Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) is a theory (hypothesis). It is an unproven theory. What you do with theories is put them to the test with scientific observations. Let’s see what data points we now have:

1) Average annual temperatures have not surpassed 1998 (NOAA) (University of Alabama)

2) Average annual temperatures are now trending downward since 1998 (NOAA) (University of Alabama)

3) Ocean temperatures have not risen since 2000 when the 3000 Argo buoys were launched. The buoys even show a slight decrease in ocean temperatures

4) The Arctic ice froze to February levels by December 07, there are 1mm more sq km than before (previous was 13mm sq km)

5) The Arctic ice is 20cm thicker than “normal” (whatever that is)

6) All polar bear pods are stable or growing (NOAA/PBS)

7) Mount Kilimanjaro is not melting because of global warming, rather “sublimation”

The Antarctic is not “melting”, it is growing in most places, the sloughing off at the edges is normal as the ice mass grows

9) The majority of the Antarctic is 8 degrees below “normal” (again, whatever that is)

10) The coveted .7 degree rise in temperatures over the last 100 years has been wiped out with last years below “normal” temperatures (NOAA coolest winter since 2001)

11) Al Gore's film was deemed “propaganda” in a court of law in the UK as many points could not be substantiated by scientists

12) It was also just revealed that some of the footage in Al's film was CGI. The ice shelf collapse was from the movie The Day After Tomorrow (ABC)

13) One of the scientists that originally thought that CO2 preceded the warming has now found with new data that the CO2 rise follows the warming (Dr David Evans)

14) August 2008 was the first time since 1913 there were no sun spots.

15) The Medieval Warm Period was warmer than the 20th century (no SUVs)

16) Many scientists are now predicting 30 years of cooling.

17) The greenhouse effect is real, our small contribution to it cannot even be measured

18) Several publications, including those that are warmist have recently written that the natural cycles of the earth may mask AGW. Give me a break.

19) 31,000 scientist have signed a petition against AGW!

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More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims


“I am a skeptic...Global warming has become a new religion.” - Nobel Prize Winner for Physics, Ivar Giaever.

“Since I am no longer affiliated with any organization nor receiving any funding, I can speak quite frankly. As a scientist I remain skeptical.” -

Atmospheric Scientist Dr. Joanne Simpson, the first woman in the world to receive a PhD in meteorology and formerly of NASA who has authored more than 190 studies and has been called “among the most preeminent scientists of the last 100 years.”

Warming fears are the “worst scientific scandal in the history...When people come to know what the truth is, they will feel deceived by science and scientists.” - UN IPCC Japanese Scientist Dr. Kiminori Itoh, an award-winning PhD environmental physical chemist.

“The IPCC has actually become a closed circuit; it doesn’t listen to others. It doesn’t have open minds… I am really amazed that the Nobel Peace Prize has been given on scientifically incorrect conclusions by people who are not geologists,” - Indian geologist Dr. Arun D. Ahluwalia at Punjab University and a board member of the UN-supported International Year of the Planet.

“The models and forecasts of the UN IPCC "are incorrect because they only are based on mathematical models and presented results at scenarios that do not include, for example, solar activity.” - Victor Manuel Velasco Herrera, a researcher at the Institute of Geophysics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico

“It is a blatant lie put forth in the media that makes it seem there is only a fringe of scientists who don’t buy into anthropogenic global warming.” - U.S Government Atmospheric Scientist Stanley B. Goldenberg of the Hurricane Research Division of NOAA.

Furthermore your figure of 1.75 trillion is wrong, its around 600 billion forecasted for 2008.

The problem of cost exceeding revenues is based around the baby boomer generation retiring.

It always seems to me that you live in a bubble of Austrian economics and it's so pointless arguing with a zealot of Austrian economics.

>> ^rottenseed:
This is the official Top 15 forecast.
actionpack

pffff...the weather guy never gets any credit...

This is the official Top 15 forecast.

*actionpack

Today.....in your area..........sunny, with light clouds in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 70's. Now.......your weekly forecast....

(still upvote )

^ yeah, i thought so too, stingray.

dotdude - consider switching embeds? the one i used is here.
and the extra few seconds of him standing there, adds something special.

also, i'd agree with ^faceman:
> I'd be more inclined to believe he just screwed up his lines and didn't realise he was "live" than believe it was a bout of Tourettes.

probably new, nervous, more accustomed to videotaping.
practicing that bullet delivery all day, and your line is something like:
"complete forecast, all the day's news, straight ahead live on fox at 6."

but live on air, what comes out of your mouth is:
"... straight ahead at the fox live at news ..."

so yeah, i thought that title gives away the punchline, tags made it hard to find.
besides, if you had tourette's, would you agree to do a live newscast?

The line at the bottom is great:

ON-AIR PROPOSAL
the forecast is yes

I disagree that free markets are highly prevalent in modern economies.

One tenant of a completely free market is the lack of asymmetrical information, that both the buyer and seller are aware of all other buyers and sellers.

In your example, the parent would know of all other kids competing for money to mow the lawn, the kid is aware of all parents seeking his services and at what price point.

This is just a small local example, this can be taken further on international levels, where it gets even more complicated as we factor in protectionist trade policy, trade agreements, trade restrictions, trade quotas and so on.

For example in the 70s, the Japanese auto industry was decimating the local auto industry in the US, the Big 3 lobbied the government to do something about it. Through negotiations the Japanese agreed to a voluntary quota system, they would import only a limited amount of their more efficient cars, this drove up their price artificially in the market, allowing them to gain alot of profit by re-branding their cars for a luxury car market known today as the Lexus.

The Big 3 gained via continued dominion of the US auto market, the Japanese gained through a new luxury auto market, while the consumer lost because market efficiency was not there, the cheapest model cars made in Japan were not available to the US consumer.

International trade fails free market ideals in many ways, since a lot of first world nations do not allow third world nations into their markets especially in terms of agriculture. In the 1920s to 1950s, there was highly restrictive trade as various international economics locked off their markets to rebuild their economics, this took over 70 years to slowly unravel via the GATT and the emergence of the WTO. However there are a lot of barriers, the G8 also have larger influence and bargaining strength over third world nations, they also understand WTO legalese better.

Now think of something that holds a large control of the market like Wallmart in the retail industry, in some areas they are the sole superstore thus this is already not a free market, everyone is forced to purchase their products at one place. This doesn't stop the seller to change their price because the consumer is dependent. This is where we can say no free market exists due to regional monopoly.

The closest we come to a free market is the stock market but only on price, all sellers and buyers know the price however not everyone knows profit forecasts, insider information, business conditions, corporate structure and so on.

>> ^rottenseed:
This is very fundamental...
A) There's generally a cycle that holds true in period
B) The housing market bubble had already all but burst at that point. Nobody was buying and those that were selling were having to lower their prices.
Whenever interest rates are so low, and you still can't sell property, you know things are upside down.
Now just take that information and forecast a couple of years in the future when a lot of these 3 year ARMs turn into hell for the average working class family.


It's so logical yet his position is treated like crazy talk.

This is very fundamental...

A) There's generally a cycle that holds true in period
B) The housing market bubble had already all but burst at that point. Nobody was buying and those that were selling were having to lower their prices.

Whenever interest rates are so low, and you still can't sell property, you know things are upside down.

Now just take that information and forecast a couple of years in the future when a lot of these 3 year ARMs turn into hell for the average working class family.

I've always been boggled by the lack of initiative for health care reform on the Republican side. I mean surely they don't believe the free market is providing sufficiently for a good/service with such an overwhelmingly positive externality. What do their corporate benefactors* have to lose, compared to what they have to gain: increased productivity from their healthier workers, and a general optimistic view of the future that doesn't forecast being driven into indebtedness due to the risk of high medical bills, especially when you're talking about older workers.

I mean the only plausible explanation seems that insurance companies hold such a vice grip upon their political direction that they are stonewalling any progress. That or they are dogmatically clinging to a black and white, zero regulation market philosophy.

You just did sir, with your comment, and we appreciate it, in the same way a gauge or barometer is appreciated by a forecaster....Wish we had more folks with power and balls to wield the down vote here as well, then the group would not have to suffer another cat fart or remedial, Photo-shopped masturbation/creation, and less folks who simply speak the party line-The predictable, tin-foil hat accusations from a place of limited information and no desire or concern to process any real information....Carry on, putty....
To bone up on the world of the real , might be a healthy exercise for ya all, as well as sifting some vids...or so I have been told.....


How's it feel to get choggied in the ass, eh?? Comfortable??

#36 A duck's quack doesn't echo

#37 A snail breathes through its foot

#38 Fish cough.

#39 An ant's smell is stronger then a dog's

#40 It is possible to lead a cow up stairs but not down

#41 Shrimp can only swim backward

#42 Frogs cannot swallow with their eyes open

#43 A cat's lower jaw cannot move sideways

#44 The bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps

#45 Elephants are capable of swimming 20 miles per day

#46 Elephants are the only mammal that cannot jump

#47 Giraffes have no vocal chords

#48 Cats can hear ultrasound

#49 Despite its hump...camels has a straight spine

#50 Mosquitoes have 47 teeth

#51 There is 63,360 inches in a mile

#52 11% of people in the world are left-handed

#53 The average women consumes 6lbs of lipstick in her lifetime

#54 The average smell weighs 760 nanograms *

#55 A human brain weighs about 3lbs

#56 1/4 of the bones in your body are in your feet

#57 You blink over 10,000,000 times a year

#58 A sneeze travels out of your nose at 100mph

#59 Brain waves can be used to power an electric train

#60 The tongue is the fastest healing part of the body

#61 Pigs get sunburn

#62 The lifespan of a taste bud is 10 days

#63 The average human produces 10,000 gallons of saliva in a lifetime

#64 Strawberries contain more Vitamin C then oranges

#65 A one-day weather forecast requires about 10 billion math calculations

#66 Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza a day

#67 There are 18 different animal shapes in the Animal cracker zoo

#68 The longest one syllable word is "screeched"

#69 No word in the English language rhymes with month

#70 A "jiffy" is actually 1/100 of a second

#71 There is a town called "Big Ugly" in West Virginia

#72 The average person uses 150 gallons of water per day for personal use

#73 The average person spends 2 weeks of its life waiting for a traffic light to change

#74 You share your birthday with 9 million others in the world

#75 The average person makes 1,140 phone calls per year

#76 The average person spends 2 years on the phone in his/her lifetime

#77 No piece of paper can be folded more then 7 times

#78 Alaska is the most eastern and western state in the US

#79 There are 119 grooves on the edge of a quarter

#80 About 18% of Animal owners share their bed with their pet

#81 Alaska has more caribou then people

#82 August has the highest percent of births

#83 Googol is a number (1 followed by 100 zeros)

#84 Oysters can change genders back and forth

#85 The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows

#86 Until the 19th century solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia

#87 A mile on the ocean and a mile on land are not the same distance

#88 A ten gallon hat holds less then one gallon of liquid

#89 The average American walks 18,000 steps a day

#90 The average raindrop falls at 7mph

#91 There are more telephones than people in Washington D.C.

#92 Fish can drown

#93 A Kangaroo can jump 30 feet

#94 Lizards communicate by doing push-ups

#95 Squids can have eyeballs the size of volleyballs

#96 The average American will eat 35,000 cookies in his/her lifetime

#97 A turkey can run at 20mph

#98 When the moon is directly over you, you weigh less

#99 You burn 20 calories an hour chewing gum

#100 In a year, the average person walks 4 miles making their bed

#101 About half of all Americans are on a diet at any given time

#102 A one-minute kiss burns 26 calories

#103 Frowning burns more calories then smiling

#104 There are more then 30,000 diets on public record

#105 You will burn 7% more calories walking on hard dirt then pavement

#106 You way less at the top of a mountain then sea level

#107 You burn more calories sleeping then watching TV

#108 Licking a stamp burns 10 calories

#109 Smelling apples and/or bananas can help you lose weight

#110 Frogs never drink

#111 Only male turkeys gobble

#112 At birth, a Dalmation is always pure white

#113 The fastest recorded speed of a racehorse was over 43 mph

#114 The oldest known animal was a tortoise, which lived to be 152 years old

#115 Bamboo makes up 99% of a panda's diet

#116 The largest fish is the whale shark - It can be over 50 feet long and weigh 2 tons

#117 The starfish is the only animal that can turn its stomach inside out

#118 Honeybees are the only insects that create a form of food for humans

#119 The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards

#120 The only continent without native reptiles or snakes is Antarctica

#121 The only bird that can swim and not fly is a penguin

#122 A duck can't walk without bobbing its head

#123 Beavers were once the size of bears

#124 Seals sleep only one and a half minutes at a time

oh man, I can't stand Bob. But he's got the right idea on the blog - trying to forecast it this far out is pretty useless. Just be ready to get out of dodge if necessary.

I was hoping the mountains of Jamaica would tear it up some, but it seems to have shifted south of them. My fear is that it moves very slowly through the Gulf, which is really warm right now, and builds steam all the way.

And joy, now we've got another TS in the Atlantic - Hanna. I hate this time of year.

Wow, I predict top 15 for this one. My forecast: 106 points once it leaves top 15!