Your example laws are picking or banning certain technologies. How about standards that limit pollutant emissions, then let the techies come up with the best technologies? Whether that's hyper-efficient internal combustion, fuel cells (using petroleum or natural gas), solar, corn husks, or leftover french fry grease from McD's, or all of the above. Or, instead of standards, tax the dickens out of pollutant emissions (including carbon), and the most efficient technologies will rise to the top. Instead, we subsidize cheap oil & coal, which is a disincentive to conserve. Could offset pollutant tax increases with decreases elsewhere in the tax code... or start paying down some debt. Problem is some people squeal like stuck pigs anytime you talk about raising carbon taxes...even a little. Seems the 'free market' crowd is a lot happier when they're enjoying subsidies than when they're being taxed for their share of the external costs of their behaviors (e.g. pollution, military intervention, etc.).
