climatedepot--2020-10-16--Climate Indoctrination: Turning Kids’ Grey Matter a Mushy Green

Australian schools in the past decade have forced literally millions of kids to watch Al Gore ’ s error-riddled propaganda movie , An Inconvenient Truth .
In 2007 an outraged English truck driver and parent took the education minister to the High Court in 2007 over the film ’ s gross inaccuracies , with Justice Burton ordering UK teachers must not show it without first warning kids it is politically partisan and contains nine significant errors .
Those include Gore ’ s absurd claim that many low-lying Pacific island populations had already been evacuated to New Zealand .
Despite his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prints of his film to remove the errors .
No such mandatory warnings have accompanied Australian screenings .
The Australian Academy of Science , our supposed bulwark against science misinformation , has made no objection to the brainwashing , although its president rushed to condemn a sceptic equivalent film in 2007 .
The propaganda cycle is now being repeated .
Kids in class are being drenched with Damon Gameau ’ s saccharine documentary 2040 about purported solutions to a purported climate crisis .
The film doesn ’ t actually tell kids , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for strong new political leadership .
“ Wouldn ’ t it be terrific if new leaders emerge who could navigate us to a better 2040 , ” Gameau hints .
Pushing the film into classrooms is Cool Australia , which has provided teachers with at least 32 ready-to-use lessons based on the documentary .
The film is backed and part-funded by bedfellows , the Australian and Victorian governments .
Gameau reveals his inner Zeitgeist in interviews , which include an urge to re-shape our democratic ways .
He imagines a “ shift from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life-sustaining civilisation ” which he called “ The Great Turning ” .
As he spoke at Byron Bay ( where else ? )
a year ago , a certain Olivia Rosebery “ boldly stood in the audience ” and sang her own song , ‘ No more need for greed and hunger if we respect the Mother ’ s ways.
’ ” In an interview last May regarding COVID-19 , he likes all the “ silver linings ” .
He says , Do we really need all these things , this excess of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are going to make us happy ?
In fact , I ’ m happier with a lot less of this stuff .
And that excess is the very thing that would be destroying us ecologically… .
So , I think that ’ s been a great win .
So , how do we take this time to now rebuild with a lot more resilience … with food or energy or even our democracy .
This is the time to have those discussions and think quite radically .
And thankfully some countries and regions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Interviewer : What is bringing you hope during these unprecedented times ?
Gameau : I would say , the fact that we do have closed shops , the streets are empty and we ’ ve got these silent skies .
I think that ’ s a clue that we do care about each other , somewhere deep down… As a documentary , his 2040 would normally be laughed away , but played in class to susceptible kids from about age 6 upwards , it ’ s pernicious .
He ’ s also happy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the planet .
But , “ Please note that a speaker fee will be applicable.
” This essay will first detail the workings of leftist lobby Cool Australia , then analyse the content of 2040 .
Few parents know that Education Departments around Australia have farmed out much of their kids ’ schooling to green/Left lobbies .
The most significant is Cool Australia , operating in 8400 primary and secondary schools — 90 per cent of all schools .
Nearly half our teachers use the lessons , downloading them 2.1 million of them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Australia delivers ’ s a win-win for everyone except Coalition supporters .
Its agenda is anti-capitalism , anti-growth , and anti-coal , gas and petroleum .
It ’ s pro the re-writing of the Constitution for the benefit of the Aboriginal industry , and watering down our Western heritage in favor of a licorice allsorts multi-culturalism .
Cool Australia ’ s CEO and founder , Jason Kimberley , boasts how Cool turns kids into green activists , whether or not they ’ ve yet learnt to tie their shoelaces .
[ ii ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s done .
While most of Cool Australia ’ s ready-to-use topics are innocuous or praiseworthy , recall that the Antifa and BLM mobs now torching US cities are “ mostly peaceful ” .
Our kids are lining up as Greens cadets , demanding “ zero carbon ” and the up-ending of two centuries of capitalist progress .
Another example is Cool Australia ’ s foisting the anarchism of dark-green Canadian raver Naomi Klein onto teens and pre-teens .
I ’ ve been documenting Cool Australia ’ s work for half a decade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and have noticed how the organisation has ratcheted up in the past year by pushing into classes a barking-mad climate “ documentary ” called 2040 .
The film , after five years ’ gestation , sports high production values , cute actors and storyline .
It ’ s had respectful reviews in the New York Times and LA Times and , according to Gameau , ‘ the UN is going to show three minutes [ of it ] to all world leaders ’ .
Taxpayers paid for some of it via the Australian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Government and Film Victoria .
[ iii ] Below is a sample of what taxpayers got for their money .
Cool ’ s 32 lessons are half an hour or more .
[ iv ] Add the kids ’ viewing of the entire 92-minute film , and a typical nipper might tangle with this travesty for a full day of school .
Never mind the 3Rs , where Australian kids ’ performance is sliding internationally .
The Cool Australia charity was founded in 2008 by Just Jeans heir [ v ] and climate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leftist warriors including WWF , Earth Hour and the Human Rights Commission , and titans like Google , Atlassian and Foxtel .
Cool Australia gets into classes on-line with 1400 ready-to-use lessons tapped by 120,000 teachers for 3.2 million kids .
Cool Australia has only eight full-time staff , $ 1.3 million in revenue ( none from government ) and a flock of savvy pedagogues .
( Charity watchdog ChangePath rates it zero stars out of three for transparency ) .
But Cool Australia has leveraged its way into almost all schools by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ required curricula .
Because of a mandatory cross-curricula priority for “ sustainability ” , Cool Australia is pushing against an open door .
The priorities were designed in 2008-09 by Julia Gillard and state Labor governments .
At a recent gathering with Cool Australia , the former president of the Education Union , Angelo Gavrielatos , is quoted by Jason Kimberley , “ Only UNICEF has a greater school ’ s penetration and they had a 50-year head start … You are , quite seriously , the good guys in education.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of lesson-preparations yearly , and plugs the yawning holes in their worldly knowledge with its own climate , refugee , “ global citizenship ” and gender tropes .
Teachers love it , since about 45 per cent of them are teaching outside their expertise and three-quarters complain of unmanageable workloads .
Says one teacher : “ I haven ’ t touched Geography since the mid 1980s , and there I was , explaining resources – with an eventual focus on water – to Year 7 !
Cool Australia rescued me at a time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ panic.
” The Human Rights Commission is notorious for its years-long persecution of innocent Queensland University of Technology students who complained on social media about being kicked out of an Indigenous-only computer room .
[ vi ] Cool Australia quotes ex-HRC head Gillian Triggs , “ With values such as empathy , collaboration and real world learning there [ has been ] a close synergy with Cool Australia .
In just a few months , our animated video , interactive time-line and lesson plans reached more than 1,200 schools.
” This HRC grievance-mongering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cool Australia ’ s overt goal is to turn kids into child soldiers in the culture wars , via its “ unique action-based pedagogy ” .
Jason Kimberley says , “ Cool Australia ’ s role is to educate in a way that empowers young people to take agency and tackle the many challenges that urgently require twenty-first century skills .
Our focus is always on what can be done.
” Cool Australia ’ s surveys show that after absorbing its materials , 70 to 80 per cent of kids adopt its positions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmental issues , and are ready “ to take action ” .
Here ’ s from a set of guides for 10-to-12 12 year olds , most unable or unwilling to put their singlets in the wash .
Step 1 : Think about some of the big issues that are facing the world at the moment .
How can we ensure that the world ’ s population can have its basic needs around food , water , housing , clothing , employment , education and health met whilst also looking after the environment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
… Your idea could aim to make a change in your house , your street , your school or your neighbourhood .
A mainstream Cool Australia cause is Earth Hour , when the woke folk dispense with electricity for 60 minutes ( renewables ’ unreliability is already achieving that ) .
But Cool Australia ’ s Earth Hour folderol by last year had reached 2.3 million kids via 50,000 downloaded lessons .
[ vii ] Now let ’ s get back to the 2040 doco .
By time travelling into the future @ @ @ @ @ @ @ green policy works .
Make way for rainbows and unicorn stampedes !
Its climate solutions include swapping steaks for seaweed and pulling down levels of evil CO2 to return the atmosphere to 350ppm CO2 ( now 412ppm ) .
That ’ s some feat .
To scare and prime the kids , the perceived status quo is from Al Gore ’ s climate-porn : allegedly CO2-caused cyclones , floods , droughts , acid oceans , bushfires , melted ice-caps and those long-foreseen but invisible millions of climate refugees .
While touting its message @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doom-talk in this film to give kids and even credulous adults a lot of what Gameau calls “ climate grief ” .
The end-result of the solutions in 2040 is ecstatic kids literally playing ring-a-rosy in the park ( I ’ m not making that up ) and birds twittering in a car-less CBD ( ditto ) .
Car parks become vege plots and push-bikers wave to sharers of electric driverless cars .
Trucks ?
Who needs those when we live in green self-sufficient communes ?
In the plotline 2040 ‘ s protagonist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to navigate through climate perils to his 20-years-hence nirvana .
He spends half the film in airports and planes to Bangladesh , Stockholm etc .
He ’ s begged off the guilts by using carbon credits and planting a few trees to save 90 tonnes of CO2 by 2040 .
China happens to be putting out 10 billion tonnes CO2 a year , but Gameau doesn ’ t mention China once .
Here ’ s how director Gameau shows kids how to deal with sceptics .
He doesn ’ t say which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looks like $ A5.3 trillion a year .
Australia ’ s total GDP is only $ 2 trillion .
# US fossil fuel vested interests are now spending $ US1 billion a year preventing us from lowering emissions , using the tobacco-lobby playbook of creating doubt and confusion .
This $ US1 billion appears sourced from a debunked 2013 paper by “ environmental sociologist ” Robert J. Brulle in the journal Climatic Change .
[ viii ] He added up the total spending of 91 US conservative organisations instead of their fractional spending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arch alarmist James Hansen among his list of “ deniers ” .
[ ix ] The tobacco analogy is febrile hand-waving from Naomi Oreskes in her Merchant of Doubt tract , 2010 .
# Sceptics create websites full of misinformation like claiming the science is not settled and that climate-peril is a religion .
No science is settled , as Einstein would vouch .
The IPCC ’ s now-disgraced skirt-chasing leader Rajendra Pachauri himself said his cause was religious .
[ x ] # Exxon-Mobil finances multiple “ denier ” groups to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broad support .
The oil giant funded 43 skeptic groups with a total $ US16 million from 1998 to 2005 .
That was $ US260,000 a year per group and it ceased 15 years ago .
For perspective , Australia ’ s climate princess , Dr Joelle “ Paper Withdrawn ” Gergis , got $ A692,000 taxpayer money just for one study , which she had to retract in 2012 because of statistical flaws pointed out by skeptics , and she re-did it over the subsequent four years 2013-16 .
Renewables are now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Meanwhile , world-leading skeptic bloggers like JoNova ( Perth ) , Paul Homewood ( UK ) and Anthony Watts ( US ) mostly live off tip jars .
# “ Deniers ” create algorithms and “ bots ” masquerading as humans to populate the web with climate falsehoods .
The source list points to a 2011 blog post .
Its content is just nuts ] .
The film ’ s “ fact-based dreaming ” has spooky or inspirational music to reinforce its messages .
It starts with Gameau ’ s house getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his fireplace .
That represents rising CO2 .
He mourns that little daughter Velvet will be facing “ a deteriorating environment ” as ice caps “ melt faster than scientists predicted ” .
That ’ s odd as the Arctic ice extent has been stable for half a decade and the Antarctic is cooling , not heating .
The oceans , which are alkaline anyway , we ’ re told are getting so acidic that its animals struggle to make their shells ( nonsense ) .
In fact NOAA concedes the historic ocean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conclusions are possible .
[ xi ] Sea rise , continues the flick , threatens “ hundreds of millions ” of people .
( The UNEP in 2005 predicted a 50 million horde of climate refugees by 2010 .
When none showed up , it sneakily changed their arrival date to 2020 .
Now they ’ d better advance it again to 2030 ) .
Every ten minutes Gameau interviews some of his 100-kid stockpile in the six-to-eleven age bracket , and they repeat memes from adults , like Ten-year-old girl : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have done something on global warming and pollution as now I think they are not really doing anything about it.
” [ Except waste $ US1 trillion a year ] .
“ I don ’ t want to see people eating meat because that is from animals.
” [ Gameau says we ’ ll be salivating over “ pretty convincing ” meat substitutes ] .
“ The beach would not be the same if you could not swim in the water and whales are all gone.
” “ I wish they would stop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That would be cool.
” Gameau comments without irony : “ It ’ s sobering to learn how pre-occupied kids are with the state of the planet.
” Gameau ’ s first solution is from Bangladesh ( would we all just love to live like Bangladeshis ?
OK , probably not ) , which he celebrates for deploying “ solar microgrids ” powering what looks like 15W light globes .
( The others enjoy fossil-fired mains 220V power .
Renewables in Bangladesh are currently 2.5 per cent of its electricity capacity , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ per cent .
[ xii ] Mustn ’ t tell schoolkids that inconvenient truth , Mr Gameau .
His narrative also claims that somehow we will get those all-important solar household batteries “ so cheap you are not even going to notice ” .
The cost of a battery system : currently between $ 2000 and $ 20,000. , which are certainly numbers large even to be noticed .
Many countries , he dreams , could be close to 100 per cent renewables by 2040 , presumably when the sun will be shining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He trots out a succession of “ experts ” , like Oxford ’ s Dr Kate Raworth .
She ’ s a “ renegade economist ” and “ the brain behind the widely influential theory of Doughnut Economics.
” She plans for a free economy where the value created is shared more equitably , granting prosperity to everyone in the world without climate change or pollution , the film says .
Cars are scrapped or converted to electric drive ( wow , what would the mechanic charge ? )
.
The film @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil ’ forecasts : “ If no-one buys ( normal ) cars , oil demand will peak and go down dramatically and never come back ” .
We will have “ less road rage ” and actually hear birds singing in the city .
( The flick ’ s sound editor splices helpfully “ tweet , tweet ” into the sound-track at this point ) .
Another of Gameau ’ s talking heads is author/film-maker Helena Norberg-Hodge , who “ has been promoting an economics of personal , social and ecological well-being for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purer living patterns in both “ North and South ” hemispheres , according to her blurb , which explains she mastered her green methods over decades of work in Ladakh , Kashmir , which is famous for its religious mask-dancing and weaving .
Her books include Learning from Ladakh and the rather ambitious Schooling the World .
Australian actress , Davini Malcolm , plays a shaman in Gameau ’ s film .
She was born “ Lindy ” but received the name “ Davini ” from her Indian spiritual teacher , Osho , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help produce and write the 13-part children ’ s TV Series Teenie Weenie Greenies and do a film , Lotus Birth , of her experience having twins in the bath .
The births were preceded by her partner , Peter , and their two boys around the piano singing what the DVD notes call their famous and delightful “ fart song ” .
In 2040 a glum fellow Eric Toensmeier lectures our kids that “ even if we ceased all our human emissions altogether , cut emissions to zero , we would still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passed some phony tipping point “ and on our way to a point of no return ” .
So we have to sequester and store existing “ carbon ” ( he means CO2 but only nerds do chemistry ) .
Experts describe how to “ flip ” global crop and livestock farming to cut emissions through soil regeneration and fence-free cattle grazing .
Gameau ’ s case study is Cole Seis who has reworked his 2000 acres at Shepparton and claims savings of over $ 2 million – except “ I don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went , ” he says .
[ xiii ] The future-stepping Velvet explains that someone did get stung for the costs of all this transformation : “ Those who polluted our era with excess carbon [ she means CO2 ] had to pay a penalty and the money raised paid farmers to clean our air.
” This innovative economic planning is acompanied by vision of “ smoke ” aka steam , billowing from a coal-fired power station .
Next up is marine permaculture for the oceans “ to get the overturning circulation going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A 100 square kilometre patch of oceanic desert between Australia and America would be switched to permaculture , producing food to stave off those “ unprecedented numbers of [ climate ] refugees ” , according to Gameau .
Seaweed farms flourish for thousands of kilometres in the Bay of Bengal and around the coast of Africa , contributing to ‘ thriving local economies ’ .
The film ’ s explanatory notes say , “ Kelp and seaweed are nature ’ s climate warriors … Researchers estimate that if 9 per cent of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for seaweed farming , we would be removing 53 billion tonnes of CO2 per year from the atmosphere.
” Hmm , what ’ s 9 per cent of the oceans ?
On my estimate , four times the size of Australia .
That ’ s a challenge .
Students will investigate the relationship between seaweed farming , the health benefits of eating seaweed and climate change .
They will use this info to develop an infographic that uses numbers to convince their peers to eat more seaweed .
Can we surmise Cool Australia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lunching on kelp and algae ?
Somehow I doubt it .
De-commissioned oil rigs , we learn , “ become exciting tourist destinations for those keen to explore marine life.
” Who needs silly old oil and plastics ?
Newsreader Angela Pippos is wheeled on to read this fake script : “ Big banks continue to take a hit as the public shifts its money away from organisations that support fossil fuels.
” But no flick , even 2040 , can be all bad .
It earns my one-star review for urging that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marriage and family planning .
It shows Nobel Peace-winning Malala Yousafzai saying , “ One pen can change the world.
” I ’ d like to know which religionist shot Malala in the head and why , but that ’ s a message too far for Gameau and Cool Australia .
He closes his concoction with rapturous music and vision of youngsters of all colors and creeds dancing in a hi-tech ambience through a forest .
One white-clad 20-something grows from her shoulder-blades giant butterfly wings that actually flap .
Gameau rhapsodises that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( geddit ? )
because CO2 levels are coming down .
This must be the cheesiest movie clip ever made or even imaginable .
Gameau leaves his world-straddling Boeing at the airport and heads home to start planting stuff , as distinct from planting stuff in kids ’ heads .
There are so many helpers involved in this 92-minute mock epic that ten minutes are needed for the closing credits .
Cheryl Lacey is an education strategist and author of Marching Schools Forward ( Connor Court , 2019 ) .
She comments : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gore , Cool Australia , Gillard , the Greens , or even the Liberal party , the truth is that schools have become nothing more than a playing field for power and wealth distribution .
This ‘ child abuse ’ isn ’ t new .
Education ’ s been bastardised for at least 50 years : the Greens especially have deeply penetrated young minds .
It ’ s no surprise that 90 % of all schools are buying into Cool Australia ’ s propaganda .
Just print and distribute .
No teaching required @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Remarks in a Tagespiegel article from Germany last week seem quite applicable to Australian schools .
The former Potsdam Climate Institute Director , Prof. Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber is quoted : “ The closing of ranks of science and youth in the fight for a new society that is sustainable in its management and living is like a ‘ big bang ’ .
We need these heroes and heroines who are not even of age ” .
These minors are well organized in their own schools – that is their basis .
But something has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the climate and environment clubs in the schools themselves were not taken seriously by students and particularly frequented , today they are the smallest units from which mobilization and organization for the big demonstrations are done .
( Translation by Pierre Gosselin , Notrickszone ) I know conservative politicians are timid but why are they supporting schools ’ campaign for their own extinction ?
Tony Thomas ’ s new book , Come To Think Of It – essays to tickle the brain , is available here as a book ( $ 34.95 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) [ ii ] Impact Report : “ The outcome is better engaged students who commit to individual and community action .
This approach goes beyond a simple transfer of knowledge .
It builds on an individual ’ s capacity for transformational change.
” [ iv ] In a search , “ 2040 ” comes up in 64 lessons [ v ] Craig Kimberley sold his Just Jeans empire for $ 64m in 2001 .
[ vi ] The HRC also trawled for complaints about The Australian ’ s cartoonist Bill Leak , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the furore .
[ viii ] Institutionalizing delay : foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations [ ix ] Hansen is known as “ the father of the global warming movement ” from his 1988 testimony to Congress .
[ x ] Pachauri : ‘ For me the protection of Planet Earth , the survival of all species and sustainability of our ecosystems is more than a mission .
It is my religion and my dharma.
’ [ xi ] The data collected prior to 1989 are typically not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; therefore , such data are of unknown and probably variable quality .
[ xii ] 48 power plants with a combined generation capacity of 16,875 megawatts ( MW ) are under construction in Bangladesh .
State Minister for Power , Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid says the power division has been working on uninterrupted , reliable and quality power at reasonable and affordable prices .
[ xiii ] “ Colin Seis discovered a new way of farming after his 2,000-acre family farm burned to the ground in a devastating bushfire .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ approach and develop a radical new farming technique .
It was so successful it became a global agricultural movement , known as ‘ pasture cropping ’ .
”


climatedepot--2020-10-16--‘Today, we live some 100 times better than did our ancestors at the end of the 18th century’

`` Global food production has exploded since 1970 , due in part to a favorable climate .
For the first time in human history , we live in an age during which it is not necessary for large numbers of human beings to go hungry . ''
`` Today , we live some 100 times better than did our ancestors at the end of the 18th century .
The luxuries that we take for granted — abundant food on demand , clean running water , electricity , electronic communications and media , advanced medical care , inexpensive clothing , home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ universal basic education , free libraries , and dozens of other important advances — are linked to warming temperatures that have afforded enough surplus food to support educators , scientists , inventors , technicians , physicians , and the suppliers of so many of our modern conveniences . ''
...
Ancient peoples were not particularly interested in whether the seas were rising or falling .
The warmer temperatures and consequent threats to coastal areas now bemoaned by the U.N. ’ s IPCC were a bonanza to ancient peoples — as they are to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Their interest was in survival , and warmer temperatures , and the increased production of food that accompanied them , benefited ancient peoples .
Excess food production made possible an accumulation of wealth and with it advances in technology and the arts .
When temperatures cooled , as they did in the Late Bronze Age between the 13th and 11th centuries B.C.
, global food production fell , and much of the world entered a period of scarcity , hunger , and cultural decline .
As Professor Brandon L. Drake shows , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ collapse of Mediterranean civilization during the centuries after the fall of Troy .
Homer described that period 350 years before his own as an Age of Heroes .
After 1200 B.C.
, the eastern Mediterranean entered the ancient Dark Ages , in which great cities were abandoned and populations declined .
That period was also one of dramatically cooling temperatures — the global cooling that explains the “ Dark Ages ” in which even the Linear B script and the art of writing were lost to the Mycenaean Greeks .
It goes without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do with ancient cycles of climate change .
Natural cycles of warming and cooling have always existed — and the polar ice caps have formed and melted thousands of times in the course of our planet ’ s history .
During the Little Ice Age that ended in the mid-19th century , human populations suffered from cold , scarcity , and the suppression of human innovation that always accompanies poverty .
It is no accident that since the end of this long era of global cooling , human civilization and technology have exploded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times better than did our ancestors at the end of the 18th century .
The luxuries that we take for granted — abundant food on demand , clean running water , electricity , electronic communications and media , advanced medical care , inexpensive clothing , home and office heating , rapid transportation , universal basic education , free libraries , and dozens of other important advances — are linked to warming temperatures that have afforded enough surplus food to support educators , scientists , inventors , technicians , physicians , and the suppliers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Unfortunately , the current phase of warming may not last .
Natural forces will again cause the Earth ’ s temperatures to cool , and with this cooling will come falling food production and an associated decline in human civilization .
When this moment arrives , and it may arrive quite suddenly , our descendants may look back nostalgically on our time — just as Homer looked back to the warmer period of the Trojan War — as a period of abundance and greatness .
Those descendants will have entered a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be concerned about the fact that the seas rose in the centuries following the Little Ice Age — they ’ ll be hungry and shivering in the dark , many of them , at least , and wishing that the Earth ’ s climate would warm once again , as it did in the centuries before the fall of Troy and as it has in our own .
Homer never used the phrase “ climate change , ” but he was acutely aware of its effects .
He celebrated ancestors who lived in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time .
And without actually saying so , he bemoaned the centuries of cooling that followed the early Bronze Age .
As the U.K. ’ s Times points out , Canadian farmers are now for the first time planting wheat in subarctic regions .
That is a remarkable fact , and a hopeful one .
Global food production has exploded since 1970 , due in part to a favorable climate .
For the first time in human history , we live in an age during which it is not necessary for large numbers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Surely , that fact should be paramount in the minds of climate scientists — not the potential for beach erosion or the loss of a few Pacific islands .
It is astounding that , without even trying , the ancients understood climate change so much better than we do today .
Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination ( 2011 ) .

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climatedepot--2020-10-16--Industry layoffs threaten the green energy fairy tale – ‘Net-zero energy economy is prohibitively ex

Industry layoffs threaten the green energy fairy tale – ‘Net-zero energy economy is prohibitively expensive and unreliable’

The clock is striking midnight .
The green energy movement is about to lose its gleaming white steeds and glass slipper-wearing princess and turn back into an unimpressive pumpkin .
Two massive rounds of layoffs mean nearly 20,000 people will soon be out of work at the hands of climate alarmism , as Royal Dutch Shell and BP struggle to afford their plans to reach net-zero emissions .
They recognize the reality that so many in politics and public relations studiously ignore : A net-zero energy economy is prohibitively expensive and unreliable .
Contrary to what its advocates claim , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy or even small portions of it .
The facts are simple — the wind doesn ’ t always blow , and the sun doesn ’ t always shine .
There ’ s no getting around the fact that weather patterns usually don ’ t align with peak power demand .
Production of wind energy especially fluctuates wildly , making planning for grid reliability a significant challenge — critical in an era when everything from healthcare to banking and more depends on electricity — and claims that renewables are becoming cost-effective don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe Biden , who touts the “ Green New Deal ” as “ a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face , ” admits renewables are unsustainable without fracking , the technology that has revolutionized the energy industry and made natural gas more affordable than ever .
As much as renewable advocates hope for a transition , the more likely scenario is that wind and solar will remain single-digit contributors at most to our energy landscape , with abundant natural gas and clean low-sulfur coal continuing to power the nation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is enough to compensate for renewables ’ unreliability , the technology develops too slowly to be a panacea .
Nationwide battery storage capacity is projected to more than double by 2023 , but even all the batteries in existence combined in that projection wouldn ’ t be enough to keep the lights on in New York City for an hour .
Just like Elon Musk ’ s hype machine hasn ’ t sped up the pace of innovation enough to make electric vehicles affordable for the masses , there are generations at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and cheap enough to make renewables viable for the rest of us .
The basic principles of supply and demand mean that scarce energy is expensive energy .
And if Shell and BP are struggling to afford the high cost of going net-zero ( or trying to ) , imagine the exponentially higher cost of achieving the same goal for the entire nation .
It ’ s a cost that people simply won ’ t stand for , and for Biden and other politicians pushing to eliminate fossil fuels , that ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surveys usually report climate change is a concern for voters , cost is where the rubber meets the road .
More than two-thirds of people in a recent AP poll report they wouldn ’ t be willing to pay $ 10 or more per month for their electricity in order to pay for anti-climate change programs .
Given the multitrillion-dollar price tag projected for the Green New Deal and climate plans like it , the likelihood of people quietly accepting the fiscal consequences is extremely low .
Energy powers every sector of our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from higher taxes and higher energy prices , which would be difficult enough to stomach , to higher prices for everything we buy .
Unfortunately , the public will bear the brunt of the energy fairy tales of politicians such as Biden .
Shell ’ s and BP ’ s latest layoffs portend doom not for “ Big Oil ” , but for the green movement they ’ re struggling to appease .
Wind and solar power are just too unreliable and expensive to replace fossil fuels .
If recent history teaches us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that for many , many decades .
Those hoping to lead our cities , state , and country should heed the writing on the wall .


climatedepot--2020-10-16--Bloomberg climate group dumps $2.5 million into North Carolina – So residents can pay higher electri

Bloomberg climate group dumps $2.5 million into North Carolina – So residents can pay higher electricity prices — ‘but the weather will remain the same’

Bloomberg group aiming to ‘ elect champions of climate action all over the country ’ Mike Bloomberg ’ s climate change group is dumping $ 2.5 million into the North Carolina race for lieutenant governor to support Democrat Yvonne Holley in the final stretch before the election .
“ Holley , when elected , will be North Carolina ’ s first African American Lieutenant Governor , and will serve as president of the Senate , chair of the Energy Policy Council , and will determine the fate of critical legislation , ” Bloomberg ’ s Beyond Carbon Victory Fund said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced Wednesday that it is spending roughly $ 2 million to support Democrats running for the Arizona Corporation Commission .
“ Our Beyond Carbon Victory Fund campaign aims to elect champions of climate action all over the country — at all levels of government where an impact can be made , ” said Mike Bloomberg .
“ These races may not make headline news , but I ’ m glad to support candidates in North Carolina and Arizona who will be leaders on climate action and the urgent work of moving our country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ energy economy.
” Beyond Carbon Victory Fund ’ s North Carolina spending includes $ 2 million on broadcast and local cable through Oct. 19 and $ 32,000 on radio through the same date .
The group is also spending $ 431,000 on digital ads to run this week .
The group is also supporting a Democratic candidate for state legislature , state Senator Kirk deViere .


climatedepot--2020-10-16--‘Climate risk management’: Ex-Bank of England boss: Banks should link executive pay to UN Paris clim

‘Climate risk management’: Ex-Bank of England boss: Banks should link executive pay to UN Paris climate goals

Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said banks should link executive pay to climate risk management , as part of efforts to align the finance industry with Paris climate goals .
Speaking at the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative roundtable on Tuesday , the former central bank boss said lenders should – at the very least – be transparent over whether or not pay is being tied to climate targets .
He said banks must “ have some interim objectives and targets that are disclosed .
Ideally a governance process that ’ s clear in terms of … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ climate risks and opportunities .
Ideally , [ there should be ] some compensation link to that as well , or at least disclosure about whether it is there or not.
” While a number of major banks have announced net-zero climate pledges in recent months , few have made explicit commitments about how executive remuneration might play a part in keeping lenders accountable .
HSBC and Wall Street giant JP Morgan both revealed climate pledges last week .
HSBC committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 , linked to the loans and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came days after JP Morgan made similar pledges , saying it would push clients towards aligning with the Paris agreement , which is meant to limit temperature rises to 1.5C and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis .
Barclays announced plans to shrink its carbon footprint to net zero by 2050 earlier this year and Lloyds committed to halving the amount of carbon emissions it finances through personal and business loans by 2030 .
Neither HSBC nor Lloyds were immediately able to confirm whether executive pay was linked to their climate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday .
JP Morgan said the bank would be announcing its methodology in the spring , and that it has not ruled out linking pay to climate pledges .
NatWest Group confirmed that decisions on pay for its top executives – including chief executive Alison Rose – do take climate targets into consideration .
The bank has pledged to fully phase out coal financing by 2030 and is aiming to “ at least halve ” the climate impact of its lending activity by the end of the decade .


climatedepot--2020-10-17--Pennsylvania governor tramples legislators to impose carbon taxes

Pennsylvania state lawmakers in both parties have a message for Democratic Gov .
Tom Wolf , and it goes something like this : No taxation without representation !
That message came through loud and clear in September when the General Assembly passed legislation that would prohibit the governor from joining a multi-state climate change agreement without legislative approval .
The was just one vote shy of a veto-proof majority with five Democrats joining with Republicans to support the bill .
On the House side , seven Democrats served as co-sponsors of the , which by a wide margin in July @ @ @ @ @ @ @ George III , nevertheless has decided to bypass the General Assembly with a regulatory package that ignores scientific findings and economic realities .
Earlier this month , he vetoed the legislation that would have enabled the people ’ s elected representatives to exercise a straight up or down vote on the merits of carbon taxes .
In his , Wolf said the legislation prohibiting unilateral executive actions is “ extremely dangerous to public health and welfare.
” Why would that be ?
There is a “ global climate crisis.
” That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ veto .
Not only that , but the governor finds Pennsylvania is already experiencing “ adverse impacts from climate change.
” He cites “ higher temperatures ” and “ frequent extreme weather events ” as examples of adverse impacts .
Therefore , Wolf is calling for drastic action in the form of anti-industry regulations that , from his point of view , can not take a back seat to constitutional government .


climatedepot--2020-10-17--This sh*t is going to kill us’: Harrison Ford slams leaders who make climate change a ‘divisive issu

This sh*t is going to kill us’: Harrison Ford slams leaders who make climate change a ‘divisive issue’

Harrison Ford has called on voters to back leaders who will move to tackle the climate crisis , noting , “ This s*** is going to kill us.
” The Indiana Jones actor , 78 , slammed political figures who make climate change a “ divisive issue ” and “ do it to protect the entrenched economic interests who profit from behavior that destroys our planet ” , in an interview with Time .
The longtime environmentalist , who is vice chairman of the board of Conservation International , made the remarks after providing the voiceover for a short video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to vote .
“ We have people in leadership positions who refuse to accept objective science .
They ’ re robbing us of the ability to collaborate , to compromise , to move forward , ” he says .
Ford called on people to hold businesses accountable if they are willing to destroy nature in the name of profits , and vote for candidates who acknowledge what ’ s at risk , and have a plan to tackle it .
President Trump , who has calls climate change a “ hoax ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the GOP ’ s recycled 2016 platform .
It states that the climate crisis will be best solved by the market and tech solutions .
Democratic candidate Joe Biden , who calls climate change an “ existential crisis ” , has a plan that calls for a $ 2 trillion investment in clean energy over four years , and promises to “ demand that Congress enacts legislation in the first year ” to ensure net-zero emissions by 2050 .
Scientists say that we have around a decade to make meaningful cuts to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or the planet will face even more severe impacts than we are already witnessing .
“ The necessary foundation of our lives is a vital healthy natural world — our source of clean water , food and stable climate .
We ’ re watching that foundation crumble , ” the actor says in the video clip .
The single most important individual action , Ford says , is to vote .
“ Vote to save nature .
Vote to save your children ’ s future .
Vote as if your life depends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Canadian TV at UN Summit : Harrison Ford and other climate hypocrites at the UN climate conference Exclusive Video : UN ’ s Whopper of Hypocrisy : UN climate activists line up for Burger King at Madrid summit despite UN ’ s warning on dangers of eating meat – Harrison Ford confronted about flying up coast for a cheeseburger Passionate climate activist Harrison Ford : ‘ I ’ m so passionate about flying , I often fly up the coast for a cheeseburger ’ Harrison Ford called out for using ‘ private jets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Action Summit Harrison Ford delivers apocalyptic climate change warning – ‘ Fresh water shortages , higher greenhouse gas emissions , unprecedented fires , worldwide destruction .
Is this the world we want ?
’ HARRISON FORD RIPS CLIMATE SKEPTICS : ‘ WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE !
’ – ‘ We are facing what is quickly becoming the greatest moral crisis of our time ’ Harrison Ford Rages : ‘ The Future of Humanity Is at Stake ’ – We are ‘ shit out of time ’ to save the planet from ‘ @ @ @


climatedepot--2020-10-18--Former Obama EPA chief Gina McCarthy: insanely suggests we can ‘see & feel and taste’ CO2-induced cl

Former Obama EPA chief Gina McCarthy: insanely suggests we can ‘see & feel and taste’ CO2-induced climate change

Climate Depot Response : `` See and feel and taste '' CO2 or `` climate change '' ?
!
It should be clear to everyone by now that it is the Trump administration that is `` pro-science . ''
McCarthy : `` They have really done everything humanly possible to try to convince people that what they see and feel and taste just is n't happening in front of them . ''
Critics say the rollbacks on environmental regulations are part of an agenda to remove any reference to climate change across the federal government .
`` The Trump administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the science and denigrate scientists , '' says Gina McCarthy , the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) and now the president of the National Resources Defence Council .
`` They have really done everything humanly possible to try to convince people that what they see and feel and taste just is n't happening in front of them . ''
https : //t.co/ZOvtE3b7w8 Obama 's EPA chief McCarthy insanely suggests that we can `` see and feel and taste '' CO2-induced climate change : Critics say the rollbacks on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to remove any reference to climate change across the federal government .
BBC : Why the US election could decide battle against climate change – October 18 , 2020 “ The Trump administration has done everything they can to deny the science and denigrate scientists , ” says Gina McCarthy , the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) and now the president of the National Resources Defence Council .
“ They have really done everything humanly possible to try to convince people that what they see and feel and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ front of them.
” Scientists studying climate change say that the re-election of Donald Trump could make it “ impossible ” to keep global temperatures in check .
They ’ re worried another four years of Trump would “ lock in ” the use of fossil fuels for decades to come – securing and enhancing the infrastructure for oil and gas production rather than phasing them out as environmentalists want .
Joe Biden ’ s climate plan , the scientists argue , would give the world a fighting chance .
In addition to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the international pact designed to avoid dangerous warming of the Earth – President Trump ’ s team has worked hard to remove what they see as obstacles to efficient energy production .
Former EPA Chief Denies War On Coal While Sitting In Front Of A ‘ Coal Sucks ’ Poster ‘ We have to get busy on climate change because if it gets any worse our cars will be buried for months on end , and our subway system will never work… ’ Flashback Feb. 2011 : EPA Air Chief Gina McCarthy Is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t she know how much CO2 is in the air ?
’ McCarthy : ‘ Well actually I don ’ t have that figure.
’ Analysis : ‘ You don ’ t have what ?
Please tell me this is a joke !
The chief of the EPA ’ s air programs and greenhouse gas regulations doesn ’ t know how much carbon dioxide is in the air ?
’ EPA ’ s Gina McCarthy : Global Warming ‘ affects everything and everyone we know and love .
It affects our kids @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Climate Change Any Longer ’ Watch : EPA Chief McCarthy : Unless you want to debate cigarettes & cancer , ‘ don ’ t debate about climate change ’ EPA Chief Gina McCarthy : ‘ Scientists are as sure that humans are causing climate change as they are that cigarette smoke causes lung cancer .
So unless you want to debate that point , don ’ t debate about climate change any longer.
’ EPA Chief Admits Obama Regs Have No Measurable Climate Impact : ‘ One one-hundredth of a degree ?
’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enormously beneficial ’ – Symbolic impact Watch Obama EPA chief Gina McCarthy Testify to Congress : ‘ The value of this rule is not measured in that way .
( Temperature impact ) It is measured in showing strong domestic action which can actually trigger global action to address what ’ s a necessary action to protect…I ’ m not disagreeing that this action in and of itself will not make all the difference we need to address climate action , but what I ’ m saying is that if we don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get started and we ’ ll never… ’ Flashback 2009 : Former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson : “ U.S .
action alone will not impact world CO2 levels.
” ) The Daily Caller ’ s Michael Bastach asks EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy about the ‘ hiatus in global warming for the last 15 to 18 years.
’ – Christian Science Monitor Breakfast – November 17 , 2014 MCCARTHY : “ I don ’ t want to take a lot of time on that .
That is a short lived issue that doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McCarthy at ‘ Environmental Justice ’ Rally Tells Rappers : ‘ We Need You ’ in climate fight ‘ You will hear a lot about how she worked for Mitt Romney so she ’ s bi-partisan .
Baloney .
In those days , before the flip flops , Romney was one of the most liberal Republicans in the country and subscribed wholeheartedly to the global warming theory ’ — ‘ She has already been a central player in developing greenhouse-gas rules proposed last year that would effectively rule out new coal-fired power plants @ @ @ @ @ @


climatedepot--2020-10-18--‘Dirty little secret’: Warmist Harvard Prof. Schrag finally admits: ‘Even if we could become carbon-

‘Dirty little secret’: Warmist Harvard Prof. Schrag finally admits: ‘Even if we could become carbon-neutral tomorrow, the climate will keep changing for thousands of years, the ice sheets will keep melting, & the seas will continue to rise’

Harvard Mag : These are all important questions—but even they ignore a central certainty that no one appears to be addressing : what Dan Schrag calls “ climate change ’ s dirty little secret.
” “ Even if we could become carbon-neutral tomorrow , ” says the director of the Harvard University Center for the Environment , “ the climate will keep changing for thousands of years , the ice sheets will keep melting , and the seas will continue to rise.
” Climate Depot 's Marc Morano : `` So now an allegedly esteemed Harvard professor admits that controlling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supposed to be surprised at this 'secret ' that climate skeptics have always known ?
Even the climate activists will now have to concede that the climate will not stop changing if we refuse to enact the UN Paris pact and the Green New Deal . ''
Flashback : CO2 Nears 400 ppm – Relax !
It ’ s Not Global Warming ‘ End Times ’ — But Only A ‘ Big Yawn ’ — Climate Depot Special Report Renowned Climatologist : ‘ You can go outside and spit and have the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ note that geologically speaking , the Earth is currently in a 'CO2 famine ' and that the geologic record reveals that ice ages have occurred when CO2 was at 2000 ppm to as high as 8000 ppm .
In addition , peer-reviewed studies have documented that there have been temperatures similar to the present day on Earth when carbon dioxide was up to twenty times higher than today ’ s levels ' Philip Stott , professor emeritus of Biogeography at the University of London , points out that “ climate change is governed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the very idea that we can manage climate change predictably by understanding and manipulating at the margins one politically-selected factor [ CO2 ] , is as misguided as it gets .
It 's scientific nonsense . ''
Wildfires in California are one example of climate-change damages happening now .
CLIMATE CHANGE may be the most inexorable catastrophe the human species has ever faced .
What to do about the warming is dominated by uncertainties—and a pervasive inability to agree on who should do what in response .
Can humanity agree to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , such as wind and solar power—and if so , how quickly could the transition be made , and feasibly paid for ?
How high will sea level rise by 2050 ?
By 2100 ?
Given rich nations and poor ones , and public and political attention spans measured in a few years ( if that long ) , rather than decades or centuries , what mechanisms exist to make collective decisions on long time scales , and to allocate the resulting pain and gains ?
These are all important questions—but even they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appears to be addressing : what Dan Schrag calls “ climate change ’ s dirty little secret.
” “ Even if we could become carbon-neutral tomorrow , ” says the director of the Harvard University Center for the Environment , “ the climate will keep changing for thousands of years , the ice sheets will keep melting , and the seas will continue to rise.
” ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE ( CO ) , the chief global-warming agent by volume , is increasing rapidly .
In May 1960 , the gas made up 317 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earth ’ s atmosphere as measured at Mauna Loa , Hawaii , up from preindustrial levels of about 280 ppm ; by this May , as humans continued to release more than 35 billion metric tons of CO annually , the figure had risen to 417 ppm—and during that period , average temperatures over land increased about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit .
The current , accelerating rate of CO increase is 2.5 ppm per year : 100 times faster than at any period in Earth ’ s geological history , straining the ability of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from now , more than half the CO humanity has pumped into the atmosphere…will still be there .
CO is also persistent .
A thousand years from now—30 human generations—more than half the heat-trapping carbon-dioxide that humanity has pumped into the atmosphere since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution will still be there .
Twenty thousand years from now , says Schrag , a third of that CO willremain .
As the gas traps heat arriving from the sun , temperatures will continue to increase progressively above the natural , preindustrial levels which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Unless the process can be reversed—not just slowed—the globally transformative effects of human-induced warming will thus extend across a geological time scale that has come to be known among scientists as the anthropocene : the era of extinctions in which human action plays the determining role .
DAN SCHRAG , who is teaching the first University-wide course on climate change this fall , says it shouldn ’ t be “ only national labs or the military ” that study solar aerosol geoengineering .
“ We should have the best climate scientists in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ways that it could go wrong.
” It might stabilize the Greenland ice sheet , he points out , but fail to avert a potential collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet , whose stability depends on the temperature of ocean currents that can melt ice shelves and submarine portions of glaciers from below .
Schrag says his view of geoengineering is a little like Churchill ’ s assessment of democracy : that it is “ ‘ the worst form of Government except for all those other forms….
’ Taking control of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ idea .
I just think that a lot of people don ’ t understand that climate change is even more terrifying.
” Jonathan Shaw ’ 89 is managing editor of this magazine .


climatedepot--2020-10-19--RIP: Sea Level Expert Professor Nils-Axel Mörner, 1938-2020 – Climate Skeptic

Professor Nils-Axel Mörner , who died on Friday October 16 aged 83 after a short illness , knew more about sea level than did Poseidon himself .
He wrote more than 650 papers on the subject in his long and distinguished career .
He became even more well-known after his retirement than before it , because he decided to take the risk of publicly opposing the false notion , profitably peddled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change et hoc genus omne , that global warming would cause many meters of sea-level rise .
I first came across Niklas Mörner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Andrews University in Scotland , where we had been invited to debate the climate question with true-believers at the University Union , one of the oldest debating societies in the world .
At the beginning of the evening , the President asked us whether we minded taking part in a debate in which 97 % of the students were against our viewpoint .
Niklas replied cheerfully that he had faced worse odds than that .
During the debate , Professor Mörner ’ s speech won us the day .
Within seconds , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hand .
His manner was calculatedly eccentric , and yet all through his speech one could see how passionate he was about seeking scientific truth objectively by measurement , observation and the application of previous theory to the results so as to confirm and develop or to overthrow that theory .
Either way , said Niklas , science advances by little and little towards the truth , and nothing but the truth matters .
The scientific method applied to sea-level change : a slide by Niklas Mörner The undergraduates were visibly fascinated .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ knew that keeping them entertained was the best way to hold their attention , and that making visible his personal dedication to the hunt for objective truth in scientific enquiry would lead the students to emulate him .
He was rapturously received throughout his speech , and was accorded a thunderous round of applause at the end .
When the vote was taken , the skeptics had won by a margin of 3 votes .
It was the first time that any student audience in Britain had voted to oppose the climate-Communist Party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kept in regular touch until just a couple of months ago , when he wrote asking me to contribute two papers to a new scientific journal that he was setting up .
He wanted one paper on What is science and what is not ?
and another on our team ’ s demonstration that concern about global warming sprang from an elementary but significant error of physics .
At the Copenhagen climate conference in 2009 , Niklas gave a speech on sea-level rise to a press briefing organized by the Committee for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attended , and Niklas – who needed a pointer for his slides but could not find one – seized a passing wooden salad fork and used that instead , to the delight of the journalists .
He also established the influential International Committee on Geoethics , with the aim of removing partisan politics and reintroducing open debate on scientific questions at universities .
The Committee held its inaugural conference in Prague , where the presentations were given in the Spanish Ballroom of the Hradcany Palace at the invitation of then-President Vaclav Klaus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : the Spanish Ballroom at the Hradcany Palace , Prague Professor Mörner was a hands-on scientist .
He did not enjoy squatting in his ivory tower .
He liked to travel the world investigating sea level by the novel method of actually going to the coastline and having a look .


climatedepot--2020-10-19--Bill Gates: ‘Shutting down’ economy ‘nowhere near sufficient’ to stop climate change – ‘Simply shutt

Bill Gates: ‘Shutting down’ economy ‘nowhere near sufficient’ to stop climate change – ‘Simply shutting down is not going to get to our goal’ of net zero

Bill Gates , co-founder of Microsoft , said the coronavirus pandemic demonstrates that `` simply shutting down '' the U.S. economy wo n't bring about net zero carbon emissions to fight climate change .
... Gates : `` Simply shutting down is not going to get to our goal , so just as we need breakthrough innovation for COVID-19 , we also need that to get rid of emissions from all the different sectors and bring down climate change , '' Gates said during the annual meeting for the National Academy of Medicine .
`` This crosses many areas — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make industrial products , grow food , cool our buildings and all of transportation . ''
... `` The change in behavior , like driving less or flying less is helpful but nowhere near sufficient — 2020 is a great example of this , '' he said .
`` We 've cut down carbon emissions ... but the reduction in emissions is actually quite modest .
When COVID-19 hit , air travel effectively stopped .
Car travel last April was half what it was the year before , and even so the international @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only dropped about 8 % this year . ''
Characterizing climate change as `` even scarier '' than the COVID-19 pandemic , Gates predicted that climate change could result in 3 times more deaths than coronavirus .
Bill Gates , co-founder of Microsoft , said the coronavirus pandemic demonstrates that “ simply shutting down ” the U.S. economy won ’ t bring about net zero carbon emissions to fight climate change .
Gates said the emissions reductions from the pandemic were “ quite modest , ” despite the drastic drop in air travel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down is not going to get to our goal , so just as we need breakthrough innovation for COVID-19 , we also need that to get rid of emissions from all the different sectors and bring down climate change , ” Gates said during the annual meeting for the National Academy of Medicine .
“ This crosses many areas — how we make electricity , how we make industrial products , grow food , cool our buildings and all of transportation.
” Gates , co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot about climate change , emphasizing that decreased air and auto travel hasn ’ t made a huge impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero .
“ The change in behavior , like driving less or flying less is helpful but nowhere near sufficient — 2020 is a great example of this , ” he said .
“ We ’ ve cut down carbon emissions … but the reduction in emissions is actually quite modest .
When COVID-19 hit , air travel effectively stopped .
Car travel last April was half what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even so the international energy agency estimates that the global emissions only dropped about 8 % this year.
” Characterizing climate change as “ even scarier ” than the COVID-19 pandemic , Gates predicted that climate change could result in 3 times more deaths than coronavirus .
“ As bad as COVID-19 has been , the damage of climate change will be even worse , and there won ’ t be just an intervention like a vaccine to bring it to an end , ” he said .
“ Just changing our behavior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We have to have advances in science and innovation to solve the problem.
” Gates said the kind of innovation and cooperation that brought the world together after World War II would help fight climate change .
“ COVID has been incredibly devastating , ” he said .
“ We can ’ t even measure all the negative effects .
Climate is the same .
It ’ s even scarier .
”


climatedepot--2020-10-19--Tom Steyer: ‘We fight climate change by treating every issue like a climate issue…That’s how we save

Tom Steyer: ‘We fight climate change by treating every issue like a climate issue…That’s how we save our planet’

We fight climate change by treating every issue like a climate issue .
That 's how we meet this moment @ @ @ @ @ save our planet .


climatedepot--2020-10-19--New Study: East Antarctica Was Up To 6°C Warmer Than Today During The Medieval Warm Period

As recently as 2000 to 1000 years ago , spanning the Roman to Medieval Warm Periods , East Antarctica was 5-6°C warmer than it is today .
The consequent ice melt resulted in > 60 meters higher water levels in East Antarctica ’ s lakes .
East Antarctica has been rapidly cooling in recent decades , with magnitudes reaching -0.7°C to -2.0°C per decade since the mid-1980s ( Obryk et al.
, 2020 ) .
A new study ( Myers et al.
, 2020 ) reports that until about 15,000 years ago and throughout the Last Glacial Maximum , East @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today .
Antarctica then abruptly warmed 15°C within centuries .
From 12,000 to 6,000 years before present , East Antarctica was about 5°C warmer than it is today .
And then as recently as 2,000 to 1,000 years ago , East Antarctica was so warm ( ~6°C warmer than present ) that its lakes were filled with 60 to 80 meters more meltwater than exists in lake basins today .
“ Resistivity data suggests that active permafrost formation has been ongoing since the onset of lake drainage , and that as recently as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ levels were over 60 m higher than present .
This coincides with a warmer than modern paleoclimate throughout the Holocene inferred by the nearby Taylor Dome ice core record .
… Stable isotope records from Taylor Dome ( located roughly 100 km west of the MDVs ) indicate mean annual air temperatures ca .
4-9 °C lower than modern during the LGM ( Steig et al.
, 2000 ) .
” “ Between 12,000–6,000 yr BP , Taylor Dome ice core record indicates that regional temperatures were up to 5 °C warmer than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Steig et al.
, 2000 ) .
” “ Permafrost age calculations indicate late Holocene lake level high-stands ( up to ~81 masl , 63 m higher than modern Lake Fryxell ) roughly 1.5 to 1 ka BP that would have filled both Lake Fryxell and Lake Hoare basins ( Fig .
3b ) .
… Taylor Dome ice core records show a highly variable Holocene , with short lived peaks up to + 6 °C above modern temperatures between 1-2 ka BP ( Steig et al.
, 2000 ) .
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and after the LGM when an ice dam blocked the mouth of TV , allowing for lake levels to increase by over 280 m compared to modern level .
Taylor Dome ice core records indicate an abrupt warming of > 15 °C from 15 – 12 ka BP , ( Steig et al.
, 2000 ) , which may have coincided with the maximum lake level of GLW.
” “ Short lived changes in temperature such as a 6 °C increase in the late Holocene could have resulted in anywhere between 60 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subsequent drawdown.
” This substantial regional warmth can also be verified by the 1,000-year-old elephant seal remains that document a time when Antarctica was sea ice free 2,400 kilometers south of where sea ice free conditions occur today ( Koch et al.
, 2019 ) .
Elephant seals require sea ice free conditions to breed , and the same locations where they used to breed during the Medieval Warm Period are today buried in sea ice .


climatedepot--2020-10-19--Mean and Unclean: Electric Cars Powered by Child Labor in Africa

Cobalt is an expensive metal used in electric car batteries , costing about $ 35,000 per ton .
59 % of cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo .
Cobalt mining in the Congo is often done by children — as many as 40,000 — working in brutal and unsafe conditions .
A euphemism for these children is ‘ informal ’ workers .
Also see : Electric cars ‘ represent less than a tenth of 1 % of the 1.1 billion cars ’ Green Killers : Congo ’ s Miners Dying to Feed World ’ s Hunger for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of the world ’ s supply came from the Democratic Republic of Congo , one of the poorest , most violent and corrupt places on Earth .
Much of its cobalt comes from around this town .
The makers of wind turbines , solar panels , electric vehicles and other supposedly environment-friendly technologies — as well as the green activists , politicians and bureaucrats who promote and support them with our tax dollars — continually claim that these technologies are ‘ green , ’ ‘ clean ’ and ’ just.
’ Is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of our new series “ Mean and Unclean , ” JunkScience.com explores the African child labor cruelly exploited to make electric cars go .
Here are some salient background points .
• Cobalt is an expensive metal used in electric car batteries , costing about $ 35,000 per ton .
• 59 % of cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo .
• Cobalt mining in the Congo is often done by children — as many as 40,000 — working in brutal and unsafe conditions .
A euphemism for these children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ follows is the harsh reality of children laboring for cobalt used to power electric vehicles .
“ Yanick Kalumbu Tshiwengu , a former child miner from the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ) , is lucky to be alive .
When he was just 11 years old , Yanick went to Kolwezi to mine cobalt .
Every day he descended several metres underground into makeshift tunnels and perilous shafts dug out by the miners , never knowing if he would see daylight and his family again .
With no protective clothing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friends died underground .
Yanick narrowly escaped with his life on two occasions , once when an excavator began closing the entrances to the pit shaft , blocking his escape route , and when a landslide caused a collapse .
Like many of his friends , he began sniffing glue and gasoline to banish his fears , but this could not block out the painful memories that continue to haunt him .
“ It was a living hell , ” he says .
“ As children we were exploited and worked in very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no child should see .
There was a culture of rape and violence .
Girls often fell victim to rape , which as children we were powerless to prevent .
Sometimes lives were lost for a few francs .
No good can ever come from the mines and I ’ d like to see them all closed so no child has the same experience as me.
” “ A CBS News investigation has found child labor being used in the dangerous mining of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo .
The mineral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in common devices , including cellphones , laptops and even electric vehicles .
A report by Amnesty International first revealed that cobalt mined by children was ending up in products from several companies , including Apple , Microsoft , Tesla and Samsung .
There ’ s such sensitivity around cobalt mining in the DRC that every few hundred feet the CBS News team was stopped , with security personnel requesting letters and documentation , even though we had official permission to be there .
But for the Chinese middlemen who buy the cobalt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they have free access .
In the mines , women and children help with the so-called artisanal mining , but don ’ t be fooled — it is no quaint cottage industry .
At barely 10 years old , children lug heavy sacks of cobalt to be washed in rivers .
From as early as four , they can pick it out of a pile .
Even those too young to work — dust-covered infants clinging to their mothers and playing on the dirty ground — spend much of the day breathing in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has launched a lawsuit against some of the world ’ s largest tech companies for the deaths and injuries of child miners in Congolese cobalt mines .
International Rights Advocates brought the case on behalf of 14 Congolese families whose children were killed or injured while mining for cobalt .
The metal is key ingredient in the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power most electronic devices .
The defendants named in the suit include Apple , Microsoft , Dell , Tesla and Google ’ s parent company , Alphabet .
The lawsuit accuses those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aiding and abetting the cruel and brutal use of young children .
”


climatedepot--2020-10-19--RESEARCH CHIEF DELIVERS DEATH BLOW TO HARVARD RESEARCHERS’ DEBUNKED #EXXONKNEW PAPER

Circular arguments tend to occur when a speaker cherry picks information with the sole intent of arriving at a predetermined set of conclusions .
For those interested in a perfect example of fallacious ( and dishonest ) circular reasoning , look to longtime # ExxonKnew activists Naomi Oreskes and Geoffrey Supran and their latest logic-contorting piece published by Environmental Research Letters ( ERL ) today .
Oreskes ’ s and Supran ’ s latest work of art comes in response to an analysis on Friday from Vijay Swarup , ExxonMobil Vice President of Research and Development , that refutes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 study that falsely accused the company of misleading the public on climate change .
In their strained “ rebuttal to a rebuttal , ” however , Oreskes and Supran further expose their report ’ s biased , pre-determined engineering and hypocrisy .
Most notably : • Just happening to miss a couple hundred documents as part of their original research ; • Purposely conflating three different companies , and pretending as if they were one ; • Failing to disclose massive conflicts of interest and engaging in hypocritical attacks .
Here ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In August 2017 , Oreskes , a Harvard professor and historian of science , and Supran , a Harvard research fellow , published a study that examined “ advertorials ” from ExxonMobil ( and its predecessor companies ) in The New York Times between 1977 and 2014 and compared them to the company ’ s internal documents .
Based on this comparison , the report alleged to have found that the company produced internal research affirming humans ’ role in climate change , but then used the advertorials to sow doubt in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the researchers ’ analysis is riddled with errors and bias , throwing the credibility of their report and its conclusion into serious question .
This week ’ s response from Oreskes and Supran – which reinforces the faults in their 2017 report – to a rebuttal from Swarup , should have implications for the broader climate litigation campaign , as several of the complaints in those cases cite the researchers original 2017 study as supporting evidence to their misguided claims that energy companies deceived the public about climate change impacts – allegations that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in court .
These new admissions from the Harvard academics are further evidence that climate lawsuits are not backed by sound science or data but are manufactured by anti-energy activists and foundations .
In response to Oreskes ’ s and Supran ’ s 2017 paper , Swarup published his own rebuttal in Environmental Research Letters , the same journal in which the initial study was reported .
Despite submitting the piece for publication in March 2019 , it wasn ’ t reviewed by the journal until December 2019 and was only published this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provides a detailed outline of how Oreskes and Supran misrepresented his company ’ s internal documents and advertorials in their study and skewed the data to support a thesis and conclusion that was already pre-baked : “ That conclusion is premised on at least two methodological flaws .
First , the authors largely compared data from two different companies to determine whether there was a discrepancy between them .
Ignoring that before 1999 Exxon Corporation and Mobil Oil Corporation were two separate companies , the authors compare the internal documents of one company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an effort to find discrepancies in the messages conveyed .
“ Second , the Publication assessed only a small subset of available advertorials .
The authors note that ‘ the company [ Mobil ] took out an advertorial every Thursday between 1972 and 2001 ’ or approximately 1560 times .
Yet they chose to review only the 36 advertorials ( or less than 3 % ) that were selected by another entity , Greenpeace , which has a well-documented history of animosity toward ExxonMobil .
The authors ’ reliance on limited data sets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sets call into question the Publication ’ s conclusions.
” ( emphasis added ) In Latest Reply , Oreskes And Supran Admit To Flaws And Hypocrisy In Research On the same day that Swarup ’ s response was published by Environmental Research Letters , the journal gave Oreskes and Supran a chance to reply .
In that commentary , the researchers accuse the company of “ seek [ ing ] to discredit rather than disprove our findings.
” In reality , the Swarup response does both rather efficiently .
Here are some of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Supran response : • Just happened to miss a couple hundred documents that , had they been incorporated into their original paper , would have destroyed their case In their latest reply , Oreskes and Supran had an “ oops ” moment and admitted that they just happened to miss a couple hundred documents as part of the review that undergirded their original paper .
Discussing this oversight of more than 200 Exxon , Mobil , and ExxonMobil advertorials that were published during the time period the researchers examined in their study , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ After our study was published , we became aware of additional relevant advertorials ( which Swarup emphasizes ) .
” That two Harvard-affiliated researchers wouldn ’ t have access to or be aware of all the publicly available , objective data for a Harvard-backed study published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal seems unlikely , yet a review of Oreskes and Supran ’ s report days after it was published found they only included a fraction of the publicly available advertorial data and sourced that data from a Greenpeace database .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 69 ExxonMobil advertorials published during the time period raised in Oreskes and Supran ’ s study that discuss climate change .
EID ’ s sample was gathered by searching ProQuest – which we accessed via a public library card – for ExxonMobil advertorials published on Thursdays between late 1999 , when Exxon and Mobil merged , and April 2010 , after which the company appeared to cease publishing regular Thursday advertorials .
In total , EID examined 287 advertorials ; Oreskes and Supran analyzed 36 .
Rather than choose to source their advertorials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ EID did ) , Oreskes and Supran took their advertorials from PolluterWatch , a Greenpeace-housed database created by # ExxonKnew activist Kert Davies during his time at the activist group .
But where did Greenpeace get its source material ?
According to the Oreskes and Supran study , it came from ProQuest , the very same database from which EID found 287 advertorials .
So , what gives ?
Are we just better at conducting basic research than others ?
Not really .
They didn ’ t capture all those additional advertorials because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them – because they knew that introducing that content into their report would make it harder for them to construct the conclusions they needed to get to , and which from the start represented the basic rationale for this whole exercise .
• Still conflating Exxon and Mobil ( two separate firms back then ) with ExxonMobil In their reply , Oreskes and Supran made the perhaps unconscious admission that they did indeed conflate documents from Exxon and Mobil with those published by ExxonMobil in their original 2017 study .
In their commentary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote , “ [ O ] ur original study explicitly attributed each individual advertorial to one of Exxon , Mobil , or ExxonMobil Corp. ” But a review of their 2017 study shows that this is not true .
Table 1 ( image below ) from Oreskes ’ s and Supran ’ s study lists all the different documents the pair reviewed without distinguishing which items belonged to Exxon , Mobil , or ExxonMobil .
This is an egregious error , as of the 36 advertorials identified below , 25 of them were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Exxon , leaving the “ provided by ExxonMobil ” label in the table to be misleading .
Remove the Mobil submissions from the mix , and the universe of applicable advertorials is reduced by 70 percent .
Supran even misleadingly attributed a 1997 Mobil advertorial to Exxon despite there being clear a Mobil logo on the piece and no mention of Exxon .
Looking further into their study , this lack of correct attribution holds true for Tables 3-6 which provide further examples of specific documents and advertorials that the researchers examined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company .
Likewise , sections 3.1 and 3.2 discuss the same documents as listed in Table 1 .
Again , there are plenty of mentions of “ ExxonMobil ” but no explicit attribution to either Exxon or Mobil .
Additionally , conflating the companies went beyond labeling in tables and was emphasized in the text of their study as well : While the above statement was intended to imply otherwise , ExxonMobil was not a company in the 1970s , as Exxon and Mobil did not merge until 1999 .
In their reply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Supran ’ s only defense for conflating the two companies was to say that “ when Exxon and Mobil merged , ExxonMobil Corp inherited legal and moral responsibility for the parent companies.
” But that ’ s not an excuse for making misleading statements about the company and failing to “ explicitly attribute ” the documents cited in their research to its correct source .
• Strangely attacking the same experts they previously cited In their 2017 study , Oreskes ’ and Supran ’ s analysis heavily relied on a methodology known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ book written by Cleveland State University professor Kimberly A. Neuendorf , Ph.D. – one of the top scholars in this field .
So , it might have taken the Harvard researchers by surprise when Neuendorf wrote a scathing rebuttal to their study in February 2018 .
Based on her own analysis , Neuendorf found that Oreskes and Supran ’ s study relied on data analysis that is “ unreliable , invalid , biased , not generalizable , and not replicable.
” She continues : In his own response to the study , ExxonMobil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own rebuttal , adding it to his list of evidence that goes to show Oreskes ’ and Supran ’ s report is without merit .
This led the researchers to take Neuendorf to task in their own reply this week : Sure , Neuendorf may not have invented content analysis , but she is known to be “ one of the preeminent scholars in the field of document analysis , ” with one University of Texas professor saying she is “ among the top three trusted sources on this topic.
” It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her textbook on the subject – as opposed to the many others available – that Oreskes and Supran chose to cite in their report .
Oreskes and Supran also failed to disclose a massive conflict of interest .
They acknowledged their 2017 study was financially supported by the Rockefeller Family Fund , but they never disclose to the reader that RFF and other Rockefeller organizations manufactured the entire climate litigation campaign with the explicit aim to “ take down ” ExxonMobil .
Their latest commentary also acknowledges RFF support but then they somehow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Both Supran and Oreskes knew in 2017 that RFF was engaged in a campaign against ExxonMobil and they knew their research was supporting that campaign , but still , they stayed silent on this conflict of interest .
Yet , despite receiving funding from RFF to produce their study , Oreskes and Supran hypocritically attack Neuendorf ’ s work because she was paid by ExxonMobil ( which was disclosed ) to conduct her analysis of their study : Yet , just four paragraphs later in that same commentary , Oreskes and Supran think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the very accusation they just leveled at ExxonMobil : Finally , and if it wasn ’ t already obvious , Naomi Oreskes and Geoffrey Supran are not the type of independent and objective researchers most people would assume from a pair of Harvard researchers publishing a scientific paper .
As EID Climate has shown previously , they are leaders in the climate litigation and divestment campaigns and their work is performed to support those efforts .
The New York Times credits Oreskes with having conceived the infamous 2012 La Jolla Conference where activists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and legal strategy for the climate litigation campaign that ’ s resulted in more than 24 lawsuits filed against major energy companies .
She has worked with Richard Heede at the Climate Accountability Institute to develop the so-called “ attribution science , ” that was purposely created to support litigation .
In 2015 , Oreskes tweeted , “ Did Exxon deliberately mislead the public on climate change ?
Hello .
Of course , they did !
” In Supran ’ s Twitter bio , he describes himself as a “ Scientist-Activist ” who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ climate propaganda.
” He ’ s also been a leading advocate for the divestment campaign that seeks to pressure college endowments and other institutional investors to drop fossil fuel producers from their portfolios .
These researchers are actually activists .
And , needless to say : that ’ s OK !
But please !
Can we now stop pretending that they ’ re anything different ?


climatedepot--2020-10-19--Our COVID Lockdowns, mask, mandate inspired future?! Flashback 2019 Wired Mag: ‘China’s Social Credi

Our COVID Lockdowns, mask, mandate inspired future?! Flashback 2019 Wired Mag: ‘China’s Social Credit System’ – Compared to ‘Big Brother & every other dystopian future…the reality is…in some ways, worse’

China ’ s social credit system has been compared to Black Mirror , Big Brother and every other dystopian future sci-fi writers can think up .
The reality is more complicated — and in some ways , worse .
… China ’ s social credit system expands that idea to all aspects of life , judging citizens ’ behavior and trustworthiness .
Caught jaywalking , don ’ t pay a court bill , play your music too loud on the train — you could lose certain rights , such as booking a flight or train ticket .
… What ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ link up to the government rankings — which is already happening with some pilots , she says .
One city , Rongcheng , gives all residents 1,000 points to start .
Authorities make deductions for bad behavior like traffic violations , and add points for good behaviour such as donating to charity .
… So far , taking part in both the private and government versions is technically voluntary ; in the future , the official social credit system will be mandatory .
Liu found he was named on a List of Dishonest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ People ’ s Court as “ not qualified ” to buy a plane ticket , and banned from travelling some train lines , buying property , or taking out a loan .
… “ There was no file , no police warrant , no official advance notification .
They just cut me off from the things I was once entitled to , ” he told The Globe and Mail .
“ What ’ s really scary is there ’ s nothing you can do about it .
You can report to no one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of nowhere.
” … “ In China there is no such thing as the rule of law .
Regulations that can be largely apolitical on the surface can be political when the Communist Party of China ( CCP ) decides to use them for political purposes.
” … “ The west should not copy any aspect of social credit , ” Hoffman says .
“ Often comparisons are drawn between private applications like Uber and its rating system for customers and drivers .
While these private company systems are extremely problematic in my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The People ’ s Republic of China is an authoritarian country , the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for gross human rights violations for decades— just look at the example of Xinjiang now .
There is nothing any liberal democratic society should even think about copying in the social credit system.
” The ‘ Great Reset ’ : Rule by Unelected ‘ Experts ’ – COVID-Climate Technocracy has arrived – ‘ The danger of letting lab coats run the world ’ – Special Report C.S .
Lewis : “ I dread government in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how tyrannies come in.
” Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1961 : “ We must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.
” – Eisenhower : “ A government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity ” and “ the prospect of domination of the nation ’ s scholars by Federal employment , project allocations , and the power of money is ever-present and is gravely to be regarded.
” The World Economic Forum has called for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ due to COVID and to help fight climate change .
Klaus Schwab said the virus has given us an “ opportunity ” to pursue “ equality & sustainability.
” – “ The world must act jointly and swiftly to revamp all aspects of our societies and economies , from education to social contracts and working conditions , ” Schwab explained .
Thomas Sowell : “ Experts are often called in , not to provide factual information or dispassionate analysis for the purpose of decision-making by responsible officials , but to give political cover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other considerations entirely.
” “ A flu d ’ état.
” “ A takeover of our supposedly democratic political process by unelected & unaccountable administrative state medical bureaucrats.
” Peter Hitchens : “ All the crudest weapons of despotism , the curfew , the presumption of guilt and the power of arbitrary arrest , are taking shape in the midst of what used to be a free country .
”


climatedepot--2020-10-19--California’s energy nightmare is coming to Virginia

“ It can ’ t happen here ” is one of the most dangerous sentences you can utter .
The comforting conviction , for example , that some other state ’ s well-publicized blunders would never be adopted by your own elected representatives can turn out to be just another of life ’ s delusions .
For Virginians , California ’ s rolling blackouts and sky-high electricity prices may seem like little more than the travails of distant strangers on the other side of the country .
But this smugness is misplaced .
California is closer than many Virginians realize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change , the Golden State is moving rapidly away from carbon-based fossil fuels and mandating ever-increasing amounts of renewable energy .
California ’ s renewable energy mandates—33 percent today , 60 percent by 2030 , and 100 percent by 2045—are already having an effect , but it ’ s not the one its backers in Sacramento promised .
Environmental writer Michael Schellenberger points out that California ’ s electricity rates have risen six times the national average since 2011 .
In August , during a seasonal hot spell , large swaths of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with officials warning that more are to be expected .
No one should have been surprised .
Between 2014 and 2018 , California reduced its consumption of reliable , baseline electricity from natural gas-fired power plants by 21 percent while increasing its consumption of renewable energy over the same period by 54 percent , according to the California Energy Commission .
The state was poorly prepared for its self-imposed transition to green energy , prompting several observers to dub the blackouts “ greenouts.
” Following the example set by California ( in ways @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , the Democrat-controlled General Assembly last fall passed the Virginia Clean Energy Act which , among other things , calls on the state ’ s two largest electric utilities—Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power—to provide electricity solely from renewable sources ( wind and solar ) by 2045 and 2050 , respectively .
The new law came on the heels of Gov .
Ralph Northam ’ s ( D ) September 2019 executive order to develop at least 2,600 megawatts ( MW ) of offshore wind power by 2026 .
Virginia is a low-wind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never produce more than a negligible amount of electricity .
Furthermore , any attempt to construct land-based , industrial-scale wind projects in rural Virginia would encounter the same resistance that has sprung up against such facilities elsewhere : concerns about the health effects of the low-frequency noise emanating from the spinning turbines , loss of productive farmland , and anger over the marring of scenic countryside by giant turbines .
The only place where wind is available is off the state ’ s Atlantic Coast .
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind , which will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Energy , is estimated to cost $ 300 million and is scheduled to be in operation in 2026 .
A smaller 12-MW pilot project is already under construction 27 miles out to sea from Virginia Beach .
Dominion has taken out full-page , full-color ads in The Washington Post proclaiming , “ As a leader in wind and solar , we take our responsibility to the planet very seriously.
” The utility boasts that it “ is developing the country ’ s largest offshore wind project—which will which will produce enough energy to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notes it has “ added more than 2.5 million solar panels in Virginia since 2015.
” But as California amply demonstrates , the transition to dependence on intermittent wind and solar is fraught with its own perils , which affect both consumers and the environment .
“ Experience in Europe over the past decade demonstrates that the performance of offshore wind turbines degrades rapidly—on average , 4.5 % per year , ” notes the Manhattan Institute ’ s Jonathan A .
Lesser in a recent report , “ Out to Sea : The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though offshore wind blows more consistently than onshore wind , ocean-based turbines still operate at only 50 percent to 58 percent of their capacity , according to the Energy Information Administration .
This means that , at best , the giant turbines perform over 40 percent below their capacity , requiring a backup source of electricity when the wind isn ’ t cooperating .
The Manhattan Institute ’ s Lesser notes that the rapid deterioration of offshore wind turbines means higher operating costs and reduced economic lifetimes .
“ As more offshore wind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the costs of addressing wind power ’ s inherent intermittency will also increase , further increasing the costs borne by electricity consumers and requiring new gas-fired generating units to operate on standby or highly expensive battery storage systems , ” he says .
Offshore wind ’ s alleged environmental benefits also turn out to be illusory .
The raw materials needed to manufacture wind turbines ( installed on land or at sea ) far exceed those needed to manufacture and install gas-fired combined-cycle turbines .
Of those raw materials , none is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all of which currently come from China , from mines in Mongolia .
China ’ s environmental standards are vastly inferior to those in the West , with little regard for air pollution or the dumping of toxic materials in landfills .
This outsourcing of environmental degradation for the sake of green energy is , as British journalist Simon Parry points out , “ the deadly and sinister side of the massively profitable rare-earths industry that the ‘ green ’ companies profiting from the demand for wind turbines would prefer you knew nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is intermittent and comes with environmental consequences its supporters are loathe to acknowledge .
What , for example , is to be done with toxic chemical-laden solar panels—whether on rooftops or in sprawling solar “ farms ” —once they have reached the end of their , short ( about 10 years ) , life cycle ?
Solar , like wind , is subsidized by U.S. taxpayers , but there are no federal regulations governing the disposal of used solar panels , even though they are prone to leakage , in addition to being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Grist reports that most used solar panels are shipped to developing countries with weak environmental protections , where they are routinely dumped into landfills .
The International Renewable Energy Association estimates that in 2016 there were already about 250,000 metric tons of solar panel waste worldwide—and that total will increase to 78 million metric tons by 2050 .
There are other ecological costs to solar power .
A 2015 study by Stanford University and the Carnegie Institution for Science found that nearly a third of the state ’ s solar development is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ farmers are shifting from growing crops to using their land to develop solar power—rather than letting it become wildlife habitat .
California has far more sun and wind than Virginia .
Yet not even these favorable environmental conditions have enabled the Golden State to produce enough energy from either source to meet demand .
And their intermittency continues to destabilize the state ’ s fragile power grid .
For a harbinger of their energy future , Virginians need look no further than California .
It ’ s not a pretty picture .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @


climatedepot--2020-10-20--CNN: Climate Change is Driving Fatal Shark Attacks

CNN : `` Sharks have killed 7 people in Australia this year , the most since 1934 .
Climate change could be a factor . ''
`` But there ’ s another possible culprit : the climate crisis .
As oceans heat up , entire ecosystems are being destroyed and forced to adapt .
Fish are migrating where they ’ ve never gone before .
Species ’ behaviors are changing .
And , as the marine world transforms , sharks are following their prey and moving closer to shores popular with humans . ''
'Climate change has been blamed before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for shark attacks : ‘ Rogue ’ sharks attacking people , chasing whales - 'Experts cite global warming as a potential reason for more interaction with sharks as it may have changed migration habits of both whales and sharks ' Quick sign UN TREATY !
‘ Global warming could cause sharks and other fish to become more aggressive ’ According to CNN , Climate Change is making sharks more desperate by destroying the ecosystems which feed them , leading to a surge in fatal shark attacks on humans .
Sharks have killed 7 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most since 1934 .
Climate change could be a factor ( CNN ) One morning in early October , a now-familiar scene unfolded on a beach in Western Australia .
A shark had attacked a surfer , who was missing .
Authorities sent drones into the sky for aerial surveillance , emergency workers jumped onto boats to scour the area , and medics waited on shore .
Days of searching uncovered the man ’ s surfboard , but his body was never found .
He was counted as Australia ’ s seventh shark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spike that hasn ’ t been seen in the country for 86 years .
There are a number of possible explanations — several experts have pointed out that year-by-year figures always fluctuate , and this could be simple bad luck .
But there ’ s another possible culprit : the climate crisis .
As oceans heat up , entire ecosystems are being destroyed and forced to adapt .
Fish are migrating where they ’ ve never gone before .
Species ’ behaviors are changing .
And , as the marine world transforms , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closer to shores popular with humans .
One possible solution might be to thin their numbers are bit .
But shark culls are becoming increasingly difficult to organise ; Australia ’ s greens frequently agitate against culling sharks .
Why Sharks Should Not Be Culled to Protect Surfers Senator tells parliament why sharks should not be culled Last month Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish Wilson , who is an avid surfer , used a speech in parliament to advocate against the culling of sharks as a knee-jerk response to the recent attacks on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ described his position as unique one , given he is ‘ one who wants to save the creatures who are potentially out to eat him ’ .
We publish his speech here as a contribution to the debate .
I have thought often and deeply on this issue .
My conclusions are that the two most important things for a surfer like me are : firstly , understand the risks involved with surfing ; and , secondly , only go in the water if you accept the risks .
You may still be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the acceptance of these risks—sharks are always on my mind when I am in the water—but it must be your choice .
As I just noted , the good news for ocean lovers is the risks of unwanted shark encounters are statistically very low and can be mitigated to some extent .
But by any statistical measure death by shark y majority of modern humans .
Does culling make a difference ?
I think its likely they might .
Although sharks are free to roam the entire ocean , the reality is much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terms of life .
Ocean activity tends to concentrate in nutrient rich areas like coastal fringes , so sharks culled from a region will not necessarily be immediately replaced from an adjacent region .
Culling likely would make our beaches safer – if the culling programme is maintained .
As for the climate argument , in my opinion arguing that climate change is making sharks more ferocious because they are running out of food strengthens the case for culling .
Put the starving sharks out of their misery – better for the sharks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use the beaches .


climatedepot--2020-10-20--Trump COVID advisor Dr. Scott W. Atlas: ‘This is one of the biggest failures of the voices of public

Trump COVID advisor Dr. Scott W. Atlas: ‘This is one of the biggest failures of the voices of public health…they specifically instilled fear…There is no such thing as a government leader who is competent who instills fear’

“ This is one of the biggest failures of the voices of public health…they specifically instilled fear… And the models @ @ @ @ @ hideously wrong .
There is no such thing as a government leader who is competent @ @ @ @ @ https : //t.co/uSntkXHmmp


climatedepot--2020-10-20--Steve Milloy: ‘Climate regulation = Tyranny. It’s not about controlling the weather. It’s about cont

Steve Milloy: ‘Climate regulation = Tyranny. It’s not about controlling the weather. It’s about controlling you and what you do’

It 's about controlling you and what you do .
https : //t.co/wYejf9i4ub It 's not about controlling the weather @