The Obama Administration, encouraged by environmental groups, has blocked yet another affordable energy project—the Keystone XL Pipeline. Add this to the unconscionable slowdown of leasing and production in the Gulf of Mexico, foot-dragging on production in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, blocks on offshore production in the Atlantic and Pacific, and continued prohibitions and impediments to production in non-park, non-wilderness areas of the Western U.S. and ANWR. For each one, the claim is that the production wouldn’t make much difference. Well, the XL Pipeline would bring 750,000 barrels per day … More

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman clarified his position on how policymakers should deal with climate change.  In a speech Tuesday at The Heritage Foundation he said, “There’s not enough information right now to be able to formulate policies.” Even if there were a consensus that there is global warming, and it’s man-made, then the United States  might still choose not to take unilateral action, he added. Premature political action, he noted, could jeopardize economic recovery for a potentially ineffectual attempt to tackle the issue.  “The scientific community owes us more,” … More

Another year, another hopeless climate talk. This time, the annual U.N. climate change summit is taking place in Durban, South Africa. It looks painfully like another misguided attempt to convince developed countries to shoulder global emissions targets while redistributing wealth to developing countries. This approach, again, is likely to fail—despite China’s recent announcement that it would consider accepting a legally binding agreement. For the past 17 years, one U.N. climate talk after another has failed over the same basic issue. While top-down international policymaking may sound appealing to those whose … More

Another round of leaked e-mails from the University of East Anglia’s (UEA) Climatic Research Unit have surfaced, once again illustrating why governments should not be making serious policy decisions based on mainstream climate science. Several of the following excerpts not only call into question conventional “climate change” wisdom but also suggest the selective use of information with an agenda in mind: Observations do not show rising temperatures throughout the tropical troposphere unless you accept one single study and approach and discount a wealth of others. This is just downright dangerous. … More

The Grumpy Troll Restaurant and Brewpub is one of over 22,000 companies that received $16,000 cash grants from the federal government to install solar panels on their roofs as part of the 1603 Treasury grant program, a 2009 stimulus bill provision that provides cash grants to help foot the bill of renewable energy projects, mostly wind and solar but also biomass, landfill gas, fuel cells and geothermal heat projects. The 1603 program was set to expire at the end of 2010 but was extended another year. The government has doled … More

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson recently announced that her agency would proceed with twice-delayed regulations targeting power plants that emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Mrs. Jackson’s decision ignores three vital pieces of information that should make it easy for Congress to prevent unelected bureaucrats from regulating CO2: • The EPA inspector general’s finding that EPA did not follow federal data quality standards in preparing its “endangerment finding” regarding greenhouse gases. • The profusion of scientific dissent. • The massive economic costs and minimal environmental benefits. In … More

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson recently announced that her agency would proceed with twice-delayed regulations targeting power plants that emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Mrs. Jackson’s decision ignores three vital pieces of information that should make it easy for Congress to prevent unelected bureaucrats from regulating CO2: • The EPA inspector general’s finding that EPA did not follow federal data quality standards in preparing its “endangerment finding” regarding greenhouse gases. • The profusion of scientific dissent. • The massive economic costs and minimal environmental benefits. In … More

Scribe has reported extensively on the tendency of large government spending projects to reward the politically connected. It’s a virtual constant of federal interventions in the market, and perhaps nowhere is it more evident than in the Obama administration’s “green jobs” push. Writing on National Review Online today, I detail the political connections backstopping California venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and take a look at the extensive taxpayer support given to nine different companies financed by the firm. Here’s an excerpt from the piece: Hoover Institution fellow … More

The economic damage inherent in federal backing for solar power companies extends beyond Solyndra-style bankruptcies, in which taxpayers pour money into unprofitable but politically popular ventures. Even where government-backed companies stay afloat, federal intervention directs resources to less productive and profitable activities. Some solar power companies based in California are succeeding where Solyndra failed (that is, staying in business), due primarily to the state’s renewable energy mandate and restrictions on cheap energy. But while the companies have received significant backing from the federal government, taxpayers are potentially on the hook … More

Use a debit card? Now it’s really going to cost you. Bank of America announced last week that it will begin charging customers $5 per month for use of their debit cards. But if you’re looking for someone to blame, set your sights on Washington. Bank of America is imposing the new fee in anticipation of a $2 billion annual loss brought about by the “Durbin Amendment” — a provision of last year’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street financial reform bill. Signed into law in July 2010, the measure was intended to … More