Today's "Damn that global 'warming'" update

From al-Reuters:

The 2007 hurricane season may be less severe than forecast due to cooler-than-expected water temperatures in the tropical Atlantic, private forecaster WSI Corp said on Tuesday.

The season will bring 14 named storms, of which six will become hurricanes and three will become major hurricanes, WSI said in its revised outlook. WSI had previously expected 15 named storms of which eight would become hurricanes and four would become major hurricanes.

"Because the ocean temperatures have not yet rebounded from the significant drop in late spring, we have decided to reduce our forecast numbers slightly," said Todd Crawford, a WSI seasonal forecaster.
...
Despite the downgraded forecast, WSI still expects the 2007 season to be more active than last year, and added that storm-weary parts of the Gulf Coast could still be hit.

"We feel the general threat to the western Gulf is reduced slightly, with a corresponding increase in the threat to the eastern Gulf and Florida," Crawford said.

Let's see: after a busy 2005 hurricane season (blamed by various nutbars, including the Goreacle, on global "warming"), we were told 2006 would be just as busy as 2005. We got nothing, especially here in Florida. Then we were told that 2007 would be busy, and now we're being told that due to (** snicker **) colder than expected temperatures, 2007 is being revised downward.

Three exit questions: (1) At what point can we stop referring to these people as "experts"? (2) How have these shysters managed to convince people to keep paying them for their chronically wrong forecasts? (3) Considering that this has been an unseasonably cool year (some might say it's a cool cycle?), can we please get off the Chicken Littleism that the treehuggers have been spewing our way?

Ninth Circus Court: Shell can't drill for oil, since it might piss off polar bears

From FNC:

A federal appeals court has ordered Shell Oil to stop its exploratory drilling program off the north coast of Alaska at least until a hearing in August.

The order, issued Thursday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, comes after the federal Minerals Management Service in February approved Shell's offshore exploration plan for the Beaufort Sea.

"Vessels currently located in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas shall cease all operations performed in furtherance of that program, but need not depart the area," the order said.

Opponents contend that the Minerals Management Service approved Shell's plan without fully considering that a large spill would harm marine mammals, including bowhead and beluga whales. They say polar bears could also be harmed, and they question whether cleaning up a sizable spill would even be possible in the icy waters.

As Van Helsing notes:

A hearing is planned for mid August in San Francisco to decided if Shell can go forward and provide us with some oil, after bidding $39 million for the offshore leases, and blowing who knows how much on court costs.

If not, no problem: we can just keep paying through the nose to buy oil from Arabs, who will spend the proceeds on madrasahs and weapons programs. Hopefully the polar bears and beluga whales will appreciate it.

Double dose of Dilbert

Actual headline: "Property Rights Impede Race To Save Louisiana Coast"

Why, the nerve! How dare property owners exercise their rights and use their property in a manner they see fit! In Louisiana:

Yet what should have been a quick sprint over a short distance to save the coast regularly turns into an endless marathon through a maze of property rights issues, coastal workers say.

Publicly financed projects to prevent southeast Louisiana from being swallowed by the Gulf often are slowed to a crawl and in some cases stopped in deference to the property rights of the very landowners the projects are designed to protect, state officials said. And if Louisiana ends up losing its battle against the Gulf — forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents — respect for the property rights of a few could well be a major contributing factor.

Goodness knows that a state project under the competent leadership of Gov. Blanco would work out incredibly well, if not for those backwoods coon#ss property owners, right? Continuing:

The issue of the state “taking'’ private property to rebuild the coast exploded onto the public’s radar in 2002 when judges in Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes awarded local oyster fishers more than $1 billion in damages the harvesters claimed had been caused by the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Project — originally built to improve oyster grounds and strengthen wetlands against erosion.

OK, so that was only one project that the state screwed up and harmed those it was supposed to benefit! Why use this one isolated case to portray Louisiana as an incompetently run state? For those of you on the left, that was sarcasm.

See-Dubya asks the following exit question:

Can you imagine the Times-Picayune running a piece complaining about how, instead of property rights, the free press rights of a few loudmouths was holding up the important work of the state? Of course not, that would be outrageous. Fascist, even!

More proof that global "warming" is a religion

Or, more accurately, like a cult. From (not surprisingly) California:

Visitors to the Gaia (you just can't make this kind of stuff up, folks! - Ed.) Napa Valley Hotel and Spa won't find the Gideon Bible in the nightstand drawer. Instead, on the bureau will be a copy of "An Inconvenient Truth," former Vice President Al Gore's book about global warming.

They'll also find the Gaia equipped with waterless urinals, solar lighting and recycled paper as it marches toward becoming California's first hotel certified as "green," or benevolent to the environment. Similar features are found 35 miles south at San Francisco's Orchard Garden Hotel, which competes for customers with neighboring luxury hotels like the Ritz-Carlton and Fairmont.

"I'm not your traditional Birkenstocks and granola type of guy," (of COURSE you're not! - Ed.) said Stefan Muehle, general manager of the Orchard Garden, who said green measures are reducing energy costs as much as 25 percent a month. "We're trying to dispel the myth that being green and being luxurious are mutually exclusive."

I do hope they ignore Sheryl Crow and have more than one square of butt ribbon per bathroom.