NASA Bonks Wacky 2012 Claims

A nice video about some of the 2012 nonsense that’s doing the rounds on the internet.

After all that, you mean the world is NOT going to end on December 21, 2012? Listen up, 2012ers, it’s not really going to happen, hard as that is to bear.

The issue with Dec. 21, 2012 and the predicted disasters that some folks think will come, probably started with the so-called end of the Mayan calendar. Their calendar does not end on Dec. 21, 2012. It’s just the end of the cycle and the beginning of a new one. It’s just like on Dec. 31st, our calendar comes to an end but a new calendar for the next year begins on Jan. 1st .

Niburu is supposed to be a planet that’s four times the size of the Earth. It’s going to get very close to the Earth and cause all kinds of disasters. So this enormous planet is suppose to be coming toward Earth, but if it were, we would’ve seen it long ago and if it were invisible somehow, we would’ve seen the affects of this planet on neighboring planets.

Thousands of astronomers who scan the night skies on a daily basis have not seen this. And then there’s folks who think that NASA astronomers are actually hiding this information so as to prevent panic from the populous. Can you imagine thousands of astronomers who observe the skies on a nightly basis keeping the same secret from the public for several years?

Some folks think there’s going to be a solar storm associated with Dec. 21st of 2012. Now, solar storms do exist. The sun’s activity goes through a cycle that reaches a maximum every eleven years. The next solar maximum when you might expect enhanced solar activity will take place actually in May of 2013. It’s supposed to be fairly mild solar activity maximum and there’s no evidence that there’s going to be any solar storms.

And then we have planetary alignments. There’s a planetary alignment. The sun, the Earth and some of the planets are aligned and this is going to cause some tidal effects on the Earth that’s going to be catastrophic.

Well, first of all, there are no planetary alignments in December of 2012 and even if there were, there are no tidal effects on the Earth as a result. The only two bodies in the solar system that can affect the Earth’s tides are the moon, which is very close, and the sun, which is massive and also fairy close. But the other planets have a negligible effect on the Earth.

One of the myths for Dec. 21, 2012 is that the Earth’s axes are going to somehow shift. The rotation axis can’t shift because of the orbit of the moon around the Earth stabilizes it and doesn’t allow it to shift.

The magnetic field does shift from time to time but the last time it did was 740,000 years ago and it doesn’t do that sort of a shift but every half million years or so. But there’s no evidence that’s going to happen in December and even if it did shift, it’s not going to cause a problem on the Earth apart from the fact that we’re going to have to recalibrate our compasses.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Since the beginning of recorded time, there have been literally hundreds of thousands of predictions for the end of the world and we’re still here.

Miss Piggy: if they take what I say seriously, they’ve got a real big problem

Anyone remember Fox Business accusing the Muppets for being communist?

We’re teaching our kids class warfare. Where are we, Communist China?

When this came to my attention I already said that Fox taking the Muppets serious was beyond me. It’s why I found the satire response from Conan so fitting to this situation.

But now Miss Piggy from the Muppets has chipped in on the accusations from Fox Business:

Climate Denial and Manufacturing Legitimacy

The following post was originally published on ClimateCrocks as a guest post.

The scientific discussion has long since moved on from whether we are causing the increase in our planets temperature to fine tuning what effects this will have. We know it is happening, we are responsible for it and we are now in the process of finding out that we have been underestimating it.

Yet, the so-called sceptics have managed to delay action, very effectively spreading misinformation. A considerable amount of misinformation comes from the blogosphere, where familiar and long-debunked claims about climate change are repeated time and time again.

Is Nuclear Power Safe?

Tested for radiation (Reuters)

The BBC produced a documentary called “Is Nuclear Power Safe?” which aired on september 15. In the documentary they examine nuclear safety and consequences of accidents in light of the events at Fukushima.

Jim Al-Khalili, a professor of nuclear physics, handles the presentation and narration of the documentary. And states his case that nuclear energy is a lot safer than most people think. And that radiation from fallout isn’t as bad as generally believed.

And during this documentary he seems to give very reasonable explanations and evidence that support this:

The Effectiveness Of Prayer

AP Photo/Erich Schlegel

Remember the call for prayer from Rick Perry? The one where Texans should, among other things, pray for rain?

More than a month later the heat is still on in Texas and there hasn’t been any significant amount of rain that would have brought some relief from the drought. In fact, the drought has actually intensified. And to add insult to injure massive wild fires have raged in texas, leaving thousands of people homeless.

Shows how effective this day of prayer has been. And It isn’t strange that someone who denies the existence of climate change and thinks creationism is teached in Texas classrooms calls for something this ineffective.