So climate alarmists want a rapid, mandatory shift from fossil fuels—chiefly coal and natural gas—to wind and solar to save us all from catastrophic global warming. What comes with that? The people of England and Wales have found out, and it isn't pretty. Over a decade ago, the United Kingdom began a rigorous policy of shutting down coal-fired power plants and replacing them with wind farms and solar arrays to feed its electricity grid. The direct result was skyrocketing electric rates across … [Read more...]
Appalachian Astronauts
Over in Harlan, Kentucky, last month, I asked a coal miner if he dreaded heading to work in the mine each morning. No, he said. It was an adventure, sort of like being an astronaut, “going where no man had gone before.” Later in the day, a half-mile underground near Pikeville, other miners talked to me about their work. (I was there gathering material for a Southern Baptist Seminary course on work and leisure.) The four men had been at it 10, 21, 25, and 40 years. One spoke of his satisfaction … [Read more...]
Why I love Fossil Fuels
I am going to make and defend a bold and possibly controversial statement, a statement that makes me a pariah in my hometown of Seattle, where such a thing is considered the ultimate sin. What could be this outrageous statement? It is that I love fossil fuels. That right, I like the dirty and evil things that are supposedly causing Global Warming (or is it Climate Change, or is it Anthropogenic Global Climate Change). Whatever the term for that nonsense, I still love fossil fuels. I like … [Read more...]
Europe’s Appetite for Wood Pellets Instead of Coal Threatens Forests
In its Quixotic quest to fight global warming, Europe is switching many coal-fired electric generating plants to wood pellets. Not a good idea. One of the most important advances for both humanity and the environment was our move from using wood as primary energy source to coal, natural gas, and oil. That led to a reversal of the deforestation that was happening all over the Northern Hemisphere as population rose. The higher-density fossil fuels allowed us to generate far more energy while … [Read more...]
Environmentalists Use Millennials to Further Divestment Agenda
Environmental activists are at it again—using well-meaning college students to further their political agenda. Activists tried to turn February 13th and 14th into “Global Divestment Day.” Petitions circulated and pledges were taken by students and faculty at dozens of colleges across America (and the globe) to try to convince their respective schools to “rid their portfolios of investments in coal, oil, and natural gas interests.” But the divestment movement, which began a few years ago, is … [Read more...]
To Divest or Not to Divest—That is the Question
“To be, or not to be? That is the question.” With those words Hamlet pondered suicide. That’s a question we should ask as we ponder shrill calls on various college campuses for divestment from fossil fuels – as took place this past weekend as part of Global Divestment Day. For with the end of fossil fuel use comes the eventual death of a significant portion of the human race. Yes, I just said that. And it’s true. 1.3 billion people live without electricity across the world, 2.6 billion lack … [Read more...]
Climate Change and Evangelicals: Thou Shalt Not Fear Fossil Fuels
The fossil fuel industry should be dismantled because it is as bad as human slavery." That's exactly what Kathleen Henry, president of a non-profit environmental law firm argued in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She went on: Continuing to use fossil fuels will, in fact, lead to economic collapse from the consequences of climate change. But people continue to listen to the harmful rhetoric of the fossil fuel industry... ...They must rise above this and actively support the dismantling of the … [Read more...]
Obama Sacrifices American Prosperity on the Altar of Climate Hype
Where was President Barack Obama on Veteran’s Day? Was he honoring the nation’s war dead at Arlington National Cemetery? Encouraging her soldiers in training at one of the military academies? Issuing an executive order to force the Veterans’ Administration to respond promptly and efficiently to the needs of our wounded warriors and their surviving dependents? (I must confess a little prejudice. It took the VA almost exactly a year to approve my then-89-year-old mother’s application for … [Read more...]
Original Signers of Protect the Poor: Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies
Original Endorsements, by Category While our signatures express our endorsement only of the declaration “Protect the Poor: Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies” and do not imply agreement with every point in A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor 2014: The Case against Harmful Climate Policies Gets Stronger, we believe that document provides ample justification for the declaration. We call on scholars, experts, leaders, and citizens to join us in signing … [Read more...]
End Federal Ethanol Policy’s Harm to the Poor and the Environment
To borrow a phrase from another debate (where it is misused), the science is settled. So is the economics. As Peter Suderman points out, the federal Environmental Protection Agency proposes reducing from 18.5 billion to 15.2 billion gallons the amount of renewable fuel (essentially, ethanol, almost all from corn) it requires refiners to mix into total U.S. gasoline production each year. Well, the longest journey begins with a single step. But this journey could be completed in one fell … [Read more...]
