A Free-Market Energy Blog

Texas Climate Alarmism: A Ten-year Anniversary (Dessler overshoots again)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 19, 2021

“… as we suffer through the hellish summer of 2011 … one lesson from the book is clear: Get used to it.” (Andrew Dessler)

A decade ago, the Texas A&M climate alarmist Andrew Dessler, long followed at MasterResource for his exaggerations and bad temperment, wrote an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle: “Texas is Vulnerable to Warming Climate” (July 10, 2011; updated August 17, 2011).

How does Professor Dessler’s op-ed read today? The short answer: not very well. The mad scientist should chill with some A/C (72o, not 78o) and focus on the real here-and-now problem: the state’s overbuilt wind and solar capacity that has wounded the Texas electrical grid (as in price spikes and greenouts).

Here is Dessler’s opinion-page editorial with my comments.…

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Martis vs. Smucker: Industrial Wind on Defense

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 16, 2021

“I will grant that [Kevon Martis] gave a polished presentation of some very selected ‘facts’ totally trashing wind turbines and the power companies and wind energy companies associated with them. His one hour presentation had all of 5 seconds where he had something positive to say about wind turbines as ‘giving local entities a little bit of tax money’ (Don Smucker, below).

“If there was a substantive criticism in my talk, Smucker never proffered it and resorted instead to base name calling.” (Martis, below)

Industrial wind turbines: Dilute. Intermittent. Unneeded. Duplicative. Taxpayer/government dependent. Ugly. Noisy. Blade shadows. Flicker light. Bird hazard. Infrastructure heavy (steel, concrete, and land). Energy sprawl (service roads, long transmission to markets with line loss). Landfill issues.

Is wind the perfect imperfect energy for the modern electricity grid?

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Julian Simon Award Winner: Remarks by Stephen Horwitz

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 15, 2021

“A defense of liberal institutions is needed now more than ever, and Julian Simon’s work, and the work of the previous winners of the Simon Award, will be crucial in providing it.”

“… for population growth to get translated into economic progress we need liberal institutions.”

Ed. Note: This completes a three-part series on the views of the late Steve Horwitz (1964–2021), the first two being on the climate debate and a carbon tax.

Since 2001, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, along with the Simon family, has presented an annual Julian Simon Award. The first award winner was Stephen Moore, a former research fellow for Dr. Simon (1982–85) who has promoted the Simon worldview ever since.

The most recent award winner was Stephen Horwitz, whose comments follow below.

Fellow professor and classical liberal Peter Boettke shared Horwitz’s remarks below on social media with the comment:

I do think in the interview so much of what was truly wonderful about Steve comes out.

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Horwitz on the Carbon Tax (Part II)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 14, 2021
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Horwitz on the Climate Change Debate: Social Science too (Part I)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 13, 2021
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Texas’ Wounded Grid: Reliable Generators Call for Public Subsidies (renewables distortion for all to see)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 12, 2021
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On Energy Messaging

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 9, 2021
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‘Smart’ Meters: Big Brother in the Home? (shortages = government rationing

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 8, 2021
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John Hofmeister: Shell Oil-ex a Stain on Oil and Gas

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 7, 2021
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Renewables Slow “Energy Transition” (It’s not easy being green)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 6, 2021
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