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What will be the next catastrophe for the greens?
LA Times (2/5/26) op-ed: "What a difference a single year makes. The once-dominant push to radically reshape society in hopes of averting climate catastrophe has collapsed. Look at Davos, the talkfest long dominated by climate advocacy. That consensus has been all but abandoned by its once strongest proponents…This global shift is not all down to the election of President Trump. Voters have become sick and tired of constant climate alarmism, meaning many climate advocacy voices like environmentalist and author Bill McKibben have had to dial back their rhetoric. Shouting about doomsday is failing to deliver political gains…This retreat is good for sensible policy, because the failed alarmist approach relied on a series of persistent misrepresentations…The transition from exaggeration to muted realism among the leaders at Davos is at least some progress. This reflects recognition that exaggerated fear tactics have led to public disconnection, bad policies and political backlash. Now we need to focus on what works. For now, we should deliver cheap, secure energy to boost prosperity while we innovate for a greener future."
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Forget snow days. If Kamala had gotten her way schools around the U.S. would have been having "below freezing" days.
Fox News (2/5/26) reports: "The Arctic blast that snowed in much of the East exposed not only the need for road salt but the possibility that untold taxpayer dollars were wasted on risky electric bus subsidy programs under the Biden administration, according to critics of those initiatives...E-buses have been purchased by transit agencies in part through a 'Low-No' emissions grant program mainly through the Federal Transit Administration that received a $1.6 billion infusion during the Biden years...Similarly, PTF highlighted a 2024 EPA Inspector General audit that found the agency failed to meaningfully track the deployment of electric school buses under a 2022 rebate program through which $836 million was handed out by federal officials. Only about 7% of participating school districts had completed the processes needed to put the buses into service, such as installing charging infrastructure...During the recent storm, Turner said, e-buses have a tougher time charging and operating in below-freezing temperatures, as evidenced by cases in New York and New England. This is a known limitation of battery performance in cold weather. School districts in Western New York have had issues piloting the buses in the cold, and Turner told Fox News Digital the grants do not take into account the needs of schoolchildren over prioritizing green politics."
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Noise:
Inside Climate News (2/21/26) reports: "As the United States retreats from climate policy, China signaled its rising intent to lead a transition away from fossil fuels and toward Chinese-made renewable energy technologies in remarks to world leaders on Tuesday. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng cast China as a beacon of stability as he touted the economic potential of wind, solar and battery power. 'China has put in place the world’s largest renewable energy system and the most complete new-energy industrial chain,' He said. 'We invite entreprises from all over the world to embrace the opportunities from the green and low-carbon transition, and work closely with China.'"
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Signal:
Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (2/1/26) reports: "In 2025, China’s new and reactivated coal power project proposals surged to a record high, while capacity additions that came online reached the highest annual level in a decade, even as clean energy put China’s CO2 emissions into reverse for the first time and drove down coal power generation. The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and Global Energy Monitor‘s H2 2025 coal power review reveals that new and reactivated coal power project proposals in China surged to 161 gigawatts (GW) in 2025, a record high. 2025 also saw China commission 78 GW of new coal power capacity, which is more than India’s net coal power additions over a ten-year period from 2015 to 2024, even though India operates the world’s second-largest coal power fleet...With a large pipeline of projects still under construction and permitted, rapid growth of coal power capacity risks extending into the early years of the 15th Five-Year Plan (FYP) period, while coal power retirements remain low."
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Alaskans want more energy production, not more energy taxes.
Anchorage Daily News (2/4/26) reports: "The Trump administration said Monday that it is seeking suggestions for Arctic National Wildlife Refuge sites to auction off for oil development, a key step toward a new lease sale in a place that has been the subject of a decades-long environmental debate. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management released the official call for nominations, published on Tuesday in the Federal Register...The planned lease sale for the refuge’s coastal plain is the first of four sales mandated through 2035 under the sweeping tax and budget bill called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that President Donald Trump signed into law in July. Each sale must offer at least 400,000 acres, according to the bill....The Department of the Interior in October reversed Biden administration environmental protections and announced that it would open the refuge’s entire 1.56-million-acre coastal plain to leasing...an organization representing the Iñupiaq people of the North Slope, who have generally favored oil development in the refuge and elsewhere, welcomed the call for nominations from the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management. 'We’re excited to see DOI and BLM continue to move forward with plans for responsible onshore development in ANWR,' Nagruk Harcharek, president of Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, said in a statement."
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Energy Markets
WTI Crude Oil: ↓ $63.13
Natural Gas: ↑ $3.66
Gasoline: ↑ $2.90
Diesel: ↑ $3.64
Heating Oil: ↓ $238.77
Brent Crude Oil: ↓ $67.41
US Rig Count: ↓ 571 |
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Governor Sherrill Can’t Mandate Her Way To Lower Electricity Prices
AEA (2/5/26) article: "New Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, declared a formal emergency over rising electric bills and ordered regulators to intervene in rate hikes, using the Disaster Control Act. Sherrill directed regulators to stop electric rate increases, effectively freezing rate hikes that were to go into effect in the coming months. She also warned that, without structural changes, nuclear power and other long‑term investments into renewable energy and battery storage will be needed to stabilize prices. As reported by Morning Overview, her directive orders the state Board of Public Utilities to create 'Residential Universal Bill Credits' that would appear directly on household statements to offset rising charges. Her Executive Order No. 1 program is tasked with subsidizing residential customers while her administration works on deeper reforms, meaning the bill credits are intended to be a bridge to a longer-term policy. Former New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy took similar action last year, but that did not fix the rising electricity price problem."
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