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To: combjelly who wrote (695537)

1/27/2013 11:48:58 AM

From: longnshort

2 Recommendations Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1576159

THE DEFECTIONS MOUNT

Mark Lynas

The defectors from the True Church of Green Religion (i.e., environmentalism) are starting to line up faster than defectors from Soviet Communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A few weeks ago, the reliably green British journalist Mark Lynas issued a mea culpa about his longtime opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). As I’ve experienced first hand, European opposition to GMOs is nearly as sacred as opposing plastic bags here in the U.S. (This is even true, to my great surprise, among many conservatives in Europe.) Here’s Lynas, from his lecture at the Oxford Farming Conference on January 3:

I want to start with some apologies. For the record, here and upfront, I apologise for having spent several years ripping up GM crops. I am also sorry that I helped to start the anti-GM movement back in the mid 1990s, and that I thereby assisted in demonising an important technological option which can be used to benefit the environment.

As an environmentalist, and someone who believes that everyone in this world has a right to a healthy and nutritious diet of their choosing, I could not have chosen a more counter-productive path. I now regret it completely.

So I guess you’ll be wondering – what happened between 1995 and now that made me not only change my mind but come here and admit it? Well, the answer is fairly simple: I discovered science, and in the process I hope I became a better environmentalist.

This week another icon of modern environmentalism defected from the party line: James Lovelock, the inventor of the famous “ Gaia hypothesis” beloved of environmentalists and fruit-juice drinkers everywhere. The proximate cause of his defection is his quite proper reaction against the wind power fanatics who are desecrating the English countryside. But as you’ll see his critique goes beyond contesting the wind-breaking nuttery of the greens. Here’s the relevant part of what Lovelock wrote a few days ago:

I am James Lovelock, scientist and author, known as the originator of Gaia theory, a view of the Earth that sees it as a self-regulating entity that keeps the surface environment always fit for life… I am an environmentalist and founder member of the Greens but I bow my head in shame at the thought that our original good intentions should have been so misunderstood and misapplied. We never intended a fundamentalist Green movement that rejected all energy sources other than renewable, nor did we expect the Greens to cast aside our priceless ecological heritage because of their failure to understand that the needs of the Earth are not separable from human needs. We need take care that the spinning windmills do not become like the statues on Easter Island, monuments of a failed civilisation.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/01/the-defections-mount.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+powerlineblog%2Flivefeed+%28Power+Line%29&utm_content=Bloglines

To: combjelly who wrote (695537)

1/27/2013 1:04:15 PM

From: longnshort

2 Recommendations Respond to of 1576159

NOAA Deception Over 2012 Heatwave
JANUARY 26, 2013

H/T Brummar

tags: Kansas, Heatwave

By Paul Homewood

As part of their “2012 Second Most Extreme Year” propaganda, NOAA include a section entitled “ Summer Days over 100F”. They comment:-

The nation has experienced its warmest and 2nd warmest summers in back-to-back years. The heatwave that gripped the Southern Plains in 2011 was intense and long lasting, resulting a record warm June-August for several southern states. While the summer heatwave in 2012 was not as intense, it was further reaching. In 2012, approximately one-third of the nation’s population experienced ten or more days of 100°F temperatures.

They then show the map below.

An unaware reader would be excused for thinking that this was all utterly unprecedented, but, if they do they, will have been tricked.

The first thing to notice is that NOAA offer nothing against which to compare these numbers. So let’s help them out.

Kansas certainly lies at the heart of the summer heatwave in both 2011 and 2012.

Climate At A Glance

Summer (Jun-Aug) Temperature
Kansas

Summer (Jun-Aug) 1901 – 2000 Average = 76.49 degF
Summer (Jun-Aug) 1895 – 2012 Trend = 0.07 degF / Decade

A quick look at the NCDC graph of summer temperatures for Kansas shows straightaway that NOAA have not been telling the whole truth. Temperatures were much higher in 1934 and 1936. Indeed there have been eight summers, since 1895, that have been hotter than 2012.

But what about days over 100F. I hear you ask!

Horton is a small town in Kansas, with a population of 1776. According to the metadata, the USHCN station has been in exactly the same spot since 1893. The original hand written monthly meteorological records are available for all USHCN stations, via NOAA’s website. These list daily temperature observations, as in the example below from July 1934.

http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS-3F639F96-1006-4BE0-9CC8-05B9425DEA26.pdf

Using these records, let’s compare the summers of 2011 and 2012, with those of 1934, 1936 and 1980.

Year	Days 100F & Over	Days 106F & Over
1934	49	27
1936	43	24
1980	25	8
2011	5	0
2012	17	1

Clearly, the heatwave was much longer and more intense in both 1934 and 1936, and even 1980. The hottest day last year was 106F, but these sort of temperatures were commonplace in previous years. Indeed, in 1934, the temperature reached 111F on three separate days, while two years later there were two days which were even hotter, at 112F.

Nobody is denying that the summer last year was unusually warm, both in Kansas and the rest of the US. However, for NOAA to publish the information, that they have, without putting it into context, is misleading and dishonest.

NOAA, it seems, are making a habit of this. Jane Lubchenko’s claim that “Scientific integrity is at the core of producing and using good science. By being open and honest about our science, we build understanding and trust” rings rather hollow these days.

notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com