Latest Articles

NYT gets goofy on cap-and-trade

An NYT piece on Obama’s priorities manages to get two things wrong on energy policy, both in a short section written by John Broder. First, the overall point is wrong. Broder tries to draw a contrast between "an earlier proposal," Obama’s cap-and-trade program, and what Obama is "now emphasizing," big investments in renewables, energy efficiency, […]

… in my head

News that Obama and McCain are meeting today, along with Obama chief of staff-pick Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), got me to thinking … what might that conversation be like? Obama: John, thanks for meeting with me today. McCain: My friend, it’s a real pleasure. Obama: I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve […]

Dingell implores colleagues to side with him on climate bill

A vote on who will lead a committee key to writing any climate legislation could come as early as this week. With the vote on his chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce panel looming, Michigan’s John Dingell — a longtime thorn in the side of efforts to require Detroit to focus on fuel efficiency […]

In which an argument erupts over electronics disposal

Last night, my fella decided to replace his 15-year-old alarm clock. For the eight years I’ve known him, he’s had to fiddle with the dials and whack the speakers every night as he sets the alarm, so this is something of an overdue miracle. But then there was this: “What are you going to do […]

A concentrated solar BACT for new coal?

I recently listed a bunch of Best Available Control Technologies (BACT) for limiting CO2 emissions from new coal plants, following the landmark ruling by the EPA Environmental Appeals Board. But a leading expert on solar thermal baseload power points out that I left out one potential control technology. Under the auspices of the Electric Power […]

Q: Does Dingell-Boucher have meaningful auctioning of CO2 permits before 2026?

A: No. The Dingell-Boucher climate bill has been criticized by many for having weak targets over the next two decades (see here). And even moderate Senators have doubts about using offsets as a major cost-containment strategy: "The emissions don’t have to be actually reduced," [Bingaman] said. "Instead, everyone can buy offsets that turn out not […]

Why should we assume that a carbon tax will be simple and transparent?

I keep hearing that a carbon tax is obviously superior to a cap-and-trade system because it is “simpler and more transparent.” This has always struck me as a classic case of petitio principii — Latin for starting your argument on third base and boasting about your batting skills. Would a carbon tax proposed and implemented […]

NYT slams Cheney on pollution policies

The New York Times weighs in on the the Bush administration’s possible last-minute move to change the new-source review rules under the Clean Air Act, putting the blame on Dick Cheney: Years ago, riding high and wide as the administration’s energy czar, Mr. Cheney promised — privately in meetings with corporate contributors, and publicly in […]

Bush: all the bailout, none of the social benefits

I see that Bush is delightful as always: Complaining about what it termed partisan "gridlock" in Congress, the White House late Friday called on lawmakers to let U.S. auto makers get quick access to a $25 billion federal loan program, by dropping a requirement that the money be spent on converting to fuel-efficient vehicles.

Coal stocks drop in wake of EPA Bonanza decision

A friend wrote and suggested that I check the stock prices for coal companies in the wake of Thursday’s EPA decision. Well looky here! As of Friday: Peabody Energy Corp Change: 2.40 (8.14%) Arch Coal Inc Change: 2.22 (12.28%) Duke Energy CorpChange: 0.47 (2.92%) Couldn’t happen to a nicer industry.