Costs for homeowner insurance along the East and Gulf coasts have risen 20% to 100% since 2004, says the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group. In the three years through 2006, says the institute, property and casualty insurers registered record profits, topping out at $65.8 billion in 2006. (Despite severe U.S. weather that has caused about $8.9 billion in insured property losses to date this year, it’s too early to forecast 2008 profits.)
Helping to drive these developments is a little-known tool of the insurance world: Computerized catastrophe modeling. Crafted by several independent firms and used by most insurers, so-called cat models rely on complex data to estimate probable losses from hurricanes.
But regulators and other critics contend that the latest cat models — which include assumptions about various climate changes — are triggering higher insurance rates. From WSJ, July 1, 2008; Page A1
BusinessWeek and others are reporting that the “First Ever” GHG fees I wrote about earlier today have been approved by Bay Area regulators.
Air pollution regulators in the San Francisco Bay area have voted overwhelmingly to approve new rules that impose fees on businesses for emitting greenhouse gasses.
A spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District says the agency’s board of directors voted 15-1 on Wednesday to charge companies 4.4 cents per ton of carbon dioxide they emit.
Experts say the fees, which cover nine counties in the Bay Area, are the first of their kind in the country.
San Francisco: The Bay Area Air Quality Management District will vote today on a proposal to impose a Greenhouse Gas Fee. The fee applies to carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions at the rate of 4.4¢(USD) per metric ton and is expected to initially produce an additional $1.1 million for the District.[1]
It’s all part of a plan that “would increase revenue to enable the District to address increasing regulatory program activity costs, and continue to move toward more complete cost recovery”[1]
The BAAQMD’s website describes “Environmental Justice” (emphasis mine)
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is committed to environmental policymaking and enforcement practices that are fair and equitable to all residents regardless of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, race, socioeconomic status, or geographic location in order to protect against the health effects of air pollution. [2]
The way the proposal is set up it could effect a lot more than carbon dioxide and the other listed greenhouse gases. Consider that water vapor is the most powerful GHG. I’m not sure what the “carbon dioxide equivalent” or “global warming potential” of water vapor is but, imagine a “carbon tax” based on the steam from showers or cooking.
Interestingly the supporters of this measure seem to be concerned with the precedent it will set than with the actual impact it would have on the environment.
The modest fee — 4.4 cents per ton of carbon dioxide — probably won’t be enough to force companies to reduce their emissions, but backers say it sets an important precedent in combating climate change and could serve as a model for regional air districts nationwide.
“It doesn’t solve global warming, but it gets us thinking in the right terms,” said Daniel Kammen, a renewable energy expert at the University of California, Berkeley. “It’s not enough of a cost to change behavior, but it tells us where things are headed. You have to think not just in financial terms, but in carbon terms.” [3]
It sure seems like just about everything can be blamed on anthropogenic global warming these days. From acne or the end of beer as we know it, to psychiatric illness and smaller brains, it all can and has been attributed to that evil global warming. And of course it’s all our fault for improving our lives through the use of energy. More specifically it’s all or mostly America’s fault.
As crazy as the alleged effects are, the causes are getting pretty absurd as well. We all know that CO2 is the alleged culprit. We are also told that we have to make drastic changes to the way we live - even pay taxes on the CO2 we are responsible for. But now we can add research to the seemingly endless list of human activities contributing to global warming. According to Hervé Philippe, a Université de Montréal professor of biochemistry, his own research produces more than twice the amount of CO2 than the average American. (44 tons vs. 20 tons respectively).
I did my PhD on nucleotide sequencing in the hope of advancing our knowledge of biodiversity, but I never thought that the research itself could have a negative impact on biodiversity,
he said, during a recent biology department symposium.
The solution?
For universities, he recommends having less frequent international conferences, increasing the use of video-conferences, avoiding research on well explored topics, reducing publications and evaluating the amount of CO2 produced by research projects
So there you have it: Global Warming is official caused by hot air from the researchers themselves.
University of Montreal (2008, May 7). University Research Contributes To Global Warming, Professor Discovers. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 8, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507155305.htm
On South Park Al Gore frantically tries to convince people that “Man-Bear-Pig” is real and out to get them - in real life the self appointed Global Savior peddles Man Made Global Warming & Catastrophe. However, unlike South Park, folks in the “real world” believe him. On Gore’s appearance in the upcoming edition of 60 Minutes he says that being skeptical is the same as believing the earth is flat.
those people are in such a tiny, tiny minority now with their point of view, they’re almost like the ones who still believe that the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona and those who believe the world is flat,
…That demeans them a little bit, but it’s not that far off,”
After a week or so of CNN’s “Planet In Peril” being broadcast nearly every hour, sold on iTunes & Amazon - NBC broadcasts by candlelight in order to go green. Of course they did not turn anything else off…
NBC’s green halftime Thank goodness for YouTube, because words alone cannot express the complete lunacy of NBC’s green halftime show Sunday night during the Eagles/Cowboys game. To conserve energy, the hosts broadcast the show using candlelight. It’s a good thing they conserved all that energy because the rest of the segment wasn’t quite so green. Not only was there a giant plasma TV screen on behind the hosts, the giant plasma TV screen was being used to show the reporter — Matt Lauer, who was on assignment (live) from the ARCTIC CIRCLE. But don’t worry, ladies and gentlemen, NBC probably purchased some fancy carbon credits! Read the transcript. (Insiders listen here).
Perhaps both networks should read a little about Global Warming?
If you have ever noticed that environmental lunatics don’t rally think about anything your not alone. If you drive an SUV you have probably been the victim of some moron at least once screaming obscenities at you for destroying the environment by driving such a disgustingly large vehicle that consumes so much fuel.
Well we have a solution for you. All you have to do is place one of these stickers on your your huge SUV and all of the tree hugging myopic crazies will leave you alone for ever.
Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium.
After a week or so of 
?
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