By Vijay Jayaraj As we embark on a new year, our hopes and aspirations are renewed even as the specter of a climate doomsday purportedly looms over us. The predicted apocalypse being a falsehood, we are called upon in this season of joy and love to forgive the fear-mongers perpetrating it. These would include policymakers, news… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj On a recent cold winter day, residents of Munich were surprised to see people skiing in the street. Yes, that is how much snow fell in the German city and other parts of Europe during the early winter of 2023-2024. Despite a disruption to both ground and air travel, the Germans survived… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Much of the United Nations’ annual climate gatherings is show. Some of it is unintentional and amusing while other performances are planned and, for the rational observer, more troubling than entertaining. Take the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai. Some surely smiled at the lapse of United Arab Emirates host mixing… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Every day, people across the world wake up to news about climate change affecting their lives. With the seeming randomness of a capricious roulette wheel, the doomsday clique of the climate world daily selects a fresh topic to sow seeds of anxiety among the populace. Popular things easily recognized — even cherished… Continue Reading
11.28.2023
Economic Progress and Fossil Fuels: The Elephant in the Room at U.N. Climate Conference
The mainstream media are gearing up to bombard people with terms like “climate emergency,” “climate justice” and “climate equity” in anticipation of this week’s start of the 28th United Nations Conference of the Parties in Dubai. They might even introduce catchphrases and announce historic breakthroughs in emission-reduction diplomacy. The public relations messaging of climate politics, however, has… Continue Reading
by Vijay Jayaraj The United Nations Conference of the Parties, more commonly referred to as COP, is a yearly climate conference. This year’s COP, the 28th such event, is to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city of Dubai between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12. The irony of the event’s location this year cannot… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Recurrent floods in Pakistan that cause widespread property damage have been used by mainstream media as a propaganda tool to shift blame from poor urban planning to purported anthropogenic climate change. Research indicates that excessive flooding is not a recent occurrence brought on by human activity; rather, it is a normal occurrence… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj News of record installations of so-called renewable energy electric generation in China may have kindled the hopes of those supporting the “green” agenda and hostile to fossil fuels. However, China is in no position to give up hydrocarbons, particularly coal. During the first half of 2023, China approved 52 gigawatts (GW) of… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Electric vehicles (EVs) are a poster child for the so-called green transition. Even in some of the world’s poorest economies, an unquestioning embrace of all things “green” on the part of political elites powers a push for the adoption of electric vehicles. Africa — considered to be the least developed continent — is inundated… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Thailand’s protected forest areas are home to the Indochinese tiger, known by its biological name Panthera tigris corbetti. Recent population numbers suggest that the tiger is making a comeback. Tiger populations in two of Thailand’s wildlife sanctuaries grew from 42 in 2012 to about 100 in 2022. The resurgence is one more conservation success story… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Over the past few decades, Indonesia, an archipelagic nation made up of over 17,000 islands, has seen amazing economic progress. The strategic utilization of fossil fuels is a key factor at the center of this growth. Indonesia is a significant user of coal as well as the world’s third-largest producer of the… Continue Reading
In Memoriam: Dr. M.S. Swaminathan – The Visionary of India’s Green Revolution By Vijay Jayaraj There are some people who leave a lasting impression on this world. One of them is Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, who worked alongside Norman Borlaug to turn India into an agricultural haven. The legend who was instrumental in making India become… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Various cities in the West have adopted “green” initiatives that might go unnoticed for the time being. One among them is carbon-free transportation through the transition from gasoline-and diesel-powered vehicles to ones propelled by electric motors. Electric vehicles (EVs) have been in the news lately for their disastrous sales numbers despite being… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj As host of the Sept. 9 G20 summit, India is ready to defend its use of fossil fuels despite the hostility of some of its guests toward the energy source. Speaking at a pre-summit conclave organized by local media, Union Power Minister R.K. Singh answered criticism that his country is a large emitter of… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj On August 23, India landed a craft near the Moon’s South Pole – an historic feat matched only by three other countries and made possible by the subcontinent’s largely uninhibited use of fossil fuels. The acceleration of coal usage between 2000 and 2020 played a pivotal role in bringing electricity to billions… Continue Reading
by Vijay Jayaraj In an era of sensationalism and clickbait headlines, the media’s portrayal of hot weather adopts an apocalyptic tone. Each scorching summer is touted as further evidence of an impending climate catastrophe with little room for nuance or objective analysis. However, lost in the hyperbole is the inconvenient truth that cold weather poses… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj There is not much new about media hyperbole in weather reporting, but July’s climate alarmism may be more breathless than usual. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media were inundated with posts containing flaming red maps of Southern Europe and Northern Africa. “July 2023 will probably be the world’s hottest month in… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo recently made headlines with its record-breaking order of Airbus passenger jets. The deal, worth an estimated $50 billion, is the largest single order in Airbus history. While the order for 500 of the A320neo aircraft is a major coup for Airbus, it is being termed a “setback” for… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj As an Indian, I don’t know whether to be more annoyed by Al Gore’s condescension or his hypocrisy when he describes my country as “the world’s third-highest emitter” of carbon dioxide in a tweet congratulating it for pausing investments in coal-fired power plants for five years. As the world’s most populous nation, India’s CO2… Continue Reading
Despite intense news coverage of issues surrounding the U.S. southern border, it is rare to see headlines about the energy policy of Mexico and the rest of Latin America. Nonetheless, much as in other regions, energy is a major concern inextricably tied to economic well-being. Poverty remains pervasive in Mexico and various countries to its… Continue Reading
Ranked 12th in per capita energy consumption in 2021, South Korea uses more than three times the global average. The country’s industrial sector accounts for 40 percent of total energy consumption. Particularly energy-intensive are large industrial cities such as Ulsan and Gwangyang, which is home to what claims to be the world’s largest steel manufacturing… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj Since an earthquake and tsunami severely damaged nuclear reactors at Fukushima, Japan has struggled with powering its economy. While the country’s initial reaction to the 2011 disaster was to abandon a once robust nuclear program, a decade later Japan is not only returning to splitting atoms and but also seeking to burn… Continue Reading
By Vijay Jayaraj On May 14, Cyclone Mocha made landfall near Myanmar and Bangladesh. It was not surprising to see many mainstream media blame climate change for it. The pattern has now become common. Every time there is a major cyclonic event, the media fan fear of climate change and argue that human-induced emissions of… Continue Reading
by Vijay Jayaraj Polar bear populations remain healthy in the Arctic irrespective of the once popular images of bears somehow suffering from a warming planet. Nevertheless, native people’s freedoms are being restricted by impractical government policies inspired by an irrational adherence to a doomsday vision. Canada is home to approximately two-thirds of the global polar… Continue Reading
by Vijay Jayaraj India’s unconstrained use of coal for electricity generation is helping 1.4 billion people adapt to intense heat waves that registered 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on thermometers. However, I’ve not seen a single story from the mainstream media highlighting why coal is essential to the comfort – and even survival – of… Continue Reading