Category Archives: Energy policy

Why World Coal Consumption Keeps Rising; What Economists Missed

Posted on December 19, 2012 by

A primary reason why coal consumption is rising is because of increased international trade, starting when the World Trade Organization was formed in 1995, and greatly ramping up when China was added in December 2001. Figure 1 shows world fossil … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternatives to Oil, Energy policy, Financial Implications | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 59 Comments

Energy Leveraging: An Explanation for China’s Success and the World’s Unemployment

Posted on December 6, 2012 by

If an employer wants to maximize profits, it will want to leverage its use of high-priced energy sources.  From an employer’s point of view, there are basically three kinds of energy, from most to least expensive: Human energy Petroleum energy Everything … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy policy, Financial Implications | Tagged , , , , , , , | 116 Comments

Understanding Our Oil-Related Fiscal Cliff

Posted on November 29, 2012 by

The United States’ fiscal cliff is very much related to several changes we have been going through recently, and will likely continue to experience: High oil prices (more than triple their level ten years ago). High oil prices cause people … Continue reading →

Posted in Financial Implications, News Related Post, Energy policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 157 Comments

Climate Change: The Standard Fixes Don’t Work

Posted on November 20, 2012 by

World leaders seem to have their minds made up regarding what will fix world CO2 emissions problems. Their list includes taxes on gasoline consumption, more general carbon taxes, cap and trade programs, increased efficiency in automobiles, greater focus on renewables, … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy policy, Financial Implications | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 122 Comments