Weekly Climate and Energy News Roundup

February 29: Fred Singer will be speaking at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA on Wednesday, from 4:30 to 5:40 pm, Room 124, Science Technology I

General title: “The Climate Debate: NIPCC vs. IPCC, the Hockey-stick, and Climategate.” Impacts on energy policy and everything else”

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Quote of the Week:

“Apparently every generation of humanity needs to relearn that Mother Nature tells us what the science is, not authoritarian academy bureaucrats or computer models.” 16 Concerned Scientists, WSJ

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Number of the Week: 3 times 100 equals 1,000 – post modern mathematics

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THIS WEEK:

By Ken Haapala, Executive Vice President, Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP)

Heartland Flap: Peter Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute, admitted that he had falsely pretended to be a member of the board of directors of the Heartland Institute to obtain confidential documents from that organization. He immediately posted the documents on web sites of global warming alarmists. Without questioning the authenticity of the documents, numerous, once credible news sources, including the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Los Angeles Times, immediately published articles condemning Heartland and its activities. According to Heartland at least one of the documents is a forgery.

Until this week, Mr. Gleick was the head of the of the new science integrity task force of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), appointed by the new leadership of AGU. Gleick testified to Congress on scientific integrity and, according to reports, frequently lectured on the subject. In September 2011 he co-authored with Kevin Trenberth of UCAR and John Abraham an unwarranted, ad hominem attack on Roy Spencer and John Christy and their pioneering work on temperature measurements using satellites. Mr. Gleick’s interpretation of scientific integrity may be somewhat unusual.

Once Mr. Gleick confessed, some news sources immediately began to equivocate to justify their haste to publish false information. These equivocations included claims that science is under attack. Yet, the principal focus of climate skeptics is to demonstrate the insufficiency of the science as promulgated by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to justify claims of significant human influence on global warming. Demanding rigorous science is hardly attacking science.

Gleick claimed part of his motivation was he was frustrated that he was unable to engage in debates with the skeptics, which was quickly refuted by his past statements as well an exchange between Gleick and Heartland, following an invitation to Gleick to debate the issue.

A disturbing trend demonstrated by the incident is the willingness of the popular press to repeat the claims that climate science skeptics are engaged in a disinformation campaign. The term comes from Russian and became popular during the Cold War. It means the deliberate spreading of information that is knowingly false, in order to achieve some advantage over the opponent. Accurately stating that IPCC claims that carbon dioxide is the principal driver of climate change fail to explain the earth’s climate history for the past 10,000 years, and that the climate models are performing very poorly is not disinformation, it is fact.

The Heartland Institute is a logical target for alarmists such as Gleick. Heartland has sponsored six international conferences on climate change challenging the IPCC. Further, it published the three reports of the Nongovernmental International on Climate Change (NIPCC) and subsidizes current research by NIPCC. (News reports stating that the money is paid to specific individuals are largely incorrect.)

How events will unfold remains to be seen. Is Heartland justified in intensely defending its work against individuals such as Gleick? Unlike the leaks during Climategate, Heartland is a private organization, not a government funded one. The information came from someone who clearly misrepresented himself, a felony, not from a leaker. And, Gleick’s efforts were to discredit individual funding sources, not discredit a small government funded team manipulating science. Please Article #1 and links under “Defending the Orthodoxy”, “Heartland Flap”, “Person(s) of Interest.”

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Political Ideology and Science: During the Gleick affair, Judith Curry posted her thoughts on what drives people to confuse scientific integrity with political ideology. Although political ideology is acceptable for scientists, confusing the two is not. To her, the confusion in climate science comes from the political ideology involved in the founding of the IPCC and the international agreement, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). To Curry, the IPCC/UNFCCC embodies the following concepts, which are directly quoted from her web site:

1. Anthropogenic climate change is real.

2. Anthropogenic climate change is dangerous and we need to something about it.

3. The fossil fuel industry is trying to convince people that climate change is a hoax.

4. Deniers are attacking climate science and scientists.

5. Action is needed to prevent dangerous climate change.

6. Deniers and fossil fuel industry are delaying UNFCCC mitigatory policies.

For this excellent analysis please see the link under “Seeking a Common Ground.”

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What Went Wrong? Climate scientist / climate historian Tim Ball gives a brief analysis of what went wrong in climate science. A student of the famous pioneer of modern climate science, H.H. Lamb, Ball points out how Lamb’s successors at Climatic Research Unit (CRU) twisted the very principles of the compelling research needed. To Lamb, before one can establish the influence of man on global climate, one must understand the natural causes of global climate change. Lamb’s successors immediately suppressed natural causes in favor of establishing human influence. See the comments on political ideology and climate science immediately above, and Ball’s article under “Challenging the Orthodoxy.”

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A Liberal Decalogue: Earlier this week, Anthony Watts of Watts-Up-With-That sent a brief list of certain principles articulated by Bertrand Russell over 60 years ago. In times such as the Gleick affair, it is useful for those who have read Russell to be reminded of them, and those who have not, to be aware of them. They go to the issue: question authority, to which one can add, especially in science. Please see link under “Seeking a Common Ground.”

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Quote of the Week: The quote comes from an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Concerned Scientists Reply on Global Warming” written by 16 scientists. Scientists are trained in critical thinking, or so one would hope. The comments in the op-ed should dispel the value of frequently cited comments that “97% of climate scientists …” Polls have limited value to those who engage in critical thinking. Please see Article # 3.

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EPA Litigation: On February 28 and 29 a panel of US Court for the District of Columbia Circuit will be hearing oral arguments on the case of EPA finding that greenhouse gases (GHG), of which carbon dioxide is the major component, endanger public health and welfare (Endangerment Finding). The panel is comprised of 3 jurists of the full eleven member court.

A brief re-cap is necessary. In the spring of 2009, the EPA made its preliminary Endangerment Finding (EF) The EF was accompanied by a Technical Support Document (TSD) dated April 17, 2009. The Technical Support Document is based on the reports by the 2007 UN IPCC Assessment Report (AR4), the U.S. Science Climate Change Science Program (2009), and the National Research Council of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (several dates). The latter two sets of reports are based on the IPCC AR4, or prior IPCC reports, without needed corrections. As readers of TWTW realize, the science establishing the IPCC AR4 has significant lapses and significant errors.

During the public review process Fred Singer and Ken Haapala, and others, in both public hearings and detailed written comments, contested the EPA preliminary finding. In addition to other evidence, the major documents submitted included was the 2008 NIPCC report (the 2009 NIPCC report was not available at that time). Among other issues raised was that the IPCC AR4 was deficient in establishing the required science for an Endangerment Finding, as were the subsequent reports dependent upon it.

On December 7, 2009 the EPA announced its Endangerment Finding as final. Immediately thereafter, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and SEPP joined forces to litigate against the EPA’s finding – CEI providing legal expertise, SEPP providing scientific expertise.

Timely litigation was filed and joined in by a public activist group, Freedomworks. Many other groups filed as well, including the states of Texas and Virginia. After numerous legal filings three critical concepts remain (in the view of SEPP). One, EPA failed to appropriately analyze scientifically significant reports questioning the IPCC and subsequent government reports, among those NIPCC 2008. Two, the detailed IPCC report itself states ignorance of important natural influences on climate change. Three, the EPA failed to provide the independent scientific assessment that is required under the Data (Information) Quality Act. (No doubt, the teams of lawyers will find additional deficiencies.)

In September 2011, the Inspector General of the EPA found the EPA failed to provide the necessary independent scientific assessment. Though not a formal part of the record, it will be a consideration.

What will result? It is difficult to say. For many cases involving Federal issues, Federal courts favor Federal agencies or greater enforcement of Federal regulations over private, or state, interests. No doubt, the losing party will appeal to the full Court first, then to the Supreme Court.

However, the foundation for the EPA Endangerment Finding is disintegrating. With it, EPA’s entire regulatory house of cards is being exposed. More litigation challenging EPA declarations are in the offering. After years of preferring lawyers to scientists, it is questionable the EPA has any scientific expertise remaining.

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Number of the Week: 3*100 = 1000 Post Modern Mathematics: Some have written of post modern science, where the pre-conceived thoughts of some scientists should be emphasized over actual data. As a bit of amusement, TWTW suggests Post-Modern Mathematics, when basic arithmetic will not do.

For example, 18 years of sea level measurements from satellites suggested a trend of 3.2 mm per year until a drop in 2010, attributed to a shift from El Niño to La Niña, neither event accepted by the IPCC as a cause of climate change. The average has been about 3 mm per year, and may become less. This works out to an expected rise, based on observations, of no more than about 300 mm in 100 years – by 2100. Yet, several studies presented at the latest American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Conference emphasize that sea level will rise by about 1000 mm per century – one meter.

The mystery of post-modern mathematics is found in the models. Please see links under “Communicating Better with the Public – Exaggerate ..”

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ARTICLES:

For the numbered articles below please see this week’s TWTW at:

http://www.sepp.org….

The articles are at the end of the pdf.

1. The Heartland Institute Flap

By S. Fred Singer, American Thinker, Feb 20, 2012

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/the_he…

2. Obama Skins the Cat

By S. Fred Singer, American Thinker, Feb 25, 2012

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/obama_…

3. Concerned Scientists Reply on Global Warming

The authors of the Jan. 27 Wall Street Journal op-ed, ‘No Need to Panic about Global Warming,’ respond to their critics.

By16 Scientists, WSJ, Feb 21, 2012

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297…

4. The Not-So-Vast Conspiracy

Stolen documents show the tiny budget of global warming skeptics.

Editorial, WSJ, Europe, Feb 21, 2012

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297…

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NEWS YOU CAN USE:

Suppressing Scientific Inquiry

Climate McCarthyism: Democrat Congressman Demands Hearing on Interior Employee Linked to Heartland

By Marlo Lewis, Global Warming.org, Feb 23, 2012

http://www.globalwarming.org/2012/02/23/clima…

Climate denial in the classroom

It’s bad enough that we’re doing so little to fight climate change; let’s not ask teachers to lie about it too.

Editorial, LA Times, Feb 20, 2012

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla…

[SEPP Comment: Only the IPCC orthodoxy should be permitted?]

Disgraceful climate indoctrination in Australian schools

By Simon, Australian Climate Madness, Feb 21, 2012

http://www.australianclimatemadness.com/2012/…

Challenging the Orthodoxy

Certain Of The Past: Doubtful Of The Future

By David Whitehouse, GWPF, Feb 23, 2012

http://www.thegwpf.org/the-observatory/5041-c…

[SEPP Comment: Exposing another British report attempting to justify the IPCC even when all the models are becoming increasingly irrelevant. All the Met needs is bigger, faster computers.]

Defending the Orthodoxy

The Heartland Affair: A Climate Champion Cheats – and We All Lose

By Bryan Walsh, Time Science, Feb 22, 2012

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,859…

[SEPP Comment: Unreal, but the quote is worth it.]

Gleick and his co-author Randy Townsend of the AGU wrote that advancing scientific work to create a sustainable future would only be possible if scientists had the trust of the public and policymakers. And that trust, they added, “is earned by maintaining the highest standards of scientific integrity in all that we do.”

A Sad Day for Science

Alana Goodman, Commentary, Feb 21, 2012

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/02/21/…

Climategate sequel? Scientist lies to get Heartland Institute documents.

Climate scientist, Peter Gleick, lied to acquire – then leak to the press – documents from the Heartland Institute, an organization that argues that global warming poses no threat.

By Pete Spotts, Christian Science Monitor, Feb 21, 2012 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0221/Cl…

[SEPP Comment: A remarkable turn-around from its reports of the incident the day before.]

Heartland Institute leak exposes strategies of climate attack machine

The documents show how groups play up controversy to undermine confidence in well-established scientific findings

By Bob Ward, Guardian, UK, Feb 21, 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/fe…

Questioning the Orthodoxy

IPCC Climate Science Failure Requires Someone to Blame

By Tim Ball, A Different Perspective, Feb 22, 2012

http://drtimball.com/2012/ipcc-climate-scienc…

Global-warming skeptics gaining upper hand

The ’cause’ of promoting alarm over supposed man-made global warming has been losing steam as skeptics like S. Fred Singer find more facts on their side.

By Mark Landsbaum, Orange County Register, Feb 20, 2012

http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/warming-340…

Expect the Unexpected

By Martin Livermore, Scientific Alliance, Feb 24, 2012

http://www.scientific-alliance.org/scientific…

Toy Story: Mystic Met needs swanky new kit, swoon MPs

Media to blame for believing us reporting our forecasts

By Andrew Orlowski, A Register, Feb 22, 2012 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/22/mysti…

[SEPP Comment: The Met receives a new, faster computer to arrive at wrong answers even faster.]

Global Warming Crowd Opposed in Virginia

By Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh, Canada Free Press, Feb 23, 2012

http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/arti…

How Climate Research Starves Other Scientists Of Funding

By Paul Homewood Not a Lot of People Know That, Feb 24, 2012 [H/t Climate Etc.]

http://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/…

[SEPP Comment: At a time of budget tightening, the enormous budgets for climate change programs may start taking hits from other science interests.]

Questioning European Green

The Fatal Conceit of the EU 2050 Roadmap

By Kent Hawkins, European Energy Review, Feb 16, 2012

http://www.europeanenergyreview.eu/site/pagin…

[SEPP Comment: The Advisory Group of the European Commission is highly critical of the Energy Roadmap.]

Green Germany: Half A Million Families Sitting In The Dark

Editorial, Die Welt, Translation Phillip Mueller, Feb 22, 2012

http://www.thegwpf.org/international-news/503…

[SEPP Comment: Energy poverty created by government policy is hitting Germany.]

Expanding the Orthodoxy

Rio+20 Alert

By Donn Dears, Energy For USA, Feb 24, 2012

http://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/rio2…

New: the EU budget – it has never been so green

Euro 200 billion will flow into the low-carbon agenda – or will it?

By Sonja van Renssen, European Energy Review, Feb 23, 2012

http://www.europeanenergyreview.eu/site/pagin…

A Second Front in the Climate War

Editorial, NYT, Feb 17, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/opinion/a-s…

Wild west approach to claiming the oceans’ genetic resources must end

By Staff Writers,Vancouver, Canada (SPX) Feb 21, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Wild_west_a…

Heartland Flap

Heartland Institute Releases Peter Gleick Emails Detailing Fraud, Theft

By Staff Writers, Heartland Institute,

http://fakegate.org/…

Fakegate: Global Warmists Try to Hide Their Decline

By Robert Tracinski, Real Clear Politics, Feb 23, 2012

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/201…

Fakegate: why the perps should be prosecuted

By Christopher Monckton of Brenchley, WUWT, Feb 23, 2012

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/02/23/fakegat…

Fakegate’ – the new nadir of the climate change swindle

By Melanie Phillips, Daily Mail, Feb 22, 2012 [H/t John Shepard]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-210…

“Fakegate” Blows Up in Warmist Faces

By Alan Caruba, Warning Signs, Feb 21, 2012

http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com/2012/02/f…

Stolen Heartland Documents: DeSmog Blog Keeps Blowing Smoke

By Marlo Lewis, Global Warming.org, Feb 21, 2012

http://www.globalwarming.org/2012/02/21/stole…

Fakegate Illustrates Global Warming Alarmists’ Deceit and Desperation

By James Taylor, Forbes, Feb 22, 2012

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2012/…

[SEPP Comment: Taylor is a senior fellow at the Heartland Insitute]

From Climategate to Fakegate

By Marlo Lewis, Global Warming.org, February 22, 2012

http://www.globalwarming.org/2012/02/22/from-…

Person(s) of Interest

Peter Gleick Admits to Deception in Obtaining Heartland Climate Files

By Andrew Revkin, NYT, Dot Earth, Feb 20, 2012

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/…

[SEPP Comment: Gleick has gone from a climate scientist to a water and climate analyst.]

Peter Gleick Confesses to Obtaining Heartland Documents Under False Pretenses

By Megan McArdle, The Atlantic, Feb 21, 2012 [H/t Anthony Watts, WUWT]

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2…

Gleick apologized for his actions, and said his judgment was clouded by his “frustration with the ongoing efforts – often anonymous, well-funded and coordinated – to attack climate science and scientists … and by the lack of transparency of the organizations involved.”

What are the depths of Peter Gleick’s depravity in the Heartland global warming smear attack? Posted by Moe Lane, Red State, Feb 21, 2012 [H/t SPPI]

http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2012/02/21/w…

Seeking a Common Ground

A Liberal Decalogue

By Bertrand Russell, His Autobiography, 1951 [H/t Anthony Watts, WUWT]

http://www.panarchy.org/

Gleick’s ‘integrity’

By Judith Curry, Climate Etc, Feb 21, 2012

http://judithcurry.com/2012/02/21/gleicks-int…

Scientists Behaving Badly

By Rick Rinehart, American Thinker, Feb 25, 2012

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/scient…

Wegman slapped on wrist

By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Feb 24, 2012

http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2012/2…

[SEPP Comment: Wegman prepared the report to Congress refuting Mann’s hockey-stick. One of Wegman’s graduate assistants paraphrased some background comments used in the report from Wikipedia. This led to accusations of plagiarism. But the substantive part of the report stands. The hockey-stick does not accurately reflect climate history of the past 1000 years. Mann’s hockey-stick study should be retracted.]

Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?

Coasts in peril plan ahead for rising seas

By Staff Writers

Vancouver (AFP) Feb 20, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Coasts_in_p…

Criticisms Convince State To Back Off Projections of Dramatic Sea Level Rise

State officials still pushing coastal counties to prepare for a one-meter rise

By Sara Burrows, Carolina Journal, Feb 20, 2012 [H/t Paul Chesser]

http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/dis…

[SEPP Comment: Defeating the exaggerating modelers is difficult, but not impossible. The “likely range of rise of rise” is between 15 and 55 inches. Why stop there – shoot for 72 inches 6 feet.]

Visualizations help communities plan for sea-level rise

By Staff Writers, Vancouver, Canada (SPX) Feb 22, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Visualizati…

Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.

A Climate Science Post On September 4 2011 Involving Peter Gleick

Hatchet Job On John Christy and Roy Spencer By Kevin Trenberth, John Abraham and Peter Gleick

By Roger Pielke Sr, Pielke Climate Science, Feb 22, 2012

http://pielkeclimatesci.wordpress.com/2012/02…

Changing Weather

Europe Hammered by Winter, Is North America Next?

By Dauna Coulter for NASA Science News

Huntsville AL (SPX) Feb 22, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Europe_Hamm…

Changing Climate

New Paper “Ocean Heat Content And Earth’s Radiation Imbalance II. Relation To Climate Shifts” By Douglass And Knox 2012

By Roger Pielke, Sr, Pielke Climate Science, Feb 21, 2012

http://pielkeclimatesci.wordpress.com/2012/02…

[SEPP Comment: All too often trend lines ignore significant shifts.}

The Legacy of the Megaflood

By Elizabeth Zubritsky for Goddard Space Flight Center,

Greenbelt, MD (SPX) Feb 22, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/The_Legacy_…

[SEPP Comment: Carbon dioxide had nothing to do with it.]

Changing Seas

Coastal drinking water more vulnerable to water use than climate change

By Staff Writers,Saskatchewan, Canada (SPX) Feb 23, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Coastal_dri…

[SEPP Comment: Rising sea level is not as important to salt water intrusion into fresh water aquifers as is aquifer withdrawal.]

Changing Skies

NASA Satellite Finds Earth’s Clouds are Getting Lower

By Alan Buis for JPL, Pasadena CA (JPL), Feb 23, 2012

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_Satell…

[SEPP Comment: Emphasizing the average height hides an important component that higher altitude clouds are diminishing. High altitude clouds tend to promote the greenhouse effect. The change in clouds may be a negative feedback to warming.]

Clouds falling by 44 ± 22 meters per decade

By Lubos Motl, Reference Frame, Feb 24, 2012

http://motls.blogspot.com/2012/02/clouds-fall…

[SEPP Comment: The reported drop in cloud height can be interpreted in a number of ways.]

Agriculture Issues & Fear of Famine

Man-made photosynthesis to revolutionise food and energy production

By Staff Writers, London, UK (SPX), Feb 21, 2012

http://www.biofueldaily.com/reports/Man_made_…

The Political Games Continue

Demagogue Party attempting to detract from Gleick fiasco by distracting media

By Joseph D’Aleo, ICECAP, Feb 23, 2012

http://icecap.us/index.php/go/joes-blog/demag…

[SEPP Comment: Includes a re-cap of the founding of NIPCC.]

Cap-and-Trade and Carbon Taxes

Colossal pain & no gain

The Australian Greens policy is for Australia to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as is feasible and by no later than 2050. How feasible is this?

By Val Majkus, Quadrant, Feb 20, 2012

http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-plane…

[SEPP Comment: Blistering analysis of the economic fantasy of 100% alternative energy.]

From Peter Lang’s analysis: Although it ignores costings, the EDM-2011 study is a useful contribution. It demonstrates that, even with highly optimistic assumptions, renewable energy cannot realistically provide 100% of Australia’s electricity generation. Their scenario does not have sufficient capacity to meet peak winter demand, has no capacity reserve and is dependent on a technology – ‘gas turbines running on biofuels’ – that exist only at small scale and at high cost.

Carbon emission policy could slash debt, improve environment

By Henry A. Waxman, Sherwood Boehlert, Edward J. Markey and Wayne Gilchrest, Washington Post, Feb 23, 2012

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/carbon…

EU asks airlines emissions fee opponents for alternatives

By Staff Writers, Brussels (AFP) Feb 20, 2012

http://www.spacemart.com/reports/EU_asks_airl…

[SEPP Comment: The international credibility of the EU is diminishing with the actions of politicians such as the EU climate commissioner.]

Subsidies and Mandates Forever

O’Malley pushes wind farms, citing cheap costs

By Rachel Baye, Washington Examiner, Feb 23, 2012

http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/maryland/…

[SEPP Comment: There must be something in Maryland’s tobacco.]

EPA and other Regulators on the March

EPA Publishes Absurd Mercury Reg; Sen. Inhofe Counters; House Sleeps

By William Yeatman, Global Warming.org, Feb 16, 2012

http://www.globalwarming.org/2012/02/16/epa-p…

Published MATS Rule Rouses Challenges, Lawsuits

By Staff Writers, POWERnews, Feb 22, 2012

http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/4427.html?h…

The Job-Creating Mercury Rule

Editorial, NYT, Feb 23, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/opinion/the…

[SEPP Comment: According to the NYT, raising utility rates, lowering standards of living for the public creates jobs and prosperity. Think of all the jobs created by tearing down Manhattan and rebuilding it.]

Tangled up in green tape

The EPA, Congress, activists, the courts and power companies themselves all share the blame for the chaotic nature of environmental regulation in America

Editorial, The Economist, Feb 18, 2012

http://www.economist.com/node/21547804…

Showdown at the EPA corral

By Steve Milloy, Junk Science, Feb 22, 2012 [H/t SPPI]

http://junkscience.com/2012/02/22/showdown-at…

Energy Issues – Non-US

RIP: Peak Oil – we won’t be running out any time soon

Human ingenuity wins the day

By Andrew Orlowski, A Register, Feb 23, 2012 [H/t GWPF]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/23/peak_…

Apocalypse Politics – where unpopular and daft policies gain traction simply because their advocates claim that they’re justified by some catastrophic and irreversible historical trend. Nobody but the superstitious can really believe that any more.

Canada’s oil sands: Not so dirty after all

By Nathan Vanderklippe, Globe and Mail, Feb 20, 2012

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-busi…

[SEPP Comment: Did the environmental industry exaggerate?]

Canada revs up for fight over second tar sands oil pipeline

Canada’s planned Northern Gateway pipeline would send tar sands oil to its West Coast for export to Asia. Supporters see it as a defiant stance against the U.S.

By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times, February 19, 2012, 10:20 p.m.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world…

Energy Issues — US

In 2012, Let’s Align U.S. Energy Policy with Global Reality

By Michael J. Economides, Energy Tribune, Feb. 22, 2012 [H/t Jim Rust]

http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm/989…

Obama Vilifies Fossil Fuels

Obama is impervious to the facts about energy.

By Robert Bryce, National Review, Feb 22, 2012

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/291639…

5 Biggest Whoppers In Obama’s Energy Speech

Editorial, IBD, Feb 23, 2012

http://news.investors.com/article/602120/2012…

Oil and Natural Gas – the Future or the Past?

The new energy order

Unconventional U.S. oil and gas change everything

By Garry Hunt, Financial Post, Feb 17, 2012

http://opinion.financialpost.com/2012/02/17/t…

North Sea Oil and Gas Just Won’t Quit

By Peter C Glover, Energy Tribune, Feb 20, 2012

http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm/986…

[SEPP Comment: Major new finds in the North Sea.]

Expert panel deliberates hydraulic fracturing in shale gas development

By Staff Writers,Vancouver, Canada (SPX) Feb 21, 2012

http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Expert_pa…

The Methanol Alternative to Gasoline

By Tom Ridge and Mary Peters, NYT, Feb 23, 2012 [H/t David Manuta]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/opinion/met…

[SEPP Comment: There is no analysis of how the cost of the vehicles compares with those using compressed natural gas or LNG. California dropped its methanol program.]

Debate Surrounds Race to Export America’s Natural Gas

Some U.S. manufacturers, utilities and consumer advocates worry exporting gas will drive up electricity prices and deepen reliance on coal.

By Bill Lascher, Inside Climate News, Feb 21, 2012

http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120220/en…

US Administration’s Control of Oil and Gas

Oil Execs Say Obama Led Us To ‘Energy Abyss

Editorial, IBD, Feb 23, 2012

http://news.investors.com/Article.aspx?id=602…

Obama losing financial backing of big S.F. donor

By Carla Marinucci and Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle, Feb 16, 2012

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/…

Oil Spills & Consequences

BP’s Deepwater catharsis finally on the horizon

By Kevin Allison, Reuters, Feb 22, 2012

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/02/22/…

Nuclear Energy and Fears

Japan shuts down nuclear reactor

By Staff Writers, Tokyo (AFP), Feb 20, 2012

http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Japa…

New technology supported in US budget request

By Staff Writers, WNN, Feb 14, 2012

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-New_tech…

[SEPP Comment: US subsidies to the development of commercial nuclear power plants have been significant. However, should the commercial plants pay for the legacy costs of cleaning up US facilities including those developed for war, including WWII and the Cold War? Yucca Mountain still remains an important issue.]

Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Energy – Solar and Wind

The Collapsing Case for ‘Green’ Energy (Berkeley’s Borenstein on an intellectual wrong turn )

By Robert Bradley Jr, Master Resource, Feb 22, 2012

http://www.masterresource.org/2012/02/borenst…

Wind Spin: Misdirection and Fluff by a Taxpayer-enabled Industry

By John Droz, Jr, Master Resource, Feb 24, 2012

http://www.masterresource.org/2012/02/wind-sp…

This Week in Clean Economy: Wind Supporters Mobilize to Save Federal Tax Credit

Down but not out, the wind industry vows to keep a federal tax credit alive. Plus, InsideClimate News breaks down Obama’s clean energy budget.

By Maria Gallucci, InsideClimate News, Feb 17, 2012

http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120217/th…

[SEPP Comment: Department of Defense is to spend $1 Billion for energy conservation / renewable? To protect the nation?]

Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Energy – Other

Booker on Biofuels

By Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, Feb 22, 2012

http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2012/2…

Carbon Schemes

Carbon storage project combines innovation and outreach

By Staff Writers, Champaign, IL (SPX) Feb 23, 2012

http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Carbon_st…

Review of Recent Scientific Articles by NIPCC

For a full list of articles see

http://www.NIPCCreport.org…

The Relative Merit of Multiple Climate Models

Reference: Reifen, C. and Toumi, R. 2009. Climate projections: Past performance no guarantee of future skill? Geophysical Research Letters 36: 10.1029/2009GL038082.

http://www.nipccreport.org/articles/2012/feb/…

North American Mega-Droughts and Global Mega-Warming

Reference: Routson, C.C., Woodhouse, C.A. and Overpeck, J.T. 2011. Second century megadrought in the Rio Grande headwaters, Colorado: How unusual was medieval drought? Geophysical Research Letters 38: 10.1029/2011GL050015.

http://www.nipccreport.org/articles/2012/feb/…

Plant Responses to Recent Warming in the Southern Alps

Reference: Erschbamer, B., Kiebacher, T., Mallaun, M. and Unterluggauer, P. 2009. Short-term signals of climate change along an altitudinal gradient in the South Alps. Plant Ecology 202: 79-89.

http://www.nipccreport.org/articles/2012/feb/…

Growth of Water-Stressed Maize and Sorghum Plants

Reference: Allen Jr., L.H., Kakani, V.G., Vu, J.C.V. and Boote, K.J. 2011. Elevated CO2 increases water use efficiency by sustaining photosynthesis of water-limited maize and sorghum. Journal of Plant Physiology 168: 1909-1918.

http://www.nipccreport.org/articles/2012/feb/…

Health, Energy, and Climate

Animal diseases increasingly plague the oceans

By Staff Writers, Vancouver (AFP) Feb 20, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Animal_dise…

[SEPP Comment: According to the report warming waters will cause less dissolved oxygen in the oceans – yet ocean “acidification” advocates claim oceans have more dissolved carbon dioxide?]

Environmental Industry

Greener Than Thou

By Alan Caruba, Warning Signs, Feb 20, 2012

http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com/2012/02/g…

Taking the Earth’s pulse with new economic and environmental index

By Staff Writers, Vancouver, Canada (SPX), Feb 22, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Taking_the_…

The top five performing countries are Bolivia, Angola, Namibia, Paraguay, and Argentina, while the bottom five performers are Jordan, the Republic of Korea, Israel, Kuwait, and Singapore.

[SEPP Comment: Environmentalism trumps humanity.]

Activists planning anti-oil sands strategy since 2008

Claudia Cattaneo Financial Post, Feb 21, 2012

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/02/21/…

[SEPP Comment: US environmental organizations and foundations termed the US importation of oil from Canadian oil sands a global threat.]

Oil sands dodge bullet in Brussels

EU fails to back ‘directive’ that ­penalizes the oil sands – but the threat isn’t gone

By Peter Foster, Financial Post, Feb 23, 2012

http://opinion.financialpost.com/2012/02/23/p…

Other Scientific News

Mother of pearl tells a tale of ocean temperature and depth

By Staff Writers, Madison WI (SPX) Feb 21, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Mother_of_p…

[SEPP Comment: A new source for proxy data?]

The fallout of the Nobel scam of 1946

Scientist’s radiation cover-up might have cost thousands of lives

By Lawrence Solomon, Financial Post, Feb 10, 2012

http://opinion.financialpost.com/2012/02/10/l…

[SEPP Comment: Creation of the linear no-threshold model – by deliberate misrepresentation.]

Breaking Through the Ice at Lake Vostok

By Marc Kaufman for Astrobiology Magazine, Moffett Field CA (SPX) Feb 21, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Breaking_Th…

The Origin of Photosynthesis Revealed

By Staff Writers, New Brunswick NJ (SPX), Feb 23, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/The_Origin_…

[SEPP Comment: What gave rise to the poisonous gas oxygen replacing the benign gas carbon dioxide?]

Dead for 32,000 Years, an Arctic Plant Is Revived

By Nicholas Wade, NYT, Feb 20, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/science/new…

Other News that May Be of Interest

Landscape fire smoke contributes to hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide

By Staff Writers, Washington DC (SPX), Feb 22, 2012

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Landscape_f…

[SEPP Comment: Are US government policies preventing the clearing of underbrush, cutting of diseased trees, and promoting wildfires causing deaths? If so, where is the EPA?]

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE:

The Protocols of the Elders of Heartland

By Wendy McElroy, Her Blog,

http://www.wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.4…

[SEPP Comment: A humorous take on the Heartland Flap.]

Warming climate could make us all shrink

By Emma Woollacott, TG Daily, Feb 24, 2012 [H/t Climate Etc]

http://www.tgdaily.com/general-sciences-featu…

Researchers have uncovered a direct link between global temperatures and body size, leading them to conclude that future climate change could mean species getting smaller.

[SEPP Comment: At best, spurious induction also called hasty generalization.]

PLEASE NOTE: The complete TWTW, including the full text of the numbered articles, can be downloaded in an easily printable form at this web site: http://www.sepp.org/the-week-that-was.cfm…