EV sales growth points to oil demand peaking by 2030 − so why is the oil industry doubling down on production?

  Electric vehicle sales are growing faster than expected around the world, and, sales of gas- and diesel-powered vehicles have been falling. Yet, the U.S. government still forecasts an increasing demand for oil, and the oil industry is doubling down on production plans.

  Why is that, and what happens if the U.S. projections for growing oil demand are wrong?

How the Inflation Reduction Act will save households money in 2023

  On January 1, 2023, a slate of new tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act—also known as the climate bill—became available to U.S. households aiming to transition to cleaner energy consumption. Making these opportunities known to consumers and leveraging them to transform the country’s energy landscape will be critical to tackling climate change. Taking advantage of these credits will also yield significant cost savings for millions of Americans; create new high-paying jobs; and ensure a more secure and stable economy and environment.

The most cost-effective energy efficiency investments you can make – and how the new Inflation Reduction Act could help

  Energy efficiency can save homeowners and renters hundreds of dollars a year, and the new Inflation Reduction Act includes a wealth of home improvement rebates and tax incentives to help Americans secure those savings.

  It extends tax credits for installing energy-efficient windows, doors, insulation, water heaters, furnaces, air conditioners, or heat pumps, as well as for home energy audits. It also offers rebates for low- and moderate-income households’ efficiency improvements, up to US$14,000 per home.

Soaring crude prices make the cost of pretty much everything else go up too because we almost literally eat oil

  The price of oil has been spiking in recent weeks in response to concerns that the war in Ukraine will significantly reduce supply. But what happens in oil markets never stays in oil markets.

  The price of U.S. crude oil jumped to a 13-year high of US$130 on March 6, 2022. It has come down but has been trading above $110 since March 17. That’s over 60% higher than it was in mid-December before fears of a Russian invasion began to mount.

The average person’s daily choices can still make a big difference in fighting climate change – and getting governments and utilities to tackle it, too

  The average American’s everyday interactions with energy sources are limited. They range from turning appliances on or off, to commuting, to paying utility bills.

  The connections between those acts and rising global temperatures may seem distant.

  However, individuals hold many keys to unlocking solutions to climate change – the biggest challenge our species currently faces – which is perhaps why the fossil fuel industry spent decades misleading and misinforming the public about it.

Gary Palmer: Cap-and-trade by other means

  The Alabama Public Service Commission recently held a public hearing concerning Alabama Power Company rates. But the hearing was really about an effort initiated by environmental groups determined to impose cap-and-trade type regulations on Alabama Power.

  For the first time in my memory, the PSC was brought into a debate that is really outside their scope of responsibilities. Other than setting rates, they have no regulatory authority.

Gary Palmer: Access to energy reserves could change a lot of things

  For the last three years, the federal government has been in mad pursuit of green energy alternatives to redefine our economy and improve job markets. In the process, billions of taxpayer dollars were wasted on green energy companies that didn’t produce reliable alternative energy resources, economic growth or new jobs.

  Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued thousands of pages of regulations that threaten existing energy producers with catastrophic fines and industry-killing regulations that smother the U.S. economy and force energy prices higher. Among these are regulations that are shutting down coal-fired power facilities because power companies cannot afford compliance costs.

Gary Palmer and Cameron Smith: Coal-fired Alabama on EPA's "most wanted" list

  As if an economy struggling to recover were not enough, Alabamians are truly starting to feel the financial pinch of trips to the gas pump and higher monthly electric bills. The cost increases impact more than just travel and utility bills; they are built into virtually every item made or transported in the United States. From groceries to clothes, kitchen table discussions about budgets are becoming more difficult for families across Alabama.

  To make matters worse, the federal government is adding to the mounting fiscal burden. Taxpayers face an army of federal bureaucrats tasked with regulatory development and oversight – more than 270,000 of them at the end of 2010.  Each regulatory employee enforces specific regulations published in the Federal Register. The register has grown by more than 3,000% since 1936, from 2,620 pages of regulations to more than 80,000 at the end of 2011.