Der Spiegel reports (partial English translation here, courtesy of the Global Warming Policy Foundation) that the German Green Party has announced that it intends to get petrol-driven (gasoline and diesel) vehicles off German roads, aiming to have no more such vehicles registered from 2036 onward. "'We Greens want to get away from oil on the road over the next 20 years. We want to give cities, cyclists and pedestrians enough room that is free of toxic emissions,' it says in the draft of their … [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...]
Whose Policies Kill More People: ISIS…or Greenpeace?
Approximately 200,000 people have died due to global terrorism in the last 10 years. During the same time, many millions of people (mostly women and children) have died due to policies promoted by Greenpeace and other “green” organizations (e.g. anti-DDT, anti-golden rice, anti-fossil fuel). I’ve said it before…I don’t really care where our energy comes from…as long as it is abundant and affordable. Until someone comes up with an alternative energy source with those two characteristics, … [Read more...]
Bill Gates Gets It on Wind and Solar
In an interview published in The Atlantic, billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates had two very astute observations about wind and solar energy: On the limits of wind power and solar photovoltaic cells: Wind has grown super-fast, on a very subsidized basis. Solar, off a smaller base, has been growing even faster—again on a highly subsidized basis. But it’s absolutely fair to say that even the modest R&D that’s been done, and the various deployment incentives that are there, have worked … [Read more...]
Climate Skeptics: Bought By Fossil Fuel Companies?
This video is worth watching and sharing. Well-known scientists, scholars, and policy leaders respond to accusations of receiving money from oil companies, and reveal where their funding really comes from. … [Read more...]
India Dances toward Paris
India last week announced its "climate action plan" in preparation for December's climate summit in Paris, and the featured points grabbed the world's attention: 40% increase of "clean [i.e., CO2-free] energy" by 2030; reduced CO2 "emission intensity" by 33% from 2005 levels by 2030; calling for wealth countries of the West to help it meet the costs of these efforts. That last point is the one to be taken most seriously. As for the first two, well, there's lots of smoke and mirrors, but … [Read more...]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Gets It: Forget ‘Climate Change’, Energy Empowers the Poor
Speaking September 29 at the UN General Assembly, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it perfectly clear: India will not stop or even slow its people's rise out of poverty to satisfy the global warming elites of the West. Modi told the UN that any climate agreement acceptable to India must function "without affecting our ability to meet the development aspirations of humanity." And India intends to meet those aspirations by providing the abundant, affordable, reliable electricity without … [Read more...]
Ethanol: A Federally Mandated Killer
Terry Scanlon of the Capital Research Center leads his latest email this way: When you gas your car with 10% ethanol, you're dragged into the Renewable Fuel Standard morass run by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). This environmentalist policy is so terrible, even the greens have turned against it. But as a government program, it's immortal. Our latest "Green Watch" documents how this disaster funnels money from consumers to crony capitalists, reduces your car's mileage, raises food … [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...]