No Hurricanes for SC This Year?

Hurricane Irene Via NASA

According to scientists at Coastal Carolina University, we won't have any hurricanes hit the Palmetto State this summer.

But wait! I was told that global warming would increase hurricane activity. How can this be?

"95% of models overestimated actual temperatures"

According to a chart of actual satellite and surface temperature observations (reality) vs. what was predicted by ninety different climate models, 95 percent of models overestimated actual temperatures. 95%!

Nothing says Science™ like predicting stuff incorrectly over and over and over again. Hey, the science is settled! Don't look at our failed climate models!

Headlines for Tuesday May 6, 2014

Today is Tuesday, May 06, 2014. On this day, back in 1937 the German airship Hindenburg caught on fire and burned. There were thirty-five fatalities including one ground crewman. This widely known disaster (along with the passenger airplane) ended the era of the airships for passenger travel. It also provided a the basis of a metaphor for something being a spectacular failure.

1. South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy will lead the House Select Committee on Benghazi. Not a bad choice. Gowdy has been known for his tough questioning of witnesses in front of his committee before. Rather than give a speech, he tends to...you know...ask questions. We'll see what he makes of this opportunity.

2. First it was Global Warming. Then it was Climate Change. Now it's Climate Disruption. Please adjust your lexicons accordingly. They can call it whatever they want, it's still silly.

3. Healthy SC man defrauds Veterans Administration by claiming he had combat wounds. They really ought to have a severe punishment for this kind of thing.

That's all I've got for you this morning. I'm heading to Florence.

Coldest March In Over 20 Years?

AL GORE, CALL YOUR OFFICE: Obviously, record cold temperatures are directly caused by humans, or something.

Eastern Europe Is Begging for Help

The Eastern European countries are begging for help from the USA.

European officials who want to reduce their dependency on Russian gas also have seized on the situation to mount a major lobbying campaign in Washington for new legislation to ease regulations on American LNG exports. Some of these countries, including Bulgaria, Sweden and the Baltic states, rely on Russia for 100 percent of their gas supplies, and Moscow has shown repeatedly it is willing to crimp supplies for leverage in political disputes.

We have the ability to help Eastern Europe be less dependent on Russia. This is what the USA is good at. We could out produce them, sell Eastern Europe all the fuel they could pay for. It would increase our exports, help our allies, and diminish Russia's influence. Will we do so?

Given the track record of our current President, it seems unlikely we will make this move.

Michael Crichton on Environmentalism as Religion

Last night the Senate Democrats had an all night talkathon in which they burned the midnight oil to discuss climate change. (See what I did there?)

In response, I'd like to share a piece that author Michael Crichton wrote in the Hawaii Free Press several years ago. It holds up very well today.

I studied anthropology in college, and one of the things I learned was that certain human social structures always reappear. They can't be eliminated from society. One of those structures is religion. Today it is said we live in a secular society in which many people---the best people, the most enlightened people---do not believe in any religion. But I think that you cannot eliminate religion from the psyche of mankind. If you suppress it in one form, it merely re-emerges in another form. You can not believe in God, but you still have to believe in something that gives meaning to your life, and shapes your sense of the world. Such a belief is religious. 

Today, one of the most powerful religions in the Western World is environmentalism. Environmentalism seems to be the religion of choice for urban atheists. Why do I say it's a religion? Well, just look at the beliefs. If you look carefully, you see that environmentalism is in fact a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths. 

There's an initial Eden, a paradise, a state of grace and unity with nature, there's a fall from grace into a state of pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, and as a result of our actions there is a judgment day coming for us all. We are all energy sinners, doomed to die, unless we seek salvation, which is now called sustainability. Sustainability is salvation in the church of the environment. Just as organic food is its communion, that pesticide-free wafer that the right people with the right beliefs, imbibe.

Go read the whole thing.

The Well-Regulated Militia, Chuck Norris, and Global Warming

Happy Monday.

Glenn Reynolds (a/k/a Instapundit) has an interesting essay on the origins and decline of the militia.

Also, it's Chuck Norris' birthday today, so you better watch yourself. I kind of just figured that Chuck Norris was the militia.

To recap the weekend, USC Baseball swept Brown University to improve to 15-0 on the year. We'll see how the team handles their first SEC games this weekend when the Gamecocks play host to Ole Miss for three games. My guess is that the Gamecocks take two out of three.

In the category of things that will make you dumber for having listened to, Senate Democrats are going to hold an all night "talkathon" on Global Warming darn, I mean Climate Change.

I just don't get the Climate Change people. The earth has been warming up and cooling down in cycles for millions of years. It's just nature. Man probably cannot affect the natural warming and cooling cycles of the entire planet, and it's just folly to say that this temperature, right now, is somehow inherently the "perfect temperature" for the planet.

Anyway, that's enough for now. Everyone go to work.

Best Excuse for Not Getting Your Girl a Valentine's Day Card...

...comes from The New Republic.

If your other half bought you a Valentine's card, be sure to say thanks for the 18.5 grams of CO2 it created. http://t.co/JlxWN5Pjzv
— The New Republic (@tnr) February 13, 2014

Hey, honey. I didn't get you a Valentine's Day card because of.......um....global warming. You just don't care about the earth if you gave someone a card.

If anyone tries this excuse out today, let me know how it goes.

Enjoy Your Snow Day -Snow Related Links

Enjoy your snow day, y'all. Here are some interesting snow-related links for you to kill some time with while you're holed up.

1. Canadian Ski Coach Helps Russian Skier in Awesome Sportsmanlike Fashion. In case you forgot what the Olympics was all about.

2. How Much Snow It Takes to Close School Where You Live. A handy map for you school-age kids.

3. 95% of the Global Warming Models Are Wrong. No kidding, huh?

Today's snowy post brought to you by redheads with guns in the snow.

You know nothing, Jon Snow.

That's all I got for today. See you after the snow melts.

You've Lost Another Ship?

Remember the ship full of global warming scientists who are stuck in the Antarctic ice? Yeah, the ship is still suck, but that's not why I'm updating you.

You've lost another ship?

I'm updating you because a second ship (sent to rescue them) is stuck. So at this point, the score is:

Massive Anarctic Ice Sheet: 2

Scientists: 0

At some point we need to talk to these supposedly smart people who keep getting stuck in the ice. I'm not being filled with confidence that these are our best and brightest. This is comedy gold. I'm sure even the penguins are laughing at these idiots.

You know what's even funnier? When Al Gore got a Nobel Prize in 2007, he said in his Nobel acceptance speech that the arctic would be ice free in 2013. Oh well, at least I have a new theme song for the global warming dopes:

Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it.

Scientists Trapped by Antarctic Sea Ice

Some scientists pushing the global warming climate change theory went on an expedition to the Antarctic to measure the decline of sea ice due to global warming. Guess what happened?

They got stuck in the record levels of sea ice.

The irony here is thick. How thick exactly? About 3 meters thick. The ice is so thick that not even a Russian icebreaker can rescue them, so it looks like they may need to be airlifted out of there.

FYI, it's summer time in the Antarctic. Good thing they didn't go in the winter, amirite?

I'm not a scientist, but it sounds like there is plenty of ice to go around.

Break's Over; Back to Work

Ok, y'all, everyone back to work. Break's over. So what's going on in the world today?

1. Did healthcare.gov get fixed over the weekend? Well, sort of. If you define "fixed" as a website that still doesn't really work all the time. It's kind of like Sex Panther Cologne. But hey, for the people who don't have to use the website because they're either exempt or already have insurance, the site works perfectly.

2. Abandoned Sites That Would Make Great Super Villain Lairs. In other news, if you have that hard to shop for person on your Christmas list, here are a list of six abandoned sites that would make great super-villain lairs.

3. Speaking of Super Villains, our "strong mayor" referendum is going to be on Tuesday. Here's everything you need to know, courtesy of The State. Funny, I don't see anything about the mayor getting a cool lair. That seems like a requirement, right?

In all seriousness, I don't have too strong of a position on the "strong mayor" thing. If you elect good people to office, they'll mostly do a good job. If you elect corrupt goobers to office, you'll have a poorly run city. Maybe it's easier to find one good person than it is to find a whole council of them. Who knows? All I know is that I doubt this will solve any of Columbia's problems.

4. Global Cooling Returns! The arctic ice cap grew 29% from 2012. Here's a picture:

Al Gore, call your office.

Insurers Required to Report on Climate Change

Minnesota has joined four other states in requiring its insurance companies to discuss how extensively they’ve prepared for climate change.

I'm not sure about which states make up the other four, but you would think that Minnesota would  be thinking "Let's get some global warming going on up in here! It's freezing!".

Global Warming In a Few Graphs

President Obama is going to give a speech today in which he will announce his intention to sidestep Congress and start enacting policies to combat global warming, oops I mean climate change. These policies will include limiting carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. Don't expect any specifics from the President though. He's just going to direct them to limit the carbon dioxide emissions.

Since our President is doing all this in an effort to combat global warming, oops I mean climate change, here are some graphs showing how the climate has been over the last few years. These aren't models with any assumptions - they're just factual graphs showing historical data. Check them all out, but here's my favorite graph:

 

The red line is the model that all this global warming hysteria is based on. That's what is being predicted. The green and blue lines reflect what is actually happening. Which would be nothing.

Which one of these is not like the other?

At some point the people who made the model need to look out the window and take note of what is actually going on around them in reality. I guess the environmentalists response to all this is: Shut up, they explained! The science is settled!

EPA Sweeps Bogus Fracking Claims Under the Rug

In 2011, the EPA started making a big deal about a process called "fracking" which allowed gas and oil companies to extract more gas and oil from the ground than ever before. The claim was that fracking contaminated ground water, and should be immediately stopped.

Since 2011, the EPA has been unable to actually prove that claim because...well...it's a bogus claim. So, you would think that the EPA would issue a report saying that they have studied the issues and that they've found no connection.

You would be wrong.

At the time, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead called the study "scientifically questionable," an opinion buttressed by the facts and the EPA's announcement on Thursday that it will not produce a final report or have outside experts review its claims of environmental harm. It told its story two years ago and is sticking to it. The story is bogus.

So instead of just admitting the facts and getting things cleared up, the EPA has decided to just end the investigation.

No final report, no peer-review, no nothing. The EPA is doing this because the report would directly and conclusively show that fracking has no effects on groundwater. And they can't have that kind of truth getting out there. They would have to admit being wrong. Our government can't admit facts.

Top News 5-3-13

Not too much out there today, but here's what I've got for you, campers:

1. This Day in History. On this day in 1937 Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Gone With The Wind. Back in1937 the Pulitzer and the Academy Awards weren't as caught up with whether something was politically correct.
2.  Coldest Spring Evah? I bet you won't hear that on the news, since this is an inconvenient fact for the narrative about global warming.
3. Reese Witherspoon's Arrest Video. Yeah, it's probably not "news", but it's funny.

That's pretty much all I have. Today's post brought to you by Harrison Ford drinking tea.

 

Global Warming Is Biggest April's Fools Joke Ever

It's been set up for many years. Everyone from Al Gore to Orlando Bloom have been involved. They were all saying that global warming is happening, and it's all due to the carbon-dioxide that man is putting into the atmosphere. Even some scientists got in on the gag and made some scary looking charts.

However, actual facts have been revealed today showing that the Earth's temperature has been flat for the last fifteen years.

OVER the past 15 years air temperatures at the Earth’s surface have been flat while greenhouse-gas emissions have continued to soar. The world added roughly 100 billion tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere between 2000 and 2010. That is about a quarter of all the CO₂ put there by humanity since 1750. And yet, as James Hansen, the head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, observes, “the five-year mean global temperature has been flat for a decade.”

April Fool's!

Wow, you scientists sure are a bunch of kidders. You rascals, you. Even "Climate Change" is wrong because the temperature has been flat. Nothing is changing. Ok, you guys...great joke.

Temperatures fluctuate over short periods, but this lack of new warming is a surprise. Ed Hawkins, of the University of Reading, in Britain, points out that surface temperatures since 2005 are already at the low end of the range of projections derived from 20 climate models (see chart 1). If they remain flat, they will fall outside the models’ range within a few years.

Just one follow-up question though? Was all the expensive regulation part of the April Fool's joke as well? No?

Well I guess the joke is on us.

Unexpectedly!

Good news, environmentalists! The amount of CO2 being released into the air by the U.S. is at its lowest level in 20 years. I'm sure all the scientists are staying "I told you so" right now.

Many of the world’s leading climate scientists didn’t see the drop coming, in large part because it happened as a result of market forces rather than direct government action against carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere.

Or not. These scientists seem like the folks at CIA, who didn't know the Berlin Wall was coming down until bricks started hitting them in the head.

As Glenn Reynolds would say: Unexpectedly!

Tree Rings and Climate Change

You know how the folks who keep pushing the global warming theory like to scream that "The science is settled! Stop being a denier!"? I think I figured out why they are saying that. They don't want anyone performing any scientific research that might prove them wrong. And that's understandable, no one wants to be proven wrong. 

Nevertheless, some brave scientists have continued to conduct studies and be all scientific and stuff. The nerve of those people.

The latest study of tree rings by some German scientists have revealed that it was warmer in Roman times than it is now, and the earth has been cooling for the last 2,000 years. It sounds like science itself is starting to be a science denier.

How did the Romans grow grapes in northern England? Perhaps because it was warmer than we thought. A study suggests the Britain of 2,000 years ago experienced a lengthy period of hotter summers than today. German researchers used data from tree rings – a key indicator of past climate – to claim the world has been on a ‘long-term cooling trend’ for two millennia until the global warming of the twentieth century. 

So over the last 2,000 years, the earth has generally cooled down. Excuse me if I don't go into a tizzy about the earth warming up a little over the last 50 years.

Frankly, it sounds like we were due for a little break from the cooling trend.

Save the Planet - Move to the South

From time to time, I have been accused of criticizing the idea of man-made (or anthropogenic) "global warming". Well sir, no more. I've read an article that has made me realize how much some of our brothers and sisters living in the Northeast are killing the planet for their lavish lifestyle. I'm fully on the global warming train, and I'm here to address a large factor in energy consumption in the United States.

As you may be aware, the more energy you use, the more the planet dies a little. As you can see from this chart below, one of the main sources of household energy consumption is space heating. (It's the sky-blue part of the bar at the bottom of each column.) Note how the energy used for heating in the Northeast is significantly higher than everything else. By comparison, heating is far and away more of an energy waster than air-conditioning in the South and the West.

So, if you live in the Northeast, you're really being a wasteful energy consumer. You're living in a cold place that you have to use a great deal of energy to heat, just so you can continue to live there without your little toesies getting frostbitten. I, as the new global warming sheriff am here to tell all y'all up North: It's time to move down to the South.

So if you want to help save the planet, move out of Vermont and get yourself to Alabama where people know how to live in harmony with Mother Gaia. Moving out of New England could be the purest form of environmental activism; your selfish, earth destroying choice of living in Massachusetts in killing us all. And as for Canada, Gaia’s message is clear: shut it down, now.

I guess that if you don't want to move, being a selfish person who cares only about living in Connecticut, we could come up with a cold-climate heat-waster surtax. As a citizen of the earth, I'm sure that you Yankees would be happy to pay it.

You do care about the earth, don't you?
[H/T Insty]