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March 14, 2023
No One Is in Control
In 1878, a wave of yellow fever swept through the American South and spread out through the Mississippi River Valley. Along with cholera, “yellow jack,” as it was known—after the yellow quarantine flags displayed on ships afflicted by the contagion—had long been a scourge of the American South. As far back as the 1790s, Congress…
October 24, 2022
Saving Liberalism from Itself
The Crisis of Liberalism Liberalism is in crisis. Its defenders, who see liberalism as a bulwark against tyranny, fear that illiberalism now threatens to overwhelm liberal democracy. Its critics, who say liberalism is a failure that erodes community and tradition, welcome a “post-liberal” order. Today’s liberalism debate gives the false impression that this crisis is…
September 30, 2022
Here’s How to Improve Manchin’s Permitting Proposal — to Help More Energy Projects
While Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has withdrawn his own permitting bill, it is expected to surface again as Congress turns to permitting reforms to make it easier to build the necessary infrastructure for the energy systems of the future — especially after authorizing $370 billion in funding for new, cleaner-energy sources. All the money in the world will not help…
September 26, 2022
Biden’s Rule-Breaking Integrity Official
A Biden administration official whose job is to ensure the “integrity” of government science has an integrity problem of her own. Last month the National Academy of Sciences suspended environmental scientist Jane Lubchenco for violating basic principles of research integrity. Despite this disciplinary action from one of the most prestigious science organizations in the world—and her own…
August 11, 2022
Enthusiasm for the CHIPS and Science Act Is Overblown
Will the CHIPS and Science Act be an inflection point for the U.S. scientific enterprise? The often overlooked “science” portion of the new bill is the culmination of one of the core legislative priorities of Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Todd Young (R-IN): the Endless Frontier Act (EFA)—an attempt to jumpstart American science and innovation…
July 29, 2022
A New Policy Chief Brings Order and Stability to Biden’s Science Agenda
After two years of controversy and turmoil, President Biden’s federal science agenda finally may be getting back on track. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation just voted to advance the confirmation of Dr. , the nominee to fill Biden’s only empty cabinet position — director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and…
June 30, 2022
Supreme Court Holds EPA Can’t Cap Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Power Plants
The Supreme Court just decided “the most closely watched environmental case in decades,” West Virginia v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In the 6-3 opinion, the Court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot use Clean Air Act §111(d) to set power-sector-wide greenhouse gas emissions standards for state power plants. The Court also explains that the…
June 21, 2022
Look at Biden’s Eyes — Where’s His Energy Plan?
“Look at my eyes. I guarantee you: we’re going to end fossil fuels.” That was President Biden’s dramatic 2020 campaign promise. On his first day as president he began to fulfill that promise, pausing oil drilling and leasing on federal lands and killing the partially-built Keystone XL pipeline. And investors took him seriously. Even as…
June 8, 2022
Sorry America, Oil Is As Secure As It Gets
American consumers are still suffering from record gasoline prices as the summer driving season kicks off. President Biden recently proclaimed that these prices were driving an “incredible transition” that will make the world “stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels.” The unfortunate reality is that oil is as secure as it gets. America should expand…
April 14, 2022
Biden’s Blame Game Will Raise Oil Prices
Instead of taking steps to boost U.S. oil and gas production amid skyrocketing prices and the war in Ukraine, President Biden is standing by his green-energy goals and blaming fossil-fuel companies for the consequences. This will make today’s energy problems even worse. Though he campaigned on a promise to ban drilling on federal lands and…