Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposal to cap electricity prices could, perversely, lead to higher customer bills and a greater risk of blackouts, according to America’s Power, a trade organization of coal-fired power plants.Following negotiations with the governor, power grid operator PJM Interconnection submitted a plan to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to restrict prices for two years—a period that would extend, coincidentally or not, beyond Shapiro’s 2026 reelection campaign. On April … [Read more...]
False Pretense of Energy Transition: Long on Facts, Short on Truth
While listing many of the barriers to abandoning fossil fuels for “green” energy, three writers in Foreign Affairs magazine skip over an important truth: The once ballyhooed but now moribund “energy transition” was and remains unnecessary and undesirable.Instead, the article’s title, “The Troubled Energy Transition: How to Find a Pragmatic Path Forward,” suggests (1) that the so-called transition has legitimacy and (2) that it still somehow should happen. Both are false.The writers are … [Read more...]
Are ‘Green’ Agendas Carrying Governors to Political Cliffs?
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon are riding the same “green energy” horse, trotting into the sunset — or toward a political cliff.After voicing concerns, Shapiro is pressing ahead with Pennsylvania’s proposed participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, appealing a Commonwealth Court ruling barring the governor from unilateral action. He also has proposed expanding subsidies for “alternative energy” sources.In the Cowboy State, Gordon advocates … [Read more...]
The Economic Case for Net Zero Is Zero
Implementing net zero will depress the global economy more than the atmospheric warming that the campaign against carbon dioxide emissions is supposed to prevent, according to a comparison of research by recognized experts. In other words, abandoning efforts to eliminate the greenhouse gas emissions of fossil fuels likely would make virtually everybody richer.The comparison is presented in a short 12-minute video titled “How human disruptions impact GDP” by Dr. Lars Schernikau, an energy … [Read more...]
In Pennsylvania, Will Josh Shapiro Unlock Decades of Affordable Energy?
With Democrat Josh Shapiro as a newly inaugurated governor and a new legislative body, Pennsylvania will either shine as an energy superstar or continue down the dim path of economic decline.Image: Creative Commons under UnsplashThe commonwealth is a national leader in energy production despite being stifled by onerous regulations, market-distorting subsidies, and an irrational hostility toward fossil fuels.Shapiro’s energy policies will have implications for the power grid’s reliability … [Read more...]
Pennsylvania Power Plant Closures Would Cause Real Harm for Illusory Environmental Gains
Visible from Western Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountain ridges are coal-fired power plants—and their plumes of water vapor—that have been integral to much of the regional economy for 50 years. But maybe not for much longer.Three plants east of Pittsburgh directly employ 550 people and support an estimated 8,100 jobs, according to Power PA Jobs Alliance, a coalition of labor and industry groups. Now, two of them—the generating stations of Conemaugh on the Indiana-Westmoreland County … [Read more...]
Corrupt Climate Science Poisons Eastern Power Grid Operator
Once upon a time the job of the PJM Interconnection — operator of the nation’s largest electricity grid — was reasonably straightforward: Keep the lights on. The organization’s mission statement still identifies PJM’s “primary task” as ensuring the power grid’s “safety, reliability and security.” However, today’s PJM is post-modern. Focused management of transmitting electricity is muddled by notions of carbon dioxide as a toxin and sophomoric visions of pristine energy from the zephyrs and … [Read more...]
Today’s Galileos challenge climate orthodoxy — and other nonsense
Is the modern scientific establishment like the 17th-century elite who conspired against Galileo for his heliocentric “apostasy” — both being motivated by a desire to retain power and privilege rather than by a search for truth? That’s what best-selling author Eric Metaxas suggests in his recent book, “Is Atheism Dead?”Metaxas explains how Galileo’s challenging of the Aristotelian view of Earth’s being the center of the universe was more of a secular concern in universities than one of faith at … [Read more...]
Library Rejects Best Seller in Favor of Climate Alarmist Orthodoxy
Apparently in defense of climate orthodoxy, the Northland Public Library of suburban Pittsburgh has banned from its shelves a best-selling book by a nationally recognized local author.In a May 29 letter to local author Gregory Wrightstone, library executive director Amy Steele said a committee of three librarians had “concluded your book does not meet our standards.”The book, “Inconvenient Facts: The Science That Al Gore Doesn’t Want You To Know,” disputes claims that global warming is largely a … [Read more...]
