Standing on the site of a demolished coal-fueled power plant in Somerset, Massachusetts, on July 20, President Joe Biden said the world needs immediate action on climate change, and if Congress won’t act, he will. He announced a series of executive actions to prevent the so-called global catastrophe. Biden called climate change “an existential threat…
Category: The Environmental Blog
Tributes to Pat Michaels
Patrick Michaels, scholar, honest commentator on climate change, and a guy with an outstanding sense of humor, died July 16. He was a climate realist, sometimes calling himself a “lukewarmer” —indicating that he recognized the presence of global warming but that it was not an existential threat. Here are recent tributes: From the Competitive Enterprise…
Are Wood Pellets Carbon-Free? Of Course Not, But They Are Defined That Way and Here’s Why
The European Union is considering removing a rule that—in the effort to meet international carbon-reduction goals—has been defining wood pellets as “carbon-free” fuels. That special elevation of wood pellets has made their production a thriving industry in the United States, which exports substantial amounts of wood pellets to England and other parts of Europe. However,…
I’m Fed Up with “Clean” Energy
From a news release: “On June 9, 2021, Governor [Cooper] issued Executive Order No. 218 highlighting North Carolina’s commitment to offshore wind power as the state transitions to a clean energy economy.” “. . . a clean energy economy”? This is a misnomer. Does anybody remember what dirty energy was? Sooty, full of particulates and sulfur dioxide—it…
The Offshore Wind Energy Problem: Government Overregulation, Disincentives, and Anti-market Policies
This is a guest post by Jon Sanders, director of the Center for Food, Power, and Life at the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, North Carolina. As a previous post on this site indicated, I have written a paper for the John Locke Foundation opposing the North Carolina governor’s plan for wind power offshore. Is…