Real Climate Science

Fear of a harmless trace gas has driven the environmental movement completely insane.

Birds going up in smoke at Ivanpah solar project

A new report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has labeled BrightSource Energy’s Ivanpah project a “mega-trap” for insects and birds that may get singed or in some cases, burned alive flying through the intense solar radiation reflecting off the thousands of mirrors surrounding three solar towers at the plant in eastern San Bernardino County.

The Center for Biological Diversity posted the report to the California Energy Commission website on Monday as part of its testimony opposing BrightSource’s 500-megawatt Palen project, located east of the Coachella Valley, which would use similar technology — soaring solar towers surrounded by thousands of reflecting mirrors.

http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2014/04/07/birds-going-smoke-brightsource-energys-ivanpah-project/7448299/

h/t to Eric Simpson

During a cold* year, the US and Canada are a tiny portion of globe – and are irrelevant to climate experts. It is about “global” warming after all, or perhaps just Australian warming.

But mention “global” sea ice area, and the same people insist that Antarctica doesn’t count.

*During warm years, the US is 90% of the planet.

The White House and Senator Reid have assembled a massive paramilitary operation to rustle 67 year old Cliven Bundy’s cattle (and probably gun him down) – while Jews in the Ukraine are being forced to register.

Jews in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk where pro-Russian militants have taken over government buildings were told they have to “register” with the Ukrainians who are trying to make the city become part of Russia, according to Israeli media.

Jews emerging from a synagogue say they were handed leaflets that ordered the city’s Jews to provide a list of property they own and pay a registration fee “or else have their citizenship revoked, face deportation and see their assets confiscated,” reported Ynet News, Israel’s largest news website.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/17/jews-ordered-to-register-in-east-ukraine/7816951/

Saturn’s moon Titan has more natural gas and other hydrocarbons on it than Earth. The assumption that most methane is a fossil fuel doesn’t make a lot of sense.

That being said, I did have a fraternity brother in the 1970’s who enjoyed lighting farts in the chapter house.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd–tIkrVoA]

Some officers in any army want to win the war, and bring it to an end. Others enjoy the war, and want it to continue indefinitely. They don’t like the other kind.

NHL goalkeepers already save more than 90% of shots, so adding more goalkeepers could increase their save percentage by a maximum of 10%.

Knut Angstrom figured out 100 years ago that almost all of the LW radiation at CO2 absorption wavelengths is already absorbed by the existing atmospheric CO2. This means that adding more CO2 has minimal effect on the earth’s radiative balance.

Climate experts assume that adding more CO2 will increase the amount of “trapped heat” – but it is same problem as hockey goals. Almost all of the LW radiation in CO2 bands is already being absorbed, so adding more CO2 has less and less effect with each increment.

Another way of looking at is as a window blind which absorbs 99.9% of light coming through the window. Adding a second blind has very little effect, because almost all of the light is already absorbed.

Alarmists assume that additional warmth due to added CO2 is basic physics, because they don’t understand basic physics.

Collecting solar energy on buildings is a great idea. The Anasazi built wonderful passive solar homes hundreds of years ago.

Here in Colorado, most houses are oriented the wrong direction (N-S) because people want to see the mountains out of their windows.  This is idiotic, because trees and other houses block their view anyway. It makes much more sense to have houses oriented E-W, which would keep the house warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

I am all for sensible use of solar energy. What I oppose is environmentally destructive uses, and people using solar as an excuse to wreck the energy infrastructure.

Earth Day is just around the corner. It is celebrated every April 22 on Vladimir Lenin’s birthday, two days after Hitler’s birthday. Here are some crack scientific forecasts from the original Earth day in 1970.

“Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.”

• George Wald, Harvard Biologist

“We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation.”

• Barry Commoner, Washington University biologist

“By…[1975] some experts feel that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur until the decade of the 1980s.”

• Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist

“Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa. By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions….By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine.”

• Peter Gunter, professor, North Texas State University

“It is already too late to avoid mass starvation.”

• Denis Hayes, chief organizer for Earth Day

“Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years.”

• Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/fifteen-foolish-forecasts-how-did-environmentalists-get-it-so-wrong-on-earth-day-1970

One of the greatest things about the Earth’s crust is that it is full of hydrocarbons, which make modern civilization, and indeed life itself possible. Without fossil fuels, millions of people in the US would have frozen to death this winter. Millions more would have starved, and every tree in the country would be cut down for firewood. The air would be filthy and society would collapse.

On Earth Day 2014, we should celebrate by thanking our fossil fuel distributors for keeping the environment clean and making civilization viable.

The National Weather Service tweeted yesterday that March was coldest on record at many locations in Upper Michigan. I responded by pointing out that NCDC said March was only fifth coldest in Michigan.

https://twitter.com/SteveSGoddard/status/456483610149654529

NWS responded by saying that the temperatures in lower Michigan must have been warmer, and I pointed out that record ice on Lake Erie made that implausible. NWS didn’t have an explanation and left it up to NCDC to explain the discrepancy – which of course they didn’t.

HCN data shows no trend in Michigan March temperatures since 1895, but NCDC reports a 3.8 degrees/century warming trend.

The USHCN adjustments are astonishing – almost five degrees between 1895 and 2014. Apparently the freezing point of water must have changed and the record ice on Lake Erie at the end of March is meaningless. The adjustments are peer-reviewed, which trumps reality.

The next graph shows the total difference between NCDC reported temperatures and GHCN HCN raw temperatures

Environment Canada shows Great Lakes ice coverage as being completely unprecedented. Perhaps the freezing point of water has changed, due to an increase of 0.0001 mole fraction CO2?

The IPCC says the world is burning up

The real world says differently.

• No global warming for over 17 years
• Global sea ice area is near an all-time record high for mid-April
• Great Lakes ice cover is the highest on record for mid-April
• Antarctic sea ice area is the highest on record for mid-April
• Arctic multi-year ice way up over the last three years
• Record low tornado activity in the US since the start of 2012
• Near record low hurricane activity in the US over the past five years
• No major hurricanes in the US for almost nine years – a record
• No hurricanes in Florida for almost nine years – a record
• Last year was the quietest Atlantic hurricane season in decades
• Coldest four months on record in much of the midwest