Energy Policy

The Waxman-Markey bill: a good start or a non-starter?

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As carbon cap-and-trade legislation works it way through Congress, the environmental community is intensely debating whether the Waxman-Markey bill is the best possible compromise or a fatally flawed initiative. Yale Environment 360 asked 11 prominent people in the environmental and energy fields for their views on this controversial legislation.

“Architecture 2030” plan to revive economy

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Message to Washington: You’re not getting it – we’re still out of work. WInd farms and energy efficient public buildings are important, but what about the housing industry? The recession started with the housing industry — and can end if we bring back construction — so lets focus on the real problem. That’s the heart of the message to Congress and the Obama administration from a group of architects and builders who are promoting a plan to end the recession by revitalizing America’s

Maintaining Our Prosperity

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Australia’s new Energy White Paper will be crucial in dealing prudently and effectively with the immense challenges facing Australia as the era of cheap energy and the economic system based upon it comes to an end. We are now in the early stages of an unprecedented economic failure – the terminal decline and probable collapse of global Capitalism.

Rock vs. hard place vs. immovable object

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Rock, meet hard place. Hard place, meet rock. Rock, over here is known as “the economy.” Hard place, on the other side, can be described as “our energy situation.” Because while green shoots might look awfully good to a lot of people who are desperate to have the economy go back to what it was, we should remind ourselves that “what it was” involved awfully high energy prices.

Peak oil = peak demand?

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People concerned with the economic problems attending peak oil—myself included—have labored under the mistaken assumption that winning an argument with CERA about the world’s upstream exploration & production prospects matters. I don’t think it matters at all, at least not as far as CERA and the Powers That Be are concerned. If CERA is making money and telling a good story, and they are, they are winning as far as IHS is concerned. The peak demand story maintains the status quo, so everybody in our Nation’s Capital is happy too. Win-win.