Gas Prices
Business & Economics
Deflation delusion
Commentary: We’re in the midst of moderate stagflation NASHVILLE, Tenn. (MarketWatch) — The federal government recently reported that consumer prices had risen in November for the fourth straight month, thanks largely to big jumps in the price of gasoline and oil. Nevertheless, the Federal Reserve and many commentators have dismissed ...
Commentary
Film about Capo district’s woes to be screened on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON – A libertarian think-tank that prominently features the Capistrano Unified School District in a documentary about how the U.S. public school system is broken will screen its 49-minute film this afternoon on Capitol Hill. “Not as Good as You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School” recounts a ...
Commentary
China’s not-so-ambitious ‘carbon intensity’ goal
It made headlines around the world last week when China purportedly announced a historic commitment to reduce its “carbon intensity” – the greenhouse gases it emits per unit of GDP. “China unveiled firm targets,” The Guardian said, “for controlling the world’s biggest carbon footprint for the first time.” Al Jazeera ...
Business & Economics
Buying TVs and cars, Soviet-style
Two new regulations suggest that California leads the nation in mandates that inconvenience its residents while gaining little for the environment. First, consider the California Energy Commission’s unanimous vote Wednesday to effectively ban most current televisions more than 40 inches wide because they use too much electricity. The new energy-efficiency ...
Commentary
Air Quality Board’s Plan for Car Windows Unrealistic
The California Air Resources Board has proposed a new mandate to require car companies to install metallic reflective windows, which CARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols describes as “a common-sense and cost-effective measure that will help cool the cars we drive and fight global warning.” CARB claims that reflective windows will reduce ...
Business & Economics
Budget fixes, no; blueberries, yes
SACRAMENTO – Elected officials would have us believe that the world would not go around if they weren’t busy addressing the “big” issues in city councils and state legislatures. But, in reality, most of what elected officials do ranges from the nonsensical to the malevolent. How many readers believe that ...
Climate Change
Krugman on Waxman-Markey’s Cost: We Hope His Readers Can’t Multiply
Paul Krugman has been on the warpath lately regarding climate change economics. He has devoted his last two NYT columns (here and here) to the subject, as well as back-to-back blog posts (here and here). True to form, Krugman accuses those who disagree with him of abject stupidity and evil ...
Commentary
Proposed Fuel Standard Embraces Faulty Science, Economics
House Bill 5383, introduced last week by Rep. Lee Gonzales, D-Flint, would establish a “low-carbon fuel standard,” requiring oil refineries and fuel blenders to reduce greenhouse gases by 10 percent over the next decade. Gonzales announced his legislation during a phone conference with representatives from The Ecology Center and Environment ...
Environment
Energy independence, security? How about energy realism
Of the hot topics discussed in Washington and the media, there is probably none where the substance-to-blather ratio is higher than in energy, where slogans substitute for serious thought, and where pointing out unwelcome facts is frowned upon as a moral failing. Shallow thought on energy can be found on ...
Business & Economics
When Economic Stimulus Does Not Stimulate
A majority of Americans now give President Obama’s handling of the economy a negative rating and many economists and city officials are concerned that Obama’s gargantuan stimulus effort has not given the expected quick boost to the economy. Some argue this is because funds have been slow in coming due ...
Deflation delusion
Commentary: We’re in the midst of moderate stagflation NASHVILLE, Tenn. (MarketWatch) — The federal government recently reported that consumer prices had risen in November for the fourth straight month, thanks largely to big jumps in the price of gasoline and oil. Nevertheless, the Federal Reserve and many commentators have dismissed ...
Film about Capo district’s woes to be screened on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON – A libertarian think-tank that prominently features the Capistrano Unified School District in a documentary about how the U.S. public school system is broken will screen its 49-minute film this afternoon on Capitol Hill. “Not as Good as You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School” recounts a ...
China’s not-so-ambitious ‘carbon intensity’ goal
It made headlines around the world last week when China purportedly announced a historic commitment to reduce its “carbon intensity” – the greenhouse gases it emits per unit of GDP. “China unveiled firm targets,” The Guardian said, “for controlling the world’s biggest carbon footprint for the first time.” Al Jazeera ...
Buying TVs and cars, Soviet-style
Two new regulations suggest that California leads the nation in mandates that inconvenience its residents while gaining little for the environment. First, consider the California Energy Commission’s unanimous vote Wednesday to effectively ban most current televisions more than 40 inches wide because they use too much electricity. The new energy-efficiency ...
Air Quality Board’s Plan for Car Windows Unrealistic
The California Air Resources Board has proposed a new mandate to require car companies to install metallic reflective windows, which CARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols describes as “a common-sense and cost-effective measure that will help cool the cars we drive and fight global warning.” CARB claims that reflective windows will reduce ...
Budget fixes, no; blueberries, yes
SACRAMENTO – Elected officials would have us believe that the world would not go around if they weren’t busy addressing the “big” issues in city councils and state legislatures. But, in reality, most of what elected officials do ranges from the nonsensical to the malevolent. How many readers believe that ...
Krugman on Waxman-Markey’s Cost: We Hope His Readers Can’t Multiply
Paul Krugman has been on the warpath lately regarding climate change economics. He has devoted his last two NYT columns (here and here) to the subject, as well as back-to-back blog posts (here and here). True to form, Krugman accuses those who disagree with him of abject stupidity and evil ...
Proposed Fuel Standard Embraces Faulty Science, Economics
House Bill 5383, introduced last week by Rep. Lee Gonzales, D-Flint, would establish a “low-carbon fuel standard,” requiring oil refineries and fuel blenders to reduce greenhouse gases by 10 percent over the next decade. Gonzales announced his legislation during a phone conference with representatives from The Ecology Center and Environment ...
Energy independence, security? How about energy realism
Of the hot topics discussed in Washington and the media, there is probably none where the substance-to-blather ratio is higher than in energy, where slogans substitute for serious thought, and where pointing out unwelcome facts is frowned upon as a moral failing. Shallow thought on energy can be found on ...
When Economic Stimulus Does Not Stimulate
A majority of Americans now give President Obama’s handling of the economy a negative rating and many economists and city officials are concerned that Obama’s gargantuan stimulus effort has not given the expected quick boost to the economy. Some argue this is because funds have been slow in coming due ...
