Indian policymakers, having made "commitments" to slow (sometime) the growth of their CO2 emissions from power generation (while continuing to build new coal-fired plants at break-neck speed), are casting about for ways to do that. Some call for more nuclear energy plants---the only realistic, affordable path. But others, guardians of Green ideology, oppose it, leaving their counterparts mystified. Why would they do that when the Indian people desperately need abundant, affordable, reliable … [Read more...]
Is Global Warming to Blame for Spread of “Tropical” Diseases?
The New York Times has just published an article claiming that global warming is (partly) to blame for the spread of various "tropical" diseases to the U.S. and other areas where previously they had been eradicated or had never existed. Donald G. McNeil Jr. begins his article titled "U.S. Becomes More Vulnerable to Tropical Diseases Like Zika" thus: Tropical diseases---some of them never before seen in the United States---are marching northward as climate change lets mosquitoes and ticks expand … [Read more...]
Are the Roots of Anti-Capitalism in the Evolution of the Human Mind?
No, I don’t think so. But Why We Bite the Invisible Hand: The Psychology of Anti-Capitalism, by Peter Foster (Pleasaunce Press, 2014), argues that it is. He’s wrong there, but despite that there are many valuable insights in the book, which I began reading a few days ago. Foster argues that often intuitive ideas are the root of resistance to free markets. Where those intuitive ideas come from is a distinct question—he thinks from millions of years of evolution, I think from simple confusion and … [Read more...]
Two Great Scientists
Great introduction to two great scientists. Roy Spencer is a Senior Fellow of the Cornwall Alliance, and John Christy is his research partner (and superior) at the University of Alabama, Huntsville. … [Read more...]
Are Global Warmists Fudging Temperature Data?
COP21 in Paris ended with a legally unenforceable but politically dangerous agreement among about 180 countries to reduce their CO2 emissions or slow their growth. Here in the United States Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) stands by his claim that manmade global warming is our greatest security threat, while President Obama treats it as a greater threat than radical Islamic terrorism, a nuclear Iran, a thermonuclear North Korea, and restive Russia and China. The mainstream news media continue to … [Read more...]
Inside Big Green’s Sausage Factory
When my wife was a student at Hillsdale College __ years ago (Nope! Not telling!), some student friends worked in a sausage factory nearby. They literally waded in hip boots in vast vats of various parts of cattle and pig carcasses headed for massive grinders. “I’ll never eat sausage again!” was their common reaction. That’s not to say (properly cooked) sausage isn’t really safe, but it gives some idea how the saying arose that you never want to watch legislation being crafted because it’s a … [Read more...]
If Only EPA Would Tilt at Windmills!
EPA last August released a new rule requiring America's natural gas drilling industry to reduce methane emissions by 40% to 45% in ten years. EPA's own estimate at global warming to be prevented? An undetectable 0.002 degree Celsius. The Wall Street Journal rightly opined: The rule will ... do immediate harm to a drilling industry that is already under pressure from falling global energy prices. The shale gas revolution has created hundreds of thousands of jobs, reduced costs for U.S. … [Read more...]
No, 2015 Was NOT the Warmest Year on Record
Global warming alarmists the world over have been hailing 2015 as the warmest year on record. Reality check: The satellite data are in, and at 0.27 deg C above the 1981-2010 average) it's only the third warmest, behind 1998 (#1, 0.48 deg C above the 1981-2010 average) and 2010 (#2, 0.34 deg C above 1981-2010 average). Kudos to Cornwall Alliance Senior Fellow Dr. Roy Spencer, who collects the satellite data with U. of Alabama colleague Dr. John Christy, for providing this monthly update. As our … [Read more...]
Getting a Grasp on Grid Reliability Issues with Wind and Solar
Critics of calls for rapid replacement of coal and natural gas with wind and solar to power the grid often argue that the intermittency of wind and solar destabilize the electrical power grid, making brownouts and blackouts, which are costly and often life threatening, more likely. The basic point is that simple to make, but its explanation and support are more difficult. A new post at Judith Curry's Climate Etc. blog, by a guest author identified simply as "Planning Engineer," develops the … [Read more...]
Responding to Risks of Climate Change—and to Risks of Responding to Climate Change
Judith Curry delivers a (typically) very thoughtful analysis of one attempt to push people into applying the "Precautionary Principle" so as to embrace major policy initiatives to mitigate "climate change" to avoid its risks. I'll not try to summarize here other than to say she shows clearly that the arguments fail. Read her post here. Featured image courtesy of Got Credit, Creative Commons. … [Read more...]
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