…is wonderful wine, so necessary to discussing climate change at big parties, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is Jihad Watch, with a post on a woman being branded a racist for bringing her Muslim sex abusers to justice.
Read: If All You See… »
This is certainly not the first Warmist article complaining about democracy getting in the way of Doing Something (implementing Big Government solutions which give a central government more power over the lives of citizens, private entities, economies, and energy, all while refusing to change their own lives to accord with their belief set), nor will it be the last. Nor will it be the last which dinks and dunks around the edges of exposing that these folks are Progressives (nice fascists)
Hidden crisis of liberal democracy creates climate change paralysis
A “burning platform†with big, tangible impacts on our everyday lives is often the tipping point for concerted action. We call these crises.
Think of the G20’s actions in the wake of the global financial crisis or the global response to 9/11. Both events left governments and decision-makers with no choice but to act.
Then there are the hidden crises. These are usually not a single, explosive event, rather a pattern of events whose impacts are difficult to connect.
As such it takes time to bring to the surface the underlying cause and have it widely recognised as a crisis. It takes even more time to convince decision-makers to act.
Climate change is an obvious example of this knowledge-action gap.
Uh huh
Specifically, the failure to tackle climate change speaks to an overall failure of our liberal democratic system to:
• deliver competent, future-focused policy that can guide and give context to the pressing need for action on core challenges
• reconcile expert knowledge and community opinion to deal with the big issues of our age
You darned stupid freedom and democracy loving people!
Yet the crisis of liberal democracy remains intangible. This is because we prefer to blame the idiosyncrasies of leaders and bad leadership, rather than the system itself and its growing pattern of policy gridlock and dysfunction.
In the process, we overlook the fact that our delivery mechanism of democracy – liberal democracy – evolved out of a pre-21st century world. It was a world where the speed, scale and complexity of policy were of a dramatically lower order.
So in a globalised, digitally saturated world no longer bound by speed limits, our hands are tied by political and policy machinery, like parliaments, designed to synchronise with the 20th century’s comparatively languid rhythms of decision-making.
See? Democracy Bad! So, what can be done?
It means understanding that liberal democracy’s governance machinery – and the static, siloed policy responses generated by such democracies – is no longer fit for purpose.
It means coming up with disruptive solutions – like coalitions of countries, cities and companies to tackle climate change – that re-align this machinery with the new order of scale, complexity and speed that defines our 21st-century world.
Solutions like
More deliberative systems that directly engage citizens and deepen debate. Such systems would work to capture and grow long-term vision, values and objectives – rather than static perceptions of incremental policy decisions made for tactical reasons.
And
Granting more decision-making power to institutions independent of the government of the day, but still accountable to parliaments (such as the Parliamentary Budget Office or Infrastructure Australia). This would increase the capacity of policy planning and decision processes to have staying power beyond individual political cycles.
Wow, it’s almost like they want to take power out of the Hands Of The People and just give it to Government. As one commenter wrote “This article has Orwellian self interest written all over it.” The writers want to hand power to Government and “experts” (IPCC, anyone), which, in reality, would be even less accountable that Government and politicians are now. All for an issue that is mostly fake. But sure seems to be a way to push the Progressive (nice fascist) goal-set.
Read: Cult Of Climastrology Laments This Stupid Democracy Thingy »
If true, this could be seriously concerning. Until you get to the end of the USGS article, information not mentioned in the LA Times article.
(LA Times) For the first time, the U.S. Geological Survey has unveiled a map of earthquakes thought to be triggered by human activity in the eastern and central United States.
Oklahoma is by far the worst-hit state recently, according to the USGS study released Thursday. The state last year had more earthquakes magnitude 3 or higher than California, part of a huge increase recorded in recent years.
Seismic activity in Texas near the Dallas-Fort Worth area has also increased substantially recently. Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Ohio have all experienced more frequent quakes in the last year.
All of the areas highlighted on the map “are located near deep fluid injection wells or other industrial activities capable of inducing earthquakes,†the study said.
Mark Petersen, chief of the USGS’ National Seismic Hazard Project, said the pattern of increased quakes is troubling.
“These earthquakes are occurring at a higher rate than ever before, and pose a much greater risk and threat to people living nearby,†Petersen said.
On one hand, if fracking is causing these earthquakes, that is a serious concern. On the other hand, correlation is not causation. There have been many times that science has said “X is causing Y”, and then a bit of time goes by, and science says “whoops, nope, x doesn’t cause Y. Our Bad!” Of course, there are other times where science comes back, after much real world research, and confidently states that “after much research, it has been determined that X does, in Fact, cause Y”.
The release of the map comes as officials are coming to terms with the idea that wastewater disposal following oil and gas extraction is causing more earthquakes. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves shooting a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to extract oil and natural gas. The resulting wastewater is often forced underground as well, but can trigger earthquakes on faults that haven’t moved in a very long time.
We should all be a bit skeptical whenever anyone declares X. Especially when we get this from the USGS (one would have thought that the LA Times writers could have actually linked the USGS article)
The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) released a report today that outlines a preliminary set of models to forecast how hazardous ground shaking could be in the areas where sharp increases in seismicity have been recorded. The models ultimately aim to calculate how often earthquakes are expected to occur in the next year and how hard the ground will likely shake as a result. This report looked at the central and eastern United States; future research will incorporate data from the western states as well.
This report also identifies issues that must be resolved to develop a final hazard model, which is scheduled for release at the end of the year after the preliminary models are further examined. These preliminary models should be considered experimental in nature and should not be used for decision-making.
The report is based on computer models and looking into the future, and less on investigation. None of which should be “be used for decision-making”. The LA Times left that part out.
USGS scientists identified 17 areas within eight states with increased rates of induced seismicity. Since 2000, several of these areas have experienced high levels of seismicity, with substantial increases since 2009 that continue today. This is the first comprehensive assessment of the hazard levels associated with induced earthquakes in these areas. A detailed list of these areas is provided in the accompanying map, including the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Here’s a question: what about other areas that are using fracking? Are earthquakes increasing in those areas? USGS plans on more studies for the Western US. What about areas like Pennsylvania, which are increasing their use of fracking?
Wastewater that is salty or polluted by chemicals needs to be disposed of in a manner that prevents contaminating freshwater sources. Large volumes of wastewater can result from a variety of processes, such as a byproduct from energy production. Wastewater injection increases the underground pore pressure, which may lubricate nearby faults thereby making earthquakes more likely to occur. Although the disposal process has the potential to trigger earthquakes, most wastewater disposal wells do not produce felt earthquakes.
Many questions have been raised about whether hydraulic fracturing—commonly referred to as “frackingâ€â€”is responsible for the recent increase of earthquakes. USGS’s studies suggest that the actual hydraulic fracturing process is only occasionally the direct cause of felt earthquakes.
So, um, wait, the end of the USGS article is saying that the many different processes involved with fracking may, in fact, not be the cause of the earthquakes? What was the purpose of the fear-mongering in the early part of the USGS article?
All that said, this does certainly deserve more study to determine the reality. Research on the ground. What we need less of is fear-mongering with few to no facts based on preliminary models.
As PJ Media’s Paula Boyard notes “NY Times Freakout: Ermagersh! Ted Cruz Has Gay Friends — and Supporters!!!” This is like completely crazy!!!!!
(NY Times) Senator Ted Cruz has positioned himself as a strong opponent of same-sex marriage, urging pastors nationwide to preach in support of marriage as an institution between a man and a woman, which he said was “ordained by God.â€
But on Monday night, at a reception for him at the Manhattan apartment of two prominent gay hoteliers, the Texas senator and Republican presidential hopeful struck quite a different tone.
During the gathering, according to two people present, Mr. Cruz said he would not love his daughters any differently if one of them was gay. He did not mention his opposition to same-sex marriage, saying only that marriage is an issue that should be left to the states.
The dinner and “fireside chat†for about a dozen people with Mr. Cruz and his wife, Heidi, was at the Central Park South penthouse of Mati Weiderpass and Ian Reisner, longtime business partners who were once a couple and who have been pioneers in the gay hospitality industry. (snip)
Mr. Cruz has honed his reputation as a grass-roots firebrand, and was strongly supportive of the Indiana religious exceptions law that was recently blasted as discriminatory by gay rights activists. When the law was attacked by major businesses like Walmart, he criticized the “Fortune 500’s radical gay marriage agenda.†(snip)
Mr. Cruz also told the group that Peter Thiel, an openly gay investor, is a close friend of his, Mr. Sporn said. Mr. Thiel has been a generous contributor to Mr. Cruz’s campaigns.
So, this happened Monday, and was Important Enough News for Maggie Haberman to write a long article on Thursday. Because, seriously, how could Ted Cruz possibly hang with gays when he opposes gay marriage? This is completely illogical in Liberal World.
Of course, what this unintentionally exposes is the false “homophobe!!!!!!!!” narrative from the Left. Just because someone opposes gay marriage due to their religious beliefs doesn’t mean opposing the person who is gay. It doesn’t mean hating, despising, loathing, etc, the gay person. It simply means that one opposes gay marriage due to their religious beliefs. Ted Cruz can have gay friends, can talk to gays, can enjoy the friendship of their company, but still not support gay marriage.
Back to PJ Media
If you’re a left-leaning reporter who believes that the only reason half of Americans oppose same sex marriage is because they’re hateful bigots who are acting out of raw animus, events and statements like this cause you all kinds of cognitive dissonance and consternation. All good leftist reporters believe in the deepest recesses of their hearts that mean-spirited Republicans who disagree with the push for same sex marriage never, ever associate with gay people — unless they’re snooping around in their bedrooms.
Of course, this has driven Lefties nuts. Here’s what we get from gay rights activist blogger Joe. My. God
News about the fundraiser has also ignited the gay blogosphere and a Facebook group calling for a boycott of the hoteliers’ properties already has 1000 members.
And liberals call Conservatives intolerant? Much like with Blacks and other interest groups, any who step off the Democrat plantation Must Be Punished.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Read: ZOMG! Ted Cruz Is Guest Of Two Gay Businessmen, Who Must Be Punished! »
No, really! Per CNN’s John D. Sutter
2 degrees: The most important number you’ve never heard of
In 2013, I did something that’s a little scary for a journalist.
I asked you to tell me what to cover.
In the two years since, I’ve traveled the world writing about social justice issues that you selected in an online poll: I went undercover in Southeast Asia to follow the illegal trade in the pangolin, the world’s most trafficked mammal; I flew to a lawless town in Alaska to learn why that state has America’s highest rate of reported rape; I spent three weeks kayaking (and walking) a river in California that’s so dry it fails to reach the sea; and I met a family in Silicon Valley that’s living in a garage despite that region’s booming wealth from the technology sector.
So, wait, he’s taken lots of fossil fueled trips?
Starting today, Earth Day, I’m planning to spend the rest of the year writing about one tiny little number — 2 degrees. It may be the most important number you’ve never heard of.
Maybe that plan sounds excessive.
(Eight months reporting on one number!?)
But here’s why it matters: If we humans warm the world more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), we greatly up the odds of climate catastrophes.
Think super droughts, rising seas, mass extinctions and acidifying oceans.
We don’t want to cross that mark.
Doom!!!!!!!! Funny how 25+ years of spreading awareness has resulted in no one knowing that number. Of course, there have been multiple times over the past 5 million years or so where the planet was much warmer while humanity has been around. But, hey, facts are unimportant. Nor that humanity has spread around the globe, where people live in vastly different climates, many which are pretty darned warm.
Good news, though. If we drastically cut carbon emissions, we can stay below the 2-degree threshold. As part of this series, I’ll be exploring exactly what it would take to do so.
This matters a great deal this year, since the United Nations will gather leaders and policy experts in Paris in December to try to hammer out a new international agreement on climate change. Two degrees will be one useful benchmark to see if the world is on track.
Of course, the old big government solution.
Read: 2 Degrees C Is Like The Most Important Number No One Has Ever Heard Of! »
…is lovely, lovely wine which will soon have to be grown in Siberia, you may just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is The H2, with a post poat noting that court is in session.
Read: If All You See… »
I actually have a post sitting in draft form about Concerns about Hotcoldwetdry in Michigan, never got around to posting it Wednesday, I’ll post it later today. That said, here’s how #EarthDay2015, with all the Concern about “climate change”, went
(Detroit Free Press) Â Remember that old saying about April snow showers bringing May flowers?
I don’t either, but yes, there was snow today in Detroit, and all across southeast Michigan.
It was only a trace, though.
Unfortunately for those who prefer spring-like weather in spring, random snow showers are expected to continue throughout the day before tapering off this evening. Don’t expect any significant accumulation, though.
“It’s not pleasant outside, but it’s not unusual,” said Heather Orow, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in White Lake Township.
In fact, the region is below its normal average snowfall for April of 1.7 inches because until today there had been no measurable snowfall. Orow noted that the latest she could find a record for snowfall in the Detroit area was the trace of snow that hit on May 4, 1954.
Eh. It was probably caused by you driving your fossil fueled vehicle and having guacamole imported from Mexico.
Read: Schoolkids Won’t Know What An Earth Day Without Snow Looks Like »
Add another to the Republican field. Can’t wait to see the sexism and misogyny aimed her way be those on the political left
(The Hill) Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina plans to announce her White House campaign on May 4, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Sources close to the Republican told the paper she is expected to announce her candidacy online and then hold a conference call for the national press.
Fiorina will skip the states with early nominating contests for an appearance in New York that Monday. She then plans on speaking at Techcrunch’s Disrupt NY 2015 conference the following day.
That event coincides with the release of her new book and several cable TV interviews as well, the Journal added.
For my part, I do not know very much about her beyond her time with AT&T and Lucent, both of which had great success, and her time at HP, which didn’t, and that she had run against Barbara Boxer in very liberal California. She, of course, lost. As to her political leanings, I know she’s a Republican. Is she a Reagan Republican? A Tea Party type? An Establishment Republican? We can look to On The Issues, but, this is from 2010. Most of her stances were good at the time, but others were squishy, such as supporting the DREAM Act (though she did come out against most illegal alien amnesty measures and such) and being a bit squishy on “climate change” (though she very much supports domestic energy initiatives and opposed cap and trade). She was definitely for gun freedom, reducing government, against Ocare, for tax reform, and so many other Conservative beliefs. What she thinks now, well, we’ll have to see.
Jim Treacher snarks
How convenient. Now the Rethuglicans can sneer, “See? We don’t hate women. We’ve got a woman running for president!†As if that means anything. This is just a sneak attack in their ongoing #WarOnWomen. How repulsive.
Just more proof, if you need it, that we live in a rape culture.
As for polling, Fiorina is running at the bottom of the pack. Of course, this may be due to the fact that Republicans do not really know her, nor her political stances.
One has to wonder if her big time background in tech will help her out with closing the gap on the Internet, with social media and stuff, something the Democrats still are much better at than Republicans.
Read: Carly Fiorina To Supposedly Announce Presidential Campaign »
It’s also all part of the coming GOP Theocracy or something. So says the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank, who apparently needed to write a click-bait op-ed
Republicans again appeal to theocracy
Michigan Republican Tim Walberg was a Christian minister before winning election to Congress in 2010 — and he hasn’t entirely changed jobs.
In a rare Tuesday-night committee meeting at which House Republicans advanced a bill curtailing reproductive rights, Walberg took the even rarer step of lecturing his colleagues on Scripture.
How dare he!!!!!!!!! Anyhow, said bill, which passed on a 20-16 vote, is about overturning a DC law that would protect women from being fired due to using contraception (can anyone point out where this has happened for real?), getting an abortion, using in vitro fertilization, or some other “reproductive rights” decision. However, the law also creates a situation where companies would be denied their 1st Amendment religious freedoms
“Organizations most affected are those that exist solely to advance these beliefs,†Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said at the hearing ahead of Tuesday’s vote.  “As passed, the bill fails to recognize certain longstanding constitutional protections. Because of this we cannot let this legislation stand.â€
There have been virtually no cases at all which show the need for the D.C. law. However, the point of the law is more about reigning in religious freedom. Back to Milbank
“It is clearly taught by Jesus the Christ himself,†Walberg preached to members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, “for those of us who believe in him — and I understand and I accept the fact that there are those who don’t — but he said render unto Caesar what’s Caesar’s and God what’s God’s, and I think that’s an important consideration for us on this committee tonight.â€
Claiming Jesus in a political dispute is inflammatory, particularly when you accuse your opponents, as Walberg did, of “a continued attack on religion.†The appeal to theocracy Tuesday night was even more incendiary because it was used to justify a bid to strike down a new District of Columbia law protecting women from workplace discrimination if they receive fertility treatments, use birth control or have abortions.
Again, how dare anyone, much less a Christian minister, mention Jesus!!!!!!!1!! Funny how Milbank never gets upset when Democrats throw around the raaaaacism bit, and accuse Republicans of being Nazis and stuff. Because that’s never “inflammatory”. I mean, seriously, Jesus? It’s not like the guy stood for life, and values, and treating people with kindness or something.
As for the “appeal to theocracy”, that just earns a good old facepalm
being beyond barking moonbat and into “unhinged tool” territory. I thought we had moved beyond this type of wackadoodleness with the end of the George Bush administration?
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Read: GOP Congressman Dares Cite Jesus, Which Is Inflammatory Or Something »
Now, don’t misunderstand: I’m all in favor of these vehicles. I would love to see a way to ween ourselves from the use of fossil fuels. They’re dirty, and I do not mean their CO2 output. And we obtain too much of it from nations that are hostile to the United States, and very often are supportive of Islamic extremism. Nations that treat women and gays in horrible manners. But, these vehicles are just not ready for prime time
(Detroit News) It’s a buyer’s market for drivers interested in new or used electrics and hybrids.
Sales of new electric cars and hybrids, according to automotive research and shopping site Edmunds.com, are at their lowest level since 2011 — the first full year of sales for the groundbreaking Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and Nissan’s all-electric Leaf. So carmakers are paring prices in an effort to get them moving.
Furthermore, motorists who leased those first-generation cars, and have decided not to buy them, are turning them in. They’re on dealer lots with still relatively low mileage, and at prices considerably cheaper than the new ones.
Many surely realize that the inability to travel any sort of distance per charge despite paying lots and lots of money is absurd. Hybrids are continuing to do OK, but even they are seeing a slight drop. The market is dictating the value, after the Government attempted to create value. Of course, it is also government dictates that drive this, as the requirement for more fuel efficient vehicles makes it a much smarter buy to save a couple grand (or more) purchasing/leasing compact, sub-compact, and even mid-size sedans/hatchbacks. Even compact SUVs are getting decent miles per gallon.
Hey, speaking of Detroit
A look at how climate change will affect Detroit neighborhoods
The specter of climate change is looming over the Great Lakes and Michigan.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, Michigan can expect much hotter summers by the end of the century. In 2100, scientists estimate that temperatures will exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit for 65 days of the year, getting over 100 degrees for 23 of those. If the business of fossil fuel-related emissions continues as usual, summers in Detroit will feel more like Missouri than Michigan.
Supposedly, “climate change” will migrate the climate of Michigan to that of northern Texas (see graphic at link) by 2100. Strangely, people survive and do quite well in that area. Heck, they do well in even warmer regions. Good thing the models have been right on the money, right?
Anyhow, considering the shame of Detroit, perhaps they should worry more about the horrific condition of the city, rather than “climate change”. They’ve spent over 40 years turning Detroit into a cesspool, driving out business, increasing taxation, and now they want to do the same, but in the name of “climate change”, rather than in the name of Black People.
Adaptation and gentrification
While greater downtown is primed for development and greening, that area’s social and physical characteristics make it relatively resilient to climate change. Green infrastructure cannot just be a method for developers to raise property values. It is a vital component of building a stronger and more equal city. Targeting of climate adaptation techniques must be based on solid foundation of physical and social vulnerability.
That’s right, they are worried about White people moving back into Detroit and daring to raise property values. I certainly do not want to go all “Stuff Black People Don’t Like“, but, hey, these Warmists went down the road of racism first. Nothing says smart investment like spending oodles of taxpayer cash on “climate change” initiatives that still leave property values at a point where people can buy property for $1. But still have few working street lights, people unable to pay their water bills (this includes agencies of the City Of Detroit), emergency response that takes almost an hour (on the bright side, police response took almost 4 hours in the mid-70s’s, when we where worried about the coming ice age), and high unemployment. Let’s build tons of “green” stuff which people still won’t be allowed to afford.
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