NY Times: The End Of Snow?

By William Teach February 8, 2014 – 5:04 pm

Remember when the UK Independent pushed their hyperventilating article Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past? (The website is down, you can see a screengrab here). Well, the NY Times tries their hand at this

The End Of Snow?

Officials canceled two Olympic test events last February in Sochi after several days of temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit and a lack of snowfall had left ski trails bare and brown in spots. That situation led the climatologist Daniel Scott, a professor of global change and tourism at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, to analyze potential venues for future Winter Games. His thought was that with a rise in the average global temperature of more than 7 degrees Fahrenheit possible by 2100, there might not be that many snowy regions left in which to hold the Games. He concluded that of the 19 cities that have hosted the Winter Olympics, as few as 10 might be cold enough by midcentury to host them again. By 2100, that number shrinks to 6.

The planet has warmed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1800s, and as a result, snow is melting. In the last 47 years, a million square miles of spring snow cover has disappeared from the Northern Hemisphere. Europe has lost half of its Alpine glacial ice since the 1850s, and if climate change is not reined in, two-thirds of European ski resorts will be likely to close by 2100.

The facts are straightforward: The planet is getting hotter. Snow melts above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The Alps are warming two to three times faster than the worldwide average, possibly because of global circulation patterns. Since 1970, the rate of winter warming per decade in the United States has been triple the rate of the previous 75 years, with the strongest trends in the Northern regions of the country. Nine of the 10 hottest years on record have occurred since 2000, and this winter is already looking to be one of the driest on record — with California at just 12 percent of its average snowpack in January, and the Pacific Northwest at around 50 percent.

1.4F in 170 years isn’t exactly scary stuff. And we’ve seen a 17 year pause. And a good chunk of the glaciers melted before 1940, well before CO2 hit 350ppm. But, hey, something might happen 86 years from now. When no one will remember the prognostications of crazy Warmists.

Unshockingly, no comments are allowed on the article. Warmists do not like to be challenged. Because people might mention things like 4 out of the past 5 winters being brutal in much of the world, particularly Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This year looks to shape up as average in those areas, while America and Canada have seen brutal snow. There was snow in many parts of the Middle East which almost never see it, such as Cairo. Over two-thirds of the US has snow cover.

Sunshine Hours puts February snow in perspective, and notes that snow is doing just fine in the Northern hemisphere.

Wait, wait, I forgot, snow is also caused by rising temperatures. My Bad!

Read: NY Times: The End Of Snow? »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 15 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach February 8, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrid flooded world caused by keeping your heating above 60F, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Victory Girls Blog, with a post on Desperation Barbie.

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IMF Chief Says “Climate Change” Will Cause Future Generations To Be Roasted

By William Teach February 8, 2014 – 11:32 am

And not just roasted, but also “toasted, fried and grilled”, which are apparently the new scientific terms (via The Hockey Schtick)

(Globe and Mail) But the most startling statements came from the heads of those bastions of economic orthodoxy: the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF and a former finance minister in the conservative government of Nicolas Sarkozy, pointed to critical pivot points for the economic future.

Her final pivot: “Increasing vulnerability from resource scarcity and climate change, with the potential for major social and economic disruption: This is the real wild card in the pack.” She went on to call climate change “the greatest economic challenge of the 21st century.” This from the head of the IMF.

Ms. Lagarde concluded with a call for a new kind of economic growth. “So we need growth, but we also need green growth that respects environmental sustainability. Good ecology is good economics. This is one reason why getting carbon pricing right and removing fossil fuel subsidies are so important.”

Which is interesting, considering that the “carbon” pricing is right. The market has dictated that carbon offsets are virtually valueless. Many of the markets have dropped to negligible values. Second, the fossil fuels statement is silly, considering the amount of fossil fuels used to get all these big wigs to and from Davos, as well as traveling around Davos.

In response to a question from the audience, she said: “Unless we take action on climate change, future generations will be roasted, toasted, fried and grilled.”

And then she took a fossil fueled flight home from cold and snowy Davos. The Hockey Schtick goes on to cite this press release from the Friends Of Science

Responding to hyperbolic rhetoric on climate change by Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, Friends of Science point out that her comments are not supported by the recent IPCC report, the exaggerated climate models’ failed predictions or the evidence of no global warming in 16+ years. Unrestrained terrifying statements are damaging the mental health of children and youth; in fact Friends of Science recent report on the alleged 97% consensus shows only 1-3% of scientists in 3 of 4 “consensus” surveys explicitly stated agreement with the IPCC declarations on global warming, and no agreement with a catastrophic view.

What should scare future generations is the pathetic state of world economies under these hardcore Progressives (nice fascists). Job prospects are poor, earnings are poor, unemployment is high, upward mobility is terrible. The future generations should also note the potential loss of individualism, growth of Government, and loss of freedom caused by the “climate change” movement.

Read: IMF Chief Says “Climate Change” Will Cause Future Generations To Be Roasted »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Climahypocrites, Global Warming | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

White House Tells Ocare Insurers To Let Consumers Change Plans

By William Teach February 8, 2014 – 7:49 am

Do you remember the old Simpsons episode where Troy McClure said “there’s The Truth, and then “the truth””? With Obamacare, there’s Deadlines, and then “deadlines”

(Washington Post) The Obama administration has quietly reworked rules and computer code for HealthCare.gov to try to stem an outpouring of discontent by some Americans who have discovered that the health plans they bought do not include their old doctors or allow them to add new babies or spouses.

Under changes that have not been disclosed to the public, the government will temporarily allow consumers who have gotten coverage through the new online insurance marketplace to switch health plans to a limited degree.

In a memo distributed Thursday night to insurers, federal health officials said that people may pick a different health plan before the end of March if they are dissatisfied with the one they chose, but only if they stay with the same insurer and generally the same level of coverage. The 14-page memo, obtained by The Washington Post, also says people will be given more freedom and a longer opportunity to get a new health plan if they can prove that HealthCare.gov, the Web site for the new marketplace, displayed inaccurate information about the benefits that a health plan offers.

The Most Transparent Administration Evah! Good luck proving that healthcare.fail displayed inaccurate information.

There’s even now a button that allows people to report life changes. Unsurprisingly, it is “not working reliably”. Nor is it actually live. They’re still working on it.

On the bright side, there’s finally a way to cancel a plan. And “looping”, where consumers where shuttled back and forth between the “private” insurance plans and Medicaid, and being told they were eligible for neither, has been fixed. These are all things that should have been in place before it was launched on October 1st.

Specifically, the new policy says consumers may make changes before March 31, the end of an open enrollment period that began in October, if they want to “move to a plan with a more inclusive provider network” or fit within “other isolated circumstances” according to the memo, which does not define what the other circumstances might be. People who switch must stay with the same insurer and tier of coverage.

So, if they’re forced to stay with the same insurer and tier of coverage when switching before March 1st, exactly what changes can be made? In some cases, there is only one plan by that provider in a tier. Not always. For instance, in North Carolina, if you have a Bronze level plan on the Exchange through Blue Cross, there are 6 different plans with varying premiums and deductibles. But two other providers only offer one plan. But, do the providers change? For Blue Cross, when you do a medical facility/doctor search they only tell Blue Advantage and Blue Value. There doesn’t seem to be any increase in medical providers.

Regardless, this is yet another example of Obama unilaterally changing The Law. Should we know call it “the law”?

Read: White House Tells Ocare Insurers To Let Consumers Change Plans »

Posted in Barry Obama, Healthcare | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Obameconomy: Wages Almost Flatlining

By William Teach February 8, 2014 – 6:47 am

The jobs report released Friday was bad. “Unexpectedly”. We seem to see quite a few of these. Though the White House always tells us “it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report.” But there was another little bomb within the report, and Nelson D. Schwartz at the NY Times performs a random act of journalism

For the more than 10 million Americans who are out of work, finding a job is hard. For the 145 million or so who are employed, getting a raise is even harder.

The government said on Friday that employers added 113,000 jobs in January, the second straight month of anemic growth, despite some signs of strength in the broader economy. The unemployment rate inched down in January to 6.6 percent, the lowest level since October 2008, from 6.7 percent in December.

But the report also made plain what many Americans feel in their bones: Wages are stuck, and barely rose at all in 2013. They were up 1.9 percent last year, or a mere 0.4 percent after accounting for inflation. Not only was that increase even smaller than the one recorded in 2012, it was half the normal rate of wage gains in the two decades before the last recession.

Don’t read too much into an anemic 0.4% after inflation for an entire year.

The stagnation helps explain why many people feel apprehensive even though the economy grew at a robust pace in the second half of 2013, corporate profits rose, the stock market boomed and the housing market continued to gain ground. The issue cuts across the American work force. In fact, white-collar workers did a bit worse than blue-collar workers last year in terms of wage growth.

Companies aren’t confident enough to spend, expand, create growth, which affects wages. The profits and stock market are outliers, but aren’t indicitive of the overall economy. This is the Obama economy.

This must be Bush’s fault, right? Even though he hasn’t been president since 1/20/2009, and the current pResident has even won a second term

“People are running in place in terms of their living standards,” said Ethan Harris, co-head of global economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “There’s almost no growth in spending power.” As recently as 2008, when the economy sank deeper into recession and Lehman Brothers collapsed, wages still managed to rise by 3.5 percent, before inflation. But the combination of a backlog of workers left behind in the recession’s wake, as well as productivity gains resulting from new technologies, means salaries may not rebound anytime soon.

Of course, none of this could possibly be the fault of the Democrat in the White House nor the Democrats who control the Senate, none of who are interested in passing legislation that stimulates hiring and market based wage increases. Most in the White House, including Mr. Obama, have no idea what running a company feels like in the real world. They’ve never done it. Furthermore, their rules and regulations are stifling business, which will affect wages. Welcome to the “new normal”.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Obameconomy: Wages Almost Flatlining »

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NRCC Creates Fake Dem Websites Ahead Of Midterms

By William Teach February 7, 2014 – 3:29 pm

Democrats will call this a dirty trick. I call this brilliant. Might Republicans have finally realized that there is this Internet thingy?

(Daily Caller) The National Republican Congressional Committee is using a little internet espionage ahead of the 2014 mid-term elections by creating websites named for Democratic candidates to highlight the less-favorable aspects of their campaigns.

The committee is responsible for at least 15 websites mimicking Democrats’ campaign sites for Congress, and the NRCC isn’t denying it – the committee is publicly endorsing it.

“The idea is people who are looking for information on the candidate, one of the places we all go now is online and so this is a way for folks to find out more about the candidates and information they may not find on the candidate’s own site,” NRCC press secretary Daniel Scarpinato told CNN.

They should do this for every competitive House and Senate race. Individual Republicans, at both the federal and state levels, should do this for their opponents.

JohnLewis4congress.com, the Republican alternate of the Montana Democrat’s montanansforlewis.com, is one of hundreds of URL’s using the names of Democratic candidates considered weak in the upcoming election as part of a plan the NRCC will continue advancing throughout the year.

The NRCC, Republican campaigns, and even individual Conservative groups can invest a couple hundred bucks, tops, to purchase multiple domain names, and have them all direct to one website which explains the real positions of Democrat candidates. Make sure they are constantly updated, use SEO, and, hey, even create a fake Twitter persona that tweets at least a few times a day. Make sure people know what Democrats really stand for.

If Democrats start whining, which they will invariably do, point out that politics is a rough business, and to stop whining like a 5 year old who wants a cookie before dinner.

Read: NRCC Creates Fake Dem Websites Ahead Of Midterms »

Posted in Elections, Politics | 12 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach February 7, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrid fossil fueled vehicle causing polar vortex after polar vortex to roll down into Florida, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is American Power, with a post on a crazy feminist.

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Another Recommendation For Parents To Talk To Their Snowflakes About “Climate Change”

By William Teach February 7, 2014 – 11:03 am

I’d recommend not doing it as they come in the house, their cheeks rosy red from the cold, stomping snow off their boots

Parents: Talk Climate Change With Your Kids

……

Start Them Early
It’s their earth they will inherit, help them to appreciate and respect it. Everyone has to do their part to help reduce their carbon emissions — it is especially important to teach your kids. They hold the keys to saving the planet. We all have some type of mess in our lives. It doesn’t matter if it is economical or ecological, it is up to to do our part to help clean it up.

Warmists have specificially stated that they want this junk science to be personal: I’d like to know if the writer, Neale Godfrey, still drives a fossil fueled vehicle. Oh, and why does she have kids? Kids are Bad for “climate change”. Hey, she wrote that “everyone has to do their part…” Warmists should lead the way. Otherwise, why should anyone believe their dogma? Anyhow, she has a few ideas to discuss with the kids, such as

  • Take your kids on a train or a bus ride — even better if it’s a natural gas powered bus. Explain that, in the U.S., cars and trucks emit 20 percent of the carbon emissions. Trains and buses, mass transit, move groups of people, with far less fuel consumption and pollution than everyone taking their own car. (<-think Neale does this?)
  • Use a time to limit the length of showers. Let your kids know that showers account for two-thirds of your water heating costs? If you shorten your shower time, you can save money and 350 pounds of CO2 emissions per year.
  • Change your menu. Eat less meat, especially beef. If you reduce the meat in your diet by half, an average family can avoid creating about three tons of emissions a year.
  • Include a civics lesson. Teach your kids how democracy-in-action works. Together, with your kids, let policy makers know you are concerned about global warming. Research you representatives in local, state, and federal government — and write to them with your concerns. Have the kids make appropriate drawings to include. (nothing better than teaching them far left hyper-partisanship early, so they can end up like the typical unhinged leftist creating mayhem)

She also recommends planting a tree (hey, never a bad idea), wrapping insulation, and turning down the temperature of the water heater. I do those last two myself, they save me money. I did plant a tree by my porch.

She always wants parents to take their kids on a scavenger hunt to pick up bottles and cans. Essentially, trash. This is one of the parts of “climate change” that makes me nuts. Warmists wrap real issues, such as litter, under the banner of their wackadoodle cult.

As with all the lessons you teach your children, remember to use the world as your classroom. There are examples of waste and conservation all around us. Point them out. Explain them. Challenge your kids to come up with solutions. Also, remember that they learn by example. Create good habits, and greener living – you kids will follow along.

So, practice what you preach, Warmists. Somehow, I doubt Neale does. Oh, and you can start by no longer having children. This way we can wipe out your deranged cult within a couple generations.

Read: Another Recommendation For Parents To Talk To Their Snowflakes About “Climate Change” »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Beyond Moonbat, Global Warming | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

Rep David Schweikert (R-Ariz) Introduces “Secret Science Reform Act”

By William Teach February 7, 2014 – 7:48 am

What is it? It’s a way of forcing the Environmental Protection Agency, which has seemingly forgotten what their actual mission is, to end their secrecy in rule making

(Fox News) Republican lawmakers in the House are pushing legislation that would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing new regulations based on science that is not transparent or not reproducible.

The Secret Science Reform Act, introduced Thursday by Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., would bar the agency from proposing or finalizing rules without first disclosing all “scientific and technical information” relied on to support its proposed action.

“Public policy should come from public data, not based on the whims of far-left environmental groups,” Schweikert said in a statement. “For far too long, the EPA has approved regulations that have placed a crippling financial burden on economic growth in this country with no public evidence to justify their actions.”

This is primarily aimed at the EPA’s junk science rules regarding “climate change”, but could certainly affect rule making for other issues.

Smith said the proposal “prohibits EPA from using secret science to justify new regulations.”

“The American people foot the bill for EPA’s costly regulations, and they have a right to see the underlying science. Costly environmental regulations should be based upon publicly available data so that independent scientists can verify the EPA’s claims,” Smith said in a statement.

This should easily pass the House once it makes it to the floor on what will be a virtually 100% partisan vote, since Democrats will not be happy with the EPA being forced to be transparent. After that, it will be shelved in the Democrat controlled Senate, with only a few Democrats, such as West Virginian Joe Manchin, wanting a vote. This is another important reason for the GOP to regain the Senate.

The legislation is H.R. 4012, which can be found via the new Congress.gov website, which is replacing the older Thomas. It was just introduced on 2/6/14, so there is no text available. It’s purpose is “To prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing, finalizing, or disseminating regulations or assessments based upon science that is not transparent or reproducible.”

Read: Rep David Schweikert (R-Ariz) Introduces “Secret Science Reform Act” »

Posted in Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Obama May Extend Time For Keeping Those “Junk” Health Plan You Like

By William Teach February 7, 2014 – 7:30 am

If the law is so bad, so poorly written, so poorly implemented, perhaps it should simply be scrapped and replaced with legislation that works

(AP) The Obama administration is considering an extension of the president’s decision to let people keep their individual insurance policies even if they are not compliant with the health care overhaul, industry and government officials said Thursday.

Avalere Health CEO Dan Mendelson said Thursday that the administration may let policyholders keep that coverage for as long as an additional three years, stressing that no decision has been made. Policymakers are waiting to see what rate hikes health insurers plan for the insurance exchanges that are key to the overhaul’s coverage expansions.

Less you think that this is just a health industry guy speaking out, along with Aetna Inc. Chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini

Health and Human Services spokesman Joanne Peters confirmed that the issue is under discussion, saying: “We are continuing to examine all sorts of ways to provide consumers with more choices and to smooth the transition as we implement the law. No decisions have been made.”

The time where people can keep those “junk” plans, as the administration termed the plans dropped for 4.7-6 million citizens, was already extended through an administrative fix, was for only one year. This second administrative fix would push it out past 2016, or even possibly to 2017, depending on whether it is added to the original. Either way, it would *Surprise!* head past the 2016 general election.

Nothing is settled yet, this seems to simply be in free-flow bull-session status at this time, but for the most part it would simply be all talk, because a good chunk who lost their plans were not able to get them back. This would be about optics.

BTW, in a hilarious bit of irony, the parent company of the Huffington Post, AOL, is reducing their 401(k) benefits due to Obamacare, per AOL’s CEO Tim Armstrong

“Obamacare is an additional $7.1 million expense for us as a company, so we have to decide whether or not to pass that expense to employees or whether to cut other benefits,” AOL’s Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong told CNBC Thursday morning. AOL is the parent company of The Huffington Post.

So, it’s not just health insurance, jobs, and job hours that are being damaged thanks to their horrendous law.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Obama May Extend Time For Keeping Those “Junk” Health Plan You Like »

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