Everyone who cares about America should read all 39 pages of this report. Because it kills. NDP Consulting (November 2012) reports: “As put by NERA’s Anne Smith, “Once one strips away the non-credible and inappropriate façade of coincidental co-benefits from reducing an already-regulated non-HAP pollutant, the MATS rule is left with almost nothing to justify its costs.””
Our Rob sets the stage, and he isn’t playing around: “The Theatrics of Fossil Fuel Critics”. Denver Post (11/30/12) reports: “As Manhattan Institute scholar Robert Bryce has noted, ‘Nothing else comes close to oil when it comes to energy density, ease of handling, flexibility, convenience, cost, or scale.’ To stop oil exploration would be to condemn the world to high energy prices and stunted economic growth… Divestment would represent an enormous hit to pension plans. It would make the retirement accounts of millions of average Americans less secure. Rather than improving the environment, divestment would actually slow the development of alternative energy technologies.”
We are going to miss Jim Rogers. He was always a reliable rent-seeker. National Legal and Policy Center (11/29/12) reports: ““Usually shareholders change boards, not public entities,” said Charles Elson, director of John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, who said he had never seen such a degree of intervention in a case that at least did not involve some illegal activity.”
I have no idea why the traditional media is dying. I really don’t.Bloomberg (11/30/12) reports: “The most dynamic executive in his industry, Rogers, the chief executive of Charlotte-based Duke Energy (DUK), has spent a career building ever-bigger utilities. He knows coal, gas, nuclear, solar, wind. He’s done all of them. And he recognizes the need to forge a national energy policy that sharply reduces carbon emissions that contribute to global warming and the extreme weather it is increasingly visiting upon our little planet.”
We only run this because the story is so rare. Bloomberg (11/29/12) reports: “Mississippi taxpayers may have only an empty Senatobia building and solar panel equipment to show for $26 million in loans to Twin Creeks Technologies.”
We are concerned about potential bias as well. After all, this is the crew that brought us Obamacare. Energy & Commerce (11/30/12) reports: “House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders today wrote to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius concerning the Department’s role in the Interagency Working Group to Support Safe and Responsible Development of Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas Resources. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expressed its intention to undertake a broad study of potential health impacts associated with hydraulic fracturing and other shale gas development activities. Members are concerned ATSDR’s actions could jeopardize domestic natural gas production and job creation if the agency’s work is not based on sound scientific principles.”
This is both great and sad. Great, because Oklahomans have Senator Inhofe fighting for them. Sad, because this is what the Republic has come to in the 21st Century. Environment & Public Works(11/30/12) reports: “Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today said that Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) decision to propose a ‘threatened’ listing for the Lesser Prairie Chicken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is great news for Oklahoma because it provides a crucial step towards achieving a ‘not-warranted’ decision in the coming months.”