Free Republic

Weather pundits on TV and even The Old Farmers Almanac are telling us key factors like Solar Cycle 25, El Nino, and a polar vortex moving south from the North Pole will combine to give most of the U.S. a colder and a much more snowy winter. Are we ready? Is the Biden administration ensuring our gas and coal-fired power plants are winterized and have enough fuel? Of course not. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a not-for-profit regulatory authority whose stated mission is "to assure the effective and efficient reduction of risks to the reliability and security of...

The TurkStream pipeline, which brings natural gas from Russia to Türkiye across the Black Sea and then into southeastern Europe, was controversial in certain quarters of the West ever since it was conceived. Now the flow of natural gas to Europe from Russia via Türkiye is reaching all-time highs. TurkStream has a capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year, roughly half of which stays in Türkiye, and the rest continues on to the Balkans and Central Europe. Serbia and Hungary are the primary European consumers. According to S&P Global, supplies via TurkStream into Southeast Europe rose...

Natural gas remains the main source of heating in American homes despite the current administration’s electrification push. . Heating homes this winter using natural gas is estimated to cut down energy costs by more than 40 percent compared to electricity, according to a recent report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Households using electricity to heat homes are projected to pay $1,063 on average between November and March, according to a Nov. 7 winter fuels outlook report by the EIA. In comparison, households using natural gas are only expected to shell out $601. Region-wise, the biggest difference is in...

What is the US aircraft carrier doing in Israel? It will start to carry out serious massacres there by striking, destroying Gaza"...The comments of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan... A plane carrying ammunition from the United States arrived in Israel tonight... Tonight rocket fire aimed at Israel from Syria... Meanwhile the Russian military in Syria says that there were only three US coalition air space violations in Syria's Al-Tanf today... The United States determining that the new military government in Niger since July is the result of a military coup. This means a permanent cutoff of 200 million dollars... Tensions...

Forecourt fuel prices will increase from midnight tonight — adding €1.28 and €1.48 to the cost of a 60-liter fill of petrol and auto diesel respectively. There will be a €7.50 increase on the current rate of carbon tax that is applied per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions by carbon fuels. This will bring the carbon tax rate up to €56.00 per tonne. The increase in carbon tax will subsequently be applied to all other carbon fuels, including solid fuels and home heating oil, but not until 1 May 2024. It will add 90 cents to the cost of a...

Germany's cabinet on Wednesday approved putting on-reserve lignite-fired power plants back online from October until the end of March 2024, the economy ministry said, as a step to replace scarce natural gas this winter and avoid shortages. In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a sudden drop in Russian gas imports to Germany, Berlin reactivated coal-fired power plants and extended their lifespans, with a total output of 1.9 gigawatt hours generated last winter. Despite gas bottlenecks easing since last winter with new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal deliveries, coal-fired power plans will be reactivated

Solar should be competing for sales in the marketplace, not for subsidies in Washington,' ... The Biden administration quietly issued a 59-page report outlining the current scope of federal energy-related subsidies revealed that the renewable energy sector enjoys significantly larger taxpayer backing than the fossil fuel industry. The report — authored by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) and published in August — represents the first of its kind since 2018. The EIA analyzed data from 2016 through 2022, and determined that, during that time period, the federal government doled out $183.3 billion in direct and mainly indirect...

Faint interest in film glorifying activists bent on violence, destructionJames Cameron caught little heat for a shocking admission. He hearts eco-terrorism. It’s one thing for the “Avatar” director to be so green he makes his cast and crew eat vegan. That seems quaint compared to a quote that got ignored by most press outlets. Now, we have an entire film dedicated to eco-activists willing to employ violence to suit their needs. And it’s clear where the story’s empathy lies. “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” deserves some sort of Truth in Advertising award. The story follows a gang of eco-thugs...

First son Hunter Biden’s former business partner Devon Archer told lawmakers this week that Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings brought the political scion onto its board so that “people would be intimidated to mess with them … legally.” ... Archer also revealed that then-Vice President Joe Biden met twice with his son’s shady post-Soviet business partners at DC’s Café Milano, not once as previously reported. These and other revelations blow new holes in Biden’s claim that he never discussed business with his now-53-year-old son — as House Republicans move closer to launching an impeachment inquiry. The transcript also confirms...

WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday began a new effort to crack down on methane emissions, a major contributor to climate change. The first-ever White House Methane Summit came at a time of severe heat across much of the U.S., including in Pittsburgh, where temperatures are expected to approach or exceed 90 degrees until the weekend. President Joe Biden established a new methane task force to work with state and local officials to detect leaks and reduce emissions. The White House said billions of dollars of natural gas are lost to leaks every year. In Pennsylvania, methane accounts for...

The Biden administration is cracking down on water heaters by imposing greater efficiency standards. Consumers will have to shovel out thousands of dollars more to install a heat pump water heater rather than a conventional storage water heater in order to fall in line with new standards released on Friday by the Department of Energy. If the proposal is adopted, by 2029, all new electric water heaters must deploy heat pump technology and all gas-fired ones will use condensing technology.

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court in Virginia this week delivered a message to Congress, the White House and developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline: not so fast. Pennsylvania-based Equitrans Midstream’s roughly 300-mile pipeline, envisioned to bring shale gas from the Marcellus and Utica in Appalachia to markets in the Southeast, was fast-tracked as part of the Biden administration’s deal with Congress to suspend the debt limit in June. It’s also supported by Pennsylvania congressmen, including U.S. Reps. John Joyce, R-Blair, and Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, who joined U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., to introduce the legislation in May that helped...

'European democracy is under attack': Roberta Metsola addresses EU Parliament corruption scandal By Euronews • Updated: 13/12/2022 - 11:31 Roberta Metsola address the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg, France. Roberta Metsola address the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg, France. - Copyright Philippe BUISSIN/ European Union 2022 - Source : EP Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, warned on Monday that there would be "no impunity" for those found guilty of corruption as she addressed what is perhaps the gravest graft scandal to hit the hemicycle in recent years. "Make no mistake, the European Parliament, dear colleague, is under...

A natural gas explosion destroyed a west suburban home on Saturday afternoon, police said. The explosion happened in the 4500 block of Ivanhoe Avenue in Lisle. No one was inside the home at the time, and no injuries have been reported, the DuPage County Sheriff's Office said. Police said the DuPage County Arson Task Force is investigating the explosion, and there is no evidence of foul play.

Just under the radar in recent months, there have been warnings. Warnings from power companies, warnings from electric car manufacturers, warnings from local governments, and even warnings from the federal government itself. There will be rolling blackouts. They say it’s because of climate change – that the weather isn’t quite perfect enough for the solar panels and wind turbines they keep installing. Or they say it’s because we haven’t moved quickly enough, so we haven’t yet installed all the solar panels and wind turbines we should have by now. After all, there are still a few square feet of farmland...

On Friday, Democrat state Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard issued an executive order from her office banning any oil and gas leasing within one mile of any school. She wrote in the edict, “I, Stephanie Garcia Richard, Commissioner of Public Lands, do hereby order and direct that the state trust lands located within one mile of a school or other educational institution shall not be leased for new oil and gas purposes until further order, effective immediately.” It also read that “nothing herein shall restrict the State Land Office from authorizing the placement of infrastructure or permitted uses for the...

Russia was the world's largest gas exporter until February 24, when Moscow invaded Ukraine, shaking global energy markets and forcing Europe to end its dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Europe imposed sanctions on Russia, which Turkey has refused to apply. Since the war began, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to play a mediating role in the conflict, supplying weapons to Kyiv while maintaining close relations with President Vladimir Putin. In response, Putin proposed in October to make Turkey a hub for Russian gas deliveries as an alternative supply route to Europe — a plan backed by Erdogan. But...

WASHINGTON — House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer says an informant file that he’s seeking from the FBI links President Biden to a $5 million bribery scheme while he was vice president. Comer (R-Ky.) revealed the size of the alleged bribe for the first time Wednesday in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, threatening him with contempt proceedings if he doesn’t share the file pursuant to a May 3 subpoena. The informant tip is dated June 30, 2020, Comer wrote — an additional clue in the mysterious allegation that triggered a guessing game due to the Biden family’s extensive...

I've posted this commercial for purposes of commentary and criticism, because the 80's were so incredibly cheesy. I believe this falls under fair use, and do not claim to be the original rights holder

While announcing her Fiscal 2024 budget, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York will soon be the first state to ban natural gas hookups in new construction. The proposal, which has yet to be fully released, likely would not contain any “opt-outs” for local municipalities and would appear to be similar to a ban enacted by New York City in 2021.