Tweet of the Week

 

R_Chirgwin R_Chirgwin

Love it - a story about a planet 22 light years away with the obligatory Google map in the sidebar, showing Washington.

The Group of Sixteen is not a ringing endorsement of the anti-climate change position

On 27 January 2012 The Wall Street Journal ran an opinion piece titled No Need to Panic About Global Warming. WSJ editor stated that this was signed by the 16 scientists listed at the end of the article.

To assess this opinion one needs to look closer at these signatories than just the name and job descriptions they supplied:

Claude Allegre, former director of the Institute for the Study of the Earth, University of Paris and former politician – so beloved by his fellow scientists that 400 in climate-related fields signed a letter objecting to his statements.

J. Scott Armstrong, cofounder of the Journal of Forecasting and the International Journal of Forecasting – apparently has a BA in Applies Science, a BS in industrial engineering and is a Professor of Marketing mostly teaching in university business schools.

Jan Breslow, head of the Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics and Metabolism, Rockefeller University – an MD with degrees in chemistry famous for creating the heart attack mouse which makes him an obvious candidate to comment on climate-related disciplines in which he is not qualified.

Roger Cohen, fellow, American Physical Society – and retired from ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company.

Edward David, member, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences – as well as former President of Exxon Research and Engineering from 1977 to 1986 and amateur gem hunter.

William Happer, professor of physics, Princeton  - Chairman of conservative think tank the George C. Marshall Institute and former U.S. Federal Government on matters of defence and other technical issues.

Michael Kelly, professor of technology, University of Cambridge, U.K. – an engineer teaching in the electrical engineering division with eight publications to his name.

William Kininmonth, former head of climate research at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology – apparently unpublished in peer reviewed science journals on the subject of climate change and a member of the Lavoisier Group which is something of an astroturfing organization.

Richard Lindzen, professor of atmospheric sciences, MI – according to DeSmogBlog  Lindzen has published work with the conservative think-tank, the Cato Institute. The Cato Institute has received $125,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998. In his 1995 article, "The Heat Is On," Ross Gelbspan notes that Lindzen charged oil and coal organizations $2,500 per day for his consulting service.

James McGrath, professor of chemistry, Virginia Technical University – on the Board of Directors of ChemFab Inc which had commercial ties to the U.S. Military.

Rodney Nichols, former president and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences - his industrial consulting included the research laboratory of GTE and Shell Technology Ventures, and is presently a partner in GothamOrient LLC which states that We leverage our deep industry connections, decades of collective in-country experience in Asia, and relationships in the government and financing sectors to most quickly and effectively open markets on behalf of our clients.

Burt Rutan, aerospace engineer, designer of Voyager and SpaceShipOne – into conspiracy theories.

Harrison H. Schmitt, Apollo 17 astronaut and former U.S. senator –  a Cold War II warrior whom I always found to be an arrogant and opinionated Ugly American Abroad on the few times I ran into him, so it probably is no surprise to find him on this list.

Nir Shaviv, professor of astrophysics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem – see his blog and decide yourself.

Henk Tennekes, former director, Royal Dutch Meteorological Service – quite a dummy spit when he left the service after an erratic time as director.

Antonio Zichichi, president of the World Federation of Scientists, Geneva – a member of the Pontifiical  Academy of Sciences at the Vatican.

Antarctic Pine Island Glacier Crack precusor to 900 sq. km iceberg

Pine Island Glacier

In mid-October 2011, NASA scientists working in Antarctica discovered a massive crack across the Pine Island Glacier, a major ice stream that drains the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Extending for 19 miles (30 kilometers), the crack was 260 feet (80 meters) wide and 195 feet (60 meters) deep. Eventually, the crack will extend all the way across the glacier, and calve a giant iceberg that will cover about 350 square miles (900 square kilometers). This image from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NAS's Terra spacecraft was acquired Nov. 13, 2011, and covers an area of 27 by 32 miles (44 by 52 kilometers), and is located near 74.9 degrees south latitude, 101.1 degrees west longitude.

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

If you're a NSW pensioner with less than $500 in the bank, then Barry O'Farrell intends to blindside you

Gawd, this is rich! Bazza’s chief political b#tch, Pru Goward has just announced that people who would normally be eligible for a set of cheap ‘n’ nasty free spectacles won’t be able to replace lost or broken specs or fill new optical prescriptions between 10^th  February to 30^th June 2012.

Why don’t cha just get in your chauffeured limo and mow a few of the poor down, Bazza?

It would probably cost less than the public hospital stays due to falls over the next four months.

Bazza’s remuneration package is over $350k and Goward’s is over $270k a year – most of the people they are dudding would be very lucky to receive $20-22k over the same twelve months.

Lower than a snakes’s belly – that’s what O’Farrell and his cronies are.

Pics Bazza 'n' Teh B#tch were found at Granny Herald and Sky News

Mining Law Workshop Dundurrabin Community Centre, February 11th 2012 at 1.30pm

MINING LAW WORKSHOP

Dundurrabin Community Centre at 1.30pm
on February 11, 2012  

Sue Higgenson, senior solicitor from the Environmental Defenders  Office, is coming to talk with our community about mining law.

This is an open  invitation to the whole community to address everyone's concerns regarding the  legal side of mining and our rights within the community and for our private  landholdings.

Take this opportunity to  understand what could happen if mining proceeds in our community.

Environmental Defenders Office:
  A  community legal centre specialising in public interest environmental  law

  Mission:  promote the public interest and improve environmental outcomes through the  informed use of the law

  Functions
  Legal  Advice and Representation

  Policy  and Law Reform

  Community  Education

  Scientific  and Technical Advice

Please bring a something to share to have with a  cuppa.

Local Mining Exploration
Anchor  Resources have been doing exploratory drilling at Dundurrabin for gold and  copper.

As  reported on Anchor Resources website, (http://www.anchorresources.com/) the  Tyringham prospect is identified as a Reduced Intrusion- Related Gold System (RIRGS) and deposits of this type include multi-million ounce gold mines such as Fort-Knox, Pogo and Donlin Creek (Alsaska) and Kidston Australia.

Further information on proposed mining can be found at Dorrigo Environment Watch.