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Blog In the Pipeline

In the Pipeline: 6/3/13

June 3, 2013 Leave a Comment

This is fun. It’s like an 8th grade math question: “If Bob Inglis is running for elected office, is it wise for him to support a carbon tax?”. R Street (5/31/13) reports: “The R Street Institute and the Heartland Institute cordially invite you to a debate among friends on the question: Are there any circumstances under which conservatives should support a tax on carbon emissions?”

Gee, now they admit it. The Hill (6/1/13) reports: “Environmental lobbyists are pressing President Obama to turn more western lands into national monuments to prevent oil-and-gas companies from drilling there… The Sierra Club is leading the charge and is sweetening its message with political sugar, saying Obama could thereby help Democrats win House and Senate seats in midterm elections year.”

Stewart Udall was right. The environmental movement is fundamentally anti-people and mostly racist. But the Sierra Club and the rest of the leadership are now just adjuncts of the Democratic Party. Politico (6/1/13) reports: Environmentalists are getting off the sidelines and backing immigration reform — but it wasn’t easy… During the Senate’s last go round on the issue in 2007, greens stayed silent to avoid airing their dirty laundry — an internal dispute that some in the movement feared would be seen as racist… Their family feud was so rough that it twice nearly ruptured the Sierra Club when a vocal faction — including some of the movement’s leading luminaries — argued too many new immigrants living the American dream could spell doom for the planet.”

While your flight was in a holding pattern due to FAA furloughs, which oh by the way means the plane was burning fuel unnecessarily, the federal government was busy patting itself on the back with “green energy scorecards”. Maybe His Majesty’s jesters wouldn’t have to make embarrassing stunts to justify their bloated budgets if they spent less time handing out participation trophies at frivolous conferences and conventions.PoliticoPro (5/31/13) reports: “As part of the Obama Administration’s initiative to reduce energy use, pollution and waste and save money in Federal operations, Federal agencies today released annual updates that show significant progress toward energy and sustainability goals. Under Executive Order 13514, President Obama directed Federal agencies to reduce their carbon pollution, increase renewable energy use, and meet energy and water efficiency goals. These annual performance scorecards benchmark agencies’ progress and help them to target the best opportunities to improve their energy efficiency and reduce costs and waste in their operations moving forward.”

We took a shot at the ski industry last week, but our friends kick it up a notch and really stomp the point home. POWERLINE (5/31/13) reports: “Skiers use energy to haul mass uphill, only to slide back down hill, over and over again. They fly or drive long distances to get to places that are cold (requiring heated facilities). While there, they consume goods that are hauled long-distances and up hill. The perishable goods have to be refrigerated (think about that for a minute). Virtually everything they wear (and their gear) is made from petroleum. From a thermodynamic perspective, you would have a hard time designing a more greenhouse-gas-intensive activity than skiing. Vanity space flight, perhaps… But the companies involved would like some green-washing courtesy of the government: they want legislation that would let them claim they’re doing good (“We’re paying our carbon tax!”) when in reality, they’ll pass their direct costs onto the skiers (who can afford it), while the majority of the costs of carbon control imposed on the general public

Blog In the Pipeline

In the Pipeline: 5/31/13

May 31, 2013 Leave a Comment

For some of us, this hits close to home. So I have a few suggestions: Quit bragging about the non-stop flights that are offered from Newark to Jackson. Shut down the tram (it runs on coal). Stop selling skis, boots, jackets and goggles because they are made with carbon-based petrochemicals. And those of us who are still (physically) able can hike to the top of Rendezvous and ski on wooden boards like the good ol’ days. Unless that sounds like a good plan, quit begging for the heavy hand of the EPA and Congress to strangle your own industry. Wyoming Business Report(5/29/13) reports: “The past ski season was a banner year for our guests and for our resort, but we can’t gamble on the weather in an uncertain climate. We have to take action,” said Jerry Blann, president of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming. “Resorts have made tremendous efforts to raise awareness on the issue of climate change and to adjust our operations to reduce carbon emissions and manage resources efficiently. We need Washington to take those strategies seriously through stronger policies.”

Like we’ve always said, the science is settled. Phys.org (5/30/13) reports: “Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are to blame for global warming since the 1970s and not carbon dioxide, according to new research from the University of Waterloo published in the International Journal of Modern Physics B this week…  ‘Conventional thinking says that the emission of human-made non-CFC gases such as carbon dioxide has mainly contributed to global warming. But we have observed data going back to the Industrial Revolution that convincingly shows that conventional understanding is wrong,’ said Qing-Bin Lu, a professor of physics and astronomy, biology and chemistry in Waterloo’s Faculty of Science. ‘In fact, the data shows that CFCs conspiring with cosmic rays caused both the polar ozone hole and global warming.’”

Next up in California, a lifeguard is required to hold your hand as you walk out into the waves. It’s a great program that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs for new lifeguards while ensuring the safety of the population; it’s not at all creepy and overbearing; and it certainly won’t erode your sense of personal responsibility and good citizenship. NYTimes (5/30/13) reports: “But these days, a blizzard of restrictions — on everything from dogs to playing horseshoes — is being imposed on beach activities up and down the coast, turning beaches into sanitized zones that longtime beachgoers say barely resemble the freewheeling places they once knew… Smoking is banned at many beaches across the state. On San Diego beaches, playing ball or tossing a Frisbee has been outlawed. Alcohol is no longer allowed on the sand in Huntington Beach. Even surfing is restricted to designated areas here, though this is ‘Surf City.’… And the next thing to go could be the fire pits — concrete rings designed to contain bonfires — which for many people are enduring features of a free, outdoor California lifestyle.”

In a nutshell, the EPA is a very dangerous agency. Washington Post(5/30/13) reports: “A Wednesday shootout on the streets of Washington Highlands left a cop injured and a carjacking suspect dead. But before the suspect expired, he went on an unusual ambulance ride that involved moving him from one vehicle to another on the shoulder of Interstate 295. While this might appear to be another story of Fire and Emergency Medical Services dysfunction, the story is rather more complicated. As WUSA-TV explains, newer-model diesel engines are required by federal regulations to have emission-control features that, in some circumstances, require the motor to shut down for “regeneration” — a process in which the exhaust system burns off trapped soot.”

Big talk for a guy with the largest “carbon footprint” on the planet. Maybe he should lead by example (cough cough) and do more of his celebrity fundraisers via Skype or Google hangout. Weekly Standard(5/30/13) reports: “Obama: ‘I Don’t Have Much Patience for People Who Deny Climate Change’… ‘My only interest is making sure that when I look back 20 years from now, I say I accomplished everything that I could while I had this incredible privilege to advance the interests of the broadest number of Americans and to make sure that this country was stronger and more prosperous than it was when I came into office.  That’s my only interest,’ the president said.”

Join us next Friday for a luncheon and panel discussion hosted by National Review and the American Energy Alliance! Get a spot while they’re hot…

High_Noon_Debate

Blog In the Pipeline

In the Pipeline: 5/30/13

May 30, 2013 Leave a Comment

“First they came for the manufacturers, and I did not speak because I was not a manufacturer. Then they came for the coal miners, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a coal miner. Then they came for the drillers, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a driller. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.” CBS Pittsburgh (5/29/13) reports: “Janice Gibbs is a grandmother and was born and raised in Washington County. Although she has no drilling lease on her land, she believes that shale gas drilling is great for the local economy… ‘I just think it’s a good thing for our community,’ Gibbs said… When she started posting her pro-gas views on local websites under the name “Proud American,” she was soon shocked at how nasty things got… First, State Rep. Jesse White allegedly posted Gibbs’ real identity. Then, someone posting under the name “Prouder American” called her an ‘industry troll.’… The internet protocol — or IP — address of those people came up as the same computer as Rep. White’s state e-mail address.”

So when is Congress going to start reining in an Executive branch that is drunk with power? WSJ (5/29/13) reports: “The Environmental Protection Agency isn’t known for restraint, and now it has a new reason to let it all hang out. A federal court says it can be judge and jury for every development project in the U.S… That’s the impact of a unanimous late April decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the EPA’s veto of the Arch Coal ACI -2.63% Spruce Mine in West Virginia. The sweeping but little-publicized decision remakes regulation under the Clean Water Act, turning the Army Corps of Engineers into a bystander and elevating EPA to the nation’s water regulator of consequence.”

We are all about self-determination, but can’t help pointing out the irony here. LATimes (5/28/13) reports: “In acting to protect their water supply, the 5,000 residents of poor, conservative Mora County make it the first in the U.S. to ban fracking — hydraulic fracturing for oil… ‘We are one of the poorest counties in the nation, yes, but we are money-poor, we are not asset-poor,’ Olivas said.”

Recall that Van Jones, former Special Assistant to the President for Bankrupting the Coal Industry, had the hubris to rally with the workers against these necessary reductions in benefits. These hundreds of families are the real victims of this senseless ideological war against affordable energy and the blame is squarely on the Van Jones’ of the world. Washington Post (5//13) reports: “Surratt-States ultimately concluded the cost-cutting proposals were legal, perhaps unavoidable, for Patriot, which sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last summer to address labor obligations it insisted have grown unsustainable… ‘Unions generally try to bargain for the best deal for their members,” the judge wrote. “However, there is likely some responsibility to be absorbed for demanding benefits that the employer cannot realistically fund in perpetuity, particularly given the availability of sophisticated actuarial analysts and cost trend experts.’”

Maybe a sophisticated guy like Kerry realized it’d be easier to bribe the Iranian government than the Obama administration to issue oil and gas permits. Free Beacon (5/29/13) reports: “Secretary of State John Kerry disclosed hundreds of thousands of dollars in investments last year in a company that allegedly bribed Iranian government officials to obtain oil and gas contracts in the country… The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday charged French oil and gas company Total S.A. with violations of U.S. law for allegedly paying $60 million in bribes to “intermediaries” who helped the company win lucrative state contracts in Iran.”

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In the Pipeline: 5/29/13

May 29, 2013 Leave a Comment

The first rule of Fair-Share Club is you do not talk about Fair-Share club. The second rule of Fair-Share Club is you do NOT talk about Fair-Share Club… NYTimes (5/25/13) reports: “Last week, in a Congressional hearing, Apple got grilled for its low-tax strategy. But not every business can copy that approach. Here is a look at what S.&P. 500 companies paid in corporate income taxes — federal, state, local and foreign — from 2007 to 2012, according to S&P Capital IQ.”

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Guys like Josh Nelson, not Fox, are a reminder that there is still hope for America. This kid packs a lot of punch. Coal Valley News (5/28/13) reports: “After coming out of Allegiance Mine, a mine that Joshua Nelson worked at last year and filing for candidacy for the West Virginia House of Delegates, Delegate Nelson made a decision that he wanted to stand up for West Virginia and its coal miners… During his campaign he stated that he believed that the state of West Virginia could do more to stand up to the federal government’s overregulation… He actually went on the Fox News Channel’s “The Huckabee Show” as well as spoke to the United States Congress on a piece of legislation called the “Stop the War on Coal” act.”

Linguists? Poets? How crazy do you have to be to stand out in California? Sacramento Bee (5/25/13) reports: “The core talent of a successful environmental activist is not science and law,” Suckling said in a 2009 interview with the High Country News. “It’s campaigning instinct.” In the same interview, Suckling even bragged about his staff’s lack of scientific qualifications… “It was a key to our success,” Suckling said. “I’m more interested in hiring philosophers, linguists and poets.”

Solution to save the environment? Do less. Work less. Create less. Improve less. Prosper less. Live, well, less! Carbonated.TV (5//13) reports: “Think about it: there is nothing sacred about the pattern of five days on, two days off. It’s an absolute miracle that we have the entire world on the same seven day week, and we probably shouldn’t mess with that, but what if we made the standard national work week 32 hours instead of 40? Here’s what: 1. The environment would heave a giant sigh of relief. The reduction in commuting time alone is reason enough to consider a four day work week. It would be all the better if not everyone took the same three days off: spreading out the traffic would reduce the overall burden.”

If we had a penny for every problem with this industry, we’d probably be able to afford one of the darn things ourselves. NYTimes (5/28/13) reports: “It was not an isolated incident. Worldwide, testing labs, developers, financiers and insurers are reporting similar problems and say the $77 billion solar industry is facing a quality crisis just as solar panels are on the verge of widespread adoption… No one is sure how pervasive the problem is. There are no industrywide figures about defective solar panels. And when defects are discovered, confidentiality agreements often keep the manufacturer’s identity secret, making accountability in the industry all the more difficult… But at stake are billions of dollars that have financed solar installations, from desert power plants to suburban rooftops, on the premise that solar panels will more than pay for themselves over a quarter century.”

Apparently you can win a boatload of money for fear mongering. Huffington Post (5/28/13) reports: “OSLO, Norway (AP) — American environmentalist Bill McKibben has won the $100,000 Sophie Prize for being a mobilizing force in the fight against global warming… The award committee commended McKibben for ‘building a global, social movement, fighting to preserve a sustainable planet.’”

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In the Pipeline: 5/28/13

May 28, 2013 Leave a Comment

Here’s the thing. Even if Congress passed us a law that gave us cash to become tall and good-looking, we would still remain balding, overfed, leaping gnomes. So it is with physics. The federal government can’t just incentivize things into existence. The Atlantic (5/26/13) reports: “Electric car infrastructure company Better Place’s move to file bankruptcy today marks the end of the road for a billion-dollar bet that Silicon Valley-style technological disruption could wean the world from fossil fuels… Founded in 2007 in Palo Alto, California, by a charismatic former SAP executive named Shai Agassi, Better Place sought in one stroke to solve a conundrum: most electric cars were too expensive and too limited in their range to become a mass market alternative to the internal combustion engine.”

Why is it that OPEC has the same concerns as the Greenies? WSJ (5/27/13) reports: “The American energy boom is deepening splits within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, threatening to drive a wedge between African and Arab members as OPEC grapples with a revolution in the global oil trade… OPEC members gathering on Friday in Vienna will confront a disagreement over the impact of rising U.S. shale-oil production, with the most vulnerable countries arguing that the group should prepare for production cuts to prop up prices if they fall any lower… ‘We are heading toward some problems,’ said a Persian Gulf OPEC delegate.”

It’s easy to triple a really small number. What’s really difficult is undoing the damage done to taxpayers. IER (5/24/13) reports: “According to the newly confirmed Secretary of Energy, Ernie Moniz, “While the market has taken longer than predicted to get going, sales of electric vehicles in the U.S. tripled last year and are continuing to increase rapidly in 2013. Tesla and other U.S. manufacturers are in a strong position to compete for this growing global market.” But, electric vehicles still have a long way to go to catch up to sales of traditional gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. During the first four months of 2013, plug-in cars accounted for less than 1 percent of total vehicle sales.[vii] And one thing is abundantly clear from Tesla’s financial experience with electric cars: thus far, this is a market created by the government, and without the government’s powers, it would not exist.”

The cure is worse than the disease. Most doctors would stop treatment. The Times London (5/20/13) reports: “There is little doubt that the damage being done by climate-change policies currently exceeds the damage being done by climate change, and will for several decades yet. Hunger, rainforest destruction, excess cold-weather deaths and reduced economic growth are all exacerbated by the rush to biomass and wind. These dwarf any possible effects of worse weather, for which there is still no actual evidence anyway: recent droughts, floods and storms are within historic variability.”

To kick the week off with a surprise, Jay Leno shares some insightful wisdom about government-funded solar companies. NewsBusters (5/25/13) reports: “You know, if he really wants to close it, turn it into a government-funded solar power company. The doors will be shut in a month. The whole thing will collapse and shut in a month.”Jay_Leno_

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In the Pipeline: 5/24/13

May 24, 2013 Leave a Comment

Did Tesla pay back their loan, or did other people. Wanna guess? WSJ(5/23/13) reports: “Tesla’s biggest windfall has been the cash payments it extracts from rival car makers (and their customers), via its sale of zero-emission credits. A number of states including California require that traditional car makers reach certain production quotas of zero-emission vehicles—or to purchase credits if they cannot. Tesla is a main supplier… A Morgan Stanley MS -1.82%report in April said Tesla made $40.5 million on credits in 2012, and that it could collect $250 million in 2013. Tesla acknowledged in a recent SEC filing that emissions credit sales hit $85 million in 2013′s first quarter alone—15% of its revenue, and the only reason it made a profit… Take away the credits and Tesla lost $53 million in the first quarter, or $10,000 per car sold. California’s zero-emission credits provided $67.9 million to the company in the first quarter, and the combination of that state’s credits and federal and local incentives can add up to $45,000 per Tesla sold, according to an analysis by the Los Angeles Times.”

Believe it or not, there are plenty of things to remain optimistic about in this world. Among others, you’ve got puppies, bacon, and The Hangover III hitting theaters. IER (5/23/13) reports: “Air quality in the United States is getting cleaner, but sadly many Americans believe the opposite. In order to explain the reality of America’s improving environmental quality, Steven Hayward has spent years compiling environmental data with his Almanac of Environmental Trends. Recently he released an update using data from the Environmental Protection Agency to chronicle the astonishing reductions in air pollution in the last few years alone.”

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes. MPR News (5/14/13) reports: “The Minnesota House and Senate have agreed to an energy bill that includes a 1.5 percent solar energy standard for investor-owned utilities… The House version of the bill had required investor-owned utilities to provide at least 4 percent of their power through solar generation by late 2025. The Senate had approved a bill that included a 1 percent solar standard.”

Are these bozos so close to the issue that they can’t see how simple it really is? We could hire a senior in high school to do this study and save the government and American people a lot of time and money. Here’s a hint – free trade is good for everyone. The Daily Caller (5/23/13) reports: “The newly confirmed Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has announced he will delay the final approval of 20 applications to export liquefied natural gas until he reviews studies on the impact exports would have on domestic natural gas prices… ‘I want to do, as I promised to Chairman Wyden, to make sure that we are using up-to-date data and then we want to go forward on a case-by-case basis … in terms of evaluating licenses in as expeditious a way [possible], consistent with that review process,’ said Moniz, according to The Hill.”

Apologies in advance Dan and Dan, but here’s the winner of the caption contest… Thanks for all the submissions! 

Hair_Line

The following think tank chiefs are opposed to a carbon tax. Please contact us at nocarbontax@energydc.org if you wish to join our growing ranks.

Tom Pyle, American Energy Alliance / Institute for Energy Research
Myron Ebell, Freedom Action
Phil Kerpen, American Commitment
William O’Keefe, George C. Marshall Institute
Lawson Bader, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Andrew Quinlan, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Tim Phillips, Americans for Prosperity
Joe Bast, Heartland Institute
David Ridenour, National Center for Public Policy Research
Michael Needham, Heritage Action for America
Tom Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste
Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform
Sabrina Schaeffer, Independent Women’s Forum
Barrett E. Kidner, Caesar Rodney Institute
George Landrith, Frontiers of Freedom
Thomas A. Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste
Bill Wilson, Americans for Limited Government
Wayne Brough, FreedomWorks
Rich Collins, Positive Growth Alliance
Craig Richardson, American Tradition Institute

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In the Pipeline: 5/22/13

May 22, 2013 Leave a Comment

We suspect foul play. The birds are fighting back. E&ENews (5/21/13) reports: “Wind turbine manufacturer Siemens AG confirmed that a 170-foot blade fell off a wind turbine at a power plant east of San Diego, causing the company to cease operations of the same type of turbine globally… Residents near the Ocotillo Wind power plant discovered the fallen blade Thursday morning.”

The birds are taking out the turbines. We’re taking down the ivory towers (metaphorically speaking, of course). Daily Caller(5/21/13) reports: “On his first day in office, President Obama promised to make his ‘administration the most open and transparent in history.’ Yet the recent flap over migratory bird deaths is just the latest example of the Obama administration’s open flouting of the values the president pledged to uphold. Taken together, the scandals expose an ideologically driven administration more concerned with protecting allies and punishing opponents than evenly enforcing the law.”

We are a little worried about the safety of these folks in Boulder tonight. We encourage you to send them back up to help stave off the pitch-fork-enviro-mob. Denver Business Journal (5/22/13) reports: “Boulder will be Ground Zero for the national fracking controversy Wednesday evening, when two films about the use of water, sand and chemicals to access oil and natural gas will be screened at the same time and less than 2 miles from each other.”

Let us make this simple. PacifiCorp thinks that things that are unreliable (like wind power) should pay a bit more than those things that are reliable (like coal or hydropower). Only among the leeches in the wind “industry” would such an idea be controversial. Maybe John Feehery, wind lobbyist, can help.Energy Daily (5//13) reports: “The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), NextEra Energy and the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) are among the groups telling FERC that PacifiCorp’s proposed charges for regulation reserve and frequency response services are unfair and unwarranted, with affected renewable generators standing to get socked with far higher charges than fossil-fueled and other power plants that can provide steady output. . . . PacifiCorp maintains its proposed rates are comparable to those charged by other utilities in the region, and are justified by the additional burdens it shoulders to assure adequate power reserves are in place to balance any deviations in power output from intermittent renewables.”

Some problems are big and complicated, like the RFS (thank you again, you know who you are). Some are small, but pressing and immediate (like this). We are waiting to see if the Senators are going to send a letter explaining how the Keystone Pipeline might help the situation as well. Senator Franken (5/21/13) reports: “Minnesotans are very frustrated by the sudden spike in gas prices and they want to know why it’s happening,” said Sen. Franken. “With prices well over $4 per gallon in Minnesota, this is taking a toll on families and businesses across the state. I am pushing the Department of Energy to prevent future skyrocketing gas prices and to provide better information to alleviate future pain at the pump.”

Maybe we can scoop up some new donors. We don’t like the Obama administration’s energy policies, either. The Hill (5/21/13) reports: “Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, who’s increasingly throwing his weight around in politics, said approving the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline would create political hurdles for President Obama’s second-term agenda and cost him the support of key donors… Steyer, a major Democratic fundraiser, told Grist magazine that Keystone opponents have leverage to exert over Obama even though he’s free of having to run for reelection.”

If you have time to read one article today, this is the one. The Nation(5/21/13) reports: “The Center for American Progress, Washington’s leading liberal think tank, has been a big backer of the Energy Department’s $25 billion loan guarantee program for renewable energy projects. CAP has specifically praised First Solar, a firm that received $3.73 billion under the program, and its Antelope Valley project in California… Though the think tank didn’t disclose it, First Solar belonged to CAP’s Business Alliance, a secret group of corporate donors, according to internal lists obtained by The Nation. Meanwhile, José Villarreal—a consultant at the power-house law and lobbying firm Akin Gump, who ‘provides strategic counseling on a range of legal and policy issues’ for corporations—was on First Solar’s board until April 2012 while also sitting on the board of CAP, where he remains a member, according to the group’s latest tax filing.”

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In the Pipeline: 5/21/13

May 21, 2013 Leave a Comment

Guns don’t kill birds; turbines kill birds. IER (5/20/13) reports: “Besides receiving federal subsidies and other financial incentives, the wind industry is getting special treatment from the Obama Administration: wind farms are allowed to kill protected bird species. The Associated Press has found that the Obama Administration has never fined or prosecuted a wind farm for killing eagles and other protected birds, thus shielding the wind industry from liability. Further, the Obama Administration has kept the scope of the deaths secret. According to an estimate from the Wildlife Society Bulletin, U.S. wind farms kill more than 573,000 birds each year.”

Of course the automakers and United Auto Workers support these new regulations. They get a free license to raise prices on the little guy and pat themselves on the back for what more or less amounts to imaginary benefits. TreeHugger (5/20/13) reports: “The public overwhelmingly supports the proposed Tier 3 standards. According to a survey conducted by the American Lung Association, 62 percent of Americans surveyed support the EPA setting stricter standards and tightening limits on tailpipe emissions from new cars. Automakers and the United Auto Workers support them as well… Now is the time to add your voice to the growing chorus of citizens who are standing up for children and clean air — and standing up to Big Oil. It is crucial that the standards be finalized this year — failure to do so would result in losing at least an entire model year worth of benefits at a time when the climate crisis has become critical.”

If the previous Obama administration is any sort of clue, Sally will throw a few REI tents and sleeping bags at the exploration crew and take credit for their work later (oh and don’t forget your bear mace!).Politico (5/21/13) reports: “Alaskan officials are hoping to prod the federal government into measuring the amount of oil and gas beneath the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and are offering state money as part of their plan to push the project forward… ‘Alaska is willing to help complete the work the federal government seems unwilling to do,’ Gov. Sean Parnell said via webcast from a Chamber of Commerce event Monday announcing the initiative… In a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Parnell said he would seek up to $50 million in state funding for seismic testing and proposed a winter-based exploration plan to mitigate environmental impact. The hope is that the plan will not only spur Interior to act but will help the country figure out the best course for ANWR, he said.”

The enviros and their vacuous leaders in Congress are sowing the seeds of their ultimate demise by going down this road. No good can come from this for them. And there will be no sympathy. The Daily Caller(5/21/13) reports: “So, you may have a question for me,” Whitehouse said. “Why do you care? Why do you, Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, care if we Republicans run off the climate cliff like a bunch of proverbial lemmings and disgrace ourselves? I’ll tell you why. We’re stuck in this together. We are stuck in this together. When cyclones tear up Oklahoma and hurricanes swamp Alabama and wildfires scorch Texas, you come to us, the rest of the country, for billions of dollars to recover. And the damage that your polluters and deniers are doing doesn’t just hit Oklahoma and Alabama and Texas. It hits Rhode Island with floods and storms. It hits Oregon with acidified seas, it hits Montana with dying forests. So, like it or not, we’re in this together.”

It looks like they’re digging holes just to fill them back up over in Britain. What’s great is you can create even more jobs if everyone digs with a spoon. Express (5/19/13) reports: “WIND FARM operators are being paid millions for “wasted” electricity under a complex system known as constraint payments.The money is paid out when turbines are spinning but the electricity they are generating is surplus to requirements… Freedom of Information documents reveal that since 2011 more than £26.5million has been paid out under the scheme.”

They say black is the new gr33n.

vPNmPNM

Blog In the Pipeline

In the Pipeline: 5/20/13

May 20, 2013 Leave a Comment

We’re not surprised, but that doesn’t make this any less unsettling. Washington Examiner (5/17/13) reports: “Two powerful congressional Republicans want to know more – a lot more – about why and how Environmental Protection Agency officials have for several years erected multiple obstacles to conservative think tanks, media outlets and non-profit activists filing Freedom of Information Act requests with the agency… ‘According to documents obtained by the Committees, EPA readily granted FOIA fee waivers for liberal environmental groups – effectively subsidizing them – while denying fee waivers and making the FOIA process more difficult for states and conservative groups,’ said Sen. David Vitter and Rep. Darrell Issa in a letter today to EPA’s acting administrator, Bob Perciasepe.”

As a refresher, the “environmental” movement is about control and monopoly of power, not about saving the environment. We also hope to see the RFS repealed and the environmental gains that would consequently follow. The American Interest (5/16/13) reports: “The environmental cost of shuttling these barrels back and forth across the globe makes this more than just an absurd story of misguided government policy. The fact that this program is effectively subsidizing needless voyages by high-emitting ships makes a mockery of biofuel’s dubious status as a “green” program… Fortunately, there are two bills wending their way through Congress at the moment, one to completely repeal the renewable fuels standard and the other to reform it. Both of these bills would fix this senseless trade circle. Let’s hope they pass, and soon.”

What does “post-carbon” mean? The people who thump their chests in the name of science sure seem to enjoy twisting words around. But oddly enough, the bad guys reveal their true goals with this green-speak, in that a “post-carbon” world is a world without you and me, my friend. We happen to think people are Earth’s greatest resource, so for now we’ll enjoy the molecular composition of carbon and all that it has to offer. The Globe and Mail(5/17/13) reports: “Canada and Alberta need to begin now to prepare for the post-carbon world – a world that will be largely powered by some combination of hydro, wind, solar, and biomass energy – all of which are or could be produced in abundance in Canada. More importantly, the post-carbon world requires that we make energy efficiency our number one priority, because only in that way will our overall demand for energy be small enough that it can be reliably met by renewable, but sustainable, energy sources.”

Three things. 1.) Coral Davenport is starting to see ghosts. 2.) Until Kevin McCarthy gets a new pollster (we know a good one), the GOP rank and file would be wise not to listen to their esteemed Whip on this issue. 3.) John Feehery is a shill for the wind industry. National Journal (5/19/13) reports: “Each January, when Congress gavels a new session to order, the party in charge rolls out a series of bills laying out its political agenda—and often they’re predictable variations on well-worn themes. So it was when House Republicans launched the year with a bill that demanded President Obama present a plan to wipe out the federal deficit, one that slashed pay for federal workers, and one that sought to increase renewable energy. (Record scratch.) Wait, what?”

You are probably going to hear a lot about the paper from Cook.  So you should probably be armed with some skepticism. JoNova(5/17/13) reports: “What does a study of 20 years of abstracts tell us about the global climate? Nothing. But it says quite a lot about the way government funding influences the scientific process. John Cook, a blogger who runs the site with the ambush title “SkepticalScience” (which unskeptically defends the mainstream position), has tried to revive the put-down and smear strategy against the thousands of scientists who disagree. The new paper confounds climate research with financial forces, is based on the wrong assumptions, uses fallacious reasoning, wasn’t independent, and confuses a consensus of climate scientists for a scientific consensus, not that a consensus proves anything anyway, if it existed. Given the monopolistic funding of climate science in the last 20 years, the results he finds are entirely predictable.”

Well, the good news is that at least this Secretary of State seems to understand that there are life and death issues.  Although his choice of those issues is ridiculous. Weekly Standard (5/14/13) reports: “Speaking today in Stockholm, Sweden, John Kerry called “climate change” a “life and death” issue. And the secretary of state apologized on behalf of the United States for not doing enough to fight climate change.”

Blog In the Pipeline

In the Pipeline: 5/15/13

May 15, 2013 Leave a Comment

A senior adviser to McCain 2008 wrote this piece, arguing (I kid you not) that a carbon tax is a good thing because it is “relatively hidden.” Since when did hiding taxes from the American people become fashionable for conservatives? RealClearEnergy (5/14/13) reports: “Enter the carbon tax. Besides its intended purpose of reducing carbon emissions, it is politically advantageous, in that it is a tax that is relatively hidden. If phased in over a decade, the annual increase in gas prices that would result would be less than the typical annual fluctuations we already observe. And its other manifestations are also somewhat less than obvious—power bills will go up, but they’ve been inexorably increasing since time immemorial, even in places that get most of their power via natural gas.”

The rule of law? Screw it. FuelFix (5/14/13) reports: “The Obama administration has never fined or prosecuted a wind farm for killing eagles and other protected bird species, shielding the industry from liability and helping keep the scope of the deaths secret, an Associated Press investigation has found… Each death is federal crime, a charge that the Obama administration has used to prosecute oil companies when birds drown in their waste pits, and power companies when birds are electrocuted by their power lines. No wind energy company has been prosecuted, even those that repeatedly flout the law.”

This study raises interesting questions not only about suicide rates in counties where coal-fired electrical plants operate, but also about the suicide rates among individuals who are forced to fend off this nonsense on a daily basis. Science Daily (5/13/13) reports: “New research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center finds that suicide, while strongly associated with psychiatric conditions, also correlates with environmental pollution… Lead researcher John G. Spangler, M.D., M.P.H., a professor of family medicine at Wake Forest Baptist, looked specifically at the relationship between air pollution and emissions from coal-fired electricity plants.”

What happens when the greenies realize they’ve lost the scarcity narrative? I hope they don’t think they can compete on price… The Atlantic (5/13/13) reports: “That’s the big story: Like whale oil in the 1860s, oil has become uncompetitive even at low prices, long before becoming unavailable even at high prices… This comparison doesn’t even consider hidden or external costs. Just the economic and military costs of U.S. oil dependence, if paid at the pump rather than through taxes and reduced wealth, would triple the price of oil — plus any costs to health, safety, environment, climate, global stability and development, or our nation’s independence and reputation.”

We call this a dangerously maligned incentive structure. Denver Business Journal (5/8/13) reports: “After a mad dash throughout 2012 to install wind turbines across the United States — ahead of the expiration of a federal tax credit for wind-generated energy at the end of 2012 — Vestas Wind Systems didn’t deliver a single machine to a U.S. wind farm during the first three months of 2013.”

These kids put on a pretty show, and it’s good to see that not all 11 year olds are wasting their lives on Playstation 7. But it’d be cool if they also learned about the consequences of top-down, anti-growth government policies. Free markets and free people are their best bet for a bright future and a cleaner environment… It’s science. Huffington Post (5/13/13) reports: “The youths presentation included a rap that they wrote about the dangers of fracking stating, “poisoned the water, poisoned the air, poisoned the people, do you think that’s fair?” and included a call-and-response for the students, ‘When I say what the, you say frack. What the… frack, what the… frack.’”

What_the_Frack

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