When Climate Dogmatism Meets Energy Reality

From the New Jersey Star-Ledger of January 28, 2020: Murphy just unveiled N.J.'s master plan for energy and made a big pledge to fight climate change

The document lays out the [Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil] Murphy administration’s vision for how to ensure the state reaches its lofty green energy goals: 50% clean energy by 2030, and 100% clean energy by 2050.

The plan is intended to slash the Garden State’s greenhouse gas emissions, reducing New Jersey’s contribution to climate change.

Murphy warned Monday that climate change is direct [sic] threat to New Jersey. He citied [sic] a recent Rutgers University report that said sea levels along New Jersey’s coast are expected to rise more than one foot by 2030 and two feet by 2050.

“Quite frankly, it will be hard for future generations to create their Jersey Shore memories if the Jersey shore becomes only a memory,” the governor said. “We are not gonna let this keep happening without a fight.”

Sounds apocalyptic. Murphy is certainly no slouch in such scary rhetoric. He called his plan "ground zero” for “weaning the state off its century-old addiction to fossil fuels.” Environmentalists are cheering—or are they? Not so fast:

New Jersey got 94% of its energy from natural gas and nuclear power combined in 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Garden State environmentalists are pushing for the state to phase out those two energy sources, but Murphy’s plan allows for both to continue.

The master plan defines clean energy as being “carbon-neutral." That includes nuclear power and allows for natural gas power plants as long as steps are taken to offset the carbon emissions that the plants create.

This is a sticking point for New Jersey’s environmental advocates, many of who joined together in early 2019 and called on Murphy to place a moratorium on all natural gas development in the Garden State.

Despite the “climate crisis,” why is Murphy leaving the door open to these two sources of reliable energy? Environmentalists don’t give a damn about human well-being. But Murphy is not so reckless. How do you get rid of 94% of NJ’s energy production, including carbon-free nuclear, without causing a true humanitarian catastrophe? You can’t. Murphy’s leaving the door open to continued nuclear and natural gas energy looks like an escape hatch for Murphy. It allows him to parade as a leader in the “fight against climate change” without crippling the state. His plan includes:

Murphy’s master plan uses seven key strategies for emissions cuts. That includes expanding use of electric vehicles, accelerating the growth of the state’s renewable energy sector, strengthening energy efficiency standards and expanding the clean energy economy in New Jersey.

All well and good—and all beside the point. However effective these initiatives are at reducing carbon dioxide emissions, natural gas and nuclear will always be there to provide our vital energy. Murphy’s master plan guarantees it. Murphy is flat out admitting that so-called “renewable” or “clean” energy is not, with current technology, capable of replacing fossil fuels and nuclear as our primary energy source. If actually realized, electricity will of course get more expensive due to redundancy of generation. The more renewables that are added, the more reliable backup (natgas) we’ll need. But at least the reliability will be there. Murphy blinked.

And why? The question for the climate catastrophists is, are you willing to take the actual steps necessary to “save the planet?” How much human suffering are you actually willing to inflict. It’s easy for people like Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of environmental group the Sierra Club, to flippantly call for moratoriums on new natural gas projects—and, for good measure, to kill nuclear power. At least in this case, reality appears to have won out. That’s a relief. It may be the canary in the coal mine for the climate catastrophists. If a Phil Murphy, backed by an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature, won’t pull the trigger, who will? When push comes to shove, the politicians who talk the talk won’t actually have the guts to walk the walk. In New Jersey, energy reality has won a round against climate dogmatism.   

Related Reading:

The ‘Jihad on Pipelines,’ New Jersey Front

The False Promise of ‘Clean Solar Powered Utility Scale Energy’

My Letter Rebutting Sierra Club Opposition to N.J. PennEast Gas Pipeline

Human Energy Needs vs. 'Mother Earth'

Environmentalists Seeking to Deprive NJ Residents of Reliable Energy

Ecomodernism Is the Solution to Man-Made Climate Change—Ronald Bailey

In "Ignore the Fake Climate Debate [“The deniers and alarmists may make headlines, but behind the scenes, an expert consensus is taking shape on how to respond to global warming.”], an essay in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, the Breakthrough Institute's Ted Nordhaus cuts through the co-dependent alarmist/denier dialectic that drives headlines and fuels overheated tweet-fights.

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