Open Thread

A place for discussion

5 2 votes
Article Rating

Discover more from Watts Up With That?

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

102 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
December 21, 2025 2:10 am

Traditional myusernames sunday reading!

Good morning, sunshine
The seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy is Science’s 2025 Breakthrough of the Year

https://www.science.org/content/article/breakthrough-2025

Since the Industrial Revolution, human society has run on ancient solar energy—captured by plants hundreds of millions of years ago, stored in fossil fuels, and dug and drilled from the earth. But this year momentum shifted unmistakably toward the energy that streams from the Sun today. Renewable energy, most of it from sunlight itself or from wind, ultimately driven by the Sun, overtook conventional energy on multiple fronts.

The future is now (execpt in the US)

2025: The year the US gave up on climate, and the world gave up on us

Meanwhile, many countries have begun reorganizing their diplomatic and economic relationships in ways that no longer assume American leadership. That shift accelerated this year in part due to Trump’s decisions to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, to impose tariffs on U.S. allies, and more broadly, to slink away into self-imposed isolation.

David Wojick
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 2:21 am

Always fun to start the day with a laugh. Thanks for this one!

Reply to  David Wojick
December 21, 2025 3:01 am

A good show always starts with a slop-stick comedy act. 🙂

Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 2:50 am

Ah.. the rantings of a delusional Luser’s mind !!

Wind and solar are dead-end, unsustainable non-technologies.

Fossil fuels still provide nearly all the world’s energy.

Even you are absolutely dependant on fossil fuels for everything in your pitiful brain-washed existence.

Wind and solar cannot exist without huge amounts of fossil fuels and toxic chemicals.

Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 2:59 am

Did you know that more coal was used by humans in 2024…

… for heat, manufacturing, and generally supplying energy to societies around the world…

… than in any year since the beginning of time. !!

And that it will increase again in 2025.

Rod Evans
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 3:32 am

This may come as a shock to you MUNR, the sun has been providing the majority of Earths energy since mankind decided to measure it. There is nothing special about 2025 in that regard.
What 2025 is notable for, is it was the first time in thirty years when the majority of people stopped listening to climate doom mongers and started to return to educated study and reality.
We must hope this return to climate reality continues in 2026.
merry Christmas and Happy Newyear

Reply to  Rod Evans
December 21, 2025 4:06 am

This may come as a shock to you MUNR, the sun has been providing the majority of Earths energy since mankind decided to measure it.

The very first sentence of the article acknowledges that. But merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too.

Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 5:32 am

The sun drives our planet’s ecosystems- no need for it to also drive our grid.

Reply to  Joseph Zorzin
December 21, 2025 12:01 pm

It already does. Fossil fuel energy is a form of releasing entrapped solar energy.

Why not just use that energy from source?

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 21, 2025 1:33 pm

Because it is a totally inefficient method of getting energy.

ERRATIC, and totally UNRELIABLE, as well as been very damaging to the environment and habitats.

Plus, the toxic waste created in making solar panels is really disgusting.

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 21, 2025 3:06 pm

hmmm…. well, the source of the solar energy is nuclear- so why not just use THAT source?

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 22, 2025 3:55 am

Fossil fuel energy is a form of releasing entrapped solar energy.

Let me correct your assertion a bit.

Fossil fuel energy is a form of releasing CONCENTRATED entrapped energy.

CD in Wisconsin
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 4:21 am

MUNR,
Here is how GROK ranks energy sources by density. (Had to copy info manually because I couldn’t get it to copy and paste properly) ….
1) Nuclear fission (Uranium-235, theoretical full). Density: 80 million MJ/kg

2) Nuclear fission (Uranium-235, reactors practical). Density: 500,000 to 3.5 million MJ/kg

3) Hydrogen (pure, lower heat value). Density: 120 MJ/kg. (Note: Highest among chemical fuels, but with storage issues.)

4) Natural Gas (methane). Density: 50-55 MJ/Kg.

5) Gasoline/Diesel/JP-8 Jet Fuel. Density: 44-46 MJ/kg. (Note: Common liquid fossil fuels).

6) Coal. Density 24-32 MJ/Kg. (Note: Varies by coal type).

7) Dry Biomass/Wood. Density: 15-20 MJ/kg. (Note: Renewable, but lower due to oxygen content).

8) Lithium-ion batteries (advanced). Density: 0.5-1 MJ/Kg. (Note: electrical storage, not energy source).

*****

So, what does GROK say about wind and solar energy?

“Solar outperforms wind by ~5–10x in power density, but both are 100–1000x lower than nuclear or fossil plants. This means vastly more land/materials are required for equivalent output.”

Did you read that MUNR? Wind and solar require many, many times more materials and land area than nuclear energy and fossil fuels do because their energy densities are so poor. And, at number 8 above, lithium-ion batteries don’t help matters much because of their low energy storage capacity (again, density). Add in the intermittency and unreliability, and you get really, really lousy energy sources that are not worth the trouble or $$$$ for a modern-day grid.

Bottom line: Whether you like it or not MUNR, wind and solar energy are huge steps backwards for the reasons outlined above. Your sources above that you quote (science.org for one) are propaganda outlets in the campaign to force fossil fuels out of the picture, and you are naive enough to actually believe them.

Get this into your head let it stick MUNR: ENERGY DENSITY MATTERS.

Reply to  CD in Wisconsin
December 21, 2025 5:40 am

You need grok to post something you could look up on wikipedia in 5 seconds?

Maybe ask grok to make a coherent point, because that’s what is really missing in your post.

David Wojick
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 6:51 am

Groc takes 5 seconds, Wikipedia 5 minutes. The ratio is huge.

CD in Wisconsin
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 8:17 am

First of all, the user can ask GROK (or other AI platform) specific questions about a subject. Wikipedia not so much.

Second, I asked GROK to list the density of energy sources (most to least dense), and it did so. I asked it how wind and solar energy density compares to the energy sources in the list, and it did so. I fail so see what is so incoherent about that.

As I said above, my point is that the transition to wind and solar globally (and especially in Britain and Europe) is seriously flawed because they are such poor low density energy sources. Thus, your cheerleading for wind and solar and for the transition to them is without sound science to back it up. Read the last statement in my comment above again. Is this all coherent enough for you?

You and others like you are the one that consistently gets down votes here at WUWT, not me. That tells me what I need to know.

Michael Flynn
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 3:41 pm

You need grok to post something you could look up on wikipedia in 5 seconds?

Had to chuckle. All of the AIs carry a disclaimer saying their answers may contain mistakes (translation – spew out complete nonsense).

From Wikipedia –

Studies and surveys attempting to gauge the reliability of Wikipedia have mixed results

so nobody knows whether Wikipedia can be considered accurate or not.

Strategic ambiguity – accuracy is neither confirmed nor denied.

Should suit the US government then.

Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 22, 2025 6:44 am

Wikipedia has become one of world’s most consistent sources of bias.

Reply to  CD in Wisconsin
December 21, 2025 10:49 am

Some people are too dense to understand basic maths and physics..

Luser seems to be one of those unfortunate little people.

CD in Wisconsin
Reply to  bnice2000
December 21, 2025 2:38 pm

Yes, that might be the case.

don k
Reply to  CD in Wisconsin
December 21, 2025 11:11 am

FWIW, the highest possible theoretical energy density of ANY possible battery would be Lithium-Air at around 12.6 MJ/kg. Of course, in the real world it probably wouldn’t be that good. And it would likely have some drawbacks like not being rechargeable.

Reply to  CD in Wisconsin
December 21, 2025 12:03 pm

Grok also thinks that Elon Musk is the smartest guy on Earth.

You can programme these AI things so easily that they are already worthless for many purposes.

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 21, 2025 1:36 pm

Musk is many magnitudes smarter that you ever have the capability of being.

He has contributed to MANY major technological advances.

You have contributed absolutely nothing.. and continue to do so.

CD in Wisconsin
Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 21, 2025 2:24 pm

You can programme these AI things so easily that they are already worthless for many purposes.

TFN,

Thanks for letting me know that I should not trust GROK or any AI platform when they tell me that there is a climate crisis. It works both ways you know. ROTFLMAO.

If you think there is a problem with my argument above about energy density, by all means let’s hear it.

BTW, do you live in Britain, Canada or Australia? I’m asking because of the way you spelled the word “programme”. The American spellchecker here at WUWT doesn’t like the British spelling of the word.

Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 7:34 am

Today is not . . . repeat NOT . . . April 1.

However, you post is, indeed, traditional for that particular day of the year.

David Wojick
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 11:25 am

The evergreen Science article is basically about China. They make the solar panels so decided it would be great PR to install a few 100,000 MW costing them little but skewing the global numbers nicely.

Michael Flynn
Reply to  David Wojick
December 21, 2025 3:46 pm

They make the solar panels so decided it would be great PR to install a few 100,000 MW costing them little but skewing the global numbers nicely.

David, you might know of Richard Feynman’s comments at the end of the enquiry in NASA’s role in the Challenger disaster –

For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.

As far as I know, the Chinese are the same species as the rest of humanity. Try to fool nature, more fool you!

CFM
Reply to  Michael Flynn
December 23, 2025 2:28 pm

China is well-positioned to pivot to other kinds of manufacturing if the renewable energy market crashes, due to its highly diversified and flexible industrial base, comprehensive supply chains, and strong government support for various strategic sectors.

December 21, 2025 2:41 am

Remember that Executive Order on May 23, 2025 – “Restoring Gold Standard Science”? Seems like it went submerged. No sightings. My particular interest was in the propagation of uncertainty.

So I asked Grok,

“Consider Sec. 4 (c) of the May 23, 2025 Executive Order, “Restoring Gold Standard Science” – which says, “When using scientific information in agency decision-making, employees shall transparently acknowledge and document uncertainties, including how uncertainty propagates throughout any models used in the analysis.” In the time since this EO was issued, has any federal government official or agency or department posted any findings from having properly propagated uncertainty through a model?”

Grok’s response – first paragraph,

“No, as of December 20, 2025—about seven months after the May 23, 2025 issuance of Executive Order 14303, “Restoring Gold Standard Science”—no federal government official, agency, or department has publicly posted or published specific findings from analyses where uncertainty was properly propagated through a model in explicit compliance with Section 4(c).”

This is important. The false authority of the “climate” claims rests on the misuse of pre-stabilized, time-step-iterated, large-grid, discrete-layer, parameter-tuned-to-hindcast computer models. The investigators pretend to have diagnosed a century-scale temperature trend, claiming to have isolated incremental CO2 as the main cause of the “warming.” Then the prognosis is for continued warming, even to harmful extent, driven by emissions of CO2 and the resulting rising concentration.

What’s the nature of the misuse? It is that the rapid buildup of uncertainty in the iterated computations massively overwhelms the theoretical effect being investigated. This problem IS NOT NEGATED by having pre-stabilized the simulation and having applied time-scheduled GHG “forcings”. It was an utterly circular exercise all along, assuming that the static radiative effect MUST “force” an accumulation of energy as sensible heat down here under a dynamic circulation.

More here.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/08/24/10328448/#comment-4110125

Thank you for your patience in this matter.

Reply to  David Dibbell
December 21, 2025 3:08 am

Climate science and climate scientists remind me of the carnival barkers saying they can tell the future by reading the lines on your palm or the reading the clouds in their crystal ball.

Hat tip to Rumsfeld, you don’t know what you don’t know. Corollary: You can’t know what you can’t differentiate. If the uncertainty is wider than the difference you are trying to find you don’t know if you’ve actually found a difference or not. And the uncertainty is not the linear regression residuals between assumed 100% accurate stated values and a trend line based on those assumed 100% accurate stated values. Those residuals are just the blind leading the blind down the primrose path to perdition!

Climate science is based on several main meme’s:

  1. All measurement uncertainty is random, Gaussian, and cancels
  2. numbers is just numbers, you *can* average intensive properties
  3. The SEM is the measurement uncertainty of the average and can be made arbitrarily small
  4. Averaging *can* reduce measurement uncertainty (see #3)
  5. The average uncertainty is the measurement uncertainty of the average
  6. You don’t have to weight the calculation of the mean based on component variances
  7. Changes in the mid-range temperature are totally caused by increased Tmax
  8. Longer growing seasons don’t mean more food harvest
  9. The mean of a multi-modal distribution can tell you about the individual modes.
Reply to  Tim Gorman
December 21, 2025 3:53 am

“If the uncertainty is wider than the difference you are trying to find you don’t know if you’ve actually found a difference or not.”
Exactly. And even in an imaginary perfected model, with absolute fidelity to the climate system response to incident solar energy, the difference being sought is rapidly obscured.

Reply to  Tim Gorman
December 21, 2025 7:18 am

1-9 are the essence climate trendology.

Reply to  Tim Gorman
December 21, 2025 12:05 pm

Climate science and climate scientists remind me of the carnival barkers saying they can tell the future by reading the lines on your palm or the reading the clouds in their crystal ball.

Except that so far they have been right.

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 21, 2025 2:24 pm

RUBBISH, Not one “prediction” has ever come true.

Adjusting data to fit childish prophesies, does not count.

“Climate Change” is a FAKE RELIGION, designed for gullible virtue-seeking twits.

Michael Flynn
Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 21, 2025 3:51 pm

Except that so far they have been right.

As right as a smart 12 year old. Not much to boast about there. Unfortunately, the climate scientists believe that adding CO2 to air makes thermometers hotter. A 12 year old popping a can of soft drink, carbonated with CO2, which froze from being too long in the freezer, soon realises that he is smarter than a climate scientist.

CO2 makes thermometers hotter? Really?

hiskorr
Reply to  Michael Flynn
December 21, 2025 5:51 pm

When your only tool is a thermometer, your only data are thermometer readings.

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 22, 2025 4:09 am

Except that so far they have been right.

Really?

Here is a copy of the CONUS from NOAA (see the watermark). Do you see a hockey stick in summer Tmax? How about winter Tmax since about 1983? Tmin does make a difference in growing season and grain harvests you know!

comment image

Reply to  TheFinalNail
December 22, 2025 7:26 am

Do you mean the carnival barkers have been right?

One of my jobs while I was studying for my BS was a carnival barker. It was a very lucrative endeavor. I found that if you had more people at your game, you had more players. If I flattered a few girls walking by, they would stop to chat. A small crowd grew and then I had more players. My goal was to keep them playing by keeping them entertained.

Successful carnival barkers are good entertainers, which is what the climate catastrophists truly are. They entertain like minded people. In so doing they earn a good salary. They keep people entertained by use of the 9 memes. The catastrophists’ arguments appear plausible as long as you ignore the errors.

CFM
Reply to  isthatright
December 23, 2025 2:53 pm

9 memes to keep people entertained? I’ve never heard of that.
Do you mean rhetorical devices to attract people?

Mr.
Reply to  David Dibbell
December 21, 2025 9:38 am

The probity problem has always been stark with climate “data”.

‘MIUAYGA” (make it up as you go along) is not now, and has never been, a legitimate practice in any pursuit claiming to be “scientific”.

How come university professors haven’t been emphasizing this to their students since the get-go?

Rick C
Reply to  David Dibbell
December 21, 2025 9:54 am

Never attribute to malice that which is explained by incompetence. Given the sad state of proper scientific education, it is doubtful that any of the so-called scientist subject to this EO have any idea how to go about determining uncertainty. That was well demonstrated by the reaction to Pat Frank’s paper on uncertainty propagation in climate models. Outside of NIST and researchers in High Energy Physics a rigorous treatment of Measurement Uncertainty is as rare as hen’s teeth.

Reply to  Rick C
December 21, 2025 11:26 am

Because of the requirements in ISO 17025, the GUM uncertainty scheme is heavily used in the certification / laboratory accreditation world.

Rick C
Reply to  karlomonte
December 21, 2025 5:39 pm

Yes, and adherence is quite good in the world of independent laboratories, instrument manufacturers and calibration agencies. In academia and government agencies, not so much.

December 21, 2025 2:47 am

NET ZERO IS DEAD

Reply to  SteveG
December 21, 2025 2:55 am

It was only ever a child-minded fantasy anyway.

Reply to  SteveG
December 21, 2025 3:01 am

Not in Germany 😰

Reply to  Krishna Gans
December 21, 2025 3:57 am

…and most countries outside the US and Russia.
But live and dream my friends!

Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 8:11 am

“most countries” – can you support that assertion?

Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 10:40 am

or Africa

do you have a magnifying glass so you can find wind and solar 😉

Africa-Energy
Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 10:42 am

or Asia..

or basically….. anywhere

Asia-Energy
Reply to  bnice2000
December 21, 2025 6:08 pm

I’ll be damned if I’m going to look at any graph which completely smashes my delusions!

Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 22, 2025 4:33 am

and most countries outside the US and Russia.

You forgot China.

And, that just means there will continue to be 3 world powers while everyone else descends into misery!

strativarius
December 21, 2025 3:18 am

Red Rat Mad Ed

Ed Miliband ‘pitching himself as Chancellor’ after ‘auditioning’ for role in plot to oust Rachel Reeves

Mr Miliband enjoys considerable support among MPs on the party’s soft Left and his supporters view the expected electoral setbacks as an opportunity to demand substantial changes from Sir Keir.
https://www.gbnews.com/politics/ed-miliband-chancellor-pitch-rachel-reeves-plot-oust

Mind you, they’ve cancelled a lot of elections…

Ministers are acting like dictators by cancelling MORE local elections – Keir is running a banana republic, Farage slams
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/politics/37678959/ministers-acting-dictators-cancelling-local-election/

Venezuela bound.

Reply to  strativarius
December 21, 2025 3:40 am

And the UK fought oh so hard against a German dictator in WWII..

.. only to fall to the same from within.

Reply to  bnice2000
December 21, 2025 3:58 am

And the UK US fought oh so hard against a German dictator in WWII..

.. only to fall to the same from within.

FTFY

Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 4:16 am

Remind me exactly what year the USA declared war on the axis powers and the year that the U.K. declared war on Nazi Germany and why.
Remind me when the U.K. finally paid off her WW 2 debt to the USA.

strativarius
Reply to  JohnC
December 21, 2025 10:46 am

He’s had a very modern educashun…

KevinM
Reply to  JohnC
December 21, 2025 6:52 pm

“Japan, China, and the United Kingdom are consistently the largest foreign owners of U.S. debt, holding over a trillion dollars each, with Japan leading since 2019, though holdings fluctuate, and significant amounts are also held by financial hubs like Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands, with overall foreign ownership around one-third of U.S. debt. 

Top Foreign Holders (as of late 2024/early 2025)
Japan: The largest foreign holder, with over $1 trillion in U.S. Treasuries.
China (Mainland): A significant holder, but its share has decreased, with holdings around $750-$800 billion.
United Kingdom: A major holder, recently surpassing China for the second spot in some reports, with holdings over $700 billion. ”

Also:
“World War II officially lasted from September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, to September 2, 1945, when Japan formally surrendered”

2025-1945 = 80 years ago. It’s past time for History channel to appeal to a new demographic. (ie, enough of Tojo and dive-bombing zeros and battle of the bulge and the German with the skinny mustache 24/7/365… but PLEASE no more tired rehashes of Egyptian Pharoahs and their secrets-that-every-4th-grader-knows.)

Reply to  MyUsernameReloaded
December 21, 2025 10:45 am

And still writing total gibberish, why zero clue about reality..

Very sad… if it wasn’t so pathetically funny.

Reply to  bnice2000
December 21, 2025 8:58 pm

….fought oh so hard….
….bankrupted themselves paying off the war loans over the next 30 years….couldn’t finance their colonies that covered 25% of the planet any longer, and gave them their “independence” to avoid paying any more bills….gave their military bases away….pretty much the fastest unraveling of any empire in history.

E. Schaffer
December 21, 2025 5:42 am

It is a bit condensed, but yes, positive climate feedbacks are a fraud.

comment image

They did a couple of things.

– the spread in Ts of ~2.8K never occurred, was ~0.7K for real
– even clear sky masking would not produce the outliers (>3 sigma)
– scales are distorted, unproportional
– illicit OLS regression
– TLS yields 4.7 without outliers

Tom Johnson
Reply to  E. Schaffer
December 21, 2025 7:12 am

Positive feedback is always a fraud. Positive feedback is simply a switch that turns on a factor that will never turn off, unless other factors that are usually not even considered, overwhelm the “positive feedback” factor. This is not a control system, it’s an Out*of- Control-System.

Consider a thermostat for a furnace that is inadvertently connected to the air conditioner terminals. This is a positive feedback situation. The furnace will turn on as soon as the room temperature goes above the set temperature. It then will start adding heat to the house. It will never again go off unless you run out of fuel, or it gets so cold outside that the furnace can’t keep up (which means that you have the wrong size furnace), or you burn the house down.

Reply to  Tom Johnson
December 21, 2025 3:38 pm

The Idea of “Positive Feedback” in climate science is as fake as pseudo-science comes.

Gotta have a signal before you can get feedback.

There is no warming signal from CO2, so there can be no feedback, +ve or -ve.

hiskorr
Reply to  Tom Johnson
December 21, 2025 6:09 pm

A nuclear explosion is a “positive feedback” situation, hardly a fraud. It eventually extinguishes itself by running out of proper conditions, but only after significant effects.

KevinM
Reply to  hiskorr
December 21, 2025 7:07 pm

I googled for other examples and got:
“Fruit Ripening: Ripe fruit releases ethylene, which causes nearby fruit to ripen and release more ethylene.”

But I had to skip several mentions of Climate Change to get there.
“Climate Change: Melting ice reduces Earth’s reflectivity (albedo), causing more heat absorption, leading to more melting.”

Okay, sure Google, so why then has the planet gone glacial, come back, then gone glacial again? It creates a situation where in the fruit example, apples get ripe, then get green, then get ripe again?

ResourceGuy
December 21, 2025 5:51 am
KevinM
Reply to  ResourceGuy
December 21, 2025 7:12 pm

“Multnomah County is hoping to extract $51 billion from oil and gas companies it blames for a heat wave event in 2021, which was associated with over 100 deaths. The lawsuit it filed in 2023 against the companies was potentially undermined after the court learned the Oregon county failed to disclose that the plaintiff’s lead attorney, Roger Worthington, was involved in studies submitted in support of the county’s case.”

Reply to  KevinM
December 22, 2025 5:40 am

Is Roger representing on a contingency basis? CC extremism being a long term fetish, yet with a possible 30% payout ?

December 21, 2025 6:11 am

Story tip:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/12/new-york-parents-furious-state-mandated-electric-buses/

According to WIVB, parents “in the Lake Shore Central School District are speaking out, claiming some bus drivers are turning the heat down, or off completely, in an attempt to conserve battery life on their electric school buses.”

The report adds: “The kids are coming home saying their bus is freezing cold and the parents are giving them hand warmers.”

Apparently, every single furious parent that WIVB spoke to was able to cite at least one report of the buses breaking down.

John Hultquist
Reply to  karlomonte
December 21, 2025 9:52 am

You might have one bus break down and 30 kids tell mom. Then 30 furious moms report to WIVB.
I don’t know what happened. I, being a skeptical sort, simply wonder if News 4 Buffalo is a reliable source of EV news.

KevinM
Reply to  John Hultquist
December 21, 2025 7:15 pm

Or the newsroom manager’s kid was on the bus that day. The bigger story would ask parents whether they supported the EV bus requirement before and whether they still support it now and why.

CFM
Reply to  karlomonte
December 23, 2025 4:14 pm

I doubted this story because 
I figured the heating system would run off a different system than the powertrain.
1) For mild hybrid cars, they use a 48V battery to start but the rest of the car runs off the 12V battery.
2) For diesel buses, they often use auxiliary heaters that run on diesel fuel and the bus’s standard 12-volt battery.
But, apparently somebody screwed up the EV design.
For electric school buses, the heating system draws from the main high-voltage battery pack, significantly impacting range, especially in cold weather.

MrGrimNasty
December 21, 2025 7:02 am

Remember when Just Stop Oil announced the end of direct action and I said it was just a rebrand and business as usual. Continuity. Take Back Power.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15402431/Founder-anti-capitalist-group-Power-dumped-manure-Ritz-threw-custard-Crown-jewels-privately-educated-son-megayacht-insurance-executive.html

KevinM
Reply to  MrGrimNasty
December 21, 2025 7:21 pm

“A source said: ‘Where Arthur’s dad works is in direct opposition to the aims and objectives of Take Back Power. Arthur has been given a private education and a wonderful lifestyle most young people can only dream of, funded by his dad working in the same environment he claims to want to fight against.’”

I usually assume “A source said” means “The author of the article is about to invent a quote” but in this case it’s verifiable.

aaron chmielewski
December 21, 2025 8:41 am

The multi year la nina preceding HTHH is the primary cause of extreme ENSO transition which causes intense rossby waves and anticyclonic event that caused huge spike in global temperatures. However, it is plausible HTHH affected the timing and evolution of that transition. It is also likely that HTHH reinforced those events and may explain their persistence and waviness of the polar jetstream despite its strength. How can we figure this out?
https://x.com/i/grok/share/Iz300IW4CmQb5sXp9LvY2dRB0

Richard M
Reply to  aaron chmielewski
December 22, 2025 8:03 am

When the El Nino ended the drop in temperature was only 0.3 C after 7 months (UAH). That is clear evidence the El Nino was weak. It was down 0.63 C after the 1997-8 El Nino.

December 21, 2025 8:56 am

Happy winter solstice! Because of La Niña, we won’t be having a white Christmas this year. It’s supposed to be almost 30 degrees warmer than average.

John Hultquist
Reply to  johnesm
December 21, 2025 10:02 am

Who is “we”? I have snow on the ground and expect more, including on the 25th. I, being on the dry side of Washington State, 100 miles east of Seattle.

Reply to  John Hultquist
December 21, 2025 3:34 pm

Eastern Colorado, on the plains. La Niña usually equals warm and dry here. I remember the La Niña winters in King and Snohomish Counties, and we’d get nice snowfall around there.

Reply to  John Hultquist
December 22, 2025 2:31 am

As you can see from the link, the jet stream is blowing from west to east and is blowing across the northern tier of the United States.

This brings lots of moisture to the west coast, and the northern tier of States, and funnels cold Canadian air down into the northeast United States.

All the States south of the jet stream flow are experiencing above -average temperatures as the jet stream “walls-off” the cold air from going farther south.

Note that there were very high winds recorded in the northwest last week and the reason for this is the polar jet and the subtropical jet stream are coming together over that location which adds energy to the system.

https://earth.nullschool.net/#2025/12/22/1000Z/wind/isobaric/500hPa/orthographic=-108.37,29.16,485

CFM
Reply to  johnesm
December 23, 2025 4:35 pm

Happy winter solstice! Because of La Nina, we are having colder, snowier, and icier weather than usual. Every day I wear long underwear under jeans, at least 2 sweaters, a hat, thick socks, boots, gloves, and my Mom’s wonderfully warm coat that I inherited, mostly made from fossil fuels. Because of these I can enjoy the weather, and that’s good because it’s the only weather I’ve got.

John Hultquist
December 21, 2025 9:37 am

Metallurgical coal is called “met coal”, also known as coking coal, a grade of coal that can be used to produce good-quality coke. Coke is an essential fuel and reactant in the blast furnace process for primary steelmaking. {There is an interesting history to all this.}
Weyerhaeuser, the forest-products company is partnering with Aymium (there is a web page) to produce a biocarbon alternative to met coal.
Pulp wood demand has decreased so tree producers have been looking for a new market. Turning Pine trees into biocarbon met coal has now made the news. 

Fran
December 21, 2025 9:44 am

I listened to a lecture on measuring brix (sugar content) of plants to determine health. One interesting fact presented is that atmospheric pressure changes serve to make soil “breath”. High pressure pushes oxygen and nitrogen into the soil to feed microbial life; low pressure leads to release of CO2 generated by same microbial life. The latter is released under plants and gives them a pulse of concentrated carbon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFJA82guj1s

Being more used to scientific lectures, it was striking how various speakers “talked down” to the farmers. Very irritating to listen to. However, I think I might buy a brix meter to investigate my garden.

December 21, 2025 12:17 pm

The climate alarmist industrial complex mirrors the mob through profiteering from fear, silencing dissent, and wielding political influence to extract resources. Like organized crime, it thrives on exaggerated threats to sustain a lucrative racket, punishing those who challenge its narrative.
Fear as CurrencyAlarmists amplify doomsday scenarios—melting ice caps, mass extinctions—to generate hysteria, much like the mob instills fear of violence to extort protection money. Trillions in subsidies flow to renewables, EVs, and carbon credits, benefiting NGOs, governments, and green tech firms who profit regardless of outcomes. Critics like Bjorn Lomborg label this a “climate-industrial complex,” echoing Eisenhower’s military-industrial warning, where fear locks in endless funding.​
Silencing DissentersDoubters face mob-style ostracism: branded “deniers,” deplatformed, or professionally ruined, akin to whistleblowers crossing the pharma mob in Peter Rost’s analogy. Scientists questioning models lose grants and jobs, while alarmist consensus enforces orthodoxy through media and academic gatekeeping. No tolerance exists for cost-benefit analyses showing adaptation cheaper than net-zero fantasies.​
Political Bribery and RacketsLobbyists from Sierra Club and green foundations bribe politicians with campaign funds and voter mobilization, securing mandates like EV deadlines and fossil fuel bans that spike energy costs. This creates dependency: industries like wind/solar need endless bailouts, much like mob-protected businesses pay up or face “accidents” like blackouts. Eisenhower’s “misplaced power” now manifests in unelected bureaucracies dictating global economies via UN treaties and EU green deals.​
Parallels to Pharma MobRost’s quote on Big Pharma—”obscene money, deaths as side effects, bribes”—fits climate alarmists perfectly: green policies cause energy poverty and economic harm (e.g., Germany’s deindustrialization), yet the racket persists. Profiteers invest in gas as a bridge while killing nuclear, ensuring perpetual transition profits without resolution

December 21, 2025 2:20 pm

HOLY CRAP: DNI Tulsi Gabbard just dropped a NUCLEAR truth bomb

She says the European Union and NATO are actively trying to DRAG the United States into a war with Russia — while Deep State operatives are sabotaging peace talks from the inside.

“They are doing this to pull the US military into a conflict with Russia. That is what the EU and NATO want. We CANNOT allow this to happen.”

And every time peace gets close?

“Whenever progress is made and there is hope for peace, the war mongers and the Deep State step in and do everything they can to stop it.”

She laid out the playbook.

“The Deep State and elements of the Intelligence Community leak to their friends in the mainstream propaganda media to push false narratives.”

Why?

“They foment fear and hysteria to justify continuing the war and to undermine Donald Trump and his efforts toward peace.”

This isn’t speculation. It’s happening in real time.

“We must see clearly what is happening before our very eyes and stand UNITED for peace.”

KNEW IT.

This is why they hate her.
This is why they fear Trump.
And this is why the war machine is panicking.

Thank you Tulsi for saying what millions already know.

Rich Davis
Reply to  wilpost
December 21, 2025 4:03 pm

We’ve got Mossad agent Lindsey Graham in Israel talking up every possible conflict that his twisted pervert mind can conjure up.

Why is Trump endorsing that disgrace?

KevinM
Reply to  Rich Davis
December 21, 2025 7:34 pm

“South Carolina receives significant defense spending, totaling around $6.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2023, supporting personnel salaries, major defense contracts (like engineering, R&D, facilities), and construction projects at bases like Fort Jackson, driving substantial economic activity, jobs, and tax revenue for the state, with federal funds flowing through contracts, grants, and personnel pay. 

Reply to  KevinM
December 22, 2025 2:49 am

““South Carolina receives significant defense spending,”

As does every other State in the Union.

Reply to  Rich Davis
December 22, 2025 2:54 am

My guess is Trump does not think Graham is a disgrace.

What conflicts are you claiming Graham is promoting?

CFM
Reply to  Rich Davis
December 23, 2025 4:47 pm

LG hates Russia. If Trump’s team can convince LG to endorse a Russia/Ukraine peace plan, then it might rise from no chance in hell to a snowball’s chance in hell.

Michael Flynn
Reply to  wilpost
December 21, 2025 5:07 pm

We must see clearly what is happening before our very eyes and stand UNITED for peace.

Of course the US stands for “peace”.

That’s why it is carrying out “kinetic lethal strikes” in places like Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Iran, and the Caribbean/Eastern Pacific. I guess the US will declare undeclared war on Venezuela, to ensure “peace”. Seizing oil tankers, and confiscating their cargoes on the high seas will no doubt fund US “peacekeeping” efforts around the globe.

Killing random strangers and indulging in piracy (like the British government and the “privateers”) doesn’t seem like the optimum way to win friends, but what do I know?

As long as the US isn’t “peacekeeping” in my neck of the woods, I’ll be happy.

Reply to  Michael Flynn
December 21, 2025 11:08 pm

Do you have Islamic terrorist in your neck of the woods??

That is what Trump justifiably trying to eradicate.

Or are you a supporter of Islamic terrorists like ISIS, al-Shabaab, Hamas.. etc.?

Oil cargos are sanctioned, have every right to be stopped and seized. Not piracy.

Venezuela is fighting a drug war against the USA…

…. and refusing to take back its illegal criminals that were sent to destabilise the USA.

Michael Flynn
Reply to  bnice2000
December 22, 2025 4:42 am

That is what Trump justifiably trying to eradicate.

No rule of law? Just kill random people because you don’t like their religion?

Do you agree with Rabbi Yaacov Perrin that “A million Arabs are not worth one Jewish fingernail”, or do you believe that a million Muslims are not worth one American fingernail?

Only joking. I can’t blame people for not being happy about being “eradicated”. That’s potentially about 2 billion Muslims – good luck with “eradicating” them all.

Reply to  Michael Flynn
December 22, 2025 3:00 am

“That’s why it is carrying out “kinetic lethal strikes” in places like Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Iran, and the Caribbean/Eastern Pacific.”

There are a lot of Bad Guys in those areas who deserve a lethal strike.

“I guess the US will declare undeclared war on Venezuela”

I think Trump has already declared war on Maduro, with his actions. Trump seized another Venezuela oil tanker yesterday. And I think it is very likely that Trump will seize every oil tanker that comes out of Venezuela. Supported, of course, by the duly elected president of Venezuela, who is in hiding from Maduro.

Trump is just fixing all the problems in the world that previous presidents neglected, to the detriment of the United States. Trump is going to change that.

Michael Flynn
Reply to  Tom Abbott
December 22, 2025 4:29 am

There are a lot of Bad Guys in those areas who deserve a lethal strike.

I suppose you determine who the “Bad Guys” are? Or maybe you just believe somebody else – that would make you what?

Ignorant? Gullible?

KevinM
Reply to  wilpost
December 21, 2025 7:32 pm

They foment fear and hysteria
That’s a ‘hopeful’ view.
Nobody I’ve met has ever seemed excited about it, including some ethnic Ukrainians.
“leak to their friends in the mainstream propaganda media”
Is anyone listening?
I think the televisions at the gym play msm for treadmill joggers.
Empty widow living rooms with the tv left on to stave off loneliness?

I’ll talk to some younger folks about it, but the issue has no traction among my own demographic.

Reply to  wilpost
December 22, 2025 2:46 am

“The Deep State and elements of the Intelligence Community”

It would be helpful if Tulsi would tell us who these people are.

It’s impossible to put the “Deep State” in jail. We need some names in order to confirm the charges and to punish these “warmongers”.

Until I have some names and reasons, I’m skeptical. This sounds like a familiar conspiracy theory that never gets nailed down properly. Some mysterious organization is operating to undermine the world or the United States. That’s not enough information to do anything.

This is similar to claiming the “Neocons” are promoting more wars. Who are the Neocons, and what wars are they promoting? Nobody ever mentions these.

I hate conspiracy theories. If the conspiracy is real, then it’s not a conspiracy theory, but real conspiracies are few and far between. Just spouting a theory isn’t enough. Tulsi should give us details or stop claiming things she can’t support with facts. Who are these evil warmongers?

That also goes for all conspiracy promoters. Prove your case, or shut up.

Reply to  Tom Abbott
December 22, 2025 7:29 am

real conspiracies are few and far between

I think that many cases of purported “conspiracy” are actually just a bunch of like-minded people in positions where they can affect outcomes working for their shared end. No need for an actual conspiracy, and none could be proven.

I think that could be applied to the “deep state” and “neocons” argument – although I agree that the terms are rather nebulous and could use at least some refinement in definition.

December 21, 2025 2:22 pm

Russia, the Gas Station
Russia the “gas station,” under the most comprehensive sanctions regime in modern history, now ranks as the fourth-largest economy in the world by purchasing-power parity.

If Russia is a “gas station, but the UK: 1) cannot publish a defense investment plan on time; 2) cannot field a functioning armored vehicle without injuring its own troops; 3) has an economy that cannot sustain rearmament in spite of private finance gimmicks and accounting contortions; 4) has a political class that cannot reconcile its war talk with its industrial capacity; 5) increasingly resembles a heritage museum, complete with a gift shop, living off past glories while subcontracting its future.

Wars are won by output — steel, shells, access to critical minerals, drones, logistics, and the brutal arithmetic of throughput. 

Russia’s military-industrial base, bureaucratically compressed, hardened, and scaled under pressure, now outpaces NATO’s collective ammunition production by a multiple. 

In sum, while Russia produces, the UK 1) reviews glorified mission statements; 2) delays indefinitely out of impotence; 3) Russia fields game-changing adaptations learned from battlefield within months, while the UK commissions another inquiry.

December 21, 2025 2:25 pm

Former Prime Minister of Lithuania, Andrius Kubilius, the European Commissioner of Defense and Space, is working on a “European Defense Readiness Roadmap by 2030”. He views Ukraine as a critical component of building a viable “European Defense Union”, especially due to potential future changes in the US role in European security.

Kubilius advocates for the seamless integration of Ukraine’s 800,000-strong armed forces and its defense industry into EU plans and projects, including joint procurement and the development of shared military technology.

NOTE: How does that square with Ukraine being neutral and non-aligned, and not a part of NATO, as Russia is demanding?
Ukraine with standing armed forces of 800,000 is off-the-charts rediculous?
Germany is aiming for increasing its standing armed forces from 181,000 in 2025 to 203,000 by 2031. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-armed-forces-bundeswehr-eu-defense-spending-nato-trump/a-72570394

NOTE: Because the EU increasingly acts in tandem with the European part of NATO, if Ukraine were in the EU, it would become a major part of the “European Defense Readiness Roadmap by 2030”, intended to be an EU entity acting independently of NATO.

Reply to  wilpost
December 22, 2025 3:10 am

NOTE:

How does that square with Ukraine being neutral and non-aligned, and not a part of NATO, as Russia is demanding?
Ukraine with standing armed forces of 800,000 is off-the-charts rediculous?”

“AI Overview

Russia’s military size is among the world’s largest, with recent figures showing around 1.32 million active personnel, supported by approximately 2 million in reserves, and about 250,000 paramilitary forces, with ongoing efforts to expand further, reaching a total planned force of 1.5 million servicemen by late 2024/2025.”

Well, I would say that, given the circumstances, 800,000 is not too many.

Ukraine is fighting Russia to a standstill. Big, Bad Russia can’t make any headway in its efforts to seize Ukranian territory. Putin loses tens of thousands of troops a month and can’t gain any ground.

I think at some point, the Russian people are going to derail Putin’s egotistical attacks on Ukraine. He has produced millions of crying Russian mothers to feed his ego and bank account.

December 22, 2025 8:44 am

1 Earth is cooler w atmos/water vapor/30% albedo not warmer.
2 Ubiquitous GHE heat balance graphics don’t + violate GAAP & LoT.
3 Kinetic heat transfer processes of contiguous atmos molecules render “extra” GHE energy from a BB surface impossible.

Stay on topic.
Thanks.