So much for the myriad claims about going “beyond coal.” According to a new report from the Rhodium Group, U.S. coal consumption jumped by 17 percent last year compared to 2020 levels. That’s a huge increase, which Rhodium says was “largely driven by a run-up in natural gas prices.” Rather than burn gas, which averaged about $4.93 […]
As coal use surges, America finds it’s hard to unplug from carbon Learn More »
For the past few weeks, everybody’s attention has been focused on the looming demise of President Biden’s legislative agenda. Both the massive social spending bill (going by the Orwellian name “Build Back Better”) and the anti-voter-integrity bill, have now conclusively failed, at least in their most recent forms. A major part of the Build Back
When The Administrative State Slips Its Constitutional Bonds Learn More »
In California, as we all know, the inhabitants and their elected officials are far more sophisticated and virtuous than the rest of us rubes who inhabit the other parts of the country. This particularly goes for the arena of climate change, where California is leading the way to saving the planet by rapidly eliminating all
California’s Zero Carbon Plans: Can Anybody Here Do Basic Arithmetic? Learn More »
One of the easiest things to do is to go along to get along. This is true in so many areas of life, including knowledge of science topics. If you don’t have an in-depth knowledge of a particular area of science, the “easiest thing” kicks in rather effortlessly. Alternatively, if you have a depth of knowledge on a
The Dangers of Challenging the Climate Change Consensus Learn More »
Among Governor Glenn Youngkin’s first actions was Executive Order #9 initiating Virginia’s withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the Northeastern U.S. “carbon market” that sets and enforces emission limits for coal and gas power plants. RGGI also lets utilities buy “carbon credits” when emissions exceed those limits and pass costs on to families, businesses, hospitals, and
Assessing Virginia’s Hidden Wind and Solar Costs Learn More »
Contrary to popular perceptions, all around the world, environmental conditions have improved dramatically in recent decades. There is less air pollution and more widespread access to clean water than ever before. Anyone who wants to learn more about this astounding progress should read Stephen Pinker’s Enlightenment Now and Hans Rosling’s Factfulness. These environmental performance gains
Environmental regulations can sometimes do more harm than good Learn More »
In early December, the Washington Post reported that because of climate change, snow in the Mountain West “may vanish for years at a time.” The headline did not age well. Only days later it started to snow in the West. And snow. And snow. An incredible photo on Twitter showed a towering wall of snow on Donner
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
Fossil Fuels Surge After U.N. Conference Learn More »
Recently I had a conversation about scientific claims in a field I haven’t mastered. We all find ourselves there once in a while. Whenever we speak outside of fields we know fairly well, the confidence with which we hold our convictions must drop. Because I don’t have much training in said disciplines, I haven’t thoroughly investigated the
The Only Question That Matters: Is It Correct? Learn More »
Adding to already rough and rising winter energy prices, Santa may have little choice but to pass along inflationary gift delivery reindeer flatulence fees. Yes, if he and his formerly merry elves didn’t already have problems enough with sky-high supply chain costs and delays, Democrat grinches are pushing a penalty tax on methane producers, Rudolph
You May Want to Wish for Coal in Your Christmas Stocking Learn More »
