Jun 20, 2024 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism
In last chapter of Climate of Contempt, I argue that the future of the energy transition is intertwined with the future of liberal democracy. I write in chapter 6 that only voters can peacefully reverse the “trend of ever-increasing polarization and tribalism,”...
Jun 15, 2024 | Blog, Energy Transition Policy & Policymaking
Modern information flows shield the good news about the energy transition from conservatives, and the bad news from liberals. Our insulated realities make us too certain too quickly that our preferred truth is THE truth. In fact, we don’t know how technology will...
Jun 10, 2024 | Blog, Framing and the Energy Transition Debate
The grandson and great-grandson of U.S. presidents, Henry Adams, wrote his famous statement about politics being “the organization of hatreds” as an expression of his disillusionment with politics, especially the political effectiveness of whipping up contempt for...
Jun 5, 2024 | Blog, Energy Transition Policy & Policymaking, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition
[Note: This is the second in a series of posts looking at how the political analysis (and corresponding prescription) in Climate of Contempt could turn out to be wrong. The first post was here.] Some people, particularly those at the ideological poles of each party,...
Jun 1, 2024 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism
One of the central implications of the analysis in Climate of Contempt is that the energy transition is inextricably intertwined with U.S. political dysfunction. In chapter 6 I cite scholars who study transitions from democracy to populist authoritarianism who contend...
May 30, 2024 | Blog, Framing and the Energy Transition Debate
Chapter 4 of Climate of Contempt discusses the academic literature on Internet “filter bubbles,” and how and why they wind us up emotionally. They close our minds to information and arguments that challenge our beliefs by making that information too...
