In the Pipeline: 6/20/13

If anyone thought that Moniz would be middle-of-the-road, this choice should dispel that. The Washington Post (6/19/13) reports: “Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has tapped highly regarded environmentalist Kevin Knobloch, most recently president of the advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists, to be his chief of staff. Knobloch had also been the organization’s legislative director for arms control […]

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In the Pipeline: 5/28/13

Here’s the thing. Even if Congress passed us a law that gave us cash to become tall and good-looking, we would still remain balding, overfed, leaping gnomes. So it is with physics. The federal government can’t just incentivize things into existence. The Atlantic (5/26/13) reports: “Electric car infrastructure company Better Place’s move to file bankruptcy today marks […]

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In the Pipeline: 5/24/13

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 […]

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In the Pipeline: 3/26/13

It’s not enough to help us sleep at night, but at least 53 Senators disagree with His Majesty’s newest court jester. Washington Examiner (3/25/13) reports: “President Obama’s Energy secretary nominee regards a carbon tax as one of the simplest ways to move the energy industry towards clean technologies, though he notes that government would have to come […]

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In the Pipeline: 3/25/13

Show me the Moniz. ProPublica (3/20/13) reports: “When President Obama nominated Ernest Moniz to be energy secretary earlier this month, he hailed the nuclear physicist as a “brilliant scientist” who, among his many talents, had effectively brought together “prominent thinkers and energy companies” in the continuing effort to figure out a safe and economically sound energy future […]

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In the Pipeline: 3/6/13

Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!   The wind crew is bitterly clinging to its tax credits. They probably don’t have religion or guns. Politico (3/5/13) reports: “Two months after Congress rescued it, the wind industry’s crucial tax credit is back on the countdown to extinction. The fiscal cliff deal revived the wind-production tax credit on New Year’s Day just hours after it […]

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