You Decide

Always decide for yourself whether anything posted in my blog has any information you choose to keep.

Saturday, July 30, 2005

 

Super Solar Activity



super solar activity stump scientists

Defying predictions, the sun continues to ignore its established 11-year solar cycle. It has remained extremely active long past what should have been the beginning of the solar minimum, and now another group of enormous sunspots has appeared on the far side and is rotating in our direction.

Eight coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have exploded away from the sun since July 22nd. This high level of activity is not producing auroras on Earth, however, because none of the CMEs is heading our way. All of the blasts have been on the farside of the sun.

That's about to change, though, according to solar observers, because the active area is rotating in earth's direction.

Last year, the sun may have signalled a period of unrest when the solar magentic pole shift, which takes place every 11 years, failed to complete. The sun's magnetic field is now in a more-or-less horizontal position, because the shift between north and south poles did not complete.

Whether or not this has anything to do with high levels of solar activity is unknown.

Normally, not even the most violent solar explosions have a significant effect on earth, beyound disrupting radio and satellite communications and, in extremely rare cases, affecting power grids that are improperly shielded against solar energy.

However, sufficiently strong coronal mass ejections also bring heat with them, and this can cause ground temperatures to soar over the short term, especially in dry areas. Given the large number of dry forests on earth at this time, should such a CME head toward the planet, further heating and drying can be expected, and, in some cases, there is the possibility of spontaneous combustion, especially of plants rich in volatile oils. (SOHO image)

Sunday, July 17, 2005

 

Fight CAFTA Hidden Legislation Against Herbal Suplements

Received this in a newsletter .... looks like they have hidden legislation to ban both herbal supplements and vitamins from US markets as they're doing in Europe. 

Please at least read and contact your representative and senator if you feel strongly enough about the issue. 

Fight CAFTA Hidden Legislation Against Herbal Suplements


 
Please read this e-mail in it's entirity. The urgency is staggering!
I have been on a telephone campaign for the past two weeks to no avail in the Senate, but the House still hasn't voted. We MUST ban together to avoid complete oppression!

Sincerely
Sherry Henderson

Dear Light Workers,
This is one of the most Urgent Emails you will ever receive and I urge you to take five minutes and act on it!
 
Basically, as we know the AMA and the Parmacetical companies have been trying to get rid of vitamins, herbs and everything else holistic, and again and again we have defeated it. But now they have figured out a way around it, and it is about to pass. In fact the FDA has had a "Gag Order" on the media so that all of us are not aware of it, and it is about to be passed next week!!
 
They are doing it under An International Treaty Law that will supercede a country's own individual choices, and if it passes everything that we believe in will become illegal, from herbs to vitamins (unless the doctor perscribes them), massage, hypnotherapy, or ANY ALTERNATIVE HEALTH THERAPY! This is already in place in Germany and a 4 day supply of Vitamin E cost $80!
 
THEY PLAN TO PASS THIS NEXT WEEK!! So please act today, this minute and send this out to every email on our list, with my letter, so that hundreds of thousands will flood their offices in the next two or days! It has already passed in the Senate and will come up any day on the House calendar, and then we are all screwed!!
 
Below is a direct link to reach your House of Representatives person in your area or State! I urge you to act now to reverse this chain of catastrophic events!

Tricia White Dove McCannon
Urgent Press Release

National Health Federation Urgent Alert - CAFTA  

July 2, 2005

URGENT ALERT
ACT NOW
YOUR HEALTH FREEDOM IS BEING THREATENED

CAFTA VOTE - 1 WEEK AWAY

WE MUST NOT ALLOW CAFTA AND CODEX TO OVERRIDE DSHEA

The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) Treaty will require the U.S., a member of the World Trade Organization, to revise our food laws and regulations based on Codex decisions. CAFTA would force harmonization of our dietary supplements and regulations to international standards, overriding the DSHEA Act of 1994.

The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the even-broader Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) are both modelled after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). These agreements are typical bureaucratic monstrosities of "managed" trade that masquerade as free trade and would expand NAFTA to include first Central America and then the rest of the Americas in an economic "union."  True free trade would take a few pages of written text to enact ("eliminate these barriers to trade and these tariffs," etc.); all three of these agreements encompass thousands of pages of bureaucratic textual garbage sprinkled liberally with rules, regulations, and special-interest benefits.

Buried in the language of CAFTA is Section 6 that would require of all its members that they form a Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) committee for the purpose of insuring ongoing harmonization under the terms of the SPS Agreement in the World Trade Organization (WTO).  You can find that text at the following website:

http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/CAFTA/CAFTA-DR_Final_Texts/Section_Index.html.

If you then look at Article 3 of the WTO's SPS Agreement, you will read the following words: "To harmonize sanitary and phytosanitary measures on as wide a basis as possible, Members shall base their food safety measures on international standards, guidelines or recommendations." (emphasis added) And as you all know by now, Codex sets the international standards for food safety including vitamins & minerals.

So, CAFTA, which is set for a vote in the House of Representatives when they reconvene July 11th, 2005, is another critical link by which health-freedom haters hope to bypass the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 and obligate the United States and Canada by treaty to harmonize to the harshly restrictive Codex vitamin-and-mineral standards. They cannot be allowed to succeed, and we at the NHF completely oppose these two treaties that would put a knife in the back of our health freedoms.

*********************

~CAFTA has already passed the Senate in a 54 to 45 vote on July 1st, 2005.
~Legislators have just recessed for one week, reconvening July 11, 2005.
~IMPORTANT- For House consideration, when they return, the Senate Bill 1307 (click here to view bill), ratifying CAFTA, can be voted on without going to committee. It is on the House calendar and may be brought up at any time.
 

*********************

ONLY ONE WEEK TO ACT.  CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES.  URGE THEM TO VOTE AGAINST CAFTA NOW.

YOUR LETTERS WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  THE VOTING IN THE HOUSE WILL BE CLOSE.  WE HAVE ONE WEEK TO FLOOD THEIR OFFICES WITH CAFTA OPPOSITION LETTERS.

PLEASE JOIN IN THIS EFFORT AND CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES.

Contact any member of the House of Representatives via http://www.house.gov/writerep/
For persons who do not have Internet access you may contact the House of Representatives switchboard at 1 (202) 224-3121.
This will direct you to your representative as long as you have your full zip code, including the additional four digits that the post office places on the end, which indicates the representative district.

Sample Petition Opposition Letter as follows:

CAFTA Letter

 

 

The Honorable (Congressperson Full Name)

Address

Address

 

                                    Re:  CAFTA VOTE - URGENT

 

Dear Representative (Last Name):

 

            I am writing to urge you to vote against the Central American Free Trade Act (CAFTA).

 

            While you and your colleagues may believe that CAFTA will promote regional trade, I do not support CAFTA because it contains (in Section 6) stipulations that would require the United States, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to revise our food laws and regulations, based on decisions made by another WTO tribunal, the Codex Alimentarius (International Food Code) Commission, or Codex.  The WTO recognizes Codex standards as a source of international regulation for WTO members.  The WTO can and has sanctioned nations for not following Codex guidelines.

 

            The passage of CAFTA would force the "harmonization" of our dietary-supplement laws and regulations to international standards, as established by the supranational Codex Commission.  Doing so would drastically infringe on the quality of dietary supplements and access to supplements that people like me are used to.  The passage of CAFTA could effectively override the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994.  CAFTA would devastate our health freedom of choice, destroy thousands of small businesses in the health foods and dietary supplement fields, and negatively impact the 150 million regular consumers of dietary supplements like myself.

 

            Any treaty that leads to the banning of thousands of safe products cannot be described as "free trade."  There are better ways to globalize.  If this cannot be done without threatening my basic right to have access to nutritional choices, then we should scrap CAFTA and start over.  I appreciate your consideration of my views and look forward to knowing what your position is on this legislation.

 

 

                                                                        Sincerely, 

 

                                                                        ____________________________

 

 

P.O. Box 688, Monrovia, CA 91017 USA ~ 1 (626) 357-2181 ~ Fax 1 (626) 303-0642

Website:  www.thenhf.com                      E-mail:  [email protected]

Thursday, July 14, 2005

 

Income increasing in "red" states

Charts wouldn't cut and paste but there are links to them.
What's the Matter with Kansas? The Rise of the Aspirational Class
By Jerry Bowyer
"I think that they should sell war bonds" said a caller from McKeesport, Pa. to the radio program I host. "Why?" I asked. "Because, then this war would be paid for by you rich Republicans."

 


Calls like that almost always come from the same kinds of people calling from the same kinds of places -- angry, white, middle-aged men from former steel towns. You know they type, they are the kind of people who throw around words like "plutocrat." To them Republicans wear top hats and monocles, kind of like the Monopoly Guy. Since I voted for George Bush, I must be a rich man.
I met another man of the same generation once as he was coming off the elevator. His daughter explained to him that I was a talk show host and an author and warned him that I was a conservative. "You must be rich then," he said. "No, I'm not rich, but I'm working on it." He seemed confused by my answer, but it turns out that my exchange with him pretty much captures what the data say is going on in America right now. Despite the claims of the angry left, the blue states are considerably wealthier than the red states. However, the red states have at least been keeping pace and are now starting to close the gap. It's not the rich states that voted for Bush; the rich states generally went for Kerry. It's the aspiring states that went for Bush.
Let's break it down:

The highest income states trend Democrat; the lowest income states trend Republican. Recently the Bureau of Economic analysis released two important reports: one revealed economic growth on a state-by-state basis; the other personal income. The top ten "Blue States," for example, earned a great deal more than the top ten "Red States" on average, as demonstrated in the chart below.

 http://www.techcentralstation.com/images/071305C1.gif

The gap between the two is considerable, even when looking beyond the top ten in each category. The blue states (19 in all, excluding Washington D.C.) had an average per capita income in 2004 of $35,584. The red states (31 total) came in much lower, with an average per capita income of $29,724.
It's not just economics, though. It's culture. Northeastern states (overrepresented among the high income blue states) represent the mind-set of old line economic institutions. Old money which once flowed out of former manufacturing giants now resides in tax-exempt foundations, universities, and the endowment funds of rapidly emptying prestige churches. Their decaying urban cores hive off a congressional district with every new census. Their geriatric political machines haven't been able to send one of their own to the White House since 1960 (and even then, he wasn't really one of their own anyway). All of this cries out the same sad word -- preservation! Think Kerry and you get the picture. Think Teddy Kennedy and the picture is even clearer.
On the other hand, among lower income states, we find that almost half of the 31 Red States (14, to be precise) had a lower per capita income in 2004 than every single one of the 19 Blue States.
Again, this is more than money. It's values. Think Wal-Mart, think military enlistment, think mega-church and you get the right picture. I'm talking about people who have less to lose than their blue state brethren and don't care much what the cultural establishment thinks of them.
The Left has come up with an explanation for why the data so poorly fit their theory -- false consciousness. Thomas Frank has advanced this theory in a book entitled What's the Matter with Kansas? The idea is that the reason all these middle-America types don't recognize that the Republican corporate elite are destroying their economic futures is that they have been manipulated by cultural wedge issues like gay marriage. In other words, Joe Lunch Bucket is about to have his job "outsourced" to Bangalore, but he votes Bush because someone terrifies him with pictures of men holding hands in California.

There's nothing wrong with Kansas, but there's a lot wrong with Mr. Frank, who doesn't seem to have bothered to look and see whether the Bush administration economic policies have been disastrous for Kansas, or for any other red state. They have not.


 

http://www.techcentralstation.com/images/071305C2.gif 



As you can see, Gross State Product in 2004 between the red states and blue states was nearly identical, coming in at 4.32% among the states that went for Kerry, and 4.14% among the states that went for Bush.

Overall national economic growth was quite strong and income growth was very strong. The economy was doing well and the President was reelected. Kansas was doing as well as everybody else. Iowa and Nevada were doing much better than everybody else.


 

http://www.techcentralstation.com/images/071305C3.gif 



Although the blue states are still considerably wealthier than the red states, the red states are currently trending upwards at a faster rate. Per Capita Personal Income in the first quarter of 2005 saw a 1.05% jump for the red states, which is more than three times the 0.29% increase for their blue counterparts.

If current trends continue we are going to witness the long-term migration of population share, congressional seats, jobs, and wealth from the northern and coastal territories to the central and southern ones. With the withering of the preservationist regions will come the withering of their institutions -- labor unions, prestige colleges, mainline churches, old media. With the flowering of the aspirational regions we will see the flowering of their institutions as well - smaller, less unionized business concerns, mega-churches and (yes, brace yourself) Wal-Mart.

http://www.techcentralstation.com/071305C.html


Thursday, July 7, 2005

 

..Accessing information from our future selves...

Time travel has been contemplated for years through some sort of machine yet to be invented.  It seems to me that we all may possess the "machine" to bring it about and that is our minds when in specifically directed meditation.  Good article posing possibilites based upon logical accepted theory.  Hope you enjoy.

"From Chimps to Einstein

by Alex Escobar

Chimps are pretty intelligent creatures. They, like humans, learn through trial and error. If a chimp jumps on a limb that is too thin to support its weight, it will learn to use thicker limbs. Chimps also use tools and seem to have a rudimentary form of self-awareness that humans acquire only after they reach the age of two.1  Now imagine for a moment that you were a chimp. You might suppose that you understood your environment pretty well. In fact, you might think of yourself as a real mover and a shaker since you knew exactly who to groom to make things happen within your chimp group. The evidence indicates you would be right to be proud of yourself since chimps understand their environment so well that they have survived for millions of years in their native forests.

Yet we humans know, because of our larger brains, that there is much that chimps do not understand. To begin with, it is unlikely chimps know anything about our planet orbiting around the sun, or for that matter, that they are on a planet (our ancestors only figured this out recently). Our larger, more advanced brains allow humans to fathom the universe at a deeper level.

But do we have the capacity to understand everything? The question we need to ask is, given the complexity of the universe, are we as humans all that much different in our degree of comprehension when compared to chimps? Are we so much more advanced past our primate relatives that we should expect the whole universe should be understandable? You may very well see the hubris in this assumption.

Contrary to the belief in our omnipotent intelligence let me suggest that we may not be able to easily understand the universe in some fundamental ways. By this, I don't just mean there are parts of the universe we don't presently understand but will eventually come to fully understand. What I am saying is there are fundamental properties of the cosmos that our type of intelligence may find very hard to grasp or comprehend.

A clear example of this is thinking in higher dimensions. Our minds have evolved to think in terms of three dimensions. As such it is easy for us to think in three or less dimensions, but it is almost impossible for us to think in four dimensions. Our inability to understand higher dimensions, however, does not mean they do not exist in the same way that the chimpanzee's inability to contemplate the solar system does not mean the sun and planets do not exist.

The year 2005 marks the centennial of the publication of Einstein's first five major papers in physics. These papers signaled the beginning of a whole new paradigm or way of thinking about the universe. In 1916, Einstein introduced us to the concept of the space-time continuum in which he envisioned reality as a four-dimensional space-time that included time as the fourth dimension. By treating time as a fourth dimension, he was able to derive a series of equations that led to the general theory of relativity. The general theory of relativity allowed Einstein to make several predictions that have been borne out by experimentation. One of the predictions that arises from this theory is that mass warps space-time. Indeed, this is given as the explanation for gravity since planetary motions are now understood as the straightest pathway through the space-time curved by the sun.

All of this is extremely fascinating, in large part because this understanding is so different from our normal, everyday experience. In fact, I believe it is so different from our common mindset that the truly revolutionary aspects of Einstein's ideas have been sitting in front of us for close to a hundred years, and few have fully embraced them.

You see, Einstein treated time in his equations as he did the three space dimensions. In other words, in Einstein's equations, the dimension of time is very similar to the three space dimensions with which we are familiar.

What do we know of space dimensions? Well, we know that space dimensions exist right now in their entirety. It's not like one part of space was there yesterday, and today another part exists and then tomorrow another part will come into existence. Space dimensions exist as a whole all the time. On the other hand, time (the fourth dimension) is treated exactly like the description given above. Only part of this dimension exists, and that part is always now.

In 1916 Einstein threw the door wide open for us, but in the past century, few if any have stepped through. The big secret is that time is the fourth dimension - not some imaginary dimension, but a dimension that is just as real as the other space dimensions.2 Time does not exist in bits and pieces but rather in its entirety. What this means is that past, present, and future are not separate but parts of a whole that is continuous like any space dimension. We humans are not built to understand four dimensions, and this is why it has taken so long to come to this realization. We can only 'see' three of the four dimensions of the space-time continuum, which is why we understand space-time the way we do. Perhaps if we had a more advanced form of intelligence, it would be easy to comprehend this. Like the chimps, we are also limited in our capacity to understand nature.

Many of the eastern meditative schools hold that this is true. Here we have a group of 'scientists' that have been studying the universe using their minds as the instrument of choice. These studies indicate there is a timeless state in the universe that is accessible through meditation. Accessing this state is often described as expanding awareness, and this follows directly from time being the fourth dimension. In the same way moving from two to three dimensions would seem expansive, moving from our known three to the more inclusive four would also seem liberating.


If it is true that we exist in four-dimensional space-time, it must also be true that we are four-dimensional space-time beings. This means the past you is attached to the present you and all of the future you. You are much more than you perceive yourself to be. Although this may all seem odd, consider that our human intuition is exactly this. If your present is attached to your future, then you should be able to access information from your future-self.

There are other implications of this reasoning. To start, let us focus in on one atom. What would an atom look like if we could see an atom throughout space-time? If we consider the atom to be like a very small marble, the marble would turn into a very long thread. In physics, these types of lines are called world lines. The line would weave its way through stars, interstellar dust, planets, rocks, the ocean, a fish and then perhaps into you. Of course the line would then continue out of you and back into the earth and so on. The line would extend from close to the beginning of the universe to the end, one part of space to a vastly different part.

Now imagine all of the atoms in the universe. That's too much! All of a sudden, space-time becomes a massive jumble of spaghetti. Lines would intertwine and wrap themselves around each other. This spaghetti would be so dense that what we consider to be empty space would appear to be full of strings.

Atoms flow through you constantly. They enter your body through the food you eat, the air you breathe and water you drink. They leave your body through your breath and the wastes you eliminate from your body. Your body in space-time would be like a knot of atom world-lines that would extend out to everything else these atoms had ever been part of or will be part of. You would be connected to everything else in the universe either directly or indirectly. So you see, when we think in four dimensions, everything is connected to everything else in one marvelously complex pattern of energy that goes far beyond our ability to conceptualize.

Once again, the eastern meditative schools provide an interpretation and inform us that we are all part of an inseparable whole. The belief is that our common human perception that we are all independent and separate from each other is an illusion. In Hinduism, this is called maya - the grand illusion caused by our categorizing minds that reflects our ignorance of the true nature of the universe. Many spiritual texts from the East indicate we are One.

As we enter the new millennium, there is so much to be hopeful for. Although there appears to be much angst and strife in our world, we are set to embark on a whole new way of being. We are situated at a nexus that will bring ideas that have been traditionally associated with western science together with eastern traditional beliefs into one overarching understanding of the cosmos.3 For this, we can in part thank our friend Albert Einstein. His insight has set the stage for a transition in thought that is as large as any that has ever taken place.

References:

1. Patterson, F.G. and Cohn, R.H.
Self-Awareness in Animals and Humans: Developmental Perspectives
, eds. Parker, S.T., Mitchell, R.W. and Boccia, M.L., Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, pp 254-2722.

2. Davies, P.
'That Mysterious Flow'
Scientific American, September 2002, vol. 287, p 40-47

3. Escobar,
A. Mythology for the New World: A Synthesis of Science and Religion, Lincoln: IUniverse, 2005

Alex Escobar, Ph.D. is a senior lecturer at Emory University and has recently published his book Mythology for the New World."

http://www.aquarius-atlanta.com/june05/chimp.shtml


Tuesday, July 5, 2005

 

"What is Energy and How Do You 'Read' it?

Looks like many of us are "readers" and don't even know it.

 

"What is Energy and How Do You 'Read' it?

 Lynnette Winiarski

"Energy is all around us all of the time. Everything is made up of some form of energy including our bodies and our spirits. There are many types of energy that we recognize readily and have given names to such as electrical energy, heat, gasoline, and oil. Other types of energy are also very familiar to us such as the energy of different emotions like anger, joy, grief, and euphoria. The places we go in our lives have energy such as the energy of our homes, our workplaces, our favorite restaurants and shops. And the people in our lives each have their own unique energy. Think of the energy of your neighbor, your co-worker, your friend, and your family members. How about the energy of you pet? Even earth and the cosmos have distinct energies. And if you live in GA you know the energy of spring and can feel the energy shifting as we move from winter to spring!

So, how do you know these different energies? How do you know the difference between winter and spring in GA? How do you know the difference between red and green? How do you know the difference between your home and your neighbors? Between anger and joy? In what ways do you experience and distinguish the different energies in you life? You do so by 'reading' the energy! Reading energy is something we each do every day.

Reading the energy of something is simply noticing it and naming it or describing it. This can happen in a number of ways. Let's examine two ways: clairsentience and clairvoyance. Say, you walk up to the check out counter at a department store and approach the sales person there. You may notice the energy off that person by using your eyes to see their appearance and body language, using your ears to hear the tone of their voice. You may also be using what's called your 'clairsentience' to sense the energy of that person. Are they open and friendly? Are they tired and resisting your approach? Are they angry and hostile? Are they sad or feel unwell to you? You may also notice how all of these things you're 'reading' about this person's energy are affecting your energy! Are you reaching out to help and heal the tired salesperson? Are you cautious as you approach the angry salesperson or are you matching their anger and feeling confrontational? Or, are you feeling drawn to the open, friendly salesperson and sensing a connection? Maybe you're simply neutral. Many people are very clairsentient and read energy in this way, perhaps without realizing it.

Another way of 'reading' energy is through what's called 'clairvoyance.' Clairvoyance is the clear seeing of energy. This skill is actually more common than you might think! In fact, when you're thinking of an idea or a place or a person you are probably using your clairvoyance. For instance, if I say 'apple' you may notice a mental image in your mind's eye of an apple. Or, if I say 'the Fonz from Happy Days' you most likely will have a picture in your mind's eye that comes up! Ayyyyy! Once you become aware of these mental image pictures going through your mind's eye you may realize you're 'looking' at lots of things. You may be deciding what you want to eat for lunch and notice that your visualizing different possibilities like a sandwich or pasta. Or perhaps you're 'looking' at different restaurants using your mind's eye and determining what looks good to you. You may find that you're visualizing things more these days and can use the information you get from 'reading' the energy of things in this way.

When you receive an energy reading from a professional, that person is most likely using one or both of these skills and perhaps others. You may just want a general reading on the energy around you. Or, you may want a reading on the energy of certain aspects of your life like a relationship or work options. A reading can give you clarity and validation for what you may have already noticed, but didn't think was real and can help clear away confusion.

Be aware of how the person you're working with reads and their focus when giving you a reading. Do they use cards or objects? Do they focus on the future and predictions? Do they tell you what you should do and give advise? Do they validate you and help you feel empowered? Are they doing healing work in addition to reading? Is the information they give you true for you? Are they using clairsentience more or clairvoyance or other abilities? It's often very helpful to let someone read the energies around you and give you some communication and information about what you're experiencing. Have fun noticing and reading the energies in your life!"

http://www.aquarius-atlanta.com/june05/energy.shtml


Monday, July 4, 2005

 

A Freebie with no strings

Found this freebie on a highly reputable software site yeseterday, Trend Micro.  It is a free scan and cleaning of SPY-WARE, no strings attached.  You can also do a free virus scan and cleaning by following the link below.  Used them for years before finally buying their virus software. 
Am running Trend Micro PC-Cillin and would recommend it to anyone for staying updated to the second and ease of use.  It has an installa-shield so if you don't like it it will do a clean uninstall without leaving crumbs everywhere like Norton does. 
Downloaded an evaluation of their new Anti-Spyware software and found that it will do one deep scan and cleaning before becoming disabled. 
Scan and clean spyware from your PC. 
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Friday, July 1, 2005

 

"Do as I sayers" seem to be losing the battle...

Amazing that the pro-Kyoto chicken littles aren't hanging their hats on the proven scientific fact that we're in a cycle where our sun is burning warmer.  Perhaps Kyoto should be replaced with a tree or foliage planting agenda using hydro-gel to conserve water.  Clear benefits of shading the planet, plants consuming carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen.  Whoda thunk it?? 

"Europe's Rising Emissions

By Carlo Stagnaro

"How is Europe responding to the challenge of global warming? With more global warming. That may seem incongruous given all of the EU's Kyoto hype, but take a look at the latest report from the European Environmental Agency on EU greenhouse gas emissions.
In it we learn that between 2002 and 2003 emissions have increased by 53 million tons, i.e. 1.3 percent, in the EU-15 after having fallen for two years in a row. Basically all of the reductions achieved in 2001 and 2002 have been lost. According to the EEA, "The emission increase in 2003 was mainly caused by an increase in power production using coal. The colder weather in the first quarter in several EU countries, also contributed to an increased use of fossil fuels to heat homes and offices." This tells us two important things: on the one hand, despite their environmental rhetoric, European countries aren't able to promote non-carbon based fuels; on the other hand, a colder winter (are we talking about global warming?) drove emissions up, whereas in 2002 a warm summer resulted in less emissions.
It seems that there is a sort of built-in mechanism that pushes emissions up in cold periods and pulls them down in warm periods. Of course that is obvious as you look at the market itself: people seek a comfortable environment, purely and simply, which may mean they have to heat their houses. Now, a mandatory reduction in European emissions means that (assuming humans have no control over climate, which is a very easy assumption) we have three possible scenarios:
1)      As global warming believers claim, we're going to face warmer average temperatures. There is evidence that, if that is the case, most of the warming will occur in relatively colder places and periods. Then, people will consume less energy for heating and emissions will decline naturally. It follows that we don't need any specific climate policy.
2)      Contrary to what global warming believers claim, temperatures are going to decline on average. Then people will consume more energy for heating and emissions will increase. However, if that occurs the entire case for global warming is undermined, since there would be no warming at all to address.
3)      Temperatures will continue to fluctuate but their average will not significantly change in the short or medium run. Accordingly emissions will fluctuate, too, but again there would be no special reason to cut emissions.

Looking at Europe in general it seems clear that it will be almost impossible to meet Kyoto targets in 2008-2012. Figures from the EEA show where EU is and where it would like to be five years from now if it followed the path to Kyoto.

(Chart wouldn't post)

An honest observer may draw two conclusions:
The short-run trend is towards more, not less, emissions. Emissions declined for decades until the early 1990s, then fluctuated around a mean value until 1998 (ironically, the year after the climate treaty was conjured up), and then started to rise again. This tells us that, regardless of their intentions, EU climate policies have been a failure. This year a new "cap & trade" mechanism has entered into force - yet it is not likely to result in significant reductions, because the price of quotas is very high and is converging towards the cost of sanctions. The trend is even clearer if you look at just carbon dioxide, which according to the EEA accounts for some 80 percent of all GHGs emissions in the EU.

Ironically the report on European emissions was released just a few days after British Prime Minister Tony Blair met U.S. President George Bush and asked the United States to ratify the climate treaty. If you can't keep a promise, you have no credibility in asking others to do the same. Most important, Europeans should be happy that the EU is not pursuing Kyoto with the necessary strength. If it did so, their only hope would be global warming, so that warmer temperatures makes it less necessary to burn fossil fuels to heat their houses."

http://www.techcentralstation.com/062905A.html


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