MasterResource on Break (back September 2nd)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 27, 2014

… and already looking forward to the November release of Alex Epstein’s historic, timely call to national/international debate.

Early Praise ….

“With more politicians in climate science than scientists, the refining fire of debate has devolved into the burning of heretics. Alex Epstein’s The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels may make your blood boil, but his cool reason and cold, hard facts will lead us beyond hysterics to a much better future.”

–Peter Thiel, entrepreneur and investor (cofounder of PayPal)

“If you want to see the power of fine logic, fine writing, and fine research, read Epstein’s book. In my long career, it is simply the best popular-market book about climate, environmental policy, and energy that I have read. Laymen and experts alike will be boggled by Epstein’s clarity.”

–Patrick J.…

James Hansen: “I Struggle to Sleep” (with current energy trends, energy policy)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 26, 2014

“Events are spiraling down so rapidly that I struggle to sleep…. Ironically, environmental groups’ insistence that renewables are the only alternative to fossil fuels actually assures expansion of fracking, locking in long-term dependence on gas for electricity, and crude oil for vehicles.”

– James Hansen, “The Energy to Fight Injustice,” August 20, 2014.

James Hansen is “nauseous” about Beijing’s “impenetrable smog”—fair enough. China needs to use off-the-shelf technology to clean up its their coal fleet, one plant at a time (as done in the U.S.).

Hansen is “troubled” about “the injustice” of climate change—highly debatable. The doctor’s own prognostications about global warming have been falsified and again (along with many others). [1] The warming of the 1990s was due to natural factors, not only anthropogenic ones, the latest science suggests.…

Desrochers on Food: Politically Incorrect, Economically and Environmentally Correct

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 25, 2014

A culture war on college campuses today revolves around the politics of food production. In countless departments (history, sociology, anthropology, geography), and in so-called grievance (race, gender, class) programs, students are bombarded with the SOLE (Sustainable, Organic, Local, and Ethical) food narrative.

In an attempt to bring balance to the issue, Pierre Desrochers of the University of Toronto Mississauga has developed a series of courses and reading seminars that take a broader perspective on the issue. He proceeds by discussing the economic and food safety and security concerns that led to the development of our globalized food supply chain.

Desrochers is author of the influential The Locavore’s Dilemma: In Praise of the 10,000-Mile Diet and a featured contributor at MasterResource. His courses bring together insights about agriculture, business, economics, globalization, cities, and the environment.…