Asleep at the Wheel

I took Geology in college.  This had to be my favorite course and subject, but the prof discouraged all of us from pursuing a career in Geology, as he stated the field was littered with unemployed geologist back in the late 70's, early 80's.  So I went the business route instead.

However, I did learn a few things in Geology that tell me AlGore is either just plain STUPID, or simply pandering to a political machine, namely the Democratic Party- as well as liberals and tree huggers in general- with his myth about how we are destroying the planet with our greenhouse gasses.  Don't get me wrong, I love the planet.  I believe we should do our best to take care of it.  I believe in the concept of "zero footprint" and "leave no trace".  But AlGore's Global Warming science fiction is simply too much for me to stomach. 

You see, Geology 101 we are taught that the planet has gone through many warming and cooling cycles.  No attempt was really made to explain why (that I can remember) but it was stated very clearly that the geological evidence through the fossil record shows clear evidence of the ice ages, as well as times of very warm temperatures.  Recently, ferns were found deep under the ice cap at the north pole (ferns that require average temps of around 72 degrees F to grow!), and and now we have this story:

Melting Swiss glacier yields Neolithic trove, climate secrets

With evidence such as this, indicating a much warmer planet LONG BEFORE cars and factories, and even before man burned any fossil fuels, and before man had any real impact on the planet at all, the Alps were warm.

How do you suppose that happened?

The founder of the Weather Channel believes AlGore should be sued for foisting this fable of fractious folly on the world.  He also believes the channel he founded has been taken over by climate change zealots.

Story found HERE.

What do you think?

Is AlGore a nut case who is simply sore over losing his bid for POTUSA and had to find some other way to self actualize?

Or is the sky really falling?

I am not a fan of those who go around saying  "the sky is falling". 

Show me someone who has truly studied the planets geology who will support the theory of global warming-  someone who doesn't have a political or financial interest by promoting this theory. I say they don't exist. The rest are simply intellectual lightweights who area easily swayed by the mantra of the global warming evangelist.

Here is a collection of folks and organizations who refute the global warming theory. There is enough to keep the most devoted of this theory busy reading for days.

Don't get me wrong, I am not one to trash the planet.  I believe in the concept of "leave no trace". We should conserve the plants natural resources for the good of all mankind.  ALL mankind.  Not just some of us (or only them). I also believe those with the technology should dictate the policy. We (USA) are in the best position to create world class technology to preserve the planet.  We should not be hamstrung by global wackos who will exploit treaties and mandates for their political and economic good to the detriment of our country or industries.

Here is the text of Newsweek’s 1975 story on the trend toward global cooling. It may look foolish today, but in fact world temperatures had been falling since about 1940. It was around 1979 that they reversed direction and resumed the general rise that had begun in the 1880s, bringing us today back to around 1940 levels.

A fine short history of warming and cooling scares has recently been produced. It is available here: http://www.businessandmedia.org/specialreports/2006/fi
reandice/fireandice.asp 

— D.D.

There are ominous signs that the Earth’s weather patterns have begun to change dramatically and that these changes may portend a drastic decline in food production – with serious political implications for just about every nation on Earth. The drop in food output could begin quite soon, perhaps only 10 years from now. The regions destined to feel its impact are the great wheat-producing lands of Canada and the U.S.S.R. in the North, along with a number of marginally self-sufficient tropical areas – parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indochina and Indonesia – where the growing season is dependent upon the rains brought by the monsoon.

The evidence in support of these predictions has now begun to accumulate so massively that meteorologists are hard-pressed to keep up with it. In England, farmers have seen their growing season decline by about two weeks since 1950, with a resultant overall loss in grain production estimated at up to 100,000 tons annually. During the same time, the average temperature around the equator has risen by a fraction of a degree – a fraction that in some areas can mean drought and desolation. Last April, in the most devastating outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded, 148 twisters killed more than 300 people and caused half a billion dollars’ worth of damage in 13 U.S. states.

To scientists, these seemingly disparate incidents represent the advance signs of fundamental changes in the world’s weather. The central fact is that after three quarters of a century of extraordinarily mild conditions, the earth’s climate seems to be cooling down. Meteorologists disagree about the cause and extent of the cooling trend, as well as over its specific impact on local weather conditions. But they are almost unanimous in the view that the trend will reduce agricultural productivity for the rest of the century. If the climatic change is as profound as some of the pessimists fear, the resulting famines could be catastrophic. “A major climatic change would force economic and social adjustments on a worldwide scale,” warns a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences, “because the global patterns of food production and population that have evolved are implicitly dependent on the climate of the present century.”

A survey completed last year by Dr. Murray Mitchell of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reveals a drop of half a degree in average ground temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere between 1945 and 1968. According to George Kukla of Columbia University, satellite photos indicated a sudden, large increase in Northern Hemisphere snow cover in the winter of 1971-72. And a study released last month by two NOAA scientists notes that the amount of sunshine reaching the ground in the continental U.S. diminished by 1.3% between 1964 and 1972.

To the layman, the relatively small changes in temperature and sunshine can be highly misleading. Reid Bryson of the University of Wisconsin points out that the Earth’s average temperature during the great Ice Ages was only about seven degrees lower than during its warmest eras – and that the present decline has taken the planet about a sixth of the way toward the Ice Age average. Others regard the cooling as a reversion to the “little ice age” conditions that brought bitter winters to much of Europe and northern America between 1600 and 1900 – years when the Thames used to freeze so solidly that Londoners roasted oxen on the ice and when iceboats sailed the Hudson River almost as far south as New York City.

Just what causes the onset of major and minor ice ages remains a mystery. “Our knowledge of the mechanisms of climatic change is at least as fragmentary as our data,” concedes the National Academy of Sciences report. “Not only are the basic scientific questions largely unanswered, but in many cases we do not yet know enough to pose the key questions.”

Meteorologists think that they can forecast the short-term results of the return to the norm of the last century. They begin by noting the slight drop in overall temperature that produces large numbers of pressure centers in the upper atmosphere. These break up the smooth flow of westerly winds over temperate areas. The stagnant air produced in this way causes an increase in extremes of local weather such as droughts, floods, extended dry spells, long freezes, delayed monsoons and even local temperature increases – all of which have a direct impact on food supplies.

“The world’s food-producing system,” warns Dr. James D. McQuigg of NOAA’s Center for Climatic and Environmental Assessment, “is much more sensitive to the weather variable than it was even five years ago.” Furthermore, the growth of world population and creation of new national boundaries make it impossible for starving peoples to migrate from their devastated fields, as they did during past famines.

Climatologists are pessimistic that political leaders will take any positive action to compensate for the climatic change, or even to allay its effects. They concede that some of the more spectacular solutions proposed, such as melting the Arctic ice cap by covering it with black soot or diverting arctic rivers, might create problems far greater than those they solve. But the scientists see few signs that government leaders anywhere are even prepared to take the simple measures of stockpiling food or of introducing the variables of climatic uncertainty into economic projections of future food supplies. The longer the planners delay, the more difficult will they find it to cope with climatic change once the results become grim reality.

I found this on Wikipedia, and it explains the problem about as well as I have ever seen it explained:

quote:
The primary claim of pro-deregulation supporters was one of lower electric rates. Since electrical deregulation was implemented in Texas in 2002, the residential rate for electricity has been increased seven times, leaving the current Price To Beat at around 15 cents per kilowatt (as of July 26, 2006, www.powertochoose.org). The average American rate is about 10 cents per kilowatt, similar to that of the few regions in Texas which chose not to deregulate; for example, Austin residents only pay 10 cents per kilowatt. While it is true that residents of some Texas regions have access to over a dozen different competitors, those competitors offer only a small discount from the Price To Beat; for example, the lowest cost provider in North-Central Texas charges 12.9 cents per kilowatt (as of July 26, 2006, www.powertochoose.org).

Using the Austin rate of 10 cents per kilowatt as a model of still-regulated pricing, the citizens of Texas in deregulated markets pay a premium of 29% above what would be their likely rate had Texas never experimented with deregulation. Regarding the expectation of lower rates, deregulation has been a failure. And it should be pointed out that this same failed result has repeated itself in every application of residential electrical deregulation in America since the movement started in the 1990's. In fact, many states are now putting their plan to deregulate on hold because lower rates have yet to be achieved in any of the deregulated states.
end quote

from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deregulation_of_the_Texas_
electricity_market

We have all suffered under oppressive utility bills, and since TXU sells all the power around here, they set the wholesale, and thus, to a great extent, the retail rates.

TXU has made record profits this year! I am not going to give them a Christmas bonus too.

I decided NOT to put out lights, and may not even put them on my tree (just ornaments), as a protest against outrageously high electric rates.

I prefer to spend that money on my friends and family at Christmas, and not give it to the greedy Grinch utility company.

Will you join me?

I love this place because:

We often say things here we have always believed, but never said face to face. Sometimes these things look totally stupid (speaking for myself) and sometimes you can almost see a light bulb go off in another blogger when confronted with the "facts". It is a two way street for sure.

Writing and reading here has helped me to grow and learn from others. I have seen things through others eyes in ways I have never seen before. I have backed off on some of my own beliefs because of it, and strengthened others as well.

I don't agree with everyone here, but I am learning to try to remain civil in my discussions. I am learning that civil, if passionate, discourse is a healthy thing. I have learned that character assassination- the politics of personal destruction- is truly evil, and never wins an argument. Rather, it causes peoples pride to well up, and they no longer can hear, even if reason is injected into the conversation.

I have learned that sometimes we will champion a cause only because we benefit from that cause, regardless of how un-worthy it is to the whole. We refuse to even imagine the other side of the issue.

Imagine that?

By the same token, we often (esp me!) will disparage a cause because it pains us on an individual level, regardless of the greater good.

I love the fact that I can see bonds being formed that transcend age, gender, race and even nationality.

I have also learned that Foxfire 2 has an awesome spell check built in (I was using 1.7 sans spell check before) and since it is a FREE download, everyone should be using it! ESPECIALLY ME!

I love the fact that sometimes I have to actually do research to support my position, and sometimes (OK - very rarely- almost never...lol) I learn that I DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!

Imagine that.

I have learned that there is a third rail of blogging. Actually, there are several third rails. These include:

Abortion
Religion- including all the various forms that Christianity takes
Politics- (especially R's vs D's, and social programs)
Education- (esp the merits or lack thereof of public education)

I have learned that if I want to get anything seen here, it is best not to put it under "news". So I will mention that it is cold this morning.

How about you? What have you learned?

So I have been wandering around the house, adding layers over the last couple of days.

Last night, I actually got in bed wearing long flannel pj's and a fleece jacket. When I woke up this morning, I was wondering how I managed this. Normally, its cotton athletic shorts and a t-shirt. I cant stand to be hot when I sleep. After getting everyone out for the day, I walked by the thermostat, which is still set for "AC" but hasn't done anything in a few weeks, and noticed the temp was reading 64F.

Wow.

I could not believe we were even functioning around here at 64 degrees F.

I am wondering if it is related to my camping activity as of late. Last weekend when I awoke it was 46F outside, and thus 46F in my tent as well. Maybe I am just getting used to the cold? I know one thing, I am drinking a LOT more hot coffee these days!

OK, so I broke down and fired up the furnace this morning, and let it go all the way up to 66F! Big mistake. Now I may have to open the windows to cool off. Let me unzip this fleece jacket first...

Maybe I could put that next cup 'o coffee on ice?

So where do you set the thermostat in the winter?

OK, here is a short story about the weather, gone long. 2 long. Sorry in advance for all you ADD types like me.

Yesterday, I was scouring wrecking yards for a fuel pump. Seems a new fuel pump on my ancient '86 Audi is $200 large, and since this car is a wreck- literally- and I just want to see it run again- I cant justify $200 for a new fuel pump. Besides, it will likely be the injection system next, and that will be my (and the Audi's) downfall.

So here I am, best friend in tow for moral support, scouring "pic-yer-part" lots in south Dallas. I am armed with info that says a pump from an Audi, BMW, MB, Volvo or VW will work, if within the proper age range. Guess what, there are few Audis in the wrecking yards. Few MB's too. Slightly more VW's and BMW's, and lots of Volvos. Problem is, the Volvos have their pump inside a cage that has to be removed before you can really see the pump.

Now this is October. The day started off OK- not exactly State Fair weather- but at least it wasn't over 90 degrees. Still, traipsing around on white rock lots, with lots of glaring sheet-metal is not my idea of a picnic. And as the day wore on, it got hotter.

Soon I was under some '86 Volvo 240 cutting out its heart (fuel pump) and snipping fuel lines, electric lines, etc... wondering if this heart is worth cutting out. After all, I have no way of knowing what they will charge, and did I mention the imports are on the LAST ROW of the lot? And it is HOT!

So I get it removed, and yes, the pump looks a lot like my Audis pump. Not exact, but close enough. I think I can make it work. Then there is the long walk back to the "office". A quaint place really. You stand outside, they sit inside in Air Conditioned comfort, and speak to you through heavy plate glass, not unlike a bank teller- with the aid of a microphone and speaker system. How personal! Before I step up to the "register" (a heavy steel table outside the window) I find a battery and test the pump. Nothing. Sigh.... My hands are filthy, my clothes filthy from wallowing around on white rock, and my head hurts (too old for this stuff anymore) and I have NOTHING to show for it. $200 is starting to look good about now. Or is it the heat talking?

Did I mention it was hot? Now I am sweating. I am thinking of going back out for another round, and I am sweating in the shade just thinking about it. I phone a friend who works for MB- maybe he can get me a deal. It will take some time for him to check, and I am out of time. Disgusted and dejected, I decide to move on. We load up the heavy toolbox, and head for the gate to the parking lot.

On the way back to the car, a mexican woman is making tacos in the trunk of her car. Its noon, its hot, and I am hungry. We buy two tacos for $3 and watch as she builds them. Uncovering a frying pan in the corner of the trunk, it is bubbling with chicken, ground beef, and fajita meat- maybe one or two more. She ask if we want flour tortillas. "Yes- and Fajita meat". I am fascinated as to how this is bubbling with heat. She has a Coleman stove under the frying pan- amazing! Adds onions, cilantro, salsa... Wow, those were good tacos! Hot too! who know the best tacos in town are served from the trunk of a worn out sedan in the parking lot of Atomic Auto Crushers?

Moving on to another yard, we find a '90 Audi with exactly the right pump. For good measure we remove two Volvo pumps too, and head for the gate. The Audi pump spins- and it has only been on the lot for a month, so that is a good sign. Seems any that have sat up for a while just seize up- like mine at home. Probably the new gasoline with Ethanol. I have read it causes a sludge to form after a couple of weeks, gumming up everything.

I get back home, get cleaned up, and decide it is way too hot to work on a car. So I pick my son up from school and we go mow moms yard. In the heat of the afternoon. somehow, it was not nearly as hot as lying on my back under a nasty car cutting fuel lines full of nasty old gasoline. Still hot, but not 2 hot to mow.

But did I mention it is too hot for this time of year?

OK, this is not about the weather. Sorry if I misled you. It just seems the weather wasn't going anywhere, and I thought this might jump start it again. Or at least give you a diversion from the same old-same old.

Zen Sarcasm

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire.

3. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your
neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be
promoted.

5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their
shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to
fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

17. Duct tape is like 'The Force,' It has a light side and a dark
side, and it holds the universe together.

18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving.

20. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a
laxative on the same night

A day or so ago there was a news story announced on one of the local stations (sorry- I was just passing though the room). I missed this story.

The teaser was something about how all the allergy symptoms people are having lately might not be allergies at all.

I have looked over several local TV stations websites, and not been able to find this story.

Anybody know who did it, or where I can find it?

After all this heat, and the high cooling bills (mine was over $300.00 again this month!)... I cant wait for a good cold snap.

How 'bout some hot Dr Pepper on a cold winters night? Big slice of lemon floating in the cup. Throw together some Frito-chili pie. Turn on some football... Mmmm, Mmmm good!

As for "having gas"- I find it a lot cheaper to heat my house than to cool it. My "new" furnace is soooo much more efficient- cut my gas bill in half. And its probably 12 years old! LOL If you believe the hype, the latest ones practically make their own gas they are so efficient.

I can also recommend adding a lot more insulation to the attic. I bumped mine up to 24" about a yer ago, and that really helps hold in the heat. Probably cut the cycle time on the furnace in half. Helped a lot on the cooling too.

Now if we can just get some rain!

Most of my blogs are angry lately. I apologize for that. I surely need an attitude adjustment!

But taking a different tone- I want to take time out to give thanks for the RAIN!

All of you who believe there is a God in Heaven, and He is the Maker of Heaven and Earth, please take a moment and give THANKS!

Heat:
I worked in a warehouse in 1980 loading trucks. I was 22 years old. When I say it was over 100- thats only part of the story. We had at least 2 days of 113 degrees, and 29 days of tied or broken records for heat. Wichita Falls hit 119 degrees that summer! I ended up ill from dehydration. People need to drink more water when it is this hot. Lots more.

Water:
Although we were in a drought in 1980, we didn't have to conserve water, because we had virtually the SAME amount of impounded water we have today (lakes), but far fewer people, home and businesses. The only lake I can recall being built since then is Joe Pool Lake. The amount of water we have available (lakes) is totally insufficient to cover us in case of a draught. It is a government scandal in the making.

Electricity:
As for electricity, we need the government to build nuclear plants all over the country (like France has done) and start selling cheap power to the grid. We could cut our power cost in half, and never have to worry about having enough electricity. This is one thing France has done right, and one area where our government can actually serve our people and our nation, by keeping power abundant and cheap. But this has to be a federal program, private industry has already shown it cannot manage nuclear with any efficiency. That leave lots more money for buying manufactured goods, and makes manufactured goods cheaper to make HERE. As well, if we start to switch to electric vehicles (urban dwellers can use electric cars that use no fossil fuels) we cut emissions to nothing, and make the air a lot cleaner in our cities.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction/
readings/french.html

Here is something that has been buggin' me for a long time.

Grass Clippings- Today I was driving down the service road of Central Expressway, and these lawn guys at a car dealership were blowing all their grass clippings into the street in front of me.

Why is it that everyone with a blower blows the grass clippings, soil from trimmers and edgers, and excess fertilizer and pesticides from the sidewalks and streets into the middle of the street? Do streets eat this stuff? NO. Rather, they blow around in the street, until the rains come and wash them down the storm sewer. What happens then? Here is what happens:

Fertilizers, soil particles, grass clippings and leaves contain nitrogen and phosphorus which can cause weed and algae growth when washed through sewers into nearby creeks, ponds and lakes. This pollutes the water, and decomposing leaves and grass clippings can also rob aquatic life of oxygen. Most of us know how bad the water taste when the lakes have algae blooms.

So why cant everyone just blow the stuff back into their own lawn? Surely it will do the most good there, as decomposing plant materials fertilize the lawn. And if you are paying for fertilizer and pesticides, don't you want it in your lawn, and not in the street?

I blow my stuff back into my lawn, and its not any harder than blowing it into the middle of the street. When I had a yard man, I had him do this, and he changed to doing it on all his lawns as a matter of policy. What will it take to make everyone else a change?