Energy & Environment

Energy is the issue of our time. No other issue will have a greater impact on our future, our air quality, our water resources, our economy, and our quality of life.

The central question is whether we will shape our energy and economic future through sustained strategic investment and development, or whether we will allow other nations’ economic and energy policies to shape us. This is what Congress must ask itself as it again considers the renewal of the wind energy production tax credit (PTC). And for the future of wind energy in America, this question has become increasingly critical throughout 2012 because of Congressional inaction. The wind industry, which directly employs some 75,000 people in good paying jobs in states across the nation, has already lost over 3,000 jobs and stands to lose another 30,000 within the next few months if Congress fails to extend this job-critical credit.

President Obama’s recent remarks regarding climate change policy, which have come under fierce attack from many environmentalists, in fact represent important new discipline in the administration’s political framing of its key priorities. As he made clear at his post-election press conference, the president intends to make policies to help the struggling middle class and restore robust economic growth the sine qua non of his second term. This renewed economic emphasis is a hopeful sign that the administration will be in a much stronger political position to pursue many long-term policy goals over the next few years, including action on climate change.

The complications of Hurricane Sandy should prompt state and federal governments to adopt contingency plans for general elections.

Officially, the Atlantic Hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30. Every two years, Election Day occurs on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November and therefore takes place during hurricane season. Recent events have demonstrated how unpredictable and devastating weather patterns can be and will be in the future.

Conventional wisdom tells us that climate change is a global issue, and solving it will require global action. But just as the perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of the good, neither should the global be the enemy of the local. Both are necessary.
 
Even when it comes to climate change, diverse actions are having powerful impacts. Our new research at the Center for Climate Strategy illustrates that what cities, states and the federal government are doing on energy and transportation policy — from local building efficiency codes to national CAFÉ standards — is generating significant, measurable reductions of greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change.

Thursday, head wind lobbyist, Denise Bode of the American Wind Energy Association, (AWEA), waxed eloquently about why extending the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC) is a splendid scheme that some of our legislators are supposedly supporting.
 
When a salesperson says their product is the cat’s meow, be careful that you don’t get caught in the claws.
 
Bode’s message is that an “All of the Above” energy policy is a terrific plan.

With the election behind us, it’s time for Congress and the Obama Administration to – as we say in Georgia – “Hunker Down”; stop with the sound bites and campaign barbs, and get serious about putting America’s economy back on track. A good place to start -- a comprehensive energy policy.

While both parties have proposed viable ways to increase American energy production that could form the basis of bipartisan compromise, one idea that needs to be quickly discarded is the so-called carbon tax.

It’s been four long years in the making. There was media praise and scrutiny. There were meetings upon meetings to explain how the next four years could be better. And in the end, we supported what we thought was in our national interest.
 
If only the Keystone XL pipeline could have enjoyed the same fate as President Obama. There are plenty of parallels that could be drawn between this past presidential campaign and the long road the Keystone XL pipeline has been forced down. Fortunately for Mr. Obama, he knew he would have an answer on November 6. But TransCanada and the 20,000 Americans who could be benefitting from new jobs going into 2013 haven’t been so lucky.

For years I have used a common over-the-counter emergency asthma inhaler called Primatene Mist. Like many asthma sufferers who find themselves awake at 2am with an unexpected asthma attack and do not have immediate access to an inhaler, Primatene Mist has been a simple and safe solution to what would otherwise be a costly and time-consuming emergency room visit. Unfortunately this past January, Primatene Mist was forced off pharmacy shelves due to an international treaty agreement known as the Montreal Protocol.

As officials and organizations work overtime to reclaim and rebuild so many communities along the Eastern Seaboard in the wake of Sandy, a critical piece to the puzzle may actually be found in geometry. Or, to be more specific, it may be found within a new cutting edge application known as a “fractal.” A fractal is basically an object found in advanced geometry that repeats itself in patterns, infinitely. While these concepts in the abstract may be best reserved for water cooler conversation between PhDs, the reality is that these formulas can make a real difference on the ground in response to an epidemic or disaster, including the damage done by Superstorm Sandy.

In the last century, government support for conventional fossil energy sources has totaled nearly $600 billion – or over 50% of the current $1.1 trillion U.S. deficit. Many of the associated tax incentives remain today, enshrined in the U.S. tax code.
 
While this heavy government support brought about an abundance of energy, it has resulted in an unbalanced, fossil-fuel heavy energy portfolio that is overly dependent on too few sources.