Tuesday, March 03, 2015

How Wind Energy Creates More Dependence on Fossil Fuels

How Wind Energy Creates More Dependence on Fossil Fuels [Michigan Capitol Confidential]: "Truth has a habit of emerging from unexpected places.
An article in the Daily Kos about the desire to end dependence on fossil fuels for energy needs reveals a “nasty little secret” about wind energy: It relies on fossil fuels. 
That’s a message wind energy opponents in Michigan have been trying to get across to the news media and the public over the past few years.
...Wind farms are dependent on the weather to work, and most of the time they're sitting idle or underperforming because the wind isn't strong enough to turn the blades. The capacity factor (CF) for wind varies by location, but Iowa is pretty good, so let's assume a CF of 35 [percent]. Nuclear has no such dependency and can operate around the clock.

In the [U.S.], nuclear plants have an average CF of 90 [percent].

So when we factor CF into those prices … most of wind's advantage is wiped out by just that factor alone.

Over the long term it gets even worse for wind, because nuclear plants today are engineered for a 60-year lifetime, and wind generators are engineered for a 20 or 25 year lifetime. ... That means that wind is cheaper than nuclear in the short term, but more expensive in the long term. Then there's the backup problem. ... When the wind dies, the lights still have to stay on. Right now that's done with natural gas. ...”

According to Kevon Martis, director of the Interstate Informed Citizens Coalition, a non-profit organization concerned about the construction of wind turbines in the region, what the Daily Kos article shows is that people knowledgeable about the technology understand that wind energy depends more on fossil fuels than on wind, no matter their views on contentious issues like global warming.

“Any informed student of wind energy, regardless of whether they are on the left or the right politically, understands that, far from freeing Michigan ratepayers from fossil-fueled electricity, wind energy actually binds us to fossil fuels at roughly a two-parts-fossil one-part-wind ratio,” Martis said. “Properly understood, wind energy should always be called ‘fossil-wind.’ What’s sad is that the vast majority of Michigan residents and probably members of the news media as well are not aware of this information. That situation needs to be remedied.”

In its assessment of wind energy, the Daily Kos article states: "Wind-plus-gas-backup is certainly better than gas alone, but it's not the endpoint of a fossil-free grid, and it never will be."

One of the strongest arguments against wind energy is the assertion that “natural gas alone” would produce fewer emissions than when it is combined with wind. That's because having to switch natural gas generation on and off, literally at the whim of the way the wind blows, is less efficient and therefore less clean.

However, a news media and public that mistakenly believe wind energy is just wind, rather than two-thirds fossil fuels, cannot be expected to comprehend or participate in such a debate. Restricting important facts or (as some still insist) “alleged facts” about wind energy to the province of “experts only” is an affront to transparency and an obstacle to open public discourse. The Legislature owes the people of Michigan a hearing or series of hearings on this issue.

David Wand, deputy director of strategic communications with the American Wind Energy Association, did not return a phone call offering him the opportunity to comment."



'via Blog this'

Here’s How the White House Is Justifying Trying to Ban Certain Ammo Without Congress

Here’s How the White House Is Justifying Trying to Ban Certain Ammo Without Congress | TheBlaze.com:
"The White House on Monday defended the Obama administration’s move to ban certain bullets used in a wildly popular rifle, a proposal that has stirred opposition from Second Amendment advocates and a prominent member of Congress.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is considering a ban on M855 ball ammunition, which pro-gun groups have said is among the most popular cartridge used for the AR-15 rifle and is frequently used for sporting purposes like hunting, because of its so-called “armor-piercing” capabilities."

Oh yeah. This ALWAYS works--------Russian Retail Food Price Freeze, as Inflation Surges

Russian Retail Food Price Freeze, as Inflation Surges | The Daily Sheeple
Russia’s top supermarket chains are to freeze prices on basic foodstuffs for two months, soaking up the costs as food is expected to eat up half of Russians’ incomes this year.
The retailers plan to freeze prices on 20 socially important items in an attempt to stabilize the food market, the Association of Retail Stores (AKORT) said on its website last week.
“The supermarket chains are certain that their actions will help stabilize the situation on the food market, in the interests of the population”, the Association said.
Retailers want to show their socially responsibility as food prices rise following the ruble’s plunge of over 40 percent to the dollar and the food import bans.

Remind anyone of a rich guy (and wife) living in DC?

History for March 3

History for March 3 - On-This-Day.com
Alexander Graham Bell 1847, Matthew Ridgway 1895, Jean Harlow 1911 


James Doohan 1920, Jackie Joyner-Kersee 1962 - Olympic track and field gold medalist, David Faustino 1974 - Actor ("Married With Children") 


1845 - Florida became the 27th U.S. state. 


1857 - Britain and France declared war on China. 


1863 - Free city delivery of mail was authorized by the U.S. Postal Service. 



1903 - In St. Louis, MO, Barney Gilmore was arrested for spitting. 


1908 - The U.S. government declared open war on on U.S. anarchists. 


1931 - The "Star Spangled Banner," written by Francis Scott Key, was adopted as the American national anthem. The song was originally a poem known as "Defense of Fort McHenry." 


1952 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld New York's Feinberg Law that banned Communist teachers in the U.S. 



1991 - Rodney King was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers. The scene was captured on amateur video. (California

Monday, March 02, 2015

‘No More!’: Defiant Netanyahu Says Israel Can’t Be Passive in the Face of Iranian Threat | TheBlaze.com

‘No More!’: Defiant Netanyahu Says Israel Can’t Be Passive in the Face of Iranian Threat | TheBlaze.com:

"A defiant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel will continue to stand up for its right to exist against the growing threat posed by Iran, and defended his controversial Tuesday speech to Congress as a chance to warn America that this threat is growing.

“For 2,000 years, my people, the Jewish people, were stateless, defenseless, voiceless. We were utterly powerless against our enemies, who swore to destroy us,” Netanyahu said at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference in Washington."

Treasury won't explain decision to make $3 billion in Obamacare payments | WashingtonExaminer.com

Treasury won't explain decision to make $3 billion in Obamacare payments | WashingtonExaminer.com:

"What’s tricky is that Congress never authorized any money to make such payments to insurers in its annual appropriations, but the Department of Health and Human Services, with the cooperation of the U.S. Treasury, made them anyway."

Obama Threatened To Down Israeli Jets Targeting Iran

Report: Obama Threatened To Down Israeli Jets Targeting Iran | Free Patriot Post

In a shocking report, a Kuwaiti newspaper is claiming that President Barack Obama once threatened to shoot down Israeli jets if they went through with a plan to target Iranian nuclear sites. 
Citing “well-placed sources,” Al-Jarida claims that sometime in 2014, the Israeli government made plans to attack Iran when they heard that the United States and Iran were on the cusp of striking a secret nuclear deal behind Israeli’s back.
 The decision was made after Israel learned the terms of the deal were supposedly “a threat to Israel’s security.”

Hitler told us what he was going to do too--------NORWAY: Mullah tells TV interviewer: “We have the right to kill anyone who does not respect Muslims”

NORWAY: Mullah tells TV interviewer: “We have the right to kill anyone who does not respect Muslims” | BARE NAKED ISLAM:
 “We will defend our religion with our blood,” said Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad, known as Mullah Krekar – words that were deemed so threatening, Norwegian police arrested him after the interview.
MULLAH KREKAR
MULLAH KREKAR

The Local  Krekar, an Iraqi Kurd, was charged for “inciting criminal offences” for the extreme statements, which caused uproar in Norway when the interview was aired on Wednesday.  “The cartoonist has become an infidel at war, and therefore it is permissible to kill him,” Krekar told the interviewer, arguing the attacks were justified under Islamic law.

“As he has trampled on our dignity, our principles and beliefs, so he must die. Anyone who does not respect 30 percent of the world’s population has no right to live.” Krekar saw the in January attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which left eleven dead, as something to be celebrated.

Norway’s authorities ruled that Krekar should be expelled from he country on national security grounds as long ago as 2003, but because he faces the death penalty if he is returned to Iraq, they are prevented from doing so.

VIDEO: Ben Carson Jokes if you are Black and Conservative, you end up on Watch List for Extremists

VIDEO: Ben Carson Jokes if you are Black and Conservative, you end up on Watch List for Extremists:

"Ben Carson , retired neurosurgeon and political activists said that people don’t know what to think of him as a black conservative.  During his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) he had this to say,

“If you’re black, and you oppose a progressive agenda, you’re crazy.  And, if you’re black and you oppose the progressive agenda, and you’re pro-life, and you’re pro-family, they don’t even know what to call you.  I mean you end up on some kind of watch list for extremists.  Unbelievable.”


The same threats, lies and cowardice all politicians exhibit-----Hitting hard

Hitting hard:

[Image: front design of Concerned Taxpayers of Michigan postcard opposing the tax increases, suitable for mailing. Enable image in your browser to view it.]

‘We Will Defend Our Religion With Our Blood’: This Interview Was So Abhorrent, It Forced Norway to Arrest the Mullah Who Gave It | Video | TheBlaze.com

‘We Will Defend Our Religion With Our Blood’: This Interview Was So Abhorrent, It Forced Norway to Arrest the Mullah Who Gave It | Video | TheBlaze.com: "



“When it comes to what happened in France, naturally I am happy that it happened,” Krekar said, referring to the deadly attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

That attack, which left a dozen people dead and was the beginning of further violence, was a response to the magazine’s publishing of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad — and Krekar said it was justified.

“The cartoonist has become an infidel at war, and therefore it is permissible to kill him,” Krekar said. “As he has trampled on our dignity, our principles and beliefs, so he must die. Anyone who does not respect 30 percent of the world’s population has no right to live.”

He also said he would “send a gift” to anyone who murdered someone for burning the Koran."

Control the media!!!----------------Attack On Arizona’s Internet Was the Beta Test for the Implementation of Martial Law

Attack On Arizona’s Internet Was the Beta Test for the Implementation of Martial Law
At approximately noon on February 25, 2015, the Internet went down in a wide swath ranging from just north of Phoenix stretching to Flagstaff, Arizona. 
Internet service was restored the following day around 1pm local time.
The very first reports I received about the outage, coming out of Wickenburg and Prescott, was that the ISP from Century Link went down because a car crashed into a transformer. Shortly after that, reports stated that a construction crew hit a power line causing Internet service to go down.
From the Phoenix media, we now know that this was the work of “vandals” who discovered where cables, buried several feet underground,were located in the midst of rough terrain. These “vandals” subsequently cut through the Internet cables which were inches to a foot thick and this was the cause  of this massive outage.
The event had a crippling effect on local communities from central to northern Arizona.
  • 911 service and the communications of first responders were taken down.
  • Point of sale debit/credit card transactions could not be initiated due to the outage.
  • ATM’s did not work.
  • Banks were not able to access their computers and were forced to issue paper receipts for any deposit.
  • All cell phone providers were inoperable except for Verizon Wireless.
  • Most cable companies were not able to carry programming (e.g. Phoenix TV stations) due to the takedown of live streaming. The same was also true for many radio stations.
In short, businesses, schools and personal lives were totally disrupted.
Yet, the national coverage afforded to this major event was negligible as I discovered after calling friends and colleagues from across the country to gauge their reaction.
As of yesterday afternoon, most people had not heard about this event.
I am not surprised as similar events transpired in both Florida and Oklahoma, AT THE SAME TIME! Steve Quayle shared the following email with me last night which described a similar event in Oklahoma:
Steve,

I just read with interest the Q Alert about phone and internet being out at mid-day from north Phoenix to Flagstaff yesterday.  We dropped internet here in NW Oklahoma (outside Woodward) about mid-day yesterday as well. It happened twice, about an hour later for about 20 minutes at a time.  No explanation was given by the provider (Pioneer Cellular and Internet). We have cell service, for which the data was messed up, but the towers were still operative.

About that same time, NOAA Space Weather lost data for several hours … complete blanks in their monitoring systems.

Interesting this is all going on about the same time the FCC was preparing to take over the internet.

Blessings!

Dane

[VIDEO] Did Obama Threaten to Shoot Down Israeli Jets?

[VIDEO] Did Obama Threaten to Shoot Down Israeli Jets?:

"While tension mounts in anticipation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United States, an explosive report in a Kuwaiti newspaper has surfaced, which states that President Obama threatened to shoot down Israeli jet fighters in 2014 if the Israeli’s came close to attacking an Iranian nuclear weapons facility."

This is how they control the "message"-----The Warmish Inquisition

The Warmish Inquisition :: SteynOnline
I confess that, until Michael E Mann sued me, I was not fully aware of quite how thoroughly "Shut up, he explained" is now the First Law of Climate Science:
If you're a younger scientist, you know that, if you cross Mann and the other climate mullahs, there goes tenure, there goes funding, there goes your career: you'll be cut off like Briffa's tree rings. I've been stunned to learn of the very real fear of retribution that pervades the climate world.
Well, that was last year, when the Warmanos waiting in the back alley took the hockey stick to, among others, Lennart Bengtsson and Nate Silver. 
Bengtsson was a former director of the Max Planck Institute of Meteorology, winner of the Descartes Prize and a WMO prize for groundbreaking research, and even a friend and collaborator of Mann's at scientific conferences. 
But he made the mistake of, ah, seeking to expand his circle of climate acquaintances, and so Mann was forced to sneeringly dismiss him as "junk science". 
Nothing personal, you understand. 
Just taking care of business. 
Nate Silver is the hipster who became a hero to the American left because of his statistical predictions of the 2012 election and then set up his own "538" website dedicated to "data journalism" - just the data, the facts, the numbers, the analysis... 
Mann was obliged to explain to him that these considerations do not apply to climate science.
But this year the Warmanos are taking it to a whole new level.
Read it all and fear for our world!