The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. ENVIRONMENT
The Discovery Channel prepares to air a new documentary on climate change science titled “Global Warming: What You Need to Know.”
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray on What Every Citizen Should Know About Global Warming.
“Alarm over the prospect of the Earth warming is not warranted by the agreed science or economics of the issue. Global warming is happening and man is responsible for at least some of it. Yet this does not mean that global warming will cause enough damage to the Earth and humanity to require drastic cuts in energy use, a policy that would have damaging consequences of its own. Moreover, science cannot answer questions that are at heart economic or political, such as whether the Kyoto Protocol is worthwhile.”
2. TECHNOLOGY
Microsoft faces consumer privacy concerns over anti-piracy software features.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Technology Studies Wayne Crews and Policy Analyst Brooke Oberwetter on the role of private industry in protecting data security:
“Improving information security will require a reconsideration of some of the basic features of the Internet, specifically the ease of anonymity and the open, public nature of the medium. Improvements can also be induced in the market by making individuals and companies internalize the costs of lax security practices and letting them reap the benefits of good practices through both lower insurance premiums and higher industry rankings.”
3. ENERGY
Average gas prices across the country hit $3 a gallon.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Journalism Fellow Timothy Carney explains how big government drives up gas prices in his new book The Big Ripoff : How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money.
“In California, oil company Unocal played a key role in writing clean-gasoline regulations for refiners, and then revealed they had a patent on the now-mandatory formula for summertime gasoline. Ethanol mandates also drive up pump prices, and highlight ethanol’s problems on the environmental and energy front.”
Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI Open Market.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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