In the Pipeline: 10/12/12

Vice President Gore won his Nobel Prize for his “work” on climate change.  But you know, the market doesn’t really care about that.  They only care that he keeps backing losers. The Street(10/4/12) reports: “Three years ago, First Solar seemed on its way: Interest in solar was at an all-time-high — as were subsidies for making, installing and using it. So America’s largest manufacturer of solar equipment seemed ready to cash in… So did Generation Investment. According to SEC filings, Gore’s company bought 440,000 shares in late 2010 at about $130. By the first quarter of 2012, the value of First Solar — and just about every other solar manufacturer in America — had plummeted.”

Millions for Chevy Volts!  But not one cent for defense! Fox News(10/11/12) reports: “The raging debate on Capitol Hill over the Libya consulate attack has put a spotlight on the State Department’s security spending, with some questioning whether money spent on electric cars and green-embassy programs could have been put to better use.”

Part of us hopes that Jay Inslee wins, so he won’t come back to DC as a lobbyist for some commie front group. KIMATV.com (10/10/12) reports: “Jay Inslee once speculated that the solar company SunPower could be the Microsoft of its industry… The Democrat candidate for governor invested a chunk of his own money in the firm, then publicly touted the company’s work making solar panels and championed policies in Congress that would aid the industry’s growth… None of it helped fulfill Inslee’s prediction: SunPower stock – once as high as $133 a share – has sunk to under $5, and the company recently announced it was cutting jobs amid stagnant demand.”

California is the sad, sick, decrepit old man of the United States.  Texas is not. Forbes (10/11/12) reports: “The Lone Star state has 50% more jobs than in 1990, compared with only 6% job growth in New York, 8% in Illinois and 14% in California. Americans have been flocking to Texas in droves while fleeing those other states… What’s the secret? It ain’t social services, which Fisher admits are lacking in Texas relative to other states. “But we excel at creating the single most important driver of human dignity and pride: jobs.””

The Sierra Club joins EPA in complete and utter abandoning of any pretense of science, statistical rigor, or anything that approaches rationality. That probably means we’re winning.  I would also note that the President — their President — spends a lot of time in Ohio, Virginia, and during debates talking about how much he likes coal. Sierra Club (10/10/12) reports: “Today the Sierra Club and Sierra Magazine released a new photography project examining the effects of coal on the lives of everyday Americans. The feature, “Cost of Coal,” follows the life-cycle of coal, using sharp, poignant images to show the impact coal mining, burning and disposal has on families across the country.”

Thank goodness they didn’t turn it into a park for expensive, unreliable energy.  Menard’s is a great store. WXYZ.com (10/09/12) reports: “The Wixom Assembly Plant was supposed to undergo a major renovation and ultimately become an alternative energy park. Back in 2009 local, state and Ford representatives held a huge press conference at the facility announcing that three companies were going to set up shop, creating 4,000 jobs… The companies were supposed to produce things like solar panels, wind turbines and other green energy technology.”

Heads of think tanks* who are publicly opposed to a carbon tax: 

Tom Pyle, American Energy Alliance / Institute for Energy Research
Myron Ebell, Freedom Action
Phil Kerpen, American Committment
Fred Smith, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Andrew Quinlan, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Tim Phillips, Americans for Prosperity
Joe Bast, Heartland Institute
David Ridenour, National Center for Public Policy Research
Michael Needham, Heritage Action for America

*It is good to see that many people would like to be included on this list. For now, we’re going to keep it simple and focus on heads of think tanks. If that applies to you and you’d like to join the list, or you think you might know someone who would, please contact [email protected].