climatedepot--2020-05-29--The Green God That Failed — Almost

The Green God That Failed — Almost

At this point , it is tempting to sit back with a barrel of popcorn and watch the environmental Stalinists and Trotskyites fight among themselves .
One of the signal intellectual events of the early Cold War period was the 1950 publication of The God That Failed , in which six prominent figures explained why they broke from Communism .
The book was a sensation because it came from leading figures on the left , rather than from longtime anti-Communists whose arguments and commitments were discounted .
Most of the six distinguished and diverse figures , including the Hungarian Arthur @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and American Richard Wright , did not abandon their leftward dispositions , support for egalitarianism , or even socialist planning , but they did recognize the Soviet Union to be a malignant regime and the Communist parties in the West to be willing dupes of this massive ideological fraud .
The stature of these writers as prominent figures of the left legitimized anti-Communism for other left-leaning people .
It was telling—and accurate—that Communism at that time was understood as a literal religious faith , with enforced orthodoxy and severe penalties for doctrinal heresy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ compel recantations or confessions of guilt , as well as public shunning of apostates .
Which brings us to the new Michael Moore–produced documentary Planet of the Humans .
It could almost ( but not quite ) have been called The Green God That Failed .
The film has caused an uproar among environmentalists because it casts a deeply critical eye on environmentalism ’ s favorite remedies for climate change , such as solar and wind power and biomass .
Serious energy analysts have long known that wind , solar , and biomass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our current power needs , and accomplish only modest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions .
Wind and solar , in particular , have intensive resource supply chains ( including a lot of toxic chemical waste ) , require huge amounts of land area , have a working life span that is less than half that of conventional power plants , and are not amenable to recycling .
Even electric cars are not very “ green ” when the full resource supply chain and product life cycle are calculated competently .
None of these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ clean.
” Environmentalists have long dismissed these substantive criticisms with fraudulent claims on behalf of the potential for “ renewable ” energy , along with a near-religious fervor in the sanctity of “ green ” technology .
The effectiveness of Planet of the Humans is that the critique of “ green ” energy is made entirely by left-leaning academics and analysts rather than supposed “ fossil fuel stooges.
” Of course , for people like Michael Moore , “ corporation ” is a four-letter word , and the film makes clear that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partnerships and corporations , though the film could have said more about how renewable “ profits ” are largely dependent on generous subsidies and favorable tax treatment .
Adding insult to injury , the film commits lèse-majesté in on-camera shaming of several leading icons of environmentalism for their ignorance , including Al Gore , Bill McKibben , and Robert F. Kennedy , Jr .
The environmental activist community and their media sycophants have erupted with outrage over Planet of the Humans , demanding its suppression .
The Nation called the film “ dangerous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be forgiven for thinking it was created by Breitbart News or Steve Bannon , ” and a petition demanding that Moore apologize and retract the film drew the signatures of environmental activists such as Naomi Klein and Michael Mann .
( And it appears the suppression campaign might succeed : YouTube has taken down the film on the flimsy pretext that one scene violates a photographer ’ s copyright ) .
At this point , it is tempting to sit back with a barrel of popcorn and watch the environmental Stalinists and Trotskyites @ @ @ @ @ @ @ edifying to see a few knowledgeable people on the environmental left come to grips with the reality of the energy utopianism of the climate campaign , Planet of the Humans is gravely defective in the end , and it deserves only two stars out of five .
A telling clue of the film ’ s central defect is that it omits mention of nuclear power , the one scalable source of near-zero emission energy technology that we already have in use ; nor does it give consideration of possible future innovations in fusion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmentalists—including , most recently , Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—have expressed second thoughts about the longtime environmental opposition to nuclear power ( AOC now says that she is “ open ” to it ) , Planet of the Humans seems unable to escape the congenital environmentalist hostility to nuclear .
Ultimately , Planet of the Humans represents a throwback to the gloomy Malthusianism that informed the birth of the modern environmental movement—the view that humans are a plague on the planet and that the planet can be saved only by having fewer humans on it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tried to leave this debilitating Malthusianism behind , but it is irrepressible , especially for those environmentalists who conceive their cause in religious-redemptive terms .
Today ’ s neo-Malthusianism goes under the banner of the “ degrowth movement , ” and it is not hard to see the frisson of self-satisfaction among some environmentalists over the effects of the COVID-19 forced economic depression .
It is almost enough to make you prefer the naïve utopianism of Al Gore .
Back in the final days of the Cold War , Norman Podhoretz observed that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diminished the effectiveness of their message by clinging to socialism and refusing to acknowledge the moral and political superiority of the United States and the democratic capitalist system .
Communism tried to blur the lines between itself and democratic socialism and liberalism and duped many Western liberals ; likewise , environmentalism—or the climate-change fanatics , at least—blurs the lines between easy utopian solutions for energy and Malthusian “ degrowth.
” The post The Green God That Failed — Almost appeared first on The Global Warming Policy Forum ( GWPF ) .


climatedepot--2020-05-29--‘Planet Of The Humans’ EP Michael Moore & Director Jeff Gibbs Blast “Blatant Censorship” After Contr

‘Planet Of The Humans’ EP Michael Moore & Director Jeff Gibbs Blast “Blatant Censorship” After Controversial Documentary Yanked From YouTube

EXCLUSIVE , updated with new details , 11:42 AM : Michael Moore and Jeff Gibbs ’ controversial documentary Planet of the Humans has been removed from YouTube , where it was streaming for free — a move the pair calls a “ blatant act of censorship.
” EP Moore and writer-producer Gibbs told Deadline they discovered today that their film , which has racked more than 8.3 million views in a month-plus , was taken down from YouTube after a copyright claim was lodged against the documentary over four seconds of footage it contains .
“ This attempt to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from seeing it is a blatant act of censorship by political critics of Planet of the Humans , ” Gibbs said in a statement provided exclusively to Deadline ( read it below ) .
“ It is a misuse of copyright law to shut down a film that has opened a serious conversation about how parts of the environmental movement have gotten into bed with Wall Street and so-called ‘ green capitalists.
’ There is absolutely no copyright violation in my film.
” The four-second clip subject to the copyright right claim comes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a sequence titled “ How Solar Panels & Wind Turbines Are Made.
” The footage shows a mining operation for rare earth metals , which are used in wind turbine manufacture .
Gibbs says he incorporated the footage under “ fair use , ” an exception to copyright law that allows news reporters , producers and documentary filmmakers limited access to copyrighted material to illustrate points .
British environmental photographer Toby Smith tweeted over the weekend that he shot the footage in question for an unrelated documentary project .
In a since-deleted post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dismissed Planet of the Humans as “ bull-shit ” and suggested it was filled with “ endless ” copyright infringements in addition to his own material .
He told a British publication it was he who filed the copyright infringement claim with YouTube .
YouTube automatically notifies content creators of any copyright infringement accusation lodged against them and provides a dispute adjudication process .
A representative for Moore and Gibbs confirmed the filmmakers formally contacted YouTube to deny the infringement claim , citing fair use .
“ We are working with YouTube to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his statement , “ and have the film back up as soon as possible.
” In the meantime , Moore and Gibbs have made their documentary available for free on the Vimeo streaming platform .
Moore posted Planet of the Humans to YouTube on the eve of Earth Day last month .
The film argues that purported “ green solutions ” to fossil fuels offer a false promise of saving the planet from environmental collapse caused by global warming , over-consumption and resource depletion .
Gibbs insists the environmental movement must address @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is to have any real impact on what he sees as an apocalyptic scenario .
The film also raises questions about possible financial conflicts of interest among leading environmentalists who back green energy , including former Vice President Al Gore and Bill McKibben , co-founder of 350.org .
The documentary , especially coming from the unassailably left-wing Moore and Gibbs and not righ-twing climate-change deniers , was bound to provoke a strong reaction .
Among the environmental champions leading the charge against Planet of the Humans has been Josh Fox , the Oscar-nominated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier campaign on Twitter to get the docu “ retracted by its creators and distributors , ” calling the film “ shockingly misleading and absurd.
” The effort by Fox triggered its own backlash , with the writers organization PEN America labeling it attempted censorship .
In his statement to Deadline , Gibbs once against decried any attempt to keep the film from reaching the public .
Here is Gibbs ’ full statement to Deadline : This attempt to take down our film and prevent the public from seeing it is a blatant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Planet of the Humans .
It is a misuse of copyright law to shutdown a film that has opened a serious conversation about how parts of the environmental movement have gotten into bed with Wall Street and so-called “ green capitalists.
” There is absolutely no copyright violation in my film .
This is just another attempt by the film ’ s opponents to subvert the right to free speech .
Opponents of Planet of the Humans , who do not like its critique of the failures of the environmental movement , have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken down and to block us from appearing on TV and on livestream .
Their efforts to subvert free speech have failed , with nearly eight and a half million people already viewing the film on YouTube .
These Trumpian tactics are shameful , and their aim to stifle free speech and prevent people from grappling with the uncomfortable truths exposed in this film is deeply disturbing .
PEN America , which was founded in 1922 and fights for the free speech of artists in the U.S. and around the world , came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to censor this film , and we hope all champions of free expression condemn this act of censorship .
We are working with YouTube to resolve this issue and have the film back up as soon as possible.
” This article appeared on the Deadline website at https : //deadline.com/2020/05/planet-of-the-humans-pulled-youtube-michael-moore-jeff-gibbs-censorship-1202942938/

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climatedepot--2020-05-30--Michael Moore’s producer Jeff Gibbs rips leftwing critics: ‘Old Data’ Is a Lie – ‘I wish to respond

Michael Moore’s producer Jeff Gibbs rips leftwing critics: ‘Old Data’ Is a Lie – ‘I wish to respond to the eco-industrialists who, in the attempt to’ save the planet,’ have gotten into bed with bankers, billionaires, industrialists, and their foundations’

Jeff Gibbs defends 'Planet of the Humans ' from climate activist attacks : `` Solar , wind , and electric technologies are not something separate from a giant fossil-fuel based industrial civilization ; they are one and the same . ''
`` It ’ s the slave labor in a far away land that lets us all feel so warm and cozy and 'green . '
” `` Any movement or organization that does not invite self-reflection and instead tries to choke it to death — like the eco-industrial complex is attempting to do to us — is doomed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ say in their defense — their key attack against our well-researched examination of their failures to save this planet — is that our film has 'old data ' in it !
That , simply , is a lie . ''
And all they really have to say in their defense — their key attack against our well-researched examination of their failures to save this planet — is that our film has “ old data ” in it !
That , simply , is a lie .
“ Planet of the Humans ” is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stories take place over time .
Stories reveal higher truths than data alone—like what questions we are even supposed to be asking .
That said , if I made a film with nothing but “ data ” from this week , our “ critics ” would still be attacking it as “ old data ” and throwing out the next shiny object of technological progress to distract us .
Also , to say a documentary has “ old footage ” as if that ’ s taboo , either means this person doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are trying to create a red herring and get the reader to believe they should be upset about something — anything !
It ’ s like crying foul that a story uses photos from the past in order to illustrate the present .
is up to date , and everything you see in the film is accurate .
The data in “ Planet of the Humans , ” in charts , graphs and interviews with experts and activists , runs all the way to the present — up to and including 2019 and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time is a strength ; for instance , in two scenes that bookend the film , history repeats itself .
I visited a That said , our dataup to date , and everything you see in the film is accurate .
The data in “ Planet of the Humans , ” in charts , graphs and interviews with experts and activists , runs all the way to the present — up to and including 2019 and 2020 .
The film taking place over time is a strength ; for instance , in two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeats itself .
I visited a solar festival that actually used biodiesel generators to power itself , and another a decade later that is still trying to fool us with the exact same lie , just on a larger stage .
First , that solar array and others like it , are still in operation at 8 % efficiency and will be for years .
According to the Department of Energy ’ s most recent figures , in Michigan an electric car is still being charged on a grid with less than 6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the portion of coal has dropped , but natural gas has increased , just as we reveal in “ Planet of the Humans.
” But 94 % of our Michigan electricity production remains non-wind and solar .
About 5 % is wind , 4 % biomass burning , and solar is barely above zero—and this is in the context of Michigan having the 15th best wind resource in the nation .
And if you look at all energy consumption in Michigan , not just electricity , there is three times more biomass and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solar and wind .
So what was true in Michigan at the beginning of my journey in “ Planet of the Humans ” is still true now upon the film ’ s release in 2020 .
If I began filming right now in my home state , little would have changed—the Lansing solar array would still be 8 % efficient , and a new Tesla in Michigan would be charging off a grid that is 94 % non-solar/wind .
Are there different options available ?
Sure .
But again that misses the point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ technologies are not something separate from a giant fossil-fuel based industrial civilization ; they are one and the same .
These “ green capitalists ” who head up a number of environmental organizations — and who have gone apoplectic over the truths we ’ ve exposed — wax poetic about “ new ” solar panels and wind turbines in 2020 .
They hope the rest of us , the members of these groups , the citizen activists and environmentalists like the three of us from Flint who made this movie , will just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about any of this , not have our conscience be encumbered with the knowledge that it ’ s the slave labor in a far away land that lets us all feel so warm and cozy and “ green.
” Any movement or organization that does not invite self-reflection and instead tries to choke it to death — like the eco-industrial complex is attempting to do to us — is doomed .
Unfortunately the stakes are too high to let them get away with it .
Jeff Gibbs is the writer , director , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .


climatedepot--2020-05-30--34 States Had Higher Death Rate From 2018 Flu Than Coronavirus

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In 2018 we had a very bad flu season and tens of thousands of people died all over the country .
Most of you , including me , didn ’ t even notice it happened .
In fact , the media barely covered the 2018 flu season at all .
I don ’ t ever remember seeing a daily tally of flu infections or daily deaths from the flu or media members and politicians lecturing me to never leave my house again .
And I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being canceled in this country .
Heck , I don ’ t remember any expert models forecasting deaths or any politicians blaming each other for the death toll either .
Put simply , I don ’ t remember any major national discussion about the tens of thousands of flu deaths in 2018 .
You probably don ’ t either .
That ’ s because the media — and as a result the general public and the politicians — mostly ignored those deaths .
Probably because while all deaths are tragic , 2.8 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that ’ s 7500 a day , 50,000 a week .
This , of course , contrasts immensely with the way the media has covered the deaths from the coronavirus .
Even right now , as tragic as the death toll is , the number of people who have died from the coronavirus is pretty similar to the number who died from the flu in 2018 .
And neither the flu nor the coronavirus death toll is likely to substantially alter the year end death toll , which is likely to end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every year .
Yet this year we completely abandoned all logic and reason and fell victim to fear porn .
Even now , as the data becomes clearer and clearer that our national lockdown was nonsensical , many cling to the idea because they are terrified to acknowledge that we ’ ve overreacted , shutting down our national economy based on an overabundance of fear .
Last week the CDC released coronavirus data on their website which made it clear that if you are under the age of fifty you are in more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than you are from the coronavirus .
Given that nearly two-thirds of our national population is under the age of fifty , most of us really don ’ t have much to personally fear from the coronavirus .
The state of Pennsylvania , for instance , has seen more people over 100 years old die than people under 45 years old .
I want you to think about that for a minute .
More people in Pennsylvania have died who are over 100 years old than those under 45 years old .
Do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 100 ?
I don ’ t .
All death is tragic , but the coronavirus has primarily killed — or aided in killing since those dying typically have multiple co-morbidities — people in nursing homes or the very old .
That ’ s very different than the seasonal flu which kills much more indiscriminately across a wide variety of ages .
The death of a young person is generally considered to be particularly tragic because young people haven ’ t lived very many years and have their full lives ahead of them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years old , while sad , isn ’ t generally considered tragic at all .
Indeed , the average age of death for the coronavirus in this country , at 81 , is older than the average age of death of all causes in this country , which is 78 .
Let me repeat that , people dying of the coronavirus are older , on average , than people who are dying of all diseases in this country .
The way to combat the coronavirus isn ’ t by keeping young people from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by protecting the elderly and letting young people continue with their life .
Take little league baseball or softball for example .
While little league is stopped in much of the country , according to Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania your son or daughter is 20x as likely to die of the seasonal flu as they are the coronavirus .
And according to most studies children don ’ t transmit the coronavirus very often to adults or the elderly .
Heck , if you ’ re under the age of 24 you are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than you are to die of the coronavirus .
And yet colleges are debating whether to reopen this fall .
Given that the only thing that has spread exponentially in this country is the unemployment rate — which now stands at just shy of forty million who have lost their jobs in the past two months — surely , I thought , the coronavirus must still be killing at a level most of the country has never seen before .
After all , that ’ s what the media is constantly telling us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything like this before in our lives .
That ’ s why I was stunned when I actually looked at the death numbers from the 2018 flu and compared them with the coronavirus .
It turns out the 2018 flu killed more people in 34 of our 50 states .
Let me repeat that — the 2018 flu , which most of you didn ’ t even know happened — killed more people in 34 states than the coronavirus has .
In fact when you actually dive into the numbers what you see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : New York , New Jersey , Illinois , Michigan , Pennsylvania , Massachusetts , and Connecticut dominate the nation ’ s death count .
In fact , these seven states comprise nearly two-thirds of the deaths in the entire country .
The next question becomes , why did those states have such a massive death rate compared to the rest of the country .
The biggest reason ?
Because their governors , led by Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York , made the disastrous decision to send nursing home patients infected with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nursing homes .
The result ?
The coronavirus spread like wild fire through the most vulnerable populations in these states , leading to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths .
Why ’ d they send these elderly hospital patients back to nursing homes ?
Especially since we already knew , based on what happened in the state of Washington , that nursing homes patients were particularly susceptible to this virus .
Because they believed the “ expert ” models which told them their hospitals weren ’ t going to be able to handle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believed hospitals in New York were going to be overloaded because the “ experts ” had told him New York would need 140,000 beds .
He thought he needed these hospital beds , so he sent the nursing home hospital patients back to the nursing homes .
The sad reality ?
New York only ended up needing 19,000 beds .
Meaning those patients never needed to be moved .
This means these horribly flawed “ expert ” forecasts , which the media peddled as part of their fear porn and no one adequately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of tens of thousands of nursing home patients who might otherwise still be alive .
We , the American public , also bought into the idea that we needed to shutdown the country to “ flatten the curve ” and avoid overloading American hospitals .
That , of course , has now morphed into a neverending shutdown for many people across the country .
That shutdown might have made sense for two weeks — although the data reflects that isn ’ t the case — but it certainly makes no sense today given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country .
Indeed , we are closer to bankrupting hospitals than we are to overloading them .
In fact , astute analysts have even argued that the entire lockdown makes little sense and that ending the lockdown , far from leading to increased spread , has actually led to similar , or lower , rates of infection .
You ’ d think the decision by those seven state governors to send coronavirus patients back into nursing homes would be the number one story in America , since it likely cost us tens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ six of these states have Democratic governors , the media has mostly ignored it .
Focusing instead on the idea that Republican governors who are allowing their residents to leave their homes are going to cause massive death totals .
The data tells us the truth : this is really two different diseases — one for people over 65 who are unhealthy and the other for those under 65 who are healthy .
But the disease is also reflective of two different Americas : one for people who live in blue states and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states .
The red states , by and large , haven ’ t seen much of an impact from the coronavirus .
In fact , based on data through Memorial Day 34 states , most of them red states , had more deaths from the 2018 flu than they have had from the coronavirus .
Don ’ t believe me ?
Here ’ s the CDC death totals by state from the 2018 flu .
Here are the states by alphabetical order with comparisons between their 2018 flu and coronavirus deaths .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and are found here .
Two more states were nearly identical in their death tolls .
Now you can certainly argue that the reason these states had fewer deaths from the coronavirus is because of the lockdown , but that idea is challenged by the fact that many of these 34 states with low coronavirus death rates either never shut down or have already opened back up and haven ’ t seen any significant spike in cases , deaths or hospitalizations since opening back up .
It ’ s possible the lockdown didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all in this country .
So if you wonder why many people are protesting and want to get on with their lives and are worried about the economy more than they ’ re worried about the coronavirus , it ’ s because residents of these 34 states are far more likely to know people who have lost their jobs than they are anyone impacted by the virus .
And because they can rightly look at the data and say their states stayed open for the 2018 flu , which killed far more people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they bet shut down now ?
Of course the big question is this : why are the death rates so much lower in these 34 states ?
My theory : because these 34 states , by and large , had governors who managed to keep the coronavirus from spreading like wild fire through their nursing homes .
That is , they didn ’ t follow the disastrous example set by New York ’ s governor Andrew Cuomo .
They didn ’ t panic and believe their hospitals were going to be overloaded based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forecasts .
Remember , the biggest fear about hospitals being overloaded was it would lead to an increased death rate because doctors would have to choose who to treat .
But that ’ s exactly what Andrew Cuomo did in New York .
In sending the nursing home patients from the hospital back to the nursing homes he was basically writing their death warrant .
We shut down the nation to avoid doing exactly what New York chose to voluntarily do .
It ’ s absolutely staggering when you think about it this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big story here isn ’ t the nation ’ s issues with the coronavirus , it ’ s what went wrong in New York City so disastrously and why in the world did the Democratic governors follow Andrew Cuomo ’ s lead ?
New York had a worse outbreak than any city in the world and New York seeded the outbreaks in many other states when New York City residents fled their hometowns for safer places across the country .
So why was New York City such an unmitigated disaster and why did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York ’ s lead when it came to sending infected patients back to nursing homes from hospitals ?
If we ’ d just managed to keep the virus out of nursing homes — as opposed to intentionally sending it into nursing homes like Democratic governors did — the coronavirus would have had the impact of a moderate to severe flu season in all fifty states as opposed to having that impact in only 34 states in the country .
The truth is the coronavirus wasn ’ t a massive , systemic nationwide failure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just one city — New York — and with just one governor — Andrew Cuomo .
The tragedy isn ’ t only that New York City fell apart , it ’ s that so many governors followed New York ’ s lead and that the media , which fancies itself a fair and impartial arbiter of the truth , still hasn ’ t shared these facts with the rest of the nation .
Instead of trying to shame people in Missouri ’ s Lake of the Ozarks for having a party or in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the media should be in New York City trying to figure out what New York did wrong so we can avoid repeating its errors in the future .
But right now it ’ s impossible for most in the media to even admit that New York made disastrous decisions .
They ’ re too busy praising Andrew Cuomo , the governor who made the worst governing decisions of any state leader in the entire country this century .
And if you don ’ t think the mainstream media has power in the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decisions of any governor in the 21st century , Andrew Cuomo has the highest popularity rating of any governor in the entire country .
And the governors with the lowest popularity ratings ?
The governors in red states with minimal death rates who opened back up and have seen hardly any deaths at all .
It ’ s truly an upside down world , the media is rewarding the worst jobs and condemning the best jobs .
Worst of all ?
Most of the public isn ’ t even questioning this at all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what they ’ re being told .
I feel like I ’ m taking crazy pills .
Hell , it ’ s so crazy it even got Elon Musk to take the red pill .
It turns out the people who look the craziest aren ’ t the ones who spent Memorial Day weekend living their lives , they ’ re the media and politicians trying to shame them for doing so .
It ’ s way past time for everyone to get back to work in this country .
The cure has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But the worst virus of all continues to be the mainstream news media .


climatedepot--2020-05-31--WALTER WILLIAMS: ‘The biggest casualty from the COVID-19 pandemic has nothing to do with the disease

WALTER WILLIAMS: ‘The biggest casualty from the COVID-19 pandemic has nothing to do with the disease. It’s the power we’ve given to politicians and bureaucrats. The question is how we recover our freedoms’

Is it important to have racial or sexual diversity in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic ?
Heather Mac Donald suggests that some think it might be in her City Journal article “ Should Identity Politics Dictate Vaccine Research ?
” The funding priorities of the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control suggests that they think diversity is an important input in making headway in the fight against the coronavirus .
On April 20 , NIH and CDC announced the availability of grants to increase the “ diversity ” of biomedical research labs .
For example @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could receive hundreds of thousands more taxpayer dollars if they could find a woman or a minority to add to their project .
High school students and college students are eligible for the program even though they can not contribute anything of value .
No scientific justification for the new diversity hire is needed .
The scientists must promise to mentor the new hire , which will take time away from their research with no offsetting gain .
Mac Donald has written another article on academic insanity “ The Therapeutic Campus ” bearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students seeking mental-health services in record numbers ?
” Many colleges have created safe spaces where students can be sheltered from reality and not have their feelings hurt by others exercising their free speech rights .
Yale University has created a safe space that would be the envy of most other universities .
They have named it the Good Life Center .
Mac Donald says it has “ a sandbox , essential oils , massage , and mental-health workshops , ” and that “ the center unites the most powerful forces in higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ university , therapeutic culture , identity politics , and the vast student-services bureaucracy.
” George Mason University has a Center for the Advancement of Well-Being , headed by a chief well-being officer .
At George Mason , well-being refers to social justice and “ building a life of vitality , purpose , resilience , and engagement , ” the Center ’ s chief well-being officer told The Chronicle of Higher Education .
By the way , a George Mason University student can minor in well-being as a part of his college education .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ justifying his draconian coronavirus measures , said during a press conference : “ This is about saving lives .
If everything we do saves just one life , I ’ ll be happy.
” Cuomo knows that many Americans buy into such a seemingly caring statement that would be easily revealed as utter nonsense if one had just a modicum of economic knowledge .
If one looked at only the benefits of an action , he would do anything because everything has a benefit .
Prudent decision-making requires one to compare benefits to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that in 2019 36,120 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes .
Virtually all those lives could have been saved with a mandated 5 mph speed limit .
Those saved lives are the benefit .
Fortunately , when we consider the costs and inconvenience of setting a 5 mph speed limit , we rightly conclude that saving those 36,120 lives isn ’ t worth it .
There are other news tidbits about politicians drunk with power that we Americans have given them .
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ We will arrest you and we will take you to jail .
Period .
We ’ re not playing games.
” Meanwhile , in violation of her own stay-at-home order , Lightfoot slipped out and got her hair done .
She explained her decision , “ I take my personal hygiene very seriously.
” Ventura County , California , health director Dr. Robert Levin said that his department would forcibly remove COVID-19 infected people from their own homes and put them “ into other kinds of housing that we have available.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ explained : “ I either misspoke or it was misinterpreted .
I ’ ll take the blame of having misspoke.
” The biggest casualty from the COVID-19 pandemic has nothing to do with the disease .
It ’ s the power we ’ ve given to politicians and bureaucrats .
The question is how we recover our freedoms .
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University .
To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists , visit the @ @ @ @ @ @


climatedepot--2020-05-30--Watch: Lord Monckton & the Anti-Greta Naomi Seibt discuss the ‘97% Consensus fraud’

MUST SEE YOUTUBE : Naomi Seibt and Lord Monckton : THE CONSENSUS FRAUD part 2 – Explores the Fake 97 @ @ @ @ @ : //t.co/AfFJ4f74wZ via @ youtube pic.twitter.com/XP9YQBkc5k


climatedepot--2020-05-31--NASA climate scientist: ‘Race justice & climate justice are one & the same: Oppressive extractive pl

NASA climate scientist: ‘Race justice & climate justice are one & the same: Oppressive extractive plutocracies that colonize & kill black bodies & colonize & kill our planet are one & the same’

A NASA Jet Propulsion Lab climate scientist has linked race and climate issues during the racial protests sweeping the nation .
NASA ’ s Peter Kalmus wrote : “ Here ’ s why race justice and climate justice are one & the same : The oppressive extractive plutocracies that colonize and kill black bodies and colonize and kill our planet are one and the same.
” Kalmus ( [ email protected ] ) was responding to the protests and riots springing up across the country in the wake of allegations of racism in law enforcement .
Kalmus added : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ race war than charge even one cop for murdering an innocent black man.
” Kalmus website describes himself as “ a climate scientist at NASA ’ s Jet Propulsion Lab .
I use satellite data and models to study the rapidly changing Earth , focusing on boundary layer clouds and ecological forecasting.
” “ My awareness of climate breakdown reached the point where I had no choice but to respond in some meaningful way , ” Kalmus writes at his website .
“ Global warming is happening with a rapidity that leaves me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ claims he “ uses about 1/10th the fossil fuels of the American average.
” Kalmus is a member of the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union .
Climate Depot Note : Climate activists have tried to link Racism and “ white supremacy ” to climate change for years .
See : Identity politics invades climate change debate In his 2018 article , “ Thoughts on Climate Action From a Scientist Who Gave Up Flying , ” Kalmus wrote of how “ tears poured down ” when he thought about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In order to embrace what ’ s coming next , I had to let go of what went before .
My grief was like the leap of a trapeze artist , letting go of one trapeze , flying through space , and catching the next one .
There were times when tears poured down .
I mourned the world I ’ d known my whole life .
I mourned my children ’ s future .
I mourned how avoidable this all was .
I mourned the strange and hard reality , and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blow struck in anger , and I mourned every bullet fired .
I mourned all the species that are leaving us , never to return .
I mourned this whole beautiful Earth .
But then , through these tears , I accepted reality as it is .
Somehow , on the far side of the tears , I found the strength to go forward.
” Climate Depot Note : Crying over “ climate change ” is a thing for activists .
See : Flashback 2007 : Crying Activist Part 3 : NPR : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ I remember crying every day at five in the afternoon ’ & A weatherman breaks down in tears and considers having a vasectomy , vows NEVER to fly again due to grim UN climate report : Eric Holthaus tweeted ‘ no children , happy to go extinct ’ Kalmus envisioned a climate-friendly world where “ there is no war , no crime , hatred , or negativity.
” Kalmus ’ book , “ Being the Change : Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution ” has been endorsed by former NASA lead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ A plethora of insights about nature and ourselves , revealed by one man ’ s journey as he comes to terms with human exploitation of our planet , ” Hansen , the former director of NASA ’ s Goddard Institute for Space Studies , wrote about Kalmus ’ book .
In fact , Kalmus is following the lead of Hansen , who was arrested multiple times protesting climate change , in making climate science a political issue .
A group of former NASA scientists and engineers has tried to bring NASA back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” which includes engineers and scientists from across generations who have taken part in NASA ’ s most high-profile missions dating back to Apollo .
The group has produced its own “ rigorous , earth surface temperature model using conservation-of-energy principles ” that operates similarly to the way the surface and internal temperature of a spacecraft is analyzed , the Right Climate Stuff team explains on its website .
Former Obama Green Czar and current CNN analyst Van Jones : “ Even the most well-intentioned white person has a virus in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Needs to Reckon with Its Racist History – Because racism in environmentalism hasn ’ t gone away , and it ’ s holding the movement back .
– By Julian Brave NoiseCat – Indigenous peoples and people of color are disproportionately affected by our global climate crisis .
But in the mainstream green movement and in the media , they are often forgotten or excluded .
This is Tipping Point , a new VICE series that covers environmental justice stories about and , where possible , written by people in the communities experiencing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Why I Quit Being a Climate Activist – “ The climate movement is overwhelmingly white .
So I walked away.
” – By Karin Louise Hermes – But after a while I realized I would only be called upon when climate organizations needed an inspiring story or a “ diverse ” voice , contacts for a campaign , or to participate in a workshop for “ fun ” when everyone else on the ( all-white ) project was getting paid .
Whenever I would question the whiteness of these spaces and how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ account , I would be met with uncomfortable silences .
The last time , at a nationwide movement-building workshop last April , I was asked , “ Well then , why are you even here ?
” So I decided not to be there anymore .
After four years of helping organize direct actions , speeches , workshops , and countless video calls , I started hiding and declining requests .
I was burned out .


climatedepot--2020-06-01--The Weather Channel: ‘There Could be the Fewest May Tornadoes in the U.S. in 50 Years’ with only 49

The Weather Channel: ‘There Could be the Fewest May Tornadoes in the U.S. in 50 Years’ with only 49 – Lowest since at least 1970

The number of tornadoes that have touched down on United States soil so far this May is currently the lowest in at least 50 years , a sharp contrast to one of the busiest Aprils for twisters on record .
May is typically the most tornadic month in the U.S. , averaging 272 tornadoes each year between 1999 and 2018 .
But as of May 25 , only 49 tornadoes had been confirmed throughout the month , according to Evan Bentley , a severe weather meteorologist at NOAA ’ s Storm Prediction Center ( SPC ) .
The last time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 1970 , when 88 touched down in the U.S. , Bentley tweeted .
The least-tornadic May was back in 1952 , when only 34 twisters were confirmed during the month , according to data from the SPC .
It should be noted that the SPC lists 112 preliminary tornadoes in its database this month through May 25 , but that includes all reports from every National Weather Service office , some of which may be from the same tornado , therefore counting it more than once .
The actual number of tornadoes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later time , but it ’ s likely closer to Bentley ’ s estimate of 49 .
The greatest tornado risk during May is in an area from southwestern Iowa to northern Texas , as the map at the top of this article shows .
Parts of that corridor have been relatively tornado-free this May , most notably much of Nebraska , Kansas and Oklahoma .
This can also be seen on the map below , showing the number of tornado watches issued by the SPC since the beginning of the year .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nebraska , Kansas and western Oklahoma , in the heart of Tornado Alley .
Only 21 tornado warnings have been issued in Kansas so far this year , the NWS office in Wichita tweeted .
That ’ s the third-fewest number of tornado warnings to date in the state in records dating to 1990 .
On average , January through May averages about 80 tornado warnings in Kansas .
Meteorologist Jonathan Belles explains these patterns in great detail here .


climatedepot--2020-06-01--Is it Time to Throw Every Politician Out of Office Who Imposed Lockdowns?

There is a rising discontent against politicians who have scared the hell out of people using this virus .
They did so without ANY justification other than a bogus old program from Imperial College , funded by Bill Gates , that used a stochastic to try to forecast the future like the child ’ s game Sim City .
The polls are showing that 40 % of Republicans are against these lockdowns and do not trust Bill Gates .
Meanwhile , YouTube is in an all-out war against free speech .
They will use any excuse they can use to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this virus .
Now , they are even supporting the climate change agenda as they removed Michael Moore ’ s documentary exposing the fake agenda of that movement .
We have Twitter claiming it has a right to do fact-checking only on Trump .
They do not fact check the WHO , Fauci , Bill Gates , or the CDC .
We have Twitter entering political censorship if it disagrees with their political agenda .
Thailand has 56 deaths out of 69 million people .
Japan has announced no lockdown as there were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they will NOT tell you is that the COMMON COLD is typically a coronavirus , which is very common !
In the United States , colds are more common in the fall and winter , because of the tendency for people to remain indoors .
Inside , air tends to be drier .
Dry air dries up the nasal passages , which can lead to infection .
Humidity levels also tend to be lower in colder weather .
Cold viruses are better able to survive in low humidity conditions .
Lockdowns are the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fresh air .
Nevertheless , we still have the left media trying to scare people to stay home to undermine the economy as much as possible .
The New York Times wrote , “ Models Project Sharp Rise in Deaths as States Reopen , ” which are the same models that predicted 2 million deaths before !
The question is WHY is the leftist press continuing to destroy the economy ?
What is their objective ?
To further the climate change and support Bill Gates ’ agenda to further vegetarian meat substitutes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he is advocating shutting down meat producers to lower CO2 .
We have actually Christophe Derrien , the secretary general of the industry organization in the European Union , pushing us to eat insects rather than meat as part of this climate change agenda .
You really can not make up this stuff .
In Germany , a couple was fined €1000 for taking a walk with their child .
Meanwhile , in Italy : “ Government hires tens of thousands of volunteers to control distance rules.
” The pension system has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increases all because of this overreaction to the virus by politicians without ANY regard for the economic consequences .
Then people like New York Governor Cuomo hands out immunity like candy to nursing homes who donated over $ 2 million for his reelection .
Even the sex workers in Switzerland are broke and starting to demand changes .
Just how far can these people push us before this turns into massive violence ?
Hopefully , the people will rise up and vote every politician out of office who has supported lockdowns around the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shown that accountability is important .
Due to all of the economic destruction they have imposed , they will NEVER admit they were wrong .
They MUST somehow keep in place what they proposed and continue to cite fake studies and models to pretend they were right .
This is not going to go over well .
The sooner these people are removed from office , the SAFER society will be .
No politicians will now come out and even say “ sorry ” about that !
They would rather start a war @ @ @ @ @ @ @


climatedepot--2020-06-01--BEWARE: ‘Build Back Better’ – The Latest Code Phrase for Green Global Tyranny

James Delingpole : 'This mantra is being used .
It ’ s everywhere and it ’ s frightening .
Here are some recent examples : United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) : `` Building Back Better : why we must think of the next generation . ''
UNEP financial arm : `` ... as economies recover from the crisis and build back better . ''
Friends of the Earth , Europe : “ EU Council : Governments must act together to ‘ build back better ' ” `` If you thought the nightmare was going to end once the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s only just beginning .
The greens and the globalists aren ’ t about to let a crisis going to waste .
This is the moment they have been waiting for .
And don ’ t expect much resistance from politicians – even ones wearing the ‘ Conservative ’ label , like Boris Johnson .
They ’ re part of the problem . ''
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised that , once the coronavirus crisis is over , he intends to “ build back better ” for future generations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , optimistic phrase but it ’ s not one he invented himself .
And its meaning , unfortunately , is a far cry from what you might hope to hear from a Conservative prime minister rebuilding a wrecked economy .
Many of the people who voted for Boris in the belief that he was a conservative might hope that “ build back better ” meant things like aesthetic beauty , durability , cost-effectiveness , less clumsy statism and more private entrepreneurialism , lower taxes , and more liberty .
Unfortunately the phrase means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Build back better ” is actually a United Nations invented phrase and what it actually means is more world government , more green taxes and regulation , more expensive energy , more identity politics , more corporatism — and , of course , less freedom and entrepreneurialism .
Thanks , Boris .
Just what we need to get us out of this mess which you helped create by keeping us locked down so unnecessarily long .
Dennis Ambler has been keeping tabs on how often this mantra is being used .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Here are some recent examples :


climatedepot--2020-06-01--Reuters Smears ‘Anti-Greta’ Naomi with Fake News Fact Check

Naomi Seibt — the young German activist known as the “ anti-Greta ” for her brave and forthright climate-sceptical views — has become the latest victim of the media/tech establishment ’ s war on conservative voices .
Reuters has attempted to shred her credibility with the cunning ruse of a fake fact check .
A widely shared post on social media makes the claim that 19-year-old German climate change sceptic Naomi Seibt has been fined and banned from social media for expressing disagreement with climate activist Greta Thunberg , known for organising youth climate strikes ‘ Fridays for Future ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ostensibly the news agency is merely correcting misinformation — a bit like Twitter did recently when it “ fact-checked ” some of President Trump ’ s tweets .
In reality , though , this is a barely disguised hit-job by Reuters , whose real purpose is to repeat all manner of green propaganda smears about the 19-year old German student while wearing the mask of objective journalism .
Paul Homewood has conducted an excellent analysis of Reuters ugly and vindictive assault on Seibt here .
As he notes , the “ widely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Reuters was nothing of the kind .
It was a post on Facebook shared by hardly anyone ( just 680 shares ) .
What possible interest could so marginal a post have for a major news organisation ?
None whatsoever — except , of course , as a pretext for a fake news fact check .
So , in the guise of correcting misinformation , what Reuters has done is to spread that misinformation .
It ’ s a cynical deployment of the Streisand Effect : by denying an untruth — or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hidden — you end up broadcasting it to a wider audience than ever before .
In April , Seibt posted a video on YouTube where she explained , in German , that she had chosen not to renew her three-month contract with the Heartland Institute .
She claimed that her affiliation to Heartland resulted in the Landesanstalt für Medien NRW ( Nordrhein-Westfalen ) — a regional supervisory authority for private broadcasting — threatening to delete her YouTube account and her videos , alleging that through her collaboration with the American think-tank , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( here ) .
Seibt claimed that the allegation was not true , and that it violated her freedom of expression .
Note the use of loaded phrases like “ right-wing American think-tank ” and the invocation of “ white nationalist ” and “ white genocide ” .
As Homewood notes , the latter terms are a desperate stretch : So too , he says , are the attempts to make AfD look more sinister than it actually is : Reuters go on to complain that Naomi has spoken at events run by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s far-right AfD ( Alternative for Germany ) party , although she has denied formally being in the party .
Reuters may not like them , but the AfD happens to be Germany ’ s official opposition party .
Again , why should Naomi be censored if she chooses to speak at one of their events ?
As for the misinformation which Reuters purportedly wrote the piece to correct , it ’ s so achingly trivial as scarcely to be worth discussing .
You ’ ll find it described here in more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this , German state agency Landesanstalt für Medien NRW ( Nordrhein-Westfalen ) ordered Seibt — on pain of fine or imprisonment — to take down some videos she had made because , allegedly , she was in breach of a technicality so unimportant that it ’ s hard to see this as anything other than a politically motivated punishment for wrongthink .
Naomi Seibt is an incredibly brave teenage activist whom I first met last year at the COP25 climate conference in Madrid , Spain .
You can watch our interview here .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ she gets little but scorn from the mainstream media .
But she gives as good as she gets : on TV earlier this year , for example , she humiliated an aggressive poltroon called Piers Morgan , by responding with calm honesty to his attempts to smear her as an anti-science ignoramus .
It ’ s a measure of the ignorance and stupidity of our age – and more specifically of the moral failure of the mainstream media – that while that ill-informed parroter of green junk-science hysteria Greta Thunberg is feted wherever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intelligent Naomi Seibt gets little but smear jobs like this latest one from Reuters , plus death threats and rape threats from the likes of Antifa .


climatedepot--2020-06-02--NASA scientist Dr. Kate Marvel links ‘climate change’ to ‘white supremacy’  – ‘We’ll never head off

NASA scientist Dr. Kate Marvel links ‘climate change’ to ‘white supremacy’  – ‘We’ll never head off climate catastrophe without dismantling white supremacy’ – Calls for climate & racial ‘justice’

Another NASA climate scientist has revealed their charged politics and waded into racially charged linkages between “ climate justice ” and “ racial justice.
” and “ white supremacy.
” NASA ’ s Dr. Kate Marvel declared on June 1 : “ Climate justice and racial justice are the same thing , and we ’ ll never head off climate catastrophe without dismantling white supremacy.
” Marvel is an Associate Research Scientist at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies ( GISS ) in New York City .
In 2018 , Marvel ( [ email protected ] ) replied “ DAMN @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Newsweek article titled : “ Science Should Be A Feminist Institution.
” According to a 2018 article at Think Progress , “ Marvel said she admires what Ocasio-Cortez and the Sunrise Movement activists are doing with appeals to support a Green New Deal.
” According to Marvel : “ What I do admire about that is the fact they are using new language .
It ’ s not just , ‘ Look at the sad polar bear , ” Marvel said .
“ This is not talking about climate change like it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s talking about it in the context of all these other things that people care about .
And I think that ’ s absolutely the right way to look at it , ” she said .
Climate Depot Note : Climate activists have tried to link Racism and “ white supremacy ” to climate change for years .
See : Identity politics invades climate change debate Marvel joins her colleague , NASA ’ s Dr. Gavin Schimidt in going political .
See : NASA ’ s Lead ‘ Global Warming ’ Dr. Gavin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a carbon tax Marvel ’ s other NASA colleague , Climate scientist Peter Kalmus also made similar racial/climate comments this week .
NASA climate scientists have a history of turning science into political activism .
NASA climate scientist James Hansen , the former director of NASA ’ s Goddard Institute for Space Studies was arrested multiple times protesting climate change , in making climate science a political issue .
Climate skeptic Tom Nelson reacted to Marvel : “ 97 % of warmist climate scientists are more interested in radical left-wing politics than in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Question : Based on the opinions of people who say stuff like Marvel ’ s quote , is it wise to spend $ 93 trillion trying to prevent bad weather ?
” NASA climate scientist : ‘ Race justice & climate justice are one & the same : Oppressive extractive plutocracies that colonize & kill black bodies & colonize & kill our planet are one & the same ’ – NASA ’ s Jet Propulsion Lab climate scientist Peter Kalmus : “ Here ’ s why race justice and climate justice are one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plutocracies that colonize and kill black bodies and colonize and kill our planet are one and the same.
” A group of former NASA scientists and engineers has tried to bring NASA back to science.
“ The Right Climate Stuff , ” which includes engineers and scientists from across generations who have taken part in NASA ’ s most high-profile missions dating back to Apollo .
The group has produced its own “ rigorous , earth surface temperature model using conservation-of-energy principles ” that operates similarly to the way the surface and internal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Right Climate Stuff team explains on its website .
Former Obama Green Czar and current CNN analyst Van Jones : “ Even the most well-intentioned white person has a virus in his or her brain ” The Environmental Movement Needs to Reckon with Its Racist History – Because racism in environmentalism hasn ’ t gone away , and it ’ s holding the movement back .
– By Julian Brave NoiseCat – Indigenous peoples and people of color are disproportionately affected by our global climate crisis .
But in the mainstream green @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are often forgotten or excluded .
This is Tipping Point , a new VICE series that covers environmental justice stories about and , where possible , written by people in the communities experiencing the stark reality of our changing planet .
Why I Quit Being a Climate Activist – “ The climate movement is overwhelmingly white .
So I walked away.
” – By Karin Louise Hermes – But after a while I realized I would only be called upon when climate organizations needed an inspiring story or a “ diverse ” voice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to participate in a workshop for “ fun ” when everyone else on the ( all-white ) project was getting paid .
Whenever I would question the whiteness of these spaces and how strategies didn ’ t take race into account , I would be met with uncomfortable silences .
The last time , at a nationwide movement-building workshop last April , I was asked , “ Well then , why are you even here ?
” So I decided not to be there anymore .
After four years of helping organize direct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countless video calls , I started hiding and declining requests .
I was burned out .


climatedepot--2020-06-02--UK Met Office’s claims: ‘The human fingerprint is everywhere’ – Point-by-point rebuttal: ‘The facts,

UK Met Office’s claims: ‘The human fingerprint is everywhere’ – Point-by-point rebuttal: ‘The facts, however, tell a different story’

The human fingerprint on the climate is now unmistakable and will become increasingly evident over the coming decades , the UK Met Office has confirmed after 30 years of pioneering study .
Since the 1990s , global temperatures have warmed by half a degree , Arctic sea ice has shrunk by almost 2 million km2 , sea-levels have risen by about 10cm and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 60 parts per million ( 17 % ) , according to figures exclusively compiled for the Guardian to mark the 30th anniversary of the Met Office ’ s Hadley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The data highlights how a young generation has grown up in a climate unprecedented in a millennium .
Future projections suggest that by mid-century a 60-year-old Briton is likely to be living in a climate 1.2C warmer than when they were born .
Scientists at the Hadley Centre , which has been on the global frontline of climate monitoring , research and modelling since it opened in 1990 , said early theories about fossil-fuel disruption have been proven by subsequent facts .
“ The climate now is completely different from what we had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outside the bounds of possibility in natural variation , ” said Peter Stott , a professor and expert on climate attribution science at the centre .
In the Hadley Centre ’ s early projections , he said , scientists forecast 0.5C of warming in the UK between 1990 and 2020 as a result of emissions from oil , gas and coal : “ We got it spot on.
” Let ’ s take the claims one by one : 1 ) Since the 1990s , global temperatures have warmed by half a degree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ temperatures which began in the early 1990s , though disguised at first by the Pinatubo eruption .
Since then there has been no noticeable underlying temperature rise , with the record dominated by El Nino events .
Statistically , 1998 remains the warmest year on record , tied with 2016 .
The Met Office themselves admitted the existence of the pause in 2013 , when it published this paper : Since then the only change has been the record double El Nino , which brought a peak in temperatures in 2016/17 .
Much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Earth ’ s atmosphere .
Over the longer term , it is abundantly clear that it is the major ocean cycles , such as PDO and AMO , which dominate global temperature trends .
2 ) Arctic sea ice has shrunk by almost 2 million km2 Again the Met Office are being extremely devious .
The decline took place prior to 2007 , since when sea ice extent has been stable .
3 ) Sea-levels have risen by about 10cm Sea levels have been rising at the same steady rate since 1900 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the Little Ice Age , a time when glaciers expanded hugely .
There is no evidence of anything unusual occurring in the last thirty years , merely a continuation of much longer term and gradual changes .
4 ) 0.5C of warming in the UK between 1990 and 2020 as a result of emissions from oil , gas and coal Again , we can see that the jump in UK temperatures took place in the 1980s and 90s .
For the last two decades , average temperatures have barely risen at all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raises questions over the claim about fossil fuels .
Given that CO2 emissions have been rising faster than ever since 2000 , why have not UK temperatures followed suit ?
The Met Office ’ s message is crystal clear – that the world will continue to warm , just as their models predicted .
The facts , however , tell a different story .


climatedepot--2020-06-02--Renewable Energy Threatens Thousands Of ‘Globally Important Biodiversity Areas’ – And It’s Worsening

An “ especially worrying ” new study finds 2,206 onshore wind , hydropower , and solar PV energy generation facilities have “ already encroached on many of the world ’ s most important places for conserving biodiversity ” , degrading 886 protected areas , 749 key biodiversity areas , and 40 distinct wilderness areas .
An “ especially worrying ” new study finds 2,206 onshore wind , hydropower , and solar PV energy generation facilities have “ already encroached on many of the world ’ s most important places for conserving biodiversity ” , degrading 886 protected areas , 749 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wilderness areas .
Even more concerning , the number of active renewable energy facilities inside important conservation areas is poised to increase by ~42 % by 2028 .
To avert climate climate change , the United Nations demands a 10-fold increase in renewable energy by 2060 .
This emphasis will especially occur in developing regions like Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa , where the most biodiverse regions in the world are the most threatened .
“ [ R ] enewable energy facilities can be landuse intensive and impact conservation areas , and little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aggregated effect of energy transitions poses a substantial threat to global biodiversity .
Here , we assess the extent of current and likely future renewable energy infrastructure associated with onshore wind , hydropower and solar photovoltaic generation , within three important conservation areas : protected areas ( PAs ) , Key Biodiversity Areas ( KBAs ) and Earth ’ s remaining wilderness .
We identified 2,206 fully operational renewable energy facilities within the boundaries of these conservation areas , with another 922 facilities under development .
Combined , these facilities span and are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 40 distinct wilderness areas.
” “ Our results show that renewable energy development has already encroached on many of the world ’ s most important places for conserving biodiversity , with 2,206 facilities already operational within PAs [ protected areas ] , KBAs [ key biodiversity areas ] and wilderness areas ( Figure S2 ) .
Furthermore , the number of active renewable energy facilities inside important conservation areas could increase by ~42 % by 2028 , suggesting conflicts will likely intensify in the near future.
” “ This is especially worrying , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ achieve the UN climate targets by 2060 ( Bauer et al.
, 2017 ; IEA , 2017b ) would be an order of magnitude greater than the installed capacity included in our ‘ operational ’ and ‘ under development ’ datasets.
” “ Our results also show that the spatial distribution of overlaps is moving from developed regions towards more biodiverse developing regions such as Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa , where the consequences for global biodiversity conservation will be more intense .
”


climatedepot--2020-06-02--End Of May Antarctic Sea Ice Extent Highest In Five Years… No Evidence Of Warming Or Melting

But since 2017 , the ice has grown back and once again has reached near normal levels and the long-term trend continues to be upward .
Over the past 40 years of satellite observation , Antarctic sea ice defied global warming predictions and gained impressively .
The mean temperature of the southern ice cap also shows no warming .
In 2017 , after decades of inconvenient rise , sea ice extent suddenly fell to record low level and panic activity among global warming alarmists began to perk up .
Surely the days of a growing Antarctic ice cap were over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past 40 years of satellite observation , Antarctic sea ice defied global warming predictions and gained impressively .
The mean temperature of the southern ice cap also shows no warming .
In 2017 , after decades of inconvenient rise , sea ice extent suddenly fell to record low level and panic activity among global warming alarmists began to perk up .
Surely the days of a growing Antarctic ice cap were over – at least they hoped .
But since 2017 , the ice has grown back and once again has reached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continues to be upward : Schneefan just posted that latest May Antarctic sea ice extent .
The data show that minimum 15 % sea ice concentration coverage has climbed to a 5-year high for this time of the year : So the Antarctic long-term trend for sea ice continues to be robustly upward .
One aspect that is supposed to indicate global warming is a rapid warming at the poles .
But here too there has been no evidence of warming over Antarctica : Global warming alarmists likely are going to have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begin dreaming about sounding the climate alarms over Antarctica .
Things there are going the opposite way .


climatedepot--2020-06-02--Public Manipulation: German ARD Television Using Red Hot Weather Charts For Showing Cool Temperature

Public Manipulation: German ARD Television Using Red Hot Weather Charts For Showing Cool Temperatures

German public television is splashing red on its weather forecast charts to make people think it ’ s hot .
At Facebook , Akinom Dnagiew posted two fascinating side-by-side weather charts used by German ARD public television for weather forecasting : Readers will notice how in 2009 a calm , neutral chart was used for showing the day ’ s high temperatures , in Celsius .
But then 10 years later , in 2019 , the ARD was using more dramatic and aggressive color scheme to represent temperatures .
Now it seems to be hot even when it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ northeast Germany , 27°C is shown without red hot colors .
Then in 2019 , even a relatively cool 22°C ( 72°F ) gets shown as red hot .
The German title of the above chart reads : “ Fühlen Sie sich manipuliert ?
” ( “ Do you feel manipulated ?
” Looking at the chart from 2009 , one sees the temperatures figures are high , yet we don ’ t get a hot visual impression .
In 2019 , on the other hand , a viewer way up in northern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bit from all the hot looking red , even though the high is expected to be only 20°C ( 68°F ) .
What follows is a forecast chart from 2014 on ZDF public television : Here in the above video you ’ ll see that 25°C is designated by a light orange , and not dark red .
What follows next is a screen shot from an ARD weather forecast made in 2008 : Above we see a low key chart in plain green .
No psychological color manipulations .
– just the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s be fair .
This year it seems the ARD has tamed its red colors somewhat .
What follows is an image from today ’ s weather forecast : Temperatures in the mid 20s are now shown as light red .
Image cropped from the ARD tagesschau.de .


climatedepot--2020-06-02--Warmist Hayhoe’s takedown by Friends of Science

If Greta Thunberg is an alarmist princess then Katherine Hayhoe is the queen of climate alarmism , at least in the U.S. and Canada .
She was the de facto spokesperson for the atrocious third National Climate Assessment .
After that she started doing bogus “ Here ’ s what is going to happen to you ” climate studies for various states and cities .
Making big bucks scaring people .
Last year Hayhoe delivered a doomsday forecast to the Province of Alberta , Canada , and here our story begins .
Alberta is home to the Friends of Science @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Canada ’ s top skeptical organizations .
FOSS has now produced a 77 page takedown report , shredding Hayhoe ’ s so-called study in detail .
It is an elegant critical work , with implications far beyond Canada .
The topic is technical but it is written for policy makers .
The plain English table of contents gives the flavor and shows the scope , with 37 succinct chapters .
There are even chapters titled “ What is “ Climate Change ” ?
” and “ What is a Climate Model ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report is arrogantly titled “ Alberta ’ s Climate Future ” so the FOSS takedown is “ ” .
There are lots of data issues , especially since the Hayhoe report uses truncated trends .
The FOSS rebuttal does a lot of longer term analysis .
Another big issue is that the Hayhoe report is based on so-called “ downscaling ” of hot climate models .
This means taking huge crude regional results and interpolating questionable local details .
Hayhoe bills herself as an “ atmospheric scientist ” but her Ph.D. work was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ science .
It is fitting that she is now in a university Political Science department , as her work is certainly political .
What Hayhoe ignores is the fact that different global climate models give wildly different regional projections .
I recall when the first U.S. National Climate Assessment came out ; it used two major models , the Canadian and the British Hadley .
For the North Central region one projected a 160 % increase in rainfall , while the other gave a 60 % decrease .
Swamp or desert !
Obviously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making .
Here is the Friends of Science condensed summary : “ This review shows how Hayhoe & Stoner misinform , how they did not use all available information , how they cultivate alarm regarding Black Swan events , while ignoring counter trends and evidence of cycles .
Their report style demonstrates a false , absolute certainty , of knowledge , where due qualification of assumptions and other influences can alter results as reported .
Facts and evidence , not fortune-telling , should guide public policy on climate and energy.
” Here are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ Hayhoe & Stoner ’ s “ Alberta ’ s Climate Future ” report fails in a number of ways .
The report ignores climate cycles and instead forecasts continuing linear temperature increases based on global climate models , even when local trends may be quite different .
The report only addresses trends from 1950 , ignoring much warmer conditions in the past in the Province.
” “ More concerning , “ Alberta ’ s Climate Future ” is based on the use of unreasonably unlikely scenarios , such as Representative Concentration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ computer simulation is a very extreme projection of the future where the world goes back to using more than five times the coal than is used today .
Most mainstream scientists believe the RCP8.5 scenario to be a critically flawed benchmark for forecasting future climate.
” “ Hayhoe & Stoner make bold and unverified statements such as : “ extreme high and low temperatures are projected to increase exponentially ” without justification .
The report creates alarm with discredited references to natural “ Black Swan ” events , ascribing human caused climate change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” There is a great deal more criticism , which is worth looking at .
FOSS really does a job on Queen Hayhoe ’ s so-called research .
The Friends of Science takedown is a model for critical analysis of alarmist pseudoscientific hype .
The deeply flawed Hayhoe report is not unusual .
On the contrary it is typical of climate alarmism — computer based , on selected data , presenting speculative scary conclusions as facts .


climatedepot--2020-06-02--CFACT Makes It Official: The Virginia Clean Energy Act is a Disaster

Over the last two weeks , four experienced CFACT analysts – David Wojick , Paul Driessen , Charles Battig , and myself – have reviewed the Virginia Clean Energy Act ( VCEA ) , passed in April of this year , and commented both on the legal framework it provides for electric energy production in the Commonwealth and also on the required mandates it imposes on Dominion Energy , the regulated monopoly authorized by law to provide electric energy for Virginia .
The reason for this enhanced attention to the VCEA is that it is one of the first pieces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ formulated by a Democratic controlled Legislature and signed by a Democrat Governor , Ralph Northam , which purports to provide electricity under a mandate of “ net zero ” carbon dioxide “ emission ” by 2050 .
In other words , it is legislation crafted by “ green ” activists to fulfill their belief that the release of manmade CO2 during the production of energy should be cut to zero .
This radical philosophy , which is embodied perfectly in the “ Green New Deal ” , is a doctrine fervently embraced by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
What kind of electric energy world would this philosophy , when put into actual practice , impose on Virginia consumers ?
What would it cost ?
What would it do to the Virginia countryside ?
Would it be reliable ?
How would the State Corporation Commission – the body which historically has been responsible for regulating Dominion ’ s electricity monopoly – implement the novel directives contained in the VCEA ?
The answers to these questions – confirmed by the veteran observers noted above – are shocking and appalling .
Never before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been a legislative mandate of such sweeping and radical proportions for electrical generation .
CFACT ’ s comprehensive analysis confirms that the VCEA will result in : – a massive increase in the yearly electricity bill for the average Virginia family of $ 500 per year , a 40 % increase over levels without the VCEA ; – a blighting of the Virginia landscape with hundreds of thousands of acres of new solar panel farms and high-tension transmission lines ; – over $ 30 billion in increased capital costs for electrical infrastructure , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ engineering expense embedded in such novel distribution facilities ; and – a blend of electricity sources which will severely undermine the reliability of electricity production , especially when ( spoiler alert ) the sun doesn ’ t shine and the wind doesn ’ t blow .
So radical are these mandates that , for the first time in history , the State Corporation Commission has effectively been entirely stripped of its authority to regulate electricity generation in Virginia , thereby jettisoning the SCC ’ s historical responsibility to assure Virginians of both the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the highest reliability .
The CFACT analysis also discovered a number of other dangerous consequences which will be levied on the average Virginia family by the VCEA : • The increase in average annual electricity prices extracted from Virginia electricity rate payers will amount to an additional $ 2,250,000,000 annually in order to finance the pipe dreams of the eco-left ; • The construction of massive offshore wind facilities that will require significantly elevated levels of cement , steel , and rare earth metals because they will lie in the path of Atlantic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inflicted by Hurricane Sandy on New York City , and then imagine what would have happened to the VA offshore wind farms , which would have been located directly in its path .
And to make matters worse , the wind farms will be subject to the annual “ Bermuda High ” , which sits off the VA coast for weeks at a time during the summer , meaning that no wind will be activating the turbine blades , and thus no electricity will be generated for the air conditioners of Virginians who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Because wind is so unreliable , every similar wind farm in the United States requires backup generation capability powered by diesel or natural gas , an expense not even included in the Dominion plan .
And don ’ t forget – because Dominion is a regulated monopoly – every expense which it incurs as a result of the VCEA will be paid for , one way or the other , by VA ratepayers , in order to assure that Dominion shareholders earn a legally required return on capital .
As CFACT analyst @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requires – like the famous quote from the Vietnam war – that the Virginia countryside must be destroyed in order to save it .
The new solar fields coerced by the VCEA will blanket 490 square miles of Virginia farm and forest land – an area nearly half the size of the State of Rhode Island and eight times the size of the District of Columbia – in order to generate the solar power required by the VCEA .
In addition , Dominion will need to construct four massive interstate transmission lines at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carry electricity from these solar fields to consumers .
Let ’ s just see what the county zoning commissions – much less the voters – of each impacted county have to say about the placement of these transmission lines and solar fields in their backyards .
Better yet , let ’ s just see what the voters have to say to the politicians who voted for the VCEA when they come up for re-election .
As one of the CFACT analysts concluded , “ There is nothing clean , green , renewable or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then the question becomes : All of this cost , unreliability , and environmental degradation is required exactly for ……… what ?
Certainly not cheaper or more reliable energy .
As I pointed out in my previous article on this subject : The VCEA has absolutely zero positive impact on climate , and a devastating negative impact on the environment .
Under the VCEA , Virginia will not have cleaner air , purer water , or a more beautiful countryside .
Fifteen years from now , not a single Virginian will be able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any difference or improvement in the environment resulting from the VCEA .
But they will be able to see a landscape ruined by solar panel eyesores and ugly transmission towers .
In summary , the VCEA will result in : • an annual additional electricity cost of $ 500 per household .
• an additional $ 30 billion in capital cost for electrical infrastructure .
• the ruination of hundreds of thousands of acres of Virginia countryside and wildlife habitat by solar farms , electric transmission line , and ugly towers .
• @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such that there will be no capability of power restoration , to quote Dominion , “ in the event of a large-scale blackout ” .
In short , for the Virginia consumer , it is all pocketbook pain , and no climate gain .
By embracing radical environmentalism , Virginia seems to be vying with California for the title of the creator of the most destructive and unreliable energy policy at the highest cost to its citizens in the country .
When these consequences become known to Virginia voters – and they will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the “ Political Career-Ending Energy Act of 2019 ” .
Predictably , Virginia politicians who voted for this catastrophic piece of legislation will try to blame Dominion Energy for its disastrous consequences .
Good luck with that .
Virginia voters are smart enough to see through that smokescreen .
Are you listening Governor Ralph Northam , Senate Majority Leader Dick Daskaw , Attorney General Mark Herring , and House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn ?


climatedepot--2020-06-02--Claim: George Floyd Protests Are Linked to Climate Change: ‘People with fewer resources & less power

Claim: George Floyd Protests Are Linked to Climate Change: ‘People with fewer resources & less power & who are more oppressed are going to be people deeply affected by climate’

Who didn ’ t see this coming ?
STATE COLLEGE , Pa. — An interfaith group working to slow climate @ @ @ @ @ link between ending reliance on fossil fuels and the protests taking place across the country @ @ @ @ @ protests over the police killing of George Floyd , an unarmed African-American man in Minneapolis @ @ @ @ @ major news stories .
But according to the Rev .
Alison Cornish , executive director @ @ @ @ @ Light , the long history of systemic racism sparking nationwide protests is part of the @ @ @ @ @ “ We know that people with fewer resources and less power and who are more @ @ @ @ @ people deeply affected by climate , ” Cornish said .


climatedepot--2020-06-02--Car Subsidies vs Climate Subsidies: Germany Divided Over Stimulus Plans

German ministers met Tuesday to thrash out an economic stimulus package to speed recovery from the coronavirus shutdown , with the vital auto industry and possible subsidies for it a key sticking point .
Much of the wrangling is along familiar lines – Chancellor Angela Merkel ’ s conservatives favour tax cuts and other pro-business measures , while their centre-left SPD junior coalition partners prefer one-off payouts to families and support for struggling local governments .
But calls for massive auto subsidies have cut across party lines , setting regions and other industrial sectors against one another as they all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subsidy plans for an industry that employs around 800,000 people have also energised those who say the coronavirus crisis offers a chance to take the green option instead and really fight climate change .
A demonstration took place in front of the chancellery on Tuesday .
Protests have also been called across the country by youth environmental movement “ Fridays for Future , ” after thousands turned up last week in 27 cities against any handouts to carmakers .
“ A bonus for car purchases could well be the most controversial point at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ site Spiegel Online commented .
Overall , the entire government direct aid programme could total up to €80 billion ( $ 89 billion ) , weekly Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday .
The post Car Subsidies vs Climate Subsidies : Germany Divided Over Stimulus Plansappeared first on The Global Warming Policy Forum ( GWPF ) .


climatedepot--2020-06-02--The 2006 Origins of the Lockdown Idea: ‘A high-school science experiment’ that was ‘propelled not by

The 2006 Origins of the Lockdown Idea: ‘A high-school science experiment’ that was ‘propelled not by science but politics’

`` We didn ’ t lock down almost the entire country in 1968/69 , 1957 , or 1949-1952 , or even during 1918 .
But in a terrifying few days in March 2020 , it happened to all of us , causing an avalanche of social , cultural , and economic destruction that will ring through the ages . ''
...
The Lockdowns originated from `` an important discovery kicked off by a high school research project pursued by the daughter of a scientist at the Sandia National Laboratories . ''
`` Her name is Laura M. Glass ... Laura @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , devised a computer simulation that showed how people – family members , co-workers , students in schools , people in social situations – interact .
What she discovered was that school kids come in contact with about 140 people a day , more than any other group .
Based on that finding , her program showed that in a hypothetical town of 10,000 people , 5,000 would be infected during a pandemic if no measures were taken , but only 500 would be infected if the schools were closed .
Laura ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arguing for lockdowns and forced human separation .
That paper is Targeted Social Distancing Designs for Pandemic Influenza ( 2006 ) .
It set out a model for forced separation and applied it with good results backwards in time to 1957 . ''
... `` The concept of social distancing is now intimately familiar to almost everyone .
But as it first made its way through the federal bureaucracy in 2006 and 2007 , it was viewed as impractical , unnecessary and politically infeasible . ''
Now begins the grand effort , on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broadcasts daily , somehow to normalize the lockdown and all its destruction of the last two months .
We didn ’ t lock down almost the entire country in 1968/69 , 1957 , or 1949-1952 , or even during 1918 .
But in a terrifying few days in March 2020 , it happened to all of us , causing an avalanche of social , cultural , and economic destruction that will ring through the ages .
There was nothing normal about it all .
We ’ ll be trying to figure out what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ How did a temporary plan to preserve hospital capacity turn into two-to-three months of near-universal house arrest that ended up causing worker furloughs at 256 hospitals , a stoppage of international travel , a 40 % job loss among people earning less than $ 40K per year , devastation of every economic sector , mass confusion and demoralization , a complete ignoring of all fundamental rights and liberties , not to mention the mass confiscation of private property with forced closures of millions of businesses ?
Whatever the answer , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What ’ s truly surprising is just how recent the theory behind lockdown and forced distancing actually is .
So far as anyone can tell , the intellectual machinery that made this mess was invented 14 years ago , and not by epidemiologists but by computer-simulation modelers .
It was adopted not by experienced doctors – they warned ferociously against it – but by politicians .
Let ’ s start with the phrase social distancing , which has mutated into forced human separation .
The first I had heard it was in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it appeared in the New York Times was February 12 , 2006 : Maybe you don ’ t remember that the avian flu of 2006 didn ’ t amount to much .
It ’ s true , despite all the extreme warnings about its lethality , H5N1 didn ’ t turn into much at all .
What it did do , however , was send the existing president , George W. Bush , to the library to read about the 1918 flu and its catastrophic results .
He asked for some experts to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do when the real thing comes along .
The New York Times ( April 22 , 2020 ) tells the story from there : Fourteen years ago , two federal government doctors , Richard Hatchett and Carter Mecher , met with a colleague at a burger joint in suburban Washington for a final review of a proposal they knew would be treated like a piñata : telling Americans to stay home from work and school the next time the country was hit by a deadly pandemic .
When they presented their plan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with skepticism and a degree of ridicule by senior officials , who like others in the United States had grown accustomed to relying on the pharmaceutical industry , with its ever-growing array of new treatments , to confront evolving health challenges .
Drs .
Hatchett and Mecher were proposing instead that Americans in some places might have to turn back to an approach , self-isolation , first widely employed in the Middle Ages .
How that idea — born out of a request by President George W. Bush to ensure the nation was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outbreak — became the heart of the national playbook for responding to a pandemic is one of the untold stories of the coronavirus crisis .
It required the key proponents — Dr. Mecher , a Department of Veterans Affairs physician , and Dr. Hatchett , an oncologist turned White House adviser — to overcome intense initial opposition .
Notice that in the course of this planning , neither legal nor economic experts were brought in to consult and advise .
Instead it fell to Mecher ( formerly of Chicago and an intensive care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) and the oncologist Hatchett .
But what is this mention of the high-school daughter of 14 ?
Her name is Laura M. Glass , and she recently declined to be interviewed when the Albuquerque Journal did a deep dive of this history .
Laura ’ s name appears on the foundational paper arguing for lockdowns and forced human separation .
That paper is Targeted Social Distancing Designs for Pandemic Influenza ( 2006 ) .
It set out a model for forced separation and applied it with good results backwards in time to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ call for what amounts to a totalitarian lockdown , all stated very matter-of-factly .
In other words , it was a high-school science experiment that eventually became law of the land , and through a circuitous route propelled not by science but politics .
The primary author of this paper was Robert J .
Glass , a complex-systems analyst with Sandia National Laboratories .
He had no medical training , much less an expertise in immunology or epidemiology .
That explains why Dr. D.A .
Henderson , “ who had been the leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” completely rejected the whole scheme .
AIER ’ s Phil Magness got to work to find the literature responding to the 2006 paper by Robert and Sarah Glass and discovered the following manifesto : Disease Mitigation Measures in the Control of Pandemic Influenza .
The authors included D.A .
Henderson , along with three professors from Johns Hopkins : infectious disease specialist Thomas V.Inglesby , epidemiologist Jennifer B. Nuzzo , and physician Tara O ’ Toole .
Their paper is a remarkably readable refutation of the entire lock-down model .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that support the confinement by quarantine of groups of possibly infected people for extended periods in order to slow the spread of influenza .
… It is difficult to identify circumstances in the past half-century when large-scale quarantine has been effectively used in the control of any disease .
The negative consequences of large-scale quarantine are so extreme ( forced confinement of sick people with the well ; complete restriction of movement of large populations ; difficulty in getting critical supplies , medicines , and food to people inside the quarantine zone ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from serious consideration… Home quarantine also raises ethical questions .
Implementation of home quarantine could result in healthy , uninfected people being placed at risk of infection from sick household members .
Practices to reduce the chance of transmission ( hand-washing , maintaining a distance of 3 feet from infected people , etc . )
could be recommended , but a policy imposing home quarantine would preclude , for example , sending healthy children to stay with relatives when a family member becomes ill .
Such a policy would also be particularly hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ close quarters , where the risk of infection would be heightened… .
Travel restrictions , such as closing airports and screening travelers at borders , have historically been ineffective .
The World Health Organization Writing Group concluded that “ screening and quarantining entering travelers at international borders did not substantially delay virus introduction in past pandemics .
.
.
and will likely be even less effective in the modern era.
” … It is reasonable to assume that the economic costs of shutting down air or train travel would be very high , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all air or train travel would be extreme .
… During seasonal influenza epidemics , public events with an expected large attendance have sometimes been cancelled or postponed , the rationale being to decrease the number of contacts with those who might be contagious .
There are , however , no certain indications that these actions have had any definitive effect on the severity or duration of an epidemic .
Were consideration to be given to doing this on a more extensive scale and for an extended period , questions immediately arise as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affected .
There are many social gatherings that involve close contacts among people , and this prohibition might include church services , athletic events , perhaps all meetings of more than 100 people .
It might mean closing theaters , restaurants , malls , large stores , and bars .
Implementing such measures would have seriously disruptive consequences… Schools are often closed for 1–2 weeks early in the development of seasonal community outbreaks of influenza primarily because of high absentee rates , especially in elementary schools , and because of illness among teachers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grounds .
However , to close schools for longer periods is not only impracticable but carries the possibility of a serious adverse outcome… .
Thus , cancelling or postponing large meetings would not be likely to have any significant effect on the development of the epidemic .
While local concerns may result in the closure of particular events for logical reasons , a policy directing communitywide closure of public events seems inadvisable .
Quarantine .
As experience shows , there is no basis for recommending quarantine either of groups or individuals .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and secondary effects of absenteeism and community disruption as well as possible adverse consequences , such as loss of public trust in government and stigmatization of quarantined people and groups , are likely to be considerable… .
Confronting a manageable epidemic and turning it into a catastrophe : that seems like a good description of everything that has happened in the COVID-19 crisis of 2020 .
Thus did some of the most highly trained and experienced experts on epidemics warn with biting rhetoric against everything that the advocates of lockdown proposed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the first place and showed no actual knowledge of viruses and disease mitigation .
Again , the idea was born of a high-school science experiment using agent-based modelling techniques having nothing at all to do with real life , real science , or real medicine .
So the question becomes : how did the extreme view prevail ?
The New York Times has the answer : [ Post-publication note : You can read the 2007 CDC paper here .
It is arguable that this paper did not favor full lockdown .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MD , who regards the 2007 plan as more liberal , and assures me that they never envisioned this level of lockdown : “ lockdowns and shelter-in-place were not part of the recommendations.
” To my mind , fleshing out the full relationship between this 2007 document and current policy requires a separate article . ]
The Times called one of the pro-lockdown researchers , Dr. Howard Markel , and asked what he thought of the lockdowns .
His answer : he is glad that his work was used to “ save lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also horrifying.
” “ We always knew this would be applied in worst-case scenarios , ” he said .
“ Even when you are working on dystopian concepts , you always hope it will never be used.
” Ideas have consequences , as they say .
Dream up an idea for a virus-controlling totalitarian society , one without an endgame and eschewing any experienced-based evidence that it would achieve the goal , and you might see it implemented someday .
Lockdown might be the new orthodoxy but that doesn ’ t make it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least now we know that many great doctors and scholars in 2006 did their best to stop this nightmare from unfolding .
Their mighty paper should serve as a blueprint for dealing with the next pandemic .