In the name of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil, the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) mandates that we need to consume 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022. EISA also contains a mandate within the mandate for advanced biofuels, with the applicable volume of cellulosic ethanol set at 250 million gallons this year, 500 million gallons in 2012, and ultimately hitting 16 billion gallons in 2022. The problem is, when you look at the monthly production of cellulosic biofuel on the Environmental …
When President Obama bailed out General Motors, he stressed that he had “no intention” of running the auto company. Now he’s intent on running all of them. The Obama Administration tomorrow will announce new auto efficiency regulations that will create stricter miles per gallon (mpg) standards for cars and light-duty trucks for the model years 2017–2025. The target would be an average of 54.5 mpg by 2025 standard, slightly down from the initial proposal of 56.2 mpg. White House press secretary Jay Carney said the new regulations will “result in …
Natural gas prices in the United States have been low in the past few years, and increased estimates in natural gas reserves from shale formations in Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana are opening opportunities to increase exports to other nations. In some countries, natural gas prices are three times as high as they are in the United States. Exporting natural gas would provide a huge boon for our economy, as it would expand market opportunities for American companies and incentivize more production. In 2010, President Obama said …
According to many experts, the United States stands to be the Saudi Arabia of natural gas production. Last month, the New York Times reported otherwise, questioning the economics of shale gas extraction and overstating the amount of gas available in the vast formation in the United States. The story included links to hundreds of e-mails from some independent energy executives and state geologists calling shale gas a Ponzi scheme and inducing fears of another Enron-like scandal or a subprime mortgage crisis. Yesterday, the Energy Information Administration’s Howard Gruenspecht testified Tuesday …
Over the years our federal government has implemented a number of bad policies to reduce dependence on foreign oil. The latest flavor-of-the-month policy is the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (NAT GAS) Act, which would give targeted tax credits to produce natural gas vehicles and heavy-duty trucks. The problem with these plans is that the government picks winners and losers in the marketplace, wastes taxpayer dollars, diverts resources away from more productive use, and does little to reduce dependence on foreign oil. As Heritage’s David Kreutzer points …
A new report from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs demonstrates that the U.N. has no business meddling in economic or social issues. In a recently released World Economic and Social Survey entitled “The Great Green Technological Transformation,” the U.N. says our governments need to spend $1.9 trillion a year for 40 years in order to successfully transition to a global green economy. That’s a $76 trillion price tag for the green initiative, an initiative that won’t bring about economic prosperity nor improve our environmental well being. …
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to ensure that everything is bigger in Texas, including the state’s electricity rates and unemployment lines. On July 7, the EPA adopted a rule to place even more stringent regulations on sulfur dioxide emissions that could shut down the use of lignite coal in Texas. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson assured Texans that their economy and coal production would be just fine: Texas has an ample range of cost-effective emission reduction options for complying with the requirements of this rule without threatening reliability or the …
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the BULB Act this week, which was introduced by Representatives Joe Barton (R–TX), Michael Burgess (R–TX) and Marsha Blackburn (R–TN). The legislation would repeal Subtitle B of Title III of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007—the phase-out of the incandescent bulb as we know it. The light bulb ban has become a symbolic representation of the federal government’s intrusion into the American individual’s freedom. The insinuation behind energy efficiency standards—not just for light bulbs, but for vehicles, appliances, and …
Typically when someone buys something, that person receives some good or service in return. That’s not always the case when it comes to the federal government. The Department of Interior failed to issue leases after several oil and gas companies purchased them from the Bureau of Land Management. Consequently, the six companies that won and bought the leases and Western Energy Alliance, which represents more than 400 independent natural gas and oil producers, sued the government. They earned a partial victory last week when a federal judge in Wyoming ordered …
Doesn’t the Department of Energy (DOE) have enough needless programs and spending projects on its plate? DOE recently announced that it is launching a new program in cahoots with the Consortium for Energy Efficiency in which they will award the producer of the most efficient television. Producers will compete internationally for the chance to stamp their televisions with a logo from the DOE saying their products are energy efficient, leading consumers to believe that they will save money on their electricity bills. Maybe they will, but if a producer is …
