Climate Council Discusses “All Economy” Carbon Tax
Why settle for new carbon taxes on just gasoline, diesel, and home heating fuels when you can apply a carbon tax to EVERYTHING! Implementing an “economy wide” “cap and invest” (which is the current euphemism for a carbon tax) program is the latest curlicue fluorescent lightbulb to go off over the heads of the twenty-three zealots charged with totally restructuring our economy around greenhouse gas reduction.
Michigan School Choice Expansion
Last year the Michigan legislature approved two strong school choice bills that. established a Michigan Student Opportunity Scholarship (SOS) program. Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer vetoed them. But the state constitution allows the Legislature to override a governor’s veto if enough petition signatures are collected to get the bill back to the Legislature. If passed again, the bills could not be re-vetoed by the governor.
Commentary: Looking at the Big Picture in Energy Options
Back in the mid-2000’s when I was co-teaching environmental science courses, I discovered “Will You Join Us?” (WYJU) an online game developed by Chevron, where players had to power up a simulated city drawing on a variety of energy sources. The game’s scoring system required players to evaluate each energy source on three distinct criteria: “Affordability,” “Security” and “Environment.”
Commentary: Return of the Curse of Diocletian
The “Inflation Reduction Act” authorizes Medicare to “negotiate prices” with the pharmaceutical industry. That is to say, impose price controls on their products purchased through Medicare, meaning that prices will shoot up for everyone in the private market. Emperor Diocletian tried price controls in 301AD, wrecked the Roman economy, and was forced to abdicate the throne.
Biden’s “Free” AC Coupled with a Less Dependable Electric Grid
A few weeks ago, President Biden gave a speech about battling climate change in Somerset, Mass at the site of the Brayton Point power plant. "As president, I have a responsibility to act with urgency and resolve when our nation faces clear and present danger” declaring climate change to be "literally, not figuratively, a clear and present danger … (to) the health of our citizens and our communities."
Interest payments to become largest part of Fed budget
According to the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Philip Swagel, interest costs will become the fastest-growing federal budget category, and fuel a cycle of higher debt, deficits, and interest costs that deplete resources for investments, emergency response, or preparedness.
Green Pork
One of my favorite columnists is the hard-nosed Holman Jenkins Jr. of the Wall Street Journal. In a recent column he zeroed in on the mythology of climate change. Wrote he, “The half-trillion dollars you were asked to spend on climate change didn’t stop climate change - alternative energy is not replacement energy.”
Commentary: Candidate Questions for 2022
Here are sixteen fairly stated and timely questions voters should put to those seeking legislative office this November. Voters deserve to know where office seekers stand. That’s what makes democracy work.
Great Barrier Reef Back After Being "Dead" from Climate Change
In 2016, the nature journal Outside proclaimed, “The Great Barrier Reef of Australia passed away in … after a long illness. It was 25 million years old. For most of its life, the reef was the world’s largest living structure, and the only one visible from space. It was 1,400 miles long, with 2,900 individual reefs and 1,050 islands. In total area, it was larger than the United Kingdom, and it contained more biodiversity than all of Europe combined. It harbored 1,625 species of fish, 3,000 species of mollusk, 450 species of coral, 220 species of birds, and 30 species of whales and dolphins.”
Commentary: The Climate Council’s “Carbon Tax PLUS” Agenda for Vermont
As gasoline prices hover around record highs, putting tremendous pressure on family budgets, stressing businesses, and making life generally more expensive, the Vermont Climate Council is coming up with a plan to make the problem worse. Much worse.