Many minerals that are key to building electric vehicles are produced outside the United States. But the Biden administration keeps halting or preventing mining projects. At the Heartland Institute, Miles Pollard and Austin Gae review the current state of mining projects. (Direct quotes follow.) In January, the Environmental Protection Agency blocked development of a proposed…
Tag: Biden administration
Biden Revokes Alaska Leases, Plans More Bans in National Petroleum Reserve
The Institute for Energy Research explains how detrimental the president’s recent actions are. “President Biden’s Interior Department has revoked seven remaining oil and natural gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that were sold during the Trump administration and unveiled a proposal to ban new leasing and development on 10.6 million acres of the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska….
Biden Is Counting on Unproven Technologies to Meet Climate Goals
Thanks to Rachel Frazin of The Hill, we have a good idea of the flimsiness of the EPA’s recent proposed ruling on coal- and gas-fired power plants. She observes that under the ruling, coal-fired power plants must cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 90 percent by 2030 if they expect to operate beyond 2039, while…
Monday Links: No “Tipping Point” for Climate, Lots of Subsidies, What Role Property Rights?
- U.S. and Canada compete in subsidies! Canada will pay Volkswagen $750 million to help it build a battery factory, plus billions based on future battery production.
- Biden promises $1 billion for international “Green Climate Fund,” plus $500 million to slow deforestation in Brazil (if Congress is willing).
- Gary Galles: Property rights provide profit incentives to reduce environmental costs and damage.
- “There is no tipping point beyond which Mother Earth wrestles control of the whole climate system away from human beings and proceeds to punish us for our sins.”
A Sad Commentary on Earth Day 2023
Sterling Burnett of the Heartland Institute ponders whether this is Earth Day or Vladimir Lenin’s birthday (it is both). He recounts recent governmental regulations affecting gas stoves, lightbulbs, electric cars and says: “This year, the authoritarian leanings of the elitist environmental cabal inside and outside the Biden administration are on full display. Never in the…
Trade-Offs: Biden’s Push for Bio-energy from Agriculture Worries Environmentalists
The “Inflation Reduction Act” will provide $140 billion in agricultural “tax incentives, loans and grants” to promote energy. Environmentalists are not happy. Keith Schneider of the New York Times: “Despite pushback from environmental groups concerned about increased pollution from farm waste, developers across the country see opportunities to build ambitious renewable energy projects to convert…