I received some great feedback on the post I sent out last week about the possibility of a fee on carbon. The following is a great summary of what I heard. Just flagging that a carbon tax unless set extraordinarily high – likely drives little progress outside of the power sector, e.g. in bldgs, transport and industry. And with coal only 20%…
I can’t remember how long ago people started asking me what I thought would be the best way to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels. I always said it would be with a fee on carbon. Economists have been saying this for a long time as well. There has been one truism in American politics that the third rail has…
You all know the story about the frog and the boiling pot of water. If you threw a frog into a pot of hot water it would immediately jump out. But if it were in a pot of water that was at a temperature that it found normal and gradually turned up the heat it would slowly boil to death.…
Above: Michael Greenstone of the University of Chicago testifies before Congress on the Social Cost of Carbon In the past I have alerted you to how seemingly little insignificant things can actually have enormous impact. I’ve written several times about NSR, New Source Review, which has a huge impact on many things but especially on whether a coal fired power…
Today is Valentine’s Day. It’s a time to think about and appreciate all those in your life that you love. Those that know me know that my wife and family are the core of my life. Thus, today’s message is about the future…their future. I have been, and still am, terrified about the planet that my kids and their kids…
I am starting today on a personal note. I have been shamelessly promoting the virtual outing presentation that I made last Thursday. It was very well attended in fact setting a new record for our group’s presentations. It went very well from my perspective and I have received very favorable feedback. In case you missed it and may be interested to see…
There’s been several articles this week that describe how we are inexorably headed for a carbon free, mostly, electric future in transportation. There have been, and still are, skeptics that don’t believe that we will get to the point by 2030, or 2035 at the latest, when every mass produced car in the US will be fully electric much less light duty…
We are not just headed for but are in the middle of a triple storm: Insurrection, COVID and Climate. All three for the same reason. Denial. Denial of fact and truth. Unfortunately, this is pervasive and insidious. How this came to be and what is the solution I do not pretend to know. I do know that resolution, if…
It is impossible for me to write a post today without saying anything about the insurrection/coup attempt at the Capital Building on Wednesday. Debbie and I have been talking and worrying for a very long time about if there would be violence in the streets if Trump lost the election. While we did not foresee the assault on our nation’s Capital Building, with ALL…
Happy New Year. I hope that you all had a safe, restful and pleasant holiday season. While we face distressing situations right in front of us let’s have confidence that 2021 will see improved outcomes than we’ve experienced last year. I thought rather than starting out 2021 with the BIG picture I’d start with the SMALL picture. As I’ve written about in the…