On Tuesday, the Institute for Energy Research issued its North American Energy Inventory (.pdf link), a report which documents the government’s own estimates of oil, natural gas and coal resources for the U.S., Canada and Mexico. (The IER is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)3 organization that is dedicated to advancing America’s supply using free market principles.)

In a nutshell, North America contains a vast bounty of energy sources in the form of oil, natural gas and coal. Reports that we are “running out” of energy sources use semantics and terminology to play with the facts. Simply put, we have chosen not to exploit potential sources close to home, finding it more expedient or convenient to depend on faraway sources for our energy.

Based on the ongoing tangible successes in North Dakota and Pennsylvania, one would think that the jobs/growth potential presented by aggressive energy development would tantalize any politician who is truly interested in helping the economy. One would think.

The following video will give you a quick run-down of the key points of the report, but I would encourage anyone interested to download and read the full report. It is extremely well-documented and although it is chock-full of facts and figures, I found it to be an easy read.

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On Tuesday, the Institute for Energy Research issued its North American Energy Inventory (.pdf link), a report which documents the government’s own estimates of oil, natural gas and coal resources for the U.S., Canada and Mexico. (The IER is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)3 organization that is dedicated to advancing America’s supply using free market principles.)

In a nutshell, North America contains a vast bounty of energy sources in the form of oil, natural gas and coal. Reports that we are “running out” of energy sources use semantics and terminology to play with the facts. Simply put, we have chosen not to exploit potential sources close to home, finding it more expedient or convenient to depend on faraway sources for our energy.

Based on the ongoing tangible successes in North Dakota and Pennsylvania, one would think that the jobs/growth potential presented by aggressive energy development would tantalize any politician who is truly interested in helping the economy. One would think.

The following video will give you a quick run-down of the key points of the report, but I would encourage anyone interested to download and read the full report. It is extremely well-documented and although it is chock-full of facts and figures, I found it to be an easy read.

Read More →

Even though Iron Eyes Cody, the Crying Indian, was a fake, he had a point: America in the 60′s had become a nasty place. You used to see people throw all kinds of litter out of their cars; nowadays the only socially-acceptable forms of automotive litter are cigarette butts and dirty diapers. No longer do babbling brooks foam from phosphates. Emissions from cars and coal plants are cleaner, making it easier for all of us to breathe. For this, the EPA deserves at least some of the credit.

But the EPA has become the type-section for bureaucratic mission creep. Not content with a reasonable balance between economic growth and environmental impact, the EPA has followed the First Commandment of Bureaucracies: Expand the Mission. Or, rather, Expand the Budget by Expanding the Mission.

It would be one thing if they confined themselves to regulating dangerous pollutants and species that would actually be missed if extinct. Instead, the environmental extremists within the agency have set their sights on eliminating any human activity that has a measurable impact on the natural environment, no matter how negligible.

They have declared the polar bear “threatened”, with the polar bear population is at its maximum in recent history, in order to block any commercial development of the North Slope of Alaska, including offshore.

Carbon dioxide, essential for life on our planet, has been declared a dangerous pollutant, subject to EPA regulation.

Now, in the ultimate reductio ad absurdum, the EPA is blocking new coal permits in Appalachian Coal Country because of supposed negative impact on the population of mayflies.

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Even though Iron Eyes Cody, the Crying Indian, was a fake, he had a point: America in the 60′s had become a nasty place. You used to see people throw all kinds of litter out of their cars; nowadays the only socially-acceptable forms of automotive litter are cigarette butts and dirty diapers. No longer do babbling brooks foam from phosphates. Emissions from cars and coal plants are cleaner, making it easier for all of us to breathe. For this, the EPA deserves at least some of the credit.

But the EPA has become the type-section for bureaucratic mission creep. Not content with a reasonable balance between economic growth and environmental impact, the EPA has followed the First Commandment of Bureaucracies: Expand the Mission. Or, rather, Expand the Budget by Expanding the Mission.

It would be one thing if they confined themselves to regulating dangerous pollutants and species that would actually be missed if extinct. Instead, the environmental extremists within the agency have set their sights on eliminating any human activity that has a measurable impact on the natural environment, no matter how negligible.

They have declared the polar bear “threatened”, with the polar bear population is at its maximum in recent history, in order to block any commercial development of the North Slope of Alaska, including offshore.

Carbon dioxide, essential for life on our planet, has been declared a dangerous pollutant, subject to EPA regulation.

Now, in the ultimate reductio ad absurdum, the EPA is blocking new coal permits in Appalachian Coal Country because of supposed negative impact on the population of mayflies.

Read More →

Disgraced Democrat former senator and vice presidential candidate John Edwards, before he disgraced himself, was fond of saying that there were two Americas. There are also two worlds, or at least two. There are actually many worlds, most of them invented by liberals who are long on fantasies and feelings but short on facts. But let’s just consider two of all the possible worlds. One world is the Real World, where facts support claims and the world is subject to the laws of physics, biology, geology, etc. The other world is Carol’s World.

Carol’s World exists in the mind of Carol Forster, a retired mental health counselor who helps to run a small-town newspaper. Carol’s World is subject to the laws of junk science and green idealism. In Carol’s World, it is perfectly acceptable, if not mandatory, to attack dynamic, conservative young leaders such as Governors Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin, even if Carol can’t quite get her facts straight to use as weapons against them. In Carol’s World, Carol can write all the nonsense her little heart desires, and she can have it published on websites like DigitalJournal.com without worrying about such pesky matters as accuracy.

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Disgraced Democrat former senator and vice presidential candidate John Edwards, before he disgraced himself, was fond of saying that there were two Americas. There are also two worlds, or at least two. There are actually many worlds, most of them invented by liberals who are long on fantasies and feelings but short on facts. But let’s just consider two of all the possible worlds. One world is the Real World, where facts support claims and the world is subject to the laws of physics, biology, geology, etc. The other world is Carol’s World.

Carol’s World exists in the mind of Carol Forster, a retired mental health counselor who helps to run a small-town newspaper. Carol’s World is subject to the laws of junk science and green idealism. In Carol’s World, it is perfectly acceptable, if not mandatory, to attack dynamic, conservative young leaders such as Governors Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin, even if Carol can’t quite get her facts straight to use as weapons against them. In Carol’s World, Carol can write all the nonsense her little heart desires, and she can have it published on websites like DigitalJournal.com without worrying about such pesky matters as accuracy.

Read More →