Month: February 2024

Denial on Trial: Mike Mann’s Long Awaited Defamation Suit

Some 12 years in the making, climate scientist Michael Mann’s defamation suit against denialist Loon Mark Steyn and others just wrapped.
It’s like reliving the bad old days.

Above, I worked with Mann over some weeks to weed thru the minutia of the climate-gate “Hide the decline” nonsense.

DesmogBlog:

On Monday, conservative blogger Mark Steyn wrapped up his confrontational cross-examination of Michael Mann, the climate scientist who is suing him and another climate denier for defamation in Washington, D.C. Superior Court. 

Steyn appeared determined to portray Mann, currently the Distinguished Professor of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, as untrustworthy and deceitful, in an aggressive manner suggesting that more than a decade of litigation in this case has done little to dampen his contempt for Mann’s allegations, or for the science of climate change.

It was Mann’s fourth and final day on the stand.
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As part of the defense, Steyn et al showed a circa 2010 Richard Muller climate denial lecture.

I’m sure they probably didn’t show my own 2014 interview with Muller, who, after a deep data dive, completely agreed with the science consensus on warming.

Among other gems, defense introduced forgotten gems of climate denial “humor” like this one, I guess because they thought it would sway jurors?

More Desmog:

As DeSmog has previously reported, in 2012 Mann sued Steyn and Rand Simberg, another right-wing writer, charging that their attempts to discredit his work in print and online had damaged Mann’s reputation and led to a decline in the scientist’s ability to secure research funding. 

In a 2011 blog post for the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a conservative think tank that has long espoused climate science denial and delay, Simberg stated that Mann had “molested and tortured data,” comparing him to Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State football coach imprisoned for child molestation. Steyn, who was then a regular guest on Fox News, quoted and amplified Simberg’s charges in the National Review, a prominent conservative magazine.

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Continue reading “Denial on Trial: Mike Mann’s Long Awaited Defamation Suit”

Biden OKs 1.5 Billion Loan to Restart Nuclear Plant

Bloomberg:

The Biden administration is poised to lend $1.5 billion for what what would be the first restart of a shuttered US nuclear reactor, the latest sign of strengthening federal government support for the atomic industry.

The funding, which is set to get conditional backing from the US Energy Department, will be offered as soon as next month to closely held Holtec International Corp. to restart its Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, according to people familiar with the matter.

Holtec has said a restart of the reactor is contingent on a federal loan. Without such support, the company has said it would decommission the site.

The financing comes as the Biden administration prioritizes maintaining the nation’s fleet of nuclear plants to help meet its ambitious climate goals — including a plan to decarbonize the electricity grid by 2035. More than a dozen reactors have closed since 2013 amid competition from cheaper power from natural gas and renewables, and the Energy Department has warned that as many of half of the nation’s nuclear reactors are at risk of closing due to economic factors.

Nick Culp, a Holtec spokesman, said the company was “very optimistic” about the Energy Department loan process.

“This is a historic opportunity for the country and Michigan,” Culp said. “As we transition away from fossil fuels, nuclear is going to be a critical part of not only reaching our climate goals but doing so in a way that ensures the lights stay on.”

Holtec acquired the 800-megawatt power plant in 2022 after Entergy Corp. closed it due to financial reasons, but began pushing forward with plans to restart after pleas from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

The Juniper, Florida-based company’s plans for a restart got a boost after Wolverine Power Cooperative, a local power company, agreed to buy as much as two-thirds of the plant’s output starting as soon as late 2025, though additional hurdles, including sign off from federal nuclear regulators, remains.

The funding would be backed by a loan guarantee program designed to revitalize old energy plants that was created in President Joe Biden’s climate law. If successful, Palisades would be the first nuclear reactor financed by the Biden administration.

The announcement, expected in late February, comes as Republicans have targeted the Energy Department loan program as they seek to score a political victory in an election year. But the funding has backing from several Republicans including Michigan Representative Bill Huizenga, who was the led signer of a letter from nine lawmakers urging Energy Secretary Granholm to approve the loan.