Informers: The new drive to get Americans to spy on one another
We are now witnessing at least the fourth attempt in the United States in the last century or so to create a vast network of citizen spies.
United States
Avalanche
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.
United States: An Obituary
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.
Nuclear war: A forgotten threat to human sustainability
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.
Fossil-fueled Republicanism
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.
A little hope on climate change
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.
Talkin’ trash: Are we literally throwing away energy?
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.
Interpreting the climate impasse from India to America
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.
Oil Security 2025 report – US remains vulnerable
US still dependent on the global oil market despite increased production.
Shutdown and default: the worst-case scenario
I’m not saying the worst is going to happen. But if it does, matters could get depressingly bad, disturbingly fast.
Gas Flaring: The Burning Issue
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.
America: Exporting our way to energy independence?
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.
