Monday, December 30, 2024

Hochul and NY State Climate Cult Members Hit Energy Companies up for $75B

Hochul and NY State Climate Cult Members Hit Energy Companies up for $75B

AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File

I've covered so much lefty insanity already today that my head is close to overflowing - and it's not cocktail time yet - and then this little gem hit the wires.

You have got to be kidding - the money-grubbing, virtue-signaling mah-roons. I don't think there are six functioning brain cells between the lot of them.

Oh, for sure.

"Most responsible for" and "held accountable" cha-CHING!

*gag*

This shameless money grab - and that's all it is - is going to make for some pretty interesting discovery during what I imagine is going to be an epic court fight.

...The legislation, called the Climate Change Superfund Act, mandates that the companies responsible for the bulk of carbon emissions buildup between 2000 and 2024 pay about $3 billion each year for 25 years.

“With nearly every record rainfall, heat wave, and coastal storm, New Yorkers are increasingly burdened with billions of dollars in health, safety, and environmental consequences due to polluters that have historically harmed our environment,” Governor Hochul said.

The law was modeled on the original Superfund law, which was established in 1980 and requires companies to pay for the cleanup of toxic waste wrought by incidents like oil and chemical spills.

New York’s new law focuses on pollution produced by the combustion of fossil fuels, which results in the warming of the atmosphere, causing extreme weather, like floods and storms, to be more frequent, experts say.

Gosh. They're trotting out the academics to attest that the costs associated with this fleecing "won't fall back on consumers."

Of course, they won't. Just like the cost of New York State's insane rush to renewables hasn't "come back on consumers," right? That's why electricity is so "cheap and affordable" even at this stage of the transition in New York.

I KID, I KID

...The 28.8 cnts per kWh that New York households paid for electricity in June 2024 was 61.8 percent more than the nationwide average cost of 17.8 cents per kWh. Last June, electricity costs in New York were 24.6 cents per kWh, compared to the national average of 17.0 cents. Over the past five Junes, New York area electricity prices exceeded the national average by at least 44 percent.

But no worries, right? Woo-hoo, Hochul!

Those fossil fuel companies need to pay for all the damage from those *checks notes* "extreme" events that never, ever happened before, ever, in the history of man - or at least New York State - until twenty-four years ago.

Suddenly, all those nat gas furnaces and stoves, those more fuel-efficient cars, and the nat gas power plants that keep the lights on all went berserk. Wreaked havoc everywhere - literally every corner of the state.

...“Repairing from and preparing for extreme weather caused by climate change will cost more than half a trillion dollars statewide by 2050,” said State Senator Liz Krueger, a Democrat who was the lead sponsor of the legislation. “That’s over $65,000 per household, and that’s on top of the disruption, injury and death that the climate crisis is causing in every corner of our state.”

I can't decide what qualifies for "extreme." When everything they whine about has happened before.

Literally, weather repeats itself. Sometimes with a glove, sometimes with a baseball bat.

Even during the years that they're trying to soak the energy companies for.

My friend Tom Nelson has a really terrific primer on where the hot and cold data for the "extreme" temperature claims come from.

There is so much data available to all now and so many scientists who finally have a voice to be heard, challenging the narratives that have driven these disastrous, ruinous policies.

...Yet, alarmists continue to push the narrative of an impending crisis. It's time to challenge the fearmongering and focus on the facts!  #ClimateReality

What that is going to do when these lawsuits hit the courts is expose the climate cult industry for what it is - a massive grift with a dedicated censorship cabal to protect it.

Not only is New York State - and Vermont, with their similar May 2024 bill - going to have to directly tie the fossil fuel industry (that still drives some 81% of our power generations) to be the cause of "climate change," they are also going to have to prove that the fossil fuel industry is responsible for extreme events caused by "climate change," a charge the data doesn't begin to support.

They are going to have to prove events are "more extreme" and what do they mean by that? If they really just mean "more expensive" because more people/structures/infrastructure are impacted than was there 20 years ago, how are the fossil fuel companies responsible for population growth and sprawl?

What if it's all hooey?

...No increase in extreme weather.

No increase in loss of life. 

No increase in costs. 

The facts don't fit the narrative. It's all part of a grand scheme to keep you in fear while they pull the strings. 

Don't let them manipulate you. Dive deeper and uncover the truth at http://IrrationalFear.com, where I challenge the mainstream myths and expose the real stories behind climate data. Educate yourself and see through the scare tactics designed to control you. 

Discovery is going to be fun.

Especially with the incoming Trump administration opening up the drawers in the EPA to see just how far under the covers they've been with helping drive the Science™ instead of the science

Woo-hoo, Hochul.

https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2024/12/26/hochul-and-ny-state-climate-cult-members-hit-energy-companies-up-for-75b-n3798250?utm_source=rsmorningbriefingvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Too Cool: Massive 'Dolphin Stampede' Races Off California Coast

Too Cool: Massive 'Dolphin Stampede' Races Off California Coast

(Credit: Pagie Page/Unsplash)

I’m going to step away from politics for a moment, from Joe Biden’s endless vacationing, from the corrupt media, and from grisly crime stories. This story doesn’t have any heroes or villains, no victims or perps—just dolphins, lots and lots of dolphins. 

As many as 5,000 of them in fact, and they were frolicking in a "dolphin stampede" off the coast of Dana Point, California, in December.

It was a tremendous sight:

Dana Point is well-known for dolphin-watching, and although stampedes are not an everyday occurrence, there have been other instances as well.

Some estimated 5,000 long-beaked common dolphins recently raced through the churning waves off Dana Point, captured not only in the memories of a handful of folks on a rigid inflatable known as the AllsWell, but also footage since shared online.

“Dana Point has made the dolphin stampede famous,” said Gisele Anderson, who operates Capt. Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari, including the AllsWell and multiple other charter vessels. “We see them somewhat regularly, but some are more amazing than others. This is off the charts the best footage of 2024.”

Anderson and Donna Kalez, who operates Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching, are behind a 2019 trademark confirming that the coastal waters off the Dana Point Headlands make the small seaside community the “Dolphin & Whale Watching Capital of the World.” With the trademark in place, no other location in the world can legally make that claim.

“There is such joy when you see these animals; you can’t help but laugh out loud,” Anderson said. “It’s joy on the water and rivals anything we’ve had all year.”


Related: Abandoned Baby Walrus Finds New Home With Alaska's SeaLife Center 

Hoge's Heroes Saturday Edition: A Pod of Dolphins Saves Mama and Baby Whale


Here’s another undated stampede a user posted in November:

Researchers don’t know exactly why they do it. According to Capt. Dave's Dana Point Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari, there might be several explanations:

Scientists are not exactly sure what causes dolphins to stampede. It’s thought dolphins could be racing to catch up with a tasty treat of fish, or maybe they’re evading a natural predator like killer whales, or perhaps they got word of another pod of dolphins nearby. Did someone say party?

We do know that porpoising is the fastest mode of travel for dolphins because there is less resistance in the air than in water. And we know that dolphins are not fleeing the boat; they love to hang out, bow ride and interact with whale watchers. Dolphin stampedes can happen anytime and without warning off the coast of Dana Point.

I’ve been to Dana Point and gone on a watching tour, and we did in fact see quite a few dolphins—just not thousands of them all at once. Now that I would like to see.

We’ll leave you with one more video: 

Sunday, December 29, 2024

Newsom's Housing Goal Falls Short As Homelessness Increases

Newsom's Housing Goal Falls Short As Homelessness Increases

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (CA) ambitious housing agenda has hit a significant roadblock, falling two-thirds short of the targets he set in 2019 as homelessness spirals out of control. Despite billions in state funding and a flood of regulations meant to tackle the crisis, Newsom’s failure to deliver on his promises is apparent. Meanwhile, the number of people living on the streets has surged, raising serious questions about the governor’s ability to address the root causes of the state’s housing and homelessness crisis. His administration's inability to meet its goals is a stark reminder that significant government initiatives often struggle to produce real solutions, leaving the state's most vulnerable citizens with little more than empty promises.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that “California is wildly off track to meet Newsom’s 2025 housing goal,” which he vowed to build 3.5 million homes. However, only 1.1 million houses have been completed during his term. Between 2019 and 2023, only 650,000 new homes were permitted. Although the number has increased from 70,000 in 2018 to 115,000 in 2023, Newsom’s plan has built just 110,000 homes annually. 

Since taking office, Newsom has signed dozens of laws that aim to streamline the construction of new housing, approved billions of dollars for affordable housing through the state budget, and created a new enforcement unit within his housing agency to crack down on cities that stonewall new housing. The data shows the state is far short of the roughly 500,000 that would need to be approved each year to meet Newsom’s initial goal. In 2022, when he was running for reelection, Newsom walked back the 3.5 million number when his administration set a new, less ambitious target: Cities would need to plan for 2.5 million new homes by 2030. So far, cities and counties have planned for 1.1 million new homes through their housing plans during Newsom’s tenure. 

Meanwhile, housing costs in California are rising. In 2017 the average home price was $546,000; now, the median is roughly $868,000. 

Newsom has also dropped the ball on the electric vehicle (EV) policy, in which his proposed ban on the sale of gas-powered cars, which takes effect in 2035, has seen a shortfall. Its sales growth has stalled as President-elect Donald Trump vows to eliminate federal EV tax credit subsidies for buyers and implement tariffs on cars made in Mexico. As a result, the prices of automobiles increased.

Thirty-five percent of new cars sold must be zero-emission. To make that goal, EV sales would have to increase 33 percent. However, Toyota North America Chief Operating Officer Jack Hollis said the “demand is not there.”