NASA finally mentions the Maunder Minimum in its discussion of the current prolonged solar minimum, but it STILL does not mention that the Maunder Minimum coincided with the onset of the Little Ice Age, or that the Dalton Minimum in the early 1800’s was also cold, as was the unnamed fin-de-the-1800’s minimum.
Thar she blows, the Maunder Minimum of sunspot activity:
As it has done for two years now, NASA is predicting that solar cycle 24 will ramp up tomorrow. Should that broken-clock prediction hits its hour, then NASA is also predicting that solar cycle 24 will have the modest amplitude of the 1928 cycle, indicated by the red arrow.
A look at the temperature record shows the correspondence between solar activity and temperature:
Maunder Minimum cold; Dalton minimum (just before the red thermometer-based line starts) cold; unnamed end-of-1800’s minimum (first dip in red line) cold; “grand maximum” solar activity between 1920 and 2000 warm. Read the rest of this entry »
Early this year, the Navajo Nation and Sithe Global Power filed a lawsuit against the EPA for delays in issuing an air quality permit by the July 31st deadline for the proposed plant. New Mexico’s AG said it couldn’t be done because it would be in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
Desert Rock spokesman Frank Maisano said the lawsuit was filed because the EPA broke the law by not deciding on the permit within the required time. By law, the EPA must make a decision within 12 months of receiving a completed application. Desert Rock’s application was deemed complete in May 2004.
“That’s easy math – it’s more than three years overdue at this point,” Maisano said.
The EPA agreed to the July 31 deadline to decide on the permit as part of a settlement of the lawsuit, but the state entities decided to intervene because they believe the permit cannot be acted upon until other environmental reviews are completed.
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In a news release, Attorney General Gary King said, “This permitting process is truly putting the cart before the horse. We believe there are a number of regulatory issues that need to be addressed by the EPA before it can make a decision on this permit.”
The issues King’s office raised include the plant’s possible effects on fish and wildlife, carbon-dioxide pollution and compliance with federal standards for ozone pollution.
John McCain is a stubborn man and it is a character trait that has held him in good stead. As a prisoner in Vietnam his stubbornness in not giving up and giving in to the five year long ordeal of his imprisonment certainly played a large part in keeping him alive. And stubbornness can be a good quality in a politician, too. God knows Ronald Reagan was stubborn, often proudly saying that one of his political strategies was to get most of what he wanted from the Democrats in one battle, letting them save face with a partial win…and then going back and getting the rest of what he wanted later.
But stubbornness can be a character flaw, too. It can make you blind to the arguments of others. This can be especially problematic when you’re wrong and they’re right. It can make you arrogant and can alienate people who should be your allies. Which brings us to McCain and conservatives, his base without whom he can’t win this election. You see, the problem is McCain really doesn’t like us. To a large degree he’s bought into the moonbat caricature of conservatives, thinking we’re bigots and yahoos who lack hearts. But he’s figured out a way to deal with us. He’s going to throw us some red meat during the campaign; he’ll give us some lip service when he has to and once he placates us enough that we vote him into office, he’s stubbornly going to go right back to what he wants to do. You can do that sort of thing and keep a clear conscience when you’re doing it to people you don’t respect, I guess. Read the rest of this entry »
The Cap and Trade Global Warming Legislation before the Senate needs to die a swift and ugly death. Just for openers . . .
This is the legislation that would increase the Federal gasoline tax from its current 18.2 cents a gallon to 53 cents by 2030.
So in their arrogant attempt to keep the temperature of the EARTH where it is right now, an impossibility, they start by charging you more money for your gas.
But Cap-and-Trade is also an economy-killing boondoggle. Some details from The Heritage Foundation’s analysis of the bill. Read the rest of this entry »
In this provocative book, Shearman and Smith present evidence that the fundamental problem causing environmental destruction–and climate change in particular–is the operation of liberal democracy. Its flaws and contradictions bestow upon government–and its institutions, laws, and the markets and corporations that provide its sustenance–an inability to make decisions that could provide a sustainable society. Having argued that democracy has failed humanity, the authors go even further and demonstrate that this failure can easily lead to authoritarianism without our even noticing. Read the rest of this entry »
Sarah might be...
