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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – government support for ethanol is both bad climate policy and bad economics. Now, the government data offer more evidence that, as a business, ethanol for fuel doesn’t add up. Despite some recent improvement, data from the Department of Energy … In his State of the Union address, President Obama identified climate change as one of his top priorities, which makes one wonder about the recent Bloomberg headline: “Obama to Stay Course on Biofuel Law…” If Bloomberg is right, Americans are going to continue to subsidize ethanol at … Thanks to Michael Levi, the always-interesting energy/climate blogger at the Council on Foreign Relations, for pointing out a neat new analysis of the cost of meeting the CAFE standards for cars. According to Soren Anderson (Michigan State) and James Salee (Chicago), it’s possible to infer this … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: CAFE Standard, fuel economy, James Salee, Michael Levi, Soren Anderson | Category: Energy Regulation, Quick Takes |
 Leave a commentIrwin Stelzer, an economist and conservative intellectual who isn’t inclined to suffer fools, suggests a carbon tax could help reduce the deficit and enhance national security, even as it stimulates economic growth. Quite so. The problem – or at least one of the problems – is the bitter opposition … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: carbon tax, deficit, Hudson Institute, Irwin Stelzer | Category: Climate Change, Energy, Energy Regulation, Environment |
Leave a commentMichael Levi of the Council on Foreign Relations reports that the budget deal bars the Energy Department from collecting much of the data that both public and private analysts use for forecasting energy consumption and production, not to mention greenhouse gas emissions. The idea, of course, is to … President Obama’s plea for reduced dependence on foreign oil last week was, of course, nicely timed in light of Libya and $4 gasoline. Yet, while much of the (responsible) criticism of the speech focused on the of practicality of the White House’s targeted reductions in imports, Daniel Ahn, an economist … |
Professor Dieter Helm (Oxford) is a very fine fly fisherman, and an even better economist. If you haven’t done so, take a look at his new book “The Carbon Crunch: How We Are Getting Climate Change Wrong — and How to Fix It” for a bit of unconventional wisdom. He argues that politicians and the general public have not shown any real interest in addressing climate change. Helm argues that places like Europe should focus on setting a price for carbon that would cover consumption (and not just production), and that fracking could be a good “bridge” technology for reducing consumption of coal. The book is readable and insightful for those interested in the inside track on climate policy. 
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