…“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.…
Last week, I 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.
ROBERT BRYCE is a force for energy realism. His highly readable, well researched books (three on energy, two on energy-related cronyism) are joined by highly effective opinion-page editorials in leading publications, such as the Wall Street Journal. A convert to the free-market beginning with his third book (from a politically correct all-of-the-above energy view), Bryce has reached progressive audiences with a message that renewable energies are quite imperfect substitutes for dense mineral energies.…