A little ‘refer’ would not be madness … no, not that kind

Were I the editor of the morning paper, I would’ve been sorely tempted to insert a “refer” in the 4A story about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling  for nearly half a trillion dollars in subsidies to replace internal combustion engine vehicles with electric ones.

No, not that kind. In the newspaper biz a “refer” is a reference to another section or page on a related topic — like the one on today’s front page directing readers to a story inside related to the one about the dental board.

The Schumer news story simply cried out for a reference to today’s lede editorial about the futility of trying to reduce carbon emissions by coercing and bribing more people into electric cars.

The news story by the AP quotes Schumer as saying the “proposal to bring clean cars to all of America” would be a key part of climate legislation by Senate Democrats that “could position the U.S. to lead the world in clean auto manufacturing.”

The editorial on the other hand points out the huge carbon footprint created by the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries and the fact the electric cars are charged largely by fossil-fuel-burning power plants.

The editorial correctly explains the error of the Senate Democrats’ ways:

The lithium batteries that power electric cars have to come from somewhere. China produces 60 percent of the world’s supply, notwithstanding Northern Nevada’s Tesla plant. To produce a battery able to store as much energy as is contained in a barrel of oil, it requires the equivalent of 100 barrels of oil. That’s according to Manhattan Institute senior fellow Mark P. Mills.

“Importing batteries manufactured on Asia’s coal-heavy grid means that consumers are just exporting carbon-dioxide emissions,” Mr. Mills wrote recently in City Journal.

The Wall Street Journal reported in April on a German study finding that, given the country’s energy makeup, “the carbon emissions of battery-electric vehicles there, are, in the best case, ‘slightly higher than those of a diesel engine.’ ”

The carbon emissions don’t stop once the car is produced. Electric cars are charged on the grid. Coal and natural gas — both fossil fuels — produced 63 percent of that power in 2018. Almost 20 percent comes from nuclear power and 7 percent is from hydropower. Despite decades of hype and subsidies, wind and solar produced just a bit more than 8 percent. Solar and wind generation will likely increase in the coming decades, but absent an embrace of nuclear power, fossil fuels will be necessary to balance out the grid.

The factual opinion piece concludes by pointing out that electric cars merely exchange carbon emissions you can see for those you can’t — something the climate alarmists fail to grasp.

But since news and opinion are to be kept at arm’s length, I probably would have resisted inserting the “refer,” though it would’ve been a service to the reader and hardly madness.

Electric vehicle being charged. Photo accompanies R-J editorial online. (R-J file pix)

Obama to China: We’ll sacrifice and pay higher power bills and you will do, well, nothing whatsoever

Obama at a press conference (Getty Images)

I wouldn’t trust Obama to negotiate with trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. The first kid would get all the candy.

That’s what he did with his grand deal with China to cut carbon dioxide output. The U.S. agrees to cut carbon by up to 28 percent of our 2005 level by 2025, while China agreed to stop increasing its carbon emissions by 2030.

But Investor’s Business Daily reports that Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory forecasts that China’s emissions will peak in 2030. So, China has agreed to do nothing whatsoever.

Never mind there has been no global warming in 18 years despite what all the computer models predicted would be the result of rising carbon output.

The Wall Street Journal noted that under this nonbinding agreement, China promises “to intend to achieve the peaking of CO2 emissions around 2030,” which basically describes the status quo.

Of course, Nevada senior Sen. Harry Reid, D-Green cronies, thought it was a good deal:

“The historic announcement by President Obama and President Xi Jingping of China is exactly what is needed to ensure that America’s efforts to clean up our energy supply are replicated around the world.  As I’ve said in the past, we cannot wait to address climate change and strengthen our nation’s resilience to extreme weather and climate impacts. I hope this agreement will spur other countries to join with us in confronting climate change.”

As long as there is more loot for his renewable energy company contributors, all else is naught.

This deal merely shows that Obama is a pushover who will agree to anything in order to be able to say he negotiated a deal. Hello, world, here comes a sucker.

IBD graphic