“The National Academy of Science reports are supposed to guide the thinking of policymakers …. One constant in both reports is the unwavering faith of energy experts in the efficacy of government-subsidized energy research and development, and government intervention in energy production markets. Looking back we can see that the Energy in Transition report from 1980 was largely a failure as an exercise in technical and economic prognostication.”
– Ronald Bailey, ‘How Green Is Your Crystal Ball?‘ (August 4, 2009).
The argument from authority (aka appeal to authority) is a favorite of climate alarmists/activists who are certain of a problem and its solution. But consensus-worshipping (intellectual bullying?) has been long employed by the Malthusian mainstream against those who do not see a massive market failure in the self-interested actions of humankind striving to be fruitful and consume in a free and prosperous commonwealth.…
…“Climate researchers … have a pretty good understanding of how the climate system works on average, but the reasons for small, long-term changes in climate system are still extremely uncertain.”
“The total amount of CO2 humans have added to the atmosphere in the last 100 years has upset the radiative energy budget of the Earth by only 1%. How the climate system responds to that small ‘poke’ is very uncertain. The IPCC says there will be strong warming, with cloud changes making the warming worse. I claim there will be weak warming, with cloud changes acting to reduce the influence of that 1% change.”
” … those of us who are skeptical of mankind’s influence on climate have a wide variety of views on the subject…. [I]t only takes one of us to be right for the IPCC’s anthropogenic global warming (AGW) house of cards to collapse.
“The Indiana Petroleum Association, whose members feared the combination of locational convenience and discount prices from cost economies, lobbied the state Fire Marshall who warned of the hazards of self‑service. Effective June 1, 1930, a statewide regulation allowed only station owners or regular employees to dispense gasoline.”
“For a price premium estimated to be between three-to-five cents per gallon, the benefits of Oregon’s longstanding self-service ban are said to be less spillage, less risk of fire, and a trained person ‘to maintain a clear view of and give undivided attention to the pumping process’.”
The rise and legalization of self-service at the service station is one of the longest and most colorful episodes in the history of US oil and gas regulation. Until recently, only New Jersey (1948–) and Oregon (1951–) still had laws making it illegal to offer serve yourself gasoline and diesel.…