I read but try not to blatantly plagiarize Keith Johnson's blog posts... yet he almost always read well between the lines and concisely posts it.
Here he goes again pulling the Climate Standoff, Chinese Wind issue, German Nukes and Cap-and-Trade Disaster all together this week.
Here is quick blurb, but subscribe to his feed to get the good stuff - Short and Sweet!
Cap-and-Trade: "If you liked what Enron, AIG, and the Federal Reserve did to the economy, you'll love cap and trade."
That's the thrust of a new paper from Louisiana State University economist Joseph Mason. Cap-and-trade programs, like the one passed by the House and simmering in the Senate, pose a couple of big problems, he says: They don't work, and they can gum up the rest of the economy. Like many economists, Dr. Mason pines for the elegance of a carbon tax to tackle climate change.
France offers a lesson in how to please no one with its new carbon tax: which upsets both consumers and environmentalists, in the WSJ. Not to mention free-traders, since it includes a carbon tariff, in the FT.
Whatever you do, don't count on carbon offsets to save the day: A new report from Friends of the Earth lambasts offsets as a tool to tackle climate change, at Solve Climate.
Geothermal power can't catch a break: A German geothermal project is put on hold after fresh fears of earthquakes from deep drilling, in the NYT.
Read more of Keith Johnson's blog posts hereThere's lots of sturm und drang over the fate of Germany's nuclear reactors. It's the wrong debate, says The Economist: "To keep the lights burning, Germany may ultimately have to choose between missing its targets to reduce greenhouse gasses or becoming more beholden to Russia for natural gas. That debate could turn radioactive."
