"The reality is that tariffs harm most manufacturing jobs. Roughly 60% of all goods imported are intermediary goods or materials used for domestic manufacturing, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Many pipeline-manufacturing companies import specialty casings for oil and gas projects. How ironic for any Republican to call for an 'all of the above' energy policy yet support making hydrocarbons more difficult and expensive to produce through protectionism."
Drones and satellites are making better, life-saving hurricane forecasts
"For storm intensity forecasts in particular, NOAA has been developing a new system known as HAFS — the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System — and hopes to implement it next spring. HAFS will 'provide an operational analysis and forecast out to seven days' and allow scientists 'to see multiple storms at once to understand how they interact,' NOAA says."
UK Forbids Fracking After One Week
"Additional energy development would lower electricity and gasoline bills, giving people more income. It would give the UK independence from friendly energy producers, such as the United States, and unfriendly ones, such as Russia and OPEC. As the UK moves to reduce its budget deficit by cutting spending and increasing growth, using its existing energy resources should be an important part of the package."
Biden’s Proposed Windfall Tax on Gas Companies Is a Bad Idea
Blaming these companies negates the fact that high profits are being driven by global energy shortages.
Maker’s Mark’s case for business conservation of nature
"The private sector has an opportunity to pave a path forward for other sectors. Companies can set high standards for conservation and regeneration that incorporate the latest science and technology, filling the gaps where policy may stop short — or move too slowly."
NRC Staff Whiffs On Nuclear Licensing Modernization
"NRC staff claim they have met the mandate given to them by Congress. But the sheer length of the proposed regulations alone demonstrates this is not the case. The draft framework is twice as long as either of the legacy, prescriptive licensing frameworks, Part 50 and 52, that it is intended to supplant. That is because the staff largely cut and pasted the old rules into the new framework, then added further burdensome regulations, including qualitative health objectives that cannot be complied with and expanded requirements for the notorious 'As Low As Reasonably Achievable' radiation standard, a further invitation to endlessly ratchet regulatory requirements. These latter two standards have been added by NRC staff despite longstanding and clear direction from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission not to use either standard in the way that staff proposes to use them."
A carbon capture process moves forward in New York City
John Caulfield of Building Design + Construction reports on a modular carbon capture technology that is moving forward in New York City. “It works this way: CarbonQuest’s proprietary technology captures CO2 from a building’s flue exhaust before it escapes as a greenhouse gas. Subsequent to this capture, the CO2 undergoes a multistage process that isolates carbon dioxide...
Why Does the U.S. Tax Code Penalize R&D?
"Returning to R&D expensing—by which investments are written off immediately—makes sense. Virtually every single country around the world allows companies to deduct the full cost of R&D—and many subsidize it heavily. China, among other countries, does so using a 'super-deduction,' allowing companies to deduct more than 100% of their R&D costs. In China, companies may deduct 175% of R&D expenses. The U.S. is the outlier; it punishes investment by not letting companies deduct even 100% of R&D costs."
Europe’s Answer to Biden’s Climate Bill Is Still Murky Green
"Coming up with a clear-cut response to American largesse is tricky for the EU as it involves negotiations between 27 member states. Also, Europe is ahead of the U.S. in some elements of its shift to clean energy. Excluding hybrids, electric vehicles accounted for 12% of new passenger vehicles sold in the EU last year, versus 5.8% in the U.S."
West Warms to Geothermal Energy as a Path to Clean Power Goals
"Geothermal plants provide a steady, on-demand source of electricity, known as dispatchable generation. They pump steam or hot water from wells hundreds or thousands of feet underground to power turbines. Some leaders think such projects will complement wind and solar farms, whose production can vary based on weather conditions or the time of day."