Climate Confusion by Roy Spencer C2008

Very thought provoking book. Spencer does believe that global warming is happening. Has graphs that show same. He just doesn't believe that the small amount of CO2 increase is significant, compared to the enormously greater amount of water vapor (as strong a green house gas as CO2 and 100 times more plentiful) in the atmosphere. He also points out that atmospheric circulation carries heat from the surface to high altitudes where it radiates the heat into space. The magnitude of this heat transfer dwarfs the tiny amount of extra heat trapped by rising CO2 levels. He casts doubt on the reliability of computer models (very reasonable doubts that, after 40 years of computer work, I share). The effects of cloud cover are poorly understood, and the relationshp between a warmer earth, more water evaporation, forming more clouds is even less well understood. The model's handling of clouds, increasing humidity and numerous other factors is problematic.
Well worth reading.

Solar Energy put on hold due to "environmental concerns"

Alternate energy any one? US bureau of land management wants a two year study period to "study" the environmental impact upon the desert. Full story here. The US is getting so wrapped around the environmental axle that we cannot do anything. Can't drill for oil, can't expand refineries, can't do solar, can't do oil shale. Can't do nothing, 'cause everything has an environmental impact. Pretty soon we start to freeze to death in the dark.

Heavy Sour Crude oil, cheap and plentiful

All you have to do is refine it. According to Classical Values, the Indians are planning to do just that. The EPA has stalled a Cococo project to expand an Illinois refinery to handle 500,000 barrels a day of heavy sour Canadian crude. I blogged about that here.

The law is what the people believe it is

The Supreme Court, by the narrowest of margins, showed some common sense in yesterday's ruling that US citizens have a right to keep and bear arms, just like the Second Amendment says they should. Most Americans believe, and always have believed in their right to have a firearm in a useful place, the cash drawer, the glove compartment, the bedside table. Just in case.
Americans are very law abiding. The laws of the United States are complied with because the people believe in the laws. They pay their taxes, register their cars, send their kids to school, and don't do crimes, because they believe it is the right thing to do, not because of law enforcement. This is a wonderful thing, something that many countries would love to have. It works only because the people believe in the laws they obey.
Widespread beliefs cannot be changed by a 5 to 4 Supreme Court decision. Had the Court ruled against the right to bear arms, it would simply make a large number of citizens into law breakers. Fortunately five justices were astute enough to realize this. You have to wonder about the intelligence of the other four justices, and wonder how in the name of all that's holy they ever got onto the Supreme Court.
Lesson for the day. Vote a straight republican ticket to put more intelligent justices on the Court.

I am NOT addicted to oil.

I just need enough furnace oil to keep the house up to 60 thru a New Hampshire winter. That was about 700 gallons last winter. And enough gasoline to get to the store and to church on Sunday. My six passenger Detroit sedan gets 27 mpg, and a 20 gallon tank lasts a couple of weeks. Figure 500 gallons a year. Between the furnace and the car, 1200 gallons or 22 barrels a year round numbers. Figure maybe 100 million households at the same rate of consumption and you get to about 6 million barrels per day of oil consumption. Actual US consumption is 3 times that, so something like 12 million barrels per day are going to industry. Airlines, trucks, trains, electric power generation, agriculture, chemical feedstocks, bunker oil for ships, asphalt for the roads, and who knows what else.
Industry can do some cut backs, but I need my modest 22 barrels a year and there is little I can do to cut it downany more. I'm insulated, I have good Andersen thermopane windows, fluorescent lights, a new furnace, and I keep the heat turned down. I don't drive much.
Every time you hear a democrat say the US is addicted to oil, you have just heard a good reason to vote republican.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

The Supreme Court issued a judgment on the Exxon Valdez case. For those of you born after the Exxon Valdez accident a quick refresher. A humongous oil tanker, owned by guess who, was skippered by a relapsed alcoholic, Joe Hazelwood. With a full load, the tanker pushed off at night, with the skipper sleeping it off in his cabin, and the third officer conning the ship out a narrow channel. He got confused in the dark and hit a rock, ripping a big leak in the hull. Most of the cargo leaked out and made one god awful mess. It killed the fish, fouled the beaches, killed the birds and did a lot of other damage. This happened 19 years ago.
This evening the Supreme Court issued a judgment on this case. In the 19 years of legal delay one fifth of the original plaintiffs have died of old age. You don't ever get justice from the US courts, you die of old age first. Lawyers got 19 years of employment.

Usenet killed by Time Warner

Shed a tear for Usenet. It is one of the oldest parts of the internet, as old as email. The world wide chat room. In the old days computer geeks swapped programming tips and software work arounds on Usenet. Communities of real experts formed groups to discuss every subject under the sun, technology, politics, history, literature, religion, cooking, carpentry, writing, and many more. In the 80's and 90's much good information and humor was available there on. Being an original part of the internet, created in a more reasonable age, Usenet had no security. Anyone could sign on and say what ever he liked. The spammers got their start on Usenet but a hard hitting combination of system administrators pretty much drove the spammers off. CancelMoose was a famous anti spammer capable of making any post disappear with a few keystrokes.
Then the trolls moved in. They posted provocative messages which were outrageously successful at lighting off flame wars. The signal to noise ratio dropped to the point that serious individuals got tired of sorting thru the flames looking for serious content.
Usenet was never pre installed on computers, the user had to be technically savvy enough to configure his web brower to receive Usenet messages. Between the difficulty of getting onto Usenet and the infestation of trolls the serious users disappeared. Yesterday the lid of the coffin slammed shut. TimeWarner stopped carrying Usenet. Rest in Peace.