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Tag: Energy

Deepwater Horizon: Drawn-Out Tempest in a Teacup

posted 4 years ago on April 17th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
By Harold Brown The April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was called catastrophic by many. President Obama declared, “This oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced;” the National Resource Defense Council said, two years later, “a people wronged and a region scarred remains.” Five years later, what remains of this “worst environmental disaster” and “scarred” region? There were many projections, estimates and guesses – before and after the well was finally capped – about how many millions of barrels of crude spilled into the Gulf. Photos of pelicans slimed in oil, dolphins smothered, beaches covered in black, and tar-balls strewn like rocks on otherwise white sand were shown to prove how… View Article

Friday Facts: April 3, 2015

posted 4 years ago on April 3rd, 2015 by Leave a Comment
It’s Friday! Quotes of Note “There is a rank due to the United States, among nations, which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.” – George Washington “He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.” – Thomas Jefferson “Our freedom of choice in a competitive society rests on the fact that, if one person refuses… View Article

Friday Facts: March 27, 2015

posted 4 years ago on March 27th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
It’s Friday! Please note: FRIDAY FACTS is made possible by the generosity of our donors. If you enjoy the FRIDAY FACTS, you can help with a tax-deductible contribution that advances our important mission. Click here. Quotes of Note “Not enough citizens are schooled well on the Constitution. Many can recite the Declaration of Independence, who signed, and list the Articles and Amendments, but lack a deep understanding of how these directly affect and protect the quality of our lives.” – Sue Horn Chappell (publisher/editor, StarNews of Caroll County) “[T]he not-so-hidden secret about occupational licensure laws is that they enable incumbent providers to protect their own incomes by locking newcomers and competitors out of markets by artificial government force.” – Walter … View Article

Pay Attention: National Energy Policy Hits Home, Too

posted 4 years ago on March 27th, 2015 by 3 Comments
By Benita M. Dodd Georgia boasts no native sources of fossil fuel – coal, natural gas or oil – yet the energy industry fuels this state’s economy just as surely as if it were the epicenter of operations. As the state slowly recovers from the economic downturn, the 50 percent drop in prices at the nation’s gas pumps over the past year has been a mixed blessing. On one hand, it gives commuters a cheaper trip and lowers the cost of doing business for companies. On the other, it reduces the viability of recovering “unconventional” oil and natural gas resources in an already-hostile regulatory environment. While hydraulic fracturing – “fracking” – has been around in one form or another for … View Article

Friday Facts: March 20, 2015

posted 4 years ago on March 20th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
It’s Friday! Events March 26: Foundation President Kelly McCutchen is a panelist at an Atlanta discussion on criminal justice reform in Georgia, hosted by the Charles Koch Institute. Find out more about, “From State in Crisis to Reform Leader: How Georgia’s Approach to Criminal Justice Is Impacting Well-Being,” at http://bit.ly/1b5eNTQ. Watch this space: The keynote speaker at the Foundation’s next event is Secretary of State Brian Kemp. Topic: “License to Work,” a focus on jobs, licensing and the role of government. Quotes of Note “Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions.” – Edward R. Murrow The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.” – James Madison Legislative update… View Article

News Release: Foundation Highlights Solar Energy and Sunshine Week

posted 4 years ago on March 13th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
GEORGIA PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release March 13, 2015 Contact Kelly McCutchen at 404-256-4050 or kmccutchen@georgiapolicy.org Foundation Highlights Solar Energy and Sunshine Week Atlanta – Two years ago this week, Dublin High School in Laurens County broke ground on a solar panel array that was described as a trailblazer funding model and a moneysaver for the school. As she gathered information for an article marking the March 11 anniversary of the groundbreaking, Foundation Vice President Benita Dodd gained a renewed appreciation for Sunshine Week, the annual celebration of the national initiative for open government and freedom of information that takes place next week (March 15-21). What started out as a commentary on Sunshine Week and the solar… View Article

Friday Facts: March 13, 2015

posted 4 years ago on March 13th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
It’s Friday! Events March 18: The deadline is MONDAY to register for, “Federalism, The Rule of Law and Regulatory Excess,” the Foundation’s Leadership Breakfast on Wednesday with Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens. $30. Find out more here. Register online here. March 26: Foundation President Kelly McCutchen is a panelist at an Atlanta discussion on criminal justice reform in Georgia, hosted by the Charles Koch Institute. Find out more about, “From State in Crisis to Reform Leader: How Georgia’s Approach to Criminal Justice Is Impacting Well-Being,” at http://bit.ly/1b5eNTQ. Quotes of Note “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.” – Frederick Douglass “The welfare state is the… View Article

As Sunshine Week Approaches, Cloud Hangs over Solar Financing in Georgia

posted 4 years ago on March 13th, 2015 by 4 Comments
By Benita M. Dodd Solyndra was a visible black eye for the Obama administration in 2011, when the solar panel manufacturer went bankrupt after taking in more than $500 million from taxpayers and private investors. Closer to home, the silence is deafening: Few even know of the failure of Mage, a solar company that set up shop in Middle Georgia with great fanfare in 2011. What started out as a Georgia Public Policy Foundation commentary to mark Sunshine Week (March 15-21) and the two-year anniversary of Dublin High School’s award-winning solar array led to a trail of lofty projections, broken promises, unpaid bills, questionable math and taxpayers left on the hook. It was March 11, 2013, that Dublin City Schools… View Article

Friday Facts: March 6, 2015

posted 4 years ago on March 6th, 2015 by Leave a Comment
It’s Friday! Events March 18: “Federalism, The Rule of Law and Regulatory Excess,” is the topic of the Foundation’s Leadership Breakfast with Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens. $30. Find out more here. Register online by Monday, March 16, here. Quotes of Note “Answer me in principle. I mean, is it not the case that if the only reasonable interpretation of a particular provision produces disastrous consequences in the rest of the statute, it nonetheless means what it says. Is that true or not?” – Justice Antonin Scalia, King v. Burwell “Unlike government bureaucracies, private firms in a competitive environment are eager to maximize the net returns of projects, so they find new ways … View Article

Friday Facts: January 9, 2015

posted 5 years ago on January 9th, 2015 by 3 Comments
It’s Friday! Quotes of Note “The (state) Constitution clearly says that all taxes derived from the sale of motor fuel has to be put on transportation … so I think that, before we answer anything from anybody else, we have to go there first.” – Georgia Senator Steve Gooch, Senate Transportation Committee Chairman “People who pay for their own consumption don’t have the luxury of being able to pretend that tradeoffs don’t exist. Walk into a BMW dealership and announce, ‘I want a 7-series at Hyundai prices!’ and the dealer will laugh at you.” – Michael Cannon “[W]hat if we simply flipped transit-oriented development on its head? Call it development-oriented transit. In short, look to add… View Article

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