Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Back in March, I wrote that the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic would likely
shape its economic, political, and geopolitical fortunes for years or decades to come. Four
months later, it’s time for a check-in. How’s that pandemic response going? … Keep an eye on that snow-covered mountainside.
Greed, consumerism, racism, and imperial ambition sealed our nation’s fate. If, as people, we wish to move forward, we must revert to the best of our early unifying values: hard work, thrift, generosity, fairness, honesty, ingenuity, and mutual respect. We’ll need to embody these values increasingly in local institutions, businesses, and other social arrangements of every conceivable kind if we are to minimize the human cost of national failure. It’s not too soon to start.
The possibility of a new Cold War between Russia and the United States and its NATO allies brings with it the spectre of nuclear war.
Pop the champagne corks in Washington! It’s party time for Big Energy. In the wake of the midterm elections, Republican energy hawks are ascendant, having taken the Senate and House by storm.
Looking for a little hope on climate change? Believe it or not, it’s here and it’s real. And I’m not referring to the fact that, at least temporarily, oil prices have gone through the floor, making environmentally destructive “tough oil” projects look ever less profitable.
In Germany only about 1 percent of all municipal waste goes into landfills. This compares with about 68 percent in the United States. The U.S. could recycle more and turn much more of the residual waste into energy.
The two countries I know best are India and the US. I spent the first 22 years of my life in the former, and the following 24 in the latter, where I continue to live. Recently I returned home, after spending three months in India. The combination of what I saw there in plain view, and what I see here in America, may shed some light on—why we have arrived at the climate impasse.
US still dependent on the global oil market despite increased production.
I’m not saying the worst is going to happen. But if it does, matters could get depressingly bad, disturbingly fast.
Global gas flaring–the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction processes–remains stubbornly high. We examine the determinants of gas flaring in three prominent cases: Russia and Nigeria as the two largest emitters of flare gas, and the United States as a rapidly expanding newcomer to the club.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. That’s the credo of the oil and gas industry as it continues to lobby for increased oil and natural gas exports from the United States.
Historically high temperatures in recent years have been accompanied by droughts and extreme heat waves, more wildfires than usual, and several intense storms that caused power and fuel disruptions for millions of people. These trends are expected to continue, which could further impact energy systems critical to the nation’s economy.
