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Paul Driessen

Paul Driessen is a senior fellow with the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow and Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, nonprofit public policy institutes that focus on energy, the environment, economic development and international affairs. Paul Driessen is author of Eco-Imperialism: Green power, Black death

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ESG's perverse, narrow, fraudulent ethical principles

ESG's perverse, narrow, fraudulent ethical principlesWarning: Your retirement fund may have been Shanghaied by BlackRock or other Wall Street asset managers who've unilaterally decided that the tens of trillions of dollars of other people's money they control should be used to advance political causes they favor – to "make the world a better place."   As most people know, ESG stands for Environmental protection, Social justice, and Governance of corporate and societal affairs. They're all noble-sounding causes. However, under ESG they're centered around progressive, woke agendas, with prevention of "manmade climate cataclysms" uppermost. Fund assets are used to drive "net zero" climate agendas and punish or de-fund fossil fuel companies.
- Tuesday, December 27, 2022

COP-27 financiers and merchants of death 

Africa resists policies that demand primitive farming and energy, and making muffins out of fliesAs Americans give thanks this week for our many blessings, let us recall the Pilgrims' and Native Americans' primitive agricultural knowledge and technologies, the hunger and disease that were constants in their lives--and how so many around the world are not much better off today. Much of Africa still lives on the edge, with well over 600 million people not even having electricity. Many parts of India, Asia and Latin America also face serious energy and food deprivation.
- Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Escaping from the COP-27 insane asylum

Escaping from the COP-27 insane asylum“Show us the money!” climate activists demand, and rich countries are expected to pony up. Do I hear $100 billion? Would you give $1 trillion? Now, then, would you give $2 trillion? The climate reparations bidding war is on. What began at $100-billion-a-year at COP-21 in Paris rapidly ballooned to $1.3-trillion on the eve of COP-27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh-Down, Egypt and now stands at $2.4-trillion annually! And we’re nowhere near “going once, going twice, sold.”
- Sunday, November 13, 2022

Let's talk about REAL climate cataclysms 

Let's talk about REAL climate cataclysmsThe climate crisis! Save our planet! Stop using fossil fuels! The ranting never ends. Present data showing that hurricane frequency and intensity are not increasing, but tornado activityhas declined significantly since 1975; offer clear evidence of past, recurrent, major climate changes, including a widespread Little Ice Age from 1300 to 1850, a 2400-year-old forest emerging from beneath a melting Alaskan glacier, a 5200-year-old mummified traveler frozen on a once-nearly-ice-free Italian Alps trail – and they respond, Shut up! The climate crisis! The science is settled! Stop using fossil fuels! Fine. But take a few minutes to ponder some  REAL climate disasters: the Pleistocene Ice Ages. And then ask Michael Mann, Al Gore, John Kerry and the rest of the climate cataclysm cabal to explain exactly how carbon dioxide and a few other greenhouse gases caused those massive ice sheets to grow and melt, multiple times.
- Friday, October 28, 2022

Hurricane hype, lies, censorship – and reality

Hurricane hype, lies, censorship – and realityHurricane Ian is in the history books, having unleashed its Category 4 fury on southwestern Florida. Even as the area slowly digs out and rebuilds, the devastation and tragedies will linger in reality and memories.   Ian was the latest of 123 hurricanes to hit the Sunshine State since official recordkeeping began in 1851. But not surprisingly, some wasted no time trying to link Ian to the most dominant issue of our time. Climate change is "rapidly fueling super hurricanes," a Washington Post headline proclaimed. "I grew up [in Florida] and these storms are intensifying," CNN's Don Lemon insisted. Rising temperatures in the atmosphere and ocean are making hurricanes "stronger, slower and wetter," reporter Morgan McFall-Johnsen asserted. They're becoming more frequent and intense, multiple commentators pronounced.
- Sunday, October 9, 2022

The coming green electricity nightmare

The coming green electricity nightmareSenator Joe Manchin (D-WV) wanted regulatory reform, in part to reverse some of the Biden Administration reversals of Trump era reforms intended to expedite permits for fossil fuel projects. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) needed Manchin's vote in the 50-50 Senate to enact his latest spending extravaganza, the Inflation Reduction Act, which was primarily a massive climate and "green" energy subsidy arrangement. It gives Schumer allies some $370 billion in wind, solar, battery and other funding, tax credits and subsidies. In exchange, Schumer would offer a path for Manchin's reform bill.
- Monday, October 3, 2022

Semi-fascism versus full-fascism

class="smallpix" height="168" width="336">President Biden claims millions of Republican voters have embraced “semi-fascism.” They “threaten not just our personal rights and economic security, but our very democracy, the very foundation of our republic,” in a “battle for the soul of our nation.” This is hardly the “moderate” way to “unite” America. But Mr. Biden isn’t alone. Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison says the Republican Party has “become a party of fascism and fear.” Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) rants that Republican “fascists” are trying “to overthrow the government.” Their media allies echo and amplify the accusations.
- Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Washington, DC's energy colonialism

Washington, DC's energy colonialismWashington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser thinks people worldwide have a "human right" to come to the United States, legally or illegally. Our nation's capital proudly proclaimed itself a "sanctuary city" in 2016. "We celebrate our diversity and respect all DC residents," the mayor said, "no matter their immigration status." But when Arizona and Texas were overwhelmed by a million-plus illegal migrants – and their governors sent a couple thousand of them to Washington – she was outraged. They have "overwhelmed" our public services, she complained. The sanctuary city faces "an emergency," a "humanitarian crisis." DC taxpayers "should not be picking up the tab" for housing and feeding these once-celebrated immigrants. We need National Guard troops to help cope, she pleaded – twice.
- Monday, September 12, 2022

Biden energy policies: incoherent, incompetent, intolerable

Biden energy policies: incoherent, incompetent, intolerableThe U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. EPA is truly a landmark ruling. It decisively rejected the Environmental Protection Agency's attempt to use vague, "previously little-used" language in the Clean Air Act to shutter America's remaining coal-fired power plants and force the nation to switch to pseudo-renewable energy, in the name of ending the "manmade climate crisis." But the decision goes much further. The Court made it clear that federal agencies may not impose "major federal actions," decide "major questions" or implement "transformative expansions" of their regulatory authority without specific statutory authority clearly conferred by Congress.
- Monday, September 5, 2022

Biden promises, policies and political problems

Biden promises, policies and political problemsPresidential candidate Joe Biden promised to reunite America following its "season of darkness" under President Trump, and "shut down the virus, not the economy." We've seen how that's working out. His promise that there'll be "no more drilling, no more pipelines, no more fossil fuels" has been far more successful. Within hours of taking office, President Biden ended Keystone XL pipeline construction and began imposing leasing and drilling moratoriums, slow-walking permits, pressuring banks not to fund oil companies, and taking other steps to turn his promises into policies.
- Monday, August 1, 2022

Banning modern agriculture and high crop yields?

Banning modern agriculture and high crop yields?In just seven decades, America’s conventional (non-organic) farmers increased per-acre corn yields by an incredible 500% – while using steadily less water, fuel, fertilizer and pesticides – feeding millions more people. Among the many reasons for this miracle is their ability to control weeds that would otherwise steal moisture and nutrients from this vital food, animal feed and fuel (ethanol) crop. Long-lasting herbicides don’t just control weeds. They also promote no-till farming, which helps farmers save costly tractor fuel and avoid breaking up soils – thereby reducing erosion, retaining soil moisture, safeguarding soil organisms, and locking carbon dioxide in the soil (reducing risks of “dangerous manmade climate change,” some say).
- Monday, July 25, 2022

Billionaire climate elites have their own rules

Progressives have long wanted to tax unrealized gains from billionaires' stocks, bonds, land holdings, homes, artwork, cars, yachts and other property. As appealing as this sounds, the scheme would be vastly complicated and unworkable. In the absence of sales, who would evaluate current values – and how? But the frustrations we "commoners" have with the ultra-rich are understandable – especially when they lecture us about eating less "climate-altering" beef, avoiding $5.00 gasoline by buying $60,000 electric vehicles, and bankrolling "experts" who say we should live in 650-square-foot apartments.
- Monday, July 11, 2022

Leftist intimidation – and assassination?

One year ago, ProPublica published illegally leaked IRS data on America’s wealthiest taxpayers. The “newsroom” said it obtained the information from “an anonymous source,” thanks to the ease with which people with access to information can secretly copy and transmit it with a few mouse clicks. ProPublica piously claimed its actions were meant to advance “tax fairness” and help Congress and the Biden administration pay for all the trillions of dollars lavished on Covid and Build Back Better, by making it harder for the über-rich “to avoid tax burdens borne by ordinary citizens.”
- Tuesday, June 21, 2022

REAL threats to biodiversity and humanity

REAL threats to biodiversity and humanityReferences to climate change almost guarantee funding, even for research topics of little interest beyond academia and eco-activists. Polls reveal that most people worry most about energy and food prices, crime, living standards, Putin's war on Ukraine, and increasing efforts to control their lives. A recent study by Rutgers University scientists sought to determine how much diversity is required among bee species to sustain wild plant populations. They concluded that ecosystems rely on many bee species to flourish – and "biodiversity is key to sustaining life on Earth," especially with many species "rapidly going extinct due to climate change and human development."
- Monday, May 2, 2022

Correct or cancel Mom's grocery bag misinformation

Correct or cancel Mom's grocery bag misinformationI don't deliberately avoid organic foods or markets, but I don't seek them out either. Claims that organic food tastes better or is more nutritious are not supported by evidence and certainly don't justify the far higher prices. Mostly, I'm put off by assertions that organic food is pesticide-free, safer and more planet-friendly. Those assertions are simply false advertising; deliberate misinformation. Mom's Organic Market shopping bags provide an excellent example. They're emblazoned with six "Bee Informed" messages that help customers Bee the Change, Give Bees a Chance, and Save the Bees from a looming Armageddon attributed to synthetic pesticides. The Bee Misinformed messages merit correction.
- Thursday, April 28, 2022

Don’t Look Up!

Don’t Look Up! In the Netflix movie, Washington politicians “Don’t Look Up” because they prefer to remain oblivious to a special effects meteor that’s about to obliterate Planet Earth. Not surprisingly, the film is really about our refusal to recognize the “existential threat” of “manmade climate change.” Director Adam McKay recently tweeted, “We’ve got 6-8 years before the climate is so chaotic we [will] live in a permanent state of biblical catastrophe.”
- Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Candy Bomber lessons for Ukraine--and daily life

Candy Bomber lessons for Ukraine--and daily lifeThe Covid pandemic severely disrupted schools, commerce, and public and private services of every description. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the West's focus on the "manmade climate crisis" continue to drive energy and food prices ever higher. Western energy, healthcare and national security policies are increasingly exposed as weak, confused and feckless. In Europe they are hugely exacerbated by the needs of millions of Ukrainian refugees trying to escape Vladimir Putin's brutality by fleeing to Europe, the UK, America, Turkey and Israel.
- Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Saving America from planet-threatening fossil fuels

Saving America from planet-threatening fossil fuelsPresidential candidate Joe Biden repeatedly promised to end fossil fuels in America. There’ll be "no more drilling, including offshore," he said. "No ability for the oil industry to drill. No more pipelines."  Shortly after reaching the White House, President Biden ended Keystone XL pipeline construction and began working with congressional Democrats, regulators and eco-activists to impose leasing and drilling moratoriums, slow-walk permits, pressure financial institutions to deny funding to fossil fuel companies, and implement "social cost of carbon" rules, "environmental justice" programs, "windfall profit" taxes and other policies to close down or bankrupt fossil fuel projects and companies.
- Monday, March 28, 2022


The real climate and health crisis 

The real climate and health crisisClimate policies promoted and imposed by Team Biden and Democrats are based on junk science, headline-grabbing scare stories, and computer models that create far-fetched "scenarios" asserting that fossil fuel use and emissions will cause Earth to warm by 4 degrees C (7 F) over the next 80 years, and cause Arctic warming that will bring colder winters. Those dire predictions are used to justify more taxpayer-funded "research," like a recent Columbia University "mortality cost of carbon" study that claims 83 million people (the population of Germany) "could be killed" this century by those rising planetary temperatures. Therefore we must take "immediate action" to "transform" our energy and economic systems, and replace oil, gas and coal with (millions of) wind turbines and (billions of) solar panels and backup batteries.
- Sunday, December 12, 2021

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