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    No Loan Guarantee, No Nuclear? Not Quite

    The prospects for new nuclear energy in the U.S. were purportedly set back this weekend when Constellation Energy pulled out of the Calvert Cliffs 3 nuclear energy project in Maryland. They argued that the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program was too expensive and complicated to be workable. No loan … More

    EPA’s New Rating System Encourages Poor Decisions

    The EPA recently proposed a new grading requirement for new car stickers. The A–D grading system would rank cars according to their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions to help consumers make better choices. In the new grading scheme, the Ford Focus gets a B and the Toyota Prius gets … More

    Emergency Spending Bill Not the Place for Energy Loan Guarantees

    Every special interest in Washington is looking to hitch on to what was supposed to be an emergency spending bill to provide critical funds for military and emergency response activities. While some may be legitimate programs, most are not an emergency and therefore should not be part of any such … More

    A Trade War Averted For Now

    On April 6, last minute action by the Obama administration averted a near trade conflict with Brazil concerning the trade-distorting U.S. cotton subsidy programs. With the provisional deal, the U.S. avoided about $830 million in trade sanctions on over 100 American exports targeted by Brazil.  Those retaliatory tariffs would have … More

    Video: Why The Tea Party Is Great For America

    On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” Chuck Todd discussed an NBC poll that shows 70% of Americans say government isn’t working and commented that because of the “Tea Party crowd,” Republicans can no longer “go home and sell a piece of of pork that they got from Washington.” That’s a good … More

    Cap and Handout: How Corporate Welfare Cost Consumers More

    In order to get the Waxman Markey cap and trade bill through the House Energy and Commerce Committee, handouts had to be given. The basic idea behind cap and trade is to put a price on allowances, or the right to emit carbon dioxide. President Obama’s budget proposal suggested a … More

    Cap and Trade Quote of the Day

    From the Washington Post’s Steven Pearlstein: The other thing to say about it is that it is a badly flawed piece of public policy. It is so broad in its reach and complex in its details that it would be difficult to implement even in Sweden, let alone in a … More

    Renewable Energy: The Road Less Traveled for a Reason

    President Obama has been touting green energy investment and green jobs since his campaign trail, but he really kicked it into another gear once the economy tanked, calling the green stimulus a cure to the recession and to climate change. During his push for stimulus bill support, President Obama said … More

    Economy Puts the Brakes on Hybrid Sales despite Government Pushing Pedal to the Metal

    Government mandates, preferences and subsidies don’t work. Here’s another example. When gas prices hit record levels over the summer, companies were furiously pumping out oil to meet surging global demand. As the economy took a turn for the worse and demand slowed, there was a noticeable lag as companies continued … More

    The Stimulus, Energy Loan Guarantees, and Opportunity

    Congressional conferees reportedly stripped the $50 billion energy loan guarantee authorization from the final version of the stimulus package. Although most emissions-free sources would have been eligible for the program, removing it disproportionately affects large capital projects like nuclear energy. While this is viewed as a set-back from many in … More