{"id":294666,"date":"2024-01-12T11:02:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T10:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=294666"},"modified":"2024-01-12T11:02:26","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T10:02:26","slug":"are-green-agendas-carrying-governors-to-political-cliffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=294666","title":{"rendered":"Are \u2018Green\u2019 Agendas Carrying Governors to Political Cliffs?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Gordon Tomb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon are riding the same \u201cgreen energy\u201d horse, trotting into the sunset \u2014 or toward a political cliff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After voicing concerns, Shapiro is pressing ahead with Pennsylvania\u2019s proposed participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, appealing a Commonwealth Court ruling barring the governor from unilateral action. He also has proposed expanding subsidies for \u201calternative energy\u201d sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Cowboy State, Gordon advocates \u201cdecarbonizing the West<\/a>\u201d with a facility that would suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Challenged by state legislators to debate his proposal publicly, Gordon ultimately declined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both governors have drawn fire from political critics, mostly Republicans, who note that their states\u2019 economies rely heavily on fossil fuel production to generate affordable electricity and create high-paying jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Shapiro and Gordon believe they are saving the planet? Or do they consider the environmental lobby more powerful than the voters who would foot the bill for their \u201cgreen\u201d initiatives with higher energy prices and power outages?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The political headwinds of \u201cgreen\u201d energy policies aren\u2019t restricted to Pennsylvania and Wyoming. While these governors are sticking to their agendas, politicians worldwide face career-threatening backlashes to climate activism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As physics teaches us, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Climate activists swung the political pendulum in one extreme direction. Now, the pendulum is heading toward its logical pivot: \u201cEco-friendly\u201d governments losing to skeptical political forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Germany, a constitutional court ruled<\/a> that one of the \u201cgovernment\u2019s main gimmicks for funding green projects\u201d violates the law. The ruling forced the government to \u201clevel with voters about how much the net-zero energy transition will cost,\u201d resulting in \u201ca fiscal moment of truth that exploded into a political crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling climate change \u201ca socialist lie,\u201d self-described libertarian Javier Milei<\/a> surprised some Argentinians by beating the incumbent president substantially, \u201cfueling concerns that South America\u2019s second-largest economy will backtrack on climate promises.\u201d However, Argentinians\u2019 concerns about raging inflation and economic stagnation trumped climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Netherlands, the Party for Freedom won parliamentary elections<\/a>, replacing a government that sought to kill off large segments of Dutch agriculture<\/a> to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The winning party\u2019s manifesto declares<\/a>, \u201cWe have been made to fear climate change for decades. \u2026 We must stop being afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to political fallout, economic troubles in green energy abound. Ford<\/a> and General Motors<\/a> have cut investments into poorly selling electric vehicles. Meanwhile, Siemens Energy<\/a>, a wind turbine manufacturer, reports multibillion dollar losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green projects are regularly falling by the wayside. Offshore wind has run into rough seas along America\u2019s East Coast<\/a>. A Danish company scrapped<\/a> two New Jersey projects, and New England developers canceled<\/a> three projects slated to provide power to Massachusetts and Connecticut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Bryce, author of Power Hungry: The Myths of \u201cGreen\u201d Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future<\/em>, follows the fortunes of \u201cgreen\u201d projects<\/a> in the United States. His latest tally of canceled wind and solar projects is more than 600 since 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe march to \u2018green\u2019 energy, after years of uncontradicted hype, is now experiencing one reverse after another,\u201d writes<\/a> energy analyst Francis Menton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Menton continues: \u201cIt turns out that there are limits to how much governments can achieve by trying to hide the costs of wind and solar energy through various subsidies and tax credits. At some point, after pocketing all the subsidies and credits, the developers still must deliver power to the grid at an affordable cost; and if they can\u2019t, they will go broke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is little wonder that so-called \u201cgreen\u201d technologies are having a tough go in the marketplace. A Bank of America analysis states<\/a>, \u201cSolar and wind look more expensive than almost any alternative on an unsubsidized basis. \u2026 [W]ind, biomass, and non-concentrated solar power may not be economically viable without perpetual subsidies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That puts taxpayers on the hook forever unless those imposing destructive policies face political consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders like Shapiro and Gordon might pay closer mind to certain realities, although we\u2019ll stop short of predicting their futures. The impossibility of controlling Earth\u2019s most complex system, the climate, may be equaled only by that of predicting the luck of a particular individual in the world\u2019s most perplexing unnatural system: politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This commentary was first published at Broad + Liberty<\/a> on January 3, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gordon Tomb<\/a>\u00a0is a senior fellow with the\u00a0<\/em>Commonwealth Foundation<\/em><\/a>, a Pennsylvania-based, free-market think tank, and senior advisor with the\u00a0<\/em>CO2<\/sub>\u00a0Coalition<\/em><\/a>, Arlington, Virginia. He is primary editor of two books on climate change, including \u201c<\/em>A Very Convenient Warming<\/em><\/a>: How modest warming and more CO2<\/sub>\u00a0are benefiting humanity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon are riding the same \u201cgreen energy\u201d horse, trotting into the sunset \u2014 or toward a political cliff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":294668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon are riding the same \u201cgreen energy\u201d horse, trotting into the sunset \u2014 or toward a political cliff.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818076,691818618,691818118,691818154,691826197,691826198],"class_list":{"0":"post-294666","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-co2","9":"tag-energy-transition","10":"tag-green-energy","11":"tag-net-zero","12":"tag-pennsylvania-gov-josh-shapiro","13":"tag-wyoming-gov-mark-gordon","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-211.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1eEG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":241274,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=241274","url_meta":{"origin":294666,"position":0},"title":"In Pennsylvania, Will Josh Shapiro Unlock Decades of Affordable Energy?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"24\/01\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"With Democrat Josh Shapiro as a newly inaugurated governor and a new legislative body, Pennsylvania will either shine as an energy superstar or continue down the dim path of economic decline.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1036.png?fit=1200%2C656&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1036.png?fit=1200%2C656&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1036.png?fit=1200%2C656&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1036.png?fit=1200%2C656&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1036.png?fit=1200%2C656&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":424032,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=424032","url_meta":{"origin":294666,"position":1},"title":"Democrat Governors Ignore Global Realities, Cling to \u201cGreen\u201d Polices","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"31\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"As global corporations and governments increasingly shed ideologically driven policies that raise energy prices and undermine supply, governors in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic cling to counterproductive agendas of contradiction and equivocation.","rel":"","context":"In \"Energy Prices\"","block_context":{"text":"Energy Prices","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=energy-prices-2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQN-6xo0-pK3-QxC29yM0AHkw3tO72tG32dNkE6fhf3BoeSQGlWG9fp8c4NOeFPDbEMdEUZFg8XEGh_f_p39EIrYwT9j4fa9-riN7NBRDDA5LdIJBabCE-DqM6pwqTHGUl85Q5Er7lHFEofcCpydP5iif940Vw.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQN-6xo0-pK3-QxC29yM0AHkw3tO72tG32dNkE6fhf3BoeSQGlWG9fp8c4NOeFPDbEMdEUZFg8XEGh_f_p39EIrYwT9j4fa9-riN7NBRDDA5LdIJBabCE-DqM6pwqTHGUl85Q5Er7lHFEofcCpydP5iif940Vw.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQN-6xo0-pK3-QxC29yM0AHkw3tO72tG32dNkE6fhf3BoeSQGlWG9fp8c4NOeFPDbEMdEUZFg8XEGh_f_p39EIrYwT9j4fa9-riN7NBRDDA5LdIJBabCE-DqM6pwqTHGUl85Q5Er7lHFEofcCpydP5iif940Vw.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQN-6xo0-pK3-QxC29yM0AHkw3tO72tG32dNkE6fhf3BoeSQGlWG9fp8c4NOeFPDbEMdEUZFg8XEGh_f_p39EIrYwT9j4fa9-riN7NBRDDA5LdIJBabCE-DqM6pwqTHGUl85Q5Er7lHFEofcCpydP5iif940Vw.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQN-6xo0-pK3-QxC29yM0AHkw3tO72tG32dNkE6fhf3BoeSQGlWG9fp8c4NOeFPDbEMdEUZFg8XEGh_f_p39EIrYwT9j4fa9-riN7NBRDDA5LdIJBabCE-DqM6pwqTHGUl85Q5Er7lHFEofcCpydP5iif940Vw.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":286354,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=286354","url_meta":{"origin":294666,"position":2},"title":"RGGI Halted in Pennsylvania","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/11\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court found Wednesday in\u00a0two\u00a0rulings\u00a0that the state cannot enforce a regulation directed by executive order to make power plant owners pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions because it was created without legislative approval, dealing another setback to the centerpiece of former Governor Tom Wolf\u2019s plan to fight\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Carbon Tax\"","block_context":{"text":"Carbon Tax","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-tax"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00pa-judicial-centre.webp?fit=1200%2C791&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00pa-judicial-centre.webp?fit=1200%2C791&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00pa-judicial-centre.webp?fit=1200%2C791&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00pa-judicial-centre.webp?fit=1200%2C791&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/00pa-judicial-centre.webp?fit=1200%2C791&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":376831,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=376831","url_meta":{"origin":294666,"position":3},"title":"Shapiro \u2018Price Cap\u2019 Could Hike Electricity Bills","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/04\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Gov. Josh Shapiro\u2019s proposal to cap electricity prices could, perversely, lead to higher customer bills and a greater risk of blackouts, according to America\u2019s Power, a trade organization of coal-fired power plants.","rel":"","context":"In \"coal-fired plants\"","block_context":{"text":"coal-fired plants","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=coal-fired-plants"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0c68f0635-1768-4414-837c-80afc03f3113.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0c68f0635-1768-4414-837c-80afc03f3113.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0c68f0635-1768-4414-837c-80afc03f3113.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0c68f0635-1768-4414-837c-80afc03f3113.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":287100,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=287100","url_meta":{"origin":294666,"position":4},"title":"Court derails Keystone State\u2019s membership in RGGI","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/11\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cRGGI, like all so-called green initiatives, is based on the false premise that emissions of carbon dioxide from human activities are overheating the planet,\u201d Wrightstone explained. \u201cCO2 is in fact an essential plant food, and modern increases in atmospheric levels of the gas have contributed to record crop harvests and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Carbon Tax\"","block_context":{"text":"Carbon Tax","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-tax"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0fromshutterstock1280x640.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0fromshutterstock1280x640.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0fromshutterstock1280x640.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0fromshutterstock1280x640.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0fromshutterstock1280x640.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":350069,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=350069","url_meta":{"origin":294666,"position":5},"title":"Affordable energy can alleviate Pennsylvanians\u2019 economic anxieties","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/11\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Pennsylvanians are anxious about their futures. However, a recent poll shows a clear pathway to rebuilding optimism in the Keystone State.","rel":"","context":"In \"economic conditions\"","block_context":{"text":"economic conditions","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=economic-conditions"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/00Liberty-Bell.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/00Liberty-Bell.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/00Liberty-Bell.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/00Liberty-Bell.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/00Liberty-Bell.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=294666"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":294670,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294666\/revisions\/294670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/294668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=294666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=294666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=294666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}