A Free-Market Energy Blog

Jerry Taylor Takedown: Energy Matters

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 21, 2020

“Niskanen’s @willwilkinson on the merits of @SenWarren. Yes people, you read that right. And I’m with him.” (Jerry Taylor, February 5, 2019)

The intellectual transformation of Jerry Taylor from libertarian (and libertarian enforcer) to shifty eclectic statist has been told elsewhere (here and here). Not surprisingly, his intellectual road to serfdom began with small steps and has grown to the point that fewer and fewer libertarians and conservatives trust his intellectual judgement.

Taylor’s statism has now attracted the gentlemanly ire of one of his advisory board members, Tyler Cowen, himself an eclectic but libertarian- leaning (he no longer describes himself as ‘classical liberal‘).

Professor Cowen recently wrote in “The Economic Policy of Elizabeth Warren” at Marginal Revolution (January 19, 2020):

Jerry Taylor has made some positive noises about her on Twitter lately, as had Will Wilkinson in earlier times.

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Energy & Environmental Newsletter: January 20, 2020

By -- January 20, 2020

The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy, environmental and education policies. Our premise is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using Real Science (please consult WiseEnergy.org for more information).

A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end, every three weeks we put together a newsletter to balance what is found in the mainstream media about energy and the environment. We appreciate MasterResource for their assistance in publishing this information.

Some of the more important articles in this issue are:
Special interest groups vow to continue push for energy credits
Wind Energy Lobbyists Still Beating Solar Lobbyists in DC
NY Energy Bill from Cuomo to Consumers Could Top $47 Billion!

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Adler on Climate Policy: A Non Sequitur for Open-Ended Statism

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 16, 2020

Being “free and green” requires just what classical liberals and conservatives want: defeat of the anti-capitalist, anti-technology, anti-energy agenda. Market pricing, not carbon taxes. Open international trade, not carbon tariffs. Avoidance of one-world government in the perilous, futile crusade to “stabilize” the planet. In short, no climate road to serfdom.

Bad incentives have created a peculiar situation in which alleged classical liberals and conservatives push climate alarm and open-ended governmental energy activism. I have called out several of my former free-market colleagues in this regard, including Jerry Taylor (here and here vs. his previous view here); Josiah Neeley (here vs. his previous view here); and Jonathan Adler (here vs. his earlier view here).

In each case, these individuals published prior analysis that can easily neuter if not refute their present views.…

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Dear BP: 85% Fossil Fuels (why hide it?)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 15, 2020
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Dear Daniel Yergin: We Need Alex Epstein at CERAWeek (‘this is John Galt speaking …’)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 14, 2020
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Trump on NEPA Reform (in his own words)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 13, 2020
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‘Planet of the Humans:’ A Progressive’s Lament

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 11, 2020
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Problems of Industrial Electrification (forced decarbonization on the firing line)

By Mark Krebs and Tom Tanton -- January 9, 2020
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Mark Mathis is Correct: Alarmist Climate Science is Speculative

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 8, 2020
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Human Ingenuity: The Ultimate Resource (for minerals, adaptation)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 7, 2020
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