Energy Subsidies By Governments

The Wall Street Journal editorial page, representing mainstream conservative opinion, frequently expresses skepticism toward government subsidies of the wind and solar industries, which reached $7.5 billion in 2022, and subsidies of the electric car industry, but little such skepticism on government subsidies of the fossil fuel industries of oil and gas, which reached a global …

Environmental Movement History, Observed Around Earth Day, April 22

April 22 being Earth Day, I posted on Substack a remembrance of Rachel Carson (1907-1964). And here, some videos and a link to the history of the Environmental Movement. News coverage this year focused on climate change optimism. "There's plenty to feel good about," reports USA Today. Propublica: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30xLg2HHg8Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rrop3EJIzI There are lots more videos …

Dust Bowl of the 1930s Caused Abject Poverty and Suffering, a World-Class Environmental Disaster

"The Dust Bowl was the result of a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of natural factors (severe drought) and man-made factors: a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion, most notably the destruction of the natural topsoil by settlers in the region.[1][2] The drought …

Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’ Was Groundbreaking. It Inspired Annual Earth Day Observances

April 22 is Earth Day, first observed in 1970. "The spark for the first Earth Day was the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. A marine biologist and best-selling author, Carson showed the devastating effects of people on nature by documenting the effect of modern pesticides on the natural world. She focused on the popular …

Might the Next Pandemic Be Prevented?

There's a good chance that another global pandemic, or multiple ones, requiring mass quarantines will hit the earth in less than 100 years. One reason: climate change. Another reason: increased deforestation and urbanization due to population growth. Chatham House, a policy think-tank, explains: "It is impossible to predict when the next pandemic will occur as …

Great Stink of 1858: Past and Future of Waste

Nearly every online list of environmental catastrophes and disasters lists 20th century events. But of course they occurred in previous centuries, but people tended to think they were unavoidable. Pervasive horse manure in city streets, for example, before the invention of the automobile was considered a necessary cost of moving around. Clean drinking water was …

Apocalypse Already Happened, in the Late Middle Ages, and Arguably in the 20th Century

John Green Crash Course European History #1 "starts around 1500 with the Renaissance, but believe it or not, that is not the actual beginning of history in the continent. So, today, we're going to teach you the broad outlines of the so-called Middle Ages, and look at events like the Black Plague, the Hundred Years War, …