[Ed. note: This is the second in a continuing series at MasterResource, the first of which was published November 21st.]
The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations who are interested in improving national, state, and local energy & environmental policies. Our basic position is that energy and environmental issues are technical matters that should be addressed by genuine science.
Instead of a science-based approach, our energy and environmental policies have become a playground, even a cookie jar, for those who stand to economically or politically profit from them. As a result, anything genuinely science-based in these policies is usually inadvertent and accidental.
A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end, we send out a newsletter every 2-3 weeks in the interest of balancing what the mainstream media too often conveys about energy and environmental matters. The (free) subscription newsletter readership is now about 10,000.
Some Recent Energy & Environmental News – 1/21/13
As we start a new year, and face new challenges, one of our most pressing issues is to do a better job with Public Relations. Although we have the facts on our side, wining public policy battles requires more than being right.
We need a few good people who have PR experience, and are willing to commit some time to helping us formulate and implement a better PR plan. If you are interested (or know someone else who would be), please email me.
I’ve just put together a new page about fixing the RPS situation that exists in several states. We will be working with citizens where the political atmosphere is receptive to correcting some of these charades. If you have solid evidence that your state is such a case, please email me, ASAP.
In my prior PTC post-mortem email, I should have added another one of our primary goals for 2013: To get EIA to have more accurate levelized energy costs.
As always, our proposed national energy slogan is “All of the Sensible” (in contrast to the absurd “All of the Above”). Please pass it on.
More reports about greed energy economics:
On the Production Tax Credit (PTC) front:
Representative Mike Pompeo is reintroducing his “Energy Freedom and Economic Prosperity Act” which includes removing the PTC.
Select Senators are working on a proposal for getting rid of the major “under construction” loophole in the H.R.8.
Naturally, wind proponents are resisting financial sensibility.
An important study showing the real costs of wind energy. (A fascinating Bloomberg article that says that the DOE is projecting that US coal use will increase, natural gas prices will stay low, etc.)
A good new site focused on property value losses due to turbines.
More reports about turbine health matters:
An excellent new report (Wisconsin) about wind acoustics. (Some subsequent news reports about this study are here and here.)
Health Experiments on People without their Consent.
Massachusetts residents take town to court re turbine.
More reports about turbine wildlife matters:
A superior wildlife article written by an independent wildlife expert.
Miscellaneous energy reports:
An interesting (unexpected) perspective on Obama’s energy plans.
Greenpeace Wind Energy Claims are Blown Away.
An important court case that rules that wind is not baseload power.
A powerful story about indigenous Mexicans fighting wind development.
Poland and Czech Republic Ban German Green Energy.
Courageous Engineer fights Ireland’s Energy Policy.
Wind Can’t Replace Nuclear Power.
China Blazes Trail of Thorium Nuclear.
Absolutism in the Church of Green.
Government Of, By and For Activists.
Some recent global warming articles of interest:
NY Times is Dismantling its Environmental Desk!
Are we Slowly Waking up to Reality?
Britian’s Met Office revises their global warming projections down.
Global Warming Stopped 16 Years Ago.
A Russian view: Global Warming – a Tool of the West.
A Barrage of Lawsuits Shuts Down Science Whistleblower Site. [Although the site was primarily about problems with medical science, the exact same issues are going on in the energy and environmental areas.]
Some other recent articles of general interest —
Please watch this video which puts everything into perspective.
Please pass this information on to other open-minded, science-oriented people. If anyone would like to be added to or removed from the email list, please let me know.
John Droz, Jr., physicist & environmental advocate