The Global Warming Religion

Blasphemy:
“Jesus of Nazareth has now appointed one of his successors, Greta Thunberg.”
                 -- Church of Sweden (Evangelical Lutheran)

• Big Climate wants power and money.
• Urban elites want a hip religion believed by other elites (as opposed to those old-fashioned faiths what are about, say, God). 

These days, none of this is about science. 

Don't Stand Too Close to the Big Boy!

There are two excellent reasons not to stand too close the the Big Boy as it heads west across Kansas and then to Denver and Cheyenne to wrap up its tour.

#1. Is Safety! Periodically, trains will throw objects. You could be injured or killed. Stay back at least 25 feet.

#2. The Big Boy is so big you can't really see it too close.

Relative of mine (far too close for safety and good viewing).

See what I mean about "too close"?

So, for the sake of safety and better viewing, stay back 25 or more feet. 

The train is on display at KC Union Station Monday. It will then head west across Kansas on the ex-Kansas Pacific track to Denver the rest of the week.

Golden Hour Shot Of Union Pacific's "Big Boy"

Richard Smith

This was the Big Boy passing through Martin City, MO about 4:30 this afternoon. He put on a very impressive show.

My family was with me (except for one ill granddaughter). The other granddaughter was here and there are few things better than making family memories together.

Sunday Fun: Two Great Model Railroad Minds

Last week, the Daily Mail had an article about Rod Stewart's never-before-seen model railroad.

Daily Mail

There were a couple items similar to my layout,

Yet, he was inspired by American railways because that is where he was living when he began the model in 1993. At the time, he had recently built a new house in Los Angeles and included an attic room specifically for the layout.

My layout is in the attic room and it was specially designed for the room.

More surprising, my eye caught, within this huge grouping of buildings, signals and trains...

...near the center of the image is Kansas City's Western Auto sign.

And, on a building with a very similar design to Rod's, is the same sign on my layout.

They say "great minds think alike." In this case, I'd say, "train aficionados are on the same wavelength."

And, today and Monday, Union Pacific's #4014 "Big Boy" locomotive will be passing through Kansas City. This may be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the largest railroad locomotive ever made chugging through the city. You can find the schedule (allow extra time, especially on the early side) here. It will begin its journey west across Kansas tomorrow and will make it to Salina early Wednesday afternoon on its way to Denver.

I'm So Old, I Remember When NOAA Was a Science Organization

It breaks my heart to see NOAA putting out nonsense graphs like this to boost catastrophic global warming.

The genuine trend in disaster costs? As we have discussed many times, it is this:

Please read Joanne Nova's brief essay on this nonsense, especially NOAA's small print weasel words.

As Dr. Roger Pielke, Jr., puts it:

When you worry about today's disasters, keep in mind the 1900 Galveston Hurricane killed more than 8,000 people. That number may be as high as 12,000.

As for violent tornadoes:

There is no upward trend in major disasters due to global warming. Period. 

Yes! Of Course, Girls Can Do Smart Science and Engineering

Please read this. A very clever solution to an issue I have had.

Walt Disney's World War II Training Films

These were brought to my attention by a friend. I didn't know these films existed.
The first excerpts are about aviation weather training and the clever use of aviation.

A Big Environmental Oops

Via Daily Mail

I remember when these were touted as the next big environmental thing. They certainly didn't work out.

The point is these are about 30 years old. So, when you hear Big Climate talking about the environment of 2100 (80 years from now), you know it is impossible to predict.

Indigenous Wisdom From AOC

Saturday, climate expert Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez provided us, based on her scientific expertise, a new strategy for fighting global warming:

"The way we inoculate ourselves from continuing to burn up our planet at unsustainable level, triggering feedback loops that we have not even begun to comprehend, is by honoring indigenous wisdom and allowing it to guide our climate policy."

Good luck with that.

While on the subject of nonsense, this headline caught my eye yesterday afternoon.

Yes, they are serious. Natural gas is an excellent fuel for many purposes and it is low in greenhouse gas. It appears they are more interested in gestures than actually lowering the rate of CO2 in the atmosphere.

"How Windy Is It?"

A powerful cold front is moving across the central United States and it is bringing a lot of wind with cold wave conditions. So, I am answering the question on everyone's minds: How Windy Is It?

• It is so windy, there are white caps in the commode. 
• It is so windy, President Trump's hair moved.
• It is so windy, speedometers are going backward.

And, it is so windy in Tulsa, the frozen custard* blew over.

Pictures via Twitter

And, it is so cold the cone won't melt.

*BTW: If you've never tried it, Andy's has great frozen custard. 

Happy Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day!!

I want to wish a special day to my brother-in-law, Ben Rector. A great man and a great Marine.

A Great Holiday Gift

Another recent review:

click to enlarge

I wrote Warnings because I wanted to tell the absolutely amazing story of America's unique storm warning system that has saved tens of thousands of lives and continues to save lives almost every week. It is a perfect holiday gift because it is uplifting and there is nothing political in it.

There are few things more appreciated than a hardcover book with a person inscription. It will be cherished forever.

Sunday Fun: Why Railroads Need Advanced Weather Warnings

While awaiting a phone call, the television was on Turner Classic Movies and there was a 1931 picture playing titled Other Men's Women. As a meteorologist and railfan, this segment caught my attention. If only they had precision storm warnings in 1931!

Today, AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions provides track-specific storm warnings for most of the major railroads in North America. In 2016, a segment of Union Pacific track, with a speed limit of 70 mph, washed out west of Topeka. Fortunately, we told the railroad about the danger. They sent a

track surveyor to check and, sure enough, the bridge was gone. So, unlike the fictional washout in 1931, catastrophe was avoided.

Always Keep This in Mind

What Do Wichita Visitors From Kansas City Recommend?

Some great suggestions are here.

My overall experience has shown me that it isn't possible to fully grasp the growth that Wichita is going through in merely a few trips. There will always be a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. There will always be a new idea that someone is waiting to present. Whether its a recently opened cafe or an established restaurant that has been around for over 30 years. The people that I have come to meet on my journey in seeking out what makes Wichita special, have shown me that they are continuing to be open for that growth. So I am confident that no matter what, I will always be left with more to discover in Wichita. That is why I will always be excited to come back to a place I once called home.

As Seen At the San Diego Airport Earlier Today

For those who have not been following developments in the case the last 36 hours, ABC News' Amy Robach told the world (via Project Veritas) that they had the story of serial child rapist and blackmailer Jeffery Epstein three years ago and ABC spiked the story because -- in addition to other reasons -- they wouldn't be able to do cutesy interviews with the Royal Family. That, dear readers, is pure evil.
Note also the time frame: Robach says they "had" Bill Clinton ("pictures and everything") three years ago -- which would have been when his wife was running for President.

Remember, by spiking the story, it is possible that more girls were raped.

And, Epstein did not kill himself. 

Stay Off Railroad Tracks!

Tuesday, a young man in Oregon was killed taking a senior picture on railroad tracks. Please don't -- far too many are being killed this way.

Danger: Pretend Climate 'Scientists' Making Ghoolish Headlines

And, the unserious and disgusting news media is giving them what they want.

Daily Mail

All of this is utter nonsense. The paper in question was written by Professor (of forestry!) William Ripple of Oregon State University. While this is a wild guess, I wonder if some the scientists issuing the "warning" are having trouble getting grants.

Next, Bioscience -- where the paper appeared -- is a journal with no expertise in climate. It declaring a 'climate emergency' is ludicrous.

Weather and climate-related disasters are decreasing. Deaths from weather are WAY down. There is plenty of food for the planet's people. Extreme poverty is at the lowest level in world history. 

The idea we need to "urgently" attain a planet with "far fewer humans" didn't work so well for humanity when Mao, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, and Pol Pot tried it. The very notion is dangerous.

The author of the Bloomberg (above) news article, which seemed to kick off this mess, Eric Roston (education below), who presents himself as an "expert," isn't a even a scientist.

A degree in Russian History is hardly training for understanding the atmosphere and its huge complexities. He has been selling his "gloom and doom" story for years. Yet, as we have seen many times, the climate refuses to cooperate.

What we have here is non-climate scientists telling us we have a 'climate emergency.' Wrong. There is no climate emergency. 

A superior article on global warming and its effect is below and this headline is correct. 

The basics: a power line falling or a police chase causing a fire have nothing to with climate. Compared to the first half of the 20th Century, wildfires are way down. More on the subject, from a genuine expert, is here.

Yes, it is true we didn't have modern firefighting techniques 100 years ago but it is also true we had many fewer miles of roads (fewer opportunities for fires due to cigarette butts thrown from cars) and many fewer people living in backwoods areas.

Things in the world are going very well at the moment -- which makes the people whose dollars depend on crisis nervous. Thus, the illogical and dangerous headlines about climate. After all, it is hard to get grants if global warming is not a major threat. 

This Is So True

2019 Has Been a Very Mild Year for Disasters

In spite of headlines to the contrary, 2019 has been an exceptionally mild year for disasters worldwide.

The different shades of bars on the graph represent data from Aon and Munich Re. They show the same thing: 2019 is a very mild year and the worldwide trend in disasters is down. 

The "global warming = worsening disasters," at least so far, is nonsense.