Manhattan Institute Reports

Electric Vehicles for Everyone? The Impossible Dream

A dozen U.S. states, from California to New York, have joined dozens of countries, from Ireland to Spain, with plans to ban the sale of new cars with an internal combustion engine (ICE), many prohibitions taking effect within a decade. Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in a feat of regulatory legerdemain, has proposed…

The “Energy Transition” Delusion: A Reality Reset

Global economies are facing a potential energy shock—the third such shock of the past half century. Energy costs and security have returned to center stage, as has the realization that the world remains deeply dependent on reliable supplies of petroleum, natural gas, and coal. And all this has arrived during an inflation itself partially the…

Industrial Policy: Old-Think in the New Cloud Era

Policymakers and pundits are increasingly claiming that this country needs an “industrial policy.” Although this is far from a new idea, topline statistics give it surface plausibility. In 1980, the U.S. had a 30% share of global manufacturing; today, it has slipped to 16%.

Mines, Minerals, and “Green” Energy: A Reality Check

As policymakers have shifted focus from pandemic challenges to economic recovery, infrastructure plans are once more being actively discussed, including those relating to energy. Green energy advocates are doubling down on pressure to continue, or even increase, the use of wind, solar power, and electric cars. Left out of the discussion is any serious consideration…

Issues 2020: A Fracking Ban Would Trigger Global Recession

“I will ban fracking—everywhere.”— Elizabeth Warren ………….. The extraction of oil and gas through the techniques of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (colloquially, “fracking”) has catapulted the United States into leadership of the world’s energy markets. Since 2007, fracking has doubled U.S. oil production and increased gas production by 60%

The “New Energy Economy” : An Exercise In Magical Thinking

The centerpiece of the “new energy economy” thesis rests on the belief that the technologies of wind, solar power and battery storage are undergoing the kind of disruption experienced in computing and communications. But this core analogy glosses over profound physics differences between systems that produce energy and those that produce information.