Month: September 2019

Bushfire Sense and Nonsense

Bushfires are normal events in this season in tropical and sub-tropical latitudes of the southern hemisphere – in Australia, Africa and South America. Even Captain Cook noted many fires in Eastern Australia in 1770, long before the era of “global warming” hysteria.

What is unusual is the number and ferocity of recent Australian fires.

Destructive bushfires need three things – a big load of dry fuel, hot dry winds and a point of ignition.

A big load of dry fuel, close to towns and buildings, in this season, is a sign of gross mis-management (seen most commonly in public lands). That fuel should have been raked, dozed or burnt in safer weather conditions.

Hot dry winds are not unusual in this season in these latitudes – no use whinging.

But how do 100+ bushfires start suddenly? Machinery occasionally starts fires but not 120 fires in a short time. There have been no lightning storms so who are the arsonists or idiots starting these fires?

Viv Forbes

Viv Forbes and his wife Judy have spent a lifetime in the bush of Queensland and NT. They were both volunteers in a rural fire brigade for over 25 years. They have fought many bushfires and have seen several fires lit – some deliberately, some naturally, some carelessly. One careless fire burnt out their exploration camp in Arnhem Land, another accidental “fire with nine lives” threatened their grazing property in SE Qld, and a deliberate fire on another property cleared a lot of lantana and leaf litter from their property and also made the adjacent National Park a much safer neighbour.

 Below is a true unpublished story about one fire we fought on our grazing property during the Millennium Drought. We hope you find it interesting: “The Fire with Nine Lives”:

https://saltbushclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/the-fire-with-nine-lives.pdf

50 Years of Failed Eco-pocalyptic Predictions

The Competitive Enterprise Initiative has compiled a great list of all the failed predictions of Environmental Apocalypses.

These aren’t general predictions of things getting worse, but explicit predictions that something will have happened by a particular date. They include:

  • Dire world famine by 1975
  • Everyone dead by 1989
  • A new ice age by the 21st century
  • Oceans dead by 1980
  • US to have water rationing by 1974
  • US to have food rationing by 1980
  • Fossil fuel burning to drop temperatures to ice age by 1981
  • Maldives will be underwater by 2018
  • Famine by 2012
  • UK to be Siberian by 2024
  • Arctic will be ice free by 2013

If one did not have the hysterical predictions (which the authors rarely concede were wrong, even after they clearly are), then people would be less sceptical of the actual environmental challenges we have.

 

A Sensible and Truthful Politician at Last: “Solar energy badly harms the environment. It must be taxed — not subsidized”

By Sanjeev Sabhlok  Senior leader and overseas coordinator of India’s Swarna Bharat Party

The Modi government has been shovelling scarce taxpayer resources into solar energy, with a further $6.5 billion promised till 2022. This is over and above indirect subsidies that people pay through higher electricity bills because of renewable energy certificates. And while Donald Trump did the right thing by walking out of the Paris Agreement, Mr Modi unthinkingly remains committed to it and Niti Ayog has been touting subsidised electric vehicles.

Our party disagrees with this approach. First, because we oppose subsidies for any industry. But second, because we believe there is a strong case to impose Pigovian taxes on solar energy given the economic and environmental harm it causes.

Solar energy can do a few useful things. It can power a radio in an off-grid location. But it can’t support our day-to-day life.

Read the full article:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/seeing-the-invisible/solar-energy-badly-harms-the-environment-it-must-be-taxed-not-subsidised/

Sea Level Alarm – a Nice Little Earner

Dr. John Happs

Despite alarmist claims of “catastrophic global warming”, there is no empirical evidence to confirm that or any acceleration in global sea level rise. Notwithstanding this lack of evidence many people, often those with vested interests, still cling to the alarmist beliefs that catastrophic sea level rise is imminent.

If you live on an overpopulated island with high unemployment, limited resources and were already dependent on aid from the outside world, there is one sure-fire strategy for bringing in extra money. This involves ignoring the lack of empirical evidence for any acceleration in global sea level rise or increase in extreme weather whilst taking the following steps: Continue reading “Sea Level Alarm – a Nice Little Earner”

Buckets of Icy Cold Reality

Democrat presidential candidates and Green New Dealers need to face some hard energy facts

Paul Driessen

CNN recently hosted a seven-hour climate bore-athon. That climate cataclysms are real and already devastating our planet was not open to discussion. So host Wolf Blitzer and ten Democrat presidential contenders vied to make the most extravagant claims about how bad things are, and who would spend the most taxpayer money and impose the most Green New Deal rules to restrict our freedoms and transform our energy, economy, agriculture and transportation, in the name of preventing further cataclysms. Continue reading “Buckets of Icy Cold Reality”

MEASURING SEA LEVEL

“Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.” (Donovan, 1973)

By Dr. John Happs

In reality there is no such thing as a universal measure of sea level because there is no fixed datum against which measured levels can be compared. Similarly, the term “Global Average Sea Level” is simply meaningless and claims that sea level is rising at an unprecedented rate worldwide are questionable, if not deliberately alarmist.

The average depth of the world’s oceans is around 4,000 metres and for anyone to claim they know that global sea level has changed by 2 or 3 cm over the last few years requires pure imagination, especially in light of the many factors that influence relative sea level.

The array of factors that influence sea level measurements at any particular time and place include: Continue reading “MEASURING SEA LEVEL”

Climate Change Stripped Bare

By Maurice Newman

Last July, the Prince of Wales warned global leaders they have ‘18 critical months’ to solve climate change and restore the balance of nature. This is the second such dire warning Prince Charles has given. In 2008 he forewarned, ‘the world faces a series of natural disasters within 18 months, unless urgent action is taken to save the rainforests’. Like his latest omen, the first was wildly exaggerated.

No doubt the prince is well-meaning. Perhaps, like millions of others who harbour Malthusian or guilt instincts, Prince Charles is naturally attracted to climate change hysteria.

Read more: https://www.spectator.com.au/2019/08/climate-change-stripped-bare/ (Registration/subscription required.)

HUMAN-INDUCED CLIMATE CHANGE – A Geoscientist’s View

Consultant geologist Dr Geoff Derrick was invited to present this talk to a conference held in Brisbane at the Pullman Hotel, 22-23 July 2019. The conference was organised and hosted by DANA, a New Zealand-based group of Forest Industry Advisors. The conference was titled “Innovations in the Australian Forest Industry Sector”, and featured 2 days of lectures and workshop discussion, followed by a half-day field trip to Woodchip export facilities at the Port of Brisbane. Continue reading “HUMAN-INDUCED CLIMATE CHANGE – A Geoscientist’s View”

Woodside Greenballs Jo Nova

Banned by Big Oil — Jo Nova’s Christmas speech for geologists cancelled by Woodside

By Jo Nova:

So much for being “funded by fossil fuels” — they not only don’t fund me, Big Oil won’t even let me speak

In March I was invited to present the FESAus Christmas function in December this year. They’re the Formation Evaluation Society of Australia, a non-for-profit volunteer organisation for Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts. A niche technical club of experts. It was unpaid, but I was happy to help make it a fun and push some buttons. “Hot” graphs, cartoons and all.

But in June, suddenly it became controversial to make jokes about climate change. Committee members started resigning, and dummy-spit declarations were made that “a discussion about climate was stupid”. People were shaken. The chips were on the table, the members said “yes” but the committee was split. When decision time came, the key committee meeting was hijacked by an outsider from Woodside who turned up by surprise and darkly threatened that all funding or support for the professional organisation and all future speakers from Woodside would be withdrawn if that climate denier, Jo Nova, was allowed to speak.

It was Woodside or me…

So my presentation was cancelled, and by Woodside no less. What’s astonishing is the effort someone inside this 4 billion dollar revenue giant went to — to stop an unpaid blogger from speaking to a low profile, small technical organisation, with little, as in, almost zero, media influence.  Seriously? As if a group of experienced geos were at risk of being badly influenced by yours truly — there are people who analyze seismic logs and signatures of key stratigraphic surfaces for fun. Does Woodside think they need “protection”? Or is Woodside just running chicken itself? Scared of the Western Australian EPA, which is currently calling for submissions, and promising draconian guidelines that threaten to kill off the industry? Woodside need the EPA to approve all their new projects. Petrophysicists might be almost all skeptical, but some either work for Woodside or hope too. Woodside are the largest operator of oil and gas production in Australia.

Read the full item:
http://joannenova.com.au/2019/09/banned-by-big-oil-jo-novas-christmas-speech-for-geologists-cancelled-by-woodside/