Dec. 2012 NRDC sponsored report says climate "intervention" is needed to save US ski industry from US CO2:
"Climate Impacts on the Winter Tourism Economy in the United States," ProtectOurWinters.org
"The goal of this new study, commissioned by Protect Our Winters and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is to help policy makers understand
both the ski and snowmobile industry's current economic scale and the
potential economic impacts that climate change may cause....
Without intervention, winter temperatures are projected to warm an additional 4 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century with subsequent decreases in snow cover area, snowfall, and
a shorter snow season....
In order to protect winter...we must act now."...
------------------------------------------
CEO of Vail Ski resorts says weather isn't "proof" of climate and the ski industry doesn't need to be "saved" from it. He says he otherwise is a believer in warming:
12/21/12, "Skiing won't be greatest loss after climate change," Denver Post, Rob Katz, Chairman, CEO, Vail Resorts, opinion
"It has become somewhat predictable that with the first sign of a lack
of natural snow, climate change articles and stories start to appear."...
===========================
Utah newspaper cites NRDC study, includes quote that US CO2 is "an existential threat" to the ski industry:
12/6/12, "Report: Global warming hits Utah’s ski industry hard," The Salt Lake Tribune, Mike Gorrell
"To protect winter — and the hundreds of
thousands whose livelihoods depend upon a snow-filled season — we must
act now to support policies that protect our climate and slopes"... NRDC's Antonia Herzog said.
"As Auden Schendler, Aspen Ski Co.’s vice
president of sustainability, put it: "The solution should be for the ski
industry to get off their asses and move like it’s an
existential
threat to the business."
"I hope this (NRDC) report drives radical change," he
added."..
-------------------------------------------
Ed. note: See end of this post for comments disputing above article.
=================================
Snow "intervenes" in Utah:
12/17/12, "Utah Skiing Devastation Update – Twelve Feet Of Snow This Autumn," Steven Goddard
========================
==============================
cumulative inches:
12/25/12, 173"
12/28/11, 92"
12/27/10, 235"
12/25/09, 122"
12/26/08, 190"
12/27/07, 185"
12/30/05, 200"
=============================
Snow "intervention" in Vermont:
12/27/12, "For Vermont ski areas, snow is well-timed," AP
"Vermont's winter resorts are celebrating what's shaping up to be a terrific holiday week, thanks mainly to the weather
Jay Peak President Bill Stenger says
his northern Vermont resort was already in good shape, with more than a
foot of natural snow in recent days and excellent weather recently for
making snow. With a big new storm hitting the state, Stenger says that's
making for superb conditions as the New Year's weekend approaches.
Many Vermont resorts are reporting that most or all of their skiing and riding trails are open. The snow is also expected to be a boon to cross-country ski areas, after a tough winter last year."
====================================
US leads the world in lowering CO2 emissions. US CO2 has dropped steadily for 20 years and is heading lower to the point experts say US energy policy will change to reflect reduced status of US CO2 danger. NRDC has even reported the stunning US CO2 drop but has subsequently chosen to downplay or ignore it because it has a staff of lawyers and derivatives traders to keep afloat. Massive income loss or even bankruptcy of course means loss of NRDC celebrity status.
====================================
6/4/12, “Climate change stunner: USA leads world in CO2 cuts since 2006,” Vancouver Observer, Saxifrage
“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.”…
====================================
"Virtually everyone believes the shift (CO2 drop) 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.”…
----------------------------------------
NRDC's Lashof notes US CO2 has dropped steeply and is going lower, and that media has been quiet about it:
6/26/12, "The Incredible Shrinking Carbon Pollution Forecast - Part 2," switchboard.nrdc.org, Dan Lashof
"Back in February I posted about a surprising development: Despite the failure of comprehensive climate and energy legislation in 2010, U.S. carbon pollution emissions and projections of future carbon pollution have been coming down ever since. A new forecast out this week continues that trend.
While there has been some press coverage of these facts (see here and here) I continue to find that most people are surprised to learn about this progress....
On Monday EIA released its full Annual Energy Outlook 2012 (AEO 2012), and I get to say I told you so (see figure).
The Reference case projection for 2020 was reduced by 2.1 percent, while the forecast for 2035 was reduced by less than 1 percent. The official forecast for 2020—
assuming no new policies—is now for carbon emissions to be 9.4 percent lower than they were in 2005.
This is a huge contrast to the forecast made by EIA just seven years ago: the AEO 2005 projected that emissions would increase by 25 percent between then and 2020....
I discussed various reasons for this incredible shrinking carbon pollution forecast in my previous post, which I won’t repeat here. What does bear repeating is that this means that the target embraced by President Obama of reducing U.S. emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 is well within reach."
- -------------------------------------
Continuing in comments, NRDC author Lashof notes inaccuracy of earlier US gov. CO2 projections:
"As far as I know the most recent official forecast of total heat-trapping pollution in CO2e was released in June 2010 as part of the Fifth U.S. Climate Action Report (available from http://www.state.gov/e/oes/rls/rpts/car5/). That forecast used the 2009 Annual Energy Outlook for energy-related CO2 and projected that under business-as-usual total emissions in CO2e would increase by 4.3 percent between 2005 and 2020.
I consider that forecast to be seriously out of date at this point."
========================
NRDC "trader" says trillions will change hands in "transitioning" to a new economy:
12/4/09, "Carbon Capitalists warming to climate market using derivatives," Bloomberg
"Companies need the financial markets to help them drive down their greenhouse gas emissions at a reasonable price, says the NRDC’s Andy Stevenson.
“There are trillions of dollars needed to make this transition, and companies need the banks,” says Stevenson a former trader for London-based hedge fund firm Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP."...(item near end of article under subhead, "Companies need banks.")
====================================
NRDC has been a legal boutique for over 40 years:
11/1/05, "Has the NRDC Gone Hollywood?" by J. Daniel Hull, JD, eponline.com
"Among other things, the NRDC is a boutique law firm of lawyers who practice only environmental law....
In fact, in its 35 year history, the NRDC
has surpassed all other political action, citizens', and trade groups
in "pro-environment" victories and accomplishments -- many of them through litigation."...
===========================
In April 2009, NRDC's Robert Redford spoke at a meeting of climate pressure group Ceres. He said one of the reasons Al Gore's 2006 movie was a turning point was:
=======================
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."
============================
Obama 'climate action' in Nov. 2012 included giving $6 billion US taxpayer dollars for 'clean energy' to the Sultan of Brunei who owns 5000+ cars and to the Pres. of Indonesia, whose country is so corrupt even the World Bank says crime adds 20% to costs.
Below, one of the Sultan of Brunei's cars:
7/24/12, "
The
Sultan's Cars," wheel to wheel blog.
Sultan of Brunei citation:
11/19/12, "White House Announces $6 Billion to Promote Clean Energy – in Asia," CNS News, Lucas
"The White House announced the federal government will spend $6
billion over four years for a “sustainable energy future” plan with
Asian countries that involves loaning tax dollars to other countries to
increase their purchasing power for U.S. technology, services and
equipment.
“Recognizing that energy and the environment are among the most
pressing issues confronting our region, President Obama, in partnership
with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and President of the
Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, today proposed the
U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Partnership for a Sustainable Energy
Future,” the White House announced Tuesday as Obama visits Asian Pacific
countries."...
===================================
Dec. 11, 2011, "Indonesia’s Climate of Graft Snarls Investment," Jakarta Globe, Shirley Wibisono
"A World Bank analysis found corruption could add up to 20 percent to the existing costs of projects in Indonesia.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has won two elections on promises to
tackle graft in one of the most corrupt countries in Asia, but critics
say he has failed to make any genuine difference to the culture of graft
and impunity.
A Gallup poll released in October found that 91
percent of Indonesians believe corruption in government is widespread,
compared to 84 percent in 2006. ...“Here in Indonesia, it is a common practice for businessmen to bribe officials to get a project,” Adiningsih said....
“It’s common for corruption to happen at all stages in Indonesian
infrastructure projects, whether it’s during the tender process or
extortion along the way.”...
Investors consistently cite corruption as a major deterrent."...
==================================
Billions of US taxpayer "climate" dollars are given to people all over the world on a "no strings" basis:
The US has spent "$2.5 billion on GCCI since 2010 on overseas anti-global warming efforts in Latin America, Asia, and Africa."...
3/26/12, "Obama Requests $770 Million to Fight Global Warming Overseas," CNS News, Matt Cover
"The Obama administration has requested $770 million in federal funds to combat the effects of global warming in developing countries, a new congressional report details, continuing its policy of using foreign aid to combat the effects of global warming in the developing world.
The figure, from a recent report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), shows that despite another year of $1 trillion deficits, the Obama administration continues to pursue its policy of using foreign aid funds for anti-global warming measures – known as the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI).
According to CRS, the government has spent a total of $2.5 billion on GCCI since 2010 on overseas anti-global warming efforts in Latin America, Asia, and Africa."...
============================
NRDC apparently unaware US climate "intervention" is ongoing:
12/6/12, "Obama Quietly Handing Over Billions of Dollars to the UN in the Name of Global Warming," US Sen. Jim Inhofe Video Message for UN Climate Conference
============================
10/19/09, "Global warming” at Yankee Stadium," Powerline blog, Paul Mirengoff
"Last night I was at Yankee Stadium
watching the Yanks exciting extra-inning playoff win. Along with
50,000 other shivering fans we had to endure a scoreboard message from
Robert Redford sponsored by the National Resources Defense Council
demanding that we lower our standard of living to stop global warming.
The volume was turned on so loud
that Redford's voice could be heard above the howling wind and
freezing rain of a mid- October evening in New York City. "...
------------------------------------------------
Comments to article saying ski industry must be saved from global warming:
12/6/12, "Report: Global warming hits Utah’s ski industry hard," The Salt Lake Tribune, Mike Gorrell
Among comments disputing the thesis of this article:
"FullArc"
"The
ski industry should be extremely careful what it asks for. Anything
that raises the cost of fossil fuels - beit electricity, fuel oil, nat
gas or gasoline (especially gasoline), upon which the ski industry is
100% dependent, will make it increasingly difficult for guests to afford
to drive to the resorts or afford the ever increasing exhorbitant lift
ticket prices.
--------------------------------------
Commenter says US economic depression not mentioned in article: