Roger Pielke Jr. explains that NOAA’s rising count of weather disasters that cost $1 billion or more does not mean that the weather events have increased or worsened. Inflation, insurance, and economic growth are better explainers. “The billion-dollar disaster tally is easy to understand, simple to communicate, but in actual fact, incredibly misleading. It is…
Thursday Links
- Are they going to ban gas stoves? Yes, it seems so.
- No, maybe not!
- Banning fluorescent and incandescent lighting? Yes, it seems so.
- Could a free-market technique—satisfying customers—save curbside recycling?
- EV trash trucks stalled because U.K. city doesn’t have enough chargers.
- Is there a backlash against ESG (and what is ESG, anyway)?
- The Fed, thank goodness, is not going to be a “climate policymaker.” Really?
- Government to crack down on low-level lead fuel (it’s not low enough) in general aviation.
Environmental Justice Means Having Your Own Solar Panel
The state of Rhode Island will subsidize the construction of solar panels on the houses of low- or moderate-income families. Writes Lesa Prevost in Energy News: “The program will offer affordable leases for solar equipment on homes owned by residents with incomes less than or equal to 80% of the area median income. That’s a…
Paul Ehrlich’s Errors Go Unexamined, Except by Realists
Remember Paul Ehrlich? In 1968 the Stanford biologist predicted that the world would experience global famine because of overpopulation. It didn’t happen, but Ehrlich is still the darling of environmentalists and media that want to sound “woke.” On Jan. 1 Paul Ehrlich was featured on CBS’s 60 Minutes for his insights into the future state…
Who’s Astro-Turfing What?
Activists for renewables are horrified that rural America isn’t eager to have wind turbines or solar panels as part of its landscape. They’re blaming fossil-fuel industry “Astro-turf” groups for stirring up rural resistance. In December, in a (paywalled) New Yorker piece, “From Climate Exhortation to Climate Execution,” Bill McKibben describes the work to be done…
On Recycling, Don Boudreaux Makes No Concessions
Writing on Cafe Hayek, Don Boudreaux exchanges words with an eager college student who thinks everyone should recycle as much as possible. First, says Boudreaux, he himself does recycle: “As I write to you I’m wearing clothing that I’ve worn before; I recycled my jeans and underwear in the recycling machines at my home known as…