By Richard Ebeling — November 13, 2012

“Soviet-style central planning may have died with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But what has not yet had that demise is that other variation on the collectivist theme: ‘democratic socialism’ (European-style) and the redistributive welfare state.”

“But what is required, what is asked of all of us who care about liberty, is not to allow the everyday ‘trends’ and outcomes of electoral politics to make us so despondent that we ‘give up the good fight.’ Only if we do so will the institutions of the paternalistic welfare state remain intact — even as the money dries up!”

It is worth recalling the state of the world when Ludwig von Mises wrote “Trends Can Change” 61 years ago (see Part I in this series).…

Ed. note: This post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a free fortnightly published by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. The complete Newsletter for this post can be found here.

Greed Energy Economics:
*** Renewable Power’s Big Mistake Was a Promise to Always Get Cheaper
Michigan, New York and Quebec Ratepayers Should Thank Ontario Ratepayers and Taxpayers for their Early Christmas Present

Renewable Energy: Health and Ecosystem Consequences:
*** Report: Millions of bats are slaughtered annually by onshore wind turbines
Bat species native to Great Lakes on brink of extinction
Mega wind facility approved that can’t operate half the year

Renewables (General):
*** “All-the-Above” is No Energy Policy — It’s Merely Politics
*** When Accurate Data Are ‘Bad PR’
*** Report: The Dark Side of “Renewable” Energy
‘Turbocharged’ Renewables: The IEA Hawking Its Wares Again
Wind and Solar Disappoint in Asian Energy Haven

Wind Energy:
*** Economic Realities Dash Biden’s Offshore Wind Plans
*** Wind Power Opposition: It’s a Conspiracy!…

This week, a Hall of Shame business memo turns a quarter-century old. Dated December 12, 1997, it was written from Kyoto, Japan, by Enron lobbyist John Palmisano in the afterglow of the Kyoto Protocol agreement.

Global green planners were euphoric that, somehow, someway, the world had embarked on an irreversible course of climate control (and thus industrial and land-use control). But Kyoto predictably failed, and the Paris climate accord of 2015 teeters, with COP27’s recent failure making COP28’s prospects look grim.

Palmisano’s memo cites the benefits for first-mover ‘green’ Enron. Enron, in fact, had no less than six profit centers tied to pricing carbon dioxide (CO2)–and seven if CO2 were capped and traded. The story of Enron as the darling of Left environmentalists has been well told elsewhere.…

Ed. note: This post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, a free fortnightly published by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. The complete Newsletter for this post can be found here.

Greed Energy Economics:
*** Germany Sets Windfall Tax at 90% for Clean Power Generators
UK Power Prices Skyrocket As Wind Generation Collapses

Renewable Energy Health and Ecosystem Consequences:
*** Updated Study: Wind Turbine Syndrome: The Impact of Wind Farms on Suicide
*** Northern long-eared bat reclassified as endangered (Note: This could be good news for wind warriors: a new tool in their arsenal!)
Archive Study: Effects of low-frequency noise from wind turbines on heart rate variability in healthy individuals

Renewables (General):
*** Report: Lack of energy storage makes renewables-only grids a pipe dream
*** Electricity Generation with 100% Renewables is a Fantasy
Grand Wind & Solar ‘Transition’ Already Doomed to Total Failure
Why Wind and Solar Owners Love Energy Storage
COP Climate Cult Can’t Deal With Europe’s Monumental Wind & Solar Failure
Europe to U.S.:…