Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach
Anyone concerned about the huge influence of Wall Street on our lives should definitely be protesting the influence of Wall Street on the upcoming climate conference in Durban, South Africa. Durban is the latest incarnation of the occasional IPCC celebration. I’m not sure what it celebrates, perhaps they are celebrating being given prepaid tickets and receiving a salary plus a per diem to fly halfway round the world to a lovely remote spot to listen to people talk about wasting fossil fuel.
I know I’d celebrate if some one paid me to do that. In any case, the last party was in Cancun, and the party before that in Copenhagen. The hard life of the climate bureaucrat. The web site for the party is here, so you can see what your taxes are paying for.
Figure 1. This image illustrates the change in climate that the participants in the Durban COP 17–CMP 7 will be forced to endure. The “17” means that this is the seventeenth time they’ve had this party, or as they call it, this “Conference of Parties”. Seventeen. Parties. The majority of the participants will be moving from late fall/early winter to late spring/early summer in Durban. I doubt that there will be many complaints about the warming involved in that change of seasons, despite the fact that it will be more than the dreaded 2°C tipping point of warming..
So what is Wall Street’s take on the Durban CO2 conference? What do the bankers say about the proposed extension of Kyoto? Here’s one man’s take, from Reuters :
“Parties must take the opportunity in Durban to send strong signals to the carbon market regarding their commitment to its continuation and future development,” said Jose Tumkaya, chief operating officer at UK emissions-reduction project developer Ecosecurities, a JP Morgan-owned firm. SOURCE
So we have a carbon offset project developer. Said carbon reduction person makes money from reducing carbon. Banks like money. They bought up the carbon offset project development firm. It is now owned by JP Morgan.
And now, being owned by JP Morgan, and thus being Very Important People (ex officio), they get interviewed by the media to give us their impartial view of the situation:
“Negotiators should be concerned about the historic low carbon prices as they do reflect, to some degree, a lack of confidence in the long-term commitment to existing emission reduction targets, as well as continued uncertainty with regards to a future international agreement,” he said.
Be concerned, be very, very concerned …
Ah, well. The bankers are pleading for the negotiators to come up with something, anything, to keep their Rumplestiltskin machine spinning carbon into money.
So we’ve got the banks against us … gonna be a long fight. This is Wall Street at its worst, looking to keep the carbon hype afloat and pushing to keep those sweet carbon bucks rolling in.
Where are the OCCUPY! folks when we need them? I say bring on the tents and the undercooked bulgur wheat, let’s OCCUPY COP 17–CMP 7 !
w.
Great post Willis.
The ‘big news’ in climate circles in the last week has been the controversy over BEST. In finance it’s been the collapse of the Euro and related credit problems for banks. But in London, like the US, the important critics of the banks have been taken to be the Occupy crowd. BBC’s flagship serious daily news analysis programme, Newsnight, has taken this line, for example.
Without trying to push the parallels too far we’ve had a case of false alternatives in both areas. You’ve cut through that brilliantly here. We should always be more concerned by banks using government to make easy money than the ‘evils’ of the free market. The Occupy folk aren’t totally naive to this, if the Wikipedia page RobB cites is accurate, but they haven’t remotely tumbled to the application to climate policy, in anything I’ve seen.
They need to be reading Watts Up With That from their mobile devices, powered by and made from fossil fuels, as many have pointed out. Perhaps they will. It is a time of change. But an Occupy camp in Durban putting the focus on Africa’s poorest the how they’ve already been impacted by CAGW-justified measures like biofuels – that would indeed be something else.
The last one was in Cancun, not Mexico City.
http://unfccc.int/meetings/cancun_nov_2010/meeting/6266.php
Dev Bahadur Dongol
Your concept of linking hydroelectric turbines in series for unlimited power is laughable:
There is a limited amount of potential energy in the water behind a dam. You cannot just set up an endless number of turbines to generate endless energy.
Once the water passes through the first turbine, its energy is mostly spent. If another identical turbine were set up in the exhaust of the first turbine, it would require the same amount of force as the first turbine. Water would build up in front of that second turbine until enough force had built up to turn the second turbine. If the water is exerting that force on the second turbine, it is also exerting that force on the first turbine in the opposite direction. That first turbine will not generate as much energy, since the pressure differential between the water entering into it, and the water on the other side of it is nearly equal.
It is the same reason why the don’t just build multiple dams in a row. The water in between the turbines (and dams) pushes both ways. Energy can be generated when the turbine is the border between lots of pressure and no pressure.
If you really were an associate professor I feel sorry for all your students who you taught!
The COP people think long term. They have already reserved the city of Las Vegas, the whole thing, for a month-long party in 2030. 😉
Dev Bahadur Dongol says: November 2, 2011 at 3:26 am:
“could you please show me how gases can form a green house? ”
You’re just not thinking the way you should. You need to believe that gases can do this, and then it works. You see, if you really believed and had faith in the IPCC, you would already understand that you do not need to understand—that’s just silly thinking.
Dev Bahadur Dongol says:
November 2, 2011 at 3:26 am
could you please show me how gases can form a green house? i hope you know what is a green house, it as a structure to make needs transparent solid materials like plastics or glass, not to mention other materials required for construction. i did not buy Ph.D but earned. if you have read the blog carefully you should have known, since i have mentioned about it in the blog. its pity you are in the business of buying selling academic degrees.
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The word “Greenhouse” as used in CAGW theory is not to be taken literally. It’s a bad metaphor for the supposed hypothetical behaviour of solar radiation.
I like your idea of turbins in series though.
Pete in Cumbria UK says:
November 2, 2011 at 3:41 am
Au contraire, Pierre! Most of our laws are made in the PDREU/EUSR & smothed into the British law under all sorts of back methodologies, or should I just say blatently dodgy!
It’s a pity the website has the ubiquitous countdown clock so favoured of these types as though it’s really meaningful! Cancun was a junket fest of 5-Star hotels, cocktails, champagne, fine wines, the finest foods from around the world, parties, & all paid for by Western Democracies (what’s left of us living in the “post democratic” age)! I dare say “Durban” will be ditto I dare say, can’t wait!
Dev Bahadur Dongol says:
November 2, 2011 at 3:26 am
could you please show me how gases can form a green house? i hope you know what is a green house, it as a structure to make needs transparent solid materials like plastics or glass…..
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Dr. Dongol Welcome to WUWT.
I was pleased to see your site includes translations to other languages.
I hope you take the time to read some of the back articles at this site. There is a lot of information and good discussion of ideas.
marcmarc says:
November 1, 2011 at 11:11 pm
“Historic low carbon prices” WTF.
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I believe the correct word is “Histrionic”.
Wouldn’t these be the rich republicans………
“”Many “Occupy Wall Street” protesters arrested in New York City reside in more luxurious homes than some of their rhetoric might suggest, a Daily Caller investigation has found.
For each of the 984 Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested in New York City between September 18 and October 15, police collected and filed an information sheet recording the arrestee’s name, age, sex, criminal charge, home address and — in most cases — race. The Daily Caller has obtained all of this information from a source in the New York City government.
Even in the nation’s currently depressed housing market, at least 95 of the protesters’ residences are worth approximately $500,000 or more””
http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/02/nyc-arrest-records-many-occupy-wall-street-protesters-live-in-luxury/#ixzz1cYh4WwY7
John Marshall says:
November 2, 2011 at 2:49 am
In a democracy you can remove a government by an election but how can we change bankers to ones who are science savvy?
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Why the heck do you think most countries have Central Banks??? It is so people are allowed the ILLUSION that they run their country through elections while the BANKERS actually run the country!
“Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes it’s laws” — Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild
The fight for control of US banking: Cartelization of Banking
President Andrew Jackson explains the dangers in his 4th Annual Message 1868
It has been asserted by one of our profound and most gifted statesmen that–
“It is one of the most successful devices, in times of peace or war, of expansions or revulsions, to accomplish the transfer of all the precious metals from the great mass of the people into the hands of the few, where they are hoarded in secret places or deposited under bolts and bars, while the people are left to endure all the inconvenience, sacrifice, and demoralization resulting from the use of depreciated and worthless paper. “http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29509
Too bad President Jackson’s 4th Annual Message is not required reading in every school in the world. It would save us from a lot of misery and fraud.
Based on that picture It doesn’t look like the IPCC is concerned about sea level rise. I guess Copenhagen taught them to not worry about reduced snow and Cancun taught them not to worry about sea level rise.
well, according to my summary of measurements from a weather station in Pretoria,
winters here in South Africa have been cooling quite significantly.
http://www.letterdash.com/HenryP/winters-are-getting-colder-in-pretoria-bring-back-the-global-warming-please
Average temps (means) stayed more or less the same,
(see tables: http://www.letterdash.com/HenryP/henrys-pool-table-on-global-warming)
but maxima were significantly higher.
A set of truly amazing results.
Peter Miller says:
November 2, 2011 at 4:24 am
Durban – a “lovely spot”?
It is a dirty, hot, sweaty, dangerous dump, with one redeeming grace: it’s a great place to be mugged…..
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Gee, do you think we can export some of our muggers? I am sure New York City, St Louis, London UK and Washington DC would eagerly give you a permanent loan.
(I got robbed at gun point in the wonderful city of Washington DC)
http://urbantitan.com/10-most-dangerous-cities-in-the-world-in-2011/
Orson Olson says:
November 1, 2011 at 11:06 pm
“Where are the OCCUPY! folks when we need them?” Ummmm. Um, no – I guess.
S***!
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They’re all busy getting tested for STD’s. Latex is not natural, therefore bad. 😉 http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/occupy_ball_street_aIoZXVqZ3hU8Zm9oX5aGWM .
Peter in Cumbria,
“As Members of Parliament, the students learn all about how Government works and build an impressive list of contacts in the Civil Service (the real law makers of the country) and be privy to/help shape upcoming legislation. Once ‘graduated’, ex MPs are very valuable to big industry, banks and finance houses. Witness our very own Tony Blair, ex Prime Minister and now ‘advisor to JP Morgan at £2.5 million per year – something like 20 times his PM salary alone just for that one position among (how) many others.”
I never thought about it in that light. But now you’ve pointed out the extensive training that Tony Blair has received, how can I begrudge him his lucrative posts in industry?
Peter Miller says: “Durban – a “lovely spot”? It is a dirty, hot, sweaty, dangerous dump, with one redeeming grace: it’s a great place to be mugged.”
Now you’re making me feel all defensive and tribal. But yea, don’t walk around with your Nikon or Sony around your neck and your head up your ass, believing all the liberal hype/tripe about the poor innocent Africans, these guys can hurt you bad. Other than that it was/is/could be the best country in the world.
However in other news – “Many “Occupy Wall Street” protesters arrested in New York City “occupy” more luxurious homes than their “99 percent” rhetoric might suggest, a Daily Caller investigation has found. …..Among addresses for which information is available, single-family homes listed on those police intake forms have a median value of $305,000 — a far higher number than the $185,400 median value of owner-occupied housing units in the United States.
Some of the homes where “Occupy” arrestees reside, viewed through Google Maps and the Multiple Listing Service real estate database, are the definition of opulence.” Now how did I just KNOW that.
OK! The “Occupy” people have generated the publicity. Now we need a program to fix the problems. We have only one effective tool at our disposal. Our vote. But it only works when it is coordinated. The answer? Allow no incumbent to return to office! If this is done for two election cycles you will not be able to see Washington for the dust being raised to straighten out the government, the economy and rent seekers.
Johnz
SteveE:
Actually you can get more electricity by putting turbines in series – it is already applied in steam generating plants where the exhaust (low pressure) steam from turbine 1 ( high pressure) is used for turbine2. The same principles apply to water turbines…but of course all one is doing is making the plant more efficient at using the available energy, not getting something for nothing.
This is a good time to remind all delegates to this conference…
PLEASE STOP ALL USE OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS AND ENERGY DERIVED FROM PETROLEUM NOW! TODAY! IMMEDIATELY!
Doing otherwise will of course be pure hypocrisy on your part.
If you have arrived at Durbin in anything other than a wind-powered ship, solar-powered blimp, or an electric or human-powered land vehicle, then you must recuse yourself immediately from all activities as you have already set a BAD example for others by using carbon-belching methods of transportation!
Thank you for your attention…
Speaking of the influence of Wall Street on the upcoming climate:
– There are over $600 trillion dollars worth of derivatives created in large part from the subprime market.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/books/excerpt-capital-offense.html?pagewanted=all
-“A lot of risk in the subprime asset-backed market is embedded in, and amplified by, C.D.O.’s,”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/business/worldbusiness/31derivatives.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
– These derivatives were created in large part by Blyth Masters of JP Morgan.
http://www.financial-edu.com/history-of-credit-derivatives.php
– In 2008, Masters donated 19 times to democrats and only 2 times to a Republican:
http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/blythe-masters.asp?cycle=08
So why does Wall Street have an interest in climate?
What’s the total world carbon market worth?
World Carbon-Dioxide Market to Reach $20 Trillion, Sandor Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=21070001&sid=ar0X_FWXo1ag
Since the subprime market helped give us $600 trillion dollars in derivatives, I gotta believe that derivatives from the cap-and-trade market (should it be realized) would dwarf this $600 trillion dollar number by at least a magnitude. Because there’s so much money involved here, this to me is the main reason why Wall street has an interest in climate and this upcoming conference. (Interestingly, you can find a number of people on WRI’s list of directors page who have worked at various banks and one who is a member of socialistinternational.org.)
http://www.wri.org/about/board
In summary, what I can see happening is, part of our wealth will be garnished by bankers who will enrich themselves, and part of what’s left of our wealth will be redistributed to other nations and pay off our debt. At the same time we’ll get it in the democrat again as our economic way of life is transformed into a socialist egalitarian hell when we implement the solutions to the term ‘sustainable development,’ a term that came out of the Brundtland report that was chaired by Gro Harlem Brundtland, the first VP of socialistinternational.org.
These guys never walk the talk they alway using fossil fuel them selfs.
They should be going to Durban by yacht.
Orson Olson says:
November 1, 2011 at 11:06 pm
“Where are the OCCUPY! folks when we need them?” Ummmm. Um, no – I guess.
S***!
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Curiousgeorge says:
November 2, 2011 at 8:15 am
They’re all busy getting tested for STD’s. Latex is not natural, therefore bad. 😉
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Oh good grief. They really need to quit listening to the propaganda and do their own research. Latex is the sap of the rubber tree. See Photo: http://www.solarnavigator.net/images/rubber_tree_latex_collection_dripping.jpg
Speed said: “Rent Seeking – In economics, rent-seeking is an attempt to derive economic rent by manipulating the social or political environment in which economic activities occur, rather than by adding value. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent_seeking”
In other words, the generic term for a protection racket?
KPO says:
November 2, 2011 at 8:24 am
…..However in other news – “Many “Occupy Wall Street” protesters arrested in New York City “occupy” more luxurious homes than their “99 percent” rhetoric might suggest, a Daily Caller investigation has found. …..Among addresses for which information is available, single-family homes listed on those police intake forms have a median value of $305,000 — a far higher number than the $185,400 median value of owner-occupied housing units in the United States.
Some of the homes where “Occupy” arrestees reside, viewed through Google Maps and the Multiple Listing Service real estate database, are the definition of opulence.” Now how did I just KNOW that.
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I am NOT defending this people, just setting the record straight.
New York City is VERY HIGH PRICED. A $500,000 home in Long Island or Westchester could go for $100,000 to $250,000 else where.
I traded $75,000 plus 2 bed room ranch on two ac in a little town 60 miles north of Boston MA for a 106 ac farm with a new four bedroom home 30 miles south of Raleigh NC/research triangle park. (Doubled the size of the home) I could have done an even trade for a three bedroom on 45 ac but someone beat my off by an hour.
If you go to Watertown NY where friends live they will PAY you to take the house (Just kidding but it is a remote cold place)