Category: Press Release

Climate Watch: Could a Green New Deal Stop Idalia?

Hurricane season is starting, bringing more remonstrances about our guilt for using “fossil fuels” and causing “climate change.”

The figure shows the path of the storms in the most active hurricane season in the U.S.—in 1886. Indianola, Texas, was wiped off the map.

The graph shows the trend over decades.

Would switching to electric vehicles help?

            A continuous increase in CO2 emissions from burning coal, oil, and natural gas has not been accompanied by an increase in violent storms. Your ICE (internal combustion engine) and millions of others are not guilty.

            A couple of cautions about EVs:

  • Don’t use one as your evacuation vehicle. You might be stuck in traffic for a long time with nowhere to recharge.
  • The power may be out at the recharging station.
  • High storm surges are expected. And salt water flooding can turn a lithium battery into a “ticking time bomb.” Residual salt within the battery or battery components can form conductive “bridges” that can lead to short circuit and self-heating of the battery, resulting in fires. The time frame in which a damaged battery can ignite has been observed to vary widely, from days to weeks, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Fires are extremely difficult to extinguish.

If you are in an area where a hurricane is predicted, be ready, and do not wait until the last second to evacuate.

  • Have your ICE vehicle fueled and packed. Have your EV parked on high ground especially near a body of salt water.
  • Even if you don’t expect to evacuate, stock up on things you need.
  • Have plenty of light sources—candles, lanterns, flashlights, headlamps, and spare batteries.
  • Have a radio that does not depend on the electric power grid to get weather and emergency reports.
  • You can’t have too much clean water.

Additional information:

WW III: Doomsday Clock at 90 Seconds to Midnight

Do you worry about nuclear war?

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that the potential threat of nuclear war is no more dangerous than the “existential problem of climate change.”

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock forward to 90 s before midnight, reflecting what it considers the growing risk of nuclear war. And a number of medical journals, including Lancet and JAMA Network are simultaneously publishing articles that urge health professionals to alert the public and our leaders to the major danger to public health posed by nuclear weapons. The ultimate goal of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and others is to eliminate nuclear weapons, and meanwhile to “urge all states involved in current conflicts to pledge publicly and unequivocally that they will not use nuclear weapons in these conflicts.”

Neither NATO nor Russia appears to be inclined to make such a pledge—instead, they remind each other of the threat as provocations escalate. Moreover, Russia is suspending a landmark nuclear arms control treaty and announcing that new strategic systems have been put on combat duty.

While another indictment of Donald Trump dominates U.S. news, world turmoil spreads. A military coup has occurred in Niger, the EU’s top supplier of uranium. Both Russia and China have significant interests in Africa. An explosion at a Russian uranium enrichment plant might have involved sabotage.

A summer blockbuster, Oppenheimer, has aroused more fears of nuclear fallout.

In case you hadn’t heard of it, a radiological emergency response effort is quietly being worked on by a complex array of U.S. federal agencies. Medical countermeasures for acute radiation sickness are being developed and stockpiled.

But efforts to prevent radiation exposure to civilians are self-help. Some fire departments are using the 60-second training card below—possibly the only nuclear training they receive. A simple safe/not safe monitor, which uses a chemical that changes color when exposed to ionizing radiation, is being offered to first responders by a private nonprofit, Physicians for Civil Defense and can be purchased.

Additional information:

Climate Watch: Are We Having ‘Global Boiling’?

Are you doing your bit to “fight climate change”?

It’s not just heat waves—as in Phoenix, which just had a record number (31) of consecutive 110-degree days. UN Secretary General António Guterres says: “The era of global warming has ended, the era of global boiling has arrived.”

In Phoenix, it may feel like it, but other areas are having a cooling trend, and as the graph of satellite temperatures shows, the world is in a cooling trend, despite 600 billion tons of CO2 emissions in the last 11 years.

The UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) is still predicting warming, of 1.5 (not nearly 85!) °C, but its new chairman Jim Skea said “it was not helpful to imply” that such a change posed an “existential threat to humanity.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) asks U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry how much global temperature would drop if we spent $100 trillion to reach zero emissions by 2050. Kerry could not answer. The effect would not be measurable. Your air conditioner, car, gas stove, and hot shower are making no difference whatsoever. Neither are Kerry’s junkets by private airplane, but why not stop his emissions first?

Additional information:

Climate Watch: Should We Worry about Heat Deaths?

I hope you are staying well-hydrated and protecting your skin from excess sun exposure. There are real dangers from heat exhaustion and skin cancer.

A graph published in the Lancet warned of the dangers of heat waves—but distorted the comparison between hot and cold temperatures by changing the units on the axis. There’s not unprecedented heat, so why the fearmongering?

If you are not able to sweat normally, there is an increased risk of heat exhaustion. Causes include skin or nervous system disorders, connective-tissue disease, and certain drugs, such as antidepressants and opioids.

Of course, you should wear protective clothing or use sunscreen if you will be heavily exposed to sunlight to reduce the risk of skin cancer. But some exposure is needed to make vitamin D.

Achieving “climate goals” such as increasing electric vehicles will not help. If every country in the world did this, the predicted decrease in average global temperature would be 0.0002 °F.

The calculation may not include increased carbon dioxide emissions from fires, such as the huge cargo ship fire in the North Sea caused by an EV. Some apartment buildings won’t allow you to park your EV in an underground garage. Such fires are extremely hard to control.

Pay attention to the other side of the graph: deaths from cold. Winter is coming!

If you are in an area where electrical outages may occur, do you have a generator? Note that new Biden regulations may make portable generators unaffordable or impossible to obtain. Do you have emergency blankets or sleeping bags, at home and in your car?

Preparations need to be made in advance. Remember that weather-dependent electrical generators don’t work in bad weather.

Additional information:

Improvised Clothing and Protective Gear. Chapter 15 in Nuclear War Survival Skills.

Climate Watch: Which Heat Record Should We Look at?

I hope your electric grid is able to meet the demand in this heat.

In response to my last dispatch, it was said “well it’s only one day” and “the increase is cumulative.” More graphs from Tony Heller’s exhaustive data set of dates and places:

Every temperature over 100 °F ever recorded at Yosemite National Park

Here’s a comparison of heat waves in 1936 and 2023:

And for a really long historical perspective from long, long before the Industrial Age:

Additional information:

The Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, the petition signed by more than 31,000 scientists, and a searchable list of signatories: www.petitionproject.org.

Climate Watch: Are We Having Record Heat?

I hope you have electricity flowing to your air conditioner.

It’s summer, and it is hot in Tucson.

But as the graph shows, the summer of 2023 is cooler than usual.

Nonetheless, the climate change chorus claims that this summer is worse “in profound ways,” and there are computer models about hypothetical climate “tipping points”—not “documentation” of actual occurrence.

For perspective, Phoenix had 18 consecutive days of 110° temperatures in 1974, and Death Valley hit 134° in 1934. The six hottest July 19ths in the U.S. occurred in 1934, 1932, 1936, 1930, 1926 and 1901—when almost half of the US was over 95 °F (35 °C). Atmospheric CO2 levels were much lower then.

Every day, a new record is being set somewhere. If you have temperature stations at 10,000 locations and they have an average length of 100 years, then during a 100-day-long summer, you would expect to get about 10,000 daily maximum temperature records set.

What will happen to the climate if we spend trillions of dollars and turn off 80 percent of the world’s energy supply (“fossil fuels”)? Will the constantly postponed predicted climate crisis be averted? Will the global average temperature drop a fraction of a degree, as computer models predict? Will you feel cooler at 109.9 than at 110°?

What will happen to you without adequate electricity to cool—or heat—your home? Or without gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles? (Note that heat waves can cook electric car batteries too.)

Additional information:

WW III? U.S. Troops Ordered to Europe

President Biden previously promised that American sons and daughters would not be sent to fight and die in Ukraine. But today he authorized sending 3,000 troops to Europe as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve.

The NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, has just concluded. Ukraine president Zelenskyy was disappointed that Ukraine won’t be admitted to NATO just yet. Some members object because there is an ongoing war. Yet, the participants’ declaration read: “We reaffirm the commitment we made at the 2008 Summit in Bucharest that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, and today we recognize that Ukraine’s path to full Euro-Atlantic integration has moved beyond the need for the Membership Action Plan”—despite Russia’s repeated warnings that this is a Red Line.

The much-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive is floundering. Its troops have not yet reached even the first of three lines of entrenched Russian defenses, but are taking horrendous casualties in the “crumple” zone ahead of the defensive lines. Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter states that they have already lost 20–40 percent of the NATO-trained capability prepared for the offensive. Reportedly 8 to 10 times as many Ukrainians as Russians have died.

If the Russians have 180,000 troops in reserve, what can 3,000 Americans do? If NATO cannot win a conventional ground war, will it resort to nuclear weapons?

Americans are now supplying cluster bombs (dual-purpose improved conventional munition, DPICM) reportedly because we are out of other artillery ammunition. These munitions are outlawed all over the world because “duds” may explode long after the war, killing and maiming civilians.

Zelenskyy has been pleading for F-16s. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that they will be delivered. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Moscow can’t ignore the nuclear capability of these aircraft.

The risk of nuclear war has never been greater. Yet, according to Gilbert Doctorow, there are some signals that negotiations to end the war may begin.

Have you thought about what to do if there’s a nuclear event, and how to prepare for the event and the aftermath? Our families and communities depend on us!

You are very unlikely to be in the zone of complete destruction. Don’t plan to die!

Some resources:

WW III? Should We Worry about the Zaparozhye Nuclear Power Plant?

So far, the world has avoided an exchange of nuclear bombs, but what about the Zaparozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, the largest nuclear generating station in Europe? Could there be another Chernobyl?

The ZNPP is currently under Russian control. The reactors are shut down. Cooling water is still needed for the six reactors and the spent fuel storage pond. The destruction of the Kakhova dam caused the loss of its main water supply and also of the Kakhova hydroelectric generating facility. The power supply needed for safety features is imperiled, states the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is on site.

Ukrainian president Zelensky has released videos stating that Russia is plotting a massive terrorist attack at ZNPP. Ukraine’s spymaster Kyrylo Budanov released a video alleging that Russia has mined the ZNPP basement. A day later, U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham put forth a resolution that  specifically quotes the “destruction of a nuclear facility” and “dispersing radioactive contaminates [sic]” as an attack on NATO itself, “requiring an immediate response, including the implementation of Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty.” Simplicius writes that this is a coordinated plan for a false flag attack on ZNPP by Ukraine to get NATO directly involved in the Ukraine conflict.

The prospect of an attack on ZNPP evokes images of Chernobyl, with a plume of radioactive materials spreading worldwide. A Chernobyl-type explosion is impossible here. The Chernobyl reactor was inherently unsafe—its design permitted production of weapons-grade plutonium as well as electricity. Its “positive void coefficient” accelerated the nuclear chain reaction and power output if the reactors lost cooling water. A steam explosion blew the top off the reactor, exposing the core to the environment, as it lacked a containment building. A fire that burned for 10 days released a large amount of radioactivity to the environment. Thirty-one people were killed immediately, and up to 20,000 later cases of thyroid cancer were attributed to environmental contamination.

Casualties from Chernobyl were mostly caused by panic and overreaction—as at Fukushima. As many as 200,000 healthy babies were aborted in Western Europe because of unwarranted fear.

According to Simplicius, “we should not ignore the fact that it doesn’t matter how bad the disaster actually is, the West will ‘manufacture’ the scale which suits them.”

What should you do if ZNPP is attacked and there is a radiation “release”?

Insist on learning the actual dose and the unit of measure, not as a multiple of “normal,” and do not be deceived by apparently huge doses measured in tiny units (e.g., 100,000 microsieverts is the equivalent of about 10 rads—most people have no symptoms below 200 rads). Research the clinical significance—see the article on Fukushima linked above for a start. Do not panic.

Be aware of the massively greater risk from war. One consequence is shortages of essentials.

For suggestions on emergency medical items, see ddponline.org/medkit. Even without a hot war, we are experiencing shortages of common antibiotics. You might want to ask your doctor for prescriptions to have on hand, just in case, although you should use them only on qualified medical advice. Potassium iodide for keeping the thyroid from taking up radioactive iodine is available over the counter and at ki4u.com—which also offers radiation monitoring instruments.

Medical News Discussion Group, May 2023

  • Chemical abortions: Holly Gruhl provided a summary from the May 4 Catholic Physicians Guild meeting. Points included: 60% of abortions are done in specialized clinics, and that’s all that is provided, no real health care. A chemical abortion is used in 50% of first trimester abortions. FDA guidelines include/should include (not sure which) mitigation of harm to women and a post-abortion exam by a physician. Anti-coagulants are contraindicated. In 2016, physicians were no longer required to see patients, but could do telemed abortions. Side effects are required to be recorded, but not a death. With a chemical abortion, it is easy to avoid reporting, even though the risk of needing an ER visit is four times as high as with a surgical abortion. Complications of a chemical abortion are pain, intense cramping, bleeding, and infection. Young women frequently experience these side effects while at home alone.
  • Transgenderism issue: The Washington Post featured an article headlined “Most Americans support anti-trans policies favored by GOP, poll shows.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/05/trans-poll-gop-politics-laws/). It shows that from 30-40% of respondents favor ideas that recently would have been called unthinkable. Legislatures are pushing back.
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI): Dr. Gruhl commented on the tremendous advances in ChatGPT. This can provide better answers to patients’ questions and even convey more empathy than physicians, according to one study. AI can mimic the style of various writers and even stuttering and human errors. Possibly it could pass the Turing test. Someday, a computer application will be everybody’s “best friend.” AI incorporates the biases of its developers. Dr. Gruhl’s suggests that it would be extremely valuable to have a program that would present minority views with references to support them. “Could this make mainstream media obsolete?”, Holly Gruhl asks. AI will not create consciousness, Dr. Gruhl states. The two aspects of the universe are informational (nonmaterial) and physical (material). Computers are composed 100% of physical entities, and consciousness is 100% in the information domain.

WW III? Houston Nuclear Exercise

The FBI and the military are holding a week-long nuclear exercise in Houston “to learn how best to deal with a nuke dropped on a US city,” according to the British newspaper the Daily Mail. But what about you?

The article resembles the “bombing runs” that used to be featured periodically in American medical publications: U.S. target maps, casualty counts, and zones of destruction overlaid on city maps.

People are warned that they will see military aircraft and personnel in protective gear during the Houston exercise. Apparently, no public educational events are included.

The civilian preparedness situation in the U.S. is no better now than it was at the time of the false warning in Hawaii in 2018, and far worse than in the 1950s—although the threat level is much higher.

Nevertheless, most people will not be in the zone of complete destruction and will have an excellent chance of survival if they know what to do. Most important: drop and cover if you see a bright flash. Seek the best available shelter if there is warning or if you see fallout (it looks like sand or grit). Be aware of ways to construct expedient shelter and radiation monitoring instruments. You need distance or mass (e.g., earth, concrete, or water) between yourself and the radiation source.

The most important preparation is mental and spiritual. Your life is a precious gift from your Creator. People depend on you—your family, your community, your nation. Humanity has survived the direst catastrophes before—but only if they have not lost the will to live.

Additional information:

Jane M. Orient, M.D., janeorientmd@gmail.com