Environment
Commentary
Obama flip-flops on insurance mandate
San Francisco Chronicle, October 13, 2009 President Obama has promised that his health reform plan will lower costs and expand coverage. He and his Democratic allies are counting on an “individual mandate,” or a requirement that everyone purchase health insurance, to achieve these goals. But Obama hasn’t always been gung ...
Business & Economics
Pacific Research Institute Releases New Study on California’s E-Waste Waste
San Francisco, October 7, 2009 – The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, found that California’s Electronic Waste Recycling Act (EWRA) is a waste of taxpayer dollars. In Fiscal Year 2007-2008, less than half of the facilities audited were in complete compliance with program rules, ...
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 ...
Agriculture
Cooling Down the Cassandras
Washington Post, October 1, 2009 Real Clear Politics, October 1, 2009 ReporterNews (Abilene, TX), September 30, 2009 Plateau in Temperatures Adds Difficulty to Task Of Reaching a Solution — New York Times, Sept. 23 WASHINGTON — In this headline on a New York Times story about difficulties confronting people alarmed ...
Environment
U.S. Air Quality Continues to Improve
Environment & Climate News (The Heartland Institute), October 1, 2009 Sulfur dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants have fallen sharply this year, according to a recent report by energy research firm Genscape. Emissions of other pollutants have dropped as well. For the first half of 2009, SO2 emissions dropped 24 ...
Commentary
Earthquake Fears Halt California Geothermal Project
The federal government has halted a geothermal power project in California in response to concerns the project is causing an increase in regional earthquake activity. The project was launched last fall with more than $6 million in taxpayer funding. The project, in a Northern California region knows as The Geysers, ...
California
Governor to Impose $Quarter-Billion Tax Hike on California
Renewable energy that is forced on the California market means higher energy costs for everyone. Renewables are simply more expensive—which is why their proponents have to argue for mandates (and not coincidently, the highest levels of direct subsidy.) Ironically, the mandates—excused as ‘helping drive costs down through mass markets’ have ...
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 ...
Climate Change
Can CO2 Emissions Be Cut Without Hurting Growth?
Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2009 No: Alternatives Are Too Expensive The U.S. and Western Europe can point to a remarkable achievement over the past 40 years: significant reductions in air pollution with only a modest effect on our economic growth and prosperity. So, why can’t we expect to do ...
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 ...
Obama flip-flops on insurance mandate
San Francisco Chronicle, October 13, 2009 President Obama has promised that his health reform plan will lower costs and expand coverage. He and his Democratic allies are counting on an “individual mandate,” or a requirement that everyone purchase health insurance, to achieve these goals. But Obama hasn’t always been gung ...
Pacific Research Institute Releases New Study on California’s E-Waste Waste
San Francisco, October 7, 2009 – The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, found that California’s Electronic Waste Recycling Act (EWRA) is a waste of taxpayer dollars. In Fiscal Year 2007-2008, less than half of the facilities audited were in complete compliance with program rules, ...
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 ...
Cooling Down the Cassandras
Washington Post, October 1, 2009 Real Clear Politics, October 1, 2009 ReporterNews (Abilene, TX), September 30, 2009 Plateau in Temperatures Adds Difficulty to Task Of Reaching a Solution — New York Times, Sept. 23 WASHINGTON — In this headline on a New York Times story about difficulties confronting people alarmed ...
U.S. Air Quality Continues to Improve
Environment & Climate News (The Heartland Institute), October 1, 2009 Sulfur dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants have fallen sharply this year, according to a recent report by energy research firm Genscape. Emissions of other pollutants have dropped as well. For the first half of 2009, SO2 emissions dropped 24 ...
Earthquake Fears Halt California Geothermal Project
The federal government has halted a geothermal power project in California in response to concerns the project is causing an increase in regional earthquake activity. The project was launched last fall with more than $6 million in taxpayer funding. The project, in a Northern California region knows as The Geysers, ...
Governor to Impose $Quarter-Billion Tax Hike on California
Renewable energy that is forced on the California market means higher energy costs for everyone. Renewables are simply more expensive—which is why their proponents have to argue for mandates (and not coincidently, the highest levels of direct subsidy.) Ironically, the mandates—excused as ‘helping drive costs down through mass markets’ have ...
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 ...
Can CO2 Emissions Be Cut Without Hurting Growth?
Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2009 No: Alternatives Are Too Expensive The U.S. and Western Europe can point to a remarkable achievement over the past 40 years: significant reductions in air pollution with only a modest effect on our economic growth and prosperity. So, why can’t we expect to do ...
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 ...
