25 item(s) were returned.
Senior Researcher
Ohio River Valley Institute
Rural Centralia, Washington, and surrounding Lewis County have long struggled economically. From 1998 to 2014 the county added no jobs. The town’s largest employer, a coal mine, which employed 600 workers, closed in 2006. And operations at its other major employer, a coal-fired power plant have been reduced by half as the plant works toward a planned retirement in 2025. As these events unfolded, they seemed like an economic death sentence to many in Centralia. But fate intervened. The mine’s and power plant’s owner, TransAlta Corporation, struck a deal with the state of Washington and environmental groups to fund an… [more]
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Member
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States is blessed with an abundance of natural gas and has been a net exporter since January 2018. Thanks to the Trump Administration’s increased de-regulation, we are reaping the fruits of this expanding energy sector. With this increase in energy production, Congress must make proper investments in infrastructure and effectively reform regulations to aid in the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). To help accomplish this, I and Congressman Michael Waltz (R-FL-06) have introduced the Small-Scale LNG Access Act (H.R. 1836). Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has introduced a Senate companion bill (S. 816), which has two new cosponsors… [more]
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International Climate Advocate, Global Advocacy, International Program
Natural Resources Defense Council
The use of fossil fuels drives climate change. Unfortunately, the path to clean sources of electricity, heat, and transport is impeded by the continued government subsidization of fossil fuels. In our recent Scorecard measuring the US against other G7 countries on progress in eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, the US ranked last, spending over $26 billion a year to prop up fossil fuels. Fossil fuel subsidies waste money and come at the expense of public health, local communities, and the climate. The US still provides subsidies for fossil fuel exploration, mining, production, and consumption. The US subsidizes more oil and gas… [more]
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President
Micro-Utilities, Inc.
The UN has stated that the World must urgently act to cut a further 25% from predicted 2030 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the US, GHG emissions today are 4% above 1990 levels and are projected to increase. Based on UN goals, it appears that neither sufficient reductions in the release of GHG nor sufficient mitigations of the effects of climate change are taking place. To achieve those goals an 80% GHG reduction by 2100 would require an average reduction of 64 million metric tonnes each year for the next 82 years, or 165 million metric tonnes each year if… [more]
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Consultant
Independent
The United States and world are facing a crisis of enormous magnitude if the global warming problem is not addressed properly. Every country in the world, except the current U.S. administration, supports the Paris climate agreement goal limiting the rise in global average surface temperature to 2°C (3.6°F). The consequences of failure could be a catastrophic future: Flooding from rising sea levels, more severe hurricanes/heat waves/wildfires, crop failures and droughts, and greater stress on an already aging infrastructure. Climate scientists generally agree carbon emissions should be reduced to near zero by mid-century to avert catastrophic global warming. But the voluntary… [more]
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Managing Director
The Roda Group
Climate change poses a threat to the safety and prosperity of America’s and the world’s citizens. Every major scientific academy agrees that global warming is real, is mostly caused by humans, and requires urgent action. The signs of climate change are all around us. For example, the volume of the summer Arctic sea ice has dropped about 70% in the past 30 years and global temperatures have set records for the past 3 years in a row. And while most world leaders and climate scientists agree that we should not let the world warm more than +2ºC, we are on… [more]
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President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and former Texas Governor, Rick Perry, as the next Secretary of the Department of Energy. Some observers have noted that the nominations of Pruitt and Perry suggest that Mr. Trump intends to follow through on campaign promises to pursue energy policies supporting the development of fossil fuels. Pruitt and Perry each hail from states with strong oil and gas industries and both are known for their at-times skeptical views regarding the EPA and DOE, respectively. Mr. Pruitt describes himself as “a leading… [more]
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With the race for President ending this week, one concern expressed by some has been the lack of any substantive discussion about US energy policy. While Mr. Trump has often mentioned reviving the coal industry as part of a larger emphasis on policies that leverage the country’s domestic energy resources, Secretary Clinton’s campaign has said her policies will look to grow clean energy resources like wind and solar energy. But after three debates, many believe the country needs more information on this topic from both candidates for President. A recent debate (video here) however between campaign advisors for Mr. Trump… [more]
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According to the Pentagon, the military’s reliance on fossil fuels – and the vulnerabilities that accompany that reliance – could potentially pose a major national security issue. This potential threat has invigorated the Department of Defense (DoD) to lead on the issue by rebalancing energy security throughout the military. Satisfying growing concern for both operational energy and installation energy looks to be a challenge in the years to come. Pentagon planners are responding accordingly by recognizing the critical role of energy in military operations and the potential vulnerabilities. The overarching mission is the preservation of operational capabilities at home and… [more]
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Assistant Director
University of Texas Energy Institute
The world has experienced profound changes recently regarding energy and the economy. Fossil fuels, while still abundant, are becoming more costly to develop as the most easily-accessible resources become depleted. Many renewable energy technologies are becoming less costly due in part to market forces as well as supportive state and federal energy policies. These technologies however would require massive capital investment to replace fossil fuels at current scale. Global demand for energy continues to climb while advanced economies are becoming less energy-intensive when measured per unit of GDP. Meanwhile, a global financial crisis as well as mounting public and private… [more]
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