Free Republic

Short Saturday Summary covering typhoon, short term weather, and the coming winter.

European wind and solar industries have welcomed US President Barack Obama’s new climate plan while European politicians see Washington’s move as a positive signal ahead of UN climate talks in Paris. "We have a moral obligation to leave our children a planet that’s not polluted or damaged", said Obama on Monday (3 August). The Clean Power Plan establishes for the first time national standards for limiting carbon pollution from American power plants and aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. It also says that renewables should account for 28 percent of US energy...

Rather lengthy explanation of the coming el nino, and how it will affect global temps.

Iran is buckling under the pressure of a massive heatwave passing across the Middle East, with temperatures soaring to nearly 70°C. Scorching heat levels of 50°C have already paralyzed nearby Iraq, where officials were forced to call a four-day public holiday because it was too hot to work. But the word “hot” has taken on an entirely new meaning in Iran’s city of Bandar Mahshahr, where it was claimed that the city’s heat index, or “feels-like temperature”, was among the highest ever recorded. The heat index was recorded by a group of astonished weather experts, who predict the country could...

Wherever you live or happen to travel to, never complain about the heat and humidity again. In the city of Bandar Mahshahr (population of about 110,000 as of 2010), the air felt like a searing 165 degrees (74 Celsius) today factoring in the humidity. Although there are no official records of heat indices, this is second highest level we have ever seen reported.

The EPA’s regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants highlights the job-killing transition proposed by the administration. This carbon agenda, which the administration’s public relations team calls the “Clean Power Plan”, threatens to tear down the existing electricity generation infrastructure in the name of carbon dioxide emissions. This carbon agenda will magnify the market-distorting subsidies from the PTC—contributing to an estimated peak of one million job losses—will drain hundreds of billions of dollars from American families through increased energy bills, and will threaten the electric grid by rapidly switching from reliable to intermittent sources of electricity. Further, electricity from...

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/28/buffalo-snow-still-melting-november-storm

Over 900 songwriters or singers have written or sung about weather, the most common being Bob Dylan, followed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, according to British researchers, writing in the journal Weather. Sixteen percent, or 48, of The Beatles' 308 songs are weather-related. Weather plays a powerful role in our lives so it should be no surprise that the theme is played out in the music songwriters and singers produce, researchers said. "I think they simply wrote about aspects of the world that they enjoyed or inspired them. They have lots of good catchy music tunes, so that helps...

Ski resorts in parts of Montana and Wyoming fired up their webcams to capture images of something they don't usually see on their slopes: snow falling in late July. "An abnormally powerful low-pressure system is winding up near the Montana-Saskatchewan border – something more typical of the cold-weather season than mid-July," said weather.com senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen. "As a result, it's yanking some pretty cold air southward quickly enough to bring subfreezing temperatures into the Northern Rockies at elevations above 10,000 feet or so. Throw in some moisture and boom, snow." The system dumped several inches of wintry precipitation on...

Ever wondered what the midnight sun might look like from the top of one of Norway’s most scenic mountains? This drone video gives you a taste of the Arctic when the sun never sets. Dønnamannen Mountain may not be the tallest at 858 meters above sea level, but the views from the top are spectacular. On a clear day (or night) you can see the Lofoten Wall and Okstindan, as well as well-known mountains and islands such as the Seven Sisters, Vega, Lovund, Hestmannen, Torghatten, Lovund and Træna. The north face of the mountain is virtually vertical, while the south...

You may have a "green" car, but it could be causing black rain in China from the graphite mined and used in its lithium ion battery. Two academics at Toronto's York University, Carla Lipsig-Mumme and Caleb Goods, applaud many of the new advances in green technology in recent years, but at the same time warn that those very technologies may come with a host of environmental issues. The pair issue a caution about “superindustrialization” in which the answer to climate change is a matter of “technological adjustment.” In an article recently published in The Conversation and picked up by the...

New research confirms that the land under the Chesapeake Bay is sinking rapidly and projects that Washington, D.C., could drop by six or more inches in the next century—adding to the problems of sea-level rise. This falling land will exacerbate the flooding that the nation’s capital faces from rising ocean waters due to a warming climate and melting ice sheets—accelerating the threat to the region’s monuments, roads, wildlife refuges, and military installations. For sixty years, tide gauges have shown that sea level in the Chesapeake is rising at twice the global average rate and faster than elsewhere on the East...

The debate is finally over. After more than a year of national consultations, draft bills and parliamentary discussions, French MPs finally adopted the bill for an Energy Transition for Green Growth on Wednesday 22 July. The substance of this far-reaching bill was subject to significant re-shaping by both houses of the French parliament, as well as the government. […] The adopted bill contains several last minute additions, including a Senate amendment to increase the carbon tax on fossil fuel use to €56 per ton in 2020, a four-fold increase, and €100 in 2030. “The trajectory of the carbon tax increase...

Have three climate change scientists been ASSASSINATED? The astonishing claim made by a Cambridge professor A Cambridge professor has claimed that three scientists investigating climate change in the Arctic may have been assassinated. Professor Peter Wadhams insists Seymour Laxon, Katharine Giles and Tim Boyd could have been murdered by someone possibly working for the oil industry or within government forces. The trio had been studying the polar ice caps - with a focus on sea ice - when they died within a few months of each other in 2013.

Free and open to the public, Joe Bastardi's analysis of upcoming winter, comparing the '97-'98 El Nino to this year's El Nino. Also short term weather, with particular focus on the system now parked on the east side of Florida.

Mayors emboldened by an appeal from Pope Francis are committing themselves to a new set of U.N. goals to end poverty and promote sustainable development over the next 15 years. At the end of a two-day Vatican summit on Wednesday, several dozen mayors from around the world unanimously adopted a declaration pledging to endorse the goals and work to implement them in their home cities. …

To great social media fanfare, "Sharknado 3" premiers July 22, 2015 at 9:00 p.m. ET on the SyFy Channel.While campy disaster films aren't known for their scientific integrity, the Sharknado series makes some interesting inaccuracies. A great white shark. (Credit: Flickr/Grant Peters) But "Sharknado" fans who live in fear of a shark-filled tornado can rest easy, the idea still remains completely implausible.However, the weather has been known to cause several head-scratching events, ranging from seemingly apocalyptic to downright bizarre. Many popular colloquiums suggest animals pouring from the sky - from cats and dogs all the way to men. Thankfully, these...

While leaders meet in the Vatican for a climate conference, talk of record high global temperatures will fuel hysteria. But there's truly nothing to see here. Voices of the unreasonable screeched Tuesday across St. Peter's Square. California Gov. Jerry Brown was the most colorful. He took the opportunity to call anyone who doesn't believe in man-made global warming as he does a "denier," which is also the pejorative used to describe those who say the Holocaust never happened. He also called those who don't conform to his way of thinking "troglodytes." New York Mayor Bill de Blasio joined the choir,...

The plan for a museum in the city that would focus on climate and climate change, with exhibits that could relate to health, social justice and rain-delayed baseball games, moved a step forward Monday, officials said. The state Board of Regents, meeting in Albany, approved a five-year provisional charter for the museum, Regents spokesman Tom Dunn said. The vote means “there is absolutely going to be a museum,” said Miranda Massie, executive director of the Climate Museum Launch Project. She said the museum is now “empowered to hold collections in trust for the public.” Supporters say it would be the...

Bad news for broke college students, even worse news for the planet VIDEO For decades, instant ramen noodles have been a culinary staple for cash-poor college students, young working professionals and even prisoners. Yet ramen noodles are a main culprit of deforestation due to the high amount of unsustainable palm oil used to make them. While several large food corporations have committed to eliminating conflict palm oil from their supply chains, two of the world’s biggest instant noodle producers, Nissin Foods Holdings and Toyo Suisan Kaisha (Maruchan), both Japanese firms, have failed to adopt responsible palm oil policies, according to...