Fungus and beetles threaten key pine species

Few trees are of greater ecological importance to the American northwest than the whitebark pine.  Its hardy branches and nutritionally dense seeds provide food and shelter for a host of animals including grizzlies, nutcrackers and red squirrels.  And it’s for this reason conservationists have become alarmed by its declining presence in which 90 percent of the trees have died off in recent years.  The villains are a pair of natural enemies: namely the pine beetle and a fungus called blister rust.  Fortunately biologists are fighting back by planting varieties of the trees that are resistant to the fungus and [...]

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|2020-11-11T11:11:30-05:00October 26th, 2020|Comments Off on Fungus and beetles threaten key pine species

Trumping the media

Scot Faulkner recounts the history of the rise of alternative media and how President Trump is fully utilizing new media outlets like Twitter to bypass the entrenched bastions of political correctness.

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|2017-01-20T15:40:13-05:00January 20th, 2017|1 Comment

Debate over ethanol remains unhusked

Supporters of ethanol fuel claim that its widespread use has reduced gasoline prices in the U.S. But according to a study at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ethanol production has almost no impact on gas prices, and claims to the contrary omit important variables and rely on seriously flawed statistical data.

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|2012-10-15T17:32:16-04:00August 30th, 2012|Comments Off on Debate over ethanol remains unhusked

DDT still needed to control deadly malaria

Not long ago, a United Nations agency conducted research in Latin America and claimed to have found effective ways to control malaria without the use of DDT. But according to expert analysis by two leading malaria researchers, there were no statistically significant reductions in malaria in demonstration areas that spanned Mexico and seven Central American nations.

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|2012-09-18T20:59:48-04:00August 29th, 2012|Comments Off on DDT still needed to control deadly malaria

UN Law of the Sea Treaty endangers American sovereignty

The Obama Administration is pushing for accession to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but Steven Groves of the Heritage Foundation says this would be a mistake . . .

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|2012-09-18T22:52:35-04:00August 28th, 2012|Comments Off on UN Law of the Sea Treaty endangers American sovereignty

2012 a scorcher, but no record setter

2012 has certainly been a brutally hot summer for much of the U.S. But was it a record setter, and was it related to global warming? No on both counts, according to the World Climate Report.

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|2012-09-18T22:54:16-04:00August 27th, 2012|Comments Off on 2012 a scorcher, but no record setter

Global warming science’s climate of corruption

If global temperatures are not rapidly rising, why do so many government agencies and companies keep sounding the global warming alarm?

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|2012-10-31T16:42:34-04:00March 8th, 2012|Comments Off on Global warming science’s climate of corruption

Green jobs gone with the wind

Does federal support for the U.S. wind industry create large numbers of green jobs?

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|2012-10-31T16:46:55-04:00March 2nd, 2012|2 Comments

A not-so-bright solar mandate

That solar energy has its supporters is news to no one. But that some might mandate its use for average citizens, and fine them $1,500 for noncompliance might seem a bit over the top.

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|2012-10-31T16:47:32-04:00February 29th, 2012|Comments Off on A not-so-bright solar mandate

Cities heat up new debate on global warming

Could the growth of our cities in recent years influence temperature readings and explain at least some of what is associated with global warming? Well, perhaps so, as two recent studies examined how temperatures around the Chinese cities of Beijing and Wuhan have experienced just such a rise as a result of rapid urbanization over the past several decades.

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|2012-10-31T16:48:24-04:00February 28th, 2012|Comments Off on Cities heat up new debate on global warming

Polluted science contaminates National Toxicology Program

The National Toxicology Program recently revised its process for listing carcinogens in our air and water. But does it go too far? Angela Logomasini of the Competitive Enterprise Institute offers this analysis: “Unfortunately, the federal National Toxicology Program’s carcinogen listing process has little connection to science. A CEI study shows that the criteria the agency uses are subjective rather than scientific.  As a result, the agency often labels many perfectly safe and valuable products as dangerous, inviting unnecessary regulations that undermining consumer freedom and innovation.  To ensure bad NTP decisions don’t adversely impact consumers, Congress needs to seriously reform [...]

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|2012-02-27T00:00:00-05:00February 27th, 2012|Comments Off on Polluted science contaminates National Toxicology Program

Free market keeps bee numbers buzzing

While there are many insects which pollinate flowering plants, the most celebrated is of course the honey bee. And while important for farmers and gardeners, the honey bee has been experiencing hardship over the past decade through a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Weakening its immune system, this mysterious disease kills one in three bees each year, and conservationists are at a loss as to its origins. Fortunately, according to the group PERC, the free market is ensuring honey bee numbers stay healthy as bee keepers that specialize in stocking hives with new worker and queen bees have [...]

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|2012-02-23T00:00:00-05:00February 23rd, 2012|Comments Off on Free market keeps bee numbers buzzing

Captive U.S. tigers no threat to wild brethren

Do captive tigers in the U.S. pose a danger to their brothers who live in the wild? The World Wildlife Fund says "yes" and wants to ban private tiger ownership in the U.S., claiming their body parts could enter the illegal trade and increase demand in Asia as well as poaching. But South African wildlife expert Michael ‘t Sas-Rolfes refutes this claim, noting that a recent census found less than 3,000 privately owned tigers in the U.S., with most found in licensed zoos and sanctuaries. Even if U.S. tiger parts did somehow enter the world market, it makes no [...]

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|2012-02-17T00:00:00-05:00February 17th, 2012|Comments Off on Captive U.S. tigers no threat to wild brethren

Ontario’s Green energy boondoggle

As politicians push for expensive Green energy, stories about soaring costs and a lack of promised jobs are abounding.  Now Canada's Financial Post reports that a scathing internal audit of Ontario's Green energy program reveals waste and abuse that makes the Solyndra scandal look mild.  Apparently, Ontario's Liberal government charged ahead with a Green energy plan in 2009 that didn't allow cost-benefit analysis or cost-cutting alternatives that would have saved ratepayers at least $8 billion.  Contracts are now locked in for renewable energy the province doesn't need, companies are being paid billions not to produce electricity, and rates, which [...]

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|2012-02-13T00:00:00-05:00February 13th, 2012|Comments Off on Ontario’s Green energy boondoggle

Colorado’s renewable standard to devastate economy

Colorado is set to require that 30 percent of its power come from renewable sources by 2020. Paul Chesser, executive director of the American Tradition Institute, believes this will devastate the state’s economy, and here explains why. . .

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|2013-02-20T11:53:01-05:00May 5th, 2011|Comments Off on Colorado’s renewable standard to devastate economy
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