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Will Greenery Promote Growth, and Save the World (and Money)?
In Europe, consumers pay up to $9 a gallon for gasoline, in part because European Union governments tax gasoline at rates of $2 to $3…
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Why Isn’t Gore Hounding Olympic Torch?
Tibetan protesters aren’t the only ones who ought to be dogging the Olympic torch relay. When Al Gore received his Nobel Peace prize he said…
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Green jobs law an empty promise
If lawmakers in Olympia are serious about global warming, there is a simple solution that economists agree is the easiest, most efficient…
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CEI Fights Sierra Club Demands for CO2
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and more than a dozen other conservative groups filed an amicus brief March 21 against a Sierra Club…
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Bush Beats Gore on Climate?
George Bush appears to have beaten Al Gore again.
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Re: “Maryland’s Diversity Police Trample Basic Freedoms”
The Examiner was right to criticize Maryland legislators for passing a bill that would force private and public colleges to report on what…
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A Maverick Climate Policy
Republican nominee for president John McCain recently returned from a whirlwind tour of Europe meant to promote his global statesmanship. In Europe,…
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Bear Fire Sale Leaves Owners Without A Say
Bear Stearns shareholders, the true owners, are being denied a voice in the fate of the firm.
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Freedom and its Digital Discontents
Read John Berlau's closing statement in the Economist.com debate "Proposition: By intervening to regulate business and financial risks, governments have made things worse."…
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Global Smearing
By any standard, atmospheric physicist Dr. S. Fred Singer is a remarkably accomplished scientist. But his outspoken questioning of global warming alarmism has just earned…
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No Dice
Anybody who has spent time in Washington knows that Congress often passes bad laws. But even the most widely derided laws — think…
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The Global Warming Bubble
You didn’t have to be a rocket scientist in the 1990s to figure out that speculative investment in dot-coms with no revenues would be disastrous.
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Less is More
Wayne Crews tells us that while we need control of the fiscal state–but just as badly we need to rein in the regulatory state.
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Freedom and its Digital Discontents
John Berlau, director of CEI's Center for Entrepreneurship, debates Sarbanes-Oxley in the Economist…
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The Empower Eliot Spitzer Bill
Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation yesterday because of his alleged involvement in a prostitution ring. But this is far from his real scandal.
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The Television Writers Strike: Was It Worth It?
This winter’s strike by television writers interrupted the TV-watching habits of millions of people worldwide. But why did it happen, and did the…
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The Washington Post-er Child for Climate Bias
Washington Post reporter Juliet Eilperin leads the pack in this year’s contest for biased climate journalism.
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Breath Is Toxic Waste?
The federal government soon may declare your very breath to be toxic regardless of its minty freshness.
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Cirque de Solar Power: New York Conference Puts Lie to ‘Consensus’
A strange thing happened last year Down Under. A shark ate a kangaroo. That wasn’t the odd part. Inexplicably, the media found themselves unable to…
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Energy Dollars and Sense
Rising energy costs threaten the U.S. economy, and the GOP doesn’t seem to care. Last December, Congressional Republicans joined a Republican president in support of…
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Candidates Fail Energy Independence Test
All the presidential candidates say they’re for energy independence. So why didn’t they do something about it when they had the chance?…
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Sexual Harassment: A Strange, Vague ‘Tort’
On Wednesday, I discussed how the courts can be downright hostile to employers in sexual harassment cases, playing a game of bait-and-switch regarding whether…
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Sexual Harassment Bait and Switch
In sexual harassment cases, many courts play a game of bait and switch with employers. When they want to hold the employer liable, they…
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Prejudice and Double Standards in Sexual Harassment Cases
Earlier, I discussed how judges in the New York area, such as the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, enforce discriminatory double standards in sexual…
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Double Standards at Duke—and in the Courts
Recently, Stuart Taylor wrote about sexual double standards at Duke University. Duke paid $3,500 to finance a performance by strippers and prostitutes…
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Looming Lightbulb Liability
The speeding freight train carrying toxic waste liability for makers, sellers and purchasers of compact fluorescent lightbulbs, or CFLs, was only faintly audible in the…
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Hungarian Original
On a hot June day beneath a searing sun, California Democratic Congressman Tom Lantos, who passed away this week, joined President Bush and others,…
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Stay Poor
It's bad enough when European and American politicians desperate to "do something" about global warming appear willing to sacrifice economic growth in their own…
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Mayor Gloomberg
It may be time to get the butterfly net for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. After speaking at a United Nations meeting on…
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Lights out, America?
The lights may soon go out in Washington, D.C. — and it could happen where you live, too. "Electric power has already…
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A Disaster in the Making
Late last year, two recently elected southern Republican governors, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal and Florida's Charlie Crist, vowed to work together for a "national catastrophe fund"…
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Transforming Korean Peninsula
The Bush administration’s attention is focused on the Middle East, but the Korean Peninsula also requires attention. The impending inauguration of conservative Lee Myung-bak,…
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Keep Virginia market free
Perhaps more than any other state, Virginia has been a cradle for the ideas of economic liberty. From the writings of Founding Fathers such as…
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Hurricane Hysteria Revisited
Will global warming increase hurricane activity? Two studies published in the last week arrived at opposite conclusions. A link between warmer sea surface temperatures and…
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Global warming solution hurts people more than warming
Participants in President Bush’s international climate conference this week in Hawaii should know that the “solution” to global warming — expensive energy — slows economic…
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Comcast in the Crosshairs
Despite Comcast's ascendancy, the cable provider remains vulnerable - yet its greatest threat is not from Baby-Bell competitors but from lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
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Capturing Carbon Pipe Dreams
If you enjoy the benefits of affordable and readily available electricity, a new report from the non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) may spur you…
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Where’s the Beef?
It’s not often that American food companies join hands with environmental and consumer activists to call for greater government control over the nation’s food…
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Europe’s Continued Hostility to GM Crops Runs Afoul of Science, WTO
France, Germany, and the United Kingdom may have new leaders who bring the promise overall of better trans-Atlantic relations, but when it comes to the…
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Trade Makes Intellectual Pursuits Possible
Many opponents of free trade like to appeal to a higher ideal. They see material progress as vapid and unimportant. But what about intellectual…
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Lawmakers, undo some of 2007 reforms
A year has passed since Gov. Charlie Crist and a nearly unanimous Legislature hailed the arrival of a new era for Florida’s property insurance…
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Ethanol mandate would harm CO economy
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Colorado, beware: An army of well connected lobbyists has persuaded Congress to adopt an ethanol policy that's…
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Romney Had a Hammer
Mitt Romney’s surprisingly decisive victory in Michigan kept him in the race for the Republican nomination, but he wasn’t the only one Tuesday night…
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Downside to Ethanol
USA TODAY’s story on cellulosic ethanol reports only the potential benefits and doesn’t mention the huge burdens it will have to overcome ("General Motors…
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Manmade Antarctic Melting, Indeed
A new study, much hyped by the media, blames humans for escalating ice loss in Antarctica. The media, however, seems to have no idea…
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The Conspiracy to Deny the Poor Mobility – and Opportunity
Mobility is prosperity—a fact that humans have recognized since the dawn of civilization, when population centers arose next to navigable waterways. Yet this simple…
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What Race to the Bottom?
Free trade creates new opportunities, jobs, and value for consumers. Now will someone please tell Congress? As it begins its new session, Congress’s agenda…
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Grantor’s Tax Should Be Repealed, Too
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine now wants to repeal the abusive-driver fees contained in Virginia’s 2007 transportation law, even though he signed that law and…
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Discontinue Subsidies
Regarding “Family farming Ladue” (Jan. 14): U.S. farm subsidies are so corrupt, so distorting and so harmful to poor Americans that they should be…
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Vaccine Vindication
The vaccine preservative Thimerosal is not linked with autism, a new study reports. The data also suggest that the dilettante "scientist" Robert F. Kennedy,…
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FCC Leader Unnecessary
Kelley correctly concludes that there is a “vast wasteland” created by television. But while discussing her opinion, she ignores a few precious details: Waste…
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Hillary’s (Video) Gamesmanship
Hillary Clinton's "It Takes a Village" approach means the Village, i.e. the government, ordering parents how to raise their kids through government mandates and regulation.
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Newt Gingrich Out-Greens Al Gore?
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Top 10 Climate Myth-Busters for 2007
"I’ve made up my mind. Don’t confuse me with the facts." That saying most appropriately sums up the year in climate science for the…
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Fix H1-B Visa Program
The Dec. 11 story “Immigrants wait years for green cards” accurately describes a tragic situation compounded by anfractuous immigration laws and bad public policy.
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Not Their Money to Give Away
The Post was right to criticize judges for taking money from class- action lawsuit settlements and giving it to charities that…
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Somewhere, Mr. Edison Gently Weeps
A New Yorker cartoon from several years ago shows a vast, cubicle-filled office, with a manager explaining that the "dim fluorescent lighting is meant to…
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A Lightbulb Tea Party?
“No man's life, liberty or property is safe while the legislature is in session.” That comment by New York State Surrogate Court Judge…
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Free the Media
This story illuminates a disagreement about the state of traditional media ownership in the United States (“GAO report disputes FCC media data,” Dec. 18).
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Follies of the FHA: Another subprime idea
“How could they have been so stupid?” That's the million-dollar question being asked as mortgage defaults have increased on loans that carried much more…
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Incomprehensible regulatory regime covers subprime loans
Sir, Patti Waldmeir (“How to make the best of a subprime mess”, Legal Counsel December 12) rightly observes that economies thrive when everyone knows…
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Bailout Blues
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An Industry Worth Its Weight in Gold
Originally published in Spanish in the Sunday, December 16, 2007 edition of El Comercio newspaper, Quito, Ecuador. Translated by Ecuador Mining News…
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Smithsonian Owes Debt to Commercialization
Marsha Mercer's “Selling of the Smithsonian” (Commentary, Wednesday) criticized the new “commercialized” Mall because it has to raise money from dreaded corporations. Her criticism…
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Will Al Gore Make Peace With Reality?
Accepting his share of the Nobel Peace prize this week, Al Gore said that “. . . we have begun to wage war on…
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Subprime Borrowers: Not Innocents
A simple look at the blunt reality reveals that borrowers themselves should assume primary responsibility for the current subprime crisis. Millions of borrowers, all…
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The Land of Unkept Climate Commitments
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says that California "leads the world" on climate change. He’s right, but not the way he thinks. In fact, the…
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FCC auction won’t help public safety
The Mercury News (Editorial, Dec. 9)argued that the FCC’s auction of the airwaves would greatly aid public safety by creating a national broadband…
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Opposing view: Plan Hurts Future Borrowers
The government sure has a funny prescription for restoring confidence in America's credit markets. It purports to solve the nation's credit crunch — a…
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The Greenest Hypocrites of 2007
Green has traditionally been the color of the deadly sin of envy. But this year, a trendy upstart mounted a serious challenge to envy’s…
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Mississippi Shouldn’t Have to Pay for Climate Change
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Miles to Go: How many vehicles actually meet Speaker Pelosi’s 35-mpg fuel-economy standard?
Last Friday night, after months of wrangling, House Democratic leaders agreed to support legislation requiring the average car and light truck to achieve 35…
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Keep FCC’s hands off cable television
USA TODAY's story on re-regulating cable falls short (“FCC retreats on cable regulation plan,” Money, Wednesday). Since cable was deregulated by the Federal Communications…
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Uncle Sam’s CAFE Panacea: Killing Drivers, Increasing Costs
With the Bush administration’s support, Congress is pushing to increase fuel economy standards for American autos. The measure is supposed to save energy…
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It’s the Sun, Stupid
When the international global warming alarm-ocracy gathers for its annual convention on the balmy island of Bali next week, is there any chance that…
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A More Competitive Europe
Your article “EU to identify lagging economic sectors” (Nov. 20) discussed a European conference where 23 sectors of the European economy were identified as…
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U.N. Climate Distractions
The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just issued the final installment of its year-long scare-the-pants-off-the public assessment…
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TRA Should Open Bahrain to Competition
In response to “TRA seeks consumers’ comments on competition” (GDN, Nov. 14), the author described a ludicrous situation with an obvious solution. A regulatory…
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Greens are all wet on bottled water
Thanks to environmental activists and busybody lawmakers, bottled water may soon be more expensive and less accessible. They say bottled water is…
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Greens are all wet on bottled water
Thanks to environmental activists and busybody lawmakers, bottled water may soon be more expensive and less accessible. They say bottled water is…
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Living up to green ‘standards’
In his HGTV show “Living with Ed,” actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. shows his viewers how to live green. Begley certainly more…
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Cable TV’s Monopolies
Frank Ahrens's Nov. 12 news story, “FCC Moves to Place Restrictions on Cable TV,” was highly misleading in its description of a “largely unregulated…
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The Frivolous iSuit
California resident Timothy Smith has sued Apple and AT&T over the iPhone, accusing them of illegal monopolistic behavior. The iPhone…
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Uncertain Antitrust Trajectory
The proposed XM/Sirius satellite merger — awaiting OKs from the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — represents the antitrust establishment’s latest target……
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Global Warming’s Bottom Line
Sen. Hillary Clinton last week proposed that publicly-owned companies should be required to disclose to shareholders the financial impacts of global warming. Financial…
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US barring import of brilliant minds
Sir, Gideon Rachman's article “Hearts, minds and immigration” (November 13) wonderfully describes the current political arguments concerning immigration policy. But while discussing the US,…
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An Immaculate Smithsonian
The Smithsonian isn't going far enough in returning oil industry donations for its ocean exhibit [“Smithsonian Questions $5 Million in…
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‘Profit motive’ can benefit everyone
If Thomas Robertson, the new dean of Wharton School, really wants his students to be a "force for good’"in the world, he ought to…
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Global Warming’s Senseless Consensus
Is there a “consensus” on global warming among the scientists participating in the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)? To find out,…
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Eliminating Prison Rape
It has been far too long in coming but, yesterday, the Federal Prison Rape Elimination commission released its report on elimination and prevention…
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This just in
Mark Allen’s "FCC should face reality" [guest commentary, Nov. 8] rightly points out the negative effects of the FCC’s media-ownership rules. One not…
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This Just In
Mark Allen's “FCC should face reality” [guest commentary, Nov. 8] rightly points out the negative effects of the FCC's media-ownership rules. One not mentioned,…
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Federal Ethanol Mandates Will Plow Us All Under
Holman W. Jenkins Jr.'s column “Cheap Shot at Toyota,” (editorial page, Oct. 24) rightly points out the significant negative consequences of the ethanol “cornrush”…
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Sea Treaty Would Crush US Entrepreneurs
The Law of the Sea Treaty, or LOST, is the most important treaty you've never heard of. It would turn over all of the…
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Junk Science: Food Nannies’ Halloween Cancer Scare
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Ecoterrorism Kills
With reports that some of the fires in California may have been started by arsonists, some people have speculated that all the fires were…
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Kyoto-Style Bill Rushing Quietly Through Senate
Just last week conservatives cheered obvious progress in derailing the bipartisan push to quietly adopt the sovereignty-eroding Law of the Sea Treaty or “LOST”…
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Self-Interest: Inconvenient Truth of Climate Change
Al Gore has called on humans to address climate change “as a species.” Inconveniently for Gore, however, Homo sapiens are parsed into nation-states that have…
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Hogging All the Corn
This fall, Congress will consider an aggressive ethanol production mandate that spells bad news for pork producers in the Tar Heel State. …
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California Fire Smokescreen
Are climate alarmists using the Southern California wildfires to fan the flames of global warming? Are environmentalists and government bureaucrats using global warming…