Why my political predictions could be wrong #3 – Young people will save us.

Dec 5, 2024 | Blog, Framing and the Energy Transition Debate, News, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

Note: This is the third in a series of posts auditing the political analysis (and corresponding prescription) in Climate of Contempt. The first two were here and here.] Longtime denizens of #Climate and #Energy social media communities will be familiar with the...

Political Disagreement as Apostasy

Nov 25, 2024 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

Slogans, acronyms, and memes rise and fall quickly on social media. I recently saw that the term “FAFO” was trending on Twitter. Not knowing what it was I clicked on it. Though none of the posts using the acronym defined it, it became evident pretty quickly that it...

Thinking Critically About Election Lessons for Energy Transition Politics, Pt. 2

Nov 11, 2024 | Blog, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

[This is the second of two posts exploring what (if anything) we can learn about energy politics from the results of the November election. After this I will return to regular posting at regular intervals. — DS] ——- In September I speculated about how each...

Thinking Critically About Election Lessons, Pt. 1

Nov 9, 2024 | Blog, Framing and the Energy Transition Debate, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

[NOTE: This is the first of two posts about taking care when drawing political lessons from the election results. The second will appear here on 11/11. — DS] ———- When Democrats lose elections it is common to see immediate, impulsive “takes”...

Are We Failing the Marshmallow Test?

Nov 5, 2024 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

Whatever the outcome of today’s voting, we will learn something from it. And I will post some reactions to specific races and what they signify for stronger climate policy on 11/10 and succeeding days. It is likely that around 70 million Americans (or more) will...

Why My Book’s Political Predictions Might Turn Out To Be Wrong (#2) — “Will Voters Be Scared Straight?”

Oct 30, 2024 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

One of the recurring themes in Climate of Contempt is that while modern media doesn’t change human nature, it does amplify the worst aspects of human nature in powerful ways. The book recommends extended political dialogue across ideological and partisan boundaries, a...