Wadhams Wrong Again
By Paul Homewood
Provisional data from NSIDC shows that Arctic sea ice extent this year is the sixth highest since 2007.
By any interpretation, the much predicted death spiral has simply not occurred.
https://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/archives
Meanwhile, much of the sea ice is two and three meter thick, very different to ten years ago:
http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/icethickness/thk.uk.php
And Arctic temperatures are close to average and dropping sharply:
http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/meant80n.uk.php
But none of this will stop the Independent, Guardian or BBC from continuing to publicise Peter Wadhams’ crank theories.
Tidal Lagoon Left High & Dry In CVA
By Paul Homewood
This is from The Times today:
As I pointed out previously, Shorrock won’t be the ones who loses out. As Private Eye has reported this week, Shorrock paid just £70 for 25% of the project. Meanwhile he has raked in millions in “service fees”.
The rest of the investors in TLP look likely to kiss goodbye to some £35m.
Tropical Cyclone Rainfall Records
By Paul Homewood
Meteorologist and hurricane expert, Philip Klotzbach has put together this map for tropical cyclone rainfall records by state:
https://twitter.com/philklotzbach/status/1013803032914505728
It seems a bit of a mixed bag, with little to support claims that TC rainfall is increasing nowadays.
We can home in on the east coast:
The first thing that stands out is just what an impact Floyd had, breaking state records for:
New Hampshire
Vermont
New Jersey
N Carolina
Unlike some others of these record breaking storms, Floyd passed through very quickly rather than stalling.
We have heard a lot about the stalling of Harvey and Florence, but such events are nothing new.
It was exactly what happened with Hurricane Easy in 1950, which swamped Florida. Stalling also caused Alberto to leave Georgia with the worst flooding in history in 1994.
In the same year as Alberto, Tropical Storm Jerry dumped record rainfall on S Carolina.
Biggest of the lot was Camille, one of the strongest storms to hit the US on record. Having made landfall as a Cat 5 in Mississippi, Camille curved inland, before re-emerging at Norfolk, Virginia. Before leaving, it dumped record amounts of rain on Virginia, and is still regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in central Virginia’s recorded history.
Hurricane Camille Track
A look at the chronological distribution of these records shows little evidence of any trends. My guess is that the lack of any record prior to 1950 has more to do with the lack of automatic rain gauges or a widespread network for collecting data at that time than any climatic factors.
When measuring extremes, the more sites you have, the more likely you are to find a “new record”.
Hurricane Brings Record Flooding To N Carolina–(In 1945)
By Paul Homewood
http://miamiarchives.blogspot.com/2010/09/hurricane-hits-homestead-sept-1945.html
When I checked out the N Carolina floods from Florence, I noticed that time and again the record levels of flooding had occurred in 1945.
In fact, those earlier floods were the result of the infamous Homestead Hurricane, which had made landfall a few days earlier on Key Largo.
This is how Wikipedia describe it:
By Paul Homewood
h/t Sean
Today California, tomorrow the UK.
From the Sacromento Bee:
If you like to crank up your air conditioner or dishwasher in the evening, think twice. It’s about to cost you more on your electricity bill.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District will launch a new rate system next month that charges residential users higher rates between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. — and lower rates at other times.
SMUD, which provides electricity to more than a half-million residences in Sacramento County, has begun notifying some customers.
The rate overhaul will phase in groups of residential customers between October and April, officials said. Some customers with rooftop solar panels have been on the time-of-day system since earlier this year.
SMUD is among several major utilities in the state switching to rate systems that encourage customers to reduce energy use when peak demand strains the providers’ ability to buy and deliver electricity.
SMUD and other utilities must pay premium prices for energy they buy during peak hours, which in turn forces higher customer rates, utility officials said. Some of that peak-hour energy is drawn from older plants that are not as environmentally efficient.
“With the demand and the price increases, it becomes difficult for utilities to keep sending (electricity at) a fair price to the customer,” said Alcides Hernandez, SMUD pricing supervisor. “The intent is that SMUD is not going to make any extra revenue from this.”
The new rate system “gives customers the power to manage their bill. The decisions is theirs,” Hernandez said.
SMUD officials say they believe most customers will see a decrease in their electricity bills during between October and May, but an increase from June to September.
While SMUD hopes to reduce costs and hold down rates overall, some users will see their annual electricity rates go up if they do not control electricity usage between 5 and 8 p.m. That is typically when people come home from work and turn up the air conditioning, as well as use kitchen appliances, televisions, washing machines and dryers.
A SMUD analysis suggests that 57 percent of customers would experience a monthly bill increase if they do not change their usage patterns.
The SMUD plan involves setting up three different rate periods on summer weekdays. That summer-rate season will be four months long, from the beginning of June to the end of September.
The current fixed rates are 13 cents per kilowatt hour in summer and 11 cents the rest of the year.
The new summer rates will be dramatically higher. There will be a “peak rate” of 28 cents per kilowatt hour between 5 and 8 p.m. and a “mid-peak” rate of 16 cents between noon and 5 p.m. as well as between 8 p.m. and midnight.
SMUD will charge its lowest summer rate, 12 cents per kilowatt hour, between midnight and noon. SMUD will also charge that rate all day on weekends and holidays.
The utility will implement a simpler rate system for the rest of the year, from October through May. It involves two weekday rate periods – 13 cents per kilowatt hour between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. and 10 cents the rest of the day.
In household usage terms, according to SMUD, a kilowatt hour could be 10 hours of TV, 12 pounds of laundry, vacuuming for one hour or using a plugged-in laptop computer for five to 10 hours.
A statewide customer advocacy group says switching to time-based rates does not necessarily prompt lower usage or energy conservation, and it could penalize some families who are not in a position to change their use hours.
“We think customers should be rewarded with tiered rates based on how much you use, not when you use it,” said Mindy Spatt, spokeswoman for TURN, The Utility Reform Network. “With time-based rates, they are rewarded if they are in the enviable position of being able to shift their usage. If you work during the day, you can’t do that.”
SMUD officials say they are offering customers the ability to opt out of the time-of-day system and stick with a fixed-rate bill. Hernandez said, on the average, the fixed-rate bill is expected to be about 4 percent more costly than the new rates. He said the utility is mailing information to people showing them the possible different costs of the two systems.
The new rate structure will not apply to customers who don’t have a smart meter or those who live in a residential master metered community.
https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article218553315.html
Despite the spin, this is SDMUD’s way to ration electricity, when supply becomes intermittent and unreliable.
In California’s case, that is when the sun goes down in early evening. In the UK, it will be when the wind does not blow.
Hurricane Florence–The Myths and The Facts
By Paul Homewood
https://abcnews.go.com/US/million-people-evacuated-coast-hurricane-florence-bears/story?id=57740845
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45517260
http://time.com/5397241/florence-breaks-rainfall-records-in-north-carolina/
True to form, the media have been whipping up a state of hysteria about Hurricane Florence. Unlike some of their more irresponsible members, I have waited until all of the data is in, instead of rushing to judgment.
So, to the facts:
Ofgem exploited national security law to silence us, whistleblowers claim
By Paul Homewood
h/t Green Sand
From the Guardian:
Britain’s energy regulator has been fighting to keep secret the claims of two whistleblowers who independently raised concerns about potentially serious irregularities in projects worth billions of pounds, the Guardian can reveal.
The two men say Ofgem threatened them with an obscure but sweeping gagging clause that can lead to criminal prosecutions and possible jail terms for those who defy it.
MPs and the whistleblowing charity Protect fear Ofgem is abusing its position and exploiting a law that was intended to protect UK national security – not a regulator from potential embarrassment.
The Labour MP Peter Kyle said: “Whistleblowers save lives and protect our economy from harm; they should be protected by law, not have it used against them.”
Greenpeace’s “Making Oil History Tour”- Courtesy Of Diesel Engines
By Paul Homewood
Greenpeace have launched their “Making Oil History“ tour, sending the Rainbow Warrior around New Zealand to spread the message and talk about the “clean energy future”:
https://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/rainbow-warrior-making-oil-history-tour-2018/
However, while the Rainbow Warrior has sails it is also dependent on diesel engines for “bad weather conditions”!
https://www.ship-technology.com/projects/rainbow-warrior/
Bad weather conditions? Well, fair enough I hear you say.
But it does not end there! The manufacturer’s spec also states:
The ship has the capacity to carry and launch inflatable boats in tough weather conditions. It also has a helicopter landing facility. The oceanic vessel is equipped with the latest in electronic navigation, sailing and communications equipment.
The ship was built to meet strict environmental demands and as a result the heat generated from the engine is recycled to heat the cabins and the used water is treated and purified by a biological system.
https://www.ship-technology.com/projects/rainbow-warrior/
I think it is reasonable to assume that the helicopter won’t be wind propelled. And I doubt very much whether the electronic navigation, sailing and communications equipment will be either.
And just where the crew will get their heating and fresh water from without using those diesel engines is a puzzle that would confound even Mr Rubik!
If the silly little greenies want to play Captain Cook down under, that is up to them. But please stop pretending that you can do so without oil.
BBC groupthink is undermining its claim to impartial reporting–Booker
By Paul Homewood
Booker challenges the BBC’s heavily biased anti-fracking stance:
BBC groupthink is undermining its claim to impartial reporting
The BBC has issued formal new guidelines on how it covers “climate change”. Its editorial staff are invited to apply for a training course on how to ensure that any reporting on issues related to climate or energy policy should represent BBC groupthink, with only the most minimal airtime being given to any “deniers” (their word) who dissent from it (and then only if anything they say is immediately challenged).
Apart from a brief, dismissive interview with Cuadrilla’s chief executive, the item was no more than a relentlessly one-sided commercial for the vociferous anti-fracking lobby
Last Sunday’s Countryfile included an item that the BBC would doubtless regard as a model of compliance with its approved line. Over imposing shots of wind turbines, Tom Heap echoed “surprise” that, while “the search for a cleaner, greener energy supply the UK can rely on continues”, the Government should have given Cuadrilla Resources the go-ahead to start fracking in Lancashire for “fossil fuel” shale gas. Apart from a brief, dismissive interview with Cuadrilla’s chief executive, the item was no more than a relentlessly one-sided commercial for the vociferous anti-fracking lobby.
Tom Heap: "surprised" that the Government should have given the go-ahead on fracking Credit: Tom Dulat/BBC
Scarcely a point made was not open to serious factual challenge. But, as usual, amid all the puffs for “clean, green” energy from the wind and the sun, and reminders that it is government policy to phase out fossil fuels, the most important point of all was completely left out. There was no mention of the fact that when, as often happens, the wind drops and there is no sun, only one energy source is capable of providing the instantly available backup needed to keep the electricity grid functioning and Britain’s lights on. That, of course, is natural gas. To conceal this makes nonsense of any pretence that this is the “impartial” reporting to which the BBC is legally committed by its charter.
Weather Channel’s Cheap Tricks
By Paul Homewood
Surely the Weather Channel would not resort to cheap tricks like this?
It recalls the same tricks from the media when “Hurricane Irene” dropped a few inches of rain on New York in 2011!!
