It’s been quite the week, huh? Definitely no shortage of interesting news to follow. On that note, let’s cut to the EcoRight chase!
This week’s must read: My Fellow Republicans, It’s Time To Grow Up (New York Times) Written by our own Bob Inglis, who knows a thing or two about the House of Representatives, comes this piece featured in the New York Times.
“I was once a member of Congress who needed to grow up, too,” he writes of his first six years in Congress. “I said and did small things. On climate change, for example: Al Gore was for addressing it, so I was against it. Small.”
“I realize now that the fight wasn’t against Al Gore; it was against climate change.”
Read the rest of the piece to find out more on his evolution—and the lesson he hopes to impart.
EcoRight Speaks, Season Seven, Episode Nine: Former FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee
This week’s guest is a long-time energy policy expert. Currently a senior advisor for Hogan Lovells, Neil Chatterjee is a former Commissioner and Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and has deep ties in Washington and across the industry, with extensive experience across the energy landscape both domestically and internationally. He is respected for his ability to strike compromise and work with a wide variety of stakeholders.
In his time on the Hill and at FERC, Neil built a reputation as a bipartisan operator who builds alliances and cuts through red tape with an eye on always promoting innovation. His significant knowledge and experience is derived from operating at the highest levels of government.
He shares his insights with us on the greatest energy challenges facing the U.S.
That conversation can be found below.
Coming up next week, my conversation with Bruce Piasecki, author of the upcoming book, Wealth and Climate Competitiveness.
Quote of the week:
From our friend and past podcast guest, Alex Flint, head of Alliance for Market Solutions.
“Denialism is a short-term strategy these days.. However, when the deniers and those who mock the issue are in positions of power, they can delay action.”
Climate change is fueling mosquitos:
In case you’re wondering how climate change might be impacting this particularly annoying pest, you won’t wank to miss this brief summary from The Weather Channel. If you want the jist, “climate change is helping mosquitoes grow bigger and live longer. Extreme weather events are increasing breeding opportunities. And our planet’s rising temperature and humidity are expanding the range they can thrive.”
But the good news is, there is still time to save us from this terrible fate!
Another must read: Pass the PROVE IT Act to show America’s excellence outperforms foreign competition (Senators Chris Coons and Kevin Cramer, The Washington Times)
“Ultimately, American jobs and energy security are worth protecting, but our environmental stewardship only bolsters our value proposition. Energy production in North Dakota’s Bakken Formation and advanced manufacturing in Delaware may seem unrelated, but if the goal is cleaner production and lower emissions, the solution is making it in America,” the bipartisan duo write. “Part of the problem is while we know our goods are cleaner and safer, we’ve never actually produced the official data to demonstrate it. Together, we introduced the PROVE IT Act in June to finally put the numbers behind what we believe to be true: our environmental stewardship is the best in the world.”
Off to Richmond, Virginia for the first time. Have a great weekend. (And come on, fall weather, you can do it!)