Thursday Open Thread

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147 comments to Thursday Open Thread

  • #
    John Connor II

    Why China doesn’t invade Taiwan

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1554495869730242560

    Of course if China shot down Pelosi, it’d be WW3, and with Russia, India and Pakistan onside it’d be goodbye USA in no time, especially with a dress wearing and handbag carrying military.

    I suspect the real reason Pelosi went to Taiwan was they they had a giant Vodka sale.😉

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    • #
      Hanrahan

      India keeps Pakistan in its box, India would never join China and Russia has shot its bolt.

      The US still has some hard sergeants, the backbone of an army. Generals in dresses are something/nothing.

      143

      • #
        John Connor II

        Far from it.
        India and Pakistan have had border skirmishes for years but they WILL join with China and Russia against the west if need be.
        Forget what CNN is saying.

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      • #
        OldOzzie

        Interesting Comparison Future Population

        https://www.populationpyramid.net/china/2025/ out to 2100

        vs

        https://www.populationpyramid.net/india/2025/ out to 2100

        50

        • #
          Foyle

          China are in demographic collapse. They’ve has been exaggerating birth rates for 20-30 years – confirmed by multiple non-lying data indicators (eg baby gear purchases, mandatory childhood vaccinations administered, and recent huge data leak from Shanghai police). Their population is likely about 150million lower than claimed (1.26 vs 1.41 billion) , with almost all deficit being in latest generation, on top of which they have been selectively aborting girls. There are now about 1/3rd as many 5 year olds as 50 year olds. Their population is already falling, working age pop is plummeting, as are women of child bearing age. They could fall under a billion by 2050 and have only 1.5 people under 65 for every one over 65. By end of century they could be smaller than USA, Nigeria and India. Their dreams of global hegemony will likely soon dry up and blow away.

          https://twitter.com/fuxianyi/status/1546716386290008064?s=20&t=FaK8sTOt6ZxZl7sBf7Sn-g

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          • #
            Zane

            Correct. China is a paper dragon.

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          • #
            KP

            So what you are saying is that China faces the same demographics as the West. Any population increase will have to be done by importing third-worlders. I imagine we will have our countries become unrecognisable by importing a majority of people from a different culture unless robotics takes over many more jobs.

            There are many scenarios apart from our usual “growth at any cost” economics.

            20

    • #
      another ian

      John

      “I suspect the real reason Pelosi went to Taiwan was they they had a giant Vodka sale.”

      There is a cartoon doing the rounds along those lines involving in-flight refuelling

      70

      • #
        James

        I head that the plane was on its way to Seoul and hit heavy turbulence. All the booze bottles in the galley broke so they had to make a Technical stop for more grog!

        30

    • #
      Joao Martins

      Why China doesn’t invade Taiwan

      Because that was the wish of the Washington warmongering minion sparrows desguidsed as hawks who wish a war (the more nuclear, the better) soon.

      63

  • #
    Zane

    Daniel Andrews has turned the thermostat UP in Victoria today. One could almost wear a T-shirt. What are you playing at, Dan? Don’t you know there’s a Climate Emergency happening? Get with the program or Uncle Klaus will ship you off somewhere.

    There’s even a blowfly buzzing around in the kitchen! Signs of an early spring. Damn you, Dan.

    112

  • #
    Daryl

    Daniel has been pretty low key of late,something must be brewing in the leadup to the Vic state election.
    Sadly,the majority plebs will vote the prick back in with a massive majority-the mandate will ensure WEF style pain south of the Murray for decades to come.

    202

    • #
      Eng_Ian

      Didn’t you hear… The libs are in peril because of a problem with seeking funds from donors and labor have referred this matter to IBAC, the state police, the federal police and to anyone else who are in their pocket.

      Who would have thought that labor have just been smacked with the wet lettuce leaf half a dozen times from being rotten to the core and for a long time.

      DD will just have the opposition rumoured to be charged with some crime and the newspapers will run it like the libs were treasonous baby killers.

      This state is done for, pack your bags and leave if you can.

      41

    • #
      Zane

      It depends on whether he satisfies his bosses in the CFMEU.

      32

  • #
    John Connor II

    Thursday humour. How many forum members does it take to change a light bulb?

    One to change the light bulb and to post that it had been changed.

    Fourteen to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently.

    Seven to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs.

    Seven more to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs.

    Five to flame the spell checkers.

    Three to check spelling/grammar flames.

    Six to argue over whether it’s “lightbulb” or “light bulb”.

    Another six to condemn those six as stupid.

    Fifteen to claim experience in the lighting industry and give the correct spelling.

    Nineteen to post that the group is not about light bulbs and to please take this discussion to a lightbulb (or light bulb) forum.

    Eleven to defend posting to the group saying that we all use light bulbs and therefore the posts are relevant to this group.

    Thirty six to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy the best bulbs, what brand of bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are faulty.

    Seven to post URLs where one can see examples of different light bulbs.

    Four to post links they found from the URLs that are relevant to this group which make light bulbs relevant to this group.

    Thirteen to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all headers and signatures and add “Me Too”.

    Five to post to the group that they will no longer post because they cannot handle the light bulb controversy.

    Four to say “didn’t we go through this already a short time ago?”

    Five to actually call the lighting industry on the phone just so he/she could (be the correct high almighty).

    Thirteen to say “do a google search on light bulbs before posting questions about light bulbs”.

    Three to tell a funny story about their show dog and a light bulb.

    I haven’t seen this for over a decade but another site triggered the memory.
    Ok, it’s a blog not a forum, but…😉😆

    211

    • #

      I’ll add one. Total up all the posts mentioned above. This equals the number of posts that have nothing to do with light bulbs at all.

      [Wish I could give you more green thumbs]AD

      1212

    • #

      With the way the Electricity Grid is going, it will soon be a case of how to change the candle?

      381

    • #
      Ian Hill

      Buying a new light bulb used to be a one minute exercise at the supermarket. Now it requires thirty minutes, a PhD in physics and often a trip back home.

      150

      • #
        Zane

        Correct. Still some of those lightbulbs will outlast the houses they are in.

        60

      • #
        Tel

        I bought some of the “filament” style yellowish LED bulbs, and although they get slightly too warm for my liking, I do find them to be rather attractive bulbs. They are about $5 each … a heap more than the old real filament bulbs used to be at about 50c each … but then again electricity prices are through the roof.

        My electricity rates have gone up by a step increase of about 50%, and that’s much more than my pay has gone up. That must be brutal on the poor.

        The advent of LED bulbs is a reminder of just how much of a moron Malcolm Turnbull was, forcing people to buy fluro … which is an inferior technology and contains toxic mercury and they don’t last very well. If people had stayed with incandescent a bit longer, almost everyone (even the planet) would be better off going direct to LED. Instead we got “nudged” which really means we got pushed to buy a new technology not ready for use and soon to be superseded by something much safer and better. If only politicians would learn to keep out of economics.

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        • #
          ghl

          ” which really means we got pushed to buy a new technology not ready for use and soon to be superseded by something much safer and better.”
          No Tel.
          That was NBN FTTH

          10

        • #
          Muzza

          The same thinking will apply in hindsight when we look back on the solar and wind debacle. Should have waited for the real clean technology to turn up, not technologies that were discarded decades ago and can only survive with massive taxpayer subsidies.

          10

    • #
      Hanrahan

      You forgot the one that bumps it six months later.

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    • #
      Maptram

      “One to change the light bulb and to post that it had been changed.”

      In between changing the light bulb and posting that it had been changed, there must be a supervisor and several managers to agree on the wording of the change notification before it is posted

      40

    • #
      Honk R Smith

      Light bulbs can transition anytime they want if they choose.
      Western society must stop projecting its’ binary illuminatory colonialist values on them.

      90

      • #
        Greg in NZ

        Intersectional Illumination Industry – or I.I.I.

        See? We’re feeling more positive already.

        10

    • #
      MrGrimNasty

      Internet archaeology at its finest.

      10

  • #
    John Connor II

    Rainwater everywhere on Earth contains unsafe levels of ‘forever chemicals’ linked to cancer and other illnesses, study finds

    Rainwater everywhere on Earth has been found to contain dangerous levels of man-made ‘forever chemicals’ linked to cancer and other illnesses, a study has found.

    Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have many uses, including in firefighting foams, the non-stick coatings on frying pans, and textiles.

    They are thought to get into the environment through industrial emissions, transfer from packaging, wastewater and evaporation from the foams.

    Researchers from Stockholm University and ETH Zurich have conducted laboratory and field work on the presence and transport of PFAS for the past decade.

    They claim they can be found in rainwater and snow in even the most remote locations on Earth, like Antarctica and Tibet.

    The fluorinated chemicals have been linked to a wide range of human health concerns, including cancer, immune system disorders, obesity and fertility issues.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11073139/Rainwater-locations-Earth-contains-unsafe-levels-forever-chemicals-linked-cancer.html

    Will they now ban all frying pans to save the planet?…

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    • #
      Petros

      There was some evidence published years ago that the scratched non-stick surfaces could cause cancer. If you read the fine print on these products’ information sheets, you are not meant to use them if they are scratched. Get stainless steel and cast iron pans. There’s an Aussie company making them in Sydney now.

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      • #
        Philip

        Thanks, Im going to do that. Long overdue. I hate those non stick pans. Problem is after a short time they’re not non stick anymore and that stuff always flakes off.

        50

      • #
        Eng_Ian

        What next, chromium poisoning from the SS. Hexavalent chrome is also bad for you.

        Then again, you could go back to eating raw meat or worse still, free radicals from the fire singed edges of the lovely steak.

        Of course another way of looking at it. If the stuff is everywhere and has been for a while, then it can’t be that bad for you else we’d all be dead already…. Maybe this is just another note to cover for vax injuries?

        71

      • #
        MrGrimNasty

        Many years ago I worked in a place where ground PTFE was regularly used, they were always warning the factory hands about smoking afterwards.
        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer_fume_fever

        20

    • #
      Ted1.

      First it was acid rain, but that apparently didn’t go far enough.

      Then it was the penguins and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Now this.

      They’ll be back with acid rain again soon.

      Why waste ink on them?

      91

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      Reminds me of the time when working and the Technical Director told me about the then latest craze of soft drinks (esp. the one with phosphoric acid in it) destroying the inside lining on aluminium cans and releasing Bisphenol A. That the coating was too thin to be visible, that the BPA would have to come from breaking down the epoxy part of the formula (at least 50 years experience that this didn’t happen) and previous unlikely scares with the miniscule amount involved went through my mind, so I asked why was it serious?
      He explained that IF all the BPA component was rendered soluble, then it would take a mere 760,000 cans of soft drink in a year to have any effect. This was serious he said, because previous scares had involved over 3 million cans of soft drink in a year.

      Nowhere is there any mention of the concentration measured. It may be so low that it doesn’t cause harm. Bureacrats are prone to exaggerate the dangers of any contact. Coca Cola was ‘upset’ in the 1970’s finding that their product could only be sold in Qld. in a black plastic container, embossed with POISON, and the label had to say HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED and KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. All because it contains some (food grade) phosphoric acid. That situation was remedied very quickly.

      50

    • #
      Tel

      The Carbon/Fluorine bond is unusual in nature and easy to detect using magnetic resonance. Because the technique is so sensitive, they find it everywhere.

      They set the “safe” level at 4 picograms per Litre of water … by weight that is 4 parts in a quadrillion.

      I looked at the article where this was “linked” to health problems and they had a correlation (not causation) that suggests menopause might come 2 years earlier, supposedly at blood concentrations only 5 times higher than the above. That is about the most spurious result I’ve ever seen.

      https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/105/9/e3169/5848088

      20

    • #
      Fran

      Now that attamols can easily be measured, expect more of this doom & gloom.

      attamol = 10^18 M/l

      10

    • #
      KP

      My dentist is keen to fill my mouth with fluoride at 20,000ppm next week… I don’t think so!

      Even if it was good for me, I couldn’t trust a health professional after Covid.

      10

  • #
    John Connor II

    Hannah Arendt’s Chilling Thesis on Evil

    Nine months after the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann died at the end of a noose in Israel, a controversial but thoughtful commentary about his trial appeared in The New Yorker. The public reaction stunned its author, the famed political theorist and Holocaust survivor Hannah Arendt (1906-1975). It was February 1963.

    “I was only following orders,” he claimed in the colorless, matter-of-fact fashion of a typical bureaucrat. The world thought his performance a fiendishly deceptive show, but Hannah Arendt concluded that Eichmann was indeed a rather “ordinary” and “unthinking” functionary.

    How often have you noticed people behaving in anti-social ways because of a hope to blend in, a desire to avoid isolation as a recalcitrant, nonconforming individual? Did you ever see someone doing harm because “everybody else was doing it”? The fact that we all have observed such things, and that any one of the culprits might easily, under the right circumstances, have become an Adolf Eichmann, is a chilling realization.

    The big lesson of her thesis, I think, is this: If Evil comes calling, do not expect it to be stupid enough to advertise itself as such. It’s far more likely that it will look like your favorite uncle or your sweet grandmother. It just might cloak itself in grandiloquent platitudes like “equality,” “social justice,” and the “common good.” It could even be a prominent member of Parliament or Congress.

    Hannah Arendt is recognized as one of the leading political thinkers of the Twentieth Century. She was very prolific, and her books are good sellers still, nearly half a century after her death. She remains eminently quotable as well, authoring such pithy lines as “Political questions are far too serious to be left to the politicians,” “The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution,” and “The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be or do either evil or good.”

    “The argument that we cannot judge if we were not present and involved ourselves seems to convince everyone everywhere, although it seems obvious that if it were true, neither the administration of justice nor the writing of history would ever be possible.”

    https://intellectualtakeout.org/2022/08/hannah-arendts-chilling-thesis-on-evil/

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  • #
    John Connor II

    Highly Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug Strain Discovered To Be Able To Infect Humans

    strain of MRSA that emerged in pigs and is highly antibiotic-resistant can spread to humans.
    According to recent research, pig farming’s extensive use of antibiotics has likely contributed to the emergence of a highly antibiotic-resistant strain of the superbug MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, in livestock during the last 50 years.

    Over the last fifty years, the strain, known as CC398, has overtaken other MRSA strains in animals across Europe. It is also a rising source of MRSA infections in humans.

    According to the study, CC398 has remained resistant to antibiotics in pigs and other animals for many years. Furthermore, it can quickly adapt to human hosts while still preserving its antibiotic resistance.
    “Historically high levels of antibiotic use may have led to the evolution of this highly antibiotic-resistant strain of MRSA on pig farms,” said Dr. Gemma Murray, a lead author of the study, previously in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine and now at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

    She added: “We found that the antibiotic resistance in this livestock-associated MRSA is extremely stable – it has persisted over several decades, and also as the bacteria has spread across different livestock species.”

    The use of antibiotics in livestock in Europe is far lower than in the past. However, since this strain of MRSA is so persistent, the researchers claim that continued decreases in antibiotic usage on pig farms – as a result of recent regulatory changes – are expected to have a minimal influence on the existence of this strain in pigs.

    https://elifesciences.org/articles/74819

    …and remember that it was(is) the idiotic obsession with cleaning & sanitising everything in sight that caused the superbug crisis. It hasn’t gone away even though you don’t hear anything about it.

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    • #

      Is there really a claim that sanitizing has a link to superbugs?

      37

      • #
        Hanrahan

        There is a claim that it is healthy for kids to play in the dirt.

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        • #
          another ian

          H

          Isn’t that “even healthier”?

          20

        • #
          Fran

          We arrived in village India in 1952 when I was 4 with brothers 3 & 2. My Mum is reputed to have said “Go out and play in the dirt so you don’t get polio. Must have worked because we didn’t get the vaccine until I was 10.

          30

      • #
        John Connor II

        Adaptation, mutation, evolution.
        Take your pick.
        It’s been well documented for many many years…

        40

    • #
      David Maddison

      There ought to be more research into bacteriophages as an alternative to antibiotics, the options for which seem to be rapidly running out.

      31

      • #
        John Connor II

        ie human microbiomes, for which there is overwhelming data and research.
        You could own a farm and grow your own organic healthy food, avoid all modern processed food and live to 100+.
        You only need to cure what modern life and diet have done to you…

        51

  • #
    Zane

    Today’s China Update on YouTube suggests 30% of China’s steel mills might go bankrupt!

    I think this might prove to be a conservative estimate.

    The great China unwind is long overdue.

    101

    • #
      Hanrahan

      Both China and Russia are in trouble but their plan to survive seems to be to take in each other’s washing but critical components in everything they make depend on western technology. The Lada factory will start up again. 🙂

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    • #
      Ted1.

      Perhaps the other 70% are modern.

      50

    • #
      John Connor II

      I saw the steel mill story a few days ago but their real-estate sector is the real concern. One estimate of it’s collapse puts it as an event 100x that of the GFC.
      Given the artificial market it’s a massive risk – over 25 million properties empty and kept off the market to keep supply low and prices high…

      81

  • #
    John Connor II

    All Taiwanese public institutions targeted by cyberattacks just hours before Pelosi visit

    All public institutions in Taiwan were hit by cyberattacks, digital minister Audrey Tang said on Wednesday (August 3), as tensions with China rise following the visit to the self-ruled island by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

    Tuesday’s (August 2) attacks on Taiwan government units surpassed 15,000 gigabits, 23 times higher than the previous daily record, Tang said.

    Taiwan pledged on Wednesday to step up security against possible disruptions by “overseas forces” including cyberattacks.

    https://www.foxnews.com/world/all-taiwanese-public-institutions-targeted-cyberattacks-hours-before-pelosi-visit

    Anti-Pelosi messages on screens everywhere…

    It’s just a matter of time now before a truly major event happens.
    Major power or banking shutdown probably.
    Just look at the recent nuclear power incident in Spain…
    Or the out of control nuclear reactor in Ukraine…

    50

  • #
    Doctor T

    Just did my annual online AHPRA medical registration.
    A couple of things stood out.
    Firstly, no mention of vaccination status, or Covid in general- a pleasant surprise.
    Secondly, twice in the online application one is asked if one identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
    The first time, one has the option of “prefer not to say”.
    The second time this is no option.
    One has to be Aboriginal, Islander, both, or neither. What if I answered “prefer not to say” the first time?
    Good to see that one is unable to be a registered medical practitioner without stating one’s broad racial origin.

    141

  • #

    Fertiliser Bans Lead To Food Scarcity –

    “Let’s look at Sri Lanka, which is currently in ruins. Disgraced former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised to transition to “organic” farming. In April 2022, the government banned synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and forced two million farmers to switch to organic farming. The plan failed and the downturn was swift. Rice production fell 20% in six months and continued to fall until the nation began importing rice for the first time in recent history.

    The Rajapaksa Administration knew it was in serious trouble by 2021 and tried to offer farmers incentives for losses incurred. Now, over 86% of the population of Sri Lanka is food insecure. Countries looking to ban or reduce fertilizer must realize that the outcome will lead to less food. Should we let people starve to “save” the environment?”

    https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/markets-by-sector/agriculture/fertilizer-bans-lead-to-food-scarcity/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RSS

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    • #
      Ted1.

      “Letting people starve” won’t feed anybody. If some fall into starvation, everybody will know it.

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    • #
      Philip

      Yes we should let people starve if it did save the environment. Problem is, it isn’t saving the environment at all but it makes people starve.

      40

    • #
      Chad

      Sorry, but A little late to the party with this, Jonny.
      ..the news is months old, and has been discussed numerous timeshere previously !

      40

  • #
    John Connor II

    Leading Cause of Knee Replacement, Infertility, Liver Failure

    Rates of obesity are skyrocketing around the globe, bringing with them associated health problems like infertility, liver failure and knee osteoarthritis leading to an increase in knee replacement surgery
    Obesity is associated with an increased risk of undergoing knee replacement surgery
    Women in the most severe obese category (class 3) were more likely to have knee replacement surgery at a younger age — 7.2 years earlier than normal weight women
    Close to 90% of people who undergo primary knee replacement in Australia are overweight or obese
    Children and adolescents who were overweight or obese tended to have smaller testicles compared to their normal weight peers; maintaining a healthy body weight in childhood could help prevent male infertility later in life
    Ultraprocessed foods high in fructose and “vegetable” oils are driving up rates of obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

    https://www.theburningplatform.com/2022/08/03/leading-cause-of-knee-replacement-infertility-liver-failure/

    Some decent weight training wouldn’t hurt.
    Shun all vegetable oils and use quality Olive oil instead.

    Never mind – most people won’t be able to afford or get food soon and you’ll all be eating WEF-sanctioned GMO frankencrops.
    Should do wonders for the obesity crisis…

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    • #
      Doctor T

      I’m old enough to recall the public health message in the 1970’s “Life- Be In It”, featuring obese “Norm”.
      Now public health officials’ primary messaging is to stay at home, don’t go out, don’t exercise, eat and drink what you want.
      The medical colleges are trying to cancel the word “obese” as it stigmatised obese people.

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      • #
        David Maddison

        The medical colleges are trying to cancel the word “obese” as it stigmatised obese people.

        Yes, it is now a major social, and I guess medical, crime and is called “fat shaming”.

        There’s even a whole anti-dietary movement and “body positivity” movement celebrating morbid obesity.

        “Life, be in it”, indeed.

        https://youtu.be/GNjEge3Awl8

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      • #
        Ted1.

        Did you see the 87+kg lady weightlifters at the games?

        Be lucky to survive to 40.

        40

    • #
      Zane

      Obesity comes from excessive carbohydrate intake in Western diets, nothing else. People are told to eat 60%+ calories from carbs when it should be 60%+ from natural fats.

      Until that changes nothing dietitians, nutritionists, or doctors do will be of any use.

      Dr Tim Noakes of South Africa finally saw the light at age 61 after 40 years of hi-carb eating and went keto. His health improved hugely.

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    • #
      Hanrahan

      I’ve been doing keto light for many years so slowly losing weight and waddyano – My knees are not getting worse.

      And it is, more correctly, the seed oils one must avoid. Coconut oil has a higher fuming point than olive oil in the pan. With keto, lard is OK too with a higher fuming temp still.

      I’m NOT a Dr., I post for amusement only.

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  • #
    Rupert Ashford

    And the dying Reef is expanding…shock horror!! Wonder what JCU has to say about that?

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  • #
    Zane

    University of Tasmania is doing Climate Distress workshops to scare schoolchildren. I would have thought that if Hobart had a climate problem, it’s that it’s usually too cold there.

    But what would I know? I’m not a climate expert. 😀

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    • #
      Greg in NZ

      ‘Light snow’ again fell on Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Ranges, southern Western Australia, this week, with more on the way next week.

      Sandgropers just won’t know what drought is anymore.

      41

  • #
    David Maddison

    Another ocean wave energy project.

    This one is for King Island in Bass Strait and will “power 200 homes”.

    I hope they’ve made financial provision to remove the wreckage after the first major storm.

    https://esdnews.com.au/wave-generated-power-reaches-aussie-homes-for-first-time/

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    • #
      Ronin

      If it’s on the west coast of King Island, testing has begun.

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    • #
      Chad

      The report i read claimed it had been operating for a year already producing 200kW.
      ..But why is there no indication of this powerinput on the KIREIPS dashboard….which supposedly monitors all power demand and generation on the island !

      60

      • #
        sectokia

        It’s all lies.

        200kw is the supposed limit of the actual generator electronics

        50kw is what is the supposed theoretical power output in ideal conditions

        12kw is what they achieved, once for a few seconds

        This i’d actually just a wind turbine turned sideways and using the waves to push air up and down. The waves are determined by the prevailing wind. The physics already is known that a simple off shore wind turbine would work better.

        20

    • #
      Philip

      Cumbersome looking thing for 200 homes max under ideal conditions. How much does that thing cost to build and run ?

      40

  • #
    David Maddison

    There goes another $10.75 million of your taxes…

    “Green” hydrogen…

    https://esdnews.com.au/green-hydrogen-firm-hysata-raises-over-40m-funding/

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    • #

      The ACT Greenhouse Gas Inventory for 2020-21 lists fugitive emissions of 3% from the ACT’s gas network. That should be interesting if it was hydrogen.

      20

  • #
    David Maddison

    And all of a sudden, now that Labor is in Government, the Great Barrier Reef has miraculously recovered from bleaching…

    Go to Google, then News, then type in “barrier reef bleaching” without quotes to see the huge number of stories published about this Labor Party “miracle” in the last hours.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    How is Lidia Thorpe’s oath considered valid when it was obviously insincere?

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    • #
      Ted1.

      Her arm was tiring.

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    • #
      Graeme No.3

      David:
      2 items of little interest.
      I was in the local CafĂŠ and noticed the choice of coffee included DeCaf Collumian. When I pointed this out to one of the waitresses she was non-plussed and couldn’t see any problems with the typing. Neither did the young Barista. It’s not only recent Engineers you have to wonder about.

      On way home saw a sign Pony Poo $3. For years the going rate was $2 a bag but it went up a year or two ago. Now $3 a bag.
      With current comments about inflation being temporary I recalled the photo I saw recently of a double horse float (American?), with a sign on the back CAUTION, FLOOR COVERED WITH POLITICAL PROMISES.

      70

  • #
    John Connor II

    $70 Million ‘Batgirl’ movie, with Trans Character, cancelled months before release: ‘Irredeemable’

    The Batgirl movie has been shelved with a string of sources citing poor audience reactions to test screenings for a production that featured DC’s first trans character.

    Leslie Grace starred as the superhero alongside Michael Keaton reprising his role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in the Warner Bros. project.

    The film marked DC’s first attempt at a transgender character with actor Ivory Aquino playing Batgirl’s best friend, Alysia Yeoh, as Breitbart News reported.

    Aquino is best known for the activist LGBTQ series When We Rise, and portraying trans rights activist Cecilia Chung, according to Deadline.

    https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2022/08/03/batgirl-movie-canceled-just-months-before-release/

    Apparently the reviewers thought it sucked so much it would have been a bigger flop than a Biden rally…
    No, we don’t need a gay Superman or a trans Aquaman winning a women’s swimming contest or any other insidious insanity .
    Everyone’s getting sick of this Trans nonsense being forced down their throats, metaphorically speaking…

    Hopefully businesses will go unwoke before they go broke.

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      Latte

      Why the knicker twisting over sexuality, what’s it to you ?.

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      Steve of Cornubia

      I’m not convinced this story isn’t just a devious marketing ploy. Time will tell.

      40

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        TdeF

        Even if it was rotten tomatoes dreadful, they could make tens of millions fleecing the first customers, so it does not make sense.

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    Philip

    Jo,

    No mention of James Lovelock on his death ? I think he’s pretty significant to environmentalism.

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      Graeme No.3

      Ah! But he had doubts
      And a sense of humour. When Richard Branson asked “could he would call his new airline Gaia Airways” James Lovelock said “provided I can open a Brothel and call it Fly Virgin”.

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    David Maddison

    Once Great Britain currently has 11,000 windmills with many more on the way…

    And one of them.just caught on fire.

    https://youtu.be/mSAFoN8UyF4

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    OldOzzie

    Democrats to the Peasants of America

    Inflation is hurting some Americans more than others — just ask Mary Daly.

    ‘I don’t find myself in a space where I have to make tradeoffs, because I have enough, and many, many Americans have enough.’

    — San Franciso Fed President Mary Daly

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    John Connor II

    Cold-activated brown fat soaks up glucose to starve tumors of fuel.

    Scientists investigating the way a certain type of fat behaves in response to cold have made a discovery that could have ramifications for cancer treatment. The breakthrough centers on the way the body metabolizes glucose, and hints at the possibility that chilly temperatures can help starve tumor cells of a vital fuel source they need to thrive.

    The research was carried out by scientists at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet and focuses on what’s known as brown fat. Distinct from the persistent white fat that stores extra energy as lipids to form love handles and beer bellies, brown fat readily burns away energy to keep the body warm in colder temperatures.

    Mice kept at 4 °C (39.2 °F) exhibited far slower tumor growth and lived nearly twice as long as mice living in rooms at 30 °C (86 °F).

    Analysis of tissues, cellular reactions and glucose metabolism showed that the colder temperatures drove significant uptake in glucose in the brown fat tissue. Meanwhile, glucose signals could barely be detected in the tumor cells.

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05030-3

    So you’ll be healthier and live longer in the cold. The WEF mucked that one up. 😄

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      Hanrahan

      So you’ll be healthier and live longer in the cold if you limit sugar, including fructose. That’s what “brown fat” is claimed to do. Apples are OK for active kids but orange “drinks” bad for adults.

      Sugar is a taste you can grow out of. I used to fill “coke” machines up here in the tropics but never opened a can of sugared drink and didn’t really trust Max. Now retired there isn’t a sugar bowl in the house although I know my o’weight daughter has a stash.

      Carbs and sugars are the modern killers.

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      KP

      Starving mice makes them live longer too…

      So Klaus will solve both these problems- You will be cold and hungry, and live longer as well!

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    Mike Jonas

    “During the operations, several wounded British soldiers had to spend hours in the cold before receiving medical aid—yet no British soldier died who was evacuated to a medical aid station, a fact confirmed by Surgeon Commander Rick Jolly, the Medical Officer in Charge of the refrigeration plant at Ajax Bay (nicknamed “The Red and Green Life machine” by the medics). Many recovered better than medical opinion of the time considered possible; subsequent theories have postulated this may have been due to a combination of the extreme cold and the good standards of physical fitness amongst the wounded.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aftermath_of_the_Falklands_War
    If I remember correctly, the benefits of cold for the wounded have since been confirmed.

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      Mike Jonas

      That was meant to be a reply to #23. Second time I’ve done that – I must have a very jumpy keyboard.

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      Honk R Smith

      My father was wounded in extreme cold in WWII.
      “Coldest Winter in 50 years” he would say.
      He also said he nearly died being evacuated because it got warmer during the long road trip to the field hospital and that caused the bleeding to resume.

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    John Connor II

    Bern, Switzerland: Diphtheria outbreak at asylum center – fatal disease last seen in 1983 – Over 180 people in quarantine.

    Over 180 people in quarantine
    People living on two floors are affected by the quarantine:

    92 unaccompanied minors in quarantine on the seventh floor
    83 asylum seekers on the fifth floor.
    “Basically, the entire federal asylum center is currently closed, so external appointments and/or transfers are currently not possible,” said Wyss.

    The infected people have been isolated. “Everyone else is in contact with each other on their floor,” explains the spokesman. In addition, a mask mandate has been introduced in the building. Immigrants living on the other floors are allowed to move freely (in overall they are 350 in the building).

    The disease begins after two to five days. Principal symptoms are sore throat, fever and difficulty swallowing. Hoarseness, wheezing and swelling of the lymph nodes occur later. There is possibility of tonsillitis and/or pharyngitis with grey-white, sweet-smelling coverings.

    According to the BAG, these deposits bleed when they are removed and, under certain circumstances, block the airways to such an extent that the patient can suffocate. The mortality rate for pharyngeal diphtheria is “high” at up to 50 percent.

    According to the health authorities, unvaccinated small children and older people are particularly at risk. In Switzerland, most of the babies are vaccinated against diphtheria several times before their first birthday.

    https://strangesounds.org/2022/08/bern-switzerland-diphtheria-outbreak-at-asylum-center-fatal-disease-last-seen-in-1983-over-180-people-in-quarantine.html

    20

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    another ian

    A couple of “Build Back Bigger” people corrals

    “Dutch investors launch new marketing programme for NL: Tristate City”

    https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2017/10/dutch-investors-launch-new-marketing-programme-for-nl-tristate-city/

    And

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Line,_Saudi_Arabia

    00

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    David Maddison

    Video:

    Why I won’t have my second covid booster”

    https://youtu.be/4pjkFfEPe68

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      Philip

      Yes seems people have had enough. Mentally fatigued basically. The chance of getting covid has never been greater right now but people take no precautions anymore. Took them that long to get used to it and resist the propaganda and authoritarianism.

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    Zane

    Remember when the word “climate” was a noun and not an adjective?

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    John Connor II

    Justin Trudeau Looks to Ban Cryptocurrencies after Freedom Convoy Subverted Crackdown.

    Justin Trudeau has vowed to ban cryptocurrencies in Canada after Canadians began rising up earlier this year and used cryptocurrencies to support the Freedom Convoy protests.

    This week, Trudeau’s Department of Finance launched a review called the Financial Sector Legislative Review On The Digitalization of Money. The purpose of the review is to assess the risks to “monetary sovereignty” posed by cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

    https://www.blacklocks.ca/feds-review-bitcoin-risks/

    Hang on…the objective is to move everyone to digital currencies.
    Did Turdeau ask permission from Schwab for this? 😉

    41

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    John Connor II

    Australian senator denounces the WEF and its supporters.

    Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts recently denounced the WEF and its supporters, warning that the Great Reset will lead to “serfdom.”

    “Instead of working together to push Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum plan based on United Nations policies, work together instead for our country. Klaus Schwab’s ‘life by subscription’ quote is really serfdom. It’s slavery,” said Roberts.

    “Billionaire globalist corporations will own everything: homes, factories, farms, cars, furniture, and everyday citizens will rent what they need if their social credit score allows.”

    “The plan of the Great Reset is that you will die with nothing,” Roberts said. “To pull off this evil plan, Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum will need to take more than just material possessions from Australians. Senators in this very chamber today who support the Great Reset threaten our privacy, freedom, and dignity. Yes, they’re in this senate chamber.”

    https://thecountersignal.com/australian-senator-denounces-the-wef-and-its-supporters/

    “A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.”

    ― Marcus Tullius Cicero

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    John Connor II

    53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

    https://youtu.be/E6-cGYQJ_Pc

    But of course we all KNOW that no-one has EVER left Earth’s atmosphere don’t we. 😉😉

    22

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      Hanrahan

      Good God. I still remember where I was watching that live, and hearing of JFK’s assassination and Princess Diana’s death.

      That’s why I can’t keep up today, there are so many stored memories there is no room for anything new. 🙂

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    John B

    Remember this from Dr. David Jones of the BoM, some 14 years ago.
    This drought may never break

    IT MAY be time to stop describing south-eastern Australia as gripped by drought and instead accept the extreme dry as permanent, one of the nation’s most senior weather experts warned yesterday.
    “Perhaps we should call it our new climate,” said the Bureau of Meteorology’s head of climate analysis, David Jones.

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      Dr Jones obviously didn’t study Weather Bureau history. One of the most important tasks of inaugural Director Henry Hunt in 1908 was to:

      ..bring some sanity to the discussion of droughts.

      Can’t resist putting up another extract from ‘The Weather Watchers’ – 100 Years of the Bureau of Meteorology by David Day:

      The hard-worked meteorologists of the newly founded Central Weather Bureau would have little time for the touring English cricket team that played its second test match in Melbourne in January 1908. It was a scorching summer, with the English players managing to win the match despite the ‘furnace heat’. From 15 January, after two weeks of moderate heat, Melbourne had six days above 100°F. The prolonged heat wave made Melbournians so desperate for relief that they abandoned the normal social niceties. Women went shopping without their customary lace-up corsets, men went to work without their jackets and people took their beds outside to escape the stifling night-time heat of their houses. Some even slept on St Kilda pier in the hope of getting some relief, while the usual restrictions on mixed bathing were ignored, never to return to Melbourne’s beaches.

      30

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      OldOzzie

      Remember this from Dr. David Jones of the BoM, some 14 years ago.

      This drought may never break

      Dr. David Jones of the BoM, some 14 years ago is obviously a thick as a brick academic who never read Dorothea Mackellar “My Country”

      I love a sunburnt country,
      A land of sweeping plains,
      Of ragged mountain ranges,
      Of droughts and flooding rains.

      She began to sketch out the poem earlier than 1904, with the final draft being completed in 1908.

      Following the Federation Drought

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  • #
    William Astley

    In the Canadian province of Alberta (population 4.5 million), there were in 2019, 522 unexplained deaths. These are people that are dying of unknown causes.

    The number of unexplained deaths in Alberta increased in 2020 to 1,464 and to 3,382, in 2021. Unexplained deaths in Alberta is now the largest category of deaths.

    https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/deaths-with-unknown-causes-now-alberta-s-top-killer-province-1.5975536

    Comment:
    Prior to 2021, the largest category of deaths in Alberta was due to dementia. In the UK, the largest category of deaths is also dementia. There is a worldwide epidemic of dementia. The cause of the epidemic of dementia, is due to Alberta and UK’s public healthcare systems. The public healthcare doctors follow fake US medical ‘science’. The robot doctors order blood tests, for all middle age patients, then prescribes the drug type statins, to those unlucky patients that have ‘high’ cholesterol, to lower cholesterol.

    Unfortunately, it has been found that reducing cholesterol does not reduce heart attacks or improve the health of the patient. The heart attacks and atherosclerosis (sick arteries and sick tiny blood vessels, in the skin, eyes, and so on.) are caused by Vit D deficiency, Magnesium deficiencies, and Vit K2 deficiencies. It has been found that statins cause dementia and confusion as they stop the brain from producing cholesterol and will cause fatal liver failure in 3% of the patients, if the statins are not stopped in time. 30% of all statin taking patients must stop taking statins because of memory problems and other issues.

    https://www.nature.com/articles/nrcardio.2016.78
    A hole in the diet–heart hypothesis?

    https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/397736/1/__soton.ac.uk_ude_PersonalFiles_Users_lce_mydocuments_Eprints%2520-%2520Prof%2520Calder_Accepted%2520publications%2520for%2520eprints_Calder_Nature%2520Reviews%2520Cardiology_News%2520%2520Views.pdf

    30

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    another ian

    It’s tough being a stranded asset (/s)

    “End Of Coal”

    http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2022/08/04/end-of-coal/

    20

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    another ian

    FWIW

    “Since Monkeypox Is Now A PHE…”

    https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=246533

    “Don’t Be Effing STUPID”

    “So you think you might want the Jynneos jab to prevent monkeypox, right?

    It’s “safe and effective”, so they say.

    Let’s look at it.”

    https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=246529

    10

    • #
      Honk R Smith

      With reference to this and comment #35 …
      what happens to the Public Health/Medical paradigm when the leading cause of death is ‘unexplained’?
      Seems like somebody’s got some ‘splaining to do.

      The ‘Pandemic’ phenomenon, which is primarily political and cultural as opposed to medical, has exposed the dirty undies of nearly all of the authoritative operational paradigms we live with.

      The various operational authorities across the spectrum are having to resort to various levels of coercion and force in the attempt to maintain the now exposed failure of the model.

      10

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    Graeme No.3

    Problems in the Netherlands.
    https://nltimes.nl/2022/08/04/dutch-power-grid-overloaded-places-new-connections-possible

    summed up by “According to Liander (the grid controller), the Netherlands once had a very nice system with which there were almost never any problems. “But now, with the volatility of solar and wind supply, it is becoming a very different story. The whole system has to be overhauled.”

    30

    • #
      Philip

      Reality hits, when people think buying solar panels is a no-brainer but it ain’t that simple.

      Same thing happens in Aus, they want to put solar farms where land is cheap and the grid lines can’t handle it. WnS systems need a whole new infrastructure. And then even worse they need 100% capacity backup with immediate starting capability. No two ways about that, so how people think that is a good idea is beyond me.

      20

      • #
        Dennis

        Recent drone images of a solar panel system covering many acres of farmland on Sky New highlighted the environmental disaster commercial solar has become.

        00

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    Dennis

    PM Albanese is going on a holiday because he has not had a holiday this year. And he spoke on ABC radio as follows, part of the interview answer;

    PRIME MINISTER: Indeed. But secondly, I think that the lack of transparency that was there around Mr. Morrison’s trip to Hawaii, when people didn’t even know whether Michael McCormick was the acting Prime Minister, and at the time wouldn’t say where he was – I just think that was a very unwise decision that added to the controversy, which was, in my view, pretty unnecessary had it been handled differently.

    People didn’t know that the Coalition’s Deputy Prime Minister was Acting Prime Minister? The Deputy is the deputy and often supports a PM as needed.

    PM Albanese also said that Deputy Prime Minister Marles will be Acting PM while he goes on holidays.

    By the way, regarding late 2019 and bushfires, the primary responsibility for natural disasters is State governments, in NSW the Rural Fire Service, State Emergency Service and other State managed and funded authorities.

    21

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    another ian

    “Carbon forum: Has beef become the sacrificial lamb in emissions debate?”

    https://www.beefcentral.com/news/carbon-forum-has-beef-become-the-sacrificial-lamb-in-emissions-debate/

    10

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      Honk R Smith

      “How Subbing Pork for half your beef can cut your climate impact”

      Good Gawd.
      That would hurt.
      Would I be trans species?
      I’m getting out my Ouija Board and contacting George Carlin.
      My heart.
      Alt Ian, it’s too early in the morning for this.

      00

      • #
        Honk R Smith

        George told me that humor is now subject to moderation and he is happy to be gone.
        He said he did his best.

        00

    • #
      Honk R Smith

      Sacrifices must be made.

      00

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  • #
    another ian

    FWIW

    “What Are You Gonna Believe? Your Lyin’ Eyes?”

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/what-are-you-gonna-believe-your-lyin-eyes/

    00

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    another ian

    Re electricity supply and HVAC

    Attention Tony in Oz – FWIW

    “Thomas Massie: Real Agenda of the Greens is to Shut Off Our Air Conditioning (7.29.22)”

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/thomas-massie-the-real-plan-of-the-greens-is-to-shut-off-our-air-conditioning-7-29-22/

    00

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  • #

    Politicians and the media tell us that coral bleaching is caused by global warming/climate change. It is caused by direct sunlight, short wave radiation, which heats the ocean down to 100 metres. The air in contact with the ocean, long wave radiation, does not penetrate water. You can test this: get a container of water, place a thermometer in it and try heating the water with a hair drier. The follwing by a long time ocean scientist.

    http://21sci-tech.com/articles/ocean.html

    How the Oceans Get Warm
    Warming the ocean is not a simple matter, not like heating a small glass of water. The first thing to remember is that the ocean is not warmed by the overlying air.

    Let’s begin with radiant energy from two sources: sunlight, and infrared radiation, the latter emitted from the “greenhouse” gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and various others) in the lower atmosphere. Sunlight penetrates the water surface readily, and directly heats the ocean up to a certain depth. Around 3 percent of the radiation from the Sun reaches a depth of about 100 meters.

    The top layer of the ocean to that depth warms up easily under sunlight. Below 100 meters, however, little radiant energy remains. The ocean becomes progressively darker and colder as the depth increases. (It is typical for the ocean temperature in Hawaii to be 26°C (78°F) at the surface, and 15°C (59°F) at a depth of 150 meters.

    The infrared radiation penetrates but a few millimeters into the ocean. This means that the greenhouse radiation from the atmosphere affects only the top few millimeters of the ocean. Water just a few centimeters deep receives none of the direct effect of the infrared thermal energy from the atmosphere! Further, it is in those top few millimeters in which evaporation takes places. So whatever infrared energy may reach the ocean as a result of the greenhouse effect is soon dissipated

    10