Paul Driessen

Cobalt carnage, child labor and ecological destruction

Global cobalt demand soared with the advent of cell phones and laptop computers. It exploded with the arrival of electric vehicles and now is skyrocketing in tandem with government EV mandates and subsidies. Cobalt improves battery performance, extends driving range and reduces fire risks.

Demand will reach stratospheric heights if governments remain obsessed with climate change and Net Zero. States and nations would have to switch to electric cars, trucks, buses and tractors; end coal and gas electricity generation; convert gas furnaces, water heaters and stoves to electricity; and provide alternative power for windless, sunless periods. Electricity generation would triple or quadruple.

If it’s not open warfare, it’s collusive lawfare

The Biden Administration continues waging war on fossil fuels, aided by environmentalists, politicians, and corporations chasing subsidies, competitive advantages, power and profits. They want to “fundamentally transform” America’s energy and economic systems, prevent “climate cataclysms,” and ensure “environmental justice” for some (by inflicting injustices on others).

Biden Administration environmental injustices

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President Biden recently issued a 5,400-word executive order directing all federal agencies to emphasize “environmental justice” in every decision they make.

After ducking questions for weeks on what remediation, remuneration and environmental justice the administration is providing East Palestine, Ohio residents following a toxic railway chemical spill, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explained the EO in her inimitable style:The President has “the most ambitious climate agenda than any other president in history, and one way that you can look at this today is that he’s continuing to deliver on that ambitious agenda, and he’s not done yet. This is a continuing continuation of what he’s promised the American people.”

Your taxes at work: ‘eco-anxiety’ counseling for federal workers

US Fish and Wildlife Service employees are struggling to cope with feelings of trauma and loss over the world’s changing climates and imperiled environments. Their work repeatedly confronts them with ecological changes, but even a sense of “anticipated loss” perhaps decades from now requires compassionate help. Or so the FWS and American Psychological Association tell us.

The FWS is thus offering paid leave to employees who attend “eco-anxiety” and “climate grief” training. When the House Natural Resources Committee called the sessions a colossal waste of money, the agency downplayed their cost and scope. But naturally the “woke” programs don’t end there.

FWS Director Martha Williams is also pushing diversity-equity-inclusion-LBGTQ programs as the agency’s “number one priority” (or perhaps number two, after climate change). Employees can take as much paid time off as needed for DEI and “gay pride” programs and eco-anguish counseling.

Legalized climate grifting

Grifters have long fascinated us. Operating outside accepted moral standards, they excel at persuading their “marks” to hand valuables over willingly. If they ever represented a “distinctly American ethos,” they’ve been supplanted by con artists seeking bank accounts for funds abandoned by Nigerian princes.

Their artful dodging is epitomized by Frank Abagnale daring the FBI to “catch me if you can,” Anna Delvey inventing Anna Sorokin, Redford and Newman masterminding their famous Sting, and dirty, rotten scoundrels like Steve Martin, Michael Caine and Glenn Headly.

Childish beliefs drive lethal energy and agricultural agendas

Many eco-activists (and too many legislators, regulators, judges and journalists) have trouble thinking beyond slogans. They apparently believe declaring ecological emergencies, repeating clever mantras, and issuing proclamations and mandates will create a fossil-fuel-free, organic farming utopia. In their dreams.

Since 1950, American farmers increased per-acre corn yields by an incredible 500% – and other crop yields by smaller but still amazing amounts, while using less land, water, fuel, fertilizers and pesticides. Their exports helped slash global hunger and malnutrition. Farmers in Brazil, India and other countries worldwide have likewise enjoyed record harvests in recent years. Their success has many “roots.”

Vital energy lessons for Virginia and America

When they open their 30-day session January 11, Virginia's Senate and House of Delegates must correct some serious energy mistakes they made two years ago, when Democrats controlled nearly the entire state government and passed the "Virginia Clean Economy Act." One of its party-line provisions requires that Virginia adopt California's requirement that only low emission vehicles (LEVs) be sold by model year 2025 and only zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by MY 2035. That means in barely twelve years only new electric vehicles (EVs) could be sold in Virginia. Again mimicking California, in addition to EVs, the VCEA also requires a massive shift from affordable, reliable coal and natural gas-generated electricity to expensive, weather-dependent, land-intensive wind and solar electricity, stabilized and backed up by huge batteries.

ESG's perverse, narrow, fraudulent ethical principles

Warning: 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.

COP-27 financiers and merchants of death 

As 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.

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.”

Let's talk about REAL climate cataclysms 

The 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.

Hurricane hype, lies, censorship – and reality

Hurricane 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.

The coming green electricity nightmare

Senator 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.

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.

Washington, DC's energy colonialism

Washington, 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.

Biden energy policies: incoherent, incompetent, intolerable

The 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.

Biden promises, policies and political problems

Presidential 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.

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).

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.

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.”