The EPA is planning to tighten its gasoline regulations from Tier 2 to Tier 3 standards, which would reduce permissible sulfur content from the current 30 parts per million (ppm) down to 10 ppm. (I have written a full overview of the economic issues surrounding Tier 2 and Tier 3 in this earlier IER post.) In contrast to those warning about the impacts on gasoline prices from even tighter regulations, a study  from Navigant Economics seeks to defuse these concerns, claiming that Tier 3...
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  In a recent NYT op ed , Harvard Law professor and former Obama official Cass Sunstein cited Ronald Reagan, of all figures, as inspiration for more federal regulation on the transportation and energy sectors. Sunstein’s angle was to say that Reagan endorsed the cost/benefit analysis arguing for the US agreement to fight the “ozone hole,” and therefore Sunstein says, today’s conservatives should also support mandates on fuel efficiency and restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions....
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The great thing about a carbon tax is that it exposes the entire racket.  It is about expanding government; it has never had anything to do with the environment.   Only slow-witted people are confused about that. MasterResource  (12/3/12) reports: “Yep, that is it. For all the incessant talk as to how the highly consumptive U.S. lifestyle—from SUVs, to air conditioners, to big screen TVs and huge portion sizes—is leading climate catastrophe, the sum total of our contribution to...
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Everyone who cares about America should read all 39 pages of this report.  Because it kills. NDP Consulting (November 2012) reports: “As put by NERA’s Anne Smith, “Once one strips away the non-credible and inappropriate façade of coincidental co-benefits from reducing an already-regulated non-HAP pollutant, the MATS rule is left with almost nothing to justify its costs.””   Our Rob sets the stage, and he isn’t playing around: “The Theatrics of Fossil Fuel Critics”. ...
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Let’s be honest.  What happened in New York and New Jersey was an appalling lack of preparedness, in the media center of the planet.  When she came ashore Sandy was a Category 1 hurricane.  If she had hit the Southeastern United States (like hurricanes usually do), blowhards like Senator Whitehouse would have paid no attention (like he usually does).  Politico (11/30/12): “Senate Democrats used an emotionally charged hearing Thursday on the effects of Hurricane Sandy to make an...
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Earlier this week, the Institute for Policy Integrity (IPI)at the New York University School of Law announced they were threatening EPA with a lawsuit to increase the price of gasoline and diesel through a cap-and-trade system. They claim they want to increase the price of transportation fuel to “address climate change,” but they omit the fact that if the United States stopped using gasoline today, it would have an incredibly minor effect on the climate. Specifically, the faculty at New...
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Very exciting in my house this morning.  I told my kids they could have any new toy they could get their hands on...as long as they picked it from their toy box.  Welcome to the Obama Administration's gulf lease sale. Fuel Fix  (11/27/12): "A 10-year moratorium on drilling within 1.4 nautical miles of either side of that maritime boundary was initially set to expire in January 2011 but was extended until January 2014. Although companies were allowed to submit bids for blocks in the area...
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As we have noted before, the days are evil.  Which explains why we fight. The Hill (11/26/12): “Yet the economic advantages of a carbon tax are so manifest that it is still possible, once the fiscal cliff negotiations are finished and talks turn to a truly transformative tax reform deal, that leaders in Congress will begin to reconsider it, especially it if is marketed on economic grounds.”   Finally, someone gets some real benefit out of solar power!  Pass the Cheetos! Fuel Fix...
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We agree with Senator Vitter.  We do rock. Larry Kudlow Show, begins at 1:21:00 (11/17/12):  "I'd love to direct your listeners to a really good website . . . it's by the Institute for Energy Research, which is a pro-domestic energy think tank, and they have a long list of action item possibilities from the Obama administration that they may be working on.  So that's a great place to go if anybody wants to learn more about what the possible threats are."   Whoops.  Larry slipped up...
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This doesn’t sound very good. Fox Business (11/16/12) reports: “The Obama administration provided struggling battery maker A123 Systems Inc with nearly $1 million on the day it filed for bankruptcy, the company told lawmakers investigating its government grant.”   Maybe Richard Windsor is also controlling EPA’s unmanned drones: “Is The Obama EPA Running Its Own Black-Ops Program?” Investors Business Daily  (11/19/12) reports: “Federal law prohibits the government from...
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