“Other things being equal, it’s a vice, not a virtue if one production technique requires more labor hours to produce the same amount of energy,” said the report.

"Other things", of course are NOT equal, and IER and you continue not to think constructively - although now that all of the opportunities during the 8 years of Bush have been squandered, perhaps a rearguard action to stop the worst of what we can expect from Obama and the Dems is about all we can expect from IER.

Coal remains extremely dirty - producing much more radiation than nuclear, heavy metals, acid rain/air pollution and particulates, and massive destruction in Appalachia via mountaintop removal and fly-ash dam breaches. Yet our regulatory regime favors coal and has virtually supplanted common law actions for torts and nuisance for damage to health and property. Why not push for dismantling of the heavy regulatory regime in favor of taxing coal via a carbon tax, privatizing the TVA and encouraging private rights of action?

And citizens would be much more willing to approve new oil & gas (and other minerals) leases if they were cut directly into some of the revenues (like Alaskans and Norwegians get). And if the MMS (and likewise USFS) were given a slice of royalties, we would see far better incentives for avoiding the worst abuses by the bureaucrats, collecting revenue and public oversight.