379 Comments

1. Continuing from the last comment on the previous thread. The first page in the series, from early May 2021, is here.

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2. Oh boy; sea-level to rise around British coastline by 35 cm by 2050, says a Paul Sayers of the Tyndall Centre of UEA. This will cause the loss of 200,000 homes and businesses. And all due to climate change. Rates of sealevel rise are predicted to increase in this “study” tenfold, from millimetres to centimetres per year. Other choice morsels include sea level rise causing bigger waves that cause greater rates of cliff erosion. This is reported with headlines by both the Guardian and the BBC. You read them and there is no acknowledgement that this coastal erosion has been going on for centuries (long before climate change was thought of) and the increased rates of sea level rise are glibly accepted because they come from “scientists”.

   Just how bad can science become? Never had much truck with Tyndall Centre, use of his name causes harm to his reputation in my book.

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3. Alan,

   I’m glad to see you sharing your expertise on the subject of coastal erosion. I posted my less expert opinion on this bulletin over on my ‘Deconstructing Scepticism’ thread because it struck me as the sort of theorising that my article had warned against.

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4. Here’s their tweet

   150,000 – 200,000 homes and businesses in England at risk of sea level rise from the 2050s, a new study by Paul Sayers. #climatechange #sealevelrise

   Read more:https://t.co/G4Mjl2cajx pic.twitter.com/9Q0iHNqISJ

   — Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (@TyndallCentre) June 15, 2022

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5. Only Connect: Is climate change making ruminants more prone to maggoty infestations?

   https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=myiasis+%22climate+change%22

   Of course it is.

   But – no wriggling out of this – this comment is really just an excuse to ask Jit an off-topic question.

   My garden is at the end of a very thin wood that links with a much larger wood about half a mile away. Roe deer visit the garden in late Spring and early Summer. (Cos mum wants to dump yearlings, I reckon.) The most recent visit was by two yearlings. A camtrap video shows pale blobs sticking out from the rear corners of a male yearling’s eyes.

   Here’s the best still I could get from the vid:

   https://ibb.co/rcQybG9

   The blob at the rear of the other eye was about the same size and in the same position.

   Ticks? Blowfly larvae? Snotty eyelashes?

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6. “ALUMNI STORIES: ‘THE NEXT GENERATION WILL END CLIMATE CHANGE..BUT WE NEED TO DO OUR BIT NOW’
   Dr Steve Smith (Lincoln, 1999) Executive Director Oxford Net Zero Initiative, talks about his love of science, his involvement with legislating an update to the 2050 emissions target to ‘Net Zero’, and his climate discussions with young people”

   https://alumni.web.ox.ac.uk/article/alumni-stories-the-next-generation-will-end-climate-change

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7. “Gazprom: Germany accuses Russian gas giant of pushing energy prices up”

   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61818997

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8. “‘We wanted to offer a sense of hope’: architects build on the climate crisis
   The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition showcases daring use of planet-friendly materials from Portland stone to elephant dung”

   https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/jun/15/architects-climate-crisis-royal-academy-summer-exhibition

   “A gigantic stone beam greets visitors to the architecture rooms of this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, balancing precariously overhead like a neolithic seesaw. It is a fitting introduction, looming ominously above you like the climate crisis theme that haunts this year’s show.

   While the climate topic could lead to a sense of apocalyptic despair and hopeless handwringing, the architecture rooms offer a few rays of hope. Architects and engineers have, after all, some responsibility for the mess we’re in, given that 40% of carbon emissions come from buildings. They also have the means to do something about it….”.

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9. “Gazprom: Germany accuses Russian gas giant of pushing energy prices up”

   .and here’s the bit that the BBC kept quiet about:

   “Siemens Energy said a gas turbine that powers a [Nordstream] compressor station on the pipeline had been in service for more than 10 years and had been taken to Montreal for a scheduled overhaul. But because of sanctions imposed by Canada, the company has been unable to return the equipment to the customer, Gazprom.”

   Stuck in Montréal.

   So Canada is sanctioning Germany.

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10. Richard – thanks for that “Map of Pangea with modern-day borders”
    the UK looks about the same shape as today!!!

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11. Vinny, I don’t know the answer. I would suggest a fly like Pharyngomyia picta, but that is perhaps the availability heuristic at work: I know some flies develop in deer nostrils, and eyes seem quite close if you are a female fly looking for somewhere to deposit a larva. Warble flies (same family) seem to develop further back.

    More likely is that it is not a fly at all, but that I am reaching for a fly because I am an entomologist. However, bot flies are known to infest humans and cause ophthalmomyiasis externa (interna sounds like a nightmare…):

    The usual cause of ophthalmomyiasis externa is Oestrus ovis, the cosmopolitan sheep and goat nasal botfly, whose natural host is herbivorous mammals. Although most common in tropical developing countries (especially North Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean), it still occurs rarely in Western cities. Female flies eject their larvae into the nostrils of the host, where they mature. Human victims may give a history of having been buzzed in the face or struck on the eye by an insect and later of developing irritation and redness of the eye, foreign body sensation, pain, lacrimation, palpebral edema and signs of purulent conjunctivitis or a stye (hordeolum).

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/ophthalmomyiasis

    Note the mention of hordeolum. I suppose the only way to be sure is post mortem………….. ain’t nature wonderful?

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12. The item was reported in the normal cutNpaste way on all normal news sources.

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13. What a strange headline – “opened LATER”. Why not report on it when the opening has taken place? Or is it because this way you get to report on it (at least) twice?

    “Off-grid bus station officially opened in Telford later”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-61817745

    “A bus station that will generate its own electricity via wind turbines and solar panels is being opened later.

    Telford and Wrekin Council said its new off-grid facility in Wellington is a first in the UK.

    The green energy will power lighting, CCTV and live timetable information in each shelter which are made of recycled plastic bottles.

    Over its lifespan, the council said the carbon savings were equivalent to planting more than 750 trees.

    Each shelter will generate approximately 820 kilowatt-hours a year – enough electricity to supply a house for three months, the authority said.

    More of the eco-bus shelters are being rolled out across the borough over the next two years, contributing to the council’s aim to be net zero by 2030.

    Councillor Carolyn Healy, cabinet member for climate change, green spaces, natural and historic environment and cultural services, said: “The bus shelters are another step forward in our green journey to help tackle the climate emergency.”

    First, there is no climate emergency. Second, I doubt anything that Telford and Wrekin Council does could do anything about the alleged emergency anyway, let alone “tackle” it. Last time I drove past Telford (not long ago), they were building houses at a hell of a rate.

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14. No wonder Prince Charles is a “green” fan!

    “Queen’s ‘seabed rights’ swell to value of £5bn after auction of plots
    British crown estate portfolio rises in value by 8.3% to £15.6bn”

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/16/queen-seabed-rights-swell-value-5bn-auction-windfarm-plots-crown-estate

    “The value of rights owned by the Queen’s property company to exploit the seabed around Britain’s coastline has swelled to £5bn after a record-breaking auction of plots for offshore windfarms.

    Profits for the crown estate, which generates money for the Treasury and the royal family, jumped by £43.4m to £312.7m in the year to the end of March.

    The total value of its portfolio, which includes swathes of the seabed around Britain and property on Regent Street, London, has increased by 8.3% to £15.6bn….

    …The crown estate hands all of its profits to the Treasury before 25% is returned to the royal household in the form of the sovereign grant – a funding formula that is currently under government review. The sovereign grant was increased in 2017, from its previous level of 15%, to pay for extensive renovations at Buckingham Palace.

    The funding arrangement dates back to 1760, when George III reached an agreement to surrender his income from the crown estate in return for an annual fixed payment, now called the sovereign grant.

    The Queen is not liable for tax on the sovereign grant but voluntarily pays tax on her private income from land owned by the Duchy of Lancaster and property she owns personally.

    The £312.7m profit represents a significant bounceback on last year, aided by a step up in rent collection and an increase in offshore wind capacity, notably from the Triton Knoll windfarm, off the Lincolnshire coast, and Hornsea 2, off Yorkshire. But profits still fell short of the £345m raked in before the pandemic, which punctured the value of central London property.

    The crown is on a drive to boost its income from the licensing of renewable energy projects such as static windfarms in shallow waters, carbon capture storage, and floating windfarm leasing. It hopes a floating windfarm planned for the Celtic Sea could generate up to 4 gigawatts of power….”.

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15. Here we are close to the summer solstice. How are renewables doing? This is what the National Grid looks like right now:

    Coal: 1.5%
    Gas: 65%
    Pumped storage: 1.2%
    Nuclear: 20.8%
    Biomass: 5.9%
    Solar: 7.9%
    Wind: 3%
    Hydro: 1.9%
    Net export of 0.6% via the interconnectors.

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16. >No wonder Prince Charles is a “green” fan!

    >“Queen’s ‘seabed rights’ swell to a value of £5bn after the auction of plots
    >British crown estate portfolio rises in value by 8.3% to £15.6bn.”

    I believe that in an ideal world, rent extraction would be seen as a crime against humanity.

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17. Thanks, Jit. Your suggestions have led me to some, er, wonderful photos. Eg, noses stuffed full of maggots. Yum yum!

    I couldn’t find any pix of cervine styes. I did find two of deer with blobs by their eyes. In one, the blobs were either fly larvae or bits of pus dripping down from a maggoty playground between the deer’s antlers (yum yum!) and in the other it was a tick.

    If the young buck dies in the garden I’ll send you its head.

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18. Vinny, it seems like a long shot. Anyway just a larva or two would do. Pop ’em in a cheap spirit miniature and send them that way. That would probably let us get to genus. For specific diagnosis, we’d probably have to rear them to adulthood.

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19. “Moratorium on waste-to-energy incinerators”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-61825698

    More madness from the Scottish government:

    “The Scottish government has announced what is effectively a ban on the building of new waste incinerators.

    It means councils will be told not to grant planning permission to further incineration sites.

    Six sites currently operate in Scotland. Plans for 11 more have already been approved, and their construction can go ahead.

    It follows a rapid growth in applications because of a ban coming in 2025 on sending rubbish to landfill.

    The Scottish government’s circular economy minister said the move was part of ensuring future waste infrastructure aligned with climate targets.

    Lorna Slater told MSPs that reducing waste and recycling were key to tackling the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity.

    She said the moratorium was an action taken to encourage a circular economy, in which materials were kept in use as long as possible and precious natural resources were not wasted….”.

    And for once a sensible analysis by a BBC correspondent:

    “This decision still leaves ministers with a predicament over what to do with our waste in the middle of the decade.

    A forthcoming ban on sending it to landfill is at the heart of this big spike in applications to build incinerators.

    By 2025, when that landfill ban comes in, we’re predicted to have more “black bag” rubbish than we know what to do with.

    But by 2027, when all the consented incinerators are operational, there won’t be enough to feed these hungry facilities. So what to do?

    Rapidly increasing our recycling rates would help, but over the last few years we’ve not been doing so well in feeding our blue bins.

    It could mean exporting some of our waste to be incinerated outwith Scotland for those two years – something we do at the moment.

    But with Greens in government, “offshoring” our waste is not a good look.”

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20. I was right – two bites at the cherry for a story the BBC likes. Following the “will be opened later” story, we now have this:

    “Off-grid bus station officially opened in Telford”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-61817745

    It’s the same story and link with a change in wording and pushed out as changed a few hours after the first version.

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21. Shock horror – they’ll need a new poster:

    “Polar bears found thriving despite lack of sea ice offer hope for species
    Researchers say isolated group in south-east Greenland have clung on thanks to freshwater discharge from glaciers”

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/16/polar-bears-found-thriving-greenland-despite-lack-of-sea-ice-offer-hope-for-species

    “Polar bears have become the furry face of the climate crisis, with experts suggesting the animals could be all but extinct in a matter of decades as the Arctic sea ice they hunt from melts away.

    But now researchers say they have found a group of them in south-east Greenland who are surviving despite a lack of sea ice for much of the year.

    The team say the polar bears – which appear to have been isolated from other groups for several hundred years – have clung on thanks to freshwater ice from glaciers that discharge into the sea.

    The researchers add that despite expectations of a large decline in polar bear numbers in the Arctic, the discovery offers a glimmer of hope, not least as the conditions in south-east Greenland today are similar to those expected in the high Arctic towards the end of the century.”

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22. BBC Yesterday Channel
    They are talking about City Road Underground station now renamed as Bunhill heat extraction centre
    a kind of HEAT PUMP using old Tube tunnels
    I noticed the master meter gave a readout
    It said 80KW yes KW not MW
    That is only £3.20 per hour worth of energy per hour

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23. ITV local news
    Did the Green air PR tricksters exploit by saying the today is “Clean Air Day”
    and use the excuse an artist created an exhibition to say a lot of propaganda ?
    of course they did

    Seemed like no actual local angle ..rather if was a centralised syndicated item
    Ah the artist is London and black
    and the TV segment featured a black rapper saying that air pollution is a black issue
    FFS !

    Clean up our dirty air! Launching today #Breathe2022 huge posters across #lewisham & #Intheair @wellcomecollection Dryden Goodwin’s beautiful drawings of air activists inc Ella’s mum @EllaRobertafdn @Invisibledust @cleanairlondon @wearelewisham: pic.twitter.com/MZbGBa6wah

    — Alice Sharp (@AliceWSharp) May 18, 2022

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24. Mark I’d accidentally clicked the trash button, then missed the UNDO button
    So I went into Trash and clicked APPROVE, which seemes to have reinstated your Telford comment

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25. If you find this page Open Mic page too heavy
    The WordPress Reader views gives you a paginated version, which loads just 10 comments at a time

    BTW I note
    Text layout : sometimes stays on the same line instead of moving to a fresh line
    images : get embedded automatically if your comment includes a URL ending on jpg,gif etc.
    Tweets : do embed if you put the URL on a *fresh line*, but the images/videos within are not, so you have to click to open up the tweet to see them
    ..sometimes I put two dots before the URL, causing the tweet to remain as a URL rather than embed

    Youtube : does not embed, so you have to click to open up the video
    =======
    For me the Conversations view is better
    cos #1 it only loads the latest comments
    #2 it just loads the first 3 lines of each comment
    and a SHOW MORE button

    ** BUT Conversations View actually hides embedded tweets
    so you have to open in another view to see them

    https://wordpress.com/read/conversations

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26. The Bunhill Heat and Power district heating network uses the redundant City Road tube station (closed 1922) to extract warm air from the current Northern Line underground in the winter and inject cool air in the summer.

    There is an article from New Civil Engineer that is worth reading, with the letters being of particular interest to anyone of a sceptical disposition.

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27. Norfolk stuff, I missed a lecture last night by an Australian professional author who has written about the Fens history
    so I looked up his Australian radio segment
    https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/the-centuries-old-fight-for-the-fens-wetland-of-uk/12592888

    #1 Presenter calls the Fens ..”Northeast England”

    #2 See how the author says they are the area SOUTH of the Wash
    Nope The area north of the Wash is Fenland too isn’t it ..like Spalding and Sleaford

    #3 He thinks the fens are natural
    aren’t old areas like the Broads man made
    by peat diggings getting flooded ?

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28. Mark, from a few days ago:

    Second Trump term would push warming past dangerous limit, warns UN climate chief

    Covering climate now from Oct 2, 2020:

    A Second Trump Term Would Be ‘Game Over’ for the Climate, Says Top Scientist

    (via Kip Hansen’s WUWT story.)

    No prize for guessing who the top scientist is.

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29. Behind a paywall, unfortunately:

    “Why wearing eco-friendly sun cream could leave you red-faced
    Consumer watchdog warns against mineral-based products after none of those tested provided the level of protection shown on packaging”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/06/17/wearing-eco-friendly-sun-cream-could-leave-red-faced/

    “Environmentally friendly mineral-based sun creams do not provide the protection they claim to, according to research by a consumer watchdog….”

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30. Also behind a paywall, unfortunately:

    “Exclusive: Dirty cost of keeping the Government’s net zero strategy alive revealed
    Plan to hit green targets relies on burning the equivalent of the New Forest every five months, Telegraph analysis shows”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/06/16/exclusive-dirty-cost-keeping-governments-net-zero-strategy-alive/

    “The Government’s plan to reach net zero relies on burning the equivalent of the New Forest every five months, The Telegraph can reveal. Net zero climate targets rely partly on proposals to capture the smoke from power plants that burn wood and pipe it under the North Sea using a system known as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. Under the proposals, the power plants will burn the equivalent of 120 million trees a year, an analysis of government modelling by the Telegraph has found…”.

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31. “Nepal to move Everest base camp from melting glacier”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61828753

    Of course, the article is all about pushing climate change at us, but I have my suspicions that all those people there for so long every year might well be having a major impact. At least I’m not alone in my suspicions:

    “…A leading member of the committee that recommended the base camp move, Khimlal Gautam, said the presence of so many people at base camp was contributing to the problem.

    “For instance, we found that people urinate around 4,000 litres at the base camp every day,” he said.

    “And the massive amount of fuels like kerosene and gas we burn there for cooking and warming will definitely have impacts on the glacier’s ice.”…”.

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32. @Bill from last night, I’ve edited your post to add the link I think you intended. You are right that the comments are interesting. The critic who clearly knows what he is talking about is accused of spreading fake news, Trump-style, by the drive-by commenter who prefers the orthodox (unevidenced) version of the problem.

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33. Stew, the Broads are not part of the Fens. But you are correct in believing that the Fens in large part are much modified by man. My wife (she who must be listened to) is a “bog-hopper” coming from the Deeping Fen area, so I have seen much of it. They were effectively drained in the seventeenth century so are artificial, but drainage allowed the peats to shrink and oxidise and the land surface to decline. There are places where pipes were hammered into those peats when they were first drained. As the land surface lowered the successive land surfaces levels were marked onto the pipe. Those pipes now rise eleven or twelve feet into the air, showing the loss of peat. I have read that most of the original peat has gone, but some fields when ploughed were awfully black.

    In places the shrinkage/loss of peat results in an Alice-in-Wonderland landscape wherein the highest parts are the rivers. The rivers brought silts to form river levees. The silts do not shrink, so as the land underlain by peat lowers the river banks stay at their original altitude. So now the river banks meander high above and through the old shrunken peat lands. We did much of our courting in this weird area.

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34. More tripe:

    “Bee-eaters in Norfolk ‘worrying sign of climate change'”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-61837499

    “Rare “rainbow birds” trying to breed in the UK was a “worrying sign of how our climate is changing”, the RSPB said.

    The charity said bee-eaters had been making nest burrows in a small quarry at Trimingham, near Cromer, Norfolk.

    The exotic birds are usually found in southern Europe and northern Africa.

    Mark Thomas from the RSPB said: “While an incredible sight, we mustn’t forget that the arrival of these birds to our shores is due to changes to our climate and subsequent pressures on wildlife.

    “Pushed northwards by climate change, these exotic birds will likely become established summer visitors in the future, having been an early and unmissable sign in the past two decades that the nature and climate emergency has reached our shores.”…”.

    Well, I remember a delightful surprise when walking on the hills above Kendal 30 more than a third of a century ago, as a bee-eater hove into view and stayed close for a while, giving me an excellent view of it. Then we have things like this, from 2014:

    https://secure.countrylife.co.uk/news/bee-eaters-breed-uk-59298

    “A pair of bee-eaters in the Isle of Wight have become only the third record of this beautiful European bird to breed successfully in the UK in the last century.

    Having set up home on National Trust land at Wydcombe Estate, the bee-eaters were discovered on the island in mid-July.

    The last recorded breeding of bee-eaters in the UK was in 2002 when a pair nested in Country Durham.”

    The following year we had this:

    “Bee-eaters breeding in Cumbria”

    https://www.birdguides.com/news/bee-eaters-breeding-in-cumbria/

    “The RSPB has announced the exciting news that two pairs of European Bee-eaters are breeding near Brampton, Cumbria.

    Up to six adult birds — two breeding pairs and two ‘helpers’ — have been present on site since mid-June. The young are believed to have hatched and with the actions of egg collectors now not a problem, news has been released….”.

    There’s the usual stuff about warmer weather driving them further north, but I can assure anyone who will listen that springs are not getting warmer or arriving earlier in Cumbria, whatever might be happening further south. if it’s a function of the temperatures, then breeding in Cumbria seems a very strange thing for bee-eaters to do.

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35. Here’s more of the same:

    “Potteric Carr: Black-winged stilt chicks in northern first”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-61826871

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36. Remember 1976, anyone?

    “Is the UK getting hotter, and what causes heatwaves?”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61825371

    Yesterday, my part of Cumbria reached the unbelievably sweaty 21.5C (ironically, higher than forecast by the BBC on its 14 day forecast).

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37. Local news item “hottest day coming” hype “temperatures over 30”
    The climate C was hinted at rather than named.
    Then 2 mins later he finished with the weather forecast “warm with a slight breeze”
    Actually Weather.com shows mostly 27-28 Km/h
    thats big for a “breeze”
    only at 5pm with the breeze at 23Km/h does the temp rise to 29C

    Local Lincolnshire DJ is talking about 32C

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38. Paul Hudson was very specific when he did his radio forecast this morning
    “one or two days is not a heatwave”

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39. I suppose a wind coming from Spain could be a special hot wind but out there now it’s a normalling cooling wind
    A long grass field 300m away has been cut a lot of dust is rising.
    ah that is where the tractor is.

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40. Strange use of verbs to describe arrival of breeding pairs of bee-eaters. “Pushed northwards by climate change” suggests their original range had become unsuitable (too hot?) for which there is no evidence. “Drawn northwards by climate change” would seem to be slightly more accurate. “Drawn northwards by mild weather” would have been even better but would have missed out upon the opportunity to use it for propaganda purposes.

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41. Met Office trickery
    Em 12pm Scampton : 25C with 26mph gusts on a 14mph breeze
    Oh they just redid those numbers to 27C
    For the same time !
    with 29mph gusts on a 19mph breeze

    Serious with my own eyes I saw them publish OBSERVATION figures around 2pm (for 12pm)
    and then upgrade it 15 mins later

    Oh I give up : the 12pm data now say 27.1C !

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42. “Jeremy Corbyn unites with direct action group Just Stop Oil
    Former Labour leader’s Peace and Justice Project to be part of new climate and social justice movement”

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/16/jeremy-corbyn-unites-with-direct-action-group-just-stop-oil

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43. “USA Today Joins in the Climate ‘Fact-Checking’ of the Daily Sceptic”

    https://dailysceptic.org/2022/06/17/usa-today-joins-in-the-climate-fact-checking-of-the-daily-sceptic/

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44. “The UK is squandering its gas reserves
    Amid soaring prices and talk of blackouts, we need to get serious about energy.”

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/06/17/the-uk-is-squandering-its-gas-reserves/

    “…Even now policymakers are too complacent and wedded to green fantasies. The Climate Change Committee forecasts declining demand for gas, but this is predicated on the mass adoption of heat pumps in place of gas boilers as part of the Net Zero agenda. That’s not going to happen. We’ll continue to need much more gas than the government imagines.

    We need to push back against the green zealots and defend gas as an essential part of the UK’s electricity and heat mix. It is complete hubris to say that Britain must set an example to the world and stop drilling for gas. Amid talk of power cuts and heating shortages, the public will not stand for this virtue-signalling any longer.”

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45. Friday BBC local news item
    They went to Bridlington to do “oh it’s hot” item
    em look at a screenshot https://twitter.com/BiasMonitor/status/1537920567457656832

    Note she’s wearing a pink bodywarmer as is the bloke next to her
    That gives the game away. that the idea that Bridlington was super hot, is a narrative

    BTW The BBC team were focused on getting closeups of black people like her ..50% were
    Yet the pan shot revealed that the crowds were almost entirely white.

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46. Would your POLITICAL group get a space in the local BBC news to plug their meeting ?

    12pm local radio news
    “Extinction Rebellion are having a meeting today at … to discuss the importance of protecting peaceful protest rights
    You can go along at 2pm to … on .. road ..in Lincoln”
    .. FFS Many XR protests are NOT peaceful cos they stop you going about your daily business by blocking your way
    or cause physical damage to your car tyres.

    (BTW Next item: pride month story about Mabelthorpe )

    I check the local XR Twitter accounts ..they haven’t bothered to promote their event there.
    However their website does list today’s event
    But the description is different to the radio news one

    • Why we’re currently in Big Trouble with the climate
    • Why voting, marching and signing petitions won’t help
    • Why just 3.5% of us working together in 2022 could turn things around

    All around the UK, local people are getting organised.

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47. Local paper was promoting XR membership

    Why Extinction Rebellion want you to join them #Lincolnshire https://t.co/0p0psKUpcf

    — Lincolnshire Reporter (@LincsReporter) May 2, 2022

    From their social media I see they call some of their protests a “blockade”
    .. well that is NOT peaceful is it ?

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48. Local events : Hornsea 2: building the world’s biggest offshore wind farm
    1 Jun, 10:00 – 26 Jun, 16:00
    Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre
    “Ørsted will be presenting a free photography exhibition
    focus on the construction of Hornsea 2, soon to be the
    …Read more on Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre”

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49. 13:32pm Any Questions
    The public questioner is clearly an anti-nuclear activist
    who makes his question a lecture : which is a false gaslighting view of the world
    eg saying “renewables are cheaper” (they are a million miles away from cheaper reliable power .. there’s no mining tax for a start)
    … The guys supporters whoop and holla when he’s finished

    Ans 1 from Plaid Cymru ..gaslighting again “they talk of nuclear but nothing ever happens”
    FFS Hinkley C is Europe’s largest construction site and more nuclear are well on with planning.
    He tells other fairytale too

    Ans2 from a Tory MP pro green but “we can’t get Net Zero without nuclear”

    After only 2 answers we are back to the questioner ..How is that fair ?

    Ans 3: from Labour “smelly Tories ..etc.”

    Ans4 : Claire Fox .: sensible answer of course
    Got boos
    She mentions the Rolls Royce mini-reactor that might coming to Snowdonia
    She is having to shout as if some crowd is agin her
    Sounds like 6 people boo against her at the end.

    Next back to Plaid panelist suddenly being coherent saying there should be a mix
    Gets applause.
    but hang on he was anti-nuclear a second ago

    LikeLike

50. I should say that if people use Conversations or Reader mode
    then there is a REPLY button
    That mode is a great benefit to me, cos I get an alert when someone uses the REPLY button on my comment
    .. If they reply another way I often miss it.

    LikeLike

51. Twitter technicalities
    old days : Radio4 listeners would tweet about a prog using : @BBCradio4
    Yet a search today shows zero comments about that nuclear item

    Yet when I search : #BBCAQ nuclear
    There are 3 dozen comments
    So they must be from regular listener who choose to use that hastag
    or an activist mob who have been told to use it.

    LikeLike

52. Rain today and cooler in the land of the Iceni: so is the heatwave and the climate emergency over? BBC and Guardian are remarkably reticent upon the subject today. Will the bee-eaters and parakeets go home now?

    LikeLiked by 1 person

53. Secondly : Claire Fox was trending on Twitter
    Not cos people had coherent argument against her point
    but rather cos a large number of accounts tweet HATE at her whenever she is on
    Since they seem triggered I guess she is over the target and is therefore getting flack.

    eg https://twitter.com/Jackman4Jackman/status/1537913988658257920

    eg 2https://twitter.com/ANNETTE22398150/status/1538106232602517504

    LikeLike

54. Neil Oliver show talking sense as usual
    Now he is about to start a global warming debate segment
    .. “with opposite sides”

    Lembit Opik vs Crazy John Grant from Sheffield Poly

    JG just confused the Roman W Period with the MWP
    He refused to say the UK was warmer in the RWP
    “..Yeh but he said oh you have to look at the whole planet”

    LikeLike

55. JG “John Hopkins did a study and they said that 99.9% of science papers say warming is largely man-made

    … FFS that is laughable PR stuff

    BTW He also said “it doesn’t matter that only 3% of warming is manmade we have to take it seriously”

    Does he also say “it doesn’t matter that only 3% of scientists are sceptical we have to take them seriously” ?

    video tweet https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1538219739306250242

    LikeLiked by 1 person

56. Alan, this about sums up the “heatwave” where I live:

    LikeLiked by 1 person

57. The BBC excels itself again…

    If you really want to know what was said there’s a transcript here:

    https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1818228/

    LikeLike

58. Why does this remind me so much of consensus enforcers, renewables vendors and their attitudes to and dealings with China?

    In December 2014, two con men from Girona, Spain agreed to sell a fake Francisco de Goya painting for 4 million Euros but, unbeknownst to them, the purchaser was a con man himself and the down payment of 1.5 million Euros (1.7 million Swiss francs) they received from him were counterfeit bills.

    Thanks to the worthy tech publication How-To Geek for that.

    LikeLike

59. An interesting article. It’s just a shame about the ridiculous language adopted by the BBC:

    “Friendly fungi help forests fight climate change”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61787248

    “Young science writer competition winner digs into an underground biological battle against global warming.”

    LikeLike

60. It appears we’re not allowed out any more if it’s hot, or if there’s a risk of thunder and lightning:

    “‘Move inside’, Met Office warns south England as thunderstorms cluster
    Sudden temperature plunge prompts rare lightning warning, but better weather expected by next weekend”

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/18/temperatures-expected-to-fall-everywhere-in-uk-except-south-coast

    “The Met Office has urged people to stay indoors where possible as the south of England is struck by a “huge cluster” of thunderstorms.

    As temperatures plummeted from Friday’s highs of 32C, the forecaster issued a lightning warning that it has only used a “handful” of times before.

    Meteorologist Beck Mitchell said a cold front from the north was responsible for the sudden temperature shift.

    “It felt like it was just getting into summer but it’s cooler now,” she said.

    “Lots of places in the UK have seen a temperature drop of about 10 to 15 degrees in some places, which is massive.

    “We’ve got a huge cluster of thunderstorms in the south-west of England, there’s potential we could see some in the south-east later on tonight.”

    The Met Office has only issued a lightning warning three times before, most recently in 2019.”

    I suspect that there have been only 3 previous lightning warnings, not because lightning only became a problem recently (no doubt due to climate chaos) but because the Met Office decided to use another scare tactic to frighten us all about climate chaos only recently.

    LikeLike

61. I haven’t mentioned it for a while, but I keep an eye on the 10 most read articles on the Guardian website. I can’t remember the last time any of them was an article about climate change. A sense of Guardian readers’ priorities can be gained by taking a look. Today, at number one we have “My husband has been having a secret affair for 30 years” and at number 4 there is “Batman Returns at 30: still as weird as big-budget blockbusters get”.

    LikeLike

62. “A Few Hot Days in June is Not Evidence of Catastrophic Global Warming”

    https://dailysceptic.org/2022/06/19/a-few-hot-days-in-june-is-not-evidence-of-catastrophic-global-warming/

    Worth a read, IMO. It includes a few interesting observations, such as:

    “The Met Office publishes U.K. temperature readings regularly. I have been looking at them for a few years, and they do not appear to have been adjusted or changed. They show that the 2010s were colder at 9.17°C than the preceding 2000s, when the overall average was higher at 9.31°C. This is in marked contrast to the Met Office global temperature dataset HadCRUT, where we have seen two major human-adjusted uplifts during the last decade, producing around 30% of extra heating. In addition, some historical records have been lowered. All the major global temperature datasets have made similar adjustments. As a result, their upward trend lines do not align with many measurements made by satellites and meteorological balloons. These records are out of line with local recordings showing obvious temperature slowing, as we can see in the U.K.

    Rennard goes on to note that the summer of 2018 was the UK’s second warmest, shared with 1995. Not according to the Met Office figures it wasn’t. 2018 was warm at 15.76°C, whereas 1995 only came in at 15.62°C. However, it is a fairly meaningless difference. If one takes the tiny change between the two as a margin of error figure, we find that two further summers since then were just as hot. It might be more accurate to just say that the U.K. has the occasional nice summer. In fact, the Met Office U.K. database itself may be overstating actual warming, since the explosion in urban development since the second world war has boosted urban heat generation. The Met Office often quotes the temperature at Heathrow airport – sometimes, even, with a straight face.”

    And:

    “If you are trying to promote climate Armageddon, it might not be a good idea to publish a graph showing that the average June maximum temperature recordings in the U.K. were similar to those observed 150 years ago. The world has warmed by around 1°C since the start of the industrial revolution and the emergence from the preceding so-called little ice age. This would appear to explain the small 0.2°C increase in the June trend line from about 1890.”

    LikeLike

63. Scanning the junk that is the local paper ..online
    “Drax in deal with British Steel to supply 13,000 tonnes of steel to its carbon capture project”

    FFS if you make 13,000 tonnes of steel .. you’ll be outputting a lot of CO2

    Further down
    “Consortium appointed to lead engineering design for UK’s first flexible carbon capture power station”
    .. Another project that involves constructing stuff and thus outputting a lot of CO2 before any CO2 saving begin.

    LikeLike

64. BBC Radio Lincolnshire helping solar PR

    9am “And this week residents will be giving their opinion on the huge solar farm plan for the border with Rutland” 2175 acres
    We got some idea of opposition from council and locals
    but then when got a full PR clip from the firms rep Sarah Price of Mallard

    10am they changed the item around. This time we got a clip from the opposers the Mallard action group
    It was very weak
    Sue Holloway “They have made some SMALLl changes to the amount of land, having had to put some mitigation so that they don’t use using prime agricultural land ”

    #1 News bulletins which only give one side is wrong
    #2 It looks to me that the Action Group have either been bought off or intimidated say by legal threats .
    OR that the Action Group is a fake one set up by the promoters.
    They stopped tweeting since March 17th ..why would they do that ?
    Ah they did put out a tweet refering to https://nextdoor.co.uk/p/XG6gGMLNhS9f
    but their Facebook is active .. https://www.facebook.com/groups/mallardpassactiongroup

    Update I’ve checked the 8am news , and that had a different clip
    Again from Sara Price the PR for the firm
    “We have made a number of changes,”
    : “reduced the area by over 100 hectares” …what on a 1000 Ha scheme !
    : “Removed battery storage” .. well it was a fire risk, and probably they haven’t got the subsidy they wanted for it
    ; “4.7Km of permissive paths” …

    7am it was the lead item
    #1 opposer Sue Holloway ..played the weak clip
    then Mallard’s statement

    11am It’s back to opening item
    The weak clip again

    LikeLike

65. Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton
    tweet from Jan 11
    “Mallard Pass Solar Plant would be a disaster for our communities, agricultural land & for our biodiversity
    Today I made clear Rutlanders must be heard & I’ll press the Govt to make sure it’s not imposed on residents against our will”

    LikeLike

66. Yet another Newman cartoon in the Sunday Times that gets me wondering if the cartoonist might be a closet sceptic. Tanned female says to her neighbour “at last – enough power from my solar panels to work the sun bed”..

    LikeLiked by 1 person

67. Countryfile this evening makes a bo-bo. Discussing Whitby jet, which is fossilised wood, a local jeweller remarked that because they can gather jet from the foreshore only a few hundred metres from their workshop, transport is thereby minimal making jet a low carbon gemstone. I almost fell of my chair laughing.

    LikeLiked by 2 people

68. Guardian news 10h ago
    Gordon Brown urges Boris Johnson to force global action on cost of living crisis
    (What like abandoning mad fake green energy policies ?)

    Some PR agency must be pushing Gordon strongly today
    he’ all over the media
    “Gordon says” is opinion, it’s not newsworthy

    LikeLike

69. Strangely no one told Twitter

    but I do see this org tweeted the same thing 12 times

    Brownish-black Lignite is the lowest grade of coal. Lignite forms as organic carbon in plant materials like peat is squeezed at low temperatures. Sometimes called "Jet," lignite is used as a gemstone and a fuel. #coal #geology #sedimentary #rock https://t.co/wa9GKrboIO pic.twitter.com/d1wV7jIfxX

    — Mini Me Geology (@MiniMeGeology) November 16, 2021

    LikeLike

70. Behind a paywall, unfortunately:

    “Gareth Davies: Net zero plans risk being a waste of taxpayer money
    The Auditor General warns the Government must ensure people are not shortchanged by environmental policies during the cost-of-living crisis”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/06/19/gareth-davies-net-zero-plans-risk-waste-taxpayer-money/

    “Net zero plans risk wasting taxpayer money, the head of the National Audit Office has warned.

    Britain’s spending watchdog has urged ministers not to throw public funds at its goal of reaching net zero by 2050, saying the “novelty” of the problem is no excuse for failing to get the “basics right”. Gareth Davies, the Auditor General, said that the ambitious target could lead to costs spiralling out of control on projects which fail to deliver “significant environmental benefit”….”.

    LikeLike

71. When I wrote “Reasons To Be Sceptical” less than 2 weeks ago, the Guardian’s CO2 tracker was showing 418.9ppm. This morning it is down to 418.2ppm. No big deal perhaps, and I appreciate that it will fluctuate within a remorselessly upwards trend, but can anyone explain why it suddenly seems to be going down quite quickly?

    LikeLike

72. The Guardian’s live coverage of Ukraine contains a longish item on Germany’s energy crisis
    “Germany to limit use of gas, increase burning coal”
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/jun/20/russia-ukraine-war-zelenskiy-sounds-warning-as-eu-decision-nears-european-ministers-to-meet-on-grain-blockade-live-news?filterKeyEvents=false&page=with:block-62aff5268f08daac4266c579#block-62aff5268f08daac4266c579
    including a long quote from Green Party spokesman Robert Habeck. Both the Guardian article and the long translated statement by Halbeck here
    https://www-bmwk-de.translate.goog/Redaktion/DE/Pressemitteilungen/2022/06/20220619-habeck-wir-starken-die-vorsorge-weiter.html?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
    refer briefly to the fact that less gas means burning more coal, but nowhere in either document is there the least reference to wind and solar, which are due to replace coal & gas in a few year’s time. The Guardian and the German Green Party have apparently completely forgotten the existence of renewables.

    LikeLiked by 2 people

73. Mark CO2 declines every year during the northern hemisphere spring and summer as CO2 is withdrawn by growing plants. It will be returned (plus some) during the fall as plants decay.

    LikeLike

74. Alan, thanks. I thought there had to be a simple explanation.

    LikeLike

75. Only the Times has a true paywall
    most other paywalls can be bypassed
    either by using the free online reader pressreader.com
    or Bypass Paywalls or checking if the page is in the archive.is

    LikeLike

76. Lincs Coop Magazine
    p2 Fullpage advert “Free and Exclusive Environmental event”
    Join us on Saturday 11th June for our FREE summer member event day 🗣 – which also includes our half yearly meeting, talks from ‘One Planet’ author Ed Gillespie and a delicious BBQ lunch🔥
    (oh I already mentioned that one before)

    p4 🚨 Don’t forget to book your place for our exclusive environmental event in Newark this Saturday🌳
    Tickets are free and we’ll be joined by
    @NSDCouncil & @Nottswildlife
    , who will be talking about their environmental schemes.
    Find out more here https://orlo.uk/qouAM

    LikeLike

77. Constant gaslighting in libmob world
    I’m looking at the Nationwide shareholder report
    “We’ve been carbon neutral since 2020”
    “All our electricity is from renewable sources”
    Doh of course those claims are false, so why do they make them ?

    If you are in a banana republic, each office must have a picture of the president
    … as a false proclamation that they worship the president
    If they don’t CONFORM they face intimidation from his mob.

    Likewise in the woke banana republic that is modern UK
    the walls of corporates & government orgs have woke proclamations to signal that they worship woke issues
    : Green, Net-Zero, BLM, LGBT et.
    If they don’t CONFORM they face intimidation from the libmob

    They are often not true, but just buy the corp protection

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78. The Nationwide shareholder doc page 19 is such a woke shrine
    Box 1 : Living Greener pic of an Electric car and wind turbine
    Box3 : “Our Together Against Hate campaign .focused on protecting frontline workers”

    Box 2 : “Green Homes : Our not-for-profit £50m Oakfield housing development in Swindon is
    creating a community of 239 homes, built to high
    environmental standards.
    We hope that our design approach
    will become a blueprint for other responsible organisations to
    create sustainable housing in collaboration with communities.
    Work onsite has temporarily paused,”
    They don’t say why : Actually Jan 31st their builder went bankcrupt
    and although it was taken over the Nationwide contract was not
    5 months later Nationwide say another contractor Lovell is continue the job.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FVshVHIWAAIxaOm?format=jpg&name=small

    LikeLike

79. Flipping heck their PDF statement mentions “green” 86 times
    eg We’re committed to reducing our environmental impact and
    we’re working towards a net-zero future. It’s our ambition to
    lead the greening of homes in the UK. We work with industry
    and government to deliver the policy, skills and solutions to
    reduce the impact of homes.
    We continue to offer low-cost green mortgages and home
    improvement loans through our £1 billion green lending fund.

    eg 2 As the UK’s second largest mortgage lender, we have a key role
    to play in creating greener, more sustainable homes. For more
    information on this, see pages 22 and 36. Our range of green
    initiatives, supported by our green lending fund, aim to help
    members to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. This
    includes offering cheaper borrowing to members making green
    home improvements, and cashback rewards for members who
    buy greener homes.
    Take-up has, however, been slow

    LikeLiked by 1 person

80. Our new solar panel pilot aims to help homeowners research
    and move to solar energy, including putting them in touch with
    trusted suppliers. We are gathering feedback from those taking
    part, with the aim of informing our future approach to
    supporting the retrofitting of homes with green solutions.

    we have an ambition to lead the
    greening of UK homes, as we work towards a low carbon future.
    We will continue to look for ways to encourage our members to
    make green changes or purchase greener homes, such as
    through new propositions and working with government and …

    In line with this, over the next year we will particularly focus on
    taking further action to drive the transition towards a low
    carbon future. We believe that we can achieve more together
    than we can alone and so we will continue to collaborate cross
    –
    industry and with government to support the changes needed to green homes in transitioning the UK to net-zero. In line with our net-zero ambition, we are also developing intermediate
    science
    -based targets for 2030, that are aligned to a net-zero pathway, and a transition plan to progress towards these. For more information, see our climate-related financial disclosures on page 40.

    Following the launch of our Green Network, we held our first
    Green Colleague Assembly, enabling colleagues to discuss ideas
    on sustainability topics.

    As a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking, we are committed to a strategic alignment
    with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    LikeLike

81. They are signed up to the undemocratic globalist Agenda WEF stuff
    p36 continues
    “Our mutual purpose of ‘building society, nationwide’
    directly supports these goals,
    & is most closely aligned to the SDGs listed”
    pic .. https://twitter.com/No2BS/status/1538885665588490241

    p37 details : Lead the greening of UK homes

    Climate-related Financial Disclosures
    “Environmental and climate consciousness are aligned to our purpose of building society
    This compels us to take meaningful action to help members
    green their homes (so that they are warmer, more comfortable places to live,
    and more cost effective to heat in the long term)
    .. Such measure often make heating MORE expensive

    40 pages detail https://www.nationwide.co.uk/-/assets/nationwidecouk/documents/about/how-we-are-run/results-and-accounts/2021-2022/climate-related-financial-disclosures-2022.pdf

    “Nationwide has convened the Green Homes Action Group –
    a group of 15 companies”

    p42-45 Climate-related disclosures overview

    p46-48 Nationwide’s carbon emissions
    some accountancy trickery ..cos non of the amount seem near zero
    The small print talks of PPAs

    strangely all 86 mentions are in the first 130 pages of 300 pages
    The word “homes” is only mentioned 98 times

    LikeLike

82. Cornish School, Scottish windfarm

    Cornish primary school invests in Scottish wind farm https://t.co/NNvZyDzL0r

    — Spotlight (@BBCSpotlight) June 17, 2022

    LikeLike

83. Bottomline The Nationwide are pushing a Green-Supremacist agenda
    They couldn’t push a White-Supremacist agenda
    cos you are supposed to serve the whole community

    Well most people don’t follow green extremism either
    what if a corp followed Scot Nationalist agenda would that be OK ?

    The Nationwide should just follow the rules set by the government
    going further is undemocratic

    LikeLike

84. It always seems to me to be wrong to make a big deal about tragic events, and I don’t think they should be part of the climate wars. Suffice it to say, then, that the reporting of the awful and devastating monsoon floods this year are probably overdone:

    “Assam: India floods destroy millions of homes and dreams”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-61862035

    The headline may be fair enough, but is this?

    “Unprecedented rainfall and flooding has left behind a trail of destruction in Assam, submerging villages, destroying crops, and wrecking homes.”

    Unprecedented?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assam#Flooding

    “Every year, flooding from the Brahmaputra and other rivers such as Barak River etc. deluges places in Assam. The water levels of the rivers rise because of rainfall resulting in the rivers overflowing their banks and engulfing nearby areas. Apart from houses and livestock being washed away by flood water, bridges, railway tracks, and roads are also damaged by the calamity, which causes communication breakdown in many places. Fatalities are also caused by the natural disaster in many places of the State.”

    And:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floods_in_Bangladesh

    “The country has a long history of destructive flooding that has had very adverse impacts on lives and property. In the 19th century, six major floods were recorded: 1842, 1858, 1871, 1875, 1885 and 1892. Eighteen major floods occurred in the 20th century. Those of 1951, 1987, 1988 and 1998 were of catastrophic consequence. More recent floods include 2004 and 2010.”

    The BBC report has this interesting paragraph:

    “Floods routinely wreak havoc on the lives and livelihoods of millions living near the fertile riverbanks of the mighty Brahmaputra river, often called the lifeline of Assam. But experts say that factors like climate change, unchecked construction activities and rapid industrialisation have increased the frequency of extreme weather events.”

    An intelligent and detailed analysis might have been useful. Instead we get an explanation, with (as usual) “and climate change” tagged on the end or, in this case, at the beginning.

    LikeLike

85. Paul Homewood is on the monsoon flooding story, of course, and there’s also this:

    “No, the Monsoon Rains in Bangladesh are Not ‘Climate Breakdown’”

    https://dailysceptic.org/2022/06/21/no-the-monsoon-rains-in-bangladesh-are-not-climate-breakdown/

    LikeLike

86. ITV local news “coming up how to eat green”
    Now 6:14 it’s the green food item
    Restaurants are now putting Carbon footprint on the menu.

    Amrit Birdi ” sustainable, planet friendly ..blah, blah… carbon labelling ”
    ends
    Studio sofa dollies “that’s something we should all be thinking about isn’t it ?”

    There’s hardly any real news in the prog at all
    It’s all grand narratives
    the first 10 mins was the train strike then 2 mins of rushed actual news, then this
    … now weather

    LikeLike

87. I used to live in that area of india and have travelled extensively around it.
    If you haven’t been there you’d find it difficult to understand

    eg there was once a massive terrorist attack where125 people were killed
    but you’ve probably never heard of it.
    It’s a large populous area, it’s a massive river in at least on e place there is a large flt island where people live
    of course lots of houses can get destroyed.

    LikeLike

88. “Dorset Council ‘granny’ climate protesters will not face charges”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-61878895

    “Two women who glued themselves to a table during a council meeting will not be charged by the police.

    Giovanna Lewis and Annie Webster, the self-styled “grannies for the future”, were described as “anarchists” by Dorset Council leader Spencer Flower.

    During their protest they berated the council for its lack of action on climate change.

    Littlemoor and Preston councillor Louie O’Leary said he was “appalled that they have been let off the hook”….

    …Mr O’Leary told the BBC: “The agenda they are pushing in my opinion is not about decarbonisation or about renewables, it’s about pushing a radical program including the overthrow of capitalism, the state, and a crypto-communist agenda.

    “Dorset Council needs to continue to promote an energy policy that delivers for the majority not ponders to a vocal minority.

    “My residents have overwhelming expressed support for the motion myself and the leader put forward and condemned the actions of these two individuals.”

    Security locks have been fitted to the council chamber doors in Dorchester since the protest in April.

    Dorset Police said: “Following an investigation and in consultation with Dorset Council, it has been decided that no further police action will be taken in relation to this matter.””

    LikeLike

89. “Anthony Albanese to order intelligence chief to examine security threats posed by climate crisis
    Former ADF chief backs study saying threats ‘continue to escalate in the absence of far stronger climate action than we have seen thus far’”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/22/anthony-albanese-to-order-intelligence-chief-to-examine-security-threats-posed-by-climate-crisis

    “Anthony Albanese will ask Australia’s most senior intelligence chief, Andrew Shearer, to personally lead a review of the security threats posed by the climate crisis.

    The move has been backed by a former Australian defence force chief, retired Admiral Chris Barrie, who warned the government to plan for climate risks including disruptions to trade, more severe drought, and increasing demands on emergency services and the military.

    In a document submitted to the UN outlining Australia’s new 2030 emissions target, the Albanese government confirmed it would order “an urgent climate risk assessment of the implications of climate change for national security, which will be an enduring feature of Australia’s climate action”….

    …The exact scope and terms of reference are currently being drawn up, but the assessment was expected to consider options such as setting up an Office of Climate Threat Intelligence. If created, that office would update the threat assessments on a rolling basis….”.

    LikeLike

90. “Facebook Employees Demand Censorship of Climate Scepticism”

    https://dailysceptic.org/2022/06/21/facebook-employees-demand-censorship-of-climate-scepticism/

    Gizmodo has published a series of leaked Facebook documents that it calls “the Facebook Papers”. They reveal that some Facebook employees are unhappy with the tech giant for not censoring “climate change denial”. Reclaim the Net has more.

    In late 2021, one document reportedly shows, there were employees who could not understand why Facebook was not defending “the science of the warming planet” with more strict rules, and were critical of their employer for the inefficiency of the rules that did exist.

    The documents, that appear to be logs from internal message boards, show one employee finding a “bug” in the censorship machine, despite the fact a part of Facebook’s policies is to “gently nudge” users toward “more authoritative” sources – a condescending way of saying that users should be prevented from seeing content they want, and instead be corralled and directed toward that often arbitrarily picked by the tech giant.

    The “bug” consisted in search returning results that did not “nudge users” or employ other forms of manipulation. For example, when searching “climate change,” Facebook at that time simply returned what was the most viewed content on the subject, and it happened to be a video with over 6.5 million views, titled, “Climate Change Panic Is Not Based on Facts!”

    Another employee taking part in this particular conversation called this “a big hole.” A big hole in censorship? Good, some might say, but censorship enthusiasts are fuming that climate topics never got nearly as thoroughly censored as Covid – on that front, Facebook shockingly removed as many as 7 million posts in three months of 2020 alone….”.

    LikeLike

91. “German finance minister breaks ranks on EU plans to scrap the car by 2035
    Christian Lindner says EU’s draft policy was ‘wrong.’”

    https://www.politico.eu/article/german-finance-minister-against-2035-engine-ban/

    “Germany’s Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Tuesday that he does not support his government’s agreed position in support of an EU-wide ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035.

    Speaking at a conference of Germany’s industrial lobby, the BDI, in Berlin Tuesday, Lindner said the EU’s draft policy — a key part of the bloc’s bid to slash emissions and go climate neutral — was “wrong” and that the German government “will not agree to this European legislation this week.”

    Last summer, the European Commission proposed mandating a total phaseout of all new combustion engine cars and vans by 2035, meaning the industry would effectively have to go electric by the middle of the next decade.

    Lindner’s Free Democrats came out against the plan but the legislation is managed by the Greens, who run the environment ministry. The three-party government agreed in March to support the Commission’s draft proposal on 2035 car and van emission standards.

    The Greens’ Environment Minister Steffi Lemke quickly rejected Lindner’s attempt to change the national position on a file critical to Germany’s flagship industry.

    In an emailed statement she said that the federal government should stick to its “previously agreed course” and back setting a phaseout date. “In the transport sector we need planning security for the car industry and decisive steps that can reduce CO2 emissions,” she said.

    Lindner, a fan of sportscars who supports developing synthetic fuels, now said he opposes the EU legislation.”

    LikeLike

92. “Extinction Rebellion activists glue themselves to European Commission HQ
    Protesters demand climate issue is put on this week’s European Council agenda.”

    https://www.politico.eu/article/extinction-rebellion-activists-glue-themselves-to-european-commission-hq/

    “A group of 10 Extinction Rebellion climate activists on Monday glued themselves to the entrance doors of the European Commission’s Berlaymont building in Brussels.

    Around 25 activists in total, coming from Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands and Italy among others, were present to call on the EU to do more against environmental damage and to criminalize ecocide — the deliberate and systematic destruction of ecosystems.

    “We want [EU countries] to criminalize ecocide and the Commission could start doing that,” said Amelie, a member of Extinction Rebellion Berlin, while her hand was glued to the Commission’s building. “We don’t have time to wait because biodiversity loss is going on and on … we need to start acting.”

    Tom, another activist with Extinction Rebellion France, said the aim of the action was also to ask EU leaders to put the issue on the European Council’s agenda on Thursday and Friday. “Unfortunately today, if you want to be heard, there aren’t many options but to use civil disobedience,” he said, adding that they chose to glue themselves to the Berlaymont building “because there is less security there” compared to the Council building.

    A Commission official on his way to work said he wasn’t bothered by the action: “It’s their right to protest.” Another Commission official said: “Why are they arresting them?” pointing at the police officers, who started to unglue the activists. “It’s stupid,” she added, “if they [the activists] don’t do anything, who will?”

    In December, the Commission presented a revision of the Environmental Crime Directive, with the aim of expanding the list of environmental crimes in EU legislation and toughening sanctions against damages done to nature. But it didn’t add ecocide to that list.”

    Why not glue themselves to the Chinese embassy?

    LikeLike

93. ICYMI: Top Voter Midterm Issues vs Top Legacy Media Issues

    Gasoline blows up. Was # 5. Look at it today.

    Be kind,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…—
    Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) June 21, 2022

    LikeLike

94. Re the Rasmussen poll, you have to click to see the untruncated pop chart. But to save you the trouble, here they are:
    1: Rising gas prices
    2: Inflation
    3: The economy
    4: Violent crime
    5: Election integrity
    6: School issues
    7&8 can be seen in the above image, I hope.

    LikeLiked by 1 person

95. Why is the BBC giving these people free publicity?

    “Just Stop Oil: Activists says they have ‘a duty to protest'”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-61635328

    On the other hand, if you read it, I suppose it might well put you off….

    LikeLike

96. “Marseille, Alexandria and Istanbul prepare for Mediterranean tsunami
    Risk of significant tsunami within next 30 years is nearly 100%, Unesco says, as it urges coastal cities to become ‘tsunami-ready’”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/23/marseille-alexandria-and-istanbul-prepare-for-mediterranean-tsunami

    “The risk of a tsunami in Mediterranean coastal communities is predicted to soar as sea levels rise. …

    …Sea-level rises, which increase the impact of tsunamis on coastal communities, are “one more reason to increase the pace of our work”, he said.

    “The link is that sea-level rise increases the impact of tsunamis.”

    A 2018 study modelling tsunamis in Macau, China, found rising sea levels added to the risk from tsunamis, as they can travel farther inland. The frequency of tsunami-induced flooding rose by 1.2 to 2.4 times for a 45cm increase in sea level and from 1.5 to 4.7 times for a 90cm increase, the study found….”.

    The study can be found here:

    https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180815141444.htm

    My word, some people claim increased earthquake activity is linked to climate change, and now those earthquakes are going to produce worse tsunamis because of climate change. Will this stuff ever stop?

    LikeLike

97. “Why is Australia so cold right now despite global heating?
    Michael Grose for the Conversation
    Chilly weather can instinctively make us doubt the climate crisis. To understand how the planet is warming, we need to watch the long-term trends”

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/23/if-global-heating-is-a-thing-why-is-so-called-right-now-weather

    “It’s an offhand joke a lot of us make – it’s freezing, can we get a bit more of that global warming right about now?…

    …The recent cold conditions in some parts of Australia haven’t been seen in decades, but they aren’t unprecedented. In Melbourne, for instance, the first two weeks of June were the coldest since 1949. In Brisbane, they were the coldest since 1990.

    Under the global warming trend, cold events such as these are becoming less and less likely. But Australia naturally has a variable climate, which means they, of course, still do occur.

    And given Australia’s instrumental records go back only 112 years (a relatively short length of time), it’s actually still possible we’ll see new record cold temperatures, even in a warming climate.

    Still, record hot temperatures in Australia are being broken 12 times more often than cold ones.

    The climate would need to be warming incredibly fast for there to be zero cold records broken, and even faster still if we were to see no cold weather at all. No one suggests this is the reality….”.

    No one? Really? Interesting that the points we make about natural variation and individual warm records not signifying much are now adopted to play down the unusual cold. The points are good ones, and I don’t criticise their use here, but I do criticise one-sided use of such arguments. They work both ways.

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98. Last time I looked Istanbul was not in the Mediterranean. Also a tsunami is a wave whose volume is determined more by the nature of and the distance from the seismic disturbance than by sea level. So I cannot see how sea-level rise will affect how far inland flooding will occur.
    Like so many climate change scare stories, the need to tie the scare story to climate alarm overwhelms the writer’s common sense.

    LikeLiked by 1 person

99. The whole @ShellenbergerMD thread
    listing the Biden administration’s current “lies about oil”
    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1539594696422326274.html

    LikeLike

100. “Boris Johnson pumps the brakes on drive for green fuel
     Prime Minister calls for reduction in use of biofuel, despite it being a key plank of his government’s net zero ambitions”

     https://www.telegraph.co.uk/environment/2022/06/23/boris-johnson-pumps-brakes-drive-green-fuel/

     “Boris Johnson will relax the push for British motorists to use green fuel, amid concerns that the drive could contribute to the cost of living crisis

     The Prime Minister wants to reduce the amount of biofuel used in the UK, despite it being a key plank of his government’s net zero ambitions.

     The production of biofuel uses wheat and maize. The Prime Minister wants the land to instead be used for producing more food, in bid to combat soaring prices.

     He will call on G7 leaders to review their own biofuel use, in a move that could help mitigate the global food crisis.

     Mr Johnson said: “While Vladimir Putin continues his futile and unprovoked war in Ukraine and cravenly blockades millions of tonnes of grain, the world’s poorest people are inching closer to starvation. From emergency food aid to reviewing our own biofuel use, the UK is playing its part to address this pernicious global crisis.”

     Biofuel makes up a 10th of E10 petrol, which since last summer has been sold at forecourts as standard in a move to lower transport emissions.

     On Thursday, sources said cutting the use of crop-based biofuels would mean the requirement for the greener fuel to be the main offering at petrol stations would have to be temporarily dropped.

     Tory backbenchers said the push for E10, which is more expensive than alternatives because it is less efficient, had raised costs for consumers with little benefit at a time of soaring fuel and food prices.”

     LikeLike

101. “Livestock farmers are not the enemy in climate crisis battle
     Aidan Harrison disagrees with George Monbiot’s assessment of farming’s contribution to global warming”

     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/23/livestock-farmers-are-not-the-enemy-in-climate-crisis-battle

     “As a retired upland livestock farmer, I take issue with George Monbiot’s article (Only a tiny minority of rural Britons are farmers – so why do they hold such sway?, 20 June). The 115,000 people who work in agriculture deserve respect, not abuse.

     Yes, UK woodland retains 25 tonnes more carbon per hectare than pasture, but Monbiot evades the fact that, at an average 350 tonnes including trees, this is only 7%-8% more than the average 325 tonnes per hectare of grazed pasture.

     No woodland or grassland can “store” carbon beyond their natural levels; trees and timber die, rot or are burned to emit the CO2 that growing saplings absorb to grow. In the grassland cycle, the digestive system of ruminants converts the carbon contained in pasture into CO2 and methane (which is turned back to CO2 in the atmosphere); this is in turn absorbed by the pasture.

     Monbiot fails to grasp the difference between this CO2 and methane, which is constantly recycling in the living biosphere, and the one-way trip of the 100m-year fossilised “zombie” accumulations in oil, coal and gas with which we are overwhelming these natural processes. His attacks on British sheep farmers and our 9 million cattle ignore equally traditional pastoralists such as Africa’s Masai and India’s 300 million cattle. Must we assume that the 19th-century buffalo hunters did the world a favour by ridding it of an estimated 30 million to 60 million methane-belching North American bison?
     Aidan Harrison
     Snitter, Northumberland”

     LikeLike

102. “Climate justice groups join British rail strike picket lines
     Campaigners say government must invest in public transport to avoid worst impacts of global heating”

     https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/23/climate-justice-groups-join-british-rail-strike-picket-lines

     “Climate justice groups have joined RMT picket lines across Great Britain to support the rail strike and argue the government must invest in public transport to avoid the worst impacts of global heating.

     Hundreds of activists from several groups including Just Stop Oil, War on Want, Extinction Rebellion [XR] and Friends of the Earth Scotland have joined striking workers on more than 40 picket lines in towns and cities, with more expected to turn out in the coming days.

     They argue that well-funded, publicly owned and affordable public transport will be essential to reduce the UK’s dependence on fossil fuels, moving people away from cars to more energy-efficient trains….

     …Bruce Murphy, an organiser with Just Stop Oil, is one of scores of the group’s activists who have been on picket lines in the past few days.

     “You can’t separate the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis and I think more people are understanding that in both the green movement and the progressive labour movement,” he said….”

     You’re right, Brian. If it wasn’t for all the subsidies going towards unreliable renewables that still require expensive and inefficient back-up from fossil-fuel power stations that have to spend a lot of time switched off and are then required to switch on again at a moment’s notice, our heating bills would be quite a bit lower.

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103. Expect climate calamity to be blamed for the massive increase of deer in the U.K. (now at levels previously not seen since the reign of William I). It’s already been blamed by the Sun on Covid (closure of restaurants serving venison) and foreign immigration as a cause (muntjac, sika) is sure to follow,

     LikeLiked by 1 person

104. Do you get the feeling that the Chinese are not taking global warming as seriously as they should?https://twitter.com/CGMeifangZhang/status/1540336396128423936

     LikeLiked by 1 person

105. Geoff: In pointing to the mysterious beauty of nature in yearly transition Zhang Meifang is way ahead of our leaders, who have the straightjacket of “emissions evil so mankind evil” to snuff out any rejoicing.

     LikeLike

106. In Seville (Spain) experience your first NAMED heatwave. Horno anyone?

     LikeLike

107. “UK’s largest carbon capture plant opens in Northwich”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-61925014

     “The UK’s largest carbon capture plant, which will aim to recycle 40,000 tonnes of waste CO2 each year, has opened.

     Tata Chemicals Europe’s (TCE) site in Northwich, Cheshire, will be the first in the world to purify and liquefy carbon dioxide as a raw material to make bicarbonate of soda.

     The firm was given a £4.2m government grant towards the project.

     A TCE spokesman said the plant as “a key milestone in the race to meet the UK’s net zero targets” by 2050.”

     It always involves taxpayers’ money, doesn’t it?

     LikeLike

108. “New £2m fund to cut environmental impact of textiles”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-61908804

     “A £2m fund aimed at reducing the environmental impact of textiles has been launched in Scotland.

     Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) said the money would go directly to textile businesses across the nation, from fashion to upholstery.

     It estimates that while textiles make up just 4% of waste by weight, they account for 32% of the carbon impact of Scotland’s household waste.

     The Circular Textiles Fund is designed to boost Scotland’s circular economy.

     It is backed by the Scottish government and will be administered in three rounds as grant funding.”

     If only I had the time, inclination and ability to add up all the taxpayer (and energy user) funding I see referred to on a daily basis in connection with “carbon” reduction, “green” energy, net zero and the rest. I have little doubt that if it is all added up the numbers will be truly eye-watering. Imagine how much good that money could do if spent on a fairer Britain, rather than wastefully on “fighting climate change” when we in Britain can realistically make not the slightest difference to climate change, whatever we do.

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109. “BBC Boycotts Mayor’s Briefings After Bristol Council Banned Reporter for Quizzing him over 9,000-Mile Flight for Climate Conference”

     https://dailysceptic.org/2022/06/24/bbc-boycotts-mayors-briefings-after-bristol-council-banned-reporter-for-quizzing-him-over-9000-mile-flight-for-climate-conference/

     LikeLike

110. I was looking for something else on Twitter but enjoyed this.

     The break up was described as cordial https://t.co/MDmhHF72xT

     — Sean Nolan (@SeanNolan_) June 24, 2022

     And climate scepticism has an honourable history, enshrined in the language:

     Word of the day (again) is ‘stiffrump’ (18th century): a highly obstinate individual who refuses to budge.

     — Susie Dent (@susie_dent) June 24, 2022

     LikeLike

111. LikeLiked by 1 person

112. More on this:

     “Greens demand probe into Bristol council’s LDRS reporter ban”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-61928661

     “Bristol’s Green Party is calling for the council’s “outrageous” decision to exclude Local Democracy Reporters from mayoral press briefings to be probed.

     Co-leader Carla Denyer jointly tabled a motion asking a monitoring officer to examine their “appropriateness”.

     She spoke after the council excluded the reporters after one of them quizzed Marvin Rees about flying to Canada for a climate change conference.

     The council has been approached for comment.

     It has previously insisted that it was “completely false” to suggest the Local Democracy Reporter Service (LDRS) had been “barred”.

     A spokesman added that “all mainstream local media outlets” are invited to the briefings but that there had been a “long-standing mutual agreement” between the mayor’s office and the Bristol Post about personnel attending press conferences.

     He explained that whenever they are announced and held “LDRs would not be sent due to the narrow definition of their role as an impartial service”….

     …The decision to exclude the city’s two LDRS reporters from the fortnightly briefings has been widely condemned and led to numerous media organisations – including the BBC – to boycott them until the issue is resolved.

     The row was sparked after a video went viral of the head of external communications at Bristol City Council questioning LDR Alex Seabrook’s right to quiz Mr Rees over a 9,200-mile trip to give a talk on climate change.”

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113. I have been lucky enough to get tickets for a session of athletics at Birmingham 2022. Wondering where to park, I visited their website today, to read:

     Plan your Journey
     Use the Games Journey Planner to map your route to the Games. Enter your starting location, and start typing the name of your Games Venue, select your Games session. The Journey Planner will recommend a personalised travel plan, and the carbon impact of each option.

     Perhaps needless to say I have not availed myself of this service, but might do so later, for the lols.

     LikeLike

114. Spent some time today with the Sunday Times supplements on holiday travel and on properties for sale in the U.K. Not because I’m planning to move or go anywhere, but just out of interest. After reading extracts from them and gasping at the prices (wondering who could afford to spend several millions today upon country houses or several thousands on rather modest cruses), I belatedly realised just how divorced from reality those supplements were. Don’t they realise there’s a climate emergency looming? Large houses will be impossible to keep warm in the days of energy intermittency and cruse ships will become immovable hulks. So, so irresponsible of the Sunday Times, and they have been doing the same for years and years. Will purposely leave those supplements unread next week. That’ll teach them!

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115. Alan, and last time I looked (which admittedly is some time ago), the Saturday Guardian and Observer contained similar articles in similar supplements….

     LikeLike

116. “All aboard the climate hypocrisy helicopter at G7
     It’s a strange world where a climate reporter ends up being whisked by helicopter to a sustainability announcement.”

     https://www.politico.eu/article/all-aboard-the-climate-hypocrisy-helicopter-at-g7/

     “War zones. Natural disasters. Traffic patrol. There are any number of good reasons for journalists of questionable airworthiness to get into a helicopter. A five-minute jaunt to an announcement by G7 leaders about sustainable infrastructure is assuredly not one of them.

     Nonetheless, the German organizers of the G7 leaders’ summit ordered up a military chopper Sunday to lift reporters to a press briefing where leaders of the U.S., Germany, Italy, the EU, Japan and Canada showcased their plans to shift $600 billion into building clean infrastructure around the world.

     “The choices we make now, in my view are going to set a direction of our world for several generations to come,” said U.S. President Joe Biden, as he launched the new infrastructure program on Sunday evening.

     Presumably for speed, convenience and added security, the leaders themselves flew on helicopters to Schloss Elmau — a luxury resort in a verdant saddle halfway up the foothills of the Bavarian Alps, where they will spend the coming days wrestling with the multiple crises facing the planet.

     None of those is more dire than climate change, and the unexpected airlift was a stark reminder of how when it comes to political leaders and their own behavior, the rhetoric and reality of fighting climate change diverge. It’s just rare that reporters get to share a fleeting insight into the jet-set parallel reality of the G7 top brass.

     Earlier in the day, other reporters had, without incident, taken the 30-minute bus ride from the valley-floor media center to the plush summit venue. But while lining up for the shuttle buses in mid-afternoon, a couple dozen bemused reporters found themselves diverted instead into a safety briefing by a German military officer on how to correctly board a Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion. Enter from the back, at an angle to the tail propeller that slices down a half-dozen feet above your head.

     The trip by air saved no time.

     First, there was a 10-minute wait for convoys of vans to arrive to take confused reporters to the field on the outskirts of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where the helicopter sat already humming.

     The CH-53 burns around 1,000 liters of fuel every hour, according to one rotorhead forum — not a small contribution of carbon to the atmosphere compared, say, to a bus of recent vintage.

     For a climate reporter, the thwacking of the rotor blades and the sudden dropping away of the ground as we launched into the air was a guilty thrill. There was also no shortage of irony in the message at the end of the flight being about the need to end the use of fossil fuels globally.”

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117. Mark I probably spent just half an hour looking at the two supplements after which I put them down and it suddenly struck me not only was there no mention of climate change but the entire presentation had been presented as if there was no such thing as climate change. Given that almost everything these days seems to have a climate change slant or implication, it seemed to me as somewhat strange.

     One of the headline stories was the recent rush of British investors to buy up properties in southern Spain. That region had recently suffered from a heat wave with +40oC temperatures. It would have been so easy to slip in mention of predicted higher summer temperatures due to climate change.

     I tried humour, but it is, I think a serious topic. Parts of the fourth estate are proceeding as if climate change can be ignored.

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118. Alan,

     I think it’s fair to say that if business people think that inserting “climate change” into their blurb will help them sell their product, then they will do so. Equally, if they think that references to “climate change” might be harmful to their sale prospects, then they won’t mention it. It’s capitalism in action.

     You make an important point, however. Business people, by and large, aren’t bothered by climate change, they’re just interested in making money. Many have seen an opportunity to do so in terms of gullible politicians throwing money at renewables, carbon capture and storage, and other such nonsense. If the money pipeline dries up, then so will the interest of big business.

     LikeLike

119. “Sydney climate protests: Activists block streets and harbour tunnel”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-61947201

     “Climate protesters have brought parts of Sydney to a standstill, blocking key roads and a tunnel during rush hour.

     The Blockade Australia activists began disruptions on Monday in protest of “Australia’s ecological destruction”.

     Police said the protesters were “violent” and “erratic” while marching through the city and blocking streets with barricades and bins.

     Their actions angered some motorists, with one filmed driving through the protest and colliding with people.

     New South Wales Police said more than 10 people had been arrested so far.

     They included a woman who used a car to block the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.

     “The throwing of bicycles, the throwing of garbage bins, the throwing of other items in the path of police… media… [and] innocent members of the public just walking by will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Commissioner Paul Dunstan.

     He confirmed police were investigating footage of a car driving through protesters, but said no injuries had been reported.”

     It sounds as though the Oz plods might be making a more robust response than does plod here in the UK.

     LikeLike

120. This one’s for Jit:

     “Crawley wildflower verges mowed ‘by mistake’, council admits”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-61920769

     A county council has apologised after wildflower verges were mowed “by mistake”.

     The verges in Elizabethan Way, Maidenbower, are part of a West Sussex County Council scheme used to attract bees and other pollinators.

     The council has apologised and said its contactor has put in measures to ensure the mistake does not happen again.

     A member of Maidenbower Bee Wild Project Group posted on social media that they were “devastated”.

     They said: “These verges have signage on the lampposts next to them and have the greatest registered biodiversity of our verges in the scheme.”

     LikeLike

121. “Joe Biden to block Boris Johnson’s answer to global food crisis
     US president opposes Prime Minister’s plan to ease cost of living by curbing green fuels”

     https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/06/26/joe-biden-block-boris-johnsons-answer-global-food-crisis/

     “Joe Biden will on Monday attempt to block Boris Johnson’s plan to move away from green fuels amid a transatlantic split over how to tackle the global cost of living crisis.

     Mr Johnson will address G7 leaders at a summit in Germany and ask them to repurpose land currently used for crop-based biofuels to grow more food.

     The Prime Minister believes using less green fuel would dampen soaring food prices and help avert famines in poorer countries that rely heavily on Ukrainian grain blockaded in ports by Russia.

     However, Mr Biden’s officials made it clear on Sunday that Washington will attempt to block the plans in a bid to protect US farmers and avoid jeopardising climate commitments.

     Downing Street sources admitted that Mr Johnson’s plan would fail without the support of all G7 nations. The Telegraph understands Germany is backing the plan, but it has been rebuffed by the US and Canada….”.

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122. 9:30am R4 now “environmental scientist” Jennifer Jacquet, plugging her book
     Adam Rutherford made a big point of adding in “fossil fuel companies”
     “In her book she draws on the dark arts used in businesses as diverse as asbestos, cigarettes, to sugar to fossil fuels.. it is a satire ”

     However he didn’t mention green corps
     … they are deep into PRtickery

     I see that Jennifer Jacquet has been tweeting against oil and appearing on greenpeace platform since 2013
     Projection is a libmob characteristic.

     prog blurb : In The Playbook: How to Deny Science, Sell Lies, and Make a Killing in the Corporate World, she uses satire to expose the extraordinary lengths that corporations will go to quash inconvenient research, target scientists and forestall regulations.

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123. She just said
     “In fact if you think about Climate Change Denial the whole idea that that you would just outright say climate change does not exist, that’s what the fossil fuel companies came together to do..”
     … that’s a massive CONSPIRACY THEORY she spouted

     continues “And if you look at the Climate Denial machinery this is an investment of at least $10bn
     and it’s been completely justified by how successful these tactics have been
     we have ZERO effective international policy regarding the use of fossil fuels “

     … em she’s just projected her own DENIAL almost
     All western countries have biofuel mandates into petrol and diesel

     “They are just looking at the leger” ..yes that what biz is about

     The book highlights good guy Tyrone Hayes who researched the effects of a herbicide for Syngenta
     And he published the negative impact behind their back
     and then says they went after him
     And that is true in leaked emails etc.

     She continues “We have already lost 30-40 years when it comes to addressing climate change, we cannot AFFORD to lose more”
     .. what an unscientific statement
     “This book is about taking control back refusing to entertain some of the notions like
     building stronger WALLS between industry and knowledge”

     Then Rutherford switches to next guest a doctor
     “Yes in recent Covid times we have seen increased distrust ..but”

     See Distrust of non-green corps is GOOD
     Distrust in the Covid health machine is BAD

     Rutherford “my guests books are all out now and I recommend them thoroughly”
     That’s impartial on this R4 Monday show that ADVERTISES people’s books

     LikeLike

124. Royal Soc got their PrasNews on R4Today

     Former Royal Society FLAIR Fellow @christrisos spoke on @BBCRadio4 Today about research looking at 'overshoot' scenarios in the fight against #ClimateChange. Listen from 2:42:00: https://t.co/eOkirEJAuY

     — The Royal Society (@royalsociety) June 27, 2022

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125. the item is recommended by Julian Jackson🌍 @Allatsea4
     Great to hear @jenniferjacquet
     “promoting” the dark arts of corporate delay and obfuscation on @BBCRadio4
     #StartTheWeek just now, listen again here:”

     Who’s he .. “Protecting life on the #highseas at Pew Charitable Trusts”
     ie he work for the Green dark side Pew funds Climate Alarmism PR
     #Projection is a libmob characteristic

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126. 12:20pm R4 PRasNews for Octopus Energy promising zero energy bills
     How’s that ?
     Basically you pay masses up front for a super insulated home, solar panels, battery and an air source heatpump ..that is built into the house price
     ..so far only 2 houses done (£15K+ per house)

     Here’s a Tory MP promoting the magical thinking
     That INCREASES 2022 CO2 of course cos they are using tremendous CO2 in manufacture/construction of the greentech
     … https://twitter.com/andy4wm/status/1539212741973516289

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127. Stewgreen, I listened to that. The BBC idea of balance was to have the developer getting a free advert and a “renewable energy expert” extolling the virtues of the development. No real discussion of any possible downside, no questioning as to why this applied to only two houses of a development of more than 160 properties.

     LikeLike

128. BBC2 from 8pm It’s nuclear power night

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129. Did the BBC casually start referring to a “climate crisis” at the same time as the Guardian? Now it seems to be standard in BBC reporting, such as here:

     “Hundreds attend Manningtree festival about climate crisis”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-61948310

     “Hundreds of people attended a festival held in a town to raise awareness of the climate crisis.

     The Earth Festival, in Manningtree, Essex, wanted to inspire people to live a more sustainable life, with speeches, live music, games and workshops.

     It was organised by Practical Actions for Climate and the Environment (PACE).”

     It looks like a barrel of laughs….

     LikeLike

130. “Non-essential petrol sales halted for two weeks in Sri Lanka”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61961821

     The entire article manages to avoid mentioning what kicked off the crisis in the first place:

     “Sri Lanka’s economy has been hit hard by the pandemic, rising energy prices, and populist tax cuts.”

     No doubt, but what about this?

     “Sri Lanka faces ‘man-made’ food crisis as farmers stop planting
     Once self-sufficient nation reels from fall-out of ill-conceived shift to organic agriculture, compounded by fuel shortages.”

     https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/18/a-food-crisis-looms-in-sri-lanka-as-farmers-give-up-on-planting

     “After a government ban on chemical fertilisers cut his rice yield in half during the March harvest, the farmer, who owns eight hectares (20 acres) of paddy and banana, said he no longer has the income to maintain a farm…

     …“There’s no point in farming any more,” said KA Sumanadasa, who grows brinjals (aubergine) on a his quarter of a hectare (0.6-acre) field. Taking out a bag of puny vegetables, many streaked with fungus, the 70-year-old says the switch to organic agriculture has brought down his yield from 400kg (882 pounds) per season to 50kg (110 pounds).

     With this output, Sumanadasa said he cannot recover the money he has invested in his farm….”.

     LikeLike

131. “Wildflowers: Should grass cutting be stopped in summer?”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-61951378

     I understand – and to a significant extent support – the idea of not cutting grass to help insect life, but it comes with caveats, e.g. long grass at road junctions, where drivers can’t see oncoming traffic, could be dangerous. Then there’s this:

     “Veronika Brannowic’s job includes fielding complaints about a reduction in grass-cutting by Torfaen Council to help nature and tackle climate change.”

     Tackle climate change?!!!

     “Longer grass also draws more carbon emissions into the soil, and mitigates against the effects of climate change like flooding, she added.”

     Bullsh*t, say I, on anything other than such an absolutely minuscule scale as to make no difference to anything relating to climate change and flooding. If Councils are concerned about flooding, they would do better to keep drains and culverts clear (which they don’t – there are many examples of them being totally blocked in the town where I live. I’ve given up reporting them, as it does no good).

     LikeLike

132. Try telling the Sri Lankans:

     “Using far less chemical fertiliser still produces high crop yields, study finds
     Climate-friendly practices can increase yields while improving ecosystem of farms, scientists say”

     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/27/using-far-less-chemical-fertiliser-still-produces-high-crop-yields-study

     LikeLike

133. “Net zero red tape to be ditched as Britain returns to coal
     Checks on fossil fuel emissions to be watered down under Whitehall plans”

     https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/06/27/net-zero-red-tape-ditched-britain-returns-coal/

     “Fossil fuel power plants are set to be temporarily freed from planned checks on their emissions in a scramble to prevent blackouts as Britain turns back to coal….”

     Behind a paywall.

     LikeLike

134. I can’t find it on the website, but the front page of the Scottish Press & Journal this morning blames a water bill hike on climate change. It can be seen on the BBC Scotland review of the newspapers here if you scroll down far enough:

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-61961105

     LikeLike

135. ITV local news another solar item with Amrit Birdi
     Solar voices featured
     John Wallis North Yorkshire solar
     Chris Hewett CEO Solar Energy UK ..a newby ?
     Sally Guscott
     Criticisms were mentioned but no voice
     (update after someone pointed at they filmed with an anti-farmlandsolar woman
     I checked and found that they included just 9 seconds of her, so I’d missed it )

     LikeLike

136. “G7 buys into Scholz’s Climate Club idea
     The club would help countries with more aggressive climate goals to maintain competitiveness and ensure that ‘climate protection becomes a value advantage and not a disadvantage.’”

     https://www.politico.eu/article/g7-buys-into-scholzs-climate-club-idea/

     “The G7 is aiming to form a club of countries committed to stronger action on climate change by the end of the year.

     As a three-day summit for leaders concluded Tuesday in Bavaria, the German hosts released a joint statement outlining in broad terms the principles for membership: namely, strong climate policies that adhere to the goals of the Paris Agreement.

     The plan, championed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, was met with a mix of confusion and curiosity by other G7 partners when it was initially pitched. But in a win for the German leader, G7 countries said they would “work with partners towards establishing an open, cooperative international Climate Club, consistent with international rules, by the end of 2022.”

     Scholz said he was “pleased” by the in-principle deal. The club would help countries with more aggressive climate goals to “maintain our competitiveness and [ensure] that climate protection becomes a value advantage and not a disadvantage.”

     The club is intended to be open to anyone — presumably including China, the world’s largest emitter — so long as the country is deemed to be actively stepping up its climate efforts….”.

     LikeLike

137. By Paul Homewood

     The Met Office has taken to sending out forecasts of weather in three decades time, despite the fact that they are useless at forecasting more than a couple of days in advance!
     https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2022/06/27/forecast-for-22nd-june-2050/

     note what “high emissions” scenario is used, RCP 8.5.

     LikeLike

138. dfhunter,

     RCP8.5 is an outlier, as you know. Inevitably, however, it’s now the version used as often as not in an attempt to frighten us. Science it ain’t.

     LikeLike

139. Strange that paid for ECIU advertising is polluting my Twitter page

     eg 1 https://twitter.com/ECIU_UK/status/1541750238419062789

     eg 2 https://twitter.com/ECIU_UK/status/1532004057543495692

     LikeLike

140. Local radio news
     “South Lincolnshire councils are to build their own electricity grid ”
     good idea

     “It’s to be filled with cheap renwables”
     oh FFS

     LikeLike

141. “Climate change: UK heading for failure on climate goals – report”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61926275

     “The government is heading for failure on its plans to limit climate change, its official advisers have warned.

     The Climate Change Committee (CCC) says that unless policies are radically improved, the government will need to try another tack by persuading people to fly less and eat less meat.

     It also cites a “shocking” lack of policy to insulate people’s homes, saying households would be saving £40 a year on bills if previous insulation policies had not been scrapped.

     The CCC also said the environment department Defra was guilty of “magical thinking” over cutting planet-heating emissions from farms.

     Unless housing and farming are tackled, the UK won’t achieve its target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, the CCC says.”

     I think the CCC is guilty of magical thinking, FWIW.

     LikeLike

142. “Cumbria coal mine proposal is indefensible, says UK climate chief”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-61974313

     Or, as I prefer to put it, “very wealthy man who lives in enormous house seeks to deny 500 well-paid jobs to people living in desperately poor area with high unemployment, claiming that providing employment for the oiks is indefensible”.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

143. The Telegraph yesterday:

     Net zero red tape to be ditched as Britain returns to coal

     I haven’t delved beyond the paywall but we all like the headline I’m sure.

     LikeLike

144. Richard, via my daily update email from Net Zero Watch:

     “Fossil fuel power plants are set to be temporarily freed from planned checks on their emissions in a scramble to prevent blackouts as Britain turns back to coal.

     Coal and gas stations providing back-up supply in 2023 will not have to get reports on their emissions signed off by an independent expert under changes being proposed by Whitehall officials.

     There is growing concern over energy security amid fears Russia will shut off gas supplies to Europe in retaliation for sanctions imposed in response to its war on Ukraine.

     The gradual retirement of the UK’s nuclear fleet in coming years as well as problems with France’s nuclear stations are adding to the pressure in energy markets.

     Coal-fired plants have already been asked to stay open this winter, while gas quality rules could also be relaxed to allow more from the North Sea into Britain’s pipes.

     Under rules from 2019, fossil fuel facilities bidding to take part in National Grid ESO’s market for back-up power supply have to declare their carbon emissions in line with limits.

     The Government wants to make it compulsory for these declarations to be independently verified — a service expected to be carried out mostly by niche consultants — but there have been delays in getting enough people accredited to do the verification.

     Officials are concerned that if independent verification is compulsory, some plants will not be able qualify to provide back-up supply for the winter of 2023-2024.

     Officials now plan to postpone for a year the requirement to have emissions figures verified, meaning plants should be able to take part in the auction for 2023.

     It marks the second time the requirement has been delayed.

     In consultation papers, officials warned that failure to act could lead to lower competition which could trigger increased prices and “risks to security of supply”.

     They added: “We consider this proposal would be a reasonable precaution to take.” The Government believes there is only a “low” risk that plants would falsify their emissions claims.”

     LikeLiked by 1 person

145. “EU countries reach climate crisis deal after late-night talks
     Environment ministers back phasing out fossil-fuel cars by 2035 and a €59bn fund to help ease cost burden of new policies on low income earners”

     https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/29/eu-countries-reach-climate-crisis-deal-after-late-night-talks

     “EU countries clinched deals on proposed laws to combat the climate crisis in the early hours of Wednesday, backing a 2035 phase-out of new fossil-fuel car sales and a multibillion-euro fund to shield poorer citizens from the costs of carbon dioxide emissions.

     After more than 16 hours of negotiations, environment ministers from the 27 member states agreed their joint positions on five laws, part of a broader package of measures to slash planet-heating emissions this decade.

     “The climate crisis and its consequences are clear, and so policy is unavoidable,” EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said, adding that he thought the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a major supplier of gas, was spurring countries to quit fossil fuels faster.

     Ministers supported core parts of the package that the European Commission first proposed last year, including a law requiring new cars sold in the EU to emit zero CO2 from 2035. That would make it impossible to sell internal-combustion engine cars….

     …Italy, Slovakia and other states had wanted the phase-out delayed to 2040. Countries eventually backed a compromise proposed by Germany, the EU’s biggest car market, which kept the 2035 target and asked Brussels to assess in 2026 whether hybrid vehicles or CO2-neutral fuels could comply with the goal.

     Timmermans said the commission would keep an “open mind” but that at present, hybrids did not deliver sufficient emissions cuts and alternative fuels were prohibitively expensive….”.

     LikeLike

146. Tuesday evening TV BBC local news
     2 fluff pieces about Afghan refugees
     Then item #5 East Yorkshire will have 50 giant plastic puffins erected
     .. Couldn’t they end up as pollution ?

     Reporter “Some will highlight Global Warming and Climate Change”

     LikeLike

147. Update it was a formulaic national syndicated item of extreme pro solar farm PR
     that included mention of the antis in the studio intro & 9 seconds of ONE Yorkshire anti-solar farm voice Emma Sturdy sandwiched in the middle
     Call that 15s out of 180 ie less than 10%
     Their tweet ..https://twitter.com/saveoldmaltonc1/status/1539928866290032640
     clip https://twitter.com/saveoldmaltonc1/status/1542037038169473025
     (her background https://twitter.com/yorkshirepost/status/1403616558920867845 )
     Full item is as 13m40s but gets wiped at 6pm
     https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2018-05-04/catch-up-watch-the-most-recent-edition-of-itv-news-anglia

     So each ITV regional item started with a local pro-solar guy
     Anglia : Andrew Blenkiron of the Euston Estate
     The West Country edition started with Philip Greenhill “farmer”
     Yorkshire started with John Wallis of GSC group

     It’s deceptive cos you go from a local reporter featuring a local solar farm straight into a national reporter standing in similar grass
     saying “this solar farm” So you think they are the same solar farm

     So here’s a Croydon solar corp guy bragging he organised the item in the West Country
     .. https://twitter.com/GarethSimkins/status/1542103804312690688

     LikeLike

148. BBC local radio news is plugging a networking event about CCS
     I checked the event website
     They expect you to get into a CO2 spewing plane to go to a CO2 saving conference
     about the so far unworkable CCS

     Getting there:
     If travelling from further afield the best train station to arrive into is Scunthorpe Train Station and then getting a taxi to the venue.
     If you plan to travel by plane, Humberside Airport is 11 miles away and Robin Hood Airport is 38 miles away.

     https://www.the-eic.com/EventDetail?dateid=3476

     And anyone in their right mind would realise that the venue sits on the junction of the motorway, A15 and A18 so would drive.

     Their tweet has 8 likes : https://twitter.com/Phillips66UK/status/1542091016701886466
     4 Likes https://twitter.com/HumberZero/status/1542100167851139072
     – more tweets from the project

     LikeLiked by 1 person

149. New tweet from UK National Oceanography Centre @NOCnews
     A world-first study led by the NOC suggests that the process of carbon capture and storage (#CCS) is both viable and safe!
     This conclusion follows extensive research off the coast of Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
     Find out more about the study and process of #CCS
     here 👉 https://bit.ly/3OMov0q

     LikeLike

150. CCS is all over the Twitter today
     comment today The Washington Post: There’s a carbon-capture gold rush.
     “78% of #CCS projects halted due to inefficiency….”
     Be very careful of #snake_oil salesmen using taxpayer billions.

     @GregHands MP tweets
     “A pleasure to address the @The_CCSA annual reception in Parliament.
     Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage is a big part of the UK’s green, low Carbon future.
     I outlined the next stages in getting to 4 CCUS clusters by 2030.

     CCSA bio “The Carbon Capture and Storage Association exists to represent the interests of its members in promoting the Business of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)”

     @DavidDavisMP tweets
     “Great to speak to colleagues and industry leaders at the Carbon Capture & Storage Association event in Parliament today.”

     Drax Eyeing California as Site of New Biomass Carbon Capture Plant

     The Chemical Engineer magazine
     “Tata has opened the UK’s first industrial scale carbon capture and usage plant, with an aim to capture CO2 and turn it into a sodium bicarbonate ”

     UK’s first ‘industrial scale’ #carbon capture plant opens in Cheshire:
     https://chemistryworld.com/news/uks-first-industrial-scale-carbon-capture-plant-opens-in-cheshire/4015867.article

     UK’s first ‘industrial scale’ #carbon capture plant opens in Cheshire:
     https://chemistryworld.com/news/uks-first-industrial-scale-carbon-capture-plant-opens-in-cheshire/4015867.article

     Reuters
     WATCH: A new carbon capture plant is under construction in Iceland with the capacity to suck 39,000 tons of CO2 every year.
     The firm behind it is a Swiss green tech start-up called Climeworks AG https://reut.rs/3bBTmP3

     Norway’s Equinor and Belgium’s Fluxys plan to build a 1,000-km (620-mile) pipeline to transport CO2 captured on the European continent fo

     LikeLike

151. I don’t believe that CCS is viable on a commercial scale (or, at least, won’t be for many decades to come), and certainly not without massive subsidies. I wonder if (if they do eventually make it viable) it will be like QE? Nobody seems to have a clue how to unwind it, and now we’re facing high inflation, thanks (in part at least) to the dodgy QE experiment. What will happen after CCS if it turns out that taking CO2 from the atmosphere does more harm than good?

     LikeLiked by 1 person

152. “Climate change: Financial incentives ‘essential’ for net zero switch”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-61986849

     “Financial incentives will be “essential” to get households to switch to lower carbon heating, research for the NI Utility Regulator suggests.

     NI’s energy strategy and net zero legislation will require a big shift away from oil and gas heating in the near future.

     Across all socio-economic groups it was found the cost of making changes was “often considered prohibitively high”.

     The current lack of available public funding was discussed in the report.”

     Translation – “This stuff isn’t cheap, people aren’t interested in wasting their own money on it, and many can’t afford to anyway. Magic money tree urgently required.”

     LikeLike

153. And the point of this report is…?

     “One in six UK adults doubt human link to climate change – report”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61965581

     “One in six adults in the UK does not believe that climate change is mainly caused by human activities, according to a report released on Wednesday.

     That’s despite scientists and policymakers around the world almost unanimously believing this to be the case.

     King’s College London conducted the study as part of a project looking at public trust in expertise.

     It was based on a survey of 12,000 adults across six European countries.

     Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s, called the finding “a real concern as it may affect support for action.”…”.

     I see we’ve now gone from “97%” to “almost unanimously”.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

154. Mark H: “I don’t believe that CCS is viable on a commercial scale (or, at least, won’t be for many decades to come), and certainly not without massive subsidies.”
     While I agree with you in general, there are cases where it works, when the CO2 has a use. Enhanced oil recovery is the obvious candidate.
     I particularly enjoy the concept of “Blue Oil” where the amount of CO2 sequestered in producing the oil exceeds that released in refining, transporting and consuming the products. It’s carbon-negative!….and has the added advantage of making green heads explode.

     LikeLiked by 2 people

155. “UK to use climate and aid cash to buy weapons for Ukraine
     London says it has climate finance ‘underspends’ that can be used to help Kyiv, angering campaigners.”

     https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-use-climate-aid-cash-buy-weapon-ukraine/

     “Britain will take money it had earmarked for poor countries to cope with climate change and give it to Ukraine as part of a £1 billion military aid drive.

     Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the commitment Thursday at the NATO summit in Madrid — bringing the U.K.’s total military support of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion to £2.3 billion.

     “U.K. weapons, equipment and training are transforming Ukraine’s defenses against this onslaught,” Johnson said.

     Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, in a tweet called the initiative “vital” and spelled out where some of the money was coming from. “My Department has contributed to the effort by surrendering climate finance and foreign aid underspends.”

     As part of its U.N. climate presidency, which began with the COP26 global summit in November and runs throughout 2022, the U.K. cajoled other rich countries to raise their spending to assist poorer countries to build defenses against rising seas and extreme weather, or to green their energy systems.

     Climate finance experts condemned Johnson’s spending shift.

     Vladislav Kaim, a Moldovan youth climate adviser to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, denounced Kwarteng’s comments that the U.K. has a climate underspend, saying it “sounds obscene, and using help to the people of Ukraine as a shield against criticism on this is double obscene.” He pointed out that the rich world has failed to deliver on a promised $100 billion a year in climate finance.

     The U.K. has fallen short of spending all of its allocated budget on climate finance in the past, according to the Overseas Development Institute….”.

     LikeLike

156. Wednesday evening BBC local news : a wind farm company is using part of it community obligation fund for a oyster project on the River Humber the green propaganda enviro reporter is reporting from Spurn Point
     His words “Orsted are planning to plant the kind of plants that absorb the CO2 that is so often emitted in by Humber industry ”
     .. practically all plants absorb CO2 you thicko
     but usually when they die they breakdown and re-emit it, unless they become marshland or something.

     Reporter continues “planting seagrass helps to absorb large quantities of *harmful* CO2”
     … you thicko, CO2 is plant food it is not harmful.

     The whole item is PRasNews for Orsted who got to make a number of grand claims.
     £3m seems like an extremely small amount.
     It’s probably 1 hours subsidy money that they get.

     The on air lot was basically the reporter speaking before and after this video
     So the video doesn’t include hi own words.

     Seagrass, saltmarsh and half a million oysters: The offshore wind company spending £2.8m on the 'restoration' of the Humber estuary. Involves @OrstedUK working with @YorksWildlife and @LincsWildlife More @looknorthBBC 1330 1830 #rewilding #ClimateCrisis #mojo pic.twitter.com/A6zaPz7Ff5

     — Paul Murphy (@BBCPaulMurphy) June 29, 2022

     LikeLike

157. The thing about CCS is it would knock intermittent industries for six
     Why mess around with solar and wind, when you can jut burn coal and clean up after it ?

     I wouldn’t rule it out, but we can wait for big biz to make it work
     The fact the oil industry hasn’t already got it working
     suggests it’s near impossible.

     There will probably be holy grail type energy in the future like fusion or something.

     LikeLike

158. Stewgreen; “The thing about CCS is it would knock intermittent industries for six”
     That’s the hope for CCGT plants using the Allam cycle which employs oxy-fuel and uses CO2 as the working fluid.
     The products are water vapour and “pure” CO2 which can be piped away for sequestration or for industrial applications.
     There are – iirc – 4 pilot projects under way of 300 MWe.

     LikeLike

159. Further to my post, one of the Allam-cycle projects is in the UK:
     https://www.powermag.com/uks-first-gas-fired-allam-cycle-power-plant-taking-shape/

     LikeLike

160. Harra’s non-impartial words
     https://isthebbcbiased.blogspot.com/2022/07/one-man-truly-can-make-difference.html
     How come the Supreme Court makes a ruling that will compromise still further the efforts made to rescue this fragile planet?
     You can trace it back to the fossil fuel firms who funded so-called think tanks to turn climate change into a partisan issue. Good job, guys.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

161. “Rishi Sunak is drawing up plans for another cost of living package to support households amid industry predictions of further energy price rises in January”

     So instead of simply reducing fossil fuel taxes
     there is a de facto tax rise on them
     and then the proceeds are used to give households cash back
     The whole point on the high taxes on fossil fuel were that they were cheap at the old prices for the benefit that bring

     LikeLike

162. “Watchdog investigates firm behind Prince Charles’s eco-village in Scotland
     Havisham Properties, owned by Tory peer Lord Brownlow, under scrutiny after buying 11 homes on failed Knockroon development”

     https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/02/watchdog-investigates-firm-behind-prince-charless-eco-village-in-scotland

     “A charity watchdog has confirmed it is investigating transactions by a property company which apparently bought homes on an Ayrshire estate from a subsidiary of the Prince’s Foundation.

     The company, Havisham Properties, is being scrutinised over the purchase of 11 properties on the Knockroon development in Scotland – originally acquired as a piece of farmland by Prince Charles when he bought the nearby mansion, Dumfries House.

     The homes, understood to have been bought between 2012 and 2017 for £1.7m, were originally planned as an eco-village intended to attract jobs and revitalise the former mining community.”

     It says little if anything more about the “eco-village”, so I’m guessing it’s been a monumental failure.

     LikeLike

163. “‘It’s hot’: UK interest in solar power heats up as energy bills soar
     Boom clouded by supply chain disruption, a fragmented industry as well as ethical issues”

     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/03/uk-interest-in-solar-power-energy-bills-soar-boom

     This is the bit that interests me:

     “During a parliamentary debate last week, the Conservative MP Nus Ghani noted that much of the production took place in Xinjiang, where China has been accused of potentially committing genocide against the Uyghur population. Xinjiang, officially an autonomous region of China, accounts for about 45% of the world’s supply of polysilicon, the key component of solar panels.

     Asked about the sourcing of solar panels from China, the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said: “What’s happened over the last 20 years is that the Chinese have had a very strategic game, they could see which way the global economy was going and they essentially monopolised and gathered extensive capacity in their own hands, and we’re in a world now where we’re trying to get away from overdependence.”…”.

     Then, as though he had never said those words:

     “Kwarteng has targeted a tripling in solar power by 2030, increasing capacity from 15 gigawatts now to 50GW.”

     LikeLike

164. “Environment Agency chief hits out at greenwashing by businesses
     ‘Deception’ gives false impression firms are addressing climate crisis, says Emma Howard Boyd”

     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/04/environment-agency-chief-hits-out-at-greenwashing-by-businesses-emma-howard-boyd

     “Widespread greenwashing by businesses is compromising efforts to prepare for climate impacts such as floods and heatwaves, the chair of the Environment Agency will say in a speech on Monday.

     Emma Howard Boyd, addressing the UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment Annual Forum, will warn businesses are embedding liability and storing up risk for their investors by giving the false impression they are addressing the climate crisis.

     The danger is, she says, that people “won’t realise this deception until it is too late”.

     Howard Boyd addresses concerns over greenwashing after the climate change committee said last week in its annual progress report that the government was failing to enact the policies needed to reach the UK’s net zero targets.

     Lord Deben, chair of the committee and a former Conservative environment secretary, said the government had set strong targets on cutting emissions but policy to achieve them was lacking. “The government has willed the ends, but not the means,” he said.

     Howard Boyd, who leaves the Environment Agency in September, is interim chair of the Green Finance Institute. She will say that nearly £650bn of public and private infrastructure investment planned by 2030 is at considerable risk unless increasingly severe climate impacts are considered in planning and delivery.”

     I’ll keep my thoughts to myself. I try to keep it polite.

     LikeLike

165. The second anti-Sizewell nuclear article in a week:

     “Poor households face having to help foot bill for building Sizewell C
     Funding model also criticised for letting factories ‘off the hook’ with planning decision due this week”

     https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/03/poor-households-face-having-to-help-foot-bill-for-building-sizewell-c

     The first complained about the possible impact on bird life, while not caring about the impact wind farms have on bird life. This one complains about the cost to poor households, without caring about the cost to poor households of “renewable” energy subsidies.

     “The UK government has been criticised for exposing low-income households to the cost of building the Sizewell C nuclear power plant while letting factories “off the hook” as a crucial planning decision is due this week.

     If given the green light, the government hopes to use a regulated asset base (RAB) funding model to finance the project, which is being proposed by the French energy firm EDF.

     RAB reduces the risk to investors, who will receive regular payments before the project begins generating power. However, it also means customers pay for the construction costs through higher energy bills.”

     Sound familiar? As for this:

     “BEIS has estimated that Sizewell C would add an extra £1 a month to household bills to aid construction costs. But research by the University of Greenwich business school seen by the Guardian shows the average monthly cost could reach £2.12.”

     Not helpful, admittedly, but a drop in the ocean compared to the cost to households from subsidising renewables.

     LikeLike

166. @glacio_cook tweets
     I’ll be on @BBCRadio4’s PM programme later this afternoon (~17:20 UK time)
     trying to explain .. whether climate change makes glacier collapses more likely.

     LikeLike

167. “The unravelling of Germany’s green agenda
     Its botched transition to green energy is a warning to the world.”

     https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/07/04/the-unravelling-of-germanys-green-agenda/

     “…Yet however much hardship and resentment the green transition creates, and however irrational it is exposed to be, there is unlikely to be a major rethink. Policies that might actually bring down the price of energy – and provide enough energy for citizens’ needs – are incompatible with the green ideology.

     Germany’s irrational green politics should be a warning to the world.”

     LikeLike

168. In line with that one Mark but from a geologist come energy expert (h/t Rupert Darwall)

     Energy is the economy.

     Germany’s trade surplus has collapsed because of energy.

     You can blah blah blah about neoclassical economic flows like capital & labor but the price & availability of energy is not even the elephant in the room.

     It is the room!#Commodities#economy pic.twitter.com/QUumkGSlFr

     — Art Berman (@aeberman12) July 4, 2022

     LikeLike

169. Richard, yes – Germany’s much-vaunted trade surplus is now a deficit. Of course, we mustn’t fall into the trap of blaming at all on the energiewende, because there are several factors at play, but a failure to understand the vital importance of cheap, reliable and secure energy does seem to be a factor, for sure. And once Germany’s screwed, whither the EU?

     LikeLiked by 1 person

170. Comments?

     “Climate change: ‘Sand battery’ could solve green energy’s big problem”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61996520

     “Finnish researchers have installed the world’s first fully working “sand battery” which can store green power for months at a time.

     The developers say this could solve the problem of year-round supply, a major issue for green energy.

     Using low-grade sand, the device is charged up with heat made from cheap electricity from solar or wind.

     The sand stores the heat at around 500C, which can then warm homes in winter when energy is more expensive.”

     Apart from the question of whether or not this work (let’s hope it can), note how they now push, without justification or supporting links, the claim of “cheap electricity from solar or wind.” A very effective form of brainwashing, I suspect.

     LikeLike

171. Mark: Agreed it’s not all the energiewende but, as you say, Trump was right. (Well, you didn’t quite say that here but he was, wasn’t he? “Energy isn’t the elephant in the room, it is the room.” I like that, because, although it’s a simplification, it’s so close to the truth. And Trump did understand that.)

     LikeLike

172. Speaking of brainwashing:

     “Climate change: Northern Ireland pupils to study new qualification”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-62008312

     “GCSE and AS-level pupils in Northern Ireland can study for a new qualification in climate change and environmental action from September.

     The course in Reducing Carbon Footprints Through Environmental Action has been approved by the Department for Education (DE).

     The new qualification is awarded by the Open College Network, Northern Ireland (OCN NI).

     A GCSE equivalent, it will be assessed by coursework rather than exams.

     A new natural history GCSE has recently been introduced in England, which includes teaching pupils about climate change and how to protect the planet.

     In Scotland, the national exams body will no longer ask pupils to give explanations on the “positive” effects of climate change as part of a geography course.”

     LikeLike

173. It’s always worse than we thought…

     “Methane much more sensitive to global heating than previously thought – study
     Greenhouse gas has undergone rapid acceleration and scientists say it may be due to atmospheric changes”

     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/05/global-heating-causes-methane-growth-four-times-faster-than-thought-study

     “Methane is four times more sensitive to global warming than previously thought, a new study shows. The result helps to explain the rapid growth in methane in recent years and suggests that, if left unchecked, methane related warming will escalate in the decades to come.

     The growth of this greenhouse gas – which over a 20 year timespan is more than 80 times as potent than carbon dioxide – had been slowing since the turn of the millennium but since 2007 has undergone a rapid rise, with measurements from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recording it passing 1,900 parts a billion last year, nearly triple pre-industrial levels.

     “What has been particularly puzzling has been the fact that methane emissions have been increasing at even greater rates in the last two years, despite the global pandemic, when anthropogenic sources were assumed to be less significant,” said Simon Redfern, an earth scientist at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

     About 40% of methane emissions come from natural sources such as wetlands, while 60% come from anthropogenic sources such as cattle farming, fossil fuel extraction and landfill sites. Possible explanations for the rise in methane emissions range from expanding exploration of oil and natural gas, rising emissions from agriculture and landfill, and rising natural emissions as tropical wetlands warm and Arctic tundra melts.

     But another explanation could be a slowdown of the chemical reaction that removes methane from the atmosphere. The predominant way in which methane is “mopped up” is via reaction with hydroxyl radicals (OH) in the atmosphere.”

     The study can be found here, should anyone wish to investigate further:

     Click to access s41467-022-31345-w.pdf

     “While carbon reduction needs to remain the main focus, Redfern and Cheng said methane cannot be ignored. Nisbet agreed, saying: “Much of the emission comes from recently industrialised or developing countries and they need help. What is needed is not money but good governance. We need to persuade China and India – the two biggest emitters – to join the global methane pledge and deal with their coalmine vents, crop waste fires and landfill emissions. And we need to look at Africa where methane emissions may be growing rapidly from growing population, widespread crop waste fires and landfills, and warming natural wetlands.””

     Good luck with that. It seems it always comes back to China and India, but it’s the west that has to sacrifice its jobs, reliable energy, economies and way of life.

     LikeLike

174. “Just Stop Oil Protestor Who Pulled ‘Hay Wain’ Painting Stunt Has Racked Up 50,000 Air Miles on Exotic Holidays”

     https://dailysceptic.org/2022/07/04/just-stop-oil-protestor-who-pulled-hay-wain-painting-stunt-has-racked-up-50000-air-miles-on-exotic-holidays/

     “One of the Just Stop Oil protestors who sparked fury today when she glued herself to John Constable’s priceless artwork The Hay Wain in the National Gallery has been branded an eco-hypocrite after it emerged she often flies off on exotic holidays and has racked up tens of thousands of air miles. MailOnline has more.

     Student Hannah Hunt, 23, is the co-founder of Just Stop Oil whose social media pages are adorned with exotic holiday pictures from locations including Bali, Australia and the Canary Islands.

     The aspiring psychologist has contributed to chaos across the country, after she was pictured gluing herself to roads, camping in the rafters of a major oil depot in Essex and today stuck pictures over John Constable’s The Hay Wain in London…

     …The pair were quick to lecture the public on fossil fuels being a “death project” and warning of the “total collapse of society”, despite Ms. Hunt previously admitting she “impulse flew to the Canaries to escape chilly British weather”.

     The former XR supporter even used the trips to bolster her environmental credentials, telling social media followers from Bali: “Can we look back in another 50 years and say we did everything to protect our pretty cool planet?”

     If Ms. Hunt flew to every destination, she would have clocked up 49,404 air miles over five years and been responsible for the emissions of 13 tons of carbon dioxide.

     The European average – per person – is 8.4 tons in a whole year, according to the My Climate website.”

     LikeLike

175. I think with internal conflicts like that Hannah needs to see a psychologist.

     Oh wait …

     LikeLiked by 2 people

176. Recall that @KwasiKwarteng hauled offshore windfarm bosses in to plead with them to take up their CfD contracts.

     No news of the outcome presumably means that they laughed in his face.

     — Bishop Hill (@aDissentient) July 5, 2022

     LikeLike

177. I thought the CCC was supposed to be INDEPENDENT
     so how come when you go to their website *
     “registered office: 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET”
     and that happen to be same address as Dept for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

     * BTW the address is buried away in a PDF dated 15 Jul 2021
     but Linked In page gives the same address

     LikeLiked by 1 person

178. Amid rumours that the Cumbrian coal mine might finally get the go-ahead this week, the BBC campaign against it is still ongoing:

     “Cumbria coal mine: Would it threaten the UK’s climate targets?”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-56023895

     LikeLike

179. “Scarborough bin lorries to run on recycled vegetable oil”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-62052654

     “Bin lorries in Scarborough are to be powered by recycled vegetable oil as part of a year-long trial.

     The vehicles will run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) instead of diesel in a bid to slash carbon emissions.

     Scarborough Borough Council said the fuel would be used in more than half of the vehicles at its Dean Road depot, including bin lorries and lawnmowers.

     The authority estimates the trial will prevent almost 900 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere.

     Harry Baross, climate change and carbon reduction officer, said HVO is a “brilliant half-way point” and will “do wonders” for the authority’s carbon footprint, with council vans, trucks and plant equipment typically consuming about 30,000 litres of diesel a month.”

     LikeLike

180. Twitter bio
     LIBERTY Steel Group @LibertySteelGrp
     A vision for carbon neutral steel by 2030 #GREENSTEEL #CN30

     FFS they have been under investigation for fraud for ages
     Apr 29
     “Fraud Office target Liberty Steel offices amid criminal inquiry” https://ift.tt/Zs0A7ut

     The reason why I looked is that an account claiming to be Chris Tolmie
     Group Product Marketing Vodafone Global Enterprise
     tweeted
     Steel makers are using newer and better techniques
     such as Electric Arc Furnaces, (They are 100 years old NOT new, and not necessarily better)
     even the UK is catching up on this now https://walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/whats-difference-between-blast-furnace-11139393
     #CO2 #ClimateChange #Coal #Renewables #Cumbriancoalmine

     He says “even the UK is catching up on this now” and tweets a link to a 2016 story
     “Liberty Steel’s Sanjeev Gupta has suggested he could replace Port Talbot’s blast furnaces with arc furnace”
     It was a pitch by Gupta to push the green dream so he could get gov SUBSIDIES and cash to win control of the Port Talbot plant ..HE FAILED
     #2 Apr 29, 2022 Telegraph : “Fraud Office target Liberty Steel offices amid criminal inquiry” https://ift.tt/Zs0A7ut

     The Vodafone exec is trying to push PR against the Cumbria mine
     by tweeting a 2016 Green PR story
     by a boss who wanted to get huge government subsidies but failed
     and has now been under a major fraud investigation for some time

     LikeLike

181. I don’t agree with every word, but I think this is interesting, nevertheless:

     “A people’s revolt against eco-tyranny
     From the Netherlands to Sri Lanka, people have had enough of the elite’s green hysteria.”

     https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/07/06/a-peoples-revolt-against-eco-tyranny/

     LikeLike

182. “Gloucestershire libraries could get trees and car chargers in car parks”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-62063945

     “Libraries in Gloucestershire could play their part in helping to tackle climate change under new plans.

     Extra trees will be planted in library car parks to encourage wildlife and electric vehicle charging points are to be installed under the scheme.

     Council bosses are now asking for views from members of the public.”

     I have no problems with the plans really, but “helping to tackle climate change”? Really? When are we going to have a sensible discussion?

     LikeLike

183. It’s good to have a laugh, even when the times are pretty strange:

     If this is the case I shall be donating it in full to a local charity.

     — Michelle Donelan MP (@michelledonelan) July 7, 2022

     😂

     — Ellie 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇺🇦🇬🇧 (@MayCharitos) July 7, 2022

     LikeLiked by 1 person

184. Richard,

     Amusing, yes, but it’s true that every resigning Cabinet minister will receive this payment (as will Gove, for being sacked). I suspect most people are unaware of how well politicians feather bed themselves with our money.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

185. Now the Yahoo Mail page is pushing GreenSupremacist PR agendas at me
     Above my mail box Northumbria University have paid for an advertisement that says :
     “getting to Net Zero Carbon Dioxide emissions very much transcends traditional disciplines like physics, chemistry, and engineering”
     (transcends in the way it’s not real world science ?)

     Their webpages don’t contain that phrase but does say similar things like
     “Recognising that this challenge is multi-dimensional and transcends disciplines, Energy Futures brings together energy expertise from across the University to benefit multiple external partners. This expertise includes energy materials, batteries, electric vehicles, heat and low carbon buildings as well as business models and policy.”
     https://neecco.org.uk/sustainability-performance-and-expertise-northumbria-university/

     ” It recognises that achieving clean growth is fundamentally a multidimensional challenge which transcends disciplines and necessitates research with impact. ”
     https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/mdrts/energy-futures/

     screenshot https://www.twitter.com/No2BS/status/1545010180475297803

     LikeLike

186. Mark: Totally agreed on the serious point.

     LikeLike

187. 

     The best bit is a journalist to Larry the Cat: “Have you asked him to resign Larry?”

     What the BBC does best? Enjoy here.

     LikeLike

188. I laughed, I cried:

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62085294

     LikeLiked by 2 people

189. “UK heatwave: health alert issued as highs of mid-30Cs forecast
     Warm weather set to continue through next week and following weekend, especially in south of England”

     https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/07/uk-heatwave-health-alert-issued-as-highs-of-mid-30cs-forecast

     To continue? Some of us are still waiting for summer to start.

     LikeLike

190. “UK’s ‘unsustainable’ debt could reach 320% of GDP in 50 years, OBR warns
     Taxes ‘must be raised to offset mounting cost of ageing population and falling fuel income’”

     https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/07/uk-unsustainable-debt-set-to-reach-320-of-gdp-in-50-years-obr-warns

     “…The switch to electric vehicles in the run-up to the promised UK ban on new petrol and diesel-powered cars from 2030 would be another hit to revenues over successive decades. Fuel duties are now a big source of tax revenue, while domestic electricity is relatively lightly taxed….”.

     LikeLike

191. John: Absolutely priceless.
     On the HSBC chap who was the bank’s global head of responsible investing:
     https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62085294

     2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

     LikeLike

192. I think this is what used to be called summer:

     “UK heatwave: Temperatures to hit low 30s as heat-health alert issued”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62084934

     “Parts of the UK are predicted to experience a heatwave over the next few days, the Met Office has said.

     Southern and eastern areas will see consistently high temperatures over the next week.

     On Friday, parts of the country are predicted to hit 28C (82.4F) – beginning the run of hot days.”

     Except that when I was growing up, summer extended beyond “parts of the country” (its presence here is fitful at best this year).

     “The forecaster and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a level 2 heat-health alert warning ahead of the hot weather.

     It will come into force from Monday 11 July until Friday 15 July, and covers the east of England, south-east and London.

     The heat-health alert scale is designed to help healthcare workers manage through periods of extreme temperatures and has four levels.”

     When I was growing up, we didn’t need warnings about summer either.

     LikeLike

193. I think perhaps the reason it’s cool “oop north” is something to do with all the wind turbines they have kindly foisted on us so that they can operate as fans for us. Perhaps they should start building them in the over-heated south, so that they can obtain some of the benefits (sarc).

     LikeLike

194. “Derbyshire schools to learn about waste in bin wagon class”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-62085088

     Within reason I’m all in favour of re-cycling, and I’m quite happy for children in today’s throw away society to be educated about it. But please can we shy away from brainwashing?

     “Primary schools in Derbyshire are being offered the chance for their pupils to take a recycling workshop in a converted bin wagon.

     The sessions, offered by High Peak Borough Council, will take place during Recycle Week in September.

     The council said the former bin wagon had been converted into a mobile classroom to allow pupils to see inside it while learning about recycling….

     …Jean Todd, executive councillor for climate change, environment and community safety, said: “This is a great opportunity for primary schools to get a free educational visit from our waste team and give their pupils a fun workshop to help them understand recycling.

     “Taking better care of the environment and responding to our changing climate is something that all of us are learning to live with, so equipping our young people with the knowledge they need to help them get recycling right will help them, and the planet, by reducing their carbon footprint.”…”.

     LikeLike

195. “It’s absurd to fill fields with solar panels”

     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/07/its-absurd-to-fill-fields-with-solar-panels

     “George Monbiot says that we should be growing food rather than using the land to produce biofuels (Why are we feeding crops to our cars when people are starving?, 30 June). Surely, then, it makes even less sense to put solar panels on land that could be used to grow food, when there are lots of roofs that can be used for them.”

     Pleasing to read this in the Guardian. It reflects Steve Baker’s views, I believe.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

196. Not quite climate but an honest biologist whom Matt Ridley clearly appreciates:

     Also it was you who said: "sure, organic agriculture is sustainable; it sustains poverty and malnutrition." https://t.co/81JoJkZgeh

     — Matt Ridley (@mattwridley) July 7, 2022

     This was his greatest hit for me, however:

     Greyhound race when the real rabbit shows uphttps://t.co/UyJkTAsN6N pic.twitter.com/PobWT3QkyB

     — Channa Prakash (@AgBioWorld) May 3, 2022

     That caused an outburst of mirth at our most recent family reunion (West Country meets Hong Kong and Cambodia).

     LikeLike

197. Still the BBC campaigns against the proposed Cumbrian coal mine:

     “Cumbria coal mine: Would it threaten the UK’s climate targets?”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-56023895

     I thought they were fixated on stopping Brexit at the time, but this demonstrates an equal fixation.

     LikeLike

198. Compare and contrast:

     “Water scarcity risk increases in eastern Scotland”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-62092733

     “…The latest report comes after Sepa warned in March about the growing threat of water scarcity this year as a result of a particularly dry winter.

     It is also expected water scarcity will become a more frequent occurrence as a result of climate change….”.

     And:

     “Climate Ready Scotland: climate change adaptation programme 2019-2024”

     https://www.gov.scot/publications/climate-ready-scotland-second-scottish-climate-change-adaptation-programme-2019-2024/pages/8/

     “…The changing climate will impact all of Scotland’s communities and each community will be affected in different ways. Across Scotland, climate change will bring hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters. In summer, more intense rainfall could bring heavy rainstorms with increased surface water flooding. In winter, more frequent rainfall could bring increased flooding from rivers and increased damage to buildings from wind driven rain….”.

     The latter document contains the words “flood” and “flooding” on 137 separate occasions. The words “dry” and “drought” don’t feature at all, while the word “drier” appears once.

     LikeLike

199. “Now Boris Has Gone, Please Can We Scrap Net Zero?”

     https://dailysceptic.org/2022/07/08/now-boris-has-gone-please-can-we-scrap-net-zero/

     “…Let us hope the next Prime Minister will abandon the Net Zero zealotry of his or her predecessor and instead adopt a more balanced policy. Firstly, be mindful of the limits of scientists and their models. The models may accurately predict the direction of travel – the more CO2 emitted the more the Earth will warm – but the magnitude of any temperature rise is highly uncertain. Secondly, remember that there are two words in ‘global warming’ and the first is ‘global’. So the U.K. should not reduce its CO2 emissions at a pace faster than other countries, particularly those that are major emitters.”

     LikeLiked by 1 person

200. “German energy company Uniper asks for bailout
     ‘We will not allow a systemically important company to go bankrupt,’ says Economy Minister Habeck.”

     https://www.politico.eu/article/embattled-german-energy-company-uniper-asks-for-state-support/

     The last sentence is interesting:

     “However, local media reported that there are concerns about helping Uniper within Habeck’s Green party, a member of the governing coalition, as the firm also operates nuclear power plants in Sweden and gas and coal-fired power plants in Russia.”

     LikeLiked by 1 person

201. “Funding secured for floating wind farm off Cornwall”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-62100674

     With all the claims that wind energy is cheap as chips, why then is this necessary:

     “The possibility of a floating wind farm off the coast of Cornwall has moved a step closer after securing government funding, project bosses have said.

     Swedish company Hexicon plans to install its TwinHub system, with the hope it could begin operating in 2025.

     It would be deployed about 10 miles (16km) off Hayle.

     Project supporters said it could be a boost to the local economy and help establish Cornwall in the growing renewable energy sector.

     Figures have not been released, but it is understood the government funding has effectively secured a fixed price for the power TwinHub would produce for 15 years, making it economically viable.”

     Viable only with government funding. Profits to Sweden, of course. As for this:

     “Once up and running, it could generate around 32 megawatts – enough electricity to power about 45,000 homes, the company said.”

     “Around”, “could” enough to power “about” 45,000 homes – no mention of the fact that such power will be intermittent, unreliable and unpredictable, and expensive back-up will be needed, back-up which is never included in the costs calculation.

     LikeLike

202. Here’s a video of a member of Just Stop Oil shouting at Ed Balls:

     What’s in it?

     1) When asked what his protests had achieved, the JSOer, James Skeet, said something like: ‘Well, I’m here on your programme, aren’t I, eh, eh? I’m very clever.’ (Lots of climactivists use this reply. I think Hallam invented it.)

     2) Do as I say or we’re all going to die. (In the Hallam playbook but he didn’t invent it.)

     3) Incorrectly used words. (Hallam again. ‘Genocide’ was Skeet’s main abusage.)

     4) Lots of shouting down. (I don’t think Hallam does that.)

     5) Lots of finger-jabbing. (Ditto.)

     6) Tories are in Big Oil’s pockets. (Dunno.)

     7) Here’s how the interview ended:

     Andy Balls: The trouble is you’re setting back the campaign for action on climate change.

     James Skeet: That’s totally untrue! [Angrily jabs a finger at Balls.] There was independent research that confirmed that after our campaign in April the percentage of the population willing to take action on the climate increased. [Angrily jabs a finger at Balls.] So that’s a lie.

     What was this ‘independent research’?

     It was an online survey by YouGov that was commissioned by Social Change Lab Ltd using money from The Centre for Effective Altruism.

     Independent? I suppose so, although JSO says that YouGov’s survey had some input from Ben Kenward, an XR activist with at least one arrest under his belt, and Social Change Lab Ltd is run by Jamie Ozden, who has been arrested at XR and Animal Rebellion protests.

     Does the survey say that ‘after our campaign in April the percentage of the population willing to take action on the climate increased’? Yes. The percentage increased a little bit. However… Even Ozden’s report on the ‘independent research’ admitted that other climatey things may have influenced this small increase, most notably the publication of IPPC AR6 WGIII.

     Also, the survey indicated a lot of opposition to JSO’s methods.

     And showed contradictory results about support for JSO’s aims – lots of people apparently want the UK to stop drilling for oil and gas yet support these statements: ‘Given the current high fuel prices, it’s not appropriate for the UK to reduce extraction of oil and gas’ (45.1%) and ‘Because of the war in Ukraine, we need to maintain our country’s own production of oil and gas’ (67.0%).

     So…

     Was Balls lying when he said that JSO is ‘setting back the campaign for action on climate change’?

     No, it was an opinion.

     Did Skeet’s ‘independent research’ prove that Balls’s opinion was wrong?

     No.

     Would I jab a finger at Skeet’s face and call him a liar.

     No.

     Should he have jabbed a finger at Balls’s face and called him a liar?

     No.

     Is The Centre for Effective Altruism a cult?

     No comment.

     LikeLiked by 2 people

203. There are more problems with net zero than just with the futility of trying to achieve it while much of the rest of the world – notably China – doesn’t; and it seems those problems come back to China (again):

     “Britain’s electric dreams will never come true while China has a materials advantage
     John Naughton
     Rare earth elements hold the key to a carbon-free future, but a new report reveals the UK’s shortcomings and vulnerabilities”

     https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/09/britains-electric-dreams-will-never-come-true-while-china-has-a-materials-advantage

     “…It turns out that an all-electrical future won’t be possible without secure supplies of certain elements we extract from the Earth’s crust. And we’re discovering that there are rather a lot of these critical elements. A full roll call runs from antimony to strontium via cobalt, lithium, magnesium, platinum, tantalum – not to mention other stuff of which this columnist had until recently been blissfully unaware.

     When people first began to think seriously about a comprehensively electrified future, only a limited number of these CRMs were regarded as “critical”. In 2011, the EU thought there might be 14 of them. By 2014, that number had gone up to 20. By 2017 it was 27. And since 2020 the number of CRMs stands at 30.

     The EU has been fretting about this for at least a decade, but news of the problem seems to have taken its time to reach London. The government, after all, has other important things on what one might loosely describe as its mind. But an excited email from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) recently arrived, announcing that the report of an important inquiry into CRMs was to be published last Monday. And so it was, in the shape of a 76-page pdf, replete with tables and charts of all descriptions….

     …As far as the UK is concerned, 18 of the CRMs represent both supply risks and important vulnerabilities. Accordingly, the path to its carbon-free future looks as though it might be rocky.

     The EU’s analysis of its CRM vulnerabilities has reached broadly similar conclusions and has led to a much-touted Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, calling for open and global markets for raw materials. Given the importance of China in the CRM area, this sounds as fatuous as demanding an open market in Ukrainian wheat just now. And the eerie thing is that the EU’s own document lays out the strategic problem with exemplary clarity. “Excessive dependence on single supplier countries makes Europe vulnerable.” Check. “Clean and digital technologies are heavily dependent on critical raw materials.” Check. “The green and digital transitions will lead to a drastic increase in European demand for certain critical raw materials by 2050.” Check. So…

     But there the document stops. It’s as if the logical conclusion is too painful to articulate. So let’s spell it out. As Europe and the US try to move to a carbon-free, CRM-rich future, they will find themselves in a position of strategic dependence analogous to Europe’s current dependence on Russian gas. Except that now it’ll be Xi Jinping calling the shots. And if the British Geological Survey’s report on CRMs has any useful lesson for whoever is currently running the country, it is that the UK is in the same boat.”

     The British Geological Survey can be found here:

     https://www.bgs.ac.uk/download/uk-criticality-assessment-of-technology-critical-minerals-and-metals/

     LikeLiked by 1 person

204. Vinny: Really helpful pointer and commentary, thanks. It’s Ed Balls, not Andy Balls (!) but that’s a very small thing compared to the misuse of the word genocide, which Balls was so right to challenge Skeet about. The JSO guy’s inability to take in the fact that it’s totally inappropriate (and trivialises all real genocides, like The Holocaust) … that he couldn’t even pause to consider this possibility … this is so cult-like, as you imply at the end. It just shocked me and I didn’t think that happened so much these days. Radicalisation is happening before our eyes – radicalisation of the kind that did lead to genocide in the past, as it happens. (Not saying that it’s an inevitable outcome this time but we should be watchful.)

     Thanks again.

     LikeLike

205. Very confusing. Phil Jones (AKA Jason Watkins) in “The Trick” now is a nerdy Summerset policeman (DS Dodds) in “McDonald and Dodds” tonight. At least this time we can presume he gets the right answer.

     LikeLiked by 2 people

206. Shock news. Climate experts disagree.

     Finally, there's an environmental group dedicated to stopping this madness. If this makes you as angry as it does me, please join @letsreplanet https://t.co/p5AMxq3Z3D We've just won on the EU taxonomy. Most Germans support keeping nuclear switched on – the tide is turning.

     — Mark Lynas (@mark_lynas) July 8, 2022

     Care to elaborate? Or is the insult all you have?

     — Mark Lynas (@mark_lynas) July 8, 2022

     H/t Dominic Cummings who retweeted this

     Plot twist: the “Greens” were secretly the coal lobby all along https://t.co/hi8NVLoRfG

     — Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) July 8, 2022

     LikeLike

207. Richard, there’s always a deliberate error in my comments and yesterday was Andy Balls Day.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

208. Bollocks 🙂

     More from Dom on the Mark Lynas tweet:

     I suppose it's not anti-rational if their true goal is fighting progress & new technology enabling growth, rather than clean energy & avoiding environmental damage

     — Dominic Cummings (@Dominic2306) July 10, 2022

     LikeLike

209. Skeptical Science’s ‘2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #27’:

     https://skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=5419

     If you click on the first of the articles that ‘sparked above average interest during the week’ you arrive here:

     https://skepticalscience.com/graphics.php?g=403

     It’s a cartoon (prolly by Dr John Cook) showing frogs sitting in a pan of hot water and denying that they are about to be boiled to death.

     Blurb:

     This cartoon depicts the “Anecdote” fallacy.

     [SkS’s fallacy icon]

     Description: Using personal experience or isolated examples instead of sound arguments or compelling evidence.

     Example: “The weather is cold today — whatever happened to global warming.”

     Quite what that blurb has to do with the slow-boiled frogs cartoon is hard to say. The only ‘”Anecdote” fallacy’ that comes to mind is that the slow-boiled frog thing is total crap and was proved to be crap decades ago: put a frog in a pot full of water, start heating it, the frog jumps out.

     But never mind. It’s SkS, the world’s most influential misinfluentialist website. If you stick with its crap for long enough you’ll get a US doctorate and be chums with a German psychologist who has yet to admit that he’s German.

     Not that there’s anything wrong with being German, obviously. As long as you admit it.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

210. “Boris Johnson: Net Zero zealot
     His embrace of eco-austerity will be his most wretched legacy.”

     https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/07/10/boris-johnson-net-zero-zealot/

     “…In retrospect, his posturing at COP26 looks increasingly unwise. Before the junket had even ended, its main stated goal of eliminating coal power had already been ruled out by the two growing economies of India and China, both of which need the cheap energy it produces. And today, with domestic heating bills trebling, fuel poverty going through the roof and swathes of UK industry facing the prospect of closing for good, the obsession with reducing carbon emissions looks ever more foolish. It is a folly other nations, aside from India and China, are now wising up to. Indeed, only recently Germany effectively dissolved its own equivalent Net Zero pledge by extending the life of its coal plants.

     Should we be surprised that Boris went full Greta, and threw his lot in with people who glue their faces to electric trains? Perhaps not. To argue that climate change can be addressed through adaptation rather than mitigation – by building bigger sea defences, for example, rather than radical lifestyle changes – requires courage. It requires challenging the bureaucracy, the academy and the broadcast media. There are only a handful of critics who even attempt that today, such as Tory MP Steve Baker and Labour MP Graham Stringer, both of whom are backbenchers. If Johnson ever had private qualms about how environmentalism inserts regulation into every corner of our lives, he didn’t let on in public.

     In his resignation speech, Johnson said he hoped his successor would continue ‘cutting burdens on businesses and families’. Which is more than a little ironic. After his surrender to green ideology, no government has ever imposed so many burdens on so many as that of Boris Johnson.”

     LikeLiked by 1 person

211. Richard, re your comment on nuclear in Germany.

     NoTricksZone had a short post on this –
     https://notrickszone.com/2022/07/05/dumb-as-it-gets-germany-heads-into-winter-refusing-to-let-badly-needed-power-plants-operate/

     LikeLiked by 1 person

212. Interesting article on the Daily Sceptic website:
     https://dailysceptic.org/2022/07/10/its-difficult-to-see-how-anyone-could-be-more-wrong-new-code-review-of-neil-fergusons-amateurish-model/
     It’s a critique of Prof Ferguson’s pandemic model by a software expert. His basic conclusion is that the model is rubbish.
     My understanding of software is limited, to say the least, but I found this very convincing. However I am a bit wary because it panders to my bias against such models.
     Maybe there’s someone on here with relevant expertise who could comment?

     (Apologies for duplicating this post for anyone who also visits Bishop Hill!).

     LikeLike

213. Jason Hickel is “Professor at ICTA-UAB and Visiting Senior Fellow at LSE • Author of THE DIVIDE and LESS IS MORE • Global inequality, political economy and ecological economics”. That’s what it says on Twitter. See @jasonhickel.

     Meanwhile there is terrible anarchy in Sri Lanka. The connection?

     Contrast earlier takes: https://t.co/nzYGwGHRoC

     — Eliezer Yudkowsky (@ESYudkowsky) July 11, 2022

     “Western media largely not reporting”.

     LikeLike

214. Mikehig: I might take a look in due course but … I have some software to write. Seriously. You’re right to beware of confirmation bias though.

     LikeLike

215. My trusty Radio Times, delivered today, warns me to be on high alert on Thursday 21st July when, on BBC 2, a three part series “Big Oil vs the World”, begins and old chestnuts are roasted. I have just over a week to shore up my defences as the Beeb makes the case that Big Oil, knowing the dangers of increasing atmospheric CO2, financed efforts to hid this dreadful truth. Can wait.

     LikeLiked by 2 people

216. Gosh I thought climate activists would be in favour of bicycle riding. So why did they bring the Tour de France to a halt today?

     LikeLike

217. Just how many recycling centre fires are there every year? It feels like dozens:

     “Major recycling centre fire sees Aberdeen waste sent to Hartlepool”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-62139628

     “Waste is having to be taken almost 300 miles from Aberdeen to Hartlepool due to a major fire at a recycling plant.

     More than 100 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze at the Suez plant in Aberdeen’s Altens area over the weekend.

     Suez Recycling and Recovery has now told BBC Scotland that recycling is being taken to the nearest appropriate facility, about 280 miles (450km) away.

     It will be collected, collated, and transported to County Durham by lorry.”

     Not exactly “green”, is it?

     LikeLike

218. “Stapleford Green Festival to help tackle climate change”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-62125663

     I’m sure they mean well, but shouldn’t this sort of claim be subject to some sort of fact-checking by the BBC Climate Disinformation Unit?

     “Residents are being encouraged to go to a council-run festival to learn how to make lifestyle changes to tackle climate change.

     Broxtowe Borough Council has announced it will host the Green Festival in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, on 6 August.

     The event at Pasture Road Recreation Ground will feature tips on recycling and composting, the council said.

     It is the third Green Festival the council has hosted this year.

     There will also be information on switching to an electric vehicle, sustainable clothing, upcycling and allotments.”

     The reality is that this will make not one jot of difference to climate change.

     LikeLike

219. Darren Grimes tweets
     Kemi Badenoch has just described net-zero as “unilateral economic disarmament”.
     She’s right.
     We’re bankrupting ourselves and leaving our least well off both colder and poorer
     – China is laughing at us!

     LikeLiked by 1 person

220. The Guardian usually only cursorily covers the Tour de France, but today a large photograph of it graces the back page accompanied by a story about chaos caused by protesting demonstrators. But the photograph shows nary a bicycle just climate activists chained together on the road. Nor was there chaos. In fact just the opposite, riders were brought to a standstill in sequence. After the road ahead had been cleared each of the cyclist groups were restarted, the time interval between them having been previously recorded. In fact it was one of the most organised things I have ever witnessed. The protesters were not identified and not shown on the television coverage I watched. I only learned they were climate activists from the Guardian this morning.

     It was reported in the Guardian that some of the protesters, still chained together were “very carefully placed” (I.e. thrown) into ditches alongside the route. Presumably to watch the bikes ride past.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

221. Somebody else doesn’t like the ESG rules for businesses

     pic.twitter.com/9uGAHkPUO2

     — Josh White (@jwhiteindy) July 13, 2022

     LikeLike

222. Just noting. Twitter appears to be crashed.

     LikeLike

223. Mike: It’s back now. This little exchange tells a few stories though:

     I think Twitter is trying to get rid of the BOTs before presenting the % in court (twitter v Musk)

     — Will Hara-Lewis (@iwillsayit2U) July 14, 2022

     Before the crash the #AnyButPenny hashtag had been trending hard, not least because of prominent gender critical women like Kelly-Jay – also known as Posie Parker, who’s been banned from Twitter upteen times – reminding people of the days when Penny Mordaunt was firmly in the “Trans Women are Women” camp. She is going to have trouble living this one down.

     But ‘Will Hara-Lewis’ has another explanation for the outage, which is also intriguing. Musk v Twitter will soon be going through the courts. They have to get the bots or fake users down to 5% therefore – and that crashed the whole system. An amusing thought.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

224. “Net zero: ‘Uncertain’ if Welsh public sector can meet climate goal”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-62148334

     “Wales’ spending watchdog has said it is unclear if the Welsh public sector will achieve a key climate change target.

     The Welsh government aims to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

     But Audit Wales said only two of the 48 public bodies it had spoken to had worked out how much it would fully cost.

     Auditor General for Wales Adrian Crompton said organisations need to do more, while the Welsh government said it would work with the public sector.

     The net zero target does not mean eliminating greenhouse gas emissions, but instead balancing them with the amount of gases being removed from the atmosphere.”

     Good grief. Omnishambles.

     LikeLike

225. Alan I was on the introductory offer, it would have rolled over to become £1/week but I decided it was still poor value

     LikeLike

226. They want to force the naming of “heatwaves”
     .. https://www.twitter.com/ThePhySoc/status/1547125995643207682

     LikeLike

227. I thought they were all called “Scorchio”

     LikeLike

228. Not my favourite candidate but this advice is sobering.

     https://twitter.com/GeorgeTrefgarne/status/1547455394041266176

     LikeLike

229. Ah, I now remember that Trefgarne’s tweets are private (for his followers only). I’m sure he won’t mind …

     Advice to Penny Mordaunt. You are front runner. People will me imagining what happens immediately you kiss hands. Don’t get too bogged down but:

     2. By mid August a 2008 style crisis in the gas market will have blown up. Get ready. First step say you’d like Kwasi to stay in post. We just don’t have time for another SOS to spend a year learning people and issues.

     Bumpy for anyone.

     LikeLike

230. TV tells me I am in a day 7 of a heatwave
     That feels like gaslighting
     What I see and Met office observation show something different from the TV
     3 days this week have had rain events
     And with this weather coming from the south it has been accompanied by south winds most of the time
     Mostly days started with cloud and cloud came back at 4pm so if there was any sun intensity it was in the middle of the day only
     What we had was occasional heat events when someone was say in front of a south wall AND also sheltered from the wind

     – Friday 9:30am overcast with slight rain meaning I needed to wear a cap to keep the super-light rain off my glasses ..I ran hard yet hardly sweated

     – Thursday ..sudden change in weather forecast and between 8-9am we had this mist rain
     I wore 2 shirts and a T-shirt until 4pm, ome customers had coats some horts
     At 8pm I wore a coat

     – Wednesday : morning overcast until lunch ..there was enough heat blasting through glass patio doors to make the computer batter disconnect, but later I worked in the orchard ..not hot

     – Tuesday : Looked like it would be a warm one . Inside a meeting hall we did look for fan, but got away without them . 12:30pm I was collecting newspaper in the streets the mist rain was enough to mean I had to protect them with plastic,.. there were 2 5 minute bouts of such rain.
     A customer 7 miles away old me said the same shower was enough to soak her.

     – Monday I was with an engineer installing something against an upstairs south wall
     The sun was intense but the south wind cooled us
     After 4pm we had clouds and I was working in the orchard.

     – Sunday I went to a market most people there said it was pretty hot however since I went on a bike I knew there was plenty of wind .. Some people in wind sheltered spots were sweating ..2 pensioners did fall ill .
     Yet when I was wearing a wide brimmed hat and loading heavy boxes I hardly felt the heat.

     – Saturday warmish, shorts weather, but inside a hall we didn’t run fans.
     I was working in the orchard after 4pm it was overcast

     LikeLike

231. Met O observations https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/observations/gcrx784rv

     – Fri 10C night rising but then drop back to 17.4 at 11am then to 22,1 at 1pm , but wind picked up to 21kmh

     – Thu : Not even 20C at lunchtime, then wind dropped and clouds parted so rose to 21C
     4-7pm

     I reached into the Met Office WeatherObservationsWebsite and tweeted the graph for the week
     Locally strangely on graphs, wind speed mirrored temp
     so it didn’t feel super hot

     See how much of the time it’s below 20C, except Monday night into Tuesday
     (middle of graph hanging around 20C)
     Full tweet.. https://twitter.com/No2BS/status/1547942418401464320

     

     In nearby Scunthorpe it didn’t drop as low at night .. 2C warmer minimums

     LikeLiked by 1 person

232. I don’t deny that it’s going to be very hot in parts of England and Wales for a few days, but after all it is summer, and perhaps the BBC’s coverage is a little over the top? In the last 24 hours, the “science and environment section” of its website has had the following:

     “NHS facing surge in demand amid extreme weather warning”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62169184

     And:

     “Warnings as East faces record temperatures”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-cambridgeshire-62179688

     And:

     “Heatwave: The latest forecast for the UK”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-62175548

     And:

     “Extreme weather: Londoners warned of record-breaking temperatures”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-london-62182900

     And:

     “Heatwave: National emergency declared after UK’s first red extreme heat warning”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62177458

     And:

     “Heatwave: Schools to close or let children wear PE kit to keep cool”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-62182530

     And:

     “Weather warning: Sunburn threat as Wales prepares for extreme heat”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-62176516

     And at the same time, on the front page of its website:

     “Why it is so hot – in under 60 seconds”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-62166766

     And:

     “Watch out for heat exhaustion and heatstroke”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-62120167

     And:

     “Rail passengers told to avoid travel in heatwave”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62182880

     And:

     “Is the UK getting hotter, and what causes heatwaves?”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61825371

     And:

     “Heatwave: When is it too hot to work?”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62147992

     And:

     “What will climate change look like near me?”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-d6338d9f-8789-4bc2-b6d7-3691c0e7d138

     Do you think the BBC might be pushing an agenda? Could it be linked to this?

     “Could next Tory leader ditch key climate goal?”

     Which morphs, when you click on it, into “Tory leadership race: Where do candidates stand on net zero goal?”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62168213

     LikeLiked by 1 person

233. “Joe Manchin guts climate agenda in new blow to Democrats’ midterm hopes
     The senator has refused to support more funding, crushing his party’s hopes to pass meaningful measures before November”

     https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/15/joe-manchin-climate-funding-tax-hikes

     “Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator who has repeatedly thwarted his own party while making millions in the coal industry, has refused to support more funding for climate action, dealing another blow to Joe Biden ahead of the midterm elections.

     The West Virginia Democrat is also against tax raises for wealthy Americans.

     Climate advocates reacted angrily to Manchin’s move.”

     LikeLike

234. “Genghis Khan killed so many people, that it was actually good for the environment, new study claims.
     https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/genghis-khan-environment-26052014/

     LikeLiked by 1 person

235. The BBC school bully gang
     #1 use licence payer £s to make Climate propaganda videos
     then they give it away on YouTube

     #2 ..when 15 comments are made, 9 are hidden

     Climate change on trial – BBC World Service 14 Jul 2022
     Nick Beake travels to Norway to meet the young people taking on their government in an attempt to prevent further drilling for oil and gas
     … https://youtu.be/CC5WSpby01E

     LikeLike

236. well it was new in May 27, 2014 (by Mihai Andrei)
     Temüjin was his real name (i think) & the empire/conquests he spawned beggars believe.
     think John Wayne played him in a crappy movie & recently Mongel which covered his early life, but ran out of money to finish his story.

     LikeLike

237. or maybe “Mongol” oops

     LikeLike

238. Heard this morning on a BBC news item that the RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES may make it difficult for aircraft to take off because high temperatures reduce air densities. I kid you not. My first thoughts, after seeking reassurance that “she who must be listened to” had recovered from a laughing fit, were “those poor buggers in the tropics” confined to the ground. Then I recalled flying out of Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in high summer in +40oC, not realising how endangered I had been. Should have charged my employer danger money.
     Good ol’ BBC, telling it like it is.

     LikeLiked by 2 people

239. Is this what our energy policies in the UK have reduced us to? Emails from my energy supplier yesterday and today say this:

     “We’ve all been changing our habits to use less energy, now in the face of rising energy costs we’re going a step further to help you lower your energy bills any way we can.

     Introducing the bill-reduction, monthly energy draw. This July, you can win £1,500 off sustainable energy solutions. What’s more, the prize amount increases each month, reaching a whopping £4,000 in December. You can redeem the prize money against an energy solution of your choice, like an energy-efficient boiler that could save £580 off your fuel annually, or solar panels to future proof your home and generate your own power.

     The winner will be offered a free consultation to discuss their property specifications to determine the right energy-solution for them. The alternative is to use the money towards your energy bills. So, if you’re a renter, homeowner or council tenant you’re in with a chance. We will also be including 10 runner up prizes so everyone is in with a shot.

     All you need to do is enter the unique code^ you’ll receive via email in a few days into our prize draw landing page, that’s it! We’re crossing our fingers for you!”

     LikeLike

240. RIP Pat Michaels. One of my favorite climate people.

     https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/07/16/rip-dr-patrick-michaels/

     LikeLiked by 2 people

241. Oh, really sorry to hear about that Mike.

     LikeLike

242. Mark (15 JUL 22 AT 7:17 PM): That’s you at your best! What a palaver from the BBC. Though I have to travel to London on Monday by train. Ah well.

     LikeLike

243. “Toxic or magic? Batteries industry freaks out over EU proposal to classify lithium as a toxin
     Such a label risks hampering the bloc’s climate ambitions, the industry argues.”

     https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-commission-toxic-or-magic-batteries-industry-freaks-out-over-proposal-to-classify-lithium-as-a-toxin/

     “The European Commission will soon decide whether to classify lithium as a toxic chemical — causing a freak-out among battery and raw material producers who argue that doing so will derail the bloc’s transition to green energy.

     The European Chemicals Agency’s Risk Assessment Committee wants three lithium salts to be classified as “known human reproductive toxicants.” It argues they can damage fertility or fetuses, and could harm breast-fed children.

     One complication: The EU is banking on these substances for the green transition.

     Slapping such a label on these salts — essential for the batteries used in electric cars — risks hammering the industry, driving production costs up and pushing investors away from the bloc, industry groups argue. Now it’s down to the Commission to declare whether or not these substances merit the new classification.

     The upcoming decision is “the biggest concern” of U.S.-based chemicals manufacturing company Albemarle, said Ellen Lenny-Pessagno, its global vice president of government and community affairs. As one of the largest lithium producers in the world, the company is currently mulling a lithium conversion plant in the bloc.

     It is “extremely important for us as we look at opportunities in the EU,” she added.

     While the move wouldn’t ban the substances, which are also used in the glass, construction and pharma industries, companies will incur higher costs due to stricter product labeling and processing rules. France’s health and safety agency — which proposed the classification — adds it could “eventually lead to a more restrictive regulatory framework for their use in Europe.”…”.

     LikeLike

244. Carbon-greens meet Lithium-greens. I’m much more in the second camp.

     LikeLike

245. Lithium carbide (or dilithium acetylide) should meet all green’s anti needs. Down with carbon dating!

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246. Richard:

     > Carbon-greens meet Lithium-greens. I’m much more in the second camp.

     No, no, no.

     It’s the underlying Chemical-greens — people who can wave a list of 118 basic chemicals and tell you that the world would be a better place without them.

     In reality, it’s the curse of people who never understood secondary school science lessons.

     LikeLike

247. Protesters try to again interrupt Tour de France by lying down on the road and this time setting off flares. TV coverage showed police dragging people to the side of the road allowing the leading cyclists to weave their way past. By the time the Pelaton arrived it was all over. Even several hours after the non-event, the reason for the protest is not known. So a rather pathetic event, but then the temperature was around 49oC. Everyone around them were blaming climate change, so why bother?

     LikeLike

248. 40oC (not 49oC)

     LikeLike

249. Bill: It was ironic and meant to make us think. Partly mockery of those who use an element name when they mean compounds: CO2 and three salts of Lithium, according to the article. So I didn’t miss that point. Second, I don’t think CO2 is harmful at all but a blessing but I can believe that at least one of those Lithium salts is something to be watchful about. It depends if the EU is making a regulatory mountain out of a molehill or not (perfectly plausible!) But I could imagine becoming an environmentalist in the sense of supporting some controls in the Lithium compounds case. ‘Carbon’ is something else.

     LikeLike

250. Unfortunately today’s Guardian does not explain its headline, leaving the enquiring reader to fathom how exactly a heatwave can be “ferocious”. Lions and rabid climate activists, yes; but sunny days? Dominic Raab on the other hand, does urge us “to enjoy the sunshine”.

     LikeLiked by 2 people

251. From the BBC wall of propaganda

     “Prof highlights climate change in hot-spot of Cambridge”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment

     “BBC Breakfast on BBC One has been live in Cambridge this morning.

     The city’s Botanic Garden had the UK’s highest-ever recorded temperature in 2019, when the mercury hit 38.7C (101.7F).

     Prof Emily Shuckburgh, director of Cambridge Zero at the University of Cambridge, says the country is not geared up for a Mediterranean climate and we need to tackle climate change.

     “The biggest thing we could be doing is to reduce our emissions in the first place, because that is how we stop climate change,” she says.”

     Did anyone ask her who she means by “we”? Does it include all the globe-trotting greens? Does it include the Chinese? Or is it just poor UK citizens who have to suffer?

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252. “Campaigners call for plant-based menus at Bristol City Hall events”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-62177102

     “Ham and cheese sandwiches, along with butter, could be taken off the menu at conferences and events at City Hall in Bristol.

     Three campaigners have urged the city council to scrap meat and dairy from the authority’s catering and switch to plant-based products.

     They told a recent cabinet meeting that it would help the council reduce its carbon emissions and save money.

     Deputy mayor Craig Cheney said the council would consider the move.”

     THREE campaigners? And they generate an article on the BBC and the Council saying it will consider their demands. Great to see democracy and the BBC Charter in action.

     LikeLike

253. “‘Worth waiting for’: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck get married in Las Vegas
     Lopez and Affleck married in a small ceremony on the weekend, culminating a relationship that has stretched over two decades and two engagements”

     https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/jul/18/worth-waiting-for-jennifer-lopez-and-ben-affleck-marry-in-las-vegas

     “Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck got married in a Las Vegas drive-through chapel late on Saturday night, culminating a relationship that stretched over two decades in two separate romances and headlined countless tabloid covers.”

     They must be superhuman. Have you seen the temperatures at LA in July? According to the BBC and the Guardian pretty much all human activity has to cease if the temperature spends much time above 30C. And yet don’t they look cool? Still, I suppose they were clever and tied the knot late at night. The temperature may only have been in the mid-30sC.

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254. Mark,

     The decidedly postdemocratic nature of it all is the most disconcerting thing. This is not a circumstantial phenomenon; the need to overule democratic process has been understood from the outset. If you set out to restructure society you do not start at the ballot box, you start with the buffet.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

255. Reading further into a red-hot Guardian today I find Bill McGuire ramping up notifications of his forthcoming opus “Hothouse Earth…” with a op-piece “It’s a hothouse, but in years to come 40C will seem cool”. In the first paragraph we are introduced to “ferocious temperatures” and in the second para he writes about the young inheriting a “climate-mangled world”. After that I needed refreshment so availed myself of an even hotter cup of coffee. Will return to my task eventually.

     LikeLike

256. I am now climate porn satiated. Bill McGuire pulls out all the stops. I don’t think there’s a hazard he doesn’t mention and glorify in, the whole article being a wallowing in fear mongering. But it got me thinking because McGuire frequently mixes up climate and weather. Hot spells are clearly weather, they are departures from the norm, which is climate. McGuire treats the current heatwave (weather) as being a new norm (climate) for future years. My recollections of what I learned at school about U.K. weather and climate is that both are dominated by cyclones driven westwards bringing rain and cooler summers (and warmer winters) as compared with the more continental climates of most European countries. Hot spells occur when “normal” conditions are over-ridden, as now by a persistent low pressure region north of us drawing across our islands hotter drier winds from Southern Europe and North Africa. So for our climate to warm sufficiently to impose dangerous and persistent hot conditions would require some mechanism to shut down our usual westerly air flow, replacing it with more persistent winds from the south. Just like causing the Gulf Stream to fail (a common claim in the past) stopping our maritime climate would appear to be essentially rank nonsense.
     Unfortunately McGuire wants our government to go on a spending spree to mitigate his climate pornography. Unfortunately as well, our politicians are listening.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

257. A-board outside a pub in town today advertising, among its attractions, a heated beer garden.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

258. Air-conditioning good in the pub in which I’m holed up in Bristol, trying to discover which Paddington train is running this afternoon!

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259. (Given it’s Bristol, I have to declare that I departed from a plant-based meal on this occasion.)

     LikeLiked by 1 person

260. Peak temperature forecast on my route is now down to 37°C, which is truly disappointing.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

261. Richard, just got back from driving along the A14. Top temp 18″ above the road along the way was 37C – may be hotter by now.

     Alan, Bill was on The World at One as well, although I didn’t catch a mention of his book. He did though lay on the apocalyptic language, including that people would flee the cities and seek refuge in Scotland. Someone else who hasn’t heard of air conditioning.

     I get the feeling that the present weather will smash the old record (a decidedly dodgy record, as any readers of Denierland will know). That being the case, it should be a record that stands for quite some while.

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262. Jit

     Are you going to make a bet that the next record hot summer will come in more or less than 46 years?

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263. Bill, that depends on what the record is tomorrow, if it happens (seems likely to me based on how shallow the saddle is forecast to be between today and tomorrow). If it’s a legitimate record of 43C, as has been mentioned in serious terms, it should last more than half a century, even with business-as-usual emissions.

     There are several imponderables: the frequency of the present weather event (impossible to judge with a single instance), warming due to CO2, warming due to urbanisation and increased density of aircons. To me this seems like an outlier, at 420 ppm CO2 or 500 ppm.

     What will be interesting for me is how much lower the temperature turns out to be in a non-contaminated station.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

264. This is Penelope Endersby of the Met Office speaking on the news tonight:

     “This weather is absolutely unprecedented. We have never seen temperatures like this before in our models.”

     Laugh? I very nearly did.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

265. Never seen temperatures like that in their models? That’s because the models said we would hit 40C+ today.

     It’s been 14C in Lerwick.

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266. Mark,

     More importantly, what did the models say for Lerwick today? Besides which, isn’t 14C a record high for Lerwick anyway?

     LikeLike

267. John,

     Happily (for more than one reason) 14C is nothing like a record for Shetland/Lerwick. And (steady now) the models say 15C for tomorrow.

     LikeLike

268. Those models…

     https://images.app.goo.gl/mwp5u4tQEXjpSL4T6

     LikeLike

269. John:

     >Besides which, isn’t 14C a record high for Lerwick anyway?

     No… It sometimes gets to a sweltering 17C

     The thing about Shetland is that there is always a large wind chill, so if you can find somewhere sheltered it can be surprisingly warm.

     LikeLike

270. “Pat Michaels RIP”

     https://co2coalition.org/2022/07/16/pat-michaels-rip

     LikeLike

271. More Climate Disinformation by the BBC Reality Check Team (surely this was a job for their climate disinformation specialists?):

     “UK heatwave: How do temperatures compare with 1976?”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/62212604

     It’s clear that this year’s top temperatures in the UK will exceed (by some margin, probably) those set in 1976. Yet 1976 saw much more heat, for the simple reason that unlike the heat this year, 1976 covered the whole country, and it went on for weeks and weeks and weeks. It also saw more than a fortnight with every day seeing a high of 32C or more. We had no rain for months. Standpipes on the streets, and a Minister for Drought. Funnily enough, the BBC article mentions none of that. Instead it focuses on the few very hot days this year, as if that is the only relevant comparison. Only one short paragraph mentions (in part) its severity, and doesnt say anything about how widespread it was:

     “The heatwave of 1976 started in June and lasted for two months. There was a lack of rainfall and a significant drought, with the government enforcing water rationing.”

     That oara is top and tailed by these two, which I assume are designed to take the sting out of those hard facts:

     “The peak that year was 35.9C. That has already been beaten by the current temperatures and on Tuesday it could go as high as 41C.”

     And:

     “The heatwave was rare for that decade. The average maximum temperature in July in the 1970s was 18.7C. In the 2010s, it was more than 20C.”

     And then we get an extended lesson in the climate crisi:

     “Nine out of ten of the hottest days ever recorded in the UK have been since 1990, according to the Met Office.

     1976 ranks 12th in the list of the hottest UK days on record (some of these, not shown in the chart above, have occurred in the same year).

     “1976 was indeed a heatwave and we have had heatwaves before, but the point is they’re happening more often and they’re becoming more intense,” says Prof Hannah Cloke, a climate scientist at the University of Reading.

     There is also the scale of the heatwaves to consider, when comparing temperatures to those in 1976.

     That summer, the UK and France were among a handful of countries experiencing high temperatures.

     But if you look at the heat maps (produced by NASA) for June 2022, it shows many more countries affected.”

     None of which is relevant to the question, “was the 1976 heatwave worse than this year’s in the UK?” To which the answer, taking all aspects of it in the round is (so far) undoubtedly yes. And yet the BBC’s “Reality Check Team” concludes:

     “Who’s spreading the misleading comparison?
     Suggestions that there is nothing unusual about this heatwave appear to have found a willing audience among climate change sceptics.

     Hundreds of people have shared their experiences of the 1976 heatwave on social media, with some making the misleading suggestion that the current heatwave is “no different”.

     Others have accused the Met Office and the media of spreading “alarmism” and “hysteria”. Some have suggested people need to “toughen up”, describing those complaining about the heat as “snowflakes”.

     But even in the 1976 heatwave – which saw lower temperatures – excess deaths in parts of the country were up 30%.

     Last week, the UK Health Security Agency issued its highest level four heat alert, warning illness and death could occur “among the fit and healthy”.

     The comparison with the 1976 heatwave has also proven popular among users sharing conspiracy theories – including unfounded claims that a “climate lockdown” is about to be imposed.”

     And so they’re at it again. Debunking conspiracy theories that probably 99.9999999% of the population has either not heard or takes no notice of, as though such theories are mainstream among “climate deniers”

     Who’s spreading the misleading comparison? The BBC, it seems.

     LikeLike

272. Mark I do like your new pleural of climate crisis (crisi). It adds a (false) sense of classical learning to utter garbage.
     Not having experienced the 1976 heatwave directly (was living in Saskatchewan at the time where our normal summer had heatwave properties) I was not really aware of the differences in duration of hot conditions between 1976 and this year. Thank you for drawing this to my attention.

     LikeLike

273. Tee hee. The 12.55 weather forecast. The “sobering” breaking news that temperatures at Heathrow have reached 40C.

     LikeLike

274. Worth a read IMO:

     “When Will They Figure Out That Reducing U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Is Pointless?”

     https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2022-7-17-when-will-they-figure-out-that-reducing-us-carbon-dioxide-emissions-is-pointless

     “…But that was more than two decades ago. In the intervening twenty-plus years, the U.S. and Europe have achieved some small reductions in their emissions, but the emissions from the developing world — mostly but by no means exclusively from China — have soared. And they continue to soar. Neither China nor any other large-population developing country has agreed to forego using coal or any other fossil fuel to achieve rapid economic growth. Today U.S. emissions stand at about 15% of those of the world, and continuing to shrink rapidly as a percentage, even if they remain about steady in absolute terms.

     In short, the effort to make significant reductions in U.S. carbon emissions is completely pointless. …”.

     LikeLike

275. Met Office sarcastically ratioed
     & called out for social engineering
     See how they send out from a tool called Brandwatch

     Have you been doing anything differently or changed your plans in response to our Extreme heat warnings (and forecasts)?

     — Met Office (@metoffice) July 18, 2022

     LikeLike

276. Site rep
     10am ..biked into town and survived
     Of course I did it is hot and dry just like you get on holiday in Spain, Turkey Australia etc.
     Managed to drink a coffee outside , even though my friends had picked the side of the street out of the shade.
     People were walking about ..most recklessly not wearing hats
     The shady side of the street was bearable
     On the road the sun was intense
     but as ever with this event the wind shot up as well.
     The tarpaulin over the patio door is flapping wildly.
     even right up in the air at one point.

     Aldi have pulled down the shutters on their fridges
     seems you can’t buy chilled stuff, though you can buy frozen
     Inside the house it’s 28C it’s OK

     LikeLike

277. Predictably, in the wake of today’s record temperatures, the scientists have been queueing up at the microphone to deliver their ‘I told you so’ speeches. My favourite is from Prof Stephen Belcher. According to the BBC:

     “In a video posted on Twitter, he says if the UK continues with a trajectory of high-emissions we could see temperatures like this every three years…

     …Prof Belcher explains the country is ‘already committed to a level of warming’ and the extremes will get worse in the future. He also calls for the UK to continue with its target to eliminate its overall emissions of greenhouse gases, a target known as ‘net zero’.”

     My God, does this man really believe that each country is responsible for its own warming or does he just want us to believe it? We should just achieve net zero and leave the rest of the world to its fate. But wouldn’t that be a bit selfish?

     LikeLiked by 3 people

278. bbc Look North from Hull
     “We have received a lot of msgs about Global Warming
     here’s a typical one

     “The UK is such a small country it doesn’t matter if we reach Net Zero cos it makes hardly any difference to global emissions”

     That’s the gulf between media people and the public

     LikeLike

279. Latest sit rep : Sudden change in wind from 6pm WNW started to beat East winds and South east winds

     Scunthorpe was below 32C at 7pm , not almost 32
     Scampton has been holding up, maybe it’s sheltered from WNW winds

     LikeLike

280. earlier sit rep : 5pm it was still boiling here
     then by 6 the clouds started to mob the sun
     and temperature suddenly dropped
     the wind too.
     Sun fought back a bit,
     but it was safe to open the southern doors now ..
     oh sun is burning off the clouds a bit

     LikeLike

281. ITV local news we had a 4 minute lecture from John Grant of Sheffield Polytechnic. (Indian of course)

     I had the sound turned down cos I can’t stand his Climate propaganda

     FFS look at the guy he’s round like weeble
     .. doesn’t look after his body well, never mind the planet.

     LikeLike

282. BBC local news started with a lie
     “Coningsby in Lincolnshire is the hottest place in the UK ever EVER !”

     No this country has been tropical before
     He means during modern records not EVER

     LikeLiked by 3 people

283. “Council agrees to support climate change policies”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment at 16.57 yesterday:

     “On the hottest day on record for the UK, members of Cambridgeshire County Council have agreed to sign a declaration calling for climate change to be put at the forefront of the government’s agenda.

     The authority signed the Nature and Climate Declaration, which calls for the UK to proceed further and faster in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

     The declaration was launched in Parliament in May and asks members of the public, elected representatives across all parties and all layers of government to add their names.

     On Tuesday afternoon Cambridge recorded a temperature of 39.9C, breaking its previous record.

     Councillor Lorna Dupré, chair of the council’s Environment and Green Investment committee, said: “Climate change and biodiversity are the two biggest issues of our time and the risks of delayed action are well recognised and severe.””

     The Nature and Climate Declaration can be found here:

     https://www.zerohour.uk/nature_and_climate_declaration

     But back to the story. I particularly liked the accompanying picture, which shows, on “the hottest day on record for the UK” the mayor (I assume he’s the mayor, by the chain of office) attending while wearing a three piece suit.

     LikeLike

284. Oops!!!

     “Why record heat doesn’t mean record solar power”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-62220512

     “The UK’s heatwave is helping to generate large amounts of solar power – but experts say it’s actually too hot for the highest levels of electricity generation.

     Trade body Solar Energy UK says the last few days have seen about 10% of Britain’s electricity come from solar.

     But its chief executive Chris Hewett says: “The heat itself brings down the efficiency of solar panels slightly.

     “So don’t expect to see records set.”…”.

     LikeLike

285. Interesting and thoughtful responses in Guardian letters to yet another over-hyped climate article:

     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/19/government-inertia-is-the-biggest-barrier-to-tackling-climate-crisis

     LikeLike

286. Today was the first day I have been significantly delayed on the roads by Just Stop Oil. Wrong place, wrong time. I wasn’t the only one. See the Evening Standard: Just Stop Oil: Eco activists blockade M25 as they declare it a ‘site of civil resistance’ after heatwave. The BBC didn’t seem to have anything on it when I just looked.

     As a bit of a background check, see if you think one of the JSO leaders was using ‘genocide’ correctly earlier in the month. Ed Balls, formerly of New Labour, didn’t think so. Did the answers he received, if any, convince you even if they didn’t convince Ed?

     (H/t Vinny Burgoo for pointing to that further up.)

     My connections were badly affected but at least I wasn’t being rushed to hospital. Hospital was yesterday, for someone else. They were grateful for my support.

     LikeLike

287. Oh dear:

     “Gloucester City Council urgently seeking a tree officer”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-62235832

     “A council planning to plant more trees to tackle climate change is struggling to fill the job vacancy.

     Gloucester City Council is aiming to achieve net zero emissions across the district by 2045, a target which was brought forward from 2050.

     Currently, the role is being partially covered by existing staff.

     Council leader, Richard Cook, said: “A number of short-term options are being explored whilst the job description is being reviewed.”

     As well as planting trees, the tree officer’s duties would involve checking on the health of trees and responding to concerns over trees in the city.

     A spokesperson from the council said the salary and terms and conditions of the role are competitive, but recruitment is more challenging than usual in the current job market.

     The job description and pay grade evaluation are currently being reviewed, given the lack of interest in the role.

     Councillor Sebastian Field highlighted the importance of filling the vacancy quickly.

     He said: “The issue for us is that the tree team is very busy and has been overwhelmed by tree work and we feel the budget is not big enough to deal with all the tree works in the city.

     “It’s all well and good to plant trees. We desperately need more trees and it’s part of the climate action plan but we also have to maintain the ones we have,” he added.

     The role will be advertised again, and in the meantime, the council has said it is working hard to minimise the impact on service during the recruitment process.”

     LikeLike

288. Are you sure about this? After all, nobody seems much interested in the satellite temperature measurements at Dr Roy
     Spencer’s website that tell us there isn’t much warming currently going on:

     “Satellites will act as thermometers in the sky”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62227866

     “It’s one of the “hottest” tickets in the UK’s space start-up scene today.

     Satellite Vu is attracting a lot of interest with its plans to fly a network of spacecraft to map heat signatures across the planet.

     Such observations have long been made, but not at the resolution (3-4m) and frequency (several times a day) that the London firm is promising.

     This will allow Satellite Vu to map the temperature profiles of individual buildings, offices and factories.

     If you want to know where the most inefficient housing stock is in a city, where energy is being wasted, where you could best target insulation expenditure – the new thermal data-sets will tell you.

     The information could make a significant contribution in helping the country meet its net-zero commitments.”

     LikeLike

289. surprised Ed Balls did speak logically about genocide language

     LikeLike

290. It was only a matter of time, I suppose:

     “Climate emergency is a legacy of colonialism, says Greenpeace UK
     Report says global south has been ‘used as place to dump waste’ and that people of colour are suffering disproportionately”

     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/21/climate-emergency-is-a-legacy-of-colonialism-says-greenpeace-uk

     I thought they must be referring to China, but no – not a single reference. I would have had a look at the report, but the Guardian doesn’t provide a link.

     LikeLike

291. ITV local news plenty of eco bollox
     #5 plug for ITV’s 8:30pm Heatwave doom prog

     #6 BS syndicated item “Urban rewilding, some city people are filling street parking spaces with plant tubs etc.”

     FFS in the last 40 years 50% of front gardens have become 100% concrete
     so these schemes are a drop in the ocean

     =====
     9pm BBC 2 Big Oil vs The World ep 1/3

     LikeLike

292. Stew – that BBC 2 “Big Oil vs The World” prog/series starting tonight, has to be a must watch after reading the titles for each prog from the BBC web plurb –

     “The most important story of our time. Despite climate chaos raging across the planet and urgent warnings from experts, our dependence on fossil fuels persists. How did we get here?

     Denial
     Big Oil v the World Series 1 Episode 1 of 3
     The story of what the fossil fuel industry knew about climate change more than four decades ago.
     Scientists who worked for the biggest oil company in the world, Exxon, reveal the warnings they sounded in the 1970s and early 1980s about how fossil fuels would cause climate change – with potentially catastrophic effects. Drawing on thousands of newly discovered documents, the film goes on to chart in revelatory and forensic detail how the oil industry went on to mount a campaign to sow doubt about the science of climate change, the consequences of which we are living through today.

     Doubt
     Big Oil v the World Series 1 Episode 2 of 3
     Even as the science grew more certain, the oil industry continued to block action to tackle climate change in the new millennium. Release date:21 July 2022 1 hour

     Delay
     Big Oil v the World Series 1 Episode 3 of 3
     How the 2010s became another lost decade in the fight against climate change – as the move to natural gas delayed a transition to more renewable sources of energy. Release date:21 July 2022 1 hour”

     LikeLiked by 1 person

293. In the midst of an energy crisis…:

     “No new gas exploration licences in Manx waters to be issued”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-62253470

     “No new licences for the extraction of hydrocarbons from the Isle of Man’s territorial waters will be issued after Tynwald backed the move….

     …Crogga’s licence to allow seismic surveys, which was originally granted in October 2018, was extended until 2024 in May.

     The firm said gas extraction could create hundreds of millions of pounds per year in revenue for the Manx government.

     However, climate campaigners have said any potential extraction in future would be at odds with the island’s commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050….”

     Because the Isle of Man’s contribution to global man-made GHG emissions is what? 0.01%?

     LikeLike

294. Mark – as a IOM Resident, common sense no longer seems to work when the net-zero climate campaigners shout the loudest.

     I’ve given up trying to point out points you make to people, but they believe the Green Blob & the “experts”

     ps- tried to post a long comment on Stew’s BBC 2 Big Oil vs The World ep 1/3 on tonight. seems to blocked.so a short version.

     that BBC 2 “Big Oil vs The World” prog/series starting tonight, has to be a must watch after reading the titles for each prog from the BBC web plurb

     LikeLike

295. dfhunter,

     Sorry about that – the mysteries of WordPress. I hunted for your comment and found it in Spam. I have no idea why. It’s released now.

     LikeLike

296. While I was visiting Spam, I’ve released a few more comments from jail. WordPress does a great job of filtering stuff out – most of what is in Spam deserves to be there – but regrettably it occasionally puts legitimate comments in the sin bin. No idea why. Apologies again.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

297. What’s Twitter forcing at me now ?
     “Image of Antarctica from space is computer-generated, fact-checkers report”
     (The image that Twitter shows is NOT the image the image they are talking about
     Then when you get to the AFP Fact Check they too don’t show the image
     as if they are afraid )

     Twitter continues A widely-viewed image of Antarctica from space is a computer-generated illustration by NASA, fact-checkers at Reuters and The Associated Press report.
     NASA produced the image based on 2005 data from several types of Earth-observing satellites to show sea ice extent in the Arctic and the Antarctic

     Deep in the article they refer to deniers
     Several Twitter users responded to the post denying the effects of climate change.
     “Don’t see any melting polar cap there, plenty of ice. Global warming? No,” read one such tweet.
     ( that tweet is very minor ..only 212 Likes ..why pick it out ?)

     FFS the original tweet says nothing about Climate
     from an account Astrophotography it just says “Antarctica seen from space!”

     I don’t see why libmob are so scared of this tweet

     Antarctica seen from space! pic.twitter.com/V0AD2LpfiL

     — حيدرة Space 8K (@uhd2020) July 16, 2022

     LikeLike

298. Impartial programme makers make impartial progs
     which get bought by impartial TV schedulers
     And promoted by impartial TV guide pages
     … https://twitter.com/meraulton/status/1550165427627638800

     Here’s the BBC filmmaker and journalist tweeting impartially

     My latest documentary DENIAL, the first part of a new series Big Oil vs the World, will be broadcast tonight on BBC2 at 9pm.

     With this week’s unprecedented heatwave the latest reminder that devastating climate change is already underway, this is the story of how we got here.

     — Jane McMullen (@jane_mcmullen) July 21, 2022

     BBC = #ImpartialMyAss

     LikeLike

299. The series already aired in the US in April
     “The Power of Big Oil is a FRONTLINE Production with Mongoose Pictures in association with BBC and Arte.
     The series producer is Dan Edge”

     LikeLike

300. Twitter now pushes more at me
     “Side-by-side photo comparison can’t determine sea level change, scientists and fact-checkers report”
     . https://www.twitter.com/i/events/1549529161064013826

     It’s not possible to measure sea level rise by comparing two images of the same location side-by-side, experts told Reuters and Snopes. Photos taken at different tides or times will show different sea levels.
     A global rate of sea level rise has been recorded since 1993 by orbiting satellites, an expert told Reuters.

     For a start I think global sea level rise is a bit of guess, cos land sinks seas rise, weather happens

     LikeLiked by 1 person

301. The Reuters item continues
     “A widely shared online post compares images of Sydney Harbour to falsely claim that there has been no sea level rise.

     It is not possible to measure sea level rise just by looking at photos taken at different periods of time, experts told Reuters
     Em it is sometimes if local tides and pressures don’t vary by much
     but in other examples I guess people may mis-lead.

     Snopes tweeted
     1/ We found by conducting a reverse image search that iterations of the same meme have been shared online since at least 2018. To draw such a conclusion from a photo comparison is erroneous.

     They then gives some maths with work out to be 7.5cm every 100 years
     .. which is so small you would expect photos to look the same anyway

     LikeLike

302. Stew –
     Jane McMullen @jane_mcmullen – says
     “And of course the doc couldn’t have been made without the efforts of a remarkably talented & hard-working team – brilliant editing, music score, cinematography among everything else.

     I’m immensely proud of it. Please watch and share your comments!”

     watched EP1 – nothing new – but no mention of coal for some reason ?

     LikeLiked by 1 person

303. Well I never. The Guardian informs me (front-page story) that the oil industry has made profits of $3bn per day over the past 50 years. Since I worked for two companies (both now swallowed by BP) I must be complicit.
     I am told that this profit was completely unearned and the profits were used to influence policy by outright bribery. The reader is led to believe that the likes of BP and Exxon Mobil are pits of wrong-doing. At one point it is acknowledged that part of the profits go to governments as royalties but no mention of taxes.
     Neither is there mention of the fact that Big Oil is not the major player in oil exploration. That position is occupied by national oil companies, as in Russia and Saudi Arabia. These in their country of origin do not have to compete for licences to operate, nor do they pay royalties of any description. So much of the $3bn per day goes directly into the coffers of oil-rich nations and does not have to pass Go.
     A Professor Aviel Verbruggen is apparently responsible for this bilge and apparently is unable to read and understand what profit is. Apparently any monies received from the sale of a product that is not used to produce the product (costs) represent unearned profit, that is if were obtained by the evil oil industry. If it is obtained by any other organisation then it’s legitimate.
     When I taught my fossil fuels module at UEA one of my initial tasks was to dispel the notion that oil companies were unduly rich. Big companies were profitable but not unreasonably so. Comparison of returns on investment revealed they came well down the track and many other industries were far more profitable. So much for earning $3bn per day.

     LikeLiked by 2 people

304. Forgot to add that the Guardian article makes no mention of profits made by Big Oil in refining crude oils (those produced by their own companies as well as those produced by others), the sale of by-products (everything from aspirin to kerosene) and distribution. I haven’t seen a breakdown recently but I believe these profits exceeded those from prospecting. Wonder if Professor Verbruggen included those in the unearned category?

     LikeLike

305. Fact checkers are scoring points
     by pointing out that sceptics are tweeting Red v green weather maps that are photohopped or misleading

     eg ..https://www.twitter.com/WelshBrendan2/status/1550319670720331776
     Note how he says new accounts are spreading sceptic messages
     I have never noticed that, but I did jut bump into a new account jumping in to spread the alarmist narrative

     LikeLiked by 1 person

306. “brilliant editing”
     FFS that is the #1 technique for creating misleading narratives

     LikeLike

307. Alan K: No doubt that article was published to coincide with the Beeb’s programme.
     I have absolutely no desire to read/watch either because of their obvious, overwhelming, ignorant bias.

     Out of curiosity, was there any mention of the real big boys in the oil game?
     Iirc, Exxon is only No 7, behind the national oil companies of Saudi, Iran, Iraq, Russia, a couple of Chinese concerns, etc..

     I have a fervent wish to see some fight back. If only the industry would fight its corner a bit, highlighting the multitude of ways it enables our modern society. If only……

     It’s beyond ironic that they lambast the “profits” of companies which are essential to modern civilisation without (I assume) any mention of the much higher returns of Apple, social media companies, etc.. We could live quite happily – maybe more so – without Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, et al.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

308. MikeHig. As I wrote there was absolutely no mention of the national oil companies (= your big boys). I also pointed out that other industries (and you specifically identify social media companies) give much higher returns on investment.

     You are probably correct in your surmise that the timing of BBC’s programme about Big Oil and the Guardian’s article attacking Big Oil are linked. If so, I wonder what the Guardian has stored away for the BBC programmes 2and 3?

     LikeLike

309. This one’s for dfhunter:

     “Isle of Man’s latest climate change targets revealed”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-62270392

     “Phasing out gas boilers and harnessing more renewable energy sources are among the Isle of Man’s updated plans to tackle climate change.

     The Isle of Man Climate Change Plan 2022-2027 was outlined by the chief minister in Tynwald this week.

     Alfred Cannan told members that despite previous efforts current emissions were “as high today as they have ever been”….”.

     That’s going well then! As for “tackling climate change” – who do they think they’re kidding?

     LikeLike

310. “Climate activists in Italy glue themselves to Botticelli painting
     Members of Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) attach themselves to frame’s glass to protest without damaging artwork”

     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/22/climate-activists-in-italy-glue-themselves-to-botticelli-painting

     “…Ultima Generazione has been taking action in Italy since December, with an initial set of actions blocking roads around Rome, Italy’s capital.

     It is one of a number of activist groups that have sprung up around Europe and in Canada and Australia inspired by the tactics of Insulate Britain, whose roadblock protests around London and south-east England caused massive disruption and spurred a national conversation about climate change and home insulation.

     Like Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil, Ultima Generazione has received funding from the US-based Climate Emergency Fund, a philanthropic fund set up to channel money to direct action groups.”.

     And they talk about “Big Oil”….

     LikeLike

311. Local council tourism dept tweets
     Join Team Lincolnshire at their next webinar focused on Humber Zero
     – a project dedicated to enhancing a thriving community
     and to significantly reducing levels of greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere!
     All that is PR words which bears little connection to the real world
     The tweet got ZERO likes , and was retweeted 1 time … and that wa by one of their own departmests

     https://www.businesslincolnshire.com/events/event-details/?id=3988

     LikeLike

312. The BBC’s at it again:

     “The audacious PR plot that seeded doubt about climate change”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62225696

     Any chance they’ll provide us with an analysis of the audacious plot that was 28Gate?

     LikeLiked by 1 person

313. Alan K: Apologies – I should have made my comments specific to the TV prog.
     I suspect a lot of sharing and sources-in-common goes on between the two organisations. Someone with a strong stomach might be able to tell us after the next episode/edition. Not for me.

     LikeLike

314. “Texas wind turbine catches fire after lightning strike”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-62276831

     “A wind turbine has been destroyed by flames after a lightning strike in Crowell, Texas.

     The huge structure continued rotating as it burned.”

     At least they’re not (yet) blaming it on climate change.

     LikeLike

315. MikeHig, I have recorded the first programme of the BBC’s Big Oil trilogy, but haven’t had the stomach to view it yet. I suppose it’s busy eating away at my recording device.

     LikeLike

316. “China braces for ‘big heat’ day with temperatures set to soar
     Readings above 40C expected on Saturday with some cities at highest alert level and warnings of dam failures due to melting glaciers”

     https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/23/china-braces-for-big-heat-day-with-temperatures-set-to-soar

     But:

     “The highest-ever recorded temperature in China is a matter of debate. According to Chinese media, the hottest period in the past 300 years was in July 1743 during the Qing dynasty, with a French missionary in Beijing said to have recorded an all-time high of 44.4C.”

     LikeLike

317. Oh dear, oh dear:

     “These soaring temperatures have given Britain a taste of the dystopia to come
     Sophie Mackintosh
     With wildfires, railway tracks buckling and tarmac melting, it’s no longer possible to ignore how broken the world is”

     https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/23/temperatures-britain-dystopia-wildfires-railway

     “…Though I have lived with the background thrum of climate change my whole life, I can still remember what it meant to not be conscious of how we have broken the world. Was it because I was young, and now I am no longer so young? Is it that the world really was less broken, and now it seems irretrievably so? I don’t want to look too closely at the possibility that these are the last recognisable days, that we are always only a fraying thread away from the last recognisable days. That we don’t know when this thread will snap.

     So I rinse my reusable water bottle. I put the plastic in the recycling, and then I sit in my garden and think beautiful day and then I feel guilty for thinking it, and then I think I will remember this. I will remember the last beautiful days. A grief of unexpected depth hits me, and anger too, because this grief is passive. Mourning is too close to throwing my hands up and looking dully at the death of the world as we know it, rather than fighting for it. …”.

     LikeLike

318. Picture this:

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-62282858

     I’m thinking of gluing myself to a XR protester in protest.

     LikeLike

319. 4:22pm bbcNewsPR channel
     Look how Naughtie plays the part of the straight man, lining up Kerry so he can read off his autocue

     Beeboid presenter “the u.s. special envoy for climate says the world is not moving fast enough to tackle a growing climate *crisis*
     speaking to the BBC Jim Naughtie, senator John Kerry has said Biden is considering whether to announce a climate emergency, to give him additional powers to push his renewable energy agenda”

     Kerry “We are moving forward but we are not making enough progress, and we are not moving fast enough.
     So we are behind where we need to be to avoid the worst consequences of the climate CRISIS.
     And I think everybody in Europe, the US and around the world people are feeling the early parts of those consequences.
     Hopefully can turn this around and and and accelerate what we promised to do in Glasgow”

     Naughtie “It’s interesting because that requires in industrialised nations courage in governments, doesn’t it ?
     cos it sometimes means giving quite a tough message
     .. saying look the benefits it’s of this will not be felt for sometime”
     (Well that’s a tough question …NOT
     .. He’s merely feeding him a line )

     Kerry “Historically responsible governments have moved to try to reduce pollution & protect their citizens.
     We need to do that now and that’s a benefit,
     that’s a benefit now !
     the JOBS are benefits now !
     The fastest growing job in the US in the last 2 years is wind turbin technician” ( yeah yeah)
     “third fastest growing job solar panel installer.
     Most countries could significantly grow their renewable energy base, it’s their grid more effectively *, provide cleaRer energy (he’s misread the autocue, cleaner he means)
     and less expensive energy ** for their citizens
     , is less damaging consequences at the same time”
     (* Hogwash renewables cause huge problems for GRID balancing
     plus renewables are more expensive, that is why they need the range of special subsidies
     Renewables have plenty of damaging consequences lots of material has to be mined lots of ocean beds have to be exploded etc)

     James Naughtie “also with China and India, now you spend a lot of time talking to those two Nations, you know that they GET the effects of climate change
     .. it’s got to do with water for example, irrigation.
     Yet you know that there are policies are antithetical to what needs to be done”
     (That’s BBC giving an *opinion*, NOT being impartial)
     .. how fast do you think they are likely to increase their pace, cos if they don’t, we are all going to fall behind (BBC opinion again !)

     JK “It’s not just China and India, it’s all of the top 20 countries, that equal 80% of all the emissions, they all have to do more.
     China has a new plan they put in place.
     We think they could do more, we’d like to see them transition off coal faster, possible. I think there are ways to make that happen.
     India has set the goal of deploying 500 GW… that’s a lot of energy. (no that’s ZERO energy, because gigawatts is a measure of capacity not productivity)
     , in the next 8 years to meet their obligation
     and they are deploying very rapidly they are working very hard at this”
     ..beeboid “that was John Kerry speaking on Radio 4 the World this Weekend”

     BTW note the way the piece is carefully polish edited
     as if it’s an advert, which of course it is.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

320. Stew,

     As I have said before, the most depressing aspect of all of this de-carbonization is the death of democracy as we know it:

     “Biden could declare climate emergency – Kerry”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-62284378

     On second thoughts, perhaps it is the death of a basic respect for the truth, as the necessary precursor to the death of democracy (Ref. everything Kerry said in his interview with Naughtie.)

     LikeLike

321. On the day that Extinction Rebellion were warning of the dangers of drought in Glasgow, 30 miles away at Loch Lomond, campers were being rescued after torrential rain.https://t.co/w0bQr10Jd6

     — Bishop Hill (@aDissentient) July 24, 2022

     LikeLiked by 1 person

322. “Britain forced to beg Belgium for power to keep the lights on
     National Grid issued emergency appeal to avoid blackout last week”

     https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/07/24/britain-forced-beg-belgium-power-keep-lights/

     I bet we don’t learn about that any time on the BBC or at the Guardian.

     LikeLike

323. Very sad stories, and sickening that the Guardian milks them to fuel (pardon the pun) its climate chaos narrative:

     “‘It destroyed 20 years of memories’: Yorkshire family devastated by heatwave fire
     Residents near Sheffield lost all their possessions when houses were ignited by wildfires on UK’s hottest day”

     https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/24/it-destroyed-20-years-of-memories-yorkshire-family-devastated-by-heatwave-fire

     The cause of the fire is not explained – it’s just implicitly linked to great heat. Yet:

     “But on that day, local fire services were under such demand from multiple fires across the county – including one that razed six homes in Barnsley and another that destroyed four homes in Maltby, near Rotherham – that it took nearly an hour for a fire engine to arrive.”

     And we DO know what caused the fire that tragically razed 6 homes in Barnsley:

     “South Yorkshire major incident: Fire guts homes in Barnsley, Kiveton Park and Maltby”

     https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2022-07-19/homes-destroyed-by-fire-on-dark-day-for-south-yorkshire

     “What caused the devastating fire that destroyed homes on Woodland Drive in Barnsley?”

     https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2022-07-21/investigators-confirm-cause-of-fire-that-reduced-houses-to-ashes

     “…A number of properties on Woodland Drive were engulfed in flames as the UK endured its hottest day on record, on Tuesday, 19 July.

     Five properties were destroyed.

     A joint investigation by South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has not concluded, but they say the incident is not believed to have been deliberate.

     A spokesperson said: “The fire is thought to have started in a garden shed and was electrical in origin. Our thoughts are with all those residents affected by this fire.”

     …”.

     LikeLike

324. “Why our infrastructure is falling apart
     Britain’s elites have given up on building for the future.”

     https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/07/24/why-our-infrastructure-is-falling-apart/

     “…This long-term under-investment comes at huge costs. Every year Britain experiences damaging floods, destroying many more homes and small businesses than were lost in this week’s fires. Yet still, we prefer sandbags to proper flood defences. In energy, our predilection for wind power leaves the country in the lurch whenever the air is static, as it was this week.

     There’s a typical pattern here. The dogmas of sustainability and Net Zero are so prevalent that new infrastructure, from housing to power plants, is viewed primarily with suspicion. Far more political energy goes into stopping projects in their tracks than into building what we need for the future. And so we’re not building new roads or new towns. We’re not building new airports – even the odd runway seems impossible to get off the ground.

     Instead of building new infrastructure, officialdom prefers to manage consumer demand. It wants us to use bikes instead of cars, to work from home, to save (ie, ration) our energy use. Bodies like the National Infrastructure Commission – with its horribly misleading strapline, ‘Better infrastructure for all’ – spend their time inventing ways to keep us off the roads. A recent report, for instance, recommends bringing congestion charges to more cities, alongside electronic road pricing and other forms of ‘demand management’.

     So what can we do to turn things around? Of course, decades of under-investment will need to be made up for. But this is primarily a political problem. The most important step is to challenge the miserabilist mindset that gives rise to Net Zero and to those calls for us to manage our demand and ration our use of infrastructure. Instead of modifying our lifestyles to accommodate the limits of our crumbling roads, railways and grid, we need quality infrastructure that meets our needs and aspirations.”

     LikeLike

325. John/the Beeb:

     “Biden could declare climate emergency – Kerry”

     That’s what they’ve been building up to. But they’re not sure they can get away with it.

     Still too much truth lurking. It’s a problem. Slealth Bit Rot has been tried but…

     They are cowards, like all those who deliberately lose contact with truth.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

326. “BBC’s first Green Sport Awards” .. isn’t that POLITICAL ?
     Seems #GreenSupremacist

     Woman’s Hour blurb
     The vegan stock car racing driver Leilani Münter, Lynne O’Donnell, Abortion stories

     image : Award winner Leilani Münter uses her stock race car to share environmental messages

     The BBC’s first Green Sport Awards has announced the winner of its Evergreen Award.
     Leilani Münter is an American *former* professional stock car racing driver whose environmental activism has been central to her career.
     Leilani used her race car as “a 200mph billboard” to get environmental messages in front of the 75 million race fans in the USA.
     .
     After writing articles on forced child marriage and LGBT people Lynne O’Donnell says she was detained, abused and threatened by the Taliban.
     They made her tweet a forced confession that she had lied in these articles
     .
     Following the overturning of Roe V Wade in the US more women have talked about having had an abortion but many never speak openly about their experiences. In a series first broadcast in 2019 we hear five different personal testimonies from women
     … #bbcObsessedWithAmerica

     LikeLike

327. The Green racing car driver award is merely PR for the real awards in October

     BBC article
     Leilani Münter: *Former* racing driver wins BBC’s Evergreen *Athlete* Award
     By David Lockwood
     https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/motorsport/62263116
     
     The announcement comes before the main awards programme to be aired in October, for which you can nominate sports organisations you think are raising awareness or reducing their impact

     “Former racing driver wins BBC’s Evergreen Athlete Award”

     So *former* racing drivers are now *athletes* ?

     LikeLiked by 1 person

328. More from the BBC, just asking questions:

     “Is hay fever getting worse in the UK?”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61823683

     Needless to say, it is just one of those links that when you click on it a ‘climate crisis’ virus is downloaded onto your computer. The highlight for me was:

     “Pollen potency is not currently being monitored in the UK, but the Met Office says climate change could be making it more intense.”

     Yep, that’s how science works. When faced with the option of measuring something or just speculating, go for speculation every time.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

329. Look, look, we’re saved…

     Unlimited green hydrogen from wind power…

     http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2022/07/flying-catamaran-demonstrates-generating-hydrogen-from-wind-power/

     What could possibly go wrong?

     Apart from it being totally insane?

     LikeLiked by 1 person

330. R4 coming up
     ” Should we not be encouraging people to install hydrogen ready boilers?
     The current government favourite is the heat pump and there is a subsidy available to help you fit one. But are heat pumps the answer?”

     LikeLike

331. Exciting news from XR’s birthplace:

     Rural crime officers attended a #SwanHandling course this week at @WWTSlimbridge .

     So if we get called to incidents of #swans in the road we can handle them correctly 🌳@CotswoldsPolice @ForestPolice @glospol_rural #RuralCrime pic.twitter.com/V26oH6EvSM

     — Stroud Police (@StroudPolice) July 21, 2022

     Next week Stroud’s policepersons will be doing a #GoatStroking course run by XR co-founder Simon Bramwell.

     (Top tip for Stroudie swans: Glue yourselves to a road. The cops won’t come anywhere near you.)

     LikeLike

332. Where’s the threat to democracy coming from? (Part 2)

     John Kerry wants the UK to have power cuts.

     Madmanhttps://t.co/jqxDXrxGgS

     — Bishop Hill (@aDissentient) July 25, 2022

     LikeLike

333. The climate crisis is a terrible thing:

     “Prices fall as UK heatwave produces glut of soft fruit
     Yields of cherries, strawberries and blueberries could more than double on the same time last year”

     https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/22/prices-fall-as-uk-heatwave-produces-glut-of-soft-fruit

     “The UK heatwave has produced a glut in strawberry, cherry and blueberry harvests prompting a wave of discounts in stores and lower prices for British farmers.

     Strawberry farmers said they were picking as much as 30% more fruit than usual, and blueberry growers at least 50% more this week as temperatures topped 40C on Tuesday in some parts of England. Yields are expected to be double that of the same week last year in the week ahead. Blackberry harvests are expected to be up 80% on the same time last year this week according to the British Berry Growers association….

     …Strawberry grower Alastair Brooks, managing director of Langdon Manor Farm near Faversham in Kent, said: “It has been the most tremendous year for soft fruit with lots of sunshine….”.

     LikeLike

334. I checked Twitter ..there was zero response from what she actually said on air
     Rather just praise tweets from her minor gang of supporters like green NGOs

     LikeLike

335. This should really help.

     Keir Starmer has used a speech in Liverpool to say he would make Net Zero essential to his economic plan if in government. It seems Starmer’s plan to win back the working class is to make them poorer and colder. #CostOfNetZero

     Read more: https://t.co/rNMhs670oo pic.twitter.com/gvFxP7lMp5

     — Net Zero Watch (@NetZeroWatch) July 25, 2022

     LikeLike

336. Well, that’s my period of not voting Labour just getting a bit longer.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

337. “Justin Trudeau and the dangers of eco-posturing
     The Western elites’ war on modern farming is a menace to humankind.”

     https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/07/26/justin-trudeau-and-the-dangers-of-eco-posturing/

     “Let’s be frank about what is happening here. Food production, people’s very ability to sustain themselves, is potentially being sacrificed to the feelgood eco-posturing of Western elites. The narcissistic glow that Trudeau and others feel as they puff themselves up as carbon-cutting, nitrogen-slashing saviours of the planet apparently takes precedence over the right of Canadian people and people around the world to enjoy access to good, relatively cheap food. This is how lethal virtue-signalling can be: the political and media elites become so wrapped up in themselves, so concerned with advertising their woke credentials to the world, that they lose sight of the need to keep society functioning. Even the production of food, the most basic source of life, must play second fiddle to their eco-strutting.”

     LikeLike

338. From a maritime news site:
     “A new report found that more than 75% of ships will not meet the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) new Environmental social and corporate governance (ESG) index aimed at decarbonizing the industry. This means that many ship owners will be forced to slow ships down to reduce emissions but doing so could deepen the global food and energy crisis by reducing available ship capacity.”
     Another business sector being made less efficient and more costly: where will it stop? It’s getting more like “Atlas Shrugged” all the time!
     Full article:
     https://gcaptain.com/shippings-new-esg-rules-could-starve-millions/?subscriber=true&goal=0_f50174ef03-c15416dad7-170410014&mc_cid=c15416dad7&mc_eid=9275323244

     LikeLiked by 2 people

339. I reckon their are health BENEFITS of heat waves
     eg fatties sweating off their weight etc.

     LikeLike

340. California Tesla drivers being asked to restrict charging
     .. https://twitter.com/TaraMar42o/status/1551665715735920641

     LikeLike

341. I have actually met and talked to this guy for a long time.
     My impression was wow this guy is an Oxford doctrate yet when it comes to climate he doesn’t know what he is talking about and is a weak debater, a guy caught up in the cult.
     It was no surprise a few years ago that his Conspiracy Theorist paper fell apart on close examination

     …and don't for one hot minute (no pun intended) let these #ClimateScam half-wits flatter themselves by calling themselves skeptics; they are nothing but utterly denialists, the very antithesis of critical thinking… pic.twitter.com/uLYb8P6lVd

     — Dr David Robert Grimes (@drg1985) July 26, 2022

     LikeLiked by 1 person

342. Behind a paywall, unfortunately: (Edit by StewGreen, It opens in incognito mode
     Or try the archive https://archive.ph/jo8py )

     “Heat pump roll out in doubt as only a tiny proportion apply for grants
     Critics warn cost of living crisis risks deterring even more households from replacing boilers”

     https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/07/26/heat-pump-roll-doubt-tiny-proportion-apply-grants/

     LikeLiked by 1 person

343. A huge counter to when they say
     “Those guys are just amateur sceptics, not PROPER journalists like at the BBC”
     in exposing a crooked writer about serial killers, the sceptics thrashed the media establishment.
     Media people are so caught up in narrative-land they lose track
     so they are not #Based in the real world.

     I just found out this amazing tale of Stéphane Bourgoin an acclaimed writer about serial killers
     He was a complete bullsh!tter,
     but the media just went along with what he said for years.

     Only when a group of amateur sceptics came in was he completely exposed.
     https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/04/11/the-unravelling-of-an-expert-on-serial-killers

     Turns out he really did research serial killers and interview them sometimes
     Typically serial killers often live in fantasy worlds
     and Stéphane Bourgoin had a similar personality so he could relate to them.
     Journos too get caught up in pushing the story that is INTERESTING rather than truthful
     so they played along when basically they must have known he was often lying.

     LikeLike

344. Has anyone explored the Facebook “workers’ re-education page” that you get taken too if you click the Climate alert logo it prominently attaches to people’s posts if they dare to post about climate ?
     .. https://www.facebook.com/climatescienceinfo/

     Link to biggest comments on Twitter about it Mostly them promoting it

     LikeLike

345. Now I’m looking at Facebook’s page Fact checking Green vs Red weather maps
     Fact Checking = fact-spinning
     Look at the AFP non-impartial spin

     AFP Fact Check 19th July *6 Likes*
     Climate-change **deniers ** on social media
     have a viral way of spreading scepticism during a heatwave
     : by publishing weather maps *out of context*
     to imply forecasters are exaggerating the impact of global warming.
     https://news.yahoo.com/climate-deniers-sow-weather-map-181608639.html

     AFP Fact Check 10th July *7 Likes*
     🇸🇪 These maps were produced years apart by separate Swedish media organizations, which use different colour codes for their weather reports.
     Posts falsely claimed that forecasters made the more recent one red to exaggerate climate change.

     Someone sceptic comments after being reprimanded for posting claims about Met Office maps

     Read the fact check for a laugh.
     It resorts to the BoM manager claiming that he does color his maps for THE COLOR BLIND because he is too [WHAT? So all normal sighted people understand this do they?].

     Then the checkers refer to increased extreme events as proof of climate change
     – I wonder if they would care to offer proof of this because stats on extreme events say the opposite.
     We haven’t bothered to waste our time replying to facebook or the fact checkers.
     https://www.logically.ai/factchecks/library/740397c6

     Em to make maps better for the colour blind they put in more red and green !!

     LikeLike

346. Top comment
     #1 Boris has committed the nation to a pie-in-the-sky programme without really understanding the technologies involved.

     #2 “A modern gas boiler is 95% efficient. ” So switches ro a heatpump that uses a lot of electricity heats the planet cos of all the loss in the power station and transmission

     LikeLiked by 1 person

347. “One of the smallest problems in the world”

     In answer to her question, though. Yes, I understand the 'scale of the climate crisis' very well.

     On its advocates' own claims, it's one of the smallest problems in the world.

     I produced this table from WHO data in 2008. Since then, mortality risks from climate change halved. pic.twitter.com/VU2EIrI20Y

     — Ben Pile (@clim8resistance) July 27, 2022

     LikeLike

348. Stew,

     I find it particularly annoying that fact checkers are claiming to have debunked those who accuse weather reporters of increasingly using visual prompts to accentuate temperature. Firstly, the scale used to relate vivid hues to temperature has been recently changed by the Met Office. That much is evident when comparing the weather map examples that were offered by the Met itself when it explained the adoption of palettes that avoid the colour blindness problem. Secondly, contrary to the assertions made by the fact checkers, it is perfectly valid to compare old, green maps that represented terrain to those that now carry thermal maps. The point is that the old representation did not use colour to generate an emotional response but the modern use of thermal maps does. That’s the whole point. No one is saying that thermal maps have been doctored since the days they were green.

     LikeLike

349. “BBC criticised over climate question in Tory leadership debate
     Campaigners say question about individual action was irresponsible and too little time was spent on subject”

     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/27/bbc-criticised-over-climate-question-in-tory-leadership-debate

     Predictably the criticism was from the usual suspects, and although there is an argument that criticism is due, the critics criticise for the wrong reasons.

     “Just one question on the environment was asked in the debate, and it put the onus on individuals rather than leaders to act on the climate.

     The candidates were asked: “What three things should people change in their lives to help tackle climate change faster?” Rishi Sunak put the emphasis on recycling while Liz Truss extolled the virtues of green technology.

     In a letter, campaigners including the Springwatch presenter Chris Packham said this question was “completely irresponsible” as it focused “on individual action rather than governmental action, when the purpose of the debate was to test the candidates’ credentials for being the next prime minister”.

     The letter, also signed by the World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace and Green Alliance, said: “The purpose of a leaders’ debate is to interrogate our future prime minister on their policy positions for vital issues so the public can make an informed choice about which candidate will do the best job for their country. This question failed to provide them with those answers.

     “For this to happen at a time when the cost of living is driving millions into poverty, largely driven by fossil fuel prices and rising energy bills, is unacceptable.”…”.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

350. James Lovelock: Influential green thinker dies aged 103
     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62322575

     “British scientist James Lovelock, who devoted his life to the global green movement, has died on his 103rd birthday, his family has said.
     His 1960s Gaia theory Earth, from rocks to air, was one huge interconnected and self-regulating system formed the basis of much of climate science.
     And he had warned climate change could be a tipping point for the planet.
     But his support for nuclear energy and for fracking attracted criticism from other environmentalists.”

     LikeLiked by 1 person

351. I am saddened by the death of James Lovelock. I met him at UEA meetings during the late 80’s early 90’s and had many long discussions with him. The Environmental Science School had regular day-long meetings where worthies such as JL were invited. The endeavours of the School were trotted out as well as plans for the future. The guest worthies were then asked for their comments. I recall only one worthwhile comment which was to stop having the meetings because all we were doing was telling our competitors our plans.
     Anyway, I had many pleasant conversations with JL during coffee and lunch breaks on matters divers ranging from growing apples, the delights of living in California to recent weather. I had not seen him for many decades, but talking to such a pleasant and erudite man was memorable. I think the world a poorer place without him in it.

     LikeLiked by 2 people

352. “Tree planting: Farmers say Welsh government wastes land”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-62320805

     “Good agricultural land is wasted in Wales to plant trees to tackle climate change, some farmers claim.

     Last year the Welsh government bought 27 acres of land on Anglesey, after previously saying it would not do so at the expense of farmers.

     Two farmers who also bid for the land said they lost out to an offer they called “way above market value”.

     The Welsh government said that a “fair market value” is offered whenever it purchases land.

     Jac Williams, 28, farms land near Llanddeiniolen in Gwynedd, and was one of those who put in a bid last year to buy Anglesey land at Tyn Mynydd near Menai Bridge so that he could expand his stock.

     After losing in a sealed auction, he found out that the Welsh Government had bought the land, in order to grow trees on it instead….”.

     LikeLike

353. The New Scientist thinks it knows better than Lovelock. I don’t think so.

     Unfortunately, we now know our planet is less robustly stable than Gaia implies. But the idea remains influential. https://t.co/D4HSxmoYg7 pic.twitter.com/vyOojGSSXK

     — New Scientist (@newscientist) July 27, 2022

     LikeLike

354. This is worth quoting in full. Lovelock as recorded by the Guardian in March 2010:

     On climate sceptics:

     We’re very tribal. You’re either a goodie or a baddie. I’ve got quite a few friends among the sceptics, as well as among the “angels” of climate science. I’ve got more angels as friends than sceptics, I have to say, but there are some sceptics that I fully respect. Nigel Lawson is one. He writes sensibly and well. He raises questions. I find him an interesting sceptic. What I like about sceptics is that in good science you need critics that make you think: “Crumbs, have I made a mistake here?” If you don’t have that continuously, you really are up the creek. The good sceptics have done a good service, but some of the mad ones I think have not done anyone any favours. Some of them, of course, are corrupted and employed by oil companies and things like that. Some even work for governments. For example, I wouldn’t put it past the Russians to be behind some of the disinformation to help further their energy interests. But you need sceptics especially when the science gets very big and monolithic.

     I respect their right to be sceptics. Nigel Lawson is an easy person to talk to. He’s more like a defence counsel for the sceptics than a right-winger banging the drum. His book is not a diatribe or polemic. He tries to reason his case.

     There is one sceptic that everyone should read and that is Garth Paltridge. He’s written a book called the Climate Caper. It is a devastating, critical book. It is so good. This impresses me a lot. Like me, he’s convinced that if you put a trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which we will have done in 20 years’ time, it’s going to have some nasty effects, but what we don’t know if how nasty and when. If you look back on climate history it sometimes took anything up to 1,000 years before a change in one of the variables kicked in and had an effect. And during those 1,000 years the temperature could have gone in the other direction to what you thought it should have done. What right have the scientists with their models to say that in 2100 the temperature will have risen by 5C? There are plenty of incidences where something turns on the heat, but temperatures actually go down perversely, before eventually going up. A cold winter may mean nothing, as could 10 cold winters in a row. The great climate science centres around the world are more than well aware how weak their science is. If you talk to them privately they’re scared stiff of the fact that they don’t really know what the clouds and the aerosols are doing. They could be absolutely running the show. We haven’t got the physics worked out yet. One of the chiefs once said to me that he agreed that they should include the biology in their models, but he said they hadn’t got the physics right yet and it would be five years before they do. So why on earth are the politicians spending a fortune of our money when we can least afford it on doing things to prevent events 50 years from now? They’ve employed scientists to tell them what they want to hear. The Germans and the Danes are making a fortune out of renewable energy. I’m puzzled why politicians are not a bit more pragmatic about all this. We do need scepticism about the predictions about what will happen to the climate in 50 years, or whatever. It’s almost naive, scientifically speaking, to think we can give relatively accurate predictions for future climate. There are so many unknowns that it’s wrong to do it.

     That’s Leo Hickman’s account with headline James Lovelock on the value of sceptics and why Copenhagen was doomed. Those were the days, huh? This should have been required reading for Greta and many others.

     LikeLiked by 2 people

355. >”The Germans and the Danes are making a fortune out of renewable energy.”

     That may have been how it looked back in 2010 but I think the Chinese had other ideas. Still, I agree with most of what Lovelock said. I too found Lawson’s book to be much more temperate than is made out.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

356. John: Yeah things like that do date it rather. But the general point about western politicians not being anything like pragmatic enough is even more true now. Well, maybe until Putin forced everyone’s hand.

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357. Ben Pile showing his compassionate side.

     Just four thousands pounds of your family's household after tax income each year could help Dale Vince or Greg Jackson expand their subsidy-driven empires. Please help an eco-tycoon today, and sacrifice your warmth, food, and children's opportunities for the greater good.

     — Ben Pile (@clim8resistance) July 28, 2022

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358. BBC R4 is very DIVERSE CONFORMIST

     4:30pm Science Show : Special episode “Reflecting on the unprecedented heatwave last week” that proves Climate Change
     Gaia Vince talk with Simon Evans from the Greenblob PR outfit Carbon Pants

     6:30pm Carbon Lifeforms
     A new comedy that dangles (think: Emission Impossible) itself over the climate crisis.
     … em what Climate Crisis
     99% of weather is pretty much the same as always

     8pm The Briefing Room
     David Aaronovitch and panel Reflecting on the unprecedented heatwave last week that proves Climate Change

     LikeLiked by 2 people

359. A taste of things to come in net zero Britain?

     “Cold showers as German city of Hanover reacts to Russian gas crisis”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62335911

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360. “Farmers in Republic of Ireland to be asked to cut emissions by 25%”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62340149

     “Farmers in the Republic of Ireland are to be asked to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030.

     The compromise reduction target for the agriculture sector comes after negotiations between the three party leaders in the governing coalition.

     The Irish government’s climate action plan had pledged carbon emission reduction cuts of between 22% and 30%.

     The Green Party had been pushing for the higher targets but rural TDs (MPs) pushed for the lower end.

     An agreement was formally signed off by the cabinet on Thursday.”

     Astonishingly:

     “The deal has faced criticism from a number of opposition parties who say it does not go far enough.”

     Does Dutch news not reach Ireland?

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361. “Climate change film to feature in cultural festival”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment

     at 5.30pm today:

     “Events for the Birmingham 2022 Festival will be continuing alongside and after the Commonwealth Games.

     The six-month cultural event began in March and is due to conclude in September with the aim of celebrating creativity in the city and West Midlands.

     Among the events will be the showing of a film about the effects of climate change on women in 15 Commonwealth nations.

     “The Migration Blanket – Climate Solidarity” film project features 150 young refugee and marginalised women and shows how climate change is affecting their lives, producers said.

     “People are going hungry in Nairobi because of climate change,” one contributor, Huda, a student in Kenya, said.

     The film features more than 400 pieces of handmade artwork from the women and climate activists and will be show at various festival sites from 28 July.”

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362. Great graph from the Met Office State of the climate report, which confirms that wind speeds continue to decline, thus contradicting their years of scaremongering about storms. Also, a bit daft that we are pinning our hopes on windfarms,you might say. https://t.co/51YyDaQ7bb pic.twitter.com/jL334ZlOtt

     — Bishop Hill (@aDissentient) July 28, 2022

     LikeLiked by 1 person

363. 9pm BBC2 series Big Oil vs the world

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364. UK Column’s piece against FullFact
     https://www.ukcolumn.org/article/faux-facts-disturbing-truth-about-fullfactorg

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365. “Norfolk County Council rules out climate emergency declaration”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-62346802

     But it’s all right, because:

     “North Norfolk District Council has declared a climate emergency. The council’s portfolio holder for environment Nigel Lloyd said: “Declaring a climate emergency actually sends a really powerful message to our residents to say we are actually tackling this, we are making it an issue, we believe the science and we believe the reports done by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”

     Mr Lloyd said they started off by creating a charter for residents, planting 70,000 trees already with 40,000 more to come this season, installing electric vehicle charging points and supporting residents on how they can do their bit.”

     Did anyone ask Mr Lloyd what difference he believes this will make to the global climate?

     LikeLiked by 1 person

366. That didn’t take long:

     “Climate change: Republic of Ireland emission cuts ‘problematic”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62345055

     In a sane world, the use of the word “problematic” would indicate something along the lines of them being ridiculous, devastating for the Irish farming sector, and pointless as they won’t make the slightest difference to the global climate. But that’s apparently not what “problematic” means:

     “Sectoral targets agreed by the Irish cabinet are “problematic” and not consistent with the Climate Act, the chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council has said.

     Ministers finalised plans that ask farmers to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 on Thursday.

     Maria Donnelly added targets will need to be revised upwards as cuts show a total reduction of just 43%.

     She said plans do not show how cuts are consistent with carbon budgets.”

     Not surprisingly, Irish farmers do see things differently:

     “The Irish Farmers’ Association has warned the emissions cut target was potentially devastating blow for Irish farming and the rural economy.”

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367. “What is happening with Scotland’s weather?”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-62335207

     Read it, and you’ll find it’s a complete non-story.

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368. I asked the other day if Irish politicians were aware of what’s going on in the Netherlands?

     “Why Dutch farmers are protesting over emissions cuts”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62335287

     It’s taken the BBC a long time to report on this ongoing story.

     “Hay bales in flames, manure dumped on highways, blockades at supermarket distribution centres and demonstrations on politicians’ doorsteps.

     Dutch farmers have been generating global headlines with protests described by Prime Minister Mark Rutte as “wilfully endangering others, damaging our infrastructure and threatening people who help with the clean-up”.

     This proud farming nation is under immense pressure to make radical changes to cut harmful emissions, and some farmers fear their livelihoods will be obliterated….”

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369. “Climate change: Will naming heatwaves save lives?”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-62297346

     No, but it might help to keep ramping up climate hysteria.

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370. This is very sad news:

     “Death toll rising from ‘historic’ Kentucky floods”

     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-62342219

     “At least eight people are dead after flash flooding deluged a swathe of eastern Kentucky, and officials fear the toll will rise into “double digits”.

     Hundreds of homes have been wiped out by the disaster, said the Bluegrass state’s governor, who has declared a statewide emergency.

     The National Weather Service said more flooding was possible on Friday in the Appalachian region, including West Virginia and south-west Virginia.”

     But historic? As ever, context is lacking. Kentucky has often suffered terrible floods. Take a look at this, one of many:

     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_River_flood_of_1937

     “In Louisville, the water reached a height of 40 feet, which resulted in almost 70 percent of the entire city being underwater. 175,000 people were forced to leave their homes and relocate due to the flood. The reported damage of the flood in the state resulted in about $250 million worth of damage. This flood outdoes the second highest water level in the city of Louisville by an astonishing 10 feet, showing how large the flood really was. Several businesses in the Louisville area were devastated, especially the famed Rose Island amusement park (on the Indiana side of the river near Charlestown), which never rebuilt. As a result of the flood, newer development in Louisville was directed to the east out of the flood plain. The east end has since benefited by a long-term concentration of wealth among residents and businesses which located away from the older central and western areas of the city.

     At Paducah, in January 1937, there was a two week period of rain followed by a sleet storm. Initially, there were only a few individuals that were skeptical of the risen water level. At the time, most residents were accustomed to it and thought absolutely nothing of it. By January 19, it became clear that the water was reaching a very high level. The Ohio River rose above its 50-foot (15 m) flood stage on January 21, cresting at 60.8 feet (18.5 m) on February 2 and receding again to 50 feet (15 m) on February 15. For nearly three weeks, 27,000 residents were forced to flee to stay with friends and relatives in higher ground in McCracken County or in other counties. Some shelters were provided by the American Red Cross and local churches. Buildings in downtown Paducah bear historic plaques that note the high-water marks, and at least one historic marker indicates the farthest inland extent of flood waters in the city.

     With 18 inches (460 mm) of rainfall in 16 days, along with sheets of swiftly moving ice, the ’37 flood was the worst natural disaster in Paducah’s history. Because Paducah’s earthen levee was ineffective against this flood, the United States Army Corps of Engineers was commissioned to build the flood wall that now protects the city.”

     Needless to say, many other states were also badly affected.

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371. More on Dutch farmers:

     “Blazing hay and manure roadblocks: What to know as Dutch farm protests get messy”

     https://www.politico.eu/article/dutch-farmer-protest-manure-roadblock-agriculture-what-to-know/

     LikeLike

372. Forcing us to go electric and abandon ICE cars isn’t enough. It’s becoming increasingly clear that they don’t want us to have cars at all:

     “Fare deal: Ireland joins Europe-wide efforts to coax people out of cars”

     https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/29/fare-deal-ireland-joins-europe-wide-efforts-to-coax-people-out-of-cars

     Read the whole article, and it becomes apparent that this stuff isn’t easy, it isn’t particularly popular, and it isn’t going very well.

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373. Having officially left the BBC on Friday
     Harrabin was back on Radio4 .. Saturday11:50am FooC
     From Our Own Correspondent
     The last item of the show is prime cos that is the take away that you remember ..it was basically an alarmist lecture

     Kate Adie’s hyperbolic introduction that Harra probably wrote himself

     Next, from the floods in Australia to record-breaking heat in Europe, extreme weather events have become all too common in recent years (there is no proper evidence for that)
     In August last year the IPCC declared its latest report as a Code Red for humanity
     warning that without urgent action billions of lives are at risk
     And many changes caused by global warming are irreversible.
     Roger Harrabin has been covering stories about the natural World for 35 years,
     focusing in particular on the threat caused by human-induced climate change.
     He reflects and how reporting this issue has changed over the years.

     .

     Harra “I’ve been nervous for a long time that we humans wouldn’t tackle climate change quickly enough
     but I felt a visceral jolt of fear, when a heat dome hit Lytton in Canada last year
     I’d never heard of a Heat Dome before (probably because it’s a made up PR word)
     Essentially it’s an atmospheric lid trapping hot air
     creating the sensation for those who live underneath of living in an oven

     Normally temperature records increase in fractions of the degree like 0.1
     .. in Lytton the record was broken by fully 5 degrees
     (hmm I think I’ve seen cold records have also been broken by degrees when you get weird weather)

     Another event that shocked scientists, was the recent 40 degree topping heat here in the UK
     Only 2-years ago, climate modellers had foreseen no more than a 1% chance of this happening.
     During my 35-year career I have witnessed many growing signs
     In India in 2005 I trekked to the glacier that feeds the mighty river Ganges
     It was unforgettably frightening trip astride the donkey that insisted on trading the very edge almost sheer drop with certain death if I’d gone over.
     We reached the glaciers melt pool and found that by chance we’d arrived on the most auspicious day of the year for bathing in the river.
     (yeh sure that was an accident)
     Bearded saffron robed holy men stripped naked in front of us,
     smeared themselves with ash and plunged into the icy water
     Historic photographs show the is glacier retreating sharply year on year as the world warms
     and glaciers are vital, because millions of people rely on their meltwater to keep rivers flowing through the dry season

     In 2014 I was accompanied by flying fish and dolphins as I sailed through the clear blue waters of Papua New Guinea
     An idyllic trip with alarming findings about the effects of growing CO2 levels on the chemistry of water
     We dived at some natural undersea carbon dioxide vents
     That create the sort of conditions we would expect as CO2 from human activities makes the ocean more acidic.
     Corals there were almost non-existent !

     Given where we are now it’s a astonishing to think that when I started as a reporter in the mid 1980s the environment was barely mentioned
     At that there was only one environment correspondent in the UK, the Observers Geoffrey Lean.
     I followed his lead in reporting issues such as acid rain, the ozone hole and the threat to birds from pesticides
     The audience seemed to like it.
     I slowly warmed into a de facto environment specialist
     Then one day in the late 1980s I made a visit would come to define my future path : I went to meet the climate expert Sir John Houghton to discuss report on local air pollution,
     but that story was brushed aside as sir John introduced a little reported topic : global warming
     It was admittedly hard to absorb.
     It seemed so unlikely that emissions from human kind could possibly be changing the climate of the planet, that I feared being accused of scaremongering.
     I offered the story cautiously to the radio audience.
     My reports back then were peppered with caveats.
     I deploy phrases such as some scientists are warning that emissions from modern society *may be* changing the climate
     For all my caution I was ridiculed by some of the older correspondents for focusing on a topic that seemed fundamentally ridiculous.
     But I gained some surprising allies : for instance Margaret Thatcher the former British prime minister who in the late 1980s
     warned about what she called the insidious danger posed by global warming, during a speech at the United Nations.
     Since then I have FOUGHT to keep climate change on the news agenda
     .. with mixed results.
     Over the years I’ve been inspired by low-carbon technology schemes I’ve visited in many countries.
     In 2017 for instance I marveled at the world’s biggest solar plant on wasteland in India’s Tamil Nadu.
     I climbed the viewing tower in the middle to see the cleaning panels on three sides stretch right to the Horizon.
     Over the years, as evidence has grown on climate change the language of my scripts, has been more and more direct.
     Now I say categorically, rather than tentatively is changing, its been driven almost entirely by humankind
     and leading scientists are telling us the world is ALREADY in a dangerous phase of warming !
     Yet they also tell us that every 10th of a degree of warming is worth fighting for.
     After three decades of battling to cover this issue.
     often frankly against the current.
     Reality amongst the public seems at last to be sinking in
     and as I failed file my final report this week I am hoping that is not too late !

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374. thats the full transcript but it’s inside blockquotes so doesn’t show up in the reader view in Conversations

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375. Stewgreen,

     It’s disappointing that one of the few decent, informative and interesting programmes still made by the BBC has now fallen victim to climate propaganda.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

376. 11am R4 David Aaronovitch panel discuss Climate Change in light of last week’s 2 day heat wave

     11:30am Fooc starts and it has climate items too
     – Climate doom in Peru
     – Roger Harrabin reflects on his 35 years covering the natural world,

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377. More info blackout
     The Conservative Woman’s been partially banned
     by British Board of Film Classification’s advice to three internet service providers – O2, THREE and EE – to block TCW on the grounds of TCW’s inappropriate adult content.
     https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/neville-hodgkinson-censoring-tcw-is-stifling-vital-debate-on-covid/

     LikeLiked by 1 person

378. Are you wearing a tie? If so, then according to Pedro Sanchez (PM of Spain) you are not doing your bit to offset climate change (as reported by the Independent). My entry for climate stupidity of the week.

     LikeLiked by 1 person

379. This page of Open Mic is now closed to further comments.

     Please continue here.

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