Robert C. McNair: A PURPA Story

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- November 26, 2018 1 Comment

“A federal investment tax credit was enacted just as the project was being completed, adding 10 percent to the rate of return. Accelerated depreciation in the same law further sheltered profits from income taxes. Thank you, political capitalism.”

“Cogen Technologies would go on to become one of the very top independent power developers in the nation. The sale of CTI’s major asset to Enron in 1999 (McNair took cash, not stock) would make McNair one of Houston’s wealthiest men and provided the means to buy an NFL football team for his hometown, a deal that was also made possible by a new taxpayer-supported stadium, in no small part the result of an intense lobbying effort by Ken Lay and Enron several years before.”

Last Friday, the owner of the Houston Texans, Robert C.…

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Energy & Environmental Newsletter: November 12, 2018

By -- November 12, 2018 1 Comment

The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy and environmental policies. Our premise is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using Real Science (please consult WiseEnergy.org for more information).

A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end, every three weeks we put together a newsletter to balance what is found in the mainstream media about energy and the environment. We appreciate MasterResource for their assistance in publishing this information.

Some of the more important articles in this issue are:

Short Video: Jordan Peterson on Climate Change

IPCC: Where Dictators Overrule Scientists

AGW Report: IPCC SR15 Climate Change Report is Based on Faulty Premises

Moving The Goalposts, IPCC Secretly Redefines ‘Climate’

UN’s Solution to Climate Change: End Capitalism

The UN Admits That The Paris Climate Deal Was A Fraud

3 Surprises About Nobel Laureate Nordhaus’s Model of Climate Change

Dr.

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The Harm from Bad Science (Part II: PM 2.5, Mercury, and Beyond)

By -- October 24, 2018 2 Comments

[Editor Note: This is the second of three posts on the human harm from pseudo-science. Part I yesterday introduced the history of scientific fraud as a precursor to the much more sophisticated misdirection of today. Part III tomorrow will consider climate-change controversies.]

Air Pollution – PM2.5

EPA exonerated glyphosate – and did so during the Obama era. That alone should be dispositive on the chemical’s dangers because, especially during the Obama years, EPA was the most dogmatic US government agency with regard to blaming industry for imagined, exaggerated or fabricated risks.

A prime example is PM2.5: particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns – soot that’s a fourth the diameter of pollen. President Obama had promised that his EPA would shut down coal-fired power plants and bankrupt the industry. PM2.5 was their weapon of choice.…

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“Population Bombed”: Interview with Pierre Desrochers (new book out today)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 16, 2018 7 Comments

“I have applied Simon’s framework to the issue of climate change, although my historical perspective allowed me to see more of the forest rather than obsess about a few trees. Try as I might, I just cannot ignore the unique and large-scale benefits brought to humanity by the ever increasing use of carbon fuels (e.g., from longer lives and better health to cleaner air and water, more abundant food and reforestation).”

Yesterday, Pierre Desrochers and Joanna Szurmak, summarized their new book, Population Bombed! Exploding the Link Between Overpopulation and Climate Change. Today, MasterResource is pleased to interview Professor Desrochers about his latest book.

Q. In his 1981 classic, The Ultimate Resource, Julian Simon decoupled population growth from resource depletion, rising pollution, food supply, and other popularly believed barriers to progress.

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“A Conservative’s Approach to Combating Climate Change” (Adler’s 2012 argument revised)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 11, 2018 3 Comments Continue Reading

Richard Kerr (Science) in 2009: Warming ‘Pause’ About to Be Replaced by ‘Jolt’ (but still waiting ….)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 9, 2018 2 Comments Continue Reading

John Holdren on Trump’s Energy/Climate Armageddon (Part I: federal R&D, Paris withdrawal, China)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 26, 2018 2 Comments Continue Reading

Henrietta Larson: A Scholar for the Ages (her business histories are among the greatest energy tomes)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 20, 2018 2 Comments Continue Reading

“Gore’s Greenness Fades” (remembering a 2000 WP article in light of this week’s Global Climate Summit)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 11, 2018 1 Comment Continue Reading

Corporate Cover for the Environmental Left in the 1990s (“Enron Ascending”)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 6, 2018 5 Comments Continue Reading