I am increasingly impressed with the number of people in the US who have been converted to the climate change hysteric state. People I have known for years are considering winding up their earthly affairs. One man asked if the government would help us all "transition" before the end.
We Americans seem to be be particularly prone to waves of hysteria.
People lived in dread of a nuclear holocaust during the Cold War. A lot of money was spent on fallout shelters from coast to coast. Food stocks were stored against the day of nuclear winter. My father, who was as tight as a tick when it came to money, actually considered digging up his back yard for the purpose.
And then there was the millennial hysteria when all the computers were expected to stop or start running backward.
After 9/11 people lived in a hysteric state for months afraid of everything and everyone. The Muslims are coming! The Muslims are coming! This might have been the grito of the day. Federal Civil servants and employees of the World Bank in DC refused to go to work because they were afraid. Of what? of everything and nothing. I had a beard then and a man on a subway train told me that I should go back where I came from. Hysteria. I offered to give him help with an attitude adjustment.
In 1941 the population of the west coast expected to be bombed and invaded by the Japanese. Hysteria set in and sober people like FDR and George Marshall accepted the idea that American citizens of Japanese descent should be interned for the duration of the war in camps well away from the Pacific Ocean. They were interned solely because they were of Japanese descent and public hysteria forced Washington to act.
I could go on and on ...
How about the hysteria that led to the Spanish War? "Remember the Maine," The ship was supposedly sunk in Havana Harbor by Spanish perfidy. In fact the Maine blew up because a coal bunker fire burned through a bulkhead and set off something or other. That was the US Navy's investigative finding after the war. Don't tell me about Hearst. Hearst was just selling newspapers. The American people went into a hysteric rage against Spain and that was the cause of war. Hearst just wanted to find "Rosebud." Figure it out.
And now we have the approaching end of the world through man made climate change. It would be funny if there were not so many who believe it.
Science? Hah! For every study you can produce in support of this fantasy I will find you one to rebut it. All you ecofreaks! Don't send me material about this. I will not help you support the hysteric fantasy. Send money to the Democratic Party. They believe this crap. pl.
Dan
Do you have a particular century that you would like to live in?
Posted by: turcopolier | 30 November 2019 at 11:01 AM
jjackson
A lot of the data is phony nonsense interpreted by hysterics.
Posted by: turcopolier | 30 November 2019 at 11:03 AM
I guess I am a little on the fence on this. I don't see an apocalypse anytime soon, but I think that there is enough to the concept of "Climate Change" and "Peak Oil" that the long term implications cannot simply be dismissed.
I do see change coming, I just can't for the life of me figure out what will be the actual trigger and what will simply be trotted out as an excuse to make the changes.
For that matter, I can't even say that the data presented by the folks in the white lab coats is valid or invalid. At this point here it is just data and the hypotheses and theories being worked out to explain the data are not really all that satisfying.
Mostly I am in the "denialist" camp by default. I don't think that the apocalypse is coming soon, so that puts me in the opposition camp in the eyes of the true believers.
In the immortal words of Zhou Enlai; "It's too early to say".
Posted by: Degringolade | 30 November 2019 at 11:26 AM
Precisely. Are the temperature data apples-to-apples comparisons? What are the actual environmental changes around these weather gauges over the past century?
As I have noted previously, I have over a century of weather data at our ranch and can’t plot any trend lines. The extremes show a rather random distribution.
Posted by: Jack | 30 November 2019 at 11:27 AM
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/new-yorks-unstable-electric-grid/
"One of the bill’s mandates requires utilities to buy 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind-generated electricity by 2035. That would result in 900 10-megawatt turbines to be constructed off the coast of New York City and Long Island. Offshore wind is expensive. Based on current state estimates for similar projects, the capital costs for these wind turbines will total $48 billion, which the ratepayers will have to pay. If this and other targets are not met for new renewables and energy storage capacity, the Public Service Commission (PSC) will demand that the utilities buy renewable energy credits or pay penalties."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism
"..Lysenkoism aims at legitimizing pseudoscience at the government level, for political reasons."
https://judithcurry.com/2015/05/12/true-costs-of-wind-electricity/
"The impacts of subsidized wind upon electricity markets are highly uncertain, and in many cases demonstrably harmful. Wind serves to raise costs, complicate scheduling, destabilize markets, and adversely impact reliability all in a hopeless effort to receive “free” energy that is actually quite costly.
The potential for wind is limited. Any sub area can have a high penetration of renewables if those resources are diluted into a larger area. Wind can provide adequate performance when correctly integrated with hydro and fossil resources. But the challenges are significant at this time to reach high penetration levels within most standalone resource mixes in most system grids."
Article makes the following points
1) Wind farms are not built where there are not subsidies.
2) They wear out quickly so hidden capital costs are higher
3) They need substantial back up generation for when winds are too low high
4) The larger the wind farm larger back up capacity needed
Posted by: Terence Gore | 30 November 2019 at 11:39 AM
Hydrocarbons are what disproved Malthus.
The greenies want to move us to an electric future with the majority being produced by renewables. Utility-scale solar power purchasing agreements are currently being bid in the US at $0.025/kWh. Substantially cheaper than coal. Unfortunately neither wind or solar can provide base load unless there is sufficient storage capacity and Lithium chemistry has it’s downsides. Nuclear which can produce base load and has no carbon emission is shunned by the same greenies.
IMO, the focus should be on pollution. Plastic pollution, chemical pollution in our waterways and ground water, particulates in the air especially in places like Beijing and New Delhi and of course the massive quantities of solid waste that we generate.
Posted by: Jack | 30 November 2019 at 11:40 AM
Apparently it took 35,000 years for human migrations to cross the "climate change" land bridge between Russia and Alaska and populate North America.
We have time. Adapt or die.
Posted by: Factotum | 30 November 2019 at 11:48 AM
For what purpose is this climate hysteria ginned up. And why does the Green New Deal demand all jobs become mandatory union jobs? Or else we are all gonna die.
Posted by: Factotum | 30 November 2019 at 11:50 AM
"Science? Hah! For every study you can produce in support of this fantasy I will find you one to rebut it. All you ecofreaks! Don't send me material about this. I will not help you support the hysteric fantasy. Send money to the Democratic Party. They believe this crap. pl."
November 30, 2019
By the way you can't. And you know you can't.
Posted by: Stephanie | 30 November 2019 at 12:06 PM
+1000
Posted by: Seamus Padraig | 30 November 2019 at 12:08 PM
Jjackson,
Can I get the raw data and run my own calculations? Can I question the placement of thermometers and adjustments to recorded temperatures from decades ago, or do I only get to see the pretty graph put together by those reviving government money? Do you have co2 data prior to 1958 that is not calculate by proxy?
Posted by: Fred | 30 November 2019 at 12:13 PM
Posted by: Seamus Padraig | 30 November 2019 at 12:39 PM
And a child shall lead them ...
But seriously, if anyone here's up for a longish read, this is a fabulous and enlightening article:
http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2019/01/17/the-manufacturing-of-greta-thunberg-for-consent-the-political-economy-of-the-non-profit-industrial-complex/
The author, Corey Morningstar, is actually a real environmentalist (not a 'right-winger,' whatever that label means to you) who's been with the movement for many years. She has enough experience to know that Wall Street never subsidizes any movement unless it benefits Wall Street, which is Reason #1 why we should all be skeptical of this latest round of global-warming hysteria.
Enjoy!
Posted by: Seamus Padraig | 30 November 2019 at 12:43 PM
If the problem is energy availability, a solution is nuclear power but that brings its own hysteria.
Posted by: scott s. | 30 November 2019 at 01:17 PM
And inside every man is a crppled child.
Posted by: Babak Makkinejad | 30 November 2019 at 01:35 PM
Excellente, que todos aceptarlo.
Posted by: Babak Makkinejad | 30 November 2019 at 01:39 PM
All:
The rea science:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/8617066199/?coliid=ITOJJQUI6MR2P&colid=2PF8RPB6J6NU&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/3540437797/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=A137N5PCRAJMCA&psc=1
Posted by: Babak Makkinejad | 30 November 2019 at 01:44 PM
For ice core samples, Dr. Mueller has all thr data as well as Matlab code posted at his web site. Google it.
Posted by: Babak Makkinejad | 30 November 2019 at 02:56 PM
Elora,
To quote the great climate expert, Greta, "How dare you!"
Posted by: Fred | 30 November 2019 at 03:15 PM
My research agrees with E. D. Here is a link to a non-technical article with a useful graph of CO2 and temperature levels over the last 600 million years.
https://medium.com/@ghornerhb/heres-a-better-graph-of-co2-and-temperature-for-the-last-600-million-years-f83169a68046
(Sorry, can’t activate the link)
It’s occurred to me that given the last 3 million years have been 80% +/- ice ages with 10,000 to 20,000 year enter glaciation periods, we might be near the end of a normal interglacial period at present. A little warming may not be a bad thing over the next several thousand years. Nevertheless, it would probably be better not to dump large volumes of various gases into the atmosphere and oceans, and it probably would be wise to be prepared to adapt to changes in fisheries, regional climate patterns, etc., without the fear and hysteria. After all, things change.
Posted by: Dabbler | 30 November 2019 at 05:23 PM
If this is true . . . that the climate change we are experiencing is just part of the naturally changing climate's changing changes . . . then we are presented with some major contrarian investing opportunities.
For example, if the current slow-creeping rise in sea level is just a phase in the cycles, and the next phase will be a sea-level freeze-in-place, or even a slow-creeping fall in sea level back to before; then contrarian investors can buy sea-adjacent property from panicked seasiders-in-flight at a very low price. They can then hang onto it, or pass it to heirs, until the next cycle phase makes clear that it is safe to go back to the seaside again. At which point, people who bought property from seasiders-in-flight for a low price will be able to sell it back to seasiders-in-return for a high price. Maybe a very high price.
The same principle would apply to anything which the man-made global warming theory predicts will fail or disappear in due course. Simply invest in that thing at low prices and sell that thing back at high prices to panicked sellers who will have come to terms with their sellers remorse.
I am not advising anyone to do this. I am merely noting that if this view is correct, then this contrarian investing opportunity exists and will persist for some time.
Posted by: different clue | 30 November 2019 at 05:52 PM
Stephanie
"By the way you can't. And you know you can't." You can't send money to the DNC?
Posted by: turcopolier | 30 November 2019 at 06:29 PM
I am not a hysteric on climate change but do think that human activity can 'add' to the effects of the 'natural cycles' of climate.
So on the question of ignore or take some actions to protect earth I am exactly like the mob boss who when confronted with keeping or getting rid of a member who may or may not squeal on the family said..'why take the chance'.
Posted by: catherine | 30 November 2019 at 06:29 PM
AOC or Pompeo equally dangerous but easily Fixable $$$$. The dollar (money) always makes people suddenly come to their senses
Posted by: Boomer | 30 November 2019 at 06:45 PM
Rollo May in 1965 predicted the Age of Aquarius would become the Age of Addiction in his book (a college favorite at the time) "Love and Will". Indeed, this addiction to "climate change" is the fated outcome when feelings took over fact.
Let's say all 100,000 "scientists" lived in the US- that is about 2000 for every state and I think this number includes dentists. These "scientists" can be easily out-voted. 2000 voices of "science" can get drowned out within California's population of 40 million.
Hard to believe the mantra from the 1960's's was "Question Authority". What happened? What brought about the total opposite mantra - question authority and you go to jail. What was the progression from one spectrum to the other?
Posted by: Factotum | 30 November 2019 at 07:05 PM