December 23, 2021
Science as Craftwork with Integrity
Editor’s Note: The coronavirus pandemic has brought onto the center stage of public debate our deep, although often unarticulated, disagreements about the nature of scientific knowledge and the authority of scientific experts. Seeking insights on these questions, we asked former New Atlantis associate editor M. Anthony Mills, who has written widely on philosophy, science, and expertise, to…
December 16, 2021
Banning Crude-oil Exports Would Increase Gasoline Prices
Having floated a possible export ban on crude oil as a trial balloon last month, the Biden administration earlier this week abandoned the idea, as opposition emerged quickly from Democrats in oil-producing districts. But the mere fact that this proposal received serious consideration illustrates three eternal truths about Beltway policy-making. The first is the virtual certainty of unanticipated or ignored adverse…
November 24, 2021
Oil and Gas Should Be the Tie That Binds Mexico, U.S. and Canada
Thursday’s first meeting between President Joe Biden, Canada’s Justin Trudeau and Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador was a missed opportunity for North American energy. The three face many shared challenges, but energy, which currently divides them, could instead be a common thread that binds them together. Silence at the highest level sends the wrong signal;…
November 18, 2021
A More Productive Way to Spread Federal Science Funding Around
In an age of many irreconcilable partisan divisions, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have quietly come to agree on at least one thing: the federal government must do more to shore up American science and technology. To that end, various pieces of bipartisan legislation aim to revitalize US research and development (R&D) by increasing funding for federal science agencies, particularly the…
November 18, 2021
When Climate Is King, Perversities Follow
Back in the old days, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission took its mandate seriously — specifically, to provide: Economically Efficient, Safe, Reliable, and Secure Energy for Consumers . . . at a reasonable cost through appropriate regulatory and market means, and collaborative efforts. Translation: A stance of neutrality and objectivity with respect to the complex choices…
November 9, 2021
Will ‘green Energy’ Produce More Jobs? Three Experts Discuss
As Washington considers increasing incentives for businesses moving to a clean-energy future, one of the big questions is: Will the “greening” of the economy result in more employment or less? Examples of “green jobs” include workers who build electric cars; construction contractors who install solar arrays and charging infrastructures; scientists who design carbon-capture solutions; and…
November 5, 2021
There Are No Free Lunches in Climate Politics
Fred Krupp gets everything wrong in “Methane and Other Climate Bargains” (op-ed, Nov. 2), his argument for sharp and “virtually cost-free” reductions in methane emissions. Using the EPA climate model, Mr. Krupp’s 30% reduction in methane emissions would reduce temperatures in 2100 by six one-hundredths of one degree Celsius, an effect that would not be…
October 29, 2021
Texas Must Show That the World Can Count on American Energy in a Crisis
Texas is at the center of a global energy crisis that is causing leaders around the world to warn of looming energy shortages. Texas relies on renewable energy backed by natural gas to fuel its growing electricity use, and is seeing both the benefits and challenges of being at the forefront of the global transition…
October 29, 2021
The SEC’s Climate ‘disclosure’ Gambit
Inside the Beltway, most priorities are driven by the perceived political imperatives of the moment rather than by any set of actual principles. The ongoing herculean effort by the Securities and Exchange Commission to promulgate a rule forcing public companies to disclose the “risks” of climate change for their investors is no exception. It is clear that this rule will be followed…
October 18, 2021
Would the Senators Please Remind FERC of Its Mandate?
Confirmation hearings can be bombastic and they can be banal. But there always is the option of reminding agency nominees clearly of the central responsibilities of their jobs upon confirmation, an important opportunity that now presents itself with the hearing October 19 before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee to consider the nomination of Willie L….