Topic: Energy

The New (Old) Threat of “Runaway Bureaucracy”

“The notion of ‘independent’ agencies was a holdover conceit of the Progressive era—the FTC was founded in 1914—based on the idea that citizens were faced with large, concentrated forces they had no hope of dealing with, but which could be managed with the seraphic wisdom of benevolent experts.” ~ Michael Munger

Sailing the Blue Sea? We’d Rather Propel Through…

“Like many other witty machinations, environmentalist intentions to ‘overhaul’ transportation in international trade will not succeed, because it does not reduce costs or increase speed. ” ~ Luis Carlos Araujo Quintero

The Spurious Efficiency of Dishwashers 

“To economists, labor is a resource that is to be used efficiently, just like any other resource.” ~ James Hanley

The Gas-Powered Banning Bandwagon: Why Politicians Should Leave Leaf Blowers Alone

“Given that there is already a severe shortage of labor in the landscape sector, the concern won’t be over what equipment is being used, but rather who will even opt to use it.” ~ Kimberlee Josephson

An All-Electric-Vehicle Industry? Really?

“Our future with electric vehicles will have some unexpected bumps in the road, too. We see some already — problems getting critical materials, attracting consumers, building a national charging network. But at least we know the federal government will be with us.” ~ Jane Shaw Stroup

Green vs. Green: The Political, Legal, and Administrative Pitfalls Facing Green Energy Production

Through the Eyes of Greed

“Politicians don’t care whether oil companies are greedy, or altruistic, or neither. Politicians care about using oil companies as a smokescreen to hide from the voters’ wrath.” ~ Antony Davies

The “New Study Finds” Approach to Overregulation

“The distinction between correlation and causation is not important to those who want to expand governmental power. An aggressive bureaucracy needs only an affectation of justification for a regulation or ban already in the works.” ~ Jon Sanders

Take Your Foot off the Gas

“If environmental zealots in the Biden administration were to get their way, then something would have to answer the call for such a huge increase in electricity demand. Do they have an answer for this challenge?” ~ Jon Sanders

The New-Normaling of Blackouts

“Before, rolling blackouts were a California problem, then they also became a Texas problem. Blackouts are spreading faster than even Imperial College London modelers would find believable.” ~ Jon Sanders

Reddy or Not, Winter Is Coming

“Any time, but especially in the depths of the cold, electricity consumers must still be able to count on electricity ‘always there/with lots of power to spare’ as they have for 100 years.” ~ Jon Sanders

There’s No Natural ‘Carrying Capacity’ for the Human Population: An Essay Inspired by the Happy News that the Human Population Has Reached Eight Billion

“We don’t obtain resources from an existing stock created for us by nature, leaving fewer resources available for use tomorrow each time we withdraw some amount for our use today. Instead, resources are ultimately fruits of the human mind and effort.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux