Rural America Rejects Renewable Energy as China Avoids Military Talks

On December 12, 2023, guest host Allen Thomas fills in for Kim Monson to explore critical issues facing America, from the growing grassroots resistance to renewable energy projects in rural communities to the dangerous breakdown in military communications between the United States and China, with energy expert Robert Bryce and national security correspondent Andrew Thornebrooke. Rural Communities Fight Back Against Alternative Energy Projects Start listening at 30:59 – Hour 1 Robert Bryce, author and documentarian behind Juice: How Electricity Explains the World, exposes the explosive growth of local resistance to wind and solar projects across America. His Renewable Rejection Database documents over 600 cases where county commissions, townships, and local governments have said no to massive energy installations in their backyards. Bryce challenges the conventional marketing of these projects, arguing they should be called what they truly are: alternative energy, not clean, green, or renewable. The data reveals a troubling pattern. Since Ohio passed SB 52 in 2021, which gave local communities zoning authority over alternative energy projects, dozens of townships have exercised that power to ban big wind and big solar. Yet four heavily Democratic states, California, New York, Illinois, and Michigan, have moved in the opposite direction, passing measures allowing state bureaucrats to override local opposition and force communities to accept projects they voted against. Bryce argues the push for these projects has nothing to do with climate change and everything to do with tax credits and money. Prime farmland in Wisconsin covering eight square miles nearly fell to solar panels, driven not by environmental concerns but by financial incentives. Meanwhile, the COP28 summit in Dubai produced no meaningful agreement on phasing out hydrocarbons, while 204,000 megawatts of new coal-fired capacity remains under construction worldwide. “I don’t call them, I know it’s the Renewable Rejection Database, but I’ve decided these projects, what we’re seeing is a lot of branding. They call them clean, they call them green, they call them renewable. They’re none of that. They’re not clean. They’re not green. They’re not renewable. They’re alternative energy.” Robert Bryce, Author and Energy Expert Insurance Protection Against Uninsured Drivers Start listening at 63:45 – Hour 2 Jon Boesen of Boesen Law shares a cautionary tale about a friend involved in a hit-and-run accident, highlighting the critical importance of carrying adequate uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. With state minimums woefully inadequate at just $25,000 per person, Boesen recommends minimum coverage of $100,000 to $500,000, plus an umbrella policy. The attorney notes an alarming trend of more drivers on the road without any insurance coverage. When a driver hits you and flees the scene, uninsured motorist coverage allows your own insurance company to step in and handle the claim as if they were the at-fault driver’s insurer. This protection extends even to pedestrians struck by vehicles. “If you get involved in an accident with a driver that doesn’t have insurance coverage or someone that hits you, leaves the scene, it’s an uninsured situation. If you have uninsured motorist coverage, your insurance company steps in to the place of the at-fault driver, and then they take over and handle the claim.” Jon Boesen, Boesen Law China Blocks Military Communications Despite Biden Summit Promises