Activist local governments should not be regulators of energy markets
In a world of war, America’s first duty is keeping its lights on.
As the world economy grapples with the fallout of the war in Iran, lawfare by American climate activists threatens significant damage to the nation’s domestic energy industry — and with it national security.
In the name of climate leadership, states are passing laws and filing lawsuits aimed at inflicting massive penalties on energy companies. But in two pending cases, the Supreme Court can establish federal supremacy over energy and climate change policy and beat back local interference in national security.
The Founding Fathers designed the Constitution to prevent states from undermining a unified, national foreign and national security policy. Control over war, treaty, commerce and diplomacy belong to the national government alone. The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that principle and struck down state laws that interfere with the nation’s dealings abroad.
In Suncor v. Boulder County, which the Supreme Court agreed to hear in February, Colorado officials have invoked a sweeping legal theory that would essentially make states the arbiters of international climate policy. The theory states that energy companies are responsible for billions of dollars in damages because they supposedly concealed the link between fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions all over the world.
The supreme courts of Colorado and Hawaii allowed these lawsuits to move forward, while the Maryland Supreme Court did not. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to rule on whether the state laws allowing these lawsuits violate federal supremacy on interstate commerce and foreign affairs.
Politics
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Is American Nationalism Still Creed-able?
We are not there now, but there is reason to worry that the United States is in danger, if we are not careful, of ceasing to be a nation with the principles of 1776 at its core.
National Civitas Institute Poll: Americans are Anxious and Frustrated, Creating a Challenging Environment for Leaders
The poll reveals a deeply pessimistic American electorate, with a majority convinced the nation is on the wrong track.
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The Rebooted Animal Farm’s New Villain: Capitalism
We have a generational struggle ahead of us again if we are to defend the cause of freedom from tyranny.
The Future of ESG and DEI
Though things will likely not become as radical as the Covid hysteria of 2020 and 2021, there is still plenty of institutional “muscle memory” for ESG that will make its re-emergence all too easy.
