JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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Statistics
Well …
it’s toe and general appendage shrinking cold in my US mid Atlantic global co-ordinate.
Lingering weeks long sustaining everything icing over type cold.
I understand that Climate Change causes fire and unrelenting cold.
I miss Global Warming.
Good times.
290
If it’s cold then you’re obviously not burning enough carbon. Throw some fossil fuels on the BBQ. Break out the coal. Make more emissions. Smoke it up with tons of CO2. That’ll bring the sun out and encourage planetary boiling. Your days will be brighter and with a bit of luck you might even reach a tipping point.
150
Here in West Virginia, a southern state, forecast is -2F Mon and Tue nights or -19C. Praying no blackouts as propane furnace requires electricity.
151
I would definitely have a small generator ready to go or one of those battery/inverter standby packs.
Man, -19 is serious cold, never realised it got that cold in WV.
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For Donald Trump’s inauguration (Mon 20th), the forecast for Washington is for a global warming temperature range, from -9 to -3 C degrees.
20
The UK winter has disappeared.
The night after the coldest night in 15 years in Scotland it was plus 14C and the ski resorts are nearly all rock/green again!
50
The weather here has been boringly perfect now for a number of weeks [maybe a couple of months]. Few days have risen to 35c and few nights have dropped to 28c.
There has been enough rain to keep the place green and fill our dams [even when it is raining it doesn’t cool down] but not to cause even minor local flooding. Come to think of it I have just described last summer as well. Where is this climate change?
30
So far the best representation of your dilemma Honk.
Enjoy!
00
Shout out to the Manchurians doing flood clean up in freezing temperatures: https://www.yahoo.com/news/ice-box-without-heating-flood-154615944.html
00
Mancunians?
00
Thanks – I must have learned that from Reading
00
We had another storm late yesterday, with about an inch of rain, lightning a d thunder. Not unusual. Daughter about 1 km away had a blackout for at least four hours. That was an unusual length of time. But what was unusual was a lot of smoke, which alarmed people in our street.
Sirens were heard upwind.
My guess is that the lightning blew a transformer. I dareay we’ll get the truth later today.
But for me it raised a question. what happens when you get a flash of lightning above a “solar farm”?
Does it send an almighty pulse through the system? Which could do damage?
150
You would expect commercial solar farms to be protected from indirect lightning strikes although the systems would need to be checked every year
A domestic system should also be properly protected but may well not be due to cost factors.
A direct lightning strike on either system is a different order of problems and could extensive damage which even the very best cut out systems might not be able to cope with
A flash of lightning would have to be fairly close above the panels to be noticed so it is the actual indirect or direct strikes that need to be extensively addressed This article has links to other articles on lightning strikes
https://solarsena.com/what-happens-if-a-solar-panel-gets-struck-by-lightning/#:~:text=There%20are%20two%20main%20types
30
It was a house fire. Apparently a pole snapped and dropped the line onto a house, which was lost.
Just the other day I was looking at an old timber pole, which looked to me too flimsy for the job it was doing.
There would be many such poles in use.
30
I have fitted surge protectors to all my power outlets that provide power to anything with electronics. That includes most household appliances today. Last close lightning strike took out the router, but that pulse came through the NBN cable, being an original Foxtel cable.
30
I have wondered if i should.
Or at least install a voltage recorder.
00
Know quite a few folks that have lost electronic devices after nearby lightning strikes. My first query is if they had installed surge protectors. Have them on my TV, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine. A cheap addition for protection.
10
Best put your panels inside your house Tony. Make sure you do not connect them to any conductors and she will be apples. Faraday’s cage still works wonders.
(:
10
“what happens when you get a flash of lightning above a “solar farm”?”
It begs the question Ted, who cares.
60
How much energy would a “solar panel” reap from a flash of lightning?
00
A lightning strike to anything can induce an electrical surge in any nearby electrical system. My neighbour had a direct strike on his roof mounted evaporative cooler. The cooler and his WIFi modem were fried. The neighbour across the street lost his WiFi modem as well. My heart skipped a beat with the bang but no electrical damage.
Solar panels will blow out in a direct strike and that means connected components will blow out. There are plenty of photos of blown panels after strike like this one:
https://badwolfusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/solar-panels-damaged.jpeg
The most effective way to protect is to have a grounded air terminal well above the panels. They may be doing that on solar farms in Queensland coastal regions but I have not seen them on roof installations.
Most rooftop arrays are essentially floating voltage due to requirement for galvanic isolation of the inverter so will float above ground voltage and be less prone to direct strike than grounded objects nearby like roof guttering. The panels are damaged by the heat from the arc passing through them to grounded metal frames or metal roof underneath.
30
They call this a wind turbine. Insurance companies love them as they are always having claims on strikes on the tallest conductor in the area.
I removed my turbine because it kills your owls and bats and is relatively useless in producing electricity of any value. Good for trickle charging your yachts batteries.
10
Here in Austria we drove a very excitable hire car to a resort at 1500 metres.
There were a couple of electric chargers there.
At the general city area it’s been around minus one during the day and minus 10 centigrade at night.
At the 1500 metres resort with the charger it was minus 15 at night and minus 6 during the day.
Any idea what real world range an electric vehicle would have in those conditions,assuming a 100 mile round trip with roughly half each undertaken at the lower and upper heights assuming a theoretical lab tested range of 250 miles?
The car hire guy at Salzburg airport said there was no demand for electric car hire although they are listed as available.
In these punishing temperatures the locals do like to eat their burgers outside in the evening bathed in numerous radiant heat lamps
100
Typically a climb to 1500m is not a steady climb. There will be ups and downs. An electric vehicle will not fully recover energy in regenerative braking due to cycle losses of around 40% and need to brake hard with mechanical brakes at times. That will reduce range.
The 1500m climb itself will require energy. Taking a 1800kg GVM vehicle up 1500m at and efficiency of 80% will require 9.3kWh, which is going to be a decent slice of the battery capacity. The return trip will recover 6kWh.
Most BEV car heaters use resistive heating. So if the occupants want to have some comfort they will be using battery capacity to keep warm. A few BEVs are now using heat pump heating to reduce battery consumption. The range lost due to heating will depend on the type of heating and the desired level of comfort. Any delays on the journey can really eat into the range.
Batteries are a chemical reaction, which is affected by temperature. BEV batteries are fitted with thermal management system to keep the cell temperature in a target range. There will be some initial loss to heating on cold days but the battery temperature will be mostly sustained by internal heat losses when the ambient is only minus 6C..
A BEV trip report done a few years back from Sydney to Bathurst, a distance of 200km (124m), in chilly conditions detailed all these issues. They did not make the distance. In a vehicle with a nominal range of 230km. The trip involves a climb but only 780m. Most of the climb is just outside Sydney. They experienced sleet during the trip so it was unusually cold for that part of the world in these warming times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afb0W8GJd1A
They were clearly optimistic to set out on a trip of 200km with the displayed range at 196km. They made 170km with a lot of drama. Road works take on a different meaning when you are in a BEV in cold conditions.
40
I own an ICE. If on holidays I would have better things to do than read the handbook learning how to drive an EV.
10
World’s biggest drone? 85′ submarine minelayer, etc.
https://www.twz.com/news-features/what-the-navys-massive-orca-submarine-drone-is-actually-capable-of?utm_term=The%20War%20Zone_Wire_01.14.25&utm_campaign=The%20War%20Zone_Dedicated/Sales&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email
21
Was surprised to hear that it is diesel-electric. Perhaps that’s for safety reasons. Would have thought nuclear. Also surprised to hear how slow it will be underwater.
10
Today’s anti-Russian propaganda in the SMH is talking about the Asssie merc who was captured there. Now they have a ‘fellow soldier’ who says he has been killed in custody-
“The sergeant said he believed the Russian military had adopted a policy of torturing and executing foreigners fighting in Ukraine rather than holding them as prisoners of war. “They tortured him for days to make an example of him,” he said. “The Russian troops don’t care for laws, morals, nothing, they’re just there to kill.”
…and on a surprising level of Govt intelligence…
DFAT advice says. “Your safety is at the highest risk if you engage in active combat.”
Of course Putin wouldn’t keep foreign mercenaries to use in prisoner exchanges, as propaganda broadcasts, to exchange for spies, to convert to ‘his’ side and send them back as spies, he has no incentive to do any of the usual things that happen between America and Russia…/sarc
I will note that the Ukie soldier who talked to some reporter said his goal is to get through his deployment and come to Australia to look after the merc’s family and help honour him, a strange path to immigration!
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/he-was-a-hero-oscar-jenkins-sergeant-mourns-comrade-20250115-p5l4fw.html
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It’s not as if Putin bought 10,000 sl@ves, sorry soldiers, from an Asian sl@ve trader, sorry dictator, to fight his war.
31
“To fight the war that the west started and needs”
There, fixed it. 😁
72
So you approve of the slave trade.
22
From 2022: Australian National University international law expert Don Rothwell said the Criminal Code made it an offence for citizens or residents to become foreign fighters.
“There is an exemption in the case of persons who are members of the ‘armed forces of the government of a foreign country’,” Professor Rothwell said.
“It would be exceptional for foreign recruits to become members of the armed forces merely on arrival in Ukraine unless they have some prior military service which could be revived.”
Under the Criminal Code, a Ministerial Declaration can be issued in cases where “it is in the interests of the defence or international relations of Australia to permit the service of that person” to join a specific armed force in a foreign country.
But Professor Rothwell believed any government would be reluctant to use the power, “for fear that once the conflict is over, these persons would be sufficiently energised to wish to continue their pursuit of military-style activity in other places”.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-01/australian-foreign-fighters-ukraine-russia-war/100869602
10
FWIW
A stirring line –
https://img.patriotpost.us/01JHGN0YHS9V9JMW8ZB6BBJYS1.jpeg?w=1024&dpr=1&q=75
10
FWIW
“RFK Effect? FDA Bans Cancer-Causing Food Ingredient”
Red Dye # 3
https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2025/01/15/rfk-effect-fda-bans-cancer-causing-food-ingredient-n4936012
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And the Trump effect: There is talk of return of Israeli hostages.
It may not happen of course but what a coup if it does. 😀
11
Accidental red thumb!
Fat fingers on the phone again
10
FWIW
“Trump May Not Be Safe at His Inauguration”
“So why does Bongino feel so uneasy about Trump’s safety now? It’s the people in charge of security at the top levels of the Secret Service and FBI that concern him. He has little confidence that they can handle the responsibility, especially when considering their “known incompetence.” ”
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/01/15/trump-may-not-be-safe-at-his-inauguration-n4936021
30
Atlantic overturning inferred from air-sea heat fluxes indicates no decline since the 1960s
20
But – variability!
Surely Gretasworld should be in stasis!
You know, unchanged – from one end of Time to the other!
And if it ain’t so, surely we must ban oxygen dihydride.
Immediately!
Auto
Do I need the snark/ tag?
00
Watch: Amazon Uses Huge Diesel Generator To Charge Electric Delivery Van Fleet
Amazon closed out 2024 with more than 20,000 electric delivery vans manufactured by Rivian in its fleet nationwide. The e-commerce giant highlights on its website that the electric vans are part of its “urgent” climate change initiative to “remove carbon emissions from transportation systems.”
However, Amazon faces mounting criticism for gaslighting the public about its net zero goals and actual operational fleet practices.
While the company promotes its electric delivery vans as part of its effort to save the planet from a fiery demise—an end-of-world scenario Al Gore has inaccurately predicted for decades—it appears that, at least in one location, Amazon is reportedly relying on a massive diesel generator to charge a fleet of Rivian vans.
On Tuesday, TikTok user drewgoo posted a video that shows “Diesel Generator powering electric Amazon trucks.”
“So I understand green energy, electric vehicles – Amazon is doing their part. Stay green. But doesn’t it defeat the purpose when you have a diesel-powered generator electrifying all of the EVs? It makes no sense,” the TikTok user said in the video.
90
Thanks Rick
Interesting comment on road works or traffic jams
If you took an hour to drive a flat mile in a traffic jam at below freezing presumably if you had heating, headlights and the radio on that would be a noticeable drain on the battery of an EV
60
FWIW i today’s Coffee & Covid
“and an incredible new peer-reviewed study joins the small handful of undeniable studies finding fatal flaws in the mRNA shots.”
“In the post-pandemic period, there were two particularly appalling and incontrovertible studies about the mRNA jabs that more than anything else started the slow reversal of science’s great stampede toward genetic therapies. The first was actually a group of studies, led by Kevin McKernan, confirming the shots were contaminated with DNA fragments of bacteria normally found in human waste. (Literally, “s— shots.”) The second was a gold-standard study finding “frame-shifting” (mutational drifts) in the induced spike proteins. Yesterday we received a third seminal study to help sink the shots and the Frankenstein’s nightmare called mRNA technology.”
More at
https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/coming-untrue-wednesday-january-15?
10
https://old.bitchute.com/video/bKYunRhgHXXF/ UK COVID inquiry on the vaccine module
00
House fire protection systems in Japan
https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_sq489xKX8Y1z23obp.mp4
What? No DEI? 😆
50
Very Impressive – Obviously no one from the LA Fire Dept, NewScum or Mayor Bass have ever seen it.
30
Alexa – tell me about the firmament
https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_spuj3lX2H31zlxqpx.mp4
😆😆😆
00
Leo
The concept of the firmament refers to the solid dome or vault believed to cover the sky in ancient times, separating the heavens from the earth. However, this idea is not supported by modern scientific understanding of the universe.
According to our current understanding of astronomy and geology, the Earth is a sphere, and the sky above it is made up of layers of gases, including the atmosphere and outer space. The firmament is not a physical entity that touches the Earth.
In the biblical account of creation, the firmament is described as a solid dome that separates the heavens from the Earth (Genesis 1:6-8). However, this passage is often interpreted metaphorically or poetically, rather than literally.
If you’d like to know more about the ancient understanding of the firmament or the scientific understanding of the Earth’s atmosphere and outer space, I’d be happy to elaborate.
10
Adam Schiff Begs Pam Bondi to Stop Trump Making Fun of His ‘Watermelon Head’ in Hilarious Parody Video
But, there was another exchange you might have missed.
This really happened! (WATCH – LANGUAGE WARNING)
00
Wings of death: India may have figured out a surprising way to defeat drones
A southern Indian state is using trained birds of prey to take down rogue UAVs as part of local policing
With its terrifying talons, enormous wingspan, piercing gaze and cunning hunting tactics while gliding high in the sky, the majestic eagle leaves its prey no chance. One of the planet’s fastest birds is now doing what it has never done before in India: intercepting rogue drones.
Police officials in the southern Indian state of Telangana have successfully trained five eagles to identify and down drones that could pose a threat to the visits of Very Very Important Persons (VVIPs) or to large public gatherings.
The ‘Garuda’ squad, named after a Hindu mythical Sunbird, took more than three years of painstaking efforts to materialize. It is now part of the Telangana police’s Intelligence Security Wing (ISW), a specialized force overseeing VVIP security.
This is India’s first and only bird squad and the world’s second, after the Netherlands.
The training has been a success, and the state police’s top brass has received queries from the Army, the Coast Guard and the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF), each of which is eager to induct similar bird squads.
20
Not surprising. I’ve seen a couple of posted vids showing drones filming farming operations, and then taken out by Wedgies (Wedge tailed eagles).
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DEI = Didn’t Extinguish It.
😆
20
This sounds oddly familiar. Something the wokesters in fire brigade management like to rabbit on about here.
https://www.selwynduke.com/2025/01/government-spent-millions-on-indigenous-knowledge-to-fight-california-wildfires.html
30
2025 already has a few new daily snowfall records:
Norway
https://www.newsinenglish.no/2025/01/07/snowfall-breaks-records-as-ice-fears-rise/
Japan
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14823142
USA
https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/snowfall-totals-record-breaking-snow-falls-in-the-tri-state
00
While all the old dears freeze coz the government needs their Winter Fuel allowance to pay for windmills and AI, they managed to scrap a ‘record high temperature’ for the news: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/weather-record-set-mercury-hits-122006428.html
00
FWIW
I guess “Elbowen” are working on it too?
“Labour’s Answer to Cratering Election Prospects: Eliminate Voter ID”
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/01/15/labours-answer-to-cratering-election-prospects-eliminate-voter-id-n3798841
00
We’re having a short break up near Maleny and I brought my binoculars for birdwatching. Been lucky so far. Identified my first Pacific Baza, plus a couple of tiny birds that I have yet to name.
Just now however, I took the bins out onto the deck to do a little star gazing, as there’s much less light pollution here. In just ten mins I had spotted and tracked six satellites all on similar paths. Busy up there, isn’t it?
10
You just have to go to the heavens above Web site and click on the link for the starlink satellites to see just how busy it is! And there are many more launches to come. I’ve seen many starling satellite “trains” in the night sky, fascinating to watch them as they fly over.
00
FWIW
News for “ElBowen”
“Trump Effect: California Throws in EV Truck Mandate Towel”
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/01/15/trump-effect-california-throws-in-ev-truck-mandate-towel-n3798854
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https://www.newscientist.com/article/2463793-zero-carbon-shipping-fuel-could-be-a-new-source-of-pollution/
“Switching from burning fossil fuels to burning ammonia is a promising way for the shipping industry to cut its carbon dioxide emissions. But if it isn’t careful, this swap could also boost harmful nitrogen pollution.”
And the ‘new’ source of “pollution” – per this rag – is . . . Yes . . . Nitrogen
Skipping the practicalities of changing shipping fuel globally (facilities, new bunker ships, training, regulations) …
It seems that 78% of the atmosphere we breathe is – now – a pollutant.
We breathe about 8 times a minute, roughly 500 an hour, so about 12000 times a day.
If each breath is about 400 ml, that’s roughly 5,000 litres a day of air, so 3,900 litres of nitrogen. Every day.
All a seaman’s numbers and approximations.
Your Breathing May Vary.
Maybe a better name for the clickbait linked would be Non Scientist. Oh, and it’s paywalled. I’m not paying!
Auto
20
FWIW
“Stunning 1,700-Year Old Roman Mosaic Floor Unearthed in Eastern Turkey”
https://hotair.com/headlines/2025/01/15/stunning-1700-year-old-roman-mosaic-floor-unearthed-in-eastern-turkey-n3798845
20
FWIW
“California Politicians Cut Fire Department Funding Because of These Three Things”
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/01/16/you-could-probably-guess-where-ca-diverted-the-funds-they-cut-from-the-fire-department-n2650630
10
Californians have learned their lesson. They will vote in different democrats next time.
I’d take a bet on it that a recall for Governor would still have Larry Elder called the black face of white suprem@cy, and they would fall for it again.
00
FWIW
“Doctors Ask Supreme Court To Block California Board From Penalizing Certain COVID-19 Views”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/doctors-ask-supreme-court-block-california-board-penalizing-certain-covid-19-views
00
Dodgy smartmeter install diagnosed with a lovely West Country accent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loyUVB7zKhw
00
FWIW –
“If you own insured property anywhere in California, stand by for a very expensive surprise”
“The Wall Street Journal reports that a little-known change in California’s insurance regulations last year means that the enormous property losses caused by the current Los Angeles fires may end up being paid by all California property owners – not just those directly affected.”
More at
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2025/01/if-you-own-insured-property-anywhere-in.html
00
FWIW – where “Work” is a four letter word!
“Once Again, Life Catches Up to The Bee”
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2025/01/16/once-again-life-catches-up-to-the-bee-n3798875
00
FWIW
“Announcing a Comprehensive Compendium of Articles on the Covid Vaccines”
“As the WHO attempts to force a world- wide pandemic treaty on all the nations of the world, an effort is afoot to compile all the reputable journal articles challenging the safety and efficacy of the mRNA vaccines. Those who have been attending, with growing concern, to the proliferation of substacks detailing the publication of medical journal articles on studies showing that the vaccines indeed are neither safe nor effective–substacks such as Steve Kirsch’s, Brucha Weisberger’s and a number of MDs– are aware that the information needs to be presented in a unified and easily accessible format.”
More at
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2025-01-15/announcing-comprehensive-compendium-articles-covid-vaccines
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