Category Archives: Philosophy

Climate Hockey-Stick Lawsuit

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On the subject of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) I follow the UN, several Pro-AGW sites, and a number of skeptic sites. I probably know more about the studies, claims, fake and real science, and political moves going on than most of the debate’s audience.

One of the main players in the debate is Michael Mann, the ‘scientist’ that came up with the tree-ring based chart showing the temperature jump commonly known as the Hockey-Stick. The UN and various government agencies have relied on the chart as evidence for making drastic policy decisions. Al Gore made it famous.

Skeptics have attacked the ‘Stick’ with a vengeance. For observers it has been an obtuse subject hidden in a blizzard of claims and counter claims too massive to dig through and verify or debunk. It is like an endless storm of chaos and conflicting statements, debunking and debunking the debunks ad infinitum. Too many people with various reputations have weighed in on the subject to allow the layperson to come to a reasoned conclusion of what is or is not true based on personalities. Continue reading →

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The Big Chill (RL)

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In Southern California winter we are wearing T-shirts, shorts or mini-skirts and working on our tan. Really. In Florida, even farther south than San Diego (500 miles/800km north of Miami latitude-wise), they are buying parkas. In Australia they are setting record high temperatures and in the Antarctic mid-summer; ice-breakers are getting stuck in 10+ ft (3m) of ice . It seems the climate is changing. Well, surprise, surprize. That is what AGW skeptics have been saying for decades.

Jet Stream Map - by: Intellicast

Jet Stream Map – by: Intellicast

When we look at what is causing the US West Coast a warm winter and the East Coast an exceptionally cold one, we see the Jet Stream has moved. My parents tell me they used to call such changes in the Jet Stream the Polar Express and something that happened most winters when they were kids. When I hear the term Polar Express I tend to think of the Tom Hanks’ movie of 2004. The previous generation tends to think the movie took its name from this weather phenomenon. At least my parents make that association. Continue reading →

Raw Temperature Data Sets Needed

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There is a huge amount of money at stake in the climate change debate. As warmers and skeptics debate more and more facts and science is revealed. A key factor in the debates come down to whether or not temperature is actually changing. A new citizen driven effort is now underway and help from more citizens is needed.

Citizen Project

Frank Lansner is collecting raw data sets of temperature data to compare to data being reported post adjustment. His effort is to collect raw temperature data sets before adjustments are applied. He reports on his current success and failure here: Original Temperatures: Summary.

His preliminary analysis from the data he could obtain shows definite trends in how temperature data is being used and reported. Simply said, any data that would suggest cooling is ignored by most government agencies and government funded universities.

If you have access to historical raw temperature measurement data sets, get in touch with Frank Lansner. Those data sets are needed to find the truth.

Why is this needed?

If temperature is consistently changing in relation to some human activity, it would be important to know that. Skeptics do not trust those with an agenda to explain why we should give up modern life and our living standards to pay them enormous sums. Government officials tend to live very well at our expense now. 

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NSA, Google, and Games

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Within the SL Blogospher several people are writing about the NSA listening to players in Second Life™ and other games like World of Warcraft™. Well, they are listening to our phones, reading our emails, tracking our Internet use (notice how often Google comes up in the results) and tracking our GPS locations. It should be no surprise that they are inside our games and listening to  us.

I’ll paint you the really dark picture of what is most likely happening.

The security teams are looking for any way that terrorists and bad guys can communicate. If that was all the information was used for, it would not be a problem. But, they are limited by law in the USA and they are breaking it. If they are willing to break one law for a supposed good reason, they will have little if any resistance to breaking others for what they consider good reasons. But, they are still breaking the law, something politically active citizens shape.  Continue reading →

Climate Change

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There is no doubt the climate is changing. The problem is which climate science is being published and provided to people. Without a complete story people cannot decide whether to prepare for increasingly hotter or colder weather nor can they tell which politicians are lying with an agenda in mind. Will you be supporting ideas and taxes that help you or enrich politicians and their friends?

Volcanoes

Consider. Recent reports of 2013 volcanic eruptions show 80+ eruptions this year. The average range of eruptions is 50 to 60 per year. 2013 has seen about a 50% increase.

Each eruption throws millions of tons of ash and gases into the atmosphere.  That mean more reflective particulate matter, a big concern in the late 70’s when everyone thought we were going to freeze to death from a coming ice age due to manmade particulates in the atmosphere. The USA’s EPA was formed to correct the problem and done an amazingly good job of achieving that goal within the USA.

But, one volcano can release several times more material in a day or even hours than humans can release in a decade, even at 70’s pollution rates.

Sulfur Dioxide is a common gas released by volcanoes. It is highly reflective when it forms an aerosol compound in the stratosphere.

All this means that we will likely see a 2C drop in global temperatures from 2013 volcanoes. How long will such a drop last? When Mt. Penatubo erupted in 1992 it dropped global temperatures 0.6C – 1.5F for 2 years depending on one’s information source and other effects lasted for years. That was just one big volcano.

Have you seen any of this 2013 information reported? Continue reading →

Surveillance

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Mainstream media is not reporting well on what the US government is doing.Much of the miss behavior is omitted from US news. Privacy is on the back burners. But, there are some celebrities that are starting to get involved. Reporting is shifting in the media, you will still have to dig for the truth.

In Europe things are cooking on the front burners: Online privacy protection, and Words not enough: Berlin and Paris want a ‘no spy’ deal with Washington. There is even talk of a second Internet that the US won’t control. In the past the US was a leader of free speech and privacy and considered a protector of the Internet. The US has lost most of its reputation on those points in the last 3 years.

SWAT team raids investigative journalist’s home, seizes confidential files. More and more often American law enforcement is doing whatever it wants.

IPCC Fifth Assessment Report Published

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The UN’s IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) has released their fifth Assessment Report (AR5). This release will be getting coverage from the mainstream media. But, one of the points they will not mention is the mandate of the IPCC. Its sole purpose is to study the affect of human activity on climate. Sounds good, but people fail to understand or have explained to them that it does not include study of other possible causes of climate change. The billions of dollars poured into the IPCC only go to those willing to study man-made affects on climate. Continue reading →

More Assaults on Internet Freedom and Free Speech

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The idea of a free press as the fourth estate of government has long been an enshrined belief in America. The Founding Fathers of America detailed the need of a free press uncensored by the government for a democratic republic to work in the Federalist Papers.

Along with a free press goes the idea of freedom of speech. I am never sure how many people realize freedom of thought is dependent on free speech. these are both things politicians want to control.

Now the Democrat Senator from California Diane Feinstein, and other Democrats in the Senate, are pushing to give the government the right to decide how a new ‘media shield law’ shall be applied and to select who is and is not a ‘reporter.’  Continue reading →