Activists and policy stakeholders often put forward a single policy action that, they argue, would have broad and beneficial cascading effects, essentially acting as a fix-all for America’s energy troubles. Examples of these include unfettered domestic oil and gas development (“drill, baby, drill”), a price on carbon, a flex-fuel mandate, a clean energy standard, etc.
Last week, we asked what a comprehensive national energy policy might look like. Absent a comprehensive national energy policy, what single policy action, if enacted and implemented, would have the biggest impact on America’s energy landscape?
What single policy action would improve America’s energy landscape most? What single action would do the most damage?
While I consider this a very interesting question at a time when little is actually going on in DC, I would caution this approach. The items that I believe individually… Read more »
I agree with Dan, single source approaches are not the best approach. With that said I think the discussion about the short comings (or value) to single policy tools is… Read more »
Just to be solidly negative about this question, the mythical Triple-S (Single Simple Solution) is at the heart of the dysfunction in the national energy dialogue. For whatever personal reason,… Read more »
To attempt to answer the question, I would say something about the way regulations are created and enforced in the US. A common theme I see is the uncertainty that… Read more »
Also, after having watched some of the OurEnergyPolicy.org panel the first speaker really highlights that what governments can do is very long-term in scope; it takes decades and generations for… Read more »