Death to the Chicago Climate Exchange ($7.40 to a nickel per CO2 ton, the market has spoken)

By William Griesinger -- November 18, 2010 8 Comments

“One of the keystones of the Climate Change alarmist movement was its audacious attempt to create a functioning market by monetizing the atmospheric gas known as CO2…. Certainly, gaming the system has always been at the top on the agenda of the new green eco-trader.”

– Patrick Henningsen, “The Great Collapse of the Chicago Climate Exchange,” 21st Century Wire, August 28, 2010.

We were tipped off by the August 28th headline, “The Great Collapse of the Chicago Climate Exchange,” by Patrick Henningsen, editor of 21st Century Wire. And now it is official as reported by Chicago Business, Fox News , and Crain’s Chicago Business (sub. required): the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is dead. Trading in carbon-dioxide (CO2) emission contracts at CCX has basically ceased with member emissions-reduction agreements expiring at the end of the year.…

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California’s AB 32 Still on the Hot Seat (Prop 23 Defeat Based on Economic Fallacy)

By Tom Tanton -- November 10, 2010 7 Comments

On November 2, California voters defeated Proposition 23 by 61 to 39 percent, rejecting a suspension of of the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act, otherwise known as Assembly Bill 32 (AB32).

California in general bucked a national trend on Election Day with all but one statewide office going to the Democrats. As of this writing, the Attorney General race has the Republican Steve Cooley slightly ahead in the vote count, but no official call has been made.

Pundits and politicians are making much about the Proposition 23 vote, but what does it really say? Equally important is the national message to be taken from the proposition’s defeat.

It is not what is being portrayed by the otherwise humbled Left environmentalists.

Mainstream Hype

Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund, said the Prop 23 defeat sends “a big signal” to the rest of the country and the world that Californians stand firmly behind the law, which would cut greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 1990 levels by 2020.…

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Wind Energy is Ancient (the infant industry argument for subsidies does not apply)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- November 8, 2010 14 Comments

 The use of wind power is as old as history.”

– Erich Zimmermann, World Resources and Industries (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1951), p. 62.

The day after the election, the New York Times cutely titled an editorial, “New Energy Outfoxes Old in California.” The Houston Chronicle dutifully reprinted it.

Problem is, what the Left sees as new energy is really ancient, and what is seen as old is really new. Coal, oil, and gas are several hundred years old; renewable energies are as old as human time. Solar and wind and falling water and burning plants–renewables all–are caveman energies.

This textbook from 1838 (is this old enough for you, New York Times?) explained the problem with wind, a problem that is at the center of the debate 172 years later.…

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Peeling Away the Onion of Denmark Wind (Part I)

By Kent Hawkins -- October 26, 2010 13 Comments

[Editor’s note: This series is an extensive technical analysis of wind electricity in Denmark. The intent is to develop: (1) plausible conclusions without resorting to extensive mathematics (except that provided by others) , and (2) a framework within which to evaluate other claims of emissions relating to wind backup from fossil plants.]

According to wind proponents, Denmark is a model of wind energy use for electricity generation to be emulated. It is claimed or suggested that:

  • Denmark gets about 20% of its electricity from wind. [Note: This number is generation, not usage, which is a crucial distinction with negative implications for the wind lobby’s argument.]
  • Reduction in CO2 emissions is due in large part to increased wind electricity production.

These conclusions are superficial at best and invalid at worse.…

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AB 32’s “Political Symbolism with Consequences” (Will California vote for recovery?)

By Daniel Simmons -- October 18, 2010 2 Comments Continue Reading

Offshore Wind: DOE’s Reality Challenge

By -- October 14, 2010 10 Comments Continue Reading

Ken Lay to California II: BLOCK the PROP (A.B. 32 is ‘Not a Sprint but a Marathon’)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 5, 2010 1 Comment Continue Reading

Remembering When Enron Saved the U.S. Wind Industry (Best of MasterResource)

By -- September 4, 2010 15 Comments Continue Reading

Germany: Wind and the Power Pool Savings Myth

By Donald Hertzmark -- September 3, 2010 12 Comments Continue Reading

Rent Seeking with Global Warming: From Enron to California AB 32

By Tom Tanton -- August 24, 2010 6 Comments Continue Reading