Marita Noon

Ethanol is the wrong solution

University of Michigan's Energy Institute research professor John DeCicco, Ph.D., believes that rising carbon dioxide emissions are causing global warming and, therefore, humans must find a way to reduce its levels in the atmosphere—but ethanol is the wrong solution. According to his just-released study, political support for biofuels, particularly ethanol, has exacerbated the problem instead of being the cure it was advertised to be.

A new international example for bad energy policy

If a country's goal is to decrease carbon emissions by increasing reliance on renewable energy, it only makes sense to install the new equipment in the location with the best potential--both in geography and government.

From fracking to flatulence: the all-out assault on methane

What is the “biggest unfinished business for the Obama administration?” According to a report from Bill McKibben, the outspoken climate alarmist who calls for all fossil fuels to be kept in the ground, it is “to establish tight rules on methane emissions”—emissions that he blames on the “rapid spread of fracking.”

The few, the loud, the anti-fossil fuel crowd

If you get your news from the mainstream media, you likely think the views expressed by the environmental activists represent the majority of Americans. After all, their highly visible protests against the Keystone pipeline--sit-ins in front of the White House, locking themselves to the White House fence and then being arrested for it, and parading down the National Mall carrying a huge inflated tube emblazoned with the words: "Just say no to Keystone"--were effective.

The pipeline's approved. Environmentalists are angry

Final federal approval for what is being called the "new Keystone" came from the Army Corps of Engineers on July 26--allowing the pipeline to move forward.

The Renewable Fuel Standard: "set up for fraud"

Researcher Christine Lakatos and I, together, have produced the single largest body of work on green-energy crony-corruption. Our years of collaboration have revealed that those with special access and influence have cashed in on the various green-energy programs and benefitted from the mandates, rules, and regulations that accompany the huge scheme.

Hillary's energy policies: enriching Wall Street cronies, while the poor are pawns in their political game

In his less-than-enthusiastic endorsement of Hillary Clinton as the Democrat's choice for President, Sen. Bernie Sanders decried "Greed, recklessness, and illegal behavior" and declared that we couldn't let "billionaires buy elections." Perhaps his opposition research team discovered what we have about Clinton's connections with the very entities he despises:

Trump: making America's energy policy cheaper, faster, and better

The name Donald Trump will occupy the news cycle during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, OH. Other than comments from oil entrepreneur Harold Hamm, energy won't be a huge topic on the stage--though it does hold a spot on the newly approved Republican Platform and has a starring role in Trump's plan to "make America great again."

El Niño, La Niña and natural gas

Death Valley, California, is known as "the hottest place on earth." But, if you hear the news that the "Hottest Place on Earth Has Record-Breaking Hot June"--when "temperatures exceeded average June temperatures by about 6 °F"--it might be easy to ascribe the heat to alarmist claims of climate change.

May free speech reign and scientific inquiry prevail

Throughout the past four years, climate change activists have been secretly coordinating with one another regarding ways to prosecute individuals, organizations, and companies that are their ideological foes. They met to develop a strategy to use RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), which was intended to provide stronger weapons for prosecuting organized crime, against those who speak out against the Obama administration's war on fossil fuels.

Brexit's energy lesson for California, et al

"California's largest utility and environmental groups announced a deal Tuesday [June 21] to shutter the last nuclear power plant in the state." This statement from the Associated Press reporting about the announced closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant should startle you.

Obama's green energy plans, kill jobs, hurt consumers, and cost taxpayers

Proponents of green energy like to point out how the costs have come down--and they have. Though renewable energy, such as wind and solar, are not expected to equal fossil fuel costs anytime in the near future and recent growth has been propped up by mandates and tax incentives.

Who Wants Wind Turbines?

Last month’s wind-turbine fire near Palm Springs, CA, that dropped burning debris on the barren ground below, serves as a reminder of just one of the many reasons why people don’t want to live near the towering steel structures. In this case, no one was hurt as the motor fire was in a remote, unincorporated area of Palm Springs. But imagine if it was located just hundreds of feet from your back door—as they are in many locations—and the burning debris was raining down into your yard where your children were playing or onto your roof while you are sleeping.

Finally, Courage To Counterpunch The Green Bullies

When the name Resolute was chosen in 2011, after the merger of Bowater and Abitibi-Consolidated, the Canadian company, a global leader in the forest products industry and the largest producer of newsprint in the world, likely didn’t know what a harbinger it was. Today, it stands alone, set in purpose, with firmness and determination. Displaying the rare courage to stand up to the typical environmental extremists’ campaign of misinformation and shaming designed to shut it down, Resolute Forest Products is fighting back.

Another climate alarmist’s predictions don’t match real-world data

Whenever there is a new record set, whether rain, hurricane, drought, etc., those in the climate change alarmist camp seem to be quick to point to global warming as the cause and make more dire predictions regarding the future—even when there are other documented reasons and even when hard data (not models) disputes the claim. Such is the case with Lake Mead. On May 20, the federal Bureau of Reclamation announced that the nation’s largest reservoir, located near Las Vegas, NV, reached an all-time low. The current level slipped below the previous record set in June 2015.

Why Waste Food To Replace Something We Already Have Too Much Of?

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)—also known as the ethanol mandate—was passed by Congress in 2005 and expanded in 2007. Regardless of market conditions, it required ever-increasing quantities of biofuel be blended into the nation’s gasoline supply—though the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does have the flexibility to make some adjustments based on conditions, such as availability and infrastructure.

Is the green’s “Daddy Warbucks” helping the planet or himself?

Any comprehensive review of green energy and its politics and policies has to include the name of wealthy liberal Tom Steyer—who has been called the environmental movement’s new “Daddy Warbucks.” Having made his billions from his tenure atop Farallon Capital Management—much of it from coal projects around the world—Steyer apparently had an environmental epiphany and now wants to atone for his past sins by trying to save the planet from manmade climate change.

CO Supreme Court embraces the rule of law, not the fear mongering of the anti-fossil-fuel movement

On Monday, May 2 the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on what the New York Times (NYT) called: “a lengthy battle for energy production.”

What's up with prices at the pump and why it could be a good sign

All of us loved paying less than $2 a gallon at the pump. AAA reports: "Americans paid cheapest quarterly gas prices in 12 years"--which resulted in savings of nearly $10 billion compared to the same period last year.

On Climate, We’re Manipulated By Sleight Of Hand

Perhaps you watched the Earth Day news coverage of the “historic” ceremonial signing of the Paris Climate Agreement during which representatives from 175 countries walked up to the stage in the General Assembly hall at the United Nations headquarters in New York, sat down behind a desk on the podium, and added their signatures to the book. “In the name of the United States of America,” Secretary of State John Kerry signed his name with his young granddaughter on his lap.