Earlier this week I had the pleasure of working in Charlotte, NC with Dr. Peter Frumhoff, Director of Science and Policy with the Union of Concerned Scientists, to release the new Energy and Water in a Warming World Initiative (EW3) report, Freshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants. Peter is one of the key advisers to the [...]
Former Congressman Bob Inglis’ essay calls for conservatives to believe in the “power of free markets” and support a tax swap that creates a carbon tax because operators of power plants should be accountable for their actions. Inglis writes, Because conservatives know that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, we know that we’re [...]
Bob Inglis’ call to “simultaneously eliminat[e] all subsidies” for energy is another way that he believes we can use the “power of free markets” to make better choices about energy use. Although “subsidies” are often discussed, it is a concept that is hard to pin down. The World Trade Organization definition of a subsidy amounts [...]
As discussed in the main post, Price signals don’t always work, creating a meaningful connection between energy price signals and consumers is challenged by a number of market barriers. Those market barriers are particularly acute when it comes to energy waste (but are also present for customer-sited renewable energy); overcoming barriers to energy efficiency requires [...]
Bob Inglis’ call to rely on a carbon tax as the main weapon to fight climate change is based on the idea that price signals, or the “power of free markets,” are central to the solution to climate change. Paradoxically, ensuring that price signals connect meaningfully with the energy consumer often requires government regulation, mandates, [...]
A new report by the Energy and Water in a Warming World Initiative (EW3), “Freshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants: Electricity’s Thirst for a Precious Resource,” details how water use by power plants for cooling needs stresses freshwater resources around the country, including here in the Southeast. The report also reveals that the reporting of water [...]
This post provides notes and further explanation for the main post, Free market perspective already dominates the climate policy debate. Note 1 (on the equivalence of cap and trade to a carbon tax): Sebastian Rausch and his colleagues at MIT write that, “A cap and trade system with fully auctioned permits is equivalent in impact [...]
As Grist’s David Roberts might remind us, Bob Inglis’ recent climate change commentaries are a throwback to an era when policy and appeals to self interest had a role in national politics. A year after reasoned debate abruptly surrendered to unhinged anti-environmental sentiment, Bob Inglis’ perspective is barely heard by the most vocal members of [...]
As part of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy’s ongoing outreach on electric vehicles, we want to alert you to another opportunity to learn the who, what and how of electric vehicles and take a test drive–Ford’s Power of Choice Tour. The tour is happening nationwide and is designed to profile Ford’s most fuel efficient and [...]
Following the White House’s surprise announcement delaying a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, Bill McKibben posted this blog for tarsandsaction.org on November 10, 2011. It is re-posted here with permission. Um, we won. You won. Not completely. The president didn’t outright reject the pipeline permit. My particular fantasy–that he would invite the 1253 people [...]
