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Offshore drilling will have no impact on oil prices through 2030

McCain has flip-flopped his position on offshore drilling, pandered to the oil companies, and embraced the exact same strategy endorsed by the man McCain is trying so hard to run away from -- President Bush. He must have a damn good policy reason:

"Tomorrow I'll call for lifting the federal moratorium for states that choose to permit exploration," McCain said. "I think that this and perhaps providing additional incentives for states to permit exploration off their coasts would be very helpful in the short term in resolving our energy crisis."

Short-term? If only the facts supported that position. If only the man who wants to be the next president bothered to check the analysis by the current president's own energy analysts.

McCain’s offshore drilling plan irks coastal state governors

The Obama campaign hosted a press conference this afternoon with Democratic governors to highlight opposition to John McCain’s call to end the moratorium on offshore drilling. The governors expressed uniform distaste with the proposal, and skepticism that voters in their states would approve of drilling off their coasts. “Our economy is driven by tourism and […]

Snippets from the news

• Feds cut back climate research trips — to save fuel. • Residents of proposed U.K. eco-towns could be fined for driving. • Lobsters fall prey to war on mosquitoes. • Germany approves new climate legislation. • Polar bear sighted in Iceland.

McCain goes to Springfield, talks up nukes and coal

John McCain followed up yesterday’s energy speech with more energy talk today during a roundtable at Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo. Today he focused more specifically on his support for two energy sources: nuclear power and “clean coal.” The roundtable also featured Greg Boyce, CEO of Peabody Energy, the world’s largest coal company, and […]

NYC comptroller urges scrutiny of tax-free bonds for coal-fired power plants

It hasn't made big news yet outside of specialty publications such as Bond Buyer.

But a call this week by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson could cast a new cloud over a half-dozen or more planned new coal-fired electric power plants.

Thompson called on the U.S. Treasury Department to investigate the practice of using tax-free bonds to finance new coal plants.

In the letter, online at www.comptroller.nyc.gov, Thompson pointed to recent research which found that coal plants were poor candidates for federal financing and problematic for investors.

There are at least a half-dozen planned new power plants that would rely on tax-exempt bonds.

The Treasury Department has announced it would take a hard look at use of such bonds for sports arenas. You'd think they ought to take an even harder look at old-fashioned coal plants.

Did McCain switch positions on windfall profits tax?

John McCain on a windfall profits tax, in his speech on energy policy delivered in Houston yesterday: So what does Senator Obama support in energy policy? Well, for starters he supported the energy bill of 2005 — a grab-bag of corporate favors that I opposed. And now he supports new taxes on energy producers. He […]

Oceans warming faster than thought, says research

The world’s oceans have warmed 50 percent faster over the last four decades than what was previously thought, according to a new study published in Nature. The new research helps to explain recent sea-level rise that climate models weren’t accounting for; melting ice gets all the press, but since heat expands, hotter water also contributes […]

Considering recycled energy will politically facilitate a national clean energy plan

There is a tendency to frame the politics of clean energy as a debate between the enlightened, forward thinkers on the coasts and the paleolithic environment-hating coal barons in the Southeast and Midwest. It makes a good sound bite, but confuses the ends and the means. Yes, there are strong vested interests in the coal belt and the rust belt that consistently resist GHG caps and clean energy policy. But so long as we frame the clean energy conversation as a wealth transfer from dirty states to clean states, our success will remain contingent upon our ability to get senators, representatives, and voters in those states to act against their near-term economic self interest.

Three maps below clarify the problem, and suggest a solution.

Corn utensils not helpful without widespread public composting

As an alternative to non-recyclable plastic and Styrofoam, some restaurants have begun offering corn-starch-based utensils and takeout containers. But does cornware really provide a guilt-free way to eat your vegesustainorganaturalocal meal? Though touted as compostable, corn-based utensils can’t just be thrown into your garden; they don’t biodegrade unless professionally composted at high temperatures. Thus, customers […]

Short-term high gas prices (hopefully) mitigate long-term environmental disasters

I have been reading Sean Casten's post on the economics of carbon pricing with interest. After some thought, here's my take. A carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system will, without question, raise the price of energy, at least in the short term. In the long-term, it may well be that technological developments lead us to new energy sources that turn out to be cheaper than anything we have today. But that's pure speculation.

But in the short term, the costs of a carbon tax or the costs of permits in a cap-and-trade system will follow the energy through the system and eventually raise prices at the consumer level. So prices will increase.

But that fact is a distraction. The real issues are, first, how much will prices rise, and second, what will happen if we do nothing?