Consulting by RPM || Free Advice Blog

Weissenberger and Murphy Solve the World’s Problems in 46 Minutes

Redmond and I talk about climate models and the euro. Never before have so few pontificated about so much for so long.

My Response to Nordhaus on “Global Warming Skeptics”

Back in March economist William Nordhaus wrote a long essay in the New York Review of Books in which he took on the “global warming skeptics,” and in particular 16 scientists who had written a WSJ op ed urging caution before embracing government measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Today IER put up my detailed […]

On the “Big Oil Tax Loopholes”

I have a commentary at the Institute for Energy Research (IER) on the Administration’s recent efforts to stick it to the big oil companies. An excerpt: The rhetoric concerning the domestic manufacturing deduction is particularly silly. Back in 2004 Congress changed the tax code to encourage companies to keep their production activities within the United […]

Why Conservatives and Progressives Are Both Right and Wrong

Climate Wars Bask

I am going to do a follow-up post (here at Free Advice) next week regarding my recent post on the Heartland Institute / Peter Gleick affair. I still agree with my main points in that post, but in the comments here Stickman made me realize that I had misunderstood what Peter Gleick’s official story was. […]

The Heartland Institute / Peter Gleick Affair

As promised, here are my extended thoughts on what has been dubbed “Fakegate” (by the friends of Heartland, of course). If you never really dug into this, you might be surprised at what happened. Here is my conclusion: The Heartland affair has shown not merely that some climate alarmists (namely Gleick) will stoop to outright […]

Megan McArdle on the Heartland Institute / Peter Gleick Affair

Wow this is pretty interesting. I kept hearing allusions to “fakegate” and leaked/stolen documents from the Heartland Institute during the last week, but I was too busy to really read up on it. Well today I spent a good hour catching up, and holy cow there are some interesting twists and turns. As the Dude […]

Play the EPA Number Game!

Earlier this week, the Institute for Energy Research (IER)–for which I’m the resident economist–submitted its formal comment on the EPA/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s plans to impose higher fuel economy standards on light-duty trucks. I think many of you will be surprised at our findings. But rather than just tell you, let me motivate it […]