In the Pipeline: 9/25/12

It looks like Pyle and Quinlan are unequivocally opposed to a carbon tax. Any other think tank heads care to put themselves in that category? We will post every Friday for any others who wish to put themselves in that camp. Forbes (9/23/12) reports: “With the economy sputtering toward what can at best be described as a meager recovery, it seems like an obviously poor time to consider raising taxes on any form of energy. That’s particularly true when it comes the gasoline which fuels not only our cars, but also the nation’s economic engine. Yet that is also precisely what an unholy coalition of big spending liberals and misguided conservative economists is proposing – to raise taxes on carbon and send the economy spiraling toward another recession.”

So let’s review.  Closing coal plants and increasing the price of electricity ostensibly because of global warming is OK.  Having rich folks pay a few extra bucks on their flights to Europe to fight global warming is not OK.  Tell me again under what circumstances a revolution is morally licit. CNBC (9/24/12) reports: “The Senate unanimously passed a bill on Saturday that would shield U.S. airlines from paying for their carbon emissions on European flights, pressuring the European Union to back down from applying its emissions law to foreign carriers.”

Every time a coal-fired power plant gets shut down in America, we’re one step closer to getting back on the boats for Europe. Bloomberg (9/21/12) reports: “European utilities are poised to add more coal-fired power capacity than natural gas in the next four years, boosting emissions just as the era of free carbon permits ends.”

Going to Extremes: Ed Markey and Henry Waxman are now (mad) scientists. Committee on Natural Resources (9/25/12) reports: “The United States and the world experienced a barrage of extreme weather events over the last several years consistent with what climate scientists have been predicting from global warming pollution. Indeed this summer, U.S. weather was almost apocalyptic: searing heat, ferocious fires, hurricanes, and severe storms left people injured, homeless and in some cases, dead.”

The politicians in Washington are a bunch of children who throw a temper tantrum every time a shiny new toy comes along. We’re trying to teach the virtue of patience. E&ENews (9/24/12) reports: “Congress has been juggling and unable to pass the “NAT GAS Act,” a package of tax incentives that would promote the conversion of autos from oil to natural gas. The legislation — commonly called the Pickens Plan — had long been hailed as a bipartisan approach to cutting U.S. oil dependence while promoting a cheaper and cleaner alternative fuel.”

It’s fun watching Rob tear down smokescreens. Forbes (9/24/12) reports: “At the Democratic National Convention, President Obama proclaimed that voters will face “the clearest choice of any time in a generation” on energy policy this November. If he were truly concerned about our energy future, though, he’d scrap his wasteful green-energy zealotry — along with his smokescreen slogan “all of the above.” Better policies are there for the taking.”

Does Dan Kish know anything about this? Forbes (9/24/12) reports: “Meanwhile, just as Beijing may be considering taking another stride toward a more market-based economy, President Obama wants to move the United States toward a more state-directed one. He does so, moreover, in the name of competing with China. It is one thing for ordinary citizens to make faulty policy judgments based on projecting a past growth trend too boldly into the future. Surely, a president should know better.”