Climate Denial Propaganda; Tesla EV Catches Fire;
Fukushima Leaks Radioactive Water, and more…
GlobalWarmingisReal
contributor Anders Hellum-Alexander wraps-up and comments on the climate and
environmental news headlines for the past week:
With
the IPCC publishing it latest findings on climate change the denial campaign
has been stepped up. American and British
organizations are partnering to create confusion over science that is very
clear. The denial propagandists have spent a lot of time creating
strategies that only a sharp and studied person can
see through. Think about this, how many climate change skeptics
are scientists from a relevant field of study doing current research? Very few
if any. The denial side is filled with pundits, otherwise known as regular
people paid money to provide non-expert (but touted as expert) opinions.
A Tesla electric car caught fire when a metal object pierced the 3-inch protective case to the battery. It is important to remember that cars are inherently unsafe (if less so than decades ago with improvements in safety features and design , especially the ones driving around with gallons of highly flammable gasoline. Tesla is responding to the incident.
The
decline of coal continues! Two plants in
Pennsylvania are closing because they are no longer profitable.
This is the power of economics, you don’t need to argue with anyone because if
something doesn't make money then it stops. So, good-bye coal, and hello cheaper renewable energy.
The
government shutdown, while ultimately ridiculous, is impacting
renewable energy. Larger projects with
permitting timelines and completion deadlines for government incentives are at
risk of not meeting their development targets.
Renewable
energy has become cheaper, but natural gas is still the cheapest energy source
in 2013. Natural gas extraction and use is skyrocketing, but what happens when the price
spikes and we are stuck on yet another dirty and expensive energy
source.
There
is a single word that sums up the argument against nuclear power: Fukushima.
If an energy source carries an unacceptable risk to the environment and human
health then it should not be used. The joke goes, an oil spill is a disaster, a
solar spill is called a nice day.
Methane
gas is a byproduct of materials breaking down; our landfills produce a lot of
methane and now it is being
sold as car fuel in California.
Recapturing our waste to use it again is a very good idea.
Roads
are pollution corridors and lots of people
live right next to big roads. Ever see a home
on the side of the freeway with black smudge on the outside walls, well that is
the same stuff that people are breathing.
