The Michigan state government recently stumbled across a startling statistic. Over the past decade its revenue streams were $8-10 million below what it expected. The cause? Residents of nearby states have been smuggling millions of bottles and cans into Michigan, taking advantage of its nation-leading 10-cent bottle refund. Michigan is one of 10 states nationwide … Continue reading
It must be frustrating for President Obama when his policies make no one happy. Recently the administration announced plans to regulate methane emissions, and while the oil and gas industry grumbled about new regulations and added costs, environmental groups complained the new measures don’t go far enough. Is it possible for policymakers to appease environmental … Continue reading
“I hope that after a couple of days of this very intensive program there will be a lot of happiness being shared, but I also hope that it will do a great deal of good for the United States and the United Kingdom,” British Ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott said. While fostering good relationship ties and … Continue reading
Nutrition labels have got it all: the trans fats, calories, sodium and vitamins. It seems that much of our food has labels that list just about every aspect of the product. However, it turns out that there are still parts of our food that don’t make the label. Labels on food products list only a … Continue reading
As star-studded protests are lining the streets of New York in Manhattan and on Wall Street, it appears that an international debate has been stirred about the importance of protecting the environment. However, while the United Nations met this week to discuss how this goal can be reached, the reality of a national debate in … Continue reading
News that Sempra Energy became the second company to secure all the permits necessary for building the facilities to export natural gas has pushed the debate over energy exports into the fore once again. Geopolitical risk in Europe and Asia, growing economies in the developing world, and worries about climate change ensure that the energy … Continue reading
President Obama has made reducing income inequality a common theme in his second-term speeches and policy proposals, and has cited inequality as “the defining challenge of our time.” His administration’s recently proposed carbon regulations, however, will increase prices for consumers and lay off thousands of workers, disproportionately hurting low-income and middle-class Americans. This month, the … Continue reading
It’d hardly be a stretch to say that the Obama administration is on the wrong side of most energy issues. But when they get something right, we should give them credit. The US Department of Energy’s recent decision to require FERC approval before being awarded liquefied natural gas export licenses is a case in point. … Continue reading
The Climate Change threat doesn’t leave us much choice but to transform our current economy into a “low carbon economy”. While it is well acknowledged that renewable energy (RE) sources like solar, wind or even biomass could lead us towards that goal, conventional energy sources like coal, natural gas or oil will still play a … Continue reading
Many are those that believe that coal is an obsolete technology that is not or should not be used in this advanced 21st century world. Let’s be honest, at first sight coal doesn’t really look like anything attractive. It is a black-brownish sedimentary rock that causes many miners to develop black lung disease due to … Continue reading
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