By George Harvey
Sorry, Climate Change Did Not Slow Down.
On February 4, an article, “Exposed: How world leaders were duped into investing billions over manipulated global warming data,” appeared in the Daily Mail, a British tabloid. () The title describes the contents of the article accurately, but, unfortunately, the article did not accord very well with the real situation.
Dr. John Bates, a NOAA scientist who had devised a set of rules for checking data, was upset because the administration had released data before it had been properly checked, in advance of the COP21 conference in Paris. Unfortunately, the Daily Mail took this a few steps further, implying that the data was flawed, and that NOAA deliberately manipulated information to discredit the idea that global warming had paused.
Many readers doubtless inferred that global warming had, in fact, paused, and that NOAA was guilty of fraud. And, in fact, those elements of the media that would like to slow action on climate change lit into the article as somehow being proof that climate change is a hoax.
The year 1998 set a record with a big jump in average temperatures. The year 2005 broke that record. That new record was broken in 2010, and that one in 2014. When COP21 was underway, we already knew 2015 would break the record again. And since then, 2016 set a new record. These observations indicate no slow-down. NOAA’s information has also been more rigorously validated by a number of scientific organizations.
At Green Energy Times, we genuinely wish climate change were a hoax. That would mean that we could relax. What fun that would be!
Unfortunately, the hoax is denial of climate change.
A massive solar array is planned for Hinsdale, New Hampshire.
Ranger Solar, with offices in Yarmouth, Maine, is proposing a solar farm in Hinsdale, NH. It would be the largest in New England, with a capacity of 65 megawatts. It is to be developed on about 400 acres of land that is zoned for industrial use. The array would be built at a cost of $50 million, according to a company spokesman.
The town of Hinsdale, which is in the southwestern corner of New Hampshire, stands to benefit in a number of ways from the project. During the construction phase, the project would create about 185 jobs in the area. Once it is completed, which Ranger Solar hopes will happen before the end of 2019, it will pay the town at least $500,000 each year in lieu of property taxes. At that point, the solar array will still have about three to six employees.
The solar farm will produce enough power to supply 13,000 to 19,000 average homes in the area, according to the company. The environment will benefit from the fact that it will offset approximately 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to allow payment in lieu of taxes for the solar farm. Ranger Solar is now taking the development work forward with state agencies.
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