More than half of U.S. states have established Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) requiring electric utilities to generate a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable sources. These mandates raise energy costs by forcing households and businesses to use more wind and solar energy, which are more expensive and less reliable than traditional energy sources like nuclear, natural gas, coal, and hydro. Faced with these facts, some states are considering repealing or reforming...
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In his 2015 State of the Union address, President Obama emphasized the importance of infrastructure while at the same time making a not-so-subtle quip about the Keystone XL oil pipeline:

21^st century businesses need 21^st century infrastructure – modern ports, stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest internet. Democrats and Republicans used to agree on this. So let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. Let’s pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that could...

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Today the Senate is voting on an amendment offered by Sen. Durbin to increase the regulation of petroleum coke or “petcoke.” This is another example of the administration and its allies trying to drive up the cost of domestic energy production and domestic energy use. What is Petcoke? Like gasoline and diesel, petcoke is produced in oil refineries. Once viewed as a byproduct, petcoke is now an important internationally-trade commodity and is helping to grow many developing...
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On Tuesday, President Obama delivered his sixth annual State of the Union address. The address was peppered with references to low gas prices (which are good but he has nothing to do with) and booming energy production (also good but happening despite his policies), part of an agenda he described as “middle-class economics.” The address was also notable for what the president didn’t say. While the president declared that “no challenge poses a greater threat” than climate change,...
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As we explained last week, President Obama’s proposed methane scheme is an attempt to fix a problem that does not exist. Methane emissions are declining as natural gas production is booming—and it’s happening all without federal intervention because natural gas producers have an economic incentive to reduce methane emissions. The proposal also fails to accomplish its stated purpose to “curb climate change.” A new report from the Cato Institute explains:

The amount of methane...

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The Obama administration likes to deny there’s any “War on Coal,” but the numbers don’t lie. West Virginia, the heart of coal country, now has the lowest labor participation rates among all 50 states -- less than 50% of people 16 and up are employed. It is the only state in the country with a labor participation rate below 50 percent. Market Watch reports:

West Virginia quietly passed the ignominious milestone of having less than half of its adult, civilian population in the...

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On Wednesday, the White House announced a long-awaited plan to reduce methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector, with the goal of slashing methane from new and modified oil and gas processing and production facilities by up to 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025. The administration directed EPA and other agencies to develop rules to meet its goal. President Obama’s methane scheme is an attempt to fix a problem that does not exist. Energy producers have an economic incentive...
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Misinformation abounds at Yale University’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. The university’s Project on Climate Change Communication released a new survey that is grabbing headlines but is riddled with flaws. The survey claims that “Republican voters are actually split in their views about climate change,” with a majority of “moderate” Republicans supporting EPA’s proposed rule to “set strict CO2 emission limits on existing coal-fired power plants.” Overall,...
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Channeling their inner Howard Beale, The Oregonian’s editors are mad as Hell with the governor and they aren’t going to take his tax schemes any more. Last week, the editorial board slammed Gov. John Kitzhaber’s plan to raise gasoline costs on Oregon families, which the editors panned as a “global-warming gas tax.” The editorial begins by admonishing gas-tax advocates for deceiving Oregonians:

Gov. John Kitzhaber and other proponents of a low-carbon fuel standard, we wrote last...

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