CEI Daily Update

Issues in the News

1. ENVIRONMENT

Ethanol stocks suffer setbacks.   CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis on ethanol’s claims as an environmentally friendly fuel:

“A leading justification for mandating the sale of ever-greater amounts of ethanol and biodiesel in the nation’s motor fuel supply is the claim that this will reduce greenhouse emissions and mitigate global warming. Horsefeathers! Three recent studies show that bio-fuel mandates actually contribute to global warming. A study by Nobel laureate Paul Crutzon and colleagues estimates that nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions released by corn production cause up to 50 percent more global warming than the substitution of ethanol for gasoline avoids.”

2. TECHNOLOGY

Software developers compete to create new applications for the Google Phone.CEI Expert Available to Comment: Technology Policy Analyst Cord Blomquist on the “open vs. closed” debate over wireless devices:

“Of course the real closed vs. open debate is whether we want an open economy. Open, that is, to varying business models–rather than one that is closed to any service or product that technophiles might describe with the now-curse-words ‘proprietary’ or ‘closed source.’ The techno-intelligentsia may value the notion of taking a phone from network to network, or being able to install Skype on anything with processor, but it turns out that most people couldn't care less. Ultimately that's what matters. The systems that are adopted shouldn't be chosen by uber-geeks and regulators, but by every-day consumers.”

3. BUSINESS

Analysts estimate losses from subprime mortgages could reach $400 billion worldwide. CEI Expert Available to Comment: Center for Entrepreneurship Director John Berlau and Senior Fellow Eli Lehrer on why Congress should let the market correct itself:

“To date, the crisis has been relatively minor—a small decline in homeownership combined with a small uptick in foreclosures, with well-off investors absorbing the bulk of the damage. Doing too much could turn a minor crisis into a major one affecting ordinary Americans.”

Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To contact a CEI expert for comment or interviews, please call the CEI communications department at 202-331-2273 or email to [email protected].