A Free-Market Energy Blog

‘Hot Rocks’ Advanced Geothermal: A Reality Check

By Donn Dears -- November 3, 2015

“The potential for traditional geothermal power plants is limited by the scarcity of areas in the United States where geothermal energy is available, and by the diminishing supply of water as the geothermal resources age. In California, waste water has been used to augment the natural supply of water.”

Electricity has been produced successfully from geothermal sources for decades. The first successful geothermal power plant dates at least from 1911 in Larderello, Italy.

Today, in the United States, there are successful geothermal power plants in California and in Nevada.

The potential for traditional geothermal power plants is limited by the scarcity of areas in the United States where geothermal energy is present, much less commercial, and by the diminishing supplies as geothermal resources age. In California, waste water has been used to augment the natural supply of water.…

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Halloween Hangover: Hansen, Holdren, and McKibben (spooky science on display)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- November 2, 2015

Another Halloween has come and gone. But the Malthusian virus of doom-and-gloom toward self-interested, voluntary choice rages on.  The neo-Malthusians may now concede that we are not running out of resources, but the new line is that we cannot mine and burn what we know we have because we are running out of climate.

More can be added to this list, but the ‘big three’ of today’s alarmism are climate scientist James Hansen, Obama’s science advisor John Holdren, and deep ecologist and founder of 350.org, Bill McKibben. Some quotations follow:

James Hansen

“We have at most ten years—not ten years to decide upon action, but ten years to alter fundamentally the trajectory of global greenhouse emissions.”

-James Hansen, 2006. “The Threat to the Planet.” New York Times Review of Books

“We cannot afford to put off [climate policy] change any longer.

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‘Al Gore: Reactionary Environmentalist’ (Fred Smith skinned the cat back in 1992)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- November 1, 2015

Editor Note: Back in 1992, the founder and president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), Fred Smith, reviewed Al Gore’s new book, Earth in the Balance. More than two decades later, Smith’s review is still on target and good reading. (One cannot say the same of Malthusian-school writing of the same period.) The review follows:

Al Gore has written, “When giving us dominion over the earth, did God choose an appropriate technology?” And then: “One is tempted to answer, the jury is still out.” Much the same can be said about Governor Bill Clinton’s wisdom in selecting Sen. Gore to be his running mate.

While Mr. Clinton has spent months (if not years) attempting to fashion himself as a moderate Democrat unwedded to the Big Government programs that have dominated his party for so long, the selection of Al Gore signals a return to yesteryear’s agenda.

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Virtuous Capitalism (versus rent-seeking)

By Ryan Young -- October 29, 2015
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‘Good Profit’: Charles Koch on Cronyism (Part 2)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 28, 2015
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Charles Koch on Cronyism (Part 1)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 27, 2015
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AWED Energy & Environmental Newsletter: October 26, 2015

By -- October 26, 2015
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Why I’m Still Not a Member of the Solar Energy Industries Association

By David Bergeron -- October 22, 2015
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When Enron, NYT Declared Solar ‘Competitive’ with Fossil Fuels (1994)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 21, 2015
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Solar Power: NOT an Infant Industry (Part II)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 20, 2015
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