Friday, July 28, 2017

Oilfluenza, Affluenza, and Disgorgement - 2

Life Magazine Ad (1962)
The previous post of this series probably seemed science fiction, legal fiction, or just fanciful to many who read it.

I set forth the perfectly legal description of "Disgorgement" for all to see.

Now, "lo and behold," a serious lawsuit has been filed by government entities (in the courts of California) which in fact asserts a claim, among others, for disgorgement of profits:
Three Californian communities have launched legal action against some of the world’s biggest oil, gas and coal companies, seeking compensation for the current and future costs of adapting to sea level rises linked to climate change.

San Mateo and Marin Counties, coastal communities in northern California, and Imperial Beach, a city in San Diego County, have filed complaints against 37 “carbon majors”, including Shell, Chevron, Statoil, Exxon and Total.

They claim greenhouse gas emissions from the fossil fuel companies’ activities over the last 50 years have locked in substantial sea level rises, which will cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage to properties and businesses, as well as endangering lives.

According to the complaint, the defendants “have known for nearly 50 years years that greenhouse gas pollution from their fossil fuel products has a significant impact on the Earth’s climate and sea levels”. Rather than working to reduce impacts, the complaint claims the companies engaged in a “co-ordinated, multi-front effort to conceal and deny their knowledge of these threats”.
(Guardian, cf. Press Release). The portion of the complaint that sets forth the disgorgement remedy allegation, among others, is as follows:
186. Defendants’ wrongful conduct was oppressive, malicious, and fraudulent, in that their conduct was willful, intentional, and in conscious disregard for the rights of others. Defendants’ conduct was so vile, base, and contemptible that it would be looked down upon and despised by reasonable people, justifying an award of punitive and exemplary damages in an amount subject to proof at trial, and justifying equitable disgorgement of all profits Defendants obtained through their unlawful and outrageous conduct.
(Sher Edling Lawfirm, PDF, emphasis added). That "186" means allegation or paragraph 186, as numbered in the complaint.

Accountability came to Big Tobacco so we can now hope it comes to Big Oil (Oil-Qaeda) too (Humble Oil-Qaeda).

The next post in this series is here, the previous post in this series is here.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Questionable "Scientific" Papers - 14

Fig. 1
I. Background

Regular readers know that I have been searching for the origin of the thermal expansion hypothesis.

By origin, I mean the seminal peer-reviewed paper that establishes that concept as a valid, i.e. falsifiable, hypothesis.

The suspicion I have is that the hypothesis seems to have been developed prior to ARGO floats and deep water measurement robustness which are required to properly assert such a hypothesis.

II. Questionable Use of Scientific Papers To Assert
Thermal Expansion Concepts

Yet, even without that required factual background, the hypothesis is often expressed by questionable scientific sites as it is in the following quote:
"As the ocean warms, the density increasing causing the water to expand in volume. Thermal ocean expansion is one of the major contributors to sea level changes during the 20th and 21st centuries."
(Climate Signals, [Wayback Machine Copy], emphasis added). This statement
Fig. 2
appears to be like a talking point or mantra because in a Google search "major contributors to sea level changes during the 20th and 21st centuries" (using exact text and quote marks) it appears in a lot of places.

The site link I quoted it from is promoted (they assert), by associates, decendants, or the like of one of the founders of Oil-Qaeda (J. D. Rockefeller) in the form of a philanthropy website (Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors) to wit:
Climate Signals is a science information project of Climate Nexus, a non profit organization under the fiscal sponsorship of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a 501(c)3 organization.

Originally launched in 2010 as an independent project, Climate Signals underwent graphic redesign and content expansion in 2016 as a project of Climate Nexus.
(Climate Signals, [Wayback Machine Copy] emphasis added). That website refers to a paper (Improved estimates of ocean heat content from 1960 to 2015), which is a questionable citation in the sense that the paper in no way substantiates the mantra "Thermal ocean expansion is one of the major contributors to sea level changes during the 20th and 21st centuries."

Fig. 3
The site is also questionable in the sense that it is sponsored by associates or ideological descendants of the "ancient" Smoke & Fumes committee (Smoke & Fumes).

As is typical, the authors of the paper do not contemplate the deep ocean (the abyss), ruminating their hypothesis about heat content (not thermal expansion), using mainly the upper ocean level data, and certainly making no assertions about the validity of the thermal expansion mantra.

III. A Closer Look At The Paper

The main theme of the paper, IMO, is that the Earth's energy imbalance (EEI) and ocean heat content (OHC) have been underestimated:
"Earth’s energy imbalance (EEI) drives the ongoing global warming and can best be assessed across the historical record (that is, since 1960) from ocean heat content (OHC) changes. An accurate assessment of OHC is a challenge, mainly because of insufficient and irregular data coverage." [p. 1, PDF]
...
"However, ASL [altimetry sea level] is a combination of full-depth thermal expansion and ocean mass change and is not directly representative of OHC [ocean heat content] change. Further, ASL is a two-dimensional metric without depth information, but the ocean sampling changes markedly with depth." [p. 8, PDF]
(ibid, "Improved estimates of ocean heat content from 1960 to 2015"). Thermal expansion is mentioned once in the paper (p. 8, PDF), and thermosteric is mentioned twice (p. 9, PDF), both without robust elaboration.

If anything, the paper is contrary to the thermal expansion hypothesis I am posting about today:
We found that changes in OHC are relatively small before about 1980; since then, OHC has increased fairly steadily and, since 1990, has increasingly involved deeper layers of the ocean." - [p. 1, PDF]
(ibid). How can thermal expansion be relevant when heat content was "relatively small before about 1980," since "before 1980" is 80% of the 20th century, and we are only 17% into the 21st century (17% of 100 yrs, a.k.a. a century, is 17 years)? [20% + 17% of 200 years (20th,21st centuries=200yrs), is only 37yrs out of 200 yrs. "tail wagging the dog?"]

IV. The World According To Measurements

Today's graphs (Fig. 1 through Fig. 4) use the latest WOD in situ data (measurements) as well as the latest TEOS scientific thermodynamic software library, as well as robust Dredd Blog software, to generate CSV files.
Fig. 4

The graph at Fig. 1 shows PSMSL tide gauge station in situ (measurements on location) details of sea level change compared with in situ thermosteric volume change.

The tide gauge station records show a sea level rise trend, while the thermal expansion contraction does not.

The graph at Fig. 2 shows TEOS absolute salinity compared to old-school salinity.

The graph at Fig. 3 shows TEOS conservative temperature compared to in situ temperature.

The graph at Fig. 4 shows in situ tide gauge records of sea level change compared to TEOS calculated thermosteric sea level change.

These graphs, together with the data they are based on, falsify the hypothesis that thermal expansion is "the" or even "a" major cause of sea level rise in the 20th and/or 21st centuries.

V. Conclusion

There may be an increase in information about this due to an interesting, recently filed lawsuit (Exxon, Shell and other carbon producers sued for sea level rises in California).

Stay tuned.

The next post in this series is here, the previous post in this series is here.

Monday, July 24, 2017

The Shapeshifters of Bullshitistan - 8


This series is about a metamorphosis most likely caused by proton tunneling, and about other aspects of the Bob Dylan lyric "the circus is in town" (Desolation Row).

It has long been believed that behavior is genetic, however, that belief is becoming watered down as we learn more about genes:
"In this paper we have pointed out that, since the protons are not classical particles but "wave packets" obeying the laws of modern quantum theory, the genetic code
Alternate Economics
 cannot --in spite of all precautions-- be 100% stable. Due to the quantum-mechanical "tunnel effect," there is always a small but finite probability that the protons will change place, alter the genetic code, and give rise to mutations.
This implies also that this transfer of protons over a distance of about 10-8 cm may be one of the driving forces in the evolution of living organisms on the earth."
(The Uncertain Gene). Even the "selfish gene" hypothesis is being supplanted by the "alternate gene" hypotheses (On The Origin of Genieology) since the discovery of the "only I can do it gene" that was revealed at the Republican alternate science convention in July of 2016 (Only I Can Do It).

Which led to the suspicion that the genieology of the current shapeshifters of Bullshistan may be at work in the current incarnation of "the circus is in town."

A genieology that has led to the revelation of alternate facts, alternate highway 61, alternate politics, alternate misunderestimations, alternate enemies, alternate testimony, and alternate explanations.

II. A Rising Scar

This post is about the advent of Moochifer ("Mooch" for short) and the advent of alternate economics:
"In 2005, [Moochifer] founded SkyBridge Capital, a global alternative investment firm."
(Wikipedia, emphasis added). That link explains how Moochifer sold a company that ended up @ Leyman Brothers before Leyman went Das Kapital bankrupt (while they were still "too big to fail").

III. Love Communications

Moochifer said over and over in his first Whut House press conference that he loves The Don very bigly (Heavy).

There is every indication that Moochifer will also get along well with Ryan Rand ("The First Pence"), because they both have the same patron saint (Ayn Rand: Patron Saint of The Plutocracy - 3).

IV. Conclusion

I think that sometimes the future can be grasped by grabbing a few episodes of the past (Banker Jekyll Will Hyde Your Money, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12).

If you know what I mean.

The next post in this series is here, previous post in this series is here.