Arctic Exploration 1884

From the Aurora Beacon, 05/14/1884, reprinted from the New York Sun:

The North Pole

It is a misapprehension to suppose the chief purpose of Arctic exploration is to reach the north pole.  The north pole has lingered in the schemes of scientific explorers only as a desirable incident in the carrying out of their work.  Geographers talk of the north pole quest pure and simple as an unscientific and puerile idea.  What explorers are really expected to do is to advance as far as practicable into the unknown region, to study its geography and make important scientific observations.  Captain Nares, nine years ago, had to halt 400 miles this side of the pole.  But his expedition was called a brilliant success, because he entered the great frozen sea north of this continent, explored the coast line for a distance of thirty-five degrees of longitude, and brought home a great mass of interesting scientific data.

The leading geographers assert that Arctic exploration is of immense value to the world, both in its scientific and its commercial aspects.  They say that winds, tides, terrestrial magnetism, meteorology and other important phenomena cannot be thoroughly investigated except under many different conditions of temperature and locality.  Among many triumphs of Arctic research they mention the fixing of the position of the true magnetic pole by Ross, the finding of a simple means of keeping the needle pointing to the true North in high latitudes, the discovery of the commercial mineral cryolite, and of the great whaling and sealing grounds in the Spitzhergen and North Greenland seas.  They assert also that, in spite of the frightful disasters that have befallen some exploring parties, the loss of life has been small.  About three per cent of the Arctic explorers have died in the course of their work – not a large proportion when compared with the mortality among African explorers. 

Maldives,Kiribati and now Carti Sugdub

For a few years the Republic of Maldives was used by the global alarmists as a poster child for proof that the ice caps were melting and the sea level rise was “accelerating”. It was mostly great PR for the Republic including a silly photo op of an underwater cabinet meeting:

But even in 2009, there was clear proof that the Maldives were NOT going to be flooded over:

Despite popular opinion and calls to action, the Maldives are not being overrun by sea level rise

The study by done by Nils-Axel Mörner is clearly evidence that the Maldives are not going to be overrun by the Indian Ocean in the very near future.

The Republic of Kiribati was in a similar situation/event.
Kiribati mulls Fiji land purchase in battle against sea

And not only that:

Way back in September 2011, Kiribati’s President Anote Tong and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a joint statement [emphasis mine]:-

“[they]….. today stressed that climate change posed the most serious threat to the livelihoods, security and survival of the island nation’s residents and the inhabitants of the wider Pacific region, saying the phenomenon was undermining efforts to achieve sustainable development.

Both leaders reaffirmed the need for urgent international action to reduce emissions of the harmful greenhouse gases and underlined the need [to] make climate change adaptation funding available to finance the implementation of critical programmes to tackle the impact of climate change on communities there….”

Tada !!!!
climate change adaptation funding
climate change adaptation funding
climate change adaptation funding
climate change adaptation funding

It’s all about the money !!!

So now we move on to the latest:

Rising sea forces Panamanian islanders to move to mainland

Rising ocean levels caused by global warming and decades of coral reef destruction have combined with seasonal rains to submerge the Caribbean islands for days on end.

Once rare, flooding is now so menacing that the Guna have agreed to abandon ancestral lands for an area within their semi-autonomous territory on the east coast of the mainland.

“The people know this isn’t normal,” said Francisco Gonzalez, 38, the school principal on Carti Sugdub. “When the water comes in, they can’t do anything but wait.”

It is the largest of the Guna’s 45 inhabited islands, and its planned evacuation is among the first blamed largely on climate change. Scientists say worldwide sea levels have risen about 3 millimeters (0.12 inch) a year since 1993. Recent research suggests they could rise as much as 2 meters (6.5 feet) by 2100.

A curious part of the article:

The Guna have accelerated change by mining surrounding coral reefs to build up the islands. From 1970-2001, nearly 80 percent of the peripheral coral disappeared as the Guna population more than doubled, Guzman and other Smithsonian researchers found.

They say the dilemma faced by the Guna is a harbinger of what might happen to other low-lying lands protected by reefs. The greenhouse gas carbon dioxide makes oceans more acidic, killing off coral.

So, the flooding is due to the fact that CO2 is killing the coral, but here it was the islanders that destroyed the coral but they can still blame the flooding on CO2 because that “could” happen?? (I won’t go in to it here, but the claim that the oceans are getting more acidic and killing the coral is a a most dubious assertion)

Now, reading down into the story a bit more, we see this:

The overpopulated island is also running out of space. Families squeeze up to 15 people into huts measuring barely 5 square metres (54 square feet), sleeping side by side in narrow hammocks.

Ahhhhh, they are are running out of liveable space too !!!!

Just for fun, here is a 2010 article about the same issue:
Rising sea drives Panama islanders to mainland

Now, if you do not know anything about Carti Sugdub, it is part of the Archipiélago de San Blas off the coast of Panama on the Caribbean side.

I learned two things about Carti Sugdub while looking into this:

1. I want to go there !!! The Archipiélago de San Blas loks like one of the most incredible places on the planet !!!

2. I can’t find Carti Sugdub any where on a map !! I dare you, please find me a map with Carti Sugdub on it !!

Carti Sugdub is apparently an incredibly small island. Islands and coastlines in general are subject to great changes based on NATURAL conditions, and adding in that Carti Sugdub is very small, it is not at all surprising that there may be erosion that is impacting the island.

Now, for all you people that think a “Carbon Footprint” has any real meaning, here is how we would all live if you had your way:

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/san_blas_kuna.htm

Pay special attention to:

“Toilet over the water”

“Office of Planetary Protection”

“Planetary Protection Officer”

The first thing I thought when I heard that was:

But there really is an “Office of Planetary Protection” and a “Planetary Protection Officer”.

http://planetaryprotection.nasa.gov/

 

“The mission of the Planetary Protection Office is to minimize the biological cross-contamination resulting from the exploration of the solar system.”

“Planetary protection is the term given to the practice of protecting solar system bodies (i.e., planets, moons, comets, and asteroids) from contamination by Earth life, and protecting Earth from possible life forms that may be returned from other solar system bodies. Planetary protection is essential for several important reasons: to preserve our ability to study other worlds as they exist in their natural states; to avoid contamination that would obscure our ability to find life elsewhere — if it exists; and to ensure that we take prudent precautions to protect Earth’s biosphere in case it does.”

 

I want that job just so I could put that on my business card.

But seriously, apparently there is some “concern” that some drill bits on the Mars Curiosity rover may not be sterile.
Is the Sierra Club aware of this?????

Another “eco” Fail !!

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-green-cars-20120531,0,5326867.story

Consumer Reports: Special ‘eco’ car models don’t pay

The special “eco” versions of small cars such as the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus and Honda Civic don’t improve fuel economy enough to be worth the extra money, according to an analysis by Consumer Reports.

The magazine said it could take as long as 38 years for the extra cost to be worthwhile, depending on the vehicle.  The cars, which come equipped with special low rolling resistance tires and aerodynamic features, generally cost $500 to $800 more than fuel-efficient siblings that don’t carry the “eco” label.

Consumer Reports looked at the Ford Focus SFE, Chevrolet Cruze Eco and Honda Civic HF.

The results: Consumer Reports found that the Cruze Eco saves drivers only $20 a year in gas purchases while the Focus SFE and Civic HF save consumers $145 and $135 a year, respectively.

Well Known Meteorologist Gets It Wrong

From the Chicago Tribune 05/06/2102

http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/2012/05/ask-tom-why-1.html

Dear Tom,
I have heard that sea levels are rising. How much has occurred, and what are the forecasts for the future?
–William Levy, Chicago

Dear William,
The level of the “world ocean” is rising— an issue that will post flooding problems in the future. Studies conducted by the National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration yield these statistics: Sea levels changed little until 1900, then rose 7.3 inches from 1900-2000. But the rate of increase has accelerated dramatically since about 1990.

An additional sea-level rise of 1-3 feet is projected by 2100, the combined result of thermal expansion of ocean water as the seas warm due to a warming climate; melting of mountain glaciers; and loss of ice from Greenland and Antarctica through melting and calving of ice into the ocean.

Tom Skilling as a meteorologist is a living legend in Chicago weather news/forecasting.  It was only about a year ago that I recall him being soundly on the “lukewarm” side of AGW.  I listen to him almost daily on a local radio show  (WGN 720 AM) and unfortunately it seems that he is buying into the AGW nonsense.

Almost all of the answer can be debunked here:

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/02/14/sea-level-still-not-cooperating-with-predictions/

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/07/18/simulation-says-doom-real-world-data-says-no-worry/

I can only hope that in this case, the answer was done by an intern who just “googled” sea level.

WILDFIRE !!

If you have ever read Micheal Crichton’s “The Andromeda Strain“, you’ll know what “Wildfire” is !!

Subterranean bacteria built to last

http://www.bnd.com/2012/04/11/v-print/2137352/subterranean-bacteria-built-to.html

No place on Earth demonstrates the resilience or inventiveness of life quite like Lechuguilla Cave, whose subterranean tunnels stretch for 130 miles through Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico.

Deep in the cave’s most arid recesses, deprived of all sunlight and mostly starved of life-giving water, a lush garden of bacteria grows. Untouched by humans for all of their 4 million years, these strains of bacteria thrive on the harsh minerals of the geological formations to which they cling and fend off other life forms that would prey on them

Scientists who collected 93 strains of bacteria from the forbidding depths of Lechuguilla found that all were resistant to at least one of the antibiotics that modern medicine uses to fight bacterial infections and some were resistant to at least 14. In addition, virtually all of the 26 antibiotics tested as part of the study proved useless in killing at least one of the strains of bacteria collected.

Scientists have long believed that the ability of disease-causing bacteria to outwit antibiotic medicines was a man-made phenomenon, said Eileen Choffnes, director of the Institute of Medicine’s forum on microbial threats. The growing use of antibiotics derived from plants and synthesized in laboratories was thought to have spurred adaptations that made many of these bacterial pathogens less vulnerable to drugs used to fight tuberculosis, malaria, gonorrhea, influenza, pneumonia and AIDS.

But the new research demonstrates that antibiotic resistance emerged millions of years before those medicines were used – and in an environment far too forbidding for the bacteria to have come into any contact with the drugs, Choffnes said.

Along with that is the fact that the Russian’s have been finally able to drill into Lake Vostok in Antarctica:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120208-russians-lake-vostok-antarctica-drilling-science

At 8:25 p.m. Moscow time on Sunday, drillers hit lake water at a depth of 12,355 feet (3,766 meters)—making them the first ever to probe a subglacial lake, according to a statement provided by Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.

Lake Entry May Reveal Microbial Life?

Lake Vostok is the largest of more than 145 subglacial lakes—most of them several kilometers long—that have been discovered under Antarctica in past decades.

The project to probe the Great Lake-size water body, which has been entombed in ice for 25 million years, has been the centerpiece of the Russian Antarctic program. (See 3-D pictures of Antarctica’s subglacial “ghost mountains.”)

Subglacial lakes may open a new window onto our planet, for example, by offering new insights into climate history or revealing previously unknown life-forms.

Priscu, for instance, has found evidence that microbes could live in the subglacial lake, deriving energy from minerals by “eating rocks,” he told National Geographic News in 2007.

“I hope that they can confirm unequivocally that there is indeed microbial life in the lake,” Priscu said today.

“This has been the center of much debate in the past that can only be resolved with actual sample return. If they can confirm there is life in the lake, it will transform our view of Antarctica.”

Bacteria from underground caves and other microbes deep below Antarctica…………………………

I need to stock on Purell !!

 

Earth Hour 2012

http://www.earthhour.org/page/about/about-earth-hour

I despise “Earth Hour”.

It’s useless pap and nonsense.

Economist Ross McKitrick sums it up the best:

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/03/31/earth-hour-2012-a-dissent-and-poll/

 

I abhor Earth Hour. Abundant, cheap electricity has been the greatest source of human liberation in the 20th century. Every material social advance in the 20th century depended on the proliferation of inexpensive and reliable electricity.

Giving women the freedom to work outside the home depended on the availability of electrical appliances that free up time from domestic chores. Getting children out of menial labour and into schools depended on the same thing, as well as the ability to provide safe indoor lighting for reading.

 

Development and provision of modern health care without electricity is absolutely impossible. The expansion of our food supply, and the promotion of hygiene and nutrition, depended on being able to irrigate fields, cook and refrigerate foods, and have a steady indoor supply of hot water.

Many of the world’s poor suffer brutal environmental conditions in their own homes because of the necessity of cooking over indoor fires that burn twigs and dung. This causes local deforestation and the proliferation of smoke- and parasite-related lung diseases.

Anyone who wants to see local conditions improve in the third world should realize the importance of access to cheap electricity from fossil-fuel based power generating stations. After all, that’s how the west developed.

The whole mentality around Earth Hour demonizes electricity. I cannot do that, instead I celebrate it and all that it has provided for humanity.

Earth Hour celebrates ignorance, poverty and backwardness. By repudiating the greatest engine of liberation it becomes an hour devoted to anti-humanism. It encourages the sanctimonious gesture of turning off trivial appliances for a trivial amount of time, in deference to some ill-defined abstraction called “the Earth,” all the while hypocritically retaining the real benefits of continuous, reliable electricity.

Make no mistake about it.

If the radical leftists/greenies truly get what they are trying to do, we will go back to living in the 19th century.

“The whole mentality around Earth Hour demonizes electricity. I cannot do that, instead I celebrate it and all that it has provided for humanity.”

The money quote !!

 

Areosmith Promotes “Global Warming”

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/aerosmith-announce-global-warming-tour-dates-20120326

Aerosmith have announced dates for their 2012 Global Warming North American Tour, which will kick off on June 16th at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota and wrap up on August 8th in Tacoma, Washington – though more dates may be added. Cheap Trick will open for the band on all announced dates. Aerosmith last toured the United States in the summer of 2010.

“The old Aerosmith is back with a new vengeance and we will kick your ass and make out with your mothers,” said frontman Steven Tyler in a statement.

When I first saw the headline, my thought was”Geez, what kind of pseudo science nonsense are a bunch of Hollywood limousine greenines peddling now.”

But, it appears that “Global Warming” is just the tour name.

Sounds like a great marketing idea !!!

Are there many fans of Aeromith out there that actually want the band to “make out” with their mothers??

Would You Pay $60,000 For A Home Generator?

First a Caveat !!!!

There is nothing in the story about how much this vehicle costs. (which means it costs a shitload)

I’m basing the $60,000 on the known price of the Chevy Crap Useless Volt and adding some since the pickup is more expensive.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57402805-48/via-motors-pg-e-partner-on-the-chevy-volt-of-work-trucks/

An interesting benefit to being able to generate 15 kilowatts of electricity with the turn of a key is that the eREVs can each theoretically generate enough juice to temporarily power a small- to medium-size house. VIA showcased the vehicles’ ability to power almost any tool that a PG&E technician might need at a work site, but PG&E hopes that this capacity can be increased in the future and used to shorten or eliminate planned maintenance outages or provide emergency power to businesses and residences. The idea is that you could send an electrified truck to a trouble spot, hook it up to the power infrastructure, and boost the electric grid until the issue has been resolved.

Please, fist note the words: “theoretically”, ” temporarily”,”small- to medium”,” hopes”

That tells us immediately that this is nothing but a hobby toy or a high school science project.

“Boost the electric grid until the issue has been resolved”.

OK, math time !!!

Unless the are only talking about one (small to medium) house, just how freakin’ many of these drivable generators would be needed to just power up a city block???

PG&E already charges very high rates for power, and this ain’t gonna help lower consumer costs !!

In The “Weather Is Not Climate” Category:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-wea-0208-asktom-20120208,0,3597423.story

Question:

Dear Tom,

What are Chicago’s five warmest winters and how much snow did each produce?

Answer:

Dear Bill,

Chicago climatologist Frank Wachowski checked the records and found that three of Chicago’s five warmest winters occurred before the start of the city’s snowfall climatology, which began in the winter of 1884-85, forcing him to eliminate those winters from consideration. He noted that much like this winter, the city’s five mildest winters since 1884-85 had subpar snowfalls. The warmest winter, 1931-32, had 24.6 inches of snow followed by 1889-90 with 21.7 inches; 1997-98 with 29.6 inches; 1918-19 with 28.7 inches; and 1920-21 (the city’s least snowy winter) with 9.8 inches. The winter of 1953-54, the city’s eighth warmest, was the first to record above normal snowfall, logging 43.2 inches.

First of all, 3 of the warmest are dis-included because there was no snow records to along with them.

In order:

#1     1931-32

#2     1889-90

#3     1997-98

#4     1918-19

#5     1920-21

Only one in the second half of the 20th century.