The distributional impact of alternative energy incentives

@RusselNorman Why 1.3 billion people without access to electricity can’t afford to divest from fossil fuels

Renewable energy is the biggest air pollution killer out there

Source: World Health Organisation.

Why @NZGreens @GreenpeaceNZ are enemies of workers & poor

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Source: An Environmentalism for the Left | Dissent Magazine.

% billionaires who made their money through political connections or resource industries

The 1826 Billionaires in the Forbes 2015 list are classified as rich through political connections if they made their money through past political positions, close relatives or friends in government, or questionable licenses, privatisations or resource extraction industries.

Source: Caroline Freund and Sarah Oliver, The Origins of the Superrich: The Billionaire Characteristics Database (2016).

All privatizations were included in the politically-connected/resource-related category despite my data source acknowledging the possibility that the new owners may have transformed the company. Resource billionaires were all deemed to be lucky or cronies by my data source rather than diligent as some most certainly were. This is something of a slur by my data source given the industriousness of some resource billionaires some of whom were even geologists.

Political cronyism is a path to billionaire wealth mainly in the developing countries. Less than 10% of Chinese billionaires made their money through political connections, which is surprising.

If you love nature, stay away from it – Ed Glaeser

It is hard to imagine any merchant who harmed the environment as much as Henry David Thoreau…

We are a destructive species, and if you love nature, stay away from it. The best means of protecting the environment is to live in the heart of a city.

Ed Glaeser

Source: If you love nature, move to the city – The Boston Globe.

Here’s where Republicans and Democrats differ on the role of government

North and South America at night

@GreenpeaceUK thinks these wind turbines are a pretty sight

@RusselNorman @JulieAnneGenter a hedge fund specialises in shorting renewable energy shares @Greenpeace

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Just as the Vice Fund specialises in investing in tobacco, alcohol, gaming and defence shares, Cool Futures Funds Management is starting-up to specialise in betting against global warming by shorting green stocks:

…instead of renewables being our energy future, they’re betting on the subsidies drying up and the whole industry collapsing; instead of fossil fuels being left in the ground as “stranded assets”.

An example of the nice little earners this hedge fund can come across is anticipating when particular investors will want to disinvest from fossil fuels.

When institutional investors ranging from universities to sovereign investment funds such as the New Zealand Superannuation Fund seek to disinvest from fossil fuels, that will be a good time to buy cheap shares.The

Some birds are more equal than others? @GreenpeaceNZ @GarethMP

Electricity from new #wind 3x more costly than existing #coal @GarethMP

Solar power in Canada

Image

Wind has exceeded 1% of the world’s energy needs in 2015

Area needed to power the Entire World with Solar Power

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