Author Archive

Advocates of the Climate “Consensus” Ignore It When It Becomes an Inconvenient Truth

A web site called “Information is Beautiful” has an infographic it claims demonstrates the damage being done by carbon dioxide emissions and climate change. The graphic, however, shows how disingenuous the environmental left can be when it comes to climate science. Rather than using the “consensus” science, the graphic goes out of its way to [...]

Washington State Finds the High Cost of the Precautionary Principle

One of the favored approaches used by the environmental community to put their thumb on the scales is the appeal to the “precautionary principle” which argues that in the absence of clear science, regulators should err on the side of “precaution” by banning whatever environmentalists fear, from chemical compounds to environmental practices. The problem, of [...]

Green Schools That Aren’t Very Green

A report in the USA Today found that “green” schools in other states don’t actually perform as promised. The report, “Green Schools: Long on promise, short on delivery,” gave this example from the Houston Independent School District: The nation’s seventh-largest school district added features such as automated light sensors and a heat-reflecting roof, in hopes [...]

Seattle’s Dolphin Safe, “Green” Certified Forests

With any luck, Seattle’s urban forests will soon be certified dolphin safe. That may seem strange, but it would be just about as meaningful as the city recently receiving a forest certification it promises it will never use. With predictable fanfare, the City of Seattle has announced its urban forests have received certification from the [...]

Wind Power: Eco-Fad or Economic Fad?

Campaigning in Iowa, the President today defended wind energy subsidies, saying “These jobs aren’t a fad.” He was campaigning for the renewal of subsidies for wind energy and solar, known as the Production Tax Credit (PTC), claiming it creates jobs and clean energy. The Energy Information Administration notes that wind receives a subsidy of about [...]

Are Plastic Grocery Bag Bans Good for the Environment?

One of the new environmental trends sweeping local governments is the push to ban plastic grocery bags. The argument is that such bans protect wildlife by preventing the bags from getting into the water. This is just one of a range of claims about plastic bags and the environment, many of which are false or [...]

How is Creating Green Jobs is Like Banning Tractors to Create Farm Jobs?

Recently the “Political Economy Research Institute” at the University of Massachusetts released a graphic purporting to show “green” technologies create more jobs than traditional energy sources. The graphic, to the right, has been distributed widely by advocates of creating “green jobs.” This is a common assertion from the environmental left. As I note in my [...]

Westin Makes the Free-Market Green Choice

If you have stayed at a hotel recently, you have seen a card in the bathroom exhorting you to help the planet by reusing your towels, thus reducing the amount of water, energy and detergent used by the hotel. Such appeals are typically based on guilt – you reuse the towels and the hotel receives [...]

U.S. Congress Offers Environmentalism for Dummies

In case you are visiting the Congressional gift shop, you might want to pick up the “Green Living” wheel which offers tips on how to live a more environmentally friendly life. Emblazoned with “U.S. House of Representatives” at the bottom, the cardboard wheel can be turned to reveal bits of environmental wisdom in a cutout [...]

Solar Energy That Is Even Less Efficient Than Solar Energy

With so much focus on the inefficiency of solar panels, few are aware of an even more costly solar technology called “thermal solar.” Like solar panels, the Obama Administration has offered billions in loan guarantees for thermal solar projects across the country. Also like solar panels, the thermal solar projects are starting to fall apart [...]