Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page
Categories
QuicksearchLinks
Blog Administration |
Tuesday, June 5. 2018Tuesday morning links
There Are No Laws of Physics. There’s Only the Landscape. Is it possible that the notion of physical "laws" is anthropomorphizing nature? Starbucks Employees Say ‘Bias’ Training Was Mostly Anti-Cop Propaganda Statin recommendations may change Running a $500,000 Retail Empire by iPhone Ten-Year-Old Permanently Expelled for Bringing Party Poppers to School When We Reward Failure Climate Change Has Run Its Course - Its descent into social-justice identity politics is the last gasp of a cause that has lost its vitality. Destroying the Boy Scouts - Another venerable American institution surrenders to the radical Left. Nearly 50 percent of Californians say they want to move out soon, poll finds The worst form of judicial minimalism — Masterpiece Cakeshop deserved a full vindication for its claims of religious liberty and free speech The demonization of Alan Dershowitz Women’s March Co-Founder Condemns Founding of Israel as ‘Human Rights Crime’ Why the Left Loves and Hates Science NANCY PELOSI DOESN’T THINK LOWER UNEMPLOYMENT, MORE JOBS IS A GOOD THING New York Spent $15 Million in Taxes To Build Upstate Film Studio. It Just Sold for $1. Morning in America: More say they’re ‘better off’ under Trump, blacks, Hispanics U.S. Allies Retaliate After Trump Imposes Tariffs Former DOJ, FBI and Intelligence Officials Positioning For Devastating IG Report… FBI Agent In Charge Of "Russiagate" Operation And Clinton Email "Matter" To Testify Tuesday DOJ Inspector General Says Investigation Into FBI Misconduct During the 2016 Presidential Election is Ongoing Senate Releases Unredacted Strzok – Page Texts Showing FBI Initiated MULTIPLE SPIES in Trump Campaign in December 2015 China's embrace of Marxism is bad news for its people “Speed Dating”: Critics Worry Trump Is Already Handing Propaganda Victories To North Korea What Are Islam’s 'Claims' to Jerusalem? Lessons from Europe on Welfare, Dependency, and Self-Reliance Iran Wants to Stay in Syria Forever Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks
Comments
Display comments as
(Linear | Threaded)
The best thing that "Climate Change ever did was to kill "Global Warming".
oolioo: The best thing that "Climate Change ever did was to kill "Global Warming".
Both terms are still in use, but have different meanings. Global warming refers to an increase in the Earth's surface mean temperature or heat content, while climate change refers to alterations of regional weather patterns. Typically, both terms are used in relation to anthropogenic forcings, but can also apply to historical periods. Zach, you forgot the most important term, "global worming", which is the infestation of institutions and governments with life-sucking tapeworm spies and traitors, to prevent plants from having enough carbon dioxide to grow well to provide food.
Regarding the Boy Scouts, the formal democrat attack began under the Clinton Administration. Look up Roberta Achtenberg. Yup, that long ago. I remember thinking at the time that there were a lot of problems in the country that deserved attention, and this hateful person immediately goes after the Boy Scouts? It was truly a WTF moment that I never forgot. Wherever she is today, I hope she's happy.
Miss America is scrapping its swimsuit competition, will no longer judge based on physical appearance
Who will watch the Miss America Pageant without the swimsuit competition? https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/miss-america-scrapping-swimsuit-competition-longer-judge-based/story?id=55638426 My guess is that this is a competition that has outlived its time. "Allies retaliate with tariffs"
What is missing from this discussion is these same allies already have more tariffs than we do. Canada for some reason is intentionally blind/dishonest in this. Canada imports steel and aluminum and they sell steel and aluminum to the U.S. So why would they do this? After all if the U.S. could import that same cheap steel and aluminum from China why would we buy it from Canada? The answer is that Canada negotiated a special trade status with NAFTA and then turned around and abused it bu importing steel and aluminum from China and selling it to us. They know this was wrong and now they are acting offended that we want it stopped. The other side of this issue is that the U.S. NEEDS the ability to manufacture steel and aluminum independently of what other nations do. We cannot put ourselves in the position of being dependent on these strategic materials even if we are dependent on friendly nations. We need to be able to produce our own steel and aluminum. This should not offend Canada or the EU. This simply makes good sense. I might add that Canada, our friend, has also gone around the rules to import car parts from China and used their NAFTA status to sell those parts into our country. This is contrary to the intent of NAFTA and contrary to our national policy to limit imports from China. Canada has dirty hands in this and it would be far wiser for them to come clean and renegotiate NAFTA honestly. Yes, I was struck by that myself. All of the stories about tariffs seem to be presented (with outrage) as if Trump had conceived some new diabolical scheme to make America unpopular. None of them make reference to the long, intertwined history of international trade tariffs, or the status quo. If someone has come across such an even-handed description I'd be grateful for a link; both Trump and Wilbur Ross have repeatedly said they want a level playing field for international trade.
I'm in Canada - and don't dispute what you are saying about Chinese steel coming here and then moving to the US under NAFTA with 0% tariffs. The Canadian government knew it was an issue, they started to crack down on it, but didn't move fast enough.
And, It's hard to take our Canadian government seriously, complaining about a 25% tariff the US put on our steel, while we maintain sky-high tariffs of 200% or more on any imported dairy, eggs, or poultry. Gone, I would like to see an honest discussion about how the US can get out from under all of the one-sided agreements we have with other countries all over the world. NAFTA, NATO, all of them. NATO particularly because I can see us possibly in the position of a treaty with a nation that has become predominantly Muslim and under Sharia law.
Global cooling is a dire threat to world food supplies.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/06/are_we_fostering_food_or_famine.html In my area, the wheat is unusually late this year due to the unseasonably cool Spring. It has finally headed out and looks pretty good, but is there enough time left for the heads to fill before the plant matures? There will be some wheat for sure, but how much? feeblemind: Global cooling is a dire threat to world food supplies.
While the natural trend is for cooling over the next several centuries, anthropogenic warming swamps the natural signal. feeblemind: In my area, the wheat is unusually late this year due to the unseasonably cool Spring. Several U.S. states set record lows for April 2018. However, they were anomalous for the period, which was the third warmest April in history globally. Back to themodels again. Reminded of the quote (Feynman?) 'if the experiment does not match the theory, the theory is wrong'
Models are a rough cut, especially when they've all been calibrated from a single data set (weather history) with a great deal of information missing. So advocates keep searching through boundless noise to try to find a signal that matches the model--there's enough to cherry pick from. jay: Back to themodels again.
Science is all about models. Einstein's General Relativity is a model. The Ideal Gas Law is a model. How did you think it worked? jay: Models are a rough cut, especially when they've all been calibrated from a single data set (weather history) with a great deal of information missing. Sure. However, basic energy equations are fairly well understood. If you increase the greenhouse effect, it will warm the surface. If the Earth's orbit reduces insolation, it will cool the surface. These two effects can be compared to determine the overall effect. In fact, the Earth's surface has warmed over the last few decades even though insolation has been relatively stable. The robot(s) says science is models, revealing the abrupt limit of its(s) programming. If it(s) knew the subject, it'd(s) be completely confounded by the science of, among others, GISP2.
Zzzzz: ... which was the third warmest April in history globally.
But, but according to the "theory" shouldn't April 2018 be the warmest in history, kiddiez? The Robot(s) doesn't deal in specifics. It(s) deals in broad generalities intended to deflect, divide, obscure, or displace. Make a rational statement and it(s) gives you that weird abstract pronouncement in apparent reply that presumably it(s) assumes you'll take as pertinent - which it never is - as it(s) actually endeavors to derail your entirely functional observation.
It(s) is primarily a programmed writer(s) of narrative and a peddler(s) of newspeak. This is why it(s) is reviled: It(s) hasn't the capacity to grasp that you see right through it(s) while it(s) talks down to you. Thus, it(s) cannot understand humanity. "While the natural trend is for cooling over the next several centuries, anthropogenic warming swamps the natural signal. "
That is the biggest, steaming pile of crap you've ever written. jimg: That is ...
Anthropogenic greenhouse warming results in a radiative forcing of about 2.9 w/m^2. Orbital variations are not expected to have a major impact in the next few decades. If a Maunder Minimum type event occurred, reducing solar radiation, that would be about -0.5 w/m^2. Not sure what calculations to which you are referring. Perhaps you could reference a scientific study which compares natural and artificial effects. jimg: That is the biggest, steaming pile of crap you've ever written.
Sorry, jimg. Not even close... QUOTE: Hardly, but rather based on the basic physics of heat flow. Start with this basic fact: The Earth can only gain or lose heat radiatively. #2.3.1 Zachriel on 2018-02-11 10:24 Z says 'Don't worry about it. It's really warming.'
Yeah. Until it isn't. Crops are notoriously dependent on local WEATHER, and rain/warmth that happens elsewhere doesn't do a damn bit of good for what's in your local fields. Saw something a month or two back by a farmer up in South Dakota, I think, showing his fields. Covered about a foot of snow, he was complaining because he should have been able to get the plowing and planting done by this date - but the ground was still frozen. JLawson: Yeah. Until it isn't.
The overall trend is expected to be continued overall warming due to anthropogenic greenhouse emissions. JLawson: [i]Crops are notoriously dependent on local WEATHER, and rain/warmth that happens elsewhere doesn't do a damn bit of good for what's in your local fields. Sure. But pointing to local weather to make an inference about the global temperature anomaly is an error, as shown above. After reading the stories associated with "poppers" and "bias against police." I got to thinking about the cops/road pirates handcuffing grade school students. I can hear it now how some cop/road pirate says he was in fear for his life from a 3' tall 3rd grade student who was munching on a hot dog the "looked like a weapon." Yeah, they have a real dangerous job. It's their decision. They love to intimidate with the fact that they're usually the only one with a gun.
"If the oceans die, we die." Oceans take a LOT of killing.
Climate change will always be with us. We just have to live with it. As we have been, for centuries. Dershowitz: Saying something neutral, or even favorable, about Trump is a capital crime for the leftists. Why the Left loves and hates Science: Because Science ignores the left. Anyone's embrace of Marxism is a tragedy in the making. Iran has expansionist ideas. Not a surprise to anyone paying the least attention. "Women’s March Co-Founder Condemns Founding of Israel as 'Human Rights Crime'"
Dare I admit it? Tamika Mallory doesn't strike me as a particularly bright or knowledgeable person since it's not at all clear what it is she thinks she's saying. It's probably a waste of time suggesting that she might want to study up on the events leading up to the partition of Mandate Palestine in 1948, the establishment of the State of Israel and the war that followed immediately afterwards. IF mankind is ONLY a product of materialistic Evolution and Nature, THEN All that humans are and do is natural. Humans use environmental manipulation, shelter, agriculture, mining, transportation, etc, as a survival strategy. (so do beavers, and hives and nesters). This means that any anthropogenic warming is just a natural effect of human survival.
Assigning blame or responsibility for the environment is adding morals right and wrong, ought's and ought not's to a natural process. that requires a whole different discussion than Science. Evolution depends upon the changing environment to spur the survival of the fittest. drought, volcanoes, disease, climate change are just some of the environmental stresses that fuel adaptation. There is no steady state environment. To demand the environment not change is to deny the natural processes and evolution. Blick: IF mankind is ONLY a product of materialistic Evolution and Nature, THEN All that humans are and do is natural.
That's a conflation of different meanings of natural, otherwise the term anthropogenic has no meaning in context. The distinction being made is between natural and artificial rather than between natural and supernatural. Blick: Assigning blame or responsibility for the environment is adding morals right and wrong, ought's and ought not's to {what humans do}. Sure. If you value humans then what they do has a moral component. We're rather fond of the simians. But you can consider that a peccadillo, if you like. Blick: There is no steady state environment. That's correct, but anthropogenic climate change is much faster than most instances of historical climate change, and threatens the stability of the environment conducive to human well-being. Zachriel. IF hunmans are just an evolved animal, there is no distinction between natural and artificial. That distinction is simply between the outside-the-species Environment and the inside-efforts of the human species. Culture, morals, engineering construction, agriculture are natural efforts of a natural species for survival. Just as Beaver dams are natural efforts of an evolved species.
Rapid changes in the environment are just natural phenomena that all species deal with and sometimes cause. Over population and subsequent over grazing is part of the natural processes, Epidemics, hurricanes, droughts, etc are all natural processes. So rapid climate change is the natural result of human over population and over resource use. All natural processes. Rapid or slow change in the environment are just what species must adapt to for survival. You started to make the case, so I will finish it. 'Anthropogenic climate change' MAY Not be conducive to human species survival. Pollution generally isn't. However, that debate is still ongoing. So far, measured by survival rates, human culture is a roaring success -- especially in the last 150 years. Blick: IF hunmans are just an evolved animal, there is no distinction between natural and artificial.
artificial: made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, typically as a copy of something natural. Why are you quibbling over semantics? Semantics don't advance an argument. Blick: Rapid changes in the environment are just natural phenomena that all species deal with and sometimes cause. Sure, but humans have intelligence. For instance, when it was discovered that dumping waste into the water table spread disease, humans changed their behavior. Sure, waste is natural, but humans can artificially control their waste products. Blick: Epidemics, hurricanes, droughts, etc are all natural processes. Sure, but humans have intelligence. For instance, they can eliminate sources of infection by controlling their waste products, or prepare for natural (there's that word again!) disasters by making preparations to prevent or mitigate damage. Blick: Anthropogenic climate change' MAY Not be conducive to human species survival. A certain level of anthropogenic warming is inevitable, so humans will necessarily adapt. That's no reason to continue to spill waste products that will aggravate the problem. Earlier mitigation will be less costly, both in terms of economics and in terms of damage to the ecosystem, and the permanent loss of part of humankind's natural inheritance. The good news is that the energy infrastructure was built by humans and can be modified by humans, and most of that infrastructure has to be replaced every few decades anyway, so it's a matter of updating to green technology as it becomes available. Blick: So far, measured by survival rates, human culture is a roaring success -- especially in the last 150 years. Sure. Humans are highly adaptable. Part of how humans adapt is by looking ahead to mitigate and prepare for the future. How pedantic of you kiddiez.
*caring too much about unimportant rules or details and not enough about understanding or appreciating a subject. Zachriel, Nothing is artificial in this universe. All is made of the atoms that occur naturally. some things are man-assembled but that is human nature and made with natural materials.
Human intelligence is an evolved characteristic of the human animal. You are right that intelligence will probably solve the problems. Hysteria will not solve problems. Emotional attachment to the 'Environment' will not solve problems. Imagining humans as separate from and responsible for the environment is religious. Human species is interested in the survival of the species. All the rest of the environment is resources for survival. Blick: Nothing is artificial in this universe.
Wherever you see the word "artificial" substitute "human-made". It's just semantics. Blick: Human intelligence is an evolved characteristic of the human animal. Sure. Blick: Imagining humans as separate from and responsible for the environment is religious. It's not necessarily religious, but certainly is value-laden. Humans can and do manipulate the environment, but there are sometimes unintended consequences. When those consequences become apparent, as with global warming or urban sanitation, then humans can adjust their behavior accordingly. People don't have to throw up their hands because waste is natural. Zzzz: [i]People don't have to throw up their hands because waste is natural.[/i ]
Guess the kiddiez dismissed that part about the survival of the human species. More pedantry, kiddiez? Zachriel, Good to see you agree with me. Semantics is a good thing. Words are packets of information. And the connotation of a word carries more meaning than it first appears. Too many people use 'artificial' in a pejorative manner as some how fake. When it really is better related to Art, and artifact and artificer.
Waste is a natural byproduct of life. Some waste useful, alcohol for instance, some not so useful, radioactive contamination, and has to be managed. The intellect is the proper tool to devise and build the management systems. Your example of urban sanitation is a great example. Therefore, instead of political and hysterical posturing about global warming, the mental capacities of humans needs to be unleashed on the issue. |