More of the same from our great leader. Spin, spin and more spin, especially on climate. Don’t forget of course, he’s preaching to the ALP faithful, so he can say what the hell he likes and get away with it, which, curiously, is precisely what he does…

The climate change sceptics constantly scare-monger about the possible loss of jobs through the transition to a lower carbon economy. [“Possible”? Try “inevitable” – Ed]

But they constantly fail to talk about the new clean energy jobs of the future which will arise from the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, the renewable energy target and energy efficiency measures in the future. [Ah, yes, of course, the new green economy – a myth – Ed]

Specifically, these fifty thousand positions will be made up of: [Hope you’re ready for this…]

• 4000 disadvantaged job seekers participating in the current insulation program [paid for by the taxpayer];
• 6000 local green jobs through the jobs fund;
• 10,000 places in a new National Green Jobs Corps; [WTF? – Ed]
  
• 30,000 trainees and apprentices in priority sectors of the building and construction sectors and other trades, where places will concentrate across the range of “green skills” competencies that will be needed in the future. These will be achieved through a new National Green Skills Agreement and will start building a new skill base in existing industries and cutting-edge industries, and create jobs and opportunities for generations to come. [Can someone please tell me, is this for real or have we moved into some kind of “Chaser”-style parody land? – Ed]

The practical job-ready skills included in this training will include:

• Training electricians in the installation of solar energy [which nobody wants];
• Training plumbers in the installation of water-recycling, plumbing systems; and
• Training workers in the booming home insulation industry and the retro-fitting of buildings to reduce energy consumption. [All paid for by you and me and every other poor taxpayer in the country – Ed]
  

There really is no comment which will do justice to this pitiful nonsense.

Read it here.

Gordon Brown’s lame duck government continues to plough headlong into economic oblivion by crippling the economy with emissions reduction schemes and believing the fairytale that renewable energy is currently a realistic alternative to coal. And now yet another spanner is thrown in the works, as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) lodges formal protests against a new wind farm:

Europe’s largest onshore windfarm project has been thrown in severe doubt after the RSPB and official government agencies lodged formal objections to the 150-turbine plan, it emerged today.

The setback adds to the problems facing the government’s ambition to install 10,000 new turbines across the UK by 2020 as part of its plan to cut the carbon emissions causing climate change. [This is the lefty/moonbat Guardian, after all, hence the lack of any qualifying “which may be” in that last statement. Science is settled, you denier you – Ed]

The proposed 550MW windfarm, sprawling across the centre of Shetland’s main island, would add almost 20% to existing onshore wind capacity. But the objectors say the plans could seriously damage breeding sites for endangered birds, including a rare wader, the whimbrel, which was unexpectedly discovered by the windfarm developer’s own environmental survey teams. [Oops! Classic own goal there! Fire that environmental survey team’s butt – Ed] Other species at risk include the red throated diver, golden plover and merlin.

The RSPB heavily criticised the proposal from Viking Energy after initially indicating it could support the scheme.

Read it here. (h/t Daily Bayonet)

Next time you hear an alarmist parrot the line: “Global warming is causing more frequent and more intense hurricanes/tropical cyclones” (© Al Gore and thousands of others), point them to the following chart, which shows Northern Hemisphere Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) in May, June and July:
Note how nothing has changed significantly since 1970… And as Anthony Watts points out, note where 2009 is in the scheme of things.

Read it here.

Another blow for Malcolm Turnbull’s terminally wounded leadership. Peter Costello has defended Wilson Tuckey in his call for more open debate on the ETS:

“Wilson Tuckey is an enormously successful candidate in elections. He has enormous support in that electorate and he’s a highly intelligent person. I have not agreed with everything Wilson has said over the years, and over the years he has said some pretty funny things about me.

“But I’ll tell you this, he’s a very intelligent man.

“And I’ll make this point: that, when you go to Canberra … you are entitled to put your view in the partyroom. Nothing wrong with putting a view.”

Mr Costello said it was best that the views were agreed in the “forums of the Liberal Party” and it was best that “the members support that decision”.

“You’re there to represent your constituents and to bring a view,” he said. “And I think a vigorous debate never hurt any political party.“

Read it here.

What is it with alarmists and avoiding debate? Only yesterday it was Gore. This time it’s Penny Wong’s own “adviser” Will Steffen, who has turned down an invitation by Steve Fielding to attend a briefing for Senators at which Professor Bob Carter will also be speaking.

This is the second time Senator Fielding has sent a letter out to senators about climate change ahead of the vote on the Government’s emissions trading scheme on August 13.

Senator Fielding has questioned whether climate change is caused by human activity because he says there is evidence which shows global temperatures are not rising in line with carbon emissions.

He wants senators to attend a briefing by Professor Bob Carter, who is well known for speaking out against the link made between human activity and climate change.

The briefing is scheduled for just one day before the Senate vote.

Senator Fielding says he also asked Professor Will Steffen of the ANU Climate Change Institute to give a briefing, but he declined.

What’s wrong, mate? The debate’s over, right? Science is in, surely? Should be a walk in the park to make that fool Bob Carter look a right chump in front of a bunch of pollies! Wait, I know what it must be… it’s all just too easy for Will. Needs more of a challenge, I reckon…

There’s a saying: “Put up, or shut up.” Could be usefully employed against the warm-mongers.

Read it here.

And a porcine aviator just passed my window. Anyway, the poor journos at Fairfax have to do something to pass the time, so they write fairy tales. Despite the fact that in the next decade, China will bring on line about 1000 average-sized coal-fired power stations, 34 times Australia’s present coal-burning generation capacity, they will apparently still sign a binding emissions treaty in Copenhagen!

THE chief US climate negotiator, Todd Stern, has given his most bullish [bullshit? – Ed] prediction yet of a successful outcome at the forthcoming Copenhagen meeting, saying China is equally keen to achieve a new climate treaty.

Speaking after the first day of a US-China economic and strategic dialogue between the world’s two powerhouse economies, Mr Stern said that ‘‘on the US side, the issue has risen to the top of the US national security set of priorities’’.

‘‘With respect to prospects, you know, we’re slogging ahead … I think we will end up with an agreement.’’

Mr Stern cautioned that the perspectives of the big developing countries such as China and India were still quite different and the issues difficult, which meant an agreement would not be easy.

‘‘But I do think that we will get there, and I think that there is a lot of interest on the Chinese side fundamentally to arrive at a constructive and successful outcome in Copenhagen.’’

Don’t bet the house on it.

Read it here.

The Australian gives a cool-headed assessment of the current manoeuvrings around the passage of the ETS throught the Senate next month. Whilst The Australian’s leader writers appear to be still broadly in support of some kind of emissions trading scheme (which given the unproven science ACM considers is just plain wrong) at least they are demanding that Kevin Rudd address the concerns with the proposed scheme, rather than merely scoring cheap political points:

The Opposition Leader, having decided to deal with the government rather than be trapped into a green election the Coalition would be hard-pressed to win, must now offer effective ideas on the legislation. For its part, the government (after months of rhetoric) must be more precise about the impact of its scheme. While the opposition may be out of wriggle room on this issue (it must ultimately pass the legislation or risk a double-dissolution election), the government must make sure it does not bestow a costly and risky scheme on future generations.

And the first place where the Prime Minister must convince people of the ETS’s economic feasibility is at this week’s federal Labor conference. The ETS is not universally popular with cabinet ministers, and backbencher Jennie George spoke for other MPs with energy-intensive industries in their electorates when she said she was “mindful” of the scheme’s impact. Mr Rudd has been adept at exploiting conservative divisions over the ETS, but the time for politics is past: he must now show a willingness to explain and justify the detail of an ambitious and unproven scheme.

Read it here.

But strangely couldn’t find time to meet an elected Senator of the Australian parliament. Tim Mahar [who he? – Ed], who hails from the middle of nowhere, was granted an audience with Saint Al at the Asia Pacific Climate Change Conference in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, whilst Steve Fielding was snubbed. Do you think it might be because Mr Mahar has swallowed Gore’s misrepresentations whole, and is a fully paid up member of the church of Global Warming Alarmism [surely “Climate Change Alarmism” – Ed], whereas Steve Fielding might ask a few tricky questions?

Here’s a sample of Mr Mahar’s arguments:

“Imagine your child had a heart problem and nine out of 10 specialist said she needs surgery immediately or she will be severely disabled and may die. [And there is the glaring flaw in your mawkish argument – the earth is not heading for severe disability or death thanks to a gentle warming from the Little Ice Age, which has, since about 2001, ceased – Ed]

“However one said: ‘Let’s wait a while and see what happens’.”

“What would you do?”

“In fact, it is our children and grandchildren who are most at risk,” Mr Mahar said.

Much of the three-day conference involved working with Al Gore on the most recent developments in the science of climate change. [Al doesn’t give a fig about the science, he only cares about making big bucks out of carbon credits – Ed]

“It was disturbing to hear just how quickly the climate is changing,” he said.

“Extreme events here are droughts and fires, but other totally unprecedented events are happening all over the world [like thousands of records for cold being broken all over the northern hemisphere summer? – Ed].

“We can turn things around but it will require a huge change and urgent action.”

No wonder Al was happy to meet this guy.

Read it here.

Nothing is going right for Malcolm Turnbull. It now seems that his decision on the ETS will be timed perfectly to meet an opposing tide of public opinion:

Just as Malcolm Turnbull has turned the Liberal Party towards accepting an ETS before the global climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, there has been a turnaround in public support for delaying finalisation of a carbon emissions trading scheme.

And while most people are still prepared to pay higher costs for petrol, electricity and gas to cut greenhouse gas emissions, support drops away rapidly as the expectations rise of higher costs.

According to the latest Newspoll survey, 45 per cent of voters want the Rudd government to delay finalising its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme until after the Copenhagen conference compared with 41 per cent who said Australia should not wait to see what other nations were doing.

Eight per cent of respondents to the survey, taken exclusively for The Australian last weekend, oppose an ETS outright, taking the total who oppose the scheme or want it delayed to 53 per cent.

In September last year, 61 per cent wanted Australia to act as soon as possible, no matter what other countries were doing, and only 33 per cent wanted to delay or opposed the scheme outright.

So that’s a 20% increase in those opposing the ETS or wanting it delayed, and Turnbull does precisely the opposite. Not surprisingly, his popularity is at rock bottom, and the writing is on the wall for his leadership…

The Opposition Leader’s about-face over passing the ETS before Copenhagen and commitments from the big carbon emitters — the US, China and India — came as he slipped to his lowest standing against the Prime Minister, a worse position than former leader Brendan Nelson when he was replaced.

Read it here.

The point I made about an emissions trading scheme is that I don’t like it one little bit. I think it’s economically suspect and I think the science behind the policy is contentious to say the least.

Read it here (h/t Andrew Bolt)