The intragency panel price per ton of carbon incorporated into the Environmental Protection Agency’s microwave rule seems to set the standard, or at least the starting point, for the federal government’s estimate of the social cost of carbon. Benjamin Zycher, visiting scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, has argued that that cost “fails”. Zycher hosted… Keep reading →
As the United States moves closer to imposing an economic cost on carbon dioxide emissions in the form of emissions limits on power plants, there will be a shift in the ranking of fuels that are most economic for power generation. And while nuclear’s future is looking more promising, it is not certain that it… Keep reading →
Today, the future of America’s energy policy seems to have been put on the back burner. Yet energy issues are directly tied to the economic future and security of the U.S., and it is important that the American people fully understand the impacts and costs associated with implementing sound energy policy. Among the challenges in… Keep reading →
The ongoing controversy over the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline linking Alberta’s oil sands to US markets covers a vast amount of factual territory, from refinery configuration to logistics to international crude oil trading to carbon dioxide emissions. But at times, all of these issues take a back seat to the emotional, or symbolic, component of… Keep reading →
It’s the stuff of sci-fi movies: a nuclear explosion far overhead or a massive solar flare knocks out electricity for a large chunk, or even all, of the US. But electromagnetic pulses and geomagnetic disturbances, such as large solar flares and storms can, in fact, impact grid functioning. And Maine has become the first state… Keep reading →
Regulation of the energy sector tends to lag technological developments. This has been an underlying issue in heated debates about the safety and dangers of hydraulic fracturing, and whether it should be regulated at the federal level. A group of energy experts convened at OurEnergyPolicy.org for an online discussion of how waste produced during the… Keep reading →
