HOORAY FOR E-DAY!

"E what?", I hear you say. Well apparently one day this week was Energy Day in the UK. This article by the BBC explains the details. In case you don't have the time, or can't be bothered to look, I can tell you that nobody seemed to notice and it passed without making any impact at all. It seems the public have got fed up with all these special days for this and that and seem to ignore all of them - and I am not surprised!

ANTARCTIC GLACIERS SURGE TO SEA

This BBC report explains why some big Antarctic glaciers are accelerating to the sea. Importantly the article mentions that the reason is not global warming, but a warm current as well as volcanic activity, both of which are completely natural and cannot be affected by man. If this continues it will lead to an increase in sea level over the coming century; but we will just have to learn to live with it!

LONDON EMISSION TAX TO BE CHALLENGED

London Mayor Ken Livingstone is set to bring in a new tax of £25 per day for cars with higher levels of CO2 emissions. This article explains that Porsche are mounting a legal challenge based on the fact that this tax is unfair, too high and ineffective. Good for Porsche!

MAJOR CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE

On March 2nd there is to be a major climate change conference held in New York, but as this article in the Wall Street Journal suggests, the mainstream media are likely to ignore it. It's as if so much has already been invested in tackling CO2 emissions that no one wants to contemplate the possibility that it could be a huge mistake. But surely reporters are the bastions of truth and should be digging out all the facts and getting them to the public - not just pushing out the so-called "consensus" view.

JANUARY COLDER THAN USUAL - OFFICIAL

Here's news in the Telegraph that official records confirm that January was considerably colder than usual. Although there were some references to snow and ice in China, there has been no major reporting on television about the overall downturn in temperatures. True, one month's figures cannot be used to show a trend, but then neither can one warm spell in the Arctic be used to prove global warming.

CRICKET AND GARDENING DOOMED!

Yet another report of impending doom in the Telegraph by another so-called "green coalition".
Here's a quote:- "Traditions and pastimes such as village cricket, football, gardening and golf could all be wrecked by hotter weather, a coalition of environmental protection groups warn."

It makes you wonder how the South Africans and the West Indians have managed to play cricket at all! How can these people write this stuff and keep a straight face, I wonder?

Here's another lot of "conservationsists" moaning about the possibility of redundant windmills littering the countryside. The problem is that, though well-intentioned, these groups just cannot agree among themselves. Mind you I agree with them about the windmills - they are ugly and inefficient as well as very expensive.

US CLIMATE SCIENTIST REMOVED FOR HIS VIEWS

This story of a climate scientist being removed by a State Governor because he was sceptical of the current global warming theory just shows the pressure put on scientists in key positions. We should all be concerned that the genuine views of scientists are being suppressed in this way.

How many more scientists are being gagged we will never know, but political interference in science is truly shocking and should have no place in a democracy.

EXCELLENT BLOG ON THE SUNSPOT ISSUE

The fascinating science of the sunspot cycle is explained very clearly here along with a discussion. Although I would love to see the alarmists eating humble pie along with all the politicians following the trend; a downturn in temperature would be a much more worrying situation for the planet, leading to reduced harvests and increased deaths from cold-related health problems.

For those with the time and the desire for detail this site will keep you occupied for as long as you like!

CHINA TO MAKE OIL FROM COAL

If we need to know how seriously a country takes the latest global warming CO2 theory, we need to look at what it does rather than what it says. This report in the Guardian confirms that the Chinese are building new plants to make oil from coal in order to fuel their rapidly expanding economy. They are already building coal fired power stations at the rate of one every 5 days, we have been told, so there you are. Of course if you do not accept that CO2 drives climate then there is no problem.

NEW CARBON TAXES IN CANADA

The motorists of British Columbia in Canada have been singled out for a new carbon tax on their fuel, according to this article in the Financial Post. No doubt other governments are looking at similar schemes, using an imperative to reduce emissions as an excuse to raise revenue. As the article says, there is no way to forecast what effect, if any, it will have on reducing emissions. It's a safe bet that once established these taxes will go on rising, whatever happens to the climate!

ASTONISHING COST OF WIND FARMS

Roger Helmer MEP has highlighted the following in his recent newsletter.

In Westminster, Parliamentary Replies have exposed the astonishing cost of wind-farms to consumers. Owen Paterson MP (Oswestry) has established that the "Renewables Obligation" will cost consumers £25.1billion between 2002 and 2027. And that the cost of connecting 7000 planned new wind turbines to the grid could amount to an astonishing £10 billion.

Apparently that could pay for seven nuclear reactors, which could deliver the same electricity (but continuously and reliably). So for the cost simply of connecting the wind-farms, we could have built the same generating capacity with nuclear. That's before you actually buy the turbines. It seems the world has gone mad.

FURTHER LINKS

Professor Stott has another website which contains some interesting essays for those who enjoy reading.

SCIENTIFIC ALLIANCE

I receive regular newsletters from the Scientific Alliance and generally find them interesting and well argued. The Alliance covers a range of subjects including climate issues and GM crops. The latest newsletter looks at the issue of population growth and resources.

It argues that despite many predictions of doom, the resources have more than kept up with population growth. While this is true, there would come a time, if we continued to increase our population, when shortages must emerge. However population density starts to impact well before resources run out, particularly on "quality of life", such as the ability to drive without congestion.

EU HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS ON CARBON TRADING

Again EU Referendum is on the ball with this news. Even though the EU is as protected from the wrath of the voter as it's possible to get without becoming a full dictatorship, it still knows that losing millions of jobs is likely to bring about a rather unpleasant reaction; hence it is watering down it's suicidal proposals to load extra costs with the dreaded "carbon tax".

THE WORLD NEEDS MORE CO2 !

I enjoyed reading this very comprehensive lecture. It raises a number of clear pieces of evidence to support the very plausible idea that the sun drives our climate much more strongly than greenhouse gases like CO2. One very interesting fact is from the Central England temperature record which dates from 1661. This shows a temperature rise of 2.2C from 7.8C in 1696 to 10.0C in 1732; a period of 36 years. Compare that with the 0.6C rise in world temperature over the entire 20th century.

Scientist Warwick Hughes says we are very likely facing an imminent cooling phase and increasing CO2 levels is what we need, both to offset the cooling climate and to help with crop yields in a cooler world. Warwick Hughes has his own interactive discussion blog here.

GLACIERS HAVE SURVIVED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS

This report from the Telegraph suggests that our glaciers are unlikely to disappear in the near future. I wonder why it has not been seen on the main news?

AN OBSTINATE RATIONALITY

Having highlighted Professor Stott's excellent website yesterday, I feel I must draw attention to his excellent post today in which he explains why he speaks out against the tide of global warming material, using the same argument as that put forward by Dr. Johnson when asked why he did not become a Catholic. The Professor is a very wise and courageous man. It would be far easier for him and other highly respected figures to simply keep quiet and not challenge the alarmists; but if we all did that many foolish things would go by default.

CARBON - THE NEW SNAKE OIL?

I often visit the EU Referendum site and always find something of interest. Here is their take on the carbon trading scams being set up by the EU and others. Some people are going to get rich with these "trading schemes", while a lot of ordinary people are simply going to have to pay for it. Whatever it is, this is not a free market. It is a distorted market and whatever the intentions of politicians, the outcome will be full of unintended consequences.

CALM SUN - COLD EARTH

This article from the USA Daily refers to the quiet behaviour of the Sun and its implications for our weather based on past experience.

NEW LINKS

Global Warming Politics is by Professor Philip Stott. Professor Stott is an outstanding speaker, as I can attest from personal knowledge, and his website is highly recommended. He covers a wide range of topics in a thoughtful and very well-argued manner.

Greenie Watch by John Ray, covers many current stories related to green issues, particularly on climate change. Well worth a visit.

Both sites have been added to the links list on the right.

LOCHNESS MONSTER - A VICTIM OF GLOBAL WARMING?

This article in a Scottish newspaper may seem hard to believe, but - yes - someone has suggested the long sought-after beast is no more. Yet another victim; maybe we should hold a minute's silence.

HOW NOT TO MEASURE TEMPERATURE

This article highlights some of the flaws in the present temperature measurement system. If the raw data is flawed, why should we have any confidence in the end results?

TOO MUCH ICE FOR POLAR BEARS!

Here's a story about polar bears that you won't see in the news. I wonder why?

DEEP-FREEZE IN WESTERN GREENLAND

Weather is notoriously unpredictable as we all know, so the unusually cold weather reported in this article simply confirms that "global warming" is a totally meaningless concept when faced with the actual conditions at a fixed point on the globe.

Weather is always throwing up examples of extreme events. It is sad that our media only choose to report the weather events that support one side of the story.

CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE TO TAKE PLACE

An important climate change conference is to take place in New York at the beginning of March. See this report for details. I hope it receives some coverage from the media, though in the present climate of censorship I think it is very unlikely.

WOE - THRICE WOE!

The Telegraph informs us that the UK Government has warned the NHS to prepare for us to be hit by regular malaria outbreaks, fatal heatwaves and contaminated drinking water within five years because of global warming. It will be interesting to see whether any of this does materialise in such a relatively short time.

CANADIAN GREEN WANTS LEADERS THROWN INTO JAIL FOR NOT TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE

This article from the Canada Free Press tells of the bizarre opinion of a leading Canadian climate alarmist who wants students to come up with ways of charging national leaders with crimes for "not tackling climate change". Who is to decided what is sufficient "action" is difficult to work out . I can't help thinking that these sort of outbursts actually do a lot of damage to the credibility of the cause they claim to support. For that is what it has become - a political cause.

GREEN LEAP DAY OFF CAMPAIGN - OR JUST A SKIVE?

According to this article in the Telegraph there is a campaign by some employers to give their staff an extra day off on 29th February to encourage them to do something for the environment. This sounds like a nice idea, except that in practice for the majority it is likely to be simply an extra day off.

MORE HOLES IN IPCC FIGURES

This report in the Telegraph reveals that the CO2 emissions from shipping are apparently three times more than the figures set out in the latest IPCC report. How can we take the other figures from this report seriously if they can be 300% out?

The alarmist brigade are now calling for shipping (which allegedly causes 4.5% of the world's emissions) to be included in the "carbon trading schemes". So we can look forward to even more price increases for the poor consumer who appears to have no way of stopping the madness from growing, unless politicians can be found to reverse it.

THREE GOOD REASONS WHY CO2 DOES NOT DRIVE CLIMATE CHANGE

In this paper by Dr. David Evans the latest scientififc knowledge is shown to confirm that the CO2 theory has been disproved.

POWER FIRMS PROFIT FROM WIND FARM SUBSIDIES

Hello again. Yes I have now returned safely from my jaunt to the sunshine of Gran Canaria. I noted that the Island has several clusters of wind farms around Las Palmas. During my stay we had two power-cuts, which set me thinking - is this the future for the UK? Despite warnings from many experts that wind energy is unreliable and therefore very costly, this article in the Daily Mail explains how the consumer and taxpayer are being taken to the cleaners by the government's headlong rush to "save the planet"!

BAN THE PATIO HEATER!

I am in Gran Canaria and trying to keep up with the news. I read in the Daily Mail that an English MEP is trying to get patio heaters banned. How pathetic is that? I wonder if she will ban any other sort of energy use that is not essential. How about toasters? After all it is not necessary to make toast. We could all survive perfectly well on bread. Christmas lights will also have to go. Swimmimg pools? When you think of it we might as well ban all of them.