Declaring war against natural gas is not enough. New York State has now extended the conflict to grassroots opposition to government-enabled wind and solar projects that cause demonstrable tort.
“We start with the most aggressive climate change program in the country because my friends, the clock is ticking, and it’s ticking faster and faster…. New York has to be the State that stands up and says once and for all, we have to do more and we have to do it faster….” (New York Gov. Cuomo, February 21, 2020)
Frustrated with the slow development of wind and solar projects in the state (grassroots opposition prevailed at Sommerset/Yates, for example), New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed draconian measures to green-light controversial renewable-energy projects.
New York’s plan for net carbon free, 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2050, is impractical on infrastructure and economic grounds.…
Continue Reading“Simon’s idea is simultaneously simple and startling. Once grasped, its truth is undeniable. Yet its implications are profound — none more so than the realization that the amount of resources on earth is not fixed.” (Donald Boudreaux, below)
Some articles are worth revisiting to keep the fundamental ideas fresh in our minds. I recently ran into one of them by the noted economist and educator Donald J. Boudreaux.
It was Professor Boudreaux, in fact, that switched his major to economics and pursued teaching when a professor explained the cause of the then-experienced natural gas shortages.
A few years back, the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) published a piece by Boudreaux, simply titled “There Are No Natural Resources.” I reprint the article in full:
… Continue ReadingRecently I had a very enjoyable conversation over dinner with some impressive undergraduates at Bowling Green State University.
“It’s pointless to reduce carbon emissions inside Europe, to then import them from outside.” (Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy and Finance, France)
“When I was our ambassador to the EU, I spent a lot of time on some very difficult trade issues. This could become the mother of all trade issues if not handled right.” (Richard Morningstar, Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center)
– Quoted in “How Europe’s Border Carbon Tax Plan Could Force the U.S. to Act on Climate Change,” Time, March 4, 2020.
Tariffs and quotas in the name of CO2 reduction, euphemistically called “border adjustments,” is the wolf at the international door. From the U.S. side, Joe Biden and other Democratic candidates have threatened such protectionism if elected. Part III of Biden’s Climate Plan states:
… Continue ReadingAs the U.S.