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.
John Zwinak says:
November 2, 2011 at 8:37 am
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.
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I have been doing that for years. Replace the Hogs at the trough with piglets.
The problem is the bankers/Corporations OWN all the candidates. They also own the media. All you have to do is look at what was done to Ron Paul and what is being done to Herman Cain. Sexual Harassment allegations but we can’t tell you WHO or WHAT????
I suggest getting behind voter recall legislation and the “informed jury movement” Both put power back into the hands of people and not the politicians.
(And no I am not a Republican)
Gail Combs says:
November 2, 2011 at 7:45 am
If it was 1868, the president was Andrew Johnson. Jackson was in the 1829-1837 time frame and was dead by 1845. You also have reversed the two quotes. The loquacious lines of the first could come from only a few other than Daniel Webster while the more mundane language of the second quote is obviously that of the impeached Johnson. Upon a simple Google search of the text I find that I am correct.
Not too much of a complaint, just wouldn’t want the quotes to be misrepresented. Further into the Johnson quote it refers repeatedly to a civil war recently completed which also gives away the author nicely.
I’ll go Occupy Durban… If someone can pony up the airfare and hotel expenses… (No, I don’t need as fancy as the Government Lackeys. Something about “Best Western” or Marriott class would be fine… )
Don’t even need the special meet and greet high end horse doovers. 😉 I’m fine with Taco Bell and / or whatever the local bacon and eggs place might be…
Guess I’ll never make it as a Government Lackey… my morals are too high and my “comfort” standards are too low…
Gail Combs says:
November 2, 2011 at 11:04 am
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.
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Gail, follow the link….
They have pictures of some of the houses and they are from all over the country…
….Texas, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, California, Wisconsin etc….all over
http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/02/opulent-homes-of-the-99-percent-slideshow/
If our Oz PM gets her way, we will be providing much of the largesse the bankers are after.
Our soon-to-be-introduced carbon tax is estimated to cause A$50Bn per year to be sent overseas by 2050. This is to be doled out by the [b/w]ankers who will, naturally, have to take a ‘little’ commission to pay for their time and effort and expertise.
If Julia’s plan works, us self-less Aussies are merely the vanguard for ALL countries with a green conscience to join in this grand plan to rid the world of that most dangerous of villains, CO2.
Of course, although the A$ is currently on par with the $US, when we reach 2050 and no other country has been so stupid as to introduce our draconian laws, the $A won’t be worth much more than a tonne of CO2e from the Chicago Climate Exchange.
Viva la ‘Clean, Green Future’
Owen says:
November 2, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Gail Combs says:
November 2, 2011 at 7:45 am
If it was 1868, the president was Andrew Johnson….
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Thanks the internet was an absolute mess on that quote. Allegedly United States Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, also quoted the same speech from Daniel Webster at a New York City dinner speech on October 15, 1913 two months before his pet Federal Reserve System was passed by the Congress.
If Adrich DID repeat that quote by Webster, I would not be surprised if it wasn’t an inside joke among the bankers who planned to grow rich by siphoning off the wealth of the US citizenry from 1913 to the present.
I hated history so it is not my strong suit. I have probably learned more history in the last few years than I ever did in school.
E.M.Smith says:
November 2, 2011 at 12:55 pm
I’ll go Occupy Durban…
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I wish I could “Pony up” …..well if you want I have two ponies I want to get rid of…
Too bad we can not get the Koch Brothers to foot the bill but then you would hear screams of corporate/oil funding all the way to the moon.
Darn, I really wish we could send you and a few others.
Latitude says:
November 2, 2011 at 12:55 pm
Gail, follow the link….
They have pictures of some of the houses and they are from all over the country…
….Texas, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, California, Wisconsin etc….all over
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Must be nice… I haven’t had a vacation in over 15 years so I do not even think of traveling any more.
I know, Let’s get THEM to foot the bill to send E.M Smith to Durbin!
From Curiousgeorge on November 2, 2011 at 8:15 am:
Heh. Something closer to the truth is in the article:
They apparently can’t buy condoms, but they can stand in line for free cash, available just for saying they had stupid unprotected sex, which will then presumably be used to drain resources alloted to help the truly needy.
Such a wonderful interesting group, these OWS people. They need free food and financial help for medical treatment to survive, live in tents and use generators that have obviously miraculously appeared as these impoverished protesters couldn’t afford them themselves. As a mixed blessing given their dire financial straits, they also don’t have to worry about paying for rent and utilities on residences retained during their Occupation (being obviously poor and homeless), and are not even concerned about paying for cell phone service and internet access being used during their protest.
Such truly deserving people, it is blatantly clear that some form of governmental intervention is required to provide them with the help they desperately need. Unfortunately the expected “government standard” response will involve further mortgaging the futures of the protesters straight through to their grandchildren, with repercussions all throughout their lives, to provide them with a little bit more money, at least for the next few elections.
Isn’t there one of those foreboding Ancient Chinese Sayings that goes “May you receive what you desire”?
Chris B,
“I like your idea of turbins in series though”
Perhaps you mean “turbans”?.
Gail Combs says:
November 2, 2011 at 1:34 pm
I know, Let’s get THEM to foot the bill to send E.M Smith to Durbin!
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shoot…let E.M make his own way
You and I are going to start a occupy Cancun movement………..LOL
The despair over the low price of carbon offsets is likely to become terminal. Supply is immense, potentially almost unlimited. Buyers are scarce, and have to be constrained to purchase. It would be a great market to short …
I read the header and thought hmm, Copenhagen, not sure on that one, perhaps united nation types. But Cancun and Durban…… what’s the go with their legislation on property rights these days??
Don’t know too many in the enlightened world that are enamour with excessively high unemployment, excessively high un-education and un-production reflected against such a demographic, excessively high rates of violence and disease inc HIV in an economy pushing socialised interventions by the government and concurrently an increased waged bureaucracy. And the usual bias towards transparency in private enterprises these days. Spells failed state. Nice beaches. Albeit great white pointers.
KPO says: November 2, 2011 at 3:01 am AND…
KPO says: November 2, 2011 at 8:24 am
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.
mizimi says:
November 2, 2011 at 8:57 am
Thanks mizimi, I wasn’t awear of it’s use in steam power, but my argument is that you can’t get “unlimited power” by linking them in series as the good “Doctor” suggests. In hydroelectric stations linking them in parallel is the most efficient method used as each turbine gets the same head height and flow rate which are the main variables. If you linked the same number of turbines in series you’d have less power as each turbine would recieve a lower head height and flow rate than the previous.
“Occupy” deviants/criminals/tools vs the Tea Party:
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/209965.php
Nothing will be achieved since the world has run out of capital, and those that have some money such as China are not really interested and have other economic concerns such that they will not lead the way.
This is just going to be an expensive party and spin will be given to the need to take strong and prompt action. They will remain on message but nothing more than that.
richard verney says:
November 3, 2011 at 8:12 am
Nothing will be achieved since the world has run out of capital, and those that have some money such as China are not really interested and have other economic concerns such that they will not lead the way….
Depends on your definition of “Capital” Bernanki seems to think it is fiat currency and is printing it by the truck load. (I consider it labor + raw material = salable product or a salable service)
In many discussions you see the confusion between money wealth and capital.
This is a great article about fiat currency and hyperinflation, something we are all looking at especially if we keep throwing “capital” away on idiotic government underwritten scams. http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2011/04/on-hyperinflation.html
It appears that the G20 could not agree on anything despite the real and urgent need. Thus, what chance is there that an even bigger group of countries with different agendas will be in a position to agree on anything?
Governments should grow up and recognise that now is not the time to agree on anything of substance in the AGW field and should therefore cancel get togethers of this type which merely waste money which Governments do not have to waste.
In fact those arguing for a reduction in CO2 should be campaigning against holding this conference since it will simply result in a substantial amount of CO2 emissions all for no avail.
Dev Bahadur Dongol:
Hey, and you can use the last turbine to pump the water back up into the dam. Ha ha.
PhD my arse! Get lost you moron.
Willis, this might interest you:
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2011/11/4/australian-temperatures.html?currentPage=2#comments
http://occupycop17.org/
[Moderator’s Note: a word of explanation instead of just a plain URL would be good. -REP]