The average American would believe that the nation's need for substantial nuclear fuel, oil, natural gas, and coal will soon be a distant memory, based on the Obama administration's strident emphasis on developing "alternative" energy sources. The reality, however, is quite different.

Much of America's energy debate can be summed up as "drill, baby, drill" versus "farm, baby, farm." Fans of conventional energy are pressing for the development of America's native oil and gas resources, while advocates of renewable energy call for greater amounts of biomass, either as conventional ethanol or...

If the EPA proceeds with carbon regulation and power plants are forced to close, energy costs will climb and companies will have less money available for the very research on clean-energy technologies that we need in order to stay competitive with China and other countries.

If we want our economy to flourish, we need our energy to be two things: abundant and affordable. And only free energy markets can provide that.

In a capital city that is full of shameless political scams, ethanol is perhaps the most egregious.

AB 32 would offer more drawbacks than benefits to California, which produces an insignificant fraction of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. It would offer no climate-protection benefit, and instead cause California to shut down entirely.

Renewables have their uses, but they are a distraction from our goal that should be to expand our supply of affordable energy.

On May 9, AEI hosted its annual conference with scholars from the Central Committee Party School of China.