The Cosmos: Its Origin, History, and Future, Self Explained

Our Universe: Beginnings and Early History
The story of the cosmos, like every other story, has a beginning, a middle, and an end. We may quibble over a detail here or there. But since none of us were here at the beginning, and none of us are likely to be here at the end, we must take our best guesses.

Our Universe Today and Tomorrow

While none of us expects to see more than a small part of the cosmos with our own eyes, we like to view panoramic visions which help us to place our lives and our knowledge in context.

Cosmic DestiniesAll things come to an end eventually -- if only to be transformed into something else.

It is easy to see our own stories, from our individual births through our lives, finally ending in our deaths, in this cosmic panorama. The analogy is not perfect, and many of us tend to resist the sense of a final end -- and perhaps of a distinct beginning. That is natural.

It is also natural for cosmologists to borrow from their own sense of biological life cycles when they create their theories of cosmic life cycles. What you see above is a graphical theory, the best that cosmologists can do as a group, at this time. Tune back in in 100 billion years for an update.

Germany's Sunshine Fairy Fantasy

Germans have paid about $130 billion for a climate-change policy that has no impact on global warming. They have subsidized Chinese jobs and other European countries’ reliance on dirty energy sources. And they have needlessly burdened their economy. As even many German officials would probably attest, governments elsewhere cannot afford to repeat the same mistake. _GWPF

Germany has been caught up in a dreamy fantasy of a golden shiny green future, full of sunshine fairies and wind sprites. But artificial, made-up euphorias have a way of turning into despair, eventually. Bjorn Lomborg has more:

Sunshine Fairy Image Source

Germany once prided itself on being the “photovoltaic world champion”, doling out generous subsidies – totaling more than $130 billion, according to research from Germany’s Ruhr University – to citizens to invest in solar energy. But now the German government is vowing to cut the subsidies sooner than planned, and to phase out support over the next five years. What went wrong?

There is a fundamental problem with subsidizing inefficient green technology: it is affordable only if it is done in tiny, tokenistic amounts. Using the government’s generous subsidies, Germans installed 7.5 gigawatts of photovoltaic (PV) capacity last year, more than double what the government had deemed “acceptable.” It is estimated that this increase alone will lead to a $260 hike in the average consumer’s annual power bill.

According to Der Spiegel, even members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s staff are now describing the policy as a massive money pit. Philipp Rösler, Germany’s minister of economics and technology, has called the spiraling solar subsidies a “threat to the economy.”

...Germany – like most of the world – is not as sunny as the Sahara. And, while sunlight is free, panels and installation are not. Solar power is at least four times more costly than energy produced by fossil fuels. It also has the distinct disadvantage of not working at night, when much electricity is consumed.

In the words of the German Association of Physicists, “solar energy cannot replace any additional power plants.” On short, overcast winter days, Germany’s 1.1 million solar-power systems can generate no electricity at all. The country is then forced to import considerable amounts of electricity from nuclear power plants in France and the Czech Republic. When the sun failed to shine last winter, one emergency back-up plan powered up an Austrian oil-fired plant to fill the supply gap.

Indeed, despite the massive investment, solar power accounts for only about 0.3% of Germany’s total energy. This is one of the key reasons why Germans now pay the second-highest price for electricity in the developed world (exceeded only by Denmark, which aims to be the “world wind-energy champion”). Germans pay three times more than their American counterparts. _Bjorn Lomborg_via_GWPF

Even if photovoltaic panels were 100% efficient and given away free of charge, utility-scale solar power would be a hugely wasteful and exorbitantly expensive mistake. Remember that every time you read a headline trumpeting "dramatic gains in photovoltaic efficiency" or "huge reductions in solar panel costs." Solar power is okay for off-grid applications of relatively small scale. But the intermittency of solar power (and wind power) is a deal-killer in terms of large scale grid power.

Germany would have known that if not for its green euphoric fantasy facade. What is the facade obscuring? You probably do not want to know.

How Anyone Can Get a Score of 150 on an IQ Test

It is not easy to score 150 on an IQ test. Fewer than 0.1% of white North Americans are able to consistently score 150 or higher on a fair IQ test. For black North Americans, the number is under 0.001%, due to a group mean IQ that is 1 full standard deviation lower for blacks (85) vs. whites (100). [Interactive graph for one-tailed area under bell curve: standard deviation of 15]

But it is getting easier to get a score of 150 on an IQ test, even if you are black, and even on a timed, proctored exam. Some would call the approach I am describing a form of cheating, but you will have to decide that for yourself.

It is important that the test being taken is of the culture-free, progressive matrices type. Further, in order to get past security and proctor oversight, one must wear a cotton computer. Finally, the computer must be loaded with a new Swedish programme which is able to score 150 on culture-free progressive matrices IQ tests.

Researchers at the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics, and Theory of Science at the University of Gothenburg in Göteborg, Sweden, have created a computer program that can score 150 on standard non-verbal IQ test questions.

...The remarkable factor is that the computer is not presented with selection options. Rather, it solves for the missing piece of the image based on logic and human psychology models alone. The same program, when optimized for number sequence problems, attains an IQ of at least 150, again without the assistance of selection options.

"Our programs are beating the conventional math programs because we are combining mathematics and psychology. Our method can potentially be used to identify patterns in any data with a psychological component, such as financial data. But it is not as good at finding patterns in more science-type data, such as weather data, since then the human psyche is not involved," says Strannegård.

Having developed an initial understanding of how people approach the solution of IQ test problems. Strannegård's group is now aiming at developing new IQ tests. Their goal is to extend the capability of the psychological solution module to include other psychological factors for problem solving as they are uncovered through comparison with results generated by a general population. _Gizmag

Later versions of the programme may be able to take a wider range of IQ tests, beyond the non-verbal progressive matrices.

It is easy to see why North Americans (and Europeans) of African origin might score lower than their non-black counterparts. Looking at countries of origin, average IQ scores in sub-Saharan Africa are exceptionally low -- in the 70s or lower.

As covert computer technology improves, anyone should be able to wear undetectable computers into a testing room, and ace virtually any test. Covert computers will likely be incorporated into clothing, tattoos, piercings, and subdermal implants. Eventually, computers are likely to be implanted near or beneath the skull, utilising brain-machine interfacing for a seamless mind to computer connection.

But the ultimate in IQ elevating technology is likely to come from genetics, as science learns more about the genetics of human cognition. Just as genetic treatments are being devised for a broad range of inherited diseases, so will gene treatments be developed for correcting heritable low IQ. Theoretically, such treatments should go a long way toward closing the IQ gap between groups.

Overview of IQ testing. Also provides fee-based online IQ test as well as a fee-based training program guaranteed to increase your IQ by at least 15 points.

Free online IQ test of the pattern recognition type

More sophisticated online progressive matrices test (small fee includes certificate with achieved score)

30 Years of Research on Race Differences in Cognitive Ability (PDF)

Interpretation of Racial and Ethnic Gaps on Standard Cognitive Tests

FakeGate: Peter Gleick Associated w/ Fake Memo?

In the ongoing climate wars, a memo dump from sceptical think tank Heartland Institute was performed by Desmogblog recently, in an attempt to discredit the climate sceptic group. Unfortunately, desmogblog's memo dump included one particularly inflammatory memo which turns out to be a total fake.

There has been a great deal of discussion online regarding the possible author of the fake memo, and at this time the consensus appears to be centered on outspoken alarmist Peter Gleick. Bishop Hill has more.

It is not clear whether Gleick was associated with the memo dump of the illegally obtained materials, whether or not he is the author of the fake memo.

It is interesting how quickly the speculation over the authorship of the fake memo has overshadowed the intended effect of the memo dump. The only controversial memo in the bunch was the faked one. The rest of the material is so humdrum, it probably drove the data thief to forgery! ;-)

Here is where Heartland stacks up against other groups who finance climate research and public relations (via JoNova):
…

Entity	USD
Greenpeace	$300m	2010 Annual Report
WWF	$700m	” ($524m Euro)
Pew Charitable Trust	$360m	2010 Annual Report
Sierra Club	$56m	2010 Annual Report
NSW climate change fund (just one random govt example)	$750m	NSW Gov (A$700m)
UK university climate fund (just another random govt example)	$360m	UK Gov (£234 m)
Heartland Institute	$7m	(actually $6.4m)
US government funding for climate science and technology	$7,000m	“Climate Money” 2009
US government funding for “climate related appropriations”	$1,300m	USAID 2010
Annual turnover in global carbon markets	$120,000m	2010 Point Carbon
Annual investment in renewable energy	$243,000m	2010 BNEF
US government funding for skeptical scientists	$ 0

These are annual turnovers or annual budgets

__Source: Jo Nova

Heartland's contribution to the climate debate is just a small drop in a large bucket, money-wise. But that small drop seems to be having an out-of-proportion effect, if the lengths to which opponents are willing to go to discredit the organsation are any judge.

All of this must be particularly frustrating to climate alarmists and carbon hysterics, in light of recent findings that the global climate has not significantly warmed over the past decade, glaciers in the Himalayas do not appear to be melting, and global sea levels appear to have actually dropped!

Carbon hysterics seem to have fewer and fewer solid supports in their righteous cause and crusade to overturn the world order. No wonder they are so frustrated!

As always, Tom Nelson and Anthony Watts are on the story.

BTW, the comment thread following this blog entry by Lucia is an excellent study in the power of the internet to ferret out the truth of a matter, when people really try. The entry begins at the start of the desmogblog memo dump, and comments proceed from there. Kudos to Steven Mosher for his detective work leading to Gleick as suspect #1 for authoring the fake document.

New Research: Don't Blame Fracking for Gas Well Pollution

New research reported at the AAAS in Vancouver, shows that the pollution from gas wells is not caused by fracking. Rather it has been caused by ruptured well casings and other problems of human error in handling materials and wastewater. The process of fracking itself is safe and sound, with regard to groundwater concerns.

Don't blame fracking for environmental problems associated with extracting gas from shale. That's the message of a new report from the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, released on the opening day of the AAAS meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

The US is riding the wave of a shale gas boom driven by fracking, or hydraulic fracturing - in which the rock is injected with water, sand and chemical additives at high pressure to release trapped methane.

Other nations are keen to follow this lead, and lead author Charles "Chip" Groat hopes the report will help regulators worldwide separate "fact from fiction". Reviewing existing studies, Groat's team could find no evidence linking groundwater contamination to fracking operations many hundreds of metres below.

...The problems were not caused by the process of fracking itself, but instead related to issues like ruptured well casings that also affect conventional gas production, or surface spills of chemicals or wastewater.

"We found no direct evidence that hydraulic fracturing itself had contaminated groundwater," says Groat. "We found that most of the violations were at or near the surface." _NewScientist

Fracking in the UK Daily MailMore from the Daily Mail:

During the fracking process, the shale is drilled into horizontally, and water, gas and chemicals pumped in at high pressure, causing the rock to shatter and allowing the gas to escape.

To separate fact from fiction, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin sifted through scientific and other literature on the safety of three large shale gas sites in the US.

They concluded that there is no evidence that fracking directly contaminates groundwater and any pollution is more likely to be due to above-ground spills of water produced by the drilling process.
_DailyMail_via_GWPF

Al Fin energy analysts are sure that the green functionaries within the US Obama regime will be reassured by this report. Particularly when the oil & gas fracking revolution is one of the few things keeping the Obama economy afloat.

But don't expect the dieoff.orgy lefty-Luddite green faux environmentalists to admit their mistake. That is not in their nature. Nor is it in the nature of the thug-monkeys of the skankstream media to admit to having broadcast unfounded fears in the hope of promoting panic and political action.

But at least you will know better.

More: How the US Shale Boom Will Change the World

A New Economic Era?

And here's a scary thought: China likely has larger shale gas resources than North America. With Russia's Gazprom scurrying to China looking for customers in the face of a long-term European drop in demand, what happens to Gazprom when China's vast reserves of natural gas come on line? What happens to global commodities markets in general?

Gas Cooled Modular Reactors Will Change the Future of Energy

Small modular nuclear reactors will have a revolutionary effect on the future of electrical power generation. But a particular type of small modular reactor -- the gas-cooled reactor -- is destined to revolutionise all aspects of future energy and fuels.

First, let's look at small modular nuclear reactors:

SMRs have a number of advantages over conventional reactors. For one thing, SMRs are cheaper to construct and run. This makes them very attractive to poorer, energy-starved countries; small, growing communities that don't require a full-scale plant; and remote locations such as mines or desalination plants. Part of the reason for this is simply that the reactors are smaller. Another is that, not needing to be custom designed in each case, the reactors can standardized and some types built in factories that are able to employ economies of scale. The factory-built aspect is also important because a factory is more efficient than on-site construction by as much as eight to one in terms of building time. Factory construction also allows SMRs to be built, delivered to the site, and then returned to the factory for dismantling at the end of their service lives - eliminating a major problem with old conventional reactors, i.e. how to dispose of them.

SMRs also enjoy a good deal of design flexibility. Conventional reactors are usually cooled by water - a great deal of water - which means that the reactors need to be situated near rivers or coastlines. SMRs, on the other hand, can be cooled by air, gas, low-melting point metals or salt. This means that SMRs can be placed in remote, inland areas where it isn't possible to site conventional reactors. _David Szondy

It is easy to see why the scalable nature of SMRs allows them to fit a wide variety of energy markets. Better economies of scale and increased reliability are possible from precise factory controlled construction. But why do gas-cooled SMRs, in particular, promise such a revolutionary impact on the future of energy and fuels?

It comes down to the high quality, high temperature process heat that gas-cooled reactors provide. Here are some of the things that high quality process heat can do:

1. Unlock the trillions of barrels oil equivalent in oil sands (PDF)
2. Unlock the trillions of barrels oil equivalent in coal to liquids and gas to liquids (PDF)
3. Unlock the trillions of barrels oil equivalent in oil shale kerogens 
4. Provide abundant industrial process heat for production of fertilisers, refining fuels, making plastics, etc 
5. Split CO2 into CO to use as a hydrogen carrier 
6. Overturn conventional fears of EROEI and Peak Oil 

_Source

Brian Wang has also taken a look at this topic

One particular gas cooled modular reactor has been selected by the Next Generation Nuclear Plant Industry Alliance as the best design for the category:

The Alliance said that it had selected an unspecified Areva reactor concept, presumably based on the Antares design, "as the optimum design." It said, "The Areva HTGR technology's capability and modular design would support a broad range of market sectors, providing highly-efficient energy to industries such as electrical power generation, petrochemicals, non-conventional oil recovery and synthetic fuel production." Areva, it said, "has the technical and design capabilities to develop a HTGR for the process heat co-generation and generation markets."

It added that "additional investors are being pursued to fully capitalize a venture in order to build an initial fleet of HTGR plants for industry." The Alliance noted, "Deploying next generation nuclear technology is a critical step in solving the long-term needs for secure sources of energy, conserving fossil fuels and slowing the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. Clean, safe nuclear energy from HTGR would increase US energy independence and extend the life of domestic oil and natural gas resources." _WorldNuclearNews

More here

Perhaps a stimulus from the private sector will help to spur the revolution that the US federal government under Obama appears to be resisting with all its might. Regardless, it is critical for a wide range of intelligent people within various industries and sectors of the economy to understand the importance of this potential qualitative transition in possibilities for production of future energies and fuels.

Nuclear energy systems that utilise efficient fuel burn and recycling (with combined Gen III and Gen IV + reactor synergies) offer thousands of years of electrical power and optimised fuels production. Only rational nuclear energy possesses the energy density and massive fuel supplies to allow humans to transcend fears of energy scarcity in order to move into a future of relative abundance.

Cross-posted to Al Fin Energy

You're So Special!

In the past few years the two of us and our colleagues have come on especially intriguing suspects that seem to operate more in the brain than in other tissues: jumping genes. Such genes, which have been found in virtually all species, including humans, can paste copies of themselves into other parts of the genome (the full set of DNA in the nucleus) and alter the functioning of the affected cell, making it behave differently from an otherwise identical cell right next to it. Many such insertions in many different cells would be expected to yield subtle or not so subtle differences in cognitive abilities, personality traits and susceptibility to neurological problems. _SciAm

This animation by Muotri and Marchetto shows the higher rate of activity of the jumping genes in the Rett-afflicted cells (more green dots) than in the WT (wild type) ones. (The olfactory bulb is shown in red, the striatum in magenta and the cerebellum in cyan.) _SciAm

Jumping gene transposons are capable of inserting significant differences in the gene expression of identical twins. When these differences are inserted into brain cell DNA, they can cause identical twins to behave and perform differently from one another. Scientists have barely begun to understand how important this mechanism is to both long term evolution and rapid short term variation.

Nature to scientists: "Everything you think you know, just ain't so!"

Retrotransposons make up as much as half of the nucleotides, or DNA building blocks, in the human genome. In contrast, the approximately 25,000 protein-coding genes we possess make up less than 2 percent of mammalian DNA. The jumping genes are descendants of the first primitive molecular replication systems that invaded the genomes of eukaryotes (organisms having cells that contain a nucleus) long ago. A group led by Haig H. Kazazian, Jr., at the University of Pennsylvania showed in 1988 that retrotransposons, which were once thought of as nonfunctional junk DNA, were active in human tissues.

...Retrotransposition often fails to run its course, which produces truncated, nonfunctional copies of the original L1 DNA. Sometimes these snippets (or the whole L1 copy) have no effect on a protein-coding gene. Other times, though, they can have any of several consequences, both good and bad, for a cell’s fate. They may, for instance, drop into and thus alter the protein-coding region of a gene. This maneuver can lead to creation of a new variant of the protein that helps or harms an organism. Or this positioning may stop a given protein from being made. In other instances, the newly pasted DNA may fall outside of a coding region but act as a promoter (a switch that can turn on nearby genes) and alter the level of gene expression—the amount of protein made from the gene—with, once again, good or bad results for the cell and the organism. When LI retrotransposons end up in many places in neurons or in many cells of the brain, or both, the brain will be very different from the one that would have formed without their influence. It stands to reason that such genetic mosaicism could affect behavior, cognition and disease risk and could also help explain why one identical twin may remain disease-free when a sibling is diagnosed with schizophrenia, for example.

...The continuing research into jumping genes in the brain could potentially challenge an entire academic discipline. Behavioral geneticists often follow groups of identical twins over long periods to control for the effects of genes and determine the environmental contributions to such disorders as schizophrenia. The new findings showing that jumping genes actively revise genomes after an embryo forms question the assumption that “identical” twins are genetically alike. Indeed, the new discoveries will make it ever harder to disentangle the relative effects of nature and nurture on our psyches.

The question remains: Why has evolution not destroyed these vestiges of ancient viruses from within our cells, given that jumping genes have a high chance of introducing potentially fatal genetic flaws? To answer the question, we should acknowledge that humans have always been under attack by viral parasites and other invaders that expand the size of our genomes with jumping DNA. The bodies of humans and our evolutionary forebears may not have been able to fully eliminate the interlopers, but they have adapted to at least coexist with the invaders by silencing them through a variety of clever mechanisms that mutate and disable them. It also appears that, in some cases, our genomes have commandeered the genetic machinery of L1 retroelements to enhance our own survival, which is one reason that cells may sometimes allow, or even encourage, L1s to jump around the genome under carefully controlled conditions. _SciAm

Evolution has always been something of a crap shoot. The wider the range of variation that can be generated, the more likely to find suitable fits for various environmental niches.

What does this mean for the genetics of behaviour and intelligence differences? It means quite the opposite of what the authors above suggest. In the past, behavioural differences in identical twins have been attributed largely to differences in non-shared environment. Now we know better. Rather than detracting from the importance of the genes in influencing behaviours and aptitudes, this research intensifies the importance of genes and gene regulation.

China's Huge Shale Gas Deposits Promise Global Revolution

China cannot afford the "energy starvation affectation" which certain foppish leaders of western nations are displaying. No, China is in a life or death struggle for its survival as a nation. The leaders of the middle kingdom cannot afford to fool themselves in that way. They must face reality and shape it to their advantage, or they will become history.

GWPF

The Ministry of Land and Resources said Sunday that China will strengthen the survey and appraisal of shale gas in 2012 to expedite discovery and development of China shale deposits. The move comes after the recent approval of the State Council in the capital to list shale gas as an independent mineral resource. China is slowly moving towards producing shale gas.

Currently, the country does not have any shale natural gas production, adding to the country’s overall lack of natural gas in its energy matrix. China’s rough terrain and lack of technological know-how has kept it out of the shale gas biz. The country is largely beholden to coal to keep the lights on.

China’s Ministry of Land estimates the country holds around 31 trillion cubic meters of natural gas hidden under shale, equivalent to the total amount of conventional natural gas. If developed, the country’s shale gas output could exceed 100 billion cubic meters by 2020, Land Ministry’s second in command, Wang Min, told reporters during a national geological survey conference in Beijing this weekend.

China’s reserves are almost 50% greater than those of the U.S., according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. _GWPF

Once this massive shale gas resource hits China's economy -- particularly when transformed by GTL, ethane cracking, and other advanced technologies into far more valuable materials -- the global commodities markets will be shaken to their foundations.

Cross-posted from Al Fin Energy

It doesn't take a crystal ball to understand why Mr. Putin of Russia would find this development somewhat disconcerting. Others who will not welcome this news include Mr. Chavez of Venezuela, the mad mullahs of Iran, Persian Gulf gas magnates, suppliers of other hydrocarbons to China (including coal), and the big global green influence machine of faux environmentalism.

This'll Kill Ya! Affirmative Action Doctors Meet Lower Standards

1. For those students applying to medical school with average GPAs (3.40 to 3.59) and average MCAT scores (27-29), black applicants were almost three times more likely to be admitted than their Asian counterparts (85.9% vs. 30%), and 2.4 times more likely than their white counterparts (85.9% vs. 35.9%). Likewise, Hispanic students with average GPAs and average MCAT scores were about twice as likely to be accepted as white applicants (68.7% vs. 35.9%), and more than twice as likely as Asian applicants (68.7% vs. 30%).

2. For students applying to medical school with slightly below average GPAs of 3.20-3.39 and slightly below average MCAT scores of 24-26 (first column in the table), black applicants were more than 8 times as likely to be admitted as Asians (67.3% vs. 7.7%), and more than 5 times as likely as whites.

...U.S. medical schools must be considering race as one important factor in admissions, at least for preferred minority groups (blacks and Hispanics) over non-preferred minority groups (Asians) and whites?
_Carpe Diem

When you are attended by a physician of any race, you have to right to expect that that physician had to meet the high level of standards in acceptance, training, and certification that any other physician had to meet. But with affirmative action in admissions and hiring at all levels of medical school, residency, and hospital positions, the more likely reality is that minority physicians were not held to the same high standards as other trainees and job applicants.

But more disturbing even than the finding that medical schools seem to be admitting less-qualified students on the basis of race and ethnicity is that many of these students can't pass their licensing exams, despite greater resources directed toward helping them than other students received. At every medical school CEO studied, substantially larger numbers of black students than whites either did not take or failed their initial licensing exams, and, in most instances, failed their subsequent licensing tests as well. _Affirmative Action Doctors Can Kill You

There is a great deal of political pressure to advance unqualified minority candidates in a wide variety of fields, from medicine to law to engineering to police and fire fighting. It is just too bad if you or a member of your family happens to be in a situation where you need the best level of help, but are instead forced to settle for much less.

Here is one example of an affirmative action doctor, whose tragic example only fell into the spotlight by accidental connection to a famous lawsuit (Bakke).

He readily conceded that he would never have been admitted to medical school under the normal standards, but maintained grades of 3.2 to 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.

After residency and earning a master's degree in public health from the University of California at Los Angeles, he moved to Compton and set up his practice in nearby Lynwood.

His professional difficulties began in 1993, at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, when he was accused of mishandling a delivery, and the hospital began monitoring him. He sued, charging racism. In a jury trial, he won $1.1 million in damages, but a judge overturned the verdict.

By 1997, he said he had delivered 10,000 children and performed thousands of abortions. About that time, he added liposuction to his practice.

His personal and professional life then took a further downturn. In 1997, The Associated Press found in court records that he had been sued 21 times for malpractice and had settled some suits with no admission of guilt. He declared bankruptcy and went through the second of two divorces.

In 1997, his license was suspended, for not paying child support, but he continued to practice. The medical board used that as one of more than 90 counts in revoking his license the next year. _NYT

Sure, you could find similar tragic stories from members of virtually any ethnic group, but such things are more likely to happen when the screening standards for a profession are allowed to drop for one reason or another.

There is no way to know whether a physician who is a member of an ethnic minority was accepted under lowered standards, at the level of medical school, residency, or as a professional hire. And it is that uncertainty which should concern anyone who is worried about the quality of care that he or his loved ones are likely to receive, should it be necessary.

In the age of Obamacare -- where more and more employers will be squeezed into dropping their health insurance plans, and where choice of personal physicians is beginning to evaporate away -- the uncertainty is likely to grow acutely worse over time.

Baku Risks the Curse of the Tallest Tower

Azerbaijan wants to build the world's largest tower -- the Azerbaijan Tower -- in Baiku. Clearly this giant building is meant to be an enduring tribute to the greatness of the current leadership of the country -- much like the pyramids of Egypt. But are the leaders of Azerbaijan aware of the Skyscraper Index, which correlates the building of the world's tallest tower with the subsequent national decline of the builder nation?

The future isn't in Dubai or Saudi Arabia — it's going to be on a city of 41 artificial islands called the Khazar Islands that'll cost $100 billion to construct and be home to the world's tallest building. The Azerbaijan Tower, as the Avesta Group of Companies is calling it, will reach 1050 meters into the sky.

To put that height into perspective, that's 220 meters taller than the Pringles-can shaped Burj Khalifa and 50 meters taller than the Kingdom Tower (expected completion in 2016/2017). The tower will also be able to survive 9.0 magnitude earthquakes, in case you're the worrying type. _dvice

The ultimate longevity of the tower will depend upon who builds it and who maintains it. The utility of the tower depends upon how well Azerbaijan is able to maintain its oil & gas fields, and on how long the world prices of oil & gas can continue to remain in an inflated state.

The construction of the new tower -- along with other recent giant towers in UAE, KSA, China, etc -- should provide construction engineers with more experience and wisdom in the building of giant towers. Ultimately, at least some societies of humans are likely to pursue urbanisation to its logical conclusion -- the super-arcology, or one-building city. Efficient super-arcologies could free up most land for agricultural, recreational, and natural ecological uses, with a minimal "human impact" on natural habitats.

In fact, with sufficiently efficient arcologies, the concept of human overpopulation of the planet is laughable, for the foreseeable future.

Celibrating Perversity: US Orgy of Ethno-Gender Neo-Tribalism

A great society will find ways to bring its people together around a central organising principle. A society that is in decline will fragment into competing tribes and pseudo-tribes. A perverse society will actually feed this fragmentation into competing interest groups. As a perverse society destroys opportunity in the private sector in order to feed the bloating public sector, the in-fighting between the tribes around the public trough grows vicious at times.

The US celebrates Black History Month in February. Significant parts of 8 months of the year are dedicated to one special interest group or another, in the US. The only group that is not celebrated is the hard working producers who keep the economy running to compensate for all of the neo-tribalistic waste of resources centered in Washington DC.

Month	Occasion and Description
February	Black History Month To recognize the contributions of African Americans and foster a better understanding of the African American experience. Carter G. Woodson, who in 1926 spearheaded Negro History Week, started the observation. It was expanded to a month in 1976. February was chosen because of the birthdays of Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, two people who had a dramatic affect on the lives of African Americans.
March	National Women’s History Month Women’s History Month started as Women’s History Week in 1978. In 1987, Congress was petitioned to expand the week to an entire month. The month recognizes the important contributions made by women through programs in school, workplaces and communities.
May	Asian/Pacific American Heritage & Older Americans Asian/Pacific American Heritage observation originally began as Asian/Pacific Heritage week on July 10, 1978. In 1992, President Bush signed legislation designated May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. The term Asian/Pacific American includes many ethnic groups with diverse cultures. The month celebrates the collective achievements of the many different communities. Older Americans Month Older Americans Month was established by presidential proclamation to honor the contributions of older Americans to society. Begun in 1962, Older Americans Month is a time to celebrate and reflect on the unique contributions of older Americans in our society.
June	Gay and Lesbian Pride Month Gay and lesbian Americans have made important and lasting contributions to our nation in every field of endeavor. In June of 2000, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America proclaimed June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. All Americans are encouraged to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate our diversity and recognize the gay and lesbian Americans who have contributed and enriched our national life. Caribbean American Heritage Month On June 5, 2006, President George W. Bush signed a proclamation making June officially Caribbean American Heritage Month. This month has been established to recognize the historic relationship between the people of the Caribbean and the people of the United States as well as to recognize the many contributions Caribbean immigrants and their descendants have made to the well-being of America.
September/October	Hispanic Heritage Month The first Hispanic Heritage Week was approved on September 15, 1968. The month gives people the opportunity to plan and participate in ceremonies and activities that recognize the contributions of the many diverse cultures within the Hispanic community. In 1988, the celebration was expanded to a month and goes from September 15 to October 15.
October	National Disability Employment Awareness Month In 2003, previously known as National Employ the Handicapped Week, President George W. Bush proclaimed October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. During this month, we recognize the many contributions citizens with disabilities make to our society, and we reaffirm our commitment to helping them achieve their full inclusion in our workforce.
November	National American Indian Heritage Month National American Indian (or Native American) Month was enacted with a presidential proclamation in 1990. During the month, all Americans are encouraged to participate in programs ceremonies and activities that celebrate American Indian and Alaskan Native peoples’ important contribution to the United States.

There are many forces threatening to spin the US apart at its seams, diminishing any sense of common goals or destiny.

In the modern US, blacks are best known for high crime rates, low IQ, and maintaining a high level of grievance at all times. No matter how high the level of preferential treatment toward blacks in the US, the level of discontent and simmering anger in the tribe as a whole appears to grow worse every year.

Mexican immigrants to the US maintain several organisations dedicated toward "the reconquista" of parts of the US. Large numbers fail to learn to speak English after decades of residence. Dependency on public assistance is widespread among both legal and illegal hispanic immigrants. Crime rates and crime gangs are far more common in hispanic neighborhoods, than in all other neighborhoods except black.

In general, the best way to honour a population group within a society, is to make sure opportunities are equal for all, and that the rule of law applies equally to everyone. That way, no group will be singled out by officials for punishment or discrimination.

In the US, political leaders continue growing the central government at the expense of the private sector -- raising the general dependency upon the government, particularly among those of low aptitude. Separating the population into neo-tribes and special interests in an environment of high public sector dependency, puts an inordinate amount of power into the hands of government officials, bureaucrats, and politicians.

Such is a perverse society, which is on its way down -- unless significant changes occur.

Competent persons in the US who are concerned about the futures of their progeny will want to consider how they can free up their own productivity within an environment of opportunity -- given the general trend toward perversity generated by the Obama government and previous central governments.

More: Society's confusion over race

IPCC Climate Model Projections Diverging from Reality

The plot of the 2007 IPCC (GCM model) temperature projection is presented in green. The red plot represents temperature observations to the end of 2011. It is clear that the green IPCC projection -- with a wide error allowance -- is diverging ever upward from the observed temperatures.

Nicola Scafetta's harmonic model is plotted as a black wavy line surrounded by a blue error range.

Scafetta Harmonic Model WUWT

The [Scafetta] model was able not only to reconstruct the decadal patterns of the temperature since 1850 better than any general circulation model (GCM) adopted by the IPCC in 2007, but it is apparently able to better forecast the temperature decadal/multidecadal pattern observed since 2000. Note that since 2000 my proposed model is a full forecast.

However, will the forecast hold, or my proposed model is just another failed attempt to forecast climate change at least roughly? Time will tell. _WUWT Nicola Scafetta

Scafetta Harmonic Model WUWT
The humorous facet of this affair is that the 2007 IPCC GCM model did very well at "predicting" the climate prior to 2007! It is only after the model was forced to project into the future (rather than the past) that its projections began to swing widely away from actual observed temperatures.

Notice how the Scafetta harmonic model temperatures seem to dive abruptly after the year 2024.

So just using your eyeballs to evaluate the comparative trends, which model appears to match observed temperatures better: The IPCC's highly sophisticated global circulation model (GCM), which is very sensitive to rising CO2 levels and positive feedbacks, or Scafetta's much simpler harmonic model, which is based instead on multiple overlapping natural cycles?

US Navy Railgun Survives Budget Process, Moves to Testing Phase

Railguns use high-current electrical pulses able to accelerate a conductive armature to as much as 5,600 mph (more than 9,000 km/h). The ONA says the railgun will be suitable for naval surface fire support, land strikes, cruise and ballistic missile defense, and surface warfare. _Register

It could take up to a decade to find its way into shipboard systems - and the budget for the final weapon is now in some doubt.

The energy level has jumped from 0.5 megajoules to 1.5 megajoules. Even at one megajoule, the projectiles hit with the force of a one-ton car striking a wall at 100mph. _DailyMail

DailyMail

The Navy began pursuing the railgun in 2005, and for now, there are only lab prototypes of the weapon. But already the Navy has set a world record (see video below) for muzzle energy used in a weapon--33 megajoules. According to Defense Market, a shot of that magnitude could potentially reach "extended ranges with Mach 5 velocity."

Ellis said, the Navy has awarded contracts to BAE and General Atomics to build prototypes that "are more tactical in nature."...when the railgun is finally deployed, it is likely to be used--or at least be ready for action--in several different kinds of missions. First, Ellis explained, it could be used from a ship to fire inland in support of marines as they come ashore.

At the same time, because the weapon's range is so long, it could allow a Naval ship that features the railgun to defend itself from sea-borne threats long before it can itself be attacked, or from missiles fired from land or sea.

Now it's on to the next phase of the project. According to Ellis, that phase includes demonstrating that it's possible to fire a railgun at a rate of 10 rounds per minute _CBS

9 Second Clip of Record Setting Naval Rail Gun Shot

To supply it, Raytheon’s building a “Pulse Forming Network” or PFN. That's a large power system that stores up electrical power and then converts it to a pulse that is directed into the gun's barrel, John Cochran, the railgun program manager in Raytheon's Advanced Technology Group, told CNET’s News.com. _FoxNews

The US Navy desperately wants to put this gun onboard its attack ships, but it is not clear whether the railgun will be used by land forces or sea forces, if it ever does make it through all the levels of financing and final approval.

This electromagnetic catapult weapon may be a glimpse into the future of medium distance ballistic weaponry, particularly if it can achieve pinpoint accuracy over hundreds of miles distance. Providing the massive amounts of electricity required over a sustained attack might well require a nuclear reactor, along with Raytheon's pulse-forming network.

Adapted from an earlier article at Al Fin Potpourri

Thug-Monkeys of the JournoList Re-consider Tactics

End of the Fight Club?** Now JournoList eminence Matthew Yglesias tells us he has “come to think that ‘mean’ arguments are counterproductive.” …  Hard-to-resist working thesis: This is what happens when you end a private institution where ambitious young leftish political writers preen for each other (and Scoutmaster DeLong) by showing how vitriolic and thuggish they can be about their ideological opponents. … Jonathan Chait had to be especially mean on domestic issues to make up for his New Republicish pro-Israel positions. … P.S.: Yglesias is a nice guy. That’s the point. JournoList encouraged nice guys to try to be nasty. …

Source: Mickey Kaus, Daily Caller

Who are the thug-monkeys of the journolist skankstream? Here is a reminder:

1. Spencer Ackerman - Wired, FireDogLake, Washington Independent, Talking Points Memo, TheAmerican Prospect
2. Thomas Adcock - New York Law Journal
3. Ben Adler - Newsweek, POLITICO
4. Mike Allen - POLITICO
5. Eric Alterman - The Nation, Media Matters for America
6. Marc Ambinder - The Atlantic
7. Greg Anrig - The Century Foundation
8. Ryan Avent - Economist
9. Dean Baker - The American Prospect
10. Nick Baumann - Mother Jones
11. Josh Bearman - LA Weekly
12. Steven Benen - The Carpetbagger Report
13. Ari Berman - The Nation
14. Jared Bernstein - Economic Policy Institute
15. Michael Berube - Crooked Timer, Pennsylvania State University
16. Brian Beutler - The Media Consortium
17. Lindsay Beyerstein - Freelance journalist
18. Joel Bleifuss - In These Times
19. John Blevins - South Texas College of Law
20. Sam Boyd - The American Prospect
21. Ben Brandzel - MoveOn.org, John Edwards Campaign
22. Shannon Brownlee - Author, New America Foundation
23. Will Bunch - Philadelphia Daily News
24. Rich Byrne - Playwright
25. Jonathan Chait - The New Republic
26. Lakshmi Chaudry - In These Times
27. Isaac Chotiner - The New Republic
28. Ta-Nehisi Coates - The Atlantic
29. Michael Cohen - New America Foundation
30. Jonathan Cohn - The New Republic
31. Joe Conason - The New York Observer
32. Lark Corbeil - Public News Service
33. David Corn - Mother Jones
34. Daniel Davies - The Guardian
35. David Dayen - FireDogLake
36. Brad DeLong - The Economists’ Voice, University of California at Berkeley
37. Ryan Donmoyer - Bloomberg News
38. Adam Doster - In These Times
39. Kevin Drum - Washington Monthly
40. Matt Duss - Center for American Progress
41. Gerald Dworkin - UC Davis
42. Eve Fairbanks - The New Republic
43. Henry Farrell - George Washington University
44. Tim Fernholz - American Prospect
45. Dan Froomkin - Huffington Post, Washington Post
46. Jason Furman - Brookings Institution
47. James Galbraith - University of Texas at Austin
48. Kathleen Geier - Talking Points Memo
49. Todd Gitlin - Columbia University
50. Ilan Goldenberg - National Security Network
51. Arthur Goldhammer - Harvard University
52. Dana Goldstein - The Daily Beast
53. Andrew Golis - Talking Points Memo
54. Jaana Goodrich - Blogger
55. Merrill Goozner - Chicago Tribune
56. David Greenberg - Slate
57. Robert Greenwald - Brave New Films
58. Chris Hayes - The Nation
59. Don Hazen - Alternet
60. Jeet Heer - Canadian Journolist
61. Jeff Hauser - Political Action Committee, Dennis Shulman Campaign
62. Michael Hirsh - Newsweek
63. James Johnson - University of Rochester
64. John Judis - The New Republic, The American Prospect
65. Foster Kamer - The Village Voice
66. Michael Kazin - Georgetown University
67. Ed Kilgore - Democratic Strategist
68. Richard Kim - The Nation
69. Charlie Kireker - Air America Media
70. Mark Kleiman - UCLA The Reality Based Community
71. Ezra Klein - Washington Post, Newsweek, The American Prospect
72. Joe Klein - TIME
73. Robert Kuttner - American Prospect, Economic Policy Institute
74. Paul Krugman - The New York Times, Princeton University
75. Lisa Lerer - POLITICO
76. Daniel Levy - Century Foundation
77. Ralph Luker - Cliopatria
78. Annie Lowrey - Washington Independent
79. Robert Mackey - New York Times
80. Mike Madden - Salon
81. Maggie Mahar - The Century Foundation
82. Dylan Matthews - Harvard University
83. Alec McGillis - Washington Post
84. Scott McLemee - Inside Higher Ed
85. Sara Mead - New America Foundation
86. Ari Melber - The Nation
87. David Meyer - University of California at Irvine
88. Seth Michaels - MyDD.com
89. Luke Mitchell - Harper’s Magazine
90. Gautham Nagesh - The Hill, Daily Caller
91. Suzanne Nossel - Human Rights Watch
92. Michael O’Hare - University of California at Berkeley
93. Josh Orton - MyDD.com, Air America Media
94. Rodger Payne - University of Louisville
95. Rick Perlstein - Author, Campaign for America’s Future
96. Nico Pitney - Huffington Post
97. Harold Pollack - University of Chicago
98. Katha Pollitt - The Nation
99. Ari Rabin-Havt - Media Matters
100. Joy-Ann Reid - South Florida Times
101. David Roberts - Grist
102. Lamar Robertson - Partnership for Public Service
103. Sara Robinson - Campaign For America's Future
104. Alyssa Rosenberg - Washingtonian, The Atlantic, Government Executive
105. Alex Rossmiller - National Security Network
106. Michael Roston - Newsbroke
107. Laura Rozen - POLITICO, Mother Jones
108. Felix Salmon - Reuters
109. Greg Sargent - Washington Post
110. Thomas Schaller - Baltimore Sun
111. Noam Scheiber - The New Republic
112. Michael Scherer - TIME
113. Mark Schmitt - American Prospect, The New America Foundation
114. Rinku Sen - ColorLines Magazine
115. Julie Bergman Sender - Balcony Films
116. Adam Serwer - American Prospect
117. Walter Shapiro - PoliticsDaily.com
118. Kate Sheppard - Mother Jones
119. Matthew Shugart - UC San Diego
120. Nate Silver - FiveThirtyEight.com
121. Jesse Singal - The Boston Globe, Washington Monthly
122. Ann-Marie Slaughter - Princeton University
123. Ben Smith - POLITICO
124. Sarah Spitz - KCRW
125. Adele Stan - The Media Consortium
126. Paul Starr - The Atlantic
127. Kate Steadman - Kaiser Health News
128. Jonathan Stein - Mother Jones
129. Sam Stein - Huffington Post
130. Matt Steinglass - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
131. James Surowiecki - The New Yorker
132. Jesse Taylor - Pandagon.net
133. Steven Teles - Yale University
134. Mark Thoma - The Economists' View
135. Michael Tomasky - The Guardian
136. Jeffrey Toobin - CNN, The New Yorker
137. Rebecca Traister - Salon
138. Tracy Van Slyke - The Media Consortium
139. Paul Waldman - Author, American Prospect
140. Dave Weigel - Washington Post, MSNBC, The Washington Independent
141. Moira Whelan - National Security Network
142. Scott Winship - Pew Economic Mobility Project
143. J. Harry Wray - DePaul University
144. D. Brad Wright - University of NC at Chapel Hill
145. Kai Wright - The Root
146. Holly Yeager - Columbia Journalism Review
147. Rich Yeselson - Change to Win
148. Matthew Yglesias - Center for American Progress, The Atlantic Monthly
149. Jonathan Zasloff - UCLA
150. Julian Zelizer - Princeton University
151. Avi Zenilman - POLITICO _thevailspot _Who Puts the Skank in the Skankstream Media?

The thug-monkeys of the skankstream want to tell everyone else what they should be thinking and how they should be behaving. They are being paid to shape your thoughts, actions, and voting patters.

But wouldn't it be nice if the relevant knowledge and information were made freely available, without political or philosophical spin? That way, you could form your own opinions, and make up your own mind for yourself.

Adapted from a posting on abu al-fin

Economic Slowdown in China: "Official Numbers vs Reality"

Roubini Interviews Chovanec
Economist Patrick Chovanec, associate professor at Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in Beijing, offers a revealing look at what is happening under the official facade of government economic statistics, inside China.

There is no doubt that the Chinese government has misled economic analysts with phony numbers. The only question is how badly analysts have been misled, and for how long.

"Mish" Shedlock looks at some of the specific underlying metrics which contradict the official CCP line in a recent article:

Chinese Electricity Consumption Fell Massively In January

Business Insider reports Chinese Electricity Consumption Fell Massively In January, And The Chinese New Year Doesn't Explain It

...China Central Bank Vows Housing Support

In a sure sign that property prices in China are crashing faster than the Chinese government wants, China Central Bank Vows Housing Support

...Too Late to Prevent a Hard Landing

Given the massive size of China's property bubble, it's far too late to prevent a crash landing. The only way to prevent crashes is to not let bubbles get so big in the first place. _Mish

As Chovanec explains in the video above, China's governments -- central and regional -- have committed themselves to a policy of overbuilding a significant overcapacity of fixed assets and production. This course of action was forced on China because of significant economic slowdowns in its main export markets -- Europe and the US. But such a policy is unsustainable in the long run, and eventually the bills for the spree will come due.

When China's economy slows down, a long list of dynamic consequences will be instigated. One of the most important consequences will be a slowdown in global commodities markets. Whether that slowdown will turn into a rout -- as happened in late 2008 and early 2009 -- remains to be seen.

But that possiblity -- and several others -- must be considered, and events must be monitored closely. Remember: Don't accept official economic numbers from governments. Always look at the underlying reality of what is actually happening.

Update 10Feb2012:

China betrayed signs of spluttering domestic demand on Friday as imports crumbling to their lowest in more than two years and weaker-than-forecast bank lending signalled to investors that policymakers would soon make a fresh bid to bolster growth.

...The big imports drop combined with a smaller exports drop left China with a trade surplus of $27.3 billion in January, its biggest in six months and confounding expectations of a further narrowing. _Reuters

Rethinking Climate Doom in Germany: Chaos in Climate Camp

One of the fathers of Germany’s modern green movement, Professor Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt, a social democrat and green activist, decided to author a climate science skeptical book together with geologist/paleontologist Dr. Sebastian Lüning. Vahrenholt’s skepticism started when he was asked to review an IPCC report on renewable energy. He found hundreds of errors. When he pointed them out, IPCC officials simply brushed them aside. Stunned, he asked himself, “Is this the way they approached the climate assessment reports?”

Vahrenholt decided to do some digging. His colleague Dr. Lüning also gave him a copy of Andrew Montford’s The Hockey Stick Illusion. He was horrified by the sloppiness and deception he found. Persuaded by Hoffmann & Campe, he and Lüning decided to write the book. Die kalte Sonne cites 800 sources and has over 80 charts and figures. It examines and summarizes the latest science. _No Tricks Zone

Germany's climate community is in turmoil as one of its leading leftist environmentalists is vocally rejecting the IPCC climate orthodoxy in a new bestselling climate expose', Die Kalte Sonne.

Germany’s Top Environmentalist Turns Climate Sceptic, saying

“I couldn’t take it any more. I had to write this book.”

Doubt came two years ago when he was an expert reviewer of an IPCC report on renewable energy. “I discovered numerous errors and asked myself if the other IPCC reports on climate were similarly sloppy.”

“THE CO2 LIES … pure fear-mongering … should we blindly trust the experts?”

That’s what Germany’s leading daily Bild (see photo) wrote in its print and online editions today, on the very day that renowned publisher Hoffmann & Campe officially released a skeptic book – one written by a prominent socialist and environmental figure.

This is huge. More than I ever could have possibly imagined. And more is coming in the days ahead! The Bild piece was just the first of a series.

Mark this as the date that Germany’s global warming movement took a massive body blow. _WattsUpWithThat

SPIEGEL: You are an electric utility executive by profession. What prompted you to get involved in climatology?

Vahrenholt: In my experience as an energy expert, I learned that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is more of a political than a scientific body. As a rapporteur on renewable energy, I witnessed how thin the factual basis is for predictions that are made at the IPCC. In one case, a Greenpeace activist's absurd claim that 80 percent of the world's energy supply could soon be coming from renewable sources was assumed without scrutiny. This prompted me to examine the IPCC report more carefully.

SPIEGEL: And what was your conclusion?

Vahrenholt: The long version of the IPCC report does mention natural causes of climate change, like the sun and oscillating ocean currents. But they no longer appear in the summary for politicians. They were simply edited out. To this day, many decision-makers don't know that new studies have seriously questioned the dominance of CO2. CO2 alone will never cause a warming of more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century. Only with the help of supposed amplification effects, especially water vapor, do the computers arrive at a drastic temperature increase. I say that global warming will remain below two degrees by the end of the century. This is an eminently political message, but it's also good news.

SPIEGEL: You make concrete statements on how much human activity contributes to climatic events and how much of a role natural factors play. Why don't you publish your prognoses in a professional journal?

Vahrenholt: Because I don't engage in my own climate research. Besides, I don't have a supercomputer in my basement. For the most part, my co-author, geologist Sebastian Lüning, and I merely summarize what scientists have published in professional journals -- just as the IPCC does. The book is also a platform for scientists who apply good arguments in diverging from the views of the IPCC. The established climate models have failed across the board because they cannot cogently explain the absence of warming.

SPIEGEL: You claim that the standstill has to do with the sun. What makes you so sure?

Vahrenholt: In terms of the climate, we have seen a cyclical up and down for the last 7,000 years, long before man began emitting CO2 into the atmosphere. There has been a warming phase every 1,000 years, including the Roman, the Medieval and the current warm periods. All of these warm periods consistently coincided with strong solar activity. In addition to this large fluctuation in activity, there is also a 210-year and an 87-year natural cycle of the sun. Ignoring these would be a serious mistake …

SPIEGEL: … but solar researchers are still in disagreement over whether the cycles you mention actually exist. What do you think this means for the future?

Vahrenholt: In the second half of the 20th century, the sun was more active than it had been in more than 2,000 years. This "large solar maximum," as astronomers call it, has contributed at least as much to global warming as the greenhouse gas CO2. But the sun has been getting weaker since 2005, and it will continue to do so in the next few decades. Consequently, we can only expect cooling from the sun for now. _DerSpiegel

We are supposed to be willing to relinquish control of our economies and our lives to a cabal of fudgy computer modelers and their kleptocratic bureaucracies. We are supposed to risk the backbone of industry -- energy and power -- on green schemes of big wind and big solar, which are clearly unable to reliably and affordably support modern power grid demands. We are supposed to be willing to hand over hundreds of billions of dollars for "climate reparations" to the third world on the basis of little more than hand-waving and bombastic claims of doom. And we are supposed to do all that based on faith in people who consistently refuse to provide transparency into their methods and data.

More people are waking up. In the end, it is likely that there will be a reckoning.

More

The cracking climate consensus

How to Trigger an Ice Age the Easy Way, Killing Billions of People

The secret to killing billions and billions of people without being too obvious about it, is to make it difficult or impossible to grow enough food to feed them. Geological history demonstrates that the best way of doing this -- short of a global thermonuclear war -- is by triggering a global ice age. If winters are too long and summers are too short and cold, crops cannot be grown, and livestock will starve. Without enough food, billions of people will die, until there are only enough people to match the dwindling food supplies.

Who would want to do such a thing? Well, no one will actually come out and admit to planning a great global human dieoff. But there are some people who are playing with the idea of significantly cutting back on Earth's solar allotment, in the name of mitigating "climate change." But since Earth's climate is always changing no matter what humans do, why would a cooler planet -- with shorter growing seasons and less food -- be better than a warming planet, with more food and longer growing seasons?

One of the backers of the new "geoengineers" is Bill Gates, of Microsoft fame. Mr. Gates feels strongly about "climate change," strongly enough to help finance a planetary geoengineering scheme to reduce solar input to the planet.

As well as Gates, other wealthy individuals including Sir Richard Branson, tar sands magnate Murray Edwards and the co-founder of Skype, Niklas Zennström, have funded a series of official reports into future use of the technology. Branson, who has frequently called for geoengineering to combat climate change, helped fund the Royal Society's inquiry into solar radiation management last year through his Carbon War Room charity. It is not known how much he contributed.

Professors David Keith, of Harvard University, and Ken Caldeira of Stanford, are the world's two leading advocates of major research into geoengineering the upper atmosphere to provide earth with a reflective shield. They have so far received over $4.6m from Gates to run the Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research (Ficer). Nearly half Ficer's money, which comes directly from Gates's personal funds, has so far been used for their own research, but the rest is disbursed by them to fund the work of other advocates of large-scale interventions.

According to statements of financial interests, Keith receives an undisclosed sum from Bill Gates each year, and is the president and majority owner of the geoengineering company Carbon Engineering, in which both Gates and Edwards have major stakes – believed to be together worth over $10m. _Guardian

Another Geoengineering Scheme
Big money backers of geoengineering schemes hide behind the IPCC and the "scientific consensus" which supposedly backs the theories and computer models of "climate change." But after ClimageGate, and some other huge public embarassments hitting the orthodoxy of climate hysteria, it rather looks as if these wealthy climate barons are either not keeping up with the evidence, or they have other hidden motives behind their actions.

Bill Gates is already involved with a super-wealthy cabal of individuals working to limit overpopulation. When combined with his interest in altering the global climate, his concerns over the level of human populations of Earth could well be seen in something other than a completely innocent light.

Do Al Fin analysts think that Gates is intentionally setting the planet Earth onto a path toward a great human dieoff? Of course not. Most of the recipients of Mr. and Mrs. Gates' charities are entirely uncontroversial and untainted by any quasi-genocidal stain. But a person of Mr. Gates' stature should be very clear about the causes which he supports, without having to hide behind a faux consensus of phony fantasists such as certain IPCC controlling climate grifters.

It would take a very small ongoing reduction of incoming solar radiation to spin the planet's climate in a cooling direction. When combined with natural feedbacks and other pertinent factors which climatologists refuse to consider in their expensive models, the downward spin of temperatures could quickly reach the point where growing seasons and food supplies are adversely affected.

A human dieoff from lack of food is probably not something that Mr. Gates or Mr. Branson want to be associated with, after the fact. Certainly either gentleman could easily afford to live anywhere on the planet they wished. But after the onset of a global ice age, it is unlikely that they could live in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed without the service of other people. And for someone who is even partially responsible for a massive crime against humanity, such as the triggering of a great human dieoff by ice age, living among strangers could never be entirely safe.

Cross-posted from Al Fin Potpourri