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Climate Change Cooling Off?

   Our sun is acting funny and now the thought that a new ice age could be happening is all the buzz. Even the Daily Mail has latched on to the story.

The last time the sun went to sleep, there
were frost fairs on the Thames and ice extended for miles into the North
Sea.

Now scientists have unearthed evidence that
the sun is poised to enter its first period of ‘hibernation’ since the Little
Ice Age of the early 1700s.

If they are right – and it’s a big if – it
means global warming caused by greenhouse gases could be less severe over the
next few decades than predicted.
 
Notice they didn't say that maybe the sun is the cause of climate change, just that the sun may slow it down.
 
   This story has been all the rage for about a week now. The sun has regular sun spot cycles that revolve around an 11 year period. The problem here is that this time we are two years over due for the sun spot cycle, and there is not evidence coming from the sun that the cycle is going to start. In fact all the signs are pointing to a rare occurance of a maunder minimum.
 
According to three studies released in the United States on Tuesday, experts believe the familiar sunspot cycle may be shutting down and heading toward a pattern of inactivity unseen since the 17th century.

The signs include a missing jet stream, fading spots, and slower activity near the poles, said experts from the National Solar Observatory and Air Force Research Laboratory.

"This is highly unusual and unexpected," said Frank Hill, associate director of the NSO's Solar Synoptic Network, as the findings of the three studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Solar Physics Division in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
   
  Human induced climate change is real... nothing to see here. Tell me that in 50 years when we are under 10 feet of snow and the new summer vacation destination is the Mojave Desert.
 
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The BATF Scandal Is Exploding

   Or maybe it's imploding. Either way, Attorney General Eric Holder has dug himself a hole and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Cailf.) is happy to bury him in it.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Wednesday escalated his standoff with the Department of Justice over a gun-tracking program that might have contributed to the death of federal agent.

As the family of slain ATF agent Brian Terry pleaded for justice, Issa said officials should be “ashamed” for handing over heavily redacted documents about the program. …

After more than two months of back-and-forth between DOJ officials and Issa’s staff, Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich told lawmakers that the department was cooperating and actively working to respond to the committee’s request.

Outraged, Issa held up a piece of white paper with a giant black box of entirely redacted text on it.

“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Issa said to Weich. “It doesn’t take so long if you don’t spend your life redacting it.

“The pages go on like this forever,” he said, referencing the blackened piece of paper. “You’ve given us black paper instead of white paper. You might as well have given us a ream still in its original binder. How dare you make an opening statement of cooperation.”

 
   If only we had about a hundred more representatives like Issa, maybe there would be less people like A.G. Holder who think they can do whatever it is they want regarding their agenda, and then snub their collective noses at congress when it starts to go south...literally. I would like nothing more than to see the whole of BATF take hit square between the eyes over this. Arming Mexican bad guys with american firearms so they can shoot and kill our border gaurds while blaming it on legally owned and operated gun stores in america is nothing short of sinister.
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Still "Adjusting" The Data

   Once again, those climate scientists are caught red-handed adjusting data to fit their agenda. This time it's the University of Colorado Sea-Level Research Group.

The University of Colorado’s Sea Level Research Group decided in May to add 0.3  millimeters -- or about the thickness of a fingernail -- every year to its  actual measurements of sea levels, sparking criticism from experts who called it  an attempt to exaggerate the effects of global warming.

"Gatekeepers of our sea level data are manufacturing  a fictitious sea level rise that is not occurring," said James M. Taylor, a  lawyer who focuses on environmental issues for the Heartland Institute.
 
  Even though we are taling about a very small number that equats to 1 inch over a hundred years, one would think by now that any shred of credibility these climate change folks once had would now be all but gone.
 
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Remember Those ClimateGate Emails?

   From Watts Up With That we have a simmary of what has transpired with Michael Mann and the email controversy. The simple answer is very little. It is fairly clear that something was going on but a true independent ivestigation is called for.
 
 The only investigation that specifically looked into Mann’s conduct was undertaken by Penn State. Penn State cleared Mann noting that Mann stated:
(a) he had never falsified any data, nor had he had ever manipulated data to serve a given predetermined outcome;
(b) he never used inappropriate influence in reviewing papers by other scientists who disagreed with the conclusions of his science;
(c) he never deleted emails at the behest of any other scientist, specifically including Dr. Phil Jones, and that he never withheld data with the intention of obstructing science; and
(d) he never engaged in activities or behaviors that were inconsistent with accepted academic practices.
 
   Yet, here is what is now known:

(7) Critics have charged that the Penn State investigation was inadequate. Michael Mann has subsequently stated that he did, in fact, participate in an orchestrated effort to delete emails covered under FOIA, raising questions about the veracity of statements he made to the Penn State investigators. Penn State seems untroubled by this.

A real, independent investigation, subject to rules of evidence and judicial procedures, is needed. Such an investigation is the only way to put and end to Climategate and is the only way to restore the tattered reputation of climate science. I think both Virginia and Pennsylvania should conduct an investigation. However, if UVa continues to obstruct the CID, then FOIA is the only option and Mann will be afforded no protection of his privacy.

 
   When will we get the truth? Don't hold your breath waiting for it. Although, if the NY Times cared about this story they would be looking into Mann's activity rather than digging around in Sarah Palin's.
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Now Our Vitamins Are Being Affected By Climate Change

   Stock up on Omega-3, because of higher global temperatures, caused by higher carbon dioxide in the air, which causes higher UV radiation, which causes higher ocean temperatures, which, in turn, causes a reduction in phytoplankton, that translates into less Omega-3 in our diet.

“Omega-3 PUFAs are undeniably significant factors in human health, yet
their availability is being threatened by the consequences of global climate
change,”
wrote Dr Kang.

“The foremost issue at hand, of course, is that we make every attempt to
counter global climate change and its harmful effects. In the meantime, as we
fend off the immediate health repercussions, we must also look to other methods
of obtaining our omega-3 PUFA quotient.
 
    So what isn't affected by climate change?
 
 
 
 
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Carbon Credit...Theft?

   I am not even sure I understand all the ramifications of this crime, but it does bring to light the problem carbon trading has brought.  
   The article focuses on what the Environmental Protection Agency has done recently; giving money to countries for things that have nothing to do with the environment. One check raises eyebrows though; $150,000 to Interpol, an international police organization, to investigate carbon credit theft.
 
 As the Heritage Foundation's Robert Gordon notes, EPA describes the
grant's  purpose in part as "support of a climate change project which will
ensure that  markets operate properly, and that fraud is detected promptly
with regard to  carbon trading. ..." Translated, EPA is giving federal
funds to Interpol to help  it investigate the massive fraud that has
plagued the European cap-and-trade  program, including most recently the
digital theft of $70 million in carbon  credits. Some might ask why EPA is
helping bolster a program in Europe that  Congress refused to approve for
America.

   First, I had no idea that 'carbon credits' were that valuable. Second, what is to steal? How do you steal and then reuse something that only works in one organization? It's not like you can take your carbon credits and go buy some property in the Swiss Alps. I assume they have some sort of accounting system in place to keep track of who has how many credits. If not, well,  maybe that is why they got stolen.
   
   Doing some quick research, I found this little blurb form Yahoo Finacial. It would seem that the hackers who stole the credits must have acted as ligitimate carbon holders and sold them to unsuspecting companies who needed them.
 
   Placing these heavy burdens on companies to either reduce their carbon output or purchase credtis from compliant companies has apparently sparked an underground crime ring looking to make some quick money. It may be the same people who are hacking Citibank and other financial institutions around the world recently. I would look towards China...
 
 
 
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Is California Cooling?

   Some in the climate science world seem to think that climate change is cooling California. With huge amounts of rain, snow still in the mountains, and tornados in the Sacramento Valley, it all seems a little unusual.

The Golden State's weather has gone haywire.   

    And it's not over yet: Sacramento can expect as much as another 1.4  inches of rain this weekend and temperatures 20 degrees below normal, with more  mountain snow.

"It's what I call global weirding," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at  NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. "This has been a very strange year all over the planet."
 
   There's that saying again; Global Weirding. I posted on this new phrase a few weeks back. It would seen that they are looking for a new punch-line that isn't so serious, but still focused on something that makes people think about climate.
 
   The odd thing about the article is that it goes into great detail to explain the cause of the the unusual weather.

What's going on?

First of all, this spring's weather is not unprecedented, just uncommon.  California has had wet, cold spring weather before, notably in 1983, a year that  produced record Sierra snows.

This year, the blame falls on a complex interaction between La Niña and  another phenomenon called a negative Arctic oscillation, Patzert and others  said.

La Niña is marked by a cooling of equatorial waters in the Pacific – the  opposite of El Niño. In the past, this pattern means an equal chance of wet or  dry weather.

What made this year so wet was the negative Arctic oscillation.

Typical conditions make the Arctic colder than the mid-latitudes, which  include the United States and Europe. This is a positive oscillation.

Negative conditions flip this around, making the Arctic warmer than usual and  pushing cold air and a vigorous jet stream down into the United States and  Europe.
 
 
    Okay, souonds reasonable. But then it changes:

One theory gaining traction is that climate  change, in fact, may be to blame.

The theory was developed in several published papers by Judah Cohen, an  atmospheric scientist in Massachusetts.

Cohen argues that ice melt in the Arctic has produced more snowfall across  Siberia. All that snow creates a giant cold air mass that diverts the jet  stream, contributing to the negative Arctic oscillation.

Cohen successfully predicted this winter's colder temperatures across the  northern United States, but said the phenomenon influences weather on the East  Coast more than the West.

Colder and snowier winters caused by global warming? It may be one of the  counterintuitive consequences of climate change, he said.

"We don't understand everything, and we don't understand how the different  feedbacks affect different parts of the climate system," said Cohen, director of  seasonal forecasting at Atmospheric and Environmental Research, a private firm  in Lexington, Mass. "It's very complicated. So we should expect the  unexpected.
 
   They don't understand everything, but we should expect the unexpected?
   
   There is nothing unexpected about this line of thinking. Even as they explained what is clearly known and understood in the world of climate science, they still can't let go of the fact that, somehow or another, humans are affecting the climate and they are detemined to get us to buy it.
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No Deal To Replace Kyoto Treaty

   In a not so surpising conclusion, the U.N. can't get the world's leading countries to agree on a new climate deal to replace the Kyoto treaty which is up next year. The reason?
 
Developing countries want to extend Kyoto, which binds only rich countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions until 2012. But Japan, Russia and Canada reject that, preferring a new, wider deal in a rich-poor deadlock which echoes world trade talks.
 
   In other words, rich countries are tired of redistributing their wealth to other countries while recieving nothing in return but the bill. Another growing problem is the fact that no one has any money to give to the cause anyway. With most countries saddled with massive debt and unemployment problems of their own, writing another check to a third world country is not high on their list these days.
 
   I don't see a deal anytime in the near future with the E.U. on the verge of bankruptcy, a likely down grade on the U.S. credit rating, and a general moving away of world opinion towards global warming. Countries simply can't afford it.
 
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It's World Environment Day!

   Guess I wasn't aware of this one. Although, I bet if I was to look at all the 'environment days' the U.N. sponsors it would total around two months worth and several million dollars in U.S. dues.
 
    Nothing new here.
 
 
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Super Brilliant Headline Of The Day

   Coming to you from Yahoo News...and the super word-smithionians at the White House:

WH: Obama-GOP meeting productive without progress

WH says meeting between Obama, House GOP was productive even if there was no specific progress.

 
Wow! It's only in this day and age that we can make progress without really making any! Only Obama can do these things...
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Another Reason Why Christie Shouldn't Be President

   New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been touted as the perfect nominee for President in 2012 for the Republican ticket.
I couldn't disagree more. He is great as far as economics are concerned, as well as his stands against the unions. But...here is just one of the reasons he would not be a good candidate for president:
 
JunkScience.com announced today that it is sending an emergency shipment of climate-related books authored by global warming skeptics to Gov. Chris Christie, the apparently climate information-deprived chief executive of the state of New Jersey.

Though he pulled New Jersey out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the cap-and-trade program by and for Northeast states, Christie admitted to be ignorant about global warming science.

He stated, "I'm certainly not a scientist, which is the first problem. So I can't claim to fully understand all of this, certainly not after just a few months of study. But when you have over 90 percent of the world's scientists who have studied this stating that climate change is occurring and that humans play a contributing role, it's time to defer to the experts."

"Al Gore couldn't have said it better," said JunkScience.com publisher Steve Milloy, "and I see that as a real problem for Gov. Christie if he has hopes of making the leap from governing New Jersey to governing the United States."   
 
 
   Just some food for thought.
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Germany Giving Up On Nuclear Power

 
Following talks that went into the early hours of Monday morning, Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen announced the details of the government's new approach to phasing out nuclear power. The new plan foresees all of Germany's nuclear plants going offline by 2021 -- with one possible exception: If the transition to renewable energy does not go as quickly as planned, three of the plants will be allowed to continue operating until 2022, as a kind of safety buffer against electricity shortfalls.
 
   Just last year the German government said they were going to extend the operational life of all their nuclear reactors.
 
I would not put money on this deal actually going through, but if country has the guts to do so it's Germany. I can already see the rolling blackouts and double triple percentage hikes on energy in that country all in the name of 'green'.
 
 
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Aston kutcher Is A Survivalist?

   Aston kutcher can breath a little easier today since the end of the world didn't happen yesterday.  In the magazine Men's Health, Astin explained how when the end comes, he will be prepared. It's an old article, but it seemed to fit into today's post-apocalyptic times.

“It will not take much for people to hit the panic button,” he told the magazine. ”The amount of convenience that people rely on based on electricity alone… People don’t have maps anymore. People use their iPhones or GPS systems, so if there’s no electricity, nobody has maps.”

The talk about our reliance on electronic devices continued, “And people are going to go, ‘That land’s not yours, prove that it’s yours,’ and the only thing you have to prove it’s yours is on an electric file. Then it’s like, ‘What’s the value of currency, and whose food is whose?’ People’s alarm systems at their homes will no longer work. Neither will our heating, our garbage disposals, hot-water heaters that run on gas but depend on electricity – what happens when all our modern conveniences fail? I’m going to be ready to take myself and my family to a safe place where they don’t have to worry.”   
 
   He is correct in his analysis that people are so tied to electronics that when they don't have it anyomore they will not know what to do. Ask most people where electricity comes from and they will tell you the outlet in the wall.
 
   If you are interested, there are many great websites that talk about preparedness. One of my favorites is Survival-Preps. Another fun one is Survival Mom. Lots of great recipes and other cool ideas.
 
   My favorite is Cory Lundin. He is one of the two guys on the Discovery Channel show Dual Survival. He wrote a book called
"When All Hell Breaks Loose". Great practical things you can do when, well, you guessed it... He even shows you how to cook a rat...if your starving and that is all there is. I wonder if Kutcher would go that far?
 
   
 
 
 
 
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Maybe The Models Are Wrong

   Dr. James Hansen has come out in agreement with the "deniers" and has admitted that climate modeling has a few flaws. He has a new non-peer reviewed paper out admitting as much.
 
 As just pointed out by an astute and disillusioned young climate scientist, James Hansen, the high priest of the global warming religion and defender of creation has recently produced a non-peer-reviewed paper finding that the net man-made effects on climate have been greatly exaggerated by computer models. Hansen claims most climate models have underestimated the cooling effect of man-made aerosols via cloud changes, although the fine print in the paper admits they really have no idea what is causing the cloud changes and resulting cooling effect. Hmmm, possibly the cosmic ray theory of Svensmark et al? Hansen also references estimates for climate sensitivity pulled out of the air by his brainwashed grandchildren in the amusing paper (p. 3).
   
  All of this talk makes me wonder if this is why they changed from" global warming" to "climate change". Since the climate is not warming but changing (by getting cooler), it would be seemless and more honest, and they could still pound their collective fists on the table and blame it all on emissions. They have simply adapted their message to fit the science, but not so much as to veer of the path of self rightous indignation towards the evil empire of the oil and coal industry.
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World's Sexiest Vegetarian

   
   
 
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