Up To 1.5 Billion Masks Could End Up In The Sea This Year

By William Teach December 30, 2020 – 10:30 am

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you know I may not be a believer that climate change is mostly/solely caused by Mankind (and, heck, even if it is, it’s being used as an excuse to institute Statism around the world), but, I do believe in the environment. It’s bad enough have masks (and gloves) all over the place, because people are too lazy to properly dispose of them. Well generously refer to them as “assholes”. And now

Report: Over 1.5 Billion Masks to Pollute Ocean This Year

Over one billion of the 52 billion masks produced in 2020 will pollute the world’s oceans, warns a report published by an environmental group out of Hong Kong.

OceansAsia said the masks will both contaminate oceans with plastic and harm already vulnerable marine wildlife.

“Single-use face masks are made from a variety of meltblown plastics and are difficult to recycle due to both composition and risk of contamination and infection,” OceansAsia’s report states. “These masks enter our oceans when they are littered or otherwise improperly discarded, when waste management systems are inadequate or non-existent, or when these systems become overwhelmed due to increased volumes of waste.”

The report estimates nearly 7,000 tons of plastic could pollute the ocean and may take roughly 450 years to break down.

It’s a dual problem. The masks aren’t properly disposed of and they do not break down correctly. And, really, you know lots of those blue mask people buy are ending up in the oceans and other waterways.

The report also highlights various animals that have died due to masks. In September, a penguin was found dead on a Brazilian beach with a mask wrapped up inside its stomach, according to a local marine conservation organization, Instituto Argonauta.

“The consequences of the large number of people who frequented the beaches of the North Coast of São Paulo on the extended holiday of September 7 may have cost the life of a Magellan penguin, whose cause of death is linked to a mask that was found inside his stomach,” read a statement from the non-profit.

It’s just one example, and probably limited, but, the plastic and other pollution in the oceans is bad enough. The report recommends wearing cloth mask (which, of course, really do not stop diseases, but, make people feel better). I’ve seen lots of those cheap ones you get at the convenience store lying in the roads and parking lots, too.

Read: Up To 1.5 Billion Masks Could End Up In The Sea This Year »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus, Environment | 16 Comments | Trackback URL

New York Times Has Some Climate Cult Resolutions From Warmists

By William Teach December 30, 2020 – 8:11 am

I’m still waiting for the NY Times to abandon using fossil fuels to gather, create, and distribute their version of the news, particularly the paper editions. And turn the heat down to 60 during the cold weather. And only use solar and wind for their giant building

New Year’s Resolutions for the Planet

  • I finally want to join a climate action group. Lisa Burghardt, Germany
  • I plan on planting 50 trees in my childhood home in Croix-Des-Bouquets, Haiti, this coming year. Josette Teneus, Massachusetts
  • My next vehicle purchase will be an electric car. Jamie Wertz, Virginia

Those are three that start out this piece. I’m wondering if Josetta plans on taking a fossil fueled trip to Haiti to plant them, or just paying Someone Else to do the work? And seriously, is joining a group actually Doing Something?

In December, we asked the readers of our newsletter Climate Fwd: and our Twitter followers what they were planning on doing differently in 2021. We got some amazing responses. If you’re thinking of making a “green” New Year’s resolution, here are a few ideas, collected from those replies.

Get involved in your community.

Self-improvement is a classic theme of New Year’s resolutions. But to improve the planet, collective action is important. And the best thing you can do is get involved. At the national and state level, that means voting, for starters. And locally, it means helping to make changes in your community: in schools, in local groups or at the town hall.

And people wrote

  • My goal this year is to WRITE MY LEGISLATORS!!! This is an important year to help influence policy.
  • Engage with local educators and support curricula that broaden awareness of climate change and its mitigation.
  • Writing letters for the Sierra Club to support climate change legislation and candidates who are committed to working on climate change.
  • Spread awareness to everyone I meet about the harmful effects of animal products on our climate, which requires collective change starting from us.

So, not doing a damned thing to change your own life?

Travel differently. (Or just less.)

Transportation is a big part of nearly everyone’s carbon footprint, whether it’s the daily commute or that vacation flight. Personal and commercial transportation is the United States’ biggest contributor to greenhouse gases, at about 28 percent of the total.

Says the company which uses lots of fossil fuels and has a, get this, travel section.

  • Exploring the options of traveling by ship to replace planes.
  • I bought myself a bike light on Black Friday so I can bike and walk more often.
  • I resolve not to travel, by air, for pleasure only, in the coming years.

Buying the bike is nice, but, like the other three it is only a pledge, not really an action. “Exploring”. “In the coming years.” So, not right now.

There are two more sections, one on electricity and little things at home, and no one is offering to really do anything substantial, and no one is saying they are doing these things now. Surprise?

Read: New York Times Has Some Climate Cult Resolutions From Warmists »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 11 Comments | Trackback URL

Surprise: Washington Post Comes Out Against $2,000 Checks

By William Teach December 30, 2020 – 7:52 am

The Washington Post Editorial Board has finally chimed in on give Americans $2,000 checks, and their kneejerk Trump Derangement Syndrome leads them to coming out against Trump

Why increasing the stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 is a bad idea

GIVEN HOW 2020 has gone, we probably should have known it would end with Congress and the president wasting their final days on one last bad idea: $2,000-per-person direct payments, supposedly to offset the hard economic times brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

As we have previously pointed out, there was a case for including modest “checks” to the hardest-hit, low-income segment of the population. In the $908 billion stimulus it did pass, however, Congress went well beyond that, providing $600 payments that will send up to $3,000 for families of five earning as much as $150,000 — and at least a few dollars to those earning up to $210,000, before phasing out entirely. The bill does this while extending unemployment benefits a mere 11 weeks. In short, the measure short-shrifted the neediest and showered billions on people who suffered little or no lasting hardship from the pandemic. This, at a time when the economy has healed significantly and coronavirus vaccinations are underway — unlike the chaotic days of April, when Congress sent checks (of only $1,200) to help people cope with economic free fall.

Yet a just-passed House bill would compound all of those errors by increasing the $600 payment to $2,000, at a total cost of $464 billion. It would phase out completely only for families of five earning above $350,000. Much of this is going to be saved, not spent, since restaurants are closed and air travel limited. The resources would be far better spent, in terms of both economic equity and economic growth, on longer extension of unemployment benefits, aid to state and local governments, and vaccines.

See, “there was a case…” Coming from people who haven’t missed a paycheck this year, and whose business was never considered “non-essential.” And, consider, many who were considered essential still saw reduced hours and reduced income. Not the newspaper business. Everything went along as normal.  Most of the people on the WPEB are looking at six figure salaries.  Anyhow, lots more could be said about that, but, here it comes

But if the $2,000 payout is a bad idea, it is a bad idea whose time has come because of politics, not economics. President Trump deserves primary blame, by criticizing the initial $600 per-person version as too small and threatening to veto the stimulus bill. That created an opening for Democrats in Congress, who seek to exploit the proposal’s simplistic appeal to help their party’s two candidates in Georgia’s Jan. 5 Senate runoff.

See? It’s all Trump’s fault. It’s not like Trump wasn’t pushing $2,000 months and months ago. And it doesn’t even matter that Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cotez, and even China Joe Biden jumped on board now: Blame Trump. TDS. See, it doesn’t matter that Americans are hurting, Americans are out of work, Americans are seeing their businesses go away, that government is keeping things locked down, and that outlets like the Washington Post are advocating for all the lockdowns and restrictions. I’m betting a goodly chunk of the people in the direct sphere of the Washington Post, D.C, Alexandria, etc, would disagree with the WPEB’s take.

This was simply where Trump Derangement Syndrome takes them. They even go after the Progressive left, specifically Comrade Bernie Sanders, because of TDS, in the next paragraph, and support Mitch McConnell. TDS is a hell of a thing. What will they do when China Joe is president?

Read: Surprise: Washington Post Comes Out Against $2,000 Checks »

Posted in Donald Trump, Unhinged Tools, Wonky Media | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

We’re Saved: Cambridge Requires Climate Cult Stickers On Gas Pumps

By William Teach December 29, 2020 – 3:00 pm

This is Very Brave, you know. They are Doing Something! Spreading Awareness! I wonder if these stickers apply to the city owned gas pumps used by the police, fire department, mayor’s office, etc?

Cambridge becomes the 1st US city to require stickers warning the threat of climate change at gas pumps

Cambridge, Massachusetts, will require area gas pumps to post stickers warning of the harms of climate change, becoming the first US city to implement such a mandate, The Guardian reported.

The Guardian reported Friday Cambridge will require all gas pumps in the city to display bright, yellow stickers that say “burning gasoline, diesel, and ethanol has major consequences on human health and the environment including contributing to climate change.”

The stickers are intended to “remind drivers to think about climate change and hopefully consider non-polluting options,” a city spokesperson told the outlet.

Well, that should do it, right? Just wondering, how many of you pay attention to any stickers at the gas pumps? How about the electronic screens that are showing up on more and more? You don’t? Huh. Well, if the good (climate cult) people of Cambridge really care, they will stop driving their fossil fueled vehicles, right? Perhaps the city council should ban all gas stations in the city limits. This is just the same old spreading awareness that’s been going on since the 1980’s

A study published in Scientific Reports earlier this year showed that even if the public worked to stop all greenhouse gas emissions, the world will continue to face climate change and global warming, Business Insider’s Aylin Woodward previously reported.

Why does it have to be the public? Why doesn’t The Government give up their own use of fossil fuels? You can bet the mayor and members of the Cambridge city council won’t give up their own use.

Read: We’re Saved: Cambridge Requires Climate Cult Stickers On Gas Pumps »

Posted in Climahypocrites, Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach December 29, 2020 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible carbon pollution filled beer, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is 357 Magnum, with a post on a victim selection failure.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

House Approves $2,000 Checks, What Will Senate Do Now?

By William Teach December 29, 2020 – 10:30 am

Heck, by the time this post is set to autopost we might have an answer

House approves increasing stimulus checks to $2,000 for Americans, sends bill to Senate

The House on Monday approved giving Americans weathering the coronavirus pandemic $2,000 stimulus checks, substantially boosting payments from the $600 checks that were set to be given out as part of a COVID-19 relief package that President Donald Trump signed into law Sunday evening.

The bill, which passed in a 275 – 134 vote, needed the support of two-thirds of House members present — a feat hard to reach in such a divided Washington. Republicans did not whip or pressure lawmakers on vote, leaving it up to members to decide on the bill’s fate after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last week blocked a unanimous consent request by Democrats to increase stimulus checks to $2,000.

The measure will now head to the GOP-controlled Senate where its future remains unclear. Senate Republicans have for months stressed over increased government spending and are likely to oppose the measure despite Trump’s demands.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would force the chamber to take up the measure Tuesday but only one senator would need to object to block the bill from passing.

A vote on this measure will force conservative lawmakers into an uncomfortable position: either cave on their long-held objections or snub a key demand of the president in the last weeks of his tenure.

Perhaps, but, remember that the other key demand was the removal of all the extra, crazy spending from the government funding portion. That’s what Republicans tried to remove in exchange for the $2,000. But, at this point, that won’t happen. Republicans really just aren’t strong enough, there are too many squishy ones in Congress, and now that Trump is going to be replaced with China Joe, they’re reverting back to form of get along go along. Plus, this is a losing situation. If Republicans block the $2,000, they will be excoriated in the media, which will conveniently forget the spending portion (just like in this USA Today article), and will surely be a big reason they lose the Georgia Senate races. And will not be a helper for 2022.

Just pass it and move on. This is not the fight to go hardcore on.

Read: House Approves $2,000 Checks, What Will Senate Do Now? »

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What 7 Things Could China Joe Do To Tackle Climate Change (scam)?

By William Teach December 29, 2020 – 7:10 am

Strangely, there isn’t anything about asking his fellow climate cultists to give up their use of fossil fuels, give up their own eating of meat, turning the heat down to 60, etc and so forth. Nor a recommendation that Joe, Kamala, and all his climate czars do the same

The 7 things Biden should do first to tackle climate change

…

When Joe Biden takes office, CO2 levels in the atmosphere will be higher than ever before in human history. The challenge will be far harder to solve than if the government had acted earlier. But it’s still possible for the U.S. to get on a path that will make it possible for the country to eventually meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement—and stop the climate impacts that are already happening from getting far worse. Here’s where experts say that Biden should start. (nope, I’m not taking the bait on this stupidity)

  • REJOIN THE PARIS AGREEMENT (yeah, we know this schtick)
  • COMMIT TO SLASH EMISSIONS IN HALF BY 2030 (let’s see Warmists do this in their own lives if they think it’s real)
  • UN-ROLLBACK TRUMP’S ROLLBACKS (mostly on overbearing federal regulations)

Then, we get into

MAKE THE RECOVERY GREEN
A sweeping stimulus package can create jobs and rebuild the economy while also tackling climate change with investments in things like modernizing the electric grid and making buildings more efficient to save energy. “What we need to be doing is making sure that we connect the near-term imperative to the long-term needs to get to a net-zero economy, and invest in the clean infrastructure that puts us on that track rather than doubling down on fossil fuel investments,” Cleetus says. The focus should be on rebuilding infrastructure in the low-income communities that have historically been hardest hit by pollution, helping deliver immediate health benefits.

How nice, taking advantage of a global pandemic which has destroyed people’s lives and businesses via government rules to push a cult.

CREATE CLEAN ELECTRICITY STANDARDS
In many states, renewable electricity standards that require utilities to provide an ever-increasing amount of clean energy have helped ramp up solar and wind power. (In California, for example, a renewable portfolio standard started with a requirement of 20% renewables by 2017, then a new requirement for 50% by 2030, later bumped up to 60%; by 2045, the state will require 100% renewable electricity.) ….

Using California with their high energy prices and rolling planned and unplanned blackouts is probably not the best example.

MAKE ALL NEW CARS ZERO-EMISSIONS BY 2035
California recently decided to ban the sale of new fossil fuel-powered cars by 2035, and the federal government could follow that example; electric cars are already on track to be as affordable as gas cars within a few years. The EPA sets emissions standards for passenger vehicles, so Biden could direct the agency to make those standards so strict that only zero-emissions cars would comply. A separate standard for medium and heavy-duty trucks could reach the same goal by 2045. Federal agencies could switch to electric vehicles, including the Postal Service. Federal grants could help cities switch to electric buses for public transit.

This one is concerning, because existing laws could give China Joe the ability to do things like raise CAFE standards so high that companies have to build only EVs. But, there is no such thing as zero emissions, not without all the imported steel, parts, components, etc. And people won’t be able to afford them.

And, lastly, SET STANDARDS FOR BUILDINGS AND INDUSTRY, so, essentially, artificially increase the cost of housing and business. While you can bet Joe won’t be limo’d around in an EV, but a big, armored, fossil fueled vehicle, as well as on fossil fueled helicopters and airplanes.

Read: What 7 Things Could China Joe Do To Tackle Climate Change (scam)? »

Posted in Global Warming, Joe Biden | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Who’s Up For A Vaccine Passport To Travel Next Year?

By William Teach December 29, 2020 – 6:46 am

Um, yeah, no. It would be interesting to see someone do a poll on this with a party affiliation breakdown, though

If you want to travel next year, you may need a vaccine passport

Now that coronavirus vaccines are starting to roll out in the US and abroad, many people may be dreaming of the day when they can travel, shop and go to the movies again. But in order to do those activities, you may eventually need something in addition to the vaccine: a vaccine passport application.

Several companies and technology groups have begun developing smartphone apps or systems for individuals to upload details of their Covid-19 tests and vaccinations, creating digital credentials that could be shown in order to enter concert venues, stadiums, movie theaters, offices, or even countries.

The Common Trust Network, an initiative by Geneva-based nonprofit The Commons Project and the World Economic Forum, has partnered with several airlines including Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, Lufthansa, Swiss Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, as well as hundreds of health systems across the United States and the government of Aruba.

The CommonPass app created by the group allows users to upload medical data such as a Covid-19 test result or, eventually, a proof of vaccination by a hospital or medical professional, generating a health certificate or pass in the form of a QR code that can be shown to authorities without revealing sensitive information. For travel, the app lists health pass requirements at the points of departure and arrival based on your itinerary.

“You can be tested every time you cross a border. You cannot be vaccinated every time you cross a border,” Thomas Crampton, chief marketing and communications officer for The Commons Project, told CNN Business. He stressed the need for a simple and easily transferable set of credentials, or a “digital yellow card,” referring to the paper document generally issued as proof of vaccination.

Large tech firms are also getting in on the act. IBM (IBM) developed its own app, called Digital Health Pass, which allows companies and venues to customize indicators they would require for entry including coronavirus tests, temperature checks and vaccination records. Credentials corresponding to those indicators are then stored in a mobile wallet.

Ostensibly, this makes sense on the surface, in that companies want to make sure that people using their services do not have COVID, that they have the antibodies, that they have had the vaccine. Right? Think about just a week ago, where a United Airlines passenger got on a flight after claiming he didn’t have COVID but actually had it and knew it and then died and exposed lots of passengers to COVID. So, this is mostly the private market looking to require “COVID passports”.

What happens when Government starts requiring people to do this? What happens when everyone must “show their papers” per not just private companies requiring this but government requiring that companies track citizens? On one hand, if you’re getting on an airplane or going in a building, you’d like to know you’re safe, right? On the other hand, if you’ve had the vaccine/have the antibodies, they can all piss off, right?

Read: Who’s Up For A Vaccine Passport To Travel Next Year? »

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Young Climate Cultists In California Making Themselves Crazy

By William Teach December 28, 2020 – 3:00 pm

Now, seriously, did anyone expect this outcome?

For young Californians, climate change is a mental health crisis too

Maddie Cole in eighth grade stopped running cross country. She’d competed the year before, but the air quality in her native Sacramento was so bad that she got sick during a race; she soon learned she had asthma.

The next year the sky above Sacramento turned gray with smoke from the 2018 Camp fire. Maddie and her classmates went to school with masks on. “It felt,” she said, “like a futuristic apocalypse.”

The situation has only worsened as wildfires and their devastation have become so routine that she and her classmates are “just used to it,” said Maddie, now 16 and a junior. This fall “it was just like, ‘Yeah, California’s on fire again. It’s that time of year.’”

Well, yeah. California is renowned for having wildfires. It’s nothing new. And, her asthma and poor air quality are not from CO2. Buy, in Climate Cult World

Neither the polluted air nor the wildfires punctuating Maddie’s adolescence are random. Both are being exacerbated by climate change, and the future they portend has left Maddie feeling helpless, anxious and scared. Climate anxiety and other mental health struggles are rampant among Maddie’s generation, according to experts who warn that young Californians are growing up in the shadow of looming catastrophe — and dealing with the emotional and psychological fallout that comes with it. (snip)

Such dire predictions can affect mental health, particularly among young people. Polls have found that climate change-related stress affects daily life for 47% of America’s young adults; over half of teenagers feel afraid and angry about climate change; and 72% of young adults are concerned that it will harm their community.

Climate depression played a central role in teenage activist Greta Thunberg’s political awakening, and according to Varshini Prakash — executive director of youth-focused climate activism group the Sunrise Movement — it’s not uncommon for her group to meet kids who have contemplated suicide over the climate crisis.

You know, if you keep telling kids that they are Doomed, teaching them that they are Doomed, them seeing news and such that they are Doomed, that the Earth is doomed, that all life on the Earth is Doomed, what, exactly, do you think is going to happen with their mental health? Especially since it has been shown that it’s a whole lot easier to be negative than positive. It’s a self fulfilling circle of Doom.

The Earth’s temperature has skyrocketed since the Industrial Age, fueled by human activity and accompanying greenhouse gas emissions. Dramatic reductions in those emissions, and in fossil fuel use, will be necessary to prevent temperatures from reaching a tipping point by 2030, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned two years ago.

A rise of 1.5 Fahrenheit in 170 years during a Holocene warm period is normal.

Young Angelenos described similar emotions and mental stress when contemplating the climate crisis. Kate Shapiro, 15, said humanity’s selfishness, greed and “lack of foresight” about the warming planet contributes to her depression. Sarah Allen, 25, said she shudders in “real terror” when contemplating the plight of future generations. And Sam Jackson, 29, said the enormity of the problem leaves him feeling “exhausted.”

I’ll bet these young climate cultists aren’t willing to give up their smartphones and gadgets, streaming their shows, movies, and videos, fossil fueled trips where they need to go (because walking and biking would mess up their outfits and hair for the selfies and stuff), and all the other things, eh?

Read: Young Climate Cultists In California Making Themselves Crazy »

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If All You See…

By William Teach December 28, 2020 – 1:00 pm

…is a wonderful, old world, low carbon village without all today’s stuff, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Ice Age Now, with posts on record snowfall in New York State and Pittsburg.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 15 Comments | Trackback URL
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