COP 15

The Golden state of California is impoverishing its citizens with higher prices for energy of all kinds — and boasting of its energy “progress” which it is gaining at the expense of other states and even countries. While, thanks in large part to hydrofracturing technology, the U.S. has cut oil imports from 60% to just 28% of its total needs, California’s oil production fulfills just 38% of its needs, and 29% of its electricity comes from out-of-state. Gasoline prices are the second highest in the nation — and are projected to rise another 170% over the next decade. And Californians pay twice the national average for residential electricity.

CFACT rechristens Greenpeace ships “Propaganda Warrior” and “Ship of Lies”

Although “climate” is generally associated with periods of at least three decades, less than one and one-half decades following mid-1970s “scientific” predictions that the next Ice Age was rapidly approaching, the media trumpeted a new and opposite alarm…a man-made global warming crisis.

Today’s Brussels news consists of the regular traffic jam, especially at Place Luxembourg, because of another tractor manifestation by European farmers.

Really not news. Rather regular, by an interest group worried that the current budget process wont allow for the continuation of the economically, environmentally and inhumane Common Agricultural Policy, already accounting for close to half the budget.

The party season has started. In about a month, Rio will be crowded by politicians and hooligans for the mega environmental gathering, but allready next week, good old Hotel Maritim in Bonn will fill up with the usual bunch for yet another climate conference. Nothing wrong with Bonn, or Maritim for that matter, but don’t […]

by Einar Du Rietz

Might appreciate some real support - not corruption and stupidity

The heroic boy scouts collected money, went to a village in deepest Africa and helped develop a well. A few month later, excessive use had dried it up and the final result was an extension of the desert.

Examples of unintended consequences (and sometimes plain stupidity) in development aid are numerous, some probably myths by now. Distributing loads of pork to Muslim countries. Rushing factory building until the installation collapse on top of people. The literature is also quite extensive. A useful introduction, or summary may be this.

Important to remember is that humanitarian catastrophes are seldom, if ever, caused by real villains in these cases, hence the words unintended and aid. Wars, planned famine and genocides are indeed orchestrated by evil, but they are never intended by the do-gooders.

The problems occur both with voluntary help and government programs, though the latter, for natural reason, tend to be more dangerous. As a matter of fact, lot’s of people working with government aid are smart, caring people, but often trapped in the system. One such hazard is the idea, launched some decades ago, and implemented in some countries, to legislate allocation of a minimum level of GDP to the foreign aid budget. Both the government, and the associated authorities are then forced to spend the annual funds.

Some countries try to make the best of the situation, for example by allocating funds to emergency help rather than budget support. Pouring money into a corrupt countries state budget most often leads to, in the less evil scenario, the money going straight into a Swiss bank account, or, which is worse, into buying weaponry used against neighbours or the country’s own population. On the other hand, budget support can also be the only way to boost investments in infrastructure. An alternative to building governmental roads and airports is of course to let private companies both develop, build and own. Such investments tend, if they are even allowed, however to be quite risky for the entrepreneur, facing the constant threat of both war and plain nationalization. The only simple solution, if not sufficient, seems to be to, to the extent possible, minimize governmental aid and let the not so small private, international networks do the job.

by Einar Du Rietz Denmark, taking over the rotating EU presidency has outlined its priorities for the next half year. Not surprising, really, but still awkward. Reports Euractiv: “Environment Minister Ida Auken called for making energy efficiency legally binding, dismissing concerns that weak economies and the eurozone debt crisis would trump the environment in EU policy […]

by Einar Du Rietz Wiser from the Copenhagen hysteria, all sides – except President Zuma, who is forced to show some enthusiasm, and in a way The Holy Father, who wants a “credible” outcome (nothing wrong with credibility) – seem to agree that COP17 in Durban wont accomplish anything. As for me, I’m content with that, but […]

by Einar Du Rietz Finally the trial against the hooligans posing a security threat to the Queen of Denmark during the Copenhagen conference is starting. Naturally, Greenpeace is doing it’s best to ridicule the process, pointing out that “the eleven are also facing the obscure charge of having committed an offence against Denmark’s Queen.” , “… […]

When I was a kid, we were told that pollution was the worst threat to the world. This pollution was also supposed to be caused by greedy capitalists. The absolute environmental catastrophes behind the iron curtain were yet to be witnessed. And all resources would end. According to the figures I was taught in school […]

The United States must learn from Europe’s mistakes – not repeat them ROGER HELMER, MEP Senator Harry Reid has repeatedly denounced opposition to carbon trading as “dangerous.” Senator Reid is wrong. It is the House and Senate climate and renewable energy bills that are dangerous. Fortunately, the recent elections and the ongoing dissension at the […]

by Einar Du Rietz

That the activities behind the scenes before, during and after last year’s circus in Copenhagen were everything from strange to dirty is no surprise. For example, CFACT Europe, together with the paper Berlingske Tiderne in Denmark, discovered the sudden shift in the official Danish attitude towards Dalai Lama, an apparent effort to offer the difficult Chinese delegation something to chew on.

With the recent publication of the eneourmos amount of documents at Wikileaks, even more light is shed on the power play and virtual extortion to get tax money in so called climate aid.

The UK paper, The Guardian – a publication which has, for some strange reason, always been very interested in CFACT – is one of the first to compile the climate related documents. Draw your own conclusions, but please admit that it’s entertaining reading. 

by Einar Du Rietz

At the recent preparatory conference in Bonn, a gentleman asked me after a short discussion if this was “all about money”. To some extent I’m beginning to feel that he pin pointed the entire circus.

COP 16 is kicking off in Cancun, and it’s amazing to read all the commentaries having one sole thing in common: The conviction that it will lead nowhere. Quite different from the general Hallelujah one year ago.

But it is going somewhere. To South Africa, where COP 17 is already scheduled to occur in time for Christmas in a year. Conducting the meeting in the southern hemisphere might even be a good idea, to avoid the biting cold that destroyed all connotations to global warming in Copenhagen.

Among all the comments and sometimes interesting articles, I found one particularly interesting. Mr Bruce Usher, acknowledging that Cancun will lead to nothing, advocates a “bottom up” strategy, instead of a top-to-bottom. The idea sounds like recognizing the market as the only viable force in any environmental endeavour, regardless of your convictions otherwise. Mr Usher describes, according to him, successful local initiatives and experiments in alternative energy production.

Then it comes.

by Einar Du Rietz How can we ever forget the Climate-gate scandal that erupted right in time for the Copenhagen debacle. Or fail to note that, interestingly enough, some of the more stunning revelations – Holland-gate etc – were made just after the conference. Now, during the count down for Cancun, it’s worth the effort to […]

by Einar Du Rietz

Better bring to the next climate conference

According to reports from the recent preparatory climate conference in China, the so called world leaders – most eager to show off in Copenhagen a year ago – are trying to avoid even showing up for the conference in Cancun, instead commissioning their ministers for environment to take the embarrassment.

One enlightning report comes from Louise Gray, in the Daily Telegraph. Writes Gray; “There are fears that Cancun may not even meet the drastically low expectations of its participants, and that the UN-wide process of negotiation could be abandoned in favour of thrashing out an agreement in a smaller group such as the G8.”

by Einar Du Rietz The – most likely – last preparatory conference before Cancun kicks off today in China. The fact that the debate has changed quite substantially during the past year, that the IPCC’s credibility is at an all time low, that more and more scientists have started questioning the validity of the entire […]

By Patrick Henningsen
21^st Century Wire
Sept 30, 2010

The UK’s leading scientific body has decided to rewrite its own definitive guide on climate change, now admitting that it is “not known” how much warmer the planet will become.

The Royal Society has released a new guide which outlines its retreat from its former vanguard stance on the threat of climate change and man-made global warming. The decision to update their scientific guide came after 43 of its members complained that the previous versions failed to take into account the opinion of climate change sceptics.

The new guide, entitled ‘Climate change: a summary of the science’, concedes that there are now major ‘uncertainties’ regarding the once sacred ‘scientific consensus’ behind man-made global warming theory, admitting that not only is it impossible to know for sure how the Earth’s climate will change in the future but it cannot possibly know what the effects may be. The 19-page guide states clearly, ’It is not possible to determine exactly how much the Earth will warm or exactly how the climate will change in the future, but careful estimates of potential changes and associated uncertainties have been made”.

Einar Du Rietz takes a look at one of the world’s ongoing election campaigns

Sweden: Tomorrow, Sunday, it’s time for general election in my country of birth. Though I somehow feel that the simultaneous process in Kabul would be more important, it’s hard not to follow the debate. If it is a debate.

Customary televised exchange between the leading players singles out the most crucial issues, and the auction starts, on education, taxes, employment. The usual. And the usual nonsense. 

And then it comes, the Climate!

by Einar Du Rietz

…or maybe don’t.

As fun as you can have, in the company of all sorts of people, there  is something depressing over these climate conferences. Delegates looking serious while spending other people’s money on down-right dangerous schemes, young people, who ought to be either in school, or out partying, or protesting the real injustices in this world, standing outside telling the lunch-eaters to spend more. Often financed by government. The police working overtime, and those fringe groups who travel around the world just in order to pick a fight with the former. A sort of holiday, I presume, like inter-railing or camping. Most of these elements, both in Copenhagen and at the recent G8/G20 summit, would probably go to the international congress of scrapbookers, if it meant they could get into trouble – and media – along the way.

by Einar Du Rietz

“Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups”, my former colleague, the environmental affairs director, liked to quote his favourite actor Steven Seagal as saying. It could be read as an argument for the precautionary principle of course, but it could also be interpreted as an argument for precaution against political action. There’s an important difference here. If I choose, or choose not, to sniff the milk before I pour it into my coffee, I’m the only one affected if my calculation is wrong. If I choose to change the lifestyles and even livelihood for all my fellow men, it’s better have some more solid argument than speculation.

“Climatology is not (yet) a science”, writes Serge Galam in a recent article (French, published in Agefi Magazine and distributed by Institut Économique Molinari), and warns that the self proclaimed climatologists of today, in the end – consciously or not – are driving the world towards totalitarianism.