In August 2005, The New York Times Magazine published an article titled “The Breaking Point” in which Council on Foreign Relations member Matthew Simmons predicted that oil, then about $65 a barrel, would more than triple in price by 2010. New York Times journalist John Tierney read the article, called …
The Washington Post‘s Juliet Eilperin reported yesterday that “U.S. environmentalists are engaged in their most profound bout of soul-searching in more than a decade” and are planning to “redirect strategies” in the coming year. Faced with the failure of cap and trade and the defeat of “many of their political …
Money is a powerful incentive. When it comes to global warming, governments all over the world have created policies that intend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but have led to fraud, scams, black markets, and increased emissions. Mark Schapiro of Reuters reports on the unintended consequences of European companies offsetting …
While Congress tackles all the responsibilities it should have already dealt with this year, Senator Harry Reid (D–NV) is hoping to sneak through legislation comprised of more than 100 bills that couldn’t pass on their own merit. This drastic expansion of federally owned lands has not even been introduced as …
In sharp contrast to the pro-nuclear energy rhetoric of the Administration, some nuclear power plant owners are considering shutting down their facilities. Exelon, owner of the New Jersey Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, recently announced that it plans to close the plant 10 years early because of EPA regulations aimed …
An ongoing study in Yellowstone National Park seeks to measure the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a response to geologic activity and as a possible predictor of some geologic events. A story covering this study notes that researchers estimate that Yellowstone emits 45,000 tons of CO2 per day. That …
This week we are joined by Energy and Environment Research Associate Nick Loris. He will take questions about the little-publicized reinstatement of the the offshore oil drilling moratorium. This is especially bad for the Gulf of Mexico region that is still reeling from the BP disaster. Nick has written extensively …
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) announced today he would block the confirmation of Dr. Scott Doney to be chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration due to “concerns over scientific integrity at federal agencies and the White House.” These concerns stem from the recent Gulf offshore drilling moratorium and …
I’m here at the UN’s Cancun Climate Conference—or COP16 (Conference of the Parties) in the jargon. The last two COPs in Poznan (2008) and Copenhagen (2009) were (ironically) characterized by exceptionally cold weather. I can’t say that there’s December snow in Cancun, but locals tell me it’s exceptionally cool for the …
With cap and trade out of the realm of possibilities, Members of Congress have turned their attention to mandating so-called clean energy. Some Members hoped for a lame duck vote on a renewable electricity standard (RES), which would require that a certain percentage of our nation’s electricity production come from …
