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Environment Tag

Eco-activists enamored by alternative energy technology have long touted the potential for wind farms as a source of power. However, it appears that the industry's promises may be full of hot air. Take, for example, the funding for many projects. Many Americans are now coining the term "Big Wind" for wind farm installation firms who collude with government employees to obtain subsidies and funding for large-scale projects.

It comes as no surprise to Legal Insurrection readers as we have been following recent news cycles that sensational #FakeNews items spread rapidly through media, only to have retractions and corrections lag weakly behind. The same is true of #FakeScience.

Environmental activists constantly accuse humanity of destroying the Planet Earth. A case can be made that the reverse is actually true. Take, for instance, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's finding that there are is a mantle plume underneath Antarctica, which seems to explain much of the melting of the continental ice shelf.
Researchers at NASA have discovered a huge upwelling of hot rock under Marie Byrd Land, which lies between the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea, is creating vast lakes and rivers under the ice sheet. The presence of a huge mantle plume could explain why the region is so unstable today, and why it collapsed so quickly at the end of the last Ice Age, 11,000 years ago.

Despite predictions of economic doom and gloom in the wake of Donald Trump's presidential election win, things are actually looking quite sunny. A revised estimate showed gross domestic product had climbed at an annualized rate of 3 per cent, showing more growth than the professionals projected. Part of the reason for this new trajectory is President Trump's war on excessive regulation. For instance, in response to the impact of Hurricane Harvey on the region's fuel industry, Environmental Protection Agency is temporarily suspending some rules about gasoline production in an effort to minimize shortages around the southeast.
States from Maryland to Texas can sell winter-grade gasoline held in storage now, even though normally that type of fuel wouldn’t become available until fall, according to a federal waiver issued Wednesday. Refineries that continue to operate can also start churning out winter-grade gasoline, which emits more pollution than summer-grade gasoline when combusted in engines.

I came across an article at The Hill that the EPA planned to rewrite a regulation from President Barack Obama's administration that limited toxic waste from power plants. But before the left loses its mind, it's important to note that Energy Secretary Scott Pruitt didn't promise to change anything, just review it.

Legal Insurrection has been keeping an eye on the excitement about the Great American Solar Eclipse. While many people are flocking to the path of totality that will stretch across 14 states in this nation, there are concerns that scammers are trying to sell eclipse enthusiasts unsafe viewing glasses:
“We should have anticipated that some unscrupulous people would try to cash in on the eclipse with no concern for public safety. It’s one thing to sell T-shirts with logos that you don’t have permission to use — nobody really gets hurt. It’s quite another to sell eclipse glasses or other types of solar viewers that are not known to be truly safe,” Rick Fienberg, a spokesman for the American Astronomical Society (AAS), tells FOX Business.

The Catholic nuns of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ in West Hempfield, PA, have built an open air chapel on their land as a last effort to stop a company from building a natural gas pipeline on their property. From Philly.com:
A federal judge agreed this month that the pipeline’s parent company, Williams Partners, can condemn a portion of the order’s property for an easement. A hearing in U.S. District Court of the Eastern District in Reading is scheduled for Monday morning.

Last week, Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator, stated he intended to form a ‘red team’ to debate climate science.
“U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is leading a formal initiative to challenge mainstream climate science using a “back-and-forth critique” by government-recruited experts, according to a senior administration official. The program will use “red team, blue team” exercises to conduct an “at-length evaluation of U.S. climate science,” the official said, referring to a concept developed by the military to identify vulnerabilities in field operations.

Solar energy has been touted as the "greenest" and "safest" renewable energy option that is currently available. However, after 8 long years of solar energy businesses being promoted by the U.S. government, hard numbers and real work experiences are causing people to reassess just how "green" solar energy is. To begin with, it appears that solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of electricity generated than nuclear power plants:

President Trump has scored significant successes undoing the toxic eco-activist legacy of his predecessor, including the executive orders moving the signing of Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines forward. However, it seems that he cannot rely on certain establishment Republicans to continue his efforts. Before reading this piece further, pause for a moment and ask yourself which 3 GOP Senators would, when given a chance to vote to repeal Obama's drilling rules, would just say "NO".