1. Britain about to plunge into mini ice age?
"Britain is set to suffer a mini ice age that could last for decades and bring with it a series of bitterly cold winters." According to a report in the British publication The Express, that is the prediction of research soon to be published in the science journal Nature. According to report, the mini ice age will occur beginning this winter and will be due to the the weather phenomena known as La Nina:
Scientists say the anticipated cold blast will be due to the return of a disruptive weather pattern called La Nina. Latest evidence shows La Nina, linked to extreme winter weather in America and with a knock-on effect on Britain, is in force and will gradually strengthen as the year ends.
The La Nina is apparently linked to a reduction in ultraviolet rays being emitted from the sun:
The prediction, to be published in Nature magazine, is based on observations of a slight fall in the sun’s emissions of ultraviolet radiation, which may, over a long period, trigger Arctic conditions for many years.
Hmmm, are we looking at a repeat of the dire predictions of the 1970s?
2. FERC sending Duke, Progress merger back to drawing board
Last week we called your attention to the fact that a number of small towns in North Carolina were objecting to the proposed Duke Power and Progress Energy merger based on a concern that the merger would reduce competition in the wholesale electricity market. Of course, there is no competition in the retail market, a fact that will not change with the merger. Well, apparently, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) agrees and is sending the agreement back to the drawing board. Paul Chesser, former Carolina Journal reporter and now head of the American Traditions Institute, describes the situation as follows:
FERC informed the North Carolina-based utilities that in order to win its approval, extensive changes need to be made to the deal, since the proposed plan would "have an adverse effect on competition" in the Southeast, with the agency characterizing the deal’s problems as "systematic" and "severe…"FERC heeded the warnings of New Bern and the others and demanded the changes to the deal, which will require it to be restructured and therefore make necessary another round of hearings before the N.C. Utilities Commission.
Chesser’s full story, which appeared on the web site of the National Legal and Policy Center gives a good deal more background and is worth the read.
3. And then there’s…
… the Green Jobs Answer Man.
4. WeeklyOzone Report
Each week during the summer ozone season this newsletter will report how many, if any, high-ozone days had been experienced throughout the state during the previous week, where they were experienced, and how many have been recorded during the entire season to date. While many environmental groups express concern about air quality, the John Locke Foundation is the only organization that keeps up-to-date track of the actual ozone data and reports it in an unfiltered manner on a regular basis.
The ozone season began on April 1 and ends October 31. All reported data are from the North Carolina Division of Air Quality, which is part of the state’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
During the period from October 3 through October 9 there were no reported high-ozone readings on monitors across the state of North Carolina. So far this season there have been 99 readings on various North Carolina monitors that have exceeded federal standards of 0.75 parts per billion. These have occurred over a period of 26 days.
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