patrick.net

justme says

QUOTE: "Gaping hole in America's biggest dam keeps getting bigger."

Those assholes! Are they counting the spillway as part of the dam!? Who do they think they are!

"The hole found Sunday to the emergency spillway — essentially a natural hillside of soil, rock and brush — led engineers to shift major water flows away from this unlined channel."

OMG! Look at this! I am outraged. OUTRAGED!

Headline: Gaping hole in Oroville Dam spillway is growing, officials warn
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Oroville-Dam-spillway-hole-erosion-water-reservoir-10920358.php
"By Thursday, the hole had grown to about 45-feet-deep and 300-feet-wide by 500-feet-long, according to a KCBS report."

https://patrick.net/1302921/2017-02-13-lake-oroville-ca-dam-emergency?c=1380114#comment-1380114

I disliked this one myself so i could get the hat trick...

California should have spent on infrastructure instead of illegal aliens

Booger says

California should have spent on infrastructure instead of illegal aliens

New undergrad researcher hired on here where (biotech) I work recently says to me: I took some environmental science classes and my professor says reservoirs are stupid!

UCSD or SDSU not sure which..

errc says

I'd love to see that math. Care to show your work?

The earth's climate is roughly divided into glacial and interglacial periods, we are currently near the end of an interglacial (warming) period, which typically only lasts 10K years, whereas the glacial periods last 10 times longer. The current CO2 concentrations are roughly 40% higher than the highest concentrations during past glacial/interglacial periods, yet global temperatures are 2 degrees celsius lower than during the past interglacial period where CO2 concentrations were much lower. And it seems like we are coming to an end. The hypothesis that man-made global warming via CO2 makes a statistically significant difference would be rejected no matter how you slice and dice the data. If you reduce the sample size to just the time when satellite measuring started (~40 yrs) ago you may be able to make a case, but that is basically excluding 99.99......% of available data, that is the millions of years before. That's how Al Gore arrived at his (in)famous hockey-stick curve.

@mell,

Here is one possible position that a person (not me) might take on climate warming. It might or might not coincide with your position.

1. A person believes the physics of the greenhouse effect.

2. A person believes that OTHER non-man-made factors than concentration of CO2 lead to bigger FLUCTUATIONS in temperature than CO2 does.

3. A person therefore concludes there is no need to worry about CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

Personally, I agree with 1, slightly agree with 2, but completely disagree with 3. Here is why: The non-man-made fluctuations are around an average temperature that is changed by the CO2 concentration. Other effects such as volcanic eruptions and solar activity cause additional swings around these set points. But, our civilization was built around a specific CO2 level and a specific average temperature. All kinds of assumptions have been and are being implicitly made by humanity about agricultural crop production levels and geographical feasibility, sea levels, and water availability. If the average temperature changes even by a few degrees, these assumptions will lead to failure because civilization will NOT be able to respond quickly enough to these changes, and catastrophic results (mass death and mass reduction in living standards) are likely.

It really is that simple. We see the signs all around use with rising average temperatures, rising sea levels, melting icecaps and extreme weather becoming the new normal. Is it worth burning all that fossile fuel for our vanity just because the effects may not kill you personally in your very limited lifetime? I think not.

PS:

If a person (not talking about anyone in particular) does not even believe in premise 1, then I just cannot help. Ignoring basic scientific fact will not lead to any valid analysis.

>>Hey justme... Is this FAKE news and a sensational headline??

No, both the quotes and the headline appear to be factual to me.

>>Why would they do this if the situation is under control??

As a precaution? The LA Times quote did not say the situation was "under control", whatever that means. Neither did I, for that matter.

I will say, though, that IMO, the Ironmoan situation is not under control. He gets all worked up about 25 national guardsmen and 13 amfibious(?) vehicles.

Update from SacBee at 11:55

Oroville update: Evacuation order remains as officials want ‘100 percent’ safety assurance

Lake Oroville should be empty enough to handle new storm, hydrologist says

As water levels continue to drop at Lake Oroville, the state’s chief hydrologist said Tuesday the reservoir should be empty enough to withstand the next round of rainstorms expected to hit late Wednesday.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article132583524.html

COMMENT: There is still hype in the form of a video graphic that shows the estimated inundation effect of a dam break rather than a secondary spillway break. While informative, I wonder how many people understand the difference and the relative likelihoods.

Stop being such a dumbass, Ironmoan. I have called out some examples of fake news. Now you are trying goad me into saying that some real news is fake. As the elder and smarter Bush once said: "Not gonnna' do it!".

Ironmoan does not know the definition of hypocrisy. That is the polite way of saying it. And now I put him on ignore. I feel good.

PS: if y'all see a lot of comments I made that seem to replying to someone who is not there, those would be for Ironmoan (aka. Ironman).

Dale Kasler Verified account
‏@dakasler

BREAKING evacuation order lifted in Butte co. #orovilleDam

1:48 PM - 14 Feb 2017
0 replies 6 retweets 3 likes

Rew says

justme says

QUOTE: "Gaping hole in America's biggest dam keeps getting bigger."

Those assholes! Are they counting the spillway as part of the dam!? Who do they think they are!

You realize that the "hole" they talked about is a hole in the GROUND that has no water coming out of it, right? And said hole is not in the dam nor near the dam. There is a picture of the hole in post 2 of this thread, here: https://patrick.net/1302921/2017-02-13-lake-oroville-ca-dam-emergency?c=1380047#comment-1380047

So now maybe you realize how blatantly misleading the statement I called out was?

just_passing_through says

FOC: because you're calling a potentially dire situation fake news.

For the record, and I find it symptomatic of fakery that I need to say this, I was not calling "the situation" fake news. I am calling out the misleading and sometimes completely errant description of the situation.

Fake news: Martian invaders break dam in Oroville.
Fake news: "Gaping hole in America's biggest dam keeps getting bigger."

The most dangerous form of fake news is the kind that seems believable, but is actually wrong and/or very misleading. Hence the first example is an obvious fake, but the 2nd example is the dangerous kind.

Yeah, the US didn't spend much on wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Rashomon says

Yeah, the US didn't spend much on wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Or unfunded Bush tax cuts for the rich. That's the biggest government handout of them all.

tr6 says

Or unfunded Bush tax cuts for the rich. That's the biggest government handout of them all.

Yes, thanks for pointing that out @tr6

I added it as the top item in my platform: https://patrick.net/1303173/2017-02-19-patrick-net-platform

Continued erosion and damage at the main spillway near the Lake Oroville dam. TINA, There Is No Alternative, apparently. No mention as to whether the hydropower station has been restarted so as to offload the main spillway. There is a catch 22 here, because the erosion at the main spillway threatens power lines needed by the power station.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article133932379.html

It is being reported that the Lake Oroville Dam hydroelectric power station may be partially re-started on Thursday, thereby allowing some water to be released, and productively so, through the power station. Meanwhile, the main spillway is temporarily shut off for inspection and removal of accumulated debris that hinders the flow in the canal/river below the spillway.

At peak capacity, the power station consumes and releases 14 kcfps of water. It is a small number compared to the 100 kfcps capacity of the (now damaged) main spillway.

Many more details in the full article

http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article135422349.html