I have some other things to attend to this weekend, posting will be light from me. But I’ve arranged for some entertainment.
Willis will be posting some of his tales of the sea, which will appear below this posting.
Other WUWT authors are welcome to make submissions also.
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Here’s Why So Many Russians Have Dash Cams
Russian car cams aim to drive out corruption
One more period and it’s a three day weekend that is badly needed. Fortunately that one last period is IB, so I’m getting off easy there.
Looking forward to more of Willis narrative!
There is a fair range of people who hang out here, and I wonder if one will put down his or her glass for a moment to explain something that has puzzled me a long time.
I live some 1,000 up on a hillside and as you might guess have a bit of a view to enjoy, perhaps forty miles depending on haze, then the view is inconsiderately blocked by high mountains.
The street lights in this village are of course rock steady, as are those of the hamlet perhaps a mile away.
The next village, say four miles off, their lights seem to flicker a little. At ten miles the village lights definitely flicker, and at the main town some thirty miles away, the street lights positively dance.
All this seems to apply regardless of temperature or atmospheric conditions, though I fancy that when there is a little mist the phenomenon diminishes. When hillwalking in my native Scotland (this is Italy now) I saw the same effect at night.
Is it my eyes, or is something real going on?
I would guess that what you are observing is refraction caused by the difference in air density (variation with temperature) at various points in the path between the light source and your eye.
… but I’m willing to bet that Al Gore would blame it on Global Warming! ;-))
There was a golden moment here in Australia a couple of days ago when the ABC Radio National breakfast show broadcast false claims made by a Labor politician, (Bob Carr) about rising sea levels on a local Pacific Island. Following complaints from listeners, next day they brought in an ‘expert’ to clarify that sea levels were indeed rising rapidly and that this was undoubtedly due to global warming.
CAST:
FRAN KELLLY…. Radio Presenter, Greenist, and aspiring Journalist.
PROFESSOR CHURCH…Professor of Sea Level Rising at The Sea Level Rising Institute/in
collaboration with the CSIRO.
(The CSIRO are Australian Government Scientists i.e. the people who brought us cane toads and advised that Wyvenhoe Dam should be kept full because it was probably never going to rain in
Queensland again!)
INT: Radio Studio, MORNING
FRAN: So Professor Church, how do you respond to the fact that the Tide Gauges of the American Physical Union show that there has been no significant sea level rise round Kirabatu since 1993 – when according to what you’ve just been telling us there should have been a rise of around 45mm…and how does that tie in with Bob (Golden tonsils) Carr’s statement that he actually saw the tide rising over a village?
PROFESSOR CHURCH: Uhm ah…uh.
FRAN: Ok well thanks for clearing that up so authoritatively….so moving on to my next question……
Echoing frazier, the greater the linear path the more likely there is going to be density changes on that path and in many different directions. As the index of refraction changes, the apparent position of the source appears to change thus giving you your dancing lights. It is more profound if there are particulates in the air and is definitely pronounced in high humidity – as the more the density varies, the more the index of refraction varies.
Jeff Wood February 15, 2013 at 2:03 pm
The same process that makes stars twinkle.
Hi Jeff Wood, I agree with frazer.
Air expands and changes density when it is heated. As light passes between mediums of different density it is refracted. The air between you and the lights you are viewing is probably slightly turbulent with some warm air pockets rising from the ground which had been heated during the day, with the cooler air falling to take its place. As the light passes through the interfaces between air of different temperatures it is bent or the rays converge or scatter. The farther away the lights are, the more opportunity for the light to be affected. Also the more distant lights take up a smaller angle of view, so it is easier for them to be totally obliterated momentarily by a small refraction of the light. Perhaps when there is mist the air is more stable..
I’ve previously espoused the virtues of the biofuels mandate (2007 Energy and Independence Act). My perception was the requirement to roll over to the cellulosic form of ethanol would spawn a strong and viable domestic ethanol fuel industry free from starch-based sources (corn/sugar beets/etc).
Unfortunately, even with the grand incentives to move forward on the table , the innovation has not kept up with the mandate or with the capability of the gut of a termite. The courts have rejected the mandate for this year.
http://www.agprofessional.com/news/Court-ruled-EPA-set-cellulosic-ethanol-mandate-too-high-189439311.html
15 Feb: BBC: Italy makes ‘Mafia’ arrests over Sicily wind farms
Police have arrested five people in eastern Sicily suspected of involvement in Mafia corruption over contracts to build wind farms, Italian media report.
The mayor and a councillor in the small town of Fondachelli Fantina, in Messina province, were among those detained.
The five face charges including extortion, fraud and Mafia association…
A total of 11 people were under investigation, including two managers from a firm that won the main contract to build one of the wind farms, installing 63 turbines.
The contract was worth some 120bn euros (£103bn)…
The proceeds from contracts are believed to have been channelled to the fugitive head of the http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21476916
watch your pensions, folks:
15 Feb: Bloomberg: Sally Bakewell: Canadian Pension-Backed Group Plans Wind Power for Prison
Partnerships for Renewables, backed with 100 million pounds ($155 million) of Canadian pension and infrastructure-fund money, will build as much as 500 megawatts of wind power at land owned by U.K. prisons and other bodies…
The London-based company is seeking unexploited land owned by government bodies such as the Forestry Commission and Coal Authority for renewable energy projects the U.K. is promoting to curb emissions linked to climate change…
The company received funding from Canada’s OPSEU Pension Trust and London-based Infrared Capital Partners Ltd., which each own a third of the company, to develop wind farms, Ainger said. The Carbon Trust, a London-based adviser to government and business on reducing emissions, owns the remaining shares…
A portion of the revenue from Standford Hill will go to the Ministry of Justice, responsible for prisons, he said. The company also plans to submit bids to supply power directly to prisons and has set up a community benefit fund, he said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-15/canadian-pension-backed-group-plans-wind-power-for-prison.html
How Green Thy Earth Day Expo?
Rochester, Michigan held an Earth Day Celebration Expo, on April 18 to 20. (www.earthdayexpo.org) The web site notes, “150+ covered exhibits of earth-friendly, healthy products & services.” and that, “Since its inception in 1970, Earth Day has grown into the world’s largest annual secular event, observed in 150 countries by over one billion people.” That is all fine with me, at face value I am all for it, but I sense something gone awry. This is the Rochester, Michigan where a million electric lights are hung on Main Street in the winter.
Some exhibitors use the words natural, earth-friendly, eco-friendly and herbal to describe their products or services. These words have no specific meaning and are vague marketing buzz words and cause warning lights to flash on the dashboard of my mind.
What caught my attention was the “Wellness Tent”. Whenever I see the words “wellness activities”, “holistic” or “well-being” I smell a scam. Be wary of the words “complimentary” and “alternative medicine”. Quacks who offer “treatments” that give a “sense of well-being” are by definition giving a placebo. You feel better for a few hours, but it is all in your head. Penicillin works even if the patient is in a coma, but with placebo treatments, the person must be awake and aware of receiving the treatment. Trick or treatment?
Three exhibitors, “Natural Awakenings”, “Healing Garden Journal” and “Mind Body Spirit Guide” publish free magazines chock full of nutty new age notions of every stripe; channeling, psychic readers, séances, magnet therapy, reflexology, reiki, energy balancing, ayurvedic, aromatherapy, naturopathic medicine, chi energy, spiritual healing, craniosacral therapy, chiropractic, quantum energy, therapeutic touch. All the popular quackery in one place. How does any of this rubbish connect to a “brighter, greener future” that the Expo touts?
One exhibitor, “The Biomat Company” (www.thebiomatcompany.com) has the most ridiculous claims for their electric heating pad products. The pads are claimed to offer “quantum healing energetics, negative ions, far infrared” and claim a connection to a Nobel prize awarded to Neher and Sakmann in cellular chemistry. The word “quantum” is a sure sign of a scam. When the pads can warm up without being plugged in is when they may use the word quantum. The organizers of the Earth Day Expo help legitimize quackery when they allow this kind of exhibitor to prey on people.
As a mechanical engineer, I know enough about energy, chemistry and technology to see past the hype. At least one electric car on display claimed “zero emissions”. That really insults my intelligence. To build a car makes emissions, and making electricity in the US means burning coal. I have nothing against making electricity, but here again the claims ring empty.
The expo should carry the notice “FOR ENTERTAINMENT ONLY”. A stellar example of this is the $19,000 Hammacher Schlemmer pedal car built for seven people, a nice gee-whiz gadget, but of no practical use. The Expo is a study in Greenwashing and irrational exuberance. Most, if not all offerings are placebos, ways to look and feel green, but without substance.
To be sure, people want a source for green products and services, where they can feel good about their purchases and think that they are making a difference. They want fast gratification without the work of digging past the claims. At the end of the day they get in their SUVs and return to their heated homes, air conditioning, electricity, plumbing, kids and dogs. I can’t blame them. As Americans, we are all oil addicts, no matter how “green” you think you are. One can do very little without giving up a comfy life style. It is virtually impossible to make anything or do anything in a meaningfully “green” manner; it will always use a resource and create carbon dioxide. You can not make an omelet without braking eggs. We can recycle some things, drive a smaller car, compost yard waste, but we don’t want to cause ourselves any pain. And it would take a whole lot of pain to make any difference.
If you really want to be green, live like the Amish. No phone, no lights, no motor car, not a single luxury, like 1793, it’s as primitive as can be.
The Big Picture Of USHCN Adjustment Fraud
Posted on February 15, 2013 by stevengoddard
NCDC is using the US temperature graph below, to influence government policy.
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They document that they do 0.5F tampering to the data, and that their tampering goes flat after 1990.
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But they actually do 1.5F tampering, and it increases exponentially after 1990.
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The graph below overlays the actual tampering, on top of the documented adjustments. USHCN tampering is almost 300% of their documented adjustments.
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The whole NCDC US temperature record is a complete fraud. The thermometer data shows no temperature increase since 1900.
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NOAA, NASA and CRU all acknowledged this, before they started cheating after the year 2000.
==============
Phil Jones and NOAA said there was no warming in the US.
February 04, 1989 Last week, scientists from the United States Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that a study of temperature readings for the contiguous 48 states over the last century showed there had been no significant change in average temperature over that period. Dr. (Phil) Jones said in a telephone interview today that his own results for the 48 states agreed with those findings.
New York Times
In 1999, Hansen said that he didn’t see anything happening in the US.
Empirical evidence does not lend much support to the notion that climate is headed precipitately toward more extreme heat and drought. The drought of 1999 covered a smaller area than the 1988 drought, when the Mississippi almost dried up. And 1988 was a temporary inconvenience as compared with repeated droughts during the 1930s “Dust Bowl” that caused an exodus from the prairies, as chronicled in Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath…..
in the U.S. there has been little temperature change in the past 50 years, the time of rapidly increasing greenhouse gases — in fact, there was a slight cooling throughout much of the country
charts, graphs, and links at:
http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/more-ushcn-adjustment-fraud/#more-68841
========================================================
Mr. Layman here. A slight updraft caused by heat from a building or a road, a breeze stirring up pockets of different temperatures will move the air and change the density of the air you are looking through. I suspect you are seeing the same effect that makes stars twinkle but at a much closer range.
Jeff Wood says:
February 15, 2013 at 2:03 pm
Look up heat haze. Note, it does not have to actually be hot for it to occur, just different temperatures between the air and the ground…
@Jeff Wood
I think there is little doubt that the flickering you see is refraction from the movement of air at slightly different temperatures and longer distances, coupled with the fact that the standard lights are visibly smaller from the more distant towns. Jupiter and Saturn don’t flicker nearly as much as stars simply because they subtend a bigger angle, even if still measured in arc seconds.
Seeing as how this is an Open Thread, I want to recount a story I read in elementary school that made an impact on me to this day. Some kid chose a science experiment to measure the curvature of the Earth. He lived near a mountain. Some 200 miles away was another mountain. He hypothesized from geometry that he would be able to see the distant mountain if he climbed the near one. One Saturday he sets out to climb the neighboring mountain. Half way up he stops to rest, sits down and looks around. To his great surprise, he sees his distant target mountain in full glory. This cannot be! But he honors his data, goes back to class and makes his oral report and concludes that the “Earth must be flat!” Naturally, he is ridiculed. People say he could not have seen what he saw. He knows what he saw and sticks to his guns. I don’t remember the story details of how, but the answer of course is that thanks to different air temperatures and densities, light between mountains doesn’t travel in straight lines, but is bent by refraction around the curvature of the earth through a diverse and non-uniform medium, the atmosphere.
Report what you see. Adjust theory to fit the facts. Don’t adjust facts to fit theory. I which I knew the Title and Author of the short story. That author made a difference.
Jeff Wood:
See this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_seeing
Astronomers deal with the same issue. Some nights, the atmosphere is relatively quiet, and astronomers enjoy good “seeing” conditions. Most nights they are not so fortunate.
Some large telescopes at observatories have “adaptive optics” in which the telescope mirror is mounted on a series of actuators, and small (sub-micron) distortions of the mirror’s surface can correct for the distortions in real time.
The main reason (only reason?) for putting the Hubble telescope in orbit was to get above the atmosphere.
A friend of mine, in Germany, made me aware of this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-16833204
A “wind harvester”, apparently a new type of wind turbine, which can function at low and high wind speeds, can be scaled down to fit on a roof, and is less likely to kill birds. Any thoughts?
pat says: watch your pensions, folks:
15 Feb: Bloomberg: Sally Bakewell: Canadian Pension-Backed Group Plans Wind Power for Prison
Too late.
From Heartland:
“Why Isn’t Peter Gleick In Jail?”
Good question.
@Jeff Wood
February 15, 2013 at 2:03 pm
Actually, What you are looking at is a Doppler effect, if the lights you are looking at are flickering at 50hz this means they will turn on and off 50 times a second, you wont notice this flicker until you travel some distance away from the lights, at about 10 miles from the lights the flicker appears to slow down. As there is a mixture of lights with different frequencies in a distant village the flicker will appear to make the lights dance about.
Twinkling lights from further villages, the solution is simple, use ‘simple’ logic!
The stars twinkle.
The stars are millions of miles away.
The further villages twinkle.
Conclusion, the problem is your map, these villages obviously must be millions of miles away.
Logic makes things so much easier 🙂
Jeff Wood – look up scintillation. Specifically terrestrial. The explanations above are what is going but the word is scintillation.
pat says:
February 15, 2013 at 2:44 pm
“15 Feb: BBC: Italy makes ‘Mafia’ arrests over Sicily wind farms
Police have arrested five people in eastern Sicily suspected of involvement in Mafia corruption over contracts to build wind farms, Italian media report.
The mayor and a councillor in the small town of Fondachelli Fantina, in Messina province, were among those detained.”
This should be a new golden age for mafias wherever they are located. When government bucks are flowing like rivers with no accountability, mafia with buckets line the rivers.