Avoiding a 21st-Century Dust Bowl

Avoiding a 21st-Century Dust Bowl

Mother Nature found a cruel way to demonstrate the difference between political rhetoric and reality when this summer’s record-breaking drought coincided with the writing of a new U.S. Farm Bill. The House Agriculture Committee’s draft 2012 Farm Bill will...
We Can’t Afford Energy Subsidies and Tax Breaks

We Can’t Afford Energy Subsidies and Tax Breaks

Last year, the top six U.S. oil companies made $148.7 billion in profits. That works out to about $407 million a day, $17 million an hour, or $283,000 per minute. At that pace, in roughly the amount of time it will take to read this commentary, just these six oil...
Big Oil’s Free Ride

Big Oil’s Free Ride

Over Memorial Day weekend, tens of millions of Americans will take road trips, emptying their wallets at the pump. The oil industry hardly needs the boost this year. Just in the first quarter of 2011, oil companies posted billions of dollars in profits. They’re...
Nuclear Power Rips off Taxpayers

Nuclear Power Rips off Taxpayers

We have all watched the nuclear emergency that followed Japan’s tragic earthquake and tsunami with fear and sympathy for those in the surrounding community and admiration for the brave crews working to reduce the harm and risks of radiation exposure. Meanwhile,...