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Congressional Members Call for an End to the Wind PTC

  • 11/14/13
  • AEA
  • Press Releases
WASHINGTON – Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and 51 other Members of Congress have joined today in opposition to another extension of the wasteful wind production tax credit (PTC). In a letter sent to Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) of the House Committee on Ways and Means, the Congressional signatories call for the permanent expiration of the wind PTC. AEA President Thomas Pyle released the following statement:
"The American Energy Alliance welcomes Congressman Pompeo’s renewed efforts to...

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Aussie PM Moves to Repeal Carbon Tax

  • 11/13/13
  • AEA
  • Press Releases
WASHINGTON -- Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott followed through today on a major campaign promise and introduced a bill to repeal Australia's controversial carbon tax. The carbon tax was a key issue leading up to Australia's Sept. 7 election in which Abbot defeated Labor Party candidate Kevin Rudd. AEA President Thomas Pyle released the following statement in response to Prime Minister Abbot's move:
"The American Energy Alliance welcomes Prime Minister Abbott’s effort to end...

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Big Brother Black Box for Your Car?

  • 11/13/13
  • AEA
  • Facts
A recent story in the LA Times explains that government officials at various levels are keen on putting little black boxes in everyone’s vehicle. Civil liberties groups are concerned—and rightly so—about Big Brother being able to track everyone’s movements. Yet even the official reason is ominous: It will allow the government to tally a citizen’s mileage and then send him or her a tax bill. Here are the chilling details:
WASHINGTON — As America's road planners struggle to find...

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AP Exposes 'Secret, Dirty Cost' of Federal Ethanol Mandate

  • 11/12/13
  • AEA
  • Facts
All energy sources involve tradeoffs. Ethanol production, for example, requires vast amounts of farmland and additional use of fertilizer can contaminate water supplies. As a new Associated Press investigation uncovered, the environmental tradeoffs associated with ethanol production have intensified as the federal ethanol mandate has expanded. The AP explains:
With the Iowa political caucuses on the horizon in 2007, presidential candidate Barack Obama made homegrown corn a centerpiece of his...

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Cellulosic Production (Still) Falls Woefully Short of Mandate

  • 11/06/13
  • AEA
  • Facts
The EPA recently released updated Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) data showing Renewable Identification Number (RIN) generation for the month of September. A RIN is a 38-digit number assigned to a gallon of ethanol that refiners use to demonstrate compliance with the RFS. The updated data show, once again, that the EPA’s mandate for the use of cellulosic biofuel is woefully out of touch with actual production levels. The 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requires that refiners blend 6...
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Nationwide Coalition Calls for End to Wind PTC

  • 11/05/13
  • AEA
  • News
WASHINGTON -- The American Energy Alliance joined today with over 100 organizations from across the nation in opposition to the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC). The organizations released a letter urging Congress to allow the wind PTC to expire. The letter states:
"The principal federal support for the wind energy industry is scheduled to expire at the end of this year. The undersigned organizations and the millions of Americans we represent stand opposed to extending the production tax...

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Markets, Not Government, Should Determine Energy Prices

  • 11/05/13
  • AEA
  • News
The following is IER's response to the National Journal Energy Insiders question, "Is the (Energy) Price Right?" Especially since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Western intellectuals and government officials have acknowledged the flaws in top-down central planning, and have paid lip service to the wonders of a decentralized market process in determining prices and the allocation of resources. Yet as our recent policy debates illustrate, the central planner mentality is alive and well in...
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In Congress, Opposition to Harmful Biofuel Mandate Grows

  • 11/04/13
  • AEA
  • Facts
In a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, members of Congress are urging the EPA to reduce the required biofuel volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2014. The letter, signed by more than 150 members from both parties, correctly points out that the RFS is a flawed policy, based on faulty assumptions, that hurts the economy and the environment:
“Unfortunately, despite the best intentions of the RFS, its premise and structure were based on many assumptions that no longer...

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AAA Slams ‘Outdated’ Federal Ethanol Mandate

  • 10/29/13
  • AEA
  • Facts
[caption id="attachment_1696" align="alignright" width="300"] Image: Flickr/snake.eyes[/caption] Yesterday, AAA called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lower the 2014 ethanol mandates under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). AAA’s statement comes in response to a recently leaked draft copy of the EPA’s 2014 requirements, in which the agency weighs decreasing the total biofuel mandate. EPA’s leaked draft proposes reducing the total renewable fuel requirement to 13...
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Krugman: Forget Taxing Carbon, Let's Just Ban Coal

  • 10/28/13
  • AEA
  • Facts
The proponents of a carbon tax claim that it is a “market-based” approach to curbing so-called “negative externalities” (such as greenhouse gas emissions). They argue that a “putting a price” on carbon, for example, is far more efficient than command-and-control regulations where the government imposes its own technology choices on the energy sector. Yet in a recent article, Paul Krugman lets the cat out of the bag: He’s fine with the government just banning coal. Krugman’s...
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