ZOMG!! With 80° Yesterday, 45° Today and a FREEZE Warning Tonight, THIS Is the Face of ONE…

…pissed off turtle.

The Sky Is Falling!

Fun times in Russia

Russia’s Urals region has been rocked by a meteorite explosion in the stratosphere. The impact wave damaged several buildings, and blew out thousands of windows amid frigid winter weather. Hundreds are seeking medical attention for minor injuries.

Included is the ubiquitous Russkie DashCam video…I would need to change my drawers if I saw that through my windshield!

Oh and we’re getting a Special Visitor at 2:24pm this afternoon

BOSTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) – A newly discovered asteroid about half the size of a football field will pass nearer to Earth than any other known object of its size on Friday, giving scientists a rare opportunity for close-up observations without launching a probe.

At its closest approach, which will occur at 2:24 p.m. EST/1924 GMT, the asteroid will pass about 17,200 miles (27,520 km) above the planet traveling at 8 miles (13 km) per second, bringing it nearer than the networks of television and weather satellites that ring the planet.

Although Asteroid 2012 DA14 is the largest known object of its size to pass this close, scientists say there is no chance of an impact, this week or in the foreseeable future.

Judging by this chart and the time of the arrival

it looks like if the scientists have made a slight miscalculation in its path that it would impact the Western Europe/Africa side of the world…further proof of the perils of Global Warming.

Well As Of 10:20 PM It’s Not “The Storm Of The Century”

But it is rather pleasant to see

I do lurves me some snow.

Update: we really haven’t had that much snow here at the Shore

but it is purdy

Morning Update:

We ended up with a very pleasing 9″

and thankfully not the faintest zephyr of a breeze all night so no downed trees or power issues (so far at least).

And as an aside I would willingly bear the love child of Arthur Sicard.

Sunset On Hoth

taken on the boat going home last night.

-9 This Morning, Heading To -20 With -70 Windchill

At Mount Washington, that is.

Where I am it’s a balmy 21.

I may have to change into my thong.

Global Warming

…LA style.

“He Has No Credibility”

That should put paid to any lingering doubts our friend Greg has:

Current situation: Staffers talk about first meeting with Al Jazeera

Just call him Al Gorezeera.

Yesterday morning, the still shell shocked staff at Current TV was called to an all hands staff meeting at its San Francisco headquarters, which was teleconferenced to their offices in LA and NYC, to meet their new bosses.

That would be two of Al Jazeera’s top guys: Ehab Al Shihabi, executive director of international operations, and Muftah AlSuwaidan, general manager of the London bureau.

Ominously missing was the creator of Current, the self proclaimed inventor of the Internet and savior of clean energy, Al Gore, although his partner, Joel Hyatt, stood proudly with the Al Jazeera honchos.

“Of course Al didn’t show up,” said one high placed Current staffer. “He has no credibility.”

“He’s supposed to be the face of clean energy and just sold [the channel] to very big oil, the emir of Qatar! Current never even took big oil advertising—and Al Gore, that bulls***ter sells to the emir?”

Then you really have to ask yourself, “What took those moops so long to see through that pretentious asshat?” The ability of the Left for convenient self-delusion and righteous indignation when the bulb finally is switched on never, ever ceases to amaze me.

Kick Us When We’re Down, Why Don’t You Gaia?

So this morning those of us in the North East were predicted to get 1″-3″ of Global Warming overnight.

we got 6-13

In all seriousness, many folks who had just gotten power back lost it again and, well, you can just imagine what these below freezing nights with snow are doing to those poor people who have lost, well everything.

As I was taking the ferry back from Manhattan yesterday in the driving snow (and 30 knot winds) the road was somewhat congested because the township had bucket loaders out scraping up the ocean-soaked mud-encrusted tumbled and battered remnants of people’s lives and depositing them in rusty extra-large dumpsters.

It is heart breaking.

I Love Joe Bastardi

To Joe’s point, some New York City Hurricane Donna footage from…1960. Look familiar?

Ebola is arguing at this moment with DrudgeRetort GlobalWarming types insisting that it’s “NEVER been this bad”. I sent him this clip to augment his learned weatherman logic.

It’s like a PIEgraph to neopyhtes. Visuals are SO much easier.

They Can’t Sing About All The Jobs Created Or Saved For Them

So Poley Bears and Big Bird will have to do

Has there ever been a more pathetic campaign.

Another Halloween Snowstorm?

I love this kind of talk

AFTER SANDY CROSSES EASTERN CUBA…THE VERTICAL SHEAR IS FORECAST TO INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY…HOWEVER THE GLOBAL MODELS DEPICT A DEEPENING CYCLONE…POSSIBLY DUE TO SOME BAROCLINIC FORCING. THE NHC FORECAST STILL INDICATES THE SYSTEM BECOMING SUBTROPICAL LATE IN THE PERIOD…ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SOME INDICATIONS IN THE GLOBAL MODELS THAT SANDY COULD BE TRANSITIONING TO AN EXTRATROPICAL CYCLONE AROUND THAT TIME.

“Baroclinic forcing” sounds really unpleasant.

and of course Accuweather is panting about some potential XXX-rated weather Pr0n

Tropical Storm Sandy has formed in the Caribbean, and scenarios for its final destination range from bypassing the East Coast to creating a nightmare for millions of people.

…The worst case scenario for the East Coast involves Sandy paralleling the coast from Florida to the Carolinas this weekend before being drawn inland into the mid-Atlantic or New England early next week.

While the Southeast coast would face heavy rain, strong winds and rough surf, far more serious impacts await communities from Virginia to Maine if this solution pans out.

Reminiscent of the “Perfect Storm,” the weather setup could even lead to heavy, wet snow in the Appalachian Mountains on Sandy’s western side.

However, the above solution is far from set in stone. There is equal possibility that the jet stream will sweep east fast enough to offer the East Coast protection from Sandy. Bermuda may then become the storm’s target.

I blame Bush.

Oh Poop

Energy-Terrorists: Did Anyone Hear About This?

‘Specially you East Coast types?

8/14/2012 12:39 PM

Bomb squad detonates pipe bomb found near pipeline

The Allegheny County Bomb Squad detonated a live pipe bomb found Monday afternoon near a pipeline under construction off Rural Valley Road, Buffalo Township.
State police said Charles Nicholson of Bridgeville, a gas well driller, found the device about 1 p.m. partially buried near the line. Nicholson had been cleaning the work site.

You Know, I Thought A Blackout Affecting 370 Million People Was Bad

Silly me, I think so small

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving more than 600 million people without government-supplied electricity in one of the world’s biggest-ever blackouts.

…The massive failure – a day after a similar, but smaller power failure – has raised serious concerns about India’s outdated infrastructure and the government’s inability to meet its huge appetite for energy as the country aspires to become a regional economic superpower.

Good thing our Glorious Leadership in Washington wisely used those hundreds of billions in Stimulus Money to repair and upgrade our electrical grid instead of wasting it on Pie-In-The-Sky projects, right?

Right?

Just don’t try to get “24 Hour Tech Support” from any company anytime soon…

The Most Transparent, All of the Above Administration

…that never was.

PYLE: Energy Department sneaks offshore moratorium past public

Jobs and oil-supply potential are shut down

While the Obama administration was taking a victory lap last week after the 5-4 Supreme Court decision to uphold the president’s signature legislative accomplishment, Obamacare, the Interior Department was using the media black hole to release a much-awaited five-year plan for offshore drilling. That plan reinstitutes a 30-year moratorium on offshore energy exploration that will keep our most promising resources locked away until long after President Obama begins plans for his presidential library.

Given the timing, it is clear that the self-described “all of the above” energy president didn’t want the American people to discover that he was denying access to nearly 98 percent of America’s vast energy potential on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

This guy is a disaster.

ABC NEWS: Global Warming Accelerating!!!!!

The sky is falling, the seas are rising, the polar bears are floating, and it’s all YOUR fault: The government says so.

ths update: Joe Bastardi was kind enough to supply some quantitative corrective measures (BIG data charts here) to ABC’s wild eyed prognostications for me:

@treehuggingsis problem is the actual data does not say that, quite the opposite. twitter.com/BigJoeBastardi…

— Joe Bastardi (@BigJoeBastardi) July 11, 2012

I love charts. And real weather guys.

Uh-Oh…

Maybe I should have checked the forecast before Daughter went to Virginia yesterday…

(h/t ZeroHedge)

Weekend Calorification To Help Ensure Gaia’s Doom

As you may well recall Dear Readers we reported last week that there is GROWING CONCERN amongst the world’s really intelligent and compassionate peoples that fat Americans are dooming the planet.

So to do my Fair Share I made somewhat over 4 pounds of mussels for us on Friday night

washed down with several bottles of pinot grigio and a few fresh baguettes, naturally

And then on Saturday I decided to travel to the epicenter of ‘Merkun epicurean delights, what could well be the very St. Peters locus of our gluttonous theology…yes, I went to Walmart.

And I got their cheapest bacon

and I got some of their fancy organic free-range chicken…which are no where near as endowed as the Pamelas from other places

carefully slice a pocket and place some freshly cut mozzarella

and fresh basil leaves inside

and wrap them lovingly in as many slices of bacon as needed and secure with toothpicks

yes, basically the entire pound of bacon was used on these three Pamelas. This is a good thing.

Anyhooo put those beauts on the grill over indirect heat and cook until the bacon is crispy in the wonderful bacony way

serve with some fresh steamed broccoli and wild rice (making sure to take the toothpicks out of the Pamelas so you’re not dialling 9-1-1 during dinner) and serve with lots of wine

and enjoy doing your part to destabilize the world!

Braise The Lard And Pass The Burgers

If you are thin you are selfishly prolonging Dear Gaia’s agony. That is the inescapable conclusion that any rationally intelligent person will draw from this cutting-boardedge research out of that culinary Mecca that is London

ATHENS, Ga. (CBS Atlanta) – A recent study conducted by scientists in London found that the obese persons of the world are playing an increasingly large role in the rate at which the planet’s finite resources are used.

“Increasing population fatness could have the same implications for world food energy demands as an extra half a billion people living on the earth,” the study concluded.

…Research was conducted based on the theory that the body mass of a population should be factored into the amount of energy it burns, in addition to the number of people residing in a certain region.

Though obesity touches all corners of the Earth, it was found that Americans were especially weighing down the planet.

Scientists, obsessed with social control issues, achingly long for ecological DOOM so they can feel relevant outside of their laboratories. In the 1960s, when there were 3 billion or so of us ants, they predicted DOOM. In the 70s, when there were 4 billion of us we were inundated not by the New Ice Age and mass starvations they predicted but rather by the endless stream of Population Bomb articles talking about how we had too many people on Earth Beloved Gaia and that as Men Of Science they could confidently declare that there was NO WAY Gaia’s delicate EcoSystem could sustain those 4 billion through the coming Winter and we would thus starve (unless we invested in SolyndraSoylent Green LLC).

35 years later, we now have 7 billion people.

7 billion fat people who are living longer and healthier than at any time in history.

To celebrate this wondrous Gaia Gorging I’m going to have dinner at The Palm next week. I invite all of you to plan some gluttony of your own.

Do it for the children.

79 Degrees At 4:30 AM

Damn you Chimpy!

(well, it’s also Summer obviously, but it’s much more pleasurable to blame Chimpy McHitlerstein for Gaia’s hot flashes)

Where Has All the Oil Gone, Long Time Passing?

No, really.
Where has all the oil gone?

UWF: Most oil from BP spill gone from Gulf along Panhandle
Most crude disappeared, studies show

Two years after tar balls from the Deepwater Horizon oil well explosion began washing up on Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key, there’s good news: Most of the oil is gone from Florida waters.

The fear that vast, gooey tar mats of BP oil are lurking on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico just waiting to be unleashed by a hurricane isn’t valid, according to research by University of West Florida scientists.

The scientists have spent a year on an offshore study to determine how much of the 270 million gallons of spilled BP oil remains in the Gulf between Perdido Key and Panama City. The offshore study will continue for another year. An onshore study will wrap up this month.

“That oil washing on shore will not happen,” said Richard Snyder, director of the university’s Center for Environmental Diagnostics & Bioremediation. “There’s no oil out there to wash up.”

In NO WAY does it excuse any part of BP’s criminal negligence and the Obama administration’s CRIMINAL INCOMPETENCE, but it DOES prove that NATURE is an almighty wonderful, mysterious and forgiving mistress.

“Gulp, gulp”, went the Gulf. Plus those cool little oil eating microbes that live hereabouts.

And I’ll bet you haven’t heard hide nor hair of this little tid-bit on any national news, have you?

Doesn’t fit the narrative.

I Hope Every Unemployed Oil Rig Worker From LA to Oklahoma is There Today

To warmly welcome Buffoon Barack and His Traveling Road Show. I’d just lurve the optics shaken, not stirred for once in his orchestrated little existence.

Obama’s Keystone XL Visit A Potemkin Village Photo-Op

Politics: The president stages a photo-op in Oklahoma to take credit for the portion of the Keystone XL pipeline that doesn’t need his approval and for oil production on private and state lands beyond his jurisdiction.

If one of his aides some morning remarked on a particularly lovely sunrise, it wouldn’t surprise us if President Obama responded with a “thank you,” so gifted is he in taking credit for successes that he has nothing to do with and that occur despite, not because, of his policies.

OMG, if THAT isn’t the QotD, I don’t know what is.

H/T Instapundit

Hmmm. Looks like the natives share my sentiments:

…Still, we hope Obama’s time here will be instructive, that Oklahoma’s energy leaders have an opportunity to tell the president how the cow ate the cabbage when it comes to the real world of energy as opposed to the idealized world that Obama touts.

Those leaders face a punitive tax increase from Obama. Their use of hydraulic fracturing is under attack. The Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Cushing is on indefinite hold. Meantime, the U.S. Department of Energy — despite the Solyndra debacle — remains keen on speculative alternative energy ventures.

Is it just us or would Obama’s green energy evangelism be more convincing if he either kept Air Force One parked more often or used electric vehicles for surface transit?

(Via Gabriel Malor)

ths update: Headlines dang write themselves with this guy:

Obama Caught Fibbing at Oil Field

Domestic oil production overall in the U.S. is at its highest level in the past eight years, according to the Energy Department.

But production on federal lands was down 14 percent year-over-year in 2011, and overall remains 13 percent lower than it was in 2003.

Still, Obama – who has made renewable energy a hallmark of his administration — insisted he’s not backing away from drilling or searching for more oil.

“You wouldn’t know it from listening to some of these folks running for office, but producing more oil here in our own country has been, and will continue to be, a key part of our energy strategy,” Obama said.

“We’re drilling all over the place,” he said.

FoxNews sourced this shorter story from both ABCNews and a Fox affiliate.

Mem’ries! Like the Corners of My Mind

Dusty, but I can still find shit there. Take this Obama quote from 2008 (Courtesy of Gabriel at Ace’s):

Obama talks gas prices

…”Gas prices are killing folks,” Obama said. “I got an email from a friend of mine; it says, just in case you’re not living in the real world, being driven around by Secret Service, it just cost me $85 to fill up my tank.”

Referencing his Pennsylvania ad, which features Obama in at a gas station decrying the price of gas, Obama said Exxon-Mobil had made $11 billion in profits just last month. In Pennsylvania, according to the Web site, PennsylvaniaGasPrices.com, the average price of gas is $3.28 a gallon. One year ago, it was $2.69 per gallon.

“They have been in fat city for a long time,” Obama said of Exxon and other oil and gas companies.

“They are not necessarily putting that money into refinery capacity, which could potentially relieve some of the bottlenecks in our gasoline supply.

And so that is something we have to go after. I think we can go after the windfall profits of some of these companies.”

The man connects REFINING CAPACITY = GAS PRICES right there in that very sentence, almost 4 years ago and danged if, in the middle of all this administration’s current energy tapdancing, lying and fingerpointing exercises, my aged memory didn’t remind me that Obama’s EPA is front and center in shutting down one of THREE (!) Pennsylvania refineries that are closing:

Sen. Toomey Meets With EPA Regional Administrator About PA Refinery Jobs

Friday, Oct 14

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) met Wednesday with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 3 Administrator Shawn Garvin.

The senator spoke to Mr. Garvin about a number of matters of importance to Pennsylvania, including the future of three refineries in Philadelphia, Marcus Hook and Trainer, whose owners have announced within the last month that they plan to sell, and if no buyers are found, close down. Some of the biggest expenses facing the facilities are related to environmental compliance. At the Trainer facility, the EPA may mandate the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to require the installment of new cooling towers, which will likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The EPA has also proposed new rules on water intake structures that may cost millions more.

If these refineries are forced to close, more than 2,600 people will lose their jobs. Another 5,000 to 6,000 workers – largely employees of contractors and suppliers – indirectly rely on these facilities for their paychecks and would be impacted by their closures. In addition, local townships and school districts would be hurt by the loss of tax revenue.

But by the time Senator Toomey had his meeting with EPA officials last October action had already been taken:

…In addition, ConocoPhillips stopped producing gasoline and other petroleum products at its Trainer facility in September with a plant closure anticipated for the first months of the new year.

So refining capacity was already off-line, thanks to the impending EPA regulations and decision to unload the facility, the consequences of which (from the same article) could be, um, bad. From December:

Feds: Refinery closings may lead to price hikes

If three Delaware Valley refineries close, gasoline prices may soar and the market may suffer spot shortages, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

In November, a congressional contingent including U.S. Reps. Patrick Meehan, R-7, of Upper Darby, Robert Brady, D-1, of Philadelphia and Chaka Fattah, D-2, of Philadelphia, and U.S. Sens. Robert Casey, D-Pa., and Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., asked the U.S. Energy Information Administration to independently assess the situation.

The EIA is the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. It released an eight-page “Reductions in Northeast Refining Activity: Potential Implications for Petroleum Product Markets” today.

In September, Sunoco executives announced plans to sell their Marcus Hook and Philadelphia refineries, with the intention of closing the facilities if a new owner isn’t located. In December, the company issued a 90-day layoff pronouncement for the Marcus Hook employees; Philadelphia is slated to shutd own no later than July.

…The report analysis looked at several aspects of what kind of impact such actions would have on the region and nationally.

It states that the transition for a supply sources shift could be “problematic” for ultra-low sulfur diesel, gasoline and jet fuel supplies.

“Reduced short-term product supply flexibility due to longer delivery times and potential transportation bottlenecks for sources outside the region could also increase price volatility,” it states.

It also said a higher cost would have to occur in order for wholesalers to move the product to the region.

The headline of the article is also sort of misleading, because, when you see “Feds”, you think something tied to the administration. But, no. This isn’t who these guys were ~ this was a federal Congressional delegation of supplicants going to a federal agency for a report that would hopefully swing their way.

Again, I have heard, in every discussion of the refinery issue in the bigger picture of gas prices, someone mentions “closing the refineries near Philadelphia” as yet another catalyst for pricing spikes. If an analyst is really saavy, they’ll throw in an EPA zinger, yet nowhere is it EVER a subject for discussion when the Administration touts ALL the areas they’ve opened for drilling (!) and similar balderdash.

But they must have been watching the same programs I was watching and Pennsylvania IS kind of an important state this year. Lookee here what somebody got for a Valentine’s Day present from the state:

Pennsylvania DEP Renews ConocoPhillips’ Trainer Refinery Discharge Permit

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Department of Environmental Protection today issued a renewal of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for ConocoPhillips’ Trainer Refinery in Trainer Borough, Delaware County.

The draft permit was announced in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on Dec. 31, 2011. The permit being renewed has been in effect since 1978.

Until the refinery recently ceased operations, it processed crude oil into petroleum-related products, such as gasoline, fuel oil, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas.

“The renewal of this permit continues to protect an important environmental asset, the Delaware River Estuary,” DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. “Also, even though the facility is currently idle, this permit renewal is a necessary and critical step in putting the refinery in a position to be acquired by a new operator, which we hope will happen.”

Can an EPA sweetner for a buyer be far behind? After all ~ a long, long time ago, I can still remember a President who connected REFINING CAPACITY = GAS PRICES when it was convenient for him. And it makes me smile.

ths update: And gasoline has started the day at $3.10 gal on the whlsl market. Nowhere but UP, my friends.

ths update redux: Ended the day at $3.11, with a NICE assist for Obama from World News Tonight’s piece on how it’s all SPECULATORS (They must have said WALL STREET fifteen times, with disdain positively dripping and oozing from their voices) causing the high gas prices.

WALL STREET, ee-ville WALL STREET is to blame for it ALLLLL. You read it here.

Filed Under: Quit Yer Bitchin’!

Sense a meme developing, anyone?

Gasoline Price Spike Has Temporary Offset

How much rising gasoline prices will pinch consumers has yet to be seen, but energy savings from the warm winter may have already helped consumers avoid some of the pain.

Deutsche Bank chief U.S. economist Joseph LaVorgna crunched the numbers and says consumers may have seen about a third of the recent rise in gasoline prices offset by cheaper natural gas and lower utilities costs this winter.

Global warming has SAVED YOU MONEY THIS WINTER, so what’s all the moaning and groaning about gas prices for, and STFU already, why doncha?!?!?!

Life’s An Average I Guess

We’ve had a very mild Winter so far.

Alaska? Not so much

FAIRBANKS – Winter continued to show her love of Interior Alaska by bestowing yet another cold snap on its beleaguered residents this weekend.

The temperature at Fairbanks International Airport hit 50 below zero Saturday morning for the first time since 2006, while a low of 57 below was reported in North Pole.

Fort Yukon and Huslia were the coldest Interior communities at 63 below zero. Tanana hit 61 below zero Saturday morning. Bettles, at 60 below, broke its previous record of 56 below, which was set in 1989.

Yowzer.