“In a Lockean world, mineral rights do not accompany surface rights in either original or transferred ownership. Minerals would not be owned until homesteaded by the acts of discovery and intent to possess. In the case of oil and gas, initial ownership would occur when the oil or gas entered the well bore and was legally claimed by the driller.”
In Oil, Gas, and Government: The U.S. Experience (Cato Institute: 1996), my discussion of the development of first title to oil and gas deposits, as well as government intervention at the wellhead, covered three chapters (pp. 57–221). To my regret, I did little to turn the major takeaways of these chapters into shorter pieces for greater reach and impact. Even today, some of those who are familiar with my argument have encouraged me to publish in this area.…
“Efforts to sell Republicans on the idea that [a CO2 price] is the most market-friendly approach to the emissions problem have failed miserably, and will continue to fail.”
– Justin Gillis, Forget the Carbon Tax for Now, New York Times, December 27, 2018.
Oh, how the free-market climate realists (science, economics, politics) feel vindicated. The mainstream press has (belatedly) announcing the Carbon Tax politically dead and a distraction for the whole climate debate.
The article by veteran New York Times writer Justin Gillis was one of (at least) three remarkable reality pieces inspired by the year-end UN climate conference (COP 24) in Katowice, Poland. The others were:
Excellent, just excellent. Katie Tahuahua, communications manager for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Life:Powered project, penned a recent piece in RealClearEnergy (December 20, 2019) that deserves attention and prioritization for 2020.
“A Better Word of the Year for 2019: Energy Poverty”
The Oxford English Dictionary selected “climate crisis” as the term that “reflects the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year.” Striking a similarly dismal note, Dictionary.com’s selection was “existential.”
A better word of the year for 2019? Energy poverty.
While wealthy world leaders take luxurious trips to Madrid for the U.N. Climate Conference, flying across oceans in crisp business suits, one billion human beings are living in abject poverty without access to electricity. Still more lack reliable electricity.
Environmental protection can and should be a priority—but those clamoring about the supposedly disastrous future effects of a mildly warming climate could better spend their time and attention on the very real, immediate impact of energy
A life without energy is a life of drudgery.…