Wednesday, November 4, 2015 -- China Admits To Burning Way More Coal Than Originally Reported -- I'm Shocked, Shocked, I Say

Active rigs:

	11/4/2015	11/04/2014	11/04/2013	11/04/2012	11/04/2011
Active Rigs	69	190	180	188	196

RBN Energy: The EPA reports on hydraulic fracking.

EPA concluded:

“We did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.  Of the potential mechanisms identified in this report we found specific instances where one or more mechanisms led to impacts on drinking water resources, including contamination of drinking water wells.  The number of identified cases, however, was small compared to the number of hydraulically fractured wells.”

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GOP takes Kentucky governorship. NYT, NPR in shock.

Most populous Connecticut city votes felon ex-mayor back into office. Had been in federal prison for seven years. Not reported by NYT, NPR. 

At least he didn't use a gun. Killing three people with a claw hammer; sentenced to death. Supreme Court agrees with killer; he could suffer a seizure during final punishment. No background check when claw hammer was purchased. NPR reported.

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Global Warming

China

The New York Times is reporting that China is burning a lot more coal than originally reported:

China, the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases from coal, has been burning up to 17 percent more coal a year than the government previously disclosed, according to newly released data. The finding could complicate the already difficult efforts to limit global warming.

Even for a country of China’s size, the scale of the correction is immense. The sharp upward revision in official figures means that China has released much more carbon dioxide — almost a billion more tons a year according to initial calculations — than previously estimated.

The increase alone is greater than the whole German economy emits annually from fossil fuels.

Officials from around the world will have to come to grips with the new figures when they gather in Paris this month to negotiate an international framework for curtailing greenhouse-gas pollution. The data also pose a challenge for scientists who are trying to reduce China’s smog, which often bathes whole regions in acrid, unhealthy haze.

Wow, this opens up so many more questions and observations.

1.  Despite this huge increase in CO2 emissions which have been under-reported for decades, there has been no evidence of global warming for 19 years.

2.  Despite this huge increase in CO2 emissions which have been under-reported for decades, there has been relatively little increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration. In fact, the most recent number (September, 2015) showed atmospheric CO2 concentration once again below 400, the level at which the world is about ready to come to an end as we know it.

3. How did the UN miss this huge discrepancy?

4. Why did the UN use China's data and not independently researched data which was out there?

5. Why is China releasing this information now? Yes, I know it came out in an updated Chinese economic report, but they could have massaged the data. It would not be the first time a country massages data. The US admitted to massaging labor data a couple of years ago (I forget exactly when that story came out).  ZeroHedge reports the same thing, and very, very recently.

And now the spin from The New York Times:

When President Xi Jinping proposed that China’s emissions stop growing by 2030, he did not say what level they would reach by then. The new numbers may mean that the peak will be higher, but they also raise hopes that emissions will crest many years sooner, Mr. Yang, the climate adviser, said.

“I think this implies that we’re closer to a peak, because there’s also been a falloff in coal consumption in the past couple of years,” he said.

I think it's quite obvious why China admitted to burning more coal than originally reported. In fact, one could argue that it would be in China's best interest to "high-ball" the number -- report as big a number as possible -- make it even bigger than it really is. By doing absolutely nothing, then in 10 years, they can report the "real" number and show they've made process. 

Unless I missed it, The New York Times does not explore the reasons why China is coming up with "more realistic" numbers now.