If the recent U.S. energy-climate world seems like it’s in upheaval, that’s because it is. Amy Harder of the National Journal, just posted a good synopsis of the monumental changes in the U.S. energy-climate world with her article – The Five Biggest Energy Changes in the Past Six Years. Harder notes:
In 2008, Washington was grappling with what it thought was a scarce supply of oil and natural gas, energy prices were high, presidential candidates of all stripes embraced action on global warming, and President Obama was riding to victory on his slogan of change you can believe in.
Today, six years later, who would have thought this much change would come to the energy and climate world this fast? Here are the biggest changes over the past six years.
The changes that Harder elaborates on include:
– America’s oil and natural-gas boom
– The rise of EPA and the fall of climate-friendly Republicans
– Environmental movement flipping from top down to bottom up
– Imports and exports of fossil fuels with exports up and imports down
– Renewable-energy growth, which is objectively significant but still relatively small
Overall, I think this is a helpful, brief summary of the U.S. energy-climate world – basically a good starting point for those interested in more detail on this area.