Today environmental organizations around the globe are celebrating Earth Day. In his article "Celebrating Earth Day: Is Another Half-Acid Apocalypse On the Way?" Patrick Michaels takes a look at the track record of environmental forecasts.

"49 former NASA scientists and astronauts sent a letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden last week admonishing the agency for it’s role in advocating a high degree of certainty that man-made CO2 is a major cause of climate change while neglecting empirical evidence that calls the theory into question."

The magazine Der Spiegel reports about the curiosity that Diesel must keep RWEs offshore wind park in motion:

"The reason is as simple as it is surprising. The wind farm operator, German utility RWE, has to keep the sensitive equipment -- the drives, hubs and rotor blades -- in constant motion, and for now that requires diesel-powered generators. Because although the wind farm will soon be ready to generate electricity, it won't be able to start doing so because of a lack of infrastructure to transport the electricity to the mainland and feed it into the grid. The necessary connections and cabling won't be ready on time and the delay could last up to a year."

Ökowatch wishes all readers and supporters joyful holidays!

Thank you for your continuous support - we are looking forward to extending the Ökowatch service in the coming year!

The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) reports that the credibility of the European energy reviews is in doubt: These are based on only one economic model by a single Greek university. This model however is not available for independent review.

The Berlin Manhattan Institute (BMI) and the European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE) jointly host the 4th International Conference on Climate and Energy in Munich.

Keith Kloor writes on Yale environment360:

"Activist Mark Lynas has alienated his green colleagues by renouncing long-held views and becoming an advocate for nuclear power and genetically modified crops. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he explains why he rethought his positions and turned to technology for solutions."

In the interview, Mark Lynas states:

"We cannot afford to foreclose powerful technological options like nuclear, synthetic biology, and genetic engineering because of Luddite prejudice and ideological inertia."

Forbes.com reports on the findings of an exhaustive new study, released by Bentek Energy, a Colorado-based energy analytics firm. Rather than rely on computer models that use theoretical emissions data, the authors of the study, Porter Bennett and Brannin McBee, analyzed actual emissions data from electric generation plants located in four regions.

The conclusion:

• Wind energy's carbon dioxide-cutting benefits are vastly overstated
• The reductions are too expensive to be used on any kind of scale