Tag Archives: Global warming

German Ecological Energy Turnaround Working!

May 10, 2012 By in Habitudes, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, High Art, Home Cooking, Hustle (Hoax), Hypochondria, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

As long as power plants that burn fossil fuels remain in operation, that is.

The Federal Network Agency warns that if ecologically questionable coal-fired power stations do not stay in operation, the German power grid will crash. Especially in Southern German “assured capacities” are missing.

Power stations old as dirt (and at least as dirty), ready to be shut down due to the high environmental pollution they cause, will have to remain in operation.

Details, details. The main thing is that Germany’s ideologically-fired power elite stay in power long enough to keep that visionary progress of theirs a comin’.

Die ökologische Energiewende in Deutschland scheint ohne umweltschädliche fossile Kraftwerke nicht zu funktionieren.

We’re Only Taxing You For Your Own Good

March 23, 2012 By in Habeas Corpus, Habitudes, Heconomy, Hypocrisy Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

To protect the climate. And while we’re at it we’ll tax you Americans even more.

A “departure tax?” Then I’ll just stay here. Germany’s Air Transport Tax – somehow meant to save the climate but no one can explain to me just how this works – is penalizing American carriers by taxing them the maximum amount of 45 euros per passenger.

These carriers are now suing the country on the grounds that “Germany cannot arbitrarily close its budget gap on the backs of US airlines and their passengers, who already pay taxes at excessive rates. This is a short-sighted cash grab.”

Of course it is. But they’re going to keep on taxing us anyway. Americans don’t vote here.

Die kurzsichtige Maßnahme werde der deutschen Volkswirtschaft größeren Schaden zufügen als möglicherweise an Steuereinnahmen wieder hereinkomme.

Remember The Ozone Hole?

March 18, 2012 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Higher Education, Hypochondria, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

We were just kidding.

No, seriously. Something called the Montreal Protocol just saved the world as we know it from most certain destruction, bringing about a “healing of the ozone layer” and thus reducing our exposure to harmful UV rays from the sun which was being caused by, well, refrigerators and aerosol spray cans. Just like that. Almost as if by magic or something.

A German research institute has even confirmed this wonderful news, so you can bet that it’s for real (Germans are very thorough, you know). And said German research institute, like all those other research institutes out there, is being completely objective here and has in no way profited from the research funds given it to research said ozone hole phenomena and only böse Zungen (malicious tongues) would suggest otherwise.

The underlying message here: To rid the world of all manner of unpleasantness and harmful gas, both hot and cold, all we need are more protocols (like Montreal or Kyoto, say), and not less. Or fewer, I mean. And more funding, of course.

“The results are encouraging. The fact that the ozone layer in the regions researched has become thicker is a result of the successful Montreal Protocol.”

Bad Scientists, Bad!

February 7, 2012 By in Helplessness, Hi-tech, Higher Education, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Even German scientists can reach a saturation point when it comes to all that incredible global climate change hype still blowing in the wind out there.

Normally more than willing to dutifully follow the party line (and the Party is always right, I mean left), two German green-as-they-get researchers have taken the leap and jumped ship to defect to the West, I mean to the dark side. Basically, they think that more CO2 will have little to no effect on the overall climate. This is indefensible, inexcusable, reprehensible and unjustifiable, of course. So now they must die or something.

“One of the fathers of Germany’s modern green movement, Professor Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt, a social democrat and green activist, decided to author a climate science skeptical book together with geologist/paleontologist Dr. Sebastian Lüning. Vahrenholt’s skepticism started when he was asked to review an IPCC report on renewable energy. He found hundreds of errors. When he pointed them out, IPCC officials simply brushed them aside. Stunned, he asked himself, “Is this the way they approached the climate assessment reports?”

Vahrenholt decided to do some digging. His colleague Dr. Lüning also gave him a copy of Andrew Montford’s The Hockey Stick Illusion. He was horrified by the sloppiness and deception he found. Persuaded by Hoffmann & Campe, he and Lüning decided to write the book. Die kalte Sonne cites 800 sources and has over 80 charts and figures. It examines and summarizes the latest science.

Skeptic readers should not think that the book will fortify their existing skepticism of CO2 causing warming. The authors agree it does. but have major qualms about the assumed positive CO2-related feed-backs and believe the sun plays a far greater role in the whole scheme of things.”

Daher treibe ihn als Vorsitzender der Geschäftsführung die Sorge um, dass die Menschen zur gleichen Erkenntnis bei erneuerbaren Energien kommen, wie es jüngst bei der Atomkraft war. “Wenn die Leute merken, dass die Warnungen vor dem Klimawandel stark überzogen sind und der Treibhausgasausstoß nicht die ihm zugeschriebene überragende Rolle spielt, könnten sie sich von den erneuerbaren Energien abwenden”, führt er aus.

Why Stop At Three Knut Memorials In Berlin?

January 6, 2012 By in Habitudes, Helplessness, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Why not 40 instead?

It could have been a lot worse, though, believe it or not. This Knutmania stuff, I mean. Just imagine if he would have drowned in the Arctic instead?

Knut arrived on the scene at a moment when global warming was a growing topic, born the same year that the climate-change film “An Inconvenient Truth,” starring Al Gore, was released… Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” claim that polar bears were drowning in the Arctic because of melting ice packs has since been discredited.

Bis zum Ende der Ausschreibung in dieser Woche seien 40 Ideen, Skizzen Bilder und Modelle beim Verein der Freunde des Berliner Zoos eingegangen.

Bad Kanada, Bad!

December 13, 2011 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

Remember when Canada used to be one of the good countries (as seen from a German point of view)?

Well now those crazy canucks went and done it and have formally withdrawn from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change ITSELF, just like that, and just days after that cheesy last-minute el cheapo compromise on climate change in Durban that got German environmentalists over here (and everywhere else) all hot and bothered and globally warmed up and stuff. Sheesh.

And all for the love of money!? Why those no-good-dog-sledding-pill-pushing-maple-smokers. Can you imagine that? Is nothing sacred anymore? Since when has money made the world go around, people? Oh. That long, really? Damn.

So now even the Canadians are acting like, well, Americans. Talk about the wheels falling off your dog and pony show climate change bandwagen.  What does this mean? Where do we not go from here? Like, other than Germany, who’s going to be next?

“Canada’s obligations under Kyoto would cost $13.6bn (10.3bn euros; £8.7bn): “That’s $1,600 from every Canadian family – that’s the Kyoto cost to Canadians, that was the legacy of an incompetent Liberal government.”

Mind Bombs and Messiahs

January 5, 2011 By in Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , 2 Comments

When Germans start calling for a new messiah, I, for one, start paying close attention. I even went as far as to read this Spiegel article in its entirety, which, needless to say, doesn’t happen very often.

Trying desperately to stop the current worldwide media trend away from climate issues, concerned environmentalists everywhere are trying desperately to get everybody else concerned about the climate again without appearing to be trying to do so so desperately, but it doesn’t seem to be working. Well it’s not working for me.

The Spiegel‘s panicked and pitiful analysis of what might maybe out to be done to re-kick-start an issue that seems to have sputtered out unexpectedly clearly demonstrates the current greenish cluelessness regarding the, uh, non-matter. To sum it up:

Mind bombs (highly emotional images “that reduce a complex problem down to one core message” — think drowning polar bears) aren’t working. So we need better ones (?).

A new kind of journalism is suddenly necessary (duh) and that’s why “climate activists have begun directing millions in funding into training programs.” What they could possibly be teaching these re-programed journalists is unclear at this time (I thought striving to uncover the truth had been a good enough method up until now, but that’s just me).

And then came “think smaller,” “get quiter” and “more sex.” Finally, something we can all agree upon.

Zu guter Letzt (and last but not least), finally, that disturbing paragraph about “the search for a new messiah.” Talk about creepy. They even mentioned Al Gore. I can share their pain though, in a way, because let’s face it, who on God’s Green Earth have they possibly got left? Julian Assange is currently, well, detained and the President of the United States has already fired his environmental (and every other kind of) round and is so no longer available that it’s not even funny.

If any of you out there have any suggestions as to who might be the next best messiah guy or gal out there, please let me know. Or better yet, pass your suggestions on to somebody who actually cares.

“British science magazine Nature identified two reasons for this loss of credibility. One was mistakes, made public around a year ago, in the UN’s 2007 climate report. The other was the so-called “Climategate” scandal involving the e-mails stolen from the climate researchers at the University of East Anglia.”

PS: I think they ought to maybe go with Focus Magazine’s new marketing strategy (see above) and start selling climate change as some really way cool and wonderful thing.

They don’t call it the S(tress)-Bahn here for nothing

January 4, 2011 By in Habitudes, Helplessness, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Only in Berlin? I’m not so sure. Remember way back when (getting on two years ago) when the Berliner S-Bahn commuter trains had to go on a Notfahrplan (emergency schedule) bis auf Weiteres (until further notice) because of massive problems they were having with their brakes (they hadn’t been checked or maintained properly)?

Remember then about a year or so later when there was a Not-Notfahrplan (emergency emergency schedule) for the same S-Bahn system when something called “winter” hit?

Well winter has struck yet again and we now have our next Not-Notfahrplan (irregular, 20-minute intervals for the few trains that are still running–about 200 of a 500 fleet) and there’s no end in sight. Two years on, people.

It’s not all that out of the ordinary if you stop to think about it, really. German Baustellen (construction sites) are generally built to last. And to last and to last and to last. And we have to be fair here too when it comes to these difficult winter conditions: Germany isn’t a country that has ever had to deal with things like “snow” in the past, you know–or at least that’s what one must assume.

Personally, I’m confident that these trains will all be up and running on regular schedule next year. In the spring of 2012, I mean.

“Because we can’t remember the hard winters of the 1970s, we resort to the word ‘chaos.'”

Have a good slide!

December 31, 2010 By in Habitudes Tags: , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Or so the Germans say (Guten Rutsch!), for Happy New Year!

That ought to be easy enough this winter. It’s been the coldest December here in Germany since 1969 (before global warming started screwing everything up).

So slide well into the new year–and slide responsibly.

Der Dezember war zugleich überdurchschnittlich feucht. Am Flughafen in Frankfurt fielen insgesamt 59 Zentimeter Neuschnee, so viel wie noch nie seit Beginn der Aufzeichnungen.