IER analyzes energy ‘plan’ proposed by the Speaker of the House

On Saturday, August 16, the Speaker of the House delivered a radio address focused on energy issues. The following analyzes some of the claims and proposal outlined by the Speaker in that address.
THE SPEAKER: “Over the past few months alone, Republicans have voted down [...]

Politicians have a knack for citing statistics that support their positions. Those who are opposed to increasing domestic supplies of energy are especially adept at citing statistics that make it seem as though it is “not worth it.” Government reports, while not all wrong, can be rife with such statistics.
Recently, for example, some [...]

by Mary Hutzler

American taxpayers footed a $16.6 billion bill for energy subsidies, tax breaks, loan guarantees, and the like in 2007 alone, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). That’s more than double the Federal subsidy level from eight years earlier. 
In fact, on an energy fuel basis, Congress has increased subsidies for [...]

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“An unprecedented expansion of EPA authority.” – EPA Administrator Johnson
Explaining the ANPR
The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that is it well on its way to regulating at least 85 percent of the energy used in America in the name of global warming (nevermind the fact that global temperatures have inexplicably not increased [...]

The “Pickens Plan” to reduce America’s dependence on foreign sources of oil by erecting massive wind farms and redirecting natural gas to the transportation market is fatally flawed.  IER has identified the following pitfalls:
Wind power is intermittent
Wind power is intermittent—electricity is generated only if and when the wind blows, and blows hard enough to spin [...]

IER takes a closer look at the “68 million acres” legend
 
Washington, DC – In the last few weeks the phrase “68 million acres” has become nearly ubiquitous in the national “debate” over energy policy. From its birthplace on the second page of Congressional “report” to the front page of major world newspapers, the “68 million [...]

A new study authored by IER economist Robert Murphy , Speculators Fixing Oil Prices? Don’t Bet On It , sheds some much needed light on the role speculation plays in the global oil market.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Record-high oil prices demand a target, and some politicians are increasingly pointing the finger at speculators in the commodities futures markets. [...]

IER’s economist, Robert Murphy, takes on Nordhaus’ dubious case for a carbon tax with Rolling the Dice.  The Murphy study is currently under submission at a peer-reviewed economics journal.
 
 
 

As gas prices climb, opponents of increasing domestic oil production are touting the following statistic to bolster their ‘no new production’ postion:
“Since 2000, drilling on land has increased dramatically – climbing about 66 percent– while gas prices continue to increase.”
What’s misssing?  Here are the facts:
·         Exploratory and development drilling has increased across the board since [...]

Source: Energy Information Administration
There are many components that go into the price at the pump for a gallon of gasoline. The biggest is the price per barrel of oil. And, as the price of oil has increased, that component has become a larger and larger percentage of gasoline’s total cost.
For example, the average price [...]