Energy
In 2005, I was sitting at a conference table in Oakland, California with a group of government officials. I was the executive director of a nonprofit that had supported Assembly Bill 32—the landmark California climate law that required greenhouse gas reductions. Our group’s goal was to devise polici
Having spent decades working in the energy industry, I’ve met with hundreds of residents in different cities and towns across the country to talk about energy infrastructure and new builds. Some conversations have been positive and thoughtful, but often people have been wary or hostile.
I’d just finished my presentation on nuclear energy. “Let’s open it up for questions,” I said and stepped away from the podium. I knew what the first question was going to be. It’s what the first question always is. It’s also my favorite question to answer. An older man in the audience blurted out,
Utopian energy is an imagined form of energy that’s abundant, reliable, inexpensive, and also clean, renewable, and life-sustaining. But utopian energy is as much a fantasy as a utopian society. Seeking the fount of perfect energy allows us to pretend there aren’t real-world tradeoffs between, say,
Many people believe an untrue story about fossil fuels: that fossil fuels are destroying the planet and that solar, wind, and electric vehicles are the only things that can save it. Investors and banks view energy companies as “sin” peddlers on a par with companies selling alcohol, tobacco, and porn
Utopian energy fantasies are turning California (CA) into a dystopian nightmare. CA’s energy policies amount to a bold suicide plan worthy of a collective Darwin award.