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February 12, 2024
Title: Fact or Fiction: US Air is Safe to Breathe
Topic: Affordable and Reliable Energy
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Part 1 of 2
Dr. Brent Bennett is the Policy Director for
Life:Powered, an initiative of the
Texas Public Policy Foundation. Today, Dr. Bennett discusses the real
effect “going green” will have on American families.
Click here for more on this and
other related issues from Dr. Brent Bennett.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
During the COVID lockdowns and shutdowns, was there a measurable reduction in
pollution levels in US cities?
Do studies which analyze the air quality in the US include air pollution that
drifts our way from China and Mexico?
What is “fine particulate matter”?
Are there valid, unbiased scientific studies showing the number of deaths in the
US due to inhaling fine particulate matter?
Most people agree that cleaner air and cleaner water is important. However, are
most unwilling to pay more to achieve it?
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Title: Part 2 of 2 - Fact or Fiction: US Air is Safe to Breathe
Topic: Affordable and Reliable Energy
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Does the US already have low particulate levels as compared to other countries?
Is there evidence that Americans are living longer due to the slight decrease in fine particulate matter in our air?
What will happen to industry, manufacturing, and our driving habits should the EPA be successful in dictating its new national standard for fine particulate matter?
Click here to help support the
Texas Public Policy Foundation.
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November 8, 2023
Title: Unmasking the True Costs of Electric Vehicles
Topic: Electric Cars
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Part 1 of 2
How much does it really cost for an electric vehicle? If you think
this won’t affect you because you drive a gas-powered vehicle - - think again!
Dr. Brent Bennett is the Policy Director for Life:Powered with the
Texas Public
Policy Foundation. Today, he discusses the latest research
report he co-authored with Jason Isaac, former Texas State Representative and current
Director for Life:Powered.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Manufacturers of electric vehicles receive nearly $22 billion in federal and
state subsidies and regulatory credits. What does this amount to per electric
vehicle produced?
Does every single taxpayer pay for these subsidies – regardless of whether or
not they drive an electric vehicle?
Should there be full transparency by the manufacturers and the US government
regarding subsidies for electric vehicles?
Are new consumers continuing to flock to electric vehicle show room floors?
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Title: Part 2 of 2 - Unmasking the True Costs of Electric Vehicles
Topic: Electric Cars
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Have several electric vehicle manufacturers scaled back on their future plans?
What is the difference between an electric vehicle and a hybrid vehicle?
California wants a total ban on internal combustion engine vehicles (gas-powered
vehicles) by 2035. Is this even possible?
Click here to help support the
Texas Public Policy Foundation.
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September 25, 2023
Title: When the Sun Doesn’t Shine and the Wind Doesn’t Blow
Topic: Affordable and Reliable Energy
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
You walk over, flip the switch, and the lights come on. But what happens
when the lights don’t work?
Dr. Brent Bennett is the Policy Director for Life:Powered with the
Texas Public
Policy Foundation. Today, he discusses the investment problem plaguing the Texas
grid.
Click
here to read Dr. Brent Bennett’s op-ed on this important issue.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What happened to the Texas electric grid in February 2021?
Our electric grid operators rely on estimates of wind and solar generation.
Earlier this month, the wind did not pick up at sunset. What happened to the
electric grid? Dr. Bennett reveals how badly the wind energy capacity was
miscalculated and incorrectly projected this past summer.
What is “dispatchable electric generation capacity”?
How can electric reliability be restored? Is it a quick or slow process?
Do we have the technology today to store electricity produced by solar and wind
energy in case of a cold or heat emergency? Dr. Bennett discusses how we can
only store a little bit at a time – roughly around 30 minutes. He also reveals
that we won’t see any advancement in this area in the next 20 or even 30 years.
That is simply not good enough!
Did Texans dodge a bullet this summer with the extreme heat?
What is a good solution in the short-term?
Did the Texas Legislature tackle this issue during the last session? Dr. Bennett
says: “They did some things, but not enough.”
Click here to help support the
Texas Public
Policy Foundation.
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July 17, 2023
Title: New Data on Fossil Fuels and Climate Change
Topic: Climate Change Bologna
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Part 1 of 2
Brent Bennett is the Policy Director for
Life:Powered with the Texas
Public Policy Foundation. Today, Dr. Bennett discusses the results of their
updated data from the Model for the Assessment of Greenhouse Gas-Induced
Climate Change (MAGICC). In other words: What’s UP with a fossil fuel ban?
Will it “change” climate change?
Dr. Brent Bennett has an M.S.E. and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the
University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in physics from the University of Tulsa. His graduate research focused on advanced chemistries for utility-scale energy storage systems.
Click
here to read the press release and the full report by the
Texas Public Policy Foundation on this topic.
Click here for more from Dr. Bennett.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Can we store solar power generated during the day in batteries to use at night or when the power goes out? Do we have the battery capacity today? Dr. Bennett explains the challenges and why it is just not achievable any time soon.
What are greenhouse gases? Are they good or bad? Are greenhouse gases studied, tracked, and reported on? Is too much effort spent on predicting the future and not enough on current or past emissions? What causes greenhouse gas?
What caused the “little ice age”? Is the climate constantly changing?
What is “net zero”? Is net zero achievable?
If the US completely stopped using all fossil fuels by the year 2050, would the global temperature be affected? Dr. Bennet reveals that the temperature difference would be so miniscule – 0.082 degrees Celius – that we would not even notice a change.
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Title: Part 2 of 2 - New Data on Fossil Fuels and Climate Change
Topic: Climate Change Bologna
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Greenhouse gas emission have stayed relatively the same over the past 100 years.
Have solar emissions stayed constant, as well? Or does it change from
year-to-year? Do solar emissions have a huge effect on the climate?
Has the climate of the earth changed many, many, many times over the course of
history? Was the climate actually warmer when the dinosaurs roamed the earth
than it is now? How is that possible if humans are causing climate change?!?
With technological advances, do we have more of an idea of what causes the
earth’s climate to shift up or down? What is the estimated cost to eliminate the
use of fossil fuels? How much are people willing to pay every month to have
cleaner water and air?
Click here to donate to the
Texas Public Policy Foundation as they continue to promote and defend
liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise in Texas and the nation.
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March 14, 2023
Title: Biden’s Plan for Carbon Emission “Degrowth”
Topic: Climate Change Bologna
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Recently, Joe Biden issued an outrageous and far-fetched pledge to
reduce America’s carbon footprint – without research from any federal agency.
Dr. Brent Bennett is the Policy Director for Life:Powered, an initiative of the
Texas Public Policy Foundation. Today, Dr. Bennett discusses Joe Biden’s bold
(and expensive) plan.
Click
here to read the press release on this important topic from the
Texas Public Policy
Foundation.
Click here for more from
Dr. Brent Bennett.
Click here to learn more about the Life:Powered
initiative at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
America has spent over $100 BILLION to combat climate change. Has anything
changed, though? Weren’t carbon dioxide emissions at a record high in 2022? Dr.
Bennett explains that America is still low on the list, but globally the
numbers rose. He also reveals that the amount America has spent to lower the
levels is well over $200 BILLION now.
The world says America is the problem. Is America the problem? Can America, by
itself, reduce worldwide carbon emissions?
Does the atmosphere circulate around the globe over time? Dr. Bennett gives a
great explanation of pollution, carbon dioxide, the ozone, and how it all works
together.
Are China and India spending amounts equal to the US to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions in their nations? Dr. Bennett reveals that they are spending more
money building more coal plants, increasing their carbon footprint.
Joe Biden has boldly committed to reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions to
50+% below 2005 levels by 2030. READ THAT AGAIN! Will his Inflation Reduction
Act actually work? How much will it cost the American taxpayer?
What is “degrowth”? Is the Left laser-focused on degrowth?
Click here to donate to the
Texas Public Policy
Foundation as the continue to promote and defend liberty, personal
responsibility, and free enterprise in Texas and the nation.
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January 9, 2023
Title: Fact-Check: Fossil Fuels are Killing People
Topic: Affordable and Reliable Energy
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Dr. Brent Bennett is the Policy Direction for Texas Public Policy
Foundation’s LIFE:Powered Initiative. He is a sought-after speaker
and is responsible for research, fact-checking, and spearheading many of the
team’s policy and regulatory initiatives. Today, Dr. Bennett will be
fact-checking and debunking a recent report on fossil fuels from Harvard and
three British Universities.
For more from Dr. Bennett and the LIFE:Powered Initiative, click
here.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
A new research from Harvard University and three British Universities state that
nearly 1 in 5 deaths around the world is caused by breathing in polluted air
containing particles from fossil fuel emissions.
Is this true?
Did these studies and others like it examine deaths based on toxicology or
medically verified causes of death? Listen close as Dr. Bennett reveals the
truth!
How can we spread the TRUTH about the safety of fossil fuels?
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July 18, 2022
Title: Is the Texas Energy Grid Stable Enough?
Topic: Affordable and Reliable Energy
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Can Texans survive rolling blackouts in 110-degree heat? Can Texans afford to replace all of their perishable food each time we experience a blackout? What does the future hold for energy in Texas if we do not build more power plants that offer affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all?
Dr. Brent Bennett is the Policy Director for Life:Powered, an initiative of the
Texas Public Policy Foundation. Today he discusses the stability of the Texas energy grid.
Click
here to read more on this topic from the
TTPF.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
On Monday, July 11, 2022, how close were Texans to blackouts?
Does Texas have enough unused energy capacity to make up the difference when the wind doesn’t blow?
Is Texas building new thermal power plants that powered with natural gas, coal, and nuclear? Dr. Bennett explains that the future is so uncertain that companies are unwilling to invest in new plants, and therein lies the problem.
Are thermal plants required to have energy in reserve for emergency use?
Do we rely too much on wind and solar energy?
Will the Texas Legislature ever take action on this serious issue? Dr. Bennett explains why the Texas Legislature needs to fix the market and the investment problem.
Is this just a Texas problem? Or is this a nationwide and worldwide problem?
What does the future hold?
How should families prepare?
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November 19, 2021
Title: Is Climate Change Pre-PTSD a Real Thing?
Topic: Climate Change Bologna
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
A slightly suspicious and unsourced poll claims that 70% of
Americans are either very or somewhat worried about global warming.
Dr. Brent Bennett is the Policy Director for the Life:Powered Initiative
with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Today he discusses the earth’s
constantly changing climate and how reliable, affordable, and abundant energy
can save entire countries.
Click here for more information on the
Life:Powered Initiative.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Are Americans really suffering from pre-PTSD because of worries over climate
change? What is pre-PTSD?
Has the earth’s climate changed over the millennium? Dr. Bennett says: “As
you read more scientific literature, you see that what you read in the headlines
is entirely disconnected from the debates that go on within the scientific
realm.”
When looking back over recorded and non-recorded history focused on man’s
health, wealth, longevity, and comfort, is today the best time yet to be alive?
Do more people die from cold weather than from warm weather?
Can entire populations be released from abject poverty through the use of
reliable, affordable, and abundant energy? Dr. Bennett reminds us that this is
exactly what America did! We should help others, like those in the South Sudan
where only 1% of the population has electricity!
Do the poor and middle-class benefit the most from reliable, affordable, and
abundant energy?
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February 18, 2021
Title: Fact-Check: Fossil Fuels are Killing People
Topic: Affordable and Reliable Energy
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Dr. Brent Bennett is the Policy Direction for Texas Public Policy
Foundation’s LIFE:Powered Initiative. He is a sought-after speaker
and is responsible for research, fact-checking, and spearheading many of the
team’s policy and regulatory initiatives. Today, Dr. Bennett will be
fact-checking and debunking a recent report on fossil fuels from Harvard and
three British Universities.
For more from Dr. Bennett and the LIFE:Powered Initiative, click
here.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
A new research from Harvard University and three British Universities state that
nearly 1 in 5 deaths around the world is caused by breathing in polluted air
containing particles from fossil fuel emissions.
Is this true?
Did these studies and others like it examine deaths based on toxicology or
medically verified causes of death? Listen close as Dr. Bennett reveals the
truth!
How can we spread the TRUTH about the safety of fossil fuels?
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization
July 14, 2020
Title: America: We Have a Problem
Topic: Affordable and Reliable Energy
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Part 1 of 2
Is the transition from fossil fuels to wind and solar electrical
generation at reliable and affordable rates just around the corner?
Guest Dr. Brent Bennett says: “The energy transition myth overlooks the
fundamental physical limitations of producing electricity from wind and solar.”
Brent is a Policy Analyst at the Life:Empowered Initiative with the Texas
Public Policy Foundation.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What is required for utility-scale energy storage systems? Is the cost
astronomical? Brent explains that the cost is 2,000 times MORE than using coal…
What would it cost for me to install batteries to power my home for two days?
TRUE or FALSE: The costs for installing wind and solar
generating plants have been drastically and dramatically reduced.
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Title: Part 2 of 2 - America: We Have a Problem
Topic: Affordable and Reliable Energy
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What are the land requirements for wind and solar energy plants? Are Texans
ready for this?
Can America switch to wind and solar energy within the next ten years? Brent
says: “This is not just a technology problem. It is also a scale problem.
You can’t build that many that fast.”
Will rebuilding our energy system destroy the prosperity and freedom we enjoy
today in America?
While we have been distracted with COVID-19, have the environmentalists been
working overtime in pushing solar and wind energy?
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February 6, 2020
Title: How Do Fossil Fuels Affect Our Every Day Lives?
Topic: Fossil Fuels
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
More than 80% of our energy – and nearly every product we rely on
daily – comes from fossil fuels. But but but… Fossil fuels are
killing the planet, right?
Wrong!
Brent Bennett is a Policy Analyst at the Life:Empowered initiative with the
Texas Public Policy Foundation. Brent says this: “Data models used by
the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),
traditionally a champion for fighting climate change, project that even banning
ALL U.S. greenhouse gas emissions would barely put a dent in the climate.”
Questions/Issues Discussed:
What is the the Annual Global Temperature and how is it calculated?
How do some “experts” alter the calculations to “prove” that
global warming is “killing the planet”?
How do satellites calculate temperatures across the globe? Are these 100%
accurate?
Will the temperature actually be dramatically affected over 10-20-100 years if
we completely stop using fossil fuels? Brent says it won’t be affected at all!
Listen as he explains why we don’t want to be a “frozen ice ball!”
Does Congress have any power to dictate to other countries what type of energy
they use?
Do humans do better in warm climates or colder climates?
Why have the yields from crops increased and become more readily available over
the last 100 years? Is this due to cold or warm weather?
Do elections matter when it comes to our quality of life? Brent’s response is
perfect: “I wish they mattered less!”
To read more about this issue, click
here.
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August 29, 2019
Title: The True Cost for Wind and Solar
Topic: New Green Deal
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Part 1 of 2
Dr. Brent Bennett is a Policy Analyst for the Life: Powered
initiative at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Today,
Brent will be discussing a recent Sierra Club report that looks good on paper,
but is actually quite the opposite.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Are wind and solar energy plants able to provide electricity 24/7/365?
What are utility scale energy storage systems?
Are these systems currently available in some cities in Texas?
What type of backup systems are needed in addition to the utility scale energy
storage systems?
How long will it take to implement this type of system? Short answer:
Too long to satisfy AOC!
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Title: Part 2 of 2 - The True Cost for Wind and Solar
Topic: New Green Deal
Discussed by Dr. Brent Bennett
with Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.TexasPolicy.com)
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Have energy companies developed a way to segregate the electrons generated by
the wind mill and/or solar panel and transmit only those electrons to my house
for my consumption?
What is the “Climate Action and Adaptation Plan” (CAAP)?
Is the technology currently available to build a solar-powered energy plant that
can provide ALL Houstonians with ALL of their electrical needs 24/7/365? Dr.
Bennett says the technology is available, but the scale is not. Listen as he
explains costs, storage, and other information…
You can learn more about this and other energy related issues
here.
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