“Perhaps the most tragic aspect of Biden’s horrendous climate policy is that not only is there zero scientific evidence that it will have any significant impact on world carbon emissions or global temperatures, the scientific evidence is strong that global warming is not harmful and instead is beneficial.”

President Biden’s climate policy is not “the root of all evil,” but it’s close. Instead of improving the earth’s climate, it is causing or at least substantially worsening several economic and national security problems.

Biden’s climate policy seeks, as he stated during his campaign, “to end fossil fuel …” To do this, he is regulatorily strangling U.S. fossil fuel production.

Biden’s restriction of U.S. oil production has driven the price of West Texas Intermediate sharply higher. It was $51.56 a barrel in January 2020, when the economy was humming before the pandemic, and about $50 in December 2020, the month before Biden took office.…

This fortnightly Master Resource post excerpts energy and climate material from the Media Balance Newsletter, published every other week by physicist John Droz Jr., founder of the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions. The complete MBN for this post can be found here.

Of special interest in this issue is The Deep Optimism Manifesto, by David Siegel, which pays tribute to Julian Simon and explains again the historical basis for his outlook and its implications for our future.

Greed Energy Economics:
Energy Prices in Europe Hit Records After Wind Stops Blowing
We cannot afford to stop and start society based on the wind blowing
The High Cost of Wind, Solar and Battery Systems in North East US
UK electricity prices now most expensive in Europe (largely due to renewables)
Greenflation: Household bills to soar by more than £1,500 a year, analysts warn
Solar Project Sale Reveals Green Energy Sorcery

Renewable Energy Health and Ecosystem Consequences:
Report: Rise of the Eco-Right
Missouri’s largest wind farm isn’t running at night for fear of killing endangered bats
Wind industry faces its own green dilemma: landfills
EV Battery Fires Won’t Keep Pols from Putting You in Them

Wind Energy:
Wind turbine nuisance test case starts in Australian Supreme court
Oregon farmers allege violations at wind turbine project

Nuclear Energy:
Small Nuclear Reactors Will Power Our Future
China prepares to test thorium-fueled nuclear reactor
Nuclear Fusion: U.S.…

“Classical liberalism does not have a long resume in the history of energy thought. Prior to the 1970s energy crises, it was a backwater for free-market intellectuals, although the opportunity was there for both scholarship and political advocacy.”

I recently constructed a new home with a two-story library, ladders and all. On one side are my energy-related books; on the other, economics. Several thousand volumes are, for the first time, organized in one place. Better late than never as I am in my 66th year.

The energy books, many unearthed from storage, bring back a lot of memories. Some observations follow.

Classical liberalism (or the political term, libertarianism) does not have a long resume in the history of energy thought. Prior to the 1970s energy crises, it was a backwater for the free market intellectuals, although the opportunity was there for both scholarship and political advocacy.…

“And, frankly, libertarians like you who have supported Trump bear blame for this crap too. You have NO ground to stand on today having enabled this seditious shitty excuse for a human being….” (Steve Horwitz to Rob Bradley, Facebook, January 6, 2021)

“For me, one of the most tragic results of the Trump phenomenon has been to cause good, decent, reasonable classical liberals (libertarians, the good ones, not the zealots, you know what I mean) to yell at each other in anger and frustration.” (Peter Lewin, Facebook, January 8, 2021)

Amid the Capitol violence of Wednesday January 6, Peter Lewin, a notable Austrian-school economist and respected classical liberal, posted on Facebook about the “out of control zealots…. Mob Hysteria ready to explode….” Exchanges followed. I asked some rather civil questions including this one:

I’m not condoning the violence, just trying to put it in perspective…..