C3 Journal on
Essays, evidence, and original arguments from the writers shaping this conversation.
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Conservation
When wildfires are treated as a temporary, seasonal disruption rather than a continual, chronic risk, the default policy response is suppression. But a new analysis from PERC shows just how much that’s costing us.
Energy
The Department of Energy’s Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) is allocating $14 million to fund field-testing of next-generation geothermal technologies. According to an announcement on April 14, the Pennsylvania-based enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) pilot project will reuse existing oil and gas infrastructure to test the potential of geothermal energy in the eastern U.S., where resources are less accessible due to the region’s unfavorable geology.
Energy
The national average for gas prices has surpassed $4.50 per gallon, up roughly 45% from a year ago. If Congress passes a bill that allows for year-round higher ethanol content in gasoline (“E15”) without protecting small refineries, Americans’ pain at the pump will only get worse.
Energy
Critical minerals have become a marquee issue in Washington over the past several years, driven by growing concern that the United States and its allies depend too heavily on China for materials that are indispensable to both the civilian economy and the defense industry.
Energy
After the Iran war ends and the Strait of Hormuz opens, gas prices will fall. But when the next crisis comes, we’ll be happy for every nuclear reactor we have, large and small. So let’s build.
Energy
With seemingly no end to the Iran War in sight, the Trump administration has several actions to soften the economic blow, including waiving the Jones Act and releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. One sensible solution to help consumers is to grant exemptions for the small refineries that are critical to US energy security and affordability.
Energy
While it still seems to be a long way off, Iran and Trump seem to be considering the conditions they need to make peace. As I’ve noted in past Low-Energy Fridays, peace is better for the economy than war, which destroys productive resources and erodes investor confidence. But we must also understand that the way in which this peace is achieved may impact energy markets in the long term. While any peace is generally better economically than the status quo, risks caused by the war may remain even after a deal is made.
Energy
China’s monopoly on rare earth elements is not accidental. The United States, once the world leader in rare earth element production, helped create its own decline as environmental regulations and shifting industrial economics pushed production capacity offshore, allowing an increasingly adversarial nation to gain leverage over materials essential to defense systems and advanced technologies. Reasserting U.S. independence will require rebuilding our domestic supply chain and renewed coordination between government and industry.
Energy
If you ask the average person what the biggest technology breakthrough since the turn of the century has been, the smartphone is a safe bet for the most common answer. Recency bias could lead to some artificial intelligence (AI) responses. Unless you’re in the business or completely fixated with Landman, it’s unclear how many folks are saying the Shale Revolution.
Conservation
Last month, Utah and the U.S. Forest Service announced a new partnership to accelerate forest restoration, reduce wildfire risk, and improve forest management across the state. Known as a shared stewardship agreement, the partnership establishes a long-term cooperative framework through which the state and federal government jointly set restoration priorities and coordinate the use of existing authorities to carry them out.
