The Environment

Josiah Neeley and Bob Murphy have a lively discussion, arguing on some of Bob’s previously articulated points regarding the recent Texas freeze and blackouts.

Rob Bradley explains the role of Sam Insull (co-founder of General Electric) in showing what a free market in electricity would look like, and criticizes Texas’ ERCOT as a central planning agency.

Wind and solar power can work well when placed in an ideal location. Much of the time, however, these projects require a lot of fossil fuel to produce, but then never deliver the promised "zero-carbon" energy.

Normally the boosters of renewable energy point with pride to Texas, yet when wind collapsed during the deep freeze, suddenly even its biggest fans admit that nobody ever thought it could do the same job as natural gas.

Medical doctor Keith Smith returns to the show to explain how government intervention allows insurance companies to distort health care prices. 

Wind and solar power can work well when placed in an ideal location. Much of the time, however, these projects require a lot of fossil fuel to produce, but then never deliver the promised "zero-carbon" energy.

Normally the boosters of renewable energy point with pride to Texas, yet when wind collapsed during the deep freeze, suddenly even its biggest fans admit that nobody ever thought it could do the same job as natural gas.

Many say economics must focus on preserving resources for distant future generations. They say climate change is why. That's may seem convincing in the abstract, but we soon learn how hard it is to predict future needs, and to ignore present ones. 

Singer's Hot Talk, Cold Science is largely a skeptical scientific inquiry about popular global-warming theses. But there is one area of this that he understands is not scientific: the policy question of what, if anything, to do about climate problems.

Climate "science" now often amounts to little more than a smug proclamation from a TV personality and a demand that everyone vote for Joe Biden.