Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash In a world where everyone craves “peace and safety,” they are looking everywhere else but where it is truly found – and so wind up with neither. Our present world is in deep trouble far beyond merely the weather or the nastiest flu season in living memory. It is saddled with many juvenile political fantasies overwhelmed with economic malaise thanks to the abject legalism connected to those same political fantasies. Closely connected, our all-knowing … [Read more...]
COP27: A Meaningless Ritual for China and India
Last week, Greta Thunberg called the COP27 climate meeting a “scam” that provides a platform for “greenwashing, lying, and cheating.” The teenage climate activist is probably right – for a change. Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash Many European countries that pledged at past meetings to move away from coal, oil, and natural gas have been unable to keep their promises. In the case of developing countries that depend heavily on hydrocarbons, the charade is even more apparent. For … [Read more...]
1,500 Years Of Heatwaves
The following is a guest column from RealClimateScience.com. “Hot Weather.—Many a man has mopped his brow during the summer months of 1884, declaring it was the hottest weather the world ever knew, which, of course, would not be true, for the extreme heat in the record of the past has not been approached during the late summer. In 627, the heat was so great in France and Germany, says the London Standard, that all springs dried up; water became so scarce that many people died of … [Read more...]
The Rich Are Taking the Poor to the Cleaners on ‘Green’ Energy in Countries That Can Least Afford It
Approximately 1.3 billion Indians have been informed that their cooking gas price will go up by 65 cents per liter. In a country like India, higher fuel prices can have quick and dangerous repercussions, resulting in greater morbidity and mortality. The situation is similar in other developing countries and the poor economies of the African continent. Unfortunately, the establishment media does not sufficiently report on how hostility toward fossil fuels has contributed to the current energy … [Read more...]
What Solution Do Renewable Energy Advocates Offer For The Problem Of Storage?
Most comments at this site tend to have a perspective generally consistent with my own. But sometimes a post will attract comments from people with a very different point of view. That occurred on a post earlier this week titled “Two More Contributions On The impossibility Of Electrifying Everything Using Only Wind, Solar, And Batteries.” That post and the one immediately preceding it (“Calculating The Full Costs Of Electrifying Everything Using Only Wind, Solar, And Batteries”) had both … [Read more...]
Two More Contributions On The Impossibility Of Electrifying Everything Using Only Wind, Solar And Batteries
My previous post highlighted the work of Ken Gregory, who has attempted to quantify the costs of fully electrifying the U.S. energy system using as sources only wind, solar, and batteries. My post got circulated among my excellent colleagues in the CO2 Coalition, two of whom then provided me with links to their own work on closely-related subjects. The two pieces are: (1) “How Many km2 of Solar Panels in Spain and how much battery backup would it take to power Germany,” by Lars Schernikau and … [Read more...]
Fossil Fuels Surge After U.N. Conference
It has been a little more than a month since the United Nations climate meeting at Glasgow, yet global use of fossil fuels has increased rapidly. For instance, U.S. President Joe Biden canceled domestic oil projects and vowed to stop funding for international fossil fuel projects. But as fuel prices rose, Biden responded to his self-induced energy insecurity by releasing 50 million barrels of oil from the reserves and even called for an increase in domestic oil … [Read more...]
Were Devastating Kentucky Tornadoes Related to Climate Change?
The heart-wrenching devastation in Kentucky and surrounding regions due to several tornadoes has caught everyone’s attention. Fortunately, meteorologists have been increasingly capable of issuing tornado warnings and have greatly reduced tornado-related death tolls. But despite adequate warning, one tornado took direct aim on Mayfield, Kentucky, causing buildings to collapse and a horrible death toll. The USA experiences more tornadoes than elsewhere, suffering, on average, over 1100 … [Read more...]
Louisiana Religious Climate Activists Might Want to Check the Data
One can't help admiring the motives of many religious leaders alarmed about human-induced climate change. From the Pope to the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury to leaders of the Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jewish faiths, many express their angst that climate change is an "existential threat" to humanity, especially the poor, and to all life on Earth. But sometimes one wishes they would combine some knowledge of basic data with their good intentions. An AP story published today, "Faith … [Read more...]
The Tide-Theory of Climate Change
Guest article by Joakim Book I was watching the tide today and thought of climate change. Yes, they are different phenomena; the tide is predictable, well-known, and reverses itself like clockwork roughly every six hours, whereas climate change is unpredictable, uncertain, and (still) irreversible. Nevertheless, it serves as a relevant illustration of what we are often overlooking in the climate debate. The tide moves continuously; slowly and gradually, not suddenly or … [Read more...]
