polling

22Dec

A Year in Review

The year is coming to a close, but before we look forward to 2023 it’s worth looking back on the stories and themes that shaped the energy conversation in 2022 and coal’s role in it. An ongoing global energy crisis continues to upend markets and trade flows. Coal – so often the recipient of premature […]
30Nov

The Grid Reliability Crisis Keeps Getting Worse

The nation’s electricity grid regulators at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) must be exasperated. The reliability of the grid is rapidly eroding, driven to the edge by a mismanaged and haphazard energy transition, and they’re doing their best to urgently warn anyone who will listen that the nation desperately needs a policy reset […]
16Nov

A Vote for Realistic Energy Policy

Last week, we covered President Biden’s speech made in California in which he boasted that “we’re going to be shutting these (coal) plants down all across America.” The comment was remarkable in its apparent disregard for the loss of high-paying American jobs such a move would cause, the seeming indifference to the record electricity prices […]
13Jul

European Energy Independence with U.S. Coal

This week, Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, warned that the global energy crisis is likely to get worse before it gets better, adding the coming winter for Europe, “will be very, very difficult.” His remarks reflect the increasing likelihood that Russia will completely cut off the flow of its natural gas […]
22Jun

Voters Want Action on Grid Reliability

Americans are deeply concerned about the reliability of the nation’s power grid and the affordability of their electricity supply. They’re so concerned, even frustrated, with warnings over the potential for rolling blackouts – or worse – they now want government action to fix the problem. According to national polling from Morning Consult, nearly 8 in […]
18May

As Natural Gas Prices Soar, a Plea for Energy Pragmatism

In the wake of stunning blackouts in California in August of 2020, California Assemblyman Jim Patterson said, “today we have a grid that is increasingly expensive, unreliable and unavailable when the people of California need it the most.” What Mr. Patterson didn’t know at the time is that his remark would soon describe nearly the […]
13Apr

The Consequence of Policy Conceived and Executed in a Vacuum

It would be difficult to find a country untouched by the global energy crisis. Here in the U.S. inflation has reached four-decade highs, driven in large part by skyrocketing energy prices. But some are managing it better than others, with the UK serving as a stark example of energy policy malpractice. The Brits have had […]
15Dec

Looking Back as We Begin to Look Forward

The year is coming to a close, but before we look forward to 2022, it’s worth looking back on 2021 and the moments and themes that have shaped how we think about coal and its future. Over the course of 2021, this blog has tried to offer insight and perspective on an energy conversation that […]
03Nov

Dismantling Energy Security During a Global Energy Crisis

One of the clear lessons of the ongoing global energy crisis is the danger posed by policy that limits supply of essential fuels while demand remains as strong as ever. Across the globe, policy-induced tight supplies of oil, natural gas and coal have left economies reeling and governments scrambling to provide consumers relief and shield […]
20Oct

Soaring Energy Prices are Threatening to Wreck Recovery

Americans are alarmed over the rising cost of energy. According to new polling from Morning Consult, 85% of Americans are concerned about rising energy prices, with 50% very concerned. This concern cuts across party lines, with 85% of Democrats concerned and 89% of Republicans. This soaring concern comes as the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) warns […]