XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   Why on earth would right-wing people with connections to the fossil fuel   
   industry lie about `frozen wind turbines' in TX?   
   Jamie Henn and Duncan Meisel, The Independent via Carbon Brief   
      
   A piece in the Independent by Jamie Henn and Duncan Meisel, organisers   
   of a Clean Creatives campaign which aims to hold to account the PR and   
   advertising agencies that work with the fossil fuel industry, looks at   
   the "disinformation" that has been circulating following the extreme   
   cold temperatures and resulting blackouts in TX. They write that as   
   the winter storm rolled towards TX, "it was accompanied by a   
   barrage of lies about how renewable energy - and `frozen wind   
   turbines' in particular - was to blame for potential blackouts". It   
   notes that TX Republican senator John Cornyn, Montana Republican   
   senator Steve Daines and congresswoman Lauren Boebert had all   
   circulated posts and images supporting this idea. "What do these   
   politicians have in common? Boebert and Daines have both received   
   extensive fossil fuel contributions, while Cornyn was the top   
   recipient of oil and gas money in Congress over the last 2 years,"   
   they write. The piece states that politicians and news outlets   
   "shouldn't be parroting Big Oil's talking points", as the authors   
   explain that the situation in TX is the result of the "combined   
   threat of the climate crisis and our over-reliance on fossil   
   fuels". The authors warn that it is not enough to wait for false   
   stories to spread online before factchecking them. "We need to   
   actually dismantle the industry's disinformation machine - or at the   
   very least, throw a few wrenches in the gears."   
      
   Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal, which has a long history on its   
   opinion pages of attacking climate science and climate policies, has   
   published its second editorial in 2 days seeking to blame the   
   blackouts on "bad energy policy" and specifically   
   renewables. "Politicians don't care about grid reliability until the   
   power goes out. And for 3 decades politicians from both parties   
   have pushed subsidies for renewables that have made the grid less   
   stable," it says, stating that "TX's overreliance on wind power   
   that has left the grid more vulnerable to bad weather". [See section   
   above for comments from the Electric Reliability Council of TX   
   (ERCOT), the state's grid manager, explaining that failing gas   
   generation was the main issue.]   
      
   --   
   WHO confirms dramatic fall in new COVID-19 cases globally   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:33Z   
   The World Health Organization says there has been a significant fall in the   
   number of new coronavirus cases being reported globally as vaccine rollouts   
   continue, while Melbourne is waking up to day 4 of its "circut-breaker"   
   lockdown.   
      
   'Huge step for British car manufacturing': Luxury car brand Jaguar to go all   
   electric by 2025   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:32Z   
   Struggling luxury car brand Jaguar plans to phase out internal combustion   
   engines -- a move that has been welcomed by the British automotive industry   
   and its Prime Minister.   
      
   Ross River virus infections reach record levels in NSW   
   ABC North Coast, 16 Feb 2021 05:45Z   
   Three months ago Graeme Stuart was playing golf, paddling a dragon boat and   
   loving life as a grey nomad. Now, thanks to the debilitating virus, even   
   simple tasks are sometimes beyond him.   
      
   [Compounding!]   
   Why is the power still out? ERCOT and CenterPoint explain outage   
   KHOU.com, 15 Feb 2021 20:41Z   
   Those in Houston and other parts of TX started experiencing power outages   
   as the grid was put under stress due to Arctic weather.   
      
     Frozen Wind Farms Are Just a Small Piece of TX's Power Woes   
     Yahoo Finance, 16 Feb 2021 01:41Z   
     (Bloomberg). Don't point too many fingers at TX wind turbines, because   
     they're not the main reason broad swaths of the state have been plunged into   
   ...   
      
   City of Abilene: 2-3 hours of water left; Eliminate all non-essential use   
   immediately   
   KTXS, 16 Feb 2021 0:40Z   
   The City of Abilene said water customers have 2 to 3 hours of treated   
   water capacity remaining at current consumption levels. "Immediate   
   curtailment of ...   
      
   Scientists say Jupiter was responsible for the asteroid that killed the   
   dinosaurs   
   The Next Web, 15 Feb 2021 22:37Z   
   One of the galaxy's oldest whodunits may have finally been solved thanks   
   to some simulation-powered super sleuthing from Harvard University.   
   In this case, we ...   
      
   CO2 dip may have helped dinosaurs walk from South America to Greenland   
   Phys.org, 15 Feb 2021 20:37Z   
   A new paper refines estimates of when herbivorous dinosaurs must have   
   traversed North America on a northerly trek to reach Greenland, and points   
   out an ...   
      
   Planet Nine Might Be a Giant Illusion, Scientists Say, And Here's Why   
   ScienceAlert, 15 Feb 2021 22:23Z   
   A hypothetical mystery planet thought to be responsible for strange orbits   
   in the outer Solar System just got dealt one of its biggest blows yet.   
      
   Light used to detect quantum information stored in 100,000 nuclear quantum bits   
   Phys.org, 15 Feb 2021 16:20Z   
   Researchers have found a way to use light and a single electron to   
   communicate with a cloud of quantum bits and sense their behavior, making it   
   possible to ...   
      
   'Probably the biggest bribe ever given': The woman who exposed Putin   
   ABC/Foreign Correspondent, 15 Feb 2021 19:30Z   
   She's a thorn in the side of Russia's strongman President. Maria Pevchikh   
   claims her latest expose confirms Vladimir Putin is secretly "the richest   
   person in the world".   
      
   [Belated:]   
   UK introduces Australian-style hotel quarantine. But one perk for guests   
   could be 'very risky'   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:27Z   
   Nearly a year after the coronavirus pandemic began, the UK has introduced an   
   Australian-style hotel quarantine system, but with some major differences.   
      
   Calls for dedicated quarantine facility for Victoria, with Avalon Airport   
   exploring options   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 19:28Z   
   Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says it would be "fantastic" if Victoria   
   had a stand-alone hotel quarantine facility like Howard Springs, as Avalon   
   Airport is mooted as a regional site for a hotel quarantine new facility.   
      
     Travellers at Holiday Inn 'hot hotel' to be transferred after water damage   
     ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:54Z   
     Residents at the Holiday Inn on Flinders Lane, a quarantine hotel   
     specifically for COVID-positive patients, will be transferred to another   
     facility after water damage over the weekend.   
      
   How mental health services funded during the pandemic could be Australia's   
   missing link   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:27Z   
   In Victoria, 15 dedicated mental health clinics were set up last year as a   
   response to the pandemic. Advocates say these clinics can save lives and   
   transform a 'broken' system, but need to be funded beyond the promised 12   
   months.   
      
   'False and fake' $36m tourism plan for North Stradbroke Island wasted on   
   controversial projects, locals say   
   ABC News, 15 Feb 2021 20:26Z   
   Tourism operators on North Stradbroke Island off Brisbane say a $36 mn   
   tourism fund should be spent on practical things like new toilet blocks,   
   beach showers and footpaths not on controversial projects like the "Whale on   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)