News - American Energy Alliance

In the Pipeline: 2/11/13

February 11, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

If some is good, more is better. Free Beacon (2/8/13) reports: “Interior secretary nominee Sally Jewell previously served on the board of an environmental group that has filed dozens of lawsuits against the federal government, including against the Department of Interior. Jewell, who was nominated by President Barack Obama Wednesday, joined the board of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) in 2004 and currently serves as one of the group’s vice-chairs.”

If China is beating us at the clean energy race, as His Majesty claims, then why is their air getting dirtier while our air quality continues to improve? Heritage Foundation (2/8/13) reports: “A cloud of photochemical smog from China drifted into Japan this week. The story highlights the fact that air pollution in China is getting worse—despite lamentations that the “world is passing us by” in clean energy. That quote came from Steven Chu, President Obama’s then-Secretary of Energy, in 2009. Chu tendered his resignation last Friday in a letter suggesting that those who disagreed with him were living in the ‘Stone Age.’”

Don’t worry, this private airport proposal is also part of Google’s overall green initiative because buried in the details is the fact that the new buildings will be Gold LEED certified. CBS San Francisco(2/7/13) reports: “San Jose should accept an offer by a major airport operator to build an $82 million private airport for executives of Google Inc. at Mineta San Jose International Airport, a city official said. Signature Aviation, a British firm, wants to construct an executive terminal, hangars and ramp space “accommodating the largest business jets” for Mountain View-based Google at the San Jose airport, William Sherry, the city’s director of aviation, wrote in a memo.”

Whether it’s too cold or too hot, too wet or too dry, climate change is behind it all. Think Progress (2/8/13) reports: “Like a baseball player on steroids, our climate system is breaking records at an unnatural pace. And like a baseball player on steroids, it’s the wrong question to ask whether a given home run is “caused” by steroids. As Trenberth wrote in his must-read analaysis, “How To Relate Climate Extremes to Climate Change,” the “answer to the oft-asked question of whether an event is caused by climate change is that it is the wrong question. All weather events are affected by climate change because the environment in which they occur is warmer and moister than it used to be.'”

ICYMI, IER dropped a bombshell last week. IER reports: “While headlines have reported a boom in US oil and gas production, that boom has been related exclusively to exploration and development on private and state lands and waters. Even that limited expansion has had profound effects. Opening up Federal resources — in addition to private and state resources — to exploration and development can accelerate all of those trends. But recent administrations have yet to follow through on promises to allow access to Federal resources, instead proposing to levy increased taxes on oil and gas production.”

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: China, clean energy, climate change, gas production, google, Interior Department, oil production, Sally Jewell, Steven Chu

In the Pipeline: 2/8/13

February 8, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

Carbon tax? Roadless rule? Closing off access? Time to stop shopping at REI and time to stop this nominee. Wall Street Journal (2/7/13) “In naming Sally Jewell as Interior secretary, President Obama lauded the REI boss as a woman who “knows the link between conservation and good jobs.” Tell that to Kevin Lunny. Mr. Lunny runs an 80-year-old California oyster business that had the bad luck decades ago of being enclosed in a federal park. On Monday, as Ms. Jewell polished her acceptance speech, a federal judge ordered the business evicted. Among the organizations working hardest to destroy the livelihood of Mr. Lunny and his 30 workers was the National Parks Conservation Association. Ms. Jewell is vice-chairman of its board.”

Do NOT touch the Royal Lands

Sally, Sarah whatever. This gal will pick up right where Lisa Jackson/Richard Windsor left off in the most transparent Administration in history. PoliticoPro (2/8/13) “Sally Jewell, the newly nominated Interior Secretary nominee, gave $10,000 to President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012 as part of long history of donating to political campaigns and causes, Federal Election Commission records show…Those contributions are listed under her rarely used actual name, Sarah Jewell. The White House declined to comment. Your morning host runs down Jewell’s history of political contributions, which total nearly $100,000.”

How much of that public outcry came from the People’s Republic of Boulder? New York Times (2/6/13) “After facing a public outcry over plans to lease thousands of acres of public lands in Colorado’s North Fork Valley for oil and gas drilling, federal officials announced Wednesday that they would not put the parcels up for bid at auction this month.”

OK, this has nothing to do with energy, but we couldn’t resist. Daily Caller (2/8/13) “The back-and-forth verbal jabs between former Bush White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, his deputies at American Crossroads and some of the conservative movement’s so-called “critically important figures” took another intense turn on Mark Levin’s radio show on Thursday, with Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King entering the fray.”

We knew who he was in bed with all along… The Onion (2/7/13) “Sources have reported that following a long night of carousing at a series of D.C. watering holes, Energy Secretary Steven Chu awoke Thursday morning to find himself sleeping next to a giant solar panel he had met the previous evening.”

The following think tank chiefs are opposed to a carbon tax. The list to date follows. If your guy is not on the list, it is because he either favors a carbon tax, wants to retain the option of favoring a carbon tax at some point in the future, or has yet to contact us.

Tom Pyle, American Energy Alliance / Institute for Energy Research
Myron Ebell, Freedom Action
Phil Kerpen, American Commitment
William O’Keefe, George C. Marshall Institute
Lawson Bader, 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
Tom Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste
Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform
Sabrina Schaeffer, Independent Women’s Forum
Barrett E. Kidner, Caesar Rodney Institute
George Landrith, Frontiers of Freedom
Thomas A. Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste
Bill Wilson, Americans for Limited Government

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: carbon tax, Interior Secretary, Lisa Jackson, Sally Jewell, Steven Chu

In the Pipeline: 2/5/13

February 5, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

It’s good to get out the whetstone and sharpen the sword. And while the fight is never won or lost on the study field, this is where we like to begin the battle. IER (2/5/13) reports: “This paper illustrates that Congress has chosen to evaluate only one small piece of the economic effect of opening federal tracts to oil and gas leasing. By ignoring the investment phase, the CBO — upon the instruction of Congress — substantially underestimates the economic effects of current policy choices. Moreover, by focusing on lease revenue and ignoring the potential for increased tax revenue, Congress has doubly downplayed the fiscal effects of such a policy. By failing yet again to analyze jobs, wages, and output, Congress ignores the crucial economic reality that freeing resources can help our economy grow beyond the recent recession and its continuing drag upon economic growth.”

There always has been something about that girl Mary in Florida… IER (2/4/13) reports: “IER Distinguished Senior Fellow and former acting EIA administrator Mary Hutzler will testify on Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at 10:00AM before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power. The hearing will focus on “American Energy Security and Innovation: An Assessment of North America’s Energy Resources”. Hutzler’s testimony will evaluate North America’s vast energy resources and assail the federal energy policies that continue to deny access to those resources and stifle economic growth and job creation. Highlights from the testimony include:”

In other news, water remains wet. Reuters (2/4/13) reports: “Are electric cars running out of juice again? Recent moves by Japan’s two largest automakers suggest that the electric car, after more than 100 years of development and several brief revivals, still is not ready for prime time – and may never be… In the meantime, the attention of automotive executives in Asia, Europe and North America is beginning to swing toward an unusual but promising new alternate power source: hydrogen.”

The Obama administration’s entire economic plan exposed – “Study: Global Warming Can Be Slowed By Working Less”. U.S. News (2/4/13) reports: “Want to reduce the effects of global warming? Stop working so hard. Working fewer hours might help slow global warming, according to a new study released Monday by the Center for Economic Policy and Research.”

Richard Windsor would have spent more time in rural America? One thing the next EPA chief should keep in mind about rural America: people there use their real names to do business. Reuters (2/4/13) reports: “Jackson’s deepest regret, she said, is that she failed to reach out to rural, often conservative regions of the United States. As a result, she said, opponents were able to generate politically damaging rumors of looming regulatory crackdowns, such as a fictitious EPA plan to treat bovine excretions as dangerous pollutants.”

Apparently Lisa Jacobson – relation to Richard Windsor unknown – thinks there are no drags on the economy. I guess in our new European state, we’re chugging right along if we hit 1% growth. E&ENews (2/4/13) reports: “By the end of 2012, CO2 emissions had declined 10.7 percent compared with 2005 levels. The drop brings the United States more than halfway toward President Obama’s 17 percent emissions cut target for the next decade… The findings challenged the conservative argument that acting on climate change would be a drag on the economy, said Lisa Jacobson, president of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. Instead, carbon emissions declined even as gross domestic product was going up, she added.”

Is anyone left over there? Is there no future in trying to cannibalize your colleagues? Washington Guardian (2/4/13) reports: “America’s Natural Gas Alliance said President and CEO Regina Hopper will leave the interest group at the end of February, and a search is to be conducted for a successor.”

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: America's Natural Gas Alliance, carbon emissions, electric cars, energy resources, gas, global warming, Lisa Jackson, oil

Even With PTC, America’s Largest Wind Company Forecasts ‘A Down Year’ in 2013

February 5, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

During the debate to retain the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC) last year, wind advocates offered a variety of spurious claims in an intense lobbying effort to keep the favorable tax treatment. In one case, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) warned that new wind installations would decline precipitously if Congress allowed the PTC to lapse.

If this argument is correct, it would stand to reason that the one-year extension and expansion of the PTC included in the fiscal cliff deal would mean 2013 will be at least as good a year as 2012 for wind construction, yet already wind developers are trying to lower expectations.

NextEra Energy, the country’s largest wind developer, forecasted a weak year for wind construction even after securing the PTC extension. At the company’s earnings call on Tuesday, NextEra CFO Moray Dewhurst said, “2013 will be a down year for new wind compared to 2012, as it will take time for the wind supply chain to gear up.” According to the AWEA fact sheet cited above, extending the PTC was essential for wind “to be part of America’s energy mix.” But even with the PTC, it appears wind will face sluggish growth this year.

The federal government has supported the wind industry for more than three decades, yet wind developers, according to their own studies, still rely on the PTC to maintain current growth in wind capacity. When can we expect wind power to demonstrate its viability in the marketplace without government handouts? If we take NextEra at its word, 2013 is out of the question.

Filed Under: News, Products and Power Tagged With: american wind energy association, jobs, tax credits, wind ptc

In the Pipeline: 2/4/13

February 4, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

A government owned stadium, powered by a heavily regulated electricity infrastructure, all pushed hurriedly towards unreliable, taxpayer funded green energy? What could go wrong? DOE (2/3/13) reports: “To make this the greenest Super Bowl, the New Orleans Host Committee has partnered with fans and the community to offset energy use across the major Super Bowl venues. The exterior of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome features more than 26,000 LED lights on 96 full-color graphic display panels, designed to wash the building in a spectrum of animated colors, patterns and images. The system draws only 10 kilowatts of electricity — equivalent to the amount of energy used by a small home — and the lights are expected to last for many years before needing replacement.”

I wonder if Secretary Kerry is going to set an example by selling his yacht. Or maybe one of his homes. Or one of his dozen or so cars. Politico (2/3/13) reports: Who will help President Barack Obama meet his ambitious promises to tackle climate change? Eco-celebrities and tree-climbing protesters need not apply. This is a job for wonks… The president’s top climate appointees and the outside advisers best positioned to shape his agenda are a team replete with heavy hitters — including green-minded business leaders, buttoned-down environmental lobbyists and bureaucrats who have spent years wrestling with the minutiae of regulations.

And yet, miraculously unencumbered by a sense of their own hypocrisy, Mr. Pallone and Mr. Lautenberg allowed themselves to be driven to work this morning. In cars. That run on gasoline. FuelFix(1/31/13) reports: “Northeast lawmakers are asking the Obama administration to abandon a plan to allow energy companies to conduct seismic research to identify hidden pockets of potential oil and gas along the Atlantic Coast… Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, both Democrats from New Jersey, sent letters to President Barack Obama highlighting their concerns with an Interior Department plan to allow a new generation of seismic studies along the East Coast, from Delaware to Florida. The last round of similar research was conducted in the region more than three decades ago.”

What? Is this guy trying to say that the President is dropping – without fanfare – his big idea for cars and fuels? Remember this when the bad guys circle back around for a low carbon fuel standard that will rely on . . . electric vehicles. The Truth About Cars (1/31/13) reports: “Under a new strategy announced today, the Department of Energy promised to support research into new battery technologies and manufacturing methods that would lower the cost of lightweight materials and improve vehicles’ fuel-efficiency, Reuters reports… But the DOE backpedales furiously from a goal set out in a 2011 State of the Union speech, where President Barack Obama announced what he called ‘Apollo projects of our times.’ One of them was the goal for the United States to be ‘the first country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.’”

Was it Warren Or Jimmy Who Sang, “Yes, I am a pirate two hundred years too late.” The answer probably can be found on the White House visitor list. Calgary Herald (2/2/13) reports: “When famed American investor Warren Buffett began to invest in rail car-making companies and railways a few years back, it should have been a sign to the rest of us to jump on board. Apparently, Buffet figured out that as it gets ever more difficult for pipelines to get approved and built, the light at the end of the oil bottleneck is a train — and that’s a good thing.”

Lead the way, Arnold. The Raw Story (1/31/13) reports: “If we want to inspire the world, it is time for us to forget about the old way of talking about climate change, where we crush people, where we overwhelm people with data,” the former California governor, bodybuilder and film star said… “There is a new way, a more sexy, a more hip way. Instead of using doom and gloom and telling people what they can’t do, we should make them part of our movement and tell them what they can do,” he said.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Arnold Schwarzenegger, department of energy, electric vehicles, John Kerry, Pipeline, President Obama, Super Bowl, Warren Buffet

Why are oil imports falling?

February 1, 2013 by AEA 1 Comment

A recent article in the Washington Post proclaims that U.S. oil imports are falling to their lowest level since 1987. The decrease in imports is a combination of two things, Americans using less oil because of an economic downturn and increased domestic production. The increase in domestic production can be attributed to the increased usage of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and directional drilling to unlock oil from the many, vast shale formations the United States is blessed with.

Increasing domestic production begins to put to bed the notion that our nation does not have much oil. In fact, we have tons of oil. Our vast reserves and increased production have led the International Energy Agency (IEA) to predict the United States to overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s largest oil producer by 2017.

Every American should welcome this prediction of the U.S. leading the world in oil production with open arms. The oil industry is responsible for many high-paying jobs and supports many other indirect jobs that our country could certainly use right now.

The main thing threatening this prediction from happening is the federal government. The increase in oil production has been mainly on state and private lands because of the arduous permitting and regulation on federal lands. It takes roughly 300 days to receive a permit to drill on federal lands, but can take as little as 10 in some states. The old saying “time is money” is incredibly appropriate to understand why oil companies are staying away from federal lands.

At the beginning of President Obama’s second term, it will be interesting to see if any progress is made to open up more federal lands to oil and gas development which will provide high-paying jobs, more affordable and reliable energy, and ultimately more energy security. With many predictions American energy independence, will President Obama and the federal government make it a priority to achieve energy independence or will we see more regulatory hurdles impeding development of our natural resources? Only time will give us the answer, let’s hope Mr. President picks the right one.

Filed Under: News, Products and Power Tagged With: Federal lands, fracking, hyrdaulic fracturing, Oil imports

In the Pipeline: 2/1/13

February 1, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

We needed to let this ripen for a day. Its awesomeness originally overwhelmed us. Forbes (1/30/13) reports: “The EPA’s Lisa Jackson: The Worst Head of the Worst Regulatory Agency, Ever… President Obama and his minions seem to think that freedom is a four-letter word. His administration has imposed an array of intrusive, nanny-state, financial, environmental and consumer-product regulations that will cost Americans hundreds of billions of dollars.”

The good news is that this keeps her from “singing”. MasterResource (1/30/13) reports: “It was an utterly bizarre day, as might be expected when the star of the event is the woman who made “bed-ins” famous, supposedly broke up the Beatles, and has launched a crazy clothing line conceivable only by someone with $500 million of inherited wealth to throw around. (Also of note: these two Beatles beneficiaries live in the famous Dakota building in Manhattan, which is heated by three new natural gas boilers. Apparently, the product is only snake-like if you develop it, not if you consume it – an interesting paradox to be sure.)…It was like that all day.”

Next up: curfew! Because how else will they deal with dark street corners and rising crime rates? The Guardian (1/30/13) reports: “Shops and offices throughout France will be forced to turn off their lights overnight in a bid to fight light pollution, the country’s environment ministry has announced… Under the new law, which comes into effect on 1 July, lights in shop window displays will be turned off at 1am. Interior lights in offices and other non-residential buildings will have to be switched off an hour after the last employee leaves. Local councils will be able to make exceptions for Christmas and other special occasions, and in certain tourist or cultural areas.”

In case anyone’s forgetting, your morning routine typically doesn’t involve chopping wood to start a fire, boil water, and make coffee. Free Enterprise (1/28/13) reports: “EPA Turns Lights Off on Texas Power Plant Project.”

When will FWS list the beleaguered lice? Bloomberg (1/14/13) reports: “Pubic lice, the crab-shaped insects that have dwelled in human groins since the beginning of history, are disappearing. Doctors say bikini waxing may be the reason… Waning infestations of the bloodsuckers have been linked by doctors to pubic depilation, especially a technique popularized in the 1990s by a Manhattan salon run by seven Brazilian sisters. More than 80 percent of college students in the U.S. remove all or some of their pubic hair — part of a trend that’s increasing in western countries.”

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: carbon tax, coal, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Lisa Jackson, Obama, Power plant

In the Pipeline: 1/30/13

January 30, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

We’re not entirely cynical, because Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy are still real. Consumer Energy Report (1/29/13) reports: “I don’t ride a unicorn to work because unicorns don’t exist… But imagine the following scenario. A number of companies claim that they are developing unicorns, and in 3 years they will be commercially available. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) thinks ‘Hey, this is a great idea. It would be a more environmentally friendly method of transport. Let’s force automakers to start selling these unicorns in 3 years. We will base our projections on how many unicorns these unicorn companies say they will produce. After that we will increase the number the automakers must sell in each subsequent year, and then force the automakers to pay up if they don’t meet these quotas.’”

If you woke up this morning, and you are an EPA Administrator, do you feel better knowing that Congressional investigators are reading your emails? Probably not. But it makes us feel better. Senator Vitter (1/29/13) reports: “In a joint letter sent today, Senator David Vitter (R-La.), the top Republican of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, questioned James Martin, Region 8 Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), regarding his use of a non-official e-mail account to conduct official business, potentially violating federal transparency laws… In documents obtained by Senate EPW and House OGR committees, Administrator Martin used a non-official, me.com, e-mail account, which may have been an attempt to circumvent the Federal Records Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and Congressional oversight.”

This is what happens when you elect morons (Ritter, not Hickenlooper). Denver Post (1/29/13) reports: “The audit concluded the agency can’t demonstrate the $252 million spent over the past six years was used cost-effectively. Much of that amount-$144 million from fiscal years 2009 through 2012-was federal stimulus money… First created in 1977 to promote energy conservation, the office took on new significance under former Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter, whose focus on renewable energy development was a legacy of his term from 2007 to 2011. Last year, the Legislature and current governor, Democrat John Hickenlooper, agreed to expand beyond renewables, with funding for all types of energy development projects in the mix, including gas, oil and coal.”

EDF. The Nature Conservancy. The Audubon Society. This is the sort of thing we are up against every day. Walton Family Foundation(2012) reports: “In 2012, the Walton Family Foundation invested more than $432 million in initiatives to expand opportunity for individuals and communities in the United States and internationally. The majority of investments were made in three key areas of focus – K-12 education reform, freshwater and marine conservation and quality of life initiatives in Arkansas and Mississippi.”

We’re just glad something in DC still works. Breitbart (1/28/13) reports: “Washington, DC local residents and environmentalists gathered at a meeting room in a Methodist Church on Capitol Hill last Thursday to discuss their dissatisfaction with the Capitol Hill cogeneration plant… The plant, which was completely coal fired for almost one hundred years, exclusively heats the capitol. However, since 2007, according to the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), the plant began to move from burning primarily coal to burning mostly natural gas–but not entirely. Coal is still burned at the plant, but the rate of its reduction is not fast enough for local environmentalists and lawmakers.”

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: biofuels, coal, Coal plant, Congressman Darrell Issa, Environment and Public Works, EPA, FOIA, gas, James Martin, oil, Senator David Vitter

In the Pipeline: 1/29/13

January 29, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

What will it take for people to realize that electricity isn’t generated by a bunch of wizards and fairy tales at Hogwarts? Washington Times (1/27/13) reports: “Environmental Protection Agency regulations are snuffing out another power plant, Chase Power announced Wednesday, killing its $3 billion Corpus Christi, Texas, coal project and 3,900 prospective jobs… ‘Chase Power … has opted to suspend efforts to further permit the facility and is seeking alternative investors as part of a plan of dissolution for the parent company,’ Chase CEO Dave Freysinger said in a statement to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times… Mr. Freysinger said that although financial conditions played a role in the decision, the project was the victim of an insurmountable regulatory framework erected by the EPA.”

Don’t let the sun go down on me. Oregon Live (1/25/13) reports: “SolarWorld, the German company with a taxpayer-subsidized factory in Hillsboro, may face sale or bankruptcy, analysts say, after its shares and bonds tanked Friday in Frankfurt… In Hillsboro, where the solar manufacturer once employed 1,000, a spokesman said Friday the company was laying off 50, cutting the work force to 725 by March.”

I’m no lawyer, but didn’t Tommy, Johnny, and James write up a bill that protects against this kind of thing? Chicago Tribune (1/24/13) reports: “Jennifer Stahl of the 1400 block of Westglen Drive, received two ordinance violation citations — interfering with a police officer and preventing access to customer premises… Stahl, who was released from custody about 4:30 p.m., said when she refused the smart meter, installers accompanied by police cut the bicycle lock she had placed on her fence and entered her backyard. She then stood in front of her electric meter and refused to move… ‘It was forced on my house today,’ she said. ‘It was really a violation. I violated something, but I’ve been violated too so I guess we’re now in a society of violating one another.’”

Is this one of those flash mob things? Get your dancing shoes on, ladies and gentlemen. Center for Industrial Progress (1/28/13) reports: “This rally has nothing to do with climate, though I know many of its participants believe it does. It is about opposing any form of practical energy for any reason. It is a Blackout Rally. And today’s so-called environmentalist movement is a Blackout Movement. No one wants dirty water–but some people want to destroy the energy that keeps our lights on (and cleans our water)… On February 17, Center for Industrial Progress will challenge the Blackout Rally with our message of improving the planet for human beings through energy, technology, and development. Blackout Movement–meet the Light Brigade.”

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: coal, energy, Environmental Protection Agency, solar power, SolarWorld, subsidies

In the Pipeline: 1/28/13

January 28, 2013 by AEA Leave a Comment

It’s not a question of enough, pal. It’s a zero sum game – somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn’t lost or made; it’s simply transferred from one perception to another. Phoenix Business Journal (1/19/13) reports: “Salt River Project is evaluating a plan put forward by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that would require as much as $1.1 billion in emission upgrades at the Navajo Generating Station… The coal-fired power plant near Page is owned by a consortium of utilities that includes SRP and Arizona Public Service Co. as well as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which uses it as a source of power for the Central Arizona Project.”

His Majesty has a difficult decision to make, so please extend him every courtesy. He must choose between placating the ecothugs in his Royal Court (like Bill McKibben) or providing his already suffering subjects with low cost energy and jobs. ABC News (1/23/13) reports: “But Obama faces significant pressure from an engaged environmental lobby to block the plan, particularly in light of his groundbreaking comments on climate change in his second inaugural address… ‘You cannot say the words the president did in his inaugural address, and then turn around and approve the pipeline,’ said Jane Kleeb with BOLD Nebraska, an advocacy group opposed to the plan. ‘This much is as crystal clear as the Ogallala Aquifer is without this risky export tar sands pipeline.’”

Although it was great for Bruce’s creative juices, it’s a good sign that Americans will no longer have to be born down in a dead man town. Barron’s (1/26/13) reports: “As the only industrialized superpower not decimated by World War II, the United States once made nearly 40% of the planet’s goods. These days, that number has shrunk to 18%. We make American Girl dolls in China, Levi’s jeans in Mexico, and enough movies in Vancouver to nickname it Hollywood North… Chemical makers guzzle energy and also rely on byproducts from oil and gas purification — stuff like ethane, butane, and propane — for raw materials. So the shale boom delivers a double blessing of cheap feedstock and energy. In fact, PwC thinks that we might start seeing more plastic-based substitutes for materials like metal, glass, or wood. That’s good news for diversified specialty-chemical giants like DuPont (DD), and also Dow Chemical (DOW), which is investing $4 billion to boost production and build an ethylene plant in Texas that could hire 2,000 workers.”

The gummint ought to stop this pronto. ABC News (1/27/13) reports: “Private landowners are reaping billions of dollars in royalties each year from the boom in natural gas drilling, transforming lives and livelihoods even as the windfall provides only a modest boost to the broader economy… ‘We used to have to put stuff on credit cards. It was basically living from paycheck to paycheck,’ said Shawn Georgetti, who runs a family dairy farm in Avella, about 30 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.”

This guy ran a utility? Poverty, Climate Change and Social Justice is an odd name for a charitable fund. Unless of course J. Wayne is funding organizations that are against Socially Unjust Climate Change policies that will do nothing other than keep people in Poverty. I’m sure this woman can’t wait to hear who gets the first grant. Entergy (1/25/13) reports: “Entergy Corporation today announced the creation of a $5 million endowment to honor retiring Chairman and Chief Executive Officer J. Wayne Leonard and continue efforts to address the issues of climate change, poverty and social justice.”

Too bad the eco-scamsters will have to wait four years before they try and “Pombo” Vitter. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy the fight. Senator Vitter (1/22/13) reports: “U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) is warning of more secret “sue and settle” deals with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and environmental groups. In a letter today, Vitter encourages Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell to join the 13 states’ AGs who recently filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with EPA asking for any and all correspondence between EPA and a list of 80 environmental, labor union and public interest organizations that had been party to litigation since the start of the Obama Administration.”

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: climate change, coal-fired power, Environmental Protection Agency, natural gas, Senator David Vitter, tar sands