Ambient Energy Could Replace Batteries

Batteries To Become A Thing Of The Past

 

 

 

 

” Disposable and rechargeable batteries that power tens of millions of portable electronics could become obsolete over the coming decades as new technologies come to market that can convert ambient energy into usable electric power, new research shows.

The concept, known as “energy harvesting” (EH), is becoming more viable as technology firms bring products to market that can transform electromagnetic, thermal and mechanical energy sources into power that can be stored and used.

“In the near future, EH technology will power an increasing number of consumer and industrial products that are untethered or need to become disconnected from electrical outlets,” researchers with Navigant Energy said in a recent published report on the technology. Moreover, EH systems “offer an inexpensive and compact way to power portable electrical devices that in many cases rely heavily on batteries.” ” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The World’s Most Fuel-Efficient Car Finally Comes To The U.S.

Meet Volkswagen’s XL1

 

 

 

 

” The Volkswagen XL1, which gets the equivalent of 209 miles per gallon, debuted this morning in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Today the world’s most fuel-efficient car, the Volkswagen XL1, made its first U.S. appearance at the 23rd Annual Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The vehicle is the third-generation model in the company’s strategy to build a 1-liter car, but unlike the two previous prototypes that premiered in 2002 and 2009, the XL1 is the first available for consumer purchase.

The vehicle is currently considered a limited edition, with only 250 cars produced in Germany to gauge consumer interest. The plug-in hybrid has the look of a sports car and features a pair of scissor doors. It comes equipped with a 35kW two-cylinder Turbocharged Direct Injection engine, 27-horsepower electric motor, a seven-speed Dual-Shift Gearbox dual-clutch automatic transmission, and a lithium-ion battery. Thanks to their facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., Volkswagen holds the title for the first and only car factory worldwide with a LEED Platinum certification. “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Feds Admit EPA Unnecessary Only 6% Of EPA Employees Deemed “Essential” During Shutdown

EPA To Be Hit Hard In Shutdown

 

 

 

 

” Personnel staying on board would be limited to those involved in public health and safety, including the safe use of hazardous materials and protection of federal property, such as lands, buildings, equipment and research facilities.

Staff will be on hand in the event of emergencies, such as “in the event of a water related incident where the threat to human life or property is imminent,” according to the EPA plan.”

 

By the Federal government’s own admittance , the EPA is a non-essential agency . ABOLISH IT NOW !!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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California Approves Commercial Hemp Production

Industrial Hemp Legalized In California

 

 

” Farmers in California may finally begin growing industrial hemp under a new law signed Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Lawmakers have been discussing the proposal since 1999 to allow approved residents to grow hemp for industrial purposes by reclassifying the plant as a fiber or oilseed crop.

The law defines the crop as the nonpsychoactive types of the Cannabis sativa plant containing no more than 3/10 of 1 percent of THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana.

Nine other states and 30 countries allow the farming of industrial hemp, which can be used for food, clothing, paper, fuel and other biodegradable products, although none of those states have implemented hemp farming laws yet.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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inFact: All About Fracking

Published on Sep 4, 2013

” Fracking has been a standard practice in natural gas mining for a long time, but documentary films have caused some laypeople to question its safety. How justified are these fears?http://infactvideo.com “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Truckers To Shut Down America

From Their Facebook Page

 

 

 

 

” The American people are sick and tired of the corruption that is destroying America! We therefore declare a GENERAL STRIKE on the weekend of October 11-13, 2013! Truck drivers will not haul freight! Americans can strike in solidarity with truck drivers!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Clean , Renewable Compressed Air Batteries Come On Line In Seabrook New Hampshire

First Grid-Scale Compressed Air Battery Now Operational

 

 

” Compressed air batteries have long promised truly clean energy storage, but they haven’t scaled large enough in recent years to be viable companions to renewable power sources. That changes now that SustainX has switched on the first modern air battery large enough to join an electrical grid. The company’s new ICAES (Isothermal Compressed Air Energy Storage) system in Seabrook, New Hampshire can hold 1.5 megawatts of power versus the kilowatt-level capacities of its rivals. Despite its size, ICAES is sustainable; it doesn’t require ‘dirty’ energy for either compression or releasing air to its generator, and the supply won’t degrade like that of a chemical battery. The New Hampshire system is just a demonstrator to attract interest, but SustainX expects to have its first commercial battery running in China next year. If ICAES (and technology like it) proves successful, we could see more solar and wind farms that keep delivering electricity when they’re otherwise idle.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Why Is $200 Million Worth Of Pipe Sitting In A North Dakota Field?

Why? Because Of Obama , That’s Why

 

 

 

” Her trip took her to Gascoyne in the southwest corner of the state where she saw 218 miles of pipe sitting quietly among wildflowers in an 83-acre field.

“There’s millions worth of pipe sitting on the ground when it should be in the ground,” Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) told Harder. $200 million of pipe to be exact.

That pipe should be part of the Keystone XL pipeline moving Canadian heavy crude from oil sands and Bakken crude from hydraulic fracturing to refineries on the Gulf Coast. But President Obama refuses to approve Keystone XL even though it’ll create thousands of jobs, help state and local economies, and improve energy security while having minimal environmental impact.”

 

See Also : My Week in Oil Boom Country

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Radiation Readings At The Crippled Fukushima Nuclear Plant Have Spiked

Record Radiation Readings Near Fukushima Contaminated Water Tanks

 

 

” Radiation hotspots have spread to three holding areas for hundreds of hastily built tanks storing water contaminated by being flushed over three reactors that melted down at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011.

The rising radiation levels and leaks at the plant have prompted international alarm, and the Japanese government said on Tuesday it would step in with almost $500 million of funding to fix the growing levels of contaminated water at the plant.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Government Preparing For Power Grid Shutdown

Thomas Dishaw: 

 

” If you haven’t noticed there has been a lot of talk regarding the power grid lately.  Highly ranked Government officials continue to go on record warning us that we are in imminent danger of a looming strike on the grid.

Since the Government likes to “keep us safe “, they are coincidentally preparing a massive drill emulating an attack on the power grid.

Off The Grid News reports the drill will take place November 13-14:

An electrical grid joint drill simulation is being planned in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Thousands of utility workers, FBI agents, anti-terrorism experts, governmental agencies, and more than 150 private businesses are involved in the November power grid drill.

The downed power grid simulation will reportedly focus on both physical and cyber attacks. The antiquated electrical system in the United States has been one of the most neglected pieces of integral infrastructure.”

 

 

Saudi Prince: Fracking Is Threat To Kingdom

As The Fracking Revolution Eases Demand For The Kingdom’s Oil And Gas, A Billionaire Prince Warns His Nation To Find New Income

 

 

 

 

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Fed Study : No Evidence Fracking Contaminated Water Table

Study Finds Fracking Chemicals Didn’t Pollute Water: AP

 

 

” A landmark federal study on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, shows no evidence that chemicals from the natural gas drilling process moved up to contaminate drinking water aquifers at a western Pennsylvania drilling site, the Department of Energy told The Associated Press. 

After a year of monitoring, the researchers found that the chemical-laced fluids used to free gas trapped deep below the surface stayed thousands of feet below the shallower areas that supply drinking water, geologist Richard Hammack said.

Although the results are preliminary — the study is still ongoing — they are a boost to a natural gas industry that has fought complaints from environmental groups and property owners who call fracking dangerous.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Pipelines Are Safer Than Tanker Trains

Canada Train Wreck Shows Need For Keystone Pipeline

 

” An oil-laden train not unlike those rolling down American tracks derailed and exploded Saturday in a Canadian town, proving why pipelines are safer and environmentalist opposition to a pipeline from Canada is misguided.

At least 13 people were reported dead and 37 missing in the charred Quebec town of Lac-Megantic, 130 miles east of Montreal, after the accident created an inferno of burning crude. Some may never be found, likely vaporized by the sheer intensity of the blaze that burned for 36 hours.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Possible Marine Life Biofuel Source Being Explored

Tunicates, A New Biofuel Source

 

 

 

 

” The development of biofuels has so far been relatively inefficient, one reason for these is the scarcity in relation to the raw material needed to create the new generation of fuels. The bioethanol produced today is unsustainable because it comes from foods already used for human consumption.

 

However, scientists think that they have a new source: tunicates. Tunicates are marine filter feeders with a sac-like body structure. Various species are commonly known as sea squirts, sea pork or sea tulips. Tunicates contain a host of potentially useful chemical compounds, including didemnins, which are effective against various types of cancer.

 

There is something else special about tunicates: they are the only animal known to produce cellulose. Cellulose is seen as a key raw material for biofuel production, where certain bacteria are used to metabolize cellulose to produce ethanol.”

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Shale Oil Explained

America’s Freedom Watcher

 

 

 

What is Oil Shale? 

” 1) U.S. western oil shale is carbonate rock, 
generally marlstone that is very rich in organic 
sedimentary material called “kerogen.” Eastern 
shales are more often silica based. 

2) Oil shales are “younger” in geologic age than 
crude oil-bearing formations; natural forces of 
pressure and temperature have not yet converted 
the sediments to crude oil. 

3) Kerogen can be converted to superior quality jet 
fuel, #2 diesel, and other high value by-products. 

4 )The kerogen content of “oil shale” ore can range from 10 to 60 or more gallons of oil per ton. 
————————————————————-
Where is Oil Shale Found? 

1) The richest, most concentrated deposits are found 
in the Green River Formation in western 
Colorado, southeastern Utah, and southern 
Wyoming. 

2) Other significant, less concentrated deposits exist 
in the Devonian, Antrim, and Chattanooga shale 
formations in several eastern and southern states 
and parts of Alaska.
————————————————————-
How Much Oil Shale Does America Have?

1) America’s total oil shale resources could exceed 
6 trillion barrels of oil equivalent. However, most 
of the shale is in deposits of insufficient thickness 
or richness to access and produce economically. 
————————————————————- 
How Much Oil Shale Could Be Recovered?

1) Potentially recoverable resources are generally 
deemed to be at least 15 feet thick and have 
potential yields of 15 gallons per ton or more.

2) Oil shale yields more than 25 U.S. gal/ton are 
generally viewed as the most economically 
attractive, and hence, the most favorable for 
initial development.

3) About 1.8 trillion barrels of shale oil are thought 
to reside in deposits greater than 15 gallons per 
ton in the Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. 
————————————————————-
What is the Area of the Green River Formation? 

1) Oil shale underlies 17,000 square miles or 11 
million acres in the Piceance (CO), Uinta (UT), 
Green River, Washakie (WY), and Sand Wash 
(CO) Basins.

2) The Piceance Basin, which contains more than 80 
percent of the recoverable resources of the Green 
River Formation, underlies a 35 mile by 35 mile 
(1,225 sq miles) area of western Colorado.
————————————————————– 
How Much Oil Shale Does America Have?

1) America’s total oil shale resources could exceed 
6 trillion barrels of oil equivalent. However, most 
of the shale is in deposits of insufficient thickness 
or richness to access and produce economically.
————————————————————– 
How Much Oil Shale Could Be Recovered? 

1) Potentially recoverable resources are generally 
deemed to be at least 15 feet thick and have 
potential yields of 15 gallons per ton or more.

2) Oil shale yields more than 25 U.S. gal/ton are 
generally viewed as the most economically 
attractive, and hence, the most favorable for 
initial development. 

3) About 1.8 trillion barrels of shale oil are thought 
to reside in deposits greater than 15 gallons per 
ton in the Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. 

4) Green River Formation Oil Shale Deposits The thickest and richest resources have the greatest technical recoverability and economic potential. 
—————————————————————-
Who Owns the Oil Shale Resources?

1) The U.S. Government owns and manages about 
73 percent of the lands that contain significant oil 
shale deposits in the west. Federal lands contain 
about 80 percent of the known recoverable 
resource in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.

2) As on 1978, private company ownership of oil 
shale lands in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah 
totaled about: 
— 21 percent of the Piceance Basin (CO) 
— 9 percent of the Uinta Basin (UT) 
— 24 percent of the Green River Basin (WY) 
— 10 percent of the Washakie Basin (WY).

3) State governments and localities and Native 
American Tribes also own oil shale lands. 
——————————————————————
How Do We Know How Much Oil Shale Exists?

1) More than a quarter million assays have been 
conducted on core and outcrop samples for the 
Green River oil shale.

2) Results show that the richest zone, known as the 
Mahogany zone, is located in the Parachute 
Creek member of the Green River Formation. 
This zone can be found throughout the formation. 
Because of its relatively shallow nature and 
consistent bedding, the resource richness is well 
known, giving a high degree of certainty as to 
resource quality.
——————————————————————-
How Do U.S. Oil Shale Resources Compare with 
other U.S. and Canadian Energy Resources? 

1) U.S. western oil shales are more concentrated on 
a resource per acre basis than Alaskan North 
Slope oil or Alberta’s tar sands.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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High Schooler Invents Flashlight Powered By User’s Body Heat

15-Year-Old Creates A Flashlight Powered By Body Heat

 

 

 

” Tenth grader Ann Makosinski, with her body heat-powered flashlight, has attained a position within the 15 finalists who will be going to the Google Campus in Mountain View California to compete for the grand prize of $50,000.

 

Google Science Fair has taken interest in Makosinski’s energy conversion invention , Makosinski has been submitting projects to science fairs since Grade 6, and has been particularly interested in alternative energy ever since.

 

Now she has finally come up with “hollow flashlight” that can be powered by the heat of a user’s hand.”

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Drayson Electric Car Breaks 200 MPH Barrier

British Team Cracks 200 MPH In Electric Car, Sets Record

 

 

” British team says it’s pushed its lightweight electric powered car to a speed of 204.2 mph, a new world record for such a vehicle.

The vehicle developed by Drayson Racing Technologies eclipsed the old 175 mph record, set in 1974, in a run at a Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire, the BBC reported Tuesday.”

 

” The team set the record using a Lola B12 Le Mans series car into which it installed a lightweight motor/battery system providing 850 horsepower.”

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Zero Hedge Offers A Different View Of The Global Economy

Where Are We Now? – A World View

 

 

 

” Wondering why the money world got its knickers in a twist last week? The answer is simple: the global economy is breaking apart and its constituent major players are doing face-plants on the downhill slope of a no-longer-cheap-oil way of life.  Let’s look at them case by case.

     The USA slogs deeper into paralysis and decay in a collective mental fog of disbelief that its own exceptionalism can’t overcome the laws of thermodynamics. This general malaise precipitates into a range of specific quandaries. The so-called economy depends on financialization, since it is no longer based on manufacturing things of value. The financialization depends on housing, that is, a particular kind of housing: suburban sprawl housing (and its commercial accessories, the strip malls, the box stores, the burger shacks, etc.). Gasoline is now too expensive to run the suburban living arrangement. It will remain marginally unaffordable. Even if the price of oil goes down, it will be because citizens of the USA will not have enough money to buy it. Lesson: the suburban project is over, along with the economy it drove in on.

     But so is the mega-city project, the giant metroplex of skyscrapers. So, don’t suppose that we can transform the production house-building industry into an apartment-building industry. The end of cheap oil also means we can’t run cities at the 20^th century scale. That includes the scale of the buildings as well as the aggregate scale of the whole urban organism. Nobody gets this. For one thing, there will be far fewer jobs in anything connected to financialization because that “industry” is imploding. The recent action around the Federal Reserve illustrates this. When chairman Bernanke’s lips quivered last week, the financial markets had a grand mal seizure. He floated the notion that his organization might “taper” their purchases of US government issued debt and mortgage-backed securities — the latter being mostly bundled debt originated by government-sponsored entities and agencies. That’s the “money” that supports the suburban sprawl industry.”

 

 

 

Read the whole sobering article … if you dare .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Energy Subsidies vs Energy Production

Renewable-Energy Subsidies And Electricity Generation

 

 

 

 

 

” This chart uses data from the US Energy Information Administration to compare federal investments in green energy and the share of green energy in electricity generation. 

Wind energy receives the lion’s share of renewable-energy grants. The industry has received nearly $30 billion in federal subsidies and cash grants over the past 35 years, and Washington has promised another $12 billion in subsidies in the next decade.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Obama’s “Green Jobs” – The Biggest Crony Payoff EVER !

OBAMA SPENT $11.45 MILLION PER ‘GREEN JOB’ CREATED

 

 

” In 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama promised to create 5 million “green jobs” if elected president. However, an analysis by the Institute for Energy Research (IER) finds that since 2009, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) $26 billion loan program created just 2,298 permanent jobs, at a cost of $11.45 million per job created.

In his New York Times bestselling book Throw Them All Out, Government Accountability Institute President Peter Schweizer revealed that 80% of Department of Energy loans went to companies owned by or connected to President Barack Obama’s top campaign fundraisers.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gunfire At TVA Nuke Plant

Shots Fired At TVA Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

 

 

 

 

” A TVA spokesperson confirmed that a security officer patrolling TVA Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Spring City was involved in a shootout with a suspect Sunday at about 2:00 a.m.

The security incident happened on the Tennessee River side of the plant property, more than a quarter mile from the plant’s protected area, which houses its reactor and power production facilities.

TVA spokesperson Jim Hopson said the subject traveled up to the plant on a boat and walked onto the property.  When the officer questioned the suspect, the individual fired multiple shots at the officer. The officer shot back, and when he called for backup, the suspect sped away on his boat. “

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The “Green” Car Myth

Bjorn Lomborg: Green Cars Have a Dirty Little Secret

 

 

 

 

 

Electric cars are promoted as the chic harbinger of an environmentally benign future. Ads assure us of “zero emissions,” and President Obama has promised a million on the road by 2015. With sales for 2012 coming in at about 50,000, that million-car figure is a pipe dream. Consumers remain wary of the cars’ limited range, higher price and the logistics of battery-charging. But for those who do own an electric car, at least there is the consolation that it’s truly green, right? Not really.

For proponents such as the actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio, the main argument is that their electric cars—whether it’s a $100,000 Fisker Karma (Mr. DiCaprio’s ride) or a $28,000 Nissan Leaf—don’t contribute to global warming. And, sure, electric cars don’t emit carbon-dioxide on the road. But the energy used for their manufacture and continual battery charges certainly does—far more than most people realize.

A 2012 comprehensive life-cycle analysis in Journal of Industrial Ecology shows that almost half the lifetime carbon-dioxide emissions from an electric car come from the energy used to produce the car, especially the battery. The mining of lithium, for instance, is a less than green activity. By contrast, the manufacture of a gas-powered car accounts for 17% of its lifetime carbon-dioxide emissions. When an electric car rolls off the production line, it has already been responsible for 30,000 pounds of carbon-dioxide emission. The amount for making a conventional car: 14,000 pounds.

While electric-car owners may cruise around feeling virtuous, they still recharge using electricity overwhelmingly produced with fossil fuels. Thus, the life-cycle analysis shows that for every mile driven, the average electric car indirectly emits about six ounces of carbon-dioxide. This is still a lot better than a similar-size conventional car, which emits about 12 ounces per mile. But remember, the production of the electric car has already resulted in sizeable emissions—the equivalent of 80,000 miles of travel in the vehicle.

So unless the electric car is driven a lot, it will never get ahead environmentally. And that turns out to be a challenge. Consider the Nissan Leaf. It has only a 73-mile range per charge. Drivers attempting long road trips, as in one BBC test drive, have reported that recharging takes so long that the average speed is close to six miles per hour—a bit faster than your average jogger.”

Related articles

• Let’s Be Honest about Electric Cars, Can We? (libertynews.com)
• The dirty little secret of electric cars – they’re really not green (aei-ideas.org)
• When Green Isn’t Green (rightwinggranny.com)
• Re: Electric Car Manufacturing’s Massive Carbon Footprint (forum.prisonplanet.com)
• Green Cars Have a Dirty Little Secret (realclearpolitics.com)
• Electric vehicles not much better than gas on overall emissions (polizeros.com)
• The Zero Emissions Vehicle Remains a Myth (reason.com)

 

 

 

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State Dept : Keystone No Threat To Environment

Oops, Narrative Fail: State Dept Concludes Keystone XL Pipeline Will Not Harm Environment

 

 

” TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline will not harm the environment, the State Department — in a blow to environmentalists who want to block the project — wrote in a newly-drafted report on the latest proposed route.

The report comes to the dismay of environmental activists. “We’re mystified as to how the State Department can acknowledge the negative effects of the Earth’s dirtiest oil on our climate, but at the same time claim that the proposed pipeline will ‘not likely result in significant adverse environmental effects,’” Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in a statement. “

Related articles

• Rut Roh’ Treehugger Fail – State Dept Concludes Keystone XL Pipeline Will Not Harm Environment (theconservativetreehouse.com)
• State Department has no major objections to Keystone XL pipeline (csmonitor.com)
• Obvious: State Department finds Keystone Pipeline will not harm environment… (bluegrasspundit.com)
• Pipeline won’t cause major harm: study (news.yahoo.com)
• State Dept. Releases Keystone XL Environmental Impact Statement (commondreams.org)
• Obama Closer to Approving Keystone Pipeline… (abcnews.go.com)

 

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John Kerry ‘D’ Student Scientist Or Something

The Wonderful World of John Kerry

 

 

 

” I can’t say I was surprised when I read, via a Drudge link, that John Kerry made his first foreign policy speech as secretary of State on the heavyweight scientific subject of climate change (the perils thereof, of course).

But I did have a chuckle, remembering that sometime during or after the 2004 presidential campaign it was revealed that Kerry did even more poorly at Yale than the supposedly dopey George W. Bush. In fact, the former Massachusetts senator received four “Ds” in his freshman year, including one in geology.

We can assume that our new Sec’y of State is not a science whiz. Nevertheless, Mr. Kerry is apparently certain that anthropogenic global warming is a great danger to the human race and should be the object of a major international effort.

Why does he think so? Because he assumes the vast majority of scientists say so, I would imagine. And also because that’s what thebien pensant think and there is no one more orthodox in his views than John Kerry.

A recent survey of 1077 professional engineers and geoscientists reported by Investor’s Business Daily gives quite a different picture, however: “… it turns out that only 36% believe that human activities are causing Earth’s climate to warm.” Indeed, if you read this study you find that there has been a shift among scientists and engineers away from AGW. And this is leaving out whether warming is ultimately good or bad, that the polar ice cap has been growing by leaps and bounds and that polar bear population is exploding, etc., etc.”

 

Here is a bit of seer Kerry’s nonsense from a few years back … a scientist he’s not …

 

 

 

 

Related articles

• John Kerry’s Grand Tour: Priorities For Europe – OpEd (eurasiareview.com)
• So Apparently Gigolo John Kerry is a Scientist Now (pjmedia.com)
• Kerry: The un-Hillary (politico.com)
• John Kerry’s “Soft Power” – OpEd (eurasiareview.com)
• John Kerry Scores Big Win In Buffett-Heinz Deal (huffingtonpost.com)
• John Kerry to embark on ‘listening tour’ of Europe and Middle East (telegraph.co.uk)