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Clean energy: It’s not about the technology
Suppose two factories produce and sell identical widgets at $1 each. Now, suppose a law is passed to provide one of those factories with $9 of additional revenue per widget. Clearly, this is law will distort markets. The $10 widget manufacturer will attract more investors and it will lobby hard to preserve that law. Meanwhile, […]
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The Population-Poverty Connection
The 21st century began on an inspiring note: The United Nations set a goal of reducing the share of the world’s population living in extreme poverty by half by 2015. By early 2007, the world looked to be on track to meet this goal, but as the economic crisis unfolds and the outlook darkens, the […]
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A Bipartisan Strategy for Energy Leadership
By Teryn Norris & Clifton Yin When President Obama and key Senate leaders meet today to reach a compromise on energy and climate legislation, they should strongly consider increasing federal investment in clean energy technology to at least $15 billion annually. This is a comprehensive third-way strategy to improve U.S. energy independence, economic competitiveness, and […]
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BP's approval ratings approach Saddam Hussein's
Considering the devastation that BP has caused, it’s not surprising that the company is unpopular. But, as Think Progress reports, a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll reveals just how low the company’s favorability ratings have plummeted – below O.J. Simpson’s and approaching those of individuals our nation has gone to war against: Indeed, the […]
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Obama Vows To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before: Passing and Signing Climate and Energy Legislation
Given the emotional reserve of a man whose aides once referred to as “no drama Obama,” the president is getting pretty fired up about energy. On Wednesday President Obama concluded an all hands cabinet meeting at the White House by publicly declaring again his resolve to develop a “new energy strategy that the American people […]
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Are we banking too much on BP’s relief wells?
It seems so long ago that we had those brief, crazy flings with “junk shots,” “kill shots,” and “top kills.” Those were engineers doing improv. But there was always a net: Engineers know relief wells, we’re told, and once the two wells currently being drilled are finished in August, the problem will be solved. Now, […]
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Report: Coal Industry Harms TN and WV More Than It Helps
Two reports released this week reveal that when it comes to the bottom line of state budgets, the coal industry costs Tennessee and West Virginia more than it provides. These reports are among the first to examine actual revenues and expenditures related to coal industry employment, taxes and subsidies in Tennessee and West Virginia. Downstream […]
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Gulf oil spill: A timeline of the estimates
The image says it all, I think: As has been remarked elsewhere, if the latest low-end estimate is accurate — that the leak is spewing approximately 2.5 million gallons per day — then the rupture is emitting as much oil about every 4 days as the Exxon Valdez did in total. Here’s the timeline: April 20: […]
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What Obama Did Not Say: BP Gulf Disaster Is Biggest Cut In A Bleeding Earth
The morning after President Barack Obama called for a “national mission” in pursuit of a clean energy economy the BP blowout gushes oil into the Gulf at the new estimated rate of 60,000 barrels a day. And though the president said “we can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy -– because […]
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Four BP-style extreme energy nightmares to come
The Gulf nightmare.Photo: Department of EnergyThis essay was originally published on TomDispatch and is republished here with Tom’s kind permission. On June 15, in their testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the chief executives of America’s leading oil companies argued that BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico was an aberration […]
