“Capitalism turns luxuries into necessities. Socialism turns necessities into luxuries.”
“What did socialists use before candles? …. Electricity”
These are just funny jokes until a scenario unfolds where a huge lifestyle disruption lurks for you, your family, friends, and most everyone else.
Matt Ridley of the UK is there. And the notable classical-liberal thinker and writer is steamed about it.
Energy crises should be a thing of the past, the West having painfully learned to avoid the price and allocation controls that cause physical shortages and fuel riots.
Now, energy crises occur in the name of “green” energy policies that force inferior energies on the power grid–and discourage or prohibit the fossil fuels from doing their yeoman work. Consumers lose. Businesses lose. Taxpayers lose. A small intellectual and political elite win.…
It is past time that Wiki correct a significant factual error and tone down the bias of its entry for The Institute for Energy Research. I and others have failed to persuade them. This post is dedicated to the same attempt at fairness.
In my social media discussions and debates, my opponents do a quick check on the Institute for Energy Research (IER) to fire back at my criticisms. One from this week follows, an exchange prompted by a mention of “Deadwood Releasing 10.9 Gigatons of Carbon Every Year – More Than All Fossil Fuel Emissions Combined“:
Bradley: Leave fossil fuels alone then…. Energy density is key.
Paul Bryan: EXACTLY the fallacious argument that the propaganda was designed to promote. Well done! But hardly surprising coming from IER:
“IER is often described as a front group for the fossil fuel industry. It…
“[Nuclear power] has been pretty reliable and very safe and compared to other energy sources, all told, reasonably priced …. and good…. It’s unclear if safe and reliable nuclear energy can compete with just where solar and wind are going …. That’s the reality.” (Other Lab Chief Executive Officer Saul Griffith)
“There’s more work to be done on nuclear than on any other area for it to be a competitor.” (Daniel Kammen, California Berkeley)
It’s a strange time when Yale University, up there with Harvard University atop the academic universe, publishes a rag of amateur analysis from the likes of one Peter Sinclair. (For Sinclair vs. Kevon Martis, see here.) But the Yale School of the Environment is in the business of publishing a newsletter of quick hits with double standards galore.…