Amid Climategate, Hypocritical Alarmists Continue Unabated

Can you say ostrich? The hypocritical Alarmist-in-Chief Al Gore is still making his usual ridiculous assertions following the Climategate scandal, but it's been a while since the RINO hypocrite Schwarzenegger stuck his foot in his mouth. Here, the Governater unveils a predicted flood map of San Francisco; man, most of those folks in California are just living on another planet from the rest of us.

So, I think we have our answer. The alarmist and boondoggle crowd isn't about to give up the charade. Their faith in the global warming religion is unshaken.

Even if a deal is reached at the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen next week it will only be the first step towards the far more radical cuts that are needed in global carbon emissions, Al Gore, the former US Vice-President, told The Times last night.

Mr Gore said that to avoid the worst ravages of climate change world leaders would have to come together again to set more drastic reductions than those now planned.

“Even a final treaty will have to set the stage for other tougher reductions at a later date,” he said. “We have already overshot the safe levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.”

[From VIDEO:Gordon Brown answers young people's questions ]

A map of how California will be affected by climate change in the future was unveiled yesterday by state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The map, which demonstrates the devastating effects of global warming in just a century, shows how San Francisco Airport would be completely underwater if sea levels were to rise by 150cm (60in).

The coastline on the map was also coloured, highlighting how nearly half a million Californians are at risk from rising sea levels.

[From Arnold Schwarzenegger unveils dramatic climate change map which shows flooded San Francisco of the future | Mail Online]

California: Brilliant alarmists have AGW answers

California has been featured on this blog many times, because a large number of its politicians and 'thinkers' are all too ready to adopt any crazy 'environmental solution' that comes down the pike. There's nothing wrong with wanting to save energy due to shortages in your state; however, squeaking in that little phrase "reducing greenhouse gases" immediately marries this initiative to halting global warming, a simple myth primarily designed to drive government intervention in our lives and provide wealth and power to its political proponents.

One should also be aware that manufacturers won't pay for the costs of increasing television efficiencies, as this article cleverly avoids mentioning. The article, predictably, plays up the positive: Consumers will save money on their energy bills! But consumers will pay more for the televisions (manufacturers will pass on the costs), so it's still an indirect tax on capitalist consumers.

Increasing TV energy efficiency provides a triple benefit to California by boosting the economy, lowering electricity ratepayers' utility bills and helping the state meet its goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 15% by 2020, Larson said. "Every dollar spent on energy efficiency returns $2 in savings," he added.

[From Flat-screen TVs to face energy-efficiency rules in California - Los Angeles Times]

Not satisfied with their already hefty tax revenues (CA is one of the most taxed states in the country), San Francisco plans to 'protect the environment' by charging drivers to drive in areas considered 'congested.' Again, this is just a tax. Governments don't really believe in global warming either, but it's a useful scapegoat to tax your ass once more.

The plan faces opponents in the city's business community. On Dec. 22, the president of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Steve Falk, wrote in an op-ed article in The San Francisco Chronicle that such tolls amount to a "stealth tax." The headline on the article was "San Francisco Is Not London."

The economic downturn also has prompted caution. During his second inaugural address a year ago, the city's mayor, Gavin Newsom, called congestion pricing "the single greatest step we can take to protect our environment and improve our quality of life."

[From Nation & World | San Francisco considers plan to charge drivers | Seattle Times Newspaper]

Snowing and skiing...in LATE MAY!

Oh yeah, it’s really warm out there in late spring. Still snow...someone tell the lefties in Vermont that there’s global warming, and hurry! And it looks as if the liberal Northwest is having the same story...snow, snow, snow, with record-breaking ski seasons. Yep, global warming sure is a problem...and it’s almost June!

Oh that’s right...they’ve revised their gloomy predictions on this past winter because of La Nina (10 more years of Pacific-driven cooling NOW expected to mask global warming...LOL!). How convenient...or inconvenient for them (depending on how one looks at it).

Mud, snow to greet Memorial Day hikers

There's nothing like a little fresh snow and lots of old mud to liven up an early summer hike.

Which is exactly what people are likely to find near the peaks of Vermont's higher mountains this Memorial Day weekend, due to the snowy winter and some fresh flurries this week.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, 18 inches of snow remained on the ground near the top of Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak. The snow cover includes some of the 3.5 inches of fresh fluff that descended on the mountaintop Monday. More light snow is likely over northern Vermont summits today and Thursday, the National Weather Service in South Burlington said.

In Burlington, the latest spring snow flurry on record came May 31, 1945, according to National Weather Service data.

No snow will fall in the valleys this week, meteorologists said. Instead, chilly rain showers are forecast with temperatures in the low- and mid-50s. That's about 15 degrees colder than normal for this time of year.

Long range forecasts suggest this weekend will turn sunnier and warmer.

Many ski areas finish with record-breaking seasons

Ski areas throughout the Northwest had such great snow in the 2007-08 winter that neither its November absence nor its road-closing, midwinter surplus could prevent a banner year for the winter-sports industry.

Several resorts - including the Summit at Snoqualmie - set new highs in skier/snowboarder visits and others, like White Pass, had seasons that ranked among their all-time best.

Snoqualmie's total of 714,000 user visits through April 30 already was more than 100,000 higher than its previous best winter. Washington's 49 Degrees North and Oregon's Mount Hood Meadows both set all-time records for skier visits, and White Pass had one of its top five years, with about 130,600 visits.

In all, Washington ski resorts will finish with about 2.1 million visits, about 50,000 off the record winter of 2001-02.

Meanwhile, the fruitcakes in San Francisco continue to show their true colors—the fruity colors of the AGW rainbow! A pollution tax is on the way for you true believers out there to halt the global warming that doesn’t exist.

They’ll feel better about themselves soon, because you can see in the article that they’re admitting this effort is for nothing—it will do nothing except raise taxes, which is all the liberals really want anyway. After you feel better about the tax, you San Franciscans can return to your lattes and various other socialist and liberal activities.

SF Becomes First In Nation To Charge 'Pollution Fee'

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Bay Area Air Quality Management District's board of directors on Wednesday approved new rules to charge businesses a fee for the pollution they emit.

The group's board of directors voted 15-1 on unprecedented new rules that will impose fees on factories, power plants, oil refineries and other businesses that emit carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases.

The agency, which regulates air pollution in the nine-county Bay Area, will be the first in the country to charge companies fees based on their greenhouse gas emissions, experts say. The new rules will take effect July 1.

The modest fee -- 4.4 cents per ton of carbon dioxide -- probably won't be enough to force companies to reduce their emissions, but backers say it sets an important precedent in combating climate change and could serve as a model for regional air districts nationwide.

Recent, great coverage of scam

Why reinvent the wheel? Newsbusters does a great job of covering much of the global warming nonsense going on in the media, so I turn this post over to them (also because I haven't had a lot of time to vent lately):

BBC Changes 'Temperatures Decrease' Article to Incite Climate Hysteria | NewsBusters.org:

In fact, what was once a realistic portrayal of new data released by the World Meteorological Organization suddenly became another hysterical report espousing doom and gloom at the hands of manmade global warming.

Global Warming Activist Pressures BBC to Significantly Alter Article | NewsBusters.org:

NewsBusters has just learned that a British "climate activist" was responsible for getting the BBC to radically alter its "Global Temperatures 'To Decrease'" article last Friday.

Australian Paper: No Criticism of Earth Hour Allowed | NewsBusters.org:

It continues. Days after NewsBusters reported that the BBC willingly censored its reporting to fit the agenda of a left-wing environmental activist comes news that reporters at an Australian paper have been forced company-wide to promote climate alarmism by their bosses.

Gore Bars Press From Speech In San Francisco | NewsBusters.org:

After all, it's not like anyone is going to ask him a tough question, or write something that might expose him as the charlatan most folks not drinking the Kool -- er, I mean Global Warming-Aid understand him to be.

However, that's exactly what happened Friday afternoon when the Global Warmingest-in-Chief spoke at the RSA Conference with specific instructions for no press members to be allowed through the doors of the Moscone Convention Center.