Celebrity Hot Air Cannot Mask Realities of Climate Debate

  • 11/03/14
  • AEA
  • Blog
Celebrity support for a questionable cause is no substitute for facts and real analysis. Billionaire Tom Steyer’s newest 30-second ad buy is the latest effort to draw on celebrity support to elect anti-energy candidates. The ad is narrated by actor Woody Harrelson and directed by Black Swan ’s Darren Aronofsky. Harrelson claims in the ad, “They told us the world was flat and insisted it was the center of the universe...Now they tell us climate change is a hoax. But the truth is...
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Hydraulic Fracturing is Saving You at the Pump

  • 10/31/14
  • AEA
  • Blog
A recent study conducted by the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed Americans are saving nearly a dollar per gallon when they fill up for gas because of the innovative horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques that gave us access to significantly more domestic oil and natural gas reserves. This development has gas prices as low at $2.29 per gallon in some communities and AAA reported nationwide gasoline prices are set to drop below $3.00 per gallon on November 1st ....
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Federalism at Work: States Lead on Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation

  • 10/29/14
  • AEA
  • Blog

It is not by the consolidation, or concentration of powers, but by their distribution, that good government is effected. Were not this great country already divided into states, that division must be made, that each might do for itself what concerns itself directly, and what it can do so much better than a distant authority.

-Thomas Jefferson

The Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC), a national association of state agencies, recently released a new study that examined what states are...
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It's not what it looks like

energy 2014 AEA 600

America’s oil shale revolution has occurred in spite of President Obama’s attempts to block the widespread use of traditional, affordable energy resources. The President’s war on coal is threatening to shut down enough electrical generating capacity to power 44.7 million homes. One of the last lines of defense for Obama’s six-year blockade of the Keystone XL pipeline will come and go with the midterm elections, as TransCanada explores other options for the transport of their...
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The Divestment Movement is Morally Bankrupt

  • 10/23/14
  • AEA
  • Blog

This week's National Journal Energy Insider's question is "What's the Value of Divestment?" AEA President Thomas Pyle's response is below:

In response to the recent climate change rally in New York, the satirical newspaper the Onion quipped, “7.1 Billion Demonstrate In Favor of Global Warming.” Their point? Nearly everyone benefits from the use of natural gas, petroleum, and coal because they provide the reliable and affordable energy that makes modern life possible.

FossilFree, a...


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Climate Change Not a Top Priority for Americans

  • 10/23/14
  • AEA
  • Blog
Yesterday, Washington Post’s Plum Line blog wrote that climate change is the one “bright spot” for Democrats in the upcoming midterm election. Despite the very real prospect of losing the Senate, the blog asserts, “Liberals may have made a bit of headway in forcing climate change on to the national agenda.” For support, the article cites a Pew poll finding that large swaths of the population overwhelmingly believe in climate change (such as 18-29 year olds, nonwhites, and...
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Outrage Over EPA Rules Continues

  • 10/22/14
  • AEA
  • Blog
Since EPA proposed the new carbon dioxide emissions rules for existing power plants on June 2nd, twelve states have filed suit, arguing the new regulations are illegal under the Clean Air Act. The governors of Texas and West Virginia have demonstratively spoken out against the rules, citing their need for coal-fired power plants to provide their citizens with affordable, reliable power. And now, Virginia’s State Corporation Commission has released their own criticism.
“As currently...

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Is EPA Shutting Down Your Power Plant?

  • 10/21/14
  • AEA
  • Blog
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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Public Enemy #1

Using More Energy Helps the Planet

  • 10/17/14
  • AEA
  • Blog
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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