The archive
Science
Our food system is under pressure. Water shortages, soil degradation, a changing climate, and a growing global population make it harder to grow enough food using traditional methods. At the same time, cities are expanding, and development is replacing farmland.
Policy
Most Americans have concerns about the pollution and waste associated with plastic use, most notably single-use plastics like water bottles. However, calls to restrict plastic production and consumption would likely backfire, resulting in higher consumer costs and worse environmental outcomes.
Energy
The nation’s electric grid has not kept pace with economic and societal advancement. As energy demand surges, expanding our transmission capacity has become an urgent priority.
Policy
Senator McCain called for the United States to build forty-five new nuclear reactors by 2030. The plan was ambitious, but as one of his top economic advisors commented at the time, “not so large as to be infeasible given permitting and construction times.” With less than five years to go, only two reactors have been built since the late senator’s campaign pledge.
Tech
Collisions with wildlife are a massive problem for human welfare and the animals that roam our country’s wild spaces. And while solutions like wildlife crossings are undoubtedly effective at redirecting animals off roads, they come with very high price tags to build. Now, an automaker is trying a new tactic: developing an alarm that can startle animals off the road before a car drives through.
Tech
Red tape has slowed down grid improvements for years, leaving us with a T&D network that needs to be modernized and expanded. Until we see widespread grid improvements, we must ask a necessary question: Can we get aging infrastructure to work harder?
Culture
Artificial intelligence is changing the world at an incredible pace. From automating tasks to generating human-like conversations, AI is becoming an essential tool in nearly every industry. However, many people don’t realize that AI consumes a massive amount of electricity.
Environment
Innovation, investment, and the cleanest possible energy production thrive best in freer markets that encourage competition instead of having politicians pick winners and losers. That, in a nutshell, is the lesson of the latest Free Economies are Clean Economies report.
Policy
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced an executive order on March 27, 2025, to improve the efficiency of the National Laboratories and to reduce bureaucratic kludge at these key federal research and development centers.
Science & Tech
As data centers consume more power, energy solutions are necessary to meet increased energy demand while lowering carbon emissions. Expanded geothermal power might provide a solution that meets both these objectives.
