Jan 20, 2026 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism, Energy Transition Policy & Policymaking, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition
We humans are biased toward understandings of reality that include some minimum level of optimism about the future. But if we ignore the bad news, we shut ourselves off from parts of the truth. Which brings me to the Supreme Court’s forthcoming Slaughter...
Jan 8, 2026 | Blog, Energy Transition Policy & Policymaking
One of the few things that majorities of Democrats and Republicans agree upon is that they don’t like free trade. Democrats may not like Donald Trump’s impulsive and sometimes nonsensical approach to tariff policy, but they share with Republicans a belief in using...
Dec 20, 2025 | Blog, Democracy and Transitions to Authoritarianism, Energy Transition Policy & Policymaking, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition
[Note: This will be my last post of the year. Back in early January.] There’s been a lot of energy transition backsliding lately, some of it inevitable and some of it not. In bad political times it’s difficult to pair hope with clear-eyed realism. And I...
Dec 15, 2025 | Blog, Energy Transition Policy & Policymaking, Framing and the Energy Transition Debate
Sometimes it is frustrating to watch energy politics in Pennsylvania from afar, because misinformation seems to be driving policy. Unfortunately, in today’s “post-truth” world that is not as rare as it should be. Responsible journalism competes for...
Dec 5, 2025 | Blog, Energy Transition Policy & Policymaking, Framing and the Energy Transition Debate, Journalism, Bias & Censored News
After the conclusion of the COP30 climate change meetings in Brazil last month, some observers were quick to pronounce them a failure. Why? Were they a failure? Eyes on the Prize? Much of the criticism centered on the failure of the parties to agree to a statement...
Nov 30, 2025 | Blog, Energy Transition Policy & Policymaking, Framing and the Energy Transition Debate, Partisanship, Elections and the Energy Transition
People who want to understand the implications of exploding electricity demand growth for the clean energy transition can be excused if they find the news confusing lately. Whereas the news was once mainly about what “is,” the competition for clicks and the spread of...
