In the Pipeline: 5/1/13

Apparently Al Gore has forgotten about his own invention. Hollywood Reporter (4/30/13) reports: “Al Gore, one of Hollywood’s favorite sons because of his commitment to the environment, rocked a large crowd in Beverly Hills on Tuesday with an impassioned plea to solve the ‘climate change crisis,’ part of which is getting media right… Gore lamented that a modern-day Thomas Paine would not be able to get his ‘Common Sense’ message to the masses today because he couldn’t afford TV airtime, and he criticized the ‘rise of television at the expense of the printing press.’”

There is no honor among thieves. Politico (5/1/13) reports: “An effort by ethanol backers to get the Environmental Protection Agency to scale back the amount of advanced biofuels required in the U.S. gasoline supply this year has opened a rift in a decades-old friendship within the biofuels industry… The Renewable Fuels Association made the request to EPA in an attempt to limit imports of Brazilian-based sugar cane ethanol.”

Is it just me, or is Colorado starting to look like California? I wonder where its refugees will go. Denver Post (4/30/13) reports: “A Democratic bill doubling the renewable-energy standard for rural electric co-ops has turned into one of the more contentious measures of the 2013 session… Lawmakers say no other bill — even gun legislation — has been debated as long as Senate Bill 252, which increases the renewable-energy standard for the state’s second-largest utility and rural electric co-ops with more than 100,000 customers to 20 percent from 10 percent by 2020.”

It has been tough for these guys. The whole scarcity narrative has blown up. President Rig Count keeps talking about oil and gas production. Now they are going to lose Keystone. Politico (4/30/13) reports: “The Obama administration may be just months away from green-lighting the 1,700-mile oil pipeline despite an all-out opposition campaign that has seen anti-Keystone activists staging massive sit-ins and arrests outside the White House and dogging the president’s speeches and fundraisers with rallies.”

Do you think maybe the “lack of data” also had something to do with lack of production? Wind Power (4/30/13) reports: “The decision follows a warning in March by interim energy minister Asen Vasilev that around 40% of wind and solar plants could potentially be curtailed… Vasilev claimed their failure to provide real-time data on production was threatening the stability of the system and made them non-compliant with the law.”

It’s no fun if the guys who write rules play by the rules. Daily Caller(4/29/13) reports: “The Environmental Protection Agency’s revised draft assessment of an Alaska mine project cites research from environmental consultants who admitted falsifying a report in an environmental lawsuit.”

Team IER will be in Houston next week. They said we could invite you to their party.