Southeast Asia is at the crossroads of choosing between a climate agenda hostile to fossil fuels and the energy security its population desperately needs. Central to the question is the use of coal. The fuel is especially critical in the production of electricity for the 700 million people of the 10 countries making up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Electricity demand … [Read more...]
‘Trust Us, We’re Experts’ Has Returned To A World Of Faith-Based Science
We are living in an era steeped in faith-based science. Deep trust in science, as defined by those perceived to be authoritative scientists in very complex scientific areas, has become blatant with the coronavirus crisis. To make sure we stayed healthy in addition to staying alive, we trusted what the scientific experts were telling us about the deadly disease. Now a certain amount of distrust of such expertise has set in. As the public learns more about the virus and the subsequent … [Read more...]
Germany’s Green Energy Fixation Should Teach US a Lesson
Germany’s new Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government vice chancellor and economic minister Robert Habeck, a leading member of his country’s Green Party, has experienced a rude lesson regarding the disastrous consequences of his years of naïve opposition to fossil fuels. After tasking his top officials to assess the energy security implications of Germany’s dependence on Russian supplies in the event of a then-looming Ukraine invasion, their conclusions were desperately dispiriting. Habeck … [Read more...]
Real Threats to Biodiversity and Humanity
References to climate change almost guarantee funding, even for research topics of little interest beyond academia and eco-activists. Polls reveal that most people worry most about energy and food prices, crime, living standards, Putin’s war on Ukraine, and increasing efforts to control their lives. A recent study by Rutgers University scientists sought to determine how much diversity is required among bee species to sustain wild plant populations. They concluded that ecosystems rely … [Read more...]
Cancel Mom’s Grocery Bag Misinformation
I don’t deliberately avoid organic foods or markets, but I don’t seek them out either. Claims that organic food tastes better or is more nutritious are not supported by evidence and certainly don’t justify the far higher prices. Mostly, I’m put off by assertions that organic food is pesticide-free, safer, and more planet-friendly. Those assertions are simply false advertising; deliberate misinformation. Mom’s Organic Market shopping bags provide an excellent example. They’re emblazoned with … [Read more...]
Endangered Species Act: Turning Species Extirpation on its Head
The Endangered Species Act, first enacted by Congress in 1973, has since become a poster child for bureaucratic ineptitude. By 2021 it had fully redeemed from the impending extinction only 3% of the hundreds of endangered species initially added to the list. Our national symbol, the again flourishing bald eagle, is an outstanding exception. The birds are commonly seen soaring above our rivers and lakes wherever the fishing is good. But whooping cranes are holding onto existence by the skin … [Read more...]
The Perils of Idolizing Organic Farming in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is on a path to agricultural collapse. Its president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, declared an economic emergency on August 31, 2021. Why? One reason is a bizarre agricultural policy. In April, Sri Lanka’s cabinet “approved a ban on importation of chemical fertilizers and other agrochemicals in the bid to become the first country ever to practice organic-only agriculture.” It requires all farming to be organic within 10 years. This puts farmers in the country in a dreadful … [Read more...]
Alaska’s 2021 salmon harvest sets new records, defying doomsayers again
So Many Salmon By late July, salmon runs and the brown bears that pursue them are winding down at Brooks Falls. So I was skeptical about my daughter’s desire to visit this treasure in Alaska’s Katmai National Park in early August. Until she showed me the live webcam. We secured a last minute flight that did not disappoint. Salmon passing over Brooks Falls make their way up from Bristol Bay, without question the world’s most productive sockeye salmon fishery. At over 65 million sockeye … [Read more...]
Against Environmental Anti-Humanism
Guest column by Marian Tupy On April 25, British Vogue published an article titled “Is Having a Baby in 2021 Pure Environmental Vandalism?” The author, Nell Frizzell, “worried about the sort of world” that she would bring her “child into — where we have perhaps just another 60 harvests left before our overworked soil gives out.” In the end, she decided to have a son and teach him to live within humanity’s “environmental means” and free of “the fever of consumerism.” Frizzell is … [Read more...]
Is Global Warming Harming Great Lakes and Minnesota?
Recently a friend of the Cornwall Alliance wrote us saying, I saw a very concerning rise claimed for the Great Lakes surface temps—not tenths of a degree but closer to 10. We worry for first time in my 7 decades about migration into Minnesota of poisonous species, death of favorite tree species, etc. What are the actual data regarding warming---whether of the air or of the waters---of the Great Lakes area? For the last 10 years I have been consulting with U.S. grain growing interests, … [Read more...]
