NC Media Watch

Heading west again

Russ Steele

After a few days in Quebec and Montreal we are heading for Mackinaw City Michigan, traveling across Canada. I can now confirm that liberalism is strong and robust in French Canada. Nanny government if everywhere. We met a lot of very nice people and had a great time, but my tongue is raw from forced constraint.

Yesterday we toured a research ship that claimed to have visited Antarctica, broadcasting there findings daily over the Internet. This former German fishing vessel was converted to sail, and equipped with a TV production studio. The message was that in 20 years global warming will melting all the ice killing all those cuddly little penguins and temperature all temperature sensitive sea life at our southern pole. That global warming will cause more sever weather, etc.    Most of the presentation was in French, with some translation by our tour guide. Hard to frame an argument, and destroy the experience for the other people on the the tour.

Our tour guide was retired math teacher, who had bought into this global warming hoax.  I will do my best to re-educate him in the coming weeks via the Internet by asking him to test his views with some facts.  Not much real warming from CO2 and global warming does not cause more sever weather and the US has been reducing CO2 while EU has not.

The researchers made the same mistake that CBS's Scott Pelley made. According to the map on the ship research team really visit the Shetland Islands over 120 kilometers to the North of the Antarctic Peninsula an area with active under sea volcano.  Details here. The problem is they were claiming to be reporting on the Antarctica. 

More on this when I have more time. We need to get rolling this morning. 

CARB has no idea of the costs, or the economic impacts.

Russ Steele

From the Scoping Plan Executive Summary

Evaluating the Economic Effects

ARB has developed preliminary estimates of the costs and savings of the various
measures considered in this Draft Plan. These estimates indicated that the overall
savings from improved efficiency and developing alternatives to petroleum will, on
the whole, outweigh the costs. This balance is largely driven by current high energy
costs and the degree to which measures increase energy efficiency throughout the
economy and move California toward ultimately cheaper alternatives to fossil fuels.
Summary information on costs is included in the measure descriptions in
Appendix C. The economic modeling completed to date is preliminary and does not
reflect all measures under evaluation. These estimates will be further refined as the
evaluation is completed during the coming months, and ARB will provide a
supplement to this Draft Plan with the results of the economic and other evaluations
later this summer.

In other words CARB has no idea what the economic costs are going to be. Trust us it won't hurt they claim! Yea, sure it won't. But how do we know? We don't! And, neither does CARB. Yet in the next paragraph:

The potential costs of implementing the Plan pale beside the cost of doing nothing.

How do they know, they just admitted above they have no idea what the costs are, or the impacts. It is TBD in a future appendix based on a economic model. A computer model will tell you what ever the programmers wants it to tell you, and they are still having a hard time getting it to tell you the cost of implementing greenhouse gas regulations.

Then they cite the Stern Report to support their views that we have to do something because the cost of doing nothing is greater doing something. Really? Perhaps they should have read some of these critiques of the Stern Report before using it to justify their scam.    

Nordhaus - An originator of DICE/RICE model
http://www.econ.yale.edu/~nordhaus/homepage/SternReviewD2.pdf

House of Lords - Economics of Climate Change
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldselect/ldeconaf/12/12i.pdf

Tol Comments - Written
http://www.fnu.zmaw.de/fileadmin/fnu-files/reports/sternreview.pdf

Early Criticisms of Stern
http://ff.org/centers/csspp/pdf/20061104_stern.pdf

Comment on Cherry Picked Data
http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/archives/climate_change/000973sterns_cherry_picki.html

Comparing Forecasts of the Global Imapacts of Climate Change - Mendelsohn and Williams
http://environment.yale.edu/posts/downloads/a-g/Comparing_Forecasts_of_the_Global_Impacts_of_Climate_Change.pdf

The unknowing twits writing this report should be sent packing reducing California deficit by millions. They are trying to solve a problem that does not exist, and we are paying the bill. Why?   

Time for action to save our local economy from CARB scam!

Russ Steele

On June 27th I wrote about the CARB Scoping Plan to reduce greenhouse gases here. CARB's plan to save the planet by extract more money from taxpayers and damage California economy. It is a scam folks that will damage California's economy. Even more importantly, the increased transportation costs proposed in the Scoping Plan could severely impact Nevada County's leisure, recreation and tourism economy.  We can see the cost of increased fuel prices, now CARB wants to raise them even  more.  Down load the Scoping Plan pdf here.

Our public leaders need to stand up and oppose this scam. You as taxpayers need to stand up and oppose this scam. There has been not been any global warming since 1998, and the current trend is cooling since 2002. The facts do support the computer models that are used to justify these CARB greenhouse regulations.

The Air Resources Board (ARB) staff invites you to provide comments on the Draft Scoping Plan. Here is an opportunity for public officials, and readers, to comment on the CARB Scoping Plan. (Click on the“Submit Comments” icon.)

Some thoughts on in vehicle WiFi(edited)

Russ Steele

Ken Bensinger, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer writes about Chrysler offering wireless Internet access in 2009 models. The struggling automaker's announcement comes shortly before California enacts a law that requires hands-free cellphone use while driving.

The nation's third-largest automaker is set to announce Thursday that it's making wireless Internet an option on all its 2009 models. The mobile hotspot, called UConnect Web, would be the first such technology from any automaker.

Glenn Reynolds makes note at Instapundit.com, "I already have Internet in my cars thanks to EVDO."

Verizon Coverage Map, click for a larger image.

CARB announces scam for extracting more money from tax payers

Russ Steele

According to the Bee, the California Air Resources Board outlined its plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 1990 levels on Thursday. The AB 32 "Scoping Plan" is CARB's blue print for how we all will achieve the mandated emission cuts, and pay more taxes and fees in the process.   Another government bureaucracy securing its long term survival.

From the Bee's Capitol Alert:

The plan's core - about 80 percent of the required cuts - contains a suite of regulations, including some programs already under way. Here are some of the biggest cuts

• Electric utilities would provide a third of their power by 2020 from renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal. Current levels are around 11 percent.

• New vehicles sold in the state would emit 30 percent fewer greenhouse gases on average by 2016. This standard exceeds federal targets - and is currently blocked by the Bush administration.

• The average energy efficiency of the state’s buildings would be improved by 25 percent through stricter rules on new construction and new efforts to retrofit existing structures.

•  To get the last 20 percent, the board has called for a "cap-and-trade" market that would assign a price on the right to produce greenhouse gases. The market would begin in 2012.
The air board is required to adopt an outline of its emissions-cutting strategies by the end of the year.

Now for some points that Bee did not cover:

Another opportunity to show leadership, that may once again slip away

Russ Steele

Dave Moller writes in the Union: Legal snag on proposed sales tax possible

There could be a legal hang-up with the proposed Grass Valley sales tax initiative, expected for the November ballot.

The tax measure is taking the form of a voter initiative. But to make the ballot, it instead must be passed by a two-thirds vote of the City Council first, then win a two-thirds approval from voters before it can be legally valid, according to a memo from City Attorney Ruthann Ziegler to Grass Valley officials.

ooo

"The ball is in the court of the citizens moving the initiative forward," said Mayor Mark Johnson, who added the council has not taken a position on the tax.

"It's a challenging time to bring forth taxes, but the only way to get street repairs is through an initiative," Johnson said. "I'm not sure this is the right time, but if enough people sign, maybe it is time."

It is clear to me where the ball lies. It is time for the City Council to demonstrate their leadership, by doing what right for the people of Western Nevada County by passing a resolution supporting the sales tax. We need the overpass to reduce congestion, and improve access to the hospital and college. As Nevada County's senior population grows older, fast access to the hospital is going to be come more and more important. It is time for the City Council to give up their fear of minor special interest groups and show they can be true community leaders. Lets hope they do not let this opportunity to show their leadership slip a way, like so many missed opportunities in the past.

Fire or ignore NASA's James Hansen for misuse of his official office

Russ Steele

James Hansen, NASA's leading climate change scientist at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies wants to put oil firm CEOs on trial for denying that humans are causing global warming.  Some detailed analysis at the  Reference  Frame

I think it is Hansen that should be put on trial for corrupting government climate data just to prove his claim that humans cause global warming. Climate Audit is decoding Hansen's FORTRAN software used to "adjust" recored temperature and is tracking the changes made to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies data base. Hansen is making changes to historical temperature records that lower past high temperatures, so current temperatures appear significantly higher than the average. These changes cannot be supported by good science, see Climate Audit for the details.

This morning Anthony Watt's has put up a poll to collect reader views on what the next step should be. Please offer your opinion what the next step should be HERE.

Canada Weather Station Survey on the Gaspe.

Russ Steele

West View

We  stopped to have lunch yesterday and to look at a lighthouse just off of Route 135, along the northern coast of the Gaspe Peninsula.  Low and behold there was the Cap Madeleine Weather Station just to the right of the light house gift shop as we came up the drive.

East View

Grabbing my camera and GPS set I did a station survey for Anthony Watt Surface Station Project. Once we have all 1221 US stations in the data base, the global network will be Anthony's next target. So, while I was in the neighborhood, I took some survey photos, GPS position and notes for the survey form.

General View

As you can see this is a very well sited station. Well away from any heat sources and on a grassy knoll about 28 meters above sea level. I could not find a temperature plot. The station was brought on line in September 1985. It does not have a long record. 

Union's Amy Goodman is marshaling the media to spread unwarranted fear

Russ Steele

Amy Goodman's latest column in the Union, Weather reports are missing the big picture, issues a call to relate all the world's weather mishaps under the global warming umbrella and exhorts journalists to get busy spreading the panic.  First it is WEATHER, not climate change. Second the facts do not not support her column's conclusions. You can ignore the lefties that she quotes, they have a warming agenda. The data is clear there has been no global warming since 1998, and the weather has been rather normal according to the CCSP.  Check 2008 out on the graph below.

Graphic is from Really Real Climate

Yes we have extremes and they were reported on by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program assessment in a report titled "Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate.

Amy writes:

So if the disasters that follow one another, from hurricanes to tornadoes to flooding, are consistent with global warming, why aren't the networks and the weather reporters making the link?

Maybe it is because the reporters are much smarter than Amy Goodman, and know more about climate change than she does.  They may know that over the long-term U.S. hurricane landfalls have been declining. That nationwide there have been no long-term increases in drought. There have been no observed changes in the occurrence of tornadoes or thunderstorms. There are no long-term trends in either heat waves or cold spells, though there are trends within shorter time periods in the overall record.

So, Amy is ignoring the facts, the official studies, and is just trying to scare people with her global warming crap. If she would stop writing her articles based on the lefty global warming talking points she could improve her credibility. Right now, she is coming off as a blooming idiot.   

We start back home today

Russ Steele

Yesterday we reached the end of the Gaspe Peninsula, with our friends from Locust Grove, Georgia, Betty Lou and John Reifschneider

 

Today Ellen and I start our return to Nevada County. This will be our first full day traveling West. We still have some stops scheduled on the Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec and Montreal, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Wyoming before making a serious dash for the barn in Nevada City.  As you can see in the pictures the weather has been foggy and rainy. Not typical weather for June according to the local Gaspe residents. More like May weather they say.   It is forecast to rain today, our shiny trailer is going to get covered with road grime again. Ugh!