Grumpy Editor

Some duplication seen in latest EPA auto emissions plan; Melting Arctic ice gets blame for cold Easter in Europe

Media on Friday heralded the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed plan, known as Tier 3 standards, to reduce smog-forming emissions from vehicles, which Grumpy Editor finds duplicates some of the results from installation of “three way” catalytic converters used in vehicle emission control systems since 1981, an improvement from earlier devices that debuted in the 1975 model year.

The EPA says the proposed Tier 3 standards, due to take effect in 2017 and boosting the price of gasoline and vehicle price tags, would reduce sulfur in gasoline by more than 60 percent and cut nitrogen oxides by 80 percent.

With the latter, no mention is made --- or injected by auto or environmental writers --- that three-way catalytic converters and other technological advances have led to motor vehicle nitrous oxide emissions falling to 8.2 percent by 2008, from a high of 17.77 percent in 1998.

Regarding sulfur, a program phased in by the EPA from 2004 to 2007 --- and still in effect --- reduces the sulfur content in gasoline by up to 90 percent from “uncontrolled levels.”

The Obama administration’s latest anti-pollution proposal, notes The Associated Press, puts in place “the first standards to reduce the pollution from cars and trucks blamed for global warming.”

 

“Ocean heat” triggers cold Europe

Speaking of global warming, Easter was accompanied by unusual freezing weather for Europe with Great Britain recording the coldest March in 51 years and Berliners viewing another snowfall.

What’s behind the unusual meteorological conditions?

An AP story Friday points to melting Arctic sea ice as the culprit, explaining:

“The theory is the loss of sea ice means more heat is released from the open ocean, warming the layer of polar air over the water. That reduces the temperature and air pressure differentials with more southern latitudes, increasing the likelihood of a negative state in the atmospheric circulation.

“Experts stress that winter weather is affected by many other factors, but several studies have shown the Arctic melt loads the dice in favor of colder and snowier winters in Europe.”

Got that?

 

In case you missed these…

CBS Corp. pays about $100 million to acquire 50 percent of TVGN (formerly TV Guide Network), which includes TV Guide and TVGuide.com that had been owned by One Equity Partners, a unit of JPMorgan Chase…Fox Soccer Channel, the only U.S. TV network dedicated to soccer, makes way for a youth entertainment network in September…Talk show host Heidi Harris concluded one year with Salem Communications’ KRLA and KTIE in the Los Angeles area and announced “I have some news that is GREAT news for me,” but did not reveal it.  Earlier, she was popular with morning shows at KXNT and KDWN in her hometown of Las Vegas…Michael Happ, who graduates next month from Omaha’s Creighton University, purchased the Beacon Observer in Elm Creek, Neb. and already rolled up his sleeves to edit and write…In honor of their 15 years together, Tammy Duffy took out a full-page ad (tab: $900) in the Trentonian, Trenton, N.J. for an obituary on her “amazing dog,” Ginger.

Cold/hot air spreads; 141 journalist fatalities; ‘fat’ banks

Two contrasting hot/cold atmospheric reports over the weekend grab the attention of Grumpy Editor as climate change stories continue to gobble space/airtime going into the new year. 

Both meteorological stories made news yesterday (Jan. 6) but few print editors placed them on the same page. 

A study published Jan. 6 in Nature Climate Change notes “a scientific poll of experts” feels melting glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland may lead to global sea levels rising more than three feet by year 2100. 

Jonathan Bamber, a professor in physical geography at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom and a co-author of the study, predicts “horrible consequences.”

Meanwhile, China so far this winter is struggling with the lowest temperature in almost three decades, triggering problems ranging from closed highways to power outages.

The China Meteorological Administration says the national average since late November is 25 degrees Fahrenheit, coldest in 28 years.

English-language China Daily reports about 1,000 ships are stuck in Laizhou Bay ice in eastern China's Bohai Sea.

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Reporting overseas becomes dangerous 

Being a journalist is becoming a dangerous profession. 

Last year, 141 journalists were killed in 29 countries, with Syria being the most dangerous for reporters, reports Swiss-based Press Emblem Campaign. 

The number is up 31 percent from 2011. 

In Syria alone, at least 37 journalists, 13 of them working for foreign media, were killed.

In addition, two freelance American reporters are missing in Syria:  James Foley, who has reported for Global Post and Agence France-Presse, among others, was abducted from his car on Nov. 22 in the northwestern part of Syria, and Austin Tice, from Houston, was abducted last August.

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Banks claim 2012 brought best profits since '06 

Not too much was said last week when U.S. banks ended the year trumpeting their best profits since 2006.

Those being nixed in seeking business or personal loans will find it interesting that the financial industry claims more people and businesses are taking out, and repaying, loans since 2009.

Meanwhile, interest paid on savings accounts and certificates of deposit is near zero. 

On one-year CDs, for example, Bank of America pays an ultra-slim 0.03 percent and Wells Fargo pays a scant 0.05 percent. 

Most major banks now focus on fees to boost bottom lines.

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In case you missed these... 

Top overused 2012 phrases, tallies Lake Superior (Mich.) State University, are fiscal cliff and kick the can down the road…Former vice president Al Gore pockets an estimated $100 million as cable channel Current TV, which he founded with business partners seven years ago, is sold to Al Jazeera for $500 million…Maybe more school money management classes are needed:  A Rasmussen Reports survey finds 55 percent of likely U.S. voters think capital gains should be taxed at about the same rate as other income…An Associated Press photo (with a credit line for the photographer) “showing” Hillary Clinton in a car being transported from New York Presbyterian Hospital clearly displays the driver and a male front-seat passenger, but the Secretary of State is not visible somewhere behind the car’s visor, rear-view mirror and dark interior…How to bust into TV:  Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, a Democrat who served prison time on a corruption conviction, stars in an A&E series starting Feb. 27.

Most media, climate change folks keep Antarctic 'on ice'

Representatives from 200 countries at a climate change conference in Doha, Qatar heard more about dwindling Arctic sea ice this week --- but nothing about growing ice at the other pole, notes Grumpy Editor.

Antarctic sea ice has been rising since satellites started measuring it 33 years ago.

But the focus at the meeting (which continues into next week) has been on what's happening in the Arctic.

 A U.N. report this week warned that the Arctic ice cap, following one of the warmest years ever, melted to its lowest level on record.

To illustrate the scope of the vanishing Arctic ice, the report said it is an area equal to nearly the size of India.

Few media outlets have compared the Arctic vs. Antarctic ice.

However, USA Today last month ran an Associated Press story that mentioned:

"While the North Pole has been losing sea ice over the years, the water nearest the South Pole has been gaining it.  Antarctic sea ice hit a record 7.51 million square miles in September."

 

 

'Everyone' still talking about weather (climate change)

It was more than a century ago that Mark Twain, in a lecture, used the line, “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it,” and today representatives from 200 countries start a two-week meeting in Doha, Qatar --- still talking about the weather (updated to climate change), notes Grumpy Editor.

Look for a number of stories from the conference over the next two weeks.

Seems many still remain fuzzy about meteorological conditions as well as the true source of that weather quote (originally in a Hartford Courant editorial written by Charles Dudley Warner, a friend of Twain).

Heat-trapping gases, fossil fuels such as coal and oil, plus other emissions are slated to be discussed.

Many feel the world is warming and see the change resulting in flooding of coastal communities and flat islands, disruptions in agriculture, spread of diseases and extinction of species.

But others maintain weather is always changing:  drought months followed by downpours, cold days followed by warm periods.

A recent World Bank projection cites temperatures are on track to increase by up to four degrees this century, compared with pre-industrial times.  Other observers feel that number is overblown.

 

Brr! Editors overlook early start of shivering season

While high temperatures in July and August grabbed front-page space (tied in with global warming reports), unusual pre-season frosty weather --- with snow in some spots --- over the past few days was mostly overlooked in newspapers, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Cold air is plunging farther to the south and east, sending temperatures well below normal, especially in the northern high plains and nearby mountains where light snow is expected to linger. 

Winter doesn’t officially get under way until two-and-a-half months. 

Yet, these cities saw temperatures drop to the 20s: 

Toledo, 29

North Platte, 25

Pocatello, 23

Pueblo, 22

Flint, 29

Fort Wayne, 28 

Dipping to freezing or the lower 30s: 

Chicago, 32

Cincinnati, 32

Santa Fe, 30

South Bend, 31

Springfield, Mo., 32

Wichita, 31

Yakima, 31

Lubbock, 32

Oklahoma City, 31

Peoria, 32

Rockford, 30

Denver, 32

Grand Rapids, 32

Lansing, 32

Amarillo, 32 

Indeed, frost already is on the pumpkin --- with Halloween 22 days away.

Record-setting July temperature gets varied treatments

Whew!  Sure, it was hot in July as new U.S. records were set in some of the lower 48 states, but some newspapers --- via their reporters’ writings --- made it appear as a major sizzling advance, finds Grumpy Editor. 

Reports on hot July appeared every day so far this month. 

The Wall Street Journal yesterday, for example, placed a two-column reference to an inside story near the top of the front page.  It teased:  “July was the hottest month on record in the contiguous U.S., blazing past 1936…” 

Average temperature for the lower 48 reached 77.6 degrees in July, edging the previous record of 77.4 degrees set in July 1936, at the height of the Dust Bowl, based on figures from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

That’s a tiny increase of 0.2 tenths of a degree. 

The Washington Post, among some other publications, however, reported Wednesday that the new record was 0.2 degrees (note the s) hotter than the previous record set in July, 1936. 

Copy editors missed the s.  By noting temperature that way, rather than 0.2 tenths of a degree, the Post made it appear 10 times hotter for July, 2012, compared with 76 years ago. 

Weather writers often do this with rainfall, too, citing a storm brought 0.24 inches of rain rather than 0.24 of an inch. 

Some reporters worked in July temperatures “reached triple digits” in Arizona and Nevada.

Well, that’s normal.  No sea breezes in that region.

For those who stress global warming, the July average temperature in the lower 48 also reached 77 degrees in 1902 when Theodore Roosevelt was president, long before industrialization of America and decades before “greenhouse gases” entered weather discussions. 

Strangely, the Weather Channel’s Website did not mention the degrees in a “hottest month on record” report comparing July, 2012 with July, 1936.  However, it liked the line, “July, 2012 was the hottest of more than 1,400 months that we've gone through since 1895.” 

Pass the lemonade.

 

AP mixes earthquakes, wildfires with global warming

With an unusual amount of extreme weather this year --- including hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, blizzards, heat and drought --- it wasn’t a surprise to see an Associated Press story on nature’s fury appear over the weekend that suggested recent meteorological events were linked to global warming, notes Grumpy Editor. 

And to complete nature’s action so far in 2011, writer Seth Borenstein worked into the story’s second paragraph non-meteorological-related recent Virginia, Colorado and Alaska earthquakes plus record wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico. 

The story cited Germany-based insurance company Munich Re tallied 98 natural disasters in the U.S. in this year’s first half, “about double the average in the 1990s” --- without indicating how many were related to weather. 

Nevertheless, recent “weather catastrophes” gave the writer an opportunity to compose this Las Vegas-style line: 

“Man-made global warming is increasing the odds of getting a bad roll of the dice." 

In summarizing what climate scientists said, toward the end of the text the writer mentioned, “Individual weather disasters so far can’t be directly attributed to global warming, but”… 

Thus, the global warming saga continues.

 

Al Gore picks up ‘warming’ words from Chicago Tribune

For the millions of people digging out from heavy snow, coping with icy roads and huge drifts along with extremely frigid weather, Al Gore yesterday --- just in time for Groundhog Day today --- produced a statement claiming “heavy snowfalls are completely consistent with what they (the scientific community) have been predicting as a consequence of man-made global warming.”

His full meteorological explanation should be of interest to Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune columnist, discovered Grumpy Editor.

Gore continued with:

“In fact, scientists have been warning for at least two decades that global warming could make snowstorms more severe. Snow has two simple ingredients: cold and moisture. Warmer air collects moisture like a sponge until it hits a patch of cold air. When temperatures dip below freezing, a lot of moisture creates a lot of snow.

“A rise in global temperature can create all sorts of havoc, ranging from hotter dry spells to colder winters, along with increasingly violent storms, flooding, forest fires and loss of endangered species.”

But wait.

That fuzzy explanation sounded familiar.

Grumpy Editor noted those words were snatched verbatim from a past column by Page in the Tribune.

Under the headline, Yes, global warming could mean more snow, the column appeared almost a year ago --- on Feb. 14.

Asked today what he thought about words carbon-copied from his column, Page declared:  "I'm flattered."

 

 

 

Record N.Y. snow puts ‘global warming’ phrase on ice

With the record, and disruptive, snowstorm that swept from the mid-Atlantic to New England this week, Grumpy Editor noticed one phrase was missing in the heavy coverage by print and broadcast media:  global warming.

 Nobody, it seems, sought to contact Al Gore for comment.

There also was silence from usually talkative global warming “experts” who regularly grab chunks of newspaper space and airtime at other times during the year.

From Washington, D.C., to Boston and beyond, schools closed, planes were grounded and government workers stayed home.

This week’s storm left a total of 19 inches in New York City, with 12.3 inches falling on Wednesday, breaking the day’s snowfall record of nine inches in 1871.

The storm elevated the month’s total snow to three feet in New York City --- making January the snowiest on record.  

New York City also was hit by a blizzard one month ago, marking the first time on record that two storms dropped 18 inches or more of snow in the same winter.

New York City, during the full winter, usually records a total of 21 inches of snow.

The same storm brought 17 inches of snow to Philadelphia, a foot to Boston, and sleet and snow to Washington.

And more snow is predicted for next week for a wider area, including the battered East Coast, just in time for Groundhog Day on Wednesday.

That’s when Punxsutawney (Pa.) Phil --- with media in attendance --- will emerge from his burrow.  If he casts a shadow, according to folklore, it means winter will continue for six more weeks.

 

U.N. climate change conference meets in cooler Cancun

While the United Nations climate change conference in Cancun through Dec. 10 is pounding away at global warming, Grumpy Editor feels representatives on hand from 194 countries may be surprised at what’s going on weatherwise outdoors at the Mexican resort:

Unusual cooler weather.

While the average temperature in Cancun at this time of year averages 82 degrees, readings this week are reaching only the mid to upper 70s, with 77 predicted for today, discovers Grumpy Editor.

The lower temperatures are not mentioned by media covering the global warming event.

Nevertheless, the gathering is hearing projections of higher temperatures in the years ahead.

Without reduced emissions by the next decade, some scientists project a world temperature rise of 7.2 degrees a half century from now.

No indication on how scientists arrived at that figure.

But the emphasis by some scientists is taking a jab at transportation. 

That includes placing curbs on “carbon intensive” products such as long-haul flights (no mention of the many more short-haul air trips) and fuel-hungry cars.

Meanwhile, a recent Pew Research Center poll finds that blaming global warming mainly on human activity, such as the burning of fossil fuels, is fizzling among adults.

Only about one third --- 34 percent --- blame human activity for warming.  That’s down from 50 percent in July 2006.

The Pew poll also finds climate change views differ along political party lines.

With Democrats, 53 percent pin earth warming mostly on human activity.  Only 16 percent of Republicans agree on that cause.