Energy & Climate Policy News

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    • News

    Rick Perry’s Plans for US Energy Dominance

    America is approaching energy independence, but still needs to remove obstacles, Energy Secretary Rick Perry says. “The previous administration talked about energy independence, but wouldn’t drill and transport. It was all talk,” @SecretaryPerry says. “We are very close to being energy independent,” Perry told The Daily Signal in a brief interview. “Regarding our ability to…
    Fred Lucas
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    • News

    Energy Department Looks at Green Impact on Power Grid

    Energy Secretary Rick Perry said the upcoming Department of Energy study on power grid’s reliability is needed to address the facts after the Obama administration placed a premium on politics—but green energy is reportedly ready to push back. The study, set to be released in the coming weeks, will look at the effect of green…
    Fred Lucas
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    • Opinion

    Trump’s Action on Energy Empowers Local Leaders, Lays Groundwork for Prosperity

    “One step forward, two steps back.” That’s how we summed up the situation the last time an offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling proposal was announced. That was in January 2015, when the Obama administration included several areas off the coast of Alaska and parts of the Atlantic coast in the 2017-2022 federal leasing…
    Katie Tubb
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    • Opinion

    Why Trump Can and Should Pull Out of Paris Climate Change Agreement

    On April 22, 2016, the United States and 170 other countries signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which seeks “to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.” This international measure commits signatories to shift their energy industries away from fossil fuels that cause “greenhouse gas” emissions, and toward renewal resources like wind and…
    Alden Abbott
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    • News

    First Amendment Rights Still in Peril Following Climate Change Probes

    Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the day an army of Democratic prosecutors unveiled a coordinated campaign to hunt down so-called “climate change deniers.” Constitutional experts have described the initiative as one of the more egregious attacks on the First Amendment in U.S. history. One year later, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s coalition of Attorneys General United for…
    M.D. Kittle
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    • Opinion

    Unlocking Our Immense Oil and Gas Supply Can Make America Great Again

    American lawmakers would be wise to embrace the ongoing energy revolution. The Baker Hughes oil rig count for the United States increased on Friday for the 10th consecutive week to 809 operating rigs, resulting in a 20-rig increase from the week before and a 345-rig addition in the past 12 months. While OPEC countries have…
    Kevin Dayaratna
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    • Opinion

    Trump’s Budget Takes a Cleaver to Cronyism and Waste at the Energy Department

    President Donald Trump released his budget blueprint today, and his proposal for the Department of Energy is a breath of fresh air. This proposal reflects the president’s priority of “[putting] America first by keeping more of America’s hard-earned tax dollars here at home.” Opponents have pilloried the draft as anti-science, anti-clean energy, and even extreme—all…
    Katie Tubb
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    • Opinion

    Next Farm Bill Shouldn’t Play Favorites With Energy

    The House Agriculture subcommittee on commodity exchanges, energy, and credit is holding a hearing March 9 titled “The Next Farm Bill: Rural Development & Energy Programs.” The 2002 farm bill was the first to contain an energy title, which has since grown to include direct handouts and loan guarantees for advanced biofuels and biorefineries, renewable chemicals, and…
    Nicolas Loris
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    • News

    Group Defends Carbon Dioxide as ‘Elixir of Life’ in Climate Change Debate

    Forget everything government officials, many media outlets, and “activist scientists” have warned about the damaging effects of carbon dioxide, because in reality there’s no cause for alarm, a group called the CO2 Coalition urges. Scientists, engineers, and policy analysts who are part of the nonprofit organization turned out in force Friday at the Conservative Political…
    Kevin Mooney
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    • News

    Climate Change ‘Lunacy’ Called a Gift to Conservatives

    For conservatives, the “lunacy,” “wrongness,” and “criminality” of climate change theories is the gift that keeps on giving, the executive editor of the London branch of Breitbart News Network said Thursday during a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Three major strands characterize the climate change movement, James Delingpole said during the CPAC panel,…
    Kevin Mooney
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    • Opinion

    While Draining the Swamp, Drain Government-Controlled Oil Reserves

    As the new administration seeks to reduce the regulatory burden on the energy market, one critical change is to liquidate the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The government-controlled stockpile of crude oil is a waste of taxpayer money and ignores how the private sector more effectively responds to price changes. President Gerald Ford and Congress created the…
    Richard Sigman
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    • Opinion

    Dakota Access Pipeline Easement Marks a New Day for US Energy

    The final easement granted on Wednesday by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete the Dakota Access pipeline project sent a clear signal to our nation: Infrastructure development is once again a priority. Last November, America chose a president who campaigned on rebuilding America’s infrastructure, encouraging energy development, and championing job creation. Now, only weeks…
    Rep. Kevin Cramer
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    • Opinion

    One Super Bowl Ad’s Surprisingly Beautiful Message About Oil

    When we think of oil, most of us think of fuel for cars and trucks. Oil is certainly crucial to transportation, but a 30-second Super Bowl commercial reminded viewers that too often, the hundreds of other uses of oil go overlooked. The American Petroleum Institute commercial featured a colorful display of the uses of oil…
    Richard Sigman
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    • Opinion

    US Energy Takes a Major Step Forward

    For years, the Obama administration used its executive authority to obstruct two crucial energy infrastructure projects: the Dakota Access pipeline and the Keystone XL pipeline. Today, the obstruction finally came to an end when President Donald Trump signed two executive orders. This action affirms our new president’s respect for the rule of law and his…
    Rep. Kevin Cramer
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    • Opinion

    How Rick Perry Can Free Up US Energy From Government Favoritism

    Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently had his confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. If confirmed as energy secretary, Perry should work with Congress to reduce the size and scope of the agency’s intrusive reach into energy markets. Here are three priorities: 1. Stop and eliminate taxpayer-backed loans and loan guarantees….
    Nicolas Loris
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    • Opinion

    When Energy Efficiency Rules Hurt the Public and the Environment

    Over the last several years, an extreme and ideologically-driven environmental agenda has hijacked our national energy policy. Whether its goal is to keep fossil fuels in the ground or to electrify America based on a naïve belief that all electricity will be renewable within 30 years, or some combination, this bias is what we now…
    Arthur Corbin
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    • News

    The California Gathering That Hatched Plan to Prosecute Skeptics of Climate Change

    Just before joining climate change activist and former Vice President Al Gore for a press conference in New York City, seven state-level attorneys general huddled with a representative of the Union of Concerned Scientists. The political activist, Peter Frumhoff, called for them and other elected officials to move decisively against major corporations and institutions for “denying”…
    Kevin Mooney
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    • Opinion

    Let’s Make American Energy Great Again

    For the past eight years, President Barack Obama and his allies in Congress have feverishly worked to centralize energy regulatory power in Washington, empowering federal bureaucrats to micromanage how energy producers operate their facilities and run their businesses. The fundamental problem with centralized regulatory authority is the tendency of Washington bureaucrats to be ignorant of—and…
    Sen. Mike Lee
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    • Opinion

    Drain the Swamp? This Energy Bill Is More Big Government Paternalism

    Time is running out for negotiations between the Senate and House of Representatives on a conferenced energy bill. For opponents of big government paternalism, that’s a good thing. The Senate-passed energy bill is fraught with provisions that would increase government’s micromanagement of the energy sector. It is a continuation and extension of the idea that…
    Nicolas Loris
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    • News

    How Trump Can Reverse Obama Climate Change Regulations

    President-elect Donald Trump will come into power next year with the authority to redefine his predecessor’s ambitious and divisive legacy on climate and energy policy. Just as President Barack Obama has used regulations and executive actions to try and make the U.S. a world leader in cutting planet-warming emissions across much of the nation’s economy—especially…
    Josh Siegel
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