“Protest loudly, politely, and often, and sue at every turn. Expose greed and support sound science…. Finally, always speak from a position of integrity and truth and NEVER exaggerate the way the wind industry does. It is possible, though not expected, that eventually truth will win the day. Be proud because you have the truth on your side – whether you win or not.”
– Interview with Tom Stacy (below)
“Finally, the wind lobby is telling the press and environmental groups that freezing the mandate will cost tens of thousands of renewables manufacturing jobs in Ohio. But the truth is Ohio has manufacturing jobs because we have the infrastructure, the natural resources, the education opportunities and the skills to compete in manufacturing. More expensive electricity would hurt that competitive advantage and cost Ohio jobs on net.”…
Continue ReadingEditor Note: This morning, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hear testimony about energy from a philosophical perspective. Alex Epstein is a panelist at the hearing, Examining the Role of Environmental Policies on Access to Energy and Economic Opportunity. Other speakers are Father Robert A. Sirico, President, Acton Institute; Major General (Ret.) Robert Scales, Senior Military Analyst; Michael Breen, President & CEO, Truman National Security Project; and Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, Director, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
His opening comments as submitted follow (subtitles have been added).
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The energy industry is the industry that powers every other industry. To the extent energy is affordable, plentiful, and reliable, human beings thrive. To the extent energy is unaffordable, scarce, or unreliable, human beings suffer.
And yet in this election year, the candidates, especially the Republican candidates, have barely discussed energy.…
Continue ReadingA simple principle of economics is that value is subjective. Prices, and thus profit and loss, come from the (subjective) value that market participants place on goods and services. So if costs are greater than the revenues of a product, then economic value is lost; if revenues are greater than the cost, economic value is created.
Enter recycling, which has turned (even more so) into an economic loser in the current era of low commodity prices. What this means is that the cost of sorting and transforming trash into useful products is less than the revenue–and recycling should not be done.
And as the distinguished resource scholar Pierre Desrochers has explained, [1] recycling has been a loser for decades:
… Continue ReadingDomestic waste recycling has long been a money loser ever since plastics came along.