Krugman: Forget Taxing Carbon, Let's Just Ban Coal

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 […]

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Drawing the Wrong Line in the Sand

  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 […]

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In the Pipeline: 4/17/13

My very strong suspicion is that half of everything they sell is made with petroleum products. And everything they sell is transported with petroleum products. I also suspect that they are really, really inane. Politico (4/15/13) reports: “APPAREL COMPANY PATAGONIA ORGANIZING AGAINST KEYSTONE: The gear, clothing and apparel company Patagonia is blasting the proposed Keystone XL pipeline […]

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In the Pipeline: 3/19/13

I think it goes something like: “You give them an inch, and they come after you with a chainsaw for your puppies and freedom.” E&ENews(3/18/13) reports: “A group of leading economists — including Nobel Prize winners Kenneth Arrow, William Sharpe, Thomas Sargent and Joseph Stiglitz — called on President Obama to back a carbon price on […]

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NRDC Jumps for Joy Over Court Win for EPA

  The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) was ecstatic over the recent appellate court ruling, upholding the EPA’s power to regulate carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act. Yet the NRDC’s description misleads the innocent reader on several crucial points. Contrary to their claims, federal regulations in the energy and transportation sectors won’t help […]

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