Wisconsin Republican congressman Jim Sensenbrenner told a climate change conference in Washington attended by [Australian] Senator Fielding that electricity bills would double or triple under US cap-and-trade legislation. And he denounced the climate change movement as simply transferring wealth to developing countries. Read more here.
Archives for June 2009
Dolphins Drive Sails of Loo Paper
Beyond Consumerism but with Capitalism
“CONSUMERISM, it must be noted, afflicts not merely the upper class in affluent societies but also the middle class and many in the working class. Large numbers of people across society believe that they work merely to make ends meet, but an examination of their shopping lists and closets reveals that they spend good parts of their income on status goods such as brand-name clothing, the “right” kind of car, and other assorted items that they don’t really need…
Limiting consumption is not a reflection of failure. Rather, it represents liberation from an obsession–a chance to abandon consumerism and focus on … well, what exactly? What should replace the worship of consumer goods?
The kind of culture that would best serve a Maslowian hierarchy of needs is hardly one that would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs–the economy that can provide the goods needed for basic creature comforts. Nor one that merely mocks the use of consumer goods to respond to higher needs. It must be a culture that extols sources of human flourishing besides acquisition. The two most obvious candidates to fill this role are communitarian pursuits and transcendental ones.
Read more here: http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=80661c9c-9c63-4c9e-a293-6888fc845351&p=1
Key Australian Senator Sceptical
The man who could help decide Australia’s climate change policy is in the US attending climate sceptic conferences… Family First senator Steve Fielding’s vote could be crucial. Read more here. And the visit has generated mainstream media interest with Mr Fielding declaring himself sceptical of a direct link between carbon dioxide and global warming. Read more here [Interview June 3, with Tony Jones].
Low Clouds Cause Cooling
ACCORDING to NASA we are in for a period of low solar activity which means more cosmic rays getting through to earth. According to research at the Danish National Space Center more cosmic rays means more cloud nuclei in the lower atmosphere and thus more low bright clouds which reflect incoming sunlight having a cooling effect on planet earth.
And Roy Spencer, at the University of Alabama, Huntsville, explains at his blog how the climate modellers get cause and effect the wrong way around for these clouds:
Senate Inquiry into Bushfires
Greetings Everyone,
Below is the details and terms of reference for a Senate inquiry into Bushfires in Australia. This should compliment the gaps that will likely be left in the Royal Commission for the chronic state of the environment due to political nest feathering for green preferances. This green lunicy of using the environment as a political football has now killed people and destroyed large tracts of our environment.
I would urge people to put in a submission, as so far the Federal bushfire enquiry after 2003 was the best.
Regards Ralph Barraclough
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.