Of all the verses in the "China-is-Awesome" hallelujah chorus, none is chanted louder than the fact that China is leaving everyone in the dust in "green" energy, especially wind and solar power. However, the real action is revealed when the absolute numbers are posted up.

With gas prices soaring, we can't ignore the success of horizontal hydraulic fracturing of shale gas and the profound importance of natural gas on America's energy future.The availability of cheap natural gas is expected to continue well into the future.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently rebuffed environmentalists in their bid to get the judiciary to intervene in the global-warming controversy by invoking the old common law of nuisance, as though global warming could be solved through an injunction.

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.

Despite widespread political support and large direct and indirect subsidies from both the federal and stategovernments, renewable electricity—wind and solar power, in particular—produces only 3.6 percent of USpower generation. This small market share suggests inherent limitations that can be overcome only at veryhigh cost.

The competition is fierce, but herewith the top five “New Malthusians” for a cover tribute band for the early 21st century.

Feed-in tariffs and solar energy make sense in the right situations, but must yield tangible benefits based on carbon reduction and market efficiency.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who faces the end of his political career, has decided to go out in a blaze of glory. Mr. Kan dramatically announced last month that Japan should end the country's reliance on nuclear power for electricity generation.