California Voters Have a Chance To Address the State's Broken Environmental Regulations
The California Environmental Quality Act has led to long delays, enormous costs, and special interests that use the process to stop projects they dislike.
Energy & Environment
AI Isn't Just Extracting More Fossil Fuels—It's Unlocking Renewable Energy Too
A New Mexico geothermal project used AI to reduce surface infrastructure costs by 75 percent and speed up drilling by 35 percent.
Trump Hands Alliant Energy $5.1 Billion in Loans Ahead of Key Midterm Races in Iowa and Wisconsin
It’s the 10th energy project financed by the Trump administration’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing, which has over $289 billion in loan authority.
Trump Wants To Force Data Centers To 'Make Their Own Electricity.' Deregulation Would Work Better.
The president joins a long list of politicians who think the government knows best when it comes to data centers.
Nuclear Power Now Has Bipartisan Support
Majorities of both major parties now recognize its potential as a more clean and stable energy source.
Trump's $8 Billion Diesel Bailout Pays Farmers for a Problem He Created
The new Harvest Fuel Relief program is the latest payment to farmers squeezed by the president’s own war and tariffs.
You Can Trade Contracts on Elections, but Not on Onions. These College Students Want To Fix That.
Students at the University of Chicago are rallying to repeal the 1958 Onion Futures Act to give onion producers a tool that corn and wheat growers already have.
New Yorkers Don't Compost. Will They Be Fined Into Compliance?
The city mandates composting, but New Yorkers don’t like to be told what to do with their garbage—and don't seem all that clear on the rules in the first place.
Trump's War With Iran Pushed Him To Waive a Century-Old Shipping Law. Commerce Boomed.
The Jones Act requires all goods moved between American ports to be carried on American-built, American-crewed ships.
Adler v. Kochan on Suncor Energy v. Boulder County
A just released episode of the Blessings of Liberty podcast.
Justice Alito Gives a Fuller Explanation of His Suncor Recusal
One of several worthwhile tidbits in Justice Alito's Wall Street Journal interview.
The Energy Department Is Offering $4.2 Billion in Loans to Nuclear Projects in Ohio and Pennsylvania
Private investors are already pouring billions into America’s nuclear sector. The Trump administration wants a piece of the credit.
A Response to Michael Buschbacher on Suncor Energy v. Boulder County
In which I reject the suggestion that my arguments do not support the respondent's position before the Supreme Court
Unpacking the Suncor Oral Argument: Two Upcoming Events
Upcoming events at Penn Carey Law and CWRU at which I will discuss what we learned from oral argument in the Supreme Court's first case of the term.
Tom Cruise's New Climate Disaster Movie, Digger, Is a Disaster
A high-concept misfire deliberately designed to test the patience of viewers.
Justice Alito Says Recusal in Suncor Energy v. Boulder County a "Difficult Judgment Call"
Bloomberg reports on why Justice Alito decided to recuse from the first case of the Supreme Court's term.
On FOI Requests and Other Benefits of Working at a Public University
For twenty-five years I never had to think about freedom-of-information requests, but in the last year I have been the subject of two such requests.
As Suncor Approaches, Justice Alito Recuses
The petitioners appear to lose a vote they might need in Suncor Energy v. Boulder County.
The Collapse of Farm Exports Is the Most Underappreciated Story in American Politics
It was a direct result of President Donald Trump's trade war, as even the Department of Agriculture now admits.
District Court Dismisses Michigan's Hail Mary Antitrust Suit Against Fossil Fuel Companies
Michigan sued fossil fuel companies under an imaginative antitrust theory that the district court could not accept.
Congress Doesn't Agree on Much. Except That Your Car Needs AM Radio.
The push to mandate AM radios has brought Ted Cruz together with Bernie Sanders.
European Cars Are Spying on Their Drivers. The Same Tech Could Be Coming to the U.S.
New cars in the E.U. must now have cameras that track drivers' eyes and flag distractions.
South Korea Will Invest $100 Billion in U.S. Nuclear Sector To Boost AI and Appease Trump
Facing a 25 percent tariff threat, Seoul agreed to bankroll nuclear reactors and a Texas gas plant. The cost is already climbing past budget.
DC Circuit Rejects Energy Department's Claim of "Emergency" Authority to Order Coal Plant to Remain Open
A potentially significant rebuke of one of the more controversial and unusual elements of the Trump Administration's energy policy.
Trump Is Taking a Stake in Venezuela's Oil Industry and This Crony Is Cashing In
Alejandro Betancourt has become the key go-between for the Trump administration, Venezuela’s new regime, and American oil companies.
A 90-Day Waiver on Beef Tariffs Won't Rescue America's Cattle Industry
It will take more than three months to fix the problems plaguing the American beef industry.
Utah Needs More Housing. The Army Corps Shut Down 265 New Homes Because of a Small Ditch.
Despite the Supreme Court's best efforts to rein them in, federal regulators continue to abuse their authority under the Clean Water Act.
Data Centers Are Doing Your Dirty Work for You
Their few defenders often misunderstand their benefits.
West Virginia Wants To Use Data Centers To Eliminate Its Income Tax
The state's plan to attract large infrastructure projects is full of administrative hurdles and concedes many of the bad arguments made by NIMBY critics.
How Much Does New York Actually Recycle? The N.Y. Comptroller Says the State Doesn't Really Know.
A comptroller audit says New York State's recycling data are unreliable.
The Trump Administration's Hormuz Oil Numbers Don't Add Up
Energy Secretary Chris Wright claims that more oil left the Middle East in a day than before the war. But the industry isn’t buying it—and gas prices are still high.
Trump Administration Will Pay $1.2 Billion To Cancel More Offshore Wind Projects, Calling It 'Common Sense'
German energy company RWE decided "there is no path forward to permit these projects in the U.S. for the foreseeable future."
Is Environmental Science Less Objective?
An analysis of the use of subjective language in scientific papers.
Greg Abbott Once Called Texas the 'Epicenter' of AI. Now He's Freezing Data Center Construction.
The bipartisan backlash against data centers reaches the Lone Star State.
Amicus Brief in Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County
In the upcoming climate change case the Supreme Court should reject the industry and Trump Administration arguments for preemption-by-penumbra.
Trump Backs Down From Yet Another Empty Threat to Iran
We’re locked in a cycle: The president threatens to resume the war, he claims Iran backed down, and then he gets frustrated with Iran again.
A Bill To Crack Down on Chinese Cars Could Shut Mercedes-Benz Out of American Markets
A new bipartisan bill would ban manufacturers from selling cars in the U.S. if more than 15 percent of shares are Chinese-owned.
Border Agents Can Lie To Search Your Phone, but Wiping Your Own Data Could Land You in Prison
The government is charging Samuel Tunick for telling them a code that would erase all the data on his phone—after they tried to take it on false pretenses.
The Energy Department Admits the OMB Canceled Grants 'Solely' To Punish Trump's Political Opponents
The episode illustrates the president's routine weaponization of government against his enemies.
Global Hunger Falls From 35% in 1970 to 7.8%
Armed conflict and violence remain the primary drivers of acute food insecurity.
Will Courts Uphold the EPA's Rescission of the "Endangerment Finding"?
The legal arguments put forward by the EPA are weak and unpersuasive, and could undermine the Administration's position in other climate litigation.
Where Can the Data Centers Go?
In a committee hearing yesterday, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez complained about data centers' impacts on rural areas and industrial parks.
We've Been Wrong About Nuclear Power
Zion Lights discusses what environmentalists get wrong about nuclear power and why abundant energy is key to human prosperity.
The Iran War Is Back, Sort Of
The U.S.-Iranian peace memorandum has broken down, and violence is slowly ramping back up to a full-on war. Four Americans paid the price this weekend.
