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| Migaloo spouting |
"This is such a horrendous abuse of statistics that it is difficult to know how to begin to address it. One simply wishes to bitch-slap whoever it was that assembled the graph and ensure that they never work or publish in the field of science or statistics ever again. One cannot generate an ensemble of independent and identically distributed models that have different code. One might, possibly, generate a single model that generates an ensemble of predictions by using uniform deviates (random numbers) to seed “noise” (representing uncertainty) in the inputs.
What I’m trying to say is that the variance and mean of the “ensemble” of models is completely meaningless, statistically because the inputs do not possess the most basic properties required for a meaningful interpretation. They are not independent, their differences are not based on a random distribution of errors, there is no reason whatsoever to believe that the errors or differences are unbiased (given that the only way humans can generate unbiased anything is through the use of e.g. dice or other objectively random instruments)."
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"To stay on track, our proposal calls for the following calendar of events:And I must point out -- "technologies proven to reduce emissions" has nuclear energy number 1 on the list.
- In the run up to COP19 in Warsaw this year, negotiators and observers should compile a list of energy efficiency and renewable energy policies and technologies proven to reduce emissions. The compilation should feed into a “technical paper,” written by the UNFCCC Secretariat, which would form the basis of more detailed discussions to come;
- The Warsaw conference should host a high-level meeting of environment ministers in order to assess the work and identify priority areas to be advanced in 2014;
- The conference should establish expert working groups, which would be tasked with developing detailed and scalable solutions in the priority areas;
The following year, at COP 20, the groups should deliver on their mandate, setting the stage for implementation."
“Asteroid QE2 is dark, red, and primitive — that is, it hasn’t been heated or melted as much as other asteroids," Arecibo's Ellen Howell said in a statement. "QE2 is nothing like any asteroid we've visited with a spacecraft, or plan to, or that we have meteorites from. It's an entirely new beast in the menagerie of asteroids near Earth."So I'd like that explained a bit further.
"With international climate negotiations working toward some form of agreement in 2015 that would only come into effect at the end of the decade, the world is “drifting off track,” in the words of IEA executive director Marina van der Hoeven at the press conference releasing the analysis. “But the problem is not going away.” Instead of dithering for a decade and paying for phantom emission reductions, the kinds of emissions declines seen in the U.S. must be repeated the world over. And that will take everything from CO2 capture and storage in Europe to more nuclear power in China, as well as the new plan to phase out HFCs. The rest is hot air from a bunch of flimflam artists."Thank you, David Biello, for pointing that out.
Isn't that lovely? There is some pushback, but I think it will be more visible than effective. Because money squawks.
- "Conservative legislators want to dilute the influence of minority voters by curtailing early voting, ending Sunday registration and enacting unnecessary voter ID laws.
- Public education is being gutted. As Jane Mayer reported in the New Yorker, despite overwhelming support, the legislature repealed the pennysalestax that went toward public education funding. Even the state’s prized University of North Carolina system is facing some $50 million in budget cuts.
- Unsurprisingly, and unconscionably, Gov. McCrory has refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, even though it would insure half a million North Carolinians.
- Despite a 9.2 percent jobless rate — well above the national average of 7.9 percent — North Carolina is cutting back on unemployment benefits."
“Even climate change alarmists admit the number of hurricanes hitting the U.S. and the number of tornado touchdowns have been on a slow decline for over 100 years,” Bridenstine said on the House floor Tuesday, according to Raw Story. “But here is what we absolutely know. We know that Oklahoma will have tornadoes when the cold jet stream meets the warm Gulf air, and we also know that this President spends 30 times as much money on global warming research as he does on weather forecasting and warning. For this gross misallocation, the people of Oklahoma are ready to accept the President’s apology and I intend to submit legislation to fix this.”I'd like to remind him of something.
Again we see the result of variety, processing, and climate in the coffees from Indonesia, which tend to have a deep, dark, almost meaty earthiness to them. Sumatran coffees in particular take to dark roasting well, and so there are often smoky and toasted flavors present in the cup. Others will have a stouty or mushroom-like complexity that is both savory and herbaceous, and a long, lasting finish that feels like very dark or unsweetened cocoa.Now they just need to tell me if Tanzanian Peaberry tastes that much different from plain ol' Kenyan, and what's so great about Kona.
"The energy sector accounts for more than two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions, so “energy has a crucial role to play in tackling climate change,” the IEA said. Its report urged nations to take four steps, including aggressive energy-efficiency measures, by 2015 to keep alive any hope of limiting climate change to 2 degrees Celsius."
"Notwithstanding the Fukushima accident, [Faith] Birol said nuclear energy remains “a very important option to fight against climate change.” The report also urged the pursuit of carbon capture and storage methods."
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| Gentlemen prefur Carrie |
Kasei Valles splits into two main branches that hug a broad island of fractured terrain - Sacra Mensa - rising 2 km above the channels that swerve around it. While weaker materials succumbed to the erosive power of the fast-flowing water, this hardier outcrop has stood the test of time.
Slightly further downstream, the flood waters did their best to erase the 100 km-wide Sharonov crater, crumpling its southern rim. Around Sharonov, many small streamlined islands form teardrop shapes rising from the riverbed, carved as water swept around these natural obstacles.
"Cape York exposes just a few yards, or meters, of vertical cross-section through geological layering. Solander Point exposes roughly 10 times as much. Researchers hope to find evidence about different stages in the history of ancient Martian environments. The rim of Endeavour Crater displays older rocks than what Opportunity examined at Eagle, Endurance, Victoria and Santa Maria craters during the first eight years of the rover's work on Mars. "
“This is not about principled opposition; this is about political obstruction,” Obama said. “I recognize that neither party has a perfect track record here. Democrats weren’t completely blameless when I was in the Senate. But what’s happening now is unprecedented. For the good of the American people, it has to stop.”
"Exactly the way that the creation of the 60-vote Senate, with filibusters on every nomination, was a major change when Republicans initiated it in January 2009.
And the solution is very simple. All Republicans have to do is to return to the way things were before 2009, saving the filibuster for only those measures and nominations on which they have their very strongest objections, and the problem will go away.
It’s up to the Republicans. The 60-vote Senate is unsustainable. Occasional filibusters work just fine. So they need to choose which one they want."
"Cruz and the others are worried that a conference committee might not only work out a budget but also make it possible to raise the federal debt ceiling without the now-customary showdown threatening default and catastrophe. They believe that brinkmanship is the only way to stop runaway government spending, which produces massive trillion-dollar deficits, which add to the ballooning national debt, which . . ."I just posted yesterday about Paul Ryan saying basically the same thing (according to Greg Sargent, but I think he was spot-on). But as Eugene points out, the budget is going down by a lot. Do we really have to have ANOTHER crisis so that the Republicans can claim spending is out of control -- when it clearly isn't any more (partly because of the stupid sequester, but still...)
"The simple fact of the matter here is that Republicans are not willing to enter into negotiations over the budget unless they can use the threat of crashing the economy to get more of what they want. To this apparent end, conservative Senators such as Ted Cruz and Mike Lee have insisted that Dems agree in advance of any budget talks not to make the debt limit any part of them — a position supported by Mitch McConnell. But as Jonathan Chait noted recently, Democrats can’t do this; it would mean “they couldn’t strike any deal because Republicans would come back in the fall demanding more concessions in return for not blowing up the world economy.”This would be unbelievable in a movie if it wasn't for the fact that this is actually happening. Ugh.
"One has to hand it to the Republicans; they are the masters of creative obstructionism. No one in American history has come up with so many clever ways to use Senate procedures as partisan bludgeons. No argument is too ludicrous. No procedural gimmick too outrageous. No deception too preposterous. Don't want the Democratic president to make the judicial appointments the Constitution entitles him to? Just eliminate the seats! Don't want a legal star like Caitlin Halligan to sit on the bench? Don't let her get a vote! Don't want big-business interests to lose in court? Make sure the conservative firewall in the D.C. Circuit is never challenged!"
