The Week That Was: 2022-10-15 (October 15, 2022)
Brought to You by SEPP (www.SEPP.org)
The Science and Environmental Policy Project
Quote of the Week: The important thing is to never stop questioning.” ‒ Albert Einstein
Number of the Week: 16 out of 274 (5.8%)
THIS WEEK:
By Ken Haapala, President, Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP)
Scope: Last week TWTW discussed the importance of spectroscopy in understanding the greenhouse effect. Reader Geoff Sherrington correctly “nit-pricked” the discussion to point out that often Spectrometry is confused with Spectroscopy. This TWTW will attempt to clarify the difference.
The work of Professors William van Wijngaarden and William Happer (W & H) has not been published in a major western peer reviewed journal. This creates obstacles for its general acceptance. W & H are too busy developing an acceptable hypothesis on the formation and dissipation of clouds that they do not have time to fight with journal editors. TWTW will discuss a few consequences.
In a video, Astrophysicist Willie Soon is interviewed by Tom Nelson.
The electrical systems planning engineer discussed last week has another essay on the importance of stability in the electrical grid. This stability is being undermined by the demands for use of solar and wind power by politicians and special interest groups on the false notion that human carbon dioxide emissions are causing significant climate change.
In preparing for the upcoming 27th annual Conference of Parties (COP 27) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), UN officials are making more extreme claims of the consequences to humanity if national governments do not adhere to their demands. Since UN the summaries of climate reports are contradicted by physical evidence, it appears that UN bureaucrats believe that their words are physical evidence.
The Biden administration has announced a US National Security Strategy. Little will be said of it.
Summertime rains have long been an issue in the US Midwest and into Canada. Using rainfall data from 1948 to 2019, a group out of Penn State has announced a technique for predicting heavy summer rains one season ahead. Given the 60-year study period, this may be of great value for farmers and those dependent on their products.
**************
Spectroscopy and Spectrometry: Geoff Sherrington gave a link to an essay published by ATA Scientific Instruments that articulates the difference between Spectroscopy and Spectrometry. It begins:
“Spectroscopy is the science of studying the interaction between matter and radiated energy. It’s the study of absorption characteristics of matter, or absorption behaviour of matter, when subjected to electromagnetic radiation. Spectroscopy doesn’t generate any results, it’s simply the theoretical approach to science.
“On the other hand, spectrometry is the method used to acquire a quantitative measurement of the spectrum. It’s the practical application where results are generated, helping in the quantification of, for example, absorbance, optical density, or transmittance.
“In short, spectroscopy is the theoretical science, and spectrometry is the practical measurement in the balancing of matter in atomic and molecular levels.”
TWTW will endeavor to carefully distinguish between the theoretical science and the practical measurements. [It is important to note that those working in the field often use the terms without making such careful distinctions. Both approaches involve a quantitative approach. To them the distinction may be careful but meaningless.] See link under Other Scientific News.
**************
Peer Review: Professors William van Wijngaarden and William Happer (W & H) used spectrometry to estimate the greenhouse effect of the potency of greenhouse gases, and the thermal radiation effects of these gases. This work has not been published by any US scientific journals. This is part of an effort to censor valid disagreements with US government fundings and UN climate reports. It began in the mid-1990s with the now ill named Science magazine published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Headquartered in Washington, DC, the organization is now heavily politicized.
As a result of this politicization, American science is suffering as compared to Russian and Chinese science. For several hundred years it has become obvious that politicized science falls behind. The clearest example was the agricultural disasters in the Soviet Union under biologist Trofim Lysenko whose bogus research led to the starvation of millions.
However, those who seek peer reviewed journals with articles on the results of spectrometry used by W & H can find such articles elsewhere. The history of the HITRAN molecular spectroscopic database for transmission and radiance calculations, and some of its applications was published by Nature Reviews Physics.
As stated in last week’s TWTW, the Russian Academy of Sciences has published a paper using HITRAN which contradicts some of the findings of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The paper cites other works using infrared atmospheric spectroscopy. In part, the abstract states:
“The inconsistency of climatological models of changes in the global temperature because of an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide, which are the basis of the Paris Agreements on Climate, has been demonstrated. The use of these models is based on the assumption that the spectra of carbon dioxide and water molecules do not overlap, which contradicts both the data resulting from measurements with NASA programs and calculations based on the spectroscopic parameters of molecules from the HITRAN data bank.” [Boldface added]
In today’s world of modern communications, it is more difficult for groups to censor the quest for understanding by curious minds. In the long run, those who censor limit themselves. See links under Other Scientific News.
**************
Cost of Disagreement: In a wide-ranging talk covering the broad topics he has addressed in his work, Willie Soon explains the difficulty of publishing papers that question the IPCC claims. He began with the research that the sun can vary by three to four times that claimed by the IPCC. It was difficult to get such studies published as early as the 1990s. After the IPCC published the Mr. Mann hockey-stick, no one could get a paper published that questioned the IPCC line. There is a great deal we do not understand, so controversy is desirable to evaluate the physical evidence behind different points of view. Soon states there is nothing exceptional about 20th century warming.
Now political attacks dominate the climate issue. Soon emphasizes the importance of correcting mistakes. The question is, why are advocates of dangerous warming afraid of debating the evidence? Among other issues, Soon brings up the accuracy of the calculations of the earth’s orbit which were done in the 1970s and the lack of knowledge about clouds. Small variations can make a huge difference. Both issues make the certainty expressed in IPCC reports foolish and the willful destruction of the fossil fuel industry absurd. See link under Challenging the Orthodoxy.
**************
The Working Machine: In his second essay on the problem on adding solar and wind onto the US electrical grid, the planning engineer writes:
“The ‘green’ provisions of the poorly named Inflation Reduction Act are sweeping, and it appears they may do more harm than good. The philosophy behind the inflation Reduction Act seems to reflect the belief that if you can get the ball rolling, adding additional wind and solar will get easier. However, as Part 1 discussed, the compounding problems associated with increasing the penetration level of wind and solar generation are extreme.
Replacing conventional synchronous generating resources, which have been the foundation of the power system, with asynchronous intermittent resources will degrade the reliability of the grid and contribute to blackout risk. The power system is the largest, most complicated wonderful machine ever made. At any given time, it must deal with multiple problems and remain stable. No resources are perfect; in a large system you will regularly find numerous problems occurring across the system. Generally, a power system can handle multiple problems and continue to provide reliable service. However, when a system lacks supportive generation sources, it becomes much more likely it will not be able function reliably when problems occur.
A synchronous generator produces electricity with the frequency, voltage, and phase exactly matching that of other generators on the grid. Asynchronous generators, such as wind turbines, do not. Asynchronous generators may be fine in a stand-alone system, but cause problems in a system with synchronous generators. The problem intensifies with the ill-named Inflation Reduction Act and its subsides to wind power. The planning engineer writes:
“The Inflation Reduction Act seeks to decarbonize the grid. In looking at the grid, you should not make one goal a priority but should instead seek to balance competing objectives.”
The planning engineer goes through issues arising from using more wind and solar generated electricity to replace natural gas generated energy and gives EIA’s US electricity generation by major energy source and writes:
“If wind and solar step up to replace fossil fuels this leave us vulnerable to energy shortages during winter peaks just before daybreak. Battery capability would need to be huge, expansive, and probably would not be procured in advance of demonstrated needs.
“It is frightening to imagine how to serve a vast winter system demand just before daybreak in the green future. But one more feature of the Clean Air Act helps raise concerns to an even higher level. The Inflation Reduction Act subsidizes heat pumps!
“Heat pumps are attractive to the Inflation Reeducation Act for only one reason. They help reduce the demand for gas furnaces. Subsidies will be available in areas where today heat pumps are not considered practical. Today it doesn’t make sense to drive resistance heating with electricity generated from fossil fuels. It’s inefficient and environmentally unsound. However, you can theorize that if all electricity is green, inefficient electric heat is green too. Replacing natural gas heat with heat pumps is not a good idea when one considers their impact on the power system during winter peak conditions.
“Under the Act’s subsidy provisions people who live in areas where heat pumps don’t make sense may decide to get them anyway with the subsidy. For example, if you live in a cooler area and you’ve gotten by without air conditioning, now your units can be subsidized and the resistance heat will be there for you in the winter too. Green advocates talk of shaping the load to better use resources, but that evidently can be quickly forgotten when other green objectives emerge. Putting in a bunch of heat pumps and building tremendous infrastructure to support their short-term demands is far from environmentally responsible.”
TWTW has often referred to the heavy load in California in the summer when the sun goes down. But in other parts of the country the sharp peak may occur at dawn on a cold winter morning. The planning engineer concludes:
“How do we encourage smart ways to provide emergency capacity? Current energy policies are seeking to direct as much money toward ‘green’ resources and costs away from them. As discussed earlier, in Texas they are moving away from recognizing capacity value consistent with a trend towards energy only markets. I’m a big fan of markets, but they don’t do a good job of protecting against extreme conditions especially when no one has ultimate responsibility (except governmental entities) for ensuring load is served. Some measures would need to be employed to compensate for providing and ensuring combustion turbines are available for emergency conditions. But no one seems to be talking about such measures. The Inflation Reduction Act appears to be a single focus approach to a nuanced problem. Cut CO2 emissions and hope for great innovations. Reliability threats apparently are not on their radar, nor are they an articulated or contemplated concerns. It’s a shame because reduced reliability can wreak havoc on the economy and the environment.”
There is a purpose for some regulated markets, but it is frequently lost to politics. See link under Challenging the Orthodoxy.
**************
More Absurdity: Last week TWTW linked to articles discussing the absurd claims by Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary for Global Communications of the United Nations, at the World Economic Forum who, based on a partnership with Google, asserted:
“We own the science, and we think that the world should know it, and the platforms themselves also do.”
So much for Google and the UN in its understanding of science. Contributing to the questionable thinking of the UN, the head of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) chirped in:
“From climate perspective, the war in Ukraine may be seen as a blessing”
Would he say that if, once again, Russian tanks rolled into his native country of Finland? Further a new report by the WMO asserted that:
“By 2050, global electricity needs- which will be increasing over the years being electrification [which is] a strategic lever to tackle Net Zero goals – will mainly be met with renewable energy, with solar the single largest supply source. African countries have an opportunity to seize untapped potential and be major players in the market. Africa is home to 60% of the best solar resources globally, yet with only 1% of installed photovoltaic capacity.”
“More can and must be done. According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, bold climate action could deliver US$26 trillion in economic benefits by 2030. And yet, investment in renewable energy is much too low, especially in developing countries and too little attention is paid to the importance of climate services for energy to support both climate adaptation and decisions on how to reduce greenhouse gases.”
To UN bureaucrats, reliability of electricity is not important. Despite their claims they do not seem to be in a mad rush to operate their facilities and airplanes on wind and solar. Don’t they wish to get their share of $27 trillion in benefits? See links under Defending the Orthodoxy.
**************
US Strategy? Not to be outdone by the UN the White House has released the “Biden-Harris Administration’s National Security Strategy.” To avoid playing politics TWTW considered one key sentence in the conclusions:
“This is a 360-degree strategy grounded in the world as it is today, laying out the future we seek, and providing a roadmap for how we will achieve it.”
We have a 360-degree roadmap? See links under Change in US Administrations.
**************
Midwest Summer Rain: A team from Penn State compared Midwest heavy rainfall data from 1948 to 2019 with ocean surface temperature and salinity measurements from the same time span. The abstract states:
“Summertime heavy rainfall and its resultant floods are among the most harmful natural hazards in the US Midwest, one of the world’s primary crop production areas. However, seasonal forecasts of heavy rain, currently based on preseason sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs), remain unsatisfactory. Here, we present evidence that sea surface salinity anomalies (SSSAs) over the tropical western Pacific and subtropical North Atlantic are skillful predictors of summertime heavy rainfall one season ahead. A one standard deviation change in tropical western Pacific SSSA is associated with a 1.8 mm day−1 increase in local precipitation, which excites a teleconnection pattern to extratropical North Pacific. Via extratropical air-sea interaction and long memory of midlatitude SSTA, a wave train favorable for US Midwest heavy rain is induced. Combined with soil moisture feedbacks bridging the springtime North Atlantic salinity, the SSSA-based statistical prediction model improves Midwest heavy rainfall forecasts by 92%, complementing existing SSTA-based frameworks.”
See links under Models v. Observations.
**************
Number of the Week: 16 out of 274 (5.8%): On May 13, 2019, four adults and six of their children of the indigenous minority group of the Torres Strait Islands filed a complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee against Australia for the government’s:
“Failure to take mitigation and adaptation measures to combat the effects of climate change” – mainly sea level rise and salt-water intrusion.
The Committee found against Australia. The globe has been warming for about 18,000 years. During that time sea levels have risen by about 400 feet, 120 meters. The rate of rise was rapid with the melting of the great ice sheets about 15,000 to 8,000 years ago. Since then, the rise has been moderate. John Robson writes:
“As for Australia stopping global warming, well, if it had thrown its entire economy into the Torres Strait, it would have reduced global GHG emissions by about one percent while China, which already emits more than 20 times as much, seems with its rapid expansion of coal power to be adding an Australia a year. In fact, as so often, the alarmist claims prove the opposite of what they seem to. According to Wikipedia, “The Torres Strait Islands are threatened by rising sea levels, especially those islands which do not rise more than one metre (3.3 feet) above sea level. Storm surges and high tides pose the greatest danger.” To which we respond sardonically that if they’re that low, and haven’t yet been washed away, someone is peddling fables.
“To be precise, the highest elevation anywhere is 50 metres, but the average is one. So, if these low-lying, sandy, soft islands have not been washed away, then this whole thing about “entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000” was bunkum. From the same UN that now wants Australia to pay for these low-lying islands being destroyed while remaining in place.”
“Although some people might argue that as there are ‘at least 274’ of these islands, but it’s hard to tell because they are such small sandy low-lying specks that only 16 of them even have people on them, they’ve probably always been exposed to surge tides and waves.”
If 16 islands out of 274 are inhabited, that makes 5.8%. It appears that the UN Committee on Human Rights asserts that if you don’t accept UN reports you have no rights. See link under Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2f135%2fD%2f3624%2f2019&Lang=en and https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth107/node/1506
Censorship
Lawsuit details sprawling Biden administration program to censor online speech
By Jeff Mordock – The Washington Times, Oct 10, 2022
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/oct/10/lawsuit-details-sprawling-biden-administration-pro/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=morning&bt_ee=g5tjQ8oGxDJNdAXs4vHFKCCX%2BsHeyl0rLpxAVy6ekMg%3D&bt_ts=1665482146710
Challenging the Orthodoxy — NIPCC
Climate Change Reconsidered II: Physical Science
Idso, Carter, and Singer, Lead Authors/Editors, Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC), 2013
Summary: https://www.heartland.org/_template-assets/documents/CCR/CCR-II/Summary-for-Policymakers.pdf
Climate Change Reconsidered II: Biological Impacts
Idso, Idso, Carter, and Singer, Lead Authors/Editors, Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC), 2014
http://climatechangereconsidered.org/climate-change-reconsidered-ii-biological-impacts/
Summary: https://www.heartland.org/media-library/pdfs/CCR-IIb/Summary-for-Policymakers.pdf
Climate Change Reconsidered II: Fossil Fuels
By Multiple Authors, Bezdek, Idso, Legates, and Singer eds., Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change, April 2019
http://store.heartland.org/shop/ccr-ii-fossil-fuels/
Download with no charge:
Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming
The NIPCC Report on the Scientific Consensus
By Craig D. Idso, Robert M. Carter, and S. Fred Singer, Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC), Nov 23, 2015
http://climatechangereconsidered.org/
Download with no charge:
https://www.heartland.org/policy-documents/why-scientists-disagree-about-global-warming
Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Climate
S. Fred Singer, Editor, NIPCC, 2008
http://www.sepp.org/publications/nipcc_final.pdf
Global Sea-Level Rise: An Evaluation of the Data
By Craig D. Idso, David Legates, and S. Fred Singer, Heartland Policy Brief, May 20, 2019
Astrophysicist Willie Soon Interviewed by Tom Nelson (Video)
Willie Soon: “This CO2 stuff is…pure delusion. You cannot find any signature of that.”
The Penetration Problem. Part II: Will the Inflation Reduction Act Cause a Blackout?
By Planning Engineer, Climate Etc. Oct 11, 2022
Climate Alarmist Claim Fact Checks
By Joseph D’Aleo, CCM, ICECAP, Oct 13, 2022
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/political-climate/alarmist_claim_rebuttals_updated/
Debunking the Climate Myths of Hurricane Ian
Fact: climate change did not boost Ian’s strength
By Madhav L. Khandekar & Tom Harris, Real Clear Energy, Oct 10, 2022
https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2022/10/10/debunking_the_climate_myths_of_hurricane_ian_858216.html
How a fake climate emergency created a real energy emergency
The false idea that fossil fuels’ climate impacts are an “emergency” that requires us to rapidly eliminate fossil fuels has caused an energy emergency.
By Alex Epstein, His Blog, Oct 12, 2022 [H/t Bernie Kepshire]
https://alexepstein.substack.com/p/how-a-fake-climate-emergency-created?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=513601&post_id=77982483&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email
Placing The Blame For Europe’s Energy And Economic Crisis
By Francis Menton, Manhattan Contrarian, Oct 8, 2022
https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2022-10-8-placing-the-blame-for-europes-energy-and-economic-crisis
Global demand for Gigawatts is insatiable: To make one smartphone takes almost as much energy as a fridge
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Oct 12, 2022
Link to: The Energy Transition Delusion
By Mark Mills, The Manhattan Institute, August 2022
Defending the Orthodoxy
Hoping it will eat you last
By John Robson, Climate Discussion Nexus, Oct 12, 2022
“If something is scarce and its price rises, and you have blocked entrepreneurs from adding more supply, the best course of action is… attack the existing suppliers. At least according to the UN Secretary General for Climate Hysteria who declared that ‘The fossil fuel industry is feasting on hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and windfall profits while household budgets shrink and our planet burns. Today, I am calling on all developed economies to tax the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies.’”
UN WMO Head: “From climate perspective, the war in Ukraine may be seen as a blessing”
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Oct 12, 2022
WMO: Embrace Renewables to Stabilise the Power Grid
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Oct 11, 2022
Link to report: Climate change puts energy security at risk
Countries must triple investment in renewable energy
By Staff, WMO, Oct 11, 2022
https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/climate-change-puts-energy-security-risk
Defending the Orthodoxy – Bandwagon Science
Climate change ‘kills on grand scale’: expert
By AFP Staff Writers, London (AFP), Oct 6, 2022
https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Climate_change_kills_on_grand_scale_expert_999.html
“Professor Nicholas Stern, a Briton who authored a landmark 2006 report on the economic impact of global warming, made the observation at the Energy Intelligence Forum industry gathering.”
[SEPP Comment: After his deceitful use of discount rates, why believe him?]
The Climate Economy Is About to Explode
A new report suggests that the Inflation Reduction Act could be even bigger than Congress thinks.
By Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, Oct 5, 2022
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/10/inflation-reduction-act-climate-economy/671659/
“In fact, so many people and businesses will use those tax credits that the IRA’s total spending is likely to be more than $800 billion, double what the CBO projects. And because federal spending tends to catalyze private investment, that could send total climate spending across the economy to roughly $1.7 trillion over the next 10 years.”
“By 2029, U.S. solar and wind could be the cheapest in the world at less than $5 per megawatt-hour, the bank [Credit Suisse] projects; it will also become competitive in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and wind turbines.”
Questioning the Orthodoxy
Uncertainty Of Measurement of Routine Temperatures–Part Three
By Thomas Berger and Geoffrey Sherrington. WUWT, Oct 14, 2022
‘Deep Optimism Manifesto’ (David Siegel’s cure for ‘climate anxiety’)
By Robert Bradley Jr. Master Resource, Oct 12, 2022
[SEPP Comment: A replacement for skepticism of dangerous global warming?]
Setting it straight on hurricanes
By John Robson, Climate Discussion Nexus, Oct 12, 2022
“Amidst the wreckage of these natural disasters the alarmists would have us believe that it’s our own fault, especially the people in a red state like Florida for not being on board with the whole Green New Deal. Into this maelstrom we bring you the newly updated information page on Global Warming and Hurricanes from the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at the American government’s generally climate alarmist National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).”
What Caused the Energy Crisis We’re in Now? When Did It Start for Real?
By Frank Lasee, WUWT, Oct 11, 2022
Global Scatterplots
By Willis Eschenbach, WUWT, Oct 14, 2022
Energy and Environmental Review: October 10, 2022
By John Droz, Jr., Master Resource, Oct 10, 2022
After Paris!
Science cop-out expected for COP27
By David Whitehouse, Net Zero Watch, Oct 10, 2022
“Between 1979 and 2020 the Pacific Ocean off South America has cooled as have regions farther south. The western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean on the other hand has warmed in contrast. The Pacific and its environs account for half of the Earth’s surface and its warming-cooling simply can’t be explained by climate models.”
COP27 Greta Goes for Nuclear while Guterres’ Statements on NetZero Greenwashing are Unrealistic says Friends of Science
Press Release, Friends of Science, Canada, Oct 13, 2022
White House releases Biden’s national security strategy
By Brett Samuels, The Hill, Oct 12, 2022
Link to: FACT SHEET: The Biden-Harris Administration’s National Security Strategy
Press Release, The White House, Oct 12, 2022
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/12/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-administrations-national-security-strategy/
Link to full plan: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Biden-Harris-Administrations-National-Security-Strategy-10.2022.pdf
From conclusion of full plan: “With the key elements outlined in this strategy, we will tackle the twin challenges of our time: out-competing our rivals to shape the international order while tackling shared challenges, including climate change, pandemic preparedness, and food security, that will define the next stage of human history.”
White House cops to pushing Saudi Arabia to postpone oil cuts until after midterms
By Caitlin Doornbos, New York Post, Oct 13, 2022
https://nypost.com/2022/10/13/saudis-say-biden-asked-to-hold-oil-production-cut-until-after-midterms/
“’I’m not going to get into what I’d consider and what I have in mind,’ the president added. ‘But there will be — there will be consequences.’” [as soon as I can think of some?]
Shellenberger: Biden Is Failing The World
Via Zero Hedge, Oct 10, 2022 [H/t Bernie Kepshire]
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/shellenberger-biden-failing-world
IER Transparency Project Reveals FERC Coordination with White House
By Staff, Institute for Energy Research, Oct 11, 2022
Gas Furnaces: Big Brother Says No
By Robert Bradley Jr., Master Resource, Oct 11, 2022
[SEPP Comment: To be replaced by electric resistance heating from an over-burdened grid?]
Biden Should Ask a Mirror Whom To Blame for His Energy Policy Failure
By James Jay Carafano and Katie Tubb, The Heritage Foundation, Oct 14, 2022
https://www.heritage.org/energy-economics/commentary/biden-should-ask-mirror-whom-blame-his-energy-policy-failure
Biden’s proposed gig worker rule could deal a major blow to small businesses
New gig worker rule could cause company’s operational costs to skyrocket
By Megan Henney, FOXBusiness, Oct 12, 2022
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/bidens-proposed-gig-worker-rule-could-deal-major-blow-small-businesses
Biden Energy Policies Cost $100 BILLION a year, Reports Just the News
By Linnea Lueken, Climate Realism, Oct 11, 2022, [H/t WUWT]
Social Benefits of Carbon Dioxide
‘Exceptional’ year for Champagne despite record heat: producers
By AFP Staff Writers, Paris, Oct 7, 2022
https://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Exceptional_year_for_Champagne_despite_record_heat_producers_999.html
Problems in the Orthodoxy
China needs $17 trillion to meet climate goals: World Bank
Climate change poses a significant threat to China, especially to its teeming, economically critical coastal cities.
By Staff, Al Jazeera and Reuters, Oct 12, 2022
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/10/12/china-needs-17-trillion-to-meet-climate-goals-world-bank
[SEPP Comment: In untraceable small bills!]
Science, Policy, and Evidence
The Answer is Simple
By Donn Dears, Power For USA, Oct 12, 2022
[SEPP Comment: Solving a problem that confused reporters of the Wall Street Journal.]
Models v. Observations
Saltier sea water may predict heavy summer rains in the U.S. corn belt
By Matthew Carroll, Pen State University, Oct 10, 2022 [H/t Bernie Kepshire]
https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/saltier-sea-water-may-predict-heavy-summer-rains-us-corn-belt/
Link to paper: Skillful Long-Lead Prediction of Summertime Heavy Rainfall in the US Midwest From Sea Surface Salinity
By Laifang L, et al. Geophysical Research Letters, July 7, 2022
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2022GL098554
Climate models accurately simulate Pacific Northwest weather patterns, study finds
Press Release by Portland State University, Oct 12, 2022 [H/t Bernie Keshire]
https://phys.org/news/2022-10-climate-accurately-simulate-pacific-northwest.html
Link to paper: CMIP6 model fidelity at simulating large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns and associated temperature and precipitation over the Pacific Northwest
By Graham P. Taylor, et al. Climate Dynamics, Aug 11, 2022
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-022-06410-1
From the abstract: “The models exhibit a range of skill at simulating pattern occurrence frequency and pattern persistence, with more agreement in winter than summer. Results indicate that the CMIP6 models are appropriate for assessing future projections of key atmospheric circulation patterns and their impacts on temperature and precipitation over the region.”
[SEPP Comment: A range of skill? The issue is projecting future change, particularly change in temperatures.]
Model Issues
New tool helps researchers investigate clouds, rain and climate change
By Robert Jackson and John Spizzirri, Argonne National Laboratory, Oct 12, 2022 [H/t Bernie Kepshire]
https://phys.org/news/2022-10-tool-clouds-climate.html
Link to paper: The Earth Model Column Collaboratory (EMC2) v1.1: an open-source ground-based lidar and radar instrument simulator and subcolumn generator for large-scale models
By Israel Silber, et al. Geoscientific Model Development, Feb 1, 2022
https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/15/901/2022/
From the abstract “Climate models are essential for our comprehensive understanding of Earth’s atmosphere and can provide critical insights on future changes decades ahead.”
[SEPP Comment: Since the models do not describe current atmospheric temperature trends, there is no reason to assume they can give insights of the future.]
Measurement Issues — Surface
The Most Reliable UK And Ireland Instrumental Records Indicate No Discernable Post-1800s Rainfall Trends
By Kenneth Richard, NO Tricks Zone, Oct 10, 2022
Link to paper: Millions of historical monthly rainfall observations taken in the UK and Ireland rescued by citizen scientists
By Ed Hawkins, et al., Geoscience Data Journal, Mar 24, 2022
https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gdj3.157
Changing Weather
Should Climate Change Take the Blame for Hurricane Ian’s Carving a New Inlet in Florida?
By William Ballgord, Townhall, Oct 13, 2022
https://townhall.com/columnists/williamdbalgord/2022/10/12/should-climate-change-take-the-blame-for-hurricane-ians-carving-a-new-inlet-in-florida-n2614420
[SEPP Comment: After the 1933 hurricane wiped out three blocks of homes and businesses and carved an inlet in south Ocean City, Md., the city turned from just a summer tourist town to major sports fishing hub. For years before, local politicians were requesting state and federal governments to build an inlet.]
Coastal storms of the North Atlantic Basin
By John Robson, Climate Discussion Nexus, Oct 12, 2022
“From the CO2Science Archive.”
The 60th Anniversary of the Northwest’s Biggest Storm of the Last Century: The Columbus Day Storm
By Cliff Mass, Weather Blog, Oct 9, 2022
https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-60th-anniversary-of-northwests.html
“This intense storm was poorly predicted the day before.”
[SEPP Comment: Numerical weather modeling is improving, but that does not justify the use of such techniques for climate modeling when atmospheric temperature trends are ignored.]
The Southwest Monsoon — More Erratic?
By Kip Hansen, WUWT, Oct 10, 2022
Changing Seas
Researchers go ‘outside the box’ to delineate major ocean currents
Scientists quantified the energy of ocean currents larger than 1,000 kilometers
News Release, NSF, Oct 11, 2022
https://beta.nsf.gov/news/researchers-go-outside-box-delineate-major-ocean?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Global energy spectrum of the general oceanic circulation
By Benjamin A. Storer, et al. Nature Communications, Sep 9, 2022
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33031-3
Everybody knows: the coral reefs are dying off
By John Robson, Climate Discussion Nexus, Oct 12, 2022
New Studies Suggest Sea Levels Were 2-5 Meters Higher Than Today ~6000 Years Ago
By Kenneth Richard, No Tricks Zone, Oct 13, 2022
Link to one study: Sea level rise and climate change acting as interactive stressors
on development and dynamics of tropical peatlands in coastal
Sumatra and South Borneo since the Last Glacial Maximum
By K. Anggi Hapsari, et al. Global Change Biology, 2022
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/gcb.16131
Link to another study: Late-Holocene sea levels from vermetids and barnacles at Ponta do Papagaio, 27° 50′S latitude and a comparison with other sectors of southern Brazil
By Rodolfo JoséAngulo, et al, Quaternary Science Reviews, June 15, 2022
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379122001676
Link to fifth study: Paleo-sea levels, Late-Holocene evolution, and a new interpretation of the boulders at the Rocas Atoll, southwestern Equatorial Atlantic
By Rodolfo JoséAnguloa, et al. Marine Geology, May 2022
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025322722000512
[SEPP Comment: No question that changes in weather patterns such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) change sea levels as measured at a specific location. However, question the generalization that this sea level rise applies everywhere.]
Changing Cryosphere – Land / Sea Ice
September Arctic Sea Ice Trends
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Oct 8, 2022
Seasonal change in Antarctic ice sheet movement observed for first time
News Release, University of Cambridge, Oct 6, 2022
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/966817
Seasonal land-ice-flow variability in the Antarctic Peninsula
By Karla Boxall, The Cryosphere, Oct 6, 2022
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/3907/2022/
“Here, we use high-spatial- and high-temporal-resolution Copernicus Sentinel-1A/B synthetic aperture radar observations acquired between 2014 and 2020 to provide the first evidence for seasonal flow variability of the land ice feeding George VI Ice Shelf (GVIIS), Antarctic Peninsula.”
[SEPP Comment: The Antarctic Peninsula is subject to changing ocean currents.]
Changing Earth
Researchers find ‘significant rates’ of sinking ground in Houston suburbs
By Rebeca Hawley, University of Houston, Phys.org, Oct 11, 2022 [H/t Bernie Kekpshire]
https://phys.org/news/2022-10-significant-ground-houston-suburbs.html
Link to paper: Surface Deformation Analysis of the Houston Area Using Time Series Interferometry and Emerging Hot Spot Analysis
By Shuhab D. Khan, et al. Remote Sensing, Aug 8, 2022
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/15/3831
[SEPP Comment: Who would have thought that building on marshy land and extracting water from it would cause it to sink?]
Agriculture Issues & Fear of Famine
3 myths debunked: Animal agriculture’s real impact on the environment
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Oct 10, 2022
Forcing farmers to join the rush for Net Zero will see millions go hungry
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Oct 9, 2022
Lowering Standards
The Very Model of a Modern Climateer
By Tony Thomas, Quadrant, Oct 10, 2022
Communicating Better to the Public – Use Yellow (Green) Journalism?
“Incredibly Rare” Swordfish Sightings – Telegraph Fake News
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Oct 9, 2022
BBC Bear Propaganda Melts Under Analysis
By Vijay Jayaraj, Bizpac Review, Oct 13, 2022
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2022/10/13/bbc-polar-bear-propaganda-melts-under-analysis-1296040/
Science At The New York Times
By Tony Heller, His Blog, Oct 7, 2022
Video: https://realclimatescience.com/2022/10/science-at-the-new-york-times-2/
Text: https://realclimatescience.com/2022/10/science-at-the-new-york-times/
Communicating Better to the Public – Exaggerate, or be Vague?
Our Nation Is More Secure With Clean Energy
By Andrea Marr, Real Clear Energy, Oct 13, 2022
https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2022/10/13/our_nation_is_more_secure_with_clean_energy_858683.html
[SEPP Comment: False premise, fails to show why Russia’s invasion of Ukraine demonstrates that fossil fuels produced in the US are unreliable. Assumes unreliable wind and solar power are as valuable reliable nuclear power.]
Sorry about your islands
By John Robson, Climate Discussion Nexus, Oct 12, 2022
Communicating Better to the Public – Make things up.
Climate Crisis: False News Roundup
By Kip Hansen, WUWT, Oct 12, 2022
Communicating Better to the Public – Use Propaganda
Hurricane Hype, Lies, Censorship – and Reality
By Paul Driessen, WUWT, Oct 20, 2022
AEP, Carbon Brief & The European Climate Foundation
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Oct 8, 2022
Communicating Better to the Public – Use Children for Propaganda
Greta Thunberg: “We Might Still have Time to Turn Things Around”
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Oct 9, 2022
Communicating Better to the Public – Protest
JustStopOil is a Malignant Tumor
By Ron Clutz, Science Matters, Oct 14, 2022
Expanding the Orthodoxy
Heatwaves will make regions uninhabitable within decades: UN, Red Cross
By Robin Millard, Geneva (AFP), Oct 10, 2022
https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Heatwaves_will_make_regions_uninhabitable_within_decades_UN_Red_Cross_999.html
[SEPP Comment: Clueless about the greenhouse effect.]
Time runs backward, no glacier at 2050
By John Robson, Climate Discussion Nexus, Oct 12, 2022
“As you might expect, since that Yale School of the Environment place has a ‘Vision and Mission’ redolent of activism rather than boring academic research: ‘We are leading the world toward a sustainable future with cutting-edge research, teaching, and public engagement on society’s evolving and urgent environmental challenges.’ Although with an annual budget of nearly $60 million and tuition of $47,600 it could be mistaken for an Establishment outfit by those unaware that deniers have all the money and climate campaigners are the rebels.”
Questioning European Green
Cost-Plus Revenue bill: window-dressing that only defers the day of reckoning
By John Constable, Net Zero Watch, Oct 12, 2022
“Lastly, and most disappointingly, there is nothing in this bill to suggest that the Prime Minister and her colleagues are actually prepared to tackle the vast cost of the green levies, as has been rumoured on several occasions. The final paragraph of today’s statement tells us that:
“Generators would also continue to receive their existing revenue support or subsidy payments, for example Renewable Obligation Certificates, which will help preserve market stability.”
Germany’s Green Party In Die Straits, Isolates It’s hapless Leader In Run Up To Lower Saxony Elections
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Oct 8, 2022
Irony: Greens Now Praying For A “Warmer” Winter To Help Germany Survive Energy Crisis
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Oct 12, 2022
German Government Fears Millions Of Furnaces Going Off…Children Now Being Handed Blankets At School
By P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, Oct 11, 2022
Questioning Green Elsewhere
Connecting “Energy Inflation” with “Climate Extremism”
By Kevin Mooney, Real Clear Energy,Oct11, 2022 https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2022/10/11/connecting_energy_inflation_with_climate_extremism_858262.html
When Haiti met gas shortage
By John Robson, Climate Discussion Nexus, Oct 12, 2022
“As with the OEB [Ontario Energy Board], there are many elements of [Minister of Foreign Affairs] Mélanie Joly Thought that make the word ‘thinking’ more a term of courtesy than of art.
Funding Issues
“Not fair”: $25 Billion Promised, $55 million Pledged for Climate Adaption
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Oct 12, 2022
Some Banks And Energy Companies Finally Starting To Get Some Backbone
By Francis Menton, Manhattan Contrarian, Oct 14, 2022
https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2022-10-14-some-banks-and-energy-companies-finally-starting-to-get-some-backbone
“GFANZ brings together independent, sector-specific alliances to tackle net-zero transition challenges and connects the financial community to the Race to Zero campaign, climate scientists and experts, and civil society.”
[SEPP Comment: What could go wrong?]
The Political Games Continue
The dodgy numbers behind Labour’s energy policy
By Andrew Montford, Net Zero Watch, Oct 12, 2022
“At its recent party conference, Labour announced its plans for a renewed drive for renewable energy, stating in justification that wind power is now “nine times cheaper” than gas-fired. This claim has been repeated by a number of its MPs in recent days, as well as by the Unite union’s Howard Beckett.
“Unfortunately, it’s not even remotely true. Let me explain.”
Litigation Issues
Joining Battle Over The “Science” Of Global Warming
By Francis Menton, Manhattan Contrarian, Oct 11, 2022
https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2022-10-11-joining-battle-over-the-science-of-global-warming
Court challenge in Kenya over GM crops
By AFP Staff Writers, Nairobi (AFP), Oct 14, 2022
https://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Court_challenge_in_Kenya_over_GM_crops_999.html
Subsidies and Mandates Forever
How windfarms charge you twice for the same electricity
By Andrew Montford, GWPF, Oct 10, 2022
EPA and other Regulators on the March
US Govt Corruption-fest: One third of top EPA officials also invested in companies they oversee
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Oct 13, 2022
Energy Issues – Non-US
UK Looks To Cap Renewable Energy Prices
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Oct 13, 2022
Energy Issues – Australia
Aussie ABC Admits the Renewable Transition is Driving Up Household Electricity Bills
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Oct 14, 2022
“More than 80% of global GDP is covered by national net-zero targets. Strip away the hype, and net zero emerges as a project that the West is foisting on the rest of the world. Climate commitments of the fastest-growing emitters are worth little more than the paper they’re written on.”
Renewable Energy Obsessed Aussie Government Urges Gas Companies Charge “Appropriate Prices”
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Oct 14, 2022
Energy Issues — US
The U.S. Is Preparing Its Response To The “Short-Sighted” Strategy Of OPEC+
By Tsvetana Paraskova, Oil Price. Com, Oct 07, 2022,
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-US-Is-Preparing-Its-Response-To-The-Short-Sighted-Strategy-Of-OPEC.html
President Biden has directed another 10-million-barrel release from the SPR in November and will continue to direct releases as appropriate.
[SEPP Comment: Getting even by depleting the reserves? Seems like WW I French and British strategy.]
A Tough Winter Ahead for Heating Bills, According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration
By Ben Lieberman, CEI, Oct 13, 2022
https://cei.org/blog/a-tough-winter-ahead-for-heating-bills-according-to-the-u-s-energy-information-administration/
Link to: Winter Fuels Outlook
By Staff, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), October 2022
[SEPP Comment: Even if this winter is 10% warmer than last winter, Americans can expect a sharp increase in winter fuel costs, except for propane.]
And So It Goes – ERCOT, Texas Regulators, Permian Gas Supply, LNG And The Energy Transition
By Rick Smead, RBN Energy, Oct 12, 2022
https://rbnenergy.com/and-so-it-goes-ercot-texas-regulators-permian-gas-supply-lng-and-the-energy-transition
“After the catastrophic experience of Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas was restructured, with new statutory requirements and a whole new cast of characters. The Texas Railroad Commission (TRRC) put in place a number of fixes, including more stringent reliability rules for natural gas suppliers, from producers to transmission pipelines.”
[SEPP Comment: Reliability rules are needed, what about such rules for wind power?]
Green Insanity: Governor Gretchen Whitmer Shutting Down Home Propane Supplies?
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Oct 14, 2022
[SEPP Comment: The only source of energy the EIA anticipates will go down in costs.]
Nuclear Energy and Fears
A Case for Nuclear As the Most Efficient Form of Clean Energy
By Amir Adnani, Real Clear Markets, Oct 7, 2022
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2022/10/07/a_case_for_nuclear_as_the_most_efficient_form_of_clean_energy_857781.html
Finland hopes new nuclear reactor eases energy crunch
By Elias Huuhtanen, Eurajoki, Finland (AFP) Oct 13, 2022
https://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Finland_hopes_new_nuclear_reactor_eases_energy_crunch_999.html
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Solar and Wind
Out of control solar farm development is a threat to British food security
Press Release, Net Zero Watch, Oct 11, 2022
“The loss of agricultural land is on a highly significant scale with 30,000 acres or more currently facing proposals for solar photovoltaic, and much more in the early stages of development, putting further pressure on land use.”
[SEPP Comment: Will the government discover that sunshine is not intense in Britain?]
Rural Backlash Against Renewables Surges, With 67 Rejections of Solar in U.S. Over Past 11 Months
By Robert Bryce, Real Clear Energy, Oct 14, 2022
https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2022/10/14/rural_backlash_against_renewables_surges_with_67_rejections_of_solar_in_us_over_past_11_months_858959.html
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Energy — Other
U.S. steps away from flagship lithium project with Buffett’s Berkshire
By Ernest Scheyder, Reuters, Oct 5, 2022
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-steps-away-flagship-lithium-project-with-berkshire-2022-10-05/
Alternative, Green (“Clean”) Vehicles
LITHIUM mining for electric vehicles is incredibly destructive to the environment and about as far from “green” as you can imagine
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Oct 13, 2022
“According to the Institute of Energy Research, Chile’s Salar de Atacama is one of the driest places on Earth, yet the mining companies are allowed to use up 65% of the region’s water. After the brine is removed from the salt flats, the water table automatically falls, disrupting the natural flow of water that is needed for wells and agriculture. These large-scale disruptions can always be blamed on “climate change” as the lithium mining industry plunges ahead, with no regard for the environmental damage wrought in its wake.”
New Hurricane Ian Challenge: Spontaneously Combusting Electric Vehicles
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Oct 9, 2022
California Dreaming
Newsom To The Rescue
By Tony Heller, His Blog, Oct 9, 2022
https://realclimatescience.com/2022/10/newsom-to-the-resue/
Health, Energy, and Climate
Science Finally Winning The Day In Glyphosate Cases
By Susan Goldhaber, ACSH, Oct 11, 2022
https://www.acsh.org/news/2022/10/11/science-finally-winning-day-glyphosate-cases-16602
Climate Change Causes Heart Attacks? A Second Look At The Data
How good is the evidence implicating climate change as a cause of heart attacks? Not very. Let’s take a critical look at some of this research.
By Cameron English, ACSH, Sep 28, 2022
https://www.acsh.org/news/2022/09/28/climate-change-causes-heart-attacks-second-look-data-16567
Spectrometry and Spectroscopy: What’s the Difference
ATA Scientific Instruments, Jan 17, 2020
https://www.atascientific.com.au/spectrometry/
History of the HITRAN Database
By Laurence S. Rothman, Nature Reviews Physics, April 7, 2021
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42254-021-00309-2
Problems in Global Atmospheric Energetics of the Atmosphere
By B. M. Smirnov, Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences, High Temperature, 2021
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0018151X21030123
BELOW THE BOTTOM LINE
Proof positive of… nothing
By John Robson, Climate Discussion Nexus, Oct 12, 2022
NetZero destroys NetZero: Europe can’t make solar panels because green electricity costs too much
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Oct 9, 2022
Academia Thrives On Baseless Speculation
By Tony Heller, His Blog, Oct 14, 2022
https://realclimatescience.com/2022/10/academia-thrives-on-baseless-speculation/
“Life may have thrived on early Mars, until it drove climate change that caused its demise.”
[SEPP Comment: Great comment that Mars warming may have wiped out life. Mars is far too cold for life as we know it.]
Climate Change Risk to Castles? No, Just More BBC Fake News!
By Paul Homewood, Not a Lot of People Know That, Oct 11, 2022
Climate, son of Mordred
By John Robson, Climate Discussion Nexus, Oct 12, 2022
Dear Neighbour, Please “Roster Ration” Your Electricity Use so our EVs can Charge
By Eric Worrall, WUWT, Oct 13, 2022
D.C. sues chemical company for allegedly contaminating local rivers with pesticide
By Zack Budryk, The Hill, Oct 13, 2022
“Research in the late 1980s indicated the Potomac and Anacostia rivers contained triple the amount of chlordane recommended for human consumption, and in 1989 these levels prompted the city to warn against eating carp, catfish or eel caught in the river.”
[SEPP Comment: Does the DC government know that DC drinking water does not come from the tidal Potomac and Anacostia rivers and that as late as the 1970s they had open sewer discharge by the local governments including DC?]
The French “Citizens Climate Assembly” where 150 people pretend to be a democracy, while 65 million get sidelined
By Jo Nova, Her Blog, Oct 14, 2022
ARTICLES
1. Transparency for Thee, but Not for the SEC
Government officials routinely engage in the same sort of record-keeping shenanigans for which Wall Street groups were recently fined.
By Chris Horner, WSJ, Oct. 10, 2022
https://www.wsj.com/articles/transparency-securities-exchange-commission-sec-ferc-foia-fra-records-keeping-transparency-biden-white-house-11665440298?mod=opinion_lead_pos7
TWTW Summary: The attorney writes:
“Government hypocrisy was on full display recently when the Securities and Exchange Commission fined 16 Wall Street firms more than $1.1 billion for violating federal record-keeping requirements. The firms’ ‘employees routinely communicated about business matters using text messaging applications on their personal devices,’ but their employers failed to keep an official record of a ‘substantial majority of these off-channel communications.’
“The SEC says this ‘likely deprived’ the agency of those messages in ‘various’ investigations. SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal declared that these recent fines ‘underscore the importance of recordkeeping requirements: they’re sacrosanct.’
“But based on my experience in a half-dozen currently active lawsuits involving records requests to federal agencies, including the SEC, political appointees and other federal regulators regularly engage in the same sort of practices. Regulators are bound by requirements similar to those covering banks and traders, thanks to laws such as the Freedom of Information Act and the Federal Records Act. My FOIA clients seek particular ‘non-email electronic communications,’ which is what the SEC calls messages on non-email platforms, including texts, encrypted messages on Signal or WhatsApp, or even logs of typed chats in Teams or Zoom.
“Based on my FOIA cases, it appears that officials in the Biden White House, SEC and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission use chats extensively, arguably as an alternative to ‘.gov’ email accounts. Evidence strongly suggests these are going unsearched in response to many requests for correspondence—unless the requester knows to seek them specifically. The same is true for the use of private phones and encrypted apps. Unless they’re specifically listed in a request, it seems that they often won’t be included.
“If it’s as bad as it appears, this would be a serious issue. As the Supreme Court has often noted, FOIA gives U.S. citizens a right ‘to know ‘what their Government is up to.’ ‘ Agencies’ insufficient record-keeping frustrates the ability of FOIA requesters, Congress, and even regulated parties to defend themselves when targeted by the government.
“Under President Biden, officials at FERC seem to use texts from personal phones to conduct work, according to phone bills, texts pried from the FERC from officials’ personal and work phones, and other records. Some seem to use only their personal phones to conduct business over text. This appears to include Chairman Richard Glick, according to texts he turned over to the FERC in response to my client’s requests. FERC appointees and even White House officials text Mr. Glick on his personal device, based on the same texts.
“This says a lot about current officials’ insouciant approach to custodianship of official correspondence. Using a personal email, messaging app, or phone to text usually means the content is kept out of the hands of an official’s agency unless, contrary to my experience with FOIA, the official forwards all such messages to his agency for record-keeping. This likely shields those communications from being released to FOIA requesters or even Congress unless it becomes public that an official is using a personal device or account for work correspondence. Then a requester would know to ask specifically for that content. My clients discovered the use of Signal, WhatsApp and personal-phone texting among government officials only through persistent digging using FOIA and information in the public domain.”
Mr. Horner goes into some detail then concludes:
“It was a seminal revelation when I uncovered in 2012 that Obama Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson used an email under the false identity ‘Richard Windsor’ for EPA-related correspondence. Litigation also revealed that she used a separate non-official account for work. But since then, not enough has been done to hold government officials accountable. Biden officials seem to make wide use of what the SEC calls ‘non-email electronic communications’ for work without keeping an official record. Yet federal employees appear much less likely than Wall Street firms to suffer serious consequences for those mediums’ misuse.
“From what I’ve seen, a reckoning is in order. Congress has an important oversight role to play as do the courts. It is past time for us to guard our guardians. Investors have rights, but taxpayers do, too.”
2. Six Takeaways From WSJ’s Investigation Into the Stock Trades of Government Officials
By Michael Siconolfi, WSJ, Oct. 11, 2022
https://www.wsj.com/articles/six-takeaways-from-wsjs-investigation-into-the-stock-trades-of-government-officials-11665491360?mod=djemalertNEWS
“The federal government doesn’t maintain a comprehensive public database of the mandatory financial disclosures of all senior executive-branch officials. The Journal built its own.”
[SEPP Comment: See Jo Nova’s essay under EPA and other Regulators on the March.]
Related
