“Chris Skates, a top energy advisor to Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, said he figures he helped emit millions of pounds of carbon dioxide in a 30-year electric utility career, adding ‘and I am damn proud of it.'”

– Quoted in Inside Climate News, September 26, 2019.

“Southern State Energy Officials Celebrate Fossil Fuels as World Raises Climate Alarm,” an article is titled in Inside Climate News (September 26, 2019). The subtitle adds:

The message from the industry-supported meeting: Push as much deregulation as possible while Trump is in power and never apologize for promoting oil, gas and coal.

“There was a sense of defiance in the hotel’s meeting rooms,” James Bruggers wrote. The author seems shocked that

[Kentucky Governor Matt] Bevin, a Republican and the host of the meeting, was dismissive of 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, calling the young Swede who has inspired a global climate movement and who spoke at the UN on Monday, “remarkably ill informed.”

[Editor note: A ‘clarification and apology’ associated with this post is here. The author failed to note that Andrew Dessler also stated, “I debate in the peer-reviewed literature.”]

“Doesn’t the wholesale reordering of our society demand at least a little bit of public debate? We think so.” (Heartland Institute)

“In a public debate, advocates can use all kinds of rhetorical tricks, as well as outright lies, to advance their cause. There’s no way to counter them in that forum.” (Andrew Dessler)

“All of the noise right now from the climate change denial machine, the bots & trolls, the calls for fake “debates,” etc. Ignore it all. Deniers are desperate for oxygen in a mainstream media environment that is thankfully is no longer giving it to them. Report.

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:
How AWEA misrepresents the cost of wind energy
California raises the caution flag on ‘green jobs’
Sometimes, a greener grid means a 40,000% spike in power prices
McKinsey Report: Renewables Threaten German Economy & Energy Supply
12 Reasons Why Wind & Solar Power Make No Sense
Russia Announces Plans for Coal-Digging Surge
Good Short Video: Battery Fantasy
Letter: Transitioning to a Non-Fossil Fuel Economy
Renewables Reality: Isn’t It Time We Faced Up to It?…

“The caterwauling from the mainstream media – and claims that 2019’s hot summer was part of human-caused CO2-fueled global warming and a direct cause of alleged extreme maximum temperatures – are just not true. Analysis of the claims and events reveals these were simply hot weather events in a warm summer; claims of new extremes are far-fetched and fade under scrutiny.”

“[T]he BBC report quotes Cambridge University Botanic Garden director Beverley Glover: ‘However, we can’t help but feel dismay at the high temperature recorded and the implication that our local climate is getting hotter, with inevitable consequences for the plants and animals around us.’ If you look at the data you see that this was a one-day weather event; the summer of 1976 was a lot hotter and occurred during the 1970s ice age scare.”