A Free-Market Energy Blog

John Holdren and Anti-Growth Malthusianism (Revisited)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 15, 2009

[Editor Note: An earlier series at MasterResource on John Holdren, President Obama’s science and technology advisor, is being reprinted given the recent controversy surrounding Dr. Holdren’s earlier views. This original post is dated January 5, 2009.]

If there is one quotation by Obama’s new science advisor that every American should hear, it is this:

“A massive campaign must be launched to restore a high-quality environment in North America and to de-develop the United States. . . . Resources and energy must be diverted from frivolous and wasteful uses in overdeveloped countries to filling the genuine needs of underdeveloped countries. This effort must be largely political” (italics added).

– John Holdren, Anne Ehrlich, and Paul Ehrlich, Human Ecology: Problems and Solutions (San Francisco; W.H. Freeman and Company, 1973), p. 279.

Continue Reading

Data, Data, Who’s Got the Data? (A strange situation at Climate Research Unit, University of East Anglia)

By Kenneth P. Green -- August 14, 2009

Roger Pielke Jr. has posted an interesting tale to his blog, about key data going missing from the hands of a theoretically trustworthy scientific institution. No, I’m not talking about the fact that NASA lost the original tapes of the Apollo moon landings (though they did!), I’m talking about the apparent loss of original climate data by the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia (CRU). The CRU is one of the key research centers which publishes data regarding the Earth’s surface temperature record.

In a nutshell, the story is this. Canadian Steve McIntyre, co-demolisher of Michael Mann’s hockey stick chart, has been after the CRU to let him review their original climate data. For those unfamiliar with Steve, he is like a dog with a bone when it comes to data, and to validating statistical methodologies used in data representation.…

Continue Reading

John Holdren and Global Warming (Revisited)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 13, 2009

[Editor Note: An earlier series at MasterResource on John Holdren, President Obama’s science and technology advisor, is being reprinted given the recent controversy surrounding Dr. Holdren’s earlier views. This original post is dated December 31, 2008]

Paul Ehrlich founded the neo-Malthusian movement with his 1968 bestseller, The Population Bomb, and John Holdren was an instant convert. In 1971, mentor-and-disciple wrote:

“We are not, of course, optimistic about our chances of success. Some form of ecocatastrophe, if not thermonuclear war, seems almost certain to overtake us before the end of the century. (The inability to forecast exactly which one – whether plague, famine, the poisoning of the oceans, drastic climatic change, or some disaster entirely unforeseen – is hardly grounds for complacency.)”

–  John Holdren and Paul Ehrlich, ‘What We Must Do, and the Cost of Failure’, in Holdren and Ehrlich, Global Ecology, p.

Continue Reading

John Holdren on Global Cooling (Revisited)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 12, 2009
Continue Reading

Are ‘Green’ Programs Good for the Poor?

By Robert Murphy -- August 11, 2009
Continue Reading

The IPCC Gets Sick of Science

By Jerry Taylor -- August 10, 2009
Continue Reading

Thomas Edison to Henry Ford: Forget Electric Cars (Revisited)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 8, 2009
Continue Reading

Roger Pielke Jr. Challenges Joe Romm: Looking for Intellectual Improvement

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 7, 2009
Continue Reading

Politics vs. Science at EPA: The Carlin Matter Revisited

By Robert Peltier -- August 6, 2009
Continue Reading

Rent Seeking, Crony Capitalism, and U.S. Energy Politics: Who Wins from the Racket?

By Donald Hertzmark -- August 5, 2009
Continue Reading