Climate Change in Copenhagen, Intel and Antitrust and Rep. Barton Takes on the EPA

Tempers run high at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Federal Trade Commission takes on Intel over allegedly anticompetitive practices.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) announces plans to counter the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent finding on greenhouse gases.

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1. ENVIRONMENT

Tempers run high at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Energy and Global Warming Policy Myron Ebell on the real news coming out of Copenhagen:

“The real news is that there is now a tremendous amount of animosity and distrust between the U.N. establishment and the environmental establishment. They know that they need each other, which is why the mainstream environmental NGOs have not made a stink and why the establishment press hasn’t made it a front page story. But the fissure arising out of the U.N.’s incompetence is going to take a long time to heal and could easily grow much wider. That is the very good news coming out of Hopenchangen.”

 

2. TECHNOLOGY

The Federal Trade Commission takes on Intel over allegedly anticompetitive practices.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Associate Director of Technology Studies Ryan Radia on the FTC’s misguided efforts:

“The Commission mistakenly equates Intel’s market share with market power. In fact, Intel has managed to sustain its market share over time only because it has continued to innovate aggressively and compete with archrival AMD to bring better processors to the market. This dynamic state of affairs has benefited consumers immensely. Spending millions of taxpayer dollars intervening in a well-functioning market is an enormous waste.” 

 

3. CONGRESS

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) announces plans to counter the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent finding on greenhouse gases.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis on the impact of this move:

“This is huge. It means that Republicans are going to insist that climate and energy policy be made by the people’s elected representatives rather than by non-elected judges, litigators, and bureaucrats. It means that EPA regulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) under the Clean Air Act will be an issue in the 2010 elections. It means that citizens will be able to hold accountable — and punish at the ballot box — any Member of Congress who votes against Barton’s resolution of disapproval and in favor of the compliance burdens, rising energy costs, and litigation risks to the economy that EPA regulation of CO2 unavoidably entails.”

 

Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.