British man dies during Greenland trek, 2 companions in hospital-BBC

5/1/13, "British man dies during Greenland ice trek," BBC

"A British man has died during a trek across Greenland's ice sheet, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said.

Philip Goodeve-Docker was taking part in the expedition with two other British men, when it is believed they were engulfed in a severe snowstorm on Sunday.

The FCO said the other men were recovering in hospital. 

Greenland is home to the second largest icecap in world. 

On a fundraising webpage before setting out, Mr Goodeve-Docker said he and his fellow travellers would be conducting the expedition unsupported across what he described as one of the most dazzling, beautiful, yet barren and deadly landscapes in the world.

A statement released by the FCO said: "We are aware that three British nationals were in difficulty during an expedition in Greenland, and have been rescued by the authorities. 

"Sadly, one of the team, Philip Goodeve-Docker, died. The other two British nationals are in hospital." 

It added: "We are providing consular assistance to their families at this difficult time.""






.

Massive hurricane on Saturn not caused by humans, no oceans on Saturn to "hide" planet "warming," no coal mines, no cars, no lightbulbs, no cap n trade

4/29/13, "Monster hurricane rages on Saturn's north pole: Video," LA Times, D. Netburn

"Images of a massive hurricane raging inside a strange hexagonal weather pattern at Saturn's north pole have recently been released by NASA, revealing a mystery inside an even bigger mystery.

The hurricane is enormous and violent--more than 20 times the size of the average hurricane on Earth, with winds gusting at speeds four times what they would be on our planet.

The hurricane appears to be fixed at Saturn's north pole, rather than drifting around the planet like hurricanes do here. Also, scientists are still trying to figure out how the hurricane developed with no body of water below it. There are no oceans on Saturn; it is a gaseous planet.

But scientists were surprised to discover that Saturn's north pole hurricane does share some characteristics with Earth's hurricanes. For example, it has an eye, and it spins in the same direction -- counterclockwise -- that a hurricane would spin in Earth's Northern Hemisphere. 

"We are trying to understand the similarities and differences, and I can't say we have it all solved yet," said Andrew Ingersoll, a Cassini imaging team member at Caltech in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. He added that scientists are still trying to determine whether the hurricane makes lightning.
As for the hexagonal weather pattern -- that is a mystery to scientists, but not a surprise.

Known simply as "the hexagon," it was discovered more than 30 years ago when Voyager flew past the ringed planet, and scientists were amazed that it was still there when the Cassini spacecraft arrived nine years ago.
 
"It is just a big pattern in the clouds. It is not cast in concrete. It's not part of the continents, because there are no continents," Ingersoll said. "But it's still there -- some kind of wandering jet stream."
 
While scientists knew that the hexagon existed, they did not know what was inside it until recently. That's because for much of the time that Cassini has been in orbit around Saturn, the planet has been in its winter, and its north pole was turned away from the sun, leaving it in total darkness. 

Using Cassini's infrared imaging capabilities, scientists could see that there was a break in the clouds right over the planet's north pole, and they surmised it might be a hurricane, but it wasn't until the planet entered its spring, and sunlight flooded the north pole, that Cassini's visible-light cameras were able to take more detailed photos, revealing the hurricane in all its raging glory."...






.

Those who care about the planet will rejoice that cold and snow continue in Alaska on 4/28/13. Those who only pretend to care about the planet will ignore scientific data that Alaska isn't burning up.

4/28/13, "Endless winter: Cold weather continues for much of Alaska," Alaska Dispatch

"Think spring is well overdue? You’re right. Below average temperatures are lingering over much of Alaska, and upcoming forecasts do not hold the promise of warmer weather anytime soon.

The cold weather is due to the Polar Jet Stream, a fast flowing air current cascading off the North Pole and Arctic Ocean, that is pushing cold, dry air over large parts of Alaska, causing below normal temperatures for much of the state, the National Weather Service writes on its Facebook page.

“In some cases, daytime highs are running close to 10-20ºF below normal.” NWS writes.

And that’s not all … The NWS’s Climate Prediction Center is forecasting continued chilly temperatures well below normal temperatures for the next 8 to 14 days. The prolonged cold is due to high pressure over the Bering Sea that is preventing the weather pattern from shifting, NWS writes.

These chilly temperatures are stopping the breakup of ice on major rivers, including the Yukon River. “The concern is that an eventual shift to normal warmth would may bring a rapid thaw and flooding if the pattern shifts quickly,” NWS writes. Breakup conditions can be found at the NWS River Forecast Center page.

The Interior city of Fairbanks has seen snowfall in recent days, and this week, daytime highs in the 30s are forecast through Tuesday, with a chance of rain and snow on Thursday night.

In Nenana, ice on the Nenana River has increased in recent days, throwing a bit of a curveball to the Nenana Ice Classic tradition, where people guess when the tripod erected on the river will fall during breakup season. On April 25, the ice was 51 inches thick, two inches thicker than just a few days before; last year, the tripod had already fallen by then.

In Anchorage, April’s below average temperatures are forecast to continue into at least early May, NWS writes. Highs in the 40s are forecast through the week.

On Saturday, Juneau saw record snowfall for the day, and heavy late-season snows remain likely in Southeast Alaska. Snow accumulation up to 1 inch forecast in Juneau for Sunday, and snow and rain showers forecast again on Tuesday." via Climate Common Sense, via Tom Nelson






.

79% of US temperatures are cooler than normal 2013 year to date. Not extreme, just cooler

4/27/13, "79% Of The US Below Normal Temperature in 2013," Steven Goddard, Real Science

YearTDeptUS.png (688×531)

"Thirty three percent of the US is more than two degrees below normal. Nine percent is more than four degrees below normal. Three percent is more than six degrees below normal."

============================

Commenter to above at Steven Goddard notes even AP's Seth Borenstein acknowledges 2013 has cooler temperatures than 2012:

"Jimbo says:"

 4/24/13, "Seth Borenstein Twitter"

"What a difference a year makes: As of 4-22: 2013 US hot temps broken 9931, cold 11041; in 2012 US hot temps broken 27,755, cold: 2,354."

-------------------------

Ed. note: Not "extreme," just cooler year to date.









.

Earth core 1000C hotter than thought, this finding will change many scientific disciplines, understanding of earthquakes, Science Magazine, 4/26/13-BBC

"When extrapolating to higher pressures, we conclude that the melting temperature of iron at the inner core boundary is 6230 ± 500 kelvin. This estimation favors a high heat flux at the core-mantle boundary with a possible partial melting of the mantle." Science Magazine, 4/26/13

4/26/13, "Earth's core far hotter than thought," BBC, J. Palmer

"New measurements suggest the Earth's inner core is far hotter than prior experiments suggested, putting it at 6,000C - as hot as the Sun's surface....

Experiments outlined in Science used X-rays to probe tiny samples of iron at extraordinary pressures to examine how the iron crystals form and melt....

Measurements in the early 1990s of iron's "melting curves" - from which the core's temperature can be deduced - suggested a core temperature of about 5,000C.

"It was just the beginning of these kinds of measurements so they made a first estimate... to constrain the temperature inside the Earth," said Agnes Dewaele of the French research agency CEA and a co-author of the new research.

"Other people made other measurements and calculations with computers and nothing was in agreement. It was not good for our field that we didn't agree with each other," she told BBC News.

The core temperature is crucial to a number of disciplines that study regions of our planet's interior that will never be accessed directly - guiding our understanding of everything from earthquakes to the Earth's magnetic field. 
 
"We have to give answers to geophysicists, seismologists, geodynamicists - they need some data to feed their computer models," Dr Dewaele said.
 
The team has now revisited those 20-year-old measurements, making use of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility - one of the world's most intense sources of X-rays."...





.

Industrialized nations' greenhouse gas emissions drop in 2011 led by US, but overall global emissions up 'unexpectedly' led by China which is 'responsible for most global growth'-Reuters

4/26/13, "Industrialized nations' greenhouse gas emissions dipped in 2011," Reuters

"Industrialized nations' greenhouse gas emissions dipped 0.7 percent in 2011, helped by a U.S. shift from high-polluting coal in power plants and by Europe's economic slowdown, data compiled by Reuters showed on Friday.

For many years it has been a mantra that rich nations, historically the top polluters, should make the biggest cuts in emissions while emerging economies could burn more energy to help lift them from poverty.

But figures based on submissions by 42 industrialized nations this month used to judge compliance with U.N treaties underscore how continued worldwide growth in emissions is increasingly led by China and other emerging economies....

The unexpectedly rapid rise of emissions in China and other emerging economies such as India and Brazil in recent years is pushing up global emissions and complicating talks among 200 nations on a new U.N. accord aiming to slow climate change.

Emerging economies are not obliged to submit annual emissions data to the U.N Climate Change Secretariat.

But other studies show that worldwide emissions are rising. A Global Carbon Project, for instance, estimates that world emissions from fossil fuels and cement grew by 3 percent in 2011 and by 2.6 percent in 2012.

It says China's surging emissions were responsible for most of the global growth."...via Junk Science






.

Kansas City Royals player bundles up against the cold in Detroit, April 24, 2013

4/24/13, "Kansas City Royals' Alcides Escobar bundles up against the cold in the third inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Detroit," ap. Game time weather, 41 degrees and drizzle.






.

Human rights organization AFDI announces 18 point platform for defending free societies in wake of Boston Jihad including call for UN declaration that jihad is crime against humanity. Without such declaration by the UN, it must move to a Muslim country

4/24/13, "American Freedom Defense Initiative Announces Platform for Defending Freedom In Wake of Boston Jihad," Reuters. * Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

NEW YORK, PRNewswire, "The human rights organization American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) has unveiled a 18-point platform for preserving and defending free societies. The Platform for Defending Freedom is the fruit of the International Freedom Defense Congress of the international group Stop Islamization of Nations (SION), which was held in New York City at the UN Millennium Plaza Hotel on September 11, 2012, and is rendered urgent in the wake of the Boston Marathon jihad bombings."...via Atlas Shrugs







.

Colorado Rockies doubleheader begins in 23 degree weather, April 23, 2013

4/23/13, "Colorado Rockies' Eric Young Jr., center, and others try to keep warm in below-freezing weather before the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves," in Denver. Braves won 4-3. ap. Braves also won 2nd game, 10-2. "Game details, weather, 23 degrees, cloudy" item at end of page. Second game of doubleheader lists weather as 30 degrees, cloudy.





.

Illegal coal mining flourishes in Ukraine, elites skimming profits-BBC

4/23/13, "The coal-mining racket threatening Ukraine's economy," BBC, Cragg, Ukraine.

"Sometimes, they are little more than holes, in the woods outside villages or even in backyards and under houses, but Ukraine's illegal coal mines can also be huge, open-cast operations. What started as hand-to-mouth survival, 20 years ago, is now big business.

Mihailo Volynets, the wiry head of Ukraine's Independent Miners' Union, presents the situation flatly: "We know how much coal there is from the state mines and from the private mines, and we know how much coal is up for sale." ...

Illegal mining in the Donbass and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine is there for all to see. Coal trucks routinely rumble along roads where there are no legal mines.

A brief stroll in the woods outside the town of Snizhne passes by three pits. But the money made from these mines does not make it into the nearby communities. Locals here have been agitating for a crackdown. 

"It is excessively dangerous for men to work in these pits and no one benefits from this here," says Ira, whose children, like so many, have moved away.

"The whole region is just not functioning," 

For some, though, the illegal mining business is functioning fine. With no taxes to pay or workers' rights to respect, wildcat mines produce far cheaper coal than legal ones.

Thanks to their contacts in the murky world of Ukrainian politics and business, the illegal mining bosses can sell this coal via legal mines.

In so doing, notes Oleksa Shalayskiy of the anti-corruption website "Nashi Groshi" ("Our money"), owners of illegal mines can even benefit from state subsidies, intended to cover costs that have not been incurred.

"It's just another way of siphoning taxpayers' money into private hands," he says.

In Donetsk it is widely believed that powerful people are creaming off the profits.

Mr Shalayskiy points out that Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine's richest man and historically a staunch supporter of President Viktor Yanukovych, is seeing his legal mines lose out to the illegal competition.

Mr Akhmetov has made no public comment about this.

However, on condition of anonymity, a source close to Mr Akhmetov's mining company DTEK confirmed for the BBC that the company was deeply concerned about illegal mining. It constitutes unfair competition, and lures young miners away with better pay, albeit to worse and more dangerous conditions."...






.

Minnesota weather has been warm enough during days to allow much meltwater to sink into the soil, minimal flooding, something hydrologists hadn't predicted-Star-Tribune

4/22/13, "Tonight's Twins game postponed, half-foot of snow predicted," Star Tribune, Walsh, Mcauliffe

"Recent cool weather warm enough to melt snow during the day but cool enough to freeze and stop the meltwater flow at night has helped the situation, Richels added. Also, much of the frost has thawed out of the soil, allowing meltwater to sink in, something that many hydrologists thought might not happen across the region.

Only 10 days ago, Richels sampled a 12-inch deep core of snow and found it contained 3.56 inches of water; this weekend, in 4 inches of snow, he found 1.56 inches of water. Overland flooding and road closures have been far less than he expected, Richels said. Flood risks on metro rivers are minimal." photo, woman riding bike in snow in Minneapolis, 4/22/13, by star tribune








.

With April 2013 the 4th snowiest April on record for Minnesota, perhaps "Mother Nature" is "just balancing out the scales" after the record warm spring of 2012-MPR

4/22/13, "Buckle Up: 4" to 8"+ likely tonight; "Instant Spring" & 70 by Sunday?" Paul Huttner, Minnesota Public Radio

"Our next (and last?) major "winter storm" in spring is taking direct aim at the Twin Cities tonight. It's already snowing heavily in South Dakota.

Early morning sunshine in the Twin Cities gives way to developing rain this afternoon, and then to all snow...

Winter Storm Warnings are out for a narrow but potent system that looks to center right over the Twin Cities metro toward Duluth and northwest Wisconsin....

The good news? In an abrupt upper air pattern change is coming by this weekend. Our 1st 60s...and possibly 70s are on the way by Saturday & Sunday....

14.1" April snowfall at MSP so far

4th snowiest April on record
7.8" snowfall needed for snowiest April on record
-9F temps vs. average so far this month...

It's as if we did something really, really wrong to deserve this "spring" in Minnesota. Or is Mother Nature just balancing out the scales of weather justice for our amazing record warmth last spring?"...









.

14 Major League Baseball games have played with first-pitch temperature below 40 degrees so far in 2013-AP. Update, 4/24, 2 games started in Colorado, one at 23 degrees and one at 30 degrees

Update, 4/24/13, Two more postponements due to rain on 4/23/13, Kansas City at Detroit, and Cleveland Indians at Chicago White Sox. Two games in Colorado 4/24/13, one began at 23 degrees, one at 30 degrees: "Game details, weather, 23 degrees, cloudy" item at end of page. Second game of doubleheader lists weather as 30 degrees, cloudy.
 
4/22/13, "Marlins-Twins game postponed a day due to weather," AP via USA Today

"According to STATS research, this was the 14th postponement of the season. Through the first 23 days, there were six postponements in 2012, 15 in 2011 and just two in 2010. This year, there have been 14 games played with a first-pitch temperature below 40 degrees."...

•  --------------------------------- 

4/22/13, "Baseball - Major League Baseball roundup," Reuters

April 22 (The Sports Xchange) - "Two Major League games were postponed on Monday because of snow."

• --------------------------------------------

 
4/22/13, "More snow delays," HardballTalk.nbcsports.com, Calcaterra

"It’s almost May, but apparently someone forgot to tell that to Minneapolis and Denver.

Tonight’s game between the Twins and Marlins has been postponed due to a Minnesota snowstorm. They’re going to try to do a doubleheader tomorrow, but there’s more cold and snow in the forecast.

At the moment there is supposed to be a Braves-Rockies game tonight, but it’s 36 degrees in Denver
at the moment with snow in the forecast.

It’s just the weather and not much can be done about it, but the existence of unbalanced schedules and constant interleague play make scheduling makeup games really tough."

•  ---------------------------------------

4/22/13, "Snow/rain mix leads to Marlins-Twins postponement," Orlando Sun-Sentinel, Juan C. Rodriguez

"Cuban-born Marlins right-hander Jose Fernandez was excited at the notion of seeing falling snow for the first time."

Detroit fans during rainout v Kansas City, 4/23/13, ap




.

Boston terror bomber in hospital says motive was religious, he and brother weren’t in contact with overseas terrorists or groups-NBC News

4/22/13, “Officials: Hospitalized bombing suspect says he and brother acted alone, motivated by religion,” usnews.com.nbcnews.com, by Pete Williams, Michael Iskoff, Tom Winter and Tracy Connor, NBC News

“The hospitalized Boston Marathon bombing suspect charged Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction has told investigators that he and his brother were motivated by religion but were not in contact with overseas terrorists or groups, officials said.

Several officials familiar with the initial interrogation of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev described his behavior during questioning as cooperative.

A senior government official said Tsarnaev has told investigators —  by writing some answers down, and by nodding yes or shaking his head no to others — that he and his brother were not in touch with any overseas terrorists or groups.

Tsarnaev, who has injuries to his tongue preventing him from speaking properly, also indicated that he and his brother conceived the bombing attack on their own, and were motivated by religious fervor.

They got their instructions on how to make bombs from the Internet, he said, according to these officials.

Earlier on Monday, the White House said he will be tried in a civilian court. “He will not be treated as an enemy combatant. We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.

“Under U.S. law, United States citizens cannot be tried in military commissions. And it is important to remember that since 9/11 we have used the federal court system to convict and incarcerate hundreds of terrorists.”

Tsarnaev, 19, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Chechen origin, made his initial court appearance at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical  Center, where he was listed in serious condition.
.
He was advised of his rights and charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction in the U.S. and one count of malicious destruction of property with an explosive device.
.
He was assigned three federal public defenders. The charges could carry the death penalty.

The suspect agreed to “voluntary detention,” but declined to answer questions about bail, according to a court record. A probable cause hearing was set for May 30….

A criminal complaint laid out some of the evidence against Tsarnaev, who was arrested Friday after a daylong manhunt, and his brother, Tamerlan, who was killed during a firefight with police.

A black jacket and white hat, matching the ones worn by “Suspect No. 2″ in surveillance video, were found in the younger brother’s dorm room, along with green strands of fuse like those used in the marathon explosives that killed three and wounded more than 170.

The video also captured the suspect making a cellphone call seconds before the first bomb exploded on the east end of Boylston St. during last Monday’s race, and his utter calm in the face of spreading panic, the complaint said. The footage showed him hurrying away from his knapsack just 10 seconds before a blast erupted where he left it.

Tsarnaev was brought to the hospital with gunshot wounds to the head, neck, leg and hand. He had been communicating with investigators in writing because he couldn’t speak, federal officials told NBC News.

The FBI has not officially revealed a motive for the attack last Monday that killed three people”…
.
[Ed. note: The bomber just told you they did it for religious reasons. The motive was religion.]

(continuing): “– one of whom, Krystle Campbell, was laid to rest in Medford on Monday.

Investigators are still probing whether the brothers received assistance from others, officials said.

The feds have asked to speak with Tamerlan’s wife, Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, who converted to Islam after she met her future husband at a nightclub. She dropped out of college, got married and had a baby three years ago….

The carjacking victim told police his abductor asked if he’d heard of the marathon bombing and then said “I did that.” 

The man, who has asked that his identity not be revealed, told NBC News that he managed to escape and called his captors “brutal and cautious.”…

The victim told police the two men said they “would not kill him because he wasn’t American,” according to a police report obtained by NBC News.”…via Free Republic

•  ------------------------------------------------

BBC knows the motive was religious as reported by the AP if unofficially, but they still promote “mystery remains over motive” in their headline:

4/23/13, “Boston Marathon bombing: Mystery remains over motive,“ BBC

“The 10-page criminal complaint filed against Mr Tsarnaev sets out the attack in detail….

No mention is made of their possible reasons for attacking the marathon.

However, speaking on condition of anonymity, two US officials told the Associated Press news agency on Monday that the brothers had been motivated by religion.
 
Both men are known to be Muslims, with origins in the troubled republic of Chechnya in southern Russia. They had been living in the US for about a decade at the time of the attack.

 

AP’s sources said they did not appear to have been linked to any Islamist militant groups.”…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Two jailed in UK for running $9 million carbon credit scam, lived lavish lifestyles-Point Carbon

4/22/13, "Two men jailed for running $9 mln UK carbon credit scam," Reuters PointCarbon
 
"A London court has jailed two men for operating a carbon credit boiler room scam that defrauded hundreds of British investors of $9 million to fund lavish lifestyles in Spain, City of London Police said on Friday, concluding a three-year trans-Atlantic investigation." via Tom Nelson

 

 

 

.

Britain increased coal burning by 30% in 2012, other Western European nations increased coal use as well-NY Times

4/21/13, "In Europe, Paid Permits for Pollution Are Fizzling," NY Times, Reed and Scott

"Britain increased coal burning for electricity more than 30 percent last year, while cutting back gas use a similar amount, and other West European nations increased their coal use as well." (item 2/3 down pg.) via Tom Nelson




.

1912 melting created iceberg that sank Titanic. Since mid 1950s U.S. recorded temperatures from its South Pole base show it's cooler now than when base was established

4/18/13, "Lawrence Solomon: History trumps climate scientists," Financial Post, commentary

"Climate alarmist claims are at odds with reality."

"Many blame the public’s confusion over global warming on a widespread ignorance of science. A scientific grounding wouldn’t hurt but it also wouldn’t help much— few laymen, no matter how well informed, could be expected to follow the arcane climate change calculations that specialized scientists wield.

The much better explanation for the public’s confusion lies in a widespread ignorance of history, not least by scientists. Any child can understand that the Romans conquered the world when temperatures were warmer than today, that the Dutch invented the ice skates during the Little Ice Age five hundred years ago, and that  

melting glaciers off Newfoundland a century ago produced the iceberg that sunk the Titanic. 

Each of these well documented periods shreds speculations from climate alarmists, such as their assertion that the Arctic is only now warming, or that temperatures had been relative stable over the past one or two thousand years, and only in the last century climbed dramatically.

This week’s scary climate change news, courtesy of an article in Nature Geoscience, claims that temperatures in the Antarctic peninsula are the hottest they’ve been in the last 1000 years. This claim follows a “reconstruction” of the climate using a boatload of assumptions.

Another article on the Antarctic in the same issue of Nature Geoscience is less scary, in part because it employs history to buttress scientific conclusions. “If we could look back at this region of Antarctica in the 1940s and 1830s, we would find that the regional climate would look a lot like it does today, and I think we also would find the glaciers retreating much as they are today,” said lead author Eric Steig of the University of Washington. Steig’s study made use of actual temperature records taken by sailors, explorers and scientists over the past two centuries in the tropics and beyond.

The vast Antarctic, of course, has been mostly inaccessible, but numerous expeditions to the region, beginning with James Cook’s voyage in the 1770s, provide actual, rather than scientifically surmised or reconstructed, data. The explorers from 

Australia, Britain, Belgium,
France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand,
Norway and Sweden and Switzerland 

tell us, for example, that the contours of the continent continually changed. Antarctica’s Bay of Whales, used by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen in 1911 and Richard Byrd expeditions in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, changed so often and became so unstable that in the 1950s it became unusable as a port and in the 1980s, after a 99-mile-long iceberg broke off it, the bay disappeared entirely.

Those unaware of this history would be easily taken in by dramatic media footage over the last decade of icebergs breaking off Antarctic glaciers, accompanied by breathless prose warning that global warming had unleashed unprecedented changes. Those unaware of more recent history would not know that since the mid 1950s the U.S. has maintained a continual base at the south pole. The temperatures it recorded – actual, not reconstructed readings – show the south pole to be colder today than when it was established more than 50 years ago.

History has similar tales to tell at the north pole and environs.

“It will without doubt have come to your Lordship’s knowledge that a considerable change of climate, inexplicable at present to us, must have taken place in the Circumpolar Regions, by which the severity of the cold that has for centuries past enclosed the seas in the high northern latitudes in an impenetrable barrier of ice has been during the last two years, greatly abated,” wrote the president of London’s Royal Society to the British Admiralty in 1817. 

In urging an expedition, he stated, “new sources of warmth have been opened and give us leave to hope that the Arctic Seas may at this time be more accessible than they have been for centuries past, and that discoveries may now be made in them not only interesting to the advancement of science but also to the future intercourse of mankind and the commerce of distant nations.”" via Tom Nelson

===========================

Citation for South Pole temperatures 1957-2010:

"The analysis found slight decreases in the temperature and pressure over the 1957–2010 time period."

11/15/12, "Fifty-year Amundsen–Scott South Pole station surface climatology," sciencedirect.com, Open Access Article 

• Matthew A. Lazzara^{a, ,} ,Linda M. Keller^b, Timothy Markle^c, John Gallagher^{c, 1}

• ^a Antarctic Meteorological Research Center, Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
• ^b Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
• ^c South Pole Meteorology Office, Raytheon Polar Services Company, Centennial, Colorado, USA

"Abstract"

"Fifty-four years of Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station meteorological data have been analyzed to develop a comprehensive climatology from the station's meteorological observations....The analysis found slight decreases in the temperature and pressure over the 1957–2010 time period that are not statistically significant."...






.

Die Zeit writer and longtime CO2 terror believer now has sense of humor about lack of man-caused global warming-Gosselin

4/19/13, "Mother Of German Green Weeklies, Die Zeit, Shocks Readers…Now Casts Doubt On Global Warming!," by P Gosselin, NoTricksZone

"Now that the global mean temperature curve has drifted out of and below the IPCC’s projected range, panic is breaking out....

Leading lefty journalist Harald Martenstein of Die Zeit, a weekly that recently portrayed Marc Morano as the Don Corleone of the North American climate denial syndicate, has an amusingly satirical essay on the misfortunes of climate science and modeling: On the surprises of climate change. Hat/tip: klimazwiebel. If you can read German, his essay is a jewel in irony and humor to behold. Effective because few things convey a message better than music or humor.

Martenstein, once a devout believer of the global warming religion, apparently has been struggling to reconcile the glaring differences between climate expectations and hard reality.

Martenstein begins by first claiming he is not a climate skeptic, and tells the story of how he bought a house in the Uckermark in northeastern Germany because renowned scientists had been telling us that “the climate in Germany would be warmer. It would become similar to the Mediterranean.”...

Martenstein then recounts the past winter and how it seemed to him as being the longest and hardest
he could remember, but telling himself that it was probably just his warped subjectivity acting up again."...via Climate Depot






.

Thank-you North Metro SWAT Team

Helicopter beam upper right searching Watertown, Mass., 4/18/13, ap, UK Daily Mail

Member of North Metro SWAT team raises fist after victory in Watertown, getty, UK Daily Mail

Another view of North Metro SWAT team in Watertown after victory, 4/19/13, ap, UK Daily Mail 

"Defiant: Joseph Eli Libby, 20, of Boston, carries a flag near a makeshift memorial on Boylston Street, near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Friday, April 19, 2013, in Boston," ap (This caption from UK Daily Mail)

This was one of several pictures of American flags in Boston via UK Daily Mail. A BBC editor had earlier in the week noticed a laid back reaction to the terror bombings, and no "ramped up patriotism:"

4/16/13, "Boston bombing: A changed US reaction to terror," BBC, Mark Mardell, North American Editor

"Less than 24 hours after the Boston bombings, I was watching a vivid parade through the centre of Washington - indeed between two of the most sensitive security sites in the world, the Capitol and the White House.
.
In honour of Washington DC Emancipation Day, bands blared out their tunes and girls gyrated down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue. And no-one seemed too worried....

The mood in America after the Boston bombings generally seems one of sadness and horror but not one of anger or ramped-up patriotism. This is not 9/11."...

--------------------------------------------------------

Many more wonderful pictures at this link:

 4/20/13, "'We got him!' Fugitive 'bomber' captured ALIVE after he was found hiding inside a BOAT in backyard of Boston home. Cops use flash-bang grenades and gas to flush out Dzhokar Tsarnev," UK Daily Mail, by Louise Boyle, James Nye, Simon Tomlinson and Jill Reilly



.

.

Boston bomb suspects are brothers, last name Tsarnaev, have been in US about a year, have military experience. Shot MIT cop in the head, robbed 7-11, carjacked a Mercedes SUV, threw explosives out window as they drove, one strapped IED to his chest

4/19/13, "One Boston Marathon suspect killed; second suspect, his brother, on loose after firefight," usnews.nbcnews.com, by Pete Williams, Richard Esposito, Michael Isikoff and Erin McClam, NBC News

"With a bomb strapped to his chest, one of the Boston Marathon suspects was killed early Friday after he and his accomplice robbed a 7-Eleven, shot a police officer to death, carjacked an SUV and hurled explosives out the window in an extraordinary firefight with law enforcement, authorities told NBC News.

The second suspect — the one in the white hat in photos released by the FBI — was on the loose, and police ordered people in the Boston suburb of Watertown to stay in their homes and businesses not to open. Boston shut down its buses and subway system for the hunt.

The suspects are brothers with the last name Tsarnaev, law enforcement officials told NBC News.

The suspect at large, Dzhokar Tsarnaev, is 19 and has a Massachusetts driver’s license, they said. Law enforcement officials told NBC News that both men had international ties, had been in the United States about a year and had military experience.

The chaotic sequence of events started six hours after the FBI triggered a nationwide manhunt by releasing photos of the suspects, believed responsible for detonating two bombs at the marathon finish line Monday, killing three people and injuring 176.
 
Watertown resident Andrew Kitzenberg says he had a "clear line of view" of what he said looked "like a pressure cooker bomb."

The suspect at large was described by authorities as light-skinned and with brown, curly hair, and wearing a gray hoodie.

“There is a terrorist on the loose,” a law enforcement officer said at a press conference before dawn.

Police shut a 4-mile stretch of streets between Cambridge, Mass., and Watertown because they could be littered with unexploded devices, and they locked down Watertown. A convey of at least 20 vehicles, including military-style humvees and buses, was seen descending on the town.

“I just want to speak to the community of Watertown. We need your help now. We are asking everyone to shelter into your place,” Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau said. “The Watertown community has always stood strong. We need them to do that today.”

Harvard University, Boston University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston public schools all closed. Emerson University closed and told students to stay where they were.

Andrew Kitzenberg, who lives in Watertown, said he saw the two men shooting at six police cars from 70 or 80 yards away.

“There was a long exchange of gunfire,” told NBC News in an interview. “They were also utilizing bombs, which sounded and looked like grenades, while engaging in the gunfight,” he said. 

“They also had what looked like a pressure-cooker bomb.”...

Law enforcement officials said the tumult began just before 11 p.m., when the suspects approached a police officer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and shot him in the head.

The two then stole the officer’s cruiser, robbed a nearby 7-Eleven, carjacked a Mercedes SUV and briefly kidnapped the driver, the sources said. The suspects threw explosives out the window during the chase that followed, they said. A Boston transit police officer was shot and wounded, authorities said.

The dead suspect — the man in the black hat from the FBI photos — had an improvised explosive device strapped to his chest, law enforcement officials said.

Kitzenberg said that the firefight ended when one of the shooters ran toward the Watertown officers and ultimately fell to the ground. Kitzenberg said he could not tell whether the man was tackled or had been shot.

The other drove the SUV through a line of police offcers at the end of the street, he said. A bullet from the gunbattle lodged in the wall of Kitzenberg’s apartment, he said.

Kitzenberg said that while he had a clear view of the shooters, he could not see their faces. He described them as “average size, average height.”"

 




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One suspect dead in Watertown, Mass., man in white cap still at large

UK Daily Mail has the best pictures.

4/19/13, "Boston bombings: one suspect killed, one on the loose – live updates," UK Guardian, Murray, Weaver, Owen

"Boston's chief police commissioner Edward Davis sums up the main points so far:...He said Suspect 1 - the black-capped man in the photo below - has been killed and Suspect 2 - the white-capped man - is still on the loose."

"The FBI have released this picture of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing taken as they were walking near the marathon finish line. Photograph: FBI via Getty Images."

 

 

 

 

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Pressure mounts for Britain to call off CO2 tax after EU carbon trading system collapse-Reuters

4/18/13, "Pressure builds for Britain to drop CO2 tax after EU price collapse," Reuters Point Carbon

London, "Britain has been urged to scrap its carbon floor tax after the failure of an EU proposal to prop up carbon prices could leave British power companies having to pay 10 times more than European competitors for each tonne of carbon dioxide they emit - a move that will also distort energy prices across the EU." via Tom Nelson

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World Bank financing coal plant in Kosovo so people won't 'freeze to death,' is 'humanitarian' says World Bank pres.

4/18/13, "Warmist World Bank president Kim: Hey, did I mention that if we don't finance a coal-fired plant in Kosovo, people might "freeze to death"?" Tom Nelson

"Kim Says World Bank Can’t Reject Coal If People Freeze - Businessweek

The World Bank, which has boosted investment in renewable energy, cannot refuse to finance a coal-fired plant in Kosovo if the alternative is having people there “freeze to death,” the lender’s president said.

As the Washington-based institution considers providing partial guarantees for a lignite-fired power plant in the Balkan country, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said today he’s looking for all possibilities to avoid investing in coal. If the lack of energy became “a humanitarian issue” and the bank got involved, it could at least make the project cleaner, he said.

Flashback: Remarkably stupid opinion piece from World Bank president Jim Yong Kim: "it was the sudden warmth earlier in the month that was truly alarming"

Flashback: World Bank chief thinks his #1 priority is to prevent CO2-induced bad weather?; "We have to keep up a steady drumbeat in between the extreme weather events. I think our role at the bank is to continue to inform the [public of the] impact [of climate change]"
 
Flashback: We're saved!: "The World Bank has gone back to being in charge of climate change""







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Happy to have 'climate change conversation' with two scientist-activists starting with claims at odds with latest data in their Science published article

4/17/13, "Yes, Let's Please Have More Conversations About Global Warming," Forbes, James Taylor, opinion

"Two scientist-activists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison published an article in Science last week calling for more “Climate Change Conversations,” as the article was titled. Speaking on behalf of people skeptical of an asserted global warming crisis, I accept the invitation.

Bassam Shakhashiri, a professor at the ultra-liberal University of Wisconsin-Madison and Distinguished Chair of the “progressive” group the Wisconsin Idea, along with his University of Wisconsin-Madison colleague Jerry Bell, write, “Communicating the science of climate change provides one example where the scientific community must do more. Climate change affects everyone, so everyone should understand why the climate is changing and what it means for them, their children, and generations to follow.”

Let us begin this important conversation now.

In their article, Shakhashiri and Bell claim “the average temperature of the Earth is increasing.” Well, not during the past decade the temperature hasn’t. NASA and NOAA satellite data show the Earth’s temperature has not risen at all for more than a decade. This has occurred even though global carbon dioxide emissions rose by a third during the past 10 years.  If carbon dioxide is truly the primary driver of global temperature change, why has there been no warming during the past decade?

Global warming activists will often reply that we should look at the past century rather than the past decade when assessing global temperatures. Fair enough. At least half of the global warming of the 20th century occurred prior to the post-World War II economic boom. 

Global carbon dioxide emissions were minimal during the pre-World War II era. Again, this argues against carbon dioxide emissions being the primary driver of global temperature, and argues against economically ruinous “progressive” programs to restrict carbon dioxide emissions. More importantly, we should look at the past several thousand years, rather than merely the past century, when assessing the context of current temperatures. The Earth’s current temperature, when assessed in proper context, is relatively cool right now. Today’s temperatures are cooler than those that prevailed during most of the past 10,000 years, when human civilization first developed and thrived. Temperatures during the past century only seem warm when compared with the Little Ice Age, which brought about the coldest temperatures of the past 10,000 years and ended just over a century ago.

Shakhashir and Bell claim “ice is melting.” If global temperatures finally warm from the extreme cold of the Little Ice Age, we can certainly expect some of the unusually prevalent ice to melt. But is ice melting at an alarming rate? Not according to NASA and NOAA satellite data. In fact, NASA and NOAA satellite instruments show polar sea ice has remained relatively steady since the satellite instruments were launched in 1979, and polar sea ice is currently more extensive than the long-term average.

Shakhashir and Bell claim “oceans are acidifying.” The oceans are alkaline, not acidic. The oceans have a pH of 8.1, which is far above the neutral pH of 7.0. To the extent ocean alkalinity may have declined from 8.2 to 8.1 during the past century, the oceans are becoming less alkaline, not more acidic.

More importantly, marine life – like terrestrial plant life – is benefiting from higher carbon levels. Several peer-reviewed studies document plankton, sea stars, crustaceans and other marine life thrive and grow more rapidly in ocean water with higher carbon content and less alkalinity.

Shakhashir and Bell claim “extreme weather events are more frequent.” If Shakhashir and Bell define “extreme weather events” as a remarkable  

decline in drought, a remarkable  
increase in soil moisture, a remarkable 
decline in strong tornadoes and a remarkable  
decline in hurricane strikes, 

they are correct. 

However, if they define “extreme weather events” the way most other people in the world define the term, they are irrefutably wrong.  As temperatures continue to recover from the depths of the Little Ice Age, droughts are less frequent and severe, global soil moisture is improving, strong tornadoes are in long-term decline, and hurricane strikes are becoming less frequent.

Shakhashiri and Bell assert we should have more climate change conversations. I agree, especially considering the scientific evidence debunks global warming alarmism. Messieurs Shakhashiri and Bell, you name the time, place and venue, and I will be happy to oblige you in considering this climate change conversation."

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Science says US CO2 emissions have plunged are are headed lower:

6/4/12, “Climate change stunner: USA leads world in CO2 cuts since 2006,” Vancouver Observer, Saxifrage
.

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“Not only that, but as my top chart shows, US CO2 emissions are falling even faster than what President Obama pledged in the global Copenhagen Accord.”…

====================
 
Scientific consensus is that US CO2 has dropped for many years, is heading lower, and that US CO2 could go to zero and it would have little or no effect on the planet because China’s high emissions are heading higher.

=================== 

Global Warming ‘action’ was mandated and institutionalized in US government in 1990 by George Bush the 1st in the “U.S. Global Change Research Act of 1990.” CO2 reduction is mentioned near the end in Sec. 204, item 4.
 
Devoting 13 federal agencies to ‘climate’ matters is quite a lot of “climate action.”

Trillions have been taken from US taxpayers for climate endeavors via agency budget allocations, tax subsidies, diversion of US military to climate or green projects, countless federal regulations, vast sums shipped out in no strings foreign aid for ‘climate’ capacity building, etc.

Other countries’ CO2 hasn’t dropped despite hundreds of billions spent on cap and trade and extra taxes. This isn’t to say the US government hasn’t become business partners with the ‘climate’ industry.   


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11/19/12, “More than 1,000 New Coal Plants Planned Worldwide,” UK Guardian, Damian Carrington . 

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 “India is planning 455 new plants compared to 363 in China, which is seeing a slowdown in its coal investments after a vast building program in the past decade.”…

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———————————————–

11/28/12, “Toxic effect of China environmental nondisclosure,” MarketWatch, via Caixlin online

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12/13/10, “Perverse’ CO2 Payments Send Flood of Money to China,” by Mark Schapiro, Yale Environment 360


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1/16/13, “China’s Green Leap Backward,” The Nation, Lucia Green-Weiskel

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China will burn more and more coal for years to come:
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2/26/13, "Tough Truths from China on CO2 and Climate," Andrew Revkin, NY Times, Dot Earth   
.

 "The interview is blunt and crystal clear in laying out the demographic and economic realities that will, for many years to come, slow any shift from Chinese dependence on coal."

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Global warming pause, Der Spiegel, Jan. 2013:

1/18/13, “Climate change: scientists puzzle over halt in global warming,” Der Spiegel, by Axel Bojanowski (translation from German by google)

“How much our climate is warming real? NASA researchers have shown that the temperature rise in 15 years takes a break. At the same time, there are indications that shifts the problem: The environment could be a completely different place preliminary heat….

“The stalemate has led to the suggestion that global warming had stopped,” admits the Nasa.

The British Met Office forecast even more recently that the temperature interval could continue at a high level until the end of 2017 - despite the rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions . Then global warming would pause 20 years. How many years, this is a now common question, because the temperature would still falter, climate scientists to rethink their forecasts of future warming?…

Scientists previously thought, fourteen years without further warming were to bring into line with their forecasts – but not “15 years or more,” as NASA scientists four years ago in the journal “Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society” konstatierten . A renowned scientist wrote on 7 May 2009 in an e-mail to colleagues, as the heating pause had lasted eleven years: “The non-trend [of temperatures] would take 15 years before we need to worry about [our results].”

15 years without warming the air near the ground is now over. The stalemate in the average temperature shows that the uncertainties of climate predictions are surprisingly large.”…

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Jan. 2013 peer reviewed study says humans do not influence atmospheric CO2:

 January 2013, "The phase relation between atmospheric carbon dioxide and global temperature," Global and Planetary Change, ScienceDirect.com

Ole Humlum^{a, b, ,} ,Kjell Stordahl^c, Jan-Erik Solheim<sup>d 

a</sup> Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway^{, b} Department of Geology, University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), P.O. Box 156, N-9171 Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway, ^c Telenor Norway, Finance, N-1331 Fornebu, Norway, ^d Department of Physics and Technology, University of Tromsø, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway

"Abstract

"Using data series on atmospheric carbon dioxide and global temperatures we investigate the phase relation (leads/lags) between these for the period January 1980 to December 2011. Ice cores show atmospheric CO₂ variations to lag behind atmospheric temperature changes on a century to millennium scale, but modern temperature is expected to lag changes in atmospheric CO₂, as the atmospheric temperature increase since about 1975 generally is assumed to be caused by the modern increase in CO₂. In our analysis we use eight well-known datasets: 1) globally averaged well-mixed marine boundary layer CO₂ data, 2) HadCRUT3 surface air temperature data, 3) GISS surface air temperature data, 4) NCDC surface air temperature data, 5) HadSST2 sea surface data, 6) UAH lower troposphere temperature data series, 7) CDIAC data on release of anthropogene CO₂, and 8) GWP data on volcanic eruptions. Annual cycles are present in all datasets except 7) and 8), and to remove the influence of these we analyze 12-month averaged data. We find a high degree of co-variation between all data series except 7) and 8), but with changes in CO₂ always lagging changes in temperature. The maximum positive correlation between CO₂ and temperature is found for CO₂ lagging 11–12 months in relation to global sea surface temperature, 9.5–10 months to global surface air temperature, and about 9 months to global lower troposphere temperature. The correlation between changes in ocean temperatures and atmospheric CO₂ is high, but do not explain all observed changes.

Highlights

► Changes in global atmospheric CO₂ are lagging 11–12 months behind changes in global sea surface temperature. ► Changes in global atmospheric CO₂ are lagging 9.5–10 months behind changes in global air surface temperature. ► Changes in global atmospheric CO₂ are lagging about 9 months behind changes in global lower troposphere temperature. ► Changes in ocean temperatures explain a substantial part of the observed changes in atmospheric CO₂ since January 1980. ► Changes in atmospheric CO₂ are not tracking changes in human emissions."

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2/21/13, "IPCC Head Pachauri Acknowledges Global Warming Standstill," The Australian, Graham Lloyd
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==========================

4/21/12, “Why [CO2] Emissions Are Declining in the U.S. But Not in Europe,” by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, newgeography.com .
.
“As we note below in a new article for Yale360, a funny thing happened: U.S. emissions started 

going down in 2005 and are
expected to decline further over the next decade.”
 
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"Virtually everyone believes the shift could have major long-term implications for U.S. energy policy.”…
 
8/16/12, “AP IMPACT: CO2 emissions in US drop to 20-year low,” AP, Kevin Begos

“In a surprising turnaround, the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the U.S. has fallen dramatically to its lowest level in 20 years, and government officials say the biggest reason is that cheap and plentiful natural gas has led many power plant operators to switch from dirtier-burning coal.

Many of the world’s leading climate scientists didn’t see the drop coming, in large part because it happened as a result of market forces rather than direct government action against carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere.

Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University, said the shift away from coal is reason for “cautious optimism” about potential ways to deal with climate change….

In a little-noticed technical report, the U.S. Energy Information Agency, a part of the Energy Department, said this month that energy related U.S. CO2 emissions for the first four months of this year fell to about 1992 levels. Energy emissions make up about 98 percent of the total. The Associated Press contacted environmental experts, scientists and utility companies and learned that  virtually everyone believes the shift could have major long-term implications for U.S. energy policy.”… 
  .
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 News of US CO2 plunge has been described as:

• “Surprising,“
• “little noticed,“
• “dramatic,“
• “stunner,“
• “most people are surprised to learn,“
• “quiet but tremendous progress,”  
•  “major long term implications,”
• “game changing,”
• “shocker,”
• “huge contrast to the forecast.”

 





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