The Green Jobs Myth | Coyote Blog

This is really incredible. The power companies are constructing wind turbines and, at certain times, not only providing the power for free but actually paying the grid to take it. All to capture subsidies and tax credits paid for by these special rate surcharges. The only jobs being created are analysts trying to find the best way to rent-seek under these new laws. I would rather pay people to dig holes and fill them back in.

More Trouble With Biofuels - Environment and Energy

Meanwhile, cellulosic ethanol—ethanol made from wood, grass, or non-edible plant parts like corn cobs—may seem more sustainable still, but even that's not a given. If, say, switchgrass ethanol ever becomes commercially viable, then sure, we could theoretically limit production to land otherwise unsuited for agriculture, but how do we know that will actually happen? As demand for cellulosic ethanol increases, some farmers may find it more profitable to start growing fuel instead, which could in turn, as Grunwald's soy example shows, lead to increased deforestation elsewhere. As we learned during the recent climate talks in Poznan, it's fantastically difficult to craft incentives that prevent people from hacking down forests to make way for a more valuable commodity.