Building back better to bypass Biden's blackouts (if you can afford it).
Wall Street Journal (9/7/21) column "Generac Power Systems, a company that produces home generators and other equipment, announced in July record sales of $920 million during the second quarter, a 68% jump over last year. But what’s good for Generac is bad for America. That’s no slam on the Wisconsin-based company, which manufactures about three-quarters of the home standby generators sold in the U.S. Instead, Generac’s soaring sales are evidence that the U.S. electric grid is becoming less reliable, which will make Americans less wealthy and less secure...Blackouts are deadly and create costly drags on the economy. Bad policies and lack of oversight contributed to the February blackouts in Texas. The final tally: about $200 billion in damage and some 700 people dead from hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning and other causes. In California—a state that is hemorrhaging residents—blackouts have become a near-daily event...The decline in reliability is especially important because President Biden has said he wants to 'decarbonize' the power industry by 2035, a move that will likely require retiring all coal- and gas-fired generators in the country. In addition, activists are demanding more reliance on renewables and 'electrifying everything,' including industry and transportation. Yet the grid is struggling even under existing loads."
|
|
|
|
|
|
"The health threat posed by climate change is therefore far outweighed by the benefits to health of economic development. Better healthcare services, better sanitation and improved nutrition will do far more to improve people’s health than carbon-emission reduction targets."
– Tim Black, Sp!ked
|
|
|
|
|
|
