Career Update

I have moved to the Heritage Foundation where I can help to build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish

CAREER UPDATE! I have already posted about my new opportunity on other social media outlets, but have been busy (since mid-June) with wrapping up projects at my previous employer and getting moved over to the new location.

I am excited to let Forest, Fuels, and Freedom readers know that, as of the end of June, I have relocated to the The Heritage Foundation, as a Senior Research Fellow.

For more than 3 decades, I have worked to advance policies that promote affordable, reliable energy and the wise use of our natural resources. I’m grateful to now bring that experience to an institution that for decades has been leading the policy conversation in Washington, DC.

Heritage plays a unique role in developing principled, research-driven solutions that advance freedom and prosperity. I’m looking forward to contributing to their important work and launching this next chapter in my career!

Moving forward, I will be writing and researching on key energy policy issues that are impacting the country today: permitting reform, rare earth/critical mineral supply chains, wildfires and forest management, energy demand/water use for American data centers and AI, oil and gas development and refining, etc.

I’ll also continue my established practice of focusing on some basic policy truths, many of which I have covered in previous publications, like the The Parent’s Guide for Countering Green Ideologies, the Seven Principles of Sound Energy Policy, and the Seven Principles of Sound Environmental Policy.

A short (but not-exhaustive) list of basic truths about energy and environmental issues I will continue to cover includes.

• You’ve been misled. You don’t have to live in a constant state of fear over an impending environmental apocalypse.

  • Despite what Greta and her friends will tell you, “entire ecosystems are not collapsing.”

  • We’re not running out of food, land, or water.

  • There are not too many people on an overcrowded crowded planet.

  • We don’t have to stop using fossil fuels immediately because human-caused climate change is not an existential threat. Most of the concerns and harmful regulations dealing with climate are based on scenarios, created by computer models that are being prioritized over real-world measurements. Much of what is described as a measurement has undergone corrections and is also impacted by urban heat islands.

• Free markets are quite capable of, and actually far better at, solving environmental problems.

  • The countries that have suffered the worst environmental harms are the countries with the strongest government control: China, Russia, Venezuela, and other totalitarian states. In contrast, the countries that are best able to protect or improve their environment are wealthy, developed nations that promote free-markets and defend the value of individual and property rights. These countries have the luxury of prioritizing environmental quality because their wealth allows them that freedom.

• Harmful green energy mandates are damaging energy supplies and raising energy costs.

  • We should stop wasting time, money, and resources on inherently unreliable and expensive energy sources like wind and solar (that have their own growing list of environmental and human rights problems). Instead, we should refocus our efforts on building (and maintaining) affordable and reliable/dispatchable sources like nuclear and fossil fuels.

  • We should also encourage competition in electricity generation and transmission to push back against monopoly utility models that have helped push electricity prices far higher.

• Subsidies (for any energy source) do more harm than good, as they place government in the role of picking winners and losers. All of these subsidies and special favors granted to select companies or industries should be repealed so energy sources can compete on a transparent and level playing field.

• We should develop domestic sources of rare earths and critical minerals. Where we can’t, we should encourage friends and allies to do develop them and agree to purchase them.

• We should also develop and wisely use our other natural resources like forests and domestic energy sources: coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium.

• We should expand our energy transmission/transportation infrastructure and refining capacity to ensure efficient development and movement of energy.

• We do need to develop and build new data centers.

  • To ensure we can run these new data centers and associated developments, we need more affordable, reliable, and dispatchable electricity generation.

  • We can best address environmental concerns (like water use and noise) with innovation, not regulation.

  • People in the communities where data centers are being proposed have a vested interest in knowing what is going on. The companies proposing new data centers should ensure concerns expressed by locals are recognized and addressed.

    • Going in to the community before signing deals to openly explain plans and address concerns could encourage locals to become knowledgeable advocates, rather than angry and surprised protesters.

  • Most of the companies proposing new data centers have already agreed to cover the costs of their increased electricity or utility demands. Their actions to develop or fund new electric, water, or other utilities will tend to benefit local residents.

  • Keeping data centers in the U.S. means we lead development of this tech and don’t send our data to the CCP.

There will be more coming out soon as I post my new publications and get some of my publications from previous locations posted. Keep your eyes open and don’t hesitate to comment.