the world's rapidly growing demand for rare earth metals, and thus can contribute strongly to the Greenlandic economy for many decades to come.
Greenland Minerals and Energy believes that Kvanefjeld can be the starting point for a mining area in the world that can be developed in a responsible and environmentally friendly way and become one of the world's leading sources of rare earth metals.
The ore in Kvanefjeld contains a number of elements with a very high commercial value. The rare earth metals are the primary product and the uranium is extracted as a byproduct. The potential annual production of rare earth metals are more than 40,000 tonnes, which is ten times more than the production of the byproduct uranium oxide.
Greenland decided more than 30 years ago that there should not be exploration or mined uranium and other radioactive elements. This political decision remains valid - the so-called zero tolerance.
But the Greenlandic authorities have eased zero-tolerance a little bit and changed the standard conditions for mineral exploration, so Greenland Minerals and Energy has been allowed to continue test drilling and complete exploration work on Kvanefjeld, although there is uranium in the ore. --
The US and the EU - as well as China - are closely watching the development of the Kvanefjeld project:
China accounts for nearly 95 percent of world production of rare earth metals. The national demand is so high that the majority is consumed in China, and only a relatively small proportion is available for export. China has slowly but surely reduced its export quotas and increased their export tax knowing that the rare earth metals in the degree is a strategic commodity.
Unless large and stable detection of rare earth metals outside of China happen, foreign companies may be forced to relocate their production to China to get access to the rare earth metals. In the light of that the deposit on Kvanefjeld plays a significant strategic role, and the mining project will be followed with great attention in the EU and the U.S. and multinational industrial groups.
Greenland was in 1979 granted self-government by the Danish parliament. In 2009 Greenland acquired greater responsibility for internal affairs, including the right to decide about use of raw materials.
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