Ed. Note: This repost from seven years ago (January 11, 2018) is reprinted for its relevancy today. What 12 or more would you add today? Here are some of mine: Craig Idso, Jr., Anthony Watts (WUWT), Kevin Dayaratna, and the other four DOE science study authors in addition to Judith Curry, profiled yesterday (John Christy, Steven Koonin, Ross McKittrick, Roy Spencer).

I previously recognized twelve individuals associated with free-market, classical-liberal energy analysis and advocacy. Here is a second “tribute” to those who have labored against the mainstream of Malthusianism and energy statism–and now find themselves with new opportunities to formulate, summarize, and promote pro-consumer, taxpayer-neutral energy policy.

This list is in alphabetical order. It is subjective and hardly exhaustive. Other candidates (such as the present writer) could also be included–and could be in a future iteration.…

Ed. Note: This repost from seven years ago (January 4, 2018) is reprinted for its relevancy today. Part II tomorrow lists 12 more.

“And now that the Obama era has turned into the Age of Trump, each has reaped a modicum of fame (but not fortune!) by tiptoeing into the mainstream of today’s energy/climate debate.”

There are no MacArthur awards for our side of the energy and climate debate. But there are individuals that deserve a place in the history of energy thought and related public policy. These persons have blazed the trail where courage and patience, not only scholarship, were required. And now that the Obama era has turned into the Age of Trump, each has reaped a modicum of fame (but not fortune!) by tiptoeing into the mainstream of today’s energy/climate debate.…

“When clean alternatives become cheaper, cleaner, more reliable, and more secure, fossil fuel demand collapses – inevitably.” – Lisa Sachs, below

We are back to the 1970s where magical thinking about ‘negawatts’ and the impending competitiveness of solar and wind as grid electricity was the order of the day. Think Jimmy Carter. The U.S. Department of Energy. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Even Synthetic Fuels.

Lisa Sachs of Columbia University, daughter of Jeffrey Sachs, recently posted this as if failed COP30 did not matter. Is she classically ‘in denial’?

The Real Way We Phase Out Fossil Fuels … And It’s Not Through Pledges.

There’s frustration that COP30 didn’t deliver a stronger “phaseout” statement. I understand it, but we’re focused on the wrong lever. Fossil fuels don’t disappear because negotiators agree to it.…

“Personal character matters for scientific transparency and honesty. Andrew Dessler does not pass the temperament test in a field of unsettled causality and ambiguous data.”

The intellectual case for CO2/climate optimism in place of doomism and despair is straightforward. As neatly summarized by Steven Koonin (a ‘climate flat earther‘ to Andrew Dessler) in the Wall Street Journal:

• Elevated carbon-dioxide levels enhance plant growth, contributing to global greening and increased agricultural productivity.
• Complex climate models provide limited guidance on the climate’s response to rising carbon-dioxide levels. Overly sensitive models, often using extreme scenarios, have exaggerated future warming projections and consequences.
• Data aggregated over the continental U.S. show no significant longterm trends in most extreme weather events. Claims of more frequent or intense hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and dryness in America aren’t supported by historical records.