Rudd in deep strife

20 May, 2010 by

Five major policy backflips and counting…

The Herald Sun lays bare the problems for Kevin Rudd. He has the inverse midas touch at the moment, everything he touches turns to dust. Even his attacks on Tony Abbott’s “gaffe” have backfired, with public opinion solidly behind Abbott:

FOR the past three weeks, opinion polls have shown, decidedly and emphatically, that the prime ministership of Kevin Rudd is in dramatic decline.

The figures have come back with one clear thread – Australia’s very brief and intense love affair with Rudd has come to a screaming halt.

God only knows what sort of meltdown the PM experienced as he opened his newspapers. Unlike John Howard, who faced his executioners with a brave face each time the polls were released in his last year of power, Rudd went missing in action.

Like a bad loser, Rudd hates facing failure. There were no hospital visits on those three dark days after these polls. No hard hats, no slapping the workers’ backs, no door-stops outside the local church. Dead silence from the man who turned Channel 7’s Sunrise into his own marketing weapon during the last election campaign.

By hiding, and sending Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan out to do his dirty work, Rudd told us even more about himself than if he had held dozens of press conferences.

His prime ministership was built on populism. But his backflips on the ETS, immigration policy and on the roof insulation scheme proved to many of us who voted for him that Rudd does not stand for much at all.

If there is one thing Australians can’t stand, it is a fake.

Is it too much to hope that Rudd will be a one-termer?

Read it here.

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Will Alexander: RIP climate change

20 May, 2010 by

South African UN scientist Will Alexander writes the death notice for “global warming” hysteria in his final memo:

CLIMATE CHANGE

may it

REST IN PEACE

1. Provably false assumption that human activities can influence global climate for which there is no scientifically believable evidence.

2. Provably false assumption that the increases in global temperatures are the cause of climatic changes. Multiyear variations in global climate are driven by variations in the receipt and poleward redistribution of solar energy via the atmospheric and oceanic processes, not temperature variations. This is high school physics.

3. Complete lack of numeracy skills and logical deductions by the climate change adherents.

4. Deliberate manipulation of climate change science to suit political objectives.

In memoriam

Read it here (PDF) h/t Climate Realists

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Opposition budget ditches green tokenism

19 May, 2010 by

Spending on "green initiatives"

The Opposition will slash millions of dollars of pointless climate change spending promises by Labor if it regains power:

  • $200 million off reducing emissions on coal-fired power stations (spend it instead on reducing emissions of toxins and particulates, which would actually achieve some environmental benefit, rather than removing, at vast expense, a harmless trace gas essential for life)
  • $193 million off “climate aid” to poor countries (no global socialism here, thanks very much)
  • $76 million off funds encouraging individuals to reduce emissions (pointless tokenism)
  • $30 million ad campaign on climate change scrapped [BRAVO – Ed]
  • $278 million off a plan to develop “greener cars” (no, we need more cars like the Prius…)
  • $653 million off renewable energy schemes (which need massive government support to be even barely competitive)

All of these policies are predicated on CO2 being the primary and dominant driver of climate change, which $70 billion of research since 1990 has failed to establish. If it isn’t, every single one of them is completely, utterly, totally, and 100% pointless.

Read it here.

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Quote of the Day: Richard Lindzen

19 May, 2010 by

Quote of the Day

QOTD goes to MIT professor Richard Lindzen, who advises us all to abandon the use of the word “skeptic”:

“As far as I can tell, skepticism involves doubts about a plausible proposition. I think current global warming alarm does not represent a plausible proposition.”

Read it here.

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More taxpayer-funded indoctrination of our children

19 May, 2010 by

Government-funded indoctrination

A new government web site has been launched, catchily entitled Shout Out for Climate Change, encouraging students from primary to tertiary to create TV adverts or artistic works that “raise awareness of climate change”. As if that isn’t scary enough, it’s fronted with a video of Penny Wong – run for the hills! Indoctrination Alert:

The Shout Out for Climate Change competition offers young Australians the opportunity to share their thoughts and views on climate change.

If you are an aspiring film director, actor, advertising executive or just have a creative flair and care about the future of our planet [since because if you don’t subscribe to the hysterical climate alarmism of the Labor government, you don’t “care about the future of the planet” – Ed], we are counting on you to shout out for climate change in the 2010 school and university competition.

All Australian primary, secondary and tertiary students living and studying in Australia are eligible to enter the Shout Out for Climate change competition.

Through this competition you will have the opportunity to ‘shout out’ your ideas about combating climate change – and we will help you share them with Australia.

Climate propaganda, pure and simple, paid for by your taxes. Be angry, be very angry.

The whole gory web site is here. (h/t Andrew Bolt)

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Climate change to increase weeds… no, wait…

18 May, 2010 by

Killer weeds killed off?

Way back in October 2008, ACM ran the following story:

Invasion of the killer weeds

“Scientists have warned that more government funding is needed to protect Australia against a climate-driven weed invasion.” (ACM, 17 October 2008, link)

But hang on, now it’s all change, because the Sydney Moonbat Herald reports that climate change will actually eradicate some weeds:

Climate change may have an upside in helping Australian scientists put the squeeze on some weed species.

A CSIRO report has found that hotter temperatures and reduced rainfall in South Australia could lead to changes in the type and number of weeds growing in areas across the state.

It said existing weed problems in northern districts may shift south and landholders may have to deal with species they haven’t encountered before.

But it also found that as the climate warms the geographic range of some weeds that prefer cooler conditions may be reduced.

“If we can prevent the replacement with other weeds we may be able to put the squeeze on some weeds, particularly the notoriously destructive weeds Bridal Creeper and Scotch Broom,” lead author Darren Kriticos said. (source)

More weeds, same weeds, fewer weeds, different weeds. Who cares? As long as we can write mind-numbing stories about “climate change” to keep our editors happy.

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UPDATED: The hypocrisy of Labor and the Labor-loving media

18 May, 2010 by

The media and Labor are all over Tony Abbott this morning after his “gaffe” on ABC’s 7.30 Report in which he rather too candidly admitted that politicians are susceptible to hyperbole in the heat of the moment. Well, knock me down with a feather. Tell me something I don’t know. But Labor are on to it, calling him Phoney Tony, trying to make cheap political capital out of it (always a sure sign of a government in deep trouble), and the media have all got collective “cat got the cream” expressions on their smug journalistic faces.

What short memories they have, and a truly impressive ability to forget instantly the lies, spin and deception of this bankrupt Labor government, which has executed more backflips than a gymnastics convention. Don’t know about Phoney Tony, but I sure know about Rudd the Dud.

Abbott simply told the truth about politics in the 21st century, and was rather too honest about it, but the hypocrisy it has received in response is nothing short of breathtaking.

UPDATE: Some of this simply has to be seen to be believed, as Labor ministers queue up to rubbish Abbott. Nicola Roxon (the worst health minister in living memory?) thinks Abbott is “cracking under pressure” and Penny Wong [who she? – Ed] thinks he “cannot be trusted” (see here). If those same standards were applied to the Government, there wouldn’t be a man or woman left standing. Andrew Robb calls the hypocrisy for what it is:

Those Government ministers who have been out all morning hyperventilating about Tony Abbott are hardly in a position to point a finger considering their appalling track record.

It is the pot calling the kettle black.

Kevin Rudd is the king of broken promises, back-flips and spin and when the going gets tough he goes into hiding, blames others and wheels out junior ministers to take the rap.

In stark contrast, Tony Abbott is a strong leader who is refreshingly authentic and who has the courage to get out there and take it on the chin.

Read it all.

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New UN climate chief appointed

18 May, 2010 by

New UN climate chief

You can hardly blame Yvo de Boer for stepping down after the unmitigated disaster that was Copenhagen (see here). So the hospital pass has been handed to Costa Rican Christiana Figueres:

Figueres, 53, the choice of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, is the first leader of the U.N. climate change secretariat to come from a developing country. She will take over from Dutchman Yvo de Boer from July 1.

She beat fellow short-listed candidate Marthinus van Schalkwyk, a former South African environment minister, for a position meant to rally global accord on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol after a disappointing summit in Copenhagen last December.

Announcing the appointment, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Figueres “brings to this position a passion for the issue, deep knowledge of the stakeholders and valuable hands-on experience with the public sector, non-profit sector and private sector.”

The scale of Figueres’ task is underscored by a Copenhagen summit where 120 world leaders failed to reach a binding deal, pledging instead to mobilize $30 billion from 2010-2012 to help poor countries deal with droughts and floods, and to try to limit warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius.

…

In an interview with Reuters after her appointment, Figueres said the world can salvage a new deal to combat global warming but this was not a priority for 2010. Rich countries must first fulfill their pledges on climate aid, she said.

“Parties need to prove to themselves that issues already on the table, such as fast-tracking financing, that’s not just on paper but can also be delivered. That’s the focus of Cancun,” she said. (source)

New face, same old story.

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Another alternative energy disaster

17 May, 2010 by

Spectacular failure

Anyone with even half a brain can see that alternative, “green” energy is currently expensive, inefficient and unreliable. It is delusional to believe that wind and solar power could possibly replace baseload fossil fuel electricity generation in the near future. But their failures can be quite spectacular, however (see pic), like the wave power generator in Port Kembla which now lies wrecked at the bottom of the sea, a sad playground for sea-life. It was visited in 2007 by Peter Garrett, who declared it “a terrific example of clean energy” and pledged the Rudd government to drive a “clean energy revolution”…

The landmark Oceanlinx wave energy system, the Mk3PC, sits underwater at the bottom of Port Kembla’s eastern break wall after heavy seas ripped the unit from its moorings.

The 170-tonne structure, which was located 150m offshore, broke free of its pylons on Friday afternoon.

Representatives from the Sydney-based company Oceanlinx immediately rushed to Port Kembla, but attempts to tow the structure to safety were hampered by heavy seas.

The barge-like structure was lodged tight against the eastern breakwater on Friday night with crews expected to make a second effort on Saturday, but by Saturday morning the structure had sunk.

Port Kembla Port Corporation CEO Dom Figliomeni said meetings with Oceanlinx representatives would be held today to discuss salvaging the unit.

“What we have been doing over the weekend is monitoring the unit to make sure it doesn’t enter shipping channels,” Mr Figliomeni said. “At the moment it is no danger to anyone.”

Certainly no danger to coal fired electricity production, anyway. Unfortunately, there isn’t such a thing as a clean energy revolution. Clean energy requires massive government subsidies to make it competitive, destroying jobs rather than creating them.

Read it here. (h/t Tim Blair)

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"Expect global cooling for 2 – 3 decades": Easterbrook

17 May, 2010 by

Pacific Decadal Oscillation

You certainly woudn’t know about it from the mainstream media, but there is currently an International Climate Change Conference taking place in Chicago. But because it is full of climate realists, and you’re unlikely to get any decent armageddon stories, the MSM don’t even bother to show up, except to hurl ad hominems about Big Oil, yawn. At the conference, Geologist Don Easterbrook presented a paper that has warned of global cooling for a considerable period, Climate Depot reports. Many, including Easterbrook, believe that climate changes are far more closely linked to changes in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) than to microscopic increases in a harmless trace gas:

The Pacific Ocean has two modes, a warm mode and cool mode, and regularly switches back and forth between modes in a 25-30 year repeating cycle known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). When the PDO is in its warm mode, the climate warms and when it is in its cool mode the climate cools. Glacier fluctuations are driven by climatic changes, which are driven by ocean surface temperatures (PDO).

During the cool PDO mode, ocean surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific are cool. This was typical of the global cooling from 1945 to 1977. During the warm PDO, ocean surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific are warm. This was typical of the global warming from 1977 to 1998. The abrupt shift of the Pacific from the cool mode to the warm mode in a single year (1977) and the beginning of the last warm cycle has been termed the “Great Pacific Climate shift.” There is a direct correlation between PDO mode and global temperature

The ocean surface temperature in the eastern Pacific off the coast of North America was warm in 1997. In 1999, the PDO switched from its warm mode to its cool mode and has since remained cool as shown by satellite imagery. Adding the PDO record for the past decade to the PDO for the century provides an interesting pattern. The PDO 1915–1945 warm mode, the 1945-1977 cool mode, the 1977-1998 warn mode, and the switch from warm to cool mode in 1999 all match corresponding global climate changes and strongly suggest:

1. The PDO has a regular cyclic pattern with alternating warm and cool modes every 25-30 years

2. The PDO has accurately matched each global climate change over the past century and may be used as a predictive tool.

3. Since the switch of the PDO from warm to cool in 1999, global temperatures have not exceeded the 1998 high.

4. Each time the PDO has changed from one mode to another, it has stayed in that mode for 25-30 years; thus, since the switch of the PDO from warm to cool in 1999 has been entrenched, it will undoubtedly stay in its cool mode for another several decades.

5. With the PDO in cool mode for another several decades, we can expect another several decades of cooling. (source)

Even IPCC scientists acknowledge the effect of ocean oscillations on climate (when they’re not within hearing distance of Raj Pachauri, that is): see here.

Interestingly enough, this is also one of the points highlighted in Roy Spencer’s latest book, The Great Global Warming Blunder, in which he presents evidence for cloud cover responses to changes in the PDO, which result in warming and cooling of the climate. More on this in a future post.

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