You may remember the extremely cold winter of 2021. In Texas, the system of electricity collapsed; 4.5 million homes lost power—for days. More than 200 people died, half of them of hypothermia (cold). This wasn’t supposed to happen, of course. Texas’s electric utilities are regulated, and the regulation had been modernized beginning in 1999. Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash Why wasn’t the public interest served? The issue is so complicated that I can’t answer that question. But … [Read more...]
Climate Change Hysteria and the Rise of the Religious Left
The climate catastrophe crusade has been joined by a new regiment of converts: the religious left wing. The troop strength has been building over recent decades; the last few years, however, have seen a surge in the power of this cohort. The religious contingent is imbued with a spiritual fervor. Unfortunately for the Christian faithful, the spirit consists of the spirit of this age, or, as the apostle Paul might put it, “this present evil age.” And unlike Paul, who announced that his job was … [Read more...]
No Net Benefit To EV Mandates, Gov’t Admits It
Buried deeply in the bowels of a 56,342-page Federal Register Volume 88 — along with an environmental assessment accompanying the Department of Transportation's newly proposed fuel standards — are some candid admissions that electric vehicle- (EV) promoting bureaucrats and subsidy beneficiaries aren't anxious for any of us to know about. Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash One is that "Net [social-economic] benefits for passenger cars remain negative across alternatives." After … [Read more...]
Dishonest Climate Fear-Mongering Headlines
The Dishonest Climate Fear-mongering headline award goes to USA TODAY whose headline said: "Dramatic flooding was rare in Vermont’s capital. Expect it more amid climate change." Similar catastrophic claims were suggested throughout the click-bait media-verse from the NY Times, the Washington Post, CNN, etc., etc. Rarely does the media provide a scientific, historical context, preferring instead to weaponize weather. But if you read the article Climate Variability and … [Read more...]
Some Like It Hot – Others Like It Cold
The drivel from air-conditioned mainstream media newsrooms has reached new levels of guffaw with the “shocking” headlines that the Fourth of July was the hottest day on Earth in “as many as 125,000 years” – breaking a record set on July 3. Hmmm. Really? Or is this just hype to avoid mentioning the shortfall of patriotic fireworks, replaced by drones across much of the Home of the Brave (not so much.) Here’s what we know IS true. In many places, including central Texas, it was … [Read more...]
Biden Wages Terrifying, Suicidal War on Energy Security
The Biden administration’s new 681-page EPA-proposed regulatory rule limiting greenhouse gas emissions for coal-and gas-fired power plants. This is but the latest attempt to eliminate America’s fossil-fueled energy independence, prosperity, and global security. EPA’s Most Recent Attack on Fossil Fuels Although last year the Supreme Court blocked the implementation of the Obama "Clean Power Plan," which would have forced a power shift to renewables from coal, the EPA now wants to include … [Read more...]
California’s Deluge: Unprecedented? No. Missed Opportunity? Yes.
According to Dictionary.com, the term “atmospheric river” originated with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology back in the 1990s. More recently, the term gained currency with climate-change advocates as a way of boosting their dodgy narrative. Lately, the mainstream media picked it up and applied it lavishly in accounts of the recent heavy rains in California. Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash The rain-making phenomenon, common around the globe, occurs … [Read more...]
Farewell to a Brilliant, Energetic Friend and Comrade
When I grow up, I want to be like Jay Lehr in many ways. But I’m realistic enough about my own physical and educational limits to know that’s not likely. Dr. Jay H. Lehr (September 11, 1936 to January 10, 2023) died Tuesday at age 86. Why would I want to be like him “when I grow up”? Consider this from his obituary: Jay was known as the “Father of Western Lacrosse.” He was assistant lacrosse coach at The Ohio State University in the ‘60s. He loved playing club lacrosse, hockey, and men’s … [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...]
