A Free-Market Energy Blog

EVs: It’s Hard Being Green

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 9, 2019

“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).…

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Museum Solar: A Carter 1979 MEOW moment revisited

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 5, 2019

“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.…

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Energy Nationalization: Bernie and Before

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 4, 2019

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has come right out and said it: The Green New Deal will require a government takeover of the US energy industries. As reported by Sam Dorman of Fox News:

The “Green New Deal” proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., seeks a complete transition to “energy efficiency” and “sustainable energy” — much of which would be owned and administered by the federal government.

During an appearance on MSNBC Thursday [August 22nd], Sanders told host Chris Hayes that the U.S. needed an “aggressive” federal approach to producing electricity and nodded after Hayes claimed he proposed a “federal takeover of the whole thing.”

Sanders agreed with Hayes’ assessment that he wanted to create a “Tennessee Valley Authority [TVA] extension for the whole country.” “You can’t nibble around the edges anymore,” Sanders added.

“For once I agree with Bernie Sanders,” stated Eric Worrall at WUWT.…

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On the ‘Ultimate Resource,’ Human Ingenuity

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 3, 2019
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Energy & Environmental Newsletter: August 29, 2019

By -- August 29, 2019
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Sustainability: Ideology versus Reality (Part III: The Big Picture)

By -- August 28, 2019
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Sustainability: Ideology versus Reality (Part II: Wind Turbines)

By -- August 27, 2019
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Sustainability: Ideology versus Reality (Part I: Biofuels and Solar)

By -- August 26, 2019
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Health Effects of Wind Turbines: Testimony of Ben Johnson versus MidAmerican Energy (Madison County, Iowa)

By Sherri Lange -- August 23, 2019
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Review of ‘Introduction to Modern Climate Change’ by Andrew Dessler (Part II: Physical Science)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 22, 2019
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