The collapse of the warmist position on climate change has not impinged on politicians in Britain or Brussels, says Christopher Booker.
Nothing more poignantly reflects the collapse of the great global warming scare than the decision of the Chicago Carbon Exchange, the largest in the world, to stop trading in “carbon” – buying and selling the right of businesses to continue emitting CO2.
A few years back, when the climate scare was still at its height, and it seemed the world might agree the Copenhagen Treaty and the US Congress might pass a “cap and trade” bill, it was claimed that the Chicago Exchange would be at the centre of a global market worth $10 trillion a year, and that “carbon” would be among the most valuable commodities on earth, worth more per ton than most metals. Today, after the collapse of Copenhagen and the cap and trade bill, the carbon price, at five cents a ton, is as low as it can get without being worthless.
Here in Britain, as the first snows fall, heralding what may be our fourth cold winter in a row, it is time we addressed one of the most glaring political “disconnects” in our sadly misgoverned country.
Complete article at the Telegraph, here
Wijnand says: “Ha! You dont need to break free from Europe, you are doing great on your own, out-greening Europe at every corner. That, together with the UK’s major role in starting and maintaing the CAGW scare should give the Brits pauze before criticizing ANYBODY else, sorry.”
Wijnand, you are regretfully too right! I did some research into the development of wind technology and it is quite noticeable that those countries which were the leading flops in wind technology (UK and US) were also the leading “lights” in the global warming scam.
To put it simply, both countries seem to have an over reliance on “scientists” and have a very low status for engineering. The result is that we have scientists in ivory towers looking at met data with absolutely no idea of the problems of getting that met data.
I’ve no doubt if CRU had been in Germany or Denmark, first of all it would be seen as a problem of instrumentation and quality of instrumentation rather than plotting upward trends on a spreadsheet, second a lot more money would have been spent by engineers rather than “scientists” and lastly we wouldn’t be here discussing “if global warming had happened”.
OK, so we are planning to depend heavily on solar energy in a country where an integral part of the kit of every well-dressed gentleman is an umbrella.
Does it strike anyone else that this is clinically insane?
harrywr2 says:
“Iron Ore goes for $160/tonne in China.”
Iron ore is not a metal.
What an embarrassment.
Surely we want our politicians to act on scientific evidence on scientific issues, rather than on what ignorant ideologues (like Booker) want to see happen? He presents no scientific evidence, of course.
Suddenly, ‘up to £18 billion a year’, or around 1% of the current UK GDP, is ‘closing down most of our economy’.
Solar panels are a failure in the UK and will be for another decade, so that means all renewable electricity is a failure. There is also a lull of one year before round 3 wind projects are to be built, therefore all renewable energy is rubbish.
A few reasonable complaints (like how solar and current biofuels are inappropriate), but otherwise complete dross by a true meister of being a moron.
Now for the real argument !!!
The FUTILITY of Man-made Climate Control by limiting CO2 emissions
Just running the numbers: watch
On average world temperature is ~+15 deg C. This is sustained by the atmospheric Greenhouse Effect ~33 deg C. Without the Greenhouse Effect the planet would be un-inhabitable at ~-18 deg C. The Biosphere and Mankind need the Greenhouse Effect.
Just running the numbers by translating the agents causing the Greenhouse Effect into degrees centigrade:
• Greenhouse Effect = ~33.00 deg C
• Water Vapour accounts for about 95% of the Greenhouse Effect = ~ 31.35 deg C
• Other Greenhouse Gases GHGs account for 5% = ~1.65 deg C
• CO2 is 75% of the effect of all accounting for the enhanced effects of Methane, Nitrous Oxide and other GHGs = ~1.24 deg C
• Most CO2 in the atmosphere is natural, more than ~93%
• Man-made CO2 is less than 7% of total atmospheric CO2 = ~0.087 deg C
• the UK contribution to CO2 is 2% equals = 1.74 thousandths deg C
• the USA contribution to CO2 is ~20% equals = 17.6 thousandths deg C
So closing all the carbon economies of the Whole World could only ever achieve a virtually undetectable less than -0.09 deg C. How can the Green movement and their supporting politicians think that their remedial actions and draconian taxes are able to limit warming to only + 2.00 deg C?
So the probability is that any current global warming is not man-made and in any case such warming could be not be influenced by any remedial action taken by mankind however drastic.
So if the numbers above are even close to the right ballpark, the prospect should be greeted with Unmitigated Joy:
• concern over CO2 as a man-made pollutant can be discounted.
• it is not necessary to damage the world’s economy to no purpose.
• if warming were happening, it would lead to a more benign and healthy climate for all mankind.
• any extra CO2 is already increasing the fertility and reducing water needs of all plant life and thus enhancing world food production.
• a warmer climate, within natural variation, would provide a future of greater opportunity and prosperity for human development and much more food for the growing world population. This has been well proven in the past and would now especially benefit the third world.
Nonetheless, this is not to say that the world should not be seeking more efficient ways of generating its energy, conserving its energy use and stopping damaging its environments. It remains absolutely clear that our planet is vastly damaged by many human activities such as:
• environmental pollution.
• over fishing.
• forest clearance.
• industrial farming.
• farming for bio-fuels .
• and other habitat destruction.
And there is a real need to wean the world off the continued use of fossil fuels simply on the grounds of:
• security of supply
• increasing scarcity
• rising costs
• their use as the feedstock for industry rather than simply burning them.
The French long-term energy strategy with its massive commitment to nuclear power is impressive, (85% of electricity generation). Even if one is concerned about CO2, Nuclear Energy pays off, French electricity prices and CO2 emissions / head are the lowest in the developed world.
However in the light of the state of the current solar cycle, it seems that there is a real prospect of damaging cooling occurring in the near future for several decades. And as power stations face closure the lights may well go out in the winter 2016 if not before.
All because CO2 based Catastrophic Man-made Global Warming has become a state sponsored religion.
And now after “Splattergate” thanks to the 10:10 organisation everyone now knows exactly how they think.
Splattergate is classic NOBLE CAUSE CORRUPTION. It is probably the most egregious piece of publicity ever produced in the Man-made Global Warming cause. This short film shows doubting schoolchildren being blown up and having their entrails spread over their classmates because they may have been less than enthusiastic about the CAUSE.
So any misrepresentation is valid in the Cause and any opposition however cogent or well qualified is routinely denigrated, publically ridiculed and as we now see literally terminated.
Both California and the UK are alike in having enacted suicidal anti societal laws. Where they differ is that the Californian’s at least, via the ballot box, were allowed to slip the noose around their own necks.
Whilst the stage is being set – Feed In Tariffs for Booker’s solar farms, Renewable Obligation Certificates for windfarmers, and the Carbon Reduction Comittment for businesses in general – nothing much will be seen to happen, and people will continue on their merry way. No amount of science or economic arguments are going to change anything anytime soon. People are too stupid so see the incoming collision between this fusilade of carbon taxes and the soon to blow up in their faces sovereign debt. People will do nothing because they haven’t suffered enough. At some point, not too far off, the country will be utterly destroyed. I believe that out of the ruin and deprivation, the nation will be reborn. Fervently opposed to environmentalism and the monstrosity that is the EU, every vestige of this political class will be swept away. A new era will begin. But, it cannot begin until the country is first destroyed.
edmh, you’ve made some horrendous errors in your assumptions there.
You are doing stuff like confusing an absolute (amount in the atmosphere) with a flux (UK emissions as a proportion of human emissions).
You’ve also confused the cause of CO2 with its original source. e.g. whilst ~93% of the CO2 molecules (or some other similarly high figure) might be originally from nature (if you could trace them), if humans hadn’t emitted anything then atmospheric CO2 would in fact be about 30% lower. Consider the thought experiment where nature emits 100 bn tons/yr and absorbs 100 bn tons/yr. After 100 years the net change is zero. Now consider a case where humans emit 2% of what nature does, i.e. emissions are now 102 bn tons/yr (and thanks to LCP we can estimate absorption also increases, say by 1bn tons/yr). The proportion of human emissions is low: only 2% of nature. But it is responsible for 100% of the net change over time – this is why human emissions matter (also, the amount in the atmosphere is going up by ~15bn tons/yr. Humans are emitting ~30bn tons/year. It’s clearly us).
You also make the (very common over here, apparently) mistake of confusing forcings and feedbacks and assuming you can just divide things out like that, which you can’t do in the real world (well, you can… but it has no physical relevance to what would actually happen if you change CO2).
When you do things properly, using physics, you find that the direct effect of CO2 is to cause about 1 C of direct global warming if you double it in the atmosphere and there are no feedbacks. And hundreds of papers have put together the picture we have of feedbacks, and the overall picture is one of net positive feedbacks pointing to a climate sensitivity of >2 C.
I know it’s ‘late’ to post a comment, but but I promised an update, and I’m REALLY trying to become a ‘woman of my word’ ~ so here it is.
After my ‘horror’, realizing that there will be honest Englanders facing a cold cold winter with such a lack that they might freeze in the process ~ I offered ‘plain ol’ common sense’ of contacting older friends of mine in our Local, then State, and then ~ prayerfully ~ NATIONAL CWA (Country Women’s Association) here in Australia.
In my mind’s eye, I could see the CWA sending thousands of blankets, etc… to those who will be suffering in England this coming winter. (Putting LEGS to my heart, as it were.)
Here’s the result. (Rosilee is the President of CWA for South Australia, p.s.)
———–
Dear Cindy,
Thank you for your kind thoughts concerning the women in England. Our Association is very involved helping our own area “The South Pacific” and local aborigines. We cannot help everyone.
England is in a different area to us and they will be getting assistance through their own members.
Thanks again for your thoughts but you realise where our priorities lie.
Regards
Rosalie Crocker
———-
So ~ am I crushed? Dispirited? Annoyed? (Yes. I AM annoyed, but not the other two)
It just showed me that EVEN CWA has capitulated to a brainless institution which uses its members for its own gain… like endless other ‘institutions’. Can you believe it?
We’re even STUDYING ENGLAND as a country this year and we won’t be able to send them a doona or a pair of socks to keep warm… DISGUSTING and TYPICAL.
That’s how ‘climate ——‘ (fill in the blank with whatever new word they want)….
Climate-ANYTHING is just a ‘means to an end’. It gets us to focus on ‘one hand’ while the other is turning us into ‘bricks in the wall’ (an’ to think that I didn’t even LIKE Pink Floyd! Oh well…!!!)
I donated $500 toward helping England to ‘cover’ its soon to be really cold, citizens…
and, now ~ it seems that is mute without the help of others. But, I’m NOT feeling defeated and neither should any of us. God will use each of us to confound (cons being found) the supposedly ‘wise’ of this globe. Apparent setbacks are only temporary.
I’m a firm believer that intrinsic GOOD will prevail.
C.L. Thorpe