A Free-Market Energy Blog

Encountering–and Overcoming–Libertarian Critics

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 11, 2021

“And, frankly, libertarians like you who have supported Trump bear blame for this crap too. You have NO ground to stand on today having enabled this seditious shitty excuse for a human being….” (Steve Horwitz to Rob Bradley, Facebook, January 6, 2021)

“For me, one of the most tragic results of the Trump phenomenon has been to cause good, decent, reasonable classical liberals (libertarians, the good ones, not the zealots, you know what I mean) to yell at each other in anger and frustration.” (Peter Lewin, Facebook, January 8, 2021)

Amid the Capitol violence of Wednesday January 6, Peter Lewin, a notable Austrian-school economist and respected classical liberal, posted on Facebook about the “out of control zealots…. Mob Hysteria ready to explode….” Exchanges followed. I asked some rather civil questions including this one:

I’m not condoning the violence, just trying to put it in perspective…..

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U.S. Offshore Wind Projects: Eco-Consequences on the Firing Line (Part II: Vineyard Wind)

By Sherri Lange -- January 7, 2021

“Vineyard Wind has withdrawn its construction and operation plans from the federal permitting process, suddenly throwing the future into limbo for the international consortium that has been at the front of the pack in the race to build offshore wind farms off the American eastern seaboard.”

–  Noah Asimow | The Vineyard Gazette, December 14, 2020.

Part I yesterday reviewed the history and current status on three (of four) U.S. offshore wind projects: one proposed, one defunct, and one (barely) operational. They are:

  • Icebreaker (Ohio), a proposed six-turbine project eight miles offshore, that is currently dealing with significant and perhaps fatal environmental permitting requirements.
  • Block Island (Rhode Island), which has encountered significant operational problems, producing very low output and adding new costs.
  • Cape Wind (Massachusetts), a defunct proposal to erect 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound.
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U.S. Offshore Wind Projects: Eco-Consequences on the Firing Line (Part I: Icebreaker, Cape Wind, Block Island)

By Sherri Lange -- January 6, 2021

A proposed six-turbine project eight miles offshore, Icebreaker (Ohio) has been in the cooker for a decade or more…. The consensus is that even with the “poison pill” feathering requirement removed, Icebreaker faces enormous obstacles and crippling delays.

Going back to 2001, the Cape Wind (Massachusetts) project planned to erect 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound. The opposition was relentless, and eventually, “no turbines were ever anchored to the ocean floor, no blades ever spun, no power was ever generated.”

It won permits and was constructed, but the $300 million Block Island, RI project has been a monument to planning failures. Transmission cables, improperly trenched and insufficiently buried, are floating dangerously, requiring a shut down of the turbines to facilitate costly repairs.

Wind turbines are the ultimate in environmental consequence, wasting and contaminating land, water, and vistas, as well as harming wildlife and people.…

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Taming Climate Change: Capitalism at Work (market adaptation, not government mitigation)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 5, 2021
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Reflections … and the Year Ahead

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 4, 2021
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James Hansen’s New Clothes (shifting in retreat)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 3, 2021
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Happy Holidays from MasterResource

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- December 24, 2020
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‘Light Pollution,’ ‘Sky Pollution’ (International Dark-Sky Association fusses)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- December 23, 2020
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‘Energy Transition’ (Greenwash) Specialist Opening: Apply Below

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- December 22, 2020
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WSJ vs. WSJ: A House Divided

By -- December 21, 2020
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