ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING NEWSLETTER 29 SEPT. 2014

This week's edition includes: If you need older URLs contact George at ghh@att.net. Please Note: This newsletter contains articles that offer differing points of view regarding climate change, energy and other environmental issues. Any opinions expressed in this publication are the responses of the editor alone and do not represent the positions of the Environmental Engineering Division or the ASME. George Holliday This week's edition includes:

1. ENVIRONMENT A HOUSE HEARING EXAMINES VOLATILITY OF BAKKEN CRUDE OIL WASHINGTON – A Republican lawmaker accused the Obama administration Tuesday of using "global warming theory" to advance new safety regulations for transporting Bakken crude oil. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California said the administration was pursuing its effort to reduce use of fossil fuels when it proposed new safety standards for freight rail tankers transporting Bakken crude from North Dakota to coastal refineries. He and other Republicans, speaking at a House committee hearing on the volatility of Bakken crude, bashed the July proposal from federal transportation officials to phase out over two years older DOT-111 railroad tank cars carrying Bakken crude oil or ethanol. http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/2014/09/09/house-hearing-examines-volatility-bakken-crude-oil/15372377/

B. INDUSTRY GROUPS LAWSUITS CHALLENGING COOLING WATER INTAKE RULE FILED IN 5TH AND 7TH CIRCUITS On September 5, 2014, the American Petroleum Institute (API) filed a petition for review of the Existing Facility Cooling Water Intake Rule in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and on September 8th, the Utility Water Act Group (UWAG) and Entergy filed suit in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (where appeals to Texas based challenges are typically are heard). While the petitions are the bare bones filings, API’s prior comments focused on the cost of compliance and UWAG has recently focused on circularity in the rule because EPA requires new units to demonstrate the effectiveness of impingement reduction technologies in their applications for CWA permits – i.e. prior to operating the technology – among other details. Concerns about the Fish and Wildlife Service role under the rule have also been expressed publically by various industry representatives.

These new challenges by industry groups follow closely on the heels of suits by environmental groups filed in the First, Second, and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals. The challenges will eventually be consolidated into one lawsuit. It is not yet known which court will ultimately hear the consolidated challenge.

C. ENHANCED WEBSITE/PUBLIC POLICY EDUCATION CENTER In 2012-2013, Susan Ipri Brown, Past-Vice President of the Board on Government Relations, convened a retreat and follow-up meetings with internal and external members to obtain their recommendations in “helping to align public policy activities within ASME’s new structure, identify goals and initiatives for the PA&O Sector as a whole and align goals and initiatives with the ASME Foundation, with the objective of expanding ASME’s activities on existing programs and creating new programs in key areas such as global impact and energy.” One of the highest priorities to evolve from those discussions was the need to improve communications enhancing the Government Relations website to better attract, inform and involve ASME members and other stakeholders in our advocacy efforts and to encourage policymakers and the public to support ASME’s Public Policy Agenda issue priorities. In response to those recommendations, I am pleased to inform you about integration of a new “ASME Public Policy Education Center (PPEC),” which is now available at http://ppec.asme.org/ The PPEC provides customized issue webpages for Government Relations that will serve as “one-stop-shops” to attract ASME members to our website. The new PPEC will integrate online advocacy and Intuitive content management tools to provide daily news feeds, improve messaging and constituent management, as well as integrate tools for social media. The PPEC provides content specific issues webpage for each of ASME’s priority issues and integrates current Government Relations resources specifically pertaining to ASME’s Public Policy Agenda priorities, including: - Legislation - Regulations and Announcements - ASME Position Statements - Monthly Issue policy reports - ASME’s Congressional Briefings - Related Reports - Capitol Update Of particular interest to ASME members will be the news feeds pertaining to our priority issues that will be posted to the site on a daily basis under “Latest News,” as well as the articles posted under “Washington Insider” that will provide our members with some insight into the politics of the day. It is our goal to enhance ASME’s reputation as a source of accurate and unbiased information by serving as a resource for policymakers, to inform and educate ASME members, non-members

and policymakers about ASME’s position on technical policy issues, and engage ASME members and non-members in ASME’s advocacy efforts. Arnold Feldman

D. STANFORD PUBLISHES A REPORT ON THE BALANCED USE OF FRACKING From Stanford University – Stanford-led study assesses the environmental costs and benefits of fracking A strange thing happened on the way to dealing with climate change: Advances in hydraulic fracturing put trillions of dollars’ worth of previously unreachable oil and natural gas within humanity’s grasp. The environmental costs – and benefits – from “fracking,” which… http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/13/stanford-publishes-a-report-on-the-balanced-use-of-fracking/

E. EPA OVERREACHED IN PROPOSING CARBON EMISSIONS RULES, GOP GOVERNORS TELL OBAMA Fifteen Republican governors wrote to President Barack Obama last week, arguing that the Environmental Protection Agency exceeded its authority by proposing rules to curb carbon emissions from power plants. The governors urged the administration to provide more details on some compliance and economic issues of the rules. If the administration won't respond to the questions until the Oct. 16 deadline for the public comment period, it should "withdraw the proposal until it gives due consideration to these critical concerns," they wrote. http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/energy/2014/09/republican-governors-sound-off-on-carbon-emissions.html

F. EPA EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD ON CLEAN POWER PROPOSAL AFTER SENATORS ASK FOR EXTENSION On September 16th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted to the Federal Register an extension ( to 1 Dec. 2014) of the comment period for its Clean Power Rule (control of CO2 emissions from existing Power Plants, 79 FR 34629-34959) by an additional 45 days. The comment period will now remain open until December 1, 2014. The extension should be publish in about10 -15 days.

G. SIERRA CLUB HAMMERED FOR BASELESS ACCUSATIONS By DAVID LEE

WACO, Texas (CN) - A "meritless" Clean Air Act suit against a Texas coal-fired power plant will cost Sierra Club more than $6.4 million in attorneys' fees, a federal judge ruled. The environmental group sued Dallas-based Energy Future Holdings Corp. and subsidiary Luminant Generation Co. LLC in 2012 regarding the Big Brown Plant in Freestone County. Sierra Club alleged the plant continues to violate particulate matter and opacity limits under the law. After the particulate-matter-violation claims failed at summary judgment, the opacity-limit claims faced a February bench trial that also ended with a win for the defendants. U.S. District Judge Walter Smith granted the defendants' subsequent motion for attorneys'

fees on Friday, finding Sierra Club's lawsuit as "frivolous, unreasonable or groundless." Though he found the request for $6.8 million for fees and costs reasonable, Smith did take exception to a request for $300,000 in conditional appellate fees. "Here, defendants were successful against all of plaintiff's claims," the scathing 17-page order stated. "Plaintiff was unable to show a prima facie case of a PM violation, and the claims was dismissed at the summary judgment state of litigation. Plaintiff was aware that Big Brown's Title V permit exempted it from PM deviations during maintenance, startup, or shutdown activities prior to filing suit, which rendered the claim meritless. And at trial, plaintiff failed to prove any causation or injury to its lone standing witness or any other individual." Smith scolded Sierra Club for not heeding Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigation reports that stated there were no particulate matter or opacity violations of the CAA at Big Brown. "Defendants informed plaintiff that these reports cannot be undermined," the order states. "But even with this knowledge at its disposal, plaintiff admitted that they failed to analyze or investigate the TCEQ investigation reports and filed suit. Consequently, after immense discovery, expense, and use of judicial resources, the court found no evidence supporting any deficiency in the TCEQ's investigation reports." At trial, the evidence showed that virtually the entire time the plant was operating normally, and that opacity was at 10 percent or less - "far below the 30 percent limit," Smith wrote. Sierra Club also failed to persuade Smith that the defendants' hours billed and rates were unreasonable. Sierra Club officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening. Mara E. Zimmerman American Petroleum Institute Roger Zymunt

H. THE UNINFORMED, HYPOCRITICAL, EMOTIONALLY-DRIVEN PEOPLE’S CLIMATE MARCH While as many as 100,000 people gather in New York City tomorrow to march for the use of more unreliable and expensive energy, over 300,000,000 people will be staying home. The marchers will be relying on fossil fuels for transportation to get to the event, and relying on mostly fossil-fueled electricity to power their cell phones. They will be enjoying food and drinks which similarly relied on fossil fuels for growing, processing, and transportation. Their clothing relied on fossil fuels. http://www.drroyspencer.com/2014/09/the-uninformed-hypocritical-emotionally-driven-peoples-climate-march/

2. HEALTH. A. HUMAN ENTEROVIRUS 68 USA (05): (CONNECTICUT), SUSPECTED A ProMED-mail post <http://www.promedmail.org> ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org> Date: Sat 13 Sep 2014

Source: NBC Connecticut [summ., edited] <http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Enterovirus-Suspected-Connecticut-Disease-274967531.html> Two Connecticut hospitals, including the Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, are treating suspected cases of enterovirus D68 [infection], the mysterious respiratory illness that has hospitalized children in a dozen states, according to a spokesperson for the hospital. Hospital officials at Connecticut Children's said lately they've seen an unusual increase in the number of children being rushed to the emergency room with respiratory symptoms and that 8-10 children may have contracted the virus. "We can confirm that we are treating children with respiratory illnesses at Connecticut Children's who have exhibited symptoms of enterovirus D68 [infection]," said hospital spokesman Bob Fraleigh, in a statement Friday [12 Sep 2014] night. "At this point it is important to note they are possible cases, not confirmed cases. We will not know anything further until the CDC has had the opportunity to run their tests and then communicate those results back to us." An outbreak of an uncommon virus, enterovirus D68, has made children in a dozen states ill and has left some hospitalized, according to NBC News. Children with asthma are particularly affected. Children exhibiting symptoms of the virus [infection] have been tested for enterovirus D68 virus and results will be available on Monday [15 Sep 2014], according to the hospital. "The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) has received reports from 2 hospitals in different parts of the state of clusters of severe respiratory illness among young children that could be due to enterovirus D68," Gerrish said in a statement Friday [12 Sep 2014], adding that the DPH is facilitating tests to make specific diagnoses. There is no known vaccine for the illness, which was 1st identified in California in 1962, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. A total of 97 confirmed cases have been reported around the country from mid-August to 12 Sep [2014], according to Gerrish. Affected states include Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky and Missouri. "The DPH has asked clinicians to consider laboratory testing of respiratory specimens for enteroviruses when the cause of infection in severely ill patients is unclear, and to report clusters of severe respiratory illnesses to their local public health agency and DPH," Gerrish said. Enterovirus 68 presents like a bad cold or flu. Symptoms include high fever, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing, according to the CDC. No fatalities have been linked to enterovirus 68. [Byline: Ari Mason] Communicated by: ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts <promed@promedmail.org> [Enteroviruses are associated with various clinical symptoms, from mild to severe. Enterovirus and rhinovirus species names recently were revised to remove host names and to append the type number to the species designation; hence, human enterovirus 68 (HEV-68, also previously called EV68) is now EV-D68. EV-D68 causes primarily respiratory illness, although the full spectrum of disease remains unclear. EV-D68 was originally isolated in 1962 and, since then, has been reported rarely in the United States. Small clusters of EV-D68 associated with respiratory illness

were reported in the United States during 2009-2010. There are no available vaccines or specific treatments for EV-D68, and clinical care is supportive (<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr>). It is unclear at present whether the current outbreaks of serious respiratory disease among children in several states of the Midwest and beyond are due entirely to enterovirus D68 alone without involvement of other respiratory pathogens. More precise information is awaited. - Mod.CP A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: <http://healthmap.org/promed/p/210>.]

COMMENTS: A. THE WEEK THAT WAS: 2014-09-13 (SEPT. 13 2014) (By Ken Haapala, Executive Vice President, Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP) WMO -Omits Temperature Trends: In recent years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has issued the “WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.” Generally, these are issued in November of the year. On September 9, the WMO issued a “Climate Summit edition” referring to the UN Climate Summit scheduled to be held in New York City, September 23, 2014. Some UN officials have declared the Climate Summit to be a “tipping point” meeting. If it is to be a “tipping point” meeting, it will be the abandonment of a key principle of science as expressed by Einstein in the Quote of the Week – Do not omit critical data. The WMO report omits any discussion of temperature trends. There has been no significant warming trend in the atmosphere for over a decade, and no warming trend on the surface for about 17 years (Based on his statistical analysis, Ross McKitrck puts the periods of no atmospheric warming from 16 to 22 years.) The WMO is one of the parent organizations of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (The UN Environmental Programme is the other parent organization of the IPCC). Fred Singer argues that there has been no significant multi-year warming trend since 1940. The surface data shows a jump in 1976-77, before satellites. Both the satellite and surface data show a warming spike during the super-El Niño year of 1998. And, the satellite data shows another jump in 2001. These are not the types of warming trends one would expect from greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide. The IPCC has projected significant future global warming. It is the fear of future global warming that has driven countries to spend enormous sums of money on science and on measures to address it. [From Fiscal Year 1993 to FY 2013, for the US government alone, such expenditures exceeded $165 billion.] Now, the WMO does not consider it important to discuss the failure of nature to obey the UN IPCC pronouncements? Instead of discussing actual temperature trends, the WMO bulletin features a detailed discussion on the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases and their calculated impact on radiative forcing, rather than what actually occurred. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Annual Greenhouse Gas Index shows that from 1990 to 2013 radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases increased by 34%, with CO2 accounting for about 80% of this increase. The bulletin gives the measurement of greenhouse gases, particular carbon dioxide (CO2) with great precision; yet, the influences of greenhouse gases, and CO2, on the earth’s temperatures is left to the imagination of the reader.

Writing in Climate Audit, Steve McIntyre reminds us that in its 1999 report, WMO was one of the first to practice the deceptive trick of “hide the decline.” In this practice, recent proxy data that showed divergence (a cooling) from instrument data was eliminated from graphs and not used. Such data would indicate that the proxy and the instrument data were not in alignment, as they should be if the proxy data indicates temperatures as accurately as instrument data. Will the elimination of temperature data become the new fad of the Climate Establishment to continue the fear of Anthropogenic (human-caused) Global Warming (AGW)? See links under Climategate Continued and Lowering Standards. **************** WMO and Acids: Those who took high-school chemistry were taught that the corrosiveness of an aqueous (water based) solution is measured by its pH. If the pH is 7, it is neutral; if it less than less than 7, it is an acid; if it is greater than 7,it is a base (alkaline). Vinegar has a pH of about 2.4 to 3.4 (about the same range as soft drinks) and household ammonia has a pH of about 11. Surface sea water has a pH of about 7.8 to 8.3, depending upon where the measurements were taken and the time of year. The WMO report (cited above) has a special section on “Ocean Acidification, which states” “Uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the ocean led to increased CO2 concentrations and increased acidity levels in sea water.” The report contains detailed annual linear trends for pH in certain ocean locations, ranging from -0.0011 +/-0.0001 to -0.0024+/-0.0007. The degree of the precision is extremely questionable. In the discussion and the table showing these estimates, the value of the pH is not mentioned. It is only in the detail of the graphs that one realizes that the pH values shown remain above 8. If anything, the calculations show a modest reduction in the corrosive effect of an alkaline solution –not an increase in acidity due to additional atmospheric CO2. In various locations near the continental shelves, upwelling cold ocean waters are rich in nutrients and CO2. These upwelling locations are a great benefit to marine life, not destructive to it. The press made a great deal about another comment in the WMO Bulletin: The current rate of ocean acidification appears unprecedented at least over the last 300 million years, based on proxy-data from paleo archives. SEPP doubts that this statement can be substantiated. Do the paleo archives show changes in the ocean pH from great volcanic eruptions such as the Yellowstone Caldera, which occurred a dozen times in the last 18 million years, or the Siberian Traps about 250 million years ago? See links under Lowering Standards. **************** The Last 97%: In a paper published by the Global Warming Policy Foundation, Andrew Montford has a devastating review of the article by John Cook, et al. ‘Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature’ published in Environmental Research Letters. Recent reports that 97% of published scientific papers support the so-called consensus on man-made global warming are based on a paper by John Cook et al. Precisely what consensus is allegedly being supported in these papers cannot be discerned from the text of the paper. An analysis of the methodology used by Cook et al. shows that the consensus referred to is trivial: • that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas • that human activities have warmed the planet to some unspecified extent

Montford also shows that the Cook paper is intentionally vague, and is a planned, deliberate effort to mislead the public. For example, the classification of papers by Nir Shaviv and Alan Carlin as papers explicitly endorsing, not minimizing, AGW, is misleading. Neither author can be considered an advocate of dangerous AGW. Montford also demonstrates that by their actions executives at the University of Queensland cannot be considered as examples of academic rectitude. See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy. **************** Blocking Force: Another scientific paper appeared that, at least indirectly, challenges the claim of the IPCC of over 95% certainty in its science. The paper was brought to our attention by Anthony Watts. The paper finds recent winter weather events in the Northern Hemisphere are associated with changing North Atlantic Oscillation, related to the Greenland Blocking Index. The evidence, based on five major data points in the 115 year record, is hardly impressive. But, the abstract states: These recent observed changes are not present in the current generation of global climate models, although the latest process studies do offer insight into their causes. We invoke several plausible climate forcings and feedbacks to explain the recent NAO changes.[Boldface added.] In has classic, Climate, History and the Modern World, H.H. Lamb discussed the role of blocking forces in creating extreme cold events in Europe, particularly during the Little Ice Age. It now seems such things are being rediscovered by the Climate Establishment. See links under Changing Weather. **************** The Dance: The Dance of the Missing Heat continues. We now have some 52 explanations why the world is not warming as proclaimed in the climate models and by the IPCC. Since there is little or no evidence any Heat is missing, all this may be an artifact (human made) of the climate models. See links under Challenging the Orthodoxy and Un-Science or Non-Science? **************** A Different Way: Writing on his web site, Roy Spencer presents a different way of explaining global warming and the role of greenhouse gases in keeping the earth warmer, particularly at night. Global warming is the predicted result of increasing atmospheric CO2 causing a very small (~1-2%) decrease in the rate at which the Earth cools to outer space through infrared radiation. And since temperature change of anything is always the result of net gains and losses of energy, a decrease in energy lost leads to warming. Spencer goes on to explain that for a long time he, and others such as Richard Lindzen, have argued that the water vapor feedback, which is presumed to be positive, may be negative. Thus the strong warming from increased CO2 asserted in the climate models and by the IPCC may actually be quite small. Spencer also states; The important thing to understand is this: the largest control of water vapor feedback is the efficiency of precipitation systems, which controls how much water vapor is detrained into the upper troposphere. The climate models may be getting better but they cannot address the water vapor feedback, which Richard Lindzen asserted in the 1980s, or the important issue of clouds. See link under Challenging the Orthodoxy. **************** AU-BOM: Following up on articles published in The Australian, Jennifer Marohasy and Jo Nova continue to exposed deficiencies in the records kept by the Australian Bureau of

Meteorology. At issue is the process called homogenization. This process has led to records at a particular station to show a warming, when the raw data shows a cooling. Marohasy has been undeterred in her detailed criticism, backed by examples, of the results of the process. Perhaps, because the government has changed to one that does not support the claim of dangerous AGW, the Bureau of Meteorology may be backing down. Joe D’Aleo and Anthony Watts have demonstrated that homogenization in the US has produced less than satisfactory results. By minimizing strong warm periods, such as the 1930s, the mathematical manipulation of the historic data may be introducing a bias in the data record. See links under Measurement Issues. **************** Natural Gas Prices: In the US, the price of natural gas is falling, in part due to mild weather. However, indications are that the natural gas companies still can make a profit at prices below $4.00 per million Btu. If so, then the drillers must be improving their techniques in the comparatively new technology of deep-underground horizontal drilling and multiport hydraulic fracturing using sand and small amounts of chemicals. The shale revolution may last a long time. See links under Oil and Natural Gas –the Future or the Past? **************** Number of the Week: 15% and 23%. In its discussion of increases of greenhouse gases, the WMO report, cited above, brings up NOAA’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index. NOAA’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI) is a yearly report on the combined influence of long-l ived greenhouse gases (atmospheric gases that absorb and radiate heat) on Earth’s surface temperature. The index compares the warming influence of these gases each year to their influence in 1990… According to that index, in 2002 the influence of greenhouse gases on surface temperatures was 1.166 of that in 1990. In 2013 the index is 1.338. This represents an increase in the warming index of 0.172, or 15% during a period in which the atmosphere has not warmed. In 1997 the index was 1.089. Thus, in 2013 the index was 0.249 larger than in 1997, or the calculated greenhouse effect was 23% greater than in 1997 –over a period in which the surface has not warmed! No wonder the Climate Establishment no longer wishes to discuss temperature trends! See links under Lowering Standards and http://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-annual-greenhouse-gas-index http://www.sepp.org/twtwfiles/2014/TWTW%209-13-14.pdf

B. METHANE – DAMNED IF YOU DO, DAMMED IF YOU DON’T Drowned tropical forests release too much methane Eric Worrall writes: A new study performed in Laos suggests that building Dams in tropical locations exacerbates climate change. According to Scientific American; “In Asia, Africa and South America, … , masses of methane are produced from dams by the drowning of tropical forests in them. As long… http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/12/methane-damned-if-you-do-dammed-if-you-dont/

C. UN GLOBAL WARMING PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN: RETURN TO PERCEIVED SUCCESS INDICATES DESPERATION Opinion by Dr. Tim Ball | The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is running a campaign using television weather presenters and national broadcasters from around the world, to influence the UN’s Climate Summit 2014 scheduled for New York City on September 23. It is a counter attack designed to offset their losing the public, political, and… http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/12/un-global-warming-propaganda-campaign-return-to-perceived-success-indicates-desperation/ This is an outstanding discussion of how science is ignored for political purposes. GHH

D. IS THE ATMOSPHERIC OZONE RECOVERY REAL, OR JUST FOR SCORING POLITICAL POINTS? To coincide with the upcoming “World Ozone Day 2014″ declared by the U.N. for September 16th, we have some “feel good” news coming out on the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol On September 10, an article written by Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press trumpeted a claim of good news with the headline: “Scientists… http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/12/is-the-atmospheric-ozone-recovery-real-or-just-for-scoring-political-points/

E. THE FOLLOWING IS A LISTING OF FEDERAL CLIMATE CHANGE EXPENDITURES BY AGENCY AND BY LINE ITEM IN THE PRESIDENT’S 2014 BUDGET APPENDIX. BUDGET APPENDIX LINE ITEMS SHOW ACCOUNT LEVEL DATA AND MAY NOT REFLECT SUB-ACCOUNT LEVEL CLIMATE CHANGE INFORMATION. The data in this table may be subsets of an account. Table 7, http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/legislative_reports/fcce-report-to-congress.pdf The sum of 2014 expected expenidures for all U.S. Agencies is $11,569 Billion, see Table 7 for detail. This sum appears to be exceedingly large and wasteful for a problem that does not exist. GHH

F. TECHNICAL SUPPORT DOCUMENT: TECHNICAL UPDATE OF THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON FOR REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS UNDER EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 12866 This document is based on no technical or scientic studies. In stead, the document is based on a contractors belief of the cost of CO2 assuming CO2 causes Globle Warming. However the fact the globle warming ceased in or about 2000, but atmospheric CO2 continued to increase demonstrates globle warming is not a function of CO2 concentation. Thus, the instant document has no validity. GHH

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/11/26/2013-28242/technical-support-document-technical-update-of-the-social-cost-of-carbon-for-regulatory-impact,

G. U.S. ENVIONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PLAN (DOCKET NUMBER EPA-HQ-OA- 2013-0568) This EPA writen report is authored by menbers of EPA, Office of Homeland Security, Office of General Council, and represenitive from each EPA Region, none of which are climitogists or even Weather persons. Part 1 of the report states “We live in a world in which the climate is changing.Changes in climate have occurred since the formation of the planet. BUT HUMANS ARE NOW INFLENCING EARTH’S CLIMATE AND CAUSING IT TO IN UNPRECEDENTED WAYS” If that were true the “pause” would not be occuring, CO2 CONTINUES TO ENTER THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE. COAL FIRED POWER PLANT CONTINUE TO OPERATE AND THE ATMOSPHEREIC TEMPERATURE IN CHSNGING. This clearly domonstrates climate change is not human caused ocurance. Futher, the references contained in the instant report are old and do not recogninize the atmosherice temperature “pause”, and therefore the references do not anticipate or explain the pause. Typically, the references are EPA references or EPA sponcered references. No experieced Climatalogist is refernced in thr paper. I addition, the report uses “may” 109 times in 55 pages, even the authors are not sure their statements are accurate.

H. THE BIG CHILL COMES EARLY – RECORD WINTER BLAST HITS NORTHERN PLAINS Anthony Watts / 15 hours ago Massive early cold wave – Nearly an inch of snow at Rapid City. This is the earliest recorded snowfall going back to 1888.

Source: NOAA Mount Rushmore from NWS Rapid City Twitter Feed:

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/12/the-big-chill-comes-early-record-winter-blast-hits-northern-plains/ Don Shaw

I. NEW ALL-TIME SATELLITE-ERA RECORD FOR ANTARCTIC SEA ICE EXTENT Anthony Watts / 2 days ago September 13, 2014 The Antarctic Sea Ice Extent on Sept 13 2014 may have set a new all time record (at least for the satellite era, we don’t have data prior to that). Southern Hemisphere Sea Ice Extent With Anomaly

National Snow & Ice Data Center (NSIDC) – Click the pic to view at source Sunshine hours writes: Antarctic Sea Ice Extent Sept 13 2014 – 1,121,000 sq km above the 1981-2010 mean. Data for Day 255. Data here. Breaking the record set in 2013 by 48,000 sq km.

Source: http://sunshinehours.wordpress.com/2014/09/13/antarctic-sea-ice-extent-sept-13-2014-new-all-time-record

J. OFFSHORE WIND POWER: EVEN GERMANY CAN’T GET IT RIGHT Guest Blogger / 2 days ago September 13, 2014 Eric Worrall writes:

According to Breitbart, Germany’s flagship Bard 1 offshore wind farm has turned into a bottomless money pit, with stakeholders frantically lawyering up, scrambling to pin the blame and ongoing money hemorrhage onto other parties. BARD Offshore 1 is a 400 megawatt (MW) North Sea offshore wind farm encompassing 80 5-megawatt turbines. Construction was finished in July 2013 and the wind farm was officially inaugurated in August 2013. The wind farm is located 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the isle Borkum in 40 metres (130 ft) deep water. The magazine Windpower monthly reports that Bard Offshore 1, developed and built by Bard, is owned by project company Ocean Breeze, which in turn is owned by HypoVereinsbank. Getting

it fully commissioned in August 2013 had taken more than three years, with many setbacks and cost overruns. Breitbart reports that according to the German magazine Speigel “everything has turned to the question of who is responsible for the fiasco – and the costs.” The project is estimated to have cost €340 million in the last year alone, as investors struggle to salvage something of value, from a deeply flawed system which has never functioned as the designers intended. Full details at Breitbart. My thought – if even the Germans, with their legendary high precision engineering skills, can’t make offshore wind work, surely it is time to pull the plug on this technically infeasible dead end?

K. AUGUST 2014 GLOBAL SURFACE (LAND+OCEAN) AND LOWER TROPOSPHERE TEMPERATURE ANOMALY UPDATE Guest Post by Bob Tisdale This post provides an update of the data for the three primary suppliers of global land+ocean surface temperature data—GISS through August 2014 and HADCRUT4 and NCDC through July 2014—and of the two suppliers of satellite-based lower troposphere temperature data (RSS and UAH) through August 2014. Initial Notes: GISS LOTI, and… http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/16/august-2014-global-surface-landocean-and-lower-troposphere-temperature-anomaly-update/ This is an outstading paper! GHH

L. A LOOK AT CARBON DIOXIDE VS. GLOBAL TEMPERATURE Anthony Watts / 3 days ago September 12, 2014 Danley Wolfe writes: The piece below appeared in op-ed pages of many newspapers and online recently, released by by Agence-France-Presse (AFP) one of the largest news agencies in the world. I saw it in the Korean Herald, September 9, 2014 edition, and it appeared in most newspapers all over the world, including and especially developing economies such as Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, etc. This is the latest example of emotional propaganda pieces presenting alarmist one sided messages to push public opinion and policy action. http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/12/a-look-at-carbon-dioxide-vs-global-temperature/

M. STUDY SHOWS RECORD-HIGH INCREASES FOR ATMOSPHERIC CO2 IN 2013 – BUT THERE’S STILL NO WARMING Anthony Watts / 5 days ago September 9, 2014 While CO2 has increased to “record” levels, the pause in global temperature continues. Via AP: Figures released Tuesday by a United Nations advisory body reveal that 2013 saw new recorded highs for both carbon dioxide and methane, as well as the largest year-over-year rise in carbon dioxide since 1984, reflecting continuing worldwide emissions from human sources but also the possibility that natural sinks (oceans and vegetation) are near their capacity for

absorbing the excess. From the Washington Post’s account: The latest figures from the World Meteorological Organization’s monitoring network are considered particularly significant because they reflect not only the amount of carbon pumped into the air by humans, but also the complex interaction between man-made gases and the natural world. Here is the press release: Record Greenhouse Gas Levels Impact Atmosphere and Oceans Carbon Dioxide Concentration Surges Geneva, 9 September 2014 (WMO) – The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high in 2013, propelled by a surge in levels of carbon dioxide. This is according to the World Meteorological Organization’s annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, which injected even greater urgency into the need for concerted international action against accelerating and potentially devastating climate change. The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin showed that between 1990 and 2013 there was a 34% increase in radiative forcing – the warming effect on our climate – because of long-lived greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide. http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/09/study-shows-record-high-increases-for-atmospheric-co2-in-2013-but-theres-still-no-warming/

N. GERMAN SCIENTISTS RIDICULE NEW YORK CLIMATE CONFERENCE AS MAJOR WORLD LEADERS DECLINE TO SHOW UP By P Gosselin on 9. September 2014 German scientists Fritz Vahrenholt and Sebastian Lüning ridicule the New York climate conference nobody is going to. Enjoy! - See more at: http://notrickszone.com/2014/09/09/german-scientists-ridicule-new-york-climate-conference-as-major-world-leaders-decline-to-show-up/#sthash.ySFEZakt.dpuf

O. CRITICAL QUESTIONS: CLIMATE POLICY A new report from the Senate Environment and Public Works minority staff updates the July 2013 EPW Republicans’ report. In light of new scientific and economic findings, the report provides an opportunity to reconsider the Obama administration’s current climate policy course. Recently, Australia withdrew its carbon tax, China and India are not expected to attend the upcoming U.N. summit conference in New York City, and only 11 of the 144 original parties to the Kyoto Protocol have thus far signed an extension. Beyond the politics, the updated report examines new scientific findings concerning the benefits of CO2; wildfire and forestry management issues; inaccuracies in the Obama administration’s National Climate Assessment; and updated data on extreme weather events. http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=3f33b3c9-a28b-4f6c-a663-50c7d02fda24

P. EPA’S MCCARTHY: NEW CO2 RESTRICTIONS NOT ABOUT CLIMATE August 20, 2014 Bonner R. Cohen

Bonner R. Cohen is a senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research, a position... (read full bio) EPA’s recently announced restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions have nothing to do with reducing pollution, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy admitted in Senate hearings. Instead, said McCarthy, EPA imposed the restrictions based on a belief imposing expensive renewable energy on the electricity marketplace will stimulate the economy. ‘Not About Pollution Control’ “The great thing about this proposal is that it really is an investment opportunity. This is not about pollution control,” McCarthy told the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee July 23. “It’s about increased efficiency at our plants. It’s about investment in renewables and clean energy. It’s about investments in people’s ability to lower their electricity bills by getting good, clean, efficient appliances, homes, rental units.” McCarthy’s comments came as a shock to utilities facing steep costs attempting to comply with the proposed restrictions. The comments also came at a time when the Obama administration’s prior EPA restrictions have pushed U.S. electricity prices to an all-time record high. Contradicts Prior Testimony McCarthy’s Senate testimony represents a significant departure from the way EPA defended its proposal before lawmakers just a month earlier. At a June hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Janet McCabe offered a different explanation. Citing Section 111 (b) of the Clean Air Act, which authorizes EPA to regulate certain pollutants, McCabe made that argument in her testimony: “Chairman Upton, this is not an energy plan. This is a rule done within the four corners of 111 (b) that looks to the best system of emission reduction to reduce emission.… This is a pollution control rule as EPA has traditionally done under section 111 (d).” McCarthy’s comment didn’t escape the attention of climatologist Roy Spencer. “This gaffe could come back to bite the EPA,” Spencer wrote on his website. “The Endangerment Finding was all about the negative effect of ‘carbon pollution’ on the environment. Now we find out ‘this is not about pollution control’?” In her testimony, McCarthy repeatedly emphasized EPA views its rule as an investment opportunity for the business community, while downplaying the cost it would impose on consumers. “This is an investment strategy that will not just reduce carbon pollution but will position the United States to continue to grow economically in every state, based on their own design,” she said. $50 Billion Annual Price Tag The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which would certainly welcome profitable investment opportunities, contradicted McCarthy’s rosy predictions about CO2 restrictions stimulating economic opportunity. The Chamber published a report finding EPA’s proposal will cost the U.S. economy $50 billion per year through 2020. That is the equivalent of $500 per household per year. The Chamber’s findings reminded many of President Obama’s campaign promise in 2008 that he would seek to try to bankrupt those who build coal power plants and would impose skyrocketing electricity prices throughout the economy. "Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket," Obama told the San Francisco Chronicle in January 2008. "Coal-powered plants, you know, natural gas,

you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers." According to a May 2014 MIT study, “Market versus Regulation: The Efficiency and Distributional Impacts of U.S. Climate Policy Proposals,” EPA’s new restrictions are even more costly than the cap-and-trade programs Obama acknowledged would cause skyrocketing electricity prices. Series of New Restrictions On June 2, EPA released its long-awaited “Clean Power Plan” targeting existing power plants. Despite the EPA initiative’s name, carbon dioxide is colorless and odorless and is essential to plant and animal life, and its only asserted negative environmental impact is on global temperatures. Unlike another EPA proposal unveiled earlier this year targeting new power plants, the June 2 rulemaking focuses on existing facilities. The new plan requires a 30 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, though EPA designated certain states as requiring greater reductions than other states. A 120-day public comment period expires Oct. 16, and a final rule is expected sometime in 2015. Legal challenges to the proposed rule are a virtual certainty, and Administrator McCarthy’s surprising statement that EPA’s move “is not about pollution control” stands a good chance of being cited in the litigation. ‘Remarkably Bad Investments’ McCarthy’s insistence that EPA’s move should be seen more as an investment opportunity than an environmental initiative drew skepticism from energy expert Daniel Simmons, director for state policy at the Institute for Energy Research. “Other countries have seized the ‘investment opportunities’ McCarthy claims this regulation creates,” Simmons said. “Spain heavily ‘invested’ in wind and solar in the form of taxpayer subsidies and preferential treatment and subsequently lost 2.2 jobs for each green job created. The UK similarly ‘invested’ in wind and solar and lost 3.7 jobs for each green job created. Those were remarkably bad investments.” “Germany heavily subsidized solar jobs to the tune of $240,000 per job. Now Germany has realized its mistake and is pulling back from these subsidies. These are the types of ‘investments’ McCarthy is calling for in the United States,” Simmons noted. With or without EPA’s asserted economic benefits, the carbon dioxide restrictions will have no real-world impact on pollution or global climate, Simmons noted. Carbon dioxide has no discernible impact on air quality other than as a greenhouse gas, he observed. Even if global warming were a concern, Simmons said, the United States is responsible for only a small portion of global carbon dioxide emissions. Whereas U.S. emissions have declined since the beginning of the century, global emissions continue to rise sharply. “While McCarthy is wrong to say these are investment opportunities, she is correct in saying the regulation is not about pollution,” said Simmons. Bonner R. Cohen, Ph. D., (bcohen@nationalcenter.org) is a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research. Bonner R. Cohen Bonner R. Cohen is a senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research, a position... (read full bio) http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2014/08/20/epas-mccarthy-new-co2-restrictions-not-about-climate

Q. A LOOK AT CARBON DIOXIDE VS. GLOBAL TEMPERATURE Anthony Watts / 3 days ago September 12, 2014 Danley Wolfe writes: The piece below appeared in op-ed pages of many newspapers and online recently, released by by Agence-France-Presse (AFP) one of the largest news agencies in the world. I saw it in the Korean Herald, September 9, 2014 edition, and it appeared in most newspapers all over the world, including and especially developing economies such as Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, etc. This is the latest example of emotional propaganda pieces presenting alarmist one sided messages to push public opinion and policy action. http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/12/a-look-at-carbon-dioxide-vs-global-temperature/

R. SENATE EPW HEARING ON THE PRESIDENT’S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN Posted on January 16, 2014 | 679 Comments by Judith Curry The hearing is now concluded, I’m on a plane flying back to Atlanta. The testimony from each of the witnesses is now online [here]. The link for my testimony is [here]. The content of my verbal remarks is below: I would like to thank the Committee for the opportunity to present testimony this morning. I am Chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. I have devoted 30 years to conducting research on topics including climate of the Arctic, the role of clouds and aerosols in the climate system, and the climate dynamics of extreme weather events. The premise of the President’s Climate Action Plan is that there is an overwhelming judgment of science that anthropogenic global warming is already producing devastating impacts. Anthropogenic greenhouse warming is a theory whose basic mechanism is well understood, but whose magnitude is highly uncertain. Multiple lines of evidence presented in the recent IPCC 5th assessment report suggest that the case for anthropogenic warming is now weaker than in 2007, when the 4th assessment report was published. http://judithcurry.com/2014/01/16/senate-epw-hearing-on-the-presidents-climate-action-plan/

S. THE FEDERALIST: NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON AND THE SCIENCE OF SMUG CONDESCENSION Excerpt: So what harm does it do if Tyson makes up stories to fit his rhetorical needs? As an elite celebrity scientist who gets plum appointments, attracts a cult of personality, and hobnobs with presidents, he sets the tone for the rank and file on issues that do involve scientific substance. Take a recent blog… http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/19/the-federalist-neil-degrasse-tyson-and-the-science-of-smug-condescension/ Don Shaw

T. CHEVRON’S SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVE FUELS STUMPS BEST MINDS Interesting, this is an accurate assessment of the state of alternative fuels. The brightest and the best from the most successful energy companies have been unable suitable for large scale production. Incidentally this is consistent with my personal consulting experience with numerous alternative energy ventures all of which failed so far. The challenge is much greater than our politicians realize as they fund commercial failures again and again. Don Shaw http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-16/chevron-s-search-for-alternative-fuels-stumps-best-minds.html Chevron Corp. (CVX)’s attempts to turn plants into alternative fuels for profitable, large-scale production have failed. The second-largest U.S. oil company by market value spent “significant sums” and assigned some of its best scientists to evaluate more than 100 kinds of feedstock and 50 techniques for converting them into fuels without success, Chevron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Watson said during an address to the Economic Club of Minnesota in Minneapolis (9/18) today. “The smartest minds in my company and others haven’t yet cracked the code on pairing the right feedstock conversion technology and logistics in an economic and scalable package,” Watson said. Major crude producers from Chevron to BP Plc have been scaling back investment in renewables to focus on higher-profit ventures such as deep-water oil wells. Chevron’s setbacks echo those of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), which last year said it’s $600 million foray into algae-based fuel may not succeed for another 25 years. BP put $3.1 billion of wind assets for sale last year after withdrawing from solar in 2011. Chevron sold an energy-efficiency unit last month that had been losing money for half a decade, Watson said. The company remains dedicated to other forms of renewables such as geothermal and continues to pursue research into some types of biofuels, Watson told reporters after his speech. Chevron’s plants research focused on non-food crops, he said. Watson, a University of California at Davis-trained agricultural economist, also said the U.S. government should reconsider the mandate requiring domestic refiners to add corn-based ethanol to gasoline. ‘Good Energy?’ “Is it really good energy or land-use policy to have 40 percent of our corn crop effectively mandated for fuel use?” Watson asked in the prepared remarks. Minnesota is the fourth-largest U.S. corn-producing state, according to the Agriculture Department inWashington. Watson also said Chevron is close to recycling 100 percent of the fracking water and brine involved in drilling wells in the Marcellus Shale formation beneath Pennsylvania and neighboring Northeast states. Water polluted with salt, chemicals and naturally occurring impurities has overwhelmed treatment systems in some U.S. shale regions as the drilling boom multiplied the volumes rising to the surface alongside gas and oil. Watson didn’t provide any other details on the San Ramon, California-based company’s Marcellus water program. Don Shaw

U. LEO VS. SCIENCE: VANISHING EVIDENCE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

By Tom Harris and Bob Carter September 18, 2014

Climate Summit in New York, Leonardo DiCaprio is releasing a series of films about the “climate crisis.” The first is “Carbon,” which tells us the world is threatened by a “carbon monster.” Coal, oil, natural gas and other carbon-based forms of energy are causing dangerous climate change and must be turned off as soon as possible, DiCaprio says. But he has identified the wrong monster. It is the climate scare itself that is the real threat to civilization. DiCaprio is an actor, not a scientist; it’s no real surprise that his film is sensationalistic and error-riddled. Other climate-change fantasists, who do have a scientific background, have far less excuse. Science is never settled, but the current state of “climate change” science is quite clear: There is essentially zero evidence that carbon dioxide from human activities is causing catastrophic climate change.

http://blog.heartland.org/2014/09/leo-vs-science-vanishing-evidence-for-climate-change/

V. CLIMATE CHANGE WEEKLY #139: AUSTRALIAN METEOROLOGISTS CAUGHT FUDGING NUMBERS The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) was recently forced to admit it alters the temperatures recorded at almost all the official weather stations in Australia. The ABM came clean on its temperature fiddling largely because of the fierce scrutiny of Graham Lloyd, environment editor for The Australian and The Weekend Australian, who published a series of articles on the ABM’s number-fudging. Using a process it calls homogenization, ABM has replaced actual temperature measurements with massaged numbers. ABM claims anomalies have arisen in both the historical data and current measurements due to a wide variety of factors unrelated to climate, such as differing types of instruments used, choices of calibration or enclosure and where it was located, and the closure of some stations and opening of others. The ABM argues such factors justify homogenization of the numbers. http://jennifermarohasy.com/2014/09/bureau-caught-in-own-tangled-web-of-homogenisation/

W. ICN'S CLIMATE MARCH AND CLIMATE WEEK COVERAGE We started our coverage weeks ago. Here's what to expect in the coming week. By Katherine Bagley, InsideClimate News Sep 19, 2014

Banners at the People's Climate March Artspace readied for the Sunday march. Credit/David Sassoon 31Share0 Next week will be a big one for climate change activity—and InsideClimate News will be there covering it. Activists from more than 1,000 organizations will march through midtown Manhattan Sunday, Sept. 21 to call on world leaders to act on global warming. The event, known as the People's Climate March, is expected to be the largest gathering of disparate interests in the history of the climate movement, with estimates ranging as high as 100,000 people. InsideClimate News will be there on the ground, providing breaking news updates, videos and pictures throughout the day. We'll travel with protesters as they stream into the city. We'll watch as the march route gets assembled and stay until the last buses leave. You can find the latest news from our reporters at InsideClimateNews.org, and on Twitter and Facebook. InsideClimate also be launching a Tumblr page called Climate Week In Your Face profiling the activists converging on Manhattan demanding action. Two days later, on Tuesday, InsideClimate News reporters will be at the United Nations as dozens of world leaders, including President Obama, gather to lay the groundwork for climate change treaty talks in Paris next year. Bookending these two events are dozens of smaller conferences, round tables, and lectures happening as part of the sixth annual Climate Week NYC. Experts on climate science, policy, engineering and economics will discuss challenges and solutions for the climate crisis. Throughout the week, the InsideClimate News homepage will feature opinion pieces from some of the world's foremost thought-leaders on climate issues. Remember to keep checking here for updates throughout the week and following us on social media. See all Carbon Copy posts >> Return to home page >>

Printer-friendly version Comment space is provided for respectful discourse. Please consult our comment policies for more information. We welcome your participation in civil and constructive discussions. http://insideclimatenews.org/carbon-copy/20140919/icns-climate-march-and-climate-week-coverage David Sassoon

X. PAID VOLUNTEERS’ FOR THE NYC CLIMATE MARCH People send me stuff. Below is an image from New York City of the 350.org “climate march” from their website today. It’s the usual horde of useful idiots, holding up signs suggesting they are being gassed and that “climate chaos” is afoot. It is mostly an emotional response to a non-issue. I was amused when… http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/21/paid-volunteers-for-the-nyc-climate-march/

Y. MORE THAN 310 THOUSAND PEOPLE WITH SKEWED PRIORITIES FLOOD NEW YORK Bob Tisdale / 5 hours ago September 22, 2014 Guest Post by Bob Tisdale The numbers are rolling in…and they’re impressive in a odd way. Based on numerous news reports, somewhere in the neighborhood of 310 to 400 thousand people participated in the People’s Climate March on Sunday, September 21, 2014 in New York City. The parade was, of course, a precursor for the U.N. Climate Summit 2014, which begins tomorrow. Yet the results of the U.N.’s Global Survey for a Better World, also known as MyWorld2015, show “Action taken on Climate Change” at the very bottom…the abyss…of things that matter most to families around the globe. See the screencap below. If you haven’t had your say, you can take the survey here.

Looks like the 310 to 400 thousand people who marched in Manhattan yesterday have priorities that are out of touch with the rest of the occupants of this lovely planet. Considering the object of the U.N. meeting, maybe the marchers should have been calling for “honest and responsive government“, which ranked much higher than climate. Regards George