Latest Posts

Home

Facebook

Twitter

Search
About
logo
Thinking Minnesota Archive

Education

Employee Freedom

Families

Governance

Health Care

Minnesota Economy

mobile logo
0 Comments
on October 16, 2018
Print
Sticky

Will Global Warming Destroy Us All? Probably Not

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

We often hear that global warming will eventually be the end to all of us. The message is pervasive, and it has been trumpeted again by a newly-released report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC. While renewable energy advocates, anti-pipeline activists, and others attempt to use global warming as a "trump card," when lobbying for government policies and mandates for their preferred sources of energy, its important to look at whether these claims are supported by the scientific evidence, especially as President Trump has removed the United States from the Paris Climate Accord (not a treaty), and rescinded...

Continue reading
0 Comments
on October 15, 2018
Print
Sticky

MN Judge Does A Disservice To All Minnesotans By Letting Pipeline Protesters Off the Hook

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment, Greater Minnesota, Minnesota Economy

On October 11, 2016, three pipeline protesters from Seattle, Annette Klapstein, Emily Johnston, and Ben Joldersma, disguised as safety workers scaled a chain-link fence and used bolt cutters to unlock the shut-off valves on the Enbridge lines 4 and 67, which carry millions of gallons of oil daily across Minnesota from western Canada. The anti-pipeline activists faced felony charges that could result in up to 10 years in prison, that is, until Judge Robert Tiffany  granted the protesters' motion to dismiss the case. The ruling comes as a shock, even to the protesters themselves. However, by dismissing this case, Judge Tiffany did a vast...

Continue reading
0 Comments
on October 08, 2018
Print
Sticky

Are There Also Benefits to More Carbon Dioxide in the Air? Yes, There Are

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate

Carbon dioxide almost always get a bad rap for being a greenhouse gas, but did you know more CO2 in the atmosphere has caused plants to grow faster, causing global greening? The fact that CO2 spurs plant growth is well established, and it is also why greenhouses pump a lot carbon dioxide into nurseries to make plants grow faster and stronger. According to a recent post by Patrick Michaels, a Ph.D. ecological climatology, on the blog, Climate Etc. "Factorial simulations with multiple global ecosystem models suggest that CO2 fertilization effects explain 70% of the observed greening trend, followed by nitrogen deposition (9%), climate change...

Continue reading
0 Comments
on September 20, 2018
Print
Sticky

Star Tribune Fooled by Cherry-Picked Data: How the Left Demagogues on Climate Change

Written by Peter Zeller
in Climate, Minnesota Economy

A recent Star Tribune editorial (“Climate change is real in Minnesota, too,” Sept. 13) compared precipitation for two periods, 1941-70 and 1981-2010, and found that in the Twin Cities it was up 20%, and some counties in south-central Minnesota saw 30-35% increases.  This info was “told” to an editorial writer by climatologist Mark Seeley. Now I’m not a climatologist, but I’m not bad at math, and I’m suspicious when I see arbitrary time periods and relatively small geographic areas (counties?) compared to make a point.  Therefore, I looked up the numbers for the whole state of Minnesota on the National Oceanic...

Continue reading
0 Comments
on April 15, 2018
Print
Sticky

State Solar Power Mandate Under Fire at Capitol

Written by Tom Steward
in Climate, Energy

Snowy days in April only underscore the futility of relying on solar energy to power the electric grid. These photos taken earlier this winter of snow-covered solar panels just outside Montrose on Highway 25 illustrate solar power's obvious flaws in this climate, blizzard or not.               In fact, weather conditions year around limit solar power generation in Minnesota. For example, a Great River Energy study found that ideal sunny conditions at the utility's experimental solar installation occurred just ten percent of the year. Partially sunny days were recorded just 20 percent of the time. Yet Minnesota investor-owned utilities face a state mandate to...

Continue reading