Brutal and quotable.

There have been many reports in the news media of the rising food prices. One of the hardest hit crops is rice which is a staple food for billons of the world’s population. Three recent news reports in Google News attribute the rising prices to poor harvests caused primarily by “Abnormal Weather”, “Bad Weather” and “Erratic Weather”

Memo to Arroyo forecasts rice crisis: KMP
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=112750

Abnormal weather
The NFA memo also cited Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) forecast of “abnormal weather” conditions this year as a factor for the projected rice shortage.

“The abnormal weather condition will more likely result to stress the standing palay crop, more especially during its booting stage which would result to low yields,” the NFA said.

The DA memo also noted that Vietnam and China have “now imposed volume limitations on their rice exports.”

Philippines Takes Steps to Secure Rice Supplies as World Prices Rise
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-03-19-voa17.cfm

A number of factors are cutting world production of rice and driving up the cost. Secretary Yap says bad weather hurt crops in Thailand and Vietnam, which are leading exporters, and also cut production in China, a major consumer of rice.

“China’s winter harvest has been wrecked,” Yap said. “You’ve got flooding in Thailand, flooding in Vietnam. You’ve got high prices of fuel for transportation. Urea fertilizer is 150 percent higher in the last two years.”

The imminent crisis in rice
http://www.pcij.org/blog/?p=2256

Various reasons have been blamed for the sharp slide in supply: erratic weather; natural disasters; soaring fuel and transport costs; supply hoarding and smuggling; conversion of agricultural lands to cash crops, biofuel production, and other commercial purposes, etcetera.

Even as early as February 2008 weather related food price problems were being reported.

Worldwide shortage of rice shoots prices soaring
http://www.independent-bangladesh.com/200802212190/business/worldwide-shortage-of-rice-shoots-prices-soaring.html

The causes of the shortages and high prices are diverse, and vary from country to country. They include natural disasters or adverse weather; high fuel prices, which add to transport costs;

In South-east Asia, rice traders are waiting for the results of the rice harvest in another major producing country in the region—Vietnam.

Exactly what is this mysterious weather anomaly which doesn’t have a name? Other news sources provide us with a clue but don’t look for them on Google News. Fortunately Ice Age Now ( http://www.iceagenow.com/2007_Other_Parts_of_the_World.htm ) has been recording some of the events.

Severe cold spell kills over 13,500 cattle (In Vietnam)
http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/news/150208/domestic_s.htm

Snow disaster leaves 1.6 mln people frostbitten in NW China province
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/02/content_7698015.htm

Searching the official English language news feeds of the Chinese and Vietnamese Communist Parties we learn the identity of the weather anomaly which is impacting rice production.

China island province faces severe agricultural losses for cold weather
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/29/content_7689597.htm

Hai Duong farmers fight cold to save rice
http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/business/140208/business_ha.htm

The culprit for reduced rice production, the weather anomaly which doesn’t have a name is “Cold Temperatures”!

It is a sad commentary on the state of Western Journalism that one has to resort to reading Communist Party news feeds to learn about any event which doesn’t conform to the Anthropogenic Global Warming playbook. In the coming struggle against this new form of world totalitarianism, no news source is to be trusted. We must conduct our own research using multiple independent sources, verify every fact and then re-verify again.

In the meantime we will continue to be feed these lies:

UN makes special appeal for food aid money
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/24/europe/EU-GEN-UN-Food-Aid.php

From rice in Peru to miso in Japan, food prices are rising
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/25/business/LA-FEA-FIN-Mexico-Fighting-for-Food.php

Mike

Global food shortage – this year.

“A simple program, used by the western church in computing the date of Easter, also giving accurate moon phases within a day or two is the following:

In this system, March is month 1, April is month 2, and so on. January
is month 11 of the prior year, February is month 12 of the prior year.

For a concrete example, let’s consider the phase of the moon on March 21,
1997.

1. Divide the year by 19, consider only the remainder. 1997/19 has a
remainder of 2

2.multiply the remainder by 11. 2*11=22
3.Add 8. 22+8=30.
4.Divide the number of centuries by 4, ignoring the remainder. There are
19 centuries in 1997, 19/4=4 plus a remainder. 30+4=34

5.Divide the number of centuries by 3, ignoring the remainder. 19/3=6
plus a remainder. 34+6=40.

6. Subtract the number of centuries in the year. 40-19=21.

7. Add the month number. March is month 1, 21+1=22.

8. Add the day of the month. March 21 is the 21st day of the month,
22+21=43. For a total over 30, cast out 30s. 43-30=13 so the moon
was 13 days old on March 21, 1997. 0 days would be a new moon, 15 days a
full moon. For calculating Easter, the spring equinox is assumed to
be on March 21. Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon
occurring on or after the spring equinox. The moon was 13 days old on
March 21, 15 days old on March 21, Easter of 1997 was the first
Sunday after March 23, 1997. ”

Obviously, the earliest date Easter can fall on is March 22 of a given year.

Thx a lot for the tip! Havn’t heard about it; this is only a URL correction:

http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st/st308/

By the way how many of you have read the NAPC study 308?
An Audit of the IPCC report
http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st/308

Observed location: Le Broc and points above it alt 500-900m approx 15km inland from Nice.

The entire premise of Pascal (and expanded upon by Santayana in regard to the aesthetics) is that there is nothing to lose on the caution side of the equation.

There is everything to lose. Everything. There is the price of the continuation of mass death in the third and fourth world. There is the price of technological advance which can only be fueled by an intensity of wealth that does not today exist.

Technology which will make climate control a trivial solution.

Technology which will trnasform mankind and save the ecology of the planet.

Technology which will regenerate and rebuild our cells and prolong our lives, perhaps indefinitely.

Technology which will house and provide overplentiful resources cleanly for a hundred, where one was housed before, using less land providing more elbow-room than ever in history.

Technology which will bring an end of the great historical causes of human misery.

We are at a tipping point, all right. The great, glorious tipping point of humanity. The first time in history when “interesting times” is NOT an ancient Chinese curse.

THAT is what we are asked to sacrifice on the bloody altar of anti-industrialism.

Not only that, but it is widely acknowledged, even among its proponents, that Kyoto, even if implemented and upheld, would produce a miniscule result. Kyoto whould choke off wealth to an extent where mankind could not cope with climate severe change (in either direction) even stipulating that is is a real, severe, and anthropogenic problem.

Those who stand in the way of progress stand Pascal on his very head.

Kyoto is a promise by the great nations of the world to halt the progress of mankind. “I urge you to break this promise.”

I’ll place two bets: (1) they will not go down without a fight because a whole lot of money as well as thousands of careers are resting on the outcome; and (2) they will never admit to being wrong but simply find a new “crisis” to champion and start all over again.

Unfortenately a few AGW supporters here in Sweden used this winter in Sweden – a winter pretty cold globally – as an argument. Also I’ve never heard about the globally cold winter yet in the media. Surprice surprice? Not! :-(

But I think it’s right to not use one year of cold weather/climate to disprove the sloppy AGW scince. There are lots of far better argument against it. But if the coldness prevail that will be a problem for AGW apologists, the present political aganda and …the holy discourse of our times(?).