Free Republic

Researchers have found that the carbon footprint of generative AI-based tools that can turn text prompts into images and videos is far worse than we previously thought. As detailed in a new paper, researchers from the open-source AI platform Hugging Face found that the energy demands of text-to-video generators quadruple when the length of a generated video doubles — indicating that the power required for increasingly sophisticated generations doesn’t scale linearly. For instance, a six-second AI video clip consumes four times as much energy as a three-second clip.

The partially taxpayer-funded Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California’s Mojave Desert is set to shut down in 2026 due to inefficiency in generating solar energy, according to the New York Post. The $2.2 billion plant, which features three 459-foot towers, was greenlit in 2010 and completed in 2014. According to the New York Post the closure stems from the site being “outpaced by solar photovoltaic technology” and proving both inefficient and costly. The shutter of the site comes more than a decade ahead of its original 2039 end date, according to the Associated Press. Speculation about Ivanpah’s early closure began...

Seen from the sky, the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California’s Mojave Desert resembles a futuristic dream. Viewed from the bottom line, however, Ivanpah is anything but. The solar power plant, which features three 459-foot towers and thousands of computer-controlled mirrors known as heliostats, cost some $2.2 billion to build. Construction began in 2010 and was completed in 2014. Now, it’s set to close in 2026 after failing to efficiently generate solar energy. In 2011, the US Department of Energy under former President Barack Obama issued $1.6 billion in three federal loan guarantees for the project and the Secretary of...

Donald Trump humiliated Keir Starmer today with brutal swipes at Labour's Net Zero drive. The US President used a rambling speech at the UN to brand climate change 'the greatest con job ever'. The UK was singled out for particular criticism, despite Mr Trump being honoured with his second state visit to Britain just last week. Mr Trump also laid into Labour's London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan with an extraordinary allegation that he wanted to introduce Sharia law to the capital. The US President told the UN General Assembly in New York: 'I want to stop seeing them ruining that...

Every month, the electric bill arrives, and it’s larger than the month before. The region pays more for electricity than almost anyone else in America—higher than the national average and, outside of Alaska and Hawaii, higher than anywhere else in the country. This is not a coincidence. It is the inevitable result of politicians who pushed the risky and unreliable green agenda while forcing reliable power plants off the grid. The forced closure of coal, oil, and natural gas plants in the name of “climate progress” is why rates are climbing. In 2022, Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey...

Yesterday, a baffling video started making the rounds on social media showing Tennessee representative Tim Burchett casually claim that alien entities are here on Earth, and that they're rising out of the ocean. "What if, these are entities that are here on this earth, that have been on this earth for who knows how long, and we think they're coming from way out," he says while strolling along the streets of DC, the Capital rotunda glowing in the distance. "Maybe they did a millennia ago, but they're here, and they're in these deep water areas." Throughout the minute long cell...

Amid California’s worsening affordability crisis and warnings of a 75-percent price increase at the gas pump, state legislators over the weekend sent a package of bills aimed at tackling energy costs, fuel supply, and pollution to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.Newsom announced the deal with state lawmakers last week, and the two chambers extended their session through Saturday to finalize last-minute negotiations before the Legislature adjourns until January.“After months of hard work with the Legislature, we have agreed to historic reforms that will save money on your electric bills, stabilize gas supply, and slash toxic air pollution—all while fast-tracking California’s transition...

WASHINGTON — President Trump is set to sign a string of major nuclear energy agreements with the UK during his state visit this week — building new plants to power AI and free the NATO ally from reliance on Russian nuclear material. The multi-billion dollar agreements are expected to be signed during Trump’s visit with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the heels of the president’s unprecedente second state visit with King Charles. The deal includes policies that lower restrictions on building new power stations in both countries. Anglo-American corporate partnerships are at the center of the new scheme —...

The US power grid is under significant stress due to rapidly increasing electricity demand from AI data centers and electric vehicles, coupled with the retirement of traditional power plants.The grid faces mounting vulnerabilities from extreme weather events, cybersecurity threats, and physical sabotage, while policy gridlock and infrastructure delays hinder necessary upgrades.Despite challenges, the situation presents investment opportunities in grid modernization, diversified generation, and solutions for energy storage and load management.America’s power grid is straining under the weight of a fast-changing energy landscape. Beyond the usual summer hum of air conditioners, power demand is surging from electric vehicle chargers and sprawling...

A peaceful Wisconsin city has been thrown into a frenzy as a mysterious company plans to build a $1.6billion data center on hundreds of acres of farmland. Menomonie is facing the largest development plans the historic city has ever seen - and its residents are fighting back. Known for its stunning landscapes and small-town feel, Menomonie may be home to a massive data center that citizens fear will drain the area of not only its charm, but its resources.

The answer is…never, because evidence doesn’t matter and there is none. I know the following is exceptionally long but I believe it shows the lengths that green pushers have gone to, programming AI to dutifully push their agenda instead of just answering questions with facts. It is dangerous to our economic survival as a great country that for decades a cabal has, without evidence, indoctrinated the public, especially children, that humans, CO2, and our use of natural resources have caused dire temperature increases and disastrous climate change. The cabal includes a compliant and non-curious media, educators, scientists who go along,...

Following the meeting, which was attended by Zelensky, the Petit Napoleon Macron, pushing to conquer Russia, said that 26 countries – including the UK and France – have pledged to deploy troops in Ukraine as a “reassurance force” in the event of a ceasefire. They know what they are doing. This is the prelude to a false flag to realize their dream to finally conquer Russia, grab the $75 trillion in assets, and refund the European Union, which cannot last much beyond 2028. The two countries that may need an IMF bailout are France and Britain. It’s no surprise that...

U.S. President Donald Trump told European leaders on Thursday that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that he said is helping Moscow fund its war against Ukraine, a White House official said. Trump joined a call of the "Coalition of the Willing" countries, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, who were meeting on security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a peace deal with Russia. "President Macron and European leaders called President Trump into their ‘Coalition of the Willing’ meeting. President Trump emphasized that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war — as Russia received...

There are many sources to reference, but China has cut off energy imports form the US since Trump's Trade Wars. Many in the diplomatic community could see Blinken/Biden dropped the ball on Brics but Trump also recognized the damage to USD dominated trade posed by Brics. In June 2025, China imported zero crude oil, zero liquefied natural gas (LNG), and virtually zero coal from the United States. Both oil and coal ended completely; however, China continued to honor LNG Contracs but rerouted all the LNG at a profit to Europe. One year eariler, China had been a major importer of...

If you want to know where America’s oil boom is happening, no need to look at the whole map—because it’s limited to just ten counties in the Permian Basin. Between 2020 and 2024, these small dots in Texas and New Mexico delivered 93% of all U.S. crude oil growth, according to the latest EIA and Enverus data. It's almost like the rest of the US doesn’t even matter when it comes to oil production growth. The U.S. added 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) of new crude and condensate output over that stretch. But nearly all of it came from...

BlackRock has finally come for our utilities.Here’s this, from a new article by Katya Schwenk at Jacobin:BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has its tentacles in all facets of American life. The behemoth is buying up grocery brands, dental practices, apartment buildings, and nursing homes. But the opaque industry of private equity has mostly stayed away from electric utilities, the regulated companies that supply power to homes and businesses, because they often don’t yield quick returns.That’s changing. Last year, the BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners and a Canadian pension fund announced a $6.2 billion deal to buy Minnesota Power….That deal...

Phillips 66 will begin shutting down its 139,000 bpd Los Angeles-area refinery as soon as next week , sources told Reuters, moving forward on a closure plan announced last year. Units at the plant will idle in phases through Q4 2025, with the facility permanently offline by year-end. The decision isn’t a surprise—Phillips 66 said in October it would exit the site, citing “market dynamics.” But it comes with fallout about 600 employees and 300 contractors will lose their jobs by December, with only a handful reassigned to the company’s marine terminal. The company insists it will support workers through...

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is immediately halting all activity on a massive offshore wind farm project that was established by the Biden Administration, according to a report from the Daily Caller. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM, which falls under the DOI, is halting activity on the “Revolution Wind” project off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut effective immediately. President Donald Trump has long criticized wind farm projects, pointing to their notoriously unreliable output, foreign control of key components for wind projects and environmental concerns. In recent weeks and months, the DOI has dealt a number...

Trapped in underground rocks, a potential energy resource has eluded generations of British politicians. It's called shale gas and the method of getting it out of the ground, known as fracking, has proved politically difficult. Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, has been banned many times by different prime ministers since 2011 over concerns about earthquakes and environmental impacts. And yet despite this, Reform UK - which is leading in national opinion polls - believe it's worth going after the gas again. "We've got potentially hundreds of billions of energy treasure in the form of shale gas," Richard Tice, the party's...

According to letter to Bondi, emails show seminars were conducted by experts who were ideologically motivated in favor of the plaintiffs in these cases. An energy advocacy group is asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine the involvement of the Federal Judiciary Center, a research and education agency of the judicial branch of the U.S. government, in educating judges involved in climate litigation. According to a letter to Bondi from Power the Future, the Federal Judiciary Center (FJC) is engaged in a secretive effort to bias judges as part of a “coordinated, national lawfare campaign” against oil companies and...