A place for you to point to climate and related news, introduce yourself to other Cliscep contributors, and suggest topics for new posts.

322 Comments

  4. ps – see Jaime was interested & comments, would never have guessed 🙂

    Like

  5. I’ve just seen an obvious April Fool’s Day story about Scotland introducing a law that says you can be thrown into jail for up to 7 years for saying something that others might find insulting. And you don’t even have to do this in public. It’s a funny story but just a bit too obvious to have fooled me.

    No, hold on a minute…

    Liked by 3 people

  6. John, as you probably know, JK Rowling has been scathing about the new ‘April Fools’ law:

    She won’t have been surprised by the reaction:

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Along similar lines, I heard today’s The Life Scientific featuring an American dinosaur palaeontologist at Bath University – Dr Nick Longrich. Very interesting and even listened to by “she who should be listened to” (who commonly is adverse to anything vaguely scientific). So interesting that I consulted Google where I probably discovered why he remains a senior lecturer, rather than a full professor or even a Reader as his career and publications would seem to warrant. His history involves being stripped of a million pound grant for causing distress to some of his female graduate students by bullying them. Not a word of this in Al-Khalilli’s program. Perhaps the program was also to be broadcast in Scotland and the BBC was playing it safe with the new Hate Crime Law.

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  10. Mark; this caught my eye on The Knowledge website today:

    “Well, I’m so inspired by The Guardian’s “vitally important” work on the Garrick that I’m launching a social justice campaign of my own, says Michael Deacon in The Daily Telegraph: “to make The Guardian hire its first ever state-educated journalists”. I realise this will horrify the traditionalists. “Must we really shatter the tranquillity of this charmingly eccentric and ultimately harmless London institution, purely in the name of social engineering?” Why shouldn’t the high-born have a newspaper of their own? These “specious arguments” will be trotted out by commentators determined to maintain the status quo – to ensure that all the newspaper’s thinkpieces about poverty and capitalist greed “continue to be written by people who went on school trips to Val d’Isère”. But we must not give up. We will never achieve true equality in Britain until “this ancient bastion of privilege is finally dragged kicking and screaming into the modern world”.”

    Amusing but I’m not sure about the “ultimately harmless” tag given the paper’s never-ending promotion of climate alarm which you bring to our attention.

    Liked by 2 people

  11. I paraphrased several articles from Google which discussed the removal of a one million pound research award on the basis of bullying behaviour. None of those articles used the word “allegedly”. There are other reports of parts of the grant being returned, but to the graduate students so they are not penalised, again providing evidence consistent with the claims. With so much apparently uncontested evidence and prior claims I wonder if it’s necessary for me to be so very cautious. I made it clear my sources of information which anyone can follow by looking up the name of the person accused of bullying. But you are the lawyer Mark, and henceforth I will be more circumspect.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. 6:30pm on the BBC1 NewsPR show

    “A warmer world means a wetter world” says @LouiseLearBBC

    That seems a simplistic slogan

    Everyone is thinking it’s significantly colder in winter, yet there is plenty of precipitation.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Thanks Alan.

    If the online evidence is so vast you may be correct, although I think the key word in what you wrote is “apparently” uncontested evidence. I also think it’s only fair to the individual about whom the allegations have been made to make it clear that they are allegations rather than necessarily facts – if they don’t read Cliscep they have no way of knowing what’s been said about them and no opportunity to correct the record (if it needs correcting).

    Perhaps I’m too cautious, but my training makes me that way, I’m afraid.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Do you recall all the recent stories saying that our Easter eggs and such like were at risk from climate change and that chocolate prices were going through the roof? Ahem…

    “Falls in chocolate and jam prices slow food inflation”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68711912

    “Falling chocolate, sugar and jam prices helped food price inflation slow to its lowest level in more than two years, according to new industry figures...”

    The BBC does get its retaliation in against me, however:

    “…”While Easter treats were more expensive than in previous years due to high global cocoa and sugar prices, retailers provided cracking deals on popular chocolates, which led to price falls compared to the previous month,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC...”

    Liked by 1 person

  15. I’ve been thinking about doing a ‘who said this’ quiz with a lot of quotes from Roger Hallam and Aravindan Balakrishnan (Comrade Bala) but actual quotes from the latter are a bit hard to find. Here’s one:

    These are questions on which the vast majority of ‘left’ organisations in Britain maintain criminal silence or, if commented upon, mystify or mislead. Talk of revolution without giving scientific answers to these important questions is nothing but empty twaddle!

    Or is it?

    Yes, OK, it is.

    But how about this one:

    Over the past two years I have spelt out that the British state is a fascist state serving the interests of the parasitic few who use the mainstream media lie machine to keep the people in Britain in the dark and violently suppress anyone who rebels against its attempts at containment. For politically exposing the actual nature of the state in Britain, our organisation has been harassed at every turn by the fascist state and its police.

    Liked by 2 people

  16. Both WUWT and Jo Nova are having a great laugh about the men who are installing bat boxes in front of ULEZ cameras. I cannot be bothered to comment there, but will note here that this is a spectacularly ignorant ploy. The resting place of a bat is protected, but an empty wooden box is not. There is not a bat’s chance in hell that a bat will utilise such a bat box. There is no risk of a crime being committed in removing said boxes.

    Like

  19. Mark – from your above link –

    “Adding further “Renewables” to the generation fleet just adds costs and simply downgrades the overall productivity of the whole power generation fleet of any Nation.  At the same time the installation of “Renewables” may not significantly reduce the CO2 emissions to any great extent.  Overall  “Renewables” performance in respect the assertion of effectively limiting CO2 emissions and controlling future Catastrophic Global Warming deserves detailed due diligence examination.

    After some decades of subsidised development support, current “Renewable” technologies are already well advanced.  They already operate close to the physical limits off their technologies:

    • the Betz limit for Wind Power
    • the Shockley–Queisser limit for Solar PV power 

    So because of these physical limits, only very marginal performance improvements can be anticipated for the future”

    ps – even countryfile had a balanced piece about solar farms today. wonder if as reality bites some are back peddling?

    Like

  20. other link by Ed – Partial quote –

    “With the eventual failure of Photosynthesis from lack of atmospheric CO2, all Life-on-Earth will end in some future Glacial period.  There is even a chance that the happenstance of Man-kind’s current activities, adding to CO2 levels by burning fossil fuels may raise the threshold of atmospheric CO2 and thus delay the final steps of the CO2 sequestration process and even prolong the survival of all life on Earth.“

    Big claim, need to read the full article again to decide what to think (heard this expressed elsewhere, but can’t find any links)

    Like

  21. Dr Gail Bradbrook, the world-leading thought leader, and another white Stroudie, Robin Ellis-Cockcroft, the globetrotting frisbee fan, visited West Africa last month on behalf of a Pan-Afrikan Maangamizi group, flying from London to Bamako, then perhaps from there to Burkina Faso and Niger, then back to London.

    As far as I can tell, their eco-galumph was all about establishing face-to-face relations between people from Stroud and people who are in some ways representative of the Alliance of Sahel States (ASS).

    Some questions.

    What does Stroud have to do with ASS? How can Stroudies possibly do anything practical to help ASS? How can ASS do anything practical to help Stroudies? And why did Dr Bradbrook, who was once an expert on helping elderly people get access to the Internet, think she had to fly all the way to West Africa to try to tackle such things?

    Here are some links that supposedly answered those questions but left me none the wiser:

    https://web.archive.org/web/20240409141537/https://www.theryse.org/post/stroud-represented-in-an-internationalist-delegation-to-the-sahel

    https://web.archive.org/web/20240409191345/https://www.buymeacoffee.com/gailbradbrook/the-leadership-able-bring-just-transition

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qb584lVyeyWHdbvQhXvdSvg4woPeuhqmwtK9G2hTAgM/edit#heading=h.33sbl4k12m8z

    Translations, please.

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  23. df,

    Re CO2 and glacial periods

    I can only contribute my geological knowledge: there have been several ice ages, each comprising multiple glacial periods, each separated by warmer interglacials. After each glacial the Earth recovered. Although it could have happened that the CO2 levels decreased perilously, so far those levels always recovered. I see no reason to suspect that the next glaciation will be catastrophic.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Alan – thanks for the reply/comment. Must admit your thoughts confirm my limited geological knowledge from Reading.

    “Snowball Earth” Might Have Been Slushy By Michael Schirber, Astrobiology Magazine — August 2015″ – link

    NASA GISS: Research Features: “Snowball Earth” Might Have Been Slushy

    If life can survive these “our planet has gone through several frozen periods, in which a runaway climate effect led to global, or near global, ice cover” is anything to use as a yardstick.

    Like

  26. Jit – thanks for the unherd link.

    from the comments –

    “Robbie K 1 day ago Reply to  Norfolk Sceptic

    The sun plays zero part in the greenhouse effect other than providing the energy. The disgraced Curry is a radical, whilst she should not be silenced folks really should take what she says with a large pinch of salt.

     Reply to  Robbie K

    no, Robbie K, the misinterpretation is yours. We skeptics of climate alarmism interpret the alarmist’s intentions just fine. You’re convinced, on the basis of models and “expert” opinion, that the earth’s biosphere — and therefore humanity — is at risk of collapse. On the basis of this belief, you demand the 8+ billion of your fellow humans abandon plentiful, cheap, portable, and reliable power, which is the basis of modernity and prosperity. Because many of those 8+ billion people reject your demands, you are increasingly willing to force us to do so. The idea that your fears are not well supported by objective, verifiable evidence, rather than models, is beyond your comprehension, even though it is a fact. In this regard, your beliefs are exactly like the other manias the author listed, and far, far more dangerous.”

    John – long read 🙂

    Like

  27. “Salisbury Cathedral exhibition explores climate change impact”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-68806480

    “An exhibition at Salisbury Cathedral will focus on the impact of climate change on homes and daily lives.

    Art will be displayed inside and outside the cathedral looking at the air we breathe, changing landscapes and mental wellbeing.

    Salisbury cathedral said it would highlight how it was caring for the environment.

    It was the first cathedral given an Eco-Church Gold Award by A Rocha UK, a Christian nature conservation charity….”

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Interesting essay by Mary Harrington at UnHerd about how the elites have rapidly repositioned themselves on transgender issues. Applicable to climate change?

    In truth, though, “experts” are a front for the TUA: the chattering-class moral consensus. And this is manufactured by people who care less about being right than looking virtuous.

    [TUA = Truth Universally Acknowledged of Austen.]

    Liked by 3 people

  29. Brilliant article Jit. I’d just got in from a pint with Ian Woolley and he’d also recommended it, ahead of (me reading) you. Massively applicable to the cosy climate crisis consensus or TUA, as Harrington wittily calls it. Although a pessimistic reading is possible at the end, I think I smell generational change.

    Liked by 1 person

  31. Richard – thanks for the text version link – partial quote from GDI founder Clare Melford –

    “A lot of disinformation is not just whether something is true or false — it escapes from the limits of fact-checking. Something can be factually accurate but still extremely harmful… [GDI] leads you to a more useful definition of disinformation… It’s not saying something is or is not disinformation, but it is saying that content on this site or this particular article is content that is anti-immigrant, content that is anti-women, content that is antisemitic…”

    The article goes on expand on the above quote –

    “Melford’s team and algorithm are essentially trained to identify and defund any content she finds offensive, not disinformation. Her personal bugbears are somewhat predictable: content supporting the January 6 “insurrections”, the pernicious influence of “white men in Silicon Valley”, and anything that might undermine the global response to the “existential challenge of climate change”.”

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  33. The Sunday Times has a big article about cliff failures, particularly marine sandstone cliffs of the Jurassic Coast of Dorset. These can be spectacular and dangerous to beach dwellers and fossil hunters, but especially during winters. I knew as I was reading that it eventually would end with climate change being involved. I was soon proven correct – cliff falls resulting from both sea level rise (unspecified) and temperature increases (again unspecified and the mechanism resulting in increased cliff falls unspecified). How a few millimetres of sea-level rise or any amount of average temperature rise could affect winter cliff falls is a mystery. Local fossil hunters report that there has been a dramatic increase in the frequency of cliff falls recently. I’m not arguing that cliff falls are not more frequent, just the mechanism involved. Usually the fallen debris in front of the cliff protects the cliff from being undercut until it is broken up and removed by waves during high tides. Then the cycle begins again. Undercutting leading to new cliff falls. However if the debris is broken up quickly by fossil hunters searching for the beautiful ammonites, then…. Those self same ammonites were being sold in local shops so their collection is a commercial enterprise.

    For the purposes of truth I must admit that my garden now displays two ammonites from the same part of the Dorset shoreline, collected when I was a schoolboy.

    Liked by 2 people

  34. dfhunter (17 Apr): Sorry for the late response but thanks indeed for showing that the GDI exists to censor not just gender critical (wrongly called anti-trans) views but ‘anything that might undermine the global response to the “existential challenge of climate change”’. We’re peas in the same pod.

    Liked by 1 person

  35. Somewhere on Cliscep there is an article about New York sinking rather more than it is flooding thanks to sea level rise. My memory is failing me, however, to the extent that I can’t remember its title, and I have failed to find it again. I would have liked to post this there instead. If its author (John? Jit?) would prefer to put this there, please do so. It seems relevant:

    “Water extraction and weight of buildings see half of China’s cities sink”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68844731

    “Nearly half of China’s major cities are sinking because of water extraction and the increasing weight of their rapid expansion, researchers say.

    Some cities are subsiding rapidly, with one in six exceeding 10mm per year.

    China’s rapid urbanisation in recent decades means far more water is now being drawn up to meet people’s needs, scientists say.

    In coastal cities, this subsidence threatens millions of people with flooding as sea levels rise.”

    I suppose those last words were to be expected, since the article appears at the BBC. But sea levels are rising by millimetres per annum (and may not be accelerating, in which case they are due to climate, not to climate change), which is as nought compared to this:

    “...China has a long history of dealing with subsiding land, with both Shanghai and Tianjin showing evidence of sinking back in the 1920s. Shanghai has sunk more than 3m over the past century.

    In more modern times, the country is seeing widespread evidence of subsidence in many of the cities that have expanded rapidly in recent decades…

    ...Around 16% of urban land is going down faster than 10mm a year, which the scientists describe as a rapid descent.

    Put another way, this means 67 million people are living in rapidly sinking areas.

    The researchers say that the cities facing the worst problems are concentrated in the five regions highlighted on the map shown.

    The scale of decline is influenced by a number of factors, including geology and the weight of buildings. But a major element, according to the authors, is groundwater loss.

    This essentially means the extraction of water underneath or near cities for use by the local population.

    This has already been seen in several major urban areas around the world including Houston, Mexico City and Delhi...”

    Liked by 1 person

  36. Tec query – has anybody else been getting this error, when trying to access sites such as Bishop Hill –

    Cloudflare

    Forbidden

    HTTP Response Code: 403

    1fa8a293ad0000dc3128a65400000001

    2024-04-22 18:20:13.101486883 UTC

    Liked by 1 person

  37. dfhunter,

    No, that hasn’t happened to me, though I have been away for a few days hill-walking in the far north of Scotland, and haven’t been online very much recently.

    Liked by 1 person

  38. Evidence that the climate crisis is confected by activist press releases can be found in the fact that every weekend the number of new articles on the BBC and Guardian/Observer websites, pushing said “crisis” drops dramatically, often to zero. Presumably that’s because those issuing the press releases, and the Guardian and BBC journalists happy to push them, work Monday-Friday. It’s a strange crisis that goes away at weekends.

    Liked by 2 people

  39. “Foodbank launches fully electric mobile pantry”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cydr8r8q3qqo

    A food bank is launching a fully electric van to help deliver food to local communities.

    The Quantock Foodbank in Somerset, said it would help them reach more people in need who cannot travel.

    The ÂŁ80,000 vehicle has zero-emissions and has solar panels to power its fridge and lights.

    Think how much extra food they could have bought with the money they would have saved had they bought an ICE van instead.

    Liked by 2 people

  40. “Marlene Mason, the Managing Trustee of the food bank, said: “The wonderful people of this area raised the funds for it.”

    “With a fully-electric van, there are no worries about it running out of power.

    “It’s fully electric so we have a charging point but it has quite a range. We’ve tried it out and it doesn’t use very much [power].

    “Our first run out with it [to reach the community] will be Stogursey as that’s the furthest away from us,” Ms Mason said.”

    Good luck in the winter.

    Liked by 1 person

  43. Alan K: just to flag up that I have put a follow-up post on the “What’s the Buzz” thread. The list of latest posts turns over quickly so it has aleady disappeared from view!

    Liked by 1 person

  45. Hothouse Earth: An Inhabitant’s Guide Paperback – 28 July 2022

    by Bill McGuire (Author)

    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars    466 ratings

    See all formats and editionsSave 5%

     on any 4 qualifying items | Terms

    ‘It’s a paradox but this was one of the most chilling books I’ve read this year. It’s the definitive guide to where we’re heading‘ ANTHONY HOROWITZ

    ‘The Earth is already in a dangerous phase of heating. Many scientists admit privately to actually being “scared” by recent weather extremes. But the public doesn’t like pessimism, so we environment journalists hint at future optimism. This book provides a more steely-eyed view on how we can cope with a hothouse world.’ – ROGER HARRABIN, former BBC Environment Analyst

    ‘This accessible and authoritative book is a must-read for anyone who still thinks it could be OK to carry on as we are for a little bit longer, or that climate chaos might not affect them or their kids too badly.’ MIKE BERNERS-LEE is a professor at Lancaster University, founder of Small World Consultancy and author of     There is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years

    ‘If you read just one book about the menace of climate breakdown, make it this one.’ – TIM RADFORD    , Climate News Network

    We inhabit a planet in peril. Our once temperate world is locked on course to become a hothouse entirely of our own making.

    Like

  46. Mike, just learned from BBC’s “Thought for the Day” that we will be celebrating “World Bidet” this coming Monday (20th May) or something like that. Lot of talk about dozens of bee species going extinct or at risk but very confusing.

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  47. About a week ago, R4’s Today programme briefly covered* the Guardian’s survey of IPCC lead authors and review editors.** Jonny Dymond summarised the survey in a respectful and serious way then Amol Rajan said, sarcastically, ‘Nice and cheery, Jonny!’, Dymond chuckled and Rajan continued with ‘I knew you’d bring the upbeat vibes to us’. They weren’t making fun of the Guardian survey. They were acknowledging the gloominess of its findings and, in a way, apologising to listeners for having to be so gloomy so early in the morning.

    Roger Hallam has finally caught up with this. Here he is on X earlier today:

    The utterly disgusting idiocy of our liberal elites laughing at the mass killing of our young people. See “Radio 4 journalists react to news of desperate climate scientists” in @ProfBillMcGuire ‘s article below.[***]

    Their laughing reminds me of the partying in Hitler’s bunkers just before millions were slaughtered, raped and forced to flee as the Soviets entered Berlin in 1945.

    Like the shoes of the kids – this clip will be played as people enter the museum of the next holocaust in the 2030s – appalled, people will be provided with bags to physically vomit into. “What … these people were laughing at our killing.”

    On the documentaries they will show this clip like they show now the clips of Jimmy Savile in the 1970s with him saying he likes underage girls and BBC interviewers laughing along with him. What a joke.

    The essence of evil, as Hannah Arendt rightly said, is the inability or the refusal to think. To laugh and move onto the next news item.

    My rage is like a lava of fire that consumes my being and miraculously renews it. So much better than putrid repression that rots the soul.

    Young people, once they decide to start living their lives rather than taking this shit, will explode onto the streets and take what is theirs.

    The @BBCr4today programme will be erased from history, along with the generation of elites who stood by and allowed the greatest ever fuckery to obliterate our sacred world.

    As the great historian Arnold Toynbee said, civilisations commit suicide. Those @BBCr4today journalists are committing suicide. They want to die and they want us to die with them.

    Prophet Hallam often posts deranged stuff like that these days but I don’t think I’ve seen him do so in response to something as trivial as the exchange between Rajan and Dymond.

    If Rajan had stayed silent about Dymond’s summary of the Graun survey and moved straight on to something else, that too could have been interpreted as disrespectful of doomerism – ho-hum the end is nigh says the Graun yet again – so what do people like Hallam want presenters to do when they have to report gloomy news? Burst into tears and flee the studio?

    ===
    *The short segment starts at ~9m40s into the BBC Sounds recording of the 9/5/24 Today episode.

    **I think that’s been discussed at CliScep but I couldn’t find anything, hence Open Mic.

    ***’The climate crisis is no laughing matter, no matter what those on Radio 4’s Today programme think’, Graun, 10/5/24.

    Liked by 1 person

  48. “As the great historian Arnold Toynbee said, civilisations commit suicide.”

    Well, Roger was right to note that civilisations commit suicide. Ours certainly is, just not in the way that Roger imagines.

    Liked by 1 person

  49. Thought I’d have a quick look at the “Arnold Toynbee said, civilisations commit suicide” quote & found this link (many to choose from, so not sure if it’s the best) – Civilizations Die by Suicide Not by Murder | Financial Sense

    Relevant (maybe) partial quotes –

    “In contrast to Oswald Spengler, who thought that the rise and fall of civilizations was inevitable, Toynbee maintained that the fate of civilizations is determined by their response to the challenges facing them. In fact the unifying theme throughout the book is challenge and response”

    “According to Toynbee, civilizations start to decay when they lose their moral fiber and the cultural elite turns parasitic, exploiting the masses and creating an internal and external proletariat”

    “Toynbee found through his study that the creative minority tended to be generally mystically inspired. Furthermore he outlined that civilizations breakdown as a result of the inevitable commission of the sins of arrogance, hubris, over-weaning pride and self-confidence, which are manifested in such things as nationalism, militarism, and the tyranny of a dominant minority. This moral breakdown brings with it its own retributive justice (nemesis). The creative people having become reactionaries, no longer constitute an “elite creative minority” but simply an “elite dominant minority.”

    Could quote more, but think Prophet Hallam fits the “the creative minority tended to be generally mystically inspired” label.

    Liked by 1 person

  50. dfhunter, Prophet Hallam’s utterances have definitely got a bit more mystical in recent years – he has even talked about starting a new religion – but I don’t think the mysticism is sincere. It’s tactical, a way of drawing more people into his cult. He’s sincere about the prophet thing but he’s not a mystical prophet. He thinks he has all the answers because he thinks in a special way – it’s his amazing brain that produces special insights, not some mystical being sitting on his shoulder. He’s a narcissist, not a mystic.

    I think he’s a better fit for this bit: ‘the sins of arrogance, hubris, over-weaning pride and self-confidence, which are manifested in … the tyranny of a dominant minority’.

    Or that’s my special brain’s special insight, anyway.

    Liked by 2 people

  53. Richard, I do hope that Hallam isn’t totally in tune with ‘humanity in our day’. (Were you being a bit Laudato Si there?) Here’s the start of his latest blogpost: ‘Democracy has two duties – to protect the people from the rich and to protect the people from death.’

    Is that all, Prophet Hallam?

    A perhaps irrelevant aside: Hallam was almost kicked out of Humanity Project a couple of months ago. HP wants to copy Tony Blair’s failed attempt to replace the House of Lords with a House of Commoners appointed via sortition .* Hallam started HP last summer. Brian Eno gave it a boost a few months later but it still seems to be a very small thing. Which is perhaps why they tried to get rid of Hallam. I think he was allowed to stay because he promised not to keep banging on about the Holocaust and related things, but he’s still doing that and he’s still giving talks for HP.

    ===
    *The original House of Commoners sortition proposal seemed like quite a good thing. It was knocked down by the person in charge of evaluating it, Lord Dennistoun Stevenson of Coddenham**, who said that chavvy hairdressers wouldn’t be comfortable operating in Westminster. (Nor was he: his attendance record was appalling.)

    **A few years later, Lord Stevenson helped knock down HBOS too. What a chap! He’s done other dodgy stuff as well. IIRC, he was involved in very dodgy fishing and agriculture businesses in West Africa. He ‘retired’ from the House of Lords in Oct 2023. Dunno why. Perhaps he thought he’d become a hairdresser.

    Liked by 1 person

  54. Lord Stevenson from Dennis Stevenson, Baron Stevenson of Coddenham – Wikipedia

    Partial quote from that article – “Their report said: “Lord Stevenson has shown himself incapable of facing the realities of what placed the bank in jeopardy from that time until now”. And: “The corporate governance of HBOS at board level serves as a model for the future, but not in the way in which Lord Stevenson and other board members appear to see it. It represents a model of self-delusion, of the triumph of process over purpose”. (Parliament’s Banking Standards Commission report, issued in April 2013)”

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  55. Paul Ehrlich reached 92 today. Happy birthday, you nutty old doomster. I’m glad the End Times haven’t come for you yet.

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  57. “Football falling foul of climate change – groundsman”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn00xk0m1jmo

    Sigh. I remember the state of top-flight football pitches in the 1970s. Matches were regularly postponed at every level of the football league due to adverse weather. These days it tends to be only the poorer clubs in lower leagues that call matches off due to things like waterlogged pitches.

    Like

  58. I could have posted this on any number of threads, but here seems to be most appropriate. Professor Fenton attended the march organised by Tommy Robinson in London today. I never imagined that I would also witness Andrew Montford sharing a Tommy Robinson video on X, but he has:

    Extremely powerful stuff.

    (And with a detour into climate dissent towards the end)

    https://x.com/aDissentient/status/1796967194112471302

    I think what we are witnessing here is the start of a full blown cultural revolution.

    Liked by 1 person

  59. Thanks Jaime – only just saw this. I’m not at all surprised that Norman Fenton was there. I was delighted to hear that there was basically no bad behaviour on the march. I will listen to the video before commenting further. But I was already going to talk about this. In the next 24 hours say.

    Liked by 1 person

  60. Well, I think it’s brilliant.

    Harry Miller has been a key part of the fightback against transgenderism’s infiltration of the police and judiciary so I was really happy to see him playing such a big part.

    Tommy Robinson is first class. And talking of class, Lord Pearson’s accent is rather different to Tommy’s but that was a great choice for two voices at the end.

    Tommy’s words about Ukraine towards the end – just after what Andrew calls a ‘detour into climate dissent’ – are really balanced for me.

    On other contributors I greatly dislike Calvin Robinson’s delivery and his dog collar (which I see as a weird affectation). And then Andrew Bridgen doesn’t have a very high opinion of Lawrence Fox, based on a recent interview. (Which has a striking prediction of Rishi Sunak calling an early election and the reason why.)

    But one can’t have everything.

    Great that Mark Steyn was included, as Ofcom came into frame.

    So ‘climate chage is bullshit’. One could critique those four words but we all know what he means. It’ll do.

    What precisely any of us do about it all is another thing.

    Liked by 1 person

  61. Jaime – thanks for the link, see he also mentions the “nudge unit” & other interesting talking points.

    Like

  62. “Rishi has told the generals he doesn’t want to be a wartime prime minister”

    This might explain his pointed absence from the second part of the D-Day ceremonies, with Biden et al, on Thursday.

    Here’s a short excerpt from the interview with Doc Malik I pointed to above, published on Rumble on 13th May. Sunak called the election ten days later.

    Already at war with Russia? It depends on one’s definition of course. And Mr Putin’s definition may also be important.

    Like

  65. Headline from the Energy Voice website (article paywalled):

    “North Sea “uninvestable” due to windfall tax and Labour party rhetoric, investor warns. The UK North Sea is “uninvestable” due to the windfall taxes and rhetoric from the Labour Party that they will make the regime even tougher.”

    Like

  66. Stop me if you’ve already heard this one:

    A Ukrainian NGO funded by the US has put out a hate list of westerners it doesn’t like. Given the tendency of Ukraine to express its dislike in strong terms (they once murdered one of their own negotiators in the Palace of Justice) this is quite serious. Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson & Donald Trump are on the list.

    So is Steve McIntyre, “scholar & expert.”

    https://x.com/ClimateAudit/status/1799620460327432240

    Liked by 3 people

  69. Geoff & Richard – thanks for the links.

    Richard, your 2nd link is an interesting read & that’s where we find “Steve McIntyre” listed on tab 32.

    It has this to say about him – “Stephen McIntyre (born c. 1947) is a Canadian mining exploration company director, a former minerals prospector and semi-retired mining consultant whose work has included statistical analysis. He is the founder and editor of Climate Audit, a blog which analyses and discusses climate data. He is a critic of the temperature record of the past 1000 years and the data quality of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.”

    What is the relevance to the title “From Trumpists to Communists. The forces in the U.S. impeding aid to Ukraine and how they do it” ?

    ps – on his name at the right side you get a link to Climate Audit post – “Reconstructing the Esper Reconstruction” & Jit turns up in the comments, small world 🙂

    Like

  71. Mark – “A sustainability charity in Bristol” called “City to Sea” – can you not see where the inventive BBC reporter Chris Lockyer gets his post header from ?

    Went to the website and can’t find any information on funding/salaries.

    Like

  72. “Belching livestock to incur green levy in Denmark from 2030
    World’s first emissions tax on agriculture will require farmers to pay for greenhouse gas pollution from livestock”

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/26/flatulent-livestock-to-incur-green-levy-in-denmark-from-2035

    Farmers in Denmark will have to pay for planet-heating pollutants that their cattle expel as gas, after the government agreed to set the world’s first emissions tax on agriculture.

    The agreement – reached on Monday night after months of fraught negotiations between farmers, industry, politicians and environmental groups – will introduce an effective tax of 120 kroner (£14) per ton of greenhouse gas pollution from livestock in 2030, which will rise to 300 kroner per ton in 2035.

    The revenues are to be pooled in a fund to support the livestock industry’s green transition for at least two years after the tax comes into effect.

    “We are writing a new chapter in Danish agricultural history,” said the farming minister, Jacob Jensen….

    Well, that’s certainly true!

    Like

  73. From the Guardian Australia, it seems the UK isn’t the only country which has been exposed to energy worries due to its leaders not ensuring enough gas storage and relying too heavily on renewables:

    “‘Very serious’: gas supplies in southern states under pressure, analysts warn

    ‘Threat notice’ flags elevated supply risks, as expert warns problems will get worse without urgent addition of more backup resources”

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jun/25/very-serious-gas-supplies-in-southern-states-under-pressure-analysts-warn

    Gas supplies in southern states are likely to remain strained the rest of this winter, and the problems will worsen without the urgent addition of more backup resources, analysts including the market operator say.

    Those states, particularly Victoria, have drawn down their gas storage as cold weather increased demand. Gas-fired power generation has also been double that expected on some days amid unusually calm periods, and gas production at Victoria’s Longford plant has dropped because of unscheduled maintenance.

    Worried about gas supplies in Victoria, Rick Wilkinson, the chief executive of consultants EnergyQuest, described the situation as “very serious” and he predicted the state would “need a backup” to handle peak winter gas demand from 2026.

    In what it called a “threat notice”, the Australian Energy Market Operator told major industry players last Thursday: “Reduced storage facility delivery capacity may pose a risk to gas supply adequacy in southern jurisdictions on peak demand days during the winter peak demand period (to the end of September).”…

    I followed the link about unusually calm periods, and found this:

    “Where’s the wind gone, through 2024 Q2? … with June perhaps even worse than April or May!”

    Given what might turn out to be the early stages of a an emerging 2024 Energy Crisis, we’ve been interested to learn more about how Q2 has been evolving.  Hence (starting with wind) we have taken the ‘worm line’ trend from the first article noted above, and have extended each of the 5 trends through until the end of June of that year (or for the current year to earlier today, 22nd June 2024).…

    ...it should be plain to see for all readers here that the aggregate yield from Wind Farms across the NEM in 2024 is easily the worst of the 5 years sampled:

    (a)  Even in absolute terms, it will be miles below the aggregate yield in 2023 Q2 and 2022 Q2 (i.e. that same quarter of the 2022 Energy Crisis!) .

    i.  In both 2022 and 2023 we see that the gradient of the worm line increased in June of those years (i.e. wind yield increased)

    ii.  In 2024 this definitely has not happened (save for 2 x 3-day spurts thus far) … and indeed I wonder if the gradient has not slightly dropped, compared to April and May?

    (b)  Given the growth in capacity from the earlier two years, it should be clear the performance is much poorer in 2024 Q2 compared to those earlier years:

    i.  Approximately 2,500MW more capacity in 2024 than 2021 (3 years earlier) and a yield that might be about the same level!

    ii.  Almost 4,000MW more capacity in 2024 than in 2020 (i.e. ~50% more) and yet a yield that might only be 15% higher than 2020 Q2.

    3)  In aggregate terms, eyeballing the chart it should be relatively easy to see that 2024 might be as much as 3,000,000MWh ‘short’ of wind production through 2024 Q2 compared to what some might have expected

    All in all, what’s above is (at the same time) both a frightening picture … but also completely expected (at least by some of us).

    I suspect there’s a lesson there for world leaders hurtling down the wind energy route, but I don’t suppose they’ll take any notice.

    Like

  76. Booking a hotel in York today (one owned by an international company) I was told while waiting to speak to someone that they were experiencing problems because of Hurricane Beryl, hence I might wait longer than normal to speak to someone. I think it’s safe to say that with that one I have just witnessed the blaming of poor service on climate change reach new heights.

    Liked by 1 person

  78. “Sarah Jones was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Business and Trade, on 8 July 2024.”

    She’s a history graduate. As an MP she has been involved in worthy causes like Grenfell, knife crime, etc but nothing with any technical/scientific aspects. This augurs well for our energy future.

    Liked by 1 person

  79. MikeH don’t give up entirely upon Sarah Jones. She does have a degree and a history of involvement as an MP. More important is the advice she receives. Let’s face it someone with a sciency background is more likely to be already indoctrinated and reject counter advice.

    Like

  80. Mark – thanks for the Ed Hoskins link.

    I notice he makes this point in his conclusion –

    “An excellent way to undermine and weaken Western economies has been to render their electrical power generation inefficient, unreliable and expensive. 

    That objective of Green thinking nominally intended to tackle Man-made Climate Change has progressively been achieved by self-inflicted and self harming government policies throughout Western societies.  However the policies have been undertaken:

    • without any popular mandate.
    • without any definitive idea of the cost consequences.
    • without any proof of temperature reduction effectiveness that would be achieved by Nations that have decided to participate.

    Liked by 1 person

  81. Alan; I quite agree that she can be an effective MP on general issues. However, her new role would be better-filled by someone with a modicum of understanding of the energy issues that we debate so frequently. Of course, an MP with suitable qualifications and/or experience may be hard to find!
    While someone with a “sciency” background might be indoctrinated wrt to the climate scare, etc., I would hope that would not stop them raising the obvious concerns over intermittency, back-up and so on which are so apparent.

    Like

  82. OK Mike, but really the point I was making was that a university graduate of whatever stripe will upon appointment to a ministerial position will be “advised” upon the complexities of the role. Even if she were aware about matters such as intermittency and the like, her advisors would soon put her right as to the “acceptable “ position.

    By the way, “she who should be listened to” was a history graduate and I would be absolutely sure she could have handled a “sciency” brief. But perhaps that, in part, might have been my infuence, or perhaps not.

    Like

  83. Alan: let’s see how she gets on. Her boss has just imposed a blanket ban on any new drilling in the N. Sea, including bids submitted well before the election. It will be interesting to see how she will explain cutting our own production and increasing imports since it is surely obvious to all that it makes no sense.

    Like

  86. OK the mad green is arguing that if you have a grid which is 22% renewables
    then that is 22% LESS CO2
    That’s clearly wrong cos renewables have a CO2 footprint from construction/transport and maintenance
    He says the figs are on the Gridwatch site based on IPCC
    https://gridwatch.co.uk/co2-Emissions
    The strange thing there is it gives CCGT as 490 CO2e/GWH
    and biomass as 505*
    which means biomass generates MORE CO2
    That fig is a combination of biomass and co-firing
    the IPCC page gives dedicated biomass as 230
    https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-iii.pdf#page=7

    What gets me is the suspiciously super low figure for wind 12 (solar is 48)
    Since wind power involves heaps of infrastructure/concrete that seems suspiciously low
    like does it omit cabling across the sea etc?

    I cannot believe that the total grid CO2 from wind per GWh is 50 times less than gas
    that seems false to me
    What do you think ?

    Liked by 1 person

  87. Stew, there is a similar question to yours here. For wind to get to the very low values shown, it has to run for 20 years without servicing at an average capacity factor of 34%. Whether this is feasible or not is another matter. And this would not include any services that the wind turbine relies on.

    Another set of estimates as used by the Grid ESO is described here.

    In short, I do not know the answer, but it is certainly an interesting question, which I will look into further at some point.

    Liked by 1 person

  88. Quite strange how Stack Exchange closed that ‘vague’ question. But it’s their platform.

    Last night I watched this from UnHerd

    Nothing about climate, specifically, but lots about the origins of ‘woke’ – with inevitable diversions into the debate after the Trump assassination attempt and the implications (some positive) of the Labour takeover in the UK. I do like Eric Kaufmann’s data-driven approach, which switches the spotlight away from postmodernism to ‘taboos’ that directly affect ordinary folk, bringing cancellation and fear of cancellation. And that last bit 100% applies to climate/energy taboos.

    Like

  89. cheers what is obvious from that last page.. an makes it seem like guessing
    #1 the figs are quite different from the ones given to me
    #2 This rates Wind. solar, hydro , nuclear as ZERO CO2 intensity
    ie it doesn’t include infrastructure and maintenance CO2
    #3 Biomass is only 120 .. that is much lower than the 2 options in the stats given to me

    That first link you gave is a bit flawed cos the questioner goes down a rabbit hole about concrete emitting CO2
    However in the answers someone quotes stats for wind turbines of about 10 CO2e/GWH a super low figure sumilar to ons given to me

    Meanwhile my mad green did the normal thing
    He goes round and round refusing to give a citation
    Then goes to the insults
    when I finally get him to give his source, I pin him down with his own stats
    He then just evaporates

    Like

  91. Words fail me:

    “Geo-engineering is subject to conspiracy theories, but could it help save the planet?”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98qp79gj4no

    If we can’t control rising global temperatures by drastically cutting carbon emissions, could something called geo-engineering be a way to cool the planet?

    In what is already a ÂŁ103bn ($135bn) industry, scientists around the world, including in the UK, are researching geo-engineering – ways of manipulating the climate to tackle global warming.

    Some experts are concerned there are too many risks associated with it, fearing it could mess with global weather patterns or actually warm some regions, not cool them.

    Naturally, the big problem with all this for the BBC is the conspiracy theories surrounding it:

    As the industry grows, so have conspiracy theories. BBC Weather has seen a large increase in social media comments around geo-engineering since January, accusing us of covering up secret projects and wrongly blaming geo-engineering for the cool and wet weather we’ve recently had. Worldwide, there have been twice as many mentions of geo-engineering this year on X, formerly known as Twitter, than over the last six months of 2023.

    They do seem to be obsessed with something which very few people actually believe:

    “No, UK weather is not being manipulated”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckmmkdr0m2po

    Liked by 1 person

  94. MikeH,

    The BBC’s attempt at fact-checking was no better.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cglk87d817zo.amp

    Firstly, they state that their fact-check only refers to some of the claims that Trump had made. I think it is fair to assume that the claims they chose not to cover were those they couldn’t find fault with. That’s not how an unbiased fact-check is supposed to work.

    Secondly, the fact-check seems very nit-picking at times. For example, Trump’s claim that the inflation under Biden was the “highest we’ve seen” is debunked by referring to the 1920’s inflation. But “we” didn’t see that because we weren’t alive then. Similarly, the claim of “no inflation” under Trump is refuted because it was actually 1.4%, which isn’t zero. Well, maybe so, but in modern-day terms it is as close to zero as one could ever expect. Also, claims that crime rates have risen under Biden are supposedly debunked by reference to falling rates of violent crime only! That’s such a cheap trick.

    I could go on but I won’t bother.

    Liked by 2 people

  95. More on the climate crisis…:

    “Bumper strawberry crop at pick-your-own farm”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj35n320402o

    “A common assumption is that the number-one complaint from farmers is about the unpredictable British weather.

    But Paddy Ivens, who has worked on his family farm near Peterborough since 1980, said this year had been the best he had known for strawberries.

    Mr Ivens, 61, put it all down to the perfect weather conditions which he said had helped produce 18 tonnes of the fruit….

    …Over the past three weeks, strawberry production and sales have been 14% higher than last year, according to British Berry Growers, the industry body.”

    Like

  96. Remote isles may solve mystery of ‘Snowball Earth’ (msn.com)

    Story by Pallab Ghosh – Science Correspondent – how he got that title is a mystery to me.

    Partial quote – “We capture that moment of entering an ice age in Scotland that is missing in all other localities in the world,” Prof Graham Shields of University College London, who led the research, told BBC News. “Millions of critical years are missing in other places because of glacial erosion – but it is all there in the layers of rock in the Garvellachs.”

    OK – so no solving/answers on what caused “snowball Earth” or how It’s now “boiling Earth”.

    love the end bit – “the golden spike hammered in at locations identified as the best record of planet-changing geological moments – though to ward off thieves the spike is not actually made of gold.”

    Damn – they read my mind, I’m a good swimmer (glug glug).

    Liked by 1 person

  98. Just another random “science” discourse on how all of the worlds’ problems are due to you know what:

    https://www.sciencealert.com/bad-omen-ancient-pyramid-in-mexico-collapses-into-pile-of-rubble

    “A precious stone pyramid in Mexico is the latest to succumb to an increasingly chaotic global climate. …”

    The moral wrap:

    “Watching them [heritage sites in general] collapse from a climate that has been drastically altered by our own behavior is disgusting to watch …”

    Because in the past, stones never tumbled down slopes. That they do so now underscores our own fundamental evil.

    Liked by 3 people

  99. From that same article:

    In a recent Facebook post Alvarez said that before the arrival of foreign conquerors in Mexico, something similar happened, and it was because the gods were “displeased”.

    But it’s still climate change….

    Liked by 2 people

  100. “Met Office Records Hottest Day of the Year at a Weather Station Next to a Massive Heat-Generating Electricity Sub-Station”

    https://dailysceptic.org/2024/08/20/met-office-records-hottest-day-of-the-year-at-a-weather-station-next-to-a-massive-heat-generating-electricity-sub-station/

    Earlier this month the Met Office declared the hottest day of the year so far in the U.K. with the temperature reaching 34.8ÂşC in Cambridge. The Met Office claimed it was only the eleventh time since 1961 that the temperature had reached that level, with six of these occasions having been recorded in the last 10 years. Needless to say, missing from the account was a note that the station in Cambridge’s National Institute for Agricultural Botany (NIAB) is located just metres from a massive heat-generating electricity sub-station complex.…

    Liked by 2 people

  103. off point perhaps but I vaguely recall a discussion upon Grenfell here shortly after the disaster. At the time I made the observation that well above the main part of the burning building and separated from it by floors of non-burning apartments would be apartments fully ablaze (as seen through their outer windows). This feature is apparent in photographs republished this morning, especially evident in the one in the Telegraph. The cladding is again identified as the main cause and route taken by the fire, yet if this was the case, why the gaps in the fire’s upward progression? Can someone explain this to me?

    Like

  105. Alan – no answer from me on that question, but notice nobody asks why the cladding was needed in the first place – partial quote – “The renovation aimed to replace the substandard heating system, replace the windows, increase the thermal efficiency of the tower and improve appearance of the tower in the style of the academy”

    Funny that the MSM only report “improve appearance of the tower in the style of the academy”

    Like

  106. Spiked makes the claim that the cladding was due to climate targets. I’m not sure they can place 100% of the blame there, since it is nice to be warm in winter and cool in summer. An excerpt:

    After the overcladding was completed, the council boasted that it had clad ‘a high-rise block in the north of the borough’ – namely, Grenfell Tower – as part of a ‘greener housing’ strategy to ‘mitigate’ the causes of climate change. It admitted that because of the borough’s ‘limited capacity for new housing, we acknowledge the importance of seeking reasonable alterations to the existing building stock to mitigate the causes… of climate change’.

    Liked by 1 person

  107. Jit – thanks for the Spiked link, which gives further links, to many to read at the moment.

    Started to read this link – untitled (bpf.co.uk) “Warm Homes, Greener Homes: A Strategy for household Energy Management” from 2010 with Ed Miliband giving his 2020 vision, interesting to read what his plans where then & now.

    As you say “it is nice to be warm in winter and cool in summer”, no problem with that goal & no doubt Grenfell Tower (and others) needed an upgrade.

    Only comment I would make is, like NZ, money seems to have been spent to achieve a green agenda quickly, without proper oversight/risk management of the cladding solutions used.

    Like

  108. “Landslides are wreaking havoc on this California city. Locals vow to stay”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0496gdg209o

    It’s difficult to see what this article has to do with climate change – or rather, I should say, there is no evidence offered to back up the claims, but of course the BBC does insert the claims:

    …While the land has always been shifting under their feet, residents of Rancho Palos Verdes understand that climate change is exacerbating their problems….

    …Ms Twidwell said she understands climate change is partly to blame, but is furious at what she says are failures that made the situation worse….

    But maybe this is the reality of the situation:

    …Not everyone is sympathetic to the plight of homeowners in the wealthy neighbourhood. Social media is filled with comments about how residents should have known there was an issue, given a landslide first destroyed homes there in the 1950s….

    Liked by 1 person

  109. Mark – from your link – “The ground in the affluent neighbourhood has been shifting for decades, usually about a manageable foot a year.” – what is manageable about that, water, sewage, gas pipes etc?

    But locals adapted. They raised homes off foundations onto adjustable beams so the buildings would move with the land – a solution that worked for decades. Houses there were also cheaper than most coastal property in California, so for many it was worth the risk for a slice of paradise.

    So they knew the risks.

    Like

  110. A rare event – I find myself agreeing with much (though inevitably not all) that George Monbiot has to say in this article:

    “Out of 1,500 global climate policies, only 63 have really worked. That’s where green spin has got us

    Grand schemes, many backed by governments, masquerade as positive action on the environment. They should be disowned”

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/12/fossil-fuel-companies-environment-greenwashing

    ...The previous UK government pledged £20bn to “develop” carbon capture and storage: a technology that has been “developing” for 50 years. Astonishingly, Labour, despite cutting everything else, promised in its manifesto to sustain this investment.

    Another example is making oil from algae, whose rapid deployment fossil fuel companies trumpeted 15 years ago. Hundreds of millions was spent on advertising this “fuel of the future”. Since then, their research programmes have quietly been shelved.…

    …But perhaps the clearest example of perceptionware is the repeated unveiling, across the past 25 years, of mumbo-jumbo jets. Throughout this period, fossil fuel and airline companies have announced prototype green aircraft or prototype green fuels, none of which has made any significant dent in emissions or, in most cases, materialised at all. Their sole effect so far has been to help companies avoid legislative action.

    In July, our new government released details of its “sustainable aviation fuels” plan. It says it will promote three kinds of aircraft fuel: biofuel, fuel from waste and synthetic kerosene.

    I’m very much in favour of new environmental technologies. I’m very much against their use as substitutes for effective policy. The previous government, which launched this programme, was uncharacteristically candid about its purpose: “This plan is part of our approach to ensure that the rationing of flights through ‘demand management’ is ruled out.” Rishi Sunak scrapped government proposals for new aviation taxes, while the Department for Transport claimed “the aviation sector can achieve net zero through efficiency improvements, cleaner fuels and new technologies”: a heroic assault on the truth, even by Tory standards....

    …As for using waste, this promise is repeatedly rolled out to justify disastrous policies. Biodiesel would be made from used cooking oil, but as soon as production increased, new palm oil was used instead. Biomass burners would mop up forestry waste, but soon started taking whole trees and, in some cases, entire forests. Biogas would be made from sewage and food waste, but operators quickly discovered they could produce more with dedicated crops like maize and potatoes. Why? Because waste is generally low in energy, variable and expensive to handle. Already, there’s intense competition for the small portion of waste that might be commercially useful, as companies chase carbon payments: so much so that fresh palm oil has been sold as waste oil, as this attracts a higher premium.

    In principle, synthetic kerosene, made by combining green hydrogen with carbon dioxide, is a better option. But this technology is extremely expensive. After 25 years, it remains an “infant industry”: that’s some infancy. This is why the government envisages that only 3.5% of jet fuel in the UK will be made this way by 2040....

    Liked by 1 person

  111. Mark – his opening statement – “Let’s talk about perceptionware. Perceptionware is technology whose main purpose is to create an impression of action. Whether it will ever work at scale is less important, in some cases entirely beside the point. If it reassures the public and persuades government not to regulate damaging industries, that’s mission accomplished.”

    He seems blind to an obvious target for this “insight” – offshore/onshore windfarms, pylons, solar arrays etc. wonder why, as Monbiot is keen on rewilding?

    Like

  112. It seems the UK is comprised of two nations – those with the Guardian mindset with regard to energy policy, and the rest of us. I find this piece to be particularly dispiriting, intellectually lightweight, and heavily flawed:

    “No more sticking-plaster solutions: Britain’s green agenda is on solid ground
    Showing climate delivery can be done effectively and fairly would be an extraordinary climate legacy for Keir Starmer”

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/21/no-more-sticking-plaster-solutions-britains-green-agenda-is-on-solid-ground

    Liked by 1 person

  113. Mark,

    I saw that headline. I couldn’t bring myself to read the article. At the moment I am reading a fascinating book by Brian Greene on the science behind parallel universes. I haven’t got to the chapter on Guardian readers yet.

    Liked by 3 people

  117. Mark – thanks for thecanary link.

    Notice the article notes this –

    “The Guardian reported on Kyte’s appointment – but failed to mention her links to Quadrature. It instead dedicated hundreds of words to praising her. Odd, when you realise that just a year prior, the Guardian ran an expose on Quadrature.

    In 2023, it noted that:

    Quadrature Climate Foundation was set up by Quadrature Capital, a multibillion-pound investment fund founded by the enigmatic billionaires Greg Skinner and Suneil Setiya. Quadrature Capital has stakes worth more than $170m (ÂŁ135m) in fossil fuel companies, according to filings with US regulators.

    Some of the world’s best-known climate campaign groups have taken millions of pounds in donations from a foundation run by billionaire hedge fund bosses whose investment fund has invested in fossil fuel companies, the Guardian has learned.

    Groups including the European Climate Foundation, the Carbon Tracker Initiative and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have taken millions of pounds in grants over the past two years from Quadrature Climate Foundation, according to filings with the Charity Commission. WWF told the Guardian on Tuesday it would investigate the donation.”

    Liked by 1 person

  119. Remember when we were told that 15 minute cities were a massive exaggeration and a denialist talking-point?

    “Plan for nearly 10,000 homes in Canterbury delayed”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly2g7jp2gpo

    In March, the local authority announced its plans to scrap the previous administration’s local plan.

    The plans proposed splitting the city into zones, with driving across their borders banned.

    Like

  123. Multiple ads on commercial radio this morning warning about the dangers of tampering with gas meters. I’ve never heard such ads before: a sign of the desperate measures folk resort to when their bills become unmanageable?

    Liked by 1 person

  124. Mike H, that’s interesting. Other than crooks (who I optimistically assume are a small proportion of the population), the only obvious reason for tampering with a gas meter is to try to get round unaffordable bills. A worrying sign of the times. Under this insane government it will only get worse.

    Like

  125. Mark; after posting it occurred to me that this may have been triggered by the explosion in Newcastle a few days ago. If memory serves, there have been a few “gas explosions” over recent months.
    Of course, having got rid of meter-readers, the gas companies have no knowledge of the state of their meters. So any deterioration, let alone tampering, will go undetected until….

    Liked by 2 people

  126. Posting this here as I couldn’t find a thread relating to methane.

    Jo Nova has a great report on how the recent rise in methane levels turns out to be driven by microbial activity, not the natural gas industry:
    https://joannenova.com.au/2024/10/mysterious-record-methane-surge-since-2020-was-not-fossil-fuels-but-90-due-to-microbes/

    Irrespective of the source, methane gets a lot of bad press for being “X times more powerful than CO2” as a green house gas, where X is anything from 30 to 80 depending on which report you read.
    Never mentioned is the fact that those ratings are derived from lab work on methane in dry air. That conveniently overlooks the fact that water vapour has a broad absorption spectrum which swamps that of methane – and it is present at 10 – 20,000 times the concentration.

    Taken together, these points mean that fossil methane can be totally discounted as a driver of climate change.

    Liked by 2 people

  127. Mike H,

    Yes, it’s always good to post comments against relevant articles if they exist, but if not, Open Mic is ideal for the purpose. It would be good if it became a place where ongoing discussions occurred, much as they used to do on the Open Thread section of the Bishop Hill website when it was still active.

    Like

  128. Mike H,
    the “X times more powerful factor” for Methane is chosen for it’s scariness not because it represents reality. To get the 30 to 80 number they are comparing on a ‘per molecule’ or ‘per ppmv’ basis, yet they always talk of he effect of Carbon dioxide on the basis of ‘per doubling’ (of concentration). If they used the ‘per doubling’ basis for Methane, then the effect is 0.18 times that of Carbon dioxide, not 30 to 80. Calculations to show this are here:

    The Methane Myth


    The IPCC can be expected to do something like this but what I find shocking is that no scientists have called them out over it.
    PS. The same applies to Nitrous oxide: see under the ‘CAGW’ menu, ‘The Nitrous Nonsense’.

    Liked by 1 person

  129. Boris: thanks for that. I’ll have a read later.
    I have yet to come across any argument refuting the absorption swamping by water vapour argument. Then there’s the short lifetime of methane in the atmosphere.

    Like

  130. You won’t hear about this from the BBC (from the Knowledge):
    “People need to “stop pretending” the war against coal has been won, says Javier Blas in Bloomberg. As global demand for electricity rises faster than renewables can increase supply, the world is turning back to the “dirtiest” of fossil fuels. The most recent annual World Energy Outlook review quietly revised upwards its long-term estimates for coal use. By the end of this decade, consumption is expected to be 6% higher than it was last year – an increase equivalent to the entire consumption of Japan, the world’s fourth-largest coal burner. Levels aren’t set to drop to a meaningful level – where they were in 2000, say – until “well beyond 2050”.”

    Liked by 2 people

  131. What’s caused the deadly floods in Spain this week? The Cold Drop or DANA low explained

    Horrible tragedy & death. The affected are grieving & angry.

    From the above link I found this quote –

    “The Valencia flood that occurred on 14 October 1957 resulted in significant damage to property and caused the deaths of at least 81 people. In response to the tragedy, the Spanish government sought to enact a plan to reroute the city’s main river, the Turia, which lead to the deadly flood then. But this time, despite the rerouting of the river and improved defences, the city again saw catastrophic flooding with even higher death toll.

    In a warmer climate, extreme precipitation linked to cold drops could increase by up to 88% in north-eastern Spain and 61% in the adjoining Mediterranean Sea according to a study.”

    Like

  132. There doesn’t appear to be a thread on nuclear energy so I’ll post this here.

    China has just connected the first of its CAP 1400 reactors to the grid, according to World Nuclear News.
    Construction started in 2019. It’s the first one but it is a development of a design they have built many times, even so……
    “The first of two demonstration Guohe One (CAP1400) reactors at Huaneng Group’s Shidaowan site in China’s Shandong province has been connected to the grid. The 1400 MWe pressurised water reactor design is intended to be deployed in large numbers across the country, as well as for export.
    The CAP1400 is an enlarged version of the CAP1000 PWR developed from the Westinghouse AP1000, with consulting input from the USA-based company. Construction of unit 1 started in June 2019 and unit 2 in April 2020. The reactor design is expected to take 56 months to build, with later units coming down to 50 months.”

    Liked by 3 people

  134. Found this link after reading a comment over on lucia’s Blackboard –

    EU chief suggested to Trump buying US gas instead of Russia’s – Insider Paper

    Partial quotes from the link dated November 8, 2024 –

    “Europe still received “a lot of LNG via Russia”, von der Leyen said, adding: “Why not replace it by American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices.”

    “The European Union has ramped up purchases of American LNG since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but has been unable to completely cut its energy link with Moscow.”

    “a lot of LNG via Russia” !!! If this is true, it’s news to me. Has anybody read/heard anything about this that I missed?

    Like

  136. MikeH – thanks for the link (from 10 Apr 2024) which answers my question.

    Partial quote from the article –

    “European policymakers have grappled with the prospect of a complete cessation in both Russian pipeline and LNG since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

    Despite this, both pipeline gas continues to flow to the Continent via Ukraine, while the prevalence of existing take-or-pay LNG contracts with Russian suppliers continue to represent a stumbling block in its efforts to ban Russian imports.”

    I found “pipeline gas continues to flow to the Continent via Ukraine” hard to believe/fathom given the ongoing war. So did a bit digging & found this Reuters article August 12, 2024 –

    Is it the end for Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine? | Reuters

    A couple of snippets from that article –

    “WHY DOES RUSSIA STILL SEND GAS VIA UKRAINE? About half of Russia’s natural gas exports to Europe go through Ukraine. The main reasons are money and history. ……. Ukraine, once an integral part of the Soviet Union, also earns money from the transit.”

    “WILL THE TRANSIT CONTINUE? In December 2019, Moscow and Kyiv signed a long-term five-year agreement for the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine: 45 bcm in 2020 and 40 bcm per year in 2021-2024. The agreement on Russian gas transit to Europe through Ukraine expires in 2024, and Kyiv has said it has no intention of extending it or concluding a new deal.”

    This was all news to me, maybe the MSM covered this and I just missed it.

    Like

  138. dfhunter: Russia’s ongoing oil and gas trading is a very murky business and it seems that no-one wants to look too closely. A lot of oil is still being exported and finding its way to European markets after trans-shipment or as refined products via third parties.
    LNG gets similar sleight-of-hand treatment where it is off-loaded in a European port but then re-exported to another European destination. Thus the first port is not “importing” it and the second port can claim it’s from another European country.
    The MSM has ignored this – it’s quite an embarrassment for the powers that be. I’ve come across various snippets on a variety of websites to do with energy, oil, maritime news, etc..

    Liked by 1 person

  139. MikeH – that’s the great thing about web blogs. I find a comment/ref on a US blog & post it here.

    Within 2 days you provide a link that backs up what the US guy said.

    ps – I was aware of the “oil is still being exported and finding its way to European markets”.

    The MSM reported it as unrefined, so countries can import/refine & export it without breaking sanctions, if I recall correctly.

    As Mark says a “bizarre” situation, but partial quote from your link above “France, Spain and Belgium were the European countries to take in most of the volumes in 2024 so far” makes it obvious that “Europe is set to continue to rely on Russian LNG in short term”. Wonder how long a “short term” lasts ?

    Like

  140. More on Europe’s LNG imports (from gCaptain Daily):
    https://gcaptain.com/eus-von-der-leyen-suggests-us-lng-could-replace-russian-supply/?subscriber=true&goal=0_f50174ef03-baae651e11-170410014&mc_cid=baae651e11&mc_eid=9275323244
    Looks like the “short term” will last until the present contracts expire, provided sufficient supplies are available from elsewhere. So Trump’s re-election is good news as US exports can be expected to expand whereas Biden/Harris were clearly committed to suppressing the whole US oil & gas industry.

    Liked by 1 person

  142. Nothing to do with climate or energy policy, although there is an indirect link, given how so many “studies” produce weird results in those areas too – results that generate headlines. During the debate over Brexit we were told (wrongly) that Brexit would lead to falling house prices, and that it would be a disaster for the economy. If I remember rightly, Sadiq Khan was one of those anti-Brexiteers who queued up behind that narrative. Today the BBC (another anti-Brexit organisation, which received funding from the EU) gives us this:

    “House price fall could boost London economy – Khan”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y3pk9zqq7o

    Like

  143. “Social enterprise launches programme at HMP Haverigg”

    https://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/24727895.social-enterprise-launches-programme-hmp-haverigg/

    …Forests with Impact has set up commercial tree nurseries at HMP Haverigg, aiming to support prisoner rehabilitation and address the climate emergency….

    …Sarah MacGregor, programme founder and lead at Forests with Impact and head of social sustainability at Sunbelt Rentals, said: “We couldn’t have reached this milestone without the dedication of our partners.

    “Together, we’re tackling the climate emergency, supporting prisoner rehabilitation, and boosting community skills.

    The launch event was supported by Arena Group, who donated a marquee and provided prisoners with valuable experience in event management.

    Like

  144. I should add that I have no problem with prisoner rehabilitation, of course. If prisoners, on release, become useful members of society, that’s a great result. It’s the “climate emergency” angle that gets my goat. Even prisoners aren’t safe from indoctrination. I’m not alone in that opinion. There’s only one comment:

    Sounds like they’re getting it ready to be a Re-education Camp for those who are not believers in The Science(which is settled) and prefer reality and not fantasy’s. Another Orwellian vision brought to you by the Uniparty.

    Like

  145. Copied comment from Lucia’s –

    “Mike M.

    Tom Scharf,

    I will be shocked if Russian missiles start hitting military sites in Poland. Putin does not have resources to waste and can not afford to get NATO directly involved in the war.

    I assume Putin will do something in response. I don’t know what it will be, but it won’t be that reckless.

    Addition – It seems that the EU is still buying gas from Russia. That might be a target for Putin.”

    Biden has just put a spoke in someone’s wheel.

    Like

  147. Thought I would check in on some old sites I used to visit, just to see what they are saying –

    Greenhouse Forces | Open Mind – header is “KIDS’ LIVES MATTER so let’s stop climate change”

    The site run by tamino – has 7 comments.

    Like

  148. “Car speed limits could be cut but raised for HGVs”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpqdgy8rq0eo

    I am conflicted by this article, which relates to Scotland. On the one hand, the justification for increasing the speed limit for lorries to 50mph (while cutting the speed limit for cars) is because a trail run on the A9 led to a drop in the number of accidents, because fewer dangerous overtaking manoeuvres resulted from lorries being able to go faster – fewer frustrated car drivers risked overtaking when it wasn’t entirely safe to do so. I have to confess, that sounds plausible to me.

    On the other hand, a faster heavy lorry takes a lot longer to stop than does one travelling at a slower speed. I suspect that over roads as a whole (the A9 certainly isn’t typical) this might result in more accidents of a serious nature. But I don’t know. However, I wonder if road safety is the real driver (pardon the pun) of this proposed change? I suspect this paragraph from the BBC article might have got to the heart of it:

    …He [Martin Reid, the RHA’s policy director for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland] added: “We also know that lorries use less fuel and create fewer emissions when they can drive at 50mph, and shorter journeys create savings which can be passed on to customers.”…

    Is it about reducing casualties or reducing emissions? If it’s genuinely about the former, or about both, then fair enough. Any thoughts?

    Like

  149. “In a report on sustainability released earlier this year, Chris Wright – who is being proposed for the job by the Trump transition team – said the UK’s embrace of green energy had been a costly failure that drove away investment.” & similar on EU green energy.

    Of course he will be tainted & labelled a shill – “Denver-based Liberty Energy, one of the world’s largest and most successful fracking services companies, was founded by Mr Wright. In a biography on its website he describes himself as a “tech nerd turned entrepreneur and a dedicated humanitarian”.

    Net zero is making Britain poorer, says Trump’s energy secretary

    Liked by 1 person

  151. Twitter update:

    Twitter (X) now allows you to read feeds of accounts that block you. You just can’t like, retweet or comment on tweets. You can like, retweet or comment on retweeted tweets. These rules seem to change quite often. I’ve noticed times when I couldn’t do anything on retweeted tweets and when I could do everything but comment on them.

    They also seem to be at war with Substack. The Substack (@substack) account is suspended. If you have the word “substack” anywhere in a tweet, you can’t post a picture.

    Liked by 1 person

  152. “Cafes ‘breaking silence’ on climate change”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y70qv87w3o

    Sessions in cafes which discuss climate change are helping “break the silence” on the issue, the coach who set them up has said.

    Rebecca Nestor, who facilitates so-called climate cafes in Oxford, said the group meetings were spaces for people to talk about climate change without involving topics about taking specific actions or “debating science”.

    She said the conversations provided “a sense of connection and community solace”.…

    Silence? What silence? The subject is shoe-horned into every TV and radio programme, regardless of context or relevance, and the newspapers never shut up about it.

    Liked by 1 person

  153. “Seal colony thriving ‘thanks to secluded site'”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy3dvw14vgo

    A large colony of seals is thriving on an English coastline thanks to a “lack of human disturbance”, according to the site’s manager

    Orford Ness in Suffolk is the home to the county’s first breeding colony of grey seals.

    The site, managed by the National Trust, welcomes more and more seals during each winter breeding season.

    Matt Wilson, the trust’s countryside manager for the Suffolk and Essex coast, said he hoped the site would rival other UK seal colonies.

    Some mistake, surely? After all, climate change is responsible for death and destruction everywhere. Normal service has been resumed today, less than three weeks after that dangerously optimistic article:

    “Rising sea and storms ‘almost disastrous’ for seals”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cewx1pq1zxjo

    An independent animal hospital has said winter storms and rising sea levels “can be almost disastrous” for grey seal pups.

    South Essex Wildlife Hospital, based at Orsett, said it helped rescue 100 grey seal pups in the last 12 months, compared with about 20 seals five years ago.

    Grey seals on the east coast usually have their pups in December and storms can leave mothers separated from their infants.

    Tom Linsel, chief veterinarian at the hospital, said the team was on high alert this winter.

    He said turbulent weather could be “almost disastrous” for the pups.

    “Especially on the east coast where the storms can be really high – especially in the last few years where it looks like climate change is affecting the height of the water,” said Mr Linsel.….

    Climate change to blame, apparently, even though the article also says:

    …There is not enough scientific evidence to conclude that climate change is making storms more frequent in the UK, external, but it is making rain associated with storms more intense.….

    The article doesn’t mention the good news story relating to Orford Ness, featured by the BBC earlier this month in a fit of absent-mindedness. It does, however, conclude with three paragraphs which seem to contradict everything that went before:

    ...Meanwhile, the RSPCA has actually reported a decrease in the total number of seals – of all species and ages – it was treating.

    A spokesperson said 272 were admitted to its four wildlife centres in the UK this year, compared with 303 two yeas ago.

    Its emergency hotline received 499 reports relating specifically to seals in 2024, compared with 647 in 2022.

    Like

  154. Mark – just noticed your “Cafes ‘breaking silence’ on climate change” comment.

    Just to expand your quote –

    “Ms Nestor said the meet-ups did not involve talk about climate action, science, or government policy. “The idea is that people, who have only recently discovered this is a serious thing, don’t feel too embarrassed about not having done anything so far.”

    She said the cafes attracted people of all ages, which created “very touching and quite painful” discussions between generations. “The young people are … typically not angry with the older people so shame and guilt can be really thought about in the group.”

    So “The young people are … typically not angry with the older people” implies some are.

    So the meme “you old folk/b*stards have destroyed the planet & our future” rolls on.

    Meanwhile the young people I know take a year out to travel the world.

    Like

  158. Tomorrow could be interesting on the power front. Wind has dropped away to 3 GW now. Unless it picks up again tomorrow morning, gas is going to have to work hard as demand will be high.

    Like

  159. 6:30pm BBC1 Hull : Huge hit piece against Trump
    Why ? cos he posted 17 words on North Sea oil and one word was “windmills”
    And BBC Hull is closely aligned with the Wind PR establishment
    expires at 7pm Saturday https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0026gdm/look-north-east-yorkshire-and-lincolnshire-evening-news-03012025

    Spinning the turbines : BBC local newsPR had a long opening item about Trump saying something about North Sea wind turbines.
    Was this a TRUTH item or SPIN ?
    Well truth items begin with the actual source. Show the video of the actual person saying the thing
    OR cos this time it was a social media post simply put it on the screen so we can read it ourselves
    Far from doing this the BBC item never showed a screenshot of the post
    rather it was was “Mr Trump is *fuming* ” “Trump RANTED”
    FFS It’s only 17 words. How can it be a rant ?
    – “Rant” is a loaded word .. so not impartial reporting
    Likewise you could detect no “fuming”.. rather that is BBC loaded wording
    I use asterisks to highlight other BBC-loaded-words
    Later the enviro reporter made the usual “accidental” mistake of mixing up UK-ENERGY, withUK-electricity production to make it look like most UK ENERGY comes from renewables
    Furthermore the report was carefully crafted collage style of images and mostly lefty voices
    ie it’s PR NOT news

    Transcript
    1m44s Presenter introduction.
    “… Donald Trump has used his position as the world’s most powerful man to *attack this area*’s wind energy industry
    (Doh Trump didn’t even mention Hull, so didn’t attack it, he did attack UK anti-oil pro-wind policy)
    Mr Trump is *fuming* that U.S companies are being priced out of the North Sea Gas and Oil market
    Responding to the way that Britain is trying to go green
    He said the UK is making a very big mistake.
    And referring to the huge windfarms off our coast of East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
    Lincolnshire he *ranted*
    “get rid of windmills”
    which he previously *WRONGLY* said cause cancer
    First tonight this from our environment correspondent Paul Murphy”

    Murphy 2m22 reporter is a sneering green-activist
    He starts with a stupid montage of Trump dancing
    “..His views on wind farms are *notorious*
    for his *unproven* and *unevidenced* claim about their link to whale deaths ”
    ” and again without evidence he linked windturbines to serious human illness”
    But now the President-elect is turning his sights onto the North Sea
    Attacking the government for taxing the Oil and Gas Industry in order to encourage what Mr Trump calls windmills”
    3:14 “From Scotland down through the North Sea to the Lincolnshire Wash these machines are being built in their hundreds by a growing industry.”
    (LIE .. only some blades come from UK
    Most parts like the towers come from abroad.)

    3:35 Clip David Laister : PR for Humber Marine Renewables.
    “..like to invite DT to Hull for our 2025 Connections Conference”

    3:47 Doug Parr Greenpeace UK
    “We are a world leader in that industry and that’s where we should be putting our efforts to get the kind of new clean green jobs that we need”

    3m52 Murphy
    ” oil, gas and coal made up 29% of the UK’s *ENERGY* in 2024
    whilst Renewables including offshore wind and solar made up 45%
    And to aid this transition the UK government increased the tax on North Sea oil and gas from 35% to 38%.”
    Screen label “source Carbon Brief”
    (LIE : the vast majority of UK energy is NOT renewables. Murphy tricked us by using the word ENERGY when he meant ELECTRICITY)

    Murphy “And that tax is deterring US oil and gas companies from operating in the North Sea”

    Suddenly there is the first non-lefty voice the Lincolnshire County leader Colin Davie
    4m22s “offshore wind is something that we’ve always supported in Lincolnshire.
    I think Donald Trump’s point however is about the cost of energy to the consumer and we already have the highest energy costs in the Western world”
    Yes just 15 seconds

    4m37s Murphy “This is a direct attack on UK energy policy by the U.S president elect.
    the UK government has been approached for a response by the BBC.”

    Like

  160. Then back to the studio and a pre-recorded interview with Richard Tice
    4m55s Presenter “well Richard Tice is the Reform MP for Boston and Skegness
    From where beachgoers of course can see hundreds of offshore super turbines.
    He’s also a supporter of Donald Trump and his discussed today’s story with me just before we came on the air”
    5m14s “Mr Tice is Donald Trump talking nonsense by saying that there we need to get rid of windmills in the North Sea green ??”
    Tice “Completely the opposite. Mr Trump is right the growth in renewable wind turbines being a catastrophe for the United Kingdom.
    it’s directly linked to the increased in our electricity bills over the last 10 years or so. We’ve got the most expensive electricity almost in the Western world now.
    and yet this Labour government is trying to pursue the net zero Madness”

    Presenter ” the chief scientist at Greenpeace says renewable energy is much cheaper than fossil fuels. the international ..”

    Tice “So explain to me why our electricity bills are now the highest in the Western world ?
    And those countries that have not got lots of renewable energy, actually have got much lower bills than ours.
    Why has America got electricity bills a third of ours ?
    I will tell you why because they used their own gas, their own SHALE gas
    Our CLOWNS in Westminster have decided not to use our energy treasure under our feet.
    It’s financial suicide !”

    Presenter ” many in Grimsby and Hull work on blades or servicing offshore turbines, they will be horrified at this this news.
    And horrified at one of our local MPs saying this”

    Tice “Nonsense many many more people on the East Coast including a Lincolnshire worked on North Sea oil and gas than currently the few people that work in the
    offshore turbines industry.
    Let me tell you 80% of the offshore turbines are foreign owned.
    The majority of them are serviced by overseas engineers and servicing companies
    and overseas contractors

    Presenter “Yes/No answer, are you against renewable energy ?”

    Tice “it’s got way way above its stations
    There’s way too much of it.
    it’s made our bills way to expensive.
    So we’ve been lied to, we’ve been utterly misled
    and now it’s leading to hundreds of pylons in my constituency of Boston and Skegness.
    Sime of my constituents are raging mad about
    and so am I !”
    Presenter “At half past eleven this morning wind and solar was providing more of our power in this country than fossil fuels !”
    Tice “Stop, at he same time we were importing 12% of our electricity leading to higher bills, sending our money and our jobs overseas because we couldn’t produce enough electricity of our own in this country.
    which is ludicrous given that we sit on so much of our own energy treasure.
    It’s gross-negligence of the most most criminal kind.”

    ” well I think we could talk about this for an extremely long time.
    thank you”

    Presenter continues live
    “support for Mr Trump from Martin says I agree wholeheartedly what monstrous visions they are completely destroying the seaward view in multiple locations on the East Coast generally and Skegness in particular.

    What do you think about this one ?
    is Donald Trump right should we keep the North Sea open for gas and oil drilling and knock down the wind farms ?
    30% of UK power, as I just said, came from wind power today.
    let me know what you think
    what do you think of what Donald Trump has said today he wants to get rid of offshore wind turbines ?
    agree or not and why”
    end 7m52s

    Liked by 2 people

  164. dfhunter,

    I suspect humans are changing the climate. Ever-expanding numbers of us, building on flood plains, chopping down forests, concreting over huge swathes of the planet almost certainly affect climate in ways that most of us can’t even begin to understand. It’s the fixation on greenhouse gas emissions as being responsible for all climate change, to the exclusion of all other factors (both natural and man-made) that I don’t understand.

    Like

  165. Mark – I agree with all you say. After I posted that comment I had a look at Sage Journals website and what caught my eye was a link to The need for high-resolution paleoclimate research – Ulf BĂźntgen, Jan Esper, 2024

    To much to comment on but this quote caught my eye –

    “Comparison of the 2023 warmth against the coldest reconstructed summer in 536 CE at the onset of the Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA; BĂźntgen et al., 2016; BĂźntgen et al., 2022) reveals a maximum temperature amplitude of 3.93 °C. The warmest pre-industrial summer was in 246 CE towards the end of the Roman Warm Period.”

    Well at least they give us a new term “Late Antique Little Ice Age”.

    Esper rang a bell re Steve Mac over on Climate Audit – Reconstructing the Esper Reconstruction ÂŤ Climate Audit

    Jit gets a comment in on that short thread 🙂

    Like

  166. On the power generation front it’s already looking like squeaky bum time.
    Demand is over 45 GW.
    Wind + solar are less than 5 GW.
    All of the working interconnectors are flowing our way at 7.5 GW (must be close to their max?).
    Nukes and biomass also flat out at a bit of 7 GW.
    Gas doing all the heavy lifting at 25 GW.

    Evening demand can be expected to be higher. I’m planning to raise the house temp higher than normal throught the afternoon, stock up with logs for the fire and put my torches etc to hand.

    Liked by 1 person

  168. “New play The Intrusion coming to Lowestoft in March“

    A new dark comedy play about the climate crisis is coming to Lowestoft

    It’s at the East Point Pavilion, if anybody has the misfortune to be in my old home town on March 13th. I was at the East Point Pavilion a couple of months ago, and it certainly has a post-apocalyptic feel about it – all the food stalls were shut and every table was empty. It had toilets though.

    Quoth the artistic director,

    “As the world hurtles ever closer to climate catastrophe, we were interested in supporting a playfully comic response to a desperate situation.”

    Liked by 1 person

  170. Meanwhile, Norway maintains its sensible and pragmatic approach to energy:
    “The Norwegian Ministry of Energy has awarded 53 new production licenses on its continental shelf as part of its annual APA 2024 licensing round, reinforcing the country’s commitment to maintaining its position as a stable energy supplier to Europe.”
    Of course it helps that this is also highly lucrative…..

    Liked by 2 people

  171. Following John Ridgway’s link to Climate etc on another post, I found this link by Christos in comments interesting –

    Ancient forest uncovered by melting ice in the Rocky Mountains | CBC Radio

    Can you guess what “Cathy Whitlock, a professor in the department of Earth sciences at Montana State University” has to say about this?

    Partial quote –

    “Whitlock says that while it’s an exciting discovery, it’s bittersweet. The only reason they were able to make this discovery is because of the melting ice patch.

    “I’m thrilled because it’s a window on the past. It tells us what this high-elevation environment was like 6,000 years ago,” said Whitlock.

    “But as a person who worries about the future and climate change and what these alpine areas will look like for my grandchildren, it makes me really sad. These ice patches are melting and they probably won’t be there in a few more decades.”

    Could quote more along the same lines, but you get the drift.

    Liked by 1 person

  172. The lack of joined-up thinking is really quite scary. Natural climate change resulted in an area that was once covered by a glacier seeing the glacier retreat and a forest grow there. Then the glaciers came back and covered the forests. Now the glaciers are retreating and we can see that there used to be a forest where until recently there was ice. It must have been ice-free for a long time in order that a forest had time to grow there. But now it’s sad that the ice is melting, it’s all our fault and it’s a crisis. Hmmm.

    Liked by 1 person

  173. df. Yes I do get your drift but I also appreciate Professor Whitlock’s viewpoint. If those ice patches are appreciated then their loss will be felt and as harbingers of perhaps greater changes and losses. As a former earth scientist myself I can understand and commiserate.

    Like

  174. For me the most important fact about this story is that the trees beneath the ice indicate that 6000 years ago the tree line must have been substantially higher than at present(by at least 160 ft). Given that those trunks were not at all straggly, the trees must have grown well below the tree line. This implies that when trees grew conditions, especially temperatures, were much more favourable, well exceeding those of today. The trees probably thus indicate temperatures must have been higher 6000 years ago than they are today. Whitlock must have been aware of this. I wonder why it was not mentioned.

    Liked by 3 people

  175. On Sunday 9th Feb BBC Radio 3 is broadcasting a bold reimagining/radical reworking* of George Bernard Shaw’s play ‘Saint Joan’, which was about Joan of Arc. The new version is called ‘Saint Joan of the Anthropocene’ and is essentially about Greta Thunberg.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027k7g

    GBS said that there were no villains in his play. I bet that’s not true of the upcoming R3 version.

    But Toby Jones is in it, so it can’t be all bad.

    ===
    *That’s what Auntie Beeb calls agitprop dramas that are loosely based on classic plays or books. Such reimaginings/reworkings are moved to the present day or the near future, the sex of the leading characters is sometimes changed (but never when the original characters were female) and aspects of modern politics always feature bigly – Brexit, climate change, evil Tories, etc.

    Liked by 1 person

  176. Vinny, thanks for that. I had no idea. Each passing day reaffirms my pleasure at no longer paying for a TV licence. My conscience wouldn’t allow me to be offering financial support to the ceaseless propaganda.

    Like

  177. “Reeves’s Heathrow third runway report was commissioned by London airport

    The chancellor is under fire after a study cited as evidence for expanding the terminal to boost the UK’s economic growth was ordered by Heathrow itself”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/01/reevess-heathrow-third-runway-report-was-commissioned-by-london-airport

    Rachel Reeves was facing criticism on Saturday night as it was confirmed that a report she cited as evidence that a third ­runway at Heathrow would boost the UK economy was commissioned by the airport itself.…

    If true, it’s reasonable that Guardian/Observer draws this to the public’s attention. But the faux outrage on their part is hypocrisy on stilts, given the vast number of Guardian climate scare story and net-zero/heat-pump/EV/wind turbine etc -supporting stories that appear in the Guardian on a regular basis, and which are based on a study, survey or opinion poll commissioned by an interested party with an agenda to push.

    Liked by 1 person

  178. Alan – fair points & to be fair to Professor Whitlock’s viewpoint, the PNAS article link gives more details (long read). Found this partial quote interesting “Treeline elevation was subsequently lowered due to periods of cooling related to increased volcanism, but primarily from declining summer insolation during the late Holocene”

    Dynamic treeline and cryosphere response to pronounced mid-Holocene climatic variability in the US Rocky Mountains | PNAS

    And link – Holocene glacier activity in the British Columbia Coast Mountains, Canada – ScienceDirect

    Like

  179. Mark, there is a rumour in the news that requirement to have a TV license might be extended to those only using streaming services. E.g. in The Mirror. Still, they can’t stop us from listening to the Radio, eh?

    Like

  180. Jit,

    I might be reduced to listening to the radio. It doesn’t matter. I barely watch streaming services as it is. I am determined not to pay for the BBC unless I have absolutely no choice.

    Like

  181. Speaking of the BBC, apparently there was a Panorama documentary shown last night called something like “Rewiring Britain”, about all the grid upgrades, etc..
    Did anyone see it? I’m reluctant to spend time on any BBC output on energy, etc.

    Like

  182. MikeH,

    I didn’t see it (I can’t, as I don’t have a TV licence) but the Facebook pages of groups opposed to wind farms and the associated industrial paraphernalia have been full of it. Some of the opponents actually got some air time on the BBC, apparently.

    Like

  183. Just heard that domestic electricity prices in France are being cut by close to 20%.
    I don’t know what’s driving this cut. French prices should be relatively immune to external factors. Maybe their nukes are doing better than forecast?

    Liked by 2 people

  184. MikeH – seems your guess “Maybe their nukes are doing better than forecast” is at least part of the reason.

    Found this article from September 2024 – Significant Drop in French Electricity Bills Expected in 2025: Key Insights

    Partial quote –

    “The current electricity prices on the global market – around €60 – €70 per Megawatt hour (MWh) are still higher than those prior to 2022. 

    The Russian invasion of Ukraine, and a series of temporary closures and repair works at a number of EDF’s nuclear facilities, caused energy prices to rise by as much as 43% from 2022 onwards. 

    This was despite the government’s ‘energy shield’ taking part of the blow. 

    However, with many of these technical issues resolved, and energy prices now stabilising, prices will fall, if not to pre-2022 levels, then at least to lower than in 2024.”

    So, if the above is correct & I understand correctly, from 2022 energy prices went up by as much as 43%, but will now fall back by 15/20%.

    Liked by 1 person

  185. dfh: the French certainly hit a rocky period with their nukes a few years ago. They were part-way through a massive upgrade and refurbishment programme when covid hit, causing major delays and disruption. In addition a few plants were found to have minor stress corrosion in welds in pipework for one of the back-up safety systems. This caused shutdowns for inspections and, in a few cases, remedial works.
    However that was probably not the whole story, as you say. The spike in gas prices during the run-up to the Russian invasion is unlikely to have had much effect since they have little gas-fired generating capacity. One guess would be that the shortages of gas following the invasion left many countries, especially Germany, scrambling for electricity from anywhere which drove up prices across Europe.
    Whatever the reasons, we can only look on in envy as our power prices go the other way!

    Liked by 1 person

  186. Some positive straws in the wind….

    FT sub-headline:
    “Equinor scales back renewables push 7 years after ditching ‘oil’ from its name.
    Norwegian group to increase fossil fuel production and halve spending on green energy.”

    From David Turver’s substack:
    “Orsted Cuts Investment Plans and Torpedoes Miliband’s Clean Power 2030
    Looks like the 2.4GW Hornsea 4 Awarded a CfD in AR6 has been cancelled”

    Liked by 1 person

  187. MikeH – thanks for the heads up – the Orsted link – Ørsted adjusts its business plan to strengthen the capital structure through a disciplined, value-focused capital allocation with a reduced investment programme

    Partial quotes, to make you groan/titter –

    “I’d like to emphasise that Ørsted continues to believe in the long-term fundamentals of and value perspectives for offshore wind and renewables more broadly, based on the expected doubling of the global electricity demand by 2050.”

    “About Ørsted
    The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants. Ørsted is recognised on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action and was the first energy company in the world to have its science-based net-zero emissions target validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).”

    It has a green energy vision for the the world – Hallelujah.

    Like

  190. Not sure where to post this, so move if needed.

    Warning issued to anyone using electric heaters | UK | News | Express.co.uk

    Partial quote – “It found that a ‘concerning’ 15 percent of those who opt for a plug-in heater over central heating claimed to do this all winter, opting to leave their central heating off completely.

    Dimitrios Stefanoglou, Sustainable Innovation Analyst at Utilita, said: “Around half (51%) of the households that use portable electric heaters said they would struggle to calculate the running costs of a heater versus using gas central heating for one room. So we have done the work for them.

    “Plug-in heaters cost significantly more to operate – on average, running an electric portable heater will cost £3 per day, compared to just £0.90 per day for gas central heating. They cost between 3-3.7 times more to run, on average.

    “Heating the average living room (17.1m²) with an electric portable heater would cost £400.46, compared to £136.17 a year with a 20-year-old boiler, or £108.65 with a new gas boiler equipped with smart controls.”

    Not sure what that means for heating a whole “average” house, or the implications for dumping gas boilers in favour of all green electric heating.

    Like

  191. Perhaps there is a trap here in that some folk might decide to only heat one room of their house to save cash, and for some reason default to using a single electric heater for that job. They could just as well use the gas central heating, but turn off all the other radiators. Then heating by gas would be cheaper by a large margin. All we are really learning is that the cost of gas per kWh is lower than the cost of leccy – for now.

    Liked by 3 people

  195. “HSBC net zero goal delayed 20 years, as CEO offered 600% bonus
    Bank is criticised for pushing climate targets to 2050 and watering down environmental goals”

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/19/hsbc-net-zero-goal-delayed-20-years-ceo-bonus

    HSBC has been criticised after it delayed key parts of its climate goals by 20 years, while watering down environmental targets in a new long-term bonus plan for its chief executive…

    …The London-headquartered lender said it was reviewing its net zero emissions policies and targets – which are split between its own operations and those of the clients it finances – after realising its clients and suppliers had “seen more challenges” in cutting their carbon footprint than expected.

    HSBC had planned to hit net zero targets for its own operations – arguably a much easier goal than cutting the emissions of its loan portfolio and client base – by 2030. However, those plans, which were set in 2020, are being pushed out by two decades to 2050.

    “Progress in reducing emissions in the … supply chain component is proving slower than we anticipated,” HSBC’s annual report said. “We currently expect a 40% emissions reduction across our operations, travel and supply chain by 2030 which would mean that we would need to rely heavily on carbon offsets to achieve net zero in our supply chain by 2030.

    “As such, we have revisited our ambition, taking into account latest best practice on carbon offsets. We are now focused on achieving net zero in our operations, travel and supply chain by 2050.”…

    Liked by 1 person

  196. Rachel from Accounts should read this:

    “Energy services company Wood Group has announced that Arvind Balan has resigned as chief financial officer with immediate effect after it emerged that his professional qualifications had been incorrectly described in public statements.

    Mr Balan, who joined the company last year, admitted to an ‘honest oversight’ in referring to himself as a chartered accountant rather than a certified practicing accountant.”

    Liked by 2 people

  199. As of 09:45 interconnectors are supplying 8.6 GW – 27% of demand!
    Maybe it’s a case of making hay….the Norwegians look likely to curtail exports soon (excellent article on Watt Logic). As well as reducing our direct imports from them, there may be a knock-on effect as it will also reduce capacity available for export from our other suppliers: Belgium; Netherlands; Denmark; Germany (future).

    Liked by 1 person

  201. May I suggest a couple of small modifications to this site? It’s an excellent forum with a wide range of knowledge, experience and viewpoints which are always expressed with courtesy. So it’s a pleasure to read and I usually end up learning something. There are two adjustments which, if possible, would make it easier to use.
    1) The list of recent comments on the home page is often barely long enough to accommodate a day’s worth. So a few days away means that quite a lot of comments are missed.
    2) The post titles are often amusing but can be a bit arcane. This can make it tricky to get back to a topic when wanting to comment on a new development. Some sort of tagging or categorisation would be very useful, ideally dated to make it easy to find the most recent post.
    In any case, my thanks to those who set up and now run this site.

    Liked by 1 person

  202. MikeH,

    Thanks for the positive feedback, and for the suggestions. You may have gathered that the people who post articles here tend to do their own thing and that there is no party line. However, we do talk to each other (even if only by email) from time to time, and your suggestions might form the basis of a discussion.

    I hope one of the others is more tech savvy than me, because if it’s down to me to make technical changes, then it won’t happen, I’m afraid!

    Liked by 1 person

  203. MikeH – as a reader it’s a good suggestion, but not sure how easy it would be to change the existing right side main page format (as Mark alludes to above).

    My only suggestion/comment would be to make the “Archives” list a drop down tab button, where you pick the year you want, rather than having them all listed (but would that affect the search function?). This would free up right side vertical space to expand the “New Comments” to a week maybe!!!

    ps – while looking at the right side afresh, I notice John Shade has been missing for a good while, always liked his posts.

    Last post I can find Maybe only 15% of CO2 increase since 1750 due to us – an unsettling result for those on board that luxuriously funded liner called the SS Climate Consensus. – Climate Scepticism

    Have I missed something, is he OK and just stopped posting?

    Like

  204. Mark: thanks for that clarification. I’m a complete technonumpty so I quite understand your aversion!

    Like

  205. A few days ago Joe Public posted some info from (iirc) a parliamentary debate about electricity costs vs gas costs. I can’t recall which thread it was on and the post has dropped off the listing on the home page. Can someone tell me where to look? Thanks.

    Like

  211. Three interesting articles by Ed Hoskins, which should be read together to understand the implications of different energy policies, since we have real-life examples of how they are working out – in France, Germany and the UK. They really should be read by people in charge of UK energy policy, but I don’t suppose they will be:

    https://edmhdotme.wpcomstaging.com/2024-power-generation-in-germany/

    https://edmhdotme.wpcomstaging.com/2024-power-generation-in-france/

    https://edmhdotme.wpcomstaging.com/2024-power-generation-in-the-uk/

    Like

  212. dfh: bacteria can live almost anywhere – like the life around geothermal vents at god-knows-what depth! So I’m not surprised they can process nuclear waste, at low levels anyway. After all, parts of the earth are naturally radioactive and were more so in the past: bacteria will have evolved to cope.
    It’s the same story with oil: there have been natural seeps for millenia and nature has adapted to cope.

    Liked by 1 person

  213. From Keith at Chiefio – links to People, ideas, machines X: Freedom’s Forge – the story of American business and industrial production in World War II which links to NATO – Opinion: Remarks by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at joint committee meeting at the European Parliament, 07-Sep.-2023

    Partial quote’s from that last NATO 2023 link –

    “And this year, we expect NATO Allies to increase defense spending by more than 8% in [inaudible] terms. This is the biggest increase in decades, and most of them are also EU members, are now taking this very seriously. More money for defence also enable us to invest more in production of ammunition, which is extremely critical. I welcome the efforts. I welcome the decisions by the European Union, which go hand in hand what we do in NATO. In NATO we have different arrangements for joint procurement of ammunition, we have done that for many years. We have something called a NATO support and procurement agency. I welcome efforts by EU members, NATO Allies, to ramp up production and we work closely with the defence industry throughout the Alliance, in EU but also in non EU Allied countries. To produce more and more spending, is a precondition for also increased production.”

    “The background was that President Putin declared in the autumn of 2021, and actually sent a draft treaty that they wanted NATO to sign, to promise no more NATO enlargement. That was what he sent us. And was a pre-condition for not invade Ukraine. Of course we didn’t sign that.

    The opposite happened. He wanted us to sign that promise, never to enlarge NATO. He wanted us to remove our military infrastructure in all Allies that have joined NATO since 1997, meaning half of NATO, all the Central and Eastern Europe, we should remove NATO from that part of our Alliance, introducing some kind of B, or second class membership. We rejected that. 

    So he went to war to prevent NATO, more NATO, close to his borders. He has got the exact opposite.”

    Not sure what to think, bear & stick come to mind.

    Like

  214. Talking of defence spending:

    “Data, waves and wind to be counted in the economy”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czedpnen168o

    Wind and wave power is set to be included in calculations of the size of countries’ economies for the first time, as part of changes approved at the United Nations...

    …The changes come into force in 2030, and could mean an increase in estimates of the size of the UK economy making promises to spend a fixed share of the economy on defence or aid more expensive.…

    …”We’d be no better off in a material sense, and tax revenues would be no higher.“

    But it could make economies look bigger, creating a possible future spending headache for the UK government.

    For example, Labour has committed to allocating fixed percentages of the size of the economy on defence and aid.

    If the new rules increase the estimated size of the economy by 2-3% in 2030, it might add ÂŁ2bn to defence spending.…

    Liked by 1 person

  215. “Volunteers sought to protect Manx biosphere status”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgl012e8deko

    Volunteers who are passionate about maintaining the Isle of Man’s biosphere status are being sought to help guide its progress ahead of a ten-year review.

    In 2016 the island became the first entire island nation to be granted the title by Unesco and the heritage body will undertake a periodic review in 2026….

    And yet the Isle of Man authorities seem to have fallen hook, line and sinker for the “need” for solar and wind farms. I wonder how that fits in with biosphere status?

    Liked by 1 person

  216. Mark – not sure about solar on IOM (new to me if so). But the offshore wind farms planned/proposed worry me as a resident, because off the potential extra disruption to ferry/cargo crossings in bad weather.

    As for the “biosphere status” vs offshore/onshore wind farms. I guess most people have no clue what the installation of 100 odd offshore turbines will involve & what dangers to the IOM costal environment/sea life they pose sadly.

    Where to see whales, dolphins and sharks | Manx Wildlife Trust

    Liked by 1 person

  217. dfhunter,

    Google Isle of Man solar farm , and plenty of stories about planned solar arrays there will pop up.

    Liked by 1 person

  218. Here’s part of the speech delivered yesterday by one of the Just Stop Oil-ers who have been charged with criminal damage for tipping latex foam on a Tesla robot:

    ‘While the rich dream of Nazi robots and swasti-cars, what the the rest of us need is warm housing, clean affordable energy and cheap public transport. Don’t let billionaires decide your future. Let’s reclaim democracy. … So, frankly: f*ck Musk.’

    The rich? The rest of us? Billionaires? Democracy? F*ck Musk?

    Until a few years ago that bloke was the main tax-avoidance boss at BlackRock, the notorious billionaire investment spivvery.

    A video of the vandalism shows someone dressed like a Tesla employee watching the vandals start their stunt then leaving the room. Presumably a JSOer in fancy dress.

    Or was it?!?! Perhaps Elon Musk organised the vandalism and this is yet another example of #falseflag #crisisactors #medialies!?!?!

    No, probably not.

    Like

  219. Thanks for the prompt Mark, seems there are some (2) being proposed, but scant new information available I can find –

    1st from January 2023 – Planning permission sought for 84-acre solar farm near Castletown | iomtoday.co.im – no new/update info on this I can find.

    The latest on 2nd is from November 2024- Douglas council to build solar energy farm – 3FM Isle of Man

    Full article (it’s that short) with no links –

    “Douglas council is to start producing its own sustainable solar energy. 

    The local authority has approved funding for a solar farm to power some of its facilities.

    The generation facility would be built in Braddan and have a life span of around 20 years.

    It’s thought the savings will mean it’ll effectively pay for itself within five to seven years.”

    But, the ever vigilant BBC from 6 December 2024 report –

    “Douglas Council has fallen behind in meeting its emissions reductions targets to achieve net-zero by 2050, a new report has revealed. – Douglas Council falling behind on net-zero targets – BBC News“

    Douglas from Douglas reporting.

    Like

  220. The countdown of Dernière RÊnovation, a French version of Insulate Britain, will reach zero at midnight tomorrow.

    https://1028daysleft.com/

    https://derniererenovation.fr/

    This has something to do with something that was said in an IPCC report (probably AR6 WGII) and an ultimatum that DR sent to the French president in early March 2022 saying that the climate impact of all French housing must be reduced by 2040 and that if the French government didn’t promise by 28th March 2022 that it’d pass this into law then DR would take to the streets.

    Which it did, but that doesn’t explain the 28th March 2025 deadline.

    DR changed its name to Riposte Alimentaire (something to do with state handouts for sustainable food) then closed down at the end of last year.

    But the DR clock is still ticking.

    Does anyone know what is/was supposed to happen at midnight tomorrow? The end of the world? Free quinoa for everyone? Both?

    Like

  222. 2025 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.pdf

    Interesting but long read. Just a few snippets (some not new) that jump out at me –

    “CHINA Strategic Overview
    President Xi Jinping and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) want to achieve “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” by 2049. The PRC will seek to increase its power and influence to shape world events to create an environment favorable to PRC interests, obtain greater U.S. deference to China’s interests, and fend off challenges to its reputation, legitimacy, and capabilities at home and abroad.”

    “Regarding COVID-19 origins, IC agencies have continued to evaluate new information from
    classified and open sources, revisit previous reporting, and consult with diverse technical experts to
    increase our understanding of the cause of the pandemic. These efforts have led CIA to assess that a research-related hypothesis is more likely than a natural origin hypothesis.”

    “Russia and the Arctic
    Russia controls about half of all Arctic coastline and views the region as essential to its economic
    well-being and national security. Moscow wants to further develop its Arctic oil and gas reserves
    and position itself to reap benefits from expected increases in maritime trade. Russia has
    concerns about increasing economic and military competition with Western countries in the
    region, which compounded last year when NATO enlarged to include the last two previously
    nonaligned Arctic states, Finland and Sweden.

    Russia’s interest in Greenland is focused mainly on its proximity to strategically important
    naval routes between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans—including for nuclear-armed
    submarines—and the fact that Greenland hosts a key U.S. military base.

    The war in Ukraine has sapped Russia’s finances and available military resources to fulfill
    its Arctic ambitions, prompting Russia to seek a closer partnership with China in the
    Arctic, and welcoming other non-Western countries’ increasing involvement, to offset
    NATO countries’ perceived advantages.”

    Like

  223. “Government opens first-of-its-kind ‘green’ prison in East Yorkshire

    HMP Millsike, described by critics as a ‘megaprison’, will add 1,500 places to prison estate in England and Wales”

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/28/government-opens-first-of-its-kind-green-prison-in-east-yorkshire

    The government has opened a first-of-its-kind “green” prison that will add 1,500 places to the bursting prison estate in England and Wales.

    HMP Millsike in East Yorkshire, described by critics as a “megaprison”, will be one of Britain’s biggest jails and is the first of four to be built as part of a programme to create 14,000 extra prison places by 2031.

    The all-electric site, with solar panels and heat pump technology, has been built next to the maximum security HMP Full Sutton, which houses nearly 600 category A and B male prisoners. About 600 jobs have been created, according to the Ministry of Justice….

    Curiously, we aren’t told what it cost to build, nor what it will cost to run, either in absolute terms or by comparison with a “non-green” prison. I would have expected lots of self-congratulatory stuff from the Government about how they are saving taxpayers’ money. Instead, it’s all about helping “put more violent offenders behind bars, make streets safer and ensure the country never runs out of cells again”.

    Like

  224. I miscalculated. The 1028 Days Left clock will reach zero at 10pm tonight (11pm in France), not midnight.

    But I didn’t miscalculate as badly as someone at Derniere Renovation. While its 1028 Days Left website says there are 9 1/2 hours to go, its main site says that we’re already two days past the mysterious deadline.

    Incidentally, Just Stop Oil is closing down. Its press statement could be interpreted as saying that its protesters have had enough of being sent to prison (which is probably why Riposte Alimentaire closed down) but it’s perhaps more likely that the people behind JSO want to give another Hallam outfit, Rev21 (formerly R21C), a better chance of grabbing the headlines when/if it finally gets around to doing something other than posting YouTube videos of Zoom chats and American pensioners playing the guitar and reading poems.

    (I’d prefer a cup of coffee and a spring roll, dfh.)

    Liked by 1 person

  225. One of the people involved with Rev21 is a globetrotting Brit called Paddy Ffennell Le Flufy. He is keen on something he calls ‘bioregional cosmolocalism’.*

    Could it be that people who are born with complicated names are innately driven to impose complicated nomenclatures on the world at large?

    ===
    *AFAICT, this is about everyone (a) having an allotment and (b) sharing 3D-printable gadget models online.

    Liked by 1 person

  228. Jeremy Sandford popped up in a recent Radio 4 Extra re-broadcast* of an old episode of Archive on 4. Jeremy talked about and interviewed Bernard Stanbury, who wanted to raise money to buy or lease a small island in the middle of nowhere so that he could build a community of like-minded people who were trying to escape from capitalism and be a bit safer when the end of the world arrived. Those recs were from 1962.

    As far as I can tell (and I’ve done a crazy amount of googling), Stanbury never actually bought or leased an island despite getting a lot of donations from rich and unhappy would-be escapologists. (Con artist?)

    But…

    Almost exactly thirty years after Jeremy Stanford interviewed Stanbury, his son Roc bought a small private island in the middle of nowhere (Gometra) and tried to build a community of like-minded people who were trying to escape from capitalism and be a bit safer when the end of the world arrived.

    Comments?

    ===
    *https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hh46x

    Like

  229. Vinny: my only comment so far is to note that I have spent five minutes establishing that we’re talking about Jeremy Sandford rather than Bernard Stanbury. Other than that, I’ve got nowhere.

    Like

  230. Sorry, Jit. I didn’t express myself very well. I was probably on my own private Isle of Shiraz when I posted that.

    And there isn’t much to comment about. It’s just someone whose later life has perhaps been shaped by something that their father was briefly intrigued by when they were a child.

    A perhaps more interesting thing I discovered last week: Oxford University’s somewhat wacky Future of Humanity Institute was shut down last year. Wacky? Two of its academics promoted the notion that the world could be saved from climate change by bio-engineering humans to be shorter – to be ‘green dwarves’ – because shorter humans have a smaller environmental impact than tall ones.

    Which, as it happens, is a proposal that cropped up in a 1992 episode of On The Hour that I played in the car yesterday. Perhaps the academic futurologists stole their idea from a comedy programme.

    Here it is:

    Like

  231. Trump Team to Freeze Nearly $2 Billion at Cornell and Northwestern Universities – WSJ

    Partial quote –

    “The administration also has targeted funding in university diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives and other programs it says aren’t aligned with the Trump team’s priorities.

    On Tuesday, the Commerce Department announced that it was ending nearly $4 million to Princeton for programs it said exaggerated climate threats and contributed to “climate anxiety” among young people.”

    Liked by 1 person

  232. Saw this over at Lucia’s and thought It was a late April fool. Seems not –

    Donald Trump signs order to ‘make America’s showers great again’ – BBC News

    But they still make sure Trump sounds like an idiot. partial quote –

    “While signing the order in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said it was “ridiculous” he has to stand under the water for 15 minutes for his “beautiful” hair to get wet – echoing remarks he made during 2020.

    At that time, he also complained about water not coming out of shower heads, saying his hair “has to be perfect”.”

    Well, my wife has long hair & if our shower has restricted flow all hell would break out.

    Like

  233. Robin G and I are members of the University of Oxford Climate Action Network (OxCAN). As a result, we receive its newsletters by email. The one that arrived this morning excelled itself both by the ludicrously exaggerated nature of its language and by the inconsistencies within it. The editorial commences thus:

    The climate crisis is just that: a crisis. Desperate times call for desperate measures. There is no time for dilly-dallying; good decisions need to be made—and made quickly. If we look at the case of war, we have learnt that the side with poorer intelligence and inferior technology is at such a disadvantage that it can turn the tide of a conflict. The way technology has been imported into Ukraine and the impact it has had on the conflict is a perfect case in point.

    In terms of climate change and the climate crisis, while it is certainly a complex—or a wicked—problem, it requires all our human wit to make the steep progress needed to avert disasters on many fronts: advancing wildfires, increasing flooding, rising urban temperatures, the release of methane from permafrost, and more. Some of the strongest tools we now have at our disposal lie in the large language models that underpin artificial intelligence. Just as we hear about the potential for AI to fast-track the development of drugs—or, on the flip side, the development of weaponry—so too must those working on climate change leverage this technology at every opportunity to maximise the positive impact humans can have in addressing the growing challenges.

    Those working in the field of climate change who hope to effect meaningful change must utilise this technology effectively and rapidly.

    Artificial intelligence is now able to produce climate simulations faster and with greater accuracy. Carbon monitoring can be done increasingly in real time, and modelling of climate attribution is becoming increasingly precise.

    In renewable energy, smart grids are being more effectively managed to handle fluctuating energy supply. AI is increasingly connecting weather information with energy generation budgeting, and through simulation is helping to improve the efficacy of battery storage.

    In agriculture, AI is using data collected via AI-connected drones to optimise pesticide use. New techniques are also being used to map deforestation and reforestation efforts.…

    …The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is essential for maximising our chances of overcoming the many complex scientific and political hurdles facing the globe.…

    AI is wonderful – it’s going to solve the crisis! But then there’s another article. Oh oh! AI is a huge problem!

    As artificial intelligence models become larger and more complex, and their use becomes more widespread, the energy needed to train and run them grows at a rapid rate. According to OpenAI researchers Dario Amodei and Danny Hernandez, the computing power needed for deep learning research has doubled every 3.4 months from 2012. Energy is needed to power the data centres where large-scale AI programs are stored, which may be created from the burning of fossil fuels.  Data centres also consume vast amounts of water in order to cool electrical components. For example, a 1 megawatt data centre can consume up to 25.5 million litres of water annually, amounting to the daily water consumption of approximately 300,000 people. 


    Another key issue associated with AI is the highly environmentally problematic mining of rare earth elements to create microchips needed to power AI. Following the use of these microchips, and other electronic components, staggering amounts of electronic waste are created. One study in Nature predicted that by 2030, generative AI technology could create 1.2-5.0 million metric tons of e-waste…. 

    Needless to say, I am an OxCAN member more with a view to observing than to supporting its aims. It has a single point of view, and doesn’t seem to be much interested in debating the issue. The science is settled, and we’re all doomed, unless we go hell for leather for net zero apparently. I find it all very sad that an organisation associated with a great university that encouraged me to think and to question is uninterested in either of those virtues now.

    Liked by 2 people

  234. Is globalism finished? First we have Trump and his global (but especially Chinese) tariff wars. Now we have this (I confess the result did surprise me – I expected the usual fudge):

    “Global breakthrough to tackle shipping emissions”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20xxv22wl9o

    …The agreement covers the vast majority of the world’s commercial shipping and means that starting in 2028, ship owners will have to use increasingly cleaner fuels or face fines.…

    … the agreement means it is now the first industry in the world with internationally mandated targets to reduce emissions.…

    …It will require owners of large international vessels to increase their use of less carbon intensive fuels or face a penalty of up to $380 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions they emit from burning fuel…

    …There have been moves to improve the efficiency of ships, but emissions have continued to increase in line with global trade – 90% of which is carried by ships.

    The most effective measure would be to switch ships away from fossil fuels to green fuels, but that would be very expensive.

    “There is no fuel as cheap as diesel that ships use today because when we take crude oil out of the ground, we take out all the nice bits, that’s the kerosene for aviation, diesel and petrol for cars,” said Faig Abbasov, programme director for maritime transport at think tank Transport and Environment.

    “Whatever is left at the bottom, that’s what ships burn. So no fuel will be as cheap as this because not much energy goes into its production,” he said.

    In comparison, the most environmentally friendly fuels like e-kerosene and ammonia are created from initially splitting water atoms to obtain hydrogen, which is a very energy-intensive and costly process.

    Figures vary depending on the fuel type but the World Economic Forum estimates, external that these green fuels are 3-4 times more expensive to produce.…

    Liked by 1 person

  236. WordPress would not allow this to be posted on the Hydrogen Boom thread:
    Sub-headline from Energy Voice (article paywalled):

    “Exclusive: Inside Aberdeen’s hydrogen drought leaving dozens of buses stuck in depot

    Aberdeen’s looking to claim a share in the global hydrogen production race – but the council has been unable to fuel its flee….”

    Liked by 1 person

  238. What you might call gallows humour:

    “Department store holds ‘Rachel Reeves closing down sale’”

    The photograph of the shop window is quite funny. Telegraph link, and probably elsewhere.

    Liked by 2 people

  239. Crisis? What crisis?

    “Glut of early fruit and veg hits UK as climate change closes ‘hungry gap’

    Warm weather means strawberries, aubergines and tomatoes have come weeks earlier than expected”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/02/glut-of-early-fruit-and-veg-hits-uk-as-climate-change-closes-hungry-gap

    …Nick Haigh, a grower at the Community Farm south of Bristol, said many of their Mediterranean vegetables had come weeks earlier than expected.

    “It feels like it’s the middle of May already,” he said, “We have loads and loads of crops right now, tomatoes, aubergines, cucumbers, peppers, they are all ready two or three weeks early. We are crazy busy already. We are feeling the push right now.”

    Usually this time of year is known as the “hungry gap”, when winter vegetables have run out and consumers are waiting for the summer crops to arrive. However, the sunny, dry weather has eliminated this, he said….

    Liked by 1 person

  240. Not sure where else to put this vid link from These Are My Peeps – Alberta | Musings from the Chiefio post. I think it relevant. Since Mark Carney became Canada’s new PM most UK MSM have reported this as surprise win fuelled by, you guessed it “trump”.

    The vid – https://youtu.be/r4pfdfSRZUQ – titled “Alberta wants out?” is 30mts but worth the watch IMO. It mentions oil & gas, plus this something I never knew. Seems any Canadian province can vote to be independent & no longer be part of Canada!!!

    I may have misunderstood, but that’s my understanding from the lawyer.

    Seems Trump may not as bonkers as some think?

    ps – hope the vid link works 🙂

    Like

  242. Seems I was not wrong about Alberta & possibility it may no longer want to be part of Canada.

    Seems Mark Carney’s probable continuation of Canadian NZ polices is pissing Albertans. Premier Smith calmly reads the “next steps” she & Alberta will take.

    Like

  243. dfhunter; thanks for posting that. Why can’t we have politicians like her? Talk about telling it straight: she has really parked her tanks on Carney’s lawn!

    Liked by 1 person

  246. Mark – beat me to it by 1hr 🙂

    OK – take this – ‘You sold it – now recycle it’: the protesters mailing worn-out clothes to the shops they bought them from | Ethical and green living | The Guardian

    Quote’s –

    “She’s unsure how many people have joined her campaign, though she doesn’t expect vast numbers yet: “I know I’m preaching to the converted.””

    “So you can see why conscious consumers want to take fast-fashion brands to task. Ward has also sent her partner’s jeans back to Sainsbury’s, because, she says, “the elastane has degraded, so they have saggy knees and that weird fluting, and I can’t think of a way to remedy the problem”. Eilidh Weir, a Perthshire-based artist, also sent her kids’ synthetic school trousers back to Sainsbury’s. “They were second- or third-hand, I’d already mended them, and they were looking really ratty,” she says. “I wouldn’t feel right handing them on, and I don’t want them to end up in poorer countries – or the bin.” Sainsbury’s declined to comment on these issues when contacted.”

    Well she obviously knows what she’s proposing & who will ultimately pay for her “Ethical & Green” brainwave –

    “Ward qualified her assertions with links to respected sources – as a sustainable fashion PhD student, she is well informed on such matters.”

    Like

  247. All quite on the blackout in Spain, Portugal, and parts of France. Or have I missed something?

    Like

  248. dfhunter,

    I strongly suspect we will hear no more about the Iberian power outage. If we don’t hear anything, we can safely assume that renewables had a significant part to play. Failure to report important news is misinformation in my book, especially if the failure is deliberate and due to the news not supporting the narrative. Did we ever find out what type of car caused the fire in the multi storey car park at Luton Airport?

    Liked by 1 person

  250. Jit; thanks for that write-up – very useful and timely as the topic came up in a pub chat with friends a few days ago so I’ve sent them a link.

    Liked by 1 person

  251. This comment came up on a sub-forum of a motoring website which discusses power generation in the UK, concerning the topical issue of inertia, etc:

    “Condi said:
    I assumed they were limited by the inertia requirements which were lowered last year. Not sure if they were operating at the lowest requirement last year or not, but I’ve not seen anything change between then and now, so if the plan is for autumn I wonder what is different to last year when they still needed a couple of units. Certainly something they are working towards.

    Evanivitch said:
    I’m assuming after the initial announcements in 2020 or so this has been quietly happening in the background:

    Stability Pathfinder 1
    Finishing in 2020, this contracted 12 separate providers of inertia – all synchronous condensers. These are essentially big rotating machines. They are synchronized with the grid, and they consume a small amount of power – but they’re essentially zero-emission, and provide no actual generation.
    In Pathfinder 1, only technologies providing “physical inertia” (i.e. actual spinning) – while not actively providing power – could enter.
    As of today, all 12 of these projects are now fully operational and providing inertia to the system. This means 12.5 GVA.s of inertia on the grid – and these contracts are due to run until April 2026. You can find more information about this here.

    Stability Pathfinder 2
    The Stability Pathfinder 2 auction closed in 2022. This focused on procuring Short-Circuit Level in Scotland (although providers may also end up supplying inertia as well).
    This expanded the range of possible providers beyond those providing just physical stability – which meant that battery energy storage systems were able to enter the auction. (We’ll come back to exactly how batteries can help later on!)
    Of the ten contracts awarded, five went to battery energy storage equipped with new grid-forming inverter technology. These will be some of the first large-scale applications of this technology globally. The remaining five went, again, to synchronous condensers.
    Contracts are due to start in 2024. Alongside Short-Circuit Level, these will provide 6.7 GVA.s of inertia to the system.

    Stability Pathfinder 3
    The third Stability Pathfinder closed at the end of 2022. This focused on increasing levels of inertia and Short-Circuit Level within England and Wales.
    Like Stability Pathfinder 1, this was only open to providers of physical inertia. Accordingly, synchronous condensers won all 29 contracts available in this Pathfinder auction.
    These contracts are due to start in 2025. They will provide 17.1 GVA.s of inertia.”

    Clearly a lot of work has been going on in the background which is reassuring. It would be very interesting to hear from someone with knowledge and expertise in this stuff as to its adequacy to support a grid dominated by renewables.

    The full, ongoing discussion is here:
    https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=205&t=1673400&i=16140
    Some of the participants are clearly very much involved in the business.

    Liked by 2 people

  253. MikeH – end’ish quote from your link –

    “Without investment in UK supply chain capabilities, any job benefits in the UK economy will be temporary. “All we will see here is temporary jobs here, maybe some operating jobs, but the vast majority of supply chain and operating jobs will actually go to other countries,” the Energy Transition Institute director explained, which is “not the outcome I think anybody wants for the UK”.

    However, one of the reasons why the UK has not seen such factories delivered already is high energy and labour costs, compared to locations that do manufacture the infrastructure that has been and will continue to be deployed in country’s waters.”

    Liked by 1 person

  254. According to the Spectator data watch, investment in new coal plants last year was the highest for 10 years at approx 110 GW with all but 10 being in China.

    Like

  255. But MikeH,

    Surely you understand that China is leading the way in renewables and is beyond reproach.

    Like

  256. Mark: You’re right. I’m expecting the re-education police to come knocking at any moment!

    (What’s worrying is how close we are to that scenario already and with Starmer & Hermer at the helm we can expect worse).

    Like

  259. This morning I found this gem on the BBC’s coverage of the US bombing of Iran:

    Retaliate fast, retaliate later or do nothing are the three most likely paths forward for Iran, writes our security correspondent Frank Gardner

    And the less likely paths forward are? Honestly, the standard of razor-sharp analysis offered by the Beeb simply ain’t what it used to be.

    Like

  260. John – I watch BBC news most days hoping to get the latest from the “on the scene” reporters.

    They just repeat what has been said already by the newsroom team. Take it they have to show how our TV tax pays for a person on the ground with nothing to add.

    Like

  261. OOPS – should have added they do have something to add – selective interviews.

    Like

  262. dfhunter,

    Sure, but I’m still wondering what calibre of security correspondent it takes to work out that doing something now, later on, or not at all are the available options. Even more so, there is the colossal intellect required to determine that there are also less likely options to be considered.

    Like

  263. This DT article reports a sudden surge in substation fires/failures over the past few months:
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06/23/eight-uk-substation-fires-is-it-russian-sabotage/

    Unfortunately it spends a lot of time on the possibility of Russian sabotage but it does also highlight the antiquated equipment that supports local distribution networks. It does not really cover the obvious question of whether these failures could be due to local overloading as more houses are connected and domestic loads increase dramatically with all the kit we have these days – compared to the 60s and 70s when many of these substations were built.

    Good to see that Robin’s point about the lack of skilled people and resources comes up wrt addressing replacement and/or maintenance work.

    Liked by 2 people

  264. I stumbled across the “News” section on Ineos’ website:
    https://www.ineos.com/news/

    It includes some grim reading: a UK plant penalised after investing in emissions reduction; a harsh critique of the govt’s industrial strategy; closure of a German phenol plant due to energy costs, taxes, etc..

    This para sums up their view:
    “If the UK is serious about reversing the closure of British manufacturing, highlighted by INEOS and many within our sector, then far-reaching, immediate reforms on industrial gas pricing and carbon tax reduction are essential. Without them, investment, jobs, and UK capability will continue to drift overseas.”

    Liked by 2 people

  265. MikeH,

    I don’t suppose Miliband will read it, and even if he does, it won’t change anything. He’s too busy saving the planet, apparently.

    Liked by 1 person

  266. Mark,

    I’m sure you’re right. No doubt his minders/acolytes keep him from hearing or seeing anything that contradicts the faith.

    The Ineos plants are part of what seem to be an industry-wide calamity unfolding across Europe, virtually unnoticed, as this comment from Carnot over at NALOPKT about the Sabic closure confirms:
    “I am surprised it lasted this long. Sabic are in trouble across Europe with sites in the UK , Holland and Germany. They had 3 crackers. 2 in Holland and 1 in the UK. A Dutch craker was shut in 2024.
    The Wilton site is old, decrepit and small by current standards. Sabic paused an upgrade to convert the cracker to use ethane/ propane feedstock. The intention was to fuel the furnaces with a mix of methane and hydrogen. The abandonment of the hydrogen project in Redcar was the kiss of death.
    But it is not done and confined to the UK, though the UK has led the way.
    The rush to net zero is the main issue for all of the same plants in the EU, of which there are 42. Very few are likley to make it to 2030. I am working on the cost of decarbonisation. Roughly $1-2 billion for CCUS, let alone the OPEX cost. The other option is hydrogen firing, which is even more costly. CCUS requires an underground storage site( in Germany?). The Germans have 14 plants operating. I predict all will close unless the EU backs down. But in reality it is too late. All the plants are old and inefficient and investing $billions in old kit is plain dumb. The EU petrochemical industry is on its knees. Soon it will all be gone and we wil loose thousands of jobs and become importers of basic chemicals.
    I have worked in this business for 47 years and I have never seen it so bad. I feel sorry for my younger colleagues.”

    There’s more to be said – is there a thread where this issue should reside?

    Liked by 1 person

  267. Mike H,

    Others might be able to identify an appropriate thread, but I can’t think of one. However, not to worry – this is what open mic is for.

    Like

  268. Mark: thanks, I’ll follow up on yesterday’s post later.

    Meanwhile, the saga of woe continues……Lindsey Oil refinery (1 of 5 left in the UK) has just gone into administration.

    Like

  269. I note that in another place it’s time for renewed Guardian bashing, especially by those who relish the fact that they view it on-line. Much enjoyment here is to be had by picking up upon its stance upon climate change with implications that its coverage upon other topics is similarly suspect.

    Well I not only read the Guardian every day but actually read and willingly pay for it in paper form (except Sunday when I purge my climatic soul with the Sunday Times). It is full of well-written articles on various topics, better in MHO than commonly are written elsewhere. Its news reporterage is commonly superb. Usually I ignore climate issues, which irritate so many of you, but occasionally even read those, continuing my view I adopted when I used to teach to read the different views around any subject.

    I smile to myself when I read anti-Guardianism here.

    Like

  270. Alan,

    It’s wonderful to see you back and commenting, even if you have been stirred to do so by disagreement with the anti-Guardian stance of most of us here.

    As regards the Guardian, I do give credit when credit is due – it has a handful of very good and well-informed journalists in my opinion, but I can’t help observing that I regard many of its writers as the purveyors of unmitigated dross. Perhaps the hard copy is a better read than the online version? Perhaps much of the dross is edited out when it comes to the hard copy, due to the need to ensure that precious paper contains the good stuff? I don’t know. All I know is that the website is full of garbage. In that respect it’s little different from the websites of much of the mainstream media, but that’s damning with faint praise.

    And the daily climate hysteria, plus the hate sessions, damn it eternally in my eyes. Sorry!

    Like

  271. I agreed with a Guardian editorial the other day. I’m still in shock.

    While I recover from that, here’s some BBC-bashing. This…

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ygjjxjlplo

    …was the top story on the BBC News website’s front page for about nine hours yesterday. The video includes warnings about ‘distressing content’ and ‘upsetting scenes’ but all it shows is unauthorised migrants being encouraged to get out of a big rubber boat and wade in thigh-high water to a beach. The only violence was against the boat, which the police slashed with a small knife. Yes, that’s wasteful but, given the circumstances, would even the most eco-conscious person find it wasteful in a distressing or upsetting way?

    The text? It says that the boat was ‘packed with men, women and children’. This is both true and misleading. The boat was packed with young men plus two women and one or perhaps two children.*

    Then there’s the headline: ‘BBC on French beach as police slash migrant “taxi-boat” heading to UK’. In recent years, Auntie Beeb has developed a fondness for talking about herself in her news stories. (Tim Davie’s idea?) This example isn’t too bad because it’s only in the headline but some Beeb articles are sodden with egotism. The BBC did this; I, a BBC reporter, did that; we, at the BBC, believe bla bla bla.

    Get over yourself, Auntie. (And please ditch BBC Verify.)

    ===
    *The child/children was/were hidden behind blurring. Why? Why not blur everyone? And especially that reporter prancing around in front of the camera. Blimey, mate! It’s not about you.

    Liked by 3 people

  272. Just to add a link to the latest Guardian NZ article by Rebecca Willis –

    Politicians are retreating from net zero because they think the public doesn’t care. But they’re wrong

    Partial quote –

    “In a democracy, politicians should aim to represent people’s views. Of course the climate threat is urgent, and the UK has international commitments to meet. But given our fragile economy, is there an argument that a slower pace of change is justified for now, if this is what people want?

    Sounds plausible to some, but there’s a catch: this isn’t actually what people want at all. Our research with politicians and citizens shows that politicians consistently underestimate public support for climate action. Over the past decade, my colleagues and I have tracked politicians’ understandings through detailed interviews with MPs. We have found that politicians from all sides are hesitant to advocate for ambitious measures, because they think the public won’t support them. Yet this isn’t borne out by opinion polls and social research, which show consistently high levels of concern about the climate crisis, and support for action.”

    Well that settles It, Ed & the Guardian have a finger on the public pulse, so full steam ahead with NZ.

    Like

  273. Maybe worth adding – “Rebecca Willis is professor of energy and climate governance at Lancaster University”. So Academia is on board.

    Like

  274. From The Honest Broker (Roger Pielke Jr.)

    What Americans Really Think About Energy and Climate

    Partial quote –

    “Another surprise was that despite the steady diet of climate porn promoted by activist scientists and journalists, most of the public remains level headed about extreme weather. As a theory of political change, the proposition that scaring people about weather extremes will lead to increased support for changes in energy policy has comprehensively failed.”

    USA only, but bet same applies to UK & EU.

    Liked by 1 person

  282. MikeH – thanks for the link, can’t read further than the header & a bit.

    The MSM seem to follow the same line, so not just the BBC. But to any viewer with half a brain you can see the BBC bias.

    Take it that’s why we haven’t heard for Mr Drake for a while. Hope he’s ok.

    Like

  283. “US set to scrap landmark finding that sets limit on carbon emission”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0mlzz1gy39o

    The Trump administration is set to announce a plan to scrap a landmark finding that greenhouse gases are harmful to the environment, severely curbing the federal government’s ability to combat climate change.

    Known as the “Endangerment Finding”, the 2009 order from then-President Barack Obama allowed the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create rules to limit pollution by setting emissions standards….

    Like

  284. “The EU’s ‘fantasy’ $750B energy promise to Trump

    Technical issues, limited U.S. supplies and the EU’s minimal control over imports render the pledge infeasible, experts say.”

    https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-trade-war-donald-trump-us-oil-gas-energy/

    The EU has narrowly avoided a full-blown trade war with Donald Trump by pledging to buy $750 billion of U.S. oil and gas by the end of his term. 

    But achieving that will be almost impossible.

    So far, Brussels has provided scant details on how the purchases would work. Yet limited U.S. supplies, technical obstacles, and the EU’s weak powers over import deals mean hitting the goal will be fiendishly difficult, regardless of the specifics….

    Like

  285. Curious:

    “Treasury blocks school solar power deals

    Agreements to help schools install solar panels have been put on pause while the Treasury rethinks financing rules.”

    https://www.politico.eu/article/rachel-reeves-uk-treasury-school-solar-power-deals/

    Chancellor Rachel Reeves has blocked the Department for Education from approving deals to install solar panels on schools.

    Treasury officials are considering a crackdown which could treat deals between schools and community energy groups — so-called “power purchase agreements” (PPAs) — as a form of public debt. 

    All such agreements have been “paused” while the Treasury weighs the reform, a government official confirmed. 

    The surprise decision to pause the arrangements came just before the summer holiday period, during which many schools instal solar panels while pupils are away….

    Like

  286. Not sure where this could go?

    There’s an excellent post by Anthony Watts on his eponymous website about a major step towards reversing the US EPA’s endangerment finding (which drives much of America’s climate legislation):

    A case for ‘Climate Humility’: Analyzing the DOE’s ‘A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate’

    Maybe the sceptics are starting to win the science arguments in the public domain?

    Liked by 2 people

  290. No, not a huge surprise. But how many of these studies are there, what do they cost, and do they really perform any sort of useful service to society at all?

    Like

  291. Interconnectors running flat out. We are pulling 8.8 GW which is full capacity on all lines, iirc.
    Just over 1 GW is re-exported to Ireland so we are using 7.8 GW – nearly 30% of demand.

    What was that idiot line from Mad Ed about avoiding dependence on foreign energy?

    Liked by 2 people

  293. ….other than here, obviously!

    The first time my post had a couple of links. I removed them; still unable to post.
    I tried a couple of script-only posts on other threads with the same result.

    Like

  294. MikeH,

    There are no psts pending from you in spam or awaiting approval from an admin, so I am confused. I am afraid the vagaries of WordPress are beyond me, so I hope that Jit sees this and can come to the rescue.

    Like

  295. Mark,
    Thanks for checking Spam.
    I don’t think my posts make it that far as all I get is a box on the screen saying “Sorry, your comment cannot be posted”.

    Like

  296. Well, that’s a clue for those who know more than I do about these things.

    Like

  299. Just took a look at our grid status.
    We are importing 3.5 GW from France. 1 GW is going to Ireland which is normal but then a further 2 GW are being re-exported – 1 GW each to Denmark and the Netherlands.
    That just seems bizarre!

    Liked by 1 person

  301. MikeH – wonder if the “2 GW are being re-exported – 1 GW each to Denmark and the Netherlands” has anything to do with the latest link Mark gave over on the “A Nation of Great Import” thread – Norway’s electricity crisis is about to hit Britain dated Sun 31 Aug 2025.

    Can’t help but think It’s a reaction to that.

    Also – Boost for UK Growth and Security as Norway Selects UK Warships in ÂŁ10 billion partnership  – GOV.UK

    Quote – “Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said: With Norway, we will train, operate, deter, and – if necessary – fight together. Our navies will work as one, leading the way in NATO, with this deal putting more world-class warships in the North Atlantic to hunt Russian submarines, protect our critical infrastructure, and keep both our nations secure. For over 75 years, Britain and Norway have stood together on NATO’s northern and north-eastern frontiers, keeping the UK and Europe safe. This historic defence deal deepens our strategic partnership.”

    Vulnerability finally dawns it seems.

    Like

  302. There’s a bit of a theme developing here in Asia:

    “‘Unpaid wages, searing heat, long hours’: why workers are quitting the world’s largest renewable energy park”

    https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/sep/11/unpaid-wages-searing-heat-long-hours-why-workers-are-quitting-the-worlds-largest-renewable-energy-park

    “A vast migrant labour force is helping India meet its ambitious renewable energy goals, drawn by promises of good wages and perks. But many say they are forced to ‘escape’ without pay”

    Liked by 1 person

  303. Mark – thanks for the link. Sounds like Anawar Alam was the main source of the article –

    ““It was incredibly hot, and the contractor kept yelling at us for not working longer or harder, threatening us by saying that he would kill us and no one would even know we had disappeared. But the bigger problem was that he was not paying us on time or in full.”

    What was the bigger problem again, death or wages.

    No doubt cheap labour is a problem in India, but “havda is the last village on the road from Bhuj to the Rann of Kutch. En route, one road leads to the ancient city of Dholavira, a Unesco world heritage site that is home to one of the two largest Harappan civilisation sites in India. It connects to the “road to heaven”, a scenic highway that attracts thousands of tourists.”

    Like

  304. BBC 2 had a cheery prog on tonight – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002jy6q with this blurb –
    “Virologist Dr Chris van Tulleken embarks on a global investigation into the hunt for the pathogen that could trigger the next pandemic and the cutting-edge science developed to tackle it. Known only as Disease X’, it is shrouded in uncertainty. Its origin is unknown, how it could spread is unclear, but its impact could be much more severe than Covid-19.”

    With this ironic link on the webpage sidebar – https://connect.open.ac.uk/nextpandemic/#misinformation

    Like

  305. Yes, the irony in the misinformation sidebar is quote something. But then the BBC wouldn’t acknowledge that mainstream media are capable of misinformation, and it seems to think that searching online is the answer. What you need is a reliable (sic) fact-checking website:

    A reliable fact-checking site clearly cites sources, fact-checks multiple perspectives and discloses funding. To check the validity of a fact-checking website, look for International Fact-Checking Network accreditation, transparency in methodology and reputable affiliations (e.g., BBC Verify, Reuters Fact Check). Cross-check claims with other fact-checkers like Snopes or FactCheck.org, and be cautious of political or corporate bias.

    Hilarious.

    Liked by 1 person

  307. Vinny, is that true? And if so, when was it deleted, and by whom? Do we know?

    I take no pleasure from this, none at all. I fear (at the risk of sounding – and possibly being – sexist and patronising) that some of the young women who are attracted to the likes of JSO will be naive and easily manipulated. Sadly, there are always people who look for the sort of sick opportunities that such organisations, which attract naive and not sometimes not very bright idealists, will offer them.

    I just hope that very few people have been harmed.

    Like

  308. Mark, the post was at JSO’s website on Sunday evening. It wasn’t there when I looked for it again yesterday. I assume that JSO deleted it out of libel fears. They also deleted a tweet at X. But they won’t be able to delete all the copies they e-mailed in a newsletter.

    Like

  309. Thanks Vinny,

    I wonder if and when the Guardian and the BBC will report on this.

    Like

  310. The Canary has spotted it:

    https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2025/09/30/just-stop-oil-sexual-abuse/

    I’ve had another look at X. Two people said they received the e-mail about abuse allegations on Sunday then received a follow-up yesterday saying that ‘the email and social media posts made last night were not authorised communication by the campaign, and do not reflect how we generally engage with safeguarding issues, which we believe should be handled in a way that is sensitive to the needs of survivors’. Nothing in the follow-up suggested that the allegations were invented or misrepresented.

    Like

  311. It’s almost time to ask what’s the point of official forecasts. Three headlines side by side today in the Guardian:

    “UK government borrows more than expected in setback before budget”

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/21/uk-government-borrowing-october-rachel-reeves

    “UK retail sales drop unexpectedly as shoppers await Black Friday and budget”

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/21/uk-retail-sales-drop-black-friday-budget

    “Households in Great Britain face surprise rise in energy bills from January”

    https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/nov/21/energy-price-cap-great-britain-rise-january-fuel

    I can’t remember the last time official data matched the expectations in advance from the “experts”.

    Like

  312. A ÂŁ36 million government-funded scheme supported by UEA’s Tyndall Centre is offering free head massages to people who live near sandy cliffs on the coast of Norfolk.

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/welovehappisburgh/posts/1339378017235605/

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

    Is that scheme also offering ways to slow down the collapse of the cliffs? Nope. Not possible, it says. Plus it’s not their business. Their business is mostly psychological, not practical.

    To be fair, the ÂŁ36m scheme doesn’t just offer free craniosacral therapy. It also hosts coffee mornings at which people can talk about their cliff-collapse worries and hires experts from a well-known (and presumably well-paid) woo-woo outfit, Climate Psychology Alliance, to give one-on-one counselling sans (probably) any pseudoscientific head-rubbing.

    Liked by 1 person

  313. Vinny,

    I thought you were joking, but it turns out that you’re not:

    https://www.climatepsychologyalliance.org/

    Climate psychology is concerned with the emotions, and the social and mental processes that have contributed to the ecological and climate crisis, and our responses and processes of adaptation to it. In the Climate Psychology Alliance we draw on psychotherapeutic approaches, psychosocial studies, the arts, spiritual and philosophical thought, literature, systems thinking and ecopsychology, all in the service of unpicking our collective and individual responses to the crisis, much of which is unacknowledged and unconscious. Climate psychology aims to contribute by:

    • building understanding and support for individuals and groups
    • enabling transformation and adaptation
    • helping us to cope with the consequences of the climate and ecological crisis.

    Liked by 1 person

  314. Vinny/Mark – you prompted me to have a look at the website. Seems they are active on many “fronts”.

    ‘Lift the Ban’: Reflections on joining a Defend our Juries mass civil disobedience action

    A taste from the article –

    “Several of us from CPA met together on Saturday, 6th September, to join the Defend Our Juries ‘Lift the Ban’ action opposing UK complicity in genocide and the proscription of Palestine Action. We all held signs ‘I OPPOSE GENOCIDE. I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION’ in defiance of the ban and under threat of arrest on terrorism charges.”

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  315. What on earth does Palestine have to do with climatey psychotherapy? The CPA article linked by dfhunter doesn’t say but, as it happens, one of the CPA-ers arrested at the September pro-Palestine/anti-Israel demo attempted an answer last year. Search for Professor Paul Hoggett’s ‘What Has Gaza got to Do With the Climate Crisis?’ (strange capitalisation, Professor). Here are the last two sentences of that attempt: ‘There is a genocidal dimension to the Israeli attacks on Palestinians, one which could prefigure the massive casualties to come in the Global South arising from the climate crisis. If we let this happen in Gaza we have taken a step towards ensuring that our indifference will be visited upon the peoples of the South in the climate deranged future.’

    Gibberish.

    (CPA took Hoggett’s Gaza article down for a while because people had accused it of being antisemitic. It was restored without any changes. CPA’s somewhat impenetrable reasons for doing that are given in an article linked from the top of the Gaza article.)

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  316. Last night’s Martin Lewis Money Show was largely devoted to the costs of energy. It was dispiriting to hear Lewis advocating for the policy costs of renewables and their consequences to be removed from electricity bills. Otoh, he did show how the very small rise in the price cap masks a significant increase in the cost of electricity which is not quite balanced by a decrease in gas costs.
    However I was slightly cheered by a few comments from Greg Jackson, head of Octopus, who was a guest on the show. He emphasised the impact of all the various policy costs, repeating the statement made to the parliamentary committee that prices would continue to rise, even if wholesale costs sank to zero. He also decried the granting of contracts for windfarms to be built in the full knowledge that the infrastructure is not there to transmit the power.
    Encouraging to see some signs of common sense!

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  317. Finding it difficult to add a comment on Open Mic – will see if this works. Found this vid from Chiefio – https://youtu.be/g-feCMFSpRw interesting. Quote – “If you explain the Russian POV (or even just state uncomfortable historical facts – like the Maidan Coup, or the shelling of Donbass by Rump Ukraine for 9 years killing 14,000-ish citizens – The EU can, has, and will sanction you for Wrong Think. Calling it Russian Propaganda.”

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  319. Censorship. Does anyone here know if the WordPress platform is being censored in the UK due to the Online Safety Act? I’ve just discovered that Substack are now censoring content on their platform and, outrageously, I could not view a message from somebody unless I verified my age! I’ll be getting off Substack but if WP is no better then I won’t bother starting to write at my old Climatecontrarian blog again. Going to have to find a new platform which won’t kowtow to the Starmer regime.

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  320. Another interesting link, this time from the blackboard, h/t mark bofill

    Understanding WEIRD: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic — Simply Put Psych

    End quote –

    “Simply Put

    The WEIRD bias in psychological research presents significant challenges to the validity and generalizability of findings. By recognizing and addressing this bias, researchers can develop a more inclusive and accurate understanding of human behavior. Diversifying samples, conducting cross-cultural research, and employing culturally sensitive methods are crucial steps toward achieving this goal. Integrating interdisciplinary perspectives can further enrich psychological theories and models, ensuring they reflect the diversity of human experiences and behaviors.”

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