Climate Change

[kladner]

Ironically this is supposedly infrastructure week or something like that

It depends on the audience he's addressing, and which things he last saw on the TV, and whoever got his ear last.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by only_human

Among the Obama administration's regulations soon being rolled back is one that:

Trump to roll back Obama-era rule on rising sea levels

Ironically this is supposedly infrastructure week or something like that.

This reminds me of The story of King Cnut and the waves

The original version of the story appears in the Historia Anglorum, by Henry, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, a twelfth-century chronicle covering the history of England from ancient times to the year 1154. In a section following his mention of Cnut’s death in 1035, Henry offers some words of praise for the king:
In addition to the many wars in which he was most particularly illustrious, he performed three fine and magnificent deeds. The first is that he gave his daughter in marriage to the Roman emperor, with indescribable riches. The second, that on his journey to Rome, he had the evil taxes that were levied on the road that goes through France, called tolls or passage tax, reduced by half at his own expense. The third, that when he was at the height of his ascendancy, he ordered his chair to be placed on the sea-shore as the tide was coming in. Then he said to the rising tide, “You are subject to me, as the land on which I am sitting is mine, and no one has resisted my overlordship with impunity. I command you, therefore, not to rise on to my land, nor to presume to wet the clothing or limbs of your master.” But the sea came up as usual, and disrespectfully drenched the king’s feet and shins. So jumping back, the king cried, “Let all the world know that the power of kings is empty and worthless, and there is no king worthy of the name save Him by whose will heaven, earth and sea obey eternal laws.” Thereafter King Cnut never wore the golden crown on his neck, but placed it on the image of the crucified Lord, in eternal praise of God the great king. By whose mercy may the soul of King Cnut enjoy rest.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

This reminds me of The story of King Cnut and the waves

Not quite such a silly Cnut as some portray him.

Yes, I know, but the opportunity was too good to forego.

[only_human]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

This reminds me of The story of King Cnut and the waves

Nice extract on the king. I referenced him in a thread title once but I never actually looked it up.

Originally Posted by xilman

Not quite such a silly Cnut as some portray him.

Yes, I know, but the opportunity was too good to forego.

Punworthy.

There will be more. Make Oceans Respect America Someday Soon.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by xilman

Not quite such a silly Cnut as some portray him.

Yes, I know, but the opportunity was too good to forego.

I should have copy-pasted the title of the article, "The changing story..." because different versions of the story have appeared over the centuries. A later version which has come to the fore, has Cnut using his inability to stop the tides as a means to rebuke his overly-obsequious courtiers.

I don't think that either version of the story would ever apply to the narcissistic Il Duce we have today. His attitude would be more along the lines of the popular misreading of the story, in which the king is surprised at the ocean's failure to obey him. And if anyone in his inner circle actually speaks "truth to power," well, it is less Cnut and more King Lear who comes to mind...

[ewmayer]

Green finance for dirty ships | The Economist. an eye-popping stat: “By burning heavy fuel oil, just 15 of the biggest ships emit more of the noxious oxides of nitrogen and sulphur than all the world’s cars put together.”

[only_human]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

Green finance for dirty ships | The Economist. an eye-popping stat: “By burning heavy fuel oil, just 15 of the biggest ships emit more of the noxious oxides of nitrogen and sulphur than all the world’s cars put together.”

I can't find it now but the the Port of Los Angeles got into some kind of expensive boondoggle upgrading dirty polluting ships but did not get the commitment that the ships would use the port.

Just getting the vessels to slow down farther than currently required near ports helps a lot as long as they don't compensate by speeding up elsewhere:
"Slowing Cargo Ships More Than Halves Pollution near Ports -
Slowing ships can dramatically cut pollution, but few harbors have initiated such efforts"

A speed limit of 14 mph, down from the current cruising speeds of 25 to 29 mph, would cut nitrogen oxides – a main ingredient of smog – by 55 percent and soot by almost 70 percent, according to the University of California, Riverside study. It also would reduce carbon dioxide – a potent greenhouse gas and key contributor to climate change – by 60 percent.

With 100,000 ships carrying 90 percent of the world’s cargo, air pollution is a heavy burden for people living near ports, so slowing ships could improve their health, researchers say.

Studies worldwide have linked particulate matter – soot – to deaths from respiratory disease and heart attacks. Particulates specifically from ocean-going vessels have been linked to an increased number of premature deaths, according to a 2007 study by Corbett published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

[only_human]

Originally Posted by only_human

I can't find it now but the the Port of Los Angeles got into some kind of expensive boondoggle upgrading dirty polluting ships but did not get the commitment that the ships would use the port.

Found it: Port of L.A. helped pay for cleaner China Shipping vessels--which later stopped docking in L.A.

Elsewhere there was a Twitter storm yesterday about scrubbing climate change language.
DOE denies it has policy to remove ‘climate change’ from agency materials
Snopes is looking in to it: Did the Department of Energy ask a Scientist to Remove the Words ‘Climate Change’ from a Grant Proposal?

On 24 August 2017, Jennifer Bowen, an Ecology professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, claimed that the Department of Energy wrote to ask her to remove the word “climate change” from her already-approved grant proposal. Bowen posted an email that appeared to be from the DOE asking her to remove the language so that the grant proposal, which is to be funded through the DOE’s Joint Genome Institute, could be posted on the web site

Posting a screenshot of the email to Facebook, Bowen stated “This just happened. I’m just going to leave this here for people to ponder.” The text of the email reads, in part:

[Dr Sardonicus]

The predictions a few days back for Harvey reminded me (and a lot of folks in Texas) of the June 2001 tropical storm Allison. These predictions seem to have proven all too accurate so far.

Of course, this may have nothing -- nothing at all -- to do with global warming, which Il Duce has dismissed as a Chinese hoax.

However, I did run across this story from a little over a year ago: State climatologist: Houston rains are getting worse

Maybe it's God's punishment -- for building a major city in uninhabitable swampland!

May it pass quickly...

[kladner]

As Allison was coming in, I was on Amtrak, going from Chicago to Houston. That is no longer a direct connection. Instead, you switch to a bus in Longview, TX. for the last four hours. This time, they told us Houston-bound folks that the highway into Houston was under water. They put us up overnight in a suite hotel. Going in the next day, there was trash and debris draped over remarkably high bridge railings.
EDIT:

Maybe it's God's punishment -- for building a major city in uninhabitable swampland!

As an old family friend put it, "We've been stupid. We've covered former rice fields with concrete." Now, the runoff makes the bayous go crazy downstream.

[only_human]

The optics of rolling back flood infrastructure regulations now; we don't have King Knut, or do we? Pardon the storm. Officially.