Free Republic

The Vermont Senate voted 21-5 on Friday to advance the Climate Superfund Act, which would force fossil fuel companies to pay into a fund covering weather event-related damages. If passed into law, Senate Bill 259 would create a "Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program" to finance "climate change adaptive or resilience infrastructure projects" in Vermont. "Under the Program, an entity or a successor in interest to an entity that was engaged in the trade or business of extracting fossil fuel or refining crude oil between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2019 would be assessed a cost recovery demand for the...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration released its highly anticipated proposal for doling out billions of dollars in tax credits to hydrogen producers Friday, in a massive effort to build out an industry that some hope can be a cleaner alternative to fossil-fueled power. The US credit is the most generous in the world for hydrogen production, Jesse Jenkins, a professor at Princeton University who has analyzed the US climate law, said last week. The proposal — which is part of Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act passed last year — outlines a tiered system to determine which hydrogen producers get the most...

Sometime in the past year, this tiny planet we live on in an obscure corner of our Milky Way galaxy went through some sort of tipping point, a “state change” of sorts, and now things are different from how they’ve been at any other time in the 300,000 year history of the human race. Nobody knows for sure what that change or tipping point is. - snip - But regardless of the why/how, something has definitely happened in the past year or so that has pushed our atmosphere’s state of equilibrium out of an older, stable range and into a...

Today, you can buy tires that can carry your vehicle tens of thousands of miles. Modern tires are the results of decades of tire engineering progress. The tire compound is a versatile material that comes with a range of properties depending on the raw materials used to manufacture it. These materials allow tire manufacturers to come up with detailed tire designs that stand the test of time and driving pressure. But what are tires made of? How to make tires that are actually durable in the long run? There are some important physical and chemical properties at play that make...

Ann Carlson's 'attacks on American energy reek of hypocrisy' in light of fossil fuel investment, said Sen. Ted Cruz ... Biden's pick for a top Department of Transportation (DOT) post quietly disclosed a significant stake in an oil and gas development firm despite her past climate activism. Ann Carlson — an environmental law expert whom Biden nominated in February to lead the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owns a financial stake ... Carlson, who was first appointed in early 2021 to oversee climate standards for cars and trucks at NHTSA as the agency's chief counsel, has for years...

Scottish Power admitted 71 of its windmills were hooked up to the fossil fuel supply after a fault developed with their power supply. Dozens of giant turbines on Scotland’s windfarms have been powered by diesel generators, the Sunday Mail can reveal. Scottish Power admitted 71 of its windmills were hooked up to the fossil fuel supply after a fault developed on the grid. The firm said it was forced to act in order to keep the turbines warm during very cold weather in December. But a whistleblower has told the Sunday Mail the incident is among a number of environmental...

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest asset manager, Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), said on Thursday it would back a number of climate-focused shareholder resolutions at the annual meetings of leading U.S. and Canadian banks. LGIM, insurer Legal & General's fund arm, which manages more than $1.5 trillion, said it was going public ahead of the banks' meetings as part of an escalation strategy after backing several climate votes last year. "We continue to consider that decarbonisation of the banking sector and its clients is key to ensuring that the goals of the Paris Agreement are met," LGIM said in...

The Biden administration was forced to offer up 2,600 square miles of federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico this week, following a deal made by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) in exchange for his support of the left’s climate legislation last summer. Major oil companies have offered bids on more than 2,600 square miles (6,700 square kilometers) of federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in a sale mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Wednesday’s auction was the first in over a year and was expected to draw interest from...

The 27 European Union member states gave final approval on Tuesday (Mar 28) to a ban on sales of new fossil fuel cars by 2035, after Germany dropped a last-minute blocking effort. The vote was a formality after ambassadors on Monday backed the milestone agreement. The majority of the bloc's energy ministers rubber-stamped the ban on Tuesday during a meeting in Brussels, with only Poland against. Bulgaria, Italy and Romania abstained.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is moving full-steam-ahead with her predecessor Andrew Cuomo’s insane anti-carbon energy plan, yet the Legislature wants to make it worse. In their one-house budget bills this week, lawmakers took Hochul’s plan to cap greenhouse-gas output and require companies to buy “allowances” (indulgences?) for emissions and added new requirements of their own. That’d make it even harder for companies to meet standards, stay under the caps and/or pay for those allowances — more poison for the state’s business climate. The added costs will also bring higher prices for consumers: added, New York-only “inflation.” And where Hochul would allow...

PJM Interconnection sounds the latest alarm that fossil-fuel plants are shutting down without adequate replacement power. The political class yawns. ... The warnings keep coming that the force-fed energy transition to renewable fuels is destabilizing the U.S. electric grid, but is anyone in government paying attention? ... The PJM report forecasts power supply and demand through 2030 across the 13 eastern states in its territory covering 65 million people. ... Fossil-fuel power plants are retiring much faster than renewable sources are getting developed, which could lead to energy “imbalances.” That’s a delicate way of saying that you can expect shortages...

The nation's largest grid operator is warning it may face a major coming shortfall in electric generating capacity as utilities retire more and more traditional fossil fuel power plants. It's a challenge facing grid operators across the country as power generators mothball coal and natural gas-fired plants for various reasons, such as reducing high maintenance and regulatory compliance costs or cutting greenhouse gas emissions. ... PJM Interconnection, which manages grid operations across 13 states and the District of Columbia, published new analysis Friday showing retirements outpacing new additions in the coming years that could leave its service area short of...

Joe Biden’s presidency has foundered as gasoline prices have soared, with readings in numerous polls showing record or near-record low favorability. Biden’s climate change policies, which many blame for the sudden surge in fuel costs, are now highly unpopular among average Americans, a new I&I/TIPP Poll shows. For our online July I&I/TIPP Poll, taken from July 6-9, we asked 1,643 adults across America to consider the following statement: “President Biden has said that record-high gasoline and electricity prices are necessary for meeting his goal of eliminating fossil fuels in the U.S. to fight climate change.” Respondents were then asked to...

In the UK, it now costs more than £100 to fill up a typical family car with petrol, and oil prices could rise even further. But are such high prices for fossil fuels a bad thing? While attention is focused on measures to tackle the global cost of living crisis, there has been much less focus on a very uncomfortable truth – that solving the climate crisis requires fossil fuel prices for consumers to stay high forever. Saying such a thing may seem tone deaf. Millions of households in rich countries are facing a choice between heating and eating. In...

The White House said on Thursday it is still working to end reliance on fossil fuels despite high gas prices crimping paychecks and fueling inflation to a 41-year high. President Joe Biden has a stated goal of cutting economywide emissions 50%-52% by 2030 by reducing the use of fossil fuels and promoting green energy sources such as wind and solar. He also wants to see half of all new vehicles sold running solely on electricity by that date. In the meantime, a gallon of gas has tipped over $5 on average for the first time in U.S. history while Biden...

What’s Made from a Barrel of Oil? A barrel of crude oil (42 gallons) produces just under 45 gallons of refined products, from transportation fuels to essential materials for everyday products.

Morgan Harper [D] and Josh Mandel [R], two U.S. Senate candidates in Ohio, faced each other in a debate Thursday moderated by Cassie Young, managing director at Matter News, a nonprofit news organization, and Daniel Wolvin, state director at Awake America Ohio, a religious organization focused on politics. The debate, which was held at North Columbus Baptist Church, started energetically as the candidates discussed hot topics involving the environment, the natural rights of American citizens and racial equity, among other topics. When the candidates received a question about the growing fossil fuel industry, Mandel expressed his support for that movement....

Remember the good ol’ days of the Affordable Care Act? Remember when Nancy Pelosi said we had to pass the bill to learn what was in it? Yeah, that was great, wasn’t it? Good times. Well, hold on to your seatbelts, sports fans. Biden’s infrastructure bill promises to be an even bigger piñata filled with objects usually found in your cat’s litterbox. According to an op-ed by former Georgia Representative Bob Barr, the package contains a well-hidden item: kill switches in cars. Ostensibly, the device, whatever it is, will passively monitor the driver for indications of impaired operation and turn...

Hundreds of protesters led by Indigenous activists from across the country demonstrated in front of the White House on Monday to demand that Joe Biden stop approving fossil fuel projects and declare the climate crisis a national emergency. The rally marks the start of five days of demonstrations calling for greater attention to climate injustices as Native American leaders and tribal members head to the capital to publicize their demands. The demonstrations are part of People v Fossil Fuels protests, organized by a coalition of groups known as Build Back Fossil Free, who are urging the Biden administration take further...

By now, many among us are familiar with the words Green New Deal, net zero, Paris agreement, carbon neutral, etc. All are names for energy policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the very politicians who preach the climate gospel — and espouse anti-fossil fuel policies — have embraced fossil fuels with gusto. Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden called for an increase in oil production from OPEC countries to rein in gas price increases in America, thus contradicting his calls for a reduction in fossil fuel consumption. Will there be an end to politicians’ fossil fuel hypocrisy? Biden:...