POWIP Piece of Work In Progress

21Jun/114

How can you tell it’s the first day of summer?

Well, by the calendar, of course, and all of the usual hallmarks; like snow in Colorado?!?

The calendar says summer starts tomorrow in the Northern Hemisphere. The snow falling in the mountains of Colorado tells a different story.

A storm that has prompted a tornado watch across Nebraska and Kansas today also left 2 to 4 inches of snow in the Rocky Mountains, said Joe Ramey, a weather service meteorologist in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Ramey said the snow won’t mean ski slopes will be able to reopen. The snow is in patches, he said.

He also said we could all point fingers at La Nina, you know, if we h8terz and needed to assign blame.  I knew Coloradans should have heeded Tom Tancredo's warning about illegal immigrants :)

Seriously though, when I think of summertime I think of bucolic images like wheat rippling in a gentle warm breeze, afternoons spent in outdoor pursuits like baseball or softball, or halcyon memories of the seaside as a youth. But none of my memories of summer here in the US ever included snow.  Of course, that could be a function of my provincialism...

You realize, of course, that this phenomenon is all due to global warming.  Or, you know, alternatively you can fall back on the old standby of blaming Bush.

But don't any of you h8ting wingnutz curse La Nina, because that would be, well, you know...

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22Nov/100

The Goracle of gaia; ethanol ain’t gettin’ it

So what is Saint Al sayin' exactly, that he was for it before he was against it ?

Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore said support for corn-based ethanol in the United States was "not a good policy", weeks before tax credits are up for renewal.

Total U.S. ethanol subsidies reached $7.7 billion last year according to the International Energy Industry, which said biofuels worldwide received more subsidies than any other form of renewable energy.

"It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for (U.S.) first generation ethanol," said Gore, speaking at a green energy business conference in Athens sponsored by Marfin Popular Bank.

"First generation ethanol I think was a mistake. The energy conversion ratios are at best very small.

Which, you know, has been what critics have been saying all along.  Why then, OH WHY!, was Alphonse de gaia behind the use of corn-based ethanol in the first place, considering said corn could have been going to starvin' chillrenz instead?

"One of the reasons I made that mistake is that I paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee, and I had a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president."

U.S. ethanol is made by extracting sugar from corn, an energy-intensive process. The U.S. ethanol industry will consume about 41 percent of the U.S. corn crop this year, or 15 percent of the global corn crop, according to Goldman Sachs analysts.

Ah...I see said the blind man.  Democrat Al Gore, perennial champion of the little guy, and defender of redistribution, was content to make the price of corn, and livestock derived food products that use corn for animal feeds, greatly increase simply for his electoral benefit.  Got it; means to an end and all.  That's what I always liked about Al, his integrity...

And why now has he decided it's time to stop backing such a flawed endeavor?  Because scientists have successfully found ways to use enzymes, algae, and sugar beets in a far less energy intensive process?  Maybe...But then again, remember the integrity of the Goracle .  It seems that he has used the considerable monetary proceeds he's reaped as one of the ring-leaders of the AGW connivance to buy into companies that are planning similar endeavors.  So, ethanol out, and whatever Diamond Al's company is selling-in...

I can't wait to see Obama's EPA order it be made so, all by executive fiat, natch.  And if there be any objections, I'm certain, it will be just another case where THE SCIENCE IS SETTLED!

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7Oct/092

So how’s that global warming working out for you?

In light if the recent revelation surrounding the cherry picking of data by climate change propagandists to generate the famous (or should I say infamous) “hockey stick” curve on the graph of the Earths average temperature, as well as James Hansen’s reluctance to divulge the “data conditioning” techniques he used in building his mathematical models for climate predictions, it appears that the advocates of cap-n-trade will have a much harder time making their case for the drastic, economy crushing, measures envisioned by proponents of that piece of legislation.  Still, Senators Kerry and Boxer are determined to push ahead with the long anticipated climate bill in the Senate starting sometime this month.  Kerry has taken the lead on this push, and is signaling an attempt to “reframe” the discussion in a different “context” insisting it is not a “cap and trade” proposal but a “pollution reduction” bill; kind of like how Obamacare went from being about socialized medicine to “insurance reform”.  It's another carefully chosen euphemism to conceal the statist’s agenda behind an overly simplistic and benign mask, so that any political opponents can be publicly castigated as somehow being in favor of pollution.

But they’ll need more than the usual weasel words this time because, as with Obamacare, the public’s awareness of the issue and the arguments put forth by both sides does not fit with the low information voter model that the Democrats generally rely on taking advantage of.  Meteorologists are predicting that residents of the east coast should prepare for the coldest winter in a decade.  And there is already anecdotal evidence coming in from parts of the country that point to an earlier onset of winter conditions than usual; news that isn’t exactly all bad if you happen to own a business centered around winter sports. I guess you could say that global warming is working out pretty well for those folks!

It’s going to be difficult for politicians to talk up the apocalyptic dangers of global warming climate change pollution; especially when faced by contradictory evidence on both the scientific as well as anecdotal fronts.  But I have faith in the progressive elite, having demonstrated an ability to talk about the most risible or hypocritical topics with a straight face.  Perhaps they take their inspiration from their fellow travelers in the Chinese government, who insist that the world’s wealthier nations (The US, EU, and Canada) are trying to sabotage the successor to the Kyoto protocols, by not allowing them a free pass like the current treaty does.  Indeed, I expect the administration to sign whatever treaty comes out of that summit, and then begin scolding us about the need to ratify the agreement, as well as pass cap-n-trade, in order to reaffirm Obama’s, “L’etat c’est moi!” absolute authority, and because as with Obamacare  “The Debate is Over!”

All of these factors add up to some potential comedy gold coming our way, just in time for the holidays.  The AGW connivance may not work out too well for many on the political left that have relished the idea of imposing further control over our nation, our prosperity, and our lives through this proposed legislation; at least I hope so for all our sakes.  But, on the upside, it may have the unintended benefit of making C-span a viable commercial free entertainment alternative to the comedy channel!

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