Hanford Waste Headed to New Mexico?
The National Law Journal reports that the U.S. Department of Energy plans to transfer Hanford waste to New Mexico. Read story here.
Energy:
Keystone Reprise
Originally published in The Daily Caller, March 2, 2013 – With environmental concerns put to rest, will Obama finally approve Keystone? On Friday, with Secretary of State John Kerry safely in faraway Ankara, Turkey, the State Department issued its draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) on the proposed Keystone pipeline project. The pipeline would bring [...]
The Case for Natural Gas Exports
This week’s Economist lays out the case for allowing the export of natural gas. Read more here.
Avoiding Extremes in the Climate-Change Debate
Writing in today’s Wall Street Journal, Bjorn Lomborg argues for government investment in alternative energy research rather than in subsidizing today’s inefficient solar and wind industries.
Should Congress End Ethanol Subsidies?
Reprinted from PERC.org, January 13, 2013 – Yes: Basically, the fuel is not good. — by Andrew Morriss – For more than two decades, special interests have persuaded Congress to mandate Americans buy ethanol whether they want to or not. As a result, 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is now used for ethanol [...]
Have You Stocked Up on Incandenscents?
This editorial from the Washington Times, suggests that you should unless you want to incur the expense and hazard of what the government has mandated.
Does Denial Equal Greed?
Originally published in The Oregonian, December 10, 2012 – Debating climate change: Are all doubters really ‘hapless’ or ‘greedy’? – Oregon State University professors Michael P. Nelson and Kathleen Dean Moore argue in their recent commentary that those who doubt the link between climate change and human activity are either “hapless” or committed to the [...]
The EPA, Fracking and Jobs
Thomas Mullikin, writing in The Washington Times, predicts that a second Obama administration will bring a concerted anti-fracking campaign at EPA that will kill as many as 1.7 million jobs.
Climate Change and Hurricane Sandy
Before Hurricane Sandy landed on the east coast, the only certainty was that it would be followed by widespread claims that human induced climate change is the cause. Not so fast, says Roger Pielke, Jr., in today’s Wall Street Journal. According to Pielke, “[t]here are no signs that human-caused climate change has increased the toll [...]
$300,000 Per Job Followed by Bankruptcy
The Washington Times reports that A123 Systems managed to create 400 jobs with a quarter billion in stimulus grants before going bankrupt. Which means all the jobs they created at the green energy company were temporary.
Green Greed
Writing in the Washington Post, Joseph Lane explains how Al Gore got so rich and why green energy is not necessarily good for the environment or the economy.
The Limits of Wind Power
In a study for the Reason Foundation, William Korchinski and Julian Morris explain why wind power can never be a reliable replacement for a significant share of America’s energy needs. Read the executive summary here. For a pdf of the full report, click here.
Labor vs. Environmentalists: Democrats Split Over Coal
Originally published in The Oregonian, October 4, 2012 — Sometimes issues arise that expose the fractures within existing partisan alignments. One such issue is the proposed transport of coal by rail and barge to Oregon ports for export to China. My point is not to debate the issue here, although I am one of those [...]
Natural gas and nuclear power need to share the lead in power generation for the future
Mark Perry, writing at AEI.org, argues that natural gas and nuclear will have to be the backbone of American energy over the coming decades. Perry explains that the current natural gas boom does not guarantee continued low prices because the the many competing uses of natural gas. Nuclear is the only other cost-effective and environmentally [...]
The Real Cost of Solar Energy
A week ago today the New York Times Magazine ran a story touting a new business model for commercial solar energy — marketing the power and not the systems, thus allowing consumers to avoid the upfront costs of installing expensive solar systems. In only a single sentence in the article did the author mention that [...]
The Costs of Wind Power: A Study from Britain
In a report for the Global Warming Policy Foundation, economist Gordon Hughes explains why the cost of wind power is so expensive. A summary of the report “Why Wind Power Is So Expensive” appears below. The full report can be read here. Summary 1. Wind power is a capital-intensive means of generating electricity. As [...]
Coal Dust Is the New Spotted Owl
Originally published in The Daily Caller, August 2, 2012 – Coal dust could be the new spotted owl. Two decades ago environmentalists, seeking to shut down the timber industry in the Pacific Northwest, latched on to the spotted owl as their key to success. Today those seeking to end reliance on carbon-based energy are hoping [...]
A Stupid Policy Gets Stupider
Writing in The International Herald Tribune explain how the federal government’s ethanol policy and the ongoing drought combine to cause even higher food prices, and how the EPA could alleviate the problem with the stroke of a pen.
