Arlon Tussing: Remembering a Giant of Energy Analysis (energy economist & consultant par excellence)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 11, 2016 No Comments

“In the late 1970s, only three prominent energy experts continued to insist that oil prices would not rise inexorably and to display a contrariness to all efforts to dissuade them: Peter Odell of Erasmus University, the late Morry Adelman of MIT, and Arlon Tussing.” (Michael Lynch, below)

Several months ago, a giant of modern energy economics died at age 82. I belatedly sing his praises.

Arlon Tussing, author, co-author, or editor of an estimated 300 books and publications, influenced a generation of market-oriented energy economists. He also educated the energy industry by being realistic and blunt at a time when the conventional thinking was that ‘depleting’ resources meant that costs and prices had to go up.

Tussing analysis such as in his 1983 “An OPEC Obituary” (Public Interest) were spot-on, at a time when many voices were saying ‘Just Wait’ for Energy Crisis #3 (following #1’s Arab OPEC in 1973/74 and #2’s Iranian Revolution in 1979).…

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“The Energy Crisis of the 1970s: Looking Back, Looking Ahead” (Econ 101 needed at RFF seminar)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 4, 2016 8 Comments

“Economists may not know much. But we know one thing very well: how to produce surpluses and shortages. Do you want a surplus? Have the government legislate a minimum price that is above the price that would otherwise prevail…. Do you want a shortage? Have the government legislate a maximum price that is below the price that would otherwise prevail.”

– Milton and Rose Friedman, Free to Choose (1979), p. 219.

Tomorrow (October 5, 2016), a book seminar will be held at Resources for the Future [register here] to revisit the lessons from the 1970s energy crisis. Panic at the Pump: The Energy Crisis and the Transformation of American Politics in the 1970s by Meg Jacobs will receive comments from three RFF scholars.

The Princeton historian and author usefully provides a good deal of archival documentation surrounding the ill-fated attempt by federal authorities to regulate the price and allocation of crude oil and oil products in the 1971–1981 era. …

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Green Party Energy: Front Door Cronyism, Back Door Poverty (convention concludes in Houston)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 8, 2016 3 Comments

“I know it’s a long shot, but there has to be someone telling the truth and showing a clear vision moving away from capitalism to an eco-socialist future that is just for everyone.”

– Gary Stuard (Green Party). Quoted in Kim McGuire, “Greens Steadfast on Environment.” Houston Chronicle, August 6, 2016, p. A4.

Milton Friedman once said: “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” The uncommonly wise economist also said: “Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it.”

Let’s assume that the Green Party is made up a fair number of well meaning, non-corrupted (as in ‘crony capitalist’) individuals that really want the common person to have a good life and entrepreneurial opportunities.…

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GOP Environmental Platform: Free Market Directions

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 21, 2016 1 Comment

“The most powerful environmental policy is liberty, the central organizing principle of the American Republic and its people.”

– Republican Platform (below)

The Republican platform on the environment is factual and realistic. It focuses on real environmental issues and not the trumped up one of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a pollutant. It looks to science but also to political economy. “Science allows us to weigh the costs and benefits of a policy so that we can prudently deal with our resources,” the platform reads. “This is especially important when the causes and long-range effects of a phenomenon are uncertain.”

And better yet, also in reference to the global warming debate: “We must restore scientific integrity to our public research institutions and remove political incentives from publicly funded research.” Climate science researchers, it is time to go honest or go home.

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“Oil Prices and the Business Cycle” (Interview with Robert L. Bradley Jr.)

By Robert Murphy -- April 25, 2016 2 Comments Continue Reading

Dear Daniel Yergin: Give Alex Epstein the Microphone at CERAWeek

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 22, 2016 14 Comments Continue Reading

‘Are We Running Out of Oil?’ (2004 essay revised)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- January 13, 2016 5 Comments Continue Reading

Global Cooling: Do Not Forget (false alarm was tied to coal burning too)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- December 3, 2015 7 Comments Continue Reading

Shale Shock: A New, Better Energy World

By Steve Goreham -- September 30, 2015 1 Comment Continue Reading

Refrack Resourceship: Why the Carbon-based Energy Era Is Still Young

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 17, 2015 2 Comments Continue Reading