ENERGY

FACTS

There hasn't been a new oil refinery built in the U.S. since 1983. From 1982 to 2007, the number of American refineries dropped from 301 to 149. During the same time frame, the national economy grew by 125 percent.
"Our Thorny Oil Patch," Investor's Business Daily, March 13, 2008.

By law, compact fluorescent mercury-filled light bulbs are required for use in homes and business offices by 2012. The bulbs contain a cancer-causing agent that also causes birth defects. The Environmental Protection Agency created a lengthy list of requirements for clean-up of broken bulbs.

California stands out among the states as moving more aggressively in imposing a green economy. It also has unemployment considerably higher than the national average. Although several factors play a part in California's economic problems, its environmental and energy policy--global warming measures, alternative energy mandates, other regulations that raise conventional energy prices--are likely part of the reason for the state's overall economic malaise.
Tom Tanton, "California's Energy Policy: A Cautionary Tale for the Nation," April 2008.

Green-job subsidies siphon resources and jobs away from other parts of the economy. A study of alternative energy in Spain estimates that the cost of such subsidies for wind and solar prevents 2.2 such private-sector jobs for each green job created. Spain has likely destroyed more jobs than it has created with its extensive subsidies for wind and solar power.
CEPOS, "Wind Energy: The Case of Denmark," September 2009.

In Denmark, each wind energy job has cost $90,000 to $140,000 in subsidies, which is more than the jobs pay. In Germany, the figure is as high as $240,000.And the experience in Spain, Denmark, and Germany is that most of the green jobs created are temporary ones.
CEPOS, "Wind Energy: The Case of Denmark," September 2009. Manuel Frondel, Nolan Ritter, and Colin Vance, "Economic Impacts from the Promotion of Renewable Energies: The German Experience," Rheinisch-Westfalisches Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung, October 2009.

Global warming legislation has also been also touted as a green jobs measure, including the Senate's pending Boxer-Kerry cap-and-trade bill. However, a Heritage analysis finds job losses from this bill reaching 2.5 million in some years, including 1 million in the manufacturing sector.The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, S. 1733, 111th Cong., 1st Sess.

David Kreutzer et al., "What Boxer-Kerry Will Cost the Economy," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 2365, January 26, 2010.

The proposed U.S. Senate bill Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733) introduced by Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Barbara Boxer will have significant economic costs in terms of lost income, lost jobs, and higher energy prices, among other detrimental effects. Should S. 1733 become law, Americans can expect the following to occur between enactment and the year 2035 (all figures are adjusted for inflation):

Inflation-adjusted losses to gross domestic product (GDP) of $9.9 trillion;
More than $4.6 trillion in higher energy taxes;
Job losses exceeding 2.5 million for some years;
Annual family-of-four energy costs rising by $1,000, including a gasoline price increase of more than $1.20 per gallon;
Annual family-of-four energy costs plus increased cost of goods and services totaling more than $3,000;
Average GDP loss per family of four above $4,500 per year;
Family-of-four net worth dropping by more than $40,000; and
The family of four's share of the national debt rising by an additional $27,000.
David Kreutzer, Barbara Campbell, William Beach, Ben Lieberman and Nicolas Loris, "What Boxer-Kerry Will Cost the Economy," The Heritage Foundation, Backgrounder #2365, Jan. 26, 2010.

The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis modeled the economic effects of the Senate cap-and-trade bill and found gross domestic product (GDP) loss per family of four of over $4,500 per year and job losses exceeding 2.5 million by 2031.
Nicolas Loris, "The EPA's Global Warming Regulation Plans," Jan. 20, 2010.