Did Tesla pay back their loan, or did other people. Wanna guess? WSJ (5/23/13) reports: “Tesla's biggest windfall has been the cash payments it extracts from rival car makers (and their customers), via its sale of zero-emission credits. A number of states including California require that traditional car makers reach certain production quotas of zero-emission vehicles—or to purchase credits if they cannot. Tesla is a main supplier… A Morgan Stanley MS -1.82%report in April said Tesla...
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  The New Yorker’s Elizabeth Kolbert recently published a comment entitled “Lines in the Sand ,” arguing that President Obama should not approve the Keystone XL pipeline because of the climate impacts of using oil. Kolbert’s argument is flawed for multiple reasons including the fact that she fails to consider the actual climate impact and the reality that even if the oil is not shipped to the U.S., it will be used anyway—obviating any climate impact of not building the pipeline....
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Ethanol advocates delight in touting the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as an “American Success Story.” Yet several years after its passage, some in Congress are finally realizing that the RFS stands not as a central-planning success story but as a symbol of misguided government mandates. The RFS requires refiners to blend ever-growing amounts of ethanol into gasoline every year with the goal of blending 36 billion gallons by 2022. To comply with the law, refiners must either blend the...
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We suspect foul play. The birds are fighting back. E&ENews (5/21/13) reports: “Wind turbine manufacturer Siemens AG confirmed that a 170-foot blade fell off a wind turbine at a power plant east of San Diego, causing the company to cease operations of the same type of turbine globally… Residents near the Ocotillo Wind power plant discovered the fallen blade Thursday morning.” The birds are taking out the turbines. We’re taking down the ivory towers (metaphorically speaking, of...
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Guns don’t kill birds; turbines kill birds. IER  (5/20/13) reports: “Besides receiving federal subsidies and other financial incentives, the wind industry is getting special treatment from the Obama Administration: wind farms are allowed to kill protected bird species. The Associated Press has found that the Obama Administration has never fined or prosecuted a wind farm for killing eagles and other protected birds, thus shielding the wind industry from liability. Further, the Obama...
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We’re not surprised, but that doesn’t make this any less unsettling. Washington Examiner  (5/17/13) reports: “Two powerful congressional Republicans want to know more - a lot more - about why and how Environmental Protection Agency officials have for several years erected multiple obstacles to conservative think tanks, media outlets and non-profit activists filing Freedom of Information Act requests with the agency… ‘According to documents obtained by the Committees, EPA readily...
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The George C. Marshall Institute has released a new study from James DeLong outlining what it refers to as “the five circles of Carbon Tax Hell.” The study is very readable and concise (only 34 pages of main text), yet at the same time offers a comprehensive survey of the main problems with a carbon tax. Although DeLong uses colorful metaphors (such as “Carbon Tax Hell”), even so he wades into technical subtleties in the policy debate, and does a good job breaking them down for the...

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A senior adviser to McCain 2008 wrote this piece, arguing (I kid you not) that a carbon tax is a good thing because it is "relatively hidden." Since when did hiding taxes from the American people become fashionable for conservatives? RealClearEnergy  (5/14/13) reports: “Enter the carbon tax. Besides its intended purpose of reducing carbon emissions, it is politically advantageous, in that it is a tax that is relatively hidden. If phased in over a decade, the annual increase in gas prices...
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“This is another example of the Obama Administration using budget cuts to inflict maximum harm on the American people. It is unjustifiable for Secretary Hagel to furlough 800,000 employees while his department continues to spend billions of taxpayer...

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See if you can figure out what the following have in common: the IRS targeting political enemies; the Benghazi cover up; tapping the AP’s phones; EPA’s unwillingness to respond to the simplest of requests. That’s right – they are all symptomatic of a closed, paranoid, and corrupt regime. PoliticoPro  (5/13/13) reports: “The Environmental Defense Action Fund is starting a TV ad campaign tomorrow or Wednesday to spur Senate approval of Gina McCarthy’s bid to head EPA and...
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