January of this year brought near-zero temperatures to Chicago and other northern cites, producing an electric vehicle (EV) charging nightmare. National media showed images of owners pushing dead EVs around charging stations and waiting for hours to try to charge their vehicle. Drivers lucky enough to connect to a charger sat in their freezing-cold automobile, unable to run the heater while the car tried to charge. Nevertheless, the federal government and many states continue to push to … [Read more...]
Spencer vs. Schmidt: My Response to RealClimate.org Criticisms
EN: Dr. Roy Spencer serves thoughtfully on the Cornwall Alliance Board. What follows is a response to Gavin Schmidt’s blog post at RealClimate.org entitled Spencer’s Shenanigans in which he takes issue with my claims in Global Warming: Observations vs. Climate Models. As I read through his criticism, he seems to be trying too hard to refute my claims while using weak (and even non-existent) evidence.To summarize my claims regarding the science of global warming:In Gavin’s post, he makes the … [Read more...]
The Dangerous Delusion of a Global Transition to “Just Electricity”
World leaders continue experiencing a “dangerous delusion” of a global transition to “just electricity” that they believe will eliminate the use of the crude oil that made society achieve so much in a few centuries.Image: Creative Commons under UnsplashCrude oil is the basis of our materialistic society, as discussed in an educational and entertaining 27-minute podcast interview between Ronald Stein and Armando Cavanha in Brazil.It’s shocking that the public has bought into the current rhetoric … [Read more...]
What I Told the EPA About its Illegal De Facto Electric Vehicle Mandates
The following is a guest article by Marlo Lewis Jr.Image: Creative Commons under UnsplashRecently, I submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for model years (MYs) 2027-2032 passenger cars, light trucks, and medium-duty trucks. The proposed standards are the latest phase of a longstanding unlawful agenda of market-rigging interventions. They should be withdrawn.My comments develop the following points:Marlo Lewis, Jr. … [Read more...]
Whale Death Confusion Abounds, and Some is Deliberate
Press coverage of the tragic whale deaths is a supreme study in confusion, especially the foolish attempts to somehow exonerate offshore wind development. Here are some prominent examples.The evergreen New York Times wins the race for worst coverage by claiming to explain the numerous recent whale deaths as due to online shopping. I am not making this up.Their headline promises an explanation: “Why 23 Dead Whales Have Washed Up on the East Coast Since December”. The primary reason claimed is … [Read more...]
Did Ocean Acidification Devastate Oregon’s Oyster Hatcheries?
About twelve years ago, operators of oyster hatcheries along the Oregon coast noticed something strange. Oyster larvae were dying. By the billions.In short order, climate-change alarmists posited a cause: “ocean acidification” driven by manmade carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning fossil fuels.Suddenly it wasn’t only warming of the atmosphere that struck fear into people's hearts. Now it was a vision of "acidic" oceans playing havoc with all sorts of marine life. Shellfish couldn’t make … [Read more...]
If Global Warming Won’t Kill Us, Will Ocean Acidification?
As the stretch of years with no statistically significant global warming lengthens, environmentalists scratch their heads and ask, "Well, if we can't scare people with global warming, what can we use?"And one of their stock answers has become, "Ocean acidification!"Acid, you know? Nasty stuff! That's what very bad people throw in the faces of good people they don't like. It disfigures them for life. How terrible!Except, no. Really strong acids can do that. Battery acid, for instance. But blue … [Read more...]
Ocean Acidification—Well, Maybe Not So Much
As global temperature remains well below alarmists' predictions, environmentalists continue to promote devastation from "ocean acidification" as their next rationale for clamping down on CO2 emissions. But as a new article in the ICES Journal of Marine Science makes clear, the actual scientific evidence for such devastation is slim, and the primary reason why so much gets published about it seems to be not scientific but political/sociological. As Ben Webster summarized in The Times (London): … [Read more...]
Inside Big Green’s Sausage Factory
When my wife was a student at Hillsdale College __ years ago (Nope! Not telling!), some student friends worked in a sausage factory nearby. They literally waded in hip boots in vast vats of various parts of cattle and pig carcasses headed for massive grinders. “I’ll never eat sausage again!” was their common reaction. That’s not to say (properly cooked) sausage isn’t really safe, but it gives some idea how the saying arose that you never want to watch legislation being crafted because it’s a … [Read more...]
Why It’s Misleading to Speak of “Ocean Acidification”
Calling a decline in pH of ocean water from 8.2 to 8.1 (which is calculated to have happened over recent decades, perhaps in response to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration though other causes are possible) “acidification,” meaning “becoming more acidic,” is misleading at best. Something can’t become “more acidic” unless it’s already acidic, and a solution with a pH higher than 7.0 is by definition not acidic but basic. Earth's five oceans vary in pH from about ~7.9 to ~8.3, and pH … [Read more...]
