CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. ENERGY
Crude oil prices rise above $100 a barrel for the first time.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Energy Policy Myron Ebell on what can be done about rising prices:
“Offshore areas and the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge potentially contain colossal reserves of oil and natural gas, but that won’t do us any good until Congress allows exploration and production. Americans who are tired of high gas prices should tell their Senators and Representatives to stop passing bills that will lead to higher gas prices and instead start passing bills that will increase oil production in America.”
2. ECONOMICS
Education officials in Washington, D.C. waste tens of millions of dollars on school buildings due to poor maintenance.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader elaborates the details of the situation:
“The Washington, D.C. school system recently spent tens of millions of dollars to buy sophisticated new boilers to heat the schools. Then it allowed them to break down because it wouldn’t spend a mere $100,000 per year maintaining them. It wouldn’t do the most basic things to keep them from deteriorating, like treating water to remove mineral deposits that build up in (and ultimately destroy) boilers. Now, it is spending more than $10 million per year to replace new boilers that are being destroyed through neglect.”
3. LEGAL
The Illinois legislature outlaws smoking in any building other than a private residence.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Eli Lehrer on the legal repercussions of the ban:
“What bothers me about the Illinois smoking ban … is the limitation it places on private property owners’ use of their own premises. Clearly, smokers would face lots of restrictions even without a ban. All of the nation’s major restaurant chains banned smoking long before any state required them. Marriott, the nation’s biggest hotel chain, is smoke free by corporate policy. But, why shouldn’t business owners be able to decide for themselves if they’ll permit it — particularly in places where it’s long been customary? Does anyone enter a casino looking for a smoke-free environment?”
Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.
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