“Altamont Pass has been a black eye on the entire wind industry since its construction.” (National Audubon Society, below)
“… the need for renewable energy is not an excuse to … wipe out local populations of wildlife. Wind companies are making billions and can afford to ensure projects are responsibly sited and include adequate mitigations to reduce impacts to sensitive species.” (Ariana Rickard, Mount Diablo Audubon Society, below)
Altamont Pass again? Back in 1997, my Policy Analysis for the Cato Institute, “Renewable Energy: Not Cheap, Not ‘Green’,” included a section, “The ‘Avian Mortality’ Problem,” that focused on Altamont Pass, then the nation’s largest wind farm and a documented killing field for protected birds.
That 625-MW project was just a short car ride away from the San Francisco headquarters of the Natural Resources Defense Council.…
Continue Reading“The doomsters’ favorite subject today is climate change. This has a number of attractions for them. First, the science is extremely obscure so they cannot easily be proved wrong. Second, we all have ideas about the weather: traditionally, the English on first acquaintance talk of little else.”
“The fact that seasoned politicians can say such ridiculous things [about reordering civilization] – and get away with it – illustrates the degree to which the new dogma about climate change has swept through the left-of-centre governing classes….”
– Margaret Thatcher, Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World (2002).
Boris Johnson is in a tight spot with his failing energy policy, so the climate lobby is out to shore him up. Stated Carbon Brief:
… Continue ReadingA scientific briefing that UK prime minister Boris Johnson says changed his mind about #globalwarming has been made public for the first time, following a freedom-of-information (FOI) by Carbon Brief.
“[FERC] staff have determined that approval of the Project would not result in significant environmental impacts, with the exception of greenhouse gas emissions…. we are unable to come to a conclusion regarding the significance of the Project’s contribution to climate change.” (FERC, June 2021)
“N.Y. utilities: FERC delays could jeopardize gas system,” read a headline earlier this week at EnergyWire, a publication of E&E News. “Two New York utility giants last week urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ‘promptly’ approve a natural gas project proposed nearly two years ago, fueling a debate over the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions against other factors.” The article continued:
… Continue ReadingAlthough changes to the policy statement have not been finalized, the gas industry and Republican members of the commission have accused the agency of delaying project approvals since the inquiry was reopened last February.