Bats take dangerous flight into the wind farm

Image credit: blogs.spectator.co.uk

Bats are engaged in some kind of Russian roulette with wind farms, reports ScienceDaily. Operators are not keen on making the required regulatory checks for their presence. A possible tech solution to the problem exists.

Wind turbines attract bats. They seem to appear particularly appealing to female noctule bats in early summer. In a pilot study, researchers of the German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin noticed this when they tracked the flight paths of noctule bats, Nyctalus noctula, using the latest GPS tracking devices.

The bats managed to take even seasoned experts by surprise.

A retrospective, Climate Audit and the late Prof. Kreiss

Tim writes,

Published 27th February 2016 Climate Audit published a small article in honour of Kreiss to do with atmospheric modelling, the hydrostatic balance… or not.

Comments follow from Names. I think the comments are worthy of a read and decode by Talkshop readers who have an interest in this kind of topic.

Gerry Browning: In Memory of Professor Heinz Kreiss

Gerry Browning writes:

The Correct System of Equations for Climate and Weather Models

India to fight climate change through less flatulent livestock

Credit: pbs.org

You couldn’t make it up. Heartlander Magazine reporting.

Despite its recent announcement it may not adopt the Paris Climate agreement before the end of 2016, India is moving ahead with a unique effort attempting to reduce the greenhouse gases its agricultural sector emits into the atmosphere: creating cows and livestock that burp and fart less. 

Judith Curry Slams AAAS – “Blatant Misuse Of Scientific Authority”

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As a blog commenter notes: “The American Association for the Assassination of Science” has spoken.

Judith Curry writes: “The AAAS et al. have shot themselves in the foot with this one”.
They’ve tried their best to make an AAAS of themselves 😐

NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

Professional science organizations’ calling on Republican lawmakers to stop questioning climate science is a “a blatant misuse of scientific authority,” according to a prominent climate scientist.

“This statement is a blatant misuse of scientific authority to advocate for specific socioeconomic policies,” Judith Curry, a Georgia Tech climate scientist, wrote of a letter sent by dozens of scientific groups to Congress last week.

Science groups, led by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), sent a letter to Congress reminding lawmakers of the “the consensus scientific view of climate change.”

“This conclusion is based on multiple independent lines of evidence and the vast body of peer-reviewed science,” the AAAS letter reads. “There is strong evidence that ongoing climate change is having broad negative impacts on society, including the global economy, natural resources, and human health.”

But Curry, a noted skeptic of many of the claims…

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Weather stats, monthlies, updates

Tim writes: –

Another interlude gives me space to update the novel statistics computed from published data. This is not comparable with the official methods, it’s better. Takes into account normal variation during a year; bends the data to near gaussian.

May was not particularly interesting, June was the 2nd dimmest for S and SE England since these records commenced 1929.

When sea ice expands it’s due to nature, when it melts it’s due to humans

Credit: NSIDC

A trifle cynical perhaps, but it shows it’s possible to claim almost anything you want about sea ice observations. Recently NASA was ‘blaming’ the geology for the contrasting polar variations. Now it’s the IPO.
H/T GWPF

The recent trend of increasing Antarctic sea ice extent — seemingly at odds with climate model projections — can largely be explained by a natural climate fluctuation, according to a new study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

HEY, YOU! GET OUT OF MY CAR!

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Motoring in Norway

Renewable energy has no hope of replacing the 90-odd million barrels of oil used daily around the world.

Robert Lyman looks at some of the inconvenient facts.

Friends of Science Calgary

Contributed by energy economist Robert Lyman @ July 2016

Environmentalists across Europe and North America seem determined to wage war on oil-fueled motor vehicles, including private cars, light trucks and heavier trucks used for freight. The most recent example of this is the announcement that Norway and the Netherlands, heavily influenced by the European Green Party, may ban car manufacturers from selling cars and light trucks fueled by gasoline or diesel fuel by 2025. It wasn’t enough to raise fuel taxes and carbon taxes to punishing levels; an outright ban was called for. The Environment Minister for Germany was quoted as saying that Germany might do the same, but quickly retreated from that after a strong public reaction.

This is all allegedly to “save the planet”, the often repeated mantra of those who believe in the theory that humans are causing catastrophic climate change and that this can be stopped…

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Brexit uncertainty strengthens the case for UK shale

[credit: cityam.com]

Jamie Ashcroft in Proactive Investor explains why declining North Sea gas and a weaker pound make a compelling case for pushing on with UK shale gas developments without further delays.
H/T GWPF

The pending exit from the European Union strengthens the argument for the development of Britain’s currently untapped shale gas resources.

Britain’s energy security should be a concern whether it remains in the EU or not, though the vote to leave makes this an increasingly acute issue. Quite simply Britain doesn’t produce enough gas of its own.

Big Drop In June Temperatures According To UAH

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We’re supposed to believe that CO2 levels determine global temperature, but here in plain sight is obvious evidence that they don’t.

NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

Roy Spencer has news of a big drop in satellite temperatures last month:

NOTE: This is the fifteenth monthly update with our new Version 6.0 dataset. Differences versus the old Version 5.6 dataset are discussed here. Note we are now at “beta5” for Version 6, and the paper describing the methodology is still in peer review.

The Version 6.0 global average lower tropospheric temperature (LT) anomaly for June, 2016 is +0.34 deg. C, down 0.21 deg. C from the May value of +0.55 deg. C (click for full size version):

This gives a 2-month temperature fall of -0.37 deg. C, which is the second largest in the 37+ year satellite record…the largest was -0.43 deg. C in Feb. 1988.

In the tropics, there was a record fast 2-month cooling of -0.56 deg. C, just edging out -0.55 deg. C in June 1998 (also an El Nino…

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Hubble captures mysterious aurora the size of Earth over Jupiter’s north pole

Aurora on Jupiter [image credit: NASA/ESA]

NASA’s Juno spacecraft is closing in on Jupiter. Here the Daily Mail Online reviews the project from a layman’s perspective. Plus we get some Hubble pics.

On Earth they produce mesmerising riots of colour that light up the night sky around the poles. But our planet is not the only world to enjoy stunning aurora – better known as the northern and southern lights.

Now scientists are hoping to unravel the secrets of the biggest such polar light show in our solar system by focusing their attention on Jupiter’s aurora.

‘Healing’ detected in Antarctic ozone hole

Ozone hole over Antarctica (Nov. 2014) [image credit: theozonehole.com]

Of course the people behind the CFC ban are patting themselves on the back, but the role of other variables in the atmosphere may have been ignored or overlooked. Extracts from a BBC News report follow.

Researchers say they have found the first clear evidence that the thinning in the ozone layer above Antarctica is starting to heal.

The scientists said that in September 2015 the hole was around 4 million sq km smaller than it was in the year 2000 – an area roughly the size of India.