According to the Mercatus Centre, between 1970 and 2008 the number of prescriptive words like “shall” or “must” in the Code of Federal Regulations grew from 403,000 to nearly 963,000, or about 15,000 edicts a year – and during the Obama years, the same number of new rules went on the books every year. In a ground-breaking piece in THE …

Credit: Angela Rowlings Environmentalists and the energy industry alike believe that a new plan by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker may have adverse consequences throughout New England, according to the Boston Globe. The plan will severely curtail operations of power generators in Massachusetts, but the state’s energy demands will still have to be met – so plants in Connecticut, Rhode Island …

The New Hampshire legislature is considering proposals to end New Hampshire’s 9-year experiment with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – RGGI – and the Union Leader says it’s about time. Carbon dioxide emissions are down, but not because of RGGI.  Rather, it was cheaper, more plentiful natural gas that’s been driving down prices and replacing more carbon-intensive fuel, according to …

Fossil Fuel Divestment is Expensive, Hurts Pensions and Has ZERO Impact on Climate Change A new report commissioned by the Vermont Pension Investment Committee and conducted by the Pension Consulting Alliance confirms what many of us already knew:  divestment would be costly, will hurt pensioners – and will have no tangible effect on climate change. The report was commissioned after …

“Shell Chemical Appalachia announced in June that it will indeed build a $6 billion “ethane cracker” plant along the Ohio River near Pittsburgh. Construction is expected to begin in earnest late this year and to employ as many as 6,000 workers. The plant, when it becomes operational early next decade, will permanently employ 600.” Learn more at Go Erie.

“Pipeline transportation for oil is safer and expected to be better for the environment than the alternative, which is usually rail transport,” notes the Chicago Tribune. The oil won’t stay in the ground — and if we don’t refine it, other countries will. Read more at the Chicago Tribune.

“Students at dozens of academic institutions across the country have called for their university endowments to divest equities in the fossil fuel industries. When University of Denver trustees voted this week against fossil fuel divestment, many students walked out of their classes to bring awareness to this cause as the meeting took place. Fossil fuel divestment is foolish for many …

“Throughout the commonwealth, natural gas is driving a manufacturing revival that’s creating good-paying jobs and boosting local economies.” Here’s a great summary in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“The old adage, “the truth hurts,” is, well, true. Maybe that’s why the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is reluctant to delve too deeply into the costs of its one-state-only crusade to single-handedly eradicate climate change, and even more unwilling to share the hard cold facts with the workers — and their families — who will actually have to pay …

“With a new administration … (the) focus will likely change to a more market-based approach grounded in the pursuit of secure energy for America—energy that’s affordable, available, reliable and sustainable.” Learn more at Forbes.