Global Warming News

[IH3444]

Met Office computer accused of 'warm bias' by BBC weatherman | Mail Online

 

[dmccarty]

I certainly agree that human nature causes wars, but if a commodity is sufficiently important it will obviously affect human interactions. Access to oil was one of the principal driving forces for Japan to declare war on the US. ****** wasn't looking for sandy beaches when he sent his guys to North Africa. ****** wanted Kuwait's oil fields. Our interest in the middle east is, of course, entirely based on our humanitarian impulses.

Chuck

Yes and no. The spark the lit the Japanese power keg was oil but that was due to a US embargo. Why did the US set up the embargo? It was because of Japanese actions in China. Japan had invaded China and even earlier Korea. Those invasions had nothing to do with oil. FDR's oil embargo was reaction to the Japanese invasions. Oil was did not cause the Japanese to invade its neighbors. The US just used the most powerful peaceful weapon it had against the Japanese. Oil.

There was almost certainly going to be war between the US and Japan. Japan was attacking its neighbors. The European colonial powers had very few forces too far from home to deter much less stop Japanese expansion. The only country that could was the US. And the Japanese did not think the US would even try to stop them much less that the US COULD stop them. I don't see how war was preventable.

Oil was just the spark.

****** invaded North Africa well after he had taken over western Europe. Hitlers actions were not based on oil.

******, like ******, G. Khan, Alex the Great, Napoleon, etc, were all about Super Ego. ****** wanted Kuwait, the lost province of Iraq. Did Iraq need more oil? Only if you are greedy and have to feed the Super Ego. US interests in the gulf are tied to oil sense without that energy the WORLD economies DIE. That simple.

For a historical comparison of "colonial" powers regarding commodities lets look at rice. Yes rice. The French in Indochina during the 1920s and 1930 exported much of the rice. Millions of people died of starvation. Indochina was, if not the largest, one of the largest, growers of rice at the time, yet its food was exported and millions died. The Irish famine was the same. The British continued to export food from Ireland while millions starved to death in the potato famines. There was food in Ireland that could have fed the population but it was exported.

These are just two examples on how Colonial powers generally treat colonies. There are worse examples. How does the US operations in the Gulf regions compare?

Later,
Dan

 

[Chuck52]

Yes and no. The spark the lit the Japanese power keg was oil but that was due to a US embargo. Why did the US set up the embargo? It was because of Japanese actions in China. Japan had invaded China and even earlier Korea. Those invasions had nothing to do with oil. FDR's oil embargo was reaction to the Japanese invasions. Oil was did not cause the Japanese to invade its neighbors. The US just used the most powerful peaceful weapon it had against the Japanese. Oil.

There was almost certainly going to be war between the US and Japan. Japan was attacking its neighbors. The European colonial powers had very few forces too far from home to deter much less stop Japanese expansion. The only country that could was the US. And the Japanese did not think the US would even try to stop them much less that the US COULD stop them. I don't see how war was preventable.

Oil was just the spark.

****** invaded North Africa well after he had taken over western Europe. Hitlers actions were not based on oil.

******, like ******, G. Khan, Alex the Great, Napoleon, etc, were all about Super Ego. ****** wanted Kuwait, the lost province of Iraq. Did Iraq need more oil? Only if you are greedy and have to feed the Super Ego. US interests in the gulf are tied to oil sense without that energy the WORLD economies DIE. That simple.

For a historical comparison of "colonial" powers regarding commodities lets look at rice. Yes rice. The French in Indochina during the 1920s and 1930 exported much of the rice. Millions of people died of starvation. Indochina was, if not the largest, one of the largest, growers of rice at the time, yet its food was exported and millions died. The Irish famine was the same. The British continued to export food from Ireland while millions starved to death in the potato famines. There was food in Ireland that could have fed the population but it was exported.

These are just two examples on how Colonial powers generally treat colonies. There are worse examples. How does the US operations in the Gulf regions compare?

Later,
Dan

I'm not condemning our actions in the Gulf or any other region, though you seem to agree that the world depends on the oil there and that affects our interests. I also don't disagree that greed and ambition play the major role in many, if not most, wars. However, I think it is clear that a major cause, or at least the spark that starts a conflagration, is often a limited resource, which may simply be an assumed lack of "lebensraum". BTW, apparently ******'s main drive for oil seems to have been in the Caucasus, my bad. As you say, without the oil of the middle east, the WORLD economies DIE. I bet a total shutdown of that supply would lead to war. It's pretty hard to parse the reasons for wars. Ego and ambition, greed....they all seem pretty tied up with "you got it and I want it". We may simply be talking chicken and egg here.

On the other hand, at least its another departure from the endless debate over whose facts trump whose about GW!

Chuck

 

[dmccarty]

... It's pretty hard to parse the reasons for wars. Ego and ambition, greed....they all seem pretty tied up with "you got it and I want it". We may simply be talking chicken and egg here.

On the other hand, at least its another departure from the endless debate over whose facts trump whose about GW!

Chuck

I think for most wars it is pretty easy to figure out the whys and it does break down to Super Ego/Super Greed or as you say "you got it and I want it." There are the "we want you to behave this way" reasons which is back to Super Ego. WWI was a really warped Super Ego war where Nations went insane. They were fighting over what?

Course I am surprised this thread did not get locked a long time ago. Though people have been well behaved.

Later,
Dan

 

[Loren49]

Here are a couple of sites discussing the true price of gasoline (price at pump + hidden costs paid in taxes)

Earth to America: The Price of Gasoline Isn’t Too High, It’s Too Low | Kevin Ummel | Global Development: Views from the Center

The True Cost of a Gallon of Gas? - International Analyst Network

I concede that the bottom line is debatable but there clearly are hidden costs.
I'm not saying we should pay more but that there would be many advantages to paying closer to the true cost at the pump and have less hidden costs (taxes).

Loren

 

[IH3444]

Those P-38s were custom built just for that mission. I believe they were built out of balsam wood for lightness, and extra capacity tanks designed in as well as drop tank for distance. One developed engine trouble, and had to return to base. The others flew on and completed the mission.

And then there was the fire bombing of both Japan, and Germany. You can read those accounts yourselfs. A good place to start is a book titled, "The Making of the Atomic Bomb".

 

[dmccarty]

Those P-38s were custom built just for that mission. I believe they were built out of balsam wood for lightness, and extra capacity tanks designed in as well as drop tank for distance. One developed engine trouble, and had to return to base. The others flew on and completed the mission.

The planes where not custom built since they were already deployed in the area when the code breakers realized the importance of some radio intercepts. The radio intercepts told of Yamamoto's visit and schedules. This allowed the US to create an operation to get him. The planes where modified slightly for the operation.

I think the plane you mean is the British Mosquito. It was made out of plywood and balsa. If it was not the fastest prop plane it WWII it was in for the running. The designer figured that when war broke out there would be a shortage of metal and metal workers but there would be plenty of wood and wood workers. Pretty danged smart.

Later,
Dan

 

[IH3444]

Thanks Dan, I got my history mixed up again!

Operation Vengeance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[herd]

Not just that far back, at least in these parts, wood heat was all a lot of people had until late 1950's/early 1960's. Wood heat was all my grandparents ever had, trees felled with an axe and cut into firewood with a two man crosssaw. Yes, it took a lot of wood but not really, as one or two large trees can yield many cords of firewood.

 

[keegs]

This is just too close to the truth of how our government works.

Eddie

Eddie....This is just too close to how the market works...

YouTube - fire department auction

 

[IH3444]

Hmmmmm.....what else could they be wrong about?

UN climate chief admits mistake on Himalayan glaciers warning - Times Online

I'll be at the lemonaid stand. I'm passing on the Kool-Aid.

 

[20 20]

Keegs; that was just wrong, funny as all ____ though

 

[dave1949]

Keegs; that was just wrong, funny as all ____ though

3X ditto
Dave

 

[dmccarty]

Thanks Dan, I got my history mixed up again!

Operation Vengeance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You may have been thinking of Doolittle's raid. The planes were B-25 twin engine medium bombers flown of the Hornet with Enterprise covering. The B-25's were modified.

Taking off a medium bomber from a carrier. CRAZY! There is film footage of the takeoffs and the first plane had the shortest "runway" and struggled into the air. Doolittle was piloting the first plane in the Follow Me tradition. Thankfully he did not fly into the ocean.

The planes had to launch early since they were spotted by a Japanese fishing boat which radioed their location. The mission was going to be a close one fuel wise as it was but the early launch caused most of the planes to run out of fuel and crash before they could get to their designated landing fields.

"30 seconds over Tokyo" was a book written by one of the pilots and made into a movie. In those days movies showed our service members as the heros there were and are. Not so much in the movies of today.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

Ok that youtube vid was WRONG!

$215! she should have shouted on the way down.... Not quick enough on her feet. Errrr. So to speak.

Later,
Dan

 

[Loren49]

I agree - $215 might have worked.

Here is another link concerning the UN report screwup. It goes into some depth about the error and other problems in the paragraph that should have been caught by an editor. Another point made was that it was a 900+ page report.


IPCC slips on the ice with statement about Himalayan glaciers (posting from Climate Science Watch)

Loren

 

[IH3444]

WOW! These guys make more, and bigger mistakes than I do. The must be working overtime.

UN climate change expert: there could be more errors in report - Times Online

 

[Ken45101]

Does this mean they will retract Kyoto and Copenhagen?