Professor Habibullo I. Abdussamatov: Wir erwarten, dass ab etwa 2042 (±11) ein tiefes Intensitätsminimum der Sonnenstrahlung (TSI) eintritt. Es handel sich dabei um das 19. Minimum der globalen Temperatur in 7500 Jahren. Nach dem Intensitätsmaximum des Sonnenzyklus 24, wird es ab ca. 2014 zum Start einer starken Abkühlung kommen. Eine kleine Eiszeit darf ab dem Jahr 2055 ± 11 erwartet werden. --Habibullo I. Abdussamatov, The Central Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences at Pulkovo (Bicentennial Decrease of the Total Solar Irradiance Leads to Unbalanced Thermal Budget of the Earth and the Little Ice Age, Applied Physics Research, 1 February 2012)

In 2040, the Chinese economy will reach $123 trillion, or nearly three times the economic output of the entire globe in 2000. China’s per capita income will hit $85,000, more than double the forecast for the European Union, and also much higher than that of India and Japan. In other words, the average Chinese megacity dweller will be living twice as well as the average Frenchman when China goes from a poor country in 2000 to a superrich country in 2040. Although it will not have overtaken the United States in per capita wealth, according to my forecasts, China’s share of global GDP—40 percent—will dwarf that of the United States (14 percent) and the European Union (5 percent) 30 years from now. This is what economic hegemony will look like. More here

On tonight’s show, “60 Minutes” profiled private big-game game hunting in Texas, which has become a $1 billion industry and is credited with saving some exotic species that are now extinct in their native lands in Africa. It’s a great example of how private property rights and profit-based game hunting give the animals a positive economic value and create strong economic incentives to increase the herds in far greater numbers than if we were to rely on pure altruism. The big-game hunters have become the true “conservationists,” and the animal rights activist are not happy about that. More here

The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years. The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century. Based on readings from more than 30,000 measuring stations, the data confirm that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997… ‘We’re now well into the second decade of the pause,’ said Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation. ‘If we don’t see convincing evidence of global warming by 2015, it will start to become clear whether the models are bunk. And, if they are, the implications for some scientists could be very serious.’ Full story here—eine deutsche Übersetzung des Mail on Sunday …

Spain halted subsidies for renewable energy projects to help curb its budget deficit and rein in power-system borrowings backed by the state that reached 24 billion euros ($31 billion) at the end of 2011. “What is today an energy problem could become a financial problem,” Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria said in Madrid. The government passed a decree today stopping subsidies for new wind, solar, co-generation or waste incineration plants.

The following has been signed by the 16 scientists listed at the end of the article: A candidate for public office in any contemporary democracy may have to consider what, if anything, to do about “global warming.” Candidates should understand that the oft-repeated claim that nearly all scientists demand that something dramatic be done to stop global warming is not true. In fact, a large and growing number of distinguished scientists and engineers do not agree that drastic actions on global warming are needed.

In September, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Ivar Giaever, a supporter of President Obama in the last election, publicly resigned from the American Physical Society (APS) with a letter that begins: “I did not renew [my membership] because I cannot live with the [APS policy] statement: ‘The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring. If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the Earth’s physical …

Data for the three main surface global annual average temperature datasets are now available for 2011. According to HadCrut3 2011 was the 12th warmest year, with a temperature anomaly of 0.342, behind 2010, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 1998 and 1997. Overall, data from 2011 in all three temperature databases continue to display the lack of increase in global annual average temperature since at least 2001. The standstill is now entering its second decade.

President Barack Obama pushed drilling for gas in shale rock and support for cleaner energy sources to boost the economy in his final State of the Union address before facing U.S. voters in November. He also pledged more oil drilling. Hydraulic fracturing, the process of injecting water, sand and chemicals underground to free gas trapped in rock, could create more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade, Obama said yesterday. The process, called fracking, is among a list of energy policies Obama said would fuel economic growth. “We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years, and my administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy,” Obama said.