A Legacy of T. Boone Pickens: Political Capitalist

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 24, 2019 1 Comment

“Mr. Pickens was an early exponent of the peak oil theory, which held that the world would soon run out of oil to pump. The rise of fracking, which made hard-to-reach oil accessible, upended the theory.” (Washington Post, below)

“’It’s been valuable to have Boone as part of the team,’ said Carl Pope, who was executive director of the Sierra Club at the time, in response to the oilman’s backing of alternative energy sources. Former Vice President Al Gore also backed Mr. Pickens’s alternative energy campaign.” (New York Times, below)

Business leaders can help or hurt the capitalist system with their actions and rhetoric. Swashbuckling T. Boone Pickens (1928–2019) gained a reputation as a disrupter, shaking up a stodgy oil major (Gulf Oil, now part of Chevron), among others.…

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Energy & Environmental Newsletter: August 29, 2019

By -- August 29, 2019 4 Comments

The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy and environmental policies. Our premise is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using Real Science (please consult WiseEnergy.org for more information).

A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end, every three weeks we put together a newsletter to balance what is found in the mainstream media about energy and the environment. We appreciate MasterResource for their assistance in publishing this information.

Some of the more important articles in this issue are:

China has slashed clean energy funding by 39%, leading a global decline
China switches $1B in ‘green’ finance to coal projects in first half of the year
The Misanthropic Bankers Behind the Green New Deal
How Elon Musk Fooled Investors, Bilked Taxpayers, etc.
General Electric shares tank following accusation of ‘bigger fraud than Enron’
NY Offshore Wind bids rigged for unions
Wind Turbines Can Cause Sickness, Say Public Health Officials
Wind Turbines and Adverse Health Effects: A Cardiologist’s View
Duke Energy study points finger at solar for increased pollution
The Environmental Disaster of Solar Energy
The Dark Side of China’s Solar Boom
Explaining Wind Turbine Lethality
Utility Studies delay both Wind and Solar Projects in the US Northeast
Renewable Energy Hits the Wall
Why Wind and Solar Aren’t Enough
Big Wind’s Big Headwinds
Wind Project is Trespassing
Physics Professor: Turbines could compromise radar signals
Short Video: The Green Real Deal
China and India Will Watch the West Destroy Itself
The Latest Travesty in “Consensus” Enforcement
Re-evaluating the manufacture of the climate consensus
Dr Roy Spencer: How the Media Help to Destroy Rational Climate Debate
Superior Video: Global Warming — Fact or Fiction
Dr.

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Energy & Environmental Newsletter: July 29, 2019

By -- July 29, 2019 3 Comments

The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy and environmental policies. Our premise is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using Real Science (please consult WiseEnergy.org for more information).

A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end, every three weeks we put together a newsletter to balance what is found in the mainstream media about energy and the environment. We appreciate MasterResource for their assistance in publishing this information.

Some of the more important articles in this issue are:

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James E. Rogers (1947-2018): Political Capitalist

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 18, 2019 5 Comments

At 41, [James Rogers] was named CEO of PSI Energy Inc., a small, financially troubled Indiana utility. Breaking ranks with others in the electric-power industry, he supported legislation putting caps on sulfur-dioxide emissions. “Some of my guys thought I was drinking the environmental Kool-Aid,” he said later. “But I said, ‘Let’s shape this, let’s make some money.’”

– James Hagerty, “Jim Rogers, Head of a Coal-Burning Utility, Crusaded Against Global Warming.” Wall Street Journal, December 20, 2018.

“I made money on sulfur [dioxide], and I’ll make money on carbon [dioxide].”

– James Rogers. Quoted in Eric Pooley, “The Smooth-Talking King of Coal–and Climate Change.” Bloomberg Businessweek, June 3, 2010.

James Eugene “Jim” Rogers Jr. (1947–2018) was a notable political capitalist (rent seeker) of the late 20th/early 21st century electricity market.…

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FDR’s New Deal with Energy: Part V (Rural Electrification)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 15, 2019 1 Comment Continue Reading

Paris Climate Accord Death Spiral Underway (FT article begins the autopsy)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- December 18, 2018 9 Comments Continue Reading

“The Economic Fall and Political Rise of Renewable Energy”

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- November 15, 2018 2 Comments Continue Reading

John Holdren on Trump’s Energy/Climate Armageddon (Part II: renewables, energy efficiency, carbon capture & storage, messaging, etc.)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 27, 2018 1 Comment Continue Reading

Remembering the Death of Federal Cap-and-Trade (2010 NYT analysis revisited)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 13, 2018 1 Comment Continue Reading

Contra-Capitalism as a Business Syndrome

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- March 27, 2018 5 Comments Continue Reading