Category: Uncategorized

Uncategorized 8 Jul 2017

Monckton: Green policy kills jobs and causes energy poverty

via Tallbloke’s Talkshop
http://ift.tt/1WIzElD

Excerpt from an open letter to the head of MIT:

Professor Reif of MIT says, “In 2016 alone, solar industry employment grew by 25 percent, while wind jobs grew 32%.” These numbers are highly misleading. In fact, they underscore how deficient these energy sources are as job creators.

Growing jobs by subsidy is easy, provided that one cares nothing for the far greater number of jobs destroyed by the additional taxation, energy price hikes or public borrowing necessary to pay for the subsidy. Several studieshave shown that the creation of one “green” job results in the loss of two to four jobs elsewhere in the economy. In Spain the estimated ratio was two jobs lost for each one created by renewable energy, prompting the government to finally end most renewable subsidies.

And yet, despite all those subsidies, wind and solar power generation expensively and unreliably account for 5.6% and 0.9% of total U.S. electricity production, respectively. On its own, electricity provides only a small fraction of total energy consumption, including transportation, industrial processes, heating and electricity generation, so these numbers actually exaggerate the contribution of wind and solar facilities to overall energy consumption.

Viewed from another perspective, EIA data reveal it took nearly 400,000 solar workers (about 20% of electric power payrolls) to produce just 0.9% of all the electric power generated in the United States in 2016. About the same number of natural gas workers (398,000) produced 37 times more electricity – and just 160,000 coal workers produced almost as much electricity as those gas workers. Moreover, gas and coal provide power nearly 100% of the time, compared to 15-25% of the time for most solar (and wind) installations. Wind employment numbers reflect this same pattern.

The so-called alternative energy companies survive only because of heavy subsidies, power purchase mandates, supportive regulations, and exemptions from endangered species and other rules that are applied forcefully to fossil fuel industries. Wind and solar electricity is cripplingly expensive for families, hospitals, schools, churches, small businesses and other customers.

In fact, “alternative” or “renewable” energy is often unprofitable even after massive subsidies from taxpayers. For example, SunEdison received $1.5 billion in subsidies and loan guarantees, and yet it was compelled to file for bankruptcy. Solyndra is another example. This is unsustainable.

Europe is suffering from growing political rejection of fossil fuels: energy prices have soared, millions of poor people are unable to pay their energy bills, and elderly people are dying because they cannot afford adequate heating in the winter. Energy-intensive businesses are relocating to countries where energy is cheaper – thereby transferring fossil fuel use, carbon dioxide emissions and job creation to other nations, especially in Asia. Theirs is not an example the United States should wish to follow.

Conclusion

By withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, President Trump did a wonderful thing for America and the world. He showed that advocacy masquerading as science should not be the basis for public policy decisions. We hope others will follow his lead.

via Tallbloke’s Talkshop http://ift.tt/1WIzElD

July 8, 2017 at 05:24AM

Uncategorized 8 Jul 2017

Warren Buffet’s vice chair: Gore’s ‘not very smart’ & ‘an idiot’, but became filthy rich investing in ‘global warming’

via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
http://ift.tt/16C5B6P

By Paul Homewood

From Climate Depot:

Warren Buffett’s vice chairman, Charlie Munger, told a small meeting of investors that former Vice President Al Gore is “not very smart” and “an idiot” but was still able to make “$3 or $400 million in your business” by “obsessing” about “global warming.”

“Al Gore has hundreds of millions dollars in your profession. And he’s an idiot. It’s an interesting story. And a true one,” Meager told investors. According to CNBC on June 23: “Though the comments were made more than four months ago, they went largely unnoticed and have not been widely reported on elsewhere.”

“Al Gore has come into you fellas business, Munger said. “He has made $3 or $400 million in your business. And he’s not very smart. He smoked a lot of pot as he coaxed trough Harvard with a gentleman’s C. But he had one obsessive idea that global warming was a terrible thing and he would protect the world from it,” he explained. [Note: Gentleman’s C is defined by Urban Dictionary as “A grade given to a student (traditionally with wealthy parents) instead of a failing grade.”]

According to CNBC:

“Munger is one of the most celebrated investors in the world and was an essential partner in Buffett‘s success. Before becoming vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire had quite the track record himself. From 1962 to 1975 Munger’s investment partnership generated 20 percent annual returns versus the S&P 500‘s 5 percent.”

“So his idea when he went into investment counseling is he was not going to put any CO2 in the air,” Meager explained to the investors noting that Gore’s simple strategy of buying only service company stocks enabled the former Vice President to become very rich.

Meager explained: “So he found some partner to go into investment counseling with and says we’re not going to have any (carbon dioxide). But this partner is a value investor and a good one. So what they did is, is Gore hired staff to find people who didn’t put CO2 in the air. Of course that put him into services. Microsoft and all these service companies were just ideally located. And this value investor picked the best service companies. So all of a sudden the clients are making hundreds of millions of dollars and they are paying part of it to Al Gore. Al Gore has hundreds of millions dollars in your profession. And he’s an idiot. It’s an interesting story. And a true one.”

CNBC reported: Hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson in one of his email newsletters pointed to the YouTube videos of Munger’s informal question-and-answer session held after the Journal meeting, and other investors have confirmed the subject matter of the talk. Munger is one of the most celebrated investors in the world and was an essential partner in Buffett‘s success. Before becoming vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire had quite the track record himself. From 1962 to 1975 Munger’s investment partnership generated 20 percent annual returns versus the S&P 500‘s 5 percent.

Gore amassed a huge fortune from his “global warming” investments after he left the Vice Presidency. As a partner in the law firm Kleiner Perkins, Gore invested $1 billion in 40 different firms and he was the co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management which has more than $15 billion of assets under management.

MIT climate scientist Dr. Richard Lindzen once predicted: “Al Gore wants to become the word’s first carbon billionaire.”

Gore net worth ballooned from less than $2 million in assets when he left the Vice Presidency in 2001 to more than $100 million by 2008, according to an analysis by Fast Company magazine. (Al Gore’s $100 Million Makeover – Fast Company – Feb. 8, 2008).

Gore also was on his way to being a “government billionaire” as he “benefited from more than $2.5 billion in loans, grants and tax breaks’, as part of Obama’s stimulus.”

Gore also further financially benefited greatly from the sale of his TV network to Al Jazeera in 2013. See: AlGorjeera — It’s Official: Al Gore is by far the most lavishly funded fossil fuel player in the global warming debate today -‘Gore’s massive personal cash influx from oil-backed Al Jazeera makes him by far the most lavishly funded fossil fuel player in the global warming debate today. Will the media now accurately label Gore an industry funded climate activist every time they report on him?’

According to CNBC, “the YouTube video with Munger’s service investing strategy comments had less than 3,000 views as of Friday morning.”

Flashback 2009: Climate Depot on Gore’s path to become the first ‘Carbon Billionaire’

$100 million man — Gore to be govt billionaire?! Al Gore has thrived as green-tech investor — ‘Benefited from more than $2.5 billion in loans, grants and tax breaks’, as part of Obama’s stimulus — ’14 green-tech firms in which Gore invested received or directly benefited from more than $2.5 billion in loans, grants and tax breaks, part of Obama’s historic push to seed a U.S. renewable-energy industry with public money…Gore’s orbit extended deeply into the administration, with several former aides winning senior clean-energy posts. GIM saw its earnings quadruple from 2008 to 2009, although there is no way to know how much can be tied to federal support’

Flashback 2011: Gore Unhinged! Loses it on skeptical claims: ‘It may be volcanoes.’ Bullshit! ‘It may be sun spots.’ Bullshit! ‘It’s not getting warmer.’ Bullshit!’ — Climate Depot Responds! — Climate Depot’s Point-By-Point Rebuttal to Gore’s Highbrow Scientific Arguments

The Global Warming Science Machine: $79 Billion and Counting

Big Green: ‘Skeptics are fighting a billion dollar industry aligned with a trillion dollar trading scheme’ — Warmists get ‘3,500 times as much $$ as anything offered to skeptics’ — ‘It buys a bandwagon of support, a repetitive rain of press releases, and includes PR departments of institutions like NOAA, NASA, the Climate Change Science Program and the Climate Change Technology Program. The $79 billion figure does not include money from other western governments, private industry, and is not adjusted for inflation. In other words, it could be…a lot bigger’

http://ift.tt/2sXDQkC

via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT http://ift.tt/16C5B6P

July 8, 2017 at 05:12AM

Uncategorized 8 Jul 2017

Trifecta of Wind Turbine Terror: Blades Snap, Flames Crackle Nacelles & Whole Turbines Drop

via STOP THESE THINGS
http://ift.tt/2kE7k62

Safety: Snap, Crackle, and Drop Master Resource Lisa Linowes 19 June 2017 Wind turbine safety had an ugly three weeks. During the late hours of May 31, a turbine blade at NextEra’s Breckinridge Center in Oklahoma (in-service since August 2015), broke off near its base and was thrown to the ground – snap. Days later on … Continue reading Trifecta of Wind Turbine Terror: Blades Snap, Flames Crackle Nacelles & Whole Turbines Drop

via STOP THESE THINGS http://ift.tt/2kE7k62

July 8, 2017 at 02:31AM

Uncategorized 8 Jul 2017

Another benefit of warming – California projected to get wetter through this century

via Watts Up With That?
http://ift.tt/1Viafi3

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside predict California will get an average of 12 percent more precipitation through the end of this century, compared to the last 20 years of last century. CREDIT UC Riverside Strategic Communications.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Under business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions, climate models predict California will get warmer during the rest of the century and most also predict the state will get drier.

But, new research, published July 6th in the journal Nature Communications, predicts that California will actually get wetter. The scientists from the University of California, Riverside predict the state will get an average of 12 percent more precipitation through the end of this century, compared to the last 20 years of last century.

The researchers found different rates of precipitation increase for northern, central and southern California. Northern California, which they define as starting just north of Santa Rosa (southern boundary), would increase 14.1 percent. Central California, which starts just south of San Luis Obispo (southern boundary), would go up 15.2 percent. Southern California would actually decrease 3.3 percent.

They also found the winter months of December, January and February, when California traditionally gets the bulk of its precipitation, would account for much of the overall increase in precipitation. During those three months, precipitation levels would increase 31.6 percent in northern California, 39.2 percent in central California and 10.6 percent in southern California.

All these percentages are in comparison to data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project observed between 1979 and 1999.

“Most previous research emphasized uncertainty with regards to future precipitation levels in California, but the overall thought was California would become drier with continued climate change,” said Robert Allen, an associate professor at UC Riverside and one of the authors of the paper. “We found the opposite, which is quite surprising.”

The past uncertainty as to whether California would get more precipitation in the future was due to several factors, including year-to-year variations in individual weather events, shortcomings in models and because California lies within a transition zone, where northern parts of the state are expected to become wetter and southern portions are expected to be drier.

Allen, a faculty member in the Department of Earth Sciences, and Rainer Luptowitz, a graduate student working with Allen, analyzed 38 climate models developed around the world to reach their conclusions.

They found that warming in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures, an area about 2,500 miles east of the international date line, is the main reason for the predicted increase in precipitation levels.

The warming sea surface temperatures encourage a southeastward shift of the jet stream, which helps steer more rain-producing mid-latitude cyclones toward California.

“Essentially, this mechanism is similar to what we in California expect during an El Nino year,” Allen said. “Ultimately, what I am arguing is El Nino-like years are going to become more the norm in California.”

But, Allen cautions that prediction of an El Nino-like year is no guarantee of a more wet winter in California. The 2015-16 winter was an example of that. Many other climatic factors must be considered.

###

via Watts Up With That? http://ift.tt/1Viafi3

July 8, 2017 at 02:02AM