The Environmental Protection Agency’s world is chock full of external costs and external benefits that it must rectify with taxes, subsidies, and regulations. For instance, to cure this world of CO2-itis, the EPA, along with the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA), recently released the latest version of the …
Venture corporatist Steve Westly benefitted personally and financially from President Obama’s push for green energy after supporting the president with major campaign contributions. Tonight he’ll take the stage in Charlotte, NC, for a high-profile speech. Westly heads up the California-based venture capital firm the Westly Group. He bundled more than $500,000 for Obama’s …
Reading President Obama’s latest Executive Order (EO) on industrial energy efficiency, one would think American companies were not interested in saving money and gaining a competitive advantage: While our manufacturing facilities have made progress in becoming more energy efficient over the past several decades, there is an opportunity to accelerate …
It’s difficult to believe that less than a year ago, proponents of expanding the natural gas industry insisted that it needed federal subsidies. But at least one prominent advocate is now singing a different tune. Back in December, billionaire T. Boone Pickens wrote in Politico: The problem is that there …
Small businesses are getting a lot of focus from politicians, because they are a key engine of job creation—which has stalled in the U.S. economy. A Republican National Convention theme of “We Built It” continued the political debate over the economy yesterday. A survey by the National Federation of Independent …
The federal government finalized new automobile efficiency rules today for cars and light trucks for model years 2017–2025. The rules require an average fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) in 2025. Proponents of the rule advertise the more stringent mpg standard as a win for producers, consumers, and …
Even as the summer travel season is winding down, drivers have certainly noticed that gas prices are marching back up. Since the law of supply and demand hasn’t yet been repealed (or even suspended by executive order) the answer seems simple enough: increase the amount of gasoline available. A recent …
This past year, the USDA produced a couple of lengthy research reports (here and here) concluding what others have also documented: The federal government’s drive to increase ethanol use has created an environmentally hazardous production cycle in the name of renewable energy that is neither affordable nor clean. The Renewable …
When does the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) say you should eat meat? It depends on the day. On July 23, the agency’s interoffice newsletter, Greening Headquarters Update, encouraged employees to participate in the “Meatless Monday” initiative that was supposed to help the environment. Three weeks later, on August 13, …
A major component of the Obama Administration’s regulatory crackdown on fossil fuels was struck down Tuesday by a federal appeals court panel that ruled the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule “transgressed statutory boundaries.” The decision vacates a measure that otherwise jeopardized thousands of jobs and the reliability of the nation’s electricity …
