A recent report from the Institute for Energy Research revealed that 72.7 gigawatts (GW) of power have closed or are scheduled to close because of EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Rule (colloquially called MATS or Utility MACT), the proposed Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), and the recently proposed restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. This is enough electricity to reliably power 44.7 million homes , or every home in every state west of the Mississippi...
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National Journal recently published an article with the somewhat exaggerated headline, “Why Natural Gas Won’t Help Save the Planet.” The story cites a study in Nature which equates “saving the planet” to “slashing global greenhouse-gas emissions.” But what do they say about the role energy plays in improving the planet? The report goes on to state, "Lower natural gas prices accelerate economic activity, reduce the incentive to invest in energy-saving technologies, and...
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Australia’s carbon tax was so disastrous that some of its biggest supporters are hastily distancing themselves from it -- and lawmakers in the U.S. should take note. The Sydney Morning Herald reported this week that the democratic socialist Labor Party is officially bailing on support for a carbon tax. Party leader Bill Shorten announced:

“We will not have a carbon tax, the Australian people have spoken and Labor is not going to go back to that.” [Emphasis added]

The carbon...
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America's energy boom has created an abundance of high-paying and secure jobs in the oil and gas industry at a time when other sectors of the economy continue to struggle. As a result students are flocking towards degree paths that will help them break into the industry. For example, the Colorado School of Mines has seen annual enrollment for undergrad petroleum engineering increase from under 300 to 900  in the last ten years. And it’s not alone. The University of Wyoming and the...
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In a recent speech, former U.K. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson compared the U.K.’s Climate Change Act to the policies of the infamous Sheriff of Nottingham in the story of Robin Hood:

“It amazes me that our last three energy secretaries, Ed Miliband, Chris Huhne and Ed Davey, have merrily presided over the single most regressive policy we have seen in this country since the Sheriff of Nottingham: the coerced increase of electricity bills for people on low incomes to pay huge...

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The Governator is back, only this time he’s here to promote California’s failed energy policies on a global scale. Two-term governor of California and Terminator legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger presided over a climate conference which was hosted by his group “R20 Regions of Climate Action”. The conference ended in an unbinding pledge by several regional groups to join the fight against global warming. In his remarks at the conference,  Schwarzenegger touted California’s...
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Last month I wrote a post titled, “Climate Change Crowd Moves Goalposts—Again.” I was referring to the rhetorical strategy of de-emphasizing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a metric for gauging the impact of climate change. I speculated that this was because the climate change activists recognized that on the original terms of the debate—as staked out in the IPCC reports, for example—their case was quite weak. Somebody who knew how to actually read the latest IPCC report would see...
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As biofuels lobbyists and the Obama Administration are battling over the final numbers for the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard, the Administration is attempting to prop up the biofuels industry through military purchasing. The Administration recently announced they would be granting $210 million in military contracts to spur the creation of commercial scale biofuels by constructing three biorefineries to produce “drop-in” biofuels.[1] This is not the first time the federal government has...
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