From the GWPF and Dr. Benny Peiser
Tim Yeo: We Are All Climate Sceptics Now
Humans May Not Be Responsible For Global Warming Says Committee Chairman
Humans may not be responsible for global warming, the MP who oversees government policy on climate change has said. Tim Yeo, the chairman of the Commons Energy and Climate Change committee, said he accepts the earth’s temperature is increasing but said “natural phases” may be to blame. He said: “Although I think the evidence that the climate is changing is now overwhelming, the causes are not absolutely clear. There could be natural causes, natural phases that are taking place.” Mr Yeo has previously spoken with great certainty about the science of climate change. He said in 2009: “The dying gasps of the deniers will be put to bed. In five years time, no one will argue about a man-made contribution to climate change.” –Matthew Holehouse, The Daily Telegraph, 29 May 2013
As part of Germany’s switch to renewables, industry has been exempt from paying higher prices associated with solar and wind energy. The European Commission, however, believes the practice distorts competition on the Continent. Huge penalties could be in store. Energy-intensive industry, which plays an important role in the German industrial landscape, threatens to be “driven out of the country.” The controversial law, with its billions in subsidies for green electricity, could hardly survive in its current form. —Spiegel Online, 29 May 2013
We can be sure that whatever proposals China makes will be all about the best possible economic growth path for China. Reducing global CO2 emissions is not a goal of the Chinese government. Fans of global carbon treaty fans are desperate for good news, having watched their pet issue move from the front pages at the time of the Copenhagen summit to the obscure back pages of the specialist journals. (How many people followed the recently concluded Bonn edition of the global climate talks?). This news out of China will be used to try to pump up the publicity machine, but a serious CO2 treaty remains a no-hoper. –Walter Russell Mead, Via Meadia, 28 May 2013
The $77 billion solar industry is facing a quality crisis just as solar panels are on the verge of widespread adoption. A review of 30,000 installations in Europe by the German solar monitoring firm Meteocontrol found 80 percent were underperforming. –Todd Woody, The New York Times, 29 May 2013
The number of households insulating their homes has dramatically fallen this year, threatening to torpedo the Government’s energy efficiency drive and push utility bills even higher. According to industry figures obtained by The Times, cavity wall insulation was fitted in 1,138 homes last month, compared with almost 40,000 in April last year. The slump underlines the lack of consumer interest in the Government’s Green Deal programme, which ministers have billed as the biggest home improvement programme since the Second World War. –Tim Webb, The Times, 29 May 2013
The UK and Germany are among four EU member states whose emissions from fossil fuel combustion are expected to have risen over 2012, despite the bloc seeing an average drop in CO2 output. New estimates from EU statistics agency Eurostat suggest UK CO2 emissions last year climbed by 3.9 per cent compared to 2011, while Germany saw a 0.9 per cent increase. The UK and Germany are also listed as having the highest absolute emissions from energy use in the EU, with the UK responsible for 472 million tons of CO2 over 2012, up by 17.7mt from 2011, and Germany 728mt. –Will Nichols, Business Green, 29 May 2013
“The number of households insulating their homes has dramatically fallen this year, threatening to torpedo the [U.K.] Government’s energy efficiency drive and push utility bills even higher. According to industry figures obtained by The Times, cavity wall insulation was fitted in 1,138 homes last month, compared with almost 40,000 in April last year. “
Unlike US houses, UK homes mostly have masonry walls, which have very little insulation value on their own. After 1920, solid masonry walls were replaced by cavity walls, two masonry walls (typically brick and concrete block) separated by a couple inches of air. Better, but still not great. The double walls are thick and make construction expensive compared to US. After 1995, though, new construction is must be insulated.
All the masonry means that the UK loses a lot of heat, and older homes are much less comfortable than they could be. Thus there are huge energy and money savings opportunities just by filling the older cavity walls with insulation.
The UK govt has cut way back on the grants that pay for insulating older houses, so there is less enthusiasm. The slow economy also makes it tougher for homeowners to come up with the money for retrofitting.
Chair of the climate change committee, the Rt. Honourable Tim Yeo MP has overseen the ruinous introduction of the CCA – all helped along by the idiocy of EU enforced emissions targets, Tim is supposed to be objective but has always has been a rabid supporter of the now crumbling CAGW consensus and we will not let you forget it Tim………..slime ball nonpareil.
Yeo is chairman of Univent plc, Chairman of TMO Renewables and non-executive chairman of Eco City Vehicles plc and AFC Energy plc.
Yeo and his wife Diane are sole directors of Locana Corporation (London) Ltd., Anacol Holdings Ltd. and General Securities Register Ltd.
Yeo is also a director of ITI Energy Ltd.
wiki:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Yeo
So Tim Yeo, the Chameleon recants and [reptile brain counts his options] – he knew it all along!! Yes said Tim, the climate changes and it’s not going to be the end of days but it’s all………………………..get this – er ………….natural!
Have you been taking lessons in duplicity and sophistry recently, though you’re not very good are you Mr. Yeo?
Still there’s always £250 k p.a. to fall back on but how are your interests in the renewable industry gonna see it Tim?
Join the Fracking crews?
Are you now going to kick the climate change committee up the backside and RECOMMEND the long overdue rescinding of the Climate change Act – you haven’t the b8lls.
It’ll be a cold day in hell…….mind you here and now in Britain – because of slithery things like you Tim – we are already there.
Tim Yeo and the DECC …….
http://fenbeagleblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/the-arrogantauts/
“He said: “Although I think the evidence that the climate is changing is now overwhelming,…………….”
God help us all. I nearly fell of the chair now that it is official, and here I was trying to work out why the weather yesterday was different to that of today./sarc
And don’t forget this guy, also up to eye balls in political graft.
The UK government is bent, the RED Tories are worse than the Socialists.
arthur4563 says:
May 29, 2013 at 1:14 pm
I would love to see the actual output statistics for one of California’s solar farms for comparison with their claims when the facility was built. That data should be available to the public, especially since those farms represent a huge expenditure of taxpayer money..
You can, all of them, and in near real-time.
California ISO; http://www.caiso.com/outlook/SystemStatus.html#Todays%20Outlook
mpainter says: May 29, 2013 at 12:55 pm
Mr Yeo still has a ways to go before he is on even keel. He says that “the evidence of climate change is overwhelming”. Someone needs to call his attention to the temperature trends of this century.
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Climate is constantly changinging, so I would hope that there is over whelming evidence that climate is changing.
As far as the UK is concerned, this century, CET shows that temperatures have fallen by about 0.5degC. More significantly, it shows that winter temperatures have fallen by almost 1.5degC. this is more than the temperature rise seen last century.
If it was not for some political drive towards a world order, one would approach climate change on a regional basis. The Uk Government should be aware of what si happening in the UK since they may need to prepare for harsh winters (the last few years the UK has been ill prepared for the heavy and persistent snow and cold), and for an increase in energy use (this year the UK was only 6hours away from running out of gas supplies because it was ill prepared for high levels of demand over such a lengthy period).
The cost of green energy is reallly going to hit the UK consumer far harder than is presently envisaged if the trend for colder winters continues. This should be of utmost concenrn to the UK Parliament>
Mr Yeo said: “It is possible there are natural causes as well, but my view has always been that – for twenty years – I have thought the scientific evidence has been very convincing. The strong probability is that it is man-made causes contributing to greenhouse gas concentrations.”
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Yes, Mr Yeo, there is a strong probability that man is causing “greenhouse gases” to increase…
….what does that have to do with global warming/climate change/irritable climate syndrome?
And here goes the Yoe-Yoe back the other ways.
http://www.timyeo.org.uk/news/climate-change-0
Truly does not understand the words coming out of his mouth.
What is perhaps even more interesting is the the result of the telegraph poll on causes of GW in the Tim Yeo article….you are right Anthony…we ARE all deniers.
@BruceC
Do we have available data as to the cost per kilowatt for such energy from various sources to compare?
Most opinions quite salient.
So, folks, how do you take it outside to MSM where it counts politically?
Note I am not proposing solutions, except in specific narrow past cases. But if you want to carry on, you will have to provide same. I have faith in crowd sourcing. Get creative.
Mike McMillan says:
May 29, 2013 at 3:54 pm
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Mike
In principle your comment is corrrect, but I would beg to differ with the detail.
For the main part, UK housing stock is old and damp and that is one reson why the UK has about the highest winter mortality rates amongst developed nations in Europe.
Only about 20% of UK housing can benefit from cavity wall insulation. That is because most houses built prior to WW2 are single brick construction (there may have been some houses in the 1920s built with cavity walls but these were rare) and therefore have no cavity to which cavity wall insulation can be applied. Houses build post 1980s are already well insulated and allthough cavity wall insulation can be fitted to those houses, the improvements in insulation are relatively slight.
The upshot is that there is only a narrow band of houses built between the late 1930s and early 1980s that really benefit from cavity wall insulation and that stock accounts for only about 20% of the entire housing stock. I think that the Government do not properly understand that when they talk about how energy bills can be brought down for the consumer.
Also this old housing is drafty. Indeed, old houses often have 4 or 5 open chimneys. It is part of the design. A lot of heat is lost in this manner. Some people close in these chimneys, but that leads to damp problems. In old houses, there should be air bricks which allows air under the floors (which stops damp rising) and inrooms where there are no chimneys air bricks should be fitted. Often one finds that when double glazing is fitted, damp problems arise and can only be solved by fitting larger air bricks which allows the heat to escape. Some double glazing has an open air slot built into the surround to help deal with the damp problem, so when these units are fitted, it is like having a very small window open 24 hours a day.
The Government lays out great stall in loft insulation. However, once again the extent of the effects of better insulation is exagerated. The reason for this is that even though many houses are not fitted with high grade loft insulation to required depth, many houses have some insulation, alternatively the loft space is full of junk. Most people hoard old rugs (even old carpets, or offcuts), clothes, books, magazines, boxes full of knick knacks etc in their lofts and this junk insulates. We all know of the addage about the homelsss sleeping under newspapers or in cardboard boxes to keep warm. So whilst many properties do not have the required level of loft insulation, the improvements that will be seen from better loft insulation is not all that it is hyped up to be.
The governmenet is ill informed about the characteristics of UK housing stock and this is leading them to erroneously believe that greater energy savings can be achieved by better insulation than is the case.
ps. Cavity wall insulation can lead to damp problems as many consumers are finding.
pps, of course, a lot of people live in flats which makes many improvements impractical
Gary Pearse says:
“Don’t make it too tough for these guys to change their minds.”
Evgueni Kretchetov says:
“B***ards. I want my money back. I am so very angry. For being patronised, for being called a “denier”, for them debasing and stealing the good name of science, for hundreds of billions wasted on fraudulent ideas, for all those dead from cold and hunger.”
I’ve got to agree with Evgueni. Somehow, these fraudulent, irresponsible, squanderers of incalculable amounts of tax money must be held accountable. As much as I despise Heidi Cullen’s call for deniers to lose their professional certifications, these fraudsters truly deserve punishment. They’ve committed real crimes against humanity, far worse than those committed by armed robbers given 20 year sentences. I’m in favor of early release of nonviolent offenders to make room for Yeo and the rest who knowingly committed fraud to line their pockets at taxpayers expense.
Whether it be existential or theoretical, there seems to be five stages of the dying process according to Kubler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally, acceptance.
With the plethora of recent announcements by prominent politicians, bureaucrats and scientists expressing serious doubts to the efficacy of CAGW theory, it seems that the death of CAGW is entering the third and perhaps even the early part of stage four in the process.
The Earth is now into its 17th year no statistically significant warming trend (despite nearly 40% of all manmade CO2 emissions since 1750 being emitted over the past 17 years). Moreover, there is growing evidence and natural phenomena that suggest this lack of warming or perhaps even a prolonged cooling trend will continue for many years to come (PDO entered 30-yr cooling cycle in 2008, Antarctic and Pacific-portion of Arctic Ice extents setting 30-yr record levels, AMO starting to cool, current solar cycle lowest since 1906 and next solar cycle projected to be weakest since 1645, string of severe winters, record snow events, severe weather events at 100-yr average levels, slowing sea rise, etc.)
The political, social and economic ramifications/blowback of a mildly warming/cooling Earth, especially in light of the $trillions already wasted on the “settled science” of CAGW mitigation, is starting to create serious anxiety among politicians to their very political survival.
I expect many more attempts at “bargaining”, like Tim Yeo’s recent comments, to be forthcoming as politicians try to find a delicate balance between skepticism and advocacy of CAGW policy/theory.
CAGW will eventually become a very serious scandal, so it’s important that politicians and bureucrats have a comment on record, which they can use in their defense when questions of, “who knew what and when”, occur during the inevitable “CAGW witch hunt”.
Let the games begin….
Newsflash
National Hurricane Center has identified and named Hurricane Barbara!
Because it’s still Bush’s fault. Except a different Bush.
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Found this about “under-performing” solar panels:
http://www.solarsentry.com/Technology.htm
Buy their monitoring equipment and you can recoup 80% of the losses you thought were from the normal well-documented aging of the panels.
2.5% * 10 yrs, 25% loss. Only 20% of that, only 5% loss. Is it possible for panels to lose only 5% after 10 years? And that’s installation wide, including all “weather resistant” connections, electronics, etc.
Obviously the problem with those German solar installations is lack of monitoring.
Once the Germans learn how to do remote surveillance, there will be no more reports of performance problems. In the press. Ever.
I am now in a state of suffocation, 400ppm of Co2 and burning up fast – Hold up, they say its summer – Yea right, freezing my nuts off.
View from the Solent says on May 29, 2013 at 3:40 pm:
“In the UK there is a political party which has not bought into it. It’s doing rather well in the polls. (and in recent local elections)”
= = = = = = = = = =
Would that happen to be Lord Christopher’s ‘Political Party?
By the way, in spite of the Tim Yeo story above The UK politicians are getting the lumberjacks in The USA to cut down their forests so that their trees can be cut up and burned (burnt) in UK power stations.
The UK is fast running out of coal you see. (According to the BBC, that is) – And instead of cutting down their own (UK) forests for the purpose, the two-faced politicians are getting the Americans to cut down theirs. – Less trouble from the UK’s “greens” that way I suppose. -I do suspect some politician has a finger in that scam too, but I am not going to accuse anybody in particular as I doubt there will be any reliable evidence anywhere.
@ur momisugly OssQss
You may have to search if there is anything for Cali (or U.S.). Here in Oz we have the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) which tracks the electricity pricing for our eastern states; Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.
http://www.aemo.com.au/
What is interesting in the above, Qld, NSW, and Vic rely almost exclusively on coal-fired plants for power generation. Tas relies mostly on hydro for their power generation. South Australia on the other hand has the highest Nameplate Capacity of wind power, almost 40%, installed in Oz…….yet their prices per MWH are the highest in Oz…..possibly in the world.
Here is a very interesting article written by TonyfromOZ (JoNova regular poster) about such S.A. costs;
The Hidden Costs Wind Power Won’t Tell You About
http://papundits.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/is-south-australias-wind-power-cheap-well-no/
Cheers.
One cannot deny the strength of the “Pigs In Troughs” argument proposed by Dellingpole and indeed @Athelstan above.
You would have thought John Selwyn (what BSE problem?) Gummer would have learnt his lesson from “the science is settled” argument about the safety of eating British Beef at the height of the BSE crisis. Yes I remember the photo of him giving his daughter a beefburger in a PR photo stunt to say ‘the science is settled, the consensus is its perfectly safe’ (it later transpired it wasn’t and can lead to BSE). It makes you wonder if he has interests in wind farm companies now did he have interests in the Beef industry then? Also, I wonder if his daughter has ever forgiven him?
On the subject of children, because these ‘troughies’ have taxed fossil fuels out of reach there was a recent report on the BBC news that even heritage steam railways are having difficulty obtaining coal in the UK. Dare I say;
“In the near future our children won’t know what coal is?”
The temptation to mock, tar and feather will be very great but must be resisted. Last December Monckton suggested we dig rat holes for them to escape.
As Yeo is trying to take back his words then I agree with you that it does look like a story blown up by the media by quoting out of context. That is what the media do. What I find most interesting is that they should choose to do it to Yeo. Nasty media tricks in recent years have been mostly employed to diss sceptics and sell alarmism.
I don’t care what Yeo’s opinion is and whether he has changed his mind. He seems like a slimy piece of work to me and I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could kick him whatever his professed views on the climate. What interests me is that Yeo now finds himself in the uncomfortable position of having to bluster, equivocate, justify himself and answer uncomfortable questions. A year ago he had essentially a free pass to spout complete nonsense about the climate in front of the media and pass unchallenged. No longer it seems.
Tim Yeo is hoping for a “soft landing” for the AGW hoax and it’s fellow travellers. This will not be happening. With his 2009 comments easily retrieved at the tap of the keyboard or the click of a mouse, he like so many who will try to follow him, is finding out that the traditional lame stream media technique of the “walk Back” does not work in the age of the Internet.
The SS Global Warming is sinking with all hands. Sceptics have stolen all the life boats and the Internet has welded the hatches shut.
yippie eye yeo!
however, the MSM still won’t let go:
29 May: Daily Mail: Daniel Martin: Humans may not be responsible for global warming, it may just be a natural phase, says climate change MP
But he said governments should continue to cut carbon emissions, because there was still ‘a risk’ that global warming is caused by mankind…
Mr Yeo’s scepticism puts him at odds with the scientific community. A recent survey of 12,000 academic papers on climate change found 97 per cent agree that human activities are causing the planet to warm…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2333056/Humans-responsible-global-warming-just-natural-phase-says-climate-change-MP.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
backtracking…
29 May: East Anglia Daily Times: Suffolk: Tim Yeo claims “views remain the same” about causes of climate change
South Suffolk MP Tim Yeo has claimed that remarks suggesting that “natural causes” may be partly to blame for global warming were taken out of context.
Mr Yeo, chair of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, posted a statement on his website after the Telegraph reported that he had said the causes of climate change are “not absolutely clear.”…
Responding Mr Yeo said: “In the light of what has appeared on the Telegraph website suggesting that I have changed my views about climate change, I wanted to make clear that this is not the case.
“My views have remained the same for over two decades.
“I accept the overwhelming scientific evidence that human activities are having a major impact on the climate – there is an overwhelming probability that the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from human actions are contributing to climate change.
“The move to a low carbon economy is not just right environmentally but also in our economic interest.”
http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/suffolk_tim_yeo_claims_views_remain_the_same_about_causes_of_climate_change_1_2215452
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