In the Pipeline: 11/27/12

As we have noted before, the days are evil.  Which explains why we fight. The Hill (11/26/12): “Yet the economic advantages of a carbon tax are so manifest that it is still possible, once the fiscal cliff negotiations are finished and talks turn to a truly transformative tax reform deal, that leaders in Congress will begin to reconsider it, especially it if is marketed on economic grounds.”

Finally, someone gets some real benefit out of solar power!  Pass the Cheetos! Fuel Fix (11/26/12): Illegal marijuana growers are increasingly using solar power to operate large-scale operations in an attempt to remain off the grid and avoid detection from law enforcement agents, authorities said.

Corruption is a disease. Governments are the carriers. Michigan Capital Confidential 11/26/12: He said a mindset of “crony socialism” is running green energy programs. He points to the 2008-2011 Wall Street Journal surveys of chief executive officers that highlight the top five priorities of CEOs. In each of those annual surveys, CEOs cited a need for some sort of government subsidy as a top priority, Michaels said. “You can’t just blame the government for this,” Michaels said. “You have to understand these large corporations are begging for favors to produce cars that no one wants.”

Kind of makes you glad we won. Renewable Energy World (11/26/12): Britain’s electricity customers will be paying higher bills by 2020 to cover the costs of expanding renewable energy supplies such as solar and wind, government officials said.

What do you want to bet that Facebook gets a permit to build a data center on federal lands in Alaska long before Exxon or Chevron get a permit to drill? Slate (11/27/12): “But once you’ve gotten past the fundamental realization that the cloud is a hulking, polluting, physical thing, there’s another story to tell. It’s the one about how some of the more forward-thinking Internet companies are coming up with wildly creative ways to cut down on all that waste. Facebook is building its latest data center at the edge of the Arctic Circle. An industry consortium is sponsoring a “server roundup” and handing out rodeo belt buckles to the Internet company that can take the largest number of energy-leeching comatose servers offline. And Google has saved huge amounts of energy by allowing its data center workers to wear shorts and T-shirts.”