“A recent Politico article on the bad messaging of Democrats on climate and energy, Democrats Bite on Burgers and Straws–and Republicans Feast, is fair warning. It is high time the hometown paper of the center of the oil and gas industry stop the blatant bias against the very energies that consumers naturally prefer.”
There is no representation for conservatives or libertarians on the editorial board of the Houston Chronicle. So when it comes to energy, fossil fuels (because of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions) are seen as the enemy of the climate rather than a greening agent; protection against heat, cold, and precipitation; and a first responder after weather extremes.
Mineral energies in capitalist settings have much to do with the precipitous drop of climate-related deaths in the last century–and are essential to human betterment going forward.…
“In 1896, Thomas Edison wisely told Henry Ford to steer clear of electric vehicles. And today, battery propulsion remains less efficient than on-board combustion for a variety of technical and market reasons. Attempts to get around the inefficiency add humor to an otherwise dry subject.”
It’s hard to be “green.” Ask Al Gore, whose carbon footprint must be among the highest in America (home electricity usage + SUV trips + private plane rides). Same for Leonard DiCaprio’s yacht. John Holdren, Obama’s alarmist-in-chief, also violates the I = PAT equation while having fun fishing.
I was reminded of this when reading the latest Musings from the Oil Patch of G. Allen Brooks of the energy investment banking firm PPHB. His “Pictures Reflecting the Reality of Our Green World” offered three examples (below).…
“In the year 2000, the solar water heater behind me, which is being dedicated today, will still be here supplying cheap, efficient energy.” [Reagan removed the panels six months later.]
“A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.” [It is a museum piece.]
– President Jimmy Carter, June 20, 1979
Historical evidence and understanding is part of the intellectual case for free-market energy policy, which is simply letting consumers decide for themselves the best energies and keeping taxpayers neutral. A free society, not surprisingly has chosen the dense, most affordable, storable energies over dilute, intermittent, expensive ones.…