BEST as Bad: The Irrelevance of Richard Muller's Vaunted Proclamation (warming vs. catastrophe in a political atmosphere)

By E. Calvin Beisner -- October 27, 2011 16 Comments

[Ed. note: This post complements that of Ken Green earlier this week, Five Climate Questions for Richard Muller (Temperature findings begin, not end, the real debate)]

The recent announcement of the results of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) Project by project chairman Richard Muller has caused quite a stir. True believers in catastrophic anthropogenic global warming (CAGW) have greeted it as the final nail in the coffin of dissent. Why? Because it concludes—take a deep breath, now—that “Global warming is real.”

Jumping to Conclusions

At the Washington Post, for example, opinion writer Eugene Robinson states:

For the clueless or cynical diehards who deny global warming, it’s getting awfully cold out there.

The latest icy blast of reality comes from an eminent scientist whom the climate-change skeptics once lauded as one of their own.

Continue Reading

"Rob Bradley at Enron" (for the record)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 20, 2011 4 Comments

“Sorry to bother you with this…. Rob is obviously not a fan of renewables or the global warming issue.  Unfortunately, he works for a company that is.”

– “Rob Bradley’s Writings.” Tom White [chairman & CEO of Enron Renewables Energy Corp. ] to Ken Lay [chairman & CEO of Enron Corp.], June 8, 1998.

The Confluence, a blog advertising itself as “Democrats Putting Principle Over Party,” recently criticized a new initiative of the Institute for Energy Research, Stop the Energy Freeze. After reciting some peak-oil arguments against IER’s case for expanding access and production of domestic oil and gas resources for new jobs and greater BTUs, the post Sunday: Spreading the mess to YouTube goes after yours truly.

I also bothered to look up who was behind this Stop the Energy Freeze campaign. 

Continue Reading

Perry's Energy Speech: Part I (Real Energy, Real Jobs–but what about the governor's windpower baggage?

By Vance Ginn -- October 17, 2011 11 Comments

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is swimming upstream in his quest for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, primarily from his weak performances during several debates. To improve his odds, last Friday he gave his first policy speech, titled Energizing American Jobs and Security.

Energy is that important. And it is a breath of fresh air that Perry’s analysis and prescription is 180 degrees from President Obama’s government-knows-best approach to energy and energy/environment.

Four Objectives

The Governor’s plan focused on four objectives that promise economic growth and numerous jobs in America. In Perry’s words:

  • “First, we will open several American oil and gas fields for exploration that are currently off limits because of political considerations.”
  • “It is equally important that we take a second step: eliminate activist regulations already on the books and under consideration by the Obama Administration.”
Continue Reading

Rapid Loss of Arctic Ice: But Where is the Warming?

By Chip Knappenberger -- October 11, 2011 5 Comments

The numbers are in for this year’s summer sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean. By most measures the ice loss in 2011 came in a close second to the current and still record holder, 2007.

But the failure to set a new record for the least amount of summer Arctic sea ice observed during the satellite era (which begins in 1979) has done little to alter the overall picture of what is going on there. Summer sea ice has been in decline in the Arctic Ocean since, conservatively, the mid-20th century, and it has been picking up steam. And sea ice declines in the Arctic are now pretty clearly discernible in the other seasons as well. (What has been going on around Antarctica is a different story).

But for those who lose sleep at night over the implications of the Arctic sea ice loss to both the local, regional, and global environments, there is a silver lining.…

Continue Reading

"Energy and Society" Course: Professor Desrochers's Model for the Academy

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 7, 2011 2 Comments Continue Reading

Behind the 'Green Jobs' Curtain: Economic Fallacies and Counterfacts

By Nick Sibilla and Todd Wynn -- October 6, 2011 3 Comments Continue Reading

"Edison to Enron: Energy Markets and Political Strategies" (Book 2 of trilogy on political capitalism published)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 30, 2011 1 Comment Continue Reading

Lindzen on Kerry Emanuel's Climate Alarmism, Non-Sequitur

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 27, 2011 12 Comments Continue Reading

Wind Energy and Radar: A National Security Issue

By -- September 26, 2011 14 Comments Continue Reading

Go Industrial, Not 'Green' (Part I)

By -- September 23, 2011 15 Comments Continue Reading