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Energy makes modern society possible. It lights the night, heats our homes, powers our entertainment, and most importantly, it helps us conserve the ultimate non-renewable resource—time. Energy amplifies our ability to do work. Machines help autoworkers assemble cars, power tools help construction workers build our homes, gasoline-powered automobiles help us take care of [...]

GREEN JOBS: Fact or Fiction?
An Assessment of the Literature
January 2009
By Robert Michaels and Robert P. Murphy

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Introduction and Executive Summary
I. Green Recovery, Center for American Progress
II. Job Opportunities for the Green Economy, Political Economy Research Institute
III. Current and Potential Green Jobs in the U.S. Economy, Global Insight
IV. Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, American Solar [...]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2008
CONTACT:
Brian Kennedy (202) 346-8826
Chris Tucker (202) 346-8825
IER CEO: Obama Energy Plan Resurrects Malthusian ‘Limits to Growth,’ Enron ‘Green’ Energy Plays

HOUSTON – History warns against the energy plan proposed by President-elect Barack Obama, according to a new book written by the CEO and founder of the Institute for Energy Research.
“The heavy [...]

Affordable Energy, Greater Access to Domestic Energy Resources

Senator Barack Obama won the presidency last week, but voters, even in states where he handily won, voted down the very plans he favors with respect to energy policy.  President-elect Obama says he will require electric utilities to produce more electricity from renewable sources, wants to provide massive [...]

We have been hearing a lot lately about “green jobs,” which would be created largely by subsidizing politically correct energy sources like wind mills and solar panels. Senator Obama described his “green jobs” plan in a major address Monday:
And I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million [...]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2008
CONTACT:
Elizabeth Ray (703) 683-5004 Ext. 130
IER Analyzes the Obama and McCain Energy Plans
Washington, D.C. – The Institute for Energy Research (IER) today issued a comprehensive analysis of the energy proposals outlined by presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. Drawn from information from the candidates themselves, IER’s analysis is both [...]

Synopsis (104KB)

Complete Analysis (60KB)
The following comparison of Barack Obama’s and John McCain’s energy and environmental plans comes from the statements of their plans on their official web sites. The text first indicates what the respective plans say on each topic, and then provides IER’s analysis of each topic within the program.
Table of Contents

CAFE
Advanced Vehicle R&D
Electricity [...]

As Congress wrestled with the $700 billion bailout program, Google has come up with another massive spending program. Google wants the Federal government to spend $4.4 trillion to subsidize renewable energy. Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO quipped, “Given the apparent willingness of the U.S. government to write big checks in a crisis, we can do this on [...]

The first oil well in the U.S. was drilled in 1859. Do you know where?
Titusville, Pennsylvania. While historical records indicate that naturally occurring seeps of petroleum were collected and used for a variety of purposes as early as the 1600s, Colonel Edwin Drake was the first to devise a mechanical system to drill into underground [...]