“It hasn’t been that long ago we had a train derailment that was carrying [heavy Canadian oil] through West Virginia and had a horrible explosion, so I know it’s much more dangerous to move it by rail or by road.” [ – Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), January 21, 2021]
“From a safety perspective, we should be encouraging the transport of energy via our vast network of pipelines and facilitate the responsible expansion of that network.” (Sen. Manchin, February 9, 2021)
Joe Biden’s executive order to deny an international permit to complete the well-along northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline has brought climate-related economic destruction to a new high. Noted one report on the project’s hitherto progress:
…There are now more than 90 miles of Keystone XL pipe in the ground, a string of temporary work camps under construction, and roughly 48,000 tons of pipe sitting in yards all along the route.
“… to a significant extent man commands as well the very destiny of this planet where he lives, and the destiny of all life upon it.”
“In order to have both environmental quality and an improving standard of living, we will need to develop new clean energy sources and to learn to use energy more efficiently.”
– President Richard Nixon (February 8, 1972)
Government grows with emergencies, real or imagined. There have been wartime emergencies, such as World War II. And there have been Malthusian ’emergencies’–as in resource exhaustion in the 1970s and climate change today.
Forty-nine years ago today, amid a natural gas shortage (from long-standing price controls), and with tightening oil markets (from his price controls), President Nixon gave a “Special Message to Congress Outlining the 1972 Environmental Program.”…
“People are looking for simple problems with simple solutions, and they thought that climate change was a simple problem.”
“Thinking that we can control the climate is misguided hubris.”
– Judith Curry (below)
Part I yesterday shared climatologist Judith Curry’s most recent thoughts about the politicization of climate science, climate models (and regional applications from the same), and climate sensitivity. Today’s concluding post shares her thoughts on related public policy issues.
The excerpts below come from her recent interview with Christopher Balkaran at his Strong and Free Podcast.
Public Policy & Energy Reality
“… people are looking for simple problems with simple solutions, and they thought that climate change was a simple problem, sort of like the ozone hole. Stop emitting chloroflourocarbons – stop the ozone hole; stop emitting CO2 – stop the global warming.”…