The White House announced today that the Department of Interior will be lifting the ban on off-shore oil drilling. This is good news. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Michael Bromwich had estimated that the ban cost the region more than 20,000 jobs. Unfortunately, the Obama administration is leaving costly new job killing regulations in its place. Greenwire reports: The Obama administration is acknowledging that its new offshore drilling safety regulations will raise costs for the oil and gas industry — and may also delay some offshore …
A new report by the Energy Policy Institute, in collaboration with the American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness, titled “Economic and Employment Impacts of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors,” investigates how four separate scenarios of small modular reactor (SMR) construction could affect the U.S. economy. Growing interest and discussion surrounding the potential commercialization of small nuclear rectors, both in the U.S. and abroad, makes the study timely and relevant. The study investigates potential impacts of SMR manufacturing, construction, and operation on the U.S. economy. Researchers relied on organizational model data contributions …
Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced an energy bill without a cap-and-trade provision—a victory for the American economy. Yet, like the famous Miracle Max scene in The Princess Bride, cap-and-trade is only “mostly dead.” In a year when seemingly-dead legislation has suddenly come back to life, it is premature for Americans to dance a victory dance that their economy has been spared. Even small victories in Washington are followed closely by new battles. We must remain watchful for cap and trade to return later in the year, stay focused …
Last year Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) rolled out a companion cap and trade bill to the Waxman-Markey version that passed in the House of Representatives. Boxer-Kerry was essentially dead on arrival so Senator Kerry went back to work, this time with Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Although Senator Graham is urging his colleagues to slow down, Senators Kerry and Lieberman are trudging forward and have introduced the American Power Act – the latest big climate change bill. Subtitled, “A New Start for Clean …
Senator’s John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) are set to release the Senate version of a cap and trade bill tomorrow that will call for a 17 percent cut in emissions below 2005 levels by 2020. But if cap and trade cannot garner enough support, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) is prepared with a backup plan. Over the weekend Senator Reid told Spanish television network Univision, “I can do one this big because I have a couple of Republicans who would help me on that. But the big bill that …
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation is guaranteeing that New Yorkers will soon have to pay even more for electricity — when they can get it. The department just rejected Indian Point’s request for a water-quality certificate, which the plant needs to keep operating one reactor running after 2013, and the other after 2015. (The plant also needs its license renewed by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but that’s a different battle.) A court fight is expected, but if this holds up, New York City in particular is in …
The Washington Post asks: “What does it mean for a nation to be energy independent? Is it realistic and if so how should that be achieved?” Energy Independence is a mixed bag — both good and bad energy policy ideas are promoted under its banner. The bad outweighs the good, and in any event energy independence shouldn’t supplant free markets as the overarching principle for sound energy policy. Among the few good ideas spurred by the desire to achieve energy independence is expanding domestic energy production. As it is, the …
Can the Obama administration’s desperate attempts to cover their true far left nature with centrist rhetoric and promises become any more transparent? Yesterday, the President announced “an expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration” in selected areas off the coasts of the United States. The President claims this announcement was made “in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs,” but nobody believes him. Just take a quick look at today’s newspaper reporting: The Los Angeles Times: “President Obama … unveiled a controversial offshore drilling plan Wednesday that was driven …
It’s a common misconception that a tradeoff exists between economic growth and environmental cleanliness. For decades Gallup has been conducting a poll asking about this very tradeoff. According to its latest one, “53 percent said economic growth should be the nation’s top priority, even if the environment has to suffer. Just 38 percent put their priority on environmental protection, even if it limited growth. The share of Americans favoring the environment over growth is the lowest since 1984.” In 1990, the results were 71 percent preferred protection of the environment …
The state of California likes to sell itself as a leader in the transition to a green economy. The only problem is, their policies are making that transition harder—and they’re not producing the job boom that politicians have been promising. The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) recently reviewed the impact of the state’s 2006 climate change legislation, which mandated a cut in GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. A letter from the LAO to the state senator that requested the analysis stated that the aggregate net jobs impact of …
