“So, first thing to understand that what’s taking place there is the—everybody else acknowledging what some of us have known for a long time, which is that frontline communities, and particularly indigenous people, have been in the forefront of this climate fight. They were in the Keystone fight, and now clearly in the Dakotas. They’re holding the line against something that threatens not only their reservation, but threatens the whole planet. We do not—we cannot pump more oil. We’ve got to stop opening up new reserves.”
– Bill McKibben, September 30, 2016
Bypassing the hysterical anti-fossil fuel tirades which seemingly characterize the majority of the non-Indian pipeline protesters, there are some seemingly plausible claims about the legality and safety of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and its route.
Regarding safety, it is relevant to remember that the crude oil which this one-thousand-mile pipeline will transport is now being carried in railroad tank cars, which are relatively more susceptible to spills and will be supplanted.…
Continue Reading“Obama’s green energy agenda meant advancing wind interests at any cost, and it shows. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) now estimates the total cost of the wind production tax credit in the years 2016–2020 at $23.7 billion.”
“Public opposition to projects has significantly intensified as turbines standing over 500-feet tall were repeatedly sited near homes and sensitive natural habitats. Still, the [Obama] administration remained unequivocal in its advocacy.”
Land-based wind energy experienced the fastest growth in installed capacity under the Obama presidency, achieving a three-fold increase from 25,000 megawatts (MW) in 2008 to over 75,000 megawatts today. By the end of 2016, wind represented about 5.5% of total U.S. generation (megawatt hours). [1]
The Obama White House, in concert with Senate Democrats, systematically pushed through regulation that dramatically raised wind subsidies, fast-tracked project development, funded policy reports that benefited the sector, and generally placed industry interests ahead of public interests and assets.…
Continue Reading“On climate science, our members and supporters cover a broad range of different views, from the IPCC position through agnosticism to outright scepticism…. We regard observational evidence and understanding the present as more important and more reliable than computer modelling or predicting the distant future.”
The UK-based Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) is a growing force in UK (and US) climate scholarship and related public policy. Given their relevance in the Trump era, a short history from GWPF’s website follows:
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The Global Warming Policy Foundation was launched by Lord Lawson and Dr Benny Peiser on 23 November 2009 in the House of Lords – in the run-up to the Copenhagen Climate Summit.
Introducing the new think tank, Lord Lawson explained its origin:
“Last year I brought out a book on global warming which (rather to my surprise) generated an enormous feedback, almost all of it positive.…
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