“Rage-Farming”

Sep 20, 2024 | Blog, Journalism, Bias & Censored News, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

Of all the political communication pathologies worsened by modern media technology, one of the lesser-known is “rage-farming.” It’s an old idea in new clothes. Their biographers detail the pettiness of the extended feud between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas...

Pesky Pluralism, Part 2

Aug 20, 2024 | Blog, Framing and the Energy Transition Debate, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

The antagonist in the 2006 film The Illusionist  is a fictional 19th century Hapsburg crown prince, played by Rufus Sewell. Sewell’s prince is vain and cruel in his personal life, and a dedicated autocrat. But he is also dedicated to modernizing the empire to...

“Flooding the zone with s**t”

Aug 10, 2024 | Blog, Journalism, Bias & Censored News, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

As I have noted in several other posts (e.g. here and here), a second Trump presidency would represent a setback for the energy transition because of Republicans’ turn away from green energy and toward fossil fuels. If opinion polls are to be believed, a strong...

Project 2025 and the Energy Transition, Part 2 – Environmental Policy

Jul 30, 2024 | Blog, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

[NOTE: There is a post-publication update at the end of this post.] In my previous post I examined what Project 2025 — the GOP playbook for remaking the executive branch — had to say about redirecting energy policy away from renewable climate concerns....

Project 2025 and the Energy Transition, Part 1 — Energy Policy

Jul 25, 2024 | Blog, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

[NOTE: There is a post-publication update at the end of this post.] Progress on climate change will be a big part of Joe Biden’s legacy. He defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 election, backed the doomed Build Back Better bill, and signed the Inflation Reduction...

Everything is Great, Everything is Terrible

Jul 10, 2024 | Blog, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition

Chapter 3 of Climate of Contempt describes the politics of climate policymaking in the 21st century, including internecine conflicts among Democrats that are partly generational. By now, it probably goes without saying that overcoming intraparty conflict is crucial to...