Bill Gates embraced climate alarmism some time ago, and now makes its promotion his priority.

This is comparable with his confusion about malaria. The Gates Foundation is spending huge amounts of money, trying to eradicate malaria without using DDT. Apparently, Bill Gates believes that malaria-bearing mosquitoes became resistant to DDT and does not know that DDT was withdrawn from anti-malaria use by the World Health Organization after 1976, after it was banned in the US in 1972, in response to the environmental alarm. It seems he gets his information on both topics from related sources.

In the past, Bill Gates noticed that ridiculously small amount of money was invested in energy R&D. He did not understand that was not a bug, but a feature. This contradicts the assertions of the alarmists that “renewables” (as understood by environmentalists, i.e. not including nuclear and hydro) are going to replace fossil fuels. Of course, there are other motives behind the Climatist assault on the energy industries. These motives may range from a simple shakedown to actions that, when committed by an American citizen, fall under Article III Section 3 of the Constitution of the United States.

Bill Gates has founded the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, whose mission statement starts with this zinger: “THE WORLD NEEDS WIDELY AVAILABLE ENERGY that is reliable, affordable and does not produce carbon.” This is an incredibly illiterate statement. Fossil-fuel power plants and engines do not produce carbon; they consume it. Coal consists mostly of carbon and coal power plants burn it, ultimately converting its chemical energy into electricity and releasing carbon dioxide. It is carbon dioxide that he is supposed to hate.

A closer look at the membership of this Coalition easily reveals the cause of this scientific illiteracy. None of the 28 listed members has any scientific or engineering experience, and only one member (Mukesh Ambani) has energy business experience. (By the way, Mukesh Ambani owns a conglomerate with significant interests in oil & gas – an Indian equivalent of Koch Industries.) The majority of the members are software and hedge fund billionaires. As far as science is concerned, this is a “blind leading the blind” situation.

But they asked everyone to spread the word – and I am glad to oblige.