Energy Policy Myths

A letter to the editor in Saturday's WSJ caught my eye. It was from Andrew Morriss, who I've seen quoted by Don Boudreaux over at Cafe Hayek. Morriss identifies and tackles three myths that pervade our energy policy debate. Alas, one myth he forgot to tackle, perhaps because Joseph White's original article didn't flog this particular myth, was the notion that alternative fuels like ethanol are the solution to our energy independence. Not to worry though, said myth has eminently qualified floggers enlisted in its perpetuation. No less than Bill Clinton was touting ethanol as Brazil's energy independence silver bullet (pay no attention to the giant P-50 drilling rig offshore). Don Luskin has the story and a title of pure copy-writing genius.