Category Archives: playing hooky

Insulation – What a way to end the week

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It is Jam Band Friday – ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JW-OU3LkM8 )

Humans burn at 98.6. If we lived in a perfectly insulated and airtight world we would have to vent our homes in the winter. Some people in colder climates have those homes, but us’ens in the uninsulated leaky drafty Midwest don’t. I tell people to put as much insulation WHEREVER they can.

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6x8GGXrCFQ )

These people favor fiberglass and are trying to dis’ cellulose:

http://www.naima.org/pages/resources/faq/faq_home.html

FAQs About Residential and Commerical Insulation

What does insulation actually do for my home?

What areas of my home should be insulated?

How do I know how much insulation I need for my home?

What is R-value?

Where do I find R-value information when I go to buy insulation?

What are the options when choosing insulation?

How can I be sure I’m getting the best performance from the insulation in my home?

Are there rebates available for installing insulation?

If I am adding more insulation to my home do I need to remove what I already have?

What Kind of Insulation Do Builders Use on Their Own Homes?

What does insulation actually do for my home?

Fiber glass insulation keeps your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter, because insulation resists the flow of heat. Heat is a form of energy and always seeks a cooler area – flowing out of the home in the winter and into the home in the summer. By reducing heat flow, a properly insulated home uses less energy for heating and cooling.

In addition to being an energy saver, fiber glass insulation also acts as a sound absorber. When installed in walls and ceilings, it can reduce the transmission of sound from one room to another or from the outside. In today’s noise-laden environments, more and more homeowners are soundproofing their homes.

A well-insulated home increases the overall comfort of the home and adds to its resale value. Whether your home is new or old, it pays to insulate.

What areas of my home should be insulated?

Insulation is not just for attics and outside walls. Insulation should also be installed in other areas of your home such as ceilings with unheated spaces, basement walls, floors above vented crawl spaces, cathedral ceilings, floors over unheated garages or porches, knee walls, and in between interior walls (especially bathrooms), ceilings or floors for extra sound control.

How do I know how much insulation I need for my home?

The amount of insulation in a home varies depending upon where you live. NAIMA has developed recommended levels of insulation for various climate zones. These recommendations are based on recommendations from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the International Energy Conservation Code which is the model building code for the United States.

Click here to visit SimplyInsulate.com to learn about what zone your home is in and how much you insulation you need.

What is R-value?

Insulation is identified and labeled by R-value. “R” stands for resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating power.

Where do I find R-value information when I go to buy insulation?

Insulation is identified and labeled by R-value. “R” stands for resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating power. Manufacturers of insulation products print R-values of their products either on the bags or on the labels. In most cases, R-values are also printed on the facings of fiber glass batts and rolls.

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( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJCTrolF3CY )

You can use just about anything as insulation.

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/new-home-improvement/choosing/insulation-sealing/materials/khi-insulation.cfm?attr=4

The Proper Choice of Insulation

The proper choice of insulation depends on its final use. In most applications, good resistance to heat flow is not the only thing you will have to consider. In specific situations, insulation may also need some of the following properties:

  • resistance to high temperatures
  • resistance to moisture flow (can it reduce the movement of water vapour?)
  • resistance to air movement (can it act as an air barrier?)
  • a fire-rated protective covering

Once you have matched the material properties with the specific application, consider the following installation factors:

  • Is it relatively easy to install?
  • Is it the best buy for the space available (either high insulating value per dollar if you have lots of open space, or high insulating value per thickness if space is restricted)?
  • Is it available locally?
  • Will it be easy to install the insulation to fill the space completely?
  • Can it conform to surface irregularities?
  • Is it rigid enough to provide support for finished materials or resist pressures against its surfaces?
  • Does one insulation require more accessory products than another (fire protection, framing, air and vapour barrier)?

In short, the choice of insulation will largely depend on how it will be used. Different types of insulation are commonly used for insulating walls, basements and attics. Fortunately, particular insulation jobs will quickly eliminate some materials, making the choice much easier.

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( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ_kez7WVUU )

Batt or Blanket Insulation

Loose-Fill Insulation

Mineral Fibre

Cellulose Fibre

Glass Fibre

Mineral Wool (Slag and Rock Wool)

Vermiculite

Rigid Board Insulation

Glass-Fibre Boards

Expanded Polystyrene

Extruded Polystyrene

Polyurethane and Polyisocyanurate Boards

Phenolic Foam Boards

Spray-Foam Insulation

Polyurethane Foam

Semi-Flexible Isocyanurate Plastic Foam

Phenolic Foam

( http://www.youtube.com/user/thepurplechannel?blend=1&ob=4#p/u/2/1Xm4os2ugaA )

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Just copying all the types of insulation tuckered me out.

( http://www.youtube.com/user/thepurplechannel?blend=1&ob=4#p/u/3/wok0fV4Fp7w )

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Hot Water Blankets – Stop the presses I made a mistake

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When I was talking about making a list of your energy consuming equipment and taking actions like cleaning the coils on your refrigerator and your freezer, and  cleaning the filters on your cooling and heating equipment, I forgot the most easy and largest savings step. That would be your hot water heater. Like the other equipment you do need to clean it. So listen to the plumbing guy about cleaning your gas or electric water heater. They are different:

Electric

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GERpIx_QLo

Gas

http://www.ehow.com/video_4872205_clean-out-gas-hot-water.html

So was that fun or what. If you ended up with water allllllll over your basement floor, practice makes perfect. Now it is time to put on another layer of insulation. How much is up to you but R 60 is probably too much.

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/970127c.cfm

First turn your water heater thermostat to 120 no matter what this guy tells you 140 is too high unless you are a family of 5.

Most of us received our first introduction to the hot water heater blanket back in the ’70’s when conserving energy became important. They became a familiar addition to many homes. But how effective are they really? And can a heater blanket actually pay for itself if the hot water heater is in a part of the house that’s not subject to extreme weather? Let’s see if we can find out.

First, a little bit about water heaters and insulating blankets. A hot water heater is just a tank of water that’s heated to a preset temperature (generally about 140 degrees F.). When you use hot water it’s drawn from the tank and new cold water replaces it. Regardless of whether any water is used it takes energy to keep the water hot. Energy is always escaping to the colder air that surrounds the tank.

Almost all heaters have at least some minimal level of insulation to help keep the heat inside the tank. Newer models, especially those built in the last ten years, have more insulation than older models.

A water heater blanket is made of insulation contained in sheet plastic so that it can be attached to the water heater. Blankets are rated based on their ‘R’ value just like other insulation. A blanket with R-11 is recommended.

The blankets are easy to install. The only tools you’ll need are a razor knife and a tape measure. The cost is fairly modest with most running between $10 and $25.

How effective are they at reducing energy costs? The Iowa Energy Center says that a properly installed blanket can reduce energy loss by 25% to 45%. If you consider that Florida Power and Light estimates that the average family of four spends $25 each month for hot water that can be quite some savings. That’s not to say that you’ll save 25% of $25 each month. You’ll still need to heat water to replace the hot water in that shower. But a hot water blanket will pay for itself in short order.

Now let’s try to get specific about Joyce’s question. Does it still pay to install a blanket if your water heater is kept in the garage? How can you tell?

Begin by checking the owner’s manual for your water heater. Some newer models specifically recommend that you do NOT use a heater blanket. If your manual doesn’t mention blankets or you’ve lost the manual (someone please tell me that I’m not the only homeowner who doesn’t have his manual!) there’s a simple test you can do. Just place your hand on the outside of the heater. If it’s warm to your touch a blanket will save you money.

Is it possible to calculate how much money you’ll save? Well, theoretically yes. But unless you’re related to a grad student in advanced mathematics it’s probably not worth the effort. There are quite a few variables that will effect the answer. How much you pay for energy. How quickly your heater loses temperature. How efficient your water heater is in turning energy into hot water. How much hot water your family uses. Are there periods during the day when no water is being used? Remember, we’re only talking about an investment of $25 or less. We really don’t need sophisticated payback analysis here!

But what about Joyce’s question? We still haven’t answered it. Fortunately, there is a simple way to address it. If you can feel the heat with your hand it’s wise to install a blanket no matter what the surrounding air temperature is.

Look at it this way. Suppose you keep the tank in an unheated area that’s exposed to outside temperatures. The water tank is being heated to 140 degrees. It’s 20 degrees outside. That’s a difference of 120 degrees. Unless that tank is properly insulated you’d expect to lose some heat.

What about if you have the heater in a attached garage like Joyce? It’s probably not unreasonable to guess that the temperature drops to 60 degrees in the garage. That means that there’s still a difference of 80 degrees between the tank and the air surrounding it.

So if you saved the 25% with the heater outside, you could expect to still save 2/3 of that with the heater in the garage. (80 degrees divided by 120 degrees = 2/3) Well worth the time and money you’ll spend on installing a heater blanket.

One warning that we do need to pass along. DO NOT insulate the bottom or top of gas hot water heater tanks. You need to leave plenty of room for the pilot light and for the flue draft. Be very careful to follow installation instructions. Failure to do so could be very costly and dangerous!

In addition to water heater blankets, there are other things that you can do to reduce the costs of that hot shower. You can insulate the hot water pipes. Lowering the tank temperature is another option. Many people have installed timers and low flow shower heads. If you have an electric tank and it’s in the basement you might even want to place it on a Styrofoam pad to reduce the heat lost to the cold floor.

The bottom line is that water heater blankets are inexpensive, easy to install and efficient. You don’t need to be that family of four spending $300 each year for hot water the savings can add up. It’s an easy way to stretch a few dollars for something more important!

http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13070

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&source=hp&q=water+heater+blanket&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=3885595677729203527&ei=X3d9S_qbDpKSNqDK_N0K&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers

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Notice what he said about insulation for the hot water line. They make slit foam cuffs that just slip over your warm water pipes. If you kitchen sink is a long way from your heater, (mine is 40 feet) it can take forever to get hot water and if you turn it off for very long you are back to cold again.

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Awnings For Doors And Windows – Solar Shading

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Much of the common sense that was built into our homes up until the 1950s was thrown out for what was called modernism. We here call it 20 year obsolescence and stupid. One of those Common Sense ideas was the idea of solar shading. This meant that for most parts of the temperate US all the houses would have roughly 2 or 3 foot eves. The idea being that you want the Sun during the winter and you don’t want it in the summer. Since most houses no longer have such eves and especially in the south where your eves would have to be 5 foot long, awnings have gotten popular. In Springfield IL for instance:

http://www.benmarremodeling-il.com/

Benmar Remodeling & Building Corporation

(217) 814-0278 Our goal is not to be the biggest, but rather, the best! 929 E Carpenter, Springfield, IL 62702

In addition to renovating, designing or remodeling your outdoor spaces, we offer a large selection of awnings by several different manufacturers. Choose from a variety of styles and materials, including:

• Aluminum patio covers & pergolas
• Fabric
• Fiberglass
• Retractable fabric awnings
• Retractable – manual or motorized
• Stationary

We also sell and install Joyce windows, which are all welded, rigid vinyl construction and are extremely energy efficient. All styles are custom sized and have detailed contoured framing for an elegant “wood-like” look, all the while creating shadow lines in the main frame sash that mimic real wood windows. You really have to see them to believe how beautiful they are!

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http://www.cheapawnings.com/

Retractable Patio Awnings
Welcome to CheapAwnings.com!
Don’t let the name fool you! We offer high quality, do-it-yourself awnings, canopies, hurricane shutters and umbrellas at reasonable prices with FREE ground shipping.
Convenient On-Line Shopping and Ordering
Phone (800) 422-6827 ext. 278

Canvas AwningsCanvas Awnings
View our collection of high quality and affordable Stationary Canvas Window and Door Awnings for your home or office. Custom order your awning or canopy from our available line of fabric awning colors and available sizes.
Metal AwningsMetal Awnings
Choose from our distinct line of outdoor Metal Awnings and Metal Canopies. These rigid metal window awnings and metal door canopies are ideal for enhancing exterior looks and protection from the elements.

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http://www.awninginfo.com/


 Welcome to the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA) Web Site – your first source for awning information. Learn about the benefits and energy savings of awnings, view awning designs, contact one of over 300 professional awning manufacturers who are PAMA members. If you are an awning company or a supplier to the industry, find out how membership benefits you by clicking on About PAMA! Enjoy your visit.

View Membership Advantage Video
Be part of the most exciting promotion ever attempted by IFAI/PAMA. Bring customers to your door by becoming a PAMA member. All PAMA members are included in the Awning Consumer Awareness Campaign. As an awning fabricator or industry supplier you can be part of this exciting initiative to educate millions of consumers about awnings and awning benefits. The campaign has already reached over 2 billion readers through publications, web sites and blogs. Join PAMA now to get in on this awning industry initiative to drive residential customers to your business, directly or through your customers. Join PAMA now.
VideosHow to Protect Your Pet from Sun & Heat

Awnings Today Awnings and Energy Savings ? Awning Benefits See how awnings help reduce energy usage, and how awnings can expand living space, protect from UV Rays and beautify the home exterior. The video features an interview with John Carmody, Director of the Center for Sustainable Building Research at the University of Minnesota, discussing the Awning Energy Study, Awnings in Residential Buildings: The Impact on Energy Use and Peak Demand.

The video also features PAMA Member, Gary Buermann of G & J Awning discussing the benefits of using awnings on the home, and some of the attractive features of modern awnings including a wide selection of fabrics and remote controls.

Buying Awnings: A Homeowner’s Purchase from Start to Finish

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There you have it from the professionals

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Taking A House Window Out Of Service – Get rid of the darn thing

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It’s Jam Band Friday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TChocbG_TTI

During the height of the summer and for most of the winter there are windows that you can probably do without. I hate windows. Even when you dress them up they are Energy Dogs. So here is an easy way to get rid of them. This only works for windows that move. Cut 2 pieces of plywood roughly 2 inches bigger than the window casement. Glue as much styrofoam insulation (R Board) as you can to each piece of plywood centered into the cavity of the window space. Drill 2 holes in each piece of plywood centered in the top and the bottom quadrant of each piece of plywood. Open the window so that the 2 panes are in the center of the window case. Fit the pieces of the plywood over the outside and the inside of the window. Insert long bolts through the two holes and tighten nut and washer to either the inside or the outside piece of plywood depending on which way you ran the bolts. You can even run a light bead of caulk around the two piece of plywood, the washer and the bolt head for complete air tighness. All done. Problem solved. Window gone.

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TChocbG_TTI )

However if you are into appearances well you can invest in systems that accomplish some of the same goals.

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/plylox

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,1210347,00.html

http://video.bobvila.com/m/21315189/emergency-board-up.htm

I always wanted to get those last 2 back together again. If you have big bucks you may want to get shutters that actually work. Not the decorative ones you usually see.

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSzWPNFX7sc&feature=related )

http://www.3dayblindsinfo.com/0-percent?source=gg-plantation-shutters&copy=shutters&gclid=CNijw8ue7Z8CFRAeDQodYHmIXQ

Looking for Shutters?
Let us help.

Shutters

From sleek contemporary styles to rustic charm, nothing adds value to your home like Shutters. Designed to last a lifetime, they are beautiful, versatile and control ventilation and light with unmatched precision. Our Design Consultants know how to use the beauty of your windows to inspire feelings of rest, drama or excitement.

http://www.hunterdouglas.com/

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvURG9-wK3w&feature=related )

http://www.makeyourhomeenergyefficient.com/energyefficientwindowcoverings.html

~Window Shutters

You can find both exterior and interior window shutters in a variety of colors and materials.

View all Blinds.com Plantation Shutters

Fauxwood Shutters

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More on windows tomorrow. God I hate those things.

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2RSyMRJHUE&feature=related )

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State Journal Register Refuses To Publish My Letter On Toxic Waste In Coal

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I hardly ever use this blog as a personal soapbox but the State Journal Register has taken to publishing OP/ED pieces and long letters from one James Monk “President” of the Illinois Energy Association extolling the virtues of coal and opposing proposed Cap and Trade Policies. So here is a letter they did not run:

Editor

State Journal Register

One Copley Plaza

Springfield, IL 62701

Emailed – 12/31/09

Dear Editor:

How ironic it must be to work at the SJ-R these days. First, on a single day, you run an OP/Ed piece by Ann Coulter that claims global warming is “all made up”.  On the back page of that same section you run an AP article about the many changes we humans will have to make to “adjust” to global warming. Are the facts overwhelming the “opinions” yet?

But it got worse on December 29th. On that day you ran a long letter to the editors by the appropriately named James Monk, President of Illinois Energy Association arguing that regulation of coal fired powerplant byproducts as hazardous waste will harm the economy of the nation. While on page 6, on the back of page 5, is a long article with the headline: MERCURY POLLUTION UP IN ILLINOIS. This was blamed on coal fired powerplants. Constiuent components of the coal byproducts can contain arsenic, beryllium, boron, cadmium, chromium, chromium VI, cobalt, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, thallium, and vanadium, along with dioxins and PAH compounds. This sounds very toxic to me.

After the 200 million gallon spill in Tennessee, this 130 million lb. yearly ticking time bomb needs to be declared toxic and cleaned up. I don’t think that coal is as cheap to burn as some people claim. You SJ-R guys are only a page away from getting the facts (or truth) on the same page as the OP/Ed page, congratulations.

Doug Nicodemus

948 e. adams st.

riverton, IL  62561

629-7031

dougnic55@yahoo.com

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The Koch Bros – Doing business in the oil hood and damn climate change

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What more can you say about a couple of spoiled rich kids whose daddy helped form the John Birch Society and was in the KKK. You can send em to school, dress em up and make em smell pretty. You can not make them smart or socially responsible. They pay Walter Williams and George Mason (alleged) University a loto money to be their best black man however.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_Industries

The Koch brothers also operate the Koch Family Foundations, a major source of funding for conservative and libertarian political causes in the United States, including think tanks such as the Cato Institute. Their father helped found the John Birch Society, though neither brother is a member or supporter of the organization. David’s political activism also included running as the vice presidential nominee of the United States Libertarian Party in 1980, when he and running mate Ed Clark finished fourth with 921,299 votes.

In April 2006, the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation announced it had contributed $1 million to help preserve the tallgrass prairies of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Chase County, Kansas. The donation made to the Kansas Prairie Legacy Campaign is reportedly the single largest private donation in the State’s history.[citation needed] Currently Liz Koch is the president of the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation and has been reported as saying that the Flint Hills of Kansas were a special place for both Fred and Mary Koch.

Koch Industries also founded Americans for Prosperity, formed as a successor to Citizens for a Sound Economy. Koch Industries and its subsidiaries spent more than $20 million on lobbying in 2008 and $5.6 million in 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group. [10][11]

Rich Fink, a Koch executive vice president, is a member of the board of directors of Americans for Prosperity. Previously he served as president of Citizens for a Sound Economy. He also founded the Mercatus Center.

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BURN BURN BURN that’s all they want to do.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/31633524/the_climate_killers/16

The Tea Partiers
Charles and David Koch
CEO and Executive Vice President, Koch Industries

The multibillionaire brothers not only run the nation’s largest private energy company, they rival Exxon in funding the front groups that spread disinformation about the dangers of climate change. Over the years, the Kochs and their foundations have lavished millions on climate deniers at the Heritage Foundation, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Cato Institute, which Charles founded in 1977. Cato, in turn, supports the work of Patrick Michaels, a leading climate denier who attempts to discredit the international scientific consensus on global warming while accepting money from coal companies. As author Thomas Frank observes in What’s the Matter With Kansas?, “Koch money subsidizes the mass production of bad ideas.”

One major recipient of Koch cash is Americans for Prosperity, where David chairs the foundation’s board. In addition to fomenting last summer’s town-hall brawls over health care reform, AFP sponsored a “Hot Air Tour” on climate change, deploying a manned balloon at 75 events for the purpose of “Exposing the Ballooning Costs of Global Warming Hysteria.” At the events, the group’s president, Tim Phillips, grossly exaggerated the costs of climate legislation, calling it a trillion-dollar tax on American families.

Last October, at an AFP summit attended by David Koch, the assembled Tea Partiers screened a climate-denial film that accused advocates like Al Gore of wanting to take civilization “back to the Dark Ages and the Black Plague.” Such events, Koch proclaimed, “bring to reality the vision” of “fighting for the economic freedoms that made our nation the most prosperous society in history.” Last year, seeking to defend its own prosperity against a carbon-capped future, Koch Industries spent more than $8.5 million on lobbying.

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There is a place that they can burn in and I Hades I believe is the place for it:

http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Go-Hi/Hades.html

In Greek mythology, Hades was the god of the underworld, the kingdom of the dead. (The Romans called him Pluto.) Although the name Hades is often used to indicate the underworld itself, it rightfully belongs only to the god, whose kingdom was known as the land of Hades or house of Hades.

Hades was the son of Cronus* and Rhea, two of the Titans who once ruled the universe. The Titans had other children, the gods Zeus* and Poseidon* and the goddesses Demeter*, Hera*, and Hestia. When Hades was born, Cronus swallowed him as he had swallowed his other children at birth. However, Zeus escaped this fate, and he tricked Cronus into taking a potion that made him vomit up Hades and his siblings.

Together these gods and goddesses rebelled against the Titans and seized power from them. After gaining control of the universe, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus drew lots to divide it among themselves. Zeus gained control of the sky, Poseidon took the sea, and Hades received the underworld.

The Underworld Kingdom. The kingdom of the dead was divided into two regions. At the very bottom lay Tartarus, a land of terrible blackness where the wicked suffered eternal torments.
Read more:

Hades – Myth Encyclopedia – mythology, Greek, god, names, ancient, people, children, evil, fire http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Go-Hi/Hades.html#ixzz0eUsHq0ie

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More tomorrow

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Rep. Joe Barton – You can’t regulate God

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But you CAN regulate the airlines, the world’s Air Forces, the Coal companies, and the water born freight business. You can regulate the Navy and you can regulate the 500 largest point of source polluters. But trying to regulate Al Gore proved difficult:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqUHM2gf5g4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Barton

Barton was born in Waco, Texas to Bess Wynell Buice and Larry Linus Barton.[1] He graduated from Waco High School. He attended Texas A&M University in College Station on a Gifford-Hill Opportunity Award scholarship[2] and received a B.S. in industrial engineering in 1972. An M.Sc. in industrial administration from Purdue University followed in 1973. Following college Barton entered private industry until 1981 when he became a White House Fellow and served under Secretary of Energy James B. Edwards. Later, he began consulting for Atlantic Richfield Oil and Gas Co. before being elected to Congress in 1984.[3]

Barton was elected to represent Texas’s 6th congressional district in his first attempt, defeating Democratic opponent Dan Kubiak with 56% of the vote in a contest to succeed Phil Gramm, who left his seat to run for the United States Senate that year. He was one of six freshmen Republican congressmen elected from Texas in 1984 known as the Texas Six Pack. He received 88% of the vote in 2000, 71% of the vote in 2002 against Democratic challenger Felix Alvarado, and 66% of the vote in 2004 against Democratic challenger Morris Meyer.[citation needed]

In 1993, Barton ran in the special election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the resignation of Lloyd Bentsen, who became Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration. Barton finished third in the contest and missed a runoff slot.[citation needed]

Congressman Barton is the Ranking Minority Member on the Energy & Commerce Committee.[

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Rep. Barton has been regarded as a climate change denier[5] and his opposition to addressing global warming has been consistent and long-term. As a chairman with primary responsibility over the energy sector, Barton has consistently acted over the years to prevent congressional action on global warming.[11] In 2001, Barton declared, “as long as I am chairman, [regulating global warming pollution] is off the table indefinitely. I don’t want there to be any uncertainty about that.”[12] Barton led opposition to amendments that would have recognized global warming during consideration of the Energy Advancement and Conservation Act in 2001, opposing an amendment to require the President to develop and implement a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels as called for by the non-binding United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which the U.S. is a party to.[13] In 2003, Barton again opposed amendments that would have recognized global warming during consideration of the National Energy Policy Act of 2003, opposing a nonbinding amendment that would have put Congress on record as saying that the U.S. should “demonstrate international leadership and responsibility in reducing the health, environmental, and economic risks posed by climate change.”[14] In July 2003, Barton offered an amendment to the Foreign Relations Authorization Act to remove language that both recognized global warming and called on President Bush to reengage with the international community to find solutions.[15] In addition, Barton has consistently opposed proposals to reduce the nation’s dependence on oil.[16][17][18]

In 2005, prompted by a February 2005 Wall Street Journal article,[19] Rep. Barton has launched an investigation into two climate change studies from 1998 and 1999.[5] In his letters to the authors of the studies, he requested not just details on the studies themselves but significant information about their entire lives and previous studies. This has been widely regarded as an attempted attack on the scientists rather than a serious attempt to understand the science,[20] although some view it as a normal exercise of the committee’s responsibility and an effort to make possible scientific debate on a subject within its jurisdiction.[21][22] The Washington Post condemned Barton’s investigation as a “witch-hunt“.[23] Environmental Science & Technology, an obscure policy journal often cited by politicians, including Barton, reported what it said was scientific proof that global warming science is wrong.[24] See also Barton’s own response to this controversy in The Dallas Morning News.[25] The dispute expanded with Sherwood Boehlert‘s House Science Committee taking a strong interest.[26]

In 2006, Barton earned two “environmental harm demerits” from the conservative watchdog group Republicans for Environmental Protection, the first “for derailing floor passage of a sense of the House resolution … acknowledging climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”; the second, “for holding hearings, in his role as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, designed to intimidate climate scientists and raise doubt about the impacts and causes of climate change.”[27] The hearings were held by Barton’s committee on July 19, 2006, chaired by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), Chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations; there, several skeptics testified regarding the hockey stick graph.

During Former Vice President Al Gore‘s testimony to the Energy and Commerce Committee in March, 2007, Barton asserted to Gore that “You’re not just off a little, you’re totally wrong,”[28] thus reinforcing his denial that carbon dioxide emissions contribute to global climate change.

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http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/31633524/the_climate_killers/15

The Inquisitor
Rep. Joe Barton
Republican, Texas

As ranking Republican on the House energy committee, Barton is a mini version of Sen. James Inhofe. In his view, the climate is changing for “natural variation reasons,” and humans should just “get shade” and learn to adapt. “For us to try to step in and say we have got to do all these global things to prevent the Earth from getting any warmer is absolute nonsense,” he insists. “You can’t regulate God.”

During the Bush era, Barton bottled up all climate legislation and pushed to open up public lands for drilling by private interests. He also targeted leading climate scientists, demanding that they provide Congress with detailed documentation of their financial interests. (Barton himself has received $1.4 million from oil and gas donors, plus $1.3 million from electric utilities.) The inquisition drew sharp rebukes, even from Barton’s fellow Republicans. Your “purpose seems to be to intimidate scientists rather than to learn from them,” then-Rep. Sherwood Boehlert told Barton. The effort “to have Congress put its thumbs on the scales of a scientific debate” is “truly chilling.”

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With liars like this can the republic survive?

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Don Blankenship – He blows the tops off mountains and pushes the rubble into the valleys

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These are the guys I think should lead the list but he is number 12 here. Don’t just take it from me or Tim Dickinson

http://www.grist.org/article/don-blankenship-seventh-scariest-person-in-america/

Don Blankenship: Seventh scariest person in America

Massey Energy CEO is a really bad dude

24 Oct 2006 5:40 PM
by David Roberts

The venerable print magazine Old Trout was recently relaunched with a splashy issue on “The Thirteen Scariest Americans.” I was asked to write up the scariest American from an environmental point of view.

The choice was not difficult. The scariest polluter in the U.S. is Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy. The guy is evil, and I don’t use that word lightly.

The issue is out now. (Look for it on a newsstand near you!) The folks at Old Trout have given me permission to publish an expanded version of the piece after a suitable period of exclusivity. So watch for that at the beginning of December.

In the meantime, check out three things.

First, there’s this longish New York Times piece on Blankenship from Sunday. In the usual style of mainstream reportage, it is studiously neutral in tone, woefully downplaying the environmental destruction Massey does and the thuggish tactics Blankenship has imposed. But you can get a pretty accurate general picture of the guy.

Second, watch this short clip from Bill Moyers‘ PBS special Is God Green? At the end there’s an archival clip of Blankenship from 1984. To me it’s absolutely mesmerizing. I’ve probably watched it 50 times. The sunken, lifeless eyes, the flat affect, the utter lack of empathy … like I said, it bespeaks psychopathy. I’ve shown it to a bunch of other people and they don’t find it quite as chilling as I do, so your mileage may vary:

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http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/31633524/the_climate_killers/12

The Climate Killers

Meet the 17 polluters and deniers who are derailing efforts to curb global warming

TIM DICKINSON

The Coal Baron
Don Blankenship
CEO, Massey Energy

In an age when most CEOs are canny enough to at least pay lip service to the realities of climate change, Blankenship stands apart as corporate America’s most unabashed denier. Global warming, he insists, is nothing but “a hoax and a Ponzi scheme.” His fortune depends on such lies: Massey Energy, the nation’s fourth-largest coal-mining operation, unearths more than 40 million tons of the fossil fuel each year — often by blowing the tops off of Appalachian mountains.

The country’s highest-paid coal executive, Blankenship is a villain ripped straight from the comic books: a jowly, mustache-sporting, union-busting coal baron who uses his fortune to bend politics to his will. He recently financed a $3.5 million campaign to oust a state Supreme Court justice who frequently ruled against his company, and he hung out on the French Riviera with another judge who was weighing an appeal by Massey. “Don Blankenship would actually be less powerful if he were in elected office,” Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia once observed. “He would be twice as accountable and half as feared.”

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Trust me, if he could sell you coal and make you eat it he would.

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Tom Donohue – He even lies about his member’s positions

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Shouldn’t they fire this useless puke.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/31633524/the_climate_killers/11

The Know Nothing
Tom Donohue
President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

As the de facto chief of American business and industry, Donohue has turned the biggest lobbying presence on Capitol Hill into the biggest friend of climate polluters. In the first nine months of last year, the Chamber spent $65 million — three times more than ExxonMobil — mounting a campaign to block Congress from placing limits on carbon pollution. “Not only has the Chamber spent decades denying the existence of the climate crisis,” Al Gore observed, “now it is dedicating a significant quantity of resources and money attempting to prevent Congress from taking action.”

The extreme anti-climate position staked out by Donohue runs counter to the position of his own members. Of the 23 companies on the Chamber’s board that made their position on climate legislation public, only four are against it — and three of those are coal companies. Yet the Chamber claims, in scaremongering language, that climate legislation threatens to “completely shut the country down” and “virtually destroy the United States.” For his part, Donohue is proudly ignorant of the risks that a changing climate poses to the business community: “Is the science right? Is science not right? I don’t know.”

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Like I have been saying all these last 2 weeks everyone should read Burn and Climate Killers in the Rolling Stone.

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