Monday
Nov032014
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill Diary date, Westminster edition
Nov 3, 2014 Diary dates
This Wednesday lunchtime, there's an event at Westminster that may well be of interest to readers:
#RepealClimateAct
Speakers include Roger Helmer UKIP MEP: A practical UK energy policy - explaining what is needed and how the EU is driving the UK's energy crisis.
More details here.
Reader Comments (19)
There was an attempted one in 1605, that continues to interest readers.
OT but much recommended is the eminently reasonable Victor v foaming at the mouth MARodger on Realclimate's Lewis and Curry post. Eg "But the mitigating aspects of your earlier comments are now gone and replaced with the language of a simple-minded gobby git". Read the whole amazing series of exchanges!
I suspect that there's far too many in Westminster, Whitehall and academe with financial interests in the CCA to allow it to be repealed.
Strangely I reached a similar conclusion but from a diffrerent route. Firstly, Matt Ridley's appearance on Newsnight last week, where the presenter started by declaring that Ridley accepted the basic premise of the physics but doubted the alarm - alright then, and he proceded to say the same as if he had been descibed as " climate denier",if such athing was possible. Secondly, both Shukman and Harrabin gave quite measured reports on AR 5 and importantly the almost impossible task of decarbonisation without an alternative. Thirdly, the target is know the end of the century - I have kept newspaper articles from 1988 with a thirty year scenario which is about to passed. I'm afraid it is the snake oil salesmen who are chsnging their tune, not those with university degrees in topics allied to climate change with a healthy dose of scepticism.
Also more on the Grid in the Lords tomorrow
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/science-and-technology-committee/
(at 10.40am) evidence will be heard from Mike Calviou, National Grid; and Tony Glover, Energy Networks Association (ENA) and at approximately 11.40am from Keith Bell, representing the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC); Professor David Newbery, Director of the Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG), Cambridge University, Research Fellow at Imperial College London, and a Member of the Panel of Technical Experts for DECC on National Grid’s Electricity Capacity Report; and Professor Michael Grubb, University College London.
Location: Room 1, Palace of Westminster
Pity it isn't Room 101.
Newbury will probably argue that interconnectors represent capacity that should be figured into the capacity margin, to judge by his written evidence. Of course, the idea that they are a two way street, and can lead to a bidding war as to who gets the blackout when there are tight to short supplies both ends of the line is quietly excluded, as is the potential for use to dump disruptive summer solar surpluses.
Is it an accident this is November 5th ;)
400 years on and a second man enters parliament with and honest intent ;)
Disappointing. I extended a trip to London in order to attend. On arrival at the gate, the young man told me it had been cancelled a few minutes earlier with no reason given.
"it had been cancelled"
One could jump to conclusions...
I couldn’t attend the Helmer meeting, but I have this news on what happened:
What seems to have happened was that the room booked by Sammy Wilson
was on Monday taken over for some other committee. Attempts were being
made to get another room but I gather that was proving difficult.
One of the frustrated attendees commented on twitter:
Latimer Alder @latimeralder 1h1 hour ago
@faykellytuncay @ClimateRealists @Piers_Corbyn Arrived at HoC. Embarrassed clerk said corbyn had moved it to a church hall in Borough.
It seems sceptic campaigners and Roger Helmer MEP are either unimportant or just not welcome at the Hoc.
Well it made me think about our politicians thinking.
Is It that the Bank of Climate Change too big to Fail ?
Is that why politicians are afraid to close it down even when it's evidence is bankrupt
- In other types of scams I have read about I have seen that politicians were reluctant to close them down, seeming to think "yes it does look like this & that are dodgy, but most people are happy with it I'll go we the flow what reason have I got to rock the boat ? ..it's giving jobs and that nice man made some donations to or party"
... then they think "we're in deep now, I'll get no reward for stopping the bandwagon.. it's too big to fail etc."
..The answer to all that is "you stupid idiots , the bigger a bubble gets the bigger the bang when it bursts.
.. yes the world would probably not give you a reward, but it's a question of right and wrong.
Hi there - this is my first post on this site...
I too went to the Houses of Parliament to attend the meeting, got all the way up to the Committee rooms and was advised that the meeting had been cancelled, or more correctly, had been moved to a library at Borough (a tube stop a mile or two away).
I followed the instructions and found the new meeting place as the back of the library building.
About 20 people were there, most of them seemed to already know each other and there were only about 3 of us "Members of the Public" present.
The meeting started at around 2pm.
Roger Helmer MEP gave the first speech - as he is the UKIP energy spokesman you can guess the contents of his speech - it pretty much went through the UKIP energy policy.
The second speaker was Piers Corbin who explained that Co2 was not responsible for the rise in global temperatures in the 1980s and 1990s - instead it was primarily due the sun. He went through various solar cycles, the effects that the sun, planets and moons have on each other,
He had his blow-up planet earth with him and demonstrated how the jet stream is likely to be this winter - see here:-
http://www.weatheraction.com/
He was also scathing of the Met Office and their new £97 million computer - saying that they will just get to the wrong answer quicker because however quick their computer is, they are still wedded to the wrong models.
Here is a piece from Boris a few years ago on Piers :-
http://tinyurl.com/37qx6uv
At 4pm we had to vacate the room so the meeting finished rather quickly.
As a treat, Piers predicted that the UK will have a cold winter this year, with a lot of snow in December, but likely to have gone by Christmas. We shall see!!
Regards
Mick
"the room booked by Sammy Wilson was on Monday taken over for some other committee"
I run bookings for our village hall, and although it ain't Westminster, the rule that whoever books it first gets it is immutable (even when the local Conservatives want to displace children's birthday parties). All you need is a diary for the room and someone with a pen!
Fay
"clerk said corbyn had moved it to a church hall"
Why would PC want to move it away from the HoC? Sounds like spin to me.
No spin jamesp. You learn to expect these kind of shenanigans at the HoC. Room 9 was booked three weeks ago, and then suddenly this week unbooked by the HoC.
Perhaps we should't advertise meetings too widely if they are to be at the HoC.
Perhaps advertise by email only - although having said that - we did email and invite all the MPs to come along. Perhaps that ruffled a few feathers.
I was once told, about two years ago, by a chap from the Green Alliance - who I invited to come along to one of our meetings - that such meetings only serve to undermine investor confidence in energy. Of course he meant green energy.
Oh by the way, some of you might have missed this:
BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, with Roger Harrabin, the BBC’s Environment Analyst, interviews mathematician Nic Lewis on his lower global warming prediction of 1.7 degrees C for a doubling of global CO2 emissions.
(Interviewed 1 Nov 2014)
I've added it to SoundCloud for easier distribution.
https://soundcloud.com/fay-kelly-tuncay/bbc-radio-interview-nic-lewis-on-lower-global-warming-predictions-of-17-degrees-c?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=twitter
Story update: Email from the event organiser Piers Corbyn
"It was unilaterally cancelled by the Parliament booking system in what can only be decsibed as sabotage. We rescheduled Roger to John Harvard Library. (He was certain it was sabotage - NOT by Sammy Wilson's PA or Graham Stringers PA who did everything they could to help). I will send an apology letter of explanation for passing on and also for our web site.
Piers"
A full apology from Piers posted at WeatherAction.com
6Nov
Remember Remember The 5th of November - Climate & Energy Policy meeting relocates to John Harvard Library London Bridge as Parliament booking system sabotages popular event
All concerned in organising and publicising the Nov5th #RepealClimateAct / #WeatherAction / MEPs / MPs jointly hosted public meeting apologise for inconvenience caused by the enforced relocation of this event which was due to circumstances beyond our control and thank all those who moved heaven and earth to make it still happen.
The meeting was moved, at very short notice, to the John Harvard Library at London bridge and attended in the end by about 20 people many more having been unable to get there or having not been given information.
The event had been organised in the usual way as on previous occasions through booking by a climate realist inclined MP in this case, as on many other occasions, Sammy Wilson DUP MP. As on some previous occasions the Parliament booking system warned they may relocate the event if the room was needed for Parliamentary business. However on this occasion they said at short notice there were no other rooms large enough (Room 9, booked, holds 90) and (at VERY short notice) were not prepared to give another room for a smaller amount of people (eg 50) and CANCELLED the meeting. The front desk told that to enquirers with no other information.
Janet Burton, Sammy Wilson's Office manager who worked very hard on this matter e-mailed that the House Of Commons refusal was (claimed to be) 'for health and safety reasons' and wrote:
"I do think it is unfair when someone arranges something that they can turn around and take the room from under our feet the way they do". The offices of other MPs (eg Graham Stringer, Lab) were also unable to help further because the HOC system had already decided.
After 3 failed attempts at re-location Piers Corbyn got the John Harvard Library (Borough High Street) to kindly book in the event at half an hours notice and for this we deeply thank them.
At the adjourned - and in the end excellent and Video recorded (watch his space) - meeting Piers said it was 'pretty unbelievable' that there was not a possible room for the event because there are just not enough MPs to occupy all the rooms at the same time on business and the health and safety reason was "ridiculous". "It is ironic that in future all our meetings (if any) in Parliament will have to have back-up provisions in place rather like wind farms need back-up supplies for when they cannot deliver". Many at the meeting considered the HOC decison was deliberate sabotage.
Roger Helmer MEP (UKIP) gave a brilliant expose of the insane bankruptcy of the energy policies of the other parties in Parliament and explained UKIP's realistic practical low cost policies.
Piers Corbyn spelt out the facts that (Man's) CO2 changes in the real world have ZERO effect on climate and explained why this is the case and that the CO2 warmists should be given no quarter whatsoever on this point - to do so gives them cover for lies, plunder and energy price hikes.
He also gave an account of new findings in solar-based forecasting and announced:
There will be some solar-driven SUDDEN STRATOSPHERIC WARMINGS THIS WINTER which will precede major snow events - detailed WeatherAction forecasts give details of regions (parts of Eu, Br+Ir, USA) and dates.
Fay
"You learn to expect these kind of shenanigans at the HoC"
So it would appear. Perhaps a parliamentary question is in order..?
I attended the HoC and was told that no booking existed and they knew nothing of the meeting. Having gone up on the National Express coach from Southampton I was not prepared to give up that easily, so I waited near the appointed room (having arrived early) and eventually I saw Roger Helmer arrive. He also knew nothing of the problems. Luckily by pure chance I discovered one of Piers Corbyn's cards in my jacket pocket from a previous meeting which had his mobile phone number on it. It was only then that we discovered the new venue. Roger, Peter Gill and I then got a taxi and went to the new venue for what turned out to be an excellent meeting. Roger had come all the way from Brussels and deserves our grateful thanks for taking it all in his stride. As for Piers, there is a kind of surreal quality about him with his giant blow-up globe. He is an enigmatic character, without doubt. Cock-up or conspiracy, who knows.