Hat tip Planet Gore.
Further credit to Planet Gore‘s Edward John Craig for the term “WARMmongers,” to describe idiots like Keith Olbermann.
Global Warming
Climate Change is Now Officially a Joke
Teh “Smug One” generates a chuckle among those attending the STFU SOTU Wednesday night. To be sure, they weren’t laughing with him.
Via Planet Gore
Wind Farm Wake Turbulence Inefficiency
Planet Gore posted an item today about wind turbine wake (‘propwash’) causing turbines downwind to have reduced output because of the turbulent air generated by upwind turbines.
Image: Wind Turbines In Banning Pass. One of the largest wind turbine farms in the world is here near Palm Springs, CA. Photo courtesy Damsel. Click to enlarge.
I have always been skeptical about the reliability, efficiency and cost-per-generated-kilowatt of wind turbines. We recently were on a road trip and saw two different convoys of trucks carrying the estimated fifty foot long blades either to a new installation or to maintenance. I couldn’t believe the way the immense turbine blades dwarfed the big-rig tractors hauling them.
From Popular Science.
Downstream wind turbines may lose 20 percent or even 30 percent of their power compared to their fellows in front, according to a study on wake effects at Horns Rev that MacKay highlights on his blog. The paper also emphasizes that different wind directions make it practically impossible to gauge an overall “steady state” for large wind farms, unless researchers can sample wind speeds and directions at multiple points throughout the array.
This shows that wind energy may represent a highly visible form of alternative energy, but certainly not one without its quirks and controversies. Still, better technology can squeeze more juice out of each gust, and cooperative energy-sharing efforts can help offset the fickle nature of wind power.
Global Warming Strikes Europe, Northeast America
A satellite image shows a snow-covered Britain; record snowfall and cold weather wreaks havoc with the European Continent, Northeastern U.S. and Canada.
Via SpaceWeather.com:
ISLAND SNOW
Last week when NASA’s Terra satellite orbited over Europe, it saw something very unusual. The normally temperate British Isles were completely covered by snow. From an altitude of 420 miles, Terra’s MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) camera snapped the picture to the right.
It’s not only Britain. Heavy snowfall and record-low temperatures have spread across Europe, closing schools, paralyzing airports, and downing power lines. Much of North America and parts of Asia are experiencing the same brutal cold.
The cause of the phenomenon could be the Arctic Oscillation (AO). The AO is a seesawing strengthening and weakening of semi-permanent areas of low and high atmospheric pressure in the Arctic and the mid-latitudes. One consequence of the oscillation’s negative phase is cold, snowy weather in Eurasia and North America during the winter months. The extreme negative dip of the Arctic Oscillation Index in December 2009 was the lowest monthly value observed for the past six decades. [more]
Gore-Effect Game of the Week
The Buffalo Bills defeated the Indiana Colts in Gorechard Park, NY, by a score of 30 to 7. While the outcome of the game had no effect whatsoever on the post-season playoffs, it did punctuate the fact that it still gets cold and blizzards still happen.
Oh, I forgot . . . Global Warming sometimes makes it colder.
Uhhh – right.
The Twelve Days of Global Warming
Very clever . . .
Via Planet Gore.
Gore once famously said, when caught telling one of his many falsehoods, “it’s occasionally necessary to ‘over represent’ the emergency, in order to propel the case forward.” Well, here are a few examples of over representing their case.