A solid Earth Day op-ed in The Daily Caller comes from Thomas Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research and the American Energy Alliance, “Thank you Mother Earth for natural resources“:
Contrary to the dogma of the Washington environmental establishment, responsible energy production and a prosperous economy very much coincide with a sustainable planet. The facts bear this out, but don’t necessarily sell as well as a “planet in peril” when lobbying for a national energy tax.
It is a fact that over the past 30 years, American oil consumption has remained relatively constant. In 2008, we used only 3 percent more than we did in 1978. Meanwhile, our economy has more than doubled, and the population has increased by 87 million people.
It is also a fact that we have been able to significantly improve our air quality, which is much, much cleaner today than it was 30 years ago. Tailpipe emissions from cars are down by 98 percent since 1980 and in less than twenty years, we have reduced the emission of air pollution by over 40 percent.
How can this be possible, you ask? The answer is simple—the fruits of human ingenuity: technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The American Energy Alliance has one of the best daily e-mail news roundups out there, a substantive, clever and often justifiably sarcastic take on energy policy and the inanities of the anti-energy, pro-dearth crowd. It’s called The Daily Pipeline, and you can sign up here.
