Comment
Ben Lieberman’s CBS MarketWatch interview on Internet wine sales
Op-Eds
Environmentalists Becoming Less and Less Relevant
Environmental activists wanted two things to happen on Election Day—they wanted President Bush to lose and their cause to be a big reason…
Op-Eds
Energy Policy or Anti-Energy Policy?
There was a lot a campaign talk about our nation's energy policy, and Bush and Kerry offered their own competing energy plans. With…
Op-Eds
New York Summer Without New York Smog?
Summer is over, and it was a very good one for air quality in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />New York…
Op-Eds
New York’s Smog Free Summer
Summer is over, and it was a very good one for air quality. in. New York City. In fact, 2004 ranks as perhaps the cleanest…
Op-Eds
Lessons from the Gas Price Spike
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Labor Day weekend marked the end of summer and its high seasonal demand…
Op-Eds
We’re Lucky to Have Clean Air, but it’s not all Due to Luck
Summer is more than half over, and, thus far, it has been a very good one for air quality in the Chicago metropolitan area. By…
Op-Eds
Are Specialized Gasoline Blends Obsolete
As recently as the early 1990s, the nation's gasoline supply was fungible. The same regular, mid-grade, and premium fuel was…
Op-Eds
Smog Shrinkage
Summer is more than half over, and thus far it has been a very good one for air quality in theWashington, D.C. metropolitan area. By…
Comment
Statement of Ben Lieberman Before Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources, and Regulatory Affairs, House Committee on G
Op-Eds
If You Really Want to Reduce Gas Prices, Here’s How
Despite claims to the contrary, there is not much the federal government can do about high oil and gasoline prices in the short-term. Indeed, given…
Op-Eds
EPA Launches Costly New Smog Standard
On April 15, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched its new plan to tighten the national ambient air quality standard for smog. Policy experts warn the…
Op-Eds
Allow Arctic Refuge Drilling to Increase Supplies, While Cutting Red Tape to Make Refining Cheaper: How America Could Lower Soa
Despite claims to the contrary, there is not much the federal government can do about high oil and gasoline prices in the short term. Given…
Op-Eds
Sensible Policy Lost in Smog
The Environmental Protection Agency recently launched its massive new plan to fight smog. Get ready for another <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington mandate that will do more economic harm than environmental good. Ozone, the primary constituent of smog, is a lung irritant caused by motor vehicle and industrial pollution as well as natural emissions. Smog was perhaps the single biggest reason for the 1970 Clean Air Act, and has been heavily regulated since. According to EPA, it has declined more than 30 percent in the last three decades. Outside several trouble spots in California, virtually the entire nation now is in or near compliance with existing ozone air quality standards. And, due to measures already in the works (new motor vehicle emissions standards starting with the 2004 model year, new control requirements for power plants), those areas not yet in compliance are on their way toward it. Despite lack of evidence the existing ozone standard was deficient, the Clinton administration decided to tighten it. EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee concluded this tougher standard would not be “significantly more protective of public health,” and called the change a “policy judgment.” The agency's own cost-benefit analysis found the modest marginal benefits of the new standard outweighed by its costs. Nonetheless, EPA went ahead with the rule, sparking several years of legal challenges, all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court essentially deferred to EPA's judgment, and upheld the new standard. However, the legal delays meant this Clinton administration's rule, first promulgated in 1997, would have to be implemented by its successor. And George Bush's EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt now has obliged. Mr. Leavitt estimates compliance costs of $50 billion over the next 15 years. The specific control measures for the 474 counties currently violating the new standard will depend on the extent of noncompliance in each county. The possibilities include more stringent requirements on new or substantially modified industrial facilities, restrictions on highway construction projects, measures affecting small businesses, and more onerous vehicle inspection programs. Each of the 31 states with non-attainment areas must submit a compliance plan for EPA approval by 2007. These plans will likely remain in effect many years after. The expense will affect employment, traffic congestion, and the cost of living. Even gasoline prices may be pushed up. Areas violating the new smog standard may have to use one of the costly specialized gasoline blends that have proliferated in recent years. And many refiners now will have more difficulty obtaining approval for much-needed capacity increases. Of course, EPA's announcement of the rule gave the impression the U.S. smog problem is worsening. Nothing could be more untrue. But while the benefits of this new standard may prove hard to identify, the costs almost certainly will not.
Op-Eds
Refining the Battle Against High Gas Prices
Everyone knows that <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />America imports more than half of the oil it uses, but few are…
Op-Eds
From the Pumps to the Polls
Does the high price of gasoline hurt Bush or Kerry? It hurts both of them.<?xml:namespace prefix = u1 /> <?xml:namespace prefix = o…
Op-Eds
Federal Regulations Pump up Gasoline Prices
The stage is set for sky-high gasoline prices this summer. We probably won't threaten the inflation-adjusted record of $2.90 per gallon set in 1981,…
Op-Eds
The New Reason For Pain at the Pump
Everyone knows that the recent rise in the price of oil has had an effect at the pump, but something less well known…
Op-Eds
Supreme Court Rules EPA Can Override States on Environment
In an ongoing fight between states and the federal government over control of environmental policy, the federal government has notched an important victory…
Op-Eds
Clinton’s Midnight Madness vs. the Bush Administration
Remember all those “<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />midnight regulations” finalized by outgoing Clinton administration officials during their final two months…
Op-Eds
Driving Away Pollution
Your next new car or truck will be the cleanest-burning one you've ever owned. And it means the end to the already-diminishing problem…
Op-Eds
A Clear Mistake
The Clear Skies Initiative, President Bush's big environmental bill targeting power plant emissions, appears to be stalled in Congress. In an effort to…
Op-Eds
The Air Gets Cleaner, While Environmental Politics Gets Dirtier
The way the administration’s environmental critics tell it, you can’t see your hand in front of your face anymore because of all the pollution…
Op-Eds
New Rules May Give Diesel Vehicles a Needed Boost
The vast majority of Americans are satisfied with cars and sport-utility vehicles powered by gasoline. In contrast to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns…
Study
The Power of Positive Drinking: Are Alcoholic Beverage Health Claims Constitutionally Protected
Full Document Available in PDF Food and…
Op-Eds
Who Should Have Air Supremacy?
The Clean Air Act (CAA), perhaps the federal government's most powerful environmental tool, concedes in its very first section, “air pollution control at…
Op-Eds
Ozone Depletion’s Lessons for Global Warming
Depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer is slowing, according to a study scheduled for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research. At a press conference,…
Op-Eds
Are Small Particles Such a Big Problem?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, small particles in the air pose the greatest threat that it or any other regulatory agency is…
Op-Eds
D.C. Air Quality Levels
Another Washington summer is over, as is another season of Washington smog. While this summer's air quality was typical of recent years, many residents…
Op-Eds
Bush administration’s rule changes on the Clean Air Act (Letter to the Editor)
To the Editor: The Bush administration’s rule changes on the Clean Air Act’s new source review program should be judged in context (news article, Aug.
Comment
Comments Regarding DOE’s FY 2004 Priorities for the Appliance Standards Rulemaking Process
Op-Eds
Regulations Are Hidden Tax on Energy
It’s a good thing Congress is increasing the amount of money it spends to help the poor pay for energy, because these same legislators are…
Products
April/May edition of CEI’s Monthly Planet
Full Document Available in PDF Article in this edition:…
Op-Eds
Green Laws Will Pump Gas Buyers in Summer
So far, 2003 has been a rough year for America’s motorists. Labor unrest in Venezuela and uncertainty about Iraq sent the average price of gasoline up…
Op-Eds
Misperceptions At The Gas Pump
Gas prices have surged, as have the demands for the government to do something about it. But only a few of the factors affecting…
Comment
CEI Files Amicus Curiae Brief Against Excessive Air-Conditioner Regulations
Comment
CEI Files Brief In State Of Nebraska’s Arsenic Standard Lawsuit Against The EPA
Op-Eds
EPA’s $32 Trillion Negligible Risk
It is no surprise that federal agencies often tailor their interpretation of the facts and the law to support various policy goals. It should…
Comment
CEI Comments On The Food And Drug Administration’s Commercial Speech Rules
Op-Eds
Repealing E-Prohibition
Elliot Ness may have missed out on the web, but alcohol prohibition is alive and well over the Internet. More than half the states forbid…
Citation
EPA and Budget Office to Work Jointly on Diesel Soot Rules
Op-Eds
“A” for Alarmism & “F” for Facts
Every year, the American Lung Association (ALA) releases its annual report card on smog, and every year it gives an “F” to over half…
Op-Eds
The Coolest Part of a Bad Energy Bill: A Small Victory
There isn't much good news for consumers in the Senate energy bill passed last week. The world's greatest deliberative body seemingly forgot that the…
Op-Eds
Jumps At The Pump: Additives Add To The Price Of Gas
After staying relatively stable and inexpensive during most of the 1990s, gasoline prices have had a rocky time since 2000. In May of…
Citation
As Spring Arrives, Will Gas Price Hike Follow
Citation
Groups Challenge Ban on Health-Claims Labels
Op-Eds
Energy Bill That’s Not So Cool
With summer not too far away, we should all be thankful for affordable air conditioning, but a little-noticed provision in the Senate version of the…
Comment
CEI’s Comments On EPA’s Proposed Response To Remand Regarding Air Quality Standards For Ozone
Op-Eds
Red Tape and Tech
Lieberman Op-Ed in National Review Online During the tragedies of September 11th, our new technologies delivered extraordinary value. E-mails sent to handheld devices…
Op-Eds
Breathe Easy, But Not for Long
America's air quality continues to get better. A recently released Environmental Protection Agency report concludes that "since 1970, aggregate emissions of six principal pollutants tracked…