FreedomTalks

Yesterday, I listened in to a blogger conference call with Peter Robertson, Vice Chairman of Chevron’s board. Much of the call naturally centered on gas prices and, of course, the basic issues of supply and demand which drive pump prices. I can’t say I agreed with his statements about the need for biofuels (I’ve been [...]

Our friends at the Heritage Foundation have a great new study out about the economic harms that a cap and trade system on carbon would cause. Both presidential candidates with a shot at the office support “cap and trade.” In fact, Senator McCain will be pushing the bill mentioned below quite hard this summer. Conservatives [...]

For various reasons, people on both sides of the political aisle, though more Democrats than Republicans, have supported America’s ethanol policy…a policy which is not just silly but also dangerous.
There’s been a lot of press lately about food shortages in the third world caused in part by America and Europe’s ethanol policy, but that’s only [...]

Whether or not the U.S. should seek the long-term goal of becoming “energy independent” is an open question. But what’s germane to our current political situation is whether or not we can.  And right now, the answer is: We can’t. At World Politics Review, Peter Kiernan explains. You should read the whole thing, but here [...]

Over at Reason, Ron Bailey responds to the oft-employed environmentalist argument that whatever expensive, restrictive regulation they’re arguing for at a given time is justified because “we owe it to future generations.” That sounds nice, but the reality of the argument is far less pleasant.  As Bailey says:
Really? Perhaps intergenerational ethics tells us that poor [...]

This video highlights the hypocrisy of the leading celebrity environmentalist Al Gore.

One of the biggest problems with the controversy over climate change is that so much of the journalism covering it does a pretty terrible job of explaining what’s actually going on.  Over at The American Scene (where I’m also a contributor), Jim Manzi explains how the Post botched it today:
The premise of the story by [...]

New Wyoming Senator John Barrasso recently introduced legislation that brings a fresh new approach to the issue of global climate change.  The “Greenhouse Gas Emission Atmospheric Removal Act,” or GEAR Act, would create a commission at the Department of Energy to establish an award system for scientists working on carbon dioxide sequestration technologies.  The general [...]

The recently passed energy bill includes a mandate that will ban the traditional incandescent light bulb. New research, as reported by the Washington Post, strongly correlates lower melatonin levels with breast cancer. An Israeli researcher explains the connection:
Abraham Haim, a University of Haifa chronobiologist involved in the study, said the findings raise questions [...]

Are we running out of natural resources? Listening to the chatter of the media, it can certainly seem that way. But next time somebody frets about a loss of resources, remember Julian Simon’s example:
The essence of Simon’s position in the bet was that, despite the population growth that was sure to occur during [...]