Taxes and Choice Whenever I mention the idea of increasing gas taxes, some inevitably hear only half the message: A tax increase. They don’t want to know about any tradeoffs I propose, or if there […]
Obama’s Change of Heart on WPT
It seems that President-elect Obama has had a change of heart on enacting a windfall profits tax on oil companies. That, among other things, is angering the liberal wing of the Democratic Party: Liberals voice […]
Rank the Top 10 Oil Stories of 2008
As I recover from a backlog of work, one of the stories I plan to write is a post covering the top energy stories of 2008. Around that theme, Platts just put up a request […]
The Solar Thermal Option
I apologize for being out of pocket lately, and that trend is going to continue at least through this week. I have a staff meeting all week, and then I fly back to Europe next […]
Renewable Energy Highlights and Commentary
In Part I, I presented the notes on renewable energy that I took as I read through the 2008 International Energy Agency (IEA) World Energy Outlook. Here in Part II, I organize those notes, and […]
The 2008 IEA WEO – Renewable Energy Highlights
I am working on an essay on the renewable energy portion of the recently released 2008 IEA World Energy Outlook. In Part I, I merely present some of the highlights of the report (actually the […]
Mega-Bear versus Super-Spike
Update: Never say never. Today, the prediction I made in 2005 that WTI would never again fall below $50 has fallen. Front month WTI as of this writing has dipped to $49.75. But it will […]
Saudi Oil Tanker Hijacked
I don’t know if this is a first, but it’s the first time I have heard of an oil tanker being hijacked: Pirates attack Saudi ‘super tanker’ (CNN) — Pirates in the Arabian Sea have […]
Seeking Reader Input for a Book Project
It should be clear that I enjoy writing. Over the past three years, I have written 665 essays for this blog, a book chapter on renewable diesel in Biofuels, Solar and Wind as Renewable Energy […]
The Energy Return of Tar Sands
When evaluating energy technologies – whether conventional fossil fuels or alternative energy – one thing that I pay close attention to is the Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI). While there are legitimate criticisms of […]