Peak Oil? What Peak Oil? Global Warming? What Global Warming? -- January 8, 2017

North Dakota's oil revenue forecast decreases by $1 billion. From oilprice.com:

• new revenue forecast: $1.1 billion less than former governor's 
• keeps oil production levels flat from the last forecast
• former governor's forecast: $4.81 billion
• new forecast: $3.68 billion
• House leadership kills proposal to increase production and extraction taxes (whew! -- North Dakota already considered a high-oil-tax state)
• lowers oil price mode to $48 from $51 - $53

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What Global Warming?

From Weather.com: Snow and Ice Covered the Ground in 49 of 50 States This Weekend.

• only Florida had no snow or ice on the ground Saturday into early Sunday morning
• 66% of the lower 48 states was covered by snow or ice as of this morning
• highest coverage so far this winter season in the US
• it was the National Weather Service office in Amarillo, TX, that pointed this out in a tweet earlier (yesterday, late Saturday)

Not just the US either; across Europe, from Moscow to Istanbul.

Bone-freezing cold, heavy snowstorms, and floods have been plaguing the European continent this week, causing power outages, traffic jams, cancelled flights, and even a stream of plastic eggs with toys washing up on a German island. 

On Saturday, heavy precipitation paralyzed Istanbul, Turkey. Around 6,000 passengers found themselves stranded as hundreds of flights to and from the city's main Ataturk Airport were cancelled due to the snowstorm.

The Bosphorus Strait was closed to ships due to poor visibility, cutting off the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea from the Mediterranean.

Many drivers abandoned their cars and walked rather than waiting for streets to be cleaned. Istanbul’s metro system operated throughout the night to deal with a sudden passenger spike.

See global temperatures, 2500 BC to 2040 AD.

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The NFL Page

Most of the wild care games (all four of them) were less than exciting this weekend, but I think the Seattle Hawks game was better than average, and if you like the Green Bay Packers, they had an outstanding game today, easily beating the New York Giants.

The Green Bay Packers will now play "a" divisional game against the Dallas Cowboys next week. Can hardly wait.

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The Political Page

How Trump won. The Wall Street Journal. If you hit a paywall, begin with this:

Robert Mercer, a computer programmer and hedge-fund manager who distrusted the political establishment and loathed Bill and Hillary Clinton, issued a warning: Data he had seen indicated mainstream Republicans such as Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio would have difficulty winning the White House in 2016, according to one of the attendees. He said only a true outsider with a sense of voters’ frustrations could win.

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The 20-Song Countdown

Wow, we almost forgot, #8 in the 20-song countdown:

It's Closing Time, Leonard Cohen