Global Hoax

Nivedita Khandekar
Indore, February 5, 2007


In a remarkable feat, three amateur explorers have stumbled upon more than 100 fossilised eggs of dinosaurs in Madhya Pradesh. The eggs, belonging to the Cretaceous Era (approximately 144 to 65 million years ago), have been discovered in Kukshi-Bagh area of Dhar district, some 150 kms south-west of Indore.

The rare find is a significant step in the study of the pre-historic life in Narmada Valley.

"All the eggs were discovered from a single nesting site in a start to end exploration for 18 hours at the site in Kukshi-Bagh area, 40 kms from Manavar. As many as 6-8 eggs were found per nests," an excited Vishal Verma of the Mangal Panchayatan Parishad, a group of amateur explorers, told Hindustan Times from near the site.
Stupendous discovery: Mangal Panchayatan Parishad members with the fossilised eggs. (HT Photo)
"The eggs are from upper cretaceous era when the dinosaurs were yet to be extinct. These eggs can be categorised in three types of soropaud dinosaurs, which were herbivorous. These animals used to come from far away areas to lay eggs on the sandy banks of the rivers in this area, identified scientifically as Lameta bed," Verma said.

The dinosaurs were 40-90 feet in length, he added.

Along with the fossilised eggs, the team - comprising two other members Rajesh Chouhan and Govind Verma - also discovered footprints of the dinosaurs through which they could also trace the 'track way' of the heavy animals now extinct.

• The richest dinosaur field in India is in the "Deccan Traps" near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

• About 65 million years ago, a huge mass of volcanic rock erupted from the earth, covering 500,000 sq km in Maharashtra and MP with lava 2 km high. This is exactly the time when all large dinosaur species became extinct.

• A small but ferocious dinosaur, about the size of adult humans, was named Jubbulpuria after it was found in Jabalpur by Matley in 1933.
Geological Survey of India's former Director (Palaeontology) Dr Arun Sonakia who was also at the site of the find told this correspondent over telephone, "It's a good job done by amateurs. With this find, the scientists would be able to know more about the spread of the dinosaurs. It can also throw light on the reasons of extinction."

"Plus the nesting sites and large number of fossilised eggs would also throw light on the variety of dinosaurs that existed in the cretaceous era," Sonakia added.

The Parishad had earlier discovered fossilised bones of the dinosaurs in the region.

By David Harsanyi
Denver Post Staff Columnist
Denver Post
Article Launched:06/05/2006 01:00:00 AM MDT

You'll often hear the left lecture about the importance of dissent in a free society.

Why not give it a whirl?

Start by challenging global warming hysteria next time you're at a LoDo cocktail party and see what happens.

Admittedly, I possess virtually no expertise in science. That puts me in exactly the same position as most dogmatic environmentalists who want to craft public policy around global warming fears.

The only inconvenient truth about global warming, contends Colorado State University's Bill Gray, is that a genuine debate has never actually taken place. Hundreds of scientists, many of them prominent in the field, agree.

Gray is perhaps the world's foremost hurricane expert. His Tropical Storm Forecast sets the standard. Yet, his criticism of the global warming "hoax" makes him an outcast.

"They've been brainwashing us for 20 years," Gray says. "Starting with the nuclear winter and now with the global warming. This scare will also run its course. In 15-20 years, we'll look back and see what a hoax this was."

Gray directs me to a 1975 Newsweek article that whipped up a different fear: a coming ice age.

"Climatologists," reads the piece, "are pessimistic that political leaders will take any positive action to compensate for the climatic change. ... The longer the planners delay, the more difficult will they find it to cope with climatic change once the results become grim reality."

Thank God they did nothing. Imagine how warm we'd be?

Another highly respected climatologist, Roger Pielke Sr. at the University of Colorado, is also skeptical.

Pielke contends there isn't enough intellectual diversity in the debate. He claims a few vocal individuals are quoted "over and over" again, when in fact there are a variety of opinions.

I ask him: How do we fix the public perception that the debate is over?

"Quite frankly," says Pielke, who runs the Climate Science Weblog (climatesci.atmos.colostate.edu), "I think the media is in the ideal position to do that. If the media honestly presented the views out there, which they rarely do, things would change. There aren't just two sides here. There are a range of opinions on this issue. A lot of scientists out there that are very capable of presenting other views are not being heard."

Al Gore (not a scientist) has definitely been heard - and heard and heard. His documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," is so important, in fact, that Gore crisscrosses the nation destroying the atmosphere just to tell us about it.

"Let's just say a crowd of baby boomers and yuppies have hijacked this thing," Gray says. "It's about politics. Very few people have experience with some real data. I think that there is so much general lack of knowledge on this. I've been at this over 50 years down in the trenches working, thinking and teaching."

Gray acknowledges that we've had some warming the past 30 years. "I don't question that," he explains. "And humans might have caused a very slight amount of this warming. Very slight. But this warming trend is not going to keep on going. My belief is that three, four years from now, the globe will start to cool again, as it did from the middle '40s to the middle '70s."

Both Gray and Pielke say there are many younger scientists who voice their concerns about global warming hysteria privately but would never jeopardize their careers by speaking up.

"Plenty of young people tell me they don't believe it," he says. "But they won't touch this at all. If they're smart, they'll say: 'I'm going to let this run its course.' It's a sort of mild McCarthyism. I just believe in telling the truth the best I can. I was brought up that way."

So next time you're with some progressive friends, dissent. Tell 'em you're not sold on this global warming stuff.

Back away slowly. You'll probably be called a fascist.

Don't worry, you're not. A true fascist is anyone who wants to take away my air conditioning or force me to ride a bike.

David Harsanyi's column appears Monday and Thursday. He can be reached at 303-820-1255 or dharsanyi@denverpost.com.

By ROB HARRIS, Associated Press WriterWed Jan 24, 7:19 AM ET

A British zoo announced Wednesday the virgin birth of five Komodo dragons, giving scientists new hope for the captive breeding of the endangered species.

In an evolutionary twist, the newborns' eight-year-old mother Flora shocked staff at Chester Zoo in northern England when she became pregnant without ever having a male partner or even being exposed to the opposite sex.

"Flora is oblivious to the excitement she has caused but we are delighted to say she is now a mum and dad," said a delighted Kevin Buley, the zoo's curator of lower vertebrates and invertebrates.

The shells began cracking last week, after an eight-month gestation period, which culminated with the arrival on Tuesday of the fifth black and yellow colored dragon.

The dragons are between 15.5 and 17.5 inches and weigh between 3.5 and 5.3 ounces, said Buley, who leads the zoo's expert care team.

He said the reptiles are in good health and enjoying a diet of crickets and locusts.

Other reptile species reproduce asexually in a process known as parthenogenesis. But Flora's virginal conception, and that of another Komodo dragon earlier this year at the London Zoo, are the first time it has been documented in a Komodo dragon.

The evolutionary breakthrough could have far-reaching consequences for endangered species.

Captive breeding could ensure the survival of the world's largest lizards, with fewer than 4,000 Komodos left in the wild.

Scientists hope the discovery will pave the way to finding other species capable of self fertilization.

While it wasn't unusual for female dragons to lay eggs without mating, scientists understood they were witnessing something important when they realized Flora's eggs had been fertilized.

DNA paternity tests confirmed the lack of male input, although the brood are not exact clones of their mother.

Parthenogenesis — where eggs become embryos without male fertilization — had only been noted once before in a Komodo dragon. Genetic tests showed that Sungai, a resident of London Zoo, was the sole parent to offspring last April.

Saturday, January 20, 2007
BOB CARLTON
News staff writer

James Spann is used to covering storms.

Not being in the middle of one.

But the ABC 33/40 meteorologist finds himself at the center of the global-warming controversy after the Internet site The Drudge Report posted a link to comments Spann made on his weather blog Thursday night.

"Everything kind of exploded," Spann said Friday. "Writing stuff like that is something I always do, but when Drudge links to it, it just brings the world to you all of a sudden."

All that controversy is over a cyber-disagreement Spann has with a climate scientist from The Weather Channel.

In essence, Spann does not believe that human activity is contributing to global warming and contends that "billions of dollars of grant money is flowing into the pockets of those on the man-made global warming bandwagon." Spann received so much traffic on his site that it was temporarily shut down Thursday night, he said.

"We have never been shut down with traffic before," he said. "During tornado outbreaks and hurricanes, we've been close, but we've never had a total shutdown or crash like this. It's kind of unprecedented."

Then the FOX News Network called and asked him to appear on "Hannity & Colmes." And CNN Headline News, which wanted to book him for "Glenn Beck." Spann said he is scheduled to appear on both of those shows Monday night.

What pressed all of those hot buttons was Spann's response to comments made by the Weather Channel's Heidi Cullen on a blog she posted Dec. 21.

On that post, titled "Junk Controversy, Not Junk Science," Cullen supported the theory that increases in levels of gases, particularly carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere have led to global warming, and she challenged meteorologists who say it is the result of cyclical weather patterns.

"If a meteorologist can't speak to the fundamental science of climate change, then maybe the (American Meteorological Society) shouldn't give them a Seal of Approval," Cullen wrote.

Spann fired off his response in a blog he posted before his 6 p.m. weather forecast Thursday on ABC 33/40. It was picked up by The Drudge Report three hours later.

"Well, well," Spann wrote on his blog. "Some `climate expert' on `The Weather Channel' wants to take away AMS certification from those of us who believe the recent `global warming' is a natural process. So much for `tolerance,' huh?

"I have been in operational meteorology since 1978, and I know dozens and dozens of broadcast meteorologists all over the country. ... I do not know of a single TV meteorologist who buys into the man-made global-warming hype. I know there are a few out there, but I can't find them."

Cullen, who was not available for comment Friday afternoon, has since posted a follow-up blog item in which she wrote that she did not want to stifle the debate over global warming.

"I've read all your comments saying I want to silence meteorologists who are skeptical of the science of global warming," she wrote. "That is not true. ...

"Many of you have accused me and The Weather Channel of taking a political position on global warming. That is not our intention."

300 and counting:

As of late Friday afternoon, Spann reported more than 300 responses to his comments on his blog, which can be found at www.jamesspann.com.

About 80 percent of those supported what he wrote, Spann said. Of the opposing 20 percent, some were "as nasty as when I have to cut off `General Hospital' for a tornado warning."

Among those posts:

"Stand your ground, James. That's why your `whole team,' however many of us there are, love you. How ridiculous to want to revoke something that you have EARNED."

"Way to go, James! I always thought you were a man of character, and this proves it once again."

"Taking away AMS certification may be a little severe, but on the other hand, clearly anyone who refuses to believe that humans have any affect on the weather is no one anyone should listen to about anything."

"James, the only reason to watch TWC (The Weather Channel) is to see if Jim Cantore will finally get taken out by a sheet of wind-borne corrugated metal. Count me as a scientist who believes that global warming is caused by hot air in Congress and overheated printing presses at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing."

Spann said he just wants "an open marketplace of ideas" about global warming and would like to engage in a debate on the subject with Cullen.

"She suggested that anybody that didn't agree with her, that our AMS certification should be taken away," Spann said. "That was my biggest problem with it.

"I welcome opposing viewpoints," he added. "The only way I can learn is by reading what other people think and believe, but I just don't think pride and arrogance has a place in science."

Third-party view:

NBC 13 meteorologist Jerry Tracey was unaware Friday afternoon of the battle of the blogs between Cullen and Spann. But he said there was not enough evidence yet to support or dismiss the claim that humanity is to blame for global warming.

"Yes, it's an important topic, and yes, we need to learn more about it," Tracey said. "But no, we do not yet know enough to say definitely that there is a significant impact toward global warming occurring because of man-made activities.

"Last weekend was so warm here and people tried to explain that based on global warning," he said. "There's just nothing to that. It was warm because of the weather pattern."

E-mail: bcarlton@bhamnews.com

© 2007 The Birmingham News
© 2007 al.com All Rights Reserved.

Magic water harvesting machine
Section: NEW PIONEER — by Nick Rosen, 15 Nov 2006

Abe Sher, CEO Aqua Science
Sher: secret science
Amazing. A gizmo which sucks the air in, then sucks the water out of the air, and then spews out clean fresh water. 500 Gallons of it – a day. Every off-grid home should have one. Only problem is it’ll set you back a cool $500,000 . FEMA have already bought two, and the US Army is said to be on the verge of buying many, because getting our boys pure water is one of the key logistics requirements of any operational planning.

The box o’ tricks is from Aqua Sciences Inc, and the company says the high cost is justified because in the end it “only costs you $0.25 per gallon.” For those of us without an entire battalion at our command, however the price is still a little steep. The makers are working on a consumer model, but it won’t be out any time soon.

Its precise workings aren’t public, but they use a chemical process similar to the one that causes salt to absorb moisture from the air (and clump up your saltshaker). The water-harvesting technology was originally the brainchild of the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which sought ways to ensure sustainable water supplies for U.S. combat troops deployed in arid regions like Iraq.

Darpa gave millions to research companies like LexCarb and Sciperio to create a contraption that could capture water in the Mesopotamian desert. But it was Aqua Sciences, that was first to put a product on the market that can operate in harsh climates.

“People have been trying to figure out how to do this for years, and we just came out of left field in response to Darpa,” said Abe Sher, chief executive officer of Aqua Sciences. “The atmosphere is a river full of water, even in the desert. It won’t work absolutely everywhere, but it works virtually everywhere.”

Sher said he is “not at liberty” to disclose details of the government contracts, except that Aqua Sciences won two highly competitive bids with “some very sophisticated companies.”

He also declined to comment on how the technology actually works.

“This is our secret sauce,” Sher said. “Like Kentucky Fried Chicken, it tastes good, but we won’t tell you what’s in it.”

“We figured out how to tap it in a very unique and proprietary way,” Sher said. “We figured out how to mimic nature, using natural salt to extract water and act as a natural decontamination.

“Think of the Dead Sea, where nothing grows around it because the salt dehydrates everything. It’s kind of like that.”

The 20-foot machine can churn out 600 gallons of water a day without using or producing toxic materials and byproducts.

Jason Rowe, chief of staff to Rep. Tom Feeney, Florida Republican, called the technology “pretty impressive.”

“I was pretty blown away by the things it’s able to do,” Rowe said. “The fact that this technology is not tied to humidity like others are makes it an attractive alternative for military bases in the Mideast where humidity is not really an option.

“It seems like it’s a cheaper alternative to trucking in bottled water, which has a shelf life,” said Rowe, who described himself as a fiscal hawk.

Once deployed, the machines could reduce the cost of logistical support for supplying water to the troops in Iraq by billions of dollars, said Stuart Roy, spokesman of the DCI Group, Aqua Sciences’ public affairs firm.

The cost to transport water by C-17 cargo planes, then truck it to the troops, runs $30 a gallon. The cost, including the machines from Aqua Sciences, will be reduced to 30 cents a gallon, Roy said.

Several systems on the market can create water through condensation, but the process requires a high level of humidity. Aqua Sciences’ machines only require 14 percent humidity, Roy said. “That’s why this technology is superior and why they are getting the contracts.”

Here’s the spec: Fully-contained mobile freshwater generation system for large-scale production, including power generator

Self-powered by diesel generator (7-day supply), or by grid electricity

Easy to install, use and maintain

Container models can produce up to 1,200 gallons of water per day for 7 days without outside electrical source or refueling.

The 40 foot container with the reverse osmosis module can provide emergency water for up to 3,000 people per day.

20 FOOT EMERGENCY WATER STATION

Rated Water Production: Up to 500 gallons/day (depending on conditions)

Dimensions: Modified 20′ container: 20′ long x 7.7′ wide x 7.8′ high

Water Containers: Individual water containers for emergency distribution included

40 FOOT EMERGENCY WATER STATION

Rated Water Production: Up to 1,200 gallons/day (depending on conditions)

Integrated R.O. Module: Included reverse osmosis module can provide up to an additional 8,000 gallons/day from an existing source dependent upon conditions.

Dimensions: Modified 40′ container: 40′ long x 7.7′ wide x 7.8′ high

Water Containers: Individual water containers for emergency distribution included

Modular design enhances reliability

Quick standard connection for external storage tank

Can be powered by electricity or generator

Portable or can be affixed to structure

Easy to install, use, maintain and move

Deliverable by truck to isolated areas