JUDGE GRANTS INJUNCTION AGAINST ANTI-FRACK PROTESTORS IN UK

This article explains how fracking company Cuadrilla has helped local farmers obtain an injunction preventing anti-fracking people from setting up an encampment on their land. At least it is a small victory for the law-abiding people who just want to get on with their lives without being disrupted by rent-a-mob groups. Well done that judge!

GREENPEACE IN PANIC OVER EUROPE NEW COAL- FIRED POWER STATIONS

This article looks at the way Germany and other EU states are building new coal-fired power stations. Greenpeace are panicking that we are all doomed as reported in the Guardian. Apparently the increased CO2 emissions across the EU will almost wipe out the UK's savings. So why are we bothering, you may ask?

OBAMA ACCUSED OF ATTEMPTING TO BYPASS SENATE OVER NEW CLIMATE DEAL

This article has the details. It would be very difficult for Obama to get a climate change treaty through the senate, so some suspect he will try and by-pass them. In doing so he would also be ignoring the voters, but he does not need to face them in a third presidential election, so he may not care.

NOW EU TO BAN HIGH POWER VACUUM CLEANERS

First they banned incandescent light bulbs, now they are to ban powerful vacuum cleaners as set out here. Clearly this will only make a miniscule difference to CO2 emissions, but it is still an imposition on the public. Unless there is a show of resistance our leaders will take it as a green light to take more radical measures. If they are to keep to their plan to de-carbonise the country there will be much more stringent measures to come. I wonder what might come next, patio heaters, Christmas decorations?

UPDATE:
Here as expected is an article containing a list of other appliances being considered for the same treatment.

HUNDREDS OF METHANE VENTS DISCOVERED OFF THE USA COAST

This report gives the details of the new discovery. It is not being suggested that the gas is entering the atmosphere, but nevertheless it is yet another example of how much we have still to learn about what is happening on our planet. It is also an opportunity for new technology to use this as a new fuel source.

USA METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY SPLIT ON GLOBAL WARMING

This post gives the lie to all those attempts to maintain that scientists are "97% certain" that humans are causing the climate to change. It refers to a recent survey of members of the USA Meteorological Society, the result of which shows that only just over half of them are in that category. That is the reality.

AUSTRALIAN MET. BUREAU FIDDLING THE DATA

This paper looks at the evidence which is quite compelling. This needs to be much more widely known. How can computer-altered data be better than the original? Such alterations are being made without the public being even aware of it. There are very few scientists who are prepared to speak out. Jennifer Marohasy deserves great credit for doing so.

SUNSPOT CYCLE LATEST UPDATES

Here is an article to keep us updated on what is happening on the surface of our nearest star. Many scientists believe that it is the sun which controls our climate. 

ARE SOLAR PANELS GOING TO BECOME THE MAJOR ELECTRICITY SOURCE OF THE FUTURE OR NOT?

This article says they will, whereas this one says it is unlikely, and this new book says it has been a financial disaster in Spain. I am in no position to forecast what will happen, but even if new types of solar panels become much more efficient, I find it hard to see that battery storage will solve the issue of night time storage.

WIND FARM NEEDS 700 TIMES MORE LAND THAN FRACKING SITE

This article gives the details that show that in order to produce the same amount of energy, a wind farm needs 700 times as much land as a site for fracking. This neatly compares the two energy sources and shows their intensity. 

37 HOURS SAVED BY GERMANY AT A COST OF $110 BILLION

This article explains that the Germans are spending these eye-watering sums on wind and solar energy to delay the doubling of CO2 by just 37 hours . It includes an interview with Bjorn Lomborg who makes the claim. Yet more arguments that show how the developed world is getting very poor value for money.

1.5 MILLION UK JOBS AT RISK FROM EU GREEN POLICIES

Green policies imposed by Brussels are endangering 1.5m UK jobs by saddling manufacturers with high energy costs, an influential group of business leaders has warned. A report published on Wednesday by Business for Britain (BfB), a Eurosceptic lobby group, says that EU policies are to blame for up to 9 per cent of costs on energy bills for industrial companies and warns this could rise to 16 per cent by 2030. Manufacturers are now considering moving their operations to countries where energy is cheaper, risking "devastating" job losses in the UK, it warns. --Emily Gosden, The Daily Telegraph, 13 August 2014 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/11029681/EU-green-energy-laws-put-1.5m-UK-manufacturing-jobs-at-risk.html)

UK HEATWAVE PREDICTION NOW OFFICIALLY DROPPED

In previous posts I have referred to a prediction made by Piers Corbyn of Weather Action that the UK would be experiencing a heat wave in August. After the colder than usual weather at the start of the month, due to ex-hurricane Bertha, it was looking unlikely. I have now heard from Piers that he no longer expects a heat wave. His forecast did not allow for the track taken by Bertha which has moved the hot air out of the way.

CALIFORNIANS SPLIT OVER REFINERY'S FUTURE

 Essentially, you have on one side overwhelmingly white, often very-affluent greens, allied with powerful Democratic politicians, arrayed to obstruct the refinery. On the other side, you have minorities, many of them union members, whose livelihoods and high-paying jobs depend on the refinery. Many of today's progressives not only are determined to protect their privileges, but seek to limit the opportunities for pretty much everyone else. --Joel Kotkin, New Geography, 4 August 2014
(http://www.newgeography.com/content/004455-democrats-risk-blue-collar-rebellion)

MOST AMERICANS ARE CLIMATE SCEPTICS - NEW SURVEY

Only 41 percent of Americans believe that 'most scientists agree that climate change is happening now caused mainly by human activities.' --James P. O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10 August 2014 (http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2014/08/10/Survey-Climate-Change-Impact/stories/201408100110)

USA CLIMATE POLICY ON COAL NOT EFFECTIVE

This report looks at the policy of the Obama administration to stop lending money for the building of new coal-fired power stations around the world. The idea was to set an example for other nations and international organisations to follow, and so stop the building of them. But, as the article explains, this has not worked and hundreds of new plants are being built using other sources of finance. A good example of a free market working.

MURRY SALBY - OSTRACISED FOR DARING TO PRESENT A PAPER WITH A CONCLUSION THAT CONTRADICTS THE GLOBAL WARMING HYPOTHESIS

This piece gives a good account of the problems faced by scientist Murry Salby when he tried to publish a paper which gave an alternative explanation of the change in atmospheric CO2 concentration. His story reveals a lot about the unhealthy way that climate science is carried out.

SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE SEEMS TO BE GONE WITH THE WIND (TURBINES)

This article from Christopher Booker looks at the dream of Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, of supplying all their electricity from wind turbines. It is this policy, as well as his insistence that he will share the pound, that is causing his independence dream to be dashed on the rocks. Personally I would love to see Scotland go its own way, as it exerts far too much influence on the UK Parliament, as well as costing us a disproportionate amount of money. However it will not happen as the scots are far too canny to let go.

UK GOVERNMENT WINS APPEAL TO REDUCE SUBSIDY TO COAL POWER STATION CONVERTING TO BIO-MASS

The UK government has successfully appealed against a court ruling which would have meant that the owners of the coal-fired Drax power station would have qualified for a higher subsidy.

This report gives the details. It appears that the government has reneged on an earlier agreement to grant the higher subsidy. What does this mean for other companies who think about agreeing to accept the government's bribes?

UK TREES ARE UNDER THREAT - BUT NOT FROM CLIMATE CHANGE

As a local councillor here in the New Forest I often read reports concerning the threat of climate change on the trees, but I find no evidence to back up these claims, other than a reference to the computer forecasts for future warming by the Met Office. But here is a report that shows where the real threat to our trees comes from. It is not climate change (there has been only a very slight change in climate which our trees have been coping with over thousands of years) it is from diseases brought into this country by the import of timber and living trees without any serious checks being carried out.

0.0004 DEGREES CELSIUS - THE AMOUNT THE UK HAS REDUCED SURFACE TEMPERATURE

Here is a very good piece calculating the effectiveness of the UK's climate change policy, using the IPCC figures to do it. The result is in the headline, a saving of 0.0004 degrees Celsius. An amount so immeasurable that it clearly demonstrates that the policy is not just a failure, but utterly pointless. And that is for a cost of £100 billion.

UK SUMMER INTERRUPTED BY RAIN AND WINDY WEATHER

The "hot August" being forecast for the UK is not with us today as we feel the effect of the remnants of ex-hurricane Bertha pass over us. It is certainly nowhere near a hurricane, more of a breeze with accompanying light rain (which is much needed) but it feels more like autumn than summer. I certainly don't dismiss the heat-wave forecast as Piers Corbyn of Weather Action has a good track record of getting his forecasts right (see below). Interestingly the Met Office has made no mention of it. In fact next week's forecast is for more clouds and rain with fairly average temperatures.

Here is an extract from the Weather Action website: "The unique power of the forecasts has also been proven by the profits on Scientific Weather Bets with William Hill at odds and verification organized independently by the UK Met Office.
In 4,000 Weather Test Bets over 12 years with William Hill, Weather Action forecasts made a profit of some 40% (£20,000).  The Odds were statistically fair and set by the Met Office before being shortened by William Hill by a standard 20%; the results were then provided by the Met Office for William Hill to settle each bet. Piers Corbyn was excluded by the bookies from such account betting in 2000." 

MEDIEVAL WARMING - MORE EVIDENCE IN PORTUGAL

This article shows that the climate in Portugal is not changing in line with CO2 increases, but rather with the North Atlantic Oscillation and other natural changes. The article re-enforces the fact that we know very little about many aspects of the climate and until we know a lot more we will not be able to predict the future climate. 

DIESEL DRIVERS TARGETED IN UK PATICULATES CRACKDOWN

Here is the article which explains the actions of the London borough in fining diesel drivers for leaving their engines running while idling.

USA EXPERIENCES MASSIVE INCREASE IN USE OF THE TERM "EXTREME WEATHER"

This article looks at the way the media, and in particular the TV news, are reporting any unusual weather events by using the term "extreme weather". There appears to be a concerted effort to influence the public to believe that more "extreme weather" is occurring at the present than was the case in the past. As climate scientists have testified, this is simply not the case, but that message is never explained.

IS IT THE SUN AFTER ALL?

The following report is from the Canada Free Press, 6 August 2014 (http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/65111) I do not necessarily endorse its contents, but I put it on the blog merely to show that these predictions are being put forward by serious people. Those who make precise predictions lay themselves open to being proved wrong - very quickly in the case of those beginning in 2014 or 2015. We will not have long to wait!

Jack Dini reports that we may be witnessing the sun's last dying gasps before entering into a long slumber. The impact of that slumber on Earth's climate remains the subject of growing scientific speculation.

In 2008 William Livingston and Matthew Penn of the National Solar Observatory in Tucson, in a controversial paper that contradicted conventional wisdom and upset global warming theorists, predicted that sunspots could more or less disappear after 2015, possibly indicating the onset of another Little Ice Age. They stated, "The occurrence of prolonged periods with no sunspots is important to climate studies, since the Maunder Minimum was shown to correspond with the reduced average global temperatures on the Earth." The Maunder Minimum lasted for approximately 70 years from about 1645 to 1715, and was marked by bitter cold, widespread crop failures, and severe human privation.

There has been increasing evidence in recent years to support this supposition that global warming is linked with solar activity.

In 2011, three papers suggested the Earth could be heading for a 'little ice age' as solar activity drops once again.

Other research also confirmed that solar effects could bring on little ice ages. Sarah Ineson and her colleagues report that changes in the Sun's emissions of ultraviolet radiation coincided with observed cold winters over southern Europe and Canada between 2008 and 2011.

And Katja Matthes and colleagues report that simulations with a climate model using new observations of solar vulnerability suggests a substantial influence of the Sun on the winter climate in the Northern Hemisphere.

A 2014 paper by Chinese scientists reported the impact of carbon dioxide on climate change may have been overstated with solar activity giving a better explanation of changes in the Earth's temperature. The paper found 'a high correlation between solar activity and the Earth's averaged surface temperature over centuries,' suggesting that climate change is intimately linked with solar cycles rather than human activity. Indeed, the study says that the 'modern maximum' - a peak in solar activity that lasted much of the last century corresponds very well with an increase in global temperatures.

Russian scientists foresee an even more dramatic situation. They predict that a little ice age will begin in 2014.

In their book, The Neglected Sun, authors Fritz Vahrenholt and Sebastian Luning pose that temperatures could be two-tenths of a degree lower by 2030 as a result of an anemic sun, which would mean warming getting postponed far into the future.

Note that these reports are from researchers around the world.

Nick Hallet observes, "The research shows that the current warming models of the IPCC seem to underestimate the impact of natural factors on climate change, while overstating that of human activities. Solar activity is an important ingredient of natural driving forces of climate. Therefore, it is valuable to investigate the influence of solar variability on the Earth's climate change on long time scales."

Add to all this a very recent paper that says the modern Grand maximum of the sun (which occurred during solar cycles 19-23, i. e., 1950-2009) was a 'rare or even unique event in both magnitude and duration in the past 3,000 years.' Unfortunately, it was beyond the scope of this paper to address the potential impact of solar activity on climate. Yet the reconstruction leaves a very big question unanswered-What effect did the Grand maximum have on Earth's climate? As a 'unique' and 'rare' event in terms of both magnitude and duration, one would think a lot more time and effort would be spent by IPCC and others in answering that question. Instead, as noted earlier, IPCC scientists have conducted relatively few studies of the Sun's influence on modern warming, assuming that the temperature influence of this rare and unique Grand maximum of solar activity, which has occurred only once in the past 3,000 years, is far inferior to the radiative power provided by the rising CO2
concentration of the Earth's atmosphere.

NEW UK GREEN DEAL CLOSED AFTER SIX WEEKS

This article looks at the demise of the latest government funded "green deal". This time they were giving the money away, whereas previously it was a loan scheme where people had to pay it back through their energy bills. Unsurprisingly the take-up was much greater - so great that it ran out of money in 6 weeks. It all makes me wonder if our government has any common sense at all.

UK FORECAST TO HAVE THE "HOTTEST AUGUST FOR 300 YEARS"

This article has the details. Apparently the jet stream has become very elongated and buckled and this will bring very hot air from Africa, according to Weather Action spokesman Piers Corbyn. 

STATE CONTROL TAKING OVER UK ECONOMY

If you think that the western world has a free-market economy, then read this and you will realise it is vanishing faster than the snows of Kilimanjaro. The UK government are "consulting" on the criteria it will use to decide which companies will be forced to pay higher electricity bills to cover the so-called "green levies". Can't they see that this is a giant step towards complete control over who can operate in the UK and who will be forced to close?

CORAL ISLANDS SAFE FROM SEA LEVEL RISE! - NEW STUDY

Here is the good news (unless you are the rulers of a coral atoll who is expecting a massive subsidy!) which ought to mean that we hear no more stories of these islands being swamped by rising sea level, but I rather doubt that this will be the case.

WELCOME TO MY TURKISH READERS

I am very pleased to see from my blog stats that I have been viewed by more Turkish residents than UK residents. I have known for a long time that by far my biggest readership is from the USA and I am very pleased to welcome you, but I am a little puzzled by the interest from Turkey. If you are viewing the blog from Turkey and can write in English, please let me know why you come to the blog and what is happening in Turkey in the field of climate change.

HISTORY RE-WRITTEN - THE TRUTH ABOUT MARY SEACOLE

Here is the story of how a historical figure, Mary Seacole, has been re-written by the politically correct establishment in order to provide a historical heroine for the many black and brown members of our society. While it would be nice if there was a historical heroine for them to look up to, it is quite wrong for one to be invented. For one thing it was always likely that it would be found out in the end, which is what has happened. The result of this is that we lose trust in what we are being told. This has a parallel with climate change, where what we are being fed is now being exposed as incompatible with the data. If this continues it will eventually discredit the government and the authorities, just like the Mary Seacole make-over.  

GREEN MP ASKS FOR DISSENTING MP TO BE REMOVED FROM CLIMATE COMMITTEE

Here is the story including the letter from Caroline Lucas, the only Green Party MP, in which she asks Ed Miliband to remove Graham Stringer MP from the committee for voting against supporting the conclusions of the latest IPCC report. Yet another example of the undemocratic ways of the green mentality. 

USA BILLIONAIRE FOUNDATIONS FUND GREEN ACTIVISTS

This article tracks where the money comes from and finds that it is a complex trail through a number of organisations until it finally gets to the activists. Huge sums are involved which just shows the strength of the green lobby.

TWO MPs VOTE AGAINST ACCEPTING IPCC REPORT

Here is the detail of the vote by the Climate Committee and the reasons why the two MPs, Peter Lilley and Graham Stringer, did not support the majority of committee members who accepted the IPCC report without question.  I think we should salute those two MPs who are prepared to stand out against the servile majority. The fact that both of them are scientifically qualified gives their view added importance. It is something that should give everyone with an open mind pause for thought.