As we noted last week, the near-collapse of the US power grid the alarmists designed in the face of winter weather they did not predict has made quite an impression even on some of them. A headline like Bloomberg Green’s “Brutal Cold Puts US Power Grids on Edge in Wake of Storm” is ominous even with lights and furnace on, and a nightmare by candlelight. As is Heatmap’s by email “America’s big snow storm buckles the grid, leaving 1 million without power”. But not everyone gets it. Climate Home News assures us that at the World Economic Forum in Davos the renewables dream lived on. “Al Gore’s panel about whether the world can avoid a ‘climate recession’ was poorly attended, with many empty seats. Still, …One message came through quietly but firmly: despite some countries wavering on climate policy, renewables are cheaper, far more plentiful and better for energy security – and thus national security – than fossil fuels.” And to make even more clear how secure their grasp of reality is they added: “China was keen to loudly project itself as the world’s clean energy leader.” The world is in the best of hands.
Meanwhile Reuters “Sustainable Switch” for Jan. 29, before offering a pro-abortion talking point whose relationship to sustainability is not obvious (as was their Jan. 28 sneer that “In spite of freezing temperatures, residents of Minneapolis, Minnesota, still took to the streets to protest after American citizen Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal immigration agents”), starts:
“The United States’ deadly winter storm is the focus of today’s newsletter as heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain have killed at least 38 people across 14 states and left more than 296,000 homes and businesses without power. We’ll be diving into the areas affected by power outages, and we’ll also talk to Heather Black, vice president at the U.S.-based charity United Way Worldwide, about the affordability of heating and utilities during spells of extreme weather.”
The actual story on areas affected admits that cold weather is nasty while maintaining a tasteful silence about alternative energy:
“A severe winter storm that brought heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain has left more than 296,000 homes and businesses without power across a swath of the U.S., from the Ohio Valley and mid-South region to New England…. The storm is set to become the costliest severe weather event since the Los Angeles-area wildfires in early 2025, with preliminary damage and economic losses estimated at $105 billion to $115 billion, AccuWeather said.”
But you know, unless you are very badly out-of-touch, that people struggling to cope with snow and ice are now making sardonic cracks about global warming. And it would be nice if you could say something other than “serves you right, gas-guzzling pigs”. Especially as another story teased to by the newsletter admits that the cost of energy failure is enormous, while the newsletter itself stresses the human cost:
“As people try to stay home and keep warm during the harsh Arctic snowstorm, there’s still a looming sense of anxiety as the heating stays on – the costs. [Heather] Black, who heads the strategy of the United Way’s call centre, 211, said conversations now centered on the affordability of bills and advising those affected by power cuts to head to warming centers. ‘It’s about the financial impact of the event and just wondering how they’re going to pay an increased utility bill, or maybe they were already struggling to pay their existing utility bill, and they’re worried about their utilities being turned off, and they’re calling us to get connected to local resources to help them with those expenses,’ said Black.”
So should we expect a mea culpa from those who’ve been pushing alternative energy that costs more and doesn’t work? Perish the thought.
