Info

You are currently browsing the archives for the Weather category.

Calendar
February 2012
M T W T F S S
« Jan    
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
272829  

Archive for the Weather Category

Alberta Electricity Consumers to Reduce Consumption

Today is is fairly cold but not extremely cold in Alberta.  Around Fort McMurray it was about -44°C this morning, and here in Bruderheim it was -30.9°C.

Presently, at 4:00 p.m., it warmed up a bit in Bruderheim to -27.9°C.

That is cold, but those temperatures are not record-cold temperatures. Still, on account of the cold weather, of which we have had fairly little this winter, the Alberta electric power industry experienced record-high consumption rates yesterday and appealed through the media to the public, especially to residential consumers, to limit their electricity consumption by not using major appliances during the peak hours of the day (during noon and supper hours).

Roughly 15 percent of electric power consumed in Alberta is being used by residential consumers.  It was not explained why the inconvenience of saving on electric energy use was placed on residential consumers and whether industrial and commercial consumers are expected to follow suit.  It is a nice thought to press the urgency of the situation home with residential consumers, to prepare them for what will quite possibly follow soon, another rate hike for residential consumers.

There would be no shortage of electric power generation in Alberta if all of the money spend on installing wind-power generation, that without fail fails to put out on cold days, would have been used instead to construct power generating capacity from conventional energy sources, either coal, or, perhaps better yet, from the surplus of natural gas with which we are blessed.  That was not done, and we now have to pay for wind-power generation that is not available when it is needed and, to boot, costs many times per unit of production what power generation construction and production from conventional fuel sources cost.

Have a look at the table “Generation”, at this link: http://ets.aeso.ca/ets_web/ip/Market/Reports/CSDReportServlet

The following table has been created from the data shown there for 2012 01 17  4:30 p.m..  Columns have been inserted to identify the percentage for each group of the energy total shown shown in the bottom line for each category.

Alberta power generation 2012 01 17  4:30 pm
(Link to source)

MC = rated maximum generation (Maximum Capacity)
TNG = actual generation (Total Net Generation)
DCR = Dispatched (and Accepted) Contingency Reserve

Note that of the total wind-power maximum generating capacity that can be produced under ideal conditions (865MW), at the time when it is needed most only 2.2 percent or 18MW are being generated.  That will happen every time when it gets very cold in Alberta, because then the wind doesn’t blow.

It adds insult to injury that when that little bit of wind energy, in this case 0.2 percent of the total energy produced in Alberta, gets fed into the transmission grid, it is by far and many times more expensive than what the price of electric energy usually is.

Usually energy that is being fed into the transmission grid will cost about $23.00 per MWh, but the wind power that is being fed into the grid when it is needed during very cold weather costs around $1,000 per MWh or $1.00 per kWh.  That is the cost that everyone else involved in the industry will escalate by adding their costs for transmission, distribution and distribution services.  The end consumers will have to pay for all of it but will not notice much of that, because the price to them will be averaged out, but it will still be paid by them.

Even under the best of circumstances Alberta’s wind turbines only feed about one-third of the energy they are theoretically capable of producing into the transmission grid.  When the wind blows too strong, wind turbines are shut off (they are supposed to do that automatically) to prevent having tear themselves to shreds.

Fred Singer: Fake! Fake! Fake! Fake!

Fred Singer: Fake! Fake! Fake! Fake!

Monday, January 2nd 2012, 4:14 PM EST

Co2sceptic (Site Admin)

In discussing the recent release of some 5,000 Climategate e-mails, blogger Anthony Watts uses the clever headline “They are real — and they’re spectacular.” He credits Jerry Seinfeld as the source. Following his example, I choose the headline “Fake! Fake! Fake! Fake!” — also taken from a Seinfeld episode — in discussing the surface temperatures generally reported for the latter part of the 20th century; they form the science basis for prosperity-killing international climate policy….(Full Story)

After I had posted the link to that article to my Facebook wall, someone commented:

That looks like a quality site. Interesting that only land-based temperature sensors show a rise in temperature and not sea or atmospheric sensors. Could the rise be because of the rise in concrete? Cities act like storage heaters and are always a bit warmer, if the thermometers are nearer cities then there is your answer.

Yes, concrete in cities has a lot to do with hot and somewhat rising land-surface temperature records, but that is not all.  The circumstances involved are complicated.  Here is my response to the man:

Yes, it not only looks like but it is a respectable website. It presents primarily the views of skeptics who do not deny that there is a warming trend in global temperatures but who are doubtful that much of the increase of about 0.7 degrees C during the past century was caused by anything that was done by people.

Your question deserves a long answer, and it is essential that before and after reading all of this comment by me, you have a look at some of the graphs and comments shown at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150216691769443.332265.591619442&type=3
They strongly relate to many of the issues discussed in the following.

The vast majority of skeptical climate scientists feels very strongly that our sun, a variable star, modulates climate trends on Earth. They should know. Most of them had long careers in climate sciences, meteorology and such. Fred Singer, for example, the author of the lead-in article in this discussion thread, has very respectable credentials.

He, “…(born September 27, 1924) is an Austrian-born American physicist and emeritus professor of environmental science at the University of Virginia.[1] Singer trained as an atmospheric physicist and is known for his work in space research, atmospheric pollution, rocket and satellite technology, and as an outspoken critic of the mainstream scientific assessment of global warming….” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Singer

About concrete, roofs, parking lots, etc. in urban areas affecting temperature trends, yes, they do. A very large number of official temperature measurements are being taken in weather stations that are in urban areas or at airports. About 0.5% of the global land surface is considered to be urban. A very disproportionately-large portion of weather stations is located in urban locations. It would be ludicrous to assume that all of the temperature values measured at those stations are representative of or close to global, average temperature values, however one may decide how such a hypothetical global average can be accurately determined.

The effect that the urban environment has on temperature values is real, it has been measured, and allowances and adjustments have been made for it in the official temperature record — with frequent revisions as the debate of the effect progressed from initial denial to tacit acceptance. It is called the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect.

One of a number of research studies targeting the UHI effect addressed California. The results from that study support what you surmise. The issue of the UHI in California is very well illustrated by this graph: http://prntscr.com/4sm9m
(quoted at http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/11/22/climategate-2-0-phil-jones-calling-a-scientist-the-jerk-over-his-uhi-discoveries-in-calfifornia/ )

There is much disagreement between climate scientists who consider their science in constant need of refinement (something that applies to all true science) and those who oppose them and insist that mankind is to be blamed for the current global warming — even though there have been many and often much greater intervals of global warming throughout human history, long before any SUVs were even a gleam in the eyes of automakers, even long before there was any industrialization at all, not only on earth but even on other planets of the solar system.

The one camp feels that correlations exists between hundreds and thousands of aspects of the incredibly complex global climate system. They seek to measure all possible climate factors and to gain an understanding of the roles they play, their correlations and of the mechanisms that drive them.

The other camp feels that the global climate is essentially stable and would remain stable if it were not for mankind mucking things up. They seek to build computer models that are to game their theories, with the outcomes being hoped for to match what their theories predict, even though reality increasingly diverges from the predictions that result from those theories.

There is a much, much better correlation between the variations of solar radiance and global temperature variations than there is between global atmospheric CO2 trends and temperature trends.

While the mechanisms that make the sun such a large influence on global climate are being increasingly better understood, global temperature trends have miserably failed to come even close to reaching the enormously escalating temperature increases that the proponents of the man-made global warming theory had insisted on predicting. In fact, while atmospheric CO2 levels keep rising (quite likely as a result of the Sun’s influence and increasing solar activity since the end of the Little Ice Age in about 1850 and before), global temperature trends have remained flat for the last decade.

Puny man remains puny, and there is little reasonable doubt that the climate on Earth is driven, dominated and controlled by the largest source of energy in our solar system, our sun. Mankind’s influence appears to be pocket change in the enormously large, astoundingly complex and nested systems of energy flows affecting climate on Earth. Nevertheless, the proponents of the theory of man-made global warming promote their beliefs with religious zeal and, in the name of “the precautionary principle”, pursue their goals that cost many trillions of dollars and the systematic deconstruction of the economies of the developed nations.

Is global warming a problem?

You decide whether global warming is a problem, globally or where you live.

Latest Global Temperatures as of Dec. 2011
By Dr. Roy Spencer

11-Year Weather Trends at Elk Island National Park
(from 2001 01 01 to 2012 01 01)

From that:
Astotin Lake, 11-yr Weather Trends

Some climate news

 The (polar) bear facts

www.nypost.com

It was a cold month in hell for global-warming alarmists.

Speaking for George Soros…$720,000 from him alone produces a lot of fervor. Who pays the piper calls the tune.

You don’t need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows

canadafreepress.com

You don’t need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows, Violent ideological Weathermen, an increasingly overwrought Weatherman teetering on the edge of insanity, and finally, we’ll meet a Weatherman paid to produce skewed meteorological results.

The Money Trail — Does Big Oil fund climate research? Yes, but for every dollar that goes to fund the research by climate skeptics more than a thousand dollars go to fund the work of people who spread alarm and concern about global warming and climate change.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashe​d/33114.html

www.abc.net.au

The pot calling the kettle black…

http://sppiblog.org/news/david​-suzuki-insults-but-won%E2%80%​99t-debate

Australian truckers can’t take it anymore. They’re gonna have themselves a convoy, a few convoys…

Let them truckers roll down under, 10-4

wattsupwiththat.com

From The Australian, the beginning of a nationwide convoy protesting the carbon tax. I’m sure the delicate sensibilities of the ruling class in Canberra, most of which don’t know the meaning of act…

The”emperor” does not wear clothes.

Why Al Gore Is A Failure: Part One

www.businessinsider.com

Sometimes the truth really is inconvenient.

So, what is the problem with increasing energy consumption? Increasing energy consumption and raising living standards for all will curb population growth, thereby curb unchecked energy consumption… Presto. Problem solved!

Solving Climate Change - Forbes

www.forbes.com

There are, as you will have noticed, a number of different views around how we go about solving climate change. From those who think it’s all nonsense and my, hasn’t Al Gore got fat? to those who insist that only the immediate overthrow of capitalism, the return of medieval peasantry, […]

“Verdict: The science of climatology is seriously compromised and broken. Spread this video to anyone you can think of.” P. Gosselin ( http://notrickszone.com/2011/0​8/08/new-video-seriously-indic​ts-climatology-science/ )

A Peer-Reviewed Deception

www.youtube.com

Deconstructing Anthropogenic Global Warming alarmism and the myth of ‘peer-review’. http://skepticdenialism.blogsp​ot.com/2011/06/peer-reviewed-d​eception.html

You think we have weather extremes?

Weather extremes? You think we have weather extremes? Have a look at this:

A Chronological Listing of Early Weather Events

By James A. Masurek (2010)

The chronology covers weather events from the years 0 to 1900 A.D.
http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/weather.pdf (9.4 MB)
http://www.breadandbutterscience.com

The following quotes from the chronology show just a few instances of warm weather when no one yet dreamed of “carbon” taxes, cap and trade or emission trading schemes to vacuum money out of our pockets:

582 A.D. In 582 in Western Europe, the heat of during the winter caused the trees to bloom in the month January. This month also was filled with violent rain, lightning and thunder.79 (Ibid. p. 20)

Winter of 583 / 584 A.D. The winter [in Europe] was of such persistent gentleness; that in the month of January one could see roses.62 (Ibid. p. 20)

In 584 the month of January in Western Europe produced roses. This was followed by a white frost, a hurricane and several disastrous incidents of hail that ravaged successive harvests of crops and vineyards. At the same time there was an excessive drought. The year produced almost no grapes. Desperate farmers delivered their vines at the mercy of the herds. But the trees, which had already borne fruit in July, producing a new crop in September, and some even bore again in December, and the vines offered at the same time well-formed clusters.79 (Ibid. p. 20)

586 A.D. [Because of the warm weather] in Western Europe the trees blossomed in the month of July 585 [586?], bloom again in September 586 and a large number of these who had already borne fruit produced a second crop of fruit until the Christmas holidays.79 (Ibid. p. 20)

However, just a few years later, this is what happened:

Winter of 603 / 604 A.D. In 604 in Scotland there was four months of frost, followed by dearth [famine]. The frost was also severe in England.47, 93

[In Europe] in 604, there was the most severe rigorous winter. The [grape] vines mostly died in all places. The Sea was frozen, and killed the fishes in it. This produced a great famine.72

The unusual cold of the year 603 in Western Europe killed much of the vineyards.79

(Ibid. p. 21)

Still, all of that was not so bad, compared to what happened just a few years later.

642 A.D. The winter in Europe was severe. The Black Sea was frozen. There were snowdrifts 90 feet (27 meters) deep.28 (Ibid. 22)

Still, things got worse:

Winter of 763 / 764 A.D. In the same year (763 A.D.), it was bitterly cold after the beginning of October, not only in our land, but even more so to the east, west, and north. Because of the cold, the north shore of the Black Sea froze to a depth of 30 cubits (~ 45 feet) a hundred miles out. This was so from Ninkhia to the Danube River, including the Kouphis, Dniester, and Dnieper Rivers, the Nekrophela, and the remaining promontories all the way to Mesembria and Medeia. Since the ice and snow kept on falling, its depth increased another twenty cubits (~ 30 feet), so that the sea became dry land. It was traveled by wild men and tame beasts from Khazaria, Bulgaria, and the lands of other adjacent people.

By divine command, during February of the same (764 A.D.) second indication the ice divided into a great number of mountainous chunks. The force of the wind brought them down to Daphnousia and Hieron, so that they came through the Bosporos to the city (Constantinople or Istanbul) and all the way to Propontis, Abydos, and the islands, filling every shore. We ourselves were an eyewitness and, with thirty companions, went out onto one of them and played on it. The icebergs had many dead animals, both wild and domestic, on them. Anyone who wanted to could travel unhindered on dry land from Sophianai to the city and from Chrysopolis to St. Mamas or Galata. One of these icebergs was dashed against the harbor of the acropolis, and shattered it. Another mammoth one smashed against the wall and badly shook it, so that the houses inside trembled along with it. It broke into three pieces, which girdled the city from Magnaura to the Bosporos, and was taller than the walls. All the city’s men, women, and children could not stop staring at the icebergs, then went back home lamenting and in tears, at a loss as to what to say about this phenomenon. (Theophanes the Confessor).3

Around Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), the two seas frozen.47, 93

In the winter of 762 A.D., the Dardanelles and Black Sea were frozen over, and snow drifted to an astonishing depth of 50 feet (15 meters).1 [misprint for 763 A.D.] (Ibid. p. 25)

Do you think that those wide swings from one extreme to another, from extreme heat to extreme cold in the space of a few years and even months could have been caused by fluctuations in industrial emissions of CO2, by wide and catastrophic variations in the numbers of SUVs that were manufactured and sold?

Weather extremes have always happened and will continue to happen. The only thing that will ensure our survival is to be prepared for when they happen. To cripple our economy through insane and futile attempts to regulate the climate when we are not even close to understanding how our climate functions is exactly the wrong thing to do. That will ensure nothing more than that when the need to adapt to weather extremes arises, we will have made sure that we do not have the means necessary by which to adapt.

Lemmings come to mind, and this is what lemmings do:

700 A.D. In England and Ireland, there was a famine and pestilence during three years, “so that men ate each other”.57, 91

In 700, our Saxon ancestors being yet heathens were plagued with such severe famine for three years together, that many died of hunger. And in Sussex, England many were so tormented with it, that sometimes groups of 40 people would get up on the rocks by the seaside and throw themselves down headlong into the sea and were drowned.72 (Ibid. p. 24)

Little global warming when we need it

IceCap.us
Feb. 12, 2011

[U.S.] Cold December And January – Especially East And South
By Joseph D’Aleo, CCM, AMS Fellow

Read the full story.

Digital Journal
Feb. 11, 2011

Mexico loses 80-100% of crops to freeze, US prices to skyrocket

By Lynn Herrmann.

Houston - The cold weather experienced across much of the US in early February made its way deep into Mexico and early reports estimate 80-100 percent crop losses which are having an immediate impact on prices at US grocery stores with more volatility to come….

At this time of year, Mexico is a major supplier to the US and Canada for green beans, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, asparagus, peppers and round and Roma tomatoes. Compounding the problem is the freezing cold that hit Florida in December and January.

Sysco continued with its dire report:

    “Florida normally is a major supplier for these items as well but they have already been struck with severe freeze damage in December and January and up until now have had to purchase product out of Mexico to fill their commitments, that is no longer an option.”….

(Full Story)

Big Snow Storms are Weather, Not Climate

ICECAP
Feb 05, 2011

Big Snow Storms are Weather, Not Climate

By Art Horn, Meteorologist

Recently sometimes liberal, sometimes conservative Bill O’Reilly posed this question, “Why has southern New York turned into the Tundra?” Of course Bill was being funny when he asked that. Tundra is located in the Arctic, mountainous areas and Antarctica. It has very few trees, in many areas none and under its surface there is permafrost, the ground a few inches down is permanently frozen. Actually the Tundra has very little snowfall and is really a cold desert in many parts of the world with 6 inches or less of annual precipitation. So if you think the Tundra is covered in 10 feet of snow you would be wrong….(Full Story — 23.6 kB PDF file)

Rotten-egg smell in Bruderheim

It is a few months off yet, but the annual spring-time increase in smell from our sewage lagoon is certain to occur in May or June.

The smell need not to happen.  There is a simple solution that will keep the smell down to tolerable levels and make it virtually unnoticeable.

The solution is not very expensive, much cheaper than, say, the price of a new fire hall.  It has been brought to the attention of Town Council and individual members of Town Council a few times over the years, but no reaction or response has ever come forth from any member of the Town Council or from anyone in the Town Office.

To be fair, upon being asked about the limits of our sewage lagoon, there have been statements from the Town Office that our sewage lagoon is capable of digesting the additional load that the anticipated and hoped-for growth of the Bruderheim population without ill effects on the health and quality of life for the people living in Bruderheim.  Yet,  the offensive smell given off by our sewage lagoon when the water in our sewage lagoon turns over in the spring is often so bad that it becomes noticeable, often to the point of becoming intolerable, even inside the homes of Bruderheim residents.  The smell is likely to become worse as the years go by, unless something is done about it.

Bruderheim is not the first community in the world or even in Canada plagued by smells given off by a community’s sewage lagoon.  The science of effective waste-water management and treatment is well-established.

You may wish to consider the following search results, bring them to the attention of the Town Councillors and inform them that you wish them to use a small portion of our tax dollars to solve the problem with the offensive and increasingly objectionable smell of our sewage lagoon, before it becomes a serious and possibly deadly health issue.

“hydrogen sulphide” lagoon aeration - Google Search

The first ten of 786 items on the search-return list:

1. Norway House Cree Nation - Departments

    “9 Mar 2010 … Hydrogen sulphide, which has a rotten egg odour, is formed in wastewaters that become [an]aerobic. Aerated Lagoon: A holding pond usually …”
    www.nhcn.ca/publicworks.html

2. Quality Pond Aeration

    “Quality Pond Aeration. Windmill Aeration is a simple, natural solution to … bad due to gasses (like hydrogen sulphide) that are released into your pond. …”
    www3.sympatico.ca/wind.mill/

3. Dugout or Pond Aeration

    “Superior Windmill aerators are perfect for dugout or pond aeration. … aeration removes the foul smelling hydrogen sulphide gas odor and prevents anoxia …”
    www.superiorwindmill.com/promo/dugout_pond_aeration.html

4. Fisheries :: Home

    “Frequent exchange of water can prevent building up of hydrogen sulphide. … Aeration and increasing the pH of water by hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) …”
    agritech.tnau.ac.in/fishery/fish_water.html

5. Fisheries :: Home

    Aeration and water circulation are beneficial in improving bottom soil …”
    agritech.tnau.ac.in/fishery/fish_soil.html

6. Bio-Aeration Engineering, Inc. - Anaerobic Digestion

    “Bio-Aeration Engineering, Inc. is an environmental company located in Evansville, Indiana. We specialize in the treatment of wastewater in lagoons, …”
    www.bioaeration.com/anaerobic_digestion.html

7. Natural Pond Aeration Facts - CLEAN-FLO

    “Clean-Flo.com specializes in pond aeration systems which are a natural, … in the water including hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and methane. …”
    www.clean-flo.com/articles/natural-pond-aeration-facts/

8. Sewage treatment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    “… 2) equipment corrosion due to methanogenesis and hydrogen sulphide, ….. Extended aeration package plants use separate basins for aeration and settling …. “Aerated Lagoons - Wastewater Treatment.” Maine Lagoon Systems Task Force. …”
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment

9. Hailsham North Waste Site Odour Control - APPS

    “By taking Hydrogen Sulphide measurements around the site it became apparent … short term running of the lagoon mixers allowing us to aerate these lagoons …”
    www.appstechnologies.co.uk/index.php?section=case-studies&page=hailsham

10. Aeration: the Facts, Aqua info, Technical Aquaculture information

    “Western Australian Aquaculture Information on Aeration the true facts. … such as hydrogen sulphide and ammonia, cannot pass through into the water above. …”
    www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/aq/aq020/index.php?0404

The Fort Air Partnership monitoring station in Bruderheim (in the back alley, across from Night Moves) will not be of help in determining what the atmospheric H2S (hydrogen sulphide) levels are at any time in Bruderheim.  H2S is not being monitored by that station.

Here is what is being measured at that monitoring station (select “Site 49: Bruderheim” — requires Internet Explorer).

H2S levels are being measured at the following continuous monitoring stations:

Site 43: Fort Saskatchewan
Site 44: Scottford 2
Site 45: Lamont County (north of Elk Island Park)

So, all you have to go by is your nose and hope that as long as you don’t smell the H2S that it may not be because your sense of smell has been overcome by potentially harmful levels of H2S.

By the way, as discussed on this blog before (Temperature measurements for Fort Saskatchewan area, September 30, 2010), the “current” temperature shown on TV and on the website of the Town of Bruderheim is not being measured in Bruderheim.  It is being measured in Elk Island National Park and is usually a couple degrees or so off.

Another measurement of the current Bruderheim temperature can be accessed at the Fort Air Partnership web page for the Bruderheim monitoring station (select “Site 49: Bruderheim” — requires Internet Explorer).

Mind you, I would believe neither of those temperature values shown for Bruderheim.  Right now, the value shown by the Fort Air Partnership is -2°C, the one shown by The Weather Network is 3°C, while the thermometer in my backyard shows 1°C.

Edmonton: No evidence of global warming here

Edmonton 10-year temp hist Jan2011

If you wish to generate the graph from scratch, that is easy. Click on the image, scroll down to “Weather history & forecast” and select “Past 10 years”.

The corrupting of Global and US temperature records

Anyone who still believes that we must do all we can to alleviate a global climate crisis due to rising temperature trends and that trillions of dollar must be spend doing so better have another look at the problems with the temperature records discussed in the following.

TransWorldNews
Washington, DC 1/17/2011

US Agencies Still Fiddling Temperature Record, Reports SPPI

NASA and NOAA, which each receive close to half a billion dollars a year in taxpayer funding, have been systematically fiddling the worldwide temperature record for years, making “global warming” look worse than it is, according to a new paper by the Science and Public Policy Institute.  The findings are reported by Joe D’Aleo, a leading meteorologist.

Robert Ferguson, President of SPPI, said: “Despite billions spent on official claims about the supposed threat of catastrophic man-made ‘global warming’, opinion polls show the public are no longer fooled. A  main reason why the voters [don’t buy] climate alarmism any more is that the tiny but well-connected, lavishly-funded Climategate clique keeps on being caught out bending the scientific evidence….(Full Story)

The paper that is being discussed in that article is the following:

WHY NOAA AND NASA PROCLAMATIONS SHOULD BE IGNORED
by Joseph D’Aleo | January 19, 2011
Science and Public Policy Institute
(Download Paper — 1.3 MB PDF file)