… Dr. [J. Elliott] Campbell and his colleagues have discovered that in the last century, plants have been growing at a rate far faster than at any other time in the last 54,000 years. Writing in the journal Nature, they report that plants are converting 31 percent more carbon dioxide into organic matter than they were before the Industrial Revolution. The increase is because of the carbon dioxide that humans are putting into the atmosphere, which fertilizes the plants, Dr. Campbell said.
– Carl Simmer, A Global Greening, New York Times, April 5, 2017.
There are benefits, not only costs, to the human influence on climate. Photosynthesis from carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is part of this.
Expect the benefits of CO2 to show up in a recalculation of the “social costs” of the enhanced greenhouse effects, which will dramatically lower the Obama-era estimates that looked at (exaggerated) costs, not benefits.…
Continue Reading… Continue Reading“I am writing to urge you to attend the upcoming United Nations Conference on Environment and Development [‘Earth Summit’] scheduled for early June in Brazil and to support the concept of establishing a reasonable, non-binding, stabilization level of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.”
– Ken Lay [CEO, Enron Corp.] to George H. W. Bush, Letter of April 3, 1992.
“The United States fully intends to be the world’s preeminent leader in protecting the global environment. Environmental protection makes growth sustainable…. [This] recognition … by leaders from around the world is the central accomplishment of this important [United Nations] Rio Conference.”
– George H. W. Bush, “News Conference in Rio de Janeiro, June 13, 1992.
“[Enron was] the company most responsible for sparking off the greenhouse civil war in the hydrocarbon business.”
“Even with more wind and solar power, coal will continue to supply around two-thirds of the power for China’s expanding electric car users.”
“Think in terms of opportunity cost. The resources for installing 12,000 charging stations could have been used to modernize Chinese coal power plants instead of catering to already-subsidized electric car buyers.
Electric cars are popular with investors, and the New York Times reports on booming market value as “Tesla Passes Ford in Market Value as Investors Bet on the Future,” (April 3, 2017). Tesla’s Elon Musk wants all future engines (except rockets) to be electric:
… Continue ReadingIn his vision, Tesla is going to change the world, and is primed to cash in on the two transformative trends in the industry: the shift to electric vehicles as part of a broader societal move to cleaner energy, and the advent of automated driving.