For the last decade, I’ve been providing long-range U.S. Corn Belt forecasts to a company that monitors and forecasts global grain production and market forces. My continuing theme has been, “don’t believe gloom and doom forecasts for the future of the U.S. Corn Belt.”The climate models relied upon by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are known to overestimate warming compared to observations. Depending upon the region (global? U.S.?), temperature metric … [Read more...]
Italy Returns to Nuclear Sanity. Shouldn’t We?
The Italian parliament, demonstrating confidence in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, this week formally backed her plan to reintroduce nuclear power plants into Italy’s energy mix, reversing the nation’s 1987 moratorium on nuclear power. Meanwhile, energy-starved Germany is feeling the pinch from shuttering all of its 17 nuclear power plants.Image: Creative Commons under UnsplashThe U.S. has closed 11 nuclear reactors since 2013, with another eight of the 94 remaining reactors scheduled … [Read more...]
Why Can’t Renewables Power Modern Economies? Physics
Image: Creative Commons under UnsplashTo understand why wind and solar power, even with battery backup, will not be sufficient in the near future to supply the electric power needs of any modern industrial economy, much less an economy the size of the United States, one must first understand how the electric power system works.Note: I’m not talking about costs. Although the media regularly reports demonstrably false claims that wind and solar power are cheaper than traditional power sources such … [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 FuelsAlthough 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 natural … [Read more...]
Those Attacks on Gas Stoves Aren’t Really about Health
Image: Creative Commons under UnsplashEarlier this year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that indoor gas stoves emitted harmful pollution. Several studies claim that the use of gas can cause respiratory illness. The CPSC is considering restrictions on gas stoves, including possible bans in new residential construction. But attacks on gas stoves are based on questionable science and are largely driven by concerns not related to health.The CPSC has reportedly been … [Read more...]
‘Vanishing Habitats’ for Wildlife Greatly Exaggerated in Push for ‘Biodiversity,’ Biden’s ’30 by 30′ Land Grab
Image: Creative Commons under UnsplashThe following is a guest article by Rob Gordon. First of three articles on wildlife trends in America.Decades-long mantras about “vanishing habitat” and ever-growing threats to wildlife have long been used to justify locking up more land through federal ownership or other restrictive measures.The perfect example is the Biden administration’s proposal to conserve 30% of the nation by 2030—aka “30 by 30.” Exactly what the administration envisions is ambiguous, … [Read more...]
Why Are Farmers Defying Bans to Cultivate GM Crops?
Farmers across the world are desperate to grow genetically modified crops (GM) in their fields. So much so that in some countries farmers have bypassed existing bans on these crops and even made harvests from them.Image: Creative Commons under UnsplashWhy do these farmers risk being prosecuted, and what compels them to grow GM food crops? The answer is straightforward: GM crops give higher yields, are resilient to deadly plant diseases, and can withstand tough environmental conditions.Optimum … [Read more...]
Welcome to Cold War II
Trying to Save the Planetfrom the People Who Are Trying to Save the PlanetTwo scenes from my toddlerhood in Calcutta, India, have flashed in my mind thousands of times over the last 60-plus years. The first was of a beautiful tree with a red-flowered vine hanging from its branches. The second was of the emaciated bodies of people who had died overnight of starvation and disease.I saw the tree and its vine as my aia, or nurse, led me by the hand through the courtyard of the building housing my … [Read more...]
Control the Tyrant, Transform the Culture
Image: Creative Commons under UnsplashA popular radio program in the 1930s began with a haunting voice, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" We listeners would sit and wait, knowing that week after week we would hear a scary story of a tyrant preparing to oppress upright people but knowing that after tense moments the Shadow would undo the evil and the ending would be good. The program continued for over a decade, probably replaced in the lives of hearers by the … [Read more...]
California Charges Forward with Energy Disasters of Biblical Proportions
On August 31, just days after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a mandated switch to electric vehicles (EVs), the California Independent System Operator, which runs the state’s power grid, called for a Flex Alert asking residents to voluntarily reduce their power consumption by avoiding “large appliances and charging electric vehicles” during peak usage hours of 4 to 9 pm.The unforeseen problem, it seems, in addition to increasing power demands and anemic, unreliable wind and solar … [Read more...]
