Oil and Gas in the Crystal Ball

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] ALSO POSTED BY: Huffington Post 13 December 2012 For those of us concerned about the future of the United States in an era of global climate change and international competition over diminishing natural resources, the new report from the National Intelligence Council (NIC) contains goods news and bad news.   The good news: The NIC predicts that in a “likely tectonic shift” the United States could become energy independent in the next 10 years. That’s a goal we’ve...

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A Silver Lining in Sandy? (Part 3 of 3)

ALSO POSTED BY: Huffington Post 29 November 2012 This is the last in a three-part post about what the Atlantic Coast can learn in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy from victims of past natural disasters. When it comes to solving problems, elected officials are inclined to support solutions that allow people to keep behaving as they always have, but with less damage.  That’s how it has been with America’s response to weather-related disasters. It’s a response that won’t work anymore. America’s experience with weather disasters over the past century proves that the least political risk often imposes the greatest physical...

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A Silver Lining in Sandy? (Part 2 of 3)

ALSO POSTED BY: Huffington Post 28 November 2012 This is the second in a three-part post about what the Atlantic Coast can learn in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy from victims of other natural disasters. In 1993, flooding on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers produced one of the country’s worst natural disasters at the time, killing 50 people and causing $15 billion in damages.  Hundreds of flood control levees failed in nine Midwestern states.  Parts of the region remained underwater for five months. When floodwaters finally began to subside, pubic television aired a movie about Soldiers Grove’s relocation to higher...

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Can There Be a Silver Lining in Sandy? (Part 1 of 3)

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] ALSO POSTED BY: Huffington Post 27 November 2012 This is the first in a three-part post about the potential for sustainable recovery along  the Atlantic Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. As the communities on the East Coast contemplate rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy, here is a story they might consider. I’ve told it before. It seems like a good time to tell it again. In the late 1970s, a small community in Wisconsin made a...

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Climate Jobs? No Problem.

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] ALSO POSTED BY: Huffington Post 19 November 2012 In his first post-election news conference, President Obama made clear that his concern about global climate change will not push the economy and jobs off the top of his priority list.   “If, on the other hand, we can shape an agenda that says we can create jobs, advance growth and make a serious dent in climate change and be an international leader,” he said, “I think that’s...

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De-Carbonize Our Taxes

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] ALSO POSTED BY: Huffington Post 6 November 2012 “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” That observation by Charles Darwin has interesting implications in these last weeks of the presidential election campaign.  It suggests that both candidates may be missing what’s most important to keeping America safe, strong and competitive in the years ahead. Jobs, education,...

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Distributed Generation – A Key Piece of the Energy Puzzle

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] : Huffington Post 23 October 2012 Earlier this month, federal officials streamlined the development of centralized, large-scale, solar power plants by establishing 17 new “solar energy zones” on 285,000 acres of public land. According to Steven Chu, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, this cutting of red tape will expand solar energy production and help the nation remain competitive in the global clean energy race. While this move marks a step in the right direction, an integral...

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Raise the Voltage in the Energy Debate

ALSO POSTED BY: Huffington Post 19 October 2012 While energy got some airtime in the second presidential debate, neither candidate hit at the weakest spots in the other’s positions. Mitt Romney’s energy platform ignores the substantial downsides of fossil fuels and reveals a misunderstanding of how the real world works. President Obama has presided over a national energy strategy that he admits is a  “hodgepodge”. This is a topic that deserves far more attention before Nov. 6. After all, we all use energy. We all pay for it. We all breathe its pollution. We all depend on it to be...

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