NC Media Watch

New feature - Political Action Contacts

Russ Steele

I often writing about issues that require political action to resolve.  After reading one of my posts you may want to contact California's political leaders with some recommended actions of your own. I have posted their e-mails, or contact web pages, on the left side of this page.  Please use these links to contact our political leaders with your ideas or solutions, and then share your ideas with blog readers in a comment. One drop does not make a flood, but millions can create a flood. One e-mail can be ignored, thousands can create political action.

This contact list will grow as the latest election results are posted at the California Legislature's web page.

International poll finds declining support for carbon reduction

Russ Steele

The  Windsor Star reports there is both growing public reluctance to make personal sacrifices and a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the major international efforts now underway to battle climate change. This according to the findings in a poll of 12,000 citizens in 11 countries, including: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States.

•  Only 47 per cent, said they were prepared to make personal lifestyle changes to reduce carbon emissions, down from 58 per cent last year.

•  Only 37 per cent said they were willing to spend "extra time" on the effort, an eight-point drop.

•  Only  20 per cent - said they'd spend extra money to reduce climate change, down 8  percent from a year ago.

On the other hand:

Fifty five  per cent of respondents in the 11 countries said their governments should be doing more by investing in renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and wave power.

It seem evident that while the poll participants want the government to do more, they were unwilling to make a personal commitment to fund these government efforts. Where do those who support this foolishness think the government will get the funds for doing more? Magic money? I wonder how the folks in California answered the poll?  We have more magic than money.

More details on the international study at the  Windsor Star in: Efforts to support global climate-change falls: Poll

Al Gore does Oprah - was anyone watching? (Edited)

Russ Steele

(Note: Original post was edited for accuracy and tone as suggested by Anthony at Watts Up With That. Thanks Anthony!)

We can only hope the most people in the US are shopping on Black Friday and not watching the Oprah Winfrey Show today.  Al Gore has brought his global warming propaganda machine to share with Oprah.  You can find the details on Oprah's web page.  Here are some of the topics that Gore is pushing:

Classic Gore:

"Some of the leading scientists are now saying we may have as little as 10 years before we cross a kind of point-of-no-return, beyond which it's much more difficult to save the habitability of the planet in the future," Gore says.

Yes, but Al you have been saying that for over ten years and we are still here. And in the last ten years the global temperatures stopped rising and are now in decline.  

Wind power blown away says UK study

Russ Steele

The CARB Scoping Plan includes wind as one of the renewable energy sources they are counting on to reduce California's reliance on carbon based fuels, and to create green jobs.

California enjoys significant advantages for renewable energy development. These
include: concentrated innovation resources; a large potential customer base; key natural resources such as reliable insolation and wind; and supportive regulatory programs . . .

A recent UK study published in the Journal Energy Policy cast some serious doubt on the reliability of wind energy. An article in the Energy Tribune reports on the study,  Wind Power Exposed: The Renewable Energy Source is Expensive, Unreliable and Won’t Save Natural Gas.

In June, the most in-depth independent assessment yet of Britain's expanding wind turbine industry was published. In the journal Energy Policy gas turbine expert Jim Oswald and his co-authors, came up with a series of damning conclusions: not only is wind power far more expensive and unreliable than previously thought, it cannot avoid using high levels of natural gas, which not only it will increase costs but in turn will mean far less of a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions than has been claimed.

Happy Thanksgiving

Russ Steele

We wish all who visit here a Happy Thanksgiving. If thanksgiving is not a day you celebrate have a great day. I will resume regular blogging on Friday. We will be watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning and then joining part of our family in Roseville.  One daughter and grandchildren will be having Thanksgiving with in-laws in Dixon, and the San Francisco daughter will be inviting friends in for a thanksgiving feast in the City.  The rest of us will doing something we have never done before, having thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant. So we will not miss having leftover turkey sandwiches, Ellen is fixing a small turkey on Friday.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Unfunded Liabilities are a real crisis, global warming is a fake crisis

Russ Steele

Why do our leaders create a imaginary global warming crisis, but ignore a real one -- unfunded liabilities.  The Governor holds a two day conference on Global Warming, all the while ignoring the growing economic crisis at CalPERS, a growing list of unfunded liabilities. The declining stock market, the growing state deficit, and declining tax revenue are all resulting in less money to meet State, County and City government retiree obligations. See the Rebane's Ruminations and SES Foundation blogs for more details on the real crisis.

When a wiser man than thee speaks, one should listen

Russ Steele

I wrote about President Elect Obama's video presentation to Governor Schwarzenegger Climate Change Conference and his distortion of the facts in: Obama is clueless on climate change impacts.  Today, Viscount Monckton of Brenchley does a superb science based review of  Obama's World View on Energy and Climate at the American Thinker in:  Obama on the 'urgency' of combating 'global warming' He finds Obama misinformed on the science of global warming and the imagined consequences. This is a more detailed account than my initial effort to set the record straight.

An obviously intelligent man, why does our future President insist on living in a global warming fantasy world?  Really? 

Checking out the regional shopping competition

Russ Steele

I was in Sacramento for a medical appointment today and stopped by the newly upgraded Roseville Galleria Mall for lunch and walk around tour with my wife. The new covered parking garage was not over crowded, but the food court was full with long lines at all the delivery counters. The play structures were full of playing children, and the stores decorated for the coming holiday season. A festive atmosphere everywhere. It was hard to believe these are economic hard times.

The upgraded Mall is beautiful, open, inviting, and designed for families. There is an open WiFi network with quiet areas for husbands to be comfortable while their wives are shopping. There is down-sides: no book store in the Mall, no high end electronic stores, not even a Radio Shack, just a Brookstone and some cellphone stores.   There are still a lot of empty spaces, maybe Westfield can recover from these unfortunate oversights.    

The Californian Energy Commission in your bed room

Russ Steele

I have written many times about the impact that greenhouse gas reduction regulations are going to impact our local economy, and change the way we live our lives.  If the problem the regulators were trying to solve was real that would be one thing, but global warming, or as regulators prefer climate change, is not a real threat. Here is real world example from our local newspaper the Union. The publisher, Jeff Ackerman writes about the closing of a local lighting store in his column this morning:

California’s heavily regulated business climate didn’t make things any easier for Arnold and Accent Lighting. “The California Energy Commission has come up with a lot of new regulations for lighting on new buildings and a lot of people aren’t happy about it and are trying to find a way around them,” he said. What they have found is the Internet, where you can buy what you need without worrying about the California Energy Com- mission. One example is the state’s notion to prohibit all reading lamps that require more than 35-watt bulbs (and … yes … lawmakers think they can regulate what kind of reading lamp you have at your bedside now). “That’s going to be a tough one to sell,” said Arnold. “I know people who don’t think 150 watts is enough for a reading lamp. In fact, I know some people who think 1,000 watts isn’t enough.”

This is only the beginning folks, just wait until CARBs cap and trade program kicks in, more people will be shopping on the Internet, buying in states that did not sign the Western Climate Initiative agreement. California business will be moving to Nevada, or Idaho, that did sign on to the WCI, or Arizona which will withdraw from the WCI once the newly elected GOP energy commissioners take their seats.  These next door states will welcome California business escaping an oppresive greenhouse regulatory environment.  Stand by for more closings.

Where does the retirement bailout line start?

Russ Steele

Our monthly Morgan Stanley report sits on the kitchen counter unopened for days, we are reluctant to open the envelope and read the bad news. Will our retirement nest egg be down 30, 40 or even 50 percent?  We wonder, will we be getting a retirement plan bailout? 

For that matter, who is going to bailout the government retirement programs? These defined benefit retirement pensions plans depend on a robust stock market to reduce liabilities.  How will local governments ever recover from the growing unfunded retirement liabilities with a down market?  Mike McDaniel explores some unfunded liability issues at the SES Foundation blog in:  Who will bailout local employee pension plans?