Debunking Inside Climate’s “5 Shades of Climate Denial”

Watts Up With That?

Guest post by David Middleton

Whether dismissing global warming as a hoax, questioning humanity’s role in it, exaggerating the unknowns, playing down the urgency of action, or playing up the costs, President Donald Trump and his team have served up every flavor of climate denial.

Although the arguments varied—as if they were different shades or stages of denial—they all served the same purpose: to create an exaggerated sense of dispute in order to bolster a case against decisive climate action. The latest gambit is to avoid the subject entirely.

In his announcement last week that he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement, Trump didn’t bother addressing… [blah, blah, blah]…

[…]

In Trump’s retelling, the negotiators of the Paris deal were not grappling with a planetary crisis… [they weren’t]…

[…]

To help understand the arguments, we have developed a guide…

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Toxic Waste From Solar Panels: 300 Times That of Nuclear Power

Watts Up With That?

Guest post by David Middleton

Are We Headed for a Solar Waste Crisis?

June 28, 2017 by Mark Nelson

Last November, Japan’s Environment Ministry issued a stark warning: the amount of solar panel waste Japan produces every year will rise from 10,000 to 800,000 tons by 2040, and the nation has no plan for safely disposing of it.

Neither does California, a world leader in deploying solar panels. Only Europe requires solar panel makers to collect and dispose of solar waste at the end of their lives.

All of which begs the question: just how big of a problem is solar waste?

Environmental Progress investigated the problem to see how the problem compared to the much more high-profile issue of nuclear waste.

We found:

• Solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than do nuclear power plants.
• If solar and nuclear produce the same amount of…

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NYT coins ridiculous meme: ‘Earth-scorching CO2’

Watts Up With That?

Guest Commentary by Kip Hansen

The New York Times has set a new standard of scientific misrepresentation in this front page title to the latest climate change consensus salvo from Justin Gillis.   On the front page of the online edition of the NY Times for 26 June 2017, the title is given:  “Sharp Rise in Levels of Earth-Scorching Carbon Dioxide”

The actual title of the article, once one clicks through to it,  is “Carbon in Atmosphere Is Rising, Even as Emissions Stabilize”.

Who knows who at the NY Times thinks that characterizing CO2 as “Earth-scorching” is a valid scientific description of one of the absolutely necessary-for-life trace gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.  It certainly is not a proper journalistic description.

My objection is that it is a serious violation of Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics  specifically:

Provide context. Take special care not to misrepresent or…

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We should be glad the US is out of the Paris Climate Agreement

Watts Up With That?

Foreword: Following President Trump’s exit from the Paris Climate Treaty, a number of states, cities, universities, companies and institutions formed a “We are still in” consortium. Its members insist that they remain committed to Paris and are determined to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and prevent climate change.

As our article explains, this is all puffery and belief in tooth fairies. The issues and questions we raise ought to shame and embarrass WASI members – for spending countless billions of other people’s dollars to prevent an undetectable and irrelevant 0.01 degrees of global warming. We also ask whether jurisdictions within WASI states can take the “progressive” route and declare themselves sanctuary cities or counties, to protect their jobs and families against WASI dictates. Perhaps our article will persuade more Americans to make their voices heard, ask hard questions – and start resisting The Anti-Trump Resistance.

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States that claim they’re committed to…

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Dear Left: ENOUGH!

Coal In America Is Already Clean. Why ‘Clean Coal’ Is A Boondoggle That Needs To End.

PA Pundits International

By Nicolas Loris ~

A power plant once heralded by the Obama administration as the poster child for clean coal is now on its deathbed.

The plant hemorrhaged billions in cost overruns despite being heavily subsidized by the federal government. Mississippi regulators are ready to pull the plug.

The Obama administration touted carbon capture and sequestration technology, giving it billions in taxpayer subsidies that have not produced a workable product. (Photo: iStock Photos)

Southern Company’s Kemper County Energy Facility had intended to use carbon capture and sequestration technology to gasify the coal, but instead, the plant has been running on natural gas since 2014.

The Mississippi Public Service Commission has unanimously passed a motion that the plant should only use natural gas moving forward.

The Obama administration touted the Kemper plant as a leading example of how a power plant would operate under climate change regulations for new power…

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National Climate Assessment and the Trump administration

Climate Etc.

The National Climate Assessment must be redirected or terminated

by Patrick J. Michaels

Periodic National Assessments of the effects of climate change on the U.S. are mandated by the 1990 Global Change Research Act. The next Assessment Report is scheduled to be published in late 2018.

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The radically fragmented and decentralized age of information

Climate Etc.

by Judith Curry

Why real nobodies are more powerful than repressed somebodies.

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Shocker: Government mandated trillions in global renewable investment tally

Watts Up With That?

But — wind and solar provide only 1% of 2015 world energy

Guest essay by Larry Hamlin

The 2017 edition of the REN21 Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) has been released providing a status assessment of global renewable energy use with energy consumption data reflected through 2015.

The report presents the following breakdown of total 2015 world energy consumption provided by fossil, nuclear, hydro, geothermal, biomass and other renewable energy resources.

The category “traditional biomass” (9.1 percent of global energy) reflects the global twigs, leaves and dung fuel sources use while the category “Modern renewables” (10.2 percent of global energy) reflects wind, solar, geothermal and biomass from mostly government crop subsidized energy programs.

Investment data is provided for renewables showing that since 2006 nearly $2.5 trillion has been funneled into government mandated renewable energy programs globally.

Despite this massive global government mandated driven investment in “Modern renewables” the so called…

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Daily Telegraph: There is No Such Thing as Affordable Renewable Energy

Watts Up With That?

EAPI represents the average commodity price of retail electricity paid by Australian businesses based on a Standard Retail Contract (commences in 6-months and operates for 2½ years). Source Energy Action

Guest essay by Eric Worrall

Awareness is slowly permeating through the media that renewables inevitably lead to higher electricity prices – and that the Australian energy grid is in deep trouble. But this awareness is too little, too late, to save what is left of what was once one of the cheapest electricity grids in the world.

Climate change zealots need to get real

Peta CredlinJune 18, 2017 12:00am

WELL, now we know.

The biggest deniers in the whole climate change debate are those who think we can have affordable power, lower emissions and a reliable network.

We can’t.

And after they almost sleepwalked their way to defeat at the last election, it would appear Coalition MPs have found their…

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