Free Republic

A British investment company has thrown in the towel on an electric delivery truck manufacturer that it once wholly owned, saw fail, then spun off in the United States at the height of President Obama’s green energy stimulus subsidy mania. U.K.-based Tanfield Group announced at the end of June that it wrote down the value of the last 5.76 percent ownership stake it held in Smith Electric Vehicles, which received $32 million in U.S. taxpayer funds as a formerly British entity that reconstituted and relocated in Kansas City in 2009. The move by Tanfield followed Smith’s legal action filed against...

The two bloggers who have perpetuated this misinformation are Robert Scribbler, who describes himself as ” a progressive novelist, non-fiction writer and emerging threats expert,” and Paul Beckwith, who is working on a PhD with “a focus on abrupt climate system change” at the University of Ottawa. Scribbler says the cross-equator flow is a manifestation of man-made global warming, supported by the hypothesis that disproportionate heating of the Arctic is destabilizing the jet stream. “The Hemispherical Jet Streams have moved out of the Middle Latitudes more and more,” he writes. “More and more it has invaded regions both within the...

ou may not have noticed but our sun has gone as blank as a cue ball. As in, it’s lost its spots. According to scientists, this unsettling phenomenon is a sign we are heading for a mini ice age. Meteorologist and renowned sun-watcher Paul Dorian raised the alarm in his latest report, which has sparked a mild panic about an impending “Game of Thrones”-style winter not seen since the 17th century.

The following severe weather policy, approved by the NCAA, Creighton University, the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA) and College World Series of Omaha, Inc., is in effect for the 2016 NCAA® Men’s College World Series® (CWS). Due to the severe weather and the concern for student-athlete welfare, the 2016 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Game between Arizona and Coastal Carolina has been postponed until Thursday, June 30 at Noon (CT). The game will tentatively be televised on ESPNews. Gates at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha will open at 11 a.m. (CT).

CLAY COUNTY, WV - Jesse Denton and his family lost almost all their belongings in high flood waters last week -- even his prized Chevy Camaro started floating down the river. "We estimate that about 80 percent of our stuff (is gone)," Denton said. "We have a storage unit up in Elkview and that had about two-and-a-half feet of water over everything. And at a certain point you just start saying, if water got on it, you throw it out." Denton said he and his family have been cleaning 24/7 but they still can't stay in their home. And after...

Greenbrier County, WV - Two Greenbrier County women are out on bond after being arrested for pretending to be victims of the recent flooding. The Greenbrier County Sheriff's Department says Donna Lynn Allen and Elizabeth Ann Martin, both of Lewisburg, were caught taking supplies, food, and water from various flood relief shelters. Allen allegedly told officers that she lived in White Sulphur Springs and lost her home in the severe weather. Deputies later found out that both women live in an apartment complex in Lewisburg that was untouched by the flooding.

ELKVIEW, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Emergency crews are working to rescue hundreds of people trapped at the Elkview Crossings Mall. On Thursday night, the overpass bridge into the shopping annex gave-way to flood waters and is completely washed out. The Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority says they are estimating about 500 people are stuck in the plaza. At this time they are not sure how to rescue all of the people. One of the options they are considering is building a temporary bridge. But at this time it is unclear what they will do.

If Democratic attorneys general can pursue climate change skeptics for fraud, then also at risk of prosecution are climate alarmists whose predictions of global doom have failed to materialize.[Snip]...it has been asserted that “fossil fuel companies” may have funded non- profits who minimized the risks of climate change. Does anyone doubt that “clean energy” companies have funded non-profits who exaggerated the risks of climate change? Under the stated theory for fraud, consumers and investors could suffer harm from misstatements by all energy-market participants and the non-profits they support.

Two fishermen were rescued in Oceanside Harbor Thursday morning after they encountered huge swells, causing their 16-foot boat to overturn. "[We] cheated death today," survivor Ted Tielens told NBC 7 after the rescue. The Oceanside Fire Department and Harbor Police launched rescue efforts in the water near the 1400 block of North Pacific Street just before 8:40 a.m. after Tielens' boat flipped. Minutes later, crews were able to pull both Tielens and his grandson-in-law, Zach Petite, out of the water. Besides feeling shaken up, the men suffered only minor scrapes and bruises. Tielens and Petite spoke with NBC 7 and...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office says it will begin a mandatory evacuation of Chilili residents as the Dog Head Fire, which reportedly tripled in size Wednesday, moves their way. The county posted the announcement on social media around 7:30 p.m. The county also said N.M. 337 is closed at N.M. 217 because of the evacuation. “It’s very very close to the town itself,” Forest Service spokeswoman Arlene Perea said. “It’s knocking at the door.” The fire broke out Tuesday morning in a section of National Forest land in the Manzano Mountains near Tajique. It remains uncontained. Perea...

So Obama decided to warn everyone that Manhattan is about to turn into Atlantis. "The majority of people believe in things like science -- and scientists. And so when scientists tell us that the planet is getting warmer and we need to do something about it, the majority of people think that's a good idea, let's do something about that, because we don't want Manhattan to be underwater." Manhattan going underwater isn't science. It's science fiction. It's the sort of thing you get from watching movies like The Day After Tomorrow where evil Republican politicians neglect the Flying Global Warming...

An international team of scientists have found a potentially viable way to remove anthropogenic (caused or influenced by humans) carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere -- turn it into rock. The study, published in Science, has shown for the first time that the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) can be permanently and rapidly locked away from the atmosphere, by injecting it into volcanic bedrock. The CO2 reacts with the surrounding rock, forming environmentally benign minerals. Measures to tackle the problem of increasing greenhouse gas emissions and resultant climate change are numerous. One approach is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), where...

Sun rises at 11am and sets at 2:30pmA remote Omani village located nearly 2,000 metres above sea level has one of the shortest days in the world, not exceeding 3.5 hours. Newspapers in Oman and other Gulf countries said the sun rises in Wekan around 11am and sets about 2.30pm. The village, accessible by donkeys, horses and four-wheel vehicles, is situated in the Northern Al-Batinah province, nearly 150km from the capital Muscat. The Saudi daily ‘Ajel’ said the village has one of the shortest fasting times in the world but it was not clear whether the Wekanians follow that...

Linking to a YouTube video showing Cruise ship Infinity slamming into berth 3 Ketchikan Alaska. I use the float adjacent to pick up clients from here till September (fishing charter) My wife left work less than hour before collision and could hit this berth with a rock from her office. We had high winds today gusting 40 knots plus. You can see thrusters in full on mode and I understand pilot/captain attempted to drop anchor. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fEPNfLmcUO0

PARIS (AP) -- The Latest on the flooding that has affected parts of Europe (all times local): 5:40 p.m. Scientists say extreme rainfall, such as that hitting France, has increased worldwide and especially in Europe because of man-made climate change.

It has mystified historians ever since. After a string of major victories, the Mongol army suddenly retreated from central Europe in 1242. Some scholars claim Mongolian politics forced the withdrawal, while others credit the strength of fortified towns in present-day Hungary and Croatia. But Europe could have been rescued by its own bad weather, an analysis of tree rings and historical documents concludes. The Mongol cavalry fed its horses on the grass of the Eurasian steppe, says Nicola Di Cosmo of Princeton University, one of the study’s authors. A warm climate in the early 1200s helped make the grasslands lush...

Centuries ago, a native Central American people terrified of a witch believed to live deep in the earth used to sacrifice children and young women to Nicaragua's Masaya volcano. Today, the crater southwest of the capital Managua is an international tourist magnet, where photo-snapping visitors scramble among sulfurous fumes to get views of its bubbling lava—a rare sight. The only volcanoes in the world to boast lakes of incandescent magma are Masaya, Hawaii's Kilauea and Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo, explained a Nicaraguan geographer and environmentalist, Jaime Incer.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's outlook Friday called for a near-normal season with 10 to 16 named storms, with four to eight hurricanes and one to four "major" ones with winds reaching 111 mph and up. The long-term season averages are 12 named storms, with six hurricanes and three major ones.

“Now that you’re done with finals, help us meet the climate change test,” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told Columbia University graduates last week. […] “Don’t vote for politicians who deny the problem,” he said. “Don’t buy products that aren’t sustainable. And for heaven’s sake, turn off the lights!” …

It's been over a decade since Florida experienced a hurricane landfall, an improbable record that won't likely last much longer, and may be snapped this season. Since Category 3 Hurricane Wilma roared ashore in South Florida on Oct. 24, 2005, the Sunshine State has gone over 10 years without a single hurricane landfall. That amounts to 66 straight Atlantic hurricanes - starting with Hurricane Beta in late October 2005 through Hurricane Alex in January 2016 - that haven't come ashore in Florida. Colorado State University tropical meteorologist Dr. Phil Klotzbach said this non-Florida hurricane landfall streak exactly doubled the previous...