One of the great questions concerning the migration to renewable energy is as follows: Will it come from policy, i.e., government’s creating a level playing field, perhaps with a carbon tax—or will it come from technology, i.e., waiting for the …
Will Clean Energy Come Through Policy or Technology? Read More »
Frequent commenter John Roche writes: It’s been interesting reading your blogs. I’ll say I’m for the environment and have taken some renewable energy classes to complement my technical background. Will probably even install solar on mine and a friend’s house. …
Here’s an article that suggests that a carbon tax could raise trillions of dollars in revenues, but would harm the economy. According to the report from the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) “Without accounting for how the revenues from a carbon …
Here’s an article on various proposed “carbon taxes” that I offer to stimulate conversation. It really has some nasty holes in it, which I’ll point out in advance: • The tables are useless, as they represent the grossest of double-counting. They …
Is There a Revenue-Neutral Carbon Tax In Our Future? Read More »
Here’s a piece on cap and trade. Like every person who hopes that civilization will find its way towards sustainability, I’m rooting for success here. But frankly, I can’t imagine how cap and trade will accomplish its aims, given all …
I just participated in a real-time webinar, a live broadcast from the COP-18 meetings in Doha, Qatar. Here are my notes: • In the past few years, over 30,000 peer-reviewed papers have been published on global climate change, only 24 …
COP-18 Meetings in Qatar on Global Climate Change Read More »
A reader sent me this very clever article that was published in 1969 by Garret Hardin called “The Tragedy of the Commons” with a note that read, “Here’s something that I think might resonate with you.” I respond: Wow, that …
Restraining Those Who Wish To Profit at the Expense of the Rights of Others Read More »
Here’s an interesting piece by super-blogger Marc Gunther, suggesting that subsidies for solar have been misapplied and have created weird market conditions. No argument from me there. Handing people money to do a certain thing is a guarantee that they’ll …
A friend of mine has a T-shirt that defines the word “patriotism” as “not letting our leaders ruin our country by ignoring the principles on which it was founded.” Food for thought as we go into the 4th of July …
Feeling Patriotic? Why Not Let Your Voice Be Heard? Read More »
The results of political compromise — maybe by definition — are seldom satisfactory to anyone. But hasn’t this whole process recently gotten worse than ever before? The healthcare reform bill that the Obama administration put through was the product of a hammer and …
The Tragic Results of Political Compromise in US Energy Policy Read More »
