Industry, not environmentalists, killed traditional bulbs

Say goodbye to the regular light bulb this New Year.

For more than a century, the traditional incandescent bulb was the symbol of American innovation. Starting Jan. 1, the famous bulb is illegal to manufacture in the U.S., and it has become a fitting symbol for the collusion of big business and big government.

The 2007 Energy Bill, a stew of regulations and subsidies, set mandatory efficiency standards for most light bulbs. Any bulbs that couldn't produce a given brightness at the specified energy input would be illegal. That meant the 25-cent bulbs most Americans used in nearly every socket of their home would be outlawed.

READ MORE:  http://washingtonexaminer.com/industry-not-environmentalists-killed-traditional-bulbs/article/2541430#

Akademik Shokalskiy: Antarctica Ship Rescue Was For ‘Global Warming Alarmists’?

The Akademik Shokalskiy rescue has been a success, and the crew of the Antarctica ship was airlifted out by helicopter.

 As previously reported by The Inquisitr, attempts at the Antarctica ship rescue kept being thwarted by the increasingly cold weather, and the thick ice even managed to stop icebreaker ships.

What makes the Akademik Shokalskiy rescue so ironic is that the scientists were apparently planning on studying the effects of climate change and “environmental changes” taking place in Antarctica. Chris Turney, a professor of “climate change” at the University of New South Wales in Australia, apparently believes man-made carbon dioxide output must forcibly be curbed by governments around the globe:

READ MORE:  http://www.inquisitr.com/1080848/akademik-shokalskiy-antarctica-ship-rescue-was-for-global-warming-alarmists/#BFsUqFVYz3gGEMVR.99

Millions of trees chopped down to make way for Scottish wind farms

Forestry Commission figures show more than five million trees have been felled thanks to wind farm developments since 2007, with fewer than 1.6 million planted to replace them. 

 

 

Millions of trees have been chopped down to clear the way for wind farms in Scotland’s countryside since Alex Salmond came to power, according to official figures published today.

The Forestry Commission has disclosed that more than 6,200 acres (2,510 hectares) of trees north of the Border have been felled to allow the construction of wind farms since 2007.

With the commission estimating that on average 810 trees are planted per acre, this is the equivalent of more than five million being chopped down.

Over the same period, fewer than 2,000 acres of trees have been replanted within wind farm sites. This means there has been net loss of around 3.4 million trees to make way for turbines.

READ MORE:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10546071/Millions-of-trees-chopped-down-to-make-way-for-Scottish-wind-farms.html

 

Wind's tax credit winds down, but debate at full force

Subsidies for wind energy end at midnight Dec. 31, but Democrats are pushing for renewal of wind's production tax credit for 2014. Opponents say the subsidies are costly and inefficient. 

The controversial production tax credit given to wind-energy developers expires Tuesday at midnight. But the controversy won’t disappear with the new year, spawning instead new discussions about potential compromises over who gets what in the federal subsidy pie.

The relative stop-and-go nature of the terrestrial winds typifies the political treatment the industry has received, with the tax credit often traded as a bargaining chip within bigger energy legislation. The traditional argument against the subsidy is that it is costly to the US Treasury and that it creates economic inefficiencies, forcing capital into assets that are less productive and which may not be able to otherwise stand on their own.
But proponents of the federal assistance say that it is doing its job and that it has led to the development of 60,000 megawatts of wind generation. That growth, in turn, has caused production costs to fall by 80 percent over the last 20 years. Altogether, the industry supports 85,000 jobs, says the American Wind Energy Association.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2013/1230/Wind-s-tax-credit-winds-down-but-debate-at-full-force

Top 5 Ways Energy Production Benefited Consumers in 2013

Its been a busy year for U.S. energy production with consumer prices on the decline due to increasing domestic supplies of natural gas and oil. Here are the Top 5 energy related news stories that benefit consumers in 2013.

1) U.S. Overtakes Russia as the World’s Largest Oil and Gas Producer

Experts estimated that the United States overtook Russia as the world’s largest oil and gas producer in November of this year. The change creates a net positive for consumers as the country produces an ever increasing amount of oil and gas from domestic sources. This reduces our dependence on foreign sources of oil and natural gas, and lowers transportation costs, translating to lower prices for end users. It also provides new economic growth as jobs are created, incomes rise, and tax bases expand due to the expanding energy industry. Which leads to our next story…

2) Oil and Gas Boom Contributes $1200 to Household Income

READ MORE:  http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/12/30/top-5-ways-energy-production-benefited-consumers-in-2013/

'Fracking' the Monterey Shale -- boon or boondoggle?

Extracting oil and gas from the California formation could bring the state economic prosperity — or it could be an environmental disaster.

 

"Eureka!" reads the California motto, originated in the 19th century Gold Rush. Now some believe the state is on the cusp of a 21st century bonanza, only this time it will be oil that fuels a Golden State boom.

Modern prospectors are eyeing the Monterey Shale formation, a 1,750-square-mile resource-rich swath of land in the San Joaquin Valley. Lying deep beneath the valley's surface is a trove of shale oil — some 15.42 billion barrels' worth, according to an estimate by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

If that proves true, the Monterey formation holds the equivalent of 64% of America's total shale oil reserves. A recent study by USC predicts that a Monterey Shale boom could add $4.5 billion in tax revenue to state coffers and 2.8 million California jobs by 2020, and would turn the state into the nation's leading oil producer.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-prudhomme-fracking-california-20131222,0,2346646.story#ixzz2pd3RZMl6

‘Least extreme U.S. weather year ever?’ 2013 shatters the record for fewest U.S. tornadoes — 15% lower than previous record — 2013 also had the fewest U.S. forest fires since 1984

Much to the chagrin of man-made global warming activists who want to tie every weather event to so called ‘global weirding’, 2013 has turned out to be one of the “least extreme” weather years in U.S. history.

 See: New Study: ’2013 ranks as one of the least extreme U.S. weather years ever’– Many bad weather events at ‘historically low levels’

‘Whether you’re talking about tornadoes, wildfires, extreme heat or hurricanes, the good news is that weather-related disasters in the US are all way down this year compared to recent years and, in some cases, down to historically low levels.’

Extreme Heat: The number of 100 degree days may ‘turn out to be the lowest in about 100 years of records’

Hurricanes: ‘We are currently in the longest period (8 years) since the Civil War Era without a major hurricane strike in the US (i.e., category 3, 4 or 5)’ ( last major hurricane to strike the US was Hurricane Wilma in 2005)

READ MORE:  http://www.climatedepot.com/2013/12/27/2013-shatters-the-record-for-fewest-tornadoes-15-lower-than-previous-record/