[A scientist was addressing a luncheon gathering and mentioned that the sun would burn out in 4 billion years.  A woman in the front, alarmed, asked him to repeat the number, which he did.  “Thank goodness!” she exclaimed, “I thought you said ‘million'”  Traditional physicist joke.]

Many of those writing on oil markets, energy security, commodity prices, and energy policy often cite, with great authority, the fact that “X is finite.” This can be seen both in the general press, such as the recent story in the New York Times on Abu Dhabi’s effort to diversify away from oil revenue, and in more detailed reports, such as the one written for the Army: “Energy Trends and Their Implication for US Army Installations.”

 In the words of Vijay Vaitheeswaran of the Economist, “So what?” …

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 insightful articles in this issue are:

Wind and Solar have Destroyed the Energy Market

Batteries Will NOT Save Wind Energy

Health Officer Gets Migraines When Visiting Wind Project

Will Turbines Ever Be Bird Safe? (Audubon)

Wind Energy is a Public Health Problem

Wind Projects Tear Communities Apart

Time to Regroup and Defend Against Big Wind

Why Renewable Energy is a Worse Option than Nuclear

Is Global Warming Quickening?…

“Nearly 50 percent of the states in India will experience surplus power …. [This] is a significant leap for a country that has been reeling under an energy crisis, and where 280 million people don’t have access to electricity at all.

What has brought about this transformation? Not surprisingly, it is the country’s energy backbone—coal.”

India is a big player in the global energy market. Along with China, the country’s energy policy came under heavy scrutiny at the Climate Summit in Paris last year. The climate change obsessed West wants to strike a deal with the two giants from Asia for conversion from fossil fuel to renewables.

But the pressure from the West is almost laughable compared to the benefits of fossil fuels. For the first time in its history, the Indian government announced that the country will not face an energy deficit in the year 2016–2017.…

“Radical environmentalists have misled people about the green greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. The indoctrination of school curricula, the ignorance of the public, and the well-crafted lies of the radical environmentalists have wrongly demonized CO₂.”

Today, some people portray carbon dioxide (CO₂) as an enemy of the earth. We hear negative things about it in almost every aspect of life, including in schools, TV shows, and the mainstream media.

But is CO₂ really a villain?

I was a little kid when I first came to know that in photosynthesis plants inhale CO₂ and exhale oxygen. I also understood why plants shrivel and die with too little of it but grow better and better as CO2 levels rise. That’s why CO₂ is not a pollutant.…