Daily Policy Digest
Environment Issues
| Five Truths about Climate Change The United States' carbon dioxide emissions fell by 1.7 percent over the last decade; in this same time span, Africa's jumped by 30 percent, Asia's by 44 percent and the Middle East's by 57 percent... |
| Endangered Species Act Not Particularly Effective In 1973 there were only 78 species on the endangered and threatened lists; by 1994 there were over 1,000... |
| The Gulf Oil Spill: Lessons for Public Policy The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the ensuing political firestorm brought to the fore some longstanding problems associated with the regulation of commercial activities on federal lands... |
| Profits Elude Geothermal Companies Three taxpayer-backed clean energy companies that specialize in capturing heat from the earth and turning it into electricity are facing deep financial difficulties... |
| Government's Good Intentions Can Have Negative Consequences The $50 billion-plus five-year tab for ethanol subsidies has brought millions of acres of previously wild land under cultivation, increased the use of chemical fertilizers and wasted billions of gallons of water... |
| Green Jobs Training Program Falls Short A $500 million green jobs program at the Department of Labor has so far provided only 15 percent of current participants with jobs... |
| Quantifying Capital Bikeshare's Supposed "Success" Ninety percent of commuter trips replaced by Washington, D.C.'s Bikeshare program were already "green" and non-contributors to traffic congestion, thus accomplishing little by way of addressing auto emissions or traffic in the city... |
| EPA Regulations Would Require 230,000 New Employees, $21 Billion The EPA is asking taxpayers to fund up to 230,000 new government workers to process the extra paperwork associated with new regulations, at an estimated cost of $21 billion... |
| Natural Gas Important to America's Energy Future At current consumption rates, it has been estimated that the United States has 92 years’ worth of natural gas... |
| Light Bulbs and Liberty Within the state of Texas, Texas House Bill 2510 will basically repeal the Energy and Security Act, which effectively ends the ability of American consumers to purchase incandescent light bulbs... |
