oil
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‘Gang of 10,’ part 2.5
Part 1 argued argued that the Democrats would be smart to compromise on offshore drilling. Part 2 began an analysis of the bipartisan compromise proposed by the “Gang of 10” senators, suggesting that deal isn’t so bad. I am interrupting this series to point out that the House GOP is so nervous that the Dems […]
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Time to choose between a new cold war with Russia and a new cold war with Iran
It seems that centrist Mark Kleiman thinks continued Iran bashing is a bad idea because it is time “to give a hard time to” Russia. This belated opponent of the Iraq war seems to think that the point of ending that bloodbath is to turn our firepower against the appropriate new enemy — to be […]
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Mississippi Senate race goes negative as Dems attack incumbent over Big Oil
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is targeting Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) for supporting Big Oil. A new ad highlights the fact that he voted to give oil companies tax breaks and voted against legislation to curb speculation in the oil market. “While oil companies make record profits, Roger Wicker votes to give them $28 billion […]
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The good, the bad, and the ugly of the ‘Gang of 10’ drilling deal, part 2
Major legislative compromises are unsatisfying by design. They invariably have good, bad, and ugly parts. I have previously argued that the Democrats would be smart to compromise on offshore drilling. The rest of this series will examine whether the so-called Gang-of-10 deal is in fact a smart compromise. That question can be rephrased as, does […]
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Cuckoo bananas energy policy from House conservatives
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) personifies just how haywire House conservatives have gone lately, particularly on energy issues. She quickly made a name for herself after being elected to Congress in 2006. In fact, she gained some dubious notoriety even before being elected, announcing to a Brooklyn Park, Minnesota congregation in October 2006 that "God then […]
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After the tire gauge fiasco, Obama’s counterpunch should equate McCain with Cheney
This post is by ClimateProgress guest blogger Bill Becker, executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project. —– An old friend of mine used to say that at a certain stage in political campaigns, dead cats start flying through the air. I’ve never understood what he meant by that, but I think the cat-flinging has […]
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Oil wealth contains the ‘seeds of its own destruction’
Originally posted to the NDN blog. The reappearance of a belligerent Russia on the world stage, buoyed by high oil prices and newfound wealth, would appear to signal a new era in global politics. For anyone still clinging to the idea of the unipolar moment, the spectacle of Nicholas Sarkozy brokering a deal between Russia […]
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Demand destruction is driving prices down, but is that a good thing?
As Joe says, Americans are driving less: "Americans drove 53.2 billion fewer miles November through June than they did over the same eight-month period a year ago…" Consequently, demand for oil is down to a five-year low, according to the American Petroleum Institute. Not hard to figure out what’s going on here — as Matt […]
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Drop in U.S. driving last eight months exceeds the 1970s’ total decline
June 2008 saw another sharp drop in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) according to the Federal Highway Administration’s monthly report on “Traffic Volume Trends.” Americans drove 4.7 percent less, or 12.2 billion miles fewer, in June 2008 than June 2007 — beating the record-setting drop of March. Since last November, Americans have driven 53.2 billion miles […]