“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...

“It’s Hard to Be Humble”

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

In 1980, a country music artist named Mac Davis had a hit with a song called “It’s Hard to be Humble.” The opening lines were “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble / When you’re perfect in every way.” The song was obviously tongue-in-cheek, but when it comes to...

“I mow my lawn”

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

In my 20s I worked at a law firm whose system for evaluating the performance of attorneys included a “public service” component. This was fairly typical back then for big firms, and its aim was to encourage its attorneys to develop broader connections in...