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WORLD WITHOUT RULES
It’s almost too horrible to imagine:
As the world warms and scientists’ warnings grow urgent, climate negotiators are counting down toward make-or-break talks later this year, hoping for progress on a long-term deal to sharply reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
Experts are beginning to fear, however, that as time runs down the best that can be hoped for may be an extension of the relatively weak Kyoto Protocol, due to expire in 2012. The alternative is a world without any carbon-reduction rules at all.
Terrifying.
The alternative is a world without any carbon-reduction rules at all.
Now that would truly drive Al Gore over the edge. Next thing you know, he’d be standing on platforms at county fairs - the perfect vision of the small-town fire-eater, in suspenders, and unknotted tie and sweat-streaked shirt - waving his arms and haranguing the rubes. Not at all unlike Broderick Crawford’s portrayal of Willie Stark in All the King’s Men, and very like the original model, Louisiana Governor Huey Long. Or maybe the perpetually unsuccessful populist Democratic presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan, is a better analogy: “You shall not crucify mankind on a cross of carbon!”
#1: Authorities are also considering culling some of the million-plus feral camel population after dromedaries “mad with thirst” rampaged through a remote desert community.
I’m sorry, but any vision I conjure up about this scene just leads to immoderate laughter on my part. Feral camels mad with thirst? On a rampage? What, had the bartender already called “Time” ?
Its just criminal that President Bush isn’t willing to sign-up and give poor little China and India global economic trade supremacy. I can’t see why he won’t hobble U.S. foreign trade and establish carbon reduction standards guaranteed to place U.S. corporations at a disadvantage. Filthy, polluting American capitalists!
Rules, we must have rules. My God before you know it people will be thinking for themselves.
Posted by alien kiwi on 2007 04 30 at 10:39 AM • permalink#1 Maybe PACO Travel should be running tours to the “Great Feral Camel Hunt”. People from all over the world wouldn’t miss the opportunity to face down a rampaging dromedary mad with thirst.
Posted by alien kiwi on 2007 04 30 at 10:47 AM • permalinkWait til those koalas start rampaging, then the shit is really going to hit the fan.
Posted by alien kiwi on 2007 04 30 at 10:49 AM • permalinkDoes the SWAT Womble have a plan to help all the other countries that are now seeing what carbon taxes do to an economy? Perhaps he’s left this one to Julia as well.
When the day comes to pay the piper, the Australian people are going to blink, and hand the bill to the unions and the left, saying “Looks like you’ve got mail”.The alternative is a world without any carbon-reduction rules at all.
I for one, won’t stant for it!
(sits down)
Done my fuck’n bitPosted by Jack from Montreal on 2007 04 30 at 10:52 AM • permalinkRebecca beat me to it—that indeed is the rub. And I liked this bit of wishful thinking:
“[China] could commit to a certain share of renewables,” that is, a higher proportion of wind, solar or other non-carbon power sources in their energy mix, said Hermann E. Ott of Germany’s Wuppertal Institute, which has conducted in-depth studies of post-Kyoto paths.
Yeah, they could. But they won’t.
I look forward to hearing from each presidential candidate what he/she plans to do in the way of carbon emission caps. My personal frontrunner, Rudi Giuliani, has already gone a cap too far.
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2007 04 30 at 11:24 AM • permalink#9 - Richard: Kerry’s playing the populist? That’s gotta be comedy gold.
Oddly, perhaps, that puts me in mind of a story I heard about P.G. Wodehouse. It seems that German Intelligence took Wodehouse’s characterizations literally, and parachuted a couple of agents into a rural district in England, attired in evening dress and spats. They were promptly arrested. I wonder where Long John Swiftboat gets his coaching on how to address the many-headed?
Slightly OT, but who does the maths for these people?
In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, the UN says a single wick lamp each year burns about 80 litres of kerosene, which produces more than 250kg of carbon dioxide.
How does burning less than 80kg of fuel produce over 250kg of CO2? Am I missing something?
Posted by HisHineness on 2007 04 30 at 11:43 AM • permalinkWhat the hell is a climate negotiator?
Negotiator: Good news folks! The climate has agreed to cool down during fall and start warming back up in spring! Now, where’s that coffee? I’ve got to convince the climate to alternate cooling and warming seasons between northern and southern hemispheres! This will be an all nighter.
The idiot Ontario government is going to blow $300 million on a sloar power plant in Sarnia, sun capital of Ontario and therefore Canada.
The elctricity is going to cost $0.45 per kWH.
Posted by Wimpy Canadian on 2007 04 30 at 12:58 PM • permalinkHisHineness
Don’t know, but 40 years ago it would be explained as “New Math”. I suspect the mavins at the IPCC developed their ciphering skilz during that period.Cheers
Posted by J.M. Heinrichs on 2007 04 30 at 02:44 PM • permalinkHow does burning less than 80kg of fuel produce over 250kg of CO2? Am I missing something?
Kerosene is a mix of hydrocarbons from C10H22 to C16H34 (stolen from the German Wikipedia, but I assume it’s correct). Let’s split the difference and consider C13H28 the average chain length in the mix.
One mole of kerosene will turn into 13 mole of carbon dioxide. Going by relative atomic mass, that’s an increase from 184 u to 572 u, or just about a tripling. 80 litres of kerosene will weigh something like 60 to 65 kg, so the CO2 resulting from burning should weigh around 200 kg (65 * 572 / 184).
Not sure how they get to “over 250 kg”, unless they also simplified the calculation via “80 litres = 80 kg”, even though the density of kerosene is significantly below 1 kg/l. Or maybe they’re erroneously including the weight of the water vapor also created by the combustion process, which would be another 80 kg or so.
#17 & 23, Never underestimate the possibility that someone just made it up.
Posted by alien kiwi on 2007 04 30 at 03:16 PM • permalinkExperts are beginning to fear, however, that as time runs down the best that can be hoped for may be an extension of the relatively weak Kyoto Protocol, due to expire in 2012. The alternative is a world without any carbon-reduction rules at all.
And just what are those rules at the moment?
There’s this “The compliance regime for the Kyoto Protocol is among the most comprehensive and rigorous in the international arena. If a Party fails to meet its emissions target, the Protocol requires it to make up the difference in the second commitment period (after 2012), with an additional 30% penalty. It must also develop a compliance action plan, setting out the actions that it will take to meet the target and the timetable for doing so. In addition, its eligibility to “sell” under the Protocol’s international emissions trading system will be suspended.”
Well isn’t that bloody marvellous. When a country misses a target, another higher target is set. Should I add and so on ad infinitum? But hang on, the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. There is no agreement for an extension. Most countries will miss their target and would have a vested interest in the thing not having a life beyond then. So why does Kruddy want to sign up. My best guess is that he like the
‘scientists’charlatans whose warnings grow urgent is also counting down toward make-or-break talks later this year, hoping for progress on a long-term deal to sharply reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.And why? Because it suits his control agenda or maybe he’s seen The Titanic and wants to position himself on the rear deck as the ship goes down?
Back to the EU. If anyone had any doubt that Kyoto is a crock, read this : However, for the EU-15 Member States, the Kyoto Protocol compliance procedures will only apply if the EU-15 as a whole misses its 8% reduction target. Should this occur, then each Member State will be held to its target under the EU’s burden-sharing agreement, and the EU as a whole will be in non-compliance with its obligation to reach the -8% target.
and
On top of that, the European Commission can decide to start infringement procedures against EU-15 Member States that miss their targets under the burden-sharing agreement.
Ha what bullshit - the EU stitched up its own deal for Kyoto where the EU is to be treated as a single unit taking into account the collapsed economies of the former eastern block (notably East Germany) and it expected that it could meet its commitment basically by doing nothing. Life hasn’t quite turned out that way, but it’s a good scam anyway and a gallant attempt to bring about a massive world wide re-distribution of wealth! I guess that’s why it appeals to Krudd.
Kyoto is nothing more than rhetoric, spin, platitudes and bullshit. It will not limit carbon emissions which ironically may be fine in the long term because nothing needs to be done.
What we want is more dams, and what does Steve Bracks give us, a billion dollar fast train for a 1 one hour trip to Ballarat-yes and you may well ask why Ballarat?.and all it saves is 10 minutes
The same crew that have placed ‘cheese cutters’ along all our major free ways at the cost of gawd knows what, and the bloody stupid drivers keep having accidents in other places- wish these motorists would learn!
and wait there’s more-they are going to subsise the city dwellers to install $2000 rain water tanks that hold about $11 worth of water- great help with 4 boys after a day playing footy.Oh how I love soscialist goverments. Never in the history of this country has so much money been in Gov’coffers thanks to GST, CASONOS AND SPEED CAMERAS, NOT TO MENTION THAT WE HAD THE SURCHARGE ON OUR WATER RATES WHICH WITHOUT REMOVING SAME PLAN TO ADD TO THEM -GAWLY GEE- and how they spend it- not in our name!
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Hows this for eco-bullshit in todays SCMP?
Australia facing critical water shortage
Drought-stricken Australia faces the world’s most extreme climate change challenge as millions of city dwellers try to cope with water shortages, according to the country’s most recognised scientist.
(Tim Flannery)
“Even a year ago this would have been unthinkable. I think it’s the most extreme and the most dangerous situation arising from climate change facing any country in the world right now.
“If we don’t get any [rain], this year Adelaide and Brisbane may be facing diabolical problems.”
Authorities are also considering culling some of the million-plus feral camel population after dromedaries “mad with thirst” rampaged through a remote desert community.
Researchers warn the drought could drive Australia’s iconic koalas to extinction within a decade.
You can only laugh, surely.