Do results mean anything to Global Warmers?

Mr. Relevant, Senator "The dumb go to Iraq" Kerry tries to call a kettle black:

Kerry: Bush administration ‘increasingly irrelevant’ on climate

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) slammed the Bush administration on Wednesday for its reluctance to take bold action on climate change, but the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee added that the White House does not represent the view of the American people on the issue.

Kerry, who just returned from the climate negotiations in Bali, Indonesia, at which he represented Congress, criticized the Bush administration for standing in the way of a stronger agreement on the issue. The senator stated, however, that the opportunities of this White House to stand in the way of action are dwindling.

The problem is, what is it that we have to do?  After all, does it have to be that ONLY those countries that have signed onto the Kyoto accord are actively and successfully reigning in their emissions?

Er, not so much:

The Kyoto treaty was agreed upon in late 1997 and countries started signing and ratifying it in 1998.  A list of countries and their carbon dioxide emissions due to consumption of fossil fuels is available from the U.S. government.  If we look at that data and compare 2004 (latest year for which data is available) to 1997 (last year before the Kyoto treaty was signed), we find the following.

• Emissions worldwide increased 18.0%.
• Emissions from countries that signed the treaty increased 21.1%.
• Emissions from non-signers increased 10.0%.
• Emissions from the U.S. increased 6.6%.

In fact, emissions from the U.S. grew slower than those of over 75% of the countries that signed Kyoto.  Below are the growth rates of carbon dioxide emissions, from 1997 to 2004, for a few selected countries, all Kyoto signers.  (Remember, the comparative number for the U.S. is 6.6%.)

 

Maldives, 252%        Sudan, 142%       China, 55%     Luxembourg, 43%    

Iran, 39%.               Iceland, 29%       Norway, 24%    Russia, 16%     

Italy, 16%                Finland, 15%       Mexico, 11%    Japan, 11%   

Canada, 8.8%  

World and U.S. opinion seems to revolve around who signed Kyoto rather than actual carbon dioxide emissions.  Once again, stated intent trumps actual results. 

Get that?  The US expands its emissions by 6.6%, pretty much better than all other industrial nations, and John Kerry thinks that we have to sign a treaty?  Is that really relevant?  Hey, is his partner in crime, Al Gore, reading these too?  Back to the story:

The senator related the story of a delegate from Papua New Guinea who told the U.S. to get out of the way if it was not willing to lead.

Kinda looks like we already are! 

Look, the globe has warmed – 0.7 degree C over the last 100 years of so….this is NOT, as AlGor says that the "world has a fever" (and yes, I mockingly put that about a person who offsets his so-called carbon footprint" by buying those offsets from….a company that he just happens to own.  It matters not to me that he just outfitted his house the PV panels and the like – I do believe it is just action to assuage the emotions….

Just watch when all the grandiose words come home to roost and the it is time when the rubber meets the road – the howling starts:

Germany has attacked European Commission proposals to cut car C02 emissions limits, saying they unfairly hit the country’s auto industry. The measures are intended to curb global warming.

Under the plans, automobile manufacturers would have to reduce carbon emissions produced by their fleets of passenger cars to an average of 120 grams per kilometer by 2012. Currently, new cars emit some 160 grams on average. Should they not comply to the guidelines, automakers are to face steep fines. 

With several commissioners dissenting, the European Commission — the EU’s executive arm — agreed on a four-year phase-in period from 2012 for the fines.

"This will send a strong signal to the world about the determination of the European Union to take bold measures on climate change," EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said at a press conference.

Yup, strong words.  Hey, the EU wants to lead on this issue – after all, they all signed onto Kyoto, right?  Oh wait – another "Fine for thee but not for me moment:

Germany says the plan will not be effective

The proposed legislation enraged Germany and its carmakers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU was making policy "at the expense of Germany."

Government spokesman Thomas Steg said the measures were biased against German companies, which tend to make bigger and more powerful vehicles.

"Whatever motive led a majority of commissioners to decide this, we consider the solution to be wrong, we consider the solution to be very harmful and will do everything to force changes," he said.

Yup, when it is your ox being Gored, and the realization that it will cost BIG bucks (and not just swapping an incandescent to a CFL) and jobs, you can be sure that there will be REAL big back pedaling (just like if the new highway averages in the new energy bill here in the States actually take effect – you think Michigan has unemployment problems now???)

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso hailed the new measures, which still need the backing of EU states and the European parliament. "This proposal demonstrates that the European Union is committed to being a world leader in cutting CO2 emissions and the development of a low carbon economy," he said.

Nice words, but so far, they can’t even come close to what they’ve already agreed to.  At that point, it is just words, and the words stop meaning things….or become rather laughable:

Like this!

Women must stop admiring men who drive sports cars if they want to join the fight against global warming, the Government’s chief scientist has urged.

Professor Sir David King said governments could only do so much to control greenhouse gas emissions and it was time for a cultural change among the British public.

And he singled out women who find supercar drivers "sexy", adding that they should divert their affections to men who live more environmentally-friendly lives.

[snip]

"As soon as you come to the individual, however, they will buy a Ferrari, not because it is cheap to run or has low carbon dioxide emissions, but because young women think it is sexy to see men driving Ferraris. That is the area where a culture change is needed."

Yet, how to account for these stats?

Al Gore says global warming is a planetary emergency. It is difficult to see how this can be so when record low temperatures are being set all over the world.

• In 2007, hundreds of people died, not from global warming, but from cold weather hazards.
• Carbon dioxide continues to build in the atmosphere, but the mean planetary temperature hasn’t increased significantly for nearly nine years
• Antarctica is getting colder.
• Neither the intensity nor the frequency of hurricanes has increased. The 2007 season was the third-quietest since 1966. 
• South America this year experienced one of its coldest winters in decades. In Buenos Aires, snow fell for the first time since the year 1918.
• Unexpected bitter cold swept the entire Southern Hemisphere in 2007. Johannesburg, South Africa, had the first significant snowfall in 26 years. Australia experienced the coldest June ever.
• Last January, $1.42 billion worth of California produce was lost to a devastating five-day freeze.
• In April, a killing freeze destroyed 95 percent of South Carolina’s peach crop, and 90 percent of North Carolina’s apple harvest.
• At Charlotte, N.C., a record low temperature of 21 degrees Fahrenheit on April 8 was the coldest ever recorded for April, breaking a record set in 1923.
• On June 8, Denver recorded a new low of 31 degrees Fahrenheit. Denver’s temperature records extend back to 1872.
• On Dec. 7, St. Cloud, Minn., set a new record low of minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit. On the same date, record low temperatures were also recorded in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
• On Dec. 4, in Seoul, Korea, the temperature was a record minus 5 degrees Celsius.
• Nov. 24, in Meacham, Ore., the minimum temperature was 12 degrees Fahrenheit colder than the previous record low set in 1952.
• The Canadian government warns that this winter is likely to be the coldest in 15 years.

Fossil fuels don’t seem so awful when you’re in the cold and dark….If you think any of the preceding facts can falsify global warming, you’re hopelessly naive. Nothing creates cognitive dissonance in the mind of a true believer. In 2005, a Canadian Greenpeace representative explained “global warming can mean colder, it can mean drier, it can mean wetter.” In other words, all weather variations are evidence for global warming. I can’t make this stuff up.