climate change

New York’s recently released Draft 2025 Energy Plan is rooted in fantasy. The plan asserts that the Empire State’s electrification and zero-emissions obsession will reduce energy costs, fight climate change, and create over 60,000 net new jobs by 2035. In reality, while the plan won’t meaningfully affect the climate, it will devastate consumers and New York’s economy. The plan asks New Yorkers to ignore the realities before their eyes—including surging energy costs. ConEd, the state’s largest electric and gas utility, has requested double-digit rate increases for its provision of electricity and natural gas, which will cost consumers an additional $2 billion annually. National Grid has filed for similar rate increases upstate. Those requested hikes are solely for natural gas and Read More ›

On June 11, King County Executive Dow Constantine dropped the 735-page 2025 King County Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) onto the desks of the King County Council members. SCAP shows that wasting taxpayer dollars on useless plans filled with what our neighbors to the north call “bafflegab” is alive and well. SCAP proposes myriad actions for the County to “reduce GHG emissions, center frontline communities, and prepare for climate change impacts” based on nonsensical claims about rising sea levels and rising temperatures, neither of which is supported by actual data. It is heavy on buzz phrases like “climate equity,” but short on actual analysis. Most importantly, SCAP doesn’t include any estimates of what the County intends to spend, nor any Read More ›

Jonathan Lesser appeared on Brandi Kruse’s [un]Divided podcast as her “Sundays with Subscribers” guest to discuss the devastating consequences of net-zero policies in the Pacific Northwest. A recent report authored by Lesser and Mitchell Rolling revealed that net-zero energy policies in Washington State and Oregon will produce staggering costs to individuals and businesses without providing any meaningful environmental benefits. You can watch a portion of the interview on the September 24th episode of [un]Divided below (starting at 19:45), or you can view the entire “Sundays with Subscribers” episode by subscribing to Brandi Kruse’s [un]Divided Patreon.

Forty-two was the mystical number that explained “life, the universe, and everything” in Douglas Adams’ comic novel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Today, another mystical number, the so-called social cost of carbon (SSC), is providing the excuse for the Environmental Protection Agency and green-energy-enamored state regulators to enact crippling energy policies. The SCC is the thumb on the scale that can justify virtually any policy aimed at eliminating fossil fuels. When the EPA first proposed its rule to reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, the agency’s cost-benefit analysis determined the benefits would be minuscule. Any putative benefits, it turns out, would come instead from reductions in carbon emissions and, here’s the key, based on a calculated value for the SCC. The Read More ›