regulation
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Conservative economist Randall Lutter to OIRA?
For a number of days now, we’ve been hearing rumors that Cass Sunstein, President Obama’s “regulatory czar,” was on the verge of hiring conservative economist Randall Lutter to join him at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Few personnel developments could be more discouraging to those hopeful that the Obama Administration will fulfill […]
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Can EPA regulations on CO2 be blocked?
It’s widely assumed that if Congress fails to pass a clean energy bill, the EPA will step in with regulations on CO2 under the Clean Air Act. The Supreme Court ruled in 2007’s Mass. v EPA that it must do so if it finds CO2 to be a dangerous air pollutant — and sure enough, […]
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Congressional watchdog issues update on coal ash regulation efforts
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency still does not know the exact number of coal ash dumps at the nation’s power plants, but it’s moving ahead with plans to regulate them. Those are among the findings of a report [PDF] released last week by the Government Accountability Office on the status of EPA’s efforts to improve […]
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The big stories out of Tuesday’s Senate hearing on Kerry-Boxer
Today’s hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee — the first of three days of hearings on the Kerry-Boxer clean energy bill — didn’t contain any big surprises. As Keith Johnson notes, Senators generally played their appointed roles. There are four stories out of today that seem notable. 1. Republicans are completely out […]
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Cap-and-Trade versus the Alternatives for U.S. Climate Policy
Let’s credit Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) for raising questions in the National Journal about the viability of cap-and-trade versus other approaches for the United States to employ in addressing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions linked with global climate change. Senator Murkowski says that only one approach – cap-and-trade – has received significant attention in the […]
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Free Market Parking From Canada
My cries have been answered. In Canada, at least, there is such a thing as a free market think tank with a free market perspective on parking policy. The Winnipeg-based Frontier Centre for Public Policy recently published a concise little position paper, “How Free Is Your Parking?” by Stuart Donovan. It makes three points, briefly: 1. Parking regulations suppress […]
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What the EPA announcement did (and did not) say
The EPA made an announcement today that lots of folks seem to be misinterpreting as “proposed regulations on power plants.” That’s not what they are. What was announced today is the “tailoring” rule; it establishes that when the EPA regulates stationary sources, it will only regulate those that emit more than 25,000 tons. This is […]
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Corporations call off the old green battle, but Chamber of Commerce soldiers on [UPDATED]
Update: This story keeps growing. Since last week… The country’s largest utility, Exelon, said it was quitting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in protest of the group’s climate-bill opposition. New Mexico utility PNM Resources did the same. Nike, the most public-facing Chamber defector to date, said it would leave the Chamber board of directors while […]
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Lisa Murkowski’s bid to become a climate outlaw
Cross-posted from Wonk Room. Why is Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) behaving like an outlaw? It’s jarring to learn that Sen. Murkowski wants to take away U.S. Environmental Protection Agency authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions from oil refineries, coal-burning power plants and other smokestack industries. As reported in Environment and Energy Daily, Murkowski has filed […]
