A recent study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, concluded that neither hydraulic fracturing nor horizontal drilling is contaminating drinking water near well sites. This adds to a growing body of research showing that hydraulic fracturing is a safe way to access natural gas and oil. National Academy of Sciences Study Lead researcher and earth science professor Thomas Darrah found, “no unequivocal evidence” that gas in large quantities had migrated from...
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Nine months after the deadline, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally sent its final 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume requirements to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The RFS requires refiners to blend a certain percentage of renewable fuels into the gasoline supply. The countdown is on for one last big lobbying push by renewable fuel interests push for higher requirements than what was included in EPA’s proposed 2014 RFS rule. EPA...

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WASHINGTON – A new survey released today by the American Energy Alliance found that most American voters have serious reservations about the federal government’s involvement in their energy choices—specifically with regard to policies like the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC) and the EPA’s proposed power plant rule. "The American people don't have faith in the federal government to make their energy choices for them—and for good reason," said AEA president Thomas Pyle....
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The state of Nevada—like many others—has implemented a “Renewable Portfolio Standard,” or RPS. According to the state mandate—which was first implemented in 1997 but has since been periodically revised—the state utility, NV Energy, must produce at least 25 percent of its total retail electricity with eligible renewable sources by 2025, and 6 percent of the total must be satisfied with solar energy in particular. Beyond the arbitrariness of these political goals—isn’t it a...
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Environmental groups have historically and continuously looked for ways to attack affordable, reliable sources of energy like natural gas and oil. Much of their recent attack has focused on hydraulic fracturing because the term “fracking” makes it sound like it is a bad thing. But now some groups are calling attention to the “hydraulic” part of hydraulic fracturing by claiming that hydraulic fracturing uses too much water, even though water has been used in the process for...
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Irwin Stelzer has a PhD in economics from Cornell and decades of experience in academia, the financial world, and public policy. He is a frequent columnist in right-leaning outlets and was the editor of the 2004 The Neocon Reader. As such, readers may have taken Stelzer very seriously when he recently argued in The Weekly Standard  that conservatives should support a carbon tax because it would (he claims) be good for economic growth. Yet as I’ll show, Stelzer’s article shows that...
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Institute for Energy Research Founder and CEO Robert Bradley published the following op-ed last month in the Findlay Courier on the University of Dayton's decision to divest from fossil fuels: Citing “the negative consequences of climate change,” the board of Trustees of the University of Dayton (UD) recently voted to divest its oil, natural gas, and coal stocks. By ridding its $670 million investment pool of fossil fuels, UD hopes to protect “the world’s most vulnerable people”...
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