Regulation

Supreme Court Overrules Previous Court Decision, Approves Permit For Atlantic Coast Pipeline

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By Varun Hukeri – Re-Blogged From WUWT

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a proposed natural gas pipeline which would be built under the Appalachian Trail, would be reinstated.

In a 7 to 2 decision, the justices tossed out a decision from a lower court and ruled that the U.S. Forest Service can grant rights-of-way for developers in land within national forests, the Associated Press reported. Energy companies and the Trump administration supported reinstating the permit, while environmental groups opposed it.

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The European Green Deal is a Bad Deal

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By Marcus Holtkoetter – Re-Blogged From AGWeb

The European Commission has a plan to eliminate modern farming in Europe.

The details emerged last month, as part of a “European Green Deal” announced late last year that calls for the continent to become “climate neutral” by 2050.

The commission speaks of “turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities.” It also talks about “making the transition just and inclusive for all.”

It should have added three words: “except for farmers.”

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Distributed Denial of HCQ to COVID-19 Victims

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– Re-Blogged From WUWT

Summary

On March 19, at a White House briefing, President Trump “touted” chloroquine (hydroxychloroquine is chloroquine metabolite) for possible use against COVID-19. The very next day, a media operation was launched to deny this treatment to the public. Several fake news outlets published articles, saying things like this (NYT, March 20):

Trump’s Embrace of Unproven Drugs to Treat Coronavirus Defies Science

Doctors and patients also worry that the president’s rosy outlook for the treatments will exacerbate shortages of old malaria drugs relied on by patients with lupus and other debilitating conditions.

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DOJ and state attorneys general likely to bring antitrust lawsuits against Google

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By Main Street Patriot

The Justice Department and some state attorneys general are reportedly likely to file antitrust lawsuits against Google focused on how it has used its search dominance in the online advertising business.

The Justice Department will likely bring a case as soon as this summer, and some state attorneys general will likely file a case in the fall, according to the Wall Street Journal. The states will be led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican. DOJ Attorney General William Barr has been leading the Google probe and has considered it a top priority.

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European Lawmakers to Consider Tougher Climate Law

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By Kate Abnett – Re-Blogged From Reuters
European Union lawmakers are considering toughening the bloc’s planned climate law, with stricter near-term emission goals and a binding commitment for every member state to decarbonize by 2050, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

Such goals are required if the world is to stick within limits scientists say are needed to avoid devastating fallout from global warming, the lead author of the document, Swedish lawmaker Jytte Guteland, said.

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Seattle Parks without Parking, Washington Beaches without Beachcombers

usissuescom Regulation , , , , ,

Reposted from The Cliff Mass Weather Blog

If you want to drive to a major Seattle park, you will not be able to park there.

And if you are looking forward to a walk on a Washington State ocean beach, forget it.  The beaches are off limits.

And at many parks you will be hectored and bullied in way that is contradictory to the values of a free society.

Why?

Because some public officials believe, with virtually no evidence or basis in science, that these restrictions on outdoor areas are promoting public safety.   These politicians and bureaucrats may mean well, but, in reality, they are harming many of those they wish to assist.  They are also working against the most progressive values of our community, taking actions that are inconsistent with the essential principles of our democracy.

There is minimal risk of coronavirus spread outdoors.  That is science.

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Get Ready for Some SERIOUS Sticker Shock as Inflation Heats Up

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By Mike Gleason – Re-Blogged From Money Metals

Gold and silver markets are inching closer to achieving major upside breakouts.

On Thursday, gold rallied above a near-term consolidation pattern to close at $1,747 an ounce. That put the monetary metal about $30 away from making new highs for the year. As of this Friday recording, gold prices are marching higher again and come in at $1,761, up 2.5% for the week.

Turning to silver, the white metal gained nearly 3% yesterday to touch a major resistance line just above the $16 per ounce level and the momentum is carrying over into today. A strong weekly close above yesterday’s high could trigger a wave of technical buying that propels prices much higher in the days ahead – and it looks as though such a close is in fact going to happen.

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Fireside Chat

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Ep. 134 — Which Will Do More Harm: The Virus or the Lockdown?

By Dennis Prager

The LA Times reports that extreme poverty may be the pandemic’s heaviest toll. But it isn’t the virus causing this suffering—it’s the lockdown. Dennis also addresses the latest new media lie about him—these leftists are determined to discredit Dennis, but they are just too easily proven wrong every time they try.

Please watch the VIDEO

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The Next Giant Industry in Need of a Bailout

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By Simon Black – Re-Blogged From The Sovereign Man

Well this is starting to become a trend.

Over the past few weeks, state governments across the Land of the Free have been feverishly proposing new legislation that will virtually guarantee the entire insurance industry is wiped out.

The root of the issue has to do with something called business interruption insurance.

Business interruption is a pretty common type of insurance that’s designed to protect business owners against a number of risks.

Civil Rights Leaders Rail Against Enviro Activists, Say Natural Gas Benefits Black Communities

usissuescom Energy Policy, Regulation , , , , ,

Chris White – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Civil rights leaders are criticizing a common talking point among environmentalist activists who say hydraulic fracking disproportionately hurts black people and other minority communities.

Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and National Urban League president Marc Morial said they oppose an abrupt move away from fracking, according to an Axios report Monday. They said the technique for producing natural gas helps black people who struggle with high energy prices.

Morial was particularly rough on activists who said their anti-fracking position is tie in with social justice matters.

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Germany’s Coronavirus Response Shows Bureaucrats Like Fauci Are the Problem

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– Re-Blogged From Liberty Headlines

‘Unburdened by a restrictive central regulatory body … private companies moved quickly to mass produce those tests, meaning they could be rolled out rapidly to the population…’

Dr. Fauci Pushes Back on Democrats' Accusations Against Trump: 'He Has Always Listened to What I've Said'

Anthony Fauci / IMAGE: Face the Nation via Youtube

The great hero to emerge from the coronavirus crisis appears to be Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes for Health’s disease expert who has stood by the side of President Donald Trump and occasionally butted heads with him.

The Left, in particular, has made Fauci a focal point of its coronavirus rhetoric—claiming, when it is convenient to do so, that Trump should step aside and allow ‘experts’ to handle the situation, while generously heaping any blame on the president for a perceived lack of progress.

Trump, going against all instincts, has largely followed the advice of Fauci in areas such as the White House social-distancing guidelines, recently extended through April.

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COVID-19 Tests: The Non-Fake News

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By Dvorah Richman – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Our system may not be the fastest, but it’s giving us trustworthy answers

Federal officials recently testified before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform about government responses to the COVID-19 crisis. Committee members exhibited concern and frustration, and engaged in politicized finger-pointing, over what they said was needlessly slow development and distribution of diagnostic tests – particularly as compared to some other countries.

Some praised South Korea for testing more people in one day than the U.S. did in the past two months. Italy and the U.K. also got positive mention. One wonders whether these Oversight Committee members have any real appreciation for the system that they and their predecessors created.

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Fleeing California

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Re-Blogged From Prager University

Why are millions of people leaving California and moving to other states? What do those states have that California doesn’t? PragerU’s first mini documentary explores the root causes of this mass exodus from the Golden State. “Fleeing California,” featuring PragerU’s own Will Witt, sheds light on one of the most significant but underreported stories of our time.

Please view the VIDEO.

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Deceptive Rhetoric at Davos Could Bring Disaster

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By Paul Driessen – Re-Blogged From WUWT

There is nothing ‘cohesive’ or ‘sustainable’ about ‘solutions’ demanded by WEF ‘stakeholders’

The World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland is billed as the globe’s most prestigious annual gathering of movers and shakers. Its mission is to “improve the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.”

This year’s theme was “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.” Unfortunately, the lofty rhetoric belies the misleading, potentially disastrous realities of agendas supported by many participants.

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California Energy Policies are Fueling the Housing Crisis and Homelessness

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By Ronald Stein – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Founder and Ambassador for Energy & Infrastructure of PTS Advance, headquartered in Irvine, California

California’s green crusade direction and actions are increasing the costs of electricity and fuels which guarantees growth of the homeless, poverty, and welfare populations, and further fuels (no pun intended) the housing affordability crisis.

It’s scary that our leaders can’t “see” that the regressive energy policies have serious consequences for working families. Their misguided directives are intertwined with every aspect of daily life and is causing the continuous growth of poverty and homelessness from the Oregon state line on the north all the way to the Mexican border on the south.

California professes to be the leader of everything, but spouting voracious pride of being the only state in America that imports most of its crude oil energy from foreign countries, and the State that and imports more electricity than any other state, may not be in the best interest of California’s 5th largest economy in the world. Its fine to import when you get bargain rates, but both oil and electricity, are two commodities that are ultra-expensive to import and drives up the cost of everything.

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Trump Is Completely Remaking A Law Enviros Often Use To Stymie Oil Pipeline Construction

usissuescom Energy Policy, Regulation , , ,

Re-Blogged From The Daily Caller

Daily Caller News Foundation logo

Chris White Tech Reporter

President Donald Trump announced Thursday his plans to dramatically change an environmental law activist groups and their attorneys often use to wrap oil projects in years of bureaucratic red tape.

Trump plans to exempt privately funded projects from undergoing environmental reviews, a significant change that would make building mines and pipelines much easier, The Washington Post reported. Energy producers are cheering the move.

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Agencies Seized Retiree’s Life Savings Because He Carried It in Cash

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By Joshua Paladino – Re-Blogged FromHeadline Wealth

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Transportation Security Administration stole more than $82,000 in cash from a 79-year-old retiree through civil-asset forfeiture.

Terry Rolins, with legal assistance from the Institute for Justice, filed a class action lawsuit Wednesday with the hope of reclaiming his retirement money and preventing federal agencies from further abusing their authority, IJ reported.

The lawsuit claims that the TSA overstepped its legal authority, since money does not threaten the safety of air travel, and that the TSA and DEA violated the Constitution by stealing money without probable cause.

“Flying with any amount of cash is completely legal, but once again we see government agents treating American citizens like criminals,” said IJ Senior Attorney Dan Alban..

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Central Planning Vs. Economics

usissuescom Monetary Policy, Regulation , , , , ,
By Keith Weiner – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

We have spilled barrels of electronic ink, making the point that central banks are wreaking havoc. They hurt the poor, the middle class, and the rich. They hurt the wage earners, the business owners, the investors (aka the “rentiers”), and the pensioners. They have variously inflicted rising interest rates, too-high rates, falling rates, and too-low rates. They have imposed perverse incentives to destroy capital and consume wealth.

Those discussions focused on the specific injuries, their causes and effects. An analogy is studying the damage done to the body if it is cut by a sharp blade, bludgeoned by a blunt instrument, burned by a hot flame, or poisoned by a toxic chemical. One can study these things in excruciating detail, without considering one thing.

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Democrats Seek To Outlaw Suburban, Single-Family House Zoning, Calling It Racist And Bad For The Environment

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Luke Rosiak of The Daily Caller – Re-Blogged From WUWT

  • Virginia House Del. Ibraheem Samirah introduced a bill that would override local zoning officials to permit multi-family housing in every neighborhood, changing the character of quiet suburbs.
  • Oregon passed a similar bill, following moves by cities such as Minneapolis; Austin, Texas; and Seattle.
  • Proponents say urban lifestyles are better for the environment and that suburbs are bastions of racial segregation.

Democrats in Virginia may override local zoning to bring high-density housing, including public housing, to every neighborhood statewide — whether residents want it or not.

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Vegan Dictatorship

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By Duggan Flanakin, – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Do we really have to tolerate local, state, national or UN officials telling us what we may eat?

The average American ate some 220 pounds of red meat and poultry in 2018, according to the US Department of Agriculture, surpassing a record set in 2004. But some politicians have joined anti-meat and climate change activists in a massive effort to restructure the American diet – and to ensure … and mandate … that the rest of the world will be stuck with a mostly plant-based diet.

Last March, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio shocked America’s meat producers by announcing the expansion of “meatless Mondays” to all New York City public schools. The reason? “To keep our lunch and planet green for generations to come.” So now they claim eating meat also threatens the planet.

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Governor Newsom Doubling Down to Dismantle the California Economy

usissuescom Energy Policy , , ,

clip_image001   By Ronald Stein – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Founder and Ambassador for Energy & Infrastructure of PTS Advance, headquartered in Irvine, California

Published December 16, 2019 at California Political Review http://www.capoliticalreview.com/capoliticalnewsandviews/stein-governor-newsom-doubling-down-to-dismantle-the-california-economy/

With California’s energy costs for electricity and fuels among the highest in the country, Governor Newsom just doubled down to increase inflation with actions to further reduce oil production and putting more electrical loads on a state that cannot generate enough electricity to meet its own needs. The Governor’s recent actions will further “fuel” (no pun intended) the growth of the homeless and those on poverty.

With its green dreams of an emission free state, California has not even been able to generate enough of its own electricity in-state and imported 29% of its needs in 2018. The good news is that other state had the extra power. The bad news is that imported electricity comes at higher costs and those costs are being borne by residents and businesses alike. California households are already paying 50% more, and industrial users are paying more than double the national average for electricity.

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Activist Junk Science Breeds Bad Policy

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Banning neonic pesticides in wildlife refuges would hurt birds, bees, other wildlife and people

Guest post by Paul Driessen, – Re-Blogged From WUWT

The House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources recently approved HR 2854, the 2019 Protect Our Refuges Act, prohibiting the use of neonicotinoid insecticides in any of the nation’s 560 National Wildlife Refuges, some of which are the size of Delaware and even Indiana. The legislation will now be considered by the full House, while a companion bill (S 1856) makes its way through the Senate.

The legislation is unnecessary, misguided and based on embarrassingly bad science. Rather than protecting our refuges, it would force farmers to use other insecticides that truly are harmful to bees, birds and other wildlife (and even humans), or end programs to grow crops that nourish refuge inhabitants and visitors. Sadly, the forces driving it forward are par for the course on far too many ecological issues.

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No Plan B for Planet A

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By Paul Driessen – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Replacing fossil fuels with “renewable” energy would devastate the only planet we’ve got

Environmentalists and Green New Deal proponents like to say we must take care of the Earth, because “There is no Planet B.” Above all, they insist, we must eliminate fossil fuels, which they say are causing climate change worse than the all-natural ice ages, Medieval Warm Period or anything else in history.

Their Plan A is simple: No fossil fuels. Keep them in the ground. More than a few Democrat presidential aspirants have said they would begin implementing that diktat their very first day in the White House.

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How Big Government Hurts Women

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By Carrie Lukas

Government-mandated employee perks might sound like a good way to help out working women, but, in reality, these programs do more harm than good. European women are already paying the price, and American women might be next. Carrie Lukas, President of Independent Women’s Forum, explains how keeping the government out of the workplace goes a long way toward keeping women in it.

Please watch the VIDEO.

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German Parliament Approves Climate Protection Plan

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Re-Blogged From DW

Germany’s parliament voted on Friday to formally accept most of a climate protection packet. The legislation aims to cut Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions to 55% of the 1990 levels by 2030.

Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz portrayed at Fridays for Future protest (Reuters/M. Tantussi)

German lawmakers voted to enshrine climate protection in law on Friday.

The new legislation will target sectors like energy, transport and housing. It aims to cut Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions to 55% of the 1990 levels by 2030. Parts of the so-called “climate packet” still need approval.

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Furious Farmers Defy Army Roadblocks in Dutch Anti-Green Protest

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By Eric Worrall – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Farmers in the Netherlands have reacted with fury to government demands they cull their herds to help Holland meet their nitrogen emission targets.

Incredible Pictures: Thousands of Tractors Shut Down Highways in Farmer’s Anti-Green Madness Protest

Thousands of farmers shut down highways in a go-slow protest converging on the Dutch capital Monday, as they protested being victimised by a government trying to meet European Union emissions laws by cracking down on agriculture.

Dutch Anti-Climate Farmer Protest. Image source Breitbart

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UK Govt Committee: End All Private Vehicle Ownership Because Climate Change

usissuescom CAGW Alarmism, Regulation , , , , , ,

By Eric Worrall – Re-Blogged From WUWT

h/t JoNova; Even EVs like Tesla are not safe from this new demand from the green British Conservative Government.

Ditch cars to meet climate change targets, say MPs
By Roger Harrabin

People will have to get out of their cars if the UK is to meet its climate change targets, MPs say.

The Science and Technology Select Committee says technology alone cannot solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions from transport.

It says the government cannot achieve sufficient emissions cuts by swapping existing vehicles for cleaner versions.

The government said it would consider the committee’s findings.

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Major Climate Change Review of British Food Production

usissuescom CAGW Alarmism, Foreign Policy, Regulation , , , , , ,

By Eric Worrall – Re-Blogged From WUWT

The UK government wants academics, industry and the public to provide evidence to a major inquiry into British food, whose mandate appears to have a strong emphasis on considering the climate impacts of current means of food production.

Press release
Public to have their say on the food system of the future

British shoppers will be able to buy environmentally friendly, healthy and affordable food under plans for a radical shake-up of the UK’s food industry.

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A Plan To Win The Millennials’ War On Carbon

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By Timothy Nerenz, Ph.D. – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Earlier this year, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced the Green New Deal (GND), a public policy initiative whose central goal is de-carbonize the U.S economy in 12 years. She described GND as her millennial generation’s “World War II” and dismissed the question of how to pay for it with the response, “you just pay for it”. With all due respect to the Congresswoman, you don’t “just pay for it”, you pay someone to do it.

Just what is the “it” and who is the “someone” of the Green New Deal? In a recently published peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Human Resources and Sustainability Studies, I examined the scope of industrial mobilization that would be required to realize GND sustainability goals and proposed a conceptual blueprint and strategy to achieve them in the shortest feasible timeframe. Those who care to read it in its entirety can to so here: Thinking Inside The Box

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Offshore Wind Tripped Up

usissuescom Energy Policy, Regulation , ,

By David Middleton – Re-Blogged From WUWT

From the too fracking funny files…

ENERGY TRANSITIONS
Trump admin throws wrench into offshore wind plans
Benjamin Storrow, E&E News reporter Climatewire: Monday, August 12, 2019

The Trump administration is ordering a sweeping environmental review of the burgeoning offshore wind industry, a move that threatens to derail the nation’s first major project and raises a host of questions for future developments.

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Enforce Rules Against False and Misleading Organic Claims

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FDA must no longer let organic food growers, manufacturers and sellers get away with lies

By Paul Driessen – Re-Blogged From WUWT

A couple years ago, the US Food and Drug Administration sent a “Warning Letter” to Nashoba Brook Bakery, advising its owners that listing “love” as an ingredient in their granola violated the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The product was “misbranded,” because “love” is “not a common or usual name of an ingredient,” FDA said. Such deceptive labeling practices could mislead consumers and are not allowed.

FDA has also warned and cited companies that make “unfounded,” “unproven” or “unsubstantiated” claims about their products. FDA is committed to “protecting the public health by taking action as needed against companies that deceive consumers.” It will not let companies say cannabidiol “has been linked to the effective treatment of Alzheimer’s disease,” if they don’t have solid evidence to back the claim up.

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Modern Transportation – A Miracle under Attack By Climate Zealots

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By Steve Goreham – Re-Blogged From WUWT

Modern transportation is amazing. Each day, millions of people fly, drive, or are transported across our world for business, pleasure, or to see distant family members. These trips, which are powered by petroleum-based fuels, were all but impossible a century ago. But today, many of our leaders call for elimination of hydrocarbon-fueled transportation.

Between 1840 and 1860, more than 250,000 people traveled by wagon train from Independence, Missouri to the west coast on the Oregon Trail. Horses and oxen carried the settlers on this 2,000-mile, six-month journey. Disease, attacks by Native Americans, and run-overs by wagons claimed the lives of more than 15,000 travelers. Today, a family can make this same journey in a few days in the safety of their air-conditioned vehicle.

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Past, Present and Future Progress Requires Mining

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By John M. Clema – RE-Blogged From WUWT

Metal and mineral needs are constant, constantly evolving, requiring new mines

Civilization’s progress has always been heavily dependent on farming and mining. The Stone Age didn’t end because mankind ran out of stones.

Instead, the discovery, mining and processing of metals like copper, bronze and iron, followed by the development of steel, led to progressively sharper, more effective tools, improved construction techniques, and other engineering and technological achievements. Nonmetallic minerals have also been and remain vital to civilization and progress.

Minerals – or their scarcity – have precipitated wars, but more often have led to certain countries becoming dominant in manufacturing vital products such as computer chips.

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Weekly Climate and Energy News Roundup #370

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The Week That Was: August 3, 2019, Brought to You by www.SEPP.org

By Ken Haapala, President, Science and Environmental Policy Project

Quote of the Week: “Do you know what we call opinion in the absence of evidence? We call it prejudice.”— Michael Crichton [H/t William Readdy]

Number of the Week: 1998 and 2016

Confusing Planet: Our planet is a complex place, no doubt confusing global warming headline seekers. About 71%of the surface is water (ocean), 29% is land. Water warms and cools far more slowly than land. Complicating matters further, the dominant greenhouse gas is water vapor, slowing the nighttime cooling of water and land masses even further, where it is present.

Making matters even more complex is that about 81% of the Southern hemisphere is water and 19% is land. For the Northern Hemisphere, about 61% is water and 39% is land. Land area varies by latitude. About 68% of the land is in the Northern Hemisphere, only 32% in the Southern Hemisphere. By latitude, the highest percentage of land area is between 30 degrees North and 60 degrees North. [The distribution of land areas has changed significantly over the past 750 million years, making any paleo-earth studies of the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide on temperatures difficult. One cannot assume the ocean currents were the same as today.]

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What the Green New Deal Really is About

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By Allan M.R. MacRae – Re-Blogged From WUWT

On July 4, 2019, I published the article “THE COST TO SOCIETY OF RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISM”.
There was a reason why this article was published on July 4. My article begins:

Ever wonder why extremists attack honest scientists who oppose global warming and climate change hysteria? Ever wonder why climate extremists refuse to debate the science?

IT IS BECAUSE GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE ALARMISM WAS NEVER ABOUT THE SCIENCE – IT WAS ALWAYS A FALSE NARRATIVE, A SMOKESCREEN FOR THE TOTALITARIAN OBJECTIVES OF THE EXTREME LEFT.

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US City With Highest Min Wage Signals a ‘Tipping Point,’ Businesses Uncertain on How They’ll ‘Survive It’

usissuescom GDP & Employment, Regulation , , ,

The continued hike in the minimum wage in one California city — which has the highest in the U.S. — has local business owners worried.

The city of Emeryville, California, garnered the title of being the highest minimum wage city in the United States when the city saw a minimum wage hike in July from $15 to $16.30, according to The Wall Street Journal. Due to the city’s high cost of living in the Bay Area region, supporters of the wage hike saw it necessary.

Thomas White/Reuters

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ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE NEWS

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[This is one good article from the Heartland’s Journal. It’s worth your time tolook at the whole Journal. -Bob ]

By Duggan Flanakin – Re-Blogged From Heartland Institute
The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) has identified the steps it is taking to improve transparency and public input for legal settlements it is considering.A memo from Daniel Jorjani, principal deputy solicitor at DOI, explains what the department is doing to insti-tute then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zin-ke’s 2018 directive to stop entering into secret “sue-and-settle” agreements.Regulatory ShortcutEnvironmental lobbyists often sue vari-ous agencies, including DOI, to force them to implement policies they favor without going through the normally required regulatory process.Under previous presidential admin-istrations, federal agencies have often agreed to legally binding settlement agreements or consent decrees, creat-ing priorities and rules and establish-ing timelines for action outside of the normal rulemaking process.

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That Old Gas Stove Is Not Your Friend

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By Jean Tepprman – Re-Blogged From East Bay Express

As the United States has begun transitioning away from the use of coal and petroleum as a source of electricity and fuel, natural gas has been viewed as a relatively benign fossil fuel. After all, natural gas produces less carbon dioxide when burned than those other fossil fuels. It remains the energy source in about half of California’s buildings.

But scientists have increasingly warned that methane, the main component of natural gas, is itself a key heat-trapping gas — 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the first twenty years after release, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. In addition to the carbon dioxide created by its burning, the inevitable leaks as natural gas is extracted and shipped, make gas a serious climate threat in its own right.

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Energy Department Is Preparing To Nix Dishwasher Reg

usissuescom Regulation , ,

By Chris White Tech Reporter – Re-Blogged From The Daily Caller

The Department of Energy announced Tuesday a rule-making process that could ding an Obama-era environmental regulation slowing down dishwashers.

DOE decided to grant a petition to the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) to allow a dishwasher product class with a cycle time for the normal cycle of less than one hour. Former President Barack Obama enacted a rule in 2016 making the average dishwasher cycle more than two hours — Americans enjoyed a cycle time of one hour decades ago.

The Obama-era rule was part of the DOE’s plan at the time to impose 23 different energy efficiency regulations for household appliances by 2018. Obama issued more energy standards for household appliances than any previous administration, all in the name of fighting global warming.

President Barack Obama reacts with a gesture on stage as he listens to a speech by Hillary Clinton at the Charlotte Convention Center. Shutterstock

President Barack Obama reacts with a gesture on stage as he listens to a speech by Hillary Clinton at the Charlotte Convention Center. Shutterstock

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A Declaration of Mineral Independence Against Eco Tyranny

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By Paul Driessen & Ann Bridges – Re-Blogged From WUWT

It’s an essential first step in making the USA less dangerously dependent on foreign minerals.

Many of the colonists’ grievances against King George III resonate today, as tyrannical environmentalists continue to block domestic development of minerals that are critical for our businesses, security and living standards. To protect our freedoms, we have updated that revered 1776 statement, to highlight and upend the status quo.

A Declaration of Mineral Independence

of and for the People of the United States of America

from tyrannical environmentalist organizations,

with a goal of full mineral independence by the 250th Anniversary

of America’s first Declaration of Independence, July 4, 2026

WE still hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men and Women are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator and protected by our Constitution with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness, which require access to the minerals that make modern societies, defense and other technologies, health and living standards possible.

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Despite Renewables Mandate More Than 80% of California Energy Needs Met Using Fossil Fuels

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By Larry Hamlin – Re-Blogged From WUWT

California Governor Brown signed Executive Order B-55-18 last year further modifying the states reduced carbon energy targets by mandating a year 2045 goal where the state’s energy use must achieve zero emission capability and be carbon neutral.

This order represents a significant escalation from California’s initial climate program in 2006 where AB 32 was passed with that law requiring the state to achieve year 1990 emission levels by year 2020. AB 32 was implemented through mandating use of increased renewable energy, implementing a state carbon tax and providing numerous subsidies promoting renewable projects.

Since its inception the state’s carbon tax has been budgeted to provide nearly $17 billion in proceeds from California energy users.

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Will 5G Undermine Weather Prediction?

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By Cliff Mass – Re-Blogged From WUWT

There have been a number of media stories this week about a major threat to weather prediction:  the sale of electromagnetic spectrum for new 5G cellphone service.   The problem is that some of the wavelengths being auctioned off for 5G are critical for an important class of weather satellites, with 5G signals potentially undermining our ability to forecast the weather.

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California’s Government Solely Responsible for States Forest Management and Wildfire Debacle

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By Larry Hamlin – Re-Blogged From WUWT

The inept government, political and regulatory policies of California have clearly driven the present forest management calamitous conditions with that failure leading to disastrous wildfires throughout the state.

Those government and political leaders that are responsible for this situation that has been decades in the making have tried to conceal their incompetence by making scientifically unsupported propaganda claims that “climate change” caused this situation. These government driven problems are clearly identified in two recent reports – one by Cal Fire and the other by the California Legislative Analysts Office. Continue reading →

Executive Orders To Fast-Track Oil And Gas Pipelines

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Michael Bastasch From The Daily Caller – Re-Blogged From WUWT

  • President Donald Trump signed two executive orders to speed up oil and gas pipeline projects.
  • Trump seeks to curtail the ability of states, like New York and Washington, to kill vital energy projects.
  • New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo blocked gas pipeline projects, triggering an energy crunch in the northeast.

President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders aimed at speeding up oil and gas pipeline permitting, including limiting the ability of activists and states to block key energy projects.

Trump signed the orders Wednesday at an International Union of Operating Engineers’ training center near Houston. Some labor unions have pushed back against Democrats’ anti-fossil fuel agenda, including the recently introduced Green New Deal.

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Preferred Pronouns or Prison

usissuescom Regulation , , , ,
ByAbigail Shrier – Re-Blogged From Prager University
“He.” “She.” “They.” Have you ever given a moment’s thought to your everyday use of these pronouns? It has probably never occurred to you that those words could be misused. Or that doing so could cost you your business or your job—or even your freedom. Journalist Abigail Shrier explains how this happened and why it’s become a major free speech issue.
Please watch the Video.

Weekly Climate and Energy News Roundup #355

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The Week That Was: April 6, 2019, Brought to You by www.SEPP.org

By Ken Haapala, President, Science and Environmental Policy Project

Quote of the Week: “It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)

Number of the Week: Risen by 44.6429% or by 0.0125%?

Surface v. Atmosphere: Why the Difference? On his blog, Roy Spencer performs a statistical analysis to answer questions regarding the poor relationship (correlation) between atmospheric temperature trends and surface temperature trends in Australia. The Australian Government’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) posts a trend from 1910 to 2018, showing a significant temperature rise. The trend has been strongly questioned by Australian scientists, especially Jennifer Marohasy. Many of Marohasy’s comments have been carried by Jo Nova, on her blog.

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New Colorado Law Might Stop Oil & Gas Drilling

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By Michael Bastasch – Re-Blogged From WUWT

State’s Economy — Oil And Gas Drilling

From The Daily Caller

Legislation is headed to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’s desk that would completely overhaul state permitting of oil and gas wells that’s got Republicans and the industry worried.

The bill, which passed out of the state Senate on Wednesday in a party-line vote, changes the make-up and mission of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the state’s drilling regulatory body.

Once signed into law, officials will begin crafting a slew of new rules and regulations that critics fear could end up being a de facto ban on drilling in much of the state. Polis, a Democrat, is expected to sign the bill this week.

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New Inflation Indicator

usissuescom Monetary Policy, Regulation , , , , , , ,
By Keith Weiner – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

Last week, we wrote that regulations, taxes, environmental compliance, and fear of lawsuits forces companies to put useless ingredients into their products. We said:

“For example, milk comes from the ingredients of: land, cows, ranch labor, dairy labor, dairy capital equipment, distribution labor, distribution capital, and consumable containers.”

There are eight necessary ingredients, without which milk cannot be produced.

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