Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

Archives for February 2011

What to Listen to, And Read, This Week

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Here is a clever video about what is wrong with government’s latest planning scheme for the Murray Darling Basin.

Interestingly Topher has quoted extensively from my 2003 monograph ‘Myth and the Murray: Measuring the Real State of the River Environment’.

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Consider this an open thread. Let other readers of this blog know what you are watching, listening to, and reading, this week by way of a comment.

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This blog is about community, and access to information. Information that is not politically correct or even fashionable… But hopefully well considered.

Mysterious, ‘Dr X’ says Universe Is NOT Expanding: A Note from Joseph A. Olson

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WHAT first began as ‘rumored’ science on conservative websites is now being reinforced by what can only be described as the foremost authority on the Expanding Universe.  The thought that there was a Non Expanding Theory has been introduced by a trained engineer, who has turned rogue astronomer.  The following quote from Dr X does add credibility to this challenge to eight decades of ‘settled’ science:

    Dr X has “admitted that the expanding universe might be an illusion, but
    implied that this was a cautious and colorless view.  Last week it was apparent that
    he had shifted his position even further away from a literal interpretation of red
    shift, that he now regards the expanding universe as more improbable than a
    non-expanding one.”

What gives this Dr X usurper, along with that engineer turned rogue astronomer, the right to challenge this cornerstone of modern astronomy ?

The identity of the mysterious Dr X is none other than “Mount Wilson Observatory’s brilliant Astronomer Edwin Powell Hubble,” who with coworker Milton LaSalle Humason first observed the red-shift of light from distant stars.  Continuing, “It was assumed that the distant nebulae were retreating in all directions.”

One interesting fact is that this interview was for Time Magazine and was published as “Science: Shift on Shift” on Dec 14, 1936.  Here you have proof that the ‘father of the Expanding Universe Theory’ had misgivings just years after his 1929 disclosure.  Following the motto of P T Barnum, of “there’s a sucker born every minute” the existing ‘big science’ teams saw an unlimited opportunity to expand astronomy budgets.

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‘Carbon Price’ Won’t Reduce Emissions from Power Stations

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THE Australian government has announced plans to introduce a carbon price scheme forcing industry to buy a permit for each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted from July 1, 2012.  A trading system, with the carbon permit price set on a market linked to other schemes overseas, could follow in three to five years.  But the scheme is unlikely to achieve a reduction in carbon emissions from coal fired power stations.  Tony explains:

The Carbon Price and Coal-Fired Power:  A Note from Tony

We are being told that the introduction of this ‘Carbon Price’ will drive down the emissions of the offending greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.

When those politicians stand at the podium and tell you this, it indicates only that they have no idea whatsoever of how electrical power is generated.

When I try and explain that what they say is incorrect, that is somehow perceived as my taking a political standpoint by disagreeing with the politics of either the Labor Government who are introducing this, or The Australian Greens Party, who are in fact driving the Labor Government on this matter.

To effectively understand what effect a ‘price on carbon’ will have on coal fired power generation, you need to understand how a coal fired power plant produces its electrical power, and once you can visualise this, then it becomes patently obvious that just placing a price on those emissions will not lower those emissions by any amount whatsoever.

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Big Bang Rebuttal, Part 1: A Note from Joseph A. Olson

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SUPERSTITION has exerted a powerful force on human psyche and history.  Strengthened with a few facts, a superstition becomes accepted reality until new perceptions can reopen debate.  That is an exciting possibility in today’s Nouveau Renaissance.  Humanity’s new course needs a road sign: “Caution, Falling False Paradigms Ahead”.

Climategate has shown that even the most well funded science can be wrong.  All objective, science trained minds have left the Global Warming station.  Well meaning scientists are already doing damage assessments and future hazard avoidance studies.  It is now a perfect time to reassess another possibly defective theory on the origin of the universe.

Celestial Spheres

The ‘Flat Earth Theory’ required an explanation of cyclic visible planetary movements of the then know members of our solar system.  The Sun rose over the Earth everyday in a predictably variable pattern.  The moon waxed and waned between full and new.  The inner orbit planets, Mars and Venus arose predictably and briefly as morning or evening stars.  The outer planets, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn crossed the complete sky and then disappeared for long and varying periods of time.

Fourteenth century scientists struggled to explain these readily observable events and attempted to explain them as nested spheres, driven by great gears, which were below the flat Earth and thus invisible.  Mechanical clocks were just then being perfected and animated character clocks made this seem plausible to the masses.

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A Real Opportunity for the Australian Greens to Be the Farmers’ Friend

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In the lead up to the NSW State Election some Australian Green’s candidates have been claiming they are the farmer’s friend (Wolves’ ain’t so bad, Jeremy Bradley, February 10, The Land, pg. 26).   Certainly there is no reason for continued conflict between conservationists and farmers in a land so vast and resource rich as Australia. 

However, I have noticed that the Australian Greens have a tendency to demonise farmers – particularly irrigators and particularly over the Murray River.

Most dramatic stories have these three important characters and the Australian Greens tend to tell the story thus: the river is portrayed as the victim of over-extraction by the villain, the greedy farmer.   Meanwhile, the Australian Greens paint themselves into the story as the rescuers.

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