“With a clean electricity system comes opportunities to reduce fossil fuel usage in these sectors: for example, electric vehicles displace petroleum use and electric heat pumps avoid the use of natural gas and oil for space and water heating in buildings.”

–  The While House, United States Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization, (November 2016)

“Assuming we all want to avoid an American repeat of the French “Mouvement des gilets jaunes” (yellow vest movement) the economic realities of ‘deep decarbonization’ through ‘electrification’ must be a priority for public debate and discussion.” (below)

As Senator Everett Dirksen is credited with saying: “A million here, a million there, and pretty soon we’re talking real money.” Not much has changed, except for inflation. Now it’s more like $40 million here and $50 million there.…

“[Our groups] look forward to working with you to address the gravest environmental crisis humanity has ever faced, to protect all present and future generations around the world, while centering the rights of those communities and workers most impacted.”

Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute called it the “Back to the Dark Ages Manifesto.” It is so drastic and far-reaching that major environmental groups do not dare to touch it, much less sign on. (The smart Statists know not to reach too far too fast, instead taking gains incrementally and preparing for the next run up the Hill.)

Too much, too soon (as in a carbon tax) loses in a democracy where voters are energy users, and fossil-fuel scares in a distant future compete with here-and-now problems.

But the January 10, 2019, letter from 626 Left groups is a remarkable “coming out” moment for the fringe, anti-energy, anti-industrial, anti-freedom cabal.…

“Efforts to sell Republicans on the idea that [a CO2 price] is the most market-friendly approach to the emissions problem have failed miserably, and will continue to fail.”

– Justin Gillis, Forget the Carbon Tax for Now, New York Times, December 27, 2018.

Oh, how the free-market climate realists (science, economics, politics) feel vindicated. The mainstream press has (belatedly) announcing the Carbon Tax politically dead and a distraction for the whole climate debate.

The article by veteran New York Times writer Justin Gillis was one of (at least) three remarkable reality pieces inspired by the year-end UN climate conference (COP 24) in Katowice, Poland. The others were:

• Politico‘s Why Greens Are Turning Away from a Carbon Tax,”(December 9, 2018) and
• FT’s Trump Has Officially Ruined Climate Change Diplomacy for Everyone (December 12, 2018).

“The Trump folks seem to believe that anything that has Obama’s fingerprints on it, no matter how sensible, they’re going to rescind, revoke and demolish, and it makes no sense at all.”

“[The climate conundrum] is scary and I’m not sure we’re gonna be able to turn it around.”

– John Holdren, December 2017.

This is Part II of a transcribed interview with John Holdren, leader of the energy/climate Malthusian school, by Climate One. Yesterday’s post critically assessed Holdren’s views on federal energy research and development, the Paris withdrawal, and China’s energy policy. Today’s post looks at his views on most other issues in the “energy sustainability” debate.

Holdren quotations are below in red, followed by my rebuttal comments indented in black (subtitles added).

Technology Boom in Renewable Energies

“… there have been huge improvement in battery technology.…