A Free-Market Energy Blog

‘No Country for Radicals’: India Fights Back Against Obstructionist Nonprofits

By Vijay Jayaraj -- January 17, 2019

The statement from India and other nations is clear: “This is no country for radical environmentalism.” And it is not just India. China has always maintained its sovereign rights for development, and the new Brazilian government is moving towards reclaiming its energy independence.

Mark Scialla, a freelance journalist based in the United States, was deported from India two weeks ago for reportedly documenting a controversial case surrounding the operations of a copper smelting factory.

So why are countries like India becoming increasingly wary of foreign elements and their growing involvement in domestic developmental issues?

The news of the journalist’s deportation did not come as a surprise to many here in India, as we are aware of our government’s intention to weed out foreign nonprofits and journalists who seek to sabotage developmental projects.

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Samuel Insull and Rural Electrification (it did not start with FDR’s New Deal )

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 16, 2019

“I am not claiming any great originality for the Lake County Experiment [on rural electrification in 1910]. If I had not hit upon it somebody else would have, but it is rather an interesting sidelight that even the opponents of private ownership, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority, by their work have put the stamp of approval on such matters….”

– Samuel Insull, The Memoirs of Samuel Insull (1934), p. 97.

[Ed. note: This post is taken from the author’s Edison to Enron (2011), chapter 3, pp. 105–108]

“The way Insull’s utility managed Chicago’s power load,” noted one technological historian, “is comparable to the historic managerial contributions made by railway men in the nineteenth century and is as interesting as the widely publicized managerial concepts and policies of John D. Rockefeller and Henry Ford.”

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‘Roger Donway: A Salute’ (2011 tribute rings truer today)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 15, 2019

Upon assuming the editorship of the Objectivist magazine Navigator, Robert Bidinotto wrote the following tribute to outgoing editor Roger Donway. Having worked with Roger over the last decade of my book projects, as well as many smaller things, I am pleased to republish Bidinotto’s salute.

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I cannot take the helm of this magazine without first paying tribute to the helmsman who has steered it so far, and so true.

I first encountered the name Roger Donway during the late 1960s, in the pages of The Freeman. His potent articles on political topics jumped out at me—not just for their rare clarity and logical rigor, but because he was one of the few among the magazine’s many authors who was clearly influenced by Ayn Rand. For a young, philosophically isolated, wannabe writer like me, Roger’s articles felt like an encouraging pat on the back—reassurance that someone, somewhere, was already able to do what I only aspired to do.…

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FDR’s New Deal with Energy: Part V (Rural Electrification)

By Robert Bradley Jr. --
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FDR’s New Deal with Energy: Part IV (Coal Code)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 14, 2019
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FDR’s New Deal with Energy: Part III (oil retailing)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 10, 2019
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FDR’s New Deal with Energy: Part II (oil refining)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 9, 2019
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FDR’s New Deal with Energy: Part I (oil exploration & production)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 8, 2019
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Energy & Environmental Newsletter: January 7, 2019

By -- January 7, 2019
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Joe Romm: UAH Temperature Update (Sept. 2017 vs. December 2018)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 4, 2019
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