Anyone following the energy markets knows that in the past few years natural gas has come to dominate the conversation – especially in the electric power market. Natural gas’ growth in the electric power industry has come at the expense of coal. As a recent paper, co-authored by me, explains, while the fracking revolution has [...]
One of the favored approaches used by the environmental community to put their thumb on the scales is the appeal to the “precautionary principle” which argues that in the absence of clear science, regulators should err on the side of “precaution” by banning whatever environmentalists fear, from chemical compounds to environmental practices. The problem, of [...]
I don’t know if it is serendipity or what, but during the last week several articles have popped up on my computer with similar theme: How liberals are increasingly shedding their humanist pretentions and showing (their true) misanthropic nature. The Scientific American brings us a story, “The Left’s War on Science,” in which Michael Shermer [...]
Nothing can make up for the lost and shattered lives which occur every time there is a public shooting. Sandy Hook and all the senseless massacres before it cry out for explanation and justice. Everyone agrees that action should be taken to reduce the likelihood of such shootings or, when they occur, the amount of [...]
We have just released the 9th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey covering 337 metropolitan markets in Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. As usual, the most unaffordable markets are those in with urban containment policy (also called by other names, such as smart growth and [...]
Recently, the New York Times – the paper which with great conceit considers itself the national paper of record – posted a blog: Not Even Close: 2012 Was Hottest Ever in the U.S. It then went on to note the divergence of 2012’s U.S. temperature record from the average. The Times blog was good enough [...]
My first post in the New Year covers a number of interesting items that I’ve noticed receiving too little coverage in the past few days. Guns: Despite what the general public is led to believe by media coverage (perception is not necessarily reality folks) rifles, including the faux military rifles, are used to kill fewer [...]
A report in the USA Today found that “green” schools in other states don’t actually perform as promised. The report, “Green Schools: Long on promise, short on delivery,” gave this example from the Houston Independent School District: The nation’s seventh-largest school district added features such as automated light sensors and a heat-reflecting roof, in hopes [...]
In a major victory for gun rights advocates, the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago, on Tuesday December 11, struck down a ban on carrying concealed weapons in Illinois, the only remaining state where carrying concealed weapons is entirely illegal. In issuing its ruling, among other cases and papers, the [...]
Though I don’t believe we’ll see a bill along the lines proposed passed in this Congress, at least one legislator gets it – he’s on the right track: Republican Representative Mike Pompeo of Kansas has called for the end to subsidies for all energy sources. I have suggested this a number of times, most recently [...]