What are reasonable aspirations for a human-centered energy system? In Beyond Quick Fixes (Oxford, 2024), I propose a ten-year, multi-stage plan to transform the energy system in the US. The plan includes five elements: Starting Point (Status Quo): Unacceptable emission levels Baseline Initial Success: Emission limitations Leveraging Baseline: Renewables, including nuclear Innovative Leaps: Storage & […]
Charles Dickens’ immortal phrase portrays a time of radical opposites taking place at the same time in a 1859 historical novel, A Tale of Two Cities. set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. Are we at a similar time of radical contrasts? Are similar consequences likely? Current technology and economic trends […]
I am in the middle of reading Rebellion, Rascals and Revenue: Tax Follies and Wisdom Through the Ages (Princeton University Press, 2021) by Michael Keen and Joel Slemrod. This delightful volume provides an entertaining history of taxation, which they define as “the extraction of resources by coercive rulers.” This got me thinking about taxation in […]
I began my career as an engineering assistant at Raytheon over 50 years ago. Since then, I have founded and managed five high-tech companies, and held faculty positions at six universities. These experiences led to working with 100+ companies, agencies, foundations, etc. What has changed over the course of this journey? Increased computing power at […]
