Al Gore Getting Rich Sucking the Government Tit November 3, 2009
Posted by Joey in Environmentalists, Politics.Tags: Al Gore, Global Warming, Global Whining, Silver Spring Networks, Subsidies
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Al Gore shows how money can be made off the global warming scam: Suck on the Government Tit.
Gore’s Dual Role in Spotlight – Advocate and Investor – NYTimes.com.
Former Vice President Al Gore thought he had spotted a winner last year when a small California firm sought financing for an energy-saving technology from the venture capital firm where Mr. Gore is a partner.
The company, Silver Spring Networks, produces hardware and software to make the electricity grid more efficient. It came to Mr. Gore’s firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital providers, looking for $75 million to expand its partnerships with utilities seeking to install millions of so-called smart meters in homes and businesses.
Mr. Gore and his partners decided to back the company, and in gratitude Silver Spring retained him and John Doerr, another Kleiner Perkins partner, as unpaid corporate advisers.
The deal appeared to pay off in a big way last week, when the Energy Department announced $3.4 billion in smart grid grants. Of the total, more than $560 million went to utilities with which Silver Spring has contracts. Kleiner Perkins and its partners, including Mr. Gore, could recoup their investment many times over in coming years.
It Was The Algae, Not the Asteroids October 22, 2009
Posted by Joey in Environmentalists, Pseudoscience.Tags: Green is the New Red, Extinction, Asteroids
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Here’s a perfect example of how to get publicity: Find a new environmental reason for extinction of the dinosaurs, and then project it to the extinction of mankind.
Green is the new red.
Clemson researchers say algae the key cause of mass extinctions.
Algae, not asteroids, were the key to the end of the dinosaurs, say two Clemson University researchers. Geologist James W. Castle and ecotoxicologist John H. Rodgers have published findings that toxin-producing algae were a deadly factor in mass extinctions millions of years ago.
The research not only provides new insights into the past but also offers a caution about the future. The scientists say that current environmental conditions show significant similarity to times when previous mass extinctions occurred.
Castle is presenting the research results at the Geological Society of America meeting in Portland, Ore. He and Rodgers have spent two years analyzing data from ancient algal deposits — stromatolite structures — finding evidence that blue-green algae, which produce poisons and deplete oxygen, were present in sufficient quantities to kill off untold numbers of plants and animals living on land or in the sea.
Cash for Carts October 19, 2009
Posted by Joey in Environmentalists, Politics, Toys.Tags: Electric Vehicle, Golf Carts, Subsidy
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Just when you thought the US government couldn’t get any stupider, comes the news that golf carts qualify for an electric vehicle tax credit. Around my neighborhood, there are several families that have golf carts, and you see them running around, kids aboard, every weekend. I’ve yet to see one at a grocery or convenience store, so let’s not get the illusion that somehow these subsidies are “good for the environment”. The golf carts are just toys for the upper middle class.
Golf Cart Subsidies – WSJ.com.
We thought cash for clunkers was the ultimate waste of taxpayer money, but as usual we were too optimistic. Thanks to the federal tax credit to buy high-mileage cars that was part of President Obama’s stimulus plan, Uncle Sam is now paying Americans to buy that great necessity of modern life, the golf cart.
The federal credit provides from $4,200 to $5,500 for the purchase of an electric vehicle, and when it is combined with similar incentive plans in many states the tax credits can pay for nearly the entire cost of a golf cart. Even in states that don’t have their own tax rebate plans, the federal credit is generous enough to pay for half or even two-thirds of the average sticker price of a cart, which is typically in the range of $8,000 to $10,000. “The purchase of some models could be absolutely free,” Roger Gaddis of Ada Electric Cars in Oklahoma said earlier this year. “Is that about the coolest thing you’ve ever heard?”
The golf-cart boom has followed an IRS ruling that golf carts qualify for the electric-car credit as long as they are also road worthy. These qualifying golf carts are essentially the same as normal golf carts save for adding some safety features, such as side and rearview mirrors and three-point seat belts. They typically can go 15 to 25 miles per hour.
Kyoto Climate Treaty, R.I.P. October 19, 2009
Posted by Joey in Environmentalists.Tags: Kyoto Treaty
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Good.
Future Unlikely For Kyoto Climate Treaty : NPR.
The landmark Kyoto climate treaty, a global warming pact negotiated 12 years ago, is unlikely to live on after its 2012 end date.
During climate talks in Bangkok last week it became apparent that after the treaty’s initial term ends, a new treaty will almost certainly take its place.
Diplomats from the U.S. and 15 other major economies will meet on Sunday in London to talk about a new global warming agreement.
The news leaves many countries in the developing world frustrated. The key to the Kyoto pact was that many industrialized countries had promised to reach emissions reduction targets on a specific timetable.
Global Warming Data Lost September 24, 2009
Posted by Joey in Environmentalists, Oops!, Politics.Tags: Global Warming, Jones and Wigley
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Here’s my take: The data is lost because it was cherry picked to support the “theory” that global warming is caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
Green is the new red.
The Dog Ate Global Warming by Patrick J. Michaels on National Review Online.
Putting together such a record isn’t at all easy. Weather stations weren’t really designed to monitor global climate. Long-standing ones were usually established at points of commerce, which tend to grow into cities that induce spurious warming trends in their records. Trees grow up around thermometers and lower the afternoon temperature. Further, as documented by the University of Colorado’s Roger Pielke Sr., many of the stations themselves are placed in locations, such as in parking lots or near heat vents, where artificially high temperatures are bound to be recorded.
So the weather data that go into the historical climate records that are required to verify models of global warming aren’t the original records at all. Jones and Wigley, however, weren’t specific about what was done to which station in order to produce their record, which, according to the IPCC, showed a warming of 0.6° +/– 0.2°C in the 20th century.
Now begins the fun. Warwick Hughes, an Australian scientist, wondered where that “+/–” came from, so he politely wrote Phil Jones in early 2005, asking for the original data. Jones’s response to a fellow scientist attempting to replicate his work was, “We have 25 years or so invested in the work. Why should I make the data available to you, when your aim is to try and find something wrong with it?”
Reread that statement, for it is breathtaking in its anti-scientific thrust. In fact, the entire purpose of replication is to “try and find something wrong.” The ultimate objective of science is to do things so well that, indeed, nothing is wrong.
LED Light Bulb Makers Make Outrageous Lifetime Claims September 16, 2009
Posted by Joey in Environmentalists, Politics, Technology.Tags: LED Light Bulbs, Panasonic
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Just as makers of compact fluorescent bulbs make ridiculous lifetime claims for their bulbs, so are LED light bulb makers, like Panasonic. I don’t know what you experience with compact fluorescent bulbs, but for me they rarely even last as long as an incandescent they replaced before they burn out. I doubt LED bulbs will be any better. But the outrageous lifetime claims will continue to be made.
And expect idiots in government to force you to get rid of your incandescent light bulbs.
Panasonic: New LED bulbs shine for 19 years | Crave – CNET.
Panasonic has launched a new household LED lightbulb in Japan that it says lasts 40 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
The screw-in bulbs are part of the EverLed line, and they’re scheduled to hit stores in Japan on October 21, with monthly production at 50,000 units. No changes to lighting equipment used for incandescents are required.
If used an average of five and a half hours per day, the new bulbs can last up to 19 years, according to Panasonic. That’s 40 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
ELF: Save The Intercoms! September 6, 2009
Posted by Joey in Environmentalists, Stupid Criminals, Wacky Religious Beliefs.Tags: Domestic Terrorism, Earth Liberation Front
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Those freaks at the Earth Liberation Front took down KRKO’s AM radio towers, to save “home intercoms”. Yeah, those AM waves are killing millions, got to stop ‘em!
Jeez, what a bunch of idiots.
Activists topple towers, claim dangers of AM radio waves – CNN.com.
A group cited by U.S. officials as a domestic terrorism threat claimed responsibility Friday for knocking down two radio station towers in Snohomish County, Washington.
The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) issued a statement saying opponents of the towers argue that “AM radio waves cause adverse health effects including a higher rate of cancer, harm to wildlife, and that the signals have been interfering with home phone and intercom lines.”
“When all legal channels of opposition have been exhausted, concerned citizens have to take action into their own hands to protect life and the planet,” Jason Crawford, a spokesman for the group, said in a news release.
Business Opportunity: Smuggle Incandescent Light Bulbs Into Europe September 1, 2009
Posted by Joey in Environmentalists, Politics, Regulations, Technology.Tags: Compact Fluorescents, Europe, Incandescent Light Bulb Ban, Mercury
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Europe is banning Edison’s classic incandescent light bulb. I don’t know what brands they have in Europe, but the compact fluorescent bulbs we have on this side of the pond are total crap. They never last as long as stated on the box and are expensive. I doubt I save any money at all.
And don’t forget about that evil mercury in every fluorescent bulb.
Europe’s Ban on Old-Style Light Bulbs Begins – NYTimes.com.
Restrictions on the sale of incandescent bulbs begin going into effect across most of Europe on Tuesday in the continent’s latest effort to get people to save energy and combat global warming. But even advocates concede the change is proving problematic.
Under the European Union rules, shops will no longer be allowed to buy or import most incandescent frosted glass bulbs starting Tuesday. Retailers can continue selling off their stock until they run out.
While some Europeans are eagerly jumping on the bandwagon, others are panicking and have been stockpiling the old-style bulbs for aesthetic or practical reasons. Others are resigned to the switch, if grudgingly.
“Why are we switching? Because we have to,” said Ralph Wennig, a 40-year-old photographer shopping on Monday at BHV, a Paris department store.
