Unofficial Off Topic Thread

[RagmopInKona]

Oh, no.
Listen closely, you can hear the sound of funding for 1600 research grants being fed into the shredder.
Give them credit, it took some big brass ones to come forward and say that it's all agenda driven bullshit.




https://justthenews.com/politics-po...luding-nobel-laureates-declare-climate-crisis

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[sk47]

Oh, no.
Listen closely, you can hear the sound of funding for 1600 research grants being fed into the shredder.
Give them credit, it took some big brass ones to come forward and say that it's all agenda driven bullshit.




https://justthenews.com/politics-po...luding-nobel-laureates-declare-climate-crisis

Hello; Even lowly classroom teachers had to tow the line when writing grant proposals. I wrote a few asking for funds to buy equipment for my general science classes. I was teaching middle school general science at the time. I wanted material to do "hands-on" activities. My thinking was to have the 6th, 7th & 8th grade students be doing basic "analogue" learning. I wanted materials to be used to study such things as density and the like. The grant applications were largely ignored. I was given advice to ask for more high-tech materials.
An unusual event happened around 1990 in Kentucky. The legislature passed some school reform bills which addressed things such as teacher pay. Made things a bit better to be sure but did not actually catch us up with other states. Hidden in the legislation was funding for classroom materials. The boon for science teachers such as myself was an "error" allowing the funds to go straight to the teachers rather than to the central offices as had been the tradition. For two years I had a small amount of funds I could use as i wished. Something like $2000 each year. By the third year the central offices had managed to gain control of the funds and i was back to fruitless begging for funds.
I ordered some durable materials as well as hands-on consumables. Two things worked out very well. One was the building of model rockets. I had enough kits so teams of two students could build a rocket and fly them. I was able to get additional funding for that in later years.
The other was the material to build scale model bridges and test them to destruction. There was a national contest with rules. Students designed a bridge to span something like 30 cm out of a bundle of sticks. They had to figure angles and make the cuts. For the first time ever, I had students talking other teachers into allowing them to come to my room during my planning period so they could work on either the rockets or the bridges.
One year I talked a local engineering firm into allowing my 8th grade students to compete in a bridge building contest for local high schools. The bridges were tested to destruction in one of the big shopping malls on a Saturday. My 8th graders wound up with a third place bridge. Wish i could recall the amount of weight held before the bridge broke.
Anyway, that good era was short lived. The central offices regained control of all spending within three years and things went back to normal. Funding went away for many things including my academic team.
I digress.

From the link:
"A coalition of 1,609 scientists from around the world have signed a declaration stating “there is no climate emergency” and that they “strongly oppose the harmful and unrealistic net-zero CO2 policy” being pushed across the globe. The declaration does not deny the harmful effect of greenhouse gasses, but instead challenges the hysteria brought about by the narrative of imminent doom."

"... Global Climate Intelligence Group (CLINTEL), was made public this month and urges that “Climate science should be less political, while climate policies should be more scientific.”

“Scientists should openly address uncertainties and exaggerations in their predictions of global warming, while politicians should dispassionately count the real costs as well as the imagined benefits of their policy measures,” the declaration says."

"The signatories to the CLINTEL declaration say that global warming is “far slower than predicted,” and that “inadequate models” often guide climate policy. "

“There is no climate emergency. Therefore, there is no cause for panic and alarm. We strongly oppose the harmful and unrealistic net-zero CO2 policy proposed for 2050,” the paper reads, proposing “adaptation instead of mitigation.”

 

[sk47]

Scientists Warn 1 Billion People on Track to Die From Climate Change (msn.com)

Hello; Another scare tactic using climate change as the lever. Sorry to bring up my failed effort of 50+ years ago to champion ZPG (zero population growth). Thing is even back in the 1970's and before it was understood that if left unchecked, exponential population growth would at some point to massive die offs. Not due to climate change. At least the concerns back then were the more ordinary sort such as deforestation, pollution of water, depleting aquifers, erosion of topsoil and such. Essentially going beyond the carrying capacity of the land.

A change of climate parameters has always been a possible and natural part of the conditions on earth from the earliest times. Can climate be a small part of worsening conditions? Sure. But as others have pointed out conditions which might get "worse" in one part of the world may become better in another. As one area becomes too dry or warm another previously "too cold" area may become good farmland. Such has happened throughout the history of the planet.

I do not know if the ZPG idea of human population had happened fifty years ago, that we would be better off today. I think so. A stable population would have resulted in less overall pollution. Less farmland paved over and/or had houses/malls built on it.

 

[sk47]

You Should Consider a Heat Pump Dryer (msn.com)
Hello; The link is about clothes dryers which use air conditioning tech to dry clothes. A traditional dryer has resistance wire thru which electricity is forced causing the wires to get hot. Air is passed over the hot wire and thru the drum of the clothes dryer. Works fine to dry the clothes. Does use a lot of electricity. The hearted air is pushed out thru pipes to the outside of a home. Pretty much has to be this way as the air coming out of the dryer is very humid.

I live alone so my solution will not work for all. During warm weather i often keep the windows open so have a drying rack and let the clothes air dry.
Sometimes on hot and humid nights I close up the house and run the central air of the house. The central air essentially turns the house into a heat pump clothes dryer. In essence if you have central air, you already have heat pump drying. (same is true for window AC I guess) The AC units collect moisture from the air while they cool the air. That moisture has to be plumbed to a drain or for a window unit to the outside. (We see the same thing in our cars. A drain has to be used to let water drip out under the car.)
Point being the AC will dry the clothes hung on a drying rack. So, if you have house AC and use it you can already save money by letting the AC dry your clothes. You will not be heating up the clothes dryer and pushing airconditioned air thru it to the outside of the house, extra savings.

In the winter I run my house heat pump (central air) in the heating mode, so the central air is not pulling moisture out of the air anymore. The air is warmed so there is energy that will help dry my clothes on a drying rack. Problem is that moisture is trapped inside a closed-up house. I also keep freshwater aquariums at 80 degrees F which adds lots of moisture to the air.
In my previous home it had an oil furnace which was nice warm heat and tended to dry out the air. I moved into my current home with central air and not only never felt warm but found sheets of ice on the inside of window glass on cold days.

I bought a dehumidifier to run in cold weather when the house is closed up. It does two things for me. First of course is to dry the air which also dries my clothes on a drying rack. (keeps the ice off my inside windows) Second thing is while running it pumps out some warmth. On mild winter days the dehumidifier is enough to keep the house comfortable. (I use the water collected in the tank to flush toilets, wash my work clothes, water plants and such things.)

Back to the article. A heat pump clothes dryer is not a bad idea if the greater cost is not a factor for you. No wastefully sending heated or cooled air to the outside of a house. If money is a factor and you already have AC consider a drying rack.

 

[RagmopInKona]

Study Shows ICE Vehicle Emissions Reduce Global Warming

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05447-w

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Study Shows ICE Vehicle Emissions Reduce Global Warming

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05447-w

Not really a problem. Plans already in place to ban EVs as soon as everyone drives one.

 

[sk47]

Study Shows ICE Vehicle Emissions Reduce Global Warming

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05447-w

"Atmospheric methane is broken down in the atmosphere by interacting with NOx largely emitted by ICE vehicles. That without the NOx emissions to offset natural methane release from wetlands atmospheric methane levels greatly increased during the covid lockdowns. "

"methane in the atmosphere mysteriously increased. According to a new paper that was just published in nature, part of the reason was that car emissions went down. Yes, down. "

"The other half of the methane increase, they say, doesn’t come from emissions, it came from a decrease of hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere. And why did that happen? These radicals are produced from nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, and one of the major sources of those is the burning of fossil fuels,"


Hello; I read thru the comments of the article. Outrage for the conclusions was very present. Attempts to diminish and dismiss the increase of methane by one fellow were amusing. He said methane left the air quickly and Co2 was forever. Both comments are false. Methane lasts about 12 years it seems. A fact well pointed out in another comment.
Co2 lasts a lot longer to be sure and is known to be part of one of the major vital cycles of life. That carbon and carbon dioxide is absolutely necessary for our lives has been well known for a very long time. Look up the carbon cycle.
That we each are considered carbon-based lifeforms also ought to be a clue. That carbon in the form of a Co2 molecule helps keep the planet at livable temperatures is a second vital function.
The notion is various gases & vapors in the air keep the planet in a warm enough temperature range. Test this out next winter for yourself. Pay attention to cloud cover on cold nights. During winter nights when there is heavy cloud cover the nights do not get so cold. On clear winter nights when We can see lots of stars nights tend to be colder.

I am not confident about this from memory but think lack of moisture is a reason why desert regions at night.

Back in 2001 for three days after the 9-11 attack. Air travel was grounded for three days. Best i can recall there was a measurable effect on temperatures. I hesitate to say more. Someone will know.

Burning pretty much anything creates pollution. It will be interesting if some of that pollution has a beneficial effect in the atmosphere. Fossil fuels have energy locked up in the bonds between their molecules. Those energy bonds came from photosynthesis over a long time often millions of years ago. Same thing happens today if we use a tree for fire wood. That makes fossil fuels a natural part of the world.

 

[sk47]

Cal Thomas: More climate fiction (msn.com)

“Never mind that the fires in Canada might have been prevented if environmentalists had not opposed clearing underbrush and removing old trees. The same goes for Maui, along with better management of the fire when it first broke out.”

“Much of the media are hauling out one of their favorite words – “unprecedented” – to describe the force and destructive power of Idalia, which is not true. Hurricanes happen during the summer and early fall and some of the worst occurred long before the Industrial Age. Let’s not forget the “experts” who swore in the 1970s that the Earth was headed for a new ice age in which we would all freeze to death. Trust the science we were told.”

“According to the webpage Advancing Earth and Space Sciences: “Global hurricane counts and Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) have significantly decreased since 1990 likely due to a trend toward LaNina. (The) decreasing trend in global hurricanes and ACE is primarily driven by (the) downturn in western North Pacific activity.””

“Science has been warning about this for a very long time, in many ways it has been predicted…”

“Not all “science” and not all scientists, especially those who are in the field of environment and not receiving grants from the federal government, which could skew the credibility of their findings. The organization Climate Intelligence has published a letter signed by 1,609 scientists who say there is no climate emergency. Their letter is loaded with scientific facts and not statements by politicians and reporters who repeat familiar lines.”

“In addition to their citation of scientific facts, they write: “To believe the outcome of a climate model is to believe what the model makers have put in. This is precisely the problem with today’s climate discussion to which climate models are central. Climate science has degenerated into a discussion based on beliefs, not on sound self-critical science. Should we not free ourselves from the naïve belief in immature climate models?”’

 

[sk47]

Top scientist Patrick Brown says he deliberately OMITTED key fact in climate change piece he's just had published in prestigious journal to ensure woke editors ran it - that 80% of wildfires are started by humans (msn.com)

• “Patrick T. Brown, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, claimed the world's leading academic journals reject papers which don't 'support certain narratives'”
• “He also took aim at the media for focusing 'intently on climate change as the root cause' of wildfires, including the recent devastating fires in Hawaii”
• “The approach 'distorts a great deal of climate science research', Brown wrote in a piece for The Free Press”

“A climate change scientist has claimed the world's leading academic journals reject papers which don't 'support certain narratives' about the issue and instead favor 'distorted' research which hypes up dangers rather than solutions”

“This matters because it is critically important for scientists to be published in high-profile journals; in many ways, they are the gatekeepers for career success in academia. And the editors of these journals have made it abundantly clear, both by what they publish and what they reject, that they want climate papers that support certain preapproved narratives—even when those narratives come at the expense of broader knowledge for society.”

“'To put it bluntly, climate science has become less about understanding the complexities of the world and more about serving as a kind of Cassandra, urgently warning the public about the dangers of climate change. However understandable this instinct may be, it distorts a great deal of climate science research, misinforms the public, and most importantly, makes practical solutions more difficult to achieve.'”

“This leads to a second unspoken rule in writing a successful climate paper,' he added. 'The authors should ignore—or at least downplay—practical actions that can counter the impact of climate change.'”

“He gave examples of factors which are ignored, including a 'decline in deaths from weather and climate disasters over the last century'. In the case of wildfires, Brown says 'current research indicates that these changes in forest management practices could completely negate the detrimental impacts of climate change on wildfires'.”

“Poor forest management has also been blamed for a record number of wildfires in Canada this year. “

“But 'the more practical kind of analysis is discouraged' because it 'weakens the case for greenhouse gas emissions reductions', Brown said.”

 

[RagmopInKona]

He who holds the purse strings, controls "the science" we are told to follow and not question.
Been saying this for decades.
Give science labs, a 99 year un revokable grant/fund and see what they report back?
When they have no fear of losing funding or their career unless the tow the line.

 

[sk47]

He who holds the purse strings, controls "the science" we are told to follow and not question.
Been saying this for decades.
Give science labs, a 99 year un revokable grant/fund and see what they report back?
When they have no fear of losing funding or their career unless the tow the line.

Hello; For the longest time I thought there was a "pure science" and an "applied science". Pure science being a quest for the natural "truth/s" of the universe. Tease out a truthful set of facts and try to understand as much as is possible. No goal other than to increase the knowledge base of the natural world.
Applied science being the use of these basic truths to do something useful or perhaps profitable. We have all sorts of creature comforts from the applied side of science.

I guess the corruption of pure science happened when big money got involved or perhaps when applied science gave greater military power to some over others. I cannot say for sure, just that i understand such has happened.

I do not yet understand why Patrick Brown stuck his neck out so far. Perhaps he could not stomach the deceit. I imagine he will be made to pay a price. I sort of understand why Musk revealed the censorship and CONTROL hidden in the Twitter operation prior to his purchase. Musk has throwaway money and even after the loss of billions is still super wealthy.

• “Patrick T. Brown, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, claimed the world's leading academic journals reject papers which don't 'support certain narratives'”

 

[sk47]

Fauci Caught In A Massive Lie (msn.com)

Hello; Apparently this happened today. We got use to Fauci contradicting himself over time such as days or weeks. That he did so in the span of one interview may be a new record. Seems to boil down to he gets that masks do not work overall but that he wants individuals to wear masks anyway if some agency recommends it. Not really anything new here.

 

[sk47]

Texas Energy Grid Paid Bitcoin Miner $31.7 Million to Stop Working Amid Heatwave (msn.com)

hello; Questions?

 

[sk47]

Controversial law punishing doctors who spread COVID misinformation on track to be undone (msn.com)

Hello; yet another reminder of why I am pleased to not be in California. I do hope this law is repealed. We know who it was aimed at.

 

[sk47]

A climate scientist wanted to start a debate in academia. He set off a bigger firestorm (msn.com)

“For climate change deniers, it was confirmation of a long-held suspicion: Scientists cannot be trusted.”

“Days after publishing research that found global warming had boosted the risk of fast-growing California wildfires by 25%, scientist and lead author Patrick T. Brown announced that he’d withheld the full truth to maximize the article’s chances of being published in the journal Nature.”

“I knew not to try to quantify key aspects other than climate change in my research because it would dilute the story that prestigious journals like Nature and its rival, Science, want to tell," wrote Brown, co-director of the climate and energy team at the Breakthrough Institute, in Berkeley.”

“…he'd selected a metric and timeframe to study that weren't the most useful, but generated the largest numbers quantifying the impact of climate change.”

“To a number of observers, Brown's comments were disturbing not because they suggested that he distorted evidence, but because they call into question whether the process of scientific debate and organized skepticism is compromised more broadly.”

““The fact that a scientist would choose a particular metric to make the numbers look more impressive suggests that there is a quite unhealthy conflation within scientific papers of the scientific concerns and the policy concerns, or impact concerns,” said Daniele Fanelli, an assistant professor in research methods at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland who specializes in scientific misconduct and bias.”

“But while it’s common practice to consider climate change apart from other factors, doing so is unrealistic and results in a conclusion that’s far less meaningful, Brown said. In this case, he and his fellow researchers did not account for changes in ignition patterns and vegetation growth, both of which have worsened wildfire behavior over time, he said.”

““I knew that considering these factors would make for a more realistic and useful analysis, but I also knew that it would muddy the waters and thus make the research more difficult to publish,” Brown wrote.”

“There's a taboo against adaptation in our community, I think, because it's considered to be in conflict with mitigation,” Brown said. “It's like, 'Oh, the bad people talk about adaptation when the right solution is to focus exclusively on climate policy that reduces emissions.'"



Hello; Pretty self explainatory article. This story has already been discussed in the forum. This story give some new information. Near the end of the article are quotes from scientists trying to spin the impact of this story. I will leave those for the champions to cherry pick.

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