Lisa Jackson: Dark Knight

One could imagine that Lisa Jackson is crusading, I suppose.

In which case, she's on the wrong side.

The new (hospital-announced) MACT rules are a very serious danger to this country.

...The Associated Press estimated that “more than 32 mostly coal-fired power plants in a dozen states will be forced to close because of the new, more stringent regulations. Another 36 plants are at risk of closing.”  This will drain at least 14.7 gigawatts, “enough power for more than 11 million households,” off the grid between 2014 and 2015.

The AP nevertheless assures us that “no lights will go dark,” which sounds less like a prediction than a prayer.  How do we lose 14.7 gigawatts without any lights going dark?

And that’s a fairly lowball estimate of the impact from these plant closings.  Last month, the Institute for Energy Research estimated that the true effect will be nearly double what the EPA estimates, or at least 28 gigawatts of generating capacity… and even that might not be the end of it.  According to the Wall Street Journal, the highly respected North American Electric Reliability Corporation believes that “on top of the 38 gigawatts of generation that is already being run below normal levels or slated for early retirement, another 36 to 59 gigawatts will come offline by 2018, depending on the ‘scope and timing’ of EPA demands.”

By the way, there is ZERO evidence that utility-emitted mercury has any health effects.  ZERO.  One may speculate that there are some, of course.  But 28 gigawatts is a helluva large bet on speculation.  (Of course, our Statist Masters will not have to worry about electricity shortages.)

You remember those images of North Korea at night?

Yup.