There is no “natural” or geological crisis; there is an enormous political one. It is in the nature of a mixed economy that its policies are rationally inexplicable.

The filling stations of the universities have dried up long ago and have been peddling a corrosive mix that paralyzes the brains of the nation. If you want to fight pollution, start with the philosophy departments; and if you want to refuel–well, look for new sources of energy.

– Ayn Rand, The Energy Crisis, Part I and Part II (November 1973) [1]

Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum, known to the world as Ayn Rand, was born 115 years ago in Saint Petersburg, Russian. She died in New York City on March 6, 1982. Best known as a novelist, she wrote on contemporary issues later in life.…

CBS producer Mihaljevic says not a word to suggest that a kid living on a barrier island anywhere along the hurricane-prone Atlantic coast today somehow faces environmental threats not confronted by kids on the Atlantic or Gulf Coast mainland. Indeed, the CBS video of young Levi Draheim was shot on a sunny day with light winds, an ideal beach day with nary a hurricane or thunderstorm in sight, leaving the subtle impression that the only threat he should fear is seas that are rising ever faster because of manmade climate change.

On 3 March 2019 the popular CBS Sixty Minutes newsmagazine featured a story on the Climate  Kids’ lawsuit, Juliana vs. the United States. It included a feature-length segment by CBS Correspondent Steve Croft, and smaller segments in the “Sixty Minutes Overtime” also directly available at the same link.…

“Glenn took the time – time he could’ve chose to spend out on the golf course – to put together papers which served as tutorials to help all of us understand the complex terminologies and issues we would have to become familiar with if we were to be successful at deterring the industrialization of our respective regions via the industrial wind scam.”

– Mary Kay Barton (below)

“Glenn Schleede remains, along with Tom Tanton, a mentor first among equals. And he’s the most decent man I know.”

– Jon Boone (below)

“In the most trying debates, Glenn had an uncanny ability to focus on the big picture yet explain nuances to the novice and expert alike. He always shared his knowledge with compassion and passion. ”

– Tom Tanton (below)

Glenn R. …

“Economists may not know much. But we know one thing very well: how to produce surpluses and shortages. Do you want a surplus? Have the government legislate a minimum price that is above the price that would otherwise prevail…. Do you want a shortage? Have the government legislate a maximum price that is below the price that would otherwise prevail.”

– Milton and Rose Friedman, Free to Choose (1979), p. 219.

Tomorrow (October 5, 2016), a book seminar will be held at Resources for the Future [register here] to revisit the lessons from the 1970s energy crisis. Panic at the Pump: The Energy Crisis and the Transformation of American Politics in the 1970s by Meg Jacobs will receive comments from three RFF scholars.

The Princeton historian and author usefully provides a good deal of archival documentation surrounding the ill-fated attempt by federal authorities to regulate the price and allocation of crude oil and oil products in the 1971–1981 era. …