Guest essay by Eric Worrall
The Guardian has published a hilariously confused post, which seems to claim that climate change is important, vital, and big, but we should focus on other issues, and kindof let climate take care of itself.
It is the greatest environmental hazard of the age. Nothing focuses our concern for the future more, divides rich and poor, exercises science, business, politicians, old and young. It is an existential threat, a generational battle. All political and financial resources must be concentrated on stopping climate change.
But now that governments have signed up to the unambitious Paris climate agreement and pledged to try to limit greenhouse gas emissions, we must ask whether we have lost sight of everything else. Is the environment just about carbon and parts per million of gases in the atmosphere? What about the environment that we can smell, see and touch today?
For 20 years or more concerns about nuclear waste, food production, the quality of river water, the health of our soils and seas, the fate of our forests, the impact of road-building and many other important ecological issues have been steadily marginalised, starved of resources or pushed off the agenda by climate change.
…
Most heinous of all the sins of emissions is what has happened to our air quality since climate change climbed the political agenda 20 years ago. No government wants us to know that far more people will suffer grievous illnesses and will die from the filthy air shrouding our cities than from any warming of the atmosphere in the next 30 years. Climate change may give us a glimpse of the terrifying future we are heading towards if we don’t change our ways, but toxic air is already here, and killing us in ever greater numbers.
…
We have been distracted by climate change and have let governments dictate the agenda. Now we must return to basics, and address all those issues that have been conveniently dropped. Who will get angry about the degradation of water quality, the plague of plastic in our seas? Mining? What about computer and smart phone waste? Litter? Population control? Endangered species? Unless we address mass consumption – the root of our environmental crisis – climate change will not only worsen, we will be left with a degraded world.
Rather than solely trying to tackle the vast problem of climate change, we must address all the many factors which make it worse. It’s a case of looking after the green pennies and letting the green pounds take care of themselves.
A few days ago, WUWT highlighted how greens are trying to find a replacement for the failed climate scare. I think the plastic pollution crisis is pulling ahead of the field, but the filthy air crisis might still be in the race.
Air pollution we can do something about because we create it. Climate change we can’t do anything about because it’s always been here.
This is a most fascinating article :ERP Compliant is run by Tom Clarke, a Virginia hospital executive and climate change activist. In addition to bidding on U.S. Steel Canada’s operations, Clarke has been scooping up mines from bankrupt coal producers Patriot Coal Corp. and Walter Energy Inc., betting he can help revive the struggling Appalachian region by selling coal bundled with carbon credits accrued by planting trees — something he thinks will appeal to utilities struggling to meet new environmental standards.ERP Compliant has submitted a bid for the steel operations in Hamilton and Nanticoke, Ontario, and Essar Steel and several others are expected to submit offers by the Feb. 29 deadline, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The assets are valued at about $1.5 billion, including debt, the people said.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-19/u-s-steel-canada-said-to-draw-interest-from-erp-other-suitors?cmpid=yhoo.headline
Then follow the links to the carbon credits and tree planting plan that utilities might be interested in. Touted as a way to save coal mining jobs.
Nanticoke, ON is also the place where a 1,000 MW, HVDC underwater Lake Erie, merchant cable will run to the Erie, Penn. area with another 1,000 MWs possible if enough subscribers sign on. Cables, two 500 MW in progress now.
According to Google maps, The U.S. Steel Canada: Lake Erie Works, Nanticoke, is only a short distance to the west of where the 1,000 MW Lake Erie Connector transformer station will be located.
All,
In my (sometimes somewhat misguided) mind, it make sense to research, develop and deploy equipment that cleans as much bad stuff in the exhaust of our existing technology as possible. But with the proviso that it is economically feasible to do it. That meaning the technology involved is subject to the supply and demand laws of economics – not bleeding edge in other words.
Research into improved devices should continue for both energy efficiency (overall) and environmental care is important and should continue. We don’t need to be dirtying our nest more than we need too.
Mike
Here is what is making us all sick Big Food and Big Pharma :Reversing Type 2 diabetes starts with ignoring the guidelines | Sarah Hallberg | TEDxPurdueU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1vvigy5tQ ;Tim Noakes and what good scientists do when faced with the evidence :If the latest US dietary guidelines prove anything at all, it’s how seductively enduring is the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. And when it’s scientists who are the ones demonstrating this crazy behaviour pattern, it bodes badly for public health worldwide. Other countries, including South Africa, slavishly follow the US guidelines. The 2016 guidelines that have just been published are updated every five years. They might just as well not have been. Last year, the US government’s very own expert dietary advisory group declared that dietary cholesterol was ‘no longer a nutrient of concern. It seemed that nutrition scientists were finally doing what all good scientist should do, and just as University of Cape Town emeritus professor Tim Noakes did in 2010, when confronted with the evidence proving that their popularly held belief was false: change their minds.http://www.biznews.com/low-carb-healthy-fat-science/2016/01/22/tim-noakes-and-what-good-scientists-do-when-faced-with-the-evidence/
Do you, or ANYONE you know, actually pay the slightest attention to how the Government tells you to EAT?
Right. Didn’t think so. Mostly a problem if you’re in jail.
Goldrider There is more Money at stake in big pharma big food and Health Care then Climate Change at this time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL5-9ZxamXc Please Watch
…or in public schools.
The whole cholesterol issue is strange. Dr Dzugan has over 80% success rate getting people back into the reference range with simple hormone injections. Not only that but the other 20% improve drastically as well, they just don’t make it back into the reference range.
His approach is that the body makes 80+% of the cholesterol so he asked “why?” and “what is cholesterol used for by the body?”. The body uses it to make hormones. Now if the body detects low hormone levels it will create more cholesterol but if the body can’t convert it then what? It keeps supplying more.
Dr Dzugan’s approach was to see which hormones were low and top them up. The body then stopped producing so much. Nice work. Pity there is a $30 billion statin drug industry dead set against it. Sort of like the peptic ulcer issue times 10.
The signature of these types who write articles like this is always revealed. Note “population control” is slipped into the list as an also-ran (horse racing term for horses that didn’t come in in the money). Check out longevity:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html
Most of the top 7 (which includes two Chinese cities, Japan and Singapore) are big sea food eaters.
You can’t beat economic strength, hygiene, medicine and diet as the most important factors and diet seems to trump the others. The first one- economy- is even necessary to take care of the environment properly.
Reality check on isle 5 please!! It’s about time IMHO. We have so many real problems, like air pollution in China, that wasting money on a non-pollutant (CO2) is stupid. Now they still pay homage to the religious mantra of CO2 being the biggest threat but nice to see them check into reality once in a while.
Stay a while folks. You’ll see that reality isn’t such a bad place and with a bit of work will be darned nice. I know that working on a “fix me up” is less glamorous than your “save the world utopia” but it’s a lot of fun and you get to actually SEE RESULTS.
Climate Policy and the Power of a Single Vote; http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2016/02/19/climate-policy-and-power-single-vote I’m sure this article will become a new headline on this site WUWT
The Guardian seems to have blundered into the obvious on this one.
The Guardian article just goes to show the state of mass journalism these days. The mass media, both television and newspapers, are only peddling cliches, catchy phrases, disjointed bits of items, and never mind the absence of a co-herent plot as long as their glassy-eyed, shallow-minded readers and viewers keep reading and viewing. True journalism, i.e. investigative journalism, is only found in books or blogs written and presented by intelligent individuals where they will be read by intelligent, all-comprehending guys (like us!).
LOVE CANAL
I may myself be a victim of misinformation, in which case I would appreciate being set straight. But my understanding is that using the Love Canal excavation (it was never finished) as a waste disposal depot was in accord with all environmental regulations of the day and, if the clay cap over the top of it remained intact, the contents would have remained trapped by the clay through which the canal was being dug.
When the Niagara Falls school authorities said that they wanted the land to build on, the Hooker Chemical people tried to block them but (possibly due to eminent domain laws- I’m not sure) the school board authorities insisted that they would have the land and Hooker Chemical was forced to sell. But before they sold they showed the school authorities what would happen in the clay cap were disturbed.
Once the school authorities had obtained the land they build a school on or nearby, and they punctured the clay cap for water lines. After the clay cap was punctured the chemicals leaked out.
Naturally, Hooker Chemical was given the blame for the leakage and not the school authorities.
Ian M
Interesting. I did a little googling and found this:
http://reason.com/archives/1981/02/01/love-canal
The Love Canal started life as a barge canal. That is to say, a big ditch lined with 5 feet of clay on the sides and bottom to create an impervious seal and allow the canal to be filled and retain water. The canal project was abandoned before completion, due to the changing economics of freight transport.
Now, when it comes to hazardous waste disposal, one of the Big problems is moving/seeping/flowing/migrating groundwater. It was properly understood that the clay barrier works both ways and so would make the site environmentally stable. And so the site was selected as a waste site, and in time filled up with all kinds of nasty stuff.
What went into the canal site, and who dumped it is a story in itself. The City of Niagara Falls, Chicago, and The Manhattan Project. It was rumored that the worlds first nuclear reactor, the “under the stadium, in Chicago”, or at least pieces of it, ended up in the canal. Both chemical and radiological waste from the nuclear weapons project found it’s way there. Of course, all of this was classified way above “Top Secret”, as all nuclear weapons work would be. The result of this was that it was impossible to make a full inventory of the contents of the site. But what was known was “Bad, Very Bad”, and that, actually, was enough.
Eventually, the site was filled and sealed with a 5 foot thick clay cap. The clay cap was impermeable to water and so provided long term environmental stability to the site. The waste was effectively sealed away due to the 5 foot clay cap. And so matters should have stayed.
But things never stay.
Hooker Chemical sold the site to the Niagara School Board for the princely sum of $1.00, under threat of eminent domain. The $1.00 price served two purposes. First, Hooker showed no profit from the sale, and second, legal responsibility for the waste site came to the School Board. The School Board knew well and truly why the price was what it was. They were fully informed. In fact, the dangers of the site was why Hooker has resisted the sale, and why the School Board had started Eminent Domain proceedings.
The School Board Plays The Hero:
The School Board sold most of the site to a developer, who promptly subdivided the site and started building homes. The School Board made a handsome profit off the sale and so could build a new school for the new neighborhood without any taxpayer monies. They sung their own praises far and wide. There was just one trouble with the site. There was a big 5 foot high earthen embankment of some sort running diagonally through the subdivision. So the contractor removed it.
The Disaster:
The removal of the clay cap did not just open up the site, it was way worse than that. Remember, the site was originally a canal with clay sides and bottom. The canal filled with water. Steel drums rusted and burst, and the rising water floated the hazardous materials upward. The horrible stuff oozed upward, bubbling up on peoples lawns, backyards, and into the basements of homes.
As we all know, a small scale environmental disaster ensues, with a full blown media fiasco. Everybody blames everybody else, with lots of finger pointing and recriminations, with one exception. Both the government and the media are quite incurious about the role of the School Board.
The Solution:
The site is a total loss, remediation and cleanup is deemed impossible. There is no other solution.
The canal must be sealed with a 5 foot clay cap.
Thank you Ian, Tom, and Tony.
I was too young to be interested in the blame game at the time, but I was impressed by the nastiness of the chemicals.The rusted, oozing barrels of toxic gunk made quite an impression. That was real pollution.
Nice to find out after all these years where the real blame should have been placed. Thanks again.
In some ways, I’m all for trying to ‘wean the greens’ off global-warming and the obsession with fossil fuels and CO2: I honestly doubt that they could find another obsession that was actually more harmful to the human race than trying to make energy more expensive (apart from things like insisting that all humans drink less water and breathe less oxygen).
But on the other hand, indulging the green fear of anything and everything “chemical” or “toxic” is what got us into this woeful state in the first place. Allaying exaggerated fears is best in the long run, and an understanding that not only can our environment never be perfect, but that it never was. In the west it used to be a lot worse when we include warmth, shelter, and food availability in the equation. In much of the rest of the world it still is a lot worse, for the same reasons.
Tens of millions of people have suffered premature deaths because of pollution in our air, water and soils.
Cumulative number of humans dying prematurely from breathing ambient levels of CO2?
Zero.
Cumulative number of humans/animals that have suffered health problems and that will suffer health issues from breathing projected higher levels of ambient CO2?
ZERO!
Well said!
There are unintentional real consequences of the climate wars. The idiots think they are saving the world and they are actually the reason why we cannot solve any problems. The cult of CAGW is one of the key reasons why there are problems which we have not even discussed that have reached the crisis stage.
As the entire CAGW paradigm is built on mistruths/lies, forced acceptance of the completely incorrect end of the world warming paradigm, was turned the ‘climate change’ issue into a war.
Lying and propaganda is OK, in a time of war, as the end (horrible imaginary consequences of climate change) justifies the means. Lies lead to more lies. De facto the creation of the climate wars set of beliefs which is unsupported by scientific evidence/analysis, has forced there to be a cultural/political machine/media machine that suppresses the normal unbiased scientific and economic analysis of all problems and issues a steady stream of propaganda.
We have spent decades talking about a problem that is not a problem. Anthropogenic CO2 emissions is not a problem. It is a fact supported by observations and analysis that there is absolutely no scientific reason to reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions. That is a good thing not a bad thing. The planet is about to abruptly cool and atmospheric CO2 will drop. That is a bad thing which we are completely unprepared to address.
Problem 1: Due to the climate wars scientific and economic analysis has been hi jacked to push/support idiotic paradigms. Due to problem 1, the developed countries face real problems that have gone unaddressed for decades.
Problem 2: The developed countries have run out of money to spend on everything. The general population has no idea what is going to happen next as surely as the sun will rise in the east. Developed and developing countries are going to be forced to make hard unpopular choices. Developed and developing countries will be forced to spend less money on everything which will result in real hardship and changes.
Stimulus spending and the crazy/madness ‘quantitative easing’ (QE is a fancy name for printing more money) does not and has not fixed ‘structural’ problems in the developed countries. Simulate spending does not create more higher paying manufacturing jobs. The structural problem is the higher paying manufacturing jobs have gone to China, India, and so on, and in addition automation has reduced the number of higher paying manufacturing jobs. The real problem is a lack of higher paying jobs not a lack of ‘inflation’.
Zero interest policies and QE (printing money) leads to more deficit spending which will and has led to a Greece, Italy, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, US, UK, and so on deficit/debt crisis rather than more higher paying jobs.
More immigration and/or higher birth rates will not create more higher paying jobs in developed or undeveloped countries. More people does not solve the structural problems. More people will only lead to more people on the dole and higher unsustainable deficits. The developed countries have run out of tax money to spend on everything.
http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21577348-gloomy-convincing-account-developed-worlds-problems-horror-story
Problem 3: Cost and Policies to get from world CO2 emissions A to A/2. Ignoring the fact that the planet is about to abrupt cool and atmospheric CO2 will fall. Problem 3 there is zero chance that we will ever reduce world anthropogenic CO2 by let say 50%. How much would it cost and what lifestyle changes would be required if the entire cult of CAGW paradigm was not based on lies?
i.e. One indication that lies lead to more lies is a realistic, honest, non propaganda back of the envelop estimate of costs and impacts on everyday life of people to get to A/2 has never been done.
To reduce world anthropogenic CO2 emissions by let say 50% would require draconian, Stalin like policies such as banning all tourism air travel, forced population reduction, banning second homes, and so on. There is zero chance democratic governments would get support for ending tourism, banning second homes, and so on.
Productivity, the fundamental problem in the developed economies of US Europe etc. is falling productivity, partly due to complacency but not helped by the plethora of government regulations, typically in environment, administered by a swelling intrinsically unproductive bureaucracy (e.g. EPA US)— and of course the ever-growing work-age welfare dependent class.
End of rant.
Mike:
Has it not occurred to you that air pollution comes directly from industrial processes that ALSO emit CO2?
Industrial processes require energy – which currently is mostly via fossil burning.
In other words the two come together CO2 and pollution..
Reduce one and you reduce the other.
Co2 is a gas vapour (beneficial to all plant life, thus beneficial to all lifeforms) Pollution (NOT beneficial to plant life, thus NOT beneficial to ALL life forms) particulate matter, kinda like rocks and float some hanging out in the air,
What Mike said bears repeating:
Tens of millions of people have suffered premature deaths because of pollution in our air, water and soils.
Cumulative number of humans dying prematurely from breathing ambient levels of CO2?
Zero.
Cumulative number of humans/animals that have suffered health problems and that will suffer health issues from breathing projected higher levels of ambient CO2?
ZERO!
No Toneb,
Most of the particulate pollution that does so much damage could be greatly reduced by the provision of modern HELE (High Efficiency Low Emission) coal fired or other fossil fuel electricity. These modern systems remove basically all real pollutants and particulate matter, leaving only life-giving CO2 and H2O.
It is the big tragedy that these systems are being denied to countries that need them so badly to get rid of their sooty inefficient local wood, dung etc fires.
A tragedy that hangs fairly and squarely around the necks of the anti-CO2 AGW agenda.
Are you part of that agenda?
I figure they’re working on it with the sugar scare in the UK, AW.
I think folks are missing the point. The Guardian article is taking aim at “consumerism” and by that I think if you scratch the surface you will discover they really mean “high standards of living” for the great unwashed. Very easy target “material possessions” as contributing to pollution and nasty mineral extraction and on and on. It’s time for all you people to look forward to a reduced standard of living in the new green world on our way to solving the long term problem of Climate Change. Sounds like they are restating the Club of Rome’s position when viewed from the bottom up.
Environmentalism is an Original Sin religion: “We lived in Eden until man ate from the Tree of Knowledge. Therefore we are banished for our greed and sin. If you would be saved, you must accept your guilt, and you must grant power and influence to the environmentally righteous.”
fossilsage,
“I think folks are missing the point.”
I agree, I don’t read this as an attempt to switch away from CAGW to anything else, but to treat “the long war” against global warming as a done deal, a given, a “fact of life” from now on. Something we ought not pay much real attention to anymore, such as any indications that there is a lack of global warming.
This is psyop stuff, to my eyes . . not confused anything.
A trillion $ war that could be used towards the real problems facing this Earth like real pollution, massive overpopulation, Endless climate conference’s, endless grant seeking rent seekers………..
Then we with the Guardian’s permission “kindof let climate take care of itself”
At least the filthy air crisis is a real and valid one with known and affordable solutions, however it does not need a global bureaucracy so it will not make the grade.
@Harry Passfield
…[G]reens are trying to find a replacement for the failed climate scare
I figure they’re working on it with the sugar scare in the UK, AW….
Sugar is ALMOST ENTIRELY Carbon! Obviously the Devil’s sweetener…
To counter 1970’s environmental movement, the multinational companies to protect their vested interests, pressurized the UN agencies through their mentors – powerful countries of the West – to counteract this movement.
In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, and for the first time united the representatives of multiple governments in discussion relating to the state of the global environment. The [Late] Indira Gandhi the then Prime Minister of India Chaired the Session. This conference has led directly to the creation of environmental agencies by individual national governments and the United Nations Environment Program [UNEP]. This has culminated introduction of environmental Acts in India also – in 1974 Water Act and lead the establishment of a environmental ministry, Pollution Control Boards at the Centre and in the States, in 1981 Air Act & in 1986 the Environmental Act and with this presented action plans on wide range of subjects relating to Environmental issues.
Unfortunately after UN Rio Summit, the environmental issue was sidelined by “one point goal”, namely “Global Warming and carbon credits”. In the case of pollution control, the laws provide a means of illegal earnings to officials and politicians at the cost of environment. The creators of global warming hysteria and creators of pollution have been rewarded with awards including noble prizes with trucks loads of currency.
India with 17.5% of world population, whether rich or poor, are suffering from pollution [air, water, soil & food] created by transport, industry, agriculture, urbanization, etc but not from carbon dioxide and yet United Nations is more worried on Carbon Dioxide over pollution to protect the multinational companies interest that are destroying the environment with their “poor” technological innovations, including IT [high power consuming] with severe health hazards. We have seen this even at Paris meet [COP21], wherein MNC fought and were successful in not including the pollution aspects in the final agreement document, even though Pope Francis emphasized this in his encyclical.
On these two counts I am fighting since 2000 – though working since 1970s on adapting to climate change in agriculture-water resources –. The warmist friends look at me as an alien.
Dr. S. Jeevananda Reddy
Too bad that US air quality of real pollutants have decreased 50~99% just since 1980:
http://www3.epa.gov/airtrends/aqtrends.html
Do Leftists even TRY to use facts, numbers, math, logic and reason???
Air Pollution is where you find it. Unlike Europe, or the rest of the World, when toxic air was a problem America adressed the problem ever since mid 20th century. Epecially since the’70s, America has been inovating,( Catalytic converters, EGR, SCR, et cetera) ,and genuinely cleansing its air by limiting emissions. By and large Europe and the rest of the Developed World did little but declaime how the World was going to the dogs, proclaim plans to eventually clean up, and in general talk a good show, but do little in fact.
Enter the Green fools and talk shifted to limiting CO2 a non-toxic and neccessary plant food while continuing to spew NOx, SOx, Carbon Monoxide into the Air. Euro politicians loved creating higher taxes with the excuse of CAGW.
The result? Out of some 2500 counties in the US, only about half a dozen have not attained the EPA’s Air Quality Compliance, and that half dozen are measurably closer to attaining it. Meanwhile America has cleaned its rivers and the job is also near done there too.
It is about time that America declare VICTORY, we have done our job and showed the rest of the World it could be done and how to do it.
In some cases, a legitimate or valid security certificate is
issued to rogueware and malware distributors, which is a tough situation that Internet users face.
Many are the times that we do not know how to handle ourselves with what we
are asking for. Ictfu
According to Deci, authenticity necessitates behaving autonomously – acting in accord with one’s true inner self.
If you only have Toward Motivation, with nothing to kick-start you into action, you may procrastinate.