Wind Power Down To 0.1%

The futility and inherent danger of our wind powered future laid bare.

NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

At 5pm yesterday, electricity generation from wind farms dropped to a paltry 72 MW, just 0.1% of total demand of 52.1 GW.

The 24-hour period up to 10.30 pm was little better, averaging just 0.3%

http://www.bmreports.com/bsp/bsp_home.htm

Fortunately there is still enough gas and coal- fired capacity to fill the gap, but, as the Center for Policy Studies reported last year, this reserve capacity is becoming increasingly tight.

https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/uks-fast-looming-power-crisis/

With coal power station closures already announced for this year, dispatchable capacity will drop to 61.6 GW. However, this reflects then nameplate capacity, which needs to be derated to allow for the likely operational effectiveness.

Assuming a figure of 85% for this, we will be down to 52.3 GW.

https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/uks-fast-looming-power-crisis/

Under the Capacity Market Auction, the government has 49 GW of derated capacity contracted for 2018, the first year of the scheme, and 51 GW the year after…

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Dr. Robert Carter, scientist, climate skeptic, pioneer, friend – R.I.P

“A great climate warrior”

RIP

Watts Up With That?

I was shocked and saddened to read this, I’m passing it on without comment because I can’t write about this at this moment.

Dr. Robert M. Carter (1941-2016)

Joe Bast writes:

It is with deep regret that I report the passing of a friend, colleague, and great scholar, Dr. Robert M. Carter. Bob died peacefully in a hospital surrounded by family and friends following a heart attack a few days ago. He was 74 years old.

Funeral arrangements are being made and it will most likely take place on Monday next week in Townsville, Australia.

This is almost unspeakably sad. Bob was the very embodiment of the “happy warrior” in the global warming debate. He was a scholar’s scholar, with impeccable credentials (including a Ph.D. from Cambridge), careful attention to detail, and a deep understanding of and commitment to the scientific method. He endured the slings and arrows of…

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The old ‘website revision’ excuse for not updating polar bear status changes

polarbearscience

Apparently, the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) thinks that it’s OK to mislead the public on the conservation status of polar bears for half a year because its website is being revamped. This conservation organization is of the opinion that people landing on their websitewhile searching for official polar bear status information don’t need to know right away that a new IUCN Red List document was published in November 2015. We know this because the message below appeared on the PBSG homepage 14 January 2016 (text in bold was there previously: the new message is in CAPS), screencap of entire page at 16 Jan 2016 pdf here:

It appears that the PBSG feels that the public can wait to be told about 2015 Red List decision until the PBSG are ready for them to be told, which could be anywhere from March to the end of June…

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The World Is Awash With Food

Yet another reason not to read the Guardian.

NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/31/climate-change-food-supply-un

Climate change has already cut into the global food supply and is fuelling wars and natural disasters, but governments are unprepared to protect those most at risk, according to a report from the UN’s climate science panel.

Piles of unwanted grain on farms near Doug Schmitz’s storage bins in southern Minnesota are a stark reminder of just how bearish the outlook is for U.S.crop prices.

After record yields during the harvest a few months ago, growers in the area still have 80 percent of their corn crop left to sell and 70 percent of soybeans, said Schmitz, who operates four grain elevators and markets to processors and exporters. Normally, half the supply would be unloaded by now, he said. While Schmitz Grain Inc. is under contract to collect 2 million bushels from local farmers, the outlook is so dim that most of that inventory hasn’t been…

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artificial raspberry-pi pancreas

This post will be lost in the avalanche of grief for the passing of the incredible David Bowie, but some good health news involving a nifty bit of technology is worth acknowledging.
  
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/artificial-raspberry-pi-pancreas/

Lessons from the longest study on happiness

I am not one for promoting homilies about how to live your life better but Kate highlights something that we all know yet time and time again fail to follow. I don’t know why this and it doesn’t matter that few people will read this on my blog. Its a personal reminder if nothing else with the act of writing it down a personal challenge for the New Year. Thank you Kate.

What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness

Robert Waldinger, TEDx Beacon Street, filmed November 2015

Researchers at Harvard, after studying participants for 75 years, have discovered conclusively that it is not money, or fame or even achievement that create a sense of happiness or physical health. This multi-generational research team found instead that (i) the Quality of our close relationships with one another and (ii) our degree of social connectivity were the best determinants of our overall happiness, physical health, mental function and longevity. This seems also to align with the research into isolation being a risk factor for dementia.

Personally, I feel it is a tad biased, as the study until late into it, was only on men; it definitely would be interesting to have seen the results for the same study on women.

After watching this talk, which you can view below, but the clearest message or lessons learned from the 75-year-old, ongoing…

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Wanstead weather: 2015 review

9th warmest on record, given length of records, not quite the imminent armageddon being touted by the BBC every night.

Wanstead Meteo

This year finished as the ninth warmest year on record – some 0.5C cooler than 2014.

Every month of 2015, apart from September, November and December, was roughly average – the means being within +/-0.7 every month, bringing the mean temperature to 11.9C, 0.7C above the 1981-2010 average.

Rainfall was less remarkable with the year being dryer than average. The total of 553mm puts it as the 162nd wettest since 1797.

It was also a very slightly duller than average year with 1,433 hours of sunshine recorded. That’s 97 per cent of average, the 77th dullest since 1881 – the least amount of sunshine for 11 years.

To view full stats follow this link:http://1drv.ms/1kiTuzv

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