energy policy
Free Trade, Deregulation, and Clean Energy — A Good Mix?
Some scholars like to suggest that there is a natural regulatory cycle: the perception of market failures leads to regulation, and the perception of regulatory failures leads to deregulation. While the 1990s were dominated by free trade agreements and economic deregulation, many political observers see greater acceptance of regulation now, in light of investor malfeasance …
Continue reading “Free Trade, Deregulation, and Clean Energy — A Good Mix?”
CONTINUE READINGExxon-China Natural Gas Deal
Greenwire reports: PetroChina Co., a unit of China National Petroleum Corp., today signed a 20-year, $41 billion deal to buy gas from ExxonMobil Corp., Australian Energy and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said. Exxon will mine the gas from its 25 percent share of Australia’s Gorgon gas field, Ferguson said, moving the offshore project one step …
Continue reading “Exxon-China Natural Gas Deal”
CONTINUE READINGWater for Power Plants: A Major Concern All of Its Own
As the demand for freshwater grows and supplies dwindle, should water use become a major factor in choosing new sources of electric power? That is a question addressed recently in a hearing sponsored by a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology. The United States Geological Survey says that 48 percent of …
Continue reading “Water for Power Plants: A Major Concern All of Its Own”
CONTINUE READINGSolar Energy on the Fast Track
Yesterday, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced a series of initiatives to create a “fast track” for the development of utility scale solar energy facilities on Western public lands. This will include designating certain tracts of land as especially promising based on solar potential and land use compatibility, funding environmental …
Continue reading “Solar Energy on the Fast Track”
CONTINUE READINGIs Waxman-Markey Even Worth It?
If Michael O’Hare is right about this, then Waxman-Markey might not be worth the candle: Waxman appears to have sold out the indirect land use issue in a deal with Peterson on the climate change bill: “Waxman also consented to block EPA from calculating “indirect” greenhouse gas emissions from land-use changes when implementing the federal …
Continue reading “Is Waxman-Markey Even Worth It?”
CONTINUE READINGWhat Does the CBO Report on Waxman-Markey Actually Mean?
The Congressional Budget Office issued its report on the Waxman-Markey bill recently. The Washington Times immediately trumpeted: “CBO puts hefty price tag on emissions plan: Obama’s cap-and-trade system seen costing $846 billion.” This is quite misleading. Actually, the CBO report tells us virtually nothing about the economic costs of the bill or how much consumers …
Continue reading “What Does the CBO Report on Waxman-Markey Actually Mean?”
CONTINUE READINGAs Digital TV Goes, So Goes the Smart Grid?
Today, we bid a nostalgic farewell to analog television, as all broadcast stations are required to deliver a digital signal. Do the challenges the nation has faced in making this not-so-momentous transition suggest a bumpy road ahead as policymakers push for a “smart” electric grid? Should low income and minority consumers be especially concerned? Most …
Continue reading “As Digital TV Goes, So Goes the Smart Grid?”
CONTINUE READINGGreen Buildings: LEEDing to Trouble?
Green construction is all the rage among legislatures, regulators and the building industry. Incentives and mandates abound at the federal, state and local level, but so too do risks of failure to meet the certification standards when all the dust settles after construction is complete. The Harvard Law School Environmental Law and Policy Clinic recently …
Continue reading “Green Buildings: LEEDing to Trouble?”
CONTINUE READINGThe Nuclear Option
In the 1960s, when legendary environmentalist David Brower expressed his opposition to nuclear power, he exposed a rift among his Sierra Club colleagues, many of whom saw “too cheap to meter” nuclear power as the solution to air pollution problems. Brower and others focused on the danger of nuclear accidents, security issues, and the difficulty …
Continue reading “The Nuclear Option”
CONTINUE READINGTar Sands, Obama, California, and the Economy in Calgary
Spending just a few days in Calgary, Alberta, one thing becomes perfectly clear: oil is Calgary, and Calgary is all about oil. And increasingly, the story of oil all across Alberta has become the story of tar sands. Many around the world have viewed with horror, or at least dismay, Canada’s increased reliance on producing …
Continue reading “Tar Sands, Obama, California, and the Economy in Calgary”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
