Alarmism Now – and Then (Modern Malthusianism in its 6th Decade)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- May 9, 2024 No Comments

“Many people think that the threat of ‘global warming’ arose only towards the end of the twentieth century…. Climate change, either natural or anthropogenic, has been discussed from the classical age onwards, evolving from the expected benefits of climate engineering to today’s fear of global disaster.”

– Hans von Storch and Nico Stehr, “Climate Change in Perspective,” Nature, June 8, 2000, p. 615

It is all gloom, what Michael Mann cautioned against as “doomism.”[1] Such alarm has been the mainstream narrative—and wrong—since the 1960s. And warnings about how exaggeration can backfire (New York Times: “In Climate Debate, Exaggeration Is a Pitfall“) have been thrown to the wind in the futile, costly pursuit of Net Zero.

This post presents the climate alarm quotations of today with the quotations from Paul Ehrlich and the Club of Rome in the late 1960s/early 1970s for historical perspective.…

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“The Techno-Optimist Manifesto” (Marc Andreessen in the energy debate)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 20, 2023 1 Comment

“We believe energy should be in an upward spiral. Energy is the foundational engine of our civilization. The more energy we have, the more people we can have, and the better everyone’s lives can be. We should raise everyone to the energy consumption level we have, then increase our energy 1,000x, then raise everyone else’s energy 1,000x as well.” (- Techno-Optimist Manifesto, below)

Add a new name to the powerful critics of climate alarmism and forced energy transformation. Marc Andreessen is the author of The Techno-Optimist Manifesto, which draws upon the Julian Simon tradition of free minds and free markets to solve real challenges. This is a refreshing anecdote to the doom-and-gloom neo-Malthusians–and a threat to the climate industrial complex.

Sure enough, the critics are out with swords. Having posted The Techno-Optimist Manifesto on LinkedIn to the Climate Change Professionals Group, I was asked: “How is this diatribe from consume-more economics suitable for climate change professionals group??”…

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What Has Been the Role of Petroleum in Human Progress? (Part IV)

By Julián Salazar Velásquez -- January 27, 2023 No Comments

Ed. note: Geologist and petroleum engineer Julián Salazar Velásquez, with nearly a half-century in the Mexican and Venezuelan oil industries, is a leading educator and proponent of free market energy. In addition to numerous articles, his book Gerencia Integrada de Campos de Hidrocarburos (2020) is a primer on the oil industry value chain. His four-part summary (see Part I, Part II, and Part III) ends today.

“I have two options: to remain silent in the last years of my life and witness the destruction of the world economy, as just happened in Venezuela. Or alert many to the threat to blessed living to avoid a repeat of destruction. In clear conscience, I opt for the second!”

The role that fossil fuels have played in the progress of humanity in four revolutions is undeniable:

  • Mechanization with steam engines powered by coal;
  • Massification of electricity, generated first by coal and later by falling water, oil, and natural gas
  • Computing
  • Digitization and artificial intelligence

The mineral energy story can incorporate another of the highly important indicators in the quality of life, such as agricultural and livestock development and food production.…

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Biden’s Virtue-Signaling: The Costs of Climate Policy

By David Simon -- June 13, 2022 1 Comment

“Perhaps the most tragic aspect of Biden’s horrendous climate policy is that not only is there zero scientific evidence that it will have any significant impact on world carbon emissions or global temperatures, the scientific evidence is strong that global warming is not harmful and instead is beneficial.”

President Biden’s climate policy is not “the root of all evil,” but it’s close. Instead of improving the earth’s climate, it is causing or at least substantially worsening several economic and national security problems.

Biden’s climate policy seeks, as he stated during his campaign, “to end fossil fuel …” To do this, he is regulatorily strangling U.S. fossil fuel production.

Biden’s restriction of U.S. oil production has driven the price of West Texas Intermediate sharply higher. It was $51.56 a barrel in January 2020, when the economy was humming before the pandemic, and about $50 in December 2020, the month before Biden took office.…

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Energy and Environmental Review: September 20, 2021

By -- September 20, 2021 No Comments Continue Reading

Energy Books: Some Observations

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- June 17, 2021 No Comments Continue Reading

Encountering–and Overcoming–Libertarian Critics

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 11, 2021 4 Comments Continue Reading

Giving Thanks … for Human Ingenuity

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- November 25, 2020 1 Comment Continue Reading

Human Ingenuity: The Ultimate Resource (for minerals, adaptation)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 7, 2020 5 Comments Continue Reading

Sierra Club Chickens on Wind Infrasound (deep-six commissioned study)

By Donald Deever -- October 17, 2019 6 Comments Continue Reading