We used to say that the G.O.P. was the party of Big Energy, but these days it would be more accurate to say that it’s the party of Old Energy. In the 2014 election cycle the oil and gas industry gave 87 percent of its political contributions to Republicans; for coal mining the figure was 96, that’s right, 96 percent. Meanwhile, alternative energy went 56 percent for Democrats.
.. Earlier this year Newsweek published an op-ed article purporting to show that the true cost of wind power was much higher than it seems. But it turned out that the article contained major factual errors, and its author had failed to disclose that he was the Charles W. Koch professor at Utah State, and a fellow of a Koch- and ExxonMobil-backed think tank.
Hurricane Joaquin Forecast: Why U.S. Weather Model Has Fallen Behind
By early 2013, the European model had nearly 10 times the raw computing capacity of the Global Forecast System, or G.F.S., which is run by theNational Weather Service. There were other problems, too, and the cumulative effect was obvious and irrefutable: The G.F.S. was doing worse than it rivals, and it played out in high-profile cases, like Sandy.
.. The European model’s data assimilation relies on more observations than the G.F.S. — including satellite measurements of radiation from clouds, which is crucial in areas with relatively few land observations. It also assimilates the data over time, allowing the model to start with the evolution of the weather heading into the forecast period, not just a snapshot.
Many Conservative Republicans Believe Climate Change Is a Real Threat
A majority of Republicans — including 54 percent of self-described conservative Republicans — believe the world’s climate is changing and that mankind plays some role in the change, according to anew survey conducted by three prominent Republican pollsters.
The results echo a number of other recent surveys concluding that despite the talk of many of the party’s candidates, a significant number of Republicans and independent voters are inclined to support candidates who would back some form of climate action.
.. And while Mr. Obama’s efforts to push some form of price on carbon pollution failed in Congress, the Republicans’ survey found that 54 percent of conservative Republicans would support a carbon tax if the money were rebated, and 54 percent supported a five-year tax credit to promote renewable energy.
Pope Francis and His Little Fiat
big, black Secret Service S.U.V. pulled up, one of the type favored by entertainment moguls and Manhattan limousine services, which weigh more than five thousand pounds and get about seven or eight miles to the gallon, on a good day.
Behind the huge gas guzzler, there was a little black Fiat 500L, the same car had ferried Pope Francis into town from Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday afternoon. Apart from the fact that it bore the license plate SCV 1, denoting it as the first vehicle of the Vatican City (“Status Civitatis Vaticanae”), it looked like any other 500L—a 1.4-liter, somewhat elongated version of the iconic Fiat 500, which gets about thirty-five miles to the gallon and costs around twenty thousand dollars. A Marine sentry held open the rear door on the passenger side, and the seventy-eight-year-old Pope climbed out to greet the President. He’d been in the United States, which accounts for about a fifth of the world’s total oil consumption, for only about eighteen hours, and up to that point hadn’t said a word in public. Already, however, he had delivered a message.
That’s how this Pope often operates—through symbolism and gestures that convey his intentions in ways that words never could.
.. Back in July, 2013, Francis instructed Catholic priests to drive modest vehicles. ”It hurts me when I see a priest or nun with the latest-model car,” he said. ”You can’t do this. A car is necessary to do a lot of work, but, please, choose a more humble one. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world.” The same month, he was spotted arriving at a papal summer house in a five-year-old Ford Focus.