Examining ESG

 Welcome to the 52nd week of this correspondence. When I look back I see a few evolutions in how we've organized the material and the process has been very clarifying. This week's post includes a dozen links, but check out the second one in the Science category, where three eminent scientists present a remarkably lucid short summary of the scientific case against climate alarmism.  SCIENCE • Infrared Radiative Effects of Increasing CO2 and CH4 on the Atmosphere in Antarctica Compared to the Arctic • Papering over dissent • ClimateMovie Fact Check: Exaggerated warming in the Northern Hemisphere land record INVESTMENT/ECONOMICS • The fossil fuel industry should defend itself against Congressional smears • EV range anxiety? Gas vehicles dwarf EVs on the average number of miles driven. Electric vehicles are also more expensive to drive than other fuel types. • Cooking the Books - Exposing the lunacy of the Green New Math™ • The call to abandon ESG is a plea for indig...

Two political documents were just published at essentially the same time, but with opposite intentions. One is all about liberating the human mind in pursuit of life-promoting energy. The other is about using government force to stop citizens, energy producers, and energy sellers from speaking freely the truth about fossil fuels. First, the good stuff. Not being American but Canadian, and being in favour of any politician or political party that has pro-reason, pro-human, pro-rights policies, it is wonderful to see the Republican National Committee come out with an energy policy resolution that is likely the best one ever crafted. You can download it using this link , but the full text is below. How inspiring to see such a statement published in a world that has such irrational ideas about energy and prosperity!  RESOLUTION SUPPORTING A TRANSFORMATIVE ENERGY FREEDOM POLICY FOR AMERICA WHEREAS, Affordable, reliable energy is essential to American and human prosperity because it giv...

This week in science a graph showing the exponential decline in deaths from weather and climate extremes.  In Investment/Economics the rise of fake DEI/ESG reporting along with a couple of articles about fossil fuel necessity, one about California’s policy-induced climate-related property insurance crisis, and one about a large drop in young people’s support for ESG causes.  To wrap, the Absurdity category references the case of an EV battery costing more to replace than the price of the car.  When the Climate Was Perfect - Was the global climate of 1850-1900 really so great? "One important reason that the period 1850-1900 serves as a useful baseline of climate utopia is that almost no one has any idea what the climate looked like back then, much less the climate impacts actually experienced. Most modern climate records start in the 20th century, and to the extent that the IPCC considers pre-20th climate it is in terms of physical quantifies and not impacts or risks...

In the Science category we have a new peer-reviewed study examining the backup needed for intermittent renewables, and it’s enormous and thus enormously expensive. A second link shows how CO2 intensity has been declining in a straight line for sixty years and all the climate policies have made zero difference.  In the Investment/Economics category we have “green” energy reversals, impossible mining, nuclear promises and Net Zero hampering UN Social Development Goals. Finally, filed under Absurdities, Canada’s cow burp credit trading system. You just can’t this stuff up… Intermittent Renewables Can't Work On Their Own A peer-reviewed study published in September 2023 with the title “ Storage requirements to mitigate intermittent renewable energy sources: analysis for the US Northeast ” finds that a system running on wind and solar would need storage equal to 25% of annual energy production to be reliable. The lead author elaborates on the research in a blog post .  Respond...

I’d like you to challenge me and the statements I’ve made. I said at the start of our continuing conversation that I am open to any questions, any challenges to my statements, and I’m willing to discuss any arguments. Mutual fund companies are such an important part of my business and thus my life, and I am trying to save the companies and myself from embarrassment, reputational and regulatory damage, and even financial losses through my conversation with you. Thank you for being open to these topics and patient with my weekly stream of information. I hope you are now seeing that there is a tremendous body of work based on fundamental principles of science, economics, investment, and morality behind my efforts. This week, as a lead-up to our meeting, I’ve focused on the very big picture in the Science category. As you know, my comments have largely emphasized the E portion of ESG, which comprises the vast majority of ESG, and towering over the dominant E factor is the hypothesis that h...