In the piece, Hansen claims:
We cannot burn all the fossil fuels without creating a very different planet. The only practical way to solve the problem is to phase out the biggest source of carbon and that is coal.
Is this what someone working for the United States government and paid with our tax dollars should be doing (video embedded below the fold):
Last September, Nobel Laureate Al Gore called for this kind of civil disobedience against coal-fired power plants.
Now, he's got one of his key shills in the government advocating such.
Is this what our tax dollars pay for?
Exit questions: When Gore-loving press members report this protest, will they share how many millions of dollars the Global Warmingist-in-Chief stands to make if America moves away from coal as an energy source?
And will they discuss that it was this very kind of eco-hysteria that moved us away from nuclear power facilities in the '80s and towards coal?
Finally, will they address the number of people who work in the coal industry that will be laid off if Gore and Hansen get their wish?
Yes, those are rhetorical questions.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Just out of curiosity
February 18, 2009 - 15:32 ET by HeavyChevyI wonder how those coal fire states that voted for Bambi feel when he starts to implement these loons crazy plans.
The Truth about Coal = U.S. Electrical "Energy Independence"
February 18, 2009 - 21:10 ET by PopularTechI find it hilarious the left wing eco-nazis want to destroy our ability to generate electricity. For all the talk of "energy independence", we are complete independent on electrical generation and that is due to our huge reserves of coal. There is absolutely nothing that can replace coal for generating electricity except a massive ramp up of Nuclear Power and even that is questionable. Renewables have no remote chance of displacing Coal, Nuclear or Natural Gas. Yet since so many are ignorant about where our energy comes from they will fall for this type of propaganda. Just think of the economic consequences of getting rid of 50% of our electrical generating capability. These people are insane.
- 49% of U.S. electrical generation comes from coal (EIA) (22% Natural Gas, 19% Nuclear, 6% Hydroelectric, 2.5% from "Renewables" and 1.5% from Oil)
- The United States has 268 billion tons of coal reserves, a 240 year supply (NMA)
- Coal is the cheapest way to generate electricity (the levelized cost of a kilowatt hour is 3.53 cents for coal, 5.47 cents for gas, 5.94 cents for nuclear)
- Coal Power plants being built today emit 90 percent less pollutants (SO2, NOx, Particulates, mercury) than the plants they replace from the 1970s. (NMA)
- Emissions from coal-based electricity generation have decreased overall by nearly 40 percent since the 1970s while coal use has tripled. (NMA)
- U.S. coal operations have reclaimed more than 2.2. million acres of mined land over the past 25 years. (NMA)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution
...and the insanity within
February 18, 2009 - 15:33 ET by bigtimer...and the insanity within this country continues.
Lord, that critter is hard to listen to and stomach...along with his other comrades, Gore goes without saying...btw, didn't Biden and O say they were against clean coal..they would put a stop to this...as if we didn't know it anyway beforehand...O may have walked the fence on this, just like he did of-shore drilling, but I knew those were lies.
I understand full well about the $$$.
I am past furious with where are tax dollars are going.
What I worry most about is just what will happen when it is too late within this country to be self-dependent on our own resources because of this continued blatant lying agenda...while in the meantime we run short of fuel and heat for our homes, businesses/industries, what we have left of them that is..let alone the jobs they create.
Our planet isn't in peril...but our country is.
This will be becoming a planetary emergency within our borders...self-induced by the leftist agenda.
Bald Face LIER
February 18, 2009 - 15:37 ET by upcountrywaterThe oceans are getting COOLER.
No coal HOW ABOUT USING ATOMIC POWER. The french use it for 80% electric power generation.
Hurry get that carbon tax IN PLACE before it gets too cool.
pURPLe pINKy
Prepare your generators
February 18, 2009 - 15:38 ET by ammo johnI say shut it down until they beg for their electric to come on. And then wait a few days more.
My generator is..
February 18, 2009 - 15:41 ET by HeavyChevyprepped, primed and ready to go! Kill the lights baby!
Maybe I aughta buy some
February 18, 2009 - 17:54 ET by danboMaybe I aughta buy some gas the generator. I bought it for hurricanes. But hurricane Hansen and Hurricane Obama will likely put the lights out for longer than that punie Katrina.
Can't speak for you guys. But. I know how to live in a tent. And without electricity. Do Obama and Hansen?
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
Cold Cold Cold
February 19, 2009 - 10:19 ET by UtherpendSpeaking as someone who lost thier power in the recent ice storm we had here in KY, let me say that if you think you can do without electricity in 10 degree weather, try it. I for one enjoy being able to read past 7 pm and candles dont really cut it.
These hypocrites need to wake up to reality and come up with an alternate source of power AND then offer it as the substitute.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you."
coal country was warned.
February 18, 2009 - 15:40 ET by katainkentI wonder who(else) is kicking themselves now? I know some middle class folks who crossed the aisle for $8 a week. They aren't happy one bit.
I'M JUST AN OLD CHUNK OF COAL...
February 18, 2009 - 16:28 ET by danybhoyPeople in the coal industry-UnitedMineWorkers-who voted Obama/Dems really need to look long & hard at what they have voted for. They are voting for their own exicution.
Same goes for people in other blue collar industries...The UAW, you good people who build cars for the big 3, & supply parts as well, you too have voted for your own exicution. No number of bailouts will save your @$$ until you get new union management...The good people at Cat in Peoria will learn a hard lesson as well, you have been sold out by the Dems who will kill the Columbian Free Trade Act. The Columbians will buy Japanese heavy equipment, nice job idiots.
Plus, if you are in any heavy, blue collar, smokestack industries, you will be thrown overboard by the greens. The labor unions (rank & file)will wonder WTF happened, while their "leadership" lives it up on their dues. The other thing when it comes to the battle between the greens vs unions, the greens will eat them because they are waaaay more ruthless then the unions.
Just remember, ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.
"...it's still We The People, Right?" Megadeth
Nice ominous music soundtrack...
February 18, 2009 - 15:44 ET by SickofLibs.. to go with the [yawn] riveting delivery.
No government officials, at any level, should be calling for civil disobedience. That's all we need is for some whackjobs to start sabotaging coal-fired plants. He should be canned immediately (in fact, he should have been gone a long time ago.)
I'd offer him a 'free ride' on the next Hubble mission.
(And isn't "We're the ones we've been waiting for®" a registered Obamacorp trademark?)
Time to fire this retard,
February 18, 2009 - 15:48 ET by SlicksterTime to fire this retard, ethics voilations would be a good place to start.
I'm sure Obama is looking
February 18, 2009 - 16:00 ET by SickofLibsI'm sure Obama is looking into it. Failing that, maybe he'll just do a cameo at the big rally instead.
SoL... ...and have algore
February 18, 2009 - 15:48 ET by bigtimerSoL...
...and have algore join him on that free ride.
excellent idea BT
February 18, 2009 - 15:57 ET by SickofLibsI'd even supply the trail mix and seeds for the ride up!
Isn't there something
February 18, 2009 - 16:07 ET by 10ksnookerIsn't there something illegal about a government employee lobbying for more taxes for the government? Pay more in taxes to the government, so government scientists can pretend to control the weather.
If not, it sure is unseemly.
The man with failed
February 18, 2009 - 16:17 ET by danboThe man with failed projections and science speaks. We must listen. Because he's James Hansen.
It is fun watching him decompensate. His theory is falling apart. So he's getting loonier and loonier.
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
Falling Faster Than Bill Clinton's Pants
February 18, 2009 - 19:31 ET by dboDanbo,
it's hard to tell what is falling faster. It could be global temperatures. Then again, it might be Hansen's credibility. Or still yet, it might be traffic on Al Gore's web site.
I liked that piece of
February 18, 2009 - 20:46 ET by danboI liked that piece of information. Al Bore's website is going down hill?
And Al has all those accolytes who took his class. Then went out to preach to the world according to Gore. And to bring forth converts to be baptised in the true Warmer religion. (I think some of them come here. (Must be their punishwork. Or to work on a masters.) The trolls arguments are so predictable.)
Gavin is looking impotent, Hansen is decompensating, Hadcut is telling people to stop going out on a limb. And Al is flatlining. Sounds good.
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
Noel? After "Climate
February 18, 2009 - 16:22 ET by danboNoel? After "Climate Jokers Wild". Maybe "Climate Jokers Gone Wild", T-shirts. Can we get a T shirt with a picture of Barbra Boxer with an albatross (James Hansen) around her neck?
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
Isn't it against government
February 18, 2009 - 16:42 ET by eaglewingz08Isn't it against government policy for an employee to use his position to star in advertisements for certain policy positions?
I assume it's against
February 18, 2009 - 17:13 ET by danboI assume it's against government policy to tell politicians and heads of state what to do. It was for me. I think it qualifies as lobbying. But this is Hansen. (Here)
If Hanson hasn't already become a problem for the left. He's well on his way. But they created this man and used him.
They should never be allowed to distance themselves from him.
He's their albatross.
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
What a maroon
February 18, 2009 - 16:53 ET by CobraMan"We cannot burn all the fossil fuels without creating a very different planet."
Hay Hanson, it was a "different planet" that created the enormous peat bogs which eventually became the coal we burn today. Where do you think all the carbon came from, CO2 which promoted the VAST wetland forests that left so much biomass behind? And how hot do you think it was, increased global tempratures that permitted that massive grow necessary to support such HUGE peat bogs that spread over vast portions of what is now the eastern third of America? Plants don't grow well in low CO2 atmospheres and cool temperatures, do they?
By burning that coal and releasing it back into the environment, we just may bring back all that lost biomass, biomass that died out when the global climate cooled millions of years ago.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities
of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court
Hey Noel...
February 18, 2009 - 17:28 ET by Doc_NavyNoel,
Don't know if you already know this or not, but Brad Johnson over at the WONK ROOM has you and Matthew on a... (gasp) LIST!!!
Oh, Gawd, No.. They have a list. A list, man!! A freakin' **LIST**!!!
/sarc off
Anyway, I'd be honored to be listed with the folks they have on their "Evil Denier" list.
Kudos to you.
Doc
2008: The year that the great LIE died.
How we know that they know that they are Lying.
Friedrich Nietzsche summed up how I feel about the MSM in this quote:
"I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you."
Doc_Navy
February 19, 2009 - 08:39 ET by thebutlerdiditI went to the "Wonk Room" and read the comments. Too funny. I left a message. I thought it was amusing. They may not.
All a Democrat needs is the upper-story window of public attention and the chamber pot of rhetoric. How else to explain the rise of Joe Biden? P.J. O' Rourke
Not just the sceptics. Did
February 19, 2009 - 08:45 ET by danboNot just the sceptics. Did you notice any familiar names there? One was one of our former experts.
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
§ ALERT!!! NY POST Cartoon Driving Libs NUTS!!!
February 18, 2009 - 17:15 ET by TheSterThe NY Post political of 2 Cops shooting a Chimpanzee and talking about "who will write the Stimulus Bill" is driving the MSM CRAZY!!!
Hitting Hardball and Wolf RIGHT NOW!! 4:10pm Cst.
http://www.nypost.com/delonas/delonas.htm
Ster.
My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives.
That's funny!
February 18, 2009 - 17:22 ET by CobraManThat's funny! You know what they say about a monkey hitting the keys for an infinite amount of time...
...it looks like that monkey's time just ran out.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities
of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court
Coal - whats' all the fuss?
February 18, 2009 - 17:39 ET by Gary HallCoal - whats' all the fuss?
After all, according to a 2007 'damning' report on US CO2 emissions, from U.S. PIRG Education Fund, called the Carbon Boom, although total US electrical generation from Coal increased significantly from 2000-2004, the amount of CO2 emissions from coal remained rather flat - see pages 20 of 44 in the linked report. One might note that all was lumped under the longer term period of 1990-2004. The graphics clearly indicate that under Clinton, the CO2 emissions increased significantly, but flattened out as soon as Bush became president.
When I called this to the attention of the writer of the report, Alison Cassidy, she... was well, speechless. I'd call that priceless.
(;~> gary (oh Noel. Yes - Hansen being associated with this effort has to be grounds for his removal from the governement payroll)
This guy needs to be on the
February 18, 2009 - 17:54 ET by d1carterThis guy needs to be on the Goreacle's payroll, not ours. He should be dismissed from NASA.
In the Dark
February 18, 2009 - 18:29 ET by the strugglerGive them their wish and shut down the D.C. power plant
Hansen needs to be sent on the first unmanned mission to...
February 18, 2009 - 18:50 ET by R D Helm...Uranus.
At last that would get him out of the taxpayer's pockets. :-)
-Dave
Our clueless political leaders are about to drive us all over a cliff. The time to HITM is now-before we go over.
A Big Whopper Even by Al Gore's Standard
February 18, 2009 - 19:01 ET by dboAl Gore is up to his old tricks again. Last week he said:
Perhaps he is referring to the wind coming out of alarmists mouths as "jobs in the wind industry".
http://sciencepolicy...
label me a skeptic, but
February 18, 2009 - 20:18 ET by puredmashiei attended a presentation by syracuse university professor charles driscoll about mercury and its cycle in the environment. driscoll made a name for himself by studying the effects of acid rain on freshwater lakes, rivers and streams in the northeast. the largest source of acid rain is sulphur in the form of sulphurous acid from coal fired power plants. we're better now at cleaning coal from its sulphur and i would hope there is less acid rain as a result. driscoll's presentation showed mercury in its three forms: the liquid metal we're most familiar with, a vapor form of the element that's free to travel the globe airborn, and an ionic form that exists in groundwater and other water sources. the largest source was again coal fired power plants, and the highest concentrations are near the plants. it makes me wonder if china brings on one coal fired power plant every week, and they have a diet rich in fish and rice can it be long before their health becomes an issue?
one thing that i did take away from the presentation: larger fish are more prone to higher levels of mercury as they are further up the food chain. so if you're a tuna eater, that albacore tuna may have more mercury than its light tuna cousin because albacore is a larger, and usually older fish.
swing hard in case you hit it.
Pollution has nothing to do with Global Warming
February 18, 2009 - 21:57 ET by PopularTechPollution while a legitimate concern in developing countries such as China are not nearly so in the U.S. Obviously we should be concerned about pollution but this has nothing to do with the global warming argument which is about Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and CO2 is not pollution. Our coal power plants are very clean:
- Coal Power plants being built today emit 90 percent less pollutants (SO2, NOx, Particulates, mercury) than the plants they replaced from the 1970s. (NMA)
- Emissions from coal-based electricity generation have decreased overall by nearly 40 percent since the 1970s while coal use has tripled. (NMA)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution
What? The various
February 19, 2009 - 06:20 ET by RR GOPWhat? The various government bureaucracies as part of the Leftist ideological apparatus? Say it isn't so!
Look around. Even the most obscure government agencies have been rife with Communists since at least the 1930s, even to the point of being tied into Soviet spy rings.
Think Reagan kicked them out or something? Uh...no.
One of the 24% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 89% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
One of my biggest
February 19, 2009 - 06:34 ET by danboOne of my biggest disappointments with Bush's 8 years.
Not cleaning out the crazies in civil service.
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
If you understand hypothesis testing, check out Desmog
February 19, 2009 - 10:00 ET by danboI was just over at Desmog. Curious what they were saying about the warmers. Check it out.
There's an interesting article on wording such as "Likely", "Very Likely". Must be where one of our warmers got it.
I'm not sure who's muddying up the water. Do they understand the randomness of numbers? That certain phrases imply scientific testing?
I still like >50% = more likely than not. Remember 50% is a coin toss.
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
Part of the deception plan
February 19, 2009 - 11:03 ET by dboThe only hope the alarmist have is by using semantics, buzz words and trumped up data and graphs. Tim Ball has a good article on IPCC buzz words.
http://www.canadafre...
I was just over at Desmog.
February 19, 2009 - 10:17 ET by danboI was just over at Desmog. Curious what they were saying about the warmers.
There's an interesting article on wording such as "Likely", "Very Likely". Does it make sense?
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.