{"id":423004,"date":"2026-01-25T11:45:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T10:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=423004"},"modified":"2026-01-25T11:45:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T10:45:46","slug":"money-to-decarbonize-as-useless-as-gym-memberships-and-extended-warranties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=423004","title":{"rendered":"Money to \u2018decarbonize\u2019 as useless as gym memberships and extended warranties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Three<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Gary Abernathy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nearly all of us have fallen prey to schemes, scams, or even well-intentioned projects that come up short of the results promised for the money spent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, the new year has undoubtedly brought the annual rush of gym memberships from Americans convinced they\u2019ll shed those holiday pounds and get back into shape. Or there\u2019s that extended warranty we were talked into on a large kitchen appliance that wouldn\u2019t go bad unless it was dropped from the top of a 10-story building. How \u2018bout that costly monthly charge we incur for a streaming service so we can enjoy the one show we\u2019re really going to watch?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time and again, Americans find themselves on the short end of the stick, paying through the nose for services that never live up to their promise. Nowhere is that more evident than in the decades-long climate-based hoax that promised a revolution in the energy industry to save us all from extinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent column<\/a> by William Murray, former chief speechwriter for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a past editor of RealClearEnergy, lays bare how promises made by far-left environmentalists fell far short of their assurances. Murray points out that $20 trillion \u2013 that\u2019s $20 trillion \u2013 has been spent (over the last couple of decades, according to his source), largely by the U.S. and Europe, to \u201cdecarbonize\u201d the global economy. Murray notes that the expenditure is \u201cpretty much the total present value of America\u2019s GDP.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHydrocarbon consumption continued to increase anyway. All that was achieved was a tiny reduction, just 2%, in the share of overall energy supplied by hydrocarbons. Put simply, as the energy pie got bigger and all forms of energy supply increased, hydrocarbons ended up with a slightly smaller share of a larger pie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If such a pitiful return on investment happened in any other walk of life, companies pushing the scheme would go bankrupt and reputations would be in shambles. But the \u201cclimate warriors\u201d just grow more emboldened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haven\u2019t renewables made great strides? That\u2019s what we read in the mainstream media, parroting the renewables industries. But read the careful wording used by most advocates of renewables when they boast about advancements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, The Renewable Energy Institute featured a story headlined, \u201cRenewables Account for 90% of US Power Generation in 2024.\u201d Wow! But the details were a little less impressive, clarifying that \u201crenewable energy made up nearly 90% of the total U.S. power generation capacity added during the first 3 quarters of 2024, as per a review conducted by the SUN DAY Campaign using Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first glance, readers not carefully parsing the language \u2013 or relying only on the headline \u2013 might think that renewable energy accounted for 90 percent of total power generation in the first three quarters of 2024. Of course, that\u2019s not the case. The story was merely claiming that 90 percent \u201cof the total U.S. power generation capacity added (emphasis added)\u201d was from renewable energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, as reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, \u201cIn 2024, the United States produced a record amount of energy, according to data in our Monthly Energy Review. U.S. total energy production was more than 103 quadrillion British thermal units in 2024, a 1% increase from the previous record set in 2023.\u201d In other words, the renewable industry is claiming responsibility for 90% of the 1% added (at least during the first three quarters). Fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, the top sources for energy in 2024 continued to be natural gas and natural gas plant liquids (47% combined), crude oil (27%), and coal (10%). In fact, natural gas plant liquids (9% of total energy production when broken out alone) were up 7% from 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDomestic NGPL production have increased every year since 2005 as U.S. natural gas production and processing capacity have increased,\u201d according to the report. Meanwhile, all \u201crenewables\u201d (wood, waste, wind, solar, geothermal) combined accounted for the remaining 16% of total U.S. energy produced. Wind blew in at just over 1.5% of all energy produced, with solar just over 1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the kicker: Even just a 1% capacity increase from 2023 to 2024 meant that the U.S. produced record levels of total energy capacity. However, electricity capacity powered by wind and solar provides \u201calmost no reliability to the grid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s according to Mitch Rolling and Isaac Orr of the \u201cEnergy Bad Boys\u201d Substack, who point out that \u201cwind and solar capacity is not the same as dispatchable capacity due to their intermittency. Intermittent generators are inferior to dispatchable resources for a number of reasons, but mainly because operators cannot control when they produce electricity and when they won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an example, \u201cDespite having more capacity installed than ever before, reliable capacity in PJM (the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland regional transmission organization) has actually decreased by 2 gigawatts (GW) since 2016, from 198 GW to 196 GW, and is down 6.8 GW since firm capacity peaked in 2018. This comes at a time when peak demand hit new records in 2025 at over 160 GW, according to data from the EIA Hourly Electric Grid Monitor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The $20 trillion investment in \u201cdecarbonization\u201d in the U.S. and Europe has been an abject failure. It would be a wiser expenditure of tax dollars for governments to subsidize lifetime gym memberships for every citizen. At least then there\u2019d be a slight possibility of some return on investment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A\u00a0recent column\u00a0by William Murray, former chief speechwriter for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a past editor of RealClearEnergy, lays bare how promises made by far-left environmentalists fell far short of their assurances. Murray points out that $20 trillion \u2013 that\u2019s $20 trillion \u2013 has been spent (over the last couple of decades, according to his source), largely by the U.S. and Europe, to \u201cdecarbonize\u201d the global economy. Murray notes that the expenditure is \u201cpretty much the total present value of\u00a0America\u2019s GDP.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":423008,"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":"Explore how $20 trillion spent on decarbonization has led to minimal energy gains, revealing the shortcomings of climate promises.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"$20 Trillion Spent on Decarbonization: A Futile Investment","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":"","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":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvY2xpbWF0ZS1zY2llbmNlLnByZXNzXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI2XC8wMVwvQVFOei0zdl9HVW43YmhCcXNxMGJ5cmlOTFlGNnljQ280NVFIN0VMZTJaV0NyZ1duLXlTZVBnbWhEZkIyMW5iM25uN3FmYV83UmdCS0U4T2J4RkE3TE5JOHU0NGdUa2JOMXFVaEwySy1Za29XZkNHMHBzcl9zUmNWUkpmOHdBLTEwMjR4NjgzLmpwZWciLCJ0eHQiOiJNb25leSB0byBcdTIwMThkZWNhcmJvbml6ZVx1MjAxOSBhcyB1c2VsZXNzIGFzIGd5bSBtZW1iZXJzaGlwcyBhbmQgZXh0ZW5kZWQgd2FycmFudGllcyIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiaGlnaHdheSIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoxNTU4MTI0NDl9.9qvSbj4cXvYARNVPtZNwpwCmS09vtXhIsvWmtJiWGP4MQ"},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691824424,691829997,691840919,691819248,691821464,691825837,691820814,691819298,691840918],"class_list":{"0":"post-423004","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-20-trillion","9":"tag-carbon-dioxide-co","10":"tag-climate-warriors","11":"tag-decarbonize","12":"tag-environmental-protection-agency-epa","13":"tag-global-economy","14":"tag-hydrocarbons","15":"tag-renewable","16":"tag-u-s-and-europe","18":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNz-3v_GUn7bhBqsq0byriNLYF6ycCo45QH7ELe2ZWCrgWn-ySePgmhDfB21nb3nn7qfa_7RgBKE8ObxFA7LNI8u44gTkbN1qUhL2K-YkoWfCG0psr_sRcVRJf8wA.jpeg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1M2E","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":428126,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=428126","url_meta":{"origin":423004,"position":0},"title":"EPA\u2019s CO2 Reversal Is Welcome Opening for Developing World","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/02\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"There is more to be done. Reason and good sense would have the EPA remove the Endangerment Finding\u2019s hold over industrial emissions of greenhouse gases, like those coming from power plants, and would undertake to dismantle the rule\u2019s flimsy scientific justifications.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQNhqY13DgIlFBEJ9wEB3DCbjHAlkS-OfUFWrf8uwXlEpyk1Mybamm-uPGq78tLjN_jc3Wr1Qj8j-GIy3O904iQHH11qd8xehFGf8I-vihgjW0eCpeQPpyhP9yd7BOMYAQgS2JiGDTLEP_EN3ZENnqsfPLJ3RQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQNhqY13DgIlFBEJ9wEB3DCbjHAlkS-OfUFWrf8uwXlEpyk1Mybamm-uPGq78tLjN_jc3Wr1Qj8j-GIy3O904iQHH11qd8xehFGf8I-vihgjW0eCpeQPpyhP9yd7BOMYAQgS2JiGDTLEP_EN3ZENnqsfPLJ3RQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQNhqY13DgIlFBEJ9wEB3DCbjHAlkS-OfUFWrf8uwXlEpyk1Mybamm-uPGq78tLjN_jc3Wr1Qj8j-GIy3O904iQHH11qd8xehFGf8I-vihgjW0eCpeQPpyhP9yd7BOMYAQgS2JiGDTLEP_EN3ZENnqsfPLJ3RQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQNhqY13DgIlFBEJ9wEB3DCbjHAlkS-OfUFWrf8uwXlEpyk1Mybamm-uPGq78tLjN_jc3Wr1Qj8j-GIy3O904iQHH11qd8xehFGf8I-vihgjW0eCpeQPpyhP9yd7BOMYAQgS2JiGDTLEP_EN3ZENnqsfPLJ3RQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQNhqY13DgIlFBEJ9wEB3DCbjHAlkS-OfUFWrf8uwXlEpyk1Mybamm-uPGq78tLjN_jc3Wr1Qj8j-GIy3O904iQHH11qd8xehFGf8I-vihgjW0eCpeQPpyhP9yd7BOMYAQgS2JiGDTLEP_EN3ZENnqsfPLJ3RQ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":340395,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=340395","url_meta":{"origin":423004,"position":1},"title":"Here are the \u2018Green\u2019 projects Biden is dumping billions into before he leaves office","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"23\/08\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"With its July 22\u00a0announcement\u00a0that it is disbursing $4.3 billion in taxpayer-funded grants for an assortment of climate projects around the country, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) secured the loot for grateful recipients before President Joe Biden leaves office in January.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Woman-blowing-money-off-building.jpg?fit=1200%2C773&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Woman-blowing-money-off-building.jpg?fit=1200%2C773&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Woman-blowing-money-off-building.jpg?fit=1200%2C773&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Woman-blowing-money-off-building.jpg?fit=1200%2C773&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Woman-blowing-money-off-building.jpg?fit=1200%2C773&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":216222,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=216222","url_meta":{"origin":423004,"position":2},"title":"While rest assured it can never happen, what would global actually cost? Part III","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/08\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"But wind and solar cannot manufacture anything for society.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1335.png?fit=1200%2C871&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1335.png?fit=1200%2C871&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1335.png?fit=1200%2C871&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1335.png?fit=1200%2C871&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1335.png?fit=1200%2C871&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":337513,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=337513","url_meta":{"origin":423004,"position":3},"title":"Natural Gas Industry\u2019s Smear of Coal Is False and Self-Defeating","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"25\/07\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Smearing coal has become a marketing strategy of a natural gas industry that embraces pseudoscientific views of coal combustion as being hazardous.","rel":"","context":"In \"CO2\"","block_context":{"text":"CO2","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/OIG-38.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/OIG-38.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/OIG-38.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/OIG-38.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":422851,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=422851","url_meta":{"origin":423004,"position":4},"title":"The $20 Trillion\u00a0Question","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"24\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"When America was a can-do nation, we built the Empire State Building in a year. Today, it would take years to get a permit.","rel":"","context":"In \"$20 TRILLION\"","block_context":{"text":"$20 TRILLION","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=20-trillion"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0-The-20-Trillion-Question.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0-The-20-Trillion-Question.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0-The-20-Trillion-Question.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0-The-20-Trillion-Question.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":337407,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=337407","url_meta":{"origin":423004,"position":5},"title":"Biden Admin Cuts Multi-Billion Dollar Check to Push \u2018Community-Driven\u2019 Green Projects All Over America","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"24\/07\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Biden administration announced Monday that it is sending billions of dollars across the country to advance climate change-related projects.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0joker-money-burning-sg-1920x1200-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0joker-money-burning-sg-1920x1200-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0joker-money-burning-sg-1920x1200-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0joker-money-burning-sg-1920x1200-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0joker-money-burning-sg-1920x1200-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423004","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=423004"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":423010,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423004\/revisions\/423010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/423008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=423004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=423004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=423004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}