Regardless how stringent climate policies are, or how rapidly we move from internal combustion to electric vehicles, increasing battery needs around the world presage a huge increase in demand for cobalt. Right now, as Ronald Stein and Todd Royal demonstrate in their book Clean Energy Exploitations, most of the world’s cobalt comes from mines with very low environmental protection standards and huge human rights problems—child and slave labor in highly toxic settings, sometimes at the point … [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...]
Thinking Biblically about Earth Stewardship & the Conquest of Poverty in the Age of Climate Change
We have created an updated version of this page to reflect changes made for 2023. You can visit the new page here. … [Read more...]
Calculating The Full Costs Of Electrifying Everything Using Only Wind, Solar And Batteries
For several years now, advocates of “decarbonizing” our energy system, along with promoters of wind and solar energy, have claimed that the cost of electricity from the wind and sun was dropping rapidly and either already was, or soon would be, less than the cost of generating the same electricity from fossil fuels. These claims are generally based on a metric called the “Levelized Cost of Energy,” which is designed to seem sophisticated to the uninitiated, but in the real world is … [Read more...]
California’s Zero Carbon Plans: Can Anybody Here Do Basic Arithmetic?
In California, as we all know, the inhabitants and their elected officials are far more sophisticated and virtuous than the rest of us rubes who inhabit the other parts of the country. This particularly goes for the arena of climate change, where California is leading the way to saving the planet by rapidly eliminating all of the carbon emissions coming from its electricity sector. California’s CO2 emissions are about 1% of the world annual total, and its electricity sector accounts for about … [Read more...]
Assessing Virginia’s Hidden Wind and Solar Costs
Among Governor Glenn Youngkin’s first actions was Executive Order #9 initiating Virginia’s withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the Northeastern U.S. “carbon market” that sets and enforces emission limits for coal and gas power plants. RGGI also lets utilities buy “carbon credits” when emissions exceed those limits and pass costs on to families, businesses, hospitals, and schools. Special interests will contest withdrawal, but the EO sets the proper tone for … [Read more...]
Must Media Exaggerate Scary Weather By Extra Scary Language?
There's a major winter storm brewing for New England and, possibly, the mid-Atlantic states' coastal regions. It could dump two feet of snow on Boston and New York City, similar amounts in surrounding areas, and over three feet in some places. It could also bring Category 1 hurricane-force winds (74--95 mph). Newsmax titled its report "Intense Weekend Storm Could Deliver 'Bomb Cyclone' to Northeast, Mid-Atlantic." The actual text of the report didn't sensationalize as much as the title, but … [Read more...]
Being a Climate Alarmist Means Never Having to Admit You’re Wrong
A mountain of evidence shows climate alarmists never learn from their mistakes, be they clear misstatements of facts or repeatedly failed prognostications. Why should they? The press lets climate alarmists get away with making more false claims than any other group on any other topic, including the efficacy of the COVID vaccines in keeping people from catching the disease or requiring hospitalization. Climate alarmists have nothing to fear from so-called fact-checkers in corporate or social … [Read more...]
Can’t Refute ’em? Shut ’em Up!
That's the mentality behind a letter calling on public relations and advertising firms to drop clients whose messaging displeases scientists upset that the whole world hasn't yet embraced their views on global warming. The letter, signed by over 450 "scientists who study and communicate the realities of climate change," complains that some fossil fuel firms "seek to obfuscate or downplay our data and the risks posed by the climate crisis." "In fact," the letter continues, "these … [Read more...]
Are Climate Lockdowns Coming Because of a ‘Climate Emergency’? (No, It’s Not a Conspiracy Theory)
In early December, the Washington Post reported that because of climate change, snow in the Mountain West "may vanish for years at a time." The headline did not age well. Only days later it started to snow in the West. And snow. And snow. An incredible photo on Twitter showed a towering wall of snow on Donner Summit in California around Christmas. Lake Tahoe got 18 feet of snow in December, an all-time record. In Virginia, some motorists were stuck on … [Read more...]
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