CARB's Mary Nichols disallows presentation of public concerns on cap-and-trade carbon trading

Reblogged from Watts Up With That?:

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California State Capital in Sacramento (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Guest post by Lorraine Yapps Cohen

California Air Resources Board (CARB) met on Thursday, May 24.  On the agenda was discussion toward deciding where and how to spend the billions raised from cap-and-trade carbon trading in the state.

At the public meeting was Betty Plowman, who attended the meeting to present a letter on behalf of the industries that CARB calls polluters, the…

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Cap and Trade protest petition in California

Reblogged from Watts Up With That?:

Thousands Petition Gov. Brown To End Cap And Trade

By Amy Quinton, California Capitol Network

Californians Against Higher Taxes and business groups delivered the petitions against what they call an illegal and hidden energy tax. The cap and trade program would limit greenhouse gas emissions by requiring polluters to purchase pollution credits at auction.

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Actions Speak Louder than Words

Russ Steele

We will hear a lot of word on this Memorial Day, but your actions could speak louder than all those words. Rather than honor our military once a year with speeches, join an organizations that supports the military and veterans year round like The Friends of Nevada County Military, American Legion, Marine Corp League, a VFW Chapter or Vietnam  Veterans of America and participate their programs. Make a difference by showing up and participating.

Over e-mail Transom: EPA Continues to Mandate Imaginary Biofuels

Russ Steele

This came from a regula reader:

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2012 – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today denied the American Petroleum Institute’s (API’s) request to eliminate mandates for biofuels that do not exist, and the agency continues to fine refiners for not using them. 

“EPA’s mandate is out of touch with reality and forces refiners to pay a penalty for not using imaginary biofuels,” said API Director of Downstream and Industry Operations Bob Greco. “EPA’s unrealistic mandate is effectively an added tax on making gasoline.” 

The Clean Air Act requires EPA to determine the mandated volume of cellulosic biofuels each year at “the projected volume available.” However, in 2011 EPA required refineries to use 6.6 million gallons of cellulosic biofuels even though, according to EPA’s own records, none were commercially available. EPA today denied API’s 2011 petition for reconsideration of the mandate and continues to mandate these nonexistent biofuels this year. 

“The fact that EPA continues to mandate these biofuels that do not exist is regulatory absurdity and bad public policy,” Greco said.

The EPA Staff believes in magic!  If they think if they continue to mandate the use of bio-fuels, some one will make it happen.  Right, just like the ancient alchemist were mandated by the King to turn lead into gold. And, we know how well that turned out.

This reminds me of one of my first real encounters with staffers in Washington. I was working for TRW and we were creating intelligent vehicle systems for autos, anti-collision radars, in-vehicle information systems, satellite vehicle tracking and traffic management systems.  We came to Washington to meet with the leader of the House Transportation Committee Chairman to discuss the upcoming transportation appropriation bill and IVS funding in the bill.

We had an appointment, but he stiffed us, which gave us chance to chat with his staff.  They were highly educated, with advanced degrees from highly regarded eastern universities, but they were dumb as post when it came to knowledge of the western states and the challenges we face in the mountain and on the long stretches of highway that can vanished in the rear view mirror and over the dash is a straight line. It turned out the Chairman was from the CA, but none of his staff had every been west of the Mississippi River. These folk were writing legislation that had an impact on the western highways, who had never see or use a western highway.  They were blinded by ignorance.

I will be willing to bet the EPA staff is highly educated but have never been to a failed biofuel plant, to learn about the challenges that have to be overcome to produce biofuels in the quantities required. What can be done in the lab often does not scale up very well in the field.  So they sit dumb as cedar post behind their computer screens, unable to come to grips why their mandates are not producing results.

Thanks to a regular reader of this blog for the e-mail tip.

It is Part Time to Just Say NO!

Russ Steele

Ellen and I attended the CABPRO Defend Rural America Conference in Grass Valley last night with like minded friends the Rebane’s and Booth’s.  It was an eye-opening event for every one attending, though some of us were aware of the UN Agenda 21 tentacles. The incremental strangling of our individual freedoms by a collection of non-government agencies that are funded by State and Federal environmental agencies to incrementally implement Agenda 21.

We have an immediate example right here in Nevada County, which I wrote about HERE.

It would appear that Nevada County 2005 Community-Wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Phase I was just a non-threatening effort to discover how much energy that Nevada County government uses and the CO2 that these agencies produced. Next it was Phase II to determine how much CO2 all activities in Nevada County generated.  Nothing to get concerned about — right?  Now the SBC, PG&E and ICLEI camel has its noses under the County BOS tent flap. They were being lulled into the acceptance of Phase III.

Phase III of the PG&E Green Communities Program is to develop local Climate Action Plans, including one for Nevada County.  The Phase III Action Plan will develop detailed emission reduction strategies to reduce the impact of global warming. The claim is improve the quality of services, reduce costs, stimulate the local economy and inspire local residence and businesses to redouble their efforts to combat climate change.

How is this going to be done?

According to the Phase II report. ICELI has created the tools for Nevada County to use to assist with future monitoring inventories. These tools are designed to work in conjunction with the IEAP, which is the primary reference documents for conducting an emissions inventory.

So Nevada County will be using a set of tool developed by an International NGO, funded by the UN to reduce CO2 emissions on Nevada County. Those are the emission created by our local economy; to reduce CO2 emissions is to reduce economic activity. It is all an effort to apply parts of Agenda 21 in our local community.  We are like the frog in a pan of water with the heat slowly being increased under the pan: Phase I, Phase II and then Phase III when the burner is turned up to maximum.

It is time to say no to Phase III It is time to tell PG&E, the Sierra Business Council and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives to go pound sand. We do not need any “stinking” Agenda 21 crap in Nevada County.

One interesting note: There were no Supervisors at the CABPRO Defend Rural America Conference, but Sue McGuire was there learning how to Defend Rural America. Where were the rest of the BOS? Are they not interested in preserving Rural America? You might want ask Nate Beason the next time you see him  hanging our in the liberal environs of Nevada City.

The Photoshop Presidency

Russ Steele

It looks like the Obama Administration has issued yet again another photoshopped photo of the “Situation Room”  Mara Zebest has another example at the American Thinker. Another attempt to show that the O was in change, when in fact he was on the golf course. Details HERE

This presidency will be know in history as the Photoshop Presidency.

• We have the photoshopped birth certificate
• We have the photoshopped “Situation Room” 

And now another attempt to show the O’s leadership with yet again another photoshopped product.  When will the hacks on Obama staff learn that there are much smarter people out here in the hinterlands with more skills than they do?  Oh!

Here is a segment of the discussion I found most interesting:

 Obama’s entire “Composite Presidency” and administration are orchestrated in this fashion.  Not only is the photo’s legitimacy in question, but so is the narrative illusion behind it.  Obama knew of OBL’s location for a year and refused to act.  The CIA admits that there was “no live video feed,” as implied by the iconic White House photo.  It is anyone’s guess what the captive audience was looking at, but it wasn’t the OBL raid.  It was recently reported that a highly lawyered CYA memo was drafted that made it clear that the military would take all blame for any errors, while Obama would claim all glory for successes.  Not surprisingly, the real heroes seem to have a problem with this form of spiking the ball and using our brave SEALs for political gain.  Why would Obama need to Photoshop the Situation Room photos?  For the same reason behind everything else he does: to influence perception in which everything is about Obama

Seeking AB-32 Slush Fund

Russ Steele

While AB-32 Global Warming Solutions act was sold to the public as way to to save the planet from CO2 emissions, it has now pivoted into another method to fleece citizens of $50 to $100 Billion dollars over ten years. Creating an AB-32 slush fund that has politicians pulses pounding as they devise methods of take control of this slush funds distribution.  CalWatchDog has more details:

Cap and Trade Fund Distribution Bills

Assembly Bill 1532, sponsored by Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, would deposit Cap and Trade pollution permit monies into a new Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account to be controlled by the California Air Resources Board.

Senate Bill 535, sponsored by State Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, would divert some of the Cap and Trade auction funds to disadvantaged communities, affordable housing, hospitals and schools.

Senate Bill 1572, the AB 32 Revenue Investment Plan, sponsored by State Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Los Angeles, devises a strategic investment plant to distribute Cap and Trade proceeds.

AB 2404, the Local Emissions Reduction Fund, sponsored by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes. D-Arleta, would delegate the award of Cap and Trade monies to the Strategic Growth Council — a six person cabinet level committee under the Governor’s Office.

What is the Strategic Growth Council? 

The Strategic Growth Council was authorized under Senate Bill 732 in 2008, sponsored by State Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. It creates a cabinet-level committee to serve as a clearinghouse for the distribution of Cap and Trade funds.  According to the Strategic Growth Council website, a laundry list of activities can be funded: “to improve air quality, protect natural resources, increase the availability of affordable housing, promote public health, improve transportation, encourage greater infill and compact development, revitalize community and urban centers, and assist state and local entities in the planning of sustainable communities.”  But this may be a wish list more than what Cap and Trade auction proceeds can be legally spent on.

Who is on the Strategic Growth Council? 

The Strategic Growth Council is composed of six members. Five are the heads of state agencies and a sixth member is from the public.

Current Council members include:

Ken Alex, secretary of the Office of Planning and Research;
John Laird, secretary of California Natural Resources Agency;
Diana Dooley, secretaru of California Health and Human Services;
Brian Kelly, acting secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency;
Matt Rodriguez, secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection;
Bob Fisher, public member, president of the Mendocino Redwood Corporation and a member of the National Resources

Now the real question is why should California citizens vote for an $8.5 billion sales and income tax increase in November 2012 if Cap and Trade is going to raise $50 billion to $100 billion for state discretionary spending? That’s $6.25 billion to $12.5 billion per year from 2012 to 2020.

Vote NO on any initiative to raise taxes. Period.

The Mystery of Obama’s Kenyan Birth

Russ Steele

I have always been interested in the issue of where the O was born, but tried to keep an open mind until there was more of a smoking gun than a fake birth certificate.

That said,  I have always been puzzled as to why the public did not have access to his academic records? My view is that he registered as foreign student from Kenya or Indonesia to get an affirmative action qualification. Now Roger Simon at PJ Media is investigated the mystery. Here is a summary from Power Line:

Over at PJ Media, CEO Roger Simon, a mystery writer by trade, put his mind to the puzzle and came up with an intriguing theory. Perhaps Obama had a tangible incentive to pass himself off as African, rather than merely African-American. Perhaps the explanation goes back to his college and law school days, which remain weirdly shrouded in mystery, deemed off-limits by liberal reporters and editors. Perhaps Obama took advantage of a scholarship–or, I would add, an affirmative action opportunity–that was available only to those born in Africa. Perhaps, in other words, Obama was like Elizabeth Warren, dishonestly checking a diversity box to get ahead. There would be no down-side at all, up until the moment when Obama decided he might run for president.

Locally, Martin Light is blogging on the issues at Light on Nevada County.

My question is: Regardless of where a person is born, if they think of themselves as a Kenyan, do they continue to think like a Kenyan, rather than an American?  Just wondering.

Data Mining to Purge Voter Polls

Russ Steele

The Florida Secretary of State just discovered that there are up to 53,000 dead voters still on the states voter rolls. How could all these dead people be on the polls for so long?  Florida was not using the best available data until now.  The discovery of 53,000 dead voters was made now that Florida is now using the nationwide Social Security Death Index for determining which voters should be purged because they have died.

The question is what data bases are California and Nevada County mining to purge the voter polls.  Are our voter rolls still are filled with dead voters?  What is being done to detect and removing them in Nevada County? If they are not removed, they maybe sent Vote by Mail Ballots and this could lead to an increase in voter fraud. Dead people voting!

I recently attended a Nevada County Tea Party Patriots meeting to establish a Election Integrity Project in Nevada County. Phase one of this effort will be to identify dead people on Nevada County voter polls and uncover any registration irregularities.  I hope this effort to purge the voter polls of dead people and to uncover any registration irregularities will be well received by the Nevada County Clerk-Recorders Office.  Stay Tuned.

Van Jones Cops a Plea | Power Line

Russ Steele

My friend George Rebane has made the point multiple times on this blog that the AGW movement was more about politics than science, and here is more proof. 

A sharp-eyed Power Line reader directed us to this C-SPAN video featuring Van Jones, President Obama’s short-lived “green jobs” czar, admitting around the 19:14 mark what is plain to anyone who pays attention, namely, that the environmental movement is basically an adjunct of the Democratic Party:

“I’m critical of myself, first, and the environmentalists.  When the oil spill had happened in the spring of 2010, there was another moment to say, ‘Hold on a second, let’s relook at energy policy in America.  Should we be subsidizing companies who are risking our health immediately and in the long-term?’” We didn’t do it. You’ve never seen the environmental movement more quiet during an oil spill. I guarantee you, if John McCain had been President, with that oil spill, or George Bush had been President with that oil spill, I’d have been out there with a sign protesting. I didn’t, because of who the President was.  Well, that’s a bad, uh, uh…that’s not good for the earth, it’s not good for the cause, it’s probably not good for the President. It’s certainly not the way we should conduct ourselves. And so, I’m very tough on progressive movements and leaders, including myself, who did not stand on principle, based upon who we looked across and saw as President.”

via Van Jones Cops a Plea | Power Line.

 

Showing up Counts

Russ Steele

Our mail in ballot arrived in the Saturday mail and it is now decision time. In one case our decision is clear, Ellen and I will be voting for Doug LaMalfa.

Ellen and I belong to a number of service organizations in Nevada County. Over the years we have been impressed by the number of times that Doug came to our monthly meetings, sometimes driving an hour or more to be present, not to make a speech, but to pitch in and help. Or, if it was a more social event he was available to discuss issues and answer questions. In other words, he shows up.  This says a lot about Doug’s character and his relationship with constituents.

On the other hand, we have not seen the other candidates showing up a community events unless it was a political meeting and they were expected. Or, in one case they were expected and became a no show.  That does not build voter confidence. Will they show up when it counts?

Ellen and I have been impress by the amount of access we have had to Doug. He listens and responds with appropriate answers, some times with “I do not know.” No attempt to baffle us with political bull s**t. We have had opportunities to sit down with Doug and discuss the issues, and carry discussions in follow up emails on the issues we feel are most important to us: reducing the national debt, food security, transportation boondoggles, climate change, water conservation and run-away spending to name a few.

Ellen and I endorse Doug LaMalfa for Congress, California District 1. We encourage all readers to consider Doug and vote for him in this important election. We need more common sense in Washington.

“Social Media is Changing the Way We Communicate”

Russ Steele

The title is of this post is often a refrain used by our local lefty blogger. I would have to agree, even though I am not much of a social media user. Here is an example from Power Line this morning on how conservative are using social media, in this case Twitter:

We are in the early stages of the 2012 campaign season, with a lot of battlespace preparation going on. In the skirmishing so far, one perhaps surprising media advantage has become clear: the right is clobbering the left on Twitter.

Maybe it’s because Twitter puts a premium on brevity and cleverness. I don’t know. But for some reason, it seems to be a natural medium for conservatives. We saw it when the Hilary Rosen interview (“Ann Romney never worked a day in her life”) prompted a Twitterstorm. We saw it again when #ObamaEatsDogs exploded, and when #Julia blew up in the White House’s face like an exploding cigar. Currently, the White House is promoting #AskMichelle, where loyal Democrats can go to ask the First Lady a question. Only nearly all of the questions have come from conservatives. A sampling:

• When you vacation in Hawaii, can you see the rise of the oceans beginning to slow?
• What’s up this week for the @BarackObama campaign and “Operation Change the Subject” (to anything except the economy)?
• Do you still exchange May Day cards with Bill and Bernadette?
• Do you think your daughters should request affirmative actions preferences?
• Do you still get Christmas cards from the Rezkos and Blagojeviches?
• So who succeeded you at that critical, highly important $300k/year community outreach job at UC hospital?
• I have several friends who specialize in relocation. Shall I give them your number so they can help you relocate in January?

ooo

They go on and on. You almost feel sorry for the White House. They’re going to have to either do a better job of mobilizing their supporters on Twitter, or abandon the medium altogether.

As a Conservative, maybe I need to start paying more attention to Twitter!

Last Chance in This Life Time: 5 June Transit of Venus

Russ Steele

The transit or passage of a planet across the face of the Sun is a relatively rare occurrence. As seen from Earth, only transits of Mercury and Venus are possible. On average, there are 13 transits of Mercury each century. In contrast, transits of Venus occur in pairs with more than a century separating each pair.

The last Venus transit was in 2004 so the second event of the pair will occur on Tuesday, June 5 from the Western Hemisphere…..Click http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/transit12.html to read FULL report

Solar Activities Intensifies

Russ Steele

There is a huge sunspot, AR1476, that is crackling with M-class solar flares which appears to be on the verge of producing something even stronger according to spaceweather.com .

The sunspot’s ‘beta-gamma-delta’ magnetic field harbors energy for X-class flares, the most powerful kind. Earth is entering the line of fire as the sunspot rotates across the face of the sun.

Stay alert. You can monitor the Sun at spaceweather.com. You can also sign up for a text alert of a powerful flare on your cellphone for a few bucks.

It is those X-Class flares that can raise havoc with electronic systems, including satellites and power grids.  In the morning I am putting my spare cellphones, scanners and computers in a metal container. Stay tuned.

Is This in Our Travel Future?

Russ Steele

All the discussion about the latest terror bombs reminded me of this little bit of gold country history.  Miners working in local gold mines often found a loose nugget of gold, and devised ways to take it home. This practice was called high grading. One of the methods devised was to hide the gold in a body cavity, including the anal cavity. Of course the mine owners were always devised ways to thwart this kind of theft.

In his youth, my dad was a gold miner. I often show my grandkids he is in the  photos at the Empire Mine State Museum. Year laters he told us about some of his failed attempts at “high grading”  It was difficult, as miners were required to change clothes in the “dry.”  They took off their wet work clothes, hung them up to dry on hangers on ropes in the ceiling.  Then they were required to walk naked to the showers, then dressed to go out in public. Lunch pails were examined before leaving the dry.

According to my dad’s story, at one of the mines he worked at that walk to the showers included walking straddle legged over a trench. This made anything concealed in the anal cavity very hard to retain in position.

Terrorist have demonstrated an ability to develop anal cavity bombs. According to experts interviewed about the latest underwear bomb, the new scanners can detect these methods, but admitted they would not reveal an anal cavity bomb.

That started me to wondering, will we soon be walking naked and straddle legged over a pit on the way to our next airplane flight?  Interesting problem for the airport security screeners.  How would you detect an anal cavity bomb?