Indirect land use change, or ILUC, dictates that the conversion of land into farms for biofuel crops must account for its carbon emissions-and the policy is dividing the EU.

Beginning on January 17, Ryanair will charge a €0.25 fee on every seat to cover what the company says will be a €15 to 20 million bill. And the airline is complaining loud and clear.

Clouds may be forming above Paris and Washington as voters become restless. In the sustainability world, the conventional wisdom states that European companies on environmental, governance, and social (ESG, or across the pond, CSR) issues, they are far more advanced than American firms. At a first glance, that appears true. But a comparison is besides the point.

One sign of a maturing industry is that the Mafia start “investing” into the business. Tony Soprano, Don Corleone, nor any of the Goodfellas ever showed any interest in wind, but now renewable energy advocates have to deal with the headache, albeit a small one, with which the rest of the business world sometimes deals: Italian “eco Mafia” groups have found their way into the wind power industry.

To Americans who trend left, Europe is a civilized utopia full of sophisticates and intellectuals where all is well with health care, environment, and society. To the right, Europe is a socialist purgatory where folks suffer from over-regulation and marginal opportunities. Neither assumption is correctly accurate.