Clean Energy: A Rebuttal to a Critique

Murray Weidenbaum is a prominent figure in business and government. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 1969 to 1971, and in 1981-82 as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. His research and teaching interests are government regulation of business, public finance, and economic policy. Weidenbaum is an honorary fellow of the Society of Technical Communication and a fellow of the National Association of Business Economics. His book, Small Wars, Big Defense, was selected by the Association of American Publishers as the outstanding economics book of 1992. His Bamboo Network was a finalist for global business book of the year in 1996. His book, One-Armed Economist: The Intersection of Business and Government was published in 2004. In 2008, The Competition of Ideas: The World of Washington Think Tanks, was published by Transaction Press.  He founded the Center for the Study of American Business at Washington University and directed the Center for many years. The center was renamed in his honor in 2001 to the Murray Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy. Professor Weidenbaum teaches a popular course on business and government. 

The EU and the Energy from the Desert

Pascal Schaefer is a graduate student at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. His current research interests are decision-making and legislative responses to organ transplantation. He co-founded a renewable energy firm in the heart of Europe. At Washington University in St. Louis, Mr. Schaefer conducted research in the neuroscience and biophysics departments while earning his undergraduate degree. He has a genuine interest in game theoretical applications and strategic analysis.

Despite a clear roadmap and tremendous commitments to the build up of renewable infrastructure on shore 4 of the 5 largest economies of the EU-27 are currently negotiating an offshore solution in North Africa. While at first sight this initiative appears to go against the EU’s political interest a deeper analysis reveals the opposite is true. Three key rationales drive the poliheuristic decision-making process.

Things one sees from there one may not see from here – Take Two

Dr. Sened is a Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis, and former chair of the Political Science Department at Washington University. His main interests are comparative theory of institutions, game theory and mathematical modeling. Dr. Sened teaches Undergraduate and Graduate level courses in the Political Science Department.

In this second in a series of three posts, we review the vision of Dr. Rolf Wuestenhagen, the Good Energies Chair for Management of Renewable Energies at the Business School of The University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.  We apologize for posting this a little later than earlier expected/promised.  Besides being visionary and insightful, we highlight how different this approach and attitudes more generally towards clean energy in Europe compare to those we are more commonly exposed to here in the U.S. In the previous post we discussed the origin of these differences and the policy consequences they entail.  In this post we want to talk more of the essence of the argument and what it means.

Dvarim Sheroim Misham Lo Roim Mikan, aka - “Things we see from there one cannot see from here.”

Dr. Sened is a Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis, and former chair of the Political Science Department at Washington University. His main interests are comparative theory of institutions, game theory and mathematical modeling. Dr. Sened teaches Undergraduate and Graduate level courses in the Political Science Department.

In a series of three posts, starting with this one, we will explore, this week the very different approach and attitudes towards clean energy in Europe as compared to shoe we are more commonly exposed to here in the U.S.  Besides some observations regarding these difference we will also discuss the origin of these difference and the policy consequences they entail.

How Much Gas Does It Take To Fly You?

Max Wenneker is a miles, points, and travel blogger from Boston. As a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, he currently works for a consumer finance firm in Washington D.C. and dreams one day of running an airline.

In this piece, Max Wenneker looks at both the environmental and economic cost of flying. Commercial airliners use massive amounts of fuel that is not only expensive, but also results in significant emissions of greenhouse gases, contributing measurable harm to the environment.  

More Good News - Legislation on Energy Efficiency

Alex Bluestone is a junior undergraduate studying political science and environmental policy at Washington University in St. Louis. Before attending Washington University, Alex was a student of public policy at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, where he first became interested in environmental policy. Alex also has a diverse work background in addition to his academic foundation, which includes internships at the White House Council on Environmental Quality and, somewhat surprisingly, at the nation’s second largest coal company. In addition, Alex was a delegate to the 2012 UN Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar. 

Conservative Attacks on State Renewable Energy Policies

Amy Plovnick graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2012
with majors in Political Science and Environmental Studies. While at Wash
U, spurred by a concern about climate change, she became interested in
issues related to energy and environmental policy, and conducted her senior thesis in political science on the effect of state-level renewable energy policies on wind power development. Amy recently completed a 6-month fellowship at the Sierra Club, and now continues to work on energy policy at the Association for Demand Response and Smart Grid in Washington, D.C.

Over half of U.S. states have passed a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which requires a state to get a certain percentage of its electricity from renewable sources by a given date. These policies have helped to spur the growth of renewable energy throughout the country. However, there have recently been several attempts by state legislatures to scale back or eliminate RPS policies. This post refutes several common criticisms of RPS policies, and looks at why state legislatures are attempting to eliminate what have been largely successful renewable energy policies.