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Global Warming on 15-Year Hold
April 2, 2012 | 12 comments
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Suddenly This Summer
March 31, 2012 | 8 comments
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FakeGate: Just Another Day at Team Green
February 22, 2012 | 7 comments
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“Climate” and the Campaign
January 12, 2012 | 8 comments
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Germany’s Green Bubble Follows Spain’s; Will Congress Waste More Billions on Ours?
December 15, 2011 | 3 comments
The Spectacle Blog
Whatever happened to the greatest threat and all that?
Here we see a Reuters article revealing that, in a desperate scramble to avoid further losing popularity, falling prey to and further stoking fear German Chancellor Angela Merkel is shutting down seven of Germany’s seventeen nuclear reactors, which overall provide about one-third of the country’s electricity. The price for CO2 emission ration coupons has soared. That’s ok. Consumers pay it.
It seems there were some anti-nuclear protests in conservative strongholds so she’s shutting down reactors just reviewed and declared safe as part of the (now somewhat less operative) decision to extend the county’s use of nukes because, well, otherwise that leaves them with coal. Shuddder.
This not only goes back at least in part on a hard won and thoroughly considered position, but appears to be unconstitutional. Worse, Merkel added to alarmism to deflect claims that she was acting political. Perish the thought. Better whip up some more fear.
Which sort of pandering to a lobby by advancing their scare campaign, come to think of it, is what got Germany in this position to begin with. If they hadn’t sworn off their abundant coal, this wouldn’t be an issue.
And so, as I note here, please do not feel secure leaving the choice of energy source to politicians. They’ve loused it up, spectacularly, all along. And now are steering societies all around the earth to energy poverty. Instead of just letting people use what works economically. Coal, gas, and (for transport, even if some still use it for electricity) oil.
View all comments (17) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Chris Horner
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/03/17/german-energy-catastophe-next
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Kenny| 3.17.11 @ 4:50PM
All the more strange give that Angela Merkel is a physist and should know better.
Pelligrino| 3.18.11 @ 1:47AM
A good point, Kenny. But...Angie is also the daugher of a Protestant pastor and utterly atheist (certainly in behavior if not overt word).
Her problem with science might just be where she learned it, in the DDR (communist East Germany). That educational background and her degrees might be as bogus as all the other lies that came from that evil state entity.
She's better than most politicians Germany squeezes out like sausage, but she's a far cry from what Deutschland, Europe, and the world need.
Filesoof | 3.17.11 @ 5:43PM
Chris, i'm sure you did not intentionally forgot to mention that the energy resources that you describe as 'economically working' (coal, gas and oil), besides having devastating effects on our environment, are not all that economical sound as you state. They are hugely subsidized, just as sustainable energy sources. If American citizens were to pay the actual cost of oil, for example, they would be maxing out even more credit cards...
Not to mention that when something goes wrong with a nuclear plant, that it's not the company that's reaping the profits of the plant who's paying the bills that have to be paid to clean the mess up. Or for that matter, your medical bills if you happen to live nearby.
Brubaker| 3.17.11 @ 6:26PM
filesoof: You're apparently opposed to coal, gas, oil and nuclear. Since hydroelectric is already pretty well maxed out in this country, that would leave only the childish fantasy of windmills and solar panels. Or, perhaps you'd prefer to return to candlelight and real horse power.
Curtis Rasmussen| 3.17.11 @ 7:42PM
The energy policies of the last 100 years have allowed the U.S. to become a wealthy country. I doubt the veracity of your blanket statements.
Now, there are subsidies for solar and wind, creating markets that would collapse if left to their own devices. In the long run they will collapse anyway as these expensive alternate energy sources price our commodities out of world market competitiveness.
I can't wait until 2012 when we vote out the socialist clown Obama who is pushing hard for this alternate energy crap.
Pelligrino| 3.18.11 @ 1:51AM
I am with you Mr. Rasmussen, but who in the field of candidates for 2012 is vehemently and tirelessly pushing against the follies of no ANWAR drilling, no Gulf drilling, no Atlantic coast drilling, no new coal, no refineries?
Where is this strong voice? Who is this voice?
I only briefly heard good things from Gov. B. Jindal of Lousiana during the BP Gulf of Mexico spill.
Otherwise I hear a few sound bits and....deathly silence.
This IS our national security issue.
Filesoof | 3.18.11 @ 8:55AM
You do know that there are several reports to be found that subsidy on fossil fuels are even higher than those on renewable? See for example http://boingboing.net/2010/07/.....-fos.html. The full report on http://www.elistore.org/Data/products/d19_07.pdf shows that even direct spending by the US government is almost as high as the total subsidy on renewables!
And if Obama is a 'socialist clown', what does that make of Ronald Reagan, who introduced the LIHEAP, which attributes a lot to the direct spending of the US government on fossil fuels? Sounds pretty 'social' to me....!
Anyway, my point is that i'm in favor of a level playing field. It's just as if oil and gas come at no expense, financial and environmental, and that renewables can't survive without subsidies. if you level the playing field, people would have a choice, since prices on both sides would show a different curve then they do now.
And remember, oil, coal and gas are actually running out. Make take us another 100 years, but with China and India on the rise, the Arab world on fire, Western world should start investing in alternatives. That's where the problem is, most people think about themselves, but not about their children, let alone their grandchildren.
Curtis Rasmussen| 3.18.11 @ 12:12PM
Let the free market work. The people will decide what energy to buy with their pocketbooks. If the energy markets were truly free, wind and solar would lose out because conventional power plants would have to be running on idle just in case clouds obscure the sun or the wind stops blowing. Two plants running, a conventional one and a new green one, costs more than running the conventional plant alone.
Don't pull this 'think of the kids' baloney. The country would be existing in abject poverty if leftist propagandists like you have their way. There is money to be made when the existing supplies dwindle, and the market will find it's own solution to the future problems without bankrupting us today with your leftist claptrap.
Obama is a socialist clown. Look at the hardcore leftists that he surrounds himself with. Kathleen Sebelius, Carol Browner (socialist international), Former green czar commie rat bastard Van Jones, John Holdren, Cass Sunstein, Donald Berwick,, and the list goes on. You can judge a man by the company he keeps.
Curtis Rasmussen| 3.18.11 @ 12:50PM
I forgot to mention the Obama drilling moratorium which is making a plentiful resource scarce. He is trying to artificially create a market where alternate energy makes sense by forcing up the price of traditional sources thru scarcity.
This fantasy scheme will never work because the rest of the world does not bow to King Obama. We will be left in the dust as the rest of the world consumes existing traditional supplies, making cheaper goods fueled by less expensive oil.
Just as Pelligrino points out, we need someone with the balls to do what's right in the oval office. Right now we're stuck with his court jester.
Filesoof | 3.18.11 @ 3:50PM
I'm totally for the free market. If there was such a thing. But there isn't. This is why not. The problem with the free market is that when they foul up, it's the public that gets to pay the bill. The financial crisis, caused by banks, got paid by the government, so by you and me. If i had been sitting in our 'oval office', i would've let'm fall down. But our govnm put 20 billion euro in them. Same deal with the BP spill. Sure, BP is paying the bills, But guess what, those are costs they don't have to pay taxes over, so the US govnm is loosing billion of dollars on the income side. So the deficit goes up even more.
And by the way, i'm not a 'leftist'. I'm just in favor of a level playing field. Our dutch govnmt wants to allow new nuclear plants. Fine with me, just as long as the market takes care of the financing. But guess what, the govnm has a big budget post just in case something goes dead wrong. Japan ring a bell? The costs of the tragedy in Japan are not paid for by the plant owner, but by Japanese people. Same for US, europe, everywhere. And that sucks, just reaping the profits, but getting out of the way when the shit hits the fan!
By the way, read this interesting report on coal? see http://reut.rs/hpOfvK.
Conservative View| 3.17.11 @ 7:55PM
A couple of small points here. First, do the math. When you actually do the math you will discover that if you pumped 500 million tons of CO2 into the air it would add about 0.043 percent of CO2 to the atmosphere. In short, go outside, spit, come back in and you will have had more impact on the climate than the CO2.
Second point. Our quility of life in the "Western World" is entirely energy dependent. Turn off the power and we might as well move into single wide trailers or old cardboard boxes.
Third point; not one single shread of data about AGW comes from experimental data. To date there has been no repeatable experiment that has proven CO2 does a single thing to the climate.
All this does is confirm my belief that politicans the world round are selfserving morons.
Korean Vet| 3.18.11 @ 1:57AM
It's obvious we 'must' teach Truth to 6 yr-olds to ward off 'Lies' told by "Rich Politicians"-! #1--Carbon-Dioxide is a heavier gas that normally doesn't "Float Upwards"-! #2--At altitudes above 25,000 ft.--temperatures are under 40 degrees-!
#3--Cars are strangely Absent--at this altitude & Cold Region-! There are no Coal-Fired Power Plants, nor Factories in this High Region-! There isn't any animals that abide above 25,000 feet-!
#4--18,000 commercial Jet-Liners visit this cold thin Atmosphere--Each Day-! The Jet-Liners' Jet-Engines do carry Co2 Gases into this upper-
Atmosphere-! Most of the Co2 Gases here, were transported by Aircraft, not by cars, nor by Factories or Power-Plants-! Our deposits of Co2
Gas have become a "majority" in this 'Thin-Atmosphere' Region-! #5--Hot Co2 Gas heated by
Jets normally "Goes Up & Gets Stuck" above the
"Cold-Air" Layers-! #6--Can Liars & their books on the ground--change any of the Above Facts-!?
You must realize that a Jet-Liner uses more fuel during just it's "Take-Off" than 500 Cars-! The size of one Jet-Engine Exhaust compared to a car's
tail-pipe--is clearly seen by a 4 yr-old, you don't need a PhD to realize the difference-! Nothing on the ground--changes the Fact that the majority of these "Green-House" Gases were carried into the
"upper-atmosphere" by Jet-Liners-! Those gases that are already "Deposited" up there--will most
likely remain there, unless Climate Conditions say
otherwise-! So now, the 'Critical Question' can be
asked--"Is there anything we can do about it-!?" That's a Loaded Question-! Because no one wants to do IT-! And, the answer is simple-!! "Ground
1/2 of the commercial Jet-Liners & reduce the number of Air-Ports-! Believe me-I don't like this
Solution--Either-! But the idiots on the ground--insist "We have to do something--to help raise
"Our TAXES-! So they've used every EXCUSE to
do so-! The 18,000 commercial Jets are the #1 cause of Co2 Pollution in the Upper-Atmosphere!
I found a web-site, where the British Air Minister
disclosed their "Scientific-Study for 2008--which named this Jet-Travel as the "Top 12% & #1 cause
of all Co2 Pollutions in the Atmosphere-!"
Example-! (12% X 5 yrs = 60%)-a 'solid majority' of those Co2 Gases-! (Shock-!) That's not what Al
Gore says! "An Ounce of Brains is worth a 'Ton of
Bull-Chips"! Obama won't understand this either--
He was brain-washed by Al Gore-! Do cars in CA & FL affect TX & NY, or their upper-atmosphere?
It's the same answer for factories or Power-Plants
in Michigan, OH, or VA--none of their industries are based above 25,000 ft. above sea-level! They
don't affect TN, AZ, or WY-! Yet, Obama wants to
"Cap & Trade"--put 'Fines' on Elec. & Gas Co's & buy 'Credits' by his standards, that gets "Rid of Nothing" & gives him "Lots of Taxes" that passes down to the average consumer--paid by the "Tax-Payers", who make less than $90,000 per year-!
You Tax-Payers get your "Hidden-Taxes" raised
by having your Electric & Gas Bills "Doubled"-!!
(Isn't this the "Fair-Trade" that Obama's talking About-!?) In a recent news-forum, Southwest Air-Lines stated their Jets made over 1.5 million
"Climbing Ascents" to "Cruising-Altitude"--during
one year's time-! (This is like having 3 continuous
"Freight-Trains" dumping "Box-Car" Loads of Co2
"Green-House" Gas into the Atmosphere-!) Oh, Oceans & Volcanoes were #2 & #3 for emissions of Co2 Gas--but you can't stop either one of those
either-!--why are you so anxious to place Taxes on "Casper--the Friendly Ghost"-! You need him
as a reflex-action to make your lungs breathe in
a "normal-sequence"--for inhaling Air-! He's definitely not a poison-! All plants & Trees need him too-! But believe it or not--England is selling
two of its' Airports--to reduce the economic effect
of a "World Cap & Trade Agreement--in Europe-!"
(Check it out--It's the Truth-!)
andrea lareau| 3.18.11 @ 2:12AM
Germany like a very sensitive and smartness place, it is the really so talented and good views whenever done project of any other base.
http://skinnyfiberfacts.com
Tim the Enchanter| 3.18.11 @ 11:15AM
Excuse me- was this comment in English? I mean, I recognize the words, but the way they are arranged is just gibberish. What were you trying to say? (Must be public school educated)
nevermore| 3.22.11 @ 3:26PM
Don't be ridiculous. Germany currently exports more energy than these old reactors produce. After shutting them down, there's still two terawatts left for export. We don't need those old reactors, there's not reason expecting for CO2 emissions to soar.
Jane| 6.8.11 @ 1:15AM
Market is suggesting that Germany should go back to fossil fuels which is really outrageous, its possible that the CO2 emissions will further effect the environment and Germany will definitely increase the already soaring gas prices. http://tinyurl.com/68kwovl