Yesterday’s post explained how market incentives can address environmental issues, including the believed-to-be negatives of climate change. Prices of inputs and outputs, utilizing resources even if they are subject to the tragedy of the commons, incorporate dynamic environmental changes. Markets, in other words, offer the potential for dynamic responses.

If climate change reduces the productivity of land for wheat production, for example, the price of land will be high relative to its productivity. This generates an incentive for wheat farmers to seek new places for wheat production where land prices are lower. Hence, the 2012 Bloomberg news headline, “Corn Belt Shifts North With Climate as Kansas Crop Dies.” Therefore even if the atmosphere as a GHG sink and GHG emissions themselves are not priced, prices correlated with the effects of climate change will induce adaptation.…

The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy & environmental policies. Our basic position is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using Real Science. It’s all spelled out at WiseEnergy.org, which is a wealth of energy and environmental resources.

A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end, every three weeks this newsletter is compiled to balance what is found in the mainstream media about energy and environmental matters.

Some standout articles in this issue, are:

An exceptional TV interview about journalistic incompetence (think AGW, Wind Energy, etc.)

Scientists Say New Study Is A ‘Death Blow’ To Global Warming Hysteria

Dr. Curry on: Draft APS Statement on Climate Change

How Colleges Are Becoming Greenhouses for Sustainability Indoctrination

Wind Turbine Leaseholders May be on the Hook for Billions

What’s the True Cost of Wind Power?…

“When you can no longer hide and you have not obeyed the law, just ask your friends in Congress to bail you out. This is what this bill [H.R. 493] represents.”

For those that do not believe America has lost its way, all one has to do is look at the relationship between the wind industry and Washington D.C.  Unbiased observers will see a shell-game democracy funneling out untold billions for a highly destructive and inefficient “energy strategy.” One of the primary benefactors of this arrangement is a Washington-based group of panhandlers know as the wind industry. But this industry’s windfall set-up with Washington is threatened because word of wind power’s undisclosed impacts is reaching the public.

Profits at Risk

In the last several years it has come to the attention of the American people that the wind industry is not what it appears to be.…

Lately, people in and out of the federal government have expressed nostalgia for the good old days of bipartisan lawmaking.  Today, we have legislative gridlock, and an ideologically polarized Congress; back then Congress got things done.

There is some truth to this, but what were the results of bipartisanship?

With respect to energy, the answer is mostly awful.

Here’s a list of some major pieces of energy legislation (and the votes) of the last 40+ years; commentary to follow:

The table shows there was plenty of bipartisanship.…