“My major argument: any planned transition to an all-electric renewable energy monoculture is likely to fail, at least in America. That is mainly because peak winter heating requirements can greatly exceed peak summer cooling requirements by as much as 400 to 500 percent in cold climates and because the required minerals are severely limited.”
On August 27, 1997, the Cato Institute published “Renewable Energy: Not Cheap, Not ‘Green’,” written by Robert L. Bradley Jr. (A 58-page PDF of the study is available here and a 25th anniversary review here.) Bradley’s piece focused on the many stark ecological tradeoffs of politically favored renewables, as well as the high cost/low value associated of dilute, intermittent sourcing. This post extends that thinking to the deep decarbonization/all-electrification government program.
Rare earth minerals, on which the forced transition to “clean energy” depends, are critically constrained by many of the same factors as fossil fuels.…
Continue Reading“Commercial nuclear power is and always has been a government-subsidized, government-dependent industry. That nuclear proponents today will not trade government for the private insurance market is telling that the technology is inherently flawed in terms of cost versus safety.”
Nuclear proponents have a hard time arguing their position. They say that nuclear is a failsafe technology but refuse to consider an end to the Price Anderson Act of 1957 (U.S.) and other national laws that shield the industry from liability in case of an accident. Proponents also get vague on the cost of new nuclear capacity today, a very strange thing given 70 years since the “Atoms for Peace” speech of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Here is an exchange I unearthed from a while back that should be part of the public record.…
Continue Reading“Power DeSmog into 2023,” the headline of a year-end fundraising appeal read. “We’re closing in on 1,000 profiles across our databases, which demands a lot of our team’s time to update and build. Every donation helps!”
The rest of the appeal read:
Every day, our global team of researchers continues to expand and update our Climate Disinformation Database, Koch Network Database, and Agribusiness Database. These critical resources collect information on individuals and organizations responsible for casting doubt on climate science and delaying climate action. VICE describes DeSmog as the “thorn in the side of corporate climate denial” — a badge of honor we’re proud to wear!
Several months ago, I celebrated the DeSmog blitz with a post, “Climate “Disinformation Everywhere! (winning against alarmism)“. I wrote:
… Continue ReadingAt some point, the climate alarmists are going to have to wonder if the universe of “climate denial” and “climate skepticism” is growing so large that the real outliers are themselves.