By Peter Burrows 11/24/19 elburropete@gmail.com - silvercityburro.com

Ten months ago, Governor Lujan Grisham created a “Climate Change Task Force” to come up with proposals to reduce New Mexico’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The initial recommendations were released last week in a 28-page report you can find at www.climateaction.state.nm.us/

When I read the report, I quickly came to the conclusion that the whole thing was a huge waste of time. The authors simply hadn’t done their homework and their recommendations, if implemented, will be a disaster for New Mexico as well as a huge waste of money. This is true even if adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere is as harmful as the climate alarmists claim.

Some of you are thinking, “Carbon dioxide IS the problem, Burro, you climate denier troglodyte, and New Mexico has a moral obligation to join the climate battle to save humanity!”

That’s just what New Mexico is poised to do, but before manning the ramparts, don’t you think it would be wise to survey the battlefield? The task force report says that New Mexico produced about 66.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas in 2018, a little over 1% of total U.S. GHG emissions. Let’s repeat that: New Mexico produces ONE PERCENT of total U.S. GHG emissions.

On a global scale, 2018 GHG emissions were estimated at 37.1 billion metric tons, which puts New Mexico’s global contribution at about one-fifth of one percent. Furthermore, the Energy Information Administration estimates that by 2040 global GHG emissions will grow 6 billion tons to about 43 billion tons. This means that even if New Mexico eliminated 100% of its GHG emissions by then, we will have reduced the total amount of ADDITIONAL GHG emissions by only about 1%.

That’ll save the world. Right. And at what cost? Ah, there’s the rub, Hamlet. The task force doesn’t give any cost estimates! It talks about modernizing the grid, adding electricity storage, creating lots of electric vehicle recharging stations, encouraging mass transit in cities (they never learn), monitoring methane emissions, passing cap-and-trade, imposing mileage standard for cars and changing building codes, BUT THE REPORT NEVER MENTIONS WHAT ALL THIS IS GOING TO COST!

I suspect they don’t care. They have a world to save, and if our electricity bills necessarily skyrocket, so be it. That’s what President Obama said would happen, and now his prescient forecast is coming true, right here in The Land of Enchantment.

Proof that ideology trumps cost is the fact that the report never mentions adding nuclear power to the grid. Nuclear power is the only way to reduce GHG emissions economically. Wind, solar, and storage can’t do it. In fact, adding wind and solar to the electric grid has increased electricity costs all over the world, from Germany to California. Those who claim otherwise haven’t looked at the evidence.

Similarly, the environmentalists who claim wind and/or solar are cheaper than coal or nuclear haven’t done the math. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, did the math many years ago and has long been critical of wind and solar, advocating for nuclear power instead.

A recent convert to Gates’ point of view is the environmentalist Michael Shellenberger. He says wind and solar aren’t going to save the environment, and in fact we must save the environment FROM wind and solar. Both Gates and Shellenberger can be found making their case on numerous You Tube videos.

On one, Shellenberger is joined by James Hansen, the NASA scientist who testified before Congress in 1988 on the dangers of adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Hansen is often called “The father of global warming,” and he gives the argument against wind and solar huge credibility.

Can Gates, Shellenberger, Hansen and a growing army of people who actually understand renewable energy save New Mexico from itself? I doubt it. The Climate Crisis agenda is not driven by facts; it’s driven by emotion. To a certain extent, it is also driven by a desire to tear down an ‘evil’ economic and social system that has created so much earth-destroying prosperity and in the process an unacceptable amount of inequality, too.

That’s why our salvation may come at the unlikely hands of Michael Moore. The old social justice warrior has produced a new documentary, Planet of the Humans, in which he documents Shellenberger’s claim: wind and solar do more harm than good, and—GASP!—some evil-dirty bastard capitalists are making a PROFIT on those solar panels and windmills.

I hope Moore’s documentary sparks enough fact-based emotionalism to counter the push for wind and solar. Lord knows, FACTS ALONE won’t do the job.

Unless sanity prevails, New Mexico is about to embark on a feel-good crusade to lower GHG emissions that will wreck our economy, be hugely expensive and have no effect on global temperatures. This will occur just as the false promise of renewable energy is starting to be recognized around the world.

Unfortunately, if New Mexico’ recent history is any indication, e.g. The Rail Runner and the Spaceport, sanity has no chance to prevail.

FYI You Tube videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1EB1zsxW0k  
Note what Gates says 11:20 to 11:45. I think he means the “renewables-are-the-answer crowd” is more of a block to effective CO2 reduction then folks like moi.

Here’s a short one, well worth the time. Shellenberger’s conclusion is noteworthy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-yALPEpV4w&t=17s

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.