OT: Australia gets it right...

Sure. The current Australian administration is a crew of right-wing nitwits .

The prime minister - Tony Abbott - is on record as describing the scientifi c basis of anthropogenic climate change as "crap". He was tired and emotion al at the time, and nowadays claims that he respects the science involved, merely acting as if he thinks that it's crap.

His Liberal (which means reactionary in Australia) predecessor, John Howard , is now unconstrained by the duties of office, and can admit that he think s that the science is crap, based on the one book he's read on the subject, Nigel Lawson's denialist masterpiece "An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming"

There are better-informed sources, but Australia's coal-mining industry fro wns on people who take them seriously.

Below average temps....

That would be the same guy who makes political decisions based on his religious beliefs........ the guy who want's abortions banned, the guy who goes out of his way to block same sex marriages.

He's a nut bag & got voted in not on his value, but the disdain felt toward the opposition.

Australia exports about 500 million tons of coal per year, over 20 tons per citizen. That will make about 1800 megatons of CO2, roughly

I'll counter with unprecedented marine heatwaves. Of course in a varying system if one area is warmer it may be expected that some areas will experience cooler than normal temps.

How's the specific heat of the ocean compare to atmosphere? I wonder if that is cause for concern.

Slowman's rectal temperature is below average... brain freeze >:-} ...Jim Thompson

"John Larkin"

Australia mines about that much and exports a tad more than half of it.

You know - run lights at night, heat bath water and keep the beer cold.

.... Phil

wits.

tific basis of anthropogenic climate change as "crap". He was tired and emo tional at the time, and nowadays claims that he respects the science involv ed, merely acting as if he thinks that it's crap.

ward, is now unconstrained by the duties of office, and can admit that he t hinks that the science is crap, based on the one book he's read on the subj ect, Nigel Lawson's denialist masterpiece "An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming"

frowns on people who take them seriously.

tons per citizen. That will make about 1800 megatons of CO2, roughly 75 ton s of "pollution" per aussie. The idea of local conservation, in light of th at, is ludicrous.

The most recent figures I can find put the production closer to 470 million tons.

We don't export all of that, and what we do export mostly goes to China and Japan. If we didn't dig it up, we'd probably suffer from an American-funde d revolution and the new government would dig it up anyway.

Mosaddegh and Allende come to mind.

China dug up 2.3 billion tons of coal per year in 2006. Their long term pla n is to wean themselves off coal - air pollution from coal burning is a rea l problem now, and they really don't fancy run-away climate change later - but in order to build the sustainable energy sources that will let them get there, they have to burn a lot of coal first.

OK, the 500 MT is a projection for 2017.

wits.

tific basis of anthropogenic climate change as "crap". He was tired and emo tional at the time, and nowadays claims that he respects the science involv ed, merely acting as if he thinks that it's crap.

ward, is now unconstrained by the duties of office, and can admit that he t hinks that the science is crap, based on the one book he's read on the subj ect, Nigel Lawson's denialist masterpiece "An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming".

frowns on people who take them seriously.

Jim Thompson is once again generalising from his own peculiar experience (a s a prime example of shit-for-brains). I do my thinking with the stuff betw een my ears. Unsurprisingly, I tend to come to different conclusions to Jim

-out-of-touch-with-reality-Thompson.

If my brain temperature is below average it's probably because it doesn't g et enough exercise around here. Jim's stupidities are boringly repetitive, and Larkin is little better.

It won't be the Australian Liberal Party. They've been brain dead for years . The recent election campaign had them gagging everybody but official spok es-people, and now that they are in power, they won't tell anybody anything until the announcement has been vetted by a crew of spin doctors, and the announcements that survive this process manage to be both brief and boring.

any leadership that is really interested in reducing CO2 levels would start a program to PLANT MORE TREES.

CO2 levels actually decrease during summer in the northern hemisphere. If we simply planted a few more trees on the planet, we could bring the CO2 levels down averaged over the full season.

The fact that the solutions being foisted on us involve TAXES is proof to me that this isn't about the environment, it's about money. There's no money to be made in planting trees.

Mark

rt a program to PLANT MORE TREES.

If we simply planted a few more trees on the planet, we could bring the CO2 levels down averaged over the full season.

In fact there are lots of other reasons why planting trees is a good idea.

goes back to a 1982 Australian government initiative to plant more trees.

me that this isn't about the environment, it's about money. There's no mo ney to be made in planting trees.

There's quite a bit of money to be made in planting trees - you don't put t hem where you can grow faster-growing plants, but you can certainly eventua lly sell the wood at a profit.

Taxing the burning of fossil carbon in proportion to the volume of CO2 rele ased into the atmosphere is a perfectly rational way of coping with the fac t that the extra CO2 in the atmosphere is causing difficulties, and will ca use worse difficulties as the CO2 level builds up. What's nice about it is that it uses the free market to work out the cheapest way of minimising CO2 emissions, rather than having some central planning organisation telling u s their idea of the best way of doing it.

BS > Jim's stupidities are boringly repetitive, BS > and Larkin is little better. Yours is the superior intellect. Not!

I'm deeply hurt. I'd been even more deeply hurt if Greegor were equipped to recognise any kind of intellect - superior or otherwise.

Of course, if Greegor did choose to endorse me, I'd be seriously worried - if a feral animal does start acting friendly, it's almost always because it wants to get close enough to steal something.

It is about time SOMEONE woke up!

"... no intention of participating in whatever globalist, redistributive, and ostensibly ?green? cockamamie scheme the UN comes up with next."

Yeah, that sure sounds like an open minded unbiased opinion with no hidden agenda, doesn't it?

Can you demonstrate factually that your green bias/position is correct? ...Jim Thompson

BS > Jim's stupidities are boringly repetitive, BS > and Larkin is little better. G > Yours is the superior intellect. Not! BS > I'm deeply hurt. I'd been even more deeply BS > hurt if Greegor were equipped to recognise BS > any kind of intellect - superior or otherwise. If your ego depends on usenet, Slowman, you are in very sad shape indeed. BS > Of course, if Greegor did choose to BS > endorse me, I'd be seriously worried BS > - if a feral animal does start acting BS > friendly, it's almost always because BS > it wants to get close enough to steal something. Before even remotely considering a hint that your opponent is a thief, without basis, you would do well to review the definition of thievery in light of the modus operandi of socialism.