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To Eat or Heat? That’s the EU’s Question
– May 16, 2013
For a growing number of Europeans, their continent’s global warming policies have forced them to decide whether to heat their homes or buy food. In short they must choose whether to “Heat or Eat,” which was the title of a talk by a British climate policy expert delivered in Calgary Tuesday.
B.C. Vote Shifted on One Word: Pipelines
– May 15, 2013
The NDP looked way ahead before voters went to the polls in British Columbia. Then it all changed. Why? One word: “Pipelines.” Or more precisely, two: “Kinder Morgan.”
In Defense of Carbon Dioxide
– May 9, 2013
Of all of the world's chemical compounds, none has a worse reputation than carbon dioxide. Thanks to the single-minded demonization of this natural and essential atmospheric gas by advocates of government control of energy production, the conventional wisdom about carbon dioxide is that it is a dangerous pollutant. That's simply not the case. Contrary to what some would have us believe, increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will benefit the increasing population on the planet by increasing agricultural productivity.
Recycling Is Garbage
– April 21, 2013
Believing that there was no more room in landfills, Americans concluded that recycling was their only option. Their intentions were good and their conclusions seemed plausible. Recycling does sometimes makes sense -- for some materials in some places at some times. But the simplest and cheapest option is usually to bury garbage in an environmentally safe landfill. And since there's no shortage of landfill space (the crisis of 1987 was a false alarm), there's no reason to make recycling a legal or moral imperative. Mandatory recycling programs aren't good for posterity.
Carbon Tax...Are Republicans Really That Stupid?
– April 17, 2013
As much as I admire former Secretary of State George Shultz, and because I do, I was totally flummoxed by a recent Wall Street Journal article he co-authored with economist Nobel laureate Gary Becker. Incredulously, the two senior fellows at Stanford University’s conservative Hoover Institution expressed support for a “revenue neutral” tax on carbon.
Climate Changing For Global Warming Journalists
– April 15, 2013
The overwhelming consensus on global warming among journalists may be cracking. Last week, the world’s most prestigious newsmagazine – The Economist – backed away from its past alarmist position, saying that “If climate scientists were credit-rating agencies, climate sensitivity would be on negative watch.” The Economist now discounts the high-end estimates of warming coming from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as being unlikely if not far-fetched.
Smart Messaging Needed to Avoid Pipeline Lobbying Failure
– April 10, 2013
History is replete with tragic examples of those who collaborated with the enemy or sought to appease political correctness and wishful thinking for their own short term benefit. Nowhere is this more evident than in today’s climate change debate. Politicians from across the political spectrum, fossil fuel companies and academics who should know better, not only bow to the climate scare, but actively support it. They even use the unscientific, misnomer-riddled language of their opponents.
Climatologists are no Einsteins, says his Successor
– April 10, 2013
Freeman Dyson is a physicist who has been teaching at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton since Albert Einstein was there. When Einstein died in 1955, there was an opening for the title of "most brilliant physicist on the planet." Dyson has filled it.
America's New Energy Boom Is Bust for Foreign Suppliers
– April 10, 2013
For the better part of a year, Canadian officials and executives watched from afar as a shale-oil boom exploded south of the border. But it wasn't until last fall that the full impact of the U.S. energy boom hit the provincial government here in the heart of Canada's oil patch. Around October, prices for Canadian bitumen—a heavy crude from the country's vast oil sands developments—tanked, walloping the economy of America's largest supplier of foreign oil, its biggest trading partner and one of its closest allies.
The Coming Global Warming Voter Backlash
– April 8, 2013
News is breaking out all over: global warming stopped 20 years ago. A political earthquake has resulted from a feature story in the Economist magazine because the Economist used to be a consistent cheerleader for global warming activism. Doubts about global warming used to be censored by its London editors, one reporter confided to Stephen Hayward.
A Tale of Two Oil Spills
– April 3, 2013
What's the difference between an oil spill from a pipeline and an oil spill from a train? Answer: A lesson in political opportunism. The media have played up Friday's discovery of an oil leak in an old Exxon XOM -0.38%Mobil pipeline near Mayflower, Arkansas. It isn't clear how much oil escaped from the 850-mile Pegasus pipeline, but Exxon says it responded with teams and equipment able to handle as much as 10,000 barrels and that by early Saturday it had stopped the flow and begun cleanup.
After Smoke Clears, Taxpayer-Funded Boondoggle Revealed
– April 1, 2013
It was a different world in 2007 when then-B.C. premier Gordon Campbell announced that his would be the first carbon-neutral government in North America. The B.C. premier was a leader among Canadian politicians in introducing measures designed to curb carbon emissions. But like many of Mr. Campbell’s ventures, his attention and focus on the issue eventually waned and climate policy took a back seat to other matters.
Earth Hour Is a Colossal Waste of Time—and Energy
– March 19, 2013
On the evening of March 23, 1.3 billion people will go without light at 8:30—and at 9:30, and at 10:30, and for the rest of the night—just like every other night of the year. With no access to electricity, darkness after sunset is a constant reality for these people.
Cheaper Energy is More Important Than Going Green
– February 22, 2013
But instead of unrelenting increases, instead of a collapse in our capacity to generate energy and instead of fears that we will soon be in hock to Russian gas oligarchs, imagine a different story. Imagine the price of gas falling by two-thirds in less than a decade. Imagine electricity prices crashing by more than a quarter in less than a year. It sounds like a fantasy. Too good to be true.
Are Polar Bears Really Disappearing?
– February 12, 2013
I knew I was in trouble when the biologist from the Manitoba Conservation Department sat down next to me. "The bears look good," he said. "I haven't seen them this fat in years." We'd both been hanging around the tiny town of Churchill, Manitoba, ground zero for everything having to do with polar bears. Every fall the town is overrun with bears waiting for Hudson Bay to freeze. The bears, in turn, are trailed by herds of tourists, tour guides, scientists, green-leaning types and B-list celebrities—all looking for communion with The Most Important Animal of Our Time.
McGuinty's Legacy is a Green Nightmare
– February 5, 2013
On the morning of Jan. 5, workers with a fleet of heavy equipment mounted a stealth assault on a bald eagle’s nest near the shore of Lake Erie. Their mission was to remove the nest – one of only a few dozen bald eagle nests in Southern Ontario – to make way for an access road to the site of a new industrial wind turbine. Wind power is supposed to be environmentally friendly. But a lot of environmentalists don’t think so.
Climate Crimes
– January 28, 2013
In his evocative film “Climate Crimes”, the Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Eichelmann who was an active member of WWF for 17 years and worked in conservation for decades, now documents that it is rather the reverse: he shows how many ecosystems, species, habitats and the cultural heritage too are threatened – but, as he sums up, “not by climate change, but by climate protection and the things done in its name.”
Fiddling on the roof: Can $10 million in prize money spark a solar revolution?
– January 22, 2013
Want to know the real reason that rooftop solar panels haven’t spread across the United States yet? Slap a few panels on your roof some night and wait for the local code enforcer to notice them. Then count the citations as they roll in.
Book Review - Eco-Fascists: How Radical Conservationists are Destroying our Natural Heritage
– January 22, 2013
In today’s society, few issues rile up people as much as the environment. You know the drill: Everyone has to go green, make an ecological impact, control your carbon footprint, keep the planet sustainable, manufacture biodegradable products, tackle climate change and so on. The environmental movement’s never-ending supply of manufactured talking points are enough to make your head explode.
An Activist Recants on GM Foods
– January 16, 2013
Environmental journalist Mark Lynas used to think that genetically modified crops were evil. But now, Mr. Lynas has recanted. He admits he was unequivocally, disastrously wrong about GM foods, and he’s offering his apology. |




