The warm peaks of the last 100 years were 1934, 1998 and 2010.

But where do they rank in a longer term list of warm years?

Of the past 10,500 years, 9,100 were warmer than 1934/1998/2010. Thus, regardless of which year (1934, 1998, or 2010) turns out to be the warmest of the past century, that year will rank number 9,099 in the long-term list.

The climate has been warming slowly since the Little Ice Age, but it has quite a ways to go yet before reaching the temperature levels that persisted for nearly all of the past 10,500 years.

It’s really much to do about nothing.

For a good summary of temperature trends see:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/12/28/2010%E2%80%94where-does-it-fit-in-the-warmest-year-list/

The role of methane in the atmosphere has been emphasized by the IPCC to the point that many governments regard methane as almost as important as carbon dioxide amongst the greenhouse gases. The result is that emissions from natural gas pipelines, coal seams and agricultural livestock have been included in schemes to limit the growth of greenhouse gas concentrations. Analysis of changes to atmospheric methane within the last one hundred years suggests that the annual increases from 1930 to 1990 were due to losses from the production, transmission and distribution of natural gas that have now been reduced. Measurements over the last fifteen years show only natural variability. The data provide no justification for any attempts to reduce methane from industrial or agricultural activity.

For a full report by Tom Quirk, Twentieth Century Sources of Methane in the Atmosphere, see: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/quirk-methane-in-atmosphere.pdf [PDF, 223 KB]

Flood plains are for floods and the banks of the Bremer and Brisbane Rivers are no exception. Nor is the big flood of 2011 a record in river level, duration or damage.

The grand-daddy for water levels was 1841, but the year that takes the prize as the worst flood in the Brisbane/Bremer Rivers must surely be the four floods of 1893.

See: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/brisbane-floods-of-1893.pdf [PDF, 108KB]

What do you know about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

Every day we hear about the dangers of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But most people spreading the scares do not know or do not tell how significant this gas is in the atmosphere.

Here is a 6 question quiz. Take the quiz and see how well you compare to sampling carried out by Gregg Thompson.

Those who do not know the answers to these questions should not be voicing opinions on the role of carbon dioxide in affecting earth’s temperature.

Get informed, and then inform others.

The questions are here: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/co2-information.pdf [PDF, 73 KB]

The New Zealand government is proposing to nominate a reduction target for emissions of certain natural gases produced by human activities.

With no mathematics, science, logic or economics to support their target, they propose to nominate that 2050 emissions will be just 50% of 1990 levels.

This submission looks at a few key aspects of this proposal and concludes that it is not feasible, not sustainable and not justified.

The full submission: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/barefoot-in-the-snow.pdf [PDF, 905 KB]

This year will see the climax of the Climate War in Australia. Once the new Senators take their seats Gillard and the Greens will try to legislate their carbon dioxide tax followed by the carbon rationing scheme.

We can expect no help from the big end of town – they are too busy designing exemptions or benefits for themselves. All stops will be pulled out with the government media, the research mercenaries, the climate change industry and paid spruikers like Garnaut and Flannery all firing broadsides.

Opposing them are a few independent scientists, a few sceptical journalists, a growing band of bloggists and thousands of concerned consumers and tax payers.

Politics is a numbers game, so we need help from every member and supporter. Please pass on these messages to friends and associates, write letters to the media, swamp the politicians with questions and opposition, swell the numbers at rallies and protests, ask awkward questions of politicians in public, and recruit new supporters.

The taxaholics will fail in the end, but the longer this scam continues the greater the cost and harm done to our economy, our cost of living and our environment.

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

Please play a part in this great battle of our times.

More, including:

• Green Peasants of the Pacific
• Politicians Produce Pollution
• Closing Down Australia
• The Lord Monckton Tour
• Lights on for Earth Hour
• The Ron Kitching Letter Contest
• Green Ghouls Chase Catastrophes
• Goofy Green Gas Policies
• The Carbon Dioxide Tax
• Can You Help?
• The Carbon Dioxide Tax Revolt

in the PDF here: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/battle-of-our-times.pdf [PDF, 238 KB]

No warming for 13 years, so why are we still listening to the Alarmists.

Lower troposphere temperature from satellites, updated to January 2011.

Global monthly average lower troposphere temperature (thin line) since 1979 according to University of Alabama at Huntsville, USA. The thick line is the simple running 37 month average.

For many more graphs see: http://www.climate4you.com/Text/Climate4you_January_2011.pdf [PDF, 1.3 MB]

Wind power is very dilute, and thus a large area of land is required to gather significant energy. Wind energy needs a wide network of roads, transmission lines and turbines which degrades any area containing wind farms. It has a huge land footprint.

The operating characteristics of turbine and generator mean that only a small part of wind energy can be captured.

Wind power is also intermittent, unreliable and hard to predict. Therefore large backup or storage systems are required. This adds to the capital and operating costs and increases the instability of the network.

Wind farms are uniformly hated by neighbours and will not be willingly accepted without heavy compensation payments. Their noise, flicker, fire risk and disturbing effect on domestic and wild animals are well documented.

The wind is free but wind power is far from it. Its cost is far above all conventional methods of generating electricity. Either taxpayers or consumers will pay this bill.

Wind farms are promoted as a way to decarbonise energy generation. This is supposed to reduce global warming. There is no evidence that there is any need or benefit in chasing this rainbow.

There is no justification for continuing the complex network of subsidies, mandates and tax breaks that currently underpin construction of wind farms in Australia. If wind power is sustainable it will be developed without these financial crutches.

Full report: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/why-wind-wont-work.pdf [PDF, 1.5 MB]

About 20 turbines catch fire and burn each year. The global total number of turbines appears to be around 68,000. These figures from the web provide a rough guide to quantifying the bushfire risk. Applying the global data to the 2,000 or so turbines installed in Australia we would expect a 60% probability of one turbine fire each year.

If there is a known risk of wind generator fire then the generators must be disabled well before conditions reach critical being a Grassland fire danger Index above 50 or a Forest Fire danger Index above 6.

Full report here: http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/fire-in-the-sky.pdf [PDF, 37 KB]

David Packham
School of Geography and Environmental Sciences
Monash University

“I think The Australian’s support of the carbon dioxide tax on the basis of the so-called precautionary principle and on the primacy of market solutions misses the point. This is not a real market but an artificial construct concocted by bureaucrats and academics to be rorted by merchant bankers.”

David Flint
A former head of the Australian Press Council.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/anti-murdoch-politicians-cant-stand-the-heat/story-e6frg6zo-1226095560219