HotCold Take: Eco-Conscious People Should Eat Their Christmas Trees

It’s not really surprising that a “journalist” from the UK Guardian is a wackadoodle eco-nutjob

‘Eco-conscious’ families should eat their Christmas trees, urges reporter

Instead of throwing out your Christmas tree, a journalist writing for The Guardian urged families to consider eating it.

“Instead of sending their pine, fir and spruce trees for recycling or replanting, growing numbers of eco-conscious households are trying to make the most of them by eating various parts before throwing them out,” Miranda Bryant wrote. “Fir trees can be used in ice-cream, to pickle vegetables and even to flavour gin.”

Food experts said a Christmas tree can be used to cook, using the needles like rosemary or basil leaves as a kick of citrus or pine flavor and a source of vitamin C, she wrote. By burning the wood, eco-family households can also make pine ash for use in the garden or kitchen cleaning.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 25-30 million real Christmas trees are sold in the United States every year.

“You can pretty much eat the whole thing,” Julia Georgallis, author of How to Eat Your Christmas Tree told The Guardian. “You can use the needles as you would use rosemary or bay leaves, for flavour.”

A five-foot Christmas tree is probably about 12 years old, she said. “I don’t know why in a climate crisis, when trees are our best armoury, we’re cutting down thousands a year to keep hostage in our houses.”

Sigh. And the forests are replanted, allowed to grow.

Read: HotCold Take: Eco-Conscious People Should Eat Their Christmas Trees »

Climahypocrite Of The Day: Billie Eilish Refuses To Give Up Merchandising, Fossil Fueled Flights

I really do not get the fascination with her music: I personally find it dull and depressing. It’s downbeat and unexiting. But, I guess others like to be bored with music. And too be lectured by a youth who’s a climahypocrite and *checks notes* no degree in science, particularly in climate science

Billie Eilish: Climate Anxiety ‘Makes Me Want to Barf All over the Floor’ but I Won’t Stop Selling Merch, Traveling

Pop singer and climate change alarmist Billie Eilish claims that her fear of global warming makes her feel ill — but admits she won’t stop selling merchandise or traveling the world via jet airplanes.

The 21-year-old Eilish recently told Vogue that she constantly suffers “climate anxiety” and feels the world is not doing enough to put off the crisis that, every ten years, leftists predict is only ten years away.

The “Happier Than Ever” singer said she is often left wringing her hands and feeling upset. “It makes me want to barf all over the floor,” Eilish told the magazine. “We all wish that we could just do it ourselves. I wish I could just make changes in my life and save the world alone.”

She’s cool with all the merchandising, even if it ends up in the trash, because everyone else is doing it

Then there is air travel; “I hate it,” Eilish says. But she insists that her other activism to which she exposes her fans makes up for her personal climate sins.

See, because she Spreads Awareness, it’s OK that her carbon footprint is vastly higher than most Americans

Yet, even though she excuses her own outrages against the planet, she insists that everyone else who does not toe the radical environmental line is a “bad person.”

On one hand, Eilish says she understands that beating the climate change drum too hard is counterproductive — “People don’t respond well to that,” she said. But she still looks down on those who refuse to heed the climate change cry.

“I’m still not shoving information down people’s throats,” she told Vogue. “I’m more like, I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’m just going to tell you why I do this… But you’re also a bad person if you don’t do it.”

Fortunately, I don’t listen to her, and don’t think someone who’s 21 has the requisite knowledge to lecture anyone. Now, back to Iron Maiden, Megadeath, and Jimmy Buffett, among others.

Read: Climahypocrite Of The Day: Billie Eilish Refuses To Give Up Merchandising, Fossil Fueled Flights »

Bummer: Chicago Residents Not Thrilled By Illegals In Their Neighborhood

Everything’s all fun and games for the sanctuary city residents until they actually have to put up with their belief in illegal immigration for real

Residents Of Chicago’s Woodlawn Neighborhood Protest Shelter For Migrants

Residents of a Chicago neighborhood protested preparations to establish a migrant shelter inside a closed-down elementary school, allegedly without the locals’ permission.

A group of Woodlawn residents gathered Thursday morning to insist the community provide resources for locals rather than the migrants, the Chicago Tribune reported. The city reportedly plans to convert Wadsworth Elementary School into housing for migrants relocated to the city.

“I’m here because I am a child of Woodlawn … and I’m speaking on behalf of the people that are here and the one’s that’s [sic] not here,” one resident said, according to video footage from the gathering. “We are very disappointed in this decision that Mayor Lightfoot has made to place these migrants in our community without our permission. Mayor Lightfoot would never pull this type of thing in anyone’s neighborhood. She would not drop off a busload of Haitians in Little Village. She would not drop off a busload of black people in Chinatown. She would not drop off a busload of black people up north.”

The resident asked Lightfoot to “please withdraw your decision to put the migrants in our community.” Ald. Jeanette Taylor told the Tribune the locals’ dissent came from concerns about the lack of resources in Woodlawn, rather than an opposition to the migrants themselves.

Hmm, using the resources for their own? What a great idea, but, I’ve been reliably told by illegal alien supporters that this attitude is racist.

The resident said the migrants should be relocated to the city’s Little Village neighborhood because there is allegedly “more room” there. She cited concerns of fentanyl in the community and a lack of resources, and argued migrants should not take what is already a scarcity of assets.

See, it’s cool that the illegals are sent Over There. Just not in their own neighborhood.

Read: Bummer: Chicago Residents Not Thrilled By Illegals In Their Neighborhood »

Your Fault: Less Warming But More Extremes

The climate cult has a new one

A new climate reality: Less warming, but worse impacts on the planet
The most severe climate change scenarios now appear less likely, but extremes are nonetheless poised to overwhelm societies, scientists say

In the not-so-distant past, scientists predicted that global temperatures would surge dramatically throughout this century, assuming that humans would rely heavily on fossil fuels for decades. But they are revising their forecasts as they track both signs of progress and unexpected hazards.

Accelerating solar and wind energy adoption means global warming probably will not reach the extremes once feared, climate scientists say. At the same time, recent heat, storms and ecological disasters prove, they say, that climate change impacts could be more severe than predicted even with less warming.

Researchers are increasingly worried about the degree to which even less-than-extreme increases in global temperatures will intensify heat and storms, irreversibly destabilize natural systems and overwhelm even highly developed societies. Extremes considered virtually impossible not long ago are already occurring.

Sigh. It’s always some sort of doom with these folks, always looking at the worst case.

Scientists pointed to recent signs of societies’ fragility: drought contributing to the Arab Spring uprisings; California narrowly avoiding widespread blackouts amid record-high temperatures; heat waves killing tens of thousands of people each year, including in Europe, the planet’s most developed continent.

You mean drought that has always happened? California and Europe obliterating the reliability of their power grids for their climate cult beliefs (except for the Elites, who had stable power supplies)?

It’s an indication that — even with successful efforts to reduce emissions and limit global warming — these dramatic swings could devastate many stable societies sooner, and more often, than previously expected.

It makes you wonder what’s behind this. Are they seeing some data which shows that warming is truly slowing, like it did multiple times during this Holocene warm period, for the long term? Are they setting the stage so that they can continue to institute their Fascism even after all their policies are enacted, claiming it’s necessary to avoid Extreme Weather?

Read: Your Fault: Less Warming But More Extremes »

If All You See…

…is an area turned into a wasteland from carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is 357 Magnum, with a post on a good guy with a gun stopping a kidnapping.

Read: If All You See… »

Texas Sues Biden Over Immigration Rule That Ignores Public Burden Law

Let’s say you live in a different country, and want to move to the United States and become a citizen. Or just come over on some sort of visa, be it a work visa, school visa, or some other. You have to take care of yourself. You aren’t allowed to be on public assistance programs. But, Brandon wants every person showing up at the border demanding asylum or illegally crossing the border to get public assistance. Rather than being deported

Texas AG sues Biden admin over illegal immigration rule ‘increasing burden’ on taxpayers

illegal alien DemocratTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the Biden administration over a newly implemented rule that he says places a burden on American taxpayers as a result of illegal immigration.

Paxton filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that the Biden administration is ignoring a federal law that bars the admission of “illegal aliens from residing in the country if they are likely to rely on taxpayer-funded programs”

The new rule, adopted in December 2022, “prevents consideration of statutorily required factors when determining whether an alien is likely to become a ‘public charge,'” according to Paxton’s office.

“Aliens often provide documentation of financial support from family as proof that they won’t become a burden on taxpayers. But the Biden rule prohibits a robust and meaningful investigation into the veracity of this documentation. Attorney General Paxton’s lawsuit alleges that the December 2022 rule was adopted in violation of federal law and is arbitrary and capricious,” a press release states.

“The Biden Administration is committed to opening the borders to aliens who lack the ability to take care of themselves. Texans should not have to pay for these costly immigrants, nor should any other American,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I will continue to defend the rule of law and fight to ensure that the massive costs of illegal immigration don’t further burden taxpayers.”

It really is insane that we are going to spend huge amounts of money supporting illegal aliens when we have U.S. citizens in need of a helping hand. How many homeless are there on the streets? People who could use help with drug addictions? Mental health issues? Homeless veterans? Why do we need to take care of all these illegals?

Read: Texas Sues Biden Over Immigration Rule That Ignores Public Burden Law »

Secret Group Funding Local News Climate (scam) Journalism

In other words, local news outlets are failing in their jobs, simply publishing cult screeds fed to them

Mysterious eco group is funding local climate journalism: ‘Advocacy dressed up as news reporting’

climate change joke

A little-known environmental organization founded by the heir of a billion-dollar fortune has quietly organized large grants for local news outlets to boost climate change coverage and, sometimes, hire new climate reporters.

The North Carolina-based 1Earth Fund states on its website that it was founded to “fund cost-effective communication projects that can reach audiences across the political divide.” The group markets itself as a counter to “disinformation campaigns” funded by fossil fuel companies.

While little else is publicly shared about 1Earth Fund’s operations, the group adds on its site that it funds “projects like Connected Coastlines,” a nationwide climate reporting initiative in coastal states overseen by the Pulitzer Center. The project’s list of partners includes The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, Seattle Times and Orlando Sentinel. (snip)

One such reporting project is titled “State of Change” and is based in North Carolina. The Pulitzer Center highlights six grantees who are journalists tasked with showcasing “the effects of climate change: sea level rise, ocean acidification, coastal erosion, more powerful storms, global warming, etc., and its impact on communities and individuals.” Their work has largely been published by a local PBS affiliate. (snip)

In addition, 1Earth Fund has partnered with various non-profit organizations to send direct grants to newsrooms located throughout the Southeast. The grants include a $65,000 grant to USA Today affiliate Wilmington News-Star in North Carolina, a $50,000 grant to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) in Georgia and a grant to The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun in North Carolina. Articles published in the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina have also been funded by a 1Earth Fund grant.

So, basically, these newsrooms have abandoned their independence and journalistic integrity to publish cult advocacy pieces.

Articles produced with financial support from 1Earth Fund grants or by reporters funded by such grants often promote green energy and warn of dangers posed by global warming.

Examples published over the last 12 months include a News & Observer story with the headline “Sea change: NC is starting to make progress on wind energy, but lags other states” and a Winston-Salem Journal article titled “100% green energy in NC would cut costs, spark job growth, study says.”

That N&O one sounds familiar.

Still, the newspapers that have received financial support from 1Earth Fund have said the group doesn’t influence their editorial judgment. When asked about 1Earth Fund’s ties to the Southwire Company, a spokesperson for the AJC said the outlet maintains “strict editorial independence at all times to protect journalistic integrity.”

BS

“The notion that McClatchy doesn’t consider the agenda of the special interest donors who pay their reporters’ salaries is ridiculous,” Daniel Sr. (chairman of the NC Ag Partnership) said. “We’re entering a startling new frontier when secretive donor networks pay journalists who claim their work is ‘objective.’”

It’s typical shady media stuff.

Read: Secret Group Funding Local News Climate (scam) Journalism »

Brandon Trots Out New Border Policy To “Curb” Illegal Immigration

There are a few big things missing from this supposed method to reduce illegals flowing to the U.S.

Biden announces new program to curb illegal migration as he prepares for visit to border

Joe Biden Ice Cream AfghanistanIn a rare White House address on the nation’s southern border crisis, President Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled new policy that will accept 30,000 migrants a month from four nations but also will crack down on those who fail to use the plan’s legal pathways.

Speaking in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, the president said the policy will grant humanitarian “parole” to eligible migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. It will work as part of a border strategy that incorporates an expanded use of Title 42 expulsions.

“Do not just show up at the border. Stay where you are and apply legally from there,” Biden said, addressing potential migrants from those nations. “Starting today, if you don’t apply through the legal process you will not be eligible for this new parole program.”

The announcement was made as the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice released details of a plan to impose a new regulation — a version of a Trump-era policy often called the “transit ban.” Under the new rule, migrants would be prohibited from applying for asylum in the United States unless they were first turned away for safe harbor by another country. It would also deem ineligible migrants who don’t go through authorized ports of entry. DHS and DOJ will hear public comment on the proposed regulation before it goes into effect.

All the Usual Suspects in the Credentialed Media are lauding this as a Great Thing, but, what of illegals from all the other countries? And what happens with the ones who do simply show up at the border? Will they be turned away? Or allowed to enter? What of those who enter illegally? Sent packing or allowed to remain in the U.S.? Supposedly, they’ll be sent packing, like Biden did with Venezuelans last year, but, will he?

So, it’s numbers game, meant to hide the real number who entering.

Further, we’re talking about letting in 360,000 more immigrants who probably do not speak English, do not share our values, and will most likely be wards of the state.

Read: Brandon Trots Out New Border Policy To “Curb” Illegal Immigration »

The Meaning Of the Waters Of The US Regulations

I’ve mentioned the Brandon admin’s EPA trotting out their Big Massive Government Waters of The US rule ahead of a Supreme Court decision a few times, to go with a few times while Brandon was Obama’s VP. Perhaps it’s time for an explanation of how bad this is

Biden backs his administration into a puddle

For a president who supposedly likes building infrastructure, President Joe Biden has a funny way of showing it. In a New Year’s Eve news dump, the Environmental Protection Agency issued new Clean Water Act regulations that will make it more expensive for people to build roads, bridges, and homes.

At issue is the definition of the term “waters of the United States,” which for decades meant interstate waters that were “navigable in fact,” such as a river, canal, or lake. But in a blatant power grab, the EPA expanded that definition to include not only “intrastate lakes, rivers, streams” but also all “mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, or natural ponds.”

If there is a puddle somewhere, Biden wants authority over it. Under his administration’s new definition, if your property has a dirt road that occasionally gets muddy after a hard rain, it was now part of the “waters of the United States.” Under the Clean Water Act, this meant that if you wanted to pave the road, put a building on it, or run a power line over, you would need to get not only state and local permits but also a federal permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Getting a permit to build even adjacent to “waters of the United States” takes an average of 788 days and $271,596 in costs. Almost $2 billion is spent on federal water permits each year by people trying to improve infrastructure and housing stock. No wonder infrastructure and housing are so expensive.

This is a massive, humongous, insane level of federal over-reach, of control of huge swaths of privately owned property.

Instead, Biden issued a new rule last week that restores the permitting process to its pre-Trump absurdity. This means there will be hundreds of days of delay and hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs for virtually every infrastructure project in the country.

Fortunately, the Supreme Court is set to deliver a decision that might overturn the Biden water rule. In 2004, an Idaho couple began to build a house across the street from a lake after obtaining state and local permits. Then EPA officials showed up and threatened them with thousands of dollars in fines per day unless they immediately stopped construction and got a federal Clean Water Act permit as well.

The couple sued, and their case was argued before the Supreme Court last October. A decision is expected this spring.

Hopefully the Supreme Court will do the right thing and smack the federal government around for assuming vast authority to regulate people’s private property.

Read: The Meaning Of the Waters Of The US Regulations »

If All You See…

…is an area turning to desert from carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Geller Report, with a post on the J6 committee sealing all important videos and documents for 50 years.

Read: If All You See… »

Pirate's Cove