Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog

Quoting Grothar:


What would make you think I would not know Lady Gaga? I have actually bought her CD's. I liked Amy Winehouse, too. We enjoy Adele and Alicia Keyes, and I enjoy just looking at Shania Twain I am not stuck in the 18th century, although their music wasn't bad either.

lol just looking....

Quoting Grothar:


Doris Day actually slept in rubber sheets and wrapped her whole body in vaseline.

think i seen that movie but don't think it was the same doris day you are talking about....

From China Daily: Leading role pledged to fight climate change
By Lan Lan and Yang Yao 2012-11-22

Excerpt: The nation's top climate-change official expressed China's readiness on Wednesday to play an active and constructive role in international efforts to combat global warming ahead of a major UN climate conference in Doha, Qatar.

China is seeking a turning point in terms of its emissions and attempting to peak its carbon emissions as early as it can, Xie Zhenhua, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said.

The world is paying close attention to when China hits peak emissions.

"At this stage, it would be unfair and unreasonable to require China to reduce its carbon emissions in absolute terms," Xie said. But measures have been put in place to make sure emissions are curbed, he said.

The two-week UN climate change conference opens in the Qatari capital on Monday. Regarding the motion at last year's UN climate change conference in Durban, South Africa, that a climate deal would be reached by 2015, at the latest, and come into effect in 2020, Xie said China's attitude is both active and open.

"We cannot pass judgment on the possible result. But we are certain we will implement whatever final document that is adopted by all nations."

Details of this announcement here.

Climate Reports Forecast Dire Future, Even If Action Is Taken
Posted: 11/21/2012 9:40 am EST Updated: 11/21/2012 1:21 pm EST


In the absence of aggressive government policies aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, a number of leading organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank and others, have begun issuing analyses that regard potentially dangerous temperature elevations as not just a possibility should the status quo prevail, but a near certainty even if things start to change.

The latest report, released Wednesday by the United Nations Environment Program, suggested that greenhouse gas emissions levels are currently around 14 percent above where they need to be by the end of the decade in order to avoid what many analysts believe could be a risky level of planetary warming.

That report comes on the heels of a study issued Tuesday by the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization, which stated that human civilization has pumped roughly 375 billion tonnes, or metric tons, of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere since the dawn of the industrial age, when the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels began in earnest.

"These billions of tonnes of additional carbon dioxide in our atmosphere will remain there for centuries, causing our planet to warm further and impacting on all aspects of life on earth," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud, in a statement issued Tuesday. "Future emissions will only compound the situation."

On Sunday, the World Bank issued a report suggesting that the climate could warm a full 4 degrees by the end of the century -- less than 90 years from now -- even if countries fulfill the modest emissions-reduction pledges they've already made.

A 4-degree uptick in temperatures is significantly higher than what has long been deemed the maximum amount -- 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit -- that average global temperatures could rise while still maintaining a climate similar to that in which human civilization has evolved.

That number, measured against things as they existed before the industrial-scale use of fossil fuels got underway, was not considered absolute. But the best evidence seemed to suggest that keeping the Earth's average temperature from rising much beyond 2 degrees was a worthy goal, not least because larger increases would raise the odds of many unpleasant things: forbidding sea levels, searing heat waves, grinding droughts and the like.

In subsequent years, some prominent scientists argued that even 2 degrees of warming would be disastrous.

But increasing evidence suggests that such distinctions may no longer matter.

Nearly 30 years after the benchmark was proffered, about half the distance to a 2-degree temperature increase, or about 0.8 degrees, has already been achieved. Further, enough carbon dioxide, the chief planet warming gas that arises when coal, oil and natural gas are burned, is already in the atmosphere to raise future temperatures by another 0.8 degrees, even if all the pollution stopped immediately.

As it is, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are at an all-time high and are projected to continue booming.

Carbon dioxide is, of course, naturally present in the atmosphere -- and necessary for retaining some of the sun's warmth and creating a habitable climate. But all that extra, human-produced carbon dioxide is amplifying the natural greenhouse effect, and driving up the planetary thermostat.

So much so that PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global business consultancy, issued a report earlier this month that makes the 2-degree Celsius threshold appear quaint. That analysis, titled "Too Late for Two Degrees?," suggested that while efforts to reduce the carbon intensity, or the amount of emissions per unit of GDP, of the world's economies are making some modest gains, they are unfolding so slowly as to be negligible.

"Even doubling our current rate of decarbonization, would still lead to emissions consistent with 6 degrees of warming by the end of the century," noted Leo Johnson, a partner in PwC's Sustainability and Climate Change unit, in the report. "To give ourselves a more than 50 percent chance of avoiding 2 degrees will require a six-fold improvement in our rate of decarbonization."

Put another way, the PwC researchers concluded, to have even a modest chance of staying within the 2-degree threshold, the global economy would need to reduce overall carbon intensity by 5.1 percent every year for the next 40 years.



Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii.
Reductions in overall carbon intensity have occurred -- particularly during times of steep recession, when economies are producing less and, as such, burning fewer fossil fuels. But reductions of 5 percent have never been achieved in any year since World War II, the PwC report noted, much less year after year for decades. And given the fast-expanding and fossil-fuel dependent economies of countries like China and India, such reductions are exceedingly unlikely, the authors suggested.

"Governments and businesses can no longer assume that a 2-degree Celsius warming world is the default scenario," the PwC authors declared. "Any investment in long-term assets or infrastructure, particularly in coastal or low-lying regions, needs to address more pessimistic scenarios. Sectors dependent on food, water, energy or ecosystem services need to scrutinize the resilience and viability of their supply chains."

The findings roughly echoed those of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, which suggested this month in its annual World Energy Outlook that even accounting for the policy commitments already made or contemplated by world governments, energy-related emissions are expected to rise precipitously over the next two decades, pointing to what the organization called a "long‐term average temperature increase of 3.6 degrees Celsius.

"A lower rate of global economic growth in the short term," IEA reported, "would make only a marginal difference to longer‐term energy and climate trends."

Should these bleak scenarios prove accurate, the World Bank said on Sunday, a variety of unpleasant end-of-century outcomes would seem all but unavoidable: Increasingly acidic oceans that will fundamentally alter the aquatic food chain; rapidly rising oceans; freshwater scarcity, diminished agricultural yields; and a variety of other impacts -- most of them landing particularly hard on the world's poorest.

"Lack of action on climate change threatens to make the world our children inherit a completely different world than we are living in today," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim in a statement accompanying the report. "Climate change is one of the single biggest challenges facing development, and we need to assume the moral responsibility to take action on behalf of future generations, especially the poorest," he said.

So-called non-linear outcomes are also a threat, the World Bank noted:

As global warming approaches and exceeds 2-degrees Celsius, there is a risk of triggering nonlinear tipping elements. Examples include the disintegration of the West Antarctic ice sheet leading to more rapid sea-level rise, or large-scale Amazon dieback drastically affecting ecosystems, rivers, agriculture, energy production, and livelihoods. This would further add to 21st-century global warming and impact entire continents.
To be sure, no scientific model can pinpoint exactly when any particular temperature level will be reached, nor predict with precision just how the planet will respond. And some experts remain hopeful -- albeit increasingly cautiously -- that dramatic action could still forestall the most dire implications of rising temperatures, though they say the window for doing so will not be open for long.

"It is still possible to avoid 2-degree warming, and arguing it is too late could very easily be a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Michael E. Mann, a climatologist and director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. "That having been said, the real issue is whether or not we have the political will."

That sentiment was echoed by Jonathan Koomey, a research fellow at the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance at Stanford University, and the co-author of the first comprehensive analysis of the 2-degree limit back in 1989.

"We tend to underestimate the possibility for change," Koomey said "At certain times, when people perceive a crisis, things can change very, very rapidly."

Koomey pointed, by way of example, to World War II, when initially reluctant automobile factories, under federal orders, converted operations in a matter of months to the manufacture of planes, tanks and other defense products. "People have been able to make very rapid changes," Koomey said, "and I think we have to be very careful in thinking about, or in taking literally, people's assessments of feasibility."

Still, he added, "We have to separate the lessons that this way of thinking can teach us and the realities of politics and interest groups. Urgent action is required."

The climate activist Bill McKibben, who is currently traveling the country in an effort to highlight the hard math that is making the 2-degree benchmark an increasingly fleeting possibility, agreed.

"It would take an incredible effort, but that's what we're trying to spur," he said when asked if the recent proliferation of analyses suggests an inescapably dire future. "Given the damage that 1 degree is doing, we're already at 'dire,'" McKibben said. "We dearly don't want to see what 2 degrees looks like, much less 3."

Quoting Dakster:
Gro - You would need a totally opaque filter for that.

I think that remark deserves a twit.

Quoting TomballTXPride:


What makes you think those studies you posted (the same studies calling Fox's viewers stupid) would be found on Fox's website? LOL

Nice try, Nea.

You're clearly missing the point. Of course Fox would avoid airing a story on truthful scientific research that suggests that Fox avoids airing stories on truthful scientific research. And that means I had to search elsewhere.

As my kids would say: "Well, duh." ;-)

I'm finished with the pies (save for a few touches), and now the three dressing loaves are in the oven. I also just started the first rise on the dough for eight dozen Parker House rolls. In an hour or so, I'll unbag the turkeys, truss them up, and set them to chill/dry overnight in preparation for going in the oven in the morning. Then I'll form the rolls and cover them for their second rise. After that, a quick ride around the neighborhood to drop off the pies I'm not sharing with family. Then back home to bake the rolls, have a beer, and write my to-do list for tomorrow. The home stretch is in sight!

Quoting Patrap:
Climate Reports Forecast Dire Future, Even If Action Is Taken
Posted: 11/21/2012 9:40 am EST Updated: 11/21/2012 1:21 pm EST


In the absence of aggressive government policies aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, a number of leading organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank and others, have begun issuing analyses that regard potentially dangerous temperature elevations as not just a possibility should the status quo prevail, but a near certainty even if things start to change.

The latest report, released Wednesday by the United Nations Environment Program, suggested that greenhouse gas emissions levels are currently around 14 percent above where they need to be by the end of the decade in order to avoid what many analysts believe could be a risky level of planetary warming.

That report comes on the heels of a study issued Tuesday by the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization, which stated that human civilization has pumped roughly 375 billion tonnes, or metric tons, of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere since the dawn of the industrial age, when the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels began in earnest.

"These billions of tonnes of additional carbon dioxide in our atmosphere will remain there for centuries, causing our planet to warm further and impacting on all aspects of life on earth," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud, in a statement issued Tuesday. "Future emissions will only compound the situation."

On Sunday, the World Bank issued a report suggesting that the climate could warm a full 4 degrees by the end of the century -- less than 90 years from now -- even if countries fulfill the modest emissions-reduction pledges they've already made.

A 4-degree uptick in temperatures is significantly higher than what has long been deemed the maximum amount -- 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit -- that average global temperatures could rise while still maintaining a climate similar to that in which human civilization has evolved.

That number, measured against things as they existed before the industrial-scale use of fossil fuels got underway, was not considered absolute. But the best evidence seemed to suggest that keeping the Earth's average temperature from rising much beyond 2 degrees was a worthy goal, not least because larger increases would raise the odds of many unpleasant things: forbidding sea levels, searing heat waves, grinding droughts and the like.

In subsequent years, some prominent scientists argued that even 2 degrees of warming would be disastrous.

But increasing evidence suggests that such distinctions may no longer matter.

Nearly 30 years after the benchmark was proffered, about half the distance to a 2-degree temperature increase, or about 0.8 degrees, has already been achieved. Further, enough carbon dioxide, the chief planet warming gas that arises when coal, oil and natural gas are burned, is already in the atmosphere to raise future temperatures by another 0.8 degrees, even if all the pollution stopped immediately.

As it is, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are at an all-time high and are projected to continue booming.

Carbon dioxide is, of course, naturally present in the atmosphere -- and necessary for retaining some of the sun's warmth and creating a habitable climate. But all that extra, human-produced carbon dioxide is amplifying the natural greenhouse effect, and driving up the planetary thermostat.

So much so that PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global business consultancy, issued a report earlier this month that makes the 2-degree Celsius threshold appear quaint. That analysis, titled "Too Late for Two Degrees?," suggested that while efforts to reduce the carbon intensity, or the amount of emissions per unit of GDP, of the world's economies are making some modest gains, they are unfolding so slowly as to be negligible.

"Even doubling our current rate of decarbonization, would still lead to emissions consistent with 6 degrees of warming by the end of the century," noted Leo Johnson, a partner in PwC's Sustainability and Climate Change unit, in the report. "To give ourselves a more than 50 percent chance of avoiding 2 degrees will require a six-fold improvement in our rate of decarbonization."

Put another way, the PwC researchers concluded, to have even a modest chance of staying within the 2-degree threshold, the global economy would need to reduce overall carbon intensity by 5.1 percent every year for the next 40 years.



Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii.
Reductions in overall carbon intensity have occurred -- particularly during times of steep recession, when economies are producing less and, as such, burning fewer fossil fuels. But reductions of 5 percent have never been achieved in any year since World War II, the PwC report noted, much less year after year for decades. And given the fast-expanding and fossil-fuel dependent economies of countries like China and India, such reductions are exceedingly unlikely, the authors suggested.

"Governments and businesses can no longer assume that a 2-degree Celsius warming world is the default scenario," the PwC authors declared. "Any investment in long-term assets or infrastructure, particularly in coastal or low-lying regions, needs to address more pessimistic scenarios. Sectors dependent on food, water, energy or ecosystem services need to scrutinize the resilience and viability of their supply chains."

The findings roughly echoed those of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, which suggested this month in its annual World Energy Outlook that even accounting for the policy commitments already made or contemplated by world governments, energy-related emissions are expected to rise precipitously over the next two decades, pointing to what the organization called a "long‐term average temperature increase of 3.6 degrees Celsius.

"A lower rate of global economic growth in the short term," IEA reported, "would make only a marginal difference to longer‐term energy and climate trends."

Should these bleak scenarios prove accurate, the World Bank said on Sunday, a variety of unpleasant end-of-century outcomes would seem all but unavoidable: Increasingly acidic oceans that will fundamentally alter the aquatic food chain; rapidly rising oceans; freshwater scarcity, diminished agricultural yields; and a variety of other impacts -- most of them landing particularly hard on the world's poorest.

"Lack of action on climate change threatens to make the world our children inherit a completely different world than we are living in today," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim in a statement accompanying the report. "Climate change is one of the single biggest challenges facing development, and we need to assume the moral responsibility to take action on behalf of future generations, especially the poorest," he said.

So-called non-linear outcomes are also a threat, the World Bank noted:

As global warming approaches and exceeds 2-degrees Celsius, there is a risk of triggering nonlinear tipping elements. Examples include the disintegration of the West Antarctic ice sheet leading to more rapid sea-level rise, or large-scale Amazon dieback drastically affecting ecosystems, rivers, agriculture, energy production, and livelihoods. This would further add to 21st-century global warming and impact entire continents.
To be sure, no scientific model can pinpoint exactly when any particular temperature level will be reached, nor predict with precision just how the planet will respond. And some experts remain hopeful -- albeit increasingly cautiously -- that dramatic action could still forestall the most dire implications of rising temperatures, though they say the window for doing so will not be open for long.

"It is still possible to avoid 2-degree warming, and arguing it is too late could very easily be a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Michael E. Mann, a climatologist and director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. "That having been said, the real issue is whether or not we have the political will."

That sentiment was echoed by Jonathan Koomey, a research fellow at the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance at Stanford University, and the co-author of the first comprehensive analysis of the 2-degree limit back in 1989.

"We tend to underestimate the possibility for change," Koomey said "At certain times, when people perceive a crisis, things can change very, very rapidly."

Koomey pointed, by way of example, to World War II, when initially reluctant automobile factories, under federal orders, converted operations in a matter of months to the manufacture of planes, tanks and other defense products. "People have been able to make very rapid changes," Koomey said, "and I think we have to be very careful in thinking about, or in taking literally, people's assessments of feasibility."

Still, he added, "We have to separate the lessons that this way of thinking can teach us and the realities of politics and interest groups. Urgent action is required."

The climate activist Bill McKibben, who is currently traveling the country in an effort to highlight the hard math that is making the 2-degree benchmark an increasingly fleeting possibility, agreed.

"It would take an incredible effort, but that's what we're trying to spur," he said when asked if the recent proliferation of analyses suggests an inescapably dire future. "Given the damage that 1 degree is doing, we're already at 'dire,'" McKibben said. "We dearly don't want to see what 2 degrees looks like, much less 3."

the bright side should help the shrimp,oysters and crabs....more for the gumbo....

The last 4 GFS runs have all shown accumulating snowfall in the 162-168hrs time frame in SE MI, 6z and 18z showed the most. This isn't fantasy land and snow could happen, especially with a more negative NAO.

18z at 162hrs:


06z at 168hrs:

Quoting Neapolitan:
You're clearly missing the point. Of course Fox would avoid airing a story on truthful scientific research that suggests that Fox avoids airing stories on truthful scientific research. And that means I had to search elsewhere.

As my kids would say: "Well, duh." ;-

Blah blah blah blah blah.......yyaaawwwwnnnn....

Quoting Neapolitan:
You're clearly missing the point. Of course Fox would avoid airing a story on truthful scientific research that suggests that Fox avoids airing stories on truthful scientific research. And that means I had to search elsewhere.

As my kids would say: "Well, duh." ;-)

I'm finished with the pies (save for a few touches), and now the three dressing loaves are in the oven. I also just started the first rise on the dough for eight dozen Parker House rolls. In an hour or so, I'll unbag the turkeys, truss them up, and set them to chill/dry overnight in preparation for going in the oven in the morning. Then I'll form the rolls and cover them for their second rise. After that, a quick ride around the neighborhood to drop off the pies I'm not sharing with family. Then back home to bake the rolls, have a beer, and write my to-do list for tomorrow. The home stretch is in sight!

i figured you would have taken a walk around the neighborhood to redistribute the pies....instead of driving.....have you ever tried frying a turkey? or do you just bake them?

Quoting hurricane2013:
Why don't we just discuss ENSO & the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season? Because the setup this year seems to be interesting. For the first time since 2004 I can say that we are in a very weak "Modiki".

Quoting hurricane2013:
Why don't we just discuss ENSO & the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season? Because the setup this year seems to be interesting. For the first time since 2004 I can say that we are in a very weak "Modiki".

You wanted to get your point across so much you said the same thing twice.


Slow down, we ain't finish technically with the 2012 season yet.

Quoting AussieStorm:

You wanted to get your point across so much you said the same thing twice.


Slow down, we ain't finish technically with the 2012 season yet.

what time is it over there?

Quoting Neapolitan:
You're clearly missing the point. Of course Fox would avoid airing a story on truthful scientific research that suggests that Fox avoids airing stories on truthful scientific research. And that means I had to search elsewhere.

As my kids would say: "Well, duh." ;-)

I'm finished with the pies (save for a few touches), and now the three dressing loaves are in the oven. I also just started the first rise on the dough for eight dozen Parker House rolls. In an hour or so, I'll unbag the turkeys, truss them up, and set them to chill/dry overnight in preparation for going in the oven in the morning. Then I'll form the rolls and cover them for their second rise. After that, a quick ride around the neighborhood to drop off the pies I'm not sharing with family. Then back home to bake the rolls, have a beer, and write my to-do list for tomorrow. The home stretch is in sight!

Serious Question for ya mate!

Do you think people that watch only FOX News are stupid?

Are you using gas or electric to cook your turkey? Is it to cold to walk around your neighbourhood to drop off those pies? Is your car electric or a hybrid?

Serious answers only please and try not to reply with back handed insults also.

Quoting yoboi:


what time is it over there?

Current time is.........

11:45am Thursday the 22nd of November 2012

Quoting AussieStorm:

Current time is.........

11:45am Thursday the 22nd of November 2012

thanks i wanted to call an old friend there..

This is crazy.



John Morales @JohnMoralesNBC6
TIME LAPSE of constant problem that seems to get worse every year in Miami Beach. Tidal flood comes up through drains http://ow.ly/fufW5

www.dieselbombers.com/6-7l-performance/53533-how-do -i-get-my-truck-smoke-more.html


interesting what people are doing

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

GFS in the 8 day period is showing a changeover from rain to snow from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast. Tis the season and with the negative NAO forthcoming I hope the east coasters get their wish this season.

Link

NASHVILLE (AP) — Al Gore, a leading voice in the fight against global warming, is being called a hypocrite by a conservative group that claims his Nashville mansion uses too much electricity.
A spokeswoman for Gore said the former vice president invests in enough renewable energy to make up for the home's power consumption.

Gore's documentary filmAn Inconvenient Truth, which chronicled his campaign against global warming, won an Academy Award on Sunday.

The next day, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research put out a news release saying Gore was not doing enough to reduce his own consumption of electricity. The group disputes whether global warming is a serious problem.

"We wanted to see if he was living by his own recommendations and walking the walk," said Drew Johnson, president of the think tank, which pushes for conservative economic issues.

Utility records show the Gore family paid an average monthly electric bill of about $1,200 last year for its 10,000-square-foot home.

The Gores used about 191,000 kilowatt hours in 2006, according to bills reviewed by The Associated Press spanning the period from Feb. 3, 2006, to Jan. 5. That is far more than the typical Nashville household, which uses about 15,600 kilowatt-hours per year.

Dr. M's blog post talks about headlines and narratives.

A headline tries to plug us into a narrative. The storm names that TWC is trying are attempts at developing headlines for their narratives.

Headlines do not have to be truthful to work. If they get us to respond with curiosity, that's enough.

Im not a big fan of al Gore, but that thing has been going around for years. If you tell a story tell the whole story. Heres a part and a link to the article.


Link

Quoting bappit:
Dr. M's blog post talks about headlines and narratives.

A headline tries to plug us into a narrative. The storm names that TWC is trying are attempts at developing headlines for their narratives.

Headlines do not have to be truthful to work. If they get us to respond with curiosity, that's enough.

I didn't even read Dr Masters blog, cause it doesn't interest me that he's doing a book review. IMHO, he just did a blog for the sake of doing a blog.

Quoting WoodyFL:
Im not a big fan of al Gore, but that thing has been going around for years. If you tell a story tell the whole story. Heres a part and a link to the article.


Link

thanks did not know bush jr's house used less electricity than gores with same square footage....

With S. Korean carbon market on horizon, reforestation project kicks off in border village
By Kim Hyun, Contributing writer

GOSEONG, South Korea, Nov. 22 (Yonhap News Agency)
Excerpt: - With waves of colorful autumn hills, tall and shiny Mongolian oaks and neatly tended vegetable farms, this remote village of border county Goseong, Gangwon Province, is emblematic of bucolic charm, but it has an eerie edge. Military trucks occasionally pass by and a bankrupt ski resort stands idle along with closed rental shops and restaurants.

So it adds another twist to the rural atmosphere that Korea's first-ever forest-based climate change project kicked off in this village, named Heul-ri, in October. There lies an abandoned cattle farm, now full of shrubs and weeds, which will be transformed into a forest that generates income for residents and carbon credits for industry, according to the so-called "afforestation and reforestation clean development mechanism" (A/R CDM) jointly operated by SK Forest Co., a Hwaseong-based major forestry company, and the state-run administrator Korea Forest Service.

The reforestation project commenced a month before a landmark climate change law took effect in Asia's fourth-largest economy as its latest green growth initiative. The Act on Allocation and Trading of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, effective as of Nov. 15, mandates cuts in gas emissions starting in 2015 and subsequently will create an official market for credits for carbon emissions at the national level. Carbon credits produced in clean development mechanisms, like the one in Heul-ri, can become money.

With no precedent A/R CDM case yet in Korea and the gloomy outlook of carbon trading markets around the world, the project operators put an emphasis on its research potentials rather than on commercial values. If successful, the case in Heul-ri may serve as a springboard for making inroads into reforestation in North Korea, as its geographical proximity means similar vegetation.

"This project is more of a symbolic one," said Kwon Min-soo, manager of SK Forest's business team that will implement and finance the 75-ha project over the next 60 years with government support. "Our financial team was against it, because there's little or no business prospect in itself."

The project operators chose this area for their clean development project because Goseong is considered one of the poorest counties in Gangwon Province, mainly due to its location. A large swath of the county is tied to the demilitarized zone bisecting the South and the North, effectively blocking any possibility of large-scale development.

More details on this project here.

The best and most powerful "metaphors" are inspired, and come from a place far beyond the complete understanding of the writer or artist who uses them.

Quoting yoboi:



thanks did not know bush jr's house used less electricity than gores with same square footage....

What's your source for the Bush usage? I couldn't find him mentioned in the Snopes article.

Energy Comparisons Between Al Gore's and President George Bush's Homes-Truth!


Summary of the eRumor:
Descriptions of two homes, one an energy-consuming mansion and the other an energy-conserving ranch house. The eRumor says the energy-consuming one is that of Al Gore who is the champion of the environment. The other is President George Bush's Texas ranch.

The Truth:
The comparisons are fairly accurate, according to published reports.

An investigation by the Tennessee Center For Policy Research published in February, 2006, focused on Al Gore's 10,000 square foot house in Belle Meade area of Nashville. The former senator and former presidential candidate has been a leading voice for the environment and energy conservation. His global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth won an Oscar for Best Documentary for 2006. In the film he urges consumers to conserve energy by reducing the amount of electricity used at home.

Using figures from the Nashville Electric service, the report says that Gore's house used 221,000 221,000 kWh of electricity in 2006, more than 20 times the national average of 10,656 kWh. The report says the gas usage of Gore's home is high as well and that Gore spent more than $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills in 2006.

An article in Cowboys And Indians magazine focused on the 4,000 square foot Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas. It paints an entirely different picture than that of the Gore mansion.. George Bush is described as saying that when he bought the property, he wanted something in middle America so he could "stay in touch with real Americans." Architect David Heyman was asked to design the single story home. Bush said he wanted everything on the ranch to blend with the environment. The passive-solar house is built of honey-colored native limestone and positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the 4,000-square-foot residence. Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground. These waters pass through a heat exchange system that keeps the home warm in winter and cool in summer," according to the article. "A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the four-bedroom home. Laura Bush insisted on the use of indigenous grasses, shrubs, and flowers to complete the exterior treatment of the home.."

Quoting WoodyFL:
Im not a big fan of al Gore, but that thing has been going around for years. If you tell a story tell the whole story. Heres a part and a link to the article.


Link

Evening Wood. Long time...no see.

Oooops...

Japan's new nuclear-proof robot gets stage fright

YOKOHAMA, Japan | Wed Nov 21, 2012 5:39am EST
(Reuters) - A Japanese robot designed to withstand high levels of radiation and extreme heat at damaged nuclear plants such as Fukushima froze on Wednesday on its first public demonstration. Despite being home to the largest number of industrial robots in the world, Japan did not have a device capable of entering the damaged Fukushima nuclear facility after last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami. Instead, Japan brought in U.S. robots to survey the extent of the damage inside the reactor buildings. Toshiba Corp unveiled Japan's own nuclear-proof robot on Wednesday, a four-legged device able to carry up to 20 kg of equipment and capable of lifting itself up if it falls over on uneven surfaces and amid debris.

During the demonstration, the robot experienced a case of stage fright. The shuffling Tetrapod locked up and suddenly froze after it tried to balance itself, forcing technicians to carry it away.

It is the second time such Japanese robotic technology has experienced problems. Last October, a crawling robot developed by the Chiba Institute of Technology lost connection with operators and was abandoned inside Fukushima's No. 2 reactor building.

Quoting OracleDeAtlantis:
The best and most powerful "metaphors" are inspired, and come from a place far beyond the complete understanding of the writer or artist who uses them.

Sounds deep.

Quoting AussieStorm:
This is crazy.



John Morales @JohnMoralesNBC6
TIME LAPSE of constant problem that seems to get worse every year in Miami Beach. Tidal flood comes up through drains http://ow.ly/fufW5

They are working on fixing it, but it is going to cost a couple of billion to fix it.

Bad news for drivers is that it is SALT water that they are driving thru, not really good for the underside of vehicles.

Quoting Grothar:


I think that remark deserves a twit.

All in good fun Grothar...

Quoting Dakster:


They are working on fixing it, but it is going to cost a couple of billion to fix it.

Bad news for drivers is that it is SALT water that they are driving thru, not really good for the underside of vehicles.

got that right...between sea and salt grit on roads here, a BIG problem here is rust on the undercarriage. And likely part of why nowhere near as many classic cars about here as the US.

Bit scary that particular prob though...would make me worry having the tides come up from the sewer!

Quoting Dakster:


All in good fun Grothar...

:)

Quoting mitthbevnuruodo:


got that right...between sea and salt grit on roads here, a BIG problem here is rust on the undercarriage. And likely part of why nowhere near as many classic cars about here as the US.

Bit scary that particular prob though...would make me worry having the tides come up from the sewer!

I guess it really does show how low above sea level Florida is. A little bit higher sea level can make sea water come out of storm water drains inland.

Went to Nea’s Thanksgiving Party last year. Didn’t work out well with the pies…

All quiet on the Western front.

Quoting Dakster:


All in good fun Grothar...

I wouldnt worry, i've never seen gro get mad at anybody

58 now in WPB!:)

Quoting GeoffreyWPB:


Evening Wood. Long time...no see.

hi, Geo. Just lurking.

Quoting WoodyFL:


I wouldnt worry, i've never seen gro get mad at anybody

How long you been on?

Quoting SFLWeatherman:
58 now in WPB!:)

Happy Birthday.

But maybe not for long.

Last night was the fourth night in a row when there was ice fog persisting after about midnight to around 9 am, reducing the visibility to less than 100 metres (~300 ft). Interestingly, this pattern of fog extends all the way to Chicago. Further west, places in South Dakota, just ahead of a cold front, are experiencing temperatures 30F above normal--and widespread accumulating snow is possible across South Ontario before the end of the month.

Took the pup for a walk. It is chilly out there! (Lake Worth, Fl.)

I thought I would share this.....

Scott McPartland
Well this takes the cake...just received this email from some nut job woman about my appearance on BBC3. What's alarming is that there really are some people that believe this crap:

hello:
i viewed your coverage of Sandy on hulu tonight, having been a new york resident for 55 years, until 10 years ago.
as an aware, conscious citizen, i am aware of things like HAARP.

underground news reported a 7.7 earthquake up in alaska at the inception of sandy, where the haarp machine is located. it is said to have been caused by them and they were interacting with sandy to direct her course and fury.

the cold front you talked about directly from that geographic location was what forced Sandy's path straight into new jersey and staten island, not to mention the hurricane (thomas?) off shore that blacked her retreat.

what do you know about haarp's interaction with sandy? are you still free to discuss it or not?

since all major media is gov controlled, no one will hear a word on this subject. living in asheville now, the minute i heard 'super storm' and nyc, i KNEW haarp was involved, which means gov turning against it's people.

this is supposed to be a BY THE PEOPLE society, not an AGAINST THE PEOPLE.

thanks for listening.

Quoting wxchaser97:
The last 4 GFS runs have all shown accumulating snowfall in the 162-168hrs time frame in SE MI, 6z and 18z showed the most. This isn't fantasy land and snow could happen, especially with a more negative NAO.

18z at 162hrs:


06z at 168hrs:

How do atmospheric conditions look to be setting up for this winter. With the NAO and other factors.. how do they compare to recent years? Anyone?

Quoting wxchaser97:
The last 4 GFS runs have all shown accumulating snowfall in the 162-168hrs time frame in SE MI, 6z and 18z showed the most. This isn't fantasy land and snow could happen, especially with a more negative NAO.

18z at 162hrs:


06z at 168hrs:

I don't like that idea.. not enough snow for me :(