CEI Daily Update

Issues in the News

1. ENVIRONMENT

International aid agencies continue to criticize the expanded use of biofuels as harmful to the environment and the poor in developing countries.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Scholar Fran Smith on the vast amount of land that would be needed for new biofuels production:

“In a Competitive Enterprise Institute paper last fall, agricultural economist Dennis Avery noted that about 440 million acres are now used for U.S. crop plantings for food, fiber and feedstock. Mr. Avery said that more than 546 million acres would be needed to replace current gasoline use with corn ethanol because of its low energy intensity.”

2. INTERNATIONAL

Pro-freedom activists gather in Washington, D.C. to protest the imprisonment of student and blogger Kareem Amer for criticizing the Egyptian government.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Bureaucrash Crasher-in-Chief Jason Talley on the importance of this week’s demonstration:

“This week we mark the [one-year] anniversary of Kareem being imprisoned for peacefully expressing his beliefs about religion and politics in Egyptian society. We’re here to remind the government of Egypt that people of conscience around the world will not forgot about his unjust treatment.”

3. HEALTH

Oregonians vote down a tobacco tax increase to fund children’s health care.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Michelle Minton on the need for parents to secure health insurance for their own children:

“Rather than forcing neighbors to pay for their kids’ medical care by penalize what they deem ‘irresponsible’ behavior (smoking), responsible parents ought to seek employment from only those employers offering insurance for their workers.”

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

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