Sarah Knapton’s White Weasels!
By Paul Homewood
h/t Chris Lynch/Patsy Lacey
The latest nonsense from Sarah Knapton, who is supposed to be “Science Editor” at the Telegraph!
White-furred animals are in danger of dying out because climate change is causing a fall in snow cover, leaving them exposed and vulnerable, a new study suggests.
Scientists in Poland have been following the worrying case of the white-coated weasel, which sheds its tawny covering in the winter for a milky coat allowing it to blend effortlessly into its icy environment.
But researchers have discovered that between 1997 and 2007 the number of days with permanent snow cover in Białowieża Forest, Poland, halved, from 80 to 40.
It means that the little creatures are being caught out in a completely unsuitable environment, where they are easy prey for predators like foxes and crows.
The team at the Polish Academy of Sciences found that on days when there was little winter snow cover, the number of white-coated weasels they managed to capture fell to as low as 20 per cent of the total, suggesting the rest had been killed.
We should not underestimate the power of natural selection
Dr Karol Zub
Previously they would have been dominant, because their coats would have given them a survival advantage.
The problem is likely to affect other white-furred mammals and birds living in areas vulnerable to climate change such as the Arctic fox as the snow cover increasingly gives way to a landscape of greens and browns.
Weasels have been around an awful long time, and have certainly thrived throughout vastly different climate regimes to now.
They are also prevalent throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere, and are extremely adaptable to most environments, from snow to desert.
The idea that a bit less snow in winter will make the slightest difference shows a total lack of understanding.
Of course, natural selection is always with us, and maybe there will be less white weasels and more brown ones in Poland in years to come. To which the response is – SO WHAT?
But before we get too carried away about less snow, we should take note that winter snow extent in Eurasia is actually on an increasing trend:
https://climate.rutgers.edu/snowcover/chart_seasonal.php?ui_set=eurasia&ui_season=1
As usual, the comments are scathing. This one takes first prize:
I sometimes wonder whether the DT “journalists” have a quota of climate change articles they have to write each week. And the sillier, the better.
Is Puffin Population Drop Due To Wetter Summers?
By Paul Homewood
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-44236755
One theory put forward to explain the recent drop in puffin numbers on the Farne Islands is “wetter summers”, which can flood their burrows where the chicks are hatching.
So I checked the Met Office data for that region, England E & NE, and lo and behold we find that summers are not any wetter than in the past:
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/summaries/datasets
The only really wet summer in the last decade was 2012, but this was not as wet as either 1912 or 1956. In any event, the puffin count in 2013 showed a small increase over the previous one in 2008.
Adult puffins return to their breeding sites in late March or early April, and lay a single egg in late April. It may therefore be relevant to look at Spring rainfall as well:
Fortunately for the puffins, rainfall in Spring has not been exceptional in recent years, indeed quite the opposite.
The RSPB website has section on puffins, which lists their main threats:
The puffin is included on the Amber list of UK Birds of Conservation Concern. It is very vulnerable to adverse changes in the environment because its breeding population is concentrated on a small number of sites. There have also been large population declines over much of its European range.
The main threat to puffins is the changes in distribution and numbers of small fish, while ground predators (eg rat, mink, cat) introduced to breeding colonies and pollution are also serious hazards.
For instance, oil leaked from the Torrey Canyon in 1967 killed 85 per cent of the French puffins. Because of their low reproductive rate, puffins can take decades to recover from this kind of incident.
Because the puffin is so widespread, the only realistic conservation measures are sustainable exploitation of the seas, a reduction in incidence of marine pollution, and preventing ground predators reaching nesting colonies.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/puffin/threats/
No mention of climate change! Presumably somebody did not read the memo.
Town Planners To Save World From Global Warming!
By Paul Homewood
h/t Ian
There was a time when Town & Country Planning Association and the Royal Town Planning Institute were serious, professional organisations.
Apparently they are no longer, as their leaders have succumbed to the mindless obsession with climate, that seems to have rotted the brains of our ruling class.
The first page of the Introduction really tells us all we need to know:
Telegraph’s Hysterical Scaremongering About Puffins
By Paul Homewood
Thrusting your hand into an underground puffin burrow is not an activity to be taken lightly. For a start, should the protective homeowner be present there is every chance of a nasty nip.
Take a wrong turn and you could also find yourself knuckle-deep in puffin guano because the ultra-hygienic birds like to dig a separate “lavatory” tunnel.
But for the past few weeks, that is what National Trust rangers on the Farne Islands in Northumberland have been braving during their five-yearly puffin census. The rangers are not just looking for adult birds, but also for their eggs and pufflings.
So far the news has been bleak. The puffins arrived four weeks later than usual and initial estimates suggest the number of breeding pairs has fallen by 12 per cent.
A combination of climate change, overfishing, plastic pollution and extreme weather has left the little seabirds struggling for survival.
It means thousands of birds have vanished since the last count in 2013, with just 35,000 breeding pairs probably remaining. At the current rate of decline, conservationists forecast that the entire colony could vanish within 50 years, an alarming trend that is being seen across Britain.
Puffin numbers on the Farne Islands have been monitored since 1939, when just 3,000 pairs were recorded, but numbers rose steadily until 2008, when the population declined by a third from 55,674 to 36,835.
The last census showed a slight improvement with numbers rising to 39,962 breeding pairs. But the trust is expecting a new count of around 35,000 and is now planning annual monitoring.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/23/uk-puffins-may-go-way-dodo-fears-extinction-50-years/
As I have pointed out before, there is no evidence that “climate change” has had anything at all to do with changes in puffin populations.
Latest News On Flood/Droughts!
Nuff Said
h/t Greensand
Water Shortages? Blame Them On Climate Change!
By Paul Homewood
h/t Philip Bratby
England is facing water supply shortages by 2050 unless rapid action is taken to curb water use and wastage, the Environment Agency has warned.
Its new report says enough water to meet the needs of 20 million people is lost through leakage every day.
Population growth and the impact of climate change are expected to add to supply pressures.
The agency wants people to have a personal water target and has urged them to use water more wisely at home.
The study, the first major report on water resources in England, says that population growth and climate change are the biggest pressures on a system that is already struggling.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44215418
Sounds like the first step to permanent water rationing, at least in some areas (although the government deny it).
Certainly there are increasing demands, but is “climate change” making any difference at all?
By Paul Homewood
From the Mail (and, no, Mr Booker has not changed his name!):
The Government earned plaudits from the green lobby yesterday for its new plan to crack down on the craze for wood-burning stoves.
As the Mail reported on its front page, the stoves chuck out lethal pollution, particularly from wet wood, and contribute to thousands of early deaths from lung and heart disease.
But hang on! One reason Britain burns more wood than it has done for decades — a 2016 survey found 7.5 per cent of households in London burn wood — is that only recently, the Government and the greens told us burning wood to heat our homes was the best thing we could do for the environment.
Wood is ‘sustainable’, we were told. It gives off less CO2 than any other heating. It will help us save the planet and meet CO2 reduction targets under the Climate Change Act.
As a result of these persuasive arguments, about 1.5 million British homes have wood-burning stoves and 200,000 more are sold every year.
Now we learn that wood-burning is the single biggest source of tiny soot particles called PM2.5s — they are also emitted by burning coal and diesel — which go into our lungs and are said to be responsible for an estimated 37,800 premature deaths a year.
Given these horrific facts, why have governments in recent years made wood-burning such a core part of energy policy? For there is no doubt ministers have been desperate to encourage it.
There is just one issue. Health problems apart, the whole thing is an economic disaster.
Michael Gove’s new Clean Air Strategy
By Paul Homewood
DEFRA have launched their new Clean Air Strategy, as the Telegraph reports:
Under a new Government clean air strategy, some types of wood burners, car tyres, brakes, cleaning solvents, fertilisers and solid fuels will be banned from sale.
It is part of a new push to cut air pollution, which causes thousands of premature deaths in the UK every year.
Last year, air pollution levels in London were worse than those in Beijing for brief periods – with the capital’s pollutants frequently breaking international limits.
Pollution is a greater global threat than diseases such as Ebola and HIV, according to warnings by the World Health Organisation, and so the Government is seeking to clamp down on its causes…..
At a national level, the average concentration of the worst pollutants – Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PM10) – have halved in the last two decades.
Average levels of NO2 stood at 34μg/m3 at the roadside in 2017, down from 60 in 1997, while PM10 stood at 17 μg/m3, down from 37 in 1997.
Green campaigners, however, argue that this average level is still too high – and that localised pockets of pollution exceed health guidelines on a regular basis. The latest research shows that high air pollution levels result in some 40,000 early deaths a year in the UK.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/air-pollution-falling-uk-still-breaking-limits-cities-find/
Of course, we all want to breathe clean air, but please can we have a bit of proportion here?
Shameful Day For Australian Universities–Andrew Bolt
By Paul Homewood
h/t Stewgreen
https://twitter.com/theboltreport/status/998508795385933824
Andrew Bolt has an excellent piece on the Peter Ridd sacking, well worth a watch.
As well as the specific issue here, he highlights that this is part of a much wider trend in Australian universities, recalling the sacking of Bob Carter for daring to question global warming dogma.
He could also have mentioned Murry Salby.
By Paul Homewood
Well, I suppose he would!! But the boss of Drax does have a point,
From the Grauniad:
Britain’s increasingly reliance on electricity imported from Europe threatens energy security and will import carbon emissions, according to the new boss of the country’s biggest power station.
Will Gardiner, chief executive of Drax Group, said that the growing proportion of power forecast to come from interconnectors – physical links to transfer electricity across borders – would also fail to deliver the aims of the government’s industrial strategy.
