Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

Climate & Climate Change

Rational Advice on ‘Carbon Act’ Censored (Part 2)

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A WEEK ago President Barrack Obama praised the House of Representatives for passing the ‘Clean Energy and Security Act’. Everyone agrees that it’s far reaching legislation.

The US Environment Protection Agency had one of its employees, a 35-year veteran of the agency, Alan Carlin, critique the supporting technical documentation for the legislation. Mr Carlin’s report advised that the scientific hypothesis on which the draft legislation is based is seriously flawed. Instead of considering the report in some detail, Mr Carlin was censored. The claim of censorship runs contrary to the new President’s promises of more transparency as explained by Kimberley A. Strassel in the Wall Street Journal:

“ONE of President Barack Obama’s first acts was a memo to agencies demanding new transparency in government, and science.

“The nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lisa Jackson, joined in, exclaiming, ‘As administrator, I will ensure EPA’s efforts to address the environmental crises of today are rooted in three fundamental values: science-based policies and program, adherence to the rule of law, and overwhelming transparency.’ In case anyone missed the point, Mr. Obama took another shot at his predecessors in April, vowing that ‘the days of science taking a backseat to ideology are over.’

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Due Diligence on Science Underpinning Carbon Trade

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YOU will have heard on the news over the last three weeks of the activities of Senator Steve Fielding in Australia. Steve is an independent cross-bench senator who holds a casting vote over the passage of the Australian ETS (termed the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme).

After attending the Heartland-3 climate conference in Washington in early June this year, Steve returned to Australia and asked Climate Minister Penny Wong three simple questions about climate change. The Minister replied, first in a meeting at which her Chief Scientist (Penny Sackett) and departmental science adviser (Will Steffen) presented a briefing paper, and secondly in writing. Senator Fielding then asked his advisory scientists – Bob Carter, David Evans, Stewart Franks and Bill Kinimonth – to perform an audit of the Minister’s replies to his questions.

Copies of Senator Fielding’s original questions, Minister Wong’s written reply, and other papers relevant to the matter are available for download from: http://joannenova.com.au/global-warming/the-wong-fielding-meeting-on-global-warming-documents/

Senator Fielding’s summary of the results of his discussions with Minister Wong can be found here: http://www.stevefielding.com.au/climate_change/.

The Due Diligence Paper has now been released publicly by Senator Fielding’s office (July 3, 2009):  https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/data/7%20%20Carter-Evans-Franks-Kininmonth%20Due%20Diligence%20on%20Wong-Z%20.pdf

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Harsh Words for ‘Deniers’ from Nobel Laureate

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“YET the deniers are choosing, willfully, to ignore that threat, placing future generations of Americans in grave danger, simply because it’s in their political interest to pretend that there’s nothing to worry about. If that’s not betrayal, I don’t know what is.”  

This extract from a column in the New York Times by Paul Krugman refers specifically to politicians who voted against the cap and trade legislation last Friday in the US House of Representatives.   [Read more…] about Harsh Words for ‘Deniers’ from Nobel Laureate

New Marine Data Website

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THERE is now a website where, at least theoretically, anyone can download near-real time data on ocean temperatures, salinity and currents for the Australian marine environment.   

The Australian government contributed $52 million to the development of the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) developed by the University of Tasmania with support from CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research.  According to government information, “support will also be provided for the eMarine Information Infrastructure to store, analyse, retrieve and share data once it has been collected”.

http://www.imos.org.au/

Rational Advice on ‘Carbon Act’ Censored

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ON Friday President Barrack Obama praised the House of Representatives for passing the ‘Clean Energy and Security Act’.  Everyone agrees that it’s far reaching legislation, and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made mention of the event as a reason for Australia to hurry-up with its own emissions trading laws.  

The US Environment Protection Agency had one of its employees, Alan Carlin, critique the supporting technical documentation for the legislation.  Mr Carlin’s report advised that the scientific hypothesis on which the draft legislation is based is seriously flawed. He lists its failings as: [Read more…] about Rational Advice on ‘Carbon Act’ Censored