Ed. note: This post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a fortnightly published by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. The complete MBN for this post can be found here.

Of special interest in this issue is an article by Donn Dears, “Texas Remains in Peril.”

Greed Energy Economics:
*** Report: Cost of onshore wind has been rising for 20 years
*** Some Cost of Renewable Electricity Web pages
Net Zero Watch pours scorn on Tony Blair Institute claims about ‘cheap’ onshore wind
Revisiting the Keystone XL Pipeline and Joe Biden’s False Promise of ‘Green Jobs’
Activists, progressives say NY needs to spend $15B in climate fight
College symposium on climate change should look at costs of putting big solar, wind energy in rural NY

Wind Energy — Offshore:
*** Furious Fishermen Take On Offshore Wind Industry Wrecking Atlantic Fishing Grounds
Video: How offshore wind development threatens the environment, and human livelihoods
Biden 30,000 MW Offshore Wind by 2030 — An Expensive Fantasy
New York State just sealed a deal for 2.5 GW of offshore wind
Developer Requests Delay Putting One of NY’s First Offshore Wind Projects in Operation

Wind Energy — Other:
Texas Energy System Remains in Peril
Two More Contributions On The Impossibility Of Electrifying Everything Using Only Wind, Solar And Batteries
Another Low Blow — Wind Energy Falters (Again)
VCEA makes Virginia’s electric grid dangerously unreliable
New York’s Heritage Wind Decision Aims To Reduce Project’s Impact On Birds
Backlash Against Renewables Surged In 2021, With 31 Big Wind And 13 Big Solar Projects Vetoed Across US

Solar Energy:
*** Unreliability makes solar power impossibly expensive
Supervisors delay decision on VA solar facility as neighbors speak against proposal
Pennsylvania community may ban future solar projects in ag zone

Nuclear Energy:
*** Nuclear power: The case for small modular reactors
*** Modular Molten Salt Reactors Starting 2028
*** Report: Without Nuclear energy, there is no large-scale decarbonization
This Alaskan Air Base Will Host An Experimental Mini Nuclear Reactor
The Idaho National Lab Director speaks out for urgent action in support of nuclear
Russia will use nuclear energy from the world’s first land-based small modular reactor
Lab hits milestone on long road to fusion power
South Korea to explore hydrogen production in ‘close to its largest’ nuclear plant
California’s Nuke Follies

Fossil Fuel Energy:
*** Extreme Shortages Guaranteed!…

“Let’s be clear: the frequent comparison of the fossil fuel and tobacco industries is nonsense. Fossil fuels are a valuable energy source that has done yeomen service for humankind. One gallon (3.7 liters) of gasoline (petrol) contains the equivalent of 400 hours of labor by a healthy adult.  Fossil fuels raised living standards in much of the world.”

– James Hansen, June 2021

The father of the climate alarm is a straight and accurate shooter on many things, that is outside of climate models and unsettled climate dynamics. His quotation above throws water in the face of Naomi Oreskes, a history of science professor at Harvard University, as well as such climate campaigners as Michael Mann and Andrew Dessler.

Hansen’s view is actually mainstream. There is no doubt that dense mineral energies that emerged and took hold by the end of the 19th century unleashed the machines of progress.…

“I keep saying to you, some of us are trying to … help the U.S. adapt to a climate you knuckleheads can’t seem to understand is changing rapidly because of your profession. Compete in a world where U.S. is an equal partner in opportunity. Not perish as a result of some delinquency.” (Williamson, below)

“There is no climate crisis. You can walk across the street and not notice the accumulated temperature change that is ‘killing’ the planet. Adaptation to weather requires wealth and a LOT of affordable, reliable energy.” (Bradley, below)

I actively challenge and trade thoughts with the members of the Church of Climate. I find much gratifying support from third parties–but encounter angry, emotional critics who throw everything they can at me.

Enter one Tim Williamson, an “infrastructure, efficiency and renewable energy expert” in the Baltimore/DC area.…

“Classical liberalism does not have a long resume in the history of energy thought. Prior to the 1970s energy crises, it was a backwater for free-market intellectuals, although the opportunity was there for both scholarship and political advocacy.”

I recently constructed a new home with a two-story library, ladders and all. On one side are my energy-related books; on the other, economics. Several thousand volumes are, for the first time, organized in one place. Better late than never as I am in my 66th year.

The energy books, many unearthed from storage, bring back a lot of memories. Some observations follow.

Classical liberalism (or the political term, libertarianism) does not have a long resume in the history of energy thought. Prior to the 1970s energy crises, it was a backwater for the free market intellectuals, although the opportunity was there for both scholarship and political advocacy.…