From The GWPF and Dr. Benny Peiser:
The European Commission is to order Britain to end wind farm subsidies. Officials have told ministers that the current level of state support for renewable energy sources must be phased out by the end of the decade. Taxpayer support for solar energy must also be cut, the commission will say. –James Kirkup and Bruno Waterfield, The Daily Telegraph, 3 January 2014
Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey say that the melting of the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf in Antarctica has suddenly slowed right down in the last few years, confirming earlier research which suggested that the shelf’s melt does not result from human-driven global warming. Dr Pierre Dutrieux of the BAS states bluntly: “We found ocean melting of the glacier was the lowest ever recorded, and less than half of that observed in 2010. This enormous, and unexpected, variability contradicts the widespread view that a simple and steady ocean warming in the region is eroding the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.” –Lewis Page, The Register, 3 January 2014
Fifty-two scientists and tourists rescued from a trapped vessel in the Antarctic still can’t get home. On Thursday, a helicopter flew the stranded passengers off the icepack in groups of 10 and 12. Their ship had been trapped in the ice for more than 10 days. Now, they’re stuck again, this time because the Chinese icebreaker that sent the helicopter fears it could get stuck as well. —CBN News, 3 January 2014
Yet another vessel has been trapped by global warming sea ice! The Xue Long icebreaker has sent out a distress call. Prof Turney tweets he is gutted by the news. I guess he can’t believe that climate warming could trap so many ships in sea ice. His communication manager just announced all the sea ice is caused by global warming. –Pierre Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, 3 January 2014
Climate experts say that global warming is melting sea ice faster than expected, which is why the poles currently have the most sea ice ever measured for the date. –Steve Goddard, Real Science, 2 January 2014
The Central England Temperature numbers for 2013 are now issued. Last year was the second coldest since 1996, second only to 2010, one of the coldest years of the last century. It has not been as low as this since 1990. –Paul Homewood, Not A Lot Of People Know That, 3 January 2014
If the IPCC reports were accepted for exactly what they are – exaggerated science with a large dollop of politics – this would be the end of the matter. Unfortunately, various bodies actively encourage us to believe the reports are entirely scientific, accurate and completely authoritative on all climate matters, this despite the IPCC’s charter and the political interference. –John McLean, The Age, 3 January 2014
With his gray beard, thick glasses, gentle laugh, and disarmingly soft voice, Richard Lindzen comes across as nothing short of grandfatherly. Granted, Lindzen is no shrinking violet. A pioneering climate scientist with decades at Harvard and MIT, Lindzen sees his discipline as being deeply compromised by political pressure, data fudging, out-and-out guesswork, and wholly unwarranted alarmism. In a shot across the bow of what many insist is indisputable scientific truth, Lindzen characterizes global warming as “small and … nothing to be alarmed about.” –Ethan Epstein, Weekly Standard, 13 January 2014
The public would hardly be aware of the statements made by all of the above if it wasn’t for the mainstream media. Journalists are supposed to be sceptical about all claims on all matters but that scepticism is usually absent when dealing with climate issues. Whatever the cause, journalists appear unwilling to question claims, unwilling to ask for the data so they might verify the findings and unwilling to follow-up predictions to see if they were correct. The silence on all these matters tacitly and falsely implies that the IPCC’s view is correct and it’s an authority on all climate issues. –John McLean, The Age, 3 January 2014
TonyB
As we are in a conservation area, it is unlikely. Nor would I want to. Feed-in tariffs mean someone else has to pick up the bill at the end of the day, either the taxpayer or other consumers who have the cost added to their bills. The whole system is immoral.
The wind farm story intrigued me given what’s going on with SDG&E. http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/wind/sdge-montana-wind-company-in-flap-over-eagles.html IF utilities are going to walk away from renewable contracts, what’s next?
The annual mean anomalies Hadley Centre Central England Temperature (HadCET) dataset shows a decline of some 0.7°C from 2003 to 2013 (red line, 10-year running mean).
2006 was the warmest year on record for the HadCET database.
This figure was 0.6°C from 2003 to 2012, a 0.1°C decline in 1 year!
The mean, minimum and maximum datasets are updated monthly.
These daily and monthly temperatures are representative of a roughly triangular area of the United Kingdom enclosed by Lancashire, London and Bristol. The monthly series, which begins in 1659, is the longest available instrumental record of temperature in the world. The daily series begins in 1772.
See http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/
Caz Jones says:
January 3, 2014 at 9:56 am
Yes, and think of this: here in Spain they gave lots of people subsidies installing solar power, and now reversed the scheme. You now have to pay taxes over the energy you generate… A catch 22.
I seem to have a comment stuck in moderation.
Now if only we could get the governor of Kansas to get with the program.
Since there might be at least a small chance that the destruction of the world’s economy from CAGW hysteria will be bad for us, we should quit being hysterical. Based purely on the precautionary principle mind you (and saving a small child).
Several items in Newsbytes that pleased me. The EU directive sounds sensible since it is becoming increasingly obvious that large numbers of Europeans are disenchanted by climate policies that make their power dearer particularly for winter warming. Europe has been experiencing long and severe winters and some 30000 Britons are reported in fuel poverty. Eventually, sooner rather than later, a backlash against the green madness may even lead to Briton leaving the EU, possibly precipitating other countries pulling out. The Eurocrats fear such a move since they would be unemployed and powerless. I think the edict is far too late to stop the gradual disintegration of the EU. I can’t imagine living in a sovereign country where many laws are made by unelected foreigners. David Cameron is merely a conduit for Brussels.
The second piece of good news is the John McLean column in the Age. The Age is Melbourne’s version of the British Guardian. Extreme left wing with never a bad word about the UN or anything associated with it. The Age can be guaranteed to run stories damaging to conservatives and prevent stories damaging to leftist causes. Ridiculing the Abbott government, deserved or not is an art form at the Age. Raising Gillard to sainthood regardless of failures was a regular feature. So to allow McLean to write the truth about the IPCC is quite something. No doubt the editor will be flooded with complaints by his very few readers who have yet to hear about expanding ice or the lack of warming for 17 years. The Age is part of Fairfax that has seen it’s share price drop by two thirds to 64 cents over recent years.
If UK wind and solar subsidies are cut then they won’t be competitive on price. But before celebrations break out, don’t forget that Osbourne introduced a carbon tax that hits gas and coal generation, which can be raised to make them as ridiculously expensive and wind and solar. This will, of course, see a wholesale departure of manufacturing industry elsewhere but then they seem to be too stupid to see this. Ironic that one of the governments big things is to get manufacturing industry to grow. I always assume that politicians with Politics-Philosophy-Economics degrees skipped the economics lectures.
The USA recent decision to allow wind farms to kill eagles in the name of CO2 is a horrendous step backwards for conservation. I hope wind eventually gets the same negative acceptance here as it is getting in the UK.
It’s like Evan Sayet the comic talks about saying that they are not stupid because if it was just stupidity once in awhile they’d be right …maybe every so often. But they are wrong virtually 100% of the time in every area they present as scientific fact. The worse part is the lengths they go to and the depths the sink to in order to promote the cause. Science, honesty and integrity be damned.
“Ethan Epstein, Weekly Standard, 13 January 2014”
Anthony, crystal ball abilities?
Happy New Year.
Andres Valencia says:
January 3, 2014 at 10:13 am
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And Winter ( defined as Dec to March) CET temperatures, as from 2000 have fallen by almost 1.5degC. But the MSM seem not willing to report on that, or put this to our DECC Ministers when interviewed.
There is no such thing as global warming, or global climate change. Climate is and always has been a local/regional affair, not a global phenomena (save other than being in an ice age or in an inter glacial period).
Presently, it is getting cold in the upper mid latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, especially in winter. Whether that trend will continue, who knows. But it is certainly newsworthy.
archonix says:
January 3, 2014 at 9:40 am
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with my limited knowledge of their inner workings option 2 sounds very possible.
always thought people were idiots for agreeing to the EU but thats just my opinion.
dmacleo says:
January 3, 2014 at 3:43 pm
“with my limited knowledge of their inner workings option 2 sounds very possible.
always thought people were idiots for agreeing to the EU but thats just my opinion.”
They are. The state media don’t explain the power structure of the EU. The population is kept in the dark, and believes voting has a meaning. In the member states, pseudo controversies about irrelevant details are cooked up in the state media to create the illusion of a political debate. I am always amazed about what I don’t miss by not using the German state media I am forced to pay for. From time to time I look at google news Germany frontpage to see what I don’t miss.
If the EU commission indeed prohibits the British Sector from further subsidation of wind and solar, I wonder what they command in the Germanic Sector. We currently pay 24 bn EUR a year to the owners of Wind and Solar contraptions to make them happy.
Pity they won’t end all the other “farm subsidies” besides wind.
I found the story It is not the EU it is the ten of the top European utility companies http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0SO8xe4l8dSaRwAyBhXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzMzd2bjlxBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDNARjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1NNRTM0Nl8x/SIG=13j4p7jec/EXP=1388841016/**http%3a//www.world-nuclear-news.org/EE-Utilities_call_for_end_of_renewable_subsidies-1410134.html
Others have hinted, in my experience when there is an EU directive like this there is always an alterior motive. As Old’un says, subsidies for off-shore generation (And who stands to gain? MH’s Govn’t and the Royal Family of course) to be unaffected/increased and too as diogenese2 says, the EU wants a carbon tax (As if there weren’t enough taxes on engergy as it is. We can see more winter deaths in the comming decades). The whole EU is bankrupt.
The UK has just opened the immigration floodgates to Romania and Bulgaria, that’s not going to be too good for the British taxpayer.
“Gerry says:
January 3, 2014 at 12:45 pm”
Go get yourself a copy of the last episode of the last series of Top Gear. They fill The Mall, in London, with vehicles all made in England. Soon, like snow, to be a thing of the past.
Much of the British steel industry is owned by or has been, or will soon be, exported to India, Tata Steel. Guess who has finacial links to Tata? The IPCC chair, Pachouri.
Jaguar/LandRover have been owned by Tata Motors since 2008.
Anyone notice a trend here?
Perhaps not. If the reduction begins now, on a sliding scale, that will bankrupt most renewables firms right away, and drive investors elsewhere. In essence, most are marginal Ponzi schemes, feeding the new money into illusory profits.
It’s a lot like a dictatorship. If the Big Man is known to be fatally ill, the rats have 2 choices: scoop what they can an flee, or immediately engage in the bloodletting life-or-death (literally) competition to replace Him. Similarly, if the open subsidies spigot is shutting down, the players will try to destroy each other, or cash out ASAP.
How can the EU tell Britain what to do? I thought Britain didn’t ‘t join the EU?
Here in Pennsylvania last week: 6 windmills, only 1 was slowly spinning in the wind. And it’s bitter cold when electric demand should be high.
David L
Britain did indeed join the EEC in 1973 and signed the Lisbon Treaty of the EU in 2004. It is a member.
It didn’t join the Euro currency.
Andres Valencia says:
January 3, 2014 at 10:13 am
The annual mean anomalies Hadley Centre Central England Temperature (HadCET) dataset shows a decline of some 0.7°C from 2003 to 2013
Furthermore, the annual trend is negative all the way back to 1988 (25 years)
David L:
At January 4, 2014 at 4:24 am you say
You may be interested to know it is very probable that the slowly spinning turbine was taking electricity FROM the grid.
Wind turbines only operate to generate power when the wind is strong enough but not too strong. However, a turbine cannot stop rotating for long times because that causes distortion of components (as a result of creep) and loss of lubricant from the bottom of turbine bearings (squeezed out by the weight of the turbine). Thus, a turbine has to be rotated at intervals or it will suffer damage when it is restarted.
This necessary imposed rotation of a turbine is obtained by using the generator as a motor powered by electricity taken from the grid.
If the wind were sufficient to operate the turbines then all 6 turbines would have been operating. The fact that only one was rotating – and was slowly rotating – strongly suggests that it was being turned and was using power from the grid to turn it.
Richard