Sunday, 30 November 2014
Take Your Pick of Lies About Ozone, Methane or Mercury
By Alan Caruba
Is it surprising that the
Environmental Protection Agency continues to tell big fat lies about anything it
wants to ban, but is reluctant to show the “science” on which the bans are
based?
There is currently a piece of
legislation under consideration by Congress, the Secret Science Reform Act, to
force the EPA to disclose its scientific and technical information before
proposing or finalizing any regulation.
This is what Nicolas Loris of The
Heritage Foundation had to say regarding the mercury air and toxics rule that
the EPA claims would produce $53 billion to $140 billion in annual health and
environmental benefits. “The two studies that represent the scientific
foundation for 1997 ozone and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards are
highly questionable and the data concealed, even though the studies were paid
for by federal taxpayers and thus should be public
property.”
In addition to claims about carbon
dioxide as a dreaded “greenhouse” gas, methane is also getting the attention of
those opposed to “fracking”, a technique that has provided access to both
natural gas and oil. James M. Taylor, a Senior Fellow with The
Heartland Institute, a free market think tank, noted in January that
“Natural gas has high methane content, but the methane is converted to energy
when natural gas is burnt.” Citing U.S. Energy Information Administration data,
Taylor noted “The ongoing decline in methane emissions supplements ongoing
declines in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.” Since 2000 both are down between 6%
AND 9%.
The EPA is forever claiming billions
in "health benefits" that result from their regulations. The public never gets
to see the data on which such claims are based. The regulations, however, cost
billions.
The day before Thanksgiving, the EPA
announced that it intends to propose an updated national standard for
ground-level ozone, otherwise known as smog, based in part on the enforcement of
rules concerning mercury. The previous day, the Supreme Court said it would
review the agency’s standards requiring reductions of mercury emissions and
other elements the EPA regards as toxic air pollution.
To put all this in perspective, in
August CNS
News’ Penny Starr reported on a study by the National Association of
Manufacturers regarding the EPA’s proposed regulation of ozone. It found that
“it could be the costliest federal rule by reducing the Gross National Product
by $270 billion per year and $3.4 trillion from 2017 to 2040, and adds $3.3
trillion in compliance costs for the same period.” NAM president, Jay Timmons, said “The
regulation has the capacity to stop the manufacturing comeback in its
tracks.”
Concurrently with NAM, the American
Petroleum Institute released an analysis of the NAM study that said “The
nation’s air quality has improved over the past several years, and ozone
emissions will continue to decline without new regulations.” NAM’s vice
president of energy and resources policy, Ross Eisenberg, said, “We are rapidly
approaching a point where we are requiring manufacturers to do the
impossible.”
That, however, is exactly what the
ozone regulation is intended to do. This has nothing to do with health and
everything to do with destroying the nation’s power producers and manufacturers,
reducing vital electrical energy, and forcing factories of every description to
close.
At the upper levels of the atmosphere,
the stratosphere, ozone is essential to the survival of life on Earth because
ozone filters harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight. Otherwise the
radiation would damage both plant and animal life. The reason you get sunburned
is that too much UV radiation has caused it. Like everything else in nature, too
much or too little determines the harm or benefit it provides, but that too is
largely determined by nature.
Ozone is a form of elemental oxygen,
but it’s not something you want to breathe. As Wikipedia notes, “It is not
emitted directly by car engines or by industrial operations, but formed by the
reaction of sunlight on air containing hydrocarbons
and nitrogen oxides that react to form ozone directly at the source of the
pollution or many kilometers down wind.” The initial mandate of the EPA to clean
the air and water has been achieved. That is why smog is relatively rare
nationwide. Further regulation is regressive.
As for mercury, in 2011 the EPA issued
946 pages of new rules requiring U.S. power plants to sharply reduce their
emissions of mercury even though they were already quite low. As with the
proposed ozone rules, the EPA claimed that they would cost $10.9 billion
annually to implement, but would save 17,000 lives while generating $140 billion
in health benefits. This is all just hogwash. Such figures are just plucked out
of the air or, worse, based on “science” the public paid for but is not allowed
to see!
Does anybody find it bizarre that,
while the EPA is trying to remove the tiniest amounts of mercury in the
environment, in 2011 Congress passed a law eliminate the incandescent light bulb
and required their replacement by fluorescent lights that contain
mercury?
As Willie Soon and Paul Driessen wrote
in a 2011 Wall Street Journal commentary, “Mercury has always existed naturally
in Earth’s environment. Mercury is found in air, water, rocks, soil and trees,
which absorb it from the environment.” They noted that “Since our power plants
account for less than 0.5% of all the mercury in the air we breathe,
eliminating every milligram of it will do nothing about the other 99.5% in our
atmosphere.”
The fundamental EPA lies about ozone
and mercury involve the issue of toxicity. Since both are a natural part of the
Earth, and since the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and since life expectancy
has been increasing dramatically in recent decades, the likelihood that either
represents a threat requiring the expenditure of billions to reduce tiny amounts
of their emissions is based on environmental ideology, not on science.
Even if it was based on alleged
science we would, as noted, not be allowed to see the data. If this reminds you
of the way ObamaCare was foisted on “the stupid voters”, you’re right. The EPA
hopes you are stupid enough not to realize that it is engaged in the destruction
of the economy.
© Alan Caruba, 2014
Oil is the Canary?..................from Rico
Is OIL the canary in the economic coal mine once again?
Remember what happened right after the price of oil collapsed in 2007-2008?
- Some very smart observers think it was the precursor to the last financial crash. A tell-tale indicator.
Look at what is happening t the price of oil today.
- Is this an indicator again of another financial crash?
With a market priced at roughly twice its value, and all official 'numbers' so manipulated and fraudulent as to be useless, what could go wrong
The Sunday Best..............
The Turkish Governor's "Huge Hatred"
Pricey, possibly bomb-laden property no easy sell
PRESIDENT JARRETT: "Senior Adviser" Reportedly Calling All the Shots, Including Those In Ferguson
Microsoft distances itself from Steve Ballmer
Legal loophole lets Germany spy on own citizens
Experts: No easy options if court strikes down ACA
CNN's Mike Rowe Schools Liberal Troll's 'Virtual Lake of Spew' On His Facebook Page
FEMA asks some Sandy aid recipients to give it back
US appeals WTO ruling against national meat labels
The make-or-break marijuana state
Parched California prepares for possible flooding
Detroit strikes back against carjackings
Swiss to vote on massive gold-buying plan
Dog takes bullet, saves child after road rage attack
Figures on government spending and debt
OPEC decision means 'pain train' for U.S. oil industry
and finally.........
Winter Tips # 11: Firewood info
Putting it all in context......................from Rico
Let's put Friday's bullion "raids" by the Masters of Paper into context by connecting some dots.
It's easy to see the same old, same old, manipulation of the CRIMEX paper spot prices this past Black Friday.
- Stand alone, business as usual for the Cartel.
Now consider that the 1yr GOFO just hit not only the lowest point so far in the 21st century, but is nearly where it has never gone before....negative.
- Instead of physical Gold being used as a source of collateral to obtain cash financing, investors are paying to 'borrow' Gold. [read: There is a shortage of physical Gold at commercial and central banks...the biggest shortage in history.]
- Can you say "rehypothecated?" Synthetic (imaginary, paper Gold that has been sold and resold multiple times) cannot be delivered.
Here is the final, biggest, dot for today. The Swiss Gold Referendum Sunday Nov 30th.
- If it was allowed to "pass" it would end the central bank Gold suppression mechanism, and the price of physical Gold would go 'bid only' (there will be no sellers).....so it will not be allowed to happen if the crooks have anything to say about it.
The media blitz against Gold and the referendum when linked to the antics on the Paper COMEX Friday before the weekend are in perfect harmony and synchronicity.
- What a HUGE coincidence, huh?
Choose wisely.....................from Rico
As the Democrats (C) move further left and more tightly embrace Socialism, it's worth considering one's choices.
Move to Detroit or Hiroshima, or just get rid of all the Democrats (C)?
Choose wisely, America...
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Saturday, 29 November 2014
Must Watch Video: 'What If' We Had A President Who...from TPC
What If a president ignored the People, Congress, the rule of law and in many cases the US Constitution?
This video, "What If', looks at Barack Obama and the fact that he has done all this and more!
Butts that put Kim Kardashian's butt to shame!...from TPC
While debate stirs over whether of not Kim Kardashian has had butt implants, there is no debate that her butt doesn't even make TPC's Top 10!
News...............
The storm over the teacup by Caroline Glick
Turkey and the Kurds
NASA caption: Scientists have produced a new version of what is perhaps NASA's best view of Jupiter's ice-covered moon
Obama immigration action may split religious coalition
Grand jury protesters close St. Louis shopping mall
'Obsolete' Warthogs head to Iraq
Barack Obama: A Companion of Fools
Steyn vs. Mann and the ‘Toilet’ D.C. Justice System
Syria ceasefire on verge of collapse on fears of 'another Srebrenica'
North Korea's surge in squid poaching
Triple bomb blasts kill 120 outside Nigeria mosque
Hi-tech gear stolen from Russia’s Mistral warship in France
Russian Navy successfully test-fires new submarine-based intercontinental ballistic missile
Barbaric slaughter or historic ritual? More than 5,000 buffaloes killed as world’s largest animal sacrifice begins
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Friday, 28 November 2014
Catholic Humor: Obama and the Pope are on a stage...from TPC
The joke in this article may not be a new one (the cartoon on amnesty is though), but as the American people are force to suffer through what could be the worst presidency in American history, it remains sadly appropriate!
Obama’s Ferguson Strategy: Success or Failure?
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When Officer Darren Wilson was
forced to pull the trigger on his service weapon killing Michael Brown, he had
no way of knowing that he had just ignited a firestorm that would spread across
the country. Although protests and riots remained in the headlines even through
the Thanksgiving holiday, the furor surrounding the grand jury decision seems
to be subsiding despite the best efforts of some in the news media. The
question then is whether this indicates success of the Obama administration’s Ferguson
policy, or failure. (continue reading)
News....................
Thank a White Male
Identity of Polish 'vampires' revealed
Obama's bowling alone: Common Ground
Michael Brown’s Mom Is A Ridiculous Blame Shifting Rabble Rouser
Turkey denies allowing Hamas to operate in its territory
Blast at Nigeria bus station kills 40
Great news - low oil prices are destroying Opec's power
Who is the North Korean 'princess' moving closer to centre of power
Cushions and crudites: the demands of Hillary Clinton
Political Landslides Shake Europe
Marijuana Figures Big in Ferguson Meltdown
Gauntlet is thrown; Obama spurns the People, Congress
A Ferguson, Missouri Feel Good Story!...from TPC
Out of the violence and destruction in Ferguson, Missouri, much of it directed at innocent small business owners, a prime example of the basic goodness and kindness of people has emerged.
Read about it at LinkedIn here.
"The Three Terrors"....................
Ahmedido Domingo (aka Ahmadinejad), Erdogano Pavarotti (aka Erdogan) and Assad Carreras (aka Bashar Assad) singing about the benefits of terrorism
H/T Steve
The Shame! Obama Administration Dumps 3,415 New Regs on the Down-Low.............
It's Christmas in Liberal-land, with the federal government releasing 3,415 new regulations. So, why are they hiding the presents, quietly releasing them on a Friday night with Congress adjourned, as Americans we head home for the holiday? It almost makes you feel they're ashamed of their new rules, or don't want us to notice them. It also reminds us of why it's good to be conservative
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Thursday, 27 November 2014
United, But Divided
By Alan Caruba
The nation united to celebrate
Thanksgiving, but as anyone who follows the polls can confirm, it is sharply
divided. In many ways, half of those polled see America opposite to the other
half.
In early November the Associated Press
reported on a survey of 20,168 voters by Edison Research. It included results
from interviews as voters left a random sample of 281 precincts on Election Day,
November 4. As we know, the results of the election have been interpreted as a
sharp rebuke to President Obama and the Democratic Party. Power in the Senate
shifted to the Republican Party that also gained more seats in the House and
added to the number of governors, bringing them to 29 of the 50
states.
For conservatives that is very good
news. Politically Democrats feel so endangered that one of its top voices, Sen.
Chuck Schumer of New York just announced that passing ObamaCare was a big
mistake, noting that the Party should have focused on the economy.
That is an extraordinary confession
and one that abandons the President whose name is associated with the Affordable
Care Act. The Democratic Party has been captured by the far Left, but Schumer
seemed to be saying it has to move more to the center if it has any hope in the
2016 elections.
The Associated Press reported that
“Fifty-four percent of those who voted for Democrats said the country is headed
in the right direction, while 88 percent of Republican voters think it’s on the
wrong track.” One has to wonder how
anyone could learn that one-out-of-five Americans on Thanksgiving Day was using
food stamps and conclude this reflects the right direction.
On November 7 The Washington Post
reported “With 214,000 jobs
added in October, the unemployment rate ticked down to 5.8 percent, the lowest
level in six years, even as more workers entered the job market.” The official unemployment rate is widely
believed to be half of what the actual rate is nationwide after
one factors in data the bureaucrats ignore or fudge.
Not
surprisingly, “Nearly 9 in 10 of those who voted for Republicans think the
economy is in bad shape, compared with just over half of Democratic
voters.” Here again, the difference is
perceptions is dramatic with conservatives having a more realistic point of
view, but if more than half the Democratic voters think the economy is bad, that
suggests the 2016 elections may reflect the recent midterms.
In
some ways the AP poll depicted a difference based on what one might deem a more
“mature” take on the state of the nation as opposed to those who ignore its
problems to hold a more hopeful one, even if the facts do not support that
judgement. “Sixty-four percent of Republican voters, but only 30 percent of
Democratic voters, think life for the next generation of Americans will be worse
than life today.”
The
failure to embrace reality over propaganda was dramatically demonstrated by a
question about climate change generated a response of “86 percent of those who
backed Democrats” calling it “a serious problem”, while two-thirds of Republican
voters said it was not. This means that 19 years into a planetary cooling cycle
and a winter that has arrived a month early this year, Democratic
voters—liberals—still cling to the belief that climate change, instead of
reflecting the lower radiation levels of the Sun, is caused by human activity
that generates a trace gas called carbon dioxide, all 0.04% of it in the
atmosphere.
In
a world where every day brings news of Islamic barbarism in the Middle East and
Africa, “only 6 in 10 Democratic voters said they were worried by the threat of
terrorism, while “8 in 10 Republican voters” took the threat seriously.
There
are social differences between Republicans and Democrats. Of the Republican
voters, 87% percent were white, while 61% of voters backing Democratic
candidates were; 70% of Republican voters were married, compared with 55% of
Democratic ones.
There
were other differences among the two sets of voters, but suffice to say that
each group lives in its own version of America and there are major gaps in their
perception of the nation and the world.
The
election reflected that a large portion of the voters demonstrated they prefer a
conservative approach to government. If that trend continues—and it likely
will—the 2016 elections will represent a major change from the two terms of
President Obama and a rejection of his domestic and foreign
policies.
Until
then America will remain a nation divided politically and, given our diversity,
within many social groups defined by gender, race, wealth, and age. Demography,
the study of population, suggests that Americans are growing older in larger
numbers than other subsets. Those “old folks” may just be the deciding factor in
coming elections.
©
Alan Caruba, 2014
Late News.............
HIV/AIDS cases increase dramatically in Russia
'Children of Men' Author P.D. James Dies at 94
Beijing preps tough tobacco controls in smokers' paradise
Oil prices plummet as OPEC decides against output cut
Smith & Wesson, GenDyn team to supply new pistol to Army
Bollywood actress sentenced to 26 years over TV scene
How Germany and the euro are keeping Europe in recession
Christmas and Thanksgiving have been co-opted by commerce!...from TPC
For anyone who is paying attention to newspaper, television and radio ads, the title of this article will not come as any great surprise.
Read at LinkedIn here.
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