“President Joe Biden’s closing argument before the midterm elections presents contradictory promises of driving down carbon emissions while increasing the supply of fossil fuels.”

“Biden hasn’t been invited to spread the message of his climate victory in swing states, even though people are already voting early or by mail.”

– E&E News (October 24, 2022)

From time to time MasterResource amplifies E&E News articles that call a spade a spade. A bit of realism in a sea of hyperbole about all things climate and energy is worth commemorating.

Scott Waldman’s “Biden Struggles to Sell Climate Win in Final Midterm Stretch” (October 24, 2022) exposes the contradictory themes of lowering oil prices and addressing climate concerns. The article shows a picture of Joe Biden (teleprompter hidden) speaking at the East Portland Community Center in Portland, Oregon, surely friendly ground.…

“The fantasy, the shared narrative, is that replacing natural gas with electricity addresses the ‘climate crisis’ … Coupled with smart meters and digital currency, the home and business are subject to social monitoring and control. This is a high-tech version of F. A. Hayek’s the road to serfdom.”

On October 11, 2022, Gas Furnaces: Big Brother Says No highlighted the joint comments filed by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) et al. [1] These comments were in opposition to the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)  and their (severely overreaching) “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” (NOPR) to ban the manufacturing of gas-fueled residential furnaces: “Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products.”

CEI et al.’s comments primarily highlighted how DOE/EERE is attempting to justify its proposed ban based upon improper use of the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC): “2022-10-05 Joint Comment response to the published NOPR.”…

“… global commodity price increases … sharp and sudden increases in interest rates, prolonged supply chain constraints, and persistent inflation have significantly increased the expected cost of constructing the project.”

Electricity rates are going up because of wind, solar, and batteries being forced upon, and duplicating, the grid. Reliability is going down because of wind and solar intermittency. And higher interest rates are (further) ruining the economics of the infrastructure-heavy, up-front capital necessary to turn “free” wind and solar into electricity.

It’s a perfect storm that might just overcome the taxpayer largesse of the federal subsidies (DOE and IRS) and rate averaging for captive ratepayers. With offshore wind experimental and extra-uneconomic, the worst can be assumed.

An October 30, 2022, article by Colin Young, “Major Massachusetts offshore wind project no longer viable,” explains the fluid situation.…

James Hansen is a mixed bag. In important areas, he speaks truth to power and is a thorn in the side of “magical thinking” wind-and-solar “environmentalists.”

But the blinders are on when it comes to climate sensitivity to greenhouse gases; market entrepreneurship for adaptation/resiliency; the benefits of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions for Global Greening; and the positive effect of moderate warming for many people in many places of the world for most of the year.

Here are some examples of Hansen at his best:

• “Suggesting that renewables will let us phase rapidly off fossil fuels in the United States, China, India, or the world as a whole is almost the equivalent of believing in the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy.” (here)
• “Let’s be clear: the frequent comparison of the fossil fuel and tobacco industries is nonsense. Fossil