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 [...]
Renewable Fuel Standard: A Misguided Policy
Ethanol advocates delight in touting the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as an “American Success Story.” Yet several years after its passage, some in Congress are finally realizing that the RFS stands not as a central-planning success story but as a symbol of misguided government mandates. The RFS requires refiners to blend ever-growing amounts of ethanol [...]
May 22, 2013 | News
Marshall Institute Lays Out “Five Circles of Carbon Tax Hell”
The George C. Marshall Institute has released a new study from James DeLong outlining what it refers to as “the five circles of Carbon Tax Hell.” The study is very readable and concise (only 34 pages of main text), yet at the same time offers a comprehensive survey of the main problems with a carbon [...]
May 16, 2013 | Bus Tour, Emissions Standards, Greenhouse Gases, News, Threats
Ethanol Mandates Distort Corn Market
A recent Bloomberg article underscores the government distortions in the fuel and food sectors. The piece discusses the rising price of ethanol because of expected supply problems: Ethanol’s discount to gasoline narrowed to a four-month low on speculation that the slowest pace of corn planting since 1986 will make it difficult to replenish supplies. The [...]
May 3, 2013 | Bus Tour, Facts, News, Renewable Fuel Standard, Threats
Does Your Senator Support an Energy Tax?
In dueling votes last month, U.S. senators took a stand either for or against a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. Although symbolic, the votes separated those who want to impose yet another tax on American consumers from those who understand that more taxes mean less prosperity. By a vote of 53-46, the Senate expressed support [...]
April 22, 2013 | News
Federal Regulations Drive Up Gasoline Prices
Lately an argument has broken out over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and whether it drives up gasoline prices. The recent controversy was sparked by a WSJ article discussing the shocking fact that Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits—which are one way of complying with the federal standard—had shot up in prices from about 7 cents [...]
April 12, 2013 | Bus Tour, News, Renewable Fuel Standard, Threats
The Biofuel Mandate and EPA’s Costly Tall Tale
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set mandatory levels of cellulosic biofuel for refiners to blend into transportation fuels. In order to restrain EPA, the law requires that the mandate be based on an estimate from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) as to how much cellulosic biofuel [...]
April 5, 2013 | Bus Tour, News, Renewable Fuel Standard, Threats
Prepare for Higher Gas Prices
EPA Will Increase Gasoline Prices and Reduce Fuel Economy with Its Bid to Further Reduce Sulfur in Gasoline The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided that the sulfur content of gasoline must be further reduced from 30 parts per million to 10 parts per million on an annual average basis by January 1, [...]
April 4, 2013 | Bus Tour, News, Threats, Tier 3 Standards
New Study on the Impact of RFS Implies There Is No Need for the RFS
Earlier this week, the Renewable Fuels Association released a report arguing that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is only slightly raising gasoline prices. The implication of the report is clear—there is no need for RFS. If the RFS has positive benefits, as the report claims, or only slight costs, then there is no need [...]
March 29, 2013 | Bus Tour, Facts, News, Renewable Fuel Standard
The Boom in the Bakken Continues
The new era in American energy being brought on innovative hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies has made, North Dakota, the poster child of the domestic energy boom. In 2012, North Dakota was the second largest oil producer, boasting the nation’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.6%. North Dakota’s emergence as an energy giant is a [...]
March 27, 2013 | News
