News

We include this not to make fun of Brent Erickson or his band of rent-seekers.  We include it because we love the headline, “Ethanol groups form coalition to save federal support for biofuels.”  We were under the impression that the federal government does not “support” ethanol use (“Go Corn Growers!”).  It mandates ethanol use.  If you need the difference explained, you probably are already a shill for the corn growers. The Hill (8/5/12) reports: “Eight biofuels groups are forming a coalition to coordinate messaging to combat calls to limit a federal mandate for renewable fuels because of the drought.”

Only a guy living in an 11,000 square foot house in the suburbs could offer something as ridiculous as it would be tragic if natural gas “undermined” “investments” in wind, solar, and other expensive, unreliable forms of energy.  I have no clue why mainstream media outlets are dying.  I really don’t.  If you any idea, send them to us. NYTimes (8/5/12) reports: “But, as the energy and climate expert Hal Harvey puts it, there is just one big, hugely important question to be asked about this natural gas bounty: “Will it be a transition to a clean energy future, or does it defer a clean energy future?””

Remember this next time someone says we can move beyond, phase out, work around, transition away from, create a bridge, replace, switch, end our use of conventional fuels. WSJ (8/5/12) reports: “Slogans like “beyond coal” may appeal to Sierra Clubbers and to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who gave the environmental group $50 million to help “end the coal era.” But with 1.3 billion people on the planet still lacking access to electricity, the priority for leaders in places like New Delhi isn’t carbon-dioxide emissions or “clean energy.” Their primary aim is to bring their people out of the dark.”

So we missed this last week.  But it is odd that the story itself does not mention that Sierra has filed an appeal on this (shocker).  When was the last time the Sierra Club was bashful?  I’ll help:  never.  We think they would rather people not focus on Keystone during the election. Edmond Sun (7/14/12) reports: “Oklahoma environmental activists and an east Texas governmental body have filed a complaint seeking an injunction against the TransCanada Cushing-to-Gulf pipeline.”

I’m glad Bill Magwood is the ethically challenged one.  Why does this guy keep getting a free pass? Las Vegas Review Journal (8/3/12) reports: “There’s another factor, however, one more personal to Reid: His son, Rory Reid, is one of the attorneys for the ENN Mojave Energy project. A Reid spokeswoman said the senator did not suggest Reid’s firm – Lionel, Sawyer & Collins – to ENN, nor has the elder Reid spoken to this son about the deal. (Reid imposed a strict ban on family members lobbying his office in 2003 after the Los Angeles Times asked him about lobbying by three of his four sons.)… But success for ENN in finding customers helps Rory Reid, and its failure could cost him a client. It’s an undeniable conflict that Harry Reid should keep in mind as he twists arms at the PUC and NV Energy, lest he earn himself an ethics complaint.””

It is sad that we have to run this.  But the Sierra Club is sort of a collection of nitwits.  So . . . IER (8/2/12) reports: “In response to an error-filled report released today by the Sierra Club, entitled “Clean Energy Under Siege,” the Institute for Energy Research released the following statement and brief fact check that raises serious questions about the quality of scholarship and careful research that went into the report… “Sloppy ‘scholarship,’ half-truths, and outright fabrications fill the Sierra Club’s report. The donors who support the Sierra Club deserve better, and the careless way this report was written, proofed, and published lays bare the nakedly partisan agenda behind the Sierra Club.”

Alexa Marrero gets it.  No other way to say it. Energy & Commerce (8/2/12) reports: “Schultz’s and Carney’s surprisingly out of touch responses comes on the heels of Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal report on Solyndra’s chapter 11 plan, that warned, “there’s bad news for U.S. taxpayers: Estimates are $24 million of a $527 million government loan will be repaid, and that’s not a sure thing.”

It would be good if people stopped treating the symptoms and started treating the disease. Slate (7/31/12) reports: “Every day that the drought continues garroting the American Midwest, the lunacy of turning corn into motor fuel becomes ever more obvious and ever more outrageous.”

Maybe my English is a little rusty, but I think this article is positing the idea that Jacob Lew did something that his staff told him would violate the law.  Which seems pretty bad. Washington Post (8/1/12) reports: “Its report, parts of which were obtained by The Washington Post, suggests that then-OMB Director Jack Lew let the refinancing move forward without intervening, even though some OMB analysts thought a refinancing plan that favored private investors might violate the law. Lew is now White House chief of staff.”

You know the bad guys are finished when they start offering up these sort of issues. Energy & Commerce (8/2/12) reports:

Keep in mind, this is the guy that the environmentalists keep trying to tell us is just a mild-mannered professor without any ideological predilections.  When people don’t tell the truth, that makes them liars, right? Texas Tribune (8/2/12) reports: “In his first public interview since stepping down, Armendariz spoke with The Texas Tribune about his decision to resign, his work at the Sierra Club and why climate change is the biggest environmental problem facing Texas.”

Please read the summary.  It is a very good summation of relevant points about global warming.  And Matt Dempsey worked hard to post it. Environment & Public Works (8/1/12) reports: “It is popular again to claim that extreme events, such as the current central U.S. drought, are evidence of human-caused climate change.  Actually, the Earth is very large, the weather is very dynamic, and extreme events will continue to occur somewhere, every year, naturally. The recent “extremes” were exceeded in previous decades.”

Charlie Drevna says it pretty well.  While we are dallying with ethanol and other nonsense, the Chinese are investing in petroleum assets all over the planet, including Canada. American Products. American Power. (8/1/12) reports: “In addition to hurting America’s farmers, this year’s record drought has exposed another great flaw with EPA’s renewable fuel standards. Not only do EPA regulations force American consumers to purchase more expensive fuel that generates lower mileage per gallon, these regulations now threaten to consume 40 percent of our nation’s corn crop at a time when the USDA has designated more than half of U.S. counties as ‘disaster areas’ because of the drought,” Pyle said.

See, once you accede to small tyrannies, they tend to become larger tyrannies. And, yes, I am talking to those of you who are toying with the idea of an energy tax. Fraser Coast Chronicle (8/1/12) reports: “A FITNESS club that claimed the carbon price would drive up the price of its gym memberships has been fined $6600 by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.”

Leaving aside for a moment that the sources of their electricity is easily two-thirds coal, natural gas, or nuclear (no one buys wind on the spot market), how much would you like to bet that most of the rest is hydropower?  For those scoring at home, the environmental community does not count that as “renewable” (too affordable and reliable). Facebook (8/1/12) reports: “Today we’re sharing our 2011 carbon footprint, energy mix and energy use for our data centers and global offices. We’re releasing this data because we believe in the power of openness, and because we hope that adding another data point to our collective understanding of our industry’s environmental impact will help us all keep improving.”

When brave people speak truth to power, it helps others find their own bravery. Sen. Sessions (8/1/12) reports: “Sessions Debates Boxer At Hearing On Global Warming Regulation”

Everyone needs to be super careful now about what they say on the phone (those who don’t get that should google “wiretapping” and “Congressman McDermott”). Politico (8/2/12) reports: “McDermott (D-Wash.) will introduce a bill Thursday to create a carbon tax that he says will create incentives for long-term changes in the American energy market without harming the economy, and in fact providing much-needed revenues.”

This is fun.  The Administration has to explain why their friends the Europeans are right to tax carbon (does that sound familiar?) while not annoying their friends who are the rich dudes who fly internationally.  I’ll bet they avoid the easy answer, which is, of course, that the EU has lost its collective mind. Politico (7/31/12) reports: “Pressure on the White House to take action against the EU’s plan to mandate emissions trading for airlines is ratcheting up, with the Senate moving to advance a bill on the issue amid high-level international meetings taking place this week.”

Since the President thinks he creates all businesses and jobs, it is a small matter to kill them as well. OhioAmerican (7/31/12) reports: “OhioAmerican Energy, Inc. (“OhioAmerican”), a Subsidiary of Murray Energy Corporation (“Murray Energy”), today announced the closure of its coal mining operations near Brilliant, Jefferson County, Ohio… Regulatory actions by President Barack Obama and his appointees and followers were cited as the entire reason.”

I wonder if Chairman Jon knows that the wind tax credit has been going on for 20 years.  For just as long, people have been talking about phasing it out. The Hill (7/31/12) reports: “Letting the wind production tax credit (PTC) expire at the end of this year “could have a devastating effect” on the wind energy industry, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said Tuesday.”

Boxer.  Mankiw.  Hassett.  Arthur Brooks.  The AFP crew in Arizona.  Jeff Flake.  Probably Boyden Gray.  Probably Jim Connaughton.  That is a pretty impressive list of people who are digging an energy tax.  When do you figure people are going to start to take it seriously? E&ENews (7/31/12) reports: “A carbon tax could be part of a larger deal on tax and budget, two Senate Democrats who support action on climate change said today.”

The problem is the drought is “proof” that global warming is bad, and the “solution” to global warming is putting corn in our cars. NYTimes (7/30/12) reports: “An act of God, right? Well, the drought itself may be, but a human remedy for some of the fallout is at hand — if only the federal authorities would act. By suspending renewable-fuel standards that were unwise from the start, the Environmental Protection Agency could divert vast amounts of corn from inefficient ethanol production back into the food chain, where market forces and common sense dictate it should go.”

You have to think that the RFS is living on borrowed time.  The tricky part is what comes next. National Pork Producers Council (7/30/12) reports: “On behalf of the National Pork Producers Council (“NPPC”) and the other undersigned national and regional livestock, poultry, and feed organizations, we hereby request that you utilize your authority under the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to waive the applicable  volume of renewable fuel, in whole or in substantial part, for the period of one year…”
 
This issue is dead because Jim Inhofe, Mike Catanzaro, Andy Wheeler, and George Sugiyama killed it. Environment & Public Works (7/31/12) reports: “The planet may be getting hotter, but Washington’s debate on climate change isn’t heating up.”

Do you think this “man” has ever seen the inside of a paper mill that makes cardboard?  Probably not, but that is not going to keep him from an internship in Henry Waxman’s office.

 Admiral Watkins was a great man, and he did what he could to stop Bob Grady and Bill Reilly from passing the very bad, very damaging Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. LA Times (7/29/12) reports: “Watkins, 85, who was secretary of Energy under President George H.W. Bush, died Thursday at his home in Alexandria, Va. He had been in declining health in recent years, said his brother, John.”