Sunday, October 14, 2012

Opposing Stories

The fact that this won't make the Church of Global Warming adherents happy makes me--well, not ecstatic, but pretty giggly:
The world stopped getting warmer almost 16 years ago, according to new data released last week.

The figures, which have triggered debate among climate scientists, reveal that from the beginning of 1997 until August 2012, there was no discernible rise in aggregate global temperatures.

This means that the ‘plateau’ or ‘pause’ in global warming has now lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose, 1980 to 1996. Before that, temperatures had been stable or declining for about 40 years.
Mother Gaia doesn't give a crap if you dance around her trees or not.

Sadly, though, we in California are still in the fast lane to Crazytown:
Such audits will be crucial as California embarks on its grand experiment in reining in climate change. On Jan. 1, it will become the first state in the nation to charge industries across the economy for the greenhouse gases they emit. Under the system, known as “cap and trade,” the state will set an overall ceiling on those emissions and assign allowable emission amounts for individual polluters. A portion of these so-called allowances will be allocated to utilities, manufacturers and others; the remainder will be auctioned off.

Over time, the number of allowances issued by the state will be reduced, which should force a reduction in emissions....
Should force a reduction in businesses and jobs, too.
The outsize goals of California’s new law, known as A.B. 32, are to lower California’s emissions to what they were in 1990 by 2020 — a reduction of roughly 30 percent — and, more broadly, to show that the system works and can be replicated.

The risks for California are enormous. Opponents and supporters alike worry that the program could hurt the state’s fragile economy by driving out refineries, cement makers, glass factories and other businesses. Some are concerned that companies will find a way to outmaneuver the system, causing the state to fall short of its emission reduction targets.

“The worst possible thing to happen is if it fails,” said Robert N. Stavins, a Harvard economist.
How could that possibly happen? We've sprinkled enough pixie dust and unicorn crap, everything will be fine. Just fine.

Liberals are killing this state.

3 comments:

Ellen K said...

Darren: Have you read either of the Freakonomics books? It's interesting how they apply a variety of statistics and facts and tear apart the whole foundation of Global Warming. For example, planting trees in already hot climates makes the climate hotter.

Darren said...

I read the first Freakonomics book, the 2nd one is still on my Kindle. Maybe over Thanksgiving break....

allen (in Michigan) said...

Where's the problem? Everyone knows that when it gets warmer that's evidence of global warming and when it gets cooler that's evidence of global warming as well.

Similarly, true science consists of a barbershop quartet of climate scientists harmonizing to the catchy strains of "Of Course It's Global Warming You Stupid, Baby-eating, NeoCon"